Date: Sat, 17 May 2014 16:55:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Andrew Bailey <feare909@yahoo.com>
Subject: Aquata Cove - Chapter 18 (REVISED)

Aquata Cove
Chapter 18: Stories and Myths


"Ok, Merrick. Your turn." Adam said as he sat on his bed. Merrick pondered
as he thought.

"Ok, uhhmm... Ooh! How about stories or legends? Do humans have any of
those?"

"Hahaha," Laughed Adam, "I'LL say we have. We have millions, if not
trillions of books and stories, along wit countless myths."

"Ooh, really? Like what? Tell me one." Merrick asked.

"Hm, alright," Adam then got up and walked over to one of his shelves,
where he has several large books by Candlewick Press, "Lets see..." He then
picked a couple out, a few of them, and took them back to Merrick,
"Candlewick Press didn't usually print these old stories, I'm glad they do,
I like their publishing.

"Here's one of MY favorites," He said as he showed the merman a blue book
with a pumpkin on it, with a woman in a dazzling white dress, "It's about a
girl named Cinderella," He scooted right next to Merrick, and opened the
book, showing him the pictures in several flips of the firm pages, "She was
an abused servant in her own home. Cinderella worked night and day to clean
the chateau, appease her two bitchy stepsisters, and her evil stepmother."

"You mean... She lived to please them? Even though they were cruel to her?"
Merrick asked.

"Cinderella was too kind. They took advantage of her after her own father
died. Her only friends," He turned the page, "Were the mice, birds, and
farm animals of her home," He said, pointing out the illustrations --
Candlewick press combined the elements of Disney's rendition of Cinderella
with the origins of Perrault's version, "You see, her stepmother was
jealous of Cinderella, because she was so charming and beautiful, unlike
her OWN daughters, who were kinda ugly and obnoxious."

"... Wait, her OWN daughters? You mean Cinderella wasn't her daughter?"

"No. See, sometimes, some humans have children with one person, and they
separate -- be it divorce, death, or just a break-up -- and when they get
together with ANOTHER person, maybe one with children of their own, they
become STEP-Sisters or STEP-Brothers. And the person the parent mates
becomes a STEP-Mother, or STEP-Father."

"That sounds confusing... And silly." Merrick said. Adam chuckled and
nuzzled his merman.

"It's just what humans do sometimes, babe. Anyway, one day," Adam turned
the page, "A Fairy Godmother visited Cinderella, when Cinderella's
stepsister destroyed a gown she was going to wear to a ball -- that's a
formal event that's arranged and celebrated by royalty. And with her magic,
the Fairy Godmother transformed mice," He turned the page, "Into horses!"

Merrick looked curiously at the illustration of a mouse growing into a
horse -- both animals looking completely strange to him. "He-Hey! Those are
hippocampi!" He said.

"Hippo-wha?"

"A hippocampus? They look just like these things, but they're colorful, and
have large fins instead of those... Legs and baleen," He said pointed out
the horses' legs, tails and manes, "They live in the depths, and they're
very easy to tame. We call one when one or more merpeople are weak or
injured to carry them... Anyway, go on with the story!" Merrick said
eagerly.

"Heh heh, anyway, the Fairy Godmother then turned a vegetable, called a
pumpkin," He turned the page, "Into a dazzling coach," He said as Merrick
looked at the fancy white object, "And when that was said and done, she
turned the tattered shreds of Cinderella's gown into a more gorgeous gown!"
Merrick looked in awe at the drawings of the fairy's magic.

"... Why did the Fairy Godmother help Cinderella? Was SHE her real mother?"
He asked in wonder. Adam smiled as he shook his head.

"No, nothing like that. The Fairy Godmother was more like a guardian angel;
after all the suffering Cinderella has gone through, she decided to lend a
helping hand to her," He turned the page, and showed what happened next,
"So then, Cinderella rode the carriage to the ball, where she met a
handsome prince," He turned the page to show the glittering woman, waltzing
with a young man, "Where they fell in love, and danced until the stroke of
12, and she had to leave."

"What? Why? If they fell in love, why did she have to leave so soon?"
Merrick asked.

"Because of the magic. As powerful as the Fairy Godmother was, her magic
only lasts until midnight, and then it would wear off, and everything would
go back to normal." Adam flipped the page, "So she ran away as soon as the
clock struck 12, RIGHT before she and the prince were about to kiss,"
Merrick pouted at that, "She rushed down the steps at the front of the
castle, and one of her glass slippers," He said as he turned the page,
where a clear, plastic high-heel was inserted into the page.

"What's that?" Merrick asked as he tapped onto the fake glass on the page.

"That's a glass slipper. It's a type of shoe human females wear to formal
events -- though, shoes made of glass went out of style several
centuries. Here," Adam then swung his legs over the bed, and put on a
sandal, "See? This is another type of shoe," He then slipped it off, and
put on one of his tennis shoes, "And this is a shoe I always wear," Adam
tugged it off, and got back to the story.

"Cinderella didn't have time to put the glass slipper, so she just went
into her coach, and rode back home as fast as the horses can go." He turned
the page "As the clock rang out, one by one, the her dress withered back
into tatters and shreds, the pumpkin turned orange again, and shrunk back
into a large vegetable, and the horses transformed back into mice, the only
thing she had to remember the night, was the other glass slipper on her
foot." Adam said as he showed him the next page, showing Cinderella looking
down onto her foot.

"So... What happened? Did they all just forget?"

"Nope," Adam turned the page, "No one forgot the beautiful woman at the
ball, though no one knew who she was, not even her stepsisters or
stepmother recognized her.

"After Cinderella left, the Prince found the glass slipper on the stairs,
and vowed to find and mate with girl who fits the shoe," He turned the
page, "So he searched night and day, trying the glass slipper on every
woman in the kingdom, until he came to Cinderella's home. The stepsisters
tried in vain to infatuate the Prince, but it wouldn't work at all. And
then, Cinderella walked in, with one foot bare, and the other wearing the
other glass slipper."

Merrick smiled as Adam turned the page, showing the Prince kneeling down
and fitting Cinderella's dainty foot into the other glass slipper, "Once
the glass slipper was placed onto Cinderella's foot, she forgave her
stepsisters and stepmother for everything they've done to her. The she
married the Prince and they both lived happily ever after." Adam said as he
closed the book, "The End."

"Hehehe, that was an interesting story," Said Merrick, "Did this really
happen?"

"Hahahah, no. It's just a story," Adam then put aside the book, and looked
to his merman, "What about you though? Do merpeople have any stories like
that?"

"Mhm," Merrick nodded, "Yeah, we have. There this one we... We THOUGHT it
was a myth, but it turned out to be real..." Merrick's smiled faded, "It
actually happened when we were on our way back here... I... I almost lost
everything to it..." Adam gasped lightly.

"What happened?" He asked. Merrick looked back up.

"One moon ago, we were resting, and our Razirah was telling the pod a
story, as usual..."


--- One Month Ago ---

"This is the tale," Denizyr said, "Of the Phantasma Whale..." He said, as
Noita Umiato used her magic to illustrate a cluster of energy glowing in
the middle of the pod, with them huddled in a circular area, like a
campfire. Savarna, who is curled up next to Merrick, gasped quietly as she
held his arm tightly. Merrick chuckled as he sensed the fear coursing
through his baby sister, having heard this eerie story several times before
in the past.

"There once was a colossal white whale -- some say it was a child of the
former Amnien Guardian Taniwa," The burning energy gave birth to a shape of
a lion-like whale image. A large sperm whale swam from the same energy,
calling out an artificial cry.

"The Whale was great and powerful! And like its parent, was able to create
whirlpools and fierce, spiraling hurricanes with a whim." The whale surged
around, and swam threateningly around the pod. Savarna squealed as the
scary whale apparition howled. The mermaid clutched onto her brother, who
wrapped his arm around her protectively, and held her close.

"However, the Whale was arrogant, and sought blood sport," A squid-like
image rose from the energy, and wrapped it tentacles around the whale, "And
so it challenged the champions of the deep -- giant squids," The whale
moved looped out of the tentacles, and bit down onto the squid, "Mighty sea
serpents," A snake-like monster slithered from the energy, and attacked the
whale, to which the whale howled and eliminated with a swipe of its large
tail "Godly fish of the dark and black light," Several strange and oddly
shaped fish swam and attempted to take down the whale, yet it eluded them
all, defeated them, and devouring each opponent, "With each opponent that
fell before him, the Whale swallowed them all, stealing their strengths and
becoming even stronger.

"It was never enough for the Whale, for his victories made him grow ever
more vicious and arrogant. Until one day, he challenged the Piscien and
Holsien Guardians of old," A giant shark shot from the swirling energy.

"The former Piscien Guardian, Megalodon, the last living remnant of the
ancient times, the very last of its kind, old and battle scarred from
ruthless wars gone by, taunted the Whale of his impudence," The much larger
shark laughed down at the whale, "He accepted the Whale's challenge, and
initiated combat for many moons."

"As mighty and strong as the Whale was, it was no match for Megalodon's
vast experience of war and fighting. Too injured to carry on, the Whale
could not continue engaging the battalized Guardian, and left in
disgrace. Though he hid it well, Guardian Megalodon was severely injured by
the battle, and soon perished peacefully." The shark-like image curled up,
and slowly disappeared, "To be succeeded by the brave Leviathan to protect
the Piscien Merpeople."

"Angered and humiliated from his first defeat, the Whale sought out yet
another powerful, indomitable foe."

A 5-headed water dragon appeared from the burning energy, and hissed an
eerie roar, "The former Holsien Guardian, Hydra, rose to the Whale's
challenge," The reptilian creature swam in loops, its heads contradicting
the Whales very move, "As skillful as the Whale was, Guardian Hydra was far
too clever to be defeated. The battled ensued for many moons -- for Hydra
was not made for a battle of force, but a battle of wits. Years of
struggling with the cruel mind-games of the Holsien Guardian, until the
Whale's mind was too tired to continue. The Whale swam again, hearing the
patronizing laugh of his two adversaries, still echoing in his head," A
grotesque, squid-like creature came up from the energy, and confronted the
Hydra image, "Disdained by the cruelty of Hydra, the cunning Kraken rose
up, and challenged Guardian Hydra to its own game of wits. Hydra lost, and
fell into insanity, leaving Kraken to become the new Holsien Guardian."

"Bitter and full of rage from his losses, the Whale done the unforgivable:
Challenge its own mother, Guardian Taniwa, to a duel to the death." The
angered whale apparition howled and roared at the feline-whale image, "The
Whale, consumed in its hatred, mocked and raged at its parent.

"Hurt by the Whale's words, Guardian Taniwa refused to fight her own child,
and so gave birth to the benevolent, gentle Charybdis. In hopes of
subsiding the Whale's anger, she gave the White Whale a sister to guide him
in his time of anger," The larger whale image then created a whirlpool,
triggered by a large, flurring dolphin-like image, "Outraged by this
action, which the Whale deemed as weak and cowardly, the Whale charged at
Guardian Taniwa, and killed her in cold blood."


Savarna gasped as the violent whale image tore into
the Taniwa, "Charybdis watched in horror as the Whale destroyed its own
mother.

"Having finally conquered one of the three Guardians, the Whale devoured
the remains of Taniwa. Before he could claim the title of Guardian, he
could feel the soul of his mother destroying him from the inside. The Whale
cried out in agony, begging the Charybdis to save him. Sadly, the Whale had
then disappeared before Charybdis can help him, and so was dubbed as the
new Amnien Guardian."

Savarna shook fearfully, as a glowing circle then appeared, "Some say the
Whale still lingers in our world. On a moonless night, when the Shining Sea
Mother Atargatis sleeps, the Whale appears -- later named the Phantasma
Whale" The merpeople looked on as a half skeletal sperm whale, floated
around, "When the moon loses its light for one night, it is said the Whale
returns, its hollow, dead soul make its form glow -- a terrifying ghost of
what it used to be, its rage still fresh in its spirit, and instantly
killing and devouring any living thing its empty eyes sees. Once inside the
belly of the Phantasma, the souls of everything it swallowed, lost long
after its time..."

The energy vanished slowly, with half the pod spooked by the story. It is
late, and it is time to rest. Merrick chuckled lowly as he felt Savarna
swim away from him to huddle over to their mother and father.

Merrick chuckled as he laid himself down onto the sand, and soon drifted
off into slumber.



A few hours later, while the pod is sleeping, Savarna is still unable to
sleep. She is still quaking from the story. She keeps imagining a
grotesque, whale skeleton, swimming in her head. The image itself is enough
to keep her scared.

Then, she sensed something. She looked up, and looked out into the vast
blueness of the ocean. She softly drifted up from the arms of her mother,
and swam away.

As she moved, the orb-like eyes of Penina, the jellyfish mermaid, and
Brishen's mate, opened as she felt a small flurry of water. She woke up, to
see the young Adra Noita swimming away. Curious, the semi-transparent
mermaid swam gradually after the younger female.

Savarna swam as she followed a strange, cold trace. She doesn't know what
it could be, but her curiosity has gotten the better of her. The Adra
followed the feeling to a huge trench. She looked into the bottomless
abyss.

"Adra Savarna?" The little mermaid yelped as she heard a sudden voice. She
turned quickly to see Penina. The jelly mermaid has glowing lines and
circles adorned upon her body, along with the leaf-like appendages on her
three, long tendrils, illuminating the dark.

"P-Penina! What are you doing here?!" She demanded.

"What are YOU doing here?" Penina asked back, "We are supposed to be
resting. Let us go back to the pod."

"But I feel something..." She said. Penina tilted her head as she drifted
closer, "Can you not feel it too?"

"... Now that you have mention it... I feel a dark foreboding from the
depths..." She crept and floated over the edge of the trench.

"I want to see..." Savarna said as she sunk herself lower.

"No," Penina said as she stopped her, "I will go. My body is more flexible
under deep waters, and I am more adapted for darkness." She said to the
young mermaid; it's probably nothing, at this point, she's only doing this
so Adra Savarna will be persuaded to return.

"All alone?" Savarna asked.

"I am from those depths," She said, "I do not fear the darkness. Wait here,
Adra Savarna. I will be back shortly..." With that, the flowery mermaid
swam down, and dove steadily down into the blackness. Her bioluminescent
body faded more and more as she sunk lower to the trench. It wasn't long
before her blue and yellow light faded into the abyss.

Savarna grew nervous as she waited. The more seconds that passed by, the
more fearful she became. After waiting a total of two minutes, the small
mermaid swam over the edge, and hurriedly downward.


~~~


Merrick sound multiple signals along the reef, swimming as fast as he can,
he spotted a pod of dolphins, to which he swam forward too. His throat
stiffened as he sounded a pattern of squeaks and clicking noises. The
dolphins immediately swam in his direction, and he swam up to them in
turn. He continued to speak in a crackling noise, until the pod itself
separated in multiple directions.

"Adra Merrick!" Called Brishen. Merrick swam up to the green-tailed merman,
"Any luck?"

"No. I cannot find Sister anywhere. I just sent those dolphins to locate a
small mermaid. I pray they will be of help," He sighed as he looked to his
friend, "I surmise that none of the other mermen have not been successful?"
Brishen shook his head.

"No... Razirah Denizyr cannot sense her trace. He cannot sense her at
all... And it has gotten worse..."

"What? How?" Merrick asked. Brishen looked, up, looking scared.

"No one knows where Penina is!" Merrick gasped as he looked at Brishen,
looking as if he is about to weep, "I cannot find her anywhere! No one has
seen her since last night, she's gone! Denizyr cannot feel her, just like
Adra Savarna!"

"Brishen, it is going to be alright. We will find them..." He said, though
he cannot deny that he is feeling doubt and fear as well.

His gills twitched, and he turned around. Merrick blinked as the dolphins
he summoned earlier are swimming away...

"Adra Merrick... We have been searching all through the sun... We have not
found so much as a scent," Merrick sent out a few more signals. He looked
up to see a few hammerhead sharks swimming quickly away, "I... I keep
thinking about her... My Penina..." Brishen started to feel more
distraught, "I do not understand... How can- Mmmff!" He felt Merrick's hand
over his mouth.

"Brishen, I need quiet..." He said. He closed his eyes and sent a signal
every 10 seconds. Moments pass by, and a low, long call came from the
silence. Brishen removed Merrick's hand.

"That's one sad whale..." Merrick then swam around, and forward, "Adra
Merrick? Where are you going?"

Merrick placed his webbed hand onto the sand, keeping his eyes shut, and
sent out a long, loud moan. Moments later, the same, sad moan from before
was called. He moved his head to a certain direction, and swam
forth. "Merrick! It's just a lone whale!" Brishen said irritably, "We have
to find Penina and Adra Savarna!"

The Adra Triton ignored him as he followed blindly to the source of the low
call. He eventually opened his eyes and peered down into a gigantic
trench. "Merrick! Stop wasting time chasing whales!" Brishen said to him as
he swam up next to him.

"Brishen..." Merrick uttered. He turned around, and looked directly at
Brishen in the eyes, "There are not any whales within 50 miles of here."

"RRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Both mermen gasped as they heard
the same voice, this time, it sounded angry instead of sad. They stared
down into the abyss. Brishen sent a signal, but nothing responded. Not even
a faint glow from any bioluminescent creatures from below.

"... Why is there not anything down there?"

"There is. But they are silent. They won't give any signals."

"Why not?"

"... Let us find out..." Merrick said as he swam down. Brishen followed the
Adra, both of them holding their weapons tightly. The delved into the
darkness, growing colder and colder the more they traveled down. Both
mermen kept sending down signals, everything in the trench remaining
silent, no matter what angle they sent a signal.


---The Previous Night---

Savarna grew nervous as she waited. The more seconds that passed by, the
more fearful she became. After waiting a total of two minutes, the small
mermaid swam over the edge, and hurriedly downward.

"Rrrrrrreeeeeeennnnnnnnnnrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

Savarna eeped as there came a deep, sad moan from the darkness, like a
dying whale, calling out for aid.

"ADRA SAVARNA!!!" Yelled out a blue glow from the darkness. Penina is
jetting as fast as she can, ascending at top speeds towards the small
mermaid, "GET BACK TO THE POD! GET BACK TO THE POD!" Savarna gasped as the
jelliscent mermaid, desperately swim.

However, eventually, she came to a stop, but still kept undulating her
veiled body and three stingers. Savarna gasped as Penina tried desperately
to swim up, up was seemed to be being pulled back, "GO BACK TO THE POD,
ADRA SAVARNA, PLEEEAAASSSE!!"

Instead, Savarna jet down, and grabbed Penina's slippery arm. "NOOOOO!!
YOU'LL DIE TOO!!" The Adra pulled as hard as she could, refusing to abandon
Penina.

"HHHHHHHRRRRRRREEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!"

Came an angered roar from below. Savarna looked and screamed as she saw a
colossal, narrow pair of jaws open. She turned and clutched onto Penina as
the huge teeth clench all round the two mermaids in a mighty SNAP!


~~~


"Merrick..." Brishen said as they explored the trench, "I do not sense
ANYTHING down here..."

"Me neither... I thought they were hiding because they were afraid. They
were BEFORE we came here, but... It seems as though they have
disappeared..."

"You may be a Triton, but I doubt there was anything here..."

"Which is strange, because this abyss should have a lot more life than
this." Merrick replied, feeling irritated and paranoid, "In case you have
not noticed, those dolphins I found swam away. While you were talking, I
saw a pod of hammerheads hastily moving about. And I have been sending
signals in EVERY direction, and every living creature is swimming AWAY from
this part of the ocean!

"Why do you think Denizyr chose to tell the story of the Phantasma Whale
last night??"

"Merrick... You are starting to scare me..." Brishen said, swimming
backwards a little.

"Because my Mother said Sea Mother Atargatis is going to sleep for this one
night, so he told THAT story for a fearful affect -- for fun!"

"Merrick, stop!" Brishen said, "That's JUST a legend!"

"No, but what IF! What IF, the legend is real?! What if the Phantasma Whale
DOES exist?! WHAT IF the Phantasma swallowed Sister and Penina?!" Merrick
slapped his webbed hand over his own mouth as his eyes bulged. Brishen
stared at him, but then gasped as he swam back.

"MERRICK! Behind you!!"

Merrick swung his trident around him, and swiped behind him, only to find
he swung at a tunnel. The Adra gasped as he swam back, seeing a white,
malevolent glow around a big, black, empty circle.

Brishen stared wide-eyed as a stench and image of a rotting sperm whale
head slowly glows with a ghostly aura. He sent a signal, but he cannot
sense the whale's presence. It doesn't exist, or it's not supposed to, yet
it is forming out of nothing, RIGHT in front of him!

The giant ghost let out a long, aggressive moan as it moved forward. As it
moved, its full form developed; its pectoral flippers half rotted with
bones sticking out of them, its head withered out so its shining spine and
ribcage is showing, with its mighty, intact tail pushed down, with a trail
of aquatic ectoplasm washing in its wake.

Merrick and Brishen stared as the giant phantom dove gradually down, in the
deepest darkness.

"... It has seen me..." Merrick uttered.

"Merrick... We need to get back to the pod... Your Mother will know what to
do... You figured it out; we can find Adra Savarna and Penina! We have to-"

"No!" Merrick turned around, "Remember what Denizyr said?! The Phantasma
Whale swallows any living creature it sees! If I go back to the pod, it
will devour them too! It is going to follow me, it is coming right now!"

"RRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHEEEEEENNNNNGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

There came a low roar of anger, and Merrick felt himself being pulled
back. He gasped as he swam forward, feeling sucked backward like a
vacuum. Brishen stuck his spear into a crack in the trench, and wrapped his
arm tightly around it, and held out his other hand.

"Merrick, quick! Grab my hand!" He said, reaching for his friend. The Adra
Triton reached out grunting as he pushed his tail as hard as he could. He
inched closer and closer, as another low call rumbled behind him. No matter
how hard he swam, or how close he got to gripping Brishen's hand, he
steadily was pulled backward.

Merrick winced, and lowered his hand, "Merrick, NOO!"

"Get to the pod!" Merrick yelled, "It has not seen YOU yet! You have to go
to the pod! GET THEM OUT OF HERE!!" He called. Brishen looked in terror as
Merrick slowly inched backward as he yelled.

"NO! I am NOT leaving you behind!! You are the Adra Triton!! Swim harder,
Merrick! Keep going!"

"IT'S TOO LATE!!!" Merrick called out, "GET. THE POD. AWAY FROM HERE!!"
With reluctance, Merrick stopped swimming, and drifted away fast.

"MEEEERRRRIIIIIICK!!!!" Brishen called out as the large, glowing beast
closed its jaws around the Adra Triton. Brishen flinched, and curled
himself tightly under a large rocky protrusion as the Phantasma moaned out
another dark call as it moved through the water, ascending up, without
disturbing the water.

Brishen pulled his spear out of the trench wall, and shot up as fast as he
could. He swam until he broke the surface. He turned around and looked
everywhere in the sky. It is VERY dark tonight - he can only see the
stars. The green-tailed merman looked carefully around, until he saw a big
dark circle in the sky -- it's VERY subtle, but he can see it. It's a new
moon, or otherwise, "... Sea Mother Atargatis is in slumber..." He looked
in horror, and gasped as he turned to his side, seeing a glowing white,
mighty, rotting whale tail rise up on the surface of the water, and diving
back in.


~~~


Razirah Denizyr concentrated as he held his palms together, every broken
shell on his body glowing and vibrating, all but two on his long tail. He
hopes of activating all of his mediums in order to locate Adra Savarna and
Penina, but has been unsuccessful. No matter how far a merperson goes, he
should still feel the trace of their medium, but it seems as though Savarna
and Penina has both-

"Oh!" His eyes opened, and he gasped as one more shell on his tail stopped
glowing and vibrating, "Triton Kaiken" He said to the large, dark blue
merman. Kaiken turned to him.

"What is it? Have you found them??"

"No... Adra Merrick's link... It too has disappeared..." He stated.

"No... Not my Son too..." Kaiken then turned and called out to all the
nearby merpeople, "Double the search! The Adra Triton has disappeared!" The
other merpeople gasped at the news, "I want every merman and mermaid on the
watch for them! Summon any creature you see, and bid them to search as
well!" The rest of the pod swam hurriedly away on his command, "Leave no
shell or sand unturned! Not one of us will rest until we find them!"

Soon, only the meryin remained unsure of what to do. Kaiken scowled as he
shook his head. "First my Daughter and Penina... And now my Son... Where is
Umiato?" Kaiken asked the Razirah.

"She is tending to the meryin, Triton Kaiken."

"I need her to-"

"TRITON KAIKEN!!!" Yelled a voice.

"What?" He turned around, and saw a merman of his pod, a green
tail. Merrick's friend, Brishen, he believes. The young merman swam up to
him frantically to the Triton.

"Adra Merrick is gone! He's been swallowed!"

"What?!"

"Impossible!" Denizyr said in disbelief, "Even of he was eaten, I should
still be able to sense his shell."

"You do not understand!" Brishen yelled, "It was the Phantasma Whale! It is
real!"

"Brishen!" Kaiken growled, "My Son, my Daughter, YOUR mate is missing, do
NOT start prattling jokes!"

"This is NOT a joke, Triton Kaiken! I saw it with my own eyes! It's real!"

"It is only a legend, Brishen!" Denizyr said, "We have no time to waste on
nonsense!"

"I am telling you, Merrick was swallowed! Please believe me!!"

"Brishen, I will not tolerate-"

"KAIKEN!" Came a stern voice. All three mermen turned to see the pearly
white veil mermaid, looking quite cross. She drifted herself over to the
green merman, "Alright, Brishen. Please tell me what happened." Umiato said
softly.

"Adra Merrick and I were searching, and we found an abyss. We looked down
there to investigate, and we found the Phantasma Whale! It appeared as a
withering whale carcass! It saw Merrick, and it swallowed him! He told me
to warn everyone, to get the pod away from here!" He said, a white mist
forming around his eyes as he began to sob, "He said it swallowed Adra
Savarna and Penina! Noita Umiato, the moon is dark tonight! The Shining Sea
Mother is sleeping! The Phantasma Whale is REAL!"

There was a short pause and silence.

"RRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMRRRRRRRRR" Came a distant, whale call that
sounded of loneliness and anger. Umiato nodded slowly.

"Very well. Take me to where you and my Son found it." She said gently to
the merman.

"Y-Yes, Noita Umiato." Brishen turned around, and swam forth.

"Kaiken," Umiato said as she turned, "Come with us. If it is indeed a
whale, we shall try and reason with it." The Triton scowled before he too
moved beside her, "Razirah Denizyr, I want you to watch after the
meryin. Keep them safe while we are gone."

"Yes, Noita Umiato."

And with that, they swam quickly.


~~~


The three of them swam swiftly through the open water, the Triton, the
Noita, and the merman.

"Umiato, we are wasting time," Kaiken stubbornly said, "I do not sense a
single whale anywhere near here."

"That is because it is a ghost!" Brishen said, "It is not alive, Adra
Merrick and I were not able to sense it."

"Then how have you and Son found it?" Umiato asked.

"... We heard a whale calling, and he traced it into a trench..." Brishen
said, "I could not help him... I was useless... I did not even believe
him..."

"No, Brishen," Umiato said, as she gently felt his shoulder, "You reported
what happened. You helped in bringing us a moment closer to finding the
ones we love."

"You had better not have been wrong, Brishen," Kaiken said, "Or else, you
have only-"

"Stop!" Umiato said, coming to an abrupt stop.

"What? What is it, Umiato?" The mermaid is looking directly up. Brishen and
Kaiken tilted their heads back, and looked up.

There it is, the underside of the phantom. Half decayed with its head,
flippers, and tail flipper preserved, and its ribcage and spine cleaned
out. It glows with an eerie, ghostly aura as it floats near the surface of
the ocean.

Kaiken sent a few signals to it, but felt and heard nothing between himself
and the surface. It does not exist.

The Triton then let out a long, deep call to the giant phantom, as he would
communicate with a whale. The ghostly apparition did nothing as it lingered
there.

"... It will not respond... I cannot feel it, Umiato..." He muttered.

"It is a dead soul," Umiato said, "It is not of this world. It should not
exist, and yet it does," She narrowed her eyes, before waving her veil-like
tail, and ascending up to the whale. Brishen suppressed a whimper as the
Noita approached the creature. Triton Kaiken rose up, following his mate to
the unworldly beast.

Noita Umiato then came eye-to-eye with the ghost. She looked into the big
black hole, an empty eye socket that she could just swim into. She glided
along the rotted head, and faced the front of it.

"Phantasma Whale! Horror of the sleeping moon! Devourer of life itself!" He
called out to it, "You have consumed some things I hold very precious to
me." Her eyes then glared in anger at the whale.

"You will give them back."

The colossal demon opened its narrow mouth, withered and decayed, and let
out a low grumbling noise. Kaiken gasped as he felt the water pulling
himself and the Noita toward it. Umiato stayed still, allowing the ghost's
inhale to draw her in. Brishen gasped before he kicked his tail hard to
shoot up!

Right before Umiato could get near the rotting phantom flesh, she waved her
frilled hand. Her pearly palm then lit up brightly, and outshined the whale
itself! The flash caused the whale to roar in pain. The ghost writhed as
the light of the Noita shocked it to its core.

"You WILL give them back to us!!" Umiato called out in anger.

The whale moaned in outrage before it dove down, and loomed into the
sea. Umiato simply turned about face, and drifted to her mate.

"Alright, my love," She said calmly, "This is what I want you to do..."

~~~

Brishen panted as he swam quickly up. He has NO idea what Noita Umiato is
playing at! She PRESENTED herself to the Phantasma! Why would she do that?!
Didn't she listen to the story?! That ghost will NEVER let her go!

The merman turned and panicked as he say the giant carcass turn about,
getting ready to charge at the Triton and Noita.

~~~

Kaiken and Umiato faced the incoming creature. It let out a low, enraged
moan as it opened its large, rotting jaws.

Triton Kaiken opened his own mouth, and released a mighty roar. Umiato
placed her hands onto his back, and channeled her power into his
body. Kaiken felt a surge force out of his throat and from his mouth, his
eyes glowing bright white as his voice became distorted with the magic of
the Noita.

Immediately, the Phantasma Whale stopped in its tracks. Its moan became
haltered as it froze on the spot. The remaining meat of its form blinked
out. It shuddered and rumbled in sheer agony before it became a shambling
skeleton of a colossal sperm whale.

With the Phantasma locked in the bewitched sound, Umiato began singing a
battle melody as she drifted up, and swam into the shaking bone maw. Her
song made the ribcage of the whale shimmer and glow, before a school of
different kinds of deep-sea animals swarmed out of between the ribs of the
Phantasma bones -- the species of fish that live in Deep Ocean trenches.

Brishen looked in awe as the Phantasma quaked, stopped dead in its tracks
as it rumbled its dead call in pain. He gasped as his eyes spotted a
translucent, jellyfish like mermaid, with her arms around a shorter mermaid
with frilly head-fins. "PENINA!!!" He jet right up, and in-between the ribs
of the whale skeleton. Penina lift her head from Savarna, hastily taking
Brishen's webbed hand, and swimming with him out of the Phantasma. Noita
Umiato came behind her son, him turning his head, and both of them looming
out of the ghost whale.

Kaiken stopped the call, and rubbed his very sore throat, his gills flaring
as his the inside of his neck burned from both the effort, and the spell
from his mate. Upon spotting Penina holding Adra Savarna in her transparent
arms, and Umiato guiding Merrick with her, Kaiken kicked his powerful tail
to join them.

The Phantasma Whale raged as its decayed flesh returned to its form. It
turned around, and opened its huge mouth to suck them in, RIGHT before it
dissolved into nothingess, vanished without a trace.

Above the surface of the sea, the darkened moon had a very sliver of white
peeking from it. Besides that, the sky is beginning to lighten up from the
morning rays.


---One Month Later---


Adam stared wide-eyed at Merrick, "So... It's gone, forever?"

"No," Merrick shook his head, "You can't kill the dead. Not even a Noita
has the power to end ghost. She was only able to save us..." He rubbed his
arm, "I asked how she could do it, but she said it was too complicated to
explain.

"Anyway," He said, "I wanna hear another human story~!" He said with a
smile. Adam chuckled as he picked up a purple and magenta book.

"Ok, this one is called, `Sleeping Beaut-"

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"Ty'." He grumbled and sighed, "I'm sorry, Merrick... I have to go to
work."

"Awwooooo!" Merrick whined, "NOW? But I feel spooked from remembering the
Phantasma! Please, can't you stay for a little while longer?"

"I'm sorry, Merrick, I can't." Adam said as he got dressed, "I told you,
that's why I woke up early this morning, so we could cuddle and chat."
Merrick sighed in disappointment. Adam tilted his head to him, "I'm sorry,
sweetie. I have to work. Otherwise, I can't live here..." The merman sighed
and nodded. Adam kissed his lips, and stood up, "I'll be back soon,
sweetheart..." Reluctantly, Adam walked out of his room.

"Yeah... I'll be here..." Merrick said, taking the pillow, and hugged it
close, "Like always..."