Everything I Am - Orm Marius/Ocean Master

Chapter Fourteen - A New Mission

Well, awkward much. 

"You-"

"That's right - and now I've finally come to kill me a dead mermaid!"

"AH!" She swung at him with her trident but he blocked the blow - with a trident of his own.

Well that was new - and it definitely wasn't good.

"GET AWAY FROM MY WIFE!" Orm came bursting in then. 

This stopped Manta dead. "Wife? Well that's a twist I didn't see coming - she stole your throne and you still married her? That's messed up, man."

Suddenly, before they could barely even move,  both were hit with a giant shockwave and thrown backward.

Everything blacked out instantly.

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Everything was a mess. The city centre damaged, the whole kingdom shaken. A ruler scorned. 

"I cannot believe this happened," Orm cried, surveying the damage.

"My King is correct," agreed Karshon. "This is an embarrassment, a disgrace. This is worse than anything we could have possibly imagined. The safety and security of Atlantis is a sacred trust. No ruler has allowed the Great City Wall to be breached in a hundred generations."

"A hundred generations, really?" said Aurelia. "How many years is that? I'm bad with geology - what is that, like, a million years? Ah, are you calling me one in a million?" She flashed a grin. 

"How can you make jokes at time like this? It is undignified for a queen to jest." Karshon remained stone-faced and serious. 

"Oh well excuse me if I use comedy to mask my feelings and deal with stress so I'm not so serious all the time, and I don't end up looking like you all: extremely tight buttholes. Like super tight. " She clenched a fist for emphasis.

That was just the beginning. An announcement was carried out across the whole kingdom, with Karshon addressing everyone. 

"Lady Karshon is calling for an emergency session of the High Council to discuss a motion that would strip the crown of its executive power."

"The throne is the heart of Atlantis. Too often now it sits empty while our Queen spends most of her time on land. And now her Surface World enemies have followed her home. If we do not do something now, this is only part of the damage that will be wrought upon us. This tragedy is merely a taste of the havoc that will be wrought if Atlantis does not sever ties with the Surface immediately. If she cannot protect her own famly, then how is she going to protect us?"

Down in the control centre, Aurelia and Orm met with Atlanna and Nereus. 

"He's different now, stronger than before. And he can fight us without the power suit. And where the hell did he get all the new toys from?" 

"The technology seems ancient but we've never seen anything like it," was all Atlanna could say.

"That weapon he uses fires some kind of ultrasonic energy that disrupts the nervous system," Orm explained. That explained the sudden black-out. "Do we know what was stolen?"

"He escaped with a large stockpile of orichalcum," Atlanna informed. 

"Oral-calcium what?" Aurelia tried.  "Am I supposed to know what that is?"

"Orichalcum. It is a power source that was used in ancient times. It emits a tremendous amount of greenhouse gasses that are highly destructive to our planet. In fact, we almost destroyed the oceans ourselves before we realized what we were doing. It cannot be disposed of safely so the remaining stockpile has been buried in twelve storage vaults deep underground."

"Well then we should warn the other places that are storing the stuff."

"He's already been there, it's all gone. We were the final stop," Nereus explained grimly. 

"Damnit."

"We think he's been launching secret raids for at least five months. This is just the time he got caught."

This caught Aurelia's attention. Her thoughts were all scrambled with all that had just happened and all that was going on, but this stood out. "Wait, five months? The spike in temperatures that's causing disaster on the Surface and making the sea dwellers sick all happened five months ago. It seems like he's using the stolen orichalcum to heat the planet."

"But why would he do that?" asked Nereus.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"If he is using the orichalcum to heat the planet, we don't have much time," cried Atlanna. "He's pushing this past the tipping point. He must be stopped or a global climate meltdown is imminent."

"Shit..." That was Aurelia, naturally. 

"We need to find him but he's completely vanished off the radar," Nereus grumbled. 

"I think I know someone who might be able to help us," Orm said suddenly. "But you're not going to like it."

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And so a course was set: Orm had a contact who might be able to help them further, and so that was their mission. The King and Queen would depart immediately. But not before saying goodbye to their loved ones of course. 

Mera was badly injured, burned by the blast from Manta's suit. Before leaving Aurelia made sure to say goodbye and check in with her friend. 

Upon arriving in the medical wing she couldn't help but wince when she saw Mera's burn. It was large and a dark red. 'Burn' described it well, unfortunately. 

She swam to her friend's bedside and took hold of her hand in a squeeze.  "I'm so sorry about this."

"It's not your fault." It was clear that even speaking pained Mera. 

"Doesn't feel like that."

"It's true."

Aurelia decided to change the subject. She also didn't have very long - time was of the essence after all, what with this sudden orichalcum business. "Arthur sends his love, wishes he could see you."

This brought a smile to Mera's otherwise pained expression.  "And I send him mine. Good luck."

"Thanks." She didn't add what she felt: 'We'll need it'.

They said a long goodbye to Atlanna, Arthur, Atlas, Tom, and of course, Opal. 

"Now you be good for Grandma and Grandpops, and Uncles Arthur and Atlas," Aurelia told her daughter, who just blinked back up at her in response.

"I wish I could come with you," Atlas pouted.  

"I know, but you need to stay here and watch over everyone for us, okay?"

"Okay." He hugged his sister and then Orm as well. 

The goodbyes said - Opal was already asleep - the ship was readied and full of supplies for their journey. Now all that was needed was the two of them. 

She turned to Orm. "So, where to now?"

(And that is the end - of book five! Don't worry, we still have a long way to go until the end end ;) Next book to begin very soon (I've already started it!)

As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this story! :) See you in the next one!)