Where we split up, and I'm a prisoner, Michael babysits Nutmeg, Loki follows his dreams of being a king and Sarah and Chelsea take over the kitchen.

-

"If I die here, I'm going to kill you lot," Penny muttered.

"Shut up prisoner!" Loraine suppressed a giggle.

Penny was being escorted towards the palace by Rocky, Daniel, Loraine and Loki, while Sarah, Chelsea and Michael kept an eye on Nutmeg and checked all the windows they could find.

The idea (don't ask me whose idea) was that Team B; Sarah, Michael, Chelsea and Nutmeg, would try to figure out where the stone was being kept, while Team A; Loki, Loraine, Daniel and Rocky with Penny as 'prisoner', infiltrated the castle and fetched it.

"Anything yet?" Rocky, who was at the back of the 'escort', hissed to Penny.

Penny shook her head. They'd agreed that if Team B found anything, Chelsea would let Penny know, telepathically.

"Hey!" a merman with a purple tail shouted, "where do you think you're going?"

"To the dungeons of course," Loki answered, showing off some of his incredible bluffing skills and natural authority.

"They're the other way," the merman told them meekly, clearly impressed by Loki's authoritative tone.

Loki cursed, and Loraine muttered something about Nutmeg.

"Then that other fool lied to us!" he shouted, "he deserves to be thrown into the dungeons himself! If I get my hands on him..."

Of course, nobody had given Loki any instructions, but the merman believed them nonetheless. 

Loki could be very convincing.

"What did he look like?" the merman enquired.

Loki shrugged.

"I don't remember what every mewling quim in this Allfatherforsaken palace looks like," he growled, "he had a blue tail, that's all I remember."

They'd already passed at least six mer-people with blue tails, so that was a safe lie.

"And you?" the merman addressed his question to Rocky, who shrugged.

"I think his name is John or something," Loraine muttered vaguely.

John was a common name on land, and she'd already heard it being shouted through the halls somewhere.

The merman sighed.

"Well, the dungeons are still in the opposite direction, about six floors down."

Loki curtly nodded his thanks.

"You should be honoured to have spoken to me and maintained your head, mortal. Now, to the dungeons!"

They turned around and swam away quickly, leaving a very confused merman behind.

-

"In here," Sarah whispered, pointing to a small round window, which was opened just wide enough for them to peer through.

"Oh really?" a high pitched voice squealed, "that's sooo cute!"

"I know right?" another voice drifted towards them through the window, in that same high-pitched frequency.

Sarah and Nutmeg looked through the window side by side.

There were two mermaids, with their backs facing the window. One had blonde hair and a bright pink tail covered with purple patterns, and the other a green tail and bright red hair, just like...

"Pep-per..." Nutmeg mumbled, squeezing through the window.

"Nutmeg wait!" Sarah called out.

The window was too small for her to follow.

"Michael!" she hissed, "can you teleport in?!"

Michael gave a quick nod, put his hand around his bracelet and teleported into the room, right beside Nutmeg.

Just as the mermaids turned around.

"Awwww adorabelle!" the blonde exclaimed with a strange accent that could perhaps be compared to French, "juzt look at her!"

"What's your name, sweetie?" the redhead asked in a more British accent.

"Pep-per..." Nutmeg squeaked in answer to the redhead. She probably hadn't even heard the question.

"And, Prinzess Peppurrr," the blonde continued, causing Michael to raise an eyebrow, "is this your big brother?"

She gestured to Michael, whose cheeks tinged red.

Nutmeg turned to Michael.

"Mik-al!"

"Uhm... yes," Michael stuttered, because it was sort of true.

"Aww, cute," the redhead mumbled, "I am Princess Coral of the Reef tribe, and this is Claudia of the Higher Tribe. You know, the one that called the meeting? To unite the tribes and use the stone to take over other planets and bla bla bla. What tribe are you from?"

"Uhmmm..." Michael hesitated, glancing at the window. Sarah and Chelsea were gone; they must've left to find a different entrance.

"Stowne," Nutmeg muttered, probably having heard the word somewhere in Coral's ramble.

"The Stone tribe?" Coral smiled, "cool! That explains why I don't know you! I didn't know the Stone Tribe was even coming."

Michael let out a sigh of relief.

And then he got an idea.

"The Stone... the one we're going to use to take over the other planets and bla bla bla? Do you think we could see it?"

Claudia looked dubious, and Coral bit her lip.

"Pwease?" Nutmeg begged.

"Oui," Claudia gave in, "we vill do it, for Prinzess Peppurr."

-

"We can use that to get in."

Chelsea pointed to a forest of seaweed, and Sarah frowned.

"How exactly were you planning..."

"Easy," Chelsea explained, "we pick some, and bring it to the kitchens. What do you think all those other girls picking seaweed are doing?"

"Probably just picking seaweed, completely unaware that a Maximoff is reading their minds."

Chelsea gave Sarah a withering stare.

"Okay, okay, we'll do it. We just pick some and walk — swim — right into the castle?"

"Yep."

"You think they'll just let us in?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"I don't know, maybe..."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"No. Let's do this."

-

"It's not real!" Penny claimed, glancing sideways at the yellow-tailed guard.

"Is too!" Loraine shot back.

"Shut up both of you," Loki commanded, muttering something about quims under his breath.

"But she says the Stone isn't real! The Infinity Stone!" Loraine protested.

"Because it's not," Penny crossed her arms, hoping she wasn't overdoing it.

As Loki turned around, a stern look on his face, Penny could've sworn she saw a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. 

"Well, we can prove it can't we?" he asked of nobody in particular.

"You mean... show her the Stone?" Daniel asked carefully, even though they'd already practised the scene several times.

"We could..." the yellow-tailed guard mumbled, "there's a meeting there later today, so we'd have to be fast."

He turned to Penny.

"Are you sure you don't believe it? It doesn't always bode well for... humans... that go near the Stone."

Rocky and Daniel exchanged worried glances.

Would that include us? Loraine and Loki are Asgardian, which makes them not-normal anyway, but...

"One hundred percent, Nameless Guard," Penny replied bravely.

"Jock," the guard replied, "the name's Jock. Alright then, let's go."

Nobody saw the look of concern that had replaced the mischief in Loki's eyes as they swam down another passage.

-

With a groan, Chelsea dropped the stack of seaweed onto the pile in the kitchens.

"Clearly things aren't completely weightless underwater," she grumbled as Sarah put her stack down too.

"What now?" Sarah enquired, and Chelsea looked around the kitchen.

There were several mer-people busy making all sorts of outlandish snacks and foods, and Sarah knew that if they tried to do the same, they'd be caught as clueless within seconds.

"That lady over there is waiting for somebody to bring snacks to the meeting hall," Chelsea pointed to a mermaid in what was supposed to be a chef's outfit, and they swam up to him side by side.

"We're here to take the snacks," Sarah explained, and the mermaid gestured to the four trays aligned on the counter.

"You're late," she grumbled, "these need to go to the meeting hall."

"Where's that?" Chelsea enquired carefully.

The mermaid raised an eyebrow.

"You're not from around here?"

"Uhmm... no..." Sarah replied slowly, Chelsea focusing all of her concenration on the mer-lady, "we're..."

"...only here for the meeting!" Chelsea finishd, "well, our chief and the princess are here for the meeting, and we were ordered to help out. Not much happens where we're from, so..."

The mer-chef seemed reassured enough.

"The meeting hall is that way," she pointed, "two lefts, then a right, you can't miss it. If you get lost, just ask anyone wearing the colours of the Higher Tribe."

Sarah nodded her thanks, even though she had no idea what the colours of the Higher Tribe were. She flashed one of her friendliest smiles, picked up the trays, and left.

-

"...and so his father's brother's adopted nephew was his adopted brother, who apparently looked more like his mother's daughter zan 'ee did, so weird, because HE is the one with ze blonde hair, and SHE's got black hair, juzt like 'is uncle's nephew by adoption. Anyway, she just wouldn't stop talking about it. What did you say your name was again?"

"Michael," Michael sighed. Claudia had barely shut up for even a moment in the past ten minutes, and he was pretty sure they were lost. Nutmeg was chatting amiably with Coral, although it was almost a monologue, as Nutmeg usually kept to one-word answers.

"So, how old are you now?"

"Fowr."

"Is your brother nice to you?"

"Yes."

"Do you like sea-tarts?"

Nutmeg frowned, unfamiliar with the term.

"Sea-tawts?"

Coral gasped.

"You've never had sea-tarts before? We have to get you some!"

She was about to steer them towards the kitchen when Michael stopped her.

"Wait!"

Coral paused, turning to face him.

"Uhmmm..." he stuttered, "we were going to t-to see the Stone, r-right Nut— ImeanPepper?"

"Pep-per," Nutmeg repeated longingly, "see tawts?"

Michael sighed.

"Coralle," Claudia took over, "while I appreciate your effort to treat our noble guest well, do you not think zat zey vill bring zee tarts to ze meeting at ze Stone?" 

"I suppose..." Coral mumbled, turning back into the direction they were originally going.

"We're almost there anyway," she added under her breath.

Sure enough, a couple of minutes later they stood in a ginormous conference hall, and in the very center stood a pedestal. And on the pedestal, floating slightly above it, was...

You guessed it; the fake Infinity Stone.

"Pwetty..." Nutmeg mumbled, reaching towards it.

"No Princess Pepper," Coral spoke gently, "it's dangerous, no touching."

Michael swam up to it slowly.

The Stone was a beautiful blue. No wait, beautiful blues — it seemed to have every colour of the sky and sea incorporated into it.

"Watch out, Miika-el," Claudia warned, "it is not safe for normal people, only royalty can handle ze power."

Michael swished around with a glare.

"And what makes you think that I am not of royalty? The way I treat my sister?"

Claudia took a step — more like a swish — backwards.

"Zat is not what I meant..."

"It's not, is it? Then what did you mean?"

Michael only had the chance to enjoy the feeling of being in charge for a few seconds.

"MICHAEL LAUFEYSON!" Loki's voice carried across the whole hall, and Michael cringed.

"Oops..." he muttered.

He took ahold of Nutmeg's hand with a "let's go Princess Pepper", and swam towards Penny's escort.

"What are you doing here?" Loki demanded, "I'm rather sure I instructed to watch her."

"I was watching Princess Pepper," Michael defended himself, "although why I still need to babysit my sister is an entirely different question. The servants got sidetracked and left me all alone with her, and..." — he glanced over Loki's shoulder — "...what are you doing here?"

"Proving to this mortal," — Loki pointed to Penny, who stuck her tongue out — "that the Stone does exist."

Claudia and Coral, on the other side of the conference room, watched the exchange curiously. They missed all the subtle information-exchanging going on between Loki and Michael, seeing only what seemed like a shallow argument of some sort. Two girl appeared swam up behind them, their arms laden with trays.

"Is this the meeting hall?" Sarah enquired, and Claudia nodded, snatching a tart off one of the trays.

"Just put it over there," Coral gestured to a table next to the pedestal, and Sarah's eyes went wide when she saw the Stone. Coral made use of her distraction by quickly swiping a tart too.

"Juzt don't touch ze Stone!" Claudia shouted over her shoulder as she swam away, realizing that Michael and Nutmeg would be busy for the time to come. Coral followed suit, disappointed that the action was over.

But she was as wrong as she could be.

The action was about to begin.