Authors Note:
Here's a double for you. I may not have had time to type this up sooner but that did give me plenty of time to plot it out for a ways. So you might get another update over the weekend too.
Chapter 7
The Moon Pool
After being called a fool more then a dozen times, and being asked if I'd been trying to catch a cold about the same, we all headed back to the main land. We planned to meet at the moon pool as soon as each of us got free from work for the day. I'd be there all day with Bella, both of us having the day off, and the others would join us as soon as they could.
They each intended to tell the guys what had happened and see if any of them had any ideas. I put my money on Lewis to have the best idea. He had to be the smartest of all of us in the academic side of things, but I'd give Rikki the credit for the most street smarts. I often felt we should let the two of them loose on a problem and see what they came up with, and this was probably a perfect opportunity to test that.
I did have to admit sleeping in a bed again was heavenly. I'd also missed my morning coffee.
I went with Bella when she told Will. He listened to our explanation with slowly widening eyes. He just sat there stunned a bit at the end.
"That's incredible!" He finally said. "And certainly explains where you've been." I gave a guilty smile and tried to hide a wince. "Would you like me there in case there's trouble with the full moon?"
"No we should be fine." Bella said. "The moon pool is supposed to help ground us. It should do that again now that there's no danger from the comet."
He considered that for a bit then nodded. "OK. I trust you. I hope you do find some answers though. That might be nice."
We thanked him for his vote of confidence and dove into the water. I stopped short of Mako, near some reefs, and singled to Bella that I wanted to take some time enjoying the sights. She quickly caught on to my mood and joined me. After all we couldn't do much until tonight and the others wouldn't be able to join us until late in the day. So a little break to look at the sea life wouldn't hurt.
We ended up spending several hours looking at various fishes and great arches of coral. We even got joined by a pod of wild dolphins and spent some time swimming with them. We hadn't realized how much time had passed until we were ambushed by Emma and Rikki, literally. They had spotted us a ways off and had taken their time to sneak up on the two of us and had grabbed us by the tails and pulled us down.
Cleo had followed along but hadn't participated in the ambush. Later when asked why she hadn't done anything she said it wouldn't have stopped them anyways, and they'd made it clear she wasn't to warn us. In the end we hadn't minded. It was all in good fun and it meant they forgave me. At least I hoped it meant that.
When we finally arrived at the moon pool we found Lewis setting up a lot of weird stuff.
"Lewis? What's all this?" Cleo asked him.
"Well I though I'd try to get some reading on the cave during the full moon. Maybe I'll find something." He said.
"Lewis." Cleo said again in a warning tone. Like most men he missed it completely.
"See I'm wondering if maybe the stones you found in this back wall might have something to do with it all. I just need to find out if..." He trailed off into a bunch of scientific jargon that wasn't in my specialty and thus made absolutely no sense to me. When he was finished he turned to us and asked us what we all thought.
Four of us had looks of complete confusion, and Cleo had her arms crossed and was tapping her fingers on her arm since she couldn't tap her foot with us being in the water.
"I know you told me to let you handle this," he started trying to explain to her. "But the whole thing is just so interesting I couldn't resist getting some readings and really I wish you'd let me stay and watch. I could learn so much."
Cleo leveled an unamused glare at him. The rest of us just rolled our eyes. For my part I couldn't figure out if he was being a typical clueless guy or a tunnel visioned science nerd. Either way he missed Cleo's warning look and tried to convince her to let him stay.
"Lewis." She dragged out his name slowly. It finally got his attention. "Do you remember the last time you insisted on helping us here in the moon pool and you got a flying lesson out of it?"
"Uh... " he started to back up slowly. "You guys wouldn't really do that again? Would you?" Cleo just glared. "I love you." He tried.
"That's the only reason you're not flying already." Cleo told him.
"Remember the time I told you to leave the water alone and you didn't listen to me?" He finally threw out. Cleo winced. "Yeah. I forgave you for that. So how about I just gather my stuff and you forgive me for this one?"
"OK. I was going to forgive you anyways. I think I'd have been more disappointed in you if you hadn't tried something like this." Cleo admitted. "You wouldn't be the Lewis I love if you hadn't gotten all caught up in the science of it. It's who you are and that's what I love about you."
"You sure I can't leave some of this here and get some readings?" He asked with a sly grin.
"LEWIS!" We all groaned.
"OK. OK. Getting my stuff and going." He started to gather stuff up. "But you all have to promise to tell me what happened. I think I'd die from the curiosity if you didn't."
"Hmm... I might have to hold out to see if that's true then." Rikki said with a grin.
"You would." Lewis mumbled just loud enough for her to hear, but seeing as he was smirking it was clearly a joke.
It took him a while to get all his stuff out. We'd been able to get out and dry by the time he got the last of it out. On his last trip he took a moment to remind Cleo to be safe and to steal a quick kiss from her before heading out.
"Cleo you are far to easy on him." Rikki told her.
Cleo just shrugged. "I like him just the way he is. I find him very sweet." Then she frowned. "And I lost him once to Charlotte and then again when he went overseas. I can't take that again."
Emma and Bella both nodded, being the only others that were currently involved, Rikki just rolled her eyes, and I stayed out of it. At least I tried.
"Bryon's been asking about you." Emma said.
I plugged my ears."La,la la... not listening."
They laughed. "He wanted to know if you were seeing anyone." Bella said.
"What kind of foods you liked." Rikki added.
"Favorite type of movies." Cleo also added.
"He likes you!" Emma practically sung.
I just groaned. "Ugh. I don't need this. I'm not looking for a boy friend. Not with all the idiots out there right now that are convinced I'm going to marry one of them. Besides I'm not even sure I see him like that."
"If I asked you to describe him how would you do it?" Rikki asked me with the usual smug look she got when trying to prove a point. "Humor me."
"Fine. He's got short curly hair. A great tan. Warm brown eyes. Really friendly. Loves to surf. Competes at it too. " I trailed off as I noticed the other just staring at me.
"And to think you've only really met him once." Rikki said. "My point is made."
'That just means I've got a good memory for details. I've been trained to be observant." I countered.
"Then why didn't you just say he has brown eyes and is out going and friendly?" She cut back.
"I, uh..., I just... well." I just groaned.
"How often do you find yourself thinking of him?" She dug at me one final time.
"Oh I give up." I groaned and walked away.
"I think I've made my point." She was practically gloating.
I tried to glare at her but it fell short when I noticed the others were all trying to hide grins and laughter.
"OK! Fine. I'd like to get to know him better." I said. "But I don't know if I will end up liking him like that. Besides I've noticed the way you've been looking at Zane lately. Reconsidering anything more on that."
Rikki started to turn red and quickly changed the subject with the comment, "we should be getting ready for the full moon now."
"Oh no. Now it's my turn. Spill." I said with a feral grin better suited for a hunting cat.
"There's nothing there." She stammered. "We're just friends. He's still a jerk that has to grow up."
"Really?" I pounced on the unsure tone in her voice. "Because you don't sound very convincing to me. Almost like you're in denial."
"You're one to talk." She said trying to squirm away in the opening I'd accidentally provided.
"OK." Bella said. "I think that's enough for now." I held up my hands in a surrender gesture. Rikki just nodded.
"For now." I said with a smirk..
"Any time." Rikki said with an answering smirk.
"Are we really going to have to separate the two of you?" Bella asked.
A burst of laughter from Cleo and Emma caught all of our attention. Soon we were all laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"OK." I finally said after we all finally calmed down some. "I think I have a crush on him, but I don't want to do anything rash. I really just want to get to know him a bit better and start as friends."
"Fair enough." Rikki said. "And I guess Zane hasn't been so bad lately. He usually isn't coming up with hair brained ideas anymore. I liked this side of him, still do, but he's going to have to prove it's here to stay a bit longer and more solid before I can forgive him completely."
"I guess that's fair too." I said. Funny how we could be butting heads one moment and then talking calmly the next, but I guess that's why we are all such good friends.
We spent the rest of the time we had to wait guessing what the moon pool was really for. We hoped tonight's moon would finally shed some light on it. No pun intended.
I was starting to nod off when Emma called out that the moon was coming overhead. We stood up and got ready, but for what we didn't yet know.
As soon as the moon was fully overhead the water in the pool started to glow and the back wall turned into a water fall.
"Oh not this again." Rikki complained.
"Not what again?" Emma and I asked at the same time.
Rikki didn't answer, she just grabbed us and pulled us out from between the wall and the pool. I noticed Cleo and Bella were already out of the way. Suddenly water started shooting off the back wall and into the pool.
"That's what." Rikki said.
Soon enough the water stopped shooting out and a tentacle of water lifted out of the moon pool. It almost seemed like it was looking us over in a way. Then it gently reached out and wrapped around our right arms and dragged us together. It nudged us until we all held out our hands in a joint grip. It then wrapped around our hands and seemed to bow to us.
"OK. This is new." Bella said.
"What's it doing." Cleo asked.
"No idea. I wasn't here for this last time." Emma said.
"Is it actually bowing to us?" Rikki asked.
"I don't think it's done." I said.
I was right. The tentacle did 'something' to the back wall and an empty basin became visible. In the basin were five small indents.
"What are those for?" I asked.
"These." Rikki answered pulling her moon stone free of it's setting and placing it in one of the indents. It fit perfectly.
We quickly all did the same and then a massive blue glow came from the five stones.
"Be ready. It's gonna drag us into the water next." Rikki said.
"I take it this has happened before." I said.
"What was your first clue?" She shot back.
"I think that was when you dragged us out of the way before it started shooting." Emma said.
Sure enough the tentacle shot out, looped around us, and dragged the five of us into the water.
"So impatient." Bella said.
Suddenly the tentacle rose up behind us and seemed to wait.
"Well this is new." Cleo said.
Suddenly images were projected out from where the five stones were. They went by fast but at the same time we saw them all with crystal clarity. The seeking of five girls. The transformation of them. Then five lights that split off in to other lights, and others. Over and over again even after the first five had dimmed and faded, and the next as well. It went on and on. Then at the end it showed the comet returning. Only this time in the waters around Mako there weren't just three, or four, or even five mermaids, but hundreds of them if not more. This time the water spout wasn't just a small single spout that that just batted it away, but hundreds of spouts twining together into a massive column that split at the top, surrounded the comet, and ripped it completely apart ending the danger forever.
Then the images stopped. The tentacle once again wrapped around us and pulled us out of the pool. When it dropped us on the ground I was surprised to find myself dry. I wasn't the only one. The tentacle hovered over the five stones for a moment then swung towards us. We understood and quickly retrieved our stones. Once we had the water fall formed one last time then the tentacle shot into it and then the water flowed upwards. Once it had passed the wall was as smooth as if it had never had a water fall there at all.
"What was that." Rikki asked.
"I think I know what it meant." Cleo said.
"What?" Bella asked.
"There will only be five mermaids. Five powers. I got the impression that anyone else that goes in the pool won't become a mermaid as long as we are." She said.
"Then what about Charlotte? If I counted the day's right all five of us were here when she went in." Rikki said.
"She was the granddaughter of a mermaid right?" I asked. They all nodded. "Remember how I said it's like a computer? Well I'd bet even though her grandmother had given up being a mermaid she still had some markers in her DNA and Charlotte inherited them. What ever runs this whole thing found those markers and didn't have any instructions on what to do so it defaulted to it's basic program."
"Make her a mermaid." Bella said.
"I'd bet that was it." I said.
"So then why at the end were there way more then five?" Rikki asked.
"Our descendants." Cleo said. "That's our destiny. That's what it meant at the end. Those first five lights were us. Then it split as each of us had children, and then grandchildren."
"And when the comet next comes there will be hundreds or more of our descendants that will have inherited out powers." Bella said. "And that time there will be so many mermaids with so much combined power that they will be able to not just deflect the comet but destroy it completely. Ending the threat it poses forever."
"And this time they won't have to guess. We'll have been able to pass down the information to our daughters, and granddaughters." I said. "I got that part. We will only ever have daughters. No mermaid can ever have a son. I got the impression that it's to prevent the powers from ever mixing. Each one of those girls will be able to track back to which of us she descended from."
"Based on the power she has." Cleo said. "Wow. So that's the purpose for all this."
"Then why the way to give it up?" Emma asked.
"For cases like Charlotte." Rikki said.
"Or for those that can't find a balance with it. Or just don't want the responsibility." I said. "For those the planets will align enough times for each generation to choose. But that may not be necessary anymore. We are sort of public now. Hopefully by then mermaids won't have to hide ever again."
I held out my hand. "I'm in. All the way. No backing out."
"Me too." Emma said and put her hand on mine.
Bella's hand was next. "I've been a mermaid for over half my life now. I don't know any other way to be anymore. I'm in."
"This is too cool to give up." Rikki said adding her hand.
Finally Cleo added hers. "It took me a while, to find a balance with this, to accept it, and now I've come to love it. I can't go back anymore. Even if I could tomorrow I wouldn't. I'm in too."
We all shared a smile. We were sisters now. Now and forever. We had a long road ahead of us and it would continue long after we'd lived our lives and passed it on to our children. It would be a heavy burden, but we had each other, and our daughters would have us.
"I'll do it." I said suddenly. "I'll be Will coach. No more hiding for me. I'll make him the best diver ever, but I'll need your help Emma, and yours too Bella."
I explained what I needed from each of them.
"I can do that." Emma said. "It'll be easy."
"I can do that as well." Bella said. "That sounds more like fun then training so I don't think it'll strain anything. Might actually bring us closer."
"I'll see you at Will's place tomorrow then to tell him. We'll start first thing tomorrow. He's only got a short time to get ready and I don't plan to waste any of it." I said.
