Axel has spent his entire life trapped by the rules that govern his species, taught to fear humans and avoid them at all costs. His father has strived his entire life to keep him within the walls of their Kingdom where he is safe. But Axel's curiosi...
Axel pushed with every bit of strength he could muster to speed them away from the pursuing sirens. He knew he had not mastered the art of dashing, and how dangerous it could be if he lost control, but what other choice did he have?
A constant reminder of Samuel's presence, however, made it difficult to dash. Samuel had not spent a lifetime under the water, he's barely had two months, and it showed as he struggled to match Axel's pace. It pained Axel to hear his grunts and feel his hand clench as he attempted to push past his limits to keep up. But seeing as the alternative is to be ripped to shreds by those monsters, he forced himself to drown out his emotions in the interest of them both.
As he sped down the length of another shipwreck, another wave of sirens emerges from their side, moving in to flank them as those behind continued their pursuit. Axel diverts course, catching how Samuel flails behind him with the sudden change, struggling to regain his balance as Axel carried his weight.
Axel could see the light of the Kingdom in the distance, but a loud crash draws his attention, echoing around them. He forces himself to stare past Samuel as he looks back, knowing he could not stand seeing the fear on his face. As he takes in the scene behind him, Axel watches in horror as sirens emerge from all directions, flocking into a mob as they chase them down.
"Watch out!" Samuel exclaims, and Axel tore his eyes from the mob behind them to find them heading straight for a shipwreck.
"Hold on!" Axel calls back, his grip tightening on Samuel's palm, as he curves his torso, changing direction to head straight up as his abdomen grazes the chipped wood of the hull.
"Over there," Samuel suggests, pointing past them and to an open door on the capsized ship. Axel glances at the growing number of sirens around them before giving in. He steers them towards the ship and through the doorway before slowing down.
Samuel darts back to the door, grabbing an overturned chair and propping it up against the closed door, just as the sirens crashed against the wood. With every new attack, the door seemed to give more and more; the chair screeching against the floorboards.
"That won't hold them," Axel exclaims, allowing himself to succumb to his fear as the gravity of their situation takes root. "We never should have left by ourselves. Not when she's out there."
"Babe, hey!" Samuel calls, rushing over to take Axel by the shoulders, stopping him and locking eyes, "we are going to be fine. Okay? We're going to be fine."
"How can you say that right now? How can you be so calm?" Axel returns, his voice cracking as he follows Samuel around the room with his eyes.
"Because, our story is just beginning," Samuel smiles back at him, reaching into a pile of items on the floor, and pulling out a long metallic stick, "and it's also not the first time someone has tried to kill me."
"That's not reassuring!" Axel yells, as Samuel swims up to him, handing him the metal stick.
Around them, the banging grows louder as the sirens flanked the cabin, smashing into the room from all sides, as the rotting wood gave. At the door, the chair made a cracking noise that drew their attention. Then another crash to their side drew their focus as a hand punched through the wall.
"They're going to break through any minute," Samuel sighs, bringing his forehead to rest against Axel's, "you need to calm down because the only way we're getting out of here is if by fighting our way through."
"I've never learned how to fight, Sam," Axel whimpers, his voice giving, as he felt the tears attempting to spill, "I can't... I can't protect you."
"You can do this because I believe in you," Samuel locked their eyes, refusing to allow Axel to give in to his fears as the banging intensifies around them, "and you don't need to protect me. You just need to do everything you can to keep them from hurting you."
Axel made to argue, but Samuel cut him off with a kiss, as a plank broke off from the wall behind them, and before they could react, the chair succumbed to the weight, giving way to the door. Samuel broke their kiss and unsheathed his father's sword, turning his back to Axel to face them. Axel watched in amazement as his resolve steeled, his body tensing as he gripped the hilt, staring at the sirens swarming in from the door.
Samuel fought with the skill of a trained knight as he faced off against the mob of sirens pouring into the cabin. Axel's own fearful thoughts became drowned out by the shrieks of the sirens as Samuel sliced his way through the swarm. All around him, the water became tainted in red. As he watched the red swirls mixing into the water, Axel was knocked out of his trance as a plank blew off the wall, shooting right into his side.
Axel tightened his grip on the metal rod as he turns away from Samuel, holding it up in front of him as sirens burst through the now gaping hole in the wall. Axel attempted to hold them off as best he can, swinging at the rabid beasts with all his might, and surprising himself as he holds them at bay. Yet, without a sword to defeat them like Samuel, his attacks only fueled their rage as they returned with a hunger for his flesh.
Catching Axel off guard, a siren circles around him as the others draw his attacks, coming up behind him and scratching at his arm, causing him to release a painful growl. Samuel's attention flies in his direction, finding him surrounded by sirens as blood flows from his arm. He rushes over to cover him, landing between Axel and the sirens as they're pinned against the wall. Samuel continues to swing at the beasts, pushing them back to no avail as more swarm into the room.
Then, as if by a miracle, a spear plows through the wall behind them, breaking through the wood and impaling into a row of sirens before crashing into the deck. The chorus of shrieks seem to draw the sirens' attention just long enough for Samuel to turn and wrap Axel in his embrace, lunging to their side and through the hole the sirens had punched in the wall. As they emerge into the water outside, Axel catches as the Latistan guard flanks them, pushing past them into the cabin as the shrieks of the sirens echo from the ship.
"Samuel!" Bast calls from around them, coming up beside them to take in Axel's injury, "Axel?!"
"He needs help," Samuel sighs, pulling Axel closer to him, as his breathing steadies.
"Follow me," Bast instructs, and Samuel nods, watching as the guard takes hold of his sword, leading the way back to the Kingdom, as a group of guards part for them as they pass.
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