I Have No Excuse

Chapter 9! Yes! The Chapter of Destiny!

I had desperately wanted this place to be horrible. To just give me a reason, just one reason to deny that they were fit to take care of him. Something that shouted they weren't as professional as they claimed. Yet the back of the facility was way better than the front. There was a fully stocked and organized medical room. A practically glimmering kitchen and cooler/ freezer. There were several rooms for extreme cases and quarantined mers. The main areas where the tanks sat the sunlight shone down through a large glass dome. Each one except a select few fixed with plants and rocks from the ocean to add a more homey feeling. The place was perfect. The staff knew exactly what they were doing and the mers present were totally at ease with the staff. I wanted to curse. I never promised anything though. I never said that I'd tell them where he was. I was tempted to just turn around and never come back, but... I couldn't be selfish. Prowl needed them. Without help he wouldn't last.

"Do ya think we could come visit him?"

"Normally I'd say no, but in this case I suppose I could make an exception. But not without someone watching you until further notice."

I huffed. I suppose that was the best I was going to get. I was doing this for Prowl. I yielded.

"Fine. We'll show you."

One the way there I had to keep reminding myself that this was for Prowl. I couldn't be selfish. We'd still get to see him. He was going to be fine with them. The free ride to the beach was quiet. This was for Prowl. We weren't betraying or abandoning him. This was for Prowl. He needed them. We couldn't help him. This was the only thing that we could do for him. We were close. I drew in a breath and let it out.

"Stop here. The cove is hidden there."

We led them down to the cove where Blaster explained the underwater path that he slipped through.

"Just the one, huh?"

"Yep. It's just Prowl. We haven't seen another in the entire time we've been taking care of him."

"Alright lets set up the net barriers. Cliff, Eric, lets go. Do it quickly and quietly. Gale I swear if you rush him I will beat you upside the head."

"I got it. I got it. Arcee gives me enough of an earful every time she's on rescue. If you want quiet and careful then you might want Mirage over there to do it. They don't call me Blurr for no reason."

Eric let out a soft sigh as he continued to assist in setting up the nets. The orange buoys drifted in a semi circle around the cove. The net rose above the water high enough to prevent jumping over due to the support beams attached to the buoys. However Ratchet didn't bother answering him.

"Be gentle and careful. We need him out here, but I swear if you put any unnecessary stress on him not only will you get it from me, but I'll let Arcee and Chromia know as well."

"Ouch. I get it. I'll be careful."

With that Gale disappeared into the cove. Blaster and I stood in a tense silence as we watched them work. It was far too quiet as everyone waited. Eric and Cliff waited on both ends of the trap. There was nothing besides the soft crashing of the waves. The two with the protective armor in the water were watching carefully. Was Prowl really that bad off that he didn't care or have the will to deal with someone unknown entering his home? That thought was thrown out as without warning Prowl shot from the cove like a bullet. He stopped just in time to not run into the net, water churning and twisting around him. Turning fast he made to duck back into the safety of the cove only to find that Cliff and Eric had swiftly brought the two ends together and with an audible click they let it go. He darted about in the trap in search of an escape he wouldn't find as Gale left the cove with a grin.

"Well look at that." Ratchet breathed.

"What? What is it? Is he ok?" Blaster glanced between our pacing mer friend and Ratchet.

"You really don't know what you've found, do you?" Gale asked.

"Uh? A mer?"

"Yes, but what he means is that your mer is a part of a dying breed. Magis Avium if you want to fall on scientific terms. Winged mers are endangered. Since there is never enough of them to form a pod they've been joining with other pods with insufficient numbers. Geminus Avium or the double winged mers have it almost as rough, but they've survived in groups of three due to their speed. We haven't seen one of his kind in years. We were starting to wonder if they were all gone." Ratchet explained.

Blaster looked ready to ask another question when the water started to splash violently. Prowl was darting back and forth in an aggressive line and using all of his fins to make the water rock. The buoys and net tipped back and forth as they struggled to steady it. As soon as it tipped low enough he cleared the trap with a timed jump and I nearly laughed at the looks on their faces.

"Shit!" Eric hissed.

Prowl popped back up further away. For some reason I felt of a spark of pride. No wonder they haven't been able to catch him. He was careful in staying out of sight and only appearing at hours where people were scarce and now he was apparently crafty enough to escape their traps. He scanned the area before disappearing into the deep water. Prowl never came back.

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Needless to say I desperately missed my mer friend and for a while I'd visit the cove from time to time only to find it empty. No bones from the stray fish that got sucked into the current. No shed scales that glimmered under the water. Blaster moved on and eventually I did too. He started volunteering at the MWPA and I followed after a while not wanting to be left alone. I had nowhere to really go. Nothing that caught my eye. No goal to reach. Blaster started working under Percy, the resident zoologist and occasionally Jack. However Jack had a bad habit with things shorting, sparking and lighting fires, and exploding. More or less it was thankful he worked around water. I on the underhand starting working with Eric, Cliff, and Blurr. Eric had the nickname Mirage for basically being as silent as night. Disappearing and reappearing without you really noticing. Cliff adored the underwater plant life and would collect samples for Percy and Ratchet to store or refine to turn into medicine or supplements. Gale was Blurr. Just Blurr and he was a ranger. Patrol the area and be a general look out. First one on the scene with Arcee and Chromia. Ella or Elita as she was called sometimes worked the front desk most of the time, but was more than happy to do field work. Then there was Ethan or Aid. He was one of the main rehabilitators. Assisting Ratchet in treating and working with the mers in the facility.

What started as volunteer work turned into a part time job as I got out of highschool and then a full time job. I just went where life took me. Took the classes and training I needed. I was still as directionless as I'd always been. I was in the middle of once again wondering if this was what I wanted once again when the reports of the boats around the bridge being attacked came in.