Work Text:
A long time ago before clouds of smoke poisoned the air, a small village by sea had a wonderful secret. It was not one village, but two for some of their people had a gift called Neptune’s blessing. Legend had it a young villager had once saved a water nymph, a daughter of Neptune, and to show his gratitude Neptune gave the villager the ability to live and breathe in the ocean as well as on land.
Besides Porta Rosa on the cove, under the water was Porta Blu under the cliffs. With the people from both towns intermingling peacefully. But it wasn't to last. One day men in starched suits came with ambitious plans.
They said the world was changing and they could bring prosperity beyond imagination to Porta Rosa. To sell the town’s fish to all of Italia, but they needed to bring in their steam engines to do it.
Big hulking behemoths of steel with coal burning in their bellies. But how to get them to Porta Rosa? The cove was surrounded by high cliffs. Well, the men said they would just tunnel through the cliffs. Hiring local workers to provide more jobs, giving a boost to the economy.
The people of Porta Rosa were soon abuzz with the men’s smooth words. But in Porta Blu the people worried what all this drilling would do to their homes under the cliff face. Their concerns for the environment were dismissed with platitudes and accused of backward thinking that will impede progress.
Naturally the villagers of Porta Blu were skeptical of outsiders and didn't outright tell the company men their homes were at risk. But what really felt like a betrayal was the people of Porta Rosa not coming to their defense.
A rift soon grew between the villages. Things began to escalate when younger ocean villagers began sabotaging the equipment as it came to town. The new workers that had poured in with the equipment, Porta Rosa did not have nearly enough people for the job, began to murmur about monsters attacking at night from the cursed waters of the bay.
This growing tension weighed heavily on young friends Claudia Verona and Ricardo Ajello. Claudia was from Porta Blu and Ricardo from Porta Rosa, but despite the towns’ ongoing estrangement their bond only grew. Though now they had to meet on the small island in the bay, making the crumbling ancient fort theirs. Spending many nights together watching the stars.
They both tried to talk with their fellow villagers, find a compromise that both towns could agree on. But nobody wanted to talk anymore, the newcomers did not understand the citizens of Porta Blu. Ricardo often found himself stuck entertaining the railroad manager’s son, Giorgio. And while he was a bit self centered and spoiled, he thought Ricardo was very funny and liked him. Despite this he couldn't be convinced that if there were sea monsters here they could possibly be reasoned with.
Claudia tried to calm down her fellow teenagers, but they were tired of talk doing nothing. The sabotage continued getting more and more destructive. Culminating in an all out fight with some of the construction crew one rainy evening.
When the railroad manager heard the news of this attack he was furious and demanded the excavation detonations be moved up immediately. It just so happened that he was told while hosting a dinner party, where Ricardo and his family were attending.
Horrified, he quickly found a way to slip out, though not entirely unnoticed. He rushed to the edge of the construction site, where his fears were confirmed. The crew was beginning to set up the dynamite. Ricardo scrabbled down the cliff side to warn Claudia and the rest of Porta Blu.
Despite having visited briefly Claudia's home before, Ricardo took longer than he wanted to find her. Claudia and her family were shocked to see him and she quickly followed him to the surface to explain why he was there. Just as he started to the first explosion went off.
Diving immediately Claudia began yelling for everyone to evacuate. Stubbornly Ricardo followed her, and began helping move rubble from trapped villagers. That's when the second explosion sent even more shock waves into the cliff side. Destabilizing the already crumbling homes. A loose chunk crushed Ricardo's leg.
In the confusion Claudia didn't realize he wasn't behind her anymore. Once she did she swam back to the cliffs as fast as she could. She found him struggling against the rock that trapped him. She could see his efforts were already weakening. Desperately she clawed at the stone, when a third blast rocked the village.
Shielding him from further damage Claudia found the shaking helped dislodge the stone. She pulled him out and shot for the surface. The rain was falling again as she dragged him onto the beach. Claudia was pounding on his chest when Giorgio came down from watching the detonations “Monster!” he screamed at her. Bringing more villagers, many of whom had been startled by the explosions and rushed to see at the construction site.
“It killed him!” And “Who will they kill next?” were called out from the crowd. Tears streaming down her face Claudia looked up shocked to see the mob forming around her. Some men had grabbed their harpoons when the explosions began and brandished them at her. Giorgio grabbed one of the harpoons crying, “You will pay for this blood with your own!”, striking Claudia down. A great wave came washing over the beach dragging the bodies of the two friends away.
After that night the people of Porta Rosa kept a wary eye on the sea. And told legends of the great sea monster slayer Giorgio Giorgioni.
Under the waves the town of Porta Blu was completely destroyed. Because of Ricardo’s bravery most villagers escaped, but not all. Many decided to leave, try and make new homes far far away from the land monsters. Some even said they would go to the blackest depths of the ocean rather than stay near those savages.
Still others remained in the bay, it was their home after all and they would not be scared off. Claudia’s family recovered her and Ricardo’s bodies; they buried them side by side on the island they both loved.
Ever after those who stayed warned their children never to go to the surface or find themselves facing the dangers above.