Friends Out of Water

Fate

Authors Note: This started as a one-shot. It's in my g/t one-shot book. But I decided to make it longer than two chapters, so it's getting its own book. I'll be adding to this soon. Sorry in advance for the duplicate chapter. I was excited after making the book cover, so I couldn't wait. 

With a screech of tires, a dark sedan raced past Ana and Forest, nearly clipping them as they strolled down the sidewalk. Before Ana could react, something small and metallic flew from the open car window, striking her directly in the chest and splattering apart on her.

"Ow!" Ana yelped, clutching at the spot. She looked down in confusion as a strange tingling sensation spread throughout her body. The sidewalk seemed to rise up around her, the buildings looming larger. She stumbled, suddenly unsteady on her feet as the world spun and distorted.

"What...what's happening?" Ana gasped, her voice sounding shrill and distant to her own ears. She blinked hard, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. But the disorientation only grew worse.

Forest's face swam in front of her, huge and blurry. His mouth opened in alarm, but his voice sounded strangely deep and booming now, the words indistinguishable.

Ana's heart pounded, her breaths coming quicker. She tried to cry out and call for help, but her voice failed her. The pounding of footsteps reverberated through the ground as Forest rushed toward her. But his approach only amplified her terror.

She was shrinking, the realization hitting her like a blow. Everything towered over her now, ominous and threatening: the buildings, the street, even Forest. What was happening? Who had done this to her?

Frantically, she looked around, but all she could see were Forest's gigantic shoes, which were the size of buildings from her perspective. She tried to run, but her limbs felt sluggish and weak. The world tilted crazily, and suddenly, she was falling, the hard pavement rising up to meet her.

Ana hit the pavement hard, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. For a moment, she lay stunned, struggling to regain her bearings. The ground felt strangely soft and giving beneath her now-tiny body. She convulsed as her body started to change. She withered in pain as her legs merged into a tail. *IT SHOULDN'T HURT LIKE THIS* She wiggled in pain, vaguely realizing the soft ground was her now gigantic clothing.

Then, she became aware of a desperate burning in her chest and throat. Her gills on her back - they were flapping uselessly in the open air. She needed water, needed it now, or she would suffocate.

Panic rose within her as she thrashed weakly, her tail smacking against the fabric piles that used to be her clothes. No water. She couldn't breathe! Black spots swam before her eyes as her gills flapped helplessly.

Just when she thought she might pass out, a huge shadow fell over her. Forest. His enormous hands gently scooped her up, surrounding her in a fleshy cave. She would have recoiled if she had the strength.

Desperately, she worked her gills; She tried to cry out, to beg for water, but only weak croaks emerged.

Forest's voice rumbled around her, his words unintelligible. He was moving quickly, each massive footstep jolting through her body. Where was he taking her? She had to tell him she needed water, now! But she could only manage feeble slaps of her tail against his fingers, her strength fading...

Forest clutched Ana tightly to his chest as he sprinted towards the nearest cafe, his heart pounding with fear and desperation. The tiny mermaid thrashed weakly in his hands, her gills flapping uselessly without water. He could hardly believe his friend was a mermaid, but not only that but small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. As he rushed for a solution to his tiny friend's water problem, he wondered what was in that projectile.