The Leviathan The dark ocean floor was peaceful. Levin, a dolphin that dwelled in this area of the sea, was drifting along through the water over the sea anemones that were displaying their various colors. He was often reserved, mostly kept to himself. However, he had strangely enough become good friends with a shark named Vathan. Although Levin wasn't totally silent with others, he only ever seemed to communicate meaningfully with Vathan. It seemed all the more strange, seeing as how Vathan was very obnoxious and outgoing. Levin was swimming around outside the small aquatic village, Quactica. The village mostly pertained of small, yet sufficient buildings of coral. It was a nice place for the sake of socializing, the neighbors all lived relatively close to one another. Of course, this didn't matter to Levin. Not that he hated being around others, it's just that he was mostly shy and always seemed to have something on his mind, but even he didn't know what it was. Levin continued his slow-paced swim and his thoughts were floating in his mind. He felt somewhat depressed, or even like something was wrong, or that he was missing something. He couldn't put his fin on it. Even though nothing was coming to him, he continued to swim on in his thoughtful stupor. "Levin, what's up?!" Vathan had jetted over and scared the living daylights of Levin. Also, Levin was scared out of his daydreams. "Geez, huh? Oh, nothing really, Vathan..." Vathan wasn't convinced. It seemed like something was wrong. He wasn't satisfied with an indifferent response today. "Are you alright? Looks like you got somethin' on your mind!" Vathan continued to inspect Levin's downtrodden expression. "Well...I'm not sure. For the last few days ago, I've had this feeling like some strange form of rage has been bubbling inside me, yet on the outside I'm still placid." "Probably just indigestion from lunch today! Heh heh!" Vathan joked. "Come on! I know it's not that...it's very strange, like I've always had this but never noticed until recently..." Vathan looked at him with concerned eyes. "You know, Levin...I think I actually understand what you mean. I know I'm a shark and all and have always been aggressive, but still I feel like I know what you're talking about. Almost a feeling like you just want to break something but you can't bring yourself to do it?" Levin looked back at Vathan and replied, "Yeah, actually. That's about right." "Hmm...I don't know, it is strange. Actually, I just started feeling really odd recently myself." They both glanced at each other, curious as to what was brewing. "Oh well, probably not really anything to worry about-" They both turned forward again and noticed a pale light emitting from a tangle of seaweed. Levin swam to it and nudged the seaweed away with his fin. It was a peculiar canister with strange symbols and numbers on its label. The jar seemed to contain a strange substance that appeared slightly luminescent. "Vathan, do you have any idea what this is?" Vathan seemed to continue Levin's question. "Or where it came from? Hmm...I'm guessing neither of us know." Vathan answered. "Well, I for one would like to find out what it is!" They both nodded and Levin grasped it against himself with a fin and they slowly swam back to Quactica. * They both returned to their residence. Levin and Vathan had been friends for a long time and had agreed to share one of the coral dwellings. Since Levin didn't talk to others often, having Vathan live in the same place made for good company. Even a recluse can get lonely sometimes! They placed the canister on a small stone table. They looked at the jar in extreme curiosity. Vathan finally broke the silence. "I've never seen anything even like this before. What in the world could it be?" Levin just shrugged. Levin studied the label, but it helped very little, if any. The number codes and symbols were not anything with which he was familiar. Vathan appeared to have a thought. He glanced at Levin and made a suggestion. "Maybe I should try to get a small sniff of its scent. Perhaps it will seem familiar and strike a thought." Levin made a slight grimace. He wasn't sure if that was the best idea. However, just a little scent shouldn't be that harmful. "Only if you want. I don't think I'd want to try it." "Alright," Vathan replied, "I'll make it quick. I just hope 'curiosity killed the cat' doesn't apply to sharks too..." Vathan slowly unscrewed the lid. What appeared to have been secure, metal sealers were no longer intact. The lid was now able to just twist off. Finally opening it slightly, the substance quickly diffused into the water and startled Vathan. He immediately screwed the lid back on, but accidentally inhaled a good amount of what had escaped the canister through his gills. Vathan coughed and gasped somewhat, but seemed to be okay. Levin rushed to him worried. "Are you okay?!" "Yeah, I'll be fine. Whoo! That stuff was definitely not like anything I've ever smelled before!" Levin looked his face over with concern. "How do you feel though?" "Well, about the same, but like I have a feeling of contentment now. It's subtle but I feel somewhat more relaxed, or something..." Vathan had a pleased, yet confused look on his face. "Whoa..." was all that could escape Vathan's mouth. There was an odd throbbing by his fins on his sides. Levin looked in surprise to see that Vathan had something trying to push out of each of his sides. As if that weren't strange enough, Levin also believed he saw Vathan's body trying to stretch or something. "I don't like the looks of this..." was all Levin could say. * Vathan felt the throbbing worsen. It wasn't painful, but it felt really strange. "Wow! I'm getting one weird rush right now!" Levin's eyes widened as he looked again at Vathan's sides. Part of Vathan's sides were molding into limbs. "Oh my god, you're growing arms!" "Wha?" Vathan looked down and saw his two new slick arms, complete with hands, of course. "Well, if that isn't the damn weirdest thing...." But that wasn't all. Vathan felt a different kind of throbbing, except all over his body. "Whoa, that can't be right!" Vathan looked down in shock to see that his fins and new arms were enlarging. He soon realized that the rest of his body soon followed suit. The shark stretched his reach with his arms and tail as he grew bigger and bigger. Levin couldn't help but stare in amazement. Vathan and Levin were starting to feel a bit cramped. The room wasn't very accommodating to Vathan's newfound size. Vathan's tail grew and stretched, and he accidentally pinned down Levin with it. "Sorry, Levin, I don't have anywhere else to put it at the moment." Vathan said to Levin with a helpless smile. Finally the growth stopped and Vathan tried to move his tail slightly. Levin was getting uncomfortable from being pressed into the wall. After the shark adjusted slightly, Levin moved around in relief. Even though Levin was still shocked, he felt kind of happy for Vathan, and didn't know why. It was also strange that for some reason he even felt slightly jealous of Vathan's growth. Vathan looked at himself. "Wow, I just about doubled my size! And I got a pair of arms to boot!" Indeed, Vathan had reached about 30 feet long, and was considerably heavier. "Hmm, I better get out of here before something else happens..." Levin moved out of the way and helped guide Vathan through the doorway. Since he had added some mass he ended up knocking some of the frame off the wall. After Vathan got into the larger room he turned around to face Levin who was still in the other room. Vathan had an unusual grin on his face. Levin wanted to know why he seemed happy. "What the hell are you smiling about?" Vathan simply replied, "I don't know why, but I enjoyed breaking the doorway up!" "Yeah well, don't make it a habit, we still have to live here you know." As Levin swam back to the canister, he stopped to think to himself again. Why did Vathan grow? Surely enlarging underwater animals wasn't the original intent of this chemical...but what was it then? And why did Vathan get such a charge out of busting something up? Could it be his size gives him a feeling of power? "Hey Vathan, you know what I was talking about earlier, that feeling of deep-down rage we both have. Does 'throwing your weight around' make you feel better now that you're bigger?" "Actually, I think that just might be why I got a kick out of it!" After hearing this, Levin continued to contemplate the situation. 'Well...' he thought to himself, 'if this stuff works on sharks, I don't see why it can't work on dolphins. And if I'm correct on this, I should get the same pleasure out of this Vathan is getting. So what's stopping me?' Just to check the safety of this substance, he decided to ask Vathan again about the effect. "So...you don't feel any pain or anything? Everything feels normal?...except for the fact you're 30 feet and have arms now?" "Yeah, I think it feels great." 'Then what is stopping me?' Levin thought to himself again. "I got to try this! You mind?" asked Levin, looking for Vathan's support on this. "Go for it!" Levin nodded to Vathan's repsonse and slowly unscrewed the lid. When it finally opened the substance rushed out and mixed with the water. Levin made sure to deliberately inhale it. Like Vathan had, Levin gasped a bit, but was fine in no time. Vathan didn't really notice, but he had also taken in a little more that had come his way. "You know what I think?" Levin eyed the wall between the two rooms, "I think you should take out that wall so I don't get stuck in this room like you almost did." "Done and done!" Vathan gladly shattered the wall with his tail. It was a thin wall so it wouldn't have an effect on the building's structure. Levin stopped moving and noticed the throbbing sensation that Vathan must have felt. Without delay, two arms developed at his sides. Levin looked at them and said "They'll take a little getting used to..." The sensation continued over his entire body. His dorsal fin grew bigger, lowering him toward the floor until his body began to swell. The dolphin was growing! "A success I'd say! Hey Levin, I think I just noticed something." As Levin continued to enlarge he quickly replied "What's that?" "I can feel the throbbing again too, I must've got a little more of that stuff into my system when you took it." "Hmm, that might be a problem." noted Levin as he already noticed his growing body filling over a quarter of the room. Vathan twitched a little. "Uh oh..." Vathan started to slowly grow a bit again. Levin had caught up with Vathan and now they were both still growing from the same size. The two expanding creatures were quickly occupying all of the available space in the room. Their furniture and belongings being pushed out of the way by their large bodies. Vathan had broke a table or two against the wall with his growing tail. Levin was crushing seats into the other wall with his back and dorsal fin. The shark and dolphin were getting more and more cramped as they became larger and larger. Squeezed by the dimensions of the room, Levin and Vathan were being pressed together as their size increased. "You okay Levin? I'm thinking this is going to get interesting." Levin also realized that the room was going to get a bit renovated soon. He couldn't move without pushing along Vathan. But soon, neither one could budge. They were simply too big. Levin was slightly concerned at first, but started to enjoy the thought of his new size. "Hey Vathan, you got to admit though, isn't this really cool? We're obviously giants now." Vathan nodded in agreement with a pleased grin on his face. Both of their heads were pressing against the ceiling. They could hear the shifting and cracking sounds. The ceiling just couldn't contain the huge shark and his cetacean friend any longer. A loud crack, followed by a shatter was heard as Levin and Vathan squeezed their heads up through the opening. Their bodies were still stuck though. This problem was solved very soon as their bodies grew clear out of the house. A pile of rubble remained with the gargantuan dolphin and shark floating over it. * Levin and Vathan looked at each other's huge forms. They both chuckled to themselves with excitement. They were both each about 50 feet now. The commotion caused by the two giants caused all of the citizens of Quactica to come out of their houses. Everyone looked at the now huge Levin and Vathan. Even though they knew the shark and dolphin, they still panicked and evacuated the village. As Vathan looked over the empty Quactica, his aggressive side got the best of him. He laughed to himself and swam to one of the houses and smashed it to pieces with his gargantuan tail. Levin caught on to the fun quickly. He went to a small group of houses and punched them in with his mutant fists. Both of them continued in a rampage of destruction. None of the buildings stood a chance against their superior strength. After most of the city was leveled, Levin saw one buidling still standing, the biggest one in Quactica, the city hall. Levin smiled and started swimming toward the building at top speed, and upon reaching it destroyed the building with his monstrous size. Both of the huge creatures looked proudly at their 'work.' Quactica was no more. * All of the previous citizens of Quactica traveled to other cities in hopes that the huge dolphin and shark wouldn't follow. Levin and Vathan knew that this size increase was what made them feel so good. Levin decided to comment on a thought or two. "Isn't this great. I never felt so alive!" "Yep!" Vathan agreed. "Vathan, I was thinking. Could you imagine being even bigger?" Vathan noticed Levin was getting a little power-hungry. "Well, yeah. I mean, I never thought it possible to be this big! But to be even bigger, I could go for that!" "It would be great. Do you know how much more we'd be capable of if we were say 70 or 80 feet?" "Heh, now that would be power." Levin looked like he had an idea. He quickly swam off away from where Quactica was. "Hey Levin! Wait up!" Levin kept swimming as fast as he could. When Vathan saw the direction he was going he knew what Levin was up to. They swam past the colorful anemones and over some small trenches. Levin looked around anxiously hoping he'd find what he was looking for. After a few minutes, his search had still turned up empty. "Ugh, you'd think that we might find another one of those canisters in the same area!" He continued to nose around thinking he'll see one any second. Suddenly, after passing over a trench, he had noticed a faint glow. He quickly swam back and looked down into the trench. Levin smiled and yelled over to Vathan. "To hell with just 70 or 80 feet!" Levin had stumbled upon about 4 or 5 canisters. Vathan came over to have a look and trembled with excitement. "Geez, could you imagine what these'll do!" Levin just nodded still staring at the treasure trove of potential growth, and who knows what else. The trench wasn't deep but too narrow for one of them to fit into. They could've fit if they were still their original size. Levin sat in thought for a while, waiting for an idea. "Oh, duh! I forgot all about these arms." He pressed himself against the trench, stretching his arm in as far as he could. Finally grasping one, he excitedly pulled it out and handed it to Vathan. "Now just hold on to that a minute. Don't use any yet!" Levin kept reaching into the trench until he pulled out what actually turned out to be 6 canisters! "Levin, maybe we better wait on this for a little while. I mean, don't you think it's strange that these just started showing up out of nowhere?" "Hmm...I think you might be right, let's look around a little longer for any kind of abnormalities." They couldn't help but chuckle thinking of abnormalities and here they are each about 50 feet. Nonetheless, they decided it was worth having a look around. * As they swam along they soon heard two arguing voices. They drifted into a wide trench and spied over the edge. There was a 5 foot male seahorse and a 20 foot female porpoise in a heated argument. They couldn't quite make out what the big argument was about, but soon they saw push turn to shove and a fight broke out between the two. Obviously, the porpoise got the best of the seahorse and it swam off still angered. The porpoise, however, didn't move. Levin creeped out and approached the porpoise. "Sahin?" "Ahh!! *Gasp* Wait...Levin?" Levin nodded. He was glad that it turned out to be one of his other friends. "Sahin, you seem to have grown slightly..." "Well Levin, you haven't done too bad yourself!" "Oh yeah, heh, forgot." Sahin smiled then curled a little. "Erg, there's that weird feeling again!" Sahin grew a little bigger, to about 23 feet. Both Vathan, who had also swam out during the short conversation, and Levin stared in curiosity at Sahin. "Sahin! How'd that happen? Has it been happening often?" "Yeah...it just started yesterday, every now and then I get a little bit bigger." "I also noticed that you and that seahorse were being a bit hostile toward each other. What was wrong there?" "I'm not sure. For some reason, while I've been growing I've been easily angered or at least agitated. Well, how about you guys? What's up with the arms?" "Sahin, I think you better come with us." * The group of three swam back to where Levin and Vathan had placed the six canisters. Levin briefly explained to Sahin what had happened when they ingested the substance in the container. After thought and discussion between the group, they figured that perhaps there were more canisters and they were leaking into the water, creating a more subtle effect since they were dissolved so much. "And that's pretty much all we know and all we can figure out. Hey, Sahin! How about a little demonstration? I know Vathan wants to try this again too." Vathan eagerly nodded. "Well, okay. But I think I'll leave this stuff to you guys." "Suit yourself." Vathan and Levin each picked up a full canister, deciding to save the others for later. They each ingested the chemical and Sahin watched with a certain anxiety, not knowing EXACTLY what to expect. The shark and dolphin floated motionless. First they both twitched, feeling a different throbbing this time, this one located on the bottom of their bodies. They both looked down and noticed that they were developing legs and feet. "Hmm...didn't expect that one." Vathan said. After their legs fully formed they felt that same throbbing as before. "Yeah, this is what I want!" Levin and Vathan were beginning to enlarge. Sahin stared in awe and made an intriguing expression. She found this rather interesting. The two kept expanding. The growth was much greater this time since they each had a full canister. "Whoa, better back up a bit, Sahin." She quickly obliged and swam away a small distance to clear the way for their growing bodies. They were both approaching 60 feet, but then 65, 70, 80! Sahin's eyes grew wide as Levin and Vathan became more and more colossal. As his legs and tail grew longer, Levin smashed some rocky cliffs and formations. Vathan's body grew and he soon hit his back off the side of a cliff and caused rocks and coral to dive down toward the ocean floor. Levin and Vathan were still becoming even more huge. The weight between the two was probably unbelievable. Anything could've easily been crushed by them. Still the growth continued. 100 feet, 110, then 120, and finally they both stopped at 125 feet. Sahin stared up at the gargantuan dolphin and shark. After they all were able to comprehend the immensity of what just happened, all three of them sprouted about 3 or 4 feet. They all stared at each other with bewildered expressions. Levin glanced to Vathan. "What was that about?" As Levin and Vathan stared at each other, they noticed a canister float down between them. Then they all sprouted another few feet. Quickly Levin looked up toward the surface and saw one of the jars drifting down. * "Let me try this again!" Levin squinted and concentrated. Vathan and Sahin were shocked to see Levin shrink down to his original size. Levin opened his eyes and looked at Vathan. He was HUGE! "Wow, I guess it worked! I figured that since this stuff affects your brain you might be able to manipulate it's effect by thinking about it!" "Does this mean that you can grow bigger too?" Vathan was curious. "I don't know..." Levin squinted again and he shot up several feet every moment. He towered up to 130 feet and stopped. "Hmm, I guess I can only grow to my maximum height from before. Oh well." He quickly shrank back down. "Well, I'm going to go to the surface and see what's going on, seeing as how I'm the one with the lungs and all..." "But Levin, why can't I go?" pouted Sahin. "Sahin, I don't want you to get mixed up in any trouble. Vathan, please just keep an eye on her." Vathan nodded. "You two look around down here and just make sure nothing crazy happens...besides what already has." They all had a little chuckle and Levin started to head for the surface. * Levin pushed up through the water. He squinted as the sun blasted right in his path of vision. It had been a while since he really spent long near the water's surface. He swam along and stood up on his legs upon reaching shore. The sun reflected off his skin as he tried to stand. After a few minutes he started to steady himself and was able to walk pretty easily. "Hmm, quite a new experience." He eyed his surroundings. Off in the distance there seemed to be a small city. He continued to look around and a small distance down the beach he saw a small building that seemed to go underground. "Under the sand? Gee, I wonder if they're hiding something?" he commented sarcastically. He rushed to the small complex and noticed two guards with laser guns guarding the front door. They were what seemed to be two incompetent chameleons. They looked around with blank stares apparently worn out from the complete boredom they'd been through for several hours. Levin felt he had a plan, he hoped. He slipped over to the side of the building and slowly made his way around the corner. The chameleons weren't too close to the door and he might be able to slip behind them. They both looked like they'd fall asleep at any second. "Hey Kam, do you think there's something the company hasn't been telling us?" "You know Sham, I think you're right. At our last job at the main complex in Hadile they kept us informed about what they were currently doing. But here, we just get left in the dark." "Well, you have to admit, this has to be better than having an 80 ft. wolf approaching us again!" "Definitely!" Suddenly, Sham turned around and noticed Levin. "HALT!" After listening to their story, Levin had an idea. "I wish it didn't have to resort to this, but..." Levin concentrated and shot back up to 130 feet, knocking the security guards back on their tails. Sham and Kam looked up in terror at the colossal dolphin. Each let out a panicky scream and ran off toward the nearby town of Merstrand. Levin shrank back down and could hear them yelling to each other as they ran off. "I don't care if I lose my job!" "I know! I can't take this crap anymore!!" 'Well, takes care of that' Levin thought to himself. He quietly slipped in the front door. Everywhere around him, were doors, halls, and buttons and lights. He silently crept down what seemed to be the main hall and noticed a door with a big red light above it that said 'No Admittance!' 'Hmm, I guess this would be a good place to start looking.' He peeked through the little window in the door and saw nobody in the hallway behind it. He looked around wondering how he couldn't get caught if someone showed up. Levin soon took notice to what appeared to be a radiation suit. A small one had a name tag...'Dr. Mort? That won't do me any good.' He looked through the rack until he found a much bigger one. At least this way he'd be less suspicious than a dolphin with arms and legs wandering the halls. Levin quickly slipped into the suit. He crept through the door and down the hall to a room with a large computer. Taking a seat, he scanned the monitor. On a list of choices there was a topic labeled 'Merstrand Experimental Division' After double-clicking that choice, a text box appearing requesting employee name and passcode. Levin recalled the name Dr. Mort on the one suit, so he typed that in, but what to do about the passcode? The password requested 4 characters. Levin thought of a possible passcode. He began typing it, one character at a time, slowly. If he screwed up, alarms could go off, lights could flash, security notified, anything could happen! Levin was shaking uncontrollably. This one chance could mean success or failure. He typed the last character and hit enter. His mouth dropped and the computer beeped. EMPLOYEE NAME: DR. MORT EMPLOYEE PASSCODE: 1234 ***ACCESS GRANTED*** "I can't believe that actually worked." Levin whispered to himself. He decided to take a chance because he knew a few folks from what was Quactica who used a simple number progression for passwords and other secret codes. Now relieved, Levin eyed the computer screen's contents. His eyes widened at all the information. Video clips, reports, journals, you name it. He clicked on a report entitled 'Recent Ventures' As he read, he noticed that Dr. Mort, without consent of the main lab in Hadile, had been working on a new growth formula that would immediately activate growth on any fur. The formula produces a stimulation to the brain that increases size and aggressiveness. Dr. Mort had been hoping to use this for militaristic purposes. It also stated that this formula regenerated limbs. It seemed that since Levin and Vathan didn't have limbs in the first place, that explained why they developed them. Dr. Mort apparently felt that this corner of the country had been ignored long enough. Also, all the failed mixtures were being dumped into the ocean, for the whole year! Dumping had increased in the last week. "I can't believe this! This Dr. Mort is trying to make an army of giant furs to destroy nearby cities and he was destroying the ocean by dumping the chemicals, making all of the sea creatures crazy!" Soon he heard rustling in the next room and decided it was time to leave. But before he did, he noticed a small room with a glowing light. He wnadered in and saw a crate of the canisters. "These may be useful, he grabbed a few and put them in the suit he was wearing. He decided to borrow the suit also so he could make an easy getaway. It made the canisters easy to carry too. He started to leave the complex but a scientist blocked the way out. "Excuse me, I'd like to ask you a few questions..." * Vathan and Sahin were checking for any other canisters that had fallen in the water. As they swam along, they could've sworn they heard a distant crash. The shark and porpoise were getting nervous. They looked at each other and yelled in unison. "The canisters!!!" Swimming at top speed, they returned to where they kept the canisters and they were nowhere to be found. "Alright, now I'm really worried!" Sahin whimpered. "Don't worry, this is no reason to panic." A big shadow appeared on a rocky cliff. "Forget I said anything, we panic now!" Out of the darkness emerged a 40ft. seahorse. "Ageus! I thought we were well rid of you!" spat Sahin. She immediately recognized the troublesome seahorse, even at his new size. "Nice to see you too, Sahin. Ah, and Vathan... a little bigger than I remember...oh, by the way, looking for these?" Sahin noticed Ageus holding a few canister with his arms. Arms?! He must've already taken some! "Why you! you!..." "Ah, hold it Sahin! No profanity now. See, you don't want to insult me. I believe I'm the one with the advantage now!" Ageus quickly ingested the chemical from two of the canisters. Almost instantly Ageus developed legs and started to enlarge. He grew bigger and bigger. Sahin sneered to hide her intense fear. Vathan growled to himself, realizing this won't be an easy fight. Ageus finally grew to 100 feet. Sahin backed off realizing she couldn't have any impact on this battle. She still didn't want to get involved with this crazy growth contest. Vathan braced himself for a big fight. Ageus was a speedy one. He took advantage of it. Ageus dove straight for Vathan at high speed tackling him straight to the ocean floor. Vathan tried to take a good bite out of Ageus's arm but he sped away and swam behind Vathan. Then he took another dive smashing his body into Vathan's back. Vathan let out a painful gasp and drifted to the floor. He could barely move at first. He quickly swam out of the path of another dive attack from Ageus. Ageus smashed his face into the ocean floor and screamed. "You'll pay for that!" Vathan tried to keep calm and focused. Ageus sped to Vathan and punched him in the face. Vathan blanked out and floated down unconscious. Ageus picked up a large piece of rock and was ready to bash it off Vathan's head. Ageus cackled and raised the rock with his arms and suddenly felt a bash on the back of his own head. A now 140ft. Levin had slapped his tail off Ageus's head. Ageus soon fell back with a searing pain echoing throughout his head. Ageus realizing he now didn't have a chance, swam off as fast as he could. Levin let out a breath of relief. Sahin cried joyously that Levin had shown up when he did. * When Vathan was conscious again he was really upset with himself that he couldn't take a seahorse! "Come on Vathan! This was a 100ft. seahorse! You can't feel down, Ageus is really fast." Levin tried to comfort Vathan. Sahin quietly felt mad that there was nothing she could do to help. "Well, I think I'll be heading home now." Levin and Vathan were glad that she didn't live in Quactica. "Why are you leaving now?" Levin thought Sahin seemed a bit upset. "Well, obviously you guys have everything under control..." "Well at least wait until I tell you and Vathan what I found out at a lab on the coast." "You got in? and out? Tell us what you found out!" Vathan was ready for some answers. Levin quickly explained everything he discovered at the lab, including everything he found on the computer. "Also, I ran into a Dr. Sander. He's head scientist at the main lab in Hadile. He was unaware of what Dr. Mort is up to and wants to fire Dr. Mort and destroy these plans. However, he's hesitant because if any of this got out it would give the lab a black eye! But don't worry, I know how to put an end to it. By the way, after further research by Dr. Sander he told me of something interesting that will help us in some way. Dr. Sander discovered that the compounds in the formula that allow the limb regeneration can also cause a...I believe he said a molecular fusion." "What the heck is that?" "Well, basically we'd be able to meld our bodies into one vessel." Vathan had an excited look. "Hell, let's give it a try!" "Alright, as long as you're for it, let's give it a shot." Sahin watched with anxious eyes. She didn't know what to expect here. Levin and Vathan clasped one of each others' arms and ingested some more of the chemical Levin had swiped from the lab. Then they waited. A strange, faint glow surround their arms. As they watched in awe, they saw the process begin. Vathan's right arm and Levin's left arm began to fuse. The skin seemed to stretch and blend. It seemed like it was stitching them together. They were drawn closer and when their shoulders and sides met, they began to combine also. As they continued to slide together everything was falling into place. They noticed that the combination was still adding height to them also. They fused together into one creature and enlarged. The massive neo-creature was a sight to behold. Growing to 300, 400, 500 feet and finally stopping. The 500 foot beast seemed actually beautiful to Sahin's eyes. They each retained their own head and neck, which joined to one wide torso. They had a set of arms and fins at their sides, and similar two legs. Their great tail flowed gracefully behind them, ending with a grand split fin. The power and energy they felt was amazing. They felt like they could take on the world. "Well, this has been an entertaining day!" said the amazed Sahin. She looked way up at them and smiled. "I imagine you should be able to handle everything now. Now that I've seen the show, I'll be going." She swam off. Levin and Vathan looked at each other wondering why she was so down. "Oh well, let's head to the surface and pay that lab a visit!" said Levin. Vathan nodded and their one great form swam for the surface. * As Levin and Vathan left for the surface, Sahin began her long swim home. She couldn't help but think that the only way she could've helped was by using the chemical. Why didn't she use the chemical?! She realized that she had always been too hesitant. After longer thought, she convinced herself that the next time something like that came up, she wouldn't be overly cautious. After all, it was an emergency. In emergencies, people become desparate and take desparate measures. Now that she reassured herself, the weight on her back was lifted. She swam on with a more care-free aura about her. Sahin enjoyed the scenery. The small fish zipping by, the beautiful coral formations, the sun sparkling dimly through the surface of the water. She closed her eyes now that she felt more relaxed. As she drifted, her head bumped into something. The relaxation left quickly. "Hello again, Sahin." said a still badly bruised Ageus. Sahin let out a brief gasp, and was grabbed by Ageus. He started to swim off with her and have a little conversation. "You know, after the little skirmish, I figured I'd be able to fight back if I got even bigger. And so there I was, with an increased size totaling 135 feet. Then, I witnessed the wonderful miracle back there. Levin and Vathan are now one creature, eh? Well, when I saw this I realized that even though I was bigger, I still didn't stand a chance. And then, when all hope is lost, you swim along." he said with a sly smile. She swallowed hard as she realized that he had a devious scheme brewing, that apparently involved her. "You see, Sahin, I figure if they could do it, we could do it." "I'd never combine with you!" Sahin screamed. "Who said you had a choice in the matter?" Ageus took a canister and forced Sahin to ingest the chemical. She coughed harshly and started to weep a little. Sahin soon started to grow, and sprouted arms during the process. "Oh, that's right! You have a bit of catching up to do." Ageus gave her another canister. Then, within moments she developed legs. Sahin was approaching 70 feet when she pointed something out. "But Levin and Vathan went to the surface, and you can't breathe out of water!" "Come now, my dear. Don't tell me you forgot Vathan doesn't have lungs either. Like Levin is doing for Vathan, you'll breathe for me." Ageus said with another villainous smile. Sahin was really frustrated that there was no way out of the situation. She couldn't stop her growing and she couldn't get away from Ageus. He was too powerful and too fast. Sahin continued enlarging. She reached 100 feet, then she continued to 105, 110 and stopped at 115. "There, that's perfect. You should be big enough for me to combine with you, but not too big as to overpower me. Alright, are you ready?" "NO!" "Good, here we go!" Ageus shouted, completely ignoring Sahin. He took some of the chemical and then forced Sahin to take some. He clasped her arm and they began to glow a faded green color. Sahin struggled to release herself from Ageus's grip, but she couldn't escape. Finally, she gave in and was pulled toward Ageus's body. Their opposite sides blended together. Then they started growing. Ageus laughed with joy, while Sahin let her head droop and she closed her eyes, fearing what was going to happen to her, or Levin and Vathan for that matter. Ageus and Sahin grew at an incredible rate. They flew past 200 feet, on to 300 and then past that. But they didn't stop where Levin and vathan did. They reached 500 feet, but moved onto 600, 700, 800, 900, finally stopping at 1000 feet. Ageus knew he had ingested much more of the chemical than Levin and Vathan, but this was even more than he expected. "At this size, we'll be unstoppable!" Sahin realized with a start that Ageus had complete control of their body. There stood the new gargantuan creature. Each of their heads attached to the same body. Their body had the same consistency of Ageus's original body, but they had Sahin's flippers and tail. And of course they had their recently acquired pair of arms and pair of legs. Ageus moved their body to pursue Levin and Vathan, and finally have revenge. * "So, you still prefer not to fire Dr. Mort and close down this lab wing?" Dr. Sander looked crestfallen, "I'm sorry, I just know that it would be the end of our company! But I know I can't allow this to continue! What am I going to do?" "Don't worry doc," Levin reassured him, "I have a very simple plan to make this look like an accident." Levin and Vathan slapped their huge tail against the sand. "Everyone has gone home for the day, right?" "Wait! I just remembered something. There're a few things I'd like to retrieve from the lab quickly that may be of use. I'll be out as fast as I can!" Dr. Sander ran into the lab. "Well, now we just wait here I guess." Levin and Vathan sat down carefully on the beach, so as not to cause a tremor or anything. Minute after minute passed and they were getting a little impatient. 'Hurry Dr. Sander, we have to get this done before anybody finds out what's going on!' Levin thought to himself. Vathan looked at Levin, "What do you suppose he's getting outta there anyways?" Levin just shook his head and made their shoulders shrug. Levin moved his head slightly. He could have sworn he heard something. They got up and Levin looked around. "What is it?" Vathan asked. Suddenly, a huge 1000ft sea beast emerged from the ocean, sending waves halfway to Merstrand. "THAT!" Levin yelled. Vathan looked down at the lab after the waves subsided, "I hope Dr. Sander is alright." Levin was more concerned with the titan before them. After staring for a bit, Levin realized that the heads of the creature were that of Ageus and Sahin. "SAHIN! Why'd you do this?" Sahin made an agitated look. "It kind of wasn't my choice!" Sahin tried again and again to move their body, but Ageus still had command. Ageus and Sahin took huge, earthshaking steps toward Levin and Vathan. "Well...I have a feeling this is going to be the last battle anyway." Levin said, lacking confidence in the situation. Ageus and Sahin continued to approach Levin and Vathan and were going to jump at them, but Levin and Vathan rolled out of the way and Ageus and Sahin hit the beach faces first. Levin and Vathan quickly slapped their opponent with their tail. "Oww!" cried Ageus and Sahin in unison. "Levin, that hurts me too!" Levin and Vathan realized that they couldn't attack Ageus! Since Sahin was part of the same body, it hurt her too. "Damn it! Now what do we do?" Ageus, still controlling the body, ran over and kicked Levin and Vathan sending them flying onto their backs. It felt like they had the wind knocked out of them on impact. "This is going nowhere fast!" Vathan commented, struggling to talk. Suddenly, Dr. Sander came running out of the lab and ran toward Levin and Vathan. Ageus was setting up to body slam Levin and Vathan. Sahin, in a panic, decided now what that time to do whatever she could. She could still control her head and neck, so she leaned her head over and bit Ageus's neck. They both screamed in pain. However, it stalled Ageus. Dr. Sander reached Levin and Vathan. He gave them some more canisters, except one had a purple chemical in it. He quickly explained what to do with the purple one and then ran away from the battle scene to avoid getting squished. Ageus held Sahin's neck with one hand, and ran over to Levin and Vathan who had just stood up. Ageus swang his tail and knocked Levin and Vathan clear to the edge of Merstrand. They landed with a resounding crash on top of some old abandoned factories. They rubbed their back in pain. "Could've done without that!" Vathan commented. Levin quickly recalled the canisters, "Well, I think it's about time to take action!" Storm clouds were gathering and lightning was randomly striking. The rain started pouring down and Ageus decided it was time to finish off Levin and Vathan. As Ageus and Sahin approached the dolphin-shark creature, he stood over them and laughed. "Well Levin, Vathan, it looks like this is where it ends for you!" They rushed to their feet. "Not yet!" they yelled. They became luminescent in the darkness of the storm. Then their body began to enlarge once more. They quickly stepped away from Merstrand, realizing that as they grew, their tail came really close to taking out more buildings. Lightning bolts flashed, briefly illuminating the sky as Levin and Vathan towered higher and higher. They were roughly 800 feet, then as moments passed and their body became even more massive, they rocketed past 1000, 1100, 1200. Ageus watched with fearful eyes as his victory fell farther from his grasp as Levin and Vathan became larger and larger. Finally, the huge creature stopped their growth at an astounding 1600 feet. "No..." Ageus couldn't believe he had lost. "No...not again. Not again! NOT AGAIN!!" Levin and Vathan grabbed Ageus and Sahin and forced Ageus to take the purple chemical. A bright flash of light emitted from the middle of Ageus's and Sahin's body. Suddenly, they split apart and returned to their own forms. However, Ageus started to shrink rapidly. His arms and legs also disappeared and he screamed and cursed as he shrank back down to his original 8 inches, the size he was before any chemicals were dumped in the sea. Ageus realized it was all over. Ageus looked way, way up at Levin and Vathan. Sahin, still about 115 feet, stepped off to the side. LEVIN: "You know what Ageus...you've caused a lot of problems for us!" VATHAN: "And we usually don't solve things violently..." LEVIN & VATHAN: "But you pissed us off!" With that, Levin and Vathan simply stepped on Ageus, killing him, leaving almost nothing of his body behind. * "I can't thank you all enough!" Dr. Sander was glad the Ageus ordeal was over. "And now to finish the job." Levin and Vathan kicked away most of the sandy shroud of the lab, revealing almost the entire building that had been buried underground. They lifted their monstrous tail, and brought it down swiftly upon the lab, reducing it to rubble. "Well, that's that!" Dr. Sander waved good-bye as Levin and Vathan and Sahin returned to the ocean. Levin and Vathan had decided to stay as one giant creature to protect the ocean from any further mishaps. Sahin did decide to stay her giant size, but didn't plan on combining with anything in the near future. *Epilogue: As the ship was tossed about by the violent storm, Dirk looked through the heavy rainfall and saw an unbelievably huge sea creature. Since it was so dark, he could only make out arms, fins, and a huge tail. Then the tiger saw the monster submerge into the water sending towering waves upon the ship. The waves sent Dirk flying overboard and soon destroyed the boat. Sahin had taken notice to the accident and quickly fished out the tiger, carrying him to shore. "Levin! Vathan! You have to be more careful!" Dirk half conscious only made out what sounded like "Leviathan." Sahin placed him on the beach, far enough from the waves. When Dirk completely became conscious, he got up and stared out to the sea. He soon began to rush back to Edean to tell his friends about the large sea creature, apparently called the Leviathan.
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