in Atlantis!


i.

It was love at first sight.

Kind of.

Well, okay, probably not.

ii.

"What manner of monster are you?" The prince asked, sword pointed at her neck. Kyouko struggled to breathe as shallowly as she could while her brain did backflips trying to come up with the appropriate answer.

Two meters. All she had to get was two meters thataway and-

After a few moments of opening and closing her mouth the mermaid princess gave up.

"By Poseidon's hairy balls, I have the bottom half a fish and clam shells over my tits, what do you think I am?" The redhead asked.

Surprisingly, the prince backed off. His cheeks blushed crimson. It made an… interesting contrast to his green-blue hair. "Wha-"

Not one to look a gift whale in the mouth, Kyouko flopped the two meters it was necessary to get to the shoreline and dove back into the water.

iii.

A few days later, Kyouko discovered that the Prince was big on stating the obvious. After all the inevitable sword-waving when she surfaced to say hi.

Luckily, she brought an ace in the hole this time. Hopefully Mami would forgive her.

Alright, probably not.

"You're back." The Prince said with great solemnity.

It was quite the feat seeing as he was tied up in magical seaweed and strung up by his hands. No one should have managed that sentence with the gravitas and poise he did, but somehow he managed.

"You tried to kill me!" Kyouko returned, greatly offended. She drummed her fingers on the edge of his blade before tossing it away, letting the ocean claim it. "Me!" And, just so it was clear: "again."

"You're a monster." The Prince returned without any particular animosity.

Kyouko held up her mother's trident. "Nuh-uh. This here is genuine-"

The prince turned his head. "I have nothing to say to you."

iv.

Mami was an honest crab.

Patient. Kind. Caring. It was why she had been given the duty – nay, the honor – of babysitting the royal princess.

Still, there were times when she wanted to get her golden claws around her charge's scrawny neck and squeeze and squeeze until all the stupid came right out-

"And so you decided to take him with you?" The crab screeched, fretting over the rather wet and dead-looking prince.

"I didn't know humans couldn't breathe under water!" Kyouko screeched back, as close to panic the princess ever got. "I mean, we can breathe up here! We just have… tails." She flapped her tail demonstratively. "Makes it inconvenient to travel around on land. But the rest is the same! So I figured-"

Fortunately, the Prince chose at that moment to give a wet, gurgling cough and Mami never had to find out what exactly Kyouko had thought.

They both fled the moment the Prince's retainers managed to get their heads out of their cracks and find who they were supposed to be guarding.

v.

Queen Homura was not happy.

Since Queen Homura's default setting was stone cold bitch that tiny crease at the corner of her eyes was making Kyouko very nervous.

The redhead swallowed several times. "I know it sounds bad, but Mom-"

"You have committed crimes against Atlantis." Queen Homura said evenly. "Breaking the veil of secrecy, stealing Poseidon's Trident, killing a human noble-"

"Mom," Kyouko said desperately, "he's not dead-"

"Your Majesty," Mami broke in, "I too can attest that-"

"Silence."

Mami and Kyouko shut up.

Homura got out of her throne, black hair billowing out behind her. An aura of power, almost tangible, lit her features in a fearsome purple glow. "The only punishment fitting such heinous crime is ex-"

The door to the throne room slammed open. Kyouko wondered who would be idiotic enough to interrupt Queen Homura while in mid-rant but then realized that the question answered itself.

"Homura-chan, can you believe it, I found the Tri… Kyouko-chan! You're back! Mommy has been so worried!"

A ball of squee that was her other mother slammed into her back with enough force to send her tumbling through the water, tail over teakettle Queen Madoka gave her erstwhile daughter a hug that made said daughter's ribs creak. Ow.

Queen Homura did not grit her teeth or sigh or do any of a thousand things that an exasperated parent might be expected to do. She did, however, close her eyes for all of two seconds which must have been a major record.

"Queen Madoka, our daughter is to be exiled. Say your farewells-"

"Homura-chan, I thought we agreed that we would make decisions regarding our daughter's future together," Queen Madoka said, pouting. "Now I think that-"

vi.

Sayaka wasn't expecting to see the red-haired demon again. Not after the attempted drowning.

And yet the next time she was there, the mermaid had shown up pleased as pie. Or whatever it was her kind were pleased as. Devils, probably. Or damned souls.

"Easy with the sword," the monster said, looking like she didn't dare breathe.

Probably a smart thing what with the sword next to her neck.

Sayaka pressed the blade down harder. Nicked flesh and drew blood. Almost felt bad at how the redhead jerked back. She looked so human. "You tried to kill me," Sayaka said steadily.

"You tried to kill me fir-" little bit more pressure and she stopped that line of thought. "Um. I mean. I'm here to apologize."

Really.

"You're here to what?"

"Apologize!" The monster opened and closed her mouth several times before taking a deep breath. "I mean. I thought humans. Could. Um. Breathe underwater. So I was. Um. Bringing you down. To see. My parents." The rapidfire staccato made it difficult to understand what she was saying. "I just wanted to – we aren't monsters."

For some reason Sayaka found herself sighing as she put away the sword.

"Go."

"I just wanted-"

"Go."

A splash later and the mermaid was gone.

vii.

Sayaka had known Prince Kyosuke for some time. She'd been trying to court him for almost two years now. It wasn't the way things were done – men were supposed to attend the ladies - but, well, she was the Tomboy princess.

And Prince Kyosuke did like her.

Probably.

She'd brought him here to the grotto – no doubt to the dismay of their chaperones – and for the first few minutes… it had been… well, romantic. Boat in the moonlight. Candlelit dinner. Flash of red-

Flash of red?

After begging to be excused for various ladylike things she, hitched up her skirts and went confront a mermaid.

"What are you doing here?" Sayaka hissed.

"Watching." Kyouko nodded, munching down what looked like pink-and-purple seaweed. "I didn't know that… you humans… did things like that."

Sayaka's twitched to where her sword would have been… if she had been wearing her usual livery. Not this… princess crap. "Do what?"

"Pretending to be a girl," the redhead said, nodding vigorously. "I mean – not that I find anything wrong with guy pretending to be a girl doing the nasty with another guy, by all means – continue! And if you could manage it in full view of any major body of water I'd take it as a personal favour-"

"I'm a girl." Sayaka growled, keeping an eye on the Prince.

Kyouko blinked several times.

Spat out what she had been eating.

"Really?"

viii.

Two weeks later Sayaka was back at the grotto.

So was Kyouko.

"Fancy seeing you here." The mermaid said, proffering the seaweed in her hand. "Want some? Comes in eighteen different flavours."

The human morosely accepted the treat which tripped all sorts of alarms in Kyouko's head. After a moment of vigorous chewing she cautiously asked: "So, uh, what's floating?"

"He left me." The tomboy princess said, sounding remarkably petulant as she bit into her seaweed. Chewed mechanically for a moment before swallowing. "For some two-bit floozy."

Kyouko nodded. "That's boys for you."

"But – I – why?"

"Pfft, they're boys. My mommies always say-"

"You have… mommies?"

"Do I have to explain the sponges and nudibranches to you?" Kyouko asked, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I have two mommies. They're very beautiful too." She flicked her hair. "Not as beautiful as me, but, hey, who is?"

Sayaka looked like she was having trouble thinking. "Is that… is that how your kind… I mean to say … well… are you all… um, females-"

"You're really pretty when your cheeks go all rosy red." Kyouko noticed, intrigued. Her cheeks didn't do that, she was pretty sure.

Sayaka snapped her mouth shut and blushed harder.

"Wow, you're almost as bright as my hair." Kyouko said moving closer.

"Don't – it's – stop that," Sayaka said, sounding desperate.

"I'm not doing anything, princess~" Kyouko pointed out sagely. "Nothing at all." She leaned in close, breathed into Sayaka's ear: "Unless you want me to?"

There was a perfect moment where all Kyouko could hear was the human princess' ragged breathing.

Sayaka suddenly stood up. Opened and shut her mouth several times. When nothing came out she finally did an odd bow that seemed to be trying to be a curtsy at the same time and then, without a word, turned around and walked off, legs jerky.

Kyouko pouted. So close. So, so close.

"Came on a bit strong there, princess," Mami said, popping out of the water.

"Oh shut up," Kyouko groused.

ix.

"You want me, to turn you into a human?" Ursula said slowly.

Kyouko nodded.

"…so you can try to woo a human girl."

Kyouko nodded again.

"…that has tried to kill you several times."

Another nod.

Ursula threw her hands in the air. "Dear, when you put it like that – how can I refuse? Such perversity! Such obsession! It would be criminal not to help you. And your mothers have been so kind to me too-" she gestured to the polyps that all had curious, beady red eyes and frozen smiles, "-I simply must return the favour."

"For payment-"

"Oh deary, don't worry – I won't take much. Just your voice. It's how the magic works, you know. Price for a price. Kiss your true love – or have her stab you through the heart – and it'll come right back."

"Oh, I suppose that makes it alright then," Kyouko said.

x.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Mami asked.

Kyouko made several complicated hand gestures as she sat, naked and miserable on some random rock in the middle of the ocean. No one had told her that humans had such a rough time swimming. It was ridiculous! They couldn't breathe underwater, they couldn't swim right, not with these weird leg things – what good were they for, anyway?

"Oh, so you went to see Ursula and she made you a human." Mami said, snapping her claws. "Princess, do you everthink?"

Kyouko made a much simpler hand gesture and Mami covered her eyes. "Oh, my little Kyouko – where did I ever go so wrong with you?"

The redhead gave Mami a pat on the shell. She hadn't meant to be so mean. But when you couldn't talk, well, there were only so many ways to communicate displeasure.

"And the Queens will be horrified," Mami continued. "Queen Homura…"

There was a moment of very politically correct silence as they both contemplated the festivities that Queen Homura would throw. There might even be a holiday named after her. Only-idiots-turn-human-Day.

"…Queen Madoka-" Mami said desperately.

Kyouko shook her head. Madoka-mommy would be planning the honeymoon and trying to figure out how to get Poseidon's Trident to make life liveable under the sea for a human. After sobbing that 'her' Kyouko was all grown up.

"Huh," Mami said.

xi.

"Princess," someone was saying. "Princess Sayaka-"

Sayaka jerked awake, hand on her sword. Princess Hitomi backed off, giggling. "Hey, careful there."

Sayaka took a deep breath and mopped her brow. She had fallen asleep. She had fallen asleep while on duty. And had dreamed of mermaids.

She flushed.

It was all this infernal returning to the beach. Hitomi had wanted to, just to show the court that there were no hard feelings between the two. She hadn't the heart to disagree nor the dexterity to lie as to why exactly the beach made her uncomfortable. It was a well-known fact, after all, that Sayaka adored the beach.

Well, she had. But then– that creature had tried to seduce her! It was – it was unfathomable!

"You were saying a name in your sleep, Sayaka," Hitomi said slyly. "Who is this Kyouko?"

Sayaka knew she was blushing bright red. "No one. No one at all."

"Oooooh, sounds like more than a no one to me~"

Sayaka wished she had a pillow to hurl. Had to make do with a handful of sand. "Arrrgh. Stop – stop needling me."

"Is that what they call it these days?"

Sayaka buried her face in her hands. She hated when Hitomi used her 'I am far older and far more experienced than you' voice. They were maybe a month apart but Sayaka having focused on the arts martial and Hitomi having done… princess-ey things, their experiences were worlds apart.

"I'm not trying to embarrass you," Hitomi said, giving Sayaka an awkward pat on the shoulder. "Sometimes I forget how different your life must be, full of adventure and-"

Hitomi stuttered to a stop.

This being rather uncharacteristic of Hitomi, Sayaka raised her head to ask what was wrong and found her mind stuttering to a stop too.

She blinked several times. Pinched herself.

"Do you see-"

Hitomi nodded wordlessly.

"And that's really-"

Hitomi nodded again.

xii.

Ha ha this was awesome!

Although balancing on Lenny's back was frankly kind of scary at first – sharks couldn't help how sharp their skin was – after Kyouko had gotten the hang of it, it was awesome.

Okay, this – wind blowing through her hair, miles of water being cut through in an instant – this was probably why humans bothered to get up in the morning and build their great wooden boat-thingies. Just to have this sensation of exhilarating speed. Nothing underwater quite compared – the fiercer currents would just as soon kill as refresh you.

And look, they were nearly at the beach. And Sayaka was there – she'd recognize that blue-green hair anywhere!

Now that she was human, Kyouko figured it would be safe to wave – and wave she did, arms pinwheeling after she realized that she'd lost balance and had to struggle to find it again.

Sayaka, looking a little faint, waved back weakly.

There was another girl there, with long, curly hair. Kyouko frowned at that and shrugged. Oh well.

What was life without a few complications?

xiii.

"It seems that the crazy girl knows you," Hitomi pointed out, still sounding faint.

"She wasn't a girl the last time I saw her," Sayaka muttered, feeling just at bewildered.

Raised eyebrow. "She was a boy, then?"

The shark and girl were getting closer. Now that they could make out details, Sayaka noticed that the mermaid – er, former mermaid – was barely wearing anything except for her seashells.

Her nose was going to spring a leak at this rate. Sayaka focused very carefully on the sand at her feet.

"No, she was mermaid."

"Ah." Hitomi said, in the tone of one who has just had an answer that explained everything and nothing.

Sayaka expected Kyouko to be screaming her name but either it was taking a lot more concentration to… shark-surf than usual or something was wrong with her throat because all the redhead did was continue to wave.

Then the shark actually hit the sandbank, catapulting the redhead off.

She rolled several times, coming away from the business looking gleeful and holding onto an extra layer of sand – well, everywhere. She patted the sand a few times, looking amazed before getting up and then launching herself at Sayaka.

The two of them fell down in a mess of petticoats and wet sand. Hitomi eep'd, Sayaka reached for her sword and Kyouko-

Kyouko laughed silently, huge grin on her face as she reached down, grabbed a surprised human princess by the shirt and stuck her tongue down Sayaka's throat.

xiv.

"Well that," Kyouko said, after she broke off the kiss, "was ridiculously easy." She snuggled herself against Sayaka's chest and went immediately to sleep.

xv.

"I'm not judging you," Hitomi said after a few minutes had passed and neither Sayaka nor Kyouko spontaneously grew a third eyeball or exploded into fiery ash.

"Good," Sayaka said distractedly, girl-that-was-no-longer-a-mermaid still wrapped firmly around her middle. "Because there's nothing to judge!"

Hitomi nodded. "Do you… do you think that maybe you two would allow me to watch-"

Sayaka growled and threw sand at her best friend.

xvi.

"Oh they're so cute together," Madoka cooed, looking through the crystal ball.

Homura sniffed. "So unrefined. She – she acted like some sort of human male. Do you remember that song Ursula used to sing about human men?"

"Oh, it was pretty catchy," Madoka said, threading her fingers through Homura's hair. "Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation – was it?"

"True gentleman avoid it when they can," Homura murmured, grabbing Madoka's hand and then giving it a nibble.

"Hey! Homura-chan! That tickles."

"I'm a gentleman," Homura murmured huskily, mouth rising along the arm.

"Dear, you getting randy after seeing-"

"Oh shut up," Homura complained, pulling Madoka towards the bed.


Author's Notes: Okay, so I went a teensy-weensy bit overboard with this one but it practically wrote itself. The next will be normal-sized instead of 3-4 times the usual length. Coming up next, Marvel! Unfortunately, my muse isn't familiar with guardians of the galaxy or the fantastic four but I'll see what I can cook up. :3