It was night on the surface, but the faint moonlight breached the surface of the water and reached Marco's face. He was way too close to the place of his capture yet he was still too far to see where Sanji went. Floating in the dark waters, he couldn't shake the regret of leaving that human behind. It was eating him from the inside like a disease and he couldn't feel anything past it. Anything except the worry for his brother; the stupid little brother who just couldn't learn from his mistakes.

Still, he managed to feel repulsed as well. He didn't save the freckled man nor could he move closer to the surface to help his own brother. He was useless and weak. The cold seeped into his skin and he shuddered; what if Sanji was caught just like him? One moment of carelessness was all it took to find himself tangled in ropes and dragged out of the sea. The images of Sanji in such a situation made his heart clench and he couldn't just stay back.

With a swift flick of his tail, Marco started ascending towards the surface, any kind of fear he might have felt now left behind. Realizing he wasn't as close to the surface as he thought, he swam faster until a shimmering light appeared before him.

He would recognize Sanji's scales anywhere; they seemed to reflect and strengthen even the smallest amount of light. Marco stopped moving, relief washing over him at the sight of the younger blond. Sanji was safe.

"Marco! what are you doing here?" Sanji called before finally reaching his older brother. He continued, however, before Marco could reply. "Never mind, I found someone who will help us free your human!"

Sanji was beyond excited and his words didn't make much sense. He found someone? And they were rescuing the freckled human?

"He's a friend of your freckled man and he'll release him! Come with me, we should help him!" Sanji was pulling at his hand trying to drag him up with excitement evident on his face. He was serious.

Pulling his arm sharply out of Sanji's grip, Marco watched as the younger merman's face turned from excitement to confusion.

"Don't you want to help him?" he asked and Marco could see the disappointment on his brother's face.

"We can't go up there and get ourselves caught! How can you even trust a human you never met before?" Marco asked and immediately noticed the hypocrisy of his words. It clearly wasn't lost on the younger blond either.

"You did too," Sanji's voice was quiet and the look on his face seemed to freeze the water surrounding them. "He helped you and now he needs the same kind of help."

"We can't go up there alone and without a plan! There's too many of them!" Marco screamed at the other. Sanji was too stubborn for his own good most of the time.

"I have a plan and I'm going back!" Sanji screamed back and an inexplicable rage rose in Marco's chest as he shouted back.

"Fine, then go while I figure out a real plan!"

With that, the older merman turned and descended into the darker water. He was too blinded by anger over his brother's carelessness to turn and check if the other was even following him. It didn't matter, he wouldn't be able to get Sanji back to their home no matter what until they at least attempted to save the young human. Marco doubted Sanji even thought it through; where would the human go? There was no way for him to go under water with them. He smiled at the thought of taking the odd man with him and suddenly the solution seemed as clear as day.

Quickening his pace, Marco swam further and further into the darkness, his eyes long since accustomed to it. It wasn't long before he saw the two familiar blue lights before him. He swam towards them, reaching them sooner than he had expected and nodded to the two guards holding the glowing crystals as he darted between them, entering the cave that led to their kingdom.

It was a shallow tunnel, pitch black and fairly narrow, but he passed it swiftly only to emerge over the city they called The New World. The mass of crystals lining the high ceiling of the enormous cave was dim, mirroring the moonlight that was shining over the surface. There was enough light for him to know his way around and to notice there was no one close by. He hurried past dark houses and made his way toward the palace, crossing a well known path.

He was greeted by more guards the closer he got to his destination, but they didn't spare him a second glance; they all knew him too well and it wasn't really odd to see him around the palace at random times. Marco just hoped he would find the old man awake. No matter how much he wanted to save that human and return the favor, he needed the kings permission first. He was ashamed at his earlier behavior and his reluctance to go back for the man. It was unclear, even to him, what it was that drew him in to that particular human or what the human saw in him, but there was only one way to save him and he would do it. Having to rely on an unknown human was less than ideal, but Sanji seemed to have a surprising amount of trust for the stranger and Marco would have to respect that. After all, Sanji didn't trust easily.

Finally reaching the inside of the palace, Marco slowed his pace a bit, but not completely. The massive golden doors were just down the hall, but he felt as if he were wasting time unnecessarily. Momentarily forgetting his manners or common sense, he burst through the doors with only the hope that the old man was awake on his mind.

"Marco?" a booming voice asked and Marco was immediately struck by relief. "What are you doing at this time?" the king asked.

"I need your help," he said. "And permission."

After he had heard the story of Marco's capture and release, the old man could guess what the permission was for; after all there weren't that many things his son would need to ask permission for. He was anticipating something of the kind, anyway, from the moment the blond returned with his skin covered in rope burns and told them of the human he owed his life to.

"You have my permission," the old man said and watched as Marco's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't even asked for anything yet! "How can I help?" he asked when the surprise faded from the blond's face and his eyes filled with hope.

"I need a group of our guardians to come with me," he said and hoped the man he gladly called his father would oblige. "We've done it before, we can take the humans down and they won't hunt us anymore," Marco spoke with conviction, thinking of an approach that would persuade the old man to let some of his men come to the surface so close to land. They usually stayed in the open sea, far from land and countless humans.

"Take Izo and Robin," the king said. "They have a few others ready right now. You can leave as soon you've found them."

Marco could barely keep the surprise and overwhelming joy from his face. He hardly managed a nod of gratitude before he turned to the door.

"Marco," the old man spoke again. "Robin has what you need."

He nodded again and darted out of the room. The old man knew him too well, it seemed. The relief he felt moments ago was slowly changing into doubt. Was the freckled human still alive? Was it all futile? The other humans were anything but friendly and forgiving even to their own kind, if the way they treated the young man was any indication. His heart was swelling with fear, this time for the human who basically took his place in captivity, but he regret was still there. The regret of leaving him behind and running like a coward. Marco was painfully aware that he needed to make it right and also stop Sanji from doing something stupid. His only wish was that they all made it out of this alive. At least those of them that mattered.

For the first time in his life, Marco felt like all the pressure from the water surrounding him would crush his body. Still, he knew it wasn't the water; rather, it was the weight of his regrets. He couldn't get that haunting smile out of his head, the image of a smiling young man being tied up burned into his brain for eternity, probably. It didn't really dawn on him until then that he wanted to save the human not because of a debt, but because there was something there between them. The old man must have figured it out as well, seeing as he gave his permission without even asking what it was for.

Marco was surprised by voices coming from around the corner. He cleared his thoughts as he approached them, knowing full well who it was. They were waiting for him; eight of their best. With Robin and Izo in the lead, he expected nothing less from the kings guardians. All of them wore strings of pearls and crystals in their hair or around their necks which only served to make them more hypnotizing, more beautiful. That was their main weapon and the reason they would be going with them.

"Commander," they greeted him and immediately lined up, ready to go. Pointing out his rank only served to shame him more; he was a commander yet he couldn't stop himself from going outside of his domain and getting himself caught. His main priority was to protect the king at all times, not wander close to humans. He should have indeed known better, yet he couldn't help but think, on occasion, that he was somehow drawn to the very man he was about to save. The world above the surface was never that appealing to him before, prompting him to remain so far from it instead of joining his friends who patrolled the very borders of the ocean.

There was no need to dwell on such things, however, he had other business to attend to. Robin approached him carefully and without a word, reached out with her hand balled into a fist. He took what she offered him with a silent thanks before he motioned for them to start moving. Marco took the lead through the kingdom, towards the entrance where the same two guards remained. It was still dark as they swam upwards in silence, their pace relaxed as each of them waited for the signal that would start their attack.

Written by MyLadyDay