A/N: Here's my take on the mermaid/merman mythology. The writers have left a few holes, in my opinion, and I'm just trying to fill them in.

Chapter 2

Later that night, Erik swam through the water, powering through towards the far side of Mako Island, away from the moon pool where the mermaids were sure to be. He needed them, true, but not just yet. And not all of them, for that matter.

As he dragged himself up onto the beach and began to dry himself off, his mind wandered back to the night of the full moon and his chat with Cam after the fact. Perhaps he had told the human boy too much. He needed an ally, though, and Cam wanted something, too. Perhaps one day he'd help him get it, if he still wanted it. There was no harm in having another merman around. It could even be a boon.

And Cam knew a lot more now, even more than Zac. Even more than the mermaids.

'A real merman? His whole life? And the fish chick's his sister? I did not see that one coming,' Cam said, shaking his head.

'It all makes sense now,' Erik had replied, shaking his head.

'You'll have to elaborate a bit there, mate,' Cam smiled. 'I don't follow.'

Erik had contemplated the import of what he was about to tell this land boy and come to a conclusion then and there to take him into his confidence. He needed to build trust and information was the best way to do that.

'I'll tell you everything,' Erik said then. 'If that's what you really want.'

Cam's eyes widened and Erik pulled him down to sit on a nearby bench.

'Let's start at the beginning, shall we?' Erik said, and launched into it. 'Mermen, unlike mermaids, don't live in pods. Haven't in centuries. When mermaids gained the upper hand, after the wars, they basically cast us out. They had figured out a way to reproduce that wouldn't require the males of the species.'

Cam raised his eyebrows. 'Sorry, what?!'

Erik nodded solemnly.

'Ever heard of selective breeding? Kind of like that. They found a way—half science, half magic—to make more mermaids without mermen and that's what they've been doing. Different pods do it in different ways. The southern pods have a system of the older mermaids raising all of the younger ones together. The northern pods, like the one Mimmi is from, have a more individual mother-daughter set up.'

'So they're test-tube clone babies, is what you're telling me?' Cam said, incredulity and a bit of disgust spreading across his face.

'Something like that, yeah,' Erik replied.

'What does that make you?' Cam asked, moving that thinking along. Erik admired how quickly he was able to put a few simple points together.

'I was born, same as you, to a woman. A human woman, in fact. All mermen are. We live more or less among humans and we can have children with humans. If the kid is a daughter, she's born pretty much normal and human as it gets. But sons… well, they turn out like me.'

Cam's brain was firing away, trying to understand the entire scenario. 'So you're saying you're only half-fish, or, well, quarter-fish. Half merman?'

'Sort of. We all are. No interaction between mermaids and mermen. Definitely no children. So the mermen father sons on human women and then take them away from the mothers, to raise on land and in the sea.'

'Why? You mean you didn't grow up with your mother and father?' Cam asked.

'Can you imagine what a human woman would do if her baby was born with a tail?' Erik answered the question with a question. 'So if it's a son, the father will take the baby away, make the mother think he died, and then raise him mostly on land, keeping him away from any mermaids. I never knew my mother, still don't even know her name. My father disappeared when I was only a kid, and I was brought up mostly by another merman. Foster kid.'

Cam heaved a sigh. 'That's rough. And the fish chicks—the mermaids—they want to kill all of you? That's why you have to hide out on land?'

'You said it yourself, Cam, I'm only half. It's even more diluted than that, really, but the merman gene or whatever you want to call it is strong. It sticks out, even with human and mer pairings, and that's the only reason we've survived as long as we have. The mermaids are all mer in every cell, a lot more powerful and organised besides.'

Cam shook his head. 'It's basically genocide. They just want to eliminate you entirely.'

'Now you understand my hesitation in saying anything to Ondina and the others.'

'Yeah. Unbelievable. Do they know any of this?' Cam queried.

Erik shook his head. 'As far as I can tell, they think we're extinct. Which is why having Zac floating around would have kicked up all that fuss.'

Cam nodded sagely, then asked, 'So what exactly is Zac's situation, then? How come Mimmi's a mermaid and his sister?'

Erik smiled sadly, 'He's the genuine article, something that hasn't existed for centuries. And so is Mimmi. Their mother would have been with a merman. She had them naturally. That's why… he's so powerful. That's why he can do what I can't.'

Cam could only stare. He understood, Erik could tell. Not only was Zac a merman, he was a super powered merman, capable of nobody-knew-what. And now he was on what could best be described as a whirlwind tour of self-pity. He wasn't talking to the mermaids. He wasn't talking to Cam, or even Evie. And he wasn't talking to Erik. Zac was a rudderless warship. A gun with the safety off. He was dangerous.

The night seemed to descend much more heavily around them. Cam said nothing for a few minutes more, staring out at the lapping waves that suddenly seemed full of menace. Erik waited for the next part, to hear where Cam stood on matters. He would understand what they were facing now. There was another month until the next full moon, but there was no guarantee Zac wouldn't try something in the meantime. And even if he didn't the next time the moon hit, he might lash out at someone. He had almost hurt Evie and he had made Ondina briefly vanish. Erik needed to stay on top of the situation.

Finally, Cam spoke, softly.

'Do the mermaids know about this? That he's more powerful than you? More dangerous?'

'I don't think so.'

Cam's eyes were focused on the water. 'I have more questions,' he said, without looking up at Erik.

'I'll answer them as best I can.'

'Why are you here, really? What brought you to this place? Gold Coast is big, why hover near Mako?' Cam asked. Erik hadn't quite expected that, but in for a penny, in for a pound. May as well tell him the truth.

'I've been drawn to the island, too,' Erik admitted. 'Not to the degree that Zac has, but… I felt it. Like it was calling to me. Like someone was calling to me.'

'Who?'

'I don't know. Honestly, I don't. At first I thought it might be Zac, but since I've met him, I've had to revise that.'

Cam nodded his understanding.

'OK, final question. What kicked off this big war between mermaids and mermen in the first place? Why don't you get along?'

Erik frowned. The question seemed a bit out of left field, but he could understand why Cam had asked it. They were talking about the danger of a full merman, after all. May as well know who was more dangerous, what history had proven.

'As far as I know,' Erik started, 'and admittedly, I don't know all that much because living the way we do, history isn't as ingrained, the mermen used to dominate the mermaids. They treated them like breeding stock. Then some of the subjugated mermaids figured out a way to fight back and ta-da—a feminist paradise. They won, we lost.'

Cam looked really startled now. 'Breeding stock?'

'Yeah. If it's true… well, let's just say I can understand why there was a war and why the mermaids act the way they do.'

There was another pause. Then Cam had turned to him, a determined look on his face.

'I'm in. Tell me what you need.'

Erik smiled. 'I didn't tell you so you'd help me,' he said.

'Of course you did,' Cam had refuted. He was right, of course.

That had been three days ago. He and Cam hadn't had much to do since then. He needed to come up with a strategy first, and that had been tricky to work out. The first piece of the puzzle was the merman chamber. He knew it was dangerous, and he knew that Zac in that chamber was especially dangerous. But it seemed like only Zac could activate it. Make it work the way it needed to. So this was the million-dollar question: did Erik want to activate the chamber and find out what exactly its purpose was?

Of course he wanted to. It was one of the things he had come here for, the reason he had insinuated his way into the tight-knit little group. At the same time, there was something that whispered to him that this was a bad idea. It would have far-reaching consequences and he should stop now, before things got more complicated.

His mind briefly flashed to Ondina. She was beautiful and briefly she had trusted him. Had admitted him into a portion of her life. For just a moment, he wasn't alone in the endless ocean. Then he'd thrown it away to indulge his curiosity. What it would take to gain back her trust now, Erik simply didn't know. He had a feeling it would not be easy, if it was even possible.

So his options were to stop Zac from getting to the chamber again or trail Zac and try to leverage the chamber to his own advantage. Helping Zac was out of the question—he was too much of a wild card now and Erik hated how Zac's heritage made him feel vulnerable. He had always been told to fear mermaids, but this was an unknown entity altogether.

All the while, he felt the pull from the island, drawing him in. It was like it was pleading for help. It hadn't been a lie, he really had felt someone, and sometimes still did. There was never a voice, or even a vision like Zac and Mimmi had sometimes with each other. Just a presence, distant, like déja vu.

This island could be home for him. With Mimmi, Ondina and Sirena cast out, they could start a new pod. If Zac could be persuaded, if Evie could be calmed down… it would be a new home. It would be Erik's first and only home. Andrew had taken care of him the best he could, but the reality was that he wasn't a father. He had always kept him at arm's length, pulled him out of homes and schools at random times, always moving on. When Erik turned 12, he finally rebelled at yet another enforced move and Andrew had simply shrugged and left without him.

'It's wrong,' he said to himself. 'It's all wrong.' Mermaids playing Goddess with their powers to eliminate half their own species in a twisted form of revenge, mermen abandoning their daughters from the start and their sons after a few brief and restless years.

No homes, no families. Forever on the run. That had been his life.

Well, no more. He had decided. He would keep Zac from the chamber, even try to destroy it if possible. He would build his own pod, with all of them. They would set the precedent. One day, maybe mermen would come out of hiding and mermaids would make peace.

The moon, still round and bright, shone down on Erik and on his new home.