Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

Clancy easily cuts through the water, his massive claws pulling them forward, the currents bending to his crabby will.

And of course, they're powered by a jet of foam that works as well as any engine.

Barns grips onto his shell, the world around him shifting into a new reality. The deep blue fades into a shimmering world of light as they descend further. Shafts of sunlight pierce the surface, illuminating the vast expanse beneath them. Schools of silverfish dart past in synchronized waves. Strange, glowing creatures float all around them, blobs of light in a dim ocean world.

Clancy moves faster, sensing their destination ahead. Barns can see it now, rising from the ocean floor, a palace of coral and stone.

The Undersea Kingdom is bigger than he imagined.

Towers of blue and red coral spiral into the depths, their edges shimmering with light. Giant arches carved from seashells connect massive structures, creating a network of bridges that seem too delicate to hold weight. A golden palace stands at the center, its walls gleaming like polished pearl.

A world untouched by the apocalypse.

Barns watches in awe as creatures move through the water effortlessly. Some swim freely while others ride enormous seahorses. He spots humanoid figures with shimmering, scaled skin drifting between coral towers.

And of course, the place is rife with giant crabs not unlike Clancy, scuttling around the ocean floor.

"King, this place is incredible."

Clancy clicks proudly. "OCEAN HOME. MANY OCEAN PEOPLE."

Barns is about to ask what exactly an "ocean person" is when Clancy suddenly stops. The crab's body tenses beneath him, and his beady eyes narrow.

The water around them shifts unnaturally.

Something is coming.

A shadow moves through the deep, distant but massive. It slithers through the water, its movements slow and deliberate. Barns feels a familiar, creeping instinct crawl up his spine. It is the same sensation he gets when he knows a fight is inevitable.

Clancy clicks again, but this time it is not excited.

"SEA SERPENT."

The bubbles rise out of Clancy's mouth as he speaks, his voice reverberant and distorted under the water. But Barns knows what a 'Sea Serpent' is.

Barns grips the edge of Clancy's shell as a monstrous figure emerges from the dark. A massive serpent with scales of emerald swims through the water, its sinuous body moving at a frenetic speed. Its head is crowned with jagged fins and golden eyes that glow like lanterns stalk for prey.

The serpent unhinges its long mouth, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. Its tongue flickers, tasting the water around them.

Barns clenches his fists. "Guess this is the welcome party?"

The sea serpent coils its body, ready to strike.

Clancy moves first.

The mighty crab propels himself to the side as the serpent lunges, its fangs snapping shut where they had been just moments before. Barns grips tight, his body straining against the sudden momentum.

The serpent whips its tail, sending a shockwave through the water that knocks Clancy off course. Barns kicks off the shell, flipping through the water to steady himself.

His mind focuses on the situation at hand. Fire is useless down here. Flame Thrash, his most explosive move, would burn out instantly in the ocean. He needs to fight with raw power alone.

Good thing he's got the Silver Rake.

The serpent lunges again, its jaws stretching wide.

Barns reacts on instinct. He twists his body, dodging just as the beast's teeth snap together. With a sharp inhale, he lets his claws take form, Silver Rake glinting in the filtered sunlight. He slashes at its gills, the silver blade carving through the water in a blur.

The serpent recoils, but not before Barns feels its tail slam into his side. The force sends him tumbling backward, crashing into a wall of coral. The impact knocks the air from his lungs, though he doesn't need to breathe.

Clancy surges forward, unleashing a jet of foam directly into the serpent's face. The beast flails, momentarily blinded by the burning white froth.

Barns regains his composure, his muscles already adapted to the resistance of the water. He grits his teeth, pushing forward with a powerful kick. The serpent shakes off the foam and turns its gaze toward Clancy, no longer interested in Barns.

Not happening.

Barns moves. His body cuts through the water like a spear, closing the distance between him and the serpent's exposed underbelly. He slashes with both claws - his transformed crab claw, and the silver rake - aiming for the serpent's soft, unarmored flesh. His silver weapon carves deep, sending a plume of dark green blood spiraling into the water. And then he hits with his crab claw, leaving another deep puncture wound.

The serpent howls, its entire body convulsing. It lashes wildly, tail swinging toward Clancy. The crab raises his claws in defense, catching the impact but skidding backward in the water.

"BARNACLES! CAUTION!"

Barns moves in again. He knows the serpent is fast, but it is reeling. It can't match his precision, his speed. He grips its gills and pulls himself closer, dragging his blade along its throat. He expects another thrash, another desperate attempt to throw him off.

Instead, the serpent coils around him.

Barns' eyes widen as the world constricts. The creature's body tightens around him, its crushing force threatening to snap his ribs like twigs. His claws press against its scales, but he can't break free.

The pressure builds, his muscles screaming against the force.

Clancy sees his struggle and clicks furiously. He tries to free his human, but not even the mighty King Crab can wrest away the serpent's death grip.

Barns grits his teeth. After everything, including his near-death experience with Francois last night, there's no way he can die here, wrapped up like a gift for a sea monster.

With everything he has, he flexes his entire body. He activates Harden Body, his skin turning solid, his bones refusing to break. The pressure still threatens to crush him, but it does not consume him.

Five seconds. That's all he has.

Then, he breathes. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Bubbles escape from his lips, forming small rings of pure air. They dance around him, shifting and twisting in the water. He does not understand why, but they respond to him.

The sea serpent's body quivers and twitches.

Bubble Breath - it has two uses. It's not just a tool for breathing underwater. If the skill description is to be believed, he can also use it to put things to sleep.

Barns exhales fully, letting out a stream of focused bubbles. They are not normal bubbles. They shimmer, dense and compact, like tiny spheres of force. They push against the serpent's coils, slipping between his skin and its crushing grip. Their magical 'bubbliness' injects the serpent, finding ways into its flesh. Slowly draining it of consciousness, and stamina.

The serpent falters, just for a moment. Lulled into a stupor by the bubbling magic.

Barns twists his body and slashes with everything he has right before his Harden Body wears off. His claws dance through the beast's flesh, cutting deep in a bloody whirl of dark green snakeblood.

The serpent howls, releasing its grip entirely. It's stunned, weak, and vulnerable.

Clancy seizes the opportunity. The crab lunges forward, wrapping his claws around the serpent's head. With one powerful squeeze, he cracks its skull.

The sea serpent thrashes, its massive body writhing in agony. Its movements slow, its tail twitching weakly. Then, with a final shudder, it falls still.

Barns floats there for a moment, staring at the massive corpse drifting in the water. His breath is steady. His hands are shaking.

Clancy clicks approvingly. "TEAM CRAB VICTORY!"

Barns exhales. "Team Crab is unbeatable!" Barns shouts victoriously. He swims back over to Clancy and grabs the crab's shell, continuing on to the Undersea Kingdom.