_

[Kiara_the_keyblade_master]

(( heh, sorry for not replying for so long. Life is a bish sometimes ))

Zethy kept on swimming through the big blue. She looked around, no one in sight. "....how long has it been..." she thought to herself. Her tummy growled. " Dear neptune," she hugged her stomach. " How...long has it been, since anything has happened..." she sighed. " I've...just been here...alone with my thoughts..." she looked up at the surface.

" Mama Iris...the world down here is far different than the world inhabited by humans.... and yet... some what similar..." she thought about her adventure in the surface. " I met...so many of them up there..." a smile curled onto her face when she thought about the first group she had met. " Heh...I remember the music they'd play...the beat, the rhythm, it was all so " she closed her eyes for a bit. " Unique.." she slowly opened them.

" I hope they're alright...hopefully they've been able to find what they were looking for...or do what they had to do...." she remembered their smiles, and how they were looking forward to playing in the ship. " I hope they've been guided to the right path.." she kept on swimming. " Well of course they have!" a voice echoed close by. " !?! Wh-who's there? " Zethy asked alarmed. " No they haven't! They haven't even lowered the expenses on the corral!" another voice argued back.

Zethy felt her heart pounding against her chest. She followed the voices leading her into a field of seaweed. The dispute of the corral became clearer and clearer until finally Zethy was able to make out two figures within the seaweed. " Who could those two be..?" she wondered. She took a closer look. She saw both a sea horse and an octopus floating within' the tall weed. Zethy observed them both as they kept on talking to one another. She finally was able to muster the courage. " H-Hello!" she interrupted the conversation. The octopus turned around. " Hmmm?? And what has the krill dragged into these waters?" the octopus asked as it analyzed Zethy from head to toe. " Uh...okay? Well...I'm rather lost-" " D:! OMG THA-THA-Tha-that's!! horrible.." the sea horse bowed it's head in sorrow.

" <_< Indeed.." the octopus agreed as he gave the sea horse and annoyed glare. " Anywho... a mermaid...it is rather unusual to see your kind around these waters!" " Well, it's a long story...but I need to get to a place were I can rest up-" " oooooh dear me, far from here! Here there is nothing but miles and miles of seaweed. Tell me, where are you coming from?" the octopus asked Zethy, leaning towards her. " I ummm.." she thought about what she was going to say.

Most mermaids were forbidden to step foot on the surface, she'd have to come up with a white lie. " I...ummm... I come from Atlantis- " " oh! well hun you are faaar from it" the octopus interrupted once again. " =__= this isn't helping me any.." Zethy sighed and scratched her head. The octopus thought for a bit, then asked " Well...what brought you all the way out here? "

" Mmm... I'm on a journey to find my family and hopefully bettering the life down here on the ocean floor." she replied rather determined. " Isn't that what everyone wants now a days.." the octopus said as it's attention diverted towards the other figure that was approaching the group. " Ah... he's here.." the octopus grinned. " Who-wHO!?! Wha- Ricky??" the sea horse twitched.

The octopus nodded slightly as it observed the figure. " The prices for the pearl have increased enormously, there is no way we'll be able to afford it now. " a great white approached the group. Zethy's eye's widened in horror. " Oh phewy..thought we had actually gathered enough grub to at least buy ONE! Oh well.." the octopus noticed Zethy's reaction " What's with the chick?" the shark asked the octopus. The octopus leaned towards Zethy and pointed one of it's long tentacles at the shark." He's a friend of ours as you can see.. so you can relax he wont bite. Besides, he's a rather unique shark. We call him.. the "VEGGIE" shark. " he assured Zethy. Zethy looked over at the huge shark and felt like swimming for dear life, " I-I don't know if I can trust you.." her eyes widened a bit more. " <__< Well he hasn't attacked you yet has he?" the octopus asked as it crossed a pair of its arms. " Err.. YET! " Zethy replied unsure of what she should do.  

[Kiara_the_keyblade_master]

The octopus looked over at Zethy, with a smudge of interest. " Oh how rude of me, seems that I have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm addressed as Octabious but you can call me Octo for short. My friend, the sea horse over here is addressed as Narley and the shark over here would rather much be called- " " Call me Dale! " the shark said happily. Zethy felt a bit nervous but somehow she managed to shake the sharks fin. " Alright cool!" Dale grinned a toothy grin that send shivers down Zethy's spine.  

[EG Water]

Mike was surprised and jumped a bit. "I'm not thinking of a woman" he said with mild annoyance. He glanced over at Mackenzie, who was appearing as if asleep. His thoughts raced as he contemplated on tomorrow's venture. His gaze quickly returned to Syrah, smiling charmingly, "You know I have eyes for you alone" he said quite forward about it.

Mac was calmly thinking about the time they shared on this boat. The fond memories passed through his mind as each one played out like a movie. He carefully got out of his chair and stood up, looking at the ocean. "Hey guys, I'm going over there for a moment" he pointed over to the front of the railing. He then walked off humming a song. He reached the edge of the railing and the humming shortly became words, "However hard my destiny...may turn out to be...I will follow it faithfully...". He continued to hum, staring out into the sea with a melancholic look.  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah chuckled, grinning, and twirled a lock of Mike's hair around her finger for a moment. "True, but how do you know if that is true for me as well?" she asked, still grinning.  

[EG Water]

Mike laughed a bit, "What's that supposed to mean?" he questioned Syrah. He gazed into her eyes. He knew that she liked toying with him occasionally, but he didn't mind. He knew by the morning they'd be in England, and this cruise was soon to be over.

Mackenzie saw dolphins dancing and swimming along with the ship, and he smiled. "No turning back now..." He held onto his seashell pendant as the whispering wind danced with his hair. He reached into his pocket, and dug out this small oval hand mirror. Its design was beautiful and yet simplistic. He looked into it, and somehow he felt he looked different. "Hmmmmm..." he thought about his friends and how dear they are to him. "It'll be ok" he said to himself as he then pocketed his mirror in his cargo pants pocket. He then resumed his gaze towards the ocean.  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah's gaze turned serious. "Sirens are a capricious species. We tease and flirt and change our minds constantly. Like the mercenaries of the sea, we work for the highest bidder. Even I don't know when my feelings might change."  

[DecafKitten]

((La bump... waiting for Anime to post before I do, since Blythe was last talking to Thaelia...))  

[EG Water]

"Well that's soo settling on my mind" Mike's expression quickly went to blank. "You're still coming with us right?" he asked Syrah.

Mackenzie turned around and began walking to the lounge. His pace was steady and his mind was elsewhere. He needed to go and eat something. His stomach growled as he pulled up at the bar. Dickie came by with her usual smile, "What can I get you?" she asked. "Just give me a few packs of teriyaki seaweed jerky and a couple slices of cheese pizza please" he said a little down. Dickie was slightly confused, but proceeded to fulfill the order for the special guest, "Alright, you got it".  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah wrapped her arms around Mike's shoulders and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Of course I am, Michael."  

[EG Water]

Mike blushed a bit, "Hey, wana sit in the hot tub?" he asked her, "can't get enough of a cruise ride or hot tubs these days" he said with a smile. "I could give you a massage".  

[M3Gnificent]

Bloodied-Rose-Thorns

"But, then you wouldn't have met me!" Blythe replied with a cheeky grin. He wanted to see Thaelia smile again. She was pretty even without smiling, but as smiles tended to do, hers seemed to light up her face the rare occasion she actually smiled at all.

{This post is pre-timeskip. I don't really know what to do for post-timeskip, and I apologize.}

"As these surfacers would say....there's always a silver lining." Thaelia chuckled softly once more, amused by Blythe's cheekiness. "It doesn't make her any less of a nuisance, though." It was never really easy for Thaelia to be optomistic, even if she did start speaking in a more cheerful tone around Blythe. She never really had much need to be, since there was always more negative consequences than there ever were positive.

 

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah lifted an eyebrow. Then she shrugged. "Why not?"  

[EG Water]

Mike followed Syrah into the hot tub. The jets and bubbles were going so nothing was visible below the surface. Mike proceeding in beginning his massage for the siren. "Am I doing okay?" he asked, making sure he was gentle yet firm with his hands.

Dickie came back and placed a plate with his order on it in front of Mac. "Here you go. You need a drink?" She asked nicely, "Um, sure, just some water" Mackenzie responded. "Thank you so much" he said with a smile finally appearing on his face. "Noo problem" Dickie responded all bubbly as she filled a glass with ice water for him. Dickie walked away to tend to other customers as Mac began to take his seaweed jerky and nom away at it.  

[Kiara_the_keyblade_master]

Zethy and her new group of friends began to swim north from where they were located. " Hun, you seem so tense!" the shark pointed out. Zethy felt a chill go down her spine. She couldn't help it, especially after what had happened to Mama Iris, she had a fear against sharks. " I-It's nothing, just a little shy is all.." she lied.

" Oh... Well don't be! I'm kewl! biggrin We're all kewl here on the ocean floor, right guys?" Dale grinned happily. " Whatever you say my good friend" Octo replied. " WHAT'S YOUR NAAAME!" Narley spazzed. " I have a feeling the suspense has been killing him since he first laid eyes on you." Octo added, rather amused at the outburst.

" huh? Oh, It's Zethy.." Zethy said as she turned around with a nervous smile. " Zethy? Why on earth would your parents name you Zethy? It's quite a weird name.." Octo wondered. " Heeeey! What's THAT supposed to mean?" Zethy asked with her arms crossed, the nervous sensation was slowly slipping away from her system.

" Exactly what I said.. you have a very odd name..." the Octopus replied. " Well, pfft! What kind of a name is Octo!?" " An abbreviation to the kind of underwater specie that I am, honestly mermaid I didn't mean to insult you. Your name is odd but it's rather unique." Octo tried to explain. Zethy felt a bit better when she heard Octo say that her name was unique. A smile formed on her face and she continued swimming.

Meanwhile:

Ember walked towards Cythe " Umm...So what are we going to do about...you know..Zeggy." he asked. " Hmph, that traitor deserves to die...messing with my meal...however, he can come in handy now that I think of it..heh. All I need is the youth of another mermaid that has been left astray into the human world..." Cythe thought about what she had said and sighed. " The chances of that happening are quite slim.." " Yeah.." Ember walked over to Zeggy who was laying on the couch of the R.V.

" When he wakes up...he's going to try to kill you, you know that right?" Ember asked her. " Of course, which is why I'm just going to have to erase those wretched memories of him with that scum. He won't remember a thing. We'll pick up from where we left off before we met the inconvenience and look for another soul to pry on." she gave a wicked grin that sent chills down Embers spine.

He looked down at his friend. " .... " he sighed. " What if Zethy is still alive?" he asked her. " HAH! There's no way she could've survived a battle against not one, but two sharks! She didn't even know how to handle the damn sword well." Cythe laughed, soon after her laughter began to subside. " You're right though...I mean, not just anyone can posses the sword of Atlantis. Makes me wonder..why did it choose a weakling like her in the first place.."

" Maybe it saw something special in her..?" " Yes...but WHAT?!" she turned to him with an annoyed look. " Hey, don't ask me! I'm not the one with all the answers!" Ember snapped back. Zeggy groaned in his sleep, both of them looked at him. His highlights changed color, from blue to white.

"...but maybe... he does... Somewhere deep in his memory" both of them thought. " Alright...lets put an end to our doubts, I'll send a group of my finest sea creatures to look for the mermaid, or whatever is left of her.. if they do not find her, we leave matters as is. If they find a trace of her, or the sword. I'll have to take matters onto my own hands.." Cythe walked up to the front of the R.V.

" Hilga? Take us to our next stop. To the airport...and from there, straight to the U.K." she ordered the driver. " Alright." the driver started the R.V. and they drove off. Cythe sat next to Zeggy and placed his head on her lap. She began to rub his forehead and hum a sweet lullaby, she kissed his forehead, leaving an indent of her kiss on his forehead.

The mark sank in and Zeggy gripped onto the couch. " G-Gah!!" " shhh...shhh....The pain will soon pass.." she ran her fingers through his hair. " And you will belong to us once again.." Cythe grinned. " And as for Zethy darling....heheh.." she raised her hand up and released a pulse of dark energy, it raced down to the ocean waters and drilled into it. Sea creatures of another nature began to unfold as they swam their way towards Zethy's path.

Back to Zethy and her group:

" Well, I think my name is pretty awesome too! I mean, how many sharks have you met with my awesome name!" Dale asked the group. " >_> none Dale, now if we shall proc-" a shadow was casted over the group. Zethy looked up and gasped. " Wh-whoa..!" she swam back. Her eyes widdened. " I-It's the cruise ship!! My friends are on that thing!!" Zethy said happily as she swam towards the ship.

" NO WAIT ZETHY!" the three of them exclaimed. She ignored them and kept on swimming upward. " It must be them! It has to be!!" Zethy though, hope gripping onto her heart. " ZETHY!" Dale raced after her. Zethy felt something tangle onto her fin. It was a net. " Huh? Wh-what's this!?" Zethy tried untangling herself but it was no use. Dale began to gnaw onto the net, setting Zethy free.

" But- But-!" " Are you CRAZY!?!" Dale exclaimed out of breath. " W-Why do you say that?!" " Uh!!! Earth to Zethy! They humans up there are vicious! They'd disect you the moment they'd lay eyes on you! Didn't your parents warn you about the life on the surface!?" " You don't know that! How can you judge them when you haven't even gone up to the surface to judge the humans yourself! "

" I don't need to go up there to judge those filthy creatures! Look at what they've done to our waters! They've filled it up with stupid garbage! They've taken apart many of our families! They've destroyed many of our homes for who knows what! They're evil!" Dale scolded her.

Zethy felt her cheeks turn hot red and her eyes and highlights as well, " They aren't all like that!! You're so naive! Just because that's what we've been told doesn't mean that is how things are! You can't judge unless you go interact with them yourself! " " And what? Get killed?!? Are you serious?? Why are you even defending them!?" " Because I-!" Zethy stopped. She felt her heart racing.

" I-!!" she tightened her grip. Octo and Narley leaned in to listen to the heated up argument. She shook her head and swam away. " Zethy! ZETHY! Come back here!!" Dale followed. " What's the point...! What's the point of defending a world I don't even belong to.! " thoughts rushed into her mind. " A world that can't even comprehend ME!" she kept on swimming.  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah nodded, relaxing against Mike's touch. It didn't matter that nothing under the surface of the water could be seen. Even completely relaxed, Syrah only needed the slightest concentration to control the change from legs to tail or vice versa. As long as there were people around, she wouldn't change.