Aqua Adventures: Katherine and the Great Mermaid Escape

This is the sixth book written in the 9th Grade year (2010-2011), the eighth book in the series and the second book in the 2-part adventure. It takes place in January 2011 at the time when school resumes, continuing from Alisa's Tales of the Water.

Summery
On the run from the U.S. Government Armand and the girls (Willa, Katherine, Danielle, Alisa, Rose Tui, and Olenka) tell their teacher, Mr. Fredrickson about their situation and request that they be excused from school. He finally agrees and they leave just before the Merminator and the U.S. Government agent barge into the room. All the other students wisely keep silent except Julian who spill the beans on where Armand and hte girls went.

Meanwhile, having rejoined with Thomas the Tank Engine, Lady the Magic Engine and Hiro the Japanese Engine, Armand is introduced by the girls to an old friend he hasn't seen since 4th Grade: Jessica. Apparently she is visiting the school for a day. After the brief meeting they all discuss about where to hide. At Hiro's suggestion they all go to Japan. While there Armand finds out that Taylor, Gabriel and David had joined them. Taylor came because of Danielle: she had wanted his company and she had also turned him into a merman while Armand was still under the effect of the sleeping dust Willa doused him in. David and Gabriel came because they wanted to become mermen. Also during their time in Japan, Tui gets octopus powers after she chased an octopus and drank magic octopus ink.

Armand realizes that having Lady with them is more of a risk as she can only run on the special coal from the Island of Sodor. Thus, she has to be pushed by Hiro.

At the crack of dawn (it's night time in Japan), they arrive at a steelworks. Unsure about the route they're taking, Armand leaves to find a map and gives his classmates strict orders to not leave the engines. However at Kat's suggestion they disobey and as a means of a joke they leave the engines and hide in a building where they find the Merminator waiting for them. The Merminator tells the students that mermaids are actually sirens and that he himself had been a victim to the siren's song but barely escaped alive. At that point Armand returns and confronts the Merminator. After a brief struggle Armand defeats the Merminator temporarily and gets his friends out of the steelworks and out of Japan.

The next place they go to is Germany where they end up at the Rhine River. There all the kids succumb to the hypnotic and seductive singing of the famed Lorelei except Armand who is immune to siren songs. He convinces the Lorelei to spare him and his friends as they have mermaid powers like herself. The Lorelei does so and lets everyone continue on their way.

Meanwhile Diesel 10 and Spencer are having second thoughts about the Merminator as he hasn't been treating them with respect and they assume him to being deranged. They start making plans to rebel against him.

Elsewhere in France Lady tells Armand that they can't just keep running away from trouble as it will eventually catch everyone and that they've been leaving trouble everywhere they've been. Armand makes a plan and everyone goes through the Channel Tunnel.

Meanwhile Diesel 10 leads the Merminator and the U.S. Government into the Channel Tunnel where the two pursuers are confronted by the steam engines, the kids, and Sir Topham Hatt and the Duke and Duchess of Boxford whom Spencer had gone to collect. Thomas tells Sir Topham Hatt and the Duke everything and they both forbid the U.S. Government to continue the pursuit. The Merminator however does not cooperate and takes control of both the agent and Diesel 10 and Spencer.

The steam engines take the kids and run out of the station only to realise that Kat had been captured by the Merminator who now has Diesel 10, Spencer and Phantom III chasing them. Armand rescues her and confronts the Merminator on the roof of Diesel 10. The Merminator eventually draws a blade out from his walking stick. Armand has no proper defense and is left to face the worst. Fortunately Willa jumps in with a sword of her own and having been an excellent student in fencing class duels with the Merminator.

During the chase Lady runs out of coal and slows quickly. Hiro manages to save her by buffering up behing her.

Willa easily defeats the Merminator but he forces her sword out of her hand. Armand and Willa push the Merminator into Diesel 10's claw storage compartment and escape. The Merminator uses his powers to loosen the stones in an approaching viaduct causing it to crumble. Thomas slows Spencer down enough to let Lady and Hiro cross over the viaduct before a gap appears. Thomas makes it over the gap but not Spencer who is left on a crumbling part of the arch. This causes him to wake out of his trance. Diesel 10 is also released from his trance but along with the Phantom III is too late to stop. All three trains with the Merminator fall down into barges. Using the last of the magic in her boiler, Lady restores everything back to normal with the steam engines and kids back on Sodor, Spencer, Diesel 10, The Mermintor and the U.S. Government back in their respectful places with no recollection of all that has happened.

Later the students take Gabriel, David and Jessica to get powers all for their own and to remember their adventure. The story ends with the Merminator realising that he had just been foiled and abusing his henchmen in frustration because of it.

Kids

 * Katherine
 * Willa
 * Danielle
 * Alisa
 * Rose Tui
 * Olenka
 * Jessica
 * Armand
 * Taylor
 * Gabriel
 * David
 * Julian
 * Lela (Cameo)
 * Addie (Cameo)
 * Hannah (Cameo)
 * Thea (Cameo)
 * Rachael (Cameo)
 * Amelia (Cameo)
 * Jazmin (Cameo)
 * Maya (Cameo)
 * Yaniv (Cameo)
 * Dakota (Cameo)
 * Lukas (Cameo)
 * Evan (Cameo)
 * Sophia Eve (Mentioned)

Teachers

 * Mr. Fredrickson

Trains

 * Thomas the Tank Engine
 * Lady the Magic Engine
 * Hiro the Japanese Engine
 * Spencer the Silver Engine
 * Diesel 10
 * Phantom III

Sudrian Residents

 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Duke and Duchess of Boxford

Sirens

 * The Lorelei

Created Characters

 * The Merminator
 * The Merminator's Bodyguard 1
 * The Merminator's Bodyguard 2
 * The Merminator's Bandit
 * The U.S. Government Agent

Songs

 * The Call - Regina Spektor