Fewer than 15 minutes after the girls had gone, Zane heard a quiet knock at his front door. Stifling a yawn, he shuffled to see who had come to visit at this late hour.

"Lewis?" He was more than a little surprised to see a very disheveled light-haired scientist standing reasonably calmly on the other side. "What are you doing here? Cloe, Rikki, and Bella just left, they-"

"I know, I know." Lewis held up a hand. "I was waiting for them to go home, actually." He ran a tired hand through his hair as he walked past Zane into the living room. "Your dad here?"

"No, actually." Zane followed. "His conference got extended, he won't be back for a bit yet."

"Good." Lewis dropped wearily into an armchair. "We've got some practicing to do."

"Dude..." Zane sat opposite him, unsure how to approach the situation. "Don't you think the girls deserve an-"

"The girls?" Lewis's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "I know you're not getting ready to say the girls deserve something from me? Right?"

"I was just going to say that the girls are worried about you." Zane corrected himself.

"I am NOT here to talk about the girls." Lewis declared firmly. "I'm here about you."

Zane rested his elbows on his knees. "I guess you heard about what happened at the café today with Sophie?"

"I may not be speaking to the girls, but that doesn't mean I don't read their texts." Lewis pressed his hands together. "So I guess she's, ah, pretty mad?"

"Nuclear." Zane stood to get a couple of beers from the kitchen. "I think we need to prepare ourselves for the worst, man."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Lewis took the bottle he offered as he shook his head.

"Everyone laughed at her." Zane retook his seat. "But the idea is in their heads now. Someone will throw a cup of water at me as a joke at one point or another, and if I keep bolting to the office it won't take long for people to second guess."

"That's why you and I are going to make sure you don't have to run anywhere." Lewis shifted his weight so he could pull a small notebook from his back pocket. "You saw the work the girls did, back when we were... you know, ah, worried about Sophie exposing Bella." He cleared his throat as he delicately spoke the last line, avoiding Zane's gaze. "So now I'm going to practice with you. I still think it's possible to evaporate the water enough to fake your way around a water splash."

"Lewis..." Zane began.

"I know, I know. You don't agree with me." Lewis had to fight not to roll his eyes. "But humor me, ok?" He ticked his pen on the sole of his shoe as he listed his reasonings. "In trying to convince Sophie that Bella was just human, we were always going to be fighting uphill, right?" Lewis waited for a response, but Zane just stared back. "She was already convinced that Bella was a mermaid. So she was always going to be a tough sell, be skeptical. With you, anyone would think it's ridiculous, the idea of you being an actual merman. Merpeople don't exist, right?" He raised a shoulder. "They won't actually be expecting anything to happen..."

"So even if it looks a little odd, they still aren't likely to see anything." Zane finished thoughtfully. "I see what you're saying."

"Exactly." Lewis nodded. "Anyone that might toss water on you isn't doing it to actually see what happens, they're doing it to have a laugh at Sophie, and they'll expect you to laugh right along with them. So we practice, you and I." Lewis stood up, rolling his shoulders to loosen them. "Honestly, you should really be able to handle it." He walked to the kitchen to get a spray bottle from under the sink. "When you see someone getting ready to peg you, you dodge what you can and flash steam the rest. And laugh, or whatever." He added. "You're going to have to make it look like you don't care. You can't look stressed about it at all."

"And you really think that'll work?" Zane raised his eyes to meet Lewis's.

"Short term?" Yeah, I do." Lewis nodded vehemently. "Long term?" He paused to take a long swig from his drink. "I think everyone will forget about it. Do you have any idea what Sophie might be planning next?"

"Not a clue," Zane replied bitterly. "I was just trying to talk to her when she flipped out earlier. Maybe nothing?"

"With her, man, I doubt it." Lewis plunked his beer down on the table. "But that's stress for another day. Let's get started."

Sophie nodded enthusiastically, maybe more energetically than she should as her eyes skipped around the white office lab. "Yes, fully-fledged mermaids." She repeated herself. "Tails and everything. They transform when they touch the water."

Lisa, a marine biologist with a specialty in the discovery of new species, cast a wary look out of the corner of her eyes at her co-worker, Michael. "And... when they dry?"

"They become human again." Sophie finished, hardly able to contain herself as she looked back and forth between the two of them to gauge their reaction. "Poof, just like that."

"And I assume you have some, ah, proof of this?" Michael responded finally.

"Sure do." Sophie fumbled through her bag for her sheath of pictures. "Here." She shook slightly as she laid out her photographs of a swimming Zane. "I have a video of him too." She said breathlessly. "Here, on this flash drive."

"Him?" Michael leaned forward to examine the photos more closely. "This is a merman? Not a mermaid?"

"How can you tell?" Lisa squinted her eyes at the picture.

"Well, he's the only one I have pictures of," Sophie admitted. "But I can get more."

"Miss Benjamin," Michael spoke after another shared look with Lisa. "These are just silhouettes; it'd be fairly easy to put someone in costume and-"

"But I didn't, though!" Sophie tried to keep her composure, though she was cracking at the seams a bit. "This is real. I've seen it with my own eyes!"

"Look," Lisa said gently. "Maybe your friends were playing an... admittedly elaborate prank on you."

"They're not my friends." Sophie swallowed hard, working not to shake from anger. "This is real." She said firmly, meeting their eyes without wavering.

"And I believe that you feel it is, I do." Lisa placed the photos back into the folder. "But given that in all of our years of research off the coast we've never come across a shred of evidence-"

"But someone has!" Sophie interrupted. "Linda... Denman, that's it! She found evidence years ago, and that was these mermaids as well-"

"Except Denman lost her sample, along with her credibility." Michael couldn't help letting a small smirk onto his face. "I'm not even sure where she is now, do you know Lis?"

"Thailand? Antarctica? I'm not sure, I haven't heard that name in a long time." Lisa also looked amused as she handed the folder back to Sophie. "I'm sorry dear, but if I were you I wouldn't try to use her name. People don't take her very seriously." She pursed her lips as if she were keeping herself from continuing.

"Just come and see for yourself." Sophie pleaded as her hands fumbled for a business card. "All it takes is a drop of water. And ten seconds." She added hastily. "Then they change. You'll see. Please." She begged with her eyes, hoping against hope they'd listen to her.

"Thank you," Michael said kindly as he set the card down on the desk. "We'll give you a call if we decide to stop by."

Sophie trudged dejectedly out of the building ten minutes later. She'd really expected them to believe her, or at least be interested enough to check things out. "At least they waited till I'd left the room to burst out laughing." She muttered to herself as she squinted into the late morning sun.

"Fancy seeing you here." It took Sophie a moment to realize someone was speaking to her.

"Oh." She made herself zero in. "Hey, Ryan."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Ryan held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just on my way in, wanted to say hi. I'll leave you alone."

"Good." Sophie retorted angrily, ready to march in the other direction until an all-too-obvious idea occurred to her. In fact, she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it sooner. "Wait, Ryan!" She changed direction to catch him by the elbow. "Let's talk for a moment."

"I'm on my way to work." Ryan shot an uneasy look toward the building's lobby. Sophie hadn't shown him a hint of interest in weeks. Why now?

"But this is much more important." Sophie flashed him a dazzling smile as she linked her arm in his. "Come with me. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Nate still felt dazed as he walked into work for his noon shift that day. Sophie's revelation about the girls still rattled around in his head, along with about a million other thoughts. A good part of him couldn't believe what she'd said, but another, possibly bigger, part of his senses knew that somehow... it made sense. Made sense? He shook his head. How could multiple mermaids being real possibly make sense? Then again, Zane was a merman; he knew that. And if Zane was, then-"

"Nate! Hello?"

Nate realized someone was waving a hand in his face. He forced himself to zone in, though it took effort.

"Are you alive in there?" Rikki folded her arms, her brow furrowed as she tried to read his face.

"Rikki!" Nate quickly cleared his throat to lower the tone of his voice. "What's up, babe?"

"Well, you walked in like a zombie and have been doing nothing but staring at that counter for five minutes." Rikki tilted her head to one side. "Are you going to clock in or..."

"Oh, right." Nate gave her a hasty wink and a thumbs up, dropping his grin as he made his way down the hall to the office door.

Zane wasn't inside, which disappointed him. He quickly punched in his code, grabbing an apron from the clean stack before heading back behind the bar. He grabbed a wet rag to wipe down the counter as Rikki returned.

"Did you order the new name tags?" She asked as she skimmed down a checklist.

"Sure did." Nate watched her thoughtfully.

"And the band is coming for rehearsal at four?" Rikki continued.

"Right-o. Just because the battle of the bands is over doesn't mean we won't keep preparing for the next one." Nate rambled. What would happen if he tossed this rag to her right now? Would she transform as Sophie said?

"Oh, and can you come in tomorrow for the full day?" Rikki looked up at him expectantly.

"That's Sophie's morning shift, isn't it?" Nate said the name casually, needling for information.

"I certainly wouldn't expect her to come in." Rikki's expression was unreadable. "So can you cover it?"

"Sure thing." Nate shrugged, watching as Rikki walked away to check inventory. He wanted to follow her. To clap a wet hand on her shoulder and see what happened next. His fingers itched, but he stopped himself before doing anything. He's wait to talk to Zane. His friend would tell him the truth.

Cleo and Bella burst through the café entrance a few minutes later.

"Is Rikki here?" Bella asked before he could even say hello.

Nate pointed toward the office. "Is, uh, Zane coming in anytime soon?"

"No idea," Cleo said dismissively as she followed Bella down the hall. The door closed firmly behind them and locked a moment later.

As soon as the morning shift ended, Nate headed over to Zane's. It didn't take more than a glance for Nate to see that Zane was completely exhausted as he opened the front door to his mansion-like house. He blinked into the sun, wincing at the daylight as he ran his hand through his tousled hair. He struggled to focus his tired eyes on Nate, who stood on his doorstep.

"Hey, Nate." Zane stifled a yawn. "I didn't know you were stopping by." He turned to walk back into the house, leaving the door hanging open for Nate to follow him. "Come on, we'll go upstairs so we don't wake him up."

"Wake who..." Nate hushed as he caught sight of Lewis passed out on the couch, his head tipped back as he snored loudly. Nate jogged after Zane, saying nothing more until he'd made it to the privacy of Zane's room.

"He and Cleo are... having issues. We were up pretty late." Zane said by way of explanation as he dropped onto his bed. "What's up?"

"You weren't at work today." Nate tried to contain his anxiety. Now that he was here, looking at Zane, he felt like an idiot. "You, uh, feeling alright?"

"Just tired." Zane rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Wasn't Rikki in? Is everything alright at the café?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was no big deal." Nate raised a shoulder. "She told me Sophie was gone. Have you heard anything from her since-"

"Nothing." Zane shook his head.

"And still no idea why-"

"No." Zane's answer was short, firm, and he did not elaborate.

Nate waited several seconds before continuing. "It's weird though, yeah?" He sat in Zane's desk chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "Did... something happen between you guys?"

"I didn't cheat on Rikki if that's what you're asking," Zane spoke through a clenched jaw, trying to convince himself to get up and start the day, even if it was past twelve already.

"Not again, you mean." Nate couldn't help but point out.

Zane opened his eyes enough to shoot a hard look at Nate. "Why the hell would you bring that up?"

"I just- Sophie seemed cool about the whole..." Nate waved a hand at Zane's knees. "The whole fish thing." He ignored Zane's pointed eye roll. "And then she made that scene yesterday and tried to ruin your life." He glanced down at his hands before continuing. "I've seen that girl do a lot of crazy things since I've met her. But I've never seen her do anything that made her look dumb. And man, did she look ridiculous yesterday." He took in a long, deep breath before asking the question closest to what he wanted to know. "Is there still something you haven't told me? I'm asking you straight out." He swallowed hard as he forced himself to push forward. "Are you still keeping secrets from me? You know you can trust me."

Zane sat up on the edge of his bed, his eyes on the floor as Nate finished speaking. A full minute passed before he opened his mouth. "No." He hated how empty the lie sounded. "I'm not keeping anything from you." He couldn't meet Nate's eye. With a loud throat clear, he stood and walked to his closet to get dressed. "Come on." He said gruffly. "Let's wake up sleeping beauty downstairs." He gave a lighthearted nod as he finished pulling a clean shirt over his head and walked out the bedroom door.

"Right." For as long as he could remember, Nate had considered Zane his best and most trusted friend, but now? He wasn't even sure he recognized the person he was talking to anymore. It hurt.

The girls were seated in a booth at the cafe looking morose when Lewis walked in later that afternoon.

"Hey!" Cleo jumped to her feet, hardly believing he was there. None of them had heard a word from him in two days, since the night of the full moon. "Sit down Lewis, talk to us." She beckoned frantically, eager to put her arms around him.

"I'm not staying very long." Lewis checked the time as he slid into the booth next to Rikki, who tried not to notice the clear disappointment on Cleo's face, which had fallen. "I just wanted to swing by and share some info with you guys."

"Whatcha got for us?" Bella asked in a chipper tone, though her eyes flickered over to Cleo, who was clearly fighting to hold back tears.

"I just wanted to let you girls know that I swept the waters between our coast and Mako, plus the moon pool." Lewis checked a message on his phone as he spoke. "And Sophie hasn't put up any more cameras. Not yet, anyway."

"Really? Are you sure?" Rikki immediately held up her hands. "I mean, I believe you, I do. I'm just surprised. I'd figured the first thing on her agenda would have been to get more proof. Of all of us, not just Zane."

"I'm sure," Lewis answered without looking up from his phone screen. After a moment, he pulled a box from his bag and slid it across the table. "This is an electromagnetic sensor and scrambler. Detects anything emitting electro waves most commonly used in recording devices, and, should it sense any, scrambles the data so the recording isn't retrievable. No detection." He raised a shoulder. "It isn't perfect, but it'll be an alright way to keep tabs."

"Thanks so much, Lewis." Cleo hesitantly reached for his hand, which he did not pull away. "We really appreciate you doing that."

"Yeah." Lewis swallowed hard, unwilling to meet her eyes. "Well, I just thought you girls would like the update. I've, ah, got to get going." His fingers slid out from Cleo's as he stood.

"Right now?" Cleo stood with him. "Can't you stay a bit? Or maybe we could go for a walk? A quick one?"

"Sorry, I've got somewhere to be, and then later we have band practice..." Lewis's breath caught in his throat momentarily as he locked eyes with Cleo. He cleared his throat. "Right, Bells?"

"You know you can miss, Lewis." Bella offered quickly. "Nate and I really need to work on our harmonies anyway."

"It's not a band without a drummer, right?" Lewis spoke with more harshness than he'd intended, quickly softening his tone. "Or so you kept telling me." He exhaled, trying to save the mood. He really didn't want this to turn into an unpleasant visit, yet they were teetering uncomfortably on that edge. He took in a deep breath. "So I'm going to be at practice, k?"

"Sure." Bella sat back down. "We'll see you there, man."

"Great." Lewis met each of their eyes as if he wanted to say something else, but decided against it. "I'll talk to you girls later. Be careful," He muttered as he walked away.

Cleo's face fell as he walked away. "He won't even talk to me." She managed through a tight throat.

"Just give it time." Bella squeezed her friend's hand. "He's mad at all of us."

"And I don't blame him." Rikki rubbed at her temple. She winced as Bella elbowed her in the ribs. "What? I didn't say I didn't want you two to make up, you know I do." She sighed. "But... I have a hard time being defensive about his anger, guys. We kinda deserve it."

"Wait a second, just stop talking." Ryan almost held a hand over Sophie's constantly chattering mouth. ...So you're telling me..." He spoke slowly, his eyes boring into Sophie's. "That Cleo Sertori, Rikki Chadwick, Bella Hartley, and..." He tilted his head to one side thoughtfully. "Zane Bennett are merpeople?"

"Real ones." Sophie nodded firmly. "And I know it sounds crazy as hell, but it's MORE than easy to prove."

"Just takes water, huh?" Ryan didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I'm being dead serious." Sophie leaned across the desk. "You know there's something weird about them."

"I mean, sure they act weird, but Sophie..." Ryan sighed. "This is ridiculous. And why come to me about it?"

"I already tried going to proper biologists," Sophie said stiffly. "But they wouldn't listen."

"Of course they wouldn't, it's fairy tale stuff." Ryan stood. "I'm late for a meeting, Soph. Good, uh, good luck with whatever it is you've got going on."

"Ryan, wait." Sophie caught the sleeve of his shirt as he tried to walk past her, pulling him back to her. "I can prove it. And then you and I will make a lot of money."

"You can prove it?" Ryan narrowed his eyes. "How?"

Sophie placed a hand on each of his hips and pulled him close to her so that her breath hit his face when she spoke. "Meet me at the dock down the beach from the cafe tomorrow night at ten. I'll explain exactly how we're going to do it. Wear something dark."

The crowd cheered even more loudly than usual as the band finished up their set the next night.

"You guys should have won!" One of their regulars shouted as they exited the stage.

"They're right, you know." Cleo stirred her drink as Bella joined her table. "You guys were the best group at Battle of the Bands, you should have won."

"I'm not thinking about it; it was just fun to play such a big venue." Bella waved her hand dismissively. "There's always next year. Besides, we have plenty of other things to worry about."

"Alright, the band is finished, it's time for you girls to split." Zane was almost breathless as he leaned on their table. He cast his eyes around the room nervously. "Sophie could be here any minute."

"We know, Zane." Bella placed a comforting hand on his forearm. "We've all got an eye out."

"But why tempt fate?" Zane gestured helplessly. "I can't get Rikki to go home, but guys-" He looked to each of his friends in turn. "Please, go home. The last thing we need is for Sophie to show up with a water gun or something."

"We're headed that way." Cleo checked the time. "We're just trying to act completely normal and we wouldn't usually run out right after a set, you know that."

"If you guys can talk some sense into Rikki too that would be great." Zane wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He jumped, startled, as Nate tapped him on the back. "Oh, hey." He quickly composed himself. "What's up?"

"Just wondering where you wanted me, boss." Nate watched them all closely as he waited for an answer, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Right." A light bulb popped up in Zane's eyes. "Why don't you take over for Rikki, tell her to go home early? She's worked hard today."

Nate nodded. He didn't argue, even though he knew plain as day that Rikki had only come into work a couple of hours ago. "No problem." He walked behind the bar, looking at Rikki out of the corner of his eye as he tied his apron around his waist. "Go home." He nudged her with his elbow. "Zane has me taking over for you."

"Of course he does." Rikki sighed but obeyed, closing the register drawer. "Thanks, Nate."

"You ok?" Nate couldn't help but notice the stressed expression on her face. "Is it the Sophie thing?"

"It's nothing, Nate, don't worry about it," Rikki said tersely as she grabbed her bag. "Get to work."

Nate clenched his jaw as he picked up a rag, watching as Rikki walked over to Bella, Cleo, and Zane. The quartet was definitely discussing something very closely. In fact, they weren't doing a great job hiding it; their eyes shooting out nervously as they whispered to each other. After a few moments, the girls took off, heading out the door.

"Band sounded good tonight." Zane swatted at Nate with a dry rag as he grabbed a clipboard from the bar.

"Thanks." Nate followed him down the hall toward his office, trying to put together the right words. Part of him just wanted to go to work and keep pretending not to know anything, but Zane had been his best friend since elementary school. Even through their mischievous years in high school, the pair had always had each other.

"What is it?" Zane looked up dismissively before turning back to the books. "I'm behind on virtually everything and if I don't put these orders in we won't have anything to sell next week."

"I can help with that." Nate held out a hand, but Zane ignored it.

Rikki walked in at that moment, stopping short when she saw who was in the office. "Nate, if you don't get behind the bar people are going to start revolting." She held the door open.

"I just-" Nate stammered. "I wanted to talk to you two about-"

"Nate, get out." Zane stood, his voice more forceful than intended. "I'll talk to you later, just get out of here."

"Fine." Nate's voice was deathly quiet as he spun on his heel and through the door, slamming it closed behind him hard enough to make the walls shake.

Nate worked until closing time, although his tip jar was nearly empty by the end of the night because of his surly attitude. He practically threw the till into the safe in the backroom, grumbling to himself under his breath.

"Known him my whole life." He slammed the office door, locking it behind him. "I've known Cleo too. Some friends."

He felt like shit. He'd been so proud to keep Zane's secret, and they'd all been laughing at him behind his back.

Nate made sure the whole cafe was locked down before securing the front door. He'd been on fire the whole evening, his anger at Zane only growing hotter and hotter. The evening was still pretty early, bright enough to walk home without having to use a flashlight.

Nate decided to walk along the beach, trying to decide exactly how to handle Zane's lies. His phone rang in his pocket, but he ignored Zane's call. The last thing he wanted right now was to listen to more lies. Squinting, Nate saw a familiar-looking pair. Suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Nate crossed his arms in anger as he took in a breath to try to calm his pounding heart as he marched toward the water. His eyes focused in on Sophie, who was sitting on a nearby dock with Ryan.

"I want in." He announced loudly, catching the pair off guard. "On whatever you two are planning, I want in."

"You..." Ryan gestured between Sophie and Nate. "You told him too?"

"Yeah yeah, bozo, I know all about it." Nate dropped down to sit next to Sophie.

"And you believe it?" Ryan still seemed perplexed.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Of course he does. He's seen Zane change with his own eyes." She narrowed her eyes at Nate. "And just how would you know we're planning anything?"

"Please, babe." Nate shook his head. "You're you."

"You're not wrong," Sophie smirked. "Ok, here's what we need first."