Ocean Blue Eyes//A Garmau AU

32

Garroth opened his eyes slightly, bright lights immediately making them burn. As they adjusted, he saw that he was strapped down on a table, bright lights beaming down on him. He was in some sort of gown, people in lab coats above him grabbing various tools and preparing for something. He took a deep breath, recollecting what happened before he was knocked unconscious. "Well...guess I'll die then." 

"Oh poor thing," A voice spoke up from the corner. Garroth turned his head to see that it was Dr. Vick, walking up to him. He had gloves on with his usual attire, goggles over his eyes. "You think you're going to die. It's a shame you don't trust me enough to not know that I would never let that happen." 

Garroth glared at the man, saying to him; "You haven't been the most welcoming, if I were to criticize anything."

The doctor chuckled, enjoying the quip for what it was. He went over to a table, close to Garroth, covering his mouth with a medical mask as he said; "You have nothing to worry about. I need you alive more than I want you dead."

Garroth looked up at the man with a blank stare. He wanted to look brave and unaltered by the statement but, he couldn't. He was the most terrified he had ever been but, he couldn't show that either. So he just stared back up at the man as he asked; "What are you going to do to me?" 

"I'm glad you asked," Vick said, pulling out a vile. Garroth recognized it immediately as the potion he had on the boat. "First, we need you back to your old self. You'll appreciate it, I'm sure. And don't worry. We'll keep you hydrated regularly. Then afterwards, it's the most important part." 

"Extracting my blood?", The blonde asked to which the doctor nodded. "You catch on quick boy. We won't extract an unhealthy amount, don't worry. Just enough and then, this is where the part of the plan where you come in. You'll be coming back home with me where you'll be able to live comfortably, I promise. There, hundreds maybe thousands of people from around the world will be able to see you. The first merman to ever grace land. I'll be able to regularly extract the supplies I need while you get to live." 

"Sounds perfect," Garroth said, rolling his eyes. "Are you going to start or what?" 

"Why of course. That's the spirit," Vick said, giving an enthusiastic nod. He then leaned over Garroth, forcing his mouth open, letting the potion spill into it. It tasted just as strange as the last one, causing bubbles to pop in his throat and stomach. "Water please!", Vick demanded, two interns grabbing a bucket filled with water, splashing it onto the blonde. 

The team watched in awe as Garroth transformed back, his tail falling off the edge of the table. His body was now sobbing wet and he grew even more uncomfortable with the cold table underneath him. He looked up at the doctor, who even under the mask, made it obvious that he looked so proud of him. "Perfect. Now for the fun part." 

...

Meanwhile, back at shore, the group were trying to come up with a plan. Laurance, Blaze, Zane, Lucinda, Zane, and Garte had decided to transform, as well as Aphmau. Clothing wasn't a worry this time since the sea-witch had conjured some garments for them. Now, all they had to do was come up with a plan...Unfortunately, there was a dark cloud of awkward silence amongst them. Especially the King and his former Queen. Nobody really knew how to break the tension, they all just were there, staring at one another, waiting for the other to speak. Aphmau, thankfully, was the first to speak. 

"So...uh...I don't mean to be pushy, especially during the family reunion but, uh...one member of this family is currently in a highly dangerous situation. I would recommend that we be quick and get everything out in the open," She suggested, getting a bit frustrated that no one was acting like an adult at the moment. Garte though, didn't appreciate her tone and snapped his head back at her. She was frightened slightly about how much he looked like Garroth. Just older...

"Young lady, I don't know who you think are but, I suggest that you let me and my battalion carry the rest of this out. My son is my responsibility and I will take it from here." 

"Father-" Zane started but was silenced just by one stare. To him, there was nothing he could do to convince his father that they may need the humans help with saving his brother. Granted, his frustration didn't come out of nowhere. This was a strange occurrence for sure. 

But, Aphmau had no tolerance for it. She huffed and marched closer to the King, shouting to him from her small stature; "I'll have you know your majesty that for a while now, I have been protecting your son, as well as they rest of us and until one little slip up, it was going pretty well! I thought that maybe, since you were here, we could work together and fix this problem efficiently but, now I just see that you're going to be a child about this! Garroth is important to all of us now so we're all going to help him! Do I make myself clear?" 

Everyone was frozen, well except for Vylad, who was biting back a laugh. Garte was slow to find words as he said; "I...uh, understand your concern but, I think it's best if you all leave it to us. I appreciate your assistance but, my team and I will handle it from here." 

"Garte," Zianna said, catching his attention. She walked up to the man, keeping an appropriate distance away but, got her point across. "This is our son that we're speaking of. Now, I know I haven't been much of a mother...Garroth made that very clear to me," She glanced over to Zane, who just looked down once they made eye contact. She took a deep breath before saying; "But, I made a promise I would start being one. I will help you, whether you like it or not. And so will his friends. We will need all the help we can get." 

Garte looked around at the people on the shore. He knew there was some truth the statement. He let out a huff as he let another person win for once. He turned to Aphmau once again and asked her; "What should we do?" 

Word Count: 1108