POV Narrator:
Saturday 4 January 2020, Luna Nova
A new year is starting, the classes are back after a short winter recess, the girls are already back to study, starting already the second term, in these days Diana was already thinking about the next missions, after having already taken a sample of Clarie's hair to do a DNA test with Anne Finnelan's hair, she was already aiming to be able to find one more of the sounds of Fluit An Neart, another one that could be close, being the next stop in the Rastavan River, with an invitation this time given to the girls of the green team to follow in this journey, mainly because of equipment.
POV Akko:
Diana told me that today we're going to have an adventure with the girls from the green team, it's been a long time since I've been ready with Amanda, I can only imagine what's going to happen, well, coming from Diana I don't really know what it's going to be, she's been so straight lately, it's the first time I see her calling for us to specifically get together with the more troublesome girls for that.
Soon my girlfriend arrives inside and she was holding some things that when she took them out of her hand she revealed that they were paintings, I paused the Mario Kart I was playing with the three of them and paid attention, just like the others too.
"What is that Cavendish?" Amanda asks.
"Let's go for another one of the six Fluit An Neart sounds, we need tae get a head start here, that's why I invited ye lassies, ye are the most cunning, the smartest and also Constanze is the most equipped and prepped fae such a thing, today we are going to the Rastavan River" Diana said and I am already getting very interested, finding more Fluit sounds is going to be wonderful.
"So that's it, we're going on a mission like this, but what if we don't want to?" Tease O'Neill.
"I dinnae care, we call others tae go with us, I dinnae care if you dinnae want tae take part, we only invite you because you are the best when the subject is technology and also because you are smart, since the Rastavan River is also near the Rastavan ruins, home of the dragons and of that clown Fafnir" Answered Diana.
"Oh I want to go, it sounds really cool" Jasminka said.
"It even looks cool, how are we going to go to this place? Is there any special equipment, are we going to swim even in this cold? I want to, but I don't want to freeze to death, haven't you thought about that?" said Amanda.
"We will become mermaids, they are resistant tae cold, we will only need better equipment tae see better in the murky river that is the Rastavan river, the location that I suspect tae be the sound is right around here, it is near the dragons' village, but there we have tae be careful, there will also be the population of mermans, that even being peaceful, we must be careful" explains my beloved.
"I'm excited, one more adventure between us, let's all play to confirm the presence" I say all excitedly putting my hand in the middle, but nobody was putting it, my girlfriend came, onlyAmanda stayed with her hand on her chin still thinking until she put her hand in the middle too.
"In the last one you said it caused a storm and the first one is able to teleport us, so it means we won't need to fly there, besides it's been a while since I've done anything different in this place, it's been totally boring" O'Neill said and then the others came as well, when Amanda confirms, everyone joins in.
Now it's going to be the best, I can't wait to start the year adventuring, I hadn't even remembered that we still have words to say, but it's better this way, now we just have to prepare ourselves, Diana makes sure we look well at the board since she's going to explain everything being the good teacher that she is, how wonderful.
"Very well, now we are going tae do the following, we teleport there, dinnae forget the lanterns, they will be good tae see through the murky river, I think we will need tae venture through the passage that leads tae the caves of the Mermans and there we might be able tae find where the sound is, it is nae such a dangerous place, sae it might be quite peaceful" said Diana.
"Don't you have any poisonous fish?" I ask my girlfriend.
"On the Rastavan river there are nae such dangers, but there might be some trouble, if we dinnae get along with the Mermans it is good tae prepare fae a fight, just like the dragons, they protect the Mermans, there are some rules, but we dinnae know fae sure, these things need studies, I spent a good few months studying about these locations of the sounds and there is nothing" Cavendish said and we all just nodded our heads in agreement.
"So that's what's interesting, let's find out in race and soon I want to see what that flute sound does, I'm sure it must affect something" Amanda said reaching up to clench her fists in excitement.
After this conversation we went down the slide towards Constanze's lab, it's been a while since I've been down here, it's really fun, the girls came after me, I was the first to fall on the mattress, then Amanda came falling right on top of me, followed by Diana who just landed quietly until we are crushed by Jasminka and then Constanze, Ahhhhhh, I was an idiot to choose to slip first, I go waiting for the others to get up, I am filled with pain but relieved, the weight of the two crushed me.
"Ahhhhhhhh, I'll remember to slip last" I say half in pain.
"I was the third and I wasn't crushed, ye just have tae pay attention tae how ye're going tae fall, I knew Jasminka and Constanze were right behind, but anyway, let's get tae the point, Constanze, show us some equipment that can be good fae visibility under water, and some fae defense, in case we get attacked" said my girlfriend, as always she has to fall in the most Girl Boss way possible, I'm just too clumsy for that.
Constanze got some torches and floodlights, showing that they illuminated the way very well, and also some shovels that could help open the way and the visibility in the murky river, and sonar that I don't even know how to use, but at least it should help us to locate ourselves I imagine, I never thought I would be so equipped under water, and Cons got us some hooks to attach to the rocks, which could be useful in case we get pulled by the water, she even filled a bag with these things.
"Well, I think that's enough, we just have tae leave everything well stored, at least what can't get wet" said Diana and Cons was giving us plastic bags, where I take the opportunity to leave my mobile phone, it may serve for something.
I picked up my bag and put it on my back, it was nice to venture the last time, I hardly wait to reach the half of the sounds, it's just like when we use the Shiny Rod, I hardly wait to see what this sound does, Diana started to play the sound, making us be transported to the place and we could see that the environment changed a lot, now we are outside and by the nine witches what is this icy wind? I am starting to freeze here.
"We're here, now we just have tae get into the water" said Diana, taking the bag off her back and starting to wrap the flute with the plastic.
"In that cold?" I ask her.
"Well I've dared myself to jump in the pool at home when it was the middle of New York winter, what's that compared to winter at home" Amanda said shrugging and doing the same.
I take a deep breath and start to do the same, putting on the mermaid necklace, I really didn't want to look so ugly, I also grabbed the torch, maybe we can see better, then I activate the mermaid form and then Diana too, I don't know how they will react after this, I look at O'Neill and she starts to laugh, I knew it, I knew she would react like that, even being already in mermaid form she still keeps laughing.
"Look in the mirror, you don't look much different from me" I tell her.
"Ah if I'm this weird creature then I don't mind, it's part of my shape anyway, but it's still funny, I swore I'd be one of those pompous mermaids, but it's good to know it's not like that" she said laughing and then putting her backpack on her back.
I take a deep breath and look at the water, half on the bank of the river, Amanda jumps with great tranquility, as if it were nothing, I'm just watching, then Diana jumps and the others, I'm still afraid of the icy water, it brings back memories of school, I remember when I was there pushed me in the icy water when it was winter, to this day I regret not having punched her in the face, but come on.
"Hurry up Akko, the water is delicious" said Amanda.
"I'm coming" I tell her.
I decide to go in, I feel relieved, the water is at an acceptable temperature for my body, I don't feel frozen, less bad, the visibility down here is terrible, all I see is brown and more brown, and with each step it gets worse, how are we going to find the cave like this, we were all gathered, facing each other, Constanze was holding the sonar.
"The water is quite murky indeed, we just need tae follow the path tae the northeast and we will find the Mermans' Cave, they are just like us sae there is nae much tae worry about" Diana said and we just agreed.
It's as if these creatures have systems that let the water flow sound waves to our ears, I don't even feel the weight of the water, we swim in the direction Diana told us to go, with Constanze in front holding the sonar, we can't really see anything from here on, how are we going to find ourselves in the middle of all this? It's a challenge, but I want to accomplish it, it will be interesting.
"It's like the lakes in Maine or the swamps in Florida, I've tried diving and all I could see was land, after the last time I did it I never tried it again, I almost died that day" Amanda said.
"What have you done Amanda?" I ask her.
"I invented to dive in a swampy water when we travelled to Florida, luckily no Alligator caught me, on the other hand I was bitten by a cottonmouth snake, that day I stopped at the hospital and by a miracle I didn't die, I think it was one of the few times I really saw my parents worrying about me, it was a bite on the leg, its venom was like an acid eating you up inside, I don't recommend it" she said and I was even shocked.
"That's a warning nae tae stick yer face in boggy water, well anyway ye've learnt the most dangerous way O'Neill" said my girlfriend.
"I was 9 years old Cavendish, I was a different person, I wanted to dive thinking it was safe, because it actually had a safer part, my parents who didn't sail there and didn't even warn me, luckily I'm here" Amanda said.
"Well let's focus on the road is better" Cavendish said.
And no doubt we will, looking at the torches and also the sonar, that's what we can see, even more in this murky water, I don't know how Diana does it, we were getting very close to the point by what it showed on the sonar, but nothing of the Cave and it was right there that Constanze took a shovel that started to shake and reveal some visibility of the entrance of the Cave, this way we entered and it was quieter the muddy and turbid water was giving way to a very dark Cave.
"If we didn't see anything before, who will say now," I tell them.
"Be aware that the cave is half full of walls and we will be swimming up and down a lot more" Diana said.
And so we went swimming, following Constanze and my girlfriend, we swam down first, thanks to the sonar we were warned of the wall that was coming, it looked like an abyss from how much we swam down, how nice, then we came to some more curves and climbs, where some lights appeared, What a relief, we will have some light, the torches could not help here, the light was getting stronger and when we passed we simply saw a cave full of Mermans swimming and some plants under the water, besides the buildings there, what a beautiful thing.
"It looks like we've reached the part where they have the Mermans, they really are just like us" O'Neill said.
"Now come on, ye lassies talk tae the locals, they must know something" Diana said and we spread out.
I swim over to one of the Mermans, which had a plant on its head, which I approach, it's strange that there's no distinction between male and female among these creatures, so I don't even know how I'm going to address them.
"Hello pleasure, my name is Akko, could you help me" I ask the merman.
"I am Hiu, pleasure, it seems you are not from here and neither are you a merman, we already know well what you wish, you are human" said the Merman and he went swimming backwards as well as the others, all joining in.
We were weirded out, they just chatted and discovered our true form so easily, they kept on hiding, until a Merman appeared, this one a bit different, his tail was longer and he was wearing something that looked like a crown, he was coming towards us and by the looks of it he was their king.
"Humans, you've come to the right place, only first I'm going to do something" Merman said swimming towards us.
He reached me first and went to my necklace, taking the shell, which was giving a strange effect on it, which was turning into something, I soon went looking at my arms and they were with the uniform of Luna Nova which started to soak, but strangely I wasn't feeling drowned, I looked at the girls and soon the king went to them too.
"Wait... I'm... I'm finally a mermaid!" I say excitedly as I look at the fact that I also have a tail.
"This is just to know who are the humans we are talking about, it seems that we have a female here and you must be students of the school of Luna Nova, well you can be of great use, to our request, if you comply with what we ask, we will grant the request you so much want" Said the king who was finishing transforming the other girls also in the form of beautiful mermaids, I am now like ariel.
"Strange is that we're not topless or anything, we're just wearing normal clothes" I say, looking at my arms.
"In this form you return to normal partially, but with systems that allow you to breathe and speak underwater, from the waist down is the fish part of your body from the waist up is your original body, when you transform yourself like this you stay exactly in the state you were before the transformation, well from what I noticed you are all human females by the way" said the king.
"And what is the proposal?" I ask him.
"The prettiest of you will marry me" said the king and we looked at each other with a straight face.
"What?" We all said.
"I'm kidding hahaha, we Mermans don't need this, we are asexual beings, for us it doesn't matter about marriage or not, we are all without sex or something that divides us, but anyway, our proposal is just for you to help us to get rid of the Rastavan Dragons using us to get gold, the cursed Fafnir enslaves us so that we get jewels for him in exchange for protection against the creatures of the Rastavan river, this has been happening for thousands of years, I'm afraid that life here ends" Said the king.
"Fafnir? He extorted us, he stole millions of pounds from us in Luna Nova, did he make a deal with ye? We can film everything and report it, nae problem, he and the dragons will stop it immediately" Diana said.
"I could have sworn he'd stopped being such a naughty dragon" I say perplexed.
"A pig like him is nae tae be expected, ye can tell he may try tae escape, but nae from witch justice, where are the mines he enslaves ye tae?" Diana asks.
"I will show them" said the king.
We were swimming in the middle of the cave and the light was getting intense again, there we saw the dragon robots of Fafnir enslaving the Mermans, we were looking at each other, I couldn't be sure but to film everything, with my mobile phone I was recording using the waterproof cover, now this curse will pay.
"What's that?" Diana said in shock.
"Fafnir said that we had better have the mineral quota for him or else we can be unprotected from the attacks of the creatures from the Rastavan river" said the king.
"The same creatures that became extinct more than a thousand years ago? The same ones that nae longer exist sae much that the river is turbid and lifeless? I remember historical accounts from the time of the nine witches saying that once the river was diverse, full of Mermans and life, but something happened, sae that was it?" Diana said and I am shocked.
"I do not know for sure, I am king in 110 years, the previous one died and I took over, the others that came before only told the story that we are protected, so you mean that the creatures do not exist? Yes they exist,
when Fafnir doesn't get as much as he wants, he comes with these creatures here, last time it was the biggest massacre, that was twenty years ago" said the King of the Mermans.
"He's a big, blackmailing liar, that's what he is" I tell everyone.
At that moment the robots of Fafnir look at us and we get a very serious expression, enough, this is no time to stand still, I open my backpack and take the Claiomh Solais from there, I make sure to invoke the second word and stare at the machines, just like Constanze aims with her gun, Diana tries to calm me down, but this is no time to be fooling around.
"You can all come! We are going to turn these robots into scrap metal" I say motivated.
"Baby, we have tae avoid... You know what? Fuck it, I never liked that dragon's face, did ye record everything?" Said my Diana.
"Everything inside my mobile phone, now let's deactivate these machines and free these people" I tell her who agrees with the head that was already making a bow appear in her hands.
"Did ye like it? I learned that one from my mother, now I'm mastering the art of magic without a wand" said my girlfriend.
The robots were going heavy on us, only I was with the axe cutting them and now in this form I never noticed, but I was swimming much faster, I was passing as if I were nothing, I feel as if I were flying, lighter than air, this is wonderful, the water does not seem to exist here, Diana was shooting the arrows and even saved me from being whipped from behind, now that these things are going to shake.
"Yes, win these things, you must be the heroines we've been waiting for, the witches who will free us from this slavery" said the Merman king.
This is fun here, these machines are no match for my power now, before when I just entered Luna Nova, they could stop us, but today they can't even do that, I'm more agile and I also have the power of the Shiny Rod with me, they were being sliced until there was none left, there will be no stone left upon stone of these machines to tell the story, let Fafnir swallow his pride.
"Oh yeah, that's what I wanted, finally this coming here got interesting" Amanda said as she went about smashing the machines face in the punch and using their parts to hit.
Jasminka was simply standing in her place and the machines were being destroyed just by getting close, it must be her demon helping her in this, I think she must have controlled it better, Constanze being precise as well as Diana that from far away was destroying the machines, we are really managing, me with the axe I'm getting all the kills.
"Come on Akko, you've got the most broken weapon in the game, that's no good" O'Neill said.
"If it's in the game, use it" I say cutting another robot in the middle and this is getting interesting, now we will be able to free these little guys from slavery.
We kept attacking, there's only a few more to go, it's great fun to charge with everything and swim towards these machines breaking in the middle, I loved coming here, but I hope their lives are not threatened by the Fafnir, finishing here and there's only a few more to go, we'll finish the last one together and that's it, we were even panting, even underwater.
"Now all that's left is tae talk to Fafnir" Diana said.
"First of all I want to give them this, he can bring the creatures" said the merman king.
"It's the stone with the sound" said my girlfriend.
"I don't know what it does, but it's one of the gems we can give as a gift, it's not much, but we're left rooting for the hero with a flute to come" King Merman said and soon we felt a bit of an earthquake.
A huge tremor was felt by us and soon some creatures were appearing, what we were very alert, the creatures were coming with everything were huge, they looked like sharks with something more, looking like dragons, what I'm not so scared, I'm just confident, so much that I prepare the axe in combat position as well as the girls were getting ready for the attack.
"You can come, we will make sushi of you" I say prepared.
The two creatures stop swimming and in the middle of them Fafnir appears, only he is not looking like an old dragon, but a totally different creature, with a pose that is even scary, so much so that it made me intimidated, but let's not let that put us off.
"Is this the Fafnir you were talking about? I could have sworn it was that old fool" I say laughing but tense.
"Dragons can leave their true form hidden, Fafnir made sure he looked like a nice old man tae give it appeal" Diana said.
"You witches have gone too far!" said Fafnir.
"Fafnir? What are ye doing with these people?" said Diana.
"It's none of your witches' business, it's not the kind of thing a witch should do or be doing, I already warned the other one there that I was in a deeper hole than she could dig, I think you'd better stay out of my business" he said threatening us.
"Or else what? Ye're enslaving these people fae yer profit, ye capitalist pig" Wow I never expected Diana to shout something like that.
"Oh you're just going to be history here, I don't think it's better to challenge my power, you witches are far from a dragon's power" He said and I stood with the axe still poised to attack.
"Do you want to try?" I tell him.
"Akko no!" Diana went swimming towards me.
Fafnir was blowing fire in our direction and Diana made a shield and the others too, the shield was almost breaking to the point of bursting and throwing us all backwards and leaving us half thrown, I was even shocked, this dragon is too strong, how are we going to defeat it? How are we going to get through this? What are we going to do now? What are we going to do? I was even shocked, I thought I was going to die.
"What now love?" I say shocked.
"That was just a warning, I can evaporate everyone, you are not as strong as you think you are, better stay still and get out of here or else I will kill you too, although you already know too much" He said and Diana took a flute, she started to play, creating a strange effect, Fafnir started to blow fire and came towards us, this is our end love, it was better to have used the shield.
POV Diana:
Everything stopped suddenly, I think that's what the sound is fae time, I took it and started playing the sound tae transport us tae another place, I think Lake Doras is better, come on, I kept playing and everything stopped, nae one will notice anything, I kept getting involved, I hope it gets everyone, I kept thinking and overloading myself, but I'll manage.
"Die!" Said Fafnir the moment time turned and we were on the spot transported.
We stopped where I wanted in the middle of the doras lake, the mermans came along too, at least the ones I could bring, I'm feeling a bit weak, I think I pulled too hard at the limit, I just hope I could have saved everyone.
"Diana? Diana!" The last thing I heard was Akko's screams.
POV Akko:
Diana fainted, but it brought us to another very familiar place, I think we've been here before, it's Lake Doras, I'm sure, she was smart, but now I'm trying to wake her up, it seems King Merman and the others are quite confused about where they are.
"Love? Love! Wake up!" I say worriedly and she wakes up little by little.
"Where are we? It doesn't look like our cave" King Merman said.
"I'm sorry, I had to take them here at Lake Doras so that Fafnir wouldn't kill your people, he's too powerful even for us witches" Said my girlfriend waking up.
"Oh, so that's it, we are sorry, unfortunately we won't be able to gift you anything from our land, but you saved our lives heroine of the flute, I think we can live for now in this new place, it will be better than being slaves of Fafnir" King Merman said.
"I only tried what I could do, but I promise that I and more other witches will defeat Fafnir, that cursed dragon should nae have appeared tae us, now we know the atrocities he did" Diana said and we nod to them who nod back to us.
"Well it's time for us to go back to the surface and vote for home" said Amanda.
We swim to the surface of Lake Doras, take off our necklaces, which leaves my clothes all soaked as well as my hair, only the top part at least, but that's going to make things more complicated, I feel important for not bumping into Fafnir, I knew that damn thing didn't smell very good to me, soon Diana uses sound to transport us to Luna Nova, we show up at the green team room still pretty soaked until Amanda uses a spell to dry us off.
"It was kind of cool today, but come on, is that dragon really the old man who ripped us off?" said Amanda.
"Yes, he is the same, who would have thought that the old man who stuffs himself with stocks and shares was enslaving mermans tae get his fortune, it is a matter of honour that we defeat this cursed one" Diana said.
"Wow Cavendish, you being aggressive like that, I highly doubt you would be able to slay a dragon hahahaha" O'Neill said.
"Well Merlin Cavendish's wife may have made it, a shame they erased her story tae be Arthur, but Arthuria used a sword forged by a Cavendish, I just dinnae know where Excalibur is today, but I sure want Fafnir's head, how many lives is that dragon nae responsible fae killing" Said my girlfriend in a way I've never seen.
"I just feel bad because Shiny Rod was nothing to beat him head on, not even when I used magic to make the shield stronger" I say while looking at the staff still perplexed.
POV Narrator:
One more sound of the Fluit An Neart was found, but still there is a greater risk coming to show its face, the dragon Fafnir who hid his scheme of slavery and that is why he took so much profit for his actions always covering with the work of the Mermans, who thanks to the flute could have the chance to escape alive, but this time they were without their place, this in the middle of a dangerous journey that can still happen, since Fafnir is not a weak dragon at all, being one more barrier to which the witches will have to pass.
See you, dragon witches...