The Forgotten Waters.

Chapter Fourteen: Into the War

"Aiden! Swim! Aiden?!"

Aiden's ears were ringing as he looked around. It felt like time had stopped again. Even as Caspian pulled on him, the merman hadn't taken his eyes off of Penelope, and the other mermen who stood in the middle. On the other side, the school was already attempting to dive deeper to avoid those lights, but the beams were strong, and it hardly faltered. When Aiden watched the girl getting braced and tied, and he screamed, "C-Caspian please, we have to help her!"

The warrior heard Aiden, but he didn't even attempt to lighten his grip, "Aiden, we have to get to the school! You know there's nothing we can do."

"No!" Aiden choked up. His tail attempted to beat his tail to move towards his friend, but just as he had started, Penelope was lifted up out of the water, "Oh my god.." Aiden swam back a bit, his heart pounded. It was then he realized that he was going to get himself killed. His anxieties were getting to him, and he seemed to realize this after he saw how real this was, "W-Why are mermaids helping, Caspian? They don't glow like us. Why?"

Caspian gripped his spear handle tightly before shaking his head, "I don't know, Aiden. I don't know why they're helping them at all. I don't have a clue, Aiden." The warrior looked towards the group. Splashes continued from above, and he wasn't sure how far the lights went on, but as screams echoed out, he saw the mermaids all shooting in a diagonal direction instead of down. Below, at least twenty more merpeople shot up in those same black wear. Caspian tensed up and gripped Aiden's arm, "Aiden, it's a amb-" Something suddenly slammed into Caspian.

Aiden was pulled with him for a moment before being let go of, "C-Caspian!" The merman saw the warrior twisting with the male his size. If not bigger. They bashed against one another, and the warrior had dropped his spear. Aiden felt vulnerable. He couldn't hide, and these other merpeople were making it impossible to escape. The smaller male frantically looked about before diving for the spear as it rolled rapidly down off his cuff. Others were already swimming towards them, and the screams of their family could be heard, but Aiden didn't look. He couldn't. As he dived down and grasped the spear, he bolted towards the struggling Caspian who was punching the other repeatedly. Aiden had shut his eyes as he impaled the spear into the other merperson's back. As he did, the spear went clear through his lower abdomen, and ripped what seemed to be a material completely encasing his tail, "W-Why are they wearing those, Caspian? What's going on?"

Caspian was breathing heavy, surprised to see the merman floating towards the bottom. From what he could tell, they were abducting the more vibrant merpeople, and it seemed they were attacking the warriors and those who didn't comply. He looked at the bottoms of the boats, and then towards the large school. Their family. Caspian shifted as he looked down at Aiden. He grabbed his chin, "Aiden, love. You need to hide." He moved down to the body, unhooking the material that wrapped around the large enemy merman's tail, and cut it off. He moved forward and wrapped Aiden in the material, "Hide your glow. I want you to get back to our cave. You understand me?"

"W-What? No! Caspian I'm staying here with you. T-They need our help! We need to follow them. You're still glowing." Aiden glanced up at the male before looking back towards the group. The water was darker around them. The ultraviolet glow flooded in some areas a dark red. The merman looked at his lover's cheek, "Please let me help."

Caspian grabbed Aiden's hands, "Aiden I won't fight you on this! You go there and hide, now!"

"B-But Lana, D-Drake-"

"Are the strongest merpeople we know, yeah? They'd want you safe. Go Aiden, now. We're wasting time right now that I could be helping! Go!" Caspian pointed towards the den, "You have to hide. I'll, I'll lead the others. Now go!" Caspian turned and bolted into the battle. The heavy beat of his tail was enough power to push Aiden back a few feet.

"C-Caspian!"

Caspian heard Aiden's call for him to stop. The warrior knew how badly the    small merman wanted to help, but Caspian wouldn't risk him getting hurt. None of them would. The male glanced back to see only a shimmer of Aiden swimming towards their den. The warrior turned forward again, gripping the handle of his blade tightly as he analyzed the crowd. The warriors stood around the more vulnerable in different pods. Caspian wanted to protect everyone, but he couldn't help the concerns he had for his mother, his father. He had a favor to return.

As he got closer, he threw his tail forward and braced his spear in one hand. He was ready, and there wasn't any more time to waste. Mermaids were being ripped from the water after small tri-pointed hooks impaled them. Some in their fins, others their arms, but it was never a shot to kill unless they were aiming for the warriors, who didn't seem to offer must interest this time around. His heart was racing as he found his target. Lana was hiding behind Drake, a blade in her hand as she slashed at any who offered to attack Drake in the back. As he grasped his blade tightly in his hands, he shoved the spear through the back of his father's attacker, ripping it out before shoving the body into the other attackers.

"Caspian!" Lana quickly moved towards her son and hugged him tightly. The small mermaid hugged her son tightly as she looked him over, but a fearful look came over her eyes, "W-Where's Aiden?" She began to look around frantically, "There's so many of them. T-The lights, I don't think they end! P-Penelope.."

Caspian hugged Lana tightly, giving a soft shake of his head, "Aiden is safe, but I want everyone to be safe. Those others are wearing suits. We need to hide until they move. I have a place beneath the valley. If we keep moving we're going to get killed!"

Drake pulled Lana close, listening to his son, but he shook his head, "No, we have to keep swimming. If we stay here, they ate going to pick us off one by one. We need to move and get out of these lights."

"Are you even listening? I have a place we can go. It's a death sentence going out there. Running isn't going to solve anything. We need to fight back, Drake! Protect our home!"

"Start moving. The school needs led. You protect the back, I'll keep the front. Lead your warriors and protect the school, Caspian! You have a oath!"

"We're not leaving Aiden of that's what you're getting at. I'm not going anywhere, Drake. Mother-"

"Drake what if he's right? The lights, w-we don't know how long they've been watching. The bottom of the boats, they go on forever, love. W-we can't make it! We need to bed down in the caves."

"We're following plan and that's final."

"But Drake. Our people-"

"Move, Lana! Now! Everyone head north! Go!"