Sage could never tell whether or not the next species he captured would be the one hiding a great secret in its ancestral memories or a powerful natural ability. He was always eager to catch new ones and explore the mysteries within. The researchers on the Inner World were invaluable in this regard as they could Merge with these different species to try new combinations and paths of development. Putting himself out of commission for a year on the Inner World to do a Merge meant that he would be without his enhanced decision making for half a day on the outside world. While this wasn’t really a long time, he didn’t want to do it too often and leave himself vulnerable. It was also only for the sake of experimentation. The majority of beasts were not that useful to him so if he then had to revert back to his old form, wouldn’t that be a whole day wasted? It was much better to just have the researchers on the Inner World try for him.

Sage didn’t order anyone to Merge with any specific creatures. It was all done of their own volition. Once a researcher had made enough contributions they could be considered trusted enough to earn access to the true Merge technique. From there they could apply for the beast they wished for and use an egg or newborn to link and Merge with. Without Soul Resonance like Sage it was much better for them to use newly formed minds as they faced far less resistance in merging together. Even so there were still a few brave and powerful researchers that attempted merges with more powerful creatures. Only if they could defeat a beast's mental resistance could they then initiate a combination between the two. It was definitely a risky thing since not only did one have to win the mental war they also then combined memory and personality with them. The Silver Liberator line in the Lang Clan ensured their will remained in charge, but they were still very liable to end up as a very different person in the end.

By the time Sage finished with most of the Plug Sharks, the remaining two fled in opposite directions. At the same time, the remaining Moon Palometa school had regrouped and escaped as well. Sage quickly collected the incapacitated Plug Sharks, sending them to the Inner World, before racing after the Moon Palometa. He prioritized collecting a few individuals from each species as before. The Moon Palometa got a decent head start on him while he was still in battle so even if he was faster than them in a straight line there was a lot of open water between them to make up for. As he closed the distance and got closer, the palometa panicked and turned down into a sort of valley between the large reefs. The coral was so large that it reminded Sage of an undersea Grand Canyon, swimming past reefs that were a mile high with quarter mile wide valleys running between them.

Sage caught up to the slowest Moon Palometa. It was the most injured of the bunch and trailing behind the others. He hooked into its side just as he’d done to the sharks, causing only small wounds in comparison to the massive size of the fish. The fish was forced to pull him along as he injected paralyzing poison into its body with the poison Qi of his Jade Mantle. The fish got slower and slower until it finally reached a threshold where Sage’s Spirit Power was enough to wrap it up and toss it into the Inner World. Sage had fallen behind the others as the fish he was clinging to got slower and slower.

I should have targeted the fastest one first.

Realizing his mistake he kicked hard against the water, aiming for the fastest and most powerful of the Moon Palometa that was leading the pack. If he took out the best of them then the battle would just get easier and easier over time. It took him even longer to catch up with the leader, and he swam up beside one of the others that were later in the line. A giant eyeball spun over to face him and for a moment the two of them looked at each other. Sage didn’t attack it, simply swimming up beside it and slowly overtaking it in pursuit of the leader. The giant eyeball spun away, and the Moon Palometa seemed unusually still. Sage swam past it and caught up to the strongest of them. He swerved away to avoid the swipe of its sharp tail and then crossed his arms to block the fish’s dorsal fin. His forearm blades were struck by the fin when it corkscrewed, knocking him back. He swam forward, setting an intercept path in front of the fish instead of swimming up beside it. The fish changed directions and shot away from him, but he rotated in place and then shot forward again. He caught up again in less than a second and the fish got more scared flipping its tail back and forth as quickly as possible.

This time, when he reached its side he was near its cheek and safe from large fin blades on its top and bottom. It thrashed around in a panic, but when its body came towards him to strike he extended his forearm blades and used the two curved hooks to stab into and cling to its side. The fish’s body slammed into him and his Jade Mantle took the hit, a layer of it crumbled apart and fell away, but it was still intact and his blades were lodged into its body. The fish had no way to touch him now as he clung to its side. Unlike the others it seemed a bit more intelligent and Sage saw a large coral reef coming towards him. This Moon Palometa was going to scrape itself up against the coral to dislodge him.

On the Inner World, Sage was faced with this conundrum and he started to run through different ways out of this predicament. If he removed one of the hooks from its body he would get thrown off by the erratic swimming. Then he looked down at his feet and after a few tests he figured out a way to reshape his swimming fins into another set of hooks. With hooks on all four limbs he would be able to climb across the surface of the fish. He used Foresight to attempt this idea and after a few course corrections he just wasn’t fast enough to avoid the coral. The outcropping that the fish was heading towards had just the right shape to leave no gaps. With the time remaining he couldn’t get to a spot that wasn’t going to get pinched up against the fish’s side. On the Inner World, the researchers that helped develop the hook shape threw their papers into the air.

They quickly pivoted to another idea. With Foresight he formed the foot hooks and then crouched down, tilting his head upward and opening his mouth to release a hurricane force blast of air. There wasn’t any air in the main chambers of his lungs, preventing him from needing any ballast, but he still had an ultra compressed chamber of Qi that was his Divine Breath technique. He couldn’t easily replenish this supply of air while under the sea, but he could still boost its output using one of his Heavenly Materials, the Stormbreath. He first attempted to release a torrent of wind to the side, to divert the palometa’s course away from the rock. It seemed to work, but then he quickly tried another option and smiled.

On the outside world, he clung tightly to the side of the Moon Palometa with his two forearm hooks. The giant fish swam hard towards the wall of coral, and tilted away slightly at the last instant. The huge beast’s side collided with the porous material and its scales ground into it. The fish scraped its entire flank across the coral and swam off with a victorious flip of its tail. The little hanger-on was gone and it was victorious. Behind it, there was a large cloud of sediment, disturbed by its action and blocking from view the remains of its foe. It spun back around to see its school, but realized that it was now alone. Turning back also let it see the drops of red spreading into the water and only then did the pain of its action sink in. The scales along its side had been brutalized, the majority of them torn up by its reckless move.