Wow! I can't believe it has been over a year since I updated this! I started rewatching Mako and was struck with inspiration. I'm so sorry for the long wait but I do hope that this chapter was worth it! More to come soon! Enjoy!
Evie paced back and forth uselessly on the jetty behind her boyfriend's house. Zac sat on the edge of the wooden planks staring down into the blue water below. "We should have gone after him," Evie said, not for the first time.
Zac continued staring down at his shoes. He was already mourning the loss of his best friend. No more than two days ago, Cam was just a regular land boy. In the span of just a few hours, he became a merman and was sentenced to execution by the mermaid council. He shook his head and nervously twisted the moon ring around his index finger. Shortly after Evie received her ring, the council approached him having made him a custom moon ring for mermen. His still had the signature moon stone but the silver band was thicker and manlier.
He'd trade it in a heartbeat for Cam's life.
The others had hastily gone back to Rita's grotto to see if she had any wisdom to offer the group. Zac and Evie went back to his house to gather supplies if an attack was needed and were waiting for word from the others to move in. They hastily threw together and attack plan before splitting up but with three mermaids and one merman their odds seemed fairly slim.
"I can't take it anymore," Evie said pulling out her phone from the back pocket of her jean shorts. She dialed Sirena's number and was about to press the green call button, when there was a splash in the water beneath the jetty. Two mermaids surfaced, the first was Ondina and the other was a mermaid that they had never seen before.
Zac's eyes hardened the second that he saw them, "I hope that you're satisfied."
"No!" Ondina rushed out, looking briefly panicked, "It wasn't Cam's fault at all, Weilan, here, told me what really caused his transformation. Cam never really wanted to become a merman."
Zac rolled his eyes at the blonde mermaid, "Yeah, thanks for taking that long to figure it out. Where is Cam now anyway?" Now that they had realized Cam's transformation had in fact been a misunderstanding, they should set him free to go.
Ondina looked down at her tail swishing back and forth in the water below, "That's the thing. Veridia and the council won't see reason. We'll need to break him out."
Evie took a step toward Zac and without hesitation replied, "Then let's go." She sent a text to Sirena telling her and Mimmi to meet them out on the reef immediately. Then both Evie and Zac gracefully dove off the dock into the rippling ocean below. Despite the pressing emergency of saving Cam in time, it was hard for them not to enjoy the feeling as their transformations overtook them. It was like stretching your legs after being seated for a long time, like inside their legs they were too cramped up and now they finally had a chance to let loose.
When they resurfaced, Weilan seemed to be in awe and staring down at Zac's tail. It occurred to him that this was the first time she had been this close to a merman. She noticed that he caught her staring and managed to tear her eyes away.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ondina asked impatiently. They ducked under the surface of the water and sped out to the reef. They caught up with Sirena and Mimmi and all six merpeople resurfaced.
"Okay, Weilan, Mimmi, Sirena, we'll need you three to cause a diversion while Evie, Zac and I break Cam out of the prison." Ondina said, taking charge.
"We can do that." Mimmi said nodding, "I know a few sharks that owe me a favor. Let's go find them. We'll meet you back here in a half hour." She waved the other two mermaids along and they followed her as she dove back down underwater.
"In the meantime, we'll swim up to the edge of the pod and wait for the guards to be distracted then we'll hurry in and out as fast as we can." Ondina finished explaining. They slowly picked their away across the reef, careful not to encounter any other mermaids from the pod.
Suddenly, Ondina stopped swimming and ducked down so she would be hidden by the reef. Zac and Evie copied her movements. She peaked over the edge of the reef and pointed ahead of her. In front of a circular hole in the seafloor were two heavily armored mermaids. In each of their hands, they held very sharp menacing spears.
They hovered in waiting until a sharp high pitched scream rang out loud and clear even through the water. Their heads jerked towards the sound and saw their distraction. Sirena, Weilan and Mimmi were swimming frantically and each being 'chased' by their own shark. The guards shared a look, silently trying to decide if they should abandon their post to help them. Zac prayed that they would.
Eventually, the guards' gaze swept the surrounding waters and then swiftly swam off to go help the mermaids. Cloaking themselves for good measure, they swam single file into the mouth of the underwater cave. They swam down the rows of empty cells until they located the one containing Cam. They let themselves become visible again and swam to the surface.
Cam's eyes widened upon seeing them, "What are you guys doing here?"
"There's no time to explain!" Evie hastily replied. She dove back under the water and slipped off her moon ring which fit perfectly into the lock. A second later, the door swung open and Evie pried her ring from the bolt then joined the others on the surface where Zac had already locked Cam into a tight embrace.
"It took you long enough to get me out." Cam said with a laugh, hugging his best friend back.
It was so weird for them to see him in this setting, in the ocean, amongst the pod, as a merman. Evie did have to admit, looking down at his glistening blue tail, that the look did suit him. How did he make being a newly turned merman look so natural? It took her at least a month to get used to the new appendage that took over her legs whenever she touched water.
"I really hate to interrupt whatever this is, but we should be going. We don't know how long the others can distract the guards." Ondina said.
They all turned towards the exit and were about to swim out of the cave when a familiar voice called out, "Ondina." She curiously turned around and her gaze immediately hardened upon laying eyes on her ex-boyfriend.
"You guys wait for me at the mouth of the cave, I won't be long," she told her companions then swam over to the cell containing Erik.
He wrapped a hand around the coral bars keeping him trapped in the small room, "It's good to see you again." He tried to a flirtatious smile.
Ondina kept scowling at him, "I wish I could say the same, but that would be a lie."
"You know, you could let me out of here and give me a second chance." The merman tried.
The blonde mermaid scoffed in response, "Was that your idea of an apology? Because I didn't hear one. Are you even sorry for what you've done?" A few full moons prior, Erik had stolen the moon stone that was once in the trident, a deadly merman weapon. With the stone, he activated a chamber that drained the magic from the moon pool and the mermaids themselves. The only reason any of them survived was due to Zac's bravery, although he almost died doing it.
"Of course, I do." Erik replied.
"Somehow, I don't believe you. I don't need this," she flicked her tail and was about to dive under when Erik tried one more time.
"Ondina!" He desperately called out her name.
She flicked her head back towards him one last time, "I hope you rot in here." And without waiting for a response or thinking about the hurt look that was on his face, she dove under the water and didn't look back.
She swam up behind the group, finding them at the mouth of the cave, still trying to block the image of Erik's hurt look from her memory. Evie noticed that Ondina was lost in thought, and she cocked her head in a silent are you okay look. Ondina gave her a slight nod in response.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the group swam up from the mouth of the cave. This time they chose to stay visible because Cam didn't have a chance to practice his powers or even get a chance to use them.
They sped off to the edge of the reef, Cam not having trouble keeping up with any of them despite this being the first real time he swam with his tail, and waited for Mimmi, Sirena and Weilan to meet them there. It didn't take long for the others to find them and they were about to speed off to Rita's, thinking that they had successfully completed their mission without getting caught when a voice called from behind them, "You there!"
They all whirled around to see Veridia and two other mermaids from the council, all of them looking as angry as ever. "What is the meaning of this?"
Ondina opened her mouth to respond but Veridia spoke over her, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say. You all have betrayed us and others of your kind. You are no longer a member of the Mako pod." She looked at each of them in turn, "That means all of you."
They all stayed still, blinking at her, not truly believing what just happened. They had just gotten the pod back, were they really cast out again? Would the pod leave Mako or after a few days will they appeal to some reason? At this point, it was impossible for them to tell.
"Come on, guys. Let's just go," Evie said, finally breaking the silence. They all ducked below the surface of the water and the seven merpeople sped off in the direction of Rita's house.