Heretical Fishing-Chapter 52Book 4: : Tussle

It had been entirely too long since Sergeant Snips, spiked of carapace and sturdy of claw, had enjoyed a leisurely scuttle along the ocean floor. Rays of sunlight pierced the surface of the bay, the small waves above creating hypnotic patterns on the sands she traversed. Water moved around her, flowing to and fro with calm monotony. And a grounding coolness touched the hinges of her shell, urging her to focus on the sensations of her physical form.

Individually, each component was enthralling. Together, they seemed to place her under a spell.

She’d meant to use this time to meditate, using each step of her many legs to ponder the trail forward. If she took took long enough to her destination, perhaps she could find the correct words…

Snips’s bodily sensations made that thought try to slide away like a slippery eel between rocks. She let it go, and in a state of absolute bliss, the sergeant scuttled along, her worries of late discarded across the seafloor. By the time another thought appeared, she had traveled hundreds of meters—a fact she only knew because of how familiar she was with the underwater landscape surrounding her.

That she was currently thinking meant she was no longer meditating, and that was okay. From her master’s knowledgeable instruction on, she understood that thoughts weren’t something to be denied—but neither did she have to entertain them. Like a fluffy cloud in an otherwise clear sky, it drifted on by, disappearing right out the other side of her mind.

That’s a funny concept, she mused. The idea that my awareness has ‘sides’ to pass through...

Before she returned to a state of complete presentness, Snips noticed a soft humming in her core. She knew not the cause, yet the meaning was clear: she was on the correct path. Perhaps that should have been a stunning realization. It hinted at a breakthrough in the near future. Snips, however, found that she was too relaxed for anything other than a slight hastening of her steps.

Two snail-covered rocks loomed up to either side of her, and she kicked off the sand, sailing out into the open once more—only to immediately freeze.

Paralyzed by shock, she flew toward the object of her fixation. Tiny bubbles streamed from her mouth of their own accord, drawn into her wake before swirling up to the surface. She finally recovered her senses as a wall of yellow tentacles seemed to reach out toward her. She extended her legs and caught herself on something purple and hard, pulling herself to the side of the billowing stingers.

Snips stood atop the weirdest coral reef she had ever seen. The different colonies usually grew from rock, and while that did occur on the structure beneath her, they also sprouted from each other. The result was a mess both colorful and chaotic, each group growing their polyps as far as they could in an unconscious arms-race for food.

The scenery, however, wasn’t what she found most unique. Beneath the mass of colonies, embedded within the rock that formed the original skeleton of this ecosystem, there was a nexus of power. Not something so advanced as a core, but chi gathered there nonetheless, faint, almost-imperceptible strands of it reaching out to both supply and extract energy from the forms of life above it.

Despite how advanced it was, Snips instinctively knew this being—this animal, according to Fischer’s knowledge of coral—would never gain sentience. That didn’t make her discovery of it any less exciting. Its existence was reflective of the changes happening around Tropica, and with more chi would come creatures like this. It made her wonder what other impossibilities she’d encounter in the coming years.

Leaping over top of the reef, she marvelled at the small creatures calling it home. There were countless species of fish, some of the slow little snails she’d spotted earlier, and even some spiny sea urchins. The latter reminded Snips of herself.

She, too, had been wandering through life at a glacial pace, no clear destination in mind. Also, they were covered in a wonderful amount of spikes, just as she was. A single melancholy pocket of air escaped her mouth as she landed on the other side, and it flitted up to the surface, losing its shape as it split, came together, and split once more.

Perhaps there was meaning in that. Or perhaps there wasn’t. As Snips trudged onward, her thoughts became more frequent, denying the blank mindscape she so desired. Still, she was able to enjoy the pretty sights even if her head remained busy. Schools of fish, a few sharks, and many colorful bommies of coral graced the landscape. All made her want to scout the waters herself—like she used to back when it was just Fischer and her.

Before she knew it, the Snips arrived at her destination. It had been forever since she’d returned to this place, and another melancholic bubble escape her to drift silently upward. Only when it breached the surface did she turn her attention on the cave. Once, this cavern had housed a stolen crustacean, the unawakened lobster that had ascended to become Private Pistachio.

As she peered into it, she let out a surprised hiss. A blanket of tiny shrimps fed on a moss-like algal bloom that had grown in the stillness since she’d last been here. Taking care not to squash any of them, she stepped toward the rear of the cave, then meticulously shoo’d them all out. It took a surprising amount of time—the unintelligent crustaceans were wont to dart back around her instead of leaving. She couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t be injured or disoriented, but this way, she at least knew her call to action would not outright kill any of them.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The moment they were finally out, she spun and cocked both claws. Pressure built in the hinges of her spiky clackers as she filled them with essence. When the chi there became too much for her to control, she slammed her snippers shut, unleashing the stored energy all at once.

Two clue arcs of power smashed into the back of the cavern, carving slivers of rock from its walls. This destruction, however, wasn’t her reason for coming all this way—the blast of noise that rocketed out and into her was.

The sound wave might have knocked her out if she was a regular crab, and she spun to check on the shrimpies she’d evicted. They were bothered but alive, their tails kicking and legs scuttling toward any cover they could find.

Hissing a sigh of relief, Snips stepped forward and took a seat. She had made the call, now all she could do was wait.

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***

“I’m going to explode.” I rubbed my chin. “Or maybe implode. Is it possible to do both?”

Bonnie didn’t look up from her crafting. “Can you let us know if you work it out? They’re quite different, and I’d like to be prepared.”

“Will do. All I can say for certain is that there could be some splodin’ goin’ on if I have to wait any longer. The anticipation is killing me.”

Someone snorted muscularly beside me. One might think it was impossible to make a snort sound muscular—such a person hadn’t spent much time around Barry’s new body.

“Is that so?” he asked. “What happened to your infinite patience and flawlessness?”

“Your flawless leader can’t come to the phone right now, mate. There are giant creatures waiting to be caught.”

“You know,” Bonnie said, weaving some length of wire together, “I’d assumed you’d want to leave me in peace. Don’t get me wrong—I don’t think you’re a bad leader, but it just makes sense not to distract me if I’m making the thing you desire.”

“But you’re not bothered. By my incessant yapping, I mean.”

“I’m not, no. Still feels like the objectively incorrect move, though…”

I nodded knowingly and crossed my arms, planting a malicious smile on my face. “Unless this chatter is exactly what you need, because your adventurous soul thrives with multiple sources of stimulation.”

She finally looked up, a slight furrow to her brow as her eyes met mine.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You’re right.”

“Well, yeah, so why are you glaring at me like I just snipped your line?”

Her glare turned into a scowl. “How did you know?”

“Whoa, I didn’t peek into your mind, if that’s what you mean. It was a suspicion that I confirmed with trial and error.”

“For what it’s worth,” Theo said from the side of the ship where he was fishing, “that was the truth.”

“See? I only have wholesome leader vibes for you. Nothing to worry about.”

“Hmm.” She glanced down once more, tying off the end of the wires. “Then why did you have that malicious smile on your face when I looked up?”

“Oh, that’s easy—it was for Barry.”

“... What?”

“I thought of a decidedly wicked idea involving him. I never once claimed I had wholesome leader vibes for everyone.”

This earned a smirk from her, which I happily returned.

“So,” I said, leaping right into my next topic of arguably pointless misdirection. “Who among the animal pals do you think would look best in a floral dress? My money is on Cinnamon, and no, Barry, it has nothing to do with the fact she’s both here and inclined toward extreme violence. I can’t believe you’d even think me capable of such deception.”

“I didn’t—” Barry’s voice cut off as he hit the deck, ducking a fuzzy leg that sailed through the spot his head had been a moment earlier. “Cinnamon! He’s lying!”

The bunny shrugged in response. She wasn’t one to let the truth get in the way of a good tussle.

“It’s you!” Barry tried. “Of all the animal pals, you’d best suit a floral dress! The rest of them would look terrible by comparison!”

I cringed. “Mate... talk about stepping out of the pot and into the fire...”

“What are you—oof!”

A tiny portal had appeared behind Barry, its counterpart opening right next to Cinnamon. She’d not wasted a second, immediately launching herself through and hitting his back with a straight kick.

In his appeasement of Cinnamon, Barry had made the worst decision he’d likely make today—insulting Borks.

“Enough...” Barry shot to his feet, muscles bulging and a grin on his face. “I’m done being the punching bag...”

Before they started duking it out, I reached for my power, preparing to build a platform they could fight on. But something stopped all of us in our tracks.

Light exploded from the workbench. Without even a hint of warning, the System had come to assist Bonnie’s creation. She stepped back as its lines blurred and flickered through multiple shapes. It was what I’d been waiting almost an hour for, the creation of a giant rod I could use to catch giant fish, yet I noticed something else in my peripheral vision.

I’d been wrong earlier; insulting Borks hadn’t been the worst decision Barry would make today.

The muscle-bound cultivator went to take a step forward, dismissing his power in favor of witnessing the item’s transformation. Unfortunately for Barry, his two foes had not agreed to a ceasefire, and one of them launched the other.

Before the farmer’s foot could make contact with the deck, Borks—now in the rotund form of an English Bulldog—tucked his legs and hit Barry’s with the force of an oversized, fur-covered, and respitorially challenged cannonball.