~Hongjoong's POV~

The suns beat down upon the ocean waves that stretched out far beyond what the eye could see. Everything that surrounded us was a beautiful ever changing world of water. My hair fluttered in the wind blowing in from the horizon as I deeply drank in the smell of the salt and sky. Being here reminded me of a life I dearly missed but had nearly forgotten with the steady passage of time. Spray from the water blew over the sides of the weather worn platform we stood on misting our skin and soaking through our boots. In this moment I felt as if I had finally found something my soul had been yearning for...

Then my reminiscing was interrupted by someone loudly retching over the side.

Seongwha had his hands on his knees trying to steady himself as he swayed back and forth. He looked pale and sweat broke out over his neck and face as he wiped his mouth.

"I fucking hate the ocean..." He growled under his breath before he was wracked with even more gagging.

Everyone else stood on the other side of the platform trying not to watch as he vomited, quite violently, into the froth.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to die out here..." Seongwha moaned morosely. Then he nearly fell in as we were rocked by a large wave. San ran forward and grabbed onto his waistband to keep him aboard while Seongwha continued to dry heave.

"Where the hell is everybody... I can't do this anymore!" He yelled.

San had his nose plugged and responded. "We've only been waiting for five minutes Seongwha..."

As if summoned by his outburst our transport emerged from beneath the waves. The giant eye of a sea creature looked glassily in our direction. All iridescent scales and seaweed colored fins its head disappeared beneath the warm cerulean water.

"W-What the hell is that thing?" Mingi asked timidly.

"It's a Leviathan." I responded. I saw a lifetimes worth of scar tissue crisscrossing over its massive body as it glided beneath the waves. It's pain was something hot and sharp I could feel burrowing into my nerves just under my skin. I closed my eyes as I let it roll over me. "They're taken as hatchlings and 'conditioned' to do their masters bidding. This one is no doubt property of Yuyaga's..."

Mingi rested a hand on my shoulder, amber eyes filled with concern. "Is your second sight bothering again Hongjoong?"

"I'll be alright in a bit Mingi." I replied. Sometimes my ability blindsided me and left me reeling if I wasn't being careful. Though over the years it had proven to be useful skill, like when I had to initially calm Cerber down back at the ship.

The Leviathan's presence made the floor bob up and down which earned another miserable groan from Seongwha. A glass dome that was affixed along its back crested the water and the occupants within it regarded us stoically. Yuyaga's men opened the hatch while salt water cascaded in foamy rivulets down the glass. With a hydraulic hiss it opened up and they stepped out onto the platform.

All three creatures were undoubtedly Aquacerian natives with their unusual looks. The first one, the largest of the three, had a vermillion colored armored body and muscular arms with deadly
pincers in place of hands. The lackey after him had only one bloodshot eye that studied my crew inquisitively. He had slick gray skin that glistened in the light and a huge finned tail that wetly slid along with planks behind him as he walked.

Their leader, who I knew went by the name of Fang, was the last to emerge. He was the most humanoid in appearance of them all, covered head to toe in ochre colored scales that adorned his multiple fins. His eyes were milky as he looked around at my crew then smiled, showing rows upon rows of jagged teeth.

"Ssstar King," He hissed in the best impersonation of my tongue as he could. "It'sss been to long."

"Not long enough," I responded coolly. "I didn't know you became a grunt to Yuyaga, Fang."

At this Fang made a noise that must've been his version of a laugh but came out sounding like strangled scream, golden bangles around his neck shone in the light. "It paysss well..."

The large crab lackey that stood next to me began speaking in Cerian. He angrily jabbed the bigger of his two pincers in our direction as he spoke.

"What's he saying San?" I asked my translator who still had ahold of a seasick Seongwha. San focused on the creature who continued to yell Cerian even louder than before now pointing to the sky.

"He's asking why only six of us fell from the sky when there should be seven." San explained. My men and I all remained composed and kept our eyes on Fang.

"Yunho is no longer part of our crew. When we meet with Monster he can tell you that himself." I told our alien entourage. San translated this message to Fang who continued to eye us suspiciously. He seemed surprised that I knew the chop shop owner had arrived on Aquaceria. After a pause he laughed again and smacked my shoulder, slime from his skin staining my shirt.

"Even if you're lying Ssstar King it doessn't matter..." He said cryptically while exchanging a look with his men. "One way or another Masster Yuyaga will alwaysss get hisss way..."

A gust of wind buffeted us causing clouds to gather in front of the suns that hung low in the sky. It made the roiling sea around us darken until it became an inky black.

"We need to hurry," Fang announced ominously. He studied the shadowed water that grew choppier by the second, as if something horrible laid in wait just beneath. He opened the hatch and motioned with a webbed hand for us to climb aboard. "A ssstormss coming..."

                                          ~~~

We continued down through the ocean within the safety of our glass quarters. There was a rounded section of cushions that we sat on side by side while we waited to arrive. The light filtering in from up above grew dimmer with every passing second until, all at once, there was nothing but darkness. It was as if we were traveling through space and all the starlight had been snuffed out of the universe. The only thing left that was grounding me to reality was the movement of the Leviathan's serpentine body that propelled us downward.

Even so it still felt as though something was watching us from the shadows. I would catch glimpses of something for a split second before it disappeared back into the black.

Fang caught my eye when I looked away from the window and gave me a toothy smile. In the sparse lighting from inside the hull it cast his face in a nightmarish hue."Ssee sssomething sswimming around in the dark Ssstar King?"

The gray skinned lackey muttered something in Cerian as his veiny eye roamed the expanse. I looked over to San who cleared his throat. "He said something like 'beware the savagery of the seas.'"

"Sssuperstition," Fang rasped, interrupting our conversation hands gripping the controls. "Nothing but old Cerian sssuperstitionss."

After descending for quite some time the world beneath the surface waves came into view. It shone brightly like a beacon in the murky water we travelled through.

The entire city of Hala Hala was housed beneath a large glass dome. Lit up by hundreds of thousands of lights the skyline gleamed against the back drop of the ocean. Our transport swam along the bottom of the oceans floor, expertly winding around jagged rock peeking up from the sand like teeth.

The Leviathan reached the edge of the dome and sharply angled upwards towards the underside of the city that sat on large metal stilts.

"Prepare to disembark." I announced to my men.

                                                                           
~~~

Hala Hala was a city of never ending night life. Being on the floor of the ocean afforded zero natural light and instead was lit up with an artificial sort of glow. I took a sweeping glance at towering rises that encroached on narrow trash filled alleyways.

We passed through a marketplace that bustled with life. A cook with tentacles ladled and set down bowls of steaming soup in front of patrons simultaneously. An auctioneer in the distance shouted over the crowds in Cerian taking bids for the carcass of a color changing fish that was the size of a house. Some booths sold an assortment of produce like tendrils of seaweed and kelp that had been dried and displayed in bins. Other stalls further down carried bottom dwelling animals that hung dead from meat hooks. It was while passing one of these that a butcher with a stained apron eyed us warily as he lopped the head off of a still writhing creature with a squeal.

We left the market behind and entered the polluted streets. A blanket of smog clung to the ground and coiled around our legs as we followed our escorts over the stony pathway. The air was cold drawing my breath out in white plumes so I pulled my jacket up over my neck. We ducked into a passage between two storefronts that sat under a flickering street lamp. We all walked through the winding alley in a single file because the buildings stood so close together. Nearly every surface here was covered in thick algae that shone wetly under the neon lights. Seongwha wobbled unsteadily behind me still looking sick as ever. He muttered something under his breath about how badly it reeked of fish.

Once out in the open again the crew and I caught many sideways looks as we passed countless city dwellers, each one even more bizarre looking than the last, until we arrived in front of a nightclub that was thrumming with activity. A constant rotation of clubbers were either coming or going through it's heavy double doors.

"Yuyaga isss waiting inssside..." Fang hissed in my ear as he held the door open for us.

Once inside the club I could barely hear my own thoughts over the musicians playing. The dance floor flooded with flashing lights as a sea of aliens moved in tandem to the music. A beat of drums and a strum of chords all intermingled with the haunting vocals of the siren on stage. The thumping bass of the song made the floors vibrate beneath our feet as we made our way through the alcohol fueled crowd.

Fang ushered us through more doors on the far side of the room next to the stage. We entered a VIP lounge area through a curtain of crushed velvet where Fang asked us to have a seat and that Yuyaga would join us shortly.

The VIP lounge was full of other high class patrons of Aquacerian society that either came to drink and socialize with the other more bougeiour clientele or enjoy private dances from one of Yuyaga's girls. Many if these girls swayed upon lit platforms or were draped seductively over other guests.

Around a black polished table sat Monster who was flanked by two of his men. One of them glanced up at us for a fleeting second before turning back to make out with the woman he had sitting on his knee. The other observed us with dark eyes from under a mop of blue hair. He grabbed a glass in front of him and downed a shot in one swift motion.

Monster gave me and my crew a small smile gesturing to the cushioned seats on the other side of the table.

"Monster." I addressed him curtly then bowed my head.

"Star King." He responded in a low voice. The blond of his hair seemed to glow under the dark light.

One of the dancers from across the room cast a dreamy look at Wooyoung who sat next to me. Nearly every part of her skin was covered in silver slave marks. She slinked over to stand next to him, purring in Cerian and leaning over him to show off her sizable chest. Then when she slid onto his lap I saw him bristle at the contact.

"Here we go," Seongwha whispered.

Wooyoung jerked his leg in and unceremoniously dumped her on the floor. She pouted up at him through the dark tresses of hair that had fallen into her eyes.

"Don't you dare touch me..." He said through his teeth vein bulging in his neck.

San slung an arm over Wooyoung's shoulders pulling him back, apologizing profusely in Cerian to the shocked girl. After a moment she smoothed her hair back and sauntered off after another guest who entered the lounge.

We all turned our attention back to the three men who sat opposite of us. The atmosphere was charged with tension as I strummed my fingers over the tabletop. "So you're making deals with Yuyaga now?" I inquired trying to keep my voice steady. "I thought even you had a little more dignity than that."

"Look Hongjoong it's just business," Monster said crossing his legs. "Yuyaga pays too well for me to refuse."

"So I've heard." I glanced over at the broad back of Fang who stood guard in the doorway. "So you brought an EXO suit all the way down here just for a fight?"

"It's not just any fight," Monster leaned forward over the table. "it's going to be a death match. Winner takes the losing suit and walks away with his body weight in gold. I've been promised five times what that suits worth if Yuyaga wins." Monster's words confirmed my worst fears and I had a hard time hiding my worry.

The information I needed to save Jongho's life will be paid for with another's.

"If he wins." Mingi interjected. My second in command glared across the table at Monster. "If he doesn't I wonder if he's going to pay you? Men like Yuyaga never keep their word and you know it."

"It's still blood money either way. You know what happens to the losing pilot." I could hardly keep the anger out of my voice. Angry that Monster and his men would aid someone like Yuyaga in something so sinister, regardless of the pay off.

The one with blue hair, V, I believe was his name, casually set his pistol on the table. "I'd be careful of your tone.." His voice was full of a barely masked threat.

"Just try it V," Wooyoung snarled from my side.

There was a shift in the room, it was there in the clench of fists or the grinding of teeth. If we weren't careful it would end in bloodshed.

Monster rested his hand over the gun on the table and shook his head. "Like I said it's only business Hongjoong. It's nothing personal."

Something in me snapped at his nonchalant attitude.

"Stop using my name like we're friends you asshole!" I shouted slamming my fist onto the table knocking a bubbly drink over onto Jimin.

"Shit!" Jimin yelled knocking the girl off of his lap who fell to the floor with a yelp. Suddenly everyone around the table got to their feet ready for a fight. I had my hand on the hilt of my sword and Monster brought his to the grip of his gun.

"Now boysss let's put our toysss away," Came a heavily accented voice. "I don't want blood ssspilled in my place of businesss."

We all turned and met the bemused gaze of the master of the club, Yuyaga. His slanted eyes opened from the sides as he looked around at the scene. He was imposing in size and stood taller than even Mingi. He had to duck beneath the door frame to enter the lounge, golden hoops jangling together from hundreds of piercings that adorned his marine colored skin.

"Massster Yuyaga," Fang bowed deeply. "All the playersss have gathered..."

Yuyaga climbed into a large throne in one corner of the room leaning languidly back against the cushions. "Welcome to Isssintang or assss you'd sssay in your tongue—"

"Illusion." San clarified.

"Exactly." He attempted a smile then, gold plated fangs gleaming, with the end result looking more like grimace. The look just as quickly fell from his face as he counted the men at my side.

"Ssstar King and hisss men." He began tapping a large hand impatiently on his arm rest. "I thought I made myssself clear Fang..."

"Yesss Masster you did." Fang responded now looking apprehensive. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "The mechanic Yunho isss on The Planet of Wrought..."

"Isss that true Monssster?" Yuyaga asked cocking his head to the side giving Monster a measured look. He tented his long fingers together waiting for an answer.

Monster shot a look in my direction before straightening in his chair. "Yes Yunho is tending the shop in my stead." He lied effortlessly.

I let out a mental sigh of relief.

Take the bait bastard, I thought never breaking eye contact with the crime lord. I tried to measure his reaction knowing full well that what he lacked in intelligence he more than made up for in brutality.

A few agonizing seconds passed waiting for him to respond before Yuyaga slowly blinked and then let out a hearty laugh.

Fang joined in on the laughter and soon after the two other aliens who brought us here began laughing too. Everyone in the lounge had fallen quiet and watched our exchange.

I barely had time to blink before Yuyaga jumped up from his chair and grabbed the closest alien, the one with grey skin, and gripped his jaw with one hand. With a wet tug he tore his jaw clean off and threw it to the floor, splattering himself and a group of aliens nearby. There were a few scattered screams from the girls at the sight.

The alien reached up and grabbed at the gaping hole as if to stem the gush of blood. Eyes wide in disbelief he staggered until he fell face first onto a table breaking it into two.

"Maybe thisss will inssspire better work ethic from you in the future Fang." Yuyaga told his guard as we stalked back over to his throne and sat down. Fang stood shell shocked his cloudy eyes staring at the twitching corpse in the room.

"Letsss get down to businessss then..." He continued wiping blood from the attack onto a napkin. "I have a death match to win. I've commussssioned for the best EXO sssuit in the known galaxy to fight it for me but it'sss only misssing one thing..." He peered around at everyone as if he expected us to finish his sentence for him. Satisfied that he captivated our attention he relaxed and rested his head on his closed fist.

"I need the bessst EXO pilot." He finished. "Asss you can imagine there'sss not many volunteering for the job. Lucky for me desssperation brought the bessst pilot right to me..."

"I'll do it," I said with resolve. I saw my men stir at my side at my declaration but my locked gaze on Yuyaga never faltered. "Let me pilot the EXO suit."

Jongho's life was endangered because of me it's only right that I should risk mine to save him.

"Captain don't—" Mingi began grabbing my arm.

"I can do it," Wooyoung volunteered. He smirked confidently and cracked his neck. "I kick ass in a jet so I know I could win in a suit."

"Wooyoung no, this isn't your fight to win—" I began steeling myself for an argument.

"Thisss isss all very heartwarming and ssshit but I already have chosssen who of you will be my champion. Don't you remember Star King? Chronuss's right eye I believe... The one you plucked from the very heavens. Ouranosss was it?" Yuyaga smiled broadly over my shoulder at one of my men. I turned in my chair in dread already knowing who he was referring to.

"Although I prefer your ssstreet name," Yuyaga hissed as steely blue eyes looked straight through him. "It'sss fitting consssidering the circumssstances."

Yeosang had a vice grip around a shot glass that shattered in his closed fist. His lips parted as he came back to himself, blood dripping onto the table.

"Sssecretss will alwaysss come to light, Deus Ex Machina, the God in the Machine."

                   ❤️❤️AUTHOR'S NOTE❤️❤️

THE LIST KEEPS GROWING OF PEOPLE WHO ADDED KING OF STARS TO THEIR READING LISTS OR STARTING FOLLOWING ME AND IT'S BLOWING MY MIND! 🤯

So to all of you out there reading this I want you to know that I appreciate you so so so much and I wouldn't get this far if it wasn't for you. You're the wind beneath my wings lol. ❤️

And a very special dedication to -kairyo for creating the stunning new cover for King of Stars!! Make sure you support them by following them and check out their amazing cover portfolio!:D