(I honestly didn't know that it was MerMay, but I'm gonna use it as an excuse to post this chapter anyway. 😉)

Fubuki's POV
When Nyad emerged from the sea, my mind went completely blank. I felt a pull towards her, starting from deep in my chest. It felt as if I could swim directly to the sea floor with or without her guidance. So when she asked me if I was ready, I immediately nodded my head yes.

I let her take me by the hand and pull me down into the water. I felt it climb higher and higher along my legs and stomach, yet I never felt afraid. Even when I felt it lick my shoulder blades, I kept going. Enough sense surfaced in my mind to make me turn around and look towards PIXAL and the others, who had remained on the beach. She nodded encouragingly and the others gave their own forms of weak support, but they otherwise stayed away from the water. Guess PIXAL was serious when she said I was meant to do this alone.

Though when I turned back to Nyad, I found that I didn't mind it as much as I had earlier. I felt that I would be safe as long as I was with her.

The water eventually got deep enough that I could barely touch the bottom with my feet. Nyad started to pull me under, and against anyone else's better judgment, I let her. I raised my head to the early night sky and gulped down one large breath before ducking beneath the surface. I let her pull me down, down, deeper and deeper. It was only when my lungs started to burn that I thought to look back upwards. To my surprise, we were a good dozen feet or so deep, with the full moon a weak reflection above.

It was then that I started to panic. Is she trying to drown me? I thought frantically as I started to flail my arms and legs. All of a sudden Nyad filled my vision again; after re-entering the sea, her form had gotten blurry around the edges, like a mirage. She put an end to my flailing with a single finger to my lips. Stop struggling, She said with a bemused smile. Or you'll miss it.

Before I could even wonder what she meant by that, she let go of my hands and started to swim around me in a continuous glowing circle. She began to swim faster and faster, until she was so fast (and bright) that attempting to track her with my eyes gave me instant vertigo. I simply floated in the center of the circle, entirely confused as to how I got here.

It wasn't long before I realized that something was happening. My legs were starting to move in tandem instead of separately, and they were really starting to itch. The sensation spread along the sides of my body, all the way to my eyes. I wanted to scratch myself everywhere, but I could barely feel anything outside of the itchiness. It was like being numb, though opposite - I was itchy. All the while, Nyad continued to spin around me, a never ending spiral of light. Questions were starting to build, but I couldn't risk opening my mouth to ask any of them.

Right when I was feeling like a giant blind mosquito bite, the itchy feeling vanished entirely, leaving only cool relief. Nyad finally stopped spinning and went back to floating in front of me, though my eyesight had suffered from the bright lights. Somewhere beyond the painful afterimages, I heard her ask So? What do you think?

Blinking furiously, I pointed to my still tightly shut mouth, indicating that I couldn't answer her. She saw the motion and laughed, the sound a chorus of bubbles. You can breathe now, She told me kindly. Go on... take it slow.

I didn't want to believe it and didn't want to risk it, keeping my lips stubbornly shut. But at Nyad's probing gaze, I found them loosening ever so slightly, allowing a few bubbles to escape. They kept loosening and kept releasing bubbles until there was no more air in my mouth to keep in.

Breathe in... Nyad told me gently.

Despite the nagging voice in my head that insisted I would drown by doing so, I did as she said, pulling water into my system instead of air. I waited for the moment of panic of water entering my lungs, but the action felt strangely normal instead of fatal.

Breathe out.

Surprised that the inwards action had been so easy, I decided to do the outwards action as well. My surprise turned to shock when I discovered how natural the action was. I did it again to double check, and I was proven right once again. I was distinctly aware that I was taking in water, but it felt like I was simply breathing air. I looked Nyad full in the face and asked my first question of the night, "What did you do?"

Nyad gave me a grin that almost looked conspiratorial. Look down, She said simply. I was confused, but I looked down anyway.

And took in enough water that could make me pee myself.

I didn't, but I could have.

My legs were completely gone, or at least all semblance of them was. In their place was a beautiful, sleek fish tail with shiny black scales. Bright turquoise scales speckled with patches of orange made up the "underbelly", or the part that extended from my chest. There were about six fins total, with the ones at the end of the tail tipped with turquoise and gray scales while the four others were tipped with cyan and gray scales.

My clothes seemed to have magically disappeared, meaning that the scales lining the rest of my body were on full display. The black scales went up the sides of my stomach and chest, while my arms were covered in the same cyan and gray scales as my fins. I lifted my fingers to my face and took in the sight of webbed skin stretched between them. I gingerly fingered my neck and discovered that the scales not only covered my neck, they also lined five new gills on either side of the limb. I moved my fingers up higher and felt growths that felt almost like frills on my cheeks. My back muscles flexed with the action, and I realized that I also had back fins.

It was official. Somehow, I had been turned into a mermaid.

But my question still hadn't been answered. "What did you do?" I asked Nyad again, adding a little more heat to the words to emphasize my jumbled emotions.

Nyad looked pleased with herself, wriggling slightly in the seawater around her. Amazing, isn't it? She asked me rhetorically. I discovered this neat little trick several years ago. It's a special aquatic form that the sea can grant its devotees. How does it feel?

I flexed my now-webbed fingers and slowly slid my new tail through the water. The lack of legs felt weird, but somehow I felt freer with the one limb. "It feels... weird," I decided to answer her with a toothy grin. "But cool!"

Wonderful! Nyad exclaimed, performing a watery twirl. I had to stop and admire the action. She just seemed so... free. So careless. I have to admit, a part of me envied that.

Nyad slowly stopped in her twirling and gave me what I guessed was her best attempt at a serious expression. It's important to keep in mind, though - this form is only possible under a full moon, She revealed sagely. It will only last the night. Come sunrise, you will return to your original form. You should return to land before then.

I stared at the webbing between my fingers. The transformation had happened so fast, yet it still seemed hard to believe that it would be undone just as quickly within a few hours. "So this is why you only call the Masters of Water before a full moon," I realized. "PIXAL said it was because that's when the ocean's currents are at their strongest."

That's only partially true, Nyad admitted, nodding. Her glowing blue hair billowed and bulged as its own cloud behind her head with the action. Everything about the sea is at its greatest under a full moon. The two are forever intertwined. She raised a blurry hand towards the sea surface, leading me to look upwards. The moonlight was weak yet still there, a silent figure in our conversation. When one is at its greatest potential, so is the other. Which makes it a perfect time to show you all the wonders of the sea! She said that last part with a big smile back at eye level.

Her excitement was contagious, and I felt my new tail flutter in response. My eyes, which had been stinging from the salt water before my transformation, started to search the area around us. The color blue consisted of every shade and stretched for miles in every direction. In my dream, there had been several schools of fish swimming around me. Now that I was actually in the sea, though, we were all alone.

"So... where do we start?" I asked Nyad. After my awesome transformation, my expectation level was set pretty high.

Nyad gave me a sly wink, drawing her hands to the center of her rippling form. We can start right... here! With a flourish, she flung her hands outwards. As if the action was a signal that they'd been waiting for, the sea life that I had been missing suddenly surged forward. My vision was flooded with the sight of thousands of shiny scales swimming past me. Species of fish that I both vaguely recognized and had never seen before passed by me in dizzying patterns. Trying to keep up with even one species was enough to make me queasy. When I attempted to take a step (or stroke) back to take it all in, I discovered that they were all swimming in large circles around me - I had become the center of my own universe of water and life.

The feeling of tiny little bodies rushing past me, studying me, being as curious about me as I was about them, made me giddy. I held my hands to the surface above and let out a wild whoop, using my tail to twirl around in my little center. I was starting to get where Nyad got her carefree jubilance from - this was incredible!

What you see here is only a small portion of what hides in these waters, I heard Nyad tell me. I stopped twirling and found her floating right beside me; her smile was the brightest part of her glowing body. I'll be sure to show you more throughout the night!

I giggled, still giddy from the galaxy of sea life that was still rotating around us. "This is amazing!" I told her truthfully. "This is even better than the aquarium!"

Nyad's bright smile faltered ever so slightly. That's because what you see in those places is all trapped behind glass, She explained sadly. Her smile strengthened as she gestured to the fish around us. This is the sea in its freest form - one can't get any better than this!

"You can say that again," I agreed, holding out one of my webbed hands. A curious minnow-like creature left the churning schools surrounding us to hover above my palm. Its rose gold scales sparkled in the full moonlight, and I used my other hand to gently stroke its backside. "You can't get this kind of experience at an aquarium!"

Experience is what keeps the sea alive, Nyad said seriously, causing me to look back at her; her tone demanded attention. One can only truly care for something if they fully understand it and its importance. Her eyes still glowed with their own inner light, but they were the most serious that I'd seen so far. The reason why I bring the Masters of Water down here is to teach them all that the sea can offer - that way, they will feel more inclined to protect it. Otherwise the sea would constantly be in danger.

A frown mirrored my dampened mood and I waved the minnow away so that it could rejoin its school. "But if the sea is in danger so often, why only bring me down here? Wouldn't it be better if all of the Masters got this experience? So that they can also protect it with the same kind of, um... inclination?"

I never bring any of them down here. In my opinion, only those who have a direct tie to the sea can fully understand it, and thus protect it, Nyad stated firmly.

She sounded pretty sure of herself, and she was older than me by... I don't even know, six digits? "Eh, who am I to argue with the sea?" I asked rhetorically. I sighed and tried to lighten the atmosphere. "So, what are we going to 'experience' next?"

Nyad's bright smile returned, and her blurry hand reached out to gently take my wrist. That's easy. We can start with-

All of a sudden, her form convulsed into a flurry of bubbles as she let out a pained scream. The sound echoed into the blue abyss and scared the schools of fish, causing them to disperse. The seawater temperature dropped a degree or two, making my scales shiver. What had just been a bright and welcoming atmosphere had turned cold and ominous.

"N-Nyad! Nyad what's happening? Are you okay?" I exclaimed worriedly. My first instinct was to comfort her, but I could only hold my hands loosely around the mass of glowing bubbles that used to be her.

It took a minute or two, but Nyad eventually retook her humanoid form. Her face was stuck in a grimace and one of her arms gripped her middle as if she was in pain. I'm sorry, She told me in a strained voice. Even after reforming, she couldn't stay physical - her figure trembled as if she could dissipate again at any moment. I thought I would have enough time to show you more. I would have waited until you were older to bring you down here, but the truth is... I need your help.

"My help?" What could someone like her possibly need my help with? "Help with what?"

The men... She winced, gripping her side as if there was a knife buried there. Are hurting me.

"Men? What men? You need help with men? I'm a kid!"

Nyad looked like she wanted to explain further, but something stopped her. Perhaps it's better if I simply show you, She decided instead. Follow me.

With that, she turned away from me and started gliding through the seawater at a rapid pace. I blanched before trying to follow her. It was my first time getting around with my new tail, so at first it was like trying to swim with only one leg. I awkwardly flailed around for a few seconds before getting the hang of it, thinking of it as using both of my legs together instead of just one. Soon I was zooming through the water, swimming faster than I ever had before. I would have been trying to enjoy myself, but Nyad was still much faster than me. I put most of my attention on keeping her within my line of sight.

Nyad took me through miles of the sea, swimming past clumps of kelp and schools of fish; the latter of which stayed away instead of swarm around us. My tail was starting to hurt from the exertion and I was breathing water like crazy, but I forced myself to keep going. Nyad had sounded really worried, almost as if her life was in danger. Considering she was perceived as immortal by the stories that were told about her, it was an immediate cause for concern.

She finally slowed down next to a rocky ridge that jutted out of the sea floor. A blurry hand hastily motioned for me to join her at her side. The reason I need your help... She began slowly, pointing to the top of the ridge. Is right over there.

The way she was acting, I wasn't sure that I wanted to know what was over the ridge. But Nyad's worried look never left, so I decided to haul my head over the ridge and peek anyway. What I saw made me drop my jaw.

"Is that... an oil rig?"

It was indeed an oil rig, at least going off of the photos we'd been shown in school. Four main columns extended out of the sea floor a good three or four miles away, disappearing above the surface. In the center was a contraption that reminded me of a giant needle, already piercing into the silt below. In the shadows cast by the full moon, the entire thing looked like a monster preying on its victim, with its demonic growling able to be heard even from my vantage point.

The men started setting it up a few weeks ago, Nyad informed me, peeking over the ridge herself. I wasn't aware that they planned to start drilling tonight, of all nights.

It was my first time seeing an oil rig, albeit from a distance, so I was in a minor state of misplaced amazement. Then I glanced at our surroundings and realized something. "Wait - how far are we from shore?" I asked.

Only about five miles, Nyad admitted. We're near a sheltered lagoon, though, which is probably why the land authorities haven't found them yet. And that's not the only reason I'm worried. She pointed at the base of the rig. Take a closer look at where they're drilling.

I squinted in an attempt to lengthen my sight. To my shock, I could see colorful coral stalks and various forms of large sea life flitting between the rig columns. Their patterns looked rushed, panicked as their home was being invaded by the strange beast. "They're drilling on top of a coral reef?"

Yes, Nyad confirmed apprehensively. They've already disturbed much of the reef with their construction, and I fear that if they keep drilling, they could completely destroy it! The more they destroy... She whimpered, gripping her side again. The more the sea and I hurt.

"Why don't you do something, then?" I ask her, turning fully towards her. "Aren't you the sea itself?"

The sea cannot interfere with the actions of men, Nyad admitted, sounding sad. It is just its way.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Then want do you expect me to do?" I asked her, gesturing to my transformed body. "No offense, but I'm just a kid! I haven't even awakened my Element yet!" I continued gesturing dramatically, this time towards the oil rig. "And that thing is MASSIVE!"

I don't know what else to do, Nyad admitted. Her tone and appearance were apologetic as she joined her hands in front of her into a blurry mass. She looked like she was silently begging me for my help. You are the Master of Water after all, Element or not.

I sighed and glanced back at the oil rig. I couldn't not do anything. The problem was that my resources to do anything were severely limited. We would have to make do. "I guess... we can try to evacuate the remaining sea life."

You mean leave the reef behind? Nyad inquired; her voice was laced with genuine confusion. But it is their home.

"We don't have much of a choice," I told her. "It's either evacuate or be crushed. Once I get back on land, I can tell PIXAL about the oil rig, but this is all we can do for now. Can you convince them to leave?"

Nyad still seemed to have her doubts, yet she nodded anyway. She stared at the drill site for a long minute, all while the dull pounding of the drill continued to fill the waters. I was starting to get impatient, but I was eventually proven wrong as the site was transformed into a flurry of fleeing fish. Their scales sparkled in the moonlight, turning their hurried forms into a trail of diamonds. It was both beautiful and sad as they swam into the sea and eventually disappeared.

"Well, we've done all we can," I said quietly, glancing over at Nyad, who was still staring at the drill site. "Shall we get swimming?"

Hold on, Nyad said abruptly. Her forehead had become pinched, as if she was deep in concentration. Not all of the sea life was able to escape. Some are still in the reef, trapped beneath rubble - they must've gotten stuck when the rig was being put together!

I gasped and looked back at the reef. My mind became filled with the vision of tiny fish trapped beneath rock and coral, confused and flailing, all while their neighbors left and their home was being destroyed...

Then I reminded myself of the hordes that had managed to escape and caught myself. "We were able to evacuate enough," I told her firmly. "We should be grateful for that."

Young Master! Nyad exclaimed, whipping her head around to face me. There are innocent life forms trapped in there!

"B-but they're just fish..." I tried to protest, then immediately shut my mouth. I could tell that I'd said something wrong.

Nyad stared at me as if I'd spoken blasphemy, which I guess I did. Just... fish? She asked me incredulously. It was the most angry I'd heard her yet. She looked like she wanted to scold me more, but instead sighed and turned away from me. Figures. Your first night in the sea, and I've already failed as your teacher.

Her low tone struck me with the need to make amends. I glanced back towards the drill site and sighed. "Fine... just wait here," I grumbled. I flapped my tail and left both her and the rocky ridge behind.

As I got closer to the drill, its persistent pounding got steadily louder until I could feel it in my teeth. The currents were starting to get choppy from the vibrations, but I did my best to keep going. Nyad's disappointed statement had reminded me of PIXAL's teachings, that all life was precious and worth protecting. I couldn't stand to let either of them down, so I had no choice except persist.

I was able to reach the outskirts of the drill site, where the reef remained mostly intact. The center where the drill had struck was mostly silt and broken coral that was being continuously tossed into the water, making it hard to see. A nagging voice in the back of my head told me this was a bad idea, but I settled with waving my hands in front of my eyes in order to keep moving forward.

As I got closer to the drill, I started coming across fallen debris. I tried moving anything I could move by myself; I often found nothing, though I would just as often find a stray minnow or flounder. They would hurriedly zip away from the wreckage of their homes, but not before thanking me by swimming around my hands and forearms. The action was small, but it made me smile in an otherwise tense situation and gave me the strength to keep going.

The drill was still operational and so was my rescue attempt. I continued to swim in circles around the semi-destroyed reef, turning over every rock and fallen coral stalk. Everything looked the same even after I'd moved it, though, so I had to keep doubling back to make sure I'd gotten everything. It was eating up a lot of my time, but I was certain that there was no way that the men operating the drill could spot me.

That belief may have been my downfall.

All of a sudden, the drill stopped, leaving its persistent growling to fade away and make space for an even worse ringing noise. I gritted my teeth and stopped swimming for a few seconds, silently willing the pain in my temples to go away. With my focus trained mostly on my discomfort, I couldn't really pay attention to what was around me...

Which is why it took me a few seconds to realize that a net had been wrapped around me.

By the time I felt it, it was already too late - it had been cinched tight and I was already being pulled towards the surface. I threw my whole strength against the restraints, but they wouldn't even fray. If anything, they only got tighter the more that I struggled.

"Nyad!" I yelled, gripped the sides of the net. I tried to spy her through the slats, but I couldn't see anything from the dust cloud left behind from the drill. "Help me! PLEASE!"

Don't worry! Nyad called back, her voice frantic. I could still hear her easily enough; it was as if she was right next to me. I'm going to get help - just hold on!

"Help?" I exclaimed, still struggling. I could feel myself being pulled higher and higher towards the surface, and I was beginning to worry who or what would be waiting for me. The fact that my only current ally was leaving me for an urgent errand certainly didn't help my anxiety. "Who are you going to get?"

It appears that the sea requires some outside help after all.

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4298 words.

If procrastination is my forte, then I'm performing a symphony, because WOW this chapter took a while.

Like I said in the beginning of the update, the mermaid chapter released during MerMay wasn't planned, but it worked out anyway. I figured I should at least publish it before the end of the month, or how could I even pass it off as a MerMay update?

I feel like Fubuki becoming a mermaid was destiny. Should I post a drawing of his design?

Also, it's officially summer break now, so I should have a lot more time to post updates! I hope to get a lot more done this summer!