Disclaimer: I do not own Luca or any of the characters in the movie, as they all belong to Disney.
Guilia: So, a lot has really gone down since yesterday. I now have one of my closest and newest best friends here with me, staying with my mama and I, and he's gonna get the chance to go to school with me! I'm excited about it, and in a way, it's also kind of overwhelming because I've only just gotten to know him, and now, he's gonna be attending the same school as me. How are the other kids gonna treat him? What about my teachers? What if he reveals his secret accidentally and everyone treats him harshly for it? No, I shouldn't freak out, at least not yet. So far, my mama seems to like him, and Luca seems to like her too. That first night in Genova was probably one of the craziest, especially when it came to helping Luca adjust.
As they continued to walk down the sidewalks of Genova, Luca couldn't help but look around and spot the differences between the new areas he was in, comparing it to Portorosso. Much like Portorosso, Genova also resided by the water, so at least if he ever wanted to go swimming, he could just dive into the water around there. There were also a lot more buildings and houses around the area as opposed to Portorosso, making it look more city-like, and at the moment, there weren't any fountains like the one in Portorosso. Luca also noticed that there were currently kids out and about, despite it starting to get late, playing with a soccer ball, while others were by the edge of the docks, looking at the fish that swam in the water. One little girl was with her mommy eating some gelato in a cup while her baby brother, who was in a stroller, sucking on a bottle of milk. Luca looked up at the sunset sky and saw the sun going down, making the sky become a beautiful, colorful display, while a few stars were beginning to emerge. Guilia noticed Luca looking up at the sky as she came up to him, saying, "A pretty cool sight, right? I like to imagine the sky as a big painting canvas, for every time the sun rises or sets; it always paints a colorful display for our eyes." Luca then asked, "Are sunsets always this colorful here"? Guilia answered, "In a way, but you know what's even better? The sunrises; they are really amazing. If we get up early enough tomorrow, I can show you what I mean." Guilia's mother watched the two kids interact and comment, "A proprio agio bambini. I know you're both excited to be in Genova, but let's first get to the house first." Luca then asked, "So, Guilia, what's the house like? Is it like Massimo's"? Guilia answered, "It's a bit bigger than my papi's house, and it has levels too, but other than that, it's almost the same." They continued to walk for a few more miles until the trio finally arrived to a large white house that had a simple blue tile roof. It was really tall, and had about three levels, going by the amount of windows he could spot on the side of the wall, counting about six windows on each wall, with the front of the house as an exception. By the front of the house, there was a little blue tarp that covered the front door, providing some shade, as there were two lights beside it currently turned on to provide some light. And the best part? A large tree was growing beside to the house, so it made the house almost look like it was actually built on the tree, even though it was cemented to the ground. Luca couldn't help but keep looking up and down at the house as Guilia breathed in and out, saying, "Here we are: casa dolce casa. Feels good to be home."
Guilia's mother added, "Welcome to our house, Luca. We hope you enjoy your stay here." Luca nodded his head and said, "Thank you so much again for letting me stay with you Mrs. Marcovaldo. I hope it won't be too much of a bother." Guilia's mother chuckled and said, "Nonsense; Guilia's father told me about how Guilia has been exclaiming about how much you've wanted to come to school and explore what it's like beyond your home in Portorosso. And who am I to prevent an adventurous soul from getting to accomplish his dreams? You're going to enjoy attending the school here, Luca." Ms. Marcovaldo was starting to head to the door to open it while Luca followed her, excited to see what the inside looked like. Suddenly, Guilia seemed to remember something and gasped, running up to Luca and standing in front of him, saying, "Wait, I should warn you, we have a fellow guest in the house, and I hope that your arrival doesn't scare him." Luca then asked, "Who is it? Do you have a sibling"? Guilia nervously scratched the back of her neck while saying, "Not so much a sibling, but he's just as playful as one." Luca looked over Guilia's shoulder as she saw her mother open the door when he heard a new sound from inside the house. It sounded like….barking? Suddenly, a black and white dog with pointy ears came running out of the house excitedly, barking and wagging its tail as it kept jumping up at Mrs. Marcovaldo's leg, happy to see the older woman again. The mother gently lowered her hand to pet its head as Guilia and turned around, smiling and saying, "Nerone"! The dog perked its ears up and saw Guilia, panting and wagging its tail more as the dog ran towards her and jumped into her arms. The dog licked Guilia's cheek repeatedly while the girl laugh, saying, "Ok, ok, ok, Facile, Nerono, I'm happy to see you too"! The dog continued to yip excitedly, nuzzling Guilia as Luca watched, astounded by the new creature that he was watching as he asked, "ooh, who, or what, is that"? Guilia turned her head to answer, "This is Nerone; he's our family dog," while the dog lifted his head up and looked at Luca curiously.
The dog hopped down and sniffed Luca curiously while the boy became a bit nervous, wondering if the dog was gonna be able to sniff out his true form. Luckily, the dog didn't seem to mind as he was just happy to see a brand new friend around, making the dog pant excitedly and stand on his hind legs. Luca was curious as to what Nerone was doing as Guilia explained, "That's just his way of saying hello. He does this to all the guests who come to our house. You can pet him if you like; just let him sniff you first. Bend down towards him, lower your hand and let him sniff the front of it." Luca bent his knees down so he was at eye level with the dog, and offered his hand out to the dog, who curiously sniffed the front of it. After sniffing the front of it for a while, the dog barked happily as Luca petted the dog's head. The dog seemed to like the boy petting him as he leaned his head closer to him before jumping up, licking his cheek. Luca laughed, feeling ticklish and breaking into laughter. The dog continued to lick him until Guilia picked up the dog, hugging it while saying, "Ok, Nerone, that's enough for now." Nerone yipped cutely as he felt the girl hug him while Luca replied as he tried to wipe the dog slobber off his cheek, in case the slobber might reveal his scales, while he commented, "Good thing my first impression with Nerone went over a lot better than it did with Machiavelli; I was worried the dog was gonna attack me." Guilia's mother chuckled and said, "Nerone's a sweetheart, he wouldn't attack a fly, even if he was carrying a meatball. And let me guess: Machiavelli didn't trust you at first and probably lashed out"? Luca and Guilia both shared an awkward/nervous look as Guilia replied, "More or less like that." Guilia's mom chuckled and said, "Eh, Machiavelli was never really a fan of strangers, always seemed to take his time to warm up to new people he's never met before, and wasn't exactly friendly with those who seemed suspicious to him." Luca muttered under his breath, only loud enough for Guilia to hear, "That sure explains a lot," as Guila added while talking under her breath, "Or maybe Machiavelli could smell through your human disguises and sniffed your sea monster scent and thought you were walking fish." Guilia's mom heard both kids whispering and asked in curiosity, "What are you both talking about"? Both kids straightened up as Guilia answered, "Oh, just telling Luca about how much fun school is gonna be, mama." That seemed to make the older woman smile as the kids walked into the house.
Inside of the house was beautiful, with nice white walls, a smooth brown, wooden floor that was shiny enough to see your reflection in it. The hallway was clear and narrow, but also wide enough for everyone to walk into, as on the left, it showed the living room, which had a long brown couch, a wooden table in the middle with what looked like a vase full of paintbrushes inside of it, and then behind it was the dining room/kitchen, which looked similar to the one Massimo had back in Portorosso. Across from the living room was a brown closet door, and next to it was an empty room that was full of white tarps that covered most of the place, paint splotches of multiple colors almost everywhere you looked, and canvas either hung on the walls with finished painting, half-done paintings, or blank canvases that have yet to be painted on. Luca was curious about the room, asking, "What's this," as Guilia replied, "My mama's an artists, she paints for a living, and she can do any kind of painting there is! You name it, Santo mozzarella, she can paint it"! Mrs. Marcovaldo smiled in pride, saying, "Thank you, Guilietta. Si, I tend to be quite the painter. You see that blue pair of overall over on that chair"? Luca turned his head to see a wooden chair near a blank canvas, as on the chair was a set of blue overalls that were covered in paint spots, as Guilia answered, "Those are my mom's special overalls; she wears those every time she paints in here; it helps keeps her clothes clean so if paint splashes on her, they don't get dirty." Luca then said, "Wow, these paintings are amazing, Mrs. Marcovaldo! You think I can watch you paint soon"? Guilia's mom happily nodded as she said, "You bet, Luca, and I'd be more than happy to paint you a picture if you'd like." Luca happily nodded as Nerone then barked, wanting to eat because he felt hungry. Mrs. Marcovaldo petted the barking dog as she said, "Ok, you hungry pup; I'll get you some food," and left to the kitchen to get the dog some dog food. While she was gone, Guilia got an idea, saying, "Hey, Luca, follow me; there's a spot here in the house I want to show you"! She took the boy by the hand as he dragged his luggage while they went upstairs to the next floor, as Luca got to explore more of the house. He followed Guilia to what looked like a set of doors that led to a balcony outside as Guilia said while opening the doors, "This is my favorite spot of all time." They both got to walk outside and look at the sights beyond the balcony, and to Luca, it was so amazing! With the darkened night sky now giving way to stars, the sky glimmered beautifully, but it didn't seem to beat what was on the ground: bright lights that seemed to shine the streets of Genova, the tall, amazing buildings that were all around the area, which was a huge difference compared to Portorosso, and the best part was that he could even see an island way off in the distance, with something new on it. It looked like a tower, but with a light inside that spun around, which made the boy curious as he asked, "Hey, Guilia, what is that"? Guilia replied, "Oh, that's the lighthouse, it's built to help lead ships away from rocks so they can arrive at the docks safely without any harm." Luca smiled and said, "Wow, Genova looks really awesome! It's like a bigger version of Portorosso"! Guilia smirked and said, "Well, it looks nice, but you can't call it awesome until you've seen every inch of it and all it has to offer, and during your stay here, that's what I intend to do." Luca became really excited, however, as he looked up at the night sky, he started to miss Alberto again, and was hoping his pal was doing alright back in Portorosso. Guilia seemed to know what Luca was thinking as she asked, "Missing Alberto"? Luca nodded as Guilia then got an idea, saying as she led Luca to the ledge of the balcony, where the railing was, and pointed to the lighthouse, saying, "Hey, you see the lighthouse"? Luca nodded yes in confusion as Guilia then said, "Sometimes, when I'm missing Papi or Machiavelli, or a friend of mine like Alberto, I like to do this to help me feel better. I like to pretend that the lighthouse's light is shining all the way to where those people are, and are sending a message." Luca, curious, asked, "A message? Like a letter"? Guilia answered, "Something like that. I pretend the light is reaching them, letting the people I miss know that I miss them and that I care about them. And then, when the light shines on me, it's like I'm receiving a message from them that tells me, "Hey, Guilia, we miss you too. Ragazzi, I hope you're doing well." Luca seemed to like that idea as he looked at the lighthouse light and waited for it to shine it's light out to the ocean and closed his eyes, imagining that the lighthouse was making him send a message to Alberto to let him know that he was doing ok.
Alberto was laying on his bed in the guest bedroom, looking at a blank piece of paper curiously, unsure of how to make a letter, when he felt something. It wasn't something he could hear or see, but there was just something in the air that told Alberto that…..Luca…was calling to him. Alberto sat up and looked around, wondering what in the room was making him have this new feeling inside of him. He felt Machiavelli curl up beside him on the pillow, which made Alberto ask, "Uh, hey, Machiavelli, are you…doing anything weird….er than you usually do"? The cat seemed to have a deadpanned expression from Alberto calling it weird before it let out a meow, as if to say, "No." Alberto seemed to understand as he then looked out of the window and saw the twinkling stars in the sky. Alberto looked up at the stars and watched as they shined brightly and he then felt…..a smile creep up on his face. No one could understand why he was smiling if they first saw him, but Alberto knew…..Alberto knew why he was smiling….he could just feel it. His smiling expression did not go unnoticed as Massimo saw the boy smiling and looking out the window, making him ask, "Alberto, sto bene"? Alberto nodded, saying, "Si, I'm just…..happy. I can feel…..that Luca's out there right now….ok and….probably arriving to Genova safe and sound." Massimo chuckled and then said, "Well, you'll be happy to hear that I just got off the phone with Guilietta's mother and she said that they both did arrive to the house safe and sound." Hearing that made Alberto smile and leap off the bd, saying, "Woohoo! Luca made it to Genova"! He picked up Machiavelli and spun him around while saying, "Luca made it to Genova! Luca made it to Genova," while the cat yowled and meowed in concern for being spun around a lot, making him very dizzy. Then, while spinning the cat around some more, Alberto then realized something and said, "I better let Luca's family know," and placed Machiavelli on the floor while saying, "I'll be back in a bit, sir; I'm going to let Luca's parents know"! Massimo could only chuckle as he watched the energetic boy run off while Machiavelli stumbled around before plopping belly-first on the floor in dizziness.
Alberto remembered that the Pagaros tend to spend their night sometimes in their undersea home so they wouldn't lose touch of their sea monster side. So, with that, Alberto ran towards the dock, jumped high, and dove into the water, instantly becoming his sea monster form as he swam to the Pagaro's cave. He swam for a while, passing a few residing sea monsters that were still awake, and passing a school of fish that were swimming about. Looking at the fish made Alberto remember Guilia's fish deliveries and how Massimo asked him to help out at the peschery while Guilia was at school. He was more than happy to do it…..but Alberto couldn't help but miss Guilia. He missed how she was always ready for adventure, how silly and funny she was, and especially how well she and him have bonded since becoming friends. He knew that it wasn't nice to feel jealous about her at first when he saw how close she was bonding with Luca, but after he and Luca got revealed, and how they rescued Guilia at the Portorosso Cup and ended up winning it, he and Guilia seemed to have just…connected, and since then, have gotten along pretty well. He loved how they tended to playfully tease one another, and under the playful insults, they both cared about one another deeply. Guilia was fun; Guilia was cool Guilia was….like a sister to him. Before Alberto could let his thoughts continue any longer, he snapped out of it and returned to his mission to tell the Pagaros about Luca's safe arrival. He approached the cave cautiously and saw that inside, the grandmother was already asleep, but there was no sign of the parents. Alberto didn't know if he could just swim in or if he should knock first. Luckily, he didn't need to answer that question because before he could knock on the side of the cave to alert his arrival, the grandmother opened one of her eyes and said, "No need to knock, Alberto. I already know why you're here." Alberto was a little startled at first, but recomposed himself to say, "Hello, um, I'm here to see Mr and Mrs Pagaro. Is that ok"? The grandmother nodded and swam deep into the cave while Alberto remained floating by the entrance for a while until he saw Daniela and Luca's father soon swim back with the grandmother.
Daniela was the first to greet the boy with a hug while she said, "Good evening, Alberto. What brings you here on a beautiful night like tonight? Is everything ok up on land"? Alberto nodded, saying, "Everything's great Ms. Pagaro. I came to personally tell you that Massimo got off the phone with Guilia's mom, and both Guilia and Luca have safely arrived to the house in Genova." Hearing the good news, Daniela sighed a breath of relief as she said, "Oh good, that's such a relief to hear. I've been worried sick, wondering if he was gonna get there safely. How's Guilia's mother? Is she nice"? Alberto shrugged his shoulders and answered, "I don't know that part, but I'm going to safely assume that she's nice." Luca's father then spoke up, saying, "Well, we're happy to hear our son made it ok. Thank you for coming to tell us, Alberto." Alberto smiled and answered, "No problem, Mr. and Mrs. Pagaro. I figured it would be good to let you know. Well, I better head back up before I make Massimo worry about me. Have a good night," as Alberto waved goodbye and swam away back to the docks. Swimming through the water, Alberto rushed through the currents, racing through the ocean as if he was a Vespa riding through the roads of Italy, free without any obstacles stopping in its way. Alberto kept riding through the currents until he arrived to the docks and leapt out of the water, shaking the water off of him mid-air so by the time he was landing back on the surface with both feet on the ground, he was in human form once more. Alberto started to walk back to Massimo's house when he heard a Vespa honk and a light shined on him, making the disguised sea monster cover his eyes. He slowly uncovered his eyes and saw that the light and the horn came from someone he was hoping not to see again for a while: Ercole, and he was staring him down while on the Vespa, which slowly approached the disguised sea monster and stopped right in front of him. Alberto fixated his glare on Ercole, who said, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the picolo's fishy friend, Alberto. We meet again."
Alberto replied with a firm, "What do you want, Ercole? I was just about to go back to where I'm staying." Ercole sneered and said, "Oh, then you must be heading the wrong way. Sea monsters like you don't belong in beautiful houses as ours, unless of course, it is your head hanging on a wall." Alberto still tried to stay tough, not letting Ercole shake him too badly, as the human continued with, "If you want to go back to where you're "Staying" then you should turn around and jump back in the water and swim far away with your tail in between your legs and never return." Alberto then said, "Fat chance of that happening; I live here now, and I'll never leave." Ercole then said, "Why? No one here likes you, then again, no one likes a lying sea monster. We eat guys like you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with salt! You don't belong here, never have, and never will, and no one would ever want you around"! Alberto was ready to retort when he suddenly felt a wave of hurt override his chest, knowing Ercole hit a sensitive spot when it came to his past, especially when his father abandoned him. Ercole saw that Alberto looked shaken and smiled, seeing he hit a breaking point, and was about to pile more onto that when he heard someone grunt behind him. Ercole turned around and looked behind him, gasping whe he saw Massimo looking down at him. Alberto gasped when he saw Guilia's father staring down Ercole as the older man stated, "Care to repeat that, Ercole? What you said about "no one wanting Alberto around"? Ercole gulped nervously and replied while stuttering, "U-Uh, you see uh….M-M-Mr. Marcovaldo…uh….," before he clearly stated with slight anger in his voice, "How can you possibly be fine with this sea monster being around here?! He clearly doesn't belong, and no one here likes him"! Massimo's facial expression didn't seem to change, as he stated simply, "Not true. My Guilietta likes him, and so does Luca, and so does the other kids and people around here." Ercole rolled his eyes and answered, "Only because he did a worthless rescue that wouldn't have happened if Guiletta never ran into me in the Portorosso Cup, which wouldn't have happened if I had nailed my harpoon where I should've! He clearly should not be around, I mean, who would even let that piccolo into their house"? Massimo's facial expression then lightened up, saying, "I would," as he walked over to Alberto, wrapping his only available arm around the boy, who looked up at Massimo in awe.
Ercolo rolled his eyes and said, "Bah, impedent fools. You'll see someday that he's nothing ore than trouble, and should never live here with anyone"! Ercole then drove away on his Vespa into the night while Alberto looked up at Massimo and asked, "Massimo, why did you stand up for me like that"? Massimo turned his head to face the boy and said simply, "You matter, bambino, more than you think. You are more than what others see; you deserve to have friends, to live in a home, to….have someone care for you and teach you everything you need to know. And….well…..," though at this moment, Massimo was at a loss for words, unsure of what to say next since he didn't express his emotions a lot, unless it was in front of Guilia. However, he didn't need to because Alberto seemed happy with Massimo's reply and hugged him, saying, "Thank you da-," before stopping midway, realizing what he almost had said and fixed his sentence, saying, "I mean, thank you sir." Massimo then said, "Now, why don't we go back home, si"? Alberto nodded and started to walk back to the house while Massimo stayed behind, walking slowly as he took in what had happened, especially considering what Alberto had almost said in front of him. He almost called him…dad.