Here it is guys. The finale of Birthmark! It all comes down to this! Birthmark ends here! Enjoy this epic chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own Mako Mermaids.

In a dream...

"Where am I?" I asked to myself looking around only to find myself in the moon pool...under a full moon. I looked up and saw Cam looking down on me, and gave a smile that sent chills down my spine.

"Oh Thalie." He said coldly. "If only there were someone out there who understood you."

"What?" I asked confused. "How did you even get in here?"

"As Zac's right hand human man I didn't stand a chance against him. I knew I'd have to get my power somehow." Cam walked around the edge, cool and collected.

"Cam, what are you talking about?"

"As his sister, I thought you could be the best tool, but no one was getting anywhere with you, with your sidekicks and all." He continued to ignore me as he continued sauntering around the moon pool like he owned it. "But Zac, he was so desperate for a friend, he was willing to let me in on his secret, just like that! I figured after he got control over Mako, I'd have to stage a little coup against Zac. But then you had to go and screw things up when you made your choice. And then after that, Zac was as much of a dumbass to put that trident back. All that's left now is to finish my plans, and become King of Mako Island." The trident appeared in his hands out of nowhere, glowing with energy.

With a battle cry escaping my lips, I leaped forward to at least try to knock Cam down to his feet, but then Cam used the trident to push me back, slamming me against the rock wall.

"Oh I don't think so!" Cam said with glee.

"You're no match for that title." I laced every word with venom, while wiping blood from the back of my head.

"No, your coward of a brother was no match for that title." Cam spat back venomously. "I on the other hand, am the person who is going to get what he rightfully deserves."

"You won't get away with this." I snarled

"Oh, I already have." Suddenly the moon pool started having an earthquake and I held onto the ledge for dear life. Everything turned to white and then...

I woke up shaking, covered in cold sweat.

"What the hell was that all about?" I asked, while thanking God that natural body fluids didn't trigger my transformation. Deciding to deal with this later, I went back to sleep, mostly because it was what, 5:30 in the morning!

Later, when it was a more appropriate time, I was looking out into the afternoon sky on the roof patio. It was a full moon that night and even though it was still daytime, I could not push back the feeling that something big was about to go down that night. The issue was, because Cam was in the dream, it didn't make sense. Was it me being secretly paranoid about everything that's happened or was Cam really up to something?

"Thalie there's something we wanna ask you." I heard Sirena's voice from behind me.

"Of course." I replied, turning around to see her with Lyla. "What's up?"

"When the pod comes back, could you visit?" Sirena asked.

"After all," Lyla said. "You've given us a lot of help. I'm sure Lady Kailani, won't mind her niece visiting for a couple of hours. I know Veridia doesn't like you but it would mean a lot to us, Nixie even if you took a swim with us."

"Well, I will try to visit." I said honestly. "I don't know what will happen once the pod comes home. I don't even know what house I'll even live in. All I know is, you girls, you belong with the pod, but I'll always have Mako to call sanctuary. But life's going to be different without you two." We engaged in a hug because I really was going to miss them so much.

"Lyla?" I asked. "Are you...crying?"

"No." She replied meekly.

"The trident is safe." Nixie said coming up with my mom. "I made absolutely sure of it."

"The trident was safe when it was with Zac." Lyla added on. "You didn't need to interfere."

"Well I don't regret anything." Nixie said coolly.

"Girls." said Rita. "Let's not get into a fight."

"Then it's real." said Sirena. "We're leaving."

"You're not leaving." I said. "You're going home to the pod."

"Yes!" Lyla pumped her fist in the air. "No more land people, no more legs." She let out a sound of disgust looking at her own legs.

"Yes, but that's if Zac will keep his word." Nixie said.

"Zac will keep his word." Lyla said stubbornly. "But it's not going to be easy for him."

"I don't think it's gonna be easy for any of us." I piped up.

"It'll be good to get back to the pod and I'm sure in time, forget the things we leave behind." Sirena said sadly.

"Zac's here." Mom said, as he came onto the patio cool, as a cucumber

"I spoke to Evie." He said. "She agreed to keep quiet until tomorrow."

"So, we're all set." Lyla was bursting with joy.

"Yes but that remains to be seen if everyone will keep to their side of the deal." Nixie reminded us.

"Everyone will. I'll be back at moonrise." With that Zac left. I wanted to go after him, comfort him about losing the thing he had grown to love and accept. Having tails, being merpeople, it just made us closer and we had some swims together, but every one of them, was amazing. Each time we went out into the sea, it made us feel like we were on a big adventure. Now after all that had happened, it just wasn't fair that Zac had to give up probably the thing that made him the happiest he had ever been in his life.

"Then again." I muttered to myself. "If there's anything I've learned, it's that life isn't fair."

"Thalassa?" Rita asked me. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." I said, wiping away a tear. "I'm just gonna miss Zac having a tail."

"Good riddance to that." said Nixie.

"Nixie-"

"It's ok." I cut Lyla off. "It's for the best, even though it feels like a knife is being twisted in my gut."

I walked off from the patio, so I could take a nice walk to hopefully clear my head.

Later, I walked to Zac's place in hopes of meeting him there. It hadn't changed even though it had been a couple of weeks since I last lived there, but it still felt like home.

"Bla-I mean Thalie?" Lauren's face appeared once I rang the doorbell. I nodded while she opened the door and before I knew it, I was enveloped in a hug from my foster mom.

"Oh I missed you!" said Thalie.

"Me too!" She said happily. "I am happy that you found your birth family, but it hasn't been the same without you here. I mean, you changed your name, you found your birth mother, how did you do that?"

"It's a bit of a long story." I said, chuckling a bit. "But do you know where Zac is?"

"He's in his bungalow." said Lauren. "Has been in there for the past couple of hours. And you don't even have to ring the doorbell, you're always welcome here."

As I entered, I turned around and said to my foster mom, "Thanks."

"For what?" Lauren asked.

"For taking Zac to New York for that summer, for getting me through my fear of needles, for being there for me when I tore my hamstring during a dance recital, for helping me with my first period, for teaching me how to put on eyeliner, and for supporting me in this whole transition from Blair to Thalie. For raising me actually. And don't worry, blue is still my favorite color, I enjoy dancing and will always be addicted to ice cream. And no, I will still never eat a fish as long as I live, so not much about me has changed.."

"You're gonna make me cry." Lauren blinked out a tear or two. "I admit, your birth name is more beautiful than the name the orphanage gave you when we took you in." She hugged me, tightly, and I chuckled once more.

"Thanks Mom." I said. "Love you." I made my way down to Zac's garage and walked in to find him pacing and checking his watch.

"Thalie? What are you doing here?" He asked once I entered his room.

"I'd thought I'd come by, talk and then take you to the moon pool." I said. "Maybe let you win on one last race?"

Zac smiled. "Well I'm glad you're here." He then noticed my downtrodden expression. "Hey, what's up?"

"It's just..." I said softly. "I'm really gonna miss Zac the Merman."

"Oh come here." He hugged me tight. "Yeah, I am gonna miss this, being able to breath underwater and dive hundreds of meters deep."

"But hey," I put on a smile. "At least you can still SCUBA dive, and we'll still go on the reef. At least you can still swim, and just because you won't have a tail doesn't mean we can't create more memories."

"That's my little sister." He said proudly.

Suddenly Evie and Rose burst through the door, both of them looking like someone close to them was in an accident.

"What are you two doing here?" Zac asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Do we need a reason?" Evie asked. "And yes, there's something wrong: You're both in danger."

"It's just... I have to go, it's nearly time." Zac said.

"You two can't go out there." Rose stepped in front. "You're both walking into a trap, they've got you two fooled!"

"Evie, I know you don't like them but they're on my side." Zac told his girlfriend. "Now move."

"No!" Rosalina cried out.

"Rosalina Gomez, move." I ordered.

"No!" They both exclaimed, closing the door.

"We really have to go." Zac pleaded.

"If you two go to Mako, our deal is off." Evie threatened. "I'll tell everyone about them and you."

"No, you wouldn't." I said, trying to find their bluff.

"I'm sorry Zac, but I will." Evie said. Rose just looked confused on what to do or say, but when it comes to being there for her friends, she will do literally anything to help them. Unfortunately, it also made her somewhat gullible, and that was her biggest flaw of all.

"Rosalina, why are you doing this?" I asked. "We know those girls, we know we can trust them."

"You're wrong!" Rose exclaimed. "Cam said that-"

"Cam?" Zac cut the blond Latina off. "What does Cam have to do with any of this?"

"He said they wanna make Zac like this forever and they plan to wipe your memory have you for their pod Thalie." Rose said to us. Zac and I both stared at her in disbelief. After all we have done for the pod, and after all my aunt had done for me, why would they do that? It made no sense.

"Cam said that?" Zac asked, getting a nod from both girls. "Who's idea was it go to Mako to get the trident from me?"

"Cam's." Evie answered.

"Right and who's got the trident, now?" I asked.

"Cam." Rose answered immediately.

"Who planted the seeds of information into your heads earlier today, to try to stop us from going to Mako tonight?" Zac asked.

"Cam." And that was when it dawned upon me- the dream I had, it was all starting to make sense like glass shattering on the floor.

"Zac." I said firmly, drawing everyone's attention. "A single choice shall result in the betrayal of a friend, Mako Island to preserve or end!" Cam was the friend who was supposed to betray us after I made my choice. I realized that either option of my choice would lead to a friends betrayal. Luckily, Zac understood me, unlike the other girls and said,

"We need to go."

We ran out of Zac's garage and leaped into the water both in a synchronized leap of faith, setting voyage to the events that were to unfold. And on Mako, it was certainly going down.

By the time we got to shore and dried our tails, night had fallen, and we ran to the trident chamber entrance as fast as our legs could carry us.

When we got to the chamber entrance, which thankfully was closed, Cam was there, armed with the trident, ready to make a move.

"You idiot!" I couldn't help but shout. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"Of course I do." He replied. "I'm gonna do what your mer-wimp of a brother couldn't do."

"You're making a big mistake." Zac said walking up to.

"You're wasting your breath." Cam retorted.

"Come on Cam." Zac pleaded. "Put it down." Cam stood still with a greedy smirk plastered on his face. "We don't belong here."

"Speak for yourselves." Cam said back.

'You could get hurt, seriously hurt." Zac warned his best friend. "You take that thing in there, it will destroy everything and everyone, even your own parents!"

"Do you remember that night we camped here?" Cam asked us. "It should have been me. Not you. Save for being born, I should have become what I was meant to be."

"If you think having powers or a fish will make your life better, it won't Cam." I said trying one last time. "Trust me, all it does is make things more complicated than you can imagine. I have lived long enough to know that."

"I wasn't asking for your opinion." He snapped at me. "You had your chance Zac, and you gave it up. But I'm not going to." The trident stone glowed brightly, opening the land entrance. "This was meant to happen Zac, you can't stop it." I ran up to him and tried to grab the trident but Cam punched me in the face, with a sickening crack sounding through the night air as I fell to the ground. I didn't have time to check if I was bleeding because when I looked up, I saw Zac get thrown to the rock wall.

"ZAC!" I exclaimed running towards him and shaking him up to try to wake him up.

"You shouldn't have done that." Cam warned, stepping into the tunnel.

"You won't get away with this." I said out loud.

"Oh," Cam replied. "I already have."

I took a look at the open trident chamber entrance and then Zac. "I'm sorry, Zac." I said, before running off to the sea and swam to the moon pool where to my luck, the mermaids were already there, keeping Cam from entering. I concentrated and my moon ring was glowing adding more power to the shield. The trident was sparking with energy that was fighting the shield.

"You never had anything but your envy Cam." I yelled. "And if you fall into this pool, you will have NOTHING!"Suddenly Lyla's ring started losing its glow. From my experience, a moon ring losing it's glow, meant that it's batteries were close to dying.

"I think my moon ring is losing power." Lyla said, the shield flickering, causing Cam to drop an inch.

"It's the trident, it's stronger than our moon rings." Sirena took notice as her's faded. Nixie and I were the only ones who had moon rings working. Just as it appeared that Cam was going to win, Zac came bursting through the water, blasting the trident away with his power

"Hold on Nixie." I said, dropping my part of the shield, causing Cam to fall an inch but Nixie held on, using all of her strength.

I looked at the trident and I sent every amount of energy into the trident with the lunar blast from my moon ring connecting with the trident's moonstone. I drew some of the magical water from the moon pool and wrapped it around the trident. The trident seemed to be sucking my energy, and I felt like I was about to pass out, or worse. But no, I was not giving up. Not caring that my nose was bleeding profusely (my broken nose had healed from entering the moon pool), I used the energy from the trident to blow itself up, shattering into what must have been tiny pieces. After that happened, Nixie let Cam in as the moon passed, meaning the Cam's plan to become a merman had failed.

"Lost something?" asked Nixie.

We looked at Cam who was gaping like a fish. To be honest, seeing Cam's face was kind of funny. Unfortunately, the downside of adrenaline is that it doesn't last long, especially when adrenaline comes with the perk of feeling no pain-which happened to be the opposite of what I was feeling. But it didn't matter, as one of the things I learned about being a mermaid, is that we have accelerated healing but only when we're in saltwater. We led Cam out and swam back to home.

The next morning, when I was getting dressed, the door opened to reveal my birth mother.

"Hey." I said.

"Thalassa, let's talk." Mom sat down on my bed. "The mermaids and Zac have told me what you did. I remember a 14 year old girl who was struggling to do the right thing and figure out who she was and where she belonged. But no one could have made the right choice as well as you have. Today, I see my daughter who has grown into a mature young girl who had by herself defined who she wants to be. Who helped save the moon pool from destruction by destroying the trident herself. Your father and aunt would have been as proud of you as I am." We engaged in a hug as we shared a true mother daughter moment. "Now, since this is all over and the prophecy is complete, now you have a choice. You can go back to your old life with the Blakley's or you could move in with me. I understand why you had to stay here, but now that things are settled, it's your choice of who you want to live with."

"Mom." I said. "I thought I had my life set, me living with a small mystery. But when I found out about my parentage, now I realize I have to learn about myself. Rob and Lauren will always be Mom and Dad to me, but it's like I said, I'm not Blair anymore. I never was, I'm something else, and I need to figure out what. I may be half land girl but I have so much to learn about: my heritage, what it means to be a mermaid, the secrets of the ocean, you and Father. It would mean a lot if I could. Like you said, I've got that prophecy off my shoulders, but I've got one hell of a long way to go."

"That's a very mature response." Mother responded with pride. "But I do detect a bit of urgency. Do you want to ask something?"

"I'm not mad or anything." I said. "But how long did you know I was alive?"

"Kailani told me two weeks after you started high school." Mom told me. "Believe me, I was mad at her for lying to me all these years at first, but I realize she did it to protect us so I forgave her."

"I forgive her too." I said. "In fact, you were wrong Mom. I didn't do all of this, Mother. I had Helen, Kimi, and Rose, my best friends for eternity, my brother in all but blood, Zac, Lyla, Nixie, and Sirena, and actually Cam. And Mom and Dad, and you. So really, I had a lot of help."

Just then, my phone rang, with Zac on the caller ID and I answered. Zac told me to come down because he wanted to go on a swim with me, with a few special friends, his words not mine.

"I've got to go." I hugged my mother one last time and ran downstairs. If I had walked slowly, I would have heard Mother whisper, "Be careful and keep an open mind, Thalassa. Because your Tails as a Half Blood have just begun."

I walked to Zac's place with all of my friends. Their reactions when I told them what happened were hilarious. Zac was there with his girlfriend when Nixie pulled me aside. "Thalie." She said. "I want to apologize for being such a huge bigot and a jerk. I really should not have judged you so quickly."

"It's ok, Nixie." I said. "I hope that we can push aside some of the ancient prejudices."

"Cold hate is sometimes hard to get over." She remarked

"Somebody get me a bucket." Lyla said, stopping Zac and his girlfriend from kissing. Evie apologized for being a bully to them and me. My friends told her that they would trust her a little but it would take some time for all of us to really get along.

"I am never getting a boyfriend." I said watching Zac and Evie kiss.

"Never say Never." Helen teased me with Rose wiggling her eyebrows

"I'd race you guys to Mako but let's face it, you're all too slow." Zac bragged while all us merpeople walked up to the jetty's end.

"Dream on merboy, I can out swim you any day." Lyla boasted.

"So can I." Nixie added on.

"Me too." Sirena said.

"Count me in." I chimed in. We all dove and swam towards Mako, each of us ready for anything.

I never really knew what Cam did after last night for some time, just that he lay low and he and Zac stopped speaking to each other, at the time, of course. I didn't want to speak to him, and I was sure he didn't want to speak to me, so I left him alone. Whether it was to let him think about what he did or I was still mad at him for nearly destroying Mako along with the entire Gold Coast, I still don't know to this day.

But while me and the mermaids (plus man) were out in the sea, Mother was watching from her rooftop patio. Taking in the beautiful sight of the horizon on the ocean, how could she notice the man she loved appear behind her?

"Rita." She turned around and she saw her late husband there, as if he had never left. But when she went to hold his hand, she found to her disappointment that he was merely a ghost.

"Sorry Rit." He said. "Downside to being a visitor from the Realm of the Dead, you can't really kiss your wife."

"How are you here?" She asked breathlessly.

"I was gone." He said. "But it doesn't mean I really left."

"I miss you so much." Rita asked, blinking tears. "I wish we could have been a family. So many things we missed from our daughter's life. She almost died twice in her life. I just don't wanna lose her again."

"Me too, but everything that happens, happens for a reason." Harry reminded her.

"She could have had a normal life." said Rita.

"Rita." Harry chuckled. "You're a mermaid. I was an archaeologist who was obsessed with finding lost relics of mythology and instead of finding the Jiao Long Dragon bracelet, I find you instead.

Rita smiled sadly at the memory. "You can't stop her Rita, you can only prepare her." Harry said. "I know it seems hard, but the truth is, you won't always be there to protect her. She's going to get out there no matter what. She's young now, but soon, she'll know herself. Now I don't have much time but I came to tell you this, so you can be ready for what's coming."

"What is coming?" asked Rita.

"The Consorzio Brothers." Harry simply replied. "And Nerissa's daughter. They're alive."

A heavy silence blanketed the air around them, Rita included, since she could have sworn to the Heaven above that she heard her heart stopped beating for a second.

With a shaky breath she said, "Those children, have been dead for years. If this is some kind of sick joke-"

"Rita," Harry said sternly. "It's true, they're alive and I guess you could call them OK. But most of all they're alive and they're teenagers now."

"Oh!" Rita grasped the railing as if it was life support. She couldn't believe it. Those boys, who she had thought had died so long ago were alive and almost men now? And the daughter of one of her old friends had grown up already?"Where, where are they now? All three of them?"

Harry Santos only frowned. "I'm...I'm not too sure at the moment, but they're coming. And they need to find their way home. Can you help them?"

"Oh, I promise." said Rita firmly.

"Things are changing. Just be ready." Harry said before capturing his wife's lips on his ghostly ones. "I love you Rita, and tell our beautiful daughter, how much I love her." His smile could have rivaled the sun's glow, even as he vanished.

"Goodbye, my love." Rita smiled towards the heavens as she wiped away a few tears.

Meanwhile, I was hanging out with the guys in the moon pool. We had some laughs here and there and even a splash war that ended once Sirena offered to take us out on an exclusive tour of some parts of the reef that she was sure me and Zac haven't explored.

"Why don't you guys go ahead?" I asked, once they were ready to go out. "I just need some time to think." The rest went off but Lyla stayed behind.

"What's the hold up?" She asked me.

"Well Lyla." I said. "I just don't know what to do now that the prophecy has been fulfilled."

"Well if there's anything that Zac taught me." Lyla paused to laugh a little, with a sad look in her eyes. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was thinking of her feelings for my brother. "Just go with the flow. I'll leave you to your thoughts."Just as Lyla was about to go I grabbed her should er and pulled her back.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice that you have feelings for Zac." I said.

"Is that a problem?" Lyla asked nervously.

"No." I said quickly. "It's just...do you still have feelings for him?"

"I guess I did." said Lyla. "It's just he's got a girlfriend, and I already drove a slab of barnacle between them."

"Sorry." I said, flushing red in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm not very good at this thing, relationships and all. But the only thing I can think of to say is, there are plenty of guys out there. And even though Zac may or may not have been the one for you, I am sure you're gonna find someone who is just as unique, funny, and charming as Zac."

A pregnant pause lay there, until Lyla hugged me and said, "That's actually really good advice for someone who's never been on a date before. You sure you need some time to yourself?"

"Actually," I drummed my fingers on the edge of the pool. "I could use a swim around some new parts of the reef."

With the waves over our heads, and the fish accompanying us, I got a pretty good sense of what's happened in the past 4 months:

It doesn't matter if you change your appearance or name or you have the worst set of nicknames thrown at your face, everyone's identify has a story. That story, is your past, which is something you carry with you no matter where you go or what you call yourself. No one can chose how they were born with what makes them different, because what makes you different, makes you unique, and what makes you unique makes you special. I've learned to carry my past, not as a burden, but as a reminder of who I was before, and who I chose to be. I made the choice, to embrace my differences...

like a Birthmark.

THE END!

That's it folks! Be sure to review! Birthmark is complete! But don't worry. A sequel is being made into the process. That's right! A sequel of the trilogy! And be on the lookout for a couple of stories following this, "Vengeance is Mine!" and "Birthmark: Behind the scenes".