Chapter 4: Something Old, Something New

4 years later

Charlotte watched the two girls enjoying the beach from the back yard; Kayla lying on a towel in the sand, taking in the rays and Elayne surfboarding with a few of her friends.

First swimming, then diving and now surfing; pretty much anything water related was Elayne's passion. She had a crew of friends in that lifestyle but Kayla was more important to her than anyone else, real sister or not and she never excluded her.

Kayla meanwhile had become quite a smart girl (though still not as smart as Elayne) and though she had her insecurities, not unlike Cleo, she was a little more like Lewis Charlotte thought.

Both the girls had discovered their power earlier than expected; Kayla had discovered it on her 14th birthday and Elayne when she was 13. By now they more or less had the hang of it but Charlotte still felt she'd like to test them just to be sure.

Roxie and Becka disobeyed Sophie on almost a daily basis now and were becoming close friends with Kayla and Elayne. Becka had got her power at the age of 15. Charlotte had yet to see Becka's power and she had to admit she was highly curious, she only knew of three powers, what could this fourth one be?

'Hey Charlotte' said Kayla as she came up from the beach, since the girls had turned fifteen, they had stopped calling her "aunt" most of the time.

'Hey sweety, good time on the beach?'

Kayla nodded, her towel wrapped around her slender waist, she pulled a pale blue top on over her violet bikini 'yeah great, perfect day for sunbathing, not too hot but still enough rays to tan the body.'

Charlotte couldn't believe how much the girls had grown up, how fast it had flown by; it felt like only yesterday she had taken in Kayla from the Sertori's.

'Something the matter' Kayla asked, looking at Charlotte with concern.

'No, it's nothing' she replied 'you just look so much like your mother, I feel like I'm reliving my youth…' Charlotte sighed and wiped her eyes.

Kayla reached in and gave her a hug 'hey, it's ok, you told us everything and we understand.'

Elayne came up from the beach wearing navy blue wetsuit 'hey sis, Charlotte.'

'Hey' Charlotte replied 'girls, it's time I show you the heart of the mermaid magic but we all have to go there together, can you call Roxie and Becka.'

Nodding Elayne said 'yeah sure, where are we going?'

Standing up Charlotte said 'you'll soon find out, just meet me at the docks.'

The four girls headed towards the docks, not far from where they were setting up a new Smoothie Café, previously the place called Rikki's.

Roxie looked over in the direction of the building being renovated 'wow to think my parents used to run that place, Sophie never told us anything and Charlotte…well I misjudged her.'

'My mum used to sing there too' Becka added 'I really wish I could see that, I wonder if anyone ever recorded it?'

Kayla sighed 'so much stuff we didn't know, but now we do, where do you think she's taking us anyway?'

'Mako Island' Elayne said 'it has to be, it is the only place that makes sense.'

Roxie nodded 'yeah I think you're right.'

'But aren't there like…a loads of sharks around Mako' asked Becka nervously.

'All the more reason why it is probably Mako, hardly anyone ever goes there' Elayne replied.

The four of them walked down onto the docks and along a jetty towards an a small boat where Charlotte was waiting for them 'good you're all here, I got us a reliable boat with a motor, I doubt any of us want to row out to Mako Island.'

'Told you' Elayne said to the others smugly.

'I see you've all been wondering where I plan to take you' Charlotte said, smiling.

Roxie nodded 'but we had a feeling it was Mako, after all you've told us…it was the only place that made sense.'

Charlotte nodded 'everyone in then, I'll explain more as we go.'

As they headed towards the mysterious Mako Island, which had been almost completely undisturbed since the death of the previous mermaids, Charlotte explained to them about the island.

'Mako Island is how your parents first became mermaids, by the time I got here they already were mermaids, but this is where it all first began. I recall them mentioning it one time; it all happened by accident, they got stuck adrift and headed to Mako as it was the nearest land.'

The girls looked at each other then back at Charlotte 'what happened then' Kayla asked.

'While exploring the island they stumbled upon a cave and in that cave was an old volcano crater with a pool of water that had the moonlight shining down on it from the hole in the sky above, the moonpool' Charlotte explained.

'The what' Roxie frowned.

'The moonpool is the source of much mermaid magic and it is what transformed your parents into mermaids…by accident, they had no idea until the next day; the moment they touched water whether it was a drop or a bath, salt water or fresh water they became mermaids.'

The girls looked at each other with amazement 'wow, that is really weird but it's just like the story you used to tell us' Elayne said.

'So what if we become mermaids' Becka asked 'how do we avoid water all the time, this is the Gold Coast.'

Charlotte sighed 'trying to find a balance between the two worlds is hard, for some it is impossible, I wasn't cut out for it, the power was too much, it controlled me rather than the other way around. Cleo had a lot of trouble with it as well…but she managed to find the balance in the end, not like me.'

'So after you lost your powers, what happened' asked Kayla, brushing the wind swept hair out of her face.

'I stayed on the Gold Coast a while longer…but then left, I don't know what went on with your parents after that, that is where Sophie and your parents came in Becka' Charlotte said 'but once I learned about their deaths I came back I did research and I learned with amazement that they had perfectly balanced their lives, with an affinity for water and the ocean; human on one side/ mermaid on the other.'

'I still don't quite get how we're supposed to avoid water our whole life' Kayla said frowning.

'Avoiding it is impossible, the key is being careful and of course ensuring your secret doesn't get out, I will always be there to help anyway I can in this; the slightest water on your skin will transform you so drink out of straws, if you get wet in public hide somewhere private, if it has a lock even better, always have a way to contact each other for help if these situations arise. Also if you get wet near the ocean, simply leap into it and swim away quickly.'

Elayne frowned 'I'm not so sure about this, it sounds seriously risky, plus all my swimming…'

'Oh come on' Roxie replied 'you'd be swimming for real, with the ocean, you don't need a board when you have a tail.'

Charlotte let the girls talk over it, she couldn't really decide for them, this was their decision, they may have been born with other powers…but the rest was up to them.

They arrived on the island and Charlotte began leading them in land, it was eerie and unnatural how it hadn't changed at all over the years.

They finally arrived at the far too familiar rock by a small trickling river; Charlotte remembered how she and Lewis had sat here, how they'd kissed.

'So where now' asked Becka standing tall and looking around.

Kayla looked walked across the rock 'yeah, not exactly anything he' but then she gave a shriek and fell away into a hole.

'Kayla' Elayne said running over quickly, moving carefully to not fall in herself 'we need to get her out!'

Charlotte moved over 'relax, we all need to go down there' she explained 'Kayla are you okay?'

They could just faintly hear her voice 'yeah, I'm ok, kind of dark down here though.'

'We're coming down ok, move away from the hole' Charlotte said 'alright girls, in you go.'

One by one each of the girls went down and finally Charlotte came down, leaving a rope to climb up just in case this didn't turn out how she thought it was going to.

Turning on a flash light she guided the girls up the stairs and into the large circular moonpool room 'and here we are…the moonpool' Charlotte said.

The room hadn't changed much, it had seemed to suffer some damage since she'd last been here, some walls were dented and fractured like pieces of rock had been blown away but otherwise it was the same.

'Wow' said Becka looking up at the volcano 'this is amazing.'

'Yeah' added Elayne 'gotta agree with you there.'

Kayla was kneeling by the water's edge, gently running her fingers back and forth through it 'so…what now?'

Charlotte clapped her hands together, trying to sound professional and like a coach 'now I want each of you to show me your powers, I want to see you can control them properly.'

Roxie stepped forward 'please allow me to take the lead' she raised her hand and focused it on the pool it began to bubble and steam furiously.

'Impressive, can u stop it' Charlotte asked calmly.

Roxie gave a simple jerk of her hand and the water cooled down instantly 'impressive right, I've been practising.'

Stepping up beside Roxie, Kayla lifted up three orbs full of water 'can you stop these Roxie' she asked moving them swiftly towards her.

Roxie lifted her hand and dried up the three orbs 'that was too easy Kayla, don't you have anything better?'

Lifting a large column of water Kayla moved it towards Roxie but she evaporated it as it approached.

'Ok, slow down you two' Charlotte said 'very impressive both of you. Now let's see you Becka.'

Moving to the pool Becka turned the surface of the water semi-hard, into some strange jelly like substance 'wow' said Charlotte 'that is really weird.'

Becka laughed 'I don't know, I always thought it was kind of fun.'

After a few seconds the water returned back to its normal form 'so Becka, what ways could you use this power?'

'Um…I don't know, I've never really thought about it…oh I suppose I could use it to get over water, like I did just here' she said.

'All right Elayne, you're last but certainly not least' Charlotte said.

Elayne nodded 'Kayla could you lift one of those water balls for me?'

Nodding Kayla did so and Elayne froze it solid 'how was that Charlotte?'

'Good, but I want to know you can slowly freeze as well, if you freeze too fast it could be dangerous' Charlotte replied.

Rolling her eyes Elayne went to the water, raised her arm and slowly it began to freeze.

When the pool was finally frozen, Elayne lowered her arm and the pool slowly went back to normal.

Charlotte applauded and smiled 'well done girls, I'm very proud of all of you, you have done very well with your powers for your age, better than your parents did I think.'

'So what do we do now' asked Becka curiously.

Charlotte looked at her watch, then up at the volcano 'now…we wait.'

Night came on and the full moon began to rise into the sky, the four girls sat around the moonpool, starting to get impatient but Charlotte sat quietly and calmly. The full moon was rising tonight would finally be the night, the night new mermaids would be born.

'So how exactly do we become mermaids' Elayne asked curiously 'you said it was to do with the moon pool right?'

Charlotte nodded 'yes every full moon this pool is capable of great magic, including turning people into mermaids.'

The four girls looked at the pool 'so…we have to jump in there when the moon is above us' Kayla asked frowning.

'You sound like you have doubts' Charlotte said 'the moon is nearly here, if you do I'd say so now.'

Kayla looked thoughtful 'I don't know…I want to be like my mum but…this just sounds a little…too much.'

'We're with you' said Roxie 'I'm totally in this, one hundred percent.'

Becka nodded 'me too.'

'Despite everything I might have to give up…I want to be a part of this, come on Kayla don't be the odd one out sis' Elayne said.

'You have to hurry girls' Charlotte said, looking up at the sky, the full moon was half in view now and the pool was starting to bubble gently.

The four of girls grasped hands, took one last look at each other and jumped into the moon pool, just as the full moon came over. The pool shone bright as the silvery moonlight came down onto it and light sparkled up from the pool as it bubbled and frothed madly.

The light seemed stronger than Charlotte remembered it but from what she could see of the four girls wading in the water, they were still human, drifting there in their wet clothes.

Then it happened there was a blinding flash and the water swirled and bubbled more rapidly, when the flash faded and the water calmed down, the moon had left over the other side of the volcano.

Charlotte looked down at the water, the girls were somewhere under the water but she could already see something…different and she didn't mean the tails from their waist downwards.

The first girl to come to the surface was Roxie 'whoa, that was…weird…' it was then Roxie noticed what Charlotte had.

'What's with my hair' Roxie asked holding strands of it between her fingers 'did this happen before?'

Charlotte shook her head, Roxie's hair had turned a deep scarlet red 'this is weird I have no idea why this happened.'

Turning to Becka and Kayla as they came she gasped because they also had weird hair colours; Kayla's had turned almost completely violet save for a few remaining strands of brown here and there. Becka's golden blonde hair remained the same but it was now streaked with numerous strands of teal/ aquamarine colour.

Elayne surfaced a few seconds after them, her hair was a fairly drastic change; it was now a very pale white-blonde with various blue streaks through it.

As all four of them looked at their hair in clear confusion Elayne said 'what is this? Why has our hair changed like this? Is this permanent?'

Charlotte had no idea what to say to them, this was utterly new to her but she had a theory, though it was only a theory 'I think perhaps because your parents were mermaids and the magic was already strong in your blood… it has slightly changed how you look, as mermaids at least.'

'So this is only when we're mermaids' Roxie asked, sounding unsure.

'I don't really mind' Becka said looking at her new hair 'I kind of like it, and if you think about it makes it harder for us to be recognised too.'

Pulling herself out of the water, tail and all Roxie muttered 'well there is only one way to find out if we're stuck with this hair' she began drying herself with her power.

The other three watched, waiting to find out the answer; Roxie turned back to normal and her hair was perfectly normal again as well.

'There you go, you see, it's only when you're mermaids' said Charlotte hoping that wasn't going to put any of them off.

Becka raised her hand 'slight problem, how do we get out of here?'

'There is an underwater tunnel that leads outside' Elayne said 'I saw it, am I right?'

Charlotte nodded 'you are, it leads right outside, you don't have to worry about sea creatures when you're a mermaid, they ignore you most of the time, too big for most of them to consider attacking.'

'But what about you' asked Kayla 'how are you going to get out of here?'

'I'll go back the way we came, I'm in no hurry, you girls go and enjoy your new mermaid abilities, just remember, be careful and responsible' Charlotte said.

The four girls dived under the water, one after the other and swam out into the ocean; the feel of swimming was as natural to them as breathing.

The four girls dried off and then moved along the empty beach, the sky still dark.

'Wow, I just can't believe how amazing that was' said Becka trying not to be too loud.

Elayne laughed 'I know, I never thought anything could replace diving and surfing but when you're doing it like this, so much better.'

'I just feel like I'm so much closer to everything now, the magic, my parents' Kayla added.

As the four girls continued to talk and walk they were oblivious to someone who was watching them from a distance. The man stared at the girls through binoculars, frowning, it couldn't be, it was impossible, but they looked so similar. His heart ached purely to stare at them, especially the one with golden blonde hair and blue eyes.