This was supposed to be a nice vacation...

...So...

What went wrong...?

---

Three college students were simply going on vacation to an island paradise for Spring Break. Nobody could truly believe Zack's luck when he drew the Grand Prize ticket in the raffle. Since there were two other tickets among the prize, he decided to bring his two friends along for the ride. While Zack seemed unenthused, Ripley was excited for him and for herself.

After a long and uncomfortable ride in the airplane, the trio of friends finally reached the island paradise of Makai Island. The trio of friends spent their two days of the break having as much fun as they can, which included swimming along the shores of the island, snorkeling, shopping, hiking, and learning about the culture of Makai Island. Okay, with the last one, Ripley was the most enthused.

Ripley is a curious girl who is particularly bookish and loves nothing more than to learn new things about other cultures. She also has a passion for the ocean and is currently studying to become a marine biologist in the future.

Zack is a man of few words, and he too is studying to become a marine biologist. He may seem aloof, quiet, and blunt, but he is a fiercely loyal person to his friends. There are times when it seems as though the young man has more brawn and heart then brains. Other than swimming in the ocean, he is much more interested in learning about the local cuisine of Makai Island and seeing if he could replicate the recipes back home.

Ever since Ripley and Zack entered college, Ripley has had a crush on Zack. And she planned to tell him during this vacation....

However, tonight...on the third night...nobody expected the vacation to go wrong, in an unexpected way...

---

The three of them went to a small local bar and restaurant that not many went to. But it was said that the food was good and there were good options for drinks there...

Ripley raised her glass and called "A toast to an awesome vacation!"

"Hear hear!" Zack answered as he clinked his glass with Ripley's and his friend's glasses, before the both of them drank theirs. The three of them casually chat, until the third friend decides to head to the bathroom. While he was away, Ripley took her chance. She looked to Zack, and she starts,

"Hey...Zack? There's...something I want to tell you,"

Zack raised an eyebrow and asked "Oh? What's up, Rip?"

She loved that nickname, but she managed to not let it distract her, and she continued, "Here's the thing...I-uh...Ev-Ever since the beginning of college, I've always felt like my heart is just going to beat out of my chest whenever I'm around you, and...uh..."

As Zack was staring at her, she felt that it was better to just blurt it out, "I...I really like you! And, uh..."

Before she could continue, Zack sighed. He muttered "Oh man..."

He then told her, "Hey...Rip? I hate to break this to you, but...I don't feel the same,"

Ripley felt like her world just shattered into a million little pieces. He continued, "I might not feel anything...romantic with you, but...we can still be friends, okay?"

Ripley nodded dumbly and answered "Yeah. OK. I get it," She then apologized, "So-Sorry, I guess...I made things a bit weird between us, didn't I?" Zack shook his head and answered "No. No, you didn't. Sorry,"

Nothing else was said. It was awkward silence between the two of them. When the third friend returned, the both of them would try and distract themselves from the awkwardness with casual conversation. But it was clear that the air between them was still tense.

Zack soon decided to head back to the hotel, while Ripley said that she would head back later. She would be the last to leave the bar, and her two friends would be none the wiser to her fate.

After Zack and the third friend leave, the shadowed figure would make their move.

---

Ripley had only stepped away from her sixth or seventh beer for about five seconds. It was only after that first sip afterwards, that she felt so...light and bubbly in her chest. There was almost no one here, except for the shadowed figure and one elderly man at a table. The bartender was away.

She giggled as she rested her head on the bar, "Oh man...Hehehe...I think I'm...totally trashed," She hiccuped and...oh yeah, she's really trashed! She just saw bubbles come forth from her mouth after that hiccup. She had to have hallucinated that. She then stood up from the bar and she had to catch herself from falling with the bar and the chair's backrest. She tried to steady herself, only to find that is a difficult task for her right now.

The shadowed figure came up to her, and told her, "Let me help you back, Miss,"

Ripley giggled and slurred, "Thank you...You're so nice, Zack. I'm...*hic* glad you came back..."

Unfortunately, the shadowed figure was not Zack.

The figure lured Ripley away and she had no idea where they were going, other than that they were supposed to be going back to the hotel.

She focused on her legs. She tried to get them to work properly, but they felt so wobbly and almost numb...like they were starting to fall asleep on her. Despite that, she still felt light and bubbly, still laughing and giggling as the two made their way out of the bar and outside. She was occasionally hiccuping bubbles along the way. She couldn't help but comment, "Man, Zack. I'm so trashed...I think I see bubbles...coming outta my mouth..."

Her vision fades in and out of darkness, but she does come to realize that she and 'Zack' were near the ocean. Then there was a bright light...two bright lights coming towards her and 'Zack'. She then feels the wind rush...and then she hears a splash and gurgling.

...Was she underwater right now? She questioned silently as she watched bubbles float from her own mouth and towards above. She couldn't be...She was dreaming right? She felt cold, but she also felt warm, and she didn't feel like she was drowning...Soon her consciousness fades and she sees nothing but darkness.

---

The next morning will be just another ordinary morning for one mermaid, until she reaches a grotto, thought to be a secret place that only she knew of. When she goes there, she'll find another mermaid there...asleep in the shadows, sheltered from the bright light of the sun that shines its way through the waters of the ocean. The sleeping mermaid is wearing a white dress that would have reached the knees...if the mermaid was a human. Other than the dress, she would look like any other mermaid.

---

The next morning will seem just another peaceful morning for Zack and his friend. After getting up and getting ready for the day, he asked his roommate, the third friend, "Hey, can you go wake Ripley up? I'll go get us a table for breakfast,"

It was shaping up to be an average fishing season this year. The catch was good and plentiful, and the harvesters didn’t go without work. The kelp farmers were busy too, tending to their treelike fronds of delicious kelp. Kassandra couldn’t wait until the festival at the end of the season, where there would be her few friends and precious family. Her cousin Leonce’s wife was bound to have their child by then! She would have to buy baby presents.

After leaving her daily courses at the King’s School, she went toward her favorite grotto. It was a place she’d been going to since her childhood, when she needed to get away from it all. Best of all, it was her place. No one knew about it, not even her dearest cousin. No, the grotto was all hers, and no one else’s.

At least, it was supposed to be.

When she spied the other mermaid with the blue tailfin, she sighed with disappointment. “This is supposed to be my cave. Oh well.” She wasn’t about to find another. Maybe she could share with this stranger. Funny… for some reason she looked a little different from the others around. Maybe it was the dress. White – was the poor girl mourning someone? Is that why she was still asleep at mid-morning?

Kassy hated to do it, but she slowly approached the other maid. Gently shaking her shoulder, she said in her most soothing voice. “Wake up, please… wake up.”

-

Meanwhile, on the island, Brendan Dorian was preparing for yet another shift. In the daytime, it was the local tourist hotel, one of the largest and most attractive for college students. At nighttime, he was a fire dancer at the tourist parties, ones that never failed to impress.

Makai was his home, and always would be. Many of the natives took some offense to their growing tourist population, but Brendan had long tired of the faces he grew up with. Seeing some new blood around the place was always great. Plus, there were always plenty of pretty girls and boys to flirt with.

Stretching and yawning, he donned his apron and tied his black curls back. Another day, another dollar. He was saving up to go to another country and be a tourist himself, for once. Just him and his twin sister, Bianca. His sister had always been the smarter one – she was going to college, and only working part time shifts. She wanted to become a doctor, really help people. Brendan hadn’t really discovered what he wanted to do with himself. But once he did – he’d throw himself into it with the same passion and drive he did with everything else.

He was just finished laying out the silverware on the tables, when a guest arrived. He was tall and blonde, definitely a looker.

“I hope you’re having an excellent stay in the Pride of Makai hotel, sir! How many I help you this lovely morning?”

Wake up, please...wake up...

Ripley groaned as someone called to her and shook her shoulder gently. She mumbled with her eyes still closed, "Five more minutes..." She then tried to roll over and go back to sleep, with her hands clutching towards the sheets.

The only problem was that there were no sheets to clutch. Instead, there was only rock. Ripley groaned when she slowly realized this, and she slowly lifted her head, confused by her senses. As she opened her eyes, she found that at first they stung and were blurry, but as she blinked, her vision grew clearer and clearer.

"Wh-Wha...?" She whispered as she looked towards the source of the voice, and she asked quietly, "Who are you...?" She then tried to lift herself up, finding that she was quite sore. She hissed in slight pain, and she looked at the ground. She commented out loud, her confusion growing clearer along with her own voice, "...This isn't the hotel. Where am I?"

Then she noticed her own hands, and she lifted one of them closer for inspection. There, she saw it: How her hand was not how it should be. It was now webbed between the fingers, and her nails seemed...sharper? She also that there seemed to be a slight sheen of blue in her skin. She then asked out loud, her confusion slowly bordering towards fright, "What...What happened to my hands?" She then tried to move her legs.

But she felt like they were stuck together. After failing to move one leg away from the other, she whimpered "What?!" before trying again. Her attempts resulted with her flipping onto her back and her tail curled upwards so that it was dangling over her, for her to see. Instead of her legs, there was a blue fish tail.

No...! This....This can't be right!

Ripley couldn't help but think to herself. As though to test and see if the tail was really hers, she moved the tail back and forth and it moved according to her will.

She sat herself up as she stared at the tail, and after a couple of deep breaths that turned into wheezes, she screamed.

The scream was filled with confusion, shock, and fright. Kassandra can be pretty darn sure that anyone outside of the grotto would be able to hear the scream....especially if they were far from the grotto.

She'd also noticed that Ripley had seaweed around her arm like a bandage.

---

Zack didn't seem to have any reaction to Brendan's cheerful question, except an aloof and calm, "Just a table for three. Hoping to get breakfast before we head out,"

Before Brendan could lead Zack to the table however, the third friend, Richard, came running back and he said to Zack, "Zack! Wait!" He stopped and bent down so that his hands rested on his knees, while panting to catch his breath. Zack quietly waited for Richard to catch his breath before the brown haired boy straightened back up and told Zack, "Zack....Ripley hasn't answered me at all,"

Zack shrugged and asked "Maybe she's still asleep?" Brendan shook his head and answered "Even if that was the case, she would have given a mumble or something! It's not like her to not answer," Zack sighed and he tried to reassure Richard, "Calm down, Rich. There's no reason to panic. Maybe she went out ahead of us?" Richard pointed out, "She hasn't even told us anything. Normally she would have let us know,"

Zack carefully considered his words, before checking his phone. Sure enough, there was nothing from Ripley. No text message, no email, no nothing. Zack pocketed his phone, and he answered Richard, "....We're going to look for her,"

Richard nodded, and told Zack, "I'll ask the hotel staff. Maybe they've seen her," He then hurried off to the front desk.

Zack then turned his attention back to Brendan and apologized, "Sorry man. Looks like we're gonna have to cancel that table for now,"

Kassandra stared openly as the girl opened her eyes, looked around, and seemed to be having the start of some kind of panic attack.

"Easy, easy -"

And then the girl screamed. It was so raw, so wrought with emotion that it actually scared Kassy a little bit. She hoped no one was nearby to hear it, because they would have thought she was murdering this poor, scared maid. But why was she scared? And what was a hotel?

"Please, calm down!" She went to the scared girl, very gently laying her hands on both shoulders. She had no idea what was happening, but her first instinct was to help. "I'm sorry, I must have woken you from some nightmare. You don't look well." Indeed the girl didn't. She seemed sick with fear for some reason.

"Take a few deep breaths. Then watch the bubbles rise." She spoke in a calm, hopefully soothing voice. After all, this is what she was going to the King's School for. To learn how to help people in bad situations. "Just deep breaths." Was this working at all? "Please, miss, can you tell me your name, and your clan? If you stay here, I'll gladly go get them for you. It seems to me that you have a need for a soft, comfortable place. Not here. Will you be alright if I go and find someone to help you?"

--

"No table? That's fine." Brendan couldn't help but overhear the conversation about the missing friend. "If you need it, Guest services is on the bottom floor. They can also be on the lookout for this missing person. We wouldn't want an incident, after all."

Imagine that, some tourist going missing on their watch and never returning. The hotel could be sunk from all the bad publicity. "And the police at 999. If it comes to that. I wish you the best of luck." He decided he was being nosy enough, and wandered off toward the kitchen area. Usually they laid out a few plates for early morning workers, and he was hungry despite breakfast.

-
The rest of his shift passed without major incident, and Brendan walked himself down to a slice of beach that the tourists didn't know about. He sat there, nursing a soda, and thought about his future. Sometimes he felt like he didn't have one, despite all the hard work he did. His father was always after him to find a path, like his sister, and try as he might he hadn't yet. The waves rolled in and out, and he shut his eyes, hoping to take a nap on the warm sand.

Ripley kept on screaming until she felt hands on her shoulder. She wanted to shrug them, and swat them off, but then the girl's words caught her attention. She shakily answered the girl's statement, "A nightmare...Yes! Yes, this has to be a nightmare! I just have to wake up!" She then tried pinching herself with her sharp nails. But she only found that it was painful, and she was still here. Ripley desperately resorted to slapping herself.

With each slap across her own face she shouted each word, "Come! ON! Wake! UP!"

However, she never did wake up. Instead, it seemed like with each slap, she realized more and more that whatever was happening right now was reality. With red hand prints on her cheeks, she looked at the woman in front of her once more as her hands landed on her shoulder and she directed her to take deep breaths. Ripley found herself following her directions, breathing deeply and watching the bubbles rise...

This was happening...
This was actually happening...
She could feel herself breathe in the water as though it was simply air, only heavier.

She looked back at the woman as she asked her question, and she answered "Ripley. Ripley Jones. And I'm not part of a clan,"

The other mermaid would feel her tremble as she asked out loud, "What the hell...? What happened to my legs...? How the hell did I get a fish tail?! How did this happen?!"

---

Zack nodded in response to Brendan's advice, and he answered "Thanks man. We'll be sure to do so if we can't find her," He then hurried off to help Richard find Ripley. He did take Brendan's advice and asked Guest Services on the lower floor to be on the lookout for her if she comes back to the hotel. After that, he and Richard searched throughout the small town on Makai Island. Richard searched the beaches first while Zack retraced footsteps and went back to the bar to see if anyone had seen Ripley leave. Both had no luck.

In the end, neither could find Ripley and Zack finally tries calling her cell phone.

---

While Brendan rests at the slice of beach only he knew about, he would hear the sound of something landing in the sand. When he looks over he would see a book. Another object lands near that book, and it's a phone with a teal rubber phone case. He would hear the sound of an elderly man talking to himself, laughing,

"Ho ho ho Boy! Here we go!"

An old man with wild tangled hair, rags for clothes, and clearly in need of a shower or bath, was rifling through a purse until he pulled out a wallet. He pulled out some cash and counted "Five...Ten...Fifteen...Twenty Dollars! Looks like Gil's gonna eat today!"

As he's rifling, the phone near Brendan would ring a melodic ringtone, and the face and name of Zack Greene pops up on the screen as it's ringing.

Kassy was becoming increasingly worried about this woman. She kept trying to hurt herself, saying she was in a nightmare, smacking her own face and pinching herself. Luckily, her words eventually got through, and the girl began to breathe.

“Ripley Jones. That’s a nice name. I don’t know any Jones clan but I’m sure we can find them once you calm down. Now, as for what happened to your legs… Perhaps you were partying on land, then came back down without remembering it. You haven’t been getting into the human liquor, have you? You know that stuff is too strong for us.” Even so, some mers had a taste for it, even with how harmful it could be. Ah well, to each their own.

“Now, Ripley – may I call you Ripley? Would you like to take a swim with me? We can go anywhere you like, but I think it may clear your head and help you remember where you were last night, hm?” Kassy didn’t want to use the term ‘crazy’, but if Ripley didn’t calm down, she was going to take the maid right to the castle doctors for some advanced treatment.

She offered her arm, so they could swim together.

–

Brendan was startled from his warm, sandy doze by the ringing of a phone. Damn. “Five more minutes...” He mumbled while groping around in his pocket. He frowned when he realized his phone wasn’t ringing at all. Then where was the sound coming from?

A quick look around found the answer. An old man going through a woman’s purse, and a teal backed cell ringing insistently on the ground. “Ah, Grandfather, stay right there while I answer this.” Hopefully the old geezer would stay put. He had to get that wallet and purse out of his hands. With a sigh, he picked up the phone and hit the green button.

“Um. Hello? I’m probably not the person you’re looking for, but I found this phone on the beach. Hold on.” Holding the phone out, he questioned the old man. “Where did you find that purse? It’s very important that you tell me, Grandfather.”

Ripley looked back to Kassy, still breathing underwater...which is a weird thought to be processing right now, and listened to her speak. Even her panicked state, she could still tell that Kassy thought was insane. She tried to clarify to Kassy, slowly becoming slightly distressed again, "No! Nononono! You don't understand! Merpeople don't exist! My family and friends are back on land-" She then stopped and realized something with wide eyes. Apparently she can get back her legs and go back if this woman's words were right.

She slowly restated that thought, "I can go back to land...it's possible for me to go back to land and get my legs back?!" She then started to move, "You know, maybe I'll take that swim with you, I-WO-WOOOOAAAH!" As she had moved, she found herself falling off of the grotto shelf she was on, down the very short distance to the grotto floor. She muttered "Ow..." as she picked herself up.

As she moved her tail once again, she found that while she may be able to feel it, she has no idea how to use it. To Kassy, it would be reminiscent to how a very young child learns how to swim for the first time. She grumbled "What...? Oh come on! How hard can it be to use this thing?!" No matter how hard she kicked, the tail wasn't working as she wanted it to. With a groan, Ripley relented and said "You know what? Never mind. This is fine. This is totally fine!" Her voice was laced with sarcasm. She then decided "I'll just crawl my way back to land then..." She then started crawling, now determined to get herself back home.

---

Gill seemed to freeze and stare at Brendan like a wild animal when he spoke to him. While Brendan spoke on the phone, he would hear the familiar voice of the customer from earlier shout in the phone, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH RIPLEY YOU SICKO!?"
Another voice could be heard on the other side, clearly trying to calm down the shouting voice, "Zack! Calm down! It didn't sound like he was holding her hostage! He said he found her phone on the beach,"
"Maybe that's what this guy wants us to believe!"

While the two on the other end argued, Brendan asked his question to the geezer. Gill answered, his voice feeble and shaking "Oh...? I found it on that cliff up there," He then points upward towards a jagged rock on the cliff that overlooked the ocean above the hidden beach. The cliff looks precarious, like if someone jumped or fell, they would definitely land in the ocean...

Kassy listened, trying to be patient, as Ripley spouted nonsense about how she didn’t exist and that her family was on land. How bizarre. It wasn’t until Ripley fell and started to swim like a child, that she started to realize that something was truly wrong.

She felt her stomach twist as she reconsidered Ripley’s words and actions up until now. A human turning into a mermaid was impossible, wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it?

Kassy thought a moment, distantly remembering something she’d read from a human novel. "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

If she flipped the situation on it’s head, it would go like this. Ripley completely believed she was human. She believed merfolk did not exist. She swam like she’d never had a tail before and insisted upon going back to land.

“...Ripley...”

Kassy swam into the crawling Ripley’s way. She offered a hand to hoist her up.

“Let’s say I believe you. You’re human. What can we do about it?”

–

Brendan nearly dropped the phone when a man’s voice screamed into it. He fumbled and caught it just in time. As the two voices began to argue, he ignored them momentarily and focused on the old man. “You found that all the way up there?” He looked at the cliff, then at the ocean below, his stomach churning. Whoever that purse belonged to hopefully didn’t fall into the water. That was a dangerous drop.

“Thank you. I’ll need you to give me the purse and money back now.” He held his hand out, his eyes locking with the old man. There would be no argument about it.