Loan Sharks

"Don't you come any closer."

"Relax kid, we're not here to eat you."

Ecco barred his teeth. It wasn't particularly threatening, especially when he was confronted by a Great White and a Hammerhead. But it was a sign that he wasn't going to put up with any nonsense. He'd defeated the Vortex (twice), he'd travelled through time, and by all the seas of this world, he'd lived to tell about it. So despite being confronted by two sharks who had much bigger teeth than he and weren't averse to showing it, he wasn't backing down.

"Alright," the singer said. "Let's hear it. What are you in my cove for?"

"Aw, that's no way to talk with old friends, is it?" the Great White asked, beginning to circle the cetacean. "Not when we'll be seeing so much of each other."

"Provided you stay," the Hammerhead added. "You can leave you know. Shark's honour, or strike me with a mallet."

Ecco remained silent.

It wasn't meant to happen like this, the singer reflected. He'd had enough of time travel, sea travel and heck, even travel through the air. All he wanted to do now was relax and enjoy this cove. The whale shark who'd guided him to the site had assured him there was plenty of fish to go around, and while Ecco wasn't too big on plankton, he hadn't found himself disagreeing with the assessment.

"So you staying?" the Great White asked. "Your rent's due, so either pay up or swim off."

"My…what?" Ecco asked.

"Rent," the Hammerhead chipped in. "You know, to stay in this cove."

"I…I don't…"

"Kid, we're loan sharks," the Hammerhead continued. "We…er, 'lend' you the cove, we promise not to eat you, you pay us with fish in return when the time comes."

"Or you swim off," the Great White said, returning to face Ecco. He grinned. "As fast as you can."

"That's…stupid." Ecco mused.

"Maybe, but the Atlanteans did it. We heard your song."

Ecco dipped his snout. He'd suspected that singing his biography might have repercussions. Not that he remembered stumbling on anything like this when he was in their sunken city, but then again, he was dealing with sharks. Creatures that were a few teeth short of a blowhole. And maybe that was the key to resolving it without violence.

"Alright, you got me," Ecco said.

"Not yet we don't," the Great White answered, his true desires clear.

"Hah, yes. But don't worry, I've got rent. I've been keeping it in a special place."

"Where?" the Hammerhead asked.

"Oh, further out in the bay. There's this ring thing. You'll find it stuck in there."

"Rings?" the Hammerhead asked. "Hmm…didn't you-"

"Ah, forget it," the Great White said. "The squirt's got his rent, so he's off the shoal." He swam up to Ecco. "For now, squirt."

Ecco watched as the sharks swam away.

Loan sharks. The oceans of the present were better off without them.