"You made a lot of progress tonight." Lyla told Marcus earnestly as they dried off their tails on the mainland's beach. "You are moving much better through the water."

"He did alright." Nixie shrugged. "For a land boy."

Marcus did not like Nixie very much. At first he had thought that there were numerous similarities between her personality and Ondina's, but the more that he spoke with her he realized that she was more like him. "Thanks." Marcus told Lyla. "Tonight really did help."

"If you want, we could start doing this more often." Lyla offered. "With a little more practice you should even be able to keep up with us."

"Thanks," Marcus smiled. "But I'll pass. Like I said, I have that time in the Caribbean to get to…" He paused when he saw the look of wistfulness on Lyla's face again and heaved a great sigh.

"I understand." Lyla said, though her disappointment was obvious.

"Come on Lyla," Nixie turned away from Marcus and headed back into the surf. "He's not worth the breath."

Marcus rolled his eyes but he chuckled softly. "Alright, alright," He relented. "Might as well. You want to go to the Caribbean with me?"

"Of course!" Lyla beamed. "I'll tell the others."

Marcus's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Others?" He repeated. "And what are you going to tell them?"

"Well, you are going to take everyone with us, aren't you?" Lyla asked, one eyebrow raised.

"You know, I've heard of people jumping to conclusions. But this? This is pole vaulting past an entire conversation. Why would I bring the others? The entire point of me going is to work on my merman powers." Marcus frowned at Lyla, now regretting his offer.

He was just about to rescind his offer when Nixie spoke up. "You know, you won't get another opportunity like this." She told him. "If you keep your secret, eventually the others will figure it out. They aren't stupid. If they figure it out on their own, or if you slip up, they won't ever really trust you again. Not really."

"So what, you think I should invite everyone along and then show them my tail when I get there?" Marcus asked. He paused as he reconsidered his words. "No innuendo intended."

"Absolutely." Lyla nodded. "If you tell them on your own terms they will trust you a lot more. Besides, it will be good to be away from the pod when you tell them. Trust me."

"Give me some time to think about it." Marcus said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I'll let you know tomorrow, okay?"

"Don't take too long." Nixie advised. "Or I might tell them myself."

"You wouldn't." Marcus narrowed his eyes. The look that Nixie sent him told him how wrong he was. "Or… you would. You wouldn't even care, would you?"

"You're a land boy." Nixie said simply. "Just because you have a tail now doesn't change that. If I think it would be best if the others know your secret, I will tell them. It's as simple as that."

Marcus left without another word. There was nothing else to say, both Nixie and Lyla had made their position on the matter very clear. He jammed his hands into his pocket, absentmindedly fascinated that his clothes remained dry despite his time in the water. The walk to his house was quiet, but Marcus barely noticed. He ran over Nixie's threat in his head over and over, considering every possible aspect of her words. He unlocked his door and made his way into his room, collapsing onto his bed.

He fell asleep with the choices he had to make still on his mind, circling around his head. He had the same dream about Ondina that night, awaking only when the dream had ended exactly like it had before. He sat bolt upright and instantly recognized that he had been dreaming. The sun peeked in through the curtains and a banging sound was coming from the front door. Marcus rolled out of bed and padded quietly to the door, running a hand through his hair and rubbing his eyes. The banging was incessant up until he threw open the door with every intention of reading his guest the riot act. He stopped short when he saw Ondina looking back at him, her hand mid-knock. "Hi." She said. "Did I wake you up?"

Marcus thought back to his dream and suppressed a shiver he could not explain. "Yes, you did." He said irritably. "But I'm up now, so what do you want?"

"Well, I had nothing to do today." Ondina told him. "So I thought I would see if you would want to go for a swim?"

Nixie's warning echoed in his ears and Marcus was instantly wide awake. "With a mermaid?" He repeated, his voice skeptical. "I doubt I would be able to keep up."

"It's fine." Ondina said dismissively. "We won't be going that far. I'm going to the reef and since none of the others are free, I thought I would ask to see if you wanted to go."

Marcus did very much want to go, the reef was very far up on the list of places he still wanted to explore. He had glimpsed it the night before with Nixie and Lyla, but that passing glance was not nearly enough to satisfy his curiosity. He thought over the problem for a few moments before coming to a decision. "I have to go see Rita today." He told her. "It's about school. Once I'm done talking with her, if I'm not too tired I would be happy to go with you."

"Great." Ondina said. "By the way, this isn't a date or anything. I just needed company and underwater I don't have to deal with you talking."

"Oh please," Marcus rolled his eyes. "I can be an asshole at all times. Words just make it easier. Now get going."

Ondina waved goodbye and headed off down the street, or at least that's how Marcus interpreted the gesture that she sent his way before departing. He waited until she rounded the corner before grabbing his phone and calling Rita. She didn't answer on the first call, nor the second. Marcus continued calling her until she finally answered. "Hello?" Rita's voice was equal parts tired and angry.

"It's Marcus. I have a question, and depending on how you answer that, I need a favor." He told her.

"Do you realize what time it is?" Rita demanded. "I was asleep."

"Yeah, well, karma." Marcus told her. "Ondina woke me up and she's under your tutelage. This is justice. Just answer my question if you can."

Rita's sigh crackled through the phone. "What is it? Did they figure out your secret?"

"No, and that's the problem." Marcus said. "I need to know if there's any way you can suppress me growing a tail for just a few hours."

"I don't think so." Rita frowned. "When Zach was still not aware of his heritage he was able to go into water without growing a tail."

"Heritage? What?" Marcus asked, confused. "Nevermind. I'll ask later. So you can't do whatever Zach had done to him?"

"I would be too afraid to try." Rita said. He could tell that she was awake now. "The mermaid who put the spell on Zach was extremely powerful and talented. What she did was almost unheard of. Even if I knew how she cast the spell, replicating it would be risky at best and deadly at worst."

Marcus chewed his lip for a long moment. "Alright. Thanks." He told her. "I'll think of something."

"What's this about?" Rita demanded just as Marcus went to hang up. "Marcus, if you are planning something I have to advise you against it. You aren't nearly ready to perform any spell by yourself, let alone one as advanced as this."

"Don't worry." Marcus told her, his voice dripping false sincerity. "I'm not going to try anything."

"Marcus-!" Rita's warning was cut off as Marcus ended the call.

Almost immediately his phone began to trill gently as Rita called him back. Marcus turned off his phone and tossed it onto his couch, cracking his neck as he brought his hands up in front of him. He paused only briefly to consider the wisdom of his course, but he quickly shrugged off the momentary indecision. If this works it will make things a whole lot easier. He told himself.

A glass of water he had left on the counter began to rise into the air when Marcus raised his arm, focusing on the glass. He pulled it through the air until it was directly overhead. With a quick flip of his wrist he emptied the contents of the glass over his head. He felt he familiar sensation spread through his body as he involuntarily began to transform into a merman. He went to work immediately, his hands extending to his legs. He wasn't sure of the specifics of magic, but from what he had gathered from Rita it had a lot to do with conjuring a mental image of exactly what you wanted the magic to do. He did just that here, gritting his teeth savagely as he fought to push back the tail from forming. A sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead and Marcus felt his legs begin to involuntarily tremble. This continued for a full minute as he battled magic against magic.

But it was for naught. A slow ripple traveled up his legs and his tail appeared slowly, despite his best efforts. Marcus fell onto the floor and cursed, punching the wooden floor. Immediately regretting his decision, he grabbed a towel and began to furiously dry off his tail. When he managed to get rid of all of the water he waited for his tail to disappear. That was when he noticed a change in his tail. Every previous time he had grown a tail it was blue. This time his tail was silver.

"Uh oh…" Marcus said. His tail was dry, well and truly. His scales rubbed uncomfortably against the floor and the membrane of the end of his tail seemed to stick to the wood. "I might have made a mistake…"