Any hope of finding the Mayor and the King was slipping away so Max and his brother decided to pay last respect to their mother. They didn't plan a big event rather they invited all her close friends and relations to mourn with them.
Everyone arrived dressed in black, a silent sign of respect for his mother and the grief they all shared. A line of mourners surrounded the grave, their silence heavy as they prepared to lower her coffin. The day was drawing to a close as her coffin was slowly lowered six feet into the ground, the fading light casting long shadows over the silent graveyard. With the funeral service being done, Daniel finally arrived in California with no reason and intention of going back to New York. He had missed a lot of work days but still managed to keep in touch digitally while he was dealing with the whole situation. Max on the other hand, had a lot to catch up on with his job. He was warned by his boss that if he dare be absent again, he will have no choice but to fire him. Max didn't really care about his job. Studying computer engineering was not what he wanted but he figured that it will be a great alternative for earning income. The city was still in search for the Mayor and the Queen of Mermaidian kingdom was still furious about the King's disappearance. Rumors started going on about Max and Daniel being sea creatures from all what have been going on. Very soon, news got out alerting the whole city about the identities of Max and his brother, claiming they were extraordinary beings with unexplainable abilities. Some people called them heroes for saving the city, others called them freaks while curious civilians and scientists wanted to know more about them. Video footage was taking from the attack brought about by the Mermaidians. It was then screened in global news and other social platforms, proving to the whole world that Mermaids exist and that two people were capable of switching forms.
Upon seeing this news, Max and Daniel immediately realized the danger and decided it would be wiser to remain hidden, avoiding any attention that might expose their presence. The whole situation regarding Max and Daniel being sea creatures went on for a long time. It dominated the city's gossip for a week, swaying every conversation and rumor for an entire week. Max, becoming the subject of the city's conversation, unexpectedly got a call from an unknown number. When he picked it up, the voice was recognizable, as if he had already met the person before. The mysterious person introduced himself as Andrew Milson, the scientist they worked with during the giant egg catastrophe. Max felt relieved because at first he was thinking the number was going to be a way of tracking his location. Andrew told him that he would like to speak with him about the disappearance of the Mayor that he may have found something related to him going missing. Max was eager to solving this case so he requested that they'd meet in his lab. Max was reluctant to trouble Daniel with this case until he could be certain that he had uncovered a solid lead, one that might actually bring them closer to finding both of the missing individuals. He went to the lab invisible, making sure nobody sees or notices him.
When he got there, Andrew had already felt his presence though the fact that he was invisible. Andrew explained that the Mayor was on a mission to solve the city's water crisis and prevent an impending ecological disaster caused by toxins leaking into rivers and the ocean. Max asked him how he got the information and how does that link to the king's disappearance. He explained further saying that he secretly uncovered a letter of request when he was at the Mayor's office, assisting the NYPD in search for evidence. The letter was signed by the King of the Mermaidian kingdom, indicating that they had an alliance a few months back. It seemed like they were after some sort of crystal-like device called The Abyssal Heart. And according to research institutes, the crystal was a multi-functional core that had the ability to purify and regenerate polluted water instantly, restore dying marine life and stabilize ecosystems and that the reason why the King had an interest, according to the letter, was because he wanted to restore his kingdom, which has been damaged by industrial pollution and invasive human activities. The crystal, if manifested properly, could prevent large scale disaster. But Max didn't still had an explanation for their disappearance. Andrew theorized that maybe the Mayor and the King died when trying to recover the crystal or maybe they were stuck in the abyss. Max had the idea of sneaking into kingdom in search for any book that could give them more information about the Abyssal Heart. He teleported and transformed to the Kingdom's barrier, went invisible and was headed for the king's archives hoping to find any information about the crystal. He got to the kingdom's main book archives and began his search. He didn't find anything dealing with the crystal so he decided to go to the King's main chamber. He carefully looked around for a book or writing on the crystal. He didn't find a book but he discovered a something stored all the information about the alliance of the King and the Mayor. Without hesitation, he teleported to the surface, making sure he was invisible the whole time and made his way back to the lab.
What he found was a Coral-Engraved Tablet, an ancient stone with engraved symbols that glowed when touched or exposed to light. It stored most of the information that could give them a detailed description for the crystal. As they read it, they discovered the reason for the King's disappearance, as for the Mayor, it was clear that he accompanied the king by means of magic. According to the tablet, the artifact was guarded by a natural defense mechanism, a bioluminescent abyssal jelly-like creature granted the ability to create illusionary traps. By their understanding, the guardian made them appear dead, trapping them in a dense water vortex, keeping them alive but immobile. It all made sense to them now. The reason for the strange text written on the walls of that cave, as Max described it, was a subtle hint, meaning the death of the two of them was all part of the artifact's illusion. Andrew coordinated the location of the Abyssal Heart but Max needed some help. So he contacted Daniel, explaining to him the whole situation and asked him to be on his way to New York. Daniel, with no time to waste, got to teleporting. He couldn't get on a plane or a car knowing that people would recognize him. When Daniel arrived in New York, they transformed and went into search. It took them to get to the Abyssal zone but when they got to the location, they noticed pulsing glows in the water, subtle communication signals left by the trapped King and the Mayor. They followed it carefully, leading them to a weird spectacle. They saw the both of them trapped in freakish bubbles. The King's bubble naturally adapting to underwater pressure while the Mayor's bubble, as it seems, is keeping him alive in a pressurized, breathable air pocket. Before they could make a move, the abyssal jelly, as they called it, stroked their bodies with a strange, immersive touch, causing them pain. In a quick move, Max and Daniel summoned their animals and collided them together, making them an equal match for the creature. They tried freeing the Mayor and the king but every attempt failed. Max noticed the Abyssal Heart glowing in the distance and wondered maybe the heart was the only means of breaking the bubbles. With the creature being distracted, he went in for the taking. He got the crystal but it was losing its glow rapidly so he had to hurry. Yielding its power, Max used it to destroy the king's bubble, at last he was free from the bubble. Right before he destroyed the Mayor's bubble, Max realized one thing. The bubble was the only thing keeping the Mayor from being crushed by the underwater pressure and if he destroys it, things would be bad. The king offered to help but he had to be quick because the more time was being wasted, the faster the crystal loses it power.
The king, used his control over nature to design a magically protected capsule, guided by the crystal's magic, the Mayor was free from the bubble and they were headed for the surface. Unfortunately, as they emerged from the ocean, the crystal was drained from all its magic, making it practically useless for their benefits. All they wanted to do was to improve their surroundings, the King with his kingdom and the Mayor with his city. The two men immediately erupted into a heated argument, completely ignoring the fact that they had just been rescued. Each insisted that everything that had just occurred be forgotten, and with that, they stormed off in opposite directions, leaving the tense silence behind them. Max and Daniel finally had peace of mind as they secretly went back into hiding.