I'M FREEEEEEEEEE!

Sorry about that… I'm just so happy that the Fourth Quarter Exams are over! I am FREEEEEEEE~ but on the downside there are graduation rehearsals and the National Achievement Test next week… the NAT comes before the rehearsals, though…

Sassygirl48: Thanks a lot :) Let's see…

(no name): Look harder.

In a matter of minutes, the breads were finished. Since they had nowhere to put the plastic bags, Lois went back to throw them away. They waited for her before moving on to the place where the kayaks were. The passengers were peering down at the water, as if just staring could lead them to the treasure.

The eight Shapeshifters swam on. Hamilton and Reagan were far ahead, already checking for wild sea animals to ward off. When the coast was clear, they were floating with their life vests, motioning for the others to hurry up.

Jonah and Sinead followed, then Ysa and Lois, and Ian and Amy. "We can hold our breaths for a full minute," Reagan said. "But when we had our powers, we could stay down for an hour."

"We'll have to get used to it," Ian sighed.

"That's why we have to find the Journals as soon as possible," Sinead said. "So we can rebuild the Charms and get our powers back."

"And before the Vespers take control of the Cave," Ysa added.

Hamilton and Reagan took off their life jackets but kept their masks. They took the deepest breaths they could and dove, while everyone else watched from above.

The Holts quickly swam downwards, nearing the cave, when two great white sharks appeared. Amy immediately choked and had to raise her head, while Sinead helped her calm down. Ian caught Amy's eyes and they both backed away a little.

"They're in trouble with the Guardians," Ysa said quietly. "They have thirty seconds to get out of there, based on what Reagan said."

"That they can hold their breaths for a full minute? Yeah," Jonah agreed.

"There are Guardians, even here?" Amy asked.

"Of course," Lois said. "What if scuba divers were able to enter? They'd find out all about our magical world and use whatever's written in the Journals to make Muggles like us and use it to destroy the world even more."

"I never thought you were going eco-friendly," Ysa said.

"Well, the world has to go eco-friendly in order to prolong our existence," Lois said. "But personally, I think it's the government who should inspire people to act."

"Amen to that, actually," her cousin said. "Ten seconds."

The Holts seemed to realize this too; they immediately surfaced and gasped out, "TO THE SHORE!"

Good thing they did, as the great whites were at their heels.

Amy tried to swim as quickly as everyone else, but she immediately got left behind because she wasn't so good in swimming. The sharks were almost to her. Tourists were rapidly taking pictures of the sharks, no doubt for them to post on the Internet.

Suddenly, the Phoenix Princess felt someone pulling her forward. "And you can't swim?" Ian said, mildly surprised as he held her hand tightly while he propelled the two of them much farther away from the sharks.

She felt her cheeks burn, but couldn't answer. "Hold on," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "We're near."

The Shapeshifters were exhausted. After a quick shower and change of clothes, everyone was back outside with their stomachs growling madly.

"I think we should try the scuba diving tomorrow," Sinead said, "if we want to get out of here quickly."

"Come on, I thought this was a vacation," Ian said, feigning sadness.

Everyone chuckled. "Well, since we can't get through the sharks by snorkeling, we could use an oxygen tank," Sinead sighed.

They headed to one of the restaurants, Tides, and found a table. Ysa and Lois stayed behind to reserve the place while the Royalties went ahead to get dinner.

Amy's stomach growled louder whenever she glanced at the food surrounding her. Everything just looked so delicious.

"Exactly why we chose this place," Ian said, as if reading her mind.

"Are you a mind reader?" she asked.

"No, but your expression said it all." He flashed a smirk and walked away to join Jonah, who was having trouble deciding what to get.

Sinead appeared on Amy's left and Reagan on the right. "As the Representatives said a long time ago when they heard someone had a crush on someone, uuuy!"

Fighting the great sensation of blushing, Amy said, "What?"

"We know you like him," Reagan said as she got two pieces of tempura and some sauce. "It's been obvious since the Clue hunt. Well, we'll be going now. Hurry up or your food will get cold."

Dinner was quite silent, because everyone was too hungry to chat. They wolfed down their dinners, Holt-style (sort of), paid the bill, and left.

While they were walking back to their rooms, Ysa said, "Do you even know how much scuba diving costs?"

"Expensive for all eight of us," Ian said. "But I think Reagan and Hamilton can manage on their own. We can just stay on the beach."

"I'd rather we empty the entire basket of bread again while they dive," Lois said.

"So what you're saying is that Reagan and Hamilton will dive to the cavern while we feed the fishes?" Amy asked.

"Basically, yes," Sinead said. "Wait. Did Jasmine, Gabrielle and Richelle include scuba diving?"

"Yep," Ysa answered. "I was watching them."

"That's good. Then we'll have fewer problems. We should wake up at, like, five or something tomorrow so we can go there before anyone else," the Ekaterina suggested. "Unlike yesterday, when everyone took pictures of us being chased by sharks."

The next morning, everyone was up by five. Through the phones, they were able to finalize the agenda for the rest of the day.

First, they would eat breakfast (once again at Tides), already prepared to go snorkeling/scuba diving. Then Reagan and Hamilton would arrange to go scuba diving, while everyone else was to go snorkeling. The staff was pretty surprised by the earliness, but when Ysa said that they were very early risers, they simply nodded.

"You'll be going thirty minutes from now," the lady at the desk said. "So you should bring bread, waterproof cameras if you have, and of course yourselves." She smiled.

"Thanks," Hamilton said, and they returned to the others who were sitting on deckchairs.

"So, are you ready?" Ian asked, stretching lazily like he had all the time in the world.

"Of course," Reagan said, as if a little offended by his question.

Ysa and Lois exchanged a few words in Fukien, and when they shot Ian a pointed look, he just grinned and held his hands up in surrender, then turned his back to them.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"They're afraid I'll eavesdrop," he chuckled. "We'll be going as pairs, like yesterday. I took some bread from the restaurant, and no one seemed to mind, so we'll have extras."

"Nice," she said, smiling. "How long have you known about the Shapeshifters?"

"Since I was seven," he said. "Natalie knew three years later, when she was also seven. We came here often on vacation. We'd meet with Rachelle and we'd play together."

For some reason, Amy couldn't imagine Ian playing like a regular child.

"I can tell from your expression that you can't really imagine that scenario," he said. "You shouldn't be too obvious with your face, or your enemies could use that as a way to know your secrets."

"Oh," she said, looking down so he wouldn't see the tinges of pink that had appeared in her cheeks.

The sun was already in the air when they left the seashore. Reagan and Hamilton rode a boat to the cavern's location while everyone else snorkeled after them, holding their breads. Adrenaline coursed through them, making each kick, each stroke stronger and propelled them farther.

Suddenly, Jonah and Sinead stopped. "The sharks are back," they called.

They peered down into the water. The Holts managed to enter the dark cave's wide mouth, and the sharks swam away. Now it was up to Hamilton and Reagan.

The job was supposed to be simple: Get in, grab the Journals, and go. The cavern wasn't so deep, and an ancient-looking chest was just sitting there when they got in.

Hamilton pointed to the chest and he and his sister moved on. He placed his hand on the wood and immediately felt a surge of energy course through him, as if he had gotten his powers back. Whoa, he thought, staggering back.

Reagan reached out and held him steady. "What?" she mouthed behind her scuba mask.

"Touch," he said.

She did so and her reaction was the same. "Carry," she said, pointing upwards.

If the sharks didn't catch them.

Okay, that's enough for now… I'm just so excited 'cause Hunger Games is showing on March 22 (Philippines)! :) I'm obsessed…

Anyway, please review, and I'd really appreciate it if you could share this story to friends or whoever~

-TCDW