Untold Truth

Skylar ended things with Cody but as she was pretending to date Carson, she couldn’t help but feel that she started liking Carson. As for Cody, he was forced to live a lie set by Gracie and Nick. Though it was mostly Gracie’s fault, what could poor Cody do when he was wiped completely of the memories of him and Skylar being together.   As the ship took off, Cody’s jealousy grew. He started questioning himself on what Carson had that he did not. With that he started making all kinds of bad decisions and did the unforgivable, he started dating Sapphire again and became more of a playboy. Due to the influence from Sapphire, he soon became a bad boy. Cody did not care about being a nice guy anymore because the humanity in him is all gone with the waves of magic that brainwashed him. He didn’t know that what he was doing would actually push Skylar further away from his grasp. Carson on the other hand has been there with her through thick and thin even if it was indirectly.  Skylar’s parents were still busy working in New York so Nick, who was playing the role of Cody, was in charge of taking care of Skylar and Tyler. Sometimes, he would neglect his job totally just to hang out with Gracie instead.  Skylar felt that something was not right as even if Cody had become a bad boy she knew that there must have been a source and Tyler had also not been himself lately. She soon found out why. Because she was now wearing the necklace that Carson got her and not the one that King Kai had given her. The necklace was misplaced due to the fact that she removed it to replace her necklace with the one with their ship name, ‘Skyson’. The rings which protected Cody and Tyler from siren magic were also misplaced after the battle. That was when Skylar realized the reason why both her brothers were acting strange lately. She just couldn’t quite put her finger on the reason why they were a little off. She went to her room to try to find her necklace but to her dismay it was nowhere to be seen.  While she was still scrambling through her stuff, Carson came into the room to see her in a dilemma. “Sky, what are you looking for?”, he asked her.  “Have you seen the necklace that your father had given me to control my voice when I sing?” Skylar looked worried. “The last time I saw it, it was just here.”  “Wait, was it the twin necklace of Vineli?” Carson was getting worried too. She nodded and he continued. “Then, we are in mortal danger if it has really gotten into the wrong hands.” “I understand that but why would it be a danger to us all?” “I had lost my necklace too when I was battling that rogue merman but with the other one lost, we need to find it before someone else does. The necklaces store powers beyond any human knowledge. Since Zac’s father went missing, all the merfolk had been sceptical about whether his return would be any kinder than it was when he emerged from completely nothing and declared war against Atlantis. During that time, Aaron and I had the necklaces and though I always kept mine on, it still stored the power we used to protect our Atlantis but now that it is gone-” “If it has gotten into the wrong hands, it might cause a cataclysmic destruction to both the human world and the whole ocean.” She took the words right out of his mouth. “Come on what are we waiting for? We need to go to Atlantis as soon as possible.” They quickly headed to the ocean but they suddenly heard the familiar voice of the very two mermen who were a threat to them. They were bringing a precious gem stone home to their precious master, Sapphire. Skylar tried to take a closer look but she knew that Cody and Nick had restricted her from going to the ocean at this hour. And because she didn’t want anymore grounding she knew that she could only see what she saw. She noticed that it was a crystal flower. She thought to herself why would Sapphire accept that as a gift from the two of them - A peace treaty? At the entrance, Carson opened the portal to Atlantis with the sigil. The moment they got through they saw what seemed like a disaster that had striked. They saw a dark cloud surrounding the castle so they swam forward to see what it was.  And what they saw was an ancient mermaid with raven hair, an ear filled with piercings and across her arm were markings some sort like the ones of the merpeople of Coaratis, threatening the king. Because it seemed like a serious business, they chose to stay on the sidelines to observe the situation first.  “You were given the task of taking care of that flower, how dare you tell me that you lost it.”, said the mermaid.  “Larissa, if you give me time, I promise that I would find it.”, the king begged.  “Time!?”, Larissa exclaimed. “That was the one thing that was left of me in Atlantis!” With that said she vanished into bubbles. The king looked more worried than he had been when he left Carson in the human world.  “What was that?”, Carson swam forward. “And who’s Larissa?” Kai got startled for a minute but once he pulled himself together, “She’s a mermaid spirit that has been trapped in our realm bounded by the very flower she seeks right now.” “Can you describe the flower?”, Skylar asked ambitiously. “It is a crystal rose that was of a shade of aquamarine.” After he said that, Skylar immediately knew who was responsible for the theft. “It was grown out of the ashes of Larissa by Poseidon himself after her passing.” That was a touching short story but everything always ends in disaster when it comes to falling in love with a God. “I think I know who had stolen the rose but is it very difficult breaking into the mansion that it is kept in. We could try to investigate for you, but there is no promise of getting it back that easily. Do you think you can stall Larissa for just about enough time too?” “I’ll try but I’m not sure if she would buy the excuse though.” “We’ll get to work as soon as possible.”, she said while pulling Carson. They quickly swam back to the surface close to Sapphire’s place. They popped their heads out of the water to see if the course was clear. The moment they spotted Cody, they quickly dipped their heads back into the water. “That was a close one, he almost saw us.” “I know right? But what do we do now, he would probably be there until the end of the day and he might just stay the night too.” “I guess we’ll just improvise. If you can’t beat them, join them.” “You aren’t thinking about joining Sapphire’s already cringy threesome with your brothers-” “No.Don’t even go there. We’ll just pretend to be part of their squad and when they least expected, we’d just find our way finding the rose.” “Have you ever seen Sapphire’s family mansion? - It is huge. It would take us forever to find the rose.”, Carson protested.  “Which gives us more of a reason to gain their trust.” They started getting out of the water and transforming back further off the Jones’ Mansion. Carson went forth, taking the lead and Skylar followed. “You sure that you know what you are doing, Carson?” She asked the moment that Carson  took the lead.  “Yes, now keep quiet or we’ll get caught. I know Sapphire’s parents all too well that they would have guards all over the forest just to protect their precious wealth.”, said Carson. “Their family name is currently one of the elite just because they cheated their way into their wealth just like the scumbags that they always were.” “Calm down tiger. You sound like you’re about to kill someone.”, she grabbed his arm. “Now come on, the sooner we get to the Jones’ mansion, the sooner we can negotiate with them and maybe gain their trust.” “Did someone say the Jones’ mansion?”, came a familiar voice from the trees. “Now I can get a load of this. Why, pray tell, are you planning to go there?” He said before stepping out of the shadows. He wanted to pretend that he hadn't heard anything so that he could gain their trust. “Cody?” Carson said at first glance since he could see surpassing any form of glamour. “How much of our conversation had you heard?” “Enough to know that you want to steal the crystal rose back from us. You know that you would never find it right?” Cody continued to cast a spell across the forest. They weren’t sure about the spell until they started walking again and they found themselves walking around in circles. “How could I have been so blind?” Carson scolded himself. Skylar gave him a puzzled look. “That wasn’t Cody at all. It wasn’t a glamour either.” “Then what is it?”, Skylar burst out.  “It’s an exorcist. How could we have not seen this coming. It was so obvious. And again I have proven myself to be useless in comparison with you.” “You are not useless, Carson. You are so much more than that. I think the spell that Cody had casted should be gone by tomorrow so why don’t we come back again tomorrow and hopefully get in.” Skylar was as usual her optimistic self who was never willing to back down from a fight. “How do you do it?”, Carson asked her.  “Do what?” “Be so positive all the time including in situations that seem hopeless.” “I just see the good of the situation but we do need to hurry though. Knowing mermaids, they do not like to be kept waiting. I bet that Larissa gave your father a time limit so the sooner we find the rose, the better it would be for the two of us and the whole of Atlantis.” “Do you even know what Larissa is capable of? - She could just so easily end the world if she doesn’t get what she wants.” “How do you know that?” “I’ve actually been doing a little reading myself numerous times. She’s  an ancient mermaid spirit who just so happens to  have been known in the past for taking people’s desires to the next level. She could just so easily end the world with a snap of the finger.” Skylar admired his thirst for knowledge but she still continued, “You read? I thought you barely have time with the fact that you are a basketball player by day and a hero by night.” “Oh come on Skylar. You have got to keep that to yourself. We aren’t sure if there are any more of Sapphire’s henchmen out here, listening to our conversation. Anyways if I don’t stay up all night who knows what havoc Cody would have brought to Houston.” “My hero.”, Skylar complimented him before someone jumped out of the bushes. Elyssa was scrambling through all the books she could find to try to help Gracie to reverse the exorcism spell that Nick’s mother had placed on her. “Are you sure that’s what you heard?” She questioned Alec. Alec, who was also looking through the top shelf, said, “Yes, she sounded exactly like Angelica. It is without a doubt that it was her. She must have escaped from Hell when you teleported to Atlantis.” “I was doing Nick a favour.”, she protested since Alec sounded like he was blaming her.  “I’m not blaming you. But there has to be a way to reverse the spell right?” “Yes, but I’m still not sure where I last saw the spell. But why of all demons would Angelica choose my sister? It’s not like Gracie had done anything to disappoint her.” “Maybe that’s the reason why. Gracie had always been somewhat like a disciple which makes her vulnerable.” Just then, Elyssa’s phone began to ring. “Great, your ex’s girlfriend? Why is she on board with all this?” “Calm yourself, Alec. She’s on our side and you don’t mind, do you?”, she asked him for permission before answering the phone. “Alison, tell me what you found?” “I haven’t found anything yet but I’m still trying to solve a mystery of my own... Tyler had not been acting like himself lately and as an addition to that, I found out that he has been cheating on me with Sapphire of all people. He, Cody and Sapphire are having some kind of threesome.” “Alison, focus.”, Elyssa exclaimed. “My sister’s life is as much at stake as your petty boyfriend.” “I’m getting to that. I’ve traced the book down to a final owner who just so happens to have stolen it from Mammon. Does the name, Kylie ring a bell to you?” “Yes, she and I used to go to school together. She’s also related to the Jones’ family if I’m not wrong.” “Great. Now the only problem is finding a way to get into the Jones’ mansion. Say, isn’t Skylar and Carson also trying to save Tyler and Cody from Sapphire’s possession?” “I’m listening.”, said Elyssa. “If we work together with Skylar we might just be able to get into the mansion in one piece, find the book and bring it back to free Gracie off Angelica’s possession. We can kill two birds with one stone.” “Yeah, but the other problem is that too many people in one house who are somewhat a squad would somehow tip the cherry off the cake. So I don’t think that is a good idea. For now, we let the lovebirds bring Skylar’s brothers back first and when Sapphire and her guards aren’t looking, we sneak our way in to retrieve the book. We’ll tell Skylar and Carson about the plan and that’s it. We can’t let this plan get out to the Jones’ though Kylie might be part demon.” Once Elyssa put down her phone, Alec asked her, “Remind me how exactly is Kylie, a mundane, part demon.” “I also have no idea but I remembered something about her family being linked to yours. For more information, why don’t you ask Asmodeus, he was the one who made the deal with her family.” “But still, how do I not know about all this and you do?” “You aren’t actually that into the forbidden history books of Hell, are you?” “There’s a reason why it is forbidden. And how do you get into that section of the library?” “I have my ways.”, she said slyly. “But anyways we might need to hurry and tell Skylar and Carson before this news gets out and the brothers find out.” “Agreed.” Just as they started running out to the car, they were stopped by an acquaintance.