Chapter 15

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After thoroughly searching the boat, they gave up empty handed. Zane was freaking out. Who had taken the photos? What if someone knew they were mermen? They could be in serious trouble.

"What are we going to do now", Zane said his voice rising in panic.

Lewis exchanged an anxious look with Ash.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out", Lewis said trying to sound reassuring, but Zane could hear the fear he was trying to hide and it made him panic more. Zane continued to pace.

The group were sitting in the living room of the boat, Max had made everyone a cup of tea to try and help them calm down, but it wasn't working.

"And what if we can't? Someone could know about us. If they turn us in our lives are over!" Zane said.

"I know some people who could help", Max said.

"But how could they help without knowing the secret?" Emma asked, and simultaneously squeezed Ash's hand to comfort him. Ash squeezed back grateful for the comfort.

"Remember I told you about my friends Henry and Bobby, they used to be mermen. It will be safe to trust them".

"Are you sure it would be safe? Couldn't we ask Henry and Bobby for help without telling them we're mermen?" Ash said anxiously.

Zane narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Max, he had begun to trust him. But now Max wanted to tell more people about them, Zane wasn't sure if he could trust Max anymore. What if he told them even if they didn't give permission? What if he was planning on turning them in? Zane felt enough people knew about their secret, the more people that knew, the more dangerous it was for them.

"Yes, I'm sure of it and they know how dangerous it is to be a merman too remember", Max said trying to ignore Zane's gaze, Max knew that it would be difficult for Zane to trust him but he had hoped that Zane would by now. "They need to know Ash. They are experts in magic and will know a spell to help find the photos and who took them, but only magical beings can perform the spell. They couldn't do it, and neither could I".

Zane crossed his arms, "But they would also know how valuable mermen are, and couldn't you just say that you are interested in magic because of the past?"

"Zane has a point", Ash said and Zane gave him a grateful smile.

"I thought you trusted me Ash?" Max said.

"I do trust you, but I'm not sure if I can trust your friends. I haven't even met them", Ash reasoned.

Max sighed, "I understand. But while Henry and Bobby wanted to cling to the past of being mermen by studying magic, I didn't. I was adamant about putting the past behind me, they would find it odd that I suddenly want to study magic".

"Did something happen to make you not want to be a merman anymore?" Lewis asked.

Max gave Lewis a sad smile, "Yes, but I'd rather not get into it now".

Lewis turned to the others, "Maybe we should give them a chance".

"I agree", Emma said.

Ash looked at them in surprise, "Really? But you guys were against trusting Max in the first place. You all wouldn't even let me see him".

"Yes, but if it weren't for Max you probably still wouldn't' know who you are. He has done so much for us. I think Max knows what he is doing", Emma argued.

"I'm still not sure about this", Zane said.

"Zane, we need to find those photos, a lot is at stake right now", Lewis said.

Zane sighed and exchanged a look with Ash, though they were both anxious about this they silently agreed that Lewis and Emma were right, as long as they didn't know where the photos were there they were in danger.

"Okay, we have decided to do this", Ash said to Lewis and Emma and they both smiled gratefully at Ash and Zane.

"How soon can Henry and Bobby get here?" Lewis asked Max.

"They live really close, it's a bit late for them to drive here now but they can get here tomorrow".

"Great, shall we meet tomorrow 2:00pm?" Lewis said.

"Yes I'll go and call them", Max said excitedly and left the room.

While the gang were waiting for Max to return, Zane had resumed his pacing. He knew that they needed to do this but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"Zane, please stop that. You're making me feel dizzy", Lewis said irritably.

"I can't help it. I'm worried, what if we made the wrong decision?"

"I'm sure it will be fine. Besides Henry and Bobby were mermen in the past, maybe it would be more helpful for them to know".

Ash smiled at Emma happy that she was trying to help them remain positive, he was so glad that she knew everything. However, Zane wasn't placated.

"Famous last words", Zane muttered.

Emma glared at Zane, "I'm just trying to help".

Zane glared back, "Yeah well, you're not helping".

"Why do you have to keep picking fights with me?" Emma said angrily, and stood up.

Ash and Lewis stood up too, Ash put his arm around Emma to try and calm her but in her anger she shrugged him off.

"Guys, you need to calm down", Lewis said but was ignored.

"Why? Because I don't trust you!" Zane shouted. "I don't trust you with our secret, and I certainly don't trust you with Ash".

Emma gaped at Zane, while Ash looked at him in surprise.

"I'm sure Emma wouldn't-"Ash started to say but was cut off by Emma.

"Seriously?" Emma said incredulously, "I have helped you all so much, and I would never hurt Ash!"

"You're a scientist at heart Emma. How do we know you not just using us for experiments, and Ash really likes you I'm worried you'll try to take advantage of him".

"I would never do either of those things!"

"Sure you wouldn't" Zane said sarcastically and angrily, he was so engrossed in the argument that he hadn't realised he had been gesturing wildly. Without realising it, he swung his right arm so hard that he accidently hit Ash hard enough to send him to the floor. Ash landed with a thud loud enough to stop the argument.

Zane gasped in shock, "Ash, I'm so sorry".

"It's okay", Ash said shakily as he automatically held his throbbing cheek where Zane had accidently hit him, Ash tried to ignore the bad memories the hit was starting to cause.

Emma bent down next to Ash and helped him sit up, "No it's not okay", Emma said angrily and glared at Zane, "Is it okay if I see your cheek?" Emma asked Ash gently.

Ash nodded and removed his hand, Emma peered at his cheek, it was starting to look a bit red.

"That's going to bruise", Emma said sounding even angrier.

"It was your fault too you know!" Zane said.

"Guys, it was the argument that caused this. I know you're scared, we all are, but fighting won't solve anything", Lewis said.

Zane and Emma exchanged a glance and sighed, "Yeah, you're right Lewis. We need to stop fighting". Emma said, and Zane reluctantly nodded in agreement.

A while later Max returned, he noticed Ash's cheek which was starting to look redder. "What happened?" Max asked in concern.

"Zane hit him", Emma said.

"It was an accident", Zane protested.

"Guys", Lewis said warningly giving them a pointed look.

"So, did you talk to Henry and Bobby?" Ash asked trying to change the subject.

Max smiled happily at the thought of his friends, "Yeah, they are very excited to meet you. They can come tomorrow afternoon".

"Great thanks Max", Ash said.

"I'm glad I could help. In the meantime you all need to stick together, until we get those photos back you boys are in danger. So you all need to protect each other, now more than ever", Max said.

"Don't worry, we will", Zane said fiercely.

Having parted ways, Ash and Emma walked along the path that led to the Juice Net Café, while Lewis and Zane had headed off to a science fair. Zane hadn't wanted to go, Ash had offered to go instead. But after Emma gave Zane a meaningful look he agreed to go, Zane felt a bit bad about his argument with Emma and though he still was reluctant to trust Emma, he wanted to try and make amends as he knew that Max was right, they needed to stick together.

When they had said their goodbyes, Ash and Emma had smiled awkwardly at each other.

"So, we never finished that date", Emma said.

"Yeah you're right, would you like to go back to the café? We could have a drink or something", Ash said nervously.

Emma smiled widely at Ash, "I'd like that".

Ash was feeling so content with Emma, he even managed to forget about the danger he and his friends were in. Emma told him all about her swimming competitions, while Ash told her about his horse-riding. Emma had asked for more horse riding lessons, and Ash happily agreed. Ash had really enjoyed the date, and by the end of the date Ash felt closer to Emma.

The next day, the group gathered at Max's boat to meet Henry and Bobby. Just as Ash raised his arm to knock the door, Zane grabbed it to stop him.

Ash gave Zane a confused look, "Zane what are you doing?" He asked.

"I just need to know, are we absolutely sure about this?"

"We really need those photos Zane, and we don't know how else to find them", Lewis said.

"I know, but Henry and Bobby haven't seen our tails yet. It's not too late to back out, and what if seeing them makes Henry and Bobby want us for themselves?" Zane argued.

"I'm sure that won't happen, but if it does we can use our powers to defend ourselves", Lewis said reassuringly.

"Fine, but we're not going to let Ash show his tail", Zane said.

"Hey, I'm not a baby!" Ash said indignantly.

"No, but you are a trouble magnet", Emma said grinning mischievously at Ash, Ash huffed but was grinning at Emma.

Zane and Lewis sent Emma a grateful look, they knew Ash found it annoying but they were protective of Ash and didn't want his tail to be seen.

"Okay, let's do this", Ash said trying to sound confident, and knocked on the door. A couple of minutes later, Max appeared looking very excited.

"Hi, they're here. Come in", Max said.

After exchanging a nervous glance with the others, Ash followed Max inside the boat. There was no turning back now.

When the gang had entered the room, they saw two old men sitting on a sofa together who looked up curiously when they came in. Ash found himself sandwiched between Lewis and Zane, Ash rolled his eyes though he didn't say anything. Part of him secretly loved that they were so protective of him.

After Max had made introductions, Henry turned to Ash, "So can we see your tails?"

Zane stood up, "You can see mine".

"But we wanted to see all of them", Henry protested.

"One is enough, Emma can you pass me the water bottle?" Zane said before Henry could argue further.

Emma nodded and handed Zane the bottle, Zane sat on the floor so he wouldn't have to fall and poured some of the water on himself. Henry and Bobby gaped at Zane as he transformed. Though they had been through the same thing themselves many times, it had been a very long time ago. They had forgotten how incredible it was.

"Magnificent", Henry breathed when Zane had transformed.

Ash felt uneasy at the way Henry had said it, he was beginning to fear that Zane had been right. Ash wanted to jump in front of Zane and protect him, the way he had done for him and Lewis. But Ash restrained himself, they needed Henry and Bobby's help, he didn't want to make them angry and Zane could easily protect himself with his powers if he needed to.

"Are all of your tails like that?" Bobby asked curiously.

"Yeah, all our tails are exactly the same", Lewis replied.

"It was like that for us, remember?" Bobby said turning to Max and Henry.

Max smiled fondly at Bobby, "Of course I do".

Zane transformed back into human form a few minutes later, and sat back next to Ash.

"So can you help us?" Lewis asked.

"Yes, there are many variations of finding spells, but we have found what we think is the best one. Bobby can you pass me the book?" Henry said.

When Bobby had given Henry the book, he opened it at the right page and gave it to Lewis, Lewis said the spell when Henry pointed it out to him. An image appeared in front of Lewis, they recognised it to be the very room they were in. But it was empty. Nothing happened for a few minutes causing Zane to cross his arms.

"Are you sure it's working?" Zane said sceptically.

"Wait for it", Henry said.

Sure enough someone did enter the room, Zane gasped in shock when he saw who had walked in. It was Rikki. The others looked shocked too but they gave Zane a sympathetic look. They knew how much he liked Rikki, no matter how much he denied it.

"Do you know her?" Bobby asked as Rikki started looking around.

"Yes I do", Zane said unable to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Rikki looked at something she was holding in her hands, everyone leaned in and could see that it was one of the missing photos. Zane got up angrily and ran out of the room.

"Zane wait!" Ash shouted and ran after him, Zane was outside the boat and was about to run off but Ash took his arm to stop him. Zane turned to Ash, Ash could tell he was trying to hide how upset he was. Ash wished Zane wouldn't hide his feelings, but given the situation he could understand.

"I can't believe this! First Peter and now Rikki," Zane said furiously.

"Rikki is a good person, I'm sure there's a good explanation for this".

"Well, I'm going to find out".

"Okay, please just don't do anything rash".

"When have I ever done anything rash? Wait don't answer that. I'll try not to".

Ash inwardly sighed, he hoped Zane would be careful. Zane had a tendency to make things worse when he was upset and angry. "Good, would you like me to come with you?"

"No, thanks Ash but I need to do this alone", Zane said.

Ash nodded in understanding. After they parted ways, Zane texted Rikki and asked her to meet him in a secluded part of the beach where they often met to do their English homework. They had ended up in a lot of shouting matches, and realised they needed somewhere where they wouldn't disturb people. Along the way there, Zane thought about the last time he saw Rikki two days ago.

Zane had been on his way to meet Ash at the Juicenet café when he saw Rikki sitting on a bench looking upset, she was talking to someone on the phone.

"Look just…give me more time okay?" Rikki said angrily, there was a pause while the other person spoke. "I know we don't have much time left, but I'll think of something I promise", Rikki said then after another pause she hung up and threw the phone on the floor in frustration.

Zane bent down and picked up the phone which had fortunately not been broken.

"Is everything okay?" Zane asked in concern as he gave Rikki her phone.

"Yeah I'm on top of the world", Rikki said sarcastically.

Zane joined Rikki on the bench, "What's wrong?"

Rikki crossed her arms and looked away, "Why do you care?"

"Because you're my friend", Zane said sincerely which made Rikki look back at him.

"Really?"

"Yes, despite popular belief I really do care about you which is why I want to help you, if you'll let me", Zane said.

Rikki found herself leaning in to kiss Zane, Zane leaned in to but at the last second Rikki pulled away.

"Thanks for your concern, but I don't want to talk about it", Rikki said and ran off.

Zane wanted to run after Rikki, but Ash texted saying he needed his help to get out of the store cupboard at the café, where he had to run to after getting splashed. So Zane couldn't go after Rikki, instead he went to help Ash.

Zane had been so close to kissing Rikki, to think that she could be the one to end his freedom hurt Zane a lot.

"Hey, what's up?" Rikki asked when they met, trying to sound casual and not as though they had just recently nearly kissed.

Zane crossed his arms, "Why did you take Max Hamilton's photos", Zane said bluntly and winced when he realised he hadn't taken Ash's advice to be careful.

Rikki gaped at Zane, "What are you talking about?"

Zane felt it was too late to be careful now, so he threw caution to the wind.

"I know you stole Max's photos".

"I didn't".

"Stop lying Rikki. Please, just tell me the truth".

Rikki sighed, "Fine. I did steal the photos okay, happy now?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I need the money Zane!" Rikki snapped.

"Why do you need the money?"

"Because my family isn't wealthy like yours, we don't have a mansion we don't even have a house! My dad and I live in a caravan", Rikki shouted.

Zane gaped at Rikki, he hadn't been expecting that, "I meant what I said the other day, I can help you. You don't need the photos".

"We don't do charity Zane".

"There's a difference between charity and helping a friend".

"I know you want to help, but you can't. These photos can help me, I had the photos checked they are real".

Zane froze. If Rikki could prove they were real and the photos went viral, it would only be a matter of time before he and his friends were discovered.

"Why do you want them so badly anyway?"

"Max is my friend, and these photos mean a lot to him".

Rikki scoffed, "Max is not your friend. I have seen the way you are with him, you are cautious around him you wouldn't be like that if you were friends", Rikki's face suddenly lit up as an idea struck her, "Wait a minute… Lewis' diary said that you, Ash and Lewis are mermen. That's why you want the photos back right?" Rikki asked though it wasn't a question.

Zane was unable to prevent himself from gaping at Rikki in horror, and this was confirmation enough for Rikki who smirked.

"That is ridiculous", Zane stammered.

"Oh is it?" Rikki said, and before Zane could even react threw water out of a water bottle, that she had pulled out of her bag, at Zane. Zane tried to run for it, but Rikki tackled Zane and pinned him to the ground. Zane tried to struggle out of her grip, but Rikki was strong and he was unable to.

Rikki let go when Zane transformed into a merman and stared in shock. It was one thing believing Zane was a merman, actually seeing Zane as one was another thing entirely. The fear in Zane's eyes made Rikki feel guilty, but she had, had to do this. It was the only way to know for certain that he was a merman.

"I knew it, you're a merman", Rikki said.

That snapped Zane into action, Zane used his power to turn himself back into human form.

"Rikki, please don't tell anyone about this", Zane said he wanted to run, but he knew that he had to at least try and convince Rikki to keep his secret. He didn't want to lose his life here, and he knew that Ash and Lewis wouldn't want to either.

"You're a merman", Rikki repeated still in shock and staring at Zane.

Zane sighed, "Yes I'm a merman".

Rikki put her head in her hands and paced, "This is crazy, I feel like my head is about to explode".

Zane put his hands on Rikki's shoulders to stop her pacing, "I know this is a lot to take in. But please you have to promise to keep our secret".

Rikki crossed her arms, "Why should I? This would solve everything, Zane if I don't get enough money soon I'll have to leave The Gold Coast".

"You know what will happen to us if you sell us out, and my family has more than enough money I really can help you".

Rikki looked away, "But we would owe you it would take forever to pay you back. If I just exposed you then we wouldn't owe you a thing".

Zane felt his heart clench in pain, "You would do that to me?"

Rikki looked back at him, she could see how much her words had hurt Zane. Rikki sighed she didn't want to hurt Zane, she wasn't naïve. Rikki knew exactly what would happen to Zane, Ash and Lewis if they were exposed, and she knew that no matter how much she needed the money that she couldn't live with herself if she put them through that.

"No, I couldn't".

Zane sighed in relief, "So… you'll keep the secret".

"Yes, I will".

"Thank you Rikki, and I still want to help you".

"Zane, I can't ask you to-"

"You don't have to ask, I'm offering", Zane said smirking, Zane felt as though a huge weight had been lifted of his shoulders. He was so happy that Rikki was going to keep his secret, that he could keep his life in the Gold Coast.

Rikki tried to think of a good retort, but couldn't so she settled for hugging Zane in thanks, and Zane hugged her back. Zane knew that he would have to tell his friends that Rikki knew everything now, he had be putting off the phone call by telling her things about his merman life. But he couldn't put it off any longer, Zane decided to call Ash thinking that he would be the least likely to explode.

"Rikki knows?" Ash said sounding panicked.

"Yes, she knows everything", Zane said.

"Oh, this is bad. This is very bad", Ash said anxiously.

"No it's okay. Rikki has agreed to keep the secret".

"Are you sure we can trust her?"

"Yeah, you were right she had a good explanation and she gave the photos back".

Ash sighed in relief, "That's great. So are things okay between you guys".

Zane turned to Rikki, who gave him a smile that he returned, "Everything's great".