Corelia's body hit the water hard, sending ripples violently across the surface. The cold wrapped around her instantly as she struggled to regain balance, her arms moving quickly as she swam upward.
Then the voices came, she heard voices above her. Her hand immediately moved to her necklace, gripping it tightly as she glanced down at her legs.
Still human.
Relief flickered across her face.
She pushed through the water and broke the surface, wet strands of hair clinging to her cheeks. The moment her eyes adjusted, she froze slightly.
Four pairs of eyes stared back at her in complete confusion.
The Q4...
For a brief second, no one spoke.
They were clearly not expecting a girl to suddenly appear in their private pool, and she literally came out of nowhere.
Then realization struck.
Her wet clothes clung to her body, revealing the outline of her inner wear underneath that thin fabric. Almost immediately, they turned their faces away.
Vic, without even glancing in her direction, grabbed a towel and extended his arm toward her.
"Come out of the pool." He said calmly.
His voice was deep, steady.
"Cover up".
Corelia paused for a while staring at his calm face and the towel in his hand, she wasn't expecting him to do that. Without thinking too much, she swam toward the edge, her movements graceful despite her confusion. Water dripped softly from her clothes as she climbed out, taking the towel and wrapping it around herself.
Even soaked, her face still carried an unusual beauty that made the situation feel even stranger.
Foxy was the first to speak, curiosity was clear in his voice.
"So… who do we have here?" he tilted his head slightly, studying her face.
"Wait… you're the girl from the dance class. The one partnered with her friend." Jax snapped his fingers lightly.
"Yes, that's her… Finally nice to meet you". Jeremy teased. "But I just have one question.... How on earth did you jump over that?". He asked, clearly impressed.
"What are you? Superwoman or something?. He added.
Corelia barely reacted, her eyes scanning the surroundings instead. Her mind was elsewhere, she kept on windering how she got here. The Noctyra had escaped, and she had almost revealed herself.
Thankfully, her necklace was still intact or else it would have been a disaster.
Ignoring their questions, she finally spoke.
"Where am I?" she asked calmly. Then her eyes moved between them. "Also why are you people always showing up everywhere I go?"
Foxy scoffed, clearly amused.
"We are everywhere?" He smirked. "You literally just climbed out of our pool… in our space."
"I didn't picture you to be a crazy fan risking your safety to see us". Jax added.
"What's your name?". Foxy asked.
"Corelia..." It almost came out as a whispered but they heard her anyway.
"Beautiful name, why are you here". He added.
She didn't respond.
"What's her name? the one with the green hair." Jax asked.
"You mean Mishell?". She asked, wondering why he was even asking.
" Hmmm Mishell... Nice". He said, taking a seat.
Foxy eyebrow lifted slightly as he realized something. "Wait Corelia right?, how exactly did you even get past security?"
Jeremy leaned casually against the chair, shaking his head.
"Crazy fans really do the most these days," he said. "But jumping fences? That's a whole new level of dedication which leads me back to my question, how did you do that?."
Vic could sense she was confused and didn't even know how to respond to all the questions being asked.
He raised his hand slightly, silencing the comments.
"Give her a second," he said calmly.
His expression remained serious, almost bored, as if situations like this weren't entirely new to him. "You are currently in our apartment," he explained. "Which means you are trespassing, that's extreme."
Corelia blinked slowly.
"I am not a fan," she replied simply.
The silence that followed made it very clear they didn't believe her.
Jax folded his arms. "Right… so if you're not a fan, why exactly were you jumping fences into our private property?"
Corelia hesitated for a brief moment.
How exactly was she supposed to explain she had been chasing a shadow creature born from dark magic?
She exhaled softly.
"I had somewhere to be," she said calmly. "Your fence just happened to be in the way."
Jeremy chuckled.
"Somewhere to be… inside our pool?"
Foxy shook his head, clearly entertained.
"No wonder you and the green hair girl are friends," he said. "Birds of the same feather really do flock together."
There was curiosity in his eyes now, she wasn't reacting the way most people would.
Vic studied her quietly for a moment before speaking up again.
"Have we met before?" he asked calmly.
Corelia looked at him properly this time, confusion flickering briefly across her face.
"No".
"Are you sure? I keep getting this feelings we have met before". He said.
Had they?
She had never been among humans bwfore until now. So why did he sound so certain?.
Before the conversation could continue, Jax spoke again.
"Seriously though… how did you get past security?"
Instead of answering, Corelia removed the towel and tossed it back toward Vic.
"Thank you for this". She said.
It would be a little bit diffcult to leave the cause she had no intention of using magic in front of them but it wasn't impossible. Her eyes scanned the area quickly until she spotted a wooden chair nearby.
Without explaining anything, she dragged it closer to the fence. The guys watched in confusion and kept on wondering what she was up to.
She took a few steps back, then ran forward. Her foot landed lightly on the chair before she pushed herself upward with surprising strength, using the fence for height. In one swift movement— She jumped over, completely clearing the fence.
And disappeared.
The Q4 stared at the empty space she had just left.
Jeremy blinked.
"…Did she just…"
Jax shook his head slowly.
"…She's crazy."
"She did it again!". Jeremy said, finding the entire situation funny.
Foxy smirked slightly, clearly entertained.
"I like her".
Vic said nothing but his expression had changed. He felt this strong sense of recognization for her, as if they had met before but can't really put the piece together even though she just denied ever meeting him.
Corelia slipped quietly into the hostel and disappeared straight into her room like someone who absolutely did not want to be seen explaining anything to anyone.
Too late.
Mishell was already there, sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed, clearly waiting.
The moment Corelia appeared, Mishell stood up immediately.
"Finally," she said, walking toward her with narrowed eyes. "I felt your strength, What happened?"
Corelia exhaled slowly and without wasting much time, she narrated everything that happened inside the abandoned building leaving the Q4 part out.
Mishell's expression darkened instantly.
"A Noctyra?…How is that even possible? They don't exist on their own except being summoned by great dark magic".
Corelia shook her head once.
"Well the only clear answer we have now is Araxie, her powers are growing stronger daily. Without her scales I thought she would be weak.
"We have alot to prepare for". Mishell said " If a Noctyra can be brought to life, she must plans way worse than this".
"My fear exactly".
"We have to find her scales first and finding...." Mishell paused, her nose caught a familar scent. "Are you hurt?"
Without saying a word, she lifted her shirt up it revealed a huge cut she got from the first attack.
Mishell leaned closer, examining it carefully. Her brows slowly rose.
"Wow… that looks terrible," she said honestly. "Does it hurt?"
"No, not really, I just enjoy collecting mysterious supernatural bruises.... Yes, it hurts, of cause it does.."
"Seems someone is at the edge". Mishell responded, trying not to laugh.
Corelia replied calmly. "I'm sorry, I'm just pissed it escaped, thanks to someone But it will heal."
Mishell gave her a doubtful look.
"I hope so… because right now you don't look like someone healing. Remember, we are human our healing is slow… painfully slow compared to when we were mermaids."
Corelia lowered her shirt.
"Don't worry about me. The real problem is Araxie."
Mishell sighed. "That part is not surprising."
Mishell looked her up and down, clearly unimpressed with her current state.
"You should take a shower," she said. "You look… rough."
Corelia hesitated briefly. "I was distracted while chasing her…"
Mishell narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"What did you do?"
Corelia paused. Then said it plainly.
"I jumped into the Q4 pool."
Mishell blinked. Then burst into laughter.
"You did what?"
"I fell into their pool," Corelia corrected calmly.
Mishell tried to stop laughing but failed.
"How did you even get there?".
"Had no idea they lived within the school".
Were you caught?"
Corelia gave her a look.
"Obviously."
Mishell gasped dramatically.
"Which one did you murder?"
Corelia frowned, she was clearly not shocked at Mishell's comment.
"Murder?"
"Did you transform??" Mishell asked quickly, suddenly alert.
"No."
"Oh," Mishell relaxed again. "You should have at least wiped their memories."
Corelia looked at her, unimpressed.
"Why would I wipe their memories? I was the one trespassing."
Mishell shrugged casually.
"They are lucky I wasn't there. I would have eliminated everyone first… then realized I was a trespasser."
"Patience is important," Corelia replied calmly.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her.
She sat down quickly. Mishell immediately stopped joking.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"I just need rest," Corelia said quietly.
Mishell studied her face for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. Try not to die tonight, we have alot to do".
"That's your actual way of caring". Corelia smiled a bit, she understood Mishell's love language whenever she was worried
"Not really, It's your mission you can't die...anyways I'm going to sleep."
Corelia smiled and gave a small nod.
Once Mishell lay down, silence slowly filled the room. Corelia leaned back slightly as she stared at plain air, her expression thoughtful.
Mishell was right.
The wound should have started healing already but something felt… wrong.
She didn't feel the familiar warmth of recovery. The damage from Araxie's creature was lingering longer than expected, If her power was already this dangerous…
Then stopping Araxie would require everything they had.
Otherwise…
They were doomed.