Lost, Found and Trapped
"Amaris." Mimmi exclaimed for the hundredth time of the day. They couldn't find her anywhere on the island and Mimmi was thinking about giving up. She thought the young mermaid might have decided to dive back into the ocean where she safely belonged. She was afraid of Chris and Karl, who were land people, after all and mermaids aren't usually friends with land people.
"Amaris." Chris asked right after Mimmi did. "Maybe, she's gone back to your boat?" Chris suggested in attempt to sooth Mimmi's nervousness. "We should check."
"No, Ondina already checked there." Mimmi lied immediately. "I just hope she's alright."
"Don't worry, Mimmi. We'll find her." Chris said to reassure the brunette mermaid.
"This way." Mimmi said pointing to a specific location. "That way's a dead end."
"Ah. Do you come her a lot?" Chris asked realizing Mimmi knows more about Mako island than he thought.
"No, why?" Mimmi asked nervously. She wouldn't want him to get suspicious after all.
"You just seem to know the place pretty well." He stated.
Chris then looked in front of him to continue walking to find Amaris and he immediately made eye contact with the young mermaid. She was frightened. What if the land boy found out about her? She turned around and ran away as quick as she could, she did just learn to walk after all.
"Amaris!" Chris said looking extremely confused. Why would she run away from him? "Amaris, come back!"
Mimmi was a bit startled, but she ran after Chris. She really needed to find Amaris.
"Amaris! Wait!" Chris said, but she didn't listen. "I won't hurt you." He stated to try and reassure her.
"Amaris!" He screamed again, but the mermaid continued to run.
They ran through Mako island's jungle for a good five minutes before Amaris fell down a hole in the ground as she screamed.
The little mermaids realized that she was in a cave and that Chris could easily reach her by entering it too. She was terrified of what might happen to her. She looked around in attempt to find an escape and luckily for her, it ended up being the moon pool where she could easily get out.
"Over here." She heard Chris say to Mimmi.
Mimmi joined Chris who found the entrance to the cave and they both went in. Amaris heard them and she jumped right into the pool to escape the land boy.
Chris got in first and he saw the pool immediately. It looked like someone had jumped in.
"She must have swum out." He suggested to Mimmi. The brunette mermaid looked into the pool to make sure there was no mermaid in sight. "Why was she so scared of me?"
Mimmi shrugged her shoulders as a response to his question. She couldn't really tell him she was a mermaid and that mermaids are afraid of land people, could she?
Chris looked back into the pool as Mimmi let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She was relieved that the young mermaid was nowhere in sight, but she was scared of lying to Chris again.
"So, I guess we should joind Karl, Ondina and Wei Lan to continue looking." Chris said as he walked towards the entrance of the cave they were in.
"I guess." Mimmi said as she followed him.
Chris tried to climb back up, but it was too steep and too slippery.
"Huh." He said.
"What?" Mimmi asked her crush.
"I can't climb back up." He stated.
"Let me try. Maybe I could help you once I'm up there." Mimmi suggested confidently.
She walked straight in front of Chris and tried to pull herself up. She was able to climb on one rock, but her foot slipped and she fell down.
Luckily for the mermaid, Chris was right behind her and caught her before she could hurt herself. He held her tight by the waist.
"Thank you." She said sheepishly as she turned around to face him. His hands were still around her petite frame and she liked it a lot. She looked down as she tried to hide her red cheeks.
"So, what do we do now?" Chris asked.
"We try again." Mimmi suggested. There are no other options anyway. Otherwise, she'd be revealing her secret to him.
Mimmi proceeded to climb back up, but Chris grabbed her wrist.
"Mimmi." He warned, but she tried to climb anyway and she fell again.
"Mimmi." He repeated. "Stop trying to climb, it's too steep."
"How are we going to get out?" She blurted out anxiously.
"We swim." He suggested and Mimmi's eyes widened.
"What?" Mimmi asked.
"Come on. Amaris did it, so I'm pretty sure we can too." He said to reassure her not knowing that was not why she was anxious.
"No." She said,
"Why not?" He asked raisind and eyebrow.
"I can't swim." She said in a low voice trying to sound shy.
"Don't be silly, you swam with me at the Marine Park." He said to her.
"I know, but I used a floaty." She lied. It was killing her, but she couldn't just tell him now. "That's why I asked you to close your eyes."
"It was?" He asked. "I thought it was so I could feel the dolphin's energy."
"No, I was just embarrassed." She told him.
They both stayed silent and lost in their thoughts. Why was Mimmi so reluctant about swimming? Chris thought to himself. How are they going to get out without her revealing her secret? Mimmi thought to herself.
Then, Chris took one of Mimmi's hands between one of his.
"I'll be right there, Mimmi. I'll make sure you're safe." He said to reassure her.
He was so nice and respectful to her. She felt awful about what she was doing to him, but she couldn't betray her friends and the pod.
"I appreciate that, but I don't want to go in the water." She stated.
"Are you afraid of it?" He asked her.
"Maybe." She said trying to act shy.
"I'll go in first and then you can join me. I'll make sure everything will be fine." He said not letting go of her hand.
"I'll try to climb again." Mimmi said trying to act confident even if she knew she wouldn't be able to do it without magic.
Chris looked at her a bit overwhelmed. She sure was something.
He stood right beside her to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself as she climbed. Her foot slipped, again, and he caught her before she hit the ground.
"Now are you resuming to swimming?" He asked her rhetorically.
Mimmi sat down on the sand to think. Ondina and Wei Lan are going to notice she's missing and they are going to rescue her from the cave. At least, she hoped so.
What if a mermaid from the pod swam in the moon pool while they were there? Mimmi couldn't risk that. Why is everything so complicated? Mimmi thought to herself.
Chris sat beside her but put his feet into the pool.
"The water is really warm." He said to lure her in.
"I know, it's always warm." She blurted out and her eyes widened.
"You've been here before?" He asked. "I'll say it again; you know the island pretty well."
"That's not what I meant. I mean, this is obviously connected to the ocean and the water in the ocean is always really warm." She struggled to explain.
"Right." Chris said knowing there was something suspicious about her answer.
"Well, how about I swim out and come back to make sure everything is safe and then you come with me?" Chris asked in order to sooth Mimmi.
"I don't want to go in the water." Mimmi said a bit more dryly.
"Come on. Do you want to stay stuck here forever?" Chris asked starting to become annoyed with her.
"No." She said looking down. How will she get out of this?
"Then we swim out." Chris said.
"No." She said sternly.
"What is your problem, Mimmi?" Chris asked dryly and Mimmi gasped.
Keeping the secret was tearing them apart. It was causing trouble more than anything, but she couldn't betray her friends.
"What?" She asked surprised that he snapped.
"I'm sorry, Mimmi. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't understand how you know so much about the ocean, yet you don't want to go in the water." He stated.
She looked down and she didn't know what to respond. Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, Chris looked at the rippling of the water.
"It looks completely safe, Mimmi. I'm sure we can go through easily." He said to her.
She stared at the pool and didn't respond.
Then, everything happened too fast. Chris put his hand in the water to touch it and said it was warm and then, he proceeded to splash Mimmi with it.
Mimmi reacted immediately by putting a hand in front of her and closing her eyes expecting the water to touch her, but it didn't.
"Hum… Mimmi?" Chris asked looking completely confused.
She opened her eyes on at a time and slowly and realized why Chris looked so confused.
Her eyes widened in fear.
"Why is the water floating in midair?" He asked fascinated by the floating droplets of water.
"I don't know." The mermaid said as she put her hand down. The droplets of water immediately fell back into the pool. Chris eyes widened and he lightly gasped.
"You did this." He stated in shock.
"What?" She asked like she didn't know what he was talking about.
"Mimmi, it followed the movement of your hand. You did this." He said again. "Mimmi… You can trust me. Stop lying to me."
"Can I trust you?" She asked.
"Of course you can." He said.
"Even if I've been lying to you since I met you?" She asked.
"You have?" He asked.
"Yes." She said and he slowly caught on.
"You're not afraid of the water, are you? Ever since I met you, strange things involved you and water." He said.
"No. I'm not afraid of the water." She said sheepishly.
"What could you be hiding that is that big?" He asked.
She breathed in.
She got up and dove right into the pool. She waited at the bottom for her transformation to happen and she swam back up.
Chris froze in shock.
"You're a mermaid." He stated.
"I am." She said with a weak smile.
"This is amazing. I always knew the ocean hid many secrets." He said with a huge smile.
"You'll keep this to yourself, right?" She asked.
"Of course I will. I can't imagine what would happen if people found out there was a mermaid living on the gold coast." He said.
"Actually, I'm not the only one." She said.
"You aren't?" He asked.
"No, more like a hundred mermaids live on the gold coast." She said.
"What?" He asked. "How could people have never seen them?"
Mimmi wiggled her hand and she became invisible. She reappeared a couple of seconds later.
"That is one of the reason nobody knows about us." She said to him.
"This is incredible." He said in complete awe. "Do you have other powers?"
"Yes, but it would be too long to list them all." She told him. "But basically, I have control over water and the weather."
"This is incredibly amazing." He said. "Were you born like that?"
"Yes, I was born a mermaid. I only got legs about a year ago." She explained.
"How?" He asked.
"I used my moon ring. It holds the power of the moon and magnifies our powers." She explained.
"Wow." He exclaimed. "So, do I know any other mermaids?"
"Yes." She told him, but she felt like she was betraying her friends and her pod.
"Ondina, Wei Lan, Amaris, Rita and Zac." She said.
"Wait. Zac is a merman?" He asked in shock.
"And my brother." She stated.
"What? This is just, too weird."
Just as Chris finished his sentence, Zac surfaced in the moon pool.
He opened his eyes only to see Mimmi in the pool and Chris sitting on a rock. His eyes widened and he looked angry.
"Zac… I can explain." She said to her brother nervously.
"So I guess now we can just tell anyone about our secret?" He said dryly. "You said you'd wait until you could make sure we can trust him."
"I had to tell him." She said.
"Why, just so he wouldn't walk away from you?" He said and Mimmi's eyes filled with tears.
"How could you say something like that?" She said to her brother as Chris just stood there awkwardly.
"You know I'm better than this, Zac. I wouldn't just tell land people about the biggest secret of our life!" She said a lot louder.
"That's what you just did." He said on the same tone.
"No. We were stuck here. We came her by the land entrance and weren't capable of climbing back up. He tried to convince me to swim out, but I refused. He ended trying to splash me and I used my power involuntarily. I had to explain it to him." She said.
"You still could've been more careful." He said to defend himself.
"Why are you so angry?" She asked.
"You could've consulted me before telling him." He said.
"You weren't exactly here at the exact moment he saw me use my power so, no, I couldn't have consulted you before." She said.
"But I'm your brother. I should help you with all of this. I'm the one who lived on land all of his life." He retorted.
"You think you know more about land people than I do and that's why you think we can't trust him." Mimmi said and Chris winced as he heard them talking about him.
"I just know how land people can be when it comes to things like this. I just want to protect you. I'm your brother, that's my job." He said to his sister.
"Ah, so that's what this is about. You might be my brother, but I can take care of myself. Zac, you have to trust me. We can trust Chris. I'm sure of it." She said to her younger brother.
"Of course you can trust me. I would never do anything to hurt you guys, I promised." Chris intervened.
"I hope so, because if you break your promise, water won't be the only thing I use my power on." Zac said trying to sound threatening.
"Zac." Mimmi interjected. "Are you going to threaten every guy I like?" She asked forgetting Chris wasn't too far away and when she remembered, her cheeks turned red.
"I'm sorry Mimmi. It's just, I don't know the guy. I just want to make sure he's trustworthy." He said to his older sister.
"He is." She said again. "I'm sure of it."
"Okay." He said.
"It's okay. I'm not the one who's going to expose you guys." Chris said to Zac.
"Great. I'll leave you two to it now." Zac said and he swam out still shaken up by the situation.
Mimmi breathed in and out to calm herself and then faced Chris again.
"I'm sorry about him. He's just trying to be a good brother. We haven't known each other until recently." She explained.
"How, you guys are siblings, right?" Chris asked the mermaid.
"Yes, but we only learned about it a couple of months ago. I grew up with the Mako pod even though I was born in the Northern pod."
"Northern pod? There is more than one pod?" He asked Mimmi.
"Yes, there are pods everywhere. I was born near Canada and Zac was too, but mermaids are afraid of mermen, so our mother put him for adoption on land. He grew up here and I grew up around Mako." Mimmi explained to the dolphin trainer.
"What about your mother? Is she here?" He asked and Mimmi teared up.
"She didn't come to the Mako pod with me. She disappeared not long after and no one has seen her since then." Mimmi said and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Mimmi." He said sincerely.
"Thanks." She said.
"So, can we get out now?" He asked.
"Yes, of course. I'll lead the way." Mimmi responded.
Chris jumped in the water to join Mimmi and they swam out. Chris was a bit overwhelmed by seeing her swim underwater so gracefully. She reached for his hand and held on tight to make sure he'd be able to follow. They swam underwater for about a minute and then they surfaced.
Chris was more than eager to breathe again.
"How long can you hold your breath for?" He asked out of breath.
"I've never counted, but pretty much as it pleases me." She responded. "Well swim to that beach over there. It's quite secluded and I'll dry you there."
"Dry me?" He asked confused.
"It would look suspicious if we said we swam out of the cave if you're wet and I'm not." She stated and he nodded in agreement.
They swam for about five minutes before reaching the shore. Chris easily stood up and walked on the sand while Mimmi was dragging herself on the sand.
"Do you need help?" He asked the vulnerable mermaid.
"It's okay. I'm fine." She responded as she dried her tail and gained her legs back.
Chris was looking at her in awe.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to get over this. This is so incredible." He said.
"Now, are you ready to get dry?" She asked and he nodded.
She raised her hand and used her power on him. It only took a couple of seconds.
"Now, I need to talk to Ondina and Wei Lan. Do you think you can keep Karl occupied?" She asked.
"Sure." He said to her. "Wait."
"What?" She asked as she turned around since she already started to walk away.
"So, do you really like me? Like, for real?" He asked her. Her cheeks reddened and she looked down.
"What if I did?" She asked trying to sound confident.
"Your lack of confidence is adorable." He said as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Do you, hum, happen to like me too?" She asked shyly.
He did not answer her, but he leaned in and she realized what he was about to do, so she leaned in too until their lips met in a chaste, but passionate kiss.
When they broke apart, he rested is forehead on hers and they both smiled like lovesick people.
"Okay, I really need to go speak to Ondina and Wei Lan." She said. "I'll see you later."
"Of course you will." Chris told the mermaid as he winked at her.
Then, they part ways: Chris to distract Karl and Mimmi to talk to the other mermaids.
When she finally found them, she didn't really know how to approach things.
"Hey, did you find Amaris?" Mimmi asked.
"We did and she is now safely back to the pod." Ondina said proudly.
"Great." Mimmi said fidgeting. "Look, there's something you guys need to know."
"And what might that be?" Ondina asked.
"It looks kind of serious." Wei Lan added.
"I'll just say it straight up. Chris knows about us." Mimmi said bluntly.
"What?" Ondina shouted.
Then, Mimmi explained everything that happened in details and she made sure to explain how they can trust Chris to keep their secret and she did tell them about their kiss. Ondina was a bit mad at her for revealing their secret to a land boy without consulting her, but she knew couldn't blame her since something similar happened to Eric and her before she knew he was a merman.
"What's done is done." Ondina said. "I just hope he'll keep his word."
"I'm sure he will." Mimmi responded.
"You really like him, don't you?" Wei Lan said.
"Yeah, I really do and I'm happy I don't have to lie to him anymore." She said with a warm smile.
"Speaking of him, where is he?" Ondina asked.
"He's keeping Karl occupied so I could tell you guys what happened." Mimmi explained.
"Can you make sure he keeps him occupied until I leave?" Wei Lan pleaded.
"Is he that bad?" Ondina asked.
"Yes." Wei Lan said. "He tried to ask me out and he wouldn't take no for an answer even though I said it clearly."
Mimmi chuckled. "Yeah, he's really special."
"No kidding." Wei Lan said. "I'm going back to Rita's."
Wei Lan quickly dove into the water and the other mermaids joined Karl and Chris.
"Where's Wei Lan?" He asked.
"She went back to our boat with Amaris. We're just telling you that we are leaving." Mimmi lied.
"Okay, tell her I'd love to see her again." Karl said.
"Will do." Ondina said grinning thinking she could use this against Wei Lan.
"Ondina." Mimmi scolded.
"Well, we're leaving. It's been a pretty long day." Mimmi said.
Chris approached her and kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" He murmured in her ear.
"Of course." She responded smiling.
The mermaids walked away from the boy and waited for them to leave before diving into the water to reach Rita's grotto. Once they did, they found Wei Lan sitting with Poseidon on her lap.
"Well, that was a stressful day." Ondina stated. "I'm never bringing them on land again."
"And I'll do everything in my power to make sure to never cross paths with Karl again." Wei Lan stated. "He looked so desperate."
"It was a very stressful day. I can't believe Chris knows about us now." Mimmi said reflecting on her day. "Do you think Amaris will disobey you again?"
"I don't think so. She was pretty scared of the boys and I think she had her lesson." Ondina said. "You know, Wei Lan, Karl asked me to tell you he'd love to see you again."
"Ew." Wei Lan said. "I don't want to see that guys again."
Then, Wei Lan threw a pillow at Ondina and it started a pillow fight between all of the girls who were laughing really hard. Feathers were flying everywhere.
Zac then walked in and stopped the fight.
"Girls." He shouted, but it was no use. They couldn't hear him.
He decided to walk straight into the pillow fight and he grabbed Mimmi to bring her somewhere quieter so he could apologize for his behavior. Mimmi was startled by his actions, but she followed her brother to the pool in the grotto anyway.
"What's wrong?" She asked him.
"I wanted to apologize about my behavior earlier today." He said.
"Go on." She said dryly.
"I'm sorry about what I said. I'm just so scared he'll hurt you." He said truthfully.
"I told you we could trust him. Don't you trust my judgement?" She asked a bit hurt.
"I do trust. I have difficulties trusting him. I don't know him and my job as your brother is to protect you." He said to her.
"I'll be fine, Zac. If anything goes wrong, you're the first one I'll ask for help." She said to her brother.
"Good." He said as he reached for a hug that she accepted eagerly.
"Do not give him my number." They heard Wei Lan shout.
"Then, go get me some prawns." Ondina demanded.
"I'm not your slave. Go get them yourself." Wei Lan said.
"Then I'll give it to him." Ondina said.
"Then, I'll just have to change my number." Wei Lan shouted.
Mimmi and Zac looked at each other and laughed at the situation. Those two sure are something.
As soon as I saw episode 11, Lost and Found, I had this idea in my mind but since I was on a vacation, I couldn't write it. I hope you guys enjoyed it and thank you for reading. I have a couple of other ideas for one-shot concerning the third season, but I will finish my other story, Chris, first.