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Chapter Text

Chayanne had to hold back Richarlyson from falling in the ocean because he leaned to far in the rail for the tenth time while in the boat, and he was starting to consider tying him with a rope to keep him in place, Tallulah sat next to him playing her old flute, an old sea shanty, forgotten in many places

”Can you sit tight for a second! Were almost there” the old sailor shouted, making Richarlyson grumble put sit down crossing his arms, Chayanne glared daggers at the sailor

“We’re almost there pipsqueaks, get your things ready” The sailor warned, they didn’t have much to it was easy to grab all of their stuff, Tallulah having a small backpack with flower patterns, Chayanne having a yellow satchel with a duck pin, and Richarlyson having a once white crossbody bag with many doodles and stickers on

the boat finally came to an abrupt stop, they jumped onto the wooden dock, Tallulah being the only one who waved goodbye to the sailor,  while Chayanne looked around looking for their new foster parent “Right here” an old lady said waving at their direction, apparently she took them in because she missed her sons that left home a while ago

grabbing Tallulah’s and Richarlyson’s hand he cautiously approached the woman, who smiled gently at them, they introduced themselves with polite smiles, and followed the lady to her house

while passing through stores and restaurants with cool fishing or sea decorations, even passing a casino, the city was full of life, having many types of people walking through the streets

finally they arrived to a distant house, having to take a trail to it, being far from the rest of the city, having a small garden of flowers around it that already enchanted Tallulah

the house had chipping white paint and a red door, windows with many flower pots, and plants in general, entering the house, it was what you would expect of a grandparents house or someone old in general, not having much technology and with fancy but vintage decorations

They were lead to their room, a simple one with not many decorations, just a few small paintings on the wall, a table with a flower pot and a chair, a bunk bed and a simple bed, with a plushie in each

Richarlyson smiled and ran to the bunk bed climbing the ladder and throwing his bag on it “i call dibs on the top bunk bed!” He shouted with a giggle at the end

Chayanne sighed and shook his head fondly, taking the bottom bunk bed, while Tallulah got the separate bed

in the top bunk bed sat a duck plushie, on the bottom bunk bed a mooshrom cow plushie and on the separate a crow plushie, in the end Chayanne and Richarlyson traded plushies

they started to organize the stuff they brought while chatting, tomorrow would be their first day at school, and they were all pretty nervous

After finishing everything they sat in a circle in the middle of the room, bored out of their minds “I know! Lets play a game!” Richarlyson suggested while throwing his arms up to emphasize his idea

“Yeah sure” Chayanne said with shrug while Tallulah nodded her head “What game though?” Tallulah questioned while tilting her head, hugging the crow plushie close

”what about hide and seek?” Chayanne suggest “Naaah, that aren’t that many hiding places in this house” Richarlyson said shaking his head in disagreement

”well, what if we don’t play on the house? We can play hide and seek around the city, it would be cool and also we can explore it a bit in the middle of the game, get to know it better” Chayanne suggested once again, smiling “Yeah! That would be cool as fuck!” Richarlyson immediately agreed with a big grin splitting his face “but what if we got lost?” Tallulah added

”that would be a problem, we can set a meeting point though, what about the docks? If any of us get lost head to the docks and wait for the others to arrive” Chayanne answered, the other two kids nodding their head in agreement, heading to the front door

”Bye Rose! Were heading to the city!” Tallulah shouted to the old lady that took them in, warning her of their destination “Okay sweeties! Just get back at least at sundown” Rose shouted back “We will!”

Tallulah closed the door behind her, and they started heading to the city, talking all the way, having a small discussion about what kind of mythological creature would win in a battle against each other

Finally arriving at the city, Tallulah choose a sticker filled lamppost to be the area she would count on, while Chayanne and Richarlyson would hide, so she started counting and the two boys scrambled to find a hiding place

To make it easier for his little sister, Chayanne  just stayed behind a building, while Richarlyson determined to win climbed a tree and hit in its foliage the best he could

”45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50!” She counted, shouting the last number, some pedestrians glancing at her direction in curiosity, and watching with a fond smile as the little girl started to search around the city

”Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!” She taunted, humming a song that came to mind, adjusting her pink beanie

”Found you!” She shouted at Chayanne who clapped and giggled, messing with her hair “Good job!” Chayanne said with a proud smile “You gotta find Richarlyson now” Chayanne reminded her

the other going back to searching as Chayanne stayed close behind, in the end Richarlyson ended up winning most of the matches going to the most crazy hiding places and going out of his way to search

they stayed playing all day long, as people started going home, the sun starting to dip into the ocean creating beautiful shades of pink and orange on the sky reflecting on the ocean, after the streets were mostly empty, they decided to go back home, having soup for dinner, chatting about what they expected of school and cracking a few jokes here and there

After dinner Chayanne helped with the dishes this time, each taking a bath, Richarlyson making fun of Chayanne’s pajamas, that was yellow with ducks printed all over it, even calling him a duckling as a joke

They went to sleep with excitement and a bit of fear for tomorrow

•––––––☆––––––•

Tallulah was the first to wake up, waking up the others with a cup of water “oh shit! What the hell man!” Richarlyson exclaimed feeling the cold water hitting him, huffing annoyed “come on! I don’t want to be late to our first day on school because you couldn’t get off you’re lazy bun!” Tallulah exclaimed, Richarlyson grumbled before getting up snd putting his prosthetic leg with Chayanne’s help

they got ready pretty fast eating some toast for breakfast before scrambling to get to school, they soon found the place and entered, walking through the corridors looking for the door Rose told them would be their classroom, finally finding it, Chayanne knocked a few times, hearing a distinctive loud “come in!” And so they did

”ah! You must be the new students, come on in and tell us about yourselves” the assumed to be teacher told them, they looked around the room, many round tables with 5 chairs, few with at least 3 chairs left

they stood in front of all of the classroom, Richarlyson feeling the incoming uncomfortable silence was the first to speak up “My name is Richarlyson! You can also call me Richas or the best!” He put his hands on his waist and grinned

Chayanne was next “My name is Chayanne but call me Chay, and this is my sister Tallulah” he said pointing at Tallulah who held his sleeve tightly

”What kind of name is Tallulah?” One of the kids snickered, the others on his table giggling, Chayanne grimaced at them as Tallulah tried to hide behind him ashamed

”Oh yeah? And what’s your name?” Richarlyson asked back “My name is Hunter” Richarlyson looked at him with a ‘are you serious?’ Look

”wow, thats the most basic name i’ve ever heard” Richarlyson said back with a tsk, crossing his arms, and before Hunter could snark back, an offended look on his face, the teacher stepped in

”alright, alright, i think thats all for now, you guys can sit down” he said scolding the two, Richarlyson scanned the room looking for the best table to sit, deciding on the one that only had one kid sat on it sleeping soundly

leading Chayanne and Tallulah to it, they sat down, the kid sleeping there just taking a glance at them before going back to sleeping

the classes went through normally, and soon the last bell rang, but before any of them could get up, Hunter slammed his hands onto the desk, startling the sleeping person there

”you think that you’re so tough yeah?” he said looking at Richas who nodded with a lazy smirk “Well, then why don’t you go swim on the moon pool of Mako Island?” Hunter said with a smirk of his own

”Mako island?” Richas asked with a tilt of his head, confused, the sleeping kid next to them seemed now fully awake starring at Hunter like he said something terrific “Don’t tell me you don’t know?” Hunter laughed with his groups of followers, the classic bully's

”The Mako Island is a mysterious island said to be haunted, everyone who went there went missing only to be discovered at the beach days later mauled and so deformed that they couldn’t even identify the body, they say that in the full moon, you can hear their screams echoing through the island” Hunter tells them the history with a dark look on his eyes

”okay….. and why swim in the moon pool?” Chayanne asked “Well, they say that whatever beast that does that lives in there, waiting for its next victim at the deep bottom of the pool” Hunter explained now eyeing Chayanne that before could say anything in return was interrupted by Richarlyson slamming his hands on the desk with a determined look “We’ll do it since were not cowards like you!” Hunter gained a furious look at that, tsking “fine then, tomorrow you guys can show me the proof  today is the best day to go there, since it will be a full moon” Hunter said before leaving with his hands on his pockets

”you guys are crazy” the once sleeping kid said “and who might you be?” Chayanne raised an eyebrow “Im Pomme, im a transferred student” Pomme clarified seeing how Tallulah looked her up and down, her clothes weren’t common for a tropical island after all

”Well Pomme, are you gonna help us or nah?” Richarlyson asked leaning his head on his hand “And why would i help you guys??” She asked back incredulous “Because you’re sitting on our table” Richarlyson said back

Pomme spluttered “your table?? You just arrived!” She raised her voice a little, pointing at him “Did anybody claim this table already?” “No…” “Then im claiming it!” Richas finally put an end at the conversation by loudly putting his hands down “and we don’t know how to get to that Mako island, so we kind of need help” Chayanne said trying to be more polite to the poor girl “Fine! Meet me at dawn by the docks, a minute late and im not helping anymore” She said getting up and leaving before any of them could say something in return

Richas smiled innocently at Chayanne and Tallulah who looked at him with deadpanned eyes “oh come on! It worked, now we got help!” Richas said indignant “Just try to be less pushy with people, we need to make a good first impression” Chayanne sighed “Yeah, yeah, you act as if you’re my dad” Richarlyson tsked

They gathered their stuff and just started to walk around, waiting until dawn, before going to the docks, finding the girl from earlier next to a small motor boat, with enough space for the driver and three other people, perfect for them, the boat had drawn fairy wings on his sides, together with splotches of red and blue on the end

”Welcome to The Sniper, get on” Pomme said  entering the boat “Wow dude, you own your own boat? Thats cool as fuck!” Richarlyson smiled before entering the boat too, next was Chayanne and Tallulah “Yeah, got it from my parents inheritance, just did some modifications” Pomme dismissively waved her hand

they started to do small talk, getting to know each other better, it turns out Pomme came from france, and after the mysterious death of her parents, she got transferred to this island, where the legal age to live alone was 14, doing this so she wouldn’t go to the foster system, in Richarlyson’s opinion that reeks of main character

”Were here, we’ll have to go quick, the moon is almost fully in the sky” Pomme said throwing the anchor down, they soon were fully in the island “Huh, haven’t heard anything yet, it seems that the Hunter dude just wanted to scare us” Tallulah said looking around the island filled with different kinds of fauna

”well, let’s not count victory until we get out yeah? Follow me, i’ll lead you guys to the moon pool” Pomme said, as she started to walk to a trail, the three other teenagers following her, it was a long climb before they got to the moon pool, the moon that was now fully in the sky and on top of the pool, creating the effect of the water glowing with sparkles

”wow, its a long way down, maybe we shou-“ Tallulah started before being interrupted by Richarlyson throwing himself in “Cannon Ball!!” He shouted loudly before he touched the water creating a big splash

“Well we got our answer” Chayanne said before just walking to the edge and falling in, and after a few seconds another splash could be heard, Tallulah was just approaching the edge when she looked back at Pomme “aren’t you swimming too?” Tallulah asked with a tilt of her head “Nah, i prefer to stay alive” Tallulah grinned mischievously at that, before grabbing Pomme arm who let out a quick surprised squeak and jumped with her

“I’ll Kill y-“ Pomme couldn’t finish her shout before they hit the water with a even bigger splash, they resurfaced and the three started to laugh as Pomme started to chase Tallulah around the pool

They stayed there for a long time playing games collecting shells and scaring fish, they stayed until the moon shine stopped and they were in the middle of the darkness, deciding that it was finally time to leave, now soaked to head to toe, they got out, and started to leave through a tunnel that they didn’t notice before

”That was so cool!!” Richarlyson shouted throwing his arms to the air “Yeah, but we need proof that we went there to put it on Hunter’s face” Chayanne remembered, Pomme sighed before picking her cellphone “Come on, lets take a selfie” she said to the other with a small smile “Cool!” Richarlyson shouted before going to her side

and so they took a selfie by the moon pool, on the way back to the boat however was when things started to get weird, they could hear dry leaves and sticks get crushed on the forest and feel eyes observing them, but in the end they made it safely to The Sniper, entering and leaving the Mako Island

they said their goodbyes to Pomme and went home, taking a bath getting dry and going to sleep, the next day, at four in the morning, they heard loud knocks, Chayanne desperately made way to the door before it could wake up Rose, facing now a distressed Pomme

”What the hell?? What happened?? How do you know where we live” he whispered shouted “not important at the moment, please let me in, its important” Pomme said her voice even more desperate, clutching her cellphone tightly

Chayanne woke up Tallulah and Richarlyson that complained all the way to the living room, siting on the couches “So, what happened?” Tallulah asked and Pomme took a deep breath, before showing them the picture they took earlier by the moon pool

It was normal, but as she turned up the bright, they could see in the water something, or better yet, someone, swimming on the pool where they’ve been a second ago, the image of the person was to dark to identify any features, but one stood prominent, one was easy to identify, where his legs should be, was a tail

a mermaid, they went pale “did you edit there in the picture??” Chayanne the most rational one asked with hope, but that hope slowly crumbled when Pomme shook her head

”oh shiiiit, did we anger some sort of god or entity??” Richarlyson slumped on the couch, putting his hands on his face “Maybe, if thst picture is really true, gods might also exist, and with all the stuff you did, you’re definitely on their bad list” Tallulah informed Richarlyson making him grumble even louder before crossing his arms

“..should we go back there to try to figure it out?” Chayanne suggested “Heck no! If we angered some sort of deity it will be waiting there to rip us to shreds!” Pomme exclaimed, speaking up for the first time in the conversation

“Then what do you suggest us to do??” Chayanne said back “I don’t know! You guys dragged me into this mess! You guys figure it out!” Pomme snarked 

“Fine! Lets just go back to sleep, we have school early, tomorrow we will figure out a plan ok?” All of them nodded at Chayanne’s words, they said their goodbyes to Pomme, and went back to sleep, although sleeping was almost impossible doubt and slight fear clouding their minds

”we will be fine” Tallulah tried to comfort the other two and herself, hugging her crow plushie tightly, jumping at any sound

”..we will” Chayanne confirmed, Richarlyson nodding even if they didn’t see it, they went back to sleep thinking of what they would do tomorrow, could they even show that picture to Hunter? They would know when they wake up, but for now, they could lose their worries in the land of dreams and fantasies

Chapter Text

They got late to school, getting scolded by Rose and the teacher, Hunter and his group snickering, they sat down at their table, Pomme already there, raising an eyebrow at them “Did something happen? You guys look like shit” Pomme said looking them up and down, eyebags on all of them, with messy hair and tired eyes

”The true question is how you were able to sleep after that? Or was it some kind of prank? If it was i’ll beat your ass” Richarlyson looked at her suspicious, she raised her hands in mock defense “Wasn’t a prank, but i made my peace with it on the way home when no monster came out of the water to drag me to the deep ocean when i was alone”

”Who knows? Maybe it will come tonight” Chayanne joked, but by the way Pomme shivered and looked now deep in thought, it wasn’t a good joke and was to early “Sorry” Chayanne simply said, Pomme only nodded 

Before they could continue chatting the teacher called their attention, and they started paying attention to the class, but only half of their mind was present, the other couldn’t stop wondering the happenings of yesterday

finally it was recess, but none of them got the chance to leave the table before Hunter smashed his hands on their table once again, soon they start a petition to save the poor table, but right now they were focused on the prick

”So, did you guys do it? Or were you guys too scared and cried for your mamas” Hunter chuckled, sitting on the last chair and putting his foot on the table, earning a nasty look from Pomme 

“First of all, none of us have a mother, and second, yes” Pomme huffed before shoving the picture on his face, much to the their dismay 

“Tsk, yeah, yeah whatever, show off” Hunter said before slapping her hand away almost making her phone fall and leaving “Huh? You asked for it you prick!” Richarlyson snarled almost going to chase them and kick their ass before Chayanne stopped them by holding their sleeve 

“its fine, he’ll probably leave us alone for some time now” Pomme said putting her phone back on her pocket “And why did you show him the picture with…you know what on!” Chayanne whisper shouted the last part, Pomme only chuckled “Relax, i edited it out, but I didn’t erase the original before you ask” Pomme said before Chayanne could ask

“Lets go to the dining hall” Tallulah said trying to calm the situation, the others nodded and soon they made their way to it, getting their desired lunches and sitting down on a vacant table

But as soon as Tallulah took a bite out of her muffin, she gagged and almost chocked, from the ashy taste that filled her mouth, forcing herself to swallow it, before looking at the food with confusion

Chayanne had a close reaction with his Avocado toast, and so did Richarlyson with his pizza and Pomme with her apple

“Wow, this is the worst food i’ve ever tasted” Richarlyson finally said, when the silence stretched “I don’t understand, usually the food here is good, not the best, but consumable” Pomme said, rolling her apple around with a disappointed look

”Yeah this isn’t close to consumable, i rather eat dirt then this” Chayanne tsked shaking his head in disagreement, Tallulah nodded with Chayanne’s point

“Anyway since were not gonna eat anything, we might as well talk about yesterday” Pomme suggested and the others nodded “But isn’t it risky talking about it on here?” Tallulah said worried, looking around, the cafeteria was mostly empty since most preferred to eat out, but there was still a good quantity of students and employees there

”Good thinking Tallulah, come on, follow me” Pomme said before getting up, they all followed her, after putting their food away, going outside the school and walking around it to the back where there was a small camp with a few trees “Thats the place i usually go on recess, no one goes here and i can have some moments for myself, but i guess its for you guys too now” Pomme explained, leaning on one of the trees and sitting on its shade, Richarlyson already trying to climb said tree and sitting on one of the branches, while Tallulah and Chayanne just sat down close to Pomme

“Alright then, we have 10 minutes before recess is over, so lets talk” Pomme said checking the time on her phone with a sigh “I’ll cut to the chase, i think we should just ignore it” Chayanne said “What?! We found out about a freaking mermaid and you want to ‘ignore it’” Richarlyson exclaimed indignant

”its not affecting us in any way, and we can’t deal with that kind of stuff, dude im 15 and im the oldest here, i think, I don’t know Pomme’s age” Chayanne exclaimed crossing his arms “Im 14” Pomme simply said silently “Thanks” Chayanne silently said back

“Yeah! We can’t but we also just can’t ignore it!” Richarlyson defended his opinion, throwing his arms to the air almost losing his balance on the branch he sat on

”Im sorry Chay, but i am with Richas on this one” Tallulah said with a nod “Thank you! You’re now my best friend in here” 

“Alright so its two against one, who’s side are you on Pomme?” Tallulah asked turning to the french girl “Neither, i just want this to be over so we can go back to being normal teenagers” Pomme said and Tallulah nodded “So me and Richas won”

“Fine then! What do you guys suggest?” chayanne said grumbling a little with a tsk “i suggest we go back to Mako Island” Richarlyson said, since the day he left, he didn’t know why, but he felt a tug to the island, as if something was missing and he wanted- no, he needed to go back there, it was as if his mind was divided one being rational while the other just thought about that, and by the others reaction, he wasn’t the only one

”By me its fine…just meet me at the docks after school if you guys want to” Pomme muttered lowly, as the bell rang and they made their way back to class, Hunter and his group starring at them with fire on their eyes

the classes seemed to be slower then normal, Tallulah didn’t know if it was because she was a nervous wreck waiting for it to end or if it was just boredom getting to her, her mind screeching with joy that they would go back to Mako island and wanting her to hurry up, it was not making things easier

finally it ended, they went back home telling Pomme they would bring some stuff before meeting her on the docks, she just nodded and went to prepare The Sniper

they went home and while Tallulah told Rose they were going to a friends house and would be back late, Chayanne and Richarlyson grabbed a few stuff like water bottles and snacks, together with towels, they didn’t plan to swim, but for some reason something told them to bring it

they finally left shouting a goodbye for Rose, as they quickened their pace until getting to the Docks, Pomme already having the boat motor on “Well, what are you guys waiting for?” She snickered, as they entered and sat down

The trip to the island was peaceful they chat and talked, made tuna sandwiches, in the end they only ate the tuna because the bread tasted really bad and they thought it might be molded or something even if it seemed perfectly fine, but thankfully the tuna was amazing

as they got closer and closer to the island, the part of their brains that wanted to go back there got louder and louder with pure excitement, it thrilled and chirped, it was pretty weird, but felt nice

Pomme dropped the anchor and turned off the motor, as they sat foot on Mako Island once again “so, were here” Chayanne said, but before any could respond, a small thrill filled the air, and it they didn’t know where it came from or why it made them happy

Richarlyson was the first to notice it came from Tallulah, he looked at her surprised, her eyes were dilated, as she started to walk “Tallulah?…” Pomme tried to call for her, but the brunette continued walking, they slowly followed her with curiosity

until they got to the hole that led to the moon pool “Tallulah! This isn’t funny anymore!” Chayanne shouted, holding the girl by her shoulder, the same girl let out a inhuman hiss, that made Chay froze feeling disappointed on himself for some reason

He didn’t even notice he let go of his sister, startled by the sound of a splash and the shout of the others “Chay! Chay! She didn’t resurfaced!” Richarlyson said with desperation, tears prickling the corner of his eyes, Chayanne didn't hesitate to jump too, Pomme and Richarlyson shouting his name

As he fell to the water he felt the freezing chill of it shiver his body before it became warm like a hug, he felt peaceful, at home, and safe,  he felt like his body changed, but for the better, he wanted to let go and let the ocean drag him

but he immediately left that daze as he remembered his mission, where was Tallulah, but he froze when he heard an excited thrill before in front of him was Tallulah, but different

she had pink scales on her arms and cheeks that looked like freckles, her teeth were like razors and she had claws that were sharp like knifes, he could see the gills on her neck moving, her ears became webbed being the color white, her pupils were also now fully white with pink scleras, her hair having a pink strand

But the most significant change was her missing legs, and in their place a fish tail, it looked like the one of a betta fish, with the main color being a pastel pink wile fading into white, the fins were also a whiteish pink, the colors were vibrant on the water and it was a beautiful sight, something that was a legend in front of him

Tallulah hugged him letting out a sequence of happy chirps, he didn’t even know how did he know what they meant, more focused on the changes that happened to himself, that only now he noticed

his hands had black claws with yellow tips, he could feel the gills moving, his tail was like the one of a flying fish, being yellow fading to purple with black fins, he couldn’t see but his eyes had now black scleras and his pupils were fully purple, having small yellow swirls on his back that looked like a wing design

he was left mouth agape, frozen in place, not knowing how to react, even when Tallulah let out a confused and worried croon at his lack of reaction

He turned his head quickly when he heard two other splashes, Richarlyson and Pomme joined them in the pool, suffering the same changes and starring at them with wide eyes

Richarlyson had the tail of a koi fish with the primary color being red with white and black spots, his eyes were fully red with needle like small white pupils and it was kind of terrifying sight, his skin having white splotches now

Pomme had the tail of a leopard shark, with the primary color being black with red and blue details, on one of her cheeks and arm she had blue stripes while on the other red, her eyes were fully black with no pupils

they were also quick to realize their own changes, starting to freak out as terrified shrills left their mouth leaving their even more terrified at the lack of human sound

Chayanne tried to calm everyone down letting out a calming purr, that he didn’t even know he could do, it was out of instinct of seeing his hatch mates freaking out and-…did he just call them his hatch mates? His brain was all fuzzy and confusing

but it seemed to have worked as Tallulah relaxed and the other two approached them much more calmer, they stayed close to it each other for a long time, discovering that they couldn’t produce any human sounds while on this form

as Richarlyson started to look around the moon pool, pointing out the cool stuff on it like the giant moss bed on the bottom or many shiny shells and trinkets just spread around, like a nest, a nursery, his mind provided

But they weren’t a baby, why were they in a nursery? He didn’t know why suddenly he felt sleepy, his body seemed to be in automatic, as he laid down on the moss bed and curled, letting out a calling thrill, as Richas, Pomme and Tallulah joined him in a cuddle piddle, slowly falling sleep, each of them making their own type of purring

They woke up when they heard a loud calling thrill that none of them had made, it seemed deeper and getting closer by the minute, Chayanne got up in a panic, as he messily swam up to the surface dragging Richarlyson and Tallulah while Pomme followed him by his side, it was already night with the moon high in the sky

They literally jumped out of the water, the tail was great in water, but in land it became a big bother, as he tried to drag himself, but slowly, the dry leaves drying the water enough, and with a yellow, pink, red and blue glow they were back to normal, feeling their voice return to them

”What the hell was that?!” Pomme shouted as they now ran to the boat entering it, lifting the anchor and starting the motor, as they drove away from the island they saw a large shadow following their boat “What the hell is this??!” Pomme once again shouted, as something slammed against the side of the boat