Episode 16

*Talk Page*

Airbreather

Escaping a monster fish, Pezci and Scypho become trapped in a small room with alarms going off. After being examined, they are taken prisoner by the owner of the submarine, an airbreathing biped who knew Pezci when she was just a guppy. While looking over his captives, he notices she's a sporting a Golden key. He cuffs them both and encases them in separate bubbles of water, then he trundles them off to the dungeon, smoothly waving off Scypho's arguments for releasing them.

## Cast of Characters

* Pezci
* Scypho
* Shin

## Synopsis

Pezci and Scypho have taken refuge in a small control room, evading the rogue barracudas. The lighting all turns red and something is beeping loudly. Pezci gives in to hysteria, crying that pretty much everything was a bad idea, even existing, while Scypho holds his bell and glowers at her, grousing at how rich fish always have annoying alarm systems. A fisheye camera appears from the ceiling, beeping and booping and shining a dark red beam of light. It turns its lens on Scypho first, broadcasting an image of an annoyed and aggravated jellyfish. Turning to Pezci, it broadcasts an image of a frightened damselfish with her tail drawn up, and it makes angry camera noises. The lights all return to normal and, apparently done with its mission, the camera gives one last strident beep and withdraws into the ceiling with a "shooop". Two loud bangs resonate through the water, prompting Pezci to declare they're in a torture chamber and forcing them to cover their ears, so to speak. Narrow beams of red light shine through the gratings in the ceiling and floor, and Pezci notes that the water level in the chamber is dropping. Seated on the floor hugging her tail again, she rocks back and forth, moaning and rambling that it really is a torture chamber and they're going to suffocate them and take her Key and she's just gonna give it to them, but she doesn't want to. Scypho tells her to calm down, that they are not giving up the Key that easily.

Finally the last of the water is out of the room. The grating in the ceiling opens with a long, slow creak and exposes a pair of legs clad in trousers. Pezci is lying flat on the floor spread-eagle, slowly flapping her tail. Scypho is sitting next to her, looking up and asking the legs what's his deal, why would he drain the water. Both fish are out of water and obviously in distress. A man who is likely the captain from the way he's dressed — a sort of uniform with gold epaulets and a billed hat trimmed in gold emblazoned with an unusual crescent emblem — shouts down into the room, naming them intruders and telling them they have just committed the biggest mistake of their lives. Taking a dramatic pose, he begins to intone they should writhe in anguish as they realize they— A sudden realization stops his tirade instantly. Getting to his knees at the edge of the opening, he asks with a smile if she's Pezci. Giving her a suspicious eyebrow, Scypho asks if she knows him; she claims to have no idea. The man happily continues, saying he remembers her from the Planifron tribe, then tapping his chin making the two rings on this hand stand out, he more seriously states that it seems she's grown into a full adult now. Frustrated, she flaps her tail, smacking Scypho repeatedly, and she tells the world she doesn't know who he is at all.

That's when he notices the Golden key on her hand.

Dismissing her concern, he tells them it's okay, but he still has to take them prisoner anyway. Wearing a smug smile, he snaps his fingers and Pezci and Scypho float up out of the chamber through the open grating, englobed in blooping bubbles of water, both nonplussed by their changed circumstances. Padded cabled handcuffs appear with a whoosh and click around their wrists, taking them prisoner. Taking a stance, the man points down the passageway, and this time the rings on the hand at his hip shows it also has rings. He calls out "To the dungeon room!" and starts marching, and his prisoners line up behind him.

As they travel, Scypho sticks his head through the side of the bubble with a little splash, and he tries talking to the smiling man about being his prisoners. He says they didn't cause that much damage, just a little water flooding, hardly anything that matters. Walking along the seemingly endless passage, the man replies that in this sub it does matter, very much. Scypho ripostes that surely it's not something to keep them locked up for. Looking playfully thoughtful, his answer is that, no, locking them up sounds pretty good right now. Scypho offers to pay for the damages and is refused out of hand. The next offer is labor in exchange for freedom; still a no. Indicating Pezci, he says he'll offer the fish girl as a slave if the man will let him go. Pezci cries out in disbelief, prompting the man to give her a look, then he tells the jellyfish no, that he's taking both of them. Scypho lets out a sigh and swears. Catching Pezci's devastated look, he tells her he would've come back to get her.

The trip seems interminable as they walk or float through empty rooms, past weaponry and piping and trophy catches. Leaning over to speak privately with her, Scypho tells Pezci they've got a big issue. She agrees regretfully, saying she didn't think her journey would end so quickly, but she's not surprised. Annoyed, he tells her he means he lost the Mirror back there when the monster fish stuck its head through the hatch door. He's sure it's fine, he just needs to go back there and get it. Scypho thinks their captor hasn't realized about the monster fish yet. She asks him how he's gonna do that while handcuffed and when most of the ship has no water. Scypho replies that's the most annoying part right now. He gets it if you're a reptile or mammal species, but even then, you wouldn't keep air in the whole ship. He finally asks her if she thinks the captain's an alien. The captain seems to take umbrage at this point. Worried by the thought, she says she doesn't know and swears she's never seen him before. Scypho admits that's pretty unlikely.

After listening to their conversation for awhile, the captain decides to have a little fun. He announces it's been quite some time since he's had prisoners, and he tells them his tribe will be so excited when he brings them in, claiming they'll praise him. Looking thoughtful, he goes on, saying that even better, they might let him go twenty miles from home instead of fifteen, as if he were a child. He walks on with a smugly satisfied smile.

Not understanding the joke, Scypho quips, "Definitely alien."