Océane's Rebellion

By L&L Diving Service

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It was ten at night and the cabin was silent and dark as its occupants slept in preparation for the next day (and their newest diver's first day on the job).

All of them that is... save one.

Océane was still wide awake, sleep eluding her, as she stared at the object of her recent insomnia — her mother's pendant. Shafts of gentle moonlight illuminated her bedroom as she caressed the piece of lapis lazuli attached to her neck, one of them hitting the rock, causing the blues of the precious rock to gleam, the carven letters standing out all the more.

"The Road to Truth is..."

Ever since the incident with the Mama Humpback earlier that day, Océane couldn't stop thinking about the strange sound that came from her pendant, and the events that came after. Was it really just water rushing through the pendant and making a sound, like her grandfather said — or was their new diver right and the pendant was somehow connected to the Song of Dragons? And what do these words carved into this pendant mean? "The Road to Truth is..." what?

The questions continued circling around in her mind, like dolphins trying to surround and herd a school of fish. With no answers on the horizon except speculations and guesses.

I know that my father's pendant — the one that I had lost all those years ago at the Deep Hole — is connected to all of this, I just know it! Her brow furrowed as her mouth formed a slight frown. But how do I get it? Grandfather's forbidden me from going to the Deep Hole.

Not for the first time, a feeling of annoyance rose within her at the thought of her grandfather. Océane loved her grandfather — dearly. But she wished that he wasn't so overprotective of her. She was almost fifteen for pity's sake — nearly an adult! She was mature and responsible... and did her fair share of the company's workload without complaint or inefficiency. She had been diving for as long as she could remember and hadn't gotten into any trouble to date (to her recollection). Besides, what dangers were there in the Deep Hole? There had been several reports of Tiger sharks that were known to hunt in that area, but it wasn't often. Honestly, the only danger in the Deep Hole was the Hole itself, and maybe even the rays that often hung around that area (but so long as she kept her distance, she'd be fine).

She had encountered tons of sharks in her lifetime, and most of them were completely harmless. And since their region didn't attract Great Whites and Hammerheads and other big sharks very often, the only dangerous shark that she had to watch out for were the Tigers — and she didn't see those often. And when she did, she often swam in the other direction... or even got back on the boat. They were more active during the dusk and night... and dawn as well, but not as active, to her knowledge.

Océane understood where her grandfather was coming from — and she sympathized with him — but his overprotectiveness over her was exasperating at times. A lot, actually. If he had had his way, her grandfather would've kept her from ever learning to dive. She just wished that he would trust her enough to be able to dive on her own without giving her so many rules.

Maybe grandpa will loosen up now that we have another diver who I can partner up with. That's what she was hoping for. If she was honest, she was excited; she couldn't wait to dive with her new co-worker. He seemed to know what he's doing and at the very least wasn't a rookie, judging by what she saw today.

Yes, she was very excited.

She then looked at the framed photo that was on her nightstand and grabbed it from its place. The gentle moonlight that illuminated her room shone on it, allowing her to see the photo contained within. In the photo was a picture of her parents, both grinning with excitement and totally in love. Her mother was pregnant with her and her father was embracing her from behind, his hands resting on the bulging belly where a growing-and-yet-to-be-born Océane was residing. Both were wearing the lapis lazuli pendants that her father had found not long before that photo, according to her grandfather.

A pang of sorrow hit her upon looking at her deceased parents, and her grip tightened on the pendant.

She never knew her parents; they had died when she was born — her father before that — leaving her with only a grieving Jean-Eric to take care of her, taking on the roles of both father and mother, raising her, educating her, protecting her... he had no help from anybody and did everything himself. With some exceptions, of course. But her parents would always be a mystery to her. Despite her best efforts, she hadn't been able to glean much about their past lives. Aside from the stories about her grandpa and father leaving France to the Paoul Republic in the South Pacific and starting L&L Diving Service, and searching for the Pacifica Treasure, of her parents' meeting and eventual marriage, and of her father's death, her grandfather didn't say much about her parents — her father in particular. It was like trying to pet a Tiger shark. She knew her mother more intimately, and her grandpa was more willing to talk about her. And asking for stories of their lives in France was tolerable for him to talk about. But anything concerning her Father save for the basic info caused him to shut down.

It hurt Océane that he was more willing to talk to the new diver about her father, Matthieu, than with his own granddaughter. She tried not to be jealous of how it hadn't been half a day and Jean-Eric had told the young man already of the basic info concerning her father, when she struggled to get him to open up when it came to her father. In fact, she couldn't recall her grandfather ever discussing their family history to his employees. There must be something about him that Jean-Eric connected with.

"Perhaps the strange sound that came from the pendant is connected to the Song of Dragons."

When she had heard her new co-worker say that, everything began to click in place. Could the pendants truly have something to do with the Song of Dragons? The only way to find that out was to find that other pendant. Only then would she have the answer.

And she was so close in convincing her grandpa to let her go to the Deep Hole. If only he wasn't so overprotective! Océane's eyes traced the outline of her father's face, and a fierce longing took hold. She put the framed picture back on her nightstand and turned on her back, no longer wanting to look at it. Her blue eyes are once again drawn to the pendant on her neck, and she found herself holding it again and studying it under the moonlight.

She was so relieved that her mother's momento didn't share the same fate of her father's pendant: to be lost somewhere deep in the sea, never to be found again. The cold grip of panic that she had experienced when her pendant came off her neck and was later picked up by the Mama Humpback was palpable. She feared she'd never see it again. Océane could not help but send a quick prayer of thanks to God that the recent addition to their team was there when he was, and was able to rescue her pendant. She probably thanked the poor guy several times for retrieving her pendant. (She really needed to find a way to secure it on her so that it wouldn't do that again.)

She figured that her grandfather would eventually have a talk with her about keeping better care of her things when he gets the chance, and she was already in agreement with what he would've said. If she lost her mother's pendant — the only thing left connecting her to her parents, aside from the business and Jean-Eric — to the sea's embrace, she would never forgive herself.

Océane fingers traced the carven letters on the pendant for possibly the twentieth time that night, the shape of each letter of each word burning itself into her memory until it was embedded into the recesses of her mind: "The Road to Truth is..."

What is the rest of the message?

An idea began to formulate in Océane's mind. She looked down at the pendant again, a glint catching her eye, as if whispering a challenge at her. She turned her head to look at her parents' picture again, the loving smiles on their faces causing her eyes to glisten in the moonlight. Her face then hardened as an expression of grim determination came over her.

No, she couldn't wait. There were unanswered questions that need solving and her pendant seemed to be the catalyst of it all — and it was pointing towards her father's pendant. If she could find it, then she and the others possibly might be able to make sense of the Song of Dragons and the mysterious Pacifica Treasure. And possibly be able to piece together what happened concerning her father's demise.

She had to do it. For her grandpa, for her mother, for her father...

For herself.

It was for everyone's own good, she decided. Even if her grandfather was too stubborn to admit it.

And so Océane made her plan. She would get up earlier than she usually did, before dawn, before the others woke up. Then she'll put on her wetsuit and oxygen tank and leave the island on her personal watercraft, where she'll head for the Deep Hole. By the time she got there, it'll be close to dawn, if not dawn altogether, and she'll dive towards the direction of Deep Hole through the Kelp Forest entrance. Once there, she'll begin searching for her father's pendant around the area and comb every inch, leaving no rock or harrassed mollusk unturned. Since the area was in itself not very large, she had high hopes that she'll find the pendant eventually. And when she did, she'll return to the Kelp Forest entrance and onto her watercraft, where she'll return to the island hopefully before her grandfather and co-worker woke up.

Simple.

Of course, Océane wasn't ignorant of the dangers. Besides rays, sea snakes, and rock debris (if she went inside the Deep Hole), there was also the possibility of running into Tiger sharks in the vicinity (the Deep Hole is one of their regular haunts when searching for prey, but thankfully not on a consistent basis), but most adult tiger sharks were usually active during either dusk or night and often swam towards deeper waters during the day to sleep. The younger Tigers, however, can be often seen, and even hunt, during the dawn/daylight hours. But she had checked the logs and there hadn't been any such Tigers in the area for a while; most of them were matured adults who preferred the dusk/nighttime hours to the daylight hours (though such predictions should never be assumed where sharks are concerned). But Océane was confident that she could find the pendant and leave before any Tiger sharks arrived to start their hunt.

And once she returned, it was likely that they would discover her absence. It was also likely that her grandfather would scold her for looking for the pendant. But she hoped that her finding the pendant would help justify what she did and would hopefully shine some light into the murky waters of this mysterious Song of Dragons and the Pacifica Treasure.

With her plan thought out, Océane finally settled into her bed, her eyes beginning to droop from fatigue. A yawn escaped her as she looked once again at her parents' picture, their smiling faces bringing her comfort. "I'll find your pendant, Papa," she vowed, her voice hushed. "And I'll reunite you both soon. I love you."

And with that, she closed her eyes... and slept.

Tomorrow was going to be eventful.

Little did she know just how eventful it was going to be.

Author's Note:

Ahoy, Endless Ocean fans! Welcome to my first work, not only on this profile, but for this amazing Fandom. And just in time for Mother's Week (because Mother's Day should be a WEEK long)! I would've gotten this done ON Mother's Day, but unfortunately time got away from me and I wasn't able to write this in time. *sad face* :'(

I thought about this little idea just recently and decided to write it — after watching some EO videos, since I don't have an EO2 to call my own *double sad face*. ;-;

Of course, after having this three-fourths written, I realized that this didn't really have anything to do with Oceana's mother, but rather both of them, and her father in particular. However, this is done, so I'm going to post it anyway. I WILL make plans on writing a fanfic that focuses on Oceana and her mother in the near future. I'll also try writing a fanfic for Memorial Day, however, I can't say when I'll get it done, if ever, due to my schedule.

Also, if you guys are wondering why I'm using Oceana's European name, rather than her NA name, is because Océane is less syllables and sounds better. Plus, since her paternal family members are French, might as well use their European names, in my opinion.

I hope I did this — and Oceana — justice and I hope that you guys enjoy this simple one-shot. I plan on writing about... one or two fanfics a month. Nothing drastic. I want to dip my toe in and test the waters before I commit to anything. If I have any extra time on my hands, I'll get ambitious and try writing more. But we'll see. Your support is always appreciated, and thank you so much for reading this. I hope you guys have a fun and pleasant Mother's Day, even in these times that we live in.

To all of you mothers out there: Thank you for all of your hard work and for nurturing us and parenting us. I know we're a lot of work, but thank you for sticking by us. I hope this story will be my gift to you guys. Happy Mother's Day. ^-^

Calm Waters and Happy Diving!

— L&L Diving Service