Zac crashed through the water. He sank to the bottom and floated there for a moment, stunned. He felt bubbles circle him. He turned into water and his transformation took over him. When the bubbles cleared, his tail had appeared. He looked up at the surface. Through the water, he could see his parents leaning over the edge, looking for him.
He could just swim away, but his parents deserved an explanation. He was tired of lying to them. Tired of keeping his true identity from those he loved. No more. He was done with the secrets.
He decided to send Mimmi a message. He would feel better if she was there when he explained everything. They were so close to finding out anyways. So close to the truth. *A/N: Roll credits!*
"Mimmi, I need your help."
Mimmi answered almost immediately.
"What's wrong?" She asked, panicking.
"It's my parents. My dad threw water at me, but I caught it. He must have caught me before using my powers and he wanted to be certain."
"Where are you now?"
"In the bottom of the canal…." Zac thought sheepishly. "I got splashed by a passing jet-ski. I didn't have time to run. I'm tired of lying to them. I'm going to tell them the truth. The whole truth. Can you stop over to help?"
Mimmi paused on the other end. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Hang in there Zac. I love you."
"I love you too."
Zac felt Mimmi leave his mind. He looked back at the surface. His parents were waiting for him to surface. They knew he was a strong swimmer, after being a lifeguard for so many years. They also knew that he could hold his breath for a long time.
Zac flicked his strong blue tail and broke through the surface. Rob and Lauren jumped back in surprise.
Their eyes widened when they saw him. Their eyes trailed own to his tail that was shimmering under the water by the sun. He flicked it a few time, both to keep him afloat and to reassure his parents that it was real.
Lauren was the first to speak. "Zac?" she asked, her eyes full of fear.
"You don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. Look, I'm done lying to you. As you can see…" he gestured to his tail. "I've been keeping something." Zac took a deep breath. "I am a merman."
Silence filled the air as Rob and Lauren filtered the news.
"But… how?" Rob questioned, his medical mind racing.
"Ummm… genetics?" Zac answered
"What he means to say is that he was born like that," a voice interrupted. Mimmi walked over to the group and stared at her brother. "You owe me a fish sandwich by the way. I was in the middle of eating lunch at the café with Ondina when you called."
Zac winced. "Is she mad?"
"She's not happy with you right now, but she understands."
"Hold on!" Rob interrupted the twins. He put his hands in a "T" shape for time-out. "You knew?"
Mimmi looked ashamed. "Um yeah…" she responded.
"How?" Lauren questioned, completely forgetting they were twins.
"From experience!" Zac called out.
Mimmi glared at him. "Thanks," she mumbled.
Lauren took a step away from Mimmi. "That means, you're a merman too?"
"Maid. I'm a mermaid. There is a difference. But yes, I am."
"How?" Lauren questioned again.
Mimmi shrugged. "Like Zac said. Genetics."
"How about we go inside and talk. I really don't want the world to know about us." Zac suggested.
Mimmi nodded and turned around as lookout.
Zac grabbed the end of the dock and hoisted himself out of the water. Even after a year of practice, his arms still trembled. He flopped to the deck, stranded like… like a fish.
Rob and Lauren took several steps back.
"There is no need to be alarmed. I won't bite," he told his parents, trying to calm them down.
"Unless you are a fish burger!" Mimmi called over.
"Not helping!" Zac shot back at her.
Lauren stared at her son's tail. Zac could see the curiosity in her eyes. "You can touch it… if you want to I mean."
Lauren nodded and bent down. She gently rubbed the scales of which Zac's knees used to be.
"Just like a fish…" she mumbled.
She looked at her husband, wanting him to also try it. Rob didn't move an inch. Lauren looked back at her son, sympathy in her eyes. They both knew that because Rob was a doctor, this would be hard for him to wrap his head around.
Lauren stood back up and wiped her hands on her jeans. Zac reached out his hand and began to steam dry his tail. His parents watched in amazement.
Soon, both Zac and the dock were dry. Zac stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants.
Mimmi turned around. "Good, you're dry," she looked at Rob and Lauren. "Now comes the fun part." She grabbed Zac's arm and led the family to Zac's bungalow.
Rob and Lauren sat on the couch while Zac sat on the chair with Mimmi on the armrest. It brought them all back to the time when Rob and Lauren found out that Zac and Mimmi were twins. Now, they are back once again to discuss a secret.
Zac gripped Mimmi's hand for reassurance.
"Relax. It was time. They are going to understand," Mimmi thought to her brother.
"I know, but they are going to be so angry at me for not telling them," Zac responded back.
"They will understand," Mimmi repeated.
"I'm not going to ask questions right now. I'll wait until you both explain to us what just happened. Don't leave anything out," Lauren told the twins. She bit her lip. She was terrified, angry and confused at the same time.
Mimmi looked at her brother. "Do you want me to start?"
Zac shook his head. "No, I will. Jump in if I leave anything out."
Mimmi nodded. "I will."
Rob was observing them. "What are you two doing?" he questioned.
Mimmi looked at him. She blushed. "Talking," she answered.
Rob paled. "Through… through your minds?" he asked hesitantly.
Mimmi nodded. "It's a power that only twins can do."
"P-Power? Is that how Zac was able to control water?" Lauren asked trembling.
"Yeah. It's a power that every natural merfolk possesses," Mimmi explained.
Rob swallowed deeply. "So… mermaids really exist."
"Mermen too," Zac interrupted. Mimmi glared at him. He just shrugged at her.
"The story?" Lauren urged.
"Um yeah. Let's go with the short version. Um… Do you remember the night when Cam and I went camping on Mako Island?"
His parents nodded.
"Well, I went into the woods to...um…do my business and I stumbled across a cliff. Out of nowhere, a part of the cliff disappeared, revealing a passageway. I walked down it and saw this wall. On the wall, there was a carving of a trident..."
Mimmi shuddered at the word. "Sorry," she apologized. "Bad memory."
"Anyways," Zac continued. "I felt drawn to it and when I touched it, it glowed. My feet sank through the floor and I fell into a pool. I blacked out and when I woke up, I was on Mako's beach. Cam thought I was sleepwalking. I believed him for a while. That is until I discovered that I grow a tail whenever I come in contact with water." He paused while his parents took it all in.
"I also got these powers." He demonstrated by lifting his hand and making a ball of water rise up from a nearby glass. "But you've already seen this one," he said as he lowered the ball back into the cup.
"Is that all you can do?" Lauren asked in a whisper.
Mimmi and Zac looked at each other and laughed.
"Nope, we can freeze, heat and gel water. We can make things move with just a wave of our hands. Oh, and we can go invisible. All of this without a moon ring!" Mimmi answered.
"Moon…ring?" Lauren repeated slowly.
Mimmi held up her right hand. The brilliant blue stone shimmered in the sunlight. It shifted colors; from an electric blue, to a deep violet. Lauren's breath caught in her throat as she admired its beauty.
"A moon ring holds the power of the full moon, which is the source of our powers. The full moon also broke the spell that Zac was placed under by our mum when she brought him to land. If he didn't fall into the moon pool on a full moon, he might still be under the spell. That is until our 18th birthday when it would disappear."
Rob and Lauren stared with wide eyes at her.
"Maybe we should slow down and talk about that stuff later," Zac suggested.
Mimmi blushed. "Sorry."
"Back to the story," Zac suggested. His parents nodded in unison. "I found out I had these amazing powers and I thought that no one in the world like me. I made friends with Lyla, Nixie and Sirena. You remember them. What I didn't know was that they too were mermaids. The same mermaids that had witnesses my transformation. They were in the moon pool when I fell and the pod banished them for letting a land- boy be in the moon pool…"
Mimmi interrupted him. "The pod is a group of mermaids that lives around Mako. There are several pods around the world. Zac and I were born in the Northern pod. Non- mers are called land-people. Mermaids see mermen as dangerous due to a war thousands of years ago. Him being a merman and a land- boy was a disaster," she explained. Lauren and Rob nodded as they understood.
"Yeah. I found out that they were mermaids and they were not happy with me that I had the trident…" He paused. "Later story. At the end, I tried to show the pod that I was not a threat by destroying the trident."
He then looked at Mimmi and waited.
"My turn?" she asked. Zac nodded.
"Okay. Well the entire pod knew about Zac, but most of us saw him as a threat. Ondina and I wanted to stop him all together. And yes, before you ask, Ondina is a mermaid. She wanted to try because she is a problem solver. I went with her because of our mum. Like I said, Zac and I were born in the Northern Pod. Our mother Nerissa, was the most powerful mermaid to ever live. She mated with a merman and got pregnant with twins. Zac wouldn't have been safe with the sea so she gave him to you to raise. I was taken to the Southern Pod to grow up, as the Northern Pod was becoming very dangerous. Nerissa disappeared soon after. Being a Northern mermaid, I had different powers that could come in handy."
"Or make things worse." Zac mumbled.
Without even looking, Mimmi slapped him in the arm with the back of her hand.
"We came on land with Sirena, met a jerk of a merman named Erik, and tried to take away Zac and Evie's tails."
Rob choked on the water he was drinking. "Evie?! Evie is a mermaid too?"
Mimmi and Zac looked down ashamed.
"She was. That was until yesterday when the water dragon took her tail away," Mimmi reported with tears in her eyes.
"We will get to that later," Zac replied, drawing his sister into a hug.
"Does her father know?" Lauren asked.
Zac shook his head. "And please don't tell him. This is Evie's secret to tell if she does decide to tell him."
Lauren and Rob both nodded, for they didn't want to make Evie upset if they didn't have to. It wasn't their secret to tell.
Mimmi took a deep breath and continued. "On night, we were in the Merman chamber, a place built by our ancestors on Mako, when we discovered that the reason why we couldn't remove Zac's powers was because he was born at sea as a merman. We also discovered that we were twins."
"And that is how you discovered that you were adopted," Rob said, finally understanding.
Zac nodded. "I was really hurt at first, but Mimmi is persistent and wouldn't give up on me." He smiled at her. Mimmi grinned back and squeezed his hand.
"We defeated Erik who wanted to activate the merman chamber and suck the magic out of all mermaids. It was around that time when you guys found out that we were twins." Mimmi finished.
"Woah. That's a lot to take in." Lauren mumbled.
"I know, and you dint have to accept it right now. You don't even have to be a part of it if you don't want to. I can keep it all away from you. You don't have to worry." Zac said in a rush.
"Oh, Zac. We want to be a part of this. We don't want you to feel like you have to hide anything from us anymore. Right Rob?" Lauren asked.
Rob was silent though. He was staring out of the window.
"Dad?" Zac asked. Rob didn't seem to have heard him. Zac looked at his sister for help.
"You can take time to process this. You don't have to worry about us. We can handle everything by ourselves. We really were not planning on dragging you into this mess," Mimmi said.
Lauren looked at Mimmi with interest. "What mess? Is there more to this story?"
Rob closed his eyes, obviously not wanting to hear anymore.
"We should stop. Your dad seems very upset as it is. We can just tell them later," Mimmi thought to her brother.
"I already said that I am done keeping things from them."
"Nope," Lauren said shaking her head.
The twins both raised their eyebrows in confusion.
"No more communication through…" Lauren waved her hands in the air. "Mind speak. Whatever you are saying to each other, you can say to us. Now spill."
Mimmi took a deep breath. "It's about the water dragon that we mentioned earlier. It is threating the pods."
"Threatening?" Lauren repeated.
Mimmi nodded. "It forms during the full moon and its main purpose is to take away every mermaids tails. We really don't know what to do with it."
"That is why you are so upset Zac." Rob finally spoke, making the connection. He looked at his son and met his eyes.
"Yeah, Evie lost her tail last night. It upset us all. We are all hurting."
"So Evie is…was a mermaid?" Lauren questioned
"Yes, but she was only a half- mermaid. She was at the right place at the right time I guess." Mimmi answered.
"The moon pool?" Lauren guessed.
Mimmi nodded. "Zac tried to defeat it last night. We don't know why the water dragon didn't take his tail. So many people are getting hurt. We are doing the best we can, but we are failing."
"Well," Lauren said standing up from the couch. "Now you have us to help you."
Zac and Mimmi looked at each other.
"What?" Lauren asked, noticing their confusion. "Do you really think that we will let you fight by yourselves? Sure, we can't be there personally to fight, but I'm sure we can find other ways to help. Right Rob?"
Rob was silent once again. He looked over at the twins. "Is it permeant?" He whispered.
Zac narrowed his eyes at his father. "Is what permeant Dad?" He asked, his voice bitter. Mimmi could tell that her brother was choosing his words carefully.
Rob swallowed deeply. "Everything. All that has happened?"
Zac's eyes went dark. Mimmi could feel her twin's anger. She felt her body heating up in frustration as her body copied her brothers. She put her hand on Zac's chest to prevent him from getting up off of the chair.
She turned to Rob. "It is. There is nothing anyone could do to take away his powers. Trust me, we've tried. The only thing that can take away his tail is…"
"The water dragon." Lauren finished. She sat back down next to her husband. She turned to him. "Do you really want your son to go against the thing that hurt Evie? To be normal again?" She placed her hands over her husbands. "Rob, this is normal for Zac. We just have to accept this." She looked back over at her son and his sister. "I accept it."
Zac settled back into the couch cushions. He was finally relaxing. Rob however, was not.
He stood up from the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. He turned to look at the teens. "I'm trying. It's going to take some time though."
The twins nodded. "But, I am willing to do whatever it takes to stop this menace. You both are not alone. We will fight as a family." He nodded to the twins.
Zac got off of the chair and went to hug his dad. They hugged for a moment before Lauren walked over and joined them.
Mimmi stood awkwardly, watching the family hug. Rob pulled away and held his arm out for Mimmi. She hesitated though.
"It's a group hug. You are part of this family now and that means you will have to deal with group hugs. You are my daughter right?" Rob asked.
Mimmi smiled and nodded, tears brimming her eyes. She ran over to the group and joined the hug. She felt safe in between the arms of her brother and her… her father.
They pulled away after a few moments. Lauren and Mimmi both were whipping tears from their eyes.
Lauren turned to Mimmi. "Now, there is one last thing that we need to be settled. I think that it is time for you to start calling me mum and Rob dad." She raised her eyebrows.
Mimmi bit her lip and nodded. "You got it… mum."
Lauren smiled brightly. "Good."
Rob cleared his throat. "Mimmi, can I ask you a personal question?"
Mimmi raised her eyebrows. "I guess." She looked at her brother who just shrugged.
"Can we… um… may we… um… see your tail?" Rob's face went red.
Mimmi laughed. It lightened up the room as her laugh was as light as an ocean breeze. "Is that all? I thought you were going to ask if I am dating or something like that."
Lauren grinned. "Are you?"
A blush fluttered over Mimmi's cheeks. "We can talk about that later."
Lauren giggled. Rob was still a deep red, not sure if he crossed a line or not.
"Brother Dearest?" Mimmi said with a posh tone. She turned to Zac. "Would you like to do the honors?"
Zac bowed deeply. "Of course my lovely twin that I shared our mother's womb with for nine consecutive months. I would be honored."
Mimmi rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You are hopeless."
Zac grinned deviously and picked up the abandoned glass of water. Mimmi took a deep breath and nodded. The water from the glass flew onto Mimmi and hit her skin. She could feel it being absorbed into her cells as the magic that turned her human resided. She always loved that feeling.
Zac was silently counting to ten in his head. Mimmi could hear it.
"Four…Three… Two… One…"
Mimmi was incased in water, her cells going back to their originally state. When they were in the midst of their transformation, time slowed down for them. Mimmi could feel her legs knitting back together, as her skin fused. She could feel the bones in her legs going from two separate limbs, to one powerful tail. Mimmi felt her glimmering golden- orange scales reappear. To her, they tickled a bit when they appeared. The soft fabric of her white cotton tee was replaced by the same tickling sensation as her lower half. She felt her scales appear over her breasts and wrap around the nape of her neck as they joined together. The cold wind blew against her now bare torso. Her hair fell from the high ponytail that she was wearing and landed gracefully on her shoulders in soft, chocolatey waves. All she could see was the magical water of the moon pool that now incased her. It was its special magic that gave her life and that allowed her to be on land with her family. She could even smell its salty aroma. It was breathtaking. The water retreated, disappearing into the air and left Mimmi standing on the tip of her tail.
Mimmi groaned as she slumped forward. She placed her arms out to cushion her fall, though it did very little. Her powerful tail slapped the hardwood floor. Its impact made the items on the shelves shake.
"Ow," Mimmi groaned. She shook her hair out of her face and looked up at her brother. He smirked at her. "We should have planned that better." She moaned.
"It's your fault. You could have settled down on the couch. You should have thought about that before you asked me to splash you." He replied.
Mimmi just glared at him. Rob and Lauren were silent, their eyes wide.
"You just completely turned into water." Lauren whispered in awe. She crouched down next to Mimmi's head and looked into Mimmi's eyes. A smile blossomed across her lips as she stared at Mimmi's tail. Mimmi smiled back up at her.
"We turn to water when the transformation overtakes us," Mimmi admitted.
"What was it like in there?"
Mimmi smiled. "I can't really explain it."
Lauren hesitantly reached out and stroked the back of Mimmi's tail. Her fingers trailed over the ridges on the back.
"It's…it's gold," Lauren muttered.
Mimmi smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, mermaids have golden- orange tails and mermen have dark blue."
"Can you change the color?" Wondered Lauren.
Mimmi shook her head. "What you see is what you get."
Lauren dared to touch even lower. She stretched her arm and her fingers brushed Mimmi's fluke. Mimmi shivered a bit as Laurens fingers tickled her scales.
Lauren noticed Mimmi's shiver. "Can you feel this?" She asked.
The brunette nodded. "Our tails are very sensitive. That way we can feel even the slightest abnormality in the water and escape danger."
Mimmi felt Laurens fingers leave her tail. She looked up and saw Lauren looking at her fingers in awe. She was inspecting them like she was expecting some residue to be on them.
"And it's the same way with the scales on your chest?" Rob piped up, finally joining the conversation.
Mimmi reached up to brush a lock of dark hair away from her eyes. She looked at him and nodded once again.
Rob scratched his head, his medical mind going wild.
"What is your DNA like? How much of your cellular level is different than ours? Do you breathe through gills? What does your skeleton look like?" Rob fired out.
Zac walked over and crouched down next to his sister and began to steam dry her tail. He would let his sister answer the questions.
"I don't know, a decent amount, we don't have gills but we can hold our breath for a long period of time, and I don't even want to know." Mimmi answered as steam rose from her tail. Lauren watched with amazement.
Once she was dry, she reached for Zac's outstretched hand and stood up. She looked around the room.
"I should really get going. Ondina is going to fire questions at me and I want to get them over with." She turned to her brother. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Zac smiled and embraced her. "Be safe." He whispered into her ear.
She nodded. "You too. They seem to be handling this alright. Don't say anything stupid and try not to worry them." She thought to him.
They released one another and Mimmi gave a small wave to Rob and Lauren before exiting the bungalow. They heard a splash from the canal.
Lauren chucked. "I'm guess she is going back to Mako."
Zac nodded. "Ondina is going to be pissed at me in the morning, but I'm glad you guys know."
Lauren walked over and pulled her son into a hug. "Us too sweetheart."
She released him but still held onto his shoulders. She looked into Zac's eyes. "Try and get some sleep."
Zac looked out of the window, unaware that it had gotten so late. He nodded to his mother. "I will."
He bid his parents goodnight before closing the door behind them. Once it was shut, he turned around and slid his back down the door. He sat on the floor with a thump.
"That could have been a lot worse," He thought to Mimmi.
She responded immediately. "Just be thankful that you don't have to endure Ondina's wrath until tomorrow." She teased.
"Should we have told them about Rita?"
Mimmi hesitated. "Like you said with Evie, it's her secret to tell. Have a good night."
"You too."
Zac felt Mimmi leave his mind before sighing in relief. Now that his secret is out, he had one less thing to worry about. Now, all he had to do was defeat the water dragon and save the pod.
THE SECRET IS OUT! Did you like it? Sorry for the cliffhanger. I originally intended to have Rob and Lauren find out in chapter 7, but things change. More things are coming your way. I'm planning on…
Wrapping up the water dragon
Putting more of Lauren and Rob chapters
Chris and Mimmi fluff
New characters that add drama and heartache for some original characters
A new problem that our lovely characters must face
My input on Nerissa
The original owner of the purple book
Some information on Zac and Mimmi's biological father
Zac and Mimmi bonding
AND AN ASTROID DESTROYING THE EARTH!
(Okay… I'm joking about the last one. There is no asteroid. I repeat… No…Asteroid...)
Did you like this super long chapter? I know that many of you would love to have 4,000+ words every time, but that is not possible. I have to have at least two chapters finished before I update. So, by the time you read this, know that chapter 21 is already finished. When I do write these super long chapters, they are important to the plot and I wanted to incorporate more detail. This chapter took me 11 pages and at least 3 days to complete. I tend to write these during my study hall or when I have some free time at school. I know that the 1,000+ chapters do not give you everything you want, but by having shorter chapters, I am able to update more. I think that you all would rather have chapters sooner instead of super long chapters that take forever to update. If not, let me know.
Thanks so much for all the love and support. Without your love, this story wouldn't have been possible. Your wonderful feedback is what keeps me writing. I love you all!
~Moonlight Mermaids