An abandoned fish mart with remnants of rot crawling beneath cobblestone. Still water swamped the air with its spoiled stench whilst Monaha and Matsya entered the containment field. Centered in the shell was a koala with nine arms and ten eyes, azul cannons burst from its fur; letting a flurry of blasts tear through the air.

  “Roll!” Monaha commanded. Ducking oppositely, Matsya hid under a large bin with an overflowing mountain of sweaty black bags.

  “Monaha!”

  “Don’t worry, I got this,” Monaha said, opening a tunnel to his mind by tearing off his horn. Similar to a hole in space, air sucked in, beams of plasma aimed elsewhere turned to the pull; all was being devoured by the vast suction. Within seconds the pull became larger and larger, Monaha’s brain rattled with pain as the hole too became larger and larger, eating away at Monaha’s physique. His wings thinned, his navy face lightened to blue, his white monkey fur frizzled and frayed. The koala vanished into the emptiness just as swiftly, so too was everything in the market. Monaha had awakened a torrent that could not be stopped.

  Is this normal? What should I do… Ah… Matsya noticed the dropped horn. A plug, he needs a plug. Rolling from the coverage, Matsya dove under Monaha’s legs, whipping his rod as hard as he could, sending the hook flying. The line rippled by the pull slowed. Noticing the wind's effect, Matsya spun to adjust, reeling the line back and around Monaha. Outside the tunnel’s blindspot the hook arrived, clipping the horn. With a tug that burned his shoulders, Matsya dropped back, leaning on his weight. The horn landed in hand before he could fall onto his bottom. Jumping up, Matsya immediately felt the pull, his face distorting by the suction. He took the horn high above his head. Grip loosening, his body struggling to stay grounded. The horn was pulled out from Matsya’s hands straight into the hole. Silence echoed as Monaha caught his breath.

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  “Haha…I knew you were ready,” Monaha wheezed.

  “You’re crazy…” Matsya replied as he fell onto his back, still trying to catch his breath. “Man, I’m exhausted.”

  “That spirit gave me a bit of scare, I went all out without even thinking. Just means I got to train more.”

  “Scared? I was scared. Never seen anything like it.”

  “…” Monaha brushed his hair back, looking up at the falling veil of darkness. “I don’t know what to say, I suppose you just gotta get used to it.”

  “I suppose…” Matsya sighed.

  “Yeah…we all do.”