Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally

The Uncharted Deep

Chapter 2: The Ocean's Wrath

Austin stared down at his feet. He counted all ten of his toes, wiggling them as he mentally said every number. He clenched and unclenched them, watching them move. They were real. He sighed and shook his head at his ridiculousness. Of course they were real. He kept waiting for his legs to suddenly disappear and be replaced by the tail again. It hadn't appeared for just under two days now. These past couple days, he went with his parents and visited his aunt and uncle. He hadn't seen them since he was eight; they were practically strangers. He remembered his dad mentioning that they some falling out but he never really went into detail about it. Austin honestly didn't care all that much about it. What he did care about, was the fact that their water was out, which meant no showers. He couldn't go swimming. The pool near their house was out of order and the beach was too far away from where they lived.

Now that they were back at the hotel, his parents decided to take a shower. Austin had to wait until his parents were done. He was thankful when they finally finished. Now it was Austin's turn. He was somewhat scared, though. He feared that the tail would show up again if he got wet. He annexed the shower and opted for a bath instead, just in case. He couldn't remember the last time he took a bath, but he didn't really want to run the risk of busting his teeth out if he fell.

He stood naked, playing with his toes and he waited for the tub to fill up. He didn't check the temperature, scared he would grow a tail if he did. He turned the water off once the bathtub was full. He stared at the water, his heart beating with anticipation. With a shaky sigh, he stepped into the water. He slowly sat in it, sighing a bit in content at the warm temperature. He stretched his legs out, thankful that the tub was so large. He loved jacuzzi tubs.

Austin waited for something to happen. He even pressed his knees together, just to see if they stuck. Nothing happened. Austin sighed in relief. He closed his eyes and laid his head back, thinking that the whole mess was just a dream. He itched his head and opened his eyes again. He stopped itching when he saw and explosion of color out of the corner of his eye.

He jumped, gripping the sides of the tub when he realized what the color was. His tail was back, the caudal fin hanging out the tub. His tail was longer than his legs were, quite a bit longer. "Oh come on." He whined, throwing his arms up and letting them drop back into his lap; well, sorta. He didn't really have a lap now. He eyed the tail in annoyance. He was glad that he decided to take a bath now. Who knows what would have happened if he decided to take a shower?

He moved his caudal fin up and down, watching it with fascination. He wasn't used to being able to feel and control the tail. He was still trying to convince himself that it was a magic costume piece or a really vivid dream. The tail was beautiful and the fact that it was a part of him was something he just couldn't fathom. How did the whirlpool give him it? Was it even the whirlpool, or was it something else?

He cleaned himself up and washed his hair and body, ridding himself of the dirt and grime that had accumulated since his last shower. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to clean his tail. Did fish clean themselves? He decided against it and chose to leave his tail alone. A sudden thought hit him: how was he going to get out of the tub? He gripped the tub's sides and tried to lift himself out the tub. His arms trembled, the weight of his tail proving to be too much. He fell back into the tub, his chest heaving.

"Ugh!" He groaned in frustration. He sat there, contemplating his next move, when his cell phone began ringing. It was sitting on top of the toilet seat, just out arm's length. He shifted in the tub, attempting to lift his body up just enough to reach the phone. He kicked his tail a bit, trying to move his body up. It worked a little, but not enough. He kicked again, harder this time. He nearly missed it but was able to snatch the phone from its place.

Austin checked the caller I.D. Once he saw that was Ally, answered it."Hello?" He said.

"Hey, Austin. It's Ally; how's the vacation going?" Ally asked.

"Great!" Austin said.

"That's good. Have you seen your family yet?"

"Yeah," Austin said with a groan. "I saw them."

"You don't sound too happy about it. Did something happen?"

"It was boring and awkward and their water went out. I couldn't even go swimming while I was there; their pool had a tear in it." Austin complained, though now he was secretly happy that the pool was broken.

"Why didn't you just go to the beach?" Ally asked.

"I would've but they live too far away. I swear, they picked to live in the house that's the most inland possible on the island." He said.

"Not to change the subject, but why do I hear an echo?" Ally asked in curiosity.

"Oh, you called while I was in the tub." Austin said, flicking his tail a bit as he spoke. He watched it move. His caudal fin moved through a sunbeam that was coming from the window, catching the light.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt!" She apologized, acting as if she called at the worst time possible.

"Ally, it's fine. I was fixing to get out, anyway. If I can figure out how to do it." Austin said, grumbling the last part to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing. Look, I'll call you back when I get out, okay?" He said, already beginning to form a new plan to get out.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Ally."

"Bye, Austin."

Austin hung up, tossing the phone back to where it was. He laid there for a moment, contemplating his next move. The plan he formed was probably a bad one, but it was the only one he could think of. He gripped the outer side of the tub with both his hands and pulled. As he pulled, he tried to swing his tail over the edge of the tub. His body hung on the edge of the tub, not quite out but not in either. He let his tail touch the floor, shifting his weight over the side of the bathtub.

SLAP!

He hit the tile, his tail slapping loudly against the hard surface. His chest throbbed with pain. "Ow." He moaned into the white floor. He laid there, his whole body overwhelmed with pain. Even his tail hurt. Austin slowly lifted his upper body up into a push up position with a grimace etched across his face. The blonde turned around to look at his massive, colorful tail. It shimmered under the artificial light, reflecting it against his scales.

"Austin!"

He jumped, momentarily panicking. "Yeah, Mom?"

"Are you alright? I heard a crash!" She yelled from the other side of the door.

"I-i'm fine!" He yelled back, trying to find a way to get up. He searched around for a towel. "I just fell out of the tub!" That technically wasn't a lie. Austin caught sight of a grey towel on the bathroom sink.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?" His mom yelled with concern.

Austin dragged himself across the tile, moving himself closer to the sink. "No, Mom. I got it!" He yelled as he reached for the towel. He fingered the tip of it and yanked it closer. He snatched it in his hand and pulled it down. He immediately threw it on his tail and started rubbing, getting the water off his shimmering appendage.

"Are you sure, Honey?" Mimi asked through the door.

"I'm sure, Mom." He toweled himself off, silently begging the tail to disappear. He bit his lower lip as he continued to dry off his tail. "Dammit, go away." He whispered to himself. Then, like magic, his tail suddenly began to shrink. He watched in awe as his fin shrank back and vanished. His eyes nearly bugged out when his shimmering green-ish teal scales turned back into his tanned skin.

He was lying naked on the floor, leaving no evidence that a tail was ever there. He stayed there for a moment, stunned. He wiggled his toes again. He watched them move with fascination and partial relief. He sat up and stared down at his legs. He grabbed his ankles, just to make sure he was hallucinating.

Austin inwardly laughed at himself, a small grin pulling at his lips. They were real, they were actually real. He picked himself off the floor and wrapped the tail around his waist. Avoiding the wet floor, he walked over to his fresh set of clothes and began putting them on. He threw the towel over the wet spot next to the tub.

Wait a minute; there was still water in the bathtub. Crap, how was he going to drain it without getting wet? Austin mentally slapped himself for not unplugging it when he still had his tail. The blonde looked around the bathroom, trying to find something to unplug the tub with. He found a toilet plunger. Careful not to get wet; he used the wooden handle to pull at the plug.

Austin sighed in relief at he watched the water spiral into the drain. He froze. The water was going down, like a whirlpool. The memory of the giant whirlpool sucking him under came flooding back. His lungs burned just at the thought of it. He gulped and left the bathroom, fear clouding the edges of his mind.

~0~

Austin sat by the balcony window, watching the wind rage against the tropical trees. The ocean waves roared as they climbed in size. He didn't know why, but his toes were tingling. They were tingling to the point that it hurt. His senses seemed to be in overdrive. He could smell the salt in the water. The smell was so strong, it was like he was actually in the water. South of the island, the far horizon was lined with darkness. It was a ways away, but Austin could feel the energy coming from the darkened clouds.

"Austin, can you come in here for a minute?" Mike Moon yelled from his hotel bedroom. He and his wife were sitting on the edge of their bed, watching T.V.

Austin got up from his spot by the balcony and walked into their room, curious as to why his father wanted to see him. "What?" He asked.

"Come over here and watch this." His father said.

With a raised eyebrow, Austin slowly walked over to the bed so he could see the screen. "I'm here at Key West, being blown around by the strong winds that are coming off of Hurricane Kendall, a storm that suddenly started forming sometime last night, practically out of nowhere. Hurricane Kendall is currently slamming the central western side of Cuba, creating winds at up to 120 miles per hour. The Hurricane is expected to grow much stronger as it moves north east, into the Bahamas. Meteorologists estimate that this powerful storm will hit all of the surrounding islands and also parts of Florida. They suspect that Hurricane Kendall will cause millions in wind damage alone. All islands are expected to start evacuation as soon as possible. If you are in the area, make plans to leave to the premises as soon as possible. Hurricane Kendall is to hit The Bahamas sometime tomorrow morning. I'm Stacy Rodriguez, Channel fourteen."

"A hurricane?" Austin asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Mike said. "Look's we'll have to cut our vacation short. I'm sorry, son."

"But we just got here!" Austin protested.

"We stay here; we'll get blown away with the rest of the island." Mimi said. "We've got to head home."

"Man, this sucks." Austin grumbled.

"I know, but it's mother nature. You can't control what she does." Mike said.

"I know that, but it still sucks."

"Go start packing, Austin. The sooner we leave, the better." Mimi said as she stood up and began gathering her things.

Mike got up as well to help his wife. He put his hand on Austin's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe next year."

Deterred by the sudden change of events, Austin left his parent's bedroom and started to pack. He hated the unfairness of it all. He had only been here for a few days and he already had to leave. It was like the island was toying with him. It gave him a tail and then threw a hurricane at him as well. He just wanted to surf and go swimming with his own two legs.

He shoved an unfolded shirt into his suitcase, grumbling to himself. He sat on his legs, his calves tucked under him. He wondered if the tail was a permanent thing or if it was going to go away after a while. He honestly wasn't sure if he wanted it to go away or not. He kinda wanted to keep the tail. A sudden ache shot through his legs. He hissed in pain. Austin untucked his legs from under him, sitting on his backside instead, hoping that it sooth the pain.

Instead the pain intensified. He whimpered a little and bit his lip. He squeezed his eyes shut, cringing at the pain. It was absolutely unbearable now. He curled into the fetal position, letting out agonized moans as he laid on the floor. A strong wing gust suddenly hit the window, causing it to shudder. The sound of roaring filled the room; all of the windows rattled loudly.

He took in a deep breath; the pain leaving just as abruptly as it had appeared. The wind settled down. He breathed heavily as he uncurled himself. His body was covered in a dry sweat. Confusion filled him. What was that? Where did that pain come from? He picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself off. He looked around the room, half expecting something else to happen.

He looked out the window. The trees shook and the ocean roared. The far off darkening horizon of clouds flashed bits of light across the sky. Everywhere else, the wind still whistled out, tearing leaves from trees, but around the hotel was silent. What was going on?

A shrill ringing noise penetrated the silent room. His heart did a flip. He grabbed the phone and immediately answered it. "Hello?" His voice trembled.

"Austin? The news said a Hurricane was coming your way, are you alright?" Ally asked, sick with worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The island is just getting a lot of wind right now. They're evacuating, though. We have to head back to Miami before the storm hits." Austin said. A strong wind gust suddenly blew open a window. Hot, salty wind smacked him in the face. Austin rushed over and shut the window. he locked it up, making sure that it wouldn't open again.

"What was that?" Ally asked.

"The wind blew a window open. Don't worry, it's nothing big."

"Are you sure? That sounded like it was pretty strong."

"It was, but it's not that serious. Look, my parents and I will be heading back home soon. I'll tell you all about it then but-Ah!" The pain came back with a vengeance. His legs immediately turned to jello. He couldn't feel them, only pain. Austin hit the ground, screaming in agony. His phone fell out of his hand. It was unbearable. It felt like his legs were being dipped in hot lava. He could vaguely hear Ally's voice screaming over the phone, but he couldn't make anything out.

"Austin! Baby, what's wrong?" His parents ran into his room, frantic. They were by his side, begging him what was wrong.

His face was twisted in pain, he wailed in agony. The feeling was absolute torture. Tears stung his eyes, threatening to spill over. Austin just wanted it to stop. He tried getting out that his legs hurt, but he wasn't sure if his parents could hear what he was saying. His body felt like lead. He couldn't lift himself up. It felt as if each body part weighed a thousand tons. It was like he was magnetically sealed to the floor.

Unable to move, all he could do was scream. He thought he could hear the harsh winds collide against the windows again. He had no clue why he was suddenly enveloped in pain, but all he could about what how much he wanted it to stop. Austin felt a cold hand press against his forehead. He flinched at the cold temperature but couldn't do anything to try to remove the hand.

Then all of the sudden, the pain was gone. It felt like someone had turned on a faucet, draining out all of the pain from his body. He exhaled in relief, his tensed up muscles relaxed. He breathed heavily into the carpet, exhausted by the sudden onslaught of agony. He lay there for a while, ignoring his parent's pleas, and tried to catch his breath.

Once he had finally calmed down, he ever so slowly tried to lift himself up. His arms trembled heavily with exertion. Austin's parent's helped him. He still felt pretty out of it, his eyes glassy. They helped him into a chair. He slumped into the second he came into contact with the plush cushions. His head lolled heavily against his chest, feeling like it weighed forty pounds. He shut his eyes, trying to get his bearings, feeling a bit woozy.

"Austin, are you okay? Do you need anything? Should we call someone?" Mimi asked frantically into his ear.

He shook his head weakly, wanting nothing more but to sit in the soft chair and pass out. That's exactly what he did. His vision blackened, his body went limp. He lost consciousness as his parents screamed in horror, begging him to wake up.

There was a humming.

The humming was loud yet muffled. It caused everything to vibrate yet dulled his hearing. The humming pulsated like a heart, enveloping him in a very dim glow that grew brighter with every pulse. Everything else around him was pitch black. He felt calm, relaxed. He didn't know what was happening or where he was, but he wasn't scared. He was surrounding by nothing but water. That was all he felt. Just water. His legs were gone, replaced the beautiful green-ish teal tail that seemed to illuminate itself with every vibrating pulse.

He took in deep, calming breathes; matching it with the pulsing. Salt water filled his lungs, soothing him. The humming sounded as if someone was singing to him, urging him to let himself be engulfed by the sea. The humming seemed to be whispering calming and loving words to him. The words were quiet, like a secret. He strained to listen but he couldn't make them out. It just sounded like a jumbled mess to him, yet it still soothed him. It made him feel warm and loved.

Austin didn't know why he did it, but he suddenly looked up. The humming seemed to gasp, as if it were appalled by what he had just done. He could see the surface. He could see the sun. The surface was a long distance away. He momentarily wondered how deep under water he was. There was something floating on the water. It was large and it seemed to calling to him. It wanted him to swim up and leave the water.

The hums hissed at him, telling him not to listen to whatever was floating above him. The ocean vibrated loudly, urging him to stay under. The large object called to him, yelling his name. The voice seemed familiar, like he had heard it before. He felt like he knew the voice. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not understanding how he would know the strange object. Either way, he decided to go to it.

The ocean buzzed with anger, humming loudly, telling him to come back. He ignored the ocean's call and kicked his tail upward, bringing him closer to the object. The humming grew angrier and angrier the closer he got to the surface. The menace coming from the deep caused him to shudder. He tried to push the uneasy feeling away and continued to swim upwards, his arms stretched out in front of him, reaching for the object.

The hums weren't hums anymore. They were screams; bellowing at him to stop. They wailed in his skull, throwing unintelligible threats at him as he left the darkness. He reached for the surface, pumping his tail harder, wanting to escape the ocean's angry cries.

Finally, he was there. He was at the surface. His hand broke free of the water and was greeted with fresh sea air.

Something cold was pressed against his forehead. Voices surrounded him. Austin groaned as he slowly slipped back into consciousness. He cracked his eyelids open. He blinked a few times, giving his eyes a chance to adjust to the brightness and to let them focus. His mother's blurred face quickly sharpened. She was saying something to him but it felt like his ears were full of water at the moment.

He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was lying on a couch, his head propped up against the arm with a pillow. His mother held a an ice pack wrapped with a towel against his head. He could see his father sitting right behind her on the floor. There was someone else on the room, someone he didn't recognize. Their voices became clearer, the water dullness fading.

"Austin, baby, can you hear me?" His mom whispered to him.

He nodded to her, groaning as he found himself becoming more alert.

"Oh good, he's coming to." He heard his father say.

"What happened?" He slurred. Reaching up to touch the ice pack that his mother had pressed against his head. It was too cold for his liking and he wanted it off. Mimi moved his hand away, not wanting him to mess with it.

"You passed out." His mom said.

"Well, yes. That's one thing that happened." An unfamiliar voice said. Austin looked up and was greeted with what looked like the sight of a medic.

"What?" He asked.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" The man asked.

Austin thought for a moment, trying to piece together what he last recalled. "I remember talking to Ally on the phone and then pain. Just unbearable pain." Austin said slowly.

"And then you passed out." Mike said.

"Yeah, what happened to me?" Austin asked, confused.

"Don't know, but when you passed out, you're temperature spiked. You were running a fever of 104. It dropped about twenty minutes ago, though. Now your temperature is completely back to average." The medic said.

"Is that normal?" Austin asked.

"Normal? That's the furthest thing from it. I've never seen a temperature spike and then drop that fast like that in my entire life. It's like your body wonked out and then quickly corrected itself."

"How long was I out?" Austin asked as pushed himself up into a sitting position. His mother let him but hovered close, never really taking her hands off of him.

"A couple hours. Ally was frantic. We called her back when your fever broke, to tell her you were okay." Mike said. A loud whistling noise suddenly filled the room. The windows rattled. He could hear the wind hitting the building's side, as if it aware of the fact that he was awake.

"We should get going. The storm is moving in. If we don't leave soon, we'll get stuck here." Mimi said.

Austin nodded and slowly got up from the couch, taking the ice pack off his forhead. His legs trembled a bit as he stood on them. He followed his mother's orders to "take it slow" and only took small, cautious steps.

"Well, I should get going too. I hope you get to feeling better, kid. I think you should schedule an appointment to see your doctor when you get back. That may have been a freak incident or it could be something worse. Don't take any chances." The medic said as he left the room. His parents thanked him and said goodbye as they helped Austin walk.

"Do you have everything packed?" His mother asked him.

"Yeah, everything's ready. Let's just get out of here. That storm is getting nasty." Austin said.

They grabbed their luggage and went to the main lobby. They quickly checked out and hastily drove to the airport. There were a lot of people there, trying to beat the storm just like they were. They sat there, waiting for their flight arrive for an hour. The airport was trying to be quick so they could get everyone out, not wanting anyone to be left behind in the raging storm.

Once their flight finally arrived, they quickly boarded and found their seats. Austin's wooziness had worn off not long after they had they left the resort but his parents continually asked if was he okay, checking to make sure that he could handle the flight. He insisted he was fine and brushed off their concern, actually feeling like his usual self, much to his parents' disbelief.

When the plane took off, Austin's stomach turned in the worst way possible. He was overwhelmed with nausea, his face going ghostly pale. He clenched the arm rests like a lifeline, his knuckles turning white. His mother grabbed his shoulder, asking if he was okay. He didn't respond to her. He tried to focus on not throwing up.

Once they were actually in the air, his stomach settled. He no longer felt like he was going to throw up. He settled into his seat and relaxed. He let out a long breath and gave his parents a reassuring nod.

"You good?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah," He breathed, a smile pulling at his lips. "I'm good."

His mom returned the smile and pulled put a magazine. She let herself get immersed in it, once she was convinced that her son was okay. Austin watched her for a moment before turning to the window. Below was nothing but an open, raging ocean. The wind pulled at tugged at, causing it to dance and dip.

Austin blinked when the humming sound began to tickle his eardrums. The ocean seemed to know he was watching it. It was yelling at him, angry that he was in the sky and not in the deep depths below. He gulped, and uneasy feeling coming over him. Memories of the whirlpool flashed across his eyes.

It called to him, throwing accusing accusations at him. He cringed at its unintelligible words, feeling the harshness in them like a whip. It was so strange. It was like ocean was actually alive. The large body of water its own being and it was yelling at him. The memory of the whirlpool danced around in his mind as if the ocean itself was personally reminding him of it. He gasped and turned away from the window.

"Austin? What's wrong? Do you feel sick again, you look pale." His father asked in concern.

"I-i'm fine. I just- Mom, can we switch seats? I don't want to sit next to the window." He asked, sounding a bit frantic.

"Sure, honey." Mimi gathered her things and switched spots with Austin. He eagerly moved over, all too happy to get away from the ocean's angry wrath. For the rest of the flight, he didn't dare look out the window, scared of what might happen if he did. Instead, he tried to read a bit. It was better than sleeping and ending up having another freaky dream about the ocean and it was a million times better than having to actually look at it.

After moving seats, he felt fine. The uneasiness was completely gone; the ocean unable to reach him from there. He let himself relax and enjoy the flight back home.

Chapter 2. Man, this one was long. Please tell me what you thought and Review. I hope you all enjoyed.