Chapter 21
May was swimming out in the open ocean, heading back the way she came as she began the journey home. She hadn't been away long – only a few nights – but to her, it felt like it had been forever since she left.
"Mother probably won't be happy," she muttered to herself. "After all, I did swim away without saying anything." She sighed as she swam. "What was I so concerned about anyway? It's not like she would've said no to me leaving for a while."
Her thoughts were idle and seemingly pointless, but that didn't matter. Deep down, she knew it was only a matter of time before she broke down. Still, she did what she could to distract herself as long as she could.
"It's not a big deal," she said to herself. "This was always the plan. Now things back home can go back to the way they were before I found her."
Even though she knew she was lying to herself, she still found herself astonished at how shallow her thoughts were. Nothing was the same as they were when she found Popplio all those months ago. Her sisters were gone, living as humans at the surface. The kingdom of Alola was destroyed, and the merfolk from there had migrated over to her domain. Lillie came with them, and they became friends, only for her to follow in her sisters' steps and become human.
May glared up at the surface, a sudden surge of hatred in her veins. "Humans," she growled. "Why do they have to take away everything that makes us who we are? Our lives are perfectly fine as they are, and they just have to live up there and convince us that we're actually miserable. They make us think that our tails, the most beautiful tails in the sea, are ugly, and that we will never be happy unless we tear them apart and turn them into those hideous stumps they use to move around." She looked away and frowned angrily. "Not me," she muttered. "I'm never trading my tail for legs. I'm happy just the way I am. They can trip over their stumps for all I care. I can swim as far as I want whenever I want, and that will never change."
But as she looked around, assessing the sea-marks to figure out where she was, she found that they were the same as they were a few minutes ago. She blinked, confused, and looked around to find that she was in the same place she was when she started ranting. No sooner had she realized this than she noticed she was moving backwards. This only made her angrier, and she flicked her fins harder so she would swim faster, thinking she would once again find that euphoric feeling she felt the other night when she swam as fast as she could through the open sea. Instead, she just found herself pushing against something else that continued to push her back.
"Why am I not moving?!" she shouted angrily. "I flick my tail as hard as I can and yet I'm moving nowhere! It's like I'm swimming against –"
Then her eyes went wide. "– a current!" she realized. It was pushing her back and stopping her from moving. Knowing she wasn't going to win against it, she started moving towards the side to ease her way out of it. She got to the edge and pushed herself out, only to suddenly throw herself into another current, tumbling along with no control over herself. She let out a shout of frustration as she tried to regain her bearings. Eventually, she managed to figure out the flow and got ready to swim out of it, only to get thrown into another one going a different direction.
"Stop!" May cried, flailing about as she tried desperately to escape the merciless flow. She wasn't sure how long this went on, but it felt like an eternity to her. All her attempts to regain control of herself were met with mockery as she was continuously thrown from one current into another, helpless to escape.
Finally, she noticed a way out: a cavern not far from her that the current was heading straight towards. She wriggled about in the current until she was in position. Then, as she was pushed past the cave, she reached out and grabbed hold of the edge of the opening. As she held on tightly, she felt just how strong the current pulling her was: far stronger than normal.
"A storm!" she exclaimed. The current continued to push her, trying to pry her hands loose from the cave. May dug her hands into the rock and pushed herself towards the cave entrance, fighting with all her might against the vicious current trying to tear her away. She grabbed hold of a rock inside the cave with her right hand, only for her left hand to slip slightly, but she managed to push herself back and get both her arms inside. Then, with one more powerful flick of her tail, she dove into the entrance and tumbled inside the cavern. She quickly recollected herself and floated upright, breathing heavily while looking around to see where she was. Once she was in control again, she exhaled and floated down to the ground, laying down against the stony floor while the storm continued to rage outside. Exhaustion overtook her, and she weakly looked out at the storm. She would most likely be stuck in here on her own for some time before it let up.
"On my own," she whispered, gently laying down on the cave floor. As she laid down, she realized that those were the truest words she had spoken since she started swimming for home. Her mother was back home, her sisters were sleeping at the surface, and her friends had gone to follow their own path. None of them knew where she was. None of them knew she was trapped over here.
She was all alone.
With very nearly all her strength used up, May found herself helpless to stop her emotions from taking over. It started with one tear leaving her eye and floating upwards. Then another tear left her other eyes and disappeared into the water. The tears continued to flow until she completely collapsed, burying her face in the ground as she sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming from her eyes like bubbles floating away from her. Even then, she knew no one would find her, as the tears dissolved far too quickly in the water.
May looked out at the entrance at the storm and finally let everything out.
"Is this the way it's always gonna be?!" she shouted. No one heard her, but she was too tired and heartbroken to care. "Is this my lot in life?! Am I always gonna be sacrificing my own happiness for the happiness of others?! Am I always gonna make myself miserable just so others can be happy?! What about me?! What about my happiness?! Don't I deserve to be happy too?! Or is this my punishment for not doing what my sisters did?! Is this my punishment for being the one mermaid in the entire ocean who doesn't want to be human?!" The only answer she got was a rumbling sound: no doubt the sound of the current knocking down some rocks from the outside of the cave. "HELLO?!" she screamed as the tears streamed from her eyes. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"
She received no answer and, having spent the last of her strength, she collapsed back onto her face, shaking uncontrollably from her sobbing as the current flowed outside, mocking her sadness as it took away her tears to waters unknown.
May's eyes slowly fluttered open as she woke up. She felt groggy at first, but she quickly recollected herself and looked around. It was quiet outside the cavern, indicating that the current storm had passed. She looked out the entrance and squinted when she looked into the bright light coming from above.
"The sun must be out," she realized, rubbing her eyes and blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the light. They were still sore from all the crying she had done the night before. Remembering this, she sighed and looked down. "I guess I passed out from exhaustion," she mused as she hugged her tail close to her chest. She looked down at it, watching as the sunlight glimmered off the scales. Although the glint this gave off was beautiful, it was brighter than she was used to, prompting her to squint again. She curled up and buried her face in her tail, sighing miserably as she held it close to herself.
As she sat there, she suddenly felt a small current flow past from behind her. Her eyes shot open and she immediately sat up. She stayed quiet a moment. Sure enough, another sudden current flowed past.
She wasn't alone.
She slowly turned, bracing herself to face a predator, and found herself face-to-face with a pair of menacing red eyes. The breathing became heavier, more ferocious, she imagined. As much as she wanted to swim away, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but curl up on the cavern floor and shut her eyes tightly, waiting for this monster to devour her.
"Just make it quick," she whispered. "The last few nights have been rough, so please don't take your time with me." The beast's breathing continued to flow past her, growing more intense as it moved closer. May curled up tighter, waiting for the inevitable.
Then the monster's breathing changed slightly, and the current flowed the other way. May blinked in confusion and glanced up, seeing the face of a Gyarados staring down at her. But as she gazed into the monster's eyes, she was surprised to find that it didn't seem angry or hungry. It seemed...curious?
"What are you doing?" she asked nervously. In response, Gyarados moved closer to her, once again breathing in a way that made the current flow the other way into its nostrils. Then it rumbled in a low voice and looked at her with a curious gaze. The sounds it made sounded different from what she expected from a Gyarados. Then it gently bent down and started nuzzling its face against her tail.
"Seasoning," she mumbled. "Great. It's gonna eat my tail first. Ugh...you seriously couldn't eat my top half first?! What a sadistic little –"
Her words cut short when she caught sight of something. As Gyarados nuzzled her tail, she caught sight of the side of its face. There, spanning from the top of its head close to the bottom of its mouth, was a faint but massive scar.
May's eyes went wide, and she turned towards Gyarados, floating up as she did so. Gyarados also looked up to face her. "It's you!" she exclaimed. Gyarados nodded, and May could have sworn she saw it smile for a second. She returned the smile, still in disbelief. "How did you find me here? You weren't resting in this cave the whole time, were you?" Gyarados shook its head. "Well, I'm glad you took my advice," she said, putting her hands on her hips while giving a playful wink. "I told you mermaids don't make good snacks." Gyarados rumbled slightly, making a sound that almost sounded like laughter, which she couldn't help but chuckle with.
Suddenly, Gyarados looked up at the cave entrance, as though something caught its attention. "Hm?" May blinked, looking out. "What is it?" Gyarados didn't respond, and it slowly started to swim out the entrance. "Hey, wait up!" she called, swimming after it. She winced when she felt her tail cramp up as she flipped it. "Ugh," she moaned. "Hopefully Mother won't be upset with me to the point where she'll refuse to give me a massage. That storm put me through the vortex last night!" She continued to swim after Gyarados, doing all she could to ignore the pain in her tail. Eventually, however, she had to pause when the pain became too great. She floated a moment and gently pressed down on one of her tail's pressure points to soothe the pain. Once she felt better, she looked up, only to find that Gyarados had disappeared.
"So much for that," she sighed dejectedly. "Guess it's time to swim on home. Still...I can't believe that Gyarados found me again. What are the odds?" She turned in the direction of home, or at least the best she could figure from where she floated, and started to swim on. Her tail continued to complain, but not as badly as before, so she figured she would make good progress if she kept at it.
And then she saw it.
It was faint, especially under the rays of sun shining down through the water, and she only saw it out of the corner of her eye, but she saw it all the same. She immediately stopped swimming and floated in place, staring at the strange light from below. It seemed to come from a small cavern on the seafloor. Despite the light shining down from above, it distinguished itself with its unique beauty, as well as the faint silhouette of the Gyarados swimming in. It didn't take much for her curiosity to get the better of her, and she swam down towards it, even forgetting all about the cramps in her tail. As she swam closer, the rays of sunlight from the surface grew fainter, making it easier for her to see. The light seemed even brighter than the sunlight, yet she never felt the need to squint or blink. Finally, she found herself floating in front of it. It came from a small hole that looked just big enough for a mermaid to swim through. A strange sound came from within. It sounded familiar, as though from a distant memory.
May's eyes went wide when she recognized the melody. "No, it can't be," she whispered. "I looked everywhere for this, and now, after all this time...I'd almost forgotten all about it. Can this really be it? Can this really be...the Oceansong?"
Almost immediately after wondering this, she looked away, shaking her head. "No," she said quietly. "I've already been through enough these past few nights. I can't let myself be disappointed again." As though in response to what she said, the melody seemed to grow a little louder. She turned back towards the cave entrance. The light continued to shine, warm and inviting. "Serena always said she wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin," she mused. "Is this what she was looking for?" She looked away again, still debating with herself. "I've been looking for this ever since that night we were out in the ocean. And yet it always seemed to be one swim ahead of me." She looked into the cavern again. "If I swim in here and try to find it again, how do I know it won't just leave again like it has before?" She looked away, then back in, then away, then back as she pondered long and hard on what to do. She knew the Oceansong was real, but it had always managed to elude her when she searched for it, which led to her giving up her search for a time. Would this be any different?
Finally, May took a deep breath of the deep ocean and turned towards the cavern. "I have to know," she said. With that, she flicked her fins and started to swim into the cave.
The light continued to shine, yet she never felt like she was being blinded. Despite being in one of the deeper parts of the ocean, May found herself surrounded by an ethereal warmth like nothing she had ever felt before. She looked around and noticed the unique shimmering material surrounding her. Seeing this, she couldn't help but smile. She gently twirled around, savoring the warmth that surrounded her. It reminded her of her mother's warm, loving embrace: the sort that only a mother can give.
"Even if this ends up being another dead end," she mused, "this will still be an experience to remember."
Eventually, she came to the end of the passage and found herself in a massive cavern that towered over her. Her eyes widened when she saw this, and she started to swim up to see what was above her. She gasped as she gazed on the glimmering walls surrounding her. They were made of a similar material to the entrance, shimmering in spite of – or was it because of? – the lack of a light source. It didn't take her long to reach the top, and she was surprised to find that there was no air pocket, as some underwater caverns had. She turned and started to swim back down and eventually floated in the middle of the cavern, taking in her surroundings.
"What…" May breathed, awestruck, "What is this place?"
No sooner had she said this than she heard movement behind her. She turned around and saw a Finneon swimming in through a hole in the wall. It wasn't swimming alone, however, as another Finneon swam right behind it. Then another, then another...they kept swimming in one by one. May watched as they swam about in a curious pattern, as though it were rehearsed. They seemed to be circling around her. No sooner had she seen this than she noticed another group of Finneon swimming in from a hole on the opposite wall in the same way. They swam to the other line of Finneon, circling around her in the opposite direction.
As May watched this, she suddenly noticed small streams of bubbles floating up from beneath her. She looked down and saw a small group of Luvdisc twirling about in the lower parts of the cavern, blowing bubbles up to where she was. As they did so, she noticed a few luminescent Pokemon floating up with the bubbles. As they came closer and twirled around her, she recognized them as Lanturn. The light from their antennae seemed to be glowing in multiple colors.
As the spectacle unfolded before her, the Pokemon had been vocalizing, emitting sounds resembling a song. As each group came, the sounds seemed to merge together, creating a beautiful harmony that not even a Primarina was capable of making. Even when a group of Magikarp swam down from the top of the cavern, every sound worked together in perfect union. Not long after them, a small group of Feebas swam in from the sides. Their sounds seemed to complete the ensemble.
May now found herself in the middle of a chorus of Pokemon from the sea, all of them singing in their own unique way while swimming around, reflecting the cavern's light to create something far more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. But as she floated there, awestruck, she heard one more sound that dwarfed all the others in beauty, grace, and harmony. She turned and looked down to see what was singing such a beautiful song, but all she could see of whatever it was was the light reflecting off of it. The shape was clearly serpentine, but the graceful movement and lovely singing made it clear that it wasn't a Gyarados.
Finally, the mysterious creature swam close enough so she could see it. Her eyes were so wide it was a miracle they hadn't popped out of her head. There, swimming before her, coiling around so as to surround her in its indescribable beauty, was a Pokemon she had only dreamed of seeing.
"A Milotic," she breathed.
And so it was, although she noticed something different about this Milotic. Although Milotic were known to be the most beautiful Pokemon of all, this one had scales running down its body that glowed in unique patterns that even she wasn't familiar with. The Milotic swam all the way up after twirling around her, then looked down and let out a shrill, happy cry as it started to swim back down, never once losing its graceful movement. It came down to her and moved around her, even closer than before as it positioned itself to gaze into her eyes. For a moment, it floated there with her, staring into her eyes while she stared into its eyes. Then it gave another happy cry and brought its head close to her, nuzzling her happily.
"Oh my!" May exclaimed. "You're certainly an affectionate one, aren't you?" Milotic looked up at her expectantly. "Sorry. I've never seen a Milotic before, so I'm a little flustered right now." Milotic simply tilted its head to the side. "I've heard of your beauty before, but seeing you up close like this...wow. The legends don't even tell the half of it." She suddenly felt something graze over her back. "H-Hey!" she giggled. "Be careful, now! That tickles!" She looked and saw that Milotic had brought up its tail from behind her, and she stared at it in awe. "Wow," she breathed. "What I wouldn't give to have a tail this beautiful." She continued to stare in amazement.
Then she noticed something. "Wait a minute," she said, reaching forward, but then she stopped when a thought occurred to her. "A-Ah...you don't mind if I touch it for a moment, do you?" Milotic just smiled in response. "I'll take that as a no," May giggled. She floated forward and gently took the Pokemon's tail in her hands. "Your tailfins...one...two...three?" She looked at Milotic. "I thought Milotic had four tailfins. Why do you only have three?" Milotic just smiled in response once again. May looked at the tailfins, then back at Milotic before floating away towards the Pokemon's face. "That's not normal, you know," she said. "How did it happen? The only way I can think of that makes sense is if you lost part of your tailfin when you…"
Then her eyes went wide as she realized what she was saying. Her hands slowly came to her gaping mouth as it all fell into place…
You've been doing this ever since you found that horrid little fish stuck in my doorway when we were mergirls!
That "horrid little fish" was a Feebas who had lost part of her tailfin and couldn't get out! She was scared, so I took her in and helped her find her way home!
May could feel her heart start to beat faster as she stared into the eyes of the now-familiar Pokemon. "Is it...really you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Milotic smiled back at her once again. May's smile grew so wide it was a miracle it hadn't broken her face. It didn't even matter to her that tears were streaming from her eyes, up to the roof of the cavern. She lunged forward and hugged Milotic's head as hard as she could, burying her face in the Pokemon's scales as she sobbed from sheer happiness. Milotic continued to nuzzle her, humming as it did so.
No words could describe the feeling May felt in those brief moments, for brief as they were, she carried them in her heart forever afterwards. Although she had cared for this Milotic as a Feebas when it had been lost, she always figured that after it left, she would never see it again. Now here she was: not only had she found that same Pokemon after so long, but that Pokemon still remembered her kindness and repaid it to her. Neither of them even noticed all the Pokemon still swimming around them, continuing to harmonize and give life to this beautiful moment. As May floated there with the tender Pokemon, she embraced not only it, but also the spirit of everything she had just witnessed. This, she realized, was what she'd been searching so long for. This, she realized, was what home meant to her.
This, she realized...was the Oceansong.
Finally, the Pokemon began to swim away, going back to their daily lives in the sea. One by one, they swam out of the cavern through the small holes in the wall. It wasn't long before the cavern was empty, leaving only May and the Milotic she saved so long ago.
"Thank you," she whispered, tenderly stroking Milotic's face, smiling through the last of her tears, "for finding me again." Milotic nuzzled her one more time, smiling as it did so, then turned and started to swim up out of the cavern. As May floated there, watching it swim away, one last tear floated up from her eye. As it did so, something floated down from Milotic's trail. May blinked, curious, and started to swim up towards it. When she came to it, she found a beautiful, glimmering scale. She gently took it in her hands and stared down at it. As she got a better look at it, she noticed its unique blue and red coloring.
"It's...a prism scale!" she gasped, amazed. She looked up to where Milotic had been, only to find that the most beautiful Pokemon in the ocean was gone. She looked back down at the scale and held it close to her heart.
"Thank you," she whispered once again. Then, at long last, she swam up to the top of the cavern and out the same way she saw Milotic go. It wasn't long before she found herself back in the open ocean. She looked up and noticed the light from above fading, indicating that the sun was setting. When she looked forward, she noticed a distant light shining in the sea.
"Home," she smiled softly. Without another word, she started swimming towards the light, all the while holding the prism scale over her heart, taking extra care not to lose it. Her mother would still be upset with her for leaving, that much was true, but May was too happy to care right now.
In fact, she didn't even notice that her tail cramps were gone.