Aquata Cove: Epilogue 01

"So I ask you this in my own defense, Son. With an endless tapestry of memories portraying both the best and the worst of your years, would you be easily able to intangibly scribe to your child if Adam perished as Kaiken did?"

"Khhh," Merrick paces around in anger, leaning his head back when he stops. Honestly, he doesn't know what to say to her.

"I am sorry, my Son... I have done you an injustice."

"Why, Mother??" Merrick turns to look at her, "Tell me why..."

"I suppose... I could say that I did not want you to know for as long as possible... In some way, I can say that Kaiken was still alive so long as you believed he was. But that would be nothing but an excuse. I can also say that I did not wish to see your heart break over the loss of your Father, as your Sister and your Brother did, as well as the pod who followed him for so long... But more importantly... If you were told about it, it would make his passing so much more real..." She looks down, "I love you, Son... But embracing you to share the sorrow would have hurt me so much more than I was prepared to bear... I did not tell you because I was selfish, Son..."

"Haahhh..." He sighs as he turns back away from her. The two of them stay in their positions for a while, feeling the scent of the sea billow around them in the wind, "... It's been 10 months since I last saw all of you." Merrick finally says as he turns to her again, "I haven't spoken to any one of you in so long. And I didn't even get to say goodbye." Merrick's last sentence ends with a whimper as a tear rolls and drops from his eyes.

"Merrick..." Umiato comes to him.

"I know he was old, Mother. He didn't have many years left, I knew that. But for God's sake..." He gasps harshly to hold back a sob as he puts his hand over his eyes, "I wasn't even there... I am his eldest child, and I wasn't even there..."

"Son, he understood. We all understand." She says as she holds his shoulders. Merrick gasps and huffs as he stands there, trying to maintain what control he has left over himself at this time, Kaiken's image still playing through his mind's eye.

"... I wanted him to meet her..." Merrick sniffled as he sobs after a moment of composing himself, "I really, really, really wanted to hear what he thought of her..."

"I know, Son... I know..."

"I wanted to hear him say he approved of her... I needed him to know my child... My legacy continues, and I needed him to know that."

"I know it's hard, Son." Umiato says tenderly, "When Kaiken passed away, I lost so much more than a merman beside me... I knew he wasn't going to make it when that Sand Ray attacked... We could have escaped... But nothing I said could stop him from fighting for the pod. The days are still hard to pass over since he departed to the Shores of Light."

Merrick lets the tears flow from his eyes as he as grips his trident, "I still can't believe he's gone..." His arms rest down so the top of his weapon lands onto the rock as his head tilts up, "He's gone, Mother... My Father is gone, and he will never meet my daughter..."

"Your Father may be gone from this world, but he lives eternal in the next." She tells him, "And he would have loved your Daughter."

"But Mother, how can you know that?" Merrick said through a thick voice as he turns to look at her, his eyes red and wet, "Any child of mine would ALWAYS be half human, and he could barely tolerate being near Adam."

"Because your daughter is a mermaid. A mermaid who looks so much like his mate." She puts her hand onto his cheek, "Kaiken would hold her like he held you and your Sister and your Brother. And he would be proud to see her to have inherited the power she carries now."

"Hhgghh..." Merrick cries as he comes close to her and cries on her shoulder, "If I were there... I could have saved him..." He whines, "If I was there... He wouldn't have had to die..."

"No, Son, there was nothing-"

"Don't, Mother... If I had been there, I could have made the difference. I couldn't have stopped him, but if I was there, he wouldn't have had to endure the battle as he did..."

"Son, you must stop pretending you know of the past in a place where you were not." She says as she pushes him backward while holding onto his shoulders to look in his eyes, "You have always done this, Son. What happened to your Father is never going to be your fault. It was no one's fault." Umiato explains as her eyes barely show her tears, having passed through her own mourning long ago, "It was his time, Merrick."

Merrick bows his head and covers his eyes with his hand as he sobs harshly, pushing all the memories he can summon to his mind, shaking and tensing as words and sentences makes this fact so much more sadder.

"Oh, Son." Umiato says as she strokes his arm, "Kaiken has taught you so much and so well, and yet his integrity has made you hard on yourself. He has served his purpose and so much more, and reached above and beyond his own moral limitations. You did that for him, Son." Merrick uncovers his eyes and looks into hers, "He would never say, or realize it himself, but you taught your Father to open his heart."

"What... Mother..." Merrick sobs as she consoles him, "How? Why?"

"Your exile opened his eyes and his senses so much more than he would ever have thought. And he would have cherished deeply for Naomi."

"Egheghghg" Merrick cries as he hugs her. In his mind, he sees Kaiken walking, or swimming from him in the eternal light, leaving his trident rooted in the divine sands of the shores.

~~~

Merrick takes a deep breath and exhales while looks over in the horizon from the large reef rock. He's wanted to be alone for the past several days ever since he talked to Umiato. Against advisement, he's even taken to hunting outside of Atlantis's borders; it's not a strict rule for merfolk to wonder outside of the Kingdom during the year than it is a formality.

"Um... Whoa! Uh Merrick? A-Ahh..." Merrick turns to see Brishen coming to him in his human form -- he has a head a black hair along with a charming circle beard around his mouth. His arms reach either side of him as he wobbles on his legs.

"Hahaha, having a little trouble there, Brishen?" Merrick asked with a chuckle.

"I- Ah!" Brishen trips over, hissing as he scraps his knees, "I've been trying to learn how to walk for a long time now, I... Arrggh!" He growls, hardly able to keep any balance, "How in Atargatis's name did you ever learn how to do this?"

"It just came to me." Merrick snickered, "You COULD say I learned from my mate; I just learned inherently from my bond with him."

"Gah..." Finally Brishen makes it to Merrick's side, "It's more painful than I thought."

"You know, the Kenovani pod holds regular walking lessons at least 3 or 4 times a week -- everyone in it knows how to walk perfectly."

"Try telling that to Triton Cotei. You know as well as I do he can't stand going above the surface."

"The wind agitates his skin. Back on land, humans refer to that as an ailment called 'Allergies'. I never met anyone who was allergic to the air before, not since Father..." He stops, before he sighs, "Dammit..."

"I..." Brishen hesitates. After a pause, Brishen turns to him, "So Merrick, something I'm curious about."

"Oh?"

"It's about your daughter."

"Yes?"

"Well... How was she born? She is yours, correct?"

"Yep. Her mother is a human I've known for years; it's a process lots of humans do when they are unable to conceive on their own -- it's called a Surrogate. Me and my husband are incapable of carrying a baby, so we sought the help of a female."

"I see. And she just agreed?"

"She was more than happy to carry my child."

"Alright. So back to my original question." Brishen backtracked, "Just HOW was she born? As a Piscien, she was born in an egg, wasn't she? Humans don't have eggs, yes? At least that's what I've heard. Humans are born as whales, yeah?"

"Yes. Naomi was born without an egg, she was born just like any other human."

"Oh, so... Wait, does that mean she was always a mermaid born as a human? I... Ok, now I'm just confusing myself."

"Oh you mean if she was always a mermaid to begin with?"

"Yes! When she got wet, did she change while she was an infant?"

"Oh no. When she was very young, she was a human for a long time. To be honest, I WAS disappointed when she did not grow a tail, but I still loved her."

"So when DID you find out she was a mermaid?"

"When she was just 7 years old." Merrick answered, "That was when it first happened... It was actually a very scary event..."

---9 Years Ago---

Adam laughs as his little blonde daughter squeals with laughter as she splashes up the water on the beach.

"Alright, C'MERE!" Adam says viciously as he snatches her up.

"AHHH! Papa! HAhaha!" She kicks about as Adam swerves and falls backward into the water. He comes up a second later as Naomi jumps at him.

"OK! Lunch time!!" Merrick called out from the sand.

"But Daddy!!"

"5 more minutes?!" Adam called out.

"No! We gotta head out soon! The field trip is almost finished!"

"Aggghh alright. Come on honey." Adam pouted as he wades through the water.

"Okie, Papa." Naomi says as she trots through the water. As she goes, she coughs as the seawater splashes in her mouth. Her chest starts to feel stiff as she has trouble breathing while her skin starting to feel... Weird. "P-Pa... Papa..." She wheezes as she trips into the water. Her legs won't move. She squirms as she tries to grab onto something, "Pa-ah-agh-agh! P-Papa!" She chokes out as she struggles.

"Hm?" Adam turns, but gasps as he looks down. He doesn't see his daughter, he sees a bizarre alien creature write and flop about in the pink swimsuit Naomi was wearing, "Oh my God!"

"Papa! Pagghpaahh!" Naomi gurgles as Adam kneels to her. He covers his mouth as the creature squirms and gurgles horrible.

"Oh my God- Merrick!" Adam stands and turns, "Merrick!! MERRICK!!!"

"What?" Merrick says as he looks to the shore when Adam starts yelling hysterically at the top of his lungs.

"MERRICK GET OVER HERE!! HURRY! RIGHT NOW! GET OVER HERE NOW! RUN!!" Adam screams after kneeling back down and putting his hands into the water.

"What- Naomi???" Merrick sprints down the hot sand and into the tide, right over to Adam and a wild sentient splashing, "Adam, what's the matter!? HHH!" Merrick gasped as he looks down at a flailing and drowning white fish entity.

"Merrick, what's happening?! I don't know what to do! What're we-"

"Wait for me!" Merrick says as he scoops her up in his arms and dives into the water.

"Merrick, wait!" He called out, but that big, fancy white tailfin is already slapping the surface before it disappears underneath, "Oh my God..." Adam hushed as he covers his mouth with both hands, his insides churning with shock.

~v~v~v~

"PaAapa! DaDDY!" Naomi screeches as she twists and turns around. "HeELLPp! I ca-aHA-AH't brEathe! HEHHLP!"

"It's ok, Naomi! It's ok! Daddy's here! Daddy's here, you're going to be ok!" Merrick says hastily as he grabs at her misplaced bathing suit. His webbed hands yank on either side, snarling as he tries to tear it apart. Quickly, his sharp eyes look down and around the sand and rock, and then swimming down to seize a broken clamshell. Using the sharp, jagged edge of the shell, Merrick pulled and ripped the swimsuit into shreds off of her body while Naomi squirms in horror.

"Help me!! Daddy! Where am I?! DADDY!!"

"Calm down, sweetie, it's alright!" Merrick says as he holds her in one spot, "EASY! Easy, stay still! Stop moving!!"

"AAH Ahgghghgh!"

"NAOMI! STOP MOVING!" Merrick yelled. Naomi cries and shakes as she tries to obey, having no idea how to move correctly right now.

"NooOO!" Naomi shoves his arms and tries to kick her tail away from this blue and white-silver creature in front of her, "Where's my Daddy?! You're a stranger! I want my Daddy!"

"Naomi! It's me! I'm Daddy! I'm your Daddy! It's me! I just look different, that's all! Honey, it's ok!"

"Ak-gkh!" Naomi chokes again, scratching at her throat as she chokes and gags. "Gllgggllhh!"

"Don't panic, Naomi! Just swallow the water! Swallow it while you're drinking, close your mouth as hard as you can and then open your mouth as wide as you can! Swallow and breathe! Swallow and breathe!" The terrified little mermaid sobs as she gulps down the seawater, wincing and sobbing as she presses her lips together, still choking from the horribly salty water.

"Agkghkh!"

"Naomi, do as I say! Drink and close your mouth hard," Merrick quickly investigates her body, locating her gills and carefully prying them open, "Swallow and breathe, Naomi! Swallow and breathe." Merrick's insides shift as he feels the feeble push of an unseen flow from Naomi's gills, "Good girl, just like that, keep going."

"Dah... Daddy..." Naomi cries as she shakes her head, "I don't wanna do this, I don't wanna do thiiiis!"

"NO! Keep going, you need to breathe!" Naomi reluctantly repeats her command, forcing the intense salinity into her mouth and down her throat, "Good girl, good girl, you're doing good. It's ok, Daddy's here." He assures her as he keeps her afloat, "You're ok, swallow and breathe."

"Daddy... I'm scared, Daddy, what's happening to me??" She asks, afraid to really move.

"Stay calm, baby, stay calm, everything is going to be alright. You're going to be ok, Naomi, just keep breathing."

"A-Ah... Ah..." Naomi squints as her vision starts to get brighter, "D-Daddy! Don't leave me! Where are you going?! Ahhhh! My eyes!"

"Naomi, I'm right here, what're you saying??"

"I-I-I, there's lights! It's too bright! I can't see! Daddy, I can't see!" She cries out.

"By the Sea Mother- O-O-Ok, just close your eyes! Close them!" Naomi obeys, sobbing as she clenches them shut, "Is that better? Are the lights gone?"

"Y-Yes... D-Daddy." She gasps and bawls as she puts her hands over her eyes, "What do I do now, Daddy?? What do I do?"

"I... I don't know... By the depths..." Merrick says as he backs up a little, and looks upon his daughter. Her body shimmers like her flesh is made of pearl. A single tail with a widened, curtain-like tailfin has replaced her legs, while a shawl of a fin has formed from her shoulders, "Oh Naomi..."

"Daddy, I'm scared, I duh, I don't know what Iiii-"

"It's ok, it's ok," Merrick comes in and hugs her tight, letting her cry into his chest as he holds her, "Daddy's here, Daddy's got you..." His own powerful tail gracefully looms below.

~~~

Adam paces around the sand, holding a fabric scabbard with a handle at the top and a couple of other things too. His insides are pounding as he replays the events that have just happened in his mind. Naomi was changing... What caused it? Why now? What's going to happen to her?

He looks to the shore, and spots Merrick's blonde head surfacing. He immediately runs over, and dashes into the water and wades over to them until he can see Merrick's naked human-form body when the water is waist-deep. "Merrick! So what's happening, is, oh my God," Adam gasps as he sees a small and white iridescent mermaid in Merrick's arms, her webbed hands holding upon her eyes as she moves weakly, "Merrick, what's happened to her??"

"I-I don't know, Adam," Merrick says with is voice full of panic, "She's a mermaid, but I- I don't know, she can barely handle herself!"

"What do you mean?"

"She says she can't see, she's seeing too many lights, and she's starting to develop a fever!"

"Oh my God, what should we do?? Should we go to Atarah??"

"We don't have time for that! I need to take her to the Kenovani! Vanora and Nerissa are the only ones who can help right now!"

"But what about Atarah though?? Isn't she closer?!"

"She hasn't been a mermaid for eons, Adam! She wouldn't know how to help right now!"

"Daddyyyy..." Naomi cries.

"I know, honey, I know, it's ok, it's ok," Merrick hushes, "Adam I don't know when I'll be back, but at this time of year, the Kenovani shouldn't be too far from these waters. I need to go now!"

"Ok, Merrick, ok, here," Adam relented as he presents the items he's carrying, "Take my machete and your emergency pack, I already put your phone it in a plastic casing in it."

"Ok," Merrick quickly slings the pack onto his shoulder and takes the sheathed blade.

"Merrick, be careful," Adam says with a quick kiss, "Call me as soon as you can."

"I will, I promise." Merrick says before he turns around and swims down as Adam watches his legs morph into the long blue tail under the surface.

"Daddy... My eyes are hurting..." Naomi whines.

"I know, baby," Merrick said with suppressed terror, "I'm going to get you some help, and everything's going to be ok." He kicks his long, powerful tail as hard as he can as he flies through the water, heading further into the open ocean.

---9 Years Later---

"It was really terrifying when it first happened." Merrick says, "A Noita is born with the benefit of her mother being there to show her how to control her prowess, but my daughter didn't have that. It took several days for the Noita and Adra Noita of the Kenovani to teach Naomi how to stabilize her sight."

"Your Daughter really is a Noita?" Brishen asked with astonishment.

"Yes. But because she wasn't the same species as the Kenovani's Noitas, there wasn't anything she can learn beyond the basics. Things just couldn't translate properly. As well, half of the Kenovani members were rather judgmental and uneasy by the fact that she is half human. And I couldn't introduce her to Mother or Sister because of the Sacred Laws."

"I can't imagine being in the kind of life you have, Merrick." He tells him, "You sound as if you deal with so much complexity. Just how elaborate does your life have to be?"

"I get by. I never thought of it like that. Hahah, though there are several differences with her that I'm a little jealous about. Like she doesn't need the ocean like I do, she understands things quicker than I do, she's not at all effected by chlorine. Not even the smell."

"What?" Brishen asked with a strange look, "Effected by what?"

"Oh, sorry, chlorine. Humans make bodies of water of their own, and chlorine is this type of... Let's go with poison. Chlorine is a kind of poison they use to keep their large waters clean. It's extremely rancid by scent and it burns horribly on the skin, but Naomi doesn't notice at all, just like the humans."

"Hahaha, I can see you've had your work cut out for you. I know my daughter's been a lot hassle in the past. Hey, do you want to see if we can take on a Scythe Fish? Some of them are getting violent, and I wanted to see if you wanted to help me hunt them."

"Um..." Merrick pondered, "I'll... Pass for now. I don't really feel up to it right now."

"Oh... Alright, I understand. I'll tell some of the locals just to be careful until then." Brishen then shakes as he pushes himself up, trying to find his balance on his two legs.

"Use your spear as a third leg, it helps." Merrick suggested.

"A-Ah ok," Brishen quickly gets his weapon, and sighs in relief as he puts his weight into it as he walks.

Merrick sighs as he turns back to the horizon, listening to the wind and the waves tackling the rocks around the tide.

~~~

Later that night, Merrick still sits alone on the rock as he looks up at the moon, feeling the wind blow around him.

"Dad?" He turns and sees Naomi coming to him, "Are you doing ok? You've been gone for a few of days. Everyone keeps wondering where you are."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Merrick says as he gestures to her to come and sit with him. She crouches down and settles next to him, "I'm still just reflecting on things."

"... Hey, Dad, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, honey."

"So... What happens to merfolk when they die? When um... WE die?" Naomi asks, "I know it's a bad topic right now..."