He wasn't dead. The agony that seemed to cover his entire body quickly assured him of that simple fact. The floor beneath him seemed to be moving, the slight motion sending more pain through his body. Cam lay there for a long while, focusing on maintaining his breathing and waiting for the pain to subside. Very slowly, he struggled to a sitting position and opened his eyes. He was on his boat that was the first thing he noticed. The next thing he realized was that it was night. The light of the moon, which was a glowing crescent in the sky, was the only light he had to see by. Cam got to his feet, though the effort it required left him breathing heavily. A sudden coughing fit forced him back to his knees, the pain shooting through his chest. When the fit finally subsided, Cam had a sudden sense that he was being watched. Gathered around the boat, leaning on the gunwales, were Zach, Ondina, Sirena, Evie, and Mimie. Cam met each of their eyes, his breathing labored as he sat down on the bottom of the boat. "Thought I told you goodbye?" Cam asked eventually, his slightly shaking voice refuting the bravado he had tried to force behind his words.

"You destroyed the chamber." Ondina said. "Why?"

"Because now Erik can't use it." Cam said. He gazed at his hands, unwilling to meet their eyes once more. "And now no one else can get powers without the mermaid council's permission. It was for the best."

"Cam, you almost died!" Zach said, his voice breaking. "If I hadn't been following you, you would have died!"

"I went into that chamber expecting to die." Cam said simply, shrugging. "I've made such a right mess of things… I figured that I should fix my mistake."

Other mermaids began to break the surface around the boat, none of them saying so much as a word. They began to join hands, their gazes focused on Cam. "What's-." Another coughing fit seized Cam and he clutched at his chest as his heart gave another spasm. Blood spotted his lips and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. He chuckled softly and shook his head, looking to where Zach had been. "I guess-." But Cam's words were cut off when he realized that Zach and the mermaids had joined the circle that had formed around the boat.

A single older mermaid swam forward and Cam recognized her as Veridia. "Cam." She said in way of greeting. "You have done us a great service by destroying the merman chamber. More than you could possibly know."

"Yeah, well." Cam said. Another spasm racked his chest and he coughed again, blood spattering against the bottom of the boat. "It needed to be done."

"Just as the moon pool affects those it turns, the merman chamber affects those that it transforms." Veridia said.

"So what does that mean?" Cam asked. He couldn't seem to draw in enough breath and his head felt light.

"Since the chamber was destroyed, it is destroying you as well." Veridia explained patiently. "You were bound to the chamber but now that it is broken you, as someone who was transformed by it, are feeling the effects."

"Sort of like when the chamber stole the power from the moon pool." Cam nodded.

Veridia very slowly shook her head. "The moon pool was still intact. The chamber is not. You are dying, Cam."

He stared up at the moon, the words not shocking him as much as they should have. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his mouth transforming from a grimace into a smile. "Well, at least it's a good night for it."

Veridia drifted back in the water and rejoined the circle. Once her hands joined with the mermaids on either side of her, the moon ring she wore glowed bright. Like a chain reaction, every other moon ring in the circle began to glow as well. Cam, who hadn't seen this, opened his eyes in surprise as the magic from the circle brushed against him. He saw the glowing moon rings and blinked in surprise. "What's going on?" He asked uncertainly. "Sending me off in style?"

"The mermaid council has considered your deeds, Cam." Veridia called. "We have reviewed your every action from the moment that Zach discovered his powers. As you know, we had previously decided that you were to not receive the tail that you so desired. But against our will, you forged ahead and claimed one for yourself. That tail was taken from you, and we thought that perhaps it was for the best. You were, after all, a simple human boy. The powers that we hold should only be used for benevolent purposes. We did not think that you were the type of person to view things as such."

"Thanks. I feel so appreciated." Cam muttered. He coughed again and wiped away the blood that came with it.

Veridia continued on as though she hadn't heard him speak. "We had been watching you ever since you lost your tail, curious to see how you would go about trying to get your tail back as we were sure you would. When you entered the merman's chamber, we were certain that you had something planned. We just weren't certain how you intended to go about getting your powers. We instructed Zach to follow you and stop you as he saw fit. But when he returned with your limp and unconscious body and explained what you had just done, we knew that we had made a mistake. As you lie in the boat, we opted to give you one chance to explain your actions. Cam, dying for something you want is one thing. However, dying to protect your friends is another thing entirely. The mermaid council has decided that you do belong in our pod. You belong in our world, Cam. You do not die today, we will not allow it. Instead you are to be born, born into our world such as none have before. Tonight, under the light of the moon we give unto you the gift that you have long desired."

Stunned, Cam's eyes widened and his jaw fell open. He couldn't bring himself to speak, and even if he could he wouldn't. The mermaids had begun to sing, softly at first but as the sound rose the magic in the air did as well. The aching in Cam's chest lessened and he was slowly born aloft into the air. As though wiped away, the pain vanished from his body and was replaced by the feeling of water running over his skin. He realized with a start that it was in fact water, not simply a feeling. It sprung up from the sea and began to cover his body, starting at his feet and making its way up to cover his head. Though he was in the water, Cam found that he could still breathe perfectly. He felt fine, in fact he felt better than fine. The way the merman chamber had made him, everything was a rush to be experienced. The way the pod was changing him, Cam felt truly alive. He could no longer hear the words the mermaids sang, but he knew that they still were weaving the spell. He could simply feel it, though he was not sure how. His body began flash with sensations of hot and cold and his eyes were forced shut. He wasn't sure if he blacked out again, but when Cam opened his eyes he was surrounded by the pod. He kicked instinctively and his tail, his tail, pushed him slightly out of the water. The mermaids were smiling at him, and his friends swam through the group and pulled Cam one by one. Even Ondina hugged him, pressing a kiss to his cheek and mouthing thank you. To his surprise, Rita was there as well, her moon ring still slightly glowing. "Welcome to the pod, Cam." She said warmly.

Caught up with emotion, Cam struggled to find the words to express just how thankful he was. "Th-thank you." His voice broke and he cleared his throat. "Thank you all so much. I'll do whatever I can to deserve this."

"You already have." Veridia told him, her smile as warm as the water they swam in. "Destroying the chamber ensured that the pod will never have to leave our home."

Zach smacked his friend on the back of the head. "That's for doing something so stupid!" He informed him. But he grinned and held out his fist to Cam. "But this is for doing something really cool."

Bumping his friend's fist with his own, Cam wiped away the single tear that managed to escape. "Got to do it big, ya know?" He laughed.

Ondina swam up to the two and looked to Veridia. "Veridia, do you mind if we take the newest member of the pod on a swim?" She asked, smiling.

Pursing her lips, Veridia thought for a moment. "It's highly irregular, but I suppose that this whole situation is irregular in of itself." She nodded her agreement after a minute. "I suppose that a swim will not hurt. Cam must need time to re-familiarize himself with his tail. But Cam, you should know that I expect you to join Rita in her lessons."

"I can do that." He said eagerly. Cam wanted to swim more than he ever had. He felt completely different now. Even better than the effect the merman chamber had him. "I'll be there!"

"Well, then." Veridia made a dismissive gesture to Ondina. "You may go. Cam, return to us at dawn. We still have to discuss your place in our pod."

Our pod. He repeated quietly to himself, relishing the words. "Yes, ma'am."

Ondina grabbed him by the arm and pulled him beneath the surface. She smiled at him briefly before shooting away with Zach, Evie, and Mimie following after her. Cam grinned and followed after them. He quickly discovered that he was not nearly as fast as he had been, but he was able to keep up with the others. They continued their swim long into the night, but Cam had lost track of time before they even began.