Misery Loves Company

[gantzgun74]

The adrenaline rush wasn't helping anything...

Going at such high speeds through the betwixt catacombs (The space inbetween all that filled the void inbetween every world when traveling through a portal) was barely doing anything to make him feel better. The loss of his friends was just too much to handle, it felt like his chest was going to explode in emotional pain... And that feeling was worse then being stabbed through the chest by that psychotic guy with the black bird back at Taitle. In honest truth, he would've preferred being ANYWHERE else then here... He should be back home, trying to destroy the dark insects that were destroying the place he had called home.

(Flashback.)

"Mizuno!! Run!!!! We'll handle these pests! Just find safety!!!"

"No way!! I'm not going to leave you guys here!!" Mizuno answered back, determined and ready, his hands forming two watery tendrils that could knock out a giant.

"Just do it!!! We'll meet up with you later!! Just GO!!!" Came another voice, one deep and almost monotone.

"But-"

"Mizuno just-!!! GAAAAH!!!!!!!!!" There was a painful sound, and suddenly a bright flash. "Portus Ondus ANTARIA!!!"

(End flashback)

After another bright flash, he found himself here, flying at high speeds to a location he wasn't sure of. But regardless of all of it, Mizuno was going there... Sobbing all the way.

------------------

His crying fest was immediately cut off when he was suddenly engulfed in the most frigid water he EVER remembered swimming in. Even his favored brown trenchcoat did nothing to protect him from the pure cold. Before he knew it, he was shot out of the Betwixt Catacombs like a bullet.

He was surprised to find that he had landed underwater, a gigantic temple in sight, grand in many ways, hallways handcrafted to perfection, tall and grand and majestic...

What was even weirder, when Mizuno took in a sharp inhale at the cold water, he could actually breathe... Well, he could breathe underwater anyway given his gills, but he could actually breathe like a normal human down here...

But how was that possible?! He must've been WAY underwater, this was just nonsensical! Gantz would rip this place a new one in a-

GANTZ!!!!

"Gantz!!!" Mizuno instantly turned around and saw the rift he had shot out of. Fast as a turbine, Mizuno used the water currents to shoot at the rift. So close! All he needed to do was get inside, and he can go back to help his friends.

But too bad, so sad... The rift closed before he could get inside, causing him to rocket past the point it once was. "No..." Mizuno quickly turned around to find it... But it was nowhere to be found. "No... No..!! NO!! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!!!!!!!"

Mizuno was off like a shot, traversing around the temple in the vain hope that the rift had just moved elsewhere, rather then just plain close itself up...

However, after an hour of vain jetting here there and everywhere, Mizuno was sitting atop the top tower, catching his breath. "No... Gantz... Wally... Otto... Everyone..." He couldn't believe it... He just couldn't...

"Guys..."

His salty tears exited out of his eyes and became frigid upon his cheeks...

They needed him... And he was STUCK here...

Some friend he was.

[Jilak]

As the king of Kumari Kandam, he was given many tasks. Take for example, making sure the cryptid that was the moving kingdom didn't die. That was one of his many tasks. Falling through a dimensional portal created after a certain Zak Saturday's powers went into overdrive? This usually fell into the 'do not' category.

Unfortunately, King Ulraj had been with the boy when he was at a 'natural hot-spot', and a portal had appeared when he attempted to use his powers. Perhaps his latent Kur genes had kicked in, using one of it's many abilities. That didn't matter at this moment of time. What mattered was that a second earlier, Ulraj had been emerged in a frigid blast of water, before finding himself able to breathe. Yes, he was able to breathe underwater naturally, but... this was... different.

He found himself in a temple of some sort, one packed with oxygen. And he knew it wasn't his gills working in overdrive. No, his gills were currently inactive.

And then he detected something in the magnetic field around him. Someone else was here. Someone with a similar physiology. A kindred spirit, perhaps...

...someone whom was keeping up a lot of noise. It had started with a cry of the name 'Gantz'. Ulraj had no idea who the person in question was, nor did he expec to find out. However, it was quickly followed by a stream of 'no's, eventually dying out.

"Are you quite finished?" Ulraj asked aloud, having floated in Mizuno's general direction.

[gantzgun74]

Mizuno's ears perked up quickly. A voice? All the way down here?

He quickly looked around, possibly thinking to find no-one there... Before he finally noticed King Ulraj floating up to him.

He was a curious creature, that Mizuno, and seeing king Ulraj brought up both curiosity and excitement. Excitement, that had been put off by the way, because any other time he would've been happy to see that this man looked something like him, meaning he was like a kindred spirit in someway. And honestly? The curiosity part was just a given.

"Who... Who are you?" The question sounded like it came from a meek and timid little kid, rather then from the teenage oddity it originated from.

[Jilak]

There were many ways he could've replied here. He could've pulled an 'I'm the goddamn Batman' moment, or he could have been completely honest and stated his identity. Of course, there was always the third option...

"...BAHAHAHAHAHA." King Ulraj guffawed, nearly losing his balance. Swimming while laughing, even when you can breathe underwater, is a bad idea. A very bad idea.

"Surely you must be joking? I am the king of Kumari Kandam! King Ulraj. You may address me as 'your highness'." Ulraj gestured to himself. The expression upon his face could be described as a mixture of 'smug' and 'noble'. More the first one than the second.

"And who exactly are YOU?"

[gantzgun74]

The poor fishboy wasn't sure what to make of what the supposed king was going on about. But when asked for his name, he timidly averted his gaze. After a small moment of silence, he finally said, "M-Mizuno... My name is Mizuno..."

After taking a moment to gather his courage, he looked at the smug noble, giving him a curious gaze.

"What's... What's Kumari Kandam?"

[Jilak]

Ulraj had to pause for a second. His expression changed from a smug, noble look, to a grimace. In essence, his face proved that it's completely possible to have a '0_o' expression. For minute, he stood, mouth open, finger raised as if he were attempting to tell the other being something, yet couldn't find the words. He finally did, however.

"WHAT'S Kumari Kandam?" Ulraj mirrored, an incredulous expression replacing his grimace.

"It's only THE most sophisticated, most powerful kingdom under the seven seas. SURELY you've heard of it?"

[gantzgun74]

Mizuno merely shook his head. "I'm..." Shortly before he lowered his head, turning his gaze away. "I'm sorry. I haven't heard of it before now."

With his gaze turned away from Ulraj, he caught the sight of the majestic temple that graced their underwater settings... Well... Ulraj DID say Kumari Kandam was advanced. "Is this place, Kumari Kandam?"

[Jilak]

"Wait, what, I-no!" Ulraj slowly, veeeeery slowly, facepalmed. It's not that it was Mizuno's fault, no. It's that the king was having a hard time explaining Kumari Kandam to the boy.

"It... look... just... just go explore the temple or something. Kumari Kandam is ALIVE, by the way. A moving kingdom."

[gantzgun74]

Mizuno had a sinking feeling in his stomach that the king's frustration was his fault. Turning his head away further, he sighed. "S-sorry... I..." But whatever he was going to say, he decided not to say it. Sighing dismally, he swam off the tower tier...

A little temple tour could be good for him, he guessed. "O-okay... I'll go l-look around..."

Before Ulraj could question what had happened, The water seemed to surge around Mizuno, before, with a little push, he created what would look to be a current of water, propelling himself forward at fast speeds, possibly pushing bubbles all over the place.

He hadn't meant for such a fast exit, he just felt like he had suddenly overstayed his welcome in Ulraj's company... He had never exactly been a socialite.

[Jilak]

Well that... was unexpected. What was the kid, Aquaman? In any case, King Ulraj took a moment to ponder his options. On the one hand, staying around the Merman(at least, that's what Ulraj guessed his race was. He wasn't Kumari Kandam'ite) could give him an ulcer. On the OTHER hand, he had no idea where he was, and was rather interested in the temple himself.

His curiosity outweighed his self preservation instinct. As such, he followed after Mizuno, albeit at a much slower pace than the other had left.

"Mizuno? Hey, where are you? Your king does not wish to spend countless hours searching!" King Ulraj called out.

[gantzgun74]

"But I'm right here..."

In his time swimming he had passed a st King Ulraj had been passing what appeared to be a statue of some kind of merman king, he heard that voice coming from behind it... After a second, Mizuno reappeared from behind the statue. "Well... You d-did say explore the temple..." He lowered his head, as he squeezed past the statue and out into plain sight. "Besides... I wanted to know what could be here too..."

[Jilak]

The worst part about being a noble? Once you made an error, you looked more of a fool than, say, if you were a ten year old boy with the power to talk to animals. But that was a different matter entirely. What made it even worse? Ulraj was supposed to have a magnetic sense, much like a shark. Which implies that had he paid more attention to his senses, he'd have noticed Mizuno sooner than he had.

"Err, right. In any case, have you found anything other than this magnificent statue?" Ulraj questioned, trying to sidestep his earlier mistake.

"No need to sound so nervous. I am a person just as you or the person this statue is modeled after. Merely with a different title."