Chapter 28: Return of the Morays
Meanwhile, outside of the museum, Ace continues to talk to the guards
Ace says, excited, "...And I just loved that story my Grandma read me about a human prince and a mermaid princess."
"They made a movie out of that, you know. I saw it with my girlfriend when I was younger! That was just about thirty years ago. No matter how many times I see it, that scene of the princess hugging her father gets me every time," The merman says.
"I know, right?! That's, like, THE scene!" Ace says, amazed.
The merman says, "I'm surprised a kid your age has even watched it."
Oh, my brother's a huge movie buff. That flick's top-tier. Soundtrack's legendary, too," Ace says.
Then remembers, "Oh yeah, speaking of which—is it true that all merfolk are good singers?"
"Oh, far from it. That's an old urban legend. One of my own classmates is so tone-deaf, their singing is like nails on a rockboard," The merman answers.
Soon, Briar and the others arrive to see Ace talking to the guard, and is very talkative about it.
"Ace is still goin' strong!" Grim says.
"I'm impressed he can carry on a conversation with a complete stranger for so long," Deuce says.
"We got what we came for. We need to go, pronto," Jack says.
Ace turns to see Briar and the others.
He turns to the guard and says, "Ah, look at the time. I think I'd better get going."
"Aw, are you sure?" The merman questions, "Seeing as you're such a big merfolk fan and all, I wouldn't mind giving you a little sneak peek at the museum while it's closed."
"Nah. That'd be cheating, and cheaters never prosper. I'll be sure to check the museum hours before I mosey down here again. Later, man!" Ace says, and swims off.
"Feel free to come back anytime! It's not every day you meet a nice young fellow like that," The merman says.
Ace then swims a distance from the museum and the mermaid. Briar and the others slip past the guards before they notice them. Soon enough, everyone met up at a location far from the museum.
Ace asks, "So, how'd it go on your end?"
"Photo acquired! Myeh heh heh. Couldn't have been easier," Grim says with a smile.
"We were almost caught by security," Tanznatie points out.
"Yeah, but Sereia was able to suds him so we're able to slip away," Jasper says.
"Great. Let's head back to campus, then," Ace says.
"Right. I can't wait to shove this picture right in Azul's smug face," Ace says.
Suddenly, Jack senses something, "Wait."
And then, two familiar shadows swim over them.
Sereia nervously asks, "Did anyone else just see a pair of very long shadows?"
"I sure did. It's them again," Briar says.
And right on cue, the Leech twins, Floyd and Jade appear.
Floyd happily says, "Theeere you are, Little Shrimpy."
Then Jade says, "Greetings, everyone. I see you've already forgotten your previous lesson and decided to try your luck in the deep again."
"It's the moray brothers!" Jack says.
Jade and Floyd that the painting is in Deuce's hands.
"You appear to have gotten a hold of the photo," Jade says.
"Nice, niiice! That's real smooth," Floyd says with a smile on his face.
Then says, "But we wouldn't want you bringing it back so soon. Why don't we play a game of tag until sunset?"
"Typical. I knew we wouldn't make it home without a fight," Ace says, "Lemme guess: your plan is to stall us in the water until sunset, then beat us up and snatch the goods. Then you'd get the photo AND you wouldn't have to take these anemones off!"
Jade chuckles, "Heh heh heh... Using minimal labor to achieve maximum profit is just good business sense."
"Wh— " Jack replies in shock and angrily says, "You guys really are crooked to the core!"
Ace turns to Briar, "Well, Briar? What's your call?
"Knowing you, there's no way you came this far without accounting for them," Deuce says.
Briar whispers and says, "For now, we need to keep the photo safe, and hope to distract them long enough for this to work."
"Okay. Simple enough. I don't know how long I'll last without my magic, but…" Deuce says.
But Jack says, "We've come this far. We don't have any other choice!"
"For now, let's swim and play a game of keep away," Briar says.
Everyone begins to swim across the area. Briar then passes the photo to Sereia, and she swims as fast as she can to avoid Floyd.
Grim cries out, "Sereia, Floyd is right behind you!"
"Eep!" Sereia says, frightened.
Deuce calls out, "Sereia, over here!"
Sereia swims fast and passes the photo to Deuce. Deuce swims as fast as he can and passes it to Tanzanite.
Everyone swims and passes each other the paintings and dodge the Leech Brothers at the same time. They just need to distract them long enough for the plan to work.