Europa Mediterran. Arcticana 'Arc' Bluesphere. Maritim 'Marine' Seashell. Sahara Rainforest. Sol 'Noct' Eclipse.
Among the five of them, no one has any idea where they are. Except; from the blazing sun, wide sky, vast ocean, and sand under their feet; they are clearly at a beach. But, which beach? Whose beach? Why beach?
The more pressing matter is, why are they here together?
Europa and Arc are friends. Arc and Marine are cousins. Noct is a new addition to the group. Sahara is the newest addition to the group. The five of them together, they are just strangers without anything in common. Except, each one of them is friends with one strange girl...
"How did we get here?" in the unsettling silence, Europa speaks out, asking a question nobody can answer with certainty
Still, it doesn't mean Noct won't try, "I was looking for a place to nap, I think,"
Sahara stares at Noct, "I don't think napping at a beach, or anywhere near a body of water, is a good idea,"
Marine comments absentmindedly, "Submerging half of his body in the water might feel good though, in this heat,"
"If the tide doesn't bring him into the sea," Arc agrees, staring at the vast body of water before them
A moment of silence to let the consequence of action without thought to settle in their minds.
Europa looks around, "There doesn't seem to be anybody else but us here,"
Sahara too, take a look around, "There's nothing around us either,"
"What about-" Noct pauses to yawn first, "-the way back?"
Arc, who is still staring at the sea, notices something, "Someone is coming,"
"From the sea?" even though Marine is also looking, he still raises his eyebrows at that
With nothing else to do, the five of them wait for whoever is swimming over to reach them. As the figure swims closer to them, Europa is the first to realise who it is. With raised eyebrows, Europa wonders, "Since when can Asia swim?"
The other four who are not aware of Asia's inability to swim turn to look at Europa in confusion. In their eyes, Asia can swim really well. With clothes on. Granted, the clothes don't look too restricting. But, generally, swimming with clothes on is a bad idea. That's why swimsuit was invented.
Stepping to the beach while dripping wet, Asia Pavilyun glares at them. It's understandable that the boys are confused by Asia's hostile greeting.
"We are waiting, you know!" Asia stomps over to them, to Europa, and pulls on his arm, "Get moving now!"
"Wait, Asia-" Europa doesn't manage to say more before Asia throws him with a strength she shouldn't possess into the sea
The first victim, check.
The other four are starting to get apprehensive. That scene they witness seem real enough. Does Asia really possess such strength? She is coming for them too. It's time to disperse!
Noct is late to escape because of drowsiness. Without a by-your-leave, the second victim is thrown into the sea. The third victim, Arc, is caught after a short chase and checked out. Same with fourth and fifth victims, Sahara and Marine, who are caught separately but thrown in together into the sea.
Since Europa is the first victim, he has the pleasure to get his bearing back in time to see the other four's expressions as they hit the water and land around him ungracefully. It almost worth to be Asia's first victim, in Europa's humble opinion.
"Is this real?" Sahara voices his question in dumbfoundment, as he collects his bearings
Looking around the undersea in delighted wonder, Marine murmurs, "I hope this is,"
Leaving the question of their capability to breathe and talk underwater aside, the scene they are seeing right now is...indescribable. A large splash is then heard from behind them. As the boys turn to check what caused it, they see Asia floats down before them with a smug smile.
Once her feet touch the ground, Asia grins at the boys, "Ready to go?"
"Not really," Noct answers after a pause, "Where do you want us to go anyway?"
"To see Aurora, of course!" Asia says, putting her hands on her hips
"Oh," Arc nods in understanding, "Of course. Then, let us go see Aurora now,"
Nodding, Asia swims to them leisurely by kicking only her legs. Actually, Asia is swimming pass them. Asia gestures for the boys to follow her, to where Aurora is waiting for them, probably.
At the back, Europa is confused. Muttering to himself, Europa wonders, "Would Asia really invite the other four to see Aurora?"
🐳
The place Asia takes them to is still underwater. They aren't going deeper under the sea, but that place... It looks to be at the edge of the earth. Nothing can be seen before them but darkness.
"...Is Miss Pavilyun at the beyond?" Sahara questions, staring into the abyss before them in a daze
"Yes!" Asia answers joyfully, ignoring the boys' horrification to shout into the abyss, "Aurora! We are here!"
The ground and water around them shake as the boys stare without blinking. A...clam emerges from the abyss. It seems like, the clam is coming to them. The closer the clam, the bigger it becomes. To be faced with such scene, the boys are finally starting to question their sanity.
Once the giant clam is before them, its upper valve lifts up, revealing something they should have known, but failed to realise because they couldn't think, period. Though, they would never have expected the person they come to meet, the size of Aurora Pavilyun that they would see, is this...big. To match the giant clam, it can be said.
"Hi, everyone!" cheerfully, Aurora waves at them
Aside from the surprise of seeing how decorative inside the clam is, the surprise of seeing Aurora with a tail of a fish... And that ears... And that attire...
...Moving on.
"Now that everyone is gathered," Asia speaks out, reminding the boys she is still with them. Asia doesn't look surprised by Aurora's appearance at all. To her giant Little Sister, Asia asks, "Who is going to explain it to them?"
"Allow me, Sister!" Aurora says excitedly, from her spot on the clam. Looking down at the dumbfounded boys, Aurora smiles, "Everyone, thank you for coming, truly!"
Europa manages to reply for them, "...You're welcome, Aurora,"
Nodding, Aurora continues while clasping her hands in prayer, "The reason Sister guides you to me is because... I need your help!"
Arc slowly inquires, "What kind of help? How can we help?"
Aurora sighs, putting her hands on her lap dispiritedly, "As you know, originally, I was human,"
"Not mermaid?" Marine questions, disbelievingly
It should be noted, in Marine's mind, seeing Aurora as a mermaid is...oddly fitting. On the other hand, the other four look at Marine weirdly for his question and disbelief. The Aurora they know is human, after all.
Aurora doesn't take offence. Smiling and shaking her head, Aurora repeats, "I was human. I wasn't born as a mermaid... Not in this size either,"
"Oh," Noct lets out a noise of understanding, "Being in that size must be hard for you,"
Aurora is touched by Noct's compassion. Asia, on the other hand, shots Noct unfriendly look. Seeing Asia like that, Europa feels relieved. Asia is still Asia, after all.
With a tender smile, Aurora agrees to Noct's assessment, "It is hard, for I have nowhere to go, nowhere to belong. As you know, a mermaid's domain is the sea, the ocean. I no longer can return to land..."
"Are you certain of that?" Arc frowns at hearing something upsetting, "Have you tried?"
"I have tried," patting her tail-fin, Aurora reminds them, "I can't survive without water. I also don't have legs to walk on land,"
"How did you become a mermaid, Miss Aurora?" Marine asks, furrowing his eyebrows in thought
"Oh," Aurora blinks at the question, then glances at Asia. In turn, the boys turn to look at Asia too. Grudgingly, Asia answers, "It happened because of a book I was reading,"
"What kind of book?" with dread, Europa asks slowly
"I don't know," Asia answers vaguely, looking at everywhere but them, "I thought it's just a storybook,"
"A storybook that turned Miss Pavilyun into a mermaid?" Sahara questions, gaping at Aurora's supernatural experience. Granted, what they are experiencing right now is not natural either.
"Not only me," Aurora corrects, "Sister is turned into a mermaid too,"
"She has legs," Noct points out quickly
Marine agrees, briefly, "Legs, she has. Maybe Asia can turn into mermaid whenever she wants?"
"I am not going to turn into mermaid," Asia says, planting her feet on the ground stubbornly
"Sister's transformation is rather unstable," Aurora acknowledges, "Unlike me, Sister only turns into mermaid at night,"
"Oooh...! I wanna see! I wanna see!" excited, Marine's speech regressed into one that is used by children
"What exactly do you want to see, Maritim?" Arc puts a hand on Marine's shoulder, pleasantly
Ignoring Marine, Europa asks the important question, "Where is that book?"
Asia focuses on her childhood friend, "No idea,"
Aurora vouches for Asia's answer, "The book disappeared,"
A lost cause, Europa concludes.
"Where did you get that book, Miss Asia?" seeing that Europa gives up, Sahara decides to be the next person to investigate this matter
"From the sea," Asia answers plainly, "The sea brought it to me,"
"You didn't think it's weird?" Noct wonders
"If the sea gives you a pillow, will you think about it first before using it?" Asia returns with a rhetorical question
Truthfully, the answer is clear. Defeated, Noct acknowledges Asia's point, "No,"
"No? Wait- Normally, won't you find it weird?" Sahara asks Noct, who is hanging his head
"When I'm sleepy, I don't think," Noct reveals his weakness, "I just want a place to sleep without being disturbed,"
"...Noct's habit of sleeping anywhere dangerous, but quiet," Arc mumbles to himself, still having a docile Marine under his palm
"Then, how can we help you, Aurora?" Europa looks at the giant girl, slightly in despair
Aurora smiles slightly, "I have an idea,"
"You do?" Asia is the one voicing that, probably because she wasn't informed of Aurora's idea
Aurora nods while humming cheerfully, "I still remember the ending of the book, on how to turn the main protagonist back into a human again,"
"Do you really have to become human again?" Marine asks, looking up at Aurora with a pout
"...Mr Seashell, do you want to become a merman?" instead of answering, Aurora voices a question with an enigmatic smile
Asia gasps then, causing bubbles to form out of her mouth. This gains her the boys' attention again. Staring at Aurora widely, Asia questions with visible tremors, "Aurora... Will you really do that...?"
"For us, Sister, I will do anything I have to do," Aurora nods, smiling
Asia looks conflicted by Aurora's answer. Asia's reaction gives the boys, sans Marine, a bad feeling. Marine, who was asked a question like that, is contemplating it seriously. Giving up his legs for a tail of a fish? It's seriously tempting.
"Don't even think about it," Arc whispers in his ear, reminding Marine that his choice would affect his cousin too. They won't be able to pull the stunt of body-double anymore, if Marine lost his legs.
In fact, for all of them, the price of losing their legs in exchange for the tail of a fish is just...
Aurora, knowing their thoughts, is disappointed. With a sigh, Aurora mumbles, "It means I won't get my legs back anymore..."
"Neither will I, Aurora," Asia, casting aside her fears and doubts, swims over to her giant Little Sister
To the bewildered watching boys, Asia turns and declares, "Leave this place now!"
"Why?" Noct asks, confused, "I want to try sleeping underwater at least once!"
Aurora giggles at that.
Rolling her eyes, Asia tells them clearly, "The way to do, is to take your legs in exchange. Unless you're willing to give up your legs, then return to land now!"
Europa already knows. Nothing can be done to help the Pavilyun Sisters. Even so... "Is there no other way?" he asks, looking at Asia sadly
Asia shakes her head then turns her back on the boys. Aurora sighs forlornly as she watches Asia. To the boys, Aurora smiles, "At least, it's nice to see you one last time, everyone,"
"Don't be that certain nothing can be done to help you, Asia, Aurora," Arc reminds them tensely
"I'm sure I can find a way, if I really want to," Marine gives them, a trace of hope
Aurora smiles, nodding once, "Until then..."
The upper valve closes, taking the Pavilyun Sisters with it. The clam drops back into the abyss quickly, causing a large surge of water to hit the boys, sending them away from the edge of the earth, back to their land.
🐳
They wake up choking.
"Sister! See! I told you! You took too much water!"
"It was an accident. I didn't mean to lose my hold on the bucket..."
Sitting up and exhaling the water stuck in their throat or nose, the five boys open their eyes blearily to take in the scene before them.
Asia is putting a bucket on the ground while Aurora is taking out towels from Asia's satchel. Silently, Asia gives each one of them a towel to wipe themselves. While confused, the boys accept the towels.
"Are you all right?" anxiously, Aurora questions them. Though, her eyes are on Noct.
"...What about you?" under Aurora's worried gaze, Noct furrows his eyebrows, "Did you get your legs back?"
"Huh?" Aurora is confused by Noct's question
Asia stands up then, doing her best to not pay attention to Noct and Aurora's interaction. Taking the empty bucket with her, Asia walks to the lake and haul another bucket of water.
Aurora takes notice. Standing up herself, Aurora walks to help Asia with the bucket. It is then, the boys see that Aurora has human legs. Not fish-tail. Is Aurora actually a mermaid? Or human?
"Umm," rubbing his forehead, Europa questions without looking at Pavilyun Sisters, "What exactly is going on?"
"You five fainted," Asia announces matter-of-factly, "I am giving you this water to rinse your mouths,"
"Why?" that one-word questions reality as it is, "How did we faint? Why would we faint?!"
"Calm down," Aurora soothes, "We will explain it fully, so no need to rush,"
With a grunt, Aurora and Asia put the bucket of water in front of the boys, who are sitting, dripping wet, and waiting for the answers to clear their confusion. To the boys, nothing is making sense. They can't think straight.
Also... Something tastes awful in their mouths.
"Go on, wipe yourself or rinse your mouth, whichever it is, I will stay here to explain what happened," Asia offers, sitting a little away in front of the boys, with the bucket of water in between them
Aurora takes a seat beside Asia, looking slightly guilty.
The boys busy themselves while listening to Asia's explanation.
Asia had, in fact, invited them for a picnic. Aurora's idea. It's both girls' idea to be the ones to prepare lunch. So, with Noct's help, they got the permission to use the kitchen and made lunch. Everything went well, for the picnic, until it's lunchtime. As the boys took a bite of what the girls served... They fainted. All at once, together.
Thus, Asia took it upon herself to draw water from the lake to splash the boys, waking them up. The plan went well, except a slight hiccup of Asia miscalculating her strength and causing the boys to have a rude wake-up call. By almost drowning from the excessive splash.
Here they are now.
"You're saying... It's all a dream?" a devastated Marine questions
"You fainting from the lunch or something else?" Asia asks, blinking in confusion at Marine's disappointment
"Something else," Europa answers, deciding to keep the weird dream from the girls
"What did you make us eat, Miss Asia?" Sahara makes a face while he rinses his mouth, because the foul taste is still...there.
"Food," Asia answers tersely
"We made them according to instruction, so I don't understand what went wrong with the lunch," Aurora wonders, troubled
"No need to worry about it," Asia waves off Aurora's concern, "We will try again next time,"
"Next time?" that gives Arc a pause
"Next time, I am going to supervise," Noct says firmly, eyeing the girls seriously
Aurora is delighted, "We will be under your care!"
The other four boys secretly plead to Noct to make sure they won't experience a weird dream caused by passing out from the Pavilyun Sisters' foods, ever again. Noct understands, enough said.