Early the next morning, the Hammerhead Queen went to Tubarina and woke her up. "Tubarina? Tubarina?"
"Uhh… leave me alone, Mother, it's too early…" Tubarina squirmed as she was roused from her sleep. "Oh, Aunt Molly, what's up?"
"Your mother wants to see you. Come on."
Tubarina got out of her sleeping bag and went over to the hall, where the Shark Queen was waiting for her. "Mother? What are you doing here?"
"Don't worry. I'm not here to take you home, but there is somewhere I'd like to take you. Let's go."
"I'm going out for lunch in the metropolis with Marcello, Veto and Soraia later today."
"That's alright. You'll make it for that, but let's have some mother-daughter time first."
Tubarina and her mother got into the carriage and drove off. Not long after, they entered the Octopus Kingdom and drove past the Octopus Palace. "We're not going to the Octopus Palace?" Tubarina asked.
The Shark Queen replied, "No. Where we're goin' is a surprise for you."
"Oh, okay. Do I need to close my eyes?"
"You don't have to. Just sit back for a bit. It won't be too long 'til we get there."
Not long after, the Shark Queen turned off the road onto a gravel path and parked the carriage next to a bed of tall seagrass. She turned to Tubarina and said to her, "We're here. Now take off your clothes."
"WHAT?" a shocked Tubarina remarked.
"I said take off your clothes," said the Shark Queen as she was in the middle of taking off her clothes. "You don't need a bikini for this thermal spring." She then handed Tubarina a towel. "Here. Take this and wrap it around yourself 'til we step in." Once they had taken off their clothes, the Shark Queen and Tubarina wrapped towels around themselves and locked their clothes in the carriage. They went through the seagrass to a thermal spring pond.
Science is different between Dryland and Salacia because of how differently Drylanders and salines perceive the environment around them. How can thermal springs, mud puddles, baths and showers exist in Salacia? Let's speculate by talking about how salines can live underwater and how fresh water works while in the saline depths of the sea.
People on Dryland believe that water is wet because it is a liquid that makes things wet when they come into contact with solid objects. In actuality, wetness is defined as a liquid's ability to maintain contact with a solid surface.
The skin of Drylanders is water resistant, but not to the extent of salines. If you are in the water for long enough, whether you are showering, bathing, swimming or whatever, the outer layers of your skin can absorb water and wrinkle up. This doesn't happen for salines, though, as when salines surface from the water, their skin remains dry because it repels water.
Phenomena such as drowning and being crushed by water pressure do not apply to salines because evolution over millions of years has adapted their biology to be able to repel water from the inside of their bodies (except when drinking) and adapt to changing pressures at different depths. The technology used to allow fish to swim and breathe on Dryland also allows Drylanders to breathe underwater by hacking into the very essence of science and emulating the biology of salines by interpreting Salacian science and translating it into Drylander science.
Salt water is denser than fresh water so logically, the former would sink while the latter would float, yet for some reason, salines have synthesised fresh water from salt water through desalination and made it so it doesn't float off, enabling fresh water to be stored in receptacles or collect in puddles, ponds and lakes. Fresh water would, over time, resalinate itself due to the salt water around it.
The water in thermal springs comes from thermals or hydrothermal vents deep beneath the ocean and naturally directed through nooks and crannies or artificially directed through pipes. With the seawater around it also contributing to the cooling process, the hot water is cooled to batheable temperatures by the time it gets to the thermal springs.
What, this speculation is too complicated for you? Then why are you thinking about the differences in science between Dryland and Salacia? Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. Anyway, back to the fanservice.
The Shark Queen and Tubarina unwrapped their towels and placed them aside as they lowered themselves into the pond. For a middle-aged woman, Mariana was just as curvaceous as Tubarina, if not more so. Their heaving bosoms and posteriors bounced beneath the water as they moved around, enjoying the steaming warmth of the thermal spring pond.
Feeling the hot fresh water all over her body, Tubarina remarked, "Oh my God! This is amazing, Mother! It's better than the thermal springs in the metropolis!"
"Very few public thermal springs let you take off your clothes and skinny dip. It's just as well that this one isn't public," noted Shark Queen Mariana.
Tubarina sat down next to her mother. "So, why are we here?"
"I wanted to apologise for stonewalling you yesterday. You kinda put me on the spot when you asked me about your father, but I wanted to tell you the truth so you wouldn't get the wrong idea about him or what he's been doing. I brought you here because this is a secret spot where I used to hang out with Polvina and Ester's mothers, and their mothers before them used to hang out here as well. In this thermal spring pond, these are the only rules: no clothes, no barriers and no judgement. You can vent about anything with no limitations."
"I see what you mean," Tubarina remarked as she realised the meaning of being naked in the pond. "So what was Father like when he was young? How did you two meet and how did he become like he is now?"
The Shark Queen proceeded to exposit to her daughter about her childhood and how she met the Shark King Trebon.
Trebon, as the eldest child of the Shark Royal Family at the time, had a lot of expectations put on him by his father the Shark King, more than Trebon would later put his eldest child Veto through. The Shark King and Queen at the time were good parents, but they were bad people deep down. Their attitudes led them to develop rivalries with the then-Swordfish King and Queen, which resulted in animosity between their children, Trebon and Marcos. When Mariana first met Trebon, she found him handsome, charming, funny and romantic. She had a crush on him and he had a crush on her. Mariana made a good impression on Trebon's parents at first, but something happened that would change everything.
At the time, Mariana was being groomed by a predator known as Jerry Jersein, a lord who was in the business of supplying weapons to the kingdoms of Salacia. He gave Mariana some tiny bikinis as a gift with the intention of having her wear them for him. Mariana, deciding to follow Whale Queen Baleia's advice, took the initiative and modelled the bikinis for Trebon when they were in his room at the Shark Palace.
As Trebon was entranced by Mariana's beautiful body in that bikini, his baby brother Macnus entered the room, much to his chagrin. Mariana picked Macnus up and let him hug her, but she found him suckling on her chest as if she had milk, which she didn't. In the struggle to get Macnus off of Mariana, the Shark Queen caught them and Mariana was sent off while Trebon was grounded for a week.
Tubarina was amused to hear this about Macnus. "Well, I guess that explains why Marcello's such a perv!" she laughed.
The Shark Queen chided, "Come on, Tubarina. Don't turn a moment of innocence into something that isn't. Breastfeeding is only natural. After all, I fed you and Veto that way when you were born." She then continued with the story.
The next day at school, Trebon heard rumours that Mariana was a slut, which led everyone to deride her while her friends turned against her. Realising that his mother had spread those rumours to make him out to be a victim, Trebon stood up for her in front of everyone in the playground, which led him to be known as a fuckboy. Their teacher, Miss Marla, caught onto this and eventually put a stop to the rumours and name-calling. Trebon and Mariana reconciled with their friends while they stayed together over the years as they eventually became the Shark King and Queen. Jerry Jersein would eventually be brought to justice.
That didn't stop Trebon, however. He could care less about being called a fuckboy, but he couldn't forgive everyone in class for calling Mariana a slut. He couldn't forgive Mariana's friends for giving into the rumours and turning against her. And most of all, he couldn't forgive his parents for punishing him and Mariana when everything was Macnus' fault in the first place. If he truly wanted to get his revenge, the only way to do it was to become king. He retained his friendly demeanour on the outside, but inside, he hid his true feelings and worked as hard as he could, following in the footsteps of his strict father as the heir to the most powerful kingdom in Salacia. Over time, his serious side seeped out and took over him from the inside. He became renowned as a great warrior for his might and an unparalleled strategist for his intellect.
Once the kings and queens of Trebon's cohort became of age, their parents agreed to abdicate and become Royals Emeriti (meaning retired), allowing their children to accede to their respective thrones. Trebon was able to let his ambitions go unfettered once he became the Shark King; he exiled his parents to the Abysmal Kingdom, slaughtered the Mermaid Kingdom and picked fights with the mouselings of the Takeda clan among other things. Trebon ruled over his kingdom with an iron fist and showed no mercy to anyone who crossed him, symbolising the power of the apex predator known as the shark.
Although his attitude softened after his children were born, his dominance as the most powerful man on Salacia didn't. In the midst of a black goop crisis above Salacia, the Shark King did not hesitate to send the sharks out to attack oncoming Drylanders or threaten to send Polvina and Maurico to prison if their gambit failed. When Tubarina and her friends were kidnapped by Mr Chain and Weasel, the Shark King took it personally to the point he gave them life sentences when they tried to send Tubarina to her death at the hands of a giant turtle. He also acted similarly when it came to Thorn, the Shadow King, after his plans were exposed. As the war went on and the years went by, the Shark King became more and more unhinged on the inside while maintaining his stoic and diplomatic exterior.
Tubarina thought her father kept his toys locked in his playroom because he wanted to remind himself not to be too serious, but with what she learnt, she thought that maybe he did so because he didn't want to disappoint his young self. His young self that fell in love with Mariana. His young self who was nice to his friends. His young self who people respected.
And yet, despite everything, the Shark King managed to control himself around his family. "You know, I don't think Father ever hurt us too badly when we were growing up. Did he ever hurt you too badly, Mother?" Tubarina asked.
"No, he never did," Mariana replied, shaking her head. "This whole thing started because of family and kept going because of family. He loved me so much back then that he couldn't stand to let me get hurt, and the same goes for you children as well. We both know he can be strict sometimes, but in the end, he cares about us because we're family."
"But if Father still holds a grudge against Uncle Macnus for what happened, who knows what he might do?"
"Come on, you really think your father is that petty over something his brother doesn't even remember? Let's just relax and enjoy the thermal spring pond."
Tubarina left the subject aside as she sat in the pond with her mother. After a while, she asked, "Hey, should we invite Polvina and Ester to try this sometime?"
"Well, their mothers and I agreed we'd take you girls here when you were old enough, so why don't we do it tomorrow? I just hope they won't be angry that I brought my daughter here before they did."
Tubarina and Mariana left the pond soon after. They wrapped their towels around themselves as they walked back to their car, where they dried (or rather, resalinated) themselves and put their clothes back on.
The Shark Queen drove Tubarina to the metropolis and dropped her off, where she met with Marcello, Veto and Soraia for lunch. For the rest of the day, the four of them went to the War Rooms preparing themselves for the Turtle King's operation the next day. After having dinner at the Turtle Palace with Polvina, Ester, Hugo and Tata, the four went back to the Hammerhead Palace for the night.
The Shark King had been informed that his children were staying with Marcello at the Hammerhead Palace, but he didn't think much of it. Going into his forbidden room, the Shark King took one of the boards and turned it around to reveal a secret board showing the components he needed for his ultimate plan, namely the Staff of Oblivion, Thorn's crown and another staff known as the Goldvisor which the Shark King had created.
The Shark King mused to himself, "The kingdoms of Salacia are split, but it can't be helped. My ultimate plan must proceed."
Meanwhile, the Whale King assembled the Revengers at the Whale Palace. Thanks to his new allies, he learnt of the Turtle King's plans to attack the Shark King and planned to attack him first before the Turtle King could.
The Whale King addressed his armies, "The time has finally come. We will rid Salacia of the evil that is the Shark King and bring forth a new future for all kingdoms! Now is the time for our revenge!"
Early the next morning, Tubarina and the Shark Queen went to the thermal spring pond again, but this time, Polvina and Ester were there with their mothers as well. Like Tubarina was the day before, Polvina and Ester were initially apprehensive about taking their clothes off, but once they got into the pond, they were raving about how amazing it was.
"See? What did I tell you? Being nude in here feels so liberating," Tubarina told her friends.
"I have to say, I've never had a bath as amazing as this without a bath bomb," said Ester.
"Apparently, the water in thermal springs contains minerals that have health benefits, though I'm partial to the occasional bath bomb now and again," remarked Polvina.
Over with the mothers…
"I can't believe you brought your daughter here before we did. What happened to our pact to bring them here together?" complained Silvana.
"Oh, lighten up. I'm sure she had her own reasons," replied Vinila.
"I had some stuff I wanted to get off my chest and I needed somewhere where we could really be alone," replied Mariana.
The six of them were enjoying the water when suddenly, they heard noises from afar. "What the hell?" remarked Tubarina. She got out of the pond, hurriedly covered herself with her towel, and took a look above the seagrass.
"You see anything, Tubarina?" asked Ester as she looked towards her.
"Quit staring under her backside, Ester! It's rude," scolded Polvina.
"No clothes, no barriers and no judgement, Polvina. We're all girls here," chided Vinila.
"You mean women. They're not girls anymore," pointed out Silvana.
"Yeah, Polvina. We're naked women in a thermal spring pond full of naked women. What's wrong with women checking each other out? It's not like there's anything we haven't seen before," retorted Ester.
"Exactly. Given how we dress, there's nothing you wouldn't have seen sooner or later. And don't act like you weren't sneaking eyes at our boobs, because we were sneaking eyes at yours too!" Tubarina added before she and Ester laughed.
"It's so nice when best friends admire each other naked," commented Ester.
"Um, can you see anything, Tubarina?" Mariana asked, wanting to change the subject.
Tubarina looked again before she replied, "It's the Revengers! I don't know where they're headed, but the Whale King's leading an army through the Octopus Kingdom!"
"Our phones will be going off like crazy with everyone looking for us. We have to go!" said Polvina before she and Ester picked up their towels and swam off with Tubarina.
"Don't forget to put your clothes back on!" Mariana called out as the three mothers took their towels and got out of the thermal spring pond.
"How did our daughters grow up to be so risqué? I don't think we were that dirty growing up," Vinila remarked.
"That's because the internet and OnlyFish didn't exist back then, although a couple of boys did manage to sneak in a cheeky copy of Playfish now and again, so maybe a little dirtiness was to be expected," Silvana replied.
"And don't forget, I was the first one out of us who got it and lost it too!" Mariana pointed out.
"Of course!" the other two mothers laughed.
Once the girls got dressed, they checked their phones and sure enough, their notifications had gone wild with their friends looking for them urgently. Out of all of them, Ester decided to call Tata, turning the speaker on as well.
Tata answered her phone in a frantic tone. "Ester! Where've you been? We've been trying to call you!"
"We had to go somewhere early today. What's up?"
"The Revengers got wind of our plans and are planning to attack the Shark King before we do. Father had to call everyone urgently and commence the operation earlier than planned. Meet us in the Shark Kingdom!"
Polvina said, "Our fathers will be there as well. We need to get over there quick!"
"Then what are y'all standin' 'round for?" said Mariana. "Get in your carriages and let's go!" The girls and their mothers got in their carriages as they set off for the Shark Palace.
End Part E