The Shark and the Dugong

At the Mako pool

Bella, Mimmi and Lyla were up early, about to head to Zac's house for the day. Mimmi saw that Lyla was feeling more uplifted than usual, and asked her "Hey Lyla, why are you in such a cheery mood today?"

Lyla responded "Well, today is when we all finally get a chance to meet Zac's girlfriend, Evie."

"What do you mean 'we'?" questioned Mimmi.

"Haven't you forgotten?" replied Lyla. "We're supposed to form a fusion, and go as one remember?"

Mimmi giggled a bit before answering "Are you joking! Lyla I seriously wonder what goes on in that pathetic head of yours when you come up with crazy and stupid plans like that!"

Lyla began crying as she spoke up "See, that's why I don't trust you! Not after that fake apology you gave me back at the hatchery!"

Mimmi felt embarrassed and replied "Look Lyla, I didn't mean it like that. What I'm trying to say is that your judgement can be really bad at times."

Lyla was still not impressed, as she stubbornly answered "Yeah, like all the times you criticise me. It's always Lyla, why are you so dumb! Lyla, you're such a worthless piece of scum! I hate it!"

Bella was also getting agitated, and she spoke up in a rude tone "Mimmi!"

"What is it now, Bella?" asked Mimmi. She could see a white glow around Bella, and Lyla also noticed it when she looked up. "Oh no, please don't do this Bella!"

Several seconds later, Mimmi and Lyla saw that Bella had unfused into two mermaids. One was a brunette and the other had long flowing light blonde hair. The blonde mermaid was in tears as the brunette attempted to comfort her.

"There now Sirena," said the new brunette mermaid. "I'm sure we can fix this over."

"No we can't Nixie!" exclaimed the blonde mermaid through tears. "This is all Mimmi's fault, she always divides us like this."

"Sirena, Mimmi is just frustrated with Lyla. That is all."

"You sure about that! Because I trust Lyla a lot more than her!"

Nixie felt dejected as she swam over to Mimmi. "Come on, let's just go and leave Sirena be with that other useless girl."

Nixie and Mimmi left the pool as Lyla and Sirena were alone.

"Look Lyla, I'm not like the others. I sympathise with you and your past history," Sirena spoke up.

"As if you mean that! If you cared about me so much, you would have broken up your fusion and friendship with Nixie a lot earlier." Lyla replied in a begrudging tone.

Sirena was unsure what to do next. She eventually decided to swim out of the pool and return to the others at Zac's place, leaving Lyla alone.

A few minutes later

Lyla was still sitting on the steps of the Mako pool when she felt a disturbance in the water. She looked up and saw a bull shark, the same one as she encountered in the chamber with Mimmi and Zac. She panicked and attempted to get out of the pool as fast as possible. Just as she was clambering out of the water, she could feel a tug on her tail. She looked back and saw the shark had bitten her!

Lyla panicked and tried to wriggle free, but the shark was too powerful and dragged her underwater. Lyla lost consciousness, but some time later she woke up and was back in the open water, lying on her back. She turned herself upright and looked around, eventually coming face to face with a blonde mermaid she knew.

"If it isn't the poor old Lyla," said the blonde mermaid. "I guess the others felt they couldn't stand being with a deadweight like you!"

"Ondina, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, as if you don't need a reminder." Ondina began to swim away, and Lyla was relieved for a bit. But seconds later, she looked up and saw the same bull shark race towards her. Lyla panicked again and began to swim away, but as she was about to leave she saw the shark suddenly disappeared, and in its place was Ondina.

"Ha, I scared you good didn't I!" exclaimed Ondina.

"Ondina, how on earth did you do that?!" asked Lyla.

"Oh come on Lyla! Every mermaid has the ability to shapeshift, and I like to take the form of a shark."

"Well, I guess it does fit your evil personality." Lyla replied.

Ondina began to chuckle as she answered "Well, that's a common misconception. Sharks aren't necessarily bad; they just have different ways of doing things and people don't often see that."

"Well I don't care! I never want to see your face again!" shouted Lyla as she began to swim away.

Sometime later

Lyla had returned to the hatchery where she was born. It was a place she liked to relax and decompress. She had enjoyed several minutes of peace when she felt another disturbance in the water. She thought to herself "Don't tell me it's the others, especially Mimmi, come to disturb my fun again!"

Lyla looked up and noticed the same blonde mermaid approach her. She was now irritated and angry. As the other mermaid surfaced, she scolded "Ondina! What part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand!"

"Look Lyla, I'm trying to help you. Especially since your so called 'friends' rejected you," replied Ondina.

"As if I need help!" complained Lyla. "All I need is just some time to myself."

"Yeah, that is a sure sign of a problem." Ondina answered.

Lyla was not impressed, but she spoke up "Fine! Then tell me what's wrong with me?"

"If I had to guess, this place reminds you of the fact that you were alone when you came out. Is that correct?" asked Ondina.

Lyla nodded and allowed Ondina to continue. "Well, didn't you say you were one of the last mermaids born at this hatchery, just as the great war was ending. That would put your birth sometime in 1967 or 1968. And do you know what happened during that time?"

"I don't get it, tell me more." Lyla replied.

"Well, that was also the time of the Great Australian Drought. Water levels were lower than usual, food was scarce. Apparently over 90% of mermaid hatchlings died within the first year of their birth. No wonder you were alone when you emerged," answered Ondina.

Lyla was still feeling upset as Ondina began to comfort her. "Hey, why don't you try transforming too?" suggested Ondina.

Lyla reluctantly accepted the offer as she and Ondina swam out into the open sea.

In the open water

"Now, it might take a bit of time but just concentrate and feel your inner spirit animal." Ondina said.

Lyla began to think of the transformation she wanted, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't transform.

"This is pointless!" she exclaimed. "Why would I need to transform anyway?"

"Look Lyla, transformation isn't just for having fun. Although that is the main reason I do it. You never know what sort of powers you might need," replied Ondina. "Come on, let's just continue swimming and maybe you'll find some inspiration along the way."

Lyla and Ondina continued swimming together, and along the way Lyla felt a strange sensation. She could feel herself being chubbier than usual, and as she looked down at herself, she saw her usual orange tail and human tone skin had been replaced with a fat, brown body. She panicked and tried to swim to the surface.

Ondina also saw Lyla's transformation and attempted to reassure her. She called out "Lyla, don't stress out. Fear makes the transformation worse!"

Lyla could hear Ondina's faint call and slowly began to ease up. Within a few minutes, she had returned to her usual mermaid self.

"What just happened to me?" she asked Ondina.

"You just completed your first transformation! Well done!"

"But what the hell was I?" Lyla questioned.

"You were a dugong. These creatures are rare but special. That means you should be proud of yourself. You are a hatchery mermaid who turned out to be a rebel, someone who wasn't scared of standing up to the other Homeworld mermaids and doing what was right." Ondina replied.

Lyla felt reassured by Ondina's words and spoke up "Hey, I should take that form more often. Maybe give the others a fright like you did to me!"

Ondina giggled at Lyla's comment and spoke up "Well, it was good seeing you around."

Lyla then left Ondina and swam back to Zac's house.