Thyst gasped as she saw Etta coming downshore. She ducked behind a bush and made a ball of ice. She paused for a moment then whirled and flung it at Etta. She pulled Etta underwater. Etta was soon shut in the palace prisons, and Megon was apprehended and put in the same cell. They were both cursed to be mermaids to keep them alive.

•megon• 

"Etta!!" Megon screamed as she was dragged under water.something hit her and she was out like a light

- hour later -  

megon was at the bottom of the cell crying < why am I here? What do they want? Me and Etta need to get out of here!> megon swam around frantically and found that there was an opening in the bars " Etta. Ettttta. " megon whispered Etta groans. Megon slaps her. " what the heck meg- wait....." Etta stubles on" oh come on we are getting out of here." And they swim through the hole  they swam to shore and found megon's bag " finally!" And maple opened a purple vail " open up." Maple said calmy and dropped a drop of the purple liquid on each of there tounges. " now we can turn into humans at will." Megon says happily " ok" Etta replies. And they walk back up to the seaside cottage. 

~ Etta ~ 

How dare they ! When I escape I'll ... I'll kill them one by one ! The disgrace of it ! A tail ! A TAIL !!! And the gills ! Ugh ! I shuddered. To think- to think that I'm a FISH FREAK !!!!

After several mintues, I force myself to think clearly. In capturing me, they had to turn me into a mermaid to keep me alive. Before, I failed mostly because I was underwater. Now I have a tail and gills. No matter how gross this is, it is nessasary, and I can always force them to change me back later. Right now, I need to escape.

I examine the cell . Megon is lying on the floor unconcious. Through a system of dozens of walls with tiny holes, water seeps in and out. At the top there's a small, roughly square hole. Staring upwards, I see it continues a long way. It's proably to drop food in through. It's to tight and to long to escape through, but I'm hungry and I intend to serve myself, so I fly upward. This fish-freak body is unweildy and heavy, but at least I can still fly. The tube narrows. I feel around. I find the dagger Megon gave me- and scales ! I pull my hand back.

" I'm a prisoner, like you ! " The mermaid calls. A hand pokes down the tube and shows the customary gray chestband .

~

Gotta go . 

~Misty~

After a few hours of exploring the oceanic world, my underwater watch beeped. It was 6:50. Also, I couldn't breathe.

I scrambled to reach the sun-spangled surface of the water, coughing and sputtering as my gills folded and disappeared. My legs materialized, clad in pajama shorts instead of my tail. I curved my body and dove back into the water like a dolphin, swimming the freestyle stroke, splashes spurting up from the sea as I kicked with all my strength.

I reached the shore, climbing onto the sand breathlessly as my body instantly became dry. I was a human again.

I dragged my feet behind me as I walked back home. My legs always felt incredibly heavy after making my transformation. A fluttery tail was just so much easier.

I arrived at the house at 7:00 on the dot, creeping upstairs and shimmying under the covers of my bed, pretending to sleep.

My mother knocked softly on the door. "Misty...time to get up."

I attempted to sound groggy. "Okay, Mom."

Her footsteps padded away, into Megon's room, and I sighed in relief.

Also, Ozzie says pint. Okay, I know I'm short, but I'm not pint-sized! 

~Hazel~

The mermaids. They will be my downfall, I just know it. If Mage Holly was here, if my powers worked here as well as they do on land, I would be fine. But Mage Holly is probably sitting in her tower cursing herself for taking on such a foolhardy apprentice, and I can barely do any magic at all. The little part of my mind that isn't consumed with fury is saying that I am really the one who's to blame for my fate. Trying to capture a mermaid in her own demesne was well beyond my abilities, but I had to go and do it anyway. Shut up, conscience!

Look at me. An up-and-coming pyromancer, reduced to a captive mermaid. I struggled, of course, but my fire steamed and was lost. Whenever I attempt even a glow globe, it comes out a pale silvery-blue, a dim and ghostly radiance that does little to stave off the gathering gloom. Everything I had, right down to the clothes on my back, was confiscated. I'm stuck in a perfectly spherical cell of dove gray stone to match the band of gray fabric around my chest, which I thought rather indecent until I realized that everyone in the prison wore similar bands. The only thing I like about my predicament is my tail: long and lustrous, gray with twig-thin streaks of fiery red on either side. The flukes shimmer in gradient shades of orange, rippling like real tongues of flame.

I don't like to admit it, but I'm calming down. I have no idea how long I'll be in here, and I can't stay this angry for years on end, can I? I swim awkwardly along the side of the cell, my fingers brushing a system of pores that must allow fresh, oxygen-filled water to enter the cell. Moving my tail clumsily up and down, I manage to swim up to a square opening in the roof. Intrigued, I attempt to swim up it. The hole gets narrower as I go along; my shoulders will clearly get stuck sooner or later. Blast. I also notice that the holes in the walls are bigger up here. Instead of pebbles or grains of sand, these are egg-sized or larger!

That's when I feel someone's hand touch my tail. I stiffen, sinking slowly as fear grips me, but then my eye draws level with a hole just large enough for my hand to fit through. I see a flash of strawberry blonde hair and gray fabric. There's another prisoner just a stone wall away! Relief floods my senses, and I call, "I'm a prisoner, like you!" Surprisingly enough, the words come out perfectly well. A return cry: "Who are you?" "Hazel! Used to be a pyromancer!"

************

Cappie says owid. Who hurt you, Cappie? 

Woah. I'm confused. Everyone is writing at the same time and jumbling up everything... Can someone tell me whats happening?