{"sf1_id":700354,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 18","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":6511,"posted_at":"2014-05-03T04:02:00.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Gay","Human","Legend","Mermaid","ghost","homoerotic","merman","myth","story"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/700354-aquata-cove-chapter-18","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/700354","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=700354\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nAquata Cove\nChapter 18: Stories and Myths\n \n \n \n\"Ok, Merrick. Your turn.\" Adam said as he sat on his bed.\nMerrick pondered as he thought. \n \n\"Ok, uhhmm... Ooh! How about stories or legends? Do humans\nhave any of those?\"\n \n\"Hahaha,\" Laughed Adam, \"I'LL say we have. We have millions,\nif not trillions of books and stories, along wit countless myths.\"\n \n\"Ooh, really? Like what? Tell me one.\" Merrick asked.\n \n\"Hm, alright,\" Adam then got up and walked over to one of\nhis shelves, where he has several large books by Candlewick Press, \"Lets see...\"\nHe then picked a couple out, a few of them, and took them back to Merrick,\n\"Candlewick Press didn't usually print these old stories, I'm glad they do, I\nlike their publishing.\n \n\"Here's one of MY favorites,\" He said as he showed the merman\na blue book with a pumpkin on it, with a woman in a dazzling white dress, \"It's\nabout a girl named Cinderella,\" He scooted right next to Merrick, and opened\nthe book, showing him the pictures in several flips of the firm pages, \"She was\nan abused servant in her own home. Cinderella worked night and day to clean the\nchateau, appease her two bitchy stepsisters, and her evil stepmother.\"\n \n\"You mean... She lived to please them? Even though they were\ncruel to her?\" Merrick asked.\n \n\"Cinderella was too kind. They took advantage of her after\nher own father died. Her only friends,\" He turned the page, \"Were the mice,\nbirds, and farm animals of her home,\" He said, pointing out the illustrations -\nCandlewick press combined the elements of Disney's rendition of Cinderella with\nthe origins of Perrault's version, \"You see, her stepmother was jealous of\nCinderella, because she was so charming and beautiful, unlike her OWN\ndaughters, who were kinda ugly and obnoxious.\"\n \n\"... Wait, her OWN daughters? You mean Cinderella wasn't her\ndaughter?\"\n \n\"No. See, sometimes, some humans have children with one\nperson, and they separate - be it divorce, death, or just a break-up - and when\nthey get together with ANOTHER person, maybe one with children of their own,\nthey become STEP-Sisters or STEP-Brothers. And the person the parent mates\nbecomes a STEP-Mother, or STEP-Father.\"\n \n\"That sounds confusing... And silly.\" Merrick said. Adam\nchuckled and nuzzled his merman.\n \n\"It's just what humans do sometimes, babe. Anyway, one day,\"\nAdam turned the page, \"A Fairy Godmother visited Cinderella, when Cinderella's\nstepsister destroyed a gown she was going to wear to a ball - that's a formal\nevent that's arranged and celebrated by royalty. And with her magic, the Fairy\nGodmother transformed mice,\" He turned the page, \"Into horses!\" \n \nMerrick looked curiously at the illustration of a mouse\ngrowing into a horse - both animals looking completely strange to him. \"He-Hey!\nThose are hippocampi!\" He said.\n \n\"Hippo-wha?\"\n \n\"A hippocampus? They look just like these things, but\nthey're colorful, and have large fins instead of those... Legs and baleen,\" He\nsaid pointed out the horses' legs, tails and manes, \"They live in the depths,\nand they're very easy to tame. We call one when one or more merpeople are weak\nor injured to carry them... Anyway, go on with the story!\" Merrick said eagerly. \n \n\"Heh heh, anyway, the Fairy Godmother then turned a\nvegetable, called a pumpkin,\" He turned the page, \"Into a dazzling coach,\" He\nsaid as Merrick looked at the fancy white object, \"And when that was said and\ndone, she turned the tattered shreds of Cinderella's gown into a more gorgeous\ngown!\" Merrick looked in awe at the drawings of the fairy's magic.\n \n\"... Why did the Fairy Godmother help Cinderella? Was SHE her\nreal mother?\" He asked in wonder. Adam smiled as he shook his head.\n \n\"No, nothing like that. The Fairy Godmother was more like a\nguardian angel; after all the suffering Cinderella has gone through, she\ndecided to lend a helping hand to her,\" He turned the page, and showed what happened\nnext, \"So then, Cinderella rode the carriage to the ball, where she met a\nhandsome prince,\" He turned the page to show the glittering woman, waltzing\nwith a young man, \"Where they fell in love, and danced until the stroke of 12,\nand she had to leave.\"\n \n\"What? Why? If they fell in love, why did she have to leave\nso soon?\" Merrick asked.\n \n\"Because of the magic. As powerful as the Fairy Godmother\nwas, her magic only lasts until midnight, and then it would wear off, and\neverything would go back to normal.\" Adam flipped the page, \"So she ran away as\nsoon as the clock struck 12, RIGHT before she and the prince were about to\nkiss,\" Merrick pouted at that, \"She rushed down the steps at the front of the\ncastle, and one of her glass slippers,\" He said as he turned the page, where a\nclear, plastic high-heel was inserted into the page.\n \n\"What's that?\" Merrick asked as he tapped onto the fake\nglass on the page.\n \n\"That's a glass slipper. It's a type of shoe human females\nwear to formal events - though, shoes made of glass went out of style several\ncenturies. Here,\" Adam then swung his legs over the bed, and put on a sandal,\n\"See? This is another type of shoe,\" He then slipped it off, and put on one of\nhis tennis shoes, \"And this is a shoe I always wear,\" Adam tugged it off, and\ngot back to the story.\n \n\"Cinderella didn't have time to put the glass slipper, so\nshe just went into her coach, and rode back home as fast as the horses can go.\"\nHe turned the page \"As the clock rang out, one by one, the her dress withered\nback into tatters and shreds, the pumpkin turned orange again, and shrunk back\ninto a large vegetable, and the horses transformed back into mice, the only\nthing she had to remember the night, was the other glass slipper on her foot.\"\nAdam said as he showed him the next page, showing Cinderella looking down onto\nher foot.\n \n\"So... What happened? Did they all just forget?\"\n \n\"Nope,\" Adam turned the page, \"No one forgot the beautiful\nwoman at the ball, though no one knew who she was, not even her stepsisters or\nstepmother recognized her.\n \n\"After Cinderella left, the Prince found the glass slipper\non the stairs, and vowed to find and mate with girl who fits the shoe,\" He\nturned the page, \"So he searched night and day, trying the glass slipper on\nevery woman in the kingdom, until he came to Cinderella's home. The stepsisters\ntried in vain to infatuate the Prince, but it wouldn't work at all. And then,\nCinderella walked in, with one foot bare, and the other wearing the other glass\nslipper.\"\n \nMerrick smiled as Adam turned the page, showing the Prince\nkneeling down and fitting Cinderella's dainty foot into the other glass\nslipper, \"Once the glass slipper was placed onto Cinderella's foot, she forgave\nher stepsisters and stepmother for everything they've done to her. The she married\nthe Prince and they both lived happily ever after.\" Adam said as he closed the\nbook, \"The End.\"\n \n\"Hehehe, that was an interesting story,\" Said Merrick, \"Did\nthis really happen?\"\n \n\"Hahahah, no. It's just a story,\" Adam then put aside the\nbook, and looked to his merman, \"What about you though? Do merpeople have any\nstories like that?\" \n \n\"Mhm,\" Merrick nodded, \"Yeah, we have. There this one we... We\nTHOUGHT it was a myth, but it turned out to be real...\" Merrick's smiled faded,\n\"It actually happened when we were on our way back here... I... I almost lost\neverything to it...\" Adam gasped lightly.\n \n\"What happened?\" He asked. Merrick looked back up.\n \n\"One moon ago, we were resting, and our Razirah was telling\nthe pod a story, as usual...\"\n \n \n--- One Month Ago ---\n \n\"This is the tale,\" Denizyr said, \"Of the Phantasma Whale...\"\nHe said, as Noita Umiato used her magic to illustrate a cluster of energy\nglowing in the middle of the pod, with them huddled in a circular area, like a\ncampfire. Savarna, who is curled up next to Merrick, gasped quietly as she held\nhis arm tightly. Merrick chuckled as he sensed the fear coursing through his\nbaby sister, having heard this eerie story several times before in the past.\n \n\"There once was a colossal white whale - some say it was a\nchild of the former Amnien Guardian Taniwa,\" The burning energy gave birth to a\nshape of a lion-like whale image. A large sperm whale swam from the same\nenergy, calling out an artificial cry. \n \n\"The Whale was great and powerful! And like its parent, was\nable to create whirlpools and fierce, spiraling hurricanes with a whim.\" The\nwhale surged around, and swam threateningly around the pod. Savarna squealed as\nthe scary whale apparition howled. The mermaid clutched onto her brother, who\nwrapped his arm around her protectively, and held her close. \n \n\"However, the Whale was arrogant, and sought blood sport,\" A\nsquid-like image rose from the energy, and wrapped it tentacles around the\nwhale, \"And so it challenged the champions of the deep - giant squids,\" The\nwhale moved looped out of the tentacles, and bit down onto the squid, \"Mighty\nsea serpents,\" A snake-like monster slithered from the energy, and attacked the\nwhale, to which the whale howled and eliminated with a swipe of its large tail\n\"Godly fish of the dark and black light,\" Several strange and oddly shaped fish\nswam and attempted to take down the whale, yet it eluded them all, defeated\nthem, and devouring each opponent, \"With each opponent that fell before him,\nthe Whale swallowed them all, stealing their strengths and becoming even\nstronger.\n \n\"It was never enough for the Whale, for his victories made\nhim grow ever more vicious and arrogant. Until one day, he challenged the\nPiscien and Holsien Guardians of old,\" A giant shark shot from the swirling\nenergy.\n \n\"The former Piscien Guardian, Megalodon, the last living\nremnant of the ancient times, the very last of its kind, old and battle scarred\nfrom ruthless wars gone by, taunted the Whale of his impudence,\" The much\nlarger shark laughed down at the whale, \"He accepted the Whale's challenge, and\ninitiated combat for many moons.\"\n \n\"As mighty and strong as the Whale was, it was no match for\nMegalodon's vast experience of war and fighting. Too injured to carry on, the\nWhale could not continue engaging the battalized Guardian, and left in\ndisgrace. Though he hid it well, Guardian Megalodon was severely injured by the\nbattle, and soon perished peacefully.\" The shark-like image curled up, and\nslowly disappeared, \"To be succeeded by the brave Leviathan to protect the\nPiscien Merpeople.\"\n \n\"Angered and humiliated from his first defeat, the Whale\nsought out yet another powerful, indomitable foe.\"\n \nA 5-headed water dragon appeared from the burning energy,\nand hissed an eerie roar, \"The former Holsien Guardian, Hydra, rose to the\nWhale's challenge,\" The reptilian creature swam in loops, its heads\ncontradicting the Whales very move, \"As skillful as the Whale was, Guardian\nHydra was far too clever to be defeated. The battled ensued for many moons -\nfor Hydra was not made for a battle of force, but a battle of wits. Years of\nstruggling with the cruel mind-games of the Holsien Guardian, until the Whale's\nmind was too tired to continue. The Whale swam again, hearing the patronizing\nlaugh of his two adversaries, still echoing in his head,\" A grotesque,\nsquid-like creature came up from the energy, and confronted the Hydra image,\n\"Disdained by the cruelty of Hydra, the cunning Kraken rose up, and challenged\nGuardian Hydra to its own game of wits. Hydra lost, and fell into insanity,\nleaving Kraken to become the new Holsien Guardian.\"\n \n\"Bitter and full of rage from his losses, the Whale done the\nunforgivable: Challenge its own mother, Guardian Taniwa, to a duel to the\ndeath.\" The angered whale apparition howled and roared at the feline-whale\nimage, \"The Whale, consumed in its hatred, mocked and raged at its parent.\n \n\"Hurt by the Whale's words, Guardian Taniwa refused to fight\nher own child, and so gave birth to the benevolent, gentle Charybdis. In hopes\nof subsiding the Whale's anger, she gave the White Whale a sister to guide him\nin his time of anger,\" The larger whale image then created a whirlpool,\ntriggered by a large, flurring dolphin-like image, \"Outraged by this action,\nwhich the Whale deemed as weak and cowardly, the Whale charged at Guardian Taniwa,\nand killed her in cold blood.\" \n \nSavarna gasped as the violent whale image tore into the Taniwa, \"Charybdis\nwatched in horror as the Whale destroyed its own mother.\n \n\"Having finally conquered one of the three Guardians, the\nWhale devoured the remains of Taniwa. Before he could claim the title of\nGuardian, he could feel the soul of his mother destroying him from the inside.\nThe Whale cried out in agony, begging the Charybdis to save him. Sadly, the\nWhale had then disappeared before Charybdis can help him, and so was dubbed as\nthe new Amnien Guardian.\"\n \nSavarna shook fearfully, as a glowing circle then appeared,\n\"Some say the Whale still lingers in our world. On a moonless night, when the\nShining Sea Mother Atargatis sleeps, the Whale appears - later named the\nPhantasma Whale\" The merpeople looked on as a half skeletal sperm whale,\nfloated around, \"When the moon loses its light for one night, it is said the\nWhale returns, its hollow, dead soul make its form glow - a terrifying ghost of\nwhat it used to be, its rage still fresh in its spirit, and instantly killing\nand devouring any living thing its empty eyes sees. Once inside the belly of\nthe Phantasma, the souls of everything it swallowed, lost long after its time...\"\n \nThe energy vanished slowly, with half the pod spooked by the\nstory. It is late, and it is time to rest. Merrick chuckled lowly as he felt\nSavarna swim away from him to huddle over to their mother and father.\n \nMerrick chuckled as he laid himself down onto the sand, and\nsoon drifted off into slumber.\n \n \n \nA few hours later, while the pod is sleeping, Savarna is\nstill unable to sleep. She is still quaking from the story. She keeps imagining\na grotesque, whale skeleton, swimming in her head. The image itself is enough\nto keep her scared. \n \nThen, she sensed something. She looked up, and looked out\ninto the vast blueness of the ocean. She softly drifted up from the arms of her\nmother, and swam away. \n \nAs she moved, the orb-like eyes of Penina, the jellyfish\nmermaid, and Brishen's mate, opened as she felt a small flurry of water. She\nwoke up, to see the young Adra Noita swimming away. Curious, the\nsemi-transparent mermaid swam gradually after the younger female. \n \nSavarna swam as she followed a strange, cold trace. She\ndoesn't know what it could be, but her curiosity has gotten the better of her.\nThe Adra followed the feeling to a huge trench. She looked into the bottomless\nabyss. \n \n\"Adra Savarna?\" The little mermaid yelped as she heard a\nsudden voice. She turned quickly to see Penina. The jelly mermaid has glowing\nlines and circles adorned upon her body, along with the leaf-like appendages on\nher three, long tendrils, illuminating the dark.\n \n\"P-Penina! What are you doing here?!\" She demanded. \n \n\"What are YOU doing here?\" Penina asked back, \"We are\nsupposed to be resting. Let us go back to the pod.\"\n \n\"But I feel something...\" She said. Penina tilted her head as\nshe drifted closer, \"Can you not feel it too?\"\n \n\"... Now that you have mention it... I feel a dark foreboding\nfrom the depths...\" She crept and floated over the edge of the trench.\n \n\"I want to see...\" Savarna said as she sunk herself lower. \n \n\"No,\" Penina said as she stopped her, \"I will go. My body is\nmore flexible under deep waters, and I am more adapted for darkness.\" She said\nto the young mermaid; it's probably nothing, at this point, she's only doing\nthis so Adra Savarna will be persuaded to return. \n \n\"All alone?\" Savarna asked. \n \n\"I am from those depths,\" She said, \"I do not fear the\ndarkness. Wait here, Adra Savarna. I will be back shortly...\" With that, the\nflowery mermaid swam down, and dove steadily down into the blackness. Her\nbioluminescent body faded more and more as she sunk lower to the trench. It\nwasn't long before her blue and yellow light faded into the abyss.\n \nSavarna grew nervous as she waited. The more seconds that\npassed by, the more fearful she became. After waiting a total of two minutes,\nthe small mermaid swam over the edge, and hurriedly downward.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick sound multiple signals along the reef, swimming as\nfast as he can, he spotted a pod of dolphins, to which he swam forward too. His\nthroat stiffened as he sounded a pattern of squeaks and clicking noises. The\ndolphins immediately swam in his direction, and he swam up to them in turn. He\ncontinued to speak in a crackling noise, until the pod itself separated in\nmultiple directions. \n \n\"Adra Merrick!\" Called Brishen. Merrick swam up to the\ngreen-tailed merman, \"Any luck?\"\n \n\"No. I cannot find Sister anywhere. I just sent those\ndolphins to locate a small mermaid. I pray they will be of help,\" He sighed as\nhe looked to his friend, \"I surmise that none of the other mermen have not been\nsuccessful?\" Brishen shook his head.\n \n\"No... Razirah Denizyr cannot sense her trace. He cannot sense\nher at all... And it has gotten worse...\" \n \n\"What? How?\" Merrick asked. Brishen looked, up, looking\nscared.\n \n\"No one knows where Penina is!\" Merrick gasped as he looked\nat Brishen, looking as if he is about to weep, \"I cannot find her anywhere! No\none has seen her since last night, she's gone! Denizyr cannot feel her, just\nlike Adra Savarna!\"\n \n\"Brishen, it is going to be alright. We will find them...\" He\nsaid, though he cannot deny that he is feeling doubt and fear as well. \n \nHis gills twitched, and he turned around. Merrick blinked as\nthe dolphins he summoned earlier are swimming away...\n \n\"Adra Merrick... We have been searching all through the sun...\nWe have not found so much as a scent,\" Merrick sent out a few more signals. He\nlooked up to see a few hammerhead sharks swimming quickly away, \"I... I keep\nthinking about her... My Penina...\" Brishen started to feel more distraught, \"I do\nnot understand... How can- Mmmff!\" He felt Merrick's hand over his mouth.\n \n\"Brishen, I need quiet...\" He said. He closed his eyes and\nsent a signal every 10 seconds. Moments pass by, and a low, long call came from\nthe silence. Brishen removed Merrick's hand.\n \n\"That's one sad whale...\" Merrick then swam around, and\nforward, \"Adra Merrick? Where are you going?\" \n \nMerrick placed his webbed hand onto the sand, keeping his\neyes shut, and sent out a long, loud moan. Moments later, the same, sad moan\nfrom before was called. He moved his head to a certain direction, and swam\nforth. \"Merrick! It's just a lone whale!\" Brishen said irritably, \"We have to\nfind Penina and Adra Savarna!\"\n \nThe Adra Triton ignored him as he followed blindly to the\nsource of the low call. He eventually opened his eyes and peered down into a\ngigantic trench. \"Merrick! Stop wasting time chasing whales!\" Brishen said to\nhim as he swam up next to him.\n \n\"Brishen...\" Merrick uttered. He turned around, and looked\ndirectly at Brishen in the eyes, \"There are not any whales within 50 miles of\nhere.\"\n \n\"RRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!\" Both mermen\ngasped as they heard the same voice, this time, it sounded angry instead of\nsad. They stared down into the abyss. Brishen sent a signal, but nothing\nresponded. Not even a faint glow from any bioluminescent creatures from below.\n \n\"... Why is there not anything down there?\"\n \n\"There is. But they are silent. They won't give any\nsignals.\"\n \n\"Why not?\"\n \n\"... Let us find out...\" Merrick said as he swam down. Brishen\nfollowed the Adra, both of them holding their weapons tightly. The delved into\nthe darkness, growing colder and colder the more they traveled down. Both\nmermen kept sending down signals, everything in the trench remaining silent, no\nmatter what angle they sent a signal.\n \n \n---The Previous Night---\n \nSavarna grew nervous as she waited. The more seconds that\npassed by, the more fearful she became. After waiting a total of two minutes,\nthe small mermaid swam over the edge, and hurriedly downward.\n \n\"Rrrrrrreeeeeeennnnnnnnnnrrrrrrrrrrrrr\" \n \nSavarna eeped as there came a deep, sad moan from the\ndarkness, like a dying whale, calling out for aid.\n \n\"ADRA SAVARNA!!!\" Yelled out a blue glow from the darkness.\nPenina is jetting as fast as she can, ascending at top speeds towards the small\nmermaid, \"GET BACK TO THE POD! GET BACK TO THE POD!\" Savarna gasped as the\njelliscent mermaid, desperately swim. \n \nHowever, eventually, she came to a stop, but still kept\nundulating her veiled body and three stingers. Savarna gasped as Penina tried\ndesperately to swim up, up was seemed to be being pulled back, \"GO BACK TO THE\nPOD, ADRA SAVARNA, PLEEEAAASSSE!!\"\n \nInstead, Savarna jet down, and grabbed Penina's slippery\narm. \"NOOOOO!! YOU'LL DIE TOO!!\" The Adra pulled as hard as she could, refusing\nto abandon Penina.\n \n\"HHHHHHHRRRRRRREEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!\" \n \nCame an angered roar from below. Savarna looked and screamed\nas she saw a colossal, narrow pair of jaws open. She turned and clutched onto\nPenina as the huge teeth clench all round the two mermaids in a mighty SNAP!\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"Merrick...\" Brishen said as they explored the trench, \"I do\nnot sense ANYTHING down here...\"\n \n\"Me neither... I thought they were hiding because they were\nafraid. They were BEFORE we came here, but... It seems as though they have\ndisappeared...\"\n \n\"You may be a Triton, but I doubt there was anything here...\"\n \n\"Which is strange, because this abyss should have a lot more\nlife than this.\" Merrick replied, feeling irritated and paranoid, \"In case you\nhave not noticed, those dolphins I found swam away. While you were talking, I\nsaw a pod of hammerheads hastily moving about. And I have been sending signals\nin EVERY direction, and every living creature is swimming AWAY from this part of\nthe ocean!\n \n\"Why do you think Denizyr chose to tell the story of the\nPhantasma Whale last night??\"\n \n\"Merrick... You are starting to scare me...\" Brishen said,\nswimming backwards a little.\n \n\"Because my Mother said Sea Mother Atargatis is going to\nsleep for this one night, so he told THAT story for a fearful affect - for\nfun!\"\n \n\"Merrick, stop!\" Brishen said, \"That's JUST a legend!\"\n \n\"No, but what IF! What IF, the legend is real?! What if the\nPhantasma Whale DOES exist?! WHAT IF the Phantasma swallowed Sister and\nPenina?!\" Merrick slapped his webbed hand over his own mouth as his eyes\nbulged. Brishen stared at him, but then gasped as he swam back.\n \n\"MERRICK! Behind you!!\" \n \nMerrick swung his trident around him, and swiped behind him,\nonly to find he swung at a tunnel. The Adra gasped as he swam back, seeing a\nwhite, malevolent glow around a big, black, empty circle. \n \nBrishen stared wide-eyed as a stench and image of a rotting\nsperm whale head slowly glows with a ghostly aura. He sent a signal, but he\ncannot sense the whale's presence. It doesn't exist, or it's not supposed to,\nyet it is forming out of nothing, RIGHT in front of him!\n \nThe giant ghost let out a long, aggressive moan as it moved\nforward. As it moved, its full form developed; its pectoral flippers half\nrotted with bones sticking out of them, its head withered out so its shining\nspine and ribcage is showing, with its mighty, intact tail pushed down, with a\ntrail of aquatic ectoplasm washing in its wake.\n \nMerrick and Brishen stared as the giant phantom dove\ngradually down, in the deepest darkness.\n \n\"... It has seen me...\" Merrick uttered.\n \n\"Merrick... We need to get back to the pod... Your Mother will\nknow what to do... You figured it out; we can find Adra Savarna and Penina! We\nhave to-\"\n \n\"No!\" Merrick turned around, \"Remember what Denizyr said?!\nThe Phantasma Whale swallows any living creature it sees! If I go back to the\npod, it will devour them too! It is going to follow me, it is coming right\nnow!\"\n \n\"RRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHEEEEEENNNNNGGGGHHHHHHHHH!\"\n \nThere came a low roar of anger, and Merrick felt himself\nbeing pulled back. He gasped as he swam forward, feeling sucked backward like a\nvacuum. Brishen stuck his spear into a crack in the trench, and wrapped his arm\ntightly around it, and held out his other hand.\n \n\"Merrick, quick! Grab my hand!\" He said, reaching for his\nfriend. The Adra Triton reached out grunting as he pushed his tail as hard as\nhe could. He inched closer and closer, as another low call rumbled behind him.\nNo matter how hard he swam, or how close he got to gripping Brishen's hand, he\nsteadily was pulled backward.\n \nMerrick winced, and lowered his hand, \"Merrick, NOO!\"\n \n\"Get to the pod!\" Merrick yelled, \"It has not seen YOU yet!\nYou have to go to the pod! GET THEM OUT OF HERE!!\" He called. Brishen looked in\nterror as Merrick slowly inched backward as he yelled.\n \n\"NO! I am NOT leaving you behind!! You are the Adra Triton!!\nSwim harder, Merrick! Keep going!\"\n \n\"IT'S TOO LATE!!!\" Merrick called out, \"GET. THE POD. AWAY\nFROM HERE!!\" With reluctance, Merrick stopped swimming, and drifted away fast.\n \n\"MEEEERRRRIIIIIICK!!!!\" Brishen called out as the large,\nglowing beast closed its jaws around the Adra Triton. Brishen flinched, and\ncurled himself tightly under a large rocky protrusion as the Phantasma moaned\nout another dark call as it moved through the water, ascending up, without\ndisturbing the water.\n \nBrishen pulled his spear out of the trench wall, and shot up\nas fast as he could. He swam until he broke the surface. He turned around and\nlooked everywhere in the sky. It is VERY dark tonight - he can only see the\nstars. The green-tailed merman looked carefully around, until he saw a big dark\ncircle in the sky - it's VERY subtle, but he can see it. It's a new moon, or\notherwise, \"... Sea Mother Atargatis is in slumber...\" He looked in horror, and\ngasped as he turned to his side, seeing a glowing white, mighty, rotting whale\ntail rise up on the surface of the water, and diving back in. \n \n \n~~~\n \n \nRazirah Denizyr concentrated as he held his palms together,\nevery broken shell on his body glowing and vibrating, all but two on his long\ntail. He hopes of activating all of his mediums in order to locate Adra Savarna\nand Penina, but has been unsuccessful. No matter how far a merperson goes, he\nshould still feel the trace of their medium, but it seems as though Savarna and\nPenina has both-\n \n\"Oh!\" His eyes opened, and he gasped as one more shell on\nhis tail stopped glowing and vibrating, \"Triton Kaiken\" He said to the large,\ndark blue merman. Kaiken turned to him.\n \n\"What is it? Have you found them??\"\n \n\"No... Adra Merrick's link... It too has disappeared...\" He\nstated.\n \n\"No... Not my Son too...\" Kaiken then turned and called out to\nall the nearby merpeople, \"Double the search! The Adra Triton has disappeared!\"\nThe other merpeople gasped at the news, \"I want every merman and mermaid on the\nwatch for them! Summon any creature you see, and bid them to search as well!\"\nThe rest of the pod swam hurriedly away on his command, \"Leave no shell or sand\nunturned! Not one of us will rest until we find them!\" \n \nSoon, only the meryin remained unsure of what to do. Kaiken\nscowled as he shook his head. \"First my Daughter and Penina... And now my Son...\nWhere is Umiato?\" Kaiken asked the Razirah.\n \n\"She is tending to the meryin, Triton Kaiken.\" \n \n\"I need her to-\"\n \n\"TRITON KAIKEN!!!\" Yelled a voice.\n \n\"What?\" He turned around, and saw a merman of his pod, a\ngreen tail. Merrick's friend, Brishen, he believes. The young merman swam up to\nhim frantically to the Triton.\n \n\"Adra Merrick is gone! He's been swallowed!\" \n \n\"What?!\"\n \n\"Impossible!\" Denizyr said in disbelief, \"Even of he was\neaten, I should still be able to sense his shell.\"\n \n\"You do not understand!\" Brishen yelled, \"It was the\nPhantasma Whale! It is real!\"\n \n\"Brishen!\" Kaiken growled, \"My Son, my Daughter, YOUR mate\nis missing, do NOT start prattling jokes!\"\n \n\"This is NOT a joke, Triton Kaiken! I saw it with my own\neyes! It's real!\"\n \n\"It is only a legend, Brishen!\" Denizyr said, \"We have no\ntime to waste on nonsense!\"\n \n\"I am telling you, Merrick was swallowed! Please believe\nme!!\"\n \n\"Brishen, I will not tolerate-\"\n \n\"KAIKEN!\" Came a stern voice. All three mermen turned to see\nthe pearly white veil mermaid, looking quite cross. She drifted herself over to\nthe green merman, \"Alright, Brishen. Please tell me what happened.\" Umiato said\nsoftly.\n \n\"Adra Merrick and I were searching, and we found an abyss.\nWe looked down there to investigate, and we found the Phantasma Whale! It\nappeared as a withering whale carcass! It saw Merrick, and it swallowed him! He\ntold me to warn everyone, to get the pod away from here!\" He said, a white mist\nforming around his eyes as he began to sob, \"He said it swallowed Adra Savarna\nand Penina! Noita Umiato, the moon is dark tonight! The Shining Sea Mother is\nsleeping! The Phantasma Whale is REAL!\"\n \nThere was a short pause and silence.\n \n\"RRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMRRRRRRRRR\" Came a distant,\nwhale call that sounded of loneliness and anger. Umiato nodded slowly.\n \n\"Very well. Take me to where you and my Son found it.\" She\nsaid gently to the merman.\n \n\"Y-Yes, Noita Umiato.\" Brishen turned around, and swam\nforth. \n \n\"Kaiken,\" Umiato said as she turned, \"Come with us. If it is\nindeed a whale, we shall try and reason with it.\" The Triton scowled before he\ntoo moved beside her, \"Razirah Denizyr, I want you to watch after the meryin.\nKeep them safe while we are gone.\" \n \n\"Yes, Noita Umiato.\"\n \nAnd with that, they swam quickly.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nThe three of them swam swiftly through the open water, the\nTriton, the Noita, and the merman. \n \n\"Umiato, we are wasting time,\" Kaiken stubbornly said, \"I do\nnot sense a single whale anywhere near here.\"\n \n\"That is because it is a ghost!\" Brishen said, \"It is not\nalive, Adra Merrick and I were not able to sense it.\"\n \n\"Then how have you and Son found it?\" Umiato asked.\n \n\"... We heard a whale calling, and he traced it into a\ntrench...\" Brishen said, \"I could not help him... I was useless... I did not even\nbelieve him...\"\n \n\"No, Brishen,\" Umiato said, as she gently felt his shoulder,\n\"You reported what happened. You helped in bringing us a moment closer to\nfinding the ones we love.\"\n \n\"You had better not have been wrong, Brishen,\" Kaiken said,\n\"Or else, you have only-\"\n \n\"Stop!\" Umiato said, coming to an abrupt stop.\n \n\"What? What is it, Umiato?\" The mermaid is looking directly\nup. Brishen and Kaiken tilted their heads back, and looked up.\n \nThere it is, the underside of the phantom. Half decayed with\nits head, flippers, and tail flipper preserved, and its ribcage and spine\ncleaned out. It glows with an eerie, ghostly aura as it floats near the surface\nof the ocean.\n \nKaiken sent a few signals to it, but felt and heard nothing\nbetween himself and the surface. It does not exist.\n \nThe Triton then let out a long, deep call to the giant\nphantom, as he would communicate with a whale. The ghostly apparition did\nnothing as it lingered there.\n \n\"... It will not respond... I cannot feel it, Umiato...\" He\nmuttered.\n \n\"It is a dead soul,\" Umiato said, \"It is not of this world.\nIt should not exist, and yet it does,\" She narrowed her eyes, before waving her\nveil-like tail, and ascending up to the whale. Brishen suppressed a whimper as\nthe Noita approached the creature. Triton Kaiken rose up, following his mate to\nthe unworldly beast.\n \nNoita Umiato then came eye-to-eye with the ghost. She looked\ninto the big black hole, an empty eye socket that she could just swim into. She\nglided along the rotted head, and faced the front of it. \n \n\"Phantasma Whale! Horror of the sleeping moon! Devourer of\nlife itself!\" He called out to it, \"You have consumed some things I hold very\nprecious to me.\" Her eyes then glared in anger at the whale.\n \n\"You will give them back.\"\n \nThe colossal demon opened its narrow mouth, withered and\ndecayed, and let out a low grumbling noise. Kaiken gasped as he felt the water\npulling himself and the Noita toward it. Umiato stayed still, allowing the\nghost's inhale to draw her in. Brishen gasped before he kicked his tail hard to\nshoot up!\n \nRight before Umiato could get near the rotting phantom\nflesh, she waved her frilled hand. Her pearly palm then lit up brightly, and\noutshined the whale itself! The flash caused the whale to roar in pain. The\nghost writhed as the light of the Noita shocked it to its core.\n \n\"You WILL give them back to us!!\" Umiato called out in\nanger. \n \nThe whale moaned in outrage before it dove down, and loomed\ninto the sea. Umiato simply turned about face, and drifted to her mate.\n \n\"Alright, my love,\" She said calmly, \"This is what I want\nyou to do...\"\n \n~~~\n \nBrishen panted as he swam quickly up. He has NO idea what\nNoita Umiato is playing at! She PRESENTED herself to the Phantasma! Why would\nshe do that?! Didn't she listen to the story?! That ghost will NEVER let her\ngo!\n \nThe merman turned and panicked as he say the giant carcass\nturn about, getting ready to charge at the Triton and Noita.\n \n~~~\n \nKaiken and Umiato faced the incoming creature. It let out a\nlow, enraged moan as it opened its large, rotting jaws. \n \nTriton Kaiken opened his own mouth, and released a mighty\nroar. Umiato placed her hands onto his back, and channeled her power into his\nbody. Kaiken felt a surge force out of his throat and from his mouth, his eyes\nglowing bright white as his voice became distorted with the magic of the Noita.\n\n \nImmediately, the Phantasma Whale stopped in its tracks. Its\nmoan became haltered as it froze on the spot. The remaining meat of its form\nblinked out. It shuddered and rumbled in sheer agony before it became a\nshambling skeleton of a colossal sperm whale.\n \nWith the Phantasma locked in the bewitched sound, Umiato\nbegan singing a battle melody as she drifted up, and swam into the shaking bone\nmaw. Her song made the ribcage of the whale shimmer and glow, before a school\nof different kinds of deep-sea animals swarmed out of between the ribs of the\nPhantasma bones - the species of fish that live in Deep Ocean trenches. \n \nBrishen looked in awe as the Phantasma quaked, stopped dead\nin its tracks as it rumbled its dead call in pain. He gasped as his eyes\nspotted a translucent, jellyfish like mermaid, with her arms around a shorter\nmermaid with frilly head-fins. \"PENINA!!!\" He jet right up, and in-between the\nribs of the whale skeleton. Penina lift her head from Savarna, hastily taking\nBrishen's webbed hand, and swimming with him out of the Phantasma. Noita Umiato\ncame behind her son, him turning his head, and both of them looming out of the\nghost whale.\n \nKaiken stopped the call, and rubbed his very sore throat,\nhis gills flaring as his the inside of his neck burned from both the effort,\nand the spell from his mate. Upon spotting Penina holding Adra Savarna in her\ntransparent arms, and Umiato guiding Merrick with her, Kaiken kicked his\npowerful tail to join them. \n \nThe Phantasma Whale raged as its decayed flesh returned to\nits form. It turned around, and opened its huge mouth to suck them in, RIGHT\nbefore it dissolved into nothingess, vanished without a trace.\n \nAbove the surface of the sea, the darkened moon had a very\nsliver of white peeking from it. Besides that, the sky is beginning to lighten\nup from the morning rays.\n \n \n---One Month Later---\n \n \nAdam stared wide-eyed at Merrick, \"So... It's gone, forever?\"\n \n\"No,\" Merrick shook his head, \"You can't kill the dead. Not\neven a Noita has the power to end ghost. She was only able to save us...\" He\nrubbed his arm, \"I asked how she could do it, but she said it was too\ncomplicated to explain.\n \n\"Anyway,\" He said, \"I wanna hear another human story~!\" He\nsaid with a smile. Adam chuckled as he picked up a purple and magenta book.\n \n\"Ok, this one is called, 'Sleeping Beaut-\"\n \n*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*\n \n\"Ty'.\" He grumbled and sighed, \"I'm sorry, Merrick... I have\nto go to work.\"\n \n\"Awwooooo!\" Merrick whined, \"NOW? But I feel spooked from\nremembering the Phantasma! Please, can't you stay for a little while longer?\"\n \n\"I'm sorry, Merrick, I can't.\" Adam said as he got dressed,\n\"I told you, that's why I woke up early this morning, so we could cuddle and\nchat.\" Merrick sighed in disappointment. Adam tilted his head to him, \"I'm\nsorry, sweetie. I have to work. Otherwise, I can't live here...\" The merman\nsighed and nodded. Adam kissed his lips, and stood up, \"I'll be back soon,\nsweetheart...\" Reluctantly, Adam walked out of his room.\n \n\"Yeah... I'll be here...\" Merrick said, taking the pillow, and\nhugged it close, \"Like always...\"\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/699133-aquata-cove-chapter-17.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/701443-aquata-cove-chapter-19.json"}