Thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoy this chapter and stick around for the end (boy is it coming fast.) Without further ado, enjoy!

A/N: I do not own H2O or its characters. I don't even own a moon ring…which is a right bummer.

If it hadn't rained Ash knew they wouldn't have caught him. The sky had been clear all week and Ash was finally moving to another flat to throw Briston's cronies off his trail. Then the rain had come out of nowhere. Typical. He'd been in the middle of a street, surrounded by people, when he felt the raindrops on his face. He'd run like a mad man, barely making it into a small canal that was nearby. He'd learned from Emma that you never went far from hiding places, and he was glad he'd listened. The rain had poured down after that and he'd been confined to the water. He'd swum down a ways, trying to stay deep enough that he couldn't be seen.

He knew when they had trapped him. They must have been waiting for him to be vulnerable if they'd been this close the whole time. He'd been able to make out a net twenty feet in front of him, stretched across the length and depth of the water. The only way around would have been to pull himself out of the canal and then get back in on the other side. It wasn't something he could have done without exposing what he was to anyone nearby. With the net in the way and the continually falling rain he found himself in another predicament. He'd just been about to turn around and swim back the way he'd come when he heard it.

A weird splash and pop filled his ears, the kind of sound a spear gun makes underwater. A sharp stab hit his thigh and he'd turned to see a giant needle poking through his scales. Looking up to the surface he'd seen three serious grunts looking down at him.

That was all he remembered. He figured they must have fished him out of the water and dried him off since now that he'd come to he could see that he was strapped down to a metal table as a human, legs and all. Ash stared at his legs and then tried to make sense of his surroundings. He was in some sort of weird room. He saw gigantic aquarium pump and tables of chemicals, not to mention the many random devices and measuring tools. He lay in the middle of it all.

Experimenting he tried to move off the table but without much success. Two thick straps stretched across his body, one on his upper chest and the other just above his knees. Two smaller straps, but just as thick, held down his wrists. His ankles, curiously enough, were left free. He could only guess why that was briefly, then figured it had to do something with his tail. If he left his ankles loose they didn't have to worry about straps getting in the way of his transformation.

Ash listened for any sounds around him, trying to figure out if Lewis and Cleo were possibly nearby. They only thing in the room that gave him an idea that they could have his friends were the gigantic pumps. Briston could be keeping them in some sort of tank and using those pumps as filters. Nothing else in the room gave any suggestion that there and been kidnapped merfolk brought to this place. The more he stared around the room for clues, the more unnerved he became. It all was a little too normal, nothing creepy or screaming evil genius. Despite how normal everything looked he wasn't about to let his guard down. He knew exactly how he had gotten to that room and who was the cause of it – he was not going to ever assume there was anything normal about this place.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there looking for exits or tools to be used as weapons. It could have been an hour or it could have been five. No one came for him and nothing happened. The adrenaline rush he'd had when he'd regained consciousness had long faded and now he felt his exhaustion hitting him. Slowly and almost imperceptibly his eyelids began to droop. He shook his head as his thoughts grew foggy and squeezed his hands to get his blood flowing. It helped for only a few minutes before he started to nod off. Telling himself he was only closing his eyes for a few seconds he fell into a restless sleep.

-h-2-o-

Cleo lay at the bottom of the aquarium, despondent and unwilling to move. She'd been there for nearly a week – at least, that's what she thought. Time was different when you could never see the sun or the moon. The only clues she had to the day changing was if the lights went out and how tired she felt. Even that wasn't a reliable system. Some days she felt exhausted earlier from trying to get Lewis's attention or some form of acknowledgement. Some nights Briston would sit in his office nestled in the center of the curving tank walls and watch them almost obsessively. Cleo had never felt so miserable in her life. If she could just get Lewis to talk to her, she knew things would be a hundred times better.

She thought about Lewis a lot, or at least this strange creature that looked mostly like him. If her ring didn't glow bright blue whenever she got close, she would have quickly convinced herself that this merman wasn't her boyfriend. But he was and it ripped her heart in to shreds to watch him swim endless laps and stare at her in confusion. The conclusion she'd come up with was Lewis had been tortured or experimented on beyond what he could handle. Mentally it must have been too much for him. To protect himself he'd created this merman personality so he didn't have to experience it anymore.

How could Cleo possibly break through that? She'd hoped that just being near him for long enough would have brought his human side back. Each day he didn't swim away from her nearly as quickly, but there were still no flickers of recognition on his face that he knew who she was. She'd spent so long hoping that he was alive and that she'd find him – fitful nights dreaming of seeing and holding him again. Nothing could have prepared her for this.

A sudden tap came on the barrier that divided the two merpeople. Startled Cleo looked over to see Lewis staring at her. Warily she swam slightly closer only to have him back up. After a few seconds he pointed to himself.

"I am Lewis?" His voice was gravely and unused, almost forced sounding, and came out as a stuttered question.

Nodding fervently Cleo responded. "Yes! And I am Cleo!" She gestured to herself and smiled.

Lewis frowned, shook his head, and then swam away to start his laps.

Cleo, stunned that he'd talked to her, floated aimlessly down to the sand and seaweed. Was he starting to remember? Maybe there was some hope. Just a flicker, but some.

Lewis, on the other hand, was much more confused than Cleo could have guessed. He had a name, a human name… Lewis. Ever since the mermaid had called him the day she'd arrived, he couldn't get it out of his head. And she, she was Cleo. In his mind the names were intertwined. It was like he couldn't know his name without knowing hers. The sparks of memory were getting stronger and that was scaring him. Just this morning, when he'd woken, he'd been momentarily confused as to why he was underwater. Then he'd been even more confused as to why he would question such a simple fact. He was a merman – he belonged underwater. The fact that he needed water to breathe was evidence enough of that fact.

But…still…

He shook his head and focused on the harsh routine laps he was swimming. He'd accepted the fact that the mermaid wasn't an apparent threat. That'd didn't mean he was going to start trusting her anytime soon. Until she could prove she wasn't working with his captor, there would be no trusting her.

-h-2-o-

It was the feeling of someone spraying something on his legs that woke Ash. He jerked with a start and stared at the man dressed in a white lab coat. In his freckled hand as a white squirt bottle.

"Mr. Dove. Did you rest well?"

Ash knew that voice. He looked to his left to see Sir Henry Briston sitting in a chair. Before he could retort a reply he felt his body turn to water then solidify again. His heart pounded as he watched Briston eye his tail. Knowing someone knew your secret was nerve wracking on its own. Actually having your secret stripped bare like this was equivocal to having your nerves be filleted with a hot iron.

"This is my assistant Jeremy. We've been eager to have you here." Briston stood and walked towards him. "With Denman's help we have already learned so much about your friends. Their physiology is incredible. Unfortunately we are still missing data on one important part – the transformation itself. We don't seem to know how it really works. That's where your value to us becomes apparent." Briston gestured to Ash's legs. "You possess the ability, much different from the others, to switch between human and merman form without problem or effort."

Jeremy tried off the spot where Ash had been sprayed and a few seconds later his legs reformed. Briston gave Ash a demeaning smile then went and sat back down in his chair.

"Why," Ash glared, "are you doing this?"

Giving him a glare Briston made a reproachful sound in his throat. "Curiosity, mostly the love of collecting, but to also further modern science. The ability to physically change ones genetic makeup has enormous implications."

"We're still people. We…"

Ash was cut off with a wave of the older man's hand. "Yes, yes, and you think you have rights." Folding his hands in his lap he nodded his head towards Jeremy. "We know what you and your friends think. Frankly, it doesn't matter. I have gone to great lengths to study your kind. Your simple childish reasoning and protests make no difference to me."

Jeremy sprayed another bottle of liquid onto Ash's legs and ten seconds later he once again became a merman. Ash glared at the two men. He wanted to use his powers right then to get back at the scientist and his former mentor. He wanted to make them pay, but he knew he needed to wait. If he dehydrated them now and they passed out, he would still be strapped to the table. He needed to wait until their guard was down. He could be patient for his friends.

Closing his eyes Ash felt his tail be dried once more and his legs reform. Again Jeremy used a different bottle and ten seconds later Ash changed. Liquid after liquid was tested on him. Out of more times than not he transitioned between human and merman, each transformation sapping a little more of his strength. His stomach growled from the constant exertion but he was ignored.

Jeremy, seemingly unaware that he was working on a living being, was careful to record and document every liquid that was used and Ash's subsequent reactions. The water content and even substance of each bottle varied, but the time it took Ash to change (if the mixture warranted a reaction) never did. He either changed ten seconds after being sprayed or he didn't change at all. The only fascination the young scientist got out of the process was watching the subject change from human to water to merman, then back to human again. Each instance was recorded with precision.

After nearly an hour the testing stopped and Briston let Ash rest for a moment. For a moment the older gentleman stood with Jeremy over by a lab table, talking in hushed tones about the data they now had. Ash could barely keep his eyes open, he was so thoroughly exhausted. Each transformation required energy and his body was seriously lacking in that department. He could barely keep his eyes open let alone move any limbs. The last few changes had been painful as his transformations drew from his reserves and whatever else it could. He was completely depleted. Ash needed food but he doubted he was going to be allowed even that simple request.

Briston pointed at something in the data and smiled. Jeremy nodded and then walked out of the room. Walking back over to where the merman lay, Briston smiled and nodded thoughtfully to himself.

"So far the results are very pleasing. For now we'll let your body rest so we can continue testing in the morning." Without further explanation the man left as well.

Ash just lay there, too weak to argue and feeling like any plan he, Emma and Rikki had developed was for naught. If they kept exhausting him like this he would never have the strength to help his friends escape. Let alone even figure out where his friends were being held captive.

After a few minutes a couple scientists walked in and started attending to him. To his dismay and pain they sprayed Ash down with water, forcing his transformation for the umpteenth time. Once he was obviously part fish they cuffed his hands together, unstrapped him then hefted him off the table and quickly moved him to a shallow tub of water. Ash was passed out from lack of any sort of energy before he even hit the water.

-h-2-o-

Her backyard was Rikki's second favorite place in the world, after Mako of course. It was here she and her dad would have barbeques and spend relaxed time together. He had been so busy the last month that they'd hardly spoken, let alone relax on their own private section of weed cluttered beach. In all honesty Rikki had the suspicion that her dad was avoiding her, somewhat, as a result of him finding out she was a mermaid. He seemed so cool with it on the surface, but Rikki knew it wasn't an easy thing for anyone to accept.

She envied Bella's parents and the relationship she had with them. Her mum and dad were so casual about the whole thing and so open with it all. It wasn't like Bella had ever kept her being a mermaid a secret form them. She was nine after all when she'd changed and no nine-year-old can keep a secret that big for very long. Often she wondered how her life would have been different these last few years if her dad had known and had been able to be there for her.

Shaking her head she settled back into the fraying hammock and let it sway. She'd probably already been laying there for a good thirty minutes, but there wasn't much else she could do. Emma was fretting at home, glued to her cell phone in case Ash was to call. Bella was busy getting Will adjusted in her house, a process that was going to take a good while.

And then there was her – avoiding life in general. Zane was nowhere to be found and the café had been closed down in the meantime. Rikki half wanted to open it up so she had some way to direct her energy. She felt helpless and bored at the same time. She knew, in a melancholy sort of way, that her life was going to be like this for a while. At least until break was over and she started Uni. It was still a month off and she was only going to the cheap community college down the road, but it was something. Emma had gotten her to apply at the beginning of the year and she'd gotten in.

Rikki needed something good like that in her life. For now, she would be there for her friends, even if that meant hiding away in her backyard until someone needed her. Sighing, she stared up at the sky, wishing Emma would call.

-h-2-o-

Ash woke with a start. He was freezing and wet and still completely worn out. He pushed with his hands into a sitting position and was for a moment confused… hadn't the scientists cuffed him earlier? He stared at his wrists only to find that the hand cuffs were gone. How? He looked around the lab, now extremely wary.

"Don't be alarmed." Jeremy sat in the seat that Briston had been in earlier.

Backing into the tank a bit farther Ash eyed the young scientist.

Standing Jeremy walked over and held out an energy bar and a Gatorade drink towards him. "Hurry and eat this. If my plan is going to work, it has to be tonight."

Ash just stared at him. "You work for Briston." He was not about to take food from someone who worked for the enemy, no matter how much his stomach growled in protest.

Jeremy gave a derisive laugh and scowled. "Only because I discovered how much you and your friends need help. You land people have no idea how to stay hidden."

Land people?

"Look, I promise that I'll explain later, but if you don't get some energy in your body now, you're going to be useless to Cleo and Lewis." Jeremy thrusted the food into Ash's hands and then rushed over to some of the lab tables, shuffling papers and moving bottles around.

Deciding he really had nothing else to lose Ash scarfed the food down and sighed. He closed his eyes and lay back, letting the wonderful calories flow through his system. After a moment he felt the water in the tank draining around him. He looked over at Jeremy who was now focused on a computer screen.

"Who are you?" Ash lifted a hand and started pulling the water out of his tail, trying to speed up the drying process. Fifteen seconds later and he was a very tired but somewhat good to go human.

"I'm Jeremy. That's all I can say for now." He hit a button on the computer and the lights flickered for a moment.

Ash shook his head. "Not good enough. You were just experimenting on me earlier and now you want me to trust you?" He was incredulous. "How daft do you think I am?"

"Daft enough to let any of this happen in the first place!" Jeremy huffed, closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face, trying to calm himself. "Once I can get the three of you out of here, I promise I can explain. If I reveal too much now and Briston catches it on camera somehow, everything I have worked for will fall apart."

Jeremy walked back over to Ash and slipped a key into his hand. "This goes to the lock on the tank to your right. You can use that small crane," he gestured to where a machine was attached to the floor, "to lift your friends out."

"They can't breathe out of water, let alone get their legs back." Ash was starting to wonder if the guy was just testing him. This had to be some sort of trap…

Jeremy ran over to another table and grabbed strange devices and handed them to Ash. "Think of them as water tanks. Strap one around their chests over their gills, and they'll be able to filter the water out of the small tank attached. It'll only last them a half hour at most. You need to be quick, because I'm going to be back in fifteen minutes with our ride out."

Without saying more Jeremy rushed out a door and let it shut behind him. Ash stared at the breathing apparatuses and key in his hands. Fifteen minutes to rescue his friends. Placing the breathing equipment on the floor next to the crane he ran over to the aquarium and climbed on top of the meshing that covered the tank. After finding the grate he unlocked it and pulled it back. The gap would be just big enough to lift his friends out one at a time.

"Cleo? Lewis?" He whispered their names as loud as he could. Within seconds he saw a golden tailed figure swim up from the substrate towards him.

"Ash!"

"Cleo!" Ash smiled. "Get Lewis. I'm going to drop a basket in for you to swim into so I can lift you two out."

Cleo hesitated and gave him a worried look. "I'll try my best." She swam off in the opposite direction that she'd come from.

She would try? Ash rushed for the crane. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Now was not the time to take this lightly! He turned the crane on and after a few minutes of experimenting with the controls he got the basket moving in the right direction.

While Ash worked on the surface part, Cleo swam right up to the barrier that separated her and Lewis. Looking towards Briston's office to make sure it was still deserted and all lights were off she pounded on the Plexiglas as hard as she could. Lewis startled from his sleep in the sand and sat up, glaring in her direction.

"Lewis! I know you don't really know me right now, but we're being rescued!" She searched his face for recognition that was still not there. "Do you understand?"

Rescue? Lewis knew the word, but not in a way that he ever thought would apply to him. This tank was his life. Was he really going to be free? He stared at the mermaid closer. She looked so excited, exhilarated, and scared at the same time. He swam up to the barrier, the closest he'd ever dared come to her.

"We? How?" His voiced scratched over the words as they pushed out of his mouth.

"Ash, a friend of ours, he is here. He is going to lower the basket they used to put us in here. We'll be able to swim in it and he'll lift us out." Cleo gestured for the surface. "Lewis, please. We have to go."

Lewis. He knew that's who he was. He shut his eyes as a memory, much stronger than the others had been, pounded into his mind. It was him and this mermaid again. They were in a cavern of what used to be a volcano. The bottom of it was a clear blue pool where Cleo the mermaid rested happily in the water. She stared up at him with loving brown eyes. He was human and sitting in the sand beside the water. He felt happy and safe. Shaking his head he opened his eyes and met those same gorgeous brown ones form his memories.

"Cleo?" He cleared his throat and took a gigantic leap of faith. "I can trust you?"

If Cleo had been able to she would have cried. Maybe she was and the tears simply couldn't be seen underwater. "Yes, Lewis. I have always trusted you and you can always trust me."

The merman, after a moment, finally nodded and put his hands on the barrier. Cleo watched in fascination as the glass turned to water and he swam through. A second after he was on her side it reformed. He had a power!

"Let's be free." Lewis swam towards the surface, Cleo quick on his tail.

Above, Ash splashed the basket into the water just as he saw his friends head up towards the opening. Cleo backed up a bit as Lewis seemed to eye it and stare up at him. What was he waiting for? Finally, after an agonizing minute, he swam into it and held as still as he could. Ash worked the controls and tried to stay patient as it chugged up and out into the air.

It took five minutes for Ash to carefully move Lewis over the tank and onto the lab ground. Lewis looked absolutely freaked out the whole time and wouldn't look at Ash at all. Not even when Ash helped him put on the breathing device. He was treating him like some kind of hostile stranger. Not having the time to think about it Ash returned to his task and began working on getting Cleo out of the aquarium. He just about had her lowered to the ground when Jeremy came rolling in.

The scientist was driving a homemade tank on wheels. "Come on! We've got to move it!" He moved the tank next to where Cleo hung in the basket and cut the engine. "Put her right in here."

Cleo kept her gaze on Lewis, who seemed to be trying his hardest to not hyperventilate as she was lifted partly back up and then down again. After a moment she was in the much smaller tank and trying to not freak out. She would never forgive Ash if this guy had tricked them into another experiment or trap. Hanging over the side of the tank she called to Lewis, trying to get him to focus.

"We're going to be safe and free. Just keep thinking that Lewis. Just focus on that and who you and I are." Cleo turned form him and eyed the scientist.

"Cleo, I need your help." Jeremy gave her a pleading look. "Can you lift water out of there to lift Lewis into the tank with you? Ash obviously can't lift him and I can't do it on my own."

Nodding Cleo expanded the water and maneuvered it towards Lewis, who had his eyes shut tight in concentration. The water wrapped under him like a cushion and with all the energy she had she lifted him up and carried him towards her. With a small splash he fell in beside her and his eyes snapped open.

"Cleo?" He backed up into the corner.

"Trust me, Lewis." She turned back to the Jeremy guy. "Okay, can we get out of here now?"

"My pleasure." He jumped into the driver's seat of the machine and gestured for Ash. "Come on!"

Not needing more encouragement Ash jumped into the seat next to him and Jeremy started out the wide door of the lab. In the back Cleo controlled the water so it didn't splash out and tried to make the ride more comfortable. Ash focused straight ahead, not knowing where they were going or what lay ahead, but ready for any trap that Jeremy might be leading them towards.

After what felt like the longest ride of their lives they came to a delivery door at the end of the hallway. Jeremy pushed a button on the vehicle and the gate began to rise. "Once we're outside, you're going to have to take over." He looked over at Ash. "Use Cleo's ring to guide you to the ocean. Dawn will be here in a few hours, but I'm hoping you'll reach the ocean long before then."

Slowly Jeremy drove out the door then jumped out and ran back inside. The door began to shut slowly behind them and Ash scooted over into the driver seat. Cleo stared at her friend and at the road in front of them.

"Alright. Let's go." Cleo stared at Lewis who was staring at the sky intently.

Ash nodded and slowly started forward.

AH HAH! Thank you to all of you, my wonderful and very patient readers. Thank you for the years of following this story and sticking with me as I've worked on it sporadically for the last 5 and a half years. I really never thought I would get to this point, but it really is all thanks to you guys. One more chapter and an epilogue to go and it'll be over. Enjoy, and may you swim happily in your dreams.