AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

E. 6. "A Fanciful Day at the Beach" (9/10)

Meanwhile, down below on the murky sea floor, a wooden sunken ship lies. The vessel is deteriorating, filled with holes and coated with algae. Yet inside the ship, the three mermen are searching about it, discovering its hidden treasures.

Reid is rifling through a rotting treasure chest on the ship's floor, his tail sticking out behind him. "I found a sword!" He straightens up, holding a rusting sword up high.

He peers up at it, his face slightly dropping at the sight of the rust. "Not as shiny as Felix, but it's still in good shape." He gives it a good swing.

The sword instantly dissolves to bits of rust.

"Or not," he adds on, staring at the drifting particles with pursed lips.

Kale darts by Reid, examining the treasure chest he is by. "Do you wonder how old this treasure chest is? Like, where is it from?" He then pulls away and peers around the decaying interior. "And how did this ship sink?" He turns to him with a curious expression. "Who was manning it?"

Reid scratches his head. "Christopher Columbus?"

He shoots him a flat look. "If he did sink, we wouldn't be here."

"Jack Sparrow!"

He eyes him. "Isn't he fictional?"

"He was in a movie," Reid explains matter-of-factly; he raises his hand in front of him. "Five, actually."

"Pat!" Kale twirls around, attempting to find his other friend. "Pat!" His eyes land on an algae-edged dressing divider behind him. "Was Jack Sparrow a real person or not?"

Nolan pokes his head from the side of the divider with raised eyebrows. "Hm? Jack Sparrow? He's from a Disney movie."

Reid whirls back to Kale with a smirk. "See, told ya. He's real, he was in a movie."

Kale narrows his eyes at him while shaking his head. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Ooo!" Reid immediately reaches back down at the opened treasure chest and straightens back up. In his hands is a rusty silver king's crown. "Look at this crown!" He then places it on Kale's head.

"Gah!" Kale jolts at the heavy sensation of it and instantly snatches it from his head. "Why did you put this on me? It's dirty!" He gazes at its poor condition.

Reid frowns at him with sad eyes. "I thought you would look good in it."

Nolan glides over to them, his eyes on the crown. "Let me see."

Kale turns to him with a slight frown. "It's all rusty though..." He reluctantly lays it back on his head. "Ugh." He gazes up at the two with a grimace.

Nolan scrutinizes the "fashionable" accessory on Kale while rubbing his stubble-lined chin. "Hmmm, not bad, Kale Chips."

"You ARE a prospect of the Kings!" Reid points out with a grin.

Nolan plucks the crown from Kale's head and places it on his own.

Kale turns to him, eyeing his friend's new accessory. "You looks better with it." He nods at him.

Nolan bats his long eyelashes with a sweet smile, his naturally blushed cheeks becoming more evident. "Thank you!"

Reid gawks at him, appearing offended with his arms from his sides "Hey, but you're a Flyer! Flyers have missing teeth and orange hair!"

"Well, it's time I set a new trend—" Nolan flicks his hair. "—Flyers: models of the NHL."

Kale gazes at him with an amused, toothy gawk. "You're gonna need to reset the whole roster for that to happen."

"Mmmm, a simple makeover is all that's needed," Nolan replies, plucking the crown from his head and brushing his fingers through his hair. He places the crown back in the treasure chest.

Reid's eyes fly open to something to his left. "Hey...!"

Kale turns to him. "What?"

He and Nolan turn to whom Reid is staring at.

Peering out through one of the ship's circled, glass-less windows are the curious faces of Brett and Jake.

"Come on in, guys!" Reid calls out, signalling them to enter with a wave of his hand behind his shoulder.

Brett raises up and slips through the opening, revealing his full body. Instead of his legs, he now bears a fierce, yet ravishing scarlet tail.

"There you guys are!" he exclaims to them with a surprised expression.

Jake immediately comes after him, a long, winsome amethyst-coloured tail following behind him instead of his legs.

He gasps excited at the sight of the three. "We finally found you!" He zips over to them, halting next to his bestie. "What a relief!"

Kale gazes at each one from head to fin with surprise. "Whoa, you guys turned into merman too?"

Jake nods his head vehemently. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Isn't it so cool?!" He holds his tail up in front of him, showing off his majestic fin. "It's not a dog's tail, but it's something!"

"I'm just really concerned about the water messing up my hair!" Brett grouses, patting his floating hair down.

"Hold up." Nolan zips up to him and begins running his fingers through his air, skillfully taming it. "There." He lowers his hands and gazes at it. "The water does shift it, but it looks perfect."

Brett whirls to him with a relieved expression. "Thanks, Pat. You're a real lifesaver!"

"You're welcome!" He gives him a charming smirk.

Kale gazes at the two friends with a concerned expression and crossed arms. "Is Doc a merman as well?"

"Nah, we left him on the beach." Brett flicks his wrist in front of him carelessly.

Jake peers down with an anxious look. "Hopefully he's okay..."

"If he's not a merman, he's okay," Nolan points out firmly.

"Sooo..." Kale swishes his eyes from one merman to another. "...do we go to him or...?"

"I say we swim to the Bermuda Triangle!" Reid blurts out, excitedly throwing his index finger through the water.

Brett gives him a terrified expression. "That place is haunted!"

Reid swings up to him with a mischievous grin and delirious eyes. "That's the whole point!"

"Can Doc fix this?" Kale asks, reverting everyone's attention to a more important topic.

Nolan places his hands on his hips. "He was just reading some science book and blabbering about these 'drying agents' things." He rolls his eyes with an annoyed tone.

Reid has a slight frown and knitted eyebrows while rubbing his chin. "That's no good." He drifts back to Kale's side.

Brett's eyes slowly widen as an idea crosses his mind. "Or maybe it is...!" He gazes at the three friends. "Had you guys gone out of the water?"

The former teammates exchange glances with each other before turning back to him. "No..."

"The ocean is just too great to get out of!" Reid adds in feverishly, throwing his hands from his sides.

Kale lets out a heavy sigh, dipping his head down. "At this rate, we're gonna be playing underwater hockey instead of ice hockey."

Brett gives them a small smile while turning back around to face the window hole he entered through. "Well, let's come up and see!" He then takes off through the hole, disappearing from sight.

Reid lets out a whiny groan. "Awww, nooo...!"

"Wait up!" Jake darts right after him.

Kale taps Reid's arm. "Come on, let's try out." He then rushes toward the hole and slips through it.

With a sigh, Reid begrudgingly follows him; Nolan comes right behind him, keeping a keen eye on him.