Just one Favor, part 27

“Over here,” The nurse said leading them down the white hallway.

“Are you sure everything is in order here?” asked one of the women following her, looking around at the padded corridor. They walked with the nurse way ahead of her, at a slow pace as she kept on looking down at the piece of paper they brought in.

“Yes, everything is meant as its supposed to be, Rylia,” Silvia corrected as she brushed her red hair. “Remember, stay into character,” she whispered dusting off her dress, enjoying the breezy cotton of the clothes out of the water “As far as the people around here are concerned, we are here to present a permit to free your dad, the nurse and hospital staff has no affiliation with the alternate. And act natural,” she reminded.

“Hey, I grew up as a human,” Rylai snorted. “I know how to act natural.”

“That last piece of advice was mostly for…” Silvia was about to say when Marina’s foot hit a nearby bench and stumbled onto Rick’s back bitting her tongue to make any sound, trying to hide her embarrassment and the fact this has been the fifth time she had tripped since she grew the limbs.

“Darn feet…” she muttered, I don’t know how your kind can walk on two legs, it’s just so strange with all the gravity. I never had the practice,” she admitted looking up at Rylai with a smile, leaning closer to kiss neck. She shuddered lightly in delight as she did. “You know, blonde looks natural on you.” She said stroking her hair.

Rylai just chuckled at the playful comment. Silvia insisted to have her hair dyed beforehand so she would not stand out. “I know,” Rick whispered admittedly as she walked down the corridors of the mental institute. Saying nothing more but holding Marina close to him as they walked together the corridors, taking a glimpse at the decadent figures behind the doors. “I’m not particularly fond of this disguise,” she whispered “Couldn’t I have taken that gender switch formula as well?”

“The potion would only last for an hour, and well, it is simple to handle the matter this way. I mean, the guardians like to try keep things under wraps, you know. The less questions asked the better.” Silvia explained “If you showed up as a guy, chances are someone might recognize you. Since the city believes you - sorry for this - dead, there will be a huge media coverage on the matter, not to mention that you would be spending a lot of pearl money in both potions. Granted that Lady Rita is paying for all the expenses, but either way, it is simpler to get your father out with an order while erasing records of what people think he did.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Rylai admitted. “Where is Miss Esther, by the way?” she asked with a whisper, imagining that if someone was good to have around, it would would the wise woman with connections.

“She headed out to visit one of her old friends. And Edward is now prosecuting Elliot, gathering evidence against Mirko and Kathy is around visiting the mall,” Marina said. Rick imagined the apprentice was probably buying her some things. She felt quite embarrassed of wearing some of her clothes, the strangest way someone gets into a girl’s pants.

“Rylai, right? Such an unusual name,” said the nurse as they got closer to the window of the door marked with the patient card of “Jacob Stevens”, to look inside it. They saw a man sitting by a bed of the padded room, sitting down on his bed, curled over as he buried his face between his hands, shaking as if trying to shake off the thoughts.

“So, is everything in order here?” Marina asked distracting the nurse.

Silvia leaned against the window of the door with an inquisitive eye. “The enchantment we put him, has been twisted by Elliot. If I remove what I did, that in turn will carry the illness with it,” Silvia whispered.

“Everything is in order.” The nurse said after checking the letter’s she was handed over. “Honestly, though, why do you want to release him?” she asked with a small snort. “Rumor has it that the man killed his own son in a hiking trip. He is crazy enough to not remember anything about it. He now seems to be haunted with his image… Doctors says he is still unstable.”

“Hm… Mind if we check on that by ourselves? Whichever is the case, we have the orders,” Silvia said while Marina held Rylai’s hand before she snapped at the nurse the truth that was to be kept secret.

“I don’t know, miss,” the nurse said producing a keyring and fumbling for the right one, evidently distrustful about releasing Jacob “Maybe I should call in the guard first, he can get dangerous when pressed.”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Silvia insisted and gently pushing her away. “We will handle this on forth, thank you very much,” she said as Rylai and Marina slipped in first and she soon followed, closing the door behind her.

“W-who is it?” Rick’s father asked blurting out as the door closed, looking over at Rylai’s way with a crazed if not tortured expression. His eyes were red as if he’d been crying for a while. “Are you from the jury? I swear, I didn’t kill my son,” he said holding his eyes. “I-I see him everywhere…”

Both Marina and Silvia exchanged guilty eyes as they approached. Rylai looked down at what her father had been reduced. “We are here to help,”

“N-No! Everyone thinks I'm crazy! B-but I am seeing my son everywhere! He is right here! Right there!” He pointed at an empty corner.

Rylai knelt down and looked at her father with sadness. The man did nothing but flinch and shudder at the presence of the seemingly strange woman. Silvia and Marina approached her from behind standing closer. “Dad… it is all right,” she whispered holding his hand, resting her forehead on it while her two friends approached him with a soothing whisper that carried some of their mermaid magic within them. Marina and Silvia’s voices didn’t go past a whisper getting a grip grip of his fears and paranoia, slowly calming him.

“Can we undo it?” Rylai asked softly, yet with a quivering voice, as she looked at her father’s twitchy eyes while his jaw trembled lightly.

“We can,” Silvia whispered, kneeling down.

“Girls, the nurse is looking at us,” Marina noted looking out the window of the room.

“Don’t worry, no one will believe her,” Silvia whispered as she reached to touch Jacob’s forehead with a hand. With eyes closed, she began to utter some words in deep concentration a soft lullaby that rang across the room. Rylai’s father fell into a trance, not reacting wildly but staring in peace.

Rylai closed her eyes and opened them, seeing once again using her magic sight to see her Silvia’s bright orange moving from her fingertips down to her father’s forehead, she could see how a sort of dark red magic ebbed from his head disappearing into the air, purged by Silvia’s mana.

“I think he is free now,” Silvia reported with a smile as Rick blinked to return her eyesight to normal.

Jacob blinked startled as soon as the mermaid took her hand off her off his forehead, looking around with both fear and confusion, yet indubitably, there was a sense of relief in his eyes. “W-who are you?” he asked, his gaze going from Silvia, to Marina and finally, to Rylai.

“Dad?” Rylai asked carefully.

“Dad?” Jacob repeated puzzled looking at the blonde haired woman. Even after undergoing through the change, there was a resemblance in her figure and face than to her old male self. “Who are you?” he asked quizzically “Y-you look familiar,” he said slowly, his voice bearing hints of knowing the answer.

Rylai felt tears trying to escape from her eyes “Dad, it’s me, Rick. I-It’s a long story,” she said. “I got lost in the forest and found these lake… They was… was magic about it and…” she began to utter struggling to get the words out and the story cohesive but the words began to clutter in her mouth. Her father interjected pulling her closer to a hug.

“R-Rick?” he asked “You bear the same look, my same eyes and your mother’s hair. I have missed you, been horribly worried for you, after living through this nightmare,” he said his voice cracked as he began to sob in the place. Holding her in a seemingly timeless embrace. Rick replied in kind.

“Let us get you out of here, we have a lot of catching up to do… things you will never believe,” she whispered.

——————

The sun was shinning high and low in the afternoon sky, as if tempting to set itself behind the blue fringe of the ocean. The sky itself was cleared and relaxed with a dimmed sun of the autumn as a set of bare feet stepped out into the smooth sand of the beach, overlooking to the side. His look went to the north, leading to a familiar forest over to a very cozy looking cottage that rested near the ocean.

“Marina!” a man’s voice called into the ocean as the person walked down the sand, wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a mere blue and white shirt belonging to a recent band, the New Wave. He cupped his mouth with his hands and yelled again “Marina!”

His calls were answered with a splash that rose up high among the waves. He just smiled as he moved over towards the water taking his shirt off and tossing it onto the sand, as he reached for the deep blue gem he wore around the neck with a collar, making it flash in his fingers. While he wiggled the swimsuit shorts off, not bothering about the actual nudity or exposure as he was aware the forest around him was mostly empty. His skin began to develop a fine coat of teal and blue colored scales began to grow.

As the man ran, his body began to experience further changes and shifts, as a nub grew where his spine ended, and it kept on growing larger and thicker at an alarming rate, twitching with each inch it pushed, covered in scales as a soft membrane grew on the tip. His body began to to change as well as his hips swelled slowly with every step he took, swaying while his waist thinned thinned and his bare chest began to fill up with, beginning to develop soft tissue as they shifted into definite breasts the closer she got to the ocean.

His genitalia was affected shortly after as soon as the teal plates encircled the gender, slowly shrinking in and changing shape. Forms flattened and were pulled in, proving him as a woman for but an instant as scales concealed the smooth slit.

Her blonde hair began to grow longer with each step, the color going from dusty blonde to a lively teal. Her face began to shift with every passing second. Her face, meanwhile shifted slightly as her nose became perkier if not cuter while her lips became more kissable. Her cheekbones rose and his eyes gained a certain feminine allure. With each step her body grew more limber yet still slightly toned from all the swimming.

Twitches came over to her ears as they began to stretch further back as they lost their shape while prongs grew, joined up by membranes, slowly fanning open and close as her feet stepped into the foam.

The sea water began to lap around her feet between her toes as they began to change, her legs shifted, starting from the bottom as her toenails disappeared, slowly growing webbing in between.

As she got further deeper into the ocean . With her tail being dragged now onto the sand, her legs had grown stunted now growing weaker with each stride, but she didn’t care, she used her hands to pull herself closer towards the sea, her fingers slowly developing a sort of webbing in between with each pull.

“Come on, slowpoke” the mermaid on the horizon smirked, her longer tail splashing harder against the water while her tail’s wiggle and his legs slowly began to shrank into what felt like side fins. Taking in a deep breath, she dove into the water, swimming towards the ocean where he was met by a gorgeous mermaid of black hair and elegant curves that regarded her with warmth as the changes completed themselves.

“Sorry I took so long, I dropped by to my father’s place to make sure everything was okay,” Rick smiled as they backed away, still holding hands while their tails danced together.

“It is all good,” Marina smiled, “It actually gave me time to visit Atlantis for some sponge cake for the trip.”

Things were very different to how they were a year ago, of course, taking all into account, the last two years have been nothing but a huge upside down flip of Rick’s life. Almost twelve months, she spent as a mermaid servant to a fight that almost cost her her life, to going back to the world. Everything was marching great now.

The change signified the start of a new life for Rick. After the events of last year, regretfully many people in his city that had been her neighbors or friends considered her dead or missing and regarded her father as someone who had just had a mental breakdown, at best. Apparently, her disappearance had made it to the news as one of the great unsolved mysteries, one of which isn’t talked about anymore by the media, thanks to Edward and guardian meddling. Some mourned his disappearance, from what Keegan found out, Carla had also moved on and she couldn’t blame her, some invented rumors, since the body was never found, yet in the end to avoid breaking the news and giving more explanations Rick and her father, Jacob, decided to leave the city without making a fuss.

Having people think of her as that, forced her and her father to move out of Gresham to a neighboring city in the north. The fact that she sported a new look back then didn’t assure her safety after all.

The change was rough, and the work around it was complicated, if not strenuous. At first his father’s mind was overwhelmed by the news about magic being real. Telling him stories about mermaids, satyrs, elves, werewolves and the alternate were hard for him to believe. It took him a couple of days, a week or so, but in the end he finally accepted all the story Rick told him about, and reconnected with her.

The first month, Rick and her father were moved on to the Esther manor, as matters were sorted out. During that time, her relationship with him was short from strained as it would lead to awkward moments between the two. Rick imagined it must’ve been a strange time for him to talk with his disappeared son, now daughter, while in his case, it must’ve been strange in a very personal if not traumatic event. Even when Rick used the gender change and landwalking potions combined, it barely hid or erased the things that had taken place, although it did made conversations easier. But as time passed, they each grew more accustomed and got into understanding terms as to the things that had taken place.

A couple of strange if not funny moments did happen between the two, now looking back as Rick tried not to be as self aware on her new body would often lead her to be clumsy around and be particularly embarrassed regarding some subjects. Her father had a couple of slip of tongues as well. Trying to fill in the silence by sparkling the conversation, but after having spent a year in an asylum, finding a new topic was rather complicated, not to mention awkward. Even so, neither did it on purpose.

Rick was told that she would at some point have to cut contact with her father, given that he wasn’t a creature or man from the Alternate, he was meant to be left behind, to cut from any sort of civilization. Edward Sominos, however, was kind enough to pull some strings to make an exception, out of both thanks and responsibility on this matter. Rick didn’t wish to sever ties with her father but at the same time couldn’t leave the mermaids behind, so eventually they came up with a middle ground.

Eventually, Jacob Stevens was moved over to a nearby city further by the north, one where the city had a decent population from the Alternate beings, and given a decent job. Rick was meant to stay behind at the Esther manor. Although, she was allowed to visit her father as long as she had enough land walking potions to travel, but most of the time she was either bed or couch stranded, and at one point she ran out of said potion, putting the two of them through a whole ordeal.

After that, Rick began to plan her visits more sporadically and spaced out one from the other while being careful of keeping a better track of her potion usage, just to avoid any more incidents. Rick began to move on with her life, more than content now that he knew he was safe, even if she didn’t got to see him as much as before.

At times she imagined her father condemned her of all the ill events that had taken place over the last two years, but he never blamed her. Her wandering off was a result of her own volition, but he understood and didn’t pinned guilt on her, nor the mermaids. He did confess he was surprised and more than interested in the magic world, and was more than thrilled when he discovered alternate creatures working in his new office. He more than approved the relationship his new daughter was in and got along with Marina when they had the chance to meet.

At times, Rick wondered if her father considered receiving the blessing of the blue spirit. Of course, if he did, it was up to him to ask about.

Rick herself began to work as well, earning money making minor jobs with the mermaids in the city and the grounds, things like removing the iron bars and sanding off the enchantment runes from the walls of the Esther ground’s lake and tunnels. It wasn’t until, at some point somewhere in the midsts of October, on Rick’s birthday, that she was treated to a surprise.

She could still remember the look on the lady Esther and Kristel’s face when she opened the small present, only to reveal a sort of sapphire attached to a necklace, the runes on the side of it glistened as Rick set her eyes on them, almost inviting her touch it.

Back then, she turned to lady Rita Esther “Thanks,” she said politely, not really wanting to tell her that she wasn’t ready for wearing jewelry yet.

“It is a special necklace,” Rita smiled coyly, “That a prototype enchanted trinket a friend of mine that works in an Alternate university received from a student, a man by the name Morty. He presented this to her about decades ago as part of a working thesis and she has been working on perfecting it as best as possible. I am glad she took a moment on February to visit her.”

“What does it do?” Rick found herself asking, sensing how she was trying to ease her to a point.

“This necklace, is called the enchantment tamer,” she told her back then, the name itself managed to catch Rick’s attention. “It’s main function is to withhold the effects of certain enchantments. Strong ones.”

“Does this mean…” Rick muttered.

“Yes. I asked her if she could tailor this enchantment to your situation and she said she would be willing to try it out. The enchantment on it is incomplete, and you will need a lot of tweaking around but I suppose it might grant you legs whenever you want them,” Lady Rita said with a smile.

And with that, it was how things really turned out for the better. A couple of days later and Rick was already walking on her two legs without any need for the land walking potion, using nothing but the necklace. Marina began to think she was leaving her, and that began to cause friction between them. It was then that Rick promised never to part her.

The necklace itself would only work on Rick as she was under the permanent enchantment of the mermaid’s blessing. It’s magic could just temporarily revert the changes and make her a human man once again, capable of working for three straight days before going into cool down. No matter how strong the canceling enchantment of the necklace was, Rick and the blessing of the blue spirit were deeply bonded. She was a mermaid beneath the skin and she didn’t have a problem with it.

This new trinket gave Rick the human social life she had been missing, as well as allowing her to make visits to her father much easier than before.

“I missed you, Rick,” Marina smiled as they held each other in arms in sweet embrace.

“I know,” she smiled kissing the mermaids nose “I missed you as well.”

“How were the studies and the band practice?” Marina asked coyly as the two danced in the waves as they let themselves float towards a large cottage that stood out close by the beach, letting themselves travel lower into a hidden well of stone and pressurized sand, a tunnel held by magic enchantments and a sturdy tunnel of steel. Illuminated by orbs of light that casted out a passage and veering upwards, past a door and into an open place.

Rick smiled appeased “It is good to be back home,” she sighed relieved as she looked at the place she and Marina, thanks to the help of some of Rita’s influence and aid, managed to acquire and refurnish. It was still crude, but it was homely, if not ideal for her condition.

A sunken living room made out of a cavern’s bottom and illuminated by the same orbs of light. Adorned with cushions and comfortable aquatic furniture. On the wall, there was a gate leading to their underwater bedroom, as well as flights of stairs. By the back end of the room stood a large amount of shelves along with a couple of cauldrons for the mermaids to work on. A closet filled with several different kinds of ingredients for their concoctions and a shelf standing next to it holding an assortment of many different bottles of potions, both crafted and bought. Most of them were the usual landwalking potion, along with one or two gender bending potions whenever Marina felt like teasing Rick.

A tunnel to the right lead them over to the underwater kitchen which connected itself for the upper levels in case they felt like trying surface cooked meals. By the left side was a comfortable ramp leading up to the upper section of the place, a facade or at least it is meant to be that way. The place was new, finished building a couple of weeks ago. But all the effort furnishing the place had focused on the ‘basement’ of the cottage. The upper floors were still empty and unwelcoming, as a front for a normal cabin in the woods. Perhaps the reason why they didn’t invite anyone who didn't belong to the alternate to their place yet. Of course, that could easily change.

Economically, their situation seemed to be fairly prodigious, if not in a boon of sorts. Since her freedom almost a year ago, she had worked on different places, worked for Rita Esther, helping her clean the grounds. A couple of weeks later, she and Marina began to work as travelers, heading over to the cities to run errands for the grounds, from transporting things from lady Esther’s other properties to purchasing materials in Atlantis. The opportunity allowed Rick to visit the world and get to know it better.

As soon as Rick received the collar the blocked the mermaid’s blessing. Her life in the cities began once anew. She found herself adopting her long missed former body and figure, only that this time, it felt sorta off. Perhaps it was for not having been a man in a while.

For some time, she went over to live with her father while Marina and Silvia took their time to visit their families, to reconnect with them, now able to shift into her human male self with just a touch to the necklace, her stay was made much more easier.

She began to attend to an institute to start on her college education, a late birthday present from her father. Planing to successfully take one or two art courses before returning with Marina. In said institute, she counted herself lucky to stumble with Jasper, her old high school friend, who had luckily moved away a couple of weeks before she left hiking with her father.

Rick lost no time in apologizing for not committing to the band project as diligently as they might have wanted. Much to her surprise, Jasper wasn’t mad at him, having let go of that grudge. And with a rekindled friendship and under a new promise, they started a new band over the week as they prepared new songs and lyrics. “New Wave”, was the name Rick proposed and the name the group took.

They were a huge success right away, earning a couple of jobs or gigs around the city as well as entering some band competitions. At some point, Rick’s fumbling with the magic necklace allowed her to discover how to shift between human female and male merman, much to her surprise and secret joy. Midforms, she would call them.

That is how Rylai became the occasional singer of the band. Their popularity escalated right away soon getting them some fans along the way. Both Rick’s and Rylai’s voice, in particular hers was particularly captivating, and in small crowds she would slip by a couple of verses in smooth talking just to entice the audience’s attention. That earned her female persona the title of the ‘the siren’ even if it wasn’t the correct classification.

In the end, even if she might look like a human, and a man at times, he was a mermaid beneath the skin and she felt it. Her magic sight was still with her, allowing her to see magic around and if she wanted and as a girl she could still cast spells, which she also practiced in the meantime.

But he never abandoned Marina or the rest of the employees from the Esther grounds. After the weeks with her father, she would have to travel over to her new cottage with the same feeling of joy and glee as someone setting off on an adventure. New wave, would go into vacations for a while whenever it was requested. No one could say no to Rylai, at least no man.

Back once back in the house, Rick had to spend some time making his preparations for the trip. , After she spent most of her time around carrying bags in and out of the house and into a small hole at the ocean floor where the current wouldn’t be able to sweep them, the mermaid took a moment to tap down on the necklace she bore, infusing it with magic. The runes and gems on it suddenly came to life as magic began to pour itself into Rick’s body, slowly undoing the mermaid’s enchantment. Her curves began to fill out as her chest began to flatten. Scales receded as legs grew and her sensual and pretty face shifted into a more handsome yet slightly androgynous one.

He had made sure his personal belongings were in the bag, among them a human phone that had been given an impermeability enchantment, and her vacuum sealed wallet for some human cash among other stuff.

Soon Rick sat down on the beach as a human and a man, clad in the swimsuit he wore upon his arrival and awaiting for Marina to let him know she was ready to head off. He just sat back and leaned back as water began to wash her feet, making the sand creep around them.

A couple of minutes later, Marina emerged with a smile as she pulled herself onto the shore. Using her tail like a snake would, or at least trying to. Still she managed to propel herself towards Rick just to hold him in her arms.

“So how did the band practice go?” Marina asked as she sat next to Rick. She leaned closer to stroke his chin.

“Jasper is pretty glad with the recording and song writing is… progressing. I will have the tune when we come back.” Rick smiled kissing Marina as the two laid down against the sand.

“It is outstanding how you manage to play two people with them,” Marina said.

“It is hard to keep the band in the dark without getting on everyone’s bad side. At some point I think I might end up confessing it all to Jasper,” Rick admitted. Getting him to know the secret would make matters easier.

“He is very elegant and does love Rylai,” the mermaid smiled “I hope he isn’t pursuing for a relationship,” she said softly as she moved apart, swimming towards their room.

Rick smiled leaning back “Don’t worry,” she laughed “as far as he is concerned, Rylai is a lesbian… of course, he has asked for a threesome, if possible.”

“A threesome? You and me and a man?” Marina snickered from outside the room. “I would be interested, but I don't think I would pay the man much attention.”

“That is just mean,” Rick laughed as the black haired mermaid adjusted the small purse she carried and produced a small waterproof bra he knew he was just going to wear and placed it among the dunes of sand as she went leaned closer to Rick.

“At least I am willing to kiss a man,” Marina teased.

“I did kiss you when you used the potion on yourself,” Rick smirked. The cool breeze of the afternoon blew against his skin. “ Ah the breeze here is so comfortable, I might as well fall asleep here,” he teased.

“Come on snail,” Marina said giving him a mild elbow nudge on his ribs “You will rest once we get to the grounds and I might join you. Silvia will get worried if we don’t make it in time.”

Rick smiled as he pulled himself up. Ever since the event and the riot, Lady Rita Esther came over to live within the mansion along with Kathy, much to Kristel’s joy. The grandmother and granddaughter enjoy spending time one with the other as she takes good care of the property.

Kristel started school along with the rest of the children, all six of them are attending a nearby city’s magic school for creatures from the Alternate. Making new friends and having fun exploring the human world that is around the school’s facade. The little girl was more than happy to have her grandmother around and was immediately asking about putting her late mother’s business back on the map.

Rita used her contacts for getting back in touch with customers as well as get some new ones, enough to start anew. And Silvia, now being the head of the grounds and Kristel’s personal tutor, had began to impart her knowledge on the hosting and catering service, teaching her how lady Anivia used to do things as well as aiding her and the children with their homework. So far, the place has held a couple of weddings and the word was beginning to spread. Silvia had been close enough to Anivia to actually share her insight and know-how. Actually, there were a couple of weddings planned around the corner, one of which Rick had been invited on to assist, by the bride’s insistence, as a bridesmaid.

The werewolves each went on their separate ways. Petra left the woods to rejoin the guardians. It came as a surprise when she revealed that she was a former member all along. Although in retrospective, it did make sense. Sasha and Luke remained in the forest, still working for the Esther family, as a thanks for their services, Rita actually granted them a share of the property adjacent to the grounds. While June and Jason decided to move out and travel the world, exploring. Last they checked, the coule was setting their sights to Mexico just for adventuring together, but they would of course make themselves present at the event this week.

Maelon, the satyr, left America shortly after being freed. Returned to Scotland where he opened his own tavern in the Alternate city hidden there, someplace called Avalon. Silvia does receive his tanks of exquisite, and probably expensive, ale and mead once every months as a present. Frank, meanwhile, stayed behind and has since enjoyed the time around womanizing in America. His burns had almost healed by then, thanks to the attentive care of Anya and Bradhin.

The three elves stayed behind in the property, both as guests to the mansion and the occasional employees and business partners. Anya began to date Frank as well, but, oddly enough, as any classic sitcom, their relationship had their ups and downs at such pace that it became a joke as every couple of months they broke up just to get together in the next moment. The drow elf, Ferilia, was just glad to be around with her younger brother more often. Bradhin and July had grown closer ever since the change of management took place, the young elf girl loved spending time with her new sister, and Rick had to admit, it was adorable seeing those two together.

Now free to leave the property, they left to pay visits to families and friends, seeing how the world have moved while at the same time running their own personal errands. Among those, was to lead Bradhin over to markets and malls to get her a new “provisional” wardrobe. Her condition was meant to be permanent, but she was still looking around, traveling between earth and the Alternate looking for a specialist that might be able to make her a man again. Although she seemed to be taking her time.

Finally, Mina traveled up the north to meet up with her long lost boyfriend, Kent, the wendigo. Everyone around the grounds was crossing their fingers for her, hoping for the best to happen. When Mina came back, she was more than happy to announce that after three years of disappearance, Kent had never stopped thinking or looking for her. The reunion was as charming as tear jerking as she made it sound and immediately, the white snow woman and the white furred creature were engaged. And Ferilia and Bradhin, Marina, Silvia and Rick were Mina’s bridesmaids while Anya was the maid of honor.

Rick didn’t hear much as to what happened to Elliot. Edward says he is serving his condemn for the rest of his life. The assistants and their hands who played a role for it were as well taken over to a prison in the Alternate to pay for their respective crimes, with the exception of Cory, who, having been acknowledged as an outsider was handed over to a normal penitentiary.

Now going back to the grounds where she spent a year of her life, the place that changed her life in all sense, was something she was glad for as she was reminded as the new direction things had taken.

“Should we get going?” Rick asked Marina at last as the sun set on the horizon, stroking her hair.

“I don’t care, I’m happy with you,” she whispered leaning closer to kiss him, locking their lips in a moment of passion. Yet just as sudden, Marina backed away from him, slipping the necklace off his head.

Rick let out a surprised gasp as he felt his body slowly change, develop the curves that had not long ago disappeared “Marina!” he laughed as his voice began to crack with melody while his legs began to feel like taffy from the spontaneous shift.

“You’ll have to catch me first, darling,” Marina smiled pulling herself into the nearest wave before letting herself being dragged by the current. “Or I’ll leave without you,” she smiled holding out a blue pearl teasingly as she began to paddle against the waves.

“Figures,” Rick laughed as his voice cracked. He pulled himself into the water as his legs began to become stunted and as a finned tail grew behind his still changing body, making him…her discard her swimsuit as the two hopped towards the waves, racing each other, disappearing into the sunset…