Word Count: 3000 exactly
It was the one year anniversary of Hannah, Willow, and Anita's transformation into mermaids, and the three girls had decided to celebrate on Mako Island. Hannah had brought cookies-she liked to bake-, Willow had brought balloons and glitter-she liked sparkly things-, and Anita, as always, had brought herself-which of course prompted scalding from Willow and withholding of cookies from Hannah, but Anita settled the whole thing by icing them both, causing yelps of surprise from her friends. What the three mermaids weren't expecting, however, was the arrival of a fourth mermaid. They especially weren't expecting a mermaid seemingly in her mid-to-late twenties who was wearing a wedding ring.
"Who are you," Willow demanded, "and what are you doing in the Moon Pool?" She instinctively made a fist, and almost immediately the water started steaming.
The unknown mermaid sighed. She held up a hand and Hannah, Willow, and Anita watched in amazement as the steaming stopped and a thin film of ice covered the Moon Pool. "I could ask the same thing of you," she asked coolly. "Because I know for certain that I've been coming here longer than you three."
Anita exchanged a look with her friends and stepped forward. "I'm Anita. I can freeze water, like you. The one threatening you is Willow, who, as I'm sure you've guessed, can heat water. And the one holding cookies is Hannah. She's able to manipulate and control the water around her."
The mermaid nodded. "Thank you, Anita. I'm Emma."
"How long have you been a mermaid?" Hannah asked, excitedly, forgetting that she was supposed to be wary. "We've been mermaids for a year, but we thought we were the only ones."
Emma smiled. "I've been a mermaid for eleven years."
"Have you met other mermaids?" Willow asked.
Emma grinned. "Have I? I was transformed with my best friend and a girl who would become my other best friend. God knows Cleo spent more time than she deserved breaking Rikki's and my fights up, though," she muttered.
"Wait, Rikki? As in, Rikki's Cafè, right near the water?" Willow asked.
Emma smiled. "Yeah."
"Mr. Bennett, the owner, he knows we're mermaids." Hannah admitted.
"You told him?" Emma looked skeptical.
"No!" Anita cried, seeming a bit defensive. "He found out on his own!"
"One of the servers spilt juice on Han four months ago," Willow explained, "and he saw her reaction to it."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, he picked her up bridal style and carried her to his office."
"How'd you know?" Hannah asked.
"I've known Zane since I was three. Plus, Rikki used to joke that he spent half his time being Prince Charming and the other half the wicked stepmother."
"Rikki, as in, the name of the cafè?"
"Rikki, as in the girl the cafè was named after, my friend."
"Oh, right." Hannah blushed.
Emma looked at her critically. "You are just like Cleo. Not just your power set, your personality. It's like I'm seventeen again."
"Thank you?"
"Oh, trust me, that's a compliment. Cleo is one of the best people on the planet. You… she's going to absolutely adore you."
"What do you mean?" Willow asked. "Are you planning to kidnap her?" Her hands started to clench again. Her parents had gone AWOL when she was seven, and she'd been shuttled from relative to relative since then (currently she was staying with an aunt, but she wasn't expecting that to last past the end of the calendar year), so she didn't trust easily. Not even Emma, who didn't seem to have ulterior motives at all, was given amnesty from her thorough character evaluations.
Emma seemed truly flabbergasted. "What? No! I simply meant that Cleo has exciting news, which means we're going to end up celebrating, and you three are celebrating, and you already seem to trust the weakest link of our group, so-"
"Weakest link?" Hannah interrupted.
"Zane. Believe it or not, he and Rikki used to be mortal enemies, So did he and Cleo. Even after he and Rikki started dating, it was touch-and-go for several months. He unintentionally made her mad at him more times than I can count. When Cleo wasn't breaking me and Rikki up, she was gunning for Zane. Anyway, I was thinking that you three could come back to Rikki's with me and meet the only other mermaids that I know of. It's your choice, of course, but-"
"We'd love to." Anita broke in. "So, it'll be you, us, Cleo, and Rikki?"
Willow started to protest, but Emma responded to Anita before she could finish. "And Bella."
"Who's Bella?"
"A year and a half after we were transformed, Cleo and Rikki met another mermaid,a girl our age, named Bella Hartley. She was transformed in Ireland when she was nine."
"Nine?" Hannah exclaimed. "And she's kept her secret since then?"
"Yeah. She's my age, so she's been a mermaid for eighteen years."
"Wow!" Willow breathed. "And you four have been in contact for ten years?"
Emma's smile faded a bit. "Cleo, yes. Rikki and I actually haven't talked face to face in three years, thanks to living hundreds of thousands of miles away from each other, and Bella and I only have Cleo and Rikki in common."
"I can't imagine not talking to Neet and Dubs," Hannah said softly. "They're the only ones who know my secret."
"I know. Cleo and Rikki were that for me. Even now, though my husband knows that I'm a mermaid, there are some things that only they understand. Anyway, those are the mermaids. There'll probably also be Lewis, Cleo's husband."
"He knows too?" Anita asked.
Emma laughed. "Lewis was the first person we told. It was, I don't know, maybe a few days after we first transformed? He had the most adorable crush on Cleo back then, which caused great embarrassment for them and great amusement for Rikki and I-not the point, sorry. Anyway, he'll probably be there. He's a scientist, so he keeps the world's focus away from the topic of mythological creatures like mermaids. Zane, of course, since it's his and Rikki's juice bar. Ash, he's my husband, he said he'd be there. And maybe Will, who's Bella's… significant other. I don't know if they're married, but he also knows about us, so Cleo probably invited him too."
"All those people know that you're mermaids?" Anita asked.
Emma eyed them curiously. "Other than Zane, have you girls told anyone about your tails?"
"You're kidding, right?" Willow exclaimed. "They'd… they'd lock us in a laboratory, and do experiments on us, and-"
"I get it." Emma interrupted. "Trust me, I get the logic of that. But sooner or later, someone is going to notice your avoidance of water."
"So you told your parents immediately?" Willow challenged. "And Cleo and Rikki and Bella did too?"
Emma shook her head. "Fair point," she admitted. "But we were good at excuses. Cleo bribed her sister for years to do the chores that involved water. Rikki's dad didn't push her too much, and mostly let her do her thing. I'm actually not sure if she would have passed school if it weren't for Cleo and I."
"How many people now know that you guys are mermaids?" Hannah asked curiously.
Emma seemed to think about it. "Cleo, Rikki, and Bella, of course. Lewis, Ash, Zane, and Will, Charlotte Watsford, who used to be a mermaid-"
"Used to be?" Hannah asked, a little panicked now. "You can lose your powers?"
Emma smiled reassuringly at her. "Only on very special occasions. If you're in the Moon Pool during, say, a lunar eclipse, you'll lose your tail and powers for twelve hours. When all the planets are aligned however, which happens about every fifty years, so I wouldn't be concerned, and you're in the Moon Pool, you'll lose your tails forever."
"And Charlotte got in the Moon Pool during the last one?" WIllow asked, a little skeptical again. Being a mermaid was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She couldn't imagine giving her powers up.
Emma looked a little embarrassed. "She wasn't exactly there willingly."
"What?"
"Charlotte had been tormenting Cleo for months! She was there that night to get us to lose our tails! But we overpowered her."
"Wasn't she with anyone when she transformed?" Hannah asked.
Emma shook her head. "No-which is a word of caution. Our Moon Pool works in threes. It gives three different powers: hydrokinesis, hydro-cryokinesis, and hydro-thermokinesis. Those can adapt into aerokinesis, cryokinesis, and pyrokinesis and electrokinesis. At least, they did for Cleo, Rikki, and I."
"You said 'our Moon Pool' only does those three." Anita said. "So if Bella didn't transform here, what powers does she have?"
"Good catch, Anita." Emma bestowed a smile on her. "Bella has gelidkinesis."
"Huh?" Hannah, WIllow, and Anita said together.
"Basically, she can turn water into a jelly-like substance, kind of a… a fourth state of matter, if you will."
"Ah, I get it." Willow said. "No, actually, that's a lie. I really, really don't."
"You'll have to forgive her." Hannah cut in. "This is our first time meeting another mermaid. You're acting like this is normal, but we're still very much in shock."
"Understandable. So, how do you guys feel about coming back to Rikki's with me and meeting my friends?"
Hannah blurted, "I want to!" Then she blushed. "But-I mean-if you guys don't want to-"
"Calm down, Han." Anita said soothingly. "If Dubs'll go for it, I'm in. I'd love to get advice on managing my powers. They're kind of confusing."
Emma tilted her head. "Have you ever tried practicing with juices? I made so many icy pops when I was first learning to control my powers that my parents started asking questions."
Anita perked up. "Really? I've just been having Han control water and freezing that, but actually that sounds-"
"Neet! Dubs still hasn't made a decision." Hannah interjected.
"Yes I have." Willow sat up. "I'll go. I don't know if I trust you yet as a person, but I trust you as a mermaid. And I trust Mr. Bennett. What time is the meeting?"
Emma checked her watch. "In five minutes. Let's go girls. I can't wait for Lewis to go all fangirl on you three."
They arrived right as another blonde, blue-eyed woman in her mid-twenties did. Beyond that, though, the woman and Emma were complete opposites. Emma's hair, eyes, and skin were lighter than the woman's, the woman was a little shorter, and the woman wasn't pregnant. Hannah, Willow, and Anita watched as the two of them embraced.
Emma stepped back. "Girls, this is Bella. Bella, these are Hannah, Willow, and Anita, a secret Zane has been keeping from us for four months." Bella caught on immediately. She smiled at them.
"Nice to meet you. How's the water these days?"
"Warm." Willow said matter-of-factly. "Good. Refreshing. Other adjectives that describe water."
Bella laughed. "That's good." She looked at Emma. "Zane's chances of survival?"
"Low. Very, very low. Almost nonexistent."
"I agree. Rikki probably won't let him live."
"Even if she does—a very unlikely concept, mind you—Lewis won't."
"We're both just stalling so we won't have to go in there, aren't we?"
"Absolutely. Where's Will?"
Bella seemed to have to think about it for a minute. "His plane landed about twenty minutes ago so he should be here soon."
Emma nodded decisively. "That's good."
"Yeah."
A few more awkward moments passed, before Willow growled. "You two are ridiculous!" She snapped as she charged into the café. Anita and Hannah looked at them apologetically.
"Sorry, she does that sometimes." Hannah said.
"We should probably go after her." Anita added. Both girls followed their friend inside.
Emma looked at Bella. "If they can do it, so can we."
Bella nodded. "Absolutely." The women walked into to the café, and were greeted by a cacophony of sounds. In one corner, sat Hannah, Anita, and Willow, clearly being questioned thoroughly by Lewis. Across the restaurant, Rikki was shouting at Zane. Finally, Cleo seemed to be trying to catch up with Ash, but they kept getting interrupted by particularly loud accusations of Rikki's.
Cleo spotted them first and rushed over. It was then that everyone in the room (except Ash and Lewis) noticed the tiny toddler who had attached herself to her leg. Immediately, attention shifted to the small girl.
"Cleo! You didn't tell us you were pregnant! Congratulations!" Rikki shouted, patting Cleo on the back. Cleo and Lewis both sighed.
"I wasn't," Cleo explained. "This is Dara. She's the daughter of Lewis's oldest brother, Lawrence. He—well, he's… no longer able to take care of her."
"He's in jail." Lewis said bluntly. "He was involved in a hit-and-run a couple years ago. A little boy died."
"Lewis and I offered to take her in." Cleo added. "She's a total sweetheart. Already got Lewis wrapped around her finger."
"She does not!" Lewis objected. Cleo raised her eyebrows at him. "Okay, maybe just a little bit. But," he added, swinging Dara up onto his hip, "can you blame me? Look at her." He continued cooing at the little girl for a few seconds. When he realized that everyone was staring at him, his face reddened.
Rikki patted him on the cheek, and held her arms out for the little girl. When Dara cuddled trustingly into Rikki, most occupants of the room stared, shocked. Even Zane seemed uncertain at how to respond to his wife's behavior.
"Honey?" he asked weakly. "Is this your way of telling me that you want kids?"
Rikki laughed. "Not just yet. We're both too busy."
"Of course," Zane didn't seem like he had gotten used to this version of his wife, sitting down next to the girls. Hannah offered him a carrot, and he munched on it, blinking every few seconds.
"So, Cleo, why did you call us all here?" Will asked, having snuck in sometime after Dara's introduction. He slipped his arm around Bella's waist.
Cleo smiled. "I found Julia's granddaughter."
Emma choked on her juice. "You mean, like, Gracie and Miss Chatham's Julia? You found her granddaughter? What did you do?"
"More importantly," Rikki added, "How? We never met Julia, so how do you know it was really her granddaughter?"
"More importantly," Willow interrupted, as Cleo started her explanation, "who's Julia? And who are Miss Chatham and Gracie?"
Cleo raised her arms in an 'I-will-explain-everything-but-everyone-needs-to-shut-up' gesture. "Her name is Katie. She's about our age. I met her at the beach-"
"The beach? Why were you at the beach?" Ash interrupted. "Your powers-"
"Were under control," Cleo assured him, exasperated. "Anyway, I was watching the waves, wishing I could dive into them, when she sat down next to me, and flat out told me that I reminded her of her grandmother. We got to talking, and she finally told me that her grandmother's name was Julia, and she was from the Gold Coast."
"When I got home that night, she was looking up girls named Julia who had grown up in the Gold Coast in the '40s and '50s," Lewis added, laughing.
Cleo shrugged. "It was the scientific thing to do!" she insisted.
Bella shook her head, as if trying to clear it. "Wait, how long ago was this?"
"And, again, who is Julia?" Willow reminded them.
"Gracie, Julia, and Miss Chatham, well, Louise, but we knew her as Miss Chatham, were the three original mermaids of the Gold Coast. They were mermaids in 1955 when all the planets aligned, and they gave up their powers."
"Oh!" Hannah exclaimed. "They were who you were talking about, right Emma?"
Emma nodded. "Miss Chatham taught us a lot about being mermaids. And Gracie's granddaughter was Charlotte; I told you girls about her.
"All we knew about Julia, though, was that her boyfriend tried to sell photos of her when she told him she was a mermaid, and Gracie and Miss Chatham stopped him," Rikki added. "Well, that, and that she was dead."
"I met Katie about eight months ago. I meant to call you all sooner, but then there was the court case, and we were awarded custody of Dara, and I kind of forgot," Cleo admitted.
They sat in silence for a minute, until an annoying pop song filled the air, causing at least four of them to jump. Dara, thankfully, had fallen asleep after being returned to Cleo, and did not wake up. Anita dug around in her purse for a moment, eventually locating her phone. She answered it, putting an end to the noise. After muttering assent and various other sounds of understanding, she pulled the phone away from her ear. "Dubs, Han, Mum wants you guys to come for dinner."
"Well, tell her that that's very nice but-" Willow protested.
"Are you sure it won't inconvenience-" Hannah started to ask.
"She also says that it isn't a choice, and if you don't come, she'll call your aunt."
"Okay, okay, tell her I'm grateful, and I'll see her soon." Willow's acquiescence would have been less funny if she wasn't grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"If she's sure."
Anita relayed the information. It apparently satisfied her mother, because the call ended shortly thereafter.
"Bye, Mr. Bennett! Bye, guys, it was so cool meeting you all. Happy swimming!" Hannah called, as all three left.
"And then there were eight," Ash said in a spooky voice. His stomach rumbled at the end of his sentence.
"Shoot, is it that late already?" Zane jumped up, checking the clock. "You're all welcome to stay, but there isn't a lot of food here-"
"Actually," RIkki said, exchanging a look with Cleo, Bella, and Emma, "what if we meet you by Will's old place? I think I want to go for a swim. Girls?"
"That sounds great," Cleo said, handing the still-sleeping Dara to Lewis.
"See you boys in bit," Bella added, following them. Emma waved, before leaving to catch up with them.
Lewis' mouth quirked. "Some things will never change."
Guys, I'm alive! It's a shocker, I know. So, I've actually been writing this thing for about ten months (I know, you're all surprised because I usually knock things out in three days), since scotterson34 started taking a while to get Emma into their fic H2O: The Next Generation, which I absolutely love, and absolutely recommend! It is updated pretty regularly, and it's really well written.
Guys, I have so much writing that I've been saving up to post in the month of June. Once finals are over, it's all coming straight to you all (providing my WiFi works), so stay tuned!
Ugh, I have to study now. Thank you so much for reading, and, if it wouldn't trouble you too much, would you leave a review? This is my first fic in the H2O fandom, and I would appreciate any advice or feedback you have to give!
~swanglade37