Hey guys! Izi Wilson is back after 10 months! Are you ready for the sequel of Birthmark cause here it is! And if you have not read Birthmark, I highly suggest you do before reading this. Oh and if I owned Mako Mermaids, would I be writing this? And I don't own the references to Big Hero 6 or How to train your dragon.

Rated T for some language.

THALIE

"Excellent girls! That's all for today!"

Releasing themselves from the bar on the wall, all girls in our dance class went their separate but close ways. Some girls were drawn to their respective cliques like magnets, some fumbled with their ballet shoes, others started checking their Facebook/Twitter status. But out all the girls, one walked up to the teacher, still in her dance clothes. That was me.

"Hey, Ms. Stacey." I greeted the ballet instructor who was sorting papers.

"Hello Blair-I mean Thalie." The teacher clasped her palm to her forehead at her mistake. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to calling you that."

I laughed a little. "No, it's ok." I replied. "I understand. So why'd you end class early today?"

"Oh, I called in the handyman." She pointed to the bathroom, where just a sliver of water was peeking through.

I rolled my eyes, thinking of only one reason. "The toilets are flooded again?" I could only ask rhetorically.

"The toilets are flooded again." Ms. Stacey replied.

Normally, if this were a non-water scenario, even as Blair I would have offered help. But now that I was a full fledged half blood and adjusted to my tail, I had to work extra hard just to avoid the slightest drop of water so I wouldn't expose my mother's kind to the humans. Two rules that had been drilled into my head whenever I went outside; don't get wet and don't use your powers in open spaces. Thank Helen Carter for her assertiveness.

But I just couldn't help myself. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, but thanks." said Ms. Stacey. "You just go home and enjoy this beautiful day."

I nodded and just as I was close to the door Ms. Stacey said,

"And while you're at it, practice your technique. Your feet look kind of like fins."

I laughed as I walked out into the Australian afternoon heat.

"You have no idea." I muttered. On my way to the Ocean Cafe to meet up with my friends, I checked my phone to see if there were any updates on while I was gone. Not so much to my surprise, I saw a text from my foster mother, Lauren, that she would be out of town tonight and there would be casserole in the fridge in case I wanted to come over to stay with Zac for the night.

It had been almost a year since my tail finally manifested and I had learned my true origins. I never got my memories from the first 4 years of my life but I was cool with the memories I created with my foster family, The Blakeleys. While I had changed my name to Thalassa Isabel Santos, I had also taken to calling Lauren and Rob Blakeley, Mom and Dad, while I called Rita Santos, my birth mother, just Mother. This way, I never lost touch of the family that took me in and the family that helped create me. Zac would always be my brother, that much was crystal clear, but while our relationship as siblings in all but blood remained adamant, a lot had happened in the past 7 months after the Trident was destroyed.

For instance, while Sirena stayed in town, Lyla and Nixie just couldn't find it in themselves to stay where so much had happened to them. So they set off about a few months ago, out into the world to find their purpose again.

Nixie's reason for leaving was understandable, she was still suffering from the utter heartbreak and betrayal of what had possibly been her first love, and he had never said sorry. The last any of us ever heard of Nixie, she was starting a new life in California. And none of us could be any happier for her.

Lyla's reason though, was vague to some, including Zac, but not to me. As someone who needed to discover who she was, I understood Lyla completely.

3 months ago (April, 2015)...

I had just celebrated my 15th birthday and The Ocean Cafe was as usual, glowing in the night. But the real reason why any night at the cafe was amazing nowadays, was because of Sirena's singing. True to her name, she was a siren, an angel of the sea, and not just because of her voice.

It seemed that everyone who loved a relaxing night out in the town was there, even Lyla. She was at the doorway, looking like she was half sad and half glad at the same time.

It seemed that I was the only one to take notice of the mermaid suddenly vanishing from sight since I got up from my seat to go outside. Zac didn't seem to notice, he was busy talking with his girlfriend Evie. But that was ok, it seemed that Lyla could use at least a friend to talk to and not a burned out crush. Even after all this time, I wasn't sure if Zac was aware even for a second that Lyla was over the moon for him, no pun intended.

Once in the cool night scene, I saw Lyla adjusting the straps of her backpack, and suddenly the reason for Lyla's slight disdain became clear; she was leaving.

"Are you really gonna leave without saying goodbye?" I asked.

Lyla looked up at smiled. "I figured you would see me."

"What's up?" I asked solemnly. "Why are you leaving?"

Lyla sighed, looking at me with tired hazel eyes. "So much has happened. I thought I was doing what was right for the pod, but lately I've realized that the pod was an excuse for trying to make myself feel like I belonged. My mum died when I was 4 of Sun Fever."

"I'm sorry." I immediately blurted out.

"It's ok." said Lyla. "But the point, I'm not a Mako Mermaid anymore. I'm something else, and I need to figure out what that is."

"Lyla-"

"And please don't try to stop me." She said.

"That's not what I was gonna say." I interrupted her. "I hope you find what it is you're looking for."

Lyla looked at me with contempt happiness. "Thank you so much for understanding." I moved into give her a hug, even as she tried to stop me I embraced her anyway. "I'm not much of a hugger but this can count as an exception."

"If you're gonna leave, could you at least say goodbye to Sirena?" I pleaded. "For her sake?"

"Don't worry." Lyla chuckled. "I already have."

"So..."I fumbled around for a question. "Where you heading off to?"

"Well there's this place in Montana." She said. "Some sort of school for vampires. Oh and Thalie? Just remember you have 3 fantastic friends. Trust me, you're gonna need them, and they're gonna need you."

Back to Present

I wiped away a rouge tear that escaped my eye, silently thanking mermaid biology that body fluids couldn't transform me or any mermaid. We all missed her, no doubt, and I hoped that she and Nixie were doing well in their new lives. Still, I was proud of them for taking a stand in their lives.

"Hey, Thalie." I shook my head clear of my thoughts. Standing in front of me, was one of the nicest guys I had ever known, David Sullivan, owner of the Ocean Cafe and Sirena's boyfriend.

"Hey David." I smiled at him.

"Back from dance class?" He asked, gesturing to my black tanktop, black shorts and flip flops (my ballet shoes were in my bag)

"You know it." I replied. "So how was that date at the movies?"

David smiled. "It was amazing. Overall as a couple we're still going strong."

"No doubt about that." I said. "You two fit the definition of the term 'puppy love'".

"You know it." I nodded and walked inside to find two of my best friends sitting at a table chatting away. Rosalina "Rose" Gomez was on her shift at the Ocean Cafe, starting fresh with her job. After some convincing, thanks the good ol' power of BFF's, Rose put her culinary talents to use and landed a job as one of the cooks. She was doing pretty well actully.

But chatting away were Helen Carter and Kimi Hamasaki, two girls who are polar opposites of each other and still somehow manage to be two peas in a pod.

"Hey." I sat down.

"What's up?" Helen and I fist bumped each other while Kimi gave a curt nod. "Kims, you have to take a break."

"I will Helen." said Kimi, typing furiously at the keyboard, her brown eyes checking and re-checking everything. "I just have to secure the last factor." I got up and looked at Kimi's computer, only to find I couldn't read it because it had equations, lots and lots of equations. But I could see a picture of Mako Island, so it was easy for me to have at least some idea of what Kimi was trying to figure out.

"Are you trying to find out the secret to Mako's magic?" I guessed.

"Close, my friend." Kimi's glasses glowed with curiosity. "I'm trying to piece together how the energy wavelengths become synchronized at the right time, with the moon at the right position."

"Translation: magic is science after all." Helen quipped.

"Accurate translation." Kimi added on, holding up one finger. "Magic is science that is not yet understood."

"Oh, Kimi." I said. It wasn't that Kimi was obsessed with the idea of finding out the scientific secret of anything, it was that she wanted to dive into something she had little to no knowledge of. She was a sweet shy girl but what she lacked in charisma, she made up for in intelligence and perseverance, one of the many reasons why was a great friend.

"Hello?" We heard a peppy voice speak. "These drinks are not gonna enjoy themselves"

It was Rose, wearing her Ocean Cafe apron and holding a tray of drinks.

"No worries." said Helen. "Come on Dr. Nerd, take a small break." Kimi shrugged and placed her laptop away as Rose handed out their drinks."

"One pink lemonade for Kims," Rose handed the beverages out as she listed them. "One Coke for Helen, and one mango smoothie for Thals."

"You know Rose, you should have had your own cooking show." I commented.

"I would but Joe wouldn't like that since he and David have to agree on literally everything." said Rose. "I hate the guy."

"Yeah, he's an asshole." Helen said, ever so bluntly.

Checking her watch, Rose peered around the remodeled cafe to see if David was watching. "I better get back guys. It's my first week of work and I don't want to look bad."

"Rose." I said calmly. "You're gonna be just fine."

The blond Latina gave me a squeezing hug before rushing back to the kitchen, and even she could hear Kimi shout, "Avoid any pesticides!" She was met with our questioning gazes. "What? In a kitchen, anything can be spread, even with disinfectant; bacteria, e-coli, salmonella-"

"Ok, ok!" The British teen interrupted her. "She'll be fine Kims. I know you study, but you've got to find a way to relax."

"We all deal with stress in different ways, Helen." I replied.

"By storing away useless information even about the loo?" Helen asked sarcastically, per usual.

"You got a rash from sitting on one of the toilet seats." Kimi whispered.

"Ok, that was an accident." Helen retorted.

"Ok," I chuckled awkwardly. "There's this new ride at the Marine Park if you guys are interested."

"Really?" Helen asked, going along with the topic change. "How tall is it?"

We immediately divulged into a conversation, with Rose stepping in once a while and before we knew it, hours had passed, with Evie and Carly floating by to say hi and to talk for a bit. After a couple of hours of chatting with my friends, I checked my phone and realized it was a quarter to 5.

"Well guys I gotta go." I picked up my bag. "I gotta head home, I promised my Mother I'd help her clean the grotto."

"Save us some casserole will you?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, if Zac doesn't eat it all." I shot back, prompting laughter. I really was hoping that Zac didn't eat all of the casserole, he could eat anything and burn it. He was almost as worse as Cam, who I don't feel comfortable talking about.

"Oh and Kimi?" I leaned into the raven haired teenager and whispered, "I get you're curious about Mako, I still don't know much about it. If you actually go there, just be careful. I think we both know what happened the last time someone messed with forces they didn't understand."

Kimi nodded, remembering Zac and the trident. I used to have nightmares from being killed by the trident after it was destroyed. Of course I would never tell Zac this, he had already felt enough guilt from what happened to me. That would be an experience I would never forget.

"Thanks." She said. "I'll take it under advisement."

When I was on the boardwalk, I had just opened my full moon calendar app to check for the next full moon when I had accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out. "I am so sorry!"

"It's no trouble." He spoke. "Are you ok?" I looked up and saw a boy who was about close to Zac's age but taller. He wore a blue shirt, brown cargo pants, sneakers, and had blonde hair, tanned skin and green/blue eyes.

"I'm fine." I said. "I'm really sorry."

"Like I said." He flashed a charming smile. "It's no trouble. I'm Erik."

"Thalie." I waved goodbye, ignoring the feeling that had settled in my gut, a feeling that told me I would be seeing more of this guy later.

Opening the full moon app, I saw the the next full moon would be in August (the last one was a couple of weeks ago) and I saw today's date, which meant Zac's 17th birthday was looming closer and closer; July 26. I still had to get Zac a cake to celebrate his birthday.

Mine was April 15, so I had already celebrated my birthday, as well as my friends on their birthdays, so we were all 15.

Just then. my phone rang and it was Zac. "Hey." I answered.

"Hey sis." He spoke through the phone. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." I said. "Just heading to Mother's."

"Gotta clean out that grotto, hey?" He asked.

"There's a lot of dust in there." I defended. It was true though, I must have sneezed at least 10 times because of the dust. That's the last study session I have in the grotto.

"Hurry up then or else that casserole is mine." He sing-songed.

"You better not." I warned jokingly.

"As the upcoming birthday boy, I'm entitled to a little spillover." said Zac.

"Love you." I sing-songed and hung up, only to get a text from Mother saying,

Had to run out, but will be back shortly. If you're going to go for a swim, don't take too long.

I texted Mother back: Won't be long. See you when you get home :)

When I got home, to the pristine beach house, I noticed that the sun had started to set. Alright, I thought to myself. Maybe I could go for one little swim. So I raced to the door, opened it with my keys and dropped my bag on the couch so I could make a beeline for the grotto. As soon as the door opened I ran to the sea entrance and dove into the ocean. I waited for the long agonizing seconds to pass, so I could feel my legs become jelly and mold together to become one silver fish tail. I could feel my feet stretched into fins and on my torso my clothes melted away into a silver bikini bra.

Wanting to waste no more time, I flipped my fins as hard and fast as I could and soon found myself encased in bubbles swimming like a torpedo.

I wandered past Mako, swimming far to the outskirts of town. From the gossip of the humpback whales, (Mother had been teaching me the basics of whale speak), a pod dolphins would be swimming off the edge of town.

I could swim there, swim with the dolphins, enjoy the sunset and get back. My voice sounded in my head. What's the worst that can happen? Wait, why am I getting deja vu?

Before I knew it, I had reached a part of the reef I had never seen. It was peaceful, filled with with a lot of fish, and the lighting was perfect, all the more reason why I didn't want this perfectly normal day to end. Which was my first mistake.

Looking back I guess I didn't know just how much one of Helen's Laws of Life actually applied that night.

One of the Laws detailed thus:

If it's too perfect, it's crap.

But anyway, I soon found myself swimming with dolphins. I missed Delphin, one of the dolphins who helped me last year but the last time I saw him, he had picked up a female dolphin and they swam to the North Pacific to start a family.

Speaking of family, I realized I had to get back to my mother sooner or later, but I figured 5 more minutes wouldn't kill me. And that was another mistake, along with being distracted by some beautiful multicolored coral that was growing.

But I guess one mistake I didn't make was acknowledging the feeling that someone was watching me. That and my mermaid scales were sensitive to movement in the water, so I definitely felt someone was watching me.

When I turned around to see who it was, the only thing I saw was a bright light in the water shooting at me and before I could react, I doubled over from the feeling of a million heated knives stabbing into my body. I screamed, ignoring the bubbles that escaped my mouth as I tried to get up and fight. But each time I tried to get up, the pain came again, and again, and again.

I tried to summon water to produce a shield, but my strength continued as the mysterious person continued to attack me with lightning. I wasn't sure how he was doing it, but it was as if lightning were shooting from his hands.

Finally, I was pushed down onto the sandy floor by my attacker. The last thing I saw before passing out from the pain, were the most enchanting violet eyes I had ever seen.

And they belonged to a merman.

RAIDEN

It's Monday in July of 2015, and what do you do when you're in the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia?

Do you,

A), Binge-watch soap operas because you're bored and bitterly single?

B), Stay in your dark room all day and surf the internet because you don't have a life?

or C), Attempt to get a tan but ends up looking like a walking lobster because you're an idiot?

My answer?

D! None the above, because they're all BORING! Those are things a tourist does, and I am nowhere near a tourist, and I've been to at least 15 different countries in 8 years. Ok, maybe I travel a lot but seriously, if you even consider any of those options, you're not worth my time.

I know, I know, this one's trouble. Well ladies, guess what? Trouble is next to my middle name but I'm not gonna tell you what it is.

Still here?

Good. See the kid who just did a backflip off a ledge? The one with the tanned skin, light brown hair and purple eyes? The guy holding a baton? Yeah, that's me.

Before you ask, no, I'm not wearing contacts; my eyes just happened to be that color when I came out of utero. True story.

I decided to take a break, so I walked over to the ice box, kicked it open and grabbed a beer. Before I could let the alcohol in my mouth, I had to get a straw, which sounds kind of stupid, but I have a certain allergy to water; a transformative allergy.

It's sad, right?

I had been training for the past 2 hours in my combat skills, because one, I was bored, two, the Blade Boys were busy with their shit and three, I had already had gone for a swim.

Who are the Blade Boys you ask? They may be a team of misfits, but they're the ultimate brotherhood of misfits. To them, high school is child's play.

The Hispanic kid, the guy the orange cap? That's Diablo Nagual, one of the craftiest pranksters ever. He's also the idiot who came up with the team name. He likes to think he's a Names Keeper or something. But seriously, when it comes to stuff from cotton candy bombs to having your worst fear waiting for you in when you least expect it, this guy could put PUNK'D to shame. He also happens to be a master of disguise, so you never know when he's near. Oh and bit of advice, don't this guy any sugar whatsoever. Unless you want to deal with a teenage boy bouncing off the walls. I'm not kidding you, that actually happened twice.

Then there's the twins, Xhiva and Xandou (they're pronounced ZHI-VAH and ZHAN-DOUGH) the most polar opposites of people as you can get. Basically if Yin and Yang took a form as two people, it would be the Tiraken Twins.

Xhiva's one of the best techno geeks in the world, there's literally nothing he can't build, hack or fix. He's always in touch with the latest gadgets and fashion, usually wearing something that screams "rich boy". And yet for some reason he can't cook even if his life depended on it. Also for some reason, even though he has perfect eyesight, he still wears glasses as a "fashion statement".

Then there's Xandou, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding in the form of a 15 year old. If you think Diablo's bad, Xandou's worse. He's the Duke of Disorder, the Boss of Badass, and the Daredevil, to end all Daredevils. Trust me, there's nothing he won't try to "feel the heat". Don't believe me? He has a tattoo on his chest that's a giant X, nipples included. On his back is a wave as the line facing down and a dragon across on top of the wave, to make out a T. He's even known to shave his head with a sea urchin to leave a mohawk. He's kind of like an Asian Noah Puckerman. Yeah, that's right, I know Glee, gonna do something about it?

And then there's teen supreme, Raiden Consorzio. Even though he may not be as smart, conniving, or fast as the others, but he is still the most powerful out of all of them and he can kick their ass without so much as blinking. Don't be fooled, cause he may seem like your typical sassy, charming, rebel bad boy, but in reality he is so much more than that.

And I should know, because I am Raiden,

"CONSORZIO!" I stopped dead in my tracks and I heard an electronic ping as the door opened and closed.

Running down the stars into our Den (which to normal people, means our basement) was Xhiva Tiraken, who looked like he was close to pissing his pants. Since he was Mr. Manners, a lot of things scared him, but only two scenarios ran through my head then:

1. The internet had died

2. His brother was going to kill him.

Both. Bad. News.

"You got to hide me." His Hindi accent slipped through his pants.

I nodded quickly, setting down my beer far from me so I wouldn't get wet. "What do you want me to do?"

"Since this is a dire situation." said Xhiva. "I'll just put it in your terms: zap me."

"Fine." I said, focusing on my power and letting it rise. It didn't take long for my hand to start glowing with purple electricity.

"Wait. Can't you just cloak yourself?" I asked, holding back my power a little bit.

Xhiva raised an eyebrow at me. "We're twins, Raiden. No matter what I do, he can still sense me unless our link is suspended. You know that."

"I'm just saying." I retorted.

If Xhiva hadn't gone through years of mental and physical training, I would probably be worried for his well-being. Hell, if any of us hadn't gone through our training, we would all be dead by now. But we were Blade Boys, we could handle a small shock, though Xhiva would probably scream like a 6 year old girl, as usual.

"Ok then. And yes, this is gonna hurt." Clamping his hand, I let the lightning inside me loose and it traveled through Xhiva's hand all over his body. He was literally shaking from the shock and he did let out a small girly squeal. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his glasses or platinum watch, or I could have literally fried him.

"Raiden!" Xandou's angry voice echoed in the thick walls of the Den. Thinking fast, I pushed Xhiva behind the towel shelves just as his other half stormed through the door. Even from the top of the spiral staircase, I could see his green eyes were burning with fury. "Where. Is he?"

"I haven't seen him." I lied rather easily. "Maybe he passed through here, maybe he didn't. Either way, I haven't seem him." I couldn't tell if Kid Goth bought it because hr ran downstairs at his supernatural speed and stood inches away from my face.

"Tell the bastard this." He snarled in my face. "If I see him, he's roadkill!" He finished the sentence with a shout.

"And I'll tell you this." I focused the power of sarcasm in my voice. "The next time I see you, eat some breath mints!" I also finished that with raising my voice.

Obviously Xandou didn't like that, when he lunged himself a little to try and intimidate me but I've faced worse guys than him. In fact, I've faced monsters that were probably born in Hell.

Once he raced out of the Den, literally, I went to hang up my half soaked towel and asked in a whispered tone, "What did you do wrong this time?"

"Not me.' Xhiva snapped back irritably. "Our orange cap wearing knucklehead of a friend."

I rolled me eyes, it wasn't a surprise to know Diablo would be behind Xhiva's impending doom. "Get in the water, it'll speed up the healing process."

Just as I headed upstairs, I heard a distinct splash. At least someone listens to me once in a while.

When I stepped outside, I looked out the windows to see that it was still in the afternoon and I was a little hungry. So I went to the kitchen only to find a Hispanic dude about the same age as me munching on food like there was no tomorrow. Usually, he was the one who had a really good nose, but judging from the gnarly reek, either he forgot to take a shower (again) or he fished his clothes from his pile of way overdue laundry.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He jumped up in surprise and turned to me with stuffed cheeks that looked like a chipmunk's.

"I mot eaiing 'ood." I managed to understand from his mouthful of food.

I chuckled until I noticed the the empty box in his tanned hands. "Are those my clams?"

After downing the food in his mouth with one gulp, he flashed a smile at me. "They were. "He then let out a loud belch that could have broken glass. "Hey, when it comes to food, it's every man for himself."

"Yeah and you still don't qualify as one."

I smiled at my best friend and looked inside the fridge. But it seemed that Diablo didn't want anyone to have any food because there was nothing but some leftover pizza.

Just as I reached for some of the slice, a hand snatched it away and I turned around to see Diablo open his mouth to eat it. But before he could so much as set his teeth on the slice, I shot a bolt of lightning at him, causing him to land on the ground with a loud "oomph!" It was a good thing my combat training enhanced my reflexes because who has two thumbs and caught the slice while it was still spinning in the air?

This guy.

"Really, amigo?"Diablo asked once he got up.

"Sorry, not sorry." I waved my hand and let my powers heat up the slice just a little. "When it comes to food, every man for himself."

"Hey, I need fuel." Diablo got up. "Especially after completing another masterpiece."

"Aka another one of your pranks." I finished heating the Dominos slice.

Being the drama queen he is, Diablo clutched his chest and staggered back as if he couldn't breathe.

"You call my creations, the evidence to my brilliance, simple pranks? Oh ye of little faith! I'll show you!"

It was a good thing I ate the pizza quickly, otherwise it would have probably dropped to the floor when the resident prankster yanked my arm and dragged me to the garage. Just was we opened the door, Diablo stood in my way.

"Ready to feast your eyes on glorious chaos?" Don't even bother on trying to explain Diablo's apparent insanity. By the time he got hooked to Tom and Jerry, it was too late for us to stop his career of mischief from beginning.

Turning on the light, it became clear what had set Xandou off.

His Jaguar (the car, not the animal, dumbass) looked like a unicorn puked on it. The paint job was literally Think Pink. The tires were covered with smiley face emojis. On the hood was some character from My Little Pony. But the real breadwinner for Xhiva's doom was what what was written on the dashboard window in glittering green:

"XHIVA RULES!"

"Oh God." I breathed while trying not to laugh. Putting even a touch of glitter on anything Xandou owned was one thing and it was punishable by wedgie. But signing your name on the prank, was a death sentence. Either way, when Xandou went after you, good luck getting away from him in one piece, mind or body.

"Say it!" We left the garage to find the twins wrestling each other, and it looked like a fight for life. Of course they knocked down some lamps, with Xhiva trying to escape but Xandou was faster than him and he didn't even break a sweat holding his brother in a choke-hold. "Say it."

"Would an apology be sufficient, little brother?" Xhiva wheezed through his brother's pale arms.

"Nope." Xandou tightened his hold. "You mess with my stuff, I mess with you. Now say it!"

"I'm gonna need some Twizzlers." Diablo ran off to the kitchen while I stood there, and enjoyed the show wishing I had some popcorn. Of course Xandou would never hurt his family, at least too much anyway, but it was fun seeing the twins argue. Hey, if you have a sibling, you should understand that annoying them is what we do for a living.

"Say it." Xandou threatened once more, tightening his hold on Xhiva's neck.

"Xandou Tiraken is all wise and powerful." Xhiva rasped out.

"And?" Xandou asked.

"And he's better than me in every single possible way!" Xhiva caught a breath before his other half held him by the collar of his $125 shirt.

"And?"

"And I'm a lowly shrimp who can be crushed at any moment by his shoe because he's so awesome!" Xhiva mouthed, 'Help me!'

'No.' Diablo and I mouthed back, while shaking our heads.

Xandou licked his finger and it hovered just inches away from Xhiva's ear when he asked, "And?"

"And in the history of the universe there's never been anyone as amazing as my twin brother!"

"There you go." Xandou dropped his brother, who after regaining his breath, was helped up by him.

"Ok, it's official" I clapped my hands. "This is getting old. Guys, come on, we've only been here for what, a week? And we've done nothing but shit! Well, I'm bored and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual in this room. Who's up for a little early night entertainment?"

The other guys smiled equally mischievously as I did. When normal people went out, they either went to the movies, or on dates, or just out for McDonalds. When the Blade Boys go on a night out in town, we bring the house down! Almost literally anyway.

"Alrighty then." I rubbed my hands together. "What to do, what to do..."

"You know what?" Xandou flashed a rare smile. "I'll be back, guys."

Hopping onto a red motorcycle, he literally kicked it and it rumbled with life. With just a single pump of the gear, he backed out, leaving a size in the garage door that would have made Andre the Giant weep with pride.

About 20 minutes later, and we were all waiting outside, either playing with our phones, looking at the clouds or doing what Diablo was doing, which was trying to keep himself entertained by basically annoying us. He first started with solo karaoke, then he did a few dance moves and then moved to I Spy.

"Ok, I Spy something European and Purple." He smiled. "Remember, it's Purple and European."

"Is it Raiden again?" Xhiva asked rhetorically and completley out of boredom.

"Man, you're good at this!" I rolled my eyes at Diablo's antics.

"What's taking Xandou so long?" I asked to anyone who would listen. "And he's the one with the need for speed."

"You remember we just moved here, right?" Xhiva asked. "Or did a practice dummy knock common sense out of your cranium?"

"Oh, it's about to go down!" Diablo warmed up his hands in glee. "What? If you two are gonna fight, I need to sell tickets!"

Groaning loudly, I fished out my phone and checked that the time was a quarter to 5. "I swear if he doesn't show, I'm gonna-"

SCREECH!

A black shiny Lexus pulled up right in front of us at lightspeed and then spun around to reveal a smug Chinese kid with his signature heavy metal music blasting over the speakers.

He said something but we couldn't hear him so I yelled, "WHAT?!" He spoke again but because the music was so loud, Xhiva walked a little closer to the car, flicked his hand, and the car stopped functioning. It was obvious he had used his powers.

"Are you serious?" asked Xandou.

"I could ask you the same question." Xhiva scolded his brother. "Do you know how bad those high frequencies are for your eardrums?"

"Ah shut up." Xandou peered his head out. "What are you all waiting for? A letter? Get in, motherfuckers!"

"Please your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times." Diablo chimed in as we all got in our seats. I took the front, and the rest went in the back seats. "Let's blow this town!"

Xhiva flicked his hand and the car burst to life with The Champs' Tequila playing on the radio, making the ride so much more worthwhile, especially when a 15 year old was driving. Yes, all of us were 15 then. Deal with it.

Before we knew it, we were out in the Gold Coast. I had to admit, it was a nice place. I had been to Queensland once before, but it was a pretty sweet town. I still wished we had moved to Brisbane, at least I would get to meet my favorite baseball team, the Brisbane Bandits. Don't tell Diablo by the way.

"Well pinch me, I'm dreaming, here is a first." I spoke up. "Someone's not complaining about how crappy this place looks."

"Oh come on, name one time I talked shit about any place we went to." said Xandou.

"I can list 2,537, especially in Singapore. You hated the food there." Xhiva retorted.

"I told you mi amigo." said Diablo. "Should have gotten the rendang. But no! You had to pick the oyster omelette!"

"Hey guys." They turned their black haired heads to mine. "What color is that light up ahead?"

"That's red." said Xhiva.

"Doesn't red mean stop?" I wondered aloud in a sarcastic tone.

"Not for long." Xhiva twisted his hand and the light changed from a bright red to a color that almost matched Xandou's green eyes. The next few seconds involved a rollarcoaster feeling matched by the skidding of tires as we ran the light. I heard parts of people arguing about their cars crashing but I was too busy enjoying the ride.

"WHOOO!" Diablo stuck his head out and left his tongue dangling, almost like a dog.

"Hey, Xandou." Xhiva called from the backseat. "You brought the stuff?"

Immediately, Xandou stopped the car, which stopped traffic along the way, reached into his pockets and then looked around in desperation. "Oh shit! I left it at Home Base!"

"Xandou, eres burro!" Diablo swore in Spanish.

"Just screwing with you!" Xandou tossed back three bottles of one hell of a good time, aka pure vodka.

While drinking the drink, we spent the next 15 minutes coasting downtown, driving past buildings, and enjoying the thrill of almost getting run over. Basically we were doing anything just to get a taste of adrenaline. Some people call us adrenaline junkies, some people call us teenage delinquents, I call ourselves adrenaline delinquents. We even went so far as to actually drive over a truck!

Don't ask.

"A toast!" I proclaimed, bringing my bottle up which still had some vodka in it. We had learned the hard way not to down alcohol all at once. "To our first night here! Who rules this city?"

"Us!" Even though Xandou burns through stuff pretty fast, I guess it was a good thing he didn't have some of the stuff, so either way, we had no worry of any accidents that would get us killed.

"Nothing can touch us."

But the nanosecond that sentence went through my lips, the sounds of a police siren overlapped our radio and the air around us was illuminated by red and blue lights. So you can imagine how big the size of our eyes was.

In case some of you are dumb asses and don't know what any of those signs mean, that means the police are right on our tail, which means if we didn't get out of there, we were screwed to oblivion.

"Fuck!" I looked in the rear view mirror. "Oh fuck!" Xandou swore in Marathi while Xhiva swore in Chinese.

"You gotta let me out, you gotta let me out!" Diablo pushed his way to the dashboard.

"THIS IS THE POLICE!" We heard someone speak through some megaphone or something. "PULL OVER SLOWLY AND STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE!"

"It's the Po-Po!" Diablo was in Drama Queen mode. "It's the Po-Po! We're gonna DIE!"

"No one's gonna die tonight! Hang on!" Xandou stepped on the gas pedal, increasing our speed to try to out drive at least 3 police cars behind us.

While Xandou was driving at 120 miles per hour, Xhiva was hacking into the police network to try to get them off our scent. Even Diablo had transformed into a dog, and was literally barking mad. Even with all that effort, we still weren't losing the do-gooders. I was itching to shoot some lightning at them, but if I did, questions would be asked, and the last thing we needed was to be exposed. Or worse, if we were caught, my brother would still find out. Trust me, if there's one thing that's worse than the police, it's my big brother.

So I had to think of something, fast. I looked out the window looking for anything that could help us escape, without getting out of the car.

Either I was really lucky, or my dead father was watching over me and had answered my prayer. At the corner of my eye was the start of a railing which continued while we drove past it. But below the railing was the sea and it meant our way out.

Remember what I said about us Blade Boys being the ultimate brotherhood of misfits? You're about to find out why.

"Hey Xan!" I shouted over the ear-splitting police sirens. "Who's car is this?"

"I don't know!" He replied. "I stole it from some idiot's garage!"

I looked at all of my best friends with hope that we would survive what was about to happen next. "Then we are ditching out!" Without thinking, I grabbed the wheel and turned it sharply, breaking through the metal railing.

I could almost feel time slowing down, while we plummeted straight into the ocean, our natural habitat.

Before you start crying and ordering our coffins, no, I'm not dead. None of us are. It's gonna take a lot more than just a fall to take at least one of us down. Yes, I know what you're gonna say; This guy is insane, why the hell would he do something so stupid like driving a car off a cliff?

I'm a teenager, being insane and doing stupid things is kind of what we do.

My friends and I had all done stunts like this before, but I'll never get used to the terror that settles in my gut, especially when we hit the water. The crashing sound rang in my ears and it didn't help that we were all stuck in our seats. To make matters more annoying, water was rapidly filling up the car because the glass had cracked. But even though I was a little disoriented, I could make out the sandy floor below the headlights that were still lit, and by the time we landed on it, I couldn't feel my legs anymore because I didn't have them anymore . Looking behind me, the bubbles surrounding Xhiva and Diablo had dissolved and I could see them break the seatbelt buckles with their bare hands. Lifting my arms, I tugged against my seatbelt until it snapped like a twig.

Superhuman strength is a perk that comes when you're a merman.

I'm not kidding, we're real live mermen, as in The Thirteenth Year and The Little Mermaid kind of mermen.

Don't believe me? If our powers weren't enough, then how do you explain the slimy blue fishtails that just replaced our legs after we hit the water?

So yes, mermaids exist. And no, we don't sing songs for no reason while combing our hair. That's a stereotype.

We were lucky that mermen could breathe and heal in the water, otherwise the cuts from Xandou's forehead would have stopped closing themselves. And we also would have drowned.

Guys. I spoke through the magical underwater link. It's a way for all merpeople to communicate. We meet back at Home Base. But whatever happens, don't do anything stupid-

While I was talking, Diablo's started transforming. His tan skin became grey rubbery flesh and his blue tail elongated into a long dorsal fin as he completly changed into a humpack whale. It would have been a cool thing to see, if him putting on about 300,000 pounds didn't mean trashing the car and crushing Xhiva in the process.

Like that. I facepalmed myself.

Diablo. We all heard Xhiva muffled voice. Could you please get your incessant weight off me?

Diablo's amber eyes blinked and he moved off of Xhiva, who flapped his blue tail in annoyance, before nodding at me. Xandou rolled his eyes, obviously bored and swam away at the speed of a torpedo. Diablo changed back into his merman self and then transformed into a swordfish, swimming away from the wreck site.

Like I said, head back. And don't touch the sand, there's glass everywhere.

Before I could swim, Xhiva grabbed my arm and asked through the link, Do you think Erik's back by now?

You know the protocol, Xhi. I spoke back. If he asks, lie.

I then swam off, also at torpedo speed, feeling the lightning encase my body as I swam in my path.

You're probably wondering, this hot guy is a creature of the sea, so why is he a living lightbulb? Well I may be a fish dude, but I'm not normal even by fish dude standards. So sit down, relax and let Raiden tell you a story as to why:

There are a few types of merpeople: Alpha, Beta, Omega, and Delta.

Betas are just the regular merpeople who have the basic powers, such as heating, shaping or freezing water, ect. cetera. But we don't usually call them Betas, just merpeople. As an example, my brother is a Beta, but we don't really refer to him as that.

Alphas are probably more rarer than half bloods, but aside from not being able to do anything a merman can typically do, there is one power they have that is super awesome: They can transform into animals, 1,000 species to the max. When I say more rare than a half blood, I'm talking litearlly one in a million, such as one Diablo Nagual.

But out all the types of merpeople, no one beats the Omega. Also freaking rare but more powerful than any creature in the sea. Basically they wield divine power over an element, and can bend it to their will, such as water, fire, air, ice, magic, ect. Cetera. There's only two ways to become an Omega, either you're born one, or you get affected by a Moon Pool. I was born The Omega Merman of Lightning. It's also why I was born with my eye color, that's how you can tell an Omega. According to some boring lecture by Xhiva, 1 in 10,000 merpeople are born Omegas.

And last but sort of least, Deltas. Deltas are the kids of Betas and Omegas, who are just a tad more powerful than Betas because of their Omega parent. Take the Tiraken Twins for example, their mother was an Omega and their father is a Beta. Basically, they have the regular powers of Beta merpeople, with a special feature, something called a Primary Power. It can be any supernatural ability based on their personality. But it comes with a very major Kryptonite; Xhiva is able to manipulate technology with his mind but he needs his vision to be able to even unlock an electronic door. Xandou is literally the fastest boy alive, but without heat, he can't move, even in the water.

Omegas don't generally have a weakness. Really, we don't. Well, except for the fact that our powers are tied to our emotions. When I get angry, lightning actually strikes, from my hands. Aside from that, there's one more massive downside to being an Omega; whatever element you get, you're stuck with and you only get one. I can control lightning but I can't do anything else. In other words, if I want to open a locked door or summon a TV remote, I would have to burn down the door with my lightning and get up get the remote myself. Yet for some reason natural Omegas can turn invisible just like natural Deltas and Betas can. Except my invisibility has been known to give off static electricity and the smell of ozone, so not so camouflaging.

No one knows how Omegas, Deltas and Alphas are "chosen" as they put it, but my grandma was convinced it has something to do with mermaid evolution, which probably started a bazillion years ago.

ZOOM!

I stopped in the big blue, waving my arms to tread the water and to catch myself from spinning. Something had swum past me and at the speed it was going, it was either a marlin or a merperson. Maybe it was one of the guys messing around, but a feeling in my gut told me it was someone else. So I hit the gas and swam behind the mystery seaperson.

I followed it in the ocean for some 15-20 miles until we came to a part of the reef, where the figure had stopped and I had quickly hidden in a kelp bush. But when I peered through the bush, my jaw dropped when I saw that the person I had been following, was a mermaid. And not just any mermaid, a half blood!

I had heard thousands of stories about them as a kid, which were mostly something about half bloods once being the bridges between humans and merpeople. They had apparently gone extinct a long time ago, but us merfolk haven't forgotten what their tails looked like; a merman's was green and a mermaid's was silver-the exact silver that was shining in my eyes.

Her back was turned to me so I couldn't really see her face, but I could see her hair which looked like a red velvet fluffy cloud, it was kind of cute to be honest. What was on her finger was without a doubt, a moon ring.

Hmm. I thought. She's probably 20 or something.

I was about to turn back so I could meet with my friends when I realized, this was a half blood, probably the only one in the world, which meant she had to be worth a lot.

Letting the lightning in me surface in my hands, I swam closer to the mermaid. It was obvious she could sense me behind her, but I didn't give a damn what she could do. That money was as good as mine.

Without a second thought, I thrust my hand and unleashed my lightning on the bitch. The second she was hit, she fell to the sandy floor, screaming in pain from my attack. She started to get up, and was already summoning magic in her moon ring. Before she could use her power against me, I shot another stream of lightning and it knocked her straight back down. But she wasn't giving up anytime soon, because every time I shot more lightning at her, she just got up and fought, or at least tried to. Water, invisibility, levitation, and she even tried to form a shield from the surrounding water, just to stay alive. She was brave and talented, but I was better. After striking her down a couple more times, I grabbed her by the throat and pushed her in the sand.

Was I feeling like the world's biggest dick when I took her down? Of course not. I had done this before on other targets I was assigned. But this one was on the house. Don't worry, I never killed anyone. None of us have.

I smiled at my victory, another one in a long line, not to brag. It seemed that me and my friends would become legends for finding the last half blood and killing it. But when I took a look at her face, I felt my heart stop beating. I couldn't hear anything except the blood pumping in my head, and my panicked breathing, even though we were underwater. I didn't even care that I took my hands off her throat and checked to see if she had a pulse (which she did, thank God)

I didn't know why, but I just didn't give a fuck about the money anymore. The only thing that really mattered then, was making sure she was alive.

This half blood, no, this mermaid, she wasn't an adult, she was a kid, just like me! I thought she may have been in her early 20's but she looked around 14-15, and I was 15 for sobbing out loud! I had never attacked kids before, it went against the code of the Blade Boys, but somehow knowing that she was as young as I was, made my gut felt as if it was rotting.

But how the hell did she get a moon ring? I wondered. No, it doesn't matter, this is for your survival. But...is it worth it if it means I kill another kid?

I held her in my arms, probably to make sure no one hurt her more than I did. She was already losing consciousness, but I could make out her eyes. They were the most beautiful blue I had ever see. My mother had gorgeous eyes, but these were something else. I could see a tiny bit of grey around her pupil, and I saw in my mind, an ocean under a full moon. She had ivory skin, which almost glowed in the in the last bits of daylight and it seemed to compliment her hair, along with her silver tail/top. I had seen mermaids who were hot, but she was a true pearl of the sea.

She didn't do anything wrong. My voice whispered in the back of my head. She's an innocent, unlike me. Oh God, what did I do?

I shook my head, there was no time for self pity. I could see blood starting to pour out of her mouth, which meant she needed medical attention and she needed it now. But there was a few problems standing in the way; I couldn't go back to Home Base because the other guys may not have shown her the same mercy as I did, and I couldn't heal her since it was literally beyond my power. My brother could heal her probably but I didn't know if he would be back and I couldn't take any chances. I also couldn't take her to a pod since no pod would ever allow someone with human blood in their veins or a nearby moon pool since I had no idea where exactly it was. But she was badly injured and I had to act fast. Even if I left her there to be healed by the ocean, sharks would literally be on her tail in minutes.

Holding onto her as tight as I could, so she wouldn't slip, I started swimming at my top speed all over the reef, looking for anything or anyone that could help her. It was either that, or leave her to die and there was no way in hell I was gonna let that happen.

I swam around every barnacle, piece of coral and swam through some kelp forests but it seemed like I would have to smuggle her into Home Base somehow. But even if I went on land and got my legs back, I couldn't take her anywhere. Unless either of us wanted to find ourselves in a fish tank being studied by scientists, a trip to the hospital was out of the question. Besides I didn't know who this girl was so I couldn't go to the police and say I just found her like that.

It seemed completely hopeless that I would find at least a miracle until I surfaced to take a look at my surroundings and I heard a woman's voice not too far from me, shouting,

"Thalassa? Thalassa! Where are you? Thalassa!" The mermaid was a red head, just like the half blood I was carrying in my arms.

Wait a minute. I thought to myself. Her name is Thalassa. Isn't it?

The two mermaids looked like mother and daughter, which I had really hoped they were. Not wanting to waste any chances, I let her go and shot a bolt of lightning into the sky several times, to send a flare. As soon as I shot the last bolt, I dove back into the water and swam back a few feet before hiding myself with my invisibility. As the woman picked up the girl in her arms,I saw her look in my direction, but I guess she was more concerned with keeping her daughter safe. She examined Thalassa and carried her as she swam at her top speed back to wherever she came from.

I had no idea who Thalassa was or what the hell she was doing in that part of the reef, but at least she was in safe hands. And that's all that mattered.

Before I knew it, I had stopped in front of a rock wall. Pushing some floating seaweed away I pressed my hand against the wall and it disappeared, displaying a dark tunnel ahead of me.

Like the security spell? It belonged to my family. Sure the house has passcodes and fingerprint scanners, but to get in through the sea entrance, the magic works like this; whoever lives in there, gets in there.

Swimming inside, I heard the rock wall close behind me, cutting off the last bit of sunlight from outside. It was a good thing merpeople have night vision, even if it only works in the water, because I had no light source until I reached the actual pool.

We didn't have a skylight since the Den was underground, so a ceiling lamp was a compensation enough. When I pushed myself up, I was about to use my powers to dry my tail when I felt something fluffy on my fin.

"Care to for a towel, Master Raiden?"

I looked up to see our butler leaning over me. Yep, I said it, our freaking butler. George Nguoi Ban. Well, technically he's the Tiraken Family's butler but he still treats me, my brother and Diablo as part of the family.

"Thanks, man." I grabbed the towel and started dabbing my tail, trying to get it dry.

We call him Lee for short, but don't be fooled just because he's a human. He also happens to be a retired veteran who served in the Vietnam War. He may be an old man, but he makes a mean hot cocoa. We call him Lee for short, but if you call him my babysitter or nanny, I'll fry your face.

"I see you have returned from another one of your escapades." Lee drawled in his Vietnamese accent while dusting the shelf. "The towel is for Master Xhiva's sake. He nearly blew a fuse from having to fix the power grid the last time you used your powers."

"Oh come on." I continued rubbing my blue scales with the purple towel. "Like I said before, somebody left a spilled bottle of squid ink and you know I'm allergic to the smell."

"The other masters have already returned." Lee said. "Although Erik called, he should be returning soon."

"Thanks." I stood up, now perfectly dry.

"And one more thing." Lee drawled. "The AC is broken. Rest assured, the problem is being fixed, but Master Erik wanted me to make this clear: There will be zero tolerance, of any snow shenanigans. To quote the merman himself, 'We're not gonna have a repeat of last time'."

I groaned. "It was one time!"

Right after I shut the door, I grabbed a glass of water, while being careful not to get wet of course, and sat down with a copy of a News Weekly magazine in my other hand.

I had just started reading about some surfer dude in Jefferys Bay escaping a shark attack, when I heard the front door close and a familiar voice saying,

"Guys I'm home!" I also heard the sound of car keys being jingled.

"No one cares!" Xandou's voice yells from upstairs.

"Nice to see you're still alive Xan!" Erik replied as was making his way to the kitchen. "Well, well, well. Look who it is. Australia's resident teenage rebel."

"Well, well, well." I didn't even look up from my magazine to see who was talking to me. "If it isn't the South Pacific's resident stiff."

"Delinquent." Erik said to me as he was heating up some food in the microwave.

"Bossy pants." I shot back.

"Fry fin." Erik replied.

"Muscle head." I said to him.

"So you do admit I'm stronger than you?" Erik asked cunningly.

I took a look at the light blonde merman who had just eating his sandwich. "Shut up." I could practically hear him roll his eyes. "So did you find a job?"

"Yeah." said Erik. "It's this place called the Ocean Cafe. The manager Daivd, he's a really nice guy. Probably too nice."

"Eh sounds boring. Both the place and the boss." I turned a page in my magazine.

"At least I'm not the couch potato in the room." Erik sat next to me, almost finished with his sandwich.

"You have to watch TV to actually be a couch potato." I said nonchalantly, keeping my eyes glued to the pages.

Once Erik was finished with his snack, he stood up and said, "Ok, that's it. I haven't seen you all day, and I'm not gonna let you be bored for the rest of the day."

I snapped the magazine shut and looked up to Erik's blue-green eyes and said, "Listen here Erik. I make my own rules. Which means I'm not getting up from this sofa and there's no way you're gonna make me."

Erik chuckled darkly and whispered, "Watch me."

Before I knew it, my vision consisted of the floor and Erik's backside as he carried me out of the house and down the hill. Hey, I'm 5'5 and he's 6'1. Of course he can carry me. I could hear the waves of the ocean grow louder as we got closer and every Blade Boy knew what this meant.

"Put me down!" I pounded his back even though my effort was useless. "Put me down!"

"No can do, fratellino." Erik said once we were near the shore. The house rested on top of a small hill that was right over the ocean. It was how the sea entrance tunnel could be fitted for a merman's convenience.

"Put me down!" I yelled one last time, already inhaling the scent of salt water.

"As you wish." Just as I was beginning to feel slight victory, I felt myself being thrown into the water and felt the water splash around me as I made contact with it. Within seconds, my clothes melted away and my legs glued themselves together so my tail could be formed.

In case some of you don't speak Italian (our mother tongue), fratellino, means "little brother." Yes, the asshole that just threw me into the water, is my big brother, Erik Consorzio.

"You utter-" I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to see my brother smirking like an idiot.

"Catch me if you can." Erik said in an teasing tone before diving into the water with his blue tail following him.

I admit, I am many things but a coward is not one of them. Of course I would never back out of a challenge to see who is the strongest, fastest, otherwise the best merman. Especially when it comes to my brother.

We raced each other for a few yards until we had reached a part of the reef that had a lot of sand beneath us. It was then that we surfaced to talk to each other face to face. Don't get me wrong, being able to communicate telepathically underwater is pretty cool but it's kind of more easier for me to use our actual voices.

"What?" I surfaced to a smirking Erik. "Oh, come on! I'm the Omega of freaking lightning here! How come you're faster?"

"Well you know what they say." My brother retorted. "Practice makes perfect."

"Ah shut up." I splashed water in Erik's eyes. "I can beat you easily in a rematch."

"You've never even won a single game of chess against me.' Erik boasted, prompting me to stick out my tongue at him. "Now aside from that, word on the street is 4 teenagers, were driving a stolen car and even jumping over a truck." His tone had turned from playful big brother Erik, to serious big brother Erik.

But at least he wasn't parent Erik. Trust me, you don't want to meet Parent Erik.

"You have no proof." It was all I could say at the time. I knew of course Erik would find out of another adventure gone wrong of the Blade Boys, but I never thought he'd find out this soon.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "And the car happened to steer off a railing?"

"I didn't do nothing." I knew I was an idiot for stalling but I had to try anyway.

"Straight into the ocean?" Erik continued.

"Circumstantial evidence." I continued.

"Raiden, I know it was you." said Erik. "I was there when you were born."

I scrunched up my nose in disgust. "When you were three?" Erik wasn't fazed so I knew my cards against my brother were running out. "Look, it was supposed to be a night out on the town. We didn't know the cops were gonna be behind us. Or I didn't think they would be."

Erik slapped his hand to his forehead in complete irritation. "Raiden, what do I always say?" Just as I opened my mouth to speak, Erik cleared his throat and asked again, "Raiden, cosa dico sempre?"

I nodded, understanding full well of how serious Erik was being. We mostly speak English and sometimes either Portuguese, French, or Greek, but when it came to our first language, there was no joking around with what we said.

"Essere consapevole del possibilita, buono e cattiva." (Be aware of the possibilities, good and bad.)

Erik smiled at me. "See? You do listen to me."

"I'm sorry." I put my hand close to my ear. "Were you saying something? I didn't quite get the sound of your boring voice."

"Well I'm not the one who almost risked jail time, again." said Erik. "You're lucky I know how to tell the cops a convincing lie."

"Oh give it a rest, blondie." I retorted.

"Ok, that's it." Erik cracked his knuckles. "Come here, you!" Before I could fight back, I was behind held in my brother's arms, totally unable to do anything as he gave me a pretty hard noogie. Until I pushed him off and swam down, trying to swim away from my pursuing brother.

Erik and I played our little game of tag until we both got a little hungry and headed for the sea entrance. After we got in, Erik made a head start and went upstairs to give Lee the night off so we could make dinner ourselves. (In other words, Erik would do the cooking and I would be the supervisor/assistant.)

While we were setting the table, I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Why did we move here?"

Erik became motionless, holding a knife over a plate. I was worried that he was actually frozen until he set it back down and looked at me.

"Raiden, we talked about this." Erik said to me with an edge to his voice. "I can't go into detail but,"

"Yeah, yeah." I set down some glasses for water with straws in them. "Your boss has some interest in Mako-"

"Raiden!" Erik almost shouted and for a moment, I was terrified of my brother. But the moment was short lived when he gave me a hug. "I'm so sorry fratellino. But like I said, we talked about this. I can't go into full detail but from where you stand, you and your 'Blade Boys' are the help. But trust me when I say, I will be handling the hard stuff, so you leave everything to me. When I need you to come help me, I will ask you. But for now, I swear to God, I will do everything in my power to make sure you, Xhiva, Xandou, especially Diablo don't have to go through shit in this whole thing. I promise you, I will sort this out on my own as best as I possibly can."

I took Erik's arm in my hand and replied to him, "I don't understand what happened to you when you were gone, but for the past 8 years, we were put through hell and we've come out tough as steel. But we did it together. Sure we found Diablo and the Twins along the way, but we still did it together. So whatever's going on, I'll be here because we're family."

Erik smiled solemnly at me and patted my shoulder. "Go get the others. I think the cod's almost done."

I nodded before making a run upstairs. As soon as I reached the upstairs corridor, I hollered at the top of my lungs, "HEY, FISH BOYS! DINNER'S ALMOST READY!"

"Cut it out!" Xhiva yelled from behind his door. "I'm trying to read!"

"Sounds boring!" Diablo's voice sounded in the hallway.

"It's bad enough your voice is!" Xandou retorted, causing me to roll my eyes at the other mermen's antics. I swear in all the years I had known them, they probably will never change. Who would want the embodiments of awesomeness to even think of such a thing?

I walked into my room and started untying my sneakers when I bumped my dresser causing my cologne bottle to fall and knock me on the head.

"Ah!" I hissed, grabbing the nonexistent bump on my head. "Son of a bitch!"

But when I looked up, I looked straight into the ocean. The view of it happened to be outside my window that was over my bed. When I listened closely to the seagull's annoying song and the waves crashing against each other, I saw a flash of red hair in my vision along with a silver tail and blue eyes.

I shook my head, cursing at myself for thinking of the half blood who was probably ok by then. I really had hoped she was ok then. If it wasn't for me, she would have found some pretty shell for her collection or something.

But why am I thinking about this? I asked myself silently while running my fingers through my hair. Why am I thinking about her?

Does it matter? My own voice whispered in my ear. You endangered the life of an innocent girl. A girl who never did anything wrong. And you attacked her for lousy cash!

"Except...I saved her." I said, looking at my hands. I imagined blood dripping off them, and I would never be able to wash it off.

It could have happened when I was close to actually defeating her. One more blow to the face and she would have been out like a light. One more blow to the face and I could have taken her to the black market and traded her in for a millions of dollars. I could have become a legend. The Blade Boys could have become a legend and then no one would have thought to ever cross us.

So why didn't I? I wondered. Why did I let her live? We don't even know each other and I had never met her before. So when I saw an chance to save her, why did I take it? Erik once said as I grow older, I'll learn that there's a lot of ways to do the right thing. But does saving the life you almost took count as that?

"Boys!" Erik shouted from downstairs. "Dinner's ready!"

"Coming!"

I looked out into the ocean one more time and I looked as hard as I could into the early night sky for even the smallest sign of my mother and father watching over me.

"Please make sure she's not too hurt." I whispered before heading downstairs.

No matter how hard I tried, and no matter how many conversations I held that night, even as I slept, I couldn't stop seeing those beautiful oceanic eyes.

And that my friends, is the end of the first chapter of the long awaited sequel of Birthmark! Please review, because I do appreciate the feedback. Tell me what you think of this Raiden character and his relationship with Erik. Thank you for waiting. And if you have not read Birthmark, I highly suggest you do before reading this.