Disclaimer: I don't own any properties; they are the sole ownings of their owners. Original characters are of my own design.

I'm coming back to one of my first loves: The Sea. Mostly, a lot of films on pirates, sea monsters, traveling, mermaid, etc. I knew I had to do something original and awesome, and thus I came up with the idea after watching Subnautica and Titanfall 2, as well as the New Love Death and Robots story, Bad Traveling.

I know most of everyone hate the Isekai genre, but this is a new take on it, instead of being in an RPG world, it's more of a What if story, in What if the world's myths of the Waters and Seas were true? Sea Monsters and Knights. I'm also reminded of my time at sea as a boy and in the Navy.

Anyways, not going to stay anymore, so let's get to the story.

Let's begin...

"We shall dive down through black abysses... and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever."

- H.P. Lovecraft

Aquatopia

Chapter 1: A World of Seas, Monsters, Knights… and a Teenager from Our World

Aquatopia

Aquatopia was a world almost completely of water. Much like the world of Earth from the 13-1400s, the entirety of the world was almost unexplored, with a vast blue surrounding all of it. A world of wonders and mysteries lay underneath the endless blue. But not as abandoned as one would think, as dolphin-like creatures jumped out of the water as they swam.

The pod of these creatures had a long, streamlined body with seven pairs of fins that decreased in size towards the tail fin. An additional pair of fins adorned each side of the face, these appeared decorative rather than functional. The head had two pairs of small green eyes arranged that one pair was above the facial fin and the other pair was below. Atop the head were two purple-tipped antennae that could be retracted into the head when the creature dove in. The front and underside of the head and neck were orange and the head ended with a small black beak. The dorsal side of the body was black and the ventral side white, a common method of camouflage. About one third of the way down the dorsal side there were two, thick orange bands that continued all the way to the tip of the tail.

They swam and jumped out of the water as they did, enjoying the fun. While behind them, something big followed them. Sensing it, they broke away, and broke formation allowing it to break through. And then it shot out of the water, its massive sihoulette shown.

The creature was 30 meters long making it 90 feet long; it was huge and whale-like in form, with the body ending in a fluked tail; it's body structure similar to an Orca and a Humpback in feature structure design. Its eyes had yellow irises and large black pupils. Each eye had a pill-shaped photophore directly in front of it. Atop the head, a pair of translucent blue "horns" could be seen.

The body displayed countershading, with the dorsal side being grayish blue and the ventral side light blue. Well-defined ridges were visible on the dorsal side. These ran along the sides of its body from the head to the lower back, which was covered in white spots.

On either side of the creature, two huge, sail-like flippers extended diagonally upwards. The flippers had a dark blue top side and a slightly reflective underside, brown in colour with small glowing orange spots. At the tip of each flipper a small pod was attached by a long tendril. On the underside of the pod was a teardrop-shaped photophore. On the ventral side of the body, directly below each of the flippers was a far smaller fin. Barnacles and vegetation seemed to thrive on various parts of the creature's body, mostly on the bottom.

Riding atop it, with a makeshift lock harness and saddle on its back, was a giant mecha of 20 feet in height. Its main body, upper torso, was shaped like a smooth truck tank shaped box, with a small flat oval head on top with a small black neck almost merging with the torso, with a single horizontal blue glowing line as an eye; the main torso was shaped like a small mini-sub in some ways. ON it's back were three pipe vents on the upper back, and its arms were strong-looking but slim, with a sunshell-shaped shoulder/bicep guard as armor, with a smaller one on the right. The main body was attached by servo muscles attached to a pelvis structure, and on it slim hind legs with the knees and back hind having shell-shaped armor, and the pawed feet ending in three claw-fingered toes that gently grasped onto the whale-like creature. The robots hands were human with five fingers, and the forearms had two glowing blue sphere structures. The robot's armor was grayed white with the shell parts, including the top of the mech, the forearms, shell shoulders, back hands, thighs, and feet were red. Painted on the right side was an upside-down sun colored sunshell, while on its back was a massive sword that only it could wield.

As the whale creature dove into the water, its rider also disappeared from sight.

Elsewhere

Lighthouse Island

It was night, and the winds were picking up. The waves roared and crashed with one another and on the island that was being hit the most of by this. It was a small barren island with little vegetation, no grass, but the cove was eroded so that only a rope or that the waves being large enough that you could get on it. It was as large as a football field, with palm trees and a small man-made stream lake of water. The only shown signs of life was a manmade single lighthouse, shining brightly from the stormy clouds and the night skies. Hence the name Lighthouse Island.

It was located in the far west, to where the supposed Edge Trench was located at nearly ten miles form its location. It sought to serve as a warning to that location.

And the island was not as vacant as one would think. For atop the lighthouse, stood a strong and imposing being of sorts. Atop the very lighthouse, standing next to the flagpole rod, was a mighty man of adulthood, with thick blonde hair that reached to his knees and spiked about him like a mane, with crazy blue eyes, and a moustache and beard as thick as his head of hair, hiding a mouth of white teeth that were missing a few, but still healthy, possibly due to scurvy. His body was strong, with heavy muscle, with olive brown tan skin covered in thick heavy muscles and scars, with a cross-shaped scar across his face, missing his eyes. His only garments was a loincloth made of sails and roped around his chest, waist, thighs, arms, and arm bands embroidered with what appeared to be shark teeth.

He cackled mighty and loud as he shouted to the storming skies and shrieking winds, "AAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! WEAK! YOU'RE SO HOPELESSLY WEAK! YOU CALL THIS A STORM?!" He shot his arms out as he declared, "Do your worst, sky and storm Gods and Spirits! For I, ARIBAS! KING OF LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND, and protector, shall never yield to whatever horrors you throw at me! FOR I SHALL STAND MIGHTY AND STRONG TO PROTECT THE LIGHT WITHIN THIS TOWER!"

"F-Father…!"

Aribus looked to his left, as he saw someone flying in the air, with only one of his ropes able to keep him from flying off. It was a young ten-year-old boy, slim body, olive tan skin like him, and a head of long blonde bushy hair like him that reached to his knees, was flying through the wind as he opened to reveal green eyes. Unlike his dad, however, he had lost his clothes and was being blown in the wind naked.

Aribus cackled, "Haha! Lose your loincloth again, son?! You need to work on those knots, my boy!"

"Sh-Shouldn't we head back inside," his son asked.

But Aribus cackled like it was no big deal, "HAHAHA! Do not fear the winds, son! All they can do is howl and whoosh at you!"

"But wh-what can I do," his son asked, as he managed to pull himself closer to his dad.

Aribus grabbed him as he said, "All you gotta do is this!" He then opened his mouth as wide as he could and cackle loud and clear to drown out the thunder, "UAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAA!"

The son thought on it, and then smiled, as he did the same as he opened his mouth wide and cackled as loud as he could, "BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

…

Unfortunately, it blew the two right off the top of the tower as they were sent falling but laughing. But for a brief moment, both father and son saw something out on the horizon halfway from the Trench area. A huge blue bolt of lightning suddenly appeared from the heavens, as they both saw witness to it for only a few seconds, and then it died out.

Aribus blinked, 'Blue Lightning. But legends only stated that…'

But then suddenly, a huge blastwave of wind shot them right at the waters, saving them from crashing to the ground below, as both father and son swam up to shore to take shelter from the storms.

Three Days Later…

After the storm had quieted down, and the palm leaves had all been cleaned up, on an island like this, a daily life of fishing and living were the common among the only two humans on the island and that it was far from any fishing or shipping ports. The young boy, having regained clothing but was still naked, was harpooning fish from a small lake-shaped peninsula sea bed from the island. In actuality, it was another means of getting on to the island. As well as a perfect fishing hole.

The young boy had managed to catch a jug full of fish. One of them was a fish that had a grey and black translucent body, with many vertical black stripes running along, red spots around its yellow-green eyes and near the tail, with along spine-like antennae that was on top and under the head and reached out to the tail, connecting it.

Another kind of fish was a small fish with a bright yellow-green center and dark green stripes along the sides and edges of its body. It was horizontally symmetrical, and similar in shape to a real life boomerang.

From the top and bottom protruded long, slim, pointed fins extending diagonally backwards from its main body. The tips of these fins gave off a cyan bioluminescent glow. It had four eyes, two on each side of its head, being respectively above and below of its mouth.

And the last species was a small, with its body being mainly a big blue eye, turning more greenish at the tail. Its head was composed of a yellow, beak-like mouth on the front and a pair of large eyes, situated on both sides of the head. The eyes featured black pupils with bright bioluminescent yellow sclerae and brown irises. It had a small caudal fin. Three holes ran along on each side of the body, resembling gills. It had two tube-like organs that extended from its body to the top and the bottom of its head, resembling backward-facing jets, that could propel it forward.

The boy pulled himself out, as he shook his head dry as he smiled, "Well, that should be a good catch for the day. I'll take this to Father, and…" But then heard what was whale calls, as he turned to see one of the whale-like creatures. This one had a few scars on its body as he smiled, recognizing it, as he ran up and jumped on him, "Torren!" He jumped in the water swimming to his side as he hugged to where his right eye was, luckily not too damaged from battle. "What are you doing out this close to shore?"

At that moment, popping up from behind the wall of the peninsula opening, another whale creature showed up, as Torrent urged the boy to go to him. As he did, he noticed this one was wearing a satchel saddle harness, as he swam up to him and asked, "You must be new here. Never saw a Glow Whale like you before. Who are you?" Whale-like chirps and whistles came from it as the boy seemed to understand and say, "Spot? That's an interesting name. What brings you out here?" He then pointed to the saddle and satchels attached to him, "And what are those things on your back?"

But the whale nudged him a bit, pushing him to go in a certain direction, as he whined, "Okay, okay, I'm going. I don't know what you want me to see but I'm going."

The whale dove down along with Torrent, as the boy took a deep breath and dived in there following them, not too deep of course. As they got further, a few feet, the boy's eyes adjusted to a gleaming brightness not caused by algae or shells.

'What is that? It's not a shell or a glowing fish,' he thought, as he got closer. But what he saw, having never left the island, he was unprepared for what he saw.

Resting at the side… was the same white gray and red slim mecha that the Glow Whale Spot had carried before. Though it seemed not to move at all.

Moments Later
Back at the Lighthouse

Aribus was working on a few wreckages on the lighthouse as he hammered a few nails in place. However, he stopped as his son's voice cried out, "FATHER!" Aribus turned to see his son, still naked as he cried out, "Father! Torrent and I found a Shiny God underneath the water!"

His father blinked at this but stopped at what he was doing. Moments later, he was pulling the 20-foot mecha out of the water, like it was no big deal. Which was strange for someone of his flesh and blood. His son, now wearing a loincloth that went down to his knees with a rope belt that had a shark-tooth on it, raced up to him as they finally got it ashore, and both males looked at the spoils of their find.

The boy though, hid behind his father as he asked, "F-Father? Will we be cursed for taking the God out of the Water?"

Aribus smiled as he patted his son's head, "Have no fear, my son. This isn't a god. It's a Knight Titan Armor." He then stroked his beard as he looked at it, "And judging from the design, it must be a Samurai model."

The boy blinked, "Titan Armor?"

"It's a mechanized suit that runs on the Blood of Poseidon: the most powerful of energies in our world," Aribus explained. "They're piloted by Aqua Knights: the only ones who could successfully pilot such complex armor weapons."

The boy then asked, "A Knight? Do they usually live underwater?"

The adult man thought on it as he looked serious in thought, "Well, if they get caught in a storm, or if someone ties something heavier than the Titan Armor's thrusters can propel, or if a Leviathan destroys the pressure within the suit…" But then looked like his usual bug-eyed self, "… but no. They're human, like you and I. They live on land and wear Dive Armor but pilot the Titan Armor to fight larger foes like the Leviathans, Krakens, or Thanapods."

"Or the Demons," the boy asked in amazement.

"Yes, those too," Aribus nodded. "They also ride Glow Whales like Spot and Torrent. They also fight with swords, lances, and those newfound water-powered pistols and rifles. They are important people…"

The boy was in wonder as his eyes sparkled and asked, "They're important?"

Aribus nodded, "Indeed. Their souls and stature are high-ranking indeed. But a Knight is a guardian of peace and justice among the Twenty Seas of Aquatopia." He then walked over as he hopped to the main cockpit and examined the torso. "Hmmm, there should be a manual release for the cockpit door, right…" he felt around the side, and found a slide button near the left arm as he nodded, "Ah, here."

He pushed the button down, as the door hissed open, as the boy jumped back from surprise. Aribus hopped off as he went back to his son and pushed him to the door for both to see. As the mist from the stuffy inside was released and the front now opening vertically upward, they saw the hopefully unconscious occupant inside.

Sitting at the control chair, half-dead, was a young Caucasian sixteen-year-old female woman sitting in there. She had light but tanned skin with red hair that spiked an antenna at front, with a bang tucked behind her right ear, and a larger bang almost covering her left eye. Her hair was long enough to reach her lower back but was done up in an upper ponytail, held up by a pearl-adorned hair scrunchie. Her body was slender and slim, befitting that of an athletic swimmer, with a tight waist, long legs, slender small muscled arms and dainty hands and toes, and a C cup chest. She wore a bright red and white skin-tight water one-piece suit with red sleeves going to her hands in fingerless and thumbless arm sleeve gloves, with a turtleneck and white shoulder pads. The collar had a zipper that went from neck to belly button, but was stopped mid breasts to show off her cleavage, while around the sides of the collar were black tubes with a rebreather nozzle on the left side. Her right hand had a small dial on it, while her left forearm had a silver armband attachment with a green lens at the forearm. Her elbows had white elbow guards as well, and around her waist was a white belt, with the lower part of the one-piece barely able to hide her butt. She had red and white leggings that ended from her mid thigh to her feet, barely covering her toes and heels, with a white strap on the outside of her foot, white ankle guards, white kneeguards, and on her thighs were two white holsters, while behind her butt was a strange battery phani pocket of sorts. And around her neck was a black choker with a blue seashell necklace.

The boy looked at her in awe, never seeing someone like her, as he asked, "Father? Something's wrong with this man. He has no front tail like you and I do, and his chest is bigger but not hard-looking like yours. He also looks soft, like those Sea Monkeys you always tell me about."

Aribus chuckled as he realized his son didn't know about her kind, "That's because he is a she. She's a woman. The female of our species."

The boy blinked, as this was the first female he had ever set eyes on, but then a whole lot of questions sprayed from him, "Why's her head bleeding? Is she injured?"

"Hahaha, no son," Aribus answered with a chuckle. "Her hair color is red."

The boy noticed the pearls on her head, "Are those real pearls?"

"Possibly real jewelry. Women always fancy gems and pearls as well as flowers."

He then asked about what she wore, "If she's a Knight and has armor, why is she wearing that bizarre outfit?"

"That's known as Dive Armor or Dive Garments. They are more lighter and comfy to wear. They also help to fight off hypothermia while in cold water. But in freezing waters, they wear Dive Thermal Armor."

The boy then noticed a strange stingray pack on her back, as well as two armor pieces behind her calves, "What are those, Father?"

"Ah, those are known as Propel Gear. Knights wear them to maneuver and swim faster in water as they are powered by Poseidon's Blood as well. They generate air that shoots out like the strongest of winds and as powerful as a Rock Smasher. On land, they enable them to jump higher and with enough propulsion, run on walls."

The boy's eyes lit up at that thought, but then asked, "That clamshell around her neck. Is that a jewel?"

"Actually, that's an indication that she's not yet married."

But then the boy pointed at her chest, "So why does she have a chest like that? And how come girls don't have front tails like we do?"

"The chest are what I call Chest melons. Only her infants and the man she gives herself to can feast and play with on. And as for why she has no tail, she instead as a clam opening that enables her to take the tail in for procreation. As women have the gift of creating life inside them."

The boy went wide eyed and starry, as he realized all that. But then his father leaned in to the cockpit, almost examining her from just looking at her. He then went wide eyed as he cried out, "THIS ISN'T GOOD! THE KNIGHT'S SPIRIT IS ABOUT TO LEAVE HER!"

The boy paled as he asked, "What, Father? What can we do?!"

"RUN TO THE HILLS AND DANCE," Aribus frantically and dramatically cried out, pointing to hills atop near one of the island's shorelines. "DANCE TO THE HEAVENS AND SPIRITS TO APPEASE THEM IN NOT TAKING HER SOUL!"

The boy then raced up there, as his father gently took the girl out and carried her back to the Lighthouse to rest. The boy rushed up the hills and began dancing around like a monkey with the spirit that the boy had in him. He danced so much, he plum forgot about the whole ordeal and just danced for the fun of it. Unfortunately, he slipped as he screamed and fell into a seaweed pit. Luckily there was a trail that led to the side and it wasn't sweeping him out to sea, or the water was deep enough not to be bottomless. That, and it was connected to a dry cave underneath the island.

The boy coughed up water, as he groaned, "Ugh. Seaweed. Eeew.." He then realized he had to get back up, "I need to keep dancing! For the Knight!"

However, something tall slowly crawled out of the cave… covered in seaweed and moved like a zombie. And it was easy for the boy to notice it as he gulped as he saw the figure.

Moments Later

The young female lay in a straw bed in a hut close to the Lighthouse. Her sword, which was a thin broadsword for a woman of her build, and the size of a barricuda, lay next to her, as she clutched it. She stirred awake as she blinked, her eyesight regaining shapes and colors of her surroundings. She slid up, feeling the bed and looking around the hut, as she asked herself, rubbing her forehead, "Mmmm. Wh-Where... am I?"

"Ah, you're awake," Aribus replied from the corner of the room, making a net. The girl yelped as she jumped on her feet, holding her sword at the ready. Aribus chuckled, "Good to know your spirit returned to you as well."

"Who are you and where am I," she quickly replied in a frantic tone.

He put his net down as he got on one knee, in a bow, "I am the Master and King of this Lighthouse Island. I... am Aribus."

Moments later, after things had calmed down, Aribus had explained to the redhead female knight of what had transpired. The girl knight quickly put her sword back on her rear holster, and bowed on her left knee, bringing her left arm to her chest as a show of noble gratitude, "Pardon me for my behavior earlier. I should have known better. I am a Knight of the Island Kingdom of Alterra."

Aribus blinked at that as he thought, 'That's almost to the far east of the world. She's come a long way.'

But he stopped as she continued introductions, "My name is Raliya of Perle, daughter to Alucar and Evelynn..." she then looked up to him and thanked him, "And I thank you for your help."

Aribus held his hands up in defense as he chuckled, "If you wish to thank someone, thank my son outside. He wsa the one who found you alongside your Glow Orca. He's also currently dancing outside to ensure your spirit didn't leave you as such."

Raliya looked to him and despite his rough appearance, Aribus seemed rather kind due to his words, and smiled, "Thank you. I shall do so."

Moments later, both Raliya and Aribus were looking at a map, as he was showing where her current location was. She had explained to him that although she was a knight, she was still in training. It seemed that in order for her to become a true knight, she had to embark upon a journey of discovery. But a fierce storm, the storm days ago, had taken her far off course from her quest. Aribus showed her where she was on the map. Being an educated woman, Raliya quickly found the location on the map. She had noticed that the place was far from shipping lanes or anyone to know about. But even crazier, it was close to the Trench, the home of a pod of Shadow Leviathans and Bone Sharks.

Though when she asked him why... "Why you ask? It's because the lighthouse is magical," he stated. "The day that its fires go out... the world will be doomed to Darkness by the Elder Ones sleeping beneath." He then stood up as he pounded his chest, "And so... I MUST PROTECT IT WITH MY LIFE!"

For Raliya though, who didn't wince or look like he had lost his mind, found it hard to believe, 'He seems possessed by his belief in the Gods. But I shouldn't say otherwise.'

Aribus then looked to Raliya, calmed down as he said, "Oh, I should probably take you to my Little One to thank. He's also been taking care of your Glow Orca as well."

Rilya nodded in agreement as she began to follow Aribus towards the doorway. "MONSTER!" Suddenly, the Boy charged in crying frantically. His face was filled with fear as he tried to catch his breath from running. "Monsters! Out of nowhere," the Boy continued in between breaths, "Attacking... Now!"

Aribus asked, "Monster, son?"

The young boy raced to the pots, trying to find what it was he was looking for. But then saw the net and pulled it on himself, as he explained, "It was tall, taller than me. Covered in seaweed. It lurched at me, in an attempt to eat me." Raising his arms out to make him more menacing, as he groaned, "And moved like an undead skulking prey."

Aribus thought on it, as he spoke aloud, "Odd, we never have anything like this. And the Bone Sharks don't come out this far. But I've never heard of one having legs or walking."

"Whatever it is, I'll go check it out," Raliya declared as went through the door, "If necessary, I shall slay it if it's hostile." As she went through the door, the Boy and Aribus turned to see her run though the door.

"Wait," the Boy cried out, "You don't know the way there!"

Aribus nodded, "The Little One can lead you. If he has seen it, then he'll know where it will be. I must stay here and guard the Light."

Raliya stopped in her tracks. "I appreciate that, but I cannot risk your safety if the creature is dangerous," she declared, "Tell me where it is and stay here for your own safety."

The Little one ran out the door, as he led her, "Follow me. The Island may look the same, but there are places on it that you can easily lose yourself to."

Aribus nodded, "He's right. He got lost once just by jumping into the water. I had Torrent retrieve him when he was gone for 3 hours."

Raliya stood in place with confliction on her face. On one hand, she did need help finding where the creature was located, but she didn't like the idea of putting a child at risk. With little time, she was left with no choice. "Alright, thank you," Raliya said, "But the moment we get there, you make sure you hide until I can ensure it is safe. Do you understand?"

The Boy nodded in agreement. "Alright," Raliya said as the two left the room and through the hallways.

The boy smiled as he nodded, "Understood."

Aribus smiled under his thick beard and moustache, "Then we're all in agreement. I can't wait to hear this story."

Moments Later

Outside

Having given in to the Keeper of the Lighthouse, Raliya had allowed the boy to walk with her to lead her to the creature. But as they did, the boy stole glances at her and properly looked at her now that she was alive. To him, she looked like one of the Glow Orcas. to him, the Glow Whales were something glorious and wonderful. Even his father's stories of the Leviathans that lived near the Trench or in it were seemingly powerful and frightening. But as he looked at this woman years older than him... he was overwhelmed by her beauty, her presence, her elegance, and her strength... so unlike anything he ever encountered on the Isle. Except for the strange creature he saw moments ago. to his young eyes, Raliya was perfection itself.

Raliya stole a glance from the boy as they walked, who quickly looked forward, blushing, as she smiled, "I thank you, Torrent, and Spot for helping me." She then introduced herself, "I'm Raliya of Perle. And you are?"

"Little One. But my father calls me Boy most of the time," the boy smiled.

Raliya looked at the Boy in surprise. To not have an actually name was surprising to say the least. She thought perhaps that he must have a name and 'Little One' and 'Boy' must be nicknames. He just didn't know his name because he was always called by those nicknames. She made a mental note to ask Aribus what his son's real name was.

"It's nice to meet you, Boy," Raliya said as the two continued on their way to where the creature was sighted.

As they walked to the location, she remembered reading that in primitive cultures, some cultures never revealed the names of their children. It was meant as a protection from evil spirits, such as the Thanapods or the Elder Beings.

She crossed her arms under her chest, as she smiled, "When this is over, I would like to reward you, Little One." the boy was surprised as she went on, "What is it you desire? You can't have my body, armor or Orca though... But anything else is yours."

Little One lit up as he smiled, "Really?"

Raliya nodded as she smiled, "It's a promise."

Though later when it was over...she would probably come to regret it.

But then Little One stopped as he pointed downward, showing the seaweed-covered shoreline, "There it is. And down there is the cave the creature lives in."

Raliya observed the cave entrance Little One pointed it. It was by the shoreline as the ground was still wet from sea water from high tide. Stalagmites and stalactites were in different places throughout the cave as the two stared down into the darkness of the natural entry way into the depths of the Earth.

The Little One looked down at the ledge, as he stated, "It appears whe..." But he lost his footing as he fell right into the seaweed screaming, as he splashed into it.

"Are you alright," Raliya asked as she reached over to help him.

The Little One's head popped out as he spat out some sea water, and gave his grin, "Don't worry, Lady Raliya. I'm o..." but suddenly, a rope was snapped, and the Little One was shot into the cave screaming for his life.

"Little One," she cried out and jumped down at the seaweed. But suddenly she heard a snap as well... and was suddenly pulled in screaming as well. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" She screamed as she was suddenly hoisted upside down next to Little One, who got tangled up more in his seaweed rope.

Little One looked to her and smiled calmly, "Oh, Lady Raliya, you're here." He then looked hardened and determined as he smiled, "Now you can slay the Demon in his own territory." both looked around and saw the cave was vacant, and no signs of anything living down there. But found wrappings of seaweed being dried on a rock, while there were various bones, including armor plating of what appeared to be some kind of shark having been washed ashore.

"A trap," Raliya said as she looked at the seaweed wrapped around her and Little One's ankles, "This creature is intelligent enough to set up traps like this?"

Suddenly, the two heard the sounds of footsteps echoing through the cave. With every step, the sound grew louder as the two captives began to feel the fear build up in them. As the sound grew louder, a small source of light appeared piercing the darkness of the cave. Finally, the creature stood before the two captives in all its glory.

It was covered in seaweed from head to toe, with a makeshift torch wrapped up on what appeared to be the Little One's former garb he lost three nights ago during the storm, and dipped in oil. The figure looked like a living wad of seaweed, but also on it were armor pieces of the remains of the creature washed ashore; scale plating on its forearms, and the head, which and two pointed straight horns and an upper maw of teeth looking at them. And had in its other hands a makeshift spear of bone. It breathed heavily as it sounded like it was wheezing.

"Got ya! Thought you got the best of Ol' Max, eh," the creature declared in a triumphant tone in between breaths, "Well guess again!" Raliya and Little One gasped in shock at the creature before them and saw all the features that made it look like a monster.

"That's it," Little One declared as he pointed at the creature, "That's the monster!"

The creature approached both of the captives with a serious look on its face. "Stop following me!"

"I have bad news for you monster," Little One declared, "I taste terrible!"

"And I won't allow you to hurt him by my honor as a knight," Raliya declared as she attempted to reach for her sword despite still being upside down.

"Whoa whoa. I'm not going to eat or hurt either of you," the creature declared while sounding offended.

They blinked at this, as Little One shot out, "Lies! You were going to eat me!"

"No, I was trying to as you where I was, and then you ran away screaming before I could say anything," the creature stated. "And I'm not into Cannibalism or Survival Democracy, or Extreme Democracy, as they colorfully call it."

The Little One blinked, as eh thought on it, and nodded, "Yeah, that first part does sound like me."

But then Raliya then demanded, or interrogated, as she dangled upward, "Wait, then why are you like that?"

The creature said as he held his arm out, "Well, the armor plating of that... um.."

"Bone Shark," Little One answered.

"Bone Shark," the creature corrected himself, but mumbled, "Doesn't even look like a shark." And then explained more, "Its bone plating made up for some good armor. The seaweed... nature's sunblock and healthy snack when it's dried up into crackers." He then pulled off the helmet he made, to reveal he was a sixteen-seventeen year-old Caucasian with clear slightly tan skin, Dark Blue eyes, and blue hair that was combed to the right to almost hide his right eye.

Raliya and Little One stared at the teen in awe. 'Oh my word,' Raliya thought as her heart rate began to increase, meeting a guy her age, as most of her time training, she never met a guy as amazingly handsome as him,

'His hair is beautiful...' 'His hair and eyes,' Little One thought in amazement, 'They are blue like the ocean. Could he be the Avatar of the Ocean legends speak of?'

Another screeching sound caught the attention of all three as they turned around towards the source of the sound.

Coming from the waters of the darkened area of the cave, a beast smashed its way through, steadily crawling on six limbs. It looked like a 9-10 foot mantis shrimp but with s a bulky, armored body. It had six articulated feet and two arms at the front. The head showed four, orange eyes at the front and a pair of mandibles directly underneath. Its body ended in a small, short, shrimp-like tail. Attached to the arms were two large club-like extremities, presumably used to deliver powerful strikes against hard objects. Its underside was gray with a green shade while its back was yellow with red patterns. Its arms and legs also shared the similar patterns, with their tips being dark brown in color. Both Raliya and the Little One realized what it was, as they screamed, "Rock Puncher!" But the young man, Max, paled as it stared at the giant mantis shrimp, and knew full well that such a creature's punch could break a man's bones. Imagined something that big punching him. He shook his head as he mumbled, "Uh-uh," and then bolted out of there, leaving the two to hang.

Raliya blinked as she was shocked, "He left us!"

"No, Mr. Sea Avatar! Help us!" Little One cried out in panic and tears.

The Rock Puncher crawled its way to them, its mandibles clicking as it was preparing to savor the taste of the morsels strung up before it. Out of its mouth, tentacles slithered over to Raliya, as it licked her face, and almost going between her breasts to sample her taste. Until a sac which to have been made out of a stomach broke on it as it was thrown, and covering the creature in what appeared to be oil. "Hey, crab cake," the boy shouted, getting its attention, as he held up the torch. "I like my shell-fish cooked!" And threw the torch at it, igniting the oil.

The creature shrieked and hissed as it retreated back, trying to put out the fires on its body. The boy rushed over as he quickly pulled out one of the shark teeth he had, and cut the ropes that held the two up as they fell to the water. He looked to them as he shouted, "Run!"

The trio bolted as the Rock Puncher thrashed about, smashing into rocks and making them fall over it, collapsing the cave. The trio dived into the water together, as the seaweed finally came off the boy, as a Glow Whale, Spot, swam up and pulled the trio on its back to go back to shore.

As they rightened themselves, Raliya got a good gander of the young man. His frame was small muscled adn slim, much like a swimmer's body. He wore strange garments though. He wore what appeared to be a blue shirt with a hood sewn into it, black sleeves tha tended at hsi elbows, and blue pants with belts on teh sides dangling and that ended at his knees, or under them, with white foot panteloons that seemed to end under his knees and not go further up. And wore strange footings. They were far mor ebulky and soft than the shoes she saw nobles wear.

"You... You saved us," the Boy said with stars in his eyes, "You must be the Avatar of the Ocean!"

Though Raliya was a bit skeptical, as the boy blinked, but half smirked, "Um, nah, lil' Dude, I'm just a teenager who has a pension for sea wildlife and who works at a seafood restaurant and store."

"What the Boy means is that we thank you for saving us," Raliya explained to him, "But what were you doing in that cave?"

"I needed a place to stay until I could figure out where I am," the boy replied, "By the way, my name is Max. Max Seadune."

"It's nice to meet you Max Seadune," Raliya replied, "I'm Raliya of Perle and this is Little One." She held out her hand to him, as he arched an eyebrow. But he didn't get the clue, as it irked Raliya a bit. She then forcefully shook his hand, surprising him, "An honor to meet you."

He yanked his hand back and asked, "What the heck?"

She then curtly explained with a smile, "My father told me a firm handshake is the first step to a cooperative relationship."

Max, not too fond of people grabbing him like so, then blinked, as he asked, "Little One?"

"Or Boy," Little One replied with a wide grin, "That's what my father calls me!"

Max, who was a bit unaware of why he was called that, bluntly replied, "Your parents don't have much of imaginations, do they?"

"It's what my father calls me," the Boy explained, "It's been just me and my father for as long as I can remember." Max felt tongue tied after hearing that and mentally punching himself for stepping on a personal landmine like that.

Max winched, but then quickly changed the subject, "So, we're on some kind of giant whale guppy thing? with a saddle, and saddle bags. What?"

Raliya, ignoring his rudeness for now, gently placed a hand on her friend able to carry 3 to 4 people, "This is Spot. My Glow Orca steed and best friend."

"Glow Orca," Max asked, "Is this some new species of orca?"

Raliya looked to him as they were headed for shore, "Um, I'm not certain of where you're from, but Glow Whales are common among gentle creatures. Most have been hunted due to their blubber by nobles, but to Knights like us they're an indispensable partner for us to travel on seas or to carry our Titans." It was a bit unheard of anyone not knowing this, except for Little One who had lived on an island all by with his father. But this young man her age, it was odd to not know of this, let alone the dangers like Rock Punchers or Bone Sharks. She then asked, a bit curious and mostly to be certain about this stranger, "Max... where to you hail from?"

"I'm from Long Beach, California," Max answered, "If I had a map, I could show you where it is."

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of such a place," Raliya said as Boy nodded in agreement.

"Long Beach, California. The Beach State to the West. One of the 50 states of the United States of America," Max stated as questioning the two, who looked rather clueless. This started to worry Max as he asked, "Are we even near the Pacific Ocean?"

Raliya shook her head, "No, we're near the Trench."

"The Marianna's Trench which is in the Pacific Ocean?" Max asked. "One of the Seven Seas?"

"Near the Great Blue Ocean," Raliya confessed. "And there are 20 seas in total. the Great Blue being one of the largest."

Max's eyes widened as he processed these facts. 'No way... It couldn't be,' Max thought to himself, 'These two can't possible be playing a prank me. Not after that creature from before. But there's no way it's true...' Max continued to think such thoughts as his mind raced. Finally, he worked up the courage after gulping.

"Ahehe... Okay... Um, just out of curiosity," Max started after nervously laughing, "Do either of you call this planet... Earth?"

Raliya looked confused by his question while the Boy tilted his head to the side. "Earth? I've never heard of that I'm afraid," she answered, "This world is called Aquatopia."

The moment she said that, the blood in Max's body went cold as he turned pale white. Anxiety began to build in him as he processed her answer. 'Oh no... It's true,' Max thought in alarm as Raliya and the Boy looked at him in even more confusion. "I'VE BEEN ISEKAI-ED," Max yelled out into the sky in horror.

Spot gently made it back to shore, as Little one asked, "Eek-ensied? What is that?"

Raliya crossed her arms, and shook her head, "I have never heard of that."

But then Max looked to Raliya, and asked, "So... what is it that you do that lets you have a whale for a steed? May I ask?"

"Oh... Well, I bond with the whale when I joined the knights by spending time with Spot and waiting for him to bond with me," Raliya answered, "Why do you ask?"

Max asked, just to be certain as Little One hopped onto shore, as he pointed to her, "So, just to be certain... you're a knight?"

"Yes," Raliya answered, "I am a knight from Perle whose duty is to protect the innocent."

Max shook his head as he stated, "Nah, I don't believe it."

"Why is that," the Boy asked him, "Have you never seen a knight before?"

Then Max sighed as he headed to shore and said, "Well, the knights from my world, from the Dark ages which was like a thousand years ago, wore full-body of armor, women never got the chance to be knights. Except one, and she was burned at the stake because of it," and then pointed to Raliya's garments as she jumped and landed next to him, "And I doubt they would wear something so skin-tight and slightly-revealing. I can probably tell you're not wearing underwear underneath that." Pointing at her cleavage and show of thighs, and toes and ankles, and then pointed to her behind as her butt cheeks were showing.

"I don't think female knights wear anything that skimpy, unless they're trying to get the eyes of a guy they wanted to have for a boyfriend," Max added as he walked to the light house following Little One.

This made Raliya face became red. Whether it was from embarrassment or anger was hard to tell. "How dare you," she exclaimed as she went after them, "To disgrace a knight's garments is to disgrace their honor!"

Max shrugged, "Says the girl who's showing off her boobs."

This caused Raliya to cover her chest in embarrassment.

That just made the redheaded female knight to blush embarrassed, as she chased after him, screaming and acting like a teen girl, "You take that back, you degernete!"

"Oh wait," Little One said as he raced back to the two, as Raliya had calmed down and Max stopped, as the boy smiled, "I just realized what I wanted as my reward for saving your life that day."

Max smirked, "Probably wanna cop a feel of her breasts." Both looked confused on that, as he said, "You wanan touch her chest."

'Oh right, he's still too young to know about that,' Max thought remembering that the Boy was still just a kid. "Um, never mind," Max said, "So what do you want, Boy?"

Even ignoring the death glares from Raliya. Finally, Little One smiled brightly, and declared, "I wish to become a Knight!"

Both blinked at that, but none as shocked as Raliya as she asked, "Eh?"

Little One stretched his arms out and cried out, "I want to become a Knight and find the Gods. I have so many questions I wanna ask them." He then looked to Raliya with big puppydog eyes as he whimpered, "So... would you make me a knight, Lady Raliya?" Raliya was caught in a corner at this, as she looked nervous, and regretted what she had promised earlier. It was true she was a knight, but she wasn't a full-fledged knight. It was the reason why she was on this quest of hers to do so. Knighting another was something a full-fledged knight could do. Max looked to her at a glance, and realizes she was in a kind of pickle there, and then out of the goodness of his heart he did something.

He walked over to Little One as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, why don't we get something to eat and rest on it? Tomorrow we could probably talk about the whole knight thing when we're all good and rested." Little one pouted at his request being delayed so soon.

Little One though ran to the house to tell his dad about the new friend he had made, while Raliya walked next to him and whispered, "Thank you."

"You still owe that kid a favor though," Max stated as he walked to the lighthouse, and then turned around to smirk, "And now you owe me something. And I won't tell you until you least expect it." and then walked after Little One.

Raliya gulped as she realized the gravity of her situation, "Oh gods, what have I done?"

Later That Night

As Aribus remained vigilant at the top of the lighthouse, having accepted the blue-haired one as a guest, the others fell asleep. Though except for Raliya. She walked around inside the lighthouse, her leggings and arm sleeves not on her, as she walked around barefoot, went to go see Max, who was sleeping in Little One's chamber inside. There was something odd about this young man. It was true it seemed plausible that he was not from around anywhere she had sailed, it was still hard to believe he wasn't from this world.

So gently and quietly, she tip-toed to the room, and noticed a light from within it. She gently peeked through, seeing him up and sitting up with his legs crossed, with a bowl of sea water and a strange flat rectangle lighting up the small area. The Boy, Little One, was asleep and bundled up in a hammock, smiling and drooling about becoming a knight. Raliya sweatdropped at that, regretting her decision, but then took notice of something that Max was doing.

He lifted his shirt from the back, and pulled out something. When it was in the light, it appeared to be a short sword of sorts. The handle was black, and the hilt made of cyan blue material and shaped in the form of a sai, but to those seabearers, it was more of a trident, and a small kodachi-like blade sticking upward, while carved at the hilt was a blue gemstone.

Raliya was unfamiliar with it, but it was clear the blade came of her world's origin. Max then held the short sword up and seemingly aimed for his abdomen. Raliya paled as she looked in fear of what he was about to do, 'Wait. Is he about to…?' and realized he was about to commit suicide, 'No!'

And would have rushed in… had he got gently stabbed the blade into the bowl of sea water.

Max's eyes were closed, preparing for whatever it was he was expecting. However, he opened his eyes, and saw nothing changed when the blade was in the water… which was exactly what he intended to do. He then pulled the blade out and stabbed it in the water bowl 3 times more and sighed in disappointment.

"Looks like I'm gonna be here for a while," Max said before putting the blade back under his shirt. He then laid down and turned his body to have his back face Raliya, without him knowing she was watching the whole time.

As she stared at his back, she couldn't help but think how lonely he looked, and then turned away to walk to her room, wondering if what he said being from another world was true.

Though they weren't the only ones watching. Aribus… had watched the whole thing through a glowing yellow green orb… to where the big light for the light house would go, only for it to be there. He stroked his mighty beard as he looked out to the sea in thought, "Triton's Blade has returned. And thus… it begins again."

Next Chapter: Trials of Knighthood

AN: And that, ladies and gents, ends the first chapter of Aquatopia. This was actually a lot of fun, alongside Sideways865 who helped me finish the chapter. Here, we meet Aribus, Keeper of the Lighthouse, and learn he's more than what he seems, Little One (whose name will be revealed in the next chapter), Raliya a female Aqua Knight, and Max Seadune, a boy who has been isekai'ed and in possession of a mysterious sword, and the circumstances of how they all met.

I have to say that the hardest part of this story was the descriptions, as I'm making up new species, new characters, and mechs on my own accord as well as building up a mythology.

But yeah, this is going to be like some of my other stories in which the OC and the girl that he's paired with are total strangers. But before Max and Raliya can even go into romance, they'll need to fix their personal problems. It's going to be tough as they learn new things about each other. Things that they didn't know about themselves. And despite getting along well, there's still some tension between the two teens, but for now, they're partners to help one another in a quest to survive in this strange, alien, aquatic, and violent world.

Thank you very much for reading. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and also Review it so that I know that I'm doing good and what to improve.

Thank you for reading.