As the other guards pointed their staffs at the crew's neck, the captain of the Fishysauz guards, marked by an enormous ruby in his helmet spoke with authority. "As of yesterday, Phil Le has declared that all humans setting foot in our domain will be spit roasted, barbecued and yes, fillet'd like you have done to many of our lesser evolved fishy friends!"

Chloe crossed her arms. "You could have at least put a No Trespassing sign in your domain! If you didn't want us showing up on your turf!"

"We did..." one of the soldiers said drolly. "You guys bulldozed it with your boat!"

The captain with his cat-fish whisker mustache roared. "The destruction of the kings beloved No Trespassing sign will only add to your punishment!"

"How can it be worse than cooking us?!" Monica asked with curiosity in her eyes.

"We will have you sauteed afterwards!" the captain answered. "Then we shall dub you villains our very own land-food cuisine!"

Everyone looked helplessly at each other. At last, Chloe stepped forward.

"Do you know who I am..." she said indignantly.

"Yes, my queen," Ramone cried. "Tell her that you are..."

Chloe put her hands on her hips and beamed proudly. "I am Chloe Cutlass, the first and future queen of the pirates. All scallywags and scoundrels will bow to me in due time!"

Ramone covered his face with his hooves. "That's not what I meant. She's Queen Annabell Chime, queen of the Mainland district in the Western Sea!"

The captain and his men all eyed each other with their filmy sea eyes. At last, they all burst into laughter. "The great King Phil Le doesn't recognize any human monarchs, especially petulant little girls."

Chloe puffed out her cheeks angrily. She was ready to pull her patch down and reveal her demon eye. But Ramone stopped her from revealing her demonic secret. "Please don't my queen."

"Why can't I see the fishheads roll, Rammy?"

"They far out number us."

Having remained silent, Luna stepped in front of Chloe. Her face was oddly determined for someone so lacksidaisical. "Please don't hurt these humans!" she cried. "I brought them here because....there's danger here. I don't know what, but I can feel something deep in my fishbones!"

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The guards all looked at each other. The captain spoke for them. "I'd never expect a proud Fishysauz to ally herself with human scum."

"Please…" she begged with fear in her eyes. "They can help us!"

"Perhaps," the captain said "we shall give you an audience with the king. He will decide what their treatment is."

Everyone traded uneasy looks. It now seemed their non-fried skin depended on one scatterbrained fish girl. They all reluctantlty agreed and followed the guards to the king's quarters.

As they walked on soft, algae grounds, past pools of subterranean water, Chloe spoke quietly to Luna. "Do you know King Phil Le personally?"

Luna shook her head. "Not personally, but I used to watch his speeches he'd give us from his throne room which towers above our domain. He is, believe it or not, a very noble king and very handsome too. In fact, if I wasn't so fascinated with humans, I'd love to go on a date with him."

"Eh?" Vinnie the Eel said. "So ya like humans?! Does dat mean I have a chance?!"

"You don't have a sea urchin's chance at making balloon animals!" Monica said, slyly, shoving Vinnie aside.

"I do indeed!" Luna said dreamily. "They have such impressive lung capacity. They truly put on airs!"

"I don't think that's what the saying means," Monica muttered, rolling her eyes.

When they reached the throne room, the crew were truly in for a surprise. Indigo banners draped over a sapphire bedecked throne where a massive, behemoth sat. He was clearly a fishysauz but was much larger than all the other ones. His light blue belly bulged through his purple robe, and his eyes, large and purple gazed down with scorn at the people entering his court. He was chewing on a large piece of sea bass, half which had been reduced to a skeleton.

Everyone gasped. This creature was far from the kind of King that Luna had described. "What happened to the king?!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Maybe dis guy ate the king!" Vinnie the Eel snickered, before Monica punched him on the arm.

"So this is why he hasn't made public appearances lately," Luna remarked nervously. "I feel bad for him."

"How dare you bring these pale faced air breathers into my domain!" the king boomed. He raised a stubby hand to point at the captain of the guards. "Do you need to spend some time in the dungeon, captain?!"

"Er...no sir," the fishysauz guard answered. "There was simply a fishysauz with these human scum who said something dangerous was coming to our domain. Something wicked and evil."

The king paused for a second before he burst into a round of guffaws. "You think I'd let that happen, under my nose?! Clearly, I have hired a buffoon for the captain of the guards!"

"Please!" Luna squeaked as she stepped forward. "I know what I heard, I just don't remember it."

"Hmmm," the large king said, raising a thick finger to his round chin. "Well, I do know one thing. Our guardian, who as you may know, the great Jawesome, has been looking a bit green lately! He fends off the evil in these waters. If there is evil around, it must be because he's been feeling ill around the gills."

Everyone was silent as they looked at the king. "What do you expect us to do about that," Abacab roared. "We ain't fish doctors!"

"Of course you aren't," King Phil Le said with a wide smile. His teeth spreading apart sadistically. "But...you will pay a visit to Jawesome anyway."

"And do what?!" Chloe demanded.

"Pay a visit to the inside of his gut. If you can cleanse him of whatever evil has befallen him, you shall be free to leave!"