"Is it just me, or are these dreams kind of linked to reality?" Yuuna mumbled as Y/n woke up as well.

"good morning, Yuu" Y/n smiled. Yuuna nodded as she went to the bathroom to do her morning routine.

Leona let out a yawn. "Rrrr....Mmmmgh..." before falling back asleep..

"Good morning, kitty. Today's the big day" Y/n said, kissing Leona's forehead. Wow, that seemed to wake him up.

"Huh...? What, you're up already?" he asked. "You sure are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Meanwhile, because of you and your dormmates, I'm sleep-deprived" he complained as Y/n chuckled.

"Sorry about that. But it was the only way to convince you" Y/n said. "I'll make it up to you with a kiss" she teased.

Leona blushed a bright red before letting out a tch. "I guess today IS the third day of the agreement. Just remember that come sundown, I'm kicking you guys out, no matter how this goes down"

"Aww, you don't want to sleep with you?" Y/n teased him more.

"S-shut up! It's not like I don't want you to not sleep with me!" Leona said, making an excuse. "H-have your things packed and ready to go" he said, before going into the bathroom after Yuuna walked out.

"Fufufu" Y/n chuckled as Yuuna looked at Y/n with a confused look.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"No, nothing happened. Just a mad lion" Y/n grinned

The 1st years all gather up in the courtyard for Yuuna to discuss her plan with the boys. Y/n was already doing her part of the plan, where was singing in Mostro Lounge for the 3rd time, which Azul happily accepted without any second thoughts or suspicion.

Ace and Deuce were very quiet after Yuuna explained to them her plan.

"Are you serious right now?" Jack asked, mumbling under his breath.

"We're paying the Atlantica Memorial Museum a visit today" Yuuna confirmed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Ace cut in. "I thought we agreed that babbling the photo under the sea was a no-go because of the Leech brothers would stop us!" he reminded them

"This plan seems reckless, even by my standards..." Deuce added, sighing a bit.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Okay, kiddos, listen up and I'll go over the plan..." Grim said then started coughing in a raspy voice.

"You okay there? Got a furball or somethin'?" Ace asked the raccoon in concern.

"No! I'm still getting over all the yowling I did yesterday," Grim tells him in a raspy voice. He then cleared his throat. "Mm, anyways back on topic. Here's how this is gonna go" Grim then started to explain their part of the plan while Y/n does hers with some help

"WHAAAAT?!"

"Dude, are you serious?! This is crazy bold!" Ace asked in surprise.

"Wow, Yuuna. I always knew you were gutsy, but this is a fresh reminder" Deuce said, smiling at the girl who rubbed the back of her neck in a shy manner.

"Will this really go the way you hope, though?" Jack asked, trying his best not to be too pessimistic.

"We're exhausted our leads and we have one day to go. Yuuna's idea is all we've got" Deuce spoke up. "Not even a whole day, either. We've only got until sunset to free Y/n and get back Amaryllis"

"I guess anything beats sitting on our thumbs waiting around for sundown," Ace said, nodding in agreement.

"All right. Fine. Stressin' over what-ifs won't get us anywhere" Jack finally agreed to be part of the plan. "I gotta say, Yuuna- nothing stops you once you put your mind to something" Jack chuckled, giving Yuuna a smile

"Sometimes are bud here's a tad TOO daring, but what's life without a little spice?" Ace asked, grinning a bit. "Okay, guys! Let's roll!"

"Time to get ourselves a photo from the Atlantica Memorial Museum!" Grim cheered as everyone made their way to the dark mirror that would take them to the Coral Sea.

As soon as they arrived at the underwater Museum...

"It's closed?!" everyone shouted in surprise.

"Are you kidding? What awful timing" Jack said, scratching his head.

"Is that why the Leech brothers haven't harassed us at all today? Because they knew?" asked Deuce.

"I dunno about that" Ace said, sulking a little.

"I'm not sure if that's the case" Yuuna mumbled.

"Are we really turning tail and going back empty-handed after coming all this way?" asked Jack, placing his hands on his hips.

"Hold up! I've got an idea" Ace announced as everyone swim a little closer to the museum.

"Mragh! Guess I shouldn't be surprised that merfolk society would have merfolk security guards" exclaimed Grim, letting out a yelp.

"I mean, duh?" Yuuna and Deuce said in unison.

"Okay, I'm gonna distract the guard" Ace informed the group. "In the meantime, you guys sneak in behind him and borrow the photo"

"Are you sure you can handle this by yourself?" asked Jack

"Mhm. Will you be alright?" asked Yuuna.

"You're honest to a fault, and Deuce would give himself away within minutes." Ace replied. "Don't worry. I got this" he gave a wink to Yuuna before swimming over to the front gate.

"Awww, MAN! For realsies?!" Ace fake gasped. It was time to act.

"Hm?" a Merman guard turned his attention to Ace. "Is something the matter?"

"Is the museum really closed today? I can't believe this. I was super pumped for this visit..." Ace said, having a disappointed look on his face.

"Why, that's an odd tailfin you've got. Are you a hand-dweller or a Levia-fae? Did you come all the way here by yourself?" the guard asked.

"Yes, sir! I've always admired merfolk society, ever since I was a kid." Ace told the guard in an excited tone. "I scrimped and saved, got myself a magic potion, and now I've finally made it here!" Ace then looked at the merman guard with sparkles in his eyes. "Duuude, a real life merman! This is SO COOL! Can I touch your fins? Can I have your autograph?!"

"U-um, sure? Would you like to see my dorsal fin, too?" the merman guard asked.

Meanwhile with Grim and the others.

"They guy can lie like nobody's business. He ain't even battin' an eye!" Grim said, impressed by Ace's acting skills.

"The guard's totally distracted. Let's move!" Jack said as the group swam inside the museum.

"This is the place Azul mentioned, right?" asked Jack, swimming around as Yuuna admired the artifacts. "Here's a photo commemorating the visit of Horatio XII, a court musician..." Jack mumbled and turned to another display. "And here are the scales of a Levia-fae...Here's one of a fourth princess.."

"There sure are a lot of these. I can see why he said nobody would notice if we borrowed one" Yuuna said while looking around for the photo they needed.

"Where's that commemorative photo of Prince Rielle from ten years ago...?" Deuce questioned as he finally founded the photo. "Ah, here we go. This is it, right?" he questioned as Jack, Grim, and Yuuna swam over to him. "'A visit from Prince Rielle and his schoolmates...' Looks like a photo of an elementary school field trip"

"There's a bunch of tiny merfolk in this pic" Grim said.

"Of all the pictures here, why would he ask for this one specifically?" questioned Jack.

"I couldn't say...But once we bring it back, I can say goodbye to this sea anemone on my head!" Deuce mumbled. "Just grab it and let's go already"

Yuuna nodded as she reached up to get the photo without setting off the alarm

*Clatter*

"Huh. It's not even rigged with an alarm. I guess it really is just a commemorative photo. This is kinda underwhelming" Jack mumbled in displeasure.

"Hm? HEY! What are you doing here?!" another merman guard shouted towards them, causing everyone to flinch.

"Myah!? Uh-oh. It's a guard!" Grim yelped.

"I don't like this one bit, but I've got no choice." Jack said. "Sorry, buddy. You need to take a little nap!" he shouted as everyone prepared for battle as Yuuna summoned Micheal.

Outside of the Atlantica Memorial Museum...

"...And I just loved that story my Grandma read me about a human prince and a mermaid princess" Ace continued to try half-lies to distract the merman guard, guarding the entrance.

"They made a movie out of that, you know. I saw it with my girlfriend when I was younger!" the merman reminisced about his youth. "That was just about thirty years ago. No matter how many times I see it, that scene of the princess hugging her father gets me every time"

"I know, right?! That's, like, THE scene!" Ace agreed, nodding his head.

"I'm surprised a kid your age has even watched it" the guard smiled in a friendly manner.

"Oh, my brother's a huge movie buff. That flick's top-tier. Soundtrack's legendary, too" Ace went on and on. "Oh yeah, speaking of which- is it true that all merfolk are good singers?"

"Oh, far from it" the merman laughed. "That's an old urban legend. One of my classmates is so tone-deaf (BARD), their singing is like nails on a rockboard. The only merfolk that is only good at singers are the Levia-faes" the guard explained

"Ace is still goin' strong!" Grim exclaimed as the 1st years were safely out of the museum.

"I'm impressed he can carry on a conversation with a complete stranger for so long" Deuce mumbled, impressed by the boy's acting skills. Even Yuuna was impressed as well.

"We got what we came for. We need to go, pronto" Jack informed them as everyone nodded.

Yuuna created a flash of light that was only noticed by Ace, signaling him that they've got the photo. "Ah, look at the time. I think I'd better get going"

"Are, are you sure?" the guard asked. "Seeing as you're such a big merfolk fan and all, I wouldn't mind giving you a little sneak peek at the museum while it's closed"

"Nah. That'd be cheating, and cheaters never prosper. I'll be sure to check hours before I mosey down here again. Later, man!" Ace declined the offer as he swam back to his friends.

"Feel free to come back anytime!" the guard shouted. "It's not every day you meet a nice young fellow like that" the guard smiled.

"So, how'd it go on your end?" Ace asked.

"Photo acquired! Myeh heh heh. Couldn't have been easier" Grim cheered.

"Right. I can't wait to shove this picture right in Azul's smug face" Deuce grinned.

"Wait" Jack yelled.

"Did anyone else just see a pair of very long shadows?" Yuuna asked.

"Theeeere you are, Little Shrimpy"

"Greetings, everyone. I see you've already forgotten your previous lesson and decided to try your luck in the deep again"

Everyone paled at the sight of Floyd and Jade's appearances.

"It's the moray brothers!" Jack snarled.

"You appear to have gotten ahold of the photo" Jade said, glancing at the picture in Yuuna's hands.

"Nice, Niiice! That's real smooth" Floyd grinned. "But we wouldn't want you bringing it back so soon. Why don't we play a game of tag until sunset?"

"Typical. I knew we wouldn't make it home without a fight" Ace grumbled. "Lemme guess: your plan is to stall us in the water until sunset, then beat us up and snatch the goods. Then you'd get the photo AND you wouldn't have to take these anemones off!"

"Heh heh heh...Using minimal labor to achieve maximum profit is just good business sense" Jade laughed a bit.

"Wh- You guys really are crooked to the core!" Jack growled.

"Well, Yuuna? What's your call?" Ace asked the girl.

"Knowing you, there's no way you came this far without accounting for them" Deuce added.

"Just keep the photo safe!" Yuuna answered, stuffing the photo in her bra, where it has high security, in her boobs!

"okay. Simple enough" Deuce nodded. "I don't know how long I'll last without my magic, but.."

"We've come this fae. We don't have any other choice!" Jack yelled as Yuuna summoned Micheal again.

And so, the battle began.