Welcome back for chapter two.

Summary: A plan is formed on how to get back to the grotto.

Cam stuffed a bit of lettuce in his mouth and was forced to cover his mouth as he gagged on the leaf. It was limp and covered in far too much salad dressing and his stomach protested violently. Speaking of his stomach - butterflies fluttered wildly as he tried to string together a plan.

Cam's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was from Zac. Cam looked up at Zac who was talking away to Evie, looking entirely unsuspicious.

Say from sister. That you g2g. Get stuff go help Lyla.

"Everything alright Cam?" Lauren asked, holding her fork above her plate, concern on her face.

"Yeah, no, it's just my sister. She's not well. I gotta go help my mum and get some stuff from the shop."

"Right now?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, sorry, I'd better get going," Cam pushed his chair back and slipped out, pushing it back in, "I just left some stuff in Zac's room, I'll just grab it and go."

"Oh,no bother, do you need a lift?" Lauren asked.

"It's all good Mrs B," Cam stood up and slipped between his chair and Nixie's, "I can run faster across the paths."

Cam shoved his chair back in, pocketed his phone and jogged off across the garden.

Zac's scuba stuff was where it always was. Packed in a box in the nearest corner, on top of the box of old school stuff and below the box of current school stuff as to remind Zac to study whenever he went for his scuba stuff. It stopped working once Zac became a fish. Not that it had ever worked well.

Cam dragged the box off the top and set it to the side. He pried open the lid of the scuba box and took out a snorkel and mask. The flippers were at the bottom and he was forced to dig them out from under wet suits that no longer fitted either of them. Cam held the flippers under his arm and slung the mask over his shoulder by its strap.

Cam pulled his phone back out and sent Zac a text. Heading out. Dont let anyone see me. Leaving phone in your room. Water + phone = no phone.

He set his phone on Zac's littered coffee table and quietly opened the door. He slipped out and left it open behind. Cam took a peak around. Zac was standing at the end of the table mimicking a dolphin diving and splashing about. Evie looked embarrassed, Nixie was laughing along with the Blakely's and Sirena was … crying? Laughing? Cam couldn't tell and he didn't have time to see.

He slipped out, stuck close to the side of the boat shed and bolted around the back, walking away from the boat shed directly inline with the building to hide from the Blakelys and company. Cam cut across to the canal and sat on the sand to pull on his flippers.

It was then he realised he still had his shoes on. Cam swore, pried off his shoes and tossed them into the grass. They landed semi-near Zac's boat shed, he'd get them again. He wriggled his feet into the flippers, pulled on the mask and the snorkel and waddled down the sand into the water.

The water wasn't deep, it was barely deep enough to swim, but still he swam, his belly only just above the sand surface. He was disturbing the sand, the little grains spiraled against his stomach. Later on he would be finding sand everywhere, but for now it didn't seem important. What was important was finding Lyla.

It was Lyla's tail he saw under the Blakely's dock, her fin submerged in the water only just above the sand. Cam kicked on faster, the flippers propelling him through the water until he surfaced beside Lyla.

Nixie focused on her weird land food, every so often trying to catch Sirena's eye. It never worked. All it did was attract a glare from Evie. They needed to go. And soon. The food felt empty in her stomach no matter how much she ate.

Finally, finally she caught Sirena's eye and gave her a hard look. Sirena nodded and set down her cutlery.

"Thank you for lunch Mrs Blakely," Sirena smiled sweetly, "we should probably head and see how Lyla's doing."

"Yeah, thanks," Nixie added on and set her fork really needed to go. Cam had left a little while ago and Lyla would be getting antsy. Sirena and Zac had quickly filled her in on what happened.

The whole situation was a mess and she would have to be the one who cleaned it up. Lyla was too rash, she charged headfirst into things without thinking and Sirena was the opposite while Zac was Zac. He was a Merman and this was a Mermaid problem. They didn't need him.

Plus Nixie was probably the only one who actually had a plan or how to get back to the grotto without one - Rita drowning - and two - anyone seeing them. Rita had given her a brief lesson on potions and there was one, okay a few, that stuck in her mind. Only one that would be their best shot for now. If that failed, she had a very short list of back ups.

"It was wonderful to have you over girls," Lauren said, "I hope everything's okay with your aunt, tell Lyla and Ms Santos we're asking for them."

"Of course. Thank you for having us," Sirena stood up and slipped between the seats.

"Bye girls," Rob said, giving them a wave.

"Is it alright if we go out the back?" Nixie asked, they could make it to canal much easier from there.

"No bother, see you another time," Lauren smiled.

Nixie led Sirena out of the garden and out of sight before they made their way to canal.

"Come on, I have a plan on how to get Rita back to the grotto," Nixie took Sirena's hand and stopped on the sandy shore by the water.

"You do?" Sirena asked. The happy guise she's worn in front of the Blakelys was gone and her worry was clear as the Full Moon's light.

"You bet I do."

Nixie waded out into the water, Sirena right on her heels, and dove forward into the water letting her body shift instantly from legs to tail. She kept under the water, Sirena close behind her, sticking as close to the canal bed as possible, not daring to come close to the surface until they reached the dock.

Nixie surfaced a second after Sirena once safely under the dock. Lyla was sitting in the water beside Cam, only her head and shoulders above the water. Cam was awkwardly supporting Rita above the water. The Mermaid had red marks all over her chest and side in a branching, jagged pattern, almost like a lightning strike.

"So what's the plan?" Cam asked. Nixie looked away from the wounds, if they were wounds, they didn't seem to be bleeding, so whatever those marks were - they could deal with that later. One problem at a time.

"There stuff at Rita's we can get and use to get her back there," Nixie explained. She knew exactly what she needed, she just didn't know what it was called. It was some Spanish name she couldn't remember.

"Can't you swim with her?"

"It's a long way and through the canal. It's too dangerous," Sirena said.

"This will work though," Nixie assured, "I know what we need but there's a few things we need done for it to work." They needed a Moon Ring and they needed someone to stay at the grotto. There were three of them, one of which had a Moon Ring. They could do it.

They had to do it.

"We may need Zac's help," Lyla said.

Nixie sighed and rolled her eyes, "we probably won't." There were three of them, they didn't need Zac or anyone else.

"We might," Lyla forced, "I'll let him know what's happening at least."

Lyla slipped under the water and vanished off.

Nixie scoffed.

"We'll go get what we need," Nixie said, referring to herself and Sirena.

"What about me?" Cam asked, "do you know how many sharks are in these canals nowadays? I am not a tasty human to other humans but to a shark? I may as well be a seal."

"It didn't bother you before."

"I'll stay with Cam," Sirena said quietly.

"Cam will be fine, I need you to help me," Nixie said. She wanted Sirena with her to keep Sirena from going over the edge. Cam wouldn't know what to do, he'd undoubtedly say something to make Sirena freak out. Plus maybe having a land person helping was okay. He could at least get out of the water in a hurry if something happened.

Nixie dove under the water, slapping her fin on the surface in the process and pushed down the unnerving squirming in her stomach.

"Uh-" Cam was cut off by Nixie diving under the water and Sirena following after with an apologetic smile.

"Hurry back!" Cam called after the Mermaids. His reply was a fin, Nixie's he guessed, slapping the surface, and then he was left alone with Rita.

"Please."

Zac shut the door of the boatshed and collapsed back against the wood. He'd heard nothing about what was happening with his mother's art gallery and Evie's new range of clothes in the shop. His mind had been working at 200 miles an hour, obsessing over everything that happened. He had no idea what was going on with the Mermaids.

"Zac?"

Zac leapt upright and instinctively held out his hand. He relaxed when he saw it was Lyla standing in front of his once again standing bookshelf.

"I put your bookshelf back up," Lyla said smiling sadly.

"Thanks," Zac stuck his hands in his pockets and looked off to the side.

"We need your help."

"What do you need?" Zac pulled out his hands, ready for any distraction. The last time he was in this room…

"I need you to come with me."

"Okay!" He wanted to leave. Desperately. Then he was hit with it, he couldn't. "I can't leave right now. I need to walk Evie home." Evie was suspicious and angry about the lunch and her ring and he seriously needed to smooth things over.

"Evie can handle herself," Lyla said, "this is important. We need to get Rita somewhere safe."

"Where do you need me to be and I'll meet you there?"

"Rita's house. Go through the house until you find the library. Pull the book that says ``Mermaid Myths and go down the stairs."

"What?" Library, books, stairs, what? "I'm not comfortable wandering through her house." He really wasn't. Boundaries were important and some had definitely been crossed already today.

Lyla sighed, "would you be able to find the house in the water? There's an underwater entrance in the rocks."

"Zac?" Evie was calling him from outside.

Underwater entrance? Awesome.

"I'll find it," Zac promised. It wouldn't be that hard. He spotted a ring in some coral, he could find some caves in some cliffs. His mouth went sour as he remembered the ring. He should've just left it, He shouldn't have given it to Evie. He should've just given it to the Mermaids instead of being a stubborn arsehole.

"Good," Lyla swiped her hand across her chest and cloaked herself.

"Zac?" Evie opened the door, "you ready to go."

"Yup. Yeah. I'm ready."

"Which one is it?" Sirena asked frantically hands grazing over all the little bottles in the chest of potions Rita kept in the grotto.

Nixie put a hand on Sirena's shoulder, "breathe in, breathe out."

Sirena did as Nixie said and Nixie dropped her hand off Sirena's shoulder. Rita had told her what every one of these potions did. Blue was for neutralizing any water, that thick green one was a rejuvenating potion, that red one did something to do with hallucinations. The one she needed was yellow and shimmery. There were two bottles left last time and she needed both.

Blue. Pink. Blue. Green. Pink. Pink. Purple. Yellow. Yellow.

Nixie picked up the two yellow glass vials. The liquid inside was thin and yellow and shimmered under the light.

"It's this one," Nixie said.

"You found it already?" Lyla asked coming up behind them. Her surprise was clearly scrawled across her face.

"Yeah. I knew which one it was."

"How?" Lyla crossed her arms.

"It was my plan I had to know what I was doing and now, we've got to get back," Nixie darted off across the grotto's upper level and slammed straight into something hard blocking the way through the doorway. She stumbled backwards and the thing she hit cried out.

"Zac? Are you okay?" Lyla asked.

Nixie rolled her eyes and looked up. Lyla by passed her to check if Zac was okay. Zac was the whole reason for this situation and yet she wanted to make sure he was okay. What ever happened to 'sisters first.' Also she was the one holding the potion to make sure they could actually get Rita back here safely. Sort of safely. She'd never used this potion but it didn't sound complicated.

"I'm fine," Zac rubbed his chest, "I came to see if you needed help? Lyla said you did..."

"We do actually," Nixie handed Zac one of the bottles, it was better keeping him out of the water. Rita wouldn't be happy if she woke up and found out that both Zac and Cam had been involved. "Once we leave you need empty this into the water. Do nothing else and just wait for us to get back."

Zac looked at the bottle confused. He looked like a dolphin trying to figure out how fishing nets worked. "What?"

"Stand on the land. Pour the bottle into the pool. Do nothing else."

"Please Zac?" Sirena begged.

"Yeah of course," Zac looked up, "What does it do?"

"We'll explain later, but we need to go," Nixie said, "whatever happens do nothing more than I told you to do."

"I'll stay with Zac," Lyla said.

Nixie rolled her eyes and sighed, "whatever."

It was cold in the water. For being a nice, warm Australian summer day it was cold. Cam shivered in his t-shirt as the water lapped around him.

The Mermaid he was awkwardly supporting above the surface felt no warmer than he was. He kept Rita's upper back leaning against his arm. He didn't like how her head lolled back and how cold her skin was. Or that he was even touching her skin. It was not the kind of relationship he wanted with his school principal. Lyla had gotten him to support her as the incoming tide made it more difficult for Lyla to keep herself balanced and keep Rita above the water.

He lost track of how long he'd been there. Lyla had left to help Nixie and Sirena (he'd seen the trail in the water) Zac had been and gone (he also saw his trail in the water) and the only way he had of tracking time was the waves. And he lost count after fourteen waves. Or was it twelve…

He just wanted to be warm again. And dry. Not crouched in the water with an unconscious Mermaid. It wasn't his idea of a fun Saturday.

Cam began humming to himself, and desperately stared at the water praying for the Mermaids to come back. He was halfway through the song for the fifth time when his prayers were answered and Nixie and Sirena returned.

Hope you enjoyed chapter two, chapter three is not far off. Chapter three was originally part of this chapter but I decided to split it into two shorter chapters rather than one big long chapter, so it'll be up next week. I like doing one chapter a week, but I'm starting college on Monday and between that and working nights weekly updates probably won't be feasible but I will try.

Also apologies for spelling errors or anything like that, I always think I've got them all then I re-read a few days later and notice so many mistakes.

Until next time.