Nya and Maya swim through the hydrothermic vents as the Ripper sharks gave them chase. They had been swimming away from the sharks for a few minutes now. "Move it, Mom!" Nya yells. 

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Maya exclaims. 

"Well, they're going faster!" The Water Ninja remarks. "I hope they're not hungry!"

"These suits are metal!" Her mother points out. "Don't they know metal tastes terrible?"

"I don't think they care, Mom!" A sulfur vents hits Maya's APS suit, causing her to go off course, but Nya was able to grab her mech just in time. "I've got you, Mom!" The Ripper sharks chase them out of the vents were the temple was hidden, but they were still going after them. 

"Nya! Move it or lose it!"

"They're too fast! We can't outswim them! This is their element!" Nya argues. 

"Water is your element too, dear. This far undersea, your powers are stronger than anywhere else!" Maya explains. Two sharks finally catch up to them and once they were face-to-face, the sharks ram themselves into the mechs. "I know you can do this!"

Nya takes a deep breath and summons her Elemental Water powers. She sends a strong blast of water towards one shark, and a powerful blast at another when it dove towards her. Maya smiles proudly. 

"See? It's working! Don't forget about the third one!"

"What third-?"  The third shark attacks Nya from behind, but she was able to use her powers to send it back. The shark recovers and charges towards her and Maya. "I can take him!"

Suddenly, the mech short-circuits. Nya groans. "Oh, no no no no no, don't shut down on me now!" 

Just when the shark was too close for comfort, something blasts it away from her. Maya and Nya look to see it was Katarina, Jay and Lloyd swimming towards them with their harpoon guns. "Back off, fish sticks!" Jay remarks. 

Maya and Nya breath a sigh of relief. "Jay!" The Ninja continue shooting the shark, until it retreats.

"Impeccable timing, guys!"

Kalmaar walks towards where he imprisoned Nya and Maya. He picks up the destroyed cuffs, and examines them carefully. How were those two able to destroy them? "They have escaped, my Prince!" He startles and yelps when he hears Gripe's voice from behind him. "But do not fear. I unleashed the Ripper Sharks upon them."

Kalmaar widens his eyes out of anger. "You fool! I need them alive!" He picks Gripe up with one of his tentacles and holds the commander tightly enough to constrict him and any further movement. "I must have the location of that island!"

Glutinous timidly walks towards the prince and stands a reasonable distance away from him to avoid getting strangled, too. "Sir! It appears they have been rescued by their friends. My sensors are picking up a vessel."

"What vessel?" Kalmaar growls. 

"The vessel you...um...attempted to sink. It seems to have survived. They repaired it somehow." The scientist says nervously.  Kalmaar sighs and drops Gripe. 

"Interesting. It seems these surface-dwellers aren't quite as frail as I thought. How wonderful," His grip tightens around his tridents, as he smirks evilly. "Oh, this will be fun."

"Thank goodness you all came along. I thought we were done for." Maya sighs with relief once she and Nya were back in the Hydro Bounty. 

"You said you knew I could save us!" Nya exclaims, clearly baffled by their mother's words.

Maya offers a nervous laugh. "Well, I didn't want to be a Gloomy Gus, heh ..." Suddenly, the alarms went off, catching everyone's attention. 

"That's the proximity alarm," Katarina reports and looks down at the radar. "Multiple targets closing in quickly."

"Trespassers," A Maaray guard says from his mantay ray, as his squadrant surrounds the Hydro Bounty. "You have illegally entered the domain of King Trimaar, ruler of the Endless Sea and monarch of Merlopia. Come peacefully, or you will be fired upon."

"The Hydro Bounty is not in any condition to sustain further damage." Zane points out. 

"And we are more than unlikely to outrun those mantay rays." Katarina mutters. 

"Looks like we don't have a choice then." Lloyd says. "Let them know we'll come peacefully, si-Kat."

Katarina nods and presses down on the button to communicate with the guards from outside. "Whoever you guys are, we'll come peacefully on the condition you won't attack us."

The commander of his squadrant nods at the bargain, and the Ninja allow the Hydro Bounty to be escorted towards Merlopia. Once they were there, the Ninja gasped with awe. All of the structures were designed to look like oyster clams, and there were bright blue currents that guided their citizens to their destinations. The citizens looked like squids without their respective tentacles. 

The guards allowed the Ninja to climb out of the Bounty and escorted them to the throne room. The floors and walls were made of granite, with the walls and floors being painted two entirely different shades of blue. The walls had beautiful water-like patterns, and there was a coral-pink carpet that led to Trimaar's throne. 

The King of Merlopia stares down at them. "You have trespassed into my kingdom and risked the peace. Do you have anything to say before I pass judgment?"

"Your Majesty, we had no ill intentions to trespass in your kingdom. We just ventured down into the sea with our sea vessel to help our friend Nya out." Katarina explains. "Her powers were going out of control and the source of that was in the Tartarus Trench. We don't mean any harm towards your people."

"And well, to be perfectly honest, we didn't know there was an undersea kingdom." Lloyd says. 

"And we wouldn't have trespassed if it weren't for us being shot down by your son—" Nya was cut off by Trimaar, who was a bit surprised by the accusation. 

"What? Is this true?"

Nya nods. "Yeah. And not only that, which is enough, really, right? But he also took me and my mother captive!"

His eyes widen a little. "Captive?"

"Oh, it gets worse..." Nya begins. 

"Yeah, tell him about the giant snake." Maya chimes in. 

"Yeah, yeah. A giant sleeping snake, that your son, Calamari, is trying to wake up." Nya explains briefly. 

"What sleeping snake?" Trimaar whispers. 

"Wojira." She says. The King gasps and looks towards his guards.

"Bring the Prince and his Mer-servant to me. At once!" The guards nod and rush out of the room to get Kalmaar and Gripe. "If these accusations are true, you have my deepest apologies. My son Kalmaar will be disciplined, I assure you. For too long, I have looked the other way and—"

"Whatever these surface-dwellers have told you is a lie, Father!" Kalmaar's voice booms into the throne room. The Ninja look at Kalmaar with hateful glares. 

"You deny sinking their vessel?!" Trimaar growls. 

"Oh, that. No, that part is true, I admit it. I've sunken many of their ships," Kalmaar takes on a hateful glare towards his father. "Something you should have been doing, Father, if you took your duties as king more seriously."

"We live in peace with the surface. We do not bother them, and they do not bother us." Trimaar reasons with his son. 

"This world was once ours. Then they came and despoiled the Endless Sea with their lands and their foul presence. But with the power of Wojira, I can correct this wrong!" Kalmaar argues. 

"Uh, should we leave?" Maya whispers to her daughter. 

"Yeah, this is awkward."

"I will do what you should have done long ago. I will return us to our proper glory!" Kalmaar yells. Trimaar bangs his trident down as he stares down at his son. 

"I will not accept this brazen defiance! You have no power here, Kalmaar. I am your father and your king!" Trimaar shouts. 

Kalmaar huffs. "I can't do anything about the first thing, but as to the second ..." Kalmaar charges up his trident as he spins it to and fro. The Ninja gasp. The prince aims his weapon directly at his father and sends a fatal blast at him, causing the king to drop both his crown and his trident. Trimaar collapses on his throne as his eyes roll to the back of his head. 

Trimaar's personal guard charge towards the murderous prince, who sends the fatal blast from his weapon towards his father's guard. The guards were sent flying back and left to die. Kalmaar throws his weapon at the Ninja's feet. 

"Help! Help! The surface-dwellers have attacked the King! Help!" The guards from outside the throne room barge inside. Kalmaar points a claw at the Ninja. "Stop them!" The Maaray guards turn their attention to the Ninja and blast their weapons at them. 

"Run!" The Ninja run out of the throne room as Gripe encourages the guards to move faster. 

"Go! Don't let them escape!" The guards chase after the Ninja down the castle corridors, while blasting their tridents at them. Maya huffs while she runs alongside her daughter. 

"Did you see that? I can't believe he did that! Someone needs to teach that boy a serious lesson!"

"I think he needs a little more than a scolding, Mom!" Nya exclaims. Jay stops running and turns around to electrocute a couple of Maaray guards. More come in, allowing Nya and Zane to tag in. The Water Ninja and the Ice Ninja exchange a glance. 

"Ready for the old one-two?"

Zane nods. "Affirmative!" At the same time, he and Nya shoot their powers at the Maraary guards, creating a huge ice barrier that would allow them to buy them enough to escape. They smirk as they and the others run away from the guards, who were working hard to break the tough barrier. 

Benthomaar opens the doors to the throne room quickly, and rushes inside. "Brother!" Kalmaar, who was accompanied by a couple of Maaray guards, notice the shark prince immediately. The squid prince sighs. 

"Adopted brother." Benthomaar goes up to Kalmaar and tries to reach for him. 

"Is it true? Is Father...?" Of course Benthomaar had heard the news about Trimaar being attacked, it must've spread like wildfire and everyone now knew what happened between Kalmaar, the Ninja and the injured king.

Kalmaar shoves his brother's arms away and nods solemnly. He places a hand behind his adopted brother's back. "Sadly, yes. He has been gravely injured by the surface-dwellers. See for yourself." 

Benthomaar sprints up the ramp leading to the throne chair, and there, he saw it. There was a huge burn mark in the center of Trimaar's chest, and it was dark and bruised and badly blistered. He was unconscious for the most part, and his breathing was very much labored. 

"Father?" He chokes out, and quickly kneels down beside him. Trimaar looks up at his son for a brief moment,  before fainting again. Benthomaar gets up and looks towards Kalmaar, who was now beside him. "We've got to help him!"

Kalmaar shakes his head. "I fear he is beyond our help."

But the shark prince wouldn't believe it. "We can't just give up on him!" He looks towards the guards standing by the door. "Call the physicians!" Kalmaar silently gasps. If the physicians healed his father, then Trimaar would tell them the truth, and he cannot allow that. 

"There's no time for that!" Kalmaar snaps at Benthomaar, who startles by the sound of his stern voice. Kalmaar took a moment to regain his composure. "Let's both help him in our own ways. You by making him comfortable in his final moments." He pushes Benthomaar more towards their father. "I will help by honoring his last wishes, and destroying the land-walkers who did this to him!"

Benthomaar looks down at the floor for a moment, before kneeling down again and taking his father's hand. "Flood the castle and release the Ripper Sharks!" Kalmaar commands the guards, who nod at his command. The shark prince gets up and faces Kalmaar again. 

"We can't just leave him here. It's too dangerous."

Kalmaar smirks evilly, but it wa something that Benthomaar couldn't see from where he was standing. "Don't worry. People who can breathe only air won't get far down here." The moment he was out of the room, Benthomaar shakes his head stubbornly. 

"No, there's still time." He takes a knee and gently lifts his father up, and props him behind his back. No one notices him carrying the injured king out of the throne room. "Hang on, Father. I'll find you help."

"This castle is like a maze! Which way is out?" Nya exclaims, as the Ninja end up at another dead end. They were trying to remember the way they came, but with all the running and hiding and attacking, it was very hard to remember the way out.

"I can't believe we just witnessed a palace coup!" Lloyd huffs, and they all turn around to go in a different direction. 

"I can't believe we got blamed for it!" Jay says. Another dead end. 

Suddenly, there was the sound of running water splashing about. It caught everyone's attention almost immediately. "What's that sound? Do you hear that?" Maya mutters. 

"Sounds like somebody left the tub on." 

Zane slows down. "The amplitudes are inconsistent with the magnitude of a bathtub. I believe it might be—" His eyes widen when he sees a giant tsunami of water coming in their direction. The Ninja notice this too. They all gasp. "Oh no!"

"Put your masks on! Fast!" Nya orders. Everyone immediately puts on their scuba masks, just in time for the water to hit them at full force. Their backs hit a door behind them. 

"Everyone okay?" Lloyd asks. 

"Yep!"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Affirmative."

"Looks like those guys didn't think we would have water gear that would allow us to breathe normally," Katarina says smugly. She glances at everyone, and notices that Zane had his scuba mask. She tilts her head with confusion. "Zane, you don't need that."

The Ice Ninja nods. "Yes, but I like how it completes my attire." He smiles. She chuckles fondly at this. 

"Ha! Well, they're gonna have to do better than that if they—!" Jay turns around and his expression sours when he sees Ripper Sharks staring hungrily at the Ninja. "Ah, phooey."

"Stay real still," Lloyd whispers. "Maybe they won't notice us."

But they did notice the Ninja. The sharks charge at them at full force, causing Jay to scream. "Zane! Freeze it!" Zane nods and creates a wall of ice to block the sharks. Hopefully, that would buy them some time...

"Aha! Try to get past that!You can't get me, you can't get me!" One of the sharks bangs on the ice wall. Jay yelps, and Nya groans at her boyfriend's antics. 

"Jay!"

"Oh, sorry!"

Meanwhile, Katarina was trying to get the door to open. "I need some help over here! This door won't open!" The Ninja and Maya swim over to her and try to help her get the door to open. 

Meanwhile, Benthomaar was carrying his father through all the chaos happening throughout the castle. He had been carrying his father for a few minutes, and they were almost there. Just a little further. 

"I will get you to our physicians, Father, just hold on. Hold on."

Trimaar weakly shakes his head at Benthomaar's words. "No. No time," He croaks out weakly. "Listen, Bentho -"

"Shh. Save your energy, Father," Benthomaar stops for a moment to adjust Trimaar on his back, before continuing to walk. "Don't talk."

"Listen, Benthomaar. Listen! You must know the truth."

"What truth?" Benthomaar wonders aloud, his voice laced with curiousity. Trimaar gestures to a nearby pole. "Put me down. I need to rest." Benthomaar reluctantly complies, and gently lifts Trimaar off his back, and leans him against the pole. 

"It wasn't the land-dwellers. It was ... it was ..." Benthomaar keeps his eyes on his father, wanting to know what his father had to say to him right now. 

"Who? Who did this?"

Trimaar closes his eyes for a second, before reopening them. A tear slips down his cheek. "Kalmaar did this." The shark prince widens his eyes out of horror and shock. He takes a step back, aghast. He shakes his head out of denial. Kalmaar wouldn't do this to their father, there was no way he would.

"No. No, he couldn't!" He looks away from his father, fists clenched. "He wouldn't."

Trimaar knew his son would have a hard time accepting the truth. He didn't expect him to right away. He loves Kalmaar as much as the King of Merlopia did. It was very hard to accept this reality they were now in.

He reaches for Benthomaar's hand weakly. Once he got a hold of it, he brings Benthomaar close and has him look at him directly in the eyes. " Promise me, Bentho. Promise me. You will help the surface-dwellers." Benthomaar nods immediately at what his father was requesting of him. "Help them escape, and stop your brother, before he unleashes calamity upon us."

"I promise, Father. I promise." Benthomaar says. Trimaar smiles weakly, and places a hand on his cheek. 

"You may not have been born to me, Bentho....but you are my son. I love you." Benthomaar closes his eyes tightly and leans in the touch. He silently sobs to himself for a few seconds, before reopening his eyes. Tears slip down his cheeks, his eyes were now glistening with tears. 

"I love you too, Father." Trimaar smiles for one last time, before slowly exhaling his last breath. His eyes close, and his body goes limp. Benthomaar widens his eyes. "Father?" He grabs onto his father's shoulders and shakes his gently. "Father?! Father!"

That was when he knew his father died. He releases his father's shoulders, and his hands fall limp to his sides. He sobs quietly to himself for a while, before reopening his eyes again. They were full of anger and hatred towards one person. Kalmaar. 

And he was going to make him pay.

Back at the throne room, Kalmaar lifts his father's crown with his tentacles before tracing the designs gently with his hand. "The surface-dwellers have drawn their last breath, Prince Kalmaar." The prince startles and shrieks, almost dropping the crown in the process. He darkly laughs to himself, and places the crown on his head. 

'Prince no longer ..." He picks up his trident and faces Gripe. "I am King Kalmaar!" He bangs his trident down on the throne. Everything was bathed in a menacing blood red. 

"Long live the King!" Gripe declares to the guard. 

"Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!" Kalmaar smirks evilly and sits down on the throne, looking towards his loyal followers. 

It was time for the storm to begin.