Much thanks to Yo' Wusband, xXlovinlavenXx, ScytheMeisterA, Allen WalkerCrown Clown, Guess W.H.O. (troll much?), and Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad for reviewing! ^-^ Warning: this chapter is going to end with a cliffhanger! (I warned you guys so be ready)

Allen woke up feeling mildly refreshed. He'd never felt so relaxed in his entire life. Instead of his usual loneliness, he actually felt like he was in a really good mood today. It could be the fact that he was going to buy books today. He'd probably even buy a few paintings. Allen hummed in thought, wondering where he could store all the books he would buy. He swam over to a certain patch of sand and started digging. He stored all his pearls somewhere safe so Cross wouldn't try and steal them for that weird liquid stuff he drinks and mermaids that sold themselves to others. He didn't quite get it but supposed that Cross just liked to have a lot of attention. Allen hummed in thought and emitted the substance from his tail to make a little bag to carry his pearls in. He created a strap too and zoomed out the door after he filled it up.

Along the way, he grabbed a few fish for breakfast and a few clams. He resurfaced the water and let out a shout when a board nearly collided with his head. He swam in the other direction and resurfaced to see what had attempted to knock his head off. He was stunned speechless when he saw that it was the beautiful human from yesterday...what was his name again? Lavi? Lavi also seemed stunned and fell from loss of balance off his board. He gasped for air when he came out of the water and clung to his surf board for dear life.

"What the hell was that...?" He wondered aloud and looked around, his eyes landing on Allen, who was staring at him with awestruck eyes. "Oh...where did you come from?" Lavi asked. Allen wasn't able to reply in time and Lavi chuckled at his speechlessness. He also found himself quite taken aback by Allen's beauty. He'd never seen anyone quite like Allen. Lavi used his hands to paddle his board near Allen's form. "My name's Lavi, what's your name?" Allen looked down at Lavi's hand and nervously shook it.

"Allen..." He answered quietly.

"Allen...as in Allen Walker?" Lavi guessed. He didn't think he'd be right until he saw the look of surprise on Allen's face. Allen blinked a few times.

"How...did you know that?" Allen asked questioningly.

"Oh? So you came back after all?" Lavi smiled brightly. "General Tiedoll told me about you. I honestly didn't think I'd get to meet you though." Lavi informed.

"Oh..." Allen said quietly. He didn't mean for his voice to be so quiet, he just couldn't raise it up for some reason...why was he so nervous anyways? Was he afraid of Lavi? No, that didn't sound right...

"I guess you're on your way then?" Lavi asked.

"Oh! Yes, but I need to head somewhere else first." Allen answered.

"Where are you going?"

"Um...I don't know exactly yet..." Allen replied back shamefully. He just needed to find a nearby island that Cross wouldn't find to store all the books he bought from Tiedoll...maybe he could even build his own sand-house underwater and attach it to the island. Was that possible? It didn't matter, Allen would do it anyways...even if it was forbidden, Allen wanted to be the first mermaid to be friends with the humans.

"Oh, okay. Well I'll talk to you later. I was just on my way back to the palace when I almost hit you. You literally appeared out of nowhere though!" Lavi laughed. "I thought you were a shark or something!" Allen smiled a bit, not knowing whether he should laugh or not. If he was Lavi and he thought someone was a shark, he'd be scared to death. He hated sharks.

Allen, sadly, bid Lavi farewell and started swimming in the direction of the port. He swam the opposite direction for what seemed like miles and found a small island the size of a large rock. Hm...maybe I can build more onto the island if I run out of space...oh! But it can't look like an actual house...if I did that someone might steal my books! Allen nodded his head and decided what his plans would be for today. He looked around cautiously before pushing himself onto the edge of the island and weaving a large bag to fit books in...he wouldn't want to get his books wet, would he? Allen attached the larger bag beside his smaller one and plopped himself back in the water to go swimming towards the port. He resurfaced when he ran into the wall of the port and shook the water from his hair, liking the way his skin felt when it was dry.

"Oh! You're here! I really wasn't sure whether you'd come back or not!" Allen looked over and saw Tiedoll. He smiled in greeting and swam over to the man.

"Of course I'd come back!...um, I brought some pearls if you want them. But I need my necklace back first." Allen explained. Tiedoll nodded and reached in his pocket and gave it to Allen.

"Why of course! I even polished it for you! Those are some beautiful pearls you have on the string." Tiedoll said with a smile. "Take a look at all I've got. Everything is for sale!" Tiedoll said with a smile. Allen nodded brightly and started scanning the book titles with his eyes. He figured that some of these were fairy tales by the titles. A certain one about the history of mermaids caught his eye. He picked out all kinds of historic books and even added the mermaid book to his collection. Tiedoll didn't seem to be suspicious of him at all. What he was curious about though was Allen's bag. "Well, what do we have here?" Tiedoll asked and crouched to take a look at Allen's bag as he emptied the water out of it and wove it quite wildly to dry the inside.

"Um...a bag..." Allen answered simply. Tiedoll laughed at Allen's plain answer.

"It doesn't seem to be soaked and dries easily..." Tiedoll observed and touched the bag. It was really smooth and soft. "Is it waterproof?" Allen nodded his head. "Really? You could probably sell these if you wanted to." Tiedoll said with a smile. Allen simply shrugged. Allen put the books in his bag and took out his small bag full of pearls. He gave it an uncertain stare. Tiedoll chuckled at Allen's confusion. "Here, I'll help you. Let me see here." Tiedoll opened his eyes and nearly let out a gasp when he saw how many beautiful pearls were inside. He looked from the bag to Allen. "These must have taken forever to find." Not really, it just took a lot of clams. Allen answered in his head. He was pretty sure finding so many clams wasn't normal for humans though and simply nodded his head. Tiedoll took out a few and handed the bag back to Allen.

"Oh, wait! I like that!" Allen gasped when he saw a painting of an underwater kingdom. It reminded of his castle back at home. There were small mermaids swimming all around the palace though Allen couldn't find any mermen among the group. He still loved it though. It made his heart ache when he thought about all his neighbors and friends back home.

"Really? Most people don't think that's what a mermaid kingdom would look like. They say it's too beautiful to belong to mermaids." Tiedoll mumbled sadly. Too beautiful? But the kingdom is much more larger than that...Allen gave Tiedoll a puzzled look.

"Why would they say that?" Allen questioned innocently. Tiedoll gave him a somber smile.

"You'll know what I mean when you read that book I bought you. It's so sad, really. Mermaids are such beautiful beings, it's too bad they're so dangerous."

Dangerous?

"Oh...okay..." Allen replied uncertainly and strapped the small bag to his belt. He smiled and waved Tiedoll goodbye, eager to get started on building his dream house. He didn't want it to be too big or anything, he just wanted a nice collection of beautiful paintings and books. He wanted it to be underwater, but he wanted it to be like an actual human home. After a few minutes of vigorous swimming, he found the house he was looking for. He threw his stuff on the island and dove underwater to get started.

Allen didn't know how long he'd been working on the small little house he started to build. All he knew that when he was finished with it, the sun had long since gone down and he was feeling like he just swam a marathon. Not to mention his arms were burning. He felt as if he did a pretty good job. It turned out a bit more bigger than he expected, but he enjoyed the homey feel of it. There was just one problem now...there were no lights and he needed to somehow get the water out of it. Allen didn't know any magic, so how would he be able to make light corals like Cross did? He could always find those bugs that lit up that he read about in a book...but they would only last so long, not to mention they needed oxygen. Perhaps it was time to ask Cross to teach him some magic...if he ever came back.

Speaking of coming back, it was starting to get late and Allen figured he should go home now. Allen buried his bags in a pile of sand and started to head back to the house he and Cross stayed at. Along the way, he caught some clams for dinner and stocked the pearls he found in his small bag. When he got home, of course, he was alone. He expected to be anyways. Though it'd be nice if Cross came back every once in awhile. Allen was really starting to feel lonely with no one there. Sure, Cross could be frustrating, but at least he was someone Allen could talk to. Allen still feared what would happen if someone had ever found out that he went to the surface, it's forbidden after all.

As Allen laid in his bed, he tossed and turned. He just couldn't sleep, he felt too restless for that. Allen sighed and decided that he'd read a book to help him fall asleep. He swam out of the house, taking a light coral with him. It was a bit dark and hard to figure out where he was. It was probably about an hour before he reached a shallow end in the water. Curious, Allen peeked his head out of the water and found that he was near the shoreline. There was a large tower that was spinning a light around near him. Looking around, Allen finally understood that he was on the shore of Lavi's castle. Shaking his head, Allen left back into the water, knowing exactly where he was going this time.

Allen sighed with relief when he finally made it to his little house. He climbed up on the small island and sorted through all the books he had buried safely in the sand. He came across the mermaid one and paused for a moment. It's so sad, really. Mermaids are such beautiful beings, it's too bad they're so dangerous. Tiedoll's words from before moved him to bring the book into his arms. He opened the page in the middle and almost screamed when he saw the picture there. It was a creature with an evil look on it's face, a wide grin stretching out it's face...what surprised Allen the most...it had a mermaid tail. Allen felt his heart thundering against his chest as he scanned through the article quickly.

The Dangers Lurking In The Waters

True, mermaids are from fairy tales, and are said to be beautiful, but there is another part of them that people don't know about. It's rare to see a mermaid in sight and there is only one reason for that: it is forbidden for mermaids to reach the surface. Usually mermaids who come up to greet the humans come up for one reason: blood lust. They want to lure humans to their deaths with the sounds of their beautiful voices. Fish, clams, sharks, and other sea food is just not enough for these bloodthirsty creatures. Mermaids want human flesh, for once they've said that human flesh tastes wonderful. Can you imagine? A beautiful creature right in front of you turning into something so monstrous in the blink of an eye? Don't fall for any mermaid you see, male or female. They will kill you. They are heartless creatures and they won't hesitate into tricking you. These monstrosities must be hunted down and killed. It is said that their blood can heal wounds and their tears can heal diseases. Their scales sparkle with such beautiful light; these mutated creatures don't deserve such beauty. These beings are more dangerous than sharks. More dangerous than a Kraken itself.

They must be eradicated.

Allen couldn't help but let out a screech before throwing the book aside. He wouldn't stand for it. He couldn't stand for it. These people knew nothing about them...unless...did mermaids really do this to people? Was this the reason why humans hated mermaids so much? Was it their fault in the first place for attacking the humans? Allen needed answers, but where could he find them? Allen looked back at the book and slowly crawled over to it. He closed his eyes at the frightening picture of the mermaid and quickly flipped to the back. In the bottom left was a tiny, cursively scrawled name: Anita. Allen tried to read the last name but it was smudged. Allen closed the book and curiosity led him to read the back of the book, where a summary lay.

By reading this book, you will learn all different things about mermaids: their cultures, their religions, their children, their eating habits, and even their special powers. You think that mermaids are lovely mythical creatures? Think again. After reading this book, you'll never feel the same way about these nasty creatures again. Learn ways to catch these dreadful beings, and learn how they can affect you. Mermaids aren't just from fairy tales, they're real; and you'll never guess what kind of fairy tale they've been living until you read. Happy reading!

Happy reading? Is this some kind of sick joke? That's it, I need to find this Anita person...she must have all the answers for me! But...the human world is huge...not as huge as the underwater world, but it's still pretty big...how will I ever be able to find her? Allen wondered as he flipped through the pages for some sort of address of some kind. If he could learn how humans write to each other and deliver mail, he could just use that address that is given here somewhere...somewhere...if he could find the address to begin with...

"Hey! Who's there?!" Allen yelped and quickly buried his books before diving underwater. He looked up from where he dove to see a large ship overhead. These monstrosities must be hunted down and killed. Allen's heart beat so fast he thought it would explode from his chest. Did these people see him? Were they here to hunt him down?

"What's up, brother?" Allen heard one of them aboard the ship ask. It was a human girl. Allen didn't know how old she was. She had long dark green hair and she looked quite tired. It is pretty late...I wish I would've just gone to sleep! Allen scolded himself for being so restless. The person who called at him at first had shoulder length purple hair and wore a white coat of some kind with a white hat on his head.

"Hey, Lenalee...what do you think about mermaids?" The man asked.

"Aren't they just myths, brother?" The girl yawned. "You should just go to sleep..."

"We're almost to the port, Lenalee, wake everyone up." The man said. The girl sighed and walked off. The man stared down into the water and Allen was so scared he could see him. He held his hand over his mouth to silence any sounds he made.

"Yo, Komui, what's up?" A tired man with spiky blond hair asked. The one named 'Komui' kept staring into the water.

"Is that...?" He muttered to himself, leaning over the water.

"What? You see something?" Reever asked, rubbing his eyes. Is it a shark?

"No...it's nothing..." Komui stood straight up and walked away from the edge. "We should hurry up and go. We're almost there, there's no need to stop now. Port Black Order needs our research! That's what us scientists must deliver!" Reever sweat dropped at the man's ecstatic attitude. How can this guy be so tired during the day and so excited during the night? Allen swam over to the ship and curiously followed it. He then noticed a light coming from his left and looked over to see the sun rising. I've stayed up all night...maybe I should sleep the day off today...Allen thought as he followed the ship.

"Good evening, Komui!" Tiedoll called as the ship docked. Allen watched from afar as the man shook hands. Reever came out and gave Tiedoll some books. Tiedoll nodded his thanks to him and greeted Lenalee with a smile. These are...nice people? Even though they are on a ship...Master said that the most dangerous people are on a ship...and if they're in white coats it's extremely bad...then why is Tiedoll their friend? Was Master lying? Allen wondered and shook his head. Cross would never lie to him, would he. Allen stiffened when Tiedoll and his eyes met. "Well you're here quite early!" Komui turned around and looked over in Allen's direction. He then looked at Tiedoll for an explanation.

"Who is this boy?"

"Oh, that's Allen. He comes to the port often to buy books from me. He's quite a nice young lad. Come here, Allen, let me introduce you to some of my friends." Allen inwardly sighed and swam over to where they were. "Allen, this is Komui, Lenalee, and Reever. You can meet the rest of the scientists on board this ship if you like." Tiedoll said and gestured to the ship. Allen cursed his luck. Tiedoll noticed his uncomfortable shifting and smiled. "They're not mean people, I swear." Tiedoll smiled warmly. He then frowned and wondered if Allen was feeling well. "Allen...did you read that book I gave you...about the mermaids?" Tiedoll asked softly. Allen couldn't help but let tears flow out of his eyes.

He was a monster to these people.