Everything was a massive blur from that moment on, it was hard for anyone to fully remember what happened!!

They remember Dr Denman threw the big moon stone to Erik, who ran up to the hologram trident hanging in the air (which had appeared moments before), and he threw the stone into the air. However, Zac jumped up, and managed to catch it just before it hit the holographic trident. Zac fell onto his knees, and threw the stone to Nixie, who caught it.

Nixie was about to throw it out of Charlotte's reach (as Charlotte was charging towards her), but Sirena grabbed Nixie's shoulders. Nixie fell, and the stone flew out of her hand and to the other side of the room.

Mimmi and Ondina both ran, hands out, ready to catch the stone. But they both crashed into each other, bumped their heads, and the stone fell into Bella's possession.

Bella smiled, and call out for Erik (who was wrestling against Cleo and Rikki) but Evie grabbed at the stone, and she and the siren began to have a tug of war game with the stone.

Dr Denman ran to help Bella, and did so by hitting Evie around her head. Evie gave a cry, let go of the stone and fell.

"Hey!!" Lyla yelled angrily. She used her magic to lift Dr Denman off her feet. Dr Denman began screaming, and this got Erik's attention.

"Bella, Sirena, sing!!" He commanded.

Bella and Sirena looked at each other, nodded, and began to sing. It was an ancient song which nobody recognised, not even Mimmi, but the sirens's enemies slowly felt their muscles aching, and their legs and arms were slowing down, as if they were running in slow motion.

Zac looked around and made eye contact with Evie. Evie was trying to stand up as quickly as she could. Cleo was helping her up, very very slowly, and Rikki and Nixie were trying to push each other forwards, trying to speed each other up.

Ondina, Mimmi, Emma, and everyone else were trying to run for Bella, who still has the stone.

Everyone was moving in slow motion.

Everyone, except Erik, Charlotte, Dr Denman, Sirena and Bella.

Bella, sill singing, dodged around Emma, walked over to Erik and gave him the trident stone.

Erik grinned, took it off her and looked up. The moon was three quarters of the way across the ceiling.

"There is still time," he said. Then he walked over to Nixie, and managed to slip Sirena's ring off her finger.

"Hey!!" Nixie called (her voice hadn't slowed down).

Erik took the stone towards Charlotte, and handed it to her.

"You might not be able to have a mermaids tail, but you can have their powers," he grinned.

Charlotte smiled back, taking the ring and slipping it onto her finger. It fitted perfectly.

"It fits! It's almost like it was made for me!" She cried excitedly, hugging Erik.

Zac noticed Sirena's face. The ring was hers, and he could tell that she wasn't happy that it was in Charlotte's possession. This gave Zac an idea...

"That's your ring!!" He shouted to Sirena. "That ring belongs to you, Sirena! Don't you want it back?"

Sirena stopped singing, but Bella continued, so everyone was still moving in slow motion.

"The ring now belongs to Charlotte," Erik said.

"The ring now belongs to Charlotte," Sirena repeated Eriks words, nodding.

"But it belongs too you, don't you feel angry?" Zac tried again.

"Enough!!!" Charlotte held the ring out at Zac, and he felt himself being lifted off his feet and thrown across the Chamber.

"ZAC!!" He heard Evie, Mimmi and Lyla call at the same time.

Zac groaned, his arms and legs completely exhausted, and bruised. He couldn't muster any strength.

"It's time," Erik said. He boldly walked up to the hologram trident, and threw the stone in its direction.

Bella stopped singing, and everyone found that they could move with normal speed.

Emma and Cleo were the first to run to Erik, but they were too late...

The stone had hit the hologram.

The Chamber had been activated.

*****

Cleo, Emma, Evie and Rikki watched in horror as all the real mermaids froze, Mimmi and Nixie falling to their knees, their hands holding the sides of their heads, and Ondina and Lyla leaning back, their arms wrapped around their stomachs. Murmurs of pain and exhaustion. They all looked like they were in agonising pain.

"What's happening!?" Cleo asked, panic in her voice.

"Eriks draining our magic," Lyla gasped, as she fell, dragging Ondina down with her.

"We're too late," Mimmi whispered. Mimmi was laying down on her back.

All the mermaids were growing paler and weaker by the second.

Cleo looked over at Zac, who was slowly beginning to sit up, but he still looked exhausted.

Then they heard a scream, and they turned their heads, to find that Sirena was now kneeling on the floor, bent over, her hands on her stomach.

"Erik, the stone is affecting Sirena!" Bella yelled, kneeling down to help her friend. "Help her!!"

Erik shrugged. "She is of no use to me anymore. Come to think of it, you aren't either." Erik wandered around the Merman Chamber, stopping when he got to Ondina, who had one eye closed, and was breathing quite slowly. "And once I have taken full control over the Chamber, I will be able to take all the powers from the amateur mermaids, like you, Bella!! No mermaid will be able to escape me!!"

Charlotte and Dr Denman laughed.

"Mimmi's right," Cleo sighed to Emma and Rikki. "We are too late."

Rikki groaned. "And I was so looking forward to winning," she said, slightly on the sarcastic side.

"Rikki!!" Emma whispered, hitting Rikki's arm. "Be serious!"

"Hey!" Rikki half yelled, half whispered. "No hitting The Rikki. I've just been in a coma for several days!"

"Guys," Evie whispered, getting them to be quiet.

Just then there was a massive rumbling sound.

"That wasn't my stomach, was it?" Rikki asked. "I haven't eaten in several days..."

Cleo, Evie, Emma and Rikki turned to look, and the moon stone and hologram trident seemed to be in a huge column of blue water.

Cleo pointed at it. "Is that-"

"It looks like Moon Pool water," Emma commented.

Erik, Charlotte and Dr Denman seemed to have completely forgotten about Cleo and her friends. They were stood, admiring the moon stone.

"Once it's drained all their magic we can move onto bigger projects," Erik said

Dr Denman looked at him. "Well it had better hurry up."

Only half of the moon was visible now, because the other half had been cut off, signalising that the moon has almost finished passing over the volcano.

"We have two minutes at the most," Erik told them, looking up.

"We do," Rikki agreed, loud enough so Erik could hear her. "We have two minutes to destroy the moon stone and get out of here!!"

And with that, Rikki ran up to the column of water, and jumped in before anyone could stop her.

"Rikki!!" Emma called, but Rikki couldn't hear her. Rikki, now in mermaid form, swam up to the moon stone and grabbed it. However, the moon stones power pushed her out of the water and sent her flying across the room. She landed in a clump on the other side of the room.

"Rikki!?" Cleo called in panic.

Rikki sat up. "Owch. I'm fine!! I just- give me five-" Rikki's eyes rolled to the back of her head, "-hours..." And Rikki fell backwards, and her eyelids dropped closed.

"The water is protecting the stone from mermaids," Emma whispered.

"So it can only be taken by- a merman," Evie nodded in agreement.

Evie, Emma and Cleo turned to face Zac, who was just pulling himself up.

"Zac, do you think you can get the moon stone?" Cleo asked him in a whisper.

"I have to try whether I'd want to or not," Zac shrugged. Then he smiled, and ran up to the column of water and jumped in.

"NO!!!!!!" Erik yelled angrily.

Zac flipped his blue tail and swam up to the moon stone. He grabbed it tightly with both hands and pulled it down towards him. Then, using all his strength, he pushed it out of the water and in Cleo and Emma's direction.

Emma caught it and smiled.

Erik, Charlotte and Dr Denman turned to face her. All the other mermaids were slowly opening their eyes and retrieving colour back to their skin.

Erik held out his hand. "Give me the stone."

"What?" Emma held the stone up carelessly. "This old thing? I would, but it would be a shame if I- dropped it." Emma let go of the stone, but caught it before it touched the ground.

Erik jumped with panic, and then growled. "Give it to me," he snarled.

"That's the thing," Mimmi walked over to Emma. "I don't think she wants too."

"What do you want with it anyway, Erik?" Ondina joked, standing next to Mimmi.

All the other mermaids, plus Zac, went to stand with Emma.

"Rikki," Emma turned to face Rikki. "Would you like to do the honours of smashing this stone?"

Rikki placed her hand on her heart. "Oh no, I couldn't," she said, acting like she had just won an award.

"Rikki, I insist," Emma played along, holding the stone out to Rikki.

"I couldn't, really- oh alright!" Rikki took the stone from Emma and held it out at a ninty degree angle.

Cleo laughed. "Go for it, Rikki."

"Rikki-" Charlotte began.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Rikki asked, cupping a hand behind her ear. "I can't hear you over the sound of this stone smashing!!"

And with that, Rikki dropped the stone.

"NO!!!!!!" Erik, Charlotte and Dr Denman cried together.

They reached out their arms and stumbled forwards, trying to grab the stone. But before any of them got the chance to get anywhere near it, the stone collided with the floor, and it cracked into five pieces.

Erik stood, mouth hung open, looking at the stone.

"We'd better get out of here," Lyla said, looking up at the ceiling.

Evie looked up too. "She's right."

The moon was only just visible. They had about thirty seconds to get out of the Chamber.

"Let's run?" Nixie suggested.

Ondina, Cleo and Bella picked up the moon stone pieces.

Sirena walked up to Charlotte. "And I'll take this," Sirena snatched her ring off Charlotte's finger, and everyone ran out of the Chamber, leaving Erik, Dr Denman and Charlotte behind.