Chapter/Tale 3: My Sister's A Mermaid: Act 4

Author's Note Intro:

Yo, guys. Hope you're excited for Star Allies as much as I am! So, before we start, let me just say that there'll be an extra part that'll lead to the Chambers after the trial at the Halo Kingdom. What do I mean by that? You'll see soon enough. Now, we'll start from when they were about to head to the last kingdom and get the final piece, and soon they'll experience the power of irony when specific events triggers it, and discover that the only way to get to the chambers is through the power of irony. That's all and enjoy the chapter! Also, this will feel stalled somehow one way or another, I don't know, just a feeling, so prepare yourself, and this chapter might be longer than the usual boss chapter and there's some long paragraphs, possibly. Sorry about that, but I still hope you enjoy, though!

Chapter 16 recap…

After the events of chapter 15, the party heads out to sea to retrieve pieces of the Water Orb in order to get to the chambers. There were many encounters with Water Demons, which became their lunch, and with a lot of success with it, the gang now have three pieces in their possessions and they head to the Halo Kingdom to get the last one… unfortunately, they're about to experience firsthand that the irony is real…

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KirbyPwnz1234: Lvl. 12

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Picking off from last time…

Kirby's POV

Waves splashed against the ship. Seagulls flew around the air. Dolphins chirped. Huge burps echoed. It was the sense of the seas, except for that huge burp. We all just finished eating the kraken from the rock, and now we're sailing to the last area in the Halo Kingdom, where we can finally get the last orb piece and get on with it. I was chilling and relaxing for a while until we get there. It was kinda boring, though. I was starting to wonder when are we gonna get there? When until we can get to the chambers? But I already knew the answers.

I know it's only been a little while but it felt like forever. Plus, it was nearly till sunset. Just one more piece… at least it'll be worth it. Maybe it would be peaceful if Karly won't stop ranting on and on about mermaids. I mean, she's into that kind of stuff, but never would I thought that her ranting would never end, rather it kept going. So annoying. What'll take to make her shut up? Her wish to become one? I doubt that, but I'd preferred if it didn't happen. Well, at least Kazela isn't here, otherwise I think I might lose it.

A couple of minutes has went by, and before I knew it, we were already arriving. Adrian informed us of this immediately. "Hey, get ready to move out, because we're here. Get the led outta your pants and move it!"

"We're there now? Finally, anything to get away from Karly ranting," I sighed in relief.

Halo Kingdom Territory (Halo = Violet)

The ship was docked as usual as we boarded off and onto the harbor. The place looked like an entrance to a sea cave.

"Alright, lubbers. This is the final area," Adrian informed. "Since this is where the last piece is located, you should have no problem getting it at all. You think you can handle it?"

"Don't worry, it should be that hard," I scoffed. "And we can totally make it back in one piece. Just wait here, okay? Come on, let's go guys."

"Well, there goes my nap," Dedede moaned as he had to drag himself to keep up with the rest of us.

Level Four: Marine Coves (Golden Riverbank- Rabi Ribi)

Just one more left, it'll be worth it. I kept reminding myself that while we trek through the sandy shores and fight off against more enemies. It's a pain, alright. I could literally see the sun about to sink down below, having to almost being done with its shift. The sunset's almost there, but there were a few more minutes of bright time sunny.

I also found another ability, and it was called Chameleon.

You got a new ability, Chameleon! 10/12 abilities collected!

The party members were dead tired, since we went through this non-stop and not once, not twice, but thrice. I was dead tired as well, but I still have enough stamina to pull through. The only person not like that was none other than Karly, who kept spraying us with water to keep us going. Aqua seemed to be the only other one who stayed ongoing to avoid the water, although she can control water as well. I find that messed up, but something tells me that wasn't the case. But I can't be sure until it's proven.

Anyway, we kept on for a while until Karly found a secluded and restrictive area that appeared to be a ruin. Approaching it closer, it appeared to be what we're looking for. Everyone lagged slowly there, and thus sprayed by Karly.

"Finally, we're here," Dedede cheered, moaning like a zombie. "Kirby, for the love of the stars, read the dang message and let's get out of here."

"Alright, I know you're all exhausted from today, but don't worry, luckily this is the last one. Alright, what will it give us for doing this?" I sighed.

"Congratulations, you've got three orb pieces now. Luckily, this is your last one yet, so bear with it. Before you do, though, I have one last part to say about the story. After those recent events, the planet was at peace at last. The boy and the girl had to part ways unfortunately, but the girl gave him a present that she had with her a long time: a blue pearl, which he still has on to him today, and waved him goodbye as he left Aqua Star back to return home to tie some loose ends. The bond between those two rebuilt the trust in humans they seemed to have forgotten they had; everyone was free of fear and the Water Demons turned back into normal sea creatures. Everybody in those kingdoms were able to live in peace again. The rulers captured were happy that a young boy was able to stop Arecena. But most importantly, if it wasn't for the daughter of the queen who sought for his help, this planet would've been in deep despair. Arecena still hasn't changed her opinion about humans, sad to say, and she still causes at least some sort of trouble every once in a while. She seemed to have stopped for a while, though, and everyone thought that she gave up on that ambition. Now, before I continue this, let me tell you before then."

"Before this, the wife of the ruler of the Bell Kingdom gave birth to a beautiful daughter and unfortunately died. She was not like the rest of them, she was different from the others. She didn't have the ability at first to breathe underwater, and because of this, she was banned from the sea due to her inability to do so and was forced to live on land, as suggested and forced by Arecena, who showed no compassion still then. She doesn't know her own name ever since then. A mysterious man kindly took her in and he continued to raise her even today. The man seemed to know everything about this little girl, yeah, it was questionable as to how. The girl didn't know anyone on land, and so she was lonely. One day, she ran into a girl who was about the same age as her, but possessed a different form, and she had a little sister with her. This young girl greeted her with a smile and she invited her to the ship was staying on. The ship she was staying was a royal ship, made of crystal, and introduced her to her other friends, a green-haired girl and another one red-headed, both from other planets, and her parents, who were actually royalty. That means they were actually King and Queen, and this young girl was a young princess from another planet. They greeted and treated her kindly, as she never had that experience when she was born, to be around people who cared about her. The girl soon became friends with the young princess as time went on. The young princess taught her many things and soon the girl bonded with her, and for the first time in her life, she has never felt that happy ever before."

"One day, at age 8, she heard of a disaster happening at the young princess' home planet. Without thinking, she ran to the Chaos Gate and warped herself over to her planet to help any way she could. Along with her were the rest of her other friends who they made along the way, and they dashed over to the castle, where it was under the control of a dark force and the people were cursed. They hurried as fast as they could, but when they got there, they were too late. The young princess was severely injured, her little sister was nowhere to be found and they've just witnessed a front row execution of her parents. The mastermind was a being of white and red, and he cackled as he attends to devour all of the souls and original body forms of all the people they've stolen it from. And the struggle to save the lives of all they care about waged on. After that, the group manages to defeat the dark mastermind and free all of the people from the curse with the power of the elements. It was finally over… but he wasn't through yet. With one final attack before he was destroyed, he manages to curse the group with the last of his power while their guards were down. After that, they were never the same again. The girl blacked out…"

"After those events, for another 8 years, she still remained cursed. How sad it was for her. And yet, she still doesn't know where she really came from. But, what does this have to do with before? Exactly it's this. One day, back to the events of last time, everything on Aquarius Star was just now peaceful still. It was still peaceful now, and no one thought it could be ever broken. The rulers were satisfied with the peace that was brought by both the silent hero, the young girl, and the Water Princess, and the trust of humans were restored. Little did they know that the peace they had once again was going to be shattered again. A flying blue star-shaped gem fell in the castle of the Aqua Kingdom one day. Arecena went to check it out, and today she hates humans a little less now, only by 1%... honestly, I really don't know. She picked it up, and noticed there was a spirit inside the gem. Just when she was going to ask the spirit questions, she was jumped by a dark ball that followed after the gem. The dark ball trapped the spirit inside an inescapable crystal, and soon she encountered a mysterious girl that defeated her later and offered her the power to conquer the planet again, but in exchange for that power, this girl gave her a tiara that immediately took control of her by her hate. Arecena, possessed, now started the terror again of the past. She made more powerful Water Demons and sent them all across the other kingdoms to terrify them into the sea with the help of this girl, and now she decided to use Titans to attack the other kingdoms of the land as a warning to stir up trouble, and you know the outcome of this. It was all possible because she had the Trident once again! Now, who knows what she's planning this time? It was bad enough, but it could get worse from there. Again, no one knows how she got the trident in her possession and how she reawakened Atlantis again, but one thing's for sure: if she goes as far as to unleashing the Colossus, Gyrozalta, she may be unstoppable. And that's where you come in."

"With this last trial, once you pass this final trial, I'll tell you how to get there. I'll be waiting and good luck."- End of Message.

"You know, that does sound kinda familiar with the "8 years ago" incident. Where have I heard this scene before? Oh, I get it! This is part of what happened 8 years ago, you know, with Kaila and the other elemental princesses. That girl must be the Water Princess from before!" I said, wondering to myself. "But, man, that queen is cruel. The girl wasn't able to breathe underwater, is pretty understandable, but banning her from her home to defend herself against the world when she's just a little baby and with no one to care for her is just messed up and that's what could be considered baby or child abuse, especially when she doesn't know anyone on land. There was at least one person who took her in as his own daughter and cared for her. Man, what a hard life she had. I feel bad for her now, and yet it somehow feels like I know this person…"

Karly almost sniffed some tears. "I'd never thought that a queen would do this to someone else's daughter! What a cruel world this is we're living…"

"I know, but let's not worry about that for now. Let's get that orb piece and get out of here ASAP," I sighed. "I'll go this time, so just wait here, okay?"

They nodded as I head to the portal to get the last piece. Hopefully, after we get the orb, I hope there's no catches to this.

Trial 4: Chasing Water

In an area filled with water and rough waves, the orb piece was right in front of me. I went over to it immediately, but it flew away from me and into the shores beyond, surrounded in water. I thought about what to do, then it hit me. I had Water with me, and it can surf across the sea. I transformed into Water, and began to chase after the floating orb piece.

The orb was floating away faster than I thought it'd do. I made a Water whip and lashed at it, trying to grab it. As if it was sentient, it swiftly dodged the whip with ease. Ticked off, I took it up a notch and raised the current speed I was at. I made water blobs are manipulated them at full force. Again, it swiftly avoided them. I made a water laser that drew a line and cause water to spurt out like a geyser. It did it again.

Agitated I was. "Damn it, hold still, you freakishly sentient orb piece!" It taunted me and getting my temper up. It then flew faster to lose me.

"Damn, I can't get to the orb piece at all! It's like someone's manipulating it around, but there's nothing around it, though. If I can't catch on water, then maybe I'll have to stop it, but how? It swifts around water with ease. Wait a minute… I should've known. Since it's a water orb, it has water properties of all sorts. Maybe with the Water ability, it only adds to its power. But if I use an ability that can harm water, then maybe I can catch it for sure. There are many, but which one is the most effective? I think I've got it." I elaborated in my head.

I found a rock to land on and dropped the Water ability. The orb flew around me, taunting me before flying away. I smirked. I jump into the water, surfing. The orb thought I was doing more water attacks to amplify its power more, but I grinned as I shot purple blobs into the water, turning it purple. As if it was sentient, it looks confused, then worried. I tried again to attack, and when I did, it started dodging, but more slowly and one hit it. It was surrounded in a purple mist. It gave a gesture as to have figured out what I was up to.

"That's right, sentient orb piece thingy!" I cackled. "Since you're a Water Orb, you draw power from the water itself, making it impossible for any of my attacks to hit since I used water. But now, I realized that if something were to happen to the water, it cuts off your supply and makes you more susceptible to any attacks, meaning that it's weakened more. And by the way, that gives me enough time to attack!" I made a geyser and aimed it right at the orb piece. The water surrounding it evaporated and it retreated right back to shore. I surfed right to where it was.

Elemental Climate

Here, the world is an elemental battleground. Thus, it comes into contact with the objects and the surroundings available. If you're in an area where you have an ability that has the same elemental properties as the area, the ability is multiplied, and the opposite happens with an elemental that is weak to the properties of the field. This teaches to use your surroundings to your advantage as you venture forward. Keep that in mind!

The ability I used was Poison, in which I figured it might help, and I dropped the ability as I grabbed the final orb piece, but before I did that, before I dropped the poison ability, I used it to extract the poison that was about to infect the water. It wasn't polluted anymore, you know, just in case. With that out of the way, I was having that hallelujah moment, glad that the search is over.

You got all four pieces of the Water Orb! Mist's Trials complete!

Finally, with all orbs in my possession, I looked around for a pedestal, but I didn't see one anywhere. I guess we'll have to go to the chamber to place it then. But, at least we got something out of it! A portal opened and sucked me inside it, warping me back.

Trials of the Seas Completed! Marine Coves Entrance

Back to the start of where I entered, I found myself back at the entrance, with the portal disappearing. I grinned wildly as I went over to show everyone. They were all waiting for me to finish.

"Hey guys! Look what I got!" I presented.

Dedede jumped up. "For real?! You got them all?! Finally! The search is over!"

"Yeah, it was a hassle, but it's worth it!" I replied. "There's nothing else for us to do here, so how's about we head back to the ship?" Everyone agreed in relief. "But before we do that, we still have to rebuild it together to open the door, and it said it'll guide us there somehow."

There were more messages from the pedestal. I took a look at it and read it. "Alright, we got the pieces, now start talking!"

"Well done, travelers. You passed all four of my trials, and quite to say, you've left an impression on me. Anyway, a promise is a promise, so before that, another part to the story. I know that's not what I promised, but this one's vitally important. There's been incidents about kidnappings on this planet and others. For a few months or so, no one has ever heard from the most famous pirate of them all: The original leader of the Aqua Skulls, Raiden. No one knew what happened exactly, but he was gone for more than just months. It turned into years he's disappeared. And he wasn't the only one. Lots of people were mysteriously disappearing out of the blue like that. After that, not a single person has ever heard from them again. This caused chaos and disarray between those on land. No one knew who was responsible for these kidnappings, but put the pieces together and you get one full picture. If you guessed it, then you're right. That time, Queen Arecena was responsible. It was at that time the events were already underway, and the rest is obvious."

"Because of this, many pirates were distraught when someone actually said that they thought they saw something come up from the water and snatched the victims. The pirates went to find their beloved captains and missing members and sailed out to the seven seas. However, not one of them returned when they did. No one knew what to do. However, there was one survivor. He explained that the captives are in a place that they couldn't reach before and they were all wiped out instantly by Water Demons. No mere human couldn't have survived the water pressure, especially with gear. The only heard way of getting there is by finding an old pirate hideout that once belonged to a famous pirate crew before then that's somewhere near the Aqua Kingdom, since it's famous for a system of tunnels that led to any island or anything underwater. But the island that was supposedly said to be their hideout had somehow sunk to the ocean, ruining the transport system, as in their only way in there is blocked."

"The only other way is if you possess gills. But for a fact, humans cannot survive through the water pressure. That means you must find a way to get down there without succumbing to the pressure. What does this have to do with your situation? Well, although the main hub of the secret transport system is down, luckily there's one island in the Aqua Kingdom that's also connected to the main hub, and it's still functioning properly, but has been inactive for some time. The chamber's link to the hideout was cut off unfortunately, so my request is that you find some way to power it up again. The island is called Bubble Dhakoros, in the territory of the Aqua Kingdom. It's the only way to the chambers. I'll be waiting for you, sooner or later."- End of Message.

The way to get there seemed confusing. I try to piece together what it wants. "Okay, it seems that the only way there is if we head to an island called Bubble Dhakoros, which appears to be one of the registered areas for transport. But first, we need to power it up or otherwise it won't work. Might be a hassle, but I think we can make this work. Adrian was right that we had to check the Aqua Kingdom first before moving on."

"Aw, come on! There's more?" Dedede moaned. "Agh, it feels like this wild treasure hunt is being stalled a little bit longer for other convenient plot purposes for reasons that should've been included beforehand, but this case it seems there's another reason why we can't just head to the bottom of the ocean just like that. Someone make it stop already! Make up your mind!"

"I know it's going to be painful and at the same time it feels stalled for a bit longer, but come on, at least all we have to do is just power it up again," I shrugged. "What could possibly go wrong? Irony is real? Yeah, right. Now, let's get the heck out of here before we get anymore plot twists and-"

"Hey, Kirby," Aqua asked. "Can you help me with Karly? I don't think she's feeling well." I look at Karly, who looked pale as if she's seen a ghost. "No, a better statement would be that she's in a pinch here."

"What happened to her?" I asked, cursing inside my head. "Wait a minute, what were you doing away from here at all?!"

"Karly thought she heard something, so she went to check it out. Both Bandana Dee and I ran after her, and the next thing we knew, we saw her zapped by a fragment of a jewel that were joined together. The jewel thing just latched onto her after that," Aqua explained. "Some sort of crystal she had on resonated when it happened, maybe it's that or the other."

"Alright, let's get her back to the ship," I instructed. "I hope there's a doctor onboard or whatever. With human bodies, we'll tend to catch something from time to time. I wonder if it's a side-effect of the curse, just like with Kaila."

Karly moaned, then struggled to stand up. "I'm fine, Kirby. I was a little off my game, that's all. Don't worry…" Karly limped to walk and for a while it looks like she can manage herself… until she fell directly on the sand, face first. "I'm fine, see?" It's so obvious she is not.

"Yeah, you're not fine, Karly," I sweatdropped. "You better rest up. Come on guys, let's go. Unfortunately, we won't have anything for dinner today. Sorry for the inconvenience, guys."

The boys moaned as I carried Karly all the way back to the ship, and Aqua sprayed them with water to make they move. Karly moaned, pale, sweaty, and as if she had the urge to breathe water. I wasn't sure what's wrong with her, but I can tell the effect wasn't going to appear pretty.

Level Four Complete!

"I see, so your sister's been shocked with something really nasty, ain't it?" Adrian observed her. She was lying in a bed inside the cabin deck.

"That's right. Not sure what it was, though…" I shook my head.

"Okay, then. Maybe all she needs is a little rest, for now," The medic concluded. "I've never seen a case just like this before."

"See to it that she's well taken care of, okay, medic?" Adrian requested. "That's an order."

"As you wish, captain," She replied.

"Let's give her some time to recover," I walked out of the cabin and out into the deck. Adrian followed me behind.

"Well, this may be unfortunate for Karly, to have being struck by some kind of sickness… I don't know what it is, but let's just hope it isn't too bad," Adrian said. "Anyway, how's the search going?"

"Glad to say, we got them all," I presented a clump of orb parts. "Well, in pieces."

"Nice job, Kirby. Now all that's left is to find out how to get to the chambers."

"Don't worry, we already found out how to get there," I answered. "It has something to with your brother."

Adrian's interest piped up due to hearing about his brother. "My brother? What do you mean by that?"

"There's an old pirate's hideout that possibly Raiden discovered some time somewhere near the Aqua Kingdom that belonged to a famous pirate crew in the past. They developed a transport system underwater for various reasons. The island however sunk to the bottom of the ocean and it was ruined. Luckily, there's one island whose transport system link is available but the power that it runs on was somehow cut off, and that island's called Bubble Dhakoros. It has a link to the Water Chamber somehow but it was cut off too, so we'll have to restart it manually," I explained. "Okay, now it feels stalled."

"I see… my own brother found this old pirate hideout… there's a lot that I don't know up to this day about him…" Adrian muttered to himself. "Hmm, there's something weird about it, in a way. Is there anything else that adds up to the story?"

"Well, you know the tale about how a boy saved Aquarius Star?" I asked.

"Of course I do! Every pirate in the Seven Seas knows that tale!" He replied.

"Well, there was another event that was linked to 8 years ago, and it started here before that tale happened."

"What do you mean by it was linked to this planet?"

"The pedestal near the ruins tells a tale that took place before the incident on this planet," I explained. "It revolves around a long time ago after Poseidon's death. The wife of the ruler of the Bell Kingdom gave birth to a beautiful daughter, who unfortunately for some unexplained reason wasn't able to breathe underwater. The queen we all know banned her from the sea and was forced to live on the land to defend herself against the world without anyone to be with. Where was the father? We don't know that, but a mysterious old man took her under his wing and raised her on the land. She didn't know anyone then. After 8 years has passed, that's when the tale started. And after the queen was defeated, the girl who help the boy sealed the trident's power and the city again, with the help of the Water Princess. The city was sealed, and everything was at peace again. That doesn't sound much because there's a longer version of this. I only simplified it for you."

"From what you're saying, there was a Water Princess that helped that girl out and sealed the remnants of the city and the trident?"

"Yeah, and the incident 8 years ago… it's tied to something else, but somehow it sounds familiar. But what?" I thought out loud. "One other thing is about that tale. You know, I can't help but feel that the boy in that story is someone I know, because it did say he was an excellent spear fighter. Heck, there could be anyone who's a great spear fighter, but who? Actually, the only person that comes to mind is Bandana Dee, but I doubt he knows anything. I guess it'll all come together soon. After all, I can't say I'm right unless it's proven in any way or form." The sun was about to set in a few moments or maybe minutes remaining. I stretched for a while and let all the stiffness out.

"So, now that we've got the orb pieces, what do you suggest we do, captain?" I asked. "I say we keep going!" In contrast, the others moan in complaint.

"Kirby, we've been through this non-stop in a single day," Dedede moaned. "Can't we stop for today?"

"Heck no," I shot back. "Even if I'm human, I can still go on for an extra hour or so! Besides, we can't afford to waste any more time here. Anything can happen while we slack off! Did you forget our mission here? We have to get over to where ever that queen is, because if we let our guards down for one measly moment, she could awaken that giant-ass colossus and wipe out the entire planet! We don't even know how we're going to stop it, because so far there has been no claims of its weakness! Does anyone know where and when she's gonna do it? Of course not! That's why we have to put an end to ASAP, before it happens! Do you all want any more plot twists on this planet?"

"But Kirby," Dylan spoke. "We don't know if that's what she plans to do yet, but I think she's trying to stall us any way possible. Don't you get it? With the Water Demons we've encountered and now with Karly infected, she's trying to wear us down to the point in which we can't fight anymore. Maybe she is ambitious in trying to get rid of the competition so she can kill us all in one swoop! Maybe she won't need to awaken the colossus if that's the case. It'll only play into her hands if we do that. Think about it."

"He's got a point, Kirby," Dash added. "Don't you think part of the reason for doing the things she did in the past was all to make sure no one interferes in stopping her? Well, that boy and girl was an exception she didn't see coming, but also outsiders. She's doing everything she can to stop anyone, and she'll go as far as she can to do that, through anything. And now, it's clear that she's trying to pick off teammates one by one until you're left to be killed by her. We can't give her any chances to do that, and I'd say we have to at least prepare to counter her ambitions. Right now, she's putting up roadblocks to stop us from going any further."

"I mean, can't we just sail there and rest for a while? That way, we won't waste any more time than we have to and- oh, the ship's sailing already," I realized.

"Well, instead of going to the hideout, why don't we just swim to the bottom of the ocean to the chambers like we always do?" Dedede suggested. "Wouldn't that be much easier than going the long way?"

"Are you stupid? We can't swim all the way there, even with scuba gear! We won't long last long underwater now that we're humans! They're too sensitive to water pressure!" I yelled.

"Oh yeah?" Dedede stood up. "I'll be the judge of that!" He jumped off from the ship and dived right into the water. Everybody tried to stop him, but it was too late. It was awfully a long time or a while perhaps. Just when it seems he didn't make it, something leaped out of the water and onto the ship. It was Dedede, who was gasping and coughing for air.

"What did I tell you?!" I shouted at him. "Next time, think before you leap, dumbass! It's common sense!"

"You're one to talk, Kirby," Dedede hacked. "And besides, I managed to survive the water pressure, but not for too long. Also, I spotted the chambers in the distance."

"For real?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, it's surrounded and infested with a killer whale, so I got the hell out of there! I also saw another place in the distance as well. It appeared to be a city with a barrier around it and it looked like it was sealed in a bubble or something. Whatever the case, the city underwater was huge as hell! I bet that's where Sapphire is. I'm not lying, I swear. But it has lots of buildings and structures that could appear to be the castle, and it's so big that anyone can get lost." Dedede wheezed. "I also saw a faraway island where there were holes poking out from the bottom. I bet that's the island we have to go to. Maybe I would've gone there myself if there weren't monsters shooting at me. You were right about the part of not being able to breathe underwater for long. I ended up going too deep and almost drowned."

"Wow that was impressive on how you were able to see all of that!" I whistled. "We've already found what we're looking for because of that stunt. But now, because of that, there arises some new problems."

"Yeah, like how about that I sensed that there's something wrong with the water, for starters? It feels… cursed, as if to make sure that no one's able to swim underwater and it felt like tiny needles impaling me. I dove with my gear, but somehow it didn't help me breathe at all. There were a lot of sea creatures attacking than before. But they swam as if they're afraid of something. And I think I just saw a titan move underwater."

"I don't get it! How was the boy able to survive the depths of the sea if that's how it was back then? Just how? Something's not right here. Maybe he was immune to all of it somehow," I shrugged in defeat. "No, no one can be immune to the dangers of the sea. That's impossible. I'm having this vibe that someone was hiding something about this."

"No, don't question the boy in the story," Dedede stated. "What you should be asking is what kind of person can withstand the sea at this rate? On second thought, you can question it. If no one on land can survive the sea underwater, then who can? God, somebody give us an answer to the damn mystery already!"

His prayers were somewhat answered. Later. At that very moment, the medic came out of the cabin, walking towards me. "Sorry for interrupting you, but your sister wants to see you, Kirby."

"Is she okay, medic?" I asked.

She made a face that was so unsure. "She appears to be fine, but there does seem to be a change in her though. Maybe it's best you decide that for yourself." She took me to where Karly was resting, and Adrian told everyone to make a course for the island, so we could head there faster and won't have to waste time.

The medic told me to step inside and close the door behind me. "She told me to just bring you here for her own reasons, so I'll just give you some space."

"Ok, thanks," I stepped inside, cautiously, not sure what she wanted to do. "Um, Karly?" I called out.

"Oh, Onii-chan, you're here," Karly spoke, slowly rising from her bed. "Thanks."

"Um, you're… welcome, I guess?" I sweatdropped. "You're feeling any better now?"

"I… guess so," She slowly spoke. "I don't know if I am anymore."

"Figures. Anyway, the ship's heading to the island Bubble Dhakoros. We'll take a break there for a while and then move on. While that's underway, Dedede jumped into the sea and saw for himself the reason why no one was able to swim underwater in the Sea of Kingdoms. It seems that Arecena has cursed the waters itself and infested it with lots of things to stop us. He said the water was like tiny needles and he reached his breaking point when he dived too close to the bottom. We're having trouble figuring out what to do. We know what to do, but Dedede saw that the way to the chambers was open seas, so that'd be a problem, and it looks like no human can survive that. So, if that's the case, who can survive through these conditions?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Karly looked at me with a face that I know what she means.

"Oh no, they possibly can't exist, they're nothing but a mere fantasy," I chuckled. "They don't exist, Karly." My chuckles exhorts into a howl of laughter which made Karly even madder.

"MERMAIDS EXIST, BAKA!" She yelled. "They're real, I'm telling you!"

"Mermaids exist, Baka my butt, alright," I teased. "If there were any, then why haven't they've shown themselves? Their species might have gone extinct by now. Or maybe they died trying to go to the surface of the water. No, no. Maybe the lunatic queen is actually one ugly, motherfreaking sea witch. She must've been so ugly that anyone who takes one look at her turns into bubbles and dies! Maybe they all died, and she has still yet to reflect on why her ugliness killed everybody! How ironic it would be if that was the truth!" I burst out in uncontrollable laughter. That may sound a bit cringy, but you gotta admit, that was a good one. I immediately stopped the laughter and sighed to cease it.

"But, seriously though. I don't know much about mermaids, but what I do know is that they don't show themselves to humans for various reasons. And even if they do exist, what can you prove to show me they are real?" I demanded. "For once, I'll listen to you about these so-called mermaids, and I think you should prove that to everyone else as well. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I can," Karly said while she got herself out of the bed. She grabbed a book that was about the past of this planet on the desk nearby and followed me out of the room.

Aqua Kingdom Territory (Aqua = Blue)

Out into the deck, the ship was moving towards an island that seemed to be our destination. Everyone's head turn to our direction when they heard us come out the door.

"Hey Karly, you're okay," Meta Knight spoke.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was a little off that time, that's all," Karly smiled.

"You sure you're okay?" Bandana Dee asked. "I don't think you supposed to be out when you're like this. You do have a good reason for this, right?"

She nodded. "That's right. Kirby explained what happened a while ago. You've just experienced firsthand the effects of the cursed sea. With the waters like that, we're not gonna get anywhere at this rate. However, we have to get underwater as part of our quest requests us to do."

"Great, just what we needed!" Dedede mumbled, then groaned. "How the heck are we gonna get down there now if the water's full of needles, sharks, demons, and other creepy-ass crap lurking there?! I mean, none of us are going to survive the sea if it's an invitation for those who're asking for a death wish! For the record, that queen is a godforsaken megalomaniac that may have sold her sanity to whoever the heck before Dark Matter! I'm starting to think that she's doing this on her own free will, not because of being possessed by Dark Matter. Or maybe it could be that she was possessed at a young age, but how the heck should anyone know? Can someone give us the answer to our question?!"

"What do you mean by that? Isn't it obvious?" Aqua sweatdropped. "It's what Karly's been saying the whole time."

Dedede shook his head and raised a finger. "I don't like where this is going. You don't mean that the only thing that can survive the waters are actually…"

"That's right! Mermaids!" Karly squealed crazier and louder than before. Hell, she did a better job at it than Kazela! "We need the help of a mermaid to get down there!"

"Ow! My ears!"

The other boys just stood there in awkward silence and sweatdropped. Meta Knight spoke. "Um, Karly. You sure you're okay, because I wonder if that attack actually did more to you than just your body."

"Actually, you're right about that, but I think it's just my body that's changed. And is it me or is it just crazy dry in here?!" Karly sweated, gasping for water like someone who fainted in the depths of the desert.

"Um, Karly?" I sweatdropped. "You do realize that we're on a water planet and we're on the deck of the ship, which is outside. You do know that, right?"

"Of course I know, I'm feeling suddenly dry for some reason. I don't think I can-"

"SPLOOSH!" A dump of water drenched Karly, soaking her in cold water. It came from Dedede, who tossed the bucket of it aside and grinned.

"You need to chill out, Karly," Dedede chuckled. "I don't think I can take you seriously if you say we have to find a mermaid to get there. That's impossible. If they do exist, then why don't they show themselves to us right here right now? Why don't they stop hiding in fear and at least try to help us out here? Isn't there at least someone who is one?! Couldn't at least one of us turn into them or what? Prove to us that they are real, or unless you don't have the airbags in your flat chest to do so! I don't want any more plot twists, unless it's for a good reason!"

Realizing possibly where this could lead, Dash tried to make him shut up. "Shh-shh-shh! Shut the heck up, Dedede! You're gonna cause possibly the major plot twist of this planet if you don't shut up, or irony is gonna cause it!"

"Heh, there's no way that could happen, moi, cause a major plot twist? Please! Irony doesn't cause a plot twist, stupid! What could irony do to cause it, what's it gonna do, reality's gonna have flat-chested Karly slap me across the face with a-" This is exactly why you should never say things like that, because reality indeed did the exact same thing he said earlier.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, DEDEDE!" Karly yelled as she kicked him across the face, throwing him against the wall of the ship. "MERMAIDS EXIST, BAKA! I can prove it soon enough!" It wasn't long before she noticed we were all staring at her in shock.

"What? What y'all looking at me like that for?" She asked.

"Oh my god," Dylan gasped with the voice of Joseph Joestar.

"Now look what you've done, Dedede! Irony did slap/kick you across the face! See what happens when you don't keep your mouth shut?! Irony's gonna kick your ass for that!" Dash yelled, and then blood spurted from his nose.

"I don't think you have to, Karly," Bandana Dee said in surprise at her, pointing. "Because the evidence is YOU! Your hair, your eyes, your chest, and your legs, but mostly the legs! The legs, woman! THE LEGS! Holy mother of crap, I think I just got a nosebleed!"

I took a look at Karly, which I jumped back and gasped in response at her appearance, and so did everyone else. Her hair has become longer to reach her back than usual, for starters. A star-shaped hair clip replaced the red ribbon rather and she had star earrings. Her blush became more transparent as well as the red and pink lipstick on her lips and the well-balanced makeup on her face. Her star-shaped necklace now carried the same jewel that struck her before. Her gloves were still on, but she had pearl bracelets locked onto her wrists. Her chest that had her usual clothes were replaced with a pink seashell bra. Those were strange enough, but the most noticeable difference is her legs! They were joined together to form a fish tail that was red all over and the fins on the bottom were kinda oval shaped, I think. Honestly, I think we were hoping something like this wouldn't happen, but guess who invited irony to the party? The guy named Triple D.

Dedede got out of the crater in the wall and with one look at Karly, he dropped his jaw to the ground and screamed. So did everyone else, except Aqua, who merely sweatdropped or rather shocked and speechless. Dedede took one look at her and it was enough to trigger a waterfall of nosebleed.

"SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP! YOU WERE RIGHT, KARLY! MERMAIDS DO EXIST! DAMN YOU, IRONY!" We screamed in unison, eventually running around like maniacs. And apparently, Karly looked as hot as hell, or more like, sexier than she was before! We all got one heck of a massive spurt of a nosebleed when we saw her, except Meta Knight, who didn't move a muscle while glaring with bloodshot eyes of shock.

"You gotta be kidding me," was all Meta Knight could say.

Dedede fell face first to the floor, lying in his own pool of blood, and he gave a thumbs up, signaling the earlier quote, "I'm a goner, but I have no regrets." I can't believe that valuable blood was wasted now that my sister's a mermaid. A hot one indeed.

"Oh, now you believe me?" Karly raised an eyebrow. "What made you believe me now?"

"Are you blind, Karly?!" Meta Knight pointed. "What made us believe that is you! Literally! Just look at yourself! You have become a Mermaid!"

"See for yourself," I grabbed nearby and handed her a full scale mirror, big enough for her to see her whole body, and my nose was still bleeding. Karly blushed and almost looked terrified. "What did I tell you?! You made me lose valuable nose-blood from your hot-looking mermaid body, and I want it back, my pure heart back! This has gotta be the worst twist ever! It must be terrible for you, am I right?"

"Are you kidding me, Kirby?!" Karly squealed. "It's the best thing that's ever happened to me! I told you mermaids exist, and I proved it! And yeah, I'm not giving any of your pure hearts back."

"By becoming one? That's not normal, and it sounds too fishy," I sighed, still bleeding. "How do we know what we're seeing is real? Can someone else prove her point, please? Because now, it's pure coincidental or whatever. I can't believe I got a nosebleed from just looking at my sister, who became one hot-looking mermaid," I blushed and sweatdropped, still bleeding. "I want my nosebleed back. I want my pure blood heart back."

"Well, I'll believe her on this one, Kirby, and I take back everything I said about them," Dedede gawked, still with the nosebleed. "Everything in her appearance is real, and look, Kirby! Her breasts have gotten way bigger now! She doesn't have a flat chest anymore! It's about the size of every female mermaid there is, at least in the books. Now that's improvement if I do say so myself! If all mermaids have that kind of big bust to their bountiful, busting boobies, then I'll take it all back about what I said about the mermaids! In fact, I think I'll sing that oppai song later on!"

"Please no," groaned both Bandana Dee and Meta Knight.

Karly groped her chest that now had airbags. Of course, if I said she had a flat chest when she had her old human form, she'll kill me, so I'll just keep my mouth shut this time, because who knows if she will actually retaliate back? And more blood was lost as well. I can't lose my head over this anymore.

"The thing is, how did she took that kind of form in the first place?" Dash questioned, nose bleeding. "All Dedede did was splash some water on her and that's it!"

"You're actually right," I explained, pointing at a part in the book Karly had, my nose was still bleeding. "It says here that mermaids somehow had the ability to adapt to the land by owning their own pair of human legs back then. It makes it easier to blend in with the other humans and that way they can live out their lives on land if they wanted to. The only way to turn back into their mermaid form is to splash them with water, hence the trigger to changing forms, so they must avoid water at all costs to avoid worst-case scenarios. In this case, Karly turned into a mermaid when Dedede drenched her in water."

"So even the tiniest drop of water is enough?" Dylan asked, bleeding as well. I nodded in response.

Dylan sweatdropped. "Wow, that's kind of pathetic. But, for Karly, this I find fishy. She couldn't do that before until now, right? If that's the case, then how did she turn into one in the first place?"

I thought about it for a moment, then it hit me. "I see. There are multiple possibilities, but the one I'm going with has something to do with the jewel that struck her! Whatever that jewel is, it must be a cursed item or something, turning her into a mermaid! Or maybe it resonated with her Daemon Crystal instead, but feel free to believe any one of them. I guess."

Karly looks at the jewel that resides in her star-shaped necklace, glowing with a radiant pink aura. "It's not cursed, Kirby. It's some kind of new form for me, I think. Wait a minute! That's it! If I'm a mermaid, I can go swim there to the chambers myself and get Mist's help! It's just that simple!"

"I get it!" Adrian laughed, who apparently didn't get a nosebleed. "Who needs submarines and gear when you can have a mermaid to do a warrior's job?" He gave me a noogie on the head along with Dedede and laughed some more. "What did I tell you boy? We live in a world where every fantasy there is do exist! See, you were being ironic about mermaids as a joke, but now see how the irony is real in action!" I sweatdropped and so did Dedede.

"I instantly regret being ironic the last time earlier," Dedede sweatdropped. "I'd rather be back at the town, singing that boob song all day long than invite irony to the party."

"I just realized something!" I blurted. "Remember those tales of the seas we keep reading and hearing about all the time? We didn't know how it was possible for them to live underwater because we were all so ignorant of the answer that's been right in front of us! The answer to all those questions were what Karly's been telling us the entire time! Those people were all mermaids! The girl that saved that boy and defeated her own mother is a mermaid! The people we saw must've been mermaids disguised as humans! I bet Poseidon was one too! Everything on this planet revolved around the mermaids! I know that most people would knew that the second they read it, but we didn't take that into consideration at all, and you can roast us all for being oblivious idiots for that. But now's not the time to reflect on our loss of believing."

"But if mermaids were the answer to our problems, then why didn't we just listen to Karly for once?" Dash asked. "Something that started out as a joke because we'd never thought it happened turned out to be true, and now we know that the irony is real."

"Yeah, you're definitely right about that, and clearly, it's our own fault for not realizing that in the first place." Dylan sighed. "We just chose to ignore it, that's why. We wanted to avoid any more twists, but that's not happening this time, isn't it?"

"Never mind that! We have to get down there and reboot the power to the hideout if we even want to get any further. But I can't go any further now that my legs have changed." Karly stared at her fish tail. "And just how long are you all still going to stare at me? You're still getting nosebleeds just by looking at me! (Although, maybe I don't mind it a bit, though.) Perverts! Wait, I just realized, I said I'm not giving you all your blood back, so joke's on you all."

"Hold on, Karly," I said, taking off my pink jacket. "Hold still." I started to dry off the water that remains on her tail.

"What are you doing Kirby?" Dedede asked, still bleeding.

"I saw this in Mermaid Melody once. If it's true, then…" Her legs were all dried up and a light flashed rainbow like, revealing a pair of human legs. "The only way to maintain your human form is to keep them legs dry. Thank god there's anime logic. And since she's back to her old form (with the flat-chest again), the effects of that form should be reversible now."

Everyone whose nose was bleeding had dried up instantly once they saw she returned back to her old form; all the blood reversed back into our noses for some reason. "Blood no longer comes from my nose anymore," Dedede sweatdropped.

"Yeah, it dried up and got itself back to where it belongs," Dash sniffed. "I could say the reason why, but it's not worth having her being the one to be digging my own grave."

Karly managed to stand up normally without falling over. "Wow, thanks Kirby. Now you believe me about the mermaids, don't ya?" Actually, I only believe her because of the anime I was watching with Kazela earlier today and that I wanted to see her point of view as to why she thinks that way. I left that thought locked up for later.

Mainly, we didn't have a choice but to believe her.

"You're welcome. Now, let's go reboot the hideout once again, how's about it guys?" I smirked. "Nothing's going to happen unless we do something about it! Let's go!"

"Alright, then. I'll catch up to you soon, I've got some things to take care of first. Make sure to watch your backs as you head there," Adrian waved us off.

We nodded as the ship docked again, this time on our last destination as we head out into the island to find the entrance to the area that leads to the hideout. Finally, we've reach the X marked on the spot. We run up to a spot that looked fairly suspicious with the symbol of the original pirate king. It wasn't main hub, but it was one of the spots marked with it. A second later, a hole opened underneath us suddenly and the next thing we knew, we were plummeting downwards to wherever it is.

Level Five: Bubble Dhakoros- Link to the Pirate's Hideout (Two-way Level)

"EEEEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" We all screamed. We found ourselves in a free fall, landing in the water safely. Somehow, the water's not cursed here, so that means we're good. But boy, we did land too deep and getting up there is going to be a problem. I felt Karly's hand grab mine and she pulled me up to the surface. I surfaced to the top and gasped for air. Looking around, I see that we're in some sort of cave entrance, like a hidden cavern that's only accessed by going through an underwater cave, and I guess that's where we are. Everyone else resurfaced and also gasped for air.

"Is this the entrance or what? This has to lead to the hideout, right?" Dylan wheezed. "The water's fine here, so we're good."

"Yeah, I guess so," I exhaled. "It's one of the transport areas that's linked to the main hub of the main hideout. I'm not sure how they're all connected, but maybe we'll find out once we get there. Let's get going. How about we swim to that shore over there? I think it leads there," Karly grabbed me and swam to the shore with her mermaid form. Everyone else did the same to swim over to the dry land. Karly was incredibly fast while she swam, and for some reason, so was Aqua as she had Bandana Dee with her.

Now that I think about it, now would be a good time to see if my hunch was true. If you're wondering that, well, earlier when Karly turned into a mermaid, and how it says that mermaids must avoid water at all costs, it made me wonder about the way Aqua was acting when she tried to avoid touching the water at the trial. With this new strange event that happened to Karly, I had a guess that maybe we had a mermaid before Karly already on the team, but I'm not saying so until it plays out.

We reached the rocky land sooner or later. Karly leaped out of the water with me like a dolphin and landed there, somehow turning back to her old form. Aqua landed at exactly the same time we did with Bandana Dee. The rest leaped out of the water as well.

"Well, there's no other way but forward," I looked around to see nothing but a body of water there. "Let's go power up the island. Onward!"

We followed the narrow cave hallway, trekking forward to progress any further, dealing with enemies along the way. We came across an old monitoring station with a disabled warp pad. A window nearby showed a great view of the sea like an underwater base. I took a look at the monitoring screen that was black and cut off.

"What's all of this? Looks like some security monitors used to guard a kid's supposedly "kid-friendly" pizzeria chain with killer animatronics disguised as adorable and safe robots," I observed. "No one's been in here for ages, I suppose."

"Yeah, no wonder," Dedede shrugged. "And this here thing is some sort of warp pad that's been disabled for many years. Still looks operable, though. So, how are we gonna fix this thing, because that's the end of the line for us to go any further?"

Dash noticed something nearby and grabbed it. Then, he spotted a slot that seemed to be where this item fitted, so he placed it in there and pressed the button. "What does this button do? It probably turns it on or something?" The monitors booted up.

"Huh? What's that?" I gaped at it. It formed words together indicating some sort of program.

"NOW LOADING… EXECUTING BUBBLEDHAKAROS/SystemReCall Program; LINK WARP TO MAIN BASE ORCA SHALLOWS NOW ACTIVE. WARP PAD READY FOR TRANSPORT."

"Alright, it's active again!" I commented. "I guess that item there is what activates the system!"

"LINK TO THE WATER CHAMBER IS LOADING… THIS MIGHT TAKE A WHILE… PLEASE WAIT… ERROR DETECTED IN LOADING WARP TO WATER CHAMBER. WARP LINK REBOOT FAILED. OPENING ALTERNATIVE TUNNEL ROUTE TO WATER CHAMBER. PLEASE REBOOT ALL LINKS WITH THE PIRATE'S KEY IN MAIN SECTOR: RUSTED CITY. USE THE ALTERNATE ROUTE TO ARRIVE IN THE WATER CHAMBER, SO YOU'LL BE REQUIRED TO SWIM THROUGH THE ALTERNATE PATH ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADAPT INTO A MERMAID. BEWARE OF WATER DEMONS ON THE WAY THERE. HAVE A NICE DAY."

"Well, that's a downer," I sighed. "We've basically got two forks in the path here."

"Does that mean only a few of us can go to the chambers only?" Karly asked.

"It does seem like it, though. But seeing our situation here, it seems only Karly can go to the chambers alone. I would come, but you know, lots of crappy reasons strands us here. Looks like it's up to you to get there, Karly," I told her. "In the meantime, we'll try to reboot the power to the hideout and hopefully we can find a way to get to wherever the barrier is without the risk of the cursed waters. And since the orb is needed, you'll have to take these with you." I handed over the four pieces of the Water Orb to Karly.

"All you have to do is just beat Mist in a duel and you win. Simple enough?" Karly nodded.

I smiled. "Alright, go get them. Just be careful, alright? We'll be waiting for you."

Karly smiles and jumps onto the warp pad. It teleported her over to where it was closest. We jump on the warp pad, and it warped us to where the main hub was. Before we did though, Aqua stayed behind.

"Huh, Aqua?" Bandana Dee looked back. "Aren't you coming as well?"

"I've decided to go and help Karly, you know, just in case she can't make it. I'm not doubting her or anything, but I just think at least someone has to be with her, right? It's time I should tell her, and I suggest you do the same to explain to them. I don't see the point of not telling them anymore. You understand, right?" Aqua explained. Bandana Dee stared at her for a while, then nods in response.

"I see, okay then. You go watch over Karly, okay? Just be careful, and I'll be sure to tell them," He grinned, as he was warped instantly to where everyone else were. Aqua then smiles and hops on the pad, following to where Karly was.

Decisions

In a place like this, it's up to you to choose where you want to go for this part to progress further. Choose wisely.

Where will you go? Will you go to reboot the island with Kirby or swim towards the Water Chamber with Karly?

You chose to head to the Water Chamber with Karly. Now going to Karly's POV…

Adaptation Ability

I forgot to tell you about something earlier. Certain party members have at least an Adaptation Ability. This is when they adapt forms from others people or things through any sort of contact and can use them to traverse and solve through certain kinds of puzzles, which explains why Kirby got cat ears and a tail earlier at Deserlava Star. Possibly the human curse they had now, this must be a side effect or something. But anyway, these forms are only triggered when they come into contact with the trigger or if it's necessary to have it around for any reason. Like the Cat Adaption can help you climb up certain walls or slide through tough spaces. In Karly's case, her Mermaid Adaptation can help you get through areas that require you to swim through long distances in water that's glowing. In battle, each adaption can boost even the lowest stat each character has individually. However, it's only temporary because it exhausts the character individually if overuse is current. Only use it when the situation calls for it. And this is only the beginning of the side effect of the curse. Remember that.

Here are some artes that Karly or another party member with that same ability can do in this form other than swimming:

Razor Tail: Cuts through the hardest material there is, even rocks, with your tail.

Spinning Edge: A spin attack that slashes through hordes of enemies in an instant.

Aqua Bullet: Rocket-dash that's as fast as a bullet and it can bounce off anything and counter certain attacks. Almost similar to Sonic's Spindash, but the launch form is a bullet than a ball.

Bubble Beam: Shoot a Gatling of bubbles at will. Can trap enemies in bubbles as well as maybe turn their attacks into bubbles.

Mermaid Melody: Sing a soothing melody that has healing properties and can reverse ill-status effects and make the enemies' cover their ears in pain because your melody is poison to them.

Howling Voice: A Mermaid's best weapon is their voice, and this one's not that pleasant to hear, as in anyone in the radius will have their ears bleeding, literally. It could be even worse than Kirby's singing. It causes elemental disturbance.

Water Blade: Makes an actual sword using water as the material to forge Aqua Blades.

Elemental Aura: Boosts resistance to Water attacks.

Lumine Tsunami: A natural disaster attack that summons a tsunami and washes away foes with devastating effects.

Well, there's more, but you can only do these when you're in water or an area like that. Use them wisely.

Karly's POV: Aqua's Lament

(Dire, Dire Docks- Super Mario 64)

I found myself in a cave-in area that had a lake of water only, in which the only way out is through a narrow passage underwater. I was on my own here, and Kirby and everyone else is counting on me. I shook the worry off of me and went to leap into the water. This was the alternative path the computer mentioned it opened, so now I have to swim out to the open shore to reach there manually.

That is, until I heard another person come out of the Warp Pad, and out came Aqua, who skidded perfectly in time to avoid crashing into me.

"Aqua? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Bandana Dee and the others by now?" I asked.

"Listen, I'm coming with you," Aqua finished.

"Huh? But you can't survive the waters at this rate! Only mermaids can swim through the waters cursed, and I'm the only person who has the ability to become one to swim through there!" I panicked.

"Who said you were the only one in the party?" Aqua sighed. "Sorry, but that ain't the case. There's something I kept secret from you all until now, and you deserve to know it." Aqua said as she leaped into the water without a moment's hesitation.

"What the-! Aqua!"

She resurfaced from the water, taking a new appearance when she did. She had much longer hair as mine, and a hair clip that seems to be from another kingdom or something. It was all I saw though. "What? I'm okay, see? No need to get riled up about it."

"But how the heck are you able to just float there without being in agony right now?!" I pointed, shocked. "Only mermaids are able to survive this condition!"

Aqua rolled her eyes at me, sweatdropping. "Like I said, you're not the only one in the party, and if you don't believe me, then all you need to do is just look at this." Aqua pointed to whatever surfaced a close distance between her, and out of what resurfaced was a blue fish tail.

I gasped and pointed. "No way! So, this entire time, Bandana Dee was in love with-?!"

"Yeah, obviously, the truth is that I, too, am a Mermaid," Aqua confessed with no sign of regrets. I sweatdropped, mouth open.

"But… does that mean that Bandana Dee never knew that you were a-"

"Nope, he knew about this the entire time," Aqua solidly stated. "I mean, he did overreact when he saw you transform into one, and I understand that he had the right to do so, but it's why he didn't budge and when you discussed that with everyone. Bandana Dee knew mermaids existed because of me. It's a long story, but I think you'll understand clearly."

"I don't believe this, there was another mermaid in our party after all!" I beamed. Aqua awkwardly giggles for a while. "Well, I guess I'll join in as well. Don't want to keep the others waiting." I leaped into the water, transforming into my mermaid form. I resurfaced next to Aqua.

"Hey, Aqua. If you were a mermaid the entire time, then why didn't you say so? It could've helped us out in more ways than one. Is it because of the consequences to revealing yourself to other humans severe?" I asked sympathetically.

Aqua shook her head. "No, it's not that. I'll tell you while we're heading there, shall we?" She leaped into the air and backflipped into the water with me doing the same as well. We followed out into a cave tunnel that was narrow and swam right into it.

Aqua proceeds to continue. "Anyway, you asked why I didn't tell you guys this. For one thing, the spread about us turning into bubbles when we reveal ourselves to humans isn't real. Although for some reason, bubbles greatly hurts us if used the wrong way, though. Anyway, I have my own reasons for not telling you guys. For starters, if you haven't figured it out, sadly, I'm from the Aqua Kingdom of the Blue Mermaid Tribe, if you prefer to call it that."

"You mean, you're from that kingdom whose ruler is coincidentally the one who's causing havoc on this planet?" I gasped. "Wow, that's gotta stink."

"You think that's bad enough?" Aqua sighed. "You'll find it even worse when I tell you that I'm one of the seven Mermaid Princesses, training to be queen."

My gasp escalates to a jaw-dropping "what" when I put the pieces together. "If you're the Mermaid Princess of the Aqua Kingdom, do I dare to say that means-"

"-Yeah, sadly I'm the daughter of the Queen of the Aqua Kingdom," Aqua sighed, groaning with regrets.

"That can't be..."

"And that means I've got mother issues from time to time. My mother is very stubborn, as you've already heard. I don't know what made her act like this, but being raised by a mother like her was the worst. I was always shy back then, so I couldn't retaliate back at her whenever she yelled at me for whatever it was. She had a fine reputation of being the most unfair, unforgiving harshest ruler there ever was in the sea, and that didn't do me any good. Mom was one to go to take matters into her own hands, and because of that, no one was able to win an argument against her. I've always heard of the horrible things she's always done from one of the mermaids from other kingdoms, like the worst she could've done was ban a little girl who couldn't breathe underwater onto land without anyone to care for her; she was to defend herself against the world at an infant age. That's just the worst case ever, I mean, she uses force to solve her way through problems and she's so caught up in her own rage that she doesn't even use her brain or any of her other emotions to solve them, and there was another way for that girl to live underwater. She could've given her a bubble for her to breathe in until her gills starts to develop, because here, bubbles can help develop lung capacity to breathe underwater. But no. She was the daughter of the rulers of the Bell Kingdom, and you may think, "Well, shouldn't the parents have the right to decide what's best for their own kid rather than someone else who's always unforgiving and rude?" Well, apparently that's a big fat NO there in Mom's book, because she really couldn't or doesn't give two craps about what they think. The wife had died after giving birth to her, and the king there couldn't defend himself because of how Mom wins her arguments, in more ways than one. The baby girl was only introduced to the sea at first and now she was banned for life, thanks to my mom. And she doesn't regret it one bit because she doesn't give a crap about it!" Aqua seemed to have gotten angrier when she explains it.

"What the hell?! That's... I can't even-!"

"Damn, I don't even know how she even did that! And no matter how much the husband tried to go after his daughter, every time he attempted to reach the land, Mom was somehow there to stop him as if she knew everything that he was going to do. And then, she gave him hell."

"My god, she is one evil mother!" I growled. "Shouldn't she be dethroned from being a ruler after doing this?!"

"I know that. Unfortunately, no one can dethrone a ruler, as to they have yet to train the future Queen to be the next ruler, and I was only young back then," Aqua sighed. "Besides her always constantly trying to train me, I found an inlet on land that became my special place whenever I needed to escape the melancholy of being the daughter of a cruel ruler; of course, I never told her about it and I'd always escape there in secret. I've discovered how to control water by myself and so waterbending became my ability. There were many things that I've managed to teach myself in secret rather than from my own mother. The one thing I wasn't sure of were the matters about humans. Mom always blabbed day and night about humans, ranting on and on about how cold-blooded, heartless and murderous they are. I've always wondered if that's why she never wanted me to go to the surface at all. From her, she always told the tale about the war that Poseidon fought in, and how he joined the force known as the Star Warriors to defend against NME that time. I was probably too young to understand or maybe I was an infant at the time, but later on, I would remember about the events that occurred after we found out he died. It was hectic. After the main core of the seven seas, Atlantis and the Colossus, Gyrozalta, were sealed along with the remaining residents of that city, the seven kingdoms were left to look after the sea. And of course, you know what happened after that."

"Oh yeah, that's when the madness had started," I remembered. The cave still felt like it went on forever and that we've been swimming for hours.

Aqua groaned. "For the most stupid reason for her doing this, she blamed the humans that were in that war for his death. Yet, today she still has yet to realize that there weren't any humans in that bloody war at all. She always hated humans even when she was young, as some told me. She never told me about her past anyways, so I've always tried to find out myself, but I couldn't no matter what means I try to find out with. In regards to humans, she always told me to stay away from them and never talk to one at all. Of course, I always break the rules because possibly I may have been around the time when she actually crossed the line, and I was one to not believe until I see it to believe it, so that's why I disobey her, I think. But maybe before then, I actually believed her one time, maybe it's because I was afraid of her when she took over. I was about to believe that for good, until one day, I got captured by fishermen with a giant metal cage by falling right into a trap after saving some of my fish friends."

"Ah, that's right. They were just doing their job, but I suppose those particular type of fishermen were lunatics, huh?"

"When they took a look at me, they wanted to sell me for money so they could become rich. They were about to gut me like they do to all the fish in the sea… that is until a young boy happened to walk by and noticed me. He walked up over to them and ordered them to let me go. They refused to do so, and they tried to get rid of him. The boy was the one who got rid of them and wiped the floor with those fishermen. After that, he freed me from the metal cage and for a second thought I thought he was going to do the same, but he didn't. He managed to get me back into the water and waved me goodbye. I was uncertain whether to trust him or not, but I could tell he was different than the other humans. Soon, I found out he was the younger brother of the captain of the famous pirate crew, the Aqua Skulls."

"Wait a minute- that was Adrian when he was younger!" I gasped. "So, that's how you two are such good friends, I guess?"

"Well, yeah. After about how he saved me, my opinion would later change as I kept going up to the surface every day to observe them at their natural lives, and I'd always talk to him whenever I got bored back at the castle. Ironically, something always happens to me whenever I do. And a human would always save me from doom, male or female, didn't matter. That's how I gained more human friends in secret from time to time, and they kept meeting a mermaid a secret for good. Mermaids used to have a special bond with humans back then, but ever since Mom took over the sea for several years, that bond was completely shattered after Poseidon died. Now my mom has created a dystopia full of chaos and disarray and she did the things you most likely heard about. You should've been there when the other rulers fought against her that time. Her power has increased a hundredfold with the "forbidden-to-never-awaken-again" trident and manages to defeat them all. The Atlantis Mermaids or rather the Prism Mermaids did have power enough to stop her, but they went either missing or perhaps sealed in stone or sealed in a bubble along with the city and the colossus, so in the end, the other six rulers have lost. They were taken as prisoners and were tortured to watch the so-called "justice for the seas" into action for so many damning years. I regret being around during those damned years as I watched my own mom torture the humans abroad, growing up in a time where I didn't feel happy, not even once. I didn't even know how to smile then." Aqua sniffed, her positivity dropping to a pure aura of negativity.

I felt really bad for her, and so I hugged Aqua gently until she felt better. "I'm... really sorry to hear that, Aqua."

"Don't be. Anyway, maybe I was around when Poseidon took off to fight off in that war for many days that would soon escalate even higher than a week. But, god, I wish I could erase those terrible childhood memories that I had. Those were the worst times of my life ever. My god, why can't my life just be simple for once?! If I could restart my life, I could make it so my mom wasn't such an idiot back then! Why does the world torture me with the fact that my mom's a lunatic dictator?! If she could just give them a chance and not be so freaking stubborn, then maybe things won't have to be this way again!"

It might've been the first time I've heard her cry ever. Her lamented tears turned into bubbles as we swam. "Aqua, are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine, Karly," Aqua sniffed, wiping her tears away that turned into bubbles. "I just got emotional again, that's all. After all, my mom's the reason why I never could get along with her that well. It's a hard-knock life for a mermaid princess of the tyrant queen who suddenly decides to take over the world. She never learns."

"Well, Aqua, why didn't you tell us all of this before? Maybe we would've worked something out once we free your mom," I suggested.

"I don't know what I'd do then. I've been also treated lowly because of my mom and it's damaging my reputation. After the events of that tale, everyone on land heard of it and it became a tale worldwide across the Seven Seas. I wasn't sure, but I thought people would think of me as the same as my mother if I told them that, and it's just something I don't want people to think anymore. It's such a pain… to being compared to a woman like her… I certainly had enough of this one day. So, I decided to do something about her. And it all involves the tale you're quite familiar with. The girl who saved the boy from dying and saved the planet."

"Wait a minute, what does that have to do with this?" I asked.

"The truth is, the girl in the story…" Aqua sighed. "…It was me."

"So, you're the girl that saved that boy those years ago?!" I gasped. "And that means as well-!"

"Yeah, the boy was actually Bandana Dee before then. I kinda had my eye on him for a while because he doesn't do much, I think. I've only seen him with a spear, practicing day and night. I wasn't sure how good he was, but he seemed impressive enough. Bandana Dee fought against multiple Water Demons before and I think he was training for something. He even took down a Titan and somehow figure out its weak spot. He had an eyepatch over one of his eyes, and he was in his original form before he became human. His spear skills were really impressive up to the point where it seems like he could stop my mom for good, but again I wasn't too sure of that, though. But I decided to gamble on it and hope I made the right choice. During the time she had the power of the sea, she began kidnapping humans as proof to support her claim, and they were all of my human friend's family members and even more. They were all distressed when they heard they went missing. I didn't know how I could help them, and there was no way that anything in the sea could stand up against her. Then later on before the time happened, I escaped from my mom once again after an argument that heated up between us. I tried to convince her to put an end to this madness once and for all, but to no avail, nothing could reach her heart, perhaps she became heartless ever since the start of this. After that, I went off somewhere to figure out what I could do about it. It was nighttime, and that's when Mom usually strikes more often, and that's when she attacked the cruise ship. Of course, the events followed after that, so I don't have to explain it again since you know already. Now this time, it's either she was possessed by that knightess from before or perhaps she chose to do this again on her own free will, and now her new target's your brother, the so-said cause of this mess again. Maybe even both. I can understand the possessed part if that's the case, but if it turns out she did it again, then it looks like she's clearly asking for another lesson. But... isn't there another way I could convince her what she's doing is wrong again this time? What can I do to show her that humans aren't heartless if she doesn't takes my word for it? If only…" Aqua thought, worried.

"What is it?"

"What if we can't convince her? What if she doesn't change? Will she truly become heartless if she awakens that giant soldier, Gyrozalta?"

"Don't worry, Aqua," I reassured her, patting her on the head. She manages her hair for a few seconds. "There's always a way through the most difficult situations. You and Bandana Dee stopped her once, and you can definitely do it again, but this time with us around, we'll make sure that it won't happen ever again for good. Everything will work out in the end, just trust me on this one."

"Everything will work out in the end?" Aqua wondered to me. Then, her worried expression changed into a grateful smile as she snuggled against my chest until she felt the need to let go. "I guess you're right, Karly. After all, there's no way something terrible as this is going to last forever."

"Glad to hear it!" I beamed. Then, a light shone even brighter as we swam on. "Hey Aqua, there's the chambers! It's just up ahead! Let's go!" I shouted, as I curled up into a spinning ball and boosted forward like a rocket towards the exit after fighting monsters and traversing through labyrinths.

"Hey, wait for me! Don't just blast off by yourself!" Aqua shouted as she did the same as I did to catch up with me while we exit the cave.

Level Five Complete! (Karly's POV)

The clear open view of the sea first-person was just what I needed after being forced to swim endlessly through a cave tunnel with Aqua. Unfortunately, the water wasn't clear and blue as it used to be. It was cursed. All of what Dedede said he saw in the sea was actually true. There were lots of deadly things that infected the sea with its dark aura, turning the water purple and dark as if it was actually poison.

I floated there, staring at the polluted water around us. "No way, Dedede wasn't kidding when he said the water were infected. And he meant it literally! There's no place safe for anyone to ever escape; the smaller sea creatures are terrified, while the larger ones are being hostile and murderous. There's Water Demons everywhere, even most of them adapted human forms. The underwater plants are withering away, just like the plants on land. It's like we're swimming through poison all of a sudden! No offense, but this is a nightmare."

"This is bad enough," Aqua seethed through her teeth. "But this is only the beginning of the trident's power. It'll get worse if we don't put an end to this once and for all. This is nothing compared to what Zero's going to bring if he succeeds with his plans to turn Kaila into some kind of weapon to rule over the world. For now, let's make sure that this planet lives to see another day again. Let's not dwindle any longer and get that spirit already." I nodded while we swam over to the chambers, floating in the distance.

Level Six: Chamber of the Waters

Swimming, we gaze at the entrance and the glance of the Water Chamber. Of course, this is my first time going into one, because for pretty good reasons why. Kirby told me that usually they'd have him take the trials all in there, but in this case, all we have to do is fight him and we win. Simple enough.

"So, this is the chamber Kirby was talking about. Much bigger than I'd imagined it." I scratched my head, "It's so magnificent."

"So, we just have to beat him in a duel and we'll surely clear the trials for good this time. Sounds challenging. We should get in there right now, shouldn't we?" Aqua swam up to the entrance and so did I. The double doors were wide open the second we approached it, taking us inside and closing on the way in.

Water Chamber: Main Hub

We swam up to the surface of water, poking our heads out. Looking around, it was like a grand castle with lots of pillars there and a blue carpet lying out in front of us. We leaped out and landed in our human legs, following the blue carpet.

"So, this is the inside of this place," I marveled. "I've always wondered what it was like inside."

"Weird, I've never seen this place around the sea before, why does it show itself now?" Aqua asked.

"Well, Kirby said that the chambers only appears when a dark force is at work and Dark Matter is the dark force this time. Taking these trials may not only prove your power, but it may also teach you some tricks that are worth learning." I explained, "We must do that very same thing for Kirby since he's got his hands full doing something else. With these orb pieces, we should be able to open the door with that monument pedestal thingy right here."

I placed the orb pieces on the pedestal, each of them in their own places. The pieces flew together and water pushed them closer, making a complete orb again, with the water symbol engraved on it. It flashed as it struck us in the chest, granting us a new power. It did flash once again, and I felt the Daemon Crystal radiating with energy.

Unleashing the Daemon Crystal's Powers

Karly learns a new Overdrive, Lumine Luna Storm! Aqua learns a new Overdrive, Howling Voice! All party member's Daemon Crystals has a new power unleashed! Forgot to tell you, if you have it equipped, when your hit points reaches zero or is at the point of in danger, your Daemon Crystal will instantly react automatically, restoring all your health and magic points, and giving you a new form. You can say it's a trigger to a last resort and it's very powerful. Unfortunately, it's not stable for now, and if the limit has been reached, you'll turn back to your old form with the current status you had in that form. When that happens, it'll take some time to recharge once again, so don't overdo it. It also gives you some status resistance to things that any of the party members were usually weak against, so that'll reduce damage even if you don't have it equipped. Keep that in mind, and also, keep an eye out for ability scrolls, or rather this time, crystals that'll add new attacks to all party member's moveset. Keep an eye out for that.

The orb flashes once again and throws itself the hole in the door, latching itself to activate the tumbles inside the door, opening it wide again. I then noticed there was another message on the pedestal and it looks like it's the last one we'll ever get this time.

"Finally, you've arrived. Before you enter, however, I promise this is the last backstory I'll tell you about this planet, but I'll let you in on one thing. The rest I'll tell if you pass the last trial. About the fight between the boy and the queen, which I'm sure you know who it is, the boy obviously uses a spear to fight against her, but it wasn't enough to stop her, although he had Arecena on the ropes. The weapon alone wasn't enough, and she seemed immortal. But if you're wondering why, it's because there's many ways to defeat a tough enemy, and you may think that she seemed unstoppable at first, but that's not the case. This boy's mentor and his young daughter taught him a skill that he used to take her down, and he may have forgotten it from before then, but thanks to the orbs, he remembers that move by now. Arecena was powerful with the trident, until it was discovered that even the planet's most powerful weapon had several weaknesses, and he learned only one of them. Knowing her, she won't let herself get beaten by the same move twice in a row in combat and would find a way to defend herself against it. But this time, he now knows the trident's real weakness this time, and someone in the party has that same element out of the many they have. There's many, but only one can free her for the chains of Dark Matter. You'll have to find out for yourself. Pass this last one, and I'll give you a hand. Don't keep me waiting."

"So, the trident actually had weaknesses?" I briefly restated in disbelief. "I almost thought it was flawless for a second."

Aqua nodded. "Yeah, there are many ways water can be fatally affected, even though it's one of the most powerful elements there is. But I'm not sure which element is the most effective of them all, though."

"Let's not worry about that right now and let's get the Soul Jewel already," I said running towards the open door. Aqua followed me after once I walked right onto a strange aura nearby.

Progress saved! Showing results…

Current Status:

World 3, Level 3-6, Water Chamber

Lives x 23

10/12 abilities collected so far…

Current Level: Lvl 12

Current Party Members: Karly, Aqua

Now exiting…

The doors closed after that, the sign of no turning back.

Jewel Chamber- Spirit Arena: The Gem Soul of Water

I'd never imagined it to be as dark as I thought it'd be as we pressed forward into the darkness. The sound of water splashed with every step we take forward. It was really eerie. I noticed something shining in front of us up ahead. It appeared to be some sort of jewel that's shaped like a moon, and the color of it is aqua blue.

"Hey, is that the Soul Jewel Kirby was talking about? Come to think of it, I don't think he ever showed me one before," I gazed.

"I've never heard of a jewel like this before, that is, until now," Aqua sweatdropped. "Let's just take it and go, nighttime is about to begin, and that's usually the time Mom strikes."

I shook my head in response, about to reach for it. Closer… And closer… And closer, a little bit more… I could've grabbed it if a realization didn't stop me. "Hey, wait a minute. Didn't he say that there's one last trial we had to do before we can claim this?" The jewel disappeared.

"Man, should've kept my mouth shut." A mysterious voice echoed and the flooded flat water rippled every time the voice spoke; it sounded like a mature teenage boy when I heard it, and I thought the spirits were supposed to be at least older than that.

"At last, you finally made it to my chambers," It spoke. "It was a bore waiting for you slowpokes anyway, but at least it worked out in the end."

"Were you the one who wrote those backstories on those pedestals near the trials?" Aqua demanded.

"Of course I was! Who did you think it was referring to when it wrote 'I'? No one else other than me."

"Well, I actually thought that," I shrugged.

"So… it's just the two of you then? Honestly, I was expecting the Star Warrior to show up, but I guess you two will have to do for this last trial here. It's pretty reasonable as to why he couldn't show up, since the water's been cursed ever since Sapphire was held prisoner by Dark Matter, possessing the worst of all rulers, that wicked queen Arecena, and she is just plain crazy. No offense though. But maybe that'll be only temporary if you can stop her, that is. But, you'll just have to prove that first."

"I see, so that means…" I realized.

"I'm itching for a good fight after the many years or months I've been banished from home by Zero, and I can't leave the chambers until I can see that you're powerful enough to take down the forces of evil, and today's evil is the return of Dark Matter. The Star Warrior's unable to show up, so you two will fill in for him. Proving your attributes to take on the forces of evil is our reason for these trials, and that's what we intend to do!" He snapped his fingers, revealing an arena that seemed flooded with water. The darkness faded away and gave birth to light, emitting a ball of light that flashed around the area. It revealed a place full of water that looked like an aquarium, and a mix of an underwater cave. There was a giant cylinder tank in the middle that was covered up as a see-through.

"Water?" Aqua noticed. Then, she spotted something moving around in the tank and smelled the air. It smelled salty like the sea. "It smells like whale blubber in here! You've been trapped in here smelling like this?!"

"Yeah, don't question it. Can we get on with this already? We don't have much time anyway."

"Alright, if you want a good fight, then your wish is granted!" I declared, getting ready in a battle stance. "Come on, let's go Aqua!" Aqua nodded and did the same.

"Finally, some action! Well, if you wanna stop that queen from doing any more damage, you'll have to prove your worth when you face against the master of water!" The water swirled around to the center and it spurted out a giant killer whale, black and white, landing on the surface, but it looks like it's been modified with water fins and a tail. It looks possessed, almost. It was larger than I'd imagined it to be.

The whale looks awfully familiar, and I should've recognized it sooner when Aqua shouted. "Hey, what's Acro doing here?!"

"We'll ask questions later, we've gotta fight now, Aqua!" I warned her.

"I see, then you won't mind accepting defeat from the Gem Soul of Water, Mist! Ready yourself!" He roared within the living killer whale.

Duel with the Spirits- 12th Boss Battle

Karly and Aqua VS Gyro-Mist (Cursed Pamela and Seadoph Boss Theme- Klonoa: Door to Phantomile)

Boss Description: One of the most vicious sea creatures of the sea are from the species known as sharks, and there are also some creatures that are as vicious as a shark, like a killer whale for example. And this little whale is familiar to some of you. That's because it's the same one from earlier Kirby games. Acro is a killer whale that was one of the victims possessed by Dark Matter in the trilogy games. He was only hostile because of possession, and he's been saved by Kirby twice, and we're not sure if he wants to shred Kirby to pieces again. Now he's the boss you're facing today by the Gem Soul of Water, Mist. Just be glad he wasn't possessed again or have turned into a water demon.

Gyro-Mist challenges you to a duel!

"You up for some seafood, because here it comes!" He roared.

"Um, no, I'll pass," I groaned.

"Same for me, I'm no cannibal," Aqua stuck her tongue out.

The killer whale spat out some explosive skulls around. I dodged the storm of skulls and kicked one back at Orca, which I'll call him. He flinched a bit, then shook it off.

Orca shot spinning drill shells from his mouth that shot bullets of water when they floated in the air. Aqua managed to make them all stop and flexed them all back at Orca, making them into water spears.

Orca jumped up into the air to smash on the outer shell of the arena right to where we were. We sidestepped out of way, but was almost caught off guard when the impact left a shattering shock wave every time he did.

He jumped once and instead of smashing the ground, he made several water droplets to move around the outer rim of the arena. Then, at will, the water droplets swirled itself around, creating water tornadoes about as tall as actual ones. They spun around, homing to suck us in.

Aqua disbands the tornadoes with her fist, and orders them as water bullets to attack Orca instead. It flinched every time one hits him. Water formed on her right arm as she leaped and smashed him with a water punch. Orca wailed in pain and it shook it away.

Aqua landed on her feet after rebounding off of Orca. "That… was easier than I thought it'd be. Did we win already?"

"Hmm… not bad, for a couple of ladies," Mist chuckled. "But, don't expect me to be down on your first attempt! How about we even the odds a little more?!" Orca wailed in bursting anger, signaling a new attack phase.

"Kirby said they never go down on the first round, so expect another phase from them," I snarled.

Phase Two Activated!

"Take this!" Mist shouted, commanding Orca to jump from the tank. "Killer Smash!" Orca lands on the outer rim of the arena, but this time he shattered the whole ground of it. It impact launched us into the air and right into the water, turning us into our mermaid forms.

"How can you deal with a Killer Whale underwater?! They're natural murderous in their playing field!" Mist cackled. Orca screeched around wildly and he charges at us.

"Look out!" I yelled, swimming out of the way. He end up ramming into the walls instead and he had a bruise mark on his forehead. Aqua felt sorry for him.

"Sorry, Acro, we didn't mean that!" She flushed guilty.

"Save the apologies for when he isn't trying to kill us, Aqua!" I cut her off. "We don't have much time, nighttime is about to begin any minute now, and we have to stop her before it reaches that time of the day! I know you don't wanna hurt him, but sometimes you've just gotta do what you have to do, regardless of this. Don't worry, he'll be fine after this, right? He should be! Besides, what's the worst he can do now?"

I instantly regret saying that. Orca opened his mouth and out came… a lock-and-loaded pack of Naval Missiles?! He launched an array of missiles everywhere, exploding underwater like naval mines!

"What?! How can a killer whale survive with missiles from his mouth without exploding?! Kirby never said he shot missiles! That's jacked up!" I gasped, sweatdropping while avoiding the missiles.

"Arco spits out more than just missiles, though," Aqua explained. "For some reason, he can carry anything in his mouth and spit out whatever he wants that he swallowed without being harmed! Don't know how or why, it's just like that."

"Whatever, let's just get this over with!" I sighed. A water cannon blast swept by and I nearly avoided it in time.

Orca swam off to the background and flipped over to where we are, trying out a belly flop as he smashed into the bottom and repeated. He then rolled up and bounced around the area, causing rocks to fall all around us. Orca ended up barreling right at me with full force. I made an instant reaction to evade, that is, until a falling rock crashed right on me.

"Kyah!" I yelled. I was on the sea floor instantly. I went to help Aqua who was in a corner stuck spot, but then I realized that my tail was trapped under the rock. It won't budge no matter how much I try, and it hurts so much as well. I don't know how long I can maintain my Mermaid Form, but if it's temporary, then I won't survive for long. "What do I do now?! Aqua's stuck in a tight spot with Orca and he won't let her evade at this point to help me! I've gotta get this rock off me first, but how? Think, think, Karly! That's it!"

I managed to get my tail to cut through the rock, and it cleave it into pieces, freeing my tail. "I forgot I can use my tail as a weapon as well. Now to get to Aqua and beat Mist!" I rocket-dash up to where Aqua was struggling to survive through its attacks.

Aqua was slammed against the rocks after being pushed back one of his attacks. Mist cackled, charging at Aqua with the finishing blow.

"Now, this'd be the end of your tale, mermaid!" Orca roared and was about to finish her off.

"I don't think so!" I interfered, countering the charge with the Bullet attack. Flipping over, I smash Orca to the side with a tail slap. While he was distracted, I went to help Aqua up. "You're okay, Aqua?"

She nods. "Yeah, that was rough, though, but I'm fine. Okay, let's finish this!"

The killer whale roared as he tries to ram us in one blow. I swam out of the range, while Aqua pinned him down before he could take a bite out of her.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Mist shouted. "Holding me down isn't going to get you anywhere, princess!"

"Maybe not, but it's enough for us to counterattack! Now, Karly!" Aqua signaled.

"What the heck are you planning?" It was too late for him to realize what we were planning to do.

"Surprise!" I yelled, while ramming into the stomach of Orca from underneath with Aqua Bullet. It launched him into the water's air, and it took him out of water's boundaries. We also leaped out like dolphins and made the finishing blow.

"What the-?!" Mist shouted. He was too late.

Bubbles appeared around us, like a mass of them, and together we unleashed our new special attack on Orca.

Dual Mystic Star Arte: Shining Bubble Storm!

"HERE WE GO! SHINING BUBBLE STORM!" We roared in unison. The bubbles around us glowed brightly with the light of a shooting star, and we summoned all the bubbles straight at Orca, like a hailstorm. They exploded with sheering light and it dealt massive damage, enough to declare the winner: US.

Orca wailed in pain as he was engulfed in exploding bubbles, and a chain reaction of explosions followed, throwing him more into the air and right into the water.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mist yelled in defeat. The arena fixed itself automatically as he landed in the middle of where he came out, sinking. We landed in our human forms and cheered.

"We won!" We both cheered. "We cleared this planet's trials!"

Gyro-Mist has been defeated! You win!

All party members gained 300 experience points! You are now Level 13!

Health has extended to 520!

All stats went up by 60!

Karly mastered Mermaid Adaption! She earned the title, "Starlet Mermaid Warrior!"

Aqua earned the title, "Seafoam Mermaid Princess!"

Fusion Attack Unlocked! Added to Ability List!

New Magic Attack: Gyro Burst!

Item retrieval: Star Pearl (Karly), Sapphire Bracelet (Aqua)

Next in 670 experience points.

I shook off the water from my hair that became the default in the meantime, and nearly collapsed to the ground. Aqua caught me in time. "Wow, it's tiring adapting the form of a mermaid. I can barely feel my legs. How do you manage this every time, Aqua?"

"You'll get used to it sooner or later," Aqua shrugged. "But after a while, it won't feel that way anymore, so you should be fine."

A chirp echoed from the middle. Orca was seen floating and poking from the surface, along with a glowing blue puffball spirit; he had blue eyes, but an eyepatch over his right eye. His hair was down and blue and he had a hook on one of his stubby arms. His feet were light blue and a scar was on his right cheek. He looks like the puffball version of a pirate.

"Is that… the Gem Soul of Water?" Aqua asked. I nodded in certainty.

"Can't believe I lost to a pair of girls today, I would've gone all out if Kirby was here, but I'll make with whatever I can get," Mist sighed. He turns his attention to the two of us. "Well, from today's battle, I'd say you match up with Kirby in your own way somehow, so you're pretty good yourself. Maybe one day you'll become like him, who knows? Even though you may have Luna powers, you're still as strong as your brother, and I would say you're much sexier as a mermaid, but Sapphire might kill me for that though."

I suddenly blushed and placed my hands on my cheeks. "Oh, that was… awfully nice of you to say. Thanks." I shyly smile afterwards. Mist turns his attention to Aqua. He kinda seemed regretful, to say the least.

"How should I say this? Wait, why am I asking myself that at all? It's very clear that I'd like to apologize for using one of your friends as a weapon against you in a battle, princess. That was very inconsiderate and stupid, but that's pretty much that we follow and know da wae of-" Mist apologized, but was cut off by Aqua.

"Apology accepted, Mist," Aqua smiled. "I'm just glad that Acro's okay after that rumble royale." She then took me to pet Orca, who chirped passionately and felt relaxed after Aqua kissed him on the bruise mark from earlier before. It healed instantly and it went away after doing so. I was marveled. Orca blushed shyly afterwards, red all over.

"That's also one of a mermaid's specialties: Healing Kiss. Pretty neat, if I do say so myself."

"Well, if that's the case, then why did you cut me off? I was about to show you da wae-" She pressed her finger against his mouth, seemed slightly annoyed, and it's legit.

"Another thing, don't mention that phrase again. It's annoying," Aqua sweatdropped.

"Alright, I'll stop. And a promise is a promise, so I believe you've earned this, not bad for a couple of ladies though. Here's the Soul Jewel as promised if trial is won. Pat yourself on the back!" Mist snapped his stubby fingers, and out came a sapphire Luna shaped jewel, floating into our hands.

Nice! You got the Aqua Soul Jewel! You passed all 4 trials of Aquarius Star! It ain't over yet, as in you've still got a long way to go!

"All right, we got the third Soul Jewel! Kirby will be so happy when he sees this!" I beamed.

"Glad to see you're enjoying the gift I gave you, Karly," Mist chuckled. We both looked at him with no idea of what he's talking about in the slightest. "Eh, if you don't understand, then I'll have no problem telling you later. Now I can finally leave the chambers at last to return home back to Crystal Star, but I'm not leaving this planet or going back home without Sapphire or the rest of the spirits. First thing is to rescue Sapphire and ban the den of evil possessing the queen, but you've gotta assemble the rest of your teammates before you can even do that, huh?"

That came to realization in my mind. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Onii-chan! We have to get to him now before it becomes nighttime at once!"

"Well… about that…" Aqua sweatdropped. "It became nighttime the second you finished saying that sentence at exactly 7:00, Karly."

"WHAT?!" I shouted. "We've gotta hurry! Who knows what'll happen at this very second?!" Exactly something did. Orca growled in a mix of fear and sensed danger, as if he smells something coming.

"Acro? What's gotten into you, boy?" Aqua asked, trying to calm him down. Aqua's face became one of a sudden shock disturbance as she tried to relay the message Orca was saying turning to us once done. "It's just as I feared. Mom really is planning to cross the line for good, and Acro sensed it!"

No, she couldn't mean by that… "You mean, she's really planning to awaken Gyrozalta after all?!" Aqua nodded reluctantly to the question.

"Maybe so, but that's not what he smelled," Aqua hesitated. "He smelled something rising from the ground, and it's not a living thing. It smelled like… a lost city… oh no."

Mist grunted after realizing what it was. "Tch, she must've reawakened Atlantis once again! Oh god, it's 8 years ago all over again, but different this time! But, something doesn't feel right, though, and I'm not waiting to find out if it turns out to be what we all feared."

"Well, let's not stand around like idiots and let's get moving already!" I shouted. "Mist, you think you can warp us back to the others?" Mist nodded and surrounds us all in water, taking us away from the chambers.

Main Hideout: Warp Sector (Lost Planet Alcatraz- Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!)

We appeared into the main warp zone of the hideout in the island, near a medium sized pool of water that had the main controls for the hideout in the middle floating and in some sort of metallic deck. The whole area seemed to be active and running once again, so it seems the boys filled their part of the mission. Right now, they're all running towards us at instant notice.

When they got over here, they seemed to have a change in their wardrobe, like pirate costumes or something. They rushed and panted heavily as heck.

"Hey, Karly…" Kirby gasped. "I see ye got thy Soul Jewel, lassie! Excellent job, Siren!"

I sweatdropped. "Why the heck are you speaking like a pirate? And why are you all dressed like pirates?"

"Oh, this be thy effect of the Pirate ability, Siren sister," Kirby spoke in a pirate's accent. He had on his usual goggles while the end of his hair was a bit longer than usual, and he had an eye patch over his left eye. He had a pink scarf around his neck and a scar on his cheek. A hoodie vest that was black and pink was equipped on him, and a black sheath strap was diagonally across his chest, one for his cutlass blade, and the other one for his firearm pistol. His pants are just black longer short pants and he had on short boots. His hands were covered in fingerless gloves and his hand held a fancy pirate cutlass. Kirby cackled like any pirate does, and so does everyone else who were dressed the same way.

Kirby got a new ability, Pirate! 11/12 abilities collected!

"So, ye actually manage to haul yourself a fine catch, Siren! Excellent job, lassie!" Kirby joked. "And on our part, we fired her up again, and she's back at it and running again, and now it's floating above water!" He noticed Orca in the pool of water nearby and jumped over to him. "Yo, my honky! What's up, Orca?! How you've been over these years ever since the Crystal Shards Incident?" Orca gave him a high five with his fin. "Glad to hear you're okay after those times!"

"Um, is there any reason why you all are dressed like that?" Aqua asked. The group of boys' sweatdropped in response.

"It's a long tale, you see. We'll explain later," Dash shrugged. "Now all that's left is to find out where the barrier is."

"Unfortunately, it seems the real location rather than the Aqua Kingdom is actually at Atlantis, which means it's been reawakened again," Aqua sighed.

"What?!" They cried out. "The city's been awakened once again?! No way!"

"Yes way," I confirmed. "It's real."

"Hold on a minute!" Dedede held a finger up. "If I'm hearing this correctly, the lost city of this planet has been awaken, right? But wasn't that city, along with the trident and the colossus, had some kind of seal onto it that prevents anything or anyone from getting to wherever it is? The first time, somehow it was sealed on its own, the second time, the Elemental Water Princess and this mermaid girl with us had sealed it away again, but the third time... what I mean is, how did Arecena managed to get to the trident if it was sealed by something powerful and reawaken Atlantis again right now? There has to be something that also acts as a key that only Poseidon should know that unlocks it back again! That's the only one part of the mystery still yet to be solved! Hey Aqua, do you remember what the transition was like the second you sealed the city again? How did it disappear, to be frank, and is there anything else you can tell us that may give us a clue?" Dedede came up with some pretty reasonable questions and possible answers to the situation.

"Hmm…" Aqua tried her best to remember. "Well, after that, the city of Atlantis was surrounded by a big bubble that trapped the city inside and then it vanished into bubbles, away from the sights of anybody, like a cloaking device or something. Maybe it warped away somewhere else. No one knows where Atlantis was today until now. And Atlantis is one heck of a giant city, enough to probably cover the whole planet, possibly, but large enough to fill in over at least a giant decent amount of ground underwater. It has so many noticeable areas that many merfolk would get lost around there that time. Everyone from different kingdoms, even the rulers, go to Atlantis to discuss some personal matters about the humans on land or whatever, and that's where Poseidon taught them how to make titans and other stuff as well."

"I see, the old city of legends is where everyone goes to during their free time or when they have personal matters to handle," Kirby summarized. "Then, it could make sense that Arecena would know her way around the city or the main castle since she's been there until the day he died."

"Not really," Bandana Dee said, presenting his side. "During the time of that incident while we went to stop her, Aqua told me a bit about the city, like for example, the rulers were only allowed to be in the meeting hall and in the throne room inside the castle and they were prohibited from going anywhere else for many explicit and implicit reasons. You would think they would know where the trident would be held, but at almost all the time, he never carried that thing around for the most part, and he only brought it out when troublesome situations arise and when he took it with him to fight in the war. When Atlantis was sealed, the Trident was activated on lock down automatically, so it sealed itself along with the other things too."

"Oh," I sighed. "That's why. But that doesn't explain how. In fact, no one in the sea knew how to get to the trident or the city because it disappeared away from the sea for many years without any hint or a trace of it left. Nothing could break in or out of there, but that wouldn't be even possible to pull off since no one knew where the city specifically disappeared to in the entirety of the Seven Seas. And it was sealed, so there was nothing else that could break the seal but the trident itself, I suppose that may be the case, right?" Aqua nodded.

"That's true, his trident was the only thing that can break the city's seal. But you need the trident to do so, and it locked itself by default, so no one but only Poseidon knows where it was kept for safeguarding. But how did mother knew the exact location of the Trident's storage when she was restricted to not wander off anywhere else other than those places? How did she manage to capture all the humans from before and take them all the way there and use them as bait without using titans? But how did she find Atlantis and pass through the barrier without breaking the seal in the first place at all when no one shouldn't have known where it was? Why did she capture Adrian's brother and all those other humans? Just how did she get through? It's like she just walked through it as if she was a ghost or something. Whatever method she used, it must've helped her get in there, and maybe she broke the seal afterwards…" Aqua questioned.

"So, the real question we're trying to figure out is how the heck did the queen manage to get inside the seal without using any of the possibilities mentioned that were deemed impossible?" Dylan rephrased the situation in simpler terms.

The last statement ringed in my head for a while. Walked through it as if she was a ghost? Not entirely sure how she knew it was broken, but that gives me an idea. "Hold on, maybe you're onto something, Aqua. You could be right, you know. Ghosts can pass through anything with ease unless the barrier was slapped with ghost wards or whatever, so they're often hard to detect. Since there's no mermaid ghosts, maybe she somehow found the city and got it with a similar method. Something that can get through anything with ease as long you have the destination set there."

"Hey, guys, come look at this," Kirby called out to us over at the main panel that seems to control the system here. "This is the main control system for the transport here. And boy, it's as big as heck! Here are some of the areas on the planet that's been registered for warp. And in this instruction manual I found earlier, it says that the link to any island is possible here, so you can warp to any area and find a secret entrance that has a warp pad, only hidden to pirates all over. However, to be able to access a new island for warp, it's required that you would need a medium to be able to register that place as a warp destination, in other words, an item. The slots here analyzes everything about the item placed here and would show the spot where the item came from due to its history, and that's when it's registered. And there's a history spot of everything that's registered," Kirby worked the option to get to the history section, showing a series of areas registered.

"How's a history setting going to help us now?" I asked. Kirby typed through the settings and clicked each key on the panel like a master hacker at work.

"I just realized something, and Aqua may be right about passing through the barrier. When Raiden found this hideout, he must've kept it a secret to everyone but pirates everywhere on this planet. He figured out how to work it some more, so the pirates searched for treasure that could lead to new places without having to sail there due to many dangers, and so this became their base as to become a hangout to transport treasure and goods and other junk. To keep out intruders, they set up traps, like any other pirate would do, so they can hinder the intruder's progress to discover their secret base. Earlier, when we went to find the key, we found that the traps were somehow either wrecked or disabled or may have been taken, like a long time ago, perhaps. Robot pirate guards were destroyed and were rusted with water as if intentionally it was done. The only thing that wasn't destroyed was a monster robot that was locked in a mechanical warehouse, in which we fought," Kirby said as he typed his way through the system.

"What are you talking about, Kirby?" Dylan asked. "What's the point of doing this?"

"The tale that was written after the last trial said that the place that the pirates could go to in order to save the captives was this hideout. However, that was also the time Arecena ruled with the trident and with Atlantis up again for the first time, and she captured people as well somehow. That time, when they went to the hideout to rescue them, the island ended up sinking to the bottom of the ocean before they could even get there with one of the warp systems. The links were destroyed and every area was inaccessible for warp, intentionally to block anyone else from interfering, all except one island, Bubble Dhakoros, whose link was only cut off. In fact, it feels like someone came through here not long ago before us. But the idea I have has something to do with the warp history. If my suspicions are correct… ah, here it is! Look!"

The monitor showed a certain area in the history that was apparently deleted, and Kirby somehow discovered it. When he got onto it for details, it revealed a message. It reads this:

"This place was never meant to be discovered at all for good reasons. We should've seen this coming in the first place when captain found this hideout. It proved to be very useful, indeed, to us pirates. It would be sooner or later we find out it can do more than just warp to areas; we found out it can bypass through any mystic lock there is, even a barrier, but it can't get through dark barriers though. We didn't know what use this would be to us at first, but we found out this place's worth… the hard way, and what happened that time got this planet in that mess in the first place for 8 years. However, one day, the hideout was invaded when we came back without any consent or whatsoever. Someone broke through everything we worked hard to make and stomped on it, and invaded the warp system. It was then we discovered that the place that intruder went to was said to be forbidden to enter again for many reasons. The reason why this was erased is because that forbidden destination was: The City of Atlantis. Everything's been cut off purposely to hide the evidence, but it wasn't enough. We were away when this happened, and that's the time captain disappeared. It was 8 years all over again, and we tried to get him back with the hideout. Unfortunately, the island sunk to hinder our progress. I don't have to explain that incident again, so after that, we destroyed any means possible that can lead to Atlantis and cut off all ties with the forbidden city to avoid the incident 8 years ago, to make sure no one never gets in again."

Kirby looks at us and gave a thumbs-up. "See? Mystery solved. That's our key into Atlantis."

"YOU MEAN," Everyone said in unison. "SHE GOT THROUGH THE SEAL AND STOLE THE TRIDENT BY USING THE WARP SYSTEM IN THIS HIDEOUT?!"

"That's right!" Kirby smirked. "Arecena somehow found out about this hideout and its warp system, so she decided to pay a visit there herself. She broke through the hideout defenses, wrecked the entire place, and tried using something that came from Atlantis and had it registered into the Warp System that we can assume she had it from that place, so it can get through the seal protecting it wherever it was at the moment. With that being successful, she managed to infiltrate the entire city and searched every spot of Atlantis, until she finally found where Poseidon kept his Trident after it was sealed. The madness must've started the moment she touched it. And the main events followed after that. Arecena was the one who sank the hideout for those obvious reasons and other ones as well. It's the reason why we had to go underwater to get to the chambers instead. This was all part of her plan to conquer this planet and to prove her pointless point, although there are some good points in that though. No offense. But her point has major flaws that we can counter easily against. Listen up, it's about a few minutes after 7:00 P.M. since we got here, and Arecena likes to strike at nighttime. Since I managed to reactivate the warp to Atlantis, the item that she used should take us to wherever it took her, so we should try to hurry before she actually does it. And even though it's not time yet, I had Bandana Dee alert the others at home and using this control panel with the Walky Talky so they can warn everyone else of the disaster yet to come since Atlantis is awakened once again. They should be on their way soon once they're done, so we'll be ready to counterattack."

"That's a very elaborate plan to come up with in an instant," I commented. "You actually thought that far ahead from today?"

"Yeah, duh. Personally, I don't know firsthand how powerful she is, but she sounds so confident in beating me that honestly, she sounds like a joke, but I'm not one to underestimate a foe. Either way, we have to stop her from repeating that incident eight years ago and hopefully, we can convince her not to pull off a stunt like this again. We gotta hurry now, or we may be too late. Mist, can you break down the barrier for us, since it can't pass through dark barriers?" Kirby instructed.

"Alright, this shouldn't be a hassle at all," Mist summoned a ball of radiant water that he flew out into the sky with. As usual, he shot a burst of energy straight at the barrier that liquefied it and it spilled like a bucket full of water to wherever Atlantis is. Mist came back and smiled. "The deed's done."

Mist has destroyed the barrier, unlocking the road to the boss of this world!

"With that out of the way, we should have no problem heading into Atlantis. We now venture into the heart of the sea, the famed lost city Atlantis, off to defeat the queen that ruined this planet. Who's with me?!" I shouted.

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted. The warp pad started glowing with a pure aura, and the computer scripted a message.

"FORBIDDEN CITY ATLANTIS IS NOW READY FOR WARP. DETECTING ENERGY LEVELS OF LIVING COLOSSUS AT 90%. 10% MORE UNTIL IT AWAKENS. REQUEST: RESCUE THE MERMAID RULERS, CREATURES, AND ALL THE HUMANS AT ATLANTIS BEFORE CONFRONTATION OF THE QUEEN AND I SUGGEST YOU HURRY AS WELL BEFORE THE REAWAKENING OF GYROZALTA HAPPENS. ALL WARNINGS ARE SENT OUT TO THE KINGDOMS OF THE LAND. ONE MORE THING, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT GYROZALTA HAS THE SAME WEAKNESSES AS MERMAIDS, AND THERE'S ONE THAT CAN DEFEAT IT AS WELL THE MOST. I HOPE YOU FIGURE IT OUT SOON. TAKE THESE AS WELL, CAPTAIN RAIDEN FOUND THESE DURING HIS TRAVELS, AND THEY HAVE THE POWER TO SUMMON LEGENDARY BEASTS FROM THE PAST. YOU KNOW, JUST IN CASE YOU HAVE TO LEVEL AGAINST THE COLOSSUS."

You got Summon Rings! I would explain these right now, but ain't nobody got time for that! I'll explain later!

"Thanks, sentient emotional computer system!" Aqua thanked it. "Acro, you should head back and check on everyone else for us, alright?" Orca nodded and swam right below to head back.

"NO PROBLEM. I WON'T BE ABLE TO WARP YOU ALL BACK HERE, SO MAKE SURE YOU'RE READY. IT'S TIME, SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. BRING THAT WOMAN BACK TO HER SENSES!"

"Wow, what a nice computer, giving us words of encouragement," Kirby cackled. We all sweatdropped as we all jumped onto the warp pad. "Alright, let's get right into the noose!" He shouted as we find ourselves being warped to where the heart of the sea lies: Atlantis… I would go and explain more, but that's for another time, I guess. I'll see you all later when we fight against Aqua's mother and rescue the third Gem Star, Sapphire, from the hands of the boss of this planet, Queen Arecena…

Pirate's Hideout complete!

Would you like to save? Yes.

Now Saving… Save Complete! Returning to Title Screen…

End of Chapter 3 Act 4!

Author's Note Summary:

Wow, this chapter's done for now! Took me only about 13 days to finish! Must be a new record. Anyway, as you can see here, this was a completely long chapter, longer than the one in Chapter 1 Act 4. There were a lot of content that I keep forgetting to put in this chapter, so I had to go back and make some room for that part, so that explains the long paragraphs found in certain parts of this chapter, and I apologize if this feels stalled for the most part. So, to clarify on the plot in this chapter in simplified terms, the whole point of coming to the hideout is because the obstacles were put to stall the party's progress any further, plotted by Queen Arecena, who is, as you already get her character, one ungrateful, bloodthirsty little stubborn queen and you know the rest. She cursed the waters and caused it to be in a frenzied chaos while polluting it to stop humans from swimming to the bottom, even with gear. Apparently, in my version, only mermaids can swim through the cursed seafoam since they are immune to it somehow. Just like in other mermaid animes, they can only maintain their human forms as long as they don't touch water, and in Karly's case, that became her new Adaption Ability ever since she was struck by that jewel she found on Kraken's Rock. So while the warp to the chambers was inaccessible, it warped Karly and Aqua to the alternate route since it was cut off, while the others rebooted power to the hideout. After their missions were done, the mystery as to how the queen managed to get the trident is solved by means of that hideout, and so after shattering the barrier, they went out to stop her for good. That's the basic plot of it.

Sorry about that though. Also, the last new mechanic will be explained the next chapter, since I don't want to take that long with this. Anyway, let me know what you think about this chapter in your reviews, and let me know on what to improve on and let me know more soundtracks to go with this. With that done, I'll see you all later. Peace out and the irony is real.