Riptide's pale and fresh bright red scars stood out against his grey skin as he propelled himself through the water with his large tail. Just as he reached the window, his mouth opened to reveal his rows of large razor sharp white teeth. Nate didn't have time to think as Riptide came bursting through the window. Swimming hard to his left, Nate slammed into Mark to shove him away from the window. Riptide's head jerked to the left as Nate's tail smacked the underside of his jaws. However, a shark of Riptide's size just couldn't stop and turn easily in small spaces. Mark gripped Nate's arms, stammering out terrified. "OH SHIT!" Nate shoved Mark toward the hole in the floor, yelling out over him. "GO! NOW!" Mark's tail thrashed wildly to propel himself down into the hole as fast as he could. Nate went to the hole but waited to give Mark time to swim away with his injury. As the stronger swimmer, he felt responsible to make sure his friend got out alive. Just before hitting the wall, Riptide turned sharp to turn around. His large tail slamming into the wall as he course corrected to face him.

Nate rested his hands on the floor, his ear fins rising to shake as he hissed back at Riptide and showed him his sharp teeth. Without fear, Riptide rose to the challenge. Surging forward at full speed with his own teeth posed to bite him. Nate held his ground, then lashed his tail out to swat a broken piece of the vessel at Riptide. The floating piece of soft material hit Riptide's mouth and he chomped his jaws on it to splinter it more. While Riptide thrashed his head from side to side to try shredding the piece more, Nate quickly dived into the hole in the floor. Riptide soared over the hole and back out the window. Regurgitating the piece, Riptide circled back to head back into the ship to head for the hole. Nate stayed in Riptide's view, briefly glancing back to see the end of Mark's tail slipping out a hole in the lower half. When Riptide dived into the hole, Nate shot off for the small hole that he'd come in from. Riptide slammed his head against the wall to try to snap his jaws on the end of Nate's tail as he charged passed the hole. Nate yelped having felt Riptide's mouth briefly with the end of his fin before he yanked it through the hole.

Outside the vessel, Mark struggled to swim across the open water of the reef. Nate's entire body was on edge. Open water was the WORST place to be. While they could swim at a good forty feet in open water... Riptide outmatched them in his swimming speed of fifty feet! Riptide started slamming his face against the small hole of the vessel, causing the wall to vibrate and creak under the strain of his strength. Nate caught up to Mark, pointing to the next sunken vessel to state out frantically. "Inside, quickly! Our only hope is to outmaneuver him!" Taking his wrist, Nate helped him swim faster to the next vessel. They had only just reached it, when the wall of the other vessel burst apart, unleashing Riptide who came at them at full speed. He crossed the open water fast than they had. Nate shoved Mark into a hole on the vessel that led into another fancy room, before swimming toward one of the pillars on the vessel. His hope was to lure Riptide away from Mark but stay close enough that he could help him if he had too. Riptide took the bait, changing course quickly to follow him toward the pillar.

Waiting for Riptide to get closer, Nate swam around the pillar to force Riptide to circle around wide to follow him. Riptide's body was just not designed to cut turns like Merfolk could. Riptide couldn't swim backwards or stop moving. Nate grabbed the pillar, swimming around it to keep something between them. Frustrated, Riptide jerked away to slowly glide away from him. Nate stayed behind the pillar. He wasn't stupid. Riptide was giving him an opening on purpose to see if he'd swim away. Going only a few feet away, Riptide circled around to look at him. Nate held the pillar, hissing in warning back at Riptide. Riptide's mouth opened a little, swimming toward him casually. Then without warning, Riptide charged at him with his mouth wide to bite the pillar! Pushing off the pillar, Nate gasped. Riptide's jaws compressed on the pillar slowly, his large tail moving his body from side to side, causing the material to groan before it broke. The top of the pillar slowly fell to the sandy floor of the ocean, but Nate's eyes were on Riptide. Riptide thrashed his head to shake pieces of the material from his mouth before locking eyes with him as he glided forward slowly.

Nate drifted back just as slowly in the water, mumbling out. "Oh boy... That's not good." The pillar hit the ocean floor heavily, dusting up sand into the water. The clear water fogged all around them, but Nate could still see Riptide's large silhouette coming toward him. There was no doubt in Nate's mind that Riptide sensed him too. His mind was racing. He couldn't swim away because Riptide would go primal on him. He wanted him to swim away. Wanted to chase him down. He was stuck in a standoff with him. He was preparing himself to fight Riptide with his bare hands, when below Mark yelped. Riptide's head jerked in the direction of Mark, causing Nate to follow his gaze. The sand was settling in the water enough to reveal that Mark was close to the border... and looking down at his hand. Nate's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Mark had cut his hand on a barnacle that was along the side of a vessel. Riptide abandoned Nate, his primal urge overwhelming his senses. His job in the ocean was to clean out the dying and dead... and blood was how he found them. A primal urge beyond his control.

Nate swam after Riptide, screaming out in a panic. "MARK, SWIM!" Mark swam into the vessel to get out of sight. Riptide started to propel himself faster, pulling away from Nate. Desperate to stay with him, Nate snatched Riptide's tail and hung on. Riptide dived straight to the hole Mark went through, slamming his face into it. The hole broke apart more, but it wasn't big enough for Riptide to get through yet. Inside, Mark screamed and swam to the other side of the vessel. Riptide veered to the side to circle around to slam into it again. Nate used Riptide's slow moments to creep up along his side to hold his dorsal fin and pectoral fin. Riptide thrashed from side to side to try shaking him off. Nate clung to his side, trying to stay as close as he could to him. Riptide's jaw snapped as he spun in a circle in the hopes of snatching Nate's tail. Nate draped his tail over Riptide's to keep himself steady. Riptide grew so angry that he changed course to slam his side into the broken vessel wall.

Nate winced, bracing to get cut up. Until Riptide slammed into the side and suddenly jerked away from the wall. Nate blinking perplexed. He didn't understand what had happened. Looking over Riptide's side though, he guessed why he'd done it. Drops of blood were coming from Riptide's gills where something was stuck in him now. Mark slipped out a narrow crack in the other side of the side. Riptide tried to follow, but as the item hit objects in the vessel, he slowed and thrashed like... like he was in pain. Riptide circled back to leave the ship from the hole that he came from, but when the item hit the wall, he veered back. He was trapped as long as the thing was inside him. Riptide slowed, circling helplessly in the vessel. Part of Nate wanted to leave and get away while he could... but the other part of him felt deeply for Riptide. As dangerous as Riptide was... his life wasn't easy. He had a purpose like all creatures. He couldn't bare to see a strong creature like him suffer. Locking his jaw, Nate released the pectoral fin to grab the item. Riptide thrashed, but in the process helped Nate yank the item out.

Pulling it had made him lose his grip though. Falling off Riptide, Nate rolled through the water and let himself sink to the floor of the vessel. Riptide circled to face him, and Nate froze. He thought about madly rushing under Riptide to escape, until he noticed something. He'd always been told that Sharks had black soulless eyes. Yet, as he looked at Riptide this closely. He noticed that his eyes were the deepest blue that he'd ever seen. They weren't black. They just looked like that from a distance. Up close, they were as vast as the ocean with its many shades of colors as the glow from his fin ears reflected across them. Riptide's mouth didn't open as he glided closely. Instead, Riptide bumped Nate upside the head with its nose and turned around to leave the vessel calmly. Nate stayed still in complete shock. Was that his way of thanking him? Or had he been just as mesmerized by something and bumped into him by accident? He didn't feel like pushing his luck. Getting up, Nate took a second to look over the item before taking it with him through the crack.

Swimming out to the border of the trench, Nate was distracted with the item. Then yelped as Mark slammed into him. Grabbing his throat, Mark pinned him into the sand, snapping out. "Nate! I'm going to kill you! What were you thinking?!" Nate relaxed across the sand, smirking up at Mark before answering casually. "I was thinking that I just saved your ass. No thank you necessary. Your concern is touching enough." Mark narrowed his eyes on Nate, grumbling out sternly. "Give me one good reason not to tell your father about this?" Nate thought about it, then grinned brightly. Sitting up on his elbows, he told Mark with a sweet innocence in his voice. "Because you were out there with me. That makes you just as guilty. So, whether you like it or not... Your secret is safe with me." Mark removed his hands from Nate's neck, curling his fingers into fists as he gruffly asked him. "Why do you always make it seem like 'I'M' the problem child? I was a good kid before I met you!" Nate chuckled, punching Mark's shoulder lightly, telling him affectionately. "I just like pulling your tail. I'm letting you live vicariously through me. Otherwise, a good guy like you would lead a normal boring life without a little taste of my chaos on a daily basis."

Mark rolled his eyes, mumbling out. "If you are our future... I'm worried." Nate groaned, picking up the item he'd dropped, upon grimly uttering out. "Now you're starting to sound like my dad... Honestly, he has ruled this long and he's not dying anytime soon. The kingdom will be fine. Then by the time he does die, I'll be too old to have fun anyway. So, who cares?" Mark crossed his arms, telling him gently. "You know that can always change..." Nate brushed the sand off the item, his shoulders falling in response to Mark's words. Mark was referring to his mother. Inhaling deeply, Nate didn't look at him as he replied in a sad tone. "Ya... I know. He just... He doesn't..." Mark drifted closer, wrapping his arms around him. Resting his chin on his shoulder, he told him comfortingly. "He's just worried about you. And after today... can you really blame him? I'm worried about you... I don't think you are going to get his attention this way." Nate pulled from Mark's arms, turning to face him as he retorted numbly. "Nothing else works. He wants me to be like him and... I'm just not."

Nate started to swim down the edge of the trench, listening to Mark tell him casually. "He's trying to prepare you to lead... and think about it from his point of view. It can't be easy dealing with your crazy sisters. Especially, right now. Can imagine trying to get them everything they need to get ready... and then have to introduce them every month during the opening ceremony. I can't imagine what his reaction to you avoiding your first ceremony will be. I'm embarrassed for him. The whole kingdom will be there to celebrate your birthday and the beginning of the ceremony... And here you are trying to get eaten by-" Nate stopped dead in the water, his eyes widening in realization. Mark bumped into him, which cut him off before asking with concern. "What? Why did you stop?" Nate slowly turned, asking Mark uneasily. "The opening ceremony was today?" Mark nodded, chuckling out. "Well, ya. Don't you remember him joking about how your birthday landed on the mating ceremony this year? What day did you think it was? It's why I was late. I thought you decided to blow it all off as a 'screw you' to your old man."

Nate grabbed Mark's shoulders, yelling out completely horrified. "OH SHIT! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!" Snatching Mark's wrist, he yanked him after him as he raced through the water. He had to drop his stuff off at his grotto and hopefully make it to the end of the ceremony. Mark let out a sharp cry, nearly getting his arm dislocated in the process as he scolded out after him. "OW! Nate! Slow down!"

Back at the border of the kingdom, a mass of black tentacles crept out from the narrow opening practically hidden in the rocky mound of a reef cluster. A silvery hand with long red nails curled around the side. The nails tapped the reef with a calm menacing nature. The rest of the figure was hidden within the shadows there, but the figure's smooth dark voice softly purred out. "Well... That didn't go quite as I had planned. But... This could present an interesting opportunity for us. Flotsam. Jetsam. Keep on eye on the little prince. I have a feeling... he might just prove more useful than I thought." Two eels slithered out from the reef over the figure's shoulders and out toward the trench. Riptide slowly approached the reef, and the figure's hand left the reef wall to lovingly pet the side of Riptide's face, upon telling him happily. "You did well. Nice call, my friend. He could prove to be of more use to us alive... for now." To Be Continued...