Credits

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(Cleo, Emma, Ricki, and Shannen are all sitting in the Juicenet Café, talking. Lewis arrives, carrying some drinks, which he sets on the table.)

Lewis – Here you go, girls.

(He sits next to Cleo, and puts his arm around her. Shannen is on Cleo's other side, Ricki and Emma face them.)

Lewis – (raising his drink) Here's to Shannen, may she use her powers for good.

(Shannon blushes, and Cleo looks rather uncomfortable. Lewis takes a drink out of his smoothie, and sets it on the table, accidentally spilling some of it on Cleo. Cleo gasps, and brushes Shannen. A murmuring is heard.)

Cleo's voice - …as long as she doesn't turn into Charlotte…oh!...the smoothie is so cold…I have to run!...

(Cleo pushes Lewis out of the way and runs to the bathroom, Ricki and Emma following. Lewis runs after them.)

Lewis – I'm so sorry, Cleo, I didn't mean to.

(Shannen is left alone, looking slightly confused. Her brow is furrowed, and she picks up the napkin and dabs at the remains of the drink on the table and seat. Lewis returns, and sits down, sighing.)

Shannen – How's Cleo?

Lewis – Oh, she's fine, got to the bathroom just in time. Ricki's drying her now.

(Shannen grabs a clean napkin and begins to tear it into strips. She glances at Lewis, who looks preoccupied.)

Shannen – Lewis?

Lewis – Hmm?

Shannen – Who's Charlotte?

Lewis – How'd you find out about her?

(Shannen raises her right hand and taps on her head with her index finger.)

Lewis – Oh.

Shannen – Well, who is she?

Lewis – (looking uncomfortable, and lowering his voice) She used to be my girlfriend, not too long ago. She found the moon pool and transformed herself into a mermaid. She was very powerful-

Shannen – (lowering her voice too) What powers did she have?

Lewis – All of Ricki, Emma, and Cleo's powers.

Shannen – Wow.

Lewis – Yeah, I know. Anyway, she became a bit crazy and tried to take away the girls' powers. But they stopped her just in time, and took her powers away.

Shannen – Oh.

Lewis – Why are you asking me this anyway?

Shannen – Oh, no reason, just curious. (Looking at her left wrist) Will you look at the time, I have to go.

(Lewis gets up, and Shannen walks past him and leaves the Juicenet. Lewis's face looks slightly worried. Cleo, Emma, and Ricki walk back to the table.)

Emma – Where's Shannen?

Lewis – Oh, she had to go.

(Emma and Ricki sit back down. Cleo looks at Lewis's face, and sits down. Lewis sits down next to her. Scene change)

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(Shannen enters her room and flops onto her bed, sighing. She puts her arms behind her head and stares up at the ceiling. She thinks for a while, and then sits up. She looks into the mirror directly in front of her.)

Shannen – (talking to herself in the mirror) I can't become crazy with power, can I?

(Shannen looks at her reflection, and shrugs slightly.)

Shannen – Can I?

(Scene change)

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(The scene is blurry as Shannen races across Mako. She runs, and a noise is heard behind her. She turns to look behind her and trips. She falls. The noise comes even closer. Shannen begins to crawl away. Suddenly, the noise stops. Shannen turns around and sees a dark shape coming towards her. She screams as the shape comes into the moonlight, and its face is seen. It is Shannen's face, but grimacing, and looking very evil. The dark shape laughs manically, and raises its arm. Vines come out of the trees and race towards Shannen on the ground. She screams. Scene fades)

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(Shannen sits up in her bed, gasping. She looks around her room, and then at her hand. The bottom of it looks dark. Shannen turns to her bedside lamp and switches it on, flinching at the light. She puts her hand in the light and inspects it. Finger-nail shaped cuts are on it, bleeding. Shannen turns her hand over and inspects her finger-nails. There is blood under them. She lifts her other hand and inspects it as well, and it also has cuts on it. Shannen stands up and walks over to her bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror before opening the cupboard behind it and taking out a bandage. She closes it and looks at herself once again.)

Shannen – (to her reflection, unsure) I will never become like that.

(She nods and begins to wrap her hands in the bandage. Scene change)

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(Shannen and Cleo walk towards Ricki, Emma and Lewis, who are sitting over on the grass.)

Cleo – Well, that project should be easy enough.

Shannen – Why?

Cleo – Well, you can make the seed grow in just a second.

Shannen – I really think we shouldn't cheat on this thing, we should do it naturally.

(The girls get to where their friends are seated.)

Cleo – (sitting down, to the rest) Hey guys. (turns back to Shannen) oh, come on! Just to do it quickly.

Shannen – I really don't want to do it.

Emma – What are you two arguing about?

Cleo – Shannen doesn't want to help with out biology project.

Shannen – I do! Just, not in that way.

Lewis – Well, what is it?

Cleo – We have to grow a plant.

Ricki – That's super easy! You can do it in a second with Shannen.

Shannen – I really think we shouldn't, for the learning experience and everything.

Ricki – Why not?

Shannen – I just don't think it's a good idea. (Shannen brushes her hair back from her face)

Emma – Shannen, what happened to your hand?

Shannen – Nothing, I…I cut myself.

Emma – With what?

Shannen – Nothing. (after a pause) I have to go.

Emma – Shannen, wait.

(Shannen walks away, leaving everybody else behind her.)

Ricki – What's up with her?

(Lewis shifts uncomfortably, all three girls turn to look at him.)

Cleo – Lewis, do you know?

Lewis – (clearing throat) No, no I don't.

Ricki – You know Lewis, you're a terrible liar.

Emma – Seriously, Lewis, what's wrong with Shannen?

Lewis – I don't- (notices Ricki's glare), oh, all right, maybe I do know.

Cleo – Well, what is it?

Lewis – I think she might have read one of your minds a few days ago. She asked me who Charlotte was yesterday.

Ricki – And what does that have to do with anything?

Lewis – I think that what I answered might have scared her or something.

Emma – What did you tell her?

Lewis – (ashamed) I told her how Charlotte went crazy with power and tried to take all of your powers away.

Ricki – I don't get why that's the problem.

Emma – Oh, Ricki, can't you see? It's so obvious.

Ricki – Will somebody just tell me already!

Emma – She's afraid to become like Charlotte.

Ricki – Why would she be afraid of that?

Lewis – Because her powers have been developing at a very fast rate, like Charlotte's did.

Cleo – Yeah, but Charlotte was crazy.

Lewis – Not at first, only after she got her powers.

Ricki – You guys can't seriously believe that Shannen might turn out to be like Charlotte.

(Cleo, Emma, and Lewis look at each other, while Ricki stares at them, uncomprehendingly.)

Ricki – Oh, come on, you can't be serious! She's so shy and scared, and so nice! Remember that we all hated Charlotte long before she got her powers?

(Nobody answers her, and Ricki gets up, annoyed.)

Ricki – Fine, I'm going to go find Shannen.

(Ricki walks away, leaving Emma, Cleo, and Lewis behind her. Scene change)

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(Shannen is sitting on the edge of the port, looking into the waters. Ricki walks up to her.)

Ricki – They don't understand you, you know?

(Shannen doesn't answer.)

Ricki – They, like you, believe that you might turn out to be just like Charlotte.

(Shannen shrugs.)

Ricki – But I know that you won't.

(Shannen, surprised, turns around and looks at Ricki.)

Ricki – Look, (sitting down) I know how it feels to suddenly get an amazing gift that is huge and impossible to understand, but you just have to know that it is part of you now.

Shannen – But, won't I turn into someone like Charlotte?

Ricki – No, I don't think so. I remember her; I used to hate her a long time before she became a mermaid. She was just not a nice person, trying to steal Lewis from Cleo, and forcing him to choose between them.

Shannen – Really? Lewis didn't say that.

Ricki – Well, it's true. And then, when Lewis chose Cleo instead of her, she tried to make us all pay.

Shannen – I knew that part.

Ricki – But, you're missing the point. Charlotte was not a good person before she got the powers, so she just went worse when she did get them. It's who you are, not what you can do, that makes you you.

Shannen – (incredulous) Who are you and what have you done with Ricki?

Ricki – (smiling) Yeah, I sounded very philosophical there, didn't I?

Shannen – Yeah, you did.

Ricki – Well, we all have our hidden sides.

(Ricki stands up.)

Shannen – Where are you going?

Ricki – I have a date with Zane. (Begins to walk away, but turns back) Just think about what I said, ok?

Shannen – (calling to her) Ok!

(Ricki walks away, and Shannen stays on the edge of the port, looking into the waters. She stands up too, and walks away. Scene change)

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(The scene is blurry. Shannen is running once more from a dreaded figure behind her. She runs and trips. Shannen falls, and the figure behind her stops. Shannen turns over, and sees herself, but she's smiling, with flowers in her hair. Scene fades)

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(Shannen wakes up in her bed. The sun is shining outside, and she walks over to her mirror in her bathroom. She smiles at her reflection and takes the bandages off her hands. The cuts have almost completely healed. Shannen flexes her hand carefully, and begins to brush her teeth.)

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(In Cleo's room. Shannen and Cleo are sitting on the bed, with a little pot. There is a small bowl under the pot. Cleo is holding a package of seeds.)

Cleo – (reading from the back of the package) I think these seeds grow well here, so they shouldn't be too hard.

Shannen – (nodding) Ok.

(Shannen holds out her hand and Cleo pours a few seeds into it. Cleo then puts the package down and makes a small hole in the dirt in the pot.)

Cleo – Done.

(Shannen puts the seeds carfully inside the small hole, and covers it with dirt. She pats it a couple of times, and then looks up at Cleo and smiles.)

Shannen – The seeds should grow fine.

Cleo – (smiling back) Good. (suddenly remembering) Oh, I almost forgot.

(Cleo gets off the bed and walks over to a little watering can. She fills it up in the bathroom and walks back to the bed, offering Shannen the can.)

Cleo – Here you go, you water them, I wouldn't know how much water to give them, and, besides, it would be bad if I spilled some on myself.

(Shannen takes the can, and Cleo takes one step back. Shannen carefully drizzles some water onto the dirt, and then sets the can down.)

Shannen – That's enough. Now, all it needs is a little sun.

(Cleo nods, and Shannen grabs the little bowl with the pot inside and goes to put it near the window.)

Cleo – How long will it take for it to grow?

Shannen – It should start growing in a couple of days.

Cleo – It should?

(Shannen smiles a bit secretively, and the plant begins to grow beautifully.)

Cleo – (startled) Oh! I thought you weren't going to use your power.

Shannen – I wasn't.

Cleo – What made you change your mind?

Shannen – I had a little talk with a wise friend.

Cleo – Oh. (turning back to the plant) Well, it looks quite beautiful, doesn't it?

Shannen – Yes, yes it does.

(Scene fades)

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End Credits

(A/N) Yeah, yeah, I'm super sorry for not having updated this soon, but I was super busy, and depressed, and all that stuff. (School is so hard now) Anyway, I'm better now, and I'm hoping this fanfic will move a lot quicker now. I have quite a few other episodes planned for this one. Anyway, R&R please!