Aquatopia
Chapter 2:The Boys Journey to Knighthood
Past
Surfside Pawn Shop
Surfside Pawn Shop was a small pawn shot located near the beach. Best part of this shop was that it was open 24 hours a week, and there were no security cameras.
A bum was rummaging through a clothes section, and pulled out a pretty good Hawaiian shirt, as he nodded, "Yeah, this a good shirt."
Though located near a section where there were pricy nicknacks, stood Max. he was looking rather uneasy at the particular sword that he had on his person when he woke up in the Sea World. He was starting to have second thoughts on this idea, but then heard a small knock at the display window, as he turned to see the occupants outside.
At the window were teens his age, all sixteen, and looking around at him for what was to come. One of them was a sixteen-year-old Caucasian male with short green hair, green eyes, clear skin, body of a swimmer, and wore a green and white hoodie shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a green watch, khaki brown shorts, and green and black sneakers. His name was Anton Ivyson, and a friend of Max.
The 2nd friend was a sixteen-year-old Caucasian male but with blonde fluffy hair as it was combed to the right, blue eyes, and also physically fit as both boys, and rather cute to look at. He wore a white and blue hoodie with a black shirt underneath, with blue jeans and black sneakers with a black backpack. He was Charles Waybright, star of the Runner team and girl heartthrobe, as well as a good friend to Max.
The 3rd friend was another sixteen-year-old but he was African American, slim but athletic; a basketball player. His hair was shaved down to give him a slight bald look, light brown skin, brown eyes, and wore blue jeans with a red basketball shirt and a white t-shirt underneath with red and black sneakers. This was Seth Sinclair, a member of the basketball team.
The 4th friend was female, their age, but she was Asian; she was slender with no chest, but slender legs and butt to go with it. She had long raven black ahir that went down to her butt, with bowl bangs in front, and brown eyes; she was pretty cute. She wore a brown skrit that reached down to her ankles, white socks, black shoes, a black turtleneck sleeveless shirt, and a blue vest. She was Kim-Yeo, genius and master at games.
The 5th friend was another female, Caucasian, sixteen, and a bombshell. She had a slender body, C cup chest, sandy blonde hair that reached her mid-back, blue eyes, and a sharp smile at Max. She wore a white shirt, pink jacket, red skirt, and black shoes. This was Lavia Blight, cheerleader captain.
He sighed, as he looked in front of the item… and swiftly took it before anyone saw.
Present
Max awoke in a shock as he shot up from his cot. He looked around seeing he was back in the lighthouse. Max groaned as he rubbed the back of his head, stumbling outside once he exited the lighthouse. He blinked groggily, as he saw the vast blue ocean and the sun gleaming on it. He groaned, "Well, another day in this weirdo isekai nightmare."
He walked around a corner as he grumbled, "If I wasn't Japanese, I'd be freaked out about this." but at the moment, he heard running water, and blinked, "Running water? But that means one thing..." and then woke up as he silently screamed, "Indoor plumbing. Finally."
He quickly ran to the source of it... only to quickly go wide eyed and hide behind a rock. The 'indoor plumbing' was actually a water skin tied up on a bent palm tree... with a very much naked Raliya showering slowly as she washed herself down. Luckily, she hadn't notice Max and he hid just in time. But the young man couldn't help but get a tiny peek, despite his perversions, he honestly did wanna see Raliya naked. To confirm humans were similar to his species in this world. And there, washing herself off was Raliya, her hair down as it reached her mid back, her body glistened with the water in the skin as she gently rubbed her arms upward. Max had to admit it, despite her having a kind of inadequate attitude with the forced handshake and a kinda prideful attitude on her garbs.
Physically, she was amazing. Her slender body showing signs of a slight small muscle hidden within her beautiful frame. Her slender legs along with her dainty feet as she stood up on the balls of her feet for a moment to tug the water back to pouring. And when she turned around, eyes closed, she gave Max an unofficial show of her front. Her flat stomach with an attractive navel, her hips strong to match her legs, and her C cups soft yet strong enough to make the water bounce off her chest.
But her hair matted to her shoulders and face, only made her even more beautiful. To Max, it was like looking at a beautiful mermaid on legs for the first time. But he was too much in a daze, to realize she opened her green eyes... and went blank as she saw him staring at her. And he suddenly froze up when he realized it.
He quickly gulped, "Ahhh... I'm... really sorry."
Raliya stared at Max for a moment with a stoic expression as the water continued to fall on her. After a moment, her mind finally clears itself of the relaxing feeling of the shower, and registers the sight of Max before her. Max was standing before her while she stood before him in the nude. Her heart rate increased as the embarrassment of her situation became too much for her to contain. "NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
'KAPOW!'
"YEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
Later On
On the shore, Max was sitting with his back to the ocean as he held his pulsating and bruised right eye. 'You know, if my eye didn't hurt so much, I'd be asking myself if what I saw was worth it,' Max thought to himself in pain as he didn't think his black eye was worth the sight that was now living rent free in his mind along with the pain.
Nearby in the water was Spot was Raliya, who was now fully dressed and was still fuming from what had just happened to her. 'How dare that vile pervert look at me when I am most vulnerable,' Raliya thought in anger while checking on her armor and harness, 'It is absolutely unheard of that of all people, the first male aside from my father to see my naked body!' As she continued to fume, she looked over her shoulder to see Max's backside, 'Even if he is pretty, he had no right to intrude on my private time. I should retaliate by seeing him while he is fully exposed! It is only fair after all.'
Raliya's face began to glow a little read as the picture of Max in a bath appeared in her mind. He shot her a smile as he began to stand up exposing his body- 'No! NO NO,' Raliya thought in alarm and disgust as she looked away and back at Spot, 'Who would want to see a pervert like him naked?!'
She was brought out of her train of thought as Spot began to nudge her as though to tell her something. She smiled as she stroked him. "I'm alright Spot," she told him, "Just some anger I have to deal with."
But then Max noticed Boy with a harpoon and rope, and asked, "Um, what's with the massive harpoon 7 times bigger than you?"
The Little One smiled as he answered, "Oh.. I'm going out to slay a dragon!"
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Max was silent and blankingly staring at him as he asked, "What?"
"Lady Raliya says it's one of 2 tests to become a squire," Boy replied.
1 Hour Earlier
Little One had found Raliya setting up for a morning shower, and pleaded for her decision to make him a knight. Still not a full-fledged knight herself, she decided to give him a super tough test set, and smirked, "Alright. But in order to do so, you must pass 2 tests. 1: You must find your name. And 2: Slay a mighty dragon."
Raliya thought that it would be enough to scare the boy out of it.
Boy, she was wrong.
Present Time
Max's eyes went wide as saucers as he whispered, "And you're going out to slay this dragon now?"
Boy shook his head, "Yeah." But then frowned, "I'll try and ask Father my name after I do this." He then held up the harpoon, "My father slew a dozen maneater sharks with this, so how hard can it be?"
"Did you even ask what your dad thought of this," Max asked, a bit worried about this.
Moments Ago
"Father, can I borrow your harpoon?" Boy asked.
"Sure, Son. Why do you need it," Aribus asked, as he fastened a roof.
"I'm off to Slay a Dragon at the Trench," Little One answered.
Aribus chuckled as he went back to work, "Hahahahaha! Good luck out there, son."
Present
Max went super pale at this, and turned to see if Raliya was there with Spot. But was walking into the Lighthouse, so telling her was out of the question. And Aribus was no help at this either.
'What kind of crazy world am I in,' Max thought in alarm as he stared at the Boy, 'I mean, dragons existing aside, telling a kid to kill one in order to become a knight!?'
But then he saw the kid hopping off to the Glow Orca, Torrent, excited about this.
Max groaned as he got up. Just as Boy was setting up, Max's voice gently called out, "Wait." He said as he helped him tie the harpoon to a safe and maneuverable position for the whale, "I'm going with you."
The Boy looked at Max with excitement in his eyes. "You are? That's great, thank you," the Boy exclaimed in happiness as though the two were going on a fishing trip, "We're going to have so much fun hunting a dragon!"
"Yeah... Fun," Max replied in a less than thrilled tone of voice, "That's at least one word for it."
Inside the Lighthouse
Raliya was walking up the stairway to the tower, as she saw Aribus from earlier and wanted to thank him from earlier. That and she just wanted to stay away from Max due to giving him a black eye, or even have insane fantasies of him and her naked in the shower together.
'Where could Aribus be,' she thought to herself, 'I need to thank him for his assistance before I leave.'
Once she got to the tower, she saw that in place of a giant glass lamp, was a platform and a sort of shrine-like structure hooked into the Lighthouse. And in the center was a crystal ball the size of a basketball and halfway big enough for the Little One to grab it. It was glowing yellowish green, but it was odd for Raliya. Despite being rather otherwordly... it didn't seem to react to her at all. As a matter of fact, it didn't see her as a threat or prey. But merely a welcomed guest.
Raliya was in awe at this light, it was warm and strangely welcoming. She almost reached out to touch it, curious if it was really there.
"Ah, I see you've met Niselle," Aribus said as he came in through the open balcony, not angry but rahter happy.
Raliya backed away in surprise when she heard Aribus' voice as she looked in his direction. "Aribus! I apologize," Raliya said while bowing, "I was just admiring this source of light. Is this what you use for your light house?"
Aribus smiled, "Actually, one day I found this orb hidden on the island. When I touched it, she spoke to me, and brought forth to me my son. Ever since then, I built this lighthouse as a means to help others lead the way. But I also stay to guard Niselle as well."
Raliya looked at him, a bit questioned as she thought, ''Poor man. The years of isolation made him believe this orb is alive. Might want to play along just to be nice.' She walked over as she bowed to the orb as she said, "Greetings, Lady Niselle. Thank you for allowing me to stay on the island."
Aribus waved it off, as he bluntly said, "Niselle doesn't talk. She's an orb, silly."
Raliya gained a deadpanned expression as she continued to bow. 'Says the one who named a bulb,' Raliya thought. She straightened herself while clearing her throat.
"So, how long have you had this orb," Raliya asked him.
Aribus thought on it as he stated, "Oh, for a while now." But then he stopped as he looked to the orb and smiled, "Ah yes, there's also a young man on the island. He saved Lady Raliya and the Little One from a Rock Puncher." He stroked his beard, as he said, "Though sadly it was buried. Too bad. It's been a while since we had such juicy shellfish." But then stopped and blinked, and smiled, "What? Ah yes, I think Max and Lady Raliya make a very loving couple."
Raliya eyes widened and her face became red in anger. "We do not make a good couple! I refuse to be close to that vile pervert," Raliya exclaimed in anger, "It would be a disgraceful for a knight such as myself to be him of all people!"
"True, but it's also for knights to try and pass on their bloodline for a stronger and more noble generation. I would have thought Max would make an excellent partner," Aribus chuckled. "Even Niselle would think so as she's seen you two."
Raliya erupted with a hard blush, as she shook her head and waved her arms around frantically, "N-No, that's not true at all!" But then looked around as she tried to get off the subject, "Oh, by the way, where is the Little One?"
Aribus thought on it as he stroked his beard, "Oh yeah. He went out with Torrent and my Shark Slayer harpoon. Said he went out to go slay a sea dragon."
Raliya's eyes widened like dinner plates from hearing that as she processed what he said. 'What? No... The Boy wouldn't... He couldn't have,' she thought in alarm after hearing that, 'Wait, would he... What if he did?'
"I uh... I see," Raliya said nervously as her eyes darted all over, "I... Apologize but I have to go. I have to... check on Spot real quick!" She darted out of the room and ran down the stairs quickly.
Aribus blinked at this, as he looked to Niselle, "She's a skittish one, isn't she?"
Outside
Raliya dashed across the beach in a frenzy. 'What kind of knight sends a child to their doom,' Raliya thought in alarm, 'If I don't find the Boy before something happens to him, I'll never forgive myself! I have to find him!' "Boy! BOY! Where are you," she called out in alarm as she looked all over.
Then she noticed footprints in the sand. Two sets of footprints. One set was small while the other set looked adult size. "These must be Boy's prints and the other must be Max's," Raliya said to herself as she looked towards the trench where the footprinted headed to. "If Max is with him, at least Boy will be..." Just as she was saying that out loud, a horrible thought crossed her mind. She pictured Max teaching the Boy his ways of life. Including peeking at girls while they showered. The thought of that overloaded her mind with fear and anger. "I WON'T ALL THAT TO HAPPEN," Raliya shouted at the top of her lungs as she dashed into the trench after them, "I WON'T LET THE BOY BECOME LIKE THAT VILLAIN MAX!"
"Niselle said that Max went with him as well," Aribus said as he walked out as he pointed to the armor, "Also, I managed to get your Titan Armor operational. I wouldn't worry about the Little One though. Roughly in 10 to an hour, he'll easily get bored and come back home."
Raliya raced to the suit of armor and opened the front hatch as it hissed open. She then climbed inside it as she sat down at the arm rest controls. Suddenly, the darkened pilot chamber lit up, as in front of her a screen showing the outside came to view, along with status menus and protocols, as she began to move. The Samurai Titan Armor suddenly stirred to life, as it began to get up and walk towards her steed, Spot. She gently sat atop the saddle.
Though at that moment, the top part to where the head of the armor was popped open, as Raliya stuck her upper body out as she called out, "Neverltheless, I'm going to find them. I'll bring them both back safely." But before she went back in, she had to wonder, as she asked the Light Keeper back on shore, "Sir Aribus. I have to know... What is the Little One's name?"
Aribus blinked at that as he asked, "The name?" He then stood there stroking his beard in thought for a moment.
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Raliya sweatdropped at the wait, and asked, "Do you not remember?"
Elsewhere
Yards Before the Trench
Torrent was gliding under the surface of teh waters, allowing Max and the Little One to sit atop the whale's top that stayed dry on the surface. The Little One was eager to do this, while Max was lying about, arms and legs spread out as he groaned, "And I'm officially bored. It's almost been an hour and this is a waste of time."
Little One thought on it and smiled, as he rummaged through a bag, and pulled out what appeared to be the brightest red pepper with bumps on it, "We could eat some Pain Peppers to pass the time."
Max blinked, "Pain Peppers?"
"Yep," Little One smiled. "So hot and painful, they'll make you wish you were dead."
"Wish you were dead," Max asked him, "Why would you want to eat something like that?!"
Little One smiled, "For Fun."
Max shrugged as he got up and plucked one of the peppers out of his hand, "Ah screw it. But there's no way they're that hot. They haven't made the hot that I couldn't handle." But then thought aloud, "Though Raliya might fit that category." And then took a bite out of the pepper.
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Max shrugged, "Nah, I don't see... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" He screamed as fire shot out of his mouth as he collapsed on the ground, flailing about as he cried out, "GAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT ALL STOP! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" And then went limp as he foamed at the mouth, seemingly dead.
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But then sat back up as he gulped, "Man, that was some hotness. Once you get passed the pain it's not all that bad."
"Yeah! Believe it or not, that was one of the easier ones to eat," the Boy said as he ate while like it was a berry.
Max blinked, and groaned, "Oh great." But then noticed something up front. "Is it just mere or is there a dark line in the water." Sure enough, there was. In actuality it was a darkened crevasse or trench within the water. Five miles wide, and even greater in length. Nobody dared cross it because the darkened waters made up the home of the Shadow Leviathans. A lethal sea monster that made its homes in the darkness of the trench, and only spotted there. Well, at least to those who were lucky enough not to run into another one.
"This is the Trench," Max asked as he looked at the dark entrance in the ocean. It looked like something from the Abyss movie he saw as a kid.
Little One shot up, holding the spear, as he smiled, "Yep. And this is where we are gonna slay the Sea Dragon."
Max stood up as he asked, "You sure about this?"
"I'm going to Slay the Sea Dragon and become a Knight," Little one cried out in glory as they continued onward.
"MAX! ASHIKA!"
Both boys turned to see Spot racing for them, as well as Raliya with the cockpit of her Titan open, as she leaned out, "You can stop! You can come back; you don't have to do this!"
"Now you tell us," Max groaned out a yell.
But Little One asked, "But who's Ashika?"
Raliya answered, "It's your name! Your father told me before I left to come get you both!"
Boy tiled his head to the side in confusion. "Ashika? That's my name," he asked her.
"Yes, yes," Raliya explained, "It's a fine name. Now let's go back!"
"But I haven't slain a dragon yet," Boy now named Ashika said in a disappointed tone, "You said to become a knight, I needed my true name and to slay a dragon."
"Which I like to point out that in some parts of the world I'm from, dragons are considered sacred and should be honored," Max pointed out, "Not killed and hung on a wall like a trophy."
"Yes, I know that," Raliya stated.
But then Max, realizing that Raliya had tricked them, stood up as he stated, "Nah, I agree with the kid, Ashika. We should go slay that dragon. Because that's obviously what a friend or Knight would do. Do stuff for others when ordered to do. Like giving them something they want. And if Raliya wants a Sea Dragon, she'll get a Sea Dragon."
Raliya looked offended as she shot, "I wouldn't..."
"Look, I get it," Max stated as he listed, "When a friend wants a pencil that you have, you give it to them. When they like your sneakers, you give them to them. Or when your friends want you to steal a fancy short sword in a thrift shop, even though you know you shouldn't that it's wrong to do, you do it anyway. Because..." Max sighed in sadness as he stated, "Because if you don't... they might not want to be your friend anymore."
Raliya looked at Max as he revealed a personal secret. She also recalled the dagger she saw him use before. 'Is that how he came into this world? By stealing the dagger because of his friends,' Raliya thought as she stared at him with a growing sadness within her. 'If a friend asked him to do that, does that mean he has a poor choice of friends,' she thought as sympathy began to form within her, 'Or perhaps, those are the only friends he has to rely on...'
However, Ashika, having a short-attention span, noticed movement in the water, as he saw it near the Trench, and cried out, "Sea Dragon!" And then ran towards the water with the harpoon as he jumped in to swim to it.
Both teens paled at this, as they both thought, 'No!/What the fuck?!'
Raliya and Max were snapped out of their trains of thought as they saw Ashika leap into the water. "Ashika, no," Raliya exclaimed as she leaped after him. However, Ashikta was blasted out of the water and Raliya was pushed back by the wave. Max went to help the two up when another wave of water emerged and hit all three of the humans. As they recovered, the sound of something heavy landed got all three of their attention.
What they saw made Raliya freeze in terror, and both Max and Ashika look in awe. The beast was 60-90 meters in length and next to it, the trio of humans looked to be like ants. It had an elongated black body with smooth skin and twin rows of 37 small red spots running from behind the head to just before the tip of the tail. Below each row of red spots was a shorter row of eight circular gill pores that ran down the side. The head was composed of a triangular shield-like structure with three pairs of small black eyes and a large red ring in the center. The creature possessed a flexible spinal cord allowing it to contract and retract its head. The creature's mouth was located on its underside just behind the head: it was a glowing blue tone, and lined with curved teeth resembling a ribcage with the sternum removed. The mouth appeared to pass food directly into the creature's stomach, with no real throat structure present. Seven pairs of jointed clawed appendages ran down the sides of the mouth. These had spines along the inside edge to assist in securing prey. Seven more pairs of these appendages could be seen running down the body, decreasing in size as they get closer to the tail to the point that the final three pairs were little more than a small spine. This gave the impression that these grasping appendages once served as walking limbs in a distant bottom-dwelling ancestor, but have since been repurposed into their current form. Propulsion came from the large fins on the rear portion of the beast's body. Though lacking a tail fluke, a large fin was present around halfway down the body on both the dorsal and ventral sides, the ventral fin having smaller fins in front of and behind it. The tail ended with a red point. This... was the Shadow Leviathan.
Max blinked as he asked, "Is that...?"
"The Sea Dragon!" Ashika said as he stood up again with the spear in hand.
As Ashika began to charge toward the sea dragon with the spear in his hand, Raliya attempted to stop him but didn't reach him in time.
Max shouted out, as the rope that Ashika had tied himself to was going fast, as he cried out, "Get back here, you little Doofus!"
But it was too late as Ashika was already halfway towards the Shadow Leviathan. 'This is it, the battle that will make me a knight,' Ashika thought with excitement in his eyes at the thought of becoming a knight like the stories he heard about.
Max looked in shock but turned to Raliya as he cried out, "What are you doing? You're a knight! SAve him!" But he saw she was frozen in terror at this sight.
Her eyes were wide as she stared at the Shadow Leviathan as though it was something out of her worst nightmares. Her body shook with fear as the creature stood there with its deadly gaze and murderous aura.
She had a memory of when she was six and with her uncle out to seas with five ships. It was a frightening storm gone out of control and almost decimated all the ships, but only one sank. But what really was terrifying was that a Shadow Leviathan had appeared and destroyed the four remaining ships, one by one. She, her uncle, and a handful of survivors managed to pull together to survive. But for Raliya, it was too late, as the moment had traumatized her, leaving her afraid of Shadow Leviathans... and lightening as it was on that day, creating a secondary fear of it as it reminded her of the beasts.
"It killed so many... So many," Raliya said in dread as though she had become trapped in her memory of that day, "It's here to finish what is started... Nothing can stop it..."
'Oh great,' Max thought to himself, 'One is crazy to become a knight and the other is going through her childhood traumas.'
Ashika managed to grab onto one of the spider legs, as he hopped up with nimble ease, as he held the spear in his teeth. He managed to get up on one of the limbs as he let it rise up, and held his spear in hand. The beast's mouth opened up as it roared out, sea water and chum fling out. He then cried out, "And with this strike... I shall become A KNIGHT! YEAHHHH!"
And then launched himself out at the mouth, which compared to him he was like a crumb to its massive maw. His battle cry snapped the two out of it as they looked to see Ashika preparing to stab the beast's maw, thrusting the harpoon hard at the mouth... only for it to snap in two when he did.
Ashika paled as he whimpered, "Father's spear..."
He was too in shock that the Shadow Leviathan spotted him, as he mumbled, "Father... He'll kill me..."
The Leviathan was aware of this, as it prepared to lumber down to attack. But Max had an idea as he grabbed a satchel bag, and ran over to Raliya s he shouted, "Raliya! How far can that Mecah throw a person?"
"Killed so many... Almost killed me before," Raliya continued to say while shivering with fear, "Now it will finish it... This is the day I die..."
"Raliya snap out of it," Max exclaimed as he tried to snap the female knight out of it, "Come on, what kind of knight are you if you're going to sit there while a kid dies in front of you!?"
She was still paled, but then Max climbed up the Samurai Titan, and then slapped Raliya out of it, literally, as he slapped her left cheek... her face... making her snap out of it.
"You can freak out about your fears later," Max exclaimed as he glared at her, "Right now, we have to save Ashika! Now, how far can that mecha throw a person?!"
Raliya managed to snap out of it in time, as she asked, "Um, it could generally throw a person nearly half a mile, depending on weight. Why?"
"I've got a plan," Max replied.
Meanwhile
Ashika was being flailed around by the beast as he was swinging around on the rope by the beast's momentum as it tried to snap at him. 'This is it... This is how I'm going to die,' Ashika thought in dread as he continued to fly through the air, 'I will die even before earning the right to be called a knight.'
Suddenly, the rope snapped and he was sent flying in the air. Instead of the ocean though, he landed on the back of Spot who began to swim away from the Shadow Leviathan towards Raliya and Max. The Leviathan unleased a deadly roar as it began to chase after the glow whale.
"Are you sure about this," Raliya asked Max as she piloted the armor with Max in the palm of the armor's hand, "This doesn't seem like a wise idea."
"No, this isn't a wise idea," Max replied as he readied himself, "But it's also our only idea!"
With no time to argue as the Shadow Leviathan drew closer, Raliya used all her might to have the armor throw Max straight towards the Shadow Leviathan. 'I don't know what you have planned,' Raliya thought to herself, 'But I hope you know what you're doing, Max.'
As Max flew through the air, Ashika looked up to see him heading straight towards the monster chasing them.
As he flew passed Ashika, he screamed out at the Leviathan heading to his mouth, looking like a lunatic as he did, in a roughneck-like soldier tone, "FUCK YOU, HONEY BADGER!" The Shadow Leviathan roared as Max flew straight towards and into its mouth.
Ashika cried out in horror at seeing Max eating whole as he ran away from it. It was a traumatic sight that no child should see. Raliya stared in horror at what had just happened. 'He's gone... I killed him... I caused all of this,' she realized in dread knowing that she caused all of this with tasking Ashika with killing a dragon and going along with Max's plan. A single tear formed in her eye as she knew she had lost her honor as a knight with her own actions.
The Leviathan swallowed satisfied, as it then turned its attention to the two Glow Orcas and their occupants. It slithered slowly at them in the water, parting the waters like it was a giant ice breaker ship in the ice. Its legs flexed out to scoop them up eagerly and flexed out its teeth; the sharp blade-like teeth dripping with anticipation for their taste. Drool leaked from the predator's mouth as though it was going to savor the taste of the prey before it.
Ashika paled at this as he was unable to run, while Raliya was still full of guilt over what had happened. But suddenly, the Leviathan stopped, as they heard something. its stomach rolling and roaring uncontrollably, and also felt from its breath a tinge of heat. The Leviathan's eyes went wide open, as its pupil shrunk to the point of a needle. It suddenly reared back, as it roared out uncontrollably as it lashed about, hissing and roaring in pain. This confused the two humans.
The Leviathan suddenly spewed out fire, which was rather uncharacteristic of it, as it didn't or couldn't do that. But shooting out of the mouth, was someone screaming out, "FUCK YOU, HONEY BADGER!"
The Leviathan's mouth streamed out both fire and drool as it flailed about its uncontrolled heat.
Max gave it the Finger as he crashed into the water and sank into the ocean as both Raliya and Ashika saw their friend still alive and in one piece. Suddenly, Max emerged from the water with a splash. "FUCK YOU, HONEY BADGER," he exclaimed one last time as he tried to catch his breath, "Th-That was the best and worst thing I have ever done in my life..."
He was pulled up to the Glow Orcas by Torrent as he flung him onto Spot where Ashika and Raliya were at, as the redhead jumped out of her suit to be sure it was him, as she gently held him. She blinked as he saw the slightly sooted and ragged Max was amazingly still alive.
'You idiot,' she thought as she felt joy and anger go through her at the same time, 'You brave idiot... If you didn't survive, I would've killed you myself!'
Max coughed up smoke as he smirked, "That hurt alot."
Both Raliya and Ashika smiled at this as they hugged him, but Ashika asked, "But how...?" Max weakishly lifted his satchel bag. Ashika rummaged in, and pulled out a half-eaten Pain Pepper, "The pain peppers?"
"Like you said, one bite'll make you wish you were dead," Max wheezed, as the Leviathan thrashed around roaring like mad. "But a whole bag, and that thing's gonna have massive stomach problems for a while."
"And those are considered the mild ones," Ashika said in shock at how effective they were on the Leviathan.
Max sat up as he then smirked, "Oh, I managed to pull these out." He then held in his right hand two big Shadow Leviathan teeth in his hands. "I broke through them when he spat me out. Felt these would work for a replacement for your dad's spear."
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!
Everyone went wide eyed as he gulped, "And we should go." With that, all three of them jumped on both glow whales and the two mammals swam away from the angry Shadow Leviathan as fast as they could.
Later On
As they had gained much distance, and Max having washed off the gunk and soot, Raliya walked over to him as she sat down, getting his attention. He looked at Raliya who had an expression of confliction. "What's wrong," he asked her not sure what was on her mind, "You look like you swallowed a bug."
Her eyes twitched for a moment but she didn't flinch. "I... wanted to thank you for saving Ashika and myself," she said, "And... for bringing me to my senses..."
Max looked surprised by her saying that. "I also wanted to ask," she continued looking shy, "Who are these friends of yours?"
Max went wide eye and asked, "What?"
"You mentioned your friends before when you were talking to Ashika," Raliya explained, "About how if you don't help them, they wouldn't be your friends anymore..." Raliya just looked at him with a hint of compassion in her eyes. "I don't know these friends of yours," she said, "But from what I've seen, any friend that says they will stop being your friend unless you do something for them, might not be as very good friends as you think they are."
Max shot her an angered look and roared, "Oh yeah, and what about you? Telling a kid he has to slay a dragon?"
Ashikta looked up at the two as they continued to stared down at each other. Raliya stared back at Max without saying anything, but her eyes were filled with shame.
"I wont' deny it," Raliya said, "I only said that because I thought he was too young to begin training to be a knight. I thought that the idea of fighting a dragon would make him consider training by himself until he was older. But I never accounted for his young enthusiasm. I intend to make things right with him."
Max looked to her for a moment, seeing the look of regret and shame on her face, as he looked back at the sea passing them by, and sighed, "My friends and I knew each other since we were six. We always were together. There was the Smart Anton, the Brave Charles, the geeky but knowledgeable Kim, the headstrong Seth, and then came Lavia, the tough one. We got along pretty well, but Lavia... she got bossy and somewhat controlling. Which was okay, because her parents divorce." He looked to her and stated, "Divorce, it means separation or canceling out the vows of marriage..."
Raliya looked shocked by that word's description. "To cancel one's vows of marriage... Is unthinkable," she said in a flabbergasted tone of voice, "One's marriage vows are meant to be eternal."
Max sighed while looking a little sad from her comment. He didn't know if it was because of how naïve that sounded or sad that a lot of marriages in his world ends with divorces. "I guess my world doesn't see it that way," Max said in a solemn tone of voice.
Max sighed as he went on, "Anyway, my sixteenth birthday came today, but Lavia managed to get me to skip school to hang out with her the whole day. I was planning to go back home and celebrate wtih my aunt and cousin, when Kim texted us she found this crazy sword. And of course, Livia managed to strong-arm me into coming along, so I missed that. And then we found the sword at a thrift shop, and then... "
"Livia convinced you to steal it when none of you could afford it," Raliya said piecing it together which surprised Max. "I've seen members of the knights like that. They think they can get away with anything because they are strong and take advantage of that," she explained while looking ashamed, "I wish it wasn't true, but not all knights are as noble as many would believe."
"I could tell the others didn't like the idea either, but like I said with Livia, you can't say no," Max sighed. "Anyway, we went to the beach horsing around with the sword, get some snapshots maybe make a video out of it. Then Anton chucks it into the water for the fun of it, and it was getting dark. I could see anything when I rummaged for it, but then a spot in the water started to glow blue. I went over there with the others following, and found the sword. Suddenly, there was a huge glowing bright blue light." And then looked to her, as he replied, "And here I am, stuck in an ocean world..." and then pulled out the sword for her to see, "And this is the only thing to get me and the others back home, but I dont know if they're here with me, and this thing's dead."
Ashikta and Rayila studied the blade carefully. "I'm sorry, but I've never seen a blade like this before," she replied sympathetically, "But to think a sword that can travel between worlds actually exists."
Max sighed, "Well, I'm at a dead end there."
Ashkita and Rayila looked at Max with sympathy. To be alone in a new world with no way of return and no way to contact his family. That must have felt incredible alone. "Even if I don't know anything about this blade, I'm sure there are others in the capital that might," Rayila said as Max looked at her, "Please, allow me to repay my debt to you for saving my life by finding out all I can about your blade and for a means of returning you to your world."
Max was wide eyed in surprise after she volunteered to try to find a way home after all that had happened between them. Then, Rayila turned to Ashikta who was still quiet. "I also owe you an apology Ashikta," she started as she got on knee, "I did not mean to put you in grave danger or to get your hopes up. I truly believe you have the heart to be a knight. Please, allow me to make it up to you the only way I can. By training you myself to be a knight, so that you have the skills needed to enter the academy. By my honor as a knight, however you view it now, I will make you a knight more honorable than I was today."
Ashika smiled, as he nodded, "Of course, Lady Raliya."
Max then asked, "Then would you allow me to be a knight to you, milady?"
"Of course," she replied, "Thank you for allowing me to make up for my mistakes."
Ashika asked, "So does that mean we're both your squires?"
Max shook his hands and his head, "Ah, no. I'm already proficient in swordsmanship and read a lot of books on Knights and the subject. If anything, I'll be watching out for you both."
"Not until I see your skills myself," Rayila replied with a confident grin, "Until then, you are a squire."
Max sighed, as he sat down, "Well this stinks." This was gonna be a long voyage back to lighthouse and even longer when he found a way back.
Later On
Lighthouse Island
Aribus was making his rounds on Lighthouse Island as he usually did, while he awaited for the three to return. At the moment, he was putting down the latest catch to dry out for tonight. But he stopped as soon as he heard his son cry out, "FATHER!" He blinked at that, as he turned to the sea, and saw a familiar pair of Glow Orcas, carrying a Mech, along with the two teens and his son, as he jumped up and down, waving his arms out as he happily cried out, "PAPA! WE'RE BACK!"
As he jumped up and down, Max had to look to Raliya and mumble, "As soon as you get him as your apprentice, you need to get him some pants." He then pointed at his rear end and wee wee as he jumped up and down, his loincloth doing little to hide his privates.
"I agree," Raliya responded, "Though I wonder if he'll accept the idea of wearing clothes at all."
"Just tell him it's a knight's duty to be dressed around others," Max said with a grin.
Once they reached shore, Ash jumped onto shore, rushing to his dad with his broken harpoon, "Father! We made..." but then stopped, as he skidded to a halt, and hid the harpoon's broken end behind him.
As Max got on shore, and helped Raliya, much to her blushing delight as she noticed her small hand in his bigger one, he asked, "Does he really think his dad's not gonna notice?"
"Normally, I would say yes," Raliya whispered back at Max, "But his father is... strange. We'll just have to wait and see."
Though finally, when his father was trying to see what was behind his back, Ash sighed, as he presented his father, the broken end of the harpoon, "Father... I'm sorry..."
His dad's eyes went wide and almost shot out of his head, as he freaked out, "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! MY SHARK SLAYER!"
"Op, he found out," Max sweatdropped, as did Raliya who let a small half smirk show on her face in awkwardness.
He shakingly took the broken harpoon in his hand, but then stopped as he realized the end was bitten off. The detail and markings of the bite imprint were wat he thought they were, and then got into Ash's face as he asked, "You... and Max saw it... the Shadow Leviathan?"
Ash nodded, saddened that he failed and ruined his father's harpoon, "It bit off the end of it. If it wasn't for Max and Lady Raliya, we would all be..." But was suddenly glomped in a bit warming hug as Ash blinked, "F-Father?"
"I AM SO HAPPY YOU CAME BACK ALIVE, SON," Aribus roared out in joy and cried two water falls of tears. He then looked to Max and Raliya as he cried out, "THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH! YOU ARE BOTH GOOD FRIENDS TO MY SON!"
Max had to smile at that, but then noticed Raliya, looking rather relieved. But yet, she also looked rather... well, to say the least, a ping of guilt in her heart as she looked saddened. He then asked her, "You're planning to make him a squire after all, eh?"
Raliya nodded to Max's question. "I almost got him killed with my words. This is my punishment for endangering his life the way I did," Raliya admitted in a guilt filled tone of voice, "Plus, he has proven to have the courage of a knight. Even though he has proven to be extremely reckless." Max would've pointed out who was at fault for that but he knew Raliya already knew she was the cause of said recklessness.
Aribus then noticed Max holding two teeth of the Shadow Leviathan, as he suddenly bolted to him and cried out in excitement, almost crushing the boy's shoulders as he held him, "YOU HAVE THE TEETH OF THE SHADOW LEVIATHAN!? AMAZING!"
Max gulped, "Uh, yeah?"
He then quickly took the two teeth, as he said, "Perfect starters for sword materials for the forge."
"You can make swords from teeth," Max asked as he looked at them, "Wouldn't we need a whole set of teeth to make a sword though? These look like they could make a dagger at best
"Oooh, you'd be surprised," Aribus chuckled, as he skipped happily to a forge next to the lighthouse.
"After today... I really doubt it," Max said as he followed after the lighthouse keeper.
Elsewhere
In stormy waters, heading through the ocean, a flying metallic ship was hovering above the water. Well, more like gliding across as it traversed the waters fairly well. The ship was designed to look like an ordinary wooden vessel, only made of steel, with a bigger captain's quarters in the back, two cannons in front, no mast or sails, but the bottom seemed to have a large circular part to it that energized with electricity. It glided through the water with ease as it traversed through the storm.
But inside, a real storm brewed.
Inside the advanced ship, a figure hidden in the shadows, towering and broad shoulders, with a hammerhead shark-like hairdo was shown wearing a steampunk Victorian-like getup. Standing next to him was a petite female wearing a Victorian-like dress, with brown hair done in a back bun.
The man spoke up in a rather calm but firm voice, one that resonated with intelligence as well as an eerie singing voice of sorts, "Alright. When we were dredging through this uncivilized section of the world, we came across this."
The gentleman, using a large old-fashioned two-part compass pointer, used for maps to calculate distances. But at the tip… was Max's backpack. "It matches yours. Now we know you've either been lying or that you're mistaken and have not been aware of this."
In the holding brig, sitting on the bench, was a drenched and exhausted-looking Charles, as the man stated, "So, Charles. It's time to start telling us everything."
Next Chapter: Attack on Lighthouse Island
Thank you all once again for enjoying my original story, Aquatopia. Also wanna thank Sideways865 for the assist in this chapter, helping me out on a few scenes. As for the Honey Badger battle cry, that came up from watching Season 3 of Love, Death, and Robots episode Kill Team Kill.