Beck sat on an underwater ledge; his parents next to him in the water. Jeremy, Lilly, and her parents sat across from them on the opposite ledge.

"Let us introduce ourselves first," said the merman next to Lilly. "My name is Lewis McCartney and this," he gestured across Lilly, "is my wife Cleo."

Cleo nodded. "Not only is Lilly our daughter, but your parents are really good friends of ours."

Bella squeezed her son's hand. "I met Cleo and Lewis when I was about your age. That's when I also met your father, though in very different ways."

"A couple friends and I were dealing with some magical trouble and Bella stepped in to help us out," said Cleo.

"Magical…" said Beck, narrowing his eyes.

"You see," said Bella. She cleared her throat and then gave her son an apprehensive half smile. "When I was nine and living in Ireland with your grandparents, I found a place very similar to this one. An odd cave that led out to the ocean. When I was exploring one evening a full moon rose overhead. The water bubbled around me, and, through magic, I became a mermaid."

"You're a mermaid? Since you were a kid?" Beck looked down to where his mum obviously had legs.

"I was," Bella said. She grimaced, a sad look in her eyes.

"When we were all seniors in high school," Will jumped in, giving his wife a warm smile, "a lot of things happened to us. There was a blue moon and I, Lewis" he nodded to his friend, "and a couple other blokes found ourselves in this very moon pool. We were changed."

"You see," said Cleo, "me and a couple other friends had become mermaids when we were sixteen. We were stranded here on Mako in this very pool after we accidentally fell down an ancient lava tube."

"The night of the blue moon we were all here when the moon centered over the pool." Bella said, staring up where sunlight was filtering from high above. "My friends and I were already mermaids, but your father, Lewis, and a couple other guys were completely human." She looked back at Will and gave him that same sad smile they always shared when talking about that time of their lives. "Not after that night. That's when everything changed."

"I became a merman," said Will. He looked down at his disfigured legs where his son was also staring.

"So did I," said Lewis.

"Wait," said Beck and he pushed himself away from the ledge. "You're telling me this place, this moon pool, turned all of you into merfolk?" He turned and looked at Jeremy. "Were you one of the boyfriends?"

Jeremey laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm probably a decade older than your parents. I was born a merman. I met your parents when I was trying to rescue them from a very evil man who was experimenting on them."

"So, if you were born a merman," he pointed at Jeremy, "and you're still merpeople," he pointed at Lewis and Cleo, "what happened to you?" he asked his parents.

Beck listened intently for a good half hour as his parents and Lilly's parents told him about everything that had been done to them. About how they were betrayed by Rikki's boyfriend Zane. How his Aunt Sophie, who was now in a mental institution, helped to experiment on his dad. How Lewis nearly lost his humanity while he was kept locked in a tank like an animal. And about how his mum gave it all up to be with Will. He listened in horror and wonder at how his parents told him of a past he would never have believed if he hadn't experienced some of it for himself.

When they finished, he looked down through the water at his tail. "I get why you didn't tell me anything." He finally said. "You were scared something would happen to me. And it's probably hard for you talk about."

Lilly swam up to him but kept her distance. "For what it's worth, I wasn't ignoring you because I didn't like you. It was to keep you away from Mako."

Nodding, Beck turned back to look at his dad. "The experiments Dr. Denman did on me," he said, "were based on what she did to you."

Will frowned and slipped forward to wrap his son in a hug. "I am so sorry, son."

Beck wrapped his arms around his dad, realizing he was shaking.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm so sorry she dragged you into this." Will pulled back and looked back at Jeremy. "Where is Dr. Denman now?" he asked.

"The council has her trapped in another cave where they are interrogating her."

"What are they going to do with her," asked Bella.

"We're going to learn what we can," said Jeremy. "Then we'll make sure she's not a threat to the pod."

A trickle of fear raced its way down Beck's spine. This council sounded very powerful. "And what are they going to do with me?" Beck asked.

Everyone stared at him. His parents gave him a long look, his tail the obvious elephant in the room.

"Let's get your dried off first, and then we can discuss that," said Bella. She moved to climb out of the water, but Jeremy cleared his throat.

"Bella, Will, when we found Beck, he was drying out," he said.

Pausing, Bella stared at him, her eyes narrowed. "Drying out? Like what happens to merfolk who get stranded on land without moon rings?"

He nodded. "We barely got him to the water in time."

Will looked at his son's neck. "Where's the crystal Jeremy gave you?" he asked.

"Dr. Denman took it from me," Beck said. He stared down at the tail that had replaced his legs. It looked bluer in the water, but not as blue as Jeremy's or Lewis's. His was creamier with more ivory and dusty blue tones.

"Maybe you should tell us what she did to you," said Jeremy, giving him a reassuring nod.

Beck took a deep breath then looked at his dad. "Her goons grabbed me while I was out running. They used something on a rag to knock me out and when I came to, I was strapped down in a dingy room." He closed his eyes as he remembered. "Dr. Denman came in and stuck me with a couple of needles. I don't know what was in it, but it changed me into this." He looked back down at his tail and then looked back at his dad.

"They moved me to a tank, and I tried to escape. The crystal gave me powers, and I was able to dry out my tail and get legs. But they caught me."

He grimaced. "Dr. Denman injected me with something else and took the crystal. I've tried drying out, but the tail stays and I don't have powers anymore."

Bella swam over again and hugged her son tight. Beck clung to her, tears brimming in his eyes.

"I think I'm stuck like this," he said, his voice shaking.

Lilly, who had swum back to her parents, looked up at her mum and dad. "The council can help him, right?"

Cleo wrapped her daughter in a hug. "They'll certainly try. They know many powerful enchantments."

Will looked over at Lewis who was giving Beck a pitying look. Lewis knew all too well what it meant to be trapped as a merman. He had lost his whole life on land and would never get it back.

Jeremy nodded too Cleo. "They will deal with Dr. Denman and her associates quickly and then they want to meet with Beck. In the meantime, he should get checked out by a couple of our healers to make sure he's okay."

Will nodded and Bella slowly let go of her son. She brushed a stray tear from his cheek and tried to give him a brave smile. "You'll be alright, honey."

Beck wasn't so sure. His whole life had changed, and he could only guess more changes were coming.

"I'll take him out to the healers and bring him back," Jeremy said. "Follow me, Beck."

Will gave his son's shoulder a final squeeze then watched as he swam out of the moon pool after Jeremy. His tail flicked easily in the water and Will couldn't help but smile at how naturally his son had taken to being part fish.

Outside the cave Jeremy and Beck swam around the reef until they reached another cave. Inside a few mermaids sat on some worn down stalagmites that poked up from the water. Above them another ancient lava tube filtered in sunlight. The mermaids all gave him warm smiles and Beck felt some of the fear from earlier lessen. It didn't remove the awe though. Who would have guessed there was a whole group of mermaids and mermen living off the gold coast.

"Callie, this is Beck," Jeremy said, gesturing to an older mermaid with platinum blonde hair. He gave Beck a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "She'll look you over and make sure you're okay."

"Hi Beck," the older mermaid said, and gestured him closer as she slipped off her perch and into the water. "Go ahead and float on your back and look towards the ceiling."

Swimming over Beck did as he was asked, stretching out in the open space. He controlled his buoyancy easily, letting his body float in the salty water. It was surprisingly comfortable, and he closed his eyes as Callie talked to him.

"I'm going to first examine your tail and fin, then I'll check your temperature and hydration."

He felt soft hands on his tail and couldn't help but flinch. His tail was so sensitive, and he suddenly realized that he was essentially naked. His cheeks flushed and he grew rigid. It was different since he had scales, right? He wasn't so sure. How did merfolk deal with modesty anyways? The mermaids all had the same scaled tops, which he figured must come with the tail. But he was a merman. The thought struck him as funny. He was a merman. It was the first time he had really acknowledged he was something other than human. His parents and Lilly's family seemed to think there had to be a way to change him back. He surprised himself to realize he didn't know how he felt about that.

His humanity had been stripped away from him, but after learning about his parents, he had to wonder if he believed in fate. His mum had been a mermaid and his dad a merman until the scientist had intervened. With a start he realized that had things gone differently, he would have been just like Lilly. It was Dr. Denman's same interference that had given him what probably would have been his all along.

As Callie's hands hovered over him, he felt a tingle as she checked him with magic. "Your temperature is good, and you are only slightly dehydrated. You should be completely fine by this evening."

Beck nodded but continued to float on his back as he could still feel Callie's magic working on him. A ring on her finger glowed slightly and her eyes were closed. Beck watched her face, but the older mermaid gave nothing away. If there was something wrong with him, her expression didn't show it.

Giving a curt nod she opened her eyes and smiled at Beck. "Let's get you back to your parents, yes?"

Beck once again dove below the surface, following the mermaid back along the reef. He was amazed at how well they all seemed to get around. He guessed that if you called this place home it was easy to recognize the differences between different outcroppings of coral and rock. It was beautiful and peaceful, and he found himself wanting to explore and see all that he could. A strange feeling pulled at him, an almost longing for something he was missing. He didn't have a name for it.

Back in the moon pool he slowed and let Callie surface first. He was anxious to face his parents. All that he had learned and been through weighed on him. He didn't know his own feelings about it all and had so much to come to terms with. Gathering his wits, he broke through the surface, shaking the water from his face.

His parents sat out of the water, their feet dangling in the pool. Lilly and her parents were gone, and Beck felt his nerves kick up a notch. Jeremy was gone too, and he had to assume he was helping take care of Dr. Denman.

Bella motioned Beck over and he joined his parents, sitting on the underwater ledge by them.

"I have good news," Callie said, treading in the middle of the pool. "He's only slightly dehydrated and a little scraped up. He's in very good health considering what he's been through."

"That's good to hear," said Will and he gave a sigh of relief.

"He also responded to my magic, which is another good sign. I'll let the council know and they'll determine what steps to take next. Unlike what the scientist did to you," Callie motioned to Will's legs, "there seems to be no incomplete transformation to Beck's tail. It's functioning like it should and looks completely normal."

"What about the color?" asked Beck.

"Tails with pale complexions are rare but not unheard of," Callie said. "But the council will be able to tell if it means anything." She gave Beck a warm smile. "If you feel sick or off in any way, let anyone in the pod know and they'll take you to me."

Beck nodded. Callie gave a warm smile to the trio and then disappeared under the water.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked and Beck turned to face his parents.

"I'm not really sure," he admitted. "It's a lot to take in."

Will nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "I remember when I got my tail. It was a huge adjustment. But your mother was there to help me through it."

Beck glanced back to where he flicked his tail lazily below the surface. Looking back at his dad he asked one of the questions he hadn't been able to before.

"Do you miss it?"

His father didn't hesitate. "Sometimes," Will said. "I was only a merman for a short time. Not nearly as long as your mother."

"Mum?" Beck looked at her, where tears already pooled in her eyes. "Do you miss it?"

Bella took a moment to respond. "I used to miss it a lot more. When we rescued your father, he had been so hurt by when Denman and his sister did to him. When I found out he wouldn't be able to stay in the ocean with me, it was my decision to give up my tail." She took her husband's hand. "When you were born, that hole in my life was filled and I realized I had been given more than I had given up."

"So, your bone disease isn't really a disease," Beck said.

"No," Will shook his head. "Dr. Denman's experiment forcefully took away my tail to give me legs, but it was far from perfect. While I have legs, they function like my tail would have. It's why I can swim so well, but why I can't walk."

"We're so sorry this happened to you," Bella said, tears threatening in her eyes again.

"Mum, it's not your fault."

"But I feel like it is. Maybe if you had known…"

"Hun," Will stopped her, "Dr. Denman is the only one to blame for this. It's not our fault," he turned to his son, "and it definitely isn't your fault."

"As soon as you're normal again, we are moving back to Sydney," Bella said. "My dad will just have to come with us. I'm sure he'll understand."

Will was about to respond but Beck cut him off.

"What do you mean normal?" Beck asked.

Bella wiped her eyes. "The pod is going to try to make you human again."

Beck felt his stomach clench and he pushed away from the ledge. "What if," he cleared his throat and looked away. "What if I want to keep my tail?"

"Beck," Bella said, "you don't know how hard it is to keep this all a secret. Every time you touch water, you'll grow a tail. You'll crave the ocean and always want to be near it. The moon will affect you in ways it never has before."

"You kept it a secret as a kid," Beck countered.

"We have a life back in Sydney," Will said, agreeing with his wife. "We can't stay here."

He felt like he was losing a part of himself. "This just feels," he searched for the right word to explain his emotions. "If feels right. The pull of Mako and the water, and don't think I can leave that behind." He shook his head and swam farther back from his parents.

Bella stared at her son and then looked at Will, desperate for a way to make their boy understand.

Will was at a loss for words. "Let's just give it tonight, alright? The council still needs to talk to you, and we'll talk some more after that."

A heavy silence fell over the small family. Beck was silently panicking. The more he thought about it the more he knew he wanted to stay a merman. It surprised him how comfortable he felt in the water. Being kept in the small tank had been torture, but this was the open ocean. It was invigorating and he felt more alive than he ever had. His tail was a part of him now, even if he'd only had it for such a short time. His parents had both been the same as him. Who was to say he hadn't inherited some dormant part of them? What if this was his birthright?

"Is Lilly still around?" Beck asked.

"She's probably with Cleo and Lewis in their own cave." Said Will.

"Do you mind if I go talk to her?"

Hesitantly Will nodded. "Just swim back out and ask anyone you see for directions." He clasped his wife's hand. "We'll wait her for you."

As Beck slipped away under the water, Bella felt uneasy. She hated leaving Beck behind, especially after everything he had been through. She knew the pull of Mako and the ocean all too well. The longer her son stayed with the pod, the more she feared his resolve to keep his tail would grow.

Anger blossomed in her, and she gritted her teeth in a silent rage. She would make sure Dr. Denman paid for what she had done to her family. This was the last time the scientist messed with those she loved.

Stick around for the next few chapters as we near the end of this story. I don't know how many chapters are left, but I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Catch you on the next page!