So, time for the second part of H2O: Just Add Survival: Winds of Change! :) I'm really excited to write this lol! And, I have a couple of questions for you guys. First, what has been your favorite scene/line from the series? Second, is there any way I can make the series better? (Besides grammar and stuff. I know that my grammar's pretty bad just from Microsoft Word and my language art papers. I've heard my English teacher lecture me long enough on grammar.)

Anyhoo, onto the next part!

Part 2: Forgiveness, Mending Fences, and an Incredible Journey

Miami, Florida

April 2, 3:30 pm

"I'm going to beat you, Chris!" seventeen year old Natalie DeGrand yelled as she ran down the street to her family's home. Her auburn braid beat against her back as she sprinted, laughing happily.

Her younger brother by two years, Chris, stopped to catch his breath. "You win," he gasped.

Nat stopped at her front door, looking back at Chris. "You're so pathetic."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Soon, both siblings were arguing on their front step, not even noticing when their father came home.

"Okay, truce, you guys!" Daniel DeGrand shouted over his two screaming kids. Chris and Natalie both shut up and looked at their father, embarrassed to be caught fighting again. "Let's just go inside," Daniel said wearily. "Nat, can you get dinner started? Chris, I want you at the kitchen doing your homework. I have some news for you guys."

Ten minutes later, the DeGrand family was all sitting around the dining room table while Natalie's famous chicken dish was cooking in the oven. "So, what's the news, Dad?" Chris asked.

"Well, I've gotten a new assignment at the paper." (Daniel worked at a big newspaper in Miami.)

"That's great, Dad!" Natalie cried. "What are you writing about this time?"

"I'm writing about the best island destinations around the world," her father replied.

"So, you're leaving again," Chris said unhappily.

Natalie's face also fell as she got up to check her dinner. Daniel usually received traveling assignments, which meant that he had to leave for extended amounts of time. Nat and Chris usually stayed home with a babysitter, but they had recently begun staying home alone. It was hard on both siblings to have their dad gone a lot, though.

"Well, actually, I'm not." Both Natalie and Chris froze.

"What?" Nat cried.

"What do you mean?" Chris put in.

"We're all leaving…together."

For a moment, all was quiet. Then, Natalie dropped the plate she was holding and ran to her dad, squealing in excitement. "Are you serious?" she cried while throwing her arms around him. "We're going with you?"

"Yes, you are," Daniel said with a smile. "I've already talked to your teachers, and they've agreed to send you homework via email. The paper's taking care of all of our expenses…including a boat."

"A boat?" Chris asked quietly, remembering the night that his mother had died.

"Yes, a boat," Daniel replied. "But, I've already insisted that we get the safest boat available. It won't be an old rust bucket like our last one."

"Are you sure?" Chris implored worriedly.

"Positive," Daniel said with a smile. "Now, you two need to get packed. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon, so you won't go to school. I'll make sure dinner gets cooked right." Chris and Natalie both smiled and ran upstairs to their rooms, excited about their grand adventure.

~*O*~

Gold Coast, Australia

May 20, 10:07 pm

"Bella!" Emma screamed as she pulled herself onto the beach of Mako Island, not caring if anyone heard her. "Bella, are you here?" She kept pulling herself towards the jungle, ignoring the pain of the sand grinding between her scales. Lightning cracked and thunder roared in the sky above her, signaling a storm was coming. That can't happen, Emma thought.

She had just gotten dry and started running towards the trees when the sky broke open, letting rain pour onto the beach. In a move of desperation, Emma froze the water falling towards her, creating snow instead. Then, she began to sprint towards the moonpool, feeling stupid that she hadn't gone there in the first place. Snow swirled around her as she ran, threatening to melt on her skin. She just continued to move forward, hoping that Bella hadn't done anything stupid.

The rocks by the entrance to the moonpool were covered in ice by the time Em got there, causing her to slip as she tumbled down the tunnel. Something popped in her ankle, creating a burning, searing pain. She cried out as she finally landed. Inspecting her ankle, she found that it was rapidly swelling. Just deal with it, Em. Bella needs you more. Biting her lip, she got up and limped to the moonpool.

"Bella?" she called. "Bella, it's me, Emma. Can we talk?"

"Go away," a voice choked with tears answered.

Emma entered the moonpool and found Bella sitting in a corner, her head buried in her knees. "I'm not going to go away," Emma said firmly as she limped towards the other blond girl. "I want to talk to you. In fact, I want to be your friend."

"What if I don't want to be yours?" Bella said stubbornly. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Because I want to know why you hate me so much," Em replied. "I'm a mermaid, too. You can talk to me."

"Rikki and Cleo told you, didn't they?" Bella said angrily. "I was their best friend. I thought that I could trust them. Now, it turns out that everything was a lie. Why don't you just leave and go hang out with your best friends? I know that they missed you."

Emma was frustrated with this girl now. But, Emma was about as stubborn as Bella was, and she wasn't going to give up easily. She marched over to the angry girl and sat down beside her, even though her ankle was killing her. "Now listen to me, Bella," she began. Bella looked up at her icily. "I know that you hate me, but all I really want is for us to put aside our differences and to be friends. Rikki and Cleo are both searching for you right now in a thunderstorm, and they're really worried about you. So am I. Now, can we please just get the heck out of here and go home?"

Bella still continued to stare at her, although her cool deposition seemed to be softening. "Do you really mean that?" she asked quietly.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Emma said with a grin.

"Okay, I guess I'll go with you," Bella replied. Emma went to help her up, but a sharp pain went through her leg, making her collapse. "Emma!" Bella cried.

"It's nothing," Emma said through gritted teeth. "Just a sprain."

Bella rolled up Emma's jeans and gasped as she looked at the swollen ankle. "That's more than just a sprain, I think. We've got to get you out of here." Bella couldn't believe what she was saying. Two hours ago, you hated this girl's guts. Now, you're actually offering to help her?

"Yes," Bella whispered to herself. She gently put her arm under Emma's and helped her to stand up. "Do you think you can swim?" she implored.

"I think so," Em answered painfully. "I think that my body is different when I'm a mermaid, anyway." The two girls slowly made their way over to the moonpool and jumped in. Within seconds, their orange tails had formed. Emma smiled as the pain decreased from her lower half and was replaced with pure power. She and Bella instantly began swimming at their full speed back to Cleo's home. By the time they got there, Cleo and Rikki had already returned, waiting for them under an umbrella.

Emma surfaced first. "Did you find her?" Cleo yelled worriedly.

"See for yourself," Em replied with a smile. Then, Bella appeared, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Bella!" Cleo and Rikki cried happily. They assisted both girls out of the water, Rikki drying them all off afterwards. As soon as Emma's tail vanished, her eyes grew wide as the pain in her ankle came back in full force. A scream managed to escape her lips before she sunk into unconsciousness.

~*O*~

Gold Coast Hospital

May 21, 9:20 am

Emma awoke to beeping machinery noises. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in a hospital bed. But, she wasn't alone. Rikki and Bella were slumped over each other on a couch by the bed. Cleo had her body bent in half, sleeping in a chair. Some blond guy (Will?) was also sleeping in a chair. And, lying halfway across her bed was a head full of dark hair that she knew and loved. "Ash!" she cried hoarsely.

Instantly, the room was full of chaos. Ash shot up like a rocket, Will fell out of his chair in shock, and Rikki, Bella, and Cleo ran over and started hugging her, screaming happily like maniacs. "You're alive!" Cleo said over the noise. "We thought you were in a coma or something!"

Emma wasn't paying attention. In her mind, all time had stopped. She stared at Ash, a few tears threatening to spill down her face. "You came back," she whispered.

Ash just smiled and pulled up Will's empty chair beside her. "I just got back this morning. It's been a long year."

"I'd say," Em replied.

"Oh, just shut up and kiss her already," Rikki cut in. Emma and Ash both blushed before Ash leaned in and kissed Emma softly on the lips.

"Awww," Bella said. "How sweet."

Cleo stood along the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks. Quickly, she threw a hand over her mouth to hold back a sob before running out of the room. Emma and Ash looked after her strangely.

"What's wrong with her?" Ash asked.

"Cleo's been missing Lewis a lot," Bella explained. "Ever since he moved to California for college, she's been a nervous wreck. Especially when she sees me with Will."

"Oh," Emma answered sadly, feeling bad that she and Ash had just kissed in front of Cleo.

"Hey, I've been having an idea for a while," Rikki said.

"What?" everyone asked at once.

"What if all of us took a boat across the sea to visit Lewis? It wouldn't be that difficult, and besides, then Cleo could be with him for a few weeks. We have the whole summer before college, after all."

"That sounds like a great idea," Will began. "But, I just put down an offer for Rikki's Café. I can't leave town for at least a month until it's settled."

"And I have to finish getting things together for college," Ash agreed. "I still have to get Rebel (his horse) settled in to his new home and train him for competition in the fall."

"I'd love to go," Emma said. "As long as my ankle isn't broken, that is."

"It isn't," Bella reassured her. "Just a sprain. And, I'm free, so I can go, too."

"So, that's settled, then," Rikki put in. "It'll just be the four of us girls."

At that moment, Cleo walked into the room. "Cleo, guess what?" Emma asked.

"What?" Cleo managed to say.

"We're going to visit Lewis in California!"

Cleo covered her mouth in surprise. "That's the best news I've ever heard!" The four girls hugged one another, excited for their adventure.

~*O*~

Within a few days, everything was being prepared. Emma's neat freak personality came in handy with buying a boat and supplies. The boys even helped paint the boat (named the Lorelei II) a pretty turquoise blue.

One day, Emma was putting up new curtains she had made in the bedroom that she and Bella would share. Rikki and Cleo were putting supplies away together while the boys were up on the top deck with the boat inspector. As she smoothed the curtains and the bedspreads, a bright idea popped into her head. She ran up the stairs to the main deck where Rikki and Cleo were. "What if we made Bella a locket to welcome her to our group?" she asked. "Wouldn't that be a good idea?"

Both girls nodded in agreement. "Max's house is on my way home," Emma continued. "I can go and ask him now. Should I?"

"Go ahead," Rikki said. "We can finish up here."

"Wait, what stone should we use?" Cleo put in. "Mine is a purplish-blue for water, Em's is white for ice, and Rikki's is red for fire. What could jelly be?"

"What about purple?" Rikki suggested. "Max could use an amethyst stone for it."

"That's perfect!" Emma cried. "I'll go tell Max!" Then, she was gone in a flash. Right after she left, Bella climbed down the stairs into the main deck.

"Where's Em going to in such a hurry?" Bella asked.

"I don't know," Rikki lied.

"Oh well, who cares," Bella said. "Anyway, I came down here because I have an idea for a surprise for Emma."

"What is it?" Cleo implored.

"I thought that we could make Emma a Mako Island crystal necklace to welcome her back into our group. It wouldn't be that hard to make, and we could give it to her when we get to California. What do you think?"

"Sounds great," both girls replied. Bella then left to go get a crystal from Mako Island. As they finished cleaning the boat, Cleo and Rikki shared a secret smile.

This is going to be a perfect trip, Cleo thought. What can possibly go wrong? The brunette girl had no idea how much could go wrong in only a few weeks.

Yay, part two is done! Sorry this took so long guys, but I started school in mid-August, and at this time, I have something to do after school every day except Friday. And then, I have to do my homework on top of that, and spend time with my friends and family. I'm still going to write my three stories, but it might take a little bit, okay? My fall break is coming up this month, so maybe I can take some time to write then. But for now, it will take me a while.

On a happier note, H2O: JAS 2 turned one year old on September 17th! Yay! Also, part three will involve meeting Andrea and her brother, along with both Natalie's family and Cleo, Rikki, Emma, and Bella shoving off on their adventures!

Okay, here's a little challenge for my reviewers. Chapter 15 of H2O: JAS 2 has made me get writer's block for a beginning. (I swear that the beginnings of the chapters of this story are the hardest to write.) Sooo…what I need you all to do is read the ending of Chapter 14 again if you've forgotten what happened and put an idea in your review. I will credit you if you give me a good idea! Thanks, guys! :)