Chapter 92
The little mermaids splashed happily as they floated away. At first the pace was steady and the dads were on their heels. Unfortunately, another torrent of water joined the first, and the mermaids were hurtling down hill. Was this even possible? What a storm.
They needed to catch them before they reached the stream…which was probably a river right now. The men picked up their speed as they weaved around the trees. Will was leading, with Ash closely on his heels. The less fit Zane and Lewis were trailing.
"Hello," Amelia waved excitedly, splashing her hands against the water as she and the others were carried away.
"Amy!" Ash exclaimed, moving to duck around yet another tree. "Swim towards me," he yelled breathlessly. The little girl looked confused.
"Girls, swim against the current towards us! You will get chocolate!" Will said, offering an incentive. Their little faces lit up at the suggestion. The trio began to swim towards the men – without much success. What it did do was slow their movement enough for Will and Ash to pluck them out of the water. Ash held Amelia close into his chest, as he regained his breath. Will had Natalie and Maddie in his arms. When Will had grabbed Natalie the first time, she had slipped from his grasp, literally, like a fish. A few attempts later, he had both girls in his arms. Phew. That was close. The stream turned river was only ten metres away. Lewis and Zane arrived breathing heavily. Lewis was bent over with his hands on his knees.
"Thank God," Lewis puffed. "I thought we would be running forever."
The drenched men carried the girls back to the village. This was perhaps a more difficult task than normal, the girls' tails and scales making them slippery. When they arrived back, Zane and Lewis – at the front - went to walk through the doorway. Of course, it was that moment that they were met by an enormous wave of water. It knocked them back and they floated a few metres. Lewis coughed and spluttered briefly.
"What was that?" he demanded. Fortunately, Ash and Will had missed the onslaught.
Ben was in human form, sitting on the couch with Hayden in his arms. He had hauled himself up onto the couch where he had used his powers to remove the water from that object of furniture and his body.
"I think that'll do us, Stef," he said. "Well done."
Stefani looked mightily proud of herself. Ben and Stefani had finally stopped the drips and cracks in the ceiling. In order to be able to leave the couch without turning, Ben gathered the large amount of water covering the floor with his powers and began directing it out the open door. He did not bank on the other men arriving at that moment. Ben felt something, or rather someone, interrupting the flow of his powers.
"Really, Ben?" Zane asked roughly, spitting about water. Ben got up from the couch, now that the few feet of water was gone.
"Did you retrieve the girls?" Ben asked worriedly. Will came into view, holding the duo. "Oh Thank God." He reached out to pick them up.
"You might want to dry them first, Ben," Ash warned.
"Oh right. Sorry about that before, by the way," he apologised sheepishly. There was yet another thunder clap outside. "Look on the Brightside, we fixed the structure!" he received a glare from Zane. "Come on, you were already soaked to the bone."
Lewis shrugged at that. It was true.
"Nat, Maddie, can you dry yourselves for me, babies?" Ben addressed them. They nodded smiling at him. Soon, steam was rising off their little bodies. Meanwhile, Ben lifted the water particles from the four men's bodies, and merged it all into one water ball. It was enormous. He channelled it into a stream and sent it flying out of the door again.
Now dry, they all sat down. Lewis lay on his back on the floor and promptly closed his eyes, exhausted. Will closed the door. The storm still raged outside, but the worst of the chaos was over.
OoOoO
In Fiji, the group woke up the following day and went for a morning swim after breakfast. The kids, who were excited by anything different, enjoyed the warmer temperature of the water thoroughly.
They dried off discretely on an abandoned part of the cove, and walked back to their accommodation. The children built a sand village together while their mothers sunbathed. The sand village had a castle, houses, farms and all sorts. The farms had trees and plants made out of the leaves they found beneath the trees. Eric even used different coloured rocks to build different mines – gold, silver and coal.
Jessie spent some time talking to one of the receptionists that afternoon. Primarily the discussion focused around Fijian culture. Arieta lived in the village, about a ten-minute walk from the resort. She offered to take Jessie to visit, to see what the real Fiji was like. Jessie eagerly took up the opportunity.
That afternoon, Arieta led Jessie, Bella, and Anna to her village. Before they left, the women made sure they were dressed modestly and left their sunhats behind following the etiquette. Arieta said they did not need to offer the customary gift to the chief – who coincidentally was her father, but Jessie insisted, and passed the ten dollar sevusevu on. They had looked up Fijian etiquette before they left, just in case they were invited to see a village.
They were greeted by warm smiles by the other locals. Many personal questions were asked; were they married? Did they have any children? Where are you visiting from? They were excited to share. Eventually, they made it to Arieta's house.
"Welcome to my home," Arieta said sincerely.
The building was a simple one roomed house with wooden walls and a thatched roof. The floor was covered in woven mats. They removed their shoes before entering.
"Thank you," Bella replied.
Anna noticed the beautiful tapa cloths hanging on the walls. They were stunning, the striking pasifika patterns stood out from the bark-made cloth. Anna considered carefully what to say. She knew that if she showed too much interest, Arieta would feel obliged to give whatever it was to her as a gift.
"The tapa is beautiful," Anna said to Arieta with a smile. "Did you make them?"
"Most," Arieta replied. "I enjoy making tapa. Some of these were made by my mother."
Anna nodded.
"While we are in Fiji, what do you suggest we should do to get the best out of our stay?" Bella asked.
"You say you want to experience as much of my culture as possible?"
The girls nodded.
"Would you like to be invited back to the village tomorrow afternoon, you could stay for dinner?"
"Could we?" Jessie said excitedly, "That would be amazing, but only if you're sure,"
"Yes, and you could bring the children. Typically, my village will be involved, even if I just invited you to my house for a meal, so the numbers would be welcome," Arieta said with a smile. "We love to share our culture."
They accepted the offer gratefully. The four of them walked back to the village, and departed at reception, Arieta going back to work.
A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that it has been so long! Life happens, people. Also, I don't know why, but for this chapter I've had chronic writers block... but I forced myself to write, and this is the outcome. I hope you enjoyed it :D I really hope this chapter lived up to expectations. I don't really like the second half, but that is me being too self-critical more than likely. I do have a plan that will hopefully come into effect soon :D But please, suggestions are always welcome - they help improve my plots even if I don't use them - it might spawn ideas for later on down the track.
Feedback really encourages me and tells me what you guys like and don't like, thus helping to improve the chapters you receive. And honestly, they help me to write faster. Some good reviews in the past have spurred me into action. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think, and offer constructive criticism.
That being said, THANKS SO MUCH for all your support and sticking with me for all these years. In July it will be the four year anniversary of when I started writing H2O fanfiction. In August, it will be the four year anniversary of starting to publish that work. I have no idea where all that time went. I started writing when I was fifteen, and now I'm in my second year of university, and am nearly twenty. Twenty! - I feel so old :P (not really, I just can't believe I'll no longer be a teenager in October...I'll be expected to act more like an adult...lol)
Your support is the reason I write this fanfiction. You guys are the reason that I've stuck with this for all of these years. I would have finished this story back in 2012 if no one was reading it. Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy this until its end. (Keep in mind, that when it does end, I'll start a third part...one with the kids in high school - so less focused on the originals)
Wow, this has turned into a rant, typing my thoughts out. Oops, sorry. I hope you're still reading :P (And enjoy my useless blabbering)
So, the original starting point was: Thank you so much. You mean the world to me. (especially if you are still reading this never ending authors note :P )
Thanks so much to the following people for reviewing the last chapter. You can favourite and follow (and that still is amazing) but nothing compares to the immediate satisfaction of knowing why the reader has subscribed, and what they liked. I would reply to every reviewer but I think this authors note is way too long - but just know I value all your reviews individually, that is why I take the time to thank you in this part of the update. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing that you guys laughed at the imagery of the last chapter! I giggled to myself while writing it too :P
Thanks to The Writer Es, Mecokin, HybridsRose, Rachel Beckett, YaleAceBella12, Mermaids Forever, zikki 3, CrazyHayniac, PeacePinkSeddie, Little Debbie 56, Acgisme, Sammiloveschocolate, Beaker77, Starlightdreamer12, bethy679,and AudreyCariba for reviewing.
Thanks to zikki 3 for reading the first part of the chapter ahead of time and reassuring me that it was alright - I really appreciate that.
Somehow this got really sentimental. Oh well! I hope you stick with me!
Love you guys!
See you next time!