Chapter 21-The Block

"So take a deep breath and let it go. You shouldn't be drowning on your own." ~Excerpt from Cold Water, Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber and MØ

A/N: Sunday! Yay. I'm going to take the opportunity to write some of this in Chinese school. In the last chapter, you found out about a certain "block" via a certain long-haired Chinchilla. This chapter is mostly going to be explaining about that "block." Well, some parts of it anyway. This is going to be where certain connections start to kick in. Enjoy. ;)

Dark shapes flooded Zac's vision, overwhelming him. If the darkness was going to consume him, he would let it. Zac felt what remaining strength he had ebb a little. A thick, heavy fog collected in the room, partially obscuring Zac's vision. His panic began to rise. No, this isn't my time yet. I'm not meant to be killed by fog of all things.

Maybe Poseidon, the mighty god of the seas, had heard his prayers and pleads because the dense fog was now eradicated—or hiding—and it was the brilliant, churning ocean that encompassed him now. But drowning—drowning wasn't a terrible way to die. Zac would not have endured much pain. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe it was time to let go.

Then, an urgent cry rang through the air. "Zac!"

Zac went rigid, trying to seek out the voice. But the voice—it was all too familiar. A single name floated into Zac's mind—the name that had been his escape for as long as he could remember. He didn't remember a life before her—it was certainly a life not worth remembering. A bundle of emotions rose in his chest as he thought of her.

Lyla.

Her name was like icy water crashing down on him, waking him up from a deep slumber—figuratively, of course. The thought of the pretty, blonde, blue-eyed mermaid made Zac's heart clench and shrivel up into something small and weak. But the name also brought strength in Zac's chest. Hope flared in his heart—maybe for the first time in ages.

Maybe it was magic—maybe it was fate—but whatever reason, Lyla's plead made Zac stay strong.

Rita entered Zac's room. He lay on the bed—a half-tranquil, half-troubled look on his face, which seemed more or less alive. His lips were slightly parted, and his long lashes cast long shadows across his face, making him feel more like a stranger. Rita could see a certain mermaid sitting, very statue-like, next to the merman.

"Lyla," Rita murmured.

Lyla looked up, mildly surprised. "Is he going to get better?" she asked quietly.

"I wish I knew," Rita answered, despondent.

Lyla closed her ocean-colored eyes, and Rita felt a trickle of pity for the younger mermaid. She had been close to Zac—she out of all of them would be grieving the most. She knew him more than anyone else... Sadness, overwhelmingly strong sadness, erupted within Rita. But Rita was also worried about Zac's parents—whose anxiety was increasing with each passing day. Reassuring words only went so far. No, they wouldn't be able to keep this a secret for much longer. But it wasn't time to tell them, not yet.

"Lyla, he's..." Rita hesitated. "He's not healing, not like I want him to."

Lyla's head jerked up. "What do you mean?"

"It's not his choice, but he isn't responding t any of the spells and treatment that we're giving him." Rita shook her head sadly. "There's something blocking him from healing. And before you ask, no, I don't know what's stopping him. There's really not much we can do for him now except wait and pray that he'll make it through okay."

"So we just aren't going to do anything?!"

"That's not what I said, Lyla," Rita said with a small, helpless smile. "What I'm saying is that your hope—your optimism to see the good—well... be careful. You must be prepared for the worst." Rita shifted uncomfortably under the mermaid's intense stare. "Lyla, I'm not saying anything bad is going to happen, but it's out choices that define us." Rita locked eyes with the mermaid. "We're treading on uncharted waters—and I'll do what I always do: I'll try to minimize the damage."

Lyla left the room, and a long-haired Chinchilla bounded in the room. Rita met Poseidon's human-like gaze and reached down to stroke the cat. "Hello, Poseidon," Rita greeted, smiling softly. She felt herself calm further as she continued to stroke the cat, who purred, perfectly content. Poseidon's wide, unblinking eyes seemed to wise for him.

Poseidon m-rowed, licking a paw.

"Yes, I believe you're right," Rita said with a small smile. "It is almost time."

Ondina glanced over at Erik. She was currently at Ocean Cafe. "Erik, how did you even find out about Rita's grotto?"

Erik sighed. His face said something like, I knew this was coming. "Well, Cam told me."

Ondina's gaze darkened. "Cam..."

"Same team, Ondina," Erik said sort of helplessly. "And yeah... Cam found out by Zac. That's how I know." Then, his distant gaze grew sharp as he jerked his head towards Ondina. His scoffed, seeming more like his snarky, sarcastic self. "Besides, this isn't an interrogation, Ondina." His tone radiated with confidence as well as snark.

Ondina scoffed, shoving him in the chest. "Just because you didn't say it was, doesn't mean it wasn't."

Erik tapped his drink. "Cheers!"

Ondina laughed. "Cheers!"

"That's not right," Erik said with a frown.

Ondina frowned. "What?"

"You must look into the person's eyes when you're cheersing."

"Cheersing?" Ondina laughed now. "Erik, that's not a real word."

"Nonsense," Erik huffed. "Just because you've never heard the word doesn't mean it's fake, Ondina."

"Sure," Ondina murmured. But she locked eyes with Erik.

"Cheers!" they spoke simultaneously.

Each took a swig of their drink. Ondina grinned. Tropical fruit. Absolutely delicious!

"What're you doing tonight?" Erik inquired rather gingerly.

Ondina nearly fell over. "What?"

"I said: what're you doing tonight?" Erik said, over-emphasizing his words.

"Are you asking me out?" Ondina demanded, tone accusing.

Erik laughed. "Sure, why not?" His tone conveyed his usual snarky tone, but his gaze held a different message. He laced his fingers with hers, and Ondina felt her heart beating. Faster and faster... And that was just the beginning... of forever. Ondina looked up, and Erik smiled a little—a genuine smile this time. "So, what do you say? If you can slip away... I'll take you out to see the stars..."

Ondina scoffed. "I've seen stars before."

"Not with me, you haven't," Erik murmured. "I know the best way to go stargazing."

"I'm sure you do," Ondina murmured. Then, she pulled back, hesitant. "I'll see..."

"I'll be at Mako when you decide to come," Erik called as Ondina stood up.

She smiled softly.

When, he had said, not if.

Raiden watched as Ondina left Ocean Cafe. He watched his brother gazing after the pretty mermaid, and Raiden felt a smile curl onto his lips. Raiden strode over, shoulders slumped in a cocky position. He took a seat by Erik and grinned. "Have you landed a date with the devil?" he teased, violet eyes trained directly on Erik's azure ones.

Erik chuckled. "Yes."

"But by my estimation, she didn't exactly say the word 'yes,'" Raiden murmured.

"Yes, but I can read her," Erik announced. "She'll come through."

"What about the rest of them?"

"What about them?" Erik sounded bored now, but Raiden could read his brother well enough to tell that although Erik sounded uninterested, Erik's attention was there. It was one of the finer qualities of his brother. He would make a good spy, actually. In another lifetime, maybe... Raiden smiled, but the smile revealed nothing. Oh, Erik, it was utterly pathetic of you to try and hide your emotions from me.

"Well, they aren't going to let Ondina hang out with you," Raiden said.

"Yeah, well, they don't have to know, do they?" Erik said, chuckling.

"Don't do anything..." Raiden started, tone in a warning sort of way.

"Preposterous?" Erik offered.

"I was going to say over the top, but yours works, too," Raiden said. Then, he shrugged, gaze dark. "You have to be careful, Erik. Ondina—"

"—won't tell anyone. It'll ruin her," Erik said, shrugging. Then, his gaze softened. "I know that she's your friend, Fulmine, but I do care about her. Probably the same amount that I care about you." Raiden's gaze softened at the words and the use of his old nickname. Fulmine. Lightning. "Look, don't worry. She's not replacing you. No one could."

Raiden smiled at that, a genuine smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, you're the best bro any guy could hope for," Erik said. Then, he drew his arms around Raiden in a tight embrace. Raiden hugged his brother back. "You're my brother, and we'll stick together and work things out the best we can," he murmured. Then, in a softer voice, he added, "We always do..." That was true. Raiden thought back to all of the times that Erik had been there for him—they definitely outnumbered the times he hadn't.

And the thought brought warmth in Raiden's chest.

Erik pulled back from the hug to lock eyes with Raiden. "I'll always be here for you, Raiden."

"And if you aren't?"

Erik smiled softly—it was a smile that Raiden had rarely seen on Erik. It was the smile that was just almost shy. Raiden felt his heart leap with joy. Erik had smiled like that before Persephone and Caesar... passed on. Raiden swallowed back the lump in his throat, taking great reassurance in Erik's smile. "If I'm not, I'll make it up to you. Just call my name... and I'll be there."

"I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time," Raiden murmured, voicing his thoughts.

Erik's expression turned thoughtful. "Well, things change, right? Speaking of change, has the trident been doing anything?"

Raiden shrugged. "I really haven't seen it much. Rita keeps it in a special room with a bunch of protection it." Raiden grimaced. "She used some of my blood to complete the protection thing, so I think that the room that she keeps the trident in can only be opened with my blood." Raiden shrugged. "But I haven't been in there for a while. I'll check on it if you want."

Erik's smile widened. "That would be brilliant, Fulmine. Absolutely brilliant."

QotD: Do you see what Erik is up to?

2nd QotD: What do you think is going to happen to Zac?

A/N: Review your answer to the QotD! Well, hey, it's Darkwind. Anyway, it appears that though Erik genuinely cares about Raiden, he has ulterior motives... Do you see where this is going? It's pretty blatant actually. But we'll see if Erik will steer clear into the path of success this time, won't we? As for Raiden, do you think he'll find out?

Thanks to the beautiful Izi Wilson for all of the support she has given me, and of course, Raiden is her OC. Be sure to check out her profile and her stories! I assure you that you'll be satisfied! Also, what do you guys think Rita meant by 'it's almost time'? Do you believe Rita is up to something? Shocker, right? But honestly, would Rita be one to do anything sadistic? (Of course, the ones who don't seem like they can do it can usually get away with it.)

I'll leave that to you to figure out!

Well, thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated (criticism and praise) though not necessary. But what writer doesn't like reviews? ;)

~Darkwind