Hey guys! If I owned Mako Mermaids, would I be writing this? Get ready for some plot twists. And I don't own the references to The Sandlot, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Pitch Perfect 2.
Rated K+ for some language.
Thalie's POV
In the moon pool…
I listened to Sirena's beautiful voice as I thought of my friends. My mom agreed to take them to the moon pool to teach them how to push through the moon spell. I agreed of course but I was still concerned for them. As Sirena approached the last line of her song, I sang in harmonization about 2 notes higher in an E minor including an A. (A.N Play this on piano) I ended in the name note as her, middle D.
"That was beautiful." Mimmi said. "Thalie I didn't know you could sing."
"Thanks." I said swimming up to them.
"It's a song my sister taught me." Sirena explained. "We used to sing it before every full moon."
"You'll be singing a duet with Zac when he comes here." Ondina sassed.
"We don't know for sure if he's coming." I reasoned.
"It's a full moon." Ondina said. "He'll be drawn here. Instead of singing, we should be finding a way to sever his connection with Mako."
"If the force of 50 moons didn't do it, what do you suggest?" Mimmi asked.
"At the very least we can keep him out of here." Ondina said. "Besides Thalie's sidekicks are gonna be here."
I gave Ondina a death glare. "What about Evie?" I asked.
"Evie's not important." Ondina said.
"Thalie makes a good point." Sirena said. "We gave Evie a tail, she's our responsibility."
"Sirena's right." Mimmi said. "Tonight's her first full moon. We should keep an eye on her."
"I'm gonna check on Zac and Evie." I said before leaving for Zac's place. I arrived to see Evie and Zac talking.
"Hey guys." I said cheerfully but noticed quickly that Evie was looking down. "Hey Eves." I said. "You're gonna be just fine."
"Thanks Thals." Evie said before the couple began to kiss. But before they could make lip-to-lip, Rob, my foster father came in.
"Hello Evie." He said. "Thalassa."
"Hey…Dad." I said shaking. It was rare that I called my former foster father "Dad". I missed my real one terribly. After my relocation, I visited them often, and they said that no matter where I lived or whose daughter I was, I was still their little girl. But the sad thing was
"Good to see you." Rob said to me. "How's Rita?"
"She's fine." I answered.
"You got a search warrant?" Zac asked sarcastically while I nudged him for being a goober.
"I'm looking for my open water lures." Rob said pacing the room. I grabbed a box of them and handed it to Rob.
"Going fishing?" I asked which resulted him raising an eyebrow at me.
"You haven't forgotten again have you?" He asked. "Our annual camping trip to Mako?"
"That's this weekend?" I asked.
"Yep." Rob replied. "Forecast is for blue skies and calm seas. And no buts. The four of us are going camping, and we're going to have a great time."
"The…four of us?" Zac asked puzzled.
"You, Thalassa, me, and Cam." Rob explained.
I groaned while Zac huffed. "You're bringing that cheese head?" I asked annoyed.
"Yes, I'm bringing that cheese head." Rob said. "It's high time the 3 of you got over whatever happened."
"Dad." Zac said. "Evie and I have plans."
"It's ok." She said. "I'll be fine."
"You sure?" I asked.
"It's ok." She said confidently. "I'll just have a quiet night…indoors."
"I guarantee that this will be a weekend, none of us will forget." Rob said proudly, before leaving.
"Why do I get the feeling those words are gonna come back to haunt us?" I asked.
"That's what I'm worried about." Zac said despondently.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
At the café…
No one's POV
The four 15 year old merman teens sat at the café, hanging out. Raiden stood up and placed a cigarette in his mouth.
"I'm ma meat mamino." Raiden said with his mouth full.
"What?" The other guys asked.
"I'b ba beat babibo."
"What?" They all asked again.
Raiden rolled his eyes before taking the thing out of his mouth. "I'm the Great Bambino." He said clearly.
"OOhhhh." The other guys said.
Xhiva looked to the table with the senior mermaids and saw a chance to impress even his dad. "Hey guys." He said. "Check this out." He walked to the table and they all looked at him. "Hey girls. Full moon plans tonight."
"Yes actually." Ondina replied looking smug. "We do."
"Great." Xhiva said. "Speaking of which, remember when you guys tried to protect Mako and you got a merman instead? That should really be a lesson to all of you fish chicks out there. If you do the same, old, boring, girly shit every bloody full moon, you will get a mess. All over the place if I might add. Hot shirtless boys, everywhere."
Ondina got up and looked me in the eye. "Listen up here boy. We will not let big headed, egotistical garbage dicks, whoever you may be, get in our way."
"Guilty." Xhiva said in mock guilt. "Your pity's very contagious."
"Hello ladies." Raiden's voice said. He stood there with the rest of the gang arms crossed. "Good ones Network."
"Thanks Voltage." Network said back.
"Full moon tonight hm." Voltage said. "Excited? Or are you stressing already? Is it because you are…how do the Canadians say… in a Kerfuffle?" (A.N that's an actual Canadian slang word, meaning in a stressed situation.)
Mimmi scoffed. "We are so not in a Kerfuffle."
"You know we should really thank you for making this stop more entertaining." Raiden said. "You know…with your bumbling ineptitude. We should send them something Wolfboy, you know? A fruit basket? Or would you prefer mini muffins?"
"Ok we didn't come here to start something." Sirena said. "We're just here to get Mako back, and while we're at it, we just may kick your ass."
Xandou snickered. "You? You're the kicker of ass? You are too nice for your own good. Like a lady, or…" Xandou asked then in Kannada, "Nānu bayasuttēne pada ēnu?" (What's the word I'm looking for?)
"Pukkala." Network replied.
"Yes." Xandou said. "You are like a sook." (A.N Sook is Aussie slang for coward)
"We are not scared of mermen." Ondina said proudly. "Because when we get down to business, us mermaids are gonna blow minds."
Wolfboy chuckled. "With what? More of your make up?"
"That's not what we wear." Ondina defended.
"I don't give a damn what you wear." Wolfboy sassed. "Could be anything. Denim, wool, leather."
"Listen up, you punks." Ondina hissed. "You 3 just happen to be a minor annoyance, excluding Raiden, so don't get in our way."
"Your team is like a…" Wolfboy began. "How do you Aussie's say? An earbashing mess. A mess, where dipsticks are applied to it, so what once was a little messy is now even messier." (A.N Earbashing means nagging and dipstick means loser in Aussie slang.)
"Ladies." Xhiva said. "Don't try to kick our ass, because the fact is, you can't. We're the best. Now I really must go wear sunglasses. I'm being blinded by you blond dominated Aussies." (A.N I'm sorry but it's the truth. Both the shows H20 and Mako Mermaids are dominated by blonds!)
With that the Blade Boys left the café, cuing Erik to come and talk to the mermaids.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Thalie's room in her POV
I was in my room packing my bag for the camping trip to Mako when I got a call from Cam. I was gonna delete his number but my mom told me not to in case of emergency. Apparently Erik had invited himself and his brother to our camping trip. The good thing about that was Raiden was coming and I would get to know his brother more. The bad news was, Raiden was coming, and my stupid hormones would fire up. And I didn't even know shit about why Erik would invite himself and his brother on some boring camping trip. Then again it was a full moon then. The worse news was that Zac and Rob would be clinging onto me in case "some boy" would try to sneak me off. It was mostly Zac who was gonna do that.
"Why'd you ask Raiden to come?" I asked Cam on the phone.
"I didn't." His voice sounded through the phone. "His older brother suggested it."
"Well you should have said no." I said stuffing a hoodie in my bag.
"Are you worried that he's gonna discover whatever it is that you're keeping hidden?" Cam asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I said quickly.
"You found something on Mako." Cam concluded. "You and those fish chicks."
"No I didn't." I said. That part was true. I wasn't there when Zac, Kimi, Mimmi, Sirena, and Ondina, discovered the merman chamber. But I did know what they found later that night, courtesy of my mom.
"Come on, Thals share." Cam said kindly.
"Cut the sweet talk." I said sternly. "We all know what happened the last time someone fell to one of your little white lies."
There was a pause of before Camp spoke again. "Erik's a genuine fish boy and Raiden has the same firepower as you and the rest do. Whatever's there it can't hurt to have an expert or two along."
"I don't need Erik's help or yours." I said strongly.
"Wait a second." Cam said. "You mention only Raiden in certain sentences and now you say you don't want Erik's help but Raiden's. Is there something going on between you too?"
My face turned red as a tomato before I hung up on Cam.
On the shores of Mako Island…
Me, Zac and the Consorzio brothers arrived at the beach and started walking toward the campsite. I wanted to walk with Raiden, but Zac pulled me to the side and held my hand, with Erik raising an eyebrow. When we got to the campsite, Rob and Cam had already brought the gear with them there.
"Oh nice of you four to show up after we've done all the work." Rob said sarcastically.
"We got stuck on a sandbar." I lied. "And then Erik and Raiden got into a fight about how to get it out and park it."
"My fault." Erik said. "Me and my brother aren't familiar with these waters. I'm Erik. Thanks for letting us come along Dr. Blakely." He and Raiden shook hands with Rob.
"You two are more than welcome." Rob said kindly. "But I don't see why you had to borrow another boat. There was plenty of room in ours."
"Four passengers and all that gear?" Zac fibbed. "It's not safe Dad." It took me all of my restraint not to facepalm. One thing about Zac was that he was a pretty bad liar.
Erik nudged me in the arm and whispered in my ear. "Wow, your foster brother is a terrible liar."
I chuckled. "I know." I whispered back.
"Seeing as Cam and I lugged all the gear." Rob began. "Zac, you and Erik, can set up the tents, Cam and I get dinner and Thalie with Raiden can get the water."
I told Raiden on the way to Mako that if I was to get water, I could just bend the water in the bottle. Easy peasy.
"Wait." Zac held his hand up. "You mean… Thalie…with a boy…on her own?"
"Zac I'm surrounded by men." I pointed out.
"I meant a teenage boy, you know." Zac said.
"Zac she's old enough." Rob said, giving Raiden a death glare.
"Plus there's a chance that one of them has feelings." Cam teased.
"Feelings? No!" Zac tried to cover. "I mean, they barely know each other!"
"You're right Zac." Erik said. "They have to get to know each other better. Raiden, be a gentleman and escort your friend to the river."
"Sweet!" Raiden said, putting his hands on my shoulders and leading me to the creek which was about half a mile down from the camp. What I didn't notice was that Raiden turned his head a round and mouthed "Score!" to Zac.
We walked until we reached the creek. I got out the bottles out of my water proof backpack and manipulated some the water to be filtered and then in little tentacles go into the bottles.
"Impressive." Raiden said while clapping and then grabbing one.
"Um Raiden, they're not…" I didn't get to finish because lightning travelled up from Raiden's body consuming him until the lightning disappeared and Raiden lost his balance because of his tail. (A.N basically his transformation is like the regular one but instead of the water effects, it's lightning.)
Raiden laid down on his belly, looking at me in embarrassment. "I guess I forgot that they weren't capped yet." He said before nervously chuckling. I just facepalmed and then walked to his tail, when I noticed on his back, faint scars of whip markings and burns, They were fading but you could see them a little. He had a white marking on his right shoulder blade, like a knife scar. I gasped in horror.
"Why the sudden gasp?" Raiden asked.
"Your back…" I said. "Who did that to you?"
Raiden winced before saying, "It's better if you don't know." As I dried up his tail, I ran my fingers over the scars of his tanned back. Raiden kind of shivered. It was almost as if he liked my fingers touching his back. His scars were a bit rough but smooth at the same time. His skin was soft. By the time I was done with his tail, both of us were blushing madly.
Raiden's POV
Thalie-no, Thalassa's touch was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was indescribable, but the only way I could picture it was the gentlest and most soothing of ocean waves. When she felt my scars, when she ran her delicate fingers over them, she made my back feel like I never had them in the first place. When I felt my legs again I looked up, I saw the half blood teenager herself under the sunlight. She looked stunning, her dark red hair falling on her features, her deep blue eyes shining like the full moon on the sea's surface. Sure she looked pretty with legs, but I never got a glimpse of her swimming at normal speed, not superspeed. As she helped me get up, her hand felt like the smoothest of shells. When she screwed the caps on the bottles with just a flick of her wrist, the way she did it with such ease was just amazing.
"Are you staring at me?" She asked me.
I was close to peeing my pants right there in sheer embarrassment. So in order to avoid any more awkward moments, I said to her, "Let's head back."
No one's POV
Zac and Erik finished up the tents, Rob and Cam were still out there fishing, and Raiden and Thalie were still walking back.
"You ok Zac?" Erik asked. "You seem kind of tense."
"I'm fine Erik." Zac replied. "I'm just freaking because your punk of a little brother is with my little sister."
Erik laughed. "Ok one, he may have a killer edge, but hed never hurt anyone he considers a friend. And two, she's not so little anymore."
"Yes she is." Zac defended. "She's only 15."
"Ok." Erik sat down in front of Zac. "Raiden goes to a lot of trouble just to have a conversation with your foster sister. Zac you are a…how do I say this? The word on the street is that you are a smother brother."
That took Zac by surprise. "A what?" He asked laughing.
Erik gave Zac a "seriously?" look. "You know what I mean." Zac did know what he meant, but he didn't want to say it. "Dude, all the teens in your class are talking about it. It's ok, I was the same way, and… I sort of still am a little. But as our siblings get older, they will need some space. Oh and for the record Zac, you're a bad liar."
"Uh excuse me?" Zac asked. "How am I a bad liar?"
"Because you say things that don't make sense." Thalie's voice sounded in the campstie. The two senior mermen turned around to see Thalie and Raiden back with the water filled and secure.
Raiden put his hand down and flashed a mischievous smile.
"Raiden." Erik warned sternly. "Don't do what I think you're doing."
Raiden chuckled. "Too late." Raiden pulled his hand up and Zac's underwear was lifted as if by hand and he got slightly electrocuted. Thalie was on the ground howling with laughter.
"What was that?" Zac asked, his hair smoking and his shorts slightly charred
"That, my friend was the ever classic electric wedgie." Erik explained.
"Raiden!" Zac exclaimed. "What the hell? You can't just use your powers on people like that!"
"Uh." Raiden said examining his hand like it was a trophy. "There's a limb on my arm that says I can." He did the electric wedgie about a couple more times. "Besides, it's what you get for making the worst excuse ever! I mean, I was gonna say, "Oh Dad, the thing was, your boat was too crowded, and all of us couldn't fit in it." And you chose, "Four passengers and all that gear, it's not safe?" I'm disappointed, really."
"So?" Zac asked, not getting the point.
"It's supposed to be something believeable, not that!" Raiden exclaimed.
"Jesus Zac." Thalie said. "Why don't you just tell your dad the real reason you can't swim anymore?"
"Or at least what you can do that defies human science." Erik said.
"You wanna know another terrible lie he told?" Thalie asked. "One time when it was raining, and we had to go to school. Do you know what Zac said to his mom?"
"What?" Erik asked, eager to see what happened.
"He said. "But Mom, a storm means lightning. We could get hit." Thalie replied.
There was a pause before Erik and Raiden burst out laughing. They were close to peeing their pants from laughter and cursing in Italian.
"Oh my god Zac!" Erik yelled out, laughing. Thalie was just giggling.
Later that night…
It was dark at night then. The campfire was lit, and the boys ate the fish while I ate some onions. I felt like I was reliving the night it all happened.
"I always hated these woods at night." I commented. "When I was a kid, I was sure monsters were gonna creep out and eat me."
"No monsters here." Erik said. "Unless you count Raiden."
"Hey!" Raiden exclaimed. "I heard that."
"Yeah, I know." Erik said.
"Hey guys." Rob said holding his IPad up. "Check this out. You point this to the sky, and the star navigation app, recognizes the constellations! Pretty cool huh?"
"That's awesome Dad." Zac commented.
"Yeah, that's great Dr. B." Cam added on.
"Don't all rush up at once." Rob said. Suddenly, Erik tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed to Zac who was staring at the moon.
"Zac you ok?" Raiden asked.
"Oh great." I whispered. "He's moonstruck again."
"Again?" Raiden asked. "As in more than once?"
"You know it." I said.
"Wait where is he going?" Erik asked me.
"Don't ask me." I replied. "All I know is we gotta follow him."
We walked about 3 feet away from the moon zombie Zac. "Any idea where he's going to?" Erik asked.
"How am I supposed to know?" I asked. "I'm not the moon-spelled zombie here." We followed him to a similar cave as the trident chamber from all those full moons ago. Even with it destroyed, I could still feel it's dark pulsing energy stopping my heart. I could even feel the coldness of death grasping on my very soul. I sometimes had nightmares about the whole trident ordeal and the war.
"Why are we stopping at this rock wall?" Raiden asked me.
"Because if I'm right, that wall is about to open in 3 seconds." I explained. And right on cue, the rock vanished, revealing a path of golden light.
"What…is…that?" Erik asked.
"Something merman-ish." I said quickly before following Zac into some sort of chamber with glowing pillars, a pedestal, and in the middle, a trident symbol in a circle.
"What the hell is this place?" Erik asked.
"It's that merman chamber Kimi told me about." I said, realizing it.
"There's power oozing out of this thing." Raiden observed. Zac put his hand over the pedestal and on the ceiling, was a dome like you see in a planetarium, with the full moon passing over it. In the trident symbol, water poured into it, and somehow I knew it was moon pool water.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Ondina asked behind us. She had brought Mimmi.
"How should I know?" Raiden snapped. "I'm not the possessed merman in need of an exorcism."
Suddenly, the trident on the floor glowed, mist oozing out of it. Even I could feel the energy.
"Whoa!" Raiden exclaimed. "Erik, you wanna tell me what this is all about?"
"Not a clue." Erik replied.
"This ends now." Ondina declared bravely, stepping up to the symbol, but was held back by Mimmi.
"Remember what happened last time." She warned her best friend.
"Maybe it only likes mermen." Erik suggested before walking around the circle almost to where Zac was.
"Zac, what are you doing?" He asked. "What is all this?" Zac outstretched his hand and the ground rumbled before a piece of earth rose up and rocketed Erik about a yard away. I swore I was dreaming.
"Um, is your step brother supposed to be able to do that?" Mimmi asked me.
"I've never seen him do that." I confessed.
"Stop now." Ondina said, stretching out her hand. Just then Evie came running in with Sirena.
"Zacky!" She exclaimed like a child.
"Evie move!" Ondina demanded before Mimmi did the most unexpected thing ever: She marched up to Zac, took his hand, looked him in the eye and said, "Zac. Stop."
No one's POV
Mimmi and Zac were flung back from each other by an unknown force. As the landed on the ground, a terrifying vision came to them. Fire burning a building, a store being burned down, a woman being crushed by falling debris, and worse, children screaming. The vision ended before they knew it. The two mer teens were on the floor shaking.
"The tunnel entrance!" Sirena exclaimed. "We need to go." The mermaids and mermen all ran outside of the chamber and the tunnel but Erik stayed behind for a bit to take photos.
"Where's Erik?" Raiden asked. On cue, Erik ran outside as the tunnel closed. Everyone but Zac turned to said merman.
"What the hell were you doing in there?" Ondina demanded.
"I…don't know." Zac explained.
"You're gonna have to do better than that." Ondina said. The rest all went back their places unaware of the romance that had bloomed on the beach. But that's a story for another time.
At the campsite, Thalie looked at Zac. "You ok?" She asked her step brother.
"I'm fine." Zac said. "Go to bed." Thalie then shuffled in her own private tent as did the rest of the gang. The mermaids went their separate ways.
But that night was just the beginning of everyone questioning everything they knew about each other.
The next morning…
In Thalie's POV
I woke up to some tapping on my shoulder and I saw Raiden over me smiling.
"Wake up Bella Addormentata." He said finishing his greeting in his native tongue. I chuckled at Raiden's antics. A piece of the tent roof was missing leaving it like a skylight for the sunlight to seep in behind Raiden, making him absolutely handsome. It somehow made his violet eye glow bright. I hid my face behind a pillow to avoid him seeing me blushing. "Breakfast is ready, and then we're heading back."
"Oh." I said. "Ok, and what did you say?"
"I called you Sleeping Beauty." Raiden explained. "I'm just saying that you are quite a catch. Do you speak Italian?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I speak Italian?" I retorted.
Raiden looked me in the eye with his best smile and said in his natural Italian accent, "You have a beauty that is come un pearla."
I stumbled back in shock. What he said and the way he said it was so beautiful, so majestic. I didn't know it, but something in me sparked, that would soon transform into my growing friendship with Raiden. After the stunt he pulled in nearly busting Doug McLaren's business, I started to spend more time with him to try to direct him on the right path. But whenever we talked, Raiden looked confused, as if he didn't know the difference between right and wrong.
"Raiden…" I said in shock. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."
"Pleasure's all mine." Raiden said politely. He pulled me out of the tent, and to the table where I grabbed a bunch of sausages. I looked over and I saw Zac looking down while Erik was talking to him.
"What's he talking to my brother about?" I asked.
"He's offering our help." Raiden explained. "More like his help."
"Don't you want to help him?" I asked him.
Raiden shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, in your brother's case, I'd rather give him an electric wedgie. But because of…present environments, I can't."
"Why do you have to be mean to my brother?" I asked him.
"I'm not." Raiden said. "He's just the dweeb here."
I rolled my eyes. After breakfast, we all headed back for Mako.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Rose's POV
At the café…
I walked to the café to meet my werewolf/merman friend. After what happened last night, we had started to be a little more closer. We weren't dating though. I saw the Hispanic boy wearing an orange tshirt, cargo shorts, and flip flops. I walked up to him leaning on the railing, and put my arm on his back and was greeted by his warm orange amber eyes, the eyes of the true wolf inside of him. Not as a monster.
"Yo todavía podía lastimaron a usted anoche." (I still could have hurt you last night.) Diablo said to me, concerned.
"Pero no hizo." (But you didn't.) I replied, holding his hand. His hand felt like a strong paw, like a lion's.
"Erik ofrece su ayuda a Zac a descubrir qué es lo que está sucediendo en Mako." (Erik's offering his help to Zac to figure out what's happening on Mako.) Diablo said to me.
"Y?" (And?) I asked back.
Diablo sighed in content. "Francamente, no sé hasta los motivos de Erik en absoluto. Es completamente imprevisible." (Honestly, I don't even know Erik's motives at all. He's quite unpredictable.) "Además, tengo mi Rosa. Sea lo que sea, estamos trabajando." (Besides, I've got you my Rose. Whatever it is, we'll work it out.) And Diablo kissed my cheek. No we weren't dating. But we were closer than before.
(A.N Hold your horses! Don't review yet! You didn't think that this was the end of the episode, did you?)
No one's POV
In the café, things weren't doing so well for Ondina. She felt like she was going to break apart any second.
"Is it hot in here to you?" She asked a nearby person.
"Ondina are you ok?" David asked her. "You don't look so good."
"Actually David." Ondina replied. "I'm gonna go sit down." But before she could even take a step as she turned around, Ondina collapsed.
Immediately, Erik put his tray down and rushed to Ondina. As did Sirena, Mimmi, and Raiden. "Quick!" He cried. "We need to get her to Rita's." Erik carried the unconscious mermaid to his rental Volkswagen and ignored the traffic rules as he raced to Rita's house. They all got out and placed Ondina on the black leather couch.
Sirena placed her fingers on Ondina and cried out, "She's not breathing!"
"Raiden." Erik said sternly.
"On it." Raiden said, his hands humming with electrical energy and placing them on Ondina's bare chest (she's wearing a tanktop). "200 joules. Clear!" A surge of electrical energy was sent into Ondina's body. Just enough to wake her up.
Ondina's eyes opened to hear Thalie, her friends, the Consorzio brothers, Mimmi, Zac, Evie, and Sirena over her.
"Come on." Zac whispered.
"You can do it." Evie said.
"Come on Ondina." Sirena said. "Come on."
"Go Ondina!" Rose exclaimed.
"Ondina please." Erik pleaded.
"Pull it through girl." Thalie whispered.
"Yeah yeah." Helen said. "She looks crappy already."
"Ondina." Mimmi whispered. "Come on."
"You can do this." Diablo said.
"Oh god, she looks dead." Kimi said.
"I need to take Ondina." Rita said approaching them. She scooped up Ondina in her arms and carried her to the grotto. The rest were left to wait.
Later…
It had been an hour since Ondina was taken to the grotto. Everyone but Thalie, Zac, Evie, Helen, Rose, Erik, Raiden, Mimmi, and Sirena went home. The only time Erik had ever been so scared was when Raiden was about to die at the hands of Slade. This was another time.
"How do you have a bad reaction to the full moon?" Rose asked. "Isn't it supposed to help you?"
"I don't know Rose." Raiden said. "I'm not my mom."
"It means she has to rest for a while." Mimmi said.
"For how long?" Zac asked.
That's when Rita came in with a guest. She was a woman who looked to be in her 20's but was actually in her 30's. She was a beautiful Romani woman with deep tan skin, curly raven hair, and blazing bright emerald green eyes. But this woman had some of Ondina's features. She wore a white dress and an emerald pendant. (A.N basically she looks like Disney's Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame)
"Hello." The Romani woman waved to the teens.
Zac was staring at her. Not because of her beauty, but because he had this familiar feeling about her. As if he had seen her before. But he couldn't place it anywhere.
"Tia Esma!" Mimmi cried out, hugging her. Sirena joined in.
"It's good to see you too Sirena and Zoe." The woman said to her, hugging her back. "And I see you've made some new friends.
"Who are you?" Evie asked. "And why did you call Mimmi Zoe?"
"Zoe is my real name." Mimmi explained. "Mimmi is just a nickname. And this woman is Esmeralda, Ondina's mother. And my awesome godmother."
"Bonjour Esmeralda!" Sirena exclaimed hugging her again.
"Bonjour mon amie!" Esmeralda said.
Esmeralda walked up to the teens but as soon as she saw Zac, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart raced as she saw a face that she thought that she would never see again.
"Ja..Jacob?!" She exclaimed. "How…how are you here? And how have you stayed so young?"
Zac looked confused. "My name's not Jacob. It's Zac." Esmeralda paled, hearing a name and seeing a face that until now, she believed to be gone.
"It's ok." Rita said assuredly. "He's not that Zac you're thinking of. This is Zac Blakely."
Esmeralda's hopes of him being her friend's son vanished. "Oh. You're not him then."
"He's not who?" Thalie asked.
"Thalassa." Esmeralda said, caressing her cheek. "It's been a long time, and you were so cute as a baby."
"Esmeralda and I are old friends." Rita explained.
"Esmeralda?" Thalie asked. "As in, Esmeralda Marino? As in the one who won the Contest of Champions and took down the Kraken?"
"That's right." Esmeralda smiled.
"What's the contest of champions?" Evie asked.
"It's basically the mermaid Olympics." Thalie explained. Evie, Zac, Helen, and Rose's eyes popped out. Yep, Ondina had a lot to live up to. But she wasn't the only one.
"What's going on here?" Erik had come back with Raiden from a talk. Erik's eyes widened as he recognized the woman in front of him. "Esmeralda?" He asked. Esmeralda and Erik embraced in a hug.
"Oh I knew you two were alive!' Esmeralda exclaimed as Raiden joined. "You two have grown so much! Especially you Erik, you have your father's looks" Esmeralda looked down at Raiden and said. "Raiden, you have grown a lot! I still remember when you were an adorable little hatchling!"
"Esmeralda!" Raiden said embaressed. "Seriously?"
"Time out here." Helen said finally. "I don't understand. How do you know those mermen?"
Esmeralda chuckled. "Why we're from the same clan of course? Didn't Ondina tell you?"
"No." Thalie said. "She never mentioned her old life."
"You mean to tell me that you guys don't know of the Consorzio bloodline?" Esmeralda looked at everyone in shock.
"I was gonna tell them." Rita said.
"Sure." Esme said rolling her eyes. "Let me tell you. The Consorzio family is a royal family. And Erik and Raiden here are the sons of King Caesar and Queen Persephone of the Consorzio Clan."
That had everyone looking at said brothers in shock. It was shocking enough that those two were mermen, now they had royal blood running in their veins?
"Whoa!" Thalie exclaimed. "Do I have to call you Prince Raiden?" She asked said merman who was blushing.
Esmeralda sat down with the rest and shared her news. "Listen, Ondina has a rare disease, a mermaid's version of pneumonia, Fire Fever. It's a good thing that she has it now, as a teenager, because most adults don't survive it. But she's gonna be ok. I don't want you all to worry. But it could be a while before she gets back on her feet. So Ondina's gonna be out of the picture for the next several days, until she gets better. Don't worry, Erik, she's a tough girl."
Erik chuckled sadly. "I know."
"I think I speak for everyone when I ask how you are two princes? You don't smell like it." Rose observed.
"I guess I should explain." Erik said. "The Consorzio Clan was formed 800 years ago by my ancestor, Paceo (A.N that's pronounced, Pa-chee-o) who made an alliance with the mermaid council, took the trident away and locked it. The grandson of that same merman united all the mermaids and mermen who were against the war and the feud that followed it and formed the Consorzio Clan. One of the very few that still exist. I was the heir for the throne, and Raiden, of course was second in line before… a raid killed our parents and about 150 of our clan were slaughtered as well."
"By who?" Siren asked.
"I'm sorry." Erik said, choking back tears. "It's too painful to talk about anymore."
"Look, it's been a long day." Rita said. "Everybody, let's go home. Except for you Erik and Raiden, come with me." While everyone else went home, and the Consorzio brothers following Rita to the grotto, Thalie tapped Raiden on the shoulder.
"You never told me your of royal descent." She whispered to him.
"Well I forgot to mention it." Raiden said. "You're not gonna freak out?"
"Well the good thing is that it doesn't change our growing friendship." Thalie said. "Prince or not, you're still a good person to hang around with."
"Thanks." Thalie went to her room while Raiden went Erik to the grotto.
"You knew our father?" Erik asked Rita once they reached the grotto.
"I sure did." Rita replied. "And he knew me. I'm sorry for your loss by the way."
"Thanks." Raiden said.
"Now boys this may come as a shock but." Rita took a breath. "Your mother's alive."
"That's not possible." Erik said.
"I was 5 years old and I saw her get slashed in the eye!" Raiden exclaimed. "I thought she died of blood loss or infection!"
"No." Rita said. "She survived. Persephone Consorzio is alive."
"I thought that she was gone." Erik began. "I should have been looking for her."
"It's all right Erik." Rita said warmly.
"Then where is she, we have to find her!" Raiden exclaimed.
"You don't think she would be in Italy do you?" Erik asked.
"No way." As the boys continued rambling on theories, Rita cleared her throat.
"Boys, I have no idea where she is." Rita said. "No one does, or where she goes, or her schedule. I know she's alive because she was the one who dropped my daughter off her after she got hurt."
Erik and Raiden's faces fell. "Come on Raiden." Erik said before being stopped by Rita handing them a photo in a ziploc bag.
"That's very kind of you, but we already have a photo of our parents." Erik said.
"So does this one." Rita explained. "With me, my husband, and Ondina's parents."
"No way!" Raiden exclaimed, taking a look at the photo.
"You need it more than I do." Rita said.
"Thanks Rita." Erik said,
"Of course." And with that, the merman brothers went home.
At the merman household…
"What are you doing?" Speed Demon asked Wolfboy.
"I'm calling Rosalina." He replied.
"Why?" Network asked.
"I want to make sure she's ok." Wolfboy asked.
"Why are you so protective of her?" Voltage asked. "And all of a sudden even after a full moon?"
"Diablo Quasimodo Nagual." Erik said. "What did you do?"
They all sat down as Diablo told his story.
Flashback
22 hours ago, on the shores Mako Island
Diablo sat on the beach. He was sitting on a deserted island because it was a full moon and on this particular full moon, his werewolf nature decided to try to take over him. He stopped transforming into a werewolf when he was 9 when he lived in Mexico, but he still maintained parts of the psychological aspect. The power of the werewolf is a terrible thing and can sometimes overcome the sweetest of people. That's what Diablo was trying to avoid. Inside, he was mentally fighting the beast that was threatening to take over his soul. He never killed anybody before but he came close. It was like having another person inside him. Tonight, his inner werewolf was acting up. He had been acting strange all day. He had been eating nothing but meat all day, working out and getting more aggressive. Now, he was battling the wolf clawing in him.
"Diablo?" a girl asked. Immediately, Diablo snarled an animalistic growl and swiped his hand as if he had claws at the girl. The girl stumbled back into the moonlight, revealing her to be Rosalina.
"Rosalina?" He asked, gasping in horror. He put his hand over his mouth as he realized what he was about to do. He was gonna hurt the one girl he cared about. Fearing he might do more harm he ran from her.
"Diabli wait! I can help you!" Rose cried out.
Diablo tripped and looked over the Latina Air Omega. When he saw her, his wolf side calmed down a little. She looked cute by day, but under the full moonlight, she was a goddess. The moonlight caught in her hair made her glow with the kindness she possessed. When he saw her, he had the instinct to protect her.
"You can't help me Rosalina." Diablo said. "No one can."
"Diablo, just please trust me." Rose said, extending her hand.
"No." Diablo pushed her hand away. "Stay back! I'm a monster."
"Diablo, don't say that." Rose said. "You're my friend."
"Rose I'm not a boy." Diablo said, tears threatening to spill. "I'm an ANIMAL!" Unable to hold it back anymore, Diablo's werewolf side took over. It was painless but the mental shifting was becoming more primal. Diablo's jet black hair added itself brown highlights as it spread all over his body, his hands shifted into paws, his fingernails sharpened into black claws, his already canine teeth, a side effect from having werewolf blood, grew sharper. The transformation was complete, Diablo had turned into an Iberian Wolf, a wolf of Spain.
Rosalina stood there stoic. Sure she was shocked at the transformation that took place, but she was not afraid of him. She never was. To her, Diablo was just a boy with special talents who wanted to live like, just like her.
"Leave me, before I hurt you." Diablo said. That shocked Rosalina a little that the wolfboy could talk, but she learned one month ago that anything is possible, even talking wolves.
"Diablo…" Rose said comforting him.
"Please." He said. "I don't want to hurt you or worse, make you like me." Diablo sat down, of course in doggy position.
And Rosalina did what Diablo didn't expect her to do: She started petting him. Diablo looked confused. Normally, a human would be scared of him, run away from him, or shoot him. But Rosalina, with her gentle scratches, made him feel like something he never felt like: a person. Diablo curled up at her lap and nuzzled his wolf head in her arms.
"You're a good boy aren't you?" She cooed. "Yes you are. Yes you are." Diablo in return barked happily and started licking her face, transforming her into a mermaid. Diablo's blood roared in his veins as he saw the Spanish beauty before him. He wished for a second that he could change back and dive with her in the sea. But then, during the full moon, staying like a wolf felt more natural. He was torn between 2 worlds.
"Sorry." Diablo said.
Rosalina chuckled. "It's ok." Rose then used her powers to dry herself. Diablo, finally regaining control of himself, shifted his form back into human, as paws became hands, fur became skin and hair, and his canine teeth grew shorter.
"So you can change at will?" Rose asked him.
"I can but it feels natural whenever I'm a wolf." Diablo said. "Rosalina." He said, looking in her brown eyes. "Are you scared of me?"
"Diablo." She said. "I could never be frightened of you. In fact, the only thing I'm really scared of is my tail. The reason I act all accepting of my powers is because… I'm not. It's how I deal with it, by trying to lie to myself so the others don't have to worry about my powers. I'm scared too, of them. What if I suck the air out of somebody? What if I choke someone? I like the tail, but the powers, I'm still getting used to them. But whenever I'm around you Diablo, I feel like I have nothing to fear. It was like that when we were kids together."
"Rosalina." Diablo began. "When I first met you, I thought you would be scared of me if I revealed myself, so I kept all my secrets hidden. I thought I was protecting you. But now, whenever I'm near you, I feel… human. Like I have actual feelings and a heart."
"Diablo." Rosalina said. "Having werewolf blood in you, doesn't make you an animal. Taking responsibility of the power, makes you a man."
Suddenly, before the two Latino teens could think, their lips landed on each other. This was the first kiss. The first of many. Diablo felt like he was in heaven with the kind, adventurous mermaid kissing him. The two locked arms as, they kissed more. Rosalina felt protected, like Diablo was her knight in shining armor, or fur. But she was there for him as he was for her.
When the two broke their kiss and landed eyes on each other, something amazing happened to Diablo. He stared at her as a vision landed on him. He was seeing flashes of her as she grew up, how she became friends with her gang, how she met Diablo, how she got her powers, and how she used them. He then saw her as an adult as a mermaid swimming with him. Inside, his wolf trusted her deeply as the vision ended. He felt 4 things, a friend, lover, brother, and protector. This could only mean one thing. He had imprinted on Rosalina Paola Gomez.
"I should take you home." Diablo said. "Wait, why are you out here on the beaches?"
"I felt you were here, somehow and I had a vision of you while I was in the moon pool, and I felt like the need to help you." Rose explained. Diablo took her hand and the two Spanish merteens swam to Rosalina's house. He finally let go of her hand when he reached the door.
That night marked the beginning of the growing friendship of the two Spanish mer teens.
End of Flashback…
"And that's how it happened." Diablo finished.
"You're dead as a doornail Nagual." The Tiraken Twins chimed in unison.
"Wolfboy." Salsa said. "You mean to tell me that you imprinted on a human turned mermaid?"
"I can't control it." Diablo said.
"He's right." Erik stated.
"I'm sorry what?" Voltage asked.
"It's part of his nature and there's nothing we can do about it." Erik explained.
"Still he's just getting her closer to the line of fire, now that he literally can't stay away from her." Voltage said.
"Look, it's getting late." Carlos said. "We've all had a long day, we'll talk about this in the morning."
Diablo's POV
As the rest left for bed, I transformed into an eagle and soared until I reached Rosalina's house. She was sound asleep in her bed. I transformed into a person and sat on the bed, next to Rosalina's sleeping body. I ran my hand through her golden hair and whispered,
"Nunca dejaré que nadie hacerte daño." (I'll never let anybody hurt you.)
Raiden's POV
I tossed and turned in my bed. I tried to get myself to sleep, but I couldn't for some reason. So to try to kill some time, I slipped out of my bed, and walked onto the bedroom balcony. I then started remembering my mother, her warm smile and motherly nature.
"Couldn't sleep huh?" I heard Erik behind me.
I smiled. "No. I gotta say, Mom being alive is a lot to take in."
Erik chuckled. "Anch'io." (Me too.)
He ruffled my hair and I of course, pushed his hand away. "Non toccare!" I exclaimed. (No touchy!)
Erik laughed as we looked into the evening sky. "Erik?" I asked.
He turned his head to me. "Hm?"
"Pensi che vedremo di nuovo mamma?" (Do you think we'll see Mom again?) I asked.
Erik hugged me and I hugged him back. He said to me,
"Raiden , te lo prometto, noi stiamo andando a trovarla se è l' ultima cosa che facciamo." (Raiden, I promise you, we're gonna find her if it's the last thing we do.)
And that's the end for now! Please review, because I do appreciate the feedback. What is to come? What will happen during the first day of school? What Mimmi doing at land school? And what will happen when Xandou and Helen spend time alone on the beaches of Mako? Thank you for waiting. And if you have not read Birthmark, I highly suggest you do before reading this.