AN: A few things I need to say about this chapter. One) there are some things in here that may or may not make sense the reason is because I haven't explained them in the story yet, no worries, I promise to explain them in later chapters. two) This chapter has a lot of panic/action in it so be prepared. three) You might cry a little while reading this chapter. I actually made myself cry a little bit when I was writing it. Alright, I think that's all I have to say, um...righty then...on with the chapter.

"Susan!" Edmund got up, brushed the dirt off his slightly torn light brown tights and raced over the to edge of the moon pool. He bent down near the water and threw his arms around her. "I've missed you so much."

Tears fell like rain from their eyes as they clung to one another, neither wanted to let go. Susan couldn't believe she was seeing her little brother again after all these years. "I missed you too, Ed."

Finally they pulled away. Edmund glanced down at her left hand, noticing the thin gold band on her middle finger, a smile spread out across his face from ear to ear. "Well I'll be! He actually managed to find you and marry you."

"Yeah..." Susan admitted with a coy half-smile. "He did."

"That's wonderful!" Edmund beamed at her.

"Um, hello?" Charlotte stamped her foot on the ground. "Can we do the whole family bonding thing later?"

"Shut up, Charlotte." Rikki told her.

"Alright, fine." Charlotte glowered at them and folded her arms across her chest. "Stay here and get caught by Mr. Bennett. See if I care."

"She's right." Edmund said, reaching to lift his sister out of the water. "We have got to get you out of here now."

Rikki pulled Susan back down into the moon pool, out of Edmund's grasp.

Edmund frowned at her. "Don't do that." He reached for her again Rikki grabbed Susan's wrist and pulled her further away from the edge so that if Edmund really wanted to get her out, he'd have to jump into the water.

"Rikki, what are you doing?" Susan demanded, yanking her wrist back.

"We can't trust him." Rikki protested. "He's working with Charlotte who's working with Mr. Bennett. He'll betray us all."

"He would never do that." Susan insisted, looking up at her beloved little brother, remembering when he was small enough to dress in doll's clothing. There were few people in the world she trusted as deeply as she trusted Edmund.

"Of course I wouldn't." Edmund assured them.

"Says the boy who betrayed his whole family for Turkish Delight." Rikki blurted out before she could help herself. She hadn't meant to be cruel but she was so frightened and nervous. That mixed with her impulsive nature caused her to say those words without thinking.

"Rikki!" Emma scolded.

Cleo didn't know what to say so she remained silent. On the one hand, she could see where Rikki was coming from. Anyone who was working along with Charlotte couldn't possibly be a good person. And yet, that kind just king with a dark past that Susan had told them about couldn't be bad. He just couldn't be. How could the boy who'd faithfully kept his sister's secret, the boy who'd loved and waited two years for Julia, the boy who'd rejoiced over his sister's happy outcome in marriage, how could be possibly be evil? But why was he with Charlotte? It seemed almost as if-bizarre as it was-that the two were friends.

Edmund looked like he'd been slapped across the face. "I'm sorry about that, okay? How many times do I have to say it?"

"It's alright, Ed." Susan said softly. "She didn't mean it."

"She better not have." Emma muttered.

"What was that?" Rikki asked her rather sharply.

"Nothing." Emma shrugged her shoulders.

"But what's going on?" Cleo blurted out, unable to stand the confusion one second longer. "Why are we stuck in here? How do you two know each other?"

"We don't have time to explain right now." Charlotte snapped. "Just let us help you out of there before Mr. Bennett gets back and sees you."

Susan swam over to Edmund who pulled her out into the dry rock. "Towels, Charlotte, now!" he wiggled his fingers in her direction.

"I don't have the towels." Charlotte told him. "The goat had them."

"Goat?" Rikki raised her eyebrows as Edmund leaned over and started to lift Cleo out of the moon pool. "What goat?"

"For the last time," Edmund huffed. "Mr. Tumnus is not a goat."

"Have you seen his legs?" Charlotte pointed out.

"He's a faun!" Edmund told her. "They all have legs like that."

"Whatever." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Where is the go- I mean, faun anyway?"

"I thought he was with you." Edmund said. He was now trying to lift Emma out of the moon pool but her tail kept sliding down back into it because of a large bed off moss growing on that side of the rocks.

"Great." Charlotte huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "We lost the goat man. This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Edmund snapped at her. "How is it my fault? You're the one who didn't stick to the plan."

"Well it's a good thing I didn't. Otherwise, they would have been trapped in here until Mr. Bennett arrived." Charlotte defended herself.

"You know instead of jawing at me like that, you could help me get them out." Edmund said, finally getting Emma out of the water with one final lift up.

"I'm not lifting Rikki out of there she hates me, she'll boil my hand right off." Charlotte glared at her.

"I can get myself out." Rikki snapped, pulling herself up out of the water. "And I swear if either of you are working with Mr. Bennett, I'll stream dry you right into the next dimension." She shook a fist at them.

"Don't threaten my brother," Susan told her angrily.

"It's alright, Su." Edmund tried to calm her down.

"No it's not." Susan insisted. "No one talks about my baby brother like that."

"Aw, how sweet." Charlotte pretend-gagged. She clapped her hands franticly. "Chop chop, let's get a move on shall we?"

"Shut up." Rikki sneered, as her tail-the only one yet to completely dry, started to vanish, her legs appearing in its place.

"Ah, my favorite two workers." Mr. Bennett had climbed down the into the cave somehow managing not to make any noise. He put one arm around Charlotte and the other around Edmund.

"What did I say about touching me?" Edmund lifted Harrison's arm off of him like it was a pile of dog poo.

He took his arm from around him. "Sorry mate."

"Same goes for me." Charlotte shoved his arm away from her.

"It's great that your long lost cousin from England was so willing to help us out." Harrison Bennett smiled at Charlotte. "I don't know not sure if I should smack you for telling him about the mermaids or kiss your head for getting me another worker."

"Don't kiss my head." Charlotte told him flatly, trying to sound like her former unkind self but failing just slightly. "just give me my paycheck."

"Not yet." Harrison told her. "Let's just get started." He looked over at the four mermaids, displeased to see they all had their legs, not their tails. "Why aren't they in the moon pool?"

"They just climbed out." Edmund shrugged.

"Just climbed out?" Mr. Harrison walked over slowly, approaching them. Without warning, he shoved Susan back into the moon pool.

Edmund took a step forward but Charlotte pulled him back and shook her head. She whispered something to him and he nodded.

"So, Edmund..." Mr. Bennett suddenly winked at him.

"Wait...." Edmund gasped, realizing that he'd told Harrison that his name was Joe Watsford. How could he possibly know his real name?

"You really didn't think I'd fall for that fake story about you being Charlotte's long lost cousin did you?" He laughed so hard that his shoulders started shaking. "I knew you were trying to set me up, so I set you up." He reached into his pocket, pulled out his gun and pointed it at Edmund.

"How did you find out?" Edmund demanded, taking a step forward.

Harrison smirked at him. "Linda, come in here please."

Dr. Denman suddenly walked down into the cave. "Hello girls." She grinned at them. "Thought I lost my memory didn't you? Thought you'd never see me again? Big mistake."

"We'll see about that." Rikki started to clench her hand.

"None of that." Harrison warned her, waving his gun. "I'll shoot a hole right through your friend's brother if you don't stop right this second."

Susan looked over at Edmund and then back at Rikki. "Rikki, please don't."

"Go ahead, Rikki." Edmund said bravely. "I'll be fine."

"Don't do it." Susan insisted.

"Smart mermaid." Harrison gave her a cold smile.

"But not so smart that she didn't fall for that stupid article I had planted in the paper." Dr. Denman laughed.

"Stop right now." Charlotte ran over shoving Edmund into the moon pool so quickly that Harrison didn't have time to fire off a shot.

"Why did you do that for?" Edmund asked, treading the water to keep his head above the surface.

"Because of this." Charlotte pulled a key seemly out of no where and tossed it to Edmund.

Dr. Denman felt the place in her pocket where her key to the half-automatic bars that also could be opened manually if need be. "Charlotte!"

"Oops." Charlotte pretended to look sorry. "Did I accidentally steal your key and drop it into the moon pool?" She shrugged her shoulders, "My bad."

Edmund was already swimming under with the key forcing it into the lock to get it open. As soon as the girls heard the click, they dived in knowing it was their only way out. Hoping she could still hold her breath for a while even though she was no longer a mermaid, Charlotte jumped in too. She knew all too well that now that she had openly betrayed Denman and Bennett, she wouldn't he safe with them.

"Stop them!" Harrison ordered.

"No problem." Dr. Denman pulled the automatic remote out of her lab coat pocket and pressed the 'CLOSE' button.

Rikki and Cleo were already on the other side but Charlotte, Emma, Susan, and Edmund were not. The door started to close. Slowly at first but then faster. Knowing the only possible way for them to escape was for that door to stay open, Edmund grabbed onto the bars and tried to hold his breath and keep them up like a gate. It hurt his hands terribly but there was nothing he could do about that.

Susan and Charlotte started to swim out. When they were half way out of the gate, Harrison realized what was happening, pointed his gun at Edmund's leg under the water and let a bullet fly. It struck rather high up in the leg just as Mr. Bennett had intended it to. The sudden pain made him let go of the gate and he started to fall down under the water.

Susan couldn't save him because she was trying to help Charlotte to the surface before she drowned and the gate behind Edmund was now closed anyway. He was trapped in the moon pool and she was now locked on the other side of it. She saw blood in the water and knew that if they didn't a move on sharks would show up and attack.

Breathless, terrified, and panicked, Rikki, Cleo, Susan, and Charlotte reached the surface of the water a good distance away form the blood.

"Edmund!" Susan cried now that she could speak again. She knew he probably couldn't hear her but she cried anyway. He might for all she knew be dead now. All that blood had gushed out of his leg into the water...her body started shaking with sobs.

"Let's get her back to the boat." Rikki said, grabbing one of her arms while Cleo grabbed the other.

"Wait." she gasped. "Where's Emma?"

"She was behind me." Charlotte realized. "She must have gotten caught in the moon pool."

"Em..." Cleo whispered, tears for her friend sliding down her face. She'd known her even longer than she'd known Rikki. She used to help her train for swimming. And now she was trapped at the mercy of Dr. Denman and Mr. Harrison.

On the boat, Peter looked anxiously over the edge. The girls should have been back by now.

"What do you think's taking them so long?" Ash asked the lapping waves below the boat.

"I don't know, something must be wrong." Lewis reached for his water mask and flippers. "Maybe I should..."

"No, look!" Max pointed to four female heads sticking out of the water in the distance. "Here they come."

"Thanks be to the Lion." Peter sighed.

A thin white hand that Lewis assumed belonged to Emma or Rikki reached the side of the boat first. He leaned over and pulled her on boat. Seeing who it was, he let out a gasp of surprise. "Charlotte?"

"Hello Lewis." She said weakly, collapsing on one of the wooden seats.

"What in the world..." Zane helped Rikki up onto the boat.

Louise and Julia lifted Cleo on board while Peter helped Susan who seemed to be in some sort of shock.

She threw herself into her husband's arms sobbing.

He stroked her wet hair. "Shh, it's alright..."

"No it's not." Susan cried into his chest. "You don't know what happened..."

"Where's Emma?" Ash asked them.

"She didn't make it through." Rikki told them.

"Through what?" Max asked.

"Susan, what happened?" Peter whispered, knowing it had to be something terrible.

"Charlotte, is that blood?" Lewis exclaimed pointing to dark spot on her shirt. She had been the last one out before the gate closed which had been right when Edmund had been shot, she'd accidentally gotten a little bit of his blood on her shirt that hadn't washed off.

Charlotte nodded, not knowing what else to say or do.

"Oh my god." Was all Lewis could think to say now.

"What happened?" Ash need to know.

"Ask her." Rikki pointed at Charlotte.

"Rikki, it's not her fault." Cleo felt strange standing up for Charlotte like that but knew it was the truth.

"Wasn't it?" Rikki glared at her. "If former mermaid big mouth over there hadn't blabbed to Denman and Zane's idiot father in the first place, none of this would be happening."

"I'm sorry." Charlotte said thrusting her face into her hands, realizing at last the pain that she had caused. How could she have done this? What would that Lion think of her now? What would her grandmother say?

"I wish that were enough." Rikki started to cry thinking of Emma and Susan's brother, not even knowing if either of them had lived or died. "I really do."

Back at the moon pool, Emma lifted an unconscious-still bleeding-Edmund out of the water and onto the dry rock. Dr. Denman and Mr. Bennett were no where to be found.

As soon as Emma had set him down safely, She raced over to the land entrance, hoping to get out and maybe get help for the boy with bullet in his leg. But she quickly found out the reason Denman and Bennett had gone. They'd put bars up there too. She and Edmund were completely trapped in the moon pool cave.

AN: No, don't worry, Edmund is NOT dead. He's going to be fine. So don't freak out on me. But please leave a review to tell me what you thought.