Nature Cat: Quest of the Mer-Pups

## Summary

While on a beach campout, Nature Cat, Lola, Hal and Ringo befriend a small dog named Stormy, who is actually the crowned mer-pup princess of Meronia, and her sister, Indie, and they transform the eight friends into mer-animals. They are taken down to Meronia, where the king and the queen tell them of the ancient threat that has been targeting them, but no one will help them because they used to howl a song to sink ships like mermaids used to do. When Nature Cat promises to help them, and prove to the surface-dwellers they aren't evil, it's a race against time to save the magic of the mer-pups before it's too late.

## Characters

Nature Cat

Lola

Hal

Ringo

Lyric

Squeeks

Daisy

Jazz

Stormy

Adella

Indie

Pernaro

Hoax

Jinx

The Sea Witch

*(More characters to be added later.)*

## Story

Nature Cat was sleeping peacefully beside his pup friend, Lola. The two and their six other friends were having a campout on the beach, and they had gone to sleep over an hour ago. But, then, just as their minds began to fill with dreams, Hal and Ringo woke them up. "Lola, Nature Cat! Wake up!"

"Wha...? What is it, Ringo?" Lola asked, rubbing her eyes with her paw. "We heard something-- down by the water!" Hal said. Nature Cat suddenly flinched. "Well, if we wanna see what is distrurbing our sleep, we might as well get a little wet."

They walked to the pier, and scanned around. "Guys, I don't see anything," Lola said. "Maybe it was just your imagination playing--" She was cut off by a beautiful song. "What's that?" she asked. "That was the sound we heard!" Hal said. "Wait, was it? Yeah, it was!"

Nature Cat seemed puzzled. "But, there are no animals around here that make that kind of sound. What could it be...?" A black lab puppy popped up from the water, followed by another one. "Oh! Hello there!" Nature Cat greeted. "I am Nature Cat, and this is Hal, Ringo and Lola."

"Hi. I'm Stormy, and this is my sister, Indie," said the first black lab. "Nice to meet you, Stormy and Indie! It's me, Hal!" the large dog said happily. "What were you doing down in the water?" Ringo asked. Indie flipped up and showed them a green and pink fish tail, and Stormy showed them a purple and blue one. Ringo gasped and pushed his friends behind them. "They're mer-pups!"

"Are they anything like mermaids?" Nature Cat asked. Ringo nodded. "Something similar, yes. And they sing a special howl to hypnotize captains of ships to make them crash into the rocks!" Lola and Nature Cat gasped, frightened. 'No, no, no! Listen," Stormy tried to assure them. "We just wanna talk with you."

She hopped up on the deck, and in a swirl of blue smoke, her tail disappeared and was replaced with a set of back legs. Nature Cat rubbed his eyes, stunned. "Whoa... can all mer-pups do that?" Stormy shook her head, but smiled. "Just me and my sister."

"It's true," Indie said, doing the same thing. Ringo was immediately puzzled. "Wait wait wait, I am really confused. I thought the mer-pups were selfish and evil, not nice. No offense." Indie smiled. "None taken." Stormy agreed. "But, I'm sure you've heard of all the terrible things the mer-pups have done... and they're all true. But, it's not exactly the whole story."

Stormy: *For years we sang a song to send your boats
To the bottom of the ocean
We felt we must defend our rightful home
With passion and devotion
Till the day a land dog from a sinking ship
Went tumbling in the ocean
One look and then our king began to feel
A powerful emotion*

Indie:  *He knew he must save her
Withno time to waver
He swam fast and gave her the magic which changed her
Into a mer-pup*

*The king was our father
The land dog our mother
In wonders of wonders
They both soon discovered
A love like no other*

Both: *It's time to stop the fighting
Time to end the trails
Together we can turn the page
And start a new tale
If we could just begin a new
We could tell a new tale*

Stormy: *To the throne, our dear mother ascended
And soon recommended
The fighting be ended
Our father conceded
Our dark ways have been mended*

*So if you tell your people
We're no longer evil
We'll end this upheaval
And all will be peaceful*

*Yes all will be peaceful*

Stormy and Indie: *It's time to stop the fighting
Time to end the trails
Together we can turn the page
And start a new tale
If we could just begin a new
We could tell a new tale*

Stormy: *A new tale*

"So, you were just sinking our ships to defend your home?" Nature Cat asked. "And your mom was a dog that got turned into a mer-pup?" Lola asked. "Gimmie some whaaaaat?!"

"It's true," Indie said. "But, people still think we're bad news, and no one will help us in our battle against the sea witch." Nature Cat gulped. "S-S-Sea witch?!" he yelped. Stormy nodded. "Yeah. She's a cat with a black and green tail, and she's using her powers to cause chaos all over the ocean. No one will help us, but we have a feeling that you might! Will you? Please...?"

The look in Stormy's eyes made Nature Cat's heart melt; he couldn't stand to see poor creatures suffer, even mythical ones. He knew that he had to help them... even if it meant getting wet. "Oh, okay. We'll help." Indie smiled. "Oh, thank you, Nature Cat! Thank you!" She and her sister hugged him tightly. "Come on. If you guys are gonna come with us, we're gonna have to do something before we leave," Stormy said. You're first, Nature Cat. Follow me!"

She restored her tail and dove into the water. Nature Cat gulped. "Water... why does it *always* have to be water? Ohh... but if I want to help you and your people, I guess I do have to get a *little* wet. A little, mind you."

He carefully got into the water and swam over to Stormy. "Okay, Nature Cat. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to take hold of my paw, and try to stay calm at all times." Nature Cat gulped. "What, praytell, are you planning to do?" he asked. "You'll see," was all she said. Nature Cat reluctantly gave her his hand, and she smiled at him. "Remember, don't freak out, okay?" Nature Cat gulped. "All right..."

Stormy then closed her eyes as her tail began to glow. Then, a swirl of magic came out of it and started swirling around Nature Cat's legs. "Uh... hey guys? Is it just me, or does it feel like my legs are sticking together?" He strained harder than he ever had. "They're stuck! I... I can't move them!"

"Everything's under control, Nature Cat!" Indie assured. "Stormy knows what she's doing!" Nature Cat took a deep breath and let it out; he decided to trust the eldest mer-pup princess... even though he didn't know what was going to happen. There was another bright flash, and the glowing stopped. Nature Cat had to frantically move his arms to keep afloat. "Why aren't my legs moving?!"

"Look where your legs *usually* are, Nature Cat," Stormy said, swimming back just a little. Nature Cat was immediately puzzled. "*Usually*?" He brushed the thought off and did what she told him to do. He gasped and looked up. "Did I think happened what just happened...?" Stormy only smiled. "Hang on a sec. Gotta... try something."

He then ducked underwater, with his eyes closed. But, when he opened them and let out a gasp for air, he realized what Stormy had done wasn't a dream. When the magic from earlier swirled around his legs, it had changed them into a green fish tail with red zigzag stripes. "This is unbelieveable!"