Hey there! I'm back with a new story! Yes, yes, I might have six stories still on going, but I absolutely needed to put this up.

This is a next generation story, as there as a couple of them in the archive, but I decided to put my spin on the usual tale. Here we are, with the first chapter. Enjoy!

Key:

Narration

'Speaking'

'Foreign Language (Not English)'

Thinking

Stories/ Tales

Prologue

Silence reigned in the courtroom. Everyone's eyes, shades and variants of every colour in the rainbow with the exception of orange were fixated on her and her alone. Lucia felt distinctly uncomfortable. She could practically see burning gaze shot from behind her.

The judge, a purple mermaid in her late twenties, with a grim face and cold violet eyes, banged her gavel sharply, snapping Lucia out of her self-induced trance.

This is it, she thought. My fate has been decided.

Somehow, she had just haphazardly tuned out all that the mermaid had said until she reached the last sentence. 'Princess Lucia of the North Pacific Ocean is hereby pronounced as guilty!'

Guilty. She had been found guilty. But how? She had never even known those mermaids existed until the trial! How could she had been found as guilty for Aqua Regina's sake!

She did the only thing she knew to at the moment. She didn't protest, she ran. Or more like swam; she had no legs underwater anyway. She dashed out of the courtroom, blue eyes suddenly sweeping over her former friends. They were still her friends, weren't they?

'Guards! After her!' It was Hanon and Rina.

Apparently not.

Hastily, she sped up her pace, starting her task again. Her mission: Escape. Lucia could hear the clinking of the spears that the guards held. They were fast, trained to fight, and she wasn't. No, she would be caught if she didn't lose them and quick.

Her pink tail beat against the water, giving her an extra push when she saw the thick forest of pink coral just in front of her. She painstakingly manoeuvred herself through the sturdy coral.

Hearing the grunts of the mermaids trapped and tangled in the coral, Lucia gave a small smile. Those mermaids knew how to fight, she however knew to evade obstacles, thanks to the fact that Izurul's dragons were impossible to swim through. Having thrown off her pursuers, Lucia's speed decreased just a little.

Wincing as the coral swiped harshly across her face, Lucia closed her eyes, knowing she was coming to the end of the forest and bracing herself for another charge.

Suddenly, the stinging blows of the coral… just disappeared. Blue irises snapped wide open. 'Nani?'

Lucia brought herself to a stop just in front of a crystalline wall. The light reflecting from the smooth surface, hit her necklace and she instinctively turned, taking in the tranquil beauty of the place she was in.

'Wow,' Lucia whispered in awe. She was in a palace, a palace made out of crystals to be exact. The crystal walls were glinting and shining as points of light hit them at random intervals. It was breathtaking, awe-inspiring. Simply… magnificent.

'Princess Lucia of the North Pacific Ocean,' a voice, soft and maternal called out to the blonde warmly. Lucia knew that voice very well. She turned, head bowed in respect.

'Aqua Regina-sama,' she returned.

The goddess' long blond hair was flowing smoothly, powder blue eyes glowing softly in the light made the girl respect her even more as the subtle power shown in them shone. Silently, Lucia wondered if the goddess was there to aid her or to condemn her to the unforgiving darkness of the dungeons.

'You want to give up, Lucia, do you not?'

Lucia's head snapped up, blue eyes wide as she stammered out, 'W-what?'

Aqua Regina laughed lightly, the sound ringing like bells in Lucia's ear. 'You want for this to go away, the condemnation by your friends, the battle with Mikeru to end. You want nothing more than to be with your friends.'

Lucia let out a sigh. She should have known that the Oceans' Queen would know of her feelings. She knew all that was happening in the oceans, after all.

'There is nothing to be ashamed of, Lucia,' comfortingly, the goddess spoke to her. 'Mermaids were never meant to be creatures of war, so your longing for peace is perfectly normal, even more so with this… abandonment by Hanon and Rina.'

The blonde's firm gaze was on the proverbial 'mother' to each and every mermaid. There was a smile on Aqua Regina's face as she looked at the younger blonde. There was much potential in her, that much she could see. She has faced a less than pleasant ordeal, but her light was still very bright.

She had a very colourful future to look forward to, and with the bleakness she looked like she was facing, she deserved a new motive to work towards, especially with the death sentence looming above her head. The tip of her staff that was entwined with leaf covered vines glinted brightly. She just needed a little 'push'.

'Lucia,' Aqua Regina turned around, and spoke to her again. 'Have you heard of the Rainbow Notes?' She smiled; that would do the trick.

It did, getting a rise out of the younger girl as soon as the words 'Rainbow Notes' were mentioned. 'The mythical Rainbow Notes?' Lucia asked in astonishment.

The aforementioned Rainbow Notes were powerful items, bringing with it unspeakable power as it was told to be in one of mermaid society's many myths. The myth was usually one of the bedtime stories mermaid told to their children and she had heard stories about it in her childhood. She still remembered it like it was yesterday.

The myth of the Rainbow Notes started many, many years ago, when the mermaids became a sentient species. The Aqua Goddess of the time, Aqua Amphitrite knew that the powers held by her were too much for her to handle, much less her successor.

Thus, she split the sea into seven, forming each kingdom. To rule over each kingdom, she appointed the Mermaid Princesses, who became the primary line of defence against the other invading species, such as the demons. The Princesses grew arrogant however, and started to misuse their power. Aqua Amphitrite knew she had to fix things before the condition worsened and summoned the Princesses before her.

From each Princess, she removed all but the power to sing and govern the kingdom. From the Pink Pearl's powers, the power of the heart was taken and turned into a pink diamond, shaped into a treble clef. From the Orange Pearl, the magic of the flames was taken and put into a semibreve note crafted from a fire opal.

Then from the Yellow Pearl, she took the power of light, sealing it in a minim note shaped from bright yellow topaz. The Green Pearl's ability to control flora was removed, placed carefully in a crochet note shaped jade.

The power to manipulate the water was the magic taken from the Mizuiro Pearl, kept under the Goddess' watch in a semiquaver lapis lazuli. The icy magic of the Aiiro Pearl was sealed in a breve note, made from a piece of sapphire. Lastly, the psychic powers belonging to the Purple Pearl were kept into an amethyst turned into a bass clef.

Furious, the Princesses has demanded their powers back, however Aqua Amphitrite had already laid down a seal; the Princesses would never receive them back, for now they were waiting for those with a truly pure heart. Their new wielders would be the ones that were worthy.

And with the sealing of the Notes, Aqua Amphitrite spoke a powerful prophecy.

With these words I speak right now,

The Notes shall not awake till their owners are found,

Seven hybrids with power untold,

The wielders I see united under one decree,

One motive and desire is what they share,

The fate of the world rests in their hands.

The Princesses tried their best to retrieve their powers but sadly Aqua Amphitrite's spell had taken root, they failed with each try. The Notes now lie dormant in the deep reaches of the Aqua Goddess' palace, waiting for their true owners to be born.

Could the prophecy have come to pass? Could the hybrids in the prophecy have been born? Had the Rainbow Notes awakened once more?

'Lucia, once more the powers sealed by my one of predecessors have awakened within the Notes. They are ready to protect the world from danger. Lucia, you are the one I have chosen to aid these seven in fulfilling their duty. I ask of you to help these children to learn how to use this magic for the purpose of good,' Aqua Regina's eyes were strong, powerful, asking the younger mermaid to complete the task for her.

Seeing the task she had been assigned to, Lucia nodded firmly, a new spark lit her blue eyes; a new mission had been given to her, and she would complete it. Aqua Regina's smile was warm, and the goddess thanked the princess.

The wall behind Lucia rippled, turning into a five meter tall mirror which spanned three meters in width. She turned, watching as the surface reflected a beautiful scene of a lake. Trees with long, willowy branches had the ends of the green boughs dipped into the lake's surface, an small isle covered with green plants in the smack middle of the blue water.

'It's so pretty,' Lucia murmured.

'It is,' Aqua Regina agreed. 'This, Lucia is a town in Perak, Malaysia, called Taiping.'

The lake's scenery turned into a picture of a suburban housing estate, the houses painted in shades of either white or yellow with gates of various colours. One of the houses in particular, one with red tiling on the roof, white walls and a silver gate caught her eye.

That house… seemed to have a special something about it, but what was it?

'Lucia,' Aqua Regina called to her, voice soft and tender. The blonde turned, confused with her situation. What, what was it about the place that was so… enticing? No, that wasn't the word, interesting? Ah, that was it. What was it about the house that made it so interesting to her?

'Six of those seven children are in that house right now, Lucia. I have already informed their parents of the turn of fate, as such, they will be expecting you to turn up.'

Lucia's eyes were wide, her expression shocked. So she had been expecting this? It would have been nice if Aqua Regina-sama had given a little heads up, Lucia thought dryly with a little hint of resentment. Aqua Regina smiled at her, flicking her staff at the mirror, the edges of the frame glowing brightly.

'Now, it is time for you to go, Lucia. They are waiting, after all.' Aqua Regina's smile grew warmer as she looked at the mermaid. She was ready for this; she would be ready for anything that anyone and everyone threw at her. She just hoped that the mermaid didn't receive a shock larger than what she had now when the Aqua Goddess' little secret was revealed.

Lucia looked at the shimmering mirror and inhaled deeply, changing into her human form with a light touch to the pink shell necklace dangling on a thin string around her neck. Her long hair darkened and reduced in length until it barely reached her shoulders, pinned into two pigtails at the back by twin ribbons, as red as a fresh rose. Her eyes turned into a shade of brown; however the emotions in them never changed.

'Alright,' Lucia murmured to herself. 'I'm ready.'

And with that, she steeled herself and placed her hand on the mirror's surface. She could feel the energy emanating from it. She pushed through, passing into the portal. Vaguely, she heard Aqua Regina's voice behind her, wishing her good luck.

As she reached her destination, Lucia couldn't help but feel a little light headed; as portals were something she had no experience travelling with, the sensation was much unpleasant to her. She took a look at the house and was only a little surprised as the silver gates were opened by a dark skinned woman with long brown hair.

'Youkoso, Lucia-sama,' the woman greeted in surprisingly accurate Japanese.

Lucia looked at the woman's dark brown eyes, wondering what she would see in them. She found sincerity.

'We have been waiting for your arrival as was told by Aqua Regina-sama,' she continued. 'You have nothing to worry about here. We were told about your little dilemma,' she explained when Lucia gave her a vaguely confused look at her second-to-last sentence.

She opened the door, leading to a tastefully furnished living room, in which had four other women, each with black tinted hair and dark eyes, waiting patiently for them. 'Lucia-sama, welcome to Malaysia,' they chorused with a smile to her.

Lucia smiled as the first woman led her to an armchair to sit down; she had the feeling that she would like this place.

End Chapter

And we're done! Read and review!