Hey guys! I'm finally back! I'm sorry I took so long! That is completely unacceptable, which is why I have prepared for you the longest chapter I have ever written yet for this story! It's an apology that I hope you'll accept. I do not own H2O: Just Add Water. Please enjoy and review!

A lot has happened in these past few weeks. Rikki almost killed a guy because he used her to smuggle fish. Once she found out, well, it wasn't pretty. I mean it really wasn't. And get this, Zane tried to windsurf around Mako Island! Probably was trying to beat his dad's record or something. Long story short, Rikki and I had to go save his sorry ass from being eaten by sharks. We made sure he didn't see us though. On the last full moon, Cleo got moonstruck and turned into a siren! Her voice attracted every guy in town! Well, except me. Being a merman made me immune to her siren effect, and man was I glad! I didn't want to be all up on Cleo, because Lauren probably wouldn't have liked that! I've been seeing Emma hang with this kid, Byron, a lot and it makes me think if they are a couple. Oh well, it's not my business! And to top it all off, Carrie has been constantly trying to get my attention. It wasn't only annoying to me, but to the rest of the gang as well, especially Lauren. Right now, I was with Emma. We were just relaxing along the dock's edge. Suddenly, we heard Zane screaming at someone.

We both turned around to see him screaming at not just anybody, but it was Miss Chatham. At least that's what I thought her name was. I wasn't sure if I would see her again, but here she is now. "Wake up lady! Get with it!" I heard Zane shout at her.

Emma and I intervened before Zane could give her a heart attack. "Zane!" Emma said sternly. "Don't be rude!"

I scoffed. "That's gonna be pretty hard for Zane." Zane shot me a glare, but I shot one right back. He rolled his eyes and looked back at Miss C.

"Give the lady a chance to speak," Emma continued.

"This old bag's boat broke free and hit mine!" Zane whined. "It put a scratch on my jet ski! Look!" Emma and I took a glance at his oh so precious jet ski. It barely had a scratch on it. Zane was just being Zane.

"I said I'm sorry," Miss C said.

"She said she's sorry," Emma clarified.

"That's not gonna pay for the damage is it?" Zane asked angrily. "I bet she doesn't even have insurance. This boat shouldn't even be here. It's an embarrassment!"

Zane was pissing me off. "Hey Zane, here's an idea. Shut up," I said flatly.

"Will's right," Emma agreed. "You're over reacting, even for you."

"Am I?" Zane asked. "We'll see what the harbor master thinks," Zane said coldly as he walked off.

"Don't worry, he's all talk," Emma reassured.

"Thank you Emma, Will," Miss C. said. I just smiled while Emma had a confused look plastered on her face. "Come aboard," Miss C. said with her hand outstretched. I gladly strolled inside while Emma was a bit hesitant. Once inside, Miss C. started to pour glasses of tea. She handed two glasses to Emma and me as I stayed standing and Emma took a seat in the corner.

"Thank you," Emma and I said.

After Emma took a sip, she spoke again. "You're her," she said.

Miss C. grinned. "That's perceptive."

"She's the lady Cleo always talks about," I elaborated.

"It's nice to be talked about," Miss C. said.

"She never told me you lived on a boat."

"I didn't tell her I was a Capricorn either, but that's another... tail," Miss C. smirked. I just chuckled slightly because I knew that Miss C. knew all about merpeople. I then realized that Emma didn't know this vital piece of information. As my mouth opened to tell her, Miss C. just gave me a look. I then figured that she wanted the girls to find out on their own, so I kept my mouth shut. "Oh, I'm sorry, I've made you uncomfortable," Miss C. said noticing Emma's wariness. "I'm not a very good host. Mind you I haven't had anyone else on board the Lorelei for... Twenty three years."

"Miss Chatham," the three of us heard from outside her boat.

"Ah, Mr. Hendricks," Miss C. breathed. "Would you care for some ice tea?"

"You know why I'm here Miss Chatham, another complaint has been received."

Miss C. shot a glare towards Zane. "People seem to complain so much these days."

"A regularity which is hard to ignore when the concern you." I could see Zane getting impatient. I really wanted to boil his insides, but I resisted.

Miss C. laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. You care about me. Lovely," Miss C. started to make her way back inside the Lorelei, but Zane spoke up.

"Are you gonna evict her or what?" he asked angrily.

"Leave this to me," Mr. Hendricks said flatly. "Miss Chatham, we've spoken on many occasions. On the last occasion, I reminded you of unpaid fees that go back five years."

"I don't recall that," Miss C. stated.

"Before that, you've been served with several requests to maintain your vessel according to regulations."

"I really must open those letters," Miss C. dismissed. "I've been meaning to read them."

"You're getting evicted lady!" Zane snapped. "You're gone!"

"Do you mind?" Mr. Hendricks asked. "I'm handling this!"

"Well hurry it up!" Zane said stubbornly.

"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked.

"We've been pretty patient with Miss Chatham over the years," Mr. Hendricks answered. "The time has come for us to act."

"You can't throw her out!" I argued. Suddenly, Miss C. collapsed on the ground next to me. I immediately dropped to her side and dialed for the ambulance. Minutes later, the medics arrived and Miss C. was put on a stretcher.

"You'll be alright," Emma reassured Miss C. as the medics wheeled her towards the ambulance.

"Do you want us to come to the hospital with you?" I asked.

"They want my treasure!" Miss C. breathed.

"Just... try to rest," Emma said ignoring Miss C.'s statement.

"Don't let them get my treasure!" Miss C. asked desperately as she was wheeled away.

As we watched her leave, Zane turned towards us. "I didn't mean to give the old bitty a heart attack."

"Maybe you should tell her that," Emma retorted flatly. Both Emma and I then left Zane in our wake as went over to reassure ourselves that Miss C. was okay.

"Miss Chatham's lucky," the ambulance guy said. "It could've been more serious. You two can go home now, we have everything under control here." Once we were absolutely sure that Miss C. was okay, Emma and I made our way to Cleo's house. Cleo told us to go there when we were free. Once we were at Cleo's doorstep, I knocked on it. Seconds later, Cleo appeared from behind the door.

"Hey guys! Come in!" Cleo said cheerfully. We saw that the whole gang was here, huddled on Cleo's steps. As we walked up to join them, I spoke up.

"We've got a lot to tell you."

"What's up?" Rikki asked.

"We were with that lady that Cleo keeps seeing," Emma began. She then started to explain what had happened at the docks and how Zane gave Miss C. a heart attack.

"Zane!" Rikki said angrily. "If I saw him, I would probably strangle him to death!"

"The ambulance guy said it could've been more serious," Emma reassured. "She stopped taking her medication."

"Poor lady," Cleo breathed.

"Her name's Miss Chatham," I informed her.

"Is she that weird old lady that lives on the boat?" Lewis spoke up.

"Yeah, that's her," Emma confirmed. "How do you know her?"

"No I don't, I've just heard about her," Lewis revealed. "She lives on that leaky old wreck. No friends, no family, all alone."

"She's the one that seems to know all about the full moon and our powers, and our tails," Cleo said with worry in her voice.

I was the only one in the room who didn't worry because I knew full well that Miss C. already knew about merpeople. I really wanted to tell them, but I didn't want to go against Miss C.'s wishes. "Some people say she's a witch," Lewis said.

"And if they said she was an Easter Bunny, would you believe that?" Rikki asked.

Lewis looked Rikki straight in the eye. "There was a time I didn't believe in mermaids either."

He has a point, I thought. "Well, it's pretty late guys. Why don't we all worry about this some more tomorrow?" I suggested. They all nodded. As I got up and headed towards the door, Lauren came up to me.

"Can we walk together?" she asked.

I grinned. "You don't even have to ask for that," We then strode out of Cleo's house and began to head towards Lauren's house. As we were both walking, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. It was my mom. "Hey Mom," I said as I answered the phone.

"Hey Willie!" she said happily. "We're going to have dinner in an hour, so make sure you're home by then."

"Okay Mom. See you later," I said as I ended the call.

Lauren grinned at me. "Willie?" she asked. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know," I chuckled. "I've been called Willie for as long as I can remember. Most of my friends back in the states call me that too."

"Do you miss your friends?" Lauren asked.

"Of course I do," I replied. "But it's okay, they all told me that they would come visit one day."

"Did any of them know that you were a merman?"

"No, I kept that secret on lockdown," I said seriously. "No one ever knew about it before I met you and the girls!" I said in fake and playful anger.

Lauren giggled slightly. "Sorry about that. Is it okay if I ask you another question?"

"Of course," I answered.

"Do you ever think about going back to the states?" she asked quietly.

That question caught me off guard. "Well, I can't say I haven't ever thought about it," I admitted. "But I love the Gold Coast. If I didn't come here, I wouldn't have met Lewis and the girls. If I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have met you." I placed my hand on her cheek as I said the last part. She smiled and gave me a quick kiss.

We finally approached her doorstep. "Would you like to come in?" she asked.

"Sure," I smiled. As she opened the door, I was greeted by Josh.

"Will!" He screamed with joy as I walked in. He then ran over to me.

"Hey Josh!" I chuckled. "What's up my little man?"

"We were just about to have dinner!" he said. "Please have dinner with us! Please!"

"I'll have to check with my mom," I laughed. "Is it alright with you?" I asked Lauren.

"Of course it is silly!" she laughed. Her parents then came into the room. "Mom, Dad," she said. "This is Will."

Her mom grinned from ear to ear. "So this is Will! Oh, Lauren has told us so much about you!"

"And from what she tells us, you sound like a polite young man," her dad smiled at me. I let out a silent breath of relief. Good, her dad took a liking to me. I thought I was gonna have to do a lot more for that. "I'm Mr. Wolfe. It's nice to meet you," Lauren's dad said as he extended his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Wolfe," I smiled and shook his hand.

"Could Will stay for dinner?" Lauren asked hopefully.

"Well of course he can," her dad said like it had already been established.

"Yay!" Josh yelled as he jumped in joy.

"Let me ask my mom," I said. I dialed her number. She picked up after the second ring. "Hey Mom, is it okay if I stay and eat dinner at Lauren's house?"

"Of course it is!" she replied. "Have fun and make sure you say thank you!"

"Thanks Mom! Bye!" I hung up my phone and shoved it into my pocket. "It looks like I'm staying," I smiled.

Lauren smiled back. "Awesome!" Josh said happily.

"Excuse me Will, could you help me with dinner?" Mrs. Wolfe asked me. "Lauren tells me that you're a great cook."

"I'd love to," I said. "What are we making?"

"Steak," Mrs. Wolfe answered.

I smiled. "That's my specialty. I'll make the dinner. You just kick back and relax."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." I then strolled into the kitchen with Lauren. She got the meat out of the fridge and handed it to me. I remembered how my dad taught me to prepare steak, so I grabbed all the correct spices and added them to it. Within minutes, the steak was ready to be cooked. After it was done cooking, Lauren and I set the table and we were all ready to eat. Mr. Wolfe was the first person to take a bite out of his steak.

His eyes widened in amazement. "This is delicious!" he said. "How did you make this?"

"I used my dad's secret recipe," I smiled.

"This is the best steak I have ever tasted." Before long, everyone was digging in. In the blink of an eye, the table was cleared of all the food. I then helped Mrs. Wolfe clean off the table. After everything was said and done, it was time for me to leave.

"Thanks for having me over," I said.

"Thanks for coming!" Mrs. Wolfe said. I waved to everyone as I walked out the door. Lauren then joined me outside.

"My parents love you!" she said happily.

"That's a relief," I breathed. "I had a great time."

"So did I," Lauren smiled. We then shared a long kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," I said. Damn, I love my life, I thought as I started to walk home.

The next morning, I got a text from Emma telling me to meet her and the girls at her house. When I got there, I didn't even ring the doorbell because Emma said that I never needed to and could just walk in since we are good friends. When I walked in, I was greeted by the girls and... Miss Chatham? "Hello Will!" Miss C. said to me happily.

"Hey Miss C.," I said casually. The girls looked at me like I had two heads. They were probably wondering why I wasn't being more careful towards Miss C. Hopefully, they will find out soon. Suddenly, the phone rang. Mrs. Gilbert went to pick it up. Then Miss. C. grabbed ahold of Cleo's locket.

"Gracie," she whispered. None of us knew who she was talking about, so I just shrugged. Mrs. Gilbert came back and held the phone in front of Miss C.

"For you," Mrs. Gilbert said. "It's the harbor master."

"Now she's getting phone calls here," Rikki whispered.

"Hello?" Miss C. asked. "What? But... but you can't," she started to get upset. "We'll no, but... but you can't!" She then hung up the phone.

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"They're taking my boat away from me," Miss C. whispered. "They say I can't use it anymore, it doesn't meet with their silly regulations." It's all I've got and their taking it away."

Emma then stared at all of us with a sympathetic expression. She then pulled us aside. "We have to fix her boat."

"Agreed," I said. Rikki was about to protest, but I held my hand up to her face to interrupt her. "We're going and that's final." Rikki gave me a pouty look. We all then went to the docks, with paint and other supplies in hand. Once we found the Lorelei, Rikki started to complain.

"This is stupid!"

"Rikki, it's her home!" Emma said. "We have to help her!"

"You're kidding. It's a pile of junk!"

"A coat of paint will spruce it up," Emma said confidently. "Now stop arguing and start painting."

"It needs more than paint. It needs a new boat."

"Rikki being negative," Emma began. "What a surprise."

"Get real!" Rikki yelled. "We can't do this!"

"And even if you did, it's not going to make a difference," Mr. Hendricks said as he approached us. "I know you're trying to help, but you're wasting your time. The boat's got rust all through its structural framework. Do I need to go on? She's better off without it."

"That is your opinion!" Miss C. yelled as she approached us. "Not mine! I'll be leaving now," she said as she pushed passed us to get to her boat.

"You know you can't do that," Mr. Hendricks said. "The boat has been impounded by the water police, it's not seaworthy."

"It's my home! I live here!" Miss C. said angrily.

"Miss Chatham, they're just doing what they think is right. They're trying to help."

"I've got to get my things!" Miss C. said. "They're just after my treasure!" Miss C. whispered into Emma's ear.

Suddenly, I heard Zane and his friend Nate approach. "The paint job cost a few hundred, so the Jet Ski looks as good as new."

"Let's just go home, back to my place. We'll talk about it there," Emma said as she led Miss C. away from the Lorelei.

"I want what's mine! They're after my treasure! All of them!" Miss C. looked at Zane as she said this. The rest of us followed Emma off the dock. Once we got back to her house, we stayed and ate dinner. It was clam chowder, and let me say, that it was the best clam chowder that I've ever had.

"That was delicious!" Mr. Gilbert said.

"Well, I can't take all the credit," Mrs. Gilbert said with her hands up. "This was Miss Chatham's recipe for clam chowder."

"Well, it was brilliant."

"Thank you," Miss C. said. "I'll help you clean up."

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Gilbert said. "Cleo, could you help Miss Chatham get nice and comfortable on the sofa please?" Cleo nodded. "And don't forget to take your medication."

We all led Miss C. to the sofa, with the exception of Emma, who stayed behind to talk to her parents. Once she joined us, Miss Chatham spoke. After a few minutes, she said something that caught my attention. "Friendship. That's the most important thing. I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but the burden you carry is too great to carry alone."

"Wait, what burden?" Cleo asked. We all gave her the same look. "Oh, that one," she smiled.

Miss C. laughed. "When you're different, it helps if you have friends who understand." She sighed. "I had friends."

"Did they... like did they dress like you?" Rikki asked. Emma and I shot her a look.

"This was long ago," Miss C. explained. "We were younger. I wasn't always this old. Or maybe I was," she contemplated.

"When you say burden, what do you mean?" Emma asked.

"When it got too great for me, I had to give it up."

"You can do that?" Cleo and Lauren asked at the same time.

"It's getting late," Miss C. stood up. "I think we should all be in bed."

"But it was just starting to get interesting," Rikki argued.

"Miss Chatham's right, it's late," Emma said.

"Good night."

"Would you like me to show you to your room?" Emma asked.

"Oh it's alright, I know where I'm going," Miss C. said as she walked away.

"See you tomorrow Miss Chatham," Cleo called after her. Before long, we took Miss C.'s advice and went off to bed. The girls slept in Emma's room and I slept on the couch.

The next morning, I was awoken by Emma shaking me violently. "What is it?" I moaned while rubbing my eyes.

"Miss Chatham's gone!" Emma yelled.

"What!" I shot up from the couch.

"Where could she be?"

"You don't think she went..." I trailed off. I didn't need to continue because Emma knew exactly what I was getting at. We both raced down to the docks. Miss C.'s boat was nowhere to be seen, although, Zane's Jet Ski was submerged in the water, which I found kind of funny.

Zane approached us with his mouth wide open. "What's this?" he asked. "That old bat! She did this!"

"Zane, you don't know that!" Emma defended.

"Yes I do," he replied coldly. He then hopped into his zodiac and started to drive off.

"Zane!" Emma called after him. Emma glanced at me. "We have to get Lewis to take us on his boat!" I nodded and we then ran to the JuiceNet, where we knew Lewis would be.

Once we found him, I yelled to him. "Lewis! We need you!" Emma started to drag Lewis from his chair. We then start to explain the whole situation to him.

"We need your boat and we need you to drive it!" Emma said urgently. Once back at the docks, Lewis began to untie his boat.

"And you can't swim because..." Lewis began.

"Zane's out there chasing her! He'd see us!" We both climbed into Lewis's boat. "Hurry up Lewis!" He nodded and the boat roared to life. We made our way to where Zane went. Not too long after we left, we finally saw the Lorelei.

"There's the Lorelei!" Lewis announced. "Look, near the Mako Island mangroves!"

"He's already here!" I said. "We gotta hurry up!" Once we got close enough, Zane walked out with fear on his face.

"It wasn't my fault!" he protested. "I didn't do anything!"

Once we boarded the Lorelei, we saw Miss C. lying unconscious. Lewis checked to see if she was breathing. His eyes widened. "She's still breathing!"

"Zane!" Emma said. "There's gotta be some pills down there! Go and have a look!" He nodded and went below the deck. After a while, Emma spoke up again. "Did you find anything?"

"Uhh..." was all Zane managed.

"C'mon Zane!" I yelled. "She needs to get in Lewis's boat! She needs a hospital!"

"Zane, if she dies now, it'll be your fault!" Emma threatened. Finally, Zane found the pills. Emma and I then grabbed Miss C. and placed her in Lewis's boat. "Thanks Zane," Emma said. "C'mon let's go! Get in!"

Zane glanced toward us. "She'll be alright. I'm staying."

"Zane if you touch any of her things!" Emma warned.

"I'll catch up!"

"There isn't time to argue, let's go!" Lewis said urgently. We then sped off towards the mainland. When we were halfway back, we heard an explosion. We saw smoke coming from the Lorelei.

"Oh no," Emma breathed.

"Where's Zane?" Lewis asked.

"I can't see him!"

"We'll have to go down," I said.

"You can't, he'll know your secret," Lewis said.

"They don't have a choice," Miss C. whispered. "Do you?"

"Make sure she gets to the hospital Lewis!" Emma ordered. Emma and I then dove into the water and sped towards the Lorelei. By the time we got to it, it was completely submerged. We swam towards the door and saw Zane floating motionlessly in the cabin. Emma tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge, so I slammed my tail against the door which broke it right off. When we looked inside, we saw that Zane was unconscious. I grabbed him by the arms and swam out of the Lorelei. Emma and I then sped towards the shores of Mako and I dried us off and placed Zane on the sand. After a few minutes, Zane started to cough. He turned over and looked at us.

"It's alright," Emma said. "You floated up, we dragged you to shore.

"But I went down," Zane said with a confused look. "I couldn't get out."

"Somehow you did," I said. "You're lucky."

"There was something down there."

Oh no, I thought. Did he see us?

"Something... I don't know. Did you see anything?" Zane asked.

"No, we both said.

"Yeah," Zane said looking off into the ocean. "Well I saw something. And I'm gonna find out exactly what it was."

Great, I thought. Now we have a merhunter on our hands.

Uh oh. We all know that it goes downhill from here! Anyway, thanks for reading and I plan on having the next chapter up as soon as possible!

MysticalMerman