Goodbye, Aqua

Army POV

Aloha was heading over here when Aqualia, Aqua, rushed over to them, I quickly followed after her. "Aqua! Wait!" I tell her. She did not listen, instead, she rushed up to them and started jumping up and down in pure joy.

"I can't believe it~! I can't believe it~! AHH! I got to watch a turf war battle up close! Eek! I can't believe it!" She exclaims, jumping around with a huge goofy smile on her face. I looked to Aloha who laughed at her reaction. He then turned to me.

"What did you think~?" He asks, a smirk clear on his face.

"I think...you did okay," I tease. He pouts.

"Oh, come on~. You know I did better than 'ok'!" He says, crossing his arms. I snicker slightly.

"No, you did good. That was a good game. I liked the ending. How did you know that would work? You could've lost the entire game if it hadn't," I tell him. He chuckles lightly.

"Well, that's just it, isn't it? The thrill of knowing it might not work but you'll do it anyway. It's the thrill of playing the game. It's supposed to be fun, yeah?" He asks, smiling at me.

"Well, I do suppose so..." I say. "It was still a risky move to play so close to the end. If you hadn't been able to kill them, that could've ended horribly," I warn him. He shakes his head.

"Nah, it would've been fine. I trust my team." He urges. I sigh, knowing I wouldn't win this fight and decided against arguing with him. He would always win. I would have to pick my battles wisely with him.

"I guess you're right," I admit, shrugging. He grabs my hand and leads me over to Aqua, who was still partying like she had just won the finals and become the first shark to be a Turf War Champion. I laughed at her, despite myself. Aloha was snickering quietly too, trying to hide it.

"She's adorable, isn't she?" Diver remarks. "Why aren't sharks allowed around here?" He asks, beaming. "They are quite nice!"

"I agree, we should let them live with us, being in the Ocean, must be lonely." Straw says, frowning slightly and nodding. Octo nods in agreement and says, "Yeah."

Aloha and his team suddenly perk up, their laughter dying out. I turned to Aloha. "What is it?" I ask him. He turns to me.

"I-I'm not sure...I thought I heard something..." He mutters, pointing across the street to an alleyway. "From there..." He finishes. Diver nods, standing next to Aloha. I follow their gazes to the dark and creepy-looking alleyway. It was the type of alleyway you would see in a city murder story. The one were the main characters always go in and where they all find a dead body before getting slaughtered themselves. I shook my head.

"I'm not going in there and neither are you," I tell Aloha, tightening my grip around his hand. "Call the police if you think something's wrong. It's not our job," I tell them all. Diver looks, glaring, at the alleyway.

"I think we should do something, though. It feels like we should." He says, still glaring at the dark alleyway. It seemed to get darker by the second and more creepy by the moment. I opened my mouth to object again when a loud, terrified, scream came from the alleyway. Everyone stopped and stared. The scream was heard again.

"Call the police, if you want to do something!" I snap at Diver who fumbles with his phone quickly. I kept my hand intertwined tightly with Aloha's so he wouldn't do anything stupid. Aloha was staring, and I could tell he wanted to go help.

"Yes, we're on...oh, yeah. Yes, ma'am." Diver mutters over the phone. "Okay, thank you." He says, hanging up the phone. "They already received many calls and are on their way as we speak." Diver explains to us.

Aloha didn't respond so I did instead, "Okay, thank you, Diver," I say, nodding my appreciation to him. He nods back to me, slightly. His eyes on Aloha.

"Loa? Something wrong?" He asks. Aloha snapped out of it and looked to Diver.

"Huh?" He asks.

"Something wrong?" Diver repeats, cocking an eyebrow at his friend.

"Oh, no. It's nothing." Aloha says, smiling a little. It was one of his fake smiles but Diver seemed to buy it and turned away from Aloha to Straw and Octo. I make Aloha look at me.

"What's wrong? And don't give me that bs you just gave Diver," I tell him.

"Ah- I dunno, I just...there's someone over there. What if they're hurt?" Aloha asks me.

"The police are almost here. They'll help the squid I'm sure-" I was cut off by a blood curling screech that emitted from a little girl who stood just outside the alleyway. Her tiny body was shaking in pure fear and the girl's Mother, I assumed, pulled her away before screaming, herself.

"It's-!" The woman yelled and scrambled away in such haste, picking up her daughter and running. The people around the alleyway ran too. A large tall blue and white creature who must've been about 6"11 stomped his way out of the alleyway. I instinctively tightened my grip on Aloha, practically clinging to him at this point but he stood shocked.

"MONSTER!!" A man yelled, running past us. I pulled Aloha away and the others followed quickly. We rushed inside of a building and peeked out through the windows. A large...shark appeared and growled at his surroundings.

"Oh no..." Aqua whispers, tears running down her face.

"What is it?" Aloha asks, turning to her, forcing himself to look away. "Wait, is that...is that him?" He asks Aqua, who sheepishly nods. Aloha tensed. "That's your boyfriend?" Aloha clarified. Aqua nods and started crying.

"I-I'm so sorry! H-He-! I- I should've stopped him! He can be such a b-b-brute though!" Aqua cried. Aloha shushed her and patted her back.

"It's okay, but, shh...if he hears us then he might not be so forgiving..." Aloha explains to her. Aqua did not stop crying but she silenced her cries. She was shaking slightly from her silent sobs. Aloha had a pity-filled expression on his face. I frowned slightly.

"WHO'S THERE?!" The large shark demanded, his voice booming loudly into the building. All of us froze, hidden from sight. Could he smell us? Was that a thing? Please don't be thing....please... do not be thing... I silently prayed. As if on cue, the shark sniffed the air loudly. "AQUA?" He called. "Aqua, are you here? Come out!" He yells. His voice was intimidating. Aqua looks around at all of us, who were frozen in fear, and sighs silently. She wipes away her tears and crawls away from us. Aloha whispered to her, "What're you doing?"

She turned to look at him and shook her head, mouthing, "I am sorry." Before continuing to crawl away. Was she luring him away? Was this a trap? Were we going to die here? I hoped not... The shark approached us. We must have Aqua's scent on us. He knocked over the crates and boxes we all hid behind. "WHO ARE YOU?" He demands.

"Eep!" Straw and Octo yelp, scooting away from the shark, clinging onto Diver. He glares at them and they start to shake a little. "EEK!" They shout, scooting more. The shark reaches for them and Aloha breaks free from my grasp, knocking the shark's hand away from his teammates.

"Leave them alone!" Aloha says sternly.

"Who are YOU to tell me what to do?" The shark asks. "I'll eat you all! Stupid fish!"

"We're squids, actually~." Aloha chimes, smiling a bit. I glared at Aloha.

"Stop being stupid, Aloha! Get away from him!" I tell Aloha. Aloha looks at me and his face softens to an apologetic gaze.

"Sorry, but, I can't let him kill anyone here. You can just go around committing murders!" Aloha accuses the larger male.

"Tch, I can eat you in one bite, you tiny thing." He growls. Aloha freezes and slowly looks to the shark who laughs. "Coward!" He barks at Aloha.

Then, Aloha, being the idiot he is, pushed the crates forward, onto the shark. "OW!" The shark snaps at Aloha. I couldn't move, I was frozen in horror as the shark lunged towards Aloha, ready to bite. I could see Aloha's fearful expression. Then, last second, I could move. I threw myself at Aloha and we both fell to the side, the shark missing us both, just barely. Straw, Octo, and Diver had run to where Aqua had last been seen. We really needed her right now.

"Ouch..." Aloha mutters. I quickly get up, holding out my hand.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, he grabs my hand and I help him up onto his feet.

"Perfectly fine~!" Aloha chirps. Liar.

"Quit lying. We're talking about this later. For now- Run!" I snap at Aloha, grabbing him by the wrist and darting away from the shark. We ran outside and down an alleyway to find Aqua. She looked fierce.

"Aqua?" Aloha asks. "What's going on?"

"I...I'll get him out of here and back home. We should've never came here. This is the city of squids, jellyfish, and octopus...there's a reason us sharks don't live here. I'll lead him back home but this is goodbye...possibly forever. I don't want to risk you all getting hurt. It wouldn't be very friend-like of me...So, goodbye Aloha. Goodbye Army. It was awesome to watch you do turf and I'm glad we got to hang out at the beach." Aqua explains, walking past us without waiting for our answer, she was crying. I could tell. She was just barely shaking enough to tell she was crying. I felt bad...

Then, her boyfriend stomps outside and sees her. "A-Aqua? What're you doing here? I thought you w-were at home?" He asks, his tone much softer and not so demanding. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" He asks her, shooting a glare at us momentarily.

"N-No, nothing like that Jax, I'm okay, really." Aqua insists. "These are my friends...Jax did you hurt anysquid? Or anyocto?" She asks. Jax looks down. "Oh no! Who was it?" She asks, urgently. "We need to leave, hurry! Come on!" Aqua grabs Jax's hand and pulls him back towards the waters.

"Uhm?" Aloha watches them for a second, then turns to me. "Should we stop them or help them? We could get in serious trouble for just letting them go but they're sharks and I don't want to get eaten..." He admits, looking between me and Aqua and Jax.

"Ah...um, well, you could call the police and then tell them- actually, no. Diver just call the police we'll try to distract them, I suppose," I say, grabbing Aloha's hand and leading him over to Aqua and Jax.

"N-No! Don't! Just let us go and we- we w-won't hurt you!" Aqua threatens. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"You'll hurt us?" I ask her. She hesitantly nods. "Uh, huh. But, you're boyfriend just committed murder on somesquid!" I accuse. Jax turns on his heels to face me.

"You-!" He shouts. "You better leave us alone right now!" He shouts at me. I turn to see Diver on the phone, urgently telling the person on the line our surroundings and the such. I turned back to Jax.

"Why should I? You just killed somesquid! Killed!" I tell him. "Maybe you don't understand that. You can't undo that!"

Jax growls at me, Aqua hangs onto his arm, holding him back from doing something he might regret. "You know what it feels like-!" Aqua says, pleadingly. Her eyes were filled with sorrow.

"What?" I ask her.

"To have to watch over someone! Just let us leave, we'll never return! I can promise you that much. But...you love him don't you? That's how I feel about Jax...I love him very much. If yours was to get into trouble, you'd do anything to help him, wouldn't you? Help me out here, Army. Please. You'll never see us again." Aqua promised, pleadingly. I looked over to Aloha who was glaring at Jax, who was growling at him.

"Fine," I tell her. "Leave. Never return. But, if you do, you will be punished for you're boyfriend's actions and if he returns, I don't think he'll make it out of here once more. Hurry up, just push us back and run," I tell her, nodding to her. She shoved me onto the ground, Jax following her actions and then they took off.

She turned once more around to me and mouthed, "Thank you, Army. I'm so sorry..." before her head disappeared below the waters. I watched their tails go under. I stared for a few more moments.

The police pulled up, "What happened here?" A Octoling asked me. I stared, dully, at the waters.

"They escaped," I tell her. She nods slowly, turning towards the waters. "We'll block off this area. Are you two okay...?" She asks, nodding to me then Aloha.

Aloha was still staring, shocked, at the waters. I turned and tapped his shoulder. He shuddered and looked at me. I finally saw it...the fear in his eyes. Was he actually scared of Jax...? I slipped my arms around his waist, in a hug. Now that Jax and Aqua are gone...Jax was actually terrifying. I suppose he could 'lose his temper' but if he ever comes back, I won't let him go once more. He hesitant hugged me back.

...Two Days Later...

"Aloha!" I called from downstairs. I checked the time, it read ten thirty. Was he still asleep? No way...he needs to get up, if he is! "Aloha!" I shouted once more, shutting the door behind me.

"Whhhhaaattt?" I heard him whine from upstairs. I sighed.

"You're late!" I called to him.

"WHAT!?" I heard a loud thud. "Ow..." I chuckled and hurried up the steps. He laid on the floor, on his back, tangled up with one of his blankets. He looked up at me. "Ah. You lied to me."

"Yup, I needed to make sure you were actually awake and not just going back to sleep," I tell him, smiling. He glares playfully at me.

"Do we have somewhere to be?" He asks me. I shake my head and sit down on the floor next to where he fell. He sits up and throws the blanket back on the bed. He wasn't wearing his normal attire, I noticed.

He was wearing a black tank-top with blue jean shorts. He had the same styled tentacles but without his hat. He noticed me staring and laughed slightly. "Staring now are we~? Like what you see~?" He teases, nudging me. I freeze up, my face flushing with embarrassment.

"I-I wasn't staring!" I tell him, crossing my arms. This caused him to burst out laughing. I glared at him, he continued to laugh.

When he calmed down, I smiled at him and un-crossed my arms. "So, what did you want to tell me? You usually come here when you wanna tell me something." He says, smiling. I roll my eyes.

"Can I not visit?" I ask him. He sighs.

"You yelled for me and then told me I was late to make sure I wasn't sleeping. Usually you text me before you come over, too. Which, you didn't do. What is it?" He asks. Wow, okay, he's actually smart sometimes.

I chuckle. "See what happens when you actually use your brain?" I tease. He glares, mumbling, "I do..." and crossing his arms. "Haha, I was playing! Anyways, Skull and Mask wanted to talk to us. We're not late...yet. We have about thirty minutes and I was coming to get you, because, well, you usually are asleep or being lazy by now. And you take forever to get ready," I admit to him. He stands up quickly and I stand too.

"Oh, what time?" He asks, going into the bathroom for a moment. I heard the cabinet open.

"Oh, uhm, in twenty-four minutes now," I tell him.

"Okay, I can do that. Besides, I don't feel like changing again. I've done it twice today already." He tells me. I heard the sink water turn on, but, stayed where I was. "Ouch..." He mutters. I almost didn't hear it.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"Hnn? Oh. Nothing. I just cut myself by accident. It's fine. I'm trying to open something." He says.

"Okay. Well, if you aren't going to get changed then how long will you take?" I ask him.

"Oh, I'm almost done." He admits.

"Good, cuz, I got another text and they're trying to chicken out. I wonder what it is...If they're both chickening out, it must be something they consider embarrassing-" Aloha interrupted me.

"Oh! I think I know~!" He chimes, walking out of the bathroom. He grabs his blue shirt, which he didn't button up, because he had a tank-top underneath. He slips on his shoes quickly and we both leave his house. He locks the door behind him. We start walking to the place Skull and Mask wanted to meet at.

When They Arrived - Aloha POV

Army and I walked past the gates of the large park. Skull and Mask were sitting at a picnic table in the shaded area, it looked to me like they were arguing. I walked alongside Army, making our way over to them.

"So, you think that they are really going to tell us that they-" Army was cut off by Mask.

"I doooon't waannnnnaaa." He complained as we walked over to them. Army looks at him then Skull. Mask turns to us, without his mask on. We all freeze. Mask grabs his mask and quickly puts it on. I stared at him.

"Uhm, do you-?" I cut myself off.

"Yes, forget it." Mask says, grumbling. "If you don't, I'll just kill you."

"Fine, fine," I say, sitting across from him with Army at my side.

"So, what did you wish to talk to us about, you two?" Army asks, getting straight down to business. They were quiet for a moment. "Go ahead and spit it out. We don't have all day. Come on, we won't laugh or anything." Army urges the two. They glanced at each other then to me and Army.

"Three things, actually." Skull admits, shrugging. "First of all, you and Aloha missed the last meeting? And Aloha never answered his texts from us. You didn't either which was really unlike you two. We asked Diver and Forge and they said that you two were together...which confused us...until we thought about it for a moment..."

I could see where this was going. Oh, today was going to be a long day, huh? Can't just have an easy day?

"Arrrre you two...uhmmmm...how do I putttt this...? Are you twwwooo a...'thing'?" Mask asks, shyly. I crossed my arms on the table and laid my head down.

Oh my cod. I hate you Mask and Skull. I hate you both. So much.

"Uhm, Aloha, do you want to explain this...? Or do you want me to...?" Army asks, pointing between the two of us. I sighed.

"I dunno if I want to," I say, rolling my eyes. "I guess we have to, though?" I ask Army. He nods. I sigh again, sitting up. "Okay, fine. I'll explain...uhm, so, you see... about your question. We...we..." My voice trailed off. I was frustrated with myself. Why can't I just say it?! Oh my cod, just say it! I can't do this. I cannot tell them. I laid my head back down. "I can't do this," I tell Army. He smiles slightly.

"I knew you'd give in." He whispers to me. I glare up at him, then hid my face once more. "Do you want to me to tell them? Or lie?" He whispers extra quietly. I think for a moment.

"Go ahead, tell them. They'll find out one way or another. But, if they go around telling everyone I will kill them," I say aloud, threateningly.

"We are. We have been." Army says.

"So, you are...? A 'thing', I mean?" Mask asks, to clarify.

"Yes, Mask, we are," I say, growling. "What's next?" I say, urging the conversation along. Army looked as uncomfortable as I felt. I sigh and pull one of my arms from underneath me and grab his hand under the table. He looks to me, smiling. I smile back to him.

"Next is...well, hate to break it to you both, but, we have another Turf War as both our separate teams and Team S4. For a tournament. It was highly requested and they kind of said, "Be there or else, we aren't asking" so we kind of have to go." Skull explains. "Then, the third thing is...we got a call from someone...and well, you see, they are...the X-Blood. They're challenging us to a Turf War. They want to see if we're actually worthy of calling ourselves the S4 or if it's just a bluff."

I looked up when he said that. "They what?" I ask.