It took hours for Lukas to sneak away from the house. He didn't need a hospital for his burns, yes, he did get burned in multiple places but after Andersen and Emil helped him bandage up and put cream on the particularly bad spots; He was fine. But Andersen wasn't convinced.

Lukas told Andersen again, and again, and again, that he just slipped up and accidentally dropped the pot. Andersen didn't buy it. "You were practically catatonic for seconds."

"I was burned and in shock."

"If you have something you want to tell me, you can. Do you know the kid?"

"No. I don't."

The situation was reversed now. With Lukas being the one with a giant secret while Andersen, a man who's job is to interrogate people, interrogated him.

It was like that for hours. Andersen would give Lukas some space but would come in to check up on him and ask some questions in hopes that he would spill his secret, but Lukas wasn't letting up.

Tino and Berwald kept their space from Lukas; they at least got the hint rather quickly.

After the tenth round of questions from Andersen; Lukas just locked his bedroom door. Lukas could hear them talking to Andersen, he couldn't hear what was being said, but that they were talking about him no doubt.

Lukas had locked his door with Emil still in the room. He knew this and it's what he wanted.

Emil knew Lukas, of course, he did, he was Lukas's little brother after all because when Lukas turned around Emil held out Lukas's favorite jacket. Lukas took it and wrapped it around his shoulders quickly. "Cover for me, yeah?" He asked as he grabbed his phone off of his nightstand and shoved it into his pants pocket.

Emil nodded.

"Good, thank you." Lukas ruffled Emil's silver hair before he exited out of his window. Good thing he lived on the first floor. With a simple pop of the screen, he was out of the house. Lukas kept his jacket wrapped tightly around his shoulders and he debated taking his car but knew that if Andersen saw his car was gone he would be caught.

Lukas paused for a moment when he saw the front door of the house open. He was on the side of the house, obviously, so he simply ducked down and watched as light spilled outside from the front door. "-He seemed really shaken up…" He heard Tino's voice as he was the first to step outside. The kid-Peter- right beside him the whole time. Berwald exited next. Andersen didn't. No, he stood at the doorway. Lukas could see the outline of his shadow. "Are you sure he's fine?"

Tino put his hands on Peter's shoulders and pulled him in close.

Lukas didn't move from his spot. But he did flip his hood up to hide his blond hair and made sure he stayed low.

"He says he's fine. I just don't understand what caused him to react like that…" Andersen let out a sigh. "I've never seen him act like that before…"

Lukas saw Peter visibly stiffen.

"... Are you sure you don't know him, Peter?" Tino questioned, no doubt feeling Peter stiffen up like a wooden plank.

Peter just shook his head. "No. I have never seen him before."

He watched them go after that. Tino, Berwald, and Peter packed into a car and soon were out of sight. The front door closed and the light was gone.

Lukas sighed in relief once they were all gone. He then started his trek. His destination was a bit far on foot, but he'll manage. Lukas kept his head down as he hunched in on his jacket. He was thankful for it, even though the summer night was hot and sticky; the jacket stopped the goosebumps from rising on his burnt arms and legs.

He kept the hood of his jacket up, his hair would give him away if Andersen got wise and unlocked his door to check up on him, or if Emil couldn't keep the lie up. So, up the hood stayed. On occasion, cars would pass him but wouldn't stop. Either they didn't see him or figured he was dangerous.

Lukas kept on the side of the road, almost off in the grass. Which would prove to be more difficult to walk in as the grass led off to a ditch. One slip of his foot and he'll be in the ditch filled with old beer cans and bottles. He didn't want that, so he kept to the very edge of the road and hoped nobody would hit him.

After about maybe ten or fifteen minutes into his walk, Lukas checked the time on his phone. 11:14 pm his phone read. God, he wouldn't be getting home till after midnight. But he needed to do this. Even though a big part of him really didn't want to do this. At all.

Another car passed, this one honked at him while some drunkard yelled out: "Hey there, cutie!"

Lukas rolled his eyes and just flipped the bird at the drunkard, not that it did any good as the car was long gone by the time he raised his hand. 'Prick.' Lukas simply thought and dropped his hand. He put both hands into his coat pocket.

Before too long, Lukas could see the lights of the town getting closer. That put him a little more

at ease. A seagull overhead let out a lone 'gaaaaw' before flapping over to the beach for food.

The beach was still a bit of a walk to get to, but at least now that he was getting closer to the town he was gifted with a sidewalk to walk on. He happily jumped to the sidewalk. Where the streetlamps illuminated his way.

He heard the sound of a rock clattering and stopped his walk quickly. Lukas had only just stepped on the sidewalk and there were no rocks around him. So he turned around. He was under a street lamp; when he turned his head the only thing he could see in the darkness of the street was his own shadow. It did kind of piss Lukas off that there were no streetlamps down the street and only on the sidewalks, but there was nothing he could do about that fact.

Lukas frowned a stubborn frown before shrugging it off in the end. He was sure it was probably an animal crossing the street or something similar. So, he continued on. The farther down the sidewalk he got the more he started to smell the saltiness of the ocean. It was a scent that brought a lot of people at ease, but for Lukas it just brought anxiety.

Lukas could hear the waves crashing against the shoreline and he paused his walking for just a moment. Lukas shut his eyes and just listened.

Crash...Crash...Crash…

It was rhythmic. Almost soothing for some people.

Lukas opened his eyes and continued to walk down the sidewalk. Sand started to crunch under his shoes and almost make his shoes lose traction more than once. The entrance to the beach was now right there.

But Lukas found himself pausing at a noise. He turned his head where two homes, one an apartment complex, stood. Lukas watched as someone, an albino man that he was sure he met once before, but whose name was escaping him, came stumbling out of his home. An open beer can in his hand, Lukas raised an eyebrow and watched the man chuck it into his neighbor's yard, and then flip off the yard. Soon the man was in his car and off he went.

Lukas only watched the man to make sure he was gone. He didn't need anybody watching him. Once he was sure he was in the clear. The beach had a curfew, nobody allowed in after Ten PM, but their defenses weren't impressive. It was just a waist-high fence that anybody could jump. Which Lukas did with ease.

For Lukas, his heart started to thump rapidly the closer to the waves he got. He stopped just before the shoreline. He wouldn't get any closer. He watched the waves for several seconds.

Crash. Pull in. Crash. Pull in. Crash.

He just hoped the tide wouldn't come in suddenly, or else he'd be in trouble. Lukas leaned down and picked up the first flat stone he could find. 'God, it's been years…' he thought before he brought the stone to his mouth.

"Arthur," Lukas whispered softly then the magic literally happened. The stone started to glow. It glowed a brilliant shade of cyan. Lukas breathed out an uneasy breath and just looked at the stone. 'I still got it.' he smiled and with a quick and expert flick of his wrist, he skipped the stone across the water.

It landed once and the same bright cyan color pulsated against the ocean in a ring. The stone skipped again and the same thing happened. On the third skip the stone simply sank. No ring of cyan. This was to be expected. The moment the stone hit the sandy bottom of the sea it was an explosion of cyan. Something that simply couldn't be ignored.

Now, Lukas stood back and waited. He crossed his arms over his chest and took a cautious step back from the shoreline. The tide started to recede and Lukas uncrossed his arms and lowered his hood. 'He's here.' The air turned electric and Lukas felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and the goosebumps rose to his skin. He looked up at the sky, the clouds started to roll in, despite the night time Lukas could see a gray tint to them. Rain threatening to fall.

"I never thought I'd hear from you again…" a voice greeted Lukas from the side. Lukas simply looked over his shoulder to see Arthur emerging from the water. It seemed he decided to make himself some legs for this special occasion. Why wouldn't he?

After all he'd want to be face to face when meeting with an old friend.

Lukas turned his head away and took his jacket off. "Cover yourself!" He ordered tossing the jacket to Arthur.

"Fine." Arthur huffed in response and thankfully the jacket was just long enough to cover what it needed to. "But don't expect me to don on anything more than this. I plan on going back to the water. I'm a wanted man on the shore after all."

"I'm aware." Lukas tsked his tongue again.

"Why'd you call me? I figured you were done with the ocean. Found human life to be much more fulfilling and all that- what happened to your arms?" Arthur made note of the bright white gauze that wrapped different parts of Lukas's arms.

"I got burned."

Arthur rolled his eyes like he was told something that just added to his growing annoyance. "Did you just call me because you wanted to be healed? Can't do that yourself anymore?"

"It's not that. Are you aware Peter is on the land?" Lukas questioned as Arthur grabbed one of Lukas's arms. Lukas really only felt a mild annoyance by the dull throb of his burns; he did his best to block them out in all honesty. But when Arthur put his hand on top of one of the burns Lukas hissed at the pressure and watched as Arthur's hand glowed a bright green before the pain was completely gone.

"Of course I'm aware, little twit thought it'd be something cute to do so behind my back."

"You don't think-"

"-He did. I know he did. I told Matthew to get him and Alfred back, but so far Matthew went M-I-A. I'm afraid. Trust me, if I could go and drag them back, all three of them back, I would. But one look at me and I'd be arrested." Arthur grumbled.

Lukas noted that all of the pain was gone, not just from his arm but also the ones on his legs as well. Arthur made sure to heal all of Lukas, not just the one spot. Still, Lukas frowned.

"Can you bring Peter back for me? Just toss the little bugger into the ocean; I'd have Liam claim him back in a heartbeat."

Lukas actually laughed. "Sorry, Arthur. But uh, a couple of human friends of mine kind of already made the claim on Peter and I don't think they'd be bringing him to the beach anytime soon regardless."

"Hmph, and why not. He's not theirs to claim. He's my son."

"It's a long story involving their first son… well… drowning." Lukas pushed a button.

Arthur frowned and then crossed his arms. "I see… Lukas… why can't you just come back?" Arthur asked the question that Lukas knew was going to pop up.

For a moment both men just stared at each other. "I can't. I've made a life here, a better life for both Emil and I. It's safer here-"

"I disagree, but surely you must be bored with humans by now?"

"Not one bit. I stand by my decision to leave."

"But your magic is wasted with them, you can't even use your magic! With you by my side again, or at least in the ocean again maybe, just maybe Marius will back down-"

"You know he won't. He said it himself."

This time Arthur frowned. "Lukas, please-"

"I said no. Respect that." Lukas spat. "I can't afford to get between you and Marius anymore. I have Emil to take care of."

"You don't think I don't have my own to think of? I lost three of my five! I just want them home."

"If you ask me you should let them stay on the land."

"You're just being biased."

"Maybe I am."

There was a silence between them as they looked away from one another. There was a divide amongst them and it will never be lifted.

"Lukas… please. Peter and Alfred both went to Marius… you know he'll collect his debt in due time. I-" Arthur grabbed Lukas's hand and held it tight.

For a moment Lukas let his guard slip and both their hands started to glow the moment they connected. Arthur's green and Lukas's cyan.

Lukas tsked his tongue quickly when he felt Arthur's magic start to invade his senses and quickly he dropped Arthur's hand and took a step back with his hands up in defense. "-I can't fight Marius, Arthur. This is between you and him."

Arthur growled in anger. "There wouldn't be a fight if you hadn't have left us! Do you know that?! You left and we disintegrated."

"Hey, I'm not the one who cursed Petru!"

"Marius killed Francis!" Arthur's voice actually broke when he screamed that out.

"I know he did, and I told you not to retaliate but you did!"

"He deserved what he got!" Arthur's eyes started to glow a bright shade of green signaling that he was close to attacking if needed. Lukas worked quickly and put a shield between him and Arthur. Just in case. "He knew I'd leave to be with Francis because that's exactly what you did! Well, he got his wish, I'll stay in the ocean if that's what he wants, but he's going to live with what he's done for the rest of his life."

"You punished a child for Marius's mistake, I hope you know that. And now he's giving you a taste of your own medicine. I bet he waited for the right moment to strike and take your boys away."

Arthur growled and clenched his fists. "Damn it."

Lukas lowered his shield and snarled before poked Arthur in the chest. "You created a monster, Arthur and now you're the one who has to live with that fact."

Arthur turned away, visibly angry and now shaking. "... Goodbye, Lukas." With that Arthur jumped into the ocean. There was a bright unholy flash of green that lit up the beach for just a moment before it vanished.

"Hey! Give me back my jacket-" Lukas's jacket was suddenly flung from the ocean and hit him straight in the face. It wasn't a nice feeling as the soaked jacket actually knocked him off his feet. Lukas quickly tossed the jacket to the sandy beach before any water could get on his legs. "Dammit…" Lukas huffed and stood up.

Lukas was dusting himself off when he felt the hair on the back of his neck start to tingle. 'Behind you!' Thinking it was Marius, Lukas quickly slashed his arm through the air before he was grabbed. There was a flash of blue light and quickly he tossed whoever was behind him back a few good feet with a powerful wave of magic.

"Ah!"

That wasn't Marius.

Lukas watched in horror as Andersen went flying back and hit the fence. Andersen landed on his back and groaned out pitifully in pain.

"You followed me?" Lukas could only question as he looked at Andersen with wide eyes. "Why?"

"I knew you were hiding something." Andersen groaned. "I saw you through the kitchen window…" Andersen slowly pulled himself up to his feet with the help of the fence. He was breathing heavier and his face winced in pain. Instantly Lukas felt bad for what he had done. He didn't mean to toss Andersen as hard as he did. "I have...several questions." Andersen wheezed as he clutched at his ribs.

Lukas watched Andersen try to stand up fully but he cried out and clutched his side all while grimacing in pain. "Andersen-"

"What was that? Like. I know what I saw and all, but I'm still having a hard time believing any of it." Andersen groaned out and leaned in on his rib. "Also, I think you cracked a rib…"

"Let me hea-" Lukas's voice died and he looked away quickly. 'Let me heal you…' of course, he could heal Andersen, it was a simple cracked rib, hell, he could have healed himself earlier. He didn't need Arthur's magic to do that. But he had been so used to keeping his magic at bay for obvious reasons. So even now, when he knew he was caught, he couldn't finish his sentence. "...Just sit down."

With Lukas's help, they both slowly got Andersen to sit down on the sandy ground with his back against the fence.

"Lukas… I think I know the answer, but… are you… human?" Andersen looked Lukas dead in the eyes when he asked and Lukas frowned before looking away quickly.

'You can't lie your way out of this one.' His mind told him.

"No."

Lukas could feel Andersen's eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Is Emil… like you?" Andersen's tone was shifting now like he was approaching some sort of dangerous animal. Then again… Lukas did throw him into a fence. So, Andersen had every right to be wary.

"...Yes."

"And you came out of…" Andersen dumbly pointed at the crashing ocean.

Lukas shut his eyes before nodding. "Yes."

"And… I… Lukas…" Andersen was absolutely gobsmacked at this point and couldn't even form a simple sentence. "Again…" Andersen breathed out. "I know what I saw, I know what I felt when you- you- sent me flying, but I still can't even." Andersen tried to shift against the fence and cried out in pain when he moved the wrong way.

"...May I?" Lukas sighed. Andersen actually flinched for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses. After all: Lukas was still his friend. So, Andersen relaxed and moved his hand from his rib. Lukas slowly lifted Andersen's shirt up.

There a nasty black bruise had already begun to form right at the base of Andersen's ribs. Gently Lukas touched the bruise. "Ah!" Andersen flinched, making Lukas flinch his hand back. "Your hands are freezing!"

Lukas instantly pursed his lips. "Stop being a baby."

Andersen actually laughed at that.

Lukas put his hand back on Andersen's bruise. Andersen didn't flinch this time around. In fact, Andersen just stared down with piqued interest. Lukas's hand started to glow that familiar cyan color. Lukas focused on the bruise as he could feel his magic swirl around in the palm of his hand and extend to Andersen once it made contact.

Lukas was in control of his magic, obviously, it bent to his will and did his bidding, and so within seconds Andersen's rib was not only healed but when Lukas removed his hand the bruise was gone completely.

"... wow…" Andersen breathed out shakily. As he looked at his newly healed body "That's insane! And you've kept it a secret for… god… how many years?"

"Seven." Lukas shifted so he was now facing forward. Andersen lowered his shirt and soon did the same.

"Seven years… but I've only known you for six." It wasn't a question. Andersen was just pointing out the obvious.

"Yes, that's true. It wasn't until then did I decide to become a human full-time. Up until that point, I was really just dabbling in human culture."

"What made you leave?"

"Politics."

Andersen laughed and waited for Lukas to say 'Just kidding.' but Lukas didn't and Andersen's smile dropped. "There is politics amongst Merpeople?"

"Yes and politics tend to be deadly when it comes to my kind."

"I feel like I might need some context here."

Lukas frowned and then rested his head on Andersen's shoulder. "This… stays between us right? I'm not going to have Tino or Berwald try and chuck me into the ocean tomorrow, am I?"

"Of course. You have my word, nobody else will know about this. Besides, I feel like even if I tell anybody they won't believe me."

Lukas did nod at that. Andersen had a good point. Nobody believed in the supernatural anymore. And, because Lukas knew he could absolutely trust Andersen he spoke:

"Okay then… make sure your ears are clean, Andersen, I'm only going to tell you this story once."