Chapter 30

"Come on, May! Up and at 'em!"

"Mmph," May mumbled as she snuggled into her shellbed. "Five more minutes."

"No, May. You have a big night tonight, remember? If you wanna make the most of it, you need to get ready now. So come on out!"

"Ugh," May moaned, rolling her eyes. "Fine. I'll be out in five."

"Atta girl!"

May waited a minute more before peeking outside her shellbed to see if her mother was still there. When she saw that she was gone, she opened her shellbed and floated up, stretching her arms before flicking her tail around.

"What am I gonna do with her?" she mumbled, smirking to herself as she started to swim over to the side of her room. There, she picked up her sacks packed full of food and other supplementary materials and inspected them to make sure she had everything. Once she confirmed this, she pulled them over her shoulders and swam over to her mirror. She pulled it up to check her reflection and make sure she looked ready for the night. She quickly confirmed this, then swam over to her treasure chests where she kept most of her scales. This time around, however, she didn't look inside the chests, but instead turned her attention to the small handful of scales sitting on a small table. A bright smile formed on her face as she looked down over them all.

"What could be taking her so long?" one of the guards grumbled. "We've been floating out here waiting for her for hours!"

"Relax," another guard said. "Remember, she's a mermaid, so she probably takes more time to do her hair than mermen do. Besides, it's only been about 15 minutes."

"I'm sure she'll be out any minute now," Cynthia assured them. As if on cue, they heard the sound of fins flipping in the water. A moment later, May swam out, then swam up above them, doing a flip and a twirl as she floated back down to them with a bright smile on her face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.

"No worries," her mother assured her as she looked her over to make sure she was ready to go. She had new sacks slung over her shoulders filled with everything she needed for her journey, and her hair floated gently at her sides. But it was her tail that shone brighter than anything else. Several of the scales were colored differently from the rest of her bright red tail, causing it to shine in a multitude of colors under the light of the moon. Seeing this, Cynthia couldn't help but smile the way only a proud mother could.

"Are your friends ready?" she asked as one of the guards swam away.

"I think so," May nodded. "They're not heavy sleepers like I am, so they're probably waiting for me right now."

"Then let's hurry up and move!" the remaining guard grumbled. "We have more important things to take care of than a glorified playdate!"

"Playdate?" Cynthia repeated with a glare. "My daughter is leaving for an extended period of time, and you call it a playdate?"

"Well, what would you call it?" the guard shot back. "It's not like she's leaving forever. If she was, she would go to the surface!"

"Now, you listen here –" Cynthia started to say, only for May to float in front of her with a hand raised.

"It's all right, Mother," she said. "I can handle this." She turned to the guard. "My friends and I are swimming out to undiscovered waters to learn more about our ocean home. It's gonna be an incredible adventure, and one that I've always dreamed of having."

"What, you couldn't dream of living on land?!" the guard growled. "Everyone else dreams of it! Why don't you?!"

"Because that's not who I am," May replied, calm as ever. "I'm not a human who wants to tear off my tail so legs will emerge, I'm not a fish girl who doesn't know what she wants in life, and I'm not a little princess who dreams of being someone she's not. I am a mermaid. I was born in the sea, I've spent my whole life in the sea, and I will continue to call the sea my home for as long as I live. I will explore the unexplored, discover the undiscovered, and live the adventure that no other mermaid will. This is who I am, and if you can't accept that, then that's your problem, not mine."

"Hrmph," the guard grumbled. "Suit yourself, you fish freak. Just don't –"

"SILENCE!" Cynthia suddenly bellowed, startling both May and the guard. "I will not have you speak to my daughter that way in my presence! She is a princess, and I expect you to treat her with the respect she deserves!"

"Hrmph," the guard muttered as he quickly regained his composure. "Fine. Let's just make this quick. I don't have all night."

Cynthia glared at him, seeing he hadn't changed his attitude, and came to a decision. "You do, now," she said. "You are hereby discharged from service to the throne!"

"What?!" the guard exclaimed in shock. "You can't do that! Every guard gets to serve five years; I've only served two!"

"Your disrespect for my daughter, as well as my authority, are more than enough reason to make an exception," the Mertriarch shot back. "Gather your belongings, and remove yourself from my presence."

"B-But your Majesty!" the guard pleaded, "Where will I go?! I gave up my home in the village for this position! I have nowhere else to go!"

"You should've thought of that before you talked back to us," May said, still remaining calm, "and you should be thankful that my mother is only discharging you. Were I in her fins, I would have you exiled instead! Now get out of our sight!" The guard floated there a moment, at a complete loss for words, before angrily swimming away to do as he was commanded, leaving the two mermaids floating there. "How did he ever get into service in the first place?" May wondered.

"It's a long story," Cynthia sighed, "for another time. Now come on. Let's go meet up with your friends. You girls have a lot to look forward to." May smiled at this, and with that, mother and daughter swam out of the palace and towards the village. As they approached it, she noticed once again how the merfolk were beginning their night: harvesting fields of seaweed and building new homes, among other things, while their children were playing and frolicking through the water.

"Mallow and Lana said to meet them at her shop," May said. "Aha! There it is!" They quickly swam to the agreed-upon place, where the two Alolan mermaids floated.

"May, you're here!" Mallow cheered.

"And not a moment too soon," Lana smiled. "We were just starting to wonder if you'd gotten lost in your own ocean again."

"Are you kidding?" May chuckled. "I've been looking forward to this night for years!" She looked at them with a more concerned look. "Though are you sure your families are okay with you leaving to explore the ocean with me? It could be months before we come back."

"Oh, don't worry," Mallow said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We made sure to tell them everything. They know what we're getting ourselves into."

"I should hope so," Cynthia chuckled. "My daughter can be quite a handful!"

May's friends turned to her mother and gasped. "It's the Mertriarch!" Mallow exclaimed.

"Your Majesty!" Lana said, and they quickly bowed to her. Cynthia looked at them in slight surprise.

"Girls, come on, now," May chuckled. "No need to be so formal."

"No, indeed not," Cynthia smiled, lifting them up, "although I appreciate your reverence." She looked them over a moment, then sighed contently. "I'm glad my daughter has found such good friends."

"Oh!" Mallow exclaimed, flustered. "T-Thank you, your Majesty!"

"That's very kind of you," Lana agreed, equally flustered.

"Now then," Cynthia said, returning to business. "Do you have everything you need? The night is still young, so you should be departing soon."

"Yep!" Mallow said. "Everything's inside. We just need to grab it, and we'll be ready to go!"

"Very good, then," Cynthia nodded, and the Alolan mermaids quickly swam inside. They came out seconds later with their sacks slung over their shoulders. With everything prepared, the four of them swam out of the village and made their way to the edge of the open ocean.

"Well, here it is," Lana said, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

"The endless blue ocean," Mallow smiled.

"And it's all yours to explore," Cynthia smiled, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

May stared at the vast expanse before her. Although she had seen it many times in her life, the sight never got old for her. She gently floated forward and stared in awe. Something about the sight before her felt different this time. She wasn't sure what it was at first, but after thinking for a moment, she figured it out. She wasn't just swimming out there for a night and then coming back. She was going all the way in, diving deep into a world that she called her home, yet knew so little about. She couldn't stop herself from smiling at this thought, knowing that her dreams were about to come true.

"You know," she said softly, "if I didn't know better, I'd think the ocean was calling to me: calling my name as though it wants me to come to it." She sighed as she watched the light of the moon float around beneath the waves.

"Hey," Mallow blinked, looking forward. "Now that I think about it, I think I hear it, too."

"Yeah," Lana said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm a little surprised it actually knows your name."

"Oh, stop it you two," May giggled as she turned to them. "I know it sounds silly. I just meant that something inside me's telling me that this is where I belong. You know that feeling? The feeling you get when –"

"No, we're being serious, May," Mallow said. "We can actually hear it calling your name."

"What?" May blinked in surprise. She turned back to the ocean and cupped her ear, listening closely. Eventually, she actually could make out the faint sound of someone calling her name. That's not...the Oceansong, is it?

"May!"

The call was louder now, but it wasn't coming from the ocean. It was coming from behind her.

"May, wait!"

Now she could hear it clearly, and she immediately recognized the voice. She turned around and smiled happily when she saw a very familiar face swimming towards her.

"Will you girls excuse me for a second?" she said, taking her sacks off and handing them to her mother before swimming to meet her friend. They came together and quickly floated upright.

"May," Ash said, trying to catch his breath. It was clear that he swam out here as fast as he could. "I heard you were leaving, but I didn't think –"

"Ash," she said with a small smile. "You didn't think I would leave without saying goodbye to you, did you?"

Ash's eyes widened. He looked at her friends and her mother with a crestfallen expression. "Then it's true," he said quietly. "You're not coming back…"

"Oh, it's not like that," May said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I don't plan to leave forever. But...it'll be a long time before I come back."

"But...why are you leaving? I thought you were happy here."

"I am, Ash," she smiled. "This is truly home to me, and that will never change." She gestured out to the vast expanse behind her. "But...I've always dreamed of exploring the ocean. There's so much out there that's undiscovered, and I've wanted to see it for so long."

"Oh," Ash said sadly, looking down. "Then...I guess it's for the best that you go."

May's smile faltered slightly and she lowered her arm as she saw his sadness. Then she smiled softly as an idea occurred to her. "Y'know, there's always room for one more in our group. I'd love to have you along for the journey."

Ash looked up in surprise. "M-Me?"

"Of course!" May said. "Wouldn't you love to explore the ocean, too? After all, you said yourself that swimming out in the ocean is better than just watching it from afar!"

"Yeah, I did," he smiled softly. May's eyes lit up hopefully, only for fall with his smile. "But...I can't leave."

"You can't?"

"No," he sighed. "Believe me, I would love to, but...I can't just leave Mom alone. I'm all she has; no one else will take care of her."

"Are you sure?"

"If I thought there was someone else to care for her, then I would definitely take you up on your offer," he went on. "Mom's always telling me to follow my heart and not to worry about her. But I don't think I could live with myself if I left her alone like that." He sighed again. "I'm sorry, May."

She smiled softly as she floated closer to him. "It's all right," she said. "I understand. It's just…" she sighed sadly. "I'm gonna miss you, Ash."

"I'm gonna miss you, too," he said.

They floated there in silence a moment, before May's eyes lit up. She reached down and gently pulled a scale out of her tail and handed it to him with a smile. He stared at it, seemingly awestruck, as he slowly reached forward and took it from her hand.

"So you won't forget me," she whispered.

He smiled as he slowly traced his finger over the scale. "It's beautiful," he said. "I'm honored that you would choose me to have a scale from the most beautiful tail in the sea."

"Aw, Ash," May giggled, blushing slightly. "That's really sweet of you."

"I mean, am I wrong?" he asked with a small smirk. "Look at it! You decorated it even more than you did the night we met up again! Where did you get so many different colored scales?"

"I've been collecting them for years," May smiled, floating back slightly before turning over onto her back and casually swimming around him. All the while, the light from above shone onto her tail, creating the most beautiful glimmer any creature in the ocean could ever see. "Most of these are actually scales that are important to me for one reason or another. Whether they're from family or friends, or they're connected to something that means the ocean to me, every scale has a special meaning behind it." She did a flip before floating back upright to face him.

"Wow," Ash smiled, amazed. "That's certainly something." He looked down a moment, then reached behind him. "I don't know if I'm worthy to ask this, but…" he pulled at his tail and brought his hand forward, holding a small blue scale out to her, "would you be willing to accept a scale from my tail? That way we both have a part of each other with us wherever we are."

She looked down at the scale, then smiled as she reached forward and took it. "I would be honored," she said. She caressed it for a moment, then placed it on her tail in the place where she just took the scale she gave him. They looked at each other a moment more, then slowly floated together and enfolded each other in a deep, loving embrace. May rested her head on his shoulder, exhaling onto his shoulder as her hand glided over his back. She hummed softly as she felt him do the same, sending shivers down her spine in the best way possible.

Behind them, Mallow and Lana couldn't help but smile. "So this is the guy she's head-over-fins for," Mallow said.

"I can see why she would feel that way," Lana giggled. "He's quite the attractive merman."

"And he's choosing to stay behind to take care of his mother," Mallow added. "How sweet of him."

"Maybe we should get them to kiss right now," Lana smirked. "Then they can –"

"No," Cynthia said, floating in front of them. "You shouldn't interfere. Leave it up to them whether they will tell each other how they feel."

Lana heard this and pouted a moment before sighing. "Yeah, you're probably right."

As they were discussing this, May slowly pulled away from Ash. "Well," she said, still smiling, "I guess this is goodbye...for now, at least."

"Yeah," Ash sighed. May gave him one last smile before turning to her friends. Before she could swim back to them, however, she felt something grasp her hand. "Wait, May."

"Hm?" she blinked, looking back at him.

"Before you go...there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh?" she said, turning to face him fully. Her eyes were wide with hopeful anticipation. "What is it?"

"It's just…" he started, but he immediately felt his tongue get tied as he tried to say what he wanted to say. "Well, what I'm trying to say is...Uh, I just wanted to let you know...I mean, I wanted to tell you that...I...well...uh…" Finally, he sighed and looked down, as though defeated. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

May looked slightly sad at hearing this, but only for a moment as she quickly smiled at him. She felt his hand start to pull away from her, but she quickly pulled it back, tightening her grip slightly, surprising him.

"You too," she said quietly. Then she floated forward, placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned forward and gently pressed her lips onto his cheek. She remained there for a few moments, enjoying the feeling this gentle kiss gave her, before pulling back to look him in the eye. His eyes were wide and his face was red from blushing, as he slowly brought his hand up to the place where she kissed him. As he grazed it with his fingers, a small smile slowly formed on his face. She returned the smile, then leaned forward and hugged him one more time. She held him tightly, with her tail curling around his own. He reciprocated her embrace, and they floated there for a moment. Finally, they pulled apart and, after giving each other one last smile, turned and started to swim back to where they needed to be. Neither of them noticed the other glancing back at them one last time before swimming away.

"Well," Mallow smirked as May swam back to them, "that explains a lot."

"Mallow," May giggled, blushing slightly.

"So, then," Lana said, "is it time to go?"

"I think it is," May nodded, taking her sacks from her mother and slinging them back over her shoulders. "Are you ready?"

"We sure are!" Mallow and Lana nodded simultaneously.

"All right," she said. "You can get a head start if you want. I've got one last thing to take care of."

"Huh?" Mallow blinked. "What are you –"

"Don't worry. It'll just take a second," May assured her.

"Uh," Lana said before shrugging. "Okay." With that, the two mermaids swam a short distance away so they could see what the princess meant.

"I guess it's time for me to go," May sighed, slowly floating towards her mother. "Time to make my dreams come true."

Cynthia smiled and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You're not sure you want to go, are you?"

"No, I am," May said. "It's just that…"

"Don't worry," Cynthia smiled. "Home will always be here, waiting for you. I promise."

"I know," May nodded. "But it's not just home that I'm going to miss. It's...you." Her voice fell to a whisper as she finished this.

"Oh, sweetheart," Cynthia said with a sad smile as a tear began to form in her eye.

"You've always been there for me when I needed you, supporting my dreams and sharing your wisdom when I needed it. When I swim away tonight...I won't have you around anymore." She looked down sadly. "I'm gonna miss a lot of things when I'm away, but most of all...I'm gonna miss you."

"May," Cynthia said, gently taking her shoulders and pulling her up so they were looking directly into each other's eyes, "you shouldn't feel as if you're losing me like that. As long as you keep me in your heart, we will never be apart, just like I always keep you and your sisters in my heart." Hearing this, May smiled as a small tear floated away from her eye. "But just in case you ever forget," her mother went on before reaching behind her. She gently pulled at her tail before presenting her daughter with a beautiful black scale. May stared at it, stunned as she took it in her hands.

"It's...beautiful," she whispered, thinking of the Prism Scale Milotic gave her some time ago which was now embedded in her tail. "I never knew your tail had such beautiful scales."

"What, you didn't think you were the only mermaid who took care of her tail, did you?" Cynthia winked with a smirk. May giggled at this.

"I guess it's only fair that I return the favor," she said, reaching back and pulling out one of her scales. She handed it to Cynthia, who took it gratefully. "There," she said. "Now we both have a part of each other with us, so we'll never be apart."

"Yes," Cynthia nodded. "I think that's wonderful."

They floated there for a moment more, as their faces fell once again. "Well," May sighed, "I guess it's time to say goodbye."

"Yes," her mother nodded again. She placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, only for May to lunge at her, throwing her arms around her and hugging her tightly. Cynthia was quick to reciprocate, as small tears floated away from the two of them into the water above.

"Goodbye, Mother," May said quietly. "I love you...so much."

"I love you, too," Cynthia replied, her voice trembling. "May the Oceansong guide your journey...always."

"Thank you," May said, pulling away. "I know it will."

Finally, they released each other from their embrace. May turned and started to swim over to her friends, while Cynthia turned to swim back home. They looked back at each other one more time, giving one last smile, before swimming their separate ways.

"May?" Mallow asked.

"Yeah?"

"You gonna be okay?" Lana asked.

She looked at her friends, then glanced back behind her to see if her mother was still there. She didn't see her, so she turned to her friends again and just smiled. "Yeah," she said. "Now come on! Let's go on an adventure!" With that, she swam past them, heading out to the open ocean. Mallow and Lana grinned at each other and quickly followed.

Out in the ocean, May started flipping her fins faster, propelling herself back to the breakneck speeds she remembered swimming at when she was out with Popplio. Once again, she felt the water rush over her: roaring past her ears, flowing over her skin, and invigorating her tail. The feeling was addictive, and she once again savored every moment the water flowed over her: twirling around and spinning like a typhoon as she swam. Mallow and Lana were surprised when she did this at first, but they quickly followed suit, and just like her, they were amazed at how awesome the feeling was.

Eventually, they paused to catch their breath, swimming into a small cave. "Wow," Mallow gasped. "That was...amazing!"

"Where did you learn to swim like that?" Lana asked.

"In the open ocean, of course!" May grinned. "There's nowhere else in the world that you can swim that fast. Isn't it incredible?"

"If you're looking for an understatement, then yes!" Mallow replied. They all giggled at this.

They decided to settle into the cave for the day. After having a nice meal, Mallow and Lana settled down and went to sleep. May was ready to sleep as well, but as she gazed out at the water outside the cave, she smiled dreamily as she watched the morning daylight wave around.

"The ocean," she said to herself. "The endlessly blue, beautiful ocean. And it's all ours to explore." She flicked her fins and started to swim up to look outside. "A vast, magical world, right at our fingertips." She sighed as she looked down. "It's too bad so many of my people have no idea what they're missing out on." She looked up at the surface. "They think the surface is where the magic is." She just chuckled and shook her head. "I guess both worlds have a touch of magic to them." She turned back and swam back down, sitting down to go to sleep. As she did so, she noticed the light reflecting off her tail in dozens of different colors, prompting her to smile even wider.

"No matter where I go...wherever I swim to on my adventures...my most cherished friends and experiences will always be a part of me: right here." She curled her tail up and hugged it close to herself as she settled down. "Other mermaids might think little of their tails." She snuggled into her tail with a smile. "But no one will ever take mine away from me..." With that, she closed her eyes and began to fall asleep. "...because it's more than just a tail to me; it's part of who I am."

As she drifted off into sleep, she heard a familiar melody quietly flowing outside. Slowly, almost unconsciously, her lips parted, and she quietly started to sing along.

Fin

And with that, the story is over! Phew! That took longer than I thought it would. Well, as a great man once said, "if you keep working on something, someday it'll be complete." I really can't complain either, considering this is the first multi-chapter story I've completed in five years.

Something I'd like to address is the Advanceshipping aspect of this story. Anyone who knows me knows that I ship Ash and May all the way, and the vast majority of my stories features them in some way. Here, however, I wasn't kidding when I said the shipping in this story would be minor, as I wanted the focus to be on May and her journey of self-discovery. Heck, I think I could remove the shipping aspect from the story completely, and the plot wouldn't change a bit!

Normally, that's a sign that the ship was shoehorned in for the sake of shipping, and...yeah, that's pretty much what I did. However, I think it still fits on a thematic level, as it ties in to the deconstruction (man I love that word) theme of the story. Like many characters here, Ash serves as a foil to a character in both versions of "The Little Mermaid," namely the protagonist's love interest. Where the love interest in the fairy tale played a major key role in the mermaid's character arc, Ash plays a role so small that, as I said before, taking him out wouldn't affect the plot that much. That's also why I left their subplot on a cliffhanger: every version of the fairy tale ends with either the mermaid winning the love interest's heart or not. Here, it's left hanging so that love has more time to properly flourish.

There's a lot more of that in this story, but I think it would be better if I let you figure it out yourself. Who knows? You might find something that even I didn't notice!

So, what did you think? Like most of my work, I think it could do with some revision, especially in later chapters, but I think it turned out really well overall. Feel free to rate and review, but please be respectful and constructive with any criticism. With that, thanks for reading, and I'll catch ya later!