"Did I drink the right bottle?" Sheena groaned. She fell to her knees, clutching her stomach and Billy and Dr. D. were quick to follow, each of them looking at her with fear and worry in their eyes.
"Sheena? Can you still breathe properly? Are you feeling any different?" Dr. D. demanded, sounding scared. Sheena finally managed to look him in the eyes and open her mouth. All that came out was a loud Billy fell over onto his side with laughter, Sheena began to blush violently.
"Shut up, stupid! It wasn't that funny," she growled in embarrassment, the stomach pains already subsiding. Dr. D. only smiled in relief.
"Maybe it was just expired," he suggested.
"Maybe," Sheena replied, still blushing while Billy continued to laugh and mock her. Brothers could be so stupid sometimes! Couldn't they?
But as Sheena would soon come to realize, Dr. D. and Billy's first concerns were the most correct. In the middle of the night, Sheena woke up violently, feeling incredibly ill. Panicking, she sat up and looked into a nearby mirror. She nearly screamed when she saw fish-like eyes and a scaly face staring back at her. The only reason the scream never happened was because when she opened her mouth to shout, nothing came out. And soon, it felt like nothing was going in either. With each passing second, Sheena found it harder and harder to breathe. The terrified girl managed to make her way out of her cabin and onto the main deck, still desperately trying to call for help. But just like before, only the softest and most pathetic of gasps would emanate from her drying throat.
As the girl continued to run along the ship's deck, steps becoming increasingly uneven, she grabbed onto the boat's railing for support. She tried her best to keep on moving, but as another wave of nausea surged over her, she found herself relying too heavily on the boat railing for support. In her confused haste, she finally fell into the ocean, but the second she was submerged, she found herself suddenly able to breathe again! But even though her lungs were working, her body was still immobile. Sinking faster and faster, she could only give one last wail before the dark of the ocean and the dark of her mind finally swept her away…
While Sheena sank through the ocean, unconscious, a familiar presence drew ever closer to her. It was the mermaid Billy had met just last year! She could sense his presence through Sheena's and was confused, curious, concerned and keen as to why she could sense him in this part of the water. The moment she saw Sheena, though, she connected the dots at once.
"His sister!" she gasped to herself as she swam towards the sinking girl. Once she was close enough, she could see the scales on the girl's face and even though she didn't quite understand how or why, she knew at once what she was looking at. Determined, the mermaid scooped Sheena up in her arms and swam her back to the underwater cavern where she and the other mermaids lived.
For the next hour or so, the mermaids all debated on what to do with the human girl. Some said they should let her die, some said they should let her turn, some said they should try to undo the transformation and some said they should just send her home and let the other humans deal with it. It was the mermaid clan's shaman who had the final say, however.
"This is the sister of the boy who saved Coralina's life last year," the shaman said, looking at the mermaid who had brought Sheena in. "That boy did his best to save our sister. How can we do anything less than our best to save his?" And after she gave that impassioned little speech, she commanded for several ingredients to be brought to her. They were all going to be put into a potion that would alter the effects of what Sheena had taken. It could not undo the effects, but it could change them. If all went right, it would turn Sheena into a mermaid rather than a full-on fish.
"It isn't much," the shaman admitted as she brewed the potion. "But it's better than nothing!"
Once the potion was done, then, the shaman ordered for several others to force Sheena's mouth open. The shaman, meanwhile, took a large conch shell with the potion and poured into Sheena's mouth. The girl began to stir at once, thrashing because of the awful taste, but the mermaids held her firmly, keeping her mouth open and forcing her to swallow it all. Once the last drop had passed Sheena's lips, she fell asleep once again.
"Now," the shaman instructed Coralina, "Take her back to the surface, and stay with her until she wakes."
"Of course," Coralina replied, then she scooped Sheena back up and carried her to the place where she had first met Billy. A very fitting choice, Coralina thought. Then after she set Sheena down gently on a large, smooth rock on that part of the shore, she patiently waited for Sheena to wake.
By sunrise of the next morning, Sheena began to stir.
"Huh? Where am I? What happened?" she asked as she sat up, feeling dizzy. It was then that she realized her legs felt different…
She gave a strangled cry to see that they were gone! Her legs were gone! All that remained was a tail. And as she sat up, she also realized that her clothes were gone too. Obviously, her pants would no longer fit, but her shirt had been replaced by a seashell bra. And there was also a large, shiny coral necklace around her throat. What the heck? Where had it come from? It was lovely, but…
Sheena then realized she was outside, on the beach. While the confusion as to how she got there spun through her head, she leaned over to study her reflection in the water. She was overjoyed to see that the horrific fish transformation was gone (her face was smooth again and no longer scaly), but she was surprised to see that her hair was longer (and the tips were blue) and her ears were pointy.
"What's happening?" she asked herself softly, and to her surprise, she received an answer.
Coralina had been watching Sheena intently all night, and the moment the girl began to stir, she swam away temporarily to let the girl come to grips on her own. Then once she seemed calm enough, Coralina made her return and she explained everything to Sheena.
"My name is Coralina, and I was swimming out in the ocean last night when I could sense your brother's presence. Or rather, yours. You were sinking through the ocean, and when I fetched you, I noticed you were transforming. That's when I took you back to my home and we were able to reverse the effects of whatever was happening to you. Or at least, we tried our best.
"And I'm sorry about your clothes, but they weren't going to fit you anymore after you changed… That necklace, though? Consider it like a peace treaty. A gift of friendship. I knew you'd be scared, so I thought maybe giving you something like that would sort of calm you down. You'd at least know we have good intentions."
While Coralina told Sheena the story, several other mermaids began to appear, eager to listen in and finally, properly meet Sheena. But for a time, Sheena could only stare in disbelief. It made sense, she supposed, but it still seemed so impossible. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she figured that the reason she had been saved from the tragic fate of turning into a fish at all was because she was young and healthy. Despite drinking that fish potion, her immune system was hardy enough to fight its effects long enough for Coralina and the others to save her. She was very lucky, wasn't she? The thought alone made her shiver. If it hadn't been for Coralina…
"But what do I do now?" she asked worriedly. "Is there any way we can change me back?"
"I don't know," Coralina replied regretfully. "We've done all we could, but that's why we brought you back up here. We're hoping that maybe your family can finish the rest of the job…" she looked off in the distance, towards the place where Sheena's boat was.
"Oh! Right! I should get back to them!" Sheena cried. "Oh! What will they think?"
"Would you like us to come with you?" Coralina asked gently, trying to calm the girl's distress. "We may not be able to verbally explain our side of the story, but we can at least be there to support you."
"Oh, would you? Really?" Sheena's eyes filled with gratitude.
"You and your brother saved my life," Coralina replied. "Let me save yours." Then no further words were needed before the two left the rock on the shore and swam back towards Sheena's boat.
ooo
All while this was happening, Billy and Dr. D. were panicking.
"Where the heck is she? Where could she have gone?!" Billy demanded. What began as a normal morning for him and Dr. D. quickly turned sour after they both realized Sheena was nowhere to be found.
"Did she try to go swimming? And without a partner?!" Dr. D. sounded mad, but that was only to conceal his concern. It was a possibility, Sheena was young and reckless after all. She probably saw no harm in a quick dip on her own. But sometimes it was the little things that messed a person up in the end… But at the same time. Dr. D. wasn't sure. As spirited as Sheena was, and as much as she loved the water, she still didn't seem like the type of kid to go swimming in the ocean alone without at least telling someone.
"But where else could she be? She isn't hiding anywhere on the ship!" Billy sounded frustrated and annoyed, but like Dr. D., there was fear lurking underneath his outwardly angry appearance. Sheena being missing scared him a lot, even if he refused to show any fear. But behind his cross expression, his stomach was churning and he was shaking. He'd already scoured every inch of the ship, calling out for Sheena, but never once did she reply. He would've liked to say it was just some childish prank of hers, but he could feel it deep in his heart that it wasn't. Sheena was truly gone. This wasn't a joke and she wasn't just hiding. She truly was no longer aboard the Cassandra.
"So what do we do?" Billy asked at last, finally turning to Dr. D. for comfort.
"I'll call the coast guard soon," Dr. D. replied, eyes cold and hard, but he was still terrified. He hated having to call for help and confess such weakness, but if Sheena was in danger, Dr. D. was willing to do anything and everything to save her. If calling in the entire army was what it would take, he'd do it in a heartbeat, no matter how chaotic and embarrassing it might be. Sheen's life was far more important than that.
But because Dr. D. didn't want to cause too much unnecessary trouble, he decided to hold off on calling for just a few more hours.
"Let's get out there and see what we can find," he finally told Billy, gesturing for both of them to get ready to go out into the ocean themselves. Once they were properly suited up, Dr. D. went in first, offering to check the east side of the shore while Billy took the west.
"Be careful. Don't go too far. Yell if you need anything. Meet me back here in 15," Dr. D. commanded.
"Yes sir," Billy replied, then after Dr. D. gave him one last firm nod, they both parted ways, one of them swimming left while the other went right.
For 10 minutes, Billy tried to search all the places Sheena normally swam in. Every single one was empty.
"C'mon, Sheena! Where are you?" Billy whined nervously as he swam past yet another empty part of the shore. She was neither on land no in the sea. He could only hope Dr. D. had had better luck with finding her…
But Sheena soon became the least of his problems when he was suddenly aware of something large and dark moving towards him.
"Oh shoot!" he yelped. Then against his better judgement, he began to thrash, struggling to get back to shore ASAP. But such violent splashing only attracted the mysterious creature even further. The dark outline of it came closer and got bigger until something sharp pierced Billy's foot and that was all he needed in order to realize what it was.
"SHAAAAAARK!"
If Billy had been thrashing around before, it was nothing compared to now. Panicking, screaming and splashing like a maniac, he struggled to tear free from the shark's sharp teeth. In his haste, he failed to notice when two other dark figures swam up from the depths of the ocean and towards him. This time, though, the two new figures were more than a welcome sight. It was Sheena and Coralina. The two had already been on their way back to the Cassandra when they caught sight of all the thrashing.
"Oh no! Poor creature! It must be feeding time for the sharks!" Coralina mumbled sympathetically as she looked up to see all the white water. Sheena followed the mermaid's gaze and her own eyes and mouth went wide with terror as she realized what she was looking at.
"Wait! THAT'S MY BROTHER!" she could recognize him by the swim trunks and the legs. No other sea creature had legs. And none of them wore the same blue-with-yellow-fish-on-them swim trunks.
"Billy?!" now Coralina's horror and terror matched Sheena's, for she was still very fond of the boy who had once saved her life. Without even thinking, both of them sped towards the struggling boy, and the shark holding fast to his foot.
Although Sheena was not at all trained in water combat, Coralina was swiftly able to dispose of the shark, slashing at its gills with a sharp knife she kept concealed on her body. She started carrying it ever since her last encounter with Billy, on the night he saved her from being taken away from the ocean forever. It was a small, jagged, razor sharp piece of coral strapped to her hip, and now it was coming into very good use.
Slashing at the shark's gills and stabbing at its nose and eyes, she performed a barrage of relentless attacks on its most vulnerable body parts until it finally gave up and let Billy go, in too much pain to consider Billy worth the effort. It released its grip on the boy's foot and sped away. As vicious as sharks could be, they were not natural fighters and would be quick to flee if the right amount of pain was administered.
Once the shark was gone, Coralina turned a concerned eye up to Billy. Without the shark dragging him back, Billy was easily able to speed to shore, swimming like a madman and all but flying out of the ocean because of how fast he hit the shore. It would've been funny, had the situation not been so scary. And Coralina would've laughed, had she not felt so sympathetic for the poor boy. Sheena looked much the same way, watching him swim away with concern and amusement both in her eyes. But once they'd given him a few minutes to get out of the water and collect himself, that was when they decided to approach.
"Shall we?" asked Sheena.
"Whenever you're ready," Coralina replied, then they broke the surface of the water together.
"HOLY CRAP!" for the second time in 10 minutes, Billy's eyes and mouth went wide with terror. Seeing his sister and his old friend appearing in the middle of the ocean after a shark attack was the very last thing he'd ever expected to see, but here they were.
"Hey idiot!" Sheena waved at him cheerfully.
"Sheena?! Where the heck have you been!?" torn between anger, terror and embarrassment, Billy could only snap at her angrily.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sheena taunted back, in far better spirits.
"Yes I would! And what are you doing with the mermaid?!" Billy continued to huff. "Why didn't you tell me she was visiting?" while he continued to look angry, hurt and scared, Coralina gave him a sad smile before pleading gently with Sheena to go easy on him.
"Let's stop the teasing for now. We have a lot to tell him," she advised Sheena, and Sheena finally relented.
"Fine," she agreed, then she turned back to her brother with a more serious and apologetic smile. "You might want to sit down for this one…"
ooo
About 20 minutes later, everyone was reunited. Billy had run off to fetch Dr. D. while Sheena and Coralina remained on the shore. Once Billy came back, it was Dr. D.'s turn to give the comically wide-eyed stare. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for air, but no sound came out of him. At least not until Sheena retold him the tale.
"Incredible! Marvelous! Astounding!" the man gasped as he stared back and forth between Sheena and Coralina. Of course he was worried about Sheena, but the childish little nerd in him was exploding with excitement and wonder that the potion should've turned Sheena into a mermaid. And even more incredible to him was Sheena's ability to now talk with Coralina and basically act as a translator.
But because Dr. D. knew that scientists were still a sore topic for Coralina (for obvious reasons) he managed to reign in his excitement and keep a calm, polite visage, nodding gently at the mermaid and trying his best not to get too excited around her. He didn't want to make her nervous. So he kept on a formal appearance and tried to speak as quietly and rationally as he could.
"So, we know Sheena is safe. We know she is a mermaid. And we know that we have the other mermaids to thank for both of these things," he said. They were all very obvious statements, but just hearing them said aloud helped everyone else feel more organized.
"But is there any way to fix it?" Billy asked next, looking to Coralina for help. She only gave him a sad look and shrugged her shoulders. They didn't need Sheena to translate in order for them to all know what Coralina had just "said".
"Well, I'm not much of a chemist, but maybe I can try to "reverse engineer" another potion that will undo what the first one did," Dr. D. said.
"You mean like what the mermaids gave Sheena?" asked Billy.
"Sort of," Dr. D. stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If I can figure out what exactly was in that first potion, I could probably research a way just to make a potion that does the opposite. And I think that may be our only choice since it sounds like the mermaids don't have a cure either."
Dr. D. looked at Sheena. Sheena understood the silent command and turned to Coralina.
"You guys don't have another potion that could fix me, do you?" she asked, even though she knew the answer already.
"No, I'm sorry," Coralina replied ruefully. "The potion we gave you isn't one we have very much of. We almost never use it. Furthermore, as far as we know, it only works one way. It can turn a person into a mermaid, but not a mermaid into a person."
"Understood," Sheena sighed heavily. But then an idea occurred to her. "Wait. What Dr. D. just suggested was trying to make a new potion, but one that basically works backwards. Are you sure none of your mermaids can do that?" she asked Coralina.
"Well…" Coralina was hesitant. "We've never tried before, so I can't tell you that it's impossible, but I don't want to get your hopes up either."
"But would you be willing to try for me?" asked Sheena. "That's all I care about. I understand you may find it impossible to make a potion that turns a mermaid into a human, but surely you could at least try? Not a single one of your shamans would be willing to help?"
For the next few minutes, Sheena gently worked on Coralina until Coralina finally yielded. She wanted to save Sheena just as much as anyone else, but she was hesitant of enlisting her family for help. Even though she knew they'd be willing, this was such a big task that no one had any idea where to start and Coralina hated the idea of possibly bringing her family into a wild goose chase. They would try their best, she knew, but it would be so disheartening if they failed.
And again, their task only became that much harder because none of them had any idea where to start. The mermaids had never needed a potion to turn a sea creature into a human, and humans hadn't even realized that such potions existed until today! They had nearly no leads. But at the same time, Coralina was still willing to give it a try.
"Just don't get your hopes up, ok?" she pleaded with Sheena, not trying to be cruel.
"I won't," Sheena promised. Then she turned to Billy and Dr. D. "And nor will they."
"Alright," Coralina finally nodded. "Then let's get started."
ooo
Over the course of the next few days, the quartet went hard to work trying to find a cure for Sheena. While Billy and Dr. D. stayed on land, Coralina and Sheena under the sea. While Billy and Dr. D. studied every element, compound and chemical known to mankind, Coralina and Sheena studied every potion ingredient in the shamans' stores. While Billy and Dr. D. mixed and matched things from the Periodic Table of Elements in attempt to find their perfect chemical solution, Coralina and Sheena mixed and matched things from the shamans' many stone tablets, using chemical vents towards the deeper parts of the sea in order to try to make the perfect potion. The first duo studied science, and the second studied magic. And both finally began to enlist aid from others.
While Billy and Dr. D. made calls to other scientists and locals from the area, Coralina and Sheena enlisted the shamans and other close family and friends. The only difference here was that Billy and Dr. D. had to be more secretive, lying about what they needed the money, funds and chemicals for. They said they were running experiments for marine biology, which wasn't completely a lie. But it still wasn't the truth either.
"Not that they'd believe us," Billy snorted as he helped Dr. D. unload a new box of chemicals they'd ordered from one of Dr. D.'s scientist friends.
"I just feel a little bad about lying to him," Dr. D. admitted ruefully, but because he knew Billy was right, he didn't dwell on the guilt for long before getting to work trying yet another mixture.
But Sheena and Coralina were able to be far more honest, hiding nothing from the other mermaids.
"We need help trying to find a way to turn her back into a human," Coralina told her family and friends as she gestured to Sheena. They seemed surprised by such a bold request, but because they loved Coralina and still felt a deep debt of gratitude for Sheena, they had no trouble in accepting the request and doing everything they could to help Coralina and Sheena gather information and ingredients.
At long last, though, it was one of Coralina's closest friends who found the answer. She'd been working with one of the newer priests of the mermaid tribe and they, apparently, found a solution. It was the "final ingredient" to a potion that was nearing the brink of completion.
"It looks like all we need now in order to finish the potion is a rare type of pink pearl," the friend said to Coralina. "It's alleged magic should give us the boost we need to finish the potion and actually make it work! We're so close now! I can almost taste it!" she cried eagerly.
"But be warned," the young priest interrupted. "They are very rare and very hard to find. We know what they're made of, so we vaguely know where to find them, but the journey to fetch one will still be very dangerous."
"It will be worth it," Coralina promised the priest, and he finally (albeit reluctantly) explained a bit more about the pearls.
Apparently, what made these pearls special was that, although they were called pearls, it wasn't quite as simple as that. They were indeed formed in the mouths of oysters, as all pearls were, but it wasn't a normal oyster. Instead, it was one much larger, smarter and more aggressive than the usual oyster. Not that that was saying much. Oysters weren't really known for their intelligence. But because the pearls were made from this rare and almost magical type of oyster, they were able to generate a rare and magical type of pearl. Like the priest said, they were rare and hard to get, but in the few times someone had managed to snag one, they were quite powerful indeed.
"We have record of them being used for spells, weapons, charms and potions of all kinds," the priest said. "And we think we know where one or two may be found, but I want to warn you again that even if getting the pearl is easy, reaching and finding it will be hard."
"We're ready for it," Sheena replied confidently. And with Coralina backing her up, the priest finally gave them a map to the pearl's estimated location. It was very deep down. It would push them to their limits in terms of sea pressure. But it was not impossible to get to.
"I'd just advise bringing some glow-fish or something that can illuminate such merciless darkness," the priest said mysteriously, but Coralina and Sheena still would not be swayed. Instead, they returned to shore and waited for Billy and Dr. D. so that they could share this new bit of info.
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Dr. D. sounded worried about the idea of Sheena and Coralina going into such dangerous territory, but it didn't seem like they had much of a choice. Sheena and Coralina were both certain to hammer this message home into his head.
"We don't have a choice," said Coralina, having learned a bit of English through her time with Sheena.
"Besides, I'm not afraid!" Sheena insisted boldly. "I'll have help, not just from Coralina, but from whatever magic she has on hand! Surely the mermaids have a few potions to help them survive heavier areas of the sea!"
"That is true," Coralina confirmed.
"Oh, cool! Then can I come too?" Billy asked hopefully. Fun as it had been, helping Dr. D. work with dangerous chemicals, the boy couldn't deny some boredom with all the science crap. And he was a little jealous Sheena got to spend so much time with Coralina. And more than that, while he was studying boring old science, they were studying magic. He wanted in on the action for once!
"Absolutely not!" Dr. D. cried, aghast at the very idea.
"But-" Billy pleaded, and what ensued was a 10 minute argument between Dr. D. and Billy about whether or not Billy should be allowed to go.
"Sheena gets to go!" Billy whined.
"But this is her quest," Dr. D. reminded. "Besides I'd rather have her stay here!"
"I just want to hang out with Coralina and do something fun and cool!" Billy continued to whine.
"This isn't a game!" Dr. D. shot back.
"I know it isn't, but I just want to feel useful!" Billy argued. "The chemicals are starting to get boring… and stinky!"
And they carried on in this way before Coralina finally made a deal with Dr. D.: Let both Billy and Sheena find the pearl while Coralina and a squadron of the best mermaid guards of the tribe watched their backs.
"And we'll bring all sorts of extra potions to help them handle the pressure," Coralina promised. It still took a bit of time, but Dr. D. finally gave in.
"Fine," he mumbled with a sour frown. "But you'd better take good care of them."
"I will," Coralina promised back sincerely. Dr. D. shot her a warning look, but she was unphased. She understood that his anger came from a place of fear and love, so she didn't mind his rudeness.
"But I do think Billy has a right to join us," she continued, looking at the boy affectionately. "I want him with us, I'd choose no one else."
In response to the mermaid's compliment and tender look, Billy began to blush like fire, but he managed to keep a stupid grin off his face. Instead, he tried to look as serious as he could as he accepted the offer.
"I'd be glad to join you on your quest for the pink pearls and I promise to do my best!" he cried.
"Dork," Sheena muttered under her breath, snickering. Even if everyone else missed it, she'd seen the brief look of pure delight and embarrassment on his face when Coralina complimented him. What a doofus!
But with Dr. D.'s blessing, the group finally descended below the waves once again. This time, though, they went deeper than they ever had before. After giving Billy a breathing mask, and carrying some backup potions to allow him to breathe underwater in case the mask failed, the trio made their way to the deep sea cave the priest had talked about.
With a small squadron of mermaid guards following them down, Coralina led the way, the map in one hand and a bag of potions in the other. Billy and Sheena flanked her on either side, looking scared and excited at going on such a dangerous, exciting mission. And they swam down for what felt like an eternity before Coralina finally gestured for them to stop. Only through the dim light of the glow fish were any of them able to see Coralina's gestures.
"We're here," she said solemnly, and she pointed to a giant cave just 50 feet away. It looked like a massive mouth. Sheena and Billy both shivered in fear, but because neither of them were willing to back out, they only followed after Coralina obediently and swam right on in.
"Take this," she instructed, handing them each a big ball of seaweed. She tied the ends to a few stones jutting out from the mouth of the cave. "Now you guys can go as deep in as you wish. Just follow the line of seaweed back and you'll be at the entrance." It seemed like a risky move, but Coralina was having them split up. This was a pragmatic decision, and not one she was making lightly.
The way she saw it, although it was risky to split everyone up, that would allow them to search faster. Even if they had plenty of potions to help them survive the deep-sea pressure, it was an even dumber idea to tempt fate and risk it. So the faster they could search, the better off they were, and the only way to search faster was to split everyone up. But with the seaweed balls, the hope was that there would be harder to get lost.
"Everyone take a glow fish and spread out," Coralina commanded, handing everyone a wriggling, eel-like creature that shined like a glowstick. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. And because the fish were fairly domesticated, it wasn't that hard to keep them still. Then, once everyone had one, Coralina made the first move and swam down the central tunnel of the cave.
"You go left, I go right?" Billy asked nervously.
"Sure," Sheena replied, sounding equally scared. There was a moment of silence between the pair and all they could do was stare into one another's eyes… But because neither of them was really into sappy farewells, they just gave one another polite nods before splitting up.
"Good luck!" Billy whispered over his shoulder.
"Same to you!" Sheena called back, and then that was the last either would see of the other for a good couple hours.
At long, long last, though, Sheena found the pearls.
"Woah!" she gasped at their beauty and radiance, seeming to emit power and light despite being so small and ordinary. There were more than expected and she was swift to grab as many handfuls as she could. Even if they only needed a few, Sheena decided to take the lot, privately celebrating her luck at finding so many. And she was just glad to finally be able to go home! As safe as this journey had been so far, it was scary having to swim alone in the dark for so long. The pearls were a sign to her that her job was done and she could finally go home!
"Woo hoo!" she cheered softly to herself as she grabbed the last of the beautiful little pearls, feeling warmth radiating from them. But halfway back out of the underground cave system, who should she run into except the sea monster that attacked Billy the previous summer? She didn't even have time to scream before it lunged at her…
At the same time, Billy was feeling miserable, annoyed and embarrassed. Despite how long and hard he'd searched, he hadn't found a single pink pearl and he could only hope that someone else had, or else he'd feel like a real idiot coming home with nothing.
"Stupid pearls!" he cursed, waving his glow-fish around in desperate attempt to find even the smallest of pearls. Nothing. But even though he found no pearls, he did manage to find the sea monster. He caught sight of it swimming up ahead and he nearly wet himself in terror. The only thing that kept him still and silent was the realization that the creature was actually swimming away from him rather than towards.
"Whew!" he breathed to himself as the last of the monster's long tentacles vanished from view. He'd never been so terrified in his life than in that singular moment when he first caught sight of the hideous beast sliding through the dark caves. What a jumpscare! He was so glad it wasn't-
"AHHHHH-"
In a jumpscare even worse than the first, Billy felt his heart suddenly shoot out of his chest again. This time, though, a bone-chilling dread accompanied the initial fright of being startled while alone in a dark, underwater cave. Without even meaning to, Billy shouted back.
"Sheena!" and in a split-second decision, he went swimming after the monster. It was a dumb and dangerous idea to be sure, but if he didn't act now, Sheena could very well die, and Billy simply could not allow that to happen. Little kid or not, he was going to do his best to save his sister, even if he was terrified out of his mind at the thought of confronting the sea monster in a dark, lonely place like this.
"Sheena!" Billy shouted again once he drew closer to the sea monster. Sure enough, the thing was trying to grab the wriggling mermaid with its many tentacles, but Sheena was fighting hard to dodge every blow. Hearing him shout distracted both her and the monster.
"Uh oh…" Billy gulped when he saw the monster turn on him. But before it could even make the first strike, Sheena did a daring thing and pried a stone off the cave wall before using it to slash at one of the monster's tentacles. All it did was scratch the beast, but it was so unexpected that the thing gave a ghastly bellow of pain before turning back around on Sheena. That inspired Billy to do the same and the two were able to play this back and forth game for a couple minutes while Sheena tried to make her way over to Billy and out of the trapped corner she was currently in.
Another boost came only a few minutes later when a large, shining trident suddenly flew through the water and embedded itself in the sea monster's side. It was one of the mermaid guards.
"Thank goodness!" Billy gasped, reaching out for Sheena and pulling her the rest of the way over to him. "Let's go!" he urged. He felt bad about leaving the mermaids to fight the sea monster alone, but he had enough sense to know he and Sheena would be better off trying to flee rather than fight. They'd do nothing but get in the way if they tried staying, even if fleeing felt dishonorable.
"But what about-?" Sheena began, looking troubled.
"They have tridents and training, we don't," Billy replied grimly. "I don't want to leave them either, but it's what they would want, so we have to trust that they know what they're doing. Now let's go!" he repeated urgently. Sheena gave him one last helpless look before one of the monster's tentacles accidentally hit her right in the head and knocked her out at once.
"Sheena!" Billy panicked as she slumped against him, unconscious. Coralina caught sight of the incident as it happened.
"Swim! Billy! Swim!" she pleaded. He turned around to look her in the eyes, terror and apology in his face, but she only continued to wave him off as she and the other mermaids continued to distract the monster.
"I'm sorry!" Billy cried out to her, then adjusting Sheena in his arms, he followed his seaweed trail back to the mouth of the cave, leaving the sea monster and the others buried in the dark behind him as he fled…
ooo
Despite the intensity of the battle, however, Billy was not kept waiting for long. Coralina and the others managed to successfully scare the sea monster deeper into the underwater cave and as soon as it had fled, they made their own escape and swam after Billy. Furthermore, because they were all mermaids, they were able to swim much faster than he was. As such, even though he returned to the mermaid court first, he didn't need to wait long before the others followed suit. And luckily, none of their numbers were lost.
"Coralina!" Billy was infinitely relieved as he caught sight of her swimming over. The two even embraced in their relief and joy before Coralina pulled away to ask about Sheena. She was still unconscious, but it was clear that she would live.
"And best of all, she somehow managed to keep the pearls," Billy gave a weak laugh, gesturing to a satchel hanging by her bed. It was full of the magical pink pearls. Coralina nearly wept with joy and amazement.
With the pearls in the hands of the shamans and priests, it didn't take long for them to complete Sheena's cure.
"Take her back to the surface and give it to her there," Coralina instructed, handing the vial to Billy. "And tell her that I'm glad she made it out ok and that I am beyond honored to be her friend."
"I will," Billy promised back.
"And don't worry," Coralina added. "I'm beyond honored to be your friend too," she gave Billy another gentle smile and, for the second time, he felt himself growing red. But just like before, he managed to keep his cool and nod politely.
"You too, Coralina, I'm so glad I got to see you again. You're a great girl and I'm so happy we're friends!" he said, then the two exchanged one last hug and smile before Billy reluctantly slid out of her arms to take Sheena back home.
The next time Sheena woke up, she was in her bed on the Cassandra and, to her delight and amazement, her legs were back!
"Look who's finally up!" Dr. D. was the first voice she heard and she looked over to see him standing at her bedside, grinning from ear to ear.
"Dr. D.!" she cried in delight.
"And me too!" Billy pretended to gripe. "Can't forget about the guy who saved your sorry tailfin!"
"Oh, shut up," Sheena stuck her tongue out at him.
"I mean, no such thing as a sea monster, right?" he teased.
"Oh, shut up, stupid," Sheena repeated.
"Hey, stupid just saved you from being lunch, ok?" Billy pretended to warn her.
"Oh, whatever, it was me who got the pearls after all!" Sheena reminded him.
And the two continued to banter a bit while Dr. D. only watched with a relieved smile on his aged face. Normally, he would've asked them to stop fighting, but for once, he was too grateful to care. It was just good to have them both back and back to normal again!
But after the light bantering was over, Dr. D. and Billy both explained everything that Sheena had missed. Billy explained how he'd carried her back to the mermaid court where they finished the potion for her. After that, he carried her back to the Cassandra where Dr. D. added in his chemical mixture before injecting it into her while she slept. It was during that time when she transformed back into a human.
"And now that you're back, we'll give you some privacy," Dr. D. said knowingly before removing himself and Billy from the room. Because of her transformation back into a human, all Sheena had on was the necklace and shell bra. Blushing like fire from embarrassment, she was quick to hop out of bed and pull on some clothes. It felt so nice to wear pants again!
A while after that, Sheena returned to the main deck, still in the shell bra, but now wearing shorts. Coralina and the others were all swimming around the Cassandra, eager to hear how Sheena's recovery was going. Billy and Dr. D. were leaning over the boat's railing to explain.
"And look who it is! The girl of the hour!" Dr. D. smiled as he caught sight of Sheena approaching. He waved her over and as soon as she leaned over the railing, all the mermaids cheered in delight and relief, Coralina being the happiest of all. The two families continued to exchange words and thanks for a few minutes more before Sheena presented Coralina with a gift. It was a necklace made of pink pearls. The mermaids had given Billy a handful to give to Dr. D., but he ultimately only needed one. This gave Sheena the chance to use the rest for a necklace for Coralina.
"Just like the one you gave me," she touched her throat where the large coral pendant still hung. Coralina trilled in delight before proudly donning the pink pearl necklace, smiling as her kin cheered her on.
"Thank you!" she told Sheena.
"My pleasure," Sheena replied happily. But then came the harder conversation: saying goodbye.
"We're sorry to see you go, since we consider you a sister now," Coralina told Sheena. "But you'll always be welcome whenever you choose to return to us… All of you," she gave a fond look to all three humans towering above her and they all bowed their heads in gratitude.
"Whether you stay for a little or forever, we'll always welcome you back," she said.
"Oh don't worry, we'll be back!" Billy answered confidently, already having it in mind to come back to this place as often as he could. Coralina smiled up at him, relieved to hear him say that.
"I look forward to the day you three return. We all do," she said, and then, with that, the two groups exchanged one final farewell before the mermaids departed back to their court. At the same time, the three humans began their journey back home.
It was sad having to part ways, but they all already knew that theirs was a friendship built to last and there would be many more glorious adventures in store for them yet, and with the knowledge of that in mind, they were all able to smile even as they each had to return to their respective homes.
AN: Thanks to Professor Blue Phoenix for commissioning this, sorry it took me so long to get it posted!