Episode 15

*Talk Page*

Bigger Fish to Worry About

Scypho and Pezci steal the watercar he'd been looking at, but they don't get far before being chased by the police. They manage to ground the 'car before they run out of gas, and they set out swimming but are soon spotted. Scypho sees a grounded submarine in the distance, and the close proximity of the police send them off toward it. A monster fish passes close by, escorted by several barracuda, and it chases off the police. Unable to hold it in, Pezci's scream draws the monster to them. Racing to the grounded submarine, they get in using the Mirror to pry open a hatch, but Scypho loses the Mirror to the monster. Trying to hide from the barracudas that followed them in, they get into a room and close its hatch, but that sets off an alarm.

## Cast of Characters

* Pezci
* Scypho
* Mirror
* Barracuda lionfish

## Synopsis

A watercar whooshes by overhead at breakneck speed. In the cockpit, Scypho drives the stolen 'car while Pezci looks on fearfully. She frantically points out the fuel is almost empty as the dashboard sounds an alarm, Scypho snaps at her that he knows; the Mirror chooses to display a musical note. He pilots the watercar in a zigzag fashion, attempting to throw off pursuit by the local police.

The stolen watercar mostly resembles an ordinary fish, whereas the police 'cars resemble manta rays or "devilfish", with the characteristic horns in front and a thin tail in back. The domed "windshield" of the police watercar flashes red and a siren sounds out a warning. In further effort toward evading the police, Scypho pilots the 'car down into a grotto, reaching the bottom of the cave just as the 'car sputters and dies. Taking her hand, Scypho drags Pezci out of the 'car, saying it's time to abandon ship, and they head up. They do a quick turnaround when they see the police waiting at the first opening above, and the officer in one of the 'cars that had been tailing them calls on the radio to search the other side. Hearing what the officer said, Scypho tells her to come on, they have to beat them before they get there.

As they exit the grotto swimming as fast as they can, Scypho gripes that he knew they should have waited for the owner to refill the tank. Pezci timidly suggests they shouldn't have stolen it in the first place. They're swimming along, and he says with a smug look on his face that she's the one who needed to rest and he wanted to keep going. She rests, while he drives. He claims he was trying to prevent any time wasting. They swim along an escarpment while she whines that she doesn't want to be a criminal, that it's too stressful. His tells her that as a Keyholder, she's going to be hunted by everyone no matter how innocent she is. They reach the top of the ridge and look out over the open water, and in the distance, a submarine rests, seemingly abandoned, on the ocean floor. Shading his eyes, he tells her she might as well get used to her new life on the road. She whines miserably that she will never know peace.

"**There they are!!!**"

The loud voice broke into their conversation, making them realize they had to get going. Swimming down the other side of the cliff they had just swum up, and angry that he got caught flatfooted, he declares that he has a new plan. She asks him, moaning, if it involves stealing that fancy-looking submarine in the distance. Behind them a shadow looms on the seabed between the oncoming police 'cars and them. Scypho answers Pezci's question with a definite maybe. The racing police come to an abrupt halt when they come upon the shadow crossing their path, a shadow that's bigger than all their 'cars combined. Scypho notices he can't hear the police's sirens anymore, and looking up over his shoulder, Pezci tries to get his attention. He looks where she's looking and he barks a quick laugh. With a smirk, he says that the giant monster fish scared away the cops. The Mirror displays a bare fishing hook dangling on a line. Looking at a monster that is mostly based on a barracuda that is easily forty to fifty feet long, with an entourage of smaller but still quite ferocious barracudas, Scypho announces soberly that, actually, that's a pretty big fish. Already too late, he tells his shaking companion not to panic. He tries to tell her that he doesn't think it's noticed them ye…

She, of course, does panic, and she wails in terror at the sight of the huge monster fish. Fanning out ventral spines the prove this behemoth has some lionfish in its ancestry, it roars and, along with its entourage, it turns toward the sound of the screaming mermaid. Throwing up his hands, Scypho scolds Pezci, showing disbelief at her lack of control. Terrified, Pezci asks him what that thing is. The Mirror now has a worm on the hook it's displaying. Racing to get away from the monster fish, he yells he doesn't know, complaining monsters are everywhere nowadays.

They come up on the submarine, seeing that seabed growths have climbed up the sides, proof that it hasn't been moved in some time. As the monster's roar echoes around them, Scypho tells her to find a door or a window and smash it. She whines that she doesn't want to break and enter, while the Mirror turns to face her, possibly in disbelief. He crossly says they don't have much of a choice, do they? The fish roars again as it nears, and Pezci, holding her head, cries to Scypho that it's coming. He starts using the Mirror as a pry bar on a roof hatch he's found, and the Mirror displays a frowning emoticon face (**:(**). Pezci is having a full-blown panic attack, swearing they're going to die, even as Scypho gets a bite on the hatch he's working on. All at once, the hatch pops open, Scypho calls out yes, and the indrafts of water drag Pezci in to relative safety. With no time to lose, he jumps down the hatch, holding the Mirror in his hand, but he's not fast enough. The monster gets the Mirror in its jaws and tears it free from his grip. Scypho is dragged away, cursing the loss, by a strong current before he can affect a rescue. Being swept along by the current, Scypho manages to swim with it while Pezci simply tumbles along, and she asks why they're going so fast. He replies it's because the idiot who owns this thing filled it with air, clear evidence that it *might not* be abandoned.

Pezci narrowly avoids getting chomped by a barracuda, one of the many that had been pulled into the roof hatch with them, when Scypho spots an open wall hatch ahead. He guides her through the hatch and just manages to close it before the entourage of predators arrives, battering at the metal hatch. Pezci tries to look everywhere at once, asking him now what, and where are they. And then all the lighting in the room turns red and an ominous beeping sound starts.