C-4: Rose's Swim - Anika and Kevin H.

Rose and Rosie woke up to the sound of waves lapping at the beach.  The sun was already up and the birds sang in the trees as if in greeting.

"Beautiful" Rose thought with a smile as she stretched the sleep from her joints.  Rolling over, she looked into Rosie the cat’s eyes and saw the need for adventure staring back at her.

"Let's take a walk on the beach." Rose offered the cat.

Rosie responded by jumping off the bed and casually walking towards the door of the hut with her tail held high in the air, swaying back and forth with every step.

The two friends arrived at the beach and marveled at the scenic view of the waves rolling in from the vast sea.  As they strolled along the perfect sand beach, they noticed a spot of pink in the distance.  Curious, they made their way towards it.  As they approached, the spot grew into a figure.  It was a girl dressed in bright pink and she had a little brown dog with her.  Even more curious to discover who this person was, Rose and Rosie approached to investigate.

The girl looked a little different with her yellow skin, but her hair was quite beautiful and still felt normal somehow.  Rose immediately felt comfortable around her and introduced herself to the girl.

The girl's name was Chelsea and her dog's name was Rose and they were quite friendly.  They sat and talked on the beach for a while and Chelsea and Rose became friends.  The cat and dog played on the beach together while the two girls talked about the adventures that had had that brought them both here to this island paradise.

As they talked, Chelsea mentioned that she had discovered clues to an ancient treasure hidden in the depths of the ocean.  This sounded like all kinds of fun so the two girls made a pact.  Whoever could find the treasure first would share it with the other.  They exchanged cell phone numbers (Both had compatible networks for some weird coincidence) and promised to call when they discovered anything else.  Hours had passed as they talked on the beach so they decided to go on their way.  With a great big hug, they wished each other the best until they met again and went on their way.

Rose and Rosie returned to basecamp where they filled Lily and Andrea in on what had been learned.  Treasure existed on the planet and they just needed to find a way to get to the bottom of the ocean to get it.  

Andrea immediately had an idea.  She pulled out her tools and got straight to work.  Within an hour, she had invented a transmogrifier gun.  It allowed her to change the cell composition of any living creature to adapt to their environment.  

Heading off to the beach, Andrea instructed Rose to step out into the ocean and then used the transmogrifier on her. "Zap!" Rose’s legs fused together and changed into a giant tale.  She grew gills on the side of her neck as well as protective film over her eyes to better see in salt water.  She had been transformed into a mermaid!

"Take care of Rosie" Rose called as she dove under the waves and flipped her tale once in the air as if to wave goodbye.

Being a mermaid was amazing!  Rose loved the feeling of gliding through the blue depths of the water as if flying.  She was thrilled by the experience and couldn't stop smiling despite herself.  Pumping her mermaid tail, she descended deeper to the bottom floor of the sea and swirled about the sea weed and coral in the sand.  She flitted about like a hummingbird in a garden, each meter travelled bringing a new wonder before her eyes.  But nothing could prepare her for the gate.

She stopped in her tracks and marvelled as she discovered the gold wrought gate that loomed up from the depths.  It was intricately carved and mounted into a wall of sand colored stone.  It would have been easily missed by the casual observer.  Rose had been lucky to swim upon it.  If she had gone a couple of feet (or fins now) to either side she would have passed by it for sure.  She came to a stop before the massive gate and stared in awe and wonder.