The moment they finally managed to dock the boat everyone knew their troubles were only just starting. The Coast Guard boarded first, not the police. They then, not so politely, informed everyone that no one would be leaving the ship until they checked it for explosives.

Tino remembered yelling some not-so-nice things to them in Finnish. "-Of course, you guys are just so bored you had to make something up-"

Berwald had to pull Tino back after that, however the damage had been done by that point and one Coast Guard decided to hang back. Honestly, Berwald feared a fight and just kept his hold on Tino tight. "-Are you a part of the branch?" The coastal guard had questioned.

This man was tall, almost Berwald's height, he had blonde hair that was spiked up, almost reminding Berwald of Andersen. This man had blue eyes and a small scar above his right eyebrow. He just looked amused as he leaned back and let his buddies search around.

"I am." Tino curtly answered. "Marine."

The man smirked. "So, do the kiddies have crayons? Or did you eat them all?"

"Why you-" Berwald, once again, had to pull Tino back. "-At least I got the luxury of firing a gun after boot camp!" Tino shot back.

"Maybe- like- don't yell at the guys trying to save us, Tino?" Feliks made a point to join in as he stood between the two of them.

"They're nothing more than a bunch of Puddle Pirates!" Tino yelled in his defense.

That elicited a giggle from Gilbert. The coast guard in question didn't look so thrilled.

"Wow, did you use all two of your brain cells for that insult?"

"I don't know, did you join the Coast Guard because being in the Navy scared you?"

"They say strength is required to be a marine, but clearly…"

"Hey. At least people know that we're actually a branch! Most people think you're just glorified cops!"

"Oookay!" Feliks clapped his hands together suddenly catching everyone's attention. "Tensions are high, Tino can you please, please, please stop insulting the men trying to save us. Home is just… right there." Feliks pointed down to the docks where the police and parents were eagerly waiting for them to come down.

Tino sucked in a slow breath through his nose but backed off just as well. "Fine…" He chewed on the inside of his cheek and Berwald exhaled a slow breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Still, Berwald noticed the tiny smile on the Coast Guard's face as he walked away from them. "Bunch of shallow water sailors, those lot." Tino grumbled to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Just calm down. It's almost over and there's no need to get so worked up." Berwald softly spoke as he pulled Tino into his arms. Tino let out an angry 'hmph.' in response.

"Sorry, it's just… after what we've all been through today… what I've seen…" Tino trailed off and rubbed his neck. Not the back of his neck, but the front. Something he's been doing since he got out of the water.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Berwald asked in a low whisper before he placed his chin on top of Tino's head. He felt Tino shake his head.

"No. Not here anyways. Not with the children."

"I tried to get to you, I really did-"

"I know… I'm just ready for this nightmare to be over." Tino mumbled into Berwald's chest as he rested his head. "Why are they even searching for a bomb in the first place? If there were a bomb you'd think it would have gone off by now."

"I know, this does seem strange, but just let them do their jobs, and please stop taking jabs at them."

Tino only chuckled a little at that. Eventually he pulled away from Berwald and looked out over the water. He didn't want to look at the crowd, it just made his anxiety spike. So, he just watched the water as it moved restlessly. He could only smile to himself as he saw a blue tail lightly splash up, to anyone else it would look like a dolphin, but he knew better.

'What if that mad man comes back?' Tino rubbed the front of his neck and winced at the memory that flooded his mind. It had all happened so fast, but Tino still remembered everything that had taken place.

Tino cried out underwater as he tried to kick at whatever had his foot, but that did nothing as a hand suddenly clamped tightly around his neck and he was face to face with the bastard.

This man looked impatient, frazzled, worried, the works. His teeth were gnashed tightly together and Tino saw his fangs. His hair moved with the current and Tino couldn't help but feel that he had met this guy before. Then the man's eyes started to glow.

All of Tino's instincts came flooding back and he tried to kick at the man, but he just couldn't reach his- his tail.

Yes, Berwald confirmed his suspicions but seeing it for himself… he just couldn't believe it. This merman had his grip tight on Tino's neck, not tight enough to choke him, but tight enough to where Tino couldn't wiggle out of.

Tino tried to claw at this guy's hands with his nails, but it did nothing. Tino knew just by looking into this guy's eyes, he was on a mission and wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. It was all so strange, Tino, for just a moment, saw himself in this man, it was odd and almost impossible to explain, but Tino knew what he was seeing. Underneath this man's frazzled and stressed look, Tino saw worry and grief.

Shame Tino couldn't focus on it for too long. Before he knew it something had struck his chest.

For Tino his body turned cold and he felt helpless in that moment. If he had any breath it was torn right out of his body, he wanted to scream but he couldn't even do that. This man was extracting something from Tino's body. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Tino's body almost felt like it was vibrating, he felt like he was leaving his body.

'The flare… it's in my pocket…' He knew a flare could be used as protection, and if worse came to worse he could even use it as a weapon. Tino felt his fight start to leave his body, no, it was more than his fight. This man… was taking a part of Tino. Not a body part, but, Tino was sure in these final moments of his, this man was slowly taking his soul. There was a light leaving his body and Tino knew without a doubt that it was his soul that this man was collecting into the palm of his outstretched hand. 'I'm going to die down here…'

Would he? Or would he still be living just without a body?

Tino's mind was starting to fog. He knew it wouldn't be much longer now. He had to do something, anything, he let his hands drop down to his sides. He watched it; amazed at how his own soul seemed to flow effortlessly, guided by an invisible force into this monster's hand. It was almost mesmerizing.

'No! I didn't come this far just to die!' Tino tried, dear god, did he try to kick and free himself, but his legs were like bricks and he was starting to see double.

Tino Väinämöinen was many things. A marine, a devoted teacher and husband, an unfortunate Vilomah, but he wasn't and will never be a quitter. If he was going to die today, then he wasn't going to go down without a fight! With what little strength, and willpower he had left, Tino reached into his pocket and pulled out the waterproof flare he had snatched earlier. 'If I don't do anything then the children…'

It was then that two things happened almost back to back. One: A net came down upon them. This had startled the merman and Tino's soul was more than happy to return to his body in an instant. Two: Tino's shoulders were grabbed by a pair of strong arms and before he knew it he was untangled from the net just in time as the net tightened around the merman.

'Blind him! Cripple him, before he has time to hurt the children!' It was like a lightning flash, Tino didn't even need to think about what he wanted to do next. He twisted the cap of the flare off and a bright red explosive light surrounded him enough to see two other mermen. Twins. One on both sides of him. Tino didn't hesitate and before he was grabbed and hauled to the surface, he jammed the flames right into the red merman's eye. Even though he was under water, Tino heard this man's scream of pain.

It wasn't a normal scream of pain, this was a shriek that rang through the waters that let every creature in the water know he was in extreme pain. Then, before Tino could go for the other eye, both of his arms were grabbed and he was forced to drop his flare. From there he was helped up to the surface.

"-Alright." The main Puddle Pirate came up to Tino and the children, forcing Tino out of his thoughts. "We searched this area top to bottom, no explosives to be found. With that you're all free to exit off and go to your loved ones. Please do so in an orderly fashion-."

"You heard the man; line up. Single file." Feliks bluntly ordered and the children did so. They were all practically vibrating with excitement, no doubt ready to just get off of this god forsaken boat-

"-Except for you five." Tino was ready to start throwing hands when he pointed to all of the adults. "We have questions. Don't worry about the children, my men will lead them down to safety."

Tino was ready to start fighting again, but Feliks elbowed him below the ribs. "Don't make me duct tape your mouth shut." Feliks hissed in Tino's ear. That shut him up, for now.

"Feliciano, just go, it'll be alright." Gilbert tried to get Feliciano in line. Tino turned towards the commotion and saw Feliciano holding on to Ludwig's arm for dear life. It took about two seconds for Tino to realize what the problem was. With Gilbert already on the ship, Ludwig had no reason to leave his brother behind. If Ludwig wasn't leaving the ship then neither was Feliciano.

That was when Tino decided to step in to get his mind off of the coastal guards for now. "Feli?" Tino came over and squatted down so he and Feliciano were eye to eye. "Don't you want to see Eliza or Roderich?" Tino peeked up to the crowd of people, he actually couldn't see Eliza or Roderich, but he did see Lovino front and center doing what he does best, giving some poor fellow hell. "Look, it's Lovino." Tino pointed and Feliciano frowned, but followed where Tino was pointing.

"I'll be damned, it is him." Gilbert snickered suddenly as he leaned off the side of the ship. "I feel sorry for that poor bastard he's yelling at."

"Mr. Beilschmidt." Tino stood and put his hands on his hips. "Language, please."

"My bad, teach." Gilbert shamefully ducked his head down. "Still, Feli, don't you want to see Lovino? He seems worried about you."

"Of course I want to see him." Feliciano stated matter of factly and even seemed to be mimicking Tino as he put his hands on his hips in the same fashion. Gilbert suppressed a snicker, and Tino shot the man a look. "But…" Any confidence Feliciano had melted away in an instant as he suddenly looked unsure. "I don't want Ludwig to stay on the boat… Not with what's in the water."

Tino almost forgot that Feliciano knew just what was in the water. Tino tucked some of his hair behind his ear and squated right back down. His knees popped in protest, but he ignored it. "Feliciano, I know your concerns, don't worry. I'm very aware of what's in the water as well. I saw it first hand, but the boat is docked. I don't think the man in red-"

"- Marius." Ludwig cut Tino off suddenly and this made Tino look at him with a wide-eyed stare.

"W-What?"

"His name." Gilbert filled Tino in. "Is Marius." He then shoved a hand into his pocket and chewed on the inside of his cheek. "He's one mean Mothertrucker."

"I appreciate the censorship. Yes, he is." Tino rubbed his neck once more before sighing and looking at Feliciano. "Feliciano, I don't think Marius will be coming back anytime soon."

Feliciano looked at Ludwig and frowned. "But what if he does?"

"... Look around you, Feli. Look at all the people out there, all those parents, the cops, the coastal guards. Marius would be incredibly stupid to try something now. You have nothing to worry about."

Feliciano held strong for about a minute before his shoulders slumped, he either didn't have a comeback or was out of fight. "Okay… I guess you make a point…."

"That's a good boy." Tino smiled and ruffled Feliciano's hair a bit. "Now, go and see your brother, I'm sure he, along with Eliza and Roderich, are worried sick about you." Feliciano smiled a small little smile. It did the trick and off Feliciano went running after the other students down to the docks.

"You five. Here. now." The coastal guard demanded.

"Stay here. Okay?" Gilbert simply asked of Ludwig. Ludwig nodded obediently. Tino and Gilbert rushed to the guard in question. Soon, all five of them were around him.

"To start off, I'm Petty Officer Abel-" Tino's eyes instantly darted to Abel's badge, it checked out. "-The reason we asked for you five to stay behind is simple. We were told there would be only two adults, maybe three counting the captain, but there are five, and don't think we didn't see that little boat tied up."

All of them looked at each other for a moment before Berwald spoke up first.

"It's simple, us three-" He pointed to Gilbert, Kiku, and himself. "Were worried, so we thought we'd look for the boat ourselves."

"No boats were permitted to leave the docks."

"We didn't get off at the dock…" Gilbert mumbled.

"I see…" Abel took out a small notebook and started to write this information down. "So, how did you three find the fishing boat? It must have been far if we couldn't even find it."

There was more silence, they didn't want to give away their secret and even though Tino didn't know it himself, he had to agree with them on this. Kiku was the next to speak. "This is my brother's boat. I know all of his fishing spots."

You could have heard a pin drop as Abel just looked at Kiku with a raised eyebrow. Immediately he was suspicious. "This is your brother's boat?"

"Hai."

"What's your name again?"

"Kiku Honda." Kiku crossed his arms and looked uncomfortable as he was visibly worried.

"And Yao Wang is your brother?"

"Hai…"

"Why do you have different last names?"

"Does that really have to do with anything?" Gilbert came to Kiku's aid and Abel's mouth thinned into a line.

"Yes. It does."

"We're half-brothers. We have different fathers, if you must know." Kiku spoke professionally, but it wasn't lost on Tino that there was a bit of snark in those words.

"I see." Abel scribbled all of this down in his handy-dandy notebook. "Now, how did the three of you get together exactly?"

That was a question Tino was wanting to know himself. Berwald answered first. "Tino is my husband-"

"-And Ludwig was on the ship-." Gilbert cut in, tossing a look behind him to look at his brother.

"-Gilbert is my neighbor." Kiku finished up. "And also… Yao being my brother and all."

Abel didn't look impressed as he wrote this all down. Kiku caught Gilbert's eyes for a moment and saw Gilbert shifting his eyes to the water for just a second before looking back at Abel. 'He's worried. Of course, look at this place.' Everywhere Kiku looked he realized there were Coastal guards everywhere. No matter which way he looked, there was another boat. How were the others going to discreetly get back to the land? 'Be safe.'

Knowing there was no way they could get out of the water on the docks, or with their respected friends/family. They both decided to find a clearing at the beach and get their legs back. Alfred had to be sneaky as he snatched their bagged clothes back off of Kiku's boat. Matthew's and Liam's included. He tied the plastic bags tightly and prayed the water wouldn't leak in.

It wasn't until he felt something oddly heavy in Peter's bag did he stop and look at his brother. "Peter?"

"Hm?"

"What is this?" Alfred shook the bag and the heavy thing hung at the bottom of the bag next to Peter's shoes. It was long, hard, and looked sharp enough to pierce the bag, but it wasn't a knife.

"A chisel." Peter just said that so casually. Like he was just explaining it was his socks or something mundane.

"Peter?"

"Hm?"

"Why on earth do you have a chisel with you?"

"Safety precaution."

"..." The wheel spun in Alfred's mind as he stared at the little chisel inside of the semi-opaque bag. Then it clicked. "You had a weapon this whole time and didn't use it?!"

Peter stuck his tongue out. "Obviously. I forgot about it at home and I couldn't take it with me when I turned back in a merman."

"Why not?" Alfred felt his eyebrows knit together as he handed the bag back to Peter. Peter frowned and checked the bag for himself.

"Do you really think Liam would let me travel with something sharp?"

"Hm… good point."

"Also, I stole it from Berwald." With that last declaration Peter went back under the water.

"What?!" Alfred huffed out a laugh. "Little hellion." He rolled his eyes and went under once he was sure his bag was tightly sealed to the best of his abilities. It didn't take long for him to catch up to Peter.

The two of them kept the pace brisk, while Alfred kept casually looking behind him. "Matthew still isn't back." Alfred commented to Peter after a few minutes of this. Peter shrugged it off.

"You saw how banged up Liam looked. Besides, Alfred did say he'd meet up with us later on the land."

"I literally just called him-" Alfred just sucked in a deep breath and dropped it. "Doesn't matter. You have a point. I'm sure he'll be behind us shortly. C'mon, let's just find a clearing on the beach."

They steered clear of any boats and swam around until they were sure they found a decent clearing. Alfred popped up to the surface first. Seeing a boulder nearby he crawled up it and looked up and over at the beach. He heard Peter come up just behind him.

"... Is that… Dad?!" Alfred gasped out loudly and Peter let out his own gasp. Alfred had to rub his eyes just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He wasn't seeing things. Just a little ways away from where they were sitting, was his dad. He was up and walking around on two legs- as well as fully clothed, but he wasn't alone.

"Oh my god, that's Lillie- Lillie!?" Alfred couldn't stop his yelling and Lillie whipped her head around at the mention of her name. She, like their father, was up and walking on two legs. Unlike their dad, however, it seemed she was only clothed in a shirt that just barely covered what it needed to. "Alfie and- Peter! Peter!" Lillie let out a happy cry that echoed across the ocean, and that got their father's attention.

And that's when Alfred saw there was a third person with them.

"Uh-oh…" Peter muttered suddenly and ducked down into the water a little "It's Lukas."

"Lukas- wait! Like Uncle Lukas!?" Now that's a name Alfred never thought he'd hear again.

"Peter and Alfred- or Matthew- You two get your butts over here! Now!" Their dad immediately scolded as he yelled at them from where he was standing on the beach.

"Oh great, now look at what you did." Peter grumbled.

"C'mon Peter, you knew you couldn't avoid him forever."

"I was just hoping I could; on the land of all things." And with that Peter went back under and went for the surface.

Alfred just sighed. "Me too…"

The first words out of Arthur's mouth wasn't if they were alright, but rather something else that chilled Alfred. "Where is Matthew and Liam? I need all hands on deck here."

"They're not with you?" Peter asked as he dragged himself farther onto the land.

"Do you see them with me?" Their dad demanded as he moved his arms out to prove his point.

"...Liam was hurt-" Alfred found himself saying, his last words to his father haunting him-taunting him almost. He'd apologize later, their dad and Lukas needed to know the situation at hand. "-Marius, he found us guarding the boat-" Alfred started following Peter's example and trying to claw his way on to the sandy shore. "-He bound me, knocked Peter out, and struck Matthew down all within seconds." Alfred grunted as he tried to now wiggle on to the land to get away from the water.

Lukas came over now and got down on one knee in front of Alfred. That was when he offered a hand. Alfred took it and was relieved when Lukas pulled him away from the water with ease. "Dammit. That means-" Arthur muttered.

"The barrier wasn't connected to him." Lukas finished as he started to pace around. "He still went after the boat… is it…?" Lukas stopped his pacing and looked at Alfred. Alfred didn't know how to answer that question.

"He's asking if everyone is dead." a new voice came in and Alfred whipped his head around to look at… somebody that looked vaguely familiar to him. Alfred felt his face scrunch up a little as he tried to place who this child was. Thankfully, he didn't have to think about it too much as Lukas said:

"Emil, you don't have to be so crude."

Alfred only chuckled before turning serious. "No. The boat is safely docked, last we saw the coastal guard was questioning the adults on the situation." Lukas let out a little exhale that he's clearly been holding in for some time.

"Thank goodness."

"Yeah, Uncle Lukas, you should have seen Tino!" Peter wiggled in place as he tried to get his tail to dry out. "He was a badass! I think he blinded Marius with a flare!"

Lukas made an uneasy face, but at what?

"Wait a minute! Peter, why didn't you tell us you were close to Uncle Lukas!" Alfred suddenly yelled at his brother. "If we would have known that we could have had some sort of help!"

"I'm afraid not." Lukas sighed. "Marius had Emil, I've been in the water all day trying to free him."

"Yes, and I see you both did that… but why are you on the land?" Alfred finally asked as he turned to his dad and Lillie. It was then did Alfred see that Lillie had someone in her arms. The merperson's upper half was out, but their tail was wrapped in a soaked T-shirt. "Lillie… who is that?" Alfred's stomach turned cold as he felt suddenly ill. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

"It's Petru..."

"...Oh."

Arthur came over and touched Alfred's tail. "Now you see why this is a 'all hands on deck' situation'?" Arthur asked as his hands glowed and before Alfred knew it his legs were back. He swiftly went to put his clothes on. As Arthur went to Peter.

Lillie was nice enough to look away as Alfred jumped up and down into his pants. Still, Alfred looked over his shoulder to look at her for just a moment. She seemed to be in one of Arthur's shirts, as mentioned before, it just hardly covered what it needed to. Alfred didn't like the idea of his sister running around practically half-naked.

Alfred went back to dressing himself, thinking of what he could give his sister. Peter was up now and getting dressed just as well. "Thank you, sweetheart." Alfred looked back over his shoulder to see Arthur grabbing Petru from Lillie's arms. Lillie immediately started to roll her arms in her sockets.

"Is what Liam said true?" Alfred's mouth moved before he could stop it. Arthur's head snapped to attention at that.

"I'm afraid… I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific, love." Arthur had an obvious wince when he spoke.

"You cursed Petru by taking his magic away."

"...Yes."

"And… did you try and give that magic to me when I was younger?"

"...Yes…"

"So you still have it?!"

"Yes."

"Then just pop it back into Petru and let's end this petty fight between Marius and yourself!"

Arthur sighed. "I wish it were that simple, Alfred. Unfortunately because of what Marius has been doing to keep Petru alive, I have to extract all the souls inside of him in order to give him his magic back-" Alfred opened his mouth, but Arthur cut him off. "-I know- I know what you're thinking. No, I can't give him his magic back with all of these souls inside of him. I don't know how that would work. I don't want to risk killing him, do you understand me?"

Alfred shut his mouth and nodded.

"We need a place to stay." Lukas came in. "My home is out of the option as Marius ambushed me there already. It'd be the first place he'd look."

"..." Alfred looked over his shoulder at Kiku's home. It was just right. There. But to do so without permission was rather rude…

"Heeeey!" A voice suddenly yelled out from the ocean. For a moment Alfred thought that it was Matthew, but quickly realized the voices didn't match; before he turned to see who had called. He saw Kiku's boat approaching, but Kiku wasn't driving it. Gilbert was. Not a good sign.

Gilbert was pretty skilled driving the boat up to the shore. He killed the engine once he was sure it was good and stuck on the sand, something Kiku will be cursing about later down the line. Gilbert jumped down onto the shore, Ludwig in tow. Gilbert stopped mid-step once he saw Arthur. He nearly fell to the ground with how suddenly he stopped.

The air turned tense within seconds as the two just stared at one another with wide-eyes. Gilbert's chest was moving up and down as his breathing turned heavy. Arthur, on the other hand, looked ready to straight up flee. This was the first time Alfred saw his father look so… afraid of someone.

Sharks? Basically guppies.

Marius? Just a pest.

Gilbert? Terrifying, apparently.

Gilbert bit his lip before turning to Alfred. Clearly opting to ignore Arthur. "Hey, Kiku's been detained."

"What?" Alfred gasped. "What did he do?"

"It's not what he did, It's because he's related to Yao. I don't know exactly, but they took him away."

"Dammit, I'm not going to begin to think I understand everything, but this doesn't sound good…"

"It's not. He's in the cops custody now and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it." Arthur suddenly chimed in, he looked uneasy as he spoke.

"Yeah, well, Kiku gave me permission to bring his boat here, but I'm going back up into town here in a moment. It's…. Somewhere between a party and a riot…. Where's Matt?" Gilbert suddenly stopped and looked around once he realized Matthew wasn't with the rest of them.

Peter chimed in. "Had to break away, he'll be back soon enough-"

"-Do you still live in that house over there?" Arthur suddenly spoke up as he pointed towards Gilbert's home. Gilbert's face turned uncomfortable and it wasn't lost on Alfred when he saw Gilbert, either consciously or subconsciously, pull Ludwig closer.

Then they stared at each other and it grew uncomfortable as the seconds ticked. "Look-" Gilbert spoke in a low and almost solemn tone. "-Just because I haven't decked you yet, doesn't mean you can come to me with requests." Gilbert kept the bite in his tone. "...Just because I'm dating Matthew, doesn't mean squat… just because both Matthew and Liam vow your innocence… Just because I've seen Marius's shapeshifting first hand..." Gilbert's hands tightened into fists as his voice became more emotional. "Doesn't make us friends! Do you hear me, Arthur!?"

Arthur let out a soft noise before turning his head shamefully. "I'm sorry." He said so suddenly that, well, everyone stopped and just looked at him. He sounded so… defeated? Sad?

It was a tone that Alfred had never heard his father use before, and apparently, neither had Lukas by the wide-eyed and shocked stare he was giving Arthur.

Arthur's voice shook when he spoke next. "Gilbert, I'm not asking you to befriend me, I'm not even asking you to forgive me! I'm just seeking help. Gilbert-" Arthur, with no other choice, presented Petru to Gilbert. "-This is Petru… I can fix him. I can stop Marius's killings, I can fix something. I just need some help."

Gilbert didn't move, he hardly blinked. Gilbert then approached Petru and looked at him. "...This will stop the killings?" Gilbert tilted his head as he watched Petru for several moments.

"Yes, but we need a safe place, Marius will come looking and we can't go to Lukas's-"

"The kid still has his tail… won't he die if he's out of the water for too long?"

Arthur made a noise of surprise, as did Lukas. "Y-You know?" Arthur asked

"I told you, I saw Marius's powers up close, well, that and Matthew showed me."

"I see… to answer your question, I would turn him human if I could. His body is rejecting magic, so, this is why I'm asking to do this at your home. We could place him in your tub-"

"-I have no water. I haven't paid the bill yet."

Arthur actually let out a sort of rueful chuckle at that. "Are you still working at that pizza restaurant?" Gilbert blushed at this, but didn't engage. So, Arthur just shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We're so close to the beach, as long as we keep his tail wet with the ocean water, he'll be fine."

"Just so you know…I told myself if I ever saw you again I'd kill you myself."

"I believe you."

Alfred suddenly tensed as did Lillie and Lukas.

"I never thought I'd be handing you the keys to my damn house. That's for sure" Gilbert sighed out and shook his head as he reached into his pocket and holded his keys out for Arthur to take. Arthur actually hesitated as he reached out but stopped just before grabbing the keys.

Alfred saw it, for just a short moment in his father's eyes. His usual grumpy shell cracked for a moment and a sort of happiness shone in his eyes, but, as this was Arthur, it was only for a second before he returned. "Thank you." He gently took the keys from Gilbert's hand.

"Just stop these verdammt killings-" Gilbert then took off in a jog and Ludwig followed right behind his brother. "-And don't burn my house down!"

"Hold up-" Alfred called as he immediately went after Gilbert.

"Wait!" Peter was right behind Alfred.

"Al-" Lillie grabbed him by his sleeve, suddenly making him stop. When he stopped Peter did as well. "Don't go, we just got you two back!" She begged.

"I have to go! Kiku, he's important to me!"

"Yeah, and I want to make sure Berwald and Tino are alright!" Peter chimed in. "They were on the boat."

"But-" Lillie started to tear up and Alfred immediately felt like someone had socked him right in the chest. He hated making Lillie cry.

Then the impossible happened: "Let him go, Lillie." Arthur spoke up in a stern voice. He looked over his shoulder and at Alfred and for just a moment they were on the same level. There was a look in Arthur's eyes, like, he understood what Alfred was going through. "He and Peter would just be in the way." That's what he had said, but his eyes were saying something different: 'Do what I couldn't.'

Lillie hesitated and let him go. "Come back safely, alright?" She asked in a slightly shaky voice.

Alfred nodded. "Of course- oh, and Dad?"

Arthur turned his head over his shoulder once again.

"- I love you." Alfred took off before he could hear Arthur's reply.

Most of the people congregated away from the docks and moved a little more uptown, away from the boats, but not away from the water as they were just above the ocean wall, the only thing separating them from an unpleasant, and long dive into the sea, was railing.

"-Can you tell us about what happened?!" A news reporter (A leech, Tino dubbed them) shoved a microphone in Tino's face. "How are you taking this?!"

"No comment." Tino sweated as he pushed past the woman just as another microphone was shoved in his face. Tino, this time more out of reflex, jerked his arm up, knocking the microphone out of the other reporter's hand. "No comment!" He snarled before the man could even ask.

Everyone wanted to talk to him, and the thing was, Tino didn't want to talk. He just wanted to go home! He just wanted to rest, dammit. "Tino!" It was like a little voice from the heavens as Peter came barreling towards him. Tino suddenly smiled and ran towards Peter.

"Peter! I'm so happy to see you!" Tino's day looked just a little brighter. He quickly wrapped his arms around Peter's tiny frame. Tino scrunched his nose up at the smell of the ocean that seemed to be radiating off of Peter.

"I'm happy to see you too. I heard about the boat, are you okay?"

Tino smiled and ruffled Peter's blonde hair. "I am now." Tino felt it strange that Peter's hair was wet, in fact, it was dripping still, and he seemed out of breath like he'd been running.

"Tino- Oh." Berwald came up from behind Tino and actually looked surprised to see Peter standing there. "Peter...Where's Andersen?"

Peter looked at Berwald like he grew two heads, and for a moment Tino wanted to do so himself. "O-Oh!" Peter blinked back into reality. "I...I lost him in the crowd! Yeah! He vanished on me!"

Tino wanted to be mad at Andersen, but for some reason he couldn't. Mainly because he didn't know Andersen was supposed to be watching Peter, Berwald never mentioned it to Tino, but there was something else just nagging in the back of Tino's mind. Maybe it was Peter's sopping wet hair, the smell of the ocean, the panicked look in his eye, or maybe...just maybe, it was because the longer Tino felt himself staring at Peter, the more a thought crept into his mind. That thought being: 'He looks a lot like those twins…'

"Mr. Väinämöinen?" It was Ivan's voice that brought him back. He looked over his shoulder.

"Chief Braginsky." Tino lightly dipped his head in respect as Ivan approached.

"I'm glad to see you and all of the children are in good health. I won't lie, This situation had me worried." Ivan let out a sigh. He looked from Tino, to Berwald, then to Peter. Tino watched as Ivan did a complete double take at Peter. Peter went over to Tino and held on to his hand while watching Ivan cautiously.

"Now, who are you?" Ivan got down on one knee to look at Peter.

"... Andersen didn't tell you about Peter?" Tino didn't know why that was the first thing out of his mouth, but it was.

"Peter?" Ivan kept his face stoic, his voice steady, but his eyes were flashing a look that Tino didn't like. "Now isn't that funny." Ivan scratched at his chin.

Tino pulled Peter in close. "And why would that be funny?" Tino questioned, Berwald came over and put both of his hands on Tino's shoulders. Keeping him at bay for now.

"Well… I just happen to know someone who's missing a little brother by the name of Peter."

Tino looked down at Peter once it was said. Tino knew he should be surprised by this revelation, but he knew that he was just fooling himself into thinking that Peter wasn't a lost child. No, he wasn't surprised, but he soon became aware of the anger that was building up inside of him. At Peter? No, Peter was just a child and obviously never meant to hurt them, no, he realized he was growing angry at Andersen.

"Andersen never told us." Tino found himself saying after a few moments of silence.

Ivan tilted his head. "Andersen knew?"

Tino snorted and crossed his arms over his chest and Berwald's hands just lightly tightened on Tino's shoulders. That was apparently all the confirmation Ivan needed as he just snorted through his nose before saying: "I see… I'll have to talk to Andersen about this next time I see him… but for the time being, Peter, can I ask you a question?"

Peter looked uncomfortable but remained polite. "I guess?"

"Have you come into contact with Matthew or Liam? They both went missing."

It wasn't just Peter who visibly tensed, it was also Berwald as his hands suddenly grew uncomfortably tight against Tino's shoulders. This made Tino wiggle uncomfortably.

"...No. I haven't seen either of them." Peter whispered while keeping his head down not looking Ivan in the eye. This wasn't lost on Ivan, the lack of eye contact.

"Are you sure, little one? You aren't in any trouble, even if you had spoken to them." Ivan pried.

Tino got ready to defend Peter and to shoo Ivan away, but to his credit, Peter jerked his head up and looked Ivan dead in the eyes. "I haven't seen Matthew or Liam as of late."

Ivan hummed before ruffling Peter's hair. "I see. Well, thank you for being honest. I'll have to talk to Iryna about doing a home visit, you know. Protocol." He looked at Tino and Berwald. "But for now I have other parents to attend to."

"Right…" Tino couldn't help but grumble softly as Ivan turned his back and left. Berwald exhaled a breath he's been holding in and instantly Tino turned around and looked at Berwald. "The truth. Now." Tino growled between clenched teeth as he got up into Berwald's face.

"Not in public." Berwald's voice was soft as he tried to keep Tino calm. "I promise, Tino. We'll explain everything, just not here, not now."

Tino looked at Peter and Peter ducked his head down guiltily.

Tino just stared as the wheels in his head started to turn and grind against each other, and that was when everything just seemed to click in place for Tino. Why Peter looked so much like those twins that saved Tino, because they were brothers. Peter was one of them. That was way he was so wet and reeked of ocean water.

It was like someone had just smacked Tino in the face. His emotions turned conflicting. He was happy, happy to know the truth and what Peter was hiding, oddly blessed that Peter had chosen him and Berwald to stay with, but at the same time, he felt a bit of anger bubble in the very pit of his stomach. He felt… betrayed in a weird sense. 'I don't know if it's the shock of learning he does in fact have a family, or the shock of learning about what he was...is? He was in the water… does he know about Sven? Was he part of it- Stop it, Tino! Peter is just a kid!- But you've seen how fast they are- Did he grab Sven?'

"Tino-" Berwald came over and put a hand on Tino's shoulder, but for once Tino jerked away from his beloved husband.

"-No!" Tino suddenly hissed. "You can't just expect me to be okay with...with this bombshell!" Tino tried to keep his voice in a whisper so none of the other parents heard him. "And what's more, you knew."

"Yes." Berwald argued. "I knew. I only just found this out a couple of hours ago, and I get you're scared especially after what happened to you these last couple of hours, but Peter is harmless. He's just a child."

Tino scoffed, not at the notion, but at Berwald. "You don't think I see that? I'm upset, not blind. It's just…"

"I know. I know. Tino." Berwald lovingly cupped his hands against the sides of Tino's face. Tino relaxed a bit at Berwald's touch. "It's a lot to take in, but look at it from Peter's perspective. He's a little kid in a strange world and he came to us for support and help. Not only that, but he has an evil mer...wizard…? After him."

"..." Oh… oh.

"Why… didn't you tell me that?!" Tino blew up at Berwald and lightly pushed him back. "We can't let Peter out of our sights-..." Tino's anger shifted as he immediately whipped his head towards where Peter was standing…

Or rather where Peter should have been standing.

A nauseating sense of Deja Vu washed over Tino like a tidal wave when all he saw was an empty spot. Tino's whole body became so cold he felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on him. "Peter…?"

In an instant, Tino snapped back and he started to scan the waves of people. "Peter!" He yelled out, catching some people's attention.

"Peter!?" Berwald's voice almost seemed to bellow around them like they were in an echo chamber of sorts.

Tino's heart started to hammer away viciously as he felt on the verge of a panic attack. "No…" He put his hands on his head as his breath became erratic and the world slowed to a crawl as he scanned past the faceless people in the crowds. 'Not again, not again!' Tino felt the tears prickle in the corners of his eyes.

That was when he heard it.

The unmistakable sound of a safety whistle being blown. He heard parents groan in pain, while others covered their ears at the obnoxious trill of the whistle. Tino did neither of those things. That was Ludwig's whistle. He instantly looked towards that direction only to see a flash of red. There were gasps and screams as some of the parents went running for safety with their children in tow. The flash was so bright that out of instinct Tino shut his eyes. He felt arms suddenly pull him in close and he instantly knew it was Berwald.

Parents were still screaming in terror, someone knocked into Tino and Berwald, this made Tino reopen his eyes.

Tino truly wished he was dreaming right now, that he'd wake up and this day was one all prolonged nightmare induced by his trauma. Because as the day just kept going on it all seemed to get worse and worse. Seeing Peter being dangled above the ocean by a string of red light, threatening to fall any minute was enough to make Tino's blood boil, but seeing Ludwig go flying up in the air only seconds later- That made Tino see red and any thoughts of mercy or peace were pushed out of his mind as he charged for the man responsible.

Ludwig saw Matthew before Gilbert did, Gilbert actually focused on Antonio and Lovino and lightly broke away from Ludwig. Ludwig was more than happy to come up to Matthew, but he stopped just a few feet shy.

Ludwig knew something was off with 'Matthew' He just didn't look right. He didn't smile, talk, or be flustered like he usually would do. He looked unnaturally stoic and...looked just unnatural in general. It was hard for him to explain. But, what really tipped Ludwig off was the way Matthew had the blonde boy in his grip.

If this was Matthew's youngest brother then why did he have him tightly by the wrist like he didn't want him to escape. It wasn't until the young blonde boy looked up and his eyes were glowing red did Ludwig raise an alarm with his whistle. It was just an involuntary reaction on Ludwig's part. He didn't know how he knew, but this wasn't Matthew.

And Gilbert knew this as well. The moment he laid eyes on 'Matthew' when Ludwig blew his whistle, he didn't even hesitate, he charged and swung, but whoever this was anticipated such a blow. With a blast of light he sent Gilbert flying into Antonio. "Gilbert!" Ludwig cried and dropped his whistle as he went for his brother. There was another flash of light, maybe if Ludwig hadn't ignored the light he wouldn't have been grabbed. He didn't even know he was grabbed, all he knew was that something had his ankle and down he went. Ludwig gasped in shock when his chest hit the ground. "Gil-"

The next thing Ludwig knew was that he was weightless as he was tossed high into the air. His breath was caught in his throat as he flew for just a few seconds. It wasn't until he reached the max height did he finally catch his breath as all he heard was his own gasp flood through his ears before gravity kicked in only a second later. That was when Ludwig screamed out. 'No! I-I have to be there for Feli!' Ludwig thought of the mere idea of his impending death flooded his thoughts. There's no way he'd survive the fall, not at the height he seemed to be falling from. 'He...He needs me!-'

Something latched on to his neck, stopping his fall, but he wasn't out of the air. No, Ludwig looked down and saw the ocean just maybe two stories down. Ludwig looked up to see that Matthew didn't have him by the neck, but rather magic had him by the neck. Magic that was streaming from 'Matthew's' hands. One flow, two split streams.

Who was Ludwig kidding? This was Marius using Matthew's face without a doubt. There was a sick twisted smile on his face, showing off those fangs of his while his eyes glowed an unnatural shade of red. There was screaming from the parents, some were running towards the commotion, while others, the smarter ones, were taking their children and running for safety. Ludwig prayed Feliciano was out of there and heading for home.

Gilbert was up and on his feet, his fist clenched, ready to throw down any second. While the officers, be it coastal guard, or police officer, crowded around Matthew, guns drawn. Ready to shoot.

"Matthew?..." Officer Machado did not have his gun drawn, but he did have a hand on it, just in case, he was cautious in his approach.

Ludwig looked away and over towards Matthew's brother. He seemed… out of it. His eyes were open, but still that nasty shade of red, and he looked forward, but showed no emotion.

"Matthew-" Máximo approached, hand on his gun, but not drawn, not like the other officers around. Gilbert had to give Máximo some credit, even when posed as an actual threat, he was still hesitant to harm Matthew.

But this wasn't Matthew.

"No! It's not Mattie!" Gilbert barked at Máximo. "It's him, it's Marius! He's using Matthew as a disguise!"

"That-" Máximo growled, but Gilbert didn't let him finish.

"-Dammit, just look at him Máxi! Since when could Matthew shoot magic out of his hands!"

"I-...I don't know! I'm learning a lot of new things about Matthew-" Máximo hissed between clenched teeth.

"-He's right." Gilbert's aid came in the form of Andersen as the man pushed past a couple of officers. He looked like he crawled out of hell and back, but there was still a sort of fire in his eyes. "That's not Matthew, that asshole posed as me last night!"

"Do you hear yourselves!?" Someone called out, but just as quickly someone else, Ivan, if Gilbert was right, yelled right back:

"Look at him! Look at what he's doing! Look at the children! Enough of this. Shoot to kill-"

A giggle. That giggle turned into a laugh and that laugh turned into...well… a creepy laugh.

Gilbert turned towards Marius. Matthew's form melting off of him as he laughed. He held on to his abdomen as he just continued to laugh at all of them. His face turning red as a blush graced his cheeks. Gilbert gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Gilbert wasn't phased by this, he's seen it before, yeah, it was weird watching as his real face became revealed. Same couldn't be said for the others. Gilbert heard the sound of guns being lowered, gasps of awe and confusion, and also stifled screams of terror.

"What the fuck is so funny, asshole!" Gilbert snarled through clenched teeth. Then when Marius didn't stop laughing Gilbert switched to yelling. "You're outnumbered fifty to one! All guns are trained on you. If I were you I wouldn't be the one laughing!"

Gilbert wasn't a psychologist. He couldn't even pretend to know what was going on in Marius's demented mind, but he knew. That Marius was officially a man with nothing left to lose, Marius used to hide in the shadows, not draw attention to him, but now? Gilbert just felt uncomfortable when Marius's laughter finally started to die down and he finished it up with a happy little hum.

"Go ahead!" Marius spoke loudly and proudly and brought his arms out. "Shoot me, punch me, kill me if you must, but you all need to know something. You're not just snuffing my life out. You're hurting them." He gestured towards Ludwig and Peter.

Gilbert's stomach did flips. The children were connected by his magic. 'If he loses his grip… there's no way they'd survive that fall.'

"You goddamned coward…" Tino spoke. He was to Marius's right. "You absolute coward!" Tino screamed in rage. "You'd hurt children to make yourself safe!"

"Maybe I am!" Marius screamed right back at Tino. "Because you know what? It doesn't end with just them!"

It was a statement that struck fear into everyone standing there as with a wave of his hands more bodies connected by magic rose to join the children. Seeing Matthew amongst those bodies, still in his merman form rise with Liam struck fear in Gilbert. Both of them looked… emotionally dead as they just stared blankly ahead. There was a third body someone Gilbert didn't recognize.

But Tino did.

"Eduard!"

It took both Berwald and Feliks to hold Tino back, he screamed and cried to be released but both of them had him in a weird triple hug making sure to keep him in place.

"So, shoot me! I dare you…"

So, this was unintentional. I actually looked up what the name Marius means. It means "Sea." That was an accident, but a happy accident! It actually has several different meanings. For Latin it could mean "Sea" but it could also just mean "Male." Either way, pretty neat!