Start: 11-26-10
Finished: 12-5-10

Whoanessness: I believe it's pronounced 'conundrum'. I agree on the 'Kelly heard their true last name' sitch. Glad ya liked the Roxxie/George moment, too. And yeah, looks they're finally gnna get along a little bit better, and I do mean a little bit. And yeah, Reef does have a big mouth, but then again, ya would freak out from findin' out your potential lover turns out to be a mer-person, but that's just me.

The Cullens of Death Metal: No doubt it'll be interestin'. And no, I'm not givin' Reef's mom the name "Ariel". Woulda been a good reference, though, I admit.

Roscieee: I have this to say for ya: Surprise, surprise. 'Nuff said.

Also, I thought I'd put some Loseph in this chapter in honor of Lemonly (given he's made some pretty good Loseph fanfics) & Constance Faye Dyer.

Think Reef discovering Fin's true form was a shocker? Wait 'till y'all read this chapter! One of which you probably never expected.

Chapter 11: The Mermaids' Revelation and a Surprise


"You did WHAT?" Emma, Jess, and Kaycee shouted at Fin. Fin just told them she revealed her secrets to Reef and that he had fallen for her and she for him, as much as she wanted to deny it (again).

"I cannot believe you did that, Fin!" Jess said. "Do you have any idea how steamed your parents and siblings are going to be when they find out about this?"

"I didn't like this anymore than you, but what choice did I have?" Fin pointed out.

"Plus, he promised to keep it all a secret." The royal mermaid added.

"That's true." Emma put in.

"Still, this doesn't excuse you from the king & queen's punishment when they find out you broke rules one and three!"" Kaycee stated.

"I know." Fin admitted.

"However, it seems that there's at least one human I believe can help us out. Kahuna. I've seen some merfolk-related objects in his hut." Fin added. The mermaids opened their eyes in shock.

"Really?" The mer-girls asked in surprise.

"He explained that he now rembembers where he had seen my mark before- from the sea, off the coast of Sunset Island. He also said he knew my parents before they married- in fact he introduced them. He said that he was an old friend of the mer-people, and promised to keep our existence secret from the humans." The mermaids were surprised at what they just heard.

"So THAT'S where I've heard that name before! My mom ocasionally mentioned him from time to time, how he managed to save entire mer-familes from the humans' fishing nets, spears, & harpoons back in his day, whether he was on land, on a boat, or even underwater, all without exposing our species to them!" Kaycee exclaimed.

"He even helped my dad & mom slay the starspawn sea witch at Cthulhu's Grotto in their youth long ago, and he had one of her face tentacles in a jar to prove it." Fin put in, shuddering at that last part.

"I knew there was something familiar about this Kahuna we've heard about!" Emma said.

"And he's still keeping his promise not to expose us merfolk!" Fin added.

"Well, it looks like there is a human we can trust after all." Jess said.

"This is gonna be a long, interesting summer." Fin stated, with no idea how interesting the summer was going to be...


FOUR WEEKS LATER

The party they had been waiting for was almost here! The teens were SO stoked about, ESPECIALLY the merfolk among them! This was gonna be really... interesting.

Over the past weeks, Reef & Fin had trying to get along, albeit still arguing like a married couple and still getting teased about their relationgship & wanting to kiss each other on the lips by their friends, but at least they were starting to bond, little by little. Emma was still fixed on Ty and mireading Johnny's messages. Ty was still trying to confess his feelings for Jess, but still failed.

Ms. Volotres was still around around, making her son's life rough & embarrassing, even to the point of teasing him about his budding relationship with Fin, annoying him more. Plus, Fin even came up with the term 'Leslie' for 'herb, squid, complete loser' to annoy Reef when he made any sexist insults, which frequently occured & worked. The other mermaids & humans that heard his true first name teased him with it, often saying 'what a leslie' or 'don't be such a leslie'. However, Ms. Volotres always felt vibes of suspicion from Fin in terms of origin, currently unaware Reef had fallen for (and been rescued twice by) a mermaid princess.

Roxxie played with George & Grommet at the penthouse pool area and still getting along well despite a few... disagreements.

Lance & Kaycee were starting to bond, much Ripper & Kenny's surprise & relief. Lo had been trying (and failing) to get back in the penthouse from time to time, and occasionally went shopping while off duty, but she mostly hung out with Broseph. Lo & Broseph were still dating, to the point of making out front in of their pals including Reef & Fin, which annoyed them into saying 'why don't you two get a room?' Kelly & David bonded nicely over the weeks and even started dating two weeks ago. They even took surf lessons from Fin, which they passed nicely. Kelly still felt vibes of suspicion from him, though, but hadn't let it bother her so far. David kept trying to tell her something personal but kept getting cut off by his calls on his suspiciously shell-fashioned sliver iPhone involving some disturbances around the resort & beach, whatever they were...

Also, Kelly had occasionally been pondering about the mermaid sisters' true last name, why Kaycee called out 'Krakenove' instead of 'Johnsonbaugh', but the sisters kept changing the subject or getting called upon by their friends, Bummer, or Mr. & Ms. Ridgemount.
'What on Earth could they be hiding?' Kelly thought.

Lo, Ty, their parents, Johnny, Kelly, Emma, & Jess are walking their way through the hotel lobby. Lo's going over the list of inventory to make sure they everything they need for the The Big Splash party.

"Ok, so we have the ocean-themed decorations?" asked Lo, going over her list of inventory for the summer beach bash coming this weekend. "Check." Answered Ty.
"Snacks, food & drinks?" Lo asked.
"Check." said Ms. Ridgemount.
Lo added "Activities & games?"
"We got that down." Jess responded.
Lo then asked "Fireworks for the night?"
"Got plenty of those." Johnny replied.
"Okay, all I need to do is pay for insurance for any damages that come our way and we're all good to go. Any questions?" Lo asked.

"I have one." Emma replied. "Ask away, Emma." Lo said. Then the redhead asked a question that took them by surpise.

"What's insurance?" Lo, her family, Johnny, and Kelly stopped in their tracks and slowly turned to her, eyes wide in shock. They couldn't believe Emma hadn't heard of insurance.

"You-You're kidding, right? You've never heard of insurance?" Lo asked in shock. Emma & Jess nodded sideways.

"Seriously?" they asked at once. The merfolk may have familiarized themselves with a lot of modern things from the human world, but insurance was rarely, if EVER, one of them.

"We don't exactly have such a thing where we come from." Jess told them.
"And where exactly are you from?" asked Ms. Ridgemount with minor suspicion in her voice. Emma & Jess's reply is "It's not on the map. You wouldn't believe us if we told you, anyway." The humans were stunned by this.

"An unknown country? How unexpected." Kelly stated.

"Actually, it's more of a kingdom. We live by descretion in terms of where we came from." Emma corrected. Johnny, Ty, Lo, Mr. & Ms. Ridgemount, & Kelly raised a brow.

"The sea's kind of our home, our livelihood even. It's a little complicated." Jess added.

"So your families really do live by the sea, huh?" Mr. Ridgemount.

"You might say that." Jess replied. "Oookaaayyy..." was all the humans could say. The baffled humans felt a pang of suspicion, but let it slide off and moved on.

With that, the two mermaids-in-disguise uttered "whew!"

"That was close." Emma stated.

"It seems the human world's more complex than ever. Which means blending in's going to be more challenging and require more caution than I anticipated." Jess added. Emma nodded in agreement.

"Better tell the others. Kahuna may help us with that, as well." Emma tacked on. And off they went.


"Okay, so far, so good." Fin said to Emma, Jess, Kaycee & Roxxie as they entered the staff house. "None of them have discovered our big secret, and hope it stays that way." The mer-girls had returned from the Kahuna's hut. To their surprise, he already knew deep down what they really were the moment he saw them.

"What secret?" a voice asked. The mer-girls, starled by the voice, turned their attention to the way they came and at the door was... Broseph! This couldn't be happening!

"Uh, you wouldn't beleive us if we told you." was the girls' reply.

"Try me." said Broseph. "I've been gettin' strong suspicious vibes from you five since your arrival."

Then he asked a question that shocked them. "You five wouldn't happen to be mermaids, would you?" The mergirls opened their eyes in shock at the question.

"How else could I explain those marks on you, and the fact you wear necklaces associated with the ocean. That and the fact that Fin's a princess judging by the detailed marks on her belly." he added. The mer-girls were nervous & shocked from the fact that Broseph knew a great deal about their species.

"And don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He said, much to their relief. "Of course, I'm not too thrilled about keeping secrets, especially from Lo. I've got a secret as big as yours. And I've always felt like telling Lo about it, but never told her or any on my friends" Broseph put in. Suddenly, they heard a gasp of shock and they saw it came from... Lo, who just stepped in, eyes open wide with disbelief!

"What? Yo- You've been keeping secrets, from me?" asked Lo. Broseph rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness.

"We've known each other for six years, and now I find out you're hiding something from me?" Lo asked in shock. "I thought we were open to one another! I thought we could tell each other anything!" she said in an understandly upset tone. Oh, dear. This was starting to put some strain on their relationship, and even their date!

"Look, Lo, it's just that-" Broseph started to explain, but Lo stormed off, out of the staff house. Broseph bolted after her, then the mermaids followed.

"Oh, c'mon, Lo, just hear me out!" Broseph said, Lo still walking away in disappointment.

"Go away, Broseph! Just Ho'i a'u wale no!" (leave me alone!) Lo demanded. Clearly she had been learning some Hawaiin vocabulary from Kendra! Then Broseph run past Lo and blocked her path, desparate to talk some sense into her as he dropped to his knees, hands clasped together in begging.

"PLEASE, Lo, just give me a chance to explain! I'm on my knees here, Lo!" Broseph begged.

Lo sighed in exasperation and asked "Alright, so what's your 'big secret'? Huh?"

"Well," Broseph started, noticing Lo's left eye twitching in irritation. "it's something you have to see for yourself to believe." Lo was still upset, but now puzzled by what he meant.

"Okay, then show me." Lo demanded impatiently, arms crossed.

"This secret requires water to kick in. Meet me by the cove?" Broseph said to her.

"You've been keeping secrets from us, Broseph?" a group of voices called out. Broseph, Lo, and the five mermaids craned their heads to see... Reef, Johnny, Ripper, Kenny, and Lance! Oh, boy! Then the Hawaiian human noticed Fin & Reef were looking away, trying to look innocent & casual, while rubbing the back of the necks.

"Reef, are you and Fin hiding something from us, as well?" asked Kenny. The other humans caught on, brows raised.

"Uh...?" said Reef, looking for something to cover up the fact Fin and her friends were mermaids.

"You are, aren't you, mate?" Ripper asked suspiciously. Before the other humans could pile on the peer pressure on Reef to make him spill the beans (metaphorically speaking), Fin intervened.

"Alright, alright, we'll show our big secret, but you HAVE to promise not to tell anyone else about this, got that?" Fin proposed. Reef couldn't believe what he was hearing!

"Fin, are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked in concern. Fin gave him an 'got any better ideas, kook?' look. The other mermaids -and Broseph- weren't happy about this, but had no choice. And off to the cove of The Office they went.


It was almost sunset when they reached the cove. Fin told Emma, Jess, the 'Johnsonbaugh' sisters, and even Broseph to follow her into the water and the humans to stand back and watch, confused glances exchanged.

"My parents & sibs are SO gonna freak big time when they hear about this!" Fin muttered. "Girls, Broseph, dive down and take off your necklaces." Fin told them. "Get ready for the surprise of your lives." They did as she told them, resulting in a few flashes in the water, confusing them further. Then the girls resurfaced, jumping in a somersault, them resurfacing. The humans' eyes popped open and dropped their jaws in shock & disbelief at what they just witnessed. Reef, slightly less so.

"Mates, are you seeing this?" Ripper asked in shock.

"I'm seein', but I'm not believin'!" Lance blabbed.

"I can't believe we made friends with, with-" Kenny said trying to say the last word in her sentence.

"Okay, Kenny, yes, we're mermaids." Fin told her casually.

"You mean, I got a crush on a pink-haired mermaid?" Lance blurted out, grabbing Kaycee's attention, causing them both to blush deeply- and her fingerscales to turn bright pink.

"You mean to tell me, I've fallen head over heels in love with a pink-tailed, mahogony-ponytailed fish?" blabbed Johnny. Emma was shocked with what she just heard.

"You were... you were trying to tell me your feelings... for me? And I never noticed or understood it?" Emma asked Johnny in disbelief. "I am so sorry Johnny, I had no idea."

"And I can't believe Ty has fallen for Jess, and she never noticed?" Lo said in shock. Jess's eyes widened in shock from what she just heard, and the only reply she could think of saying was "WHAT?"

"And George has a crush on a mermaid his age, with pigtails too?" Lo added, causing Roxxie, who she reffered to, to blush. Then Roxxie noticed Broseph hadn't resufaced yet. The humans noticed this, too.

"Um, where's Broseph?" asked Roxxie.

As if on cue, Broseph resurfaced and hauled himself back onto shore, but he gave the humans got the shock of their lives.

"He's a-" Reef lives, eyes wide open and jaws dropped!

"Dude's a-" Johhny blabbed. Lo, however, was the most flabbergasted of all.

"You're a- You're a- You're a-" Lo stammered.

"Yes, Lo, my big secret is... I'm a merman." Broseph confessed. It was true. Broseph was in fact a merman. An actual merman! He had webbing, arms fins, and a tail like the mermaids, only his were all white.

"So we made friends with a merman for the past six years?" Johnny blurted out.

"And we share our room with one in the staff house?" Reef blabbed.

"I can't believe Lo fell in love with a fish!" Ripper & Kenny said in shock unison.

"You mean to tell me tha-that I was dating a merman for the past four weeks? And-and-and I actually kissed one?" Lo exclaimed in disbelief. The mermaids turned their faces to Broseph in disbelief.

"You're dating a human?" The mermaids asked as Broseph lt out a nervous laugh.

"You're breakling the third law for falling in love with a human!" Jess blurted out.

"Oh, pfft, that law is ancient. You can do so, just as long as you don't let that human know you're a mer-person..." Broseph retorted smoothly. "... which, of course, is kind of compromised right about now." He added as he turned to Lo, who was still in shock from seeing his true form.

"Uh, Lo, would this make you feel any better?" Broseph as he opend his webbed hand to show... a decent-sized pearl in his palm. Lo couldn't believe she was offered a pearl as token of forgiveness. No boy had even gone through so much trouble to please her.

"Oh, how could I stay mad at you?" Lo asked him as she accepted and took the pearl, not bothering to ask how or where under the sea he got it & returned so quickly.

"Lo, do you remember the day we met, after I got you out of that strong undertow?" asked Broseph.

"Yeah. What about it?" Lo asked.

"Well, thing is, we merfolk can swim through currents like undertows more easily than humans can and we're stronger swimmers, too." Broseph stated. Then Lo's eyes widened in realization as to what he was talking about.

FLASHBACK

SIX YEARS AGO

Nine-year-old Lo and her family had just set foot on the beach. Lo, in her lilac one-piece bathing suit, was walking causually onto the sand. Eleven-year-old Ty, in his khaki green shorts, was keeping an eye on her & six-year-old Geroge, in pale blue swimtrunks, while their mother set up her tanning spot. Their father was carrying a couple practice surfboards rented for Lo & Ty. Then Lo placed a hand to her brow, looked out to the ocean, squinted her eyes a bit, and noticed something... or rather, someone.

"Hey, who's that in the surf? He's really good." Lo said. Ty, George, Nancy & Archimedes looked out in Lo's direction. What they saw was... a small boy, close to Lo's age, yet slightly older, surfing as skillfully as a child could. They stared in awe at this child, Lo especially. As far as they could tell from a distance, his skin was brown, had blond hair, and wore white swimtrunks and was on a white, plain five-foot surfboard.

"Have you seen him before? Because I haven't." Ty said to his mother in wonder.

"No, I don't think so. Whoever he is, he's a good surfer already." Ms. Ridgemount said. Then they noticed Lo was already at the tide, no doubt eagerly wanting to meet that boy. She may already be a decent swimmer & surfer, but she had no idea what she was walking into...

Concerned for his sister's safety, Ty ran for the water to pick Lo up from the shore, but before he could get within a few feet of her, Lo, who was already a couple meters into the water, felt some tug around her ankle. She started to turn back for the shore, but then felt a strong tug by something, and the more she struggled to reach the chore, the further she was pulled... further out to sea! Unbeknownst to the Ridgemounts, the boy noticed this from afar went surfed to their area as fast as he could.

Lo's family, horrified by what just transpired, rushed to the shore, but Lo was already twenty feet away and underwater, distressed but powerless. Even the big, strong Archimedes Ridgemount can't fight against the undertows- the currents were far too strong, even for him. They were uncertain they they could do...

Then Ty noticed the white board the boy was surfing on was closer to their location, but the boy who used was nowhere to be seen. It didn't take long for the others to notice that. How did he get from the wave to shore so fast? And where WAS he right now?

Lo was struggling to to get away from whatever it was that was pulling her further out to sea. She was going further and further from shore and deep and deeper into the water. To add more to the tension, Lo was starting to run low on air, to the point of beginning to lose conciousness!

The last thing Lo saw was a blurry figure she couldn't make out approaching from the light blue above before she blacked out.

A few precious seconds later, someone surfaced and clambered onto the rocks... with Lo in his arms! The Ridgemount family noticed that and ran to their location.

The blond boy pressed his hands on Lo's heart in an attempt to jumpstart it in order to save her. Which worked, much to his relief. Lo coughed & gagged up some seawater that got into her lungs, and gasped for air, and coughed a bit more, just before she heard the best voice she had ever heard.

"You okay, girl?" A voice asked in a Carribean accent. Her eyes were still stinging from the seawater, blurring vision shortly, but she managed to make out a face looking down at him, particularly one feature- his charming brown eyes. Once her eyesight cleared, she could see his face more clearly- his blond afro hair, his humbly-made coconut-bead necklace.

"Hello." Lo uttered weakly.

"Hello yourself." The Carribean boy replied back. Then her family showed up. And the were relieved to see Lo still alive. Lo, her parents and her brothers thanked the boy for his rescue effort and were eternally grateful, Lo especially.

"I didn't get your name, by the way. I'm Lauren Ridgemount, but I'm starting to go by Lo." She introduced herself.

"Broseph. Broseph... Brown." He told her. Then her family introduced themselves.

"So, you feeling better?" asked Broseph.

"I am now that you're here." was Lo's reply. For Lo & Broseph, this was love at first sight. And so they had been together & bonded since.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Of course! I always wondered how you could swim through an undertow and carry someone back to shore without struggling. My fam & I have always pondered on that for the past six years. It all makes sense now! But why all the secrecy?" Lo said to Broseph.

"Merfolk law states that no human should know you're a mer-person. Or that you shouldn't fall in love with a human who knows your secret." Broseph explained.

"Also, this clearly confirms my suspicions about these girls." Broseph added. "Their use of ocean-themed lingo, the splashdown Fin challenged Reef to."

"And their unfamiliarity with things like insurance. Or dating, for that matter." Lo pointed out. Emma let out a nervous laugh.

"I just knew there was something fishy about you girls and the Brown brothers the moment we met you all." Kenny blurted out. "I just didn't expect this."

"Oh, and by the way, Lo, my real last name is Chelonia." Broseph confessed to her. This shocked the humans, especially Lo. "Mom, Grommet & I members of the Sea Turtle Clan, and we have the marks to prove it. You know, the ones that look like tattoos." Then they explained the same things to their fellow humans that Fin did to Reef. They even explained that they used human last names for cover while among humans. They were even flabbergasted when Fin & Reef confessed that Fin was a princess and her parents were the king & queen of the oceans and that Reef was in love with a mermaid princess!

To the mermaids & merman's surprise & relief, their follow humans promised to not to reveal their existence to humankind, considering all the good they had done for them so far.

"Kahuna was an old friend of my dad. My father used to tell me stories of merfolk when I was little. I just never saw any actual merfolk until now." Kendra added. "I'm willing to help Kahuna protect your fishy secret." Those words gave the mer-people a relief.

"I'll join you on this. I'd do anything for you, Emma." said Johnny. Emma beamed at this comment, blushing deeply as did her fingerscales. Finally, for the time since they met, Emma has noticed and even understood Johnny's message.

"As will I, but in my case, I'm doing it for Broseph's sake." Lo said.
"Really?" Broseph inquired.
"For as long as I can, my love." Lo told him. And with that, Lo & Broseph, along with Johnny & Emma, smacked lips, for the first time in the latter's case.

"Ugh, will you four just get a room?" Their friends, human & mer-person alike said in respose to this sight, evidently annoyed, even Reef & Fin. Good luck hiding that mer-secret from your fellow humans. They were SO gonna need it!

WOW! Sure didn't see THAT comin', did ya? The suspicions on Broseph come to light at last in a way nobody expected! And Emma FINALLY understood Johnny's message. Feel free to give reviews on your reactions to Broseph as a merman, y'all.