A/N: I'm just going to skip forward to the queen's arrival because from what I've been PM'd, many people want to see what happens with her not what happens to random merpeople.
Also PLEASE continue aiding my story in the review war! PLEEASE!
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Chapter 25
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"There is no reason to be worried your majesty. We will have guards surrounding you every second. Nothing and no one will be able to harm you," the head of the guard informed her, as they sat facing each other in her bullet proof car.
"It's not my physical safety I worry about, what I worry about is what will happen if we offend the royalty of the island. I could start a war with an unintentional insult," the queen replied heavily. It was not as if she had a secretary who could teach her the customs of Atlantis, to prevent such an occurrence, like she had for all the other nations she visited, "Our nation is surrounded on all sides by water and we have no idea what these beings are capable of. A single phrase said wrong, and it could bring the wrath of these dangerous beings down on our people."
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"And SCORE! 20 to 3! Australia wins the cup by a landslide!" the TV roared loudly, the cheers of the spectators resounding through the background.
"YESSSS! WHOOO HOOO," Zane jumped into the air and chest bumped his brother, Ash, who was also celebrating the win of their former homeland.
The TV clicked off.
"Wha-?"
"You're game is finished, so hurry and get dressed. And when I say dressed, I mean in Ceremonial garb not your everyday clothes," Emma ordered both her husband and brother, knowing full well that if she didn't give them specific orders they could very well show up wearing football jerseys.
Once she was gone, Zane reached for the remote so that he could finish watching the end game reports, but to his dismay the remote floated up and out of his hand and landed in Will's.
"Hey!"
"Hey to you too," Will answered with a smile, "You two really ought to get ready, we have to meet the delegates in an hour and we need to set an example for the others."
"Fine," Zane grumbled as he trudged out the door of Ash and Emma's house and headed towards his own.
Two minutes later he crossed paths with his wife.
"Took you long enough," Rikki greeted him. She was already fully dressed as she exited the very same house he was entering.
Her apparel consisted of a strapless gold bustier that was intricately adorned with golden swirls. Her flowing crimson skirt was slit to the thigh on her left side, allowing easy movement for her legs. Her wrists, ankles, forearms and throat were wrapped with gold coils set with rubies.
She was bare-foot as was Atlantean custom for the women; it symbolized closeness with the earth and nature. Her hair was down in tight ringlets that were held in place with ruby hair pins.
Once more, golden henna was tattooed in the shape of a small sun next to her left eye. Its tiny golden rays swirled out in an array of spirals.
Dark, shimmering-red eye shadow brought out her golden irises, while an oval ruby rested in the center of her gold tiara. The royal medallion hung over the bodice of her gown.
"I left your clothes on the bed so you wouldn't get lost in the closet," she grinned cheekily, as she headed to the pavilion, her focus staff in hand.
Zane headed in and quickly pulled on the golden robes that covered the obsidian breast plate he had just finished wriggling into. Black leather constituted the material of his breeches where he carefully tucked into his gold knee high boots.
The smooth ring of gold that was his crown slipped perfectly around his forehead as he in turn slipped a light mouse into his hair. Its center stone, a black diamond, gleamed from the impromptu polishing from Zane's robe.
With a sigh, Zane slipped the gauntlet of compulsion onto his hand and flexed it, vainly checking his focus for nonexistent blemishes.
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Ash held still while he allowed Emma to secure the straps of the silver breast plate onto his chest. He tried not to think about his preference for her undressing him as she did so.
His intricate belt buckle was actually his medallion repurposed and attached to a metal belt that held up the dark gray leather of his pants which ended in silver riding boots.
Once the breast plate was secure, Emma helped him put his blue hued silver robes on as he unceremoniously used his free hand to put his crown on.
As soon as he finished, he slipped his blue mother of pearl inlaid titanium sword into its sheath and plopped onto the bed to enjoy the view of his wife getting dressed.
Emma, who was already wearing a shimmering strapless white gown with two thigh high slits, placed her white-gold opal set tiara onto her half up, half down pin-straight ice-white hair.
She disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared ten minutes later with ice blue eye shadow and a silver henna crescent moon next to her right eye. Her jewelry was white gold and opals hung in a V shaped curtain from her throat. Each wrist, upper arm and ankle was wrapped in white gold coils.
Her clothing was the exact opposite in coloring of Rikki's, which was appropriate as she represented the moon, the night and ice and Rikki represented the Sun, the day and fire.
"You ready to go," Emma asked her husband, as she tried to hide the excitement she felt as her plans came to fruition.
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Lewis waited impatiently for his wife to finish dressing.
He was wearing a silver breast plate litter with magical runes with a red robe to cover his black leather pants. Silver arm braces adorned his wrists set with rubies in a similar fashion as the hammered circlet of his crown.
"Cleo, are you dressed yet," Lewis called out; it would be rather embarrassing if they were late in meeting the delegates.
"Coming," she answered as she stepped into the bedroom fully dressed in an ocean blue gown that gradated to purple at the bottom; it perfectly matched her violet eye shadow. The dress was open in the back as the fabric flowed down the front in a thin water fall that connected it to the skirt. The lower half was slit to her knee and flowed overly long in a trail behind her. The upper half was held in place by two straps of interlocking silver circles that crossed behind her shoulders as they attached to the turquoise cups of fabric that covered her breast.
Her sapphire studded tiara matched the braces on her forearm and wrists. The Whale-Rib sword hung from a silver belt at her hip.
"Hummina hummina," Lewis gulped as he took her in.
"Be good," Cleo warned as she kissed his cheek and headed out the door with him close on her tail.
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Bella was barely showing, in fact if you didn't know she was pregnant you wouldn't even notice.
However this did not keep her from feeling self-conscious.
Normally she would have worn her signature midriff sari but with her condition she didn't want to chance it and chose instead to wear an emerald green silk dress with thigh high slits.
The high slits on a dress were an Atlantean custom that allowed women to move without their skirts obstructing them.
The gown's sleeves were delicate golden cages that twisted over her shoulders and down her arms like lace vines that occasionally bloomed with little golden flowers and ended in a rose on the back of each hand.
Her crown was a golden vine circlet that rested gently on her forehead.
"Bella, hurry up, it's time to go and I know for a fact, that it's not possible for you to get prettier," Will smiled as he took her hand and stared into her green eye shadow accented eyes.
She merely smiled as she took in the standard breast plate, robe, pant and boot ensemble the male royalty wore. His robes were dark green over a bronze breast plate, alongside green leather pants with bronze boots.
"And it's not possible for me to get a better husband."
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Atlantean flags had been posted on every light post, pavilion and were held by every sentinel on the outer wall.
The workers of Glorious Rose were adding the finishing touches to the banquet and Rose was so nervous she had already turned three mixing bowls from metal to Jell-O.
All the citizens were wearing their best Atlantean clothes and were dispersed around the island per Emma's request to show the Queen what daily life was like.
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"Sadaka, if you would be so kind as to begin, it wouldn't do for us to be late picking our guests up," Emma asked politely, her teeth on edge as her anxiety set in.
"Sure thing," Daka replied and began moving the water in a bubble as the diamond barge submerged.
"Are you sure you want to do this Ivan, one of the delegates is from Russia, we'll understand if you wish to withdraw from the day's activities," Bella asked concerned for her friend.
"Nonsense, what kind of captain of the guard would I be to the Royal council if I hid on my first assignment and from a mere bureaucrat no less," Ivan queried. Due to his invulnerability he chose to forego armor and went only with a plain white Egyptian waist wrap and sandals. The braces on his forearms reflected the light of his diamond trident.
Being of Atlantean make and powered by magic the barge managed much better time than any Man made vessel and was ready to surface at the dock within ten minutes of its departure.
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"Your Majesty, they are due in two minutes and there is no sign of the transport they promised. I'm sorry but this may be an ambush. What are your orders," the Captain of the Guard asked.
"Just a moment longer, Captain," the Queen replied, as the water at the edge of the dock erupted and revealed a perfectly dry diamond boat.
Two statues stood at the front holding two navy blue flags with golden tridents crossing on them.
"Quite the display don't you agree," the Queen commented to her assistant.
"Uh-huh?" was all the assistant could manage.
The statues opened their mouths, "Presenting the Royal Barge of the Atlantean Royal Council here to transport the human delegates to the Island of Atlantis."
"Impressive," the South African delegate commented with a sneer, "but I've seen better than a simple submarine," he added to his assistant who had a small smile on his face.
The other delegates from America, Australia, Japan, Russia and India were murmuring directions to their guards.
"Welcome Dignitaries, if you would please board the barge we will promptly set course to Atlantis."
Surrounded by their entourages each of the delegates walked onto the barge and stationed themselves far apart. Only the Australian and American dignitaries broke this pattern as they stood with the queen.
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Each of the diamond thrones sat in a line facing the groups of humans, and each was filled with the sitting figure of a member of the Royal Council. Their exotic robes and sensual gowns were in stark contrast with the business suits and pragmatically colored dresses worn by the humans.
They looked every bit the part of Mermaid Princesses.
What irked Bella in particular was the fact that the humans seemed afraid for some reason and had yet to introduce themselves.
Sigh, it seemed she would be the one to do so.
"Greetings dignitaries, I am Princess Kusuma, and it is Atlantean custom to introduce oneself to new friends."
"So you assume we are friends then, Princess," the Russian delegate spoke up, "That is a presumptuous statement from a very bold little girl.
Rikki's temper flared at the unprovoked insult to her sister, bringing fire to the surface of her hand in a ball, she struck the deck with a loud clang of the staff in her other hand.
"And I presume your apology for your conflagrating words," Rikki demanded.
"Cahaya, please I am sure he meant nothing by it," Bella tried to placate.
"My sister is sweet and forgiving but I am not so willing to allow such a slight to pass without retrib-"
Emma stepped between her golden eyed sister and the Russian delegate and placed her free hand over the fireball, extinguishing it with a hiss of cold air, "Menenangkan diri!"
"My sister, Princess Cahaya is Guardian of the Sun and her temper if just as fiery as her element, please ignore her outburst. I am Princess Ndari, Guardian of the Moon, please allow my siblings to introduce themselves."
Will moved passed Emma and stared challengingly into the Russian's eyes while he announced himself to the rest of the boat, "I am Prince Lemah, I'd advise you remember that when you are talking to my wife Princess Kusuma, that you are talking to a member of the Royal family and a woman with the ability to destroy your countries crops with a wave of her hand."
"Enough! This is not a day to for petty squabbles or displays of superiority; this day is purely for the purpose of showing our society to the delegates of others. All of us here are adults and I will not have this turn into a childish fight! Those that wish to continue will do so at their own peril!" she directed the last part at Will and Rikki, "Am I understood!"
"Yes sister," Will and Rikki sighed before sitting back down.
"Now that, that is over, I'd like to introduce myself. I am Prince Sihir, and this is my wife Princess Nuri. We are glad you were able to make it," Lewis said as he wrapped one arm around Cleo's waist. The Russian and South African delegates seemed unhappy with the wasted politically disaster that had been defused by Emma.
"And I am Prince Lelakin, you have already met my wife Princess Cahaya," Zane said from his seat next to Rikki. He had a hand on her shoulder in case she attempted to restart the disagreement.
"I am Prince Semasan, I am Princess Ndari's husband," Ash finished the introduction for the Royal council, "This is Sadaka, our Captain of the Navy, and Ivan, our Captain of the Guard."
"Ivan, eh? I noticed the Soviet symbol on your shoulder; you are a Russian citizen are you not?"
"I was once, though I cannot vouch for the quality of my citizenship under the Soviet banner. As you can see I have found a more validating position among my own kind," Ivan said coolly.
Emma wanted to scream right now, during the short time the boat had been moving the humans and mermaids relations had gone from tentative to icy.
"Why don't you introduce yourselves," Emma tried.
"I am Aleksandr Gorbachrov, Head of Russian State Department."
"Sato Daisuki, Head of Japanese Foreign Relations."
"Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister."
"Natalia Briars, Assistant to the US Secretary of State."
"Elizabeth, Queen of the United Kingdom and its Common Wealth."
"Ahmed Aboud, Ambassador of Foreign Policy for India."
"Mikal Kerlak, Ambassador of State for South Africa."
Emma smiled.
"That's much better, now we're almost to the gates of Atlantis and I must warn you that there are reporter's so we will be submerging to avoid them. Tell me now if you are wary of enclosed spaces."
No one commented.
"Very well, Sadaka if you would."
"This barge is clear and yet I cannot distinguish how it is supposed to submerge?" the Indian Ambassador Ahmed asked as he searched for mechanical equipment in the solid crystal.
"Magic," Lewis said with a grin as the water welled up on all sides before conjoining in a bubble and allowing the barge to submerge.
"Simply Amazing."
"We are about to pass through the gate, we'll surface momentarily."
The Humans were awestruck as they looked out the water bubble at the colorful reefs.
"What are those?" the American delegate asked wide eyed as a large flash of color flashed by.
"It would seem a few of our citizens are anxious to meet the humans," Bella chuckled.
A trail of rainbow followed a silver tail.
"That's Callie, she is new to our Island," Cleo smiled as she recognized Callie's power.
The top of the bubble broke as the barge reemerged within the wall, in full view of the tropical paradise that was Atlantis.
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Nate had been to the wall before but had never been this close to the magically changed island. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he quickly walked after his boss the South African delegate, making sure the brim of his hat hid his face.
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Queen Elizabeth smiled to herself as all her childhood dreams came to life in front of her eyes.
Atlantis…it was REAL!
She ushered her guards to follow as they neared a diamond dock that formed from the very water itself.
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Aleksandr prided himself in containing his emotions, especially after having intentionally insulted a foreign dignitary.
However, he could not contain his awe, at the beauty of the Magical paradise.
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Daisuki stared dumbstruck at the appearance of a young Asian woman who sat combing her hair as she relaxed on a boulder…she had a blue and yellow tail…
He had heard the rumors of Magic and even when his assistant had brought the invitation from his trip to the Queen's Welcoming ball he had thought the whole thing was an elaborate hoax.
Now…well within the last fifteen minutes he had witnessed magic diamond boats with fire conjuring princesses, color changing water, and finally this mythical creature right before his eyes. He made a choice then and there that he would obtain these powerful people as his countries allies.
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Julia was astounded, and to think that these creatures had been living in the water off her nation's shore for years without detection.
From the look of wonder on her Majesties face she realized that the Commonwealth would soon have new allies if not close friends.
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While this wasn't Natalie's first assignment she had never been confronted by the existence of magic and was hyperventilating as she really and truly wished that Secretary Clinton and her experience with foreign countries was in her place.
God help her if she messes this up!
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Ahmed came from a culture inundated with the belief of magic, yet he had never seen so much evidence of it in his entire life.
Mermaids and magic.
Amazing!
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Adrien and Adalyn were anxiously waiting on the beach for the Royals to leave the dock. They had a plan to welcome the guests.
Over the last two days Adrien had talked several birds on the island into carrying the flowers his sister had grown to the delegates as a welcoming gift.
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"It seems some of the children wish to pretend they aren't normally little monsters," Rikki laughed as the twins ran up with the birds following them.
The multi-colored parrots landed on the guards and held their roses out to the delegates.
"They're remarkably well trained," Aleksandr commented.
"Oh, they're not trained I just asked them real nice to say hello to you guys," Adrien smiled widely.
"At least we know that even Atlantean children have overactive imaginations," Daisuki chuckled as the twins ran off giggling.
"While they do have good imaginations, Adrien was not telling a tale. He is a Berbicara and like a number of Mer on the Island, myself included, he is able to speak to animals," Cleo explained.
"Yes, his sister, Adalyn, is a Telinga, she's the only Mer on the Island that can speak to plants other than me," Bella added.
"Children that speak to animals and plants, I expect nothing less from an Island of Magic," the Queen chuckled. She seemed much freer since they had arrived.
"They are sweet children but watch out for the girl, she's a carnivore and hasn't learned yet that biting isn't nice," Emma sighed heavily.
"Sadly I am unable to tell if that was a joke or not," Ahmed commented, "I'd say not from your expression. By all means continue with the tour."
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"What is that?" the Japanese delegate pointed up, "I didn't see it when we came in, the mountain was in the way."
"That is a statue of Atargatis the Goddess of Mer and according to our legends the very first of our kind on this planet," Rikki explained as the humans stared at the enormous mermaid, "The glowing stone on her chest supplies the Island with clean magical energy to run all our appliances and electronics."
"Magical energy?"
"Yes, Magic in our culture is the equivalent to electricity in yours, except magic allows much more efficient work to be done," Lewis answered the Russian.
"We are coming up on the community dining pavilion where all of us enjoy our meals and spend time together," Emma pointed out happily. Several of the South African group were murmuring furiously amongst themselves, "Is there a problem gentleman."
"Quite! For some reason none of our electronic devices are working. Is it your plan to keep us here without access to the outside world?" Mikal challenged, worry apparent on his face.
Emma removed her own Kemala powered shell communicator from a pouch on her leg and handed it to them.
"My apologies, only magic powered technology works here, the magic in the protective barriers shorts human electronics," Emma said, "If you need to contact anyone, use my communicator, if not let's continue the tour."
The Queen was inspecting the communicator as it passed to her, "It's a sea shell…how does it communicate?"
The golden half scallop lit up as the solidified water it was filled with reacted much like the touch screen of a phone, another of Lewis' inventions.
"Magic."
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Nate used the communicator to send a message before deleting the evidence.
'On the Island, delay directive until 1400 hours, regular communication down – NC.'
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After the different groups were finished checking in with their security teams on the mainland, the tour continued.
"Up a head is our school, the Academy of Atlantis. Where our people are educated in human and Mer histories, as well as science, magic, English, Atlantean customs and intercultural Art and Music," Emma glowed.
"How many students attend it," the Queen asked as she took in the glittering crystal building.
"It depends on which lesson is being taught, a few of our citizens have never been to school as they grew up in rural areas and there are others that are very young and this is the only school they have ever been to. Those attend quite regularly," Harmony answered as she came out of the school house. She was wearing a simple white Atlantean sari with platinum clips to hold it in place, "Others come from more human backgrounds and we teach them Atlantean customs. I'm Harmony, I teach the human side of the curriculum as I grew up with humans and my sister Penyihir teaches the Atlantean portion as she grew up in a mixed Mer/Human society."
"Sister? If you are sisters why did she grow up with her own kind and you grow up with our kind?" Aleksandr asked confused. Perhaps it was a custom to separate siblings?
Several of the Mer smiled.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding. It is merely a part of our culture; we call those of equal rank our brothers and sisters. Our society is structured much like one large family," Bella explained.
As she finished saying this, a splashing sound caught the group's attention.
The humans stared wide eyed as a coffee skinned Asian woman pulled herself out of a puddle and even more surprising; a yellow and blue tail followed her out.
"Princess Cahaya, if you would be so kind," the Asian woman asked politely as she brushed her wet hair behind her ear, revealing half a bright yellow seashell bra.
"Of course," Rikki said with a smile and a wave of her hand.
A cloud of steam rose from the girl, leaving a very human looking Asian woman sitting on the ground wearing a flowing blue and yellow tie-dyed one shouldered dress that had a thigh high slit on the opposite side of the shoulder strap.
"Greetings, human I am Penyihir dari laut, you may call me Penny," she greeted with a grin.
The twins suddenly shot of the forest giggling and ran past the group without a sideways glance, disappearing as they went behind the school.
"Harmony, if I were you, I'd go see what your children are up too…before they tear the playground apart," Will chuckled.
Harmony headed after them.
"Playground? I was under the impression that this Island was little more than an over glorified cluster of huts. Might we see what passes for a child's entertainment here," Mikal said, his insult barely veiled.
Rikki gave him a glare before Zane put a hand on her shoulder, "Of course, the point of this tour is to show you how we live after all," Zane covered before switching to Atlantean, "Emma, Rikki and I will be elsewhere, she can't seem to control her temper and we REALLY don't need a charred diplomat."
Emma nodded affirmatively.
"Where are they going?" Julia asked confused as the two started walking away.
"Our sister is the Guardian of the Sun and Light and as such has many things to do," Ash stepped in and twisted the truth slightly.
Jaws dropped when the humans caught sight of the platinum and diamond state of the art playground. None of them could believe that such a large amount of precious metal and jewels would be used just for kids to play with.
The group gasped in surprise once more when the couple that had been walking away suddenly flew into the sky without warning and landed gently on top of the statue of Atargatis.
"THEY CAN FLY!?" someone shouted, losing all composure.
All of the remaining royals turned in sync and looked at the man who'd shouted.
Six sets of eyes narrowed dangerously as they recognized his voice.
"Nate CUNNINGHAM?!"
"What is the meaning of this," Lewis lost his composure and pointed his staff at Nate, "That man is an enemy of our Nation and was given clemency on the grounds that he was never set to foot in Atlantean territory."
"Lower your staff! This is my assistant Nathan Hamilton," Mikal demanded confused as to what was going on.
Lewis raised his staff to the sky and shot a beam of red light into the sky above him.
The forest came to life with sounds of shuffling as the citizens closest to them answered the summons, meant to bring back Rikki and Zane. Rose, Sadaka and Gloriana bounded over the tall cluster of trees that separated their workshop from the school, landing agilely, while Rikki and Zane who had left them only moments before landed lightly with a look of confusion on their faces.
"Is there a problem?" Zane asked.
"I'd say so! Do you recognize the young man in the hat, next to the South African delegate?" Emma growled.
Cleo waved her hand and the wide-brimmed cowboy hat sailed through the air from his head to her hand.
"YOU!" Rose exclaimed as she tried to lunge at the man but was stopped by her mate, "YOU tried to kidnap me..TWICE!"
"Captain Braginski, Mr. Cunningham has broken the clemency and should have the foresight not to trespass on the land of those he has wronged. Place him in the holding cell." Ash ordered calmly, "Prime Minister, as he is your citizen, when the tour has concluded we would like to speak with you regarding his punishment for attempted kidnapping and assault of a minor."
Ivan grabbed the dramatically smaller man by the bicep and started dragging him away towards the large cave beneath the island that had been modified to house humans for just such an occasion. The room was nearly three hundred feet beneath the surface and if you weren't accompanied by a Mer and their aura, then you'd be crushed by the weight of the water. Not to mention the maze of tunnels marked only by Atlantean symbols. Escape was impossible unless you were a mer.
Nate tried to shout something, but was unable to get it out as he was pulled into the 'puddle' of water.
"You have no right to assault my staff, he has diplomatic immunity," Mikal shouted, suddenly aware that his chance to cause the much needed international incident had just occurred.
"He assaulted our people on numerous occasion, by Atlantean law he must face justice," Emma snapped, "We shall finish the tour, the reason this day was scheduled, before we consider his fate."
Her tone left nothing to debate.
"Alright Rose, you saw for yourself that, the lunatic is gone for now, so go back to whatever it is that you were doing," Rikki instructed before grabbing Zane's hand and returning to the top of the statue in a single bound.
"Before that little conniption, the boy you took away had a valid question. How is it that you're kind can fly?" the Queen asked, still a little disconcerted at the sudden swirl of events.
"Magic. The more powerful the being the higher and longer it can fly. Unless it has wings then it doesn't need magic, obviously," Lewis explained, "Unfortunately, most humans have electricity in their bodies instead of magic and so they are unable to."
The group merely nodded their heads, still taken a back at the fast events of the last few minutes.
"Now we are slightly behind schedule so we will have to hurry if we want to finish on time," Emma said as she started down the path.
"Sister, my apologies, while the moon is at rest the forest and the earth are not," Bella requested calmly.
"Very well," Emma said, exasperated but understood that it would be easier to continue the procession if the others were doing their jobs instead of bickering. Besides their guests would get to see the Island fully functioning, "Sihir, Nuri, you should go with Kusuma and Lemah, I'm sure our guests would love to see you at work."
The four nodded and disappeared down an adjacent path, dramatically reducing the chances for conflict.
Ash placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her as they once again continued the seemingly endless tour.
"Our next stop is the lava pits, the territory of the Kebakaran's and the Tanah's," Ash stated calmly, "Tanahs are geokinetics and the Kebak's as they are called, are pyrokinetics."
"Do you mean to tell me that your citizens are elementals?" the Prime Minister asked dumbfounded, as the US delegate scribbled notes frantically.
"Yes, even our most basic citizen has powers, we Royal's do not hold a monopoly on magic," Emma chuckled, relaxing as the tension started to disperse.
A chorus of gasp filled the air and also filled Emma's heart with dread as she wondered what else could have gone wrong.
Lounging in the bubbling lava was a beautiful young Latino woman wearing a metal brazier, chatting vapidly with a small orange man amongst the columns of steam.
The gasps caught the duo's attention causing them to look up with surprise and then smile.
"Have we really been in here that long," Vi asked amused.
Standing up the glowing lava slide down her heat impervious body and returned to the pool. Reaching up she rung the magma from her hair like water and wiped the remaining embers from the lower half of her black and silver titanium bikini. The metal was glowing red as she stepped out of the pool.
"I'll see you later Sanshoo," Vi called back to her best friend, as he transformed back into a large fiery salamander.
"What can I do for you, your majesties," Vi asked politely as the metal covering her body cooled back to its regular color.
"Nothing, though I'm sure your husband wouldn't mind seeing his wife once in a while," Emma chided with a smirk.
"Toooo, right you arrre," an Atlantean hiss came from the brush as a large snake began coiling its seventy foot long body around the sixteen year old girl.
"Nobody move, we'll kill it before it can harm you," the head of the Queen's security assured as he cocked his gun and aimed it at the snake.
As the bullet left the gun, the snake tried to dodge to the left, but wasn't fast enough as the bullet sank into the side of its neck.
"Got it," the man said as he readied to aim again.
To his surprise however his line of sight was blocked by an infuriated white haired princess.
"How DARE you fire a weapon at one of my citizens," Emma shouted shaking with fury, her pale skin took on a blue white hue and her white eyes shined as she snatched the gun from his hand and froze its molecular structure so rigid, that it turned to powder in her hand as she crushed it.
"C-citizen….it's just a snake," the guard said confused and afraid of the furious woman.
The enraged princess stepped aside, allowing the guard to see that where the enormous snake had been was now a young man being attended to by the girl the snake had been wrapped around as well as the prince.
"Wh-where's the snake?"
"OW! Stopped touching it," Cobrir complained as Ash prodded his wound to remove the bullet, the young man glared at the guard. "I'm the snake you retard!"
"But?"
"But nothing! ALL OF YOU, no weapon is to be discharged on this Island and no animal is to be harmed. There are a number of shape shifters and other beings that take animal forms on this Island and we don't want any of them hurt because you're afraid of wild life," Semasan ordered as he sent a message on his communicator to Penny. Unlike Lewis' summoning beacon that was more immediate and flashy, his means of communication was far more specific.
Moments later Penny appeared for the third time before the delegation.
"You said someone had been shot!?" Penny asked in Atlantean. Ash didn't feel the need to answer that as Penny had already dropped to her knees in front of the cursing Cobrir and began using her magic to heal him. One minute of the Brazilian cursing in Atlantean later, a bullet dislodged itself from his shoulder.
"Move it around," Penny ordered to ensure it was properly healed. As soon as she was sure it was healed, she stood up and sent a reproachful look at the group as a whole, and without another word she dove back into the puddle, obviously annoyed at something.
"Cobrir, might I also remind you not to sneak up on armed humans in that form. It was rather a stupid thing to do," Vi huffed, "AND YOU," she growled angrily at the guard that was now staring wide-eyed at the petite girl whose chocolate brown eyes were now red, and whose previously perfect teeth were now razor sharp triangles. A ball of fire had come to her hand, "Do you feel like a tough guy, trying to kill animals?"
"ENOUGH! Vi, Cobrir, this tour has been eventful enough without you trying to start a war, go back to your cottage and avoid the humans for the rest of the day, if you know what's good for you," Ash ordered, his own frustration at the day coming through.
It was times like this that made Ash worry that Mers and humans weren't meant to mix openly. Humans were just too afraid of what they couldn't control.
0-0-0-0-0
The group managed to enjoy the whimsy of Melody Way and Airplane Avenue for a solid twenty minutes without any problems.
"Up ahead is the Sejuk's territory, my natural habitat if you will," Emma proclaimed with a smile as she dropped her normally stalwart façade and sprinted along the jungle trail that suddenly cut away to reveal a panoramic view of an artic lagoon. Emma was always more relaxed when she was in her own climate.
Three human figures were up to their waists in the icy water, laughing as they energetically tossed a blue and white beach ball to one another.
The tallest of the group had a silver circlet that adorned her ice white hair, her elegant features in contrast with her hard eyes. She wore a matching silver net over a white silk bandeau.
She tossed the ball at a petite girl, with Asiatic features and blue-white stripes in her hair. A smile adorned her laughing face that reached all the way up to her ice blue eyes. To cover her chest she wore a white leather halter top with Native American style fringe edging the bottom half. Her ice white tail shimmered in the sun, as she hurled herself into the air to spike the ball at the young man opposite her.
The young man responded by disappearing into the water and immediately resurfacing in a high jump that turned into a dive as he used his jet black tail to bat the ball back at the white haired girl.
To the captivated audience it looked as if his aim was off as the ball was hurled to a patch of open water, when suddenly the placid surface broke and a beluga whale used it's snout to hit the ball in what seemed be another misaimed attempt.
Right before it hit the open water, a large emperor penguin popped up and head butted the ball towards another penguin that had appeared from the icy water. This penguin tossed it back to the white haired girl who shot out of the water to hit the ball but was startled to find that the ball was merely floating in midair and fell back to the water, her granite and silver tail smacking the water loudly.
The occupants of the ice lagoon turned towards the arriving group of delegates to see Emma, in her Royal garb, holding her hand towards the sky.
Realizing that she must have frozen the water on the ball and used it to make the ball float, they burst out laughing at the harmless prank.
"Would you like to come meet the delegates," Emma asked her friends. All the Sejuk's had a close friendship and while they looked up to all the Royals, Emma was their favorite by far.
Quickly swimming to the edge of the snowy bank, the trio pulled themselves out onto the glittering ice sheet, and looked to Emma for assistance. With a wave of her hand the water on all three of them turned to ice and disappeared.
"Princess Ndari," the three of them bowed slightly, as Mikkela greeted their favorite monarch.
"Princess Mikkela, Malina, Jayden, I'd like you to meet the Queen of England, The Australian Prime Minister, and the ambassadors from the U.S., South Africa, Japan, India, and Russia," Emma introduced.
"Princess Mikkela? Is she a member of the Royal Council?" Aleksandr asked confused. He had thought there were only eight.
"No, Ella, while she is a dear and respected friend, she is not a member of the Atlantean Council, she is the Princess of the Svalbardian Mer Clan," Emma explained placing a hand on her friends shoulder. All the royal Sejuk's were related somehow, meaning Ella was a distant relative of Emma.
"So there are more of you in Svalbard?" Aleksandr asked intrigued.
"Not anymore, the population of the Svalbardian Mer empire used to number in the hundreds. Now…now I am the only one left. My sister Princess Hilda like the others, was murdered by human fisherman," Ella said sadly.
"Don't be sad, Ella, at the rate you and Ivan seem to have hit it off, I'm sure that the Svalbardian empire shall be repopulated in no time," Malina laughed, causing Mikkela and Ivan, who had rejoined the group at Melody Way, to blush furiously.
"Don't tell me Rose has gotten to you two already?" Emma sighed exasperatedly. With the Aphrodite Mermaid around it seemed that none of the new comers were single for long.
The two answered with a shy smiled.
"Remind me to get Sadaka to enlarge whichever cottage you two wish to move into, and to get the extra cottage ready for any new arrivals," Emma smiled realizing that the herald wasn't just calling lost Mer but was also calling their mates, "We'll celebrate your mating tonight at the feast," she grinned.
Malina and Mikkela nodded vigorously before running off down the path towards their cottages, chattering about what to wear to the announcement ceremony.
Ash gave a sideways glance at his Captain of the Guard, "You move fast don't you?"
"What can I say, when I see something I want, I don't let it get away," Ivan grinned as he reached into the pocket of his waist wrap, "I carved the betrothal charm already, she grew up with Mer customs so I thought I would follow them in this case."
"Nice touch," Ash chuckled as he looked down at the clear crystal heart that contained a vein of gold and red. It was set in a silver band, meant to be worn as a choker, "I can see you had Rose help you out."
"Well of course, she's the one that stabbed me in the first place, I figured it was the least she could do," Ivan joked.
0-0-0-0-0-0
After they left the Sejukian Lagoon, the group of delegates headed past Bella and Will's cottage which was surrounded by a ivy-covered stone wall that allowed small glimpses into a back yard filled with flowers and stone sculptures.
"Where are we going?" Natalie asked quietly as a curtain of vines was held open by two crystal statues, revealing a tunnel whose only lighting was the occasional dapple of light.
"Acacia's glade, it is the home of the faeries and Acacia the Wood Nymph," Bella explained as she and Cleo took over the tour, allowing Ash and Emma a break from the frustration.
Acacia's glade was a triangle of hedges nearly forty feet tall and five acres in area that blended in with the islands foliage completely unless one knew where to look. The hedges were thick and completely obscured the light the farther one went into the maze.
Lewis and Light had assisted Acacia with a spell that made it so that any uninvited trespassers would wander down the path as if it were endless with no exit of any kind unless Acacia took pity on them.
Only Bella, Cleo and Acacia had unencumbered access to the resting place of the Fae Gate, which was also Acacia's home.
The Fae Gate was an enormous sentient tree who branches and roots made up the entirety of the Glade, including the hedges. It resembled a number of different plant species in different areas and its upper branches created an opaque canopy that didn't let an ounce of sunlight into the glade to allow the nocturnal members of the Faery population a safe haven even during the day.
As the curtain of vines closed behind the group of delegates, the tunnel came to life.
Pinpricks of multi-colored lights were now visible in the darkness, as the group's eyes adjusted.
Twisted arches of wood came up from the ground in several places and curved over their heads before disappearing into the ground and re-emerging farther ahead.
Each of the twirled pieces of wood had lights coming from them.
The Queen wasn't often known for such carelessness, but her curiosity got the better of her and, to her surprise, as she leaned in to look at the light….it wasn't just a light. The light was coming through tiny windows that were attached to tiny houses that were carved into the thick roots.
Tiny faces peered out at her in surprised or amused expressions as she went from light to light and looked in on the little families of tiny people.
Some of them had wings, but all of them wore clothes that made them look very much like little animals.
"They're little houses," the Queen exclaimed as she moved to the next column and looked in, to see a little couple cuddling on the couch watching a mirror that was flickering pictures much too tiny for her eye to see. The male had tiny round ears on his head with a pointed face…and wore a coat with a long fluffy gray tail. A white version of this ensemble adorned the female who wore a tiny white fur dress. They looked like squirrels!
Moving on to the next house, the Queen noticed a turn in the tunnel and that the entire tunnel was inclined, meaning they were going up a small hill.
"How far does this tunnel go," the Queen asked, Princess Kusuma who looked positively ethereal in the shimmering rainbow lights of the tunnel.
"Two more turns in the tunnel until we reach the Fae Gate in the center where Acacia lives," Bella explained calmly before turning with a smile to a tiny faery child that had landed on her shoulder and was whispering something in her ear, "Little Alabrielle, it seems, is very excited to meet you, she's never seen a mortal before. Come on sweetheart, the Queen would love to meet you."
Bella held her hand up to her shoulder to allow the tiny creature to flit to her hand, where it quickly hid behind her fingers, its glinting little eyes peeking curiously over her finger tips.
"She's only four years old so she's a little jumpy but I think if you're calm enough and just hold your hand steady she'll stand on your hand," Bella instructed as the Queen stood awestruck with her hand out.
The tiny faery child was only 2 inches tall which was normal for the race of tiny people but astounding to the wide-eyed Queen of England.
"Does it speak English?" the Queen asked.
"She and no, she speaks Atlantean like all Faeries do, it sounds quite a bit like bells when they speak," Bella corrected gently.
"Bells? So the story of Peter pan is correct on Mermaids and Fairies so far," she chuckled as the tiny child shook glittering powder from her wings and smoothed the purple petals of the flower she wore as a dress.
"The story of Peter Pan is actually a part of our culture as more than a bedtime story. To us, it is history. Jim Barrie and his little brother and older sister met Peter Pan. He was the fourteen year old Mer prince of an Island that used to be in the Netherlands. "
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1904
His accent was often hard to understand and he occasionally started speaking in a strange language, with a small bird woman, but who was she to complain when a magical flying stranger landed on the sill of her window, and offered to show her a land of wonder and beauty beyond compare.
Her name was Kendra Barrie and she was currently being pulled by her hand into a sea of lights along with her two brothers James and Mitchel.
The handsome redheaded boy flashed a brilliant smile at her as he pushed her through the glittering portal to the Island of Kecantikan that floated off the coast of Netherland.
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As they flew through the gravity free tunnel of lights he made sure to instruct his new friends to head toward the second light on the right or they would end up at the wrong destination.
Exiting the tunnel, the quartet landed on thick fluffy clouds that astoundingly held their collective weight.
"Stay here, I'll go tell the boys to set up a place for you to sleep," he explained as he shot off the cloud and soared towards a large gnarled looking tree at the top of the island.
Sitting alone on the cloud the siblings took in the vast ethereal landmass and were astonished to see that there were in fact entirely different climates on certain portions of the island.
"What is this place?" Mitchel asked as he clutched his toy bear.
"Peter said…he said it was a magic island in Netherland," Kendra tried to remember the harshly accented words of her handsome new friend.
"Neverland?" Mitchel tried to repeat. The comparatively large world caused the nearly four year old boy to struggle.
"No, Neth…Well, I suppose in a sense it is a Neverland, a place where things we thought could never happen, do," John almost corrected before falling into his own thoughts as he looked out over the island to a brightly lit and rather tropical looking lagoon.
A number of brightly colored mermaids were sunning their tails as they sat on rocks brushing their hair.
In the opposite lagoon was a majestic ship, made of dark wood, swarming with the dirtiest swashbuckling pirates he's ever laid on eyes. Granted that he'd only ever seen them in picture books.
Kendra was absolutely captivated by the glittering glade of tree's where tiny shining lights flitted from tree to tree and swirled around a number of wood colored women with flowing green hair that danced naked around a spring.
"The boys are setting to work fixing up your rooms," Peter explained as he popped through the cloud behind them, "grab hold of me and I'll take you there."
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"From the self-updating scrolls in the Treasury, we know that by all accounts the story was quite detailed and close to what actually happened until the end. Then it is our understanding that to protect the Island and his family from recognition, when James returned to London, he changed the names in the story and made it a moral to all children that you had to grow up one day. Of course he was really just bitter on that point that he was the only one of the three siblings that did not have enough Mer in them to make the change.
What really happened was Kendra and Mitchel stayed on the Island.
In the end Kendra married Prince Peter and Mitchel married a human girl whose Atlantean name roughly translates to Tiger Lily.
From our understanding the Island of Kecantikan still exists to this day under the rule of Peter and Kendra's children.
Unfortunately, we have been unable to locate it because the Island is under the same protection as this one and cannot be seen from satellite. It also moves from place to place via Portals that we have yet to be able to track," Bella finished the short history of Pulau Kecantikan Melangkah, the Isle of Wandering Beauty.
As she told her story the other delegates had gathered around, mesmerized by the fact that their childhood dreams were coming to life.
"Now, let us continue Acacia is waiting for us up ahead," Bella requested as she turned and headed further into the tunnel of shimmering lights.
Despite being adults of at least 30 years of age, if not substantially more, all of the delegates were whispering to each other over the story. It seemed that upon arriving on the island, where no cameras were waiting to film their every movement, they felt a great deal freer in their actions and childlike wonder.
The next two turns in the tunnel brought progressively bigger and more opulent faery houses, until they finally reached the end and noticed a light coming from a gate in the tunnel.
Tiny men with insect wings played a fanfare on tiny trumpets as a lattice of vines untangled themselves to allow the group entrance into the center of the glade.
As they crowded into the room a single beam of light streamed through a small break in the canopy of the enormous tree, and illuminated the entire enclosure of plants.
Instead of walls, it had twenty foot high walls of thick impenetrable hedges that made a triangle perimeter.
Random arches and swirls of snarled roots protruded from the ground in different places and ended in points fifteen feet in the air, each one wrapped in a coil of vines, and adorned with nearly translucent white flower buds.
At the furthest vertex of the triangle from the entrance, there stood the trunk of an enormous and very odd tree; the very same tree that made up the numerous flowers, hedges and arches that composed the canopy of the glade.
Carved into the tree was an intricate throne, upon which sat a wooden statue of a young green-haired woman with her eyes closed.
"It's beautiful," the young American secretary whispered in awe.
"Thank you," said the statue as a portion of the canopy moved aside to allow a bright beam of light to shine onto the wooden woman, whose eyes were now open. Effervescent green irises filled the whole of her eyes, much like a cat's.
"This glade is my home and my masterpiece. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Acacia, Guardian of the Fae."
Acacia made a coaxing motion with her hand causing a large root to pull itself from the ground and slither through the grass as if it were a sea serpent diving in and out of water. It did so several times before it settled, leaving seven small arches of wood at a level of height optimum for sitting.
Understanding her silent invitation, each of the delegates sat on one of the offered seats and wondered what the pool of water between them was needed for.
"As you are new visitors to this place, you are unaware of a certain fact. The fact that the pool before you was created by mixing water from the fountain of youth, faery dust, a crushed sunstone and the sands of time; thus giving those who know how to use such a thing, a view of the past, the present and the future."
"You can see the future?!"
"To some extent, to use it to its full potential, an Oracle Mer is needed and according to the pool she will not arrive for another week," Acacia responded calmly, "Today the pool will be used to show you the beginning of this world as it is was told to us by Atargatis, the first daughter of the Infinite Ocean, Samudera Tak Terbatas. Please, do not interrupt while I show you this, my control is tentative at best."
The group stared silently into the glassy blue pool as it began to churn and swirl with color, leaving the surface smooth as a mirror.
Acacia began to explain the story as it unfolded before them, the sounds and words of the past rustling through the glade as the magic filled the air.
"Before the world was as it is today, it was divided. "
"Divided along the lines of the elements.
Water, Air, Earth, and Fire.
They were the first children of the creator, gifted to each world of the cosmos, to create harmony.
However, instead of working together to achieve this harmony, fire sought to undo all that was, in a fit of anger."
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The elements were not as we think of them today.
They were not cold inanimate things.
They were beings of great power and beauty.
Unfortunately, upon their arrival to the barren wasteland that was the planet we know as Earth, Fire was angry.
Angry that unlike their other brethren, who he assumed had been sent to paradises to live as gods, they were forced to live on a desolate rock.
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Matahari, the original fire of the cosmos, was true flame in body and temperament.
Realizing that he was going to live for eternity on this world, with no comfort or company other than the elements, he roared with anger and began to melt the planet he was sent to protect.
The others, upon seeing that the world they were duty bound to protect was being destroyed, immediately began to fight against their angry brother.
But only Matahari's sister, Batu Pertama, the First Stone, had any power. For there was no air or water for her desperate siblings to utilize.
So with steely courage, Pertama battled her enraged brother, hoping to settle him before the newborn universe was destroyed in his fury.
"Do you not see, Sister, our creator has punished us with eternity upon this useless rock," Matahari bellowed, causing volcano's around the world to spew molten lava and clouds of burning gas, "We were told our purpose was to rule over a system of worlds, and instead we are sent to babysit rocks!"
"Brother, I beg you to listen to reason! We were not deceived! Father sent us to create not to RULE! You see endless wastelands, I see endless possibilities! PLEASE Brother, calm yourself –"
Angin, the First Wind, blasted his brother angrily with the searing gas the volcanoes had released.
As a Being of True Heat, Matahari, merely laughed at his brother's futile attempt to attack him.
"Do you really think hot air is going to harm Fire?!"
"The heat will not be your down fall, but you have forgotten brother in your short-sighted rage, that I am the Wind and the Wind makes the flame burn hotter!"
"I fail to see this as a problem! Is this way your way of saying you will join me in the destruction of this useless place?"
"No brother, it is my way of saying good-bye, you are too consumed by your rage and vanity to realize that you have brought about your own demise!"
It was at that moment that Matahari realized the gases his brother had him with him were combusting on contact with his fiery body.
"You have betrayed me! I am your Brother and yet you seek to kill me?!"
"No brother, you have betrayed us, as well your sacred duty! You existed but a single day on this planet and you condemned it. Condemned it, as you forgot the very reason for your existence! You are but one physical manifestation of yourself! Do you not feel each and every one of your counterparts, burning as you burn, dying as you die! Each of your incarnations forgot in your earnestness to raze the universe, that your duty was not to destroy but to create! Instead you chose to attack us, your own siblings, in your uncontrolled rage!"
Realizing too late his mistake, Matahari cursed his father for creating him with such a volatile nature, he was merely doing what fire was supposed to, consume, conquer, and destroy.
A voice floated across the newly formed winds, "You are who you need to be, your sacrifice is necessary to fulfill the very destiny you were created for."
He felt his body become lighter and lighter as Angin used all his strength to push his brother from the world.
The siblings stood holding each other as they watched their brother and his trillions of counterparts light up the previous dark sky as this very occurrence happened across the universe.
Bigger and bigger, Matahari became, until his own gravity froze him in place and caused the worlds to spin like tops as they twirled around him.
He was Matahari, and he was Bercahaya, he was the Sun, he was each and every sun, he was the Starlight of the Heavens.
He realized that THIS was his destiny! That THIS was what he was created for. To light the universe, not to burn it, and with this knowledge he was content as his consciousness dispersed.
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With their brother's light warming the planet, the remaining siblings put aside their grief and began the work they were created for.
Sacrificing their bodies to their destinies, each of the siblings spent the endless millennia molding and changing the earth to create a paradise.
0-0-0-0-0
Pertama Batu sat basking in her brother's light as she contemplated the world around her.
It was beautiful to say the least, her sister Samudera Tak Terbatas, the Infinite Ocean that was the ocean of all worlds, lay lazily over the smooth world of stone, in a shallow layer of water.
Angin breezed across her face in greeting as the sisters lay stagnant.
And so they stayed, the universe rested for thousands of year.
Yet, this peaceful existence did not seem enough.
Pertama did not understand.
Had they not done as the Creator had asked?
They had shaped the world into a pristine paradise, and yet the world still felt wrong to her…it felt…empty.
How was it that a world filled with air, water, earth and the subtle heat of her brothers light be empty?
Perhaps it was because, even with her brother and sister to talk to, Pertama Batu was lonely as she contemplated her existence.
And she changed as she realized the truth.
She was Dunia now, the earth itself, she was every earth, every piece of soil everywhere in the universe, and yet still she was alone.
Was it because she was cold and lifeless even with Matahari's best efforts?
She knew the helplessness, her brother had felt before his ascent, and rage filled her.
So many questions!
Was there father so heartless as to leave them alone in the universe, with lies of pretended importance, false destiny of molding worlds?
Why were they shaping these worlds that were to lay empty for all eternity?
What did it matter if a lifeless world was ugly, cold and barren of beauty if it was to remain empty!?
Fury filled Dunia as she shattered a small barren planet, a piece of herself, and sent its remains spiraling out in a belt.
Gouging tremendous furrows in the planet, Dunia sobbed dryly as her sister Samudera tried to comfort her.
Pulling herself together from the nearest planets, Samudera unwittingly left them to the heat of Matahari, baking them beyond repair as she concentrated on her sister.
"Sister, what is the meaning of this, you are destroying all our work!" Samudera cried out, horrified as Dunia created towering mountains and colossal valley's in her tantrum.
Dunia's response made the worlds across the cosmos shudder with her anger.
"Matahari was right, Father does not care for us, he lied, and we are fools for believing that we had importance!"
"DUNIA!? It is not our place to question Father's actions. You forget that he is the very reason we exist!" Samudera shot back, her own body was weak and moldable compared to her sister's solid body and each blow Dunia dealt the cosmos, caused her to tremble and disintegrate a little more.
"You are going to destroy everything!"
"If it ends this eternal damnation then SO BE IT!" Dunia shouted angrily.
Knowing what it would cost her, Samudera mustered every ounce of power she had in her existence and called upon her brother as she wrapped her body around her sister and shattered the very essence of the siblings, as pieces of worlds were shot into the heavens and created moons and asteroids.
The life force of the four combined, leaving inanimate husks, as it showered down over the cosmos, concentrating and accumulating on the first world in each solar system that each incarnation had first landed on.
Those special worlds changed and morphed once again as the elements combined and their life forces in turn created life.
Earth and water combined to create countless tiny forms and shapes which were given consciousness by the remains of fire and breath by air.
With the last of their consciousness, each element reformed as a lesser being.
Earth gave birth to Adam and Eve, who were to care for the plants and animals of the land that had been created in the battle.
Air gave birth to the Peri, the precursor of the Fae, who were of the air and never touched the earth or water.
Water gave birth to Atargatis, the first mer, and filled her with knowledge and compassion for the cosmos.
Dunia and Samudera, coalesced into one being and settled into the moon that had been created in the formers rage. Settled and watched as their children struggled and then thrived.
The elements were content as they watched their progeny live and give birth to more life before dying themselves.
It was the start of the cycle of life.
The creator had known all along, they realized, that free will was the only way to reach such beauty. He had created them and in turn they had created the very thing he had wanted.
Life.
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Over time the children of the elements lived and loved and merged, creating all new species.
Atargatis' son Poseidon fell in love with a pretty Perian named Titania and in turn their children, the first of whom was Venus, mixed with the descendants of Adam and Eve and created the Mer race much as it was today.
In the water, they possessed an Atargatian form and on land, a Human form.
Several thousand years passed and the beings separated and built up their own civilizations, cultivating the world as they did.
However, the humans quickly became jealous of the Mer and the Fae, who each possessed long lives, spiritual beauty and magic, while all but the rarest of humans did not.
Lead by N'te Cun Ing, a descendant of Cain through his mother and a mage gifted by the Mer through his father, a war was started.
Humans were not as advanced as the Mer but they had a barbaric ferocity unique to their species.
With dark Magic and extraordinary numbers the humans nearly succeeded in wiping out the Mers, before they realized that they had been tricked into killing the peaceful species and in an act of retribution killed their leader
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The delegates stared open-mouthed and wide-eyed as the story came to an end, the picture in the pool frozen on the masked face of N'te Cun Ing, as he stood snarling over the very familiar bodies of the Atlantean Royal Council of old.
"T-they're you?! HOW? How are you here if you died two thousand years ago!?" the African delegate cried out in surprise as he stared at the lifeless bodies of the very people he had spoken to early this very day. Two of which were standing in front of him.
"It was our responsibility to rebuild our kingdom, so we sacrificed our lives so that we could return at a point when N'te did not exist," Princess Kusuma explained quietly as tears brimmed in her eyes from seeing the end of her beloved city.
"You were pregnant?" the Queen asked quietly, causing the rest of the delegates to look back at the picture and really take in the fact that the woman standing before them may look young but she was over two thousand years old and as a leader had sacrificed more than any of them combined.
It was sad to say the least, to watch the friends die, but it clutched at the hearts of those watching as Bella knelt the edge of the pool and ran her finger across the face of her dead husband's image.
She suppressed a shudder as a tear rolled down her face and into the pool, causing the picture to suddenly start moving again.
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N'te growled angrily as he realized what ritual the Council had performed. It infuriated him to know he could not truly bring about the end of Atlantis until the souls of the Council were destroyed.
What was worse was that his army had witness the massacre of peaceful men, women and children. Not the justified death of killers and monsters as their Leader N'te had sworn the Mer were.
This realization was enough to shake off the last vestiges of his magical control over them.
By the angry shouts of men cascading from the hall, N'te knew he had little time to act if he truly wanted to bring about the end of his hated foes the Mer.
Pulling all the magic he had stolen from his grandfather and the other mages he had come across, N'te yanked his soul from his body and hurled it into the cosmos with a detailed spell to connect it to the departed souls of the Council.
The soldiers stormed the room and grabbed their former leader, ripping the mask from his face to reveal the face of the dying man, who was coughing up blood from the violent removal of his soul.
A face that looked very much like one Nate Cunningham.
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"WHAT!? Why did the pool not show this before?!" Kusuma cried in despair.
"I-It's that man you arrested earlier…h-he's the one that did this?" the Prime Minister yelled but was interrupted as the pool began to move again.
Violent flashes of color and images swirled before them before they slowed down to reveal the recent past.
It showed Nate Cunningham using the communicator Ndari has allowed the delegates to use.
'On the Island, delay directive until 1400 hours, regular communication down – NC.'
The picture sped up again, this time several hours into the future, where the sun was two hours past high noon and a shining white missile was hurtling towards the Island.
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"Stay here! The Council will deal with this!" Bella ordered as she grabbed Cleo and disappeared into the water tunnel at the opposite vertex of the glade.
She had to find Will!
Bella cursed herself for being so careless and leaving her communicator in the cottage.
Shooting off towards Gem Beach she separated from Cleo who was going to get Lewis.
Faster than the eye could see, Bella shot out of the tunnel, hardened and disintegrated the water from her body.
"Will! There's a missile coming at us NOW!" Bella shouted.
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Cleo pounded frantically on the force field at the edge of the magic circle that Lewis used to keep sound and other interruptions out.
Upon seeing his flustered wife, Lewis dropped the barrier.
"What's the matter? One of the delegates get snippety with you?" Lewis joked.
"This is serious! The Pool says that there is a missile heading to the Island NOW!"
Without further ado, Lewis activated his flight bands and shot to the top of the statue of Atargatis, his summoning beacon filling the air for the second time that day.
Within a minute the entire Council was gathered confused on the top of the statue.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked worried, "Where are the delegates? Did something happen to them?"
Lewis just conjured a telescope and pointed out to sea, his expression heavy.
Emma grabbed it hurriedly and stared out at the sky over the open ocean.
Rapidly approaching the Island was an unmistakable missile.
Emma took a breath as she began the problem solving process she was so famous for.
"What should we do?" Lewis asked.
"About what?" Ash asked confused.
"There is what looks to be a nuclear warhead coming at the Island," Lewis replied.
The group exploded into questions.
"SHUT UP! This will be hard enough without your bickering," Emma yelled, "Now, Will and Rikki, I need you to go get the Tanah's. Cleo and Lewis, I need you to go get, Gloriana, and Rose. Meet back here in three minutes. MOVE IT PEOPLE!"
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Nate couldn't believe how badly he had screwed this up.
He was supposed to be off the Island by now with the excuse that he wasn't feeling well and then the missile would destroy the Mers and the delegates and make it look like it had been the Mers all along.
Then humankind would hunt down every last one of those disgusting fish people and he'd finally get his revenge!
That thought made Nate stop for a second.
What revenge…he had started this to get famous…hadn't he?
Pain filled his head as memories inundated his cracked mind.
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"Why won't you save her, you have magic. Give her back to me PLEASE!" the twelve year old N'te begged as he brought the body of his dead mother before the Atlantean Royal Council.
They were known for healing people on their death beds and doing deeds of great generosity for complete strangers.
"Death is not something we would reverse, even if we could. It is a part of the circle of life and without it there can be no life. I'm sorry there is nothing we can do for you," Luru tried to let the young boy down gently. He could see that this was a child with anger in his heart and a hatred of the world that had been so cruel to him.
"You CAN save her, you're just selfish. You think because you're Mer and you have Magic that you can look down on humans. Well I swear to you now that you are going to regret crossing me!"
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More memories spilled into his mind.
This time they were of him as a grown man.
He was nearly twenty and had already killed three mages to steal their magic and activate the power his grandfather had bound within him.
Just thinking of his grandfather brought feelings of rage to the surface.
His so righteous Grandfather, who had said he saw evil in N'te and that he was not worthy of harnessing magic.
If he had not done that, if he had trained him instead, then N'te's could have protected him mother, the only good thing to ever happen to him and she would not have been killed by that man.
No, not a man, it had been a giant.
An angry giant, bellowing in a strange tongue, had broken into their home, searching for something.
Knocking thing over until it found his mother and killed her with a blow to the head and then left without finding whatever it was that it had been looking for.
He hated the Giant and had tracked him down and killed him succinctly at the age of sixteen. But now, his hate lay with his Fish-loving Grandfather and those fish people who refused to save his mother.
They had power! They could move mountains, part seas and call lightning from the sky and yet they refused to give him this one little thing.
And so he had tricked a mage into undoing the bind on his magic with a story of his evil grandfather binding him to keep him from ever becoming more powerful than him.
The mage has tears in her eyes sat the end of the story and had willingly removed it from him, only to have him turn on her the moment she finished and use a talisman to suck the magic from her.
Removing magic from a human in so violent a manor means a slow and painful death.
And so with a smile on his face at the new power he held, N'te left the pretty woman in an expanding pool of her own blood.
He knew exactly who he needed to find next.
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In his new life, Nate Cunningham was not an evil person.
He was misguided, occasionally cruel, but mostly immature.
Guilt for the massacre he had caused filled him.
And to think, he had been about to cause more needless death.
At that moment he was once again that twelve year old boy, crying over his mother's body.
She had always tried to teach him right from wrong, but he had never listened.
She would never have wanted him to become this monster.
Without the corrupting force of the dark magic addling his mind, he was finally able to come to terms with his actions.
"I'm sorry mother," Nate whispered to himself and tears rolled down his guilt stricken face.
Standing from his place in the corner of his cell, Nate walked despairingly to the pool of water he had been brought through.
Nate slowly eased himself in and before he could change his mind the strong current sucked him into the tunnel.
The painful lack of air in his lungs didn't bother him as darkness narrowed his vision and the extreme pressure of the water turned his body to the consistency of Jell-O.
Drowning in the very tunnels of the people he had wronged was almost a kind of poetic justice.
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"We need you two to concentrate, the Tanah's are only going to be able to slow it down, so before it impacts we need you guys to turn the nuclear portion into something harmless," Emma ordered as Will, Yoshi, and Zenchō worked together to slow the momentum of the enormous speeding object.
"Uranium is a very unstable element, we'll try our best, but no promises," Gloriana said as she turned to Rose, "This will work better if we are both trying to change it to the same thing."
"Agreed, how do you feel about gases? I have a feeling they'll cause less damage," Rose smiled.
"Good idea, If we turn it to carbon dioxide, it'll smother any sparks in the firing mechanism."
"On three?"
"On three!"
"One."
"Two."
"Three!"
The Tanah's felt the object lose momentum as it suddenly lost half of its weight and come to a stop a quarter of a mile from the Island.
"Bring it in gently, I want to see if we can identify who sent it," Emma ordered as her skin, which had turned icy blue in her anger at the attack, returned to normal.
Once the missile was benignly resting on the floor of the main pavilion, the delegates were retrieved.
"I am sorry to say this, but the day's events are over. This attack has opened our eyes to a very real threat. One that needs to be dealt with immediately. The barge is waiting for you."
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Once all the delegates had left, including the Prime Minister who had taken Nate's body with her, the council gathered for a public meeting in the Community Pavilion.
Ivan, who was an expert in military wares had identified the model of missile as belonging to a terrorist affiliated nation in the middle east known as Yemen.
Apparently, the cult responsible had commandeered a fishing ship, killed the crew and used the boat as a low range missile base.
After the missile was intercepted, a small team of Sejuk's and Kebak's swam out and found the boat littered with a dozen lifeless bodies whose lives were ended by voluntary cyanide capsules.
Later that evening the people of New Atlantis gathered in the Pavilion to listen to the Council's address.
"Today, our Nation was threatened in a way, we as a people had not anticipated. As a peaceful people, we forgot that there are those out there that hate for the sake of hating," Bella began, the plants of the Island rustling in the distance as she held back her bridled rage.
"Hatred that has the ability to destroy us, if we do not take action now and protect ourselves," Emma continued, her quiet anger dropping the air outside the gates below freezing.
"Most of us grew up alongside humans, as humans, even LOVING humans. So we understand that what we are going to ask of you may cause inner conflict," Will carried on, the earth trembled, sending angry waves crashing against the shores of Australia and Indonesia.
"Be that as it may, we would be fools to think each and every human will stand by our side," Zane added.
"We ask those of you who are able, to fight for our ways, our freedom and the lives of your brother and sisters!" Ash lamented, the tides crashing angrily against the outer walls of the Island defenses.
"With the PRIDE of Atlantis, we asked that you stand with us and seek retribution!" Lewis shouted, magic permeating the air.
"RETRIBUTION! For the Atlantis of the Past, and for the sake of the Atlantis of TOMORROW!" Cleo exclaimed, the winds howling, as the anger of the Council grew in force at almost losing their beloved city once again.
"We as a People need to stand strong and united if we are to survive. We need to bring the fight back to those who wish to harm us. We NEED to teach the world that just because we wish for peace does NOT mean we will stand for violence against us. For we are Mer and THIS. IS. ATLANTIS!" Rikki ended in a growl as the torches lining the columns of the pavilions burned white, their flames licking the ceiling.
Each and every man, woman and children stood and shouted their agreements. Pledging their lives to fight for Atlantis and for any beings that could not fight for themselves.
The clamoring promises of the Mer reached the Herald as it hovered above the island, calling to lost Mer, the world around.
And the Herald awoke, sensing a very different need than the one it was currently being used for.
Glowing brighter and brighter with every pledge, the Herald finally emitted a beam of light high into the heavens.
This beam sent a call of need to every Atlantean, every Fae, every magical being willing to serve and protect the ways of peace that had been sought from the beginning of time.
And so came a change in the world.
Where before there was stagnation and a lack of will, there was now a driving force.
A force whose sole purpose was to bring about peace and harmony between all the beings of the world.
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