Will's alarm goes off at six. School doesn't start for another week, but he needs to get back in the swing of things, and that means being used to waking up at six for his morning swim. Sophie would have his head if he missed it.

He slides out of his pajama pants and into a pair of trunks, running a hand through his hair. He'll shower when he gets out.

He's unusually tired. He doesn't remember what time he went to bed last night, but it must have been late. Come to think of it, he can't remember much at all of what happened last night. Couldn't have been anything important, though, not if it wasn't interesting enough to make any sort of lasting impression.

He was with Rikki, though, wasn't he? He picked her up from her class, and… then what?

He dismisses that train of thought.

Sophie never really liked him swimming in the canal outside the boathouse, but he's always done it anyway. It's not as dirty as Sophie likes to say it is, and besides, it's not like he's drinking it.

Will decides to forgo the monofin at first. He just wants to sit in the water. He's not going to try swimming, though. (It feels so…off, to try to swim without one. It makes him feel powerless, something he really doesn't enjoy feeling.)

The water's warm when he slides in, and he just sits here, treading water for a few seconds, before he ducks under the surface and opens his eyes. It's just as murky and uninteresting as usual. Will loves it.

He's about to resurface for a breath when he feels something in his legs. It almost feels like a cramp, and that's what he'd say it is, if not for the bright blue lights surrounding him. He fights to get to the surface now. He can't go out like this; a free diver drowning outside his house because he got some magical cramp in his legs is literally the stupidest way to die.

But then the light dies down, and Will is overcome with a sudden rush of power. He feels like he can swim for miles.

So he does.

He doesn't stop until he's sure he's reached the mouth of the canal that runs in front of his little boathouse. He has to have swum at least that far. But when he looks around, he realizes he's out in open water, at least a kilometer from shore.

It doesn't make sense. How could he have possibly gotten out here? He'd have to be swimming faster than humanly possible.

Will realizes he's treading with both his legs together, like he's wearing a monofin, despite never putting one on. He looks down.

He's got a tail.

He's not nearly as freaked out as he thinks he has the right to be. It's big, blue, and undulating underneath him. It's a part of him. This beautiful, powerful tail is attached to him, and he just swam two kilometers. He could be the best free diver in the world. He can probably hold his breath for a lot longer, too, though his previous record of four minutes thirteen seconds is nothing to scoff at. He could probably beat his old records easily. Sophie will—

Sophie will do what she's always done: use him for money. Who is he trying to kid? He can't keep competing like this.

What if he can't turn back? What if he's stuck with a tail for the rest of his life?

He needs to get back to land.

He speeds away with a new determination, and makes it home in less than fifteen minutes. Sophie's probably still asleep, and God knows his parent's won't be coming down here to check on him any time soon. Will hauls himself up onto the dock.

He didn't get a good chance to properly look at his tail until now. It's a light blue down the center that gets darker towards his sides. He's willing to bet it gets even darker on his back. It's also a lot longer than his legs, making up about two thirds of his body and ending in a broad fluke. Will has no idea why a tail would need to be that long, but hey, at least he's not entirely a fish.

There's a towel just within reach, and Will grabs it in an attempt to dry off. Three minutes into it and he's covered by that blue light again. When it fades he's human again. And he stands up tentatively, then goes inside to get his phone. The same thing could have happened to Rikki, whatever this is. Especially if it's related to his memory blackout.

Mako.

That's right, he wanted to show her the cave he found. Whatever happened to them has to be connected to the island.

Rikki asked Will to meet her at the Ocean Café. It's been their primary hangout since the Juice Net shut down. It's not that bad a place. They've got good food and a nice open sitting area by the water.

Rikki's already there, carefully sipping water through a straw.

"I'm guessing it happened to you too?" she asks as Will sits down. It doesn't take a genius to realize that she's talking about the tail thing. She doesn't seem as shocked about the whole thing as Will expected her to be. She actually seems excited, like she's been supercharged with energy and just wants to let it out.

"This morning," he replies. "I went our for a morning swim and ended up a kilometer from shore."

Rikki gives a low whistle. "I just got hit with a sprinkler. Thank god it was early and no one was around to see me."

"Yeah, that could have been nasty." The entire thing's kind of overwhelming, and the two of them sit in silence for a while. Hell, they're merpeople. Will's allowed to be a little at loss for words.

"How did this even happen?" Will asks after a moment.

Rikki shrugs. "Who knows? Maybe we were born with it and it only manifested now. Maybe it was in something we ate. We've got tails, there's not really a precedent for this. It's not like there's really a science to it or anything." Science. That's it.

"Science to what, guys?" Will nearly jumps straight out of his chair.

Bella slides into one of the empty seats. She must have just come from singing, because she's got her hair in some complicated braid and has a bit of makeup one. All in all, it's a good look for her.

"Music," Rikki offers without skipping a beat. "Will's thinking about taking music theory when school starts up. I don't really get how music has a formula. Isn't supposed to be art?"

Bella must fall for it, because the girls start debating music theory, which Rikki knows a surprising amount about. Will just hopes he doesn't get dragged into it, because if he has to start taking music theory classes because of this, he's screwed. He knows nothing about it except that multiple notes make a chord and that there are melodies and harmonies.

He's honestly better at oceanography. Sciences in general, really. Wait a tic.

"Hey, I just remembered, Sophie wanted me to pick up some stuff for her before she gets back from work. I gotta split." It's a flimsy excuse, but Bella doesn't seem to notice, and Rikki doesn't seem to mind. She motions for him to go, and he stands up and leaves before she can change her mind. She probably thinks it's about the tail thing, and she'd be half right.

The pier isn't all that far from where he is now, just a five minute's walk. Will has no doubt that that's where he needs to go, and figures that if he runs, he'll be there in three and breaks into a sprint. Two and a half minutes later, Will is panting lightly and standing on the pier. There are a few people fishing, and at first Will doesn't thing he's here, but then he sees the familiar bucket hat and shaggy blonde hair.

"Lewis!" he calls.

Lewis turns around, and seeing Will, leans his pole against a post and walks over. "Hey, Will, right?"

They've never really talked. They share a few classes, but not the same friend group. Lewis is probably the smartest person in their entire grade though, if not school, and Will and Rikki are going to need all the help they can get. Will can imagine what Rikki'll say when she finds out (because there'll be no if, not with how determined she is. She'll find out one way or another), how she'll chew him out, but really, it's not her secret he's gambling. "Yeah, listen, I need your help."

"Sure, no problem," Lewis says. "What with?"

There's no one close enough to overhear them, but Will still lowers his voice. "I need to know if you can keep this on the down low."

Lewis looks a little suspicious. "It's nothing illegal, right?" he asks a little too loudly, "'cause if it is I'm out. And I keep telling people I don't know how to cook meth."

"No, no," Will reassures him, deciding to ignore the reference. He doesn't have time to talk about shows. "Nothing illegal, but it isn't exactly anything we want people finding out about."

"What is it?" Lewis asks.

"Not here. I'll show you later, but first I gotta know if you're in. 'Cause once you're in you're in. There's no backing out of this."

"Jesus, it sounds like you're trying to get me to join a cult."

"Nowhere close." Will laughs a little under his breath. "You in?"

Lewis pauses to consider it for a few moments before shrugging. "Sure, what the hell. Definitely beats the crap out of fishing all day."

"Great," Will smiles. "Do you know where I live?"

"Yeah, aren't you down on the canal?"

"Meet me there around four. I'll explain everything then."

Lewis nods. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," Will shrugs.

"Why me? I'm sure you've got plenty of friends you could ask for help from. No offence but we barely know each other."

"I need someone who knows the ins and outs of marine biology," Will answers. He leans against the wooden railing lining the pier. "I'm kind of out of my depth here, and I was hoping you might be able to help."

"So you want me for my smarts, basically."

"That and your charming personality."

Lewis actually laughs at that before picking up his fishing rod and giving it a sharp tug. "Alright, see you at four."

Will takes that as the end of their conversation and turns to leave. He releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. He could have either made the biggest mistake of his life or gotten one step closer to figuring out what happened last night. He just hopes this gamble pays off.

Lewis keeps his word. He's got nothing with him except what he had at the pier, so he must have stayed there for a few hours before coming over.

Will greets him outside his boathouse. "Glad you didn't back out," he says.

Lewis nods. "After that chilling taste of what's to come I couldn't help myself." He follows Will inside and sets his stuff near the door. "So you want to tell me what exactly I'm getting into here?"

"Are you sure?" Will asks as he fills up two glasses of water. "Last chance to back out."

"Hell no," Lewis says as he accepts the glass of water Will offers him and takes a sip. "Lay it on me."

Will sits down and sighs. He then sticks his finger in his glass of water and waits. If it only took a sprinkler for Rikki to turn, he's got no doubt that a little water on his finger will work. There's no sense in getting water everywhere.

The lightshow starts, and it feels a lot less like a cramp than it did the first time. Maybe because now Will knows what's happening. He braces himself for Lewis' reaction.

"Holy shit," Lewis says softly, and Will looks down at himself. For some reason his shirt's disappeared, and his tail is sprawled over the coffee table. "What the hell?"

"Happened this morning, too," Will explains. "I think it's got something to do with Mako. I was there last night, and I think something happened that did this." Will takes his finger out of the glass and wipes it on a towel. The lights start up, and soon he's human again, sitting on his couch like he never sprouted a tail in the first place.

Lewis just stares for a while before a grin spread over his face. "Crap," he says. "This is awesome."

Here we go, the tail reveal. Lewis wasn't originally supposed to come in until much later, but it felt like the story was moving too slowly with all of these changing perspectives. For future reference, there'll be chapters in which another character is doing something outside of the perspective character's awareness that won't come in until later, and there will also be chapters that happen in synch with other chapters. I'll try to keep everything in order, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.