Matthew was hit first. They were all so wrapped up in finding the boat that they had let their guard down for a second too long. Marius came blasting, a ball of magic hitting Matthew directly in the small of his back.
It burned even under the water, it absolutely burned like he was on fire.
Matthew cried out and crashed to the ground trying to grab onto the wound out of instinct. "Mattie!" It was Alfred who called to him in alarm, but just like Matthew, Marius struck Alfred, but in a different way.
Marius bound Alfred, covering his mouth, hands, and tail with magic sending Alfred sinking down to the bottom next to Matthew. Alfred kicked and tried to scream, but his mouth was bound so all that came out was muffled yells of alarm.
"Now. That was easy." Marius grinned as he lowered himself down to their level. Matthew tried to get up, but the pain was just too much. "Then again, I never expected such a fight from you two-" Peter rounded the corner and tackled Marius.
This caused the two of them to spin in the water. Peter raised and lowered his fists, hitting Marius wherever he could with the blunt side of his little fists, the face, the shoulder, the chest. Still, Peter wasn't exactly 'strong'. Marius grabbed Peter by his wrist and to Matthew's horror, he watched as Marius's magic flared.
Peter screamed in pain, his whole body tensing, seizing, as Matthew could see Marius's red magic under Peter's skin. As if Magic wasn't scary enough, you didn't need to blast at people to cause them pain. You could just touch them. It was a scream that Matthew would never be able to get out of his head.
"Marius!" Liam came bounding and Marius let go of Peter. Peter fell to the ground, unconscious. No doubt from the pain.
Liam already had Marius in a chokehold. Liam hissed between clenched teeth as he tightened his arm around Marius's neck. Marius gagged in surprise. Liam looked downright murderous and Matthew realized that Liam was more than pissed, obviously, Marius had tortured Peter in just a short amount of time, but it was more than that. Liam was tired. He was tired of just chasing Marius off, he was tired of losing to Marius. No, Matthew realized that Liam wanted it to just end before anybody else got hurt.
Matthew could only watch in horror as Marius gagged, coughed, and sputtered while Liam kept an ironclad grip around his throat and for a moment Matthew wondered if it'd be that easy. For Liam to strangle Marius to death right here and now.
Of course, it was never that simple. Liam was blasted back in a flash of bright red.
Marius coughed and spat before he turned to Liam. "Okay. Is that how you want to play?" Marius snarled and curled in his fingers inwards as his hands started to glow. 'You're not a spectator anymore, get up and do something!' Matthew's mind roared at him once he realized that, like Liam, Marius too just wanted it to end. Matthew knew if he didn't do something then Marius was going to do everything in his power to kill Liam with this next shot.
Matthew ignored his pain and rushed at Marius, grabbing him by his hair and yanking as hard as he could right before Marius shot. It worked, Marius's shot missed Liam, but that didn't stop it from shooting out of the water. It didn't hit the boat, thank god, but Matthew was pretty sure that everybody could see it.
Marius spun and grabbed Matthew by his throat with one hand. Matthew gasped not expecting it. "You think you can beat me?" Marius challenged as he tightened his grip around Matthew's throat. His hands were cold and his nails were sharp, threatening to puncture Matthew's skin at any given moment.
Still, Matthew couldn't help himself. "Not like it's hard." He managed to wheeze out. There was a moment where the two of them just stared each other down and then Marius grinned. That wiped any smile off of Matthew's face in an instant. Still, Matthew saw Liam coming back for just a moment he felt okay-
Marius shot a hand and his magic shot out like a rope and in an instant wrapped around Liam's throat. Now it was Liam that was gagging as he reached for the magic. Matthew was painfully reminded that Liam only knew the basics of magic, meaning he had no clue how to free himself in this situation. Matthew watched at Liam's hands and eyes glowed as he tried to fight the magic, but it did nothing. Marius was just too strong and with one push Liam was thrown to the ground and held in place.
Liam thrashed around so violently that he caused the sand to rise and lightly cloud around them, obscuring their vision. Matthew could hear Alfred screaming through his binds. Not like he was in pain, but more in frustration. He was bound in place and there was nothing he could do but watch, judging by the sounds, Matthew could only figure that Alfred was also struggling against his binds.
Matthew tried to scratch at Marius's wrist in a pitiful and desperate attempt to get Marius to let go of his throat. It did nothing. "You and your brothers are nothing and you're delusional if you even think-" Marius tightened his grip on Matthew's windpipe. Really, him not being able to breathe wasn't much of an issue under the water, but that didn't mean that he liked the feeling of being strangled. "-That you can fight me and win. You're mistaken. I will destroy you."
It was then did Matthew feel what Peter felt just moments before. It was like electrocution, but somehow worse. Magic surged through his entire body and attacked him from the inside it invaded every nerve, every pore, every muscle. It was nothing but pure pain. His muscles spasmed and seized wildly and he shook every which way. Matthew gritted his teeth afraid that they were going to break while he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.
Matthew wasn't even screaming. He couldn't, not with Marius keeping a grip around his neck. Not that it mattered, all he felt was pain, pain in every one of his senses.
This…
This was torture in every sense of the word. Pure torture and when Matthew dared to open one of his eyes to look at Marius he saw the sick bastard was smiling, and it feared Matthew that there was a real probability that that sick smile was going to be one of the last things he was ever going to see.
The moment Matthew passed out, it was like something sparked inside of Liam. That was two of his brothers that Marius had tortured without mercy or even a lick of compassion.
Liam gnashed his teeth together and knew there was no more hiding. This wasn't just him chasing Marius away, this was so much more with a lot more on the line. Liam knew that he couldn't just hide behind his strength. Liam felt his magic flare inside of him and raised one of his hands.
In that moment he didn't see his once Uncle Marius, he saw a monster. A monster that had to pay. It was a brilliant flash of dark green that struck Marius right into the side. Marius's magic flickered in his shock and Liam was able to free himself. "Marius!" Liam screamed as he swam up and shot at Marius again with magic.
Marius was faster this time and made a shield protecting himself.
"Oh…" Marius grinned, his eyes glowing red, but his shield vanished within seconds. Liam realized that Marius was looking at him with the vision. "I never knew… I never bothered to check you." Marius almost seemed to coo as he watched Liam. "Such potential, obviously wasted." He blinked and his eyes returned to normal.
Liam gritted his teeth and with a sudden jerk of both of his arms he brought his magic out. "I may only know the basics but I'm still going to kick your ass!" With that declaration Liam attacked. Marius was quick, quicker than Liam anticipated. With a sweep of his tail, he kicked sand up into Liam's face. Impairing his vision instantly.
"Using my own tricks against me?! Coward!" Liam hissed and he tried to look around, but it seemed Marius had kicked up more than a bit of sand. There was so much sand around him that Liam couldn't see no matter which way he looked.
Liam held his breath; spinning around wildly in place to try and place Marius.
That was when Marius's attack came from his left. The blast of magic just grazed his shoulder, it burned. Marius, despite living in the sea, seemed to have a thing for 'fire' so to speak. Liam twisted his body towards where the attack was shot and he fired back. His own magic blasted through the sand, but judging by the silence he didn't hit his target.
Liam's heart started to race as he tried his hardest to find where Marius was firing at him from, but no, Marius was swimming around him, circling Liam like a shark would, waiting for the perfect moment to strike Liam down. He frantically looked about but there's one thing Marius had to know, that the sand wasn't going to stay up forever. Most of it was already starting to slowly lower to the ground.
Liam saw a bit of red out of the corner of his vision and didn't even hesitate. He shot.
His magic hit Marius's fin. Marius cursed out and fell back a bit. Liam then swam and, in a move he only really used for his brothers, wrapped his arms tightly around Marius's arms in a restraining bear hug. Marius instantly started to writhe against Liam in an attempt to free himself.
Liam used all his momentum to push Marius and the two of them tumbled to the sandy floor. Marius cursed and tried to kick, but there was a reason Liam often used this move against his brothers after all, it was the most effective move Liam had in order to restrain them. Liam just had one goal in mind. Knock Marius out… or kill him. He was going to do one of those things today, he knew that much.
His magic flared as he tightened his grip around Marius's arms and torso. 'Let's see how you like it…' was the only thought Liam had as he thought about Matthew and Peter and the pain they went through. Liam never had such training from his father, but somehow, he knew. He knew magic like that didn't need training. He just needed rage and he was filled with it.
So, Liam gave Marius a good taste of his own medicine. Liam squeezed Marius tighter and just let his magic go wild. It really wasn't that hard, Marius screamed in pain as Liam could feel his magic coursing through Marius's veins. Marius writhed and flopped around in Liam's arms as he tried to free himself.
For just a moment Liam had thought that maybe, just maybe, he had Marius beat. He was just going to keep him held like this until he passed out, but Liam should have known; taking down Marius was never going to be easy.
Marius couldn't free his arms but that didn't stop him from still being able to use his magic. It was like a bomb gone off as with a blast of energy and magic, Liam was forced off of Marius and flew for just a moment before, not just hitting the ground, but also striking his shoulder against a nearby patch of staghorn coral.
"Oh, Liam. It's like I said. Your magic was wasted on Arthur." Marius spoke softly. "You have great potential, I can see it clear as day." Liam felt his teeth gnash together as he pulled himself off of the coral patch. Part of the coral had broken off and impaled itself into his arm. Liam hissed in pain as he looked up at Marius. As much as he wanted to pull the coral out of his arm, he couldn't afford to distract himself.
"I don't exactly care about what 'potential' I have." Liam decided to enlighten Marius with a response.
"Oh?"
"Don't think it's lack of trying on Pop's part either. He wanted nothing more than to train me." Liam hadn't realized it right away, but his hands were shaking. Was it pain? Lack of blood? Or nerves?
"You… refused training?" It was like Marius just couldn't wrap his head around what Liam had just told him.
Liam wanted nothing more than to ignore Marius's question and just continue their fight, but something blue caught his eye. It was Alfred, at some point either Marius's magic had worn off or Marius had let go of Alfred by mistake, either way, Alfred was behind Marius and moving slow. Instantly Liam knew what Alfred was going to do. They locked eyes and Alfred put a finger to his lips. Liam looked down, hoping he didn't give Alfred away by staring for too long.
"Why would I want magic?" Liam suddenly bit back at Marius. "After what you did to that fishing boat-"
"-Will I never hear the end of that?!" Marius hissed between clenched teeth. "I was trying to help, those fishermen not only took our food but polluted the water with their cigarettes and other trash- no- no! I'm done defending myself! What's done is done!-" Marius twisted his body and like Matthew he had Alfred held tightly by the throat with one hand. "-Isn't that right?" He sneered at Alfred. If Alfred could spit in the water he would have at that moment. "How many of you do I have to knock out?"
Liam took this moment to free his arm from the staghorn. Honestly, Liam didn't even think. He grabbed it by it's base and he yanked it out in one swift motion. His arm not only started to bleed, but his open wound burned in the salty ocean water. Liam looked at the staghorn in his hand and was relieved that the tip didn't break off and embed in his skin.
He looked up at Marius and Alfred. Liam had no memory of stabbing Marius with the coral, but when his blackout was over and he came back to the present he couldn't deny that he had done it. Liam backed up in shock, he had stabbed Marius in the side causing him to let go of Alfred. Liam had buried the coral deep into Marius's side.
The world moved in slow motion, Marius looked at Liam, his eyes were wide and his hands shook violently before moving to his side where the coral was. Blood was seeping out of the wound at a slow pace and filled the water around them. "Okay-" Marius wheezed, his teeth clenched and that was when Liam shot at him with a blast of magic, this sent Marius spiraling into the floor. His body struck the ground and then just stayed there. Still.
"Holy shit…" Alfred let out a scared whisper as he looked down at Marius's prone form. "Did you…?" he trailed off before looking at Liam.
Liam felt his jaw clench and his teeth grit, the pain in his arm increasing. "I don't know… just go and check on your brothers for me, okay?" Liam hurriedly shooed Alfred away. "You were brave." Alfred gave a small smile and turned ready to do what was asked of him. "Oh, Alfred?" Alfred turned his head over his shoulder in question. Eyebrow raised up. "I'm proud of you."
Alfred didn't say anything and he tried to hide his little happy smile, but it was so obvious he was beaming on the inside. With a flick of his tail Alfred left to check on Peter and Matthew.
Liam was glad to have this time alone. It meant he could drop his brave face for just a moment. All at once emotions rushed at him, the pain in his arm suddenly intensifying. Liam forced back tears of pain and bit his lip. 'Let's heal this up.' Liam decided and cupped his injury. He's been hurt in the past, This wasn't his first time he was thrown into a coral patches, but never stabbed, he's been bitten by many things, even stung by jellyfish, but for whatever reason this pain was worse than any of those.
'I've never been stabbed before, that's gotta be it.' Yeah. That's gotta be it. He decided on the fly.
Liam tried to focus on healing his injury, but his mind was just moving too wild from all his thoughts and emotions that struck him that it made healing impossible at the moment. Liam's hands continued to shake and a part of him honestly just wanted to curl up into a ball and just sleep or cry, but he couldn't. No, his brothers needed him now more than ever.
So, Liam pushed all his feelings into the back of his mind for the time being. He had to focus on healing himself or else sharks will be on them sooner rather than later. He looked at Marius's prone body and turned his back to it, hoping maybe that'll help his racing mind calm down.
Liam shut his eyes and just focused on his throbbing arm. His magic flickered and licked against his wound. He could feel it swirl about before it got to work resealing the open wound. Not exactly a pleasant experience as the staghorn had inserted itself deep into his forearm. Still, Liam was thankful that the staghorn didn't break off into his arm. Not something he wanted his brothers having to yank out of him.
As Liam healed the hairs on the back of his neck startled to prickle. Liam dropped his arm, it was healed enough anyways, and jerked his head over his shoulder just in time to get a face full of sand. "Son of a bitch!" Liam cursed and squeezed his eyes shut out of instinct. "That's it." Liam felt his teeth grit and before he knew it he bolted for the surface. "If you want me, come and face me!" He yelled to the sandy water. Though Liam knew, he just knew that Marius was right behind him.
He had qualms around fighting in the water in the view of children and other humans alike, but if he was on the surface level then that meant one very important thing. Marius couldn't hide behind cowardly tricks.
"Is it even possible to rewire the radio?" Tino questioned as he crouched down. Gilbert was laying on his back looking up at the cut wires. "I mean… I don't think it's the same as hotwiring a car." Tino commented softly.
Tino, Gilbert, and Kiku excused themselves to look over the console and the damage done. While Berwald stayed behind to help Feliks with the children. Despite being scary looking, he really was a teddy bear when it came to children. Not only that but Tino had a suspicion that the children took an instant liking to Berwald because of his height and build. Someone big and strong they can trust during this scary time.
"No, it's not," Gilbert grunted as he found the other half of the cut cord. "But it shouldn't be an impossible task- ow!" Gilbert cursed in German as he flicked his hand. "The wires are live, I repeat, the wires are live," Gilbert told them as he scooted out from under the console. He shook the hand that got shocked. "That makes putting it back together a little more difficult."
Kiku sighed and crossed his arms over his chest as he thought for a moment. He sat in the driver seat and tapped at the steering wheel. He kept his eyes on the water out below and just stared intensely.
Tino sighed and lightly played with a waterproof flare between his fingers. He had found them tucked under the console, well, Gilbert had found them. Unlike the flare gun, these flares were used specifically for underwater, most divers use them, which made Tino wonder why they were here to start with. Probably just some safety measure he was sure. Unbeknownst to the other two with him, Tino had taken the liberty to pocket one. Like the flare gun it was a 'just in case' situation. A child might fall in and he wanted to be prepared.
"Okay, so the radio is live, what about the GPS? Can that be fixed?" Tino, almost desperately, asked. "We don't need outside communication if we can just get to land."
Gilbert reached for the wire in question and inspected it. "I...I really don't want to touch this to find out if it's live or not." Gilbert finally confessed.
"If both wires are live then how the hell did Yao cut them without seriously injuring himself?" Tino questioned.
"Maybe he cut them when the power was off?" Gilbert suggested before looking at Kiku. Kiku focused back on them and blinked.
"It's a possibility," Kiku spoke softly as he said it. It's clear that something else was on his mind but he didn't want to vocalize it.
"But then… no. I guess it makes sense." Tino sighed and started to pace. His feet crunching against the glass on the floor with each step. "Why us? What did we do to him? Why even do this!?" Tino cursed in Finnish.
It then did Kiku have an epiphany. "We can use my GPS…" His voice was soft as he realized it when he spoke. "I always keep one in my boat- Give me a minute." Kiku jumped from the seat.
Tino and Gilbert followed after him and they quickly bounded down the stairs. "Finally, something is looking-" Tino was speaking but was silenced. Not by someone, but by something. Something that made him stop dead in his tracks and flinch back like he was going to be struck.
A red ball of light shooting out of the water like a bat out of hell. This wasn't like a firework, something that colors would have been diluted by the sunlight, this was… something else entirely as the deep red color was prominent even in the daylight. Tino almost expected it to explode as a flare would, but it just...fizzled out.
Obviously, everyone else saw it as well, The kids let out mixes of gasps of amazement and screams of terror. Tino saw Berwald bolt for the side of the boat and from the way he threw himself against the railing, Tino almost feared that Berwald was going to jump into the water himself. He didn't, thank goodness, but he was searching the water frantically, almost insanely so.
Tino jogged down the steps and stopped before getting to Berwald. Instead, he turned his body towards the children and Feliks. "Everyone good?"
"Yes, it shocked them… what was that?" Feliks questioned with a shaky voice. "I've never seen anything like it before. Have you?"
"No. Never…" Tino looked up towards the sky, but the ball was gone. He looked over his shoulder a second later to see that Gilbert was now sporting an uneasy face as was Kiku. Tino narrowed his eyes at this, but for the moment at hand he opted to ignore it. Instead he turned and went for Berwald. Tino didn't want to startle Berwald so he lightly placed a hand on Berwald's back before coming into his view.
"Is everything alright?" Tino softly asked Berwald and followed Berwald's gaze to the ocean. The water was calming from the ripple that thing made. Berwald didn't answer right away, he paused before his back relaxed against Tino's touch.
"I just wanted to be sure it didn't hit Kiku's boat." Berwald cleared his throat after a pause.
Tino frowned slightly. "So… you know what it is?" He whispered so softly that he was afraid Berwald didn't hear him after another moment of silence. "Was it a flare? A firework? What?" Tino probed a little deeper.
Berwald's mouth twitch and Tino saw a small knowing smile form on Berwald's lips for just a moment before it disappeared. Tino could just hear Berwald's thoughts at that moment. 'You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.' Tino pursed his lips in annoyance at this. It was then did he realize the thing that was right in front of his face the whole time. Berwald was hiding something from him and that scared him.
Berwald never kept secrets from him, never. He was always a very open person (To Tino mostly). So, that left one question on Tino's mind: Was Berwald hiding something to protect him? Tino frowned as he thought of the question and looked at his husband.
"Berwald." Tino huffed in a whisper that got Berwald's attention. "I'm not dumb. You didn't find us by coincidence." Tino grasped the railing of the boat tightly with one of his hands while he kept the other on Berwald's back. "I know after everything that happened, not just today, but with this past year, you want to protect me. Fine, I appreciate it. But I'm not a flower, I won't wilt. I can't wilt, not now. Please, stop hiding things and just tell me what you know." Tino lightly balled his fist around Berwald's shirt, making it bunch up in the back. "I need to know what level of danger these kids are in."
Berwald looked at Tino, clear desperation in his eyes. He didn't want to tell Tino, that much Tino could see for himself, but Berwald couldn't argue with Tino either. "It's Pe-"
"Whoa! Look at that!" Heracles suddenly exclaimed, making Tino whip his head to see what the children were looking at. At some point, Heracles had broken away to peer into the water near the railing. Once Heracles yelled a bunch of other students, as well as Feliks and Gilbert, came to see what he was looking at.
Tino didn't need to join in, because he could see it perfectly fine from where he and Berwald were standing.
The water was lighting up. It was like Christmas lights blinking on and off. Red and green violently fought with each other. The water moved with these lights like it wasn't exactly light, something more physical that was pushing and pulling the water in that one spot. Tino for some reason felt his throat start to tighten uneasily. With each light, his anxiety started to spike. Why was this bothering him so?
Because lights don't flash that brightly in the sunlight and they sure as hell don't flash like that underwater.
Tino heard Ludwig speaking and he turned his head to see Ludwig speaking to Gilbert. Tino stared at them for several moments when he realized they were speaking in German. Meaning they didn't want anybody else to know what they were talking about.
It wasn't just Berwald that was hiding something from Tino, it was Gilbert and Kiku as well. They all knew something. Something that was no doubt connected to this weird light show everyone was witnessing.
"What could it be? I've heard of fish using lights to bait prey, but...this?" Feliks turned to Tino for answers. Tino knew he had a shocked expression on his face when he shook his head in response because Feliks frowned at him.
Then, with one final flash of dark green the lights stopped. Nobody spoke, the only sound to be heard was the waves crashing against the boat and the occasional creaking or groan the boat gave. "Kiku?" Tino turned his head towards Kiku in question. Kiku, like everyone else, had been looking down at the waves. He blinked and then looked at Tino.
"Please, get your GPS so we can get the hell out of Dodge." Tino's voice cracked as he realized how tense he had become in just a short amount of time.
Kiku's eyes suddenly hardened and he nodded with renewed determination. "Hai!" and Kiku went for his little boat that had been tied to the ship with rope. Something Tino had missed earlier on. Kiku only got one step down from the ladder when-
"There's a guy in the water!" Someone, Tino honestly wasn't sure as to who, yelled in complete shock. A bunch of kids gasped and Tino couldn't lie. He gasped as well. There was someone in the water. A guy with brown hair that clung to the sides of his face as he emerged from the water, but to Tino's horror, this guy wasn't alone.
It happened so fast.
Another man with lighter brown hair came up to the surface and made a mad grab from the more muscular man. "No!" Berwald growled between clenched teeth. Tino felt his blood turn cold watching as these two violently fought in the water. The one with the lighter, and longer hair, slammed the other man into the side of the boat.
"Not the nice man…." Tino undoubtedly heard Feliciano whisper nervously as he watched on in horror, Feliciano had his eyes opened as he looked on.
'The nice man?... like… THE nice man?! The one that saved him last year?' Tino's head was whirling as he looked down at the water in shock. He knew about 'The nice man' because Feliciano used to bring him up in conversation, didn't Feliciano show Tino a picture of 'The nice man?' once?
"Didn't he say the nice man had a...a ... tail?"
Tino slowly turned his gaze away from the two men trying to kill each other and looked at Berwald. Their eyes met. The world suddenly moved slowly when their eyes met. Just like earlier Tino was able to telepathically connect to Berwald, only this time, Berwald was also able to do the same thing. They were on the same wavelength.
Berwald took Tino's hands into his own and just said one word. "Yes."
It was like the world was spinning back to normal. Just one word and Tino reached into his slacks and pulled out the flare gun. "Which one." He spoke slowly to Berwald. "Which one is trying to hurt us." He made sure to keep the gun out of view for the time being. He was also keeping his voice low.
"Light brown… Tino…" Berwald tightened his grip. He wanted to say something, something desperate, but he couldn't. Tino saw him struggle with his words before frowning. He felt his grip turn to iron around the base of the flare gun as he reminded himself of trigger discipline. "...aim for his head." Berwald finally snarled out.
It was surprising to hear, no doubt, but Tino nodded regardless. He looked to see where Kiku was before he raised his flare gun. Kiku was still at the top of the ladder watching this all unfold with wide eyes.
'As long as he's out of the way.' Tino sighed in his thoughts. 'I have two shots. Flares do damage, but it won't be enough to kill him.' Still, Tino looked over at the children and then at Feliks. They locked eyes.
"Tino-"
Tino climbed the railing.
"Tino!" Feliks almost screamed in alarm. Tino wasn't going to jump, he just needed to be on the other side to get a clear shot. "Tino, what are you doing!" Feliks shouted in a more berating and worried tone. That was when Feliks suddenly grabbed Tino by his sleeve forcing Tino to look at him. There was chatter and mutters from the kids as they whispered and watched Tino with wide eyes. If he had it his way he wouldn't subject them to this, but he had no choice. He looked down at the two men then back at Feliks.
"Let him go, Feliks." Gilbert hissed suddenly. Feliks looked back at Gilbert, then back at Tino. It was clear that Feliks didn't want this at all, but. Feliks also knew Tino. He looked at Tino and bit his lip before backing up.
"I hope you know what you're doing…"
"I just wish it weren't in front of the children." Tino answered in a voice hardly above a whisper. He didn't want the kids to see this, to see their teacher which they respected shoot someone down. Again, the flare wouldn't kill the man, but no doubt this will have a lasting effect.
Tino looked back at the two men. The one with the lighter brown hair...his hands… they were glowing. 'Glowing the same color as the ball!'
Tino's body worked on autopilot once he made the connection. He raised the flare and lined up the shot. Several kids were suddenly screaming, all those drills, those safety precautions, were all pushed into the back of Tino's mind. He was a teacher and he was going to protect these students at any cost.
Tino fired.
The flare let out a loud pop! It was so loud it startled everyone and Tino saw the kids duck down out of instinct. Tino produced his own bright red ball as the flare ejected from the gun in an explosion of light.
As expected the flare hit his target right in the head. The man let out a scream as the fire burned his skin, but didn't stick. Still, this gave the nice man enough time to punch the other away. Oh, but their fight was far from over. Tino didn't even expect for something to grab his right leg. It grabbed him by his ankle.
Tino felt his heart sink as a icy cold fear gripped him. His whole world felt like it was slowed down. He tried to turn towards Berwald to hold on to his husband for dear life, then before Tino knew it, he was weightless as his leg was jerked out from under him and down he fell with only a lone gasp leaving his mouth as he was just centimeters away from Berwald.
"Tino!" Berwald screamed, yes, screamed in horror.
Tino's back hit the water first. The water was cold and when he fell it hurt, knocking the wind right out of him. His body spun and an extreme sense of vertigo overtook him, making it impossible to figure out which way was up or down.
Still, when his whole body was submerged in the water it was oddly peaceful for him as he just laid there in the open water. His body bobbed up and down with the waves, and with all his senses muted in the water it just made it easier for his vertigo to slowly vanish. Tino could have laid there forever if he could breathe underwater. Slowly, he straightened himself up in the water.
Tino looked up at the surface and started to swim.
The moment he broke through the surface the first thing he heard was screaming and crying from the students up above the massive boat. He looked up at the boat, using his hand to shield the sun from his face. It was Sadik that spotted him first.
"Mr. Tino is alive!" Sadik screamed to everyone else. This caused the other students to run to the railings to watch him.
"Tino!" Berwald suddenly rushed to the railing. "Swim to Kiku's boat, hurry!" It was a worried demand, pure and simple. Tino knew better than to question Berwald. The only other time he saw Berwald so worried like this was when Sven…
Tino pushed the thought to the back of his mind and just started to swim for the little skiff boat. Kiku was already on his boat, he had his hand out desperately trying to urge Tino to swim faster. "Hurry!" Berwald almost seemed to cry.
"C'mon…" Kiku urged and stretched his arm out even farther, if that were possible.
Kiku was only just a few feet away from Tino, just a few measly feet, but before Tino could even lift his arm out of the water to take Kiku's hand, his own scratchy, sobby, voice suddenly echoed in his thoughts.
'He was grabbed, I swear!'
Before Tino knew it his ankle was grabbed and down under the waves he went.
The world could have stopped at that exact moment. Kiku watched as Tino was brutally dragged under the waves. Berwald let out a scream and seemed ready to jump in the ocean himself. Anything to save his husband. 'If he jumps in he's as good as dead.' It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure that out. Kiku saw that Gilbert was fighting Berwald, like, physically fighting the bigger man to the ground and may even be trying to pin him.
Marius was ruthless, he wasn't going to stop at anything until he got what he wanted. He didn't care who he hurt or killed along the way.
Kiku had to do something, anything, but what? What could he possibly do in this situation?
It was almost like god was talking to Kiku at that moment, not in his head or anything like that, but more like showing him a sign as there was a soft rapping noise above him as a gust of wind blew by. Kiku looked up and saw the fishing net hanging off of the side of the boat. Just waiting to be used.
'But using a net like that takes time, time I don't have. Not only that but what if I capture Peter or Liam or-'
Kiku felt a light bulb pop off above his head as he looked at the ring that rested on his middle finger. Kiku bolted from one end of his boat to the next. He opened a compartment that second as a seat. Kiku threw the life jackets to the side as he grabbed his casting net out. It was a simple nine foot fishing net, nothing as grand as his brother's net hanging above his head, but this net caught Alfred. 'It was a shock pulling him out of the water.' Kiku couldn't help but smile at the memory.
He tied the net around his wrist, the weights clanking loudly as he did this. He hoisted the net up. Kiku has done this so many times that it was almost muscle memory to him. The only issue was he knew he had the possibility of accidenting netting Tino, but in the end, that wouldn't be so bad either. Kiku grabbed the skirt of the net out with his other hand and looked into the water. The water looked almost black in the sunlight, the sunlight that was starting to fade.
Kiku shut his eyes. 'If I can catch Alfred… then I can catch Marius!' Kiku casteded his net out and he watched as the skirt opened up, flaring out for just a second before landing in the water with a resounding Splash!
Down the net went. Kiku shut his eyes and focused on the rope around his wrist. 'Please…' Kiku silently prayed. 'Please…' he squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood. He exhaled.
Then pulled.
Instantly he was met with resistance, but much like with Alfred, he stood his ground, propping a foot up on the side of his boat, and used all of his might to pull the net in. Unlike Alfred, something else caught his attention. Red. Bright red light and Kiku felt fear grip his whole body for just a moment.
There was the sound of bubbles coming to the surface before Tino broke up to the surface sputtering and coughing loudly, Alfred and Matthew both right next to him, helping him swim to the boat. It was like they were his bodyguards.
Kiku grinned the biggest grin, like he was the cat that got the canary, because in reality, he was. 'I will never be able to do this again.' Hey, the fact that he caught not one but two Merman in his lifetime was good enough for him. There was a sudden tug on the net that almost tipped him off of his boat, Kiku managed to straighten himself out and pull back.
"Tino!" Berwald's booming voice yelled from up top the boat. Kiku looked up for just a moment and saw that Gilbert was standing next to Berwald now.
"Berwald-" Tino gasped out in surprise when Matthew and Alfred helped lift him up so he was on Kiku's boat. It rocked the boat a little bit but not too much. Someone let go too early and Tino fell harshly on his back. Kiku and Tino locked eyes. "Thank you…" Tino whispered to Kiku.
"Hai, just get up to your husband before he jumps in. Gilbert had to stop him-"
"-Good…" Tino breathed softly as he looked up at the sky. "He nearly…" Tino shook his head wildly and put his hand to his throat. His eyes wide and scared.
"It's okay now." Matthew spoke softly and Alfred silently nodded. Kiku noted the frown that stayed on Alfred's face and how it seemed that even Matthew was shaking slightly.
"If I didn't have that flare-"
"Go to your husband." Alfred finally spoke up in a demanding tone. "Go, and for fucksake, stay on the boat. Marius isn't done."
Tino finally sat up before slowly nodding. They all watched as he went up the ladder and embraced Berwald. "Oh-" Kiku gasped when the tugging suddenly stopped. Instantly he got to pulling the net in-
The net was fine, just empty. Kiku instantly turned to the twins. "Don't worry about him." Alfred seethed softly. He had his hands on his shoulders and was shaking. "He probably teleported away, the coward… the absolute coward…"
"To be fair." Matthew huffed. "I'd teleport away too if I were him."
Kiku blinked. He threw his net to the side of the boat and crouched down so he was level with them. "What happened down there?"
"... Marius… he was sucking Tino's soul right out of his body." Alfred shuddered and shook his head. "It was horrible to watch Kiku. I think he was just getting desperate and just wanted a soul, any soul… he had Tino by his neck and using his magic to… physically pull Tino's soul out of his body.-"
"-Kiku, if you hadn't have cast your net, we might have lost Tino." Matthew reached up and patted Kiku's hand softly. "That being said…" Matthew bit the inside of his cheek. "Tino is a bit of a fighter, we found that out. When your net fell over Marius, it distracted him long enough for Tino to light a flare he had on him."
Alfred spoke next with another shudder. "I don't know what's more disturbing. Watching someone get their soul almost sucked out of them, or watching someone get their eyeball burnt."
Matthew hissed to Kiku in a more warning tone. "Regardless; I don't think Marius is returning for the time being. Get what you need and get the hell out of here before he has time to recover."
In all honesty, Kiku didn't need to be told twice.
"Liam!" Matthew rushed towards his brother. Liam was on the ocean floor laying face down and for just a moment he feared that Liam was dead. Liam weakly lifted his head before letting it fall back down. Matthew breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to Liam's side.
He looked awful. Exhausted mainly, but he had little bruises and cuts along his body, as well as a deep gash on his right arm that wasn't bleeding, but looked fresh and inflamed. Matthew was careful as he wiggled under Liam and helped him sit up. Liam winced in pain before groaning.
"Are you okay?"
Liam opened one eye. "Do I look okay?"
"... No. In fact, you look like dolphin shit."
Liam gave a half-hearted laugh before coughing. "Yeah, I feel like it as well."
Alfred came over and frowned. "Are you going to be able to help us escort the boat back to the land?" Alfred was gentle as he took one of Liam's hands.
"I don't think so-" Liam shifted a little and grimaced before inhaling sharply. "Not only did Marius get a few lucky shots in, but, I've used up a lot of energy." He explained before sighing out softly; "I can't even heal myself right now. The downside of magic."
Matthew and Alfred both shared a concerned look. That was when Peter came over. "Liam…" Peter gasped softly. None of them have ever seen Liam like this, never. He was usually so full of energy (and occasionally spite) but he just looked so… defeated and beaten.
Matthew felt anger start to boil in the base of his belly when he saw the dark fingerprints around Liam's neck. Marius had done more than just get a few 'lucky shots in.' "Well, we aren't going to leave you in open water." Alfred growled and placed his hands on his hips. "That's just asking for you to get eaten by sharks."
"...I'll take him home." Matthew suddenly offered. "It's not far, dad has to be home, right? He can heal you, or even Lillie if it comes to that."
"Dad…" Liam groaned suddenly and shook his head. "He's going to be so disappointed. He never wanted you guys involved..." Matthew was sure Liam wasn't thinking correctly.
"He'll be more than disappointed if you wind up dead." Matthew pointed out and then grabbed both of Liam's arms. "You guys can help the boat, right? I mean you saw, Al, Marius is going to be out of commission for a while trying to heal that eye of his."
Peter blinked but nodded, before joining in. "I saw that from afar, Tino is really amazing-" he smiled before frowning once he looked at Liam, who passed out just after Peter spoke. "-Did he?..." A worried look etched itself across Peter's face and Matthew shook his head.
"Just unconscious." Matthew confirmed and Peter let out a sigh of relief as did Alfred.
"Are you sure you can handle taking him home?" Alfred questioned Matthew awkwardly who had to hold Liam on his back. Usually the situation would have been reversed, hell, Matthew was sure Liam had all of them on his back at least once (usually kicking and screaming the whole way.). Still, Matthew hoisted Liam the best he could and looked back at his brothers.
"I can-" Matthew nodded but stopped when the engine to the boat suddenly sprung to life and the propellers slowly started to spin. "Don't worry, if I don't meet you guys again in the water, I'll for sure be back on the land before too long." He told them confidently.
"I don't like this." Alfred admitted.
"I know, but someone has to watch the boat just in case. We have to make sure those kids get home."
"I know, I just don't like it."
With that they went their separate ways. Alfred and Peter stayed with the boat while Matthew took off for home, at a painstakingly slow pace with Liam on his back like a cape. Matthew kept a sharp eye out, looking every which way, he wasn't going to be ambushed, he couldn't afford to be.
"Don't worry, Liam. We'll be home before you know it." Matthew told his unconscious brother. Obviously, Liam didn't respond, but that didn't stop Matthew from continuing this one sided conversation. "I just hope Dad'll be there." Matthew frowned. "I actually really hope he's okay, you know? With everything that's been happening, no doubt this is hard on him as well, probably even harder…" Matthew just sighed as he said it. "I hope he can help set things straight… or put Marius in some sort of magic straight jacket. That helps too."
Off in the distance Matthew could see the rusted fallen ship that he called home. He smiled a little, it felt familiar, it felt safe. His chest swell with a bit of happiness, he wanted nothing more than to rush there and yell for his dad, but he kept his pace slow, he didn't want to jostle Liam around too much.
"Where is he?"
It's really a shame that Matthew never got to go home, maybe if he did rush and risk injuring Liam more, then maybe…
Matthew was slow turning around to face Marius. Matthew felt stunned and at a loss for words as he shook his head dumbly. "Who?"
It seemed Marius never did get a chance to heal that eye of his, the most he seemed to do was just heal the area, it was inflamed but no longer burnt, the eye itself was white in color, Tino really did blind him. Marius clenched his fists. "Petru!" Marius spat in rage. "I won't ask you again!" his hands started to glow and Matthew backed up, putting a protective hand on Liam.
"I don't know!"
"... Of course you wouldn't know." Surprisingly Marius backed off, but Matthew refused to relax. "Perhaps I've been too kind over these last years. I never went after his children aside from today." Marius started to ramble on and Matthew debated on making a run for it. "Sure, I've attacked Liam, but never once harmed him, and Peter? It was a contract! The fool came to me… that was my fault. Clearly."
"Please-"
"I know you don't know where Petru is, why would you go after Petru." Marius cut Matthew off. "But you know who would go after Petru? Arthur."
Matthew kept his mouth clamped shut and tried to back up. All of his senses telling him to just run. "I don't know where Arthur went, but knowing that dirty bastard he went for the land, thinking I can't track him down. I can, but it takes so much time… too much time."
Marius looked… crazed. Matthew realized as he watched his movements. Marius was making big gestures with his arms with every word he spoke, not only that but he was talking to Matthew a little too calmly given the situation.
"I don't have that much time, I'm afraid."
"Marius-" Matthew knew he should have booked it, but it was too little too late as Marius's magic wrapped tightly around his neck. Unfortunately, this caused him to drop Liam, who didn't wake. "Please…" Matthew almost begged as he tried to grab at the magic around his throat.
"-But with you and Liam as bait, I don't need to track him down. He'll come to me."
For most of this chapter, I was listening to Villian by K/DA and I have to say it does fit Marius somewhat.