Pezcada Murder Razorfin

Pezcada Murder Razorfin, who likes just PezciShifty Partner (pronounced pez'-ski; sounds like peskyJuly 18, 2020 Andreafishy in a reply in the comments Maelstrom Round 2!), is an anxiety-ridden mermaid who has to learn to fight for herself when life screws her over and a raging maelstrom makes her homeless. The unwillingly recipient of a strange golden key, Pezci must make her way to the mysterious Light Tower where paradise is promised to those who seek it.
She meets an opportunistic jellyfish named Scypho carrying a magic mirror around with him, and he agrees to help her find her way if she takes him in as part of her prize when they get there. On the way, she encounters her deepest fear, is chased by a giant barracuda, and is taken prisoner by the last living human. After chasing off the monster fish, he takes her to meet the elders of the Dohrnii tribe. After learning that there is now way to remove the Key without spilling blood, she agrees to take the Dohrnii tribe in exchange for their help.
__TOC__
== Description ==
Pezci is a young mermaid of a species based on the threespot damselfish.Identified by Andreafishy in Ocean Facts 1 From the waist down, she has a fish tail covered with scales, while her torso, arms and head are clad in smooth, dusky gray skin. She has gills on both sides of her torso and neck, and her shoulder-length wispy hair is white. She has white flashes on both shoulders and one low on her abdomen that are the signature of the threespot damselfish.
Unlike others of her tribe, who were famed warriors and renowned for their fighting prowess, Pezci is not very aggressive. In fact, she is so timid, she cowers at the threat of violence. Her first instinct is to scream or run away. She has an irrational fear of depths, which makes travel difficult for her at times.Fears
The name of Pezci's tribe, the Planifron tribe, may have been derived from another species of fish that is also known as the threespot damselfish, Stegastes planifrons. Her first name is definitely based on the word "Pez", which is Spanish for "fish". The author's mother used to call her by a pet name, "Pescadita", which is Spanish for "Little fish", a clear lead in to "Pezcada".The Submarine (Q&A!)
== Gallery ==
== Video ==
== Biography ==
=== Prologue ===
The young mermaid wakes up and finds herself in a nest she's made among the kelp fronds. A maelstrom, traveling quicker than she expected, forces Pezci to think fast. She knows there's a city sixteen miles away, a full day's swim for her. She's alone, with no money and no idea what to do next. She seeks daylight to get her bearings, and instead finds golden keys. One Key lock on her and bonds to her left hand. While trying to get rid of it, she finds its compass beam, and a hologram of the Light Tower welcoming her.Lost in Thought
=== Chapter 1 ===
The next day, with the storm gone she figures out the Key wants her to go to the Light Tower, but on the surface she doesn't see anything in the direction it indicates. Going below, she arrives at the city and resorts to asking random strangers where to find the Light Tower. A passing comment draws her to a gathering in the city center. Here she comes across Scypho looking bored, with the Mirror strapped to his back. It seems to be watching her. Their first meeting doesn't go well, and ends with Scypho striking Pezci with the Mirror to stop her wailing. When she asks about the Mirror, he tells her she can't afford the answer. Her question about the gathering gets a better answer when he tells her there's a rumor about a competition.The Light Tower
With a loud ringing, screens everywhere light up, and the Light Tower makes its announcement. The Key on her hand makes her an immediate target, and she has to flee the mob. Pezci comes to a drop-off that she just cannot cross, and her pursuers think she's cornered. Suddenly, the mob discovers a maelstrom has arrived.The Game Begins Free of their attention, she can now flee the city, getting out ahead the maelstrom she thought she'd left behind. Inattentive to her surroundings, she gets tangled in a net, and it's Scypho with the Mirror that get her free. Once away from the city, he asks her about the Key, and then he tells her the Tower was not in the city, but rather is on the other side of the world.Maelstrom Round 2! Once she gets past her panic attack, he offers to help get her to the Tower if she'll include him in the reward she receives. After thinking about it, and with reservations, she agrees. She lets the Key show them which way to go, and claiming to know the area, Scypho tells her there's a rest stop that way. Setting out, he tells her to call him Scypho. She tells him her name is Pezcada Murder Razorfin, but she likes just Pezci.
=== Chapter 2 ===
On the way, Pezci mentions she's from the Planifron tribe, and when asked about them, reveals they all died. Scypho changes the topic, saying there should be a fuel station ahead, and then she asks about the Mirror again. Again, he refuses to answer, but when pressed, he spills a highly suspect line about who and what he is. With the fuel station in sight, they come across a wide trench whose bottom is lost in darkness. Pezci cannot cross the trench because of her overwhelming fear of depths, and what may be hiding there, the same fear that nearly cornered her in the city. She gives it a try, but she fails miserably. Scypho is unable to coax her to try again, and Madam Louv catches up with them. He tries to hide them, but Pezci's fear causes her to give them away. The Mirror, not wanting to go back, takes her and the jellyfish for a ride,We RIDE and leaves them hanging in midair. Madam Louv, after leaping up, and after a brief struggle, gets the Mirror back. The Mirror violently resists her, and she lets it fall. Her and Scypho give chase, and he's the one to catch up with it. In the mean time, Pezci realizes she's loitering over depths, and she rushes to hide among the rocks on the trench's verge.
Quietly, out of the darkness, a long tentacle reaches up and wraps around the Mirror's shaft, trying to claim it. Madam Louv joins with Scypho as they try to rescue the Mirror. The Mirror flames the tentacle,The Mirror! then Scypho uses the flaming Mirror to drive off the whale. With no warning, and to Pezci's horror, multiple tentacles shoot up and the Mirror is knocked from Scypho's hands. It grows wings and flies away with Scypho following. When a tentacle grabs him, he calls out for help,Tentacle Nonsense and Pezci answers. The Mirror chooses that particular moment to attach itself to Pezci's head using a giant blue remora's sucker, cutting off her vision. Flailing blindly, she takes out the whale's guards with the Mirror, but Madam Louv easily secures the shaft. The Mirror resists any attempt to pry it loose, and Pezci is rendered unconscious or dead by her attempts. All unseen by Pezci, Scypho fights off the tentacle using his own venom, and once loose, he comes raging over the verge. He stuns Madam Louv with an elbow strike to the head, and he grabs the Mirror, with Pezci dangling, just as the agitated giant trench worm rises up and blocks in the Madam and her bodyguards, taking them out of the fight.The Final Struggle
Pezci and Scypho arrive safely at the fuel station, in part because Pezci couldn't see the trench as they passed over, so her fear of depths couldn't overwhelm her. At the fuel station, Scypho uses pressurized water at a cleaning pylon to coax the Mirror into releasing the now cognizant Pezci, who is grateful to be free. He then decides she deserves to know more about what's between him and Madam Louv, and he tells her his story of his time with Madam Louv. When Pezci presses him on what the Mirror is, he just shrugs. She gets upset because, now, as well as being a Keyholder, they're being hunted by that crazy whale, and he assures her he can handle anything she throws at them. She wonders if she should've let him join her, but decides it too late to back out now.Scypho Backstory
Scypho shows her a map he stole from the clerks that shows the way to the Light Tower. She's concerned that there's another abyss on the way, but he assures her one of his old jobs was as a navigator with a prestigious ship and crew, but just as her hopes rise, he dashes them when he admits they were pirates, he was a stowaway, and the job lasted a week, but he has faith in his keen memory. When Scypho moves to get traveling again, Pezci asks if they can rest for a bit, she's tired from swimming for almost two days. She sees him noticing something, unsure what he sees.
=== Chapter 3 ===
The next thing she knows, she's riding shotgun in a stolen watercar that's about to run out of gas, while trying to outrun the police. Scypho takes the 'car into a grotto and abandons it when the gas runs out. After sighting a submarine on the seabed, they head out, with Pezci complaining she doesn't want to be a criminal. A looming shadow has Pezci looking up to spot a monster fish with a posse of barracudas that Scypho claims chased off the police. Scypho attempts to keep Pezci from panicking, but naturally she screams, and he ends up taking them to the submarine. When he pries open the hatch, the inrushing water sucks her in. She hears Scypho curse as he loses the Mirror, and several of the smaller barracuda come in with him. He finds sanctuary, but as soon as the door closes, the lights turn red and an alarm sounds.Bigger Fish to Worry About Feeling trapped, she has another panic attack, but this time it's the fisheye camera that stops the hysterics. The camera withdraws into the ceiling followed by two loud bangs, and this, and the dropping water level, convinces her they're in a torture chamber. Pezci worries that 'they' are gonna take her Key, but Scypho assures her they're not giving up the Key that easily.Airbreather
Once the water is gone, the ceiling grate lifts, and a man in uniform peers down. Scypho demands to know his deal, and the man calls them intruders, saying they've made a big mistake, but he stops when he recognizes Pezci. She doesn't know him and slaps her tail in agitation, and that's when he spots her Key. He takes them prisoner, and with a snap of his fingers he traps in water bubbles and they're handcuffed. Heading to the brig, Scypho tries talking them free, to no avail. He even offers Pezci as a slave, causing her great distress, but the captain says he's taking them both. Giving him a betrayed look gets the claim from Scypho that he would've come back for her. Later, Scypho says they've got a big issue. Pezci assumes it's about the journey ending so quickly, but he's talking about the fact the monster fish has the Mirror. He also wonders if the man's an alien. Piqued by their conversation, the man makes some remarks that the pair doesn't quite get and it convinces Scypho he is an alien.
Arriving at the brig, Pezci finds herself floating over an oval pad, and she watches sadly as metal bars slide into place. She watches as the man scans Scypho, the bright flash causing him to yelp. He relays what the scanner says about Scypho, then he turns to Pezci. She tries to hide and lets out a squeak when she's scanned. He doesn't get much, saying the Planifron tribe had little use for the wavenet. He offers his condolences for her tribe, but she assures him it's okay, they were happy in the end. She asks how he knows her tribe so well, and he explains the Dohrnii tribe has a long history with the Planifron, mentioning she can call him Shin. He goes on to say she was the wimpiest and most pathetic fish on the training grounds, claiming he would never forget her. She listens to Scypho arguing with Shin about being in the Dohrnii tribe — something about jellyfish — flinching when Shin uses the flash in the scanner to shut Scypho down. Shin tells them they will stay here until he gets home, leaving before Scypho can tell him something Pezci thinks might have been important.Jellyfish Man??
Pezci is just floating aimlessly in her cell, when the hatch slams open and Shin storms in, shouting that there's a giant barracuda head in his ship. Pezci offers an apology, saying they were just trying not to get eaten. Causing Pezci to worry, Shin announces this could be his big chance. Rushing to a bulkhead, he pulls out a touchscreen and starts tapping madly. She watches as he declares something is perfect. He marches over and tells them to imagine what the Dohrnii will think of him when he brings home two prisoner and a giant, slain barracuda monster.
After a thorough looking over, he tells them they're going to help fight those things. This doesn't sit well with Pezci and she begins to panic. Shin takes them out and down the passageways, but Pezci strives to swim back chanting "no". Back at the chamber where it all began, Shin opens a bulkhead showing a selection of spearguns, picks two, and tosses them to his prisoners. Pezci reluctantly takes hers, hearing him say they're simple to use. The water level rises, as does her panic level. She tells him she doesn't know how to do this, which fits with what she said about forgetting her self-defense training when she woke up that day. Shin scoffs, saying this is baby stuff to a Planifron. The battered hatch slowly swings inward, revealing a dark passage. Shin causes them some concern when he states they cut the lights. They swim out into the passage with Shin in the rear. Scypho whispers he's 90% sure Shin's an alien. Pezci doesn't really hear him as she chants a litany of things barracudas could do to her, finally asking him if he would help her if they got her. Shin screams, "Get stabbed 'cuda!" and fires a spear down the passage. A barracuda with its mouth wide open takes the spear through the mouth, a gout of blood streaming into the water. Shin says something about being wary, but Pezci is curled up in a panic, feeling terrified and afraid, looking everywhere for signs of danger.Barracuda Fight
They come upon the giant head blocking the passage, the light mounted on Shin's speargun illuminating the scene. The barracuda posse circles the head, moving to attack when they see the trio. Shin says they're coming, but Pezci just huddles up behind Shin in denial. One barracuda targets Pezci, and she sees it and recognizes it as a threat. She start firing in a panic, swinging her speargun randomly, causing Shin to tell her to watch it. She starts firing even faster, forcing Shin and Scypho to duck, but she also starts hitting the fish quite regularly, eventually killing them all. Her very last spear not only pierces two barracudas with head shots, it goes on to strike the giant head just behind the eye, apparently killing it. Once things settle down, Shin declares that's how the Planifron do it. He comments her accuracy isn't too good, she did almost hit him, making her stammer as she tries to explain. He interrupts her to say quite happily that he could have died, letting out a short laugh, and totally stunning Pezci. The giant fish suddenly awakens, frightening Scypho and Pezci, and disappointing Shin. After it breaks free of the hatch and swims off, Pezci announces great, and it's time to go back to prison now. The boys disagree to Pezci's dismay, and they announce their plans for the monster, Scypho saying he wants the Mirror back, and Shin stating he believes the beast is a hazard.
Pezci watches everything from inside of the hatch. She sees Shin goes after the monster fish and Scypho gets shocked for trying to follow. She watches the way the fish responds to Shin's challenge, and the more ferocious way Shin responds to the monster. She sees the monster regurgitate the Mirror from its gut, and how the Mirror takes Shin out of the fight. Finally, she sees the monster fish turn and leave.Pls Fite Me Shin, still stuck, complains this is lame, then he asks about the Mirror. Scypho sees his chance and snatches the scanner. Pezci tries to stop him, but he scans Shin anyway. They learn his full name and that he really is a Dohrnii, and he's the last human alive. Before they learn more, Scypho is shocked and paralyzed. Pezci asks about the human species being extinct and Scypho explains that's why Shin can't breathe underwater and has no fins. Shin shows off his flippers and mask, but Pezci thinks he's not so confident. Shin orders her to carry Scypho while he collects the Mirror. It resists being collected, ending up contained by the ship's computer and stored anyway. Scypho claims Shin really is an alien, but Pezci insists humans are extinct, not aliens.Endling
At the Castles of the Dohrnii, Shin roughly escorts his prisoners off the submarine. Pezci looks up at the castle structure, awestruck by its beauty. Following their captor, Scypho tells her Shin's going to try for the Golden key. She says she knows, and she's scared, and when Scypho starts making plans, she tells him she's scared because the last time her tribe met with the Dohrnii tribe, things went badly. Scypho admits that could make things more difficult, then tells her to just act natural and not say anything weird. Inside the galleria, Shin brings them to the Dohrnii elders and introduces Pezci as a Keyholder, which brings Pezci a whole lot of attention. After some excited conversation, Sir Cindarii approaches Pezci and Scypho and introduces himself and Lady Nellii. With a nervous smile, Pezci proceeds to point out she's a Planifron and their prisoner, and not threatening in anyway. Scypho grimaces and smacks his palm to his face.The Dohrnii Sir Cindarii says he's thrilled to see Pezci again, offering his condolences. When she asks how he remember her, he tells her that most of the Dohrnii learned to recognize all of the Planifron since they had such good connections with them. Pezci apologizes for not doing the same for the Dohrnii, but Lady Nellii remarks that they know the Planifron always have other things to set their minds to. Agitated by their words somehow and shaking nervously, Pezci responds it was definitely not things like ending a thousand year-long trade agreement out of irrational suspicion, clearly accusing the Dohrnii of how things went badly the last time they met. Scypho intervenes, claiming she's nervous and sometimes just says things, ignoring how this makes her feel.Negotiations
After Shin and Scypho get into it and are separated by Sir Cindarii, Lady Nellii gets down to what's important: Negotiating with the Keyholder. In exchange for including the Dohrnii tribe in the Light Tower's reward, she offers Pezci a safe mode of transportation and the best technology available to ensure an uneventful trip to the Light Tower. After determining that the Dohrnii really have no way to remove her Key without bloodshed, Pezci is ready to agree to their proposal when Scypho steps in, saying they need to chat for a minute. They have a brief discussion where Scypho asks her to not give away the Key to Paradise, and Pezci whines she doesn't want to swim all the way to the Light Tower. He tells her he still has his escape plan, but she tells him his plan makes her nervous, even though she doesn't know what the plan is. Her anxieties get the better of her, and she has a panic attack, and she starts wailing in fear. Scypho concedes she could be right and the Dohrnii can be trusted, calming her hysteria immediately, but he won't be letting his guard down. They go back and Pezci accepts their proposal to their great delight. Lady Nellii even tells her she has saved their tribe. Sir Cindarii tells her they are eternally grateful, and he offers his condolences to the tribe once more. He says the Dohrnii really enjoyed their visits and treasured the connection they had. Pezci admits the Dohrnii were always so kind despite the Planifron's brutal behavior, saying this was the least she could do to repay all those good relations, and then she apologized for the whole 'ending a thousand year trading pact' ordeal. Sir Cindarii just brushes the affair aside as though nothing happened, sweating as he speaks.New Pact
Relieved now that Pezci has accepted their offer, Lady Nellii says they will show them to the resting quarters, remarking they must be tired from all their traveling. She asks Shin to guide their guests to their rooms, ordering him to first remove their cuffs. With ill grace, he snaps his fingers and Pezci is thrilled to have the cuffs fall off her wrists. The small group swims away, and Pezci looks back as Lady Nellii reminds Shin to take them to the best rooms. Sir Cindarii tells them to get some well-earned rest, and they'll meet again in the morning and examine the Key. As they swim into one of the tunnels piercing the castle's wall, she asks Shin again when they met, saying she feels bad she doesn't remember. He tells her she was just a juvenile Planifron in training at the time. It was during one of their trading sessions and he managed to sneak away from one of their meetings. He confesses he loved to watch the Planifron train, saying they're so fierce and fiery. Turning to Pezci, he gives her a nudge and says except her, though, that's why she stuck out so much for him. Not very happy with his answer, she tells him that sounds like a bad thing. Speaking more seriously, he tells her it's how come he remembers her, but not any of the other Planifron from that day, even though they're supposed to remember all of their allies' names. Shin turns his attention to Scypho, asking to be reminded who he is. When he gets an answer, he taunts Scypho by calling him Pezci's jellyfish slave. Pezci tells him that he's not her slave. When he suggests bodyguard, her answer reminds him the Planifron don't need bodyguards. Then he gets a sly look on his face and suggests boyfriend, triggering her anxiety. She tells him that Scypho saved her from the maelstrom so she's taking him as part of the Light Tower's reward as repayment. Telling her he was only kidding anyway, he remarks it's strange seeing a Planifron trusting someone other than other Planifron, then adding she's very strange for a Planifron, an observation that triggers her again.
The next morning, Pezci is sitting in a medical laboratory with Scypho at a work station across from Dr. Crusher Jeff. The doctor examines the Golden key embedded in her hand, causing her some slight discomfort. He expresses his fascination with the way it has bonded to her flesh, agreeing with Scypho when he suggests it's like a tattoo. Pezci asks if she can take it out, but to her great disappointment, he tells her only with some form of painful tactic. After some thoughtful questions, he admits it seems the key was programmed to prevent interference with the rules of the game, then he confirms that if the key is removed, it will attach to a new host. Pezci is asked if she still wants to remove it, but after assurances it would be the worst pain she'd ever felt, times ten, she decides to keep it. Leaving the laboratory, Scypho asks how the maelstrom is impacting the Dohrnii, and the Dohrnii elders say it's reaching deeper and lasting far longer than normal maelstroms do, affecting the planet's currents and bringing waves of toxic water from across the ocean. Pezci panics, but she's reassured the water inside the buildings is safe, but some Dohrnii have died from over-exposure. The Lady tells her that since her species has become immortal, they no longer breed, and they may be in danger of extinction. This causes Pezci to become introspective, and she admits she's been avoiding her responsibilities out of fear. As she reaches the decision to do better and act to save the Dohrnii, she glances through a porthole and is stunned to see the maelstrom has once again caught up with her.The Keyholder's Burden
Pezci holds station between Scypho and Shin, her posture reflecting the uncertainty and turmoil of facing the maelstrom again. She watches as the elders see to the safety of the Dohrnii tribe with a calm urgency, assuring the floating castles can escape the ravening storm. She doesn't know what to do with the information when Shin leans over and whispers that Sir Cindarii hates the Marine Orders. Their quick responses to the danger reassure the damselfish that everything is under control, and her posture relaxes. She's puzzled by the conversation between the Lord and Shin, uncertain what they're talking about, but she and Scypho follow along anyway when they swim away from the control center. She approaches the elder when Shin becomes paralyzed with excitement, and he tells her it was a good thing she saw the storm in time, but the most urgent matter now is getting her away from the maelstrom. Quivering with uncertainty, she asks if he's sure they'll be safe with Shin. This sets off Shin, causing her to apologize, saying it's just really strange to see a real living human that still exists.Goodbye Dohrnii
Scypho picks up on this, and asks how is he still alive. Shin proudly boasts he has Dohrnii DNA fused to his, allowing his cells to regenerate and continue living indefinitely. He drops the bomb that he is 5000 years old, causing to her freak that he's so old. She hears Scypho demand to know why this information hasn't been shared with the world, and the elder explains Shin was an exception because he's the last of his kind, but if the rest of the world found out, they would be in danger of war and attacks from other tribes and warning Scypho to keep this to himself. Undeterred, Scypho points out that Shin's appearance alone is still something questionable and not very fishy. Shin answers that most people assume he's some weird-looking deep sea fish anyway. The elder advises them to avoid contact with anyone to keep people from finding out they have a Keyholder with them.
They swim out to the submarine and meet with Lady Nellii, who tells them she set the coordinates for the Light Tower on the fastest and safest route she could find. Pezci is momentarily confused when Sir Cindarii calls her Nellii. He turns to her and, putting his hand on her shoulder, says he's sorry they couldn't extend her stay longer, that he would have loved to show her more of the Dohrnii bases. Pleased by his words, she smiles and says maybe she can see more of them when they win the Key game. This prompts Shin to slap his hand down on her other shoulder, telling her that that's the spirit, giving her a fright. The elders bid them goodbye as they proceed to the deck of the submarine, with the Lord giving them one last warning that by now the news of the Keys has spread across the whole world, and to avoid the maelstrom and people as much as they can. On deck, Pezci assures the elders they'll be careful, and then the sub pulls away from the dock and heads out to sea.
=== Interlude 1 ===
Pezci and Scypho swim behind Shin as he crosses the waterfilled entry room of the submarine. She asks him if he's sure the Dohrnii will be okay, watching him press a button on the wall near the room's exit. She hears a beeping noise, but ignores it to listen to his reply. He tells her the Dohrnii are very capable and smart, and that he has full faith in their escape. He turns to her and tells her in an excited voice that it's especially true if they use his backup escape plan. She suddenly realizes the water is disappearing from the room, and she begins to flail about and wail in a panic. She hears Scypho speak sternly, demanding something from Shin, but it doesn't penetrate. She stops flailing when Shin holds up a ring, offering no explanation, and then is dumbfounded when he tosses a pair to her. She didn't realize what he was doing and didn't move to catch the rings, letting them fall into the shallow water. Once she and Scypho recover their rings, Shin instructs them in their use, and they quickly get their hydrospheres activated. Of course, she tries moving the 'sphere with a clumsy gesture of her hand, and she flies head first into the wall. Shin remarks he likes her spirit.The Submarine (Q&A!)
Once they're set up, Shin takes them on a tour of the sub, showing off munitions and such, claiming several rooms as his favorite. The tour comes to an end when they arrive at the control room, which Shin claims as his other, other favorite. She can see that Scypho seems impressed with what he sees, even if she hasn't got a clue what she's looking at. For whatever reason, Shin tells them everything on the ship is waterproof. Even not knowing what she's looking at, Pezci can appreciate quality, and she tells him he has a nice ship. He smiles, saying he knows. Scypho decides suddenly to tweak Shin's nose, telling him he's not impressed, wiping the grin off his face. Pezci is puzzled by the way Shin leans against the rudder wheel and nonchalantly describes the sub's capabilities as a living space and battleship. Scypho continues taunting the human, getting him to haul out some type of harpoon cannon, which he demonstrates right there in the ship, hitting the ceiling and causing chunks of material to fall. A small piece actually strikes Pezci in the head, but it causes no harm. She keeps a wary eye on Scypho when she sees his smirk, and he finally breaks Shin's cool. He leads them down a new corridor, stopping at a hatch to a new room. He brings them into a big storeroom full of books and weapons and stuff, telling them this is the collection of stuff the Dohrnii definitely shouldn't know about. Going unnoticed by anyone, the Mirror lies on a table in the back of the room, sparkling stars from being stunned by the ship's computer cycling above its glassy surface.
=== Interlude 2 ===
=== Chapter 4 ===
== References ==