NOTE: Welcome back to the next episode! It's crazy how much I forgot how these episodes actually went, because I'm so used to just changing stuff back during Priestess 10.

Thank you for the reviews about Rath's name. I was blanking, so thanks 'The Disquieting One' for the suggestion of 'Tora'.

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 3: Beach Panic

"CANNON BALL!"

SPLASH!

Riona flinched back as the water almost splashed all over her. She glared at the ones responsible for almost ruining her hair. "Will you two, chill out! I just finished with my hair!"

Currently, the Morning Glory family are spending their Saturday night out by the docks. A few days ago Kiryu had signed them up for a family fishing competition that would be taking place by the beach (On the other side of Okinawa) on Sunday. While not all of them were super excited by the prospect of fishing, they were more than willing to have a little mini vacation with one another.

Swimming in the water without a care in the world were Taichi and Koji, who were making silly faces at their no-nonsense sister. "C'mon, Riona, chill already!" Koji exclaimed.

"Yeah! We're just having fun!" Taichi added.

"Try not to inconvenience everyone else when you're having fun!" She huffed before walking away towards the Inn they were staying at for the weekend. She walked past Haruka and Ayako, giving them a brief nod on her way.

The two oldest raised a brow at her sour temper before dismissing it as another one of her moments. They approached Taichi and Koji. "Hey, guys, how's the water?" Haruka asked.

"Pretty cool! Wanna join us?" Koji asked.

Ayako shook her head. "No thanks, we just finished taking our turns in the bath. Uncle Kaz wants you two to hurry up and come take your turns washing up before bed." The girls rolled their eyes when the boys made their very loud complaints.

"Oh come on! We just got in the water!" Taichi groaned.

"We've been running around and playing on the beach all day, you two. Now it's time to rest for the night. We can have more fun at the competition tomorrow." Haruka said, hands on her hips. "Besides, the longer you're in there the more likely you two are to catch a cold."

Koji scoffed, floating on his back. "You guys always gotta ruin all the fun."

"It's not ruining the fun, Koji. It's called being responsible." Ayako corrected. All that did though was earn her some childish taunting from the boys.

"Just make sure you guys hurry it up." Haruka and Ayako walked away back to the Inn. When their backs were turned the boys looked at one another. Their smiles grew devious, sharing a similar idea.

As the girls were about to exit the beach, loud splashing could be heard. They both turned around to see that the boys were now further away from the beach and appeared to be struggling. "H-HELP! S-SOMETHING! A-A MONSTER! AAAAHHH!" Both suddenly plunged beneath the water's surface. Fear quickly erupted within the girls, they sprinted towards the water as fast as they could.

"TAICHI! KOJI! GUYS?!" Ayako screamed their names, but there was no response. "H-Haruka…!"

"I know!" Haruka was already scrolling through the watch. She was about to slam down the dial until the water suddenly exploded, drenching the girls completely. They stood in stunned silence until two very familiar and aggravating laughs echoed in front of them. Looking down, Koji and Taichi were perfectly fine. The two jokers were laughing up a storm at their expense.

"Oh man…! You should've seen your faces!" Taichi exclaimed, holding his sides.

"I can't believe you guys fell for that! It's one of the oldest tricks in the book!" Koji was leaning on Taichi for support, laughing too hard.

They were completely ignorant to the emotionless stares the girls were giving them. Both were tired and felt humiliated for even falling for the stupid trick. Without a word, the girls turned and walked away.

"Huh?" Taichi noticed them leaving. "Where are you guys going?! It was just a prank-" He stopped when Haruka turned her head to give him a glare that could rival their Uncle Kaz. The large boy would be having nightmares of that stare for the next few days.

"Geez…guess they don't know how to take a joke, huh?" Koji shrugged once the girls had left for the Inn.

Taichi nodded his head. "Yeah! No need to get all upset over a little joke."

"Exactly! Did they think there really was some kind of monster?" Koji laughed. His brother was laughing too until he felt something move under his leg.

"Uh? Koji, did you touch my leg?"

"What? No. Why are you asking?" Koji asked.

"Uh-because…"

VOOSH!

Something sped past the two, pushing them back onto the sand. The two were put on alert instantly, genuinely questioning what the heck just happened. All they knew is that there was something moving around in the water. "W-what was that?! A shark?" Taichi asked.

"I don't know! I'm pretty sure sharks don't come over here!" Koji responded.

"M-maybe it's just Haruka trying to get back at us!"

"Y-yeah, maybe you're right!" Koji scrambled to his feet and glared at the water. "You can't scare us, Haruka! We know it's you!"

Taichi got onto his feet as well, feeling more confident. "Yeah! You can't get us back with our own prank!"

Unfortunately for these two, their assumption was incorrect. Whatever it was that had attacked them wasn't one of their big sister's transformations. Rising from beneath the water's surface was a massive creature, shadowed by the dark of the night. But its piercing yellow eyes were more than enough to scare the shit out of the two.

"A-AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Koji and Taichi booked it away from the water, screaming in fear. The creature stared at them for a moment before descending back down into the ocean's depths as if it didn't find what it was looking for.

"AAAAAHHHHH! UNCLE KAZ! HARUKA!" Having screamed all the way there, Koji and Taichi arrived back at the room their family was staying in. They rushed inside and shut the door, pressing their backs against it as if something was chasing after them. "UNCLE KAZ! HARUKA!"

Everyone else, who had been keeping themselves busy with the television turned to the cowering boys. However, nobody looked particularly pleased to see them, especially Haruka and Ayako. Kiryu stood up and walked up to them. "What's wrong?"

"T-there was a giant sea monster in the water! It tried to eat us and everything!" Koji exclaimed.

Riona rolled her eyes. "Oh, is this another funny prank you two want to pull?"

"W-what?!" They were confused.

Kiryu folded his arms. "Haruka and Ayako told us about the insensitive prank you pulled after they told you to get out of the water. Pretending to drown isn't funny, especially since there are a lot of children who die from drowning. They were genuinely scared for you two."

The boys did flinch from the scolding, but they pushed past it. "But this isn't a prank this time, Uncle Kaz! We saw an actual monster in the water!" Taichi exclaimed.

Haruka sighed at them. "Give it up you two. You're not gonna to trick us all again. Just hurry up and wash up so that we can be ready for tomorrow." She was in no mood for their games tonight.

Kiryu nodded his head. "I'm letting you two off with a warning to not do something like that again. Now go hurry up." He turned to the rest of the kids. "You all get to bed."

"Yes, Uncle Kaz!"

Taichi and Koji just stared at their family, shocked that they didn't believe them. Looking at each other, they decided that tomorrow they'll continue trying to convince the others that there's a huge sea monster on the loose.

"We're telling the truth! The monster was, like, mega huge with glowing yellow eyes!" Koji continued trying to convince his family. He and Taichi had been trying to convince them all morning, but their efforts just didn't seem to work. Now they were walking towards the docks, the entire beach crowded with excitement for the fishing competition.

"Can you two give it a rest, already?!" Riona exclaimed.

Mitsuo took her side. "Seriously, you guys have been going about this all morning. I'm all for a good joke, but not when it drags on like this."

Eri nodded her head, but looked a little spooked. "It's not good to joke about something so scary. I wouldn't be able to move if there really was a sea monster…" She shivered at the idea of a huge monster trying to eat them.

"There is no sea monster, Eri. Just Taichi and Koji trying to mess with us." Ayako rubbed her back to calm her nerves. The 2nd oldest's dismissal irritated the two boys even more.

Izumi was captivated by the festivities going on around them. "This place is much more crowded than yesterday." She admired all of the different kinds of boats, the sailors and fishermen gearing up for the competition.

"Those are festivals and competitions for you, Izumi. They bring so many different kinds of people together." Haruka said to her youngest sister. She turned to her Uncle Kaz. "So, what's the plan, Uncle Kaz?"

"Considering that buying a boat would've cost too much, I opted to charter one out for the competition. We should be coming up on the boat now." Kiryu said as they walked past all of the parked boats. Eventually he and his family stopped at the end of the dock where a smaller fishing boat was parked. Standing next to it and preparing it was an old man dressed in a dirty white button-up and jeans. He heard them approaching and lifted his cap to get a good look at them.

"Pretty big guy." The old man grunted.

"Are you Captain Aoto?" Kiryu asked, raising his hand.

The old man didn't take his hand. "Who's askin'?"

Kiryu wasn't offended, unlike his kids who all looked at the old man with questionable glares for his rudeness. "Name's Kiryu Kazama, and these are my kids." He pointed at them. "We chartered your boat for today's fishing competition."

Aoto shrugged his shoulders. "Well, what are you waiting for? I ain't got all day." He rudely turned away and got onto the boat.

Before Kiryu could take a step, Ayako spoke up. "Uh… Uncle Kaz?"

"Yes, Ayako?" He turned to her.

"I think I speak for us when I say we don't want to get on the boat with that man." She tried to word it in the nicest way possible. Most of the kids nodded their heads, the only ones who didn't were Taichi and Koji.

The two saw this as their chance to prove to the others that the sea monster existed. "We'll get on with you, Uncle Kaz!" They pushed ahead of the group.

"Really?" Kiryu asked. He understood why they may not want to join in, because even he didn't like the man's attitude. It's just that due to his own past he's used to dealing with far worse men than a grumpy old guy.

"Yes!"

"Fine." He watched as the two rushed onto the fishing boat. "Be sure to put on your life vests!"

"We will!"

"I'll get on too, Uncle Kaz." Haruka volunteered. She wanted to keep a close eye on Taichi and Koji to ensure they wouldn't get in trouble. She was still upset about their prank last night and as an elder sister it was her job to ensure the trouble makers didn't get into trouble.

Kiryu nodded his head. "Alright then, get onboard." As Haruka walked onto the ship, Kiryu addressed the rest of his kids. "Since you guys won't be joining us for the competition, be sure to stay with Ayako, alright?"

"Yes, Uncle Kaz!"

He pulled some money out of his wallet, handing it to his 2nd oldest. "Here, be sure to buy some food for when you guys get hungry. This competition should be over before dinner."

Ayako nodded her head. "Understood, Uncle Kaz. You guys have fun out there."

"We will!" He turned away and joined the others on the fishing boat.

After the competition got started, Kiryu and Aoto had worked together to set up the fishing rods for the kids. Haruka stood next to her Uncle Kaz, while the boys were on the other side of the boat. The young hero was trying her best to catch some fish, but nothing was taking the bait. She looked over at Kiryu and gawked at the impressive line-up of fish he was already gathering. "How are you so good at this, Uncle Kaz?!"

"Hm… I have a lot of experience with fishing." He responded.

"Must be all those favors he does for people whenever he goes out." Since she's known her Uncle Kaz, he'd always go out of his way to help random people he's run into. Haruka honestly has no idea how he manages to do it all in such little time. "Whatever, I should check on the other two to make sure they're not getting into any trouble." She turned around to see that her little brothers were sticking their heads over the boat's railings. "Uh…? What are two doing?!"

Her question got their attention, the two looking clueless at her worries. "What's wrong?" Taichi asked as Haruka stomped over to them.

"Don't just stick your heads over a boat like that! What if you fell over?!"

"We're being extra careful, Haruka! Don't be such a stick in the mud." Koji scoffed. His comment caused a cartoonish tick mark to pop up on Haruka's forehead.

Kiryu, who was more calm about it, joined them. "What were you two doing?"

"We were just looking out for the sea monster, Uncle Kaz! It's not gonna surprise us again this time!" Taichi grinned.

"Like right there!" Koji pointed at the waters below. But instead of some sea monster it turned out to be some discarded shrubs and trash. "...Or not…"

"Pfft!" Koji glared at his big sister, who was trying not to laugh.

"C'mon, just accept that there is no sea monster. You've dragged the joke on long enough." Haruka smirked.

"That watch literally turns you into aliens yet you can't accept that a sea monster exists?!" Koji whispered, smart enough to not give away a secret.

"Considering that we've seen nothing, I'm keen to think that it's not real." Haruka responded. "Just because aliens exist doesn't mean that some sea monster is real."

Kiryu nodded his head. "She's right, besides, this is meant to be a fun competition for us. Not a monster hunt."

"It's called the Krakken." Aoto's gruff voice got their attention.

"Woah! You've heard of it?!" The boys ran over to Captain Aoto, who was steering the ship. Haruka and Kiryu followed behind, both a bit skeptical.

"It's my business to know about it." He handed them a photo, which Kiryu took. He lowered it so that the kids could see it too. The photo wasn't the best and just showed some weird looking thing poking out of the water. "I've been on its tail for years. Folks say that my rudder's not right."

"I wonder why…" Haruka muttered.

If Aoto heard her or not, he didn't show it. "Sightings go back hundreds of years on these very oceans. Some say it's a myth! Not me! I can take you to a spot where I first laid eyes upon the beast. That is if you've got the stomach for some real adventure?" The boys looked excited, but the other two were a bit apprehensive.

"What about the competition?" Haruka asked.

Captain Aoto waved her off. "You can still do your fishing while we search. Who knows, maybe it'll draw the Krakken to us!" His words did little to ease the worry in Haruka.

"Maybe I should've stuck back with the others…" She sighed.

Their boat eventually reached a blocked off portion of the beach, yellow tape keeping any boats from accessing it. "Do not enter?! The hell's going on?!" Aoto demanded, slamming his fist against the ship's rails.

"Guess we should turn back." Kiryu decided. He would rather not get any police attention if he could help it.

"Nonsense! This is my beach and I'll go wherever I-"

"Fishing boat! Stop right there!"

Everyone looked over to see another boat approaching them. Riding the boat were several men dressed in blue jumpsuits, the ship pulled over close to Aoto's boat. The man who walked up to the railings of the ship was of Caucasian descent, slightly confusing everyone why a foreigner was here. "My name is Jonah Melville, the founder of Friends of Fish." He introduced himself.

"His name is Melville?" Taichi giggled.

"I think he forgot to switch the last name and first name. He is a foreigner." Haruka explained, also giggling.

"Friends of Fish? Sounds…fishy…" Kiryu's 'joke' earned him some stares from his kids.

Jonah chuckled at the joke. "Yes, we get that a lot honestly."

Haruka raised a brow, finding his humor a little forced. Perhaps he didn't want to be rude to her Uncle Kaz?

"Enough with the chit chat! What's going on here?!" Aoto stomped up to them.

"Friends of Fish have come to an agreement with the tournament organizers to close off this section of the beach for an environmental study. You'll have to turn your boat around and get back to the competition." Jonah explained.

Captain Aoto didn't like the sound of that at all. "Why don't you make me, you damn foreigner-" Kiryu stepped up, cutting the captain off from finishing that remark.

"Since I chartered the boat for the day, which means we're done here. Turn the boat around." Kiryu's intimidating stare shut down any remark Aoto was going to make. Seems the old man had some common sense after all.

"But what about the Krakken?!" Koji reminded them of their purpose for coming over here.

"The Krakken? Not that old fish story!" Jonah and his men started laughing at the kids. Much to the displeasure of Kiryu and Haruka. "Look, I'm a Marine Biologist and anybody who tells you they've seen a monster on this beach is casting without a hook." They all continued to laugh.

Both Koji and Taichi felt embarrassed, turning away from the F.O.F. jerks. Haruka, who was starting to feel bad for how she acted towards their behavior about the Krakken, brought them closer to her. "Don't listen to them, guys. They're just bullies."

Kiryu sent the F.O.F. guys a threatening glare before walking away, not caring for their reactions at all.

Koji sighed, holding his fishing rod with a loose grip. The earlier encounter with those F.O.F guys had him second guessing if he and Taichi really saw that Krakken last night. But there was no way that it was fake. But if they really don't see anything, then that'll just mean that they just imagined it. "This blows…"

"For real…" Taichi groaned. He lifted his line and showed the tiny fish he caught. "I only managed to get a small one!"

"Not that, Taichi…" Koji gave him a dead stare. "I'm talking about the Krakken. There was no way that we imagined it, right?"

Taichi shook his head. "I don't feel like we did. It was huge and threw us out of the water. But everyone doesn't believe us except for Captain Aoto."

"And they think he's crazy." Koji huffed. "If only we can prove that what we saw was real."

BEEP!

Aoto suddenly stopped the boat, almost making his passengers fall over. "The sonar! Its found something!" The Morning Glory family hurried over to look at the sonar.

"Maybe, it's a shark?" Kiryu assumed.

Koji felt a rumble underneath the ship, he looked out at the waters and noticed the large fin moving past them. "I don't think so! Look!" Without warning, the water next to them exploded, almost knocking the boat over. Kiryu held onto his kids to keep them from falling off the boat as Aoto held onto the ship, grinning like a madman as the object of his obsession finally showed itself to them.

"Finally! It's here!" Aoto exclaimed. "And it's heading for the docks!"

Momentarily getting over their shock of the creature's appearance, the Morning Glory family realized the negative side to this. "EVERYONE!" They shouted.

Back over at the docks, Ayako had bought herself and her younger siblings ice cream. The five of them were waiting for Aoto's boat to come back from the competition. Mitsuo heard the screaming first, he looked over at the waters, noticing the large creature slowly coming out from the depths. "Uh…guys? Is that Haruka…?" The quiver of fear in his voice caused them all to stop their conversations. His siblings also shook in fear as the Krakken continued approaching the docks, tearing through every ship in its path.

"That's not Haruka!" Ayako shot to her feet.

"We need to move!" Shiro grabbed Izumi's wrist, his siblings all agreeing with his suggestion.

Nobody could be happier than Aoto, who might as well be doing a dance as people were screaming in terror. "It's real! I told ya that the Krakken was real!"

Koji would be lying if he said he wasn't happy to see that he wasn't wrong, but his family and a bunch of other people were in danger. "Uncle Kaz, we gotta do something!" He exclaimed.

Kiryu nodded his head, then looked down at Haruka. "You know what to do!"

"Yeah!" Haruka jumped off the boat, dialing up her preferred alien and slamming down the dial as she submerged into the water.

When Haruka came out of the water, she was immensely displeased by the alien she turned into. She was now a semi-armored velociraptor. She has black orbs on her feet, a light blue tail with five black stripes, and bulky claws on her three fingers that can only open and close. She wears a light blue cone-like helmet. She has a darker blue face, pink eyes, black lips, and stripes running under and in between her eyes. The watch's symbol is located on her chest. "I didn't pick Velocity! I wanted Ripjaws!"

Seeing as the Krakken was much too close to the beach/docks, Velocity had to accept the hand given to her. "Ugh… I hope this works!" She put down her protective visor and kicked her legs with everything she had. Luckily, her idea worked and before she knew it she was running on the surface of the water. Velocity grabbed any of the people struggling in the waters first, placing them on the broken debris or ships that were still intact.

As the Morning Glory kids were running from the rampaging Krakken, the mass panic of people was proving to be an issue. Eri ended up getting elbowed by some guy, knocking her over towards the edge of the dock. As she slowly tried to get back up, she saw a large shadow overtake her. Looking up, Eri froze in fear as one of the Krakken's tentacles was about to smash her into paste.

Riona turned around at that moment and screamed loudly. "ERI!"

Eri closed her eyes, awaiting her final moments to end, but luckily the black and blue blur grabbed her just in time before she could get crushed. Eri opened her eyes slowly, gasping happily at the sight of Velocity. "Haruka!"

"Hey, Eri! Sorry about how close that was!" Velocity apologized.

Eri shook her head. "Y-you don't have to apologize! I shouldn't have been so useless as to trip like that."

The speed alien dropped her off at the exit of the beach. "We have to do something about this low self-esteem of yours." Velocity comments briefly, then turns back to the rampaging Krakken.

Ignoring the comment her elder sister just made, Eri shivered at the sight of the monster. "A-are you really going to fight that?"

"Well…less of fight and more like trying to save whoever I can! Hurry up and join back up with everyone else and stay safe!" Velocity ordered, receiving a nod in response. The speed alien took back off towards the ocean to continue saving anyone still in danger.

Velocity grabbed a few more people who were in threat of drowning before noticing the Krakken heading straight for those F.O.F guys from before. She dropped the people in arms off at the docks and sped over to their ship.

The Krakken's tentacle wrapped around one of the crates, attempting to take it, but Jonah and his pals weren't having it. They tried to fight back against the Krakken's hold, but the monster was superior in strength. Velocity appeared with lightning fast strikes to the tentacle, forcing the monster to release the crates. When the Krakken tried to grab the crates with its mouth, she slid underneath its jaw, and landed painful speedy kicks to force the creature to retreat back below the depths.

Jonah and his men approached her. "Thanks for the hands and feet."

Velocity glared at the men behind her mask. She already didn't like the weird fish guys for laughing at her little brothers, and for some reason they were being targeted by the Krakken. "What's so important in these crates that you'd risk your life for them?"

Jonah blinked, quickly thinking up an answer. "Uh…our lunch!" His men nodded their heads in agreement.

"You almost died for a few boxes of food?" She would've continued questioning them if it wasn't for a tentacle suddenly bursting out of the water. It managed to steal one of the crates before any of them could've reacted. Velocity was going to chase after it, but a familiar beeping sound stopped her cold. "Crap! Gotta run!" She took off back towards Aoto's ship.

"Almost…there-"

FLASH!

Haruka was really hoping that nobody had a camera to take photos of the humiliating way she bounced across the water, her body limply floating as Aoto's boat came to pick her up. "Ugh… I swear I hate this thing…"

The Morning Glory family stood in the lobby of the Inn, watching as people were checking out to avoid getting hurt by the Krakken again. The competition had also been canceled due to the destruction of the docks and beach from the Krakken attack. Haruka, who was bundled up in a blanket to dry off, was looking anywhere else, because Taichi and Koji had the smuggest looks she's ever seen.

"See! We told you! That was the monster we saw last night! Us and Captain Aoto were right!" Koji exclaimed.

Taichi was poking Haruka's side, building the girl's annoyance meter. "We were right and you were wrong, Haruka!"

"And if you keep poking me you'll lose a finger." She gave him a dangerous smile.

Ayako sighed, rubbing her hands together. "I apologize for our earlier judgment and not believing you two."

"I'm sorry too… I guess." Riona grumbled.

"Maybe next time you guys will listen to us more." Koji smirked.

"Don't get a big head." Kiryu warned. "Just because you were right about it doesn't mean that's a good thing. We should leave this to the experts, like those Friends of Fish guys." He missed the way Haruka frowned at the mention of them.

"But we can totally handle this ourselves, Uncle Kaz! I mean, Haruka could just fight the Krakken!" Taichi exclaimed.

"I don't think that's something I can fight." Haruka sweat dropped.

"I agree, we should just hurry up and leave!" Eri exclaimed. The young girl was still a bit shaken up from the earlier attack. Ayako brought her in for a hug to help calm her nerves.

Kiryu nodded his hand, standing up from his seat. "We'll get a good night's rest before heading out in the morning."

Suddenly, Captain Aoto walked through the lobby with some gear. "Those no good foreigners!" He cursed.

"Captain Aoto? What's wrong?" Koji got his attention.

"The nerve of those foreign bastards! They shut down the entire beach! Nobody tells me where to sail and nobody keeps me from reeling in the catch of a lifetime!" He stormed away.

Once their family had gone to bed, Taichi and Koji snuck out of the Inn, walking towards the docks. As long as they hurried they could meet up with Captain Aoto to try and catch that Krakken.

"Where are you two going?" They froze in place, sweat pouring down their faces. Standing in their way of the docks was none other than Haruka, who didn't look pleased in the least.

"Uh…the bathroom!" Taichi lied.

"Out here instead of the one in our room?"

"Uh…our bathroom is clogged…?" Haruka rolled her eyes at the blatant lie and strolled up to them.

"Are you two out of your minds?! You can't just go trying to run off with a stranger to chase after a dangerous monster!" Haruka scolded them.

"B-but we gotta stop that Krakken before it hurts anyone else! That thing is dangerous, and it's our jobs as heroes to stop it!" Taichi declared.

"No. I'm the hero, not you two." Haruka corrected them, much to their displeasure. "Besides, that Krakken isn't what I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?" Koji asked.

"Didn't something seem off about those F.O.F. guys?" Haruka reminds them.

"I mean…they were jerks, but that was about it." Taichi shrugged.

"Well, I guess it was weird that some foreign environmental group would want to keep examining the beach after a monster attack." Koji added.

"Exactly, and there's something I need to confirm for myself." Haruka said. "So, you two head back to the Inn while I take care of this."

"No way! We can help!" The boys cried, refusing to leave. "We're involved in this just as much as you are, Haruka, so let us help!"

The young hero was stuck a bit. She knew dragging her little siblings into this wasn't a good idea, but those two will just follow her no matter what she does. And she didn't really like the idea of her Uncle Kaz getting mad at her again for bringing her little siblings into some big fight. "Fine, but you two stay near me and as soon as it looks like trouble is about to start you go back to the Inn and alert Uncle Kaz, got it?"

"Yes!"

"I mean it!" She stressed, ensuring they understood her orders.

Aoto kept a close eye out as he manned the ship. No matter what he was going to catch his prize even if he had to break a few laws to do it. Those damn foreigners weren't going to deny him his rights just for some stupid study. Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the back of the ship. Grabbing a paddle to use as a weapon, he slowly approaches the tarp covering his supplies, noticing the way it scuffled and moved. "Hey! No stowaways on my boat, even if you are only a filthy rat!"

However, when the tarp suddenly got tossed off, his anger turned into mild irritation. "Great…actual stowaways."

"Hehe…sorry." Haruka apologized. She and her siblings were huddled together before getting up from the ship's deck. "We just wanted to…get a closer look at the Krakken, right guys?" The boys nodded their heads in agreement.

Aoto glared at the three for a few seconds before grumbling and walking over to a crate. Koji got closer to him. "So…uh…any idea where the Krakken went?"

Aoto pulls a skintight diving suit out of the crate. "She's probably been chased deep by our 'fishy friends'. Only one way to flush her out… with a little live bait." He explains as he puts on the diving suit.

"Maybe we could come with-ow!" Taichi flinched from Haruka's ear flick. "-Or Haruka could go down with you."

"No need. I've got my diving buddy right here." He responds, lifting the harpoon gun. "Wish me luck." Aoto said as he dived down into the waters.

Haruka looks down into the crate and sees another diving suit. "Yeah, as if I'm just gonna leave him to possibly get eaten alive. And if anyone suspicious approaches, hide." Her brothers nodded their heads.

As Captain Aoto continues to dive through the ocean, he eventually sees some shadowed creature approaching him. He was about to shoot it with his harpoon until the person waved their arms, getting closer to reveal that it was Haruka. The captain rolls his eyes at her following him anyway, and motions for her to follow him. Eventually the two of them come across what appears to be a huge nest. A singular egg lays there undisturbed.

With the recent discovery, the two journey back up towards the boat. Aoto begins climbing the ladder of the ship, when suddenly he's grabbed and thrown onboard. Haruka keeps herself hidden after witnessing the scene, silently praying that her siblings are still safe.

Aoto groans and looks up to see several masked men staring down at him. "Don't you know night diving is dangerous, old timer?" The leader asked. "Unless of course, you went with a friend."

Aoto was many things, but the old man wasn't going to sell out some brats. "I work alone. I ain't got no friends."

"...And with that sparkling personality of yours?" The leader remarks as his lackeys grab Aoto, holding him up. Haruka quietly moves to the back of the ship to keep them from seeing her, her ears kept close to listen to the conversation.

"I ain't got nothing worth stealing either." Aoto informs.

"Ah, but you have us all wrong. All we want is information. Like, what did you see down there?" The leader demands.

"Nothin'."

Haruka winces when she hears the sound of Aoto getting punched hard. She peeled her head over to get a better view of the masked guys, and glared at them when the leader took off his mask, revealing himself to be Jonah Melville. "Well… I have to be sure."

Jonah turns to his men. "Take him with us. Find out if he knows anything back at the Cannery." Jonah orders as his men grab Aoto's body and start moving him. "We'll come back later with a mini-sub to snatch the rest of the eggs." He grinned like an evil villain as he tossed a tracker into the lake. "In the meantime…"

Haruka's eyes widened and dived back underwater once she saw Jonah toss an explosive into the boat. She could make out the sounds of the F.O.F escaping as Aoto's boat exploded. But that was the least of her concerns for the moment, because all she knew was that her siblings were still on that boat. She swims back up to the surface and starts looking. "Taichi! Koji!"

"Haruka!" The young hero turns around to see her little brothers swimming over to her, life vests keeping them afloat. The three quickly embraced each other, happy that they're all safe.

"How did you-"

"When we saw their boat approaching, we quickly put on the vests and jumped into the water." Koji explained.

"We also heard everything they were saying too! We're just happy that they didn't grab you." Taichi earned himself a head pat from his big sister.

"Same here, Taichi." She smiled before growing serious. "But right now we've got trouble. I need you two to get back to the Inn and warn, Uncle Kaz, okay?"

The boys understood, nodding their heads. "What about you?"

Haruka activated the watch, dialing up Big Chill. "I'm gonna save Captain Aoto!"

FLASH!

Big Chill took to the skies, she released a huge wave of cold breath on the water, creating an ice path towards the beach. "That should make it easier for you two to reach the Inn. Now hurry!" She watched as her brothers slid across the ice before giving chase after Jonah and Aoto.

Jonah and his men's mini celebration of a clean getaway was interrupted by a freezing chill. One of the crew members looks up to see Big Chill chasing after them. "What the hell is that thing?!"

"It looks like some kind of ghost!" Another one shouted.

"It's a bug! Shoot it down!" Jonah ordered.

Big Chill descended closer to them. "Give yourselves up and give back the smelly old man!"

One of Jonah's crew manned one of the turrets and fired lasers at Big Chill. But the moth-like alien was too agile and quick for them to hit her. She unleashes a wave of cold air onto the turret, freezing it cold.

Before she could get closer Jonah tossed a grenade at her, forcing her to stop as it exploded with a blinding light. "A flash grenade?!" She cried, momentarily stunned. Using this as their chance, Jonah and his crew unloaded several explosive barrels into the water. Big Chill's sight returned just as the explosives went off, erupting into a loud explosion of flames.

"Heh! Looks like we fried that bug!" Jonah celebrated. That was until he felt his feet get frozen in a block of ice. "What?!" Big Chill appeared on the ship, having used her intangibility to survive the explosive barrels. Her body is covered by her wings, giving her a specter-like appearance. She wasted no time in moving for the unconscious Aoto, dodging the crew members rushing for her. Big Chill saw one of the men aim a gun at her and blasted his hands with a wave of ice, freezing his arms. Once she grabbed the tied up Aoto, Big Chill turned intangible again and flew back off towards the beach.

A crew mate turned back to Jonah. "Sir, what do we do?!"

"What do you think? We get back to the Cannery and prepare to grab the last of those eggs! Now hurry up and man the ship before any law enforcement gets curious!" He ordered his men to get moving. Then he remembered something important. "And somebody get me out of this ice!"

Big Chill made herself tangible once more once she was certain to be out of Jonah's sights. The Necrofriggan felt relieved when she saw the beach was in-view. Unluckily, the watch chose that moment to start beeping. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me…" She groaned before picking up the pace. As long as she could get closer to the ground then it would all be fine-

FLASH!

"I HATE THIS WATCH!" Haruka screamed as she and Aoto fell towards the beach. Fortunately, the Morning Glory family was already out there waiting for her. Kiryu quickly ordered his kids to grab one of the tarps still laying around and spread it out. Haruka and Aoto landed right on it, cushioning their fall.

"Haruka! Are you okay?" Kiryu asked as everyone crowded around them.

The oldest groaned as she laid face down on the tarp. "This watch needs a better sense of timing…"

After gathering back into their room and waking Captain Aoto up, Haruka started explaining everything that went down to her family. "...And the Krakken's nest had an egg in it! No wonder she's been attacking everything, Jonah must be stealing her eggs!"

Shiro, who was using Kiryu's laptop again, turned the screen to everyone. "And I will admit that I've been curious about these Friends of Fish guys since you told us about them. Turns out that they're not listed on any international environmental website. But, I found a lot about Jonah. Looks like he travels around the world poaching rare animals, then crates them up, and sells them to private collectors." The truth of Jonah's actions angered him and his family, disgusted beyond belief.

"And the crates on his ship during the attack had her eggs… I helped save them from her." Haruka felt guilty. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and saw Kiryu giving her a comforting look.

"You had no idea, Haruka, don't blame yourself." Kiryu said.

"Right."

"We have to stop them!" Koji exclaims. "They said something about going back to a cannery."

"This doesn't change a thing, mommy or not, that beast is still mine. Let's go! I have a spare boat down at the docks." Aoto stood up and left the room.

"He's gonna get himself killed if we don't stop him." Kiryu said.

"You mean…?" Haruka looked hopeful.

"I don't like the idea of these guys getting away with doing something awful like this. We're going to put a stop to them." Kiryu agreed, getting his kids hyped.

"Oh yeah! Let's do this!" Taichi looked ready to go.

"You're all not going." Kiryu stopped them.

"What?!" Koji exclaimed.

"Haruka and I are going to handle this on our own. The rest of you stay here and alert the police of what's going on." Kiryu ordered. "Let's move, Haruka."

"Right!" She and Kiryu hurried out of the room.

"Stay safe!" Ayako yelled at them, before addressing her siblings again. "Okay, let's get to calling the police before anything bad could happen."

While the others were rushing off to find a phone, Taichi and Koji turned to one another. They didn't like the idea of sitting on the sidelines, and they felt bad about judging the Krakken negatively. So, they went in the direction Kiryu and Haruka had gone to help deal with Jonah and his F.O.F. pals.

As Aoto unties the boat, ready to get on, the boat begins to speed off without him. He rushes to the end of the dock, glaring at the father-daughter duo. "What are you doing?! Get back here!"

"Sorry! We'll be back after taking care of the bad guys!" Haruka apologized as they disappeared in the fog.

"You don't know what you're doing! A monster's a monster, and I know a monster when I see one!" Aoto yelled into the night. He growls in anger until he notices a rowboat off to the side of the docks. Welp, he's figured out his ride.

"You think he's gonna be mad?" Haruka asked.

"Yes, he'll-"

"OW! Taichi! Watch it!"

"Move your leg!"

Deep breaths were taken by the dragon and hero, they tore off the tarp at the back of the boat to reveal both Taichi and Koji. "I should've expected it." Kiryu sighed.

"How did you two even get here before us?" Haruka asked.

"We took a shortcut." Taichi shrugged.

"Regardless, we'll have a long talk about this when we get back to the Inn." Kiryu warned the boys, making them flinch.

"Why did you two tagalong anyway? It's not a monster hunt anymore." Haruka asked them.

Taichi frowned, looking down at the water. "We just feel bad, honestly. Even though the Krakken is like this huge monster, she doesn't deserve to have her babies stolen from her."

Koji agreed with his brother. "The real monsters here are Jonah and his gang. We want to help take them down and save those eggs!"

Kiryu and Haruka smiled proudly at the boys' declaration and determination. Though what they did was reckless it made them happy to see that they're willing to stand up for what is right. "Then let's save her eggs." Kiryu declared, directing the boat towards the cannery.

The poachers were currently manning a crane, which was pulling up a submarine suit with Jonah inside, holding an egg in his hands. As the crane sets the suit down on the dock, Jonah passes the egg to one of his crew, who nearly drops it. "Careful! Or you'll be cleaning up the world's most expensive omelet."

The crew mate dumps the egg inside of a cylindrical glass container with another egg inside, before closing the lid. Jonah admires the eggs like they're his prized trophies. "After we sell these babies to the highest bidder, we'll be kicking back on a beach in the Bahamas."

Underneath the cannery, the Morning Glory family arrived at the ladder entrance. Kiryu, Taichi, and Koji started climbing while Haruka stayed on the boat. "See if you guys can find the eggs." She tells them.

"Wait, what are you gonna do then?" Taichi asked.

"I'm gonna sink these fishy crooks once and for all!" She declared, dialing up Ripjaws. Haruka slammed down the dial, finally transforming into the aquatic alien. "Yes, it gave me the right-"

CRASH!

Without warning the Krakken bursts from underneath the ship, blasting Ripjaws into the air. Kiryu and his kids quickly climbed the ladder as the Krakken roared down at the poachers. Jonah, still in his submarine suit, wasn't scared of the monster at all.

"The bigger the Krakken, the bigger the payday." His greed was shamelessly on display. "Open fire!" He ordered his men, who listened immediately. They fired their guns at the Krakken, but its skin was simply too tough for their weapons to do anything. Some of the crewmen decided to run inside to find stronger weapons, while the others kept trying to distract it.

The Krakken searched for her eggs and found them sitting inside of the container. She smacks the crewmen in front of her aside and rushes for her babies. But Jonah snatches the container before she could get them.

The Krakken attempted to smash him with her tentacles, but the crane pulled him away just in time. The smug prick of a poacher mocked the Krakken before firing at her with the suit's laser weapons. Dropping down from above was Ripjaws, who used this chance to bash the container away from Jonah, leaving it to rest on the dock. She began clawing at the window of the submarine suit. "You want to see a monster?! Look in a mirror!" She declares before tearing the tether that kept Jonah airborne.

Ripjaws attempted to reach for the eggs, but Jonah blasted her in the back, sending her flying into some crates. He tried to grab the eggs, but the Krakken slammed her tentacle down on the dock, making it tremble from her might.

Inside of the cannery was even more hectic as Kiryu smashed through every crewman who got in his way. The dragon, who understands the pain the Krakken must be going through, made sure that each poacher felt an equal amount of pain through his fists. One guy attempted to fire at him, but Kiryu used a broken piece of wood to block the shots before throwing it like an Olympic champion at the guy's skull. He then ducked under an oncoming punch and landed a fierce Tiger Drop into the guy's sternum. Then grabbing him by his legs and spinning him around to take down more of the poachers surrounding him.

From the sidelines, Taichi and Koji were blown away by the spectacular might of their Uncle Kaz. It was rare for them to actually see him fight and every time continued to prove how much of an absolute badass he is in combat.

"As much as I love watching Uncle Kaz fight, there's gotta be something we can do!" Taichi whined.

Koji agreed with his brother's sentiments, because they didn't just come here to not help. Looking out the window he saw the threeway battle between Jonah, Ripjaws, and the Krakken. With a closer look, he saw the container that held the Krakken's babies. "Taichi! I got an idea, follow me!" He ran out of the building with Taichi behind him.

Jonah attempted to blast Ripjaws again, but the Piscciss Volann crunched his arm cannon with her teeth, tearing the mechanism apart. She tried to kick him away, but the poacher was quicker and smashed her across the floor. He tried for the eggs once more, but the Krakken grabbed them in time, forcing him to shoot his grapple hook at the container. With a strong yank, the container was ripped out of the monster's grasp. Jonah celebrated his 'victory' until Ripjaws came right back and slashed the cable, dropping the container back onto the floor. She tackled Jonah to the floor, clawing at his suit to tear it apart.

Taichi and Koji arrive at the scene, sprinting towards the container. The two knew what they needed to do to help. They started pushing against the container, rolling it towards the edge of the dock. Jonah noticed this just as the container had been rolled off the edge and into the water, the Krakken giving chase after it. "NO! My eggs!" He slapped Ripjaws off of him and used the suit's boosters to propel himself into the ocean's waters.

"They're not YOUR eggs!" Ripjaws declared, jumping onto Jonah's suit before he entered the water.

Taichi and Koji had done their part, and cheered her on even though they couldn't see what was happening. "Go, Ripjaws! Kick that guy's butt!"

Below the depths, Ripjaws and Jonah struggled against each other. "Rescuing babies? Very heroic, but not very smart!" He remarks before bashing his metal fists against her face. The last punch knocked her away, giving Jonah the chance to chase after the Krakken, who had freed her eggs from the container. Thankfully the other arm was still functional, which allowed him to at least grapple one of the eggs away from the Krakken.

"No, you don't!" Ripjaws tore the egg away with her jaws, unluckily that was when the Krakken decided to get involved again. She mistook Ripjaws for an enemy and bashed the hero with her tentacles, and made a reach for her egg. Jonah fires a sonic attack at the Krakken, causing it to reel in pain as he scoops all three eggs for himself.

Before he could try to leave, Ripjaws tackles him again, pushing him further down into the ocean floor. The poacher retaliated by grabbing her by the throat to try and strangle her, but Ripjaws tore out of his grip. She wrapped his arm into a hold in an attempt to tear it off, but Jonah used the suit's electrical shocks to blast her off.

Ripjaws felt a chain underneath her hand, seeing that it was attached to an anchor. She got an idea and started swinging it around to build momentum. She tossed the anchor at Jonah, tearing off his suit's arm, releasing the eggs.

Absolute mayhem broke out as a one-armed Jonah, Ripjaws, and the Krakken were tussling over the egg. Thankfully, due to his new disadvantage, Jonah was easily smacked aside by the Krakken, who chased after Ripjaws.

The alien girl had grabbed the eggs and took them down to the ocean floor. She released the eggs, raising her arms in peace as the Krakken approached. The monster sensed the kind intent and appreciated the alien's efforts. She softly embraced her eggs, causing Ripjaws to smile.

They weren't done yet as Jonah was quickly approaching to nab the eggs, but he was noticed and grabbed the Krakken. The monster crushed his suit, forcing Jonah to escape to avoid getting crushed. But even without the suit, the bastard wouldn't stop trying to get the eggs. He pulled out a knife and tried to stab the Krakken, but it had no effect. Leaving him to the mercy of the Krakken.

But, much to the bastard's fortune, Ripjaws got in the way, not wanting to let Jonah die for his actions. The Krakken understood and left with her babies.

Ripjaws turns around to face Jonah, who gives her a shrug, only for the alien to do what her Uncle Kaz would do. "ORA!" She cried and knocked him out with one hit.

After swimming back up to the surface, Ripjaws left the poacher to hang on some debris. "There! Now stay there like a good little criminal and wait for the police." Speaking of the police, Ripjaws heard their sirens approaching and swam away, all while Kiryu and his boys watched from the sidelines of their boat.

"She did it, Uncle Kaz!" Taichi declared.

"Take that, you dumb poachers!" Koji added.

Kiryu smirked proudly at his kids for their effort today. "Yeah, hopefully that Krakken and her babies will be able to live in peace from now on."

"I got one!" The eager voice of Captain Aoto caught their attention as he rowed up towards them. "I finally got me a Krakken! One of the eggs must've hatched!" Aoto exclaimed as he revealed the 'Krakken' caught in his net, which turned out to be a blushing Ripjaws hanging upside down. "Imagine this trophy mounted on my wall."

FLASH!

"Pfft! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Taichi and Koji laughed loudly, much to the old man's confusion.

Kiryu sighed, finding the sight pretty funny himself. "I think you might want to look back at your catch."

Confused, Aoto looks back at his 'Krakken' only to see a glaring Haruka staring at him. "Huh… I could've sworn…"

Haruka considered this to be the most humiliating day of her life. It can't possibly get worse than this…right?

Chapter End

NOTE: Oh, Haruka, it totally can get worse than this and it will.

That's another episode done! Taichi and Koji got the spotlight this time, so I wonder which of the kids will be next.

I love writing Kiryu going against Ben 10 enemies, because the man is literally a force of nature. Him and the other Yakuza characters are just guys you shouldn't mess with unless you wish to have every bone in your body broken.

If you have any suggestions for alien names or what you might want to see Haruka unlock at some point, let me know. I'm always open to it.

Have a great day!

Haruka's Aliens:

1. Heatblast

2. Wildmutt

3. Big Chill

4. Tora (Female Rath)

5. Ripjaws

6. Crystal-Girl (Chromastone)

7. Velocity (XLR8)