Definitely not the Little Mermaid

Fin

Chapter Twenty-six

Laiken hit the water and immediately felt his body change. He struggled to get rid of the clothes clinging to him. The shoes were kicked off, followed by everything else. Laiken felt surprisingly sad to see the clothes whip past him, especially the yellow raincoat. He needed to ask Angelica to buy him another one when this was over.

The merman paused, shook his head angrily and concentrated on pushing through the water.

It felt weird but right in a way. It was much nicer than swimming in a tank or lounging in a bathtub. The water rolled off him easily, allowing him to practically glide through it. He felt his initial trepidation leave him as he swam.

Lightning struck the water above him, causing him to flinch and dive further from the surface. His tail flexed and propelled him upwards once he didn't feel the prickle of electricity anymore. He glanced behind him nervously, half-expecting to see lightning strike again. However, instead of seeing lightning, he saw Kei.

Kei swam towards him with a scary look on his face. Laiken squeaked in alarm and twisted around.

Fish swam past him, only to stop in confusion.

The Rocks got bigger. The water got rougher. Laiken felt his body automatically arcing to ride the current as a wave lifted him up. It crashed against the Rocks. Laiken hit the rocks hard and groaned. He blinked water out of his eyes and lifted his head, scanning the area.

It was surprisingly devoid of any and all merfolk.

"Hello!?" he called uneasily.

Kei pulled himself onto the rocks opposite Laiken. Laiken frowned.

"Hello," he said slowly.

"Prince Laiken," Kei smirked. Laiken felt a shudder run through him at the sight of the shark teeth. His tail thumped anxiously against the rocks. He cast another look around, hoping that the other merfolk would jump out from behind the rocks and announce that they were hiding because it was a surprise party.

He was disappointed.

"Looking for the rest?" Kei asked.

"Yes," Laiken admitted.

"So you really don't remember anything, do you?"

"I remember some stuff," Laiken began hesitantly. He remembered the sharks. And everyone screaming and fleeing. And being chased. He frowned.

Kei's smirk gradually grew wider. Laiken squinted at the teeth, trying to place why they seemed so familiar.

Suddenly it dawned on him.

"It was you!?" Laiken blurted out, lifting a hand and pointing it at Kei.

"Yeah," Kei preened for several seconds before snapping his gaze to Laiken. "You're the only Atlantean Merman left. Once you're gone, this whole ocean belongs to me."

Laiken felt his heart freeze. The only one?

"Don't worry, you'll be with them soon enough," Kei sneered.

Laiken suddenly became very aware of the fact that several rocks looked like they were breathing. His palms felt very sweaty. The rocks stood up, revealing themselves to be the Squid people. Laiken yelped and pushed off the rocks, slipping back into the water.

He needed to get back to the boat.

Twisting away from the rocks, the merman shot off. He heard splashes behind him. Risking a look over his shoulder, Laiken saw the Squid people swimming frantically after him. He snapped his gaze forward and looked around himself. He needed to find someplace to lose them.