Seas of Magma

Trouble

This had definitely not gone to plan. The staff were already assembling the harpoon teams above the main tank and had tried to get the less dangerous sea life out of the way. The place had already been evacuated and while most of the people had left willingly, Archie had hidden himself for as long as he could until he was sure the place was clear. The lights had been dimmed so it was more difficult for him to see, but he could just make out that Maxie was hidden.

The merman could tell that danger was close, but with the alarms sounding and Archie too far away, he stayed where he was. A group of men were above the tanks, scanning for life when they found him in the alcove. Two divers went down to attempt to corner him.

Archie had to try and stop the harpoon teams, but how was he to do that when he didn't even know where they were? He figured he'd have a better chance up above the tanks, and perhaps he could dive down and help Maxie if it came to it. In the dim light he could make out where the off-limits area was. Heading over to it, he tried the door and found it was locked, but with a swift kick, he was able to dislodge the lock and get inside. The area was a complete mess compared to the outside, and had several doors leading to different areas, along with a staircase leading up. Taking the staircase, he now found himself faced with two doors that both led to the tanks. Remembering the layout, he figured the one straight ahead would be better than the one to the right, so he carefully opened the door and stepped inside, taking deep, calm breaths as he made his way towards one of the strut supports, pressing his back against it and peering around the corner.

From in the dim light, he could just make out that there were seven men stationed around the tank, each one wielding a harpoon gun. The one closest to him was on his own. Silently the sailor stalked forward, quickly grasping the man in a chokehold and lowering to the ground as the harpoon gun dropped from the man's hand. It made a clattering noise, though not very loud since he'd lowered down. As the man went limp in his grasp, Archie lowered him to the ground and pulled his unconscious body into the shadows.

Back in the tank, Maxie found himself surrounded. Two more divers had joined the two already there, and one of them was holding a harpoon gun at him. There was a dull 'thunk' as the gun was fired. The merman quickly rolled out of the way and swam out of his cover in a panic just as the remaining harpoon gunners on top fired. Archie was able to stop a further two from firing but the remaining four all shot down.

Then came the sound of a near-scream of agony.

Time seemed to stand still for the briefest of moments as all seemed to inspect the scene before them. Not caring whether he was seen or not, Archie took a look down into the tank, the rippling water obscuring his view somewhat but he could make out the streams of red surrounding a very familiar figure. Anger and upset flooded him at the same time, and for a moment he wasn't sure which to act on. But then his mind decided for him and he was soon seeing red as he launched himself towards one of the men, knocking him clean out with a swift punch before kicking another in the groin. He was about to dive into the tank to get Maxie out but he was stopped by a sudden impact to the back of his head.

Archie blacked out.