Hot tears fell down Grian's face as he left his friends behind, using rockets to go as fast as he could, flying out of the shopping district and over the crystal shining ocean. He had just left the people he cared about behind, and now most, of not all of them were under the influence of Ex's weird potion.

Small droplets of rain fell from the sky, rolling down Grian's face as dark storm clouds seemed to draw closer. Grian didn't pay any attention to them, trying to think. What could the potion do? Where did Ex come from? Why was he doing this?

Thunder shook the sky, Grian snapping out of his thoughts and fumbling in the air, struggling to stay airborne in the harsh winds. Grian was being thrown around by the wind, his elytra barely able withstand the weather. The small hermit didn't care, trying to grab another rocket, before the lightning scared Grian, causing him to drop the rockets into the sea below.

The winds were violent enough to throw Grian around as if he was a rag doll, Grian screaming as he was seemingly sucked into a vortex of wind, Thunder shaking his body, as the flash of lightning blinded the small builder. His elytra was torn to shreds from the harsh winds, Grian unable to fly through the storm.

"H-help!" Grian cried through the storm, although no one could hear him through the crackling thunder. The strawberry blonde began to fly out of the sky, the rushing waters below him fierce and powerful from the raging thunderstorms above. Grian crashed under the water, the current moving faster than he could handle.

The small hermit's vision began to go blurry, his breath escaping him, as Grian attempted to try and break free from the water, before continuing to be thrown around by the current once more. Grian began to sink to the ocean floor, too tired from fighting with the current to try and move. The salty water stung Grian's eyes, his vision failing him. The builder's head went fuzzy, the small hermit squinting through the water at the sight of a shadow, something swimming towards him.

Grian passed out from exhaustion, loosing his breath as he was thrown around by the current. The small hermit didn't move as a hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling Grian out of the rough waters and onto the shore.

—

"Prince! What are you doing with that....human?!?" A voice said, Grian's consciousness returning to the small hermit. The sun beat down onto Grian's face, the builder's muscles screaming in pain. Grian couldn't move, too exhausted to even open his eyes, so he simply listened into the two voice's conversation, intrigued by their familiar voices.

"T-tin! I-I didn't know you were here!" One voice said nervously, the first voice indeed belonging to TinFoilChef, meaning that the hermits must have found Grian while he was unconscious, the two voices having saved him.

"Prince Wels, I cannot believe that you would waste your time trying to save a human! Need I remind you what these barbaric creatures have done?!" TFC spat, clearly angry about something, leaving Grian confused, not just because he had done something to anger TFC, but that Tin was referring to Wels as prince.

"Tin please..Humans can be amazing! I mean, look at this one! He's incredible!" Wels said with joy, confusing Grian even more. What was going on? Why were they referring to Grian as a human?

Grian let out a small moan in pain as he sat upright, his hair having sun-dried, now filled with sand. His clothes were still slightly damp and torn, covered in sand as well. The small hermit's vision was slowly coming back to him, he was seemingly on the ground, TFC's blurry face looking over Grian. His expression turned fearful as the Brit sat up, the older hermit quickly moving out of Grian's sight, hiding behind a large rock, where Wels was sitting behind, his eyes wide in disbelief.

His helmet was off, revealing his blond hair, which was to his shoulders, his hair elegant and clean, which was strange considering how long it had been under his helmet for. Wels's eyes were foggy, glassed over as he studied Grian with a look of intrigue on his face. Wels was hiding behind the large rock, before fully revealing himself, the prince slowly moving towards Grian, who was in shock.

Wels had gills. Fish gills. His fingers were webbed, his skin having a few spots where instead of skin, golden scales were covering his body. He had a fish-like tail, similar to his golden scales, his tail glistening in the sun's light. Wels places his hand on Grian's neck, rubbing the spots where the prince's gills were located, the merman laughing in surprise, no gills on his neck.

"Prince Wels!" TFC cried, coming out from his hiding spot. Similar to Wels, Tin had gills, webbed fingers, and a tail, all that were a cool, sky blue. They would have matched Tin's eyes, but now his eyes were foggy, empty as well, as if the clear blue sky in TFC's eyes was replaced with a cloudy day.

Before Grian could react, Tim grabbed Wels's wrist, pulling the prince back into the ocean without another word, leaving Grian even more confused than before. Was he dreaming? He had just seen Mermen, not to mention they're his friends, who didn't seem to recognize him.

Grian shakily stood up, running his hand through this sandy hair, blinking in the harsh sunlight. He was on the shore near Tango's toon towers, no sound other than the rolling waves. Clearly something was wrong, his friends didn't remember him, they were Merpeople, and Grian couldn't see Tango or any of the other hermits.

What did that potion do to Grian's friends..?