The Aquarian Crown

Yanking the dumbfounded guards out of the way, Selena and Levi were stunned by the sight before them. Iris, completely visible within her courtyard; had her hands stretched above her head as she released massive amounts of magic in the form of a giant whirlpool.

An enormous, chaotic vortex rotated out from her hands. It swirled and had torn at the side of the palace. Ripping down the wall between them, and giving them a full view of the ongoing destruction.

It reminded Iris of the tornadoes she had seen on the Weather Channel, and her fourth grade science project. She smiled as she struggled to keep the full force pointed directly up. She'd seen the guards get tugged backwards, and figured it must've been Selena and Levi returning.

"Look Guys! I Freakin' Did It! I can use Magic! Haha!"

Iris beamed at her friends, but all they could do was stare on in shock. They'd only left her alone for about an hour and a half! In that time, she had managed to achieve by herself what Levi and Selena had been trying to get her to do for a week..

"We're proud of you, but you have Got to STOP Now! You're destroying the palace!" Levi screamed over the roar of the water.

"...Oops," Iris had just realized the damage.

"Did she just say 'Oops'?!" came the whiny voice of Senator Arlong from behind them.

Technically, the senator had never stopped following them, he was just a much slower swimmer. Levi sighed, exasperated with the Undine. Selena didn't care about anything but Iris at that moment.

The sheer amount of magical power she was releasing was dangerous, and in more than one way. It could not only destroy the palace, but Iris herself if she kept going. Selena motioned to walk towards her, but Levi used his tail to hold her back.

She pushed at it to try and release herself, but it only made him tighten his grip as he said; "If you go out there right now, you'll be torn to shreds!"

"I don't care! She needs help!" Selena's voice was frantic as she replied.

Levi dragged her backwards with his tail as he spoke with a harsh tone; "You would put your death on that poor child's head?!"

Selena stopped resisting long enough for Levi to add; "I will go and help her. Just stay here, and keep the senator out of the way!"

Before any argument could be had, Levi shrunk down by half his size, and took off. Leaving Selena feeling helpless, and the senator a jumbled mess. They both watched as the God tried to save the Queen.

Digging his claws into the ground, Levi crawled towards Iris. The vortex was pulling everything up and into it, so he needed to stay as low as possible until he was in the right spot.

Finding the right angle within the momentum, Levi released his claws, and let the vortex pull him up to Iris. The force was a little stronger than he had expected, so once he'd reached her, he slammed into her.

They both grunted as Iris fought to keep herself completely upright and straight. Levi had hit her right in her stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of her. Through the coughing and gagging, Iris stayed on her feet.

"Sorry about that! Can you stop?!" Levi yelled to her.

"I'm trying to, but I don't really know what I did to get to this point!" Iris screamed back as her arms began to shake.

"What were you thinking about when you had a breakthrough?!"

Iris wanted to tell Levi, but wouldn't do it in front of the senator guy. Not wanting to state the reason either, Iris just said, "Umm," and nodded in his general direction.

Levi knew right away why she wasn't speaking, but needed to get her to stop. The amount of magic she was releasing could cause a ripple effect on the ocean's currents. Now that she was linked in to the source, Iris' emotional state could destroy their world if she didn't control it..

Thinking on it a few moments, Levi decided that there was only one thing he could do: risk it.

He was the Great God Leviathan; the most that would happen would be that he'd lose his physical vessel for a few days. It'd hurt, but he was immortal. He'd live, so to speak.. But Iris didn't know that.

"I'm going to let go in thirty seconds, so you better figure it out! Or you'll wind up killing me!"

Iris looked down at him clinging to her wrap; "WHY?! Are you suicidal or something?! I don't know what the Hell I'm doing!"

"Well, you'd better figure it out! I'm about to let go!" Levi yelled as he detached his back claws.

"NO! I don't know what will happen! I could Actually Kill you! Levi!" Iris' screams were frantic, but Levi ignored them as he counted down from ten..

Counting down all the way to five, the god was hanging on by a single claw. He'd gotten to three when the few fibers snapped, and Levi was pulled up, into the air.

Iris let an ear-shattering screech out as she watched him spin faster and faster within the vortex. When Levi grunted in pain from the contortion, something within her mind snapped.

Using her hands, which were still in the air; Iris pulled them apart slightly. Expanding the vortex before clasping her hands closed with maximum effort. The torrents subsided, and a steady calm returned to the waters around them.

Levi floated above Iris a moment before shrinking down to his now-common size, and joining her. Her breaths were greedy as she tried to catch it, and her body had gone limp with exhaustion.

Once Iris had calmed herself, and her breathing had returned to normal, she apologized to Levi for nearly killing him. He chuckled at her and explained; "God, remember? I can't die from one tiny vortex like that.."

"...Right. Because you weren't about to be torn in half or anything.." Iris commented with unabashed sarcasm.

"I was going to be, but that wouldn't of killed me. Very few things in this world can," Levi's voice was a little too cocky for Iris' liking.

She smirked devilishly at him before quipping; "But they do exist.. I'll remember that."

Levi scoffed; "So ungrateful.. Kids these days.."

"Haha, you sound like an old man," Iris switched to a genuine grin as she literally, and figuratively, poked at him.

Levi smiled back and winked. He knew she was just messing with him, which was fine with him, considering what she'd just been through. 'I wonder how long she was like that before she messed up, and we showed up?'

Before Levi could ask, Selena was at Iris' side. She checked her over, then exhaled when she couldn't find anything wrong. Looking at the two; Selena smacked them both harder than normal.

"You fools! Do know how close you came to dying?! I can't Believe you released so much at once! Having that much magic flowing through you could've burned you out!"

"Wait, why am I a fool?" Levi asked, but didn't get the chance to answer.

Senator Arlong was swimming over the debris from the palace with irate shock written all over his face. As he cleared the opening, he looked up and saw tremendous cracks running up the side. They started from where the wall used to be, and ran up nearly the entire height of the wall.

Turning and seeing the cause of his rage, Senator Arlong unleashed his fury; "What in the gods names were you doing?! You could've brought down the Entire Palace!"

"Look at this damage! Do you have Any Idea how much this will cost to fix?! The materials?! The workers?! Do you?!"

Selena let her façade slip for a moment as she blinked at Iris with surprise. The old Iris was timid, and this new Iris seemed to be afraid most of the time. 'What the heck happened when we were gone?!'

Senator Arlong sputtered; "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but the destruction behind me justifies my words-"

Levi scoffed; "In what way? The Queen was practicing her new limitations.. I don't see how that diminishes her status As Queen, at all.."

"Since the moment I met you, Senator, I've heard quite a bit of judgement on your part about others around you. From your Queen to the gods; you've criticized everyone, but have no sense of responsibility yourself.."

Indignation covered Castor's features; "I-I am a Senator!-"

"Yes, A Senator.. One part of a whole that holds No Power on his own! ...I do not like you, sir, and if I knew that it would not cause problems for my friends, I would eat you.. DON'T, make me change my mind."

Shaking like he'd seen a ghost, Senator Arlong called out as he scurried away; "T-There Will be a S-Summons from the Council for you S-Soon Enough!"