Summary: Fic dedicted to Twilightroxas7. S1 Missing Epi. Alaric Saltzman takes a group of students on a make-up vacay after their Mummy incident, only to be followed home by a new group of monsters. With Lizzie Saltzman and Landon Kirby being two of the only students who are immune to the call of these new creatures, they will have to work to save their friends and family, or to doom the school, and some students to a new home: at the bottom of the sea.
Hello, my lovely readers. This story takes place between There's a Mummy on Main Street and This Boy Still Has Lot of Good to Do. On with the show...
There's Something Fishy Here!
Water lapped along the sandy beach, and it felt like there was nothing but sun, and soft, puffy, calm blue clouds in the sky. MG closed his eyes and titled his head back, enjoying the feel of the warm rays on his skin which would turn him to cinders if not for his daylight ring. After the Mummy episode-the one MG felt cheated of seeing-Alaric Saltzman had decided to make up for it by taking a select group of students to Virginia Beach. And Kaleb talked Dr. S into bringing Kaleb's crew along. This meant MG, Landon and Rafael got a little R & R. Opening his eyes, MG found himself smiling until he spotted what looked like a pink fin. The fin waved at him, from about fifty feet away and MG blinked, wondering if he was dreaming, but pretty sure he was wide-awake.
Opening his mouth, MG turned to glance back at his friends, feeling uncertain, and feeling certain that his expression matched his inner turmoil. A growl came from under an over-sized beach towel. "Wife of Frodo, please, tell your hobbit to get the hell out of my sun!" Lizzie Saltzman's fiery gaze was about to burn a hole right through Landon Kirby. Landon had his back to MG, so MG couldn't see the look on his friend's face, but he could imagine the downturned lip and wide-eyed look on Landon's face that made him look a bit like a hobbit.
Hope Mikaelson came to the rescue, sliding her heart-shaped glasses down her nose and staring at Lizzie. "I thought we were writing a new chapter: a pre-friends, post-mortal-enemies kind of thing?"
Josie Saltzman let out a laugh from the other side of Lizzie. Lizzie shot Josie a pouty-frown. "I need to get a drink," Jo mumbled to her blanket before she pushed herself to her feet and practically ran away from her sister's wrath.
"See!" "Your Mubbit from the land of Perpetual Never Gets Laid for a Reason is ruining EVERYTHING!" He's blocking my sun. And now, he's made Jo run off!"
"It's not your sun-and unlike the sun-not everything revolves around you!" Lizzie was already walking away. "And she's gone!" Landon threw his hands in the air. "Never can get the comeback out soon enough!"
"It's okay. I'm sure you'll have many more opportunities to zing Lizzie," Hope comforted Landon.
Landon's shoulders drooped. "Not really something to look forward to."
"MG, how gorgeous is this view?" Kaleb came to stand beside MG with a smile.
MG was still focused on Lizzie's hips. "It's the most bea-"
"Not that, brother," Kaleb took MG by the shoulders and spun him around to face the water. "All the nature. Nothing like it." Kaleb shook his head. "One of these days, I'm going to own one of these sweet beachfront homes."
MG nodded, narrowing his eyes. He looked around for waving pink tails, but did not see a single one. "Kaleb, you haven't seen anything weird out here, have you?"
Kaleb's brows rose. "Other than Raf still moping about his brother's girl, and not trying to hook up with one of the maaaannnnnyyyyyyy honies scattered around our sandy beach." Kaleb shook his head with a smirk. "Nope. Just sand, sun, and Lizzie's snark."
MG nodded. "Why?" Kaleb's brows lifted. "You seen Jaws or something? Should we warn the pretty ladies to not go in the water?" He began to hum the classic song from the film that made MG fear water for a year.
Shaking his head, MG replied, "Less giant teeth, and more Disney sing-along." He felt silly. "I'm just being a fool. Forget it." He glanced at the water before trudging toward their friends.
"What's up?" Landon greeted them, applying sunblock to Hope's back while Rafael stared a little too hard in the opposite direction.
"MG saw a mer-girl!" Kaleb cried in excitement.
"Mer-maid," MG mumbled, feeling stupid.
Kaleb clapped his hands on MG'S shoulders. "Bro, someone's just messing with you. That's all. Some girl with one of those flipper things."
Hope's phone went off and she snatched it up. "We've got to go. Ric has activities." She shot them one of her wide, a little too tight, and a little too bright to be real, smiles to show how happy she was. "Come on! I won't be the only one to suffer through Movies-That-Involve-Surfboards Charades, again!"
MG trailed behind the others on their way back to the hotel. And as he walked, he felt sure he heard a voice call: "M-G!" in a sing-song tone. He looked back at the water, and, again, he saw nothing out of place. Just the lapping waves. Wondering if he'd had a touch too much sun, MG forced all thoughts of girls who might go by the name Ariel out of his head.
"How do they get around on these things?" the blue-haired girl complained. She stumbled into her blond-haired sister who shoved her into her purple - haired sister.
"Stop it!" the purple-haired girl cried, nearly falling down. "These pinch!" she shouted at the blond, waving at the open-top heels on her feet.
The blue-haired girl sniffed and her nose wrinkled in what most people thought was an adorable fashion, but her sisters were not most people. "Can't we just go back?" she appealed to them as they walked ahead of her and she pushed one of her feet in front of the other with great concentration. The humans made it look so easy. Well, the babies might have a hard time... She was not a baby, just the youngest of her siblings.
"No!" the blonde snapped with a head shake. Her violet eyes went to the gates. "We have work to do," she shot her sisters a smirk. "Just remember your names. Names have power."
The youngest sister nodded. "I know mine."
"Me, too," the purple-haired girl added, bending down to adjust the strap of her heel and falling into the gate. "Ou-ch!"
The blond groaned, "No one is going to call you Aquamarine! That's not remotely human..." She trailed off as a human man came toward them with a weapon. The blue-haired girl felt pleased it was not a harpoon. Their mother told them stories of humans with harpoons...but she did not like the looks of this weapon, either. It was a good thing they were prepared...
Lizzie Saltzman fumed as she found the electricity was on the fritz, again
This had to be, like, the twentieth time in the past three hours. Thankfully, she was on a diet for Miss Mystic, or she'd be pissed about the lack of a hot lunch. However, Lizzie had been in the middle of making perfect waves in her long, blond locks when her curling iron cooled. "Jo!" she shouted.
Josie looked up from her book, like she didn't read enough for classes and Lizzie hoped Jo understood that this was important, "Can you ask Dorian why in the hell the lights are STILL on the fritz?"
Closing her book, Jo slid off the side of her bed. "It's probably a storm coming in."
With a glance out the window, Lizzie frowned and let out a scoff, "There's not a cloud in the sky." Opening her compact, she plucked up a brush, to apply blush. When Josie did not reply, Lizzie glanced up to find their door was ajar. "Great. Now, I'm talking to myself," she offered her reflection a tight smile. Why did their dad have to go on some mystery trip, 'cause Lizzie felt like she might need him. And soon...
The light flickered, again, and Lizzie let out a growl. She did not have the patience for a campus-wide outage.
Getting to her feet, Lizzie stomped out of her room. She went downstairs and turned to go down to her father's office. Without knocking, Lizzie entered. Jo stood to the right side of Dorian Williams, who was in charge while Alaric Saltzman was...somewhere else. Jo had the smile they reserved for new students, new students whose parents cut massive checks to keep them in smoothies and oak paneling for years to come.
Lizzie plastered on her own smile and made her way over to stand on Dorian's left. "Hello!" she said, cheerily as the light flickered, again!
"These are our headmaster, Alaric Saltzman,'s daughters, Josie and Lizzie," Dorian announced, not even looking at either of the two daughters as he spoke. "Lizzie. Jo. This is Coral. Shelly. And Maureen." Lizzie's smile stretched wider as Dorian listed the names and she felt like she would Same paragraph] hear them recited in a Geo class, or Intro to Marine Biology and Saving the Economic System taught by some dolphin hugger. Not that Lizzie was opposed, just that humans didn't usually sport names like this. Maybe these girls were some kind of jellyfish and they would sting you if you got too close...
Snapping out of her own reverie, Lizzie turned her attention to the newbies. "You came here? Together?" Lizzie's brows went up. Wasn't there a saying about bad things coming in threes?
"Lizzie," Jo scolded, shooting Lizzie a look, and Lizzie did not know what she had said wrong. For once she'd kept her inner thoughts, well, in her.
"We're sisters. Fraternal." Coral let out a laugh. "Obvs." Her eyes met Lizzie's and Lizzie forced down a shiver. Other than feeling like she was being mocked-which would look paranoid because how could a girl, who had been here for five seconds, know Lizzie's speech. Coral's eyes were cold, like, ice-fishing in your undies, cold.
"We welcome you to the Salvatore School. And I'm sure the girls will be happy to give you your tour." Now, Dorian looked from his left to his right with a smile.
Hand shooting up to her hair, Lizzie let out a nervous laugh. She hated the idea of navigating the school, like this. However, duty called. "Although we had no idea you were coming," Lizzie shot Jo a look, "otherwise we would have met you at the door; we will be happy to escort you through our hallowed halls."
"Hollowed," Jo coughed and Lizzie let out another nervous laugh.
Without a change in expression, Coral rose to stand. Even though the girl was barely taller than Hope Mikaelson, she knew how to elongate her frame, like one of those petite models. This, if nothing else about the girl, Lizzie could appreciate. Whereas, Shel-ly, of the Smurf-hair, winced as she stood and her body contorted. Lizzie had to smother a laugh with her hand. The laughter died in her throat once Coral opened her mouth. "Actually, Dorian, I was hoping you could give us the tour," she fluttered her had-to-be-falsies because no human girl Lizzie knew had eyelashes that long and thick as Mr. Williams. And Coral's voice came out soft and lulling.
"Dorian?" Lizzie mouthed to her sister. But Jo wasn't even paying attention.
Dorian chuckled. "I'm sorry, Coral, but -"
"Dorian is a ver-y busy man, in our father's place. Never fear, Jo and I give an excellent tour." Lizzie assured the new girls.
Coral continued to focus on Mr. Williams. "Dorian, please..."
"You know what, an hour won't hurt." Dorian moved around the desk and Coral and Maureen took his arms, leaving Shelly to limp behind them.
"Jo?" Lizzie cried as the lights flickered.
"Someone needs to call maintenance." Jo picked up the phone and Lizzie ground her teeth. It was like she had become invisible.
Hours later, the lights were still flickering, and dinner was put on hold. If Lizzie did not eat sometime tonight; she really would become Sister of Casper, the Unfriendly Ghost. Where was MG-with a plate of brownies-when she needed him?
Irritation getting the best of her, Lizzie went into the hallway and nearly collided with Landon. Why was he always there, for her to look like the world's biggest klutz? In spite of what Hope claimed; it seemed he really was contagious.
"Watch where you walk, Cereal Box Toy Surprise Nightmare!" she snarled.
"Nice to see you, too, Lizzie!" Landon snapped back. He stalked past her and down the hallway. The flashlight on his phone leading the way to whatever Den of Monster Infested Hell he was chasing, or, more likely, being chased by.
"Where are you going?" Lizzie called. She had become acutely aware of the silence in the hall. "And did your friends, the Mali-Monsters, go on an all-you-can-eat on everyone?" She looked around for blood and gore.
Landon whirled on his heel. "Not my friends! And I don't know!" He turned away, and returned to his unknown path which Lizzie would usually allow, even if it meant he ended up in their school paper's obits section next week.
"You know where you're going!" Lizzie couldn't help the next part, "Or you don't know why everyone disappears at the sound of your basicness appearing into their orbit?"
Landon shook his head not bothering to stop or turn to face her. "I do not have time for this," he grumbled.
Landon freakin' Kirby was going to abandon her. And Lizzie would never speak of this day. To anyone. Ever. Just one more thing to try before she looked desperate. "Where's Hope?" That should work for the one-dimensional man-baby.
"She went to deal with a monster. In town. She made me stay behind." Usually Landon's retort would have left Lizzie with too much material to work through, but he might really leave her behind. He headed for the stairs and she followed him.
Stopping at the bottom of the basement stairs, Landon removed a folded piece of paper from his jeans. "Here. Hold this," he waved his phone at Lizzie who stared at the piece of plastic and then at the boy who she felt it would make better sense if he were made of plastic.
"I have my own," Lizzie snapped, narrowing her eyes and placing her hand on her hip.
Landon whirled to give her a wide-eyed incredulous expression. "I need to see this!" He waved his paper in her face.
Rolling her eyes, Lizzie took the phone. "What is that?" She nodded at the paper that Landon focused on.
"A copy of the blueprints for the school. Hope keeps a copy in her room. I need to find the circuit board, to figure out what's going on with the lights." Landon looked up and moved toward the left hallway. "This way."
"Jo already called maintenance and I very much double that the skills you were required to make a tin pot in your wood shop class back at MF High allowed you to fix the lighting system for an entire school, such as ours. And if you screw this up, Dad will toss you out on your fashion-reject ass." She paused. "Actually, go ahead."
Landon did not reply before opening the metal box. Then the lights went out. "Seriously? I was kidding!"
Head moving to take in Lizzie in the flashlight's glow, Landon shook his head. "That wasn't me. Plus, everything is switched on which is other people's problem: Some smart-ass flipped the switch. So, something is definitely wrong here."
Again, Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Ya think? Let's go find someone who knows how to fix the problem instead of stating the obvious."
They returned upstairs to find Penelope Park strutting downstairs in a bikini. "What's the matter, Satan, laundry elves steal your clothes?" Lizzie smirked.
Penelope cocked her head to the side and peered at Lizzie. "Nice hair, Lizzie really captures your personality. Not quite done and a little fried around the edges." Grinning, Penelope strode past Lizzie with a wave. "Laters."
Lizzie let out a horrified shriek and moved to go back to her room. She could come back out on graduation day. "Liz-zie!" Landon cried. "Wait!" He moved into the bottom step and caught her wrist, preventing her from getting away.
"I have to go!" Lizzie could feel a meltdown coming on.
Letting go, Landon held up both his hands. "Lizzie, focus for me. Please." Lizzie felt her lower lip wobbling and she hated that Landon was there, looking at her, and he wasn't giving a look of pity or disgust. He was just there. Steady. For some reason. "How hot is it?" His words came our slowly
Frowning, Lizzie's brain worked to deal with the question and she took slow breaths. "I don't know."
"It's got to be around the upper sixties. And Penelope is in a bathing suit." Landon waved at the front door. "That's weird!"
"Why? She's a big ho-ho-ho!" Lizzie grimaced. "And we're not even in the right season."
"Exactly," Landon nodded. "Come on!" He waved for Lizzie to follow him to the door and outside. "It's think there's something going on," he continued. They walked around the grounds and found...a raging party.
Lizzie's need for a meltdown vanished and a white-hot rage took its place. There was a party and Lizzie had not been invited! She stalked over to the pool party to find Rafael splashing Maury, or Mary, or whatever that eggplant-headed girl's name was. Smurfette was working her charms on Jed. And Kaleb.
But none of that was the worst part. The worst part was the sight of Mr. Sweater-Vest-Wearing Williams, in an eye-wateringly bright Hawaiian shirt, drink in hand, and eyes all over that Clorine girl. No! Stomping over, Lizzie forced a smile. Obviously, this "girl" had cast a horrible, horrible spell on their beloved teacher and Lizzie needed to break it. Now! She forced a smile before saying: "Dorian!"
"Just a minute, Lizzie," Mr. Williams did not even give her a second look for calling him by his first name, which she would never do.
"Hope's in trouble!" Hell, if it worked like a charm on her dad, why not the guy doing his job?
Suddenly, Lizzie had Dorian's full and undivided attention. "Excuse me, Coral." Mr. Williams followed Lizzie as Carrie watched them go with an icy glare.
"Mr. Williams," Lizzie began, trying to think of something to say when Marsha let out a laugh at something that MG said. She dove into the pool like an Olympic swimmer and joined MG. Gritting her teeth, Lizzie returned to Mr. Williams who was staring at Carl. Definitely charmed, and not in a good way. "Are you kidding me?" Lizzie found herself shouting.
Mr. Williams turned to frown at Lizzie. "Are you feeling okay? Should we call your dad?"
"I'm fine, Mr. Williams. It's you I'm worried about. Cardie, over there, is like seventeen, and someone-not me-might say you have your old guy eyes on her..."
Blinking, Mr. Williams let out a shocked laugh. "Lizzie, I'm being nice. That's what people do. Even adults. Besides, Coral is twenty-one. And I don't think your father would frown on -"
"I'm sure that's what her fake ID says," Lizzie uttered before he could finish because she could live for a long time without more ugly images in her brain.
"Why don't we go inside and talk?" Mr. Williams led Lizzie inside the school. This was better. Now, she could lock him in a cell until she, Jo and Hope, found a way to reverse the spell the new girls put Mr. Williams under.
Lizzie's thoughts were interrupted when she felt the sharp prick of a needle slipping into the side of her neck.
Upon waking, Lizzie felt weird. Her legs felt like they'd been weighed down by an anchor. Moving to sit up, Lizzie blinked in horror before screaming. "What in the name of Walt Disney?"
"Walt who?" Coral cocked her head to the side, her arctic glacier eyes boring into Lizzie.
"You bitch! What did you do to me?" Without thinking Lizzie moved to stand up, flipping her...tail off the cot and found herself flopping on the concrete. "Ow!" she moaned, tears stinging her eyes.
Coral sauntered over to lean against the cell bars. "Shush! Don't cry. You're going to need all the moisture you've got." Her lips turned up at the corners and if Lizzie thought the girl's gaze was cold before; she felt like her teeth might begin to chatter from that smile.
Inhaling, Lizzie channeled her inner fire. "You're a Mali-Monster!" This explained everything.
Coral stood up, her eyes brightening. "Yes. Malivore. But I'm not really his monster. I follow my own path." Her violet eyes sought Lizzie who looked at her tail and opened her mouth to try to reverse the effects of the spell. "Oh, dear, that won't work." Pouting, Coral leaned against the bars. "Your magic comes from the earth. Our magic comes from the sea. Not really the same thing." Shrugging, she moved to leave but paused. "Don't worry. We'll get what we came for and we'll go. I just hope you find your way to an aquarium before you dry out."
"What happens if I dry out?" Lizzie shouted. She didn't want to know.
"You die." Coral replied. Yup. That's what Lizzie did not want to hear. Coral waved good-bye.
Wondering what Mr. Williams and Lizzie were doing; Landon approached the poolside. Josie popped up, splashing his shoes. "Hi!" she called, climbing out of the pool. "Where's Hope?"
"Same thing she's always up to: She's on a mission. Killer party." Landon nodded his head at the teaming pool and shoving his hands in his pockets, trying to not appear as anxious as he felt. Where in the hell was Lizzie?
"It's great!" Jo giggled and took a cup from a lower classman. As connected as she and Lizzie seemed to be; Jo seemed oblivious to her sister's absence and Landon added that to his list of: Things That Are Wrong Here!
"So, whose ides was it?"
"Coral's." Jo waved to Shelly who bounced a beach ball to Raf
Landon did a double take. He hadn't seen Raf this happy and enjoying the thing called fun since before Cassie died.
"Coral?" Landon tore his gaze from his brother and stared at Jo.
Jo nodded. "They're such a great addition, aren't they?" Jo grinned at Landon as the music paused. He frowned at the sound of a soft humming in the air. Like someone was singing but he could not pinpoint who.
"Yeah." Getting an idea, Landon took Jo by the elbow. "Jo, you know what would make this party even better? Party favors! I have some in my room."
"Why?" Jo cried, trying to pull away. "I like it here."
This was bad. If someone noticed, they might try to stop Landon. Then he would be on his own. Deciding to ignore Jo's protests, Landon picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He expected MG to appear and give him a lecture on being an evolved man. Instead he found some kid he didn't know the name of, staring at them. "I'm her sober companion." Landon watched the boy shake his head and leave.
"Where are we going?" Jo cried, and Landon reminded himself to work out more, or ever.
Moving around the side of the house, Landon sighed as he got the door open, and dropped the siphoner on the door stoop. Setting her on own her feet, Landon sighed. "Upstairs," he forced himself up to his room. Once Jo was inside, Landon closed the door and ran over to his desk. He opened a drawer and fumbled for a box of earplugs. Ripping it open, he pulled out a pair and then went over to Jo. "Sorry," he said and jammed them in her ears. Not too far. Hearing loss was not funny.
"Ow!" Jo cried. Then she frowned. "What's going on?"
Holding up a finger Landon picked up a notebook and he wrote: I don't know. But there is a humming sound. DON'T pull out the plugs. I'm going to do some research. Go! Find Lizzie!"
Josie Saltzman found herself nodding. Landon started to move to the door, pivoted and returned to his desk. Josie saw him pocket the box of earplugs before moving back to the door. He left the room first and they went downstairs together before splitting up. Jo knew he was heading for the library while she found...ah hsd no idea where her sister might be. Now, that was thinking straight, Josie did not recall Lizzie being at the party. She'd thought she saw Lizzie for a minute with Mr. Williams. Turning to go back up the stairs, Josie took them two at a time. If her sister was in trouble...
Jo came to a stop when she heard the sound of giggles coming from down the hall. She made her way down to her dad's door. Inside were Coral...and Penelope. Penelope whispered something as Alaric's desk drawer opened. Pen pulled out a bottle and began to laugh as Coral moved toward her.
Having seen enough, Josie hurried away and turned a corner. Whether Lizzie found herself back at the party, or not, Josie needed to get the hell of here.
Running down the stairs, Josie jerked the door open and almost collided with Hope Mikaelson. "There's monsters attacking the school!" Jo cried.
Hope smiled back at Jo like she was slug-drunk. Shaking her head, Hope said, something Jo could not hear. Shaking her head, Josie dragged the tri-brid into the school and down to the library. Landon was chewing on the end of a pencil with a pile of books laying open around him.
Hope practically skipped over to kiss her boyfriend on the lips in a way that made Josie uncomfortable.
Pulling back, Landon removed the box of earplugs. He grabbed a pair and Josie watched him shove them into Hope's ears. Hope's eyes widened and then narrowed. That was the girl you wanted to bring to a fight. Before Hope could demand to know what was going on; Landon picked up a book from his pile and pointed at a page. It read: The Truth Behind the Myth: A History of Mer-Peoples. Apparently Mer-Peoples used to send out their daughters to sing songs to sailors, much like sirens. Only this did not end with the sailors being eaten. Just robbed of their material goods. Sometimes food. Although there were the occasional incidents in which a Mer was all homicidal and enjoyed causing their victim pain or death. Not such a pretty tale.
Finally, Jo nodded. Hope wrote on a piece of paper: Now what?
Jo held out her hand and took the pencil. I'm going to find Lizzie. Keep looking for a way to help the others, she wrote. Then she remembered something. Coral is with Penelope. Hope's brows rose and Jo shrugged. She did not want to get into her feelings for her ex. Not tonight.
Determined to save her sister, Josie stalked out of the library and headed down the hallway. Turning a corner, she found Coral. The blond grinned and said something Josie could not hear. A finger tapped Josie on the shoulder. Jo turned to find Pen with a big smile on her face. Josie wished she had earplugs for the Witch when Penelope blew a fine powder into Josie's face and Josie slumped into her ex's arms.
Waking up, Jo found she no longer had her earplugs, but she did have a tail. "Welcome to Team Tuna!" Lizzie said, glumly waving her tail at Jo.
Jo rolled her eyes. "We have to break the spell."
"Good luck with that," Lizzie retorted, "We don't have ocean magic."
"What?" Jo felt confused.
Lizzie groaned. "There's a difference between earth magic, and ocean magic, according to the world's bitchiest source: Cinderella the Talking Casserole."
Thinking she understood, Josie jumped in, "So, they think we're regular witches?"
For a moment Lizzie didn't seem to get it but then she smiled. "Yes. Yes, they do."
Where are Lizzie and Jo? Hope scribbled in Landon's notebook. He had no idea and shook his head.
Landon wrote back: You should go look for them. I'll go de-siren Raf. Closing the books on mermaids, they left the room.
"You left the party so soon, Landon. We haven't had the chance to get to know each other," Coral's voice made Landon tense up and run into Hope. Lizzie was right; he had a problem. He looked to the other end of the hall and saw Maureen moving to block the only other escape route.
"Go, Landon!" Hope cried. "Silencio!" she shouted but the mermaids continued to hum. "That's not my only party trick!" Hope geared her fangs but then she flopped to the floor and Landon could only stare at his powerful girlfriend reduced to flipping and flopping like a literal fish out of water. "Landon! Go!" She shouted at him, waving her arms.
"I'm not leaving you!" Landon cried, watching the two mermaids make thief way toward them. If he could just find a weapon. "Save Raf!" Hope shouted at him. Breaking out of his wish to play hero to his girlfriend, Landon ran down the hall and fell, on purpose, for once. He skidded past Maureen who made a dive for him but jerked away. "Help me with her. The others will take care of him." Coral's word made Landon gulp. He caught some of the mermaids dragging Hope off before he forced himself to head back to the party. He'd never not wanted to be invited to a party this much.
Making his way outside, Landon ran toward the party. "Raf!" he shouted, waving at his brother.
Rafael climbed out of the pool. With Shelly. Landon felt the need to run, again. Why couldn't his brother ever meet a nice girl? Landon thought as his brother's eyes turned yellow and he growled, showing what nice, big teeth he had.
Whirling around, Landon ran for the kitchen entrance. Ducking inside, he found MG who apparently came in for more drinks. "Hey, MG!" Landon called as casually as possible while glancing back at the door for the Pod People. MG came toward Landon with a snarl and a tray full of fruit punch. "Sorry," Landon muttered, pulling out ear plugs and jamming them in MG's ears. There weren't too many left in the box. Hopefully they could fix this before Landon ran out.
MG winced. Staring at Landin, MG said, "Tell me I didn't do anything bad."
Shaking his head, Landon pulled put his phone and texted MG. Like most teens, MG had his phone on him. Where MG had been storing his phone Landon tried not to think about as MG removed the device from his swim trunks.
Eyes darting to the screen, MG nodded.
"I've got him!" MG called, dragging Landon along the lawn and toward the pool party. "We're putting him down with the girls."
Shelly came to join them. "Thank you, MG!" she cried, hugging him. "Coral will be so happy!" She turned back to the pool. "Be back soon!" She blew a kiss to Rafael. Man, would he be pissed tomorrow.
They walked Landon down to the cells where Lizzie, Jo, and Hope, other female students who did not heed the mermaids call and Ms. Emma Tig were. Poor Ms. Tig had the flu and she looked wary as MG approached. "MG! You stop this!" she called.
"Sorry, but his Little MGs have taken the wheel," Lizzie snapped, glaring at Shelly.
Opening the cell door, MG looked at Landon, "Now!" The vampire, and the whatever Landon turned out to be, dragged Shelly into the cell. Poor girl never saw it coming. MG had to remind himself she was a monster who meant to hurt his friends.
"No!" Shelly screamed as Landon pushed her close enough for the twins to latch on and begin siphoning. "Ow!" she cried out as her skin turned red.
"Ocean magic, my ass!" Lizzie said, and then tightened her grip. "Who's up for a fish fry?" She grinned at the others before turning her sights on Shelly. "This isn't the time to clam up, sister. Time to spill your pearls of spell-reversing wisdom."
"You hum," Shelly whimpered. "Please, I just want to go home." Tears ran down her cheeks.
Jo looked at Lizzie. They let go of Shelly and began to hum. Soon, their tails reverted to legs, and other things... Flushing, MG whirled on his heel, humming his own tune of embarrassment.
"Shit!" Lizzie cried.
Landon pulled off his shirts and tossed them at the twins. Or MG thought so, because he was not looking. Not even a little bit. On pain of death, provided by Elizabeth Saltzman. The twins worked on Hope and someone found her something to wear.
"Let's go! We have bogged fish to fry. And I think I have a rash from wearing Frodo-wear!" Lizzie moaned, loudly, hurrying ahead with Landon's plaid shirt still barely covering...things...
MG might die tonight, for a variety of reasons...
Leading the way, Lizzie marched them through the school and was headed back to the party. MG was dragging Shelly along although that wasn't difficult because the mermaid had stopped resisting. "Just one minute!" MG called, heading for the kitchen. "Can't have a fish fry without the right seasoning."
Moving toward the pool, MG felt aware of all of the witches, vamps and wolves surrounding Coral and Maureen
"What have you done?" Coral shouted at Shelly. The blond's petite frame shook with her rage and her hands balled into fists and she moved toward her sister who shrank back. "How are they out?"
Lizzie stepped forward. "We're magical siphons, you unholy Christmas Carol!"
Coral grimaced. "Abominations."
"Yeah, says the fish whose about to be clam chowder!" Lizzie shot back.
Opening her mouth, Coral began to hum and students moved to attack MG's group. Jo and Lizzie linked hands with Hope and began to hum right back. "It's like the Canaries fighting, you know, if they were doing vocal exercises!" MG looked to Landon who might be the only person he knew would appreciate the analogy, and his excitement.
The supes seemed confused and pressed their hands to their ears. Landon passed Hope the box of earplugs. She ran at Raf and took him down, shoving plugs in his ears before attacking Kaleb. Coming out of their spells, the wolf and the vamp grabbed Coral and Maureen.
"Put them in the pool!" MG shouted. He pulled Shelly along and shoved her in with her sisters. MG took boxes of salt from Jo and he and Lizzie began to pour.
Landon stood to the side. "You need to be in salt water to regain your tails. So, why did you need water from the electricity?"
"A pool would not be enough water to get us home," Maureen explained while Coral glared and Shelly swam around. "Our legs were only temporary."
"We just want the urn. Malivore had our mother!" Shelly said, taking a break from her laps. She pinned Raf with a look. "We were born in that day-less nightmare. Our home might be dark. But it can not have been so lonely. If we return the urn to Malivore; he will grant our mother her freedom, too."
"Shut up, Shell, they're just going to kill us," Coral muttered, "get on with it. Show us your humanity." Her eyes glowed in a way that MG wondered why he ever thought it was cute.
Stepping closer to the pool, Lizzie raised her hands. "Your wish is my command," she opened her mouth to scream when someone else joined them.
"Enough!" Emma called. She was being held upright by Jed who had his flu shot or didn't care. Emma made her way forward. "This ends now!" Even in her current state, their teacher commanded their respect.
"Many of our students have suffered losses. Their parents. Their homes." Landon, Hope, MG, Jo and Lizzie bowed their heads. "Some have never had a true home." Raf looked away. "What we do not do is practice cruelty." She shot a glance at Penelope and Lizzie who looked guilty. "I am sorry for your loss, girls, but you can not harm my students. We will provide you with a way home. Do not attempt to come back here."
"We didn't mean to hurt anyone," Shelly told them. "We'll go."
"We need the urn!" Coral snapped.
"Shut up, Cor. We don't need you bossing us around anymore." Maureen snapped back. "You won't see us again," she promised Emma.
The next day, several students filed in early for their morning assembly, led by Dr. Alaric Saltzman. He looked out, over the innocent expressions the small group presented. "Did all of you have a good time while I was away?" He watched the students exchange looks.
"Yes, Daddy," Lizzie said brightly.
"Excellent time," MG added.
Hope and Landon nodded wordlessly while Jo looked like she might puke.
"Good." Alaric drummed his fingers on the podium. "Then it won't be hard to explain why maintenance called me about a power outage. Ms. Tig rented a thirty foot wide, portable aquarium
For a day. And the pool has to be serviced, due to excess salt in the drains. Also, why I found Lizzie wearing Landon's 'deplorable' shirt." He paused for a second, "And Penelope Park is being nice..."
Thirty Seconds Later:
"I would never-" Lizzie began.
"Deplorable?" Landon shot Lizzie a look.
"Why would you do that?" Hope stared at Lizzie.
"Raf let mermaids into the school. Sorry man, bit I'm in enough trouble." Kaleb fell back in his seat.
"Dorian let them in." Rafael shook his head at Kaleb.
"Mr. Williams had the hots for one of the mers!" Lizzie seemed to have joined the Everyone Throw Someone Under the Bus Party with zest.
"Jo sirened Pen," Kaleb, again, "into being nice. She's going to kill us all! Pen, not Jo!"
"Ms. Tig had the flu," MG offered.
Jo leaned over and threw up. "May I be excused?" Alaric nodded.
With a smile, Alaric looked at the remaining students. "Who's looking forward to Spring Break?" Blank looks greeted him. Yup, that was something to look forward to...
The End
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Be safe,
-J