a/n: right=gold, left=silver

The heat hit Bella Stackhouse-Connor like a warm blanket as she walked out the house and enjoyed the short walk before arriving at a small cafe at the edge of the ocean. It was bustling with other teenagers her age and seemed to be a popular hang out.

Bella walked through the door and up to the cashier. "Do you have mango smoothies here? I'll have one to go." she said to the man running the cashier. The man smiled at her. He was wearing a tropical shirt and had a dark skin tone.

"Why yes we do, I'll have it ready in a second." He smiled and started throwing ingredients into a blender before mixing it together. Within seconds, he handed Bella a golden coloured smoothie with a straw and paper umbrella. She smiled and swiped her credit card before leaving.

Bella savored every sip of the drink before she found myself at the boat docks. There were yachts, fishing boats and small speed boats. She walked down the wooden docks until she reached the end of a section. Bella was about to turn around when a blur ran into her and she fell into the water. Bella cringed as she felt pieces of seaweed and algae against her ankles. She grabbed her heels in her hand to avoid them falling off and began treading water.

Bella looked up to see a blonde and a brunette in a small red boat. She growled at them. "You pushed me in the water."

The blonde had a straight face on. "Well, I'm sorry. If you want, you can hop in." She held out her hand for Bella and she grabbed it climbing into the boat. The warm breeze now felt like ice and she shivered. Bella rung out her shirt and shook out her hair. The curls that were in her hair were now flat so she grabbed an elastic out of her purse and tied it into a ponytail. Then, the brunette spoke, "is this supposed to be like a rescue? Because there is one fatal flaw here. Sorry to state the obvious, but we are just floating out to sea."

Bella looked up to see the blonde grin and pulled out a small plug. She wiggles it in between her fingers and Bella went back to fixing her appearance. She pulled out her phone and was thankful it still worked. She looked in a mirror she had in her purse and wiped off the mascara that had started to smear.

Bella heard a gasp and looked up again. "You took that!" Stated the brunette.

The blonde smirked. "Zane Bennet's a pig, anything I can do to get under his skin can't be a bad thing can it?"

The brunette smiled. "Cool, thanks Rikki!"

The blonde stopped and looked at the brunette. "You know my name."

"Well, I've seen you around school since you have arrived. Oh, I meant to say hello and everything..." the brunette said awkwardly.

Rikki finished putting the spark plug back in the boat and sat down in the driver's seat. The brunette sat down beside Bella.

"I'm Cleo by the way. I haven't seen you around, are you new?"

Bella smiled, "Ya, I just moved here. I'll be starting school on Monday. Oh and I'm Bella."

"Are you ready for a ride?" Asked Rikki. She grinned at them and Bella almost fell off except that she grabbed onto the boat as they sped by. Rikki made a sharp turn and sprayed water onto the dock, drenching two boys. Bella laughed at the side as the wind whipped her hair around. They sped across the bay and Bella noticed her house. It was about five minutes before we pulled up to the land. Bella was glad that she was dry and she saw a strawberry blonde girl walking down the path.

"Hey Emma!" Yelled Cleo. "Want a ride?"

Emma looked skeptically at Bella and Rikki. "Are you licensed?" Asked Emma, crossing her arms.

"Are you my mother?'' asked Rikki with a little bit of an attitude. Emma stood there and debated whether or not to come. With a begging stare from Cleo, Emma hopped in.

"Wanna go out to sea?" Asked Rikki, a grin on her face.

"Isn't that dangerous in a boat this size?" questioned Emma with a suspicious glare.

Rikki leaned back in the seat and started to head out. "Just chill out." Bella enjoyed the thrill of wind through her hair and bumps over small waves, and thank goodness they were small. However, after half an hour, the boat stuttered to a stop.

Emma glared at Rikki. "Chilled out yet?" She asked sarcastically.

Rikki glared back. "Do what? We're still floating. It's not like we're sinking."

Emma smirked. "Not yet."

Rikki sighed. "We're out of fuel. How about we just paddle to that island." Rikki pointed at the tropical island not far from where they were floating.

"Mako island? Forget it." Replied Emma.

"What's so bad about Mako island?" Bella asked.

Cleo looked at me. "You see, no one goes out there. It's surrounded by sharks and reefs and mangroves." Rikki held up a paddle. "It's all we've got."

"I'll paddle," Bella said, standing up and taking the wooden board. She sat back down, rather get stuck on an island than in the sea. Silently, they made our way to Mako. Rikki had the other paddle and together they took stroke after stroke. Finally, they go to shallow enough water that Bella hopped out, shoes in her leather purse, and pulled the boat along the shore.

Cleo looked longingly in the direction of Australia. "How are we ever going to get home?"

"I don't know, Cleo. Why don't you ask your friend." Said Emma, anger seeping through her words.

Rikki growled, "Hey, don't push this on me, it was all Bella!"

Bella looked up, "What?"

"I don't care who did it," growled Emma. "It's not like anyone else took this miles off shore. You are all lucky that I've got this." Emma pulled out a cellphone and flipped it open.

"Emma's always prepared," said Cleo.

Bella coughed. "I have one too you know." She pulled out my phone and felt embarrassed since it had the latest touch screen qualities. Her phone was blue and included a camera and touch screen.

Rikki stared glumly at her. "I'm so happy for you."

Bella puts her attention back on Emma. "I'm not getting a signal. We should try to get to higher ground."

Bella looked at the jungle that started at the edge of the beach. "In there?" She asked. "But there's spiders and snakes and who knows what else!"

"Well then, you can just stay here and wait for them to come get you." Rikki turned around and started to walk up the beach.

"Wait up for me!" Bella yelled, running through the jungle to catch up after putting on flats. At least the flats were easier to run in than heels.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Up," said Emma. "I'm still not getting a signal."

"Maybe we won't get a signal! What if we can't call anyone? What if nobody finds us?" Cleo started to sweat from her thoughts and had a panic attack.

Rikki smiled. "Then, we'll have to draw sticks and decide which one of us the others will eat."

Bella shook my head. "No," she smiled. "We should have a vote instead. I vote Rikki."

Rikki looked at her, a false hurt evident in her face. Bella smiled at her to let her know she was joking too.

"That's not even funny," said Emma turning around and facing.

"I'm just trying to clear the mood," replied Rikki.

"Well, you're making it worse," said Emma. She turned around and continued to move forward. "Come on." They wallet into a clearing where there were smooth black rocks and a stream with a small waterfall.

"Watch your step," announced Emma as she began to climb the smooth rocks. Carefully, I followed after her, carefully placing my feet on the ledges that looked more steady. The rocks flattened out and I stood at the top to wait for Rikki and Cleo.

I grabbed Cleo's hand before she slipped and pulled her up.

"Thanks," she said. Once Rikki got up, I followed them to where there was a ledge that stopped and fell into a pool of water. There was another ledge of rocks a few feet further. Emma motioned for them to jump and leapt across the gap.

"Come on, it's not that hard," announced Emma. Cleo hesitantly stepped forward but Rikki took a step in front and jumped.

Cleo stopped and shook her head. "I can't do it, it's to slippery there has to be another way."

I took her hand. "We can jump across together." Cleo still shook her head and started stepping back. I screamed as I felt solid ground leave my feet until I was falling, Cleo right in front of me. I tumbled into the little cave and rolled beside Cleo. I gasped in pain as I rubbed my arm.

"Bella! Cleo!" I heard yelled from above. Feet started to shuffle as Rikki and Emma came to us.

"We're okay," shouted Cleo. She looked at me as I lay on the dirt, breathing hard.

"Can you climb up?" Asked Emma.

Cleo looked at me and I shook my head. Sp along for us both, Cleo replied, "No."

"Are you sure?" I heard Rikki ask. "Come on, just try."

"I can't. There's no way, it's too steep. Also, Lillian hurt her arm," said Cleo.

After a few seconds, Emma came rolling down and landed in front of us. "You hurt your arm?" Emma asked me.

I gritted my teeth. "Not really, its fine." I dropped my arm to show that it wasn't that big of a deal. After, I wished I didn't because of the screaming pain.

Just then, Rikki rolled into the cave and nearly rolled into us. Emma growled and said," What are you doing down here?"

Rikki snapped back, "you came down here."

Emma frustratedly let out a breath. "You were supposed to stay up there and throw down a rope or something."

Rikki scowled, her face turning red from anger. "What am I, a mind reader? And what rope?"

"Please, stop bickering," I said, stomping my foot. "I think I saw something over there." I nodded my head further into the cave.

Emma sharply turned and led the way through the cave. I followed after her and Cleo after me. Rikki came last. We walked up large stones that imitated stairs and into an open chamber.

My breath caught in my throat as I looked around. The walls were made of a smooth almost black blue. In the centre was a round pool and around it were stone slabs. We were walking on golden sand. I looked up and noticed that there was a round hole that let us see into the darkening sky. "Wow," exclaimed Rikki. "This is like the cone of a volcano!" I nodded as she stated the same thoughts that were going through my head.

"It's not going to erupt is it?" Cleo asked. From just nearing Cleo, I felt amused at her innocent nature.

"I don't think so Cleo, I would have heard if there was an active volcano off the coast of Australia," I replied to her comment.

"It's also been dormant for twenty thousand years," said Emma. She approached the pool an knelt on one knee. She pointed at small indents in the rock. "Look, tidal rings the level of the water rises and falls."

"So," Rikki said, unamused.

"So, that means it connects to the ocean. It may be a way out," answered Emma. She slipped off her shoes and set them on the ground. She dived into the water and you could see her silhouette disappear behind the rocks.

After ten seconds, Cleo started to fidget and call Emma's name. "Emma, Emma"

"Cleo, I'm sure she'll be fine. Just give her a minute to come back," I stated. Cleo looked at me and nodded before sh began to fidget. About a minute had passed before Emma swam back up.

"I was right," Emma announced wiping the water off her eyes. "It's about a twenty second swim to the reef outside. It's straight through and there is plenty of room for us all to fit."

Cleo began to shake her head. "Through there, no way." She even began to back away from the water.

"Come on Cleo. There's no other way out. You can do it," motivated Rikki while taking off her shoes.

"I can't do it. Besides, I can't swim," replied Cleo, looking at the water with fear.

I took off my flats and put them in my purse. I also was glad I randomly hand plastic, sealable bags. I slid my phone and credit card into it and sealed the bag.

"Come on, Cleo," I said, speaking up. "Everything will be fine. We can all swim through together and no one will be left behind, I promise."

"How can you be sure?" Asked Cleo. Her sweet puppy eyes stared up at me.

"Because I made a promise and I don't break them. You can trust me," I held out my hand to her while talking. I almost winced as I forgot how I injured it, Cleo hesitantly took it, and I was screaming inside as the pain went through me. Cleo pulled herself up off the sand and slipped off her shoes.

I stepped into the water and was surprised by the warmth. The crystal clear blue water seemed beautiful and the rock slabs on the outside seemed like perfect chairs. I slid the rest of the way into the water while Cleo was beside me.

As the four of them floated in the center of the pool, the water began to glow as the moon passed overhead. The water bubbled around them, all of the girls entranced by the moon above them, mystified by what was happening to them in the pool. Once the moon moved from directly above them, the water calmed down and the glowing faded away.

"Spooky" Emma said, looking around at her friends, their expressions all mirrored each others

"I'm not sure what just happened, but that was awesome" Bella was in awe of the mysterious behavior of the moon pool.

Getting over the event that occurred, the girls readied themselves to swim for the reef. "Okay, now take a deep breath" Emma instructed before they all dove beneath the water, swimming through the underwater tunnel.

The minute they broke the surface, Cleo began gasping for breath "That was more than twenty seconds"

"Relax, we made it didn't we" Rikki told her

"We knew you could do it" Emma said with a smile.

Light flashes over the girls, the water police settling their spotlight on them and illuminating the night. Someone on a megaphone directed the four to a ladder where they were helped onto the boat. Finally putting them into safety, getting ready to take them back home. Sitting together inside the boat cabin, wrapped in blankets, the four girls slumped against each other trying to keep the exhaustion from over taking them. Little did they know that their crazy adventure was about to yield some surprising results that no one would believe could happen.

It had started out as a normal morning, Bella left for her usual run through the park. It was relatively early so no one was out yet. Most people preferred to sleep in on the weekends but Bella loved early mornings and how clear the park was, no one around to ruin its peacefulness. Jogging around the corner, Bella didn't have time to dodge the sprinkler, getting sprayed by the water. She didn't bother to stop running, not caring about the little bit of water.

All of the sudden Bella felt funny, her body sparkling and turning to water before she fell into the bushes next to her. Rolling over to see why her legs locked up, she gasped in surprise at the sight of a glistening rainbow tail where her legs should have been. Glancing at her shirt she realized she was no longer wearing her workout top, instead an orange scaly bikini-like top was in its place. Despite seeing it as a gift, Bella dragged her body further into the bushes trying to hide herself in case anyone else entered the park.

After a while of staring at her tail in awe, her skin dried off, no longer coated in the water from the sprinkler. The minute she was fully dry, the same weird sparkling over took her body and Bella's workout clothes were back in place, the tail gone like it had never been there to begin with.

Everyone was trying to make sense of their transformation, no one quite having the words to describe what happened.

"It was orange and covered with scales" Cleo said with wide eyes.

"The minute water touched me-" Bella started

Rikki interrupted her before she could finish "I was water for a second."

Cleo countered Rikki's statement incredulously "I was a fish!"

They all stared at each other, not sure what else there was to say about their condition. An awkward silence filled the room, everyone left to their own thoughts. Reflecting on each of their transformations, thinking over what had happened.

Emma finally broke the silence, "What's going on?"

"Yeah, that's what I want to know." Rikki paused and looked around the house skeptically "Is there anyone else here?"

"No, our dad is at work and my sister and mom are shopping" Cleo said

Since they were sure they were alone in the house, the girls felt comfortable resuming their conversation. "Okay, what happened to us?" Emma said once again. "About ten seconds after we touch water, we grow these..." Rikki started, not wanting to say tails.

"And it vanishes when we're dry." Cleo finished. "And that's the same with you three, right?" Cleo asked. The other three girls nodded. "The tails are like..."

"Exactly like..." Emma and Cleo couldn't come up with the words.

"We look like mermaids." Rikki and Bella said at the same time.

"I've told you before, you're not funny." Emma snapped at the two girls. "Mermaids don't exist, that's just too weird." Bella took a deep breath, not liking the way Emma snapped.

There was a knock on the door that made all four girls snap their attention to it, the conversation dying at supersonic speed.

"Oh no, it's Lewis." Cleo said, groaning. "I forgot he's helping me with biology today." Cleo explained.

Lewis opened the door as Cleo stood up, "Cleo." Lewis shut the door behind him as he entered the room. "Cle-oh." He said, not expecting her to be right behind him. He looked at her then to the three other girls sitting in the living room. "Oh, did I get the time wrong?" Lewis asked, not expecting the company.

"No, we said nine." Cleo assured him. "But, sorry, Lewis, something has come up."

"Like what?" Lewis asked.

"Just something important." Cleo looked to the girls, who shook their head, knowing Cleo was wondering if she could tell Lewis. "But not so important that you need to know about it." Cleo said, steering Lewis back to the door. "Sorry, Lewis, I have to cancel."

"Oh," Lewis said disappointed. "Maybe some other time."

"Lewis," Cleo called before he could leave, "you're smart. Do you know anything about mermaids?" Cleo asked. Emma, Rikki, and Bella all widened their eyes at Cleo's bluntness.

"No, not really." Lewis said, confused

"Okay, sorry, bye." Cleo pushed him out the door. Emma, Rikki, and Bella all stood up, moving towards Cleo giving her a pointed look. "What?" Cleo asked.

"Do you know anything about mermaids?" Rikki said mimicking Cleo. "Are you crazy?"

"Cleo, this is really serious." Emma finished. "If anyone found out about us, we could be in big trouble."

"Well, maybe...." Cleo said, trying to reason with her friends.

"Look, something very strange has happened to us. We don't know how and we certainly don't know why." Emma stated.

Looking around the group, Rikki gave them a smirk "There is a way for us to find out more"

Bella smiled, "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"We get back in the water"

Cleo immediately started panicking, not wanting to recreate the events of the morning or get in the water. Shaking her head back and forth, she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. "No way, not me!"

Rikki looked between Emma and Bella hopefully, "I'm going, I just don't think I should go alone. Any volunteers?" Bella raised her hand in the air with a smile, gaining one back from Rikki. They seemed like they were the only ones who were excited to explore their new abilities, 

Emma just seemed apprehensive and Cleo seemed terrified. Needing a secluded place to test out their transformation, Bella took the girls to Lewis' secret fishing spot. Walking closer to the sand, the three all nervously grabbed each other's hands, hesitantly moving closer towards the ocean.

"I'm not so sure about this" Bella and Rikki glanced over at Emma as she voiced her concern.

"It's alright, I am." Rikki told them confidently

"That gives me no confidence whatsoever" Emma retorted

Squeezing both of their hands, Bella smiled at both of them "Well it gives me confidence, let's do this guys!"

They walked into the waves together, braving the chilly water. Quickly glancing at each other, they all braced themselves for the transformation.

"About ten seconds right" Rikki asked them.

They both nodded, the three starting to count "One...two...three...four...five.."

All three felt the transformation take over, the sparkling water spreading over their body. Seconds later, their tails appeared causing them to all fall over into the water. "Whoa! You didn't tell us your tail was different! It's rainbow!" Rikki gasped as she saw Bella's tail. "I didn't know how to tell you, 'Hey my mermaid tail is different than your mermaid tail' and I don't even know why!" Bella said. They gave each other looks before shrugging. They shimmied their way into the deeper parts before swimming.

It was the most amazing feeling in the world to swim underwater. Bella felt like she spent her whole life under the sea. She was so fluid in the water. It was beautiful, something she instantly loved. She loved being up close to all the coral and the fish.

She swam with Rikki and Emma, making faces and waving. The three were having the time of their lives being underwater. They were doing tricks and just swimming. Bella broke off slightly to swim on her own, she played with a dolphin for a while before rejoining Emma and Rikki. It was amazing.

Bella felt her phone buzz. Opening her phone, she saw it was a message from Cleo

From Cleo: Meet @ Em's house, you need to see this!

They went up into Emma's room where she had a glass of water on her desk. Cleo showed them what she could do. "And it grows even more." Cleo said.

"Where's the extra water coming from?" Rikki asks.

"I don't know." Cleo says dropping her hand.

"Oh, no." Bella said as the water started to fall as Emma leaned back putting her hand up not wanting to become right now. Bella touches the water. "It's frozen solid."

"Did I do that?" Emma asks.

"It wasn't me." Cleo said.

Rikki turns to Emma seeing that she had made the water turn to ice. "Ok, this is over the top. I'm getting tingles now." Rikki tells us.

Emma eased up on the bed realizing that she had done it. "All I did was..." She starts to say as she puts her hand palm up to a vase that contains a single white flower. She turns to us with a smile.

"Ok, my turn!" Bella said excitedly. She moves her hand and the water rises up to a ball. Then she puts it out straight and the water froze. The ice melts and evaporates as she makes a fist. Then she twists round her hand and the second ball of water turns into Jelly. She does it again and it becomes a crystal like glass. She does it a third time but on the ice and it turns into a translucent blue silver color. "Wow!"

"Wha..." Emma said, confused.

"I guess I have multiple different powers."

Rikki tried to copy Cleo and Emma's hand movement, growing frustrated by the lack of results "Why don't I get to do cool stuff?" she complained. Bella rubbed her shoulder soothingly, feeling bad the girl had yet to discover a power.

"I don't think cool is the word," Cleo told Rikki "it's scary. But you should have seen the look on Zane's face" "This isn't funny, we've got to keep this a secret from everyone. We could end up dissected or in the circus or something" Emma scolded. "So this is just a secret between the four of us?" Cleo asked

"Our secret, our responsibility" Emma said "Whatever happens, we're in this together"

"This doesn't mean we're married does it?" Rikki jokes

Emma actually laughed, surprising all of the girls "Now that was actually funny"

"So who proposes to who?" Bella asked, making the others laugh.