***NONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONG TO ME. THEY BELONG TO RICK RIORDAN AND JONATHAN M. SHIFF

Cleo

Cleo swam away from the boy as fast as she could. He looked familiar but only now did she realize who he was. The boy from the airport. Cleo knew she sensed the ocean on him. It was stronger than any mermaid she had ever met. Whoever he was, he scared Cleo to death.

The only reason Cleo was stuck in the first place was that she saw the shipwreck and got worried. It looked as if it just happened and she just wanted to see if there was someone stuck. Of course, as soon as she tried to get in there, the only stuck person was her. She saw some dolphins and they swam around, keeping her company. Until they left. Stupid dolphins. Cleo thought as she watched them swim away. But what she didn't realize was they went to get help. Cleo knew dolphins were smart but she didn't know they were that smart. And she definitely didn't know they could talk. The boy said they told him I was in trouble. Cleo also wondered what he was. He wasn't a merman. Cleo had never seen one and he didn't have a tail. And the way he made that air bubble. Even she couldn't do that.

Cleo finally made it to the moon pool, where her friends, Emma and Rikki, were waiting. They looked worried. Rikki was pacing back and forth beside the pool and Emma had her head in her hands.

When Rikki noticed Cleo she shouted, "What took you so long?! You were only supposed to check for cameras. We do it every day!"

"I'm sorry! I got stuck in a fisherman's net at a shipwreck," Cleo explained.

"We were about to go out looking for you," Emma said.

"Well, I kind of ran into someone."

"WHAT?!" Emma and Rikki shouted at the same time.

"Did they see you with your tail?!" Rikki asked. Cleo nodded.

"How could you be so reckless?!" Emma scolded.

"Just hold on! He was underwater too. He saved me from the shipwreck." Rikki and Emma both looked confused.

"Yeah. He was breathing underwater," Cleo said.

"Was he a merman? I've never seen one. And even we can't breathe underwater," Emma said. "I feel like we would know if someone else was given powers like us,"

"No, he didn't have a tail," Cleo said. "But get this…" Cleo told them how he made the air bubble and that he was the guy that knocked her over at the airport. Rikki's cheeks got a little red.

"Seriously? And you didn't slap him or something? I still can't believe I let him get away with that," Rikki said.

"He must be a tourist. I think we should go looking for him," Emma said.

Annabeth

Annabeth was just getting settled with her book when Percy came rushing into their room. Annabeth had gone over to the museum after they all left. It was a kangaroo museum, which was kind of weird. But it was still mildly interesting. Annabeth still wished Percy was with her though. After the museum, Annabeth came home and sat in the hot tub for a little while until her skin turned wrinkly and she got out. At the kangaroo gift shop, she had picked up a stuffed kangaroo (for Percy) and a commemorative book about her mother, Athena, that was written in Ancient Greek. Why it was in a kangaroo gift shop, she had no idea. But at least it was something she could read without her dyslexia acting up.

Percy came rushing into her room, looking like he'd just seen a whole stack of blue pancakes (which made him really happy) and sat down on her bed.

"I just met a mermaid!" he said, all excited. Annabeth couldn't figure out why this was a big deal.

"Don't you see mermaids all the time at your father's castle?" she asked him.

"Yeah but not this kind of mermaid. I mean like the ones in fairy tales. Without the blue skin and stuff."

"Okay, cool. But why are you so excited?"

"What? You wouldn't be excited to see your childhood dream come true?" Annabeth burst out laughing.

"Your childhood dream is to meet a mermaid?" Annabeth said laughing harder.

Percy crossed his arms and said, "Make fun of me all you want. When I was little I was secretly obsessed with mermaids, okay? I loved how easily they could swim through water."

Once Annabeth finally stopped laughing she said, "Okay, I'm sorry, Seaweed Brain. I just didn't see you as the type to like something so girly…" Annabeth barely finished her sentence before she started laughing again.

"Oh, just shut up, Wise Girl. I bet there's something you're obsessed with that you're embarrassed about."

"Well, there is one thing," Annabeth said as she grabbed the stuffed animal. "Kangaroos!" Then she threw the kangaroo at Percy and it hit him in the face. Annabeth starting laughing hysterically, which gave Percy enough time to grab the stuffed kangaroo and throw it back. Annabeth instinctively grabbed her knife and swat at it, cutting the poor kangaroo's head off.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled and started laughing so hard he was rolling on the ground. Annabeth just picked up the kangaroo (now in two pieces) and sadly looked at it.

"This was supposed to be a gift for you," Annabeth said, acting sad. Then she taunted, "So you don't have to cut the circulation off in my arm on the plane, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth threw the dismembered kangaroo pieces at Percy, who started laughing. They had a full-blown war when Jason and Piper came into the room, asking what all the noise was. Jason joined Percy on one side of the bed and Piper joined Annabeth on the other. They threw the animal at each other until all the stuffing was scattered all over the room. They all jumped on Annabeth's bed and Percy told Jason and Piper about the mermaid.

"She looked really familiar but I couldn't figure out why. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes. Any of you guys know someone like that?" Jason and Piper shook their heads but Percy could see wheels turning inside Annabeth's head.

"Wait! Was it the girl from the airport? The one you knocked over?" Annabeth said the last part like she was scolding him.

"Yeah! She was!"

"But how can that be? That girl was mortal," Piper asked.

"I have no idea," Percy said.

"Wait, Piper. Remember that poster we saw? The one about Mako Island," Jason said.

"Oh yeah. We saw this poster telling an urban legend. There is this moon pool in the center of the mountain on this island. Supposedly, whoever is in that pool when the full moon goes over the mountain will be turned into a mermaid. But we saw people looking at the poster in disgust. I guess the people here think it's completely bogus."

Annabeth thought for a moment and said, "Well, most things in our life people thought were bogus. I think we should check it out."