After a moment of tense silence, the old shark motioned for them to follow him and swam back into the darkness. The girls hesitated for just a moment and swam after the strange guide. “So it is him…” Ella wasn’t sure if finding him would be a good or a bad thing.

“It’s him alright. I might have only seen him for a few days, but I will never forget him… Even if he has… changed since then.”

“I’m guessing you mean more than just his legs being gone?” Ella asked, trying to lighten the mood. 

The joke didn’t seem to hit as Jana responded straight faced. “I mean his skin, his eyes, the way he breaths. Yes he’s been alive as a free genie for centuries but… I don’t know… I thought merfolk aged more gracefully than this… Makes me wonder if something is up.”

Ella tried again, “You called him Jynn. What does that mean?”

“It’s a different name for genies. It was all I knew him by when I was the master…” Jana considered that last day of her freedom and the beginning of a very new life. “I really should have asked him his name… I didn’t even think about it back then…”

As they reached the far end of the canyon, they found a section of a sunken ship had been repurposed for his home. The space seemed about as inviting as a dirty tent, but the Jynn led them inside through a hole Ella recognized was normally intended for the lower deck cannons. Inside wasn’t much better. Equally dilapidated, equally dirty, but at least there was a little light for them from glowing undersea algae. 

“I’d offer you something to eat but I don’t keep food in the house. I find it only makes me last longer.” The old creature turned to face them and leaned his back against a wall of the ship. “Now then… I’m assuming you came to this city to find me, right girl? Looking for revenge? To kill me for what I did? You are welcome to try.” He held out his shaking, shriveled hands and counted off on his fingers. “I’ve been shot, stabbed, clubbed, and tried countless poisons. If you’re really set on killing me, you might try cutting off my head. I haven’t tried that yet.”

The girls exchanged another look. This was not what they had expected to find. “You… think I’m here to kill you?”

“Are you not?” The old shark almost sounded disappointed.

Jana moved a bit closer. “With everything you put me through you definitely deserve a punishment, but you know a genie can’t kill.”

He let out another weak wheezing laugh, “Of course I knew that! I thought that’s what you brought him for!” He gestured at a very shocked Ella.

“Excuse me!? That is my GIRLFRIEND you miserable hunk of flotsam and you will treat HER with the respect SHE deserves!” Jana growled out, emphasizing all the appropriate words to hammer the point home to the jerk.

“Pff, call yourself what you like.” He shrugged off the anger, not even a little put off. However he did seem a little shook when he saw just how hurt Ella looked from his comment. He let out a sigh that was interrupted by a hacking cough. Once he’d regained his breath he spoke, “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for miss…?”

“Ella.” She said her name with pride, a point she would not negotiate.

“Alright then, Ella, Mistress,” He gave a little bow of his head to each of them in turn, “I ask again, what do you want with me?” He pointed a gnarled finger at Jana, “You said you aren’t here for revenge, and you know I’m a free genie, I have no more magic left. What else could you want? The quicker you tell me, the quicker I can get back to waiting to turn to dust!”

“Jynn, I…” She paused in thought. Sure he was a bit of a jerk but no need to be a jerk back. She tried for some civility. “Do you have a preferred name you would want me to use?”

The shark was a bit surprised by the question. “I lost my real name long before the day we met… Some of the young fish around here call me Grey. Grey will do.”

“Grey then. We didn’t come here to antagonize you. We came to see the mermaids. We are only here now because we were told that a free genie lived in the trench and… well as a genie who might be free soon…”

“You will be free, angel. There’s no might about it.” Ella added in a pause, gripping her girlfriend’s hand.

“Right!” Her voice cracked a little as she tried to show her enthusiasm for the idea. “Well, trapped genie to free genie, I just… well wanted to talk… had a few questions you know…”

“I see…” Grey caught the tension in Jana’s voice but wasn’t sure if the other girl had. “Well… I suppose your current position is my fault… and I am one of the only beings in the world who can answer those questions… very well… what do you want to know?”

Jana took a deep breath and held Ella’s hand tighter. “First things first… do you… do you know what my real name is? I have been going by Jana since the 1930s.”

Grey sadly shook his head. As annoyed as he had been with the girls interrupting his peace, he knew the way questions like this could eat away at a person over the centuries. “I’m sorry Jana… The day we met, you didn’t ask my name and I didn’t ask yours… I can barely even remember what your first two wishes were… all I can remember is your third wish; magic power to help defend your home… and how I saw it as the opportunity I needed…” He sounded ashamed of his actions.

“I see… I didn’t think you would know, but it was worth a shot…” She was quiet for a moment as she worked past her disappointment. “Next question; how are you still alive after so long? Do all genies live this long?”

He had a dark smile. “Well I am only speaking from personal experience on this, but I don’t think most other free Jynn live longer than humans would… I’m still here because of a bit of… What is the word? I’ve heard some call it Karma? You see, the wish I made that got me stuck in the lamp was wishing for immortality. Apparently when I got free, I was still immortal. It was great for about, oh a decade or so. Then… you start noticing the drawbacks… my body keeps aging like any mortal man. Your senses dull, your organs stop working. Nothing can kill you, but you still feel the pain of your body trying to die… At first I thought my mistake was that I should have wished for eternal youth as well as eternal life to avoid the deterioration, but I learned that was equally futile. Life has so little meaning when it goes on forever…” 

He met Jana’s eye. “I have had centuries to think about what I did to you. I can’t help but feel like this poor excuse for living is punishment, from the gods, destiny, the lamp itself? I don’t know… but I’m sorry for what I did to you… I don’t expect forgiveness. I don’t deserve it…”

“No. No you don’t.” Jana said simply, “What you did to me was horrible. You tore me away from my life, the only world I knew just to save yourself!” She clenched her fist to try and stop the tears from coming, “You deserve punishment for what you did to me…” She took a deep breath to steady herself and reached out a surprisingly gentle hand and put it on his arm. “But you don’t deserve to suffer like this forever either.”

Grey stared at the hand, then up at Jana. “I… thank you…” there was an almost amicable silence between them compared to their air of the room when the conversation had first started.

After a moment Jana spoke again, “How did you even end up here of all places Grey?”

“Walked.” He said simply, like that one word was all the explanation he felt like giving.

“I’m sorry… you walked from Dublin to Hawaii?” Ella asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

Grey snarled. “Don’t be silly, b-... Sorry, girl-” 

Ella held up a hand to stop him for a moment “How did you even know… about that anyway? No one else down here has said a thing…” She had been so proud for passing as a girl to Chase earlier, but now she was afraid that she had missed something in her transformation and that everyone was just being polite, maybe even secretly judging her…

“It’s nothing you’re doing Ella.” He clarified quickly. “I might not have magic anymore but I recognize it. I can see it’s purpose… and… Well I thought if I made you both angry maybe you’d leave me alone…”

“I see…” She didn’t like it, but she did understand. “So… no real problem with me?”

“As a woman? Of course not. Transgender people have been around for longer than I have after all. It’s just after being an ass, lashing out at anyone who tries to get close for as long as I have… it’s kinda hard to turn it off.”

“Well… being an ass isn’t quite as bad as being an actual bigot.” She gave a little shrug, “please continue.”

He gave a little nod. They could actually hear the joint pop and crack with the movement. “Well to start with, I wasn’t in Dublin when I started. I think it was… Monte Carlo? Somewhere around there. I thought trying to find new things to do I could get some joy back in living. It only helped for a few days. I had had enough, so I took my winnings from the casino, filled up my boots with all the gold and silver to weigh me down… and walked into the sea.” 

He pointed to a corner and they saw a ratty old pair of rubber boots that had been sitting there long enough for algae and barnacles to grow over them. “I hadn’t counted on the magic keeping me alive, allowing me to breath, or adapting my body to the cold or the water pressure… I think it even made me taste bad because squids, whales and sharks won’t even try to bite me! When the magic transformed me, I started to swim rather than walk, hoping that some dark creature of the deep, or even simple exhaustion would end me… I gave up when I got here. Figured the only thing with a hope of killing me was time… so I found a dark hole to wait in…”

The girls looked at each other and seemed to exchange a quiet thought. Ella gave a small nod in understanding and Jana spoke again, “There might be something we could do to help you if you want it.”

“Do you have a grenade for me to swallow? Or a big propeller I could swim into? That might do the job!” He actually sounded excited again.

“No, we won’t do anything to help you kill yourself, but we might be able to help you find peace. You see… Ella here found out the secret rule.”

“The secret… bonus wishes? How does that help? Our kind of magic can’t kill.”

Ella moved forward “It can’t kill you, but it can undo your last wish.”

He was silent for a moment. With his one track mind for a solution it was clear he hadn’t thought of this. “You mean…”

Jana nodded, “We could make you mortal again Grey. Your life would be guaranteed an ending. Maybe you could even find a little purpose again in the time you’d have left.”

Grey seemed to seriously consider the matter and looked up, first to Jana, then Ella. “Miss Ella, would you mind stepping outside for a minute? I have a few things I’d like to discuss with Jana before I make a final decision on if I’ll accept your offer.”

Ella was a bit put off, and a little afraid to be out in the dark alone, but she realized this was something she would have to do. “Yeah… Yeah ok. Just shout when you are ready for me again.” She smiled at Jana and stole a quick kiss to keep her brave before swimming back out the gun port.

“A very sweet girl.” Grey said approvingly.

“You don’t know the half of it…” Jana sighed before turning to face him again, “Now what is this about?” 

Grey spoke just a little more quietly than before. “At my age there is a fair chance that wishing me mortal could kill me right away. My heart could stop, my lungs deflate, the magic holding me together dispersing could leave me as a Grey shaped cloud of dust. I thought that you should say what you want to say without the little woman to worry you.”

“I…” Jana looked over her shoulder nervously, “Alright… fine. You got me… I’m afraid to be freed! I… I don’t know who I’d be without the magic after so long! Ella is such a sweet girl! She has been offering to free me from the lamp since day one and I have been coming up with excuses to stall it... She has been through so much in her life and… What good could I possibly be to her without my magic? What good am I to anyone without my power?” Try as she might not to cry, she couldn’t stop the droplets coming from her eyes almost like bubbles.

Grey was quiet for a long moment, “You are very selfless for a genie, you know that Jana? You’re willing to endure imprisonment for the sake of this girl?”

Jana all but waved off the comment. “It’s not imprisonment with her… I have my own room, my own things. She asks my opinion before we do things. I haven’t had someone be this kind to me in decades…”

Grey was quiet for a moment. “But it’s still her final word that decides how your magic is used.”

“I… Well… yeah.”

Grey nodded. “And you still have to be careful and aware of anything that might happen to your lamp to be safe.”

She nodded, not liking where this line of thought was going.

“You aren’t free, girl.” The old shark shrugged. “The cage has just gotten larger. That young woman out there I’m sure is wonderful, but she will age and you will not. She can grow and you will not... Is keeping your magic worth it for all that?”

“... No… I love her…” Jana stammered. “I want to stay with her… But…” 

“It’s frightening. I know…” He looked away as he remembered something from long ago. “I wanted my freedom so bad I didn’t know what to do with it when I had it. I just knew anything was better than I had been living. Your case is very different… What will you choose? A short, tough but meaningful life with Ella as equals? Or a longer sadder, more comfortable existence where the tough choice will come again at an even harder time… I can’t decide for you… But… I might be able to offer you a little hope.”

“What do you mean?” Jana said, the offer of hope derailing her internal debate over the decision. 

“Remember how I said I got my immortality?” Grey asked. “My last wish. Remember your last wish?”

“... Magic powers…” muttered Jana, remembering the fateful wish that had trapped her. “But… what powers?  You pulled me into the lamp before I could even try to do anything magical!”

The shark gave a small apologetic shrug. “I’m honestly not sure what you could do… Nothing as powerful as a true genie unfortunately. It could be anything from controlling the weather to changing your hair color for all I know. But if you have some magic as a human… maybe you could learn to do more with the right help.” 

“Learn magic the hard way from the ground up…” she considered the idea for a moment and nodded, “I might actually know someone who could help with that… Just need to keep my full powers long enough to get back up to Canada and ask her.”

Grey smiled, “Well it looks like both of us have a plan for moving forward now. Shall we call Miss Ella back in?”

“One thing first Grey…” Jana pulled back her hand and slapped the old shark across the face as hard as she could. “There. Now I’m satisfied and can have some closure. I wanted to do that while you were immortal just so I didn’t break your neck.”

“Oh yeah… Without the magic that would have broken something…” He grumbled, rubbing his cheek with one hand, but not complaining about the pain. He knew he deserved it. If this one personal touch was all the punishment Jana felt like giving him, he considered himself lucky. 

The genie and former genie looked up as Ella swam back in, “What was that? I heard something like the crack of a whip.”

“Just the sound of closure bunny.” Jana said, swimming over to her girlfriend who decided not to ask why ‘closure’ had left a large red hand print on Grey’s face. 

“Did you make your decision Grey?” Ella asked, taking Jana by the hand as she stood close by.

“I have. If you really feel like wasting a wish helping a crusty old fossil like me… I would be forever grateful… Well, maybe not forever, but for however long these old bones stay together.” The girls caught only the faintest pleading note in the back of his voice, and maybe a spark of desperation in his eyes. 

“Alright then.” Ella squeezed Jana’s hand a little tighter. “I wish to make Grey mortal again.”

Jana snapped his fingers. A light glow seemed to radiate from around the shark for a moment before dissipating. He seemed unchanged, except for maybe his eyes being a little brighter than before. He was hesitant to move to see if his body would hold together going through the water. He tested it by flexing his fingers, then when those didn’t break apart he moved his arm. “All new aches and pains…” He said in quiet wonder, “Or maybe I’d forgotten what hurt after so long…” 

He looked up at Ella and Jana and thanked them as equals. “You have no idea what this means to me! I feel like I could take on the world! I feel... I actually feel really hungry… God the things you don’t notice when you’re immortal!” He swam over and grabbed the two boots from the floor, ripping them up and disturbing the carpet of algae. From out of the boots came a handful of gold coins, as well as a small crab.

Grey seized the coins and crab as they floated down in front of him. He examined the crustacean for a moment, before attempting to bite into it. This only resulted in his teeth failing to crack the hard shell, and the crab pinching the shark on the nose, before dropping down and scuttling away.

“Damn…”  Grey huffed, angrily rubbing his nose. “Didn’t think these teeth would be that weak. I’m a shark, for god's sake!”

Ella and Jana both tried not to laugh. Both of them were relieved at not having to see the poor crab get eaten alive in front of them.

“Those coins might help.” Ella offered, helpfully. “We saw a couple of sushi places over in the town.”

“Speaking of which, we should probably head back.” said Jana. “The others might be wondering where we got to.”

“Right…” He examined the coins in his hand, then looked to see the second boot had even more gold in it. “I don’t even know what they use for money down here… Let’s hope I can use this to pay for something.” He swam for the exit and called back over his shoulder, “Come on girls! Diner is on me if any of this works!”

__________________________________________________________________

They made their way back to Tellonna quickly enough. It was a comforting thought to see Grey for the first time in decades appreciating the little things, like the light and warmth of the waters above his dark hovel in the deep. 

They were surprised to see three of their companions swimming out to meet them from the outskirts of the city; Box, Chase and Lance. 

Ella smiled, happy to see the lizard and the fish were holding hands, but she was a little surprised to see Box had… changed since they had last seen them. The jellyfish, who had been very clearly male in the restaurant, now wore a dress out of the same material as the skirt. Their skin had changed to a soft blue and their figure had shifted. Ella didn’t like to make assumptions, but Box now looked completely female.

“There you are!” Chase called, sighing with relief. “We were getting worried.”

“Sorry Chase. I was… meeting an old acquaintance.” She nodded at Grey who gave a sheepish wave toward the three newcomers. 

“Hello Grey. Don’t normally see you out and about.” Lance said with a warm smile.

“Yes well… After talking with these young ladies I think I might make an effort to get out a little more often… Enjoy the golden years a little. Speaking of which,” He held up one of his coins, “Know any restaurant I could use these to buy something to eat?”

Box swam over and took one coin to examine, “Oh yes, you could get a lot with one of these.” Their voice had changed too. “We have our fair share of gold down here from old ships. We are used to using them all over the place.” 

Ella cleared her throat. “Um… Excuse me... Box? Um… You are Box, right? Or does he have a sister?”

The jellyfish laughed at the nature of the question. “Yes Ella, I’m still Box. Don’t worry. I’m genderfluid. I just shifted to female earlier.”

“Genderfluid!? You’re trans too!” Ella was still a bit confused, but also excited now.

The jellyfish girl laughed. “Down here, lots of folks are genderfluid. Similar to how some humans are, only in our case, our bodies shift as well.”

“Y’know how some fish can change their sex if they need to?” added Lance. “Well, us merfolk can do it too, only more frequently, and sometimes a little more randomly.”

“Indeed.” said Box. “It’s why I had to excuse myself earlier while you were dancing. I could feel a shift coming, and it’s something of a faux pas to just shift in public like that.”

“That’s so cool!” Chase cut in. “The people down here don’t have the same hang ups about gender as the surface world, and between that, and the magic all over the place, people can adjust their identity anytime they want!”

Box giggled at how caught up her new friends were getting. “It’s always fun to see our new arrivals be so happy and impressed by something that’s so normal to us. Gender and sexuality are as changeable to us as the water, and fluidity is as natural as breathing.”

Ella could almost feel tears welling up inside her at that thought. And just when she thought this city was as beautiful as it could possibly get! Jana put an arm around her, “Didn’t I tell you you would love this place, bunny?”

“It’s wonderful! If I could bring my paint down here I’d consider moving in myself… But I’m assuming oil paint in the ocean is a bad idea.” She nuzzled against Jana’s shoulder in the embrace. 

The moment was ruined by a loud gurgling noise that made everyone look up. “What was that?” Chase asked, “A whale?”

“Almost…” Grey raised his hand sheepishly. “Sorry, it was my stomach. I did mention I was hungry.”

The group shared a little laugh and led the old man to the sushi shop they had swam past earlier. As Grey ordered one of everything on the menu, saying they could all help themselves and to whatever he wasn’t currently eating, Chase, Box and Lance stayed back with the girls to find a table. 

Lance cleared his throat and looked at Jana. “I’m sorry if this is awkward to bring up. I had meant to ask you about this earlier but you said you were a genie too correct? Cici even said that you’ve been to this city before?”

“That’s right.” Jana nodded, curious about where this idea might be going.

The lion fish took a deep breath, apparently to calm his nerves, “You wouldn’t happen to have known one… ‘Blood ‘n Guts Billy’ would you?”

Jana and Ella’s expressions must have been priceless. The look of shock told Lance that the girls had indeed heard of the infamous pirate. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.” he chuckled. “You see… He’s my grandpa.”

“Your grandpa?” Jana repeated, “That’s amazing! How is that old sea dog?”

“In better shape than your friend I’d say.” He nodded to Grey who was crying tears of joy eating an entire spicy tuna roll at once. 

“I’m glad to hear he’s alive. I was never sure if things would work out between him and that pretty young dolphin girl. She talked him into settling down after all?”

Lance laughed “Settled down? Not even a little. Grandpa Bill and grandma Echo have almost never stopped moving. Those two have seen the entire world and only stop home long enough to decide which of the little ones they’ll take with them on the next trip!”

Jana smiled at Ella, “With what I remember of Billy, that actually makes a lot more sense. Did they have a lot of kids?”

“Tons by human standards, not too much by merfolk levels,” he tried his best to count off on his fingers, “My grandmother was one of 6. My mom has only three siblings, but 20 cousins, and I’m the eldest of 7. I won’t even try to count my cousins and second cousins.”

Jana just smiled, happy the old pirate had so many to care for him, but the number seemed to break Ella and Chase a little. “Big family…” Ella said eventually.

“You have six siblings?” Chase whispered in quiet wonder. “I was an only child… what’s it like having that big a family?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t really think about it. Most merfolk have lots of siblings, so it just feels normal to me.” 

“But didn’t you say you were the oldest?” asked Chase. “You must’ve had a few years as an only child, before your siblings came along, right?”

Lance smiled. “I still had lots of cousins, honey!” The merman giggled. “A lot of us lived together, so it wasn’t that different from having siblings.”

Ella couldn’t help picking up on what Lance had just called Chase. “Honey?” She repeated, “Does this mean you two are a thing now?”

Chase blushed a deep green, as he tried to mutter a response. “Wha-?! Oh…! Well I…”

Lance grinned, only blushing a little as he looked up at the stammering mer-croc. “I’m more than happy to give us a try if you are, cutie!” He held out a hand for Chase to take.

The mer-croc looked at the merman, blushing deeply, before smiling and taking his hand. “I guess we’re a couple now.” he said, smiling at the others.

“Good for you two!” cheered Box, who had been enjoying the show from her side of the table.

Grey made a grunting noise (possibly a compliment?) as he carried on eating.

“That’s pretty quick, isn’t it?” Ella whispered to Jana, as the two boys gazed into each other's eyes. “I mean, they only met once before, a few weeks ago. Now they meet up for a day, and they’re talking about dating.”

Jana smiled wide, laughing to herself as she leaned in and whispered back “Princess, you do remember we only met two days ago right? I don’t think we are in any place to judge. Hell, we moved so fast we were living and sleeping together BEFORE we started dating!”

Ella was silent for a beat. “... Good point…” had it really only been two days since she had found this angel? How much her life had changed in so little time?

She smiled putting her arms around her girlfriend before speaking again. “Congratulations!” Ella said to the boys, “You already make a very cute couple!”

Lance then seemed to get an idea. “Hey, you know what?” He said grinning, “You should come and meet my family!”

“Wait, what?” said Chase

“Yeah! They’ll love you, Chase!” Lance giggled at his boyfriend's expression, before turning to Ella and Jana. “Do you two wanna come too? They’ll wanna meet you, and I think Chase would appreciate the company?”

Before answering, Ella looked over at Box and Grey. The jellyfish-girl was still sitting with the old shark, as he devoured an entire plate of shrimp. “Go ahead, you two!” said Box, smiling. “I’ll keep an eye on this one.”

Ella turned back to Lance, and nodded, before grinning at Jana. “Well! Off to meet the merman’s family!” She said, giddy with excitement. She could hardly believe how exciting her life had become.