/Author's Note: Time for some more adventures in Forget-Me-Not! I won't keep you long, but as always, I do have to thank those of you who are still reading and reviewing. It warms an old fanfiction writer's heart. Hooray for 60 chapters, and here's hoping for more in the near future! End Author's Note/

Character Notes:

- A refresher: Romana Melodia moved from Forget-Me-Not to teach at Flowerbud High, as was established a bazillion years ago, in Chapter 10.

Chapter 60: Relics of the Past

No matter which direction she looked in, Sacchun was surrounded by stretches of ocean.

The water only went up to her knees, so she couldn't have been that far in – and yet, there was no sandy white shore to be found behind her, or in front of her, or to the side. The sparkling expanse of blue had looked endless from the bus yesterday, but she'd never fathomed it could be this impossibly large. It reminded her of wading through the swimming pool in her childhood house, and its apparent endlessness to her young frame. Maybe that's where she was, and she'd naively mistaken it for an ocean.

But then, Sacchun realized she was naked – very, definitely, utterly naked - and her mother would never allow skinny-dipping in her luxury swimming pool (except for when she did it, of course). But Sacchun was not the famous actress Ruby Lee – she was just Sasha Yachiko, and she had no business being so distressingly nude in Ruby Lee's personal swimming pool. So, she decided, she must be in the ocean. Yes.

The sun – or something equally white and hot and oppressive – shone overhead, the water cheerfully sparkling and glimmering in response. The sky was so bright that she had a hard time picking out any clouds through her squinting eyes. It was then that she realized that someone had been calling out for help, while she had been busying herself with looking at the sky.

Sacchun swung around, her limbs heavy in the water. Someone was drowning. The voice warbled over from somewhere behind her, and Sacchun took off at a plodding run. The water lapped against her naked body, doing everything in its power to slow her down.

It was hard to tell whether minutes or seconds had passed when Sacchun finally saw it: a flash of gold bobbing up and down in the waves. Even with the blinding light and the water-logged vocalizations, Sacchun would recognize that straw-coloured hair anywhere:

"Meg!" Sacchun called out, "I'm coming!"

She tried to run, but got nowhere fast. Sacchun took exaggerated steps, lifting her legs well above the surface of the water, but this only tired her within a few feet. Meg was still calling out, still waving her arm wildly, but Sacchun wasn't getting any closer. Was there anyone else who could get to her sooner? Mom? Nami? L… Lucy?

No, Sacchun thought firmly, she wasn't going to let anyone else get to her. She'd save her, even if the water tore her limbs apart in the process.

For what it was worth, Nami was there, sitting atop a glistening rock, the only distinguishable feature for miles. With red locks which had inexplicably grown since the day before, long enough to cover her bare chest, she twirled her finger around the strands. Her bottom half was that of a fish, but her face was recognizable as always, for it was giving Sacchun a look of utmost derision. No, not just derision – there was smugness laced into her gaze as well. Stroking the red that pooled around her shoulders, Mermaid-Nami laughed mirthlessly at Sacchun's vain attempts to save Meg.

"Stoppit!" Sacchun barked, "Either help or go the hell away! Isn't this your job?! You're – you're supposed to be helping us!" She attempted to kick water at the mythologized-version of her English teacher, but to no avail. "You're never any help! Never! Why don't you help?! Isn't that what teachers are supposed to do?!" Her voice reverberated across the empty ocean, met only by Nami's continued laughter as it began to sound more beast than human.

Sacchun didn't have time to waste on the siren. She whirled around to find Meg again, only to find that she was somehow even further away. She took off at a run again, only for her legs to tire within another few paces. There was no hope.

Until there was. In the form a similarly-nude Joe.

Dashing through the ocean as if it were nothing, Joe shot towards Meg from the other side, kicking up white bursts of water at his sides. Sacchun didn't even care that the boy was nude, if it meant that Meg would be saved.

She decided she would meet him here, and together they'd pull Meg out of the tumult. Nami's laughter, still ringing in the background, meant nothing to her now.

Meg's honey-gold hair continued to bob, and Sacchun had to wonder how she had managed to stay above water for so long. It was downright miraculous, but she wasn't about to complain; any miracle was welcome by her.

She met Joe's gaze as they zeroed in on Meg, and Sacchun was starkly aware of just how nude she was – but she couldn't let that matter now – not when Meg was in danger. Meg came first.

Sacchun lunged for Meg as soon as she was within reach. Her usually-radiant hair seemed brown and dull after absorbing so much water, and it made her look unrecognizable. Grabbing her by the shoulders and hoisting her around, however, made Sacchun's breath hitch in her throat. It wasn't Meg – but it was definitely a familiar face.

Emitting a yelp, Sacchun tried to back away from the girl, only to slip and fall backwards into the water. She wasn't sure how she had mistaken her for Meg; with her dark hair in pigtails, her large, brown eyes, and her tiny, slightly upturned nose, it was clear that the girl was, in fact, the spitting image of Sacchun.

But she didn't have time for even a second glance; the surrounding water crashed in on her. The sand she was standing on just moments ago had given way, and now Sacchun was kicking wildly, willing her toes to touch some kind of ground. All she could feel beneath her was nothingness. She started to yell.

"Carl!" was the first name out of her mouth. She yelled it again, kicking to stay above the water's surface, hoping he would appear on the horizon, rushing towards her. "Carl!"

Of course, and she knew this before she had even begun yelling, Carl wasn't coming. He was nowhere to be seen. So she called for the only other person in her vicinity.

"Joe! Joe!"

Water poured into her mouth with every attempt at getting his attention.

"Joe! Joe, help!"

It was no good. She coughed and spluttered, and finally, the ocean claimed her.

# # #

"Now, make no mistake, ladies & gentlemen! Even if they were not the legal founders, it was the great Melodia family that first settled in Forget-Me-Not, and it was we who put it on the map," Romana prattled on, to the interest of no one. The students were spending the first portion of their day taking a tour of the Forget-Me-Not Villa, sitting high atop the valley's tallest hill. Supposedly, this was the building from which the rest of the city blossomed, and was, thus, of great historical significance. It was also, supposedly, Romana's house.

The music teacher hobbled along from one point of interest to the next, showing them anything from famous paintings of historical events to her broom closet, which, in her words, 'set the model for all broom closets in the valley'. The spot of pride in her voice as she said this was noted by everyone.

"All I can think about is that it's practically the size of my dorm room," Lloyd told Sacchun out of the corner of his mouth, and she giggled.

"I swear, if she starts talking about how her mop fought in a civil war against her hedgeclippers or something, I'm going to lose it." Joe muttered.

"The Battle of the Broom Closet," Sacchun whispered dramatically, "Families torn asunder, feather dusters taken prisoner, cleaning rags widowed as their husbands were forced into a war no one could have foreseen—"

Nami turned around and shushed them, putting an end to the Sacchun's colourful historical lecture.

Her attempt was, of course, effective for only a matter of seconds. "So… tell me more about that dream," Lloyd prompted, urging Sacchun to continue the discussion they had been having on the way up the hill, "You were at the part where Nami showed up as a mermaid, I think?"

Sacchun immediately cast Joe an uncomfortable glance, and fidgeted on the spot. She was remembering his role in the dream, and cursing her subconscious all the while.

"So what happened next?"

"Well…" Sacchun spoke out of the corner of her mouth, "Let's just save that for later. I barely remember it, anyway. Dreams, y'know?" She tried to avoid looking at Joe, who was preoccupied with his phone anyway.

Lloyd shrugged, put out by the loss of a perfectly good distraction. They had no choice but to pay attention to Romana's prolonged rambling, most of which went in one ear and out the other. Eventually, she allowed the students free reign to explore the villa – a decision that made Nami shake her head with grave disapproval. Nonetheless, the students scattered and took the opportunity to get as far from the teachers as possible.

"Meet back in half an hour!" Nami called hopelessly after them.

Lloyd, Joe, and Sacchun wandered about aimlessly, opening doors at random, having no particular interest in the dusty old building.

"They should've at least brought us here at night," complained Joe, "Then we might've run into some ghosts or something. This place is filled with nothing but cats and, like… old people things."

To emphasize his point, Sacchun was carrying a small litter of three kittens in her arms – a collection she had been growing throughout their sojourn. "But they're so cuuuuute! D'you think she'd notice if we kidnapped one?"

"Sacchun, put the cats back."

"Never! Either we all leave, or none of us do!"

The felines looked positively alarmed.

"Fine," Joe made himself as tall as he could and crossed his arms. "A challenge, then."

"Oh no." Lloyd intoned, "Not another one of your famous 'challenges'."

Sacchun, of course, agreed before anything else: "You're on! … What's the challenge?"

Tightening the knot of his bandana, Joe elucidated, "Whoever collects the most cats by the time we have to leave wins."

"Do we win the cats?!"

"… Probably not. But the loser does have to… eat some weird native thing. Like snail-flavored ice cream."

"Eww, is that actually a thing?"

"I guess one of us is going to find out!"

Lloyd had barely a moment to protest before his friends were off, terrified cats in tow. He could see no way in which this would not end in disaster. Bounding out of the doorway of whatever musty old room they were in, Lloyd fully expected to have to chase Joe and Sacchun to have vanished, resulting in a lengthy chase around the premises – but to his surprise, the two competitors were huddled together at the end of the hallway, right before the bend. They seemed to be listening intently to a conversation happening around the corner. Lloyd inched closer to join them, and Joe put a finger to his lips in warning.

"Lumina, wait—"

"No. I don't want to hear it. You should never have returned."

"Look, it's not like I wanted to come back—"

"When, Nami, have you ever done anything but what you wanted?

"I…"

One voice obviously belonged to their teacher, and the other to a woman of around the same age, though her voice was notably more distressed, and had a tone of haughtiness that resembled Romana's. The young woman – Lumina, Nami had called her - did not sound pleased in the least at the appearance of Nami – and it sounded as if she had encountered the fiery-haired demon before.

"What allegiances could you possibly have? What in this Goddess-forsaken world could make the great Nami Williams – or, what is it you go by now, Nami Linette? – do something against her almighty will?" The girl's voice never rose to the volume of a shout, but had all the intensity and venom of one. "In short, when the hell did you ever care about other people?"

The trio tensed: no one had ever spoken to Nami that way and gotten away without a scorching rebuttal.

Nami, however, responded with the voice of a mouse. "I… I suppose I see your point. You won't hear from me again."

"And what a loss that will be."

The conversation ended with an icy finality, and Lloyd, Joe and Sacchun darted into the nearest door within reach, just as Nami began to walk by them

Closing the door swiftly, they were plunged into darkness, and didn't dare to breathe until they heard the passing of their teacher's footsteps. A collective sigh was released, and they each chose a wall of the broom closet they had barged into to lean on.

Joe, as he was known to do, was the first to break the silence.

"…So what the hell was that about?"

# # #

Elsewhere in Romana's Villa were the few, rare students who actually took an interest in the relics of Forget-Me-Not's history. A large drawing room had been turned into a museum of sorts, sporting display cases filled with knick-knacks that went back to Forget-Me-Not's founding. Some of the objects on display made sense – town deeds, photographs of the town's evolution, family crests – and others seemed entirely arbitrary, like the collection of porcelain cats that seemed to have been hand-picked by Romana herself. The curtains were all drawn, muting the sunlight and making the building seem even stuffier. Something about the stifling temperature, the old-fashioned wooden panels of the walls, and the claustrophobic arrangement of the exhibit made the whole experience other-worldly.

Bob and Blue were languishing behind Gwen and Ann, complaining. "Is this seriously how we're spending our trip? In the oversized coffin Romana calls a house?" Blue asked darkly.

"Oooh, look at these old-fashioned horse shoes!" Gwen cooed at the misshapen pieces of metal through a glass case. "And look at this porcelain horse! It has little gems for eyes!"

"I think those are made from moonstones. And the figurine's made out of jade…" muttered Ann, peering in to get a closer look.

"You've got such a good eye for gems, Ann. Oh, this one looks just like my horse!"

"Yeah, but Gwen, we could be out ridin'… actual horses." The larger-than-average Bob lumbered around the room, earning disapproving glances from Romana every time he came close to knocking something over. "I feel like I'm gonna suffocate in here."

Gwen immediately turned a burning gaze on Bob. "If you really value your ability to breathe, I'd recommend staying far away from me, Bob. Because if not, I might just strangle you."

"Aw, don't be like that, Gwen!" Bob shouted, breaking the reverie of the room by his inability to control the volume of his voice. "Why can't you just forget about that whole… thing?"

"That whole 'thing'?" Gwen turned on him fully now, arms akimbo, eyes aflame. "You mean the despicable way you acted at that party last Friday? The way you took advantage of- You just want me to forget about it?

"Well, yeah. Y'can't blame me! What guy in there right mind wouldn'ta done what I did?"

"Seriously? That's your excuse? You were just being a 'guy'?"

Bob's square features tightened into a wide-mouthed scowl. He looked particularly bull-like as his nostrils flared. "I swear to the Goddess, Gwen, y'didn't always used to be like this."

"Like what, exactly?" Gwen had to be on her tip-toes to match up to Bob's height, even with her high ponytail, but she didn't show any signs of weakness.

"Let it go, man." Blue advised coolly, his words falling on ears deafened by anger.

"No, let him speak," Gwen's eyes bore into Bob's. "Like what?"

"Like such a damn bitch!" Bob's voice exploded like a firecracker, prompting Romana to squawk loudly. Alex and Parsley immediately began making their way over to the commotion, faces stern.

Gwen stood there, gobsmacked. Ann stood frozen beside her, keenly aware that all the eyes in the room were on them. Her face contorting into one last dirty glare, Gwen grabbed Ann by the hand and started leading her away. "C'mon."

"Yeah, take your little lesbian lover and leave, you bi—"

"That's quite enough, Bob!" Alex cut him off just in time, and the two girls made their getaway.

Ann felt her face and stomach burning, like she had just swallowed cinders. Gwen's grip felt similarly hot, wrapped around Ann's wrist, and she felt like she had been, once again, forced under the brightest possible spotlight.

She wrenched her hand from Gwen's as they closed the door behind them.

"S-Sorry," Gwen mumbled, "That was…" she trailed off; it was a rare occurrence that Gwen found herself lost for words.

Ann shook her head, her ponytail swinging; she was okay, but held her arms tightly to her chest regardless.

"Look, don't listen to him. He's… ugh." It was painfully clear that Gwen was trying to put on her usual air of confidence, but Bob's outburst had left her shaken. She swallowed several times, as if trying to push down the taste of the altercation. "He doesn't know what he's talking about," she said finally. "Don't let him get to you."

When her assurances were met only with silence, Gwen looked up at Ann's face, and she felt her own mouth fall open.

"So, I guess that's it," Ann's voice was quivering through a silent stream of tears. "I guess… I guess everyone knows, huh?"