Underneath the rubble and shards of splintered wood, Chloe found herself gasping. She wasn't hurt, but she lied beneath large wooden beams that could easily crush her. "Come on, Rose!" Chloe gasped. "Give me strength."

Suddenly, her arms grew veiny and purple. The tiny girl grunted like a professional weightlifter and shoved beams off her body that were three times her size. She did it quickly. She was well aware of what else lay beneath the scaffolding.

Chloe pushed her way out and sprinted towards her group of friends. Ramone, Abacab and King Phil Le had all traveled down the balcony to join Monica, Vinnie, Sunny and John Lion.

"Queen Annabell," Ramone cried with outstretched arms "Thank heavens!"

Chloe ran to him and scooped him up, causing him to holler. "Hehe," Chloe giggled. "I forget my own strength sometimes."

"No matter," Ramone answered, his hand over his heart. "I'm just happy you're safe."

"Is dat big baddy finally done for?!" Vinnie asked craning his neck to see the ruins.

There was a deep guffaw. A laugh so deep and cursed it made the abominations in the deepest reaches of the ocean shudder and swim away. Everyone gasped in horror as the robed demon pirate king rose out of the rubble like a zombie. Not only was he unscathed, but he had seemed to only grow in height. His grey rags flapping and his blood red eye glowing out of the darkness of his hood. "Mere splinters to me," Fienmond laughed. "But it seems when I gave this little urchin a demon eye, I wasn't aware of what kind of power she'd have. Rosemary...I cannot believe you'd debase yourself by helping this...lifebreather."

Rosemary swiveled in Chloe's head. Her voice was heard loud and clear. "I would have continued to help you, you sea swine, if I had not learned you sent that plague demon to kill me when I was alive."

Fienmond's gutteral voice chortled. "Yesss, but you were much more worthy of being dead than alive. Look at how much power you have when you shed that useless sick body..."

Rosemary was silent in Chloe's head.

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Fienmond laughed again. "You still have time to allign yourselves with me. And that goes double for you...Vinnie the Eel!"

Vinnie gasped and nearly choked. "I haven't forgotten you," Fienmond said. "I've given you and your crew such power that I would hate for you to squander it helping these nice guys."

"Deez nice guys," Vinnie cried. "Are my friends."

Monica gave him a warm smile and it nearly brightened up his face.

"Your crew," Fienmond said. "Have taken another strategy. They realize I won't kill them or mutate them further if they help me. You could easily be that way too."

Vinnie stood in silence. Chloe had a sinking feeling that he was heartbroken over the loss of his crew.

Fienmond help his hands out and bellowed. Countess Taon and Sanders both stood at his side, their bodies mutated but a look of smug confidence on their faces. "I already own three quarters of this whole ocean. The demollusk spread is infaillable. Those who oppose me will be lost quicker than a ship in the eye of a hurricane."

"Rosemary, Vinnie, and yes...even you child..." Fienmond hissed. "I present to you this chance to play for the winning team. You won't get this chance again. Relinquish your opposition to me and together we will rule the four great oceans together, all united in our mutations!"

All three were as silent as a graveyard of vessels. Vinnie looked at Chloe, his face still sunken in sadness over the betrayal of his crew. But before they could speak, another voice spoke. "For the good of the ocean...I will not let you take any of them..."

Valcom stood with her anchor pointing directly at Fienmond's head. "I cannot believe you tricked me," she hissed. "I believed you were the minister of my country. I fought in the name of the Mainland, but now I see I was following the words of a demon."

The towering woman was ready to blast Fienmond. But the demon pirate king merely laughed. "And what do you expect to do against us abominations of the sea?" he held up a hand and lifted the giant woman in the air.

He pulled her close and grabbed his fingers around her thick neck. Chloe's eyes bulged in shock.

"You...Chief Inspector Valcom," Fienmond said in his ocean deep voice. "Are just as much a pawn as the men and women you lead. You are expendable in the name of my oceanempire."

Valcom, in spite of her neck being strangled, managed to spit on the demon king's hooflike feet. "That's what I think of your empire..." she choked.

"And..." Fienmond laughed and wrapped his ghoulisg fingers around her neck. "This is what I think of your neck!"

There was a crunching sound, but before Valcom could give up the ghost, a voice accosted Fienmond. "I will not let you hurt any of these land dwellers! For even if they lack our gills, I view them as friends and allies. Allies in a fight against you."

Everyone turned aside to see Phil Le, the Fishysauz King, holding a golden trident that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere. "Fienmond. Let us finish this now!" he cried. "A fight for who truly rules the sea!"