A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great time. Here is my present from me to you. I'm thrilled that I am able to keep my promise and upload in time for Christmas. Thank you for reading to everyone. Here is chapter 7. Enjoy!

Previously... Rachel and her mother weren't speaking anymore, while the others tried to find out why Taylor was brought there. Rachel confesses to her mother the truth after they are attacked by their unknown opponent. Reluctantly Charlotte calls a truce and leaves the girls wondering, what the objective of their enemy is. Now on to the chapter.

Chapter 7: Waves

"This is so nice," Taylor muttered, looking out at the sunset on the ocean from the patio, "There are few days in Ireland when you can do this."

"I can imagine," Rachel agreed, sitting next to her. All five girls sat on Emily's patio and were watching the sunset.

"To just be able to relax," Sarah added, stretching herself.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but," Emily began, but Amber interrupted, "Then don't."

"But don't forget what tomorrow is," Emily continued with a scowl towards Amber.

"I was hoping to forget about that," Amber replied.

Taylor wondered what they were talking about. Rachel, seeing Taylor's confused look, explained, "School starts for us tomorrow."

"Oh, I see," Taylor replied, slightly disappointed.

"I can't believe school starts again tomorrow," Amber sighed.

"I know. Our vacation really flew by quickly," Sarah agreed.

"Can you blame it? We went to Ireland and were busy fighting… whatever it is," Emily replied.

"Well I guess I should start looking for a flight back home," Taylor muttered, sadly.

"Why?" the four others chorused.

"What's the point of staying here, if you're always at school or busy with homework? Also my school starts in a week or so as well. I have to get home and start preparing," Taylor explained.

"That's true, but isn't there anyway for you to stay?" Sarah asked.

"I don't see one. How am I supposed to explain to my mother that I want to stay here and go to school on the basis of liking it here?" Taylor retorted.

"But we never figured out why you were supposed to come here to begin with," Emily protested.

"Then I guess we never will," Taylor said.

"Then we have to think of how we are going to spend your last few days," Amber suggested, but Taylor simply nodded.

"I'll go upstairs so you can get ready for your first day of school," Taylor told them.

"Poor Taylor," Rachel thought as she watched her go inside, "It's not just us she is leaving behind, but James and this whole mystery."

Taylor flopped onto her bed with a sigh. What was she going to do while the others are at school? More importantly her own school would start soon, so that she would have to return in due time. She didn't want to leave however, especially not, if she still had no idea why she was brought here in the first place. Most definitely if it meant parting from James. They hadn't had the chance to figure out what they meant to one another yet.

Taylor looked up when she heard her door open. It was James. "Everything alright?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Everything's fine," she lied.

"Good to know. Actually I wanted to know if you would go out with me tomorrow, since my sister and her friends are going back to school?" James asked, "My break is a bit longer than theirs. We could go to the beach"

"Sorry, I can't," Taylor answered. It killed Taylor inside. She wanted to go out with James. Go to the beach and show him what she is, but she couldn't. How could she know how he would react. She couldn't risk it. Not without putting the others in danger of being found out as well.

"Why not? They're in school. There is no way they could catch us," James objected.

"That's what you said about the amusement park as well," Taylor reminded him, "It's just I have to make preparations to leave again. My school is starting soon too."

"Then all the more reason to spend the last few days that we have together," James retorted.

Before Taylor could say anything, she heard footsteps coming towards her door. Quickly she pushed James from the bed, so that he was behind it, and a moment later Emily opened the door. Taylor gave a silent sigh of relief. "Hey Taylor. You left your phone downstairs and it rang. It's your mom," Emily told her as she handed it to her and left again.

"Hello mom," Taylor said, putting the phone to her ear, "How are you? It's been a while."

"Well whose fault is that? If you don't call I'll have to," Bella laughed, "I'm fine. How about you?"

"Just fine. Australia is really nice," Taylor replied as she waved to James, who left after making sure no one saw him.

"Listen, I'm calling because of school," Bella began.

"I know. It starts soon. The school here starts tomorrow," Taylor said, "I was going to look for a flight back soon."

"But you want to stay?" Bella asked, catching the tension in her daughter's voice.

"I know it's impossible. I'll call you again when I find a flight," Taylor answered.

"That's not what I asked. If money and such was not a problem, would you want to stay," Bella repeated, "And don't lie, because you think it could hurt my feelings. I can understand it, if you do."

Taylor hesitated for a moment and then replied, "I do."

"Then stay," her mother said.

Taylor blinked twice, believing she had misheard. "What?" she asked.

"Stay. I almost suspected something like this and checked with your school. It turns out they have an exchange program with the school in the Gold Coast. The school your friends are probably going to. You are enrolled as a student there for this year," Bella explained.

Taylor just stood there in astonished. This had to be a dream. She pinched herself in the cheek, but she didn't wake up. It was real! "Thank you, mom! Thank you!" Taylor exclaimed, "I have to go tell the others! You are the best! Bye!" She ended the call before her mother could say anything and sprinted down the steps back to the patio. Slamming the door open, she found not only Rachel, Amber, Sarah and Emily, but the mermaids' families. "You won't believe it! I can stay! I'm going to be attending school with you!" Taylor exclaimed.

The four mermaids stared at her for a moment and then jumped up, cheering. They hugged each other in joy. Then however Taylor caught Emma's and Ash's face. Taylor freed herself from the embrace and stepped towards them. "That is, if I am allowed to stay here," she said carefully.

"Of course you are. You are free to stay here as long as you want," Emma smiled.

Just then James came out. "What is with all the commotion about?" he asked.

"Great news, James. Taylor is going to stay and go to school with us," Emily told him.

"That's great. I look forward to it," James replied, seemingly nonchalant, but Taylor saw the twinkle in his eyes and the millimeter that his lips twitched upward for a moment. He was just as happy that she was staying as she was herself.

Rachel also noticed it and simply thought, "I'm happy for you."

The next day the girls got together their stuff for school, for Taylor it was simply a bag with a pen and paper in it, since she didn't have any school supplies yet and would have to go shopping that afternoon. After meeting up beforehand the girls now stood at the school gate.

"So this is your school," Taylor murmured, her look sliding over the building and the crowd that had gathered before it.

"Don't worry. Everyone is really nice," Rachel assured her.

"Almost everyone," Amber corrected her in a dark voice.

Before anyone could ask what Amber meant with that, a voice said, "Hello girls." The girls turned to face Heath. "And here I thought I would have a good school year," Amber retorted, "Listen Heath. Nothing has changed since last year, in fact nothing ever will."

"Relax. I realized that you won't leave Jordan any time soon," Heath smiled, "However, if you do ever leave him, give me a call, baby."

Amber was about to retort something, when Heath's eyes fell on Taylor. "Hello," he said, eying her, "Why don't you introduce us, Amber?"

Amber's hand was starting to clench, but Sarah grabbed it, silently telling her friend he was not worth the effort. "This is our friend Taylor. She's an exchange student from Ireland. Taylor, this is Heath," Sarah introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you," Taylor said.

"So, Taylor, are you single?" Heath asked, slyly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have a boyfriend," Taylor answered.

"And there is no way you would give him up for a piece of me?" Heath inquired.

"No, sorry," Taylor replied.

"We should get going to homeroom or we'll be late," Emily interrupted them and the girls quickly followed her.

"You never told us you had a boyfriend," Sarah said as they sat down in homeroom. Rachel waited curiously to see what Taylor would say.

"I don't have one, but it seemed nicer like that than turning him down without reason," Taylor lied, "Besides he's not really my type."

"Whose type is he?" Amber asked.

"I'm sure he will find a girl that appreciates his… character," Taylor answered as she saw him take a seat a few chairs away.

The girls fell silent when Mr. Martin entered the classroom. The science teacher would be their homeroom teacher once more, which pleased them. "First of all I would like to welcome you back to a new school year. I hope you all had a great vacation," the teacher greeted them, "Also I would like to introduce a new student. She is an exchange student from Ireland. Please welcome Taylor." The class gave an echo of hellos. "Seeing you guys are also all in my science class, I will inform you now that our first topic will be Marin biology. Due to that we will go out on a ship tomorrow to collect samples of plants and fish. This is mandatory," Mr. Martin continued. The group of mermaids froze. Why did they have such horrible luck? The bell rang signaling the end of homeroom. "I hope you will all be prepared tomorrow and that we will meet at the docks. Class dismissed," Mr. Martin told them.

After having gone shopping that afternoon, the girls sat in a café, talking. "So what do we do? We can hardly go on that ship," Sarah asked.

"But we don't have a choice. We can hardly fail science too. Gym is already a hassle," Emily answered.

"Why don't we just skip the trip tomorrow?" Amber suggested.

"All five of us? Won't that seem a little suspicious?" Taylor questioned.

"What if we do go?" Rachel hypothesized.

"Knowing our luck we would be hit by a spray of water and transform in front of everyone," Amber retorted.

"Well, since it is a research ship it must have a lab. What if we just stay there the whole time the boat is moving?" Rachel inquired.

"But what about our sample? We can't get into the water," Emily reminded her.

"You can't, but I can," Rachel pointed out, "I won't transform. I doubt so many people from one group have to go looking for something. If I get the sample, we have one and we can analyze it. Problem solved."

"That's brilliant," Taylor said.

"It's settled then?" Sarah asked and all the other girls nodded.

The next morning the five girls stood at the docks surrounded by their classmates. The water was flat as a pin and everything seemed calm. Mr. Martin was no where to be seen. "Too bad. He isn't here. Lets go," Amber joked, but just then he emerged out of a ship that was docked before them, along with a scientist in a white lab coat.

"Good morning class. I'm glad to see that everyone found the way. This is a good friend from college days, Dr. Alder. He is a renowned Marin Biologist," Mr. Martin introduced them.

"Well, I'm not for formal stuff, so I say we go onto the boat and set sail," the man said and led the class onto the ship.

After a short tour they stopped in the lab. It was a large room filled with various instruments, test tubes and other stuff. "This is amazing," Rachel gasped.

"I'm glad you find a liking to it," the scientist said, coming up behind her.

"Okay, class. We're almost at the site where you can go diving. This site is not as deep as other parts so everyone should be able to reach the bottom. You are supposed to find something that we can later examine and over the course of the year figure out what it is," Mr. Martin explained, "The designated divers follow Dr. Alder to the changing rooms."

"That's me. Got to go," Rachel said, leaving the lab.

A while later everyone got together at the back of the boat, where the divers would dive down from. "Now I've already explained to the divers how they do it, so you're ready to go. Jim over here is an expert diver, so he will help anyone, who has a problem," Dr. Alder told everyone, motioning towards his assistant.

Rachel walked over to the girls in a wet suit. "Any requests?" Rachel asked.

"Don't stick out," Amber suggested.

"Very funny," Rachel replied.

"We're fine with anything," Emily told her and Rachel nodded.

"Hey Taylor, why aren't you diving?" Heath asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"We only need one and Rachel has the most experience," Taylor answered.

"Too bad. I think you would look much nicer in that wet suit," Heath said, "Come on, Rachel. Looks like we're up."

Indeed the two adults were waving for the divers to come to them. "Wish me luck," Rachel smiled before leaving her friends.

"I hope she'll be alright," Sarah muttered, watching Rachel get into the water.

"She'll be fine," Emily assured her, "Besides, it's not we could go." All four mermaids had to nod to that.

Meanwhile Rachel slowly submerged underwater. The feeling of an air tank on her back annoyed her. How could normal people dive like this? There was no freedom whatsoever. Not to mention the pure oxygen took some getting used to. Rachel thought she would have had fun, but like this it was just horrible. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she took one last deep breath and pulled her mouth piece out. Better. She knew she couldn't take off the air tank, so this was the most relief she could get.

Swimming like a mermaid, she quickly got to the bottom of the ocean, where she let her eyes wander. There were many fragments of shells and plants, but one thing caught her eye. It was a scale. A bronze scale, which reminded her a lot of a mermaid's one. Having made her choice, Rachel put the scale in a small sample box and slowly made her way back to the surface. Shortly before she broke the surface, she remembered to put in the mouth piece.

Back above she was greeted by an astonished Dr. Alder and Mr. Martin. "You're back very quickly, Rachel," Mr. Martin told her.

"Well, I've dived before so I'm used to it," Rachel replied, which wasn't even a lie, sort of.

"You found a good specimen?" the teacher asked and Rachel nodded, showing him the scale, "Very interesting. I don't recall ever seeing a scale like this." Rachel simply shrugged as she took of the air tank and gave it to Dr. Alder.

The four mermaids came up to the group to look as well. They stared. "That looks a lot like a..," Emily began, softly, but stopped herself. The girls nodded.

"But it isn't," Rachel assured them.

"Rachel," Dr. Adler called her.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Something seems to be wrong with your air tank. The display says that barely any oxygen was used," the scientist told her.

Rachel felt panic raise inside her. She had forgotten that there was a needle, which showed the amount of oxygen. "Maybe the display is broken," she suggested.

"Maybe," he muttered, but then more divers came up, distracting him.

The girls stared at Rachel. "You try breathing that air. It's horrible," she told them.

A while later everyone was back in the lab. On a table stood the gathered specimens. "Well, it seems everyone was able to find something, some very interesting ones at that," Dr. Alder added, "You are now allowed to use some of these instruments to make some preliminary examinat…What the!" Suddenly the ship lurched sideways, causing everyone to fall down.

"What is going on?" Mr. Martin asked as everyone crowded the portholes. What they saw made them gasp. Around them waves were crashing against the boat. This wouldn't be strange, if the sky wasn't a bright blue and the ocean in the distance as calm as could be.

"Don't worry. We're probably over some underwater air compartment which set itself free. It'll be over with soon," Dr. Alder told them.

The five mermaids however knew better. Carefully they made their way to the door, undetected by the others. "The person is trying to capsize the ship," Emily said.

"If they succeed, everyone is in big trouble," Taylor added.

"But we can't just leave. They'll notice us," Sarah objected.

"What's more important? Our secret or their lives?" Amber asked.

Rachel, who had said nothing until now, spoke up, "Go. I'll cover for you."

"Are you sure?" Emily inquired.

"Go. I can't help you there," Rachel repeated. The four mermaids nodded and hurried off.

Outside a wind was blowing hard as well. "So what do we do?" Taylor asked, but another wave collided with the side of the boat, sending the four overboard.

Surfacing next to the boat, Sarah said, "I can feel the magic. We have to stop it."

"I'll stop the propeller before it pulls us in," Taylor added and they submerged again. While Amber, Sarah and Emily each raised their hands and activated their powers to oppose the unknown magic, Taylor swam around the ship to the propeller, which was spinning at an accelerated pace, but not moving the ship at all. Taylor used her magic to solidify the water around the propeller, freezing it in its place. With a smile Taylor returned to the rest. They were trying their best to keep the water calm, but it still brought waves crashing against the ship every once in a while. Looking down, she thought she saw a shadow. After blinking it was gone. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her, Taylor thought with a shrug and added her power to the others.

Meanwhile Rachel stared out the window worried. "Hey Rachel," Heath said, making her turn around, "Where are the others?"

That made everyone look up, realizing that four people were gone. "Bathroom," she replied, curtly.

"All four of them?" he inquired, doubtfully.

"We're girls, we do that," Rachel retorted.

"And why didn't you go?" Heath asked.

"Because I didn't have to go," Rachel snapped, "I'll go look for them."

"Rachel wait!" Mr. Martin call after her, but she didn't hear him and a moment later the ship rocked once more, making it impossible for anyone to follow.

Standing at the railing, Rachel could feel the magical conflict below. She could even feel, which magic belonged to who. She reached her hand out towards the water and activated her power. "Take it. It might not be much, but take it," she whispered. Suddenly the enemy magic gave way. Immediately the boat stopped rocking. "What the," Rachel muttered, surprised, but then she saw the four mermaids surface at the back of the boat.

"You did it," Rachel called as she hurried to them.

"It was strange. Their power just stopped. As though it was trying to say, I've had enough for today," Sarah said.

"We don't have time for this. We have to get out of the water," Emily reminded them.

Rachel nodded and reached her hand out to Amber. Pulling her up, Rachel grunted, "Why are you so heavy?"

"It's not my fault the tail weighs a ton," Amber retorted. Together they pulled out Emily and Taylor next.

Just as they were going to pull out Sarah, they heard people coming on deck. "Hurry," Sarah hissed as she was roughly pulled aboard, grazing several scales off her tail in the process, "Ouch."

"No time for an apology," Amber said as she quickly dried them.

A moment after they had transformed back, the others appeared before them. "So this is where you went," Mr. Martin said, coming up to them, "Why did you leave the lab? You could have been injured. Or worse swept from the boat." While he kept on ranting, Rachel noticed that Sarah's scales were laying on the deck. Carefully she used her foot to wipe them off the boat. One however got stuck under a nail. Pretending to tie her shoe, Rachel kneeled down and plucked it from its place. Seeing it would be too obvious to throw away, she put it in a sample jar that she had kept from before. Then Rachel straightened herself again.

"I guess we won't be able to do anymore test on your samples, but if you would be so kind to help me clean up my lab a bit, I would appreciate it," Dr. Alder said. The class agreed and they went back to the lab.

Starting to pick things up, Rachel found their sample on the floor. Luckily it was undamaged. She placed it next to Sarah's scale on the right and then went back to picking up more jars. Looking up, Rachel saw Dr. Alder holding one of the jars. "Which one did you take?" Rachel asked as panic rose up inside her.

"The right one," the scientist answered and Rachel sighed with relief. Quickly she pocketed Sarah's scale before anything else could happen to it.

They soon arrived on dry land again and were allowed to go home. "I really don't understand the person who's attacking us. First they attack and then they suddenly disappear. Not to mention what happened with Rachel and her mom," Amber huffed.

"We aren't getting any closer to him or her, either. He's flawless so far," Sarah pointed out.

"They'll have to slip up one of these days and then we'll get him," Emily assured them, "Even if today was a close shave for us." "

Speaking of which, I have a scale of yours, Sarah," Rachel told them, producing it from her pocket, "Do you want it?"

"As much as that is my flesh, no thanks," Sarah replied and Rachel placed it back in her pocket with a shrug.

"Do you think the person just wants to expose us?" Emily suggested.

"But what would they gain from that? They're a mermaid too, right?" Amber objected.

Taylor walked silently next to them. Had that shadow really been part of her imagination? Maybe, but what if not? Could it be… No, it couldn't be. She shook her head and went on.

A/N: That was a close call for Rachel. Again the objective of the enemy is blurred and Taylor finds herself staying in Australia. Which means she stays with her friends, but also with James. What could this revelation bring? Please review.