Chapter Text
"here's your coffee Sir" the angelic voice of the server spoke.
"Thank you..."
Norman took a sip of the served cup. The cafe was empty saved for his lone figure enjoying his latte. The place had a homey touch. The furnitures mixed modern and vintage, the ambiance warm like a hearth in the winter and the giant victorian windows where rain drops flow gives a quite a view albeit a gloomy cityscape.
The usual place as his best friend told him they'd meet up.
"funny he's running late..." the silver head man said to himself as he turned another page of the newspaper he's been going over about an hour or so.
The news were typical. Economies falling, rising, Peter Ratri's death, newly built skyscrapers of September 3, 2067. Norman checks his wrist watch from time to time. His gray suit clad body slouched in his chair in utter boredom.
He gets his paper thin phone from his brief case 5 minutes later to send Ray a voice mail when the small chimes of the cafe sounded. In came a man in casual clothes--black jeans and red t-shirt that fitted his lean figure. His dark hair damp by rain water and his new camera on hand. His steel grey eyes scanned the place.
"sorry I'm late..." Ray walked towards Norman's table. He rested his body on a chair across his best friend's before starting their intended chit chat
"my little girl had too much fun at kindergarten. How's the CEO business? ... I mean now that you won the death penalty case you might as well concentrate on your wife... "
The server comes to hand Ray the menu. His steel grey eyes scanned it without much care.
" Black coffee... " he was quick with placing the order and the red head girl left.
" correction... Wives Ray... I have loads of them..."
"oh right...forgot you now own more companies"
" so... How's Lebella?"
Ray opened his camera to show Norman a picture of a little girl with straight long purple hair tied in pony tails. Her amethyst eyes frowning at the camera and her cheeks were dusted with charcoal like substance.
"what... What happened to her?" Norman was filled with concern for such a cute baby face.
"naughty... She got a well deserved earful from me for setting fire in the entire school... Can you believe it Norman?"
The silver head just chuckled " I guess she's got more of the big brother's eandering qualities..."
"sometimes I wish she just revert back from being a helpless little baby cradled in Mama's arms."
Truly, Ray Carlisle missed it when his little sister was just an adorable little lump. The only advantage he sees now with the 5 year old version is that she's extremely fun to tease.
" anyway... I invited you for a meet up not just to catch up but to tell you also that we're gonna be in for a drink tonight at Grand Valley. It's Oliver's birthday and the boys want a mid sea party"
Norman thought about it. Realizing he has nothing scheduled for the rest of the upcoming days so he responded
"sure... Why not..."
"Hey hey hey hey!!! There they are!!!" a drunk Pepe exclaimed as Norman and Ray reached the piers.
Their strides approaching the boat.
"Looks like the party is in full swing..." Norman comments as he takes a sip of the brandy from the glass Don just handed whence they stepped inside.
The people in the boat was the usual circle of friends. Oliver, Nigel, Don, Pepe, Zack, Yugo and Lucas.
" yeah! Now lets sing for the birthday boy!!!" Nigel raises his beer bottle.
A boisterous song was sang in a disorganised drunken beat.
Their night dragged on. Covered by gibberish about love and life until it became rowdy with camera flashes, cigarette smoke, playing cards and empty bottles.
It didn't take long before the initial party boys passed out leaving Norman and Ray exploring the ship for a treasure hunt. It was always Don's diary that they target since there are many juicy and embarrassing tales that could be disclosed.
They didn't end up in the room though when their wobbly feet brought them to Oliver's cabin instead.
"Hpwie Batdei toooo U!!! Hpwei!!"
"Hpwei batdie two U!!!"
Norman swings his bottle around as he sings along the repetitive birthday song with Ray. Accidentally, the liquor spilled on the blue carpet in the room.
The two suddenly hears a spark on the flooring. It took their drunken stupor out for a moment as they inspected what's underneath.
" ah bolt of zorts... ?" ( A vault of sorts?)
Ray hiccuped
"luks entuhrustin... lez owphen n' hawtch..." (looks interesting... Let's open the hatch)
Norman grinned.
When they discovered it could no longer be accessible via password combination, they got some tools and eventually found a suitcase inside.
"hay...dats meh zutcays... Sow dis iz wer itz bin!"
(Hey... That's my suitcase...so this is where its been)
The intoxicated Norman hiccuped as he dragged it out.
"Yah.. Min de won dat dizapird?"
(you mean the one that disappeared?)
"ye!"
(yeah...)
They opened it up to see the contents.
"hay! Dats meh memry ccurd! Nowmn... Avbin lukin por dis... Sow Olvr wes da won hotok it... Und mibi mah cumra two!"
(hey! That's my memory card! Norman... I've been looking for this... So Oliver was the one who took it and maybe my camera too!)
Liquor induced Ray sounded pissed as he grabbed the small chip and loaded it inside his newly built device.
"miks sens! He wez ada ehngajmen pahty... Bat ah tink... Ah wez da won how barowed it dough"
(makes sense! He was at the engagement party... But I think I was the one who borrowed it though)
Norman replies. Ray was about to check the accessibility of the card's saved contents but the journal inside became their source of fascination.
"ah don rehmber u havin diz kaynd ov dayari Nowmn"
(I don't remember you having this kind of diary Norman)
"haw do ya no I dun hv diz kind of dayari Way?"
(how do you know I don't have this kind of diary Ray?)
"bcz Ah rid abry singel won... Vowlum 1, Vowlum 2..."
(because I read every single one... Vol. 1, Vol 2..)
"haw cud u!!!"(how could you!?) Norman exclaimed.
They argued for a long time before they read the contents together. There were brief and crude hand written text.
12/ 28/ 1751
Nay' peace, nay' order, only hunger. Insatiable hunger... And... The plague. Then there's loneliness.
I write to this day to compensate for the unbridled loneliness I feel for my fallen brethren. I have fewer company now... Lewis, Nous, Nouma, the pest Luce, and Bayon.
We've been drifting around Oceania Pacifica, in search of the silver egg.
"Grants immortality and can cure any illness" that old mage said. " only found underwater where the light and the spiralling darkness meet" he said " you must quest to the place whence our clan originally came" the old geezer said "or our entire tribe would fall to the hands of the plague" he finished
So we embarked on this quest... 5 mother ships but now left 1. We were sailing for Neverland.
Yet no sign.
Our clue?
Spiralling darkness meant a whirlpool.
Today we're testing that theory. A human--creatures immune to the plague-- from the main lands outside our hidden boarders, about 18 in age, we threw and to the ocean he went, swallowed up by a whirlpool.
Leslie was his name, or Nay? I don't remember...
1/1/1752
The theory was proven right. After the human was thrown, I followed and awakened to the most absurd island full of extinct plants like the mage said.
As for the human, I found him swarmed by the locals in his arms. Of course, mermaids love music and he was humming.
Didn't know humans can be musical.
1/ 30/ 1752
I've been observing, collecting information while the human and one of the mermaids talked.
According to the local, Neverland doesn't limit to what she calls Blue Crescent Island. Neverland is an entire world parallel to what I and the human know. And the mermaid clan was all that was left after a plague made by the demon clan razed the other races. It also caused the deterioration of the demon race itself. Im beciles.
Make sense that me and my brethren were thrown out to the other world so the last of the demon descendants could thrive.
The Mermaid sisters were spared because of the birth of the silver egg though. It emits healing energy as it also carried the royal blood of the other races.
It's my clan's life line just as the mage said.
2 / 12/ 1752
Young love...
I witnessed it blossom.
I witnessed it part in body but not in soul as Leslie promised he'll return in her arms once he's fixed his mess of a life at the other side.
And the best news of all? Love meant full unhampered trust.
Thus, like a flower it will soon fall and rot.
6/ 30/ 1 752
Nous, Nouma, Luce and Bayon were ruthless with the torture. Lewis and I watched.
Leslie was quite an elusive man in England as he belonged to the richest of families but we managed to get him back.
It was bloody. They removed both of his eyes. Yet he didn't budge. Didn't tell the exact location of the egg.
Ah, sweet young love.
But when we threatened to hurt his sister. He ended up betraying Isabella.
7/ 21/ 1752
The bombing of the reef was as easy as snapping a twig. Perhaps the creatures haven't seen a battle ship in their lifetime.
The egg came to our hands shortly.
7/22/ 1752
Apparently the only way to get out of Neverland and deliver the egg to our Queen is through the gateway either opened by a storm named Everbreaker or by a full grown mermaid queen.
The storm takes 15 years before coming and the latter is not an option.
What a pain. It's easy to get in but you'll never get out in at least a long time for our case.
7/22/ 1752
The locals want war.
Too bad we came ready. Just the right ingredient would do the trick. And that too would be easy to obtain.
It was indeed an advantage to bring in our battered informant. I guess Luce has some use than I thought.
7/23/ 1752
It looked disgustingly heart wrenching, the sight I saw.
Leslie was stationed in on one of the caves. Forced to play his stringed instrument, his eye sockets hollow but his hands strumming and shaking to lure in Isabella.
The 5th mermaid Queen. The power number. Her scales would make the most grand weapons. According to Lewis.
He wasn't quite wrong. As the mermaid of the amethyst tail crawled inside and have seen the sight of her darling Leslie, she weeped. The waves we've seen were the most fearsome as her whole body quivered in her loud cries to see her lover in such a state.
It didn't last for long.
7/ 24/ 1752
We've enraged the entire mermaid clan.
They have hyper senses and their loss might have popped a vein.
The 5 Queens were the most troublesome. But we have the likelihood of victory.
Our silver weapons containing Isabella's scales would best them.
I wasn't part of the action though.
I'm on egg duty at one of the crescent's cave.
7/25/ 1752
Im hearing voices.
Voices from the egg?
She called out to me.
Why can I hear her?
7/26/1752
It pained me.
Her weeping sounds.
So I had to scream out for her to stop.
It was maddening
But she had the most soothing voice.
7/ 28/ 1752
Love.
What a strange thing for the crown's sole knight just like me.
In just about a span of a few hours
I found love in a child of all things.
And she in the form of the enemy.
What a pain.
7/ 29/ 1752
I knew I had to protect her. I knew I had to run away and return her.
She told me about the sacred cave of her ancestors.
Trusting and lovingly.
It was sickeningly wonderful.
It's the most beautiful feeling as much as I hate to admit.
7/30/ 1752
A curse was on its way to complete, irrevocable state. I had to hide with their egg. I crouched around one of the thick bushes outside the small unnoticeable opening of the cavern to scout and listen.
The 5 mermaid queens looked feral as they were surrounded blood bath. The small ones of their kin were either dead or wounded. Their eyes filled with blood lust. I knew they'd come at me at any moment without thinking.
It wasn't safe for the fragile object that was in my hands.
So I had to listen and test the waters.
They talked in Neverland tongue. Something the little ones didn't fully acquire since they preferred using English as Leslie had taught them.
I could understand them though as it is most used in my tribe. I made note of the conditions they've set to the curses they've made that almost cost their lives.
Their words sent a chill up my spine
The first one being that a kiss of love be shared by humans and mermaids will cause them their deaths.
The second being that once a despicable trash such as a human ever makes it out through the Golden Gobble, they will never make it back inside no matter what. Unless the second curse is broken by a high queen.
The third being that Memory Lock will swallow up the memories about the mermaids and of Neverland after exiting the Golden Gobble. This ability has limitations itself. That can be unlocked with the right trigger.
The fourth being that their children will remember the cursed names of Leslie and Isabella but never their faces and the good they've bestowed.
The fifth being that the creatures who caused the great sorrow of their kind in any way will fall to a slow terrible death of blood loss from deep seethed scars in their hearts cavities.
Their mistake? My clansmen were never humans. But Lewis made them believe we all were as much as a human as Leslie. The cunning bastard. Never comes to war without a solid plan as usual.
But the word "creature" at the last curse pave way to the likely prevalence of the mermaid race.
8/ 28/ 1752
A lot has happened. Reinforcements arrived in Lewis' command. He's surprisingly still alive but suffering from the curse. Nous, Nouma, and Bayon died in the hands of the younger mermaids. The fool Luce got interrogated and was found laughing like a loon. He died afterwards.
As for me... Im barely alive... And a fool that couldn't let her go.
9/3/1752
The fight was decided today. The mermaid queens have fallen only Lewis stood at the top but a challenger with hair as fiery as her embers of rage came forth as his challenger.
The children fought bravely.
And their deserved triumph caused the fall of the demon tribe and a new beginning. New mermaid queens and soon to be established new kingdom.
It was also the time I returned Mujika in the sacred cave.
Warm and well.
Look at me... About to spend my final moments in our wrecked mothership. With wine and the the thoughts of my love.
The two of us made a promise.
Once she cracks. She'll revoke the curse.
And she'll bury me properly.
Ah... My love... In the shape of an egg
Neverland
"Emma!!!"
"what is it kids?"
" the... Huff... The.. Puff"
"crack...puff... Cracking!!! Anna... Gi-Gilda..."
" the egg..our..Queen..shes coming!!!"
Ray chortled with Norman
"wut ah ridikulus.. Ztori! "
(what a ridiculous story)
The dark haired man panted and his stomach hurt from laughing.
"I tink datz won of Zuc's funtusi ztoris!"
( I think that's one of Zacks fantasy stories!)
Ridiculous indeed.
But when Ray and Norman saw the contents of the lost memory card.
They both thought otherwise.
[Isabella's lullaby Instrumetal]
Neverland University production
A Lambda Omega film
Presents
Cast
Emma as Emma
Norman as Norman
Ray as Ray
Anna as Anna
Gilda as Gilda
Sonia as Sonia
Gillian as Gillian
Violet as Violet
Michelle as Michelle
Olivia as Olivia
Yugo as Yugo
Lucas as Lucas
Dina as Dina
Isabella as Isabella
Leslie as Leslie
James as James
Veronica as Veronica
Peter as Peter
Oliver as Oliver
Don as Don
Pepe as Pepe
Zack as Zack
Kids from Kindergarten
Casting Director
Ray
Music Composer
Leslie
Costume Designer
Gilda
Associate Producers
Minerva Corps.
Carlisle Corps.
Editors
Sandy
Nigel
Pepe
Production Designer
Gilda
Director of Photography
Zack
Sandy
Executive Producer
Neverland University
Writer
Phil
Director
Ray
Special Thanks to
Lewis Private Beach Resort
Carlisle Ship Company
Ratri Homes
Emma can't help but cry her heart out as she munched a whole load of chocolate bars whilst she saw the poster flash along with the credits. Her silver dress got sprinkled by crumbs.
Ray and Gilda were serious with her 21" waist line. As a result she was deprived of such delicious treats for one whole month.
But now she ate like no tomorrow that she almost choked. Norman, at her side quickly handed a bottle of water. He wore a black tuxedo.
Meanwhile, Ray, in the same outfit scheme as Norman and the male crew at his back, face palmed.
"the idiots forgot to put the last names and the entire cast! This is what happens when you do things in a short notice!" he growled and sighed
"we've got no chance on winning the € 100,000 price money now..."
Then loud cheers erupted as people in the whole stadium applaused for their film. Most of them were movie competitors from the other schools.
"The effects were world class!"
"the actresses were all HOT!"
"The acting was amazing!!!"
"Congratulations Fraternity members of Lamba Sigma Alpha and Sorority Omega Psi Delta"