On this particular warm and sunny Friday late afternoon, Lewis finds himself wandering down towards the docks. It's an old habit that is refusing to go away, despite the fact that Lewis hasn't been able to go fishing ever since that life altering night in the moon pool. Fishing is a decidedly much too dangerous activity for a merman. At least walking down to the docks brings Lewis some sense of calmness and nostalgia though; he certainly needs it at the moment. He has been extremely on edge since Doctor Denman arrived back on the coast, especially after the chat the two of them had earlier in the week.

When Lewis told Ash and Zane about his encounter with Denman, they both seemed to think that there was nothing to worry about; Denman has no proof of mermaids existing and she wouldn't want to damage her reputation even more by going mermaid hunting. Zane did not forget to point out how the whole school had thought he was mad and should have been put in a psychiatric ward when he was publicly hunting mermaids. "If a legit scientist was discovered doing exactly what I was doing, they would cop it way worse than I did," Zane had tried to convince Lewis. The blond teenager understands Zane's logic, and so desperately wants to believe in that line of thinking too, but there's still a part of him that is extremely doubtful and suspicious of Linda Denman. It's like a constant gnawing in the pit of his stomach and it continues to grow larger everyday.

Lewis, Zane and Ash are still in agreement on not telling the girls about Denman yet. Well, Lewis barely managed to convince Zane and Ash to keep it quiet for just a little bit longer until they can get more intel on Linda's intentions, anyway. Ash and Zane reluctantly agreed, deciding to give Lewis the benefit of the doubt. They can both see that Lewis is still really worried about all of this; the two unlikely friends want to help Lewis as much as he can to find concrete proof that Denman isn't here to cause any of them harm, and if that means not telling the girls about Denman for a few more days, so be it.

Thankfully, none of the mermaids have suspected that something is up and keep focused on their school work and beginning to look for formal dresses for the end of the school year instead. Even though the formal isn't until November after final exams, which is still six and a half months away, Cleo, Emma and Rikki are already trying to plan out the big night. Lewis, Ash and Zane unanimously decide to let the girls have full control of planning all the details for the night. It'll be much easier that way.

Lewis smiles contentedly as he continues to walk down towards the docks, gazing around at the dozens of people moving around on their own boats, or just beginning to pull away from the docks. While he can't exactly go fishing, it's at least nice to get that same rush of excitement and energy that he gets while he walks down towards his boat before heading off to somewhere near Mako Island to fish. The nostalgia and love for fishing trips in his small boat is definitely still there, and Lewis doesn't think it will ever fade. Fishing is an all time favourite past hobby of his; it was a huge part of his childhood and teen years.

Memories of going fishing with his brothers flood into his mind, including a couple of memories from when Lewis was really young of his dad going fishing with all of them as well. Lewis' dad died when he was only six, so he doesn't have many memories of the man, apart from a couple of big fishing trips. Lewis unfortunately also vividly remembers the many weeks that his dad had laid in a hospital bed, slowly dying. Now, those are memories that Lewis really wishes that he could forget. However, no matter how much he tries to repress those memories of seeing his father so weak, it still comes back to haunt him from time to time. Cancer sucks.

Lewis sighs, trying to push the sad thoughts of his dad out of his mind as he makes his way to the very end of the dock and just stands there, gazing out at the water lying in front of him. He takes a few deep breaths and just listens to the sounds of the hustle and bustle of people around him on their own boats while seagulls fly above them, squawking all the way. The sound of seagulls may not be tranquil to anyone else, but to Lewis, it signifies a place of familiarity and homeliness. This is due to having spent a significant part of his childhood on the water or on the beach, and now that he's a merman, he is connected to the ocean in ways that he would never be able to describe to anyone.

For a moment, Lewis considers diving into the water and swimming out towards Mako. He hasn't gone for a swim in a few days now. The last time he went for a swim was probably around the time that Denman suddenly showed up out of nowhere, but the itch to get back into the water has been growing inside of him by the day. As Cleo had predicted, now that he's had a taste of what swimming with a tail is like and has learned to let go of a lot of his fear, he can't get enough of it. Lewis' mind wanders back to Cleo, and considers calling and asking her if she's free for a swim. Possibly Rikki and Emma too. Lewis is still determined on beating those two in a race someday. Who knows, maybe that day could be today? Lewis grins to himself and begins to take his phone out of his pocket.

Just as Lewis opens up his phone and is about to send a quick group message to his friends, a boat pulling into the marina catches his eye. Frowning, Lewis glances up to get a better look, and sure enough, he can see Denman's boat pulling in towards the docks. Lewis assumes that Doctor Denman and her team must have gone out to Mako Island and conducted some population counts and coral studies... but maybe they were trying to search for mermaids? Or what if they were trying to figure out the secret of the moon pool?

Lewis' heart rate begins to speed up while his stomach feels like it is doing backflips. The gnawing feeling is back again, this time stronger than it has ever been before. Slowly, Lewis closes his phone and places it back in his pocket. There's no way he can go for a swim now, not when Denman and her team are so close. However, this could be the perfect opportunity to see what she is actually working on.

After a couple of moments of hesitation, Lewis decides that he should try and do some sneaky investigation. Without further ado, Lewis walks back up the marina, heading towards the direction in which Denman's boat is being pulled into. As he gets closer to the boat, he can start to make out several figures moving around on the vessel, looking like they are beginning to pack up their equipment. Lewis hastens his pace a little as his curiosity and worry begin to increase.

Not wanting to be seen by Linda or her team, Lewis quickly ducks behind a pile of crates several meters away from Denman's boat. Unfortunately, Lewis is just out of earshot from the group of scientists and can't hear what they are talking about. Instead, Lewis peaks over the top of one of the crates to try and get a look at what Linda and her team are currently doing. From Lewis' viewpoint, it appears that they have finished docking the boat and are starting to walk back onto the docks carrying laptops, clipboards probably with compiled data clipped onto them, underwater cameras and so on. Nothing looks too out of the ordinary, and none of the team look particularly suspicious either. Maybe Zane and Ash really were right about Denman just doing regular environmental research after all. That thought puts Lewis' mind at ease a little bit, finally allowing himself to start believing that Linda truly doesn't know about the mermaids' powers returning.

Lewis continues watching Linda and her colleagues walk away from the boat and back up the marina, presumably taking all of their equipment back up to Denman's lab. Wait... Denman doesn't have a lab here on the Gold Coast anymore... does she? She's certainly not working in the marine park, so where could they be taking all of that equipment and data?

As Linda and the small group of people with her disappear from sight, Lewis decides to seize this rare chance he has to get onto Denman's boat and find evidence of what she's working on. Of course, he knows he won't be able to find everything considering the marine biologist and her team have already taken some of the equipment and data onto shore, but there still has to be some important files still on the boat, right? Either way, Lewis has no time to lose; he has no idea how long the scientists are going to be gone for.

Taking a deep breath, Lewis steps out from his hiding spot and rushes towards the boat while his heart feels like it is in his throat. Lewis is very aware of how risky this is, but in the end, the safety of Cleo, Emma and Rikki is more important than possibly getting arrested for trespassing. Lewis internally groans at the thought of being arrested, knowing full well that his family would never let him hear the end of it. Especially his older brother Lenny, who has really been on Lewis' case lately.

Within 30 more seconds, Lewis arrives at the boat. The merman in question quickly takes the small jump without hesitation and lands onto the deck of the research boat. He begins to walk around and explore the area, searching for anything of interest. Lewis rummages through the endless papers on the desk towards the back of the boat, hoping to find something that stands out among the rest, something abnormal perhaps. However, all Lewis can find are the statistics of the fish populations around Mako, the health of the coral reefs along this part of the Gold Coast as well as some analysis of the changes in ocean levels and temperatures. Lewis even finds a paper on the formation of waves and trends of underwater currents that appear around the Gold Coast and Australia as a whole. Usually, Lewis would find this stuff endlessly fascinating, but right now Lewis is more worried about finding any sort of mermaid or moon pool research that could be linked back to Cleo, Emma and Rikki.

After several more minutes of frantic searching and finding nothing, Lewis is ready to give up and leave the boat before Denman and her team come back. However, just as Lewis begins to walk back and prepares to jump once more, something out of the corner of his eye suddenly shimmers in the sunlight. Lewis stops suddenly in his tracks and turns towards the direction of where the shimmering light is coming from; he determines that it appears to be originating from a small jar that is half covered by cords and papers. Slowly, Lewis walks over towards the table on which the jar is sitting and picks it up to examine it.

The first thing that Lewis notices is that the jar is filled with water. The second, and more important thing that Lewis observes is the semi-large dark coppery orange fish scale floating in the water. Lewis' heart sinks, realising that Linda certainly hasn't given up on her mermaid research. Of course, Lewis is not particularly surprised by this information, but he really had been hoping that he was wrong and that he was worrying about nothing. Clearly, that is not the case. 'Could Denman have any other evidence of mermaids? Does she have any evidence linking the girls to any of this?' Lewis wonders fearfully to himself. Before Lewis can figure out what to do next, a voice interrupts his thoughts and Lewis completely freezes up, heart threatening to leap out of his chest due to fear.

"Lewis?" Linda Denman asks curiously as she steps back onto her boat, closely followed by her two colleagues. Lewis remains standing with his back to Linda, his body completely tensed up.

"I can't say that I'm surprised to find you here," Linda says as she takes a couple of steps towards the teenager. Eventually, the young scientist turns around to face Linda, holding a very particular jar in his hand.

"You haven't given up on the mermaid research, have you?" Lewis replies, gesturing towards the jar he is holding.

"Of course not. How could anyone give something like this up? The secrets of what you're holding could completely change the world as we know it!" Linda exclaims, a small part of her still hoping to get Lewis to understand the importance of this research.

"Look, just forget about the whole magical powers and mermaid thing for a second, okay? Sure, all of that is quite fascinating on its own, but that's not all we can look at. Try and look at the bigger picture, and how all of this could benefit humanity. If cells can completely change themselves into something else, what could that mean for incurable diseases such as cancer? If we could somehow find a way to replicate that sort of cellular transformation, it could change the healthcare industry enormously. By understanding how your friends become mermaids when they touch water, we could save millions of lives, Lewis. Don't you get that?" Linda tries to explain, excitement about the potential things that she could discover on the horizon underlying her voice.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Doctor, but Cleo, Emma and Rikki aren't mermaids anymore. It's over. I feel like I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here." Lewis responds snappishly.

"See, I just don't believe that, Lewis. Maybe your friends aren't mermaids anymore, but I know that Mako Island has something to do with all of this. That island gave them their powers, and it also took them away. Don't even try to tell me otherwise. I'm getting tired of your constant lies." Linda retaliates coldly.

"I'm not going to help you, if that's what you want to hear." Lewis scowls.

"I wasn't expecting you to," Linda says. There's a tense silence for a few seconds as everyone continues to glare daggers at each other.

"I want you off my boat. And put that jar back." Linda eventually breaks the silence, crossing her arms across her chest while she narrows her eyes at Lewis.

"Get this kid off my boat, please. And don't let him come back." Linda sighs in annoyance when Lewis makes no effort to move. Within an instant, her two burly assistants walk forwards and grab Lewis by his arms, one of the men yanking the jar out of his hand and placing it back down on the table. The two men then begin pulling Lewis off the boat and back down onto the docks, with Linda watching on with a harsh glare.

Once the two men have roughly escorted Lewis back to the end of the pier, they turn around and walk back onto the boat and get back to work, sorting through Linda's files for her. Meanwhile, Linda and Lewis continue to stare at each from across the water that is separating them. Linda can't help but smile smugly, watching as Lewis practically seethes in anger, betrayal and hurt. Perhaps this time, Lewis finally is taking the message and will keep out of her business from now on.

After another moment or two of intense glaring, Lewis eventually sighs defeatedly, seeing no point in staying here any longer. He might as well head back to the cafe and meet up with his friends and break the bad news to them about Denman. Just as Lewis turns around to walk away however, a speed boat suddenly appears from seemingly nowhere and races dangerously close towards the docks. Lewis jumps backwards in surprise, not wanting to get hit by the oncoming speedboat. That would certainly earn him a trip to the hospital with injuries that could possibly last him for life.

Thankfully, the speedboat turns away from the docks in just the nick of time, leaving Lewis in one piece. Lewis' relief is extremely short lived however, as a huge spray of water from the speedboat splashes all over him, drenching Lewis from head to toe while he gasps and splutters in shock. Horror quickly washes over him as he realises what is going to happen next, feeling the water pouring down his body, causing his clothes to cling to his skin. Only sparing a second to quickly glance around him to make sure that no one is close by, Lewis hurriedly dives into the water and awaits for his transformation. Within seconds, Lewis' legs disappear and are replaced by the familiar blue tail, his clothes also nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to hang around in the marina and risk getting caught by anyone — particularly Doctor Denman — Lewis flicks his tail and quickly begins speeding off towards Mako.

Unfortunately for Lewis, in his state of panic and too hasty scan of the area, he did not notice that Doctor Denman had just witnessed that whole incident unfold from her boat. Linda watches in shock as Lewis dives into the water with a distressed look on his face. Linda waits several seconds for Lewis to resurface, but he never does. A cold, cunning smirk begins to creep up onto her face as the pieces of the puzzle begin to click together in her head.

"Well, well. Looks like Lewis has been holding out on me even more than I thought..." Linda mutters in amusement.