I raced with exhilaration towards the two other dolphins and fired a second and third click. For awhile we just rushed around leaping through the water, and enjoyed ourselves. I learned better coordination in doing so. I noticed before that if I sped up to much, I had to consciously think about being careful not to roll onto my back and start swimming flippers up and dorsal fin down. After ten minutes or so of energetic swimming, I introduced myself to the two new dolphins. They were interested in everything I had to say, though I could tell they seemed somewhat reserved. Finally, I asked the question that had been on my mind since I had been contacted by the dolphins.

    <So how did you contact me? I mean, if I am the only human/kat on this world how could you pin-point me? It's not like I advertise.> I asked.

    <All vortexes leading to other detentions give off "feelings" we can detect, like invisible shock waves. To answer this question, I there is some history involved.  This ability has to do with our ADvanced Evolved Thought Technique or ADETT. Long ago, we left the human world in search of a place where we would never have to worry about nets and pollution. Well, in this dimension, we learned that we could change our forms in upcoming generations by using certain "thoughts" to change DNA. After living here for hundreds of years and through wars that took place near water or on it, we began to change certain strains of ourselves,> Blake, (one of the new dolphins I had just met), said pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts and continue.

    <We began to take notes on the kat civilization whenever we could and with the coming of the Past Master, we developed receptors to detect the Vortexes. We could feel each one that was up to twenty miles away and even though we couldn't be there, we knew when the Vortex opened, when it closed, what went thought it and when time and age whatever came though it was from. We couldn't tell the victor though, but being able to tell about the Vortexes helps in gathering information for the Archive of History. You see, when we came here, we decided this was going to be the last time our kind would move to another dimension. History keeping of the kats' civilization connects us to this time and makes us feel more at home. But now with this threat, we're running into some big problems with just staying alive. The Vortex you came though was relatively weak and was more of an accident. We could tell was it was made by some sort of machine and not by magic, and what came threw was you and some sort of flying craft,> finished Blake.

    I digested what he had said while surfacing to breath. Breathing had become a bit more natural to me since when I had first morphed. So these dolphins were historians. They kept records on kats. What about other creatures? How did they keep their records strait without any mistakes, and what other strains of dolphin were there? And how did they expect ME to find this Survivor? More and more questions.

    <What about other creatures, like sharks or your own kind? What about your strain... what breed are you guys?> I asked while the feeling of not knowing what was happening, began to annoy me.

    <Sharks, our kind and those related to us, we keep records on. Our breed as you call it, is a mix of the original species of Bottle Nose dolphin with a touch of Spinner dolphin and Vortex detection abilities. We four aren't fighters; we're observers, but we know enough to seriously hurt a Hunter or two and then get away. But we need help now. You have to find the Survivor, but now, we must rest because tomorrow is going to be a long swim to Tetrala Pod. They'll teach you some maneuvers that may save your life,> Gleam told me, the second of the new dolphins I had met, who seemed more intent on resting then talking.

    While Gleam and Blake had been talking to me, Dreamer and Misty were still dancing through the water, and doing flips and acrobatic feats as they twisted and swam through the water. I watched them for several moments and then turned back to the dolphins I had been chatting with. So, how DID they keep their records straight?

    <Good, at least I won't be that easy a target. So, still wondering, how do you keep your records strait? I mean, information gets changed slightly if it gets passed down from generation to generation by thought-speech.>

    <Heh heh. The human wonders about our record skills. Well, for your information, we keep a Power Glyph that holds our Archives of History. It is located many miles from here, by an uninhabited island, concealed in a lagoon with several pods of Knowledgeable Dolphins protecting it. Only cetaceans know where it is. Every time something big happens, we go down there and give the data to the Glyph. This Glyph keeps everything in order, including images we see with our own eyes, so you could see what one of us saw for ourselves,> said Blake.

    So, they kept records of just about everything within their Glyph, could chance their DNA to create new strains of themselves, had intelligent communication and Vortex detection capabilities. What else was there? It seemed as if they were an army ready for anything. I surfaced again, Blake and Gleam joining me.

    <Wow, where'd you get the Glyph? It seems as if you're really organized. So, why don't you organize a force and get rid of the Life Hunters? It seems if you could do it with all your mobility, you could go out and get them. I'm not saying I don't want to help or anything, it's just that it seems as if you could make a Killer Dolphin or something.> I said.

    <Killer Dolphin? No, we weren't built to become killers but we do have a strain of our kind with fast reflexes, better response time and teeth that could defiantly put a hole into a Life Hunter. It's just that no matter how many we kill there are always more and we just aren't built for combat with these creatures. We don't know where they're coming from. We detected the Survivor but haven't found it. It did "whisper" a message several times of finding a human to talk to it before it would help, however. We know the general area it's in but we could look any further, it was warning us to leave and start our search.> spoke Gleam.

    <Ah, very interesting. It wants to speak to a human. Heh. So, one last question. Where'd you find the Glyph? Those things just don't pop up.> I asked.

    <The Glyph was found by one of my first ancestors who had came to this dimension about five hundred years ago. It had messaged him of its presence and we soon learned of its use and power and hence, we called it the Power Glyph,> replied Blake.

    At this time, the Gleam and Drake signaled the conversation was over, and we all entered a Sleep Circle. That was just fine, for with all this information, I would need time to process it and review it in my mind. As time when on, I "felt" one side of my brain shut down, as I slowly swam in the Circle. I went over and over in my mind the fact that dolphins weren't just smart, they were intelligent and could do things humans couldn't. They had the power to change characteristics about themselves. It was just simply amazing. A few more minutes passed and it seemed as if I were on auto-pilot.

    Hours later, fully awake and feeling very hungry, I joined the others and we went off to catch breakfast. We cornered some blue and yellow fish and using ourselves as barriers while swimming in a tight circle, we kept the fish from escaping. We fed one at a time while the others kept the fish from going anywhere. It was weird, seeing these small fish no longer then five inches long at most, terrified and grouping close together. I dashed in, the last to eat and snapped at the nearest fish, missing. After several more attempts, I got enough to satisfy me for awhile.

    I was content, but after a few minutes of  rest from getting this meal, Gleam and the rest of the pod told me it was time to go. I looked around this place for the last time and followed my friends, who had set a pace just above a leisure swim. We were swimming in a "V" shape formation, in the order of Misty, Gleam, Blake, me and Dreamer.

    There were mountains of rock below us, and from what I could tell with my sonar, trenches and caves. The sunlight was great, and even with restrictive dolphin vision I could see pretty well. The water was gentle and calm and in the sky, there were gulls and other water birds circling above. For awhile no conversation took place until we heard a very audible rumble from below us. The pod at first took no notice of it. When we sonared and saw shapes below coming toward us, there was defiantly a reaction. It was probably the Life Hunters, hunting for THEIR morning meal.

    <We have to get rid of these Hunters! We'll tire if we make a run for it and then they'll catch up and we're all dead. We'll have to fight. Kiddo, watch and learn. Let's just hope we win," growled Blake.

    <Fight? Uh, ok,> I said, practicing ramming motions without leaving the area I was currently at.

    <Prepare yourselves for combat! Here we go!> screamed Dreamer at full pitch, her voice full of rage and excitement.

    Dirt from the ocean floor flew upwards, and the shapes which were maybe a size and a half larger then me, moved with surprising speed and grace. For all their sharp spines, spikes, awkward fins and large, gaping mouths, they didn't seem to have any problem with tight turns or maneuvering. I filled with fear as soon as I got a clear picture of them. When they got out of the shadows, the two approaching creatures went into a instant duel with my four friends. Luckily they ignored me, but I had no idea how long that would last.

    They were dark gray with with two large whitish dorsal fins, the one in front larger by a meter or so then the one behind it. Their pectoral fins were armored with spines, and their face were made from hardened, smooth skin to allow for effortless water follow over it. The round eyes of these creatures were bloodshot and redder then I thought possible. Large, sharp teeth filled their jaws and so did a long pink tongue that seemed to drape outside the mouth slightly. The tail of the Life Hunter was kind of strange, it looked like one of a Thresher Shark. The tail was long and thin, with several differences; it had spikes on it and the creatures used them like whips and even as ropes if conditions allowed for the opportunity.

    The creature's looks were weird, but not hideous. My friends were battling these things and I couldn't find Mistly anywhere. I dashed in, just to be shoved out of the way by Dreamer as a Hunter rocketed past. The dolphin didn't seemed hurt, and soon disappeared from sight. Gleam's form appeared briefly in front of me as she warned me to get out of here. They were losing. They had badly hurt the other Life Killer, but now it was time for me to get out before I became another causality. She also told me Misty was gone. After that, The badly hurt Killer, streaming  bloody trails from its torn eyes and broken fins took a lunge at Blake and he soon was only half a dolphin. The sight horrified me and I stayed there paralyzed in fear. Soon enough, no one was left except me. The hurt Hunter, no longer able to sustain life, uttered a loud boom from its throat as it finally died. One Hunter down, one to go, and NO backup. This was really, really bad.

    I dashed for the caves below and now was on full panic. Another Hunter unburrowed itself from the muddy ocean bottom tried to get me by surprise, but I managed to get out of the way. Everything flew past my vision as I desperately swam for a cave. I sonared every few seconds, and spotted a cave just large enough for me to swim into, but not big for the Life Killers to fit into.

    Barreling into the cave, I sonared from inside and what happened next totally terrorized me. They were trying to seal me inside! I swam deeper into the cave and found a few small air pockets. I breathed from one, feeling how stale it was. The pounding to block me off echoed in the water, and soon the entrance was a wall of rock. At that moment, I heard a gruff sound emanate from them as the left. I still had a change to escape by the Globe. Before I morphed, I sonared and found a small hole in the very bottom of the blocked entry. Picturing the shark and Globe, I morphed into a small shark and then when doing my second morph, learned what the Globe had for its inventory of creatures. It had a dolphin, a shark, a Griffin, and Nighthawk. I also learned I had to stay in a morph for at least three hours, but I could stay in morph after the time limit as long as I wanted too.

    The changes were strange to say the least. Because of glowing bacteria in the cave, I saw what happened. It was bizarre; I could see what was happening, as if I were an observer, to me as I changed. My nose became blunt almost like it was retracting into my head. Then the gills appeared, almost like someone had slashed me on both sides of my head four times. My blowhole disappeared and I couldn't breath, not that I could breath water as a dolphin, but when I lost my lunges, the air I had in them was gone. Soon, I saw my tail twist from being sideways to being vertical and become its right shape. More changes occurred and the morph was done. I opened my mouth and dashed around, trying to breath, I felt like I was suffocating! After some frantic swimming and getting my ability to breath, I felt better. I swam towards the entrance and spent awhile just trying to find the hole. After locating it I almost got stuck when my dorsal fin got caught in a crack just above me. I had struggled so hard that I finally exited the cave and was in lighter waters. My shark vision was a little worse then my dolphin's, and I decided to put as much distance between me and this area as possible until the time limit was out.

    With the waves and currents stronger out in the open then in the cave, I had to get down how to swim without letting every little current push me off my course, which was the same one the dolphins and I had been taking. If I was a human or kat at this moment I would of probably been shaking so bad I would of collapsed. As soon as I passed the region of where the Hunters had been, I started to review the battle which had just taken place. The dolphins, my friends, were all gone and I had done nothing. Instead, I had watched and then became trapped and escaped. I guess I felt a touch guilty because I didn't act, but I didn't know how to fight, so what would I of done? All the same I had been there and witnessed a battle. I hadn't been around to see the decapitated bodies of the dolphins, I had left right away and swam for it. It was late afternoon, and soon it would be time to eat again. Just a few more blocks of swimming and I would stop to catch something.

    It was past dinnertime, and I had come upon a reef. Colorful coral seemed to go on for miles, and dazzling fish darted to and fro about their business. Every once and awhile, I saw a turtle or ray swimming to somewhere. This reef teemed with life, but the battle still made me gloomy. I decided, if I acted like I wasn't going to hurt the fish and got close enough, I could snag one or two. I swam slowly and a small green and orange fish, seeming not to notice it was in range of me swam unaware. I quickly struck and swallowed the fish, but soon after, all the fish who had been around me the moment before, had put considerable distance between me and them. Oh well, one fish isn't bad, it was my first try and I had gotten something.
 

    <Hi, uh how are you? I'm Conrad, and I was wondering if you could help me?> I thought-spoke.

    <Greetings, Conrad. I'm Fedron. You don't look too healthy. Have you been eating right?> he asked me, not seeming to care that I was a stranger.

    <No, that's what I was wondering if you could help me with. I was traveling with Dreamer, Misty, Gleam and Blake and we got ambushed-> I started to say, just to be cut off by a sharp gesture of Fedron's head, as he stopped and swam towards me.

    <Riconada Pod? They're gone?!!! What happened? I knew all of them and they were my friends!> demanded Fedron.

    <They're gone. I'm sorry, but they did their best. I was the only one to survive. If you don't mind, after getting something to eat I could tell you what happened? I am VERY hungry, and because I didn't have time to learn how to catch fish by myself. I haven't been catching very much and I need help in getting a meal.>

    <Very well. Common, I know an area where the fish practically swim up to you and are easy pickings,> he said.

    <Great.>

    Feeding was pretty easy; the fish Fedron had mentioned were eight or more inches long and grouped so tightly together, that their attempts to get away were rather unsuccessful. I swallowed my tenth fish and swam away from them. Fedron had watched my actions with slight amusement, but didn't comment on it.

    We swam about the reef while keeping note of any sharks that got to close. We talked for several hours, about what happened to my friends in Riconada Pod, and what they had told me to do. I included how I got into this dimension and what I had been doing the last couple of days. He listened, very interested, and told me he'd take me to Tetrala Pod. He in turn told me about himself. It turned out he had friends in the Pod we were going to go to but didn't really hang around he own Pod. He was supposed to be a Scouter Dolphin, but because of his stunted growth and young age, (equivalent to a eighteen year old) he never was assigned to the job. Instead, he had the characteristics of a Scouter with the ability to use Sonic Sonar, a powerful form of sonar which could either stun or kill, depending on how powerful Fedron made the burst, and the genes from a "midget" dolphin. His large fins gave him excellent maneuverability and he could turn on a dime, but his smaller tail reduced his speed. If there was any sort of race or runaway from trouble, he would never make it.

    He finally taught me after many setbacks a technique that would increase the sensitivity of my sonar. With more sensitivity, if the pitch was just right, I could detect tunnels running below the ground. If the Survivor was out there in a vast pit beneath the under the ground, better sonar would help in finding a path to it.

    The journey to the Pod we were going to was rather uneventful, but I was learning more and more of how to do certain things, like decipher what a dolphins' body language meant. For example what could let me know know if a dolphin was "smiling", "sighing", "shrugging" and so forth. Other things included how to catch fish, fend off sharks and even a ramming technique that would definitely hurt a Killer if we should meet one. He wasn't a bad sort, he always had something to talk about, and he didn't seem to have any problem speaking his mind or giving his opinion on anything. He swam above the pace Riconada Pod had set and when I asked if he were tiring himself, he answered by saying every second we wasted, was another opportunity for a dolphin to get hurt. Once Tetrala Pod taught me what I needed to know, we'd be off. Fedron insisted he come along for the adventure and to help in finding the Survivor. I didn't object, on the contrary, he saved me the humiliation of me asking him to keep me company.

    After leaving the reef, we swam into shallower, calmer waters, where sand covered the ocean bottom, and rocks jutted out of the ocean floor and past the surface of the water. Fish weren't as abundant here, but lived here in smaller groups. The water here was very clear, and I could tell that there was land somewhere near, because in the sky there was plenty of birds circling above, and this area seemed like a bay of sorts. How far I was from MegaKat City, I didn't know. All I know was that six days had passed since I last left the land and ventured out here.

    <This place is beautiful. No pollution appeared to have reached this area and no Life Killers either,> I commented.

    <I know. Any Killers coming over here are instantly battled and killed. This is a sanctuary and we'll keep it this way at any cost. At least the wearied can rest here before going to their destination. But still we kill as many Hunters as we can with many dolphins sustaining injuries or not surviving the battle. That doesn't seem to bother the Hunters though. They keep coming like they're a thousand strong,> Fedron said, with a shivering movement of a fin, which I had learned was the equivalent of a sigh for a dolphin.

    <Well it's good to hear that there're going to be no ambushes the rest of the way to the Pod. I'm sorry for what's happened your kind in this war, I feel sort of guilty, even if I know I wasn't the one responsible for them attacking you guys,> I thought-spoke.

    He glanced at me and his lower jaw opened just wide enough to be noticed, another signal, this one the equivalent to slight amusement. The wider the jaw was opened the funnier the dolphin thought it was.

    I glanced at the smaller dolphin and then for no reason, raced ahead of him. Using the momentum, I leaped  high into the air and did a flip. Soon we were racing for our destination at just below our fastest speed. Rocks and sand whizzed by and in no time, we heard the sounds of other dolphins and had joined them.

    They greeted us nicely and asked if they could do anything for us, such as free meal, or just talk and hang out. When I told them about Riconada Pod's fate, the three dolphins who had joined us from their swimming and chatting with others were deeply troubled. After much talk and they were satisfied they had gotten as much detail from me as possible, they sent out a runner to the Power Glyph to give it the bad news. The three dolphins, upon seeing their runner disappear with the waves, told me that the Pod I had been spending time with was one of the more advanced Historian breed of dolphin. They weren't fighters and they had volunteered to contact me even if it meant crossing the areas with a high chance of ambush. They were the ones who agreed to go find me and convince me to come here. I for the most part listened attentively to what was said, struck speechless.

    A short time later, several Tetrala Pod  members gathered together to show me some important combat moves and defense tactics. They were not very hard to learn, but on doing the moves, I had to think about it and therefore I had to practice a bit. My favorite move was the Forward Stun Charge. It involved curling up like a large "C" and then springing out forward, using Stun Sonar and ramming the enemy. (Stun Sonar was more powerful then regular sonar, but a very reduced version of Fedron's Sonic Sonar.) After stunning it senseless, the next part was to roll onto my back, regain momentum and slide right under or above the creature before it could react and prepare for an offensive or defensive reaction. This tactic was primarily used for head-on attacks or against the underbelly of a Hunter.

    With the lessons in attack and defense it turned out, I had needed to stay many days to perfect them. For Fedron, these moves took him half the time to get them down, but he patiently waited and watched me learn them. On the night of the last day I spent with the Pod, I said good bye and gave thanks to everyone for their help.

    Morning came quickly and soon it was time to leave this area of quiet waves and calm, safe waters. Today was day fourteenth of me being away from land, and in the back of my mind, I was screaming to be able to walk again and feel solid earth. I found Fedron easily enough, he had been chatting with someone and quickly said his good byes. He joined me and we were off. The area that the Tetrala Pod claimed as dolphin territory wasn't that big; it was about a mile or so wide, so once we had left its boundaries, the mutual feeling of being safe evaporated. We were on our way following the directions the Pod had given us. They had said that the Survivor was about twenty miles from our current position, due south. I guessed this would be taking me further away from MegaKat City, though I wasn't sure. Traveling would be nerve-racking; every sound could be a possible sign of a Hunter nearby or ready to attack. Somehow Fedron didn't seemed bothered by the fact he had no idea what the area we were going to was like. He just seemed to want to find it and the solution.

    The waves were gentle enough, and traveling wasn't too bad. Since swimming was a lot easier the walking or running, it should take us about a day and a half to get to the location. Sunlight penetrated the water, and just a mile or so after leaving the calm waters of the dolphin sanctuary, the ocean floor took a dive down so deep that not even when using sonar, could I "see" the bottom. Either something was absorbing the clicks, or it was so deep that the sound took a long time to come up and I wasn't in one place long enough to wait for it to come back. There were almost no fish in sight. One or two darted around nervously in the open, and far off there was a shark minding its own business with no interest in us.

    Soon it wasn't twenty miles anymore, I was guessing now since a more then a day had passed, it was one or two. Fedron had been a real chatter box, trying to guess what the Survivor had in mind for a solution. Maybe it would give us a super powerful sonar "song" to use that would scramble the brains of the Hunters, or maybe new powers of some sort, he had suggested. I had merely said to his excitement, that we would see soon enough.

    When were arrived at the area to start looking for the Survivor, we saw ruins of an old city. Fallen pillars were in every direction, covered with algae and sea life. What might of been a house was caved in and over further in the distance there was a torn gate with an inscription on it. Fish darted here and there, and this place seemed to be the starting of a new reef. This city was being rebuilt not by kats, but by the citizens of the ocean. As we ventured past the gate of the city, we saw what were clearly rows of houses, some caved in, others in almost perfect condition, all covered with small corals. What was this place...?

    I swam ahead of Fedron, inspecting the ocean bottom and discovered, what looked like a covered-up entrance to a lower area. I called to Fedron and we nosed forcefully at several marble boards and managed to move them free the entrance. I sonared the inside to find that it led considerably deeper. We surfaced, then returned to the entrance and despite Fedron's fear of drowning, he followed me as I swam inside, engulfed by darkness. I sonared constantly, making sure no rocks or anything got close enough to scratch me. I could swear I heard weird sounds coming from deeper within. If I had been a human or kat, every hair on me would have been standing on end. The sounds weren't loud or soft, and seemed slightly distorted. It sounded like someone running a fork along a plate, but it didn't hurt my ears. The sounds always changed slightly and at one point it almost sounded like someone screaming and then a step away from singing.

    The Survivor! It had to be! I raced faster and deeper into the tunnel, leaving Fedron behind. He panicked and then proceeded to follow me behind by several inches. This "tunnel" was covered with marble, and when I sonared, I could "see" carvings placed in here, carvings of human faces, not kat. This scared me, for now I KNEW something was terribly wrong. I stopped swimming and "hovered," horrified. Fedron slammed into me and asked most acidly, why I had stopped. I only answered by saying this place didn't belong here. Something triggered a memory from long ago, I had quickly decided this was Atlantis and Atlantis belonged on Earth, not here. It was made by humans, not kats. He nodded, saying that he'd never been here, so he had never knew about it and was at a loss to explain why it was here.

    I continued my swim, the weird sounds going on all the while. We had maybe two or three minutes more of exploring time before we would have to turn back and surface. I quickened my pace, to find an air pocket. I cautiously surfaced, filling my lungs with stale, but breathable air and waited for Fedron to do the same. In this total darkness, sonar was a saver; for it was sight when you couldn't have light. With refilled lungs, we ventured a little bit further to see a faint glow. We turned the corner and entered HUGE cave at least five or six football fields long, filled with microscopic life that had made yellowish light.

    As I looked up, I shock visibly, and looked over to see Fedron do the equivalent of a double take. The Survivor was nothing short of immense. It was at least four times my size and it glowed with its own light. Imagine a DNA helix that was about a thousand times its normal size and made out of globes. That is was what IT was. It waved around slightly and made those creepy sounds. With that size, I wondered how it got into this cave and how it stayed alive. It didn't look like any logical life form, but then again, what would be considered logical?

    It didn't seem to acknowledge Fedron or me at first, but before I knew what was happening I was seeing pictures. At first they were blurry and obscured, but then clear. Somewhere in the background, I had heard a "adapting data stream to subject's brain receptors" and began to see pictures from first person. Everything vanished from sight except the pictures I was seeing.

    I saw the people of humans of Atlantis City while they finished constructing a time machine, using advanced technology. They wore strange white garments and had fashioned futuristic tools, while still keeping their buildings and architecture made of marble.  Everything went dark and then a flash of light filled my sight as the Atlanteans did their first experiment to time-shift. It worked, and the city's inhabitants all disappeared with a good portion of their belongings. The city's infrastructure and time machine were still there and with no one watching over it, the city ever so slowly, began to be reclaimed by nature. The city sat in near perfect condition for several years without anyone in it, so when a earthquake hit the city's location, it activated the time machine and it transferred the city to another time... and dimension. It ended up here, at the bottom of the ocean, and with no kats ever losing a city like this one, there was no desire to go a search for one. The first "movie" ended, showing Atlantis slowly being inhabited by ocean creatures and I got my regular vision back. Why or how the Atlanteans needed a time machine, I didn't know, but when they got to the place the wanted, and that was the last anyone heard of them. That explained why Atlantis City was here, so I felt better and not so "violated" that it was not on Earth.

    The needed to breath had just vanished upon entering this cave, so I felt no urge to run to the air pocket and get new air for my lungs. Fedron apparently had seen the same thing as me and seemed just as dazzled as I was about Atlantis.

    My vision went away again, and I saw another "movie." This time it showed the effects of years going by and then dolphins finding the area where Atlantis had been. I saw several ways humans mistreated the dolphins and how many had been killed because of the want for fish and for entertainment. Next I viewed how several hundred dolphins found a way to manipulate the traces of energy left by the time machine and shift into the kat dimension. They didn't want to stay on Earth because of the way some humans had treated their kind and the idea of an unexplored ocean thrilled them. They used certain sound frequencies and then made the "jump." The survivors at first lived together in a huge group, then all went off and started living in their smaller Pods. The picture of the dolphins leaping in the waves slowly disappeared and I was again in the cave with Fedron and the Survivor. Fedron blinked rapidly for several seconds and glanced at me with amazement, but didn't break the silence. I stared at him for a minute or two and then at the Survivor. The word 'wow' would have been a very big understatement for what we just saw.

    <Greetings. I am the Survivor. Welcome to Atlantis. Many decades have past since I met a human and even more since I saw one with enough courage to come and solve someone else's porblems,> it spoke with a rich, echoing tone.

    <Thanks. I was told by my friends that you wanted to see a human before you would help. I was just wondering, if I am not offending you when I ask, why you wanted to speak to a human? What would happen if I never came, would you not of helped the dolphins?> I asked.

    <It would happen. I knew that you would come. If you wouldn't of come... well you did, so why ask?> it said.

    <I... I was just wondering. They said you had a solution.>

    <Yes, I do. These Killers are of Earth, from way back when fierce creatures swam the oceans and MegaSharks ranged about. They evolved from various savage beasts and eventually created a order structure. There is a Queen that commands her workers, and she controls every Hunter. Their job is to patrol the oceans and keep them under her control while avoiding detection from the world above, until she can develop lungs, and other land characteristics to assault terra firma. Imgine an ant coloney and replace the insects with Life Hunters and the queen ant with the Hunters' queen. She's only in the middle of her quest for control but the dolphins are more of a challenge then she thought. They are hampering her, but they don't know how to defeat her. Why I wanted to speak to a human is because humans sometimes have more ideas on attacking and defending then dolphins, no offense to your friend here and they seem to be more on the stealth side, then on the overt side at times.>

    <I see. The Hunters are from Earth. So they came with the dolphins when they came to this dimesion?>

    <Yes. She lost her link with her present workers and had to start anew. With about five hundred years from back then to now, she's had much time to prepare her attacking. To stop the attacks, you must kill her.>

    Its last words echoed in my mind. 'You must kill her.' <I have to?> I blurted out before thinking.

    <Your friend can help, but you must. I know this Song that you can use against the Queen; its vibrations will shatter her to bits. You must attack the head for it to work. She has armor the can deflect incoming sounds. Your Song will have a flux in it that other dolphins' songs won't have. You friend alone would only hurt the Queen, but this flux in your song, due to your morph, would kill the Queen.>

    <I see.>

    The creature let out long harsh notes that seemed to 'hang' in the water. I could see the faintest ripple in the water were the Survivor aimed the sound. He aimed at a small ground of fish in the cave and they stopped in their swim and drifted away, small trails of blood, coming from them. I tried to repeat the song, but was having trouble with the last few notes. Fedron had more success and when he learned the song, and could only could badly stun another group of fish he found, but not kill them. I finally got down this Song and soon enough, I was given the exact location of the Queen. It was back towards MegaKat City, nestled in a trench, making Hunters. Before I could leave, though it asked how my race was doing. I did the best I could in telling what was going on in technology and in the military and what I had been doing in my life, and the Survivor seemed content with what I had told it. It said bye after that and wished us the best. Finally Fedron and I left the Survivor's Cave and left, heading in the direction of the Queen.

    More days passed and only twice did we run into Hunters. We had wounded and defeated them, heading towards the Queen's location. Finally just on the outskirts of the Queen's trench, in a small depression in the sand, we saw a huge gaping hole in the ground and six wide, root-like tentacles anchoring the creature in its place. At our current position, we could only see the tentacles, with the ground hiding the creature from sight. Its tentacles were ash-black, and blended almost perfectly with the sandy bottom. They were smooth, suggesting they had no scales and were made from hardened skin.

    I swam up over the vast pit and almost threw up my lunch. As Fedron followed me, and took in the site, he paled noticeably. His bluish skin turning almost milky white from fear and shock. The Queen was not just massive, it was incredibly hideous. In the center was a huge mouth that must of been twice my length. The mouth looked something like a leech's sucker and was lined with hundreds of teeth, each about a foot long. Among the teeth were half-decaded bodies of past meals. Whatever it had been eating was beyond recondition, the filth of the kills floated around the creature and had made this area carry the stench of death.  Two lengthy purple tongues that stunk out of Queen's mouth lashed out in the current, lined with studs and rough skin. Each tongue had a "fang" like that of a snake, loaded with venom. Several feet away from the mouth were the eyes. There were four eyes, one on the upper left and right above the creature's jaw, and two on the bottom left and right, below the jaw. They were as red as blood and seemed to sum up the creature's feelings about all life: inferior. The head with had all the things just described, was slightly higher then the body, but I could see that the "neck" of the creature was coiled, so at any time, it could spring up its head and strike at an unaware victim.

    They body itself was spread out so it took up as much room as possible. At the base of each tentacle, a spire rose up, about ten meters high, filled with huge spikes and suckers. At the ends of the spires were claws that pointed down towards the thing's mouth. These spire-like structures didn't seem capable of movement, just the suckers, which occasionally twitched. All about the spires, there were lacerated bodies of dolphins, whales, fish and sharks and even birds. Mostly the bodies were just skeletons, but several of the recent kills were still for the most part still whole, just cut badly in several places. All about the creature, there was no signs of blood splashed around or struggles to catch these creatures. The Queen's body was the darkest shade of green, with sploshes of of black and yellow. Its spires were dark to light purple with hints of black. In short, the Queen was a sloppy eater, while being an efficient killer. As I changed my angle to get a better view of the Queen, I saw "lines" of saliva hanging on every part of her. Particles of dust and matter had collected on these lines and because of that, they didn't sparkle in the light.

    <Fedron,> I whispered, <This is bad.>

    <I hadn't noticed,> he whispered back.

    <We need a plan. We need a good plan,> I said simply, with more calmness then I thought possible at this moment.

    <You have anything in mind...? I seem to be fresh out of ideas.>

    <I have a plan, but you'll hate it,> I mummered.

    <You do? Then we can kill this thing and go home. It can't be that bad.>

    <Yeah right. First we go for the eyes to blind the thing, and then we knock off the spires. After that we sonar the thing to death,> I spoke, my tone almost nothing.

    It didn't seem possible, but Fedron paled even more. His face and a good portion of his body was almost pure white at this moment. <That isn't going to be easy!> he burst in surprize. <You want US to blind it, while avoid the tongues and then knock off its spires? I think we should get the tongue, the eyes and then the spires,> he told me, slightly getting back his natural color.

    <Good idea. Right now, I am so worked up, that if we don't start fighting that thing soon, I am going to be to tired to do much good.>

    <Ok. You ready? I'm not sure I am, but I gotta try,> he responded, trying not to let his speech shake.

    <Not really, but common, let's surface and start the duel!> I said, louder then intended.

    We surfaced and then swam down to the Queen. I saw Fedron bare his teeth, and utter a low sound in anger at the thing. Once close to the creature, it didn't seem to acknowledge us, but when I sonared it, it responded by trying to stab me with one of its tongues. I whipped around, dodging it, while Fedron swam lower and bit into the thrashing organ. His teeth were sunk in to the gums, and after several seconds, he had managed to rip it completely out by jerking forcibly backwards. The severed tongue floated away from the Queen and she responded by using her other tongue to try and hurt us. She aimed her fang for Fedron's head, and he swam out of the way just in time to avoid the fang, but not the side of the studded tongue. He was slammed into a spire and managed to get away before the Queen could try anything else. She then aimed for me. She struck at me but missed, and I used the opportunity to swim down to the thing's face and stab one of its eyes. I thrust down so hard, my beak had went past the eye socket, and into the soft flesh beyond.

    I snapped backwards at the feeling of hot blood starting to seep from the wound and was careful to avoid the other undamaged tongue. I swam to Fedron who was getting his senses back after being pushed around and we concentrated on getting the other tongue. I swam as low as I dared and then proceeded to bite it while Fedron keep it distracted by swimming wildly around. I ripped it out the same way he had, but this time, as the entire tongue disconnected from the Queen, it wrapped itself around me, and began to choke me. I struggled in vain, feeling my insides slowly being crushed by the tongue. Fedron turned to help me, but was seized by several suckers on one of the spires. He cried out in pain as they began to try to twist him into an unnatural position, but I had to worry about myself at this moment. I tried to bite the tongue that had almost completely wrapped around me, but it was to far away from my month. I then swam to a wall of the pit we were in, and started to ram myself and the organ into it. The thing finally succumbed and floated away, but by then, I really needed to surface. Fedron was still down there, struggling with the suckers, so I had to free him before tending to my needs. I went to his side and fired a Hyper Sonic Pulse into the spire, and the Queen immediately let go. Fedron and I quickly surfaced and then returned to the battle.

    The good news was that the two tongues were out of the battle, and so were one of its eyes, but the thing still had all of its spires and I couldn't get a completely clear shot at the thing, to use the Survivor's Song on it. We quickly conversed, agreeing we had to get rid of at least one spire, so we could get the eyes.

    We swum around the creature, out of its reach and then charged towards a spire, ramming it with full speed and cutting it in half. Fedron got to a safe spot right after we knocked the spire, but I had screwed up, swimming into another spire. It was on the other side of the Queen, and instead of hitting it with overwhelming force to hurt it, I impacted with it and went spinning. Stars and flashes of light were all I saw for several seconds, and I swam hurriedly higher before anything could hurt me. I must of been badly hurt because Fedron was helping me to the surface and babbling on about a gash I had received as a result of meeting a second spire. I looked at him tiredly, and told him I would be all right, I just needed a few seconds to get my thoughts in order, and to let the pain subside.

    Many minutes later, and after I had surfaced, we were back down there. Fedron was keeping the Queen very occupied by blasting her constantly with Sonic Sonar and avoiding all attacks launched at him. I hesitated for a second and decided right then, that trying to disable the Queen before ending its life would take to long. I pointed myself at the creature's head and began to sing the Song. That seemed to make the Queen very mad. She uncoiled her head and lunged up at me with incredible speed. I didn't think after that, I turned and swam upwards with all my might. I broke the surface of the water and flew many feet in the air, and then splashed back into the water to see the head reposition itself like before. Fedron had dodged the lunge easily, being that it wasn't at him, and while the Queen had been focused on me, he had taken out another spire. He looked at me, and gave me the equivalent of a grin. I returned the gesture, and I told him that I had to use the Song now. He then responded by saying he'd divert her, because very soon, Hunters and Killers would be on their way if we didn't hurry getting this battle over with.

    Fedron and I swam back over to the Queen and he proceeded to harass her with sonar attacks, as I waited for the right time to start the Song. I found the break as Fedron had drawn all of the Queen's defenses to one side. I started the Song, and began to feel weird, but not in a bad way. The Song came out louder then usual and echoed powerfully through the water. The long, harsh notes hung in the water, like they had back at the Survivor's cave, but it seemed many times more amplified here, on the battlefield.  The Queen stopped trying to hurt Fedron, as she realized her doom was very near, and she screamed a very loud and painful howl, in defiance and defeat. She turned her head to stare at me, her three eyes glaring at me with unmeasurable hatred, and let out another shout.

    <<YOU!!!!>> she screamed.

    That was the first and last thing I ever heard from the Queen, for right then, she expired. As I  finished the Song and the notes finally disappeared into silence, Fedron and I watched as the creature we had been battling so hard to kill, began to cave in on itself, and disintegrate before our eyes. No one broke the silence for some time, as we watched the Queen's remains slowly being washed away by the currents.

    I turned away to swim towards the nearest beach I saw, quietly signaling Fedron to follow. He did wordlessly, for the just finished battle seemed to nullify all speech between us. It was a part of  the later afternoon, and the sun was just about to go below the horizon. My dolphin vision wasn't the best, but every time I surfaced, I could see the sun's colors reflecting all about the water. It was beautiful, and I was swimming in it, right after the most terrifying battle I had ever been in.
 

    The rhythm of waves washing upon the beach was almost all I could hear. Before Fedron had agreed to try this, he'd made sure no kats were anywhere on or near the area we'd be in by using his sonar. I now pictured the Globe and we'd jumped into it... and felt the changes. Fur was appearing on my arms, and I was getting my better vision back. I felt my arms and legs forming, and the itching sensation as my dorsal fin disappeared. I looked over in amazement, as he too was becoming a kat. I saw his dorsal fin disappearing, being absorbed into his spine and then fur spreading to every part of him. All it took was thirty seconds, and we were kats. I stood up so fast my head throbbed, but after I got my balance, I grabbed Fedron, and hauled him onto the beach. Luckily, when morphing into kat, the clothes I had originally were stored in the Globe, so I didn't have any problems. The weird part was though Fedron never wore cloth on his body, he was in shorts. We were drenched, but it didn't matter. We were alive, and we were kats.

    He looked at me, disoriented, and breathed in loudly. Trying to stand up, he leaned on me and coughed. I led him over to a large rock, and we both sat down.

    "Fedron. Fedron, it worked!" I said.

    He looked at me strangely, but didn't say anything.

    "Speak to me! We don't use thought-speech, we use our voice, our vocal cords," I said.

    "It worked. I... I can speak with a voice. This is... different. I never thought about how different our lives are, or will be. I feel anchored to the ground, not like water," he finally spoke.

    "It's called gravity. It's something all us land walkers are very use to. So, that was a pretty big battle, wasn't it? You did great! The only thing is that I wanted you to see how I see the world, because after this... I believe we're going to go our separate ways."

    He looked at me, not knowing what expression to wear. "Conrad... Thanks, but I'm sure we're going to run into each other again. Who knows, maybe I'll get someone to send you a Dream Message, like how Riconada Pod contacted you. There's always later," he replied, his voice getting softer.

    "Later... I thought about that. I really like this place and all, but what about my parents? What are they thinking of right now? I really want to stay here, but what about...? If I AM stuck here, it won't be to bad, and I can always live with it," I responded.

    "True. But before you leave, if you go, I'd like to see you again. The death of the Queen will make the eventual extermination of the Hunters a lot easier, and the Glyph could use an entry from one of the key players who helped in making that possible. We could hang out and talking and just have fun... Before you leave this... Place for good, ok? You may never get back," he asked, pleading.

    "Okay... I promise to see you before I leave, but I think I am going to be here for quite some time. I mean, the kats I stay with are involved with many... Objectives. Even if I couldn't come back I would never forget many of the things that happened here, and I'd never forget you!"

    "Thanks. I understand. So, how about teaching me more about how it it to live on land...?"

    The three hours passed quickly, and soon we were off again. Back in the cool waters of the ocean, we headed towards the beach I had first left and said our good byes, as I went my way and he went his.