"Ugh," Zac groaned, pushing his sisters foot away. Somehow through the night, the two of them shifted from cuddling up next to each other, to Zac falling off the bench and onto the floor. Mimmi has swung her feet of the edge of the bench so they dangled in front of her brother face.

Zac sat up and yawned, stretching his sore muscles as they cramped up overnight from laying in such a strange position. He looked up at his younger sister.

Mimmi was sprawled out in a strange position. She fell asleep sitting, so only her torso was horizontal with the bench. She was bent awkwardly at her waist; a position Zac couldn't imagine how it was comfortable. Her slim arms grasped a pillow like her life depended on it. Her wavy brown hair fell in front of her eyes and every time she breathed, a lock of hair would fly up in the air.

Zac smiled, glad to see his sister so calm. He reached over and grabbed his phone off of the coffee table. It was 10:48 in the morning. He had 3 missed calls from his mother, 2 from Evie and almost a dozen text messages from his friends.

Evie: what happened?

Evie: did everything go as planned?

Evie: are you alright?

Evie: please text me back. I have to know you are okay

Evie: answer your phone Zac

Evie: Zac?

Evie: Ondina came over to tell me that everything was okay. Is Nerissa really back? How are you feeling? How's Mimmi?

Evie: okay, its late. I'll let you sleep. Please call me in the morning.

Evie: goodnight :)

Zac smiled. He was so lucky to have such a caring girlfriend. He looked at the other three messages, all from Cam.

The Camster: is it done? Is the dragon dead?

The Camster: Evie just texted me. Was the dragon really Nerissa?

The Camster: are you okay? Do you need me to come over? I can be there in 5 minutes with a fresh plate of seafood.

Even though Cam could be harsh, he was always there for his friends. He did care about them, even though his go-to comforting method was food, and a whole lot of it.

Zac decided to text Evie back first.

Zac: hey. Sorry about not answering. I am okay.

As soon as he hit send, Evie replied almost immediately.

Eve: thank goodness. How's Mimmi?

Zac: a little shaken up, but that's to be expected.

Evie: of course. Was she glad to see Nerissa again?

Zac: she had mixed emotions.

Evie: why? What happened?

Zac paused, not really knowing what to say to Evie.

His phone chimed again.

Evie: what did Nerissa want Zac?

Zac sighed and began typing.

Zac: she wants Mimmi and I to go back to the Northern pod with her to be a family again.

Evie: you are joking, right? Tell me you're joking!

Zac: she wants to be our mother again.

Evie: what about Lauren? Does she not count as your mother? What do they think about all of this?

Zac: they are not happy, but in the end, it is our choice and they will support us no matter what.

Evie was silent for a moment.

Evie: what do you want to do?

Zac: stay here, but I don't know what Mimmi wants. I just found her Evie, and I can't lose her again.

Evie: I understand. Where are you right now?

Zac: the grotto with Mimmi, why?

Evie: I bet your parents will want to see you both soon. It's almost 11. I would suggest going home. I will meet up with you later ok.

Zac: ok. Bye.

Evie: XOXO

Then, Zac decided to let Cam know that he was still alive.

Zac: I am fine. We both are.

The Camster: thank god. What happened?

Zac recounted what he told Evie. Cam was not pleased.

The Camster: you mean she wants to take you and Mimmi away from here? She can't do that!

Zac: I know, I know.

The Camster: What are you going to do?

Zac: I don't know but whatever I choose, I know that I need to be with Mimmi. I know it's stupid, but I feel safer when I'm near her. And, I'm a lot more powerful when I'm with her. I lost her once Cam, and I don't plan on it again.

The Camster: listen mate, she will want to go home. But Zac, this is home for you. And what about Evie? You can't just leave her.

Zac paused. He really couldn't leave her. Or his parents. He had to stay here. His entire life was here.

Zac: you are so right. I just need to try to convince her to stay here.

The Camster: go for it mate. I need to go. I need to go and meet Carly at the pier. Stay sane.

Zac sighed as Cam left. Zac looked back at his sister. To his surprise, her eyes were open and she was sitting up, still grasping the pillow.

"Moring" she greeted. Mimmi looked around the grotto. "What time is it?"

Zac laughed. "Almost 11. We slept in."

Mimmi's eyes widen. "Jeeze, we slept that long. Half of the day is gone."

"At least it's Sunday. You are off of work and I don't have to go to school for another 20-ish hours."

Mimmi smiled. "that's good. Are you hungry?"

Zac's rumbling stomach answered for him. This made his sister laugh. "I will take that as a yes. Café?"

"You know what, I might head home. Mum will fix me something and I know that both of them will want to talk. Do you want to come with?"

The brunette shook her head. "Nah, I really should go and meet up with the girls. I bet they are worried about me. Say hi to Mum and Dad for me."

Zac smiled and nodded. "I understand. Um, will Nerissa be at the moon pool?"

Mimmi's normally permeant smile faded. Her mischievous blue eyes darkened. "I don't know," she said in a whisper. "Is it wrong to want to avoid her? I mean I have been used to living without a mother and now I have two. I had this fantasy in my head that once we rescued her, she would want to be here and we would be one big happy family. I never thought she would want us to leave everything behind to back to our birthplace. I guess I wasn't thinking."

Zac sighed and got off of the floor to sit next to his sister. She placed her head on his shoulder.

"you wanted to see Nerissa more than anything. Of course you thought it was going to be a fairytale ending. Heck, our entire existence is a page out of a bedtime story. Mimmi, your childhood was ripped away from you. There is no shame with not thinking logically and just wishing for peace. I don't think avoiding her is the best way to go though. If you see her, interact with her. She is still our mother."

Mimmi inhaled deeply. "You're right." She pulled away from her brother. "wish me good luck?"

Zac planted a kiss on her forehead. "you don't need luck. You got this."

She smiled and got off of the bench. She made her way to the pool of water and, like an Olympic diver, gracefully dived in to the salty sea.

The saltwater embraced her with open arms. She instantly felt refreshed and rejuvenated. She waited in the pool as her transformation occurred. The clingy fabric of land people clothes melted off of her, and Mimmi finally felt free. She smiled to herself as she felt her awkward two legs fuse into her dearly missed tail. Her smile widened when she felt her scales appear on her breast. Her hair fell gracefully around her in a halo of chocolate. She waited until the bubbles that surrounded her cleared. Mimmi blinked her rich blue eyes a few times, adjusting them to their new atmosphere. With a flick of her powerful tail, she sped out into the open sea.

Mimmi decided that she wasn't in much of a hurry and decided to take her time getting to the moon pool. She followed a group of tunas that appear from behind the reef and swum in the middle of them. She giggled when she felt them brush up against her tail. She looked around her. The ocean was so peaceful. She could see a pair of dolphins chasing each other in the distance. She saw the kelp waving back and forth with the tide. When Mimmi looked up, she was in awe with the way the sun danced off of the water. For the first time in weeks, she felt at peace.

Mimmi decided to not keep her friends waiting and flicked her tail towards Mako. She was completely unaware that something was following her.

Mimmi swam a bit, watching the fish swim without a care in the world. She envied them. The brunette wished that she could relax for one day and not have to worry about saving the world or family problems. She wanted to go to land school and learn about the world outside of the ocean, and when the day was done, relax in the shallow water. She allowed herself to live in those bliss moments for a little while.

Those happy thoughts were suddenly interrupted. Mimmi's golden-orange scales were not only beautiful, but they were super sensitive and picked up everything in the water. They sensed every shift in the tides, every sea creature that swam close to her, and most importantly, every aberration.

Mimmi stopped, her fins flaring in alarm and anticipation. She floated there, her body in battle mode. She whipped her head around and searched for the intruder. Something in the water didn't feel…natural. Whatever it was, it wasn't native to these waters.

Then, Mimmi spotted something hiding behind the coral. She swam over and hesitantly looked behind it. Nothing. Mimmi sighed, letting some bubbles flow out of her parted lips. Shrugging, she then turned around and screamed.

Nerissa was floating behind Mimmi, her eyes wide with shock. She had one hand out, obviously not realizing that her daughter was going to turn around. Mimmi whirled back in alarm, placing her hand on her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly from the jump scare.

Nerissa swam over with concern. Mimmi put her hand up, indicating that she was fine. Her mother pointed to the surface. Mimmi nodded and followed her mother up to where the sky met the water.

"Why?" Mimmi asked in frustration once she inhaled deeply, refueling the oxygen she lost when she screamed. "Why were you following me?"

Nerissa looked at her daughter with a sympathetic gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed to get your attention, and you were off in your own world. I was going to tap you on your shoulder, but you turned around at that exact moment. "

"Why did you need to get my attention?" questioned Mimmi.

Nerissa inhaled deeply. "We really need to talk."

Hello my faithful readers!

I just realized that it has been exactly one month since I had last updated. How time flies. I'm sorry I have been inactive. I have been B.U.S.Y! let's see.

I have 2-ish weeks left until SUMMER VACATION! *whoop whoop!* when do you guys get off? And if you live in the completely different side of the world, what is your next vacation?

The musical that I was doing is finished and I miss it so much! But, it went off without a hitch and I am ready for the fall production.

I'm going into my senior year soon and I have yet to think about college. So, that's what my summer is going to consist of. Yay me.

Okay, back to the story. I really wanted to leave it when I had Mimmi screaming, but I punished you guys too much with my cliffhangers. They are so fun to write.

What is your opinion on Nerissa and what does she want to talk to Mimmi about? You'll just have to wait and see.

Until next time

~Moonlight Mermaids