S.S. finally came out of the hole, climbed up the seaweed rope, and fortunately, it held her well.
And she was carrying a small box as well.
"...You know something about Oceana, don't you?" said S.S. to whale.
"One of the notes indicated that your name's Windy, are you Windy?"
Whale moaned as if to reply.
S.S. smiled slightly.
But her expression was quickly switched back to a serious concern, thinking about her friends again.
"Windy, I need you to take me to the castle. this time, I really need to go there. and...you might know that already."
Whale moaned and swished his fins.
And he lowered his body again to let S.S. sit.
She sat down onto Windy's back, and he swam again, swerved his direction...to go to the place where every problems right now were happening.
- - - 🐋 - - -
Now it felt like everything was over for Kyle and his friends.
In this rate, everyone in this place would be caught in Oceana's grip.
Kyle tried to free himself.
At least he and his friends, excluding Miru were all just stuck to the grip.
If only he could free his arms, then....
"Hghh..grr...."
He squirmed around to free himself, and he stuck his hand out of the sticky grip somehow.
Even if it was sticky because it was a contiminated oil, he had the solution to get himself and his friends out.
He and Emily had once learned from his mother how to get rid of the sticky oil stain on the frying pan.
It might be bit different, but...he needed to try.
First, he needed to use a warm water....but, he realized he didn't have something like that.
He need to use his friends' help!
"Miru!" he called.
"Huh..??"
"Miru, do you have that magma rock thing which Raska gave to you?"
"Uh...I have that..?"
"And the badge I gave you! do you have that as well?"
"I have them both in my pocket!"
"Great! throw it here!"
"What?! but..but you only have one hand out...and there's no guarantee you can catch it!"
"Even if I can't catch it, September or Em beneath me may make it! after all, this binding's sticky, it'll stick to it, and they might make it! so quick! throw it!"
"......"
Miru was also unable to move her hands, but she used her bound hands to create a bubble around the objects, and to blow and send them to her friends.
It somehow reached each Kyle and Emily, and Kyle got the rock while Emily got the badge.
"Yesterday, while having a talk with others, Raska told me that LD's volcano rocks can create heat when you shake them in the water....even when it's a cooled stance of a lava! Em, I'll toss the rock to you, so use a bottle and a badge for this! you can make it!"
"Kyle, I can't move my hands!"
"It's okay, Em! just squirm your arm and grab it out! if you do that to both of your arms, you'll make it!"
"Ugh, fine!"
So Emily also knew that they didn't have any choice for now, so she squirmed as much as she can and got her arms out.
She somehow grabbed the badge out of the oil binding, and called to Kyle.
"Now, throw it!"
"Yeah!"
So Kyle threw the rock down, and Emily caught it fortunately.
So she gripped the badge in her teeth, and used one arm to somehow open her bag to get the spare water bottle out.
When she opened it, the bottle's water was immediately combinated with ocean water.
But that was not the end.
Since the rock was somehow small as a pebble, she scratched its surface with a badge multiple times, and pushed it into the bottle and closed the bottle before the rock could float out.
And then she shook it like a madness, and the bottle's water began to bubble and its surface heated up...
But she knew what she had to do.
She quickly popped open the bottle and the water inside the bottle blasted up toward Kyle.
Then she shot the water's direction to Miru, September and Marine.
And before its effect could disappear, she shot the water to herself, despite screaming,
"Awit'shotohmygod!!!"
And all of them were freed, although Oceana realized what was happening and roared in a menacing way again.
Miru was freed as well, and she was back on the ground with her friends again.
"Aww...hey, how did you even do that?! it was sticky, but it was also oily I couldn't scrape it off me!"
"It's what the power of science is, Seppy."
"Wha??"
"We don't have a time for conversation now!"
"Okay, what's a plan now?"
"Glad you asked, now we....."
"Run."
And as all of them fled out, Oceana raged one more time and roared, chasing them and breaking the walls down.
- -- 🐋 - - -
And when six of them arrived back into the hole with their bodies covered in a mass of black lumps, everyone was surprised to see them.
But Marine quickly went up to the stage to scream,
"Everyone, listen. this place is in a danger now, as this is an emergency case, we're asking everyone to leave for your safety!"
Everyone was confused for a moment, but with the help of other five kids, others were able to flee quickly.
And Marine also pushed them out to run, and they were all outside, and King Blue and Ms.Gray led them to the rock shelter distant away to keep them all safe.
When they were all safe inside, and after Marine quickly followed in, Ms.Gray asked them what had happened, and they told everyone about what happened.
And as they talked, they could hear Oceana's roar outside, and King Blue suddenly stood up.
"I'll go stop Oceana myself."
"What?!" cried Oran.
"Your Majesty, no!" Rei also cried.
"Right, your majesty! your lightning skills won't work in this ocean water!" agreed Red.
"But I can't let this happen like this. Oceana's my old friend, and Marine and you children tried your best. also you, too. Miru. you tried to save your sister as best as you can. we'll have to do something as well. so Rei,Ms.Gray. please protect children and lead them somewhere else while I buy some times."
"...Your Majesty." spoke Kyle.
"Kyle, my boy. you need to go with others-"
"I'm sorry, but are you serious?!" cried Kyle.
"..!"
Everyone stared at him with a shock.
"Why, you can't just say that. if you really care about us, you shouldn't be saying something like this! what if Oceana right now, who can't realize anything, and faces of her family and friends right now, actually hurts you and..and..kills you? what's Mr.Rei, or Red and other beasts, or Oceana herself do in that case! you'll make everyone suffer by sacrificing yourself!"
"But, my boy. we can't just abandon this!" King Blue replied, also with bit of a stress in his voice.
"That's right. so I have an idea...."
Oceana was searching the ground. she was actually looking for something...but she didn't know what that was. she wanted to keep it away from the others....others would only break it and hurt it.
But...what was it? she couldn't remember and she couldn't know.
All she had in her sight was blackness and emptiness in her thoughts.
Now she was losing even that empty thoughts.
But just then, she felt something puncturing through her tentacles.
"Here! here! come here, quick!" cried the small creature beneath her...
It was the creature from earlier...who shot lights at her.
Then she felt another familiar blows.
It was...a mermaid who shot tridents.
She swung her tentacles at them, but they dodged it. Then they swam away, and before she could chase them, something clung to her back.
It scratched and dug into her surface, and there were more of that scratch and dug.
She also flew them off, but figures with wings caught them.
And there were more of mere, but irritating attacks, so she flew everything away from her, unaware that everyone of her opponents were safe.
Something got splashed to her face, and she couldn't see.
And a darkness seemed to have surrounded her, she couldn't feel anything around her.
And also, another beat of lights shot through her...and..
'Crack'
It hit something critical in her, and she screamed and roared, high pitched as ever.
She jolted and lurched...desperate to protect it.
Then.....
She felt soft bubbles on her back.
She couldn't miss that whether she could or couldn't see or feel.
She shot her tentacle forward to capture that 'thing'.
A thing she couldn't remeber, but what was important to her.
A thing why she longed to live, and a thing she was desperate to protect.
But still, she couldn't remember anything.
'Pop!'
But she dropped it.
"Ahh!" Miru screamed as she was caught and fell again from Oceana's tentacle grip.
However, this time there was something to catch her...
She landed onto something pretty softly,and that something was whooshing and moving quick as ever.
"Aww...huh...? wait...S.S.?!"
And she saw that she was riding onto some creature's back, and S.S. was riding on it already.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah....but how..?"
"It's...a long story. but first, we need to get the blue crystal out of her. that's part of something that drives Oceana's mind into madness."
"Blue crystal?! but how did you know-"
"Please. it's located in the middle of those black masses. like, located in a place like its heart. Oceana's hidden underneath that crystal, so find it and we'll be able to save her as well."
"Wha-w-wait, but I can't do that! what can I do, with my bubble magics??"
"You can make it. no, you're the only person who can do it. use your real magic. something that you used...when you were about four year old."
"...!"
Miru hesitated for a long time.
And S.S. and Windy were about to let her land.
But it wasn't that S.S. didn't notice Miru's fear.
"..Miru."
"H-huh?"
"Do as your mind allows you."
".............."
And Miru knew what she had to do. but...what she has to do now? what? and doing as her mind allows....in truth, she didn't want to do this.
But...both her mind and thoughts were telling her...
Do it.
You're the only one who can do it.
But...what if others are scared of her after she does it?
But she knew. no one would. everyone knew her...and her mind. even if they didn't, she needs to save her sister still the same.
She finally made up her mind, and jumped off of Windy's back.
She created a trail in the middle between Windy and Oceana's gap, and she created a small platform with a wheels and a trail to go through....
Out of Ice.
- -- 🐋 - - -
It was a long time ago since Miru discovered her true magic.
For a mermaid-fairy, the hybrid kinds who were born between mermaids and fairies.....
Bien and herself were those kinds.
But fortunately, despite the fact that they were strangers both on land and in the sea, they could take the advantage of able to live in both eras.
They could breathe in water and swim in it, even use their wings like fins in there.
And also, they could breathe and fly, live on a land as well.
But as for their magics....Bien was rather safe, using water magics, just like mermaids and any other normal fairies, she was older than Miru, too. so she was able to become a good Oceana just like their father, who was a merman Oceaner himself.
But Miru's magic...it first showed when she was four years old, her magic was an ice magic, which could cause fatal harm in an ocean life, and it could endanger land habitats as well.
In ocean, Miru's ices would decrease of the ocean water and able to destroy everything in site.
And in land, too. ice was not something that people needed that much.
Besides, it was only a modified version of the water, only excluding the part it COULD really hurt people.
So Miru was scared of her magic, just like any other people who witnessed her magic.
But her family was standing on her side.
So she got the blessing from Miracle Whales, so she could use copied version of their magics as a temporary.
But they knew this was only a temporary solution, so Miru continued to train to control her magic, while she showed that her magic was a bubble magic in front of other people.
And now..?
Miru used her ice magic to reach Bien, and she dodged all the tentacles by riding onto the ice platform with wheels.
She jumped as a last attempt to dodge Bien's tentacle, then she shot the icycle blades to Bien's tentacles.
They were all suddenly turned into chains with heavy balls, so she couldn't use any of her tentacles.
And Miru spread her arms out to create a tunnel shielding her and puncturing through Bien's oil-covered masses, then she saw the dim light in the distance.
Without letting that moment drop, she slid and snatched the crystal from tangles of filthy oils.
Then finally, she saw her sister, getting half-swallowed and tangled in masses of oils.
So she also grabbed her waist to get her out, and her tunnel reached through the end of oil masses, so she came out through the other side.
Then she used her ice to slide down with her ice trails.
She landed onto the ground, and looked around.
Then she turned around to see that oil masses were suddenly hardened, and fell apart onto the ground.
And when she looked around, she saw that everyone was looking at her with silence.
Well, that's it. now everyone will be scared and-
"What was that?! that was amazing!"
"Is that what you really did, Miru??? Wow!"
"Why didn't you tell us earlier, you idiot!"
"?!"
She was surprised to see that everyone was amazed and astonished, but not scared at all.
"Wha-aren't you scared?"
"Scared? you mean...of your magic? not at all!"
"Yeah, why would we be? that was amazing!"
"How did you do that?? it was beautiful!"
"Beautiful..?"
But in the end, Miru also smiled. of course she already knew, deep in her mind, that they won't be scared.
S.S. landed as well, with the whale on her side.
Now she remembered.
"Are you Windy?? I'm so glad to see you! you grew bigger!" then Miru patted Windy's head.
S.S. smiled.
"It's all due to you, Miru. you saved your hometown."
"And your sister too!" agreed September.
"Yeah...but, will she be okay? she's not opening her eyes..."
"Oh, really? why, what a tragedy."
"?!"
Suddenly, another strong scent of contaminated oil was felt by everyone there, and they turned around to see two people standing on the hardened masses of oils.
"For you to destroy the gift I presented like this...why, I'm so sad, don't you agree?"
There were man and woman standing on the piles, and the man was having the omnious sign of blackness within his presence.
And the quiet woman with blue hair and calm dark eyes had the same presence-less, but never none.
And the man was reaching into his clothes to get something out.
"Well, if this is the way you reject my gift, then I guess that's it!"
"Who are you? and how did you come here?!" cried Miru, preparing her ice magic.
"Ooh~that's so scary,I think my legs just froze~" man floated up and changed his position into sitting position as if to mock Miru and everyone in there.
"Why, but I can see that you can use your magic well now, Corallia."
"!"
"Well, we're not here for a fight today, we'll just take back what we gave you and leave~!"
Then he got the small object seeming like syringe out and injected it into oil masses' surface.
Then into the syringe's body, a black liquid was filled up, then man got up and smiled, waving his hand once, saying,
"Ciao~⭐"
Then in a split second, they disappeared.
- -- 🐋 - - -
After freeing the mermen guards, other workers and people of Oceanland was helping out to fix the castle temporarily and get all the wounded people into a shelter.
Also, Oceana Bien shortly got up after having a rest, and saw that everyone was surrounding her.
"Is this..? where am...."
"You're finally awaken, Oceana." King Blue spoke up.
"East-I mean, your majesty?!" she cried out in surprise, with a slight blush on her face.
"I believe you need to see someone in a short moment now, dear Oceana." he replied, smiling.
"What..? who-"
"Oceana." S.S. was showing up in front of her.
"Huh..? do I...know you?"
"........."
"Dear, it seemed that she can't remember anything."
"Ah, right! where's Marine? I was fighting with that creature, and she was in a room with me! is she safe?!"
"Bien, I'm here! it's alright! you just had a long nightmare!" Marine replied, emerging from crowds of children.
"A...nightmare?"
"Bien."
"Miru! you're..you're alright! are you not hurt?"
"I'm not. and also....my friend S.S. here found something for me."
"Is she your friend..? but what is it?"
Miru showed a small chest from her arms to Bien, and opened it up in front of her.
"Because I read this while you were resting, I could know what had happened ever since...I'm not sure that you remember, but...I'm sorry for not knowing how you feel and say harsh things to you. and...thanks for preparing such birthday present like this."
She picked one picture up, which contained the picture of their family, and read the note written on drawing's back.
"'Dear Miru, ever since I was stabbed by that strange black creature, I was seeing and hearing fearful things and it seems that my attitude are scaring people around me as well.
I also heard my doctor saying that my state of mind is more fatal than my body's state now.
I may lose myself over fear, and I'm scared of that as well...Miru, by the way, it is your birthday very soon. I want to congratulate it with you and Marine, and I wanted to invite Easter over, too. but...in this case, I may not make it. I just leave this note behind along with this music box. I hope, one day, when I'm healthy and well again, we can celebrate it altogether.
I love you, and happy birthdays again. With Love, Your sister, Bien.'"
After hearing that, Bien didn't say anything for awhile, but then her expression changed and she shed tears and began to cry.
Miru,Marine and King Blue were closest to her side, and they were all calming her down, saying that it's okay, that she tried her best, that they're sorry that they couldn't do anything earlier.
And after few hours, Oceana Bien explained the situation to her people in a brief moment, and apologized to everyone for her weakness.
And also, hearing what had happened from Marine and Ms.Gray, she also apologized to four travellers for causing troubles.
"I'm so sorry, that I put you in a jail and treated you so rudely!" she was saying as she returned S.S.'s dagger back to her.
"It's okay, Oceana. you were under a curse, that's completely understandable." she replied, taking the dagger back.
"But still...I'm so sorry that I treated you like that...also, it might be shameless of me, but please, will you do me a favor?"
"Yes?"
"Can you please take this blue crystal away? Ms.Gray and Miru told me that you need this, and also...because of this, I was getting more scared of future and losing myself over fear. and please, never bring it back to this Land of LD ever again, please!"
"We can do that! please raise your head!" replied Kyle.
"Wait, it's something that WE have to thank you about?!"
"September, for now, please keep quiet. please." Emily was snapping to Sep.
Then Oceana Bien raised her head to smile and say,
"Thank you!"
- -- 🐋 - - -
When it was time for four travellers to leave, Oceana provided them with enough supplies, and offered to give them a ride to their next location with Windy.
And also, after hearing that their next destination was Mons Island not to far away from Oceanland's capital, Miru and Raska wanted to follow them, each with different reasons.
"I received enough help from you, I want to thank you and assist you as possible." Miru was saying.
And as for Raska,
"My relatives actually lives in that island, I can help you!"
So...five of them were about to leave after they rode Windy.
Raska and Miru were also having their bags with them, and Bien and Marine had checked on Miru multiple times to make sure that she has everything she needs with her.
And as for Ms.Gray and King Blue, they decided to stay in Oceanland for a bit longer and help with things there.
So after everything was said and done, Windy the Miracle Whale boosted up through the ocean surface with a speed like never before.
Then, as his body was thrown into the air like a single spear, his fins were suddenly spread out wide like it was being torn, and...
They were spread wide into a pair of beautiful wings, like that of a beautiful white bird!
"Uwaahhhh!!!!" screamed kids.
"You never told us Miracle Whale guys can fly!!"
"I didn't? but I thought you guys already kn-"
But none of them could talk more, as flying whale flew faster and higher.