Syaoran stared at the spot where Maecenas vanished with Fai. The last thing he had seen of them was the emerald flash of the mermaid's tail. Around him, the people began to move around. The captain helped free him from the rest of the ropes.

"Maecenas has been acting strange lately, hasn't she?" a boy whispered. His brother shoved him roughly.

"What was you're first clue?"

Hayden walked up to the captain, picking up a stray coat along the way.

"Sir, I believe we should return to the docks now."

"Right. Tell Jack to steer us back."

"Aye, sir."

"And make sure the guests are alright. I'd like to make this black mark as grey as possible. White, if I can."

"Sir?"

The captain waved his hand wearily. "Go tell Jack to take us back." Hayden sighed, handing the coat to Syaoran.

"Aye."

"Sir, is there a way to get Fai-san back?" Syaoran asked, staring at the coat.

"I don't know. I'll do what I can."

A strange splash in the water caught their attention, and they turned to look. Syaoran looked shocked, but then smiled softly.

"Fai-san!"

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Fai awoke with a shock after he hit the water, sputtering and gasping as water rushed in through gills on the sides of his neck. His vision quickly cleared and he looked around. Maecenas released her iron grip on him after speeding down in the water, trying to put as much distance between them and the ship. She smiled at his expression of surprise. Fai's hands flexed, and he swatted the water with them. The small action brought him a few inches closer to the surface. Two more mermaids swam out of the shadows to greet them.

"Maecenas! Are you alright?"

"You were gone for awhile and-" The speaker stopped and stared at Fai. She blushed, making her face as pink as her hair, and quickly looked back at Maecenas. "Who is he?" She whispered. "He's cute!"

"His name is Fai; he's going to… SWIM AWAY?" She yelled as Fai shot off at breakneck speed for the surface.

Almost there!

Fai leapt out of the water with a noise of surprise, saw the Seeker, and flipped back in quickly. A scream from below him told him that the mermaid wasn't happy at all. He quickly swam for the ship.

"Fai-san!" Fai smiled.

"Syaoran-kun!" Fai cheered. He stopped before he ran into the ship. He had only a short amount of time before Maecenas caught up with him.

"I'll find a way to get the feather back, so go and tell the others, okay?" Syaoran nodded.

"Be careful, Fai-san. I'll find a way to get you back, I promise."

"I don't think the humans here use magic. I may have to figure out the spell myself."

"I'll still do what I can."

"Thank you, Syaoran-kun."

"I'm worried that I'll lose the ability to communicate if I get to far away from Mokona." "We'll call Yuuko. She'll think of something"

"Alright."

A pink head popped out of the water next to Fai. "You need to be more careful. Maecenas was about to kill you on the spot." The mermaid said in a soft voice.

"I don't think she'd really want to do that, not after what she told me… Where is she?"

"My sister is holding her down there."

"Sister?"

"Yes. Akitla is my sister. I am Aithne"

Fai went back under the water to take a few breaths. Aithne followed. They both heard the screaming fury of Maecenas.

"I can't go with you, you know." Fai said. "I vowed to never use my magic again."

"I kind of figured."

"I need to go there to get something back though."

They stuck their heads back above the surface. "What polis are you from?"

"I'm not from any of them."

"You have to! Are you on the run from yours?"

"I was a human until a few minutes ago."

Fai smiled sadly at her shocked expression, waved one last time to Syaoran and the rest of the people, and dove back into the sea.

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Sakura was waiting alone at the docks when Syaoran returned in the afternoon. She frowned when she saw only him.

"Where is Fai-san?" She looked down at the coat in his arms: it was Fai's.

"He's found a way to get the feather. He'll be back."

"But where is he? I made some special food for him, since this world eats a lot of fish and he doesn't like fish, at least raw ones…" She sighed. She decided that she'd find out later. "I heard the mermaids singing earlier. They were nice."

"Yes."

"I could hear Fai's voice. It was the mermaid, right?" Syaoran nodded.

"Boy!" The captain yelled. Syaoran and Sakura walked back to the ship.

"Yes, sir?"

"Come aboard. I need another word with ye. You can bring the miss with ye. It won't take long."

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Kurogane glared at Syaoran when he entered the house with Sakura, his arm draped around her shoulders to comfort her. The princess looked like she was about to cry.

"What happened?" The ninja asked. He thought for a moment that the stupid mage had been run over by a horse, but he quickly knew that wasn't the case. The kids would be crying their eyes out if that had happened.

"Nothing." Sakura said, hiding her unshed tears bravely. "Let's eat."

Ariel appeared from a doorway. "Perfect timing! The meal is ready!"

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Hans stared hard at Syaoran. "You went out today?" He growled.

"Y-yes." Syaoran looked down at his plate nervously. Hans laughed.

"I just smell the sea on you, that's all." Mokona jumped on the boy's head.

"You smell salty, Syaoran!" Mokona cheered randomly, causing Hans and Ariel to laugh. Kurogane studied the boy carefully.

"He's barely touched any of his food." He thought, glancing at the plate and then out the window. "And Fai hasn't returned. Something happened on that ship. That damn mermaid is behind this."

AN: Two new characters! ^^; I actually did some research to name them (and Kai).

Aithne "Fire"

Akitla "snow falling on water"

I wanted the whole opposite's thing in the names (fire and water); this was as close as I could get with the names still sounding like they'd be given to sisters. Kai means "the sea".