I'm a Stingray?

“I really love this kid,” Gerlach complimented the metal-coated stingray.

The whole team had plenty of reasons to be blissful. They didn’t quite expect for such a massive enemy to be taken care of swiftly, no it almost didn’t add up.

Necessarily they were happy to obtain the greater advantage under such a short period of time, and they felt ready to send this three-meter-long enemy towards death, however the hell these things died?

But before the team could have done anything rash, the gravelly-snake decided to interrupt their train of thought.

He had even made an attractive offer, “Don’t kill me… I can lead you to powers beyond imagination.”

Such a pitch did sound interesting, but the old mantis shrimp decided to decipher the paternal flaw behind this concept.

Likewise he pointed out, “If there was any great power, you would take it for yourself.”

“Smart,” Dana peachely complimented as a smirk grew across her face.

“That great power isn’t in my home, I wouldn’t be dealing with you right now if it was under my possession.” The gravell-snake boldly specified.

“Okay that sounds honest enough,” TImothy decided to swoop in this conversation.

And then he questioned, “Where is this great power, oh long one?”

His question was half of a tease, but he was eager to explore possibilities.

Irritance was evident in the other’s tone, but the opposer could still inform. “It’s in another tunnel, far greater than my home here that you have invaded.”

“And why didn’t you go there already? I’m sensing this is all just a big fat lie.” Gerlach decided to point out the flaws once more.

This time the red-haired snake decided to shout a little bit, “I’ve been down here for thousands of years you fool! Who would be hot-headed enough to leave home after such a long time?”

“Makes sense,” Timothy decided to intervene once more.

And then he questioned, “What is this great power you keep talking about?”

“Why it’s the blessing of our mother herself,” The opposer revealed.

“What?” The hero wholeheartedly questioned on behalf of the entire group.

And quite shamelessly, the other described. “A blessing from our mother will grant you great power. My strength has faded away over time, and I need another one of her kisses to restore all of my capabilities.”

“And that’s why you were so easy to beat?” Timmy tried to help make sense out of this.

“Yes. My body isn’t purged with the impurities of this tunnel, I do not draw power from these dirty walls.” Well this definitely opened another topic.

And the sea-pancake didn’t shy away from expanding it, “Do you mean the green-tar, it’s been down here all along?”

“Yes,” The overgrown worm answered.

And then continued, “This tar had been here ever since my kind migrated to these tunnels. We don’t know if our beloved mother has anything to do with it, but every pure brother and sister of mine avoided this vile substance.”

“Why?” The hero weighed in as he desperately tried to catch up.

“It can turn the purest soul dark,” The snake partially explained, but that chatter had met with a halt.

Primarily because a little old man had attacked with such power, that the worm itself disintegrated wholly! Such a reaction definitely wasn’t expected, but the team wasn’t mad about it.

Yet they were still curious. Which was why the hero asked, “Why did you do that? He was giving out information for free!”

“It was all just a bunch of malarkey,” Gerlach excused himself.

And then explained, “How could this powerful lady be their mother, if they were the ones who migrated here?”

“Fair point,” The hero decided to agree.

After that point the conversation dimmed down. The key points were discussed a few times, and the team still felt that Gerlach’s reaction was too dramatic, but neither of them paid too much attention towards such an aspect.

Instead they decided to sink deeper towards this very same tunnel, as they all had a sense that there was more to explore down here.

Apart from that, a side goal had dawned within the group. They didn’t fully trust that gravell-snake, but they got the impression that there was an even bigger tunnel to explore, which was separated from the one they were currently in.

They weren’t sure regarding how true that could be, but they were willing to explore the possibilities once they fully explored the current tunnel.

But now they met with yet another halt, even though they haven’t met with an actual enemy.

This pause solely surrounded Osira, and she decided to be quite direct about it for the sake of safety.

“I don’t feel so good,” She briefly described to get their attention.

And once gazes were allured towards her, she revealed. “It feels like something wants to crush me, I don't know what it is though.”

Before anyone could theorize regarding the overall reasons, Gerlach was swift to properly inform what could be going on.

“It’s the water pressure,” He slightly shouted.

And then weighed in, “It would be bad if you fight it, you could quite likely die.”

“So I should turn back and flee?” She questioned as her ego was slightly hurted.

“We will,” The old man corrected.

And then properly explained, “The water pressure is hurting me as well. You and I will turn around and wait for the rest up there.”

Everyone knew that the black-grouper would boldly disagree, and the team expected an argument to break loose for the very same matter.

That was why the hero decided to encourage, “That’s the best idea. Trust me, heavy water like this can crush the shit out of you.”

Timothy was fairly the most experienced of them all in any field of pain. Sure most of the team was older by age, but he was the one who explored the sea the most in comparison.

So of course the fine grouper lady could only agree, “If you die down there, we won’t be friends anymore.”

“Literally right?” Dana cracked a joke in the midst of this strong scene.

But the hero’s emotional intelligence had been upgraded a few times already, so he could understand the paternal reasons behind the black-grouper’s behaviour.

So of course he figured out a way to ease tension, “You won’t feel alone again in this life, don’t worry.”

Afterwards the lady smiled softly which admittedly pointed out towards success.

The hero’s memory was still fuzzy, but he still remembered where he found Osira in the very beginning.

She had been surrounded by halfly crazed fish of her kind, who embraced abuse and a rough way of living.

Osira was the only one between them who could think outside of the box, and figured out that many innocent fish were being killed without a reason.

So ultimately she felt alone between that little tribe, because she was the only one who had a sense of justice.

Timothy was the hero who put an end to those bastardous groupers, and proved that he shared the same sense of justice as her.

But at the moment he also understood that the black-grouper didn’t want to be alone anymore, she didn’t want to feel lonesome in a den full of fish.

That was the prime reason behind her fear, she didn’t want to lose the bundle of her friends who mostly embraced a sense of justice and equity!