KIA12: Finally, I am back with chapter 3! My whole body is sore since some idiot decided to make the mistake of hitting me with volleyballs yesterday when I was at one of my best friend's birthday party. I got payback though. Luckily, I can still sit up and type. Anyway, enough of my problems. All of you probably don't care so here's chapter 3! Zeo, disclaimer, please!

Zeo (DISCLAIMER): KazarinaIceAngel12 does not, has not, and definitely will not own Beyblade Metal Fusion/Masters/Fury. She only owns Aurora and the other minor characters like King Kai, Queen Shannon, Tessa, etc.

KIA12: Thank you! Enjoy! Please excuse any mistakes you may find.

Toby's POV

I snapped out of my daze when I heard the mermaid speak. Truthfully, I was amazed as well as shocked and captivated. She was beautiful and her gentle, emerald eyes just screamed innocence. Her voice sounded like chimes, soft and carried by the wind.

"Uhh…Sorry. My name is Toby and these are my friends, Zeo and Masamune," I introduced before smacking the both of them upside the head to bring them back down to Earth.

"Ow!" they cried, rubbing the back of their heads.

The mermaid giggled before speaking.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Aurora, and as you can probably guess, I'm a mermaid," she smiled.

"We know, but I thought mermaids don't exist," Zeo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"People like you believed in mermaids hundreds of years ago, but after an incident that happened between your people and mine, we stopped showing ourselves to humans and stayed hidden away. Eventually, we just faded into a fairy tale, a myth, a dream. I guess your ancestors never passed down the legend of the ocean guardians," Aurora explained sadly.

"What legend?" I asked as I watch her swim around.

"Mermaids and tritons (A/N I know male mermaids are supposed to be called 'mermen', but to me, that just sounds weird so I'm calling them tritons.) are protectors of the sea. We make sure the ocean and every living creature in it is safe and happy. It also gives us the power over water and control over things like hurricanes and whirlpools," she pulled a column of water out of the tank and made it freeze to demonstrate.

"So does that mean the whirlpools and big waves that happen out at sea are the mermaid's doing?" Masamune narrowed his eyes.

"Not necessarily. We only cause whirlpools and storms if it's absolutely necessary. The ones that happen from time to time is just Mother Nature working her magic," Aurora shrugged before jumping out of the water and onto the edge.

She held her hand out above her tail and slowly moved it up and down her body as I heard the water start to evaporate with a 'hiss'. When the last droplet disappeared, a bright light engulfed her for a few seconds before subsiding. I opened my eyes to see that her tail is gone and replaced by legs as she jumped down onto the ground and leaned against the side of the aquarium.

"H-How did you do that?" I asked, amazed that she can change from a mermaid to a human.

"Oh, that? All mermaids and tritons have the ability to alternate forms. It helps us blend in when we're on land," she explained.

"So there might be other mermaids among us that we don't even know about?" Zeo exclaimed.

Aurora shook her head, "It's a rare chance since we're forbidden to go up to the surface anymore, but not impossible,"

"Why aren't you allowed to come up? And if that's the case, why were you up in the place where our guards captured you?" I asked.

"My father, King Kai of Oceana, has forbidden us to come up since he thinks humans are dangerous, that your people are the reason why the ocean is suffering so much. I tried to convince him that not all humans are as bad as he thinks, but his opinion stands," Aurora said, sadly.

"Wait, King?" my eyes widened.

"Yes, King. Princess Aurora of Oceana at your service," she giggled.

Aurora's POV

I smiled when I saw the trio do a double take before asking a question.

"By the way, how long will I be in here?" I frowned slightly, looking around my cell.

"Oh, right. We almost forgot why we came down here. The king and queen wishes to know if you pose any threat to us or the kingdom," Zeo recalled.

"What? No, of course not," I smiled and laughed lightly at their assumption.

"In that case, I'll let you out," Toby unlocked the lock to my cell as I slowly, but cautiously, stepped out.

"Thank you," I finally smiled at them.

"No problem. Are you returning to the sea now that you're free?" Toby asked with a curious look in his eyes as I looked down at the ground.

'Free. The one thing I will never truly be,' I thought, sadly.

"Are you alright?" I looked up to see a small frown cross Toby's features.

"Yes. I'm fine," I answered, quickly.

"Are you sure? You seemed freaked out and sad about something," Zeo commented.

"Told ya she's a freak," Masamune muttered underneath his breath as Zeo shot him a glare.

I decided to ignore his comment and pretended I didn't hear.

"I'm alright. And yes. I will be returning to the ocean. However, I won't be going back home to my kingdom just yet. I think I'm gonna wait till things die down between my father and I," I said.

"What happened?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh…. Let's just say, we had a….disagreement. Please leave it at that," I didn't want to go into details about what happened last night down in the ocean that caused me to swim up to the surface.

"Alright," Zeo respected my wishes.

"Do you mind if I speak with your mother and father? I want to clear things up between my people and yours personally," I requested, turning to Toby.

"I think that'll be alright. Follow us," Toby, Zeo, and Masamune began to head towards the entrance/exit of the dungeon and up the long winding stairs into a hall as I trailed quietly behind. When we entered the throne room, everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on us, making the situation awkward. However, Toby just shrugged it off and walked up to the thrones with me following closely behind as Zeo and Masamune stood off to the side near the doors.

"Mother, Father, Aurora would like to speak with you," Toby said, gesturing towards me.

"So Aurora's your name, sweetheart?" the queen gave me a soft smile, surprising me with the kindness and gentleness in her voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I just wanted to inform you that neither my people nor I pose any threat to your kingdom," I looked up with a smile.

"Thank you, dear. That's all we needed to know. Feel free to stay for as long as you wish. You are welcomed here anytime," the queen continued.

"Thank you, Your Majesties," I curtsied before turning around and leaving with Toby as Zeo and Masamune met us outside the room. As soon as the door closed behind us, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness we're out of there. My heart felt like it was going a hundred miles per hour with everyone staring at us," I breathed.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad," Masamune chuckled as I saw Zeo and Toby give him a shocked look. "What?"

"Speak for yourself," I rolled my eyes, but smiled nonetheless. 'At least he's warming up to me. That's good.'

"So where do you want to go? Unless you want to return to the ocean now," Toby asked me. I couldn't help, but catch a hint of sadness when he said the last part.

"I'll go back later. Why don't you three show me around the kingdom for a bit?" I saw Toby's face immediately brighten up with a smile.

"Ok. Let's go!" I laughed at his eagerness before getting a challenging look in my eyes.

"Race ya!" with that said, I took off running with them in hot pursuit.

KIA12: Well, tell me what you think by leaving me a review or send me a PM! I'll love to hear your opinion on this story. By the way, if any of you want a more detailed description of Aurora's mermaid/human form, the information is on my profile. Until next time, KIA12 out!