Hi again! Thanks to all you wonderful reviewers who reminded me that I am in fact writing fanfiction along with the other bazillion things I'm writing. So I updated. I haven't really edited this much, and I just wrote it. Well, half of it. I had bits and pieces of it already written, and then I just added more to it. So please excuse grammar errors. It's late. But let me know if I'm inconsistent or make mistakes, so I can fix them. I know last chapter I said I wouldn't talk to much in the A/N, so I'll try not to make it any longer than it already is. For those of you who are curious, I have Liam's story on deviantART. Well, the prologue. As soon as I put this up, I'm putting up chapter one. This is the link, for those interested: http://shadowfire125 (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/Pomegranate-Tea-Prologue-140099795

Cheers!

Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.
- Ross MacDonald

Chapter 2

Leaving to LA

Fujimoto was mixing potions while his daughters ran squealing through his house, chased by Liam. The sea wizard whipped around. "I need to concentrate! Silence would be nice!" he bellowed.

"Sorry!" he heard Liam shout, and a hush descended.

Fujimoto groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to remember where he left off. "Oh, right," he mumbled, lifting a large, thin-necked green bottle and letting a few drops drip into the bowl. The substance turned bright orange and made a crackling noise. After adding a dab of liquid from an ornate purple bottle, the substance settled into a thick gold solution. Nodding with satisfaction, he swirled the contents of the bowl around and then left it to sit. He was reaching for a fresh bowl when the conch shell on his desk clattered. His hand jerked in surprise as his fingers were curling around the lip of the bowl, and he knocked it to the floor, where it shattered. He swore and snatched up the conch-phone. "Hello?" he snapped.

"Hi, dad," Ponyo said from the other end of the line.

Oh. "Hey, fish. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound angry – things are pretty hectic around here. Are you alright?"

His daughter couldn't keep the excitement from her tone. "We're going to board the plane in, like, ten minutes!" Fujimoto could practically see the huge grin she must have had plastered over her face. "This is so amazing!"

He smiled. "I'm glad. Thanks for checking in with me before you got on the plane like I asked."

"I'm just happy that you let me do this," Ponyo sighed contentedly. "Oh! I gotta go."

"Alright. Be safe."

"I will!" There was a click as Ponyo hung up.

Fujimoto pulled the shell away from his ear and stared at it sadly for a moment before replacing it on the desk. "I love you," he whispered.

Ponyo could hardly sit still in her seat. The seatbelt was already strapped across her lap, and she was raring to go. Fortune had smiled upon the first-time traveler and had granted her a window seat. Next to her, Yuki's enthusiasm almost rivaled Ponyo's. They clasped tightly to each other's hands as the plane wheeled around the airfield to the beginning of the runway.

The takeoff was exhilarating, the deep rumble of the engine that cocooned them, the way the ground tilted and their stomachs dropped as the metal contraption forced itself into the air. And then the plane leveled out above the clouds, and they were flying over fields of soft white that stretched as far as the eye could see.

It was brilliant. It never got old, even though the flight was long. Ponyo didn't spend the whole time looking out the window – she watched one of the in-flight movies and slept a little – but she spent a lot of it that way.

Even so, she couldn't wait to reach their destination.

As soon as they were clear of the crowd that oozed from the plane, Ponyo turned to Yuki and said, "I need to use the bathroom. I'll meet you down at the baggage claim."

Yuki nodded. "Okay," she replied cheerfully. "I'll see you there!"

Lurking nearby in the crowd, a short, scrawny man smirked and muttered, "No, you won't."

Ponyo found the restroom in a relatively empty section of the airport. When she went in, there were a couple other women. By the time she finished her business, they had left. Ponyo went over to the sink to wash her hands, when the room suddenly became eerily silent. The quiet wormed its way into her ears, pushing on her skull, and a subtle chill made goose bumps stand out on her arms. She spun.

Standing behind her was a tall, thin man, with silky black hair and grey eyes so pale they were almost white. He wore a black, old-fashioned suit with coattails, and a deep maroon tie. And then he smiled, ever so slightly, and Ponyo felt a bottomless fear come over her. This man was dangerous, unimaginably so.

He reached towards her. Ponyo staggered back, and he drew his hand across her vision.

The room tilted crazily, swirled, and then went dark.

Yuki had her bags and Ponyo's bags, but there was no sign of her orange-haired friend. With a frown, Yuki flipped open her cell phone and speed-dialed Ponyo's number.

"I'm sorry," said a mechanical voice in a sticky sweet tone. "This number is no longer available."

Yuki snapped her phone shut, then tried again. Again, she got the same response. After several more tries, she knew something was very wrong. She found a security guard, and used what English she'd learned in school to communicate her problem. The guard used the intercom to call Ponyo to baggage claim. They waited, but she never showed. Ponyo was declared missing, and a formal search began.

Yuki phoned Lisa.

Fujimoto sat cross-legged on the floor of his study, his five daughters sitting in a semicircle in front of him. He pointed to one of the intricate bottles before him. "What does this one do?"

"It helps stuff grow!" chirped Anathema.

"Good. What kind of things?"

Risha's hand shot up. "Plants! Like, seaweed and kelp."

Fujimoto nodded. "Precisely. And this?"

Before any of them could answer, there was a knock on the door, and Liam stepped in. His normally cheery face was pale and drawn. The terrible prickly feeling Fujimoto had earlier returned. "What's happened?"

Liam held up something wrapped in cloth. "This just appeared on your doorstep."

Fujimoto's brow furrowed. "What is it?"

Liam opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment, a large conch shell on the desk began to clatter. Fujimoto snatched it up. "Yes?" Pause. "Lisa? What's the matter?"

The blood drained from his face, making the markings around his eyes and cheeks stand out even more. "Gone? But…"

"Yes, thank you. No, don't worry. I'll find her."

"Yes. Okay. If I discover anything, I'll contact you." Fujimoto set down the shell and turned to Liam, eyes wide with shock. "Ponyo vanished in the airport."

Liam held out the package in his hand. "You'd better see this."

Fujimoto took the package and unwrapped it. It was a black book, icy to the touch. Gingerly, he opened it, and instantly a terrible silence rushed to fill the corners of the room. Between its pages was a lock of orange hair. Fujimoto snapped the book shut, and the air of the room gasped into life. He stared at Liam, looking as though he might drop dead on the spot. A single name fell from his lips. "Vidar," he whispered.

Liam's jaw dropped. "Vidar? Vidar? The Vidar, son of Odin, god of silence and revenge?"

Fujimoto nodded, feeling sick. "Is there any other?"

"And you let her leave the country when you knew he was out to get you?" Liam's tone was a strangled shout.

"It's been so long since I've even heard a peep from him," Fujimoto said miserably. "And I've been keeping tabs on him. He was in the Middle East."

"Well, he's not any more. You should know gods better than that, Fuji," Liam said reproachfully. "Especially gods like Vidar. One measly little ocean isn't going to stop them from getting what they want, and time won't make them forget."

"I'm going to get her back."

"And I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," Fujimoto said sharply. "You have to stay here, to take care of the girls and my job while I'm away. I'm going to contact Granmammare, but she won't get here for at least two days, so you'll stay here until then. If I'm not back before she gets here, you can come after me, but hopefully I will be back by then. If I'm not, then I'm probably not coming back." Seeing how Liam was about to object, Fujimoto interrupted him. "You're not a god anymore, Liam. Vidar will murder you."

Liam bristled. "Just because I've been cast out doesn't mean I'm weak. I'm just as powerful as you are, and at least I can walk on land without drying up. You're the one who's going to be murdered if you try to do this alone. It's what Vidar wants. He kidnapped your daughter to get to you."

"I know that!" Fujimoto snapped. "But I can't afford to just drop my job and my other daughters. I need you here more than I need you with me. And don't suggest me staying behind and you rescuing my daughter," he added with a warning glare. "Because I don't like the idea one bit. I'm going to get her back myself."

Liam snapped his mouth shut and glowered. Fujimoto glared back. The atmosphere in the room began to crackle with energy. Water seeped from the walls and floorboards, but quickly evaporated into steam as the temperature in the room rose.

One of Fujimoto's daughters whimpered, and the standoff immediately dissolved with the realization that there were still innocent children present.

"Fine," Liam said irritably. "But I'm counting. The second I sense Granmammare in the area, I'm coming after you. You hired me to help, and your wife would be unhappy with me if I let you and her oldest daughter die. Not to mention I would feel like I did my job very, very badly."

Fujimoto sighed. He was relieved the argument ended there. Liam could have made things very difficult. "Excuse me," he said, turning to leave. "I need to get a few things together."

"Good luck, Fuji," Liam said wearily.

Fujimoto glanced over his shoulder at the ex-deity, then swiftly left the room, closing the door behind him.

Liam slumped into the chair at Fujimoto's desk. Risha tugged on his sleeve. "Uncle Liam?" she asked quietly. "What's happening?"

He kneaded his forehead, then turned to brush the orange hair back from Risha's face. "Don't you worry, kiddo. Your daddy's taking care of everything."

Or at least, he hoped.