Chapter 4
When Connie's mom didn't answer there call they weren't surprised. The doctor tended not to answer while she was shifted or traveling. Same could be said when she was deep in her study or working on something important. They knew she would call back in time so this left them all in the bathroom for Greg to find. He was surprised to see the car-wash was barricaded but even more so when he opened the bathroom door to see the kids laying together on the floor, his old baseball bat in Connie's hands.
"Hey guys." Greg said opening the door and taking a step into the room "Why are you sleeping in the bathroom...with a mermaid?!"
His loud voice startled everyone in the bathroom. Both kids jumped up with a yell, ready to swing the bat, while Pearl jumped so bad she flailed in the tub with a startled yelp. With the sleep washed out of there bodies suddenly by cold water covering them head to toe everyone froze. Both kids looked at Greg then each-other while he was looking between the kids and the mermaid in the tub who was death gripping the porcelain edges so hard she cracked the mold.
"Ok." Greg said putting his hands up for a moment "Why is there a mermaid in our tub?"
"She showed up last night." Steven said "She was hurt real bad."
"Like she had been attacked." Connie added.
"But we can't understand her clicking to find out what happened."
"Or what she needs."
"So we brought her in and put her in the tub with salt."
"Then we called my mom to ask her what to do but she didn't answer so we waited in here for her call but we must of fallen asleep."
"Ok... So why was the house barricaded like a zombie apocalypse is going on?" Greg asked next.
"I felt like we were being watched when we went outside." Connie said "So when we brought Pearl in I barricaded everything."
"Ok...Ok" Greg said running his hands over his face "Connie try calling your mom again after you get some dry cloths on."
"Yes Mr. Universe." Connie said leaving the bathroom.
Greg watched until he saw Steven's door shut to look to his son. "Are you hurt?"
"No, but Pearl is." Steven said looked at the mermaid, who was still a bit frozen in shock.
"Hey, um, Pearl, Are you ok?" Greg asked her. When she didn't move or answer Greg looked at his son. "Here, I'll go get you some dry cloths stu-ball. Just stay in here with her ok?"
"Ok." Steven said. As his dad left he looked to Pearl who was watching Greg leave. "Are you ok Pearl?"
When she looked at him Steven could see how tired she looked. She was pressed up against the far side of the tub. Her arms were wrapped around her ribs like she was protecting herself. She looked worse for wear but better then she did when they found her. The small cuts that littered her form were shallow scars now. The deep one on her tail was still pretty bad looking but was closed. Steven couldn't see the one on her ribs but he guessed that was the same.
"Did the salt in the water help?" When Pearl nodded slightly he smiled "That's good. I was worried that it wasn't going to help."
Pearl blinked and clicked softly at Steven who looked at her with a bit of guilt. "I'm sorry Pearl. I really can't understand your clicking."
"Pearl's clicking?" Greg suddenly coming into the bathroom made Pearl jump and him apologize after "Wait, I mite know how to talk to you. Here's your cloths Steven and a shirt for Pearl. Take her to the living room when your changed ok? I'll meet you in there."
Greg quickly handed Steven his cloths and left the room again. Steven looked at his cloths before looking at Pearl. He turned a bit red when Pearl tilted her head to the side.
"Can you cover your eyes for me?" Steven said "I, um, I'll be quick." When Pearl tilted her head the other way in confusion Steven walked up to the tub and held out his hands. Pearl hesitated at first but slowly put her hands in his. "Like this." He said as he slowly moved her hands to cover her eyes. "Good, now keep them right there for a minute ok?"
It took about ten minutes to change, six of which were Steven putting Pearl's hands back over her eyes when she started to move them, before he was fully changed into dry cloths. After he was done he gently took Pearl's hands and took them from her face. He chuckled a bit at her expression. Pearl herself looked utterly surprised. She didn't understand the new cloths Steven was wearing or how he had gotten them on and the dry ones off. She watched as Steven took his wet cloths and put them in a basket next to the tub. Her eyes followed him as he went back across the bathroom and address the shifting girl from earlier. "Did she answer?"
"No so I left another encrypted voicemail." Connie said.
"Why do you encrypt them again?" Steven asked picking up the big shirt his dad had left for Pearl to put on.
"In case anyone hacks into our phones." Connie said "If your mom was keeping a low profile on her aquatic friend here and her pod then its safe to bet that someone was looking for them."
"Specially after all that with the shell and junk..." Steven looked at the shirt in his hand before turning to Pearl "Are you strong enough to be able to shift back to legs?"
Pearl looked at the kids before looking at her tail. She shifted herself in the tub and propped herself up on edge a bit so she could fully stretch herself out. Pearl frowned a bit as she took herself in. She looked battered with bruises littering her arms and a deep bruise across her chest and the palms of her hands where her spear was held against her. The small cuts all over her body were all just dark lines now. The deep wound on her tail and side were still dark and nasty looking but they were no longer bleeding and were also closed up. She was thankful the kids thought to put salt in the water for her. It really did help her body heal faster then it would of in fresh water or, worse yet, if she had been left out in the rain. Just sitting out there she was barely awake. She didn't remember reaching the lagoon or making it all the way here. All she remembered was swimming towards the beach and feeling such a strong magical pull that she didn't think about her own safety as she got out of the water and walked towards its source. Shes just so thankful that it was here that the magic was pulling her too and not somewhere horrible.
With a breath Pearl pulled herself up fully to sit on the edge of the tub. After flexing her tail she swung herself around and soon her feet were brushing the mat below her. From here she could see that the damage done to her tail only transferred onto one leg, right on her ankle. With a small smile she looked to Steven and nodded. Steven smiled back at her and offered her the shirt. Pearl took it and held it up to figure out which part was the bottom. After a bit of help from the kids Pearl had the shirt on and was looking it over. It was a baggy blue shirt with a gold star on it. Both kids watched as Pearl pulled the shirt from herself a bit to look at the star. She even poked it.
"Do you like it?" Steven asked. When Pearl looked up with a smile a nodded the kids smiled back. "That's good."
"We should get into the living room." Connie said looking out the bathroom door. "I can hear your dad muttering to himself out there."
With small giggles the kids looked to Pearl "Do you need help walking?" Steven asked.
Pearl looked at herself and slowly got to her feet. Her left ankle gave a bit from her wound but she quickly corrected her posture to stand upright. One she was sure she would be ok she looked to Steven and nodded. Steven smiled and as Connie left the room Steven offered Pearl his hand.
"It's ok." Steven said as Pearl just looked at him. "I just wanna hold your hand. You don't know the way around our house and if you need help walking I wanna be the one to help."
Sweet, isn't he? Pearl thought as she slowly reached out and took Steven's hand. The smile on his face got bigger and made Pearl smile a bit more in return. She could see bits of his mom in his smile. The kindness he had towards them at the lagoon and even more so now with helping her. He was such a sweet boy. Pearl never had much interest in humans before meeting Rose. She found them quite annoying but she couldn't help but follow this little boy. There wasn't a single bad bone in his body.
Steven guided Pearl out of the bathroom and to the living room. Greg was sitting on one of the chairs while Connie was perched on the arm reading over his shoulder. They both were looking intensely at a beat up book Greg had in his hand when the pair made it to the sofa. Steven had to show Pearl that sitting on the sofa was ok and not going to hurt her before she sat down next to him.
"Ok, Pearl." Greg said looking up from the book "I-Oh that shirt does look good on you. I knew bue was your color."
Pearl clicked gently and Greg smiled "Your welcome."
"Wait, you understood her?" Steven asked leaning forward in his seat. Pearl hadn't let go of his hand and she could feel his grip tighten a bit. Pearl stiffened in response but the excitement plastered across Steven's face confused her. Doing a quick look around she concluded that they weren't in danger so he must just be excited.
"Kinda." Greg answered to his son "This book was something your mother gave me before she passed. She said if I ever need to talk to them" Greg nodded at Pearl "That I would need to at least know the basics of clicking. Your mother always said I should learn but I never looked at it after she... Well its good that I still have it."
"So its like a study guild to learn how to talk to Pearl." Connie said "Or at the very least understand her."
"There's not much here Connie. I wouldn't classify it as a study guild." Greg said "So Pearl, what happened?"
The three of them looked to the mermaid and the mermaid just looked right back. Pearl had no desire to even talk to Greg, let alone tell him what had happened. The only person she was willing to talk to was Steven and even that was a stretch. She trusted them with more trust then she had with anyone since...
"Pearl." Steven said squeezing her hand slightly to get her to look at him "Why did you come here?"
Pearl looked at him for a few moments before she gently started clicking. She tried to keep her answer short since Greg was the one trying to translate for her. Said person was grumbling as he flipped threw the notebook before Connie took it from him.
"Hey-"
"She said she was... attacked. Right Pearl?" Connie said looking up. Pearl blinked in surprise and nodded her head. Connie looked proud and Pearl just was baffled. Pearl clicked a bit more and this time it took Connie a bit to translate. "Yes. Um, I'm getting most of the words except for a few... But lets keep going. If I can't keep up I'll just tell you to stop so I can."
"Wait, we need a system that will help for simple yes and no questions." Steven said turning to Pearl. "Something better then nodding your head."
"Like thumbs!" Connie said.
"Would that be ok?" Steven asked Pearl. She was very confused on what they were talking about but it didn't seem dangerous, especially since both kids were enthusiastic about it and Greg wasn't stopping them, so Pearl nodded.
"OK." Steven said raising his hand that wasn't holding Pearl's "Can you do this?"
Steven gave Pearl a thumbs up and he almost laughed at her expression. Poor Pearl looked really confused. She took her free hand and poked Steven's thumb. He held his tongue as her fingers danced over his hand. She would gently grab his wrist and rotate his hand before letting go. Pearl looked at her own hand, then Steven's, then back. She closed her hand slowly and held it just like his, a proud smile on her face for figuring it out. "You did it!"
Pearl flinched slightly "Sorry. Ok, Thumbs up like this is for answers that are yes or good and" Steven turned his thumb to face down "This is for no or bad. Is that easy for you Pearl?"
Pearl watched him flip his hand and she did the same. She turned her thumb up and down a few times before looking up at Steven again. She looked at her thumb and them held it up to Steven giving her answer.
"Good." Steven said smiling wide "This way you don't have to use too much energy or struggle to give us answers."
"Speaking of energy, Did the salt in the water help?" Connie asked. Pearl blinked looking at her before giving her a thumbs up "Oh good. We were worried that it wouldn't."
"Pearl, you said you were attacked. Did... Did you pod hurt you?" Steven asked.
Pearl looked at him in horror before thinking it over while giving a thumbs down. She turned up at his place here beaten pretty badly and bleeding everywhere practically. She was barely conscious when she stumbled her way through this, she think Rose called it a town once, before coming here.
"Did your pod get hurt like you?" Connie asked.
Thumbs down.
"Pearl." Steven asked getting her attention. "Do you know who attacked you?"
Thumbs down.
"It will be ok Pearl." Steven said with a confidant smile "Your safe here. No-one will hurt you long as your with us."
"Yea and when my mom calls me back she will know what to do to help you and your pod." Connie added.
"She will?"
"She knows more about them then we do and can probably find an easier way to talk to Pearl."
"Now hold on guys." Greg said speaking up. "There is probably something going on that's more then any of us possibly could understand. Pearl you being here is reason enough to assume whoever attacked you is probably still coming after you." Greg looked at her seriously "Which mean the car-wash isn't a safe place for you."
"But going with that logic the sea probably isn't any better." Connie said "If they followed her then she can't go back."
"But she can't stay on land for more then a day." Steven said "Amethyst said being in a bathtub could buy them a few hours more on land but there still on a time limit."
"And we don't know how long it took you to get here from the sea." Connie said.
"Pearl." Greg said "Do you know how much longer you have on land before your times up?"
Pearl frowned and gave a thumbs down. She doesn't know how long it took her to get here or how long she was asleep for in the tub. She wasn't even sure if the salt in the tub counted towards more time like fresh water. Not to mention she didn't even take into consideration that she mite of been followed. After getting out of the current she couldn't remember much.
"What happens... when you don't get back into the water in time." Connie asked slowly. Pearl just looked at her and just clicked once. No-one needed a translation. The haunted look on the mermaids face was enough of an answer.
Death.
"Ok." Greg ran his hands over his face before taking a breath and standing. "Ok, here's what were going to do. Were all going to go get in the van and go down to the boardwalk. I'll go to the lagoon and make sure its safe while you three hang on the boards. When I know its clear we'll bring Pearl there and get her in the water. From there will figure out what to do but Pearl, you mite have to stay with us for a bit while we figure out what to do. I know its not ideal and you don't like being up on land but its the best we can do until we figure out whats gong on. Is that ok?"
Pearl frowned. She didn't like that plan at all. She knew she needed to get back in the water and to her pod but she was afraid. She was afraid that whoever attacked her could be waiting for her. She feared for her pods safety. She saw the cave disappear and felt disconnected from them. She felt so alone and vulnerable. Her wounds weren't fully healed and she knew she was at a disadvantage on or off land. Especially if she was attacked again. Pearl was unhappy but saw no other option then to trust these three. They have done nothing but help her and have no ill intent towards her, plus her options were very limited.
Reluctantly she gave a thumbs up.
"Good." Greg said "I'll go make room in the van and meet you guys out front in a few minutes."
"Ok dad."
As Greg left out the front door both kids looked to Pearl. "Ya know, the shirt looks like a dress on you." Steven said.
"It's missing something though." Connie said putting the book in her hands down and getting to her feet "But I have something that mite fix that in my bag."
As Connie walked off Pearl looked at Steven funny. The boy just smiled up at her "It's nothing bad, don't worry."
Pearl simply nodded and they waited for Connie to get back. When she did she was holding a blue scarf in her hands. "This will help you look like your actually in a dress instead of just a big t-shirt." She said holding the scarf up. "May I put this on you?"
Pearl leaned back as Connie held the scarf out a bit. She eyed it wearingly and slowly reached out to touch it. It felt soft but itchy under her fingers. She supposed as long as it didn't touch her skin it should be fine. The kids haven't done anything to hurt her so she decided that this would be ok. Pearl nodded slightly and Connie asked her to stand. Once she did Connie told her to put her arms out. She didn't understand.
"Like this." Steven said standing next to her and raising his arms out at his sides.
"The Scarf is going to go like this." Connie said demonstrating on Steven. Pearl tilted her head a bit and gave a thumbs up before copying Steven's pose. Connie smiled and carefully wrapped the scarf around Pearl's stomach. The mermaids eyes didn't leave Connie's form as the small girl tied a pretty bow in the back to keep the scarf up. "There we go! Hows that?"
Pearl looked down and touched the scarf gently. It wasn't hurting her and made this shirt feel less weird on her body. She liked it well enough. Also if she suddenly had to get in the water she could shift out her tail and the shirt would still be ok to return after.
She gave a thumbs up.
"Good. Lets go see if my dads ready." Steven offered Pearl his hand.
"But first." Connie said making them pause. "Lets wrap your ankle up Pearl."
Challenger Deep, Heart of the Sea
The pod left in the cave had found there center by now and had calmed down enough to think on there situation more. They were still trapped but not hurt or being hurt. Silence filled the water around them and the runes had dulled slightly in there glow but were still red. Garnet was still sitting on the cave floor and meditating, Amethyst had stopped beating herself up and was just quiet, Peridot was floating on her back staring up at the cave ceiling like it offended her while Ruby and Blue had been having a quiet conversation for some time. Lapis was the only one still outwardly growling to herself but made no move to break the calm silence around her. Sapphire was the only one still moving. She kept going back and forth. She was reading every rune she could see and touch every one she could reach.
"You've been at that forever." Lapis said wrapping her arms around the crystal tops to idly watch the smaller mermaid swim back and forth "What are you doing?"
"She's listening." Garnet said.
"Listening?"
"Each rune makes a special sound when I touch them." Sapphire said "I'm listening to the ones that are responding to my touch now."
"Are you getting an answer?" Lapis asked sarcastically and got a slight glare from the light blue mermaid in turn.
"Not the answers I want." Sapphire said dryly "They don't want to answer me. I'm not who they want to respond to."
"Wait." Peridot said twisting around to look in Sapphire's direction "Are you suggesting we..."
"Yes."
"We do what?" Lapis asked "Who will they answer too?"
"Hold on." Amethyst said speaking up "You don't mean?"
"I'm afraid I do." Sapphire said. "Were going to have to call her."
"Is there another way?" Garnet asked opening her eyes. "Any other way?"
"If there was I would of found it by now." Peridot said "But as far as things go now we don't have another choice."
"What about Pearl and Jasper?" Blue asked softly coming into the conversation. "Shouldn't we wait for them?"
"Even if they did make it back to us it's a safe bet that Pearl has no idea how to make all of this-" Sapphire gestured around her "Go away. Pearl was never shone how to do anything with the runes like me and Peridot were. Shes not a Reader like us."
"So she is the only one who is going to be able to help us." Ruby said.
"If she wants to help us." Amethyst grumbled crossing her arms "Wasn't exactly a positive note we left her on."
"I'm confused." Lapis said "There's someone out there who can help us and your all afraid of her?"
"Not afraid but weary." Peridot said.
"She... We..." Amethyst took a breath "She did something bad to me, Garnet, Jasper and Pearl. Especially to Jasper and Pearl, before the rest of you joined us Lapis."
"I only know second hand from Jasper what happened." Peridot said softly "It wasn't pleasant and its not something the two of them want to talk about anymore then Garnet and Amethyst."
"Will she come if you call her?" Lapis asked
"I can only hope she isn't too mad still to want to help us if I do." Sapphire said.
"And if she is?"
"She will come and kill us."
"Oh, is that all." Lapis said throwing her hands up "Fantastic. I'm just loving this plan guys."
"Call her." Garnet said after a few minutes of silence.
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "I'm not questioning your Guardian status Garnet but is it really safe for us to call her? I don't want any of us, especially the two of you, to get hurt again..."
"If she does try she has to get through me first." Garnet said "I won't be caught off guard like last time."
Sapphire hummed and floated to the center of her little section. She touched all her fingertips together and turned her hands face down. She lined herself up under a specific rune and closed her eyes. The others watched intensely from where they could see. The mark on Sapphire's hand, symbolizing her as a mermaid and reader, started to glow white. Soon within her hands formed a light blue orb. Sapphire took a deep breath as soon a song filled the cave. It wasn't a song with words or of happiness.
It was a plea for help. A cry for there kin to come to there aide. To come protect the heart where they cannot. They can only hope that she would answer there call.
"The way you all talk about her..." Lapis said watching as a single rune glowed a deep green for a moment before Sapphire's song finished and the orb in her hands disappeared into the eathers "If were going to meet her, I want a name to put to a face."
The others looked around at each-other before Amethyst spoke up.
"It's Bismuth."
Somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, in a massive twist of ships and planes on the ocean floor, a single blue orb appeared. The only living thing in the wrecks of the dead listened to the message with cold dead eyes.