A family of cats was at a beach. The family consisted of a father, a mother and two boys. At the beach, a band was playing, and the family was preparing a barbecue. The youngest of the two boys, a silver furred 14 year old cat dressed in a pair of navy blue swimming trunks named Boyd was staring at the sea, bored out of his mind. Boyd and his family were on vacation to the beach, but at the moment, Boyd had nothing to do.
"Boyd, do you wanna see the band?" Boyd's mother asked him.
Boyd shook his head. "No, mom...Not interested..." The teenage cat replied. "I think I'd rather go for a swim..." He added.
Boyd's mother nodded. "Alright, Boyd. But don't stay away too long, as we're gonna be barbecuing around 6 PM. Keep that in mind, okay?" She told her son.
Boyd nodded. "I will, mom. Bye." He replied before running into the ocean and began to swim. The teenage cat swam forward, and forward, until he could no longer touch the ocean floor. He went up for air, and soon found out he was lost. He couldn't find the beach anymore.
"...Where am I...?" Boyd asked as he looked around in confusion, unfamiliar with his surroundings. He then proceeded to swim further, and soon found an underwater entrance to a cave. The cave piqued Boyd's interest, and the teenage cat swam through the cave entrance, and as he went up for air, he found himself inside the cave, which was lit only by a large gap in the ceiling. A waterfall could also be found inside the cave, and Boyd couldn't help but find the place strange.
Boyd then looked up at the sky through the gap in the cave ceiling, and saw that the sun was at the highest point for the day. This caused the water inside the cave to start glowing a bright blue, and the water started bubbling. Boyd was confused. Suddenly, his body started tingling and his legs went numb.
"What's going on? Why can't I feel my legs?" Boyd wondered out loud. The glowing and bubbling of the water soon stopped, and Boyd lifted his legs, only to find out that his legs had been replaced by a long navy blue fishtail.
"Ohmigosh, I'm a Mercat!" Boyd exclaimed in shock as he looked at his new tail. It was at least two feet longer than his regular legs, and the tiny navy blue scales glinted in the sunlight that came down from the gap in the cave ceiling. The newly turned Mercat couldn't believe what he saw, and felt a little scared as he tried to think about what he would do now.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Berri and Michael were swimming towards the same cave that Boyd was currently in. "So you found this cave the other day and wanted to show it to me, Michael?" Berri asked her young Merhorse friend with a curious tilt of her head as they swam.
Michael nodded to his Mermunk princess friend as they swam. "Yeah. It was a strange cave with a waterfall that's lit only by a large gap in the ceiling. I thought it was interesting and felt the need to show you." He informed Berri before the two mercreatures proceeded to look at the cave entrance.
"There it is." Michael said, pointing at the cave entrance. "Let's go inside." He said as he took the lead and swam inside the cave with Berri following behind. The two mercreatures surfaced inside the cave, which startled Boyd as he turned to look at the two new arrivals, and he yelped in fright as he backed away from them.
"Ah! W-Who are you people...?!" Boyd asked Berri and Michael in a frightened tone.
Berri and Michael were surprised to find another sea dweller inside the cave. "Whoa! I didn't there'd be someone else inside this cave right now!" Michael exclaimed in surprise.
Berri saw how frightened the young Mercat was and swam over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Hey, relax. No need to be afraid. My name is Berri Lanfishter and this is my friend Michael. Who are you?" The Mermunk princess asked Boyd in a soft and reassuring tone of voice.
"I-I'm Boyd..." The newly turned Mercat meekly answered. Michael couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious of him, and Berri took notice of this. She gestured to Michael to go easy on Boyd before she turned her attention back to the young Mercat.
"You appear to be rather scared. Did something occur in this cave before we got here?" Berri asked Boyd, again in a soft and reassuring tone of voice. She still had her hands on the young Mercat's shoulders.
Boyd gulped. He wasn't sure how to explain this to the two mercreatures before him, but he decided to just tell them the truth. "Y-Yes...Something did happen in this cave before you two got here...You see, I'm actually a surface dweller who was just turned into a Mercat when the sun was at its highest point, which caused the water inside this cave to start glowing and bubbling..." He explained, preparing for an outburst from the two mercreatures before him.
Berri and Michael's eyes widened at the young Mercat's explanation, but Berri's shock soon faded away as she smiled reassuringly at Boyd. "Alright. I believe you." She told him, causing the young Mercat to sigh in relief. He was glad that he hadn't offended the princess.
"Alright, good...Now what do I do? I have a family on the surface who's probably worried about me..." Boyd replied, looking worried.
Berri thought about it. "I'm not sure. But I think I can get you a place to stay until we can find a way to turn you back to normal. Would you like that?" She asked Boyd.
Boyd wasn't sure what to think of the Mermunk's offer, but what choice did he have? "Sure, I'd like that..." He replied.
Berri smiled at that. "Alright. Come with Michael and me, and we will take you to our city." She said as she held Boyd's hand, and together with Michael, the three mercreatures dove under the surface of the water and swam out of the cave, then began swimming to Subtropolis. Boyd instinctively held his breath underwater, and Berri took notice of this.
"Hey, it's okay. Now that you're a Mercat, you can breathe underwater. You have gills." Berri told Boyd.
"Are you sure I can breathe...?" Boyd asked Berri, his speech being muffled as he still held his breath underwater. Berri nodded, and Boyd proceeded to inhale water, only to feel his lungs fill properly again.
"Whoa, you're right...I can breathe underwater and even talk normally...This is crazy..." Boyd remarked as him, Berri and Michael continued to swim through the ocean to get to Subtropolis.
Berri giggled a little bit. "Yeah, I bet it's very different from the air you surface dwellers breathe. So, what's it like being a surface dweller? I've always wondered what it's like to walk on those two things that you people call "legs."" The Mermunk princess asked Boyd curiously.
"It's not bad, but it's not great either. So it's kinda like a double sided blade in my opinion." Boyd replied, starting to warm up to Berri and Michael. "As for what it's like walking on legs, I guess it's not much different from swimming with a tail like what you and Michael do." He continued.
Berri nodded at Boyd's words. "I see. Well, we'll be sure to give you best treatment you can get in Subtropolis until you can return to your surface home." She assured the young Mercat with a smile, and Boyd smiled back. As he looked at Berri, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. Her flowing blond hair, her striking blue eyes, her beautiful silver fur...Man, was she beautiful. Berri didn't notice this as they swam, but Michael did, and the young Merhorse waved his hand in front of Boyd's face.
"Yo, Boyd. You there?" Michael asked the young Mercat, causing Boyd to snap out of his train of thought.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still here." Boyd replied as he proceeded to look ahead of him, occasionally glancing at Berri. Before long, the trio had arrived in Subtropolis, and Boyd's eyes widened in amazement. He saw all the buildings in the city, and also saw all the other mercreatures swimming around. There was a whole civilization down here, and he couldn't help but be amazed by this.
"Whoa! Cool city!" Boyd exclaimed in amazement.
Berri giggled and gestured to the city. "Welcome to Subtropolis, Boyd!" She beamed as Michael smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Yep! The finest city in the sea!" Michael chimed in.
"So, did you have any place to stay in mind?" Berri then asked Boyd curiously.
Boyd thought about it but shook his head. "No, not really." He replied.
Berri let out an inquisitive hum before she had an idea. "Would you like to stay in the palace until we can get you back to...your town?" She asked Boyd. She was referring to his life on the surface, but avoided using the word "surface" since they were in public.
Boyd's eyes widened at that offer. "You can seriously get me a place to stay in the palace, where all the royal people live?! I'd love that!" He beamed.
Berri smiled at that. "Alright, let's get going." She said as she, Michael and Boyd began to swim towards the Subtropolis palace. As the palace gates came into view, Berri waved off the guards. Both guards were stocky and well built, and wore golden helmets and armor and carried golden spears in their hands. The first guard was a Merbull, and the other one was a Merpanther.
"Princess Berri, who's this young Mercat?" The Merbull guard asked Berri.
"This is Boyd, he's going to be staying with me in the palace for a few days, so please treat him right, okay?" Berri asked the guards as she gestured to Boyd.
The Merpanther guard nodded at that. "Very well, Princess Berri. You, Michael and Boyd may pass." He said as him and his Merbull colleague opened the palace doors so that Berri, Michael and Boyd could swim inside.
The guards intimidated Boyd for a bit until he realized that they were friendly, much like Berri and Michael were. Then he realized what they had called Berri. Princess...Berri? "You're royalty?" Boyd asked Berri in shock after they had swam inside the palace together with Michael and the guards had closed the palace doors.
Berri giggled, smiled and nodded. "Yup! I'm a princess in the House of Lanfishter! We rule Subtropolis!" She replied to Boyd.
Boyd chuckled at that. "Well, what do you know? One of the first friends I make as a Mercat is a princess. A very sexy princess as that." The young Mercat thought to himself as he visibly blushed at that thought.
"So, would you like to find a room now or later?" Berri asked Boyd.
"Now would be fine." Boyd nodded.
"Alright, we should have a vacant room around here somewhere." Berri nodded back as she, Michael and Boyd swam towards said room and went inside. The room held a queen size bed, a dresser, a desk, a lamp and so on. Boyd was impressed by the way the room looked.
"Wow, this looks fancy. My room at home is nowhere near as fancy as this." Boyd remarked.
Berri giggled at that. "Yeah, I bet. It's yours to keep until we can get you back to normal." She said before closing the door again. "Well, my father, the king of Subtropolis is most likely busy right now, so I can introduce you to him later. What would you like to do until then?" The Mermunk princess asked the young Mercat curiously.
Boyd thought about it. "Well, since I'm gonna be staying underwater for a few days, I'd like to go exploring the underwater world for a bit. Is that fine?" He asked Berri.
Berri looked at Michael. The two nodded at each other and looked back at Boyd. "Sure! Let's get going!" The Mermunk princess beamed as she held Boyd's hand, and together with Boyd, they swam out of the palace and left Subtropolis again, soon being out in open water.
"So, what direction would you like to go first?" Berri then asked Boyd.
Boyd wasn't sure what direction to pick. Since they were underwater, everything looked the same to him. He proceeded to shrug in response to Berri's question. "I don't know. Why don't you take the lead?" He asked her.
Berri nodded at that. "Alright. We'll go...that way first." She said, pointing in a random direction and began to swim in that direction, not letting go of Boyd's hand for even a second. As Boyd looked at Berri holding his hand, the young Mercat couldn't help but smile and visibly blush, as he enjoyed the feeling of the Mermunk princess holding his hand. Even by the time he could swim without needing Berri's hand, he still held it.
Michael took notice of the way Boyd looked at Berri and put two and two together. "Oh, boy. He's in love with Berri. I can't help but have a bad feeling about that." The young Merhorse thought to himself.
As Berri, Michael and Boyd swam through the ocean, Boyd looked around in awe. For the first time in his life, he watched a school of fish swim among the scattered corals, each with a different pattern and color. At the same time as they swam and looked around, Berri told Boyd of her father. He took over the throne from her grandfather, Aquarius Lanfishter when he was 25 years old, and had been ruling over Subtropolis ever since.
Boyd nodded, being interested in all of the information Berri had told him. "You certainly have an interesting family, Berri. I know that's obvious to say, since you're a princess and all, but I still felt like saying it."
Berri nodded at that. "What about your family? What's your family like?" She then asked Boyd.
"Well, I have a father, a mother and an older brother named Bruce. We're a middle class family in a small town somewhere in the countryside, and we go to the beach for vacation each year. I was bored and decided to go for a swim, where I came across the cave where I turned into a Mercat, and that's where you and Michael found me." Boyd explained to Berri.
The Mermunk princess nodded at that. "So, have you seen anywhere interesting you'd like to go?" She then asked Boyd.
Boyd thought about it as he looked around the general area, but there was nothing in sight. He then looked up at the surface and back at Berri. "How about we head up to the surface? I'm sure that there aren't any dangers around there at the moment, making it safe for us to swim around there." He suggested, pointing up to the surface.
Berri nodded at Boyd's suggestion and looked at Michael. "What do you think, Michael? Should we go up to the surface?" She asked her young Merhorse friend.
"You already know my answer, but I sadly can't stop you and Boyd from going up there." Michael sighed.
Berri giggled at that. "You know me too well." She replied to Michael before turning to Boyd. "Well, let's get going." She said as the Mermunk, Merhorse and Mercat swam upwards.