Unmetamorphosis

“	... The stronger the force gets, the greater the magic is, and it can take away what it gave... [-You mean their powers? For half of a day, like an Eclipse?...] forever. Keep the girls away from Mako tonight, especially the Moon Pool!	”
	— Max Hamilton and Lewis McCartney discussing the nature of the Moon of Fifty Years^[src]

Unmetamorphosis, also known as a reverse metamorphosis^[1], was the natural reaction of any active Moon Pool when the the Moon of Fifty Years or any other suitable, rare lunar and celestial occurrence was up, which reversed the effects of metamorphosis on a human-turned merperson that entered its waters during the event, and resulted in a bewitched being reverted back as a regular human being permanently.^[2] It also severed any type of connection between a recently-reverted merperson and specific Moon Pool that served as the source of their magical powers.^[3]

Despite the existence of the unmetamorphosis, there also existed some other suitable conditions and magics able to turn a bewitched merperson, regardless of their origins in the sea, into a regular human being, and reverse the effects of one's metamorphosis, including the Fifty Moons Potion,^[3] Tailless Spell^[4], and the Water Dragon's Cold Fire breath.^[5]

Description[]

“	... Or maybe you should just give up, your powers that is, and being mermaids. [- They can do that?] Only at special times, very special moments, like tonight.	”
	— Louise Chatham to the girls about the existence of unmetamorphosis.^[src]

In order to undergo one's unmetamorphosis and revert oneself to their human self, a human-turned merperson was required to enter the waters of any suitable Moon Pool in its active state while the Moon of Fifty Years or the Lunar Eclipse was up. The event could also be apparently recreated via the use of any other suitable source of moonlight and a large source of power, even in a daytime and without the need of a regular full moon. A targeted merperson was not required to be physically present in the waters of the pool to undergo their unmetamorphosis back into a human being, as long as the caster took the essence from the subject, and the spell could be for then cast from a distance, altogether.

It was known that the power of a regular full moon was not enough to trigger a bewitched's unmetamorphosis back into a human being, as they were able to enter the waters of any suitable Moon Pool in its active state while the full moon was still up, without undergoing their unmetamorphosis back as a human being permanently, and being stripped of their magical powers.

Once a merperson was reverted and bewitched as a human being permanently, their connection and life-link to the specific Moon Pool of their metamorphosis was effectively and successfully removed, sparing them from their fate if the destruction of the said specific Moon Pool followed. It also resulted in their specific magical elemental abilities granted to them by the specific Moon Pool being removed permanently as a result of their unmetamorphosis. Generally, the effects of the unmetamorphosis were permanent, and it was still unknown, albeit unlikely, if a bewitched merperson was able to re-undergo their metamorphosis following their fate, although the effects of the Lunar Eclipse on a bewitched merperson were only temporary, and wore off on their own within twelve hours since a bewitched was exposed to the Eclipse in an active Moon Pool itself.

Furthermore, like all other merpeople traits, the extended lifespan of a bewitched merperson was also suppressed, an granted them the same physical aging rate as humans.

In the case of turning oneself into a regular human being, the term unmetamorphosis referred and applied only to a bewitched human-turned merperson due to him/her reverting themself back to their true, original human self, rather than becoming a member of a new, unprecedented species, which, in their case, was considered a metamorphosis occurrence. Their bewitched, natural-born counterparts were instead considered metamorphosed due to their new, unprecedented human self.

The Moon of Fifty Years[]

Lewis: "... (to Cleo) Any mermaid in that pool when the full moon passes over tonight loses her powers... forever. (to Charlotte) So how did you find out?"

Charlotte: "It's how my grandmother lost her powers. Tonight is the first time when all the planets are lined up with the moon. When you've warned me of the strength of this Full Moon, it all made sense."

— Charlotte Watsford revealing her knowledge of the Moon of Fifty Years^[src]

H2O 2x26 - Charlotte loses her tail — Charlotte reverted back as a human being permanently

Once at every fifty years, all the planets of the Solar System occur to be in a perfect conjunction, and it was known to create and release the great natural and mystical forces upon the Earth and its Moon Pools. During the Moon of Fifty Years, any human-turned merperson that entered the waters of any Moon Pool in its active state when the full moon reached its apex, were to be reverted back into a human being, and stripped of their magical powers permanently, and it is still unknown if they can undergo metamorphosis again after their human self is restored, though it seems unlikely.^[2]

This event could be magically recreated even during the Moon's cycle of fifty years before the Moon of Fifty Years returned, via the use of the Fifty Moons Potion^[3], and channeling any suitable source of moonlight, even in a daytime and without a regular Full Moon. A targeted merperson was not required to be physically present in the waters of an activated Moon Pool, as long as the caster had taken an essence from them, the spell could be then cast from a distance, altogether.^[6]

Lunar Eclipse[]

“	... It's temporary. During the Lunar Eclipse, the Moon Pool draws away your powers for twelve hours.	”
	— Lewis MCCartney to the girls^[src]

1x26 the girls in the moon pool lose the power — Cleo, Emma, and Rikki in Mako's Moon Pool under the Lunar Eclipse

During a partial Lunar Eclipse, any human-turned merperson that entered the waters of any active Moon Pool during this event was temporarily reverted back into a regular human being, and stripped of their magical powers for the duration of a period of twelve hours. After this period, the Eclipse's effects on a bewitched merperson wore off on their own, and a bewitched's true merperson self, abilities, and connection to the specific Moon Pool were fully restored.^[7]

In the animated counterpart, the Lunar Eclipse works differently. When a merperson briefly look at the Eclipse, their powers over the water will be lost for a short period of time but their metamorphosis won't be affected. After a few hours, the effects will wear off on their own and their powers will be restored.^[8]

Tailless Spell[]

“	Your mother, Nerissa, she was the most powerful of mermaids. Only she was capable of an enchantment strong enough to stop you from getting a tail. That spell was broken the night you fell into the Moon Pool.	”
	— Rita Santos explaining to Zac Blakely about his true merman origins in the sea^[src]

Zac Baby — Zac Blakely, as a hatchling in the late 1990s, after being bewitched by his mother's spell that made him tailless

There existed a powerful spell that prevented a merperson-lifeform, no matter if they were native from the sea or not, from returning to their true merperson self, even once wet, and disabled them from the use of their magical powers while he/she remained in their human form. It was unknown whether a bewitched could be considered a true and regular human being for while under the duration of the spell, though he/she displayed no apparent discomfort from water dehydration, which was very dangerous, and potentially even fatal to their true merperson self.

Water Dragon's Cold Breath[]

“	When a mermaid is caught by a dragon, they lose their tail and their powers for life. Nobody knows what will happen to a merman.	”
	— Weilan to Zac Blakely^[src]

Mako 3x08 - Evie loses her tail — Evie McLaren reverted back as a human being again

A Water Dragon's cold breath was able to permanently revert a merperson, no matter if they were native from the sea ot not, into a regular human being, and remove their magical powers with no known cure.^[5] This magic also prevented a bewitched merperson from re-undergoing metamorphosis in an active Moon Pool itself, and prevented certain magical anomalies from bewitching them again, rendering their true human self permanent.^[6] The Cold Fire was the only known magic that could strip a sea-born merperson's powers and abilities, and was still unknown if they were completely immune to all of the Full Moon's special lunar and other celestial occurences on an active Moon Pool itself, unlike their human-turned counterparts who were known to be susceptible to all of them.^[3]

Timeline[]

1957: A human-turned mermaid named Gracie jumps into Mako's active Moon Pool when the Moon of Fifty Years passes over it and willingly removes her mermaid self and magical power permanently, reverting her to her old human self.^[9]
September 7, 2006: Fellow human-turned-mermaids: Cleo Sertori, Emma Gilbert, and Rikki Chadwick, all jump into Mako's active Moon Pool when under the Lunar Eclipse, willingly returning to their old human selves, but the Lunar Eclipse's effects on them wear off within 12 hours, and they become mermaids again after this period with their powers completely restored.^[7]
June 1, 2007: Gracie's granddaughter and a fellow human-turned-mermaid, Charlotte Watsford, is stripped of her mermaid self after being dropped into Mako's active Moon Pool by Cleo Sertori, Emma Gilbert and Rikki Chadwick, and her magical powers are permanently taken by the Moon of Fifty Years, reverting her to her old human self, just like her grandmother.^[2]
May 25, 2013: Nerissa's powerful spell that made her son Zac Blakely (birthname unknown) tailless when he was just a hatchling in the late 1990s, is broken when Zac falls into the active Moon Pool at the heart of Mako Island, restoring his true merman self and magical powers, and forming a strong connection with the island.
June 13th, 2014: The effects of Evie McLaren's metamorphosis are reversed by the Cold Fire of the Water Dragon (actually a cursed Nerissa) in the waters of Mako's active Moon Pool.^[10]

Trivia[]

It is unknown if merpeople native from the sea are immune to the Full Moon's special events on a Moon Pool, like the temporary twelve-hours Lunar Eclipse or the dangerous power-stripping Moon of Fifty Years, but they're most likely not.
- When Mimmi and Ondina tried the Fifty Moons Potion on Zac Blakely, a merman native from the Northern Pod in Mako's Moon Pool, Evie McLaren interfered with this attempt by swimming into a pool and taking the hit on herself, inadvertently going through metamorphosis. It is unknown what would happen if she didn't get in time to save him, as theorised by Ondina.^[3]
According to Sue in H2O: Mermaid Adventures, the Metamorphosis is not the result of a spell but of the will of the universe. She also affirmed that "no one can alter the laws of nature".^[11]
- It follows that the Nature created a loophole for creating new merpeople via channeling the power and elements of the natural world and celestial occurrences and creating the unmetamorphosis in order to preserve the cosmic balance.
A water dragon has a similar ability to remove a merperson's true self and magical abilities permanently with its cold fire similar to the Moon of Fifty Years, but without most of its limitations.^[10] Once burned, a bewitched merperson, no matter if they were native from the sea or not, becomes completely immune to the effects of the Metamorphosis, meaning he or she can never become a merperson again by jumping into an active Moon Pool and their human status remains permanent. There is no known cure nor counter-spell of the water dragon's cold fire, though.^[6] However, it was assumed that when a specific water dragon that attacked a bewitched merperson was reverted, it was possible for the latter to restore their old merperson self, and magical power.^[12]
- Also, a merperson was able to cast a powerful spell on a fellow bewitched merperson and make them unable to grow a tail,^[3] which can be broken by the metamorphosis in an active Mooon Pool itself.^[13] However, it was unknown whether the spell granted a bewitched their full humanity, or if some traits from their merperson self were still active, even while under their human form.
In real life, an Unmetamorphosis is a process by which an organism reverts itself to the previous stage of life, reliving backwards each stage of its metamorphosis, to develop again into its previous form.
Mermaids native from the sea seemingly do not know about the existence of this process, since few of them went over heads to even figure out an effective method to remove a fellow merman's true self and magical powers with e.g. zapping them with their own powers, keeping them away from the moonlight, or even having a targeted merperson come into an active Moon Pool under a regular Full Moon.
The Stone Circle can act as an opposite of The Moon of Fifty Years, unstead of stealing a merperson's tails and powers, it steals theirs human forms forever if they're not able to reverse it in the right time.^[14]
While unconfirmed, it was possible that at least once, Louise Chatham, Gracie, and Julia underwent the Lunar Eclipse occurrence in Mako's Moon Pool, for Louise to be aware of this lunar occurrence and its influence on merpeople.