Early the next morning, Caleb was wandering around the beach with Katania, Zig and Bernie. The four of them were starting their island-wide search for Gladius, who still had yet to show up. Caleb was getting panicked, as his memories to an instance in the past scarily similar to this started to flood his mind. While Kat did reassure him, she herself was losing hope as the group started their search.
Zig and Bernie led them into the jungle, and as a group they looked around every tree, under every rock, into every cave and anywhere else that was feasible. As the group crossed over a chasm, using a fallen tree as a bridge, Caleb swallowed thickly.
"Okay, I honestly think something else happened to him", Caleb said, the panic slowly rising in his voice. "It's been a few hours already, and he's nowhere. If he's not stuck, someone must've kidnapped him. Because, like, why hasn't he just flown back?"
"Caleb, relax!" Katania said reassuringly, masking her own worry well. "We'll find him, I just know it. He's probably just… really stuck somewhere." She faced the hyena and mollusk. "Do you two have a good idea where Gladius could've ended up that'd make him stay trapped?"
Zig gave off a thoughtful look, before cringing, explaining to the two humans the very bad places the sword could've ended up: Either in the volcano with the weirdo god that lives inside, under the island and trapped in an ancient temple with a rabid Egyptian empress, snagged by some freak who fishes into the jungle in the denser part, and a variety of other places that were a very big no-go when it came to safety.
With each path of danger listed off, Caleb only looked more and more stuck in his flaring dread and panic, which made the general's daughter silent the two animals and give her friend a very nervous smile. But the boy didn't really care, rather stumbling back the way they came so he could lean against a tree, trying to keep his rapidly beating heart in check.
Katania shared a look with the others and rushed over to his side, giving him a concerned look.
"I hate this…" Caleb said in a ragged tone. "I can't handle this! Why is it there always has to be some sort of danger wherever we go?!" He stood back up, stumbling with his crutch. "First we get whisked away on an adventure after our movie, dragging you along", he gestured at Kat frantically, "then my leg gets hurt and I need a crutch, and now Gladius is probably kidnapped by one of the lunatics that call this island home!"
Zig looked up and shared a heartbroken look with Bernie before walking up and patting the boy's arm. He looked down and sniffled, watching as the tropical island duo pantomimed how they weren't gonna stop at anything till they knew Gladius was safe and sound. Even with the hurdles, the two of them would help Caleb and Kat no matter what.
Bernie, decided to really show his dedication, jumped off of Zig and onto Kat, using her as a bridge to perch onto Caleb's shoulder and give him a reassuring and hopeful look.
The boy closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he smiled at his friends. "Thanks guys. I needed that. So…" He looked across the ravine and into a cave that went right into the volcano. "Let's go and save my sword."
The group all nodded and headed back across the log, their faces filled with determination as they entered the darkness of the cave. Even if it was scary, they were still terrified. But unbeknownst to them, they were being spied on by a little lobster with a set of binoculars. When the group vanished into the cave, the lobster squinted his eyes and left, heading back all the way to the beach and into the water.
As the lobster putted through the ocean, he unknowingly passed by Sharko and Marina's undersea home. The shark was out front gardening, but paused when he watched the lobster pass by. He instantly recognised the crustacean and decided to stealthily follow after him, ducking behind rocks and the like.
Soon, the shark saw exactly who he was fearing it would be. The lobster was a servant of King Neptune, which made the Great White's nostrils flare. But he still remained silent as he quietly swam up to one of the palace's massive windows, and discreetly looked inside.
As the shark watched the lobster stop just before a throne and bow, he felt his anger already rising at the sight of the childish and pompous bratty king of Neptune, who had a neutral look on his face. but as the shark's eyes wandered up, they bugged out in horror as he saw Gladius strapped to a board above the throne on the wall, looking like an artefact. The blade was locked in place, unable to move at all.
Sharko then looked down at the lobster again, watching as he told Neptune something. This made the king laugh and then snap his fingers, Gladius actually moving around a bit in a panic. Two orcas came before the king, and he grinned evilly and pointed ahead towards the door. Sharko panicked as the orcas saluted, and hid under the cliff as the king's henchmen swam off at speeds right towards the island.
Sharko blinked as they left, and was about to go and free Gladius, only to remember the king's trident. But then something else clicked in his head… and he instantly went into a full panic.
With adrenaline spiking in his system, the shark bolted after the orcas with a desperate look in his eyes.
Back on the island, the group of sword finders scrambled out of the most dense part of the jungle, narrowly avoiding the fishing hook of the crazy fisher that the hyena warned them about. With a collective sigh, the group started to walk along the beach in defeat, having come up empty handed. Everywhere they went, Gladius was nowhere to be seen. The volcano god didn't have him, the undead pharaoh didn't have him, and the fisherman didn't have him.
And because of that, Caleb's dread was starting to settle back in. He was starting to worry Gladius was lost somewhere in the ocean, so he looked out to the endless expanse of blue with a miserable look. But he stopped when he saw something sticking out of the water a distance away. His heart soaring a bit, he made the others stop and look over.
"Guys, I think that's Gladdy!" Caleb said happily.
Kat tilted her head in uncertainty. "Are you sure, Caleb? Gladius isn't all… black…" She started to trail off when a second black lump poked out of the water, and slowly started to head towards them. The group started to back up a bit fearfully until they saw two orcas leave the water and walk out onto the beach with emotionless gazes.
The group all shared nervous looks, only for Bernie and Zig to gain alarmed looks at the sudden realisation of how bad things were. The hyena rushed forward bravely, shouting out a battle cry as Bernie took the two humans' hands and ran back into the jungle. As they ran back into the thicket, Zig was slammed back and crushed into a tree, letting out a pained cry.
"What the heck is happening?!" Kat screeched. She never got an answer as she was knocked aside, landing face first on the ground. Spinning around, she was horrified to watch as the two orcas grabbed Caleb and started to take him away. "CALEB!"
The girl gave chase, shoving past the plant-life. But as she went to trip one of the orcas, the other one picked her up with ease and threw her back into the sand like a wet towel. She spat out sand and looked over as her friend had a snorkel set forced on his face and was dragged into the water.
"No no no no no! Caleb!" Kat screamed as she scrambled after the kidnappers, but could only watch as her best friend was dragged underwater. A still recovering Zig and frantic Bernie burst from the jungle, just barely catching the disappearing dorsal fins of the orcas. Katania sprang to her feet, looking back at the duo in horrified shock.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" She screeched. "WHAT… WHO WAS THAT?!"
Zig growled and explained to Kat about King Neptune, and how he's been a thorn in everyone's side. An egotist who would do anything to get what he wants and get Marina's hand in marriage. Kat's eye twitched as her heart clenched, figuring this was what happened to Gladius too.
She started to hyperventilate as Sharko exploded on the water and belly flopped onto the beach just before the island trio, making them look over at him. He stood up and looked around frantically, looking defeated when he saw no Caleb in sight. He deflated, then snarled, making to run back into the water. But he suddenly paused, and looked back at the trio. Gears turned behind his eyes, and he faced Zig and Bernie, mumbling directions at them.
The hyena and mollusk nodded and started to bring Kat back to the hut as the shark headed back into the water. When they made it to the hut, Katania was left in silent confusion as Zig reached into a chest and pulled out two snorkel sets, passing one to the girl as he put one on.
"What the heck are we doing?" She asked. Bernie squeaked out a response. "We're going to Sharko and Marina's place?" She was silent for a moment, then put the snorkel on with a deadly glare. "No stuck-up king is going to kidnap Caleb and Gladdy and get away with it…"
Zig flashed a thumbs up and ran out of the hut and towards the water, with Bernie and Katania right behind. They all dove in, and the general's daughter was shocked at how light and not wet she felt. Looking at Zig, he gestured to her to follow, and the trio swam to meet up with the others.
With Caleb, he could barely register what was happening as he was thrown into a cell, his back slamming painfully against the metal wall. He then slowly floated down to the bottom of the cell, blinking a bit deliriously. He shook his head and opened his eyes fully, seeing King Neptune beyond the bars of one of the windows. The Merman was waving the still trapped Gladius in front of him in a taunting fashion, which only boiled Caleb's blood.
"You give him back now!" The boy roared, lunging forward despite his injury and trying to grab his friend. But it was futile as the merman just pulled the blade back and laughed, making the boy deflate. As Neptune swam away, the two orcas acted as guard for the sole prisoner. Caleb felt tears pool in his eyes as he sank back down to the floor, and curled up in a miserable ball, hoping for things to get better.
~X~
Kat entered Marina and Sharko's home with Zig, pulling off the snorkel while taking a deep breath. "Huh, fresh air…" She mumbled to herself. She watched as Zig did the same and ran into the house more, Bernie right on his tail. The mollusk gestured for her to follow, and the girl didn't hesitate as she ran after them, heading up the main stairs and into what seemed to be a living room.
Inside the room was a storming Marina, who was pacing back and forth in front of the massive window with a dark look on her face, ranting on endlessly about King Neptune and how she should sick her dad on him. Sharko was watching her on the couch with an equally dark look, his arms crossed. When the trio came in, he looked over and smiled only the slightest bit.
Zig sat on a chair while Katania and Bernie sat next to Sharko, their appearances making Marina calm down a bit. She faced the girl, and frowned a bit as she saw the distraught expression, but then nodded in determination and glared out the window.
Katania took a deep breath, and looked up at the mermaid. "So what's the plan on getting Caleb back?"
Marina shared a grin with Sharko, and went on about Zig and Bernie heading around the side of the palace to disarm Neptune so he wouldn't have his trident, herself would act as distraction, and Katania and Sharko would be the frontal assault when things all fell into place. Sharko laughed evilly at the prospect of being able to crush the bratty king's head in again.
Zig let out a devious laugh, mentioning how if he got the trident after all of this was said and done, he and Bernie could make a second one and give it to Sharko. The mermaid smiled a bit, looking out the window with a light glare towards what seemed to be the distant form of Neptune's castle. It was grand and shrouded in the fog of the water, making it seem more imposing than it honestly was. Because based on how Marina and Sharko were describing him…
Neptune seemed like a wimp.
So Kat glared down at the floor, the hyena and shark swapping ideas to hopefully get Neptune off their back permanently. Kat pursed her lips and stood up, walking over to the mermaid and standing beside her.
There was a moment of silence before the general's daughter spoke. "You know… After we save Caleb and Gladius… you guys can come with us." Marina looked down at the girl in slight surprise. "When Caleb and Gladdy did their first big adventure, they brought along a lot of new people who really helped him in the end. So it'd just be wrong to not include you guys in that."
Marina looked upwards thoughtfully, then beamed and nodded. Then she leaned down and whispered in Kat's ear, which made the girl perk up and subtly glance back at the shark and hyena.
"That'll be fun…" Kat whispered. She then shook her head and faced them fully. "Alright! We have my friends to save, so let's get going! The sooner we save him, the better!
The group all nodded and left the house, with The two land breathers putting their snorkels back on before heading out. Kat rode on Sharko's back as Zig hung onto the tail of his frenemy. Bernie and Marina were at the front of the group side-by-side.
As they neared the palace, they all ducked behind a coral covered rock and peered around, seeing the many structures on the underside of the cliff Neptune's castle rested on. Marina ducked back down and whispered to Kaqt about how Caleb would be in one of those lower cells. The girl's eyes sparkled and she silently gestured, the rest of the group nodding in affirmation.
Carefully, they all snuck up towards the palace, making sure to avoid the two guards at the front doors, and swam to the cells underneath. They all then split up and started looking into the cells to try and find Caleb, peering into the barred windows. As Kat swam around and looked, she eventually found her captured friend. Swimming down to the window closer to his face, she tapped the bars carefully and smiled as he looked over. The boy's eyes lit up and he scrambled over, Kat gaining a look of sadness as she saw him limp over.
When she nodded, she looked around and started waving Sharko over. The deep sea predator swam over and peered into the window, smiled, then gestured for the boy to hand on. Caleb nodded and braced as the shark swam up and cut the cell so it started to sink down. Caleb let go and let the cell fall without him, and as soon as he was in open water Katania bulldozed him into a tight hug. They stayed like that for a while before Marina suddenly appeared, took both their hands, and swiftly led them behind another cell. Sharko followed after them, and they were swiftly joined by Zig and Bernie.
The group all looked carefully around the cell to see a killer whale come down, only to go into a panic when he saw Caleb's cell all the way on the sea floor below. He was about to swim back up and alert King Neptune, only for Sharko to swiftly swim over and squish him into a disc, then tossing him into Caleb's cell and forcing it back into place.
The group all made motions of relief before Caleb gestured in a way to refer to Gladius. Marina nodded and led the group back over to their rock, just so they could formulate things better now with the plus one.
When they were far enough away and hidden, Caleb got the silent rundown on how they were going to free the sword. As he listened, Kat kept careful watch towards the castle. None of the other guards seemed to be any the wiser towards what just happened.
Katania took a deep breath through her snorkel, and watched as the rest of the group swam ahead. Marina and Caleb looked back at her, and she quickly caught up. As they approached the castle, Zig and Bernie broke away to do their part of the plan, the recently rescued boy following shortly after. Kat smiled and waited with Sharko behind a rock closer towards the entrance of the castle. Marina gained a fake smile as she stopped just before the two guards, who took a moment before letting her in.
With Zig, Bernie and Caleb, they slipped in through an open window that let them recoup right behind Neptune's throne. There was fresh air and no water, giving Caleb a chance to take off the snorkel and take a deep but quiet breath through his nose. When he was adjusted, he peered around the corner with his two friends. The king's court was lively with activity, the king himself seemingly holding some sort of ceremony for him getting Gladius nabbed.
Said sword was in the king's grasp, still binded.
"Okay, so how do we do this?" Caleb whispered. "Because I'm not seeing the trident anywhere…"
Zig pondered for a minute, looking around, before carefully pointing. The other two looked over, and winced seeing how the trident was just barely poking out of the king's back pocket. Bernie started to think about what they could do just as Marina made her way past the crowd. Neptune's eyes bugged out comically and he dashed over, posing in a way to seduce the mermaid.
Marina just gave him a strained smile, looking at Gladius for a moment before nodding at the king. He smiled back and took her hand, starting to dance with her as most of the other ceremony goers watched on in shock. Caleb could see Marina was not happy, but was using this as a way to discreetly get the king closer to where Bernie could grab the trident.
Again and again, though, the mollusk would miss his chance, which just made things more tense. But because Caleb and Zig were only focused on Bernie's mission, they failed to catch a party goer spotting them and swiftly going and telling the nearest guard. Caleb looked over and his eyes bugged out when he saw one of the orcas look over and glare.
"Zig, we need to move-" Caleb was cut off as he was backing up, turning around slowly to see another orca glaring down at them. Caleb and Zig shared a terrified look, only to go into a frenzy as the two orcas jumped them. None of the party goers seemed to mind until the brawl got onto the main dance floor, Marina and Neptune looking over in shock.
Outside, Sharko saw things go south, so he grabbed Kat and rushed towards the front door. He punched the two guards at the door out, and then kicked the door open. Everyone looked over, with Neptune instantly registering what was happening. He glared at the mermaid, then pulled her into a tight one-armed hug as he barked at his army to apprehend the party crashers.
Orcas came out of nowhere, and while they were no match for Sharko, the others were all trying to avoid getting caught, and free Gladius and Marina. Kat dodged under a thrown orca who crashed into the buffet table, which kicked the party goers into a frenzy. Neptune was trying to reign things back in, but soon caught sight of Caleb. With hatred, he shot out a blast from his trident, his aim bumped lower when Marina wiggled around, which meant the blast grazed Galen's injury.
He cried out in pain, falling to the ground to clutch the now burnt bandage. Kat gasped, then looked at Neptune. Then he looked at her and they locked eyes… Katania only saw red. She stormed over to the king, nostril flaring up. The king just laughed and aimed his trident again…
Only for Kat to rip the thing out of his grasp and completely destroy it, she snapped it in half and then started stomping on it, bringing the whole palace to a silent stand still. Everyone watched as the girl defied the king, then glared at him.
"You really think you can get away with that?" She snarled. "My mom taught me some hand-to-hand combat. You REALLY want to kick this hornet's nest?"
Neptune just Started laughing, making Marina growl and Gladius to try and wiggle into his freedom. Kat just gave the king a flat look, then shut up his laughing by clawing her fingers into his nostrils, and pulling him down. Marina and Gladius were released from his hold, and everyone watched in silent shock and terror as Kat fully showed why she's the general's daughter. Caleb smiled and started cheering her on as she absolutely pulverized the king.
Marina was able to get Zig and Caleb away from the orcas, and they joined up with Sharko and Bernie to watch the show. Neptune cried in pain as Katania acted more viciously than Sharko ever did, but after a moment the shark grinned and threw the orca he was holding out a window before swimming over and joining in.
The guests at the party were too shocked to even do anything, and the orcas were too terrified. After what felt like forever, Sharko grabbed a table cloth and tied it between the two pillars. He pulled it back, and the general's daughter planted the injured Neptune right in the centre. The two of them then slowly worked together to pull him back more and more, with the rest of their friends joining in. They all pulled the cloth back so much they had walked out the door. Caleb aimed the king at the window, and at once the group all let go.
The cloth whipped forward, and the king was sent screaming out the window, out of the ocean and over the horizon. There was a moment of silence as Sharko broke the bindings Galdius was trapped in, with the blade moving around freely as soon as he was free.
"FINALLY!" He cheered, breaking the silence. "I was worried I'd be that egomaniac's trophy for the rest of my days."
"Yeah…" Caleb said, energy draining now that all his adrenaline was exhausted. "Okay, now that we're done here… can we go back to the island?"
The others all nodded, and the group all left the ransacked castle. But before they fully left, Sharko barked out an order for everyone to get out. As they all filled out, the rest of the group all watched him with confusion. When the castle was empty, Sharko reared back a fist and delivered a powerful punch on the castle wall. A punch so strong it turned the whole building into rubble. The group all cheered the shark, and all started to head back to the island. Caleb, Katania and Zig all rode on Sharko's back, the boy in particular relaxing against his friend's side.
Kat smiled lightly, a very faint blush forming on her face as the water rushed past. Things were starting to look up.
~X~
As the sun started to set over the island, Caleb, Kat and Gladius were just finishing up with getting cleaned up. After all that happened, they needed a refresh. Bernie had fixed up the bandage, and thus Caleb was back to 75% function.
As the Capital trio got ready to finally bid farewell to the island, the quartet who live in this zany world came up to them.
"Well, guys, this was awesome", Caleb said happily as he looked at the group, leaning on his crutch. "Honestly, despite the whole King Neptune thing, I had fun!"
"Yeah, I can't thank you enough guys", Katania said gratefully.
Marina smiled and knelt down, hugging Kat tightly.
Gladius nodded and shook Sharko, Zig and Bernie's hands. "I will make sure that you are rewarded for this. I just need to figure out what…"
"Well…" Caleb spoke up, looking off to the side thoughtfully. "Maybe we could use some extra hands on our journey because of my leg…"
Zig perked up, while Gladius looked over at the boy. "Caleb… I don't think that's-"
"Good idea, I know. Gladdy, seriously, we have no clue what we could get caught up in this time around. And without the others, I would be dead and you'd be forever lost in the multiverse for… forever! So, c'mon…"
Gladius floated around in uncertainty as Caleb gave him a tired and pleading look, Katania walked up to him. "It's for the best, Gladdy. Plus, it's only fair because they helped us. And I promised Marina." The girl and sword looked over at the mermaid, who sheepishly smiled and waved.
After a moment, the blade let out a sigh. "Fine, they can tag along." He floated back towards the boy, who smiled in victory. "And I know for a fact they aren't going to be the only ones…"
"You know me too well, Gladdy", the boy said with a cheeky smile. The sword huffed out a laugh, and the duo began to get ready for the portal opening. Kat was pumping up the others, who started to get into the idea of taking a trip to who knows where. Bernie was in his shell, doing a double check with the essential supplies he always had on him. When he was done, he popped out and flashed Caleb a thumbs up.
Smiling and nodding, Caleb used one hand to swing Gladius towards the ocean, which opened a portal shortly after. The quartet stared at it in shock as Katania walked up next to her friends.
The boy looked back, offering them a smile. "It's kinda like swimming, so I'm gonna need your help with this Sharko."
The shark blinked then grinned, walking over and picking the boy up carefully. He stepped into the portal, with the others not far behind. When they were all through, the portal closed behind them, leaving the calm ocean waters and warm tropical breeze. However, elsewhere, it wasn't anywhere near warm and calm…
As back at the Capital, overcast skies had begun to give the city and its denizens a light shower. And all of it was centralized at the castle. In her room with her brothers and husband, Rainbow was pacing back and forth, face hollow and worry seeming from every feature. They had been unsuccessful to locate Caleb, Katania and Gladius so far, and it was starting to weigh on her. The nasty Deja Vu she was getting just made her worse, and if it wasn't thanks to her loved ones she would've brought down a whole storm.
For the other residents of the castle, things weren't much better. Steve walked through the silent halls, looking into rooms he could. Anyone he saw was dour, expression melancholy as they all were missing a piece of their hectic but loving family.
The crafter sighed sadly and passed by Zomboss' room, hearing the zombie scientist and Doctor's angry mumbling as they desperately tried to locate their missing friends. They were at it for a while, and Steve was worried they'd collapse from exhaustion.
As he passed by the shockingly empty Rec Room, he paused and glanced in. No one was in there, with everyone either too focused on the search. Except the Pokemon. They had all holed up in Caleb's room with Maple, Z-Tron and Purdy to keep each other company, sans Tornadus who was out in the weather to keep it from becoming a hurricane.
With another sad sigh, the builder walked over to the door that headed towards the balcony and took out an umbrella, deciding to take a rainy walk in the courtyard. This was a sad time, but he knew they'd pick up eventually. Caleb and the others would find their way home…
No matter how long it took.
~X~
Okay, wow. Almost took a month to release this. Sorry about that. Things just kinda got away from me, with life, seasonal depression and all that really bringing me down. Like the fact I'm no-binary now and also go by Kat alongside Caleb.
But another big thing did hit me… I got a boyfriend! Ashytrashy17 is the greatest person in my life right now, and I want y'all to go and give him some love. He's kept me going after all this time, and I can't thank him enough! So check out his stories, they are great!
Anyway, about this chapter… The Zig & Sharko arc is done! Had some shenanigans with King Neptune, but I felt like he was handled well. It was fun using such a silly and kinda one-off(ish) character in this fic. And it was nice to put the smug butt in his place (not a vent sort of thing, just did always find his episodes the funniest because it's since seeing snobby asses get hit with karma).
And we've got the island quartet of Zig, Sharko, Marina and Bernie tagging along now! Having four silent characters who only vocalize with grunts and gestures is a great way to spice things up, and their personalities add a lot. So hopefully y'all are excited to see more of them!
So yeah, I've finally released this blasted chapter after too long, so I hope this was worth the wait. Until next time, my friends!
Up next: The gang finds themselves on a desolate world where endless highways stretch on for as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, this means they're prime targets for the local thugs…
~Caleb/Kat~