Golden Waves (Solangelo AU)

Chapter 12

Okay, this chapter is pretty short, but I think it's worth it! I really hope you guys like it, and thank you so much for reading! <3

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Reyna was the first to snap out of it, and slowly crept towards the creature. "You're...you're the one who helped us?"

"Duh," the creature - the merman - said as if it were obvious. He was still struggling to get out of the net.

Nico stared at the merman, and he felt dizzy as the bottle around his neck grew warmer and warmer to the point where it was almost unbearable. The creature in question was beautiful, just as the stories say. From the waist up, he was a tan, muscular man, though he wasn't bulky. He had a swimmer's body - which made sense - and shaggy, golden hair that matched the scales on his long, and elegant tail. His eyes were a calm shade of blue, like the shallow part of a beach as it reflected the sky. He had constellations of freckles all over his face and shoulders.

Nico was speechless, but also had that tugging feeling of nostalgia in his gut, like he recognized this magical, mythical being. But that...that was impossible.

"Why did you help us get out of that storm?" Annabeth asked, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity under a mask of neutrality.

"Maybe I'll answer you when you cut me out of these death-strings," the merman said, squirming in the net.

Annabeth carefully walked up to the creature, dagger in hand.

"Wise Girl be careful," Percy said, worried.

The merman rolled his eyes. "It's fine, I don't bite."

Annabeth kneeled down and quickly cut him free, the rope falling to the floor. He flexed out his tail and relaxed, and just as he did, Annabeth pointed the dagger at his throat, her eyes dark and stormy.

"Why did you give us directions?" She asked, her voice not wavering once. "Was it a trap?"

"Going there without any idea of what you're doing is trapping yourself well enough. I could've left you alone and you would've died perfectly fine all on your own," the merman said, glaring at Annabeth, which made her eyes widen, though she lowered her dagger. "Besides, I didn't give you directions," he then scanned the crowd of humans, and when he saw Nico, his face broke into a smile. "I gave him directions."

Nico was taken aback by that. Why would he say that? They didn't know each other, right? Nico looked at the merman in confusion, then, his eyes landed on the necklace on the creature's chest - specifically the pendant attached to it. It was a white seashell, and he couldn't read them, but he saw that words were engraved onto it.

His hand subconsciously reached for the bottle that rested on his chest, and he didn't even register that everyone was staring at him in confusion as he pulled it out of his shirt. Hundreds of memories came flooding back into his mind like water through a broken dam. Suddenly, all those feelings, that voice in his head, it all made sense.

He wanted to cry, and when the merman saw the bottle still around Nico's neck, the one he had given him all those years ago, Will's eyes shined as his smile grew even wider.

"Hi, Neeks," Will said. "It's good to see you again."

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The door to the captain's private office opened. When it did, a tall, buff man walked in, and even though he was twice the size of the skinny, gaunt-looking captain, he still looked hesitant to speak. The captain himself seemed completely at ease - well, in a sadistic way that is. He looked as though he already ruled the world, and with a simple flick of his wrist, he could take down an entire civilization. Fortunately, that wasn't true - not yet.

"Sir, where do you want us to put..." the tall man hesitated, nearly looking nauseous. "The remains?"

"Oh just dump it over into the sea like the others," the captain said, then turned to look at the general with a cocked eyebrow. "You aren't knew to this, Michael. Why do you need further instructions?"

"W-Well," Michael stuttered. "This one...she was pregnant. Is there nothing we can do to save the child?"

"I got the blood I needed, no?" the captain asked, talking to the general like how a parent would lecture a child. "Do what you wish with the infant. Though," he laughed, his mouth twisting into a wicked grin. "If you do put it into the ocean, it will not survive on it's own. It would be like leaving a human baby out on the streets."

The general bit his lip, and nodded solemnly. "So we just-"

"Kill it, general," the captain snapped, smacking his hands on the desk. "Kill it and throw it overboard with it's mother," he seethed.

Michael nodded, not daring to utter a word, and scrambled out of the office as quickly as he could. The captain then relaxed back into his chair, taking a deep breath.

"Simple orders," he muttered. "I give him simple orders, yet he still doesn't understand."

He ran his hands across the map, his murky, blue eyes scanning it, and the corner of his mouth tugged into a grin.

They were close.