I finally got another one together for you guys. May I present to you one of the three earlier drafts for Aionia Okeano. This is the first try, the second one was lost to my broken USB, and the third one, well... I think you guys are already quite familiar with the 200k+ word monster that the third try spawned. Without further ado, the original Aionia Okeano.

Deep in the Pacific Ocean, just off of the eastern coast of Japan...

The beautiful mermaid swam as fast as her tail could carry her, trying to put distance between herself and the vicious heathens that stalked her. In her arms, she cradled two identical female mer-children; about four years of age, each with dark colored hair, pale green eyes, and small silvery tails. They were cuddled into her neck, fast asleep despite the jerky movement their mother made as she tried to keep them from harm and danger. She could faintly hear the yelling of male voices, telling others to swim faster. She gritted her teeth and swam upwards towards the surface, searching for a place to hide her children until she could return for them.

Her sharp green eyes spotted a small island just a few yards away from her. There was a pink house on the island, meaning it was inhabited by humans, but, at this point, she had no choice. She swam over to the island and placed her daughters in the shallows so the surf wouldn't take them out and kissed their foreheads, biting her lips to keep her cries at bay.

"I'll return for you when it's safe," she murmured, "my heart lies with you, my little Sahasa and Sundara. Bear it well."

A sole tear ran down her cheek as her little ones curled closer together in their slumber, but she was forced to retreat when the door to the small house slammed open. The mermaid dove under the waves and swam a distance away to watch over them shortly before she had to depart. Three small human children were playing on the soft white sand, clearly having not noticed her children. One had the strangest blue hair, another was blonde, and the last had short, spiky black hair. A noise reminded her of her need to save her babies, and she took off at breakneck speed, determined to get those wretched creatures off of her angels trail...

"Tag!" Marron squealed, patting Bra on the shoulder and running away, giggling. Bra huffed and ran after her, "I'll get you, Marron!"

Pan snickered at her two friends, deciding that she would leave them to their game. The five year old quarter saiyan made her way over to the water's edge, deeming the pretty crystal blue water much more interesting to watch. That wasn't the only thing she found.

Two little girls lay in the surf, obviously sleeping, but young Pan didn't know that, so she rushed to their sides, checking them over. Her jaw fell when she realized that they had tails rather than feet, like the people in The Little Mermaid. She mentally shuddered with revulsion. She hated the girly movies Bra and Marron made her watch at every sleepover.

"Panny, what are you doing all by yourself?" Six year old Bra asked eagerly, skipping over the sand with Marron.

"Bra, you've gotta see this!" Pan cried, "They're mermaids!"

The other two girls rushed over, "Really?" the three Z-Girls knelt around the sleeping mer-children, poking their tails in curiosity. "Wow," Bra whispered, "this is so cool."

Marron wasn't as jazzed, "are they... you know... dead?" Pan shrugged, "I dunno. How do we find out?" the saiyan princess stood up, "Put your ear on their chests and see if you hear a thump!" the brunette cocked her head to the side, "a thump?"

Bra giggled, "My mommy said if you hear a thump-thump sound in someone's chest, then they're alive." the princess's two companions nodded along, "Ohhh..." Pan placed her ear on the first girls' chest and listened closely, "I hear it!"

Sundara felt a slight weight on her chest as she slowly awoke from her nap. When she'd fallen asleep last night, her mother had been carrying her and Sahasa to a new hiding spot, because they were playing hide and go seek with some other people, and they were winning so far. She blinked, 'what's on my chest?'

She heard a small gasp, "she's awake!" the weight lifted and she found herself staring into the large, midnight blue eyes of a human girl about her age with black hair. She did the sensible thing and screamed. Sahasa awoke next to her and cowered into her side, whimpering at the humans.

Bra covered the screaming mermaid's mouth, looking worriedly towards the Kame House. "We're not gonna hurt you." Pan said softly, peering down at the girls. They had pretty green eyes and soft, wavy black hair.

"If I move my hand, will you scream?" Bra asked softly. The young mermaid shook her head in the negative. Bra moved her hand, and the twin mermaids sat up, looking around for something. "Sunny, where's mama?" the second one to wake up asked softly. "I don't know." Sunny replied, looking at the human children, "have you seen our mama?" Marron shrugged, "you were by yourselves when Pan found you." Pan nodded, "I'm sorry, but I didn't see her."

"Oh..." Sundara looked down at her silvery tail, crestfallen, and Sahasa's eyes began to glisten with tears. Bra, Pan, and Marron shared worried looks, unsure of what to do to help the two girls. The Son took the initiative and scooted a bit closer to Sunny, taking her hand, "we'll sit here and wait with you until your Mommy comes back for you."

"Yeah," Bra nodded eagerly, taking a seat next to Sahasa, who was silently crying, "we'll sit with you. Come on, Marron, sit down." The blonde chibi knelt next to Pan and, together, the five young girls watched the horizon for any sign of another mermaid. Little did they know, this was the beginning of a bond between the five of them that would last a lifetime...

Did their mother come back? I don't know, I stopped writing it after this because I lost interest. Will I try again... Hm, depends on what I have on my plate which is more than enough for me right now. Keep your eyes peeled anyway, who knows what might happen.

-CloudSpires1295