Chapter 22: My Fiancée Is A Mermaid?

Claire and Sonia had arrived in Triforce where Vicki, Robert, and the Slapjack brothers lived. Since this was their first time arriving in this island for a visit, Vicki gave the two girls a quick tour. Claire and Sonia were very impressed when it came to her whole island settings, especially the outdoor stage. They were planning to stay at her house for a few days before heading back to Soma.

"I've got to say, Vicki, your island is fantastic!" said Claire.

"Yeah, it truly is amazing, compare to our island," Sonia smiled.

"Thanks, it was nothing really," said Vicki. "Robert and I did all the hard work improving this island!"

"Speaking of whom, you and Robert will be tying a knot next year, correct?" Claire asked, as if she recalled correctly.

Vicki nodded. "Yes, that's right! Robert and I will get married in Triforce next year! So, I'm inviting both of you to our wedding ceremony!"

"R-Really, Vicki?" Sonia asked excitedly. "Y-You're inviting us to your wedding?"

"Yes, of course! Unless if either of you won't make it, then you can turn down my wedding invitation at any time."

Sonia shook her head. "Oh no, I will never turn down your invitation like that! It's just that I'm very surprise when you're inviting us to your wedding. So, I'm looking forward to it!"

"And you can count on me!" Claire interjected. "I'll be looking forward to your wedding, too, Vicki!"

"Aw, thanks guys, you two are the best!" said Vicki happily. "Anyways, I'll invite the others, too for my wedding! There's my little brother Nick, his girlfriend and my best friend Serenity, Robert's little sister Lorelei, and her boyfriend and Robert's best friend Darren."

"Sounds very interesting! And you'll invite Sammy and Jimmy to your wedding, right? Since they are your neighbors after all..."

"Uh yeah, I will invite them, too... Say, can I ask you girls a question?" As soon as Vicki asked, Claire and Sonia nodded in response. "If you happened to have your neighbor, in your island, who was selfish, mischievous, and annoyance, and you wanted to invite him or her to your wedding, but you didn't know he/she was plotting something that will ruin your wedding, how would you feel or react to that?"

"Well, I'll be downright furious alright!"

Vicki nodded and turned to her another friend. "Sonia?"

"Well...I'll be very ashamed and humiliated if this crazy neighbor would do something very rash in my wedding," Sonia answered honestly.

Vicki nodded. "And there you have it! Once I'll invite you-know-who to my wedding, I'll trust you both to restrain them as much as you can."

"Uh yeah, sure..." Claire and Sonia nodded, as they both gave each other a confused look and tilted their heads to the side.

The next day, the girls were swimming in the pool with their swimsuits on. Claire and Sonia were diving into the water before they came right back up. Vicki swam around the pool gracefully and rapidly. Then, her friends suddenly realized something.

"Hey Vicki, you mentioned about the fan-made movie you and your fiancé came up with, yes?" Claire asked curiously.

"Oh yes, it was called 'The Sleeping Mermaid' that we worked so hard on last summer," Vicki explained. "I believe Robert's sister, Lorelei was planning to upload the video online."

"Oh, now that you mentioned it, is it this one?" Sonia asked, showing the video, which it said "The Sleeping Mermaid" in her smartphone to Vicki.

"Yes, that's the one! Oh, and Lorelei's user account is KawaiiLG."

Sonia nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought!"

"No way, Robert's sister has the account and uploaded the video?" said Claire excitedly, as her eyes were getting wider. "We have got to add her as a friend!"

"Great, I'll be sure to tell her that!" said Vicki.

Two hours later, Claire and Sonia were at the living room inside of Vicki's house. Vicki opened her bedroom, she showed off her mermaid costume, for her fan made movie, in front of her friends. They were awed in inspiration that they thought she looked perfect for wearing it.

"I'm assuming this is the same costume as the one for your fan made movie?" Claire recalled.

"Yes, this is the one!" Vicki answered.

"I'd say it looks very cute," said Sonia.

"Thanks, Sonia, I think so, too."

"You know something, Vicki?" Claire pointed out. "In your fan made movie, you looked more like a mermaid commoner than the noble or the royalty one..."

"Huh? Well, in the book, it didn't say anything about the mermaid being a commoner, noble, or royalty," Vicki suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good point," Sonia agreed.

"It is, indeed, true that the book didn't mention anything about the mermaid's lifestyle at all," said Claire. "But here's an idea, let's make the mermaid costume that looks more of a noble or royalty. How's that?"

"I think that's a good idea!" said Vicki happily.

"Yeah, you can count on me!" said Sonia.

"It's going to take a while to create a glamorous one," said Claire, as she was looking at Vicki. "Say, Vicki, can you think of any helpers, in your island, to do this kind of job?"

"Yes, I believe I do," Vicki answered, "I'm going to ask Francine and Marina to take care of that!"

"That's awesome, girl, thanks!"

"And I'll be making accessories," said Sonia smilingly.

"That will do as well!" Vicki nodded.

"So, that leaves down to the role model," Claire suggested. "We need a perfect role model for the video and the snapshot!"

"Ah, that's a good point... So, who's going to do that?"

While Vicki was curious to figure out who would be the role model for the mermaid, Claire's and Sonia's eyes were focusing on her directly. It didn't take Vicki this long to think until she noticed her two friends were staring at her and began smirking slyly. Since she was still wearing the one for her fan made movie, her cheeks were turning red and felt slightly embarrassed. Although, she was wearing her seashell bikini top, she covered her chest with her arms and hands.

"H-Hey, I-I already did it once, you know," Vicki stammered, "...b-but do you guys want me to become the mermaid role model again?"

"Come now, you don't have to be so flustered, Vicki," Claire reassured her. "I mean, I do want to become the role model, but wearing the cute stuff like that isn't my thing."

"I really wanted to volunteer, but..." Sonia confessed, as she stared down at her chest. "But the problem is I lack of...you know..."

"Uh okay, I get it now, girls," said Vicki, hiding her frustrations from her friends. "I'll do the whole role-modeling thing!"

Three days later, Claire and Marina, the pink octopus completed the mermaid costume; and Sonia and Francine, the blue and white polka-dotted rabbit had finished the accessories. They handed the completed stuff to Vicki who was standing by her bedroom. By the time she got changed, she opened the door and showed them off to the girls. They were all awed in excitement that they believed Vicki was now looking more of a noble/royalty mermaid than as a commoner. While they were all eyes on her, Vicki's cheeks were turning bright red as she was being half bashful and half embarrass.

"Um, well, girls, how do I look?" Vicki asked hesitantly.

"You look fabulous as a noble mermaid than a commoner one," Claire answered.

"I totally agree," Sonia smiled.

"Thanks a lot, girls!" Vicki grinned broadly. "I feel like I've become the mermaid cosplayer nowadays!"

"You certainly are!" Claire nodded, until she suddenly realized something. "Oh, hold on, I think we're missing something..."

"And what's that?"

"Makeup is what's missing, duh!"

"But Claire, I think makeup will smudge my face if I dive into a water with my tail on..."

"Not to worry, Vicki, Francine brought the waterproof makeup kit!"

"Seriously?" Vicki raised her eyebrow.

"Yes, seriously, karat," Francine replied. "Once we applied the waterproof makeup on your face, there won't be any issue."

"So, it won't smudge my face if the makeup was waterproof?"

"No, it won't once you're swimming or diving, karat."

"Ah, so let's do that then!"

After Francine applied the waterproof makeup on Vicki's face, Claire and Sonia helped Vicki hopped outside of her house since she was wearing the mermaid's tail. They were stopped by the pool and took a break for a little while. They waved Francine and Marina goodbye and thanked them for their help. Claire sighed heavily and scratched the back of her head.

"Vicki, we're planning to take you to the beach for the video and the photoshoot," Claire suggested. "But the problem is we're not strong enough to lift you..."

"She's right," Sonia agreed, "we need someone who is a lot stronger than both of us..."

While the girls were pondering, Vicki suddenly heard someone grumbling under the breath. She knew that voice and saw none other than her fiancé, Robert. He was carrying two heavy bags and had a very tough time. Claire and Sonia's smiles were brightened when they finally found the answer to their problems.

"...Why did Sammy and Jimmy have to give me a lot of work to do?" Robert grumbled. "I mean, seriously...they should've at least do it on their own! Sheesh..."

"Hey Robert, you're just in time!" Claire called. "Can you do us a favor for a change?"

"Claire, if this is about one of your so-called boyfriend's favors, I'm-oh!" Robert was talking to Claire, but he was trailed off all of the sudden. He blinked his eyes and his face was turned red when he noticed that Vicki was wearing the mermaid costume. Although, it wasn't the same as the one from the fan made movie, but it was completely different.

From head to toe (or fin), Vicki's green hair was tied up into a bun with pearl hairpins. She wore the pearl earrings, pearl necklace, golden armlet on one of her arms, bright pink seashell bikini top, shimmering sea green tail, and light green fins. When Robert's eyes were focused on Vicki, two bags were slipping from his hands. As soon as they hit the ground, he didn't notice that Sammy and Jimmy were here a second ago. The twins felt the pain in one of their feet and began groaning, which snapped Robert back to reality.

"Robert, if you don't mind, remove those heavy bags from our feet!" Sammy growled.

"Yeah, and make it quick!" Jimmy cried.

Robert quickly took two heavy bags and put them aside so Sammy and Jimmy could soothe their painful feet. Before Claire asked the island representative of Triforce a favor, he quickly approached his fiancée and carried her in his arms if she was about to ask him that. Two girls smirked at the blushing couple, but the twins, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all, except rubbing their own feet.

"Ahem, Robert, if you don't mind, can you take Vicki to the beach?" Sonia asked.

"Of course, I don't mind," Robert answered eagerly.

"Then, follow my lead!" said Claire in triumph.

"Yes, mother..." Robert sneered.

Claire glared at him. "What was that, Robert?"

"Err, I-I mean, yes, Claire!"

Claire was in the lead since she had an idea of where to take a picture and record a video of Vicki as a mermaid. Followed by Sonia, and finally, Robert who was carrying Vicki since she was wearing the mermaid costume. She gave him an uncomfortable stare because he accidentally called one of her friends his "mom."

The vampire demon, Viridian appeared out of nowhere and sensed the dream life forces somewhere in Triforce. As soon as she saw two female animals, she used her powers to take away the dream life forces from them. The demon snickered when she finally collected the two dream life forces. Francine and Marina suddenly transformed into nightmare monsters.

Meanwhile, Claire and Sonia were taking pictures of the mermaid cosplayer at the beach. Then, Vicki dived into the ocean water while her two friends were recording the video with their smartphones. Since they were covered with waterproof cases, they could record as much as they wanted while they were underwater. Robert, on the other hand, was staying on shore and began sulking because Claire and Sonia thought he was distracting them while recording. As soon as the girls got out of the water, they quickly reached by the shore. Vicki immediately stood up at the wet, sandy beach, so Robert picked her up and carried her once again. Suddenly, the couple sensed the negative vibe, which it was coming from the ocean.

"What on earth is that?" Vicki asked quietly, as she witnessed the abnormal whirlpool.

"Something tells me it looks very bad..." Robert answered quietly, when he watched the whirlpool furiously.

Out came the whirlpool, there was the ugly sea serpent rabbit rising out of the ocean waves. Then, there was a huge hideous octopus coming out of the whirlpool. Claire and Sonia started to scream and ran away from the nightmare sea monsters. Then nightmare octopus used her tentacles to capture one of them. Vicki quickly released Robert's grasp and leapt over in order to buy her friends some time to escape. When the tentacles wrapped around the mermaid cosplayer, the evil octopus dragged her to the ocean.

"Oh no, Vicki!" Robert shouted in panic, as he was ready to transform. "Knight dream rescue action!"

Masked Swordmaster quickly rushed to the ocean waves, but he got distracted by the evil sea rabbit. He quickly used his cannon to freeze her from distracting him. Then, he used his starlight pen to turn it into a snorkel mask and put it on. He dived into the ocean to find Vicki and saved her. Suddenly, he found the nightmare octopus who dragged her deep into the ocean. Vicki couldn't hold her breath much longer since she was a human, not the real mermaid. While she was still struggling for air and tried to get the tentacles off of her, she slowly passed out. Masked Swordmaster swam as fast as he could and immediately stopped the nightmare monster by stabbing one of the tentacles with his sword. The monster screeched loudly and released the mermaid cosplayer, so this was the chance for the masked white knight to bring her back to shore. When they got out of the water, Masked Swordmaster took Vicki from the ocean and set her down to get some air. She suddenly choked up the water and started coughing until she was finally relaxed.

"Vicki, are you alright?" Masked Swordmaster asked.

"Yes, I-I'm fine..." Vicki answered, as she finally breathed again. "Thanks for saving my life, Swordmaster."

"Hey, um, no problem at all." Masked Swordmaster's face turned red and looked away from Vicki. "A-A-Anyways, can you quickly transform so we can get this over with?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Vicki stood up and quickly took out her transformation mic. "Angelic dream rescue action!"

The evil octopus rose up to the surface while the evil rabbit was freed from becoming an iceberg. Masked Swordmaster raised his sword so the lightning appeared on the tip of his sword. Once the sword absorbed the electricity, he swung it at the two nightmare monsters. The monsters screeched in a very high pitch while being electrocuted. After they were being toasted, Phantom Angel used her healing magic to turn them back to normal animals.

After the Duo of Justice took Francine and Marina back to their homes, Vicki and Robert were sitting side by side on the pier. Sammy, Jimmy, Claire, and Sonia rushed to find the couple because they were so worried. The girls felt guilty for leaving them behind when the nightmare monsters' invasion began. The duo told them not to worry since the Duo of Justice had already taken care of it, and the twins tried to convince the girls about it.

"Anyways, you girls want to know the story about how those two got engaged?" Sammy asked eagerly.

"Uh yeah, why not?" Claire shrugged.

"Tell us about it," Sonia replied.

"Well, here's how it went..." said Jimmy.

While Sammy and Jimmy began their explanation to Claire and Sonia, Vicki and Robert grimaced at their own neighbors and stood up. Since Vicki was still wearing the mermaid costume, she gestured her fiancé to carry her like a princess.

"Robert, do me a favor and approach Sammy and Jimmy behind for me, will you?" Vicki whispered.

"Why? What are you planning to do with them?" Robert whispered back.

"I don't want those two idiots telling the girls about our precious moments, especially...you know..." Vicki glanced at herself as she still dressed like a mermaid.

"Relax! It's not like they're going to tell something embarrassing in front of them."

"...After we made a deal with our island representative, we're putting up on a big show on our own way," Sammy explained.

"So that way, Robert was planning to propose to Vicki in hand of marriage at the secret place where nobody knew," Jimmy added. "After she accepted his proposal, those two began flirting like crazy..."

"On second thought, Vicki, you have my permission to do so," Robert clenched his teeth, as his gaze turned cold and his expression was hardened in annoyance.

When Sammy and Jimmy continued to explain everything to Claire and Sonia, Robert started to walk right behind them. While he was carrying Vicki in his arms, the mermaid cosplayer swung her tail and pushed the twins to the ocean to interrupt their explanation. Sammy and Jimmy rose back to the surface and glared at the couple.

"What the heck was that for?!" Sammy asked angrily.

"Yeah, we're about to get to the good part!" Jimmy argued.

"Sorry, guys, that'll be good enough for today," Vicki grinned, as she turned to Claire and Sonia. "You, girls can help them out if you want. Don't mind us..."

"Um yeah, sure thing," said Sonia, being uncertain.

While Robert was carrying Vicki and trotting away, Claire and Sonia helped Sammy and Jimmy out of the ocean. Instead of pulling back up, the twin brothers pulled the girls down to the ocean. When they were in the water, Claire and Sonia started to scold at Sammy and Jimmy for dragging them into the ocean.

Meanwhile, Vicki and Robert were at the pool side by side. Since Vicki was still wearing the mermaid costume, she flipped her fins into the water like the real mermaid. Robert took off his shoes and dipped his feet into the water. The island representative thought the mermaid cosplayer looked very cute when she dressed like a real mermaid than the other outfits she wore. Her cheeks turned red after she listened to his thoughts. Finally, the duo kissed each other during their summer romance on a bright sunny day.