Maybe Zac didn't get the trident.
We never saw him with it, so maybe he was too late.
Yeah, right, wishful thinking.
It's not.
You always think he's smarter than he actually is.
We couldn't stop him giving us the slip,
so either he's smart or we're really dumb.
Well, that still doesn't mean he actually got it.
There's only one way to find out.
Don't be too long in there.
I never thought I'd say this,
but I really hope you're right and I'm wrong.
Yeah, me too.
So, what does it do?
Well, most websites say the same thing.
It's a mythological weapon of great power and magic.
Used to create earthquakes, tidal waves, storms.
And how'd they do that?
It doesn't say.
Well, this one doesn't seem to work.
It's just a relic.
That's great, we pull off the perfect heist and for what?
A useless antique.
Maybe we can sell it.
They're used by gods who live underwater
who have power over the ocean and the weather.
So? So maybe it has to be wet.
Impressive.
Maybe there's, like, a magic word.
You read too many fairy tales.
Oh, and mermaids aren't real.
Maybe you have to speak mermaid.
Is that even a language? Zac?
Guess what they're after.
If it's that important,
there's no way I'm giving it back.
Zac, we have to talk.
What do you want?
Where is it?
Where's what?
You know exactly what we mean.
Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about.
Do you, Cam?
It's dangerous.
You're messing with power you can't understand,
let alone control.
Have you been eating swordfish?
I think the mercury's starting to mess with your brain.
You stay out of this, land-boy.
We weren't hatched yesterday.
Zac, please.
I know you don't believe this, but we're on your side.
You have to trust us.
Yeah, right, like that's gonna happen.
I bet it's inside.
We'll take it if we need to.
Zac?
Shouldn't you all be getting ready for school?
Yep. Just on our way.
Well, off you go, then.
We'll be seeing you around, Zac.
They mean it. They'll be back.
Got to find a good place to stash it.
Fast.
Why even bother pretending that he hasn't got it?
See, Lyla? I told you he wasn't smart.
He's still got the trident and we don't.
So how do we get it back?
Well, we wait till he's gone to school
and then we turn his place upside down.
I'll meet you there later.
Where are you going?
To try one last time.
Hey, Zac.
Not again. Go away, Lyla.
I'm telling the truth.
It really is dangerous.
You'll try anything to get your hands on it.
No, I just didn't want to see you get hurt.
Please. You have to believe me, I'm not lying.
Evie? I need to talk to you about the school magazine.
Please. If you won't give it back to us,
just return it to Mako.
I've got to go.
What if she's telling the truth?
She's not. It's a trick.
Maybe.
I'll tell you one thing,
she's not gonna help you turn it on and show you how it works.
She probably doesn't know.
It's got to be a mermaid, right?
An older one.
One who knows more mermaid stuff than they do.
Who might've been taught about tridents.
You mean Santos.
Do you know any other older mermaids?
I don't think she's gonna tell you anything.
We don't have enough articles for the online edition.
The deadline's in a week.
Okay, what about annual teacher profile?
We interviewed the sports coach last year.
She was boring.
Who else is there?
How about Santos?
Yes, what about her?
I don't know, Principal Santos,
she likes to stay distant and scary.
Mysterious is good.
Exactly why you should interview her.
Well, what's her angle?
"Who's the real Rita Santos?"
We could even interview her at her house.
That's true.
We could even ask her about those weird nieces.
Hey. They're not that weird.
Besides, good luck trying to convince Principal Santos
to let us interview her at home.
Trust me, I can do that.
Well, have you found it? No.
It's got to be here somewhere.
He didn't have it with him at school.
We'll have to check his pod house.
Ms. Santos?
I was hoping to interview you for the online school magazine.
Of course, come to my office after school.
Actually, I was hoping to interview you at home.
I'm not sure that's appropriate.
But important.
The angle I'm going for is the human face
behind the stern mask.
How flattering.
And I did a survey.
All the students want to know
who the real Principal Santos is.
Unless, of course, you've got something to hide.
No, no, I'm happy to help.
Come round to my house after school.
How did it go with Santos?
Yeah, all good.
She agreed to an interview at her place this afternoon.
Awesome.
So we'll go straight after school, yeah?
What do you mean, "we"?
Well, I thought I could give you a hand.
Since when has the school magazine been your thing?
I know you're running behind with the deadline,
so I want to help out.
And, you know, the interview was my idea.
Now I get it.
You want a credit, right?
No way, I'm only doing this for you.
Why else would I want to hang out
at the principal's house?
Okay.
But I'm the editor. I do the talking.
It's definitely not in there.
It's got to be around here somewhere.
Maybe he buried it.
And risk his parents digging it up? No way.
We can't search here forever.
We better tell Rita.
Let's start with the basics.
Where were you born?
On the Barrier Reef.
My parents were sailing around the world.
Seriously?
I've never seen you swim.
A waterlogged childhood made me keen on dry land.
Most of my education was conducted overseas.
The Caribbean, Fiji, Hawaii.
What are you doing here?
We're interviewing your aunt for the school magazine.
Why?
To clear up the mystery of her life.
It was Zac's idea, actually.
It's perfectly okay, girls.
The kids at school are dying to know
how you came to live with Principal Santos.
I think we'll leave you guys to it.
Seriously, we'd love to involve you in the article.
You're such a big part of your aunt's life.
You know, we'd really just get in the way.
I'm used to that.
I'm sure it won't take too long.
Zac,
can I have a word?
Are you insane? What are you doing?
Since when is it illegal to interview someone?
This is a dangerous game you're playing.
You know we don't live here. You know Rita's not our aunt.
So? So be careful,
or Evie's going to blow our secret.
And when I say our secret, I'm including you.
Keep your girlfriend under control,
or we all lose.
Then I came back to Australia
and ended up as the principal at Suncoast High.
And then your nieces arrived.
Let's talk about them.
So where are your parents?
Sailing.
All of them?
It runs in the family. It's a real passion.
Okay.
Why don't they go to Suncoast High?
Well, they're just visiting, so I'm home-schooling them.
They've been here for a long time.
I thought this interview was about Principal Santos.
It is.
All aspects of her life.
How old are you? We're 16.
All of you? I thought you were sisters.
Cousins, right? Right.
We were all just born around the same time.
You're lucky your aunt has such a big house.
Do you share a bedroom?
No. Yes.
Excuse me?
I mean yes.
We used to share, but now we don't.
I think we've got enough for the article, right, Evie?
I haven't finished my questions yet.
No one at school cares where they sleep.
I think they do.
So, David, let's go get some photos now.
Yeah.
Excellent idea. Shall we go up to the roof?
Evie, come on.
What's going on?
Zac tricked us. He's got the trident.
What? Well, that's terrible. It's dangerous.
We're not sure if he knows how to use it yet.
Trust me, when he figures it out, we'll all know.
We should go, before Evie gets any more suspicious.
Just look natural.
Nixie, maybe if you could smile or something?
Yeah, beautiful, guys.
I'll just use your bathroom, if that's okay.
Zac. I won't be long.
Just move to the left a little bit.
Yeah, really nice, guys.
So you guys are doing a great job.
Team effort. It's nice.
Yeah, really nice, guys.
That's awesome.
David, is this gonna take much longer?
Just trying to get the lighting right.
It'll be fine.
I want the best pictures that we can get.
Ms. Santos always says how much she admires
the high quality of the magazine.
Ms. Santos, could you just move across,
to your right a little bit?
And you two girls,
could you move across a bit as well?
Keep going, keep going, keep going. Stop.
Keep going, keep going, stop. Thank you.
Smile.
And angry. Show me how angry you are.
Why are you so angry? Why are you so angry?
Smile.
Zac should be back by now.
He's up to something.
Last one.
Smile.
Awesome.
Maybe David could get a few photos of the house?
Evie.
Just to get a feel for who you all are.
I'm sure you've got more than enough to write your article.
Did you find the bathroom?
Yeah, thanks.
We better get back.
Evie!
Evie, wait.
Yeah. So much for wanting to help me.
I told you to let me do the talking.
I thought you went a bit far in there, that's all.
The interview was your idea.
My idea was to interview Rita. Not the girls.
That was all you. Yeah.
Because I'm the editor
and I'm the one writing the story.
Rita's totally covering for them.
Covering what? Come on.
I'm just gonna go, guys.
I haven't figured it out yet.
But I'm starting to think
they might not even be related to her.
Whoa. Hang on.
So the girls don't go to our school.
You took their side.
You tried to shut me up.
Why?
I was only trying to protect you in there, okay?
Well, next time,
don't.
One thing's for certain, Evie's a very smart girl.
We'll all have to be careful of her from now on.
It's not just Evie. There's Zac too.
Where did he go while we were being photographed?
And what was he doing all that time?
I don't know, but I don't trust him.
You don't think he could have gotten...?
I don't think he could possibly have made his way down here.
He was searching near the bookcase.
The moon rings are safe.
They're the only truly valuable thing down here.
Everything else seems to be in place.
Is that your mermaid intuition?
Careful.
You should see this place under Rita's, it's like a pirate cave.
Or an antique shop.
I've got to get back in there and check it out properly.
Yeah. And borrow some of those gold coins?
One, she's a very powerful mermaid.
And two, she's our very powerful principal.
Bad idea. Yeah.
I said borrow, not steal.
I'm more interested in finding out
what else she's got down there.
Like a way to turn that on?
All her secrets are there, I just need more time to look.
She's not gonna let you wander
all through her house by yourself.
I don't have to,
there's another way in from the sea.
I saw it.
I could smell the salt water.
Well, that's one disadvantage to being a mermaid.
They have back doors they can't lock.
Thought so.
Just give us the trident and get out.
It doesn't belong to you.
Since I'm the one holding it, I'm kind of guessing it does.
You don't know what it can do, you don't understand its power.
Why do you think I'm here?
And it's not to get a lecture from you lot.
This isn't a game, Zac, it's serious.
So am I.
Hey. Three on one, you're gonna lose.
Sirena.
I'm not doing anything.
I can't turn it off.
What's happening?
Whoa.
Rita, we're really sorry
that Zac found out how to get in here.
No, it's not your fault.
It is.
Because of us, Zac knows more about you,
and Evie's asking questions.
I can handle Evie.
All we've done is cause trouble for you.
I'm more worried about the trouble Zac's gonna cause
now that the trident's been charged up.
I couldn't stop it, it just drew the energy out of my ring.
It's the way the trident's designed.
It stores the power of moonlight,
but if there's no moon,
it will take that power from wherever else it can find it.
We tried warning him,
but he just has no idea what he's messing with.
If Zac uses the trident,
he'll unleash forces well beyond his control.
And ours.
Did it work?
Let's see what it can do.
Awesome.
I want one.