Time to head for Oceana! Eh, but first…

Chapter 33: Land Under the Sea

KND Hospital, outside of Rocky Mountains

The sun was nearly coming up over the KND hospital as Rachel continued to sleep. Suddenly, the entire place shook, and Rachel fell out of her bed, awake. "What was that?!"

Fi came out of her sword and responded, "Master, I sense multiple evil auras coming from outside. I suggest heading outside quickly." Rachel hurriedly put on her normal clothes and grabbed the sword. She ran past the many rooms in the hospital, seeing the doctors and nurses knocked out and the place torn up as she headed down.

When she made it outside, she saw Shadow the Hedgehog on one knee, panting, then gasped at the sight of many Bulblins on Bullbos, led by King Bulblin. The Underworld general raised a tall flag that had Fanny and Patton tied on, struggling.

"AAAAAHH!" A massive bird's screech was heard, and she looked up to see a giant bird with purple feathers and a mask with yellow eyes, holding a cage with its talons containing Sector W and Rouge.

The Bulblin general stepped aside, and Rachel looked in terror as Ganondorf approached her on his black horse, wielding a sword. The dark man smirked at the blonde leader as the horse came to a halt. (Play "Ganondorf on Forsaken Fortress" from Zelda: Wind Waker!) "So… what my daughter said was true. You really are the new wielder of the Master Sword. I knew there was something familiar about you."

Rachel only glared at the man.

"…The long-lost descendant of my former nemesis, Link."

"Yeah… that's me." Rachel replied calmly. "That's why I'm gonna be the one to kick your butt!"

"Heh heh heh… just like him: always so naïve." He replied, his horse slowly moving around her while Rachel kept her sword aimed. "But tell me… do you have the heart? To impale that little sword of yours straight into my chest? Silence my heart… my brain, and ending my life?" Ganon stopped and noticed the sword quaking in her hands. "I don't think you do…"

"Well… no, I don't. But you're a human being. An ugly one… but it doesn't feel right killing anyone… just because I don't like you."

"Is that why you refused to kill Ghirahim? Why, you would refuse to kill my daughter if your lives weren't connected. Oh!" he sparked. "But that's another reason… isn't it? The reason you're too hesitant to kill me… is because you owe me. It was I who gave birth to Lehcar, and therefore I that saved your life, by breathing life to your Negative."

"What are you talking about? !" she shouted. "You think because you helped give me life, I'm going to do what YOU want? Yeah. I don't think so."

"Heh heh hah hah! Poor, simple mortals… it's no wonder the demons hate you guys: so weak. So ungrateful. So pointless to have in this world…"

"And yet, you've won the respect of countless demons. And YOU'RE a mortal. How do you explain THAT, Ganon?"

"Heh heh… true… I was born a mortal human like the rest of you fools… but I was born… with a unique characteristic. I was born with fire... a kind of dark fire that burns deep in the Underworld. I had been blessed with the unholy powers of Malladus. My surrogate mothers, Koume and Kotake, raised me to worship the Demon King. His influence over me grew… as did my power. Eventually, I became so strong with the ways of the Underworld… I finally saw Malladus for the foolish king that he was. I ventured down into the Underworld and gifted the fellow demons with knowledge."

A younger Ganondorf stood upon a podium, overlooking legions of demons as he waved hands in the air and spoke. "Malladus Uno is a FAILURE as a king!" he roared to them. "In his reign as Demon King, he has done NOTHING to conquer the world of mortals above. For his entire reign, he has been constantly foiled by armies of PUNY, mortal brats. Malladus is a failure. A NEW king must take the thrown. A strong… and POWERFUL king… like me!"

All the demons engaged in quiet, contemplating conversations.

"That's right! I may just be a mortal in your eyes… but I have been blessed with the terrific powers of Malladus! My bond with the Demon Realm has grown strong enough to see the error of his ways. He must be ripped from his throne as Demon King. With me as your king, I will lead the Underworld to a golden era. A DARK era… where the feeble mortals will YET be drowned in the Sanzu River… and the glory of demons shall RULE all!"

"YEEEAAHHH!"

"Eventually… I had the respect of the Underworld's toughest men." Ganon spoke. "Unfortunately, I still had my day job. Of serving the wretched king of that ancient kingdom, over 5,000 years ago… the father of your ancestor, Zelda. But when we had finally discovered the location of the Triforce… I no longer needed that old fool. I plucked the Triforce of Power from the sacred triangle and established my own rule upon that realm. From then on, it was all supposed to go so simply: lure the other ones bounded by destiny to me and revive the Triforce… but-"

A young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and green clothing stood before a tired, panting Ganondorf, wielding a sacred bow that emitted a golden light. The boy pulled the arrow back and fired, swallowing Ganon in holy light. "NOOOOO!"

Ganondorf's smirk died into a frown. "I hated that boy…"

"Ha! So my great etc. grandfather kicked your butt! Oh, but you shouldn't need to miss him. I'll be sure to make his victory exactly similar!" Rachel retorted.

"Oh, I'm far from missing him, Child. And I'm far from any worry of what you could do with that blade. Oh, but I do know something…"

"Hm?" she cocked a brow.

"I and my daughter hold both pieces of the Triforce of Power. And you, Child, hold the Triforce of Courage. But… who holds the third piece? The Triforce of Wisdom?"

"I dunno. Beats me."

"While I may not know who holds it… I do know it's out there somewhere. It's the last key I need to get my powers back. When all three pieces of the Triforce are together again… Power, Wisdom, AND Courage… the gods will have no choice but to come down. The Holy Triforce… he who touches it… will have whatever he desires granted. It has incredible power."

"And… you want this power to become the all-powerful Demon King Malladus failed to be, right?"

"Oh, no. Of course not, Child… why waste my wish on such childish power… when I can use it to take this wretched world back to the good days? I shall use the Holy Triforce to reawaken the Golden Era from the past, and revive the ancient kingdom of Hyrule long before it was established: wars of demons and mortals!" Rachel and the others gasped. "Children and mothers slain! An age of burning forests, drying oceans, and intoxicated air. Who wouldn't wish for a more perfect world?"

"You…You're a monster!" Rachel yelled.

"Thank you…" Ganondorf only smiled.

"You…You can't be human! At all!"

"You would wish for an age of hopelessness and misery that has long been forgotten in the past?" Shadow asked. "Despicable."

"Come on, Shadow." Ganondorf spoke. "Haven't you ever had that strong distaste toward humans? Eggman's told me about your little past. Don't you remember how the humans… unhesitantly ended the only woman you ever loved?"

"You can't bend me, Ganon. I've put the past behind me. And if you can't do the same, you're going back to the very place you were spawned from."

"We're BOTH gonna send you there!" Rachel vowed.

"Hmm… noble. A shame that I can't kill Rachel right now… otherwise, the power I need that she wields will be lost. But…" He raised his sword. "It wouldn't hurt to beat and tatter you for a while. With two pieces of the Triforce with me, Lord Gnaa will shower me with praise! Especially after we tend to your helpless little friends. Have at you!" (Stop the music.) The horse was about to walk up for Ganon to strike her, but they stopped when they heard some other whinnying. The black horse jumped back when another horse jumped in the way. A light-red horse, with white hair on its head, kicked its feet at the evil horse and made him step back. "You? No… it can't be!" Ganon gasped.

The horse gestured for Rachel to climb on, and she did so. "Okay. Not what I expected, but I'll take it!" she decided, readying her sword.

"Errr. Bulblin Brigade, SPREAD OUT!" Ganondorf ordered as the demons started scattering. "Helmaroc King, get those fools out of here." He ordered the huge bird. "General Bulblin, keep those kids away from her. Everybody scram!"

Rachel kicked the horse on the side as it whinnied again and charged after the Bulblin General, followed by Shadow. (Play the "Horse Battle" Theme from Zelda: Twilight Princess!)

Boss fight: King Bulblin

The chubby demon rode away from Rachel on the pursuing horse as other Bulblins charged at them, swinging swords and firing arrows. Some demons shot fire arrows at Shadow, who only curled in a pinball and Home Attacked the demons, bouncing their arrows back. Rachel rode up to King Bulblin and swung her sword at the demon, trying to get him to drop the flag holding Fanny and Patton.

More Bulblins rode over to keep the girl away, so Rachel started slicing them off. That's when some Bokoblin started coming on Kargaroks, firing arrows from above that Rachel defended with her sword. Shadow ran and dodged some arrows as he tossed Chaos Spears at the bird-riding demons, knocking them off so he could take their bows and shoot them, too.

Rachel dealt more blows against King Bulblin, knocking more of his armor off, but he blew a Monster Horn and summoned more Bulblins to shoot fire arrows at Rachel. More Kargaroks came and started dropping bombs, keeping the blonde leader away from the general. Shadow was able to grab the bombs and throw them back, destroying the Kargaroks.

More Bulblins rode beside Rachel on both ends, swinging swords and clubs that she avoided. She poked the sides of the Bullbos, making them go crazy and run into trees and rocks, the Bulblins falling off. When they tried to recover, Shadow just warped beside and kicked them, knocking them out. When Rachel was approaching the Bulblin King again, he drew out a slightly bigger bow and started firing arrows which she knocked away.

Shadow Spin Dashed over a few more Bulblins before looking up to see the large bird, Helmaroc King, flying away with the others, the hedgehog focusing his attention on mainly Rouge. More Kargaroks started to fly in, but Shadow continued to Home Attack off of them. When a Kargarok carrying another Bokoblin came, he shot up and kicked the demon off, riding the bird himself. He then started to chase the Helmaroc King, who turned at Shadow and tried to blow him away with his large wings.

As Shadow tried desperately to fight the bird's rough winds, the Kargarok he rode suddenly grew tired and dropped to the ground. Shadow became angered and finally started to glow red, transforming into Dark Super Shadow. The hedgehog warped up to the Helmaroc King and yelled, "Chaos… BLAST!"

"AIEEE!" the large bird yelled when the powerful explosion struck and also burned the cage, making the others drop to the ground. Shadow quickly warped to the ground and caught Rouge in his arms, leaving the rest of them to hit the ground with a thud.

Rachel continued to knock away King Bulblin's arrows as she still chased, the demon pulling out his horn to summon more Bulblins. "AHHH!" Rachel cried when her horse shot over, the girl immediately slicing the horn in half. Rain started to pour onto the area as the angered demon spotted a bridge up ahead, smirking as he rode to it faster. He quickly sped to the other side of the long bridge, turning to face Rachel on the other end, and holding out a spear. (Play King Bulblin's Theme from Twilight Princess!) "It's time for a bridge joust. Whoever falls… falls." The Bulblin declared. "Have at you!"

Rachel gulped as the Demon General aimed his spear and charged straight at the blonde leader. Rachel kicked the side of her horse to make it charge ahead as well. Both of them had their weapons ready, Bulblin keeping a smirking expression while Rachel held her worried one. Right when the two rode past each other, Rachel quickly swung her sword and sliced half of his left horn off, then passed by.

The two stopped on the other sides and turned again. "Grr! This time, you're finished!" King Bulblin vowed as his Bullbo started charging again. Rachel still only kept her worried look as she charged back at him, Bulblin seeming to come faster with an angered expression.

"Never let fear get the best of you, Master." Fi spoke from the sword. "Confidence gives power." At those words, Rachel put on a more fierce expression, just when the two were closing in. Just as the two were about ram each other, Bulblin stabbed his spear, but Rachel quickly ducked to the side.

"AAHH!" (Stop the music.) The blonde leader immediately swung her sword and struck the demon clear in the stomach.

"NOOOOOO!" Rachel stopped and watched as King Bulblin fell to the bottomless trench below. (Play "King Bulblin Clear Fanfare" from Twilight Princess!)

Lee and Paddy hurried over to untie Fanny and Patton from the flagpole on Lord Bullbo, helping them up as they smiled proudly at Rachel. The Supreme Leader raised her sword skyward in victory as the golden sun pierced the dark clouds and made her heroic figure glow, her might sword sparkling beautifully.

After her moment of pride, the horse carried her back to her friends, allowing Rachel to get off and greet them. The horse whinnied and vanished into the distance as Rachel waved good-bye. "Wow, Rachel! That was so coool!" Lee exclaimed.

"Yeah, Rachel! You took that guy out like it was nothing!" Sonya perked.

"Peh. I could've done better than that." Shadow said smugly.

"Gee, Shadow, offer a little encouragement for once." Rouge replied, smacking him playfully.

"And hey! Check out the bow this guy was using." Sonya said, picking up the bow from Lord Bullbo's side and showing it to Rachel.

Rachel took and studied the weapon as Fi came out of the sword. "Master Rachel. The aura I sense indicates that this bow was once used by the Hero of Time himself."

"You mean… this was my ancestor's bow? But why would these demons have it?"

"There is an 80% chance the weapon was robbed from him by Ganondorf sometime after his death."

"Stealing from a dead guy? Not cool." Lee said.

"Well, if it was Link's bow, shouldn't that mean it belongs to you now?" Sonya asked.

"Well, even if it doesn't… I'll take this as my reward for defeating that guy!"

Rachel got the Hero's Bow! She can shoot arrows now! Whoopee.

"…Did you guys hear something?" Rachel asked.

"Not me." Shadow answered.

"Nope." Sonya replied.

"Oh… never mind, then."

"Hey, did anybody see where Ganondorf went?" Sonya asked.

"He probably left when Rachel and Shadow were busy with those guys." Rouge figured.

"Well, at any rate, maybe we should look for the others." Rachel suggested. "Let's get back to the hospital and see if we can track them from there."

Forest area

Meanwhile, Ganondorf had eloped to another small forest area, stopping his horse to look back and see if he was followed. Seeing he wasn't, he started gasping for air. "If that horse was the one I thought it was… then she is becoming more like the Hero of Time by the minute. She may even grow strong enough to beat me, too. …No." He shook the thought off. "I will never go back to the Evil Realm again. I have to revive the Triforce and get my powers back before that happens. As long as the power of Malladus burns within me…"

"Well, WELL. Seems we aren't the SHARPEST sword in the dojo." a Western voice said out of nowhere.

Ganondorf looked around. "Who's there?"

"Certainly no hillbilly, that's for sure." Ganon looked up at the grey bird in the tree. "But rather a fellow demon that's willin' to help."

The tiny, dirty red bean on the bird leapt off to Ganon's shoulder. "You…You're that-" Ganon tried to say.

Hannibal reached his left arm/vine up for him to shake it. "Call me HB."

Samiyan Sea; close to the Mother & Child Isles

The dark-blue night sky still hung in the heavens, and the white full moon glinted on the sea. The waters were calm still, and the breeze made them sleepy. "Yaaaawn… Are we there, yet?" Sonic yawned.

"Uhhh, we're almost there, Sonic." Tails responded awkwardly. They were coming to an island with a huge rock wall surrounding it, and a tiny island beside it. "I'm looking forward to seeing this underwater kingdom, actually."

As Rourke stood at the front of his ship, still smoking his cigar, Blaze noticed how Marine was constantly staring at him suspiciously. "Uh… is there something wrong, Marine?"

"Oh, Oi don't know, Blaze." She whispered. "But Oi just can't help feelin' like I've seen him somewhere before, eh? Or at leas' heard of him. There's somethin' about that bloke that drives me bonkers."

"Heh. Gotta little crush?" Blaze smirked.

Marine's eyes widened as she shot her eyes at Blaze and pointed. "Eh, jus' a minute now! He is WAY too old-" Just then, the ship gave a slight shake as it came to a stop.

"Yuh-oh. Bad news, kids. Looks like only mah yacht can get us in that island." Facilier figured as they noticed the entrance into the island wall was too small for Rourke's ship.

"Oh well." Rourke said, already jumping down to the yacht. "Come on, kids." The rest of them followed and leapt down after him as the boat sailed into the island.

The inside seemed inhabited by strange little fairies, and was decorated with several trees and shrubs. The boat sailed to the large, circular pool in the center and stopped as Eva stood on the front part of the ship, raising the Phantom Sword upward. The sword brimmed as a blue light emerged from the pool. Before the team's very eyes, a strange little girl appeared from the light and gave a giggle. Her skin and dress were a beautiful cyan, shiny and glossy, and very reflective. "Oh! Hello, there, children! It's been forever since someone's come to this place!" she spoke in a childish tone.

"Uh… who are you?" Eva asked.

"I'm the Queen of the Ocean Fairies. Mystical beings that reside on the sea and help bring peace among the ocean's sailors."

"Wow! A Fairy Queen!" Kuki exclaimed.

"Pfft. You're just some cruddy girl!" Wally shouted.

The little fairy just snapped her fingers and transformed him to a frog. "Well, you're just a toad! Eee hee hee hee hee!"

"Rrrrribbit. HEY!"

The spirit snapped her fingers again and changed him back. "That was funny! Anyway… the fact that you're here, must mean you've brought the Princess of the Sea."

"Uh… yeah. That's me." Eva raised her hand. "We're looking for the Ocean Prince."

"Ah ha ha ha! I knew that, Silly! It was prophesized the princess would return when the time to bring the Firstborn together drew nigh. My job is to guard the gateway to the newly built lost kingdom. But I couldn't let you in without proof that you were the princess."

"Well, what proof do you need?" Morgan asked. "She beat Davy Jones, apparently, and she's got that sword."

"That's right. The Phantom Sword is one of many sacred swords. And they only pick certain people as their masters."

"How can swords pick?" Wally asked. "It's not like they talk!"

"Well, you're dumber than a regular sword, and yet you talk!" Kuki and Abby giggled at Wally's growl. "Anyway… the Phantom Sword was designed by the spirits of the ocean. And only someone with the spirit of the ocean inside of her can wield it."

"That would be me." Eva said once more.

"Precisely, so if you could show us the way to Oceana, little girl, that would be great." Rourke grinned cunningly.

"Hold on!" Sonic spoke up. "If it's underwater, aren't we gonna drown? ?"

"Of course not, silly! The entire city is protected by a bubble barrier! It's breathable for both fish AND landdwellers! Now, are there any last questions before I send you off?"

"I do!" Kuki jumped. "If you're a fairy, can you grant WISHES?"

"Hee hee hee hee! No. That's what Star Fairies do. They've been granting wishes for eons! Anything else?" No response. "Oooo-kay then! Enjoy your ride!" The playful girl spirit snapped her fingers again, making a large whirlpool spiral in the pool.

"WHOOOAAAA!" The vortex sucked them in as fast as light.

Under the sea

They recovered and found their boat rapidly whipping across an underwater current. The sight was fantastic. Endless schools of fishes, sharks, eels, any sort of aquatic life they could think of. It was like an amusement park ride through the greatest aquarium they've ever seen. The sights rushed by so fast, they wanted more time to absorb it all. Their mouths hung open in awe, even Sonic's despite his fear of underwater, and Rourke's pipe fell from his mouth.

"Boy, do I feel sorry for Ava, Kami, and Kweeb having to miss this." Nigel gaped.

They were finally approaching an enormous water bubble barrier. When they drew closer, tall, circular-topped buildings of the ancient kingdom were in sight. The yacht zoomed through the end of the current into the water barrier, slowly lowering itself close to the ground, floating just a few inches above.

The group hopped down from the boat to view the lovely surroundings. They were deep under the ocean, and even though it was nighttime, one could hardly tell from so far down. Mermen and mermaids freely swam about the underwater realm, using floaties made of bubbles to get around. The streets were lit with normal streetlights, but the lights came from clam shells. The buildings towered high in the oceanic sky, made of the stone that made up the seafloor, and were skinny except for the flat, circular parts sticking out.

They smiled as a group of five, young merchildren were swimming (or floating) above them, playfully smacking a kickball around with their tailfins. "Damn… this place is nice." Was all Abby could say.

"Numbuh Fiiive!" Kuki scolded.

"Man, a kid c'n cuss if she wants to…" she mumbled.

"Boy, Kyogre's done a nice job repairing the place since we defeated Jones." Eva observed.

"Yeh, but Oi already feel the gajillion fathoms of pressure on moi skull…" Wally moaned, feeling the need to puke.

"Why didn't I just stay on the boat?…" Violet moaned, feeling just as ill.

While everyone else was looking around, Rourke turned away and took out some kind of communicator, typing something in. "Oi, Mate. Whatcha doin' there?" Rourke turned and found Marine staring at him.

"Oh! Just texting an old friend of mine. Anyway… let's get looking for this Sea Prince!" With that, he walked ahead jauntily.

Marine continued to look suspicious as she followed. "Yea… I'll buy that, eh?"

"Uh-oh. We got trouble." Eva spoke, spotting a series of Kremlings and Eggman robots falling in from the bubbled ceiling.

"HEH heh!" Sonic snickered. "The underwater just got fun! Be right back!" And so, the blue hedgehog was off. (Play "Aquarium Park 1" from Sonic Colors!)

Stage 31: Oceana

Mission: Get to the Sea Temple, Samiya!

Act 1

The blue hedgehog began to whip down the first street, straight down the middle of the city. He made a quick turn leftward and Home Attacked a group of Egg Pawns, then up some Bladed Spinners to reach a path along the side of some buildings. Sonic ran across carefully and jumped any pitfalls in the path, for down below was a pit of death; apparently not ALL of the city was on solid ground. He had to Home Attack some Chopper piranhas that leaped up from below to get across the pit, and at the end of the pathway, he reached a spring that flung him onto the rooftops, where some Crabmeat robots locked onto Sonic and shot missiles. Sonic dodged the missiles and Home Attacked them all as he jumped across the rooftops, dodging more along the way.

He finally leapt off at another road, dashing across, then turning right at another road, which was currently overrun by Merpeople on conch-shell carriages, pulled by seahorses. Sonic ran alongside the mermen as the road zipped downward into a tunnel, in which the rounded walls and ceiling showed another aquarium view, of many fishes and marine life. At the end of the tunnel, he was suddenly attacked by Kannon Kremlings, but he easily dodged their cannons and Home Attacked them. The road led around rightward and into a large park.

A bunch of families were running in terror when Kremling Krunchas began running amuck. Sonic Home Attacked each of the blue muscle crocs, but they turned red with anger. One of them grabbed the hedgehog by the legs and spun him rapidly before sending him flying. Sonic glared and tried to dash at the Kremlings, but their superior strength proved far too much, and another managed to grab Sonic and send him flying into the nearby lake (holy wow, a lake under the sea).

Sonic held his breath tight as he sank, taking land on a convenient ledge halfway to the bottom. Since he was unable to swim, all he could do was run across the ledges available to him. He was thankful he was able to hold his breath for so long, and he did enjoy the company of all these fishes. Sadly, there were Chopper piranhas underneath, too, so he had to bounce across them on his way. Sonic made his way underneath the tunnel he passed through earlier, and on the other side, he bounced his way up some jellyfish. He reached a ledge that was at level with the tunnel, watching as the many conchshell-carriage riders zipped through.

Sonic hopped onto a dolphin that was seated beside him and began to ride him across the underlake. They dodged several Bazzas as they zipped through, and also went through some bubble rings to score extra points (they are graded in this story, by the way ;3). The dolphin made a left turn between a trench, dodging Croctopuses as they spiraled up from below. The dolphin surfed into a tunnel of underwater mines which the two dodged, then turned left to make it outside between another trench. They turned another left before they were right back where they started, but the dolphin this time led Sonic near the surface. Sonic was brought to a shallow area of the lake, where fountains sprouted from the middle of the park.

Sonic encountered a group of Krunchas, but they were hit by Water Whips as Eva skied to a halt beside Sonic. "You realize this is MY hometown, right?" Sonic nodded and locked hands with Eva, spinning into a tornado of water. The Krunchas were sucked right inside, spinning higher and higher above the ground, before Sonic decided to let them drop and knock out on the ground.

Sonic carried Eva as he ran, speeding away from the park and up another town street, which led upward. A squad of Crabmeats from atop the buildings launched a storm of missiles onto their path, so they immediately dashed left into one of the buildings. They startled the mermen occupants inside as they zipped up stairs and came onto the walkways on the buildings' sides. They hit a spring that bounced them to the parallel row of buildings, and they began to run through those as well. They came out on another walkway, which ended shortly, and to get back across to the other buildings, they had to bounce across a row of three Kaboings. The first Kaboing was the shortest, the second bounced midway, while the third one bounced high enough for the duo to reach the rooftops.

Sonic ran opposite of the way they came and proceeded to attack the Crabmeats which had assaulted them. From the building across from them, a Bazuka was shooting barrels at them, but Sonic easily Home Attacked the barrels to get across, still keeping hold of Eva, then Home Attacked the Kremling. The Bazuka easily defended with his bazooka, but when the hedgehog used a Sonic Tornado, the weapon was blown into the air, allowing Eva to slice him with her Phantom Sword. With that, they Boosted across the buildings, down the way they intended to go, and wiped out those Crabmeats as well.

They jumped back to the road and sped out of the town as they dashed up the side of a mountain. Sonic jumped off a ledge and Home Attacked across a line of Bladed Spinners; over a 50-foot drop below. At the end of the very long line, they landed on a path that sped them down into the city. As they dashed across, they dodged as water geysers spewed up from sewer lids in the street (apparently the ocean needs sewers, too). They zipped a left turn and suddenly found their selves running up a spiraling pathway around a conchshell building. They zipped around and around until hitting a spring at the top, flinging straight above with their arms and legs spread out.

They smiled as the underwater wind brushed through their hair, falling fast toward the water. They dodged around as a Kannon was blasting cannonballs from a boat below. The Kremling failed to shoot them as Sonic landed on his head and kicked him into the water. He then landed on the boat, then leapt off to dash across the water. They dodged the Choppers along the way before hopping off on a shore and speeding into a long, narrow tunnel. A Kannon was blasting regular barrels at them, but they easily Boosted through the weak barrels before shooting through the Kannon on the other side.

They hopped down into an underwater cave afterward, hurrying through as Flotsams swam at them. Sonic tried to bounce one of the stingrays, but ended up taking a shock. Eva shook her head as they kept going, dodging Bloopers as she attacked them with Bubble Beams. There were gaping holes in the wall, in which the duo had to avoid as gigantic seasnakes; called Deep Pythons, lunged at them in attempt to snack. The bases of their heads were their weak points, so Sonic was able to Spin Dash and shoot through them. They kept running/swimming toward a row of springs. However, these turned out to be Trick Springs, the Eggman faces laughing as Sonic was flung up beside a hole, where a Deep Python shot out and munched him. The seasnake savored the taste, until the hedgehog rapidly spun and shot himself free.

The two were running out of breath, but they found a crack in the ground where bubbles were coming out of, allowing them to grab extra breath. They reached a dead end in the cave, but the rest of the path led upward through a cylindrical tunnel. They began the journey upward using the available footholds, but a gigantic Deep Python was looming below them, getting ready to launch up. Eva grabbed Sonic and hurriedly swam up as the python slowly approached, its mouth wide open and its moan making their skin tingle. Just when it was inches away from snapping them, the two found a giant geyser of bubbles shooting through the middle, so they hopped in and blasted STRAIGHT to the top, shooting out of the way and high into the sky.

They fell slowly toward the ground, and their eyes sparkled with wonder. The tremendous, posh, pearl structure that was the Sea Temple towered in their vision. They couldn't wait to get inside. (End song.)

The rest of the group, however, chose to walk through the city normally. "AaaaaaaAAAAHH- UUH!" They stopped when Sonic and Eva crashed flat onto the ground before them.

They held their heads up, looking dizzily. "Is this a regular thing for you, Sonic?" Eva asked.

"Heheh… you get used to it." Sonic grinned goofily.

"Maaan, come awn, you guys." Abby told them as they walked passed. "Le's just get in this temple."

Finally, they arrived at the colossal structure that was Samiya. "Hm. Place ain't changed a bit." Abby noticed.

"Yeah, except NOW it's not trying to drown us." Nigel joked.

As they approached the palace's entrance, a small, red crab glared at them from the roof above. It jumped to Nigel's head, and before he could realize, the crab started pinching his nose. "AAHHHH!" the Brit yelled, running around.

"INTRUDERS! Get back to de surface, ye two-legged barnacles!" it yelled in a Jamaican accent.

"Hey!" Eva yelled, ripping the little crab off and holding him by the right claw. "Calm down! We aren't here to hurt anyone!"

The crab immediately stopped shaking and looked in the news anchor's eyes, studying her form up and down. "Those eyes… that hair... holy mackerel! De long-lost princess herself! Ya haven't changed a bit!"

"You… know me?"

The crab swatted her hand and dropped to the floor. "I am Sebastian de Crab. De king's royal visor."

"You're a cute royal visor!" Kuki exclaimed happily.

"Ahem, yes, well… now dat you're here, I suppose you'll be wanting to see de little Sea Prince and his father?"

"That's right." Tails confirmed. "We're looking for the Firstborn, and we need to have the second one."

"Yes, yes, I know de story. Come on in." the little crab instructed, leading them inside.

Inside the palace

Sebastian led them to a huge doorway with a sea-green door, stopping and turning to the team. "Ahem… ladies and gentlemen: King Kyogre!" The stone doors slid open, and the crab proceeded to scuttle inside, followed by the others. There, hovering above the throne, was a great, blue whale with huge hands, the Ocean King himself.

The heroes smiled and kneeled to the whale lord as he studied them. Wally was the only one not to bow, but ("Ow!") Abby smacked him and made him do so. "Ah… my dear friends." Kyogre spoke in a deep, echoey voice. "It is a pleasure to have you here in my realm. I welcome you back to Samiya."

"An honor to be here, too, Kingy." Rourke nodded, standing up with his cool grin. "My name's Captain Rourke. Captain of the Marine Research Team of South America. Protectors of the oceanic life."

"Well, Mr. Rourke… someone who enjoys marine life like yourself must be astonished to be here."

"In ways words cannot describe. But I'm a bit more interested in the… coup de grace to this fine realm. I speak of the Sea Prince, of course." Rourke smirked.

"He's right." Eva said. "We're looking for the Firstborn—as if we haven't said that enough times—so we need to find Manaphy."

"Of course… come right this way."

The whale king floated through a door on the side of the room, taking them up another tall staircase outside, leading into another tower. When they heard the majestic, angel-like voice up ahead, Eva and Nigel exchanged excited glances and ran ahead of the others. They arrived at what they clearly remember as the Chamber of the Sea Crown, spotting the young prince himself singing atop the sacred jewel.

"Huuuh…huh-huuuuh."

"Fiii…fi-fiii."

Manaphy's voice was filled with light and joy, and the deep voices beyond the waves returned this.

"Whoa. Little guy sure can sing." Sonic commented.

"Yeah, but what's that thing he's sitting on?" Amy asked.

"That's the Sea Crown." Knuckles replied.

"How do you know?"

"There's a lot of treasures well-known to us hunters, and the Sea Crown's one of 'em."

"Boy, I bet someone could sure make a ton of money off that." Rourke figured.

"Well, go on, Eva. Go say 'hi.'" Nigel smiled, nudging his cousin.

"Mm-hm!" Eva smiled and dashed up the stairs to her blood-brother.

"Mana?" the little prince immediately stopped singing and shot his eyes open, seeing his older blood-sister running up. "Mana-Mana!" Eva reached the top of the stairs and held her arms open for the young prince to jump in. "PHYYY!" Manaphy happily jumped down, and Eva embraced him in a hug.

"Awe! I missed you, too, little guy!"

"Awww! Those two were always so cute together!" Kuki exclaimed.

"Blech." Wally stuck his tongue out.

"Better close that mouth 'fore a fish bites." Abby told him.

"BLEEEHH-" Wally stuck his tongue out at her in a mocking fashion. "OW! !" Immediately, a fish jumped in and grabbed his tongue. He yanked it off as Kyogre spoke.

"Yes… Manaphy has missed you dearly since your departure." The king said. "It would delight him greatly… if you chose to stay here."

"Sorry, Buddy. No matter how much I like the sea, my place is on the surface. But I still miss you, though!" she exclaimed, cuddling her brother.

"Mana, Mana!"

"It is your choice." Kyogre replied. "As long as I am not stabbed in the head. But before you go, you may stay here to rest. I'm sure you've had a long journey."

"Got that right." Sonic said. "Running on water sure takes a lot outta me."

"And hey, we actually get to take you with us, Manaphy!" Eva exclaimed.

"Man-Mana!"

"Well, let's go look at the rest of the palace." Peach smiled, walking off.

"Yeah!" Mario agreed.

"You blokes do that, Oi'm explorin' the REST o' this town!" Marine perked, running off.

"Numbuh 5's onta that! Ah wonder what kinda food they have here?" Abby said.

"Be careful what you eat, otherwise they'll consider us cannibals!" Hoagie joked.

"Ah, shut up!" Abby smacked him with her hat.

Rourke only glanced out the palace window and smirked as he left, too.

Deserted island

Team Alien and the Kongs were currently resting on a deserted island they found, with Ava, Kami, and Kweeb fixing up the ship while the Kongs just sat back and ate: Donkey was eating the coconuts used for his gun, Diddy ate the peanuts used in his pistols, while Dixie had watermelons. The operatives finally climbed out of the ship and shut the cockpit. "Phew. There we go." Ava sighed, wiping her forehead. "Took some damage, but it looks like the Heart Star can go some more rounds."

"Fin-al-ly." Kami said relieved, dropping to the ground on her back. "Repairing alien ships sure is a lot of work."

"I'm an alien, and I second that." Kweeb agreed, lying down beside her.

"Too bad we couldn't take Funky with us." Dixie said, tossing Kami a melon.

"Ooh ooh ah ah. (And our tech's about as good as your 2x4 tech.)" Diddy said, tossing Kweeb a peanut. "(Not that it's a bad thing.)"

"Mmmmm. Ooh ooh. (But King K. Rool kidnapped our friends again. Donkey hates that croc!)" Donkey frumped.

"Relax, DK." Ava said. "We'll save your friends. First we need to get back to the others."

Kami munched the melon a little before glancing to the side and spotting a ship out in the distant sea. She sat up and swallowed the melon piece. "What's that?"

The rest of them looked and noticed there were a bunch other ships alongside it. Ava squinted here eyes, and was able to spot the large "G" logo on the sides of the ships. "They're… GUN Troops?"

"That Rourke guy works for GUN, doesn't he?" Kami asked. "Then they should be on our side."

"I dunno. I got a bad feeling about this." Kweeb said.

"Let's just lay low here for now." Ava suggested. "Then we'll follow them."

Downtown Oceana

Numbuh 3 was joyously skipping ahead of her friends as she, Sector V, Violet, and Marine were exploring the vast, aquatic realm under the sea. "Man, Numbuh 5 can't believe Eva didn't wanna live down here!"

"Are you kiddin'? ? Who'd wanna live under a ginormous BUBBLE? ?" Wally shouted. "Ya KNOW that thing's gonna POP one day! Then we'd all DROWN!"

"Only if you were human." Hoagie noted. "Since Merpeople are half-fish, they can breathe just fine. I'm guessing the air bubble is to give them a sense of human and aquatic atmosphere, to better support their two halves."

"If I wanted ta change my lower half, I'd make it something TOUGH. Like a… PIT-bull, or somethin'."

"I wonder if they have any SEAmonkeys here? ?" Kuki said excitedly. "Or RAINBOW Seamonkeeeys! Wouldn't that just be MAGICAAAL?"

"No matter what amount of pressure rests above our skulls, you're still an airhead." Violet remarked. "Now, come on, let's find something to eat. They should have more than a few FISH lying around; unless they're AGAINST that."

They kids arrived at a food stand called "Water-Water Wendy's", where a pretty teenage mermaid girl, with green hair, a black tank-top, and pink tailfin, floated behind the stand. "Well, hiii, theeere!" the mermaid greeted in a Western accent. "You folks new to Oceana?"

"Was it my cat features that gave it away?" Violet remarked. "Or simply our feet."

"Hm hm!" the girl giggled, "Well, we don't have many humans, but YOU'RE certainly an odd one! Anyway, first-come land-dwellers get free samples!"

"Great! Gimme some hamburgers, Ah'm starved!" Wally demanded.

"Would that be WITH or WITHOUT salt?"

"Sure, Ah'll take salt!"

"Certainly, Darlin'!" she floated over to grab one of the cooked meat pieces and placed toppings on it, like lettuce, ketchup, cheese, etc.. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks!" Wally happily took a bite out of the burger. "! !" His eyes widened, and he immediately spat it out. "PLEH, pleh! 'ey! This tastes like SALT water!"

"Well, of course! It can't be Water-Water Grub if there ain't water in it! And you asked for salt!"

Marine decided to take a steak and swallowed it in one gulp, since it was so squishy. "Mmmm! This stuff is YUMMERLY, Mate!"

"Numbuh 5 will just take a Hershey bar." Abby said, looking at the menu.

"Sure thing!" The mermaid gave the African-French the candy bar. Abby unwrapped and took a bite, but- "! ! PLEAH, PLEAH!" she spat, too. "Mmaaaan! Messin' up good candy like THIS!"

The kids viewed around the street, seeing many other restaurants, like Frisch's, McDonald's, Taco Bell, even a Hardee's. "For an undersea world, you sure have a lot of human restaurants down here." Hoagie observed.

"Well, of course!" the girl perked. "These restaurants are in a lot of realms, like Skypia or Galaxia! People from those realms sometimes go to land to explore its features, or even live there. Some people found these restaurants and noticed how popular they seemed, and decided to set some up in their realms! But since the REAL restaurant owners don't know about us, we get to keep the profits. Hm hm!"

"Well, I'M not a water person." Violet stated simply. "Is it a crime if I eat the, er, unintelligent fish?"

"No, it's not! It's really the law of nature. 'Course, dependin' on the species, you may have to pay a fine."

"Sigh, I'll take that chance."

Oceana Park

The six kids went to the park to relax by a bench, staring at the fountain in the center. With all the Kremlings cleared out of the way, the Merpeople families had returned, and the group of five merkids were happily kicking their ball around. A group of fish swam by using the bubble floaties, and Violet proceeded to pounce one of them and eat it. "You know, aside from the pool, this place ain't half bad." Abby smiled as she kicked back on the soggy ground.

"Eh, Oi guess it's orright." Wally said grumpily. "They probly got some decent fishsticks." (A/N: Spelled it that way on purpose.)

"'Course it's orright!" Marine exclaimed. "This is a MILLION yonks more ripper than bloody Aquaria! I just need to find me the stamping station and stamp my Book o' Adventures!"

"'ey, look!" Wally perked up and pointed. "It's that family o' sharks that tried to eat Numbuh 3!"

"Oooh, yeeeaah!" Numbuh 3 beamed, seeing the family of sharks passing through, wearing bubble floaties as well. "I recognize them! Wow, Junior REALLY got some sharp teeth!"

They saw that Shark Junior went to associate with some strange, manlike mutant fish kids. "Hey… don't those guys look like Davy Jones' crew?"

"Yeah, they do." Hoagie noticed. "What do you think they are?"

"'ey, kid." Abby called over one of the little mermaid girls. "What's up with those kids over there?" she pointed to the mutants. "What are those?"

"Oh, you mean the Fishmen?" she looked over. "According to legend, Fishmen were descended from humans who moved to Oceana a long time ago!" she explained happily. "Those humans evolved and became fishlike beings, and their descendants take those forms, too! A Fishmen is said to be 10 times stronger than a normal human. You know, a FEW humans actually still LIVE in Oceana! Are you some of them?"

"Heh heh, no!" Abby laughed. "We just visitin'. But that's kinda weird, though. I mean, HUMANS livin' with FISH?"

"Well, some humans live in Galaxia, too, right?" Hoagie asked.

"I doubt any CATS live here, though." Violet figured.

"How do you think they find this place?" Hoagie asked.

"Maybe they take summerines!" Marine perked up. "Like THAT one!" she gestured behind them.

The kids immediately whipped around, seeing a black submarine floating beyond the bubble in the distance. "That… doesn't look nice." Hoagie figured. They skimmed the bubble wall and noticed several more submarines floating around the outside, with "G" logos on them.

"GUN should be on our side, right?" Violet asked, worried.

"Ah dunno… maybe we should head back ta Facilier." Abby suggested. Nodding in agreement, the six hurried their way back.

Samiya; palace balcony

Eva was still holding Manaphy in her arms as she, Nigel, and Kade stood on a tower balcony, overlooking the beautiful ocean realm below. "You know, I have GOT to talk to Numbuh 362 about setting up a Kids Next Door down here." Nigel thought aloud. "I mean, we already have an Undersea Lab."

"Only YOU could think up something that crazy." Eva remarked.

"Mana Mana!"

"Well, it wouldn't be bad! I mean… I'm surprised YOU didn't wanna live here, Eva."

"The thing is, I probably WOULD have." Eva responded. "If it wasn't for the whole G.A.L.A.C.S.I.A. thing with Nigel. I would probably HATE myself for leaving everyone behind."

"Hm hm." Nigel smirked. "Leaving Earth for GKND really did help a lot."

"That reminds me, there's still that whole 'Dimentia's alive' thing to worry about, huh?" Kade asked.

"Well, we haven't heard news about her since she came back." Nigel said. "She's probably just laying low."

"You don't think she'd work for Lord Gnaa, do you?" Kade asked.

"It wouldn't matter if she did." Eva declared. "We'd still kick all their butts! No matter whose it is!"

Nigel looked over the balcony again, and something caught his eye. "Hey… what's that?" he asked, pointing at a submarine outside.

"WHOA!" The whole palace suddenly quaked as water started to pour down from the top of the bubble barrier.

"What's happening? !" Eva yelled.

"Nothing good!" Nigel shouted. "Let's get inside!"

Eva carried Manaphy as the three of them headed back inside to meet the others in the throne room. "Guys! What's happening?" Nigel yelled.

"We don't know! The whole palace started shaking." Amy replied worriedly.

"Errr…" Kyogre groaned and closed his eyes in pain as he dropped to the ground. "I've… felt this sense, before. The Sea Crown… is in danger."

"Oh, no. It's happening again." Eva knew.

"What do you think's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Let's go check it out!" Sonic yelled as he hurried ahead of the others.

They found the sacred jewel's chamber littered with holes blown into the walls as GUN soldiers wearing scuba diver outfits dropped in. Each of them ripped a jewel out of the crown before carrying it back to their submarines outside. "Hey! You can't take those!" Morgan shouted.

"Give them back!" yelled Eva, running up to stop the military men.

"Not so fast, kid."

Eva gasped and stepped back in shock, a feeling of betrayal overcoming her heart. "R…Rourke?"

"Surprise, surprise." The captain smirked, walking out from behind the crown. "I was the mastermind behind this whole scheme."

"But… I don't understand. Why would you want the Sea Crown?"

"Because the Sea Crown is the very thing that's keeping you waterbending FREAKS around. With it removed, that'll be one less species to worry about."

"Rourke… I don't understand." Nigel spoke. "You…"

"-Are going to bring these jewels to someone who can REALLY make good use of them: the jewelry store! We'll be loaded, and I'll finally get promoted to Commander! And you…" he glared at the Sea Prince, "you're coming with me!"

"MANA MANA!"

"MANAPHY!" Eva cried as Rourke snatched him and switched on jetpacks, flying out of a hole. Eva tried to bend her Water Fists, but was unable to. "Oh no! Without the Sea Crown, all waterbending is cancelled off!"

"And not only that, it feels like this whole town is coming down!" Nigel exclaimed.

"Hey, that rhymes!" Mika perked.

"IS THIS REALLY THE TIME?!" everyone shouted.

"Can't I make humor? ?"

"ENOUGH, you guys!" Tails yelled.

"We have to get out of here!" Sonic shouted.

"WATCH OUT!" Knuckles screamed, jumping and punching a rock that nearly crushed Amy. "Let's go!"

The team hurried and ran down the stairs, back to the castle's throne room. Kyogre was still injured as they ran past, and Eva yelled, "Wait! We can't leave him behind!" Knuckles jumped and punched another rock that was about to crush her.

Sebastian ran over to them and yelled, "We'll take care of him. You must save de prince and de jewels! Who knows what dat man will do wit' his power? Hurry!"

The group nodded and started hurrying out of there. As they dashed down the halls, Knuckles constantly punched and broke any rocks that fell toward them. The path ahead started to collapse as more water poured down. "Grr. We have to find another way." Nigel said.

"Ugh! I have to save my brother!" Eva yelled.

"Don't worry." Sonic said, grabbing her in his arms. "I'll get us through this. Hold on tight." With that, the blue hedgehog charged, jumped over the ruin and continued to run.

Nigel turned to Blaze and said, "Mind giving me a lift?" Blaze nodded and grabbed him, running after Sonic.

"What? I'm not good enough to carry, Sonic?" Amy yelled angrily.

"I'll give you a lift!" Mika perked up, grabbing her with psychic and flying after them. Morgan used her own psychic to follow them. Mika and the remaining Mario/Sonic teams looked up as another ruin was about to come down. Mika erupted a powerful psychic barrier and blew the ruins away, clearing a path. "Let's go!" she told them before running forward.

HOO! I wanted to give myself a little break on this one, due to the big tests I've been taking this week. The next chapter will have a long/epic battle, so I'll save it 'til then. Next time, the battle against Rourke, who was obviously a traitor. Later.

…

Trivia: Abby's ancestor, on her mother's side, was Ursula, which means Abby is part-Fishman.