Mysteries of the Deep

Abby Ebon

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Disclaimer: I do not own "The Thirteenth Year" (Disney, 1999) or "H2O: Just Add Water" (Nickelodeon, 2008).

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Spirals Of A Sea Shell

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Beneath the surface of the ocean, many envisioned sprawling sands, alike an underwater beach. Cody often found he was grateful that those oh-so-knowing "many" were so wrong. The undersea was his home, and for all his life on land - for those first thirteen years – he had seen nothing that could match the beauty of the sea.

So the undersea was a precious secret, shared sparingly – and offered to few. For all its life giving wonder, the ocean frightened some – and caused others to thoughtlessly exploit it. Cody had seen his share of both versions. He was glad, though – to still have Jess, and through his best friend he had a glimpse of the world he had left.

Even so, he only missed it in the sense that it was a part of Jess' life that he did not share.

"My son, come closer to the island, I have something I wish to share with you." His mother's low tones echoed through his mind, faint as a whisper, though with enough strangeness in it that he knew it was not something "just imagined". Cody knew as well that he must have gotten "that look", for when his glance flickered upward to Jess – out of habit; Jess looked curious.

"Cody, what's wrong?" Jess questioned, knowing that Cody's mother would not have interrupted their time together unless it was something important.

"She…wants me to see something." Cody answered Jess, even when his own thoughts on the matter were in turmoil. He could refuse – he knew that, but it was rare for his mother to interrupt his time with Jess.

Mermaids, Cody had learned in his first year – were possessive of what instinct told them was theirs. Jess was his. Cody's mother had known that the moment she had seen Cody bring back the spark of life within Jess after his best friend had nearly died to save his mermaid mother from discovery.

"You'd better go then – it's probably something important – I'll stay within sight of the shore, no worries." Jess spoke, the curiosity was sparked within him – those dark eyes danced with the prospect of another mystery being laid out before him. For Jess it didn't matter if he would never be able to share the secrets he knew – he was content with just the knowledge – and the confidence it showed they held in him.

"Admit it, Jess – you just want me to find out what she wants so I'll tell you." Cody teased his lighter blue eyes dancing with the mirth that came easily when he lingered close to Jess.

"True, true – but you don't seem to mind that I'm using you." Cody loved how Jess spoke – deep and throaty – some might call it mumbling, but it was like music. Music that did interesting things to Cody and those things were the only secret he kept from Jess.

"Never…." Cody was surprised at how bold he was when his next move was to reach up and flick a brown curl of Jess' hair away from his nose. Jess gave him a nervous smile, unsure of his standing in this incident.

"Go on – go see what she wants – then come back to me, and tell me all about it." Jess shifted on his heels, knees weakening even as he crouched. Cody had always been cautious to see that Jess was safely away from the edge of his boat before letting the undertow carry him out of sight. Jess didn't know it – but Cody still worried that the sea would take his best friend from him, worried that he would one day get to Jess too late to save him.

That wasn't to say Jess' swimming hadn't improved – it had, in leaps and bounds since he and his mother had started tutoring him – but sometimes Jess' old terror of the water came back.

So Cody watched, a shadow under the surface, until he was reassured that Jess kept the old respectful distance from the sea – unhurried, Cody used his mind to follow the "echo" of his mothers. Colorful coral nearly hid the cavern from his sight – it was from within the cavern that he knew his mother had called for him.

"What…what is this place, Mother?" Cody knew his mental "voice" wasn't as developed as his mother liked. It came from being raised on land for thirteen year – even after nine years he was still better in vocalizations - once in a while he'd hum to himself, singing, Jess teasingly called it.

His mother didn't mind that "noise" so much as she minded that Jess – despite having a gift for it – did not vocalize less. His expression in "the unheard voice", as his mother had once put it – was like a grand orchestra, in harmony – a rare perfection of the human race. At times Cody felt as his mother did – at other times he was glad his friend spoke, it was – he knew – the last bit of humanity that would fade.

Sometimes he wished that day would never come – for it meant one of two things – Jess' dying (which was a very real possibility for his mother was nearly sixty yet only looked thirty) or Jess abandoning humanity all together. Cody had wished for a third option, and it seemed he was about to get one if what he felt from his mother was not entirely wrong.

"This is the birthplace of all mermaids and tritons – all of us were once human, then something…magical happened here. This is, perhaps – the answer we seek for his sake." His mother told him, there was a rush of pleasure to her normally low "tone". His mother's mental presence was a lot like the undertow of the sea – useful, but deadly if it caught you unaware.

"How…?" Cody asked, for all he felt something strange about the underwater cavern that had opened up to a surface pool within a subterranean opening – a opening that was right above the pool – it was clearly special, but he wasn't so far gone to think it to be the answer to everything. Certainly, even if what his mother told him was true – and he had no reason to doubt her – there was still the question of if Jess would want to change into what he and his mother was.

No matter how much Cody wanted Jess to want this – it was his friend's ultimate choice, not his.

"When the white moon reflects in this pool, three – and only three – girls may be changed into mermaids. But it the moon is black-faced, three young men may be changed. So, my son – you must see, there is hope. The black moon is soon approaching – we must ask Jess his choice, then find two others…" His mother's voice was excited – alive – and Cody was as much terrified by her enthusiasm as he welcomed it. There could be no doubt – his mother approved of Jess, and had made that outright clear in this gesture, for without her, Cody knew he would never have found this place…

"Thank you…mother…" Cody blinked back tears – and it startled his mother he was so affected, she glided over the water to him, and held his cheek gently, thumbing the tear away.

"I would be a fool not to see how much he means to you – and I will not see you waste away when the answer is before us…" His mother paused suddenly, her eyes darting to the cavern entrance – narrowing those blue eyes so like his own, the only difference between them was her wheat colored hair, his was dark in the water, the once brown turned almost black.

"Someone is here my son, we must flee. Follow closely after me." His mother instructed, raising her silver and blue scaled palms above the surface of the water – he knew what she planned, when whoever it was surfaced, she would call upon lighting and blind those who dared enter while they lingered.

His heart pounding so loudly in his ears he thought their 'guests' would be forewarned by it, Cody waited. He felt when the water shifted around him – saw when the two surfaced – his mother gave an abrupt gesture and Cody was almost too stunned by the sight of two mermaids to shut his eyes – but he did.

Behind his lids light flared, and not waiting to feel the echo of his mothers mind guiding him through the water – Cody took off, twisting around the two mermaids before they could do more then blink away the dots from his mothers blinding light.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"I think there's going to be a change of plans about that picnic." Ash murmured as he saw that in the distance a ship was anchored off Mako Island. Lewis took a moment to take in the sight; he frowned – which for those who knew of Lewis' always laid back moods – was a bad sign.

"Think the girls are alight?" Lewis asked him, visably somewhat ill at ease with the turn of events, Ash could not help but to remember the flip of an orange and yellow tail with envy before the girls had "torpedoed" at great speed in the direction of Mako.

"Ought to be fine – but to be safe we'll wait for a bit, if they've got news or need to get out of the water, it'll be a tight fit – but we should make it back to the mainland alright." Ash assured, it was the least he could do but it seemed to help Lewis ground himself the most. Such simple words to have such an effect meant something Ash did not want to look in the eye – even when it stared him in the face.

"Right, right…" Lewis allowed before he feel into the old habit of being a "busy body", it was something Ash had always noticed when Lewis visited the JuiceNet – Lewis always had to be doing something, if it was playing with his computer – or with a straw, it was always something that either kept his mind distracted or his hands occupied. Not that Ash wanted Lewis to know the manager of the JuiceNet watched him when things slowed down.

It was something Ash enjoyed – but it never lasted long, something mundane always distracted him. Ash glanced up, something (perhaps the rush of oncoming water? – some sound?) alerting him to the two mermaids torpedoing their way.

"Here they come." Ash spoke aloud so Lewis would not be taken unaware by their presence. Lewis' eyes – a odd shade of hazel that mixed well with his red shirt – met his, Ash would have liked to think something passed between them – some bond, something – but then Lewis only had eyes for the girls.

"What's the rush?" Ash asked them, wondering if they knew how lucky they were to have someone like Lewis devoting his entire essence to their secret and to helping them along. Ash didn't think so – Lewis was someone who wasn't missed until he was needed and wasn't at their beck and call.

"You won't believe what we saw!" Cleo exclaimed lips stretching into a smile for Lewis. With her tanned skin and dark as night eyes, it was no wonder she had entangled Lewis' attention since childhood. Or, at least – that's what Emma had told him.

"What?" Lewis asked breathlessly, loose blond hair fluttering in the breeze. Ash knew Emma was watching him watch Lewis and wonder what was going on – she was brilliant like that, but Ash couldn't bring himself to look away.

"We saw a mermaid – only, she was old – like Miss Chatham old." Emma added, her green eyes showing their delight with the prospect of learning more of their history, or at least of the history of those who had been mermaids before her and the other girls.

"She could summon lightning like Rikki – she used it as a defensive, she blinded us – isn't that neat, Lewis?" Cleo asked though she clearly thought she already had him on her side.

"Yeah – but I thought she'd died – Julia, wasn't that her name?" Lewis asked, Ash could do little else but listen, they had their own language when it came to this stuff and Ash knew it'd be a long while before he mastered an idea of what had happened over the last year that the girls had had their powers.

"That's what Rikki said the guy behind the counter claimed – a deceased estate he called it. This means that Julia is still alive – and still is a mermaid!" Emma exclaimed, grinning at Lewis then to Cleo. Her yellow hair flicked about her shoulders.

"But that's not the most interesting part!" Cleo continued in a hushed secretive tone, her tail flickering beneath the surface of the water.

"There was a merman with her!" Emma finished- when she and Cleo exchanged a glance, was when Ash chanced to glance to take in Lewis' expression, Ash wondered if he should be worried – for it was fear he saw.

"That's…great." Lewis stated, only it wasn't – because Lewis was being too careful to not let his fear slip through the grinning mask he showed the girls so they would be content with their discovery.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O