Hey there! Just wanted to give a quick update before we dive into the next chapter.

I know updates on this story have been pretty spotty, and I apologize for that. However, I'm pleased to report that this story will be complete by the end of the week! So stay tuned to see how it ends.

Okay, that's all. Enjoy!

Chapter 27

The next evening, May was swimming out to the village to meet up with Mallow and Lana. After talking with Ash the night before, she had resolved to tell them the truth about Lillie. While she knew it was the right thing to do, and she believed Ash was right that they wouldn't turn their backs on her, she still couldn't help but feel nervous.

I wonder if I'm approaching this like I would if it were my sisters I was keeping a secret from she thought. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising. I kept my feelings about the surface to myself for a long time before finally telling them the truth. She sighed as she glanced up at the surface. You'd think I'd know better after keeping that secret to myself for so long. It came out at the worst possible time. Misty and Serena probably think I'm a freak for choosing the ocean over the surface. She looked down at the village and started to swim down towards Mallow's place. I hope they've found what they were looking for.

She swam into the shop to find Mallow and Lana floating there, talking. When they saw her swim in, they smiled.

"Oh, good!" Mallow said. "You're here! We were starting to worry you got lost in your own ocean again."

"Guess I can't blame you for that," May chuckled. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"We were thinking about swimming out in the open ocean for a bit," Lana said. "We haven't had the chance to explore it yet, and we've wanted to since we arrived here."

"The open ocean?" May repeated, her smile growing.

"I take it you're in, then?" Mallow smirked.

"That sounds fantastic!" May said. "I've been out there quite a few times; it's amazing! I would love to show you two around!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lana cheered. "Next stop: the open ocean!"

With that, the three mermaids swam out and headed straight for the vast ocean just outside the village. Out there, May showed them some of her favorite places she'd discovered while she was out there. In some of these places, Mallow found seaweed strewn about, and she gathered it up to inspect it. Some of it proved uninteresting to her, so she tossed it out, but most of it was quite intriguing.

"You gonna make another crown out of it?" May smirked.

"Hey, seaweed's good for more than just makeshift crowns," Mallow smirked back, prompting them to chuckle.

"I'll say," Lana agreed. "You'd be amazed at the things seaweed can be used for!"

"Yeah," Mallow said, turning to her friend. "Remember that time I used that Galarica Twig to heal a rough spot on Lillie's skin?"

"Of course I do!" Lana nodded. "That was amazing; I never knew those twigs could be used like that before!"

"Yeah," Mallow smiled softly. "It made things a lot easier for her."

"What do you mean?" May asked. "Did Lillie get rough spots a lot?" The other two looked at her in surprise, and she immediately realized what she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mallow asked. "You've met Lillie?"

"She's been to your domain?" Lana asked.

Hearing this, May quickly composed herself and sighed. I didn't mean for it to come out like that, but I guess it's time to tell them. "Assuming we're talking about the same mermaid, yes," she said. "Long blonde hair, bright green eyes, beautiful white tail...does that sound familiar to you?"

"Yes!" Mallow exclaimed with a grin. "That sounds exactly like Lillie!"

"How is she?" Lana asked with a grin of her own. "Has she been doing well? She took the loss of her home pretty hard."

"Well," May said, her face falling slightly, "the thing is...see, she kinda...well…" she trailed off, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"What?" Mallow asked. "Did something happen to her?"

"No," May said quickly. "Last I checked, she was fine. It's just…"

"What?" Lana asked. "May, what's going on?"

"I...well…"

"Wait...what's that?" Mallow suddenly asked. Her friends turned to her and found her looking up at something. They looked up with her and noticed a strange, black creature moving down towards them.

"Oh my," Lana exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "Is that a rare, undiscovered sea Pokemon?"

"If it is, I hope it's friendly," Mallow shuddered.

Although the creature's features were difficult to pinpoint in the shadows of the ocean, May still thought it looked familiar. She turned to her friends and told them to stay put while she investigated. With that, she started swimming up towards it to get a closer look. It didn't take her long to get close, and seeing how slow the creature was moving compared to her, she figured it appreciated her coming up to it, as it turned towards her. A closer look under the moonlight revealed the creature to be humanoid, completely covered in black with a curious mask over its face. It had one fin each where May thought its feet would be. Lastly, after floating around the creature and closely inspecting its frame, she deduced that it was likely female.

"Wait," she said, realizing what it was. "You're one of those scuba diver humans, aren't you?" The diver slowly nodded her head, prompting a smile from May. "Are you lost?" she asked. "My friends and I can help you find your way back –" She stopped when the diver suddenly floated forward and put her arms around May, hugging her. "Um," she blinked, awkwardly putting her arms around her back, "okayyy...this is...nice, I guess…" The diver pulled back as some bubbles escaped from her breathing apparatus, as though she were laughing. She then pointed down at the other mermaids below and made gestures pointing up. "You want me to bring them up?" May asked. The diver nodded. "Okay," the mermaid said, knowing that this was probably due to the water pressure being too much down where the others were. She dove down and swam back to her friends. "It's a scuba diver," she said.

"A what?" Mallow blinked.

"Some humans like to explore the ocean," she explained, "so they don special gear that allows them to swim deep in the water. They call it scuba diving." She pointed up at the diver. "She wants us to swim up to her."

"Is she safe?" Lana asked nervously.

"I think so," May nodded. "She didn't seem hostile, but if something does go wrong, one of us should stay behind so they can get help." They agreed to have Lana stay behind, and the other two swam up to meet the diver. When they arrived, she looked at them curiously before pointing up towards the surface and slowly swimming up there. The mermaids followed after her. Soon, they found themselves floating right beneath it. The diver then turned to Mallow, pointing up and pushing herself out of the water. Mallow followed, poking her head out of the water. May slowly floated up and poked the top of her head out like she had before so that her eyes were visible. They were floating right next to a small boat with a few other humans on board.

"What is it?" she heard Mallow ask. "Are you researching mermaids?"

"No," the diver said, her voice muffled as she started to take off her mask. "I've been looking for you girls for a while now."

"What?" Mallow blinked, confused. "What do you mean? Who are you?"

The diver pulled off her mask, finally revealing her face. "Just an old friend looking to reconnect with her roots," she said with a smile.

"Lillie?!" Mallow gasped, her hands flying to her face, splashing some water around as she did so.

"Hello, Mallow," Lillie smiled at her friend. Mallow laughed in happiness as she floated forward and hugged her friend. May watched in amazement, wondering how her friend had been able to find them.

"Where in the ocean have you been?!" Mallow exclaimed. "We were so worried about you! And...when did you become human?! May, could you go get Lana to come up here?" May nodded excitedly and quickly dove down to bring up their friend.

"That's a bit of a long story," Lillie giggled. "We should talk about it over here on these rocks." She pointed to a large rock structure jutting out of the water big enough for four girls to sit on.

"Uh," Mallow blinked, confused, "I mean, I wouldn't mind, but...you know Lana wouldn't like that, and May –"

"I know," Lillie nodded. "I actually have something for them." She reached up towards the boat and, after speaking with her friends on board, took two small pieces of cloth: one red, the other blue. She dipped them in the water, soaking them, and then, after taking a deep breath, plunged back under the water. Mallow followed right after her while May and Lana swam up to meet them. Lillie handed May and Lana each the cloth that matched their tails. The two mermaids looked down at them, confused, before Lillie made a motion across her face.

"I think they go over your faces," Mallow guessed. Lillie took May's cloth and gently placed it over her face, covering her mouth and nose. She did the same for Lana. The two mermaids looked at each other, confused, before they suddenly felt Lillie grab their arms and yank them up out of the water.

"Hey!?" Lana exclaimed as she felt her head emerge.

"Lillie, what are you doing?!" May cried.

"Lillie!?" Mallow exclaimed, popping up right next to them.

"Don't hold your breath, now!" Lillie said cheerfully in response. May took a breath to respond, then gasped as she brought her hands up to her covered mouth.

"May, are you okay?!" Mallow asked, knowing what would happen to her if she tried breathing air. "Quick, get back in the –"

"Wait…" May said suddenly. Her eyes were wide with shock, as were Mallow's, while Lillie had a triumphant smile on her face as she pumped her fist. "I...I can...I can breathe!"

"You...what?!" Mallow exclaimed.

"I can breathe too!" Lana cried, her hands over her mouth as well.

"Lana!?" Mallow exclaimed. "But...but how –?!"

"It worked!" Lillie cried in happiness. "I can't believe it worked!"

"What worked?" May asked.

"Come over here!" Lillie said, pointing to the rock structure. "I'll explain everything over there!"

With that, the three mermaids and human swam over to the rocks. Lillie pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge, with Mallow quickly following. May and Lana were about to pull themselves up as well, but then May hesitated.

"May?" Lillie said.

May looked up at her, her eyes showing concern. "I've never been out of the water like this before," she said quietly, though loud enough so they could hear her through her mask. Her hair was already clinging to her head, and her ears were pounding with the sounds from above the surface. "Is it...safe?"

"Of course it is!" Mallow smiled. "Granted, it'll feel a little weird at first, but once your body adjusts to the air, you should be fine!" As May listened to her friend's words, she heard a splash from beside her. She turned and found Lana sitting on the edge of the rock, water flowing off of her onto the rock and into the ocean. Seeing this, May looked forward, took a deep breath, and then, acting quickly before she lost her nerve, pulled herself up and sat with them.

What she felt next was quite possibly the strangest sensation she had ever felt. While the feeling of water flowing off of her as the air dried her skin wasn't completely foreign to her, it had always been limited to her head and shoulders, while the rest of her body remained safely submerged in the water. Now, however, the water flowed off of everything: head, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, back, stomach, and tail. Seeing the remaining drops of water on her skin and scales, May suddenly felt vulnerable and exposed. She wrapped her arms around her chest and hugged herself tightly, shivering slightly as though she were cold. A gentle breeze was blowing past them, but to her it felt vicious, as though it wanted to devour her alive. She looked down at her tail and noticed it curving out in front of her, only the tips still in the water. She pulled her fins up so that they were in front of her and wiggled them slightly, giggling at the way they moved out of the water. This helped her relax slightly, although the breeze continued to bite at her skin, drying away the remaining drops of water one by one.

"Are you okay, May?" Lillie asked. "You can get back in the water if you want. I know you prefer –"

"No, it's fine," May said, turning to her with a smile, although she couldn't see it under the mask. "It's like Mallow said: I should be fine once my body adjusts to it."

"Looks like it's taking you a while to adjust," Lana noted. Unlike May, she was completely relaxed, having barely flinched at the feeling of the air on her skin.

"Yeah," May agreed. "Honestly, though, I always thought this kind of exposure would make my skin wither and my tail shrivel up. This is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be."

"I'm glad to hear it," Lillie smiled warmly at her.

"Okay, now where were we?" May asked. "These masks...what are they? How do they let us breathe air?"

"They don't," Lillie explained. "They're a special kind of mask that lets mermaids like you breathe water while you're not in water. I call them mermasks."

"Mermasks, huh?" Mallow grinned. "I like that. It rolls nicely off the tongue!"

"You have to soak them in water to make them work," Lillie explained. "After that, they should last a few hours. However, you have to make sure they're covering both your mouth and nose."

"How did you come up with this?" Lana asked as she put her hands over her mask, still incredulous.

"Humans use special gear that allows them to still breathe air while they're underwater," Lillie went on. "We can't breathe underwater, so our equipment is necessary when we're under the surface for an extended period of time. As I thought about this, I wondered if there was a way to make the reverse possible so that mermaids like you two could come up out of the water and still breathe."

"Hey yeah, that reminds me!" Mallow interjected. "When did you become human?"

"Oh!" Lillie exclaimed. "Yes, that's right. Last time we saw each other, I was still a mermaid." The mermaids giggled at this. "I became human a while ago."

"How?" Lana asked. "How did you get the forbidden potion? I thought only royalty could get their hands on it!"

"That's correct," Lillie said. "So it was a good thing the first friend I made after the storm was the princess herself." She looked at May as she said this, and the other mermaids followed suit.

"May?" Mallow said with wide eyes. "You did this?"

"I…" May stammered slightly, but she quickly composed herself. "Yes," she said. "I was going to tell you earlier while we were out in the ocean, but then Lillie came and brought us up here." She then explained to the girls how her sisters got four vials of the forbidden potion for the four of them, only for May to reject it in favor of staying in the sea. Despite this, she kept the potion in a safe place, as it was too dangerous to throw out, and eventually decided to give it to Lillie.

When she finished her tale, Mallow turned to Lillie again. "She gave you her potion? She gave up a chance at being human...so that you could?"

"It wasn't much of a sacrifice," Lillie shrugged, "but yes."

Mallow looked back and forth between the princess and the human, her expression unreadable. May tensed up, bracing herself for a scolding, before Mallow chuckled and put her hand on Lillie's shoulder.

"I told you you were a lucky mermaid," she grinned.

"Yeah, you did," Lillie giggled. "I guess you were right. I just didn't see it." Mallow and Lana giggled with her, while May looked confused.

"Wait," she said, "you're not upset about this?"

"Huh?" Mallow blinked, turning to her.

"Ah, well," May said, "I just thought you'd be upset that your friend didn't live in the ocean anymore. I overheard you and Lana talking about her and how you wanted to see her again, and I was worried that if you found out I helped her become human, you would –."

"No!" Mallow cut her off with a smile, startling her slightly. "Lillie spent quite a bit of time wondering what life would be like as a human, and I always encouraged her to keep her dream alive! If anything, I'm happy I'm friends with the one who helped her make her dream come true!"

"Really?"

"Really really!" They giggled at this.

"I agree with you. I'm so glad we're all friends," Lillie smiled. The other three turned to her, prompting her to blush slightly. "I know it sounds silly, but…"

"No, not at all!" Mallow grinned.

They all chuckled at this. Lana quickly changed the subject to something more trivial, and they continued talking and laughing without a care in the sea. May was especially happy. Although the breeze continued to bite at her skin, she found it less uncomfortable now that she had been out of the water for a while. Of course, she'd be lying if she said she liked it better than the feeling of water flowing over her, but as she said before, it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought. More importantly, however, she was happy that she found true friends that she could actually relate to and spend time with: laughing, crying, playing, working...it wouldn't matter to her, as long as they could do it all together. Just like Lillie, she was very glad they were friends; in fact, she hadn't felt this happy since her sisters left the sea.

At this, her face fell as she once again remembered that she missed them. She wondered where they were now and what they were doing with their lives. Did they ever think about her? She sighed, figuring it wouldn't matter since she wouldn't be able to see them again.

"May?"

She snapped out of her gloomy reverie and looked up.

"Are you okay?" Lillie asked. "You looked really happy just a second ago, and now you look sad."

May gave her a wistful smile. "I'm fine," she said. "I was just thinking about my sisters, that's all."

"Oh yeah?" Lana said. "You miss them?"

"Yeah," May nodded. "It'd be nice if I could see them again."

At this, Lillie smirked. "I think that could be arranged."

"Huh?"