The three mermaids swam through the water, their eyes scanning the reef. So far, they hadn't seen tail nor hair of the other. They searched through the water, they knew it well enough by then, but they didn't find anything.
They swam separately, but a slight feeling of unease carried them forward. If they had just managed to drop Charlotte in the pool under the eclipse, then she would've lost her powers, and became no more of a harm to them.
"This is pointless," Rikki muttered when they had joined back up in the Moon Pool.
"Any sign of her?" Emma asked, trying to catch her breath.
Rikki and Cleo and shook their heads, the blonde saying spitefully, "She's probably just sulking somewhere or trying to come up with another plan to hurt us."
"All the more reason we need to find her," Cleo said stubbornly. "We don't know what she's up to. Someone could've seen her, and then we could all be in trouble."
"And if she was hiding or something, she'd at least call her mother. Ms. Watsford's already called Lewis twice and me once. We're gonna run out of excuses, and she might call the police."
Rikki looked off to the vast ocean. She didn't want to admit they were right, and in the pit of her stomach, she knew something was wrong. But she nodded anyway. "Okay, then. What's the plan next then? The ocean's a big place, and she's had a two-day head start."
"Let's go to my house," Emma suggested. "Lewis should be done by now."
"She wasn't anywhere?" Rikki asked incredulously, pacing back and forth in Emma's room.
"No, I couldn't find her anywhere," Lewis replied, holding Cleo's hand.
"Not at Max's, or the marine park?" Emma suggested, writing it down. "She was in theater, maybe someone there knows about where she might be?"
"No. Max said he hasn't seen her since before the full moon. And I asked a few of her other friends, and they haven't seen her either."
"Did she say anything to you before she swam away?" Cleo asked. "While we were knocked out?"
Lewis shook his head. "Not really. Just that she wasn't going to let us take away what was hers."
A feeling of unease settled over the group. Cleo cleared her throat and said nervously, "I really don't want to say this, but maybe we should call the police?"
Rikki shook her head. "How do we explain to the police that the last place we saw her was swimming away from Mako during the full moon?"
"We'll have to come up with something, Rikki. She's missing, and we don't have any clue where she is," Cleo argued.
"I agree," Emma said. "But… I've been having this feeling ever since that night." She gently fiddled with her locket as she tried to find words to explain.
"Like something was off?" Rikki suggested, looking to Cleo, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but more than that," Cleo said. "Like we're missing something."
"What are you guys talking about?" Lewis asked. "Is this a new mermaid thing? Are you guys able to sense her or something?"
The three looked at each other before turning back to Lewis.
"What?" he asked, his eyebrow cocked.
"That's it," Emma said quietly. "I can feel she's missing."
Cleo and Rikki looked at each other again, their eyes wide. They didn't want to admit it, but Emma was right. The group was quiet for a moment, and the three mermaids concentrated on their instincts.
"It's like… Like I can't feel her, like with us," Cleo said.
"It has to be Mako. We all became mermaids there, maybe that connects us," Emma suggested.
Rikki wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Fine. Let's say that we all have a connection. What do you think this has to do with where Charlotte is? And why wouldn't feel this connection before?"
"I don't know," Emma admitted. "Maybe we can use that connection to follow her? Find her, even?"
"Let's go back to Mako," Cleo suggested, already standing up. "That's the only place we'll get answers."
The two blondes nodded in agreement. Lewis stood and embraced Cleo. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No," Cleo said as she broke away. "We'll be okay. I'll let you know as soon as we know something."
"So, what's the plan, Emma?" Rikki asked as they treaded the water in the moon pool.
"I'm not sure. Cleo, can you lift some water, make it kind of orb-shaped? Just above the water."
"Yeah, sure." She lifted her palm and brought some water up as Emma asked. "What are you thinking?"
"Maybe if we focus, we can find her," Emma bit her lip. "With the water."
"That makes no sense, Em," Rikki said. "It's just water. Magic water I'll grant you, but still, just water. This isn't even magic water during a full moon."
Cleo looked to Emma. "Rikki's right. Our magic's always been stronger during the full moon. Maybe we should try it then."
"The next full moon isn't going to be for another month," Emma reminded them. "If she's gone for an entire month, we'll have police questioning us, and people combing this island."
Rikki and Cleo looked at each other. As much as they hated to admit it, time was not on their side in this case.
"What do we do?" Rikki asked.
"Like I said, we focus on our magic on the water, and maybe use it to locate her."
Cleo added more water to the orb while Emma and Rikki raised their hands to add the magic.
"Focus on Charlotte," Emma instructed, sounding more confident than she felt.
"On how she makes me feel like I should slap some sense into her?" Rikki asked sarcastically.
"If that helps," Cleo muttered. "Kinda what I'm thinking about."
The three girls closed their eyes, reaching out with their magic.
