And I'm back, yay(!) I'm sure not one of you missed me but ah well what can you do?

btb. the boat in this chapter is... think Denman's boat from season 1 and Naomi (Charlotte's aunt) livein ahouse right on the water's edge, she has her own private dock.

and for the record Sashimi is fish that is so thinly sliced it's nearly transparent.

Once a Mermaid:

Reveal

Charlotte stretched her arms above her head as she ambled down the hallway; a yawn worked its way from her and she dropped her arms, her sleep had been disturbed by dreams; dreams of Chris, of Cleo and her dark side.

Stepping into the kitchen Charlotte stopped; there at the kitchen bench, talking quietly with her Aunt Naomi, was Becky. Charlotte blinked a few times and looked over to the fridge, the door was open and Mindy was rummaging through the contents.

"Morning," Charlotte's greeting startled the three women who turned to look at her so fast she thought they'd get whiplash.

"Hey Charlotte! Oh found the cheese!" Mindy, in her usual hyperactive state, began running around the kitchen apparently making breakfast. Becky shook her had at her friend's antics and motioned for Charlotte to come sit by her.

"Morning," Naomi said, "Sleep well?"

"Weird dreams," Charlotte replied as she sat.

"Naomi's been telling us about dolphin sightings up the coast." Becky had caught onto Charlotte's mood and promptly changed the subject.

"It's not the far," Naomi added, "We could take my research boat, have a girls day." Naomi wanted to spend the day alone with her niece but she knew Charlotte would want to spend the day with her friends so she was happy to compromise.

Charlotte felt uncertain, she wasn't sure if going to see dolphins was such a good idea considering her track record with them and the girls' current condition. She was about to refuse when Mindy set breakfast down on the bench and answered for the trio.

"Sounds awesome I'll chuck together some food for the trip and we can leave when Charlotte's dressed."

The teenage trio sat in the back of the boat while the older marine botanist drove. The mermaids spoke quietly, Mindy randomly adding things to her 'reasons why the research boat is more of a yacht then a boat' list.

Mindy's list annoyed Becky until she'd finally had enough, Becky reached over Charlotte and grabbed a lock of Mindy's pink hair, yanking it lightly Becky told her friend to 'stop with the list or become sashimi;' the ride after that was filled with a companionable silence, until Mindy went to chat with Naomi.

Becky ignored her bubbly friend and watched the ocean; it looked the same as always and yet it seemed, deeper, somehow, more, like it was, changed, different from before. Charlotte soaked up the sun as her mind wandered back to the dream.

She floated somewhere dark, her skin could feel only cold and though she floated she was not in water. There was no air but she didn't need to breathe, she was afraid but she wasn't going to scream she couldn't bring herself to break the envelope of silence surrounding her.

Above her, at least she was very sure it was above, there was a light. The light drew closer and closer, it seemed to be the end of a tunnel, so perhaps the light hadn't move but rather she had floated upwards towards the light.

The light was circular and it seemed to be pouring into the dark space from somewhere else, perhaps she was indeed in a tunnel or a hole of some sort. At the rim where the dark met the light a body appeared, a person, at first she couldn't see the person's face, the light behind was to bright but then her eyes adjusted and she could make out their identity: it was Chris.

His mouth was moving as if he was speaking but no sound was coming out. She strained her eyes trying to see him better trying to work out what he was saying but it was no use. She waited to get closer to him but she didn't, she was no longer moving, she floated, suspended meters from him.

Behind him another figure formed, this one dressed in the golden light; long, dark, auburn hair drifted abut the figure's head. The light shifted and the world tilted and Charlotte could see the figure's face, it was her, she was the figure behind Chris, but the her behind Chris, the one dressed in gold, had black eyes.

'It will end on the dark night when the moon is blind.' Her own voice echoed though the silence as the golden robed her spoke. The gold dressed her wrapped her arms around Chris, a dark smirk plastered across her face.

The world shuddered and shifted again, Charlotte was above now, the airless space was water, the light went dark and below her, still holding Chris, her dark counter part was laughing silently as she dragged him down into the cold void.

The real Charlotte struggled trying to swim down to him, to her, but something held her trapped, suspended in place. She tried to scream but only bubbles of air came out. She saw movement to her right, her head whipped around her vision temporarily obscured by her hair then it cleared and she wished it hadn't.

Floating in the water in human form was Cleo, her eyes were shut and she wasn't moving and Charlotte knew, beyond reason beyond doubt, she had done had done this.

Naomi cut the boat's motor and let it drift for a bit before hauling the anchor over board. Mindy scurried back onto the main deck and leaned over the rail, Becky nudged Charlotte and motioned to the pink haired teen about to fall overboard. With a snicker the duo went stop her from taking a swim.

Naomi checked her sonar for signs of the Dolphins; she spotted them underneath the boat. Just as Naomi turned to warn the trio one of the dolphins leapt into the air to do an intricate twist right beside the boat near the girls, showering the teenage trio with seawater.

The three girls hurried below deck in order to find towels they made it to the bottom of the stairs before their ten seconds ran out. They fell in a pile with a rather loud thump, Naomi descended a second later only to trip over one of the tails.

The four young women lay there for a few minutes in shock before Naomi finally found her voice. "Did I just trip over what I think I just tripped over?"

"I told you dolphins are evil"

Dun-dun-duuuun.

and thus the new mer-trio run into their first problem.