Branch 209 of the Portal Trading Company was unique in that it was one of several branches that came with a particular warning for employees: Adapted Personnel Only. In particular for 209, this warning cautioned those without the proper biology or equipment from drowning, or being crushed via pressure, in the depths of an ocean.

On the upper level of Branch 209’s storefront, a group of five adventurers were lounging about after finishing a meal. It was difficult to say they were sitting, given the flooded nature of the building, but they were in as close to a position as could be given the circumstance. They chatted in a language that consisted entirely of clicking, moaning, and squeaking like sounds to the human ear, but for them it was as clear as someone on land.

“Mowbu? Where is this thing supposed to be again?” asked Kiki.

“The debris was sighted off the Waree Ridge.” Mowbu said.

“And the one that saw it was sure it was the Leviathan?” Haru enthusiastically asked.

“Supposedly,” responded Balloo, “Which is why we’re going, remember? It could be the greatest find in decades.”

“Just remember that the Ridge is dangerous. There’s a reason the locals avoid it,” sighed Lerrei.

Each of these five had roughly the same general body structure. Instead of legs, they had a powerful tail which they utilized to propel them through the water. Their arms were wide and flat like pectoral fins, but ended in a humanoid-like hand. They each had no nose, instead having a dolphin or whale-like blowhole on the back of their neck. Each was using a specialized piece of respirator equipment that they had over their blowhole, preventing the need to surface for air. Their skin was smooth, and they wore no clothing of any sort, though any sort of physical sexual characteristics were impossible to notice. Though the clothing was lacking, each did have a bandolier-like belt strapped across their torso. The few weapons, technology, and items present differentiated each member’s party role.

Mowbu, who had colors and patterns like an orca and whose size indicated some sort of whale-like race, was the party’s bulwark. He wielded a lengthy glaive with a long blade. Since battling underwater was difficult, even those adapted to such a situation preferred to maintain distance from an enemy.

Haru and Balloo were twin brothers and were of a dolphin-like race. They composed the fighter and sniper roles respectively of the party. The sniper role faced particular difficulty in aquatic situations given that projectiles did not do well in that sort of environment. The Company had therefore developed the mini torpedoes that Balloo was able to control remotely through an implant near his brain. Haru meanwhile used a wickedly sharp harpoon and speed to dart in and cause damage.

The slightly airheaded, dolphin-like Kiki was the group’s medic. Her personality made her approachable and easy to talk to, though she was terrible at remembering details. Clear instructions were included with her equipment so that mistakes could be avoided in combat situations, but the group played extremely safe to avoid risking Kiki’s sometimes questionable medical treatment. She had a striped pattern in the grays of her skin, like that of a spinner dolphin. She was also wholeheartedly in love with Mowbu, though she did not quite know it herself, and she fawned over him constantly.

Lerrei was the party’s mage, though her whale-like race made her the physically largest member of the group. Comparable to Earth, her whale-like lineage was similar to any of the numerous baleen whales, giving her notable baleen-hair teeth. She was a reliable member of the team and frequently acted in a motherly role, which was often met with mixed results depending on the situation.

The group set off shortly after, as the Waree Ridge was a day’s travel away. Fortune seemed to smile on the group as they made it to the Ridge in due time. They found a small cave in the cliffside where they made camp. They did not use any light, as in the dark depths it would only attract unwanted attention. Instead, they utilized echolocation to keep a metaphorical eye on their surroundings and each other. Taking a rest in their cave camp, they prepared for the next day.

Dawn, which only existed as a concept in the darkness of the deep ocean, found the five group members standing on the edge of the Ridge looking with echolocation downwards. After a significant drop, the sea floor was a flat, barren stretch of sandy nothingness.

"I'm not catching anything out there. The tip said just off the Ridge?" Balloo asked.

"Yes," Mowbu replied, "There's something just at the edge of what I'm picking up."

"I see it too," Lerrei added.

Kiki wrapped her fins around Mowbu in a hug.

"I knew you could do it!" she cried.

"Not now, Kiki," Lerrei cautioned.

"Oh, right."

The group dove down from the edge, following Mowbu and Lerrei's direction. Shortly, even the three dolphinfolk picked up on the oddity on the flat seabed.

Split into two primary chunks, with a few smaller bits and debris scattered around, was what was clearly the remains of a surfacer's ship. It was difficult to tell from a distance, but drawing closer it was clearly not any type of warship, there were far too many now shattered viewport and windows. The chunk that had been the stern of the ship had been heavily compacted, likely from the implosion as it sank it addition to the natural compression of the ocean depths. The chunk that was the bow was more so intact, though it too had been compacted to a degree.

"Should we risk a temporary light?" Mowbu asked.

"I can't sense anything significant to be concerned about," Balloo affirmed.

"Lerrei? If you would please," Mowbu said.

A moment later, five directed spotlights appeared, one above each member’s head. Taking a moment for their eyes to adjust, the group moved to the bow section. Emblazoned near the tip in now heavily faded paint was a word written in surfacer language.

"Leviathan," Lerrei calmly translated, "It is here."

"Alright! Let's get the treasures here!" Haru shouted as he started swimming towards the nearest opening.

"No," said Mowbu, grabbing Haru's tail, "This is not something we can do here. 2000 surfacers died here."

"And they can't hold onto their good stuff then," Haru pointed out, "Besides, it's what we do as adventurers."

"Not to mention it's our job," Balloo added.

Both made valid points. It was a tragedy but they were here on a mission. The Company sent teams to collect things that were interesting. Despite this, Mowbu was insisting on dropping this rare and historic find.

"I agree with Mowbu," Lerrei said, "Let's simply survey the area instead. We can decide what to do afterwards with the information."

"Yeah. What Lerrei said," Kiki added.

The brothers glanced at each other.

"Seriously?" Balloo asked.

"This is a sacred place at this point. A grave for those surfacers," Mowbu said, "How would you feel if Haru had died here?"

"YOU SHALL ALL REMAIN HERE," an thunderous voice echoed through the water.

Lerrei instantly killed the lights, and everyone focused on finding the source.

"Kiki, be ready," Mowbu cautioned, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Sensing far beyond themselves and the wreck, the group felt what was coming. First it was one, then two, then multiple long, thick tendrils that led the way. They were all connected to the massive, hulking form that was quickly closing the distance due to its shear size. Dread started to set in to most of the group, realizing what the approaching creature was..

"K… kr… kraken," Haru stammered.

Indeed the giant cephalopod approaching was known commonly as a kraken-class creature. The myriad of tentacles, some large and others small and nimble, could grab onto anything from ships to individuals. They were fiercely territorial and tolerated few, if any, intruders. Though technically sentient, their hostility had led to them being declared as kill-on-sight targets.

"New plan. We get out of here alive. I've never heard of one this big before," Mowbu suggested.

None of the others objected.

"Kiki, stay with me," Lerrei said, an edge of fear just tickling her words.

Mowbu kicked with his tail as he drew the glaive from his bandolier, charging towards the approaching kraken. With a spin, he sliced through the first tentacles that reached out to grab him. Whirring sounds streaked by him as Balloo's mini torpedoes honed in, followed by the explosions of contact. The combination attack must have hurt, given the roaring scream the kraken unleashed.

It was at that moment that Haru darted in. Disoriented by the pain, the kraken could not counter the piercing strikes of the harpoon that dug deep into nervous clusters that controlled the tentacles. Combined with Mowbu's sweeping strikes and Balloo's torpedoes, the kraken was on the defensive. But the unexpected counterattack by the group had finally registered to the kraken, and it sought their blood. Even more tentacles lashed out, moving at speeds that should not have been possible for a creature of the kraken's size or for the aquatic environment. It was the beginning of the end as the situation rapidly devolved for the party.

It started as Mowbu just barely dodged one of the massive tentacles that the creature would use to grasp at ships. The tentacle continued on and managed to hit Balloo, slamming the dolphinfolk into the bow remnant of the Leviathan. The force of the impact echoed dully through the area, and Balloo was grievously injured. However, the tentacle did not stop as it crashed down on him. The fragment of the once great vessel shattered into hundreds of metal fragments as the kraken’s blow shoved Balloo through the hull and decks to the seafloor.

Haru was overcome by rage and grief as his brother died before him. With increased ferocity he attacked the gargantuan creature, darting in closer and closer. Mowbu called out to the dolphinfolk as he pulled back from the confrontation with the deadly entity before them. Blinded by his rage, Haru could not avoid the smaller tentacles that reacted to his presence and grasped him. His rage was overcome by pain as he was ripped in two before the release of death silenced him forevermore.

The kraken turned towards the prey that was escaping its domain. The prey that dared to disturb one of its treasures. The prey that had broken its treasure. Two of them were farther away, going over the ridge, while the last one lagged behind, injured and bleeding. The kraken could not let the prey escape.

Mowbu was struggling to make it. The explosion of metal shards from the Leviathan had sent several slicing into his flesh. If he could just make it back over the Ridge, he would likely be out of the kraken’s territory and the chase would slow. He put everything into the powerful thrusts of his tail, ignoring the pain from the cuts and strain of his muscles. Cresting over the Waree Ridge, he did not slow down, and was relieved that Lerrei and Kiki had not slowed either. He chanced sending a ping back towards the wreck, and was filled with dread. The kraken was raising itself from the seafloor and starting to swim after them.

“Keep going! Don’t stop!” he called ahead.

“Mowbu!” Kiki called back.

He could sense the panic in her voice. It was perhaps unlikely that any of them would make it back to Branch 209, but he knew that right now it was even more unlikely that he would even see the next five minutes. In an act of desperation, Mowbu cut to the right so as to try and draw the kraken away from the women. Any distance he could put between them and the creature would increase their chances of survival, even if it was just a smidgen. He pressed on, swimming parallel to the cliff that was the Waree Ridge.

With every second that Mowbu’s heart pumped, he heard a great surge of water moving as it was displaced by his pursuer. He took a chance and attempted to throw his glaive at the kraken, both to lighten himself just a bit but also hoping that he might score a lucky hit. Mowbu did not stop to see if the effort had results, which it did not, but continued on. Just after, something struck his left side. He felt the pain as his left fin was ripped off by the impact as he crashed to the seafloor.

“Little prey will not escape,” the kraken laughed as it set down nearby.

Mowbu sensed the smaller tentacles coming towards him slowly, as if mocking his helplessness. A piercing pain shot up from his tail fluke, as the kraken stabbed him with his own weapon to pin him in place. Closing his eyes, Mowbu waited for death to come.

An explosion caused Mowbu to open his eyes, from which he saw a flash of orangish light. In the brief moment before the darkness returned to consume his vision, he caught a glimpse of the fleshy, brown mass of tentacles and death that pursued him. He had no idea what had caused the explosion or where it had come from, but it had distracted the kraken, causing it to unleash a terrible, wailing screech that ruptured Mowbu’s ears, plunging the world of darkness into silence as well. It was here in the cold, deep ocean, a place without light and sound for him, that Mowbu’s mind broke as the fear of death combined with the lack of sensory information.

Lerrei fired off another explosive spell at the kraken. Her distance from her target worked against her, as she felt the mana within draining rapidly with each spell. Yet she launched one after the other, causing the epic monster confusion and pain. Lerrei hoped that it would be enough of a distraction.

Kiki was not as scatterbrained as usual, instead incredibly focused. Perhaps it was from watching two of her teammates die, or perhaps it was because Mowbu was in danger. Whatever the reason, she darted through the water towards her injured party member as Lerrei distracted the kraken. The taste of blood in the water hit her as she stopped next to Mowbu.

“Come on! We have to go!” she shouted.

Mowbu did not respond, only twitching in apparent agony. Kiki reached out to grab him and upon touching him, he began screaming in terror. Somehow, Kiki managed to drag Mowbu along as she made for Branch 209 as Lerrei continued providing cover.

The city was in sight, and the three were in various combinations of exhaustion and injury. Yet still they pressed on, as the kraken had continued to pursue them. They could sense it coming, though it acted more cautiously than it had previously. While they felt bad about the coming apocalypse to the city, the only thing on their mind right now was survival. Bursting through the door to Branch 209, they knew that they were safe.

“Hello and welcome to… oh my gosh!” Shellina, a mermaid staff member, started.

“Activate defenses,” Lerrei said as she passed out onto the floor.

“Activating!” shouted Kelby, the other mermaid staff member on duty.

There was a whir of energy as the defenses for Branch 209 came online. What exactly the defenses were was a mystery, since they had never been activated before here at Branch 209. Kiki, Shellina, and Kelby did not bother to watch and see either, instead guiding the injured Mowbu and unconscious Lerrei through the blue portal in the back room to the Company headquarters.

The kraken ended up destroying a large swath of the city as its prey disappeared from its reach before encountering the energy dome. It tried in vain to break through before suddenly halting. The creature died as the reactive nanomachines infiltrated and severed its brain and heart internally.

A few moments later, a man appeared outside of Branch 209. He looked completely out of place, as he had neither fins or gills. Instead, an oversized tophat that seemed like it might float away sat upon his head.

“What a splendid find,” Mr. A said to no one but himself.

With a tap of his cane, a massive, golden-yellow portal appeared and sucked in the kraken in five seconds.

“It will bring much profit.”