"Ya know, it's really hard to fall asleep when you guys are watching me." Cam said. He was lying down on the ground, a roll of sea weed propping up his head as a pillow.

"Sorry mate," Zach said from somewhere to his left. "We can't risk you going somewhere."

"I seriously feel fine." Cam said, sitting up with a scowl. "I actually feel great right now. Better than great."

"That's the full moon." Evie said, nodding. She smiled wistfully, her thoughts gone back to a memory. "I remember my first full moon… it was… amazing."

"Wish I knew." Cam said bitterly, scratching at the floor with a nail.

"Don't worry," Zach reassured him. "Once you get past this full moon, you can go outside for the next one."

"Yeah. Sure." Cam had his doubts. Not that he would see the next one, but that he wouldn't see this full moon. He could feel every part of his body screaming for water already, and each time the water in the grotto's pool gently lapped against the side he wanted to dive into its depths. He got to his feet and began to pace back and forth across the floor, Evie and Zach watching him worriedly. Erik was lounging against the wall, watching Cam's movements with a small grin.

"You aren't going to fall asleep like that." Erik said, crossing the room to begin looking through Rita's collection of plants and other assorted sea life. With a soft sound of exclamation he poured a small measure of white sand into his palm. He paced over to Cam and threw it into his face.

Sputtering an issuing a mild curse Cam took a step back. "What was that-?!" He began, but before he could finish his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he pitched forward sound asleep.

Erik caught him and laid him onto the floor. "Well, that's that taken care of." He said, sounding pleased.

"I've always wondered," Zach said after they sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the steady rise and fall of Cam's chest. "How did you manage the full moon by yourself all those years?"

Erik was quiet for a good long while, his gaze distant. "Trial and error." He said eventually. "I didn't have anyone to teach me. Usually, no merman does."

"So is that why you are helping Cam?" Evie asked interestedly. "So he doesn't have to go through what you went through?"

The corner of Erik's turned upward in the ghost of a smile. "Something like that." He checked his watch and sighed, pushing off from his spot on the wall. "It should be starting soon."

"What should be starting soon?" Zach inquired, only half-interested.

But Zach's answer wasn't long in coming. A sudden glow seemed to emanate from underneath Cam's shirt and like a marionette who was being raised by its master, Cam was pulled to his feet. With an exclamation of surprise, Zach and Evie took lurched to their feet, going to Cam's side. "Cam, can you hear me?" Zach asked urgently, waving his hand in front of his friend's eyes whilst Evie snapped her fingers next to his ears.

"He can't." Erik said conversationally. "He's moving off of instincts right now. His body is awake but his mind is asleep."

"What do we do?" Evie demanded, whirling around to face Erik. "How do we stop him?"

"You don't." Erik said simply. Cam slowly turned towards the grotto's pool and began walking towards it. "More accurately, you can't."

Zach imposed himself between Cam and the pool, placing his hands against his friend's chest. With barely a flick of his wrist, Cam sent Zach flying away to one side and continued on his way. He dove headfirst into the pool of water, the blue glow in his chest now a piercing shine of light. Erik smiled as Cam disappeared in a trail of bubbles before turning back to Evie and Zach. "You asked why I was helping Cam?" Erik asked. "I'm helping him because that chamber is the best chance for mermen to once again swim the sea in pods. We don't deserve to be left to fend for ourselves." Spreading his arms, he fell backwards into the pool before following after Cam's trail.

Eyes wide with shock at Erik's betrayal, Zach and Evie exchanged a look before they dove into the water after the two mermen.

None of them were a match for Cam's speed however, not even Erik who had followed only seconds after him. At Mako, the pod were gathered in circles, gazing up at the full moon with awe. When Cam sped by underneath them, they barely noticed so lost in the moon's grip as they were. Gathering speed, Cam leapt out of the water by the beach and pushed the water off of his tail in the same motion, landing on the sand with two legs beneath him. The glow in his chest had centered itself into a sphere that pulsed gently beneath his shirt. Calmly, Cam walked into the jungle and towards the merman chamber. Several minutes later, Erik was on the beach and running to catch up with him. Seconds after Erik, Zach and Evie were in the jungle as well.

When the three finally found Cam, he was walking through the entrance to the merman's chamber. Erik moved to follow him but Zach threw up his hand and restrained the man. Snarling, Erik struggled against the power holding him. "You can't stop this, Zach!" He told him ferociously. "No one can! You don't know what it was like to grow up alone, having no one else to depend on! To be shunned by every mermaid you met simply because you were born a merman!"

"Evie, go!" Zach said, sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled to contain Erik. "I'll hold him here."

Without further delay Evie slipped into the merman chamber. Erik watched her go, fury mounting in his eyes. He turned back on Zach and raised his own hand. "You have no idea what it's like."

"That doesn't make it right!" Zach argued, taking a step back as Erik's own powers surged against him.

"Then what does?" Erik demanded taking a step towards Zach, his anger lending him strength. "What exactly makes it right to want something more than always being alone? Do you know why mermen are made to fend for ourselves? Because mermaids don't want us to form a pod! They want us to always be alone!"

"That's not true." Zach said, his arm shaking with the effort to hold Erik at bay. "They accepted me."

"And how many other mermen are still alone? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands?" With each question, Erik took a step forward. He was close enough to Zach now that their hands were almost touching. "You don't have a say. You didn't have to go through that."

Zach fell to one knee, his arm falling to his side. With a look of contempt, Erik turned and ran into the cave just as the entrance shimmered closed. Unable to prevent it, Zach was forced to watch as Erik disappeared into the chamber.

Inside the chamber, it took a moment for Erik to process what he was seeing. Hanging suspended in the air, Cam had his arms spread to either side. A single beam of moonlight shone against the blue sphere in his chest. Evie lay to one side, unconscious with blood running down her forehead. Quickly checking on her, Erik turned his attention back to Cam once he ascertained that she was in no danger. The blue sphere was slowly drawn from Cam's chest by the moonlight and Cam slowly drifted to the bottom of the chamber, landing lightly on the trident symbol carved into the stone. Blinking rapidly Cam seemed to come to his senses. He looked up at the blue sphere and raised an eyebrow before reaching out and grabbing it. The moonlight cut off abruptly and the glowing sphere seemed to settle until Cam was holding a stone identical to the one that had shattered when Evie had used it to save Zach. Grinning ear to ear, Erik stepped into the trident and clapped Cam on the shoulder. "You did it Cam!" He said excitedly. "With this, we should be able to form a pod of our own. Mermen won't have to be alone anymore."

"What?" Cam asked, still fascinated by the stone. A still form in the corner of his vision brought him back to reality. "Evie!" He cried, rushing to her side.

"She's fine." Erik said soothingly. "Probably just got thrown aside by the power of the stone."

Cam realized that the stone was still clutched in his hand. At its core, it seemed as though a small moon was shining from its depths. He was just about to ask what had happened when the stone flashed brightly, momentarily obscuring their vision. When they could see again, Cam was holding a pure gold trident with the stone set in the center of its middle spear. "What happened?" Cam asked in wonder, the trident comfortable in his hands. He looked to Erik with a wondrous smile on his face and saw that a similar one was on the bronze haired man's face.

"Come on," Erik said as he gathered Evie into his arms. "I'll explain on the way. But just so you know, Zach isn't going to be happy."