Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

Master of Illusion

"If you are wondering what our plan is, then this is it. This is the plan," Mark explains to the witch inside the bubble. "Our plan is to switch places between each other so that Japeth can freely spy on the hunters. We are also aware of the flies that keeps on annoying me in that basement. I have always been aware about those flies."

"Son of a b***h!" Agatha yelled at her "I will kill you."

"You should have done that before I could meet the Santelmo. You might have the chance to win when you did kill me before that," he mocked. "I didn't think twice sending a distress call to it (the Santelmo). Good thing that spirit was wise enough to talk to."

"I have always been watching you," she said.

"Yet, you didn't see the switch coming," Mark further mocked. "You have been underestimating me, haven't you? I was with Gabriel the Mexican gangster after all. You have never known me that long. However, among them, you are the most dangerous. That is the other precaution we have to take," he infromed. "As for the flies...Yes, I let them enter my alternate dimension of the HRU. However, you never noticed when me and the Santelmo switched places since he's too fast that your flies coudn't keep up. What it percieved was me and the Santelmo talking face to face. But reality is, he was runnign around me. So fast your flies was actualy seeing ten seconds delay in time. But the fact is, I didn't waste time to switch with him. Disguising itself as me, and I pretened to be it. He fled away, thinking that I was the one who returned to you," Mark added.

"I will kill you!" she keeps on saying as she slams her hand against the sphere. "If I get out of here, I will make sure I will make you explode!"

Japeth then shared how he switched with Mark. He walked close to her. "And we switched with Mark when Salome was asleep," he informed. He used an illusion to trick you flies in to thinking I was there but I exited the cage undetected. I have been in your hideout free and lively for like one day."

Japeth then asked the prisoner. "Where is Ana?"

"In hell!" she immediately replied in frustration.

"Shut her up. She is not in her right mind right now," he then commanded Mark.

He nodded. And so, he stretched forth her hands toward Agatha. Slowly, she could feel her body getting cold. She is freezing as she starts to get paralyzed. The sphere was shrinking and so was she. When the sphere disappeared, and so was she.

One hunter started to stand up. Japeth noticed him. He grabbed a dagger from one of the corpse's boot and threw it. The dagger then pierced through the man's ribs.

***Blue Water***

Kianu is yelling in pain in his bed. His wrist is burning his hand again, but it is more painful than before. The tattoo is starting to fade away slowly as it burns his skin.

"Help! Help!" he calls. Gordon opens the door and he immediately enters with his men in lab gowns. They found him curled up on his bed as he tried to endure the pain of the burning sensation. Gordon and his team came over to his bed.

"What happened?" Gordon asked.

"My wrist..." Kianu answered. "It hurts so much."

One of his colleagues immediately grabs his wrist to examine it. To her surprise, she is looking at the lizard tattoo's head and tail starting to fade away. The fading started from the tips going into the rest of the lizard's form. However, it leaves burn marks.

"Boss, you have to see this," she informed. And so, Gordon came over and he checked the tattoo. He was surprised. He can't believe that the un-erasable mark is slowly fading away as it shines like burning coal. Then he began to suspect. It must be the doing of Ana. However, he is aware of the side effect once she erases the tattoos on all three guys. Not only will she have the chance to lose sanity, but three consecutive phenomenons will happen around the world at once.

"It hurts! I want to cut my hand," Kianu said. Then, he begins to speak in Spanish subconsciously due to the pain.

"Give me some ice, quick!" Gordon orders his intern. The intern immediately runs to the door and exits to go and find some ice in the refrigerator nearby.

"Oh my God. Ana, what are they doing to you?" he mutters.

But the pain suddenly stops. And so as the burning tattoo. It stops erasing itself. Kianu feels no burning anymore. He suddenly feels better.

:::::::::::::::::::

Ana is sitting on her bed. She poses like the statue of Buddha meditating. She concentrates harder in order to reach the thoughts of Kianu, who bears the tattoo of Lumawig. She is crying in agony, sorrow, devastation, and pain as she looks deeper into his memories. She could hear a girl screaming, calling for help. She can hear the sounds of monsters and she can hear voices screaming in horror. She can feel the pain Kianu remembers he experienced. She can also feel the warmth of happiness in those memories, but the bad things are overtaking her. She opens her eyes when she can't handle their pain anymore. She disconnected herself from his mind.

"I...I... can't...," she mutters to herself. "It's too strong..."

She curls herself into a ball. And she cried out every sorrow and pain she took from his memory. Although it might feel like it happened like a dream to her. She would forget them later on, but she wouldn't ignore the fact that the memories she saw were still sticking in her mind before they disappeared. Like what Kianu feels in those memories, she could feel it too.

:::::::::::::::::

Wendel opens his eyes as he regains consciousness. He takes a deep breath and gets up. He looked around. He realized that he had been sleeping on a cold hard floor. He is in a room in the basement where there is no sunlight. The fluorescent lights above are the ones that give off light in that room. The room is empty. He noticed Benjie, who was still asleep beside him. Benjie was facing away from him.

He stretched out his hand to reach Benjie's arm. He shook him up. "Benjie, wake up!" he softly said. "Wake up!" Yet, Benjie still not responding. While he continued to shake him, he suddenly realized that there was something wrong with his right wrist. He sees that there is something changed with his tattoo. He stops shaking Benjie and he focuses his eyes on the tattoo. He realized that the tattoo was no longer there. The black ink that outlines the lizard is gone. However, it left a burn mark.

"What the heck?" he wonders. Then, he remembers what happened in the hospital before he went unconscious. He remembers that Ana is begging the hunters to spare their lives. In exchange, she would go with them. "Oh no..." he mouthed when he realized that it might be Ana's doing. He became concerned for the girl. He stood up and headed to the door.

The door is made up of thick iron which is not easy to break. Moreover, Agatha enchanted it earlier to make it strong enough to hold the captives inside. Wendel didn't know it. And so, Wendel immediately turns into the state of pre-mutation. Without thinking, he punched the door.

:::::::::::::::

Japeth is in the hospital now. He is admitted inside a room where he has been covered with bandages on his wounds and stitched. It is also where he was fed. He feels better now, especially since he feels safe now that he is rescued. He is now asleep in bed comfortably.

Outside the room, Seth is watching him sleep through the one-way mirror. He might not show it on his face, but he is happy deep inside that Japeth is safe. He is staring at Japeth with a blank expression on his face. Then, he sighed as he looked away and looked down at his shoes. Then, he turns to the left of the hallway leading to the exit. He was surprised when he panned to the front. He was looking at Gaston, who was still using a pair of crutches in order to walk. Gaston looked at him with an enthusiastic smile.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He is fine. Good thing he didn't have any internal bleeding or else he might die," he answered.

Then, Gaston faces the one-way mirror to peek at Japeth. He sighed in frustration. "That guy sure is tough," he commented.

"Yeah," Seth agrees as he nods. "Sometimes I wonder how he was raised."

"They say he came from a family of murderers," Gaston said.

"That's true," he replied. "When I first picked that guy up from the streets, he is very aggressive. I have never seen a child so rebellious."

Gaston laughs. "Damn. I really have to know the backgrounds of my workmates," he commented. "So, how did he become like that today?"

"It was hard. However, I can see the innocence and understanding on his face. Like all children, he was just a scared young man. All I have to do is to teach him, and nudge him a little to get to the right path. I taught him discipline, like a father teaching his son to walk. In his case, I was teaching him how to walk again. I am proud of who he is right now."

Gaston looked at him with glee and admiration. He taps the old man's shoulder. "Sure, you are. You are the father of the association. You must have to be proud of it."

The old man bit his lips and he nodded. Somehow, Gaston's praise made him feel better. Then, Seth's telephone rang. He takes it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" he responded.

"Hello, Sir?" Gordon replied on the other line. His voice seemed like he was in a panic.

"What, any problem?"

"Reality collisions, they are happening again!" he informed.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I don't know how did this happen but I think Ana might have successfully removed one of the link's tattoos," he added.

"What! Who?" he reacted as he got terrified.

"I don't know. I just learned it from the news just a while ago. Real collisions around the world have happened again."

"What? What did he say?" Gaston asked with curiosity.

"It's Ana. She successfully erased the tattoo of one of them," he said as his eyes showed Gaston horror.

::::::::::::::::

On the seashore along the coast of Casiguran, Province of Aurora... The sun is seen on the horizon above the water. It is getting down as it makes the sky orange-red. Mark is standing on the sand. He lets the water sweep his feet. He is facing the warm-colored ball of fire and the sky surrounding it. The view is magnificent. There are no people roaming around the area since the beach is a private property which means it's restricted for anyone to go there. The waves are getting higher as the day is about to meet dusk.

On that beach, Ceilo and Mark were having a conversation. It wasn't about the hunters, or work. They talk about some normal conversations as friendly people do. They were laughing then.

Meanwhile, someone in a distance calls his name. "Mark!" she calls repeatedly. And so, when Mark heard her, he immediately turned his head to the right to see the girl with a very familiar voice. He could see her coming toward him.

Mark was very happy to see his love free from the hands of the hunters. He was happy to see her safe and sound. He is happy to see her one more time. Salome opens her hands wide to hug her when she gets to him. Mark excitedly opened his arms to receive her warm embrace that he had missed in a long time.

Cielo smiles with butterflies in his stomach while watching the couples hug and kiss each other's cheeks. He can see the tears flowing down their eyes as they say that they miss each other very much. Meanwhile, a couple of minutes later, they let go of each other. They both faced the tall foreigner. Mark raised his hand and stretched it forward, willing to shake hands with Cielo. The agents at the back are also happy to see the couple happily reunited.

"Thank you," he said.

Cielo smiled. He shook his hand. "Do not thank me. You planned the whole thing. We must thank you," he said.

"How is he?" Mark asked. "Where's Sir Japeth.

"He's in the medical facility as we speak," he informed. "Too bad, he can't see you lift off."

Mark nods. He is quite dismayed. Cielo took out a white envelope that was in his pocket.

"However, he wanted me to give me this letter to you," he said with enthusiasm. "He said is a farewell letter written by someone you know."

Mark received it. Salome thanked the foreigner for giving the letter to her lover. Cielo nods and says "you're welcome".

"I have already made your passports, visas, and some other documents for your travel to another country. We immediately processed the papers right after we established the agreement."

The woman behind Cielo steps forward to give the requirements the couple needed to go abroad. Salome happily accepts them. She thanked the agent. The agent shakes hands with her.

"Tell him, I said "good bye," Mark requested.

"Of course," Cielo replied. "I hope you two will be safe in your travels."

"It's funny though. We have these passports but we don't need a plane to go around the world. I can cross the sea freely with my moon cruiser form," he said.

"Trust me, kid. You still need those," he said.

Mark nodded. "I am sorry for the bother I have caused you."

"It's already been paid," he said. "Goodbye. And happy trip. I hope you will find peace somewhere away from here."

"Thank you. God bless you so much, Sir Cielo," Salome said as her eyes brought out tears of joy again. "Tell Sir Japeth I am going to miss him."

Mark walked away and headed into the water. When he reaches the part where the water is waist-deep, he transforms into a beautiful white spirit- the moon cruiser. Mark can now walk on water. Mark went back to the land to get his lover. Salome got at him. She immediately climbs on his back.

Cielo and his agents wave goodbye to the couple. Salome waves back at them. As a farewell salute, Mark howls loudly. After that, he runs away at high speed and crosses the water of the sea. Salome is calmly enjoying the view of the sea while she rides on his back.

Cielo and the agents watch them move away towards the setting sun.

:::::::::::::

The sun was setting down in the horizon. The waves of the ocean have became aggressive as they meet the time of the high tide. In the hills looking over the orange water, where someone was standing on top of it facing away from the setting sun in the West. A man was standing still against the breeze passing by. He was staring at the sea, watching the moon cruiser traveling through the water as it moves away from the sun. Clearly, he can see a girl riding on his back as they turn smaller and smaller as they move away.

The guy sighed. He was in relief. Somehow he managed to save a life. And he was proud of it. Because that is good. He stood until the sun disappeared and the sky turned gray. He waited for them to disappear from his sight.

A couple of minutes later, he began to shine as he transformed into a mini sun. From there, he decided to fly away from that place. It headed to the sky and fled to the direction opposite to the direction where Mark was going. Never to be seen again.