A/N: Welcome to the sequel to "Belonging" everyone! Denman hasn't left the Gold Coast and has some dark suspicions; how will the girls deal with her being back on their trail? Enjoy, guys! Here is chapter 1 : ]

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One Month Later - Dr. Denman

The fire department told me that the fire had been an accident – that they hadn't seen any evidence of arson at the scene, and that it appeared to simply have really been from the freak electrical storm. Well, I know better. That's exactly what I've been expecting them to tell me – that there was no evidence of arson. There wouldn't be any evidence of arson if the fire were started by bolts of lightning. However, a freak electrical storm isn't the only way that lightning bolts could strike my lab, and I know damn well that there was no storm coming our way any time soon.

Jerry had the gall to tell me that I should ease off of the mermaid project. He said that it was affecting me too much and I knew what that meant – he thinks I'm in too deep. He thinks that I'm beginning to lose it a little. I don't give a rat's ass if I'm losing it – I haven't come this close to going down in history just to give it up and move along. I'm not stupid, even if these girls seem to think that I am. The Dean girl had some dangerous abilities at her disposal. Faking their weakness while she was with me could have just been an act – I'm sure she held a lot back from me that I would have found out. But I'm beginning to think that this fire was a cover-up, I can feel it in my bones. I don't know if she managed it on her own or if she was helped, but I have a strong feeling that Cora Dean didn't die in that fire. I still have her contact information from when that little sneak was my intern, and so I've decided to drop by her last address just to see for myself if she is alive or dead.

I walked through the doors to the condo complex and glanced around – I used to live somewhere quite similar when I was in school; simple, basic, nothing fancy. I sighed impatiently and cut my blue eyes towards the elevator. I had no idea what number she lived at, or even what floor. That address that I have is merely the address of the complex itself. I glanced to the side slightly to see if anybody was watching me and started to make my way towards the first-floor homes. Then I heard a thickly accented voice.

"Excuse me – who are you? You are not one of my tenants."

I turned and saw a small but rather muscular middle-aged Asian man coming out from a door behind the front desk. His eyes were cut and he glared at me, examining me carefully. I pushed on my most charming smile and approached him.

"Oh, hello sir! I'm looking for a young woman by the name of Cora Dean. I'm told that she is one of your tenants – can you point me in the direction?"

"No, I cannot help you. You must leave – no unregistered guests." He said while still eyeing me strangely. Inside my head I threw a few choice obscenities in his direction but I smiled politely and took a business card out of my wallet and held it out to him.

"Oh all right, well if you see her just give me a call, yeah?" I said. His frown didn't budge and he didn't take my card.

"I cannot help you!"

I seethed a little but pursed my lips into a tight smile and nodded at him. I turned and with a flip of my straight blonde hair I was gone. I wouldn't cause a scene – this time. Not yet. I still have a little work to do before I start throwing a fit, but if things don't work out the way that I have planned there will be hell to pay – and I will not be the one paying.

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Emma

I was pushing the vacuum around the living room when I felt my phone going off in my back pocket. I flipped the vacuum off and slid my phone out of my pocket – it was Cora. I tucked my hair behind my ear and plopped down on the couch to make myself comfortable.

"Hi, Cora!"

"Hey, Emma…" I heard her voice through the phone. I knew it was Cora, but this didn't sound like Cora, Cora.

"Cora, what's up? You sound upset."

"Well, my landlord was just here. He was a little concerned, he came to tell me that some woman was here looking for me earlier. He said he didn't like the energy she was putting out – you know how Mr. Shen is. When I asked who the woman was, he said that she didn't give him a name but she was a tall blonde and that she tried to give him her card. When he said that, I knew that it wasn't you." She spoke slowly and sounded a little nervous. My face blanked and I felt my stomach turn to ice and drop.

"Denman."

"She knows, Emma. Or at least has a very good idea…" She spoke so carefully that it felt like she was worried that she would scare me. I was silent for a minute and my mind raced – Denman had come to Cora's looking for her and that meant that she knows, or at the very least thinks that Cora wasn't killed in the fire. This was bad. This was very bad, but I quickly organized my thoughts and shook myself out of it.

"Okay, Cora, this isn't good. She knows where you are! This is what I need you to do: You need to pack right now and call Lewis – you're going to be staying with him for a while."

"Emma! What about you? The fact that she's still here means that the three of you are still at risk, too."

"We'll discuss it later. She knows you're a mermaid, Cora, but she has no proof that the three of us still are. Just please, pack now and get out of there." I pressed further. I heard her groan over the phone, a groan similar to the ones I hear from Rikki almost every day.

"But Emma, you know what I am… I'm not going to be able to leave you three alone until…" She trailed off but I knew where she was going; she was still a Protector, and the fact that there was still danger meant she was still programmed to keep Cleo, Rikki and myself safe above everything else. I sighed quietly and gently cut her off.

"Try to ignore it, Cora, for us. You'd be helping us by trying to hold it back. We need you to be extra careful until your powers come back, okay? We'll see the both of you tonight." I said it firmly, but I kept my voice calm. This was a bad, bad situation but I didn't want her panicking over the three of us even though I knew it wasn't exactly something that she could control. We could handle ourselves and she knew it, but the Protector in her didn't know or care. She was quiet for a second before she replied.

"Okay, Emma. See you tonight."

"Be careful, Cora." I replied, and gently let my phone slip shut and out of my hand to rest on the couch cushion next to me. I let out a sigh of frustration and ran my hands over my face quickly. This war was far from over, but if this lunatic wants a fight then she's going to get a fight she'll never forget.

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A/N: Denman is back on the trail! She's begun to let her obsession badly affect her sanity – How will the girls deal with her when this makes her even more dangerous? Reviews are beautiful, thanks so much for reading guys! Let me know what you think of the first chapter (I know it was short, they'll get longer like my other ones I promise! : D ) Take care everyone!