Ocean Blue Eyes//A Garmau AU

31

Aphmau only felt cold, lost. Like a ton of bricks were on her chest as she laid there on the ocean floor. Yet, the water felt calming. When the current passed through her, it felt like it was helping her. Keeping her alive.  Then she felt air return to her burning lungs for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw the top of the water and how the moon lit it up, causing almost constellations to appear on her skin. She didn't freak out though. Instead, she felt an overwhelming calmness to the whole situation. Yes, she practically drowned but, she felt like she was waking up in her warm bed. Once she regained full consciousness, she felt the sand against her and felt the water kiss her. It was a experience worth remembering. She looked at her surroundings though and realized that she was surrounded. She was surrounded by men and women, with the upper-body of a human and lower-body of a fish. Her eyes went wide, in awe of their beauty. 
The strongest of them all came up, looking intimidating as he looked down at her. He said to her; "Human, you should be thankful that you were saved. We found you lying here, unconscious."

"T-Thank you," Aphmau replied, unsure on how to approach this situation. She knew they were Garroth's kind but, she feared that they could be dangerous.

"You are being fed oxygen by a bubble from our witch, Lucinda," He directed her attention to a redhead with tentacles instead of a tail like the others. She held a purple orb in her hands, letting magic of some sort flow through her. "Now, for your life, we would like to offer you a deal." 

"A-Anything!" She erupted, which shocked the man. He peered at her and asked; "Are you not going to-" 

"No...I...I know someone like you all. He's a...good friend of mine and I know how you feel about humans," She explained to them. A man with raven hair swam up to her, pushing aside the other man slightly, asking her; "Who is this good friend of your's? We came here looking for-" 

"Zane! Enough!" The older man snapped, making him back away a bit. Aphmau though felt her heart skip, knowing exactly who this was. 

"Z-Zane? As in Zane Ro'Meave?", She asked him urgently. 

"Yes...do I know you?", Zane questioned, looking not so at ease with her knowing him.

"No but, I know your brother! Garroth! He's trying to get back to you and your family! I-" 

She was silenced once again by who she now assumed was Garte. "You know my son?" 

"Yes...your majesty?" Her voice came out a bit squeaky as she said that, her clearing her throat and saying; "Sorry, I'm not used to saying that term here . Um, yes, I do. He was found washed ashore over a week ago then taken to the research facility that I worked for."

"A research facility?" A man with long red hair and matching tail asked her, confused, earning him a knock in the head from a coffee-haired individual with an emerald green tail. "The one where they take things they don't know about!" 

Lucinda rolled her eyes. "Calm down Laurance. The last thing we need to do is freak out." 

"He's in danger!" 

"Nevermind then..." Lucinda huffed. 

There was a pause before Garte leaned down and asked her; "Can you help us?" 

"Of course. Anything for him." 

"Good...Lucinda, give her a potion." 

"Father!" 

"Zane she is the only one who can lead us to Garroth. It will only be temporary." 

Zane mumbled something under his breath but, let it continue.  Aphmau sat there in fear, wondering what was happening. The redhead came up to her, handing her a bottle. "Drink this honey. It won't hurt, I promise," She said sweetly, giving Aphmau a slight relief. She noticed that it had the same hue Garroth's potion possessed as well. She took a deep breath and downed it quickly.
She soon felt a bubbling in her stomach and her skin tingled. Her legged soon morphed together, her tan color skin replacing over time with magenta, orange, yellow and bronze scales. Some parts of her skin were decorated with the same thing, her fingers becoming webbed and her ears becoming fish-like. The transformation was painless but, somewhat horrifying to watch. She wished she got a little bit of a warning but based on the other merfolk, they didn't know much about it either. Her lilac top was still on but, besides that, nothing resembled her human-self. It was incredible...

"Good...now lead the way to the mainland," Garte demanded. Aphmau nodded but, found it difficult to move. Lucinda and Laurance had to help her up, demonstrating quickly how to swim. She soon was leading the group as well as the small battalion that Garte had brought to Phoenix Harbor, to the best of her abilities of course.

Back on shore, Vylad and Katelyn were waiting for the coast guard to come back with any news on Aphmau while Zianna and Aaron discussed what the plan was to get Garroth back. 

"We could do what we did before," Aaron offered. "We would just have to escape somewhere for a bit to keep our heads low for a bit."

"They probably heightened security after this situation. They might also be expecting us," Zianna said, pushing that plan aside. Though, the more plans she pushed aside, the more she grew worried for her son. Water stung her eyes as the wind blew her hair rapidly around her. "Ugh! This is hopeless! What are we going to do?"

"Zianna...we'll figure something out. I promise," Aaron said, trying to calm her down, even though he was scared himself. Aphmau could possibly be dead and Garroth is probably on it's doorstep as they spoke. It was almost sunrise...who knew what could have become of both of them at this point. 

"Uh...g-guys..?", Katelyn nervously called back to them as she looked out from the sandy shore. 

Aaron glanced at her and shouted back; "What?"

As he looked at the water, which was now starting to the reflect the orange, pink, and purple sky, he saw what looked like heads popping out. Zianna and him rushed over, looking more in shock as the other two. They group immediately recognized Aphmau, even though she looked different. They swam out to her, relieved that she was alright, almost collasping on her in a hug. Zianna cried out; "Oh my Irene! Thank Irene you're okay!" 

Aphmau smiled brightly towards her friends, happy that they were glad to see her. Though, she didn't have time to explain what was fully going on. Unfortunately, Zianna saw it first. "G-Garte?" 

"Zianna...", The man gasped in disbelief. He slowly swam over to her, reaching out to touch her like she was ghost. "H-How..?" 

She frowned, guilt washing over her all over again, it only growing as she noticed Zane behind him. "I-Is this-" 

"M-Mom?" 

She could barely recognize him. Granted, he was only a few months old when she left him behind but, he looked just as strong and handsome as Garroth. "Zuzu..." 

Blaze and Laurance held back a laugh, to which the rest of the merfolk glared at them for. The King and Prince didn't care though, they were too focused on Zianna. Garte then asked again; "How? How are you here right now?" 

"It's a long story...but...Garroth..." 

Garte had to put aside his emotions for the time being and got serious once again. Clearing his throat, he said; "You're right. Aphmau, what now?" 

It was then everyone noticed that Aphmau was not the same species she left as. But, she didn't have time to explain that either. She narrowed her eyes in complete determination as she spoke; "I have a plan. But, first, we need some clothes for everyone..."

Word Count: 1313

First chapter since I moved into college! It's amazing here and I'm finally settled, haha!