"I know how much time has gone by, you"ve reminded me relentlessly about it. I don"t want to put anything down, but I don"t think we"re going to find Johnson. If he doesn"t want to be found then he won"t be." She stopped throwing clothes across the room and listened to what he was saying. She didn"t want to take no for an answer but she also didn"t want to fight with her best friend.

She flopped onto her bed and let her face fall into her hands that stood on her knees.

"It"s not enough, it"s never going to be enough. I can"t save him, Marty." She sobbed and as her body shook with pain and grief she tried to remember the last time she spoke to her father. The conversation was short and she wished so much right now that she could hear his voice.

The arms of Marty could be felt as they snaked around her shoulders and tried to comfort her. She leaned into his frame and tried to calm herself down. Her breathing evened out and while the snot ran from her nose she quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"We will find him, we just need to be diligent. Have you tried the communication thing lately? Maybe if he"s close enough on dry land he can hear you?" Marty didn"t completely understand how it all worked but he knew that if she was close enough, it might.

"I haven"t tried it since we last spoke. I don"t know why I didn"t think about using it now while he"s being tortured." Another horrible sob escaped her mouth and Marty held onto her tighter in an attempt to calm her down. "He"s probably just being questioned. I don"t Johnson is one to torture people." His words were meant to be healing and helpful but they weren"t. She saw the person behind Johnson" eyes that day in the cave. She knew that he would be capable of more than the two of them thought.

"I"m not sure of anyone"s actual intentions anymore." She whispered while he removed his arms from her shoulders and gave her room to breathe.

"I"ll try connecting with him, it"s not going to be easy. The water might help me actually." She sniffed back her tears and stood up to get into her suit before they headed for the beach. Marty followed in her footsteps and grabbed his trunks before suiting up himself. It was dark out and with college, in full swing, he was sure the beach wouldn"t be terribly crowded. Plus with the storms, they"ve been having he was sure it kept it as clear as it could.

They grabbed a couple of towels before heading out of the dorm completely. Taking the path less traveled down the sandy beach. Shoeless and looking for answers, the two of them stepped into the cold water until they were waist deep.

Marty kept his distance and allowed her to do what she needed in order to contact her father. If it was even possible in whatever state he may be in. Since the water wasn"t terribly deep he decided to take a seat instead and let the water flow over him while he watched his best friend try not to fall apart.

She mirrored Marty"s moves and slowly fell into the water while keeping her head above it. Drifting back she let the gentle current rock her back and forth until she was completely calm and one with the ocean. She let her mind drift to other things as she floated just in front of Marty sitting in the water. She tried to connect to everything that surrounded her. The hum of the ocean and the beat of its waves. Soon her eyes closed and she let her body drift with the water.

Marty knew she would be safe drifting out in the ocean, she was a mermaid after all. He just sat back and watched her do whatever she needed to do.

"Father...Dane Waters...Raj Abioye..." She tried all of his names and chanted them in her head like a mantra she had practiced for years. The stronger the thought the better the connection.

"Dad, I really need to hear your voice. I"m scared that you"ve been taken for good. That I will never get to hear your voice again. I"m sorry I couldn"t protect you, I should have stayed with you under the waves. h.e.l.l, I should have stayed above the water and Johnson would have never found you. This is all my fault." She began to ramble in her own head knowing nothing would come of it. She didn"t believe hard enough for anything to happen and remembering the pain in Gemma"s voice made everything worse.

She didn"t grow up down below, she didn"t grow up with her father and grandmother. Gemma did.

Now she was down there by herself trying to run a kingdom that was terrified its king would never return. She couldn"t do this just for herself, it was selfish of her to ever think to do it only for herself. She needed to do this for Gemma too.

"Dad, please, find me. Lock onto my thoughts and find me so I can find you." She began to cry again only this time her tear fell into the ocean that surrounded her. She was about to leave when she felt the familiar tingle at the back of her mind. She nearly screamed out for Marty when she felt it, it had to be her father.

"Dad?!" She shouted this time but like her sinking heart predicted, she got nothing in response. She dunked her head under the water completely before coming up for another breath. She felt Marty swim up next to her and pull her, now standing, body into a tight hug. He knew her well enough to know it hadn"t gone well. Right before they gave up and walked out of the water, she felt another pull and a weak voice.

"Darya..."