On another beautiful day on the sunny coast, surfing was optimal for all those on the water, including Athrun. The day of fun couldn't last forever and Athrun needed to return home. His midnight blue hair was dripping wet, but provided that his top down convertible generated the wind necessary to dry it, there wouldn't be a problem, as he had become accustomed to. At the front of his estate, the gate remained closed until Athrun provided his ID to the identifying pad. As he drove towards his usual parking spot, he noticed the white mustang occupying his mother's spot. He was a bit surprised to see his mother was home so early.

Athrun dropped his surfboard at the side of the house to dry and slipped through the door off to his room to do his homework. He took a couple steps up the fancy winding staircase, before hearing a giggle from the other room. He turned around to investigate the laughter's origin. Upon entering the kitchen he was welcomed by more than his answer. There was a little girl with lavender ponytails and hands full of cookie dough standing on the stool, hovering over the island counter with a big bowl and a couple cookie sheets.

Athrun quickly checked for his mom, but she appeared to be alone. "Hello? Where did you come from?"

A sparkle ignited in her golden eyes upon recognising his voice. Her smile exploded on her face and she launched off the stool, wrapping her arms around him.

Athrun hesitated, thinking maybe she was an eccentric hugger.

"Oh good, you two have met." Lenore entered the kitchen.

The girl released Athrun from her hug and she stared up at him with warmth and hope.

"I want you to meet Lizzy. She will be staying with us for a while." Lenore returned to the cookies that the two of them were baking.

Athrun got down on his knee making him eye level. "My name is-"

"Athrun!" Lizzy giggled.

Athrun was taken back by the girl's enthusiasm and foreknowledge.

Lenore was shocked too, but instead of asking questions she pieced things together in her head. 'The girl knows this is her father…'

Athrun smiled back at the girl and retreated. "Why don't you continue making those delicious cookies? I would like to have a word with my mother."

"Okay." Lizzy started to hum her favorite tune and returned to her messy masterpieces of delicious goodness.

Lenore was interested to see how her son was going to respond to this. She followed him to the living room.

"Who is she?" Athrun pressed.

Lenore could see the evidence in Athrun's eyes that he really didn't have a clue. "She is a Zala. A distant cousin. She will be staying with us until her parents return."

"Do we have an idea when that will be?" Athrun continued.

"Her parents are away on business. I will need you to make her feel at home here." Lenore smiled warmly. "You might even enjoy having a little sister around."

"Who's going to look after her while I am at school?"

"I need to go to work and your father is too busy. Can you hire a nanny for her?"

"Everyone I know is still in school." Athrun admitted.

"Expand your search, Athrun. I have to go." Lenore took her purse and keys that were hanging next to the door. "I will be home late tonight. I suggest you make sure Lizzy is in bed by eight." Lenore disappeared out the door leaving Athrun alone with the little girl.

Athrun returned to her. "After we put these cookies in the oven, what would you like to do?"

"Can we watch Finding Nemo?" Lizzy cheered happily like her wish was granted.

"I'm not sure that one is part of our collection."

"Finding Dory? Little mermaid?"

"I'll see what I can find." Athrun helped with the placement of the rest of the dough balls on the cookie sheets and placed each one in the oven.

Lizzy rushed into the living room, searching for the tv. "Where's the tv?"

Athrun guided her down towards the back stairs. "The theater is downstairs."

Lizzy quickly joined him down the steps and through the den. She found a room with really comfortable theater chairs, a popcorn machine, soda dispenser and a projector that filled the whole front wall. "Wow. Coooool." She clutched her mechanical orca to her chest.

Athrun filled a popcorn, two cups of pop and placed them in the holders between their seats. He took the clicker and booted up the projector. "Let's see what they have on Netflix."

"Yes." Lizzy giggled. She tried to juggle her special toy and her pop, nearly spilling it.

Athrun helped her with her drink before it made a mess. His eyes landed on the mechanical friend of hers. "Where did you get that, Lizzy?"

"Daddy made it."

Athrun asked for it and she handed it to him willingly. "This looks similar to what I make. I didn't know it runs in the family."

"Uh-yep." Lizzy covered quickly.

"Does it work?" Athrun examined it's structure.

"Needs water."

"Fascinating." Athrun placed it on the table between them. "Mind if we test it out after the movie?"

"Okay."

Cagalli met back at the cafe with the others. She quickly made her way to their booth with panic. "Anything?"

They all looked down with heavy expressions.

Lacus nearly cried. "We checked everywhere."

Cagalli planted herself down and growled at herself. "If I didn't ignore her… this is all my fault."

Kira felt his phone ring so he answered it, after checking to see who it was. "Athrun? What's up?... I am busy anyway. We can always go tomorrow… That's cool, we can go sometime later in the week… Is it school work?... Babysitting who?..."

Everyone's ears were drawn in anticipation.

"... You have a cousin?... How old is she?... I'm on-ly curious… Good luck." Kira hung up the phone and turned to his friends. "I think I might know where she is."

"She's with Athrun?" Lacus enquired.

"He said his mom brought over his cousin, so now he has to babysit. She is about five years old, but that is all he would tell me before getting suspicious." Kira explained.

"At least we know she is safe." Meyrin chimed.

"That's if she is the same girl. Why would he think she was his cousin?"

"Shouldn't we check with him, just in case?" Cagalli insisted.

Lacus smiled warmly. "I have an idea." She took out her phone and texted Athrun. 'Kira tells me you have a cousin. Is she cute? Can I see her?'

A few moments passed before she received a text. It was a picture of Lizzy from Athrun. Lacus showed her friends and everyone released their breath.

"Auntie Lenore will take care of her. We should focus on how you got your powers and what you can do with them." Kira redirected.

Meyrin met Cagalli's gaze. "Cagalli still hasn't even seen what her tail can do."

"So what?

"And what about Ocynie?" Lacus pointed out.

"Yeah… We should find out what she is up to." Kira's eyes hazed over with dread and grief.

"Who is Ocynie?" Cagalli pressed.

Lacus locked eyes with Cagalli. "She's a mermaid from the future… Lizzy's future."

Cagalli entered the gymnasium with some of the other girls that changed in the girls change room. They were all wearing short shorts that were white with red trim and white slim fitting t-shirts with blue sleeves and the sides were accented with grey lining strips. She heard the bouncing of a ball off the basket and turned to see the boys already playing basketball. She only observed for a few moments and she could already tell that Kira and his blue haired friend were a strong team. They dodged the others like pros and quickly made their baskets.

A whistle blew cutting through all the activity and the teacher called out for their attention. "Alright everyone! Gather around!" Mr. La Flagga caught the ball and held it ransom so their game couldn't continue. "If anyone is interested in trying out for the basketball team, tryouts are on friday. I am counting on all our best players to show up for that. Maybe Kira and Athrun playing for the same team, we can finally win it this year."

"Sorry Coach." Athrun spoke up. "I won't be joining any teams this year."

"I'm very sorry to hear that. Are you sure I can't convince you to play on our team?" Mr. La Flagga sounded very disappointed.

"I'm sure."

"We still have our star player. Kira, don't let me down." Mr. La Flagga directed the students to start their warm ups.

Kira shrugged it off.

A boy with raven black hair walked past Kira. "I am going to be the star player this year."

Kira didn't really care about winning. He played it because he enjoyed it. Kira took Athrun by the shoulder. "You aren't going to play this year?"

"I know this is our chance to play on the same team… sorry. I have too many responsibilities now." Athrun explained.

"If this is about your cousin…"

"No, not really. I managed to get a position at the Marine Park." Athrun answered calmly.

"That's awesome. You finally did it?" Kira's eyes widened. "Now that you made it, will you give up surfing?"

"On a professional level, yeah. It wasn't my plan to surf for the rest of my life."

"All those years of training wasted."

"It was fun."

"Have you told your sponsors yet?"

"I haven't told them yet. They aren't going to worry about it during the off season."

"Guys! You can catch up on your lunch break! Let's move!" Mr. La Flagga interrupted them.

Cagalli ran with Lacus around the gym. She was much more in shape than she looked and far more than Cagalli.

Cagalli watched as Kira and Athrun passed them. "I didn't realize Kira was such a show off."

Lacus glanced at Kira with a smile. "Kira and Athrun always compete with each other. It has been going on longer than I have known them."

"They are on the same team now."

"Yes, but you try telling them that."

Lunch time couldn't come faster and everyone met at their usual table, except for the geeks. Cagalli met with Lacus, Meyrin and Kira and they started to talk about their own merstuff.

Kira saw Athrun walking towards the Zaft table, where his surfing friends were sitting. Kira was going to invite Athrun to sit at their table hoping to bring him and Cagalli together, when someone else cut him off.

The long black hair was a dead give away. Ocynie took Athrun's hand in hers and she played with his hair as she leaned into him. "Athrun, you said we would leave for lunch ten minutes ago."

Something changed in Athrun and Kira didn't like it. "I'm sorry, I was caught up with my teacher."

"This is hardly your school, Athrun. When they rebuild our school, everything will be back to normal." Ocynie tossed her own hair over her shoulder. "I can't wait. This school is for poor people."

Athrun held her hand tightly in his and guided her towards the parking lot. "Of course."

Kira turned to Lacus in frustration. "It's not like Athrun to like that kind of attention. Why is he acting like that?"

"Maybe Athrun changed… but I think there might be another reason." Lacus deducted.

"Athrun ignores girls for years but the one that wants to kill him has suddenly earned his affections… Something doesn't add up."

"We should see where she is taking him. He may be in danger, even now."

"But why? What does she hope to gain by killing him?" Kira rushed towards the exit just in time to watch Athrun's black convertible drive by.

"That answer must be in the future." Lacus followed him.

Kira quickly ran to his car and started it up. Lacus joined him and the two of them chased after the black convertible. "If she was going to kill him, how do you think she would do it?"

They watched Athrun pull in front of a diner and the couple disappeared inside.

"I don't know… if she is a mermaid she could have several ideas that we would never think of."

"I wonder if she got her tail the same way as you did."

"Maybe it's time we have a talk with her. We won't know what she is up to until we hear what she has to say."

Kira stepped out of the car and went over to Lacus' side to be a gentleman. "We can't protect Athrun from out here. I don't like spying on him, but if I let her hurt Athrun, I'd never forgive myself."

Lacus held Kira back after seeing what kind of restaurant it was. "Kira, this is a really fancy diner. We can't just walk in. We will stand out like a sore thumb." She had eaten at this restaurant a few times and the look of the customers entering and exiting the place were finely dressed, confirming her observations.

Kira looked back and noticed Ocynie was wearing a lovely black tube dress and Athrun was wearing a really nice leather jacket, as they took their seat near a window.

Kira looked at his own casual leather top and pants. Lacus was wearing a cute red top and a pink miniskirt. It was far too casual for a place like this. "They are just going out for lunch. How serious is this?"

"Kira… I have a bad feeling about this…"

Kira glanced at her before leaning against his car. "So do I…"

"If Oynie isn't from our time… and she's with Athrun… when was Cagalli and Athrun supposed to meet?"

Kira's eyes grew wide. "What happens to Lizzy if Cagalli and Athrun don't meet?"

"Timeline corrects itself. That would be my guess."

"She'll disappear, won't she?"

Lacus didn't answer, but she did agree with him.

Kira growled and slammed his fist against the car frame. "Darn it!" He watched as Ocynie leaned over the counter and kissed Athrun.

"We can't just sit here and let her kill him. If she found a way to keep them apart, then I say we find a way to bring them together." He turned to meet Lacus' gaze. "I know we said we wouldn't interfere but Athrun and Cagalli are our friends. We can't let her win."

Lacus smiled warmly. "Who knows Athrun better than we do."

Kira looked back to see that the couple was making out. "What did she do to him?" Kira couldn't stomach watching this much longer. Whatever they were going to do, they had to do it fast.

The next few days, Athrun was really distracted and so was Cagalli, for a very different reason.

At lunch, Kira rushed over to find Athrun before he had a chance to speak with anyone else. He searched through all the halls and then he stopped when hearing a rattling from the lockers. He turned the corner to see Ocynie all over Athrun. They were making out and a few girls passed with disappointed expressions.

Kira had to stop this before Athrun got hurt. "Athrun! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Athrun didn't even notice him. He was completely taken by this mermaid.

"Athrun!" Kira grabbed his hand away from Ocynie's back.

Athrun pushed away from Ocynie and his eyes met Kira. Confusion filled Athrun's eyes almost like he was disoriented. "... K-ira…?"

"You're interrupting." Ocynie had so much attitude.

Kira was shocked by how opposite they were acting. At the very least, he would have expected Athrun to be embarrassed or upset or annoyed, but to be disoriented wasn't normal. Not that Athrun would have made out with someone before. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"He's busy." Ocynie leaned into Athrun and continued their make out.

Athrun's eyes were hazy but then they closed and he ignored Kira as if he forgot he was there.

"Athrun!" Kira tried to get his attention again, but it was as if Athrun was deaf. He turned to Ocynie. If he couldn't get Athrun's attention, he was going to stop Ocynie. "Ocynie? Do you even go to this school?"

Ocynie stopped kissing and rolled her eyes. She took Athrun's hand and dragged him away. "Uhhgghhhh… Come on. Let's go where we can have some privacy."

Athrun didn't resist.

Kira called out. "Where are you going? Class starts in less than half an hour!"

The door closed behind them and Kira was alone with a bunch of gossiping fangirls. Kira didn't know what to think. Was Athrun in some kind of trance?

Kira returned to Lacus and told her what happened. "We can't wait any longer. Let's find out what Ocynie is up to. There is no way Athrun would like her. She is rude and selfish. I don't think she even attends school. She spoke for Athrun and he just let her!" Kira was getting riled up.

Lacus glanced over at Meyrin and Cagalli at the other end of the table. They were laughing and enjoying their break, like there wasn't a care in the world. "They seem to be getting along. Ever since Lizzy chose to live with Auntie Lenore, I don't think Cagalli has given her a second thought."

"She doesn't know what Ocynie is doing. She hasn't even met Athrun." Kira released a sigh. "If things keep going as they are now… Ocynie will have won."

"Then we set them up. You invite Athrun and I will invite Cagalli and then we have car trouble while they get to know each other."

"Athrun will know what we are doing."

"Not if we invite Meyrin. Then he will think we are just hanging out with friends."

"But… Meyrin needs to have a reason not to show up."

"I will invite her over for a sleepover and then it would make sense for her to be with us when we have car trouble."

Kira's smile arose. "You think of everything."

The students surrounded Mr. La Flagga in the gymnasium. He started roll call and when it came to Athrun's name the gym went silent.

Kira looked around for his friend but Athrun wasn't there.

"Skipping school… that's not like Athrun. Has anyone seen Athrun today?" Mr. La Flagga grew concerned. He noticed one of the students flinch. "Shinn? You two are surf mates. Do you know why he isn't here?"

"Yeah. I saw him earlier with his new girlfriend. I bet he chose to skip school so he could spend time with her." Shinn answered with a slight distaste on his tongue.

"Athrun has a girlfriend?" Mr. La Flagga was shocked. "Well if you see him later, tell him that his new girlfriend earned him detention." He returned to roll call.

Kira panicked. Did Athrun skip or did she kill him? "Mr. La Flagga?!"

"Kira? What is it?" He seemed unimpressed by the interruption.

Kira quickly made up an excuse. "I'm actually feeling sick. Can I go to the nurse's office?"

"Alright."

Lacus spoke up too. "I'm not that well either."

Mr. La Flagga turned to the rest of the class. "Anyone else sick?" It wasn't unheard of for couples to come down with something simultaneously.

Cagalli turned to Lacus. "Are you alright?"

Lacus held her stomach for effect. "It will pass." Lacus followed Kira out and they ran towards his car in the parking lot.

"That's it. I am putting a tracker on Athrun's phone. I am not going to let this sea witch hurt him."

"What if we just tell him the truth? I'm sure Athrun would be understanding."

"If we tell him the truth, he would know your secret."

"I trust Athrun."

"But Cagalli doesn't. We promised we would keep it a secret. If Athrun knew about Ocynie and Cagalli or even Lizzy it could make things very difficult to return things to the way they are supposed to be."

"Makes sense. Until then, we will just have to be their guardians."

Kira started the car and drove around the city, while Lacus kept an eye out for Athrun's car. It was a good thing Athrun had a custom model.

Lacus spotted it at the rock cliff close to the beach while they almost drove passed. "Kira! There!"

They pulled over and rushed up towards the cliffs with haste.

Kira saw Athrun lying there on the rocks, all by himself. He looked unconscious.

They scrambled to his side. Is he dead?! What did she do to him?!

Kira shook him, trying to wake him up. "Athrun! Wake up! Athrun! You better not die!"

Lacus checked his pulse. "It's low but he is alive."

"ATHRUN!" Kira panicked.

Athrun started to shift and his breath returned strong. His eyes opened and the light filled them. His eyes were in a haze but then his energy returned with his vision. He spoke softly like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. "Kira...?"

Kira had tears in his eyes. "You idiot."

Athrun let out a yawn and looked around surprised by his surroundings. "What are we doing here? What time is it?"

"Don't you remember anything?" Kira pressed.

Athrun scratched his head and stood up by himself. "I remember first period… everything else is a blurr."

Lacus gazed at Athrun solemnly. "You weren't present for gym class so we were worried."

"Sorry about that." Athrun walked towards his car while checking his pockets. He looked stunned and stopped for a moment.

Kira and Lacus followed him, with concern. "Athrun?"

"Have you seen my keys? Or my cell phone? I think I may have been robbed."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why take your keys but leave your car?" Kira reasoned.

Lacus turned back to the cliffs. "Maybe you dropped it somewhere. We should take a look."

Athrun felt weak all the sudden and fell against his car.

"Athrun!" Kira rushed to help him stand.

Athrun steadied himself holding his head gingerly as if he was dizzy.

"I'm going to take Athrun home. Lacus, if you find his keys, can you bring his car back?"

"No. I'm fine, Kira." Athrun objected as he managed to stand on his own.

"No, you're not. You need to rest." Kira insisted, guiding Athrun to his car instead.

Athrun took his seat in his car, accepting his friend wasn't going to let this go. Kira would take him home before something worse happened.

The city slipped past them as Kira headed through the suburbs.

"I haven't seen much of you lately. Is everything alright?"

"Sorry… I've been really busy."

"Will I be seeing you on the waves tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Athrun closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax.

Kira drove to the country roads and made the turn that would take him towards Athrun's house. "Ocynie... huh?"

"Yeah…"

"I was starting to think you might never find a girl." Kira joked, trying not to sound so serious. He really wanted to know why his friend was dating a girl that fit all the criteria of a bitch. Athrun didn't date girls because they were all over him. He never liked that kind of attention.

"Finding a girl is easy."

"Exactly. You used to think that most girls were too clingy. Ocynie seems more clingy than they were."

"True… I don't know why… I can't really explain it. Ocynie is just different."

"You've been acting pretty different too."

Athrun's eyes widened and he locked with Kira's in surprise. "I have?"

"Yeah."

"I had no idea." Athrun thought deeply for a moment and then turned to Kira. "You're my best friend. You can be honest with me. You don't like Ocynie."

Kira locked eyes with him. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. Maybe you just need to get to know her. Then you might see she is pretty cool." Athrun suggested.

"You mean like a double date?" Kira didn't like the sound of that, but it would make things easier.

"Not exactly." Athrun pondered it for a moment. "That could work too."

"I'll need to talk to Lacus, but maybe." Kira remembered his conversation with Lacus earlier about the set up. "A few friends of ours are getting together tomorrow. Wanna come?"

"Tomorrow…?" Athrun remained thoughtful. "I'm babysitting while mom works the late shift."

"You haven't found a nanny?"

"We haven't really needed one. Lizzy isn't much trouble. She's a sweet little girl."

"She is, isn't she?" Kira's eyes widened when he realized what he just admitted.

"You've already met?" Athrun was very surprised to hear that.

"Yeah…" Kira panicked, searching for an explanation.

Athrun waited for that explanation with curiousness.

"I met her briefly at the Juicenet Cafe."

"So I see."

"Why don't you just bring her along? The more the merrier, right?"

"Sure."

Kira pulled up to the gate. "We're here."

Athrun got out of the car and approached the security identifier and scanned his ID. The gate acknowledged him and opened wide. He turned back to Kira before leaving. "Thanks, Kira."

Kira watched Athrun disappear into his house before leaving. Kira had been faking it for Athrun's sake, but this was really terrifying. What did she do to him? He doesn't even remember. Is there a mermaid power that can pull out someone's lifeforce? If that's true… then they have to stop her from going anywhere near Athrun.

Lacus returned to the spot they found Athrun, but there was no sign of his keys or his phone.

"Looking for these?" A sinister female voice could be heard behind her.

Lacus turned around to see Ocynie with her fingers dangling Athrun's keys as if she was taunting her. "I will ask you politely to return them."

"I don't feel like it." Ocynie put the keys in her purse. "You always have a way of showing up when you weren't invited." She growled.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Lacus really didn't.

"Of course you do." An evil smirk took form on her features. "You stick your tail where it doesn't belong."

"I am actually glad that you're here." Lacus smiled warmly. "I want to talk with you."

Ocynie just scowled. "Talk? With a land girl? I have better things to do."

"Land girl?" Lacus' smile slid with her shock. "Are you a real mermaid?"

"You'll stay away from Athrun, if you know what is good for you."

"I am not scared of you. I would never abandon Athrun, he is like a brother to me."

"Then you'll learn what happens to land people that get in my way." Ocynie held up a blue ring and it glowed brightly. In response a large wave blasted over the cliffs and consumed Lacus.

Lacus fell hard onto the rocks after her tail popped. "What… was that?"

Ocynie was already gone.