Start: 9-27-10 Finish: 10-4-10

Ya like it. Y'all actually liked it! Seems I'm doin' better than I hoped. I am very pleased with these results. Oh, and btw, this story's on DeviantArt as well, but with a different title: "A Summer's Tail". You'll know me there on DeviantArt by my username PrimalTaiora. Cookies for all! To the followin' reviewers:

purplepeace: I'm pleased ya like it. 'Nuff said.

Roscieee: No argument, there, sister. Stoked fanfiction could really use some updates, seriously. Also, I'm pleased ya like it.

Scarlet: Glad ya think so.

Woahnessness: I know, poor Lance, just like in the show. Rest assured, he'll meet Kaycee soon enough.

s.f james: All taken care of. Thanks for the tip, seriously.

Meet the Merfolk

The moon, currently at its fullest, shone down on the suface of the sea, resulting in a sapphire glow. Far, FAR away from all that racket of the party is a cove. Very few people knew about this cove... or, to be accurate, very few humans. It's an almost haven-like place where dolphins played, sharks protected the entrance, and merfolk gathered and socialized. That's right, ya heard me. Merfolk. The thought-to-be-fictional sea creatures in stories of half-person, half-fish exist in this world. But I digress. Now, let's get back to the story at hand... or fin, for that matter.

A soft, harmonious voice came from the shore line of the cove on the land outskirts of The Office. Perched atop a small rock was a tan-skinned mermaid. Her lower arms had yellow fins with purple tips, and her hands had yellow webbing. Her nails were light blue. Her back was adorned with a yellow shark-like dorsal fin. Her purple tail swayed back and fourth with the beat of her song. Her only article of clothing was a yellow sea-shell top. On her belly was a shark and orca ring marking. Her sun-bleached hair was short and didn't reach the shoulers, and her eyes were still closed as she was singing to herself. Her moment of peace and quiet was interrupted by somebody calling out her "formal" name.

"Princess Fin Requin! There you are!" Opening her eyes, revealing a deep blue color, she spotted her friends Emma & Jess. Emma had paler skin, had mahogony hair held up in a ponytail and green eyes. Jess, also with paler skin, had yellow-green eyes, black hair, also help up in ponytail, albeit a bit shorter and on her left shoulder. Fin smiled at her friends just as her nails turned yellow.

"Okay, you two don't have to be so formal to me now. We ain't at the palace, you know." she said. Emma and Jess swam up to Fin and lifted themselves onto the rocks next to Fin. Emma had a light pink tail, arm fins, webbing, and shell top, whereas Jess's tail is white with a blue stripe down its side, white arm fins with blue spines, and a blue shell top and blue and white webbing. And on her belly was a blue whale marking. Jess also had small blue pearl earrings and two piercings on top of each ear, though the right ear was obscured by her hair.

"Fin, you have GOT to stop disappearing on us like that! You had us worried sick!" Jess barked as she & Emma wrung the excess saltwater out of their hair.
"Fin, do you have ANY idea how worried we were? What if something shappened to you?" Emma added.

"Sorry. Couldn't ignore a night like this," said Fin, looking up at the moon. Emma and Jess mimicked their friend as they looked up at the night sky as well.

"'Sides, it's rather dullsville at the palace. I think it's good to get out and get some fresh water once in a while." Fin told them. "Or fresh air, as the case may be."

"Good call, Fin." Emma agreed.

"We better get going now," Jess said, about to dive back into the water when she and Jess were interrupted by the squeaking and chirping of orcas, or to be accurate, Fin's cetacean friends, one of them her 'steed'.

"Yo, guys! I wondered where you swam off to," said Fin, petting the large male on the head. He leaned into her hand, chirping happily.

"Fin, we need to go right away." Jess told her, sliding herself back into the water. The other orca clicked and chirped something to the surprisingly independent royal blond mermaid and the bubbly redhead.

"What? Here? Now?" Emma asked, her voice sounding pretty excited.

"What? What is it?" inquired Jess.

"He told me there's a bunch of humans not too far from here, having a party on the other side of the beach! C'mon, let's check it out!" exclaimed Fin.

Jess's eyes widened in horror.

"No way!" Jess exclaimed.
"Don't you know how dangerous humans can be?" Jess cried.

"They can't be all bad. We'll just watch 'em, then we leave." Fin offered. Her gal pals hesitated at first, but agreed, albeit reluctantly as they let out a sigh.

"Alright, fine, but only for a little while." said Jess.

"Good, let's go!" shouted Fin "Right behind ya!" Emma said. She and Emma dove deep into the sea, swimming to where the orcas lead her. Jess groaned grudgingly.

"I just know this will go downhill in a hurry." whispered Jess as she followed her friends.

All three mermaids swam until they reached a rock that was nearby the beach. It was far enough not to draw human attention, yet close enough to let the trio watch the humans. Fin and Emma poked their head out first.

"Wow, looks like they're having a very swishy time." Emma whispered.

"Alright, we came, we saw them. Now let's get outta here!" Jess whispered back.

"Chillax, Jess. We've only been heen here for a minute. I intend to see more." Fin said. "Me too." Emma added. Jess groaned in annoyance.

" 'Sides, there's no rule against watchin' 'em." Fin added, turning back to watch the party. Jess groaned again. Apparently it seems Jess got no choice... again. They remembered ever since they were kids, Fin and Emma always had a deep fascination with humans, especially surfers, which explains their usage of surf lingo. Every time they saw one, they would drag Jess along for the ride. Other times, it was either her other friend/bodyguard Kaycee or her younger sister, Roxxie, or even both of them. Roxxie usually went without protest due to her adventurous spirit, but her temper sometimes got them in trouble. Kaycee, on the other hand, was a bit tough to convince. It was not that she too thought humans were dangerous. In fact, she, Roxxie and Jess saw humans as a primitive and violent race. Kaycee had a soft spot for Roxxie, but very protective of her. Jess and Kaycee weren't exactly lazy, but they would rather stay at the palace and babysit Roxxie or teach students how to ride and treat a whale, dolphin or shark mount than go on one of Fin and Emma's "adventures". But, Fin and Emma just plain wouldn't listen and practically drag her and sometimes Jess along for the ride. Now it was Jess's turn. Jess & Kaycee didn't mind going with Fin and Emma, but were afraid that they would get too close for comfort and wind up getting hurt or worse. Fin and Emma's thoughts were distracted by the blaring music that came from the party. The royal blond and commoner redhead sighed contently.

"You see, Jess? Told you it wasn't a bad idea." Fin said.

"I suppose you're right, " Jess replied. Fin and Emma smiled at the brunette mermaid and looked back at the party. They found it so interesting how the humans were relaxed and carefree, just like themselves. They watched a few of them talk and laugh, while others dance to the music and some splashing each other with water. Nothing could spoil their moments.

"Thought we'd find you three here." a firm but friendly voice came from behind the mermaid trio. They turned their heads to the back and saw two familiar faces. A sixteen-year-old mermaid and a twelve-year-old one smiled/smirked at the three. The teenager's short, pink hair, held in a short ponytail and a bang, was soaked and clung slightly to her neck, as was the child's chocolate brown, pigtailed hair, while their aquamarine and amber eyes, respectively, looked at the three. The teen had a blue-yellow-spotted shell top, arm fins, and webbing and the child's were light green. Also, the pink-haired teenager had what looked like a blue octopus shape on her upper back, and a red sqiud shape on the preteen's left shoulder. Although unseen, the teen's blue-with-yellow-striped tail, and the child's light green tail kept them both afloat.

"Kaycee and Roxxie Krakenove! How'd you find us?" Fin asked, recovering from the shock.

"Whenever there's humans around, I figured you and Emma are always there, and I -I mean, we- assumed Jess would be with you." said Kaycee.
"Yeah, we know how it is with you two and humans, especially -what do you call this type again? Surfers?" Roxxie added. Emma uttered a nervous laugh.

"You're not gonna tell my parents and sibs, are you?" asked Fin. Kaycee smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I think Roxxie and I'll join you three on your little human watch." she said, letting out a light laugh. Roxxie frowned at the idea.

"Uh, thanks, but I'll pass." Roxxie muttered.

"Roxxie, don't be silly! This is like the first time in weeks since you left the reef." said Emma.

"Only because I needed to keep an eye on her. She was mouthing off to one of the palace guards, again." Kaycee snarled. Roxxie was just about to protest, but a loud scream came from the shore.

BACK ON THE BEACH/LAND

The cry/scream came from a young girl. Judging from her tanned skin tone, she was of Hawaiian decent. Her black hair was tied in a braid, and she had an anklet and bracelet, Hanging from her neck was a turtle necklace she had as a gift from her father. That night she was wearing her blue bikini. Her light gray eyes were wide with panic. The girl jumped at the sight of... a Chilean Rose tarantula wandering across the sandy ground. She went up on a chair to get some distance from the spider. People were wigging out big time at the sight, while some attempted to squash it, but to no avail.

Then a young boy -no, two- came by running after the spider. One had blond hair and purple eyes and wore a peach-colored shirt with light blue shorts. The other had dark skin, brown eyes, and a poofy blond afro like Broseph's and wore a green shirt with darker green sleeves and dull blue shorts. The first blond was twelve-year-old George Ridgemount, Ty's brother, and the second, afroed one was Grommet Brown, Broseph's brother, also twelve. Following the boys was a girl, a fifteen-year-old. She had medium-length, somewhat curly light brown hair with a light purple flower hairclip over her left ear, her eyes were purple, and she was wearing her sundress and flip-flop sandals. Everyone knew who she was. She was Lo Ridgemount, daughter of the owner of Surfer's Paradise hotel.

Lo stopped herself and turned to Kendra, or "Kenny", as her friends called her, and asked, "You all right, Kenny?"
"No! I'm not alright! That spider came out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of me!" Kenny shouted.
"I am so sorry about that." Lo apologised. "Shaina somehow got out of her terrarium and is now loose. I'm just helping George and Grommet catch and re-contain his pet spider before she gets squashed." she added. With that, she resumed pursuit.

Kendra slowly stepped down back onto the sand, still in shock.
"W-what kind of kid ge-gets a spi-spider for a p-p-pet?" Kendra asked herself shakily.
"Kenny, you okay? We heard a scream." Ripper asked with some concern.
"Just shaken from seeing George's pet tarantula, but I'm okay." Kenny answered.

"My brother brought Shaina Twain here? I told him not to bring his spider with him." Ty said in surprise.
"What kind of lolo name for a spider is Shania Twain?" asked Kendra.
"That's not important. By the way, was that Lo we just saw chasing the boys?" asked Ty.
"Yes. Yes, that was." Kendra replied. And with that, Ty and Broseph followed Lo.

While the boys and girl were chasing the pet spider, Kendra and Ripper walked to the rim of the party, hand in hand, followed by Lance as usual. Reef and Johnny, on the other hand, stayed behind, depressed by the sight of many couples, due to not having a girl themselves. A few seconds later, Broseph, Grommet, and the Ridgemount siblings managed to catch the spider and put it back in her terrarium. Afterwards, they came back to Reef and Johnny, Lo and Broseph holding hands, the sight of which saddened Reef and Johnny more. They were quite disenheartened by this sight, even George and Grommet, and went to console them. Well, they were about to, when an unwanted voice called out from behind Reef...

"Oh, Reeeeeef!" a crazy feminine voice shouted. Annoyed, they turned to the source of the voice. She was a sixteen-year-old redhead with hair sticking up like fire, green eyes, blue pants that stop at four inches below the knees, and a white T-shirt with some kinda small, winged tribal thing below the front of the collar. Everyone knew who she was. She was Amber Green, the most insane, creepiest, brattiest, jerkiest girl that ever lived in Canada. All the teenage guys around never felt comfortable with her nearby, ESPECIALLY Reef, who just plain couldn't STAND her, because she was WAY too crazy for his tastes. His mother felt that way, too, and couldn't agree more.

"We're outta here." George and Grommet responded, spider-holding terrarium in hand as they walked away to the family car. Actually, it's a limousine, but that was beside the point. The child duo always felt discomfort just being around Amber, so they ALWAYS move away from her, and really, who can blame them?

Amber gave the others a scoff, but put on an 'innocent' smile at Reef.
"I just don't understand why you keep hanging out with these losers," she said flirtaciously.

"They're my friends, Amber. I like having them around. You got a problem with that?" said Reef asked in irritation.

"But Reefy-Weefy, don't you know how much this is hurting your rep?" she asked. Lo & Broseph gagged at Amber's 'pet name' for him. She had been trying so hard to be Reef's girlfriend, but he just keeps rejecting her. Of course, she just plain wouldn't give up easily...

"You listen here, little Miss Stuck-Up. We suggest you back off and walk away or else," Ty threatened. Amber sneered at him.
"Fine, but remember, these seven will be your downfall." said Amber, walking off, but not before blowing a kiss to the redhead dude. They all shuddered, ESPECIALLY Reef.

"Johnny, why didn't you do anything?" Ty, Lo, Broseph, and Reef asked.
"My mom taught not to be mean to ladies." Johnny answered.

"True, but in case you forgot, Amber's no lady... she's more like the She-Psycho from the Black Lagoon, mate." said Ripper as he, Kendra, and Lance came up to them, smirking. They were watching and listening from afar.
"For the love of Kauhulu, that lolo just won't quit." Kendra muttered.
"No argument here, sister." Lo added.

BACK IN THE SEA

Roxxie crinkled her nose in disgust, her fingerscales dark green in this expression.
"Humans. They just have to fight over everything, as always." she muttered.
"How typical of them." Kaycee uttered in agreement.

"We have to leave. I sense an undertow coming this way," said Jess. Fin didn't hear what her friends said, and neither did Emma. Fin's eyes were fixated on redhead male, and Emma's on the copper-haired male in the green swim trunks. They felt their hearts beat faster, as they let out a happy sigh at once. 'I am so turned on by the red, especially his hair," Fin thought. 'He's just so... wow' Emma thought. They felt a small tug at their fins, but it didn't bother them. It was just an undertow and because merfolk were such strong swimmers, it didn't affect them.

"Fin, Emma, we're going soon." Jess said. Fin and Emma shook their heads, snapping outta their dreams.
"Huh? What? Okay then." said Fin, sounding a bit disappointed. Roxxie and Kaycce smirked.

"Hey look, that stupid human is back on the shore, only this time he's in the water after his surfboard." Roxxie said, dryly. The other mermaids looked and saw the male redhead going into the water, where his surfboard somehow ended up. Jess and Kaycee couldn't help but snicker at this and Emma tried stifle a giggle. Fin, however, smiled again, observing the human from head to toe. Normally she'd put on a tough-girl attitude, but this is different. This was affection she was feeling, something Fin didn't usually show.

EARLIER, HUMAN POV

As soon as Lo agreed on Kendra's statement, a wierd, strong wind knocked some surfboards like dominoes, the last of which fell on a plank, launching a red one it out of sight of the partyers... and into the sea. Reef noticed this and ran for the sea. His pals didn't give it much thought or worry about it, for they thought it was just nothing. They'll soon find out how wrong they were.
"Aw, nuts!" Reef cried, running into the sea to retrieve the board. The surfboard floated out as he swam out to it. Lo and Broseph didn't give it much thought and walked away. He finally reached it and managed to paddle to shore, after which just started walking while up to his knees in water. He was about to reach dry land when he felt a tug, like something grabbed his foot. At first he thought it was just seaweed, but the more he stuggled, the further something pulled him back into the sea. A few of his pals started to notice.

"Reef! What's going on, dude?" Ty called out.
"No clue, dude! Something caught my leg and I can't-" Before he could finish, a small, yet powerful wave crashed down on him and this time, Reef didn't surface.
"Ka 'a 'ole! Reef!" Kenny cried.
"We gotta go in and save him!" Lance exclaimed.
"But what if we get sucked in, too?" asked Johnny, starting to panic. They had no idea what to do...

BACK IN THE SEA

"Why isn't he resurfacing? It's just an undertow, for Dakuwaqa's sake!" cried Fin.
"Humans aren't as strong swimmers as we merfolk are, so they can easily die from them..." Emma said.
"Somebody's gotta save that kook! I'll go!" Fin exclaimed.
"But- but Fin, we can't interac-" Jess was cut off.
"I know we can't interact with humans, but there's no law against saving them!" She dove deep into the water, leaving the others behind. Fin swam as fast as she could, fighting the current and the waves. If she doesn't act and think fast, he was SO gonna die. Swimming behind him, Fin grabbed his arms and mustered all the strength she could to pull him back out of the undertow. Fin knew she couldn't go take him to the shore of the public beach- too risky with all those other humans around. 'Wait a sec! The cove!' she thought. The royal mermaid was underwater, holding the human tightly until she reached the cove's shore. Once they got there while keeping his head above the water, she hauled Reef and herself onto and along the sand. She then placed her head to his chest to check for a pulse. Fin heard the thumps of his heartbeat and felt his chest heave up and down. Reef was still out cold, but at least he was still alive. The others followed suit and watched from the sea.

"We gotta go, Fin! Before the humans arrive!" Emma yelled out.
"Go on without me. I'll catch up," said Fin, keeping her eyes on the human. Jess was gonna protest, but Emma placed her hand on her shoulder.
"She'll make it out okay." said Emma, as Kaycee and Roxxie nodded in agreement, albeit grudgingly. Jess sighed and then she and Emma dove into the sea, followed by Kaycee and Roxxie.

Fin looked down upon the lucky human. His red, spiky hair, still wet from the sea, was all sprawled out. The mermaid blushed again. 'Wow, he sure looks so... peaceful.' she thought. She ran her hand down his face as she began to sing to him. To human ears, this tune sounded unrecognisable for it was sung in her native tongue. Fin's voice was soft and light as she continued. It was a song played to her as a child by her mother.

Reef thought he was dead when he went under, but when he felt himself breathing and the sand underneath him, he confirmed he was definitely still alive. The sound of somebody singing began to awaken him. He sworn it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard in his entire life. Reef tried opening his eyes, the seawater still stinging them. His sight was still a bit fuzzy, but he did manage to see a pair of lovely blue eyes.

Reef weakly asked "Who- who are you?" The unclearly seen individual just smiled. Then he heard somebody calling for him.

"Thank goodness we found you!" Johnny yelled out. Reef merely blinked and that mysterious individual was gone in a flash. Johnny, Ripper, Kendra, Lance, Ty, Lo, and Broseph came running down the beach, rushing to their friend's side.

"Krikey, we thought you were a goner, mate!" Ripper exlaimed, pulling him back up.
"Oe'! How on Earth did you make it out that strong undertow? asked Kendra. She and Ripper were really happy Reef made it. Reef turned his attention back to the sea, looking for his mystery savior.

"I think somebody rescued me." Reef said. The guys and gals exchanged puzzled glances.
"But we see nobody out here except us," Lo said. "though the situation does seem similar." she added. The redhead looked around, looking for any sign of her.

"Dudes and dudettes, I know I saw her! She had these beautiful blue eyes! And-and her voice was so... woah!" he exclaimed. Lance rolled his eyes.

"I think you drank a little too much seawater... let's just return to the party. It's starting to get a little out of hand." said Johnny. He, Ripper, Kenny, Lo, Broseph, Ty, and Lance started walking off the beach. Reef looked back out to the sea.

"I didn't even get a chance to thank her..." he whispered. Running up to where sand and water meet, he yelled out:

"Yo! If you're out there, thanks for saving me, dudette!" And with that, he followed his friends back.

Unbeknownst to him, his rescuer was hidden behind a rock, watching him anonomously.

"You're welcome... kook." she said, uncertain of his name... for the moment. One of the smaller orcas surfaced next to her, squeaking to her.

"I'm perfectly okay," she said, smiling at the shore. "Thanks for your concern." However, I think I've just found the one," whispered Fin. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but... I think I'm actually in love!" She smiled and dove deep into the sea, swimming to her underwater home...

Jeez Louize, this one was tough! Didn't expect it to be this long, either!

In case you're unfamiliar with the name, and Dakuwaqa's a shark god from Fijan culture. Also, on Fin's behalf, I figure if she were a mermaid, McCloud would be more of a human name, so I gave her Requin as her mermaid last name. Oh, and "Requin" means "shark" in French, btw.

On, and y'all heard that? Fin called Reef a kook, and she hadn't met him until she saved him :)

As for the color-changing fingernails -or should I say fingerscales?- I picked this up from the movie Aquamarine. Y'all heard of it or the book of the same name, right?

Sorry if the the mermaids and the humans lack character development. Had to get 'em in this soon as I could, but I assure y'all, there will be more! I was wasn't OOC, was I?

Also, is this the first fanfiction to include Amber Green? I kinda think so. Feel free to comment what y'all think of Amber Green in this story, y'all.

Plus, some updates'll vary. I have a little time for this, not to mention if and when (and I mean IF) I end writin' BIG chapters like this one.

Please R&R! I would accept positive criticism, but no flames, got it? I don't like mean folks 'cause meanies don't get cookies. Or plushies, for that matter.

One more quick question: Do ya think Fin and Emma look hot (or maybe hotter) as mermaids? I'm positive Reef and Johnny would :D! Same goes with Jess, Kaycee, and Roxxie, for those familiar with these three.