"Do you have any idea what you have done?" Zach demanded the second they were clear of the bar. "Any idea at all?"
"Yeah." Cam said, smiling. "I got what I deserved from the beginning!"
People had begun to stare at the exchange, and David had seemingly followed them from the bar. "You two alright?" He asked uncertainly, imposing himself in-between the two. "You seem like you need to breathe."
"You know what?" Cam asked, gazing out into the ocean. "I think you are right David. I want to go for a swim."
"Yeah." Zach agreed, his eyes hard. "Me too."
"Well…. Not exactly what I had in mind, but if it will help then I would say go for it." He said, smiling at them uncertainly.
Cam turned heel and walked away, Zach on his tail. "Why can't you just be happy for me?" Cam demanded.
"Because you shouldn't have a tail to begin with!" Zach exploded. He stopped his friend and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Cam, no one knows what the effects the merman chamber could have on you by changing you. You could end up being my enemy. I don't want you to turn into Erik!"
"Erik?" Cam's eyes narrowed dangerously. Overhead, a sudden burst of wind shook the trees vigorously. "You think that I want to destroy the moon pool or anything like that? After I protected you guys for so long?"
Zach slapped his hands against side and pursed his lips, thinking. "Listen, Cam. I'm sorry if I overreacted." He said, and Cam sensed the sincerity in his friend's words. "But I have to think about more than just myself. I have to think about the pod now."
Slightly embarrassed by his overreaction as well, Cam nodded in acceptance of the apology. "It's fine mate, I was a bit thick too." He smiled at his friend. "We cool now?"
Blowing out a sigh Zach smiled tiredly. "Yeah, I think so." He said. "But we should go to Rita's and tell her what happened if the girls haven't already."
"I'd be willing to bet that they have." Cam told him honestly. "They don't exactly keep other's secrets very well do they?"
"No." Zach agreed with a laugh. "They really don't. Come on, let's use the grotto entrance."
"Are you sure?" Cam asked, surprised. "You don't think they would mind?"
"Nah." Zach shrugged easily, stepping onto the beach. "They shouldn't. You are a merman now."
"Because they are so accepting of mermen." Cam muttered under his breath, following his friend into the water. Like before, he felt a tingle around his skin where the water seemed to call for him. He dove into the water and turned around, still slightly shocked at the appearance of his royal blue tail. He turned in the water and saw Zach hanging suspended in the water, a grin on his face. He beckoned for Cam and shot off in a trail of bubbles. Not one to turn away from a challenge, Cam shot off after him. It didn't take very long for Cam to catch up to his friend, a fact that shocked Zach. Easing up to Zach's pace, Cam followed him into an underwater cave which twisted and wound until it came up into the very familiar scene of Rita's grotto. Zach broke the water first, and when Cam emerged next to him he was already speaking, "-here with me. Don't worry, he's normal Cam."
Looking up, Cam saw Sirena, Evie, Ondina, and Mimie all staring at him with their moon rings pointed directly at him. "Yeah, he says that." Ondina said, glaring at Cam as her moon ring glowed menacingly. "But who says we can trust him?"
"I've kept your secret this long haven't I?" Cam shot back. He pulled himself out of the water and pulled the water off of his tail with a flip of his wrist. It smacked against the water and formed a small pool. His tail glowed bright and when he blinked he stared down at his legs and pushed to his feet. He looked over and saw that Zach was still drying the water from his tail. He turned to the girls and saw shock written all over their faces. "What?" He asked defensively.
"How did you do that?" Ondina demanded, pointing at the wall.
Following the direction she indicated, Cam looked at the wall and saw small holes in the wall where the droplets of water he had pushed off his tail had hit against the stone. "Oh." Cam blinked in honest surprise. "I didn't mean to push them off that hard."
"Why don't you just dry the water off like Zach is?" Sirena asked.
Cam smiled, suddenly sheepish. "I uh, didn't want to burn myself." He confessed. "I always thought that evaporating the water from your tail was just asking for trouble."
Slowly, Zach got to his feet and moved to stand between Mimie and Evie. "Look, Cam." He began. "From now on you have to start listening to Ondina. She is higher ranking in the pod than any of us. That's why I listen to her. And if you really want us to trust you as a merman than you have to act like it."
"Fine by me." Cam said evenly, clasping his hands behind his back. "What do you want me to do?"
"Well, first-." Zach began, but Ondina cut him off with a raised hand.
"Since we don't know what the extent of your powers are, we should test you first." Ondina told him, her voice cold but determined. She glanced back towards the wall and shook her head. "I have a bad feeling about this."