TW: BLOOD


Chapter 42: Trio

"-his eyes, his hair, his voice ooh everything about him is absolutely wonderful!" Ariel gushed as she did multiple twirls, "I've never felt like this before! It's an incredible feeling! I feel like I could take on the world!"

"Don't say that!" Sebastian cried out, "My nerves can't stand it! If anything, anything happened to you, your father would-"

"-and he's sweet, he has a furry…furry…. what do you call them? Oh, dogs! He has a cute furry dog and-"

"-are we almost there?"

Mindy's voice cut through the lovestruck mermaid's rant.

It came off a little more harshly than she'd intended. She was much too tired to care though. All that mattered was solving the stupid riddles, finding the stupid time capsule, and gaining a new stupid power to rub in The Projectionist's stupid face.

Ariel deflated a bit, but wouldn't let anything deter her from her happiness. "Yes…just past this last drop-off is the Tidal Pool. We have to go there in the daylight to avoid accidently waking the creatures that live there. Then, we'll dive to the bottom and that's where the jagged caves are. We'll continue swimming down until we reach an air bubble where the most beautiful shells are. It was our favorite spot to collect for our friendship necklaces, remember?"

"I don't." Mindy admitted in the middle of a yawn, "I'm sorry, but I don't…and I don't think that I will for a long time."

"He really hurt you, didn't he?"

Mindy's head snapped forwards in an instant, "Who?"

"The Projectionist." Ariel elaborated, "Erasing your memories…I don't know what I'd do if I was separated from my friends and family without given a choice and without my memories to remember them bye. You're so brave."

Mindy bit back a sigh of relief, "I don't feel brave…but thanks anyway."

"No problem!"

As Ariel hummed a random tune and Mindy drowsily hummed along with her (she and Peter started bantering about her singing voice), Dakota fell in wade with Scarlett. He made sure to put some extra distance between them and the others so that they wouldn't eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hey…I don't want to seem like I'm prying…okay, that's exactly what I'm doing. What did she say to you last night? Did she say anything about me?"

"Sorry, but she never mentioned you." Scarlett shrugged, "She'd had a nightmare and swam to the surface to be by herself, and I just so happened to be there to pick up the pieces. Before you ask, no…she didn't tell me what it was about. I think she's been having a lot of those lately. Don't worry Davendork, I promise that you'll be the first to know if I ever suspect her to have any unrequited feelings for you."

"You're a real one Bloom and Gloom."

She gave a tiny smile in response. Her eyes flicked back-and-forth between the canyon they were swimming over, and the happy wholesome boy beside her. Coming to a decision, she blurted out the question that'd been plaguing her.

"How do you feel about her?"

Dakota tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"Back at Baker Street, you said that you didn't even consider the possibility of you two becoming a couple… Has that changed at all? I guess what I'm trying to ask is, do you hope that there could be something more between you?" Scarlett urged.

He hesitated.

"I don't know…it goes without saying that I love Mindy with all my heart, but I don't know if we would be compatible together. That's not to say that I don't want a serious relationship with her sometime in the future though. It's complicated…I suppose it depends on whether I'm attracted to her or not."

"And, are you?"

"We both know how amazing Mindy is." Dakota lounged on his back as he counted the reasons on his fingers, "She's cute, smart, and funny when she's not trying to be. She could stand to be a bit more laid back as opposed to manic and on the verge of a nervous breakdown but that's what makes her, her. She's the kind of person that gives one-hundred percent in everything that she does and even when things aren't as perfect as she wants them to be, she manages to pull through every single time…all in all, she's-"

"-what're we talking about?"

The pair whipped their heads forwards simultaneously, "Nothing!"

"Okay, okay, no need to shout it from the rooftops." Peter raised his hands and backed off.

Scarlett cleared her throat, "What we mean is, it's boring grown-up stuff that you wouldn't understand. Trade stocks, how shitty the economy is right now, capitalism, communism, that sort of thing."

"Nope, not buying it." The boy-who-wouldn't-grow-up shook his head, "You two are definitely hiding something! Don't worry, I'll find out what it is soon enough!"

"We're here, follow me!" Ariel called before leaping up-and-out of the sea.

Mindy exchanged glances with her friends before they one-by-one followed their guide. When they reached the surface, they landed on the cliffside and dipped their tails into the waters of the Tidal Pool. A thriving community of starfish, anemone, urchins, horseshoe crabs, stingrays, seahorses, and thousands upon thousands of multicolored fish met their eyes. It looked like a miniature underwater city with marbled coral-and-conch shell houses, and streets lined with seaweed and kelp.

In the center of the pool was what appeared to be a vast, bottomless, black hole…

Mindy's eyes narrowed, "It's beautiful…but the only reason we have to go in the daylight is because of the sea folk that live here?"

"I'm pretty sure it is." Ariel replied, "Why? What else could it be?"

"You know what, forget I said anything. I trust your judgement."

Mindy sucked in a breath, and plunged into the crystally clear waters.

The rest of the entourage followed her lead and together they made their way to the middle before descending into the Jagged Caves. Mindy removed The Amulet of Illusions, and pressed the golden gem to act as an impromptu flashlight.

They waded in silence for a solid hour.

The cave walls weren't flat. The corrosion and age had naturally formed them into harsh, zig-zagged, slightly curved structures. Hence, giving them the name the Jagged Caves. They reminded Mindy of abstract art pieces made out of scrap metal. It was a constant struggle to squeeze their bodies through the crevices, and the thick muddy, seaweed-stridden water certainly didn't make matters any easier (it kept sticking to their tails, slowing them down even as they pushed with all their might).

They reached the air bubble Ariel had told them about.

Bioluminescent shells of every size, shape, and color lined the enclosed walls. Somehow, they could emit whispery noises despite the lack of a breeze; almost like singing. Each shell had a different tone. It didn't sound cacophonous and each note had its own place, casting a tantalizing melody that drifted through the air.

Mindy hauled herself onto the shore and the Amulet of Illusions encased her in another blinding, white cocoon. When the light faded, she'd become human again (thankfully, she was clothed). Peter, Dakota, and Scarlett followed and Alistaire provided all of them with legs as well. Ariel tried to join them, but the amulet didn't do anything to alter her appearance.

"Well, that's not fair." She pouted.

"Sorry." Mindy blushed, "They sort of have a mind of their own."

An idea sprung to her mind.

She pressed the golden gem on the amulet, and scooped a handful of pixie dust into her palm. Mindy sprinkled it onto the mermaid princess, and in an instant she was airborne. Ariel laughed and whooped in delight as she propelled her tail in mid-air. She zoomed back-and-forth through the cave with the biggest smile Mindy had ever seen.

Ariel stopped with one last lingering giggle before giving her a touched expression, "Thank you Mindy."

She nodded, "What're fin twins for?"

Mindy stepped further into the chamber and picked up one of the shells at random. It was shockingly heavy, about the weight of a large brick. Speckles of cream-colored polka dots coated its luminescent surface, and contained silvery zig-zagged shapes.

Sebastian's eyes darted back-and-forth as he skittled across the cavern's shelves, "I have a bad feeling about this place mon."

Ariel rolled her eyes, "You have a bad feeling about every place I drag you to Sebastian. I told you that you could've stayed behind with Flounder and the others to guard the Grotto in case the Atlanteans came back."

"Not a chance." The crustacean protested, "Do you know what your father would do if he found out I let you out of my sight to go off on a dangerous treasure hunting adventure in the Great Tidal Zone?!"

Scarlett tilted her head, "What's so dangerous about it anyway?"

"I…I…I actually don't know." Sebastian answered, "But-but it's near the surface! And the surface is-"

"-is forbidden yeah." She cut in, "I get the picture."

"No, I think there is something dangerous here."

Dakota glanced up from the clamshell he was looking into, "What was that kiddo?"

"Nothing." Mindy shook her head, "It's just that…I feel like there's something we're missing. Something that we've both forgotten." She locked eyes with Ariel, "I just had a thought. What if the countless loops The Projectionist put you through messed with your head? And if that's true then maybe it's not just you that was affected by his manipulation. Maybe, other characters were affected too."

Ariel floated down to get eye-level with the distraught princess and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Then that gives us more of a reason to find this time capsule as soon as possible…and we will find it."

Maybe it was her naïveté, or her soft, reassuring smile, but Mindy found herself feeling more optimistic about the current status of their quest. "Then let's get looking."


"Lift your gaze to the heavens above. Know that you're safe in the moonlight's embrace and dream of sweet things my dove…"

"What are you singing?"

Scarlett could've sworn she felt her soul freeze then and there, "Oh uh, just your typical anxious ramblings, that's all."

"I don't think that's it." Jiminy leaned on his umbrella, "It sounded an awful lot like the lullaby Mindy sang to you the other night."

"And if it was, how is that any of your business?"

Jiminy's own inner-conscience told him to back off, but he couldn't help himself, "Forgive me if this is a too forward question, but what kind of nightmares-or rather, what kind of night terrors do you have that are so bad that Mindy has to do something as drastic as sing to you to snap you out of them?"

"Okay, that was a too forward question." Any trace of humor that might've been there before had vanished from Scarlett's voice, "I don't mean to be rude, but you're supposed to be Mindy's conscience/psychiatrist/therapist or whatever. Not mine. Capiche?"

"I'm not your enemy here Miss Bloom." The good-minded cricket insisted as he raised his hands up, "I want the same thing you do, and that is Melinda Maye Singh's safety in both physical and mental health. But just because she's my client, doesn't mean that I'm excluded from helping her friends with their emotional problems."

Scarlett sighed, "Look, I appreciate that you want to help me. I get it, it's your job. But my 'emotional problems' are my business and I'd appreciate it even more if you dropped it. You don't see me randomly asking about how you became homeless at the beginning of your movie."

Jiminy winced.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a crystal-clear musical note.

Everyone whipped their heads around to see Mindy's hand hovering over a pearlescent white shell with what looked like diamonds encrusted into it. The shell vibrated as the sound reverberated throughout the chamber.

Sebastian broke the silence, "That was C4."

"Sea…what?" Peter asked.

"C4." The crustacean clarified, "Otherwise known as middle C on the piano."

Dakota scratched his head, "How…how'd you do that Mindy? And how did you know that it was a C note?"

"I didn't." She shrugged, "I dunno, I was listening to Scarlett singing an old lullaby I know, and tried listening to the different sounds around me in order to find the right shell that played the starting note of the chorus. When I did, I hit it."

"We could help you out." Ariel suggested, "How does it go?"

Mindy's cheeks flushed, "This isn't even important. We should be focusing on finding the next clue. I was goofing around that's all."

"Well maybe that 'goofing around' could point us in the right direction." Dakota said, "After all, we were joking around while we were being held captive in The Jolly Rodger's Brig."

"And you just so happened to figure out that letting loose was the way to go about balancing logic and impulse back when you were being contained in the Queen's Chambers." Scarlett chimed in before adding, "You know, before you tried to knock me out with a candlestick."

Mindy giggled at the memory, "I said I was sorry about that."

"Well to be fair, you are kind of a knockout."

"What?"

"Nothing! Um, the chorus goes like this." Scarlett coughed before a sweet, operatic tone peeled from her throat, "Sleep, sleep well my rose my love. Lift your gaze to the heavens above. Know that you're safe in the moonlight's embrace and dream of sweet things my dove…"

Dakota gaped, "I didn't know you could sing."

"That's because you're the type of person who wouldn't even notice if an atomic bomb blew up our school,"

"I resent that, but at the same time I can't find a point to contradict you,"

Ariel asked her to repeat the phrase one more time, "The first two words are an octave apart. A C4 to a C5."

"C4, D4, E4, F4, G4-" Dakota counted the shells as he walked down the rocky shelf, "-A4, B4, ooh! Here it is, C5!" He stuck the blue-and-purple shell with a confident brace-face smile, but the note that rang out wasn't a C5, "Or…I'm tone deaf."

"Hang on." Sebastian rubbed his chin with his claw. Having a thought, he jumped from the shelf to the floor, and drew a capital C in the sand, "C notes go here, D notes go here-"

He scuttled down the line, drawing D, E, F, G, A, and B in the sand. As he did this, Mindy took the white shell she'd hit before and plopped it into the C pile. Dakota figured out that the note he'd played was an A5 and placed it into the A pile. Together, Ariel, Dakota, Jiminy, and Sebastian tapped the shells, identified their notes, and put them into their respective stacks. Since Mindy, Peter, and Scarlett were left out of the music theory loop, they had to pay close attention to the sounds of the notes in order to sort them. If they weren't sure about a note, they'd ask one of the experts to confirm what sound it was, and place it in its proper pile.

Peter gave up after about three shells, and sat back to watch everyone else. Mindy didn't blame him. It was as if she and Scarlett were learning another language as they painstakingly went through the shells. At one point, Mindy hit a wall. She kept striking an orange-and-black shell until she was forced to ask Jiminy for help.

"That's funny…that's a D-flat?" He scratched his head with a sigh, "Oh dear."

Mindy didn't even ask what that meant.

Her head hurt too much already.

Jiminy created even more piles labeled: C#, Cb, D#, Db, etc. At this point, Scarlett and Mindy became too burnt out to continue, and sat beside Peter to observe the process. Once they were done sorting, they spent another couple of hours arranging the shells into an impromptu piano on the floor. In the meantime, the three slackers played countless games of tic-tac-toe in the sand until the music nerds announced that the massive keyboard was complete.

"In retrospect, we could've asked Scarlett sing the song so we could decide which notes to single out." Jiminy rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, "It would've saved us a lot of time."

"Where's the fun in that?" Ariel teased.

Dakota cracked his knuckles before kneeling in front of the shells, "Would you mind singing that song for us again Bloom and Gloom?"

Scarlett stood and turned to face the others, "Let's hope this works,"

Ariel and Sebastian sat beside Peter on the cavern floor. Jiminy hopped to his usual place on Mindy's shoulder. Scarlett cleared her throat, and nodded to Dakota. Floaty, ethereal notes combined to form a delicate instrumental as he started to play the makeshift keyboard.

"As sun sets today, the clouds kiss you goodnight," Scarlett sung, "As darkness comes your way, know you'll be alright. The stars will shine above you, nightlights while you dream. The shadows that surround you, aren't as scary as they seem to be…"

Mindy swallowed as a fluttery sensation filled her chest, and rose to her cheeks. Scarlett's voice was as warm as a hug from a loved one, and held a gorgeous natural vibrato that rivaled even the Little Mermaid's. Clearly, she'd bewitched everyone in the cavern, but no one was more spellbound than Mindy.

"Sleep, sleep well my rose, my love," Scarlett cooed, "Lift your gaze to the heaven's above. Know that you're safe in the moonlight's embrace, and dream of sweet things my dove,"

Everyone looked up in awe when all of the shells glistened, and steadily rose into the air. Dakota watched in dismay as the keyboard left his fingertips, but there was no need for him to play anymore. The shells had picked up the melody where he'd left off.

They spun in a circle around Scarlett with her next verse, "As you close your eyes, remember where you are. And until sunrise, count your lucky stars,"

The shells floated above her head, and illuminated the cavern in hues of blue, violet, and silver. With a start, Mindy realized they mirrored the countless galaxies and constellations of the night sky. She found the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, and even the Second Star to the Right amongst the cluster.

"Your fears and doubts beneath you, here inside your dream land. I'll cherish and protect you, just by holding your hand…holding your hand…!" Scarlett's voice soared along with the invisible orchestra sweeping around her. She closed her eyes and lost herself in song, "So sleep, sleep well my rose my love! Lift your gaze to the heavens above. Know that you're safe in the moonlight's embrace and dream of sweet things my dove!"

The stars created by the shells settled into a spherical shape on the ground around Scarlett's feet. Instinctively, she stepped into the center and it made a resolute click! The shells sank into the ground right as the song came to a close.

"And dream of sweet things my dove..." Scarlett almost whispered.

Mindy didn't hesitate to start clapping. She was still reeling from the performance that she almost missed the wall behind Scarlett slide open; revealing a secret chamber. The others burst into applause, which snapped the singer out of her trance. Scarlett gave an awkward curtsy whilst trying to hide her blush.

Mindy bounced up to embrace her, "You'll never cease to amaze me,"

Scarlett's heart buzzed from the compliment. She returned the gesture, squeezing a bit tighter than she meant to. Scarlett gave a small yelp when Dakota popped up between them, and joined in on the hug. A stab of disappointment pierced her, but she brushed it off just as quickly as it'd come.

"I can see now why you two wouldn't shut up about the Rat Trap," Scarlett forced a light chuckle, "That was truly a surreal experience. It was like I was possessed or something,"

"Welcome to the Spontaneous Musical Number Club!" Dakota gushed.

"Hey guys?"

The trio detangled themselves at the sound of Peter's voice. He hovered over a faded yellow parchment sticking to the cave wall inside the now-open chamber. Pan scratched his head with his tongue sticking out, "Can one of you grown-ups read the next clue? There's a word here I don't understand!"

Mindy padded up to the clue, and ripped it off the wall before reading it aloud:

#3

Congrats on finding this clue fin twins, now is where the fun begins. Go to a place with fins of stone, and where no one is ever truly alone. Flash mobs happen there every day, so feel free to dance the night away!

"What the heck is a 'Flash Mob'?" Peter blurted out.

"Ah flash mobs," Dakota sighed wistfully, "The Harlem Shake, Todrick Hall, Improv Everywhere. A staple of the early 2000s. Such a simpler time."

Peter frowned, "You're not making a lick of sense,"

"A flash mob is like what you Disney characters do," Mindy explained, "Break out into song-and-dance at the drop of a hat. In the Otherworld, that's not a normal occurrence, so people sometimes do it as a fun prank to pull in public places. Nonetheless, this clue is the most confusing one we've gotten so far. What does fins of stone mean, and what does that have to do with flash mobs?"

Everyone took a few moments to think about this…then, Ariel suddenly squealed, "Ooh! Ooh! I know! Mermaid Rock! It's called that because it's shaped like a mermaid's tail. It's right along the outskirts of Atlantica, and it's where musicians go to rehearse for concerts,"

Sebastian huffed, "That's where you should've been yesterday instead of squabbling around shark-infested shipwrecks,"

"I already said I was sorry a bajillion times!"

"Ariel, you're a genius!" Mindy chirped, "Come on gang! Let's get-"

A low rumbling sound cut her off.

The ground shook as the shells formed three piles, which surrounded them in a triangular shape. Peter and Mindy withdrew their weapons, Scarlett guarded Dakota, and Ariel took to the air with a trembling Sebastian in her cupped hands.

Mindy opened her mouth to ask what was happening, when the shells swirled upwards in mini whirlwinds. When they drifted back down, they uncovered three eerie figures. They would've looked like mer-people if it weren't for their razor-sharp fangs, slimy webbed hands, and reptilian eyes. Their serpent-like tails swished along the cave floor in an impatient rhythm, but they wore borderline seductive smiles on their scaly faces.

"What kind of mermaids are these?!" Peter shouted.

"Those aren't mermaids," Memories flooded back to Mindy, "They're sirens. In Greek Mythology, their voices have the power to drown sailors and cause catastrophic storms. We must've lost track of time while we were rearranging those shells, and it got dark outside as a result,"

"I guess time flies when you're having fun?" Dakota offered with a tense smile.

"I remember now," Ariel piped up, "Mindy, you created them to guard the third clue to 'spice things up' because you thought just solving the puzzle was too boring!"

Mindy rolled her eyes, "Wasn't I such an absolute bundle of joy to be around as a child?!"

The sirens took a deep breath and sang in a series of hauntingly beautiful: "Ah"s and "Oohs".

"Quick! Cover your ears!" Scarlett barked.

But Dakota failed to do so in time.

His pupils dilated and a dopey, bewitched grin spread across his face. He shuffled towards one of them, and started harmonizing along with her. Mindy gasped when the siren licked her lips, and beckoned him to come even closer in response.

"Don't listen to them Dakota!" Mindy screamed, "Fight it! Get away from her, now!"

Tears flooded her vision when he didn't respond to any of her pleas, and instead sat on the siren's lap. She stroked his chin with a single clawed nail, and gestured to her sisters to come to them. They slithered towards them with hunger-filled eyes.

"What can we do?!" Scarlett demanded.

"We need to overpower their sound!" Ariel insisted, "Follow my lead!"

She started singing her iconic fourteen-note trill, and Scarlett harmonized an octave above her. Dakota turned towards them and his pupils began to shrink. The sirens hissed in outrage and increased their volume; causing him to fall back under his trance.

The ringleader couldn't wait any longer, and crashed her lips onto Dakota's.

He closed his eyes in bliss, and didn't even flinch when she bit down. Mindy screeched when blood dribbled down his chin. Dakota's eyes watered a little, but his smile widened tenfold. Only, it wasn't the same brace-faced smile that anyone found contagious even when it was supposed to be forced. Mindy's eyes flickered again as the string of deadly kisses continued.

Her Dakota Davendork was gone.

She sprung forward, but a wall of spikey rocks separated herself from them. Mindy didn't recognize her own voice as visceral, guttural noises erupted from the back of her throat. Scarlett's panicked eyes darted to her. Her willpower almost cracked when she saw Mindy's shaking, helpless form. Sweat formed on her brow as she forced herself to keep singing.

"We're still too quiet!" Ariel cried.

Scarlett didn't falter, "Everyone, sing!"

Jiminy, Peter, and Sebastian joined the now five-part harmony, but Mindy sunk to her knees as the petrifying reality seeped in. She had caused this. None of this would've happened if she hadn't rung that stupid shell, and now Dakota was paying for the malicious intentions of her young counterpart.

If anyone deserved to be eaten by sirens, it was her. If anyone deserved to be hunted down by the characters of the Isle of Oblivion, it was her. If anyone deserved to be terrorized by The Projectionist every night, it was her.

She was a monster.

Scarlett snapped her head towards the agonized girl with a scowl, "Mindy, you need to join us!"

She shook her head. Her eyes flashed even faster, "I can't! I'm-I'm out of control! I don't know how to stop it!"

"It's the only way to save Dakota!" Scarlett snarled, "He wouldn't hesitate to do the same for you! If this was reversed, and I was the one being brainwashed, he'd probably say something like: Melinda Maye Singh, you may sing now!"

In her hysteria, Mindy laughed at the pun. That did sound like something Dakota would say to her in this situation…if he wasn't…if-if he wasn't-

"-Look at me, goddammit look at me!"

Mindy struggled to meet her gaze.

Scarlett's own amber eyes flickered, but with intense, fiery defiance, "You need to snap out of it! I need you to be strong for me, okay?!"

With those final words, Mindy took a shaky inhale.

She rose to her feet, opened her mouth, and the fourteen-note melody pealed from it. Mindy's voice was like a wounded lioness, not giving in despite it being on the brink of death. She almost swore she could feel her larynx bleeding. Cerulean light pulsed out of the Amulet of Illusions; causing veins to sprout from her chin all the way down to her neck.

Just then, Mindy's voice altered to mimic all three of the sirens' calls.

They paused to gawk at the sheer ferocity of the sound, which allowed Dakota to be released from their control. He stumbled backwards while hissing. Scarlett instinctively caught him as he collapsed. His hand trembled as he covered his still bleeding lips.

Dakota, along with the rest of the gang, stared up at Mindy in terror as she continued to sing. Waves of thunderous, overlapping melodies blasted everyone backwards. They hit the floor, and curled into balls while covering their ears.

The sirens wailed from the blood-curdling noise, but it was no use. Mindy had stolen their voices. Their faces scrunched up like they'd tasted something sour before sizzling into sea foam, and vanishing into the sand. Frothy bubbles were all that remained of them.

Mindy stopped singing.

Her breath came out in rapid gasps. She touched her throat as her amulet dimmed, and the veins faded away. She glanced up and her stomach lurched at the sight.

Scarlett moaned and staggered to a standing position. Sebastian had been slammed into a cave wall, and Jiminy had rushed across to help him. Peter panted, and stared at Mindy as though she were a ticking time bomb. Ariel started to reached out a hand out to her, but lowered it at the last minute.

The look Dakota gave her was devastating.

Like an injured puppy, who'd lost all its joy and innocence in a single heartbeat.

Scarlett turned at the sound of Mindy sniffling. Her willpower shattered completely as she caught tears streaking from her eyes. She started opening her arms for a hug that never came. Instead, Mindy whizzed past her, and threw herself on top of Dakota.

She whispered apologies in-between sobs; her voice now a mere croak. Dakota kept assuring her that he was alright while rubbing her shoulders, but Scarlett had already turned away. Against her wishes, jealously crept into her veins.

Of course she'd be concerned about Dakota, how could she not? They'd just experienced a traumatic incident. Why had Scarlett latched onto the stupid selfish hope that Mindy would fling herself into her arms for comfort?

She couldn't provide herself an answer, and trudged away. She kept telling herself she was fine. If she kept doing that, eventually, her mind would believe it. And it did. But the potent bittersweetness remained.

"Really, I'm fine, see?" Dakota chuckled a little, "She barely left a scratch,"

Mindy cupped his face in her hands, "A-are you sure?"

He stiffened when she grazed the corner of his mouth with her thumb. Dakota unexpectedly grabbed her hands, and squeezed them with conviction. Mindy's heart did summersaults as she locked onto his incensed, reassuring gaze.

"Positive," Dakota nodded, "I've had worse. Remember that harpy in Fantasia Gardens?"

She shuddered at the memory, "This is all my fault,"

"Mindy, no-"

"-you got hurt because of me," Mindy wheezed out, "I created that booby trap, and you paid the price,"

"You were just a kid! You didn't know any better!"

"And that automatically justifies my previous actions?" She demanded with a sardonic laugh, "Oh, I was just a kid! I didn't know any better than to imprison a bunch of people on an island where one of them had to relive their death over and over again without even knowing it! Oh, I was just a kid! I didn't know any better than to abandon my friends and family on the slim chance that I'd come back to save them one day from the tyrant who enslaved everyone! Oh, I was just a kid! I didn't know any better than to create man-eating sirens solely out of boredom without thinking about the consequences!"

Dakota stood there speechless for a few moments…

He opened his mouth to say something, when Mindy yanked her hands away from his. She sprinted into the water, transformed back into her mermaid self, and disappeared into the Jagged Caves.

Scarlett hesitated a beat before chasing after her. Luckily, Alistaire had sensed her presence, and her red tail appeared. She didn't notice Jiminy hop into her hair as she dove under the waves.

Dakota resumed to stare slack-jawed at the empty space where Mindy used to be. Shaking his head, he tried to follow his friends, but his tail didn't appear…


Sorry this chapter came out so late, a lot of stuff has been going on in my life right now and I haven't had a lot of time to write. I promise I'll make more of an effort to write more often now that summer break has officially started! :)