AlterMyth - A Hololive Fanfiction

A Chance Encounter

Prologue

'The world is full of wonderful myths. You just have to know where to look.'

That was the earnest truth that the young Amelia Watson held deep in her heart. As the blond girl sank in the warm, steamy waters of her bath, she closed her sky blue eyes and let her mind wander.

She heard the water sloshing in her tub and then let that sound whisk her away from the mundane world of reality that she lived in. The darkness behind her eyelids transformed into a magnificent seascape that surrounded her. That scene was adorned with the myriad of sea creatures, corals and underwater plants that she had read about in books. Black-and-white illustrations that she had seen on the pages before transcended ink and parchment and now bloomed with color and moved with lives of their own.

Before long, Amelia herself donned the armored suit of a deep sea diver with a caged fishbowl helmet, bringing a smile to the young girl's lips. She was surrounded by fish of all kinds and colors that swam around her like the constellations of stars in the night sky. Every time that Amelia dove into the ocean of her mind, the plants and the creatures and the underwater landscapes were different to some degree.

However, there was always a specific figure that appeared without fail: a friendly, great blue shark - about half the size of a sloop of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's navy.

Sometimes, the shark showed Amelia something that she had never seen before. Other times, Amelia raced the shark through the dark blue depths. Then, from time to time, they went into some shipwrecks where they watched silent motion pictures from the Americas on projectors that somehow worked underwater. Every single time, though, the shark was Amelia's trusty companion and never once left her side.

That evening, after a brief race around an old shipwreck, the shark turned Amelia's way and seemed to say her name.

"Amelia. Amelia!"

'The shark can speak?' Amelia thought with a twinkle of amazement in her eyes, 'Even though it's so cute and dumb-looking!'

The shark then opened its mouth and repeated with more urgency,

"Amelia! AMELIA!"

That last call finally pulled Amelia out from the eye of her mind and returned her to reality. The majestic seascape that she had been swimming in reverted back into the confines of her bathtub. The deep sea diving suit likewise fizzled away, leaving Amelia naked in the water.

The voice that called her out also turned out to be the voice of her mother - not the trusty blue shark that accompanied her in her dreams. The door of her large bathroom swung open and Amelia's mother, Mrs. Watson, thundered inside with a scowl on her face.

"Amelia Watson! How many times do I have to call you before you answer me!?" Mrs. Watson started as she tapped the tiled bathroom floor with her feet, "And how long do you plan to stay in the bathtub? Your skin is going to get wrinkly!"

Amelia pouted at her mother and lowered her head halfway into the water as she muttered,

"But I was just enjoying myself..."

The young girl's words were distorted as they rose up from her submerged mouth to the surface in bubbles. Mrs. Watson folded her arms and considered scolding her strange daughter again, but she eventually decided against it.

Instead, Mrs. Watson folded her arms and ordered,

"When you're done turning yourself into a prune, Amelia, go fetch the mail while I finish preparing supper. I believe the postman came by a little while ago. Also - make sure your luggage is packed for tomorrow! Understood?"