Chapter Text
They got late to school, getting scolded by Rose and the teacher, Hunter and his group snickering, they sat down at their table, Pomme already there, raising an eyebrow at them “Did something happen? You guys look like shit” Pomme said looking them up and down, eyebags on all of them, with messy hair and tired eyes
”The true question is how you were able to sleep after that? Or was it some kind of prank? If it was i’ll beat your ass” Richarlyson looked at her suspicious, she raised her hands in mock defense “Wasn’t a prank, but i made my peace with it on the way home when no monster came out of the water to drag me to the deep ocean when i was alone”
”Who knows? Maybe it will come tonight” Chayanne joked, but by the way Pomme shivered and looked now deep in thought, it wasn’t a good joke and was to early “Sorry” Chayanne simply said, Pomme only nodded
Before they could continue chatting the teacher called their attention, and they started paying attention to the class, but only half of their mind was present, the other couldn’t stop wondering the happenings of yesterday
finally it was recess, but none of them got the chance to leave the table before Hunter smashed his hands on their table once again, soon they start a petition to save the poor table, but right now they were focused on the prick
”So, did you guys do it? Or were you guys too scared and cried for your mamas” Hunter chuckled, sitting on the last chair and putting his foot on the table, earning a nasty look from Pomme
“First of all, none of us have a mother, and second, yes” Pomme huffed before shoving the picture on his face, much to the their dismay
“Tsk, yeah, yeah whatever, show off” Hunter said before slapping her hand away almost making her phone fall and leaving “Huh? You asked for it you prick!” Richarlyson snarled almost going to chase them and kick their ass before Chayanne stopped them by holding their sleeve
“its fine, he’ll probably leave us alone for some time now” Pomme said putting her phone back on her pocket “And why did you show him the picture with…you know what on!” Chayanne whisper shouted the last part, Pomme only chuckled “Relax, i edited it out, but I didn’t erase the original before you ask” Pomme said before Chayanne could ask
“Lets go to the dining hall” Tallulah said trying to calm the situation, the others nodded and soon they made their way to it, getting their desired lunches and sitting down on a vacant table
But as soon as Tallulah took a bite out of her muffin, she gagged and almost chocked, from the ashy taste that filled her mouth, forcing herself to swallow it, before looking at the food with confusion
Chayanne had a close reaction with his Avocado toast, and so did Richarlyson with his pizza and Pomme with her apple
“Wow, this is the worst food i’ve ever tasted” Richarlyson finally said, when the silence stretched “I don’t understand, usually the food here is good, not the best, but consumable” Pomme said, rolling her apple around with a disappointed look
”Yeah this isn’t close to consumable, i rather eat dirt then this” Chayanne tsked shaking his head in disagreement, Tallulah nodded with Chayanne’s point
“Anyway since were not gonna eat anything, we might as well talk about yesterday” Pomme suggested and the others nodded “But isn’t it risky talking about it on here?” Tallulah said worried, looking around, the cafeteria was mostly empty since most preferred to eat out, but there was still a good quantity of students and employees there
”Good thinking Tallulah, come on, follow me” Pomme said before getting up, they all followed her, after putting their food away, going outside the school and walking around it to the back where there was a small camp with a few trees “Thats the place i usually go on recess, no one goes here and i can have some moments for myself, but i guess its for you guys too now” Pomme explained, leaning on one of the trees and sitting on its shade, Richarlyson already trying to climb said tree and sitting on one of the branches, while Tallulah and Chayanne just sat down close to Pomme
“Alright then, we have 10 minutes before recess is over, so lets talk” Pomme said checking the time on her phone with a sigh “I’ll cut to the chase, i think we should just ignore it” Chayanne said “What?! We found out about a freaking mermaid and you want to ‘ignore it’” Richarlyson exclaimed indignant
”its not affecting us in any way, and we can’t deal with that kind of stuff, dude im 15 and im the oldest here, i think, I don’t know Pomme’s age” Chayanne exclaimed crossing his arms “Im 14” Pomme simply said silently “Thanks” Chayanne silently said back
“Yeah! We can’t but we also just can’t ignore it!” Richarlyson defended his opinion, throwing his arms to the air almost losing his balance on the branch he sat on
”Im sorry Chay, but i am with Richas on this one” Tallulah said with a nod “Thank you! You’re now my best friend in here”
“Alright so its two against one, who’s side are you on Pomme?” Tallulah asked turning to the french girl “Neither, i just want this to be over so we can go back to being normal teenagers” Pomme said and Tallulah nodded “So me and Richas won”
“Fine then! What do you guys suggest?” chayanne said grumbling a little with a tsk “i suggest we go back to Mako Island” Richarlyson said, since the day he left, he didn’t know why, but he felt a tug to the island, as if something was missing and he wanted- no, he needed to go back there, it was as if his mind was divided one being rational while the other just thought about that, and by the others reaction, he wasn’t the only one
”By me its fine…just meet me at the docks after school if you guys want to” Pomme muttered lowly, as the bell rang and they made their way back to class, Hunter and his group starring at them with fire on their eyes
the classes seemed to be slower then normal, Tallulah didn’t know if it was because she was a nervous wreck waiting for it to end or if it was just boredom getting to her, her mind screeching with joy that they would go back to Mako island and wanting her to hurry up, it was not making things easier
finally it ended, they went back home telling Pomme they would bring some stuff before meeting her on the docks, she just nodded and went to prepare The Sniper
they went home and while Tallulah told Rose they were going to a friends house and would be back late, Chayanne and Richarlyson grabbed a few stuff like water bottles and snacks, together with towels, they didn’t plan to swim, but for some reason something told them to bring it
they finally left shouting a goodbye for Rose, as they quickened their pace until getting to the Docks, Pomme already having the boat motor on “Well, what are you guys waiting for?” She snickered, as they entered and sat down
The trip to the island was peaceful they chat and talked, made tuna sandwiches, in the end they only ate the tuna because the bread tasted really bad and they thought it might be molded or something even if it seemed perfectly fine, but thankfully the tuna was amazing
as they got closer and closer to the island, the part of their brains that wanted to go back there got louder and louder with pure excitement, it thrilled and chirped, it was pretty weird, but felt nice
Pomme dropped the anchor and turned off the motor, as they sat foot on Mako Island once again “so, were here” Chayanne said, but before any could respond, a small thrill filled the air, and it they didn’t know where it came from or why it made them happy
Richarlyson was the first to notice it came from Tallulah, he looked at her surprised, her eyes were dilated, as she started to walk “Tallulah?…” Pomme tried to call for her, but the brunette continued walking, they slowly followed her with curiosity
until they got to the hole that led to the moon pool “Tallulah! This isn’t funny anymore!” Chayanne shouted, holding the girl by her shoulder, the same girl let out a inhuman hiss, that made Chay froze feeling disappointed on himself for some reason
He didn’t even notice he let go of his sister, startled by the sound of a splash and the shout of the others “Chay! Chay! She didn’t resurfaced!” Richarlyson said with desperation, tears prickling the corner of his eyes, Chayanne didn't hesitate to jump too, Pomme and Richarlyson shouting his name
As he fell to the water he felt the freezing chill of it shiver his body before it became warm like a hug, he felt peaceful, at home, and safe, he felt like his body changed, but for the better, he wanted to let go and let the ocean drag him
but he immediately left that daze as he remembered his mission, where was Tallulah, but he froze when he heard an excited thrill before in front of him was Tallulah, but different
she had pink scales on her arms and cheeks that looked like freckles, her teeth were like razors and she had claws that were sharp like knifes, he could see the gills on her neck moving, her ears became webbed being the color white, her pupils were also now fully white with pink scleras, her hair having a pink strand
But the most significant change was her missing legs, and in their place a fish tail, it looked like the one of a betta fish, with the main color being a pastel pink wile fading into white, the fins were also a whiteish pink, the colors were vibrant on the water and it was a beautiful sight, something that was a legend in front of him
Tallulah hugged him letting out a sequence of happy chirps, he didn’t even know how did he know what they meant, more focused on the changes that happened to himself, that only now he noticed
his hands had black claws with yellow tips, he could feel the gills moving, his tail was like the one of a flying fish, being yellow fading to purple with black fins, he couldn’t see but his eyes had now black scleras and his pupils were fully purple, having small yellow swirls on his back that looked like a wing design
he was left mouth agape, frozen in place, not knowing how to react, even when Tallulah let out a confused and worried croon at his lack of reaction
He turned his head quickly when he heard two other splashes, Richarlyson and Pomme joined them in the pool, suffering the same changes and starring at them with wide eyes
Richarlyson had the tail of a koi fish with the primary color being red with white and black spots, his eyes were fully red with needle like small white pupils and it was kind of terrifying sight, his skin having white splotches now
Pomme had the tail of a leopard shark, with the primary color being black with red and blue details, on one of her cheeks and arm she had blue stripes while on the other red, her eyes were fully black with no pupils
they were also quick to realize their own changes, starting to freak out as terrified shrills left their mouth leaving their even more terrified at the lack of human sound
Chayanne tried to calm everyone down letting out a calming purr, that he didn’t even know he could do, it was out of instinct of seeing his hatch mates freaking out and-…did he just call them his hatch mates? His brain was all fuzzy and confusing
but it seemed to have worked as Tallulah relaxed and the other two approached them much more calmer, they stayed close to it each other for a long time, discovering that they couldn’t produce any human sounds while on this form
as Richarlyson started to look around the moon pool, pointing out the cool stuff on it like the giant moss bed on the bottom or many shiny shells and trinkets just spread around, like a nest, a nursery, his mind provided
But they weren’t a baby, why were they in a nursery? He didn’t know why suddenly he felt sleepy, his body seemed to be in automatic, as he laid down on the moss bed and curled, letting out a calling thrill, as Richas, Pomme and Tallulah joined him in a cuddle piddle, slowly falling sleep, each of them making their own type of purring
They woke up when they heard a loud calling thrill that none of them had made, it seemed deeper and getting closer by the minute, Chayanne got up in a panic, as he messily swam up to the surface dragging Richarlyson and Tallulah while Pomme followed him by his side, it was already night with the moon high in the sky
They literally jumped out of the water, the tail was great in water, but in land it became a big bother, as he tried to drag himself, but slowly, the dry leaves drying the water enough, and with a yellow, pink, red and blue glow they were back to normal, feeling their voice return to them
”What the hell was that?!” Pomme shouted as they now ran to the boat entering it, lifting the anchor and starting the motor, as they drove away from the island they saw a large shadow following their boat “What the hell is this??!” Pomme once again shouted, as something slammed against the side of the boat