Chapter 2

"Tag! You're it!"

"Not fair!" Dawn shouted, although she was laughing. She rocketed through the water after Misty, who laughed as she swam away from her.

The girls had spent the night swimming throughout the ocean, playing and laughing all the while. From racing to tag, they made sure to cram as much as they could into the short hours of the night, knowing that it would likely be the last chance they got to enjoy themselves like this. For when a mermaid princess goes through her rite of passage, she is no longer considered a child and must accept the duties and responsibilities that belong to a princess.

Late in the night, a few short hours before dawn, the girls swam together, panting from exhaustion.

"What should we do now?" Dawn asked, still laughing slightly at how their last game turned out.

"Maybe we should take a break," May suggested. "My fins are killing me."

"Same," Misty agreed. With that, the four sisters started to swim down to a large, smooth stone resting at the bottom of the ocean. As Serena followed her older sisters, she noticed a sudden change in the lighting around them, as the silver light from the moon above was overshadowed by something. Curious, she looked up and saw a large shadow floating on the surface. She'd never seen anything like it. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she started to swim up to get a closer look, mesmerized.

"Um, girls?" May said, nervously pointing up at her sister. Misty and Dawn looked up and gasped.

"Oh no you don't!" Misty growled. With a powerful flip of her tail, she rocketed up through the water towards her sister. Serena was reaching up to touch the strange structure when she suddenly felt something yank her tail back down, snapping her out of her trance.

"Hey!" she cried, glaring down at her sister as she pulled her back down. Once they were back with May and Dawn, Misty let her go. "That smarts!" Serena grumbled, rubbing the place where Misty grabbed her.

"Serena, what were you doing?!" Misty exclaimed. "I thought you knew better by now!"

"Oh, come on," Serena whined. "I'm only a few hours away from my rite of passage. No one's gonna care if I go to the surface then!"

"I care," Misty said, her hands on her hips. "As your responsible older sister, it's my job to make sure you stay out of trouble." Serena just folded her arms and pouted. Misty floated down to her and spoke more gently. "I know it's not gonna matter in a few hours, and I honestly wouldn't have a problem with you going up there right now. But you know the rules. If you go up even one second earlier than you're supposed to, the consequences could be very serious."

"I'll say," Dawn shuddered. "I almost had my rite of passage delayed four whole years when I tried sneaking up there before I was allowed to."

"Four years!" Serena cried. "I could never wait that long!"

"All the more reason you need to stick it out these last few hours," May said. Serena just sighed and gazed up at the shadow floating overhead, a longing look in her sky-blue eyes. May smiled warmly as she floated over to her. "I know it feels like forever, and these last few hours will feel like the longest hours of your life. But think about it this way: you've been waiting ten years for the chance to see the surface. What's a few more hours compared to that?"

Serena thought this over, then smiled softly at her sister. "I guess you're right. I can do this."

"Atta girl," Dawn grinned, giving her a playful swat on the shoulder. May smiled as she watched the two of them giggle. Even though Serena drove her crazy most of the time, she still hated to see her baby sister upset. She deserved to be happy, and May was willing to do anything to make that happen.

"But just what is that thing?" Serena wondered, gazing up at the shadow. It had moved far enough along now that the moonlight was shining down again. "I've never seen anything that big in or out of the water! Unless...was that Kyogre himself?"

"No no," Misty chuckled. "That was actually a vessel humans use to cross the sea. It's called a boat, or ship, or...uh…"

"They've got quite a few names for it," Dawn said. "The point is, humans use them to cross the sea."

"But why don't they just swim?" Serena asked. "We can cross the sea faster than that butt. Why can't they just swim like we do?"

"It's pronounced 'boat,'" Misty corrected her, "and I thought you knew, didn't you? Humans can't breathe underwater like we can."

"Yes, I knew that," Serena rolled her eyes.

"If they could, then they would probably spend a lot more time down here," May muttered.

"I doubt that," Serena shrugged. "There's really not much to see down here. It's just the ocean for miles and miles." May stiffened at that remark. "I know humans can't breathe underwater, but can't they just stay at the surface? Why would they need a butt to help them cross the sea?"

"The same reason we're chilling out down here on this rock in the first place," Dawn said. "It's true that humans can swim on the surface and keep themselves afloat, but sooner or later, their arms and legs will get tired. If that happens, they won't be able to keep themselves afloat and they'll start to sink."

"Ohhh," Serena said, her eyes lighting up in understanding. "Okay, that makes a lot more sense."

"Another thing, Serena," Misty said, her demeanor growing stern. "I know I've said this before, but I can't stress it enough: you need to be careful around human boats, especially boats as big as that."

"Why?" Serena blinked. "Aren't mermaids and humans at peace? I thought we stopped hating each other centuries ago."

"We did," Misty nodded, "and you usually won't have to worry about them. I've almost never run into an unpleasant human in all my years seeing the surface. However, there are still some humans who will want to hurt you."

"I second that," Dawn shivered. "I once saw a huge boat like that one, and I got really curious to see what the humans were doing on it. Turns out, the humans were a band of pirates: cruel humans who will go to any horrible extreme if it meant getting their hands on a pretty little mermaid like yourself. If it wasn't for Misty and May, I might not have escaped."

"Oh my!" Serena gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Humans can't be that awful...can they?"

"Some can," Misty said, "but most of them are quite friendly."

"I second that, too," Dawn grinned. "See, I actually happened upon this really cute human boy a few years back, and we've been meeting up regularly for quite some time."

"Really?" Serena said.

"I know we're stressing the importance of caution," Misty smiled, putting her hand on her shoulder, "but at the end of the night, you're gonna love the human world, Serena. The things they create, the structures they build...oh, it's all so amazing, you won't believe your eyes! The first thing you should look for is –"

As Misty started to gush about the so-called wonders of the human world, May tuned out. She wanted this night to be a special one where they could swim together and just enjoy spending time together. But no: somehow, the subject of the human world managed to find a way into their activities, making tonight just like any other night, where they spent all their time gushing about the "wonders of the world above." With the three of them completely engrossed in their conversation, May turned and gazed out at the vast blue ocean around her, the silver light of the moon shimmering in the water. She smiled as she watched the light wave in the water as though it were floating in the deep. As she watched, a school of Finneon swam through. Their scales reflected the light, creating a briefly luminous silver glint. May's eyes sparkled as she watched this, marvelling at the unspoken beauty of the ocean.

And then she heard it.

It was soft and faint, seemingly coming from an ocean far away, but she heard it all the same: a quiet melody drifting through the waters, one so beautiful that neither the human song nor the mermaid's voice could ever compare. As May listened, all her thoughts faded away as she slowly started to swim towards the direction the melody was coming from. After a moment, she stopped and just floated there, staring in the direction the song came from, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. The melody was clearer now, though still far away. Her mouth slowly curved into a beautiful smile as she listened –

"May!"

May gasped and whipped around, snapping out of her trance-like state, to see Dawn and Misty floating behind her. Her hair flew into her face, but she brushed it aside easily.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked, seemingly concerned. "We were so busy chatting about stuff that we almost didn't see you swim away! You should know better –"

"Did you hear it?" May asked, breathless.

Misty blinked. "Hear what?"

May blinked, confused. "You didn't hear it?"

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked. "The only thing I heard just now is us talking about the surface. There's nothing else in this ocean right now. What do you think you're hearing?"

"I don't think," May said. "I know. It was so soft...and beautiful...I've never heard anything like it."

"Wait," Misty groaned, "are you talking about the Oceansong again?!"

"Yes!" May exclaimed, clasping her hands and grinning excitedly. "I heard the Oceansong, Misty! I can't believe I finally heard it!"

"May, how many times have we been over this?" Dawn groaned, rolling her eyes. "The Oceansong doesn't exist! It's just an old legend mermaids have passed down in the stories we tell, all right? It's just a myth!"

"Well so are we, yet here we are," May grinned, unshaken.

"Ugh," Misty groaned again, looking up to the surface. The silver light was starting to fade into a dull gold color. "All right, the sun's gonna rise soon. We should head back home and get some sleep." Her sisters agreed, and they started to swim home. May glanced behind her and frowned slightly when she didn't hear anything anymore.

I know I heard it this time she thought.