Natant

A/N: Part Two coming up! Roll it!

Chapter 3

Swimming with the Sharks

Part Two

The next day, Ash, Adrien and Hiccup were out swimming along the reef again during their lunch break. They had tried again to convince Branch to join them, but he had refused. This time though, the other three didn't press the matter further and went off without him. They were enjoying the water as they swam at high speeds, bubbles tickling their faces.

Soon, they came to a stop, with Ash smirking confidently at Adrien and Hiccup. They were racing, and Ash seemed to have won again. The other two mermen just rolled their eyes with amusement. Just then, they saw something in the distance.

It was a sea turtle, but it was not moving. It appeared to be stuck in a fishing net, which was slowly moving up towards the surface.

"Come on." Ash said, heading up to the surface, the other two following him.

At first, they were a little suspicious as to whether or not they could really breathe underwater. They had just been holding their breath when underwater, to which they figured out that they can hold it for much longer than the average human could. So they tested it out earlier that day and found out that they actually can, which made it possible for them to talk and communicate underwater without having to send silent signals of any kind with their hands or heads. However, it does decrease their time underwater by the second.

The three of them headed up to the surface and saw a fishing boat dragging the net behind it. Ash felt his blood boil when he saw the sight of the boat. He hated people who don't care about the choices that they make all because they wanted to make a good profit.

Just then, the three mermen saw someone coming out the boat and they quickly ducked back down under the water to avoid being seen.

"We have to do something." Ash said. "Any ideas?"

"I thought I saw a knife near the edge of the boat." Hiccup said. "We can cut it loose."

"I've got that." Adrien said before swimming over to the side of the boat, while Hiccup and Ash went over to the net and grabbed hold of it, buying their blond friend some time.

Adrien soon popped his head out of the water once he was sure that no one was around. He swam up to the edge of the boat, grabbed it and pulled himself a little further out of the water, the scales of his tail at his waist at risk of being seen. He then saw the knife that Hiccup saw and grabbed it by the handle before sinking back under.

He then swam back over to where Ash and Hiccup were and handed the auburn-haired merman the knife. Adrien then went to where Ash was holding the net and helped him keep it steady while Hiccup made fast work of tearing some of the ropes of the net. Finally, he cut a hole large enough for the turtle to swim out.

The three mermen smiled as the free turtle swam away from the boat. Hiccup then swam over back to the edge of the boat and put the knife back before anyone noticed. Then, he, Adrien and Ash jetted away in streams of bubbles.

****************

Later that afternoon, the four mermen had met up at the juice bar for lunch. As they were enjoying lunch, they heard the TV share a news report. When they began to pay more attention to it, three of them thought that it sounded familiar.

"Local fishermen today have been confronted with a possible menace of the deep." The anchorman said. "Commercial fishermen have reported incidents that may involve a rogue shark. They were lucky enough to escape injury, but they wished that their nets could have avoided the same fate."

Branch then saw the little smirks on his friends' faces, and he raised a suspicious brow at them. "What did you three do?" He asked.

"It wasn't a prank, I promise." Ash said quickly. "That net had a turtle trapped in it, so we helped set it free. It was an illegal net, too. No grids big enough for it to swim through."

"I'm not mad that you guys helped a turtle." Branch said. "But that was really risky. Someone could've seen you."

"We were careful." Adrien assured him.

"But he does have a point." Hiccup said. "Every fisherman in this city will now be looking for a rogue shark. It'll be too dangerous for us to swim out in the bay."

"So what do we do?" Adrien asked.

"Until this all clears over, we are grounded." Hiccup answered.

Ash and Adrien weren't too happy about this, but they knew that it was the safest option for now. Then Branch had a thought.

"Did any of you get a good look at the boat?" He asked. "See where it came from, who it belongs to?"

Ash nodded, a finger tapping his chin in thought. "It looked familiar to me." He said. "Fancy a trip to the harbor later?"

The answer he got from his friends were three little smirks.

*****************

Minutes later, the four friends were over by the harbor. They were scanning all of the boats, looking for the one that the other three saw earlier. All around, they could see that fishermen were sharpening their best hooks, eager to catch that so-called rogue shark. The smell of fish all around was starting to make their stomachs rumble, even though they had just eaten.

Adrien held his nose. "Geez, we just ate." He said. "How can I already be starving again? And in the mood for sushi?"

"Not sure." Hiccup replied, pinching his own nose. "But I get what you mean. I'm hungry again, and for seafood. Who eats seafood for lunch?"

"Do you think this is another side effect?" Branch asked. "We all liked seafood before, but instead of feeling a little nauseous around raw fish, now we get hungry?"

"Maybe." Hiccup answered. "I suppose fish-folk have seafood as their primary diet."

"Are we going to report that to the girls?" Adrien asked.

"They wanted to help us figure out ways to keep living a semi-normal life." Hiccup said. "Knowing any possible side effects can help them with that since all they can go off of is based on popular mythology."

"That's the one!" Ash suddenly piped up, pointing towards a large white fishing boat near the edge of the dock. "That's the boat!"

The four secret mermen hurried towards it, ignoring the smell of fish that was making their stomachs quake with hunger. When they got to it, they saw the name of it stenciled on the side called the Siren's Trident. Ash felt his heart freeze.

"What's wrong?" Branch asked, noticing his friend's pale face.

"That was my dad's old research boat." Ash answered, and his friends' eyes widened with shock. "We had to sell it to pay for the funeral."

"The creep who probably owns it now is fishing in all the wrong places, and with the wrong equipment. Something tells me that he doesn't care." Adrien added sourly.

Just then, they saw who it was. A middle-aged man with a black beard, wearing a blue sailor's shirt and dark gray pants appeared on deck, along with a matching bright blue bandana around his head, covering his dark hair and balding head.

Ash's brown eyes turned up into flames when he saw the man. He recognized him for sure.

Archie Waverson was Jayce Ketchum's enemy and rival back when they were in the fishing industry. Both of them would always argue about the rights and wrongs of the rules and laws of fishing until Jayce left and quit his job as a fisherman for some reason. Archie had thought that he had finally won, until Jayce re-appeared in the marine world, this time as the manager of his own marine park.

After that, they remained separate for years until Archie came to the marine park and demanded a raise in his salary since part of his job was to bring back any injured marine animals he would see when fishing. But Jayce refused, knowing that he was just trying to get back at him again, just like they had always done for years.

But now seeing that Archie had bought his father's boat and using it to fish in restricted waters made Ash's blood boil with fury. His friends were lucky that waterspouts didn't appear out of the harbor, knowing just how livid he was.

Archie came onto the boat and noticed the four boys near his boat. Especially the one who was glaring daggers at him. A smirk came onto his face.

"Well, well." He said, stepping out of the boat. "If it isn't Jayce's little clone." He said. "You are the spitting image of your dad, you know that, kid?"

"The name's Ash." The raven-haired boy gritted through his teeth. "And you're the person who bought my father's boat?"

"Well, I did make the highest bid on it." Archie answered with a smirk. "Plus, you and your family needed the money for dear old daddy's funeral."

Ash was about to swing his right arm at him, but Adrien quickly stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "Cool down, Ash." He whispered.

Archie then noticed the other three teenage boys. "Well, looks like you've made some friends." He said.

"But maybe those two are really your babysitters?" He pointed between Hiccup and Branch, making the two senior boys scowl at him.

Ash growled lowly at the older man, trying to pull his arm away from Adrien's grasp, but his blond friend kept a tight hold on him.

"You've crossed the line." He said. "My father's boat is meant for research, not fishing! And you're fishing in restricted waters!"

"And how would you know that, kid?" Archie asked him with a smug grin. "You've got no proof. But now that I've been hearing about a rogue shark that cut through my nets, that beast is mine."

The younger raven-haired boy was about to pounce, but Branch stepped in front of him before he could. "We'll be taking our leave now, sir." He said diplomatically. "But keep this in mind: this is far from over."

With that, the four boys left, but Ash did kick one of Archie's crates into the water, making the man shout at him. Ash hid a little smirk before bursting into a sprint, the other three boys following him as fast as they could. They really needed to blow off some steam, especially Ash. That man was a disgrace, going so far as to tainting the reputation of his father's old research boat.

******************

After school a few hours later, Branch was waiting for his friends to come out and join him. Earlier, he had gotten a text from Adrien, saying that Ash was being a little too aggressive during a game of dodgeball in gym class that he had hit a guy square in the face because of what Archie had said and done. He was kicked out of the game while the coach took the student over to the nurse, and Ash didn't exactly take that well.

To be honest, the older, ebony-haired teen didn't blame him. He would be really ticked off himself if he had learned that a piece of his family's legacy was being ruined and shamed by some creep.

Just then, he got a text from Ash in their group chat that they've organized for everyone, including Marinette and Poppy.

Ash: Hey, guys. Walk home without me. I have after-school detention right now due to the incident in gym class.

Adrien: Saw that coming.

Ash: Yeah, I got that. -_-

Marinette: You gave the guy a bloody nose!

Poppy: What?!

Hiccup: We understand where you're coming from, Ash. What Archie did was completely despicable. But you shouldn't have taken it out on other people.

Ash: I know. I have to write a formal apology to the guy I hit and give it to him next class. Hopefully, he's forgiving. He looked really mad at me.

Branch: Will you be fine walking by yourself?

Ash: Evie has cheer practice today, and Ritchie has volleyball practice. They'll be done when detention is over. I'll walk home with them.

Adrien: Okay. See you guys tomorrow.

With that, Branch put away his phone back into his pocket. He then sensed someone come up beside him. It was Poppy.

"Are you waiting for everyone else, or do you wanna walk with just the two of us?" The strawberry blonde girl asked.

"Let's just wait." Branch said before going over to sit near the steps to avoid getting pushed around. Poppy followed him and sat next to him.

"Hiccup told me what happened at the harbor." Poppy said. "It's not fair to Ash."

"Talk about adding insult to injury." Branch added, crossing his arms. "That guy Archie, from what Ash told us, had been rivals with his dad for the longest time, and then he buys his father's boat that was meant for research and uses it to fish in restricted waters."

"Shouldn't the marine park or the marine hospital buy it?" Poppy asked.

"They tried." Branch replied. "But Ash told us that Archie had outbid both of them when it went to auction. He must have been that desperate to finally one-up Mr. Ketchum, even though he's dead now."

Poppy sighed through her nose. "Well, at least it takes your mind off the whole... tail thing." She said quietly.

Branch felt something inside of him snap at her constant persistence of the one subject he had been trying to avoid. "Okay, fine!" He exclaimed. "I'm scared of it. Of all of it! Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Branch, everyone is scared of something." Poppy said, placing a hand on her old friend's shoulder. "But what matters is how you deal with it in a positive way. Think of this whole thing... as a gift that the universe gifted you."

"I didn't ask for any of this." Branch said. "My life was fine until this happened."

Poppy knew that Branch had been lying to everyone, including himself, saying that he was fine with his life. She knew that it hadn't been fine for almost twelve years. But she wasn't going to point that out; it would only make things worse.

"Life never goes the way we plan it, no matter how hard we try to down to the littlest detail." She said to him. "But when it goes askew because of a change that is beyond control, what matters is that we deal with it, and figure out how to keep living life despite the change. Otherwise, you'll end up miserable for the rest of your life."

Branch lightly scoffed. "You sound like my dad." He said.

Poppy chuckled. "Well, he has a point, you know." She added. "Branch, you are an amazing guy. You hardly let things get to you because of your determination and your guts. You can do anything you can set your mind to."

"Just because I have these powers doesn't mean I'm amazing." Branch said.

"You are." Poppy insisted. "And you did incredible things even before all this happened. You helped save that dolphin back when we were kids. You were there for me when my mom died and when Viva left. You were there for Hiccup after his accident. Now, you're there for Adrien when he needs someone to talk to, and for Ash, considering that he lost his dad not that long ago."

She then came closer and hugged him. Tentatively, the ebony-haired teen returned her hug.

"You are a good friend, Branch." Poppy continued. "You would do anything for them, and you're not afraid to do what is right. That is what makes you amazing. And now that you're a merman, that only makes you all the more incredible."

Branch remained silent, but he gently squeezed her back to let her know that he was still listening to her. The two of them stayed like that for several more minutes before Hiccup, Adrien and Marinette finally came outside. Branch and Poppy ended their comforting hug before standing back up and joining the others on the walk home.

*****************

That evening after dinner, Branch was in the bathtub, lost in thought about Poppy's words, and of his dad's from the night before. He then stared over at his emerald green tail dangling over the edge of the tub. He sighed as he adjusted himself in the tub.

Poppy was right. He had been afraid of this whole merman thing because he had no idea of how it was even possible for something like this to happen. Of course, the others believe it was magic, but Branch had thought himself to be more inclined towards science. He thought that Hiccup would agree with him, but due to the stories of his Viking ancestors battling against all kinds of monsters, his auburn-haired friend believed that magic was the cause of their transformation.

Ash and Hiccup were the first to embrace this new side of them, side effects and all. They believed that despite having to be cautious around water all the time now, it was all worth it because it gave them the chance to see the ocean with new eyes. Also, it was a way to help them cope with any struggles they might be facing, like with Ash and the loss of his father, and Hiccup trying to rebuild the bond between him and his father after five years of tension and hurt that unfortunately can't disappear overnight.

Adrien was a little more hesitant to accept their new reality, and Branch could somewhat understand why he was like that. They all could. After all, as a famous fashion model, Adrien was almost always under a spotlight or a microscope. One wrong move, and he would be exposed and then figuratively torn apart limb by limb. But he too also learned how to embrace his merman side. Most likely because it offers him the freedom he so wanted. He had told them that all he ever wanted was to be a normal teenager, and Branch supposed that if having fins when wet was the only way to get that, then he'll take it regardless.

Branch wanted his friends to be happy, and he could kind of see how the whole tail thing can be really cool. But the change is what is hard to accept. He supposed that he doesn't cope well with change. Especially after his older brothers left.

He remembered when his parents first brought Harper home when he was eight years old. Back then, he wasn't too sure about having a new baby in the house, even though he had wanted a younger sibling. But as time went on, he grew to love Harper as his own sister, even if they weren't really related by blood. It was the same thing with Keith, and Branch had to show Harper that it wasn't so bad having a younger sibling.

When Fishlegs moved to a different part of the city, he and Hiccup were there for each other to make up for the loneliness of missing their friend during the first part of freshman year. And then after Hiccup's accident that cost him his leg, Branch was there for him even more.

He had never seen his best friend look so defeated once he was released from the hospital. But the joy on his face when his father apologized for neglecting him and wanting for them to start over made it all worth it.

Now, Ash needed him. Yes, the guy's endless energy and optimism can rival Poppy's, and that's saying something. But even the most upbeat and cheerful people have their scars. For Ash, that was the recent loss of a family member, and that guy tainting a piece of his father's legacy only added salt to that wound that he keeps trying to cover up.

Branch felt like he needed to do something, like prove that Archie had been fishing in restricted waters. That was the least he could do for Ash for putting up with his attitude. He owed him that much.

*****************

The next morning, after breakfast, Branch went over to the docks, looking for the Siren's Trident. He soon found it, just as it was about to leave, due to the chatter aboard. He quickly hid behind some crates close to the boat and turned on his phone's recorder. He needed to capture proof of Archie's misdemeanors.

"Hurry up!" Archie shouted at one of his crew members. "I don't want to be the last to leave. We need to make up for the catch we lost yesterday. We're heading for Kullerson's Beach."

"Hey. Kullerson's Beach is a no-go." The crew member said.

Branch mentally through the list of restricted fishing zones he had researched last night and recognized Kullerson's Beach as one of them, especially during nesting season for turtles. He lifted his camera up to get a better look at the nets, and he saw that the design was meant for catching a shark, but if a turtle was caught in it...

"It doesn't matter!" Archie shouted at him. "We're going there, and we're using the old nets too. Now cast off, or I'll cast you off."

The crew member reluctantly nodded, and then began getting the boat ready to cast off. Branch quickly shrunk back into his hiding spot before he was seen and listened to the sound of the motor starting. He peered out and saw the Siren's Trident leaving the harbor.

He turned off the recorder and ran towards the edge of the dock, watching the boat leave, not letting it leave his sight. Something began to flare up inside his stomach, his blood beginning to boil as he narrowed his eyes at the departing boat. No way was he letting this happen.

"Branch!" Poppy suddenly came over to him. "What are you doing?" She asked. "The text I got from you this morning sounded pretty urgent."

Branch pointed over to the Siren's Trident. "That's the boat." He said. "They're heading towards Kullerson's Beach using the wrong fishing nets."

"But I thought that Kullerson's Beach was closed due to nesting season." Poppy said. "That's what you told me."

"Yeah, it is." Branch said, his eyes remaining on the boat. "But I doubt that Archie cares."

Before he could second-guess his decision, he was already speaking again. "I'm gonna stop them before they get there. Go and tell the others."

Poppy blinked at him, not sure if she heard him correctly. "What was that?" She asked.

"Just go!" Branch shouted.

Poppy turned to leave to do what Branch asked her when she heard a splash. She turned back around and saw that Branch was gone. She came over to the edge of the dock and saw the remains of bubbling jets under the water.

"Branch?" She asked.

She recognized those bubbles, for they were the same ones that always happen whenever the guys transform underwater. Since Branch was nowhere to be seen, there was only one guess as to what happened.

He dove in.

"Oh, great!" Poppy exclaimed sarcastically before running off to tell the others.

*******************

Underwater, Branch was struggling to hold his breath while trying to figure out how to swim with his tail. He was sinking further to the bottom of the harbor, until he finally couldn't hold his breath any longer and opened his mouth, gasping.

Then, he seemed to remember that since he was now a merman, he could now breathe underwater. "Oh, right." He muttered.

He then looked down at his tail and swung it back and forth, trying to get a better feel of it. A smile of amazement slowly came on his face as he eventually got the hang of swimming with it.

"Wow." He breathed. "It's a lot stronger than I thought."

Branch lightly swung his tail a couple of more times before pushing himself forward, his arms extended to help himself push even further through the water.

"Okay." He said, stopping and looking in the direction of where the Siren's Trident went. "Now let's see what this tail can do."

With a few powerful flicks of his tail, Branch took off after the boat in a jet of bubbles. He couldn't fight back the smile of thousands of tiny bubbles tickling his face as he swam. He even let out a holler of joy, finally relishing in what his new form can offer.

****************

Within minutes, Branch caught up to the Siren's Trident. He swam up, carefully popping his head out of the water to avoid being seen. He then heard Archie give out his orders.

"No one slacks off today!" He shouted to the crew as they prepared the nets. "Keep your eyes open for that shark."

"The shark is the least of your worries." That same crew member from before piped up. He knew that what they were doing was wrong.

"Any more of that from you, and you'll be shark bait." Archie threatened him before heading back inside.

Branch narrowed his sky blue eyes fiercely at the retreating form of the captain. "We'll see who ends up being shark bait." He said to himself before diving back underwater.

He carefully swam up to the boat, in safe distance of the motor. Branch extended his hand forward and splayed his fingers out, tilting his hand slightly. His sky blue eyes began glowing a lime green as the water around the propellers turned gooey and sticky like Jell-O. Soon, it had stopped moving altogether, making unpleasant noises as it tried to break free of the sticky hold.

Back topside, Archie was trying to fire up the engine, but it kept stalling. "What is going on?!" He shouted. "Why are we moving?!"

"Not sure, boss!" One of the crew members answered.

Archie growled and looked up at the fish sonar on a screen in front of him. He saw nothing out there. Something strange was going on.

As for Branch back underwater, he smirked as he brought himself lower, but still underneath the boat. The sonar can detect anything in the area, but not if that same something was directly below it. He was glad that he remembered that. Hopefully, he had bought himself some time to think of his next step.

*****************

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, Poppy had burst into Adrien's mansion, having actually climbed over the gate. "Miss, unless you have an appointment with either of the Agrestes, I would kindly ask you to vacate the premises." Nathalie said, cutting her off.

"No, no, no, no. You don't understand." Poppy said, panting for breath. "I need to talk to Adrien. Is Ash Ketchum and Henrik Haddock here as well? I really need to talk to them."

"Miss, I warn you-!"

"It's okay, Nathalie!" Adrien appeared on the stairs, quickly coming down to the main level, followed by Ash and Hiccup. "She's a friend."

"Guys, you gotta come with me!" Poppy exclaimed. "It's an emergency!"

"What happened?" Hiccup asked.

"Just come on!" Poppy said before bolting out of the mansion. Ash and Hiccup quickly followed her, but Adrien was stopped by Nathalie.

"Adrien, you have your piano lesson in ten minutes." She reminded him.

"Poppy just said that it is an emergency!" Adrien retorted back firmly. "There's no time to lose!"

With that, he pushed past his father's secretary and followed his friends outside. Nathalie sighed through her nose, wondering just when did the blond teen grow so stubborn.

Once they were all outside and past the front gate, Poppy stopped to keep trying to catch her breath. "Okay, what's going on?" Ash asked her.

"It's Branch!" Poppy said, gasping for air. "He.... he's in the water."

"Finally!" Hiccup exclaimed with exasperation.

"No!" Poppy said. "He's going out to stop Archie."

"By himself?!" Adrien shouted.

"They're heading towards Kullerson's Beach right now!" Poppy continued.

"That area is restricted though." Ash said. "It's nesting season."

"Obviously, Archie doesn't care." Poppy panted for breath. "You gotta help him before he does something stupid." The three boys nodded and quickly headed for the nearest body of water that leads to the ocean.

*************

Meanwhile, Branch saw that his sticky substance around the propellers was getting broken off the more the people above tried to restart the engine. He swam closer to try and get the props stuck again, but the prop started working again, and it pushed him back, disorientating him long enough for the net that was dragging behind the boat to catch him.

"No, no, no!" He exclaimed as he struggled fiercely to free himself from the net before he was spotted.

But his struggling only made it worse as the net tangled around his tail and torso. "Oh, great!" He muttered sarcastically.

Topside, Archie was glad to see that the boat started moving again, but then he paused when he noticed a large shape on the sonar that was following them. "What the-?" He mumbled.

"Hey, boss!" One of the crew members shouted over to him. "Something's caught in the net. Might be that shark."

"Well, bring it up before it rips the net to pieces!" Archie commanded. "It's not gonna get away this time." But still, the seaman couldn't help but get the sneaking suspicion that whatever is caught in the net is no shark.

Branch was struggling to free himself before he was spotted, but the net was only getting more tangled around his tail. "Come on, come on!" He growled.

Just then, he heard three presences in the water, coming over to him fast. He turned in their direction and saw that it was Hiccup, Ash and Adrien.

"Guys!" He shouted to them with immense relief. "Just in time! Get me out of this thing!"

Everyone soon saw that the net was steadily climbing higher up. "I'll see if I can buy us some time!" Adrien said before swimming a little closer to the boat, avoiding the net, while Ash and Hiccup went to help Branch untangle the net from around his emerald green tail.

Adrien went over to the side of the boat, out of sight from Archie or his crew, and carefully popped his head out. He then saw the machine that was pulling the net out of the water. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was wet due to the water dripping down from the ropes of the net.

Bringing his hand out, he held his palm out towards it. His eyes suddenly flashed silver, matching his tail, and in two seconds, the machine was frozen solid, causing it to stall. Once his work was done, Adrien immediately dove back under to avoid being seen.

Archie and his crewmen were confused as to why the machine suddenly stopped. The captain went over to check on it and saw its sudden frozen state. His eyes went wide, baffled by how something like this could've happened as he carefully touched it and felt that it was cold to the touch.

Adrien came back to the others just in time to help Ash and Hiccup pull the net off of Branch and they head up to the surface. They all gasped for breath when they did break the surface.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Branch assured him and the other two.

"What were you thinking?!" Ash demanded. "You could've gotten spotted!"

"I was getting proof of Archie's illegal practices." Branch explained. "I heard him talking about coming here, and I thought that I could stop him, or at least buy some time."

"Do you have that proof?" Adrien asked.

"It's on my phone." Branch said. "We'll bring it to the water police later today."

"With that little freeze I did, I don't think they'll be catching anything today." Adrien added with a smirk.

Branch returned the smirk before it curled a little deeper. "And hey, I remember that you guys said that you can hold your breath for fifteen minutes. Guess what?"

When his friends all raised a curious brow, he answered. "I took a little detour to test it out, and by the time I arrived at the boat, I lost count at sixteen and a half minutes."

The three boys all groaned, minorly upset that Branch had broken their record, and then all four of them started laughing. After their little laugh fest, they headed back down under to avoid being seen. Then they started swimming as fast as they could back to the harbor and find a safe place to dry off.

****************

When Archie and his crewmen finally arrived back at the dock a couple of hours later, the captain was beyond frustrated. "Make sure that net is removed!" He shouted.

Just then, there was the blaring of sirens being heard. A police boat was arriving, as well as a couple of trams. An officer then came out from one of the trams.

"Archibald Waverson, come out with your hands in the air!" He shouted into his megaphone. "You are under arrest!"

Archie growled as he and his crewmen surrendered, throwing their hands in their air. The water police then came over and handcuffed them. The officer that had been holding the megaphone came over to Archie.

"You're under arrest for illegal fishing, the use of faulty equipment, and trespassing into restricted waters." He said to him, crossing his arms.

"How did you learn about this?" Archie demanded.

"We had a tip brought in this afternoon, as well as video evidence." The officer explained with a smirk. "I guess we have these four boys to thank."

He looked over in the direction of another police tram, and Archie followed his gaze. Much to his annoyance and anger, the four boys from yesterday, his hated rival's little clone and his three friends, came out and just smiled at him, mischief gleaming in their eyes.

"You little BRATS!" Archie roared at them as he was dragged off to a police tram and shoved inside.

The four of them then had the gall to just smirk and wave at him as he was carried off to prison. Ash, Adrien, Hiccup and Branch then all laughed and shared a four-way fist bump, proud of themselves for bringing a felon to justice.

****************

Later that night, Branch was telling his family about what had happened over dinner. "You should have seen the look on his face!" He laughed. "He looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel. He was that mad!"

"Well, that's no reason to laugh about," Esmeralda said, "but I'm proud of you that you and your friends came to the rescue."

"I'm sure the turtles will thank you four for that." Rowan added after he swallowed his bite of chicken parmesan.

"So what's going to happen to the boat?" Harper asked.

Branch smiled. "Well, the water police gave it to the marine park, where it will be used for making research trips, just like it always should have been." He said.

"Your friend must have been very happy about it." Rowan said.

"He was." Branch replied. "He and his family." He remembered seeing the joy on the faces of Ash's family when the water police told them the news.

Then, he turned back to his dad. "And Dad?" He said, getting his attention. "Thanks for the advice. It really helped a lot."

Rowan smiled at his eldest son as he watched him bring his empty plate to the sink. But before he could place the plate in there, his phone started ringing. He carefully placed his plate next to the sink and answered his phone. It was Poppy.

"Hey, Pops." He said, calling her by her nickname. All the while, he was reaching for the kitchen gloves under the sink.

"Hey, listen. Come over to the beach tomorrow, and bring Marinette with you. I'll bring the guys. There's something I want to show you."

*****************

The next morning, Poppy and Marinette were at the beach, waiting for the guys to arrive. Lucky for them, it was a Sunday, so there was no school. Just then, Poppy saw something lumpy in the sand. Being very careful, she knelt down and began digging around it, just in case it was a crab.

Soon, she uncovered it, and she and Marinette squealed in excitement, just as the guys finally arrived, each of them wearing a tank top of their favorite color and swim trunks of different colors, and bringing a gym bag with towels inside.

Ash wore a dark blue tank top and red swim trunks with blue trim. Adrien wore a white tank top with black swim trunks. Hiccup wore a dark red tank top and dark green swim pants. And Branch wore a dark green tank top and dark blue swim trunks with gray trim.

"Guys, look!" Poppy squealed. "Turtle eggs!"

The boys all smiled, and Branch and Ash joined Poppy on their knees in the sand. "Baby turtles are so cute!" Marinette cooed.

"Yep." Ash agreed as Poppy gently began to cover the eggs back up. "They're one of my favorite sea animals ever. I just hope that they all make it."

"I'm pretty sure they will." Branch assured him as he and Ash got back on their feet.

"So you guys said that you want to show us something?" Marinette asked them.

"Yep." Adrien said with a smile on his face before briefly looking at his friends, and then back at the blunette. "You ready?"

The girls nodded while the guys shared a knowing smirk. They put down their bags onto the rocks nearby and then began taking off their tank tops. The girls slightly blushed at the boys' exposed torsos.

Marinette was slightly more focused on Adrien's, while Poppy was trying to avert her eyes from Branch's, which set off warning bells in her brain. Branch was her best friend! She had even seen him without a shirt once or twice before! She shouldn't be this flustered!

But then, Poppy had remembered something she had learned about mers. According to some myths, mermen, and mermaids, are ethereally beautiful. First, it would be their melodious voices that would lure and seduce anyone who crosses their path, and then their faces and top halves of their bodies would be seen, further enticing their victims until it was too late.

Not that she would think that the guys ever would do something like that; they are way too nice for that. But now maybe she and Marinette would need to be more careful if the guys start receiving extra attention from the female population.

Their forms are not like bodybuilders with huge, bulging muscles and six-pack abs; they were still pretty svelte. But they were beginning to show signs of muscle mass building up in their arms and chest due to adolescence. Each of them each had their own differences as well.

Ash was beginning to have small abs form on his stomach, and there was a small scar on the right side of his chest. Adrien was pretty much the same way, but there was not a single flaw or blemish on his smooth skin; which was expected due to his modeling career. Hiccup however, had freckles dotting along his shoulders, matching the ones that are on his face. Branch also had a small scar, but on the left side of his chest instead of the right like Ash. Surprisingly, the older boys had two pairs of abs on their stomachs.

Oblivious to the girls' small mental meltdowns, the boys put their tank tops into their gym bags with their beach towels and started running towards the water. Finally dispelling the blushes from their faces, Poppy and Marinette climbed onto the rocks to watch the guys head into the waves. They'll talk about the new ethereal beauty the guys have, as platonically as possible, later.

For now, they just watched the guys with proud smiles as all four friends dove into the waves. Then, they saw four tails waving at them from the spray of the waves before disappearing; one of them sapphire blue, another glittering silver, the third a ruby red, and the fourth, emerald green.

Underwater, the four guys smiled at each other as they swam further away from shore. Finally, all four boys have embraced their new forms. Now, they can figure out ways to live semi-normal lives as best as they could. But whatever new challenges that they might face, whether on land or under the sea, one thing was for sure: they will always have each other.

A/N: Man, this was long! I think this is the longest I've ever written for a chapter ever! Well, since this is going to be a really big project, of course that the chapters will be longer than usual.

But still, yeesh. I think my fingers are not happy with me with all of the typing they had been doing. Anyway, despite the atrociously long length overall, what did you guys think? Not too bad?

Well, we'll see how long it takes me to write the next chapter. Let's hope not forever. Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think! They are highly appreciated. And remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)