The sunset lapped over the water, spreading like fire over the blue surface of the ocean. The light was intoxicating. Sending warm rays across the whole, cold salt water below.

Rhys loved it. Sitting upon the beach, looking up at the sky and watching as the sun goes to rest, as it did every day. The warm rays lighting up his home in such a way that it fascinated him. And the best spot to watch it all was always the beach. He'd always been reluctant to sit on the beach at first. For it was where the humans came. But so far, in this small nook in the corner of a soft cliff, no one had seen him.

He always kept his tail dipped in the water. Keeping it so he could still breath. The lightning blue scales of his dale dazzling off in the sunset. Mixing with the greenish tones that blended it together like the sweet colors of the see. The bottom was more of a soft blue, which ran up into the human like skin that covered his torso. But even his skin had scales that ran up the sides. Dotting his cheeks and some of his neck.

Another thing Rhys couldn't lie about was he loved looking at his own tail. He was often told it was one of the most beautiful ones in the whole see. The fins waving off as if they were soft pieces of just color, dazzling and beautiful in the water. The beauty of his tail surely made up for the lack of two arms.

His right arm was just a small knub. Ruined and destroyed when he was very young, getting caught in a human's fishing net. But he'd stopped being angry about that a long time ago. His tale and arm just making him more unique among the other mermaids.

He gazed out over the water. Contemplating heading back into the water for the night. The soft stars slowly coming out, as if they'd waited all day for the sun to leave. He'd let off a soft sigh. Seeing this for the past week had made every night more fantastic. And he just wanted to lay out and enjoy it longer.

He always thought of his friends at times like these. How'd Vaughn would warn him it wasn't safe to sit so close to humans. Especially since he'd seen men from the big company in the sky searching around lately. But Rhys wasn't afraid. He was never afraid when he should be.

Rhys jumped. Something sharp stabbed into his neck. The pain was short and quick, and he wasn't sure what it could be. Maybe some weird bug had tried to bite him. But as his webbed fingers moved up, he felt something else...

He felt dizzy. The stars swirled. Becoming a black mess around him. A black hole that moved to swallow him. Wobbling, Rhys tugged the thing from his neck. It was something unnatural and unfamiliar. Something wrong. But as the world kept spinning, soon Rhys fell back on the sand. Confused and slowly fading into something dark.

The light where dim. At first, he thought it was home. The cave he lived in the ocean had very little light. But soon, he picked up it was wrong. His body laid over smooth stones, comfortable, but unfamiliar.

He was still dizzy, something cloudy making his whole body heavy as he slowly swam around. The whole area was large. Filled with thousands of familiar plants, yet the area was new... something he'd never seen before. Somethi-

THWACK!

His head slammed against something hard. Sending a sharp pain through his head. It was like he'd hit some invisible wall or... oh no.

He gazed out. There was a strange room that surrounded him. Filled with odd objects that came off the ground. He gulped. They were all... man made.

His head spun. Both from the cloudy feeling in his head, and the confusion causing him to loose it. Drifting back down to the rocks at the bottom. He'd been captured. He'd lost his freedom... humans had finally taken him captive.

He laid back on the rocks. Softly wishing he'd listened to Vaughn. He closed his eyes. Exhaustion washing over him in thick waves. What would he do? What could he do?

And why would they want him?

Vibrations suddenly went through the water. Rhys blinked awake. A soft pain blasting through his stomach. He was hungry. For a moment he forgot where he was. He just saw the fish swimming through the water. It only took him a moment before he sprang through the water. Quickly grabbing one of the fishes in his hand. Tearing his sharp teeth into the flesh with a delighted feeling washing through him.

Swallowing down that one in a second, he sprang for a second, and a third. Full as he swallowed down the remaining bits of the last one. Wondering how such plump, delicious fish had been in one spot. But he soon figured it out as a voice boomed through the water.

"Quite the killer, eh Kitten?"

His head spun, and he remembered the strange, human room behind the force field from before. But this time, he had an audience of one.

His first reaction was to swim closer to the wall. Putting a hand against it as he gazed down at the human. He was covered in so many... layers of the weird cloth humans wore. His shoulders broad and intimidating. A broad jaw and weird... shiny pieces on his face. Rhys definitely found him intriguing.

"Well Kitten, do you talk?"

And that's when the second question settled in. He'd heard human speech before, and he could understand bits a pieces of it. But how could he understand this man under the water. He glanced around, noticing some weird devices at the bottom of the pool.

"Don't touch that!" The man hissed, the voice louder and more aggressive as it spilled from the device. "That let's me talk to you. That way you can hear me in the water."

Rhys swam back up, his eyes gazing over the man, he looked like he was waiting for Something. Rhys would nod slowly, glancing at box where his voice came from.

"At least you understand a bit there, kitten. You are a pretty little thing." Rhys shuddered at the way the man's eyes scanned his body. Feeling as if it was looking for something. "Do you like my office."

Rhys looks over the office. Pausing to gently shrug his shoulders.

The response was a scoff. "Alright, fine, what about the tank, ya like that?"

Rhys looked around, taking a moment to gently swim around the tank, it was large, and he could see a small tube leading to another space, dressed as some underwater cave. He'd check that later, moving to swim back towards the barrier. It was a nice... tank. So he gave Jack a nod.

He'd smirk at that, his lips curling in a way that sent a shudder down his spine, causing his tail to move a bit faster. "One last question for you tonight. You got a name, princess?"

"Rhys." He got out, and he guessed the speakers must work both ways, because the man nodded.

"Well Rhys, my names Jack," He paused, walking closer to the glass and peering inside. "Handsome Jack to be exact, and now, now you're all mine."