A Shark's Tale

Chapter 5: Blast to the Past part 2

                The following morning, Sal was the first to wake up to his younger twin coughing in his sleep. At least his coughing wasn’t as severe, but by the time he woke up, there was a small jellyfish girl tending to him with medicine and warm tea; a delicacy they had never tried. Samekichi seemed to strongly enjoy it, while Sal was quite the opposite.  The salmon shark preferred juices and fruity beverages other than tea.

Tatsumiya had told Lord Meikai of the shark twins, and got his permission to keep them under their roof, into which the twins responded gleefully with grins and giggles. Tatsumiya would act as their mother for another six years, while Meikai would come in time to time to play with them outside or perhaps show them a few magic tricks, which Sal admired greatly. Samekichi would like to roughhouse as he got older, and frequently fought it out with Helica, while, although female, would be an even match with the shark.

They were given new apparel, which consisted of a new beige sweater for Sal along with a grey scarf, black pants, and black boots, while Samekichi stuck with the grunge look with the black biker jacket with white fur along the collar, a weird badge on the right shoulder of the jacket with an anchor and a red slash through it, a grey top, a necklace with an anchor on it, dim grey jeans, black boots, and a black belt. Both twins had gloves either black or a murky shade of blue grey.

One day, close to the summer months, the sea was faced with a great enemy; the Red Sea. Lord Meikai and Tatsumiya were discussing with each other about the dilema over the egg they held securely with the princess, whom Meikai addressed as his daughter by the name of Wadanohara. At this time, the twins were brought outside with Helica and Pulmo, who were merely servants of the castle at the time. A red glow filled the entire town, and black, oily fish, eels, and turtles swam around freely like paper bags in the wind, instead with menacing red eyes and ghoulish screams and groans with every passing by.

“Sal, Samekichi. You gotta stay here, you understand? If you but leave these gates… I ain’t guaranteeing yer comin’ back.”

Helica sighed, patting their shoulders. Samekichi folded his arms and looked off at the catastrophe just outside the gates. Sal nodded slowly, and looked to his brother with hesitant eyes.

“Samekichi… please don’t leave. I don’t… I don’t think I could make it without you.”

His turquoise orbs glazed over, as he held one of the shark’s sharp clawed hands in his own. Samekichi looked at the albino, and gave a nod, before Helica smiled with a chuckle and a brief ‘you better not’ before heading back into the castle, where Tatsumiya could be heard sobbing within the doors.

“Sal, believe me, I ain’t leavin’ fer anything. At least not until we find dad… however cliché that may be.”

At the younger one’s remark, he couldn’t help but grin at their sarcasm. Taking one last glance at the chaos outside, he approached the gates to the point where he could hold on to the bars, and examined the red mass moving closer and closer towards them.

“I wonder if dad’s out there…”

He muttered to himself, sighing longingly. Samekichi huffed.

“Quit dreamin’. We probably ain’t ever gonna find our old man down here.”

“It’s something to think about, Samekichi. Don’t you think? Just imagine… he recognizes us, and takes us into his loving arms, and…”

He wiped his arm across his face.

“I wish that day would be today.”

The younger one scoffed, and didn’t reply to the older one’s daydreaming, until all of a sudden, Sal walked out into the streets past the gates. This sparked the shark’s attention.

“-!!! Sal!? What are you doing?!”

“I have to look for dad… he has to be here; defending his home…”

When in truth, their father was doing the opposite, but neither of them was aware. Sal walked through the mass of bleeding corpses and flying fish particles until he stumbled upon the princess who just so happened to be standing right in front of him. When he bumped into her and looked up, he snapped back into reality and panicked; trying to run away before a voice spoke up.

“Don’t leave yet.”

It said. Looking back up at the princess’ face, there was a loopy, sadistic grin upon her lips. One eye was missing, and that was merely covered with bloody bandages. The one who had spoken was the fish bow upon her hair. Sal’s face grew completely pale, and he took weary steps back, before the princess lifted up her hand, which was nothing more than bone. Princess Mikotsu…

“The princess is offering you a deal. She will find your father… as long as you join her.”

Sal’s innocent eyes glowed, and he took a cautious step forward, as Mikotsu kept her hand extended from her black, bloodstained kimono.

“Will you…?”

He uttered, getting a slow nod from the princess.

“She crosses her heart.”

The fish replied. Filled with a passion of fleshly happiness, he wrapped his fragile fingers around hers which were equally as fragile. Princess Mikotsu began to grin mischievously, before a strange power surged through the salmon shark that swept him off his feet. At first he was frightened, but then… everything became clear. Her laughter grew louder, and the atmosphere grew denser, as if he were breathing in blood through his lungs. The entire red atmosphere grew crimson, and it spread further and further as Sal was slowly being converted into one of the Dead Sea.

He opened his mouth to speak, but instead of a gasp in horror, it was a chuckle. Looking up at the princess who smiled back at him, his chuckling progressed, until it turned into insane laughter, which did not suit his once previous character one bit. His turquoise orbs glistened into a new shade of ruby, and he stood side by side with Princess Mikotsu upon a pedestal of carcasses.

Samekichi, in the distance, was frightened out of his mind. Sal just… turned into one of them. He could see the sadistic grin upon his brother’s face. There was no sympathy left for the albino shark at this point, it was only hatred; for being so greedy as to fall into such a trap as that.

“Come along and join me, brother~! We can find father together! Ahahahaha!!!”

Sal’s menacing voice rang through the air, before a glowing blue light appeared from above their heads. That blue light expanded until the red was obliterated, and the enemy retreated back under the ground. Sal vanished along with them. Replaced in the now blue sea was a moon above the castle. Running outside was Tatsumiya, who was crying Meikai’s name, before looking up at what Samekichi was staring at, falling to her knees in tears.

“Meikai…”

She muttered, before Helica and Pulmo followed out; Pulmo going to comfort Tatsumiya, while Helica had other concerns that no one else seemed to notice.

“Where’s Sal?”

Samekichi went dead quiet. He knew his brother wouldn’t want anyone knowing of his whereabouts; he was like that even before conversion.

“I dunno. He disappeared after that huge light.”

He lied, getting a sullen nod from Helica.

“A moment of silence…”

Everything outside was quiet except for Tatsumiya’s light sobs and the reverberating sound of Sal’s laughter scorching itself into Samekichi’s ear drums.