Pezci, Scypho and Shin leave the chamber and enter the darkened submarine passageway that will lead to where the monster fish broke through the hull. The rest of Shin's dive suit has appeared, and he now sports swim fins. Shin notices the first barracuda and spears it with his speargun. Continuing the search, it becomes evident that all the lighting has been destroyed. Before long, they come upon the giant barracuda head piercing the hull. The barracuda posse start attacking and the trio fights back. When one barracuda focuses on Pezci, she panics and starts shooting everywhere. With the last spear in her magazine, she hits the monster fish and appears to kill it. Scypho approaches the head and reaches into the jaws for the Mirror, and the monster fish awakens. He misses his opportunity, and the fish escapes the hull. Pezci wants to return safely to prison, but the boys make plans to go after it.
Cast of Characters[]
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Synopsis[]
The three hunters, two of them prisoners of the third, head down the darkened passageway in search of the giant barracuda head. They use the glow of Shin's diving mask to light their way. Along with the rest of the dive suit, the soles of his shoes have extended to become long diving fins to help him swim. He grips a golden speargun, pointing it straight ahead with a grim smile on his face. To one side in front of him, Scypho holds his speargun at the ready, his face set in a stoic expression. To the other side is Pezci, holding her weapon by the receiver, her fear of the upcoming violence showing in her eyes. Scypho leans toward Pezci and whispers that he's now ninety percent sure Shin's an alien. She doesn't hear him because she's reciting a litany things that could happen to her. He also confides he's going to try picking the scanner from Shin's pocket while he's not looking. She stops her rambling long enough to ask him if he will help her if they get her.
Behind them, Shin suddenly alerts to something ahead. Shouting, "Get stabbed 'cuda!" he lunges forward, startling Scypho and giving Pezci a terrible fright. Shin fires a spear downrange, and it races toward a barracuda that's coming at them, hissing with its mouth open. The spear pierces the fish's skull, and a gout of blood streams away from the carcass. Standing triumphant, Shin tells the others that'll attract any others, so they need to be wary now. The men swim farther down the passage, leaving the very distressed Pezci drifting along behind. It's becoming apparent that the fish have destroyed all the light fixtures in the passage. Shin comments that it's weird the emergency lights haven't turned on, and Scypho suggests they might have eaten that too. Fearful of what may be behind them, Pezci makes an effort to keep up, taking a better grip on her speargun. Answering the jellyfish, Shin says that it's strange, why would barracuda be attracted to metal, adding that it's not normal. Scypho snaps back that a giant barracuda with spikes around its head is also not normal. Shin coos, loving that it comes with added challenges. Pezci stays in the background, clearly terrified of the prospects.
They keep swimming, with Pezci just keeping up, until the light mounted on Shin's speargun illuminates the giant barracuda head, stuck in the opening it tried to get through while chasing after Pezci and Scypho. The creature's posse of barracudas swim circles around its hissing jaws. Through the open jaws of the monster the Mirror can be seen lying in the hollow of the lower jaw, its shaft curving to match the jaw. They are all initially taken aback, but Shin quickly recovers, announcing that the barracudas are coming. His first shot is an instant kill. Watching the fish corpse bleed out, he ask the others what kind of barracuda they pissed off. Dismissing the thought, he suggests they just shoot things, putting words into actions. The boys start firing rapidly, hitting and missing in equal measure. One barracuda is coming in high, directly between the two men, seeming to be heading directly for Pezci. She spots the threat and it terrifies her, causing her to start firing wildly, swinging her gun back and forth randomly as she gives in to hysteria. A near miss prompts Shin to demand she watch it. Its continued approach only makes her more crazed, forcing Shin and Scypho to duck and cover, and she manages to kill the original threat. The last spear in her magazine goes right in front of Shin's chest, nearly hitting him; hits two barracuda in the mouth, piercing their skulls; and goes on to strike the monster in the skull. Blood immediately starts oozing out of its mouth and it stops moving.
Shin punches the sky and yells that's how the Planifron do it, adding "good work team" for good measure. Scypho looks on disbelievingly, while Pezci continues to be horrified by what has occurred. Shin turns to Pezci and advises her that her accuracy isn't too good, noting she almost hit him. She stammers as she tries to explain, but he interrupts her, cheerfully proclaiming he could've died right there, ending with a laugh. She looks at him, uncertain what to make of him. While they're talking, Scypho is approaching the monster's head. He tugs at the jaws of the creature, chanting come on, come on, and asking where it is. With a cry of triumph, he finds where the Mirror is lying in the hollow of the upper jaw, and he starts to tell it he knew it'd be just fi— The monster comes to life with a roar, scaring the two merpeople and causing Shin to remark disappointedly that it's still alive. It struggles, thrashing about and crashing into the bulkheads until it works free of the hole with a whoosh of water. The three of them stick their heads out of the hole looking around. With a nearly cheerful tone, Pezci waves to the monster and exclaims great, it's gone, time to go back to prison now. To her dismay, the boys have other ideas. Shin states a monster of that size cannot roam free, and Scypho grumps that "his mirror" is still in there.