III. Separation

Rikki hated this.

It wasn't being alone; she was used to that. Preferred it, even in most circumstances. But this wasn't simply being alone. This was... what had Denman called it? Temporary isolation for the sake of psychological evaluation. Science babble. Basically it boiled down to Rikki being placed in a tank of water—just water—to assess her behaviour and determine if she'd be put with other mermaids or kept apart. There were no rocks, no land, and no leverage. How she was supposed to sleep, she didn't know. Maybe she wouldn't be there long enough to find out.

The minutes turned to hours, and she found herself floating on her back. The water took a while to still. It kept pushing her against the tiny walls, bumping her head. She was in the middle of a dark room, the only relief coming up from four little lights level with the ground. The rest of the room was obscured in the darkness; she couldn't tell if she was in a large or a small room, or what might be lurking in the corners.

This was stupid. Was she in a circus act or something?

Rikki looked up at the domed and piped ceiling that was insanely far away, and swore at the empty air.

-x-

Cleo had made her choice.

Dr. Denman said she could cooperate, or never see her friends again.

She chose cooperation.

The needles were terrifying, and the samples hurt, but they made her even more determined to stick it out until she'd be reunited with the girls and Lewis again. It was so different when he was the one doing experiments. The girls had rolled their eyes and thought his research unimportant, but Dr. Denman was proving that there was something spectacular about their transformations. Only Denman and her associates weren't nice about taking DNA.

The "habitat" was okay. There was a rocky kind of landmass that she sat on, not willing to explore the dark unknown of the underwater portion. The landmass was constantly soaked by a stream of water cascading down the sides of the exhibit, so no matter where she sat drying off would be impossible. She wondered if she'd ever see her feet again and nearly cried at the thought of her carefully painted toes.

Lewis had picked the colour.

Happy Sunset.

Rikki had teased him for taking so long with his decision and said he was worse than Cleo at picking anything out. Emma said it was better than not paying attention at all.

Cleo blushed when Lewis said, "I always pay attention to Cleo."

Why did it seem like ages ago, and not just a couple days since they were all together... and happy?

Cleo hugged her arms to herself and tried hard not to cry. Not that it made any difference. She was surrounded by so much saltwater that she practically was water.

Cleo wanted to go home.

-x-

Emma shouted, and kicked out, forgetting for a moment that a tailfin was useless at inflicting harm to anything other than very small fish.

Dr. Denman laughed, even as she jumped backwards at the violent reaction. "Emma, do behave yourself. We have something quite special planned for you."

She thumped her tail against the examination tail once more in defiance. "Like what?"

"Well, now that we know how easy it is to gather male specimens, it would be a big mistake for us not to start a breeding program. You are the best built for it, according to these results." She tapped a yellow folder with a little too much enthusiasm.

"What?! You can't be serious!" Emma strained to keep her head up despite the straps around her shoulders. "You're nuts!"

"What did I say, Emma? Continue to fight, and there will be serious consequences. Both Rikki and Cleo have made up their minds and Rikki's not in a very nice place right now. Would you like to join Cleo in the larger exhibit, or keep struggling and end up in an isolation tank of your own?"

Emma frowned. "I can be with Cleo?"

"Of course. All you have to do is stop fighting."

Stop fighting.

She couldn't. The moment she stopped fighting was the moment she'd given up. But Denman didn't have to know the extent of her determination. She could save her strength for a better time.

Emma set her jaw and let her head fall back against the slab.

"Okay. I'll cooperate if you take me to Cleo."

Author's Note: Whoa! I am so sorry, guys! I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter at first, because I forgot to take the Prologue into account, and thought we were on Chapter 4! I pulled it as soon as I realised, and I hope it was fast enough! Enjoy the chapter we're REALLY on! :P Again, my deepest apologies.

Reviewers now get a special teaser snippet for their trouble! :)