Chapter Text
On there way to the JuiceNet the gurls spot Charlotte sitting outside the Cafe, they winder whether or not to even bother telling Charlotte about the full moon: "You think we should warn her about the full moon tonight? She hasn't experienced one yet." Emma asks the others. "No. Let her learn the hard way." Rikki says and begins to walk inside the JuiceNet "And reveal our secret to the world?" Emma retorts
With a sigh Rikki says "Alright, but I'm not doing it." "Don't look at me, she hates me now that I'm with Lewis again." Cleo says "We'll all do it together." Emma suggests.
Charlotte sees them walking towards her and tries to leave, only for Emma to stand in front of her, blocking her way and tells her, well more like commands her: "Hi Charlotte... Um... We thought that we'd better remind you about the full moon tonight. You need to stay indoors. And whatever you do, don't look at the full moon."
She rolls her eyes... They could at least pretend to care, Charlotte thought.
"We're trying to make sure you're ready." Rikki tells her, annoyed that Charlotte rolled her eyes at them.
Maybe she shouldn't have said it, but she was tired of the mermaid club telling her what to do and she felt petty: "Well, I don't need your advice; I'm more mermaid than all three of you put together."
Rikki gets irritated and Charlotte looks at the three of them to see if they'd say anything else, but instead she notices Rikki closing her fist and gets scared, that's the same gesture she does to use her powers... Without thinking Charlotte goes into defense mode and lifts the girls into the air. Emma's boyfriend, Ash, shows up and she drops them.
"We were only trying to warn you" Cleo tells her, in shocked of what had just happened.
"And I am just returning the favour consider yourselves warned." She turns to leave, but faces them one more time "and Cleo, you're a real slime bag..." Charlotte says
"How dare you insult her, the only slime-bag here is you, Charlotte! You're the one stealing other people's boyfriends!" Rikki yelled
"I'm sorry, stealing who's boyfriend?" Charlotte questioned
"Cleo's! Who else's? Everyone knows Lewis still had feelings for her and that they wanted to get back together, but you got in the way." Rikki said
"... You never told them did you, Cleo?"
"Told us what?!" Rikki yelled
"Rikki, calm down, you're not helping. Told us what Charlotte?" Emma asked
"During the dinner at her home, I asked her if she'd have a problem with me and Lewis possibly getting together and she said that they're just friends... In other words, Rikki, Cleo gave me permission that night to pursue him. And may I remind you I didn't need to ask her, especially with the way she had been treating me, but I did, because deep down I hoped we could've been friends. Lewis never even told me he was with her, he said you were all just good friends of his, and I did inquire, I didn't even know until after he was single. He never told me he wasn't interested, he even said 'yeah, that's great' when I told him I'd wait for him, he said he liked me and made it seem like he had feelings for me, and when I kissed him the first time, he kissed me back at Mako and we started going out, he invented me to the movies, so I don't see how I stole anyone from Cleo. But you know who did steal from who? Cleo... She was actively trying to sabotage our relationship, even saying at one point that he had abandoned me, during our date, going behind my back to spend alone time with him, which he lied to me about, and then she showed up to gloat about it. I bet she even encouraged him to break up with me, all so she could have him back. I mean why else would he start dating his ex he told me not to worry about on the same day he broke up with me? You guys have been nothing but unwelcoming since I started to date Lewis and even before as well. So keep your warnings to yourself"
Cleo is looking at the floor ashamed, for nothing Charlotte had said was a lie. Rikki tried to step in and defend her, but she told her to stop, that Charlotte had every right to say what she said, it was all true. The mermaid club leave to Emma's house to prepare for the full moon.
The girls tell Lewis what happened and he can't believe Charlotte would do that, so he goes to talk to her.
He finds her at the JuiceNet she tells him she knew he'd come looking for her and that she misses him, ignoring all of that he tells her "Charlotte, things are getting out of hand here. You can't go around using your powers against the girls. You... You really need to get some perspective on what's happened."
She ignores him "I want us to be together again." She says while reaching out to him, touching his hand.
He hastily removes her hand, looking rather annoyed. "That's not gonna happen. I'm with Cleo now."
"She turned you against me." Charlotte tells him
"Nobody has done anything to me. I make my own decisions." Lewis says
Charlotte warns him that she wont let him make that mistake. Feeling frustrated, he returns the conversation back to the full moon "Okay, listen to me. This full moon is going to be stronger than anything we've ever experienced, and you need to be ready for it. Stay inside tonight, for your own good. Believe me."
"I do, Lewis, I believe you." And with that the conversation ended; Lewis leaves Charlotte behind to go back to Cleo, like he's always done, even when they were together.
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The entire conversation with Charlotte had left Emma to ponder on her actions throughout the year, They'd never attack someone just because, and yet, they did... she did... More than once too. If what Charlotte said was true, which Cleo confirmed it was, she and the girls have been behaving like bullies... Worse than Miriam had been to them. Miriam didn't have mermaid powers like she does. Come to think of it... Whatever happened to Miriam anyway...?
I haven't seen her since... Her thoughts are quickly interrupted by Rikki "alright, we're all set!"
The bell rings, and Ash is at the door. He came to question them and won't leave. He tries to force the secrets out of Emma, by guilt-tripping her. Lewis shows up and wonders what Ash is doing here, Rikki assures him that Emma will get rid of him before the full moon rises, but it's too late, the uninvited guest hasn't left and is still pressuring Emma to spill her secrets. The full moon is high in the sky and the girls are now stuck with an unwanted guest.
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Charlotte is left alone, and she returns home, to wait out the full moon. She wondered how bad the moon was, the research said it was uncontrollable and the mermaid club and Lewis never made an effort to explain it to her either. As she's drinking water in the kitchen, thinking about what to do next, she spills some water on herself, in a panic she tries to find something to dry herself with, she fails... But what's this... No tail? She walks outside of the house and gazes up at the full moon and walks towards Emma's house.
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Emma tells Ash that this isn't the right time to talk, but Ash refuses to leave.
Cleo, Lewis and Rikki starts to talk about the full moon and then it happens, the faucet is running on its own the kettle starts boiling... How will Emma explain this to Ash? She doesn't even get the chance to talk before all the faucets in the house get turned, even the fridge is shaking! As If that's not bad enough, a water tentacle comes out of the sink and falls on Ash, maybe now he'll leave... But alas, he just keeps asking questions. Once the girls realize it's Charlotte, Lewis goes to stop her. She's not listening to him, she's under the moon's spell after all. He tries to talk her down from what she's doing she tells him to stay away from her, that she wasn't done yet.
He gets an idea, and he decides to use himself as bait to get her away from the girls, he tells her to forget about them and they can go to Mako to watch the moon pool bubble together, it works. A moonstruck mermaid jumps into the ocean and meets up with him there, but not before he tells Cleo. Once there, Lewis starts to sweet talk her to lure her into the moon pool but she's not budging. Suddenly, Cleo emerges from the water, just like Charlotte planned she would. Lewis realizes he was used as bait and gets upset.
"I've known why you wanted to get me into the moon pool all along." Charlotte tells Lewis, as he tries to play dumb by gaslighting her "I don't know what you mean."
But Cleo asks him what she's talking about and it is now that Lewis tells Cleo and Charlotte about the reason this moon is so special, every 50 years the planets align and if a mermaid is in the moon pool during this night, her powers and tails will be gone forever. He wonders how Charlotte knew and she tells him it's how her grandmother lost her tail.
He tells her not to do anything she'll regret, that there is still time. Lewis notices the steam coming from the moon pool and realizes Rikki and Emma have arrived in an attempt to stall her he takes her aside to sweet talk her yet again. "So this is all about me? Well I can tell you now, this won't change anything"
"She's not worthy of her powers!" Charlotte tries to tell him.
"Yes, she is, she is more than worthy. Just like I know you can be if you just let your real self through. Charlotte, we can still be friends, okay? We can still be close friends, but not if you do this." He tells her while holding her hands.
Before she can even think about what he's saying, she sees him looking behind her and she quickly realizes he has been trying to manipulate her. She pushes him away and he falls to the ground. While wondering what's happening and where Cleo had disappeared to. The mermaid club steps out of the steam Rikki created.
"Don't get all steamed up." Rikki jeers "We're here to cool you down." Emma adds
Cleo immediately goes to attack Charlotte with a frozen sphere and they begin to fight.
"Did you really think you could beat me?" With this Charlotte shows them just what she meant when she claimed to be a super-mermaid. From the moon pool she makes not one, not two, but three water snakes with fangs and everything. But as strong and clever as Charlotte may be, she is still a month-old mermaid against 3 mermaids who have a whole year of experience.
"Don't mess with magic Charlotte, it can get out of control." Lewis nods at the girls and they use the weather powers they got at the beginning of the year. With them they lift Charlotte into the air; when the full moon finally shines upon the moon pool, they unceremoniously drop her in it. The moon takes what it gave and Charlotte is left in wet clothes with three girls and a boy staring down at her.
"Nice legs" Rikki jeers, happy that she was finally able to get rid of Charlotte's powers for good, Emma looks pleased and Cleo is oh so happy, no one else has her powers now, especially not someone who has feelings for Lewis, now she will always have something Charlotte doesn't, well two things.
Charlotte is disoriented, she doesn't know where she is or how she got there, why is she inside water. She hears Rikki saying "Nice legs" "Legs? What...? I have legs and I'm in the water... But how? The full moon! This full moon could take powers away, but why am I here?! The last thing I remember was drinking water and some of it fell on me..." Charlotte thinks to herself
"Lewis.. Lewis what am doing here?" Charlotte asks, in hope of getting an answer that wasn't filled with disdain.
"We could ask you the same thing, but at least you can't ruin anything anymore." Rikki tells her
"Yeah, you're no longer a 'super mermaid'" Cleo mocks
Charlotte, unsurprised by their comments, repeats herself. "What do you mean Charlotte? You lured Cleo here to get rid of her powers permanently and they turned it on you, you lost your powers. I don't know why you want to be told everything that just happened." Lewis tells her without any kindness.
"I don't remember any of that, the only..." Charlotte tried to say only to be interrupted by Rikki
"Stop trying to weasel out it! You lost, and you can't expose our secret by being reckless anymore. You're nothing now, just like you've always been."
"That's right." Cleo adds
Emma isn't liking where Rikki and Cleo are driving this conversation, and tries to humor Charlotte "Guys, calm down, it's over now. Charlotte you said you can't remember anything, what do you mean?"
"Emma she's lying to escape accountability, can't you see that?" Rikki asks Emma, not understanding why Emma is even bothering to play along.
"She's right Emma, she's a liar, always has been, so why humor her?" Cleo asks
"The last thing I remember is drinking water and some falling on me, next thing I know I am here, soaking wet and without my tail." Charlotte begins while trying to get out of the moon pool "I don't know why or how I got here... I may not like Cleo, but I wouldn't try to force her to give up her powers."
"But that's exactly what you did! You used Lewis as bait to lure me here." Cleo yells at her, angry that she coming up with excuses for her actions.
"But why was I here with Lewis in the first place? How did that happen??" Charlotte asks, desperate to understand how it could all go so wrong.
"You attacked us earlier, Charlotte. Well more like my plumbing system, you turned on all the water faucets in my house and heated up the kettle, the fridge started shaking and water came out of the sink and landed on Ash. It was really chaotic and scary." Emma explains
"I don't remember doing that, but I'm sorry, I don't know what got over me." Charlotte feels bad over what she is told, but is still confused.
Rikki scoffs, "Yeah right, you expect us to believe that?!"
"Rikki, calm down, okay?" Emma warns her, not wanting things to escalate. "It's the full moon, you were under its spell."
Charlotte is upset and embarrassed over what happened, she's lost her tail and one of the few connections she had to her grandmother.
Emma was curious, why were Charlotte and Lewis here and how did she lure him... "Lewis, how did Charlotte lure you here in the first place?"
Lewis looks like he's been caught in a web of lies, he starts to come up with more, but Emma realizes he's lying and gets the truth out of him.
"Okay, okay... I was the one who lured Charlotte here, to... Trick her into getting inside the moon pool, so she'd lose her powers... Look, I did it for Cleo... I mean I did it for all of you! She can't handle being a mermaid, so I was fixing the problem as Rikki had originally wanted... " Lewis finishes without looking at anyone.
"Lewis... How could you? I didn't even know what I was doing, and you take it upon yourself to strip me of my powers? And then what?! Were you going to leave me stranded here while you fled back to Cleo?" Charlotte yells in complete disbelief that Lewis would be capable of such evil... It is one thing for her to be under the moon spell and trying to lure Cleo... She had no control over what was happening... But for someone who was in full control... Full control? Wait a minute!
"Why aren't you three affected by the full moon?" She inquires and the three girls look at each other... When they take a little too long to answer, Charlotte realizes with complete shock "You are in full control of your actions, even now, under the full moon, aren't you? You took my powers, knowing it was my first full moon, knowing no one can control the effects of the moon on their first try and you still attacked me and took my powers?"
"You attacked us too!" Rikki tries to defend herself and the others.
"But who attacked first inside the cave?" Charlotte retorts
After an extended silence where only the ocean, forest, and wind could be heard, Emma finally spoke... "We did... Cleo used her powers first and I froze it and she threw it at you... That's when our fight began."
"Three mermaids in control vs one moonstrucked and not in control. That's not fair..." Charlotte has been defeated, and she wants nothing more than to go home "Lewis, take me home or were you expecting me to swim home too?"
Lewis tells Cleo he'll call when he gets back to shore and says goodbye to Rikki and Emma. This is going to be a long awkward boat ride home.
With them gone the mermaid club is left alone.
"She was under the full moon spell! She didn't even know what she was doing!" Emma says
"Oh, please Emma, she's a self-proclaimed super mermaid, she probably figured out how to beat the full moon and was lying the whole time." Rikki said
"We didn't figure out how to beat the full moon until recently, and that's after being mermaids for over a year." Emma says, starting to fully grasp what they've done while recalling events that happened to them in the past. "Taking her tail away after her first full moon isn't fair and quite frankly, the fact that Lewis knew about the power-stripping moon and didn't tell her and lured her here to take her powers by force, because of us, because of Cleo, is utterly disgusting... We gave up our powers once, we felt awful about it, because that wasn't by choice, so how could we have done that to someone else, just because we didn't like her? Just because she went crazy during the full moon? As if we've never lost control and hurt someone before?"
"Emma, that's different, we didn't mean to do any of that." Cleo says in attempt to defend their actions.
"Different? Well, how about when we ruined your dad's dinner with Charlotte's mom, we attacked them... Even after you gave her permission to date Lewis, and conveniently didn't tell us, all because you were jealous... Or how Rikki and I almost got Lewis arrested and I froze a child's tongue to an ice-cream scoop, just because you lost your job and we all acted like Lewis stole it. When Rikki overheated the wishing potion, and convinced me to freeze, only to make it worse. You constantly use your powers against your sister, Cleo. I almost killed Miriam, Rikki almost killed a man, and we had to stop her. Rikki and I almost caused a storm, just because of our boyfriends, to help them win a game of pool. We cheated in that volleyball game, we defended Nate of all people when Charlotte was giving him a scare, and he publicly assaulted and robbed Lewis, if that had been Rikki's plan we'd never have stopped Charlotte, because we'd been there helping, and that was without the full moon spell... With it, we almost killed Lewis and I don't see him trying to lure us into the moon pool to force us to give up our tails... Shall I go on? It's not different, Cleo, we didn't have control of our actions during the full moon, and neither did Charlotte." Emma says, with her monologue finished she swims away, leaving a bewildered and speechless Rikki and Cleo behind.