Time passed by rather quickly after Nixie, Serena, Lyla, and Zac had joined forces to save Mako from Cam and the Triton.
At first, the mermaids were reluctant to integrate themselves into Land Life, as they called it. They were still holding out on hopes of their pod returning to the Australian coast now that the threat had been dealt with. Ms Santos had tried, and failed, to set the correct expectations for the younglings, and it broke her heart to hear them defend their pod to her. Eventually, she stopped trying to change their minds.
When weeks turned to months, and the year came to a close, the trio of mermaids concluded that they had been left behind.
It was evident that unless someone went out in search of the pod and told them they no longer had to worry about the Triton, they wouldn't be coming back. And with Zac still being a Merman, it meant the girls were still exiled, leaving no one to let the pod know they could return home.
Shortly after the realization, the girls shrunk into themselves. They avoided everyone, and had it not been for Ms Santos, they surely would have dropped out of school to live on their own out by Mako Island. In a desperate attempt, she reached out to the recently reconciled Zac and Cam, to reason with the girls.
Shortly after the incident at Mako, Zac approached Cam to apologize for his actions. The blond wasn't too happy, nor was he willing to forgive the merman, despite the years of friendship they had shared. But after the start of the new school term, Cam was the one to approach the Fish Posse - as he liked to call their little tail sprouting group - and admitted to his best friend since he was in nappies that he didn't want their friendship to be destroyed over something as stupid as a water fork.
And so two boys took this mission on with ardor, their main reasoning being they owed the girls this much. So with the added help of the Ocean Cafe's owner, David, they set out on their mission to reintegrate the mermaids back into the groove of things.
It took weeks of effort, but eventually, the boys were able to coax the girls back to finish their schooling and provided them with a sense of normality on land. Cultural differences were the hardest, mermaids had no sense of propriety - manners - making this the biggest obstacle.
In actuality, however, the biggest obstacle was Evie. At first, Zac's girlfriend was understanding and fully approved of Zac helping the girls in their time of need. Though it didn't take long for this to become an issue, after all, they weren't his responsibility, didn't they have parents?
This statement however seemed to be the last straw for young Zac. "No Evie, they are orphans." he snapped at the brunette, who looked at him with a sour expression on her face before storming off without another word.
He didn't speak to her again, hoping she would come to her senses. She never did, though. She simply chose to cut him from her life after the perceived slight against her. And though it was hard for Zac to admit to at first, it made life with a fin much easier now that he didn't have to actively hide a part of himself from those around him. His guilt was eased by his friendship with the three mermaids, who took it upon themselves to educate him in the ways of the sea.
Shortly after graduation, Evie and her family moved to America, so she could study abroad.
In the two years that followed the girls completely adjusted and thrived in their new environment, David was looped in on the secret and after graduation, the girls moved into their place - which they were able to purchase and remodel with the help of Ms. Santos and the boys, and Zac learned that his merman powers extended further than the tricks he had learned up until now.
He already knew he could change the state of any liquid to one of its four states. Still, it was under Lyla's careful - if not rigorous - training that he learned that he could manipulate any substance that was composed of mostly liquids in its entirety. He could force his Jell-O cups to change shape, and size and even force the change between solid to liquid in an instant.
It wasn't until a couple of days ago that the girls had declared him a 'fully competent' merfolk. Whatever joy was sparked by that statement quickly died out when Nixie reminded him he still needed to pass the Moon pool's test. He had to go in during a full moon and use the combined power of the moon's light and the pool's water to create his moonstone, which could be fashioned into a ring.
This was why today, Zac was out swimming around Mako to learn as much about the island as he possibly could. It would also serve the twin purpose of sating his curiosity about the Northside of the island.
A few months back, Zac challenged the girls to a race around the island and they had hesitated, after some prompting, they admitted that they weren't allowed on the Northside of the island. It didn't matter if their pod was no longer here to enforce the rule, that side of the island was forbidden by the mermaid council.
"But why?" Zac had asked. "What's so wrong or special about it."
The girls just shrugged, but it was Serena who answered him. "That side of the island is cursed.
While Zac had come to trust in the girls, he still didn't take them at their word on this. He wasn't superstitious, nor would he ever be. What he was was morbidly curious. And today was the perfect day to get his Mako questions solved.
So he swam around to the border and took a quick look around to make sure he wasn't being followed before swimming forward. What he found was not what he expected.
He had expected to see an underwater wasteland. Perhaps even a couple of sunk ships.
But what he saw was beautiful. The reefs on this side of Mako were amazing and seemed to stretch out for ages. Coral sprouted from the sandy floor in an array of colors. Ranging from soft pinks, and pearly whites, to brilliant blues and sparkling greens.
Fish life was in abundance in the area, and he made a note to bring Cam over one of these days to fish.
Or maybe not... He thought as he had a better look around at the abundance of sharks. It looked more like a breeding ground, though in Zac's opinion, it was getting close to being considered infested. He knew there was a difference, so he made a mental note to search for it later when he returned home
Deciding now was probably a good time for him to head back to land. The thing was, he felt somewhat lost and didn't know the way back, so he decided to head lower, see if he could see the entrance to the Moon Pool, and then orient himself from there.
When he surfaced, he was nowhere near home and the sun was starting to set.
Drying himself off he walked around the beach until he figured out where it was he was at. As it would turn out, he was in a completely different city on the other side of Australia.
With a sigh, he headed over back to the docs to try and head back home, but he was tired, hungry, and sore from swimming all day long. So he thought that maybe staying a while longer wouldn't hurt.
Mind made up, he asked around for the closest place to grab a quick bite to eat and stay within view of the ocean. He had never been in Gold Coast before, and he had no intention of becoming lost his first time around.
So after following the local's directions, he was able to locate the juice bar: Rikki's. It looked….. Okay.
You know, if he was into the whole rustic beach cabin appeal the place had going on. Nothing compared to the Ocean Café, but then again he might just be a little biased since one of his best friends owned the place, and the rest of them worked there.
Taking a seat at the furthest table in the establishment he looked at the menu and searched his pockets for his wallet to make sure he had enough money, and not make a fool of himself and ordering something he would not be able to pay for later.
"Hi, my name is Cleo and I'll be your server this evening, may I take your order?" the waitress asked, placing a glass of water on the table before him. Looking up he noticed she was very pretty, with dewy brown eyes and hair pulled up in a bun. The smile she flashed him however caused a special blonde to flash in his mind's eye.
"I, er…" he took one glance at the menu. "I'd like a tuna and anchovy sandwich with provolone cheese and vinegar, with a side of fish fries," he started, "I also want the shrimp, or do you have prawns?" At the surprised shake of her head, he continued. "The order of shrimp will do just fine, hold the sauce. Thanks" he grinned.
Cleo smiled politely and asked, "Would you like a drink to go with that?" Now that she mentioned it, he'd need something to combat the vinegar. The drinks menu didn't quite catch his attention, besides, there was already a glass of water right in front of him. "A mineral lemonade." he finished, returning the menu to her. "And could I get a straw for the water too please?" he asked.
Nodding, the waitress reached into her apron and pulled out a straw, placing it on the table before him before leaving to place his order.
A few minutes later he would've noticed another waitress coming back with his order, had he not been mesmerized by a blue crystal on the cafe singer's necklace. He shifted in his seat; bumping into the waitress and almost knocking the whole tray over.
But the blonde waitress had caught it just in time to avoid the worst, though a few drops of the water fell onto her and her customer. Panicking she quickly set down her tray and grabbed the towel she had gotten used to carrying off her shoulder, wiping the water off her and -noticing her customers' equal panic.- his as well.
"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.
Zac smiled assuring her he was fine.
"Mister, sir, I'm... oh, I'm very sorry, I'll pay for your order," She promised in a panicked tone.
Zac only shook his head and chuckled. "It's alright, it was an accident, practically my fault," He assured. "And I'm Zac, by the way, no sir, or do I look that old?" He joked holding out his hand to the waitress he had finally noticed wasn't the same as before.
"Emma," she said taking the hand and giving it a firm shake, returning the boy before her a bright smile.