The athletic fishysauz man they had just rescued had a look of utmost concern on his face. "I don't know how it happened, but I got swallowed by that sea weed monster. I couldn't control myself at all. Thank you for freeing me!"
"Not a problem!" Monica said. "That's what we goodniks do!"
Vinnie the Eel put his hand to his cleft chin. "You look strangely familiar, shark bait. Like there's a much prettier female version of yous out there!"
The fishysauz scratched his lapis lazuli scales. "Well, I do run a fish shop with my sister, Luna. It's called Luna's Tuna, and our motto is, "fresh off the boat like…"
"Hold da shell phone! You must be Gillian," Vinnie exclaimed. "We're with your sista! We came inside to heal this mammoth fishy and she's been sorta like our beautiful tour guide!"
The fishman's purple eyes shot open immediately. "Luna," he said. "Oh no! I didnt want her to come in here! I told her to get help because I saw something was wrong with Jawesome and everyone's in horrible danger."
"From what?" Monica asked with wide eyes.
Gillian paused. "I forget…"
Monica was nearly knocked off off her feet by Gillian's stupidity. "Ay yai yai!" she screamed and started shaking him frantically. "How did we end up with a bunch of guppy brains?!"
"Arrr," Captain Abacab growled in dismissal. "I wouldn't shake a fishysauz, lassy. That'll only makes them forget more stuff!"
Gillian weakly raised a webbed finger with a wall eyed expression on his face. "Who are you guys?"
Monica dropped him onto the floor. "Oh wait, duh," he remarked. "You're here to help save us from the terrible danger."
He rose to his feet. "Quickly," he said. "We need to prevent her from reaching out before it's too late."
Not having any other option, the three followed Gillian into the deepest depths of Jawesome's belly.
***
Meanwhile, Chloe, Ramone, and Luna walked on the opposite side of the stomach wall. Luna held her hands to her fishbone cheeks. "I heard screaming on the other side of the wall!" she said. "I hope everyone is alright."
"Chillax," Chloe said with a confident smile. "Swordslady and Eely mouth are two of the strongest members of my crew. And Captain Abacab will be happy as long as he's got a bottle of Yo-Ho on his hip!"
Ramone's teeth chattered. "I'm terribly sorry, my queen, but I'm not ok. I almost died yet again at the hands of jellyfish. I'm really not cut out for this nautical life."
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Chloe strolled over and placed her hand on Ramone's shoulder. "I know, Rammy. I know. Howabout this. If we get outta here alive, I'll take you personally to Swinging Singles Island. Then we can hook you up with a nice drink, masseuse and you can meet the handsome barnyard animal of your dreams."
Chloe clasped her hands together."Just pweez let us go on one last adventure together!" She begged. "We gotta find out what's plaguing Jawesome so we can escape and I can become the pirate queen of my dreams!"
Chloe tried to make her human eye glisten with the innocence of a young girl as she looked into Ramone's tired, dark circled eyes. With enough begging and pleading and trying to be an innocent young girl, Ramone finally sighed. "Yes my queen, you have worked your devious childish side on me yet again, but I swear to you, If we come face to face with another disgustinf deep sea demon I'll…"
Together, they reached a new room, a central room where the ceilings were high and the veins in the sides of the walls pulsated. However, the pulsating was congested with a black sludge that clogged every pore of the room. That wasn't the most disturbing thing about the room. There was a towering being in the room, and it was as thin as a pencil but as tall as the room itself. Its body was ink black and looked like a stick figure that Chloe would sometimes doodle in her note pad back home. Its pointed head had a fixed sneer on its face and it continued to drag on cigars, using Jawesome's lower intenstine as an ash tray.
Ramone sighed again. "It will be too soon."
The rail thin being giggled mischievously. "Did you call me another disgusting sea demon?"
"Uh no," Ramone said nervously. "I uh didn't mean it…I'm terribly sorry I…"
"I'll take it as a compliment," the being said in a raspy voice. "Disease'd to meet you lot. The name's Mick the Ick, one of the three infamous deep sea plagues!"
He chuckled and hurled another cigarette at the floor. Luna gagged from the fumes. "He sure lives up to his name, Ick!"
"I tell ya," Mick the Ick said, "In terms of unwanted infections, I'm far worse than Clamidia, I'll tell you that."
"Child," Rosemary said to Chloe. "Mind if I take over your body. I'm personally acquainted with this sicko."
Chloe nodded and suddenly, her voice became deep and husky. "Well well, Mick. Never expected to see you here! I'd never expect someone of your ilk to stoop to such a painfully basic job as infecting a giant fish!"
"Rosemary…" Mick said before his eyes lit up like his cigar. "Rose. Fancy meeting you. And funny you say that. Fienmond sure gave you the short end of the stick. Or should I say, girl. You were once the most horrifying demon singer in the Everworld, but now you're nothing but an teeny tiny eye jammed in the socket of a runty teenybopper. Oh how the strong have faded."
"Fienmond employed me on a secret mission," Rosemary growled. "It was my duty to rule the human mainland with an iron fist. I hijacked the queen herself!"
"Gigs off, Rose," Mick snickered. "Fienmond wants that girl for other purpose's now. Hence why he lured you into this beast. I'm gonna pluck that eye out and slurp it like a piece of spaghetti!"
Rosemary and Chloe winced. "You wouldn't…" she gasped.
Mick's elongnated frame expanded further growing spiderlike around his domain. He continues to snicker. "This was always the plan from the start. You're nothing but a pawn in a four dimensional game of chess!"
Chloe smirked. She slid back into her own mind, and with Rosemary's strength, she leaped high in the air and punched the cigar straight out of Mick's mouth.
"Huh?!" he screamed. "You punched my smoke. Nobody punches my smokes!"
Chloe winked playfully. "Next time it will be your face! I'm the pirate captain of my own destiny and the only way I'll give you this eye is if you pry it from my lifeless body. I was never a fan of chess, but I do believe this is your move, icky sticky!"