When Sky opened his eyes, there was a fish staring down at him.

  Without a moment of hesitation, Sky shrieked and flailed about, falling off of the small cot that he had just been laying on. The fish-man held out his hands, eyes wide with worry. "Whoa, careful! I'm not going to hurt you!"

  "Why is a fish talking to me?" Sky was hyperventilating, backed up against the cot.

  The fish-man scowled. "I'm not a fish. I'm a Mudkip. My name is Quentin." He held out his...paw for Sky to shake. After staring at him for several seconds, Sky shook his head in disbelief and shook his paw. Quentin pulled Sky to his feet, where the boy stood for about a second and then stumbled. Quentin caught him and gently lowered him back onto the cot.

  "You're still healing," the mudkip informed him.

  Healing?

  "Healing from what?" Sky asked slowly. "And where am I?"

  His cot was in the corner of a large room made with what looked like stone and aquamarine. The room had five more similar cots lining the walls around the room with a large table in the center that had a bloodied sheet and several medical tools on it. Cabinets lined the top of the walls and the roof arched over their heads into a small dome. It must be an infirmary, he realized.

  "You're in an infirmary in the capitol building of the Marenatio Empire," Quentin informed him, pulling blankets over Sky's legs. "You were dropped into the ocean with clawmarks on your chest. They had given you a rare illness called Ender Poisoning, which had put you in a coma." He pulled a wooden chair up beside Sky's cot. "What I'd like to know is why you aren't dead. Ender poisoning, which, by the way, is incredibly rare, always kills its victim."

  Sky swallowed nervously, wondering whether or not to tell him.
But before he could reply, Quenin leaned forward and tapped his forehead. "I assume it has to do with you being an immortal being."

  Sky realized then that his glasses were gone, therefore exposing his eyes. He self-consciously touched the side of his face near his eye, where his sunglasses would normally occupy space. Unexplainable embarrassment came over him, as if he were ashamed to show his irregularity.

  Suddenly, another feeling hit him like a brick. Fear for another.

  "Where is Deadlox?" he cried out suddenly. The last time he had seen his friend, he had been on the ground and Sky had been about to kill him. He shivered at the memory.

  "Is that his name?" Quentin rose from his chair, crossing the room. "Your friend is safe. Unfortunately for him, he's in a holding cell. Some troops thought that he was trespassing and tranquilized him before they found you sinking."

  "Sinking?"

  "You were dropped in the ocean. The End demon was trying to retrieve you."

  "Why was I in the ocean?"

 
  Quentin explained all that he could. Sky now at least knew that he had been in a coma, in Jason's fortress. Jason's redheaded sister from a couple of months ago had died to buy time for Quentin and Deadlox to escape. Quentin didn't know anything else about what had happened specifically to Sky, since he hadn't met Deadlox until escaping the fortress and hadn't met Sky until the brine was taken to the infirmary and left in Quentin's care, where the Mudkip had used a special mixture of medicines to bring Sky out of his coma.

  After that, Sky asked if he could see Deadlox. Quentin told him that he could, but he would have to ride in a wheelchair. Sky asked what a wheelchair was. Quentin rolled one over to his bed and Sky made his displeasure known.

  The holding cells were surprisingly close to the infirmary. Sky and Quentin didn't pass many people on their way there, but when they did the beings were squid-like humanoid figures that were more attractive and intelligent-looking than the squid hybrid that he had killed in the forest a couple of months ago. Some were obviously male or female, while others looked to have no gender. Most wore guard or medical uniforms, but they also passed by a pair of female hybrids in elegant dresses and jewelry.

  Quentin steered his chair into a darkened hallway that sloped downwards into a separate level. The temperature became significantly colder as they descended into the single corridor. A guard stood outside of a solid spruce door, standing straight and clad in iron armor. Quentin parked Sky's chair in front of the door.

  "Here to see the most recent prisoner," Quentin informed the guard. The Mudkip pulled a badge out of his pocket and showed it to the guard. After a brief examination of the badge, the guard nodded curtly and opened the door for them to pass. Quentin wheeled Sky's chair into the room that lay ahead, accidentally brushing against one of the guards.

  It was lined with small, cage-like holding cells, obviously made for temporary captives. There was an iron door for each cell, but there was only one prisoner in the entire space.

  "Deadlox!" Sky cried, trying to get out of the chair but falling onto the cold floor. A dark shape in one of the cells snapped his head up, eyes widening.

  "Sky!" Deadlox grasped the bars of his cell, staring in shock at the boy. Quentin hurried to Sky's side, lifting him back into the wheelchair. He pushed Sky closer to his captive friend and the brine put his hands on Deadlox's.

  "I thought you were gone," Deadlox whispered. "I-I..." He broke away from Sky's gaze, bowing his head in shame. "I dropped you. I couldn't hold on. I was weak." He let go of the bars, breaking Sky's hold on his hands. Sky could now see two metal bands on either of Deadlox's wrists.

  "Well..." Sky sighed, unable to shake the growing smile on his face. "You can consider us even now."

  Deadlox looked up, a surprised expression appearing on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "I almost killed you in the field. You dropped me in the ocean. We are even-Steven, my friend."

  "Even-Steven? What the-"

  "Forget that part. I'm just so glad to see you."

  Quentin gave a small cough. Both boys turned and gave him a shocked look, as if they had forgotten that he was there. "I'm sorry to break up your reunion, but you two are in a very dire situation."

  Deadlox scowled, waving his hand. "Yes, yes, I realize that I'm a prisoner and Sky is recovering. But-" Quentin was already shaking his head.

  "Let me speak. I wouldn't brought you two together if I didn't need to tell you this. Firstly, this entire kingdom resides on the bottom of the ocean. If you leave the air pockets, which contain the cities and this palace. Did you see the large dome as you entered the palace?"

  "Yes...but what does-"

  "That is an arena. While you're fooled by the elegance and crap of this palace, this place is brutal. You two are trespassers, prisoners, and known immortals." Quentin took a shaky breath. "Do you know what the Marenatio Empire does to most of its prisoners?"

  Sky and Deadlox tensed, already expecting what the answer would be.

  "It executes them. And squids do enjoy a good fight to the death."

  All three stood in silence for a good minute after that, each mind whirling and trying to find a way out of yet another impossible situation.

  In Sky's opinion, it was just like an adventure novel. Of course the best friends were going to be forced into a fight to the death. According to stereotypes, they'd fight easier opponents and then they'd fight each other. One would sacrifice themselves for the other, and, just as it seems like all hope is lost, someone assassinates the royalty watching the fight and they all escape and live happily ever after. Now that he might be about to face that situation, he didn't think that the novels had it completely correct.

  "I have a plan," Quentin said at last. "I want to leave this place as much as you do. The empire has grown warped and twisted since my early days here and I'm tired of healing their soldiers and helping them out." He pulled something out of his pocket: a small metal key. Sky faintly remembered seeing it hanging on the belt of one of the guards on the way in and almost smiled as he realized that when Quentin had bumped into the guard the action hadn't been accidental.

  "This key unlocks your shackles," Quentin informed Deadlox. "As you probably know, they restrain your power like the bindings in Jason's fortress." He pulled an almost identical pair of bindings from his pocket—how much stuff does he keep in there? Sky wondered—and showed them to the captive boy. "I'm going to release you and put these on you. They're normal and won't stop you from transforming. You have to stay in your human form until the right time, or you won't escape."

  "How do we know that we can trust you?" Deadlox growled.

  "I'm the only hope you have." Quentin checked a watch on his wrist and cursed under his breath, hurrying forward to reach through the bars and insert the key into the first of Deadlox's cuffs. "You only have a few minutes. I have no doubt that you'll make it to the point where you'll have to fight each other, so, when you do, transform and fly out of the air pockets, straight up. Then go east." He moved to the second cuff after fastening on the fake binding. "Your bodies are built to withstand a lot of things, including water pressure. However, Sky, from what I know about immortals, water is a brine's weakness. Deadlox will have to reach the surface before you drown."

  Sky shot Deadlox a mocking glare. "Don't drop me again."

  "I'm tempted to," came the reply as the fake cuffs were locked onto his wrist.

  Something occurred to Sky as he watched Quentin step back from the bars of the cell. "You said you wanted to escape, too. How?"

  The Mudkip put his paws on the back of the wheelchair. "I can't tell you that. Just trust me when I say that I'll escape. I just have some...business that I have to take care of first."

  Both boys were giving Quentin suspicious glares when the door opened. Several armed guards—Sky counted six—filed in, each carrying a spear tipped with a black rock that pulsed with a very faint purple glow. Out of the corner of his eye, Sky saw Deadlox recoil slightly.

  "This isn't your place, medic," one guard, who donned a red sash that stood out against his dark blue uniform, informed Quentin, who met the guard's gaze with a calm stare of his own. "Please return to the infirmary. You may observe the events if you wish, but we must take and ready the prisoners."

  "But the brine isn't fully healed yet," Quentin objected. "If he were to compete already weakened-"

  In one swift motion, the guard pulled Sky's chair out from under him. To avoid falling on his rear on the cold floor, he quickly stood. It took a second before he realized that he was, in fact, not falling down. The guard glanced at Quentin with his eyebrows raised.

  "We know about their quick regenerative properties," he said calmly. Quentin bowed his head, but Sky could see the flash of anger in his eyes, similar to what he thought he saw in those of Deadlox.

  Two guards came forward told hold of Sky's arms, pulling them behind his back and holding him firmly. Sky could definitely see the fury in Deadlox's eyes now.

  Three more approached Deadlox's cell, hesitating for a moment when the demon threw the chair inside his cell against the bars. They then unlocked and entered the cell, and, after a brief struggle, they emerged with a spear pointed at the boy's throat.

  "Thank you for your...cooperation," the red-sashed guard said to Quentin, a hint of mockery creeping into his voice. There must be some history between them, Sky thought as the two guards holding him gave him a shove towards the door.

  "Chill, I'm walking, I'm walking." Sky held his head up high, mimicking his friend in that he tried to look dignified. However, as he passed through the doorframe, he took a last glance over his shoulder. Behind him was Deadlox, a spear by his neck and his eyes burning with barely contained anger. And behind Deadlox was Quentin, standing in an emptying room, an unseen dagger tucked beneath his coat and a growing smirk on his face.

----------------------------------------------------
Guess who hasn't updated since the middle of May? :D
dang I'm sorry