First Uploaded: March 2014 Dates updated: January or February 2018; November 1, 2019; May 5, 2020, 1:15PM)
"What did you say?" Kylie's voice is the first to break the silence in the cold cave. Kaylee looks at Kylie relieved. "Are you okay? We were worried about you?" Finn quickly envelopes Kylie into a tight hug, his head buried in her blond hair. "Kaylee is right. We were all worried about you Kye." He says as his voice is muffled by her hair. He breaks apart from her and grabs her hands. Looking into her eyes he blurts out something he's been afraid of since he's been having dreams about her drowning or disappearing. "I was so afraid you were going to jump into that water and drown because you weren't exactly conscious." Kylie looks at Finn's suddenly flushed cheeks. She barely hears Brian say something about Finn's odd dream but ignores it. She tries to look at her brother, but Finn quickly takes her face in his hands and presses his lips to hers.
"Gross!" Kaylee exclaims. She shakes off the disgusting feel of seeing them kissing. Nicholas quickly looks away and notices a small smile form on Jakobe's face. Evie lets out a loud, "AWWWW!" Causing Finn and Kylie to quickly separate. Brian chuckles as he notices their faces are now equally red. "Now that you guys are done making out. What were you doing Kylie?" Brian asks concerned. Kylie looks in his direction but immediately walks to Nicholas. She hugs him tightly and doesn't let go for at least a minute.
"I'm so sorry bub. I must have scared you so much." She apologizes as she lets go of him. His bright blue eyes look at her in concerns. Kylie sees a tear roll down his face. She wipes a single tear off her face as she holds back her tears. "You really scared me. I thought it was going to be like what happened at the beach after mommy and grandpa died. Or even worse, what you said happened not long ago in this cave." He tries to hold back his tears. He wraps his arms around his older sister. "I didn't want to lose you too." She shakes her head fighting the tears. "You weren't. It wasn't like those times. I heard everyone. But I was somehow drawn to that pool of water. I tried to respond and stop myself, but I couldn't. I felt the water calling me. And if Kaylee wouldn't have stopped me from jumping in, then I think I would have been okay." Kylie admits. Everything coming out of her mouth sounded like she was a character in a Fantasy novel being Moon Struck or under a spell.
Nicholas lets go of his sister and looks at her worried. "Are you sure you are alright?" He asks. Kaylee huffs. "Yeah. That sounded like some seriously crazy stuff." Finn's face is pale. Brian ignores everyone as he studies Kylie closer. He squints at her left shoulder noticing a pattern. He takes a step back and notices that a blue Aura is surrounding her, matching her tail. He gasps in shock. "NO WAY!" Jakobe, Finn, Kylie, Nicholas, Brian, Kaylee, and Evie all stare at him.
Finn looks at Kylie closer and gasps. "What the hell is that?" He exclaims shocked. Everyone besides Brian looks at him confused. "Okay. What are we missing?" Evie asks impatiently. Kaylee nods at Evie. "Exactly! What are you guys talking about?"
Kylie shivers. "Why am I cold? Is it cold in here?" She looks around. "And what do you guys see? What is going on?" She asks them. Brian smiles and looks at Jakobe. Jakobe nods and smiles. "I believe you have reached your two to six-month mark?" He asks her. Kylie's eyes squint confused, as does everyone else's. Kylie looks at Finn, his face no longer pale. He's looking at her exactly like Brian did when he gasped. "What?" She asks. Then her memory of everything that Brian told her about the entire 2-6 month tattoo thing instantly came back to her. "What! Seriously?" She gasps excitedly. She looks at Finn. "How come Finn saw it? Only you can right Brian?" Brian looks at Finn. "You saw it too?" Brian asks Finn. Finn looks at Kylie stunned. He shakes his head. "I did. The glow around her was beautiful but weird. The tattoo looked like a blue and gold Waning Crescent Moon and it was in front of what looked like a Trident. The Trident was covered in vines." Finn's eyebrows crease together. "Maybe it was Seaweed." He nods confirming his second answer. "Yes. It was seaweed." Kaylee, Evie, and Nicholas look at him curiously.
"What are you guys talking about!?" Evie and Kaylee ask in unison. Brian and Kaylee look at them and shrug. "I think it's time Brian. We are just confusing them more by not telling them." Brian nods. "Yeah. I guess you are right." He sighs. He hasn't told anyone besides Jakobe and his aunt in Jindabyne. And Kylie and Nicholas found out on accident. But he didn't plan on any more people finding out.
Kaylee frowns at Brian. "Brian. What are you keeping from us? From me?" She asks him. Brian senses she's upset before he even looks at her by the tone of her voice. "Nothing anymore Kaylee. Nothing at all." He faces her and smiles. "I'm tired of hiding this secret from you and I was going to show you as soon as Kylie told us her other secret. Then everything spiraled out of control." He huffs frustrated.
Kylie looks at Brian and winces. "I'm sorry about all of that? I need to keep my emotions in check and I don't have any idea what happened with the water earlier." She explains. Brian shrugs. "No big deal. With our secret, things unraveling are common. And I know what happened with the water, I'll tell you as soon as we get everything else out of the way." Kaylee lets out a sigh of relief and rolls her eyes. "Thank goodness. I didn't come here to hear about Evie and Finn's past and see Kylie get Moon Struck by the water." Brian shivers as he hears Kaylee mention being Moon Struck. He doesn't miss that feeling. Kylie looks at Brian and mouths. 'Are you okay?' Brian shrugs.
Finn laughs after Kaylee's remark. "I didn't come here for that either." Kylie scowls at him. He stiffens. "I came here to tell Kylie and you guys about my past with Evie. But not the other part of what Kaylee said." He nods. Suddenly feeling nervous and out of place. Evie looks at him and shrugs and leans toward him. "I don't know what they are keeping from us either." She quickly moves away from Finn when she sees Kylie look at her. Finn shrugs and lets Evie's words roll off him. He has a feeling she's keeping something else a secret besides being a mermaid.
"Okay." Kylie says loudly getting everyone's attention. She feels her body heat up as everyone is staring at her. She ignores it and continues on what needs to be said. "We came here to tell each other things. Some secrets are already out." She looks at Evie and Finn plainly. "But there are so many more things that need to be told." She thinks about Kaylee's mom dating her and Nicholas' dad in college. THAT certainly needs to be explained more. She scratches her head and looks at the water and looks at her and Brian, then inhales. "Or should I say that needs to be shown." She exhales. Brian looks at her and nods. "Well I guess just jump in. I'm done talking." Kylie chuckles relieved. "Me too." Kaylee and Evie look at them utterly confused. "I am not saving you this time!" Kaylee puts her hands up to protest. Finn looks at Brian curiously and looks at Kylie worried. "Are you really showing them, Kye?" Standing next to Brian on the edge of the pool of crystal clear water, she looks back at Finn and nods. "Yes. It's about time we show them." She points to Brian.
Kaylee rolls her eyes. "I'm not saving her. And why is Brian jumping in with her!" She complains as Brian and Kylie jump in. Jakobe looks at her annoyed. Finn laughs. "It's fine. She'll be alright. And if Brian is who, or what I think he is, then he'll be fine too." Finn tells Kaylee. Evie looks at Finn confused. "Who or WHAT?" She asks. "I'm leaving." Kaylee says. She starts to walk away, but Jakobe grabs her by her shoulder. "You're not going anywhere. And besides, you came with us." He informs her of the obvious. She rolls her eyes. Nicholas chuckles.
Meanwhile, Evie stares at the now glowing water, confused. "I totally don't understand what is going on." She holds her head, hit by a sudden stress headache. "Ouch!" She exclaims. Finn looks at her. "Everything alright?" She shrugs." I reckon. Just a stress headache. And I don't understand why the water is magically glowing." Finn nods. "I get them too. So does Kylie." Finn looks at the water and his face turns white. The last time he saw glowing water, he was camping on this Island and that's when he caught the fish and cooked them and ate them afterward and experienced the same things Kylie did when she was turned into a Mermaid.
Evie nods. Just another thing, out of many things she and Kylie have in common. Her mind suddenly goes from Kylie and her to Kaylee and herself. She remembers that Kaylee's last name is Andrews also. Her eyes widen. She gasps. Finn, Kaylee, and Nicholas look at her. She notices that they are staring at her. "Sorry. I came to a realization that may or may not be true." She says. Jakobe takes his eyes away from the water and looks at Evie. "You have time to explain." He motions toward the pool of water and doesn't see his friend or brother pop up from the water. "It looks like they went out the other way." He kneels down and points at a low cove. Everyone follows his gaze and kneels next to him. "What other way? The only other way on this Island is the back end that is closer to the mainland." Evie informs Jakobe. Kaylee crinkles her nose. "So there was a way we didn't have to ride a boat for an hour?" She complains. Evie and Jakobe look at her. "Yeah. Unless you wanted to be an entree for Crocodiles." Evie says sarcastically. Jakobe snorts. Nicholas looks at him. "Kylie sometimes snorts when she laughs too." He smiles. "It's funny." Jakobe rolls his eyes. "I hate it when I do that." Finn looks at Jakobe. "Everyone has quirks." Jakobe shrugs. "I suppose." He points at the small alcove. "That isn't just a little hideout, it's an underwater entrance to the front of Moanie Island. It takes you right to the beach that fishermen go fishing and people like to camp." He informs the group. Evie looks at Jakobe. "There are too many secrets about this place." She sighs. Finn looks at Evie. "Exactly what I was thinking."
"So how long does it take to get to the front of the beach if you swim through there?" Evie asks. Jakobe looks at her. "I think Brian told me about 5 minutes." Evie nods. "Cool. So now we have two ways in here that guarantee no harm." Evie says. Kaylee grunts. "We could have swum in?" Jakobe laughs. "You guys want to swim underwater for 5 minutes the entire way in?" He asks. "What!?" Kaylee and Evie both shriek. They both jump when their shrieks echo off the walls of the cave. Jakobe and Nicholas laugh. "How could they have possibly not have drowned?" Kaylee states. Evie nods. "I know. That's impossible." Nicholas shrugs as he sees Brian and Kylie swim back into the cave pool. "Not for them." "What do you mean not for them?" Evie asks.