The moment Serena and BJ splashed through the surface, icy water swallowed them whole. Serena's lungs seized in panic as she kicked her legs frantically, arms clawing through the heavy darkness. Above them, the shimmering surface looked impossibly far away. Bubbles burst from her mouth in ragged streams. "No, no, no!I can't!" Her chest ached. Drowning had always been her deepest fear, and here it was, dragging her under.
BJ flailed nearby, not faring much better. "Serena!" His voice garbled into choking gulps of water, sparks spitting from his joints as the circuits in his body fizzed and whined. His smug, douchey confidence was gone, he looked terrified.
The deeper they sank, the darker the world became. Long weeds brushed Serena's arms like skeletal fingers, tangling her wrists as though the sea itself wanted to claim her. Her vision blurred. She reached for BJ, their hands brushing but not holding. Just as her vision was dimming, a pulse of light shimmered below. A figure emerged from the gloom, tall, regal, his crown broken and rusted, seaweed clinging to his shoulders like a funeral shroud. His eyes glowed mournfully, carrying centuries of sorrow. It was Triton, the merman king. His voice was deep, resonant, yet trembling with grief. "Strangers... drowning in my kingdom's ruins. Such fragile lives." He raised his trident, and two large air bubbles swelled in front of Serena and BJ.
Serena pressed her face into one desperately, gasping air into her lungs with a ragged sob. BJ did the same, coughing loudly. "Oh my god... air..." Serena gasped, her eyes wide, tears mixing with seawater.
BJ threw back his head, sucking in oxygen. "Ugh, finally! I was about to short-circuit and die hot and fabulous, but thank you, King Fish Stick."
Serena smacked his shoulder. "Don't call him that! He just saved us!"
Triton lowered his trident, his voice carrying the weight of mourning. "I do not save lightly. My people... my children... were lost to the abyss. Now I rule only over silence and bones." His gaze lingered on Serena, then on BJ, who was still wringing water from his sparking circuits. "You are fragile creatures. You cannot endure these depths long."
BJ tried puffing his chest, water bubbles sputtering out his mouth. "Fragile? Please. I've survived haunted houses, killer clones, and geishas with way too much eyeliner. I can handle—" A crackle of static surged through him, and he yelped as his shoulder joint sparked violently. "Okay, okay—maybe not saltwater!"
Triton tilted his head, eyes softening just slightly. "Then let me gift you this." With a sweep of his trident, a glowing blue wave of energy rolled over BJ. The sparks stopped, his joints sealed with a shimmering, waterproof coating. His entire frame gleamed faintly, as though the ocean itself had blessed his body.
BJ blinked, then grinned wide. "Oh HELL yes! Look at me! I'm aqua-certified now! Ladies and gentlemen, call me Aqua-BJ."
Serena let out a half-laugh, half-sob, relief flooding her chest. "I... I thought we were done for." She turned to Triton, bowing her head in gratitude. "Thank you. Really. We... we couldn't have made it without you."
Triton's eyes clouded, his grief palpable. "Do not thank me. I save you only because I cannot bear to watch another life fade before me. I have lost too many. The sea is a graveyard... and I'm its sorrowful keeper."
The water pressed heavy around them. Serena's bubble drifted closer to BJ's as she whispered, "BJ... he's mourning. Just like Vinnie and Vivienne... just like Vagesha. This world... it's full of people broken by loss."
BJ's grin faded, his voice softer. "Yeah... but at least he's helping us. Maybe... maybe we can help him, too."
As they floated in that eerie stillness, Triton extended a hand. "If you seek something in these waters... beware. The ocean does not give without taking. But I will guide you, for as long as breath fills your bubbles." For the first time, the crushing fear of drowning lessened. Serena and BJ clung to their newfound air, their hearts pounding but steady now. With Triton beside them, the endless ocean didn't feel quite as deadly. The quest for Raymond's next piece... had only just begun.

The three of them floated together in the vast, endless blue. Shattered columns of marble and barnacle-crusted statues surrounded them, silent witnesses of a once-thriving kingdom now claimed by the sea. Faint light flickered from above, barely reaching this deep. The water was heavy, but with Triton's air bubbles, Serena and BJ could breathe. Triton swam ahead slowly, his trident casting a dull glow. His shoulders slumped, his once-mighty crown tilted with wear. The king looked less like a ruler and more like a man who had been carrying grief for far too long. Serena hugged her arms around herself, still trembling from the near-drowning. Her lungs ached, phantom water clinging to her throat. She glanced at BJ, who was busy inspecting his new waterproof plating, flexing and admiring himself in the reflection of a coral-covered pillar. "Serena," Triton's voice carried through the water like a low hum, almost mournful. "Your panic was not weakness. It was the weight of memory. I see it in your eyes... drowning haunts you. Why do you fear it so?"
Serena swallowed hard. Her voice cracked. "It's... it's not just drowning. It's losing control. Being swallowed up by something bigger than me. I thought, I thought if it ever happened, I'd just... vanish. And when the water closed in, it was like my whole life was ending in that one moment." She lowered her head, ashamed. "I overreacted. I shouldn't have broken down like that."
Triton stopped, turning back toward her. His dark eyes shimmered with an ache that mirrored hers. "You did not overreact. Fear is the mark of a soul still fighting to live. I know, because I have drowned a thousand times, though not in water."
Serena blinked at him. "...What do you mean?"
The merman king's gaze drifted upward, distant. "Her name was Nereia. She was my queen, my love. Her laughter lit the currents, her touch calmed the storms. But a beast from the deep hungered for her light. It dragged her away from me, into darkness. I swam until my body bled, I fought until my arms failed, but... I could not save her." His trident's glow dimmed, his grip on it tightening. "Since then, I have ruled these depths alone. My kingdom is ruins. My people, scattered bones. Every day, I breathe air into lungs that do not wish to breathe. And every day, I drown again in memory."
Silence hung heavy in the water. Serena's chest tightened, not from fear, but from aching sympathy. "I'm... I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice small but sincere. "I didn't know. Losing someone like that... I can't even imagine."
Triton's eyes softened, his voice low. "Do not apologize for fear, child. Fear and love are woven from the same thread. You fear drowning, because you love living. I fear silence, because I once loved her song."
BJ, who had been unusually quiet, glanced between them. His bravado cracked, just a little. "...That's... heavy, man. Like, really heavy. I complain about getting my hair wet, but, you've been carrying a whole ocean on your back."
Serena reached toward Triton, her bubble brushing against his broad chest. "If it means anything... you're not alone right now. We're here. We'll remember Nereia, too. She won't be forgotten."
For the first time, Triton's sorrowful expression shifted. Not a smile, not exactly, but a small release, like the tide pulling back. "You are kind," he said softly. "And braver than you know, Serena. You, too, loud one," he added, glancing at BJ.
BJ smirked faintly, though his eyes betrayed emotion. "...Thanks, King Cryfish. I mean that respectfully."
Triton's deep chuckle rippled through the water, the sound carrying a bittersweet warmth. "Stay close. The ocean still tests those who seek its treasures. But so long as I swim beside you, I will not let it take you." Serena exhaled, some of the fear in her chest easing at last. She no longer felt swallowed by the sea. Not with BJ at her side. Not with Triton watching over them. And somewhere, in the endless dark, it felt like Nereia's memory drifted closer, like her spirit, too, was watching.

The three drifted into what once was a grand throne room. Coral and seaweed twisted around shattered pillars, and schools of fish scattered when Triton's trident glowed brighter. At the end of the hall, on a pedestal carved from pearl, lay a small object glinting faintly in the dark water. BJ's optics zoomed in immediately, his hands slapping Serena's arm. "There! There it is! Raymond's other antenna!"
Serena's breath caught in her bubble. "That's it... the piece we need."
But as they swam closer, Triton extended a hand, his deep voice halting them. "Do not touch it." The air between them grew heavy. His eyes darkened, voice trembling. "That is the last relic of my queen... Nereia's tiara jewel. I placed it here, so I could still feel her presence. To take it... would be to tear her from me a second time."
Serena and BJ froze. Serena looked closer now, yes, it was unmistakably Raymond's antenna piece, but it was fashioned in such a way it could have been mistaken for jewelry, delicate and curved, shimmering faintly with stored energy. "Triton," Serena said gently, swimming closer. "It's not just a jewel. It's... it's part of our friend. We need it to bring him back. He's trapped, broken, without it, we can't save him."
BJ, unusually solemn, added, "We're not here to disrespect your queen. But Raymond's life depends on this piece. And... maybe helping him is what your Nereia would've wanted."
The king's face twisted with anguish, his grip on the trident trembling. He turned away, his voice low and jagged. "Do not speak her name so freely. You cannot know her heart. For years, I have waited for some sign, some reason not to let go of her. That jewel is all I have left. And you ask me to give it away?"
Serena bit her lip, then whispered, "We're not asking you to give her up. We're asking you to trust us. Let us prove that we honor her memory. If we find something else, something of hers, you'll know we're not trying to steal. We're trying to help."
Triton was silent for a long time. Finally, he faced them, eyes brimming with both fury and sorrow. "If what you say is true... then find it. Bring me Nereia's true last belonging. Only then will I part with the jewel. Fail... and the sea will claim you."
The water around them stirred, currents picking up as though the ocean itself acknowledged his decree. BJ muttered, "Well, that's ominous."
Serena set her jaw, determination blazing in her eyes. "We'll do it. We'll find Nereia's missing piece."
Triton's gaze bore into them one last time. "Then may the ocean test your resolve. Seek her keepsake, hidden where sorrow and memory converge... in the ruins of the Weeping Reef."
The waters grew darker as he raised his trident, pointing toward a distant abyss. The way ahead was clear, perilous, but clear. BJ gulped, his waterproof plating gleaming nervously. "Serena, I hate to say it, but... I think we just signed up for an underwater side-quest."
Serena smirked faintly despite the heaviness. "Then let's finish it. For Raymond. For Nereia. For all of us."

The reef stretched before them like a graveyard of coral. What was once vibrant had gone gray-blue, skeletal branches swaying like reaching arms in the dim currents. Serena pressed her bubble closer to her face, trying to breathe evenly. Even with Triton's blessing, the crushing weight of the ocean made her chest ache. BJ swam ahead, kicking his waterproof legs like a kid with floaties. "Man... you weren't kidding. This place feels like a haunted aquarium." He tapped a barnacle-encrusted coral spire. It groaned, and flakes drifted off. "Okay, yeah, haunted and condemned."
Serena narrowed her eyes. "Focus. Triton said her keepsake would be here. Somewhere sorrow and memory converge."
They pushed deeper, and the current carried faint echoes, like voices carried through shells. Serena froze, her hand brushing BJ's arm. The whispers became clear words: "We will not allow it. A mermaid queen for a merman king? Blasphemy. Separate them." Human voices, cruel and firm.
BJ tilted his head. "That... sounded like.."
"Humans," Serena whispered, guilt prickling at her throat. She looked at her hands. "It was us. Humans who tore them apart."
The reef grew darker as they swam, as if the memory itself was guiding them. At the center, they found the skeletal hull of a ship, split in half and sunken into the coral. Its figurehead was broken, but the carvings on the wood were clear, holy symbols of a human sect. BJ's usual snark softened into something somber. "So... people chained her? Locked her away? That's messed up."
Serena placed a hand against the rotting wood. Her bubble fogged as she whispered, "They didn't just chain her. They destroyed her life... and his." A shimmer glinted inside the wreck. They swam closer, squeezing through a jagged hole in the hull. Inside, fish scattered, and broken lanterns floated in eerie stillness. Among the ruins lay a crown, delicate, golden, its coral inlays broken, but unmistakably royal. Serena's heart leapt. "The crown. That's it."
But as she reached for it, the whispers grew louder, now screams. Chains rattled, the ship groaned, and the crown slipped further into the darkness, tangled in seaweed. A shape flickered, a vision of Nereia herself, pale and spectral, reaching out with mournful eyes. BJ flinched, his servos whirring nervously. "Serena... I don't think this is just about grabbing it. I think... the reef wants us to see."
The spirit's voice echoed around them: "He wept. I wept. The sea wept. My crown was stolen, hidden where sorrow lingers. Return it... let me rest."
Serena's throat tightened. She turned to BJ. "We can't just snatch it and go. We need to understand what happened here... or the ocean itself won't let us leave."
BJ puffed his chest, pretending to be brave though his optics flickered nervously. "Fine, fine. Ghost fish lady wants closure. We'll give her closure. But if another dead mermaid tries to touch me, I'm screaming."
Serena smirked faintly despite the heaviness. "Come on. We're one step closer."

The broken ship tilted sideways, its mast cracked in half, sails trailing like the bones of some enormous sea creature. The current whistled through its ribs, carrying whispers that seemed almost alive. Serena gripped a piece of the hull and pulled herself through the jagged gap, BJ following close behind with his optics glowing faintly in the gloom. "Feels like walking into a coffin," BJ muttered, brushing aside seaweed. "Y'know... if coffins had termites, barnacles, and the occasional eel."
Serena gave him a sharp look but said nothing. Her pulse thudded loud in her ears, amplified by the ocean pressing down on her. She hated how her breath echoed inside the bubble Triton had given her, loud, shallow, desperate. Every inhale was too fast. Every exhale felt like it was draining the bubble smaller. Inside, the wreck seemed frozen in time. Rotting tables floated half-anchored to the floor, chairs pinned upside-down by seaweed, and human skeletons in tattered uniforms slumped against the walls. Chains bound their wrists. BJ's voice dropped to a whisper. "...Those are humans. The ones who...?"
The whispers returned, louder, circling them like predators. "Traitors. Drown with us. The sea takes all." Suddenly, the skeletons shifted. Their skulls turned. One by one, the corpses lifted their heads, empty sockets glowing faintly green. With jerking, unnatural movements, they staggered free from the walls, dragging their chains behind them.
Serena's breath hitched. "BJ—" But before she could finish, cold, skeletal hands wrapped around her bubble. With horrible strength, the cursed humans clawed and pressed, whispering curses, their bony jaws snapping in silence. Serena screamed as her bubble popped. The water rushed in, burning her lungs instantly. Her arms flailed, instincts screaming, I'm drowning again, it's happening!"
BJ's optics widened. "Serena!" He blasted one of the skeletons with a spark from his fingers, shoving it back. Then he grabbed her, pulling her close. For a second, his systems froze, his thoughts scattering. He thought of Lust, the way she'd kissed him outside the bar, the way he'd promised her in his heart he wouldn't betray her. He almost whispered her name. I'm sorry, he thought. Forgive me. And then, without another moment to spare, he pressed his mouth to Serena's. Electricity flickered faintly between them as he forced his own air supply into her lungs, his systems hissing as he rerouted power to keep his own frame stable underwater. Serena's eyes widened, shock, panic, then relief as her burning chest filled with air again. Her trembling hands gripped his shoulders, clinging tight until at last she could breathe. The cursed humans lunged again. BJ pulled her up, bracing his legs against the hull. His optics blazed with fury. "Not today, you seaweed-wrapped rejects!"
He blasted another wave of sparks, sending three skeletons crashing against the rotting wall. Serena coughed, steadier now, her voice muffled in the water. "T-There!"
Through the chaos, she pointed. At the very end of the wreck, glowing faintly in tangled seaweed and coral, lay Nereia's crown. Its golden surface shimmered faintly, even through the darkness, hope in a graveyard. The skeletons closed in again, chains rattling like funeral bells. Serena pushed through her fear, grabbed a loose plank, and swung it like a spear, striking one back. BJ bulldozed through the rest, dragging her until they reached the crown. Serena tugged, but the seaweed clung tight, like fingers unwilling to let go. She pulled harder, bubbles bursting from her lips. The whispers turned into a scream: "SHE BELONGS TO US!"
BJ snarled, bracing himself. "The hell she does!" With one last kick and a burst of sparks, the seaweed shredded. Serena yanked the crown free, holding it close to her chest. Instantly, the skeletons shrieked and collapsed, their bones scattering into the sand. The whispers faded, leaving only silence. The wreck seemed lighter, as though a great weight had finally lifted.
Serena panted hard, pressing the crown against her chest. Her wide eyes turned to BJ. "...You... you saved me."
BJ looked away, coughing out bubbles, his voice tight. "Don't get used to it. That was, just, standard rescue protocol. Nothing else."
She smirked faintly, even as her hands trembled. "Sure it was." Together, they swam back toward the reef, the crown glinting in Serena's arms, Nereia's last belonging reclaimed at last.

The reef shimmered faintly as Serena and BJ swam back, Serena clutching the golden crown tightly to her chest. The water here seemed calmer, as if the ocean itself knew the relic was finally back where it belonged. Triton waited on his coral throne, his trident laid across his knees, his broad chest rising and falling slowly like a tide. When he saw the crown, his eyes widened. His hands trembled as he took it from Serena. For a moment, he pressed it against his forehead, his shoulders bowing under centuries of grief. "Nereia..." he whispered, voice breaking. But as Serena explained what had happened, how cursed humans had bound Nereia's memory to that wreck, how they had tried to drag her down too—Triton's grief twisted into rage. His gills flared, his teeth bared. The water around them churned with his fury, currents whipping Serena's hair and tugging at BJ's frame. "Those humans," he roared, the ocean trembling with his voice. "They tore her from me once. They dared to chain her memory, to corrupt her resting place. I should strike their descendants from the waves. Let no ship sail, let no air-breather breathe the sea again!"
Serena's heart lurched. "Wait! Please..." She swam closer, her hands out, voice steady but soft. "We're human too. And we're not like them. If you destroy us for what they did... you'll never heal. Nereia wouldn't want vengeance, she'd want you to keep living. To keep loving."
BJ crossed his arms, glancing away. "...For once, I actually agree with her, big guy."
Triton froze. His rage thundered in his chest, but Serena's words pierced through it like sunlight through storm clouds. Slowly, painfully, his clenched fists opened. He lowered his head, water shimmering at the corners of his eyes. "You... are right," he admitted at last. "Nereia would not have me drown the world in her name. She would want me to protect it. Even if it is full of... humans."
Serena reached out and gently touched his arm. Triton looked at her, saw her trembling, still haunted by the fear of drowning, and nodded with newfound respect. "You have faced the ocean's cruelty and returned with kindness still in your heart. For that, I will honor my promise." He reached behind his throne, pulling free a gleaming antenna, the twin to the one BJ already carried. He held it out in both hands, like a sacred offering. "This once belonged to your Raymond. Take it. May it guide you home."
BJ's optics flickered with awe as he took the piece, holding it close. "Damn... we're one step closer."
Serena smiled faintly at Triton. "Thank you. For trusting us." The merman king bowed his head, the crown of Nereia resting against his chest. For the first time in years, there was peace in his eyes.