Harry came to with a lurch, coughing up water. He hacked and coughed until no more water came out. He laid his head back and allowed his burning lungs to get as much of that cool, sweet air into them as fast as he could. That was the first time in his entire life he had nearly drowned. He had taken a lifeguard job for the past few summers and had been the one to save others from drowning. Now it was his turn. Who had saved him? It hadn't been Robby, that's for sure. Harry's eyes snapped open and sat up.

"Robby! They, they took him!"

"Take it easy, Harriman, you took in quite a bit of water," said Lillibulero as he gently pushed Harry back down. "And I know, I saw them take him. Irene and I were too far away to catch up to them before they took off."

"Besides, we had to save you first," said Irene. Harry glanced around, both were with him on a beach.

He blinked as he looked between the two. "Where am I?"

"We got you to Devil's Hat as quickly as we could," said Irene.

"Ah," said Harry as he slowly sat up. "That makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is if Vandal wanted Robby dead, why did one of his men nearly kill him?"

"You remember Jack's boat, how many harpoon holes were in it?" asked Lillibulero.

Harry blinked. "Uh, yeah?"

"It must be a new crew member, overzealous, trying to capture Jack, and later Robby, for Vandal. But what was different about Jack's?"

"Uh, Jack was in a boat, Robby and I were out swimming." Harry paused. "And he used the harpoon gun to try and catch Robby?" He blinked in confusion. "This guy must be really new if he thinks harpooning a fellow is a good idea."

"Or, it was the only weapon he had," said Lillibulero.

"I don't care if that guy was just trying to scare us, he still could have killed Robby, or seriously harmed him!" Harry tried to stand. "And now that stupid pirate has him!"

Lillibulero was up on his feet in a second and pushing Harry back down to the ground. "You are in no condition to do anything right now, Harriman. We will have time. If Vandal wanted him dead, he would have been by now."

"Wait, so, you're positive that the harpooner wasn't trying to kill him, but to capture him?" asked Irene.

Lillibulero nodded. "It seems like it. After all, if Vandal had been paying attention to your conversation with Mr. Iona, he would have heard that Robertson is Jacob's grandson."

Harry groaned as he put his hands over his face. "And Dr. Von Hoffer will meet whatever demands he makes to keep Robby safe."

"Exactly, which is why we must save him tonight."

Harry sighed. "And what you mean by 'we' is that you want Irene and I to go for the police while you single handedly take down the pirates."

"That is ideal, but knowing you, Harriman, you would try to find some way to follow me and try to help, only to botch everything." Lillibulero took out his phone. "So I took the liberty of calling the police and having them meet us at Vandal's ship in about half an hour. Once I have given them the coordinates."

Harry sat up quickly. "Wait, you don't know where Vandal's boat is?"

"It's been five minutes since I lost Robby's signal."

Harry's eyes widened. "You lost Robby's signal?"

"Wait, you're tracking him?" asked Irene.

"I will know in ten minutes if it was an electronic disruption, in which case the signal will be back."

"And, and if the signal doesn't come back?" asked Irene.

Lillibulero locked eyes with them. "Then it was taken from Robby and destroyed."

"Right," said Harry. "So you're just waiting around to see where they took him?"

"Yes, Harriman, I just explained that."

"I know, I'm just double-checking," said Harry somewhat irritably. "My brain is still getting its oxygen levels restored."

"So it would seem," muttered Lillibulero. "Ten minutes should get your brain's oxygen levels back up to normal."

"And until then, maybe you can answer some questions," said Harry rather forcibly.

Lillibulero slowly brought up his head to lock eyes with Harry. "What questions?"

"You've met Vandal before, haven't you? I saw the look on your face when Mr. Iona mentioned his name."

"Whether or not I have is classified, Harriman. I am not at liberty to divulge that information."

"Have you now? Or are you just refusing to say so because it might make you seem less competent at your job?"

Lillibulero's eyes flashed. "Don't push it, Harriman."

"No, I want you to tell me. You refused to tell before, and Robby barely made it out by the edge of his teeth!" Harry crossed his arms. "So spill it."

"But Harry, didn't Mr. Lillibulero tell us everything about Julian Vandal?" asked Irene. "He said he was a pirate and wanted to relive the golden days of pirates!"

Lillibulero sighed. "He's not only a ruthless, cold-hearted scoundrel, but he's also ambitious to a fault and wants to be an explorer as well as a pirate. He wants to find Atlantis and the Fountain of Youth. And . . . he wants the world to continue viewing mermaids as dangerous."

Irene's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

Lillibulero nodded. "He was captured once, and that belief of his was why he was let go. No one believed he would find mermaids, they didn't exist after all." He glanced at Irene's tail. "Until now."

"What?" exclaimed Harry. "Why'd you let him go if you knew he was a dangerous person?"

"It wasn't my decision, Harriman, believe me, he would have been behind bars by now. But there were a few people who thought he was simply nuts and got him back his freedom." Lillibulero let out a hiss. "And I hate being right."

"Well why didn't you arrest him yourself?" asked Harry.

"I couldn't, I needed another reason to send him to prison. Well, he just gave it to me on a silver platter. Kidnapping the son and grandson of renowned scientists is a very bad move indeed." He glanced at his phone, tapping his fingers on the beach. "Still eight minutes to go," he mumbled. He glanced out at the sea. "I think we should start heading in the direction they took, we might be able to find Vandal's ship still."

"Why shouldn't we find it?" asked Harry as he started to rise. Irene's tail turned into legs and she helped him rise. "I mean, it's got to be the only ship out there for miles, right?"

"You're thinking of ships above the water, Harriman, Vandal's ship goes below," said Lillibulero as he stuck his phone back into his pocket wand walked towards a rowboat.

Harry's eyes widened as he blanched. "Wait, you mean, you mean he's got a submarine?"

"That is exactly what I said, I wouldn't have needed Robby's location otherwise. A pirate ship above water would be much easier to spot than one below. But luck might be with us tonight and we could get on board. But we must hurry." Lillibulero pushed the boat out to sea and got in.

"No kidding," said Harry and he and Irene dashed towards the boat. They got in before it drifted too far away. Lillibulero pulled out the oars and began to row. Irene watched him, fascinated by how silently he rowed. It seemed like her barely made a noise, but now that she was in the boat with him, she could hear the faint splash of the oars breaking the water's surface, propelling them out towards the sea.

"Wait a minute," said Harry in a hushed tone, "shouldn't we let Mr. and Mrs. Hoenig know about all of this?" He turned to Irene. "And what about your family?"

"I left a message for them at the gate. They'll get it when they get there," said Irene. She wrapped her arms around herself. "And here we were, wanting to reveal ourselves, but afraid to because of men like Vandal."

"WHich is why you should reveal yourselves now," said Lillibulero, "before men like Vandal can spread such hateful lies."

"Do you think the rest of the human race will accept us?" asked Irene worriedly.

Harry shrugged. "I don't see why not, we technically have aliens now. We get along with them pretty well." He grinned. "Besides, just think of the possibilities. Who's ever heard of a Martian mermaid? Someone could be the first."

Irene chuckled softly. "That would indeed be a first. And a dream I sure hope someone has."

"Well, revealing yourselves just might make that dream come true," pointed out Harry. "And other dreams too. You never know."

"Yeah," muttered Irene. The three went silent. Dusk had almost completely given way to night, and the sun's light continued to fade as the minutes drifted by. But it wasn't completely dark. The stars twinkled overhead and the moon was so bright it bathed the sea in a soft glow. If it weren't for the fact that they were heading into danger, it would have been a beautiful night.

Harry gasped and pointed. "Mr. Lillibulero, I think luck is on our side!" Mr. Lillibulero turned. There, just a few feet from their boat and sitting above the water, was the sub hatch.

Irene's eyes widened. "No wonder why we didn't see it," she whispered, "we couldn't if it's on the other side of Devil's Hat!"

"And they probably went out to sea when they didn't need to be so close to shore," said Lillibulero. They pulled up to the hatch.

"And no guards?" asked Harry as Lillibulero stood up and pulled himself onto the submarine.

"They must be getting ready to dive," said Lillibulero. "Hurry!" Harry and Irene quickly climbed up onto the submarine as Lillibulero opened the hatch.

"They're definitely diving!" hissed Harry. The hatch was starting to sink.

"Get in! Hurry!" whispered Lillibulero. Irene scampered down the ladder, followed quickly by Harry. Lillibulero got in after them and quickly closed the hatch. He quickly descended the ladder and pushed Harry and Irene against the wall. "Keep quiet. I'm going to scout ahead."

"Is Robby's signal back?" whispered Harry.

Lillibulero pulled out his phone, and grinned. "He's here, a couple of floors below us, but he is here."

Harry let out a soft sigh. "Then we're definitely in the right place."

"And thank you for reminding me, Harriman," said Lillibulero as he put the phone to his ear. "I'd better get a hold of the police before we get too deep." He glanced around a corner and apparently didn't see anyone because he walked around it. Harry and Irene dashed around it to keep up with him, to hear what he was saying, but he was moving fast enough and talking low enough that they didn't hear everything, but they did catch a part of the coordinates. A moment later, he was hanging up. He pocketed his phone and held up his hand. Harry and Irene stopped. Their hearts beat wildly when they heard the murmur of crew men. Lillibulero flattened himself against the wall. Harry and Irene quickly did the same, barely daring to breathe. Two shadows came closer as the voices grew a little louder. Irene and Harry stepped closer towards each other while Lillibulero stepped closer to the corner. Two men rounded the corner, and paused. They looked at each other in surprise, but before the two men could do anything, Lillibulero's fists shot out, hitting each one in the stomach. Both went down, groaning in pain. Lillibulero's hands then fell upon their necks, and both were unconscious.

"Wow," whispered Irene, her eyes wide in awe.

"Come help me, Harriman." Lillibulero dragged one guy and propped him up against the wall while Harry dragged the other.

"How long are they going to be out?" asked Irene.

"About twenty minutes," said Lillibulero before heading back to the corner again. He peeked around it and waved to the teens to follow. Harry and Irene kept as close to him as possible. They eventually came to the engine room without coming across any other crew men. Lillibulero pointed to a space behind the engine. "Go there."

"Where are you going?" asked Harry while Irene immediately got into the hiding place.

"I'm going to take a count of the men and take out as many as I can. I will come back for you when it's time to get Robertson."

"Why don't we go get Robby?" asked Harry as Lillibulero shooed him into the hiding place.

"And risk you getting caught too? I would be taking out all these men by myself either way, Harriman. Might as well do this now so I'm not hunting all over the ship for you and having to rescue you too."

Harry sighed and crouched. "Fine."

"Thank you. Just give me a few minutes, I will be back shortly." With that, Lillibulero left them.

"He is really, really good at his job," whispered Irene. "But I can also understand why you're simply annoyed with him."

Harry let out a soft sigh. "Yeah, he can be exasperating, but he knows what he's doing. I just wish he'd let us know too."

"I agree with that." Harry wanted to continue the conversation, but both had to go quiet. Crew men began going in and out of the engine room. Some paused to check the valves and the engine, but most seemed to be passing through on some other errand. There were brief moments when no one came through, but Harry and Irene didn't dare move much less talk just in case someone came through and heard them. But the minutes dragged on and Harry wished Lillibulero would hurry. His legs were starting to cramp up and his left arm was becoming numb.

Two large men entered the engine room. They stopped, turned, and looked directly at the teens.

"Get up out of there," ordered one. The other didn't wait for them to move. He reached in and grabbed Irene's arm, yanking her to her feet.

"Let go of her!" shouted Harry as he jumped out. But the other guy grabbed him and pinned his arms to his side.

"Well well, look at what we have here Huxley, a couple of lovebirds," he sneered.

"Come on Crowley, let's take them to the Captain," said Huxley. Irene and Harry struggled in their grasp, but the two men merely laughed and forced them along the corridors. They soon found themselves standing in front of a pair of wooden doors. Huxley held on to Irene with one arm and with his free hand, opened the doors. "We got them Captain!"

"Let them in," came a voice from the room, "and take them to the brig when I'm done."

"Aye aye Captain!" the two chorused before pushing the teens into the room and closing the doors behind them.

"Come here," barked the Captain. The teens looked around the room. They couldn't see anybody, but one of the chairs had its back to them. They glanced at each other. Harry grasped Irene's hand, and with a determined nod, they walked towards the chair. They got to the chair, and gasped.

(Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, this ain't much much of a cliffhanger because I'm posting the next chapter right after, but, you know, it was a good place to end the chapter. XD And man, I'm so close to finishing! The first half of this chapter was in my dream, the rest of it is going to take place in the last three chapters. I hope to have chapter 18 up later tonight, if not tonight, maybe tomorrow. But yeah, almost done with this! Yay! Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! God bless!)