Each day for the last decade and a half was relatively the same for Marie. After spending the night at the bottom of her tank or in the bathtub, she’d wake up, make some breakfast, go to work, maybe go catch some food down by the pier, come home, make dinner, go back to bed… repeat. Each day, she did the same old monotonous routine. Each day, she was surviving, but she was not living.

Her family was gone, and it was as simple as that. One day, they were there, happily getting ready to go on another delivery trip as a father and daughter team… the next, they were gone, and they never came back.

The next few weeks after their disappearance, Marie waited… and waited… and waited. During all that waiting, she was beyond angry with herself — she knew she should have never agreed to Cala joining Calvin on his sailing trips! Eventually, she mustered up the courage to ask around town if anyone had seen them. When she couldn’t find anyone who had, she traveled to the other island herself to try to find out what happened, but the only answer she managed to get was Chef Saltbaker telling her that they never delivered his ingredients that month.. or ever again.

After a few years, Marie lost hope that she would ever see them again.

“Promise me you’ll keep her safe.”

“I’ll defend her with my life, honey. Don’t you worry.”

That one conversation with Calvin always replayed itself in Marie’s mind. Not a day passed by that she didn’t wonder what happened — did they get lost? Did they get caught in a storm? Did their ship sink? Were they attacked by pirates? Were they somehow still out there, or were they both dead? These questions plagued Marie’s mind constantly, but she knew she would never get the answers.

However, despite her grief, life had to go on. Because Calvin was gone, she now had to take up two jobs just to survive. She couldn’t afford the house otherwise, so she had no choice but to spend most of her days doing that… busy and working herself to the bone.

Today was a Saturday, though. For Marie, that meant rest… so rest she did. Today, she was finally NOT busy all day, so she was lying inside her tank in the living room while eating lunch she had caught the previous day and listening to a popular game show on the radio.

Out of nowhere, though, the radio abruptly shut off. Marie reached over, wiped her fins with a handkerchief to avoid getting the radio wet, and then pressed the button to turn it back on… but nothing happened. Grunting in annoyance, Marie turned the button to change the station.

“—for an emergency broadcast! For anyone who has still not yet heard, two days ago the Isles’ northern port was attacked by a vicious sea monster of immense proportions. Eyewitness reports of the attack have identified the beast as Cala Maria, a vicious gorgon and sea monster who was recently featured in last week’s newspaper. She is an enormous hundred-foot mermaid known for sinking many vessels in the northern seas, often eating their crews in the process. She is also known for her ability to turn sailors to stone with her gaze, causing many to nickname her the ‘Medusa Mermaid .’ Prior to Thursday’s attack, a feature in the paper detailed an attack of hers on the SS Gedda, which occurred a few weeks ago. During this attack, she sank the ship while killing and eating a majority of the crew, leaving only one member of the crew to live to tell the tale.”

Marie’s breath hitched. What ?!

The news anchor continued, “Thursday’s attack left fifty dead and several dozen others injured, with at least ten turned to stone. The attack also caused thousands of dollars in property damage and has completely closed off the harbor from public use. Despite returning to the seas shortly after, many still report seeing her around the Isles’ coast. A bounty has been put on this heartless beast, and the mayor of Inkwell is prepared to offer a reward of thirty thousand dollars to whoever can kill her. She is to be considered very dangerous — it would be best for our viewers to steer clear of any coastlines and beaches until it can be certain it is safe.

Additionally, it must be made clear that it was not only Cala Maria who appeared at the harbor Thursday afternoon. Because of this, we highly caution our viewers: please be careful. The Devil himself was briefly seen as—“

Marie shut off the radio in a daze. Gripping the edges of her water tank to steady herself, one name replayed itself over and over in her head.

Cala.

Cala.

Cala.

CALA .

Marie felt entirely detached from her body. Was this real? Were they really talking about her baby? They had to be — how many other mermaids existed, and were also called Cala Maria?

But.. Cala was dead. Marie had believed that for over a decade and a half now. There was no way she could be alive.

…Right?

“C- Cala… ” Marie whispered, hardly daring to believe it as she stared at the radio as if it had grown two heads.

She thought over what the news said — it described her as a monster, vicious and bloodthirsty. That didn’t sound like her little girl at all, and what also didn’t sound like her little girl was the stone gaze— she knew for certain Cala could not do such a thing as a child. Nothing about this situation made sense to her.

One part of that broadcast got her attention, though. “What was that last part…?” she muttered, turning on the radio again. However, the radio had moved on to another story altogether, so she grunted in annoyance and turned it back off.

The Devil . He was a well known figure in the Isles, with many rumors constantly going around about him. The most common rumor said that he had been in the Isles during the Calix Amini War, but left a few thousand years ago. Then, apparently, a few decades ago he had decided to come back and take up camp in the Isles for... whatever reason, Marie didn’t know. The start of these rumors obviously caused mass panic and emigration, but the mass slaughter and other horrors people seemed to expect didn’t really happen to the extent people thought they would, so… people either accepted the Devil’s presence and acted accordingly, or just simply didn’t believe the rumors to be true.

Personally, Marie had never believed the rumors to be true, but… she couldn’t think of any other explanation now. Her sweet baby, attacking to such a magnitude with powers she had never shown as a child… something to do with the Devil had to be the reason.

With her mind made up, Marie then jumped out of her tank. Whatever the case, Marie knew she had to see her, especially now that Cala had a bounty on her head.

As soon as she thought it, Marie gasped in horror. “The bounty!”

There was a bounty on her daughter !

Without any delay, Marie hurriedly grabbed a water bottle on the nightstand and then ran out the door — she had to get to her daughter, now ! Picking up the pace, she rushed down the street towards the pier, all the while trying to ignore the rising, suffocating fear filling her entire being.

Once she arrived at the pier, Marie panted as she peered around. There was a line of police tape sectioning off a chunk of the road, and behind the tape, she could see the ruins of the boardwalk — it had been completely destroyed. Several buildings and structures around them had been turned to rubble, littering the ground with debris. Also, statues were everywhere, and some of them were being carried away by the authorities. The entire area was full of chaos, with several police trying to calm the dismayed crowd around them.

“Oh… my… God,” said Marie, staring disbelievingly at all the destruction around her. “She… she caused all of this..?”

A loud noise made her jump and step back. Turning now towards the direction of where it came from, Marie saw a fleet of ships in the distance, all armed to the teeth with cannons and mounted guns. The fleet was sailing away from the island and towards the horizon.

“They’re—they’re gonna kill her!” Marie exclaimed. “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Spinning on her heel, she then ran in the opposite direction towards the street. “I have to find a way to stop this!”

Calling up a cab, Marie was at the other side of the wreckage within fifteen minutes. Once there, she ran up a hill past a crowd, several cars and some police tape. She blinked as she observed the full extent of Cala’s destruction across the entire harbor— the docks, the beach, everything… it all looked as if a tsunami had come through and destroyed it.

She swallowed nervously, still unable to believe that this was Cala’s doing. Sure, Cala had had some... incidents when she was young, but… this was something else entirely. As she continued to stare in disbelief, one thought was in her mind.

How could my baby do something like this?

Being only vaguely able to see the fleet in the distance, Marie walked closer to the edge of the island to get a better view. Not realizing how close to the edge she was, she stepped on a loose rock, causing it to crumble beneath her fins… and her to fall. “AHH!”

“ Gotcha !” Suddenly, she felt a gloved hand grab one of her fins, catching her just in time. Looking down, Marie’s breath caught in her throat— that would have been at least a fifty foot drop down into the ocean below. Despite being a fish, the likelihood that the impact alone would have killed her was very high.

Marie let out a sigh of relief, thankful she was not dead. Thank goodness, she thought.

Glancing upwards, she found that her rescuer was a dog in a yellow pilot's suit. While her uniform was neat and tidy, her other features were anything but. The woman was very rugged and tough looking, her fur very scruffy with some missing patches. There was also a large portion of her fluffy tail missing, leaving only a stump behind.

Despite her harsh appearance, Marie trusted her. She did just save Marie’s life, after all. “I—Thank you!” she said gratefully, flushing a little with embarrassment. “I almost had a nasty fall there…”

“No problem, ma’am,” the dog replied in a gruff manner. She quickly pulled her back up onto more firm ground before letting Marie go, “Now, I have to ask — what are you doing in a restricted area?”

Marie blushed. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry! I got so worried, I didn’t realize where I was going…”

“Worried?” the dog repeated. “About what?” She followed Marie’s gaze to the horizon where the fleet was. “Did a friend of yours get killed by that sea monster?”

Marie shook her head, her fins now feeling dry. “Er, no, actually… I…” She nervously took a drink from the water bottle she had been holding onto before continuing, “That sea monster.. I think.. I think she’s…”

“She’s…?” the other woman pressed, raising an eyebrow.

Marie could barely force words out. “She’s—” she tried to say, but then looked away. How could she even begin to explain this?

“Spit it out, ma’am,” the dog said impatiently, crossing her arms. “I have somewhere to be, I don’t have all day.”

Marie had no choice— she had to say it. “She’s my daughter!” she confessed. “The sea beast.. she’s my daughter.”

The dog’s eyes widened. “ What ?!”

Choked with grief, Marie began to explain. “I… thought she and my husband died at sea over a decade ago, they had left on a sailing trip one day and never came back. B-but–” It felt like she couldn’t breathe, but Marie forced herself to continue, “B-But I heard the news about what happened the other day, and.. and now...”

“Now they're going to kill her,” the pilot woman finished for her.

“Yeah...”

The air was thick with tension, and Marie was beginning to think she should try to say something else, but then the dog ran a hand through her forelock and spoke again. “That’s… quite the predicament.”

“You’re telling me.”

“You… and a human...” she said, shaking her head. “You… know that’s looked down upon for a reason, right?”

“Yes, because of how mermaids can be, I know,” Marie said. She had already heard this lecture many times from various friends when she and Calvin had gotten married, so this type of response was no surprise to her. “But... I loved my husband, and just… we just wanted a family, that’s all. I never thought anything like this would happen… ”

“I can imagine,” said the woman, looking back at the wreckage for a second before turning to Marie again. “…You sure the beast is your daughter?”

Marie nodded, choosing to put aside the ick she felt at hearing her daughter be called a ‘beast’. “Yes, she was partly named after my mother, and my husband named her Cala. She even has the same color scales I do, a-and… I can go home and bring back pictures of the three of us as proof, if you want.” Marie then sniffed—she was beginning to feel so overwhelmed that she felt ready to cry, “Miss, I am so, so sorry about all this… we did our best to raise her…”

“No offense, but it doesn’t sound like it was enough,” the dog said. “And you shouldn’t apologize to me— you should apologize to the town, and if the rumors are true, all the people your daughter took the lives of.”

Ouch . “You’re… you’re right,” Marie said shakily. She wiped a tear from her eye with her fin, “If only there was a way I could get to her, and talk her out of this madness…”

The dog woman sighed, looking a little bit… apologetic? “I’m sorry ma’am, I’m not trying to upset you. It’s just been a hell of a day for me so far,” she said, rubbing her temples.

“It’s okay!” said Marie, now feeling terrible. She couldn’t even imagine how everyone who was hurt and their families were dealing with this, “And I’m sorry to hear that… I wish I could do something…”

The pilot paused for a moment, lost in thought. Then, she said, “Well, if you want to get to her, you’re in luck. Me and the boys were gonna fly over and bomb her off the map, but… I don’t know if that’ll be enough, to tell you the truth. There’s been ships and other people attacking her all last night and this morning, and not one of ‘em have managed to take her down yet.” Marie opened her mouth to say something, but the other woman put her hands up in response, “ But — if you think you can get her to stop, I’ll escort you.”

“I—“ Marie began to say, but then processed her words. “Wait, really?! You would do that?!”

“Yeah,” the dog affirmed. “We… might as well try, at least.” However, she looked a bit hesitant as she said, “I’m warning you, though — it may be a bit dangerous. Are you prepared for that?”

“Yes, I— oh my gosh, thank you so much!” Marie exclaimed, overjoyed. “You’re too kind, Miss… Miss.. uh, I’m sorry, but what was your name? I don’t believe I caught it…”

The woman grinned before holding out a hand. “Pilot Saluki Bluebell of the Howling Aces, at your service.”

Marie grasped it in return and shook it. “Marie Xiphias.” Anticipating Saluki’s response, she then chuckled a little as she said, “And yes, like the fish. My husband was Greek.”

Judging by her expression, Saluki didn’t seem like she understood what Marie meant. However, before she could respond, another dog pilot — a large bulldog — walked over from where the crowd was to where they were standing. “Pilot, the mermaid’s on the move. They’re saying she’s headed north.”

Saluki immediately straightened up and turned to face him. “Were you given any coordinates? Or any information at all as to where she might be going?”

“Yes ma’am,” said the bulldog, handing her a piece of paper with something scrawled on it. She took it, and he said, “This is just a guess, but… in the papers, it said that there is an island that she lives on. That might be where she’s going.”

“It doesn’t matter where she lives,” said Saluki brusquely. “I’ve been asking around all morning, and nobody has been able to tell me where that is. What we need is just the general direction of where she’s going so we can catch her.” She then put the paper into her uniform pocket and added, “This woman—“ she gestured to Marie, “— is going to help us do just that.”

The bulldog briefly surveyed Marie, looking skeptical before he fixed his gaze back on Saluki. “Permission to speak freely?”

Saluki laughed a little. “Hugo, you’re fucking with me. You know you don’t have to say that— just go ahead.”

He chuckled as well before turning serious again. “Okay, not to be rude, but… how is she going to help us do anything? We can’t risk any civilians’ lives here.”

“This woman is apparently the beast’s mother,” Saluki informed him. “She wants to try to talk her down.”

Marie held up a fin awkwardly. “Hello.”

“Talk her down?” Hugo repeated, dubious. “Pilot, are you sure about this? The sea beast don’t seem like the type to listen to reason.”

Saluki shrugged. “I’m not, but it’s worth a shot. We’ve all been attacking the mermaid, and none of it has been effective. Maybe it’s time for a psychological approach.”

“Okay…” he said, still looking unsure. “How do we know this woman is the beast’s mother, though? She could be lying.”

“Marie here says she has proof about being the beast’s mother, and I believe her,” the pilot replied, her tone slightly forceful. “Her and I will take a cab and stop by her place to confirm this before heading over to the airfield.”

“We... we will?” asked Marie, a little flabbergasted.

“Yes. HUGO!” Saluki suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs, making Marie jump, “Go to the airfield now and prepare for takeoff, we fly in an hour.”

Hugo saluted her. “Aye aye, pilot!”

As he turned and walked off, Saluki then took Marie by the fin and led her away from the cliff. “So… you say you have proof you’re her mother?”

~~

After calling another cab, they made it back to Marie’s place relatively quickly. She swiftly opened the lock and ran inside, Saluki right on her tail.

Once in, Marie peered around the room, and felt her stomach drop— the entire place was a mess. Hurriedly picking some things off the floor on her way to the sink, she flushed in embarrassment. “I— I’m sorry it’s so untidy, Miss Bluebell!” Making it to the sink, she began refilling her water bottle and said, “I.. I wasn’t expecting company..”

Leaning on the doorframe, Saluki seemed unfazed. “It’s fine, ma’am. Please hurry, we don’t have a lot of time.” Her gaze fell onto the water tank, and her expression turned into one of slight concern, “Er.. do you need to be in that? I can’t exactly bring a water tank into my Chinook.”

“Oh no, that’s ok!” said Marie. “Don’t worry, I can last hours out of the tank, and live on land. I just need to douse myself with water every once in a while.” She took the now full water bottle and poured the water onto herself as a way to demonstrate, “See? Much better.”

“Ah… you’re one of those fish people, then.” Saluki then looked a little confused, “Wait— how come you can walk on land, but your daughter’s always in the water?”

A pang of anxiety hit Marie, and for some reason, the fear that Saluki didn’t believe her anymore immediately came to mind. “I… I don’t know, honestly. I guess it’s something to do with Cala being a mermaid.” She then grabbed some photos off the counter and walked back, “To prove I’m her mother, though— here she is.”

Grabbing the photos, the pilot squinted as she inspected them. After a moment, she silently handed them back, and Marie felt her stomach twist in knots. “You.. you believe me, right?” she asked anxiously.

“I do,” Saluki responded, turning around to walk outside. “I just needed to confirm.”

Marie smiled in relief. “Aah… thank you. I got worried there.” After looking around the room for a second, she walked forward and grabbed Saluki by the shoulder. “Hey— do you mind if I go grab something real quick? I think it could help.”

“Hurry and go ahead,” she replied, turning back towards the door. “And do it quickly, there’s no time to waste.”

“Got it,” said Marie, turning on her heel and running to the garage.

Marie hadn’t been in the garage in years –the idea of going in there after losing her husband and Cala was just too much for her to bear. Because of that, though, it was very dusty and unkept. It was also now empty, Cala’s deflated pool in the corner and her toys and other personal items on a table near the back wall. Marie quickly grabbed several of them before rushing back outside towards the waiting cab.

Once Saluki and Marie were both in the car, they were off. Marie stared out the window as they headed towards the airfield and passed by all the destruction from her daughter’s rampage… and the terrified townspeople fleeing because of it.

Marie’s mind raced a thousand miles an hour, filled with many questions: Was Cala okay? How did her daughter become this way, and what happened to her and Calvin? Did the Devil have anything to do with this?

…Would she get to her in time?

“Flippers.” Marie blinked and turned to Saluki, who was staring at her with a concerned expression, “You alright?”

“Yeah…” murmured Marie, ignoring the tight, constricting feeling in her chest. She then peered out the window again, “Gosh... I don’t think I’ve seen this much panic in town since the whole ‘Candy Cannibal’ thing a few years back...”

Saluki rested a hand on her chin. “I hate to say it, but…ironic that it’s for similar reasons.”

Her daughter being compared to a crazed cannibal… the fact that she could not refute that made Marie wish she could sink into the floor. “I know.” She picked up the toy sponge that she had put on the floor and hugged it… as if that would solve anything, “I… clearly did not do enough when she was younger. Like you said.”

“Hey…” the dog placed her hand on Marie’s shoulder, “I didn’t—“

“It’s okay,” said Marie. “It’s the truth... I haven’t done enough and I wasn’t careful enough. A-and— you saw my house, I can’t even do enough now .” Marie sniffed as a rising tide of emotions suddenly struck her, “I can’t even clean up after myself, much less be a parent. How am I going to do this?”

She tried to hold it in, but couldn’t. To hide the tears and stifle her sobs, Marie put her face in her hands… only to have her fins pried away from her face. “Marie, look at me.”

Marie felt like she wanted the Earth to swallow her whole, but she did as ordered.

“Listen,” Saluki started. “Shit’s been rough for you the past decade or so. I get it— there've been rough moments for me, too.” She cringed as she seemed to be recounting a memory, “I’ve experienced plenty of pain, but… I’m a dogfighter, it’s part of the job.” She shook her head and handed Marie a wipe, “But that’s besides the point. Look, I know it’s hard, but I need you to get a grip on yourself, okay? Depending on how this goes, you could save many people's lives… including even your daughter’s. You have to at least try .”

Marie took the wipe. “Do you really think I can convince her?”

“You want me to be honest?”

“...I...” Marie sniffed. “I wouldn't be asking if I didn’t want an honest answer….”

“Well… not really, to tell you the truth,” Saluki admitted. “Like I said, it’s worth a shot, but… this is a giant gorgon we’re talking about here, miss. I doubt she’s going to let her mom ground her.”

Marie opened her mouth to speak, but Saluki held up a hand. “Let me finish, flippers. Regardless of what happens, I do want you to have your talk. Even if it ends with us having to kill her, I feel like you deserve to see your daughter again… get some closure. I’d feel shitty if I couldn’t at least give you that.”

Marie avoided eye contact. The sentiment was sweet, but…

“Please,” she said after a moment, desperation evident in her voice. “She’s all I got, a-and.. she’s not in her right mind, and… I think the Devil probably has something to do with this. Please, please don’t kill her.”

Saluki sighed wearily. Even though they had just met, Saluki could tell just by looking at Marie that she had been suffering for a long time. While she honestly didn’t care much about having to kill the mermaid, she didn’t want to upset Marie any further. “I’m hoping we can resolve this peacefully, miss, but… I’m sorry. I can’t make any promises.”

~~

The rest of the car ride was in silence, but it didn’t take much longer before they reached the airfield. The airfield for this isle was on a remote part of the island, a secluded area near the mountains… and the home of one of the Isles’ air bases. It was also where a single-person plane and an unusual-looking helicopter were parked, ready and prepared for their arrival.

Once they parked and got out, Marie could see various dogs in uniform around the planes. They appeared to be inspecting various parts of the exterior of both — tires, the flaps and wings, the engine, etc. There was also a truck right next to the helicopter, with one of the dogs appearing to use a pump from it to refuel the plane.

As they approached the helicopter, Marie clutched Cala’s old things while eying it apprehensively. It was a giant dog—literally—the tandem rotor helicopter was shaped like a giant chinook dog. To say Marie had never seen anything like it before was an understatement, “Oh my…um…” She cleared her throat and asked, “Is… is this what we will be flying in?”

“Yes ma’am. You and me, we’ll be taking the Chinook,” the pilot replied, rapping on the side of the helicopter for emphasis.

“It’s a dog,” said Marie dumbfoundedly, and immediately wanted to slap herself for stating the obvious. “Okay.”

Two of the dogs that had been tinkering with the helicopter suddenly burst out from two of the paw pads. “Captain, we’re almost done with the flight check!” one of the dogs yelled, giving Saluki a salute. “I already did all the calculations—“

“And I set up your cockpit!” interjected the other one. He proceeded to throw down a tennis ball baton to Saluki, “You’re welcome!”

“Good work, fleabags,” Saluki praised, catching the baton. “Is the Chinook fully refueled yet?”

“Almost done. We’re just gonna need some extra engine power— the weather girl on the news said that it’s going to get hot out later.”

“Right,” the pilot grumbled, now sounding annoyed. “Of all days the beast could have decided to attack…”

“Um… is there a problem?” asked Marie timidly, a little confused.

“Hot air is less dense than cool air,” Saluki explained. “That generates less lift and makes it harder for our planes to take off without more engine power.” Seeing the worried expression on Marie’s face, she said, “We’re prepared for things like this, don’t worry. Nothing’s stopping us from flying today.”

Without warning, the mouth of the Chinook suddenly opened, and the bulldog pilot from earlier came out from the helicopter’s interior, carrying some crates. “Captain, a word? I have some things I need to go over with you.”

Saluki nodded. “Just give me a minute.” Stepping backwards with her hands behind her back, she sucked in some air before yelling as loud as possible, “YIPPERS, ATTENTION!”

Immediately, two other dogs burst out from some of the other paw pads of the Chinook as well, and all of them leapt down from the helicopter and stood at attention in front of Saluki. Marie blinked, surprised by how quick they managed to do that, but before she could think anything else, found her thoughts being cut off by Saluki’s voice, “Go help Miss Marie get settled into the Chinook while Hugo and I have our talk!”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!”

“Good. Dismissed!”

After they led Marie away, Saluki and Hugo began walking towards the other plane. Once out of the others’ earshot, Hugo began loading some of the crates onto the other plane, with Saluki crossing her arms as she observed him. “Alright, what is it?”

“Well…” he began, looking a bit on edge, “I was thinkin’… if we’re going to be taking risks like bringing the mermaid’s mother… maybe we should take the risk of having some extra firepower, too.”

“What are you suggesting?” Saluki asked. “You’ve got your weapons ready, haven’t you?”

“Yes, all of our weapons are ready to go,” he said. “It’s just… you know how our weaponry hasn’t been the same, ever since we lost the pineapple mint?”

She grimaced. “Don’t remind me. I don’t want to remember that.”

“Right…” Hugo replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I was thinking that since the sea beast is enormous, it may take weapons of more explosive magnitude to bring the mermaid down.”

“Like what?”

“Like… it might be a good idea to use those rocket grenades we got in storage. The really explosive ones.... and maybe the autocannon, too, come to think of it— that could help.”

The pilot was silent for a moment. “You.. aren’t talking about the ones we got from the other island, are you?”

“… I am talking about those ones, ma’am.” Hugo could see Saluki’s body language instantly become more tense, and he added nervously, “That—that one we tested, it proved they are way more powerful than most regular rockets in general, right? So, if we used ‘em all at once, we’d have a much higher chance of taking her down.”

Saluki shot him an incredulous look. “Keep in mind, a lot of people are after the bounty. We don’t want to cause any unnecessary casualties.”

“I know, I just thought that if we find an opening — one where the people that show up are far enough away from the blast radius — and then use the rockets, we can take her out a lot faster. The quicker we take her down, the better, and those rockets could be the additional firepower we need to do that.”

“Those rockets are volatile, though,” she retorted. “We’ve only tested one , and it was hard to figure out how the hell it even worked. We could run into problems if we bring them without any preparation, and we don’t have the time to prepare.” Looking over her shoulder at her helicopter for a second, she turned back and added, “Also, in case you’ve forgotten, her mother is here. She’d freak out if I brought those aboard the Chinook.”

“If the news is true, the beast’s been sinking ships for ages,” said Hugo. “Ma’am, I mean no disrespect, but there’s no point in bringing her mom. The mermaid ain’t goin’ to listen.”

Saluki pinched the bridge of her muzzle. “We’ve already talked about this, I still think it’s worth a try. Think about it— if her mother can talk her down, we can avoid using any weapons and avoid friendly fire with the locals. If we can’t…”

Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and looked away, but continued on, “If we can’t… firstly, I’ll be keeping Marie safe regardless. But, If she really can’t get through to the beast, I think she deserves to see her daughter one last time.” She opened her eyes and then looked back at him sternly, “My decision is final, she is coming along.”

Hugo nodded, knowing not to pursue the issue further. “Yes, Captain.”

The pilot turned to walk away, but after a slight pause, she looked back at him with a resigned look. Then, she said, “Go ahead.”

“…Pardon?”

“Go ahead and get those weapons,” Saluki clarified. “If you’re right, then we may end up needing them.”

Written by me and u/scrugssafe