Date: Fri, 4 May 2018 09:13:36 +0000 (UTC)
From: Andrew Bailey <feare909@yahoo.com>
Subject: Aquata Cove - Epilogue 1 [EDITED]

Aquata Cove
Epilogue 1


"We have to stun it! Keep it from reaching the others!" Savarna orders. A
few hunters swim swiftly around the ravenous Relic Rockfish -- an ancient
species of fish that are due to sleep for decades at a time, and become
full of rage and blood thirsty when awoken from an outside source.

"If we cannot lull it, we must drain it of its blood until it stops!"
Brishen says as he stabs a scaled knife into the enraged behemoth, "Noita
Savarna, your healing will need to be quick!"

"No!" Savarna acknowledged, "We must try not to harm it! I will try to ease
its rage with the cold!" Before she finished her sentence, a flow of frost
already pours and races from her hands and from her staff. The Relic
Rockfish thrashes around its restraints, the giant specimen shaking the
very reef that surrounds them.

"Noita Savarna!" A mermaid screams as rocks begin to shift and crumble
above them. Savarna's eyes lock onto the moving rocks, just before shards
of glowing ice spontaneously grow and form to freeze the rocks into
place. More rocks start to lower from the forceful struggles of the beast,
prompting more glances from the Noita and freezing the crack solid just
from her stares.

"SISTER!!!"

"What?!" Savarna turns, and gasps as she sees a white and black merman
swipe and flip in the water against several monstrous eels, "Nalcious
Eels?! THIS close?!"

"There is a school of them! The Guardian will not come to my call!" Cotei
shouts as he cuts and spin in melee.

"Not good..." Savarna growls, "We have not even arrived yet!"

"Mother! Watch out!" Comes a young voice as a small trident strikes onto
the gaping maw of the Relic Rockfish.

"SON! Get back to the others!" Savarna panics at an Arctic Veil merman, "It
is not safe!!"

"It was going to devour you, Mother!" Tenshi says as he tries to hold the
large creature.

"Do not hurt it, Son! Get back NOW!"

"AH!" Tenshi's trident snaps in half just as he gets back. The creature
charges forward at the small Adra.

"NO!"

"Get DOWN!" Comes a sudden voice. A blue and silver blur races around them,
and knocks the Relic Rockfish to the side by sheer momentum of the water.
Savarna gasps as the newcomer rings out a strange echoing sound, stopping
the Relic Rockfish in its place, "ARNAAV! The poison!"

"I'm on it!!" Says a quick flash of gleaming orange rolls forth, glimpsing
what appears to be spike-like barbs jabbing at specific spots between the
slabs of stone on the fish's body.

"Theros Arnaav! Left and right!" Calls a young turtle merman as he shields
himself. The one with the orange scale turns into the water, withdrawing
into a tight-fit crouch before an eel assaults him with its teeth. A blade
shoots from under the small fortress and rips into the eel's mouth. A
three-pronged spear flies through the water and slays the other eel on
Arnaav's area.

"Brother! Do not harm it! That is a Relic Rockfish!" Savarna yells as she
freezes an eel to a cavernous wall with her icy glare.

"I know!" Merrick says as he takes his a barb from his gear, and stabs into
the Relic Rockfish's mouth.

"What are you doing?!" Cotei asked as he sees wisps of blood around the
creature.

"Quick, remove the barbs immediately!" Merrick tells Cotei, "And do not let
them cut you!"

"W-What??"

"Do as he says, Brother!" Savarna says as she swims quickly out of the
cave. She sees several Nalcious eels, and a handful of different merfolk
swimming about fighting them. "Brother, Little Brother has not been able to
summon Guardian Leviathan."

"It is already within the domain, it will not hear us. There are not many
eels left."

"Are you serious?! Look at them all!" Savarna says out loud.

"Naomi! Now!" Merrick says as he swims with a strange, delicate crystal.

"Yes!" Says a flash of a mermaid as she swoops in and takes the crystal
from Merrick's hand. She smashes the item with her hand, and released a
steady, melodious cry from both the shards and her voice. Immediately, the
mermaid creates a spiraling vortex that drifts rabidly with her. The
Nalcious eels are instantly drawn to the sound of the white aurora, as if
they are being called, "Noita Nerissa!"

"Now," The blue and yellow mermaid flares with glowing yellow spikes, and
goes into a raging tackle into the thin horde of eels. The blades of light
shred into the fiendish creatures in one fell swoop, while several other
members of the Kenovani and the other Piscien merfolk nearby dispatch the
stragglers.

"What... WAS that?" Savarna asked, awestruck.

"Contained resonance." Merrick says, "Freezing and trapping the call of
several mermen, and then tempered by ice."

"I have never heard of such a thing, Brother."

"Mother!" Adra Tenshi swims quickly to the both of them, followed closely
by Cotei, "The Relic Rockfish! I-It's starting to fade!"

"It is?? Brother, you said poison..." Savarna turns to him, "You did
not..."

"Ask Theros Arnaav, those barbs Brother is holding are his tools." Merrick
says as he indicates the sharp spiral-shells he's holding.

"Theros?" Savarna asks as she sees the otter merman comes to them, wearing
many orange tear-shaped scales around his body, much like samurai
armor. "You. Did you poison the Relic Rockfish??"

"Yes, with Sazae toxin." Arnaav says as he takes the used barb-like shells,
"It is not lethal unless ingested in enormous quantities; it is a poison of
sleep." He puts the barbs away, "One of our members is plagued with random
outrages, so we must dose him with the toxin when it strikes."

"You utilize Sazae toxin?" Cotei asked, "How can you even manage to get
near one without falling asleep?"

"With tedious difficulty." Arnaav frowns with his short arms crossed.

"The battle is over, I see?" Asks Syrinx, swimming up to them with a
handful of the other scouts and otherwise non-combatants, along with their
Razirah.

"I believe so." Triton Hecolt tells her, "Are all of you safe?"

"Yes. Not one of us are injured." Syrinx answered, "Where is Sabrina?? Did
she make it??"

"I am here, Mother." Says a smaller mermaid, armed with a spear and
double-edged dagger. This one holds an orange-yellow coloration of her body
with a slender whale-like tail and a short unicorn horn on her head as she
comes to Syrinx.

"Thank you for intervening." Savarna says, "I feared we were going to have
to harm it after all."

"What made the Relic Rockfish rampage in the first place?" Merrick asked as
Brishen came up to them, "Did your brilliant Theros get brave again?"

"Yes. I challenged a sleeping and revered and vulnerable creature just when
we are about to enter the most sacred sanctuary of all Piscien merfolk."
Brishen says with a dulled leer.

"I had a feeling you would." Merrick smirked.

"By the Sea Mother, Merrick!" Brishen exclaims.

"Several Lava Prawns tried to make a cave out of the Relic Rockfish's
body. Their heated venom is what made it thrash."

"Excuse me, but..." Comes a voice. Savarna looks, and then gasps quietly.
The mermaid from before that took the fragile crystal Merrick is
approaching them. This mermaid's form shimmers all around her white,
cloak-like fins and body. Savarna drifts closer to her, reaching carefully
as she looks at this mermaid's sapphire blue eyes.

"Who... Are you?" Savarna asked. The mermaid before her is no doubt a
female Arctic Veil, but looking at her, it's as if she's... Looking through
time itself, "Who are you? You resemble exactly like..."

"Sister." Merrick puts a hand onto Savarna's shoulder. He smiles at her
before he swims around and behind the Arctic Veil, "I thought she may shock
you, given her appearance. It has been so many years since I... Since I
wanted her to meet you..."

"Who is she, Brother?"

"Sister..." Merrick rubs the mermaid's arms tenderly, "Her name is
Naomi. And..." Merrick's heart beats mercilessly with anticipation, "I want
you to meet my Daughter."

"Your Daughter???" Savarna asked with shock, "You have a child, Brother?!"

"I have waited so long to meet you, Noita Savarna." Naomi says to her,
giving a formal bow.

"H-How is that possible??" Savarna asked, "Are you not mated to a man,
Brother??"

"The humans have their ways, Sister." Merrick says with a smile.

"I have always wanted to meet you all." Naomi said, "But Father never
wanted me to go far from the land, in fear of the ocean, even when he goes
to the Kenovani."

"Naomi..." Cotei says as he circles her, completely amazed, "Forgive me for
staring, but you look exactly like... OUR Mother..." He said with awe,
"Except the eyes." Cotei smiles with wonder as he looks at her deep and
vivid royal blue eyes. "You have my Father's eyes."

"Are you my... Uncle?" Naomi says with word in a very strange way --
merfolk have no such terminology.

"Your what?" Cotei asked with a raised brow, not entirely sure how to
pronounce that.

"It is a word the humans use for the brother of a parent." Naomi explained,
"The word for the sister of a parent is known as an `Aunt'"

"We merfolk are few in any pod." Savarna says, "We practically never have
enough brothers and sisters to create such words. But how is it that we
never met? I see she is 16 years of age. Why wait so long, Brother?"

"Naomi is part human... I was afraid how any of you would react... Even a
few of the Kenovani see her as... I'd rather not say..." Merrick says.

"That is absurd, Brother." Savarna says as she looks at the coy mermaid
before her.

"And besides, I couldn't risk you breaking the Sacred Laws for talking to
her for being part human."

"And what of Grandmother?" Naomi asked, "You were saying that I look like
her... Is she here?"

"Yes, I am here." They turn and smile as they see Umiato swim slowly up to
them. Merrick looks his head up, and smiles with endearing relief as he
sees her, "Here, come closer to me, child." She gestures. Naomi obeys and
floats to her. Naomi is significantly shorter and smaller than Umiato, and
her body is much brighter and vivid than the older mermaid; Umiato's
veil-like fins are a lot less reflective than they used to be, and her fins
are even withered to a degree. Their eyes are of different colors --
Umiato's eyes are silver while Naomi's are blue.

"Astounding..." Umiato says as she strokes Naomi's cheek, "I dare say I am
looking into a mirror through time, with my Son's eyes looking back upon
me."

"Whoa..." Adra Tenshi says as he looks at the both of them; they are
virtually identical!

"I sense a peculiar yet familiar presence inside of her," Umiato comments
before she looks to Merrick, "Tell me. Has she inherited more than my
appearance?"

"She has power, Mother." Merrick nods, "She is more or less self-taught,
but she holds the blood of a Noita within her."

"I see. Remarkable..." Umiato says, "With your blessing, Son, I would teach
her how to utilize her power while we are here."

"Do you mean that, Mother??" Merrick asked with surprise.

"I do. Ever since your Brother and his Noita have succeed the pod, I have
little else to do than offer seldom requested words."

"You will truly teach me, Grandmother??" Naomi asked, "W-Will I be able to
understand?"

"We will see what you are able to do, and then I will show you what you are
able to reach."

"I would also like to teach you what I know, but I must look over my Pod,
Naomi. I will spare what time I have for you." Savarna tells her.

"Savarna." Comes a merman swimming to them, holding his trident in his
hands. An Arrow Shark merman with shaded teal skin with lines of metallic
bronze lines formed around his body and rigid muscular structure, "The
Ningyo have cleared and repaired the path.

"Of course, you have met my Triton, Aalton." Savarna introduced as she
holds onto his beefy arm.

"Merrick. Welcome." The shark merman nodded. "Unless I am mistaken, these
other merfolk do not belong here." He says, indicating the Amniens and
Holsiens of the Kenovani, "As a Triton of the Piscien merfolk, I ask that
you leave, for you are too close to our Kingdom."

"The boundary is beyond the cave, Aalton." Savarna says, "You will have to
excuse my mate. He is rather obsessive about firm technicalities. Even more
so than Father was."

"There is nothing obsessive with following the laws." Aalton states before
he turns to the other merfolk, "Coshiton or not, your place is not here."

"We are all aware, Piscien Triton." Arnaav tells him, "We of the Kenovani
still look after our own, as does your pod. We will leave to go to our
Kingdoms."

"Arnaav." Merrick says, "You be careful now."

"Yes, Merrick." Arnaav smiled as they gripped each other's forearms before
they pull into a tight hug.

"Uncle Arnie," Naomi says as she comes up to him. The adult otter turns and
smiles as she hugs him, "Stay safe, ok?"

"Yes, Naomi. Same to you." He says as he nuzzles her affectionately before
giving a signal to the others.

"Keep your eyes open, Syrinx." Merrick bids her, "And try not to worry your
Mother, Sabrina." He added with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you still owe us rent, Sabrina." Naomi says with a smirk as she hugs
the other mermaid.

"For a grand total of one month?" Sabrina replies with a playful shove, "I
will still need to find a job when we get back home."

"Let's go." Triton Hecolt says, "Sister..." He looks to Nerissa, his half
Piscien half Holsien sibling, "Remember what we discussed..."

"I know. You too."

"Right. Move out." He ordered the Kenovani, prompting Arnaav, Syrinx, and
Sabrina to them as well as the other Coshitons, and called the Capricorn to
come with them.

Arnaav peddles his webbed feet as he sets his used barbs aside, before
moving his paw onto his chest, and taking the diamond-shaped locket that
hangs around his neck. Clicking it open, he smiles as he looks at the small
picture of him and his wife -- Fumiko having Arnaav on his back in his true
form, rubbing his furry tummy.

"I miss Kevin already..." Syrinx says as she and Sabrina swim with him, "He
begged us not to go."

"Yes... I suppose it is hard on all of us who have a mate on land or a
different creed." Arnaav says as he clicks the locket closed.

"The last I heard of you, you two were trying to have a baby, yes?" Syrinx
asked him, "Have you...?"

"No. Not yet..." Arnaav shook his head, "I really want to, and so does
she..." He sighed sadly, "But you know as well as I do how it is with us
merfolk... Breeding his hard enough as it is..."

"Still, your mate is human though." Syrinx says, "That has to bring your
chances up, right?"

"Heh, I suppose..." He purrs sadly, "It's only been a week, but I feel so
lonely without her..."

"Stay strong, Theros." Syrinx says as she grasps his shoulder clad in the
carp-armor, "It is only for a year."

"Yes..." Arnaav sighed. He almost wanted to try and resist the call of the
Kingdom. He misses the cuddling so much...


---12 Years Ago---


Fumiko comes along the mossy rocks of the small grotto of her late
grandparents' estate, where her pet otter undoubtedly waits for her.
Usually happy to come to her adorable creature, this time holds sad news.
Holding a pail of treats for Mizu, Fumiko smiles as she sees the cute fuzzy
otter waiting for her. He's gotten big, he's probably very old for a sea
otter, and yet he never runs out of energy for her.

"Mizu~!"

"Rrrhh?" The otter looks up at her... And he's shaking. His eyes look
frightful as she comes to him.

"[Hiiii Mizu, good boooy,]" She coos affectionately as she strokes his wet
furry cheek. She pets him softly and as he bows his head gently. "[Awwww,
what's wrong, Mizu?]" After she pets over his head a few times, his paw
reaches up, and stops her, "Hm?"

"Foo... Fumiko..." Mizu utters. The young adult women's eyes widen as her
name is spoken by the otter!

"[W-What?? Wha... What??]"

"Fumiko...?" The otter says, "I... [I am... I-I don't know how to say
this...]" Mizu speaks in perfect and fluent Japanese.

"[You... You talk?!]" She exclaims as she backs away, "[M-Mizu! You, you
can talk?!]"

"[Yes... I always have been able to talk...]" He confesses.

"[What?! But you're otter! How can you speak?!]"

"[As easily as you do... I just needed to figure out how...]"

"[But can other otters talk?! How did you learn?!]"

"[My kind can... Other otters like me.]"

"[So... If you can talk... Does that mean kitsunes are real?!]" Fumiko
asks, "[I thought they were myths!]"

"[I am not a kitsune, Fumiko.]" Mizu tells her, "[As far as I know, fox
spirits like that are human-made legends.]"

"[Then... What ARE you? You ARE a sea otter, aren't you??]"

"[With my fur looking like this?]" He asked as he points out the smoothly
ornate pattern along his belly fur along the fur bordering around his neck
and sides, "[And a black symbol on my chest?]"

"[So are you an otter or not?]"

"[I am... But I am more...]" Mizu says, shaking with terror, almost crying.

"[Mizu, you're shaking.]" Fumiko observes as she gently pets along his
sides, "[What's wrong?]"

"[I'm afraid, Fumiko...]" The otter whimpers, "[I am terrified... I can't
lie to you anymore, and I am afraid you won't love me anymore...]"

"[Lie to me? You have been lying to me??]" Fumiko furrows her brow in
confusion, "[How? All my life, I thought you were just a special
otter. What are you telling me, Mizu?]"

"[Th-That is not my name...]" He says as he shakes his head as his paws
weakly pushes her arm away, "[My name is not `Mizu'... I let you give me
that name because it made you happy...]"

"[Then what IS your name?]" She asks, "[Mizu... Um, Otter... Just talk to
me. What are you so afraid of?]"

"[Fumiko...]" The otter sniffles as he rubs one of his eyes before he looks
at her, "[I love you. I've loved you all my life.]"

"[Aww, I love you too, Mizu.]" Fumiko says as she scratches into the
emotional animal's cheek fur.

"[No... You don't...]" Mizu shook his head, "[You only love what you are
looking at... You've never loved me the same way as I have loved you...]"

"[What?]"

"[I have always loved you, and I have always been scared if you even knew
me, knew what I am, you would hate me... Your grandmother and grandfather
were terrified of me, were they not? Calling me a kitsune and putting up
those tags of paper to keep spirits away...]"

"[Then tell me, Mizu; what exactly are you saying to me??]"

"[My real name... My true name...]" Mizu's shaking paw digs into the
hand-made pouch on his side, and drew out a small braid of white hair,
adorned with small orange and cyan beads. The otter gulped as he holds it
to her, "[Put... Put this around my wrist... Fumiko.]"

"[A braclet?]" Fumiko takes it while Mizu puts his arm out. She laces the
thin braid around his wrist and tied it into place. "Hhh!" Fumiko gasps as
the fur on Mizu's arm immediately recedes into his light brown skin. Her
eyes follow the change along Mizu's arm as it also changes in shape,
assuming the look of a human arm. The fur on his other arm as well as his
legs disappear as well as his limbs lengthened slightly. Fumiko stares as
the otter's shape shifts into a humanoid form until he completely changed.

A teenage young man looks at her with those brown eyes, a patch of
mid-short brown hair on his head, with the only thing that has remained
unchanged is the equipment he wears and the black tattoo on the left side
of his chest. His whole body is still dripping wet with seawater.

"[You! You are... Arnaav?!]" Fumiko exclaims, "[You are the quiet friend
from Hawaii! I've known you for years!]"

"[No...]" Arnaav says as he looks away; only now does Fumiko hear the
similarities of his voice, as there was a slight difference to how he
sounded a few minutes ago, "[You never truly knew me...]"

"[So this is what you meant when you said you lied.]"

"[I never meant to lie, Fumiko.]" Arnaav tells her with eyes rimming with
emotion, "[I was never allowed to be near you in the first place.]"

"[What are you saying now?]"

"[I am a merman, Fumiko... And I was what you would call a `Prince' amongst
my kind... But when I was young, very very young, I was banished... I
didn't see you for a long time after that... And when I found you again
several years later, I was so happy.]"

"[Wait... You were banished? How, why? Is it, wait...]" She puts
two-and-two together, "[Were you banished because we met before?]"

"[Exactly. I was too young to understand, and I couldn't come back to you
because I was so ashamed of what happened to me. That or I was just too
upset to think clearly.]"

"[Just how young were you?]"

"[You are just a little older than me, right? I am 15 years old anyway, but
I don't know exactly how old I was when I was banished, but if you know the
years, you can do the math.]"

"[So all this time, you pretended to be my pet, for what?]"

"[Are you angry with me?]"

"[I... I actually don't know.]" Fumiko sighed.

"[This is exactly why I never told you the truth -- because I am afraid of
losing you like this...]" Arnaav looks down as he shifts, "[I learned your
language so I can understand and communicate with you, but you acted as if
you did not or didn't want to notice me when we were younger. The only way
you shown me the same affection I have for you was when I am in my true
form...]"

"[Do you really love me, Miz- Arnaav?]" Fumiko asks, "[If you would have
told me...]"

"[Yes. I always have loved you. But to be honest, humans are so
unpredictable -- Yuri-Sensei told me what a situation like mine would
portray my nature to you -- to what humans would call a `stalker', or
`obsessed', when really,]" Arnaav sniffles as he wipes his eyes, "[I just
don't know how to be both your pet instead of your mate any longer, and
even I think that asking you to share my feelings is not proper.]"

"[Wait, Yuri? As in Umiyama Yuri? I know her, does she know about you
too?]"

"[Yes, she was the one I asked to teach me your language. And I know you
used to have affections for Merrick, my closest friend...]"

"[U-Uhh, I...]" Fumiko blushes slightly, "[Alright, yes. I did used to have
a crush on him. But he learned enough crude Japanese to tell me he has a
boyfriend. That was a long time ago, why are you bringing him up?]"

"[He too is a merman like me. ]"

"[He is?! Merrick-kun is a merman?!]"

"[Well, yes. But not like me -- I am a Dawn-Break Otter merman, and he is a
Navyn Bolt merman; he appears like that of a blue and white fish.]"

"[How?! And is there anyone else I should know about who is a merman or a
mermaid?!]"

"[That YOU know? No, there is no one else.]"

"[But why tell me that?]"

"[I don't know... Maybe to give you a broader understanding... I honestly
don't know...]"

"[So why tell me now? About how you're a merman?]"

"[Merrick and his husband Adam, and Yuri-Sensei and HER husband... They
hold each other and love each other, and I just see them, and all I can
think about is you and me, and how you don't love me like that...]" Arnaav
shakes his head, "[It hurts more than I know... It's like...]" The boy
frowns as he takes his bracelet and unties it. Taking it off reverts him
back to his original appearance, like that of mystical sea otter with
elaborate designs of his fur.

"[You think I can only love you when you're like this?]"

"[And that's not enough for me anymore... But I feel like it's not fair
just to ask you to change your affections to me like this. I know it's a
lot to ask, but... I want to broaden my life for you. I don't want to just
be your pet anymore, and it hurts that that might not happen.]"

"[Mizu, it may not be able to happen anyway.]"

"What??" Arnaav looks up to Fumiko.

"[That is actually what I came here to tell you about, and I wasn't
completely convinced if you'd even understand.]"

"Tell me what?? I-I mean, [Tell me what?]"

"[Mizu, I have graduated high school, and I have been accepted in a
university that is far away from here. And so I will not be living here
anymore.]"

"What?? Noo..." The otter whimpers sadly at her, "No, please, Fumiko,
[Don't go away!]"

"[I have to, most of my things have been packed away as it is.]"

"[T-Then... Take me with you! I'm willing to still be your pet, just please
don't leave me behind, Fumiko!]"

"[I, ah... Can you even?]" Fumiko asked.

"What?"

"[CAN you come with me? Don't you need to stay here in the sea?]"

"[N-No, not necessarily. I have found that I can stay away from the sea for
a few months, but as long as I stay near and in the water on a regular
basis, I will be fine!]"

"[But don't you have a family??]"

"[I see them when I can, but I have told you that I was banished, I have to
stay away from them. This is where I live because you live here.]"

"[So, you CAN come with me.]" Fumiko nodded, "[But what about YOUR things?
Clothes, items, do you even have a phone?]"

"[I can get what I need, all I need is time. I can stay in the sea if I
have to!]"

"[Alright, look, um... I will be moving a long way away from here -- I am
living in a dorm house with my cousin, it's not too far from the beach,
here...]" Fumiko takes her phone out and brings up a map of Japan from
Google, and shows it to Arnaav, "[We are here,]" She pointed to a location,
"[And I will be moving somewhere near here.]"

"[I can know it, I can find my way around.]"

"[But do you know anything about a human's way of life? Can you work, you
will have to earn your keep or get a job.]"

"I know, I know how," Arnaav nods, forgetting to speak Japanese again,
"Merrick's husband Adam has taught me and let me help him where HE works."

"[Mizu, I don't know a lot of English, what are you saying??]"

"[S-Sorry, but yes, Merrick and his husband has taught me to work, I know
how to clean and wear clothes and other things. I don't even need to-]"

"[Alright, alright. Put your bracelet back on.]" Fumiko tells him.

"H-Huh?"

"[Just go ahead and put it back on.]" She says. Arnaav looks at the small,
thin braid before putting it back around his wrist. Now a little dryer,
Arnaav's body morphs back into his human form.

"O-Ok..." He is starting to shake from the water lowering his temperature.

"Arnaav," Fumiko rubs his cheek, "[I want to get to know the real you. I'm
not going to lie, you are so adorable in your other appearance, and I did
not think a lot about you back in Hawaii, but I still have my feelings for
you, and I feel I should at least give you a chance.]"

"[Then you'll let me come with you??]"

"[If you can, do you even have a citizenship?]"

"[A what?]"

"[Never mind, that's another thing we will work on.]" Fumiko smiles wryly,
"[I mean, I guess we'll need to think of a backstory for you.]"

"[So I can come?? Please??]"

"[Heh heh, yes, yes you can, Mizu.]" Fumiko says as she sees the joy start
to emerge from the teenage boy in front of her, before she removed the
bracelet again, turning Arnaav back into an otter, "[I just can't leave my
pet behind anyway, right?]"

Arnaav chippers as he moves forward and cuddles up against her. Fumiko
chuckles as she hugs the furry creature back as his arms hold around her
back.


---12 Years Later---


Arnaav clicks the locket closed and tucks it safely back under his armor,
"So last I heard, the two of you were trying to have a baby?" Syrinx asked
as she and Sabrina swim next to him.

"We've been trying. But you know how it is with us..." Arnaav tells her.

"Humans seem to have a positive effect on our breeding though. Me and Kevin
managed just fine with Daughter here." She said with a smile as Sabrina
nudged at her.

"I hope so..." Arnaav nods before they continue onward.


~~~


"Speaking of which, what of YOUR Father? My Grandfather...?" Naomi asks.

"He..." Savarna bows her head.

"What?"

"Oh yes, where is Father?" Merrick asked, "I've been very..." He trails off
as he notes the sad look on Savarna's face. He turns to Cotei, who also
averts his eyes, "Sister...? Brother..."? Merrick furrows his brow, "Where
is Father?"

"Son... I am sorry..." Umiato says.

"Mother, what?" His eyes widen as Umiato covers her eyes as she lowers her
head. A blanket of invisible weight sinks into his face as he starts to put
the clues together, "What..."

"Father... Brother, I am sorry..." Cotei says as he turns his gaze from his
elder sibling. "Father has... He passed on..."

"What? No... No, when was this??" Merrick asked. His insides take a very
deep plunge as he looks at the merfolk before him. His face feels a very
strange flux of sensations as the solid fact sunk into his brain, "What
happened, when did this occur, why didn't you tell me of this??"

"4 moons ago..." Cotei answers, "His body was not able to grant him
strength enough to go on after he fought off a giant Sand Ray. It killed
several of our members until we were finally able to stop it... But Father
had already given all that he had..."

"Wait... Grandfather is..." Naomi covers her mouth.

"He did what all Tritons are born to do." Brishen says, "It was an end
worthy of him..."

"Brother..." Savarna says as he looks into Merrick's eyes. His pupils have
shrunk as his eyes take on a hollow shade as his mouth remains
open. "Brother, say something."

Merrick takes several breaths as he takes in this sudden news. His
Father... Triton Kaiken of the Navyn Bolt merfolk... The one who taught
Merrick EVERYTHING to be a Triton... Mercy is for the weak. The Sacred Laws
must be abided at all costs. A Triton and Noita both must have the strength
to carry those who cannot go on. You have forsaken yourself as well as
us. You have erased everything about you. We fight to protect, we fight
with all that we have. Age goes not excuse learning. Your first kill is a
far better opponent than mine was. Tridents are the extension of our
identity as well as our bound and chosen weapon. How long do you intend to
dishonor what I have taught you? You may not receive mercy, for you must be
the one to give it. You have always had my anger, and your Mother's
compassion will temper your hand. The eyes of the pod's hierarchy must see
past everything before the pod. The Guardians will always come to our call,
they will fight to preserve us. Apathy shall not take you. I will not let
you disappear.

`You are my Son.'

"Son, Son!"

"HHH hahh!" Merrick hyperventilates as an icy hand pushes into his chest,
Umiato holding his arm.

"Brother!" Savarna comes to him as flashes and racing glimpses race through
Merrick's eyes. His soul is spiraling like a tempest of a narrow sharp
pierce of wind and metal drill into his center.

"Father! Father, calm down!" Naomi says, also seeing the intense panic and
shock inside of Merrick.

"Merrick, stay strong." Aalton says as he squeezes his shoulders and arms,
"Focus on your breathing."

"He's gone... He's gone..." Merrick whispers with shock, "Why is he
gone...? Why is he gone, why did no one tell me??? HHH! HHH! HHH!" He
clenches his eyes shut as his insides begin to ring.

"Brother! Remember what he said! Remember what he taught you and I!" Cotei
says, sensing Merrick is on the verge of a panic attack, "He taught us we
must hold our strength! We have to carry on, keep composed!"

Merrick pants and whines roughly as he forces down the hurt. Naomi watches
with estrangement as she sees the needle-like storm of his aura starts to
dissolve and twirl like smoking sand, slowly forcing itself into solid
nothing.

"I'm fine... I'm ok." Merrick says as he steadies himself, pushing the
information out of his head as they almost surround him. "I am fine... I'm
fine... Let's just go." His insides feel like a castle of cards --
delicate, barely stable, but very shaky.

"I agree." Aalton says as they start to move.

"Father..." Naomi mutters with a worried tone before she follows them and
stays close to him.

The Pisciens return to the ordained entrance of the cave. They pass by the
now sleeping rockfish as they go. Naomi observes this strange creature; its
flesh is made up of what appears to be rosetta stones and hieroglyphics
carved onto his armor-like body, as well as the fins branded with elaborate
and pictorial symbols, "Father, what is this thing?"

"That is a Relic Rockfish, Daughter." Merrick answered, "They are some of
what we do to record our history. Every century, when we merfolk gather to
our Kingdoms, a Relic Rockfish is hatched, and we carve our most recent
events upon the slabs of rock that cover its body."

"Hatched? Wouldn't an infant be too small to mark?"

"They grow quickly within the span of one year, as we understand it. And
they sleep through most of their lives, and awaken only to see to immediate
needs. Ghhhhh." Merrick whines as his emotion starts to push in his chest.

"S-Son..." Umiato comes to him, her eyes observing that Merrick is still
struggling with his shock.

"W-Was this what was causing the commotion??" Naomi asked as she looks at
the chipped corners and ground-up scrapes and at Merrick, feeling very
antsy about him at this time.

"Yes. Lava Prawns were hurting it and it went on a rampage." Savarna says
as she too keeps an eye on Merrick -- his stability has always been in
question, to be honest.

"W-Which reminds me, Brother." Cotei brings up, trying to keep Merrick's
mind on the topic at hand, "How did you know how to call to it for it to
stop moving?"

"The Relic Rockfish and the uh... The Capricorns, they are both ancient
creatures. I ventured a guess that using the same signal I do for the
Capricorn would at least do something." Merrick suppresses himself
successfully as he floats up and pushes himself forward.

"We should probably learn such a signal then." Cotei ponders.

"Doubtful. It's hard on the voice to try and communicate with the
Capricorns at all; they understand only a complex and harsh signal and
song, it almost ails your throat." Merrick says as he rubs his neck.

The merfolk swim through the tunnels encrusted with various coral branches
growing from the rocks, leading to a cavernous area where much more merfolk
are waiting for them.

"Cotei, is everyone alright?" Asks a rather spikey mermaid, covered in
quills and sharp spines, "I pray the Relic Rockfish was subdued?"

"Yes, with the help of passing Coshitons." Cotei says to her as he swims
quickly to her. He lowers his voice to a whisper as he goes to her,
"Brother has found out about my Father -- try and keep him distracted with
talk..."

"Yes, I see." She says as she glances at him -- his spirit looks very
fragile, like a figure of ash just a few breaths away from falling apart.

Merrick tilts his head as he looks at this thorn-riddled mermaid. "I... do
not believe we have met."

"Oh, yes. Brother, this is my mate, Kalliope." He introduced.

"Mate?" Merrick raised his brows, "You mean she is a Noita?"

"And you must be Cotei's banished sibling." Kalliope says quizzically as
she circles him, "I have always wondered how a merfolk would look after
living in the human world for as long as they tell me."

"Heheh, nothing much changes, I assure you." Merrick chuckles, "Only a few
subtle adaptions that I evolve from my mate."

"Um... What?" The nearby merfolk become confused from that statement.

"It's a long story. Let's just say I benefit well from my love, as do we
all."

"And..." Kalliope turns her gaze to the young Arctic Veil besides the
larger one, "I take it you are Merrick's child?"

"Yes."

"You are... Different. You hold an element that I have never seen in a
merfolk before..."

"My mother is a human." Naomi tells him, "Though... I have been told to
keep that silent..."

"Oh! That gives me more sense then." Kalliope concludes, unable to think up
anyway to keep up the conversation while glancing nervously at Merrick.

"Let us move on." Aalton says to them, "We should not occupy this area more
than we must."

Following his blunt instructions, everyone swims further in the
tunnel. Naomi looks all around the wondrously grown coral reaching around
and within from the cavern, becoming more abundant the further they
go. Merrick's insides pounds as he sees the exit, already seeing glimpses
of the ancient ruins of their true home.

The merfolk reach the end of the tunnel, and look out into the vast scape
before them. Like the coral growing in the cave, ancient city has been
constructed and grown into castle-like structures, occupying all manner of
fish and various sea animals and Piscien merfolk swimming in and around in
the Lost Kingdom.

"By the Sea Mother..." Merrick hushes.

"It is even more grand than I imagined..." Savarna says as she gazes upon
it all.

"Gaze well, my children." Umiato says as she holds her arms up, "For we
have made it to the sacred Kingdom of Atlantis. I never imagined I would
live so long as to make it here..." She smiles over the wondrous spires and
buildings made entirely of the precious gem and corals everywhere, "If only
Kaiken was here to see this with me..."

"We have also lost several others who should be here to witness our realm."
Noita Nerissa says.

"Your Mother would be proud to see you have made it here." Says Mindal,
another old member of the Kenovani.

"Come. We are blocking the way once more." Aalton commands.

"Ease your austerity, my love." Savarna tells him, "We have just arrived!
Let us gaze upon our Kingdom."

"There will be much time to gaze upon it. Let us go." Aalton says as he
swims forth.

"HALT!" Commands a mermaid. They look and see a pod approach them, "I see
you are Coshitons. You do not belong here."

"We do not belong to our former pods," Yunmaj replies, also an elder member
of the Kenovani pod, a one-armed angelfish, "We are still children of the
Sea Mother."

"Your marks dictate you have no place among our kind!" A Triton says out
loud, "Particularly abominations such as YOU." He says as he points his
trident at Noita Nerissa.

"You speak of our marks as if you reserve the right to justify your words
alone as solid commands. Would you care for some marks of your own?" She
threatened as her body shimmers with a sinister yellow gleam.

"Your birth should not have happened -- you are of Piscien and Holsien
both! You belong nowhere!"

"I sincerely hope you are prepared to reinforce your words with your
might." Merrick says as he draws his harpoon.

"YOUR words mean nothing. As does the Arctic Veil beside you." The hostile
Noita says. Naomi leers back at her with hurt eyes, "She is no true
mermaid. She is merely an imposter -- a pretender!"

A shark merman swims forward, taking his weapon into his hands, "You rogues
are not welcome here." He says as he looks at Naomi, drawing a knife from
his own belt, "And I will not let you sully our holy kingdom with your
filth!"

He grips his blade, just as the others prepare for a skirmish. Suddenly, a
rather strong hand seizes the merman's wrist just as he charged towards
Naomi, "And you will not blaspheme these waters with your needless
violence." Aalton says darkly as he grasps the other's wrist, "This young
mermaid has done nothing to inspire your personal retribution. I ask that
you quell yourself."

"Agh! Aalton! What do you-"

"I am TRITON Aalton now, Cetus." The larger shark corrected him, "You will
address me properly." He holds the other steadily. Merrick watches with a
bit of shock at Savarna's husband -- given his attitude, protecting Naomi
is certain unexpected...

"You stand with them?!" Cetus says, trying to yank his arm away, "That
mermaid behind you is not worthy of even our sight! She carries the scourge
of humanity in her blood! She is a monstrosity!"

"She is also none of your concern." Aalton says as he leers down, "What you
are trying to do is completely trivial, not to mention brutishly pathetic,
and outlandishly sacrilegious. And besides, if this mermaid is as evil as
you say, would the Ningyo not slay her on sight?"

"You are letting a monster in our midst!" He growls, "She has power that
does not belong to her! Better to let a Latolcus loose upon us all!"
Aalton's eyes widen from that, "You have forgotten the past of what such
creatures will do! Do you truly wish to repeat-"

Suddenly, Aalton's hand jerks up and cracks that wrist, and yanks it to
him. He grits his sharp teeth as he grips onto the other

"Speak NOT of my Father, Cetus..." Aalton seethes with a sudden bout of
silent and vicious rage, "Or I will give you the same wrath that I gave to
him; to be sent to the next realm without the jaws he used to plunder the
life of our Noita." Aalton's hand tightens steadily onto Cetus's hand,
seriously closing in on breaking it completely.

"Triton Aalton, ease your anger." Umiato tells him, "The Disciples come."
Aalton leers down on Cetus before he throws his arm from him. Then turn to
see three merfolk to them, all of them having a silvery sheen on their
bodies. They approach the large group of merfolk with a peaceful approach.

"Children of Atlantis..." Says the one in the middle with a dreary voice,
"We bid you welcome to your home of origin. Naomi looks closely into these
merfolk's eyes. Instead of images or memories, all she can see is mist and
clouds and white light. Their eyes are dulled and white, much like the
moon.

"Father..." Naomi touches Merrick's hand, "Who are these merfolk? These are
the Disciples?"

"Yes."

"But... Their eyes..." Several other Disciples come to welcome the other
merfolk, "Are they blind?"

"Yes they are." Merrick nodded, "Mother? Can you explain this? I forget the
entire story."

"When a merfolk is born without sight, one of the Ningyo comes to
them. Blindness is a touch of the Sea Mother, and so they must be delivered
here to the Lost Kingdoms."

"But... Why?"

"Without sight, they can see no lies or vanity of the world. They see only
life and its truths. Instead of living among our kind, the Disciples must
grow in the mystic sanctum of our Kingdom, and witness the moon each and
every night to see Her divinity."

"I have also heard that the Disciples share abilities that would otherwise
be exclusive to genders," Cotei added, "Such as the females are able to
signal animals, and males are able to sing -- able to singularly do both --
through years of beholding the moonlight."

"They preserve the enlightenment of our kind. They ensure our survival
through their virtues."

"Disciple." Calls a Cage-Heart Crab Noita as one nears them, "These
Coshitons do not exist! Tell them they do not deserve to tread upon our
waters."

"Yes... I can see their symbols trailing from their flesh..." A female
Disciple says, seeing the marks radiate like curtains of smoke, "Their sins
are true, yet their souls remain as they are. They must stay."

"But they have violated the Sacred Laws!" Protests another merman, "How can
you allow these rogues to be allowed within our Kingdom?!"

"We are all children of the Sea Mother..." The Disciple explained, "Her
love does not end for so much as a single merfolk... Though banished from
their pods, their penance holds no weight within Atlantis."

"You cannot be serious!"

"And THIS one!" The crab Noita points to Naomi, turning the attention of
the silver merman, "This mermaid is of human blood! Please confirm at once
that she must leave!"

"Human blood, you say..." The blind merman says as his lunar-like eyes
wonder towards Naomi. Naomi frets as she sees him comes near her with his
deep eyes, like orbs of fiber-optic glass, "Traces of alien essence I see
in her..." He observes, "She holds the power of the ice from the cold
merfolk."

"Yes, she has stained her very lineage with her birth, and has stolen power
from our kind." The crab Noita says, "She does not belong here!"

"I am unable to see a corruption that will cause the imbalance of
Atlantis. She is a mermaid among us... She must stay..." Naomi's eyes
brightened as the tranquil merman turns from her.

"But Disciple! She is of the HUMANS! If they may not come here, why must
she-"

"She must stay." He persisted. The Disciple's eyes see a very strange
presence as well next to the Arctic Veil. Merrick looks as those lunar eyes
turn to him, "You... You are... Different..."

"Yes, yes, I am one of the Coshitons." Merrick tells him, "Exiled for
Forbidden Love, mated to a human male."

"No... Your sin is clear as the others, but there is... More..." The
Disciple comes closer as he looks Merrick's over. His hands touch and
explore Merrick's shoulder and side, "... You have been touched by the Land
Father..."

"I have lived upon the land for many years, among the humans." Merrick
tells him, "I suppose their auras have rubbed upon mine."

"No. I sense no humanity in your nature..." The Disciple states as his eyes
peer into the strange energy channeling in Merrick's body. His aura is
slightly different than the others; it's hosting a stream of blackened
yellow light, circulating particularly around his heart and his
mind. Focusing on the foreign energy, the Disciple tries to remember where
he has `seen' this sort of trace before.

"... Strange..." The Disciple says, "I see... The sun, and I do not see the
sun... What are you?"

"... Yes. Yes! I have it..." A female Disciple concludes, "You carry the
darkness of the sun's shadow. You bathed in the slumber of the Land
Father."

"What? When did I... Oh yes, that..." Merrick nodded, remembering that time
two and a half decades ago, "Me and a close friend of mind were stranded on
the shell of a Sazae Graveyard above the surface, and we could not
escape. I protected him, but I could not avoid the shadow... I thought I
was spared."

"The Black Sun has changed you... Yet... Your body shows me no difference."
The Disciple says with fascination, "It has touched your soul and changed
you in a small way, yet you are unharmed."

"I became a shield of ice -- I froze over, but I was dug out. I survived."

"You are... Unique." The Disciple mermaid says, "You must stay..."

"And a Triton... You are a Triton..." The other one says as he feels along
Merrick's harpoon, "This is not... This is not a trident..."

"I am a Coshiton. I have no right to carry a trident."

"But you are a Triton by right... You need a trident..." The Disciple
claims as his fingers stroked the shaft of the spear. Merrick's gills
twitch as he looks around, feeling a weird sensation around him. He looks
about, and notices what seems to be dust particles drifting and slithering
in the water towards him; or rather, towards his harpoon.

More particles cling and gather to the metal hook of the harpoon, but even
the metal seems to be dissolving. Merrick's eyes widen as the sharp point
melts with the gathering sand to reach halfway on the rod. Merrick's hand
feels the wood shift and click within, as well as watching the top of the
spear reach up in a curved form and manifested into a symmetrical pair of
ornate blades with a third kunai-shaped blade emerging in the middle. The
metal/sand dust gathers at the bottom of the harpoon as well, forming a
spear-like blade on the bottom.

"By the Sea Mother..." Brishen says with awe. A merman performing
Reformation without the aid of a Noita... What other rumors about these
Disciples are true?

"NO! I cannot accept this!" One of the prejudice merfolk shouted.

"They must stay..." Another Disciple says.

"They are Coshitons! Abominations! Their very presence is slander against
the Sea Mother!"

"They must stay..." This time, a Disciple's eyes flash a yellow light.

"See reason, Disciples!" A Triton tells them as he draws his own trident,
"These traitors are nothing more than-"

SHNG!

The Triton stops dead in his spot. A golden blade is held on either side of
his neck, as well as a joust pointing to his stomach and his back. As if
they had teleported out of nowhere, a pair of Ningyos are positioned on
either side of him, their arms assumed the shape of weapons and just a hair
away from disemboweling him. The Ningyo appear like that of solid gold
merfolk, both of them having the exact same fish tail, and both of them
having a gracefully curved tear-shaped helmet-like head with only a pair of
shining white eyes to indicate having any sort of facial features.

"Do not let our blindness fool you." Another Disciple says, "The Ningyo are
the law keepers of the Lost Kingdoms, but they will obey no one else but
our word."

"We do not wish you to sully Atlantis with your hatred." Another one says,
"Not all of us Disciples are as soft-tempered and reasonable as we who are
here." With another yellow flash of their eyes, the Ningyo's arms melt and
reform into bodily form, and swim away, with the Disciple glaring his
silver eyes right at the offending Triton.

"They must stay."

The Disciples start to guide pods of merfolk from the spot after the
ranting has been silenced. Naomi looks to the large shark merman who
defended her...

"Aalt- Ah, Triton Aalton?" She spoke up.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked.

"Did you... Really mean what you said?"

"What are you asking?" He asked firmly.

"Um... My Mother is a human, and those merfolk believe I do not belong
here. Do you think I have a right to be here?"

"They claim they see something that does not deserve to pose as our kind
when they look at you. If you are asking what I think of you, I see nothing
more than a mermaid of that I have seen from the icy waters of the world's
summit. And as far as you are concerned, you have not presented cause for
discipline and punishment. I assume that is all you need me to see, yes?"

"I... Yes, yes sir."

"Then we will move on." He dismisses before he swims with Savarna.

"He is very blunt, but fair-minded." Merrick says, "Extremely
straight-forward, which can get bothersome, but he's easy enough to handle
if you can take his very serious attitude."

"What did they mean? He was suddenly angry when his Father mentioned."
Naomi asked.

"Ahhh yes... His Father..." Merrick rolls his head back a bit, "His Father
was a Latolcus."

"A Blood Thief? Like Aunt Belinda?"

"Not even close. Belinda at least sought to redeem herself, and her case
was more accidental than anything, and she never swallowed more blood than
she ever did. Aalton's Father on the other hand... He felt that he deserved
the power more than their Noita did, and, well... You can guess what
transpired, right?

"That's terrible..."

"Anyway, without an Adra Noita to mark him for the crime, the Triton
scarred him, and then he vanished. After 3 years of drinking the blood of
others, Aalton himself fought his father, and he broke his jaws apart."

"Oh my God!" Naomi covers her mouth, "That cannot be easy to even think
about, let alone speak!"

"He doesn't have to speak of it. I was there."

"Hhh!"

"And that Latolcus... He was nearly unstoppable... He was literally drunk
with power and blood. Many pods had flocked to stop him... Aalton was the
only one who could fight him successfully, and broke his head in half."

"I cah, I don't even want to think about it." Naomi moans as she holds her
head, trying to get the graphic images out of her mind.

"And after that, the Ghost Whale swallowed him alive; Aalton himself threw
him into that ethereal mouth." Merrick concluded, "I will never forget the
madness of that night..."

"Oh my God, Father..."

"He also used to be a Theros, before he fell in love with Sister."

"A Theros? Of What?"

"As Brishen is a Theros of hunting, and Arnaav is a Theros of invention,
Aalton was a Theros of philosophy. To this day, he still claims the title
was pointless, as he did not need or want it, yet everyone wanted to hear
what he had to say. Merfolk have sought for his own ways, his views, and
wanted to know the might of the resolve he retained to slay is own Father
and then throw him to a phantom's stomach."

"Wow... Well at least, I am glad he is here."

"Heh, he makes me unsettled, to be honest." Merrick chuckled.

"Yes but... I will never meet Grandfather, but he sounds a lot like how you
described Grandfather."

"He does?" Merrick's insides shift in a glimpse of a moment. He grips his
trident as he forces his mind to stay on a single track, "... I notice a
subtle resemblance myself, but I think Triton Aalton is a lot
more... Forward and understanding than my Father was; I am not certain my
Father would be as casual about letting Coshitons into the Kingdoms as
Aalton is..."

"Well..." Naomi smiles as he sees the bronze sheen from Aalton's body from
a distance, "This will be the closest I will know of Grandfather..."

Merrick's teeth grit as he hears that last statement. His eyes feel very
tense and shaken right now.


~~~A Few Days Later~~~


"The resonance of your song is crucial for most of your power." Savarna
says as she and Naomi flow a steady stream of light to add more crystalline
branches to a tree of coral, "That said, we Noitas do not necessarily need
to sing for us to use great power."

"But normal mermaids are able to control wind and waters to a degree,
right?"

"Yes. The difference in power is just obvious between a mermaid and a
Noita. Even in human form, our prowess can extend when we wish, limited it
may be."

"Yes, the same it is with Father." Naomi says as the branches of solid ice
reach out in more elaborate shape, "He is able to signal animals on the
land if he can hear and understand how they sound. He once made a swarm, or
`school' of these very small animals called butterflies fly and move to his
will."

"Interesting. Your Father used to do that for me when we were
meryin. Brother would have schools of fish spiral and swim in a large
whirlpool of silver flashes."

"Wait, `meryin'?"

"Oh, it is our word for `children', particularly ones who are a few years
older from birth."

"I see." Naomi watches as their ice tree grows larger and larger as the
currents of frost blows around it, "Thank you again for teaching me, Noita
Savarna."

"My pleasure, Naomi. I only wish Brother introduced us sooner." They
stopped with their power to take a break. "Though I wonder. Did your Father
ever let you into the sea? He's had to if you were born a mermaid."

"Of course he did, but he never let me come with him any further. He said
the ocean is too dangerous. And as it was said several times, some of the
members of the Kenovani are not very accepting of me."

"More often than not, this is all true. But we merfolk cannot last long
without the ocean itself."

"I am part human though. The sea does not call to me like it does with
him." Naomi crosses her arms, "I wanted to see so much, and he held me
back..."

"You have to understand," Savarna says, "Brother has lost so much in his
past, including his sanity. At least he could entrust his mate to you."

"It's not that much of a concern..." Naomi dismissed with a sigh, "I just
felt left out and a little lonely than anything. Sometimes it was difficult
to fill the void when he had to go..."


---7 Years Ago---


Naomi frowns as she looks at the ocean with her arms crossed while sitting
at the back porch. It's been about week and a half since Merrick had to
leave again like he always does. Adam walks from the hall and spots his
daughter sulking outside. He sighs as walks over to her outside.

"Miss him already?" He asked her as he sits down.

"No... I'm still kinda mad..."

"Is this about you not being allowed to go on the camping trip too?"

"No, it's not that, Papa. I still hate it that Dad doesn't take me with him
when he has to go back."

"That again, eh?" Adam chuckled, "Honey, you know it's dangerous out
there. Daddy just doesn't want you to get seriously hurt out in the ocean,
he's told you a hundred times."

"But he's in the ocean, and merfolk have kids too, right? Why am I the only
one who has to stay behind? I mean, Sabrina gets to go with Syrinx when she
has to go."

"Sabrina's a bit different, hun." Adam adjusts, "She's... A bit of a rebel
and a fighter. Believe me, Kevin and Syrinx tried stopping her, but she
does not take `no' for an answer."

"It's not fair. I can protect myself just fine."

"That's not the point." Adam tells her, "Sabrina is just different,
Naomi. And look at Theodore; Belinda and Harold doesn't let him wander off
in the sea either even though he's a merman, and he's way older than you."

"Aunt Belinda doesn't go in the ocean, Papa. I just..." Naomi looks over to
the blaring light dancing on the surface, "What if something happens to Dad
that I could help with? I wanna be there... If he just let me try
coming..."

"Sweetie, I have spent years worrying my head off about his safety." Adam
huffs as he puts his arm around her, "Merrick says a lot of things to
happen in the ocean -- it's almost a guarantee. Maybe if you were a boy,
Merrick might feel more comfortable with taking you with him, but you're
not. Merrick doesn't know how to teach a girl how to defend herself."

"I can learn though..."

"Not that easy. It's something you need from the moment you're born."

"It's also lonely without him... Especially like when it's just you and me,
Papa. It gets lonely at home."

"I know, honey. I know. I've had to go through this many times, and I still
worry about him..." The two sit together for a moment before Adam huffs and
gets up, "Come on. Let's go out, Naomi. There's this new BBQ place your
Uncle Jay-Jay has been working."

Naomi sighs before she stands up, "Ok Papa."


~~~


The car soon pulls into a restaurant with wooden statues of tikis and
Hawaiian totems placed all around the building, along with depictions of
various scenes drawn and carved into the wall.

KAHIKO PAKU'I BBQ

Naomi holds Adam's hand as the two of them walk in through the doors and
into the lobby.

"Hey guys!"

"Hi Uncle Jay-Jay!" Naomi says as she trots over to Jamal, who then bends
over and picks her up.

"How's mah girl doing, huh?" He says with a broad grin.

"Wow, look at you, you're looking sharp, Jamal." Adam admires, "What's with
the vest and button-up?"

"Ah yeah, forgot to tell yall." Jamal says before he pulls up a shiny brass
badge on the side of his vest, "Check it!"

Adam looks and sees the words printed on the tab:

[ASST. MANAGER JAMAL]

"Whoa, assistant manager??" Adam raises his eyebrows as he looks at him,
"You only been here a week!"

"Yeah, owner likes how I do things, and the position was open." Jamal
grinned.

"Does that mean you're the boss now, Uncle Jay?"

"Heheh, naw, honey-pot." Jamal chuckles, "I'm like the boss's main
helper. But when she's not around, I get to be the boss for a while."

"Oh cool!" Naomi beamed.

"So... Guess that means you're not coming back to the Dream Waltz then?"
Adam asks.

"Yeah. Sorry, man." Jamal lets Naomi back down and stands back up, "Carla
was a bitch and-"

"Jamal!" Adam snaps as he puts his hands over Naomi's ears just when Jamal
said the B-Word.

"Ah man, sorry." He snickered, "I mean `witch'. She and I don't mix, and
Jerry don't got my back. Loved the place, but I don't think I'm ever comin
back."

"Well that sucks. You used to get me free food! Now the new bartender keeps
telling me to take off my shirt if I want a discount."

"Come on, man, you stopped going for a while before that."

"Mostly because of the way Jerry talked to the kids." Adam says, "And with
Chloe signing up with the police force, the place is just less fun to
work. At least Captain's got me back on full time."

"Hahahahaha, still can't believe that bi-"

"Jaaay" Adam hovers his hands near Naomi's head.

"Aight, aight. I still can't believe that LADY got to be a cop. You know
she a hell-raiser."

"Well, she gets to beat the daylights out of people and get paid for it,
it's what she does."

"Jamal!" Says the manager, "Can I speak to you for a moment? We have a bit
of a situation."

"Aight, be right there!" Jamal calls back before he starts to step away,
"I'll be right back, guys."

"Ok." Just then, Adam's phone starts to ring from his pocket, "Ah, hang
on..." He picks up and holds it to his ear, "Hello? ... Oh hey, Yuri."

"Hhh?! She's up right now?!" Naomi beamed up.

"Yeah!" Adam nodded with a hush, "Yeah, it's about 4PM over here... No
kidding, you sound exhausted."

"Papa, Papa, lemme talk to her! Please!" Naomi begs on her tippy-toes.

"Hahaha, hold on, Naomi wants to talk to you... Oh, that's convenient." He
smiles as he squats down, "She wanted to talk to you too."

"Thanks, Papa," Naomi accepts the phone and holds it to her hear, "Hi,
Mom!"


~~~


"Hi, sweetie~!" Yuri says lovingly as she holds the phone to her in the
middle of a dark hallway.

"[What time is it over where you're at?]"

"3AM, Mama just got off of work a few minutes ago."

"[Why are you up so late, Mom??]"

"Emergency surgery, I've been working for 14 hours straight." Yuri says
with her back leaning against the wall, frankly ready to drop any second.

"[14 HOOUURRS?!]"

"Yes, I can't even walk right now, baby."

"[Are you coming back home then??]"

"Ah, nooo, I'm sorry, honey. I have to stay for a few more days."

"[But it's already been a month! I miss you, Mom!]"

"I miss you too, sweetie. Everyday." Yuri coos tiredly, "What are you doing
now, Naomi?"

"[Me and Papa are at the Kahiko place!]"

"Mmn, doesn't sound familiar, must be new." She chuckled.

"[Uncle Jay-Jay just told us he's the boss's new helper now!]"

Yuri gives a tired snicker from that, "Heh heh, I'm suuuuurrre he is."

"[Huh?]"

"That -- haalllwwwwllll," Yuri yawns and clears her throat, "Sorry,
sweetie, I'm very tired right now. That sounds wonderful for him, dear."

"[Ok. Do you wanna go to bed then, Mom?]"

"Mnnhhh so much, Naomi, but I wanna talk to you some more."

"[Will you call me and Papa tomorrow?]"

"I'm not sure if I can, sweetie. Remember, it might be past your bedtime
when I call you."

"[I can stay up and wait for you, Mom.]"

"Heh heh heh, I wish you could, Naomi. But you have school to go to."

"[Yeah... I miss you so much, Mom... Right now me and Papa are alone at
home...]"

"Ah, so both boys are gone then huh? Heh, you sure you couldn't go on the
camping trip as well?"

"[Uh-huh...]"

"Heh, well talk to your Papa. He has experience with waiting for your Daddy
to come back."

"[Ok, Mom...]"

"And are you keeping up with your Japanese homework?"

"[Yes, Mom.]"

"Mmnn ok. I need to go, Naomi, I can't keep my eyes open anymore."

"[Ok, Mom... Come home soon, ok? Uncle Dennis misses you a lot too.]"

"Hahahahaha, I know I know, he texts me all the time. I'll be home as soon
as I can, I promise."

"[Alright, Mom... Night-night.]"

"G'night." Yuri hangs up and groans as she slowly migrates away from the
spot. She's not even going to make it to the hotel, she'll have to make her
way to the on-call room.


~~~


Naomi presses the red icon on the phone before sadly handing it back to
Adam. Naomi frowns as she sits on one of the lobby seats while they wait
for Jamal to come back. Adam sits next to her and rubs her hand, "I know
it's hard." Adam says, "There were days where I just spent my days
completely alone in the house."

"... So how do you go through it?"

"Well..." Adam huffs, "I just try to pick up extra work, either at the
docks or at the night club. I used to perform as a singer, you know that?"

"Yeah, but I never got to see you sing at that place because of your boss."

"Uh-huh." Adam smiled, "But he was being a total jerk so I stopped playing
for him."

"Hehehe, even Chloe is nicer than him, she's fun!"

"Hahaha, yeah she is. Part of the reason why I stayed at that place."

"Heeeey," Jamal comes back trotting to them, "Sooooo, Adam." He claps his
hands together idly, "Buddy, mah brutha... Best friend..."

"What do you want?" Adam said with a knowing smirk.

"Whaaaaat?" Jamal's voice goes a little high while Naomi giggles, "What
makes you say that?"

"Call it a psychic hunch." Adam stands up and addresses him, "So what's
up?"

"Aight, so, Michelle wanted to do this thing where we got live music, and
the guys we hired ain't showed up yet, or we didn't get the papers cleared
first, I dunno. So... I talked to Michelle, and... Ya know how you like to
do favors for people?"

"The personality trait escapes me." Adam grins with his arms crossed.

"C'mon, man!" Jamal scoffed.

"Lemme guess, you already told her I'd do it."

"Weeeelllll... Kinda, man?"

"Riiiiight." Adam chuckled, "I guess I can spare an hour or two."

"Sweet! You're awesome, bro!" Jamal slaps Adam's arm.

"Do you at least have costumes?"

"Costumes?? Are you kiddin, this is a restaurant!"

"Damn, uh... At least any nicer clothing than... Well, this?" Adam gestures
to himself.

"Uhhh, I'mma go check real quick." Jamal says as he side-steps away and
rushes.

"You owe me for this!" Adam called out.

"What was he talking about, Papa?" Naomi asked curiously.

"Eh your Uncle Jay-Jay volunteered me to do some singing."

"Oh, ok." She nodded. Adam thought for a moment before he squatted.

"Hey, I've got an idea, sweetie..."


~~~


"Ooook, music-mix is all set and ready to play." Adam says as he taps his
iPhone. He is currently dressed in semi-formal suit with a distinct red and
cyan pattern, "Are you ready, Naomi?"

"Yes, Papa." Naomi nodded, the 10-year-old daughter wearing a magenta and
cyan dress with a flower tucked behind her ear.

"Alright, sweetness." Adam and Naomi go to the small center-stage where a
small band was supposed to set up. Adam kneels down and plugs his phone
into the speakers before taking a couple of microphones and handing one to
his daughter, and pressed play on the phone.

A soft twinkle of a nostalgic melody trickles up from the speakers. A few
diners look and smile as they see this father-daughter duet get ready to
take place while the music lifts off.

"...~Whatever you imagine~" Adam begins "~Can one day come to be ~There are
dreams to awaken ~Roads to be taken ~Follow them, and they will set you
free~" The music rolls along before Naomi takes her mic to her mouth.

"~Whatever you imagine~" A few people raise their eyebrows from the
surprisingly clear and fluid voice of the little girl, "~Is where your
heart can go ~There are worlds filled with treasure ~Time without measure~!
~To learn whatever you may need to knoooooow~"

"~Imagine~" Adam sings.  "(~Imagine~)" Naomi hymns.

"~And you and I~" Adam sings as he takes Naomi's hand and leads her around,
"~Can fly paaasst the sun~"

"~And leave aaall~" Naomi continues "(~Leave aaalll~)" "~Our doubts and
fears behind us~"

"~You see, that's just what can ~Happen~" Adam sings as he twirls his
little mermaid gently, "~If you look inside your miiiind~" Naomi spins in a
graceful dance before the spotlight, gaining the endearing gaze of a few of
the adults, "~There's no limit to ~The wonders you can fiiiiinnd~!"

"~~Whatever you imagine~~!" Naomi's voice rings out as Adam hymns with her,
"~Can make your life brand neeeeewww~!" As Naomi sings that last note,
Jamal is still holding his phone up and watching them both perform through
the screen of his phone. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Yuri
peers through her straining eyes at the adorable spectacle from the
illuminating frame of her phone in bed and listening to her little girl
singing her heart out.

"~There are miracles waiting~" Adam kneels down as he dances with her.

"~So keep concentrating~"

"~And I promise you, that if you doooo~" The music calms down for a moment
as Adam waltzes delicately on the small stage by twirling Naomi about
around him, "~Whatever you imagine ~Can come truuuuue~"

The music continues as they dance step by step, Adam occasionally picking
up his daughter to move a playful spin before the rhythm climbs up to a
more dramatic climax. Naomi puts the mic to her mouth again, "~Whatever you
imagine~!"

"~(Whatever you imagine)~"

~Can make your life brand neeeew~" She keeps with the voluminous solo,
"~There are miracles waiting ~So keep concentRAAaaating ~And I promise you
that if you dooooo~"

Adam takes her by the hand and twirls her again "~Whatever you imagine will
cooooommme ~Truuuuuue~" The music taps in an ending twinkle of sound while
the diners clapped for them. Adam notices Jamal's boss motioning for them,
prompting him to turn off his phone. He does so, and gestured to Naomi,
`Let's go', He mouthed.

The two of them exit and meet up with the tanned lady with grey hair, "So
how was that?" Adam asked.

"Beautiful, very nice, just wonderful." She clapped gently, "But honestly,
NOT matching the current mood of the room."

"Whaaaat?" Adam huffed with a scoff.

"I thought we were good though, it's one of our favorites." Naomi says.

"Yes, it was, honey. It was very delightful." The manager says, "I was just
hoping for something a little more upbeat, that's all. I wasn't looking for
anything `inspirational' themed, to be honest."

"Haahhh, alright alright, upbeat, got it." Adam nods, "How about Hawaiian
Roller Coaster Ride?" He suggested with a hint of sarcasm. Frankly it's a
blatant turn-off to get this sort of reaction after a performance.

"Uuuummm, sure." She said, not really picking up on Adam's salty tone, "If
it's upbeat and fun, go for it."

"Pfffgg, yeah, ok." Adam nodded as she walked off.

"Wait, which song is that again?" Naomi asked.

"It's from Lilo and Stitch, sweetie, you know it. Here, hang on..." Adam
scrolls through his playlist to find the right one.

"I might have to listen to it a few times..."

"Hmmm... You know, I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but how
would you like to join a Glee club, Naomi?"

"Glee club? What's that?"

"Heh heh heh, you know that TV show we like to watch where those teenagers
sing and dance?"


---Present Day---


"I can't help but feel he was forcing me to keep from knowing about my
heritage." Naomi says.

"Brother can be overprotective that way." Savarna says, "My Father was the
same way at times."

"It's in the past now, but I am glad to finally be able to BE a mermaid,
among others like me. Heh heh, and it's not like I had absolutely nothing
to do."

Savarna looks back over to the vast expanse of Atlantis, knowing Merrick is
attending business somewhere in their Kingdom right now, "Naomi... I want
to talk your Father about..."

"I wouldn't recommend it." Naomi says, gaining an estranged look from her
aunt, "You know how he is, right? Sometimes he just prefers to be alone..."

"Mother said something like that when I asked. When do you think he will be
fine again?"

"Hard to say... That's what makes it tricky, right?"

"So how DID you wile away the time when you Father had to leave?" Savarna
asked as the two of them swim away from their magnificent ice tree.

"Lets just say there is a club or `pod' for a lot of things to do..." Naomi
smiles.


~~~


"This way, Triton Merrick." Says a Disciple as she guides Merrick into the
hall of the sacred palace. Like all of the other ruins, what isn't broken
has been reformed or rebuilt by the coral deposits and branches everywhere.

"I wonder if the other Kingdoms look like this..." He pondered aloud, "With
the coral growing and replacing what was lost."

"As I understand it," The Disciple says, "Lyoness is spawned with crystal,
while Kandam is built upon metal."

"Pity none of us will ever witness them. Atlantis is wonderful enough
though." It is just the two of them. The Disciple didn't explain what they
are doing or where they are going; simply saying Merrick must come with
them.

Finally, they enter a large, orb-shaped chamber. Merrick looks around and
immediately notices there are seven statues positioned around the room -- 4
males, 3 females, by what he can tell. They vary in appearance and
size. Merrick slows down as he looks at one of them, a male statue... This
one looks somewhat similar to how he normally looks in human form, at least
as best as he can see.

Just then, Merrick sees Umiato being escorted in, just like him, "Mother?"

"Son." Umiato says with intrigue, "You are here as well?"

"For what reason? Do you know?"

"I confess not, my Son." She answered, "I was summoned and brought here
with no explanation." Just then, another disciple swims in with Aalton
behind him. He looks to Merrick and Umiato with an estranged gaze.

"Triton Aalton? Do you know why we are here?" Merrick asked.

"No."

Moments later, a large and vicious looking merman swims into the
chamber. His body is elongated with heavy plate-like scales along his
body. His eyes are almost pure black with a deep sheen within them, with a
claw of pure pearl along each fingertip to the knuckle, and mast-like horns
on his back with large fins, and willowing whiskers on his face.

"I know you. You were there at the battle of the Lightning Mask." Aalton
says.

"I do not remember you." He said deeply, "There were too many others in my
sights..."

Soon, a disciple swims in with a seahorse mermaid -- a Coshiton. Ular's
eyes go right for Merrick with surprise, "Oh, Merrick. I did not expect to
see you here."

"None of us have, it seems." Merrick replied. Promptly, a ray mermaid is
taken inside the chamber too, slowly flapping her wing-like body as she
comes, as well as a luminous and eerie merman of a transparent body with
bioluminescent lights shining and twinkling within his form.

"And all seven are here..." Says a Disciple.

"What do you mean? Why are we here?" Asks the largest and draconic merman
in the room.

"In the final days of Atlantis, only seven members of the royal family of
Atlantis were alive to be our salvation. They sacrificed themselves so that
we may exist today."

"And what does that have to do with us?" Asked the ray mermaid, "Seven of
us, were we chosen at random?"

"The seven statues in this sacred chamber best renders the ancestors of the
royals of old -- their holy auras still resonate to this very sun, though
their souls have long since wandered. Even now, we do not know which was
the king, which was the queen, or of their children thereof."

"What is this leading to?" Aalton asked, "Can you tell us the main point?"

"As best as we blind and all-seeing disciples are able to see, you merfolk
in this chamber are the most similar to the ancestors who gave their lives
to evolve their kin.

"You are suggesting that we embody the souls of the royal family? As if we
are their incarnations?" The deep-sea merman asked.

"It is uncertain if your souls are the ones who once hailed from this
temple, but your own auras are the ones most identical to that of the
statues. Tritons and Noitas both only carry these seven souls."

"Wait, but I am not a Noita." Ular says, "At least... I do not think I
am..."

"I can see you are." A Disciple says, "It is in your body, the power that
flows..."

"How? I've known her for years, and she's never shown any sort of power
that Noitas have." Merrick said, "Like me, she is a Coshiton who dwells
within a pod of rogues... Then again..." He turns to look at the seahorse,
"Ular, how long ago did you say were with the Kenovani?"

"All my life, they took me in when I was a meryin. I cannot remember my
pod, all I know are of the Coshitons."

"And you had no idea you are of mystical blood?"

"Can we focus back to why we are here?" Aalton asked impatiently, "With all
due respect to the wisdom of the Disciples, I personally find it
impertinent to herd the seven of us here without a proper explanation
beforehand."

"We humbly apologize for the secrecy to you," The Disciple responds, "The
identity of the chosen few must be kept secret for the first of many
gatherings of the year -- for we cannot trust all who belong in our Kingdom
until you have all been sanctified as such."

"So... I assume we are here to discuss the ways of our kind..." Merrick
says, "And our laws?"

"Precisely. Every century, the chosen souls are gathered, and talk of the
future of our kin..." The Disciple answers, "But first, we must give way to
our most majestic ruler of all of Atlantis."

"Atlantis has a ruler?" Umiato asked, "I have always known the Kingdom to
be kept by the Disciples and Ningyo."

"Indeed, but one mermaid must rise above us all, to be the voice of the Sea
Mother, to be one who oversees the struggles and the truths and virtues of
all us merfolk; all three of the Kingdoms has their own Majesty, and very
few know of her existence."

"We are ready." The dragon-like merman says.

"So let it be." A pair of Disciples swims into an 8th corridor, and into
the dark way. A few minutes later, they see a distant twinkling light,
which soon illuminated the hall within. They all watch as soon, a wondrous
mermaid is escorted by two of the Disciples and two Ningyo into the
chamber. Her very flesh shimmers with its own light, the scales on her body
reflecting light from every angle. She wears treasures of coral around her
wrists, neck, and waist, including a tiara formation upon her head as her
mirror-like eyes gaze upon them.

All seven merfolk gathered here felt compelled to bow before the holy
mermaid as she comes to them. "I thank you all for coming to our sacred
temple." She says, her voice echoing within itself, "I am the keeper of
Atlantis. I am the voice of every merfolk born of our descendent, and I am
the humble being of sight for our Shining Sea Mother. I am Vessel Lorelei."

"With all who are assembled here, we begin our first of 13 assemblies of
the royals of old." A Disciple starts, "Let all who have come here be
gathered, and state their name as well as their creed and their status,
past or otherwise."

Each of the merfolk are guided to a spot around a large intricate growth of
coral, specifically placed before a particular statue. "You must start,"
The Disciple tells the large merman, "And then you will follow to complete
the circle." He said to Umiato. The eight Ningyo who have been summoned
stand at the doorways to guard the merfolk in the chamber, the ever-radiant
eyes trained upon every direction in front of them.

"Very well." The armored merman nodded, "I am Triton Phorcys of the Dragon
Glare merfolk."

"I am Noita Umiato of the Arctic Veil merfolk." Umiato stated.

"I am Noita Delja of the Celtaray merfolk." The ray mermaid says next.

"I am Triton Theros Aalton of the Arrow Shark merfolk."

"I am Triton Coshiton Merrick of the Navyn Bolt merfolk."

"Then I suppose... I am Noita Coshiton Ular of the Wayward Seahorse
merfolk." Ular says.

"And I am Adra Triton Yamini of the Phantom Sky merfolk."

"I welcome you all to this generation gathering of merfolk, and I think you
all for your due reverence in our sacred home." Lorelei says with her arms
held up, "I am the Vessel of Atlantis: Lorelei of the Sea Mother."

"So what do we do now?" Ular asked.

"I believe we talk of the current state of our kind." Aalton says, "Talk
what must be improved or what must be done."

"Then if I may start?" Merrick says, "If it does not seem too bold to
request at the very start, I ask that we reexamine some of the Sacred Laws,
and I ask if it be necessary to abolish one or a few."

"Abolish the Sacred Laws?!" Delja says with a shocked glare at Merrick,
"The Sacred Laws have been with us since the fall of Atlantis! You dare
even suggest removing one of them?!"

"They are also some of the most foolish posturing of our ancestors."
Merrick retorts, frankly making Ular a little nervous.

"How dare you, Coshiton..." Delja scowls, "Have you no respect?"

"I ask that you at least hear my Son out for his request." Umiato says,
"Surely you reserve he has reason behind his words."

"You are his Mother, are you?" Delja sneered, "Then you are biased for his
brazen position."

"Are we not here for a reason?" Aalton asked her with a glare, "If we had
time for child-like accusations, we would not be here."

"He calls our ancestors foolish!" Delja ranted, "He shows very little
regard for the ones who made our lives possible!"

"I beg to differ." Aalton says, "Who are the ancestors but simply those who
existed before us? Were they nothing like us, both as rational yet foolish
as those of us alive today? They deserve nothing but our respect, but I
also do not recall Triton Merrick directly calling them unintelligent."

"The allegations alone are-"

"That is enough!" Triton Phorcys bellows, "I grow agitated with your
ranting already. Let him get on with it." Delja glares back at those
beastly eyes, before silencing herself.

"As I was saying," Merrick continued, "I am not declaring all of the Sacred
Laws need to be abolished, but some of them do not require existence."

"Such as?" Yamini asked, "The Sacred Laws, as I understand it, are absolute
and unquestionable."

"For example. Noita Ular was exiled when she was a meryin, so she claims,
and the previous Triton and Noita of the Kenovani pod testified. Her mark
is the crime of Unjust Thievery, and yet she cannot remember any sort of
life before the Kenovani took her in."

"So she was granted two chances, and she was punished for it. Plain and
simple, as it always was." Delja retorted, "I see little point in pursuing
this further."

"She was banished when she was too young establish lasting memory." Umiato
tells her with stern eyes, "Your voice carries much hostility -- have you
no sense of mercy?"

"Triton Aalton." Delja turns to him, "I hear you were a Theros of
philosophy and order. How can you not object to Triton Merrick's demands?"

"..." Aalton takes the question into consideration as he bows his head and
crosses his arms, "I agree the Laws were established for a reason: to keep
our kind within the borders of sanity and organization. However, I have
heard of several Sacred Laws of the Holsien and Amnien merfolk that have
struck rather irrelevant with me. Following the rules given to us by our
ancestors is important, but there is also room for reason and
circumstance. To blindly discriminate while hiding behind ancient borders
is the pursuit of a coward."

"You hypocrite..." Delja frowns, earning a sharp and angry stare from the
shark.

"Would you like to repeat that?"

"Your mate is Triton Merrick's sister, is she not? It is in your soul as
well as his," Delja speaks, "You are also biased in Triton Merrick's favor,
as is Noita Umiato. You speak of reason, yet I can see where your loyalties
REALLY lie."

"Noita Delja, I believe you are throwing words around where they do not
belong," Yamini says.

"And you! An Adra! Should your Father not be here in your place?!"

"Noita Delja." Says Lorelei's echoing voice, gaining the attention of all
seven of them, "Each of you have been gathered and placed here for your
souls' resemblance to our most sacred ancestors. Age and species matters
not in this hallowed chamber. Your anger is disturbing the balance between
all of you. I plead you stay your words, and give others their chance..."

Once again, the ray mermaid quiets herself.

"Back to what I was saying," Merrick goes on, "I understand if we cannot
move to abolish the Sacred Laws, but at the very least, I believe leniency
must be exercised by a significant count."

"I see no reason to truly extend the range of leniency for the laws
myself." Yamini says.

"Hmph..." Ular scoffs, "You have never met a Coshiton, it seems."

"I cannot disagree with Triton Merrick," Phorcys talks in his mighty voice,
"If I may give testimony of a personal experience; I have always been one
to give credit and gratitude where it is due. Years ago, my Son was
entangled and trapped within a human-made web. He could not sever the ropes
that cut into his flesh, and I was not made aware until he was captured for
too long. However, before I could reach him, I saw a human female take him
from the water."

"Is this going anywhere?" Delja asked, "Does this really have anything to
do with the Laws?"

"Yes." Phorcys glared at her, "I could not allow myself to act further,
lest I risk exile for violating a Law. I thought that human had taken him
away. But I saw something that truly rearranged my views on humans. It
seems the female had a blade of her own, and she broke the webs that
endangered my Son, and he is still alive today because that human helped
him."

"You are a Triton." Yamini points out, "Could you not save him beforehand
and just take your second chance? And even then, you are no doubt strong,
surely you have easily slain that human before she had the chance to touch
your Son."

Phorcys gives a deep breath of a sigh as he closes his eyes, "I have
already used my chance a long, long time ago. And we dragon merfolk do not
resort to monstrous brutality, despite what you would believe..." He looks
back upon them, "I at least wanted to reward the human for showing mercy
and compassion for my Son... The Laws made a useless coward out of me."
Phorcys's fist shook, "Everyone in my pod did not question me, they did not
berate me for the bound weakling that I was, and the very notion of it all
brings all of my anger to light over and over."

"I still do not see the point." Delja says stubbornly, "You are not the
only one who faces unfortunate events in our lives, and yet you want the
Laws to walk around your personal needs?"

"You are a very self-centered mermaid, Noita Delja." Ular says, "Most of
the Sacred Laws are petty and useless, and punish many of us as sinful
monsters for the weakest of mistakes."

"If the Laws have always been as severely obsolete as you say, would they
not be removed from the last gathering within Atlantis?" Yamini asked.

"Vessel Lorelei," Aalton spoke up, "Has there ever been a time where one or
several Sacred Laws have been revoked?"

Lorelei closes her eyes for a moment, and reopened them, "In fact, some the
Sacred Laws have been removed before in the past, when they were deemed
unworthy of significance."

"See?" Merrick says, "It seems we do have some sense from times gone by."

"You continue with your brazen disrespect." Delja glares at him with
disgust, "You would have us change our ways from your suffering alone."

"How do you think my Son is the only one who has suffered from the Laws'
ire?" Umiato asked.

"We all have our trials, we all must suffer." Delja says, "What gives us
the right to uproot our ancient ways for the hindering of a few?"

"A few?!" Ular says, "The ocean in all its might is cruel enough as it is
now! How can we just allow future generations to toil away at Laws that we
do not even need?? And to be exiled at the hand of the merfolk whom we
love?? Why must we cast each other out as if we meant nothing to one
another??"

"To the best of my views," Merrick says with his arms crossed, "Most of the
Sacred Laws are little more than glorified guidelines that act as invisible
enemies that create evil and pain where there is none. They demand we erase
our existence for crimes without so much as a true trial. Even the
hierarchy's advantage only delays the inevitable at best."

"The Sacred Laws are indiscriminate as well, as I have observed," Aalton
says, "Triton Merrick. You speak of an Amnien merman who also was exiled
when he was a meryin, the same for Noita Ular. What was your friend's sin?"

"Human Association. He was too young to understand the severity of his
crime, and he repeated the violation until the Ningyo came and forced his
Mother and Father and Razirah to banish him."

"Such is the penalty of our ways." Delja says, "Do you realize what kind of
uproar would arise if we abolish even so much as ONE Law?? The idea alone
could outrage so many, let alone the execution.

"Come now, Noita Delja." Phorcys growled, "At this point, surely you see
SOME sort of compassion upon hearing all of this."

"I... I still need to hear more reasoning..." Yamini says hesitantly. "My
Mother and Father taught me the absolution of the Laws are what keeps
stability intact for the sake of our survival."

"I see no reason why the leash of authority cannot be loosened." Aalton
says, "I see it as harsh to paint a Coshiton as a nonexistent deviant if
they are guilty of little else than a misunderstanding. Not to mention the
trust the Laws withholds from how we live."

"I can recite other such laws that are utterly obsolete." Merrick goes on,
"An Amnien law prohibits them from hunting without the permission of the
leaders, or else they cease to exist. A Holsien law demands one finds his
or her mate within the span of 50 Red Moons, or they are exiled. One of our
own Piscien laws forbids us from partaking food of any kind above the
surface. The harshness of these laws is beyond laughable, as well as
suggesting that we limit the flexibility of survival in most cases."

"We cannot control the Laws of the Amniens and Holsiens." Yamini points
out, "I think we should keep focus to our own kind."

"The principle is the same." Ular tells him.

"Noita Umiato," Phorcys turns to her, "I am curious. You and Triton Merrick
are Mother and Son, correct? I would like to hear the personal experience
of what transpired to banish your own kin."

"..." Umiato thinks upon this sadly, "At the very moment when it
happens..." She holds her hands gently together, looking at the palm that
burned Merrick so long ago, "It feels like being forced to execute my own
child."

"Oh come now." Delja scoffs, "I find it hard to-"

"Let her speak!" Phorcys barks threateningly, immediately silencing her,
"Continue..."

"My Son..." Umiato's eyes start to weaken, "Was a very exceptional Adra
Triton. His skills of combat and hunt mirrored the efficiency of his
Father. Yet with such strength, he possessed simple wisdom beyond a few
years and shown compassion and goodness to anyone... Even showing mercy
when his Father would not. I placed the mark of his sin somewhere he could
not see it because I myself could not bare to look at my own hand when I
stained his flesh with my own fire."

"My Son was exiled for the crime of Forbidden Love." Umiato continued, "He
is mated to a human male. The Red Moon chose a man to protect and cherish
my child. And I have seen this human and known him to be a loving and
humble man through his eyes. My Son lived with secrecy for fear of losing
his pod... His family... He was forced to lie to me as well as his Father."
Merrick cast his eyes down, "I confess I secretly condoned whatever
deception he spoke of; I feigned ignorance because I did not want to
believe he was acting out a forbidden practice, if he was doing something
so incredibly sinister that he could not tell us."

"But my Son was merely doing what his heart commanded. He was innocent and
terrified, and the Laws made him feel he needed to steep into hiding within
shadows and deception. Our love is decided by the night of the Red Moon,
and what came to be after that was beyond his control. That was not his
fault!"

"Your Son committed several sins as a Coshiton, and he paid the price."
Delja tells her venomously, "You cling to pain to one who did you a silent
injustice constantly. It is your own doing if your heart bleeds more than
you allow it."

"I have had just about enough of your cruelty." Aalton says.

"Cruelty..." Delja sneered, "I am what reality would have of me."

"What happened to you to make you so harsh in nature??" Ular asked, "You
are practically mocking us for our hardships."

"Suffering is part of our lives, or did you forget that??"

"Then tell me." Umiato says with anger-filled eyes, "How would YOU respond
with the impossible task of forsaking your children? Would you cast them
out and call it right, despite of the reasoning?"

"I wouldn't know." Delja scowled, "My children died years ago. They were
eaten alive before my eyes, and I could not save them." Her scratchy voice
tells them. A pause goes by before she talks again, "We merfolk exist only
to entertain the Waves of Fate. Why should we bother to change the rules
now? What will be the point? It would not change..."

"I understand your pain," Merrick says, "But it WOULD make a difference,
for so many-"

"You know LITTLE of pain and loss!" Delja says, "It happens in every second
of our lives, and you must armor yourself to take it! My children were
mangled devoured, and I heard their screams until fate's mercy bid them to
die. And my mate, my Triton, he was too old and senile to even know they
were ever truly gone. I have led my pod on my own for decades, long before
you were born, Triton Merrick." The ray mermaid spits, "You whine and cry
from your pain, and yet I see you do not take precautions."

Merrick clicks a very keen sound of silent lightning as his eyes give a
shrill stare at her.

"How dare you..." His stomach feels a very deep dive of ravenous and
profound anger, "Don't you dare lecture me on agony." His voice underlines
his lethal demeanor, "As a Noita, you should see into my soul and know what
I have gone through! You entitled wretch... I was cast out for something
that was out of my hands."

"Hmph."

"Oh do not mock me, Noita Delja. You are deliberately taunting me at this
point." Merrick is nearly shaking with anger at her smug face, "Do not
tempt me, Noita Delja." Merrick warns her, "As I was taught, pain itself is
a very thorough and precise teacher."

"Are you threatening me, Triton Merrick?"

"I am educating you Noita Delja, and you should pray I do not take to a
practitioner's approach. I scarred and crippled the balance of my family
for having found love. I lied to my Mother and Father to their faces I was
a slave to my own fear as the land drained me of my life while I cowered in
the sun's daily fire. I have endured torture and evil that you will NEVER
see, and I was forced to watch as my own mate was mutilated from the inside
and out! My very children were robbed from me by those who deemed me
dangerous and unworthy of nurturing simply by existing, and nothing else! I
have seen worse horrors than you will ever know! And even my SLEEP is
haunted to this day of all of the persistent demons that were forced upon
me! You dare harass and laugh at anyone's pain and you have the audacity to
preach how it MUST ALWAYS happen?! How many more merfolk must die and
writhe simply because YOUR cold stupidity refuses to see reason?! How-"

"Triton Merrick, please stop!" Lorelei's voice calls. Her voice follows a
mystical sigh that blows around in the room. Merrick huffs and gasps as he
feels his insides shift dramatically. He looks at his hands as they tinkle
strangely. Something... That was not natural, something was wrong just now.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Yamini asks, the lights in his body
flickering timidly.

"Nothing. It was nothing." Merrick says, "Noita Delja... Your ignorance is
nothing short of infuriating." He says with a low glare.

"I know of merfolk like you." Ular says as she leers at Delja, "You have
suffered much, so you close out anyone else so you don't have to suffer
their hurts, while you endeavor to keep yours alive. Your bitterness robs
you of empathy and understanding."

"It is how I survive." Delja tells them, "That is MY resolution."

"Let us move on. Much like Triton Merrick, I am beginning to feel limited
to how long I can stay my trident." Aalton says, "Where were we?"

"Noita Umiato was speaking of how she..." Phorcys inhaled and exhaled, "How
she banished her child."

"Yes... As I said, my Son is mated to a human man. And when given a chance,
my Son chose to leave our pod." Umiato says, "For what it is worth... As
much as I longed for him to be with us, I think he was wise to
leave... Rather than to forsake his lover."

"He... He chose his own path then." Yamini says, "It is how..."

"Adra Triton Yamini," Umiato says, "You are still very young and have yet
to have children of your own, and you have not faced the sort of trials
ones must endure to know what it means to understand others. I apologize to
say you are naïve to what I am saying. And Noita Delja. You have
thrown away your mercy to abandon pain, and brazenly imply that all others
are worse for themselves for not doing the same as you."

"Abandon pain? I live with it every single sun." Delja frowns.

"You have shut out the capacity for sympathy. Because the Sacred Laws
dictated my Son to vanish from our own people, I have missed so much of his
life; I have lost him so many times and known him to have endured far too
much in life than he should have, I was not allowed to be with him at times
when he needed me most. I could not even meet his own Daughter until now
because her human blood posed an intangible threat."

"I... Yes... I agree now." Yamini nodded.

"Noita Delja. Do you still hold your harsh reservations?" Phorcys asked.

"I care not. Everything is the same to me; without point and inevitable to
the grand scheme of things."

"Your generosity knows no bounds." Ular remarked.

"I understand that abolishing a Sacred Law at all is unheard of and
drastic." Merrick says, "But if we do not remove the unnecessary ones, we
should at least change how they are upheld. What happened to me... To so
many others... It is not right."

"I second my Son's words." Umiato says, "No parent should ever be forced to
mutilate their child..." Phorcys looks down with a sigh, "No
parent... Should be kept from serving and protecting that which they hold
most dear..." She looks to Ular, "And no one should be so young as to be
abandoned."


~~~


Naomi swims along the coral-like surroundings. Her eyes take in all the
wonders of just this one particular spot! It's like the coral knew exactly
where and how to grow in order to resemble houses and buildings of what was
left of the ruins. Did the Disciples do this? One was able to create a
trident for Merrick all by himself anyway, but Atlantis has been underwater
for centuries. The coral didn't just rebuild what was lost -- it just kept
on growing.

The little mermaid turns around as she swims along. Many types and species
of coral just kept on developing for ages, building on the replaced homes
and shacks. Each little building looks like its own castle, occupied by
countless fish looming and wondering around, an octopus drifting along as
it propels itself, even an occasional whale coming in from large holes
within the enormous walls surrounding Atlantis.

While swimming forward, Naomi frowns. There's something nearby... She feels
this akin to the sensation of being watched, or one of those many times a
bully confronted her... Her hands begin to emit a pair of thin mists of
cold as she goes, her eyes detecting traces of distasteful auras leading to
behind her.

She slows to a gradual stop, right before she whips around! Several spiral
darts of ice shoot from her movement. The tiny crystalline arrows shoot to
very specific directions, causing a couple of merfolk to shield themselves.

"Human cretin!" A Marlin merman shouted, "You dare strike us with your
stolen blood?!"

"You know on land, we have so many names for people like you," Naomi leers
as her power glows from her hands, before thrusting them forward and
sending a surge of energy, "Too many names to count that I've had to deal
with all my life!" The rush of power turns into a single row of ice shards
growing outwards until it reached the merman. He swims up and darts for
Naomi. Naomi gives an angry sigh to release an intangible power as she
twirls herself while waving her warms in a smooth motion as she moves. The
Marlin merman finds himself being forced into a spontaneous current before
he could reach her, shoving her around.

Naomi gasps as she looks over her shoulder and swoops up before a flying
spear launches to where she was. "Seriously?! You're just going to kill me
just like that?!"

"The Disciples are more blind than they are!" Says a crab mermaid, "They do
not see what they have allowed in our kingdom!"

"And here I thought all merfolk were more open-minded than this." Naomi
says as she lets her power spiral around her in glittering shards, "You are
no different than half of the humans on land!"

"How DARE you?!" Says another merfolk as they race up to her. Naomi whips
around to bring another sudden current to force the attacker farther than
they were trying. She loops around a mermaid coming at her with a
blade. Naomi's eyes turn into solid white light as her hand grabs the
blade, instantly freezing it solid. She jerks her hand up, and the weapon
shatters.

"Rrrhh!" Naomi spins to shoot random lances of ice before she jets away.

"After her! We cannot allow her to continue here!" Says a hateful
merfolk. Naomi swims as fast as she can as she releases her power from her
arms, forcing an array of ornate and sharp ice branches to form behind
her. Naomi ducks into a hidden branch of coral and speeds down it. Her eyes
see the aura of a waiting merman, prompting to take a deep breath, and
blows out a harsh gale of frigid water. Assuming she thwarted the waiting
merman, she races forward.

`I need to find a Disciple o-or a Ningyo!' She thinks frantically, `This is
insane!' Naomi swims until several large fish swim around her. She can hear
signaling from a merman as she swims up and tries to evade the auras around
her.

Her hand grasps a branch of coral and breaks it off, her magic immediately
racing along her hand and onto the branch to form a very fast sword. Naomi
moves just as a weapon comes at her, just in time to clash with her blade,
before the ice broke with the shaft of the spear. She thrusts her other
hand to punch the attacking mermaid back with a force of cold. Her eyes
then flash as the broken pieces of her ice sword morph into shards, and
shoot out in different directions!

Naomi takes the halved weapon that was used on her, whirling very quickly
as freezing energy spins and extends along the wood to turn into a spiral
joust to throw at another merfolk. A grab like merman comes at her as she
whips around and strikes him with an ice crescent, looping in the water to
deliver an instant-current hit with her tail.

"Ahh!" Her wrist gets yanked back by a claw. She winces with anger as she
flattens her other hand to form an elegant ice blade, and jabs at the claw
holding her.

"Enough!" Says another merfolk as they grab her other hand.

"Stop! Let me go! I haven't done anything to you!"

"You have soiled our sacred kingdom with your presense." Says a shark
mermaid; this one is a Noita, "You are not even a Coshiton. You are a
filthy abomination that should never have existed."

"Shows how much you know!" Naomi snaps back, "I'm here, and the Disciples
approve! You're only going to make this worse for youself!"

"The Disciples do not see enough!" The shark mermaid's hand begins to glow,
"You do not belong here." Naomi's eyes see and feels the burning light
forming from that hand.

"What are you doing?!" She asked frantically, "If you get ANYwhere near
me-"

"In the name of the Sea Mother," The hostile Noita comes close to her, "I
hereby mark you with your crime, and you will leave our kingdom..." She
raises her hand, "Dead, or ali-"

-WKK-

"AH!" The Noita's arm is sliced into by a flash of white. A white blur
raced around and stuck and cut at the crab mermaid.

"Ah! What is this?!"

A spade-shaped knife flies at the other merman holding Naomi and pierced
his shoulder! "GAH!" A green shimmer then bolts down and strikes him down
with a shark-teeth riddled arm, before the the figure turns into an emerald
wheel and cut harshly into him! "Agghh!"

Naomi gasps as she sees a white Nayvn Tail and a green Navyn Bolt swim in
front of her, the white one holding his trident while the other takes out
another dagger. Another eel merman swoops in towards Naomi. She gasps right
before a flurry of tan and cream colored arm comes in. Flaring with spikes
all over her body, Noita Kalliope scrapes him away with her razor sharp
barbs on her arms before flipping and slashing away with her thorn-ridden
tail.

"Several pods against one mermaid?" Cotei says, "Just whom among us are
akin to a true monster?"

"She is not one of us!" A merfolk says, "I don't care what the Disciples
say, she should not exist!"

"She must be branded with a mark!"

"Better to end her now than to let something like her loose in our midst!"

"This is a lot more shocking and disgraceful than I thought..." Brishen
says, "If you want to attack her, you will face me first!"

"I will strike all of you down, one by one!" Cotei answers.

"Wait, no!" Naomi says, "Listen, I've talked to this sort of attitude
before in my life. There's no talking to them, trust me!"

"Why do you think my trident is in my hands?" Cotei snarls. Naomi looks
around, and more of Cotei's pod swims over -- namely the hunters as
combatants.

"Triton Cotei, stop for a moment." Brishen says, "If this escalates
further, the Ningyo will have our heads."

"I agree," Noita Kalliope says, "This is starting to become chaotic..."

"Look to the malcontents." Cotei tells him, "They wish for this
violence. They are not going to stop until they put an end to Naomi."

"Triton Cotei, I understand that, but this isn't how we need to continue
this."

"Listen to him, Cotei," Kalliope says as she puts her hand on his shoulder,
"The Ningyo are indiscriminate in their duty. They will not spare you over
the convenience of circumstance."

"I don't care. They dare threaten one of my Father's legacies..." Cotei's
throat rattles as he grips his trident, "I will not let them get away with
making a mockery of her existence."

"Uncl- Triton Cotei, please stop," Naomi says, "I don't want this to turn
into a war." She can feel more of the hunters gathering, "This isn't worth
it!"

"I will not let this THING live without consequence!"

"Then you will fall to your own designed fate!" Cotei throws at him, "This
mermaid is what little I have left of my Father, and I will not let you
make her vanish!"

"Traitors, all of you." The merman says with seething fury as he primes his
weapon, "If she will not leave-"

Cotei clicks out a loud signal, and all of his merfolk start to race and
dart forth. The opposing merfolk get ready quickly for the all-out battle.

Suddenly, Cotei sees a small orb of light. A hunter sees one near his
shoulder. Naomi spots several spheres of light appearing all around. She
widens her eyes as the orbs start to flash, "GET DOWN!"

-KEEHHH-

-HYNNN-

-SNNGGG-

One by one, each sphere released a shockwave of cold as well as a few
spires of ice on each orb. The merfolk dodge and brace from the popping
crystals as they form a pseudo cage-like formation. After several of the
ice spikes have halted the merfolk, look around. Naomi senses her presence
first, turning to see her aunt glide smoothly to the pods.

"Blasphemy..." Savarna says as she comes, "Sheer blasphemy." She comes to
them before he eyes turn to Naomi. The ice pinning her in place quickly
melts and shatters gently, allowing her to swim over to her. Savarna then
turns her gaze to Cotei, "Young Brother, I expected better from you."

"You should expect nothing, Sister." Cotei replies from his place in the
ice cage, turning to look at her from the glowing frost, "You would let
them get away with harming a child of ours?"

"Father has never displayed such rash anger." She tells him with a frown,
"If he were here to witness this, he would scorn you for your lack of
discipline and restraint."

"Are you seriously going to berate me for defending Brother's Daughter?"

"There is a different between defending and brawling."

"This isn't the end of this!" Says one of the prejudice merfolk, "We will
never stop until-"

"And as for YOU." Savarna's eyes flash as she turns to the other half of
the crowd. Each and every one of them feel sharp pokes from the ice all
around them. Each point of the ice acts as a poison that spread into an
external coat of harsh frost, "You all disgrace yourselves!"

"The stench of humanity is within our borders," A mermaid says, "If the
Disciples will not-"

"The Disciples are what dictate the sanctity of Atlantis!" Savarna cuts him
off, "They are why we all have the right to be here. They are what allows
our kind to endure. And they are what they allow me to deal with you."

"What?"

"Did you truly believe the Disciples would be unaware of your assault?" She
asked as the ice around them breathes an eerie hush around them, "You
honestly assumed you could incite unholy war and malevolence?" As she
talked, a shadow looms far above. Some merfolk look up, and see a dark
yellow gleam of a single golden merfolk hovering above them. In a distance
to the east, a few merfolk can make out a twin pair of gleaming lights
along with a golden shimmer. In the northern direction, a mechanical rattle
can be heard from another subtle metallic fish-figure...

"Your savage actions end here." Savarna tells them, "I will not tolerate
your vile intentions. Open your mind and heart, and let my Brother's
Daughter in peace."

A mermaid growls and sneers at Savarna and Naomi with rage as she bares her
teeth, leering at Naomi with a hatred that rivals that of a Nalcious Eel,
"Never!"

"Oh come now." Savarna scolds, "After all that has been,"

"Noita Savarna, stop..." Naomi tells her, "Like I said... Living on the
land, and having two fathers... I have had to contend with the likes of
this before... All my life..." Savarna sees glimpses of the past, outlined
by sadness and damp frustration, "They will never listen, they refuse
reason, and they will not change their minds... They will never stop, and I
have to accept that."

"We are better than that, Naomi." Savarna tells her, "We are able to
ascend,"

"No. We are..." Naomi nods towards the others, "But they are not. Arguing
with them will solve nothing because they will constantly assume a higher
opinion, and never listen to the contrary to a rational level. I have grown
used to this sort of brunt... And it will not be the last..."

"I see..." Savarna turns her head back, and lets out a calm sigh, releasing
and undoing the ice restraining Cotei and his pod, but stopped when the ice
reached the offending merfolk.

"Release us, Noita!" A merman demands, "You have no right! Remove your
crystal immediately!"

"You are not trustworthy. My power will fade in a short time, but I will
not risk freeing you to come after my kin." Her hands place onto Naomi's
shoulders. "Until then..." Savarna says as her eyes show a malicious
gleam. "One sun. One sun before my power relents. I pray one sun will be
all you need to ward yourself away from this child."

"Agghhh!"

More spikes and thorns form quickly from the ice, piercing into the merfolk
and bringing a freezing sting to their flesh. The ice becomes more cramped
and sharp as the merfolk suffer the suspended state of their positions
besides the cold barbs pushing into them. They all begin to shiver as they
squirm in the growing crystalline cage.

"Release us!!! This is torture!!" Yells one of them. Just then, they hear
metallic moans and signals, before looking to see the three Ningyo that
have gathered beforehand. Their bright eyes leer at them as the golden
sentinels circle the entire cage slowly, as if waiting for one of them to
break free to escape.

"No. This is mercy. MY mercy. Do not waste it, as my Father used to say."
With that, Savarna turns herself and Naomi around and swim away, leaving
the furious merfolk to writhe in the stinging ice cage

"Noita Savarna," Naomi hushes, "You are not really going to leave them like
this for an entire sun, are you?"

"Oh they may try to fight their way out if they wish." Savarna says coldly,
"But they will rip themselves apart in the process..."

"I know they are unkind, but..."

"You are too merciful, Naomi." Savarna tells her, "You do not wish
punishment on them because your empathy is misplaced."

"..." Naomi looks to the side.

"Make no mistake, child." Savarna says as the water around them starts to
feel a lot colder, "That was showing kindness compared to what I could
bring to them..."


---Some Time Later---


"Then I believe our business is concluded, for the time being." Phorcys
says.

"I must see to my Son, then." Ular says as she swims up.

"Mother, can you find my Daughter, please?" Merrick says, "I have been
anxious about her safety for a while now."

"Yes, I will see to her..." Umiato says as her soul looks for Naomi's aura
from where they are.

"Triton Merrick..." Lorelei's voice echoes, stopping Merrick from going
anywhere, "A word, please..."

"Oh? Yes, Vessel Lorelei." Merrick swims to her, and follows the majestic
mermaid out of the chamber, and soon comes to a large and empty throne
room, overgrown with a forest of white coral. They move to a balcony before
Lorelei looks down to Merrick.

"I wish to discuss with you about your... Corruption."

"Corruption?" Merrick says with a hint of fear, "What are you saying??"

"I see the darkness of the Black Sun inside of you..."

"Oh, that... Yes, I know of it now. The Disciples have explained to me that
it dwells within me. They told me nothing more than that I am different."

"It goes deeper than that." Her moon-like eyes glow mysteriously, "Triton
Merrick. Beware your shadow."

"What? What do you mean? Am I, are you going to punish me?"

"I wish to warn you." Lorelei says compassionately, "When your anger grew
towards Noita Delja, hatred started to race faster than I have ever
seen. Your essence was burning like the sun turned cold and malevolent."

"I see, but... Then you spoke up, and it suddenly vanished. How is THAT
done?"

"I am the Vessel of the Sea Mother, one of three." Lorelei says as the
light from the surface wavers on her, "I am the voice of all Piscien
merfolk. I am the song of our souls and the life of our resonance. I am one
of myself, and I am all of who is here. In that sense, this also means that
I am you." Merrick's eyes widen at that statement.

"I don't understand..."

"The grace of the moon balances the brash of the sun; the radiant night
embraces me, as the aphotic day has embraced you. I merely tapped into the
imbalance within you with my own harmony, and the unnatural dark in you was
entranced."

"I never realized I was this dangerous." Merrick says as he crosses his
arms and looks to the side, "... Sort of."

"I apologize for interfering with you. But the obscurity inside of you is
something no one has seen in what can only be described as countless time,
I cannot remember how and when such a being held this sort of dusk inside
them. Your negativity is so foreign and so rampant, it almost seems
alive. I feared you were going to die right where you were talking."

"That... Does not make sense." Merrick says, "The humans have a similar
problem of what you just described, but that is a common bodily malady for
them. I have felt far worse than that before, in a lot more distressful
situations, yet I am not in any pain."

"I can see, yes..." Lorelei concurred, "In past years, the darkness inside
of you has raged and devoured far more than what I have seen."

"I have my Father's harsh temper... If that means anything..."

"This is no temperament. It is a poison you have come to live with in your
life."

"I see..." Merrick sighed, "Is there... Is there anyway to cure me of the
Land Father's shadow?"

"I fear not, Triton Merrick; for yours is an illness and an injury that
does not exist, so healing of our nature will do nothing. That you have
tamed yourself..." She says as her eyes gaze over the entire tapestry of
Merrick's whole life in a matter of mere seconds, "How you have stoked and
extinguished the black flare in you tells me you have dealt with this curse
longer than anyone can fathom."

"I get by..." Merrick tells her, "Just... Tell me this, Vessel
Lorelei... This venom that lives inside my soul... Will it... Will it get
worse? Do you see it as a disease that will eventually claim me?"

"As I far as I can gaze inside your existence, Triton Merrick, I see this
shadow as your darkest ally. It is not your sickness, but your ward. You
have lived with this taint that weighed heavily upon your times of madness,
despair, anger, for so many years -- half of your life, no less. It is a
beast that is tamed and wild in the exact same instance. And though at
times it has consumed you... You are surrounded by the light that cures you
as anyone is healed."

"Alright. Thank you, Vessel Lorelei."

"And now, I must speak with the others."

"Wait, others?"

"To better understand and evolve our kind, it is wise for me to speak with
the others after these gatherings."

"Oh, I see." Merrick nodded before Vessel Lorelei wanders off. Merrick
swims up, and moves above from the temple's opening.


~~~


"Ok, so then you just hold the fish as you let the heat cook it." Naomi
says as she coaches a glowing yellow-red mermaid, who is holding a rather
large fish in her lava-like hands.

"The heat to... What?" She asked, "I don't understand what you're getting
it."

"Cook -- it's how humans eat their food, it tastes better." Naomi said,
"Normally, we should use actual fire, but we don't have any way to make
any."

"You are still not making any sense." The fire mermaid says with a slightly
annoyed look.

"Look, just trust me! There's a mermaid in my Father's pod who is the same
species as you, and she always cooks like this."

"Riiiiiight..."

"Daughter." They turn to see Merrick swimming to them, "Let's go to the
surface."

"Alright. Hold that thought." Naomi tells the other before she and Merrick
swim up. They swim along the reef and onto the dancing aurora of sunlight
above.


~^~^~^~


Merrick's fair hand grabs onto the rock as his foot pushes down on it,
wearing his scale necklace as he climbs up on his human form, rubbing and
scratching a little at the thin layer of light gold stubble on his lower
jaw. Naomi puts on her own bracelet of white pearlescent scales to dissolve
her veil-like fins as her long blonde hair folds and clings to her back as
she too comes out.

Merrick takes his trident off of his back and places it down. He also takes
off and digs into his pack to take out a small sundial and a compass, and
sets it down to point it at a specific direction, "Right so... Noon, I
guess...?"

"Tell me again why we couldn't just bring our phones, Dad?"

"Electricity can be sensed by any merfolk, and if we bring anything like
that, we may get into trouble." Merrick answered as he adjusts the sundial
to see where its shadow is pointing.

"So we just turn them off until we need them."

"Great idea. I REALLY wish I thought of that before Atlantis got rid of all
their plug-in outlets."

"Oh God..."

"Grit and bear it, sweetie." Merrick says as he gets a few more things out,
"You know, I was older than you way before I even touched an on/off
switch."

"That was then, this is now." Naomi says with her arms crossed. She watches
as her father takes out what appears to be bunch of parts of a
device. After a few minutes of building it, Merrick turns a small crank for
a minute, and lets it go, nodding as he hears a very low frequency coming
out of it. "Dad, are we REALLY going to live here for an entire year??"

"Yes we are, honey."

"Can't we just stay a month and head back?? I'm already getting bored
here."

"Somehow, I get the distinct feeling you will get by without the Internet
for a year." Merrick says as he takes a very old-fashioned camera and winds
it up.

"Ohhhhlll"

"You will be fine. Your instincts will keep you going, you'll get used to
it."

"I don't wanna get used to iiiiiit. I don't want to have to live on raw
fish all year! I'm already sick of tuna and squid, and I don't even like
them!"

"Tell you what, honey," Merrick says, "Maybe I can get a ride over to Long
John Silvers right around the corner and get us a couple of patties of
artificial meat." He teases as he adjusts a strange artifact that has a
crystal that sparkles brightly in the sunlight.

"Dad, just... Just stop. Please." Naomi groans.

"Relax, it's only for a year." Merrick says.

"Can't you just ask your friend if he can't get a couple of things when he
makes it to Papa?" She asked. Merrick pauses as he thinks about that.

"Actually that didn't occur to me. I'll see what we can do." Merrick then
goes next to his teenage daughter and held up the camera, "Smile, my sweet,
deprived little angel." He said with a staged grin.

"Heh heh heh, bite me, Daddy." Naomi retorted with a smile covering gritted
teeth.

CH-CHEEHH

A photo slips out from the camera, and Merrick takes it and waves it in the
air a little. "That's weird. I believe that's exactly what I told your Papa
right before we left."

"OH my God!" Naomi exclaims, "DAD!"

"Hey, you mess with the shark, you get the teeth. Or a bear, more like."
Merrick smirks as he watches the photograph slowly manifests the image.

"Oh my God, Dad!"

"Hey, it's been a while, and it's going to be a while, gimme a break."
Merrick puts the picture aside, "Ok, so lets get to th..." He takes a
double look at Naomi, and sees something on her arm.

"Dad?" She says, noticing him suddenly getting quiet. Merrick takes a step
over and holds her arm.

"What is this?" He asked with a frown as a shallow wound is brought to his
attention.

"It's nothing, Dad," She pulls her arm from him, "I just scrapped myself on
a coral branch a while ago."

"And why are you lying to me?" Merrick asked.

"I-I'm not lying, Dad."

"Naomi." Merrick stares her down with his strong arms crossed with his
solid blue eyes giving her a stern gaze.

"Hhh... I uh... I had some trouble with some of the merfolk..."

"Hhhhmmmhhh..." Merrick closes his eyes as he tenses with a hard and angry
breath.

"Dad, it's fine,"

"No. It's not. I'm not going to put up with this nonsense, I'm getting the
Ningyo to keep them on constant watch, and then I'm going to make it CLEAR
that-"

"Dad, please stop, I don't like it when you're like this. Brishen and Uncle
Cotei showed up like 2 seconds later and gutted them."

"Hhhh... Fine." Merrick says, making himself simmer down, "But
listen. Evidently, I'm going to have a full-time job one week out of every
month. Mother too, she and I both will be summoned on occasion."

"A job? How do you mean?"

"It's a long story, but listen to me, sweetie." Merrick holds her
shoulders, "While she and I are gone, I want you stay with the pod --
either Sister's or Brother's pod, they're both familiar with me,
particularly your Uncle Cotei's pod, but Sister would probably be more
reliable as a Noita. So stay close to my Sister if you can, I don't want
you wandering off anywhere I can't see you."

"Dad, you're starting to go all `Finding Nemo' on me again."

"Yeah! That tends to happen when I see my little girl get skewered behind
my back!"

"Dad, I wasn't skewered! I already iced them the hell off before the others
even came along anyway, I'll be fine."

"And that's another thing." Merrick pointed, "Do NOT get into
fights. Atlantis is a sacred place, and if the Disciples catch you starting
trouble OUTSIDE of a sanctioned duel, they will not take it lightly."

"I can't help but feel like everyone makes up these rules as they go along,
Dad."

"Just stay close to your Grandmother, and you'll be fine, she wants to
tutor you while we're here anyway." Merrick says as he goes to his pack and
gets a black sharpie.

"So... Who is it again who's meeting us again? You were really vague about
him."

"..." Merrick picks his head up, hearing a very keen buzz coming, and
raises his brows as he sees the creature approaching them, "Oh wow, that
was fast. He must've been in the area."

"Huh?" Naomi looks at the direction, "Whoa! What the hell is THAT thing?!"

"It's Taci." Merrick answers with a smile as the gleaming, beautiful insect
creature flies to them with its vibrating and blurry wings.

"I thought you said we were meeting one of your Kenovani friends! This
looks like a giant Jewel Wasp!"

"Yes and yes." Merrick says. Taci looks at them with his ruby-like glass
orb eyes as he buzzes around them, before his metal legs clink onto the
reef rocks. "Hey, Taci, it's been a while." He greeted the insect as it
speaks a few clicks from his pincers.

"Dad, would you start making some sense? Not to be rude or anything, but
who or what is this thing??"

"First things first. Taci, this is my Daughter Naomi," Merrick notes,
"Please forgive her if she says something very... Well, anything."

"Wait, what's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Naomi, this is Taci. He was once apart of the Kenovani pod." Merrick
explains as he stands by the large crystalline wasp, "He used to be a
Flying Fish merman, but then he got stranded on land during a Black Sun,
and it changed him into this. Ever since then, he's just been growing into
his new form and even improving, evolving if you will."

"Ooook, I think I see."

"Keep in mind, he can't talk as we do, but he can still understand us."

"Oh uh... H-Hi, Taci, is it?" Naomi speaks deliberately loudly, "It is very
nice to meet you! I really love your wings!"

"Naomi, he's mute. He's not deaf." Merrick says with a crooked mouth,
"Again, Taci, don't mind her."

"And you wonder why I say the same thing to my friends, Dad."

"Anyway, give me a minute, Taci, and I'll have it ready." Merrick says as
he sits cross-legged as he takes the photo and writes on the back of it.

{Made it to the Kingdom, we miss you guys already, please send something
modern for the poor unfortunate soul right next to me.}

Naomi comes next to him and accepts the marker from Merrick and writes.

{My phone and some actual food would be awesome. Tell Mom I said `hi'!}
Merrick gives Naomi a roll of his eyes as he takes the marker and draws an
X over the word `phone'

"Come on Daaad, I'll keep it out here!"

"No electronics, young lady. Deal with it."

{Love, Merrick & Naomi} They both signed their own name at the bottom.

"Ok." Merrick puts the picture along with a couple of very strange and
unique seashells and coral fragments into a pouch made of kelp and tied
with hemp rope. Taci watches patiently as Merrick ties the package onto one
of his armored legs, "You know where to go, right? Same as last time."

Taci clicks his pincer-like teeth with a nod as his reflective wings rise
up. Those glass-like wings start to beat until they blurred into a loud
buzz and he levitated up from the rock, and circles away from them before
flying in a direction fast

"Still wish they can come over to us..." Naomi says as they watch Taci
quickly disappear into the horizon, "At least once..."

"Yeah... Me too..." Merrick replies as he puts his arm around his daughter,
watching some far away dolphins jump and race along the surface.

"Hey Dad... About Grandpa-"

"No. I don't want to talk about it." Merrick says abruptly as he turns
around and walks off. He picks his trident back up, and rolled his head to
crack it.

"Dad, wait. I just wanted to-"

"JUST" He turns a sharp turn at her as a shout escapes his mouth and
holding his hand out threateningly to keep her at bay. Naomi gasps and
halted. Merrick huffs with aggravation as his hand closes, "Just, drop it."

"Dad..." Naomi pushes, growing a little bold. Her eyes see the energy of
his body spiking with very dark blue needles that seem to be darting in and
out of his soul at the same time as streams of sharp rivers circulate in
and around his chest, "I don't like how your aura is looking... You're
starting scaring me."

"Naomi, I'm still trying to deal with it." He tells her with his razor
sharp glare, "Before you get any clever ideas, do NOT pull any of Donna's
therapy antics on me right now."

"I-I'm not, I'm not." Naomi pushes, "I get it, I just..." Merrick gives her
a very impatient sigh before giving that dark and cold gaze -- the look
that always told her she was walking on very thin ice, "I... Ok, Dad..."

"Hahh... Right, I'm sorry." Merrick says, "Lets just get back..."

"Son?" They turn to see Umiato climb from the surface. The water rushes and
washes off and away from her body, the resulting sea foam and bubbles
turning into a simple white and light cyan gown.

"Hello, Mother." Merrick says as he adjusts himself. Umiato walks
deliberately to them, glancing at the strange mechanical set-up Merrick
made with the crystal and the makeshift radio.

"And what is this contraption?"

"It's something I use to contact a friend. A former merfolk, changed by the
Black Sun. It reflects sunlight so it can be seen from far away while
emitting a sound that is specific to hear."

"I see."

"Yes..." Merrick stares at his parent for a moment before turning to his
daughter, "Naomi, would you give me and your Grandmother a moment? I need
to talk with her about something."

"Sure, Dad..." Naomi says as she walks slowly and looks at his aura, noting
small hints and glimpses of a dark blue silhouette, as if they were a
hologram in a fog of smoke. The vague images hold cavernous echoes of a
voice she doesn't recognize.

Merrick's eyes stay to Umiato until he notices that Naomi is still present,
"Go." He tells her somewhat impatiently after he catches her looking at
him. Naomi steps further away and retreats back into the water. He turns to
Umiato.

"Your face shows me anger... But your aura reflects different."

"I don't want her to see me like this." Merrick replies as he keeps his
stern look while taking a second to wipe his eyes, "Mother. Why didn't you
tell me Father passed? I had a right to know. Why."

"It was four moons ago, Son... I still needed so much time to make peace-"

"Then you could have sent Sister. Brother. Brishen would've done nicely."
Merrick starts, "Honestly, one word, Mother. A hint, a message, if you
didn't have the heart to tell me yourself, I don't care WHO would've told
me.

"Son..."

"ANYone would have sufficed! How can you just let me believe that he was
still alive?!"

"Son, I know," Umiato stammers slightly, her voice wavering with emotion,
"This was my mistake,"

"This wasn't a mistake, Mother! This was cruel."

"Son..." Umiato looks at him with hurt eyes. "You are telling me..."

"Tell me something right now." Merrick growls lowly as he comes up to her,
"Because I know with something this important, one of them would've gotten
the nerve to seek me out. So answer this: Did you forbid Sister, Brother,
and Brishen NOT to tell me that Father died?" Umiato's eyes glisten with
remorse as she looks at him. Merrick scoffs with disbelief before he turned
away from her. "Really? Really, Mother?"

"Merrick..."

"REALLY, MOTHER?!" Merrick yells. He turns away from her as his hands dig
into his hair. He paces a few times as he tries to restrain himself. He
turns back to glare at her as she looks at him with honest regret, "I never
thought you would do that, Mother. All my life, you never lied or withheld
something like this from me."

"And you have not?"

"I... This isn't about that!"

"True. But I am still your Mother, Son. And while furious, I will not hear
hypocrisy from you."

"Tch."

"Yes... Now I fully understand your younger years."

"Don't change the subject, Mother." Merrick frowns, "And don't justify your
mistake with my past."

"Fine..." Umiato sighs as she rubs her hands onto her head before looking
back up, "Son, I am sorry. You have... Complete right to be furious with
me. I understand that-"

"So why not, Mother?! Why wasn't I allowed to know?? That wasn't fair! Why
did you leave me in the dark?! He was my FATHER! He was my FATHER, and now
he's gone!"

"And he was my soulmate, Merrick!" Umiato tells him with her voice raised,
"Kaiken meant the entire world to me! He held the life of my heart, and he
guided our pod by my side for countless years!" Merrick continues to leer
at her with angry tears, "When we fell in love, he promised me he would
give spark of existence to protect me, and he..." Umiato closes her eyes as
her hand went to her mouth. After taking a few seconds to gather herself,
she continued her heated rebuttal, "Kaiken... Gave me you. He gave me your
Sister, and he gave me your Brother. He gave so much to me even in times
where it hurt him sorely. And after the miraculous span of time the Waves
of Fate were generous enough to allow us to be together, he finally gave
all that he had left."

"So I ask you this in my own defense, Son. With an endless tapestry of
memories portraying both the best and the worst of your years, would you be
easily able to intangibly scribe to your child if Adam perished as Kaiken
did?"

"Khhh," Merrick paces around in anger, leaning his head back when he
stops. Honestly, he doesn't know what to say to her.

"I am sorry, my Son... I have done you an injustice."

"Why, Mother??" Merrick turns to look at her, "Tell me why..."

"I suppose... I could say that I did not want you to know for as long as
possible... In some way, I can say that Kaiken was still alive so long as
you believed he was. But that would be nothing but an excuse. I can also
say that I did not wish to see your heart break over the loss of your
Father, as your Sister and your Brother did, as well as the pod who
followed him for so long... But more importantly... If you were told about
it, it would make his passing so much more real..." She looks down, "I love
you, Son... But embracing you to share the sorrow would have hurt me so
much more than I was prepared to bear... I did not tell you because I was
selfish, Son..."

"Haahhh..." He sighs as he turns back away from her. The two of them stay
in their positions for a while, feeling the scent of the sea billow around
them in the wind, "... It's been 10 months since I last saw all of you."
Merrick finally says as he turns to her again, "I haven't spoken to any one
of you in so long. And I didn't even get to say goodbye." Merrick's last
sentence ends with a whimper as a tear rolls and drops from his eyes.

"Merrick..." Umiato comes to him.

"I know he was old, Mother. He didn't have many years left, I knew
that. But for God's sake..." He gasps harshly to hold back a sob as he puts
his hand over his eyes, "I wasn't even there... I am his eldest child, and
I wasn't even there..."

"Son, he understood. We all understand." She says as she holds his
shoulders. Merrick gasps and huffs as he stands there, trying to maintain
what control he has left over himself at this time, Kaiken's image still
playing through his mind's eye.

"... I wanted him to meet her..." Merrick sniffled as he sobs after a
moment of composing himself, "I really, really, really wanted to hear what
he thought of her..."

"I know, Son... I know..."

"I wanted to hear him say he approved of her... I needed him to know my
child... My legacy continues, and I needed him to know that."

"I know it's hard, Son." Umiato says tenderly, "When Kaiken passed away, I
lost so much more than a merman beside me... I knew he wasn't going to make
it when that Sand Ray attacked... We could have escaped... But nothing I
said could stop him from fighting for the pod. The days are still hard to
pass over since he departed to the Shores of Light."

Merrick lets the tears flow from his eyes as he as grips his trident, "I
still can't believe he's gone..." His arms rest down so the top of his
weapon lands onto the rock as his head tilts up, "He's gone, Mother... My
Father is gone, and he will never meet my daughter..."

"Your Father may be gone from this world, but he lives eternal in the
next." She tells him, "And he would have loved your Daughter."

"But Mother, how can you know that?" Merrick said through a thick voice as
he turns to look at her, his eyes red and wet, "Any child of mine would
ALWAYS be half human, and he could barely tolerate being near Adam."

"Because your daughter is a mermaid. A mermaid who looks so much like his
mate." She puts her hand onto his cheek, "Kaiken would hold her like he
held you and your Sister and your Brother. And he would be proud to see her
to have inherited the power she carries now."

"Hhgghh..." Merrick cries as he comes close to her and cries on her
shoulder, "If I were there... I could have saved him..." He whines, "If I
was there... He wouldn't have had to die..."

"No, Son, there was nothing-"

"Don't, Mother... If I had been there, I could have made the difference. I
couldn't have stopped him, but if I was there, he wouldn't have had to
endure the battle as he did..."

"Son, you must stop pretending you know of the past in a place where you
were not." She says as she pushes him backward while holding onto his
shoulders to look in his eyes, "You have always done this, Son. What
happened to your Father is never going to be your fault. It was no one's
fault." Umiato explains as her eyes barely show her tears, having passed
through her own mourning long ago, "It was his time, Merrick."

Merrick bows his head and covers his eyes with his hand as he sobs harshly,
pushing all the memories he can summon to his mind, shaking and tensing as
words and sentences makes this fact so much more sadder.

"Oh, Son." Umiato says as she strokes his arm, "Kaiken has taught you so
much and so well, and yet his integrity has made you hard on yourself. He
has served his purpose and so much more, and reached above and beyond his
own moral limitations. You did that for him, Son." Merrick uncovers his
eyes and looks into hers, "He would never say, or realize it himself, but
you taught your Father to open his heart."

"What... Mother..." Merrick sobs as she consoles him, "How? Why?"

"Your exile opened his eyes and his senses so much more than he would ever
have thought. And he would have cherished deeply for Naomi."

"Egheghghg" Merrick cries as he hugs her. In his mind, he sees Kaiken
walking, or swimming from him in the eternal light, leaving his trident
rooted in the divine sands of the shores.


~~~


Merrick takes a deep breath and exhales while looks over in the horizon
from the large reef rock. He's wanted to be alone for the past several days
ever since he talked to Umiato. Against advisement, he's even taken to
hunting outside of Atlantis's borders; it's not a strict rule for merfolk
to wonder outside of the Kingdom during the year than it is a formality.

"Um... Whoa! Uh Merrick? A-Ahh..." Merrick turns to see Brishen coming to
him in his human form -- he has a head a black hair along with a charming
circle beard around his mouth. His arms reach either side of him as he
wobbles on his legs.

"Hahaha, having a little trouble there, Brishen?" Merrick asked with a
chuckle.

"I- Ah!" Brishen trips over, hissing as he scraps his knees, "I've been
trying to learn how to walk for a long time now, I... Arrggh!" He growls,
hardly able to keep any balance, "How in Atargatis's name did you ever
learn how to do this?"

"It just came to me." Merrick snickered, "You COULD say I learned from my
mate; I just learned inherently from my bond with him."

"Gah..." Finally Brishen makes it to Merrick's side, "It's more painful
than I thought."

"You know, the Kenovani pod holds regular walking lessons at least 3 or 4
times a week -- everyone in it knows how to walk perfectly."

"Try telling that to Triton Cotei. You know as well as I do he can't stand
going above the surface."

"The wind agitates his skin. Back on land, humans refer to that as an
ailment called `Allergies'. I never met anyone who was allergic to the air
before, not since Father..." He stops, before he sighs, "Dammit..."

"I..." Brishen hesitates. After a pause, Brishen turns to him, "So Merrick,
something I'm curious about."

"Oh?"

"It's about your daughter."

"Yes?"

"Well... How was she born? She is yours, correct?"

"Yep. Her mother is a human I've known for years; it's a process lots of
humans do when they are unable to conceive on their own -- it's called a
Surrogate. Me and my husband are incapable of carrying a baby, so we sought
the help of a female."

"I see. And she just agreed?"

"She was more than happy to carry my child."

"Alright. So back to my original question." Brishen backtracked, "Just HOW
was she born? As a Piscien, she was born in an egg, wasn't she? Humans
don't have eggs, yes? At least that's what I've heard. Humans are born as
whales, yeah?"

"Yes. Naomi was born without an egg, she was born just like any other
human."

"Oh, so... Wait, does that mean she was always a mermaid born as a human?
I... Ok, now I'm just confusing myself."

"Oh you mean if she was always a mermaid to begin with?"

"Yes! When she got wet, did she change while she was an infant?"

"Oh no. When she was very young, she was a human for a long time. To be
honest, I WAS disappointed when she did not grow a tail, but I still loved
her."

"So when DID you find out she was a mermaid?"

"When she was just 7 years old." Merrick answered, "That was when it first
happened... It was actually a very scary event..."


---9 Years Ago---


Adam laughs as his little blonde daughter squeals with laughter as she
splashes up the water on the beach.

"Alright, C'MERE!" Adam says viciously as he snatches her up.

"AHHH! Papa! HAhaha!" She kicks about as Adam swerves and falls backward
into the water. He comes up a second later as Naomi jumps at him.

"OK! Lunch time!!" Merrick called out from the sand.

"But Daddy!!"

"5 more minutes?!" Adam called out.

"No! We gotta head out soon! The field trip is almost finished!"

"Aggghh alright. Come on honey." Adam pouted as he wades through the water.

"Okie, Papa." Naomi says as she trots through the water. As she goes, she
coughs as the seawater splashes in her mouth. Her chest starts to feel
stiff as she has trouble breathing while her skin starting to
feel... Weird. "P-Pa... Papa..." She wheezes as she trips into the
water. Her legs won't move. She squirms as she tries to grab onto
something, "Pa-ah-agh-agh! P-Papa!" She chokes out as she struggles.

"Hm?" Adam turns, but gasps as he looks down. He doesn't see his daughter,
he sees a bizarre alien creature write and flop about in the pink swimsuit
Naomi was wearing, "Oh my God!"

"Papa! Pagghpaahh!" Naomi gurgles as Adam kneels to her. He covers his
mouth as the creature squirms and gurgles horrible.

"Oh my God- Merrick!" Adam stands and turns, "Merrick!! MERRICK!!!"

"What?" Merrick says as he looks to the shore when Adam starts yelling
hysterically at the top of his lungs.

"MERRICK GET OVER HERE!! HURRY! RIGHT NOW! GET OVER HERE NOW! RUN!!" Adam
screams after kneeling back down and putting his hands into the water.

"What- Naomi???" Merrick sprints down the hot sand and into the tide, right
over to Adam and a wild sentient splashing, "Adam, what's the matter!?
HHH!" Merrick gasped as he looks down at a flailing and drowning white fish
entity.

"Merrick, what's happening?! I don't know what to do! What're we-"

"Wait for me!" Merrick says as he scoops her up in his arms and dives into
the water.

"Merrick, wait!" He called out, but that big, fancy white tailfin is
already slapping the surface before it disappears underneath, "Oh my
God..." Adam hushed as he covers his mouth with both hands, his insides
churning with shock.


~v~v~v~


"PaAapa! DaDDY!" Naomi screeches as she twists and turns around. "HeELLPp!
I ca-aHA-AH't brEathe! HEHHLP!"

"It's ok, Naomi! It's ok! Daddy's here! Daddy's here, you're going to be
ok!" Merrick says hastily as he grabs at her misplaced bathing suit. His
webbed hands yank on either side, snarling as he tries to tear it
apart. Quickly, his sharp eyes look down and around the sand and rock, and
then swimming down to seize a broken clamshell. Using the sharp, jagged
edge of the shell, Merrick pulled and ripped the swimsuit into shreds off
of her body while Naomi squirms in horror.

"Help me!! Daddy! Where am I?! DADDY!!"

"Calm down, sweetie, it's alright!" Merrick says as he holds her in one
spot, "EASY! Easy, stay still! Stop moving!!"

"AAH Ahgghghgh!"

"NAOMI! STOP MOVING!" Merrick yelled. Naomi cries and shakes as she tries
to obey, having no idea how to move correctly right now.

"NooOO!" Naomi shoves his arms and tries to kick her tail away from this
blue and white-silver creature in front of her, "Where's my Daddy?! You're
a stranger! I want my Daddy!"

"Naomi! It's me! I'm Daddy! I'm your Daddy! It's me! I just look different,
that's all! Honey, it's ok!"

"Ak-gkh!" Naomi chokes again, scratching at her throat as she chokes and
gags. "Gllgggllhh!"

"Don't panic, Naomi! Just swallow the water! Swallow it while you're
drinking, close your mouth as hard as you can and then open your mouth as
wide as you can! Swallow and breathe! Swallow and breathe!" The terrified
little mermaid sobs as she gulps down the seawater, wincing and sobbing as
she presses her lips together, still choking from the horribly salty water.

"Agkghkh!"

"Naomi, do as I say! Drink and close your mouth hard," Merrick quickly
investigates her body, locating her gills and carefully prying them open,
"Swallow and breathe, Naomi! Swallow and breathe." Merrick's insides shift
as he feels the feeble push of an unseen flow from Naomi's gills, "Good
girl, just like that, keep going."

"Dah... Daddy..." Naomi cries as she shakes her head, "I don't wanna do
this, I don't wanna do thiiiis!"

"NO! Keep going, you need to breathe!" Naomi reluctantly repeats her
command, forcing the intense salinity into her mouth and down her throat,
"Good girl, good girl, you're doing good. It's ok, Daddy's here." He
assures her as he keeps her afloat, "You're ok, swallow and breathe."

"Daddy... I'm scared, Daddy, what's happening to me??" She asks, afraid to
really move.

"Stay calm, baby, stay calm, everything is going to be alright. You're
going to be ok, Naomi, just keep breathing."

"A-Ah... Ah..." Naomi squints as her vision starts to get brighter,
"D-Daddy! Don't leave me! Where are you going?! Ahhhh! My eyes!"

"Naomi, I'm right here, what're you saying??"

"I-I-I, there's lights! It's too bright! I can't see! Daddy, I can't see!"
She cries out.

"By the Sea Mother- O-O-Ok, just close your eyes! Close them!" Naomi obeys,
sobbing as she clenches them shut, "Is that better? Are the lights gone?"

"Y-Yes... D-Daddy." She gasps and bawls as she puts her hands over her
eyes, "What do I do now, Daddy?? What do I do?"

"I... I don't know... By the depths..." Merrick says as he backs up a
little, and looks upon his daughter. Her body shimmers like her flesh is
made of pearl. A single tail with a widened, curtain-like tailfin has
replaced her legs, while a shawl of a fin has formed from her shoulders,
"Oh Naomi..."

"Daddy, I'm scared, I duh, I don't know what Iiii-"

"It's ok, it's ok," Merrick comes in and hugs her tight, letting her cry
into his chest as he holds her, "Daddy's here, Daddy's got you..." His own
powerful tail gracefully looms below.


~~~


Adam paces around the sand, holding a fabric scabbard with a handle at the
top and a couple of other things too. His insides are pounding as he
replays the events that have just happened in his mind. Naomi was
changing... What caused it? Why now? What's going to happen to her?

He looks to the shore, and spots Merrick's blonde head surfacing. He
immediately runs over, and dashes into the water and wades over to them
until he can see Merrick's naked human-form body when the water is
waist-deep. "Merrick! So what's happening, is, oh my God," Adam gasps as he
sees a small and white iridescent mermaid in Merrick's arms, her webbed
hands holding upon her eyes as she moves weakly, "Merrick, what's happened
to her??"

"I-I don't know, Adam," Merrick says with is voice full of panic, "She's a
mermaid, but I- I don't know, she can barely handle herself!"

"What do you mean?"

"She says she can't see, she's seeing too many lights, and she's starting
to develop a fever!"

"Oh my God, what should we do?? Should we go to Atarah??"

"We don't have time for that! I need to take her to the Kenovani! Vanora
and Nerissa are the only ones who can help right now!"

"But what about Atarah though?? Isn't she closer?!"

"She hasn't been a mermaid for eons, Adam! She wouldn't know how to help
right now!"

"Daddyyyy..." Naomi cries.

"I know, honey, I know, it's ok, it's ok," Merrick hushes, "Adam I don't
know when I'll be back, but at this time of year, the Kenovani shouldn't be
too far from these waters. I need to go now!"

"Ok, Merrick, ok, here," Adam relented as he presents the items he's
carrying, "Take my machete and your emergency pack, I already put your
phone it in a plastic casing in it."

"Ok," Merrick quickly slings the pack onto his shoulder and takes the
sheathed blade.

"Merrick, be careful," Adam says with a quick kiss, "Call me as soon as you
can."

"I will, I promise." Merrick says before he turns around and swims down as
Adam watches his legs morph into the long blue tail under the surface.

"Daddy... My eyes are hurting..." Naomi whines.

"I know, baby," Merrick said with suppressed terror, "I'm going to get you
some help, and everything's going to be ok." He kicks his long, powerful
tail as hard as he can as he flies through the water, heading further into
the open ocean.


---9 Years Later---


"It was really terrifying when it first happened." Merrick says, "A Noita
is born with the benefit of her mother being there to show her how to
control her prowess, but my daughter didn't have that. It took several days
for the Noita and Adra Noita of the Kenovani to teach Naomi how to
stabilize her sight."

"Your Daughter really is a Noita?" Brishen asked with astonishment.

"Yes. But because she wasn't the same species as the Kenovani's Noitas,
there wasn't anything she can learn beyond the basics. Things just couldn't
translate properly. As well, half of the Kenovani members were rather
judgmental and uneasy by the fact that she is half human. And I couldn't
introduce her to Mother or Sister because of the Sacred Laws."

"I can't imagine being in the kind of life you have, Merrick." He tells
him, "You sound as if you deal with so much complexity. Just how elaborate
does your life have to be?"

"I get by. I never thought of it like that. Hahah, though there are several
differences with her that I'm a little jealous about. Like she doesn't need
the ocean like I do, she understands things quicker than I do, she's not at
all effected by chlorine. Not even the smell."

"What?" Brishen asked with a strange look, "Effected by what?"

"Oh, sorry, chlorine. Humans make bodies of water of their own, and
chlorine is this type of... Let's go with poison. Chlorine is a kind of
poison they use to keep their large waters clean. It's extremely rancid by
scent and it burns horribly on the skin, but Naomi doesn't notice at all,
just like the humans."

"Hahaha, I can see you've had your work cut out for you. I know my
daughter's been a lot hassle in the past. Hey, do you want to see if we can
take on a Scythe Fish? Some of them are getting violent, and I wanted to
see if you wanted to help me hunt them."

"Um..." Merrick pondered, "I'll... Pass for now. I don't really feel up to
it right now."

"Oh... Alright, I understand. I'll tell some of the locals just to be
careful until then." Brishen then shakes as he pushes himself up, trying to
find his balance on his two legs.

"Use your spear as a third leg, it helps." Merrick suggested.

"A-Ah ok," Brishen quickly gets his weapon, and sighs in relief as he puts
his weight into it as he walks.

Merrick sighs as he turns back to the horizon, listening to the wind and
the waves tackling the rocks around the tide.


~~~


Later that night, Merrick still sits alone on the rock as he looks up at
the moon, feeling the wind blow around him.

"Dad?" He turns and sees Naomi coming to him, "Are you doing ok? You've
been gone for a few of days. Everyone keeps wondering where you are."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Merrick says as he gestures to her to come and sit with
him. She crouches down and settles next to him, "I'm still just reflecting
on things."

"... Hey, Dad, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, honey."

"So... What happens to merfolk when they die? When um... WE die?" Naomi
asks, "I know it's a bad topic right now..."

"Hmph... Why don't you ask your Grandmother?"

"Because I don't want to ask her... I want to ask you." She
persisted. Merrick gives surrendering chuckle as he adjusts his legs.

"It's more or less the same with how most human beliefs claim about." He
explains, "Our bodies remain in this world, abandoned. While our souls are
released. We swim though the ethereal boundaries of life and reality, where
we come to this place called the Shores of Light."

"So that's our version of Heaven?"

"In a sense."

"Do we... Have a Hell?"

"No." Merrick shakes his head, "No matter how good or how bad a merfolk is,
evil or benevolent, the Sea Mother Atargatis welcomes all of us to Her
arms. She loves us all. The Sea Mother would never let a single one of Her
children be alone when we reach the Shores of Light. She forgives us for
all our sins and bathes us with Her divinity."

"Hm..." Naomi ponders.

"Some merfolk even believe we're given a choice after we die."

"What choice?"

"We can either stay in the Shores of Light and serve as invisible eyes to
watch over the world. Or, we can choose to be reborn again -- a clean
slate, a whole new beginning."

"So reincarnation then?"

"If we want. If that's even true." Merrick answered with a smile, "I know
I'll never be in the Shores of Light."

"Wait, what? Why, Dad?"

"For your Papa." Merrick answered before he turned to her, "Because what
good is an eternity of bliss and radiance if my human lover can't go to the
same heaven as I do?"

"Wow, Dad. That is SO cliché." Naomi mocks.

"Well screw you, bitchcakes." Merrick nudges.

"Hahaha..."  After a while of sitting together to gaze at the moon, Naomi
gets a little bolder. "Dad, I have another question... But if you don't
want to answer, it's cool."

"Go on."

"So, Grandpa... What was he like?" She asked. Merrick's smile faded. "I
mean, you say he was like Aalton, but... I want to know more about how he
was when you were younger. Like, you've told me bits and pieces about him,
but..."

"Heh..."

"... I'm sorry, Dad, I shouldn't have asked..." Donna has given her some
tips in the past, despite Merrick's protests about the way a psychologist
does things. Naomi just wants to help Merrick get through this... "I just
thought talking about him might be, you know..."

"No no, you're good, Naomi." Merrick says as he rubs her arm up and
down. "My Father... He was a serious hard-ass. He would almost never give a
straight answer to a direct question when it came to my training, but
sometimes he had a way of teaching me an entire lesson with all of the
details while asking ME questions the whole time."

"Father had a weakness for seastars -- those were his guilty pleasures like
how your Papa is with sweets. He could be described as a military Dad, but
he always gushed for Sister, but he never talked softly to me - he was
harsh to make me strong. Father also had away of summing up a lesson with a
cryptic sentence to give it a metaphorical sense."

"So... How did Grandpa really react when he found out about you and Papa?
You were kicked out, right?"

"Before he found out, I would always sneak away from the pod to meet with
Adam every time we went to Hawaii; it was my `personal training', as I
called it. Father never heard of any sort of personal training, and
eventually he caught on to what I was doing, he even assumed correctly I
was meeting with a human. Heh, at that point, he started to deliberately
throw accusations at me to try and make me feel so defensive that I'd
straight out confess what I was doing. It worked, by the way, and... He did
not like what I had to say..."

"Was he homophobic, Dad? Was that why he was so angry at you?" Naomi says,
piecing together something she knows from what Merrick told her a long time
ago.

"No, my being gay didn't strike with his personal beliefs. It wasn't so
much that I turned out to be homosexual that was really the problem. It was
because I broke two of the Sacred Laws. He was a very strict and
traditional merman. Having a child who even THOUGHT about breaking a Sacred
Law was beyond unfathomable. I was supposed to succeed his pod when I found
a Noita..." Merrick sighed for a moment, "But that was never going to
happen... He was so shocked and furious that I couldn't take on his
legacy..."

"What exactly did he do then?"

"I believe that Father didn't even conceive of the very idea of same-sex
love -- to this day, homosexuality is still a foreign concept to
merfolk. As an Adra Triton, I was entitled to a second chance after
breaking a Law... Father thought if he were to put me on trial, I would
come to my senses and fall in line. And, well... You can imagine what
happened next..." Merrick says, putting a hand on the back of his neck, and
rubbing his heart tribal symbol.

"It was hard, not just for me, Mother or Sister... My Father lost more than
an heir on that day. He lost part of himself. He lost what kept the balance
of the pod. It took years for me to understand that he wasn't just angry at
me, but how betrayed he felt from my deception."

"But Dad it wasn't your fault, was it?"

"Fault or no, it was never going to end well. My actions aside, Father was
confused and conflicted. Mother had to talk him through the situation
several times, but it was always something hard for him to handle. To have
so much promise and faith in someone, and then see that it was all for
nothing. Especially when it was clear that I loved Adam more than I valued
the pod. He had to force himself to deny my existence. He was practically
having to crash his head into the wall because that is what tradition
dictated. But... Something changed... When your Papa almost died, I became
lost, and..." Merrick closes his eyes as tears start to well in his eyelids
again. He takes deep harsh breaths as he puts the side of his fist to his
mouth as he tries to contain himself. Naomi puts her hands on his muscular
arm and on his back.

"I was lost, and... He was there." Merrick's voice shook a little, "He was
there when there was no one else. I was trying to let myself die, and he
pulled me out of despair. He wouldn't let me go..." He shook his head as
his face tense as his lungs started to hurt.

"..."

"He beat me into shape and ordered me to stand back up and walk. He told me
to get my shit together and be with m... To be with my Adam..." Merrick
huffs as a tear rolled and dropped. He sniffs as he wipes his eyes, "He
saved me, Naomi... He saved me when all I wanted to do was
disappear. God..." Merrick starts to break again as the very principle
brings him to tears. He coughs and clears his throat, composing himself as
best as he can.

"He was a hard learner, but he learned nonetheless. He learned that I still
mattered. I was still alive, and I still needed him. We abandoned each
other, Naomi." Merrick looks at her, "And that is something I hope you will
never have to face. We left one another behind, but we both came back... HE
pulled me back..."

Naomi scooted closer to hug Merrick from the side, "I'm sorry, Daddy..."

"I'm going to miss him, Naomi... I wish he were still alive to see our
homeland... And I wish he could've met you..." Naomi moves between
Merrick's legs, and he hugs her protectively from behind.

Merrick closes his eyes for a moment. How would Kaiken have reacted to
Naomi? What would he have said? If he were still alive... What would he
say?


///


Kaiken drifts to them, his old trident mounted on his back, chipped and
worn down as always -- all this time, and he still keeps it as it has
always been, hardly really bothering to have Umiato help him restore
it. "Son..." He says as looke up to him drearily, "I am glad you have made
it..."

"Same to you, Father." Merrick smiles, "I'm so glad..."

"And..."

"Kaiken," Umiato says as she and Naomi turn to him.

"Oh? ..." He turns and gazes upon the young white mermaid next to his
wife. His eyes stare and widen at her as he takes her in, "Son... What is
this?"

"She is his, Father..." Savarna says, "This is Brother's Daughter."

"Son, you..." Kaiken looks to Merrick and then back to Naomi, "You have
created a child??" He floats over to her, the old Navyn Bolt putting his
scarred and roughed hands to her slowly, looking at the beautiful Arctic
Veil, looking back at him with his own vivid blue eyes, "She is... By the
Sea Mother, she is so grown..."

"She is 16 years of age." Merrick confirms.

"16 years..." Kaiken asks weakly as he looks to him and then back, "You are
16 years born. All of that time, and we have never known you have a child?"

"Honestly, I was afraid, Father." Merrick says as he holds his arm, "See,
her mother is a human. She is my blood, but she is also of human flesh as
well."

"Human... Blood, and..." Kaiken mumbles as he takes this in, his mind a bit
scattered from his old age, "I do not understand, Son, she is perfect..."
Kaiken says as his rough hands softly caress Naomi's tender face, "She is
perfect, Son, I cannot understand."

"Father never allowed me to venture farther into the sea than the sands
could see the surface." Naomi says as she puts her delicate hand onto
Kaiken's arm, "What's more, the ocean does not call to me as it does to
him."

"The ocean embraces you, child." Kaiken says with a weary chuckle as he
observes her more, "By the depths, you are just the same as my mate. You
are the mirror reflection of my Noita, you even talk with her words..."

"You... Do you like her, Father?" Merrick asked, still feeling on edge.

"She is perfect, my Son, I do not understand why you have waited so long
for us to meet."

"I... I was foolish and scared..." Merrick admits as he looks to the side.

"I can sense her power, Kaiken." Umiato says as she rubs his shoulders,
"She holds my light."

"You have the light?" Kaiken asked, "The Sea Mother be praised..." His
harsh eyes seep with the glittering hint of tears as Naomi's smile brings
forth a wealth of wondrous emotions from his younger memories.

"I have taught myself only what I can discover on my own." Naomi nods, "I
have only met very few other merfolk, Grandfather."

"A mermaid Daughter of my Son, the inheritance of my true love, and the
creation of your own temperance from your power. You are such an
overwhelming blessing, my child..."

"Come." Triton Aalton says as he comes to them, "We must move on."

"Very well." Kaiken sighs as he turns, guiding Naomi with him, "Have you
sung to the full moon yet, child? Has your Father told you of our
traditions?"

"Heh..." Merrick scoffs as they swim. He can already tell Kaiken is not
going to give Naomi so much as 5 minutes of space for at least several
days, gushing over her like he used to gush for Savarna when she was a very
young mermaid. It doesn't even matter that she's half human, he looks as
though he is going to be holding her for the whole year...


///


Merrick looks to the moonlit sea as this euphoric thought plays through his
mind, feeling a tear of calm apathy roll down his cheek. He wanted to hear
how he felt about his daughter -- he wanted to know so badly...

"I wish I could've met him too." Naomi says to break the silence, "He
sounds wonderful, Dad."