Misty to the Rescue (3 page)

Misty and her friends quickly made the Mermaid Call together. But there was no reply.

"That's odd," said Misty. "Scarlett would call back if she could hear us."

"Perhaps she's still in the Crystal Cave," suggested Holly. "She might have escaped Mantora's storm."

"No, I don't think so, Holly," Misty replied. "I heard Scarlett cry out when the storm began. She must be here too."

"But why isn't she answering?" puzzled Ellie.

The mermaids swam slowly through the grove of seaweed, searching for their friend.

"Does anyone know what these huge plants are?" asked Misty, as she struggled though a thick, tangled patch.

"It looks like kelp," said Holly, examining it closely with a knowledgeable air. "I've read about this in Queen Neptuna's Sea Scrolls. And my mom sometimes uses it in her healing potions."

Holly's mom was a healer back home in Coral Kingdom. Holly was very smart and loved to help her mom as she went about her important work.

"Then maybe we're in the Giant Kelp Forest," suggested Lucy. "My grandma told me about the Kelp Forests. She visited them when she was a young mermaid, just like us."

"I think you're right," agreed Holly. "That's what it must be."

"So who lives here?" asked Sophie. "I hope we'll meet some dolphins!"

Sophie's special friends were the dolphins and whales and the great swimmers of the seas.

"I don't know about dolphins," smiled Holly, "but the Forest is home to many sea creatures. I saw some sea dragons and starfish when I was looking for the rest of you."

"And I saw all sorts of urchins and crabs and octopuses," added Ellie.

"There might even be sea horses in a place like this," said Lucy, with starry eyes.

"We need to find Scarlett before we can enjoy meeting the other creatures," said

"Poor Scarlett! I wonder where she can be," said Ellie. "And how can we find her?"

"It's so dark and tangled here," replied Holly thoughtfully, "that I think we must be in the deep heart of the Forest. Scarlett can't be near because she didn't answer our Call. Why don't we swim toward the edge of the Forest? It will be lighter there and easier to look for Scarlett."

Misty and the others agreed that this was a good plan. The mermaids glided through the thick, treelike stems. As they weaved their way through the dense seaweed, the paths began to get wider and it started to get lighter. They felt relieved. Now they were sure they were getting closer to the edge of the Forest.

"Let's make the Mermaid Call again," said Sophie. This time they made the notes last longer, like sweet, clear bells. And after a while there was a very faint reply.

"Scarlett!" said Ellie. "Thank goodness."

"I think she's over there," cried Misty, pointing at a particularly thick clump of kelp.

They found Scarlett looking very angry. Her long hair had attached itself to the branching fronds, and she was completely stuck!

"What are you all staring at?" she snapped. "Get me out of here!"

Misty and Sophie quickly took hold of Scarlett's hands and tried to pull her free.

"Sorry, Scarlett," they said. "But how can we get you free? Your hair is tied to the kelp."

"Maybe I can help," said Lucy shyly, as she rippled her emerald green tail and swam over to Scarlett. "I've got a comb in my S.O.S, Kit." She opened the shiny green pouch that was tied around her waist on a little belt. Each mermaid's S.O.S. Kit contained lots of special things. They never knew what they might need to help a sea creature in an emergency.

Lucy gently moved her crystal to one side and took out her Mermaid Comb. It was carved from mother-of-pearl and set with pretty green stones.

Lucy started to comb Scarlett's silky hair, carefully untangling each strand from the seaweed. As she worked, Lucy began to sing. The others swam in a circle around Scarlett in a graceful Mermaid Dance. They all took turns combing her hair, singing together, like a chorus of sweet seabirds:

At last, the job was done.

"I hope I didn't hurt you, Scarlett," said Lucy.

"You all nearly pulled me apart," grumbled Scarlett. She took a little mirror from her pouch and fussed over her hair.

"That's not very grateful, Scarlett," said Sophie sharply.

"Well, let's not fight," interrupted Misty. "Queen Neptuna wouldn't want us to do that! Remember that we need to work as a team."

Sophie and Scarlett murmured "Sorry" to each other, and Misty breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's swim straight to the surface," she said. "Then we can think about how to get the crystals home safely. We all know that some of the Merfolk thought we were too young for this task. We have to prove to them that Queen Neptuna was right to trust us."

"I really don't think you'll be able to do that, Misty," Scarlett said, in a rather snooty voice. All the other mermaids stared at her.

"What do you mean?" asked Ellie.

"Look!" Scarlett said, pointing dramatically. "Misty has lost her pouch with her crystal in it!"

Everyone gasped. Misty quickly looked down to where her pink pouch had been tied around her waist by a little sparkly belt. But the belt and the pouch were gone!

"But . . . but . . . ," stammered Misty, looking around wildly at her friends' puzzled faces. "I had my pouch with me in the Crystal Cave. I remember putting my crystal into it. I don't understand." Misty felt so embarrassed. How could she have been so careless?

"Perhaps it fell off when we were helping Scarlett?" suggested Holly.

The mermaids started to search the grove of seaweed where Scarlett had been stuck. But suddenly Misty gasped. "Oh dear!" Her pretty face went very white.

"What is it, Misty?" asked Ellie. "Have you thought of something?"

"Yes," said Misty, in a very small voice. "Something that I was going to do, but didn't."

"What do you mean, Misty?" said Sophie. "You're not making sense!"

"Well," Misty continued, "when I was getting ready to go to the Crystal Cave, I tied my pouch onto its belt around my waist. Then I noticed that the fastener on the belt was loose. I told myself that I should fix it right away. But first I wanted to say good-bye to my little sister, Dusty. And then, I'm so sorry, but I forgot to fix it." Misty's cheeks blushed bright pink.

"Tut, tut," said Scarlett. "That was a big mistake, Misty! Very careless."

"I know," said Misty miserably. "And the belt must have come undone when I crashed into the sea again, after the storm. So . . ."

"So your crystal was in your pouch, your pouch was on the belt, and the belt has fallen into the sea!" Scarlett said. "Well, you've really let us down, Misty. What will Queen Neptuna say?"

Tears of shame filled Misty's eyes.

"Scarlett!" said Ellie reproachfully. "Misty is very sorry. She made a mistake, but it can't be helped. It's no use rubbing it in."

"But she'll never find her crystal again," said Scarlett angrily. "It's lost in the Giant Kelp Forest! We'll never get the six new crystals home in time now. The old crystals will fade, our Merfolk power will die, and Mantora will destroy our home!"

Misty stopped crying and looked up. "Oh no, she won't," she said, in a determined voice. "I promised Queen Neptuna that I would bring my crystal home safely. And I will, if it's the last thing I do!"

"We'll help you, Misty," said Ellie eagerly. "We're a team, after all, like you said."

"Do you really mean it?" asked Misty.

"Of course we will," said the others. But Scarlett still looked annoyed.

"The first thing we need is a plan," said Holly. "Misty, can you remember anything about where you landed after the storm?"

"Urn, er, I saw lots of starfish," Misty said hopefully. Holly shook her head.

"That's no good," she replied. "There are hundreds of starfish all over the Forest. Can't you remember anything else?"

Misty thought hard. So much seemed to have happened to her in the last two days! She desperately tried to remember what had happened when she'd arrived in the Kelp Forest. Then something flashed into her mind.

"Oh, of course! A grumpy crab pinched my tail," she exclaimed. "He was called . . . oh, what was it? 'Cay' something . . ."

"Caleb?" suggested Ellie helpfully.

"No, wait, I know," said Misty. "Cato! His name was Cato!"

"Then we've got to find this Cato right away," said Holly. "He's the only way we can track down the spot where the crystal might be."

Misty and her friends turned back the way they had come through the waving underwater thickets. They called Cato's name as they swam along.

"He was a bit deaf," said Misty. "We'd better shout loudly."

The mermaids' voices rang through the tall avenues of seaweed. Tiny purple fish peeped at them as they glided past. But no one answered their cries.

"Oh, this is hopeless," said Scarlett.

"We can't give up yet," said Sophie. "Let's try just one more time. One, two, three—CAAAYY-TOW!"

Suddenly, a giant cuttlefish poked out from behind a big piece of kelp. He waved his yellow tentacles at them.

"All right, all right!" he said. "I heard you the first time. And the second and third . . . " He sounded angry, but his big eyes looked kind. "What's the matter, mermaids?"

"We have a terrible problem . . . ," began Misty, swimming to the front of the group and facing the cuttlefish bravely.

"Well, there's a solution for every problem, that's my motto," replied the cuttlefish.

"Not for this problem," said Misty sadly. "Unless you know someone called Cato?"

"Know him?" he said. "Old Cato's been my special friend since we were hatched. We used to play hide-and-seek as youngsters in the Forest. But that was a long time ago! Now we're both sleepy old fellows."

"That's how it all started," said Misty. "He was asleep, and I sat on him."

"Sat on him!" exclaimed the cuttlefish. "That's no way to say hello to an old crab like Cato."

"I didn't mean to," said Misty. "It's just that there was a terrible storm . . ."

"Storm? What storm? There hasn't been any storm down here in the Forest as far as I know." The old cuttlefish looked very puzzled.

"It wasn't a storm from Mother Nature," Misty explained. "It was Mantora blowing us far away from our home in Coral Kingdom."

"Mantora? Not that wicked old creature up to her tricks again. Well, well," said the cuttlefish, eyeing the friends carefully, "this is a strange tale. Mermaids, all the way from Coral Kingdom, unnatural storms, and now Mantora. I think you had better tell me everything that has happened from the beginning. And by the way," he said with a smile, "you can call me Felix."