Shimmering Water, Darkening Sky: Final Fin

Story by delphinic on SoFurry

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#3 of Shimmering water, Darkening Sky

The finale to the Shimmering Water Darkening Sky series


In the Pacific Ocean, about 700 miles away from the coast of Australia, there was a small pod of dolphins. Mind you, in this area that is the norm, but this dolphin pod had a story following them. As we look closer, we really see that the pod is really two smaller pods, one pod of about 10 were bottlenose. The other was a group of spotted dolphins. Usually this is the case of a pod clashing, but this was more of a peaceful meet. After telling the other pod their story, the bottlenoses were welcomed to rest with the spotted dolphins.

The story went like this. Diablo, a charismatic and intelligent dolphin (even as dolphins go), was the leader in the pod of bottlenoses. Roughly the age of seventeen, he was equivalent to his friends and family to what a high monk is to the Buddhists. Though past his middle age, he was strong physically and mentally, one of the cleverest in the pod. All he wanted was his pod was kept happy and safe, and he was willing to go out of his way to do so. The dolphins had been swimming for two straight days, trying to escape from a rival pod. This pod had lost its youngest member (when I say this, I mean youngest of the mature dolphins), one of the most prized dolphins in any pod, to the rage of another dolphin. They had traced this killer back to Diablo's pod, and said that they'd be ready in the morning to find out who this killer was and bring him to justice. To avoid losing a member, Diablo migrated the group southwest, destined for Australia. They had some ways to go but were close, noticing that the water didn't look so deep below.

One of the dolphins involved in this was a young female named Liotta, whose name in the dolphin language meant "shimmering water". This was because of her positive and friendly behavior, but she first received it when she was young when her parent's noticed that her eyes always seemed to shimmer. She was the youngest of her generation, the newest mature, and so she was one of the most valued members. However, she never let this honor go to her head. She was still loyal to Diablo, since she knew that just because she was the youngest didn't mean she had any authority over him (other pods weren't quite like this.). She enjoyed the company of anyone and was amazingly outgoing. Nevertheless, she couldn't function right without her lifelong friend and one year mate.

Kycxx was the name of her mate, which his name meant "darkening sky". This could mean for his dark grey skin or personality, whichever you decide. A few months older than Liotta, he missed out on his chance to be the valued member of the pod. This never hurt his relationship with Liotta, however, even though some agreed that the attention would've done him good. Kycxx was an unusual dolphin, indeed. First of all, while most were social, Kycxx tended to suck himself inwards, shy of nearly everyone and continually quiet. Not only that, but he had an unusual problem. He was easily excited and angered, sometimes getting so violent that he would lash out on other dolphins. Even over the smallest things, he could still get a horrible rage. Most of the pod avoided him, except for Liotta and her family, and his mother (his father died in a fishing net five months ago). They knew that with his size he could easily hurt one of them. That is one of the reasons why he stayed with Liotta. She loved him as a friend since birth and had loved him as a mate for a year. Liotta was unconditional about her love for him, as was Kycxx to her. But, there was a problem. Liotta was nice, but even the most positive beings have bad moments, and while Kycxx's tended to be when he was away from her, Liotta's spells were usually right by him. This always made Kycxx crazy, and on some occasions, he would lash out and hurt Liotta. This was one of the reasons why Kycxx drew himself inward, since Liotta was the only one he could trust and each time he hurt her he had the feeling she would leave him, causing depression. But Liotta never left him. She understood that he needed her to keep his sanity, more likely his life, and understood his condition wasn't his fault. Kycxx never knew why she always stuck with him, but didn't bother to say much about it, since she always gave him the same answer, "I love you, why would I want to leave?"

Wait, before you get any bad images about him, remember this. The rage isn't the real Kycxx. The real Kycxx is affectionate, friendly, and playful. Liotta knew this, but what mostly everyone else saw was a quiet dolphin with a bowed head (he swam like this if he was scared, shy, sad, or had something on his mind), something he wasn't too proud of being known by.

With that out of the way, we can resume our story. The two pods were resting after they all had gone out to feed separately. This, what they were doing at the moment, was called Stilltra. Not all of the spotted dolphins were back, so all of bottlenoses and most of the spotteds were at the Stilltra spot. Some of the dolphins, including Kycxx and Liotta, were out playing to relieve the stress of the trip. Diablo and the spotted pod leader, Krystall (Crease-si-TALL), were waiting for the others to return.

"You're sure you can make the last leg of the trip yourself?" Krystall trilled softly in her New Zealand accent to Diablo.

"I'm sure we can make it. However, it would be nice if you would watch us for a few miles, in case Cxxia happens to be following nearby." Diablo responded in his lower Californian voice. He turned from watching the group playing to Krystall, "How far do you think you can go before you get too far off schedule?"

"Maybe one, two hundred miles" she said, estimating the best she could, "Assuming we're safe the whole way. You do know these waters are highly dangerous, right?"

Diablo turned back, hesitant to think about it. "It's no safer than back home."

Krystall moved closer to him until she was only about an inch away, "Yes, so you've mentioned. That must've been horrible."

"To us? Yes, the migration hasn't gone over well with most of the pod, especially..." he trailed off, before saying "me. I know I've moved around so much in my life, but after settling in the safe calm of the Pacific, it makes going land-ways seem like a suicide."

Krystall had a sad expression in her eyes, matching Diablo's, and she still drifted closer, enough to touch.

"You must be exhausted. I'm glad we found you first."

Diablo smiled a bit, responding to her actions. His mate had died ages ago and he never had a reason to find another. He had already elected a member to take his place when he died. "I know, and I wish to thank you again for the hospitality and safeness your pod has brought us. We couldn't have made the trip alone."

Krystall began to rub against Diablo. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin, tougher and firmer, rubbing against hers. Also, she thought that the grey field on the bottlenose was pleasing to look at. "You're welcome, and even if you wouldn't have asked I would have invited you anyway. You and your pod have been the best thing to come through here in a while." She switched from her fin to her beak, rubbing along the side of Diablo's face.

Diablo seemed to understand what she was getting at. Like him, her mate had passed away and she didn't bother to get a new one. Dolphins are highly active in sex, and both hadn't mated in years. He moved his beak and began to rub it against her spotted one, enjoying the affection he missed so much.

"Mate with me, Diablo. Please, just before you go. Don't worry, I'm not 'in season'."

Diablo didn't need much persuasion. Already he could feel his genital slit swelling. Without another word they swam out a bit, to have a little 'fin fun'.

Later, as they bottlenoses were setting off for the last part of their migration, Diablo moved to the front of his pod, looking a bit like an army general. He knew that they were not safe for the last miles, but was willing to take on anything. He spoke with the age in his voice barely visible.

"Friends, family, kind members of the spotted pod, we are about to embark on the final part of our journey. This is the most dangerous part, and even though I am confident we will make it unharmed I cannot make any promises. Krystall and some of her pod will make sure we make the first part of the trip, but they won't be able to swim farther than that." He turned to Krystall and smiled a bit, "She says that I have repaid her enough to speak for the whole pod, but I figure a thanks is still in order."

The bottlenoses let out a chorus of happy clicks and whistles, causing Krystall to blush a bit. Then the dolphin moved close to Diablo and started to rub against him. As I've said before in earlier parts, dolphins are extremely affectionate, so neither pods though much of this.

Diablo silenced his pod and went up for air, before returning to speak again. "We owe these spotted dolphins our lives. But our lives still remain in danger. Cxxia could be right behind us, for all we know. It is not until we reach Australia that we shall be safe."

One dolphin spoke up, "What's so safe about being near the land? If we could survive there, why not Cxxia?"

Diablo normally would've grunted his disapproval for this, but merely grinned a bit. "True, but you must remember whet the land has. Boats, humans..... And the noise." He avoided mentioning fishing nets to spare any grief from Kycxx or his mother. "Cxxia was born a sea dolphin, and if he goes near land he will die a land dolphin. Most of us were born land dolphins. In other words, Cxxia is not clever enough to avoid the death traps. Neither is anyone in his pod, but WE are. We all are, and that's what matters. Think of the land as a refuge until we make it back to our home."

"We will be heading out soon. To the younger dolphins, I advise you to stay as close to your mothers as you can. Mates must stay close, and the rest must stay near me. Anything can come between here and the land. Stay alert, sharp, and agile to make it to Australia safely."

The pod waited for his next instruction, while Krystall began to rub Diablo again.

"Fin speed, wise Diablo, fin speed." She spoke her mantra to him, rubbing with her beak.

"Thank you, lovely Krystall." He rubbed his beak back against hers. Just this act between two different species of dolphins made Diablo wonder how dolphins of his own kind could get so cruel.

Finally, with the spotted dolphins following closely, Diablo and the bottlenoses set out for Australia.

After some time, the spotted dolphins left and Diablo was out front, keeping a sharp watch on the surrounding areas. Now they were swimming in the dark.

Somewhere in the middle of the pod sat Kycxx and Liotta, Kycxx with his fin over his mate in a sort of holding embrace. "Kycxx, I'm really worried." Liotta trilled softly, looking up to her mate.

"Don't worry, soon this will be over and we can go back to the middle of the Pacific." Kycxx answered; seemingly taking on the sort of attitude us humans have with our lady friends.

"No, not about our future, I'm worried. Right now. I can feel something that shouldn't be."

Kycxx looked at her, rubbing her a bit with his fin. He couldn't quite understand.

But Diablo did. Suddenly he felt a cold chill run through him. Urgently, he motioned for the pod to stop, shushing them. He slowly drifted out a few feet and let out a loud creaking noise, his echolocation. Almost instantly, he perked up and swam back to the pod.

"Swim the other way" he ordered quietly.

Some of the pod began to make objecting noises, but he firmly responded with a "Now!"

The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion. First, all of the dolphins could feel a presence, a familiar one, surrounding them like a tunnel caving in. Liotta turned to Kycxx and she could see fear in his eyes. There was no doubt he was feeling it too. Next, they could feel the presence increase, getting closer. Frantically the pod tried to move in the direction Diablo was forcing them in, right up until another dolphin swept in front, cutting them off. Some tried to turn around but there were other dolphins blocking them. After that, the dolphins began to sweep around the pod, circling around them, bunching them up, and coming closer and closer.

After what seemed like forever, they stopped, one large male with light grey skin sitting up front. This dolphin wasn't as scarred as his members were. His eyes were almost permanently half-lidded, his expression cool and calm. He moved forward slightly, and spoke with a whistle even calmer than his expression.

"Why, Diablo. What a nice surprise. I thought that you would've tried to knock me over again. Why would you bother to be violent when we come in peace?"

Diablo let out a low trill. He knew who this dolphin was. It was Cxxia.

"Oh, come on now. There's no need to be aggressive. If we would've wanted to cause harm, we would've killed all of you in a second."

Diablo spoke finally, "You've already caused enough harm. You've accused my pod of killing one of your members. Do you honestly think that we would have done such a thing? Our pod is peaceful. Besides, two wrongs don't make a right."

Suddenly Cxxia whipped quickly around, slapping Diablo hard with his tail.

"PEACEFUL? ARE YOU FUCKIN CALLING ME A LIAR?" Everyone was surprised by his outburst, especially his pod. "If you and your pod are innocent, why were you swimming away?".

Cxxia stopped. He looked toward Diablo's pod, calmly scanning them. Something caught his eye, and he started to swim toward them. Diablo, regaining himself from the blow, darted in front.

"If you hurt any of them, I will kill you. I will literally kill you."

Cxxia let out a defensive click. "Don't worry. You're pod is 'peaceful', so I guess I will be too."

He tried to swim on, but Diablo moved in front again. The calmness drained from the dolphin's streamlined face. "Alright, I promise I won't hurt any of them." Diablo moved away and let Cxxia swim through the pod.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of Kycxx and Liotta.

"Who are you, then? I don't think I saw you last time. Diablo, who are these two?"

Diablo, watching closely, responded aggressively "That's no business of yours." simultaneously giving Liotta and Kycxx a look that said 'Whatever you do, do not answer him'.

Cxxia studied them for a long time before going up for breath. "Did you two join the pod? Was your mighty Diablo so accepting that he let you two join after you were kicked out of your old one?"

His eyes went to Liotta. Obviously, she was afraid. Kycxx was too, with his head bowed. "You look fairly young. Are you the youngest of the mature dolphins?" Liotta didn't answer, but Cxxia knew. "How nice, you're very lucky. Our pod lost our youngest member to a bloodthirsty cetacean." He turned back to Diablo during the last part. Then his eyes turned to Kycxx. "And what's you're problem? Are you tired of all the traveling? I would be too, swimming away like the cowards you are."

His expression suddenly changed. His calm demeanor fired up into an expression of shock, with a tint of hate. "You...you look familiar. I've seen you before. But it wasn't the last time I was with your pod."

Cxxia showed intense hate in his eyes, "I can see blood. I can see BLOOD on your bottlenose."

Kycxx looked up, trying not to look fearful, "It's my nephew's blood... the youngest of my pod. I can see his blood on your bottlenose. It's still THERE."

The dolphin was about to attack when Diablo intervened. "You promised to be peaceful, Cxxia. Don't you remember my part of the deal?"

"This bastard is the killer! I know he is!" Cxxia squealed angrily.

Diablo stayed silent. He didn't want to admit it, but he had had a feeling that Kycxx was the culprit. Diablo turned to Kycxx, and trying not to sound accusing, asked if he was guilty. Kycxx stayed silent, bending his head down farther. The entire pod, which was usually very vocal and in the last few minutes especially, fell dead silent. Kycxx knew it was no use to try to defend himself. He had indeed killed the dolphin while hunting for fish. It was his fault that Cxxia was after them and why they had to move, and now everyone knew. Now he would have to face the consequences.

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't purposely. You see, he does have a problem, with his-"

"I don't CARE!" Cxxia whirred loudly, "He's a killer. We've found him. Now, he has to go through our punishment."

Cxxia moved up close to Kycxx, looking him dead on, "You will be here, in this area, when the sun is starting to set. We will give you the choice of your punishments, but none will be a good one." He looked to Liotta, "And bring your mate with you. You try to swim off, and we'll hunt down and kill you and your entire pod. See you tomorrow." Without another word, Cxxia turned away and swam.

The pod of bottlenoses was silent, all looking straight at Kycxx. Liotta paced nervously by him, hoping the pod wouldn't explode onto her mate. Unfortunately, all she could do was hope.

"Fuck, Kycxx, how could you do this?" A voice came from somewhere. The whistle was aggressive, coming from the blowhole of one large male by the name of Fillato (Fell-E-toe). He swam around the pod and right to Kycxx. "I knew we should've kicked you out after you injured that seal in Hawaii months ago. How could you let yourself kill that dolphin? Did he brush against you in the wrong manner? Give you a dirty look?"

Kycxx felt anger rising in him and started to shake his head around, trying to rid himself of the burden.

"What's this? Are you getting angry again? Maybe I'm speaking too loud, is that it? Did that little dolphin say something to you a bit too loud?!?"

Liotta, remembering her promise to stop the pod if they turned on him, moved in. "That's enough, Fillato. He can't help it. It was when we were short on food. Even you were getting violent."

For a second, it looked like Liotta's promise might work, but then Fillato's stunned expression turned to disgust. "You know, I still can't believe you, Liotta. It still makes me wonder how you could mate and take sides with HIM. You had it all, you were treasured, then you let him knock you up and passively take it as a commitment."

Liotta looked hurt and stunned at him. Kycxx also looked, still feeling his anger but also sadness and guilt. "He didn't knock me up," Liotta clicked quietly, "we mated. He loved me and I loved him, so we decided to be together."

"You were young, you still are. Neither of you knew much about what you were doing. He's had you so busy trying to calm him that you forgot about wanting to leave him."

Liotta shook her head. "No, I've always wanted to be with him. At first just as a friend, but we both didn't know our special attractions until it was named and explained. Besides, he would never do that, he would never hurt me."

"What about that bruise on your melon? You first had it after you two were separated from us."

Liotta was feeling even worse. "That's not what I meant. The real Kycxx, not the angry one, would never harm me. Even when he has harmed me before he never felt good about it. I know he loves me."

Some of the other dolphins were far from taking her side, clicking and whirring in anger and disgust at Kycxx during the whole thing, except for his mom and Liotta's parents who sat silently in disappointment.

Fillato stopped, looked at Kycxx again, and spoke. "You son of a bitch." He quickly swam up and bit Kycxx hard on his pectoral fin, causing the dolphin to squeal in pain and try vainly to shake the bigger dolphin off. Fillato let go, then swam off with the rest of the pod, most likely to hunt for fish.

Kycxx sat, holding back tears (for those who missed prt2 this is a metaphor) and looking almost straight downwards. Liotta turned around and rubbed against Kycxx.

"I'm so sorry." She trilled, rubbing her side onto Kycxx's underside, her head by his.

Kycxx looked at her and rubbed against her. "It's alright, Liotta, you did your best." Kycxx didn't really think so but he was too upset to say. He could see that by now most of the pod had disappeared and the ones left didn't pay attention to them. Liotta noticed too, and in an act to say she was sorry, began to flex herself against Kycxx's underside.

If you know this or not, dolphins enjoy being rubbed on their bellies, it usually feels good to them and they usually respond like how dogs do to skilled fingers. This also usually gives them a sexual response, and Kycxx was no different. He warbled out a long tone of pleasure, already feeling better and when Liotta heard this, she felt better too. Kycxx flexed back onto her underside, so she could feel his swelling genital slit press against hers. Both had their eyes closed in much needed bliss, after the long days of swimming and stress. Kycxx wrapped his flippers around Liotta while she did the same. Then, they started to roll over, since the norm in dolphin sex is the male on the bottom. Liotta still flexed onto Kycxx's genital slit, rubbing hers against his occasionally. Kycxx made a sort of chirrup and thrust his tail a few times, causing his erection to pop out.

Liotta rubbed against his hardening tool, her genital slit turning a noticeable pink. The last time they had mated there wasn't any actual intercourse, and by now the two wanted that more that anything. Without any hesitation or usual foreplay, Kycxx thrust his cock into Liotta's pussy.

Both dolphins arched themselves and pressed their backs forwards, each forming a curve. Kycxx was trying to get in Liotta as deep as possible to satisfy her. Plus, at the farthest depths of Liotta's vagina were her most experienced inner muscles, and Kycxx always strove to reach them. As Kycxx's member brushed against each individual muscle Liotta squeezed back, giving her mate an internal rubbing, causing both to chirrup in pleasure.

Even though he enjoyed this feeling the most, Kycxx's mind and anger were still active. This elicited Kycxx's thrusting to increase in speed. Liotta noticed this, and would usually object since this could be somewhat uncomfortable. However, she knew that Kycxx was stressed and was still hurt from Fillato's abuse; plus she could sense he wanted the intercourse badly and decided not to object.

Nevertheless, Kycxx's thrusting speed continued to increase, as his brain was racing and his anger was bubbling. 'She said she promised. She told me that I would be okay, that the pod would listen to her. For what? A mound of abuse and a hurt flipper!'

Some part of Kycxx, the sane part so to speak, tried to tell himself that Liotta had tried her best, and the things he was thinking was wrong.

'No, it's right. She lied. I could hear the pod jeering at me. How could that be her best?!?'

Now the dolphin's anger was present in his expression. It no longer showed the bliss he was feeling, replaced by his rage. 'She lied!!!'.

His thrusting still increased, reaching almost dangerous speeds. Liotta, now feeling the sting of Kycxx's penis poking hard at her insides, decided to speak up. "Kycxx, p-please slow down, you're h-hurting me." The pain was starting to make her stammer a bit.

Kycxx ignored this, his mind now controlled by his rage. 'SHE LIED! SHE PROMISED, BUT SHE LIED!!!'

Liotta opened her eyes, now teary, and looked down at Kycxx. He had let go of her and was thrusting hazardously. She could see the anger in Kycxx, knowing right away that this was beyond his normal rage. It was apparent now that she was in danger.

"Kycxx, stop! Please!" She squealed out, loud enough to make sure Kycxx could hear.

Kycxx looked up, showing a flare in his beady eyes that Liotta didn't recognize. "I'm not stopping, you liar!!!" In Liotta's pussy, he hooked the end of his penis as if to make sure he would be staying in.

Liotta felt a great deal of fear swarm her. She had never seen Kycxx so angry, and she could tell he could turn violent. She tried to swim only to have Kycxx bite her hard on the bottlenose. "YOU'RE STAYING HERE, YOU LYING BITCH!" He squealed aggressively, watching blood stream from her beak. Liotta knew that she couldn't escape his powerful rage and tensed up, watching her 'mate' in horror and sadness. Kycxx continued to thrust, harder and harder, noticing that Liotta had stopped using her vaginal muscles. It didn't matter at this point, since Kycxx reached his climax and thrust once more, shooting his load hard into Liotta. As soon as his cum had stopped, Liotta took a chance and broke free, swimming a few feet before turning back. She expected to see the usual Kycxx, she expected him to be showing his remorse, to not be angry anymore, to grovel and say how sorry he was for hurting her. She couldn't have been farther from the truth. Kycxx turned upwards and pulled his erection back in, looking to Liotta with the same rage he had before, now slightly less. She seemed to recall seeing a bit of the Kycxx she expected to see, but mostly a furious dolphin sat before her.

"Now, get out of here." Kycxx grunted.

Liotta was holding back tears, not daring to believe what was really happening. "Please," she hurtfully whistled out, succumbing to her tears.

Kycxx charged, darting close and purposely snapping his jaws a few centimeters away from her flippers. "NOW!!!"

Liotta turned and swam away, leaving an angry Kycxx to finally realize what he had done.

* * *

In the Pacific Ocean, about 350 miles from the cost of Queensland, Australia, there was a pod of dolphins. One dolphin, a mile away from the rest, slowly paced around in circles. Kycxx, who's anger had died down and was replaced by intense guilt and sadness, was contemplating suicide. He had just chased off his beloved Liotta, longtime friend and one year mate, after he had let himself get lost in the stress he was feeling over Cxxia. He had hurt her physically with his penis and jaws, and emotionally with his harsh words.

This has been said before, but Kycxx relied on Liotta to keep himself sane. Without her, his dangerous emotions would go rampant and he would lose himself into things. Before, when she was away from him, he had killed a dolphin that got him and the pod into this mess. Now, he was afraid of what might happen. Also, Kycxx was afraid that he was already losing the sanity he had left that Liotta helped prosper. How he was when he hurt Liotta was how he was when his sanity had run out. He was scared to be like this, since this was far from his true nature. During the heavy rage he had experienced, Kycxx seemed to undergo a schizophrenic episode. He didn't want to be like this, and without Liotta he was worried he might be stuck like that the next time something angered him. His only choice was to end his life. Liotta surely didn't love him anymore, and that's all he'd ever had.

He thought about beaching himself; heading to Australia alone just to swim into the shallows and die. He also considered letting Cxxia kill him on the spot. He knew that if he went to Australia himself Cxxia's pod would kill him and all of HIS pod, something he surely didn't want. Kycxx thought about drowning himself; swimming to the bottom of the ocean (he could see the floor somewhat here) and just waiting to die. This was unlikely since that gave him plenty of time to change his mind.

Time passed and Kycxx still swam around, deeply depressed. He couldn't believe what he had done to Liotta, how awful it was that he completely ignored her cries of pain and sadness, and even going far enough to call her a- he didn't even want to think about it! How could he have physically hurt his lifelong friend? His ONLY friend, for that matter? Plus, Liotta was bound to have him banished, seeing as rape was the worst offense in the pod.

After even more time of drifting, Kycxx swam back to the pod. He wanted desperately to talk with Liotta, to tell her how much he was sorry and how he would never intentionally hurt her. However, when he go there, he could immediately tell there were some missing. One of them was also Fillato, thankfully, but he couldn't find Liotta anywhere. He could hear the pod quietly whirring at him in disgust. Kycxx swam over to Liotta's parents, who seemed disappointed with him when he came up.

"Kycxx... how could you..." was the sounds of Liotta's mother, obviously distressed but not particularly angry.

Kycxx said nothing, merely bowing his head since he felt like these two dolphins were strangers to him now. He finally did speak, after a few moments. "Have you seen Liotta?"

Her father nodded his bottlenose, "Yes, we saw her come through. She told us to tell you something if you happened to come by."

Kycxx tensed up, almost like a flinch, and waited to hear what he expected would be a heartbreaking message.

"She said, 'I won't cry out for you because you didn't cry for me'. I'm not sure what that meant."

Kycxx perked up. He realized what this had meant, knowing her the way he did. "Did you see where she went?"

Liotta's mother shook her beak, "No, she merely left us with the message. She said she needed to feed. Do you know why she seemed so upset?"

"I'll tell you later," Kycxx trilled, quickly speeding off. He couldn't believe what Liotta had said, she wasn't going to get him banished because she knew that wasn't the real him that did that! Despite this, however, Kycxx felt heartbroken by the message. It meant she wouldn't have him banished, but it also sounded like a 'breaking up' message.

Kycxx had swam away from the pod, only to be confronted with a member of Cxxia's pod. Like him, this dolphin seemed calm and had a slight Indonesian-Californian accent. "No one is allowed out."

Kycxx was too distraught to feel any anger. "What about my mate? She must be past here."

The dolphin seemed to grin slightly. "Cxxia told me not to let YOU leave. Anyone else is free to go. She probably ran off, ashamed to be with a murderer."

Somehow Kycxx didn't feel any anger. "That's not true. I just need to see her."

"Is she the only one missing? I thought maybe I saw her with another male."

Kycxx bowed his head. This was all a mind game, torture for what he had done. Kycxx knew the truth, and rather than argue, decided to leave.

The sun was starting to rise, and Kycxx had been waiting around a mile out from the pod. Two hours ago, he had heard some uplifting news from Liotta, and had the feeling he still had a chance to patch up their relationship, only to have his mood crushed by a member of Cxxia's pod. Since then, Kycxx had been waiting around, away from everyone else.

Liotta was no where in sight. She hadn't been seen since she stopped through, running from an angry Kycxx. She had left a message for Kycxx before taking off.

"I won't cry out for you because you didn't cry for me." Kycxx repeated this mantra over and over out loud, softly grunting the phrase until he would stop and hang his head in shame and sadness. He was waiting for Liotta to return, and longing it so much he forgot about how he could die by sundown.

The day dragged on. Kycxx sat out, away from the pod, switching between suicidal thoughts and longing for Liotta. Besides that, the day had nothing else going on. However, a great tension could be felt building in the pod, but it was most likely because Liotta wasn't returning.

Kycxx sat, watching the sun, until it was right on the horizon. Sure enough, he was summoned by one of the guard dolphins and the pod followed them to where Cxxia was waiting. The trial would soon begin.

The pod of Kycxx's sat in an arch around him, with Cxxia's pod doing the same, almost like forming a circle around two people fighting. But they weren't fighting, this was a trial.

"So, Kycxx. Darkening Sky, eh? I wonder how you have that name." Cxxia calmly trilled out, his cool attitude masking his powerful disgust with Kycxx.

"Well, I do have a problem-" He couldn't finish before Cxxia shot him a cold stare.

"I don't care, and now you're playing by MY rules, so no speaking until SPOKEN TO!" He started to pace around Kycxx, circling him. "So, you're the Life stopper, eh? You're the killer, right? You're the one who killed my nephew and youngest member over a measly fish, correct?"

Kycxx was quiet, the things he was saying wasn't the complete truth. A dolphin behind Cxxia squealed out "You are being spoken to, murderer, now answer him!"

"I-I guess I am."

Cxxia seemed somehow delighted. "How joyous for us then, eh? I guess we were right. Our long days of looking are over!" He began to pace again, "Now, even though you killed my nephew, I have set rules myself before this incident to give you a choice of your punishment. Legally, I can't even make you choose one of those. So, I found something that will make you do what I want."

The line opened up, and swimming next to a large male was a female with a bowed head. Kycxx's heart skipped a beat as he realized it was Liotta.

"You recognize her? We found her yesterday, she said she was off 'Clearing her thoughts'. We noticed she was bleeding a bit, do you suppose from a piece of coral?" Liotta looked up and seemed to notice Kycxx for the first time, making her already dim eyes dimmer and her expression sadder. "The poor thing didn't even resist when we took her back. I was afraid we would've had to resort to rape threats, but she swam right along. I see she's the youngest of your pod, just like my late nephew. I was thinking yesterday of certain punishments, and I was about to give up and just kill you when this little female comes along. I figured 'How about I give him a taste of his own medicine? Maybe I should use this female to get you to do what I want."

Kycxx could feel some bits of anger, and shifted uneasily in place.

"Oh no you don't, if you try to harm me or anyone else, we could rape or even kill this thing." Cxxia motioned to the large male, who erected his cock and brushed it against Liotta, causing her to jolt away and squeal loudly. "My my my, she's feisty."

Kycxx looked to Liotta. She looked so helpless, so sad, and something told him she looked like she was pleading for help. Her eyes no longer shimmered, her head drooped like Kycxx's did, and she looked exhausted.

"So, here are your choices. First; You can come join our pod and we let this 'Liotta' go. Your survival and wellbeing will mean nothing to us, and you will be constantly guarded by two of my dolphins, ready to kill you at any instance. Never again will you see your pod, and you won't even be able to see the Pacific again. We'll move you back to the Indian Ocean with us, to make sure you'll never return home. Two; We kill you and let Liotta go free. Three; We kill you and her. Four; We kill you, rape her and kill her. Five; You watch us rape and kill your mate, then we kill you. Six; We kill both of you. And Seven; we just kill her. Either way, you will end up a cursed dolphin."

Kycxx bowed his head deeper. He did not want Liotta to have to suffer, and he wanted her to live a long life. "Can I talk to Liotta first?", Kycxx asked, causing Cxxia to cock his head. This seemed to him like Kycxx had just asked him to jump New Zealand. "As a last request?" He added, making Liotta look up quickly and Cxxia grin a bit.

"Last request? You mean you're taking choice two?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Just let me see her. I promise, no betrayals."

Cxxia pondered a bit, before reluctantly giving the large male a motion to bring her over. "If you two spend too long talking, though, there's no guarantee on what I'll do."

Liotta swam to Kycxx, looking relieved but not happy, and they moved a few feet away to be in private. When they reached it, they moved so they were facing eyes to eyes. Kycxx couldn't believe that she was back! He wanted to kiss her, hold her, rub against her, just everything! He knew he couldn't since Cxxia was watching, so he had to make his statement brief.

"Liotta, I'm taking choice number two."

Liotta's eyes grew wide in terror. She didn't move, merely just whirred out "Why?" Her expression showed exhaustion, sadness, and had a horrible twinge in it, like the voice of a terminally ill patient who has given up hope.

"Liotta, I can't live like this. I know you don't love me anymore, and that's okay. I can't live with all this, this, rage! It's a horrible feeling, and it's endangering cetaceans I care about! I'm sick of living, always worrying about getting upset at something. Liotta, I know you will be able to find another mate. Dolphins like you, you're outgoing, and you're a valued member! You will be able to find another mate in no time, and you can forget about me and how much pain I've caused in your life and everyone else's. I can't live without you, so why must I keep living?"

Liotta had tears in her eyes and began to shake her nose back and forth. "No, that's not it. I was you mate because you loved me in a different way. Fins only see ME, not who I really am! I'm the youngest, so what? You were my friend for so long, and I was becoming attached to you. I haven't lived life without you, but I got a small nibble of it the night you disappeared. If you die, I couldn't find another mate. I need you! I know now that we have no choice, but I want to be with you always! I would rather we die together than for me to live without you!"

It all became clear to Kycxx, why Liotta had never left him. He had been with her since birth, and she didn't know how to live without his support and love. They both needed each other to function properly! It was so simple now! But Kycxx still had more to say to her. Something before he died. He watched her tears mix with the ocean, finally speaking again. "Liotta, I-"

A grey blur shot through them. "Time's up! Attack!" came the voice of Cxxia, swimming upwards between the two dolphins, splitting them apart. Kycxx was knocked out of the way as a great swarm of grey surrounded Liotta, her squeals of pain barely noticeable through the frenzy of the rival pod. Kycxx could only watch in horror.

After some time, the water calmed down and the dolphins moved away. Kycxx saw Liotta, battered and obviously dying, lying unconscious in the water. He swam up to her, nudged her, and continued to cry out her name through tears. Suddenly her eyes opened and she weakly looked to Kycxx.

"K-Kycxx," She stammered. He perked up and looked her straight in the eyes, waiting to hear what she was about to say. "I-I-I love y-y-you, Kycxx."

He was silent, merely he looked at her in despair. She had used her last breath to tell him that. "I love you too, Liotta, my dear mate. I'm so sorry for everything I've caused to happen to you, I'm so sorry for what I've done to you. Thank you for sharing your life with me. Thank you for being my friend and mate."

Liotta's eyes shimmered weakly, throwing Kycxx over the edge. He moved his beak to Liotta's and licked the tip, crying roughly. He looked at her one last time, her eyes content that he had said the words that would let her die happy. Her eyes seemed to say "Friends and lovers, forever. Goodbye, Darkening Sky."

Kycxx looked away as she died. He couldn't bear to see her like that. She started to sink down below, to the bottom of the ocean, still visible.

He overheard Cxxia sniggering, saying "Now he knows what it feels like. He picked the easy way out."

In a sudden burst of energy Kycxx shot upwards, puncturing the startled Cxxia on the underside and collapsing an organ. In his rage, Kycxx continued to batter at the dolphin, not stopping until blood flowed from Cxxia's blowhole. The pods sat stunned, Cxxia's pod swimming away after a few moments.

Cxxia was dead, Liotta was dead, and somehow Kycxx regained control. He floated at the top, panting, as the rest of his pod left him alone. Only Diablo stayed behind, watching him cry.

"Why are you still here, Diablo?" He asked through tears.

"Kycxx, it's no use. She's dead. You have to come with us."

Kycxx shook his head. "Go on without me, continue to Australia."

Diablo refused, "There is nothing you can do. She's dead, Kycxx, and what's done is done."

"I raped her, Diablo. Our last time as mates, and I raped her. It was horrible. I was angry and I ignored her cries for mercy, I ignored her squeals of pain. Then I chased her off, and I was saying some awful things about her. You still think I'm part of the pod?"

Diablo sat silent. Rape was an offense strongly discouraged by Diablo. Both knew that Kycxx was now banished. Without another word, Diablo swam slowly away.

Kycxx had made up his mind. With a final breath, he plunged downwards to where his mate's body lay. He knew now that he was going to commit suicide, meeting up with his mate in whatever was next. He had expected his life to end that day and it was going to. The pressure was enormous as he rested on the bottom of the ocean, his flipper on his deceased mate. He would be there for a while, and the pain would be monstrous by the time he was close to death, but he would wait. For Liotta, he would wait.

EPILOUGE:

Diablo waited around with his pod, waiting to depart and leave the cursed area. The sun was setting and the sky was darkening, lighting up the water and making it shimmer in the setting sun. The more Diablo thought of it, the more it seemed to make sense. He looked out to the horizon, where the shimmering water and darkening sky met up, almost as if embracing. Diablo hung his head and said a sort of Eulogy.

"Shimmering Water, Darkening Sky,

Have left our sea today

They surely found love doesn't stop,

Though both had reached their grave."

Without another word, he set out with his pod to return to the middle of the Pacific Ocean.