Nixie stood on the docks, her long wavy hair blowing behind her. She put her hand above her forehead and tried to block the sunlight from her eyes. Of course, she had forgotten her sunglasses on a day like this; at least the sun was going down soon. She and three of her classmates in their Environmental Studies class were supposed to meet up to start working on a project their teacher assigned them to do. They were supposed to get some test samples of the ocean water in various points around Mako Island. Mako Island was home to an inactive volcano and not much was known about the it, other than some rumors the coastal town had about it being haunted. People did not like to visit it. Though it was different for Nixie and her family. They visited the island once a year for a picnic. Secretly, she visited it more often. For some reason, the island had always called to her, almost as if she could hear a voice beckoning her to come closer.

The girls in her project group were widely different from each other. They weren't really friends and barely knew each other, except in passing, despite having lived in the small town for a very long time. People on the coast was close nit. Everyone knew each other by at least name and face. It was nice. Nixie usually liked it, but it also meant there was no privacy.

"Where are they?" Nixie mumbled. She twisted her dyed light blue hair between her fingers, while she looked at the small boat they would be taking. It belonged to one of her friends. He was the one who took her to the island whenever she asked, but today he was unable to take them, so she decided to borrow it. She knew how to drive it, so it really should be no problem.

Nixie adjusted her light blue sundress and tapped her foot impatiently. They should have decided to leave earlier. In a couple hours, it would be pitch black.

Grabbing the bag of test tubes, Nixie went ahead and gently got into the boat, sitting down in the drivers seat. She patted her pockets, making sure she had her cell phone, just in case. All that was left was to wait for everyone else.

While she waited, she could not help but think of how cool it was that they lived in a place that allowed them to do things like this. Everyone in the coastal town was very protective of the environment; even Nixie’s hair dye was made from natural products that would not be toxic if it got in the water. If they did not take care of their lands, waters and animal life, than who would?

Speaking of animals, Nixie straightened up in her seat when she noticed “the friendly neighborhood” dolphin a yard away from the boat. She waved at it and laughed when it waved back. It had recently been released from the Aquatic Animal Rescue Center and always came back for a visit. The town had a couple aquatic centers; one was the rescue center for hurt or sick animals and the other was part of an animal theme park. They both had study programs that studied and learned more about the animals of the sea.

“Come on guys… it’s going to get dark.” She looked up at the sky and shrugged. “At least it’s a full moon tonight.”

"You afraid of the dark there, Nixie?" Her Australian accent rung out loud and clear as she spoke up a small smile playing over her lips as she made her way down the dock and over to where the boat was waiting for the group, shoving her hands in her pockets she came to a stop her soft dark brown orbs turning to gaze down at her as she watched her move about the boat getting ready for the trip, "Sorry I'm late. My brothers decided that they didn't want me to go out tonight and dad had to put them back in their place." She moved forward casually stepping off the pier and into the boat causing it to rock back and forth softly with her movements, "So... What exactly are we supposed to be doing? I know we need to collect samples and all that, but then what?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked around them at the ocean watching the waves gently lap over each other and against the side of the boat, "Sorry, I'm more of a surfer than a marine biologist."

She lent over the side of the boat staring down into the waves her gaze softening as she let the familiar sounds of the sea keep her calm and content while on the boat her smile never leaving her face, after what seemed like forever she turned around and sat down leaning back against the wall of the boat as she waited for the others to show up so that they could head off and get the assignment done. She turned her gaze over to Nixie watching as she moved about doing her own thing while getting everything ready; she didn't really know the girl... To be honest she didn't really know anyone in the town. She and her family had only just moved in and were still trying to unpack and settle down causing her mind to be far from the thoughts of making friends though she didn't really mind, everyone had their own group they hung out with and she was the outsider coming into a tight-knit community, it was to be expected.

"So, uh... Sorry about you having to be stuck with me and all; I'll try not to drag the group down..." She had never had these sort of classes before and trying to catch up to the rest of the class was a challenge though she was trying her hardest to get up to date as quick as she could so she wouldn't always be ten steps behind; lifting her hand up she brushed back some of her long chocolate brown locks gently tucking them behind her ear, "I promise I'll push myself into studying so that I can do my part as best as I can." Reaching into her bag she pulled out a packet of lollies opening it up before she took one out nibbling on it before she held the packet out to Nixie, "Hey, want one? Their just snakes, but their still pretty good."

Click. The last of the stiff, plastic latches on the young waitress's in-line roller skates slipped securely shut around her calves. She stood up, a little unsteady on her wheels.

"Honey, be careful out there. It's getting dark." Her father poked his head out from behind the kitchen door to bid her goodbye, concern on his red features. Iris resisted the urge to laugh. The heat from the kitchen always did it but she never got tired of the unusual red that his skin took on while in there.

"I know, I know. I'll be safe, I promise you, dad. I have my phone and stuff. Tell Cam I'm gone for the night for me, will you?" Iris scooped up her backpack, waving her hand goodbye as she darted out of the staff entrance of the restaurant building. She was running late and she knew it. Unfortunately, it had been an unusually busy afternoon and she had been unable to escape until just then. It hadn't even gotten to the dinner rush and they were full.

Still, at least the restaurant was popular. It was the family's sole source of income and she was glad it wasn't failing. They had taken a risk with it and it had paid off.

"Sorry I'm late!" She called out to the girls already waiting for her, her breaths coming in quick and fast as she skidded to a halt in front of them. Still in her waitressing uniform of a black skirt, a white short sleeved blouse and a tailored waistcoat, Iris lent forward and braced her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "I had to help out a little extra at the restaurant." She smiled apologetically, letting herself drop to the floor.

The skates were quickly pulled off and swapped with a battered pair of canvas trainers. They were the shoes she wore most often and her oldest so she didn't mind if they got scuffed up or wet on their little expedition to Mako Island. "So... What did I miss?" She asked, glancing up at the pair as she was stuffing the clunky skates into her bag. A water bottle fell out of her backpack and she shrugged, leaving it out for the moment. Zipping up the bag, she picked up the bottle and stood up again.

There was one more person to wait for, she realised now that she had time to catch her breath and fully take in the situation. She brushed off her skirt and pushed a few of the wild strands of her hair back and away from her face. They had escaped her tight bun either during service or during the quick rush to the docks to meet her... Partners? Acquaintances? She didn't know what to call them. They certainly weren't her friends, at least not yet. Before this, she had barely spoken two words to them. She hadn't exactly been the most social so she couldn't blame them. It was just hard for her to make friends. Iris didn't know what to do so she just kept to herself unless it was group work.

Andrea was helping her father out with his work for the better part of the day, the blonde looked up at the clock seeing that it was getting really late. "Crap, hey dad I gotta go and help with my class project i'll see you later okay?" She said putting some of the paper work on his desk making sure that it was neat, her father John came back into his office wearing a lab coat. "Go ahead sweetie I got it from here." She smiled and gave her father a quick hug before leaving his office, she went for her bike and quickly got on it she took out her ipod and quickly slipped on the small ear buds to listen to some music.

Andrea rode her bike down the streets the roads were never all that busy from when she was little, she took in the sea air which always seemed to relax her, she started to pedal her bike down the large hill. In the distance Andrea could see the docks, she started to pick up some speed feeling her blonde hair flowing in the wind when she was getting closer to the bottom of the hill Andrea started to use the breaks to slow her bike down. The teen started to turn her bike towards the docks and found a good spot to park her bike with some of the others. Andrea took out her lock and chain she carried in her bag and attached it to make sure no one would steal it even though stealing wasn't that common on the island she just wanted to make sure she had a way to get home that night.

Her blue eyes looked around at the many boats some men were unloading their catch for the day, while others were going out again Andrea looked out to see Mako Island out in the distance. She had only been there a few times to help out her father in his studies somedays she felt like she was his lab assistant. At the end of the pier she could see the other three of her classmates were waiting for her and smiled Andrea quickly ran towards the boat. "Hey sorry i'm late my dad needed help with his work." She said softly and looked at the boat before stepping onto it, she knew these girls and worked with some of them before but never really got the chance to know them. "So how is everyone?" Andrea asked.

"Good, just in time!" Nixie said as one by one, everyone showed up. "It's getting dark. We are not the world's best planners." She smiled and felt a wave of awkwardness surround her. Three out of four of them had grown up together since they were really young, so it was strange they did not know each other better. Oh well, maybe they would have a chance to become friends during the course of their class. She liked making friends, but since she lived in the lighthouse, she did not get the chance to hang out with the neighborhood kids as often because the main housing area on the island was too far to walk. Come to think of it, the other three lived in different parts of the island separate from the housing addition, so they probably understood how she felt.

"No need to apologize." Nixie took one of the offered gummie snakes from Tristan. "Before you got here, Tristan was asking about the project because Mrs. Sarah put her with us at last minute." She glanced over at the new girl. "People on the island are really big into protecting and conserving the waters, animal and plant life. So Mrs. Sarah sends us out on little projects like these so we can learn how to make things better."

"Just be thankful we did not get into the recycle project group." Nixie laughed. "I'm all for recycling but she's having the group go around to all the local residents houses, docks and business, asking them if they can go through their trash and collect all the things that can be recycled." She waved a hand in front of her nose.

"I ramble. Let's hit the road... so to speak, before it gets too dark to see." She glanced over the land toward where the white peak of her lighthouse stood. Her dad had a schedule for when the lights were supposed to be on. All the fishermen knew it and if they went out when it was not scheduled to be on, then they were doing it at their own risk. It had to be on a strict schedule to conserve energy for the island. If it was on all the time, it would likely cause power outages, which is why most of the fisherman did their fishing during the day. The night fishermen had special boats with spotlights to help them complete their jobs. It was not scheduled to be on tonight because of the full moon. Usually, a full moon was light enough, but if it was cloudy, then it could potentially be pitch black out soon.

Nixie turned the key in Jay's boat, frowning when it made a weird clicking sound at first. She ignored the warning voice in the back of her head, thinking nothing could possibly go wrong. This boat was as reliable as most of the big fishing boats. It was Jay's pride and joy. They drove for a few minutes in silence; she enjoyed the spray of ocean mist hitting her pale skin. The dolphin from before was following them.

"Hey Ike!" Nixie pointed out the dolphin to everyone else. "He's so smart. Sometimes I think he understands me."

Mako Island was looming up, bigger and bigger. The volcano was in perfect view. It was impressive and a little intimidating, though it had been inactive for as long as any islander could remember. She could see the stream that trickled out of a little opening in the volcano into a mangrove forest.

Just as they were 20 feet from the island, the boat started to sputter. Nixie's eyes widened. She looked at the gas gauge, confused because it was still full. She was no mechanic and had no idea how to check what was wrong with the boat. It had completely died.

She looked over at the other girls and bit down on her lower lip. "Now what? We're going to have to paddle the rest of the way to shore." She picked up one of the paddles, handing it to Andrea.

"Sorry I'm late! I had to help out a little extra at the restaurant. So... What did I miss?" Tris turned her gaze over to the new voice that was joining them in the boat and though it wasn't all that familiar to her she knew who it belonged to; Iris, the girl who's family owned really the only family restaurant on this island. She let her eyes flick over the brunette's figure her soft brown orbs lingering on her face for a few moments longer than they should have been while she tried to figure out who she reminded her of; this was something that was going to bug her the whole way unless she got it... "Hey sorry i'm late my dad needed help with his work. So how is everyone?" At the sound of another voice she tore her lingering gaze away from Iris to look over at the other girl who had joined them on the boat, the beautiful lighter brunette girl catching her attention as she quickly stepped down off the pier signalling that they were now all ready to leave and get this project in full swing.

"Good, just in time! It's getting dark. We are not the world's best planners." She frowned slightly at the statement as she glanced up at the sky above them the atmosphere getting darker and darker with every second that passed them by; so they weren't the best organizers in the world, who cares? They also weren't the easiest to catch a spare moment with either; a mechanic's not by choice apprentice, a marine biologists always reliable assistant, a restaurant owners little girl learning the ropes of the family business, and a lighthouse keepers daughter. The four of them couldn't be any more different from each other. Though they seemed to have one big thing in common; the fact that none of them lived in the housing community with the other island kids and their families. "No need to apologize." She looked back down as she felt something fumble with the packet of snakes in her hand her eyes falling on the blue haired girl as she grabbed one out and began to nibble on it while explaining to the others just how much she didn't understand; she knew she should have been embarrassed but then how else was she going to learn? This was now her home whether she liked it or not... Why she still wasn't too sure of... Holding the packet of snakes to the other two girls she watched Nixie nodding as she explained why and what they were actually meant to be doing with the project.

"Before you got here, Tristan was asking about the project because Mrs. Sarah put her with us at last minute. People on the island are really big into protecting and conserving the waters, animal and plant life. So Mrs. Sarah sends us out on little projects like these so we can learn how to make things better. Just be thankful we did not get into the recycle project group. I'm all for recycling but she's having the group go around to all the local residents houses, docks and business, asking them if they can go through their trash and collect all the things that can be recycled." She pulled a face her nose scrunching up as she thought about the smell and how the group doing that area of the environment was more than likely going to have to shower at least three times each just to get a days stench off of their bodies, "Oh, ew; screw that... That's rank. Heh... I'm glad I got put into this group actually; I love the ocean, especially the surf, so it'll be good to know a bit more about the area I'll be carving up when I can." She smiled softly as she ran her fingers through her long chocolate brown locks small strands of hair not wanting to cooperate falling back over her face though she was used to it. "I ramble. Let's hit the road... so to speak, before it gets too dark to see."

The sound of the engine groaning and clicking to life caused her to narrow her eyes her head turning so that she could watch over Nixie as she began to motor out into the ocean heading towards their destination; the engine was a worry to her, she had heard that sound before and never once had it turned out well for the person who's vehicle had made it. She dropped her free hand down to the floor beside her leg letting the vibration of the boat's engine flow up into her body, it seemed to be running okay... Guess there was nothing to worry about. Pushing the thought from her mind she closed her eyes leaning her head back as she let the ocean mist fall over her leaving a refreshing feeling against her skin while the girl relaxed enjoying the peace that the silence offered them until Nixie's voice entered her mind pulling her back to reality, "Hey Ike! He's so smart. Sometimes I think he understands me." She turned onto her side slightly getting comfortable as she looked over the side of the boat her eyes coming to rest on the mysterious Mako Island that she had been hearing about ever since her family had moved into the town, personally she had never been there though she knew a lot of the people in town either loved going there or swore against it in one way or another; either way, everyone had at least been there once in their life out of curiosity.

The volcano seemed to loom over them causing a shadow to fall over most of the island getting larger and slightly more frightening with the setting sun and the slow appearance of the moon in the sky; it was a beautiful sight, something she was definitely glad she was able to experience. As soon as she heard the spluttering she was on her feet the packet of snakes shoved into Iris' hands as the girl passed by her following the noise towards the engine; she should have paid more attention to it earlier, said something or had a look into it then, now there wasn't much she could do when there was only a few tools in her bag. Opening up the hatch she laid down on her stomach her upper body leaning down as she tried to get a look at what was going on with it, "Goddamn..." She reached in with her hand giving herself some more support as she tried to get a better idea of what was going on; after what seemed like a few minutes she pulled herself back up to her feet frowning as she looked over at the girls, "Engine is shot, parts need to be replaced... I could clean them out and try and get them working again if we had the time and if I had some more tools on me. But it looks like I'll have to take it back to the shop for repairs..."

She sighed one hand in her pocket while the other came up to rub the back of her head in frustration her eyes turning back down to the engine as she muttered under her breath, "Why didn't I check it earlier; god I'm such and idiot." Turning she lent up against the side of the boat a small gap between her and the other three as she scalded herself for her own stupidity; it was the first thing her dad had taught her when she started working along side him and her brothers, Always check first; if you're unsure, check before you leave. How could she have been so stupid? "Now what? We're going to have to paddle the rest of the way to shore." She glanced over at the other three as she picked up her bag slipping the strap over her shoulder before she reached down again picking up one of the paddles in the boat, taking a position against the side she frowned and began to do her part using the paddle to help get them slowly but surely to the shore of the island; hopefully they could get some reception... Though something just didn't sit right with her about this.

Andrea laughed softly and smiled. "I've always kind of sucked at planning things." She said softly and looked at the bag of gummy snakes and reached into the bag grabbing a small handful, and started to chew on them she heard the engine to the boat started her blue eyes looking behind them watching the docks getting smaller and smaller as they headed across the ocean to Mako Island. The wind stared to blow her hair in the air some of her strands of hair hitting her face, Andrea grabbed her hair and tied it into a pony tail to makes sure that it wont bother her. The blonde looked over at the ocean watching the sun starting to set causing the sky to turn into beautiful shades of red, orange and dark blue, Andrea noticed a dolphin starting to follow along side their boat. Andrea listened to Nixie and smiled and nodded at her she was glad she didn't get to the group being assigned for trash and recycling duty. "That job would really suck I would never stick my hands into some ones trash even if I was dared to.

"Hey Ike! He's so smart. Sometimes I think he understands me." The teen looked at the dolphin again that was tailing them since they left the docks, and she noticed a tracking tag along it's fin and recognized the small clamp with a waterproof device on it. "My dad must have had tagged him recently, it's used to track it's movements see where it actually goes and eats. It should fall off in a few days or a week or two, it doesn't hurt him." Andrea pointed out looking at Nixie, she and her father John would sometimes go out and tag animals from the fishing boats.

Andrea quickly turned around to hear the boat starting to sputter and then stop, she knew that it wouldn't be that good if it didn't get checked out soon, luckily Tristain was there. The blonde accepted the paddle that Nixie gave her and looked up at her. "Well at least there isn't a hole in it though or we would sink." Andrea pointed out and looked back a Mako Island behind them I wasn't that far out now and started to paddle towards the beach the island looked beautiful in the setting sun light her eyes going towards the large volcano she couldn't wait t get back on dry land and finish up their project.

Iris caught Tristan's eyes for a moment, confusion in her expression. She seemed to be staring at her for a little too long. It was unnerving and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, crossing her arms across her body self-consciously. Thankfully, she could relax when the other girl was distracted by Andrea's arrival. She let her shoulders relax and her arms fall to her sides.

When it was time to get into the boat to go to Mako Island, she climbed in and didn't pay much attention to the sputtering engine. She wasn't a mechanic. It didn't sound good to her but if the mechanic's daughter and apprentice didn't seem to find anything wrong about it, she had nothing to worry about so she simply stopped worrying.

Dropping her bag onto the bottom to the boat, she took a seat and fell silent. Falling back into her thoughts, she watched the sleek grey shape of the dolphin at their side with a smile on her face. She giggled softly to herself, wiping sea water spray from her face as she sat back and away from the side.

The smile fell from her face as the engine sputtered and died, her eyes widening as a bag of sweets were thrust into her hands. Watching silently as Tristan and Andrea began to paddle, she bit her lip and searched for a paddle herself. She wasn't exactly strong but she figured she could help anyway. That way they could get to the island faster, though they would likely have to camp out there. There was no reception on Mako Island. It was getting late and she suspected that none of them were good enough sailors to be able to sail the small boat back in the dark.

Her stomach twisted with anxiety as she found a paddle and put down the bag of gummis. Something felt weird about being on Mako Island in the dark. She had never been there this late before. Iris glanced at the others in her group, biting her lip. "Is there anything we can do? If there isn't, it looks like we're camping out for the night." She spoke for the first time since boarding the boat. Her paddle pushed through the water, taking quite a bit of effort on her part. As a result, her words were a little more strained than usual. "I mean, there is usually no reception out there so we can't exactly call for help."

The twist of nerves in her stomach tightened as she remembered her family. They were bound to be worried about her if she didn't return by midnight. Her fingers tightened a little on the paddle. Hopefully that meant they'd come searching and they could all go home without waiting for this boat to be repaired.

Iris jolted from her thoughts when the boat hit shore. Picking up the bag of gummi snakes and her own backpack, she handed the sweets back to their owner while she slung her bag over her shoulder. Checking her phone, she sighed. Her hunch had been correct. "Anyone got any signal out here? I've got nothing." She pocketed the phone again, climbing out of the boat and onto soft sand. The forest and volcano seemed to be bigger than she remembered them to be. Perhaps that was just because it was dark but it made her anxious all the same.

Once they got to the island, she and the other girls pulled the boat far enough onto the beach that it would not be washed away. She sighed and hoped that her actions had not permanently damaged Jay's baby. Nixie pulled her cell phone from her dress pocket and looked down at it. She had 1 bar amazingly enough. She tried to make a call, but it kept dropping after the first ring. She sighed again.

"I've got a single bar. Dad got me this new phone. They advertised that it would have good signal "anywhere," but apparently that did not include Mako Island." She bit down on her lower lip and looked toward the hills and forest all around them. "Maybe higher ground would help?" She put her phone back into her pocket, grabbed her bag and pulled out a couple test tubes. "But first, let me get this really quick before in all the excitement we forget. I know none of us want to fail." She went to the edge of the water, kicked her shoes off and waded to her knees, getting the end of her dress wet. She didn't really care; Nixie had always had a thing for the water. After all, she had been born in one of those fancy water births.

---

"Is everyone okay with climbing." She was wearing flip flops, so after debating the risk of keeping them on and spraining her ankle on or taking them off and risking stepping on something sharp, she decided she'd rather take the second risk. She had eyes and smarts enough to look where she was walking. Nixie put them in her backpack next to the test tubes and then put the bag around her shoulders. "Phones out. Watch for a signal, but make sure to watch your step!" She started off, first in line. They would be climbing the hill, which in reality was the bottom of the volcano, now covered with all sorts of plant and wildlife. It was quite amazing how everything had evolved over the years.

The mangrove forest was so breathtaking up close. She looked at the swampy waters and wondered what kind of creatures lived out of sight. She swore she saw a crocodile slipping off a log and into the waters. Nixie paused and squinted her eyes, watching as sure enough a small crocodile moved smoothly through the waters, away from them, to the other side of the swamp area. Some people might feel frightened with such a creature nearby, but she felt at ease because she could tell that it was a freshie. "There's a freshwater croc. They won't attack unless provoked." Amazing creatures.

Nixie looked down at her phone and sighed. "Still one bar." She pointed up toward a rocky part of the volcano that if they climbed would take them to a higher part of the island. "It looks easy enough to climb." She looked down at her bare feet. "Even with no shoes." Most of the rocks had been smoothed over by streams of water that had been continuously pouring out of openings in the volcano and into the mangrove forest for over a hundred years, if not more. "Just don't slip. It will be really wet."

She grabbed onto one of the rocks and pulled herself up. It did not take too much effort. She was fit enough. Living on a small island, people mostly walked to where they needed to go, and of course there was a lot of swimming and surfing, though she was more of a swimmer than a surfer. Every few feet of height, she paused and checked her phone. Nothing.

Getting frustrated, she threw up her arms and groaned. "This stupid phone." She was concentrating so much on her phone that she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. The next thing she knew, darkness and a tightness surrounded her. She was sliding down a smooth, dirt covered tunnel. At the bottom of the tunnel, she tumbled out and did a somersault, landing on ground made out of some sort of rock. Disoriented, she could only blink her eyes a few times. When her vision returned to normal and her eyes adjusted to the lower light, she gasped.

It was a cave, a beautiful cavern filled with strange blue crystals imbedded into the rocky walls. There was almost a glow coming from them, but the most wonderful thing had to be the blue/green pool of water in the middle of the mysterious area.

Nixie stood up, shaking on her feet at first.

"Oh wow...Guys! Guys, can you hear me? Be careful."

She looked up the tunnel. It was much too steep and slippery for her to climb. Nixie turned away from the tunnel and walked a little ways toward the middle of the cave, toward the pool. She bent down and looked inside. It was so clear and looked almost like it would be drinkable, though the few bubbles at the surface, made her believe it was connected to the ocean.

'I've got this weird vibe,' Nixie thought. 'It's almost like this place is magical.' She stood up and did a silly spin. Despite falling into a place that seemed impossible to escape, she felt really excited. Not only was the place mysterious and beautiful, it even felt wonderful. The air inside was fresh and cool on her skin and it smelled like strawberries and spring time. It also made her feel safe; like nothing could ever harm her while in this cavern.

"It's so amazing down here," Nixie yelled up to the girls. She looked up and gasped once again. There was a perfect round opening far above her. "Oh my gosh. I'm at the bottom of the volcano." It was hard telling how far the true bottom of the volcano was. For all she knew, she could be near the sea floor. The opening above her sure looked a million miles away. It was daunting and a little scary, but did not stop her from wanting to explore the cave more.

By the time they finally made it to shore Andrea was out of breath after rowing for what felt like forever, when they made it onto dry land Andrea quickly got out to help Nixie pull the boat far enough onto the shore. She knew what would happen if it didn't she learned that the hard way last year when she and her father came to Mako Island to study their boat was washed away but luckily her dad got into the water and got it onto shore again. Andrea climbed up into the boat again to grab her bag, she strapped it over her shoulder and got back down to check her phone seeing there wasn't a single bar on it. "And I have no reception here either." Andrea said with an annoyed sigh and tried to call home anyway and the call quickly dropped. "Yep it's not going to work high ground might work better."

Andrea watched Nixie going towards the water not wanting to have her partner do all the work she went to take some of the test tubes as well knowing how to use it because of working with her father. "Let me help." She said luckily she was wearing shorts and took a small water sample before putting them into her own bag. The blonde looked back towards Aulani Island their home seeing the lights were starting to turn on as it got darker, they were either going to be spending the night on Mako or make the dangerous night ride back home and the full moon was slowly starting to rise.

She followed behind Nixie and took off her sandals as well stuffing them into her bag, the blonde looked up at the large imposing volcano even though she climbed it only once she was scared and ended up going back down. "I really hate heights." Andrea muttered to herself and checked her phone still didn't get any reception from her phone and shoved it back into her pocket, she looked down at the swamp below watching a fresh water gator swimming in the pool of fresh water. When Andrea looked up she saw that Nixie had disappeared and looked around for her classmate she was worried about her now then she heard her classmate's voice again. "Oh wow...Guys! Guys, can you hear me? Be careful." Andrea kept climbing up the rocks. "Yeah I hear you what happened?!" Andrea yelled back before feeling herself slipping down the same hole Nixie had gone down on.

Feeling the wet dirt and rocks hitting her as she slid down Andrea landed with a hard thud landing on her butt and groaned softly. Andrea looked around seeing the same beautiful blue crystals on the walls, and the strange pool of water at the center. The blonde started to dust herself off looking back the way she had come. "Be really careful coming down here okay?" Andrea said and looked up seeing the top of the volcano and the night sky, she approached Nixie and looked around. "How do you think this place was made and how do we get out?" She asked looking down at the water at the center.

After what seemed like forever she dropped the paddle she had been using onto the floor of the boat her hand resting on the wall as she pushed herself over it her feet landing with a soft splash in the surf below them, it felt good against her ankles the water gently lapping against her skin soaking through her vans but there was no time to enjoy it now they had work to do; and it was more than just their project. Rushing forward she grabbed hold of the boat helping the other two pull it onto the shore so that it wouldn't be pulled away from them by the increasingly strong tide that worked its way around the island, she would have to get a better look at the damage done to the engine but right now her first and only concern was what the four of them were going to be doing for the night. They had two options ahead of them; spend the night on Mako island and get rescued in the morning, or be rescued tonight somehow by someone hopefully sent by a worried parent who wanted their baby girl home and in bed for the night. Both were interesting options and though she would have loved a night away from her three overprotective and overbearing brothers, she was going to have to take option number two...

"I've got a single bar. Dad got me this new phone. They advertised that it would have good signal "anywhere," but apparently that did not include Mako Island." She slipped her hand into her bra pulling out her iPhone as the girls began to talk about their cell phone reception checking to see if anyone had a signal or not that was good enough to be able to call home for help, "And I have no reception here either." She unlocked her phone moving about the shore before she climbed back up onto the boat perching herself on the wall as her own signal went from one bar to two, smiling brightly she dialed her home number the phone instantly picked up after only two rings and the sounds of three voices arguing in the background coming in and out with the shotty reception she got, "Heeeeeeeeeeello? Chase residence; if you're looking for my dear father, his asleep. If you're looking for one of his three super hot sons, give the name of the one you wish to talk to. And if you're looking for our sister and you're a guy, fuck off she isn't interested and if you call again we will hunt you down." She narrowed her eyes her expression showing that she was obviously pissed off, "Jason you freak! Is this why I never get any calls unless I answer the phone!"

"Tris? Is that you? You're breaking up... Oh god, are you oka-..." As the line went silent her face relaxed her lips parted as she started calling into the phone his name leaving her lips over and over again before the dial tone cut in signalling that the call had dropped, "Jason? ..Jason..! Ah crap, the calls gone; I think he heard me, but then again I could barely hear everything he said so, who knows..." She sighed as she lowered her phone slipping it into her bag where it would be safe as they moved about trying to figure out what they were going to to next, Maybe higher ground would help? But first, let me get this really quick before in all the excitement we forget. I know none of us want to fail." She turned her gaze over to look at Nixie as she put her own phone away in her pocket the others following suit by doing the same before test tubes were pulled out, while they were stuck here they might as well get their assignment done, "Yep it's not going to work high ground might work better. Let me help." She watched on as Andrea knelt down and began to help her collect up samples of the water, slipping off the boat and back onto the shore she made her way over to them leaning down to watch what they were doing so she could learn what it was was expected of her in the class, "So you honestly just fill them up with water? Sounds easy enough..."

Standing up straight she bit her lip softly looking out at the island that was lain out before them the large swamp like forest spanning out almost the length of the island casting long dark shadows over the sand due to the rising moon above them; the whole thing looked eerie and mysterious though the urge to go exploring was only enhanced by the strong pull she felt coming from somewhere hidden in among the darkness. [i]"Is everyone okay with climbing. Phones out. Watch for a signal, but make sure to watch your step!" She watched as one by one everyone around her took off their shoes slipping them into their bags for safe keeping the action causing her to frown though she wasn't going to question it, it was their lives and if they wanted to risk injuring their feet that was fine she would just help to patch up any cuts and scratches if they happened. Falling into line behind Andrea she carefully made her way behind them looking back every now and then to make sure that Iris was still with her and the rest of the group, she slowed down a bit walking beside her rather than in front of her as they continued to hike through the forest and up the side of the hill, "Hey... I wanted to say sorry for earlier; like if I creeped you out by looking at you like I did. Just you look like someone, I was trying to remember who... I'm really sorry..."

Her gaze lowered to her feet making sure that she was watching where she was stepping for a few moments of walking in silence lifting her eyes she flicked them back over to Iris her hand coming up to brush some of her long dark brown locks off her face again as it hit her like a ton of bricks, the girl becoming completely distracted and unaware of their other two teammates who had disappeared only a few steps ahead of them, "Oh! I got it! Now I remember who you remind me of! You remind me of Audrey; you know, the mechanic from Lost City of Atlantis-..." Her words turned into more of a scream as she stepped forward onto thin air her body falling down the tunnel of dirt and rocks leading to who knew where; she shut her eyes tightly her body squirming as she neared the bottom of the tunnel her feet stumbling against the ground moving her body forward before she tripped over herself her eyes widening as she felt her body hit the water in front of her. Breaking the surface she gasped for air her cheeks turning a bright red out of pure embarrassment as she turned her body looking over at the other two who had already made their way into the cavern, "Heh... You think I'd be used to wiping out by now..." She lifted her hand up rubbing the back of her head like an idiot as she tried to regain whatever dignity she had left after that spill her eyes caught on the beauty of the top of the volcano causing her to lift her eyes up to look at it her head dropping back as she floated around in the middle of the pool, "I've never seen anything as beautiful as this guys... Makes me so glad I moved here..."

Iris sighed, following the group up the hill and into the trees and keeping her shoes on. Her converse still had sturdy soles so she didn’t see the point in taking them off. She glanced at her phone every so often but nothing had changed. She still had no bars whatsoever. Shifting the bag on her shoulder, she hopped up onto a higher rock and then jumped back down again just to occupy herself. There were a couple of times where she almost fell too far behind but she managed to catch up again.

Looking up as she was addressed, she smiled. “Ahh, no it’s okay.” She mumbled, waving her hand and shaking her head. “I’m just not very used to being looked at, to be honest.” She shrugged awkwardly, wringing her hands and falling silent again as Tris went quiet. She didn’t know what more to say. Having been so distracted by her thoughts, she didn’t see where the other two had disappeared to.

When the revelation came, she didn’t expect it to be down a hole. Now she was all alone up there while everyone was down there. Nerves began to flash through her body. “I… Oh…” She wrung her hands again, her eyes flicking to the hole. She didn’t want to be alone up there but then, she didn’t want to go down either. There might not even be a way to get out of there and she absolutely hated being trapped in small spaces. Iris had a case of claustrophobia and she was sure the hole alone would trigger it.

But then, everyone else was down there. She didn’t know what she hated more. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut and slipped into the tunnel with a scream. Being alone on Mako Island was definitely worse. She skidded to a halt, breathing heavily and taking a moment to herself before she managed to work up the courage to open her eyes. The tension in her shoulders uncoiled a little when she realised she was in quite a large cavern, and a beautiful one at that.

“Woah…” She mumbled, looking around at the crystals as she dusted herself off. Even the pool in the centre looked as if it were crystal clear. She could see what she was assuming was the sky, high up above. At least she knew that they definitely won’t run out of air. “What now?” She asked, glancing at the other three and finding it somewhat amusing that Tristan, she assumed, had fallen into the pool. The water looked inviting enough for her to want to jump in to join her. Something was tugging at her, telling her to jump in. The whole room felt magical, and looked it too, but the pool of water felt especially so. She knelt down by the edge, swirling her fingers through the warm water gently.

Nixie laughed when one by one all the girls ended up at the bottom of the cavern. She bent over, putting her hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath. "Nice of all of you to join me." She stood up and shook her long hair out of her face. She looked over at the pool of water at Tristan and raised an eyebrow. How had she managed to fall into the pool. It was clear across the room on the opposite side of the tunnel opening. The blue-haired girl walked over to the water's edge and reached down, helping the other girl back to the stone surface. Nixie chuckled, then turned to the other girls when Isis asked what they were going to do now.

She walked over to the cave wall and ran her fingers gently over the crystal rocks, delighted when one of them fell out into her hand. Nixie held it up and squinted her eyes at it. It really did seem to have a soft glow coming from it, but that was really caused by the full moon starting to pass over the volcano opening. She looked up at the tiny bit of moon that was visible and smiled. The moonlight felt really inviting. Everything about this place felt inviting, from the walls, the floor, the crystals and especially the round, crystal clear pool of water.

When she realized she had got distracted and ignored the other girl's questions, she blushed slightly. "Oh sorry. I have a theory about how we can get out, but bear with me, until I figure out if it will work." She walked over to the pool, set down at the edge, dangling her legs into the water. She shrugged off her backpack and set it aside. "It looks like this pool is connected to the rest of the ocean." She pointed in the clear water. "See that tunnel down at the bottom?" It was at least big enough for two people to swim side by side.

"I'll go check. I can hold my breath longer than anyone on the island." Since they lived surrounded by water, it had become a standing tradition to have silly water competitions and see who could do various things the best.

Nixie jumped in the water, took a huge breath and then started through the clear tunnel. The swim did not take as long as she thought it would. In no time, she was out of the tunnel and in the main ocean. Nixie swam to the surface and took a huge gulp of air. It had taken her a little over 2 minutes, though would have taken longer if she hadn't swam so fast. She looked around her, saw that it was a short swim from where she was to the beach where their boat was docked.

---

"Good news," Nixie said when she appeared at the pools surface. She looked at the girls and smiled. Her long hair swirled around in the water as she laid back and floated. "This pool is connected to the ocean. If we swim fast, it is about a 2 minute swim from here to the surface." She motioned for the others to join her in the water, grabbed her backpack and secured it to her body.

"Come on everybody; jump in!" She rested her forearms on the edge of the cavern floor and looked around the magical room. Part of her wished that there was a normal way to come and go because she wanted to come back every chance she got. She looked up at the night sky through the volcano's opening, watching as the full moon almost nearly covered it. There was still a slither of moon missing from view. She was still looking up when the other girls jumped into the water and just when she heard the splash of their bodies hit the surface, the moon passed full over the opening.

Nixie's eyes widened as a beam of moon light shined down on them. It was like the tower of light was some sort of magical barrier. Nixie could not move awat from her spot. Subconsciously she reached out and took two of the girl's hands, noticing the everyone else had done the same, until all four of them were holding hands and facing each other.

The water around them began to gurgle and turned a pleasant warm, like a fancy bubble bath. Orbs of water floated out of the pool, swirling around their heads and up the column of light and seemed to be following it until it could no longer be seen. A whoosh of air followed the bubbles, caressing their cold, wet skin. The next thing Nixie knew the water around them startled to boil and become really hot. It did not hurt, but left a really strange sensation on her exposed skin. Almost a soon as it began, it stopped and the surface got as cold as ice.

Looking up, Nixie noticed the full moon moving away from the opening, the column of light went away and all the strange phenomenon went with it.

"What was that? Everyone okay?" She looked at the others; they were still holding hands, forming a circle between them.

Andrea walked around the small cavern her hand running along the blue crystals that were going along the cavern wall and reached out finding a loose one and took it off of the wall to inspect it. The crystal looked extremely beautiful and rolled it around in her hand before stashing it into her bag and laid it gently on the floor of the cave, the blonde looked to Nixie as she went into the pool of water. Andrea quickly went to the edge of the pool waiting for her classmate to come back two minutes later she was glad to see her again and even happier that there was a way out of the cave. "Well that's good that there is a way out."

Andrea smiled happily and grabbed her things and jumped into the water with Nixie, her eyes looked up at the opening of the volcano seeing the bright moonlight shining through lighting up the whole cavern in moonlight. The water felt so warm and soothing she held Nixie's hand and then Iris's. She watched in amazement as bubbles of water started to rise from the surface of water, and felt the bubbles brushing against her skin like it was a nice soothing bubble bath. She just kept staring up into the sky feeling the water getting even hotter and then quickly cooled down Andrea shook her head her eyes gazing to the others who were all in a neat circle.

"Yeah i'm fine that was really weird I've never seen anything like that before have you guys?" Andrea asked, she reached for her things and looked to the underwater entrance. "Should we head out now?"

"Nice of all of you to join me." She chuckled turning her body over in the water her hands reaching out to grab hold of the ledge pulling herself closer towards it before she reached out taking a hold of Nixie's hand so that she could get her assistance in climbing out and back onto the ground, the amused look on each of their faces showing that she had clearly made some sort of impression with her harsh landing into the cavern, "Nice of you to extend the invitation to us... And it's nice that I could be of some entertainment to you all." Smiling she used her hand to help to pull herself up and out of the water dropping down on the ground she lent back on the palms of her hands gently lowering herself down so that she was laying back against the cavern floor her eyes staring up at the moon that was creeping over the opening at the top, closing her eyes she relaxed against the cool stone floor beneath her as she listened to the other three moving about the cavern each passing moment causing her to become more and more content with just staying where she lay for the night; one night wasn't going to kill them, yes it wouldn't be ideal but it wasn't going to kill them. They were out of the open, away from where any harsh weather could hit them and it was such a beautiful night; if need be they could be found in the morning.

"Oh sorry. I have a theory about how we can get out, but bear with me, until I figure out if it will work. It looks like this pool is connected to the rest of the ocean. See that tunnel down at the bottom?" She raised her eyebrow as she thought back to when she had been lounging in the pool it had been pretty deep from what she could remember, her feet hadn't even touched the ground at any point in that time. "I'll go check. I can hold my breath longer than anyone on the island." Turning her head she opened her eyes slightly watching as Nixie jumped into the pool quickly disappearing under the surface before not coming back for what seemed like a few minutes, pushing her upper body back up she lent on one hand her other hand coming up to push her wet hair from her face, "Well, it was looking like it was going to be such a nice night for camping..." Standing up she shook her hair out for a moment before she jumped forward into the pool the warm embrace of the salt water wrapping around her body leaving behind a slight warmth that came with swimming in the ocean, breaking the surface she took a deep breath letting it out slowly before she tuned smiling over at the others who were floating around with her, "Shall we..?"

Opening her mouth to take a deep breath she froze her eyes widening slightly as she began to feel the water grow warmer around them each moment seeming to bring the sea to a scalding boil though nothing but a warm tickle against her skin, turning her soft dark brown eyes down to the water she watched slightly speechless as small bubbles began to form around the four of them lifting from the small pool of water before raising into the air. Her eyes lifted with them following their movements until her gaze was drawn by the beautiful sight that was the moon hovering over them keeping her fixated in her place though she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave or not; the night was too beautiful, too perfect... Why would anyone want to leave? She closed her eyes a soft smile playing on her lips as she relaxed her body enjoying the gentle and caressing tingling sensation that spread throughout her body leaving no part of her feeling stressed or upset her heart telling her that she was content enough to just stay there forever though her mind knew they would have to leave soon or risk not being found. And as quickly as it had happened, it stopped.

Tris opened her eyes slowly feeling more relaxed than she had ever felt before as she let her gaze glide casually over each of the girls around her a sheepish looking grip plastered over her face her hands slipping from theirs, "Well... That was better than a full body massage... Yeah, I'm fine. But unless you guys are fine with camping here in the cavern we better get our buts into gear." Taking a deep breath she shot them a smile before she rolled forward her body becoming submerged in the water as she kicked her legs pushing herself through the water with ease following the path Nixie had minutes ago taken to the ocean, frowning slightly she pushed herself quicker breaking the surface of the sea with a slight gasp for air the young brunette having misjudged the distance. Pushing her hair back she looked around where she floated definitely not in the cave anymore; the shore wasn't too far from where she had come out the boat they had used still firmly planted on the shore and away from the waves that would threaten to pull it back out to sea, turning back to where she had come from she waited her body swaying in the tide as she waited for the others to appear with her.

Isis took a breath and jumped into the pool, landing with a splash. Suddenly, she was enveloped in warm sea water and then she surfaced again, breaking into the air. As she pushed her dripping hair back and away from her face, the moonlight began to slide over the rippling water and she was mesmerised. She didn't know when she had clasped hands with the two girls beside her or how the water had gotten so hot. For some reason, she just didn't question it until the bubbling water had stopped and the moon had moved again.

A wash of calm rushed over her before she finally came back to her senses. "Let's get going, shall we?" She smiled, hoping she'd have strong enough lungs to make it. She didn't swim as much as she would have liked to. Taking a deep breath, she dove beneath the clear water and followed the other girls through the darkness. There was a moment of hesitation before she followed they through the small hole, panic rising quickly in her chest. She was almost persuaded to stay behind in that beautiful cave on her own. Shaking her head, she pushed herself forward and through the entrance.

Her lungs began to burn half way through the tunnel and she pushed herself faster. She'd only have a few more seconds before she had to breathe. Iris surfaced with heavy, sputtering breaths and a reddened face from holding in air. She coughed, brushing her hair back again and trying to catch her breath and stay afloat.

Getting to shore was difficult. The effort of swimming out there had exhausted her and she found the distance difficult to close. When she collapsed onto the sand, relief flooded her bones and she sighed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in to relax herself again. The panic in her chest fell back, the calming lapping of the waves against her clothes reminding her that she was no longer trapped inside and everything was open and free.

24 hours later

The next day, the four girls were able to fake their way through their class presentation. They got the samples and Nixie knew a lot about the water and the environment, so she was able to throw together a decent paper with the help of the others. Their teacher Miss. Timpleton was a fairly young girl and mostly seen as the cool, hip teacher, and it was usually easy to get through her class with a good grade.

After the strange events that happened on Mako Island, Nixie felt a closeness to the other three and when they parted at the end of the school day, she could not help but think about them, wondering what they were up to. Isis was most likely helping at her father's restaurant. Andrea was probably doing something with their aquatic friends at the Aquatic Research Center. Tristan was probably helping her dad work on boats. Here she was at the top of the lighthouse replacing the burned out bulb with a new one.

When she finished her work, she walked down the spiral stairs of the lighthouse. It was a tight squeeze, on some sides of the stairs were very small bedrooms or storage rooms for guests. At the bottom of the lighthouse, there was a large open room that led to the main house that had been built onto the lighthouse back when the lighthouse was first built. The main house had 4 bedrooms, a living room, bathroom and a kitchen.

Outside the lighthouse, they were situated on a high rocky cliff that overlooked the waters and the island.

Nixie remembered the night before as they came out of the water and went back to their boat. It had been pure luck that they were found. It had been Nixie's friend Jay who noticed his boat was missing and Nixie was the only person who ever wanted to use it, and to get to Mako, no less. He and one of his fishing friends came out to the island and found the girls.

He scolded Nixie, but couldn't be too angry with her. How was she supposed to know that the boat was in need of new parts?

She shook off the memory and started to do her nightly routine before going to bed. Unbeknown to her, around 10pm that night, it had been 24 hours since they had been trapped by the moonlight. Something inside her was changing, shifting.

The next morning, she woke up around 11am, happy that it was Saturday. She threw off her covers and jumped out of bed. From the sounds of it, the other people in her house were up and going about their days already. She waited for what felt like 10 minutes for her sister to finish in the bathroom, getting annoyed because Lyra always took forever in there.

“About time!” Nixie ran into the bathroom, slammed and locked the door. She dropped her clean clothes on the sink and started to undress. She poured herself a nice, warm bath. Nixie was going to relax this time. She had nowhere to be.

When she got in the water, nothing seemed different. Then ten seconds passed, and with a whoosh and what seemed like water swirling around her body, she found herself looking down at... at... a fish tail. She blinked, rubbed her eyes and looked again. Yes, it was still there.

“Oh my... Oh my God,” Nixie exclaimed.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Her mother's voice came through the door, making her panic. How would she explain a freaking tail?

“I-I'm fine. Lyra just left a clump of hair in the drain. Ew!”

“Teenagers,” her mother said with a chuckle.

“I'm not fine, I'm not fine. I'm a scientific freak. What the heck is this?” Nixie whispered to herself. She twisted her body around, trying to get a good look at the tail. It was bright blue and scaly. It had little fins on the sides of her hips and tapered off to a point with two flippers like fins where her feet normally should be.

Not only did she have a tail, she was now wearing some scaly bra like thing on her chest. It matched her tail in color and kind of looked like wings on her breasts, it barely covered them, making it look like she had huge cleavage, and her shoulders were left bare. Nixie blushed and vowed nobody would see her like this.

“Wait a minute...” Nixie tilted her head to the side. What if the other girls also had a tail. She snapped her fingers as if coming to an explanation. “The cavern. The moonlight!” That had to be it, but how was any of this possible and what did it mean?

Nixie pulled herself out of the tub and dragged her body until she got to the towel rack. She had no idea if this would work, but figured drying off would make her legs come back, if getting wet made the tail appear.

And just like magic, she was soon herself again. A bit shaky, she got up to her feet.

“Now what?” she asked the empty room.

"Hurry up losers! I want to get to the beach this morning not later! If you don't move your asses, I'm going to leave you all behind... Simple as that." Tristan narrowed her eyes as she shot a glance back over her shoulders at the hall that led to the bedrooms that each belonged to one of the four Chase children, three of the four doors still closed while her own bedroom door was now wide open for all to see inside of. Rolling her eyes she quickly finished bounding down the stairs slipping her way into the kitchen where her father sat at the table holding up a newspaper while biting into a piece of toast he had just made, smiling brightly she gave him a small wave her bare feet carrying her past the table and over to the kitchen counters so she could grab something to eat, "Morning dad. Got much work today?" She turned her gaze her dark brown orbs coming to rest on him as she lent up on the balls of her feet reaching into the cupboard with a frown on her face as she found what she was looking for, pulling out a box of her favorite cereal she opened it up gazing down into it; the box completely empty, "Morning honey; no, no, not much to do today. The only job that's been booked in is that kid Jay's boat, needs some new parts put into it and a serious tune up... So I don't need your help today, go and have fun with your friends."

Staring down at the box she bit her lip softly thinking back to what had happened that night after they had finally been found by the guy called Jay who little did she know actually owned the boat they had taken on their little adventure, he hadn't been happy that's for sure but he had helped them get back to the docks and had given her his word that her father wouldn't know that she had been out there; as far as he knew she had been out on the beach with a couple of her surfing friends. Honestly it wasn't a complete lie... She had had plans to do just that until their project had caused her to cancel and head out to Mako without her dads permission. Oh well, what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Folding up the empty box she nodded before she dumped it in the bin her hands coming up to readjust the straps on her bikini top, "Alright, I will do just that then dad. Gunna head down to the beach and get in some waves before the rest of the crowd show up and take over the beach." Moving over to where he sat she lent down pressing her lips softly against his cheek, "I promise I'll be careful and I have my phone on me, so if you need me please call... I'm not like my brothers, I won't get mad at you for calling me into work."

Chuckling softly she made her way back into the hall reaching back to pull her long dark locks back into a messy bun as she made sure everything that she needed was right in front of her; surfboard? Check. Keys and bag? Yep, right there. Shoes? On her feet. Perfect. Reaching out she collected everything she needed ignoring her three brothers as they came down the stairs looking worse for wear after their long night out, "Hey! Those are my car keys! You're not taking my jeep!" She kept Damion's keys out of his reach as she quickly hurried outside and over to where he had parked it the night before, Jason and Dean laughing in the background as they watched Damion try and follow her, "You should have been up earlier then! Mine now." Carefully slipping her board into the back she pulled herself up into the drivers seat putting the key into the ignition before she waved goodbye driving away before he could get any closer to her; she knew she would never hear the end of it once she got home later in the day, barely legal to drive and she had "borrowed" the one car she had not gotten permission to use... Life was fun when you had three brothers teaching you bad habits.

Sitting up a little straighter she pulled into a parking spot by the beach turning the car off slowly as she looked out over the surf that was on offer to her that morning, a small smile crossed her lips as she watched the waves lap against the sand the morning sun giving the whole scene a beautiful glow to it that you just couldn't get anywhere else; it was perfection, and since she had moved, it was also now her home. Getting out of the car she collected her things once more before she locked the car dropping the keys into her bag as her feet carried her over the path and down onto the sandy beach that spread out before her, glancing around herself her smile grew at the lack of patrons filling up the beach; choosing to come so early seemed to have really paid off for her, but she would only be able to get a few runs in before the rest of the crew showed up and joined her in the sparkling water that looked to inviting to deny. Placing her things down she kicked her shoes off giving her board a once over before she began to run out into the surf her feet kicking up water causing it to splash around coming back on her, pushing forward she slid her board down onto the water her body laying flat on top of it as she began to peddle out a lot slower than she was normally.

Her smile faded slightly as she concentrated trying to pick up the pace her arms slicing through the water with no issues; maybe there was something wrong with her board after all, she hadn't waxed it this morning... But that couldn't be the reason... Could it..? Pushing her body up with her hands she glanced back to see if she had been caught on anything her eyes widening as they fell instead on a huge fish tail resting on and flopping over the edge of her board, "Wh-What the hell!?" Reaching back she poked at it hard her face scrunching as she felt pain shoot up through it as though it was apart of her... It looked as though it was apart of her. Rubbing her eyes she took a moment to herself before she glanced back down at it trying to examine every little aspect as she could of it; the beautiful orange and red color of it reminded her of the morning sunrise or the colors that she had seen in the bonfires her brothers usually hosted once a month. It was strange and slightly unnerving to suddenly find out she had a tale though thinking back through her life it was something she had always thought would be pretty cool as well; she loved swimming and being in the water, and after her father had bought her The Little Mermaid movie when she was little she had become obsessed with wanting to become a mermaid like Ariel had been.

Growing out of that phase when she had hit grade five she had settled for a more realistic approach and had come to the conclusion that mermaids, like satyrs and harpies and vampires just didn't exist; they were creatures in mythology, sometimes seen as monsters in stories used to scare little children into behaving... But now... Well her whole take on the matter was quickly being rethought. "Tristan! Hey Tristan! I want my car back!" She lifted her gaze up her eyes widening even more than they had originally as she saw Damion's figure storming down the beach towards her, panicking she rolled over her body flopping down into the water with a splash her tail hidden under the water and her arms clinging to her board for her dear life as she quickly tried to figure out how to use it, "D-Damion! What are you doing here! And no, I need the car to get home later, please, I promise I'll make it up to you! I'll... I'll make your favorite dinner tonight!" He stopped in his tracks narrowing his eyes at her as she managed to get her tail moving so that she wasn't just relying on her arms to keep her above water, "My favorite... With the scalloped potatoes you make..? And your creme caramels..?" She rolled her eyes as she slowly and awkwardly moved closer pushing her board out for him to take, "I'll make them if you take my board back to my stuff... I-... I just feel like swimming..."

He beamed over at her as her as he took up her board, "You have yourself a deal!" Sighing in relief she watched him run back to her things shoving her board into the sand so it stood before he headed off mumbling about what he had to buy for dinner that night now she was cooking for them, taking a deep breath she forced herself under the water turning her body around so that she could get another look at the tail that was where her legs were supposed to be. It was beautiful, longer than her legs usually were which made her estimate that her feet would probably end where her fins were beginning, reaching forward she pulled a face as she grabbed hold of the bottom of her fins flicking them around a bit in her hands before she let them go noticing for the first time the small little fins that grew on her sides where her hips should be. Her hands slid up her body coming to rest on her cleavage which was pressed together making it look even bigger than it usually was due to the strange top she was now wearing; orange and white shells seemed to cover what needed to be covered before the same scales seemed to wrap around her back keeping them in place while in front bits of seaweed and fishing net came up and around her neck creating a sort of halter top she was sure she hadn't put on that morning.

Pushing herself up to the surface she gasped for air out of habit before realizing there was no need; looking around she spotted the familiar shape of the lighthouse not too far from where she was floating. Nixie! Nixie lived at the lighthouse. She glanced down at herself through the water; she hadn't been like this until this morning and the only thing that had happened was that her and the other three had gotten into that weird cave pool the other night. If she was like this and that was the reason, then maybe the others were too, "I can't believe I'm doing this..." Frowning she took a deep breath forcing herself back under as she slowly made her way over to the rocks by the bottom of the lighthouse her hands reaching up to grab hold of some of the rocks pulling her upper body out of the water with much difficulty; this was crazy... There was no way she was going to be able to hear her from way down here... "Nixie! Nixie, I need help! Please, we need to talk! Nixie!"

Andrea was in her bedroom she was extremely happy that they managed to get their research project done and out of the way, she looked at the small weird blue crystal she managed to grab from the cave the other day. Ever since that night she felt somewhat different but she wasn't sure why Andrea looked to the clock on her bedside table seeing that it was 11:43AM she always liked to stay up late at night and sleep in for most of the day. "Hey hun can you feed the animals please?" Andrea's mother Vicky spoke through her door. "Yeah sure thing mom just let me get ready."

Andrea got out of her bed taking out a white blouse and shirt, the blonde took off her night clothes tossing them onto her hamper. When she was done Andrea walked out of her bedroom and into the lab where there was the food already set up for her to take to the seals they were located towards the back of the lab. The area had a small little cove where the seals would come and go a they pleased.

She took a quick waft of the smell of the dead fish in the bucket and gagged at it wondering how animals enjoyed the taste. Andrea started to think about her friends that they did their project together and wondered what they were all up to today the ledge above the cove had some concrete which was about three feet above the water. It was usually always very slippery with water without paying attention to it her feet suddenly slipped causing Andrea to scream out the bucket full of fish flew out of her hands and into the water the seals went in to eat the fish.

Andrea quickly swam back up to the surface feeling something weird along her legs and looked down, her blue eyes stared down at the long blue fish tail going along her legs. "What the?" Andrea said to herself her hand running along the scaly surface, she could feel it as if it was a part of her own body which made her even more scared about it and looked around hoping no one would see her then she thought to herself. 'That cave has to have something to do with this.' Andrea gasped loudly. 'It must have happened to the others.' Andrea awkwardly started to swim to an area that was secluded from her house there was a small beach and made her way there dragging herself over onto the dry sand. Andrea looked at her top realizing that it was totally different then what she was wearing as well Andrea ran her hand over the blue surface what looked and felt like a giant blue shell tied around with a seaweed like material holding it all together.

After spending several minutes drying out in the sun she looked back down feeling her legs and watching them turning back to normal, Andrea quickly got up and could see the lighthouse from there and quickly started running along the beach.

Nixie pushed her dyed light blue hair over her shoulder and went back to her room. She started to pace back and forth, trying to think of how she was going to pull this new transformation off and if her project partners had turned as well, how would they all handle this? One thing was sure; it seemed fate was pushing them closer together and in the end, they would be the best of friends, or something very horrible would happen.

Such as them getting discovered and put on some sort of lab table to be studied and dissected. She shuddered at the idea.

No, without a doubt, nobody will find out about this, she swore. Her face fell slightly. Though how can it be possible to keep it from everyone? This is a small island and everyone knows each other's business. Then there is my family and my best friend Jay. How can I keep something so big from them?

Walking over to her bed, she jumped on it and buried her face in her Pikachu shaped pillow. She felt tears on her cheeks, her whole body freezing. Would her tears also make her turn? She started to count silently in her head, but no transformation accrued.

“Phew, at least that's something,” Nixie whispered.

"Nixie! Nixie, I need help! Please, we need to talk! Nixie!"

Nixie had almost dozed off when Tristan’s voice floated through her open window, making her sit up and blink rapidly. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if everything from before had been a dream. She stood up and walked over to her window that overlooked the ocean.

“Oh my...” She whispered. Down far below her window was Tristan, hanging onto the rocks, trying not to let the rough lapping water pull her back out to sea.

“Tristan!”

Tristan was a mermaid.

Realizing she was still naked from her bath, she blushed, covering herself and backing away from the window. “I will be down in a minute,” she promised the girl.

Nixie threw on her light blue sundress, the one that matched her hair, and a pair of flip flops. She ran out of her bedroom and through the house as fast as her legs would carry her. She walked around her house, climbing over rocks, until she was close enough to Tristan to touch her if she wanted. Luckily, the wind was not blowing toward her, so the ocean spray did not touch her skin.

“Tristan. You, too?” She wondered if Andrea had also turned.