They all froze and stared at what appeared to be a talking waterfall. There was a moment of silent panic that felt like an eternity to Lewis before he finally found the courage to step forward and say something.

"Who… what are you? And, where are we?"

The stranger in the fountain gave a small giggle. "I have had many names Son of Land, but you may call me Arethusa. I am a water spirit, set here as guardian to protect this place. This sacred fountain has been my home for a very long time."

"What is this place?" Rikki asked his question again.

The stranger, or supposed water spirit, moved oddly for a moment. Then it appeared to pull from the cascade. The six watched as a small but beautiful woman stepped out of the fountain without a drop of water on her. Her hair was long, silver-white with loose ringlet curls. Her pearlescent skin seemed to glitter as it was caught by the light. But it was her eyes that really caught his attention. Her eyes were the richest deepest blue reminding Lewis of the great ocean expanses.

She walked forward toward the center of the room and raised her hands.

The faint blue glow of the chandeliers and torches instantly turned a bright silvery color. This allowed Lewis to see every inch of the grand hall they were in. His gaze quickly moved from mural to mural before being drawn upward to the ceiling. A painting of the full moon shone down on them, glowing with as much intensity as the torches around them. The stars, painted in constellations around the moon, glittered with the same effect.

He thought it interesting that the moon, though beautiful, was something he had often disregarded. Before mermaids, before magic, it was just... the moon. Then the girls transformed, and the full moon became a monthly chore for him. Then one crazy and amazing night, he had found himself floating in the pool under the volcano, basking in the light of the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Some might have said that he should be angry at the moon for what it did to him. He wasn't human anymore; his girlfriend hadn't been human for a while. He should curse the moon, maybe even fear it. But he didn't. If anything, he loved it. The powers it gave him aside, his feelings were the same. Even knowing he could be spelled by it didn't change this deep-in-your-core feeling he had. That was the real scary part: He loved the moon, and nothing could change that fact.

He had also known that he should talk to Cleo about it. But how?

He had learned from his mistake that feelings were better shared than kept. If he had shared his feelings with Cleo when they had broken up, maybe the whole Charlotte thing wouldn't have happened. Still, that didn't make emotional venting easy, especially when it could end with his girlfriend thinking him crazy.

The night after he was moonstruck, he had sat with Cleo in her backyard taking in the still mostly full moon. As they sat there, he thought about how beautiful it was, and how he could no longer take it in without falling under its spell.

"The moon really is beautiful, isn't it?" He had mused.

"It really is," she sighed.

He had been curious about his next question for a while, unsure how to ask. "Do you think about it when it's not the full moon? I mean, really, can't-get-it-out-of-your-mind, instinctual, 'think about it?'"

"Yeah, I do. I know that I act completely terrified of it. I think its more of not wanting to make a fool of myself." She paused "But I feel a connection to it every day. It's not always at the front of my mind, but this feeling of... I don't know...belonging...? It's like it's always there."

"For me it's like…" his voice quieted in embarrassment, "…it's like I'm… in love with it."

"Not romantically!" he assured quickly. "But, almost in the same way you're always on my mind, so's the moon."

Cleo looked at him with sad understanding, "I honestly think we all feel that way. We're just afraid to talk about it because we don't know what it means."

Lewis realized staring up at that mural, that he still didn't understand those feelings. And he had to ask himself if he would be okay if he never did.

Lewis brought his eyes back to the water spirit when she took another few steps toward them.

"This is the Temple of the Gracious Moon, Southern Palace of the Royal Sextet, and a sanctuary to all mer. This," She took a moment to make a grand sweeping gesture, "is your true home. Welcome!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Zane sputtered.

"Hold on, so this is a temple?" asked Emma.

"She also said it was a palace," reminded Cleo.

Lewis thought for a moment and, believing he had come upon something important, posed his next question. "You said you've been here a long time. How long?"

"This temple has been here for thousands of years. It was built as one of the many places for mer to carry out worship to the Moon Goddess." She gave a small but sad smile. "The previous royals set me in place here toward the end of the war, near eight hundred years ago. I have not seen mer enter those doors for centuries, and I fear this place may be the last of its kind."

"You've been by yourself all this time? Cleo asked shock spreading over her face. "You must have been so lonely!"

"It was not so terrible. I have been asleep most of that time. I awoke about sixty years ago when there was a major disturbance in the seas."

"That must have been the war." Ash realized

Emma chimed in, "Yeah World War II. With all the German U-boats, naval fleets..."

"Yeah, and don't forget the atomic bombs on the Japanese coastline," added Zane.

"Waking up with a bang," supplied Rikki. "That's something though: going to sleep at the end of a war, waking up at the end of a different war."

"Speaking of war, Arethusa," Lewis looked to the spirit to confirm he had her name right, "What war were you talking about, the one eight hundred years ago?"

She looked to all of them seriously, "The War of Land and Sea."

"I know I slept through most of history class, but I don't think we covered that one," joked Rikki.

"Of course not Ocean's Daughter, but I do think it's time you six learned about your heritage."

A/N: Hello, everyone!

First Part of this Multi-Chapter Fic done! I wanted to give you several chapters to start. I had these first six mostly done so rapid succession! Update for the next part may be a while, but if inspiration sticks around, who knows? :)

Thanks for Reading!

Odd Lady :)