Nathan watched as Finny spun in a circle and looked up at him with a grin on his fishy face.

“I’ve managed to work out a deal with the Don,” Finny said. “He’s promised me and nine other fish in a contract to you. All you have to do is fulfill a small, teensy little favor for us.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling this is going to be trickier than you’re letting on?”

The orcs nearby watched the scene with expressions of confusion.

“Why is there a floating fish talking to him?” Hesk asked.

“It’s best not to think too hard about it,” Kason replied.

Finny glanced at the orcs briefly before turning his attention back to Nathan.

“I promise it won’t be too tricky. You just have to do what you do best: go, kick some butt, and walk away.”

The distant sounds of election proceedings in the town hadn’t stopped, a peculiar backdrop to the conversation. In the quiet moments, crickets chirped—an odd noise, considering how dead the land used to be.

“Yeah,” Nathan said. “But what’s the favor?”

Finny grinned wider. “We’ve had some trouble with people on our turf. The Crustacean Cartel.”

This is gonna be good.

“Tell me about this Cartel?”

“They’re people from our homeland. Kinda like the orcs and the elves. We’ve competed with them all the way to the Sixth Circle.”

“I’m guessing they made the same deal as you guys?”

“Yep. Big pain in the ass, but what are you gonna do?” Finny made an odd shrugging motion with his fins. “Anyway, they’ve been moving goods in our territory here on the Second Circle, and the Don’s had enough. He wants them taken out.”

“And he wants me to do the work?”

“Well, you’ll have me to help out. Not only that, but a few of my associates join as well. You’ll finally get the chance to see the might of the Fish Mafia.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure I will. What exactly is my job?”

“You’re gonna lead the strike force. Me and the boys trust you. Well, I trust you, at least. But I’m sure everybody else will too, once they see you in action.”

“And we’re gonna drive those evil crabs out of the Second Circle?”

“Yes! Exactly.”

This is really stupid.

“How long will this take?” Nathan asked.

Finny shrugged. “No longer than three days, I can promise you that.”

“As it should be.”

The only part that concerned Nathan was leaving the research team to their own devices. It was slightly disappointing to be off doing some random mission rather than helping them. But he had tried several things, and nothing seemed to work. Maybe, somehow, following this particular side tangent might actually help them.

It was at least worth the shot.

“When do we start?” Nathan asked.

“I was thinking now. Unless you have something important to attend to?”

Nathan shook his head and turned toward Kason. “Can you get these guys integrated?”

Kason nodded. “Of course. We’ve been looking to put together an infiltration force anyway. I know that Fuge has been thinking about it a lot. She’s gonna be happy with this latest addition.”

“Great. I’ll leave them in your capable hands.”

Nathan held out his hand, and a familiar white, flickering portal appeared in front of him. Nathan stepped through, Finny swimming alongside him in midair.

----------------------------------------

Nathan squinted into the blazing sun as he trudged across the endless desert, sweat dripping down his forehead. Beside him, Finny soared effortlessly through the air, casting flickering shadows that danced on the ground.

“So,” Nathan said. “explain to me how you’re flying through the air like that?”

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Finny smirked—or at least, as much as a fish could smirk. “You like that? It’s a new skill. Normally reserved for senior members, but thanks to my connections, they made an exception and taught me.”

“Yeah, but what’s the mechanism? How does it work?”

“I don’t know. How do your abilities work?”

Nathan paused mid-step. “Huh. Fair point.”

Finny waved the question off and refocused. “Anyway, about the mission. Most of this fight is going to take place underwater, so they gave me this artifact.”

Finny stopped mid-air and spun around, his fins waving dramatically. A glint of light caught Nathan’s eye as Finny dropped something. It landed in the sand at Nathan’s feet. He bent down and picked up a ring.

“What does it do?”

“You’ll find out when we reach the water. Just put it on,” Finny said cryptically.

Nathan raised an eyebrow but didn’t press further. “Alright. So, tell me more about this Crustacean Cartel.”

At the mention of the Cartel, Finny’s muscles tensed, his eyes narrowing into sharp pinpricks as he stared at some unseen enemy in the distance.

“The crabs came with us when we were transported here during our apocalypse,” Finny began. “If you think the rivalry between elves and orcs is bad, you should’ve seen us. We were in a full-blown war. And unlike the orcs and elves, we had transportation abilities to keep the fight going, even through the apocalypse.”

“Sounds ugly,” Nathan said.

“It was. A lot of bad blood, atrocities on both sides. But no matter how bad you think the fish mafia was, the crustaceans were worse. They dabbled in necromancy, raising our dead to use against us.”

Nathan grimaced. “So, are we going to run into any… zombies?”

“Unlikely. They shouldn’t have the bodies to support that kind of magic. We’ll be fine.” Despite Finny’s assurances, Nathan couldn’t shake a feeling of unease.

“What other abilities do they have?” Nathan asked.

“Water magic, naturally. But unlike us fish, they also wield earth magic.”

Nathan groaned. “Great. So I’ll be fighting the crabs and the environment. What about their levels?”

“They’ve got heavy hitters, sure, but none of them will be up here. The system wouldn’t allow it. Too much imbalance. The system would crush them—and probably us too if it suspected a major threat brewing.”

Nathan smirked. “So, you’re not actually that strong, then? The system didn’t notice you?”

“Rude much?” Finny huffed. “But fine, you’re not entirely wrong. I’m relatively new to this business. Doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself.”

“What exactly is this business? What are you smuggling, and to whom?”

“Oh, that’s simple. We—” Finny stopped abruptly. His fins twitched. “We’re here.”

Nathan scanned the horizon. It looked exactly the same as before: sand dunes stretching endlessly in every direction. “What are we looking for?”

“It’s below us,” Finny said.

Before Nathan could ask for clarification, a burst of energy radiated from Finny. Three other fish appeared out of thin air, swimming beside him.

“Your buddies?” Nathan asked.

Finny nodded. “They’re gonna help. With them, we’ll get in there and take down the Crustacean Cartel.”

Nathan glanced at the newcomers. One had a sleek, black sheen, another was a vibrant yellow with a jagged scar over one eye, and the last was so small it looked more like bait than backup.

“So,” Nathan said, eyeing the smallest one, “what’s your deal?”

The tiny fish puffed up indignantly. “I’m Speedy, and I’ll have you know I’m the fastest swimmer here.”

“Fast enough to run away from danger?” Nathan said.

The yellow fish snorted. “He’s fast, alright. Fast at getting in trouble.”

“Better than being slow at everything, Bolt!” Speedy shot back.

“Oh, you want to go, shrimp?” Bolt snapped, puffing up his fins.

The black fish sighed, cutting in with a deep, gravelly voice. “Will you two focus? We’re professionals here.” He glanced at Nathan. “Name’s Shadow. I’m the brains of this operation.”

Nathan blinked, then turned to Finny. “Do you always work with such interesting people?”

“They grow on you,” Finny said with a shrug. “Like algae.”

Nathan looked at the sand beneath them. “And how, exactly, are we supposed to get down there?”

“Well?” Finny said, tilting his head.

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you going to dig? None of us have hands.”

Nathan stared at the group of fish in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”

Finny grinned cheekily.

With a resigned sigh, Nathan knelt and plunged his hands into the sand. He heaved, pulling out an enormous amount of sand and flinging it behind him. A miniature sandstorm erupted.

“Oh,” Nathan muttered, brushing sand off his face. “This might take a while.”

“You’re doing great,” Speedy chimed. “Really efficient.”

“Says the guy with no hands.”

After several minutes of digging, his hands hit sandstone. Frustrated, he punched through the rock, shattering it into tiny grains. He kept digging until the ground beneath him gave way, and he tumbled into darkness.

Water enveloped him instantly. Nathan thrashed, his lungs burning as he struggled to find air. Amidst the chaos, the ring slipped onto his finger. Instantly, the sensation of drowning vanished. His vision sharpened, and he felt a strange ease in the water.

“What happened?” Nathan sputtered, blinking rapidly.

“Neat, isn’t it?” Finny swam up beside him. “The ring lets you breathe underwater, enhances your vision, and boosts your swimming. Don’t ever say I’m cheap.”

“Still waiting on those fish crackers you promised,” Nathan said.

Finny frowned. “I swear, if you bring that lawyer down here—”

Before he could finish, one of the other fish cut in. “Focus! We’re nearing the target.”

Nathan looked around and realized the underground river had swept them along without his noticing. Ahead, the water slowed, emptying into a basin.

“Where are they?” Nathan asked, scanning the area. It was eerily quiet.

Finny’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. This doesn’t look good.”

The water shifted. Nathan’s muscles tensed as his heart raced.

Out of the sand popped a crab no bigger than his palm.

“Oh, is that it?” Nathan started to say, but a shout cut him off.

“CRAB!”

Bolts of energy and water erupted from the fish behind him, striking the crab with the force of a dozen lightning bolts. The crab disintegrated instantly, leaving behind nothing but ash. Sand exploded everywhere, and Nathan coughed as the dust settled.

“Was that really necessary?” Nathan asked.

“It was a crab, Nathan. A crab!”

Before Nathan could argue, the sand shifted again. More crabs emerged, then more, until the basin teemed with them. Each one glowed faintly, the telltale sign of skill activation.

Nathan groaned. “Why did I sign up for this again?”