A Bubbly Trio's Descent

There was a stir in the warm, blue waters of the ruins. A bit of a swim from here to the Buizel tribe’s home, sure, but these parts of the ruins were close enough that danger was almost nonexistent. Plus, it was a popular enough spot that, at any time, one might find a handful of Buis hanging out and frolicking in the maze of crumbled hallways, elaborate statues and scattered shipwrecks.

Still, something stirred a little harder than usual, the faint sound of bubbles blowing from somewhere behind a corner, the sunlight catching their glimmer as they wobbled towards a decently-sized air pocket. Oliver had spotted this unusual display from a fair distance, and the plump, less-than-buoyant Buizel Scholar didn’t swim so much as walk towards it. Was this what — or rather, who — he was looking for?

“Everblythbling ogblkay hblerebl?” He bubble-spoke. He was quick to check up on whoever was pushing out so much air… Though he totally didn’t expect to see it being done with this much gusto.

“Mrmmphgblglblbl…!” A female Buizel sat comfortably against a wall, eyes closed and a trembling smile forming on her face. Her small reading glasses were all askew, no doubt moved all around by her enthusiastic squirming. Most importantly, though, she was sliding two fingers into her soft pussy and rubbing her clit with her thumb, a very understandable cause for those loud, bubbly squeaks. Her stubby toes clenched and stretched with every rub, too, and once she—

“MMPHGBLBL!!” …And once she noticed she was being watched, she flinched hard, fur poofing up like she got plugged into a wall socket, and her eyes went cartoonishly wide. For the most part she just assumed she was in trouble and modestly covered up her crotch, but it soon became clear that Oliver didn’t mind it all that much. He’d met this girl a couple times already, after all.

“Oblh, thblerble ygblou ablre, Vblivbli!” He greeted Vivi so casually, though he did look a bit flushed, seeing her like this. It was not uncommon for pent-up Buis to scurry off for horny relief like this, though it was more common to do it with a companion or two or seven. “Wblas gblonnbla asblk iblf yblou’regl rbleadbly fblor tglodblay’s tblask, hblahgla…”

Feeling relieved but still hella embarrassed, Vivi heaved slightly before trying to bubbletalk back. “R-Rbleadbly whglen, yblou ablre! Mmph…” She may be a Scholar now, but she was still a rookie, and she’d need to get the hang of bubbletalking before she could speak in longer sentences. As is, just a few words were enough to spend a big chunk of her air, leaving her with a strained expression while she tried to suppress any further heaves.

“Ybleahbl! Shbloulbldn’t blbe tgbloo hblardbl,” Oliver told her; he had been instructed to assist her, after all, and if the task went well enough she might even be ready for solo explorations! “Wble’rebl gbloingbl prblettybl dbleep, thbloughbl, sblo iblf iblt wblas jblustbl thble tblwo oblf usgbl, Ibl wblouldbln’t blbe eblnoughbl tglo khleepbl yblou sblafe. Sblo Ibl blbroughtbl Tblalblus alblongbl!!” He cheered.

Vivi almost jumped when she saw the other, stronger Bui had swum up to them both suddenly, so fast that she barely noticed at first. She did hear Oliver lay out the plan earlier that day; they would need to wander through the dark, flooded town, nab whatever valuable trinkets and doodads and artifacts they could reasonably carry in their small satchels, and scurry back out before anything bad happens. Nothing specific, just look for cool stuff and book it. Thus, the need for a bodyguard!

“H-Hblow lgblongbl wblerebl blboth oblf y’blallbl wblatchgling mmph— Ghrblbl!” Before she could finish getting all worked up about being spotted in such a lewd way, Vivi pushed herself a little too hard for comfort. She covered her snout, her pussy still leaking a few thin strings of arousal as she kicked her way up to the air pocket. From below, Oliver and Talus could see her taking some much-needed deep breaths, gripping the nearby wall to help her stay afloat.

The other two Buis soon joined her in the air pocket, needing a lot less time to refresh themselves by comparison. “Oh we only got here just now. Anyway, don’t you worry about a thing,” Oliver quickly said to her. “All you need to focus on is finding something valuable to bring home, doesn’t have to be big, just look for cool artifacts down there. If anything dangerous happens, my darling’ll take care of it. Right, Talus?”

Talus smirked and puffed up his chest, so delightfully eager to show off for the newbie. This is what the training’s all about! “Anything tries to threaten us, and I’ll knock ‘em out faster than you can say ‘Oh no!’, make sure they don’t mess with us again, hmph!”

Vivi took slower breaths eventually, readjusting her tiny glasses. She pumped herself up a bit; it was nerve-wracking, sure, but having these two along would make it a lot less stressful! “Alright, I can do it, I can do it, just… Not gonna try to bubbletalk too much, apologies in advance, h-haha.” She was, at the very least, aware of her own limits. The rookie’s breathholding skills were plenty good, as long as nothing even slightly surprising happened. And down there, in a largely unexplored shadowy town? Pfff, couldn’t be too many surprises to be had.

“Phew, okay… We all good, then?” Oliver checked up on them both. Beneath the water, his sole brushed gently against Talus’s leg, both as a calming gesture as well as an affectionate (if slightly saucy) one.

Talus looked a bit flustered, for whatever reason, but he nodded and huffed right away. “All good here. Take a deep breath, Vivi…!”

The rookie Scholar didn’t say much else. Closing her eyes, she slowly dragged mouthfuls of air into her snout, zoning out slightly as she took control of her breathing and lowered her heartbeat to a crawl. Once she felt ready enough, she took a deeeeep breath, packing as much air into her lungs as she could, before pushing off the roof and sinking into the water, leaving a small froth of bubbles on the air pocket’s surface.

“…Alright, don’t go trying to be the hero or anything, okay hun?” Oliver asked Talus firmly. Although this would (hopefully) be a lower-stakes effort compared to some other recent missions, Oliver still cared about Vivi, and wanted her to prove herself without getting everyone involved in Situations again.

Talus nodded. “Nothing too wild, then. See you back here soon, hottie.” He countered Oliver’s playful touch from earlier with a slow and thorough footrub against the chubby Bui’s chest, even tugging at one of his nipples. He obviously had his naughty reasons for it, but it was also a very helpful way to relieve the tension… Though they might all need some more relief once this whole thing was done.

Oliver and Talus soon took deep breaths of their own and left the air pocket, following Vivi as she anxiously led the way to the deeper, lonelier areas of the ruins. She had memorized the route, or at least hoped she did… Not that “taking a left then going straight down” was hard to figure out.

The sunlight became more dim with every cautious frog-kick into the depths. What had once been a wide vista of gorgeous, light-blue seawater steadily turned darker, eerier, the bubbly cheers and sounds of nearby Buis becoming ever more distant until all the three could hear was just… water. Rumbling and swirling, carried by old, unseen currents that could even be felt from this far back.

Despite the distance and depth, Vivi was doing a great job holding back that uncomfortable warmth in her chest. She looked to her sides every now and then, just to make sure Talus and Oliver were right by her, and they both greeted her with confident nods. That put her way more at ease, for sure.

And she’d need those calm vibes to stick around for a while, as the flooded town soon came into view — at least, as much of a view as the distant sunlight could provide. Black buildings contrasted against that dark blue of the seas, some of them several stories tall. An entire, busy, bustling town used to be here. But whatever had caused it to become this flooded was one of those deep mysteries that the tribe had not come close to solving yet.

The remains of smaller ships littered the town’s streets too, as well as whatever old trinkets that hadn’t been scooped up by braver (or more risk-happy) Buis. There would not be time to dig through these abandoned streets, as there were so many of them, stretching so far into the distance, that taking the time to sweep through them would require some truly gargantuan lungs.

Vivi, Talus and Oliver would have to settle for one building that they had decided to explore. It lurked hidden among much taller and more enticing towers of old steel and rubble, but it was clear that it had not been touched all that much. As soon as Talus forced the heavy doors open — easily, it should be noted — Oliver and Vivi peeked their heads inside.

It was even darker here, but Talus happened to be ready for this. He pulled a small headlight out of Oliver’s satchel and wrapped it around his lover’s forehead, fiddling with its buttons briefly before finding the one that turned it on. It was a harsh light, compared to the shroud of darkness that coated the inside of this building, but it got the job done.

Oliver led the way, swim-walking along the smooth tiled floor as he beckoned Talus and Vivi to stay close…

Even this far down and snuck away from the warmth of the sun, the water felt… oddly warm. It was crystal clear, too, not that it mattered much when it was this dark. The three Buizels couldn’t help but relax a little more, feeling such comfy liquid around them, but it did give them a funny feeling about all this. What’s the occasion for such fine water-weather?

Well, there were more pressing matters anyway. “…Mmph.” Vivi held a hand against her chest and felt that first hint of discomfort building up in her throat. The quiet, involuntary little grunt pushed a few minuscule bubbles past her lips, prompting her to squint at the dark ceiling high above. Those bubbles pooled up just fine, but ideally her next breath wouldn’t be just from her own recycled stale air.

Talus and Oliver saw her swim ahead rather quickly, in a bit of a hurry to find some lucky air pocket first and worry about her breathhold later. “Vblivbli, allgbl glgoodbl??” Oliver barely spoke before he saw her take a turn and sneak through a messy pile of fancy chairs and tables, an opening much too tight for either of the more experienced Buis. She was proving to be more skittish about her air supply than the average Buizel…

“Rblookglies, hbluhbl?” Talus teased, though obviously he didn’t mean it in a rude way. He was just tickled, seeing the sorts of depths and distances that Vivi would have to grow used to eventually. He poked Oliver’s soft sides. “Ibl blbet shgle’ll blbe gblivbling yblourbl blbreathblholdbls abl rglun fblor thbleir mblonbley sgbloon, thbloughgl!”

“Hglahabl, mblayblbe! Shble’s jblust glgottbla mblake iblt blback fglirstbl!” Oliver sure didn’t doubt that could happen one day. For now, he focused on doubling the trio’s efforts, pointing Talus to take a left where Vivi had taken a right, down a long hallway soon lit up by the Scout’s headlight. They hoped to find an air pocket too, and Talus saw it as a bit of a friendly competition, given how packed with air he still was despite all the yammering.

On the other side of this building, Vivi had stumbled into a little storage room that elicited mixed reactions. It was so dark that only the things that were near the door were visible at all, but as she slowly adapted her eyes to the dark and slid her hands along the walls, she would feel its riches become apparent.

A long, metal gadget, with small tangible buttons on its top, that ended with a large hole big enough for her arm to fit through. A tiny stick-like thing with even tinier holes adorning its side. A circular, wooden, bucket-shaped… thing, with a sturdy layer of bendy plastic where its hole would normally be.

…Did Vivi stumble into a room full of musical instruments?! “Eehbleehgbleeblbl~!!” She bubble-squealed with glee the moment she realized this, kicking her legs and flapping her hands up and down with a delightful motion that might’ve been strong enough to cause its own current. Even as a grown adult, she was never shy to hide her joy. Granted, there was still the problem of how one (or three) might carry such heavy trinkets wayyyy back up home, but just knowing exactly where they were was already, like, 80% of the word required from a newbie Scholar.

Such a fun little display, though, came with its fee. Vivi felt her first heave right afterward, and it didn’t hold back, pushing hard against her ribs. “Ghhblbl!” She hurried to cover her mouth before too many bubbles could escape, and her focus soon got back to finding places where air pockets might lurk.

She left the room — after making space in her satchel for a very pretty flute — and scrambled towards less-explored corners of this strange building. The hallways tended to mix together a bit, long stretches of red carpet and wooden walls that had only begun to be claimed by barnacles and coral. These would be the only noticeable landmarks to keep track of her route, and she’d have to feel her way along them wherever the already dim light was shut out entirely.

Any ordinary swimmer might’ve been deterred by the sight of a set of stairs descending into more darkness, and even greater pressure on her already strained body. But Vivi had been clued in to these kinds of situations. Such was the nature of these deep ruins and flooded towns, that the deeper one went, the likelier it was to find something unexpected, for better or worse. And this situation was already feeling rough, so Vivi felt she might as well roll the dice a little.

She did her best to ignore the worsening heaves that shook her chest and swam further down the stairs, a thin creaky door soon giving way to a room encased in tiles of white marble. …Even for such ancient times, with such different creatures, it was hard not to recognize a restroom. And such a clean one, too, all things considered!

“Gbl! Mrmph!” It would take a lot more exploration missions and breathholding practice for Vivi to outlast Talus and Oliver. Right now, her lungs accelerated their calls for air with harsh contractions and they didn’t feel too patient.

She had been blessed, thankfully, by the barely noticeable sight of a rippling surface above her, a fragile hole amid the marble just tall and wide enough for one Buizel head to fit in. With a hearty, silent thank-you for whatever god or gods she happened to worship, she swam up and took a breath.

“Pbbbt, pwah! Ghh, cough cough…!” The air felt a little too warm for comfort, but it got the job done. Vivi filled her lungs back up fast, hurried breaths through her mouth while she got used to treading water again. Droplets slid down her wet fur as every breath turned the air pocket just a tiny bit more stale…

“Oh, they’re gonna love this one,” Vivi said to herself rather sarcastically, but still with a playful tone. It may not be a great air pocket, but it’s an air pocket nonetheless. And she found it all on her own! That’s worth plenty of praise!

Soon, though, those quick breaths had to slow down and give way to more thorough ones; she wouldn’t want Talus and Oliver to have to settle for used-up Vivi air. …Where’d those two wander off to, anyway?

Vivi took one more deep inhale before slipping back into the shadowy depths. She was getting a little better at seeing her way through it, so the way out of this corner wasn’t as bad as before. She even showed a little proud smile as she took her steady turns along the flooded rooms and lengthy halls…

Rows and rows of chairs, some settled in place and others thrown across the vast room’s walkways, sat mostly facing the same direction. A set of old, red curtains had been pulled to the sides of the back of the room, and still-functional lights lit up what seemed to be the center stage, their glow radiating all around the seawater.

“Agl-habl!!” Oliver bubbled out with an increasingly chipper tone, already pumped over what they had stumbled into. “Iblt’s abln olgld thbleatgbler!! Ooblh, ablnd dglo yblou fgleelbl thblat, Tblalblus?”

The water felt just a bit cozier as they approached center stage, its warmth no doubt provided by the decently-sized stage lights above. Whatever the reason, they still worked just fine, albeit with slight occasional flickers, so they must’ve been powered by something other than mere electricity.

“Ybleah, thblat’s whgly iblt’s sgblo wblarblm ibln hblere!” Talus nodded, acting as if he had somehow already deduced it earlier. He nudged his fiancée’s hip with his own, eager to get him even more excited about the sight of such a grand, fancy theater. “Gblreat plblacebl fblor wglatchbling abl plblay, hbluh?”

“Oblh, fblor sblure!!” Oliver’s brain was activated. “Thble acgloustglics mblust’vble blbeen sblo ngblice, evblen whblen iblt wblas jblustbl aiglr hglere! Ablnd thblere’s sblo mbluch rgbloom fblor agl hgluge crblowd tblo mblinglebl ablnd plglay alblong ablnd hblave fglun!! Plblus, dblon’t yglou thblink iglt wblould’vble blbeen awblesblome fblor tblhe aglctblors abls wblellgl, hblavbling sbluch abl blbig stglage tblo wblork wblith?! A-Aglnd Ibl hblavblen’t eblven mblentblionedbl hblow cblool iglt igls fblor sbluch abln olgld cblivblilblizblatblion tblo hglave sbluch abl fglamblilbliar pblastblime ablnd…”

Oliver, with arguably the strongest lungs of any Buizel in the tribe, went on for a little while, using his air quite efficiently without breaking a sweat. Talus swim-walked along with him as they neared the stage itself, a big smile on his face as he listened to his darling nerd out about the significance and history of places like this. It was one of his favorite things to do with him… even if that’s a lot of air Oliver might need later.

Talus felt inspired (and pent up) enough, though, to take things a little further. He scooped up Oliver and swam up to the stage with a fun little grin. “Ablhhbl, oublr lglong adblventblure ibls fglinblally oblver! Sgblee? Thblis gblallblant knblight hglas blbrought yblou hblome, prglincbless!”

“Mbly hblero~! Ibl mblust offgbler tblhe kblindblest rblewblard Igl cglan thblink oblf, hbleehblee…” Oliver was really getting into it… He let out a bubbly chuckle and swooned as he was lowered onto the wooden floor, with Talus climbing on top of him for a Kiss of True Love. No need to be awakened from a deep cursed slumber, just a nice, long air-sharing kiss between the two soon-to-be husbands.

Like a brave knight claiming his prize after a dangerous trial, Talus tasted Oliver’s air deeply, wrapping his arms around the chubby Buizel’s body as well as he could, unable to hide his smile, helping his lungs be a little more refreshed after such a lengthy enthusiastic ramble…

…They were eager to do a little more than that.

All things considered, Vivi thought to herself, this building isn’t that big at all, just— “Gbl.” —really, really hard to navigate in the dark!

Said darkness, for once, would relent as soon as Vivi had turned yet another corner and swam through a pair of elaborate, golden doors. The vast rows of old chairs, tattered curtains and bright stage lights gave it away for her pretty quickly: She’d found an ancient theater!

Or rather, Talus and Oliver found it, and also Vivi was here.

“Mrmmph~…” And that was not a noise that Vivi expected to hear in this theater. Those two Buis had gotten real busy with each other by the time she arrived, and even that was a wild understatement. Oliver laid on the creaky softwood floor, no doubt getting a bit of a stress test from the chubby Bui after years and years of waterlogged abandonment. He was the one who let out that fun little noise, and for good reason.

“Hrmph~.” Talus, being the sub of this relationship as usual, found himself enjoying the feeling of servicing his lover so thoroughly. He pressed his lips firmly with his dear Ollie’s, snouts squishing against each other as they tasted their bubbly noises together. And even though Talus was the one expertly rubbing his feet up and down and along Oliver’s fat dick, he still ended up being the more whimpery of the two, from makeouts alone. “M… Mhmmph~”

Vivi’s cheeks turned so red and hot they felt like they might’ve boiled the water around her. Somehow, though, she hadn’t been noticed. Though she only came here to let the guys know there was an air pocket nearby, she also felt the need to… keep it to herself for a little longer. She snuck up on the lovey-dovey duo, sliding under the chairs and between gaps in the piles of wood and carpet, until she was just a few feet away at the front seats.

Talus peeked an eye open, mid-kiss, and tilted his head. A Buizel as well-trained as him could feel the shifts in the water, and he caught a tiny glimpse of the stage lights shining against Vivi’s tiny glasses, with just a hint of her snout visible behind a chair.

He stared right at her with a coy little grin, knowing she was absolutely enjoying the show. He also knew Oliver wouldn’t mind having a spectator for their quick session together, so the kisses didn’t stop or even slow down.

Now aware that she had been spotted, whatever deep embarrassment she might’ve felt was being overridden by the sight of such reliable Buizels spending their time and air like this. She swam over the chairs and rested on center stage right by them, twiddling her fingers while watching them enjoy each other from way closer than originally expected. Do they even know they’re underwater at this point, so distracted by being all wrapped up together? …And how long have they been going at it??

Talus soon adjusted his position, playfully rubbing his toes against Oliver’s feet, while his thighs wrapped carefully around Oliver’s dick and wiggled back and forth. Ollie let out a relieved groan into Talus’s mouth, with absolutely no bubbles making their way out. By this point, it became clear to Vivi, they’d gotten so good at air-sharing kisses that their lips made for a strong waterproof seal. All they felt was their chests pressed against one another, one inflating with borrowed air while the other would happily lend it, and so on…

Poor Vivi barely noticed when her own hand took a detour from covering her mouth to traveling down towards her pussy. The arousal was already so present that it slid along with ease, squeezing out a bubbly whimper when a finger brushed past her clit. “Mmbl…!”

The other two totally knew Vivi was playing the role of an overly eager audience member by now. Talus thus indulged his fiancée further, dragging his hands down to Oliver’s chubby chest. He rubbed in circular motions and tugged playfully at Oliver’s perky nipples, helping his lover let out a groan so noisy that it broke the air-sharing smooch’s tight seal for a moment, letting well-spent bubbles flutter past the lights and out of view.

Vivi was already feeling that warm tug in her throat again, but she reluctantly held it in to stay affixed to this pair’s mutual indulgences. She leaned her body forward and rested on her chin, both of her hands busy having their fun, one with her plump pussy and the other with her sensitive chest. She had to work hard to keep those moans from pushing out bubbles, while still vocalizing them enough to be audible, if muffled…

Hardy as he may be, Oliver didn’t last much longer. “Mrmmmphglblbl!!” The larger Bui gripped Talus hard and humped wildly against his darling’s soft thighs, one pump of cum after another spilling into the water right above them before drifting along whatever slight current had snuck in. Talus didn’t show it off as much, being pressed against Oliver’s plump tummy, but he did try to time his orgasm too, columns of his seed spewing onto it, mostly hidden. In spite of such a fierce climax, they both did a decent job holding their stale air in, at most letting a quick burst of bubbles push past their snouts in unison.

They both had plenty of time to come down from that much-needed relief by the time Vivi got off too. She squished her hand against her thighs hard and shook as a steady torrent of bubbles streamed out of her open mouth, and what must’ve been half of her air supply was depleted in seconds before she got ahold of herself. “Ghh, mrmph—!” A double dose of embarrassment and relief mixed together in her mind, though the latter became the stronger feeling soon enough, turning her shakes into an urge to slump onto the floor and lay face-up…

“Whbloa, whgbloabl!” Talus soon picked her up with ease, though. This really isn’t the best spot to drift off and pass out, if that’s what Vivi was about to do…

“Ngleedbl sblome?” Oliver pointed at his mouth, no doubt still warm from how much Talus’s lips rubbed against it, to see if Vivi wanted to borrow a bit of (stale but usable) air.

Vivi, though, rejected the offer, mostly because she had remembered what she wanted to show in the first place! She hurried to sit back up and pulled a small instrument out of her satchel, showing it off with a bubbly smile as the urge to nerd out about it conquered the urge to breathe.

“Riblght riblght, hblere~!” She bubblesquealed with utter, infectious glee, waving the small flute at the Buizel boys. “I-Iblt’s agl mblusblicblal inblstrblumblent! Thgbley plglayed mblusblic wblith thblese, Ibl fbloundbl iblt ibln abl rgloom fblullbl oblf thblem bglut cblouldbln’t pblull thblem allbl oublt!” Vivi also placed it near her mouth, in a position that closely resembled the way it used to be played. “Thglere’d blbe abl bglunchbl oblf thblesble ibln abln orblchglestrbla ablnd thbley’d plblay thblem ublsblingl—”

“Usgling aiblr!!” Oliver finished that sentence, quickly catching on to one of the many, many aspects of ancient pre-flooded life that she’s always so eager about. “Thbley’d blblow aiblr inblto thble flblute aglnd plblug thblis ablnd thglat hblole tblo mblake dbliffblerblent nblotebls! Ooblh, nblext tblime wgle’regl obln thble sblurfblace wble shglouldbl trgbly iblt, Ibl wblondbler hblow mbluchbl eblffblort iblt’d tblake, ablhablha! Nglow Igl wblannbla brblingbl mblore oblf thblose hblome sblo wble cabln…”

Talus, watching all this endless happy chirping unfold, couldn’t help but keep his eyes on his beloved. It was a side of him that Talus loved seeing… Plus, it was pretty impressive to think about just how much air would have to be packed in those lungs to fit so much speaking time.

“Igl knblooooblwblbl~!” As the convo went on, Vivi kicked her legs and flipped around in a circle, holding the flute tight. It soon became clear, though, that she had really dug far into her air reserves for this extended tangent. “Sblo wblell-prblesblervbled, tbloobl— Mmrmph — Dblespblite h-hblowbl dbleep angld abglandblonedbl t-thblis plblace ibls — Grbl!” Even as she was nearing the absolute limits of her breathhold, she still wanted to finish her thought…

Both Talus and Oliver offered her air, not wanting to see her pass out this far down, but luckily she had found more than one type of blessing down here. Vivi covered her snout with one hand, then waved the other in a circular motion above her, signaling that she had found an air pocket nearby. She soon pointed to the west exit of this theater before making a dash towards it, leaving behind a steady trail of small bubbles. …It really did seem like she talked all of her air out.

Oliver, by comparison, was hardly worse for wear, at most showing a heave or two and wincing as he beckoned Talus to stick closer. And Talus himself was getting to that point even without being involved in the bubble-gushing. He kept his mind at ease, though, admiring both the view of his fiancée frog-kicking away, with his engagement toe ring glimmering under the stage lights, as well as catching one last, long sight of the flooded theater for now, although there’d be more visits here soon enough to bring even more goodies home.

“GAAAASP—!! Hrk, guh, cough cough…!” The water had gotten a bit colder, and a lot darker, by the time Vivi finally reached the safety of the air pocket, mildly stale as it may be. She was trembling, barely treading water, while she took those hungry breaths again, sucking up even more of the precious oxygen that still lingered here. “A-Ah, no no, bad Vivi…” She reminded herself to slow her breaths and relax a little more so Talus and Oliver would get more than just warm, used up air…

Hey, where’d those guys go?

Vivi looked around the dim restroom as well as she could, but saw nothing out of the ordinary, nor any fellow Buis in the vicinity. Crap, had she wandered too fast or too sneakily back here? The last thing she wanted was to have to say to the Prince that the other two guys got lost and stuck somewhere… Plus, they’re her friends, which is even more important!!

The rookie drew in a sharp breath, barely giving herself any time to pump her lungs completely full of air, before slipping back into the water and hurrying back to where she left them.

She had barely turned a couple of corners, though, when she saw what had caused the boys to be delayed.

Talus lurked behind a pile of rubble and upturned furniture. From the tiniest gap he could find, he kept an eye on an unwelcome guest.

A Sableye had snuck into the theater at some point, no doubt alerted by the yammering from these other two Buis (or, ahem, the bubbly moans from earlier). This Sableye, it was clear to Talus, belonged to a rival tribe that had made a habit out of antagonizing the local Buizels. Although he only rarely saw it for himself, he had heard plenty of rumblings about them dragging lone Buis into the depths and drowning them, then doing Arceus-knows-what to them. Quite a few had gone missing over the years, to the point where the Buizel tribe made it clear to never swim alone, and make their home harder to detect…

The Buis in here had gotten unlucky; it was super rare for a Sableye to wander into this flooded town, and rarer still to encounter one.

It was not a great position for any of them. Oliver had ended up on the other side of a hallway where the Sableye lurked, and had to scurry away under a table as soon as he saw its blurry shadow loom around the corner towards him. The chubby Bui was mere feet away from it as it slowly lurched along the hall, barely a bubble or two leaking out of its (impressively puffy) cheeks and past its mouth. As soon as he got the chance, he’d have to make a dash back towards the route Vivi took, reach the air pocket and hope the deep breaths afterwards weren’t too loud.

…He wouldn’t get that far, though.

“…Gmph.” A particularly noisy heave from Oliver pushed out a decent chunk of bubbles, some of which slid out from under the table and wobbled onto the ceiling.

The Sableye turned its head right away and spotted the large figure behind him, trying to escape. It sped through the water, though, and caught up with ease, as Oliver was in no condition to push too hard. All the Bui felt for a moment was a tight grip around his ankle from those strong, clawed hands before being forcibly tugged back and pinned to the floor.

“Mrghmmphblbl! Tblalblus— GHHHGLBLBLBL!!” He barely had time to call out to his lover before he felt a foot press hard against his chest, pushing out whatever air he still had left in one long, bubbly burst. The ceiling was wide enough that even this much air couldn’t pool up effectively, leaving it as scattered orbs sliding all over.

Talus didn’t wait a second longer. Despite the sheer danger involved, he leapt at the chance to protect his true love from such a deadly, drowny menace! He hopped off a wall on the other side of the hall and spun his propeller tails as hard as possible, blasting through the water like a furry torpedo, headfirst. He aimed carefully and lowered his head, bracing for a nasty impact…!

THUNK—!! He crashed hard against the Sableye’s chest, sending it careening towards the other wall at full speed. Once he had felt that hit land right where it counted, Talus slowed down enough to simply bump against the wall with a muted thud.

The Sableye was not so lucky. It slammed against that wall with barely any time to react or slow down, and in an instant most of its air was harshly pushed out of its lungs this time. It let out a pained bubbly groan, caught so off guard that its mind settled on flight rather than fight. In a panic, it clutched at its throat and swam away fast, fleeing the Buizels it had so happily antagonized just moments ago. It was definitely headed back to the Sableye tribe’s home, wherever it was.

“Ollbliebl!” Talus helped his lover back up, but it was clear that Oliver couldn’t do much other than heave and keep the water out.

The way towards wherever Vivi had gone would be even harder to find, for one reason: Talus was still wearing his headlight when he slammed onto the Sableye, and the impact broke it beyond repair. As soon as the hit landed, the place grew quite dark again. A lesser Buizel might’ve panicked at the thought of having to rescue someone in these dark, deep conditions, but not Talus, and especially not when the one in need of rescue is his dear Ollie.

Even just running into Vivi down here didn’t help as much as they had hoped. The theater groaned as it shifted and rumbled, affected more by the fierce blow than the trio would’ve liked. Worse yet, a crumbling noise emanated right from where Vivi came, and the rookie Bui feared the worst.

Thankfully, the worse case scenario was avoided: none of the paths ahead and out of this place seemed to be blocked by piles of rubber that weren’t there before.

Things back at the air pocket, though, were less favorable. Loud blorps and fizzles loomed ahead as Talus assisted Ollie down the stairs. Whatever air pocket once used to be here was gone, slipping away through fragile cracks and openings so small not even Vivi could feasibly sneak through them. Trying to dig through the ceiling and chase after the bubbles also carried the immense risk of bringing the whole building down, Buis and trinkets buried all together.

“Grrmphblbl!” Talus let out a frustrated heave, now all too aware of how much aquatic road was ahead of them — and how much of that long ascent would have to be done carrying Oliver along. There was no way in hell that Talus would simply leave him here and come back later, not with this much empty space inside the chubby Bui’s lungs.

Vivi had found herself with the most air out of the trio, unlikely as it seemed, and she’d have to lead by example. She fended off that first crucial heave for as long as she could while guiding the two lovers out of the dark building and “outside” into the flooded city proper.

From here, it was just one long swim. Up towards the sunlight and back home. Nothing to it. Just swim and don’t think about it. Just swim and—

“Hrk—!!” Oliver could barely stand it anymore, his lungs so fiery-hot that even a splash of water would feel fresh by comparison. He frog-kicked as well as he could despite it all, while Talus and Vivi each grabbed an arm to carry him upwards with the aid of their propeller tails. It was entirely too much energy to be spending it this far down, but the options were slim anyway…

And the rush of adrenaline was carrying Talus far, too. Even as his own body tensed up and begged for air, he barely seemed to be feeling it, his eyes focused hard on the increasingly bright sunlight above, though calling it bright was pushing it a bit. He held Oliver’s hand tightly, with such a hard yet careful grip that even fully drowning and passing out wouldn’t loosen it up.

Someone who did look a little worse, though, was Vivi now. “Hrrrgh— Mmphgblbl! Hmmmph!!” At least she didn’t bring a heavier instrument home; otherwise she’d be drowned by now. But the staleness of that air pocket was having its effect now, and once that first heave landed the rest of them piled up rather fast. Her ribs showed with every contraction, pushing out more and more air and requiring even harder kicks to swim up. She clenched her teeth and cleared her mind of this urge to breathe as much as she could before the inevitable happened.

“Snrrrk— GHMPH, HGLUP—” Vivi’s legs flailed and lost their coordination as water snuck past her flared nostrils. It quickly became clear that she was not used to having it invade her lungs, her grip on Ollie’s left hand loosening for a moment before she regained it with a tight squeeze. Her pupils shrunk to the size of peas, and her panicked, muffled gasps were hard to miss.

Is this really it? … No no, it shouldn’t be! Were she to let go of Oliver and make a mad dash to their home, Talus would have to either carry him on his own and drown on the way up, or do the same as Vivi and let go of Oliver, leaving him to sink all the way back down, and by the time they caught their breath and swam that deep down again, he might be already…

“Hrrrgh…!” Vivi refused to allow that. What’s all the training for this rookie status been for if she’s gonna give up in a situation like this? She couldn’t allow it! She could see Talus carrying that determination the whole way through, and although she only just now started feeling it, it was going to carry her farther than any swimming technique ever could…

The sound of Oliver’s throat also loosening up and gurgling water barely registered in Vivi’s fuzzy mind. Talus, though, did notice it quickly, and he nuzzled his darling’s hand to give him at least a little bit of soothing on the way up. It was definitely rare to see Oliver start to drown first…

“Hgulp. Hrk, grrhgrulp…” Vivi held on as much as she could. She was running on fumes, or vague hints of fumes, by the time the sunlight got too bright to stare at it too much. She and Talus followed the way home by pure instinct, now starting to swim forwards instead of upwards as they kicked past the flooded park…

A few fellow Buis spotted them, and they helped carry the waterlogged Oliver along while the other two held on. Their heartbeats thumped hard, the most obvious sign of life that still persevered even as their vision blurred and their energy was totally exhausted.

Vivi had barely heard Talus taking deep, watery gasps by the time she rolled her eyes up and went limp, landing on the firm and warm stone path along the tribe’s tents as she saw him and Oliver being carried further into safety…

All throughout, Vivi didn’t pass out so much as lay down and get some much-needed rest. The most amount of movement she felt was that of a helpful tribe member scooping her up and bringing her closer to the center of their home.

“…Ghhh…”

The healing aura that surrounded its aquatic palace and tents made itself known soon enough. Vivi clenched her fists and toes, shaking off the numbness even as she still took watery breaths. It had been ages since she felt them firsthand, both the harsh feeling of flooded lungs and that soothing sensation emanating through her body once she had been brought all the way up here.

Once she nudged herself enough to lift her head slightly, she realized she was laying on top of Oliver. “Grnnh…?” Like a late-night partygoer who got two hours of sleep, she could barely move before slumping back down. She felt his chest pumping water in and out, and the occasional shudder of relief once Oliver realized even those breaths were getting the job done.

Talus, surprisingly, was in a much more enviable position. The brave Bui huffed and exhaled deeply, healing-infused water flowing through him, with his face pressed nice and snug against one of Oliver’s feet. Once his numbness went away enough, he could even feel that toe ring brushing up against his cheek… along with a playful, weak rub.

Talus slowly pulled himself up, past his lover’s exposed crotch and above his round belly.

Once he was awake enough for it, Oliver gave him a shaky smile.

“…No, the fingers go here! Hang on, you— yeah, one there and two there!” Vivi guided Oliver carefully as they patiently figured out the mystery of this ancient flute… namely, how to play it good. The trio all sat in Talus and Oliver’s tent together, though maybe in a more unusual position than expected.

Oliver played a note that almost sounded good, and the joy of it was easy to see on his blushing face. “Ooh, ooh, I’m getting it! Kinda! Aw, thanks Vivi! You really — mmph… — really know your stuff, haha!”

“Aw, you flatter me a lot, Ollie.” Vivi kept her mind focused on something else, though she still took the time to help Ollie with this. “I just stick with what I’ve learned from all the research I’ve brought home and… Um… You doin’ good over there, Talus? Heheh…”

Talus kept quiet. Not that he was mad or anything — quite the opposite! He leaned back and tilted his head to the side, staring at his lover with a relaxed, if embarrassed expression. There were just a few things that made it easy to be distracted in here…

Namely, the feeling of Vivi’s soft soles rubbing up against his dick. And Oliver’s dick, too.

“Gosh, that good, huh~?” Vivi teased him slightly, leaning a bit closer to really rub them up nicely. She even slipped Talus’s dick between her toes a bit, though she had a harder time doing the same to Oliver’s larger cock. “It’s the least I can do for keeping me safe, fellas… I do appreciate it a lot. Successful mission, too! Gosh!”

“…Uh huh, y-yeah…” Talus wasn’t gonna say much anytime soon, not with his subby brain turning to mush. “N-Never in doubt…!” His hand shifted in place a bit to rest on top of Oliver’s, touching it tenderly…

The staleness of that deep, distant air pocket paled in comparison to the heated, yet fresh air that lingered in the tent that afternoon. Vivi didn’t stop until both of her footpaws were coated in cum… And even then, the happy little tangents about ancient societies barely skipped a beat.