Uniquely The Same - Luca (Pixar) Fanfic

Taking The Blow

"Giulia!" I cried, following her as she left the mob and entered back into her house, "Please – I can explain!"

"Luca!" She replied back, angry and slightly heartbroken. She had just come into the kitchen and I was close behind her. I could hear the sounds of the town folks' crowd coming our way and I slammed the door shut quickly, locking it and blocking them from getting me.

Giulia turned just as she entered her room, and looked at me so disappointed and ashamed.

"Please..." I told her, closing her door behind me and approaching her calmly, "Please... hear me out."

"Why would you take the blame for something Alberto did?"

"Because-"

"Hmm?!"

"He did it because of US!"

"Wait, what?" Giulia replied astonished with my bizarre answer. I slowly came closer to her, but it was then we could hear the banging at her door and she looked at me, nodding her head and quickly pulling opened her window.

We climbed out of it to the treehouse and slipped down the trunk. She pulled some heavy clothes that were on a washing line and we both hid our faces in disguise with what we had.

We rushed past the crowds that were jeering and shouting in rage. We ran to the sea, looking like a couple of old ladies that were covered up to the brim. As we reached the docks, Giulia slowly removed her face covering and I looked into her eyes, seeing so much anger.

"Now, tell me." She said, her hands landing on her hips in rage, "What do we have to do with the fish farm? Hmm?"

"He did because he was upset... being left behind... feeling like no one was really there for him."

"But that's ridiculous, Luca."

"Not to him..." I said and sighed heavily, removing the fabric from my own face as well as I continued, "And then I went and called him a stupid kid! I'm the true idiot here."

"Don't say that," Giulia said, her voice becoming soft as she pat me on the shoulder and I looked with welling tears around my eyes at her, "This will be fixed... everything will be okay."

"There HE IS!"

The two of us jumped up startled, seeing the vicious eyes of the fishermen as they stormed out towards us and Giulia looked at me horrified, suddenly pushing me off the ground and into the sea.

I felt my skin ripple as blue scales suddenly began to cover me, and I looked up at her in utter disbelief.

"Go, Luca! Go!" She yelled at me, blocking the men from charging to the pier to throw their harpoons, "JUST GO!"

I watched them from the deep ocean, sadly turning around and disappearing back underneath the reckless waves.

I soon reached my parents' cave and mum and dad were no where to be seen. I soon realized, I was alone here and that they... they would be coming for me. For us.

I couldn't put my family in danger, and I knew there was only one thing I could do. Leave, and let the fishermen follow me... draw them away from the merfolk. Protect my kind, all because a silly erratic decision that Alberto had made.

I got a small bag, filling it with the bare essentials, and began to head deep into the ocean blue. But the further I went away from the land and sea of my home... the more I imagined I was hearing his voice.

Alberto...

I looked behind me, seeing a blue shadowy figure coming closer away in the distance, I slowly squinted my eyes to get a better view.

"Luca!"

"Alberto?" I whispered and he soon reached me, looking at me startled as he floated there beside me.

"What are you doing?!" He asked and I gulped, gazing at him as I was hurting inside.

"I'm leading them away from our ocean village."

"You really think that will stop them?!" Alberto asked, suddenly yanking my bag away, and I reached quickly for it but he held it too far away for me to grab, "They want blood, Luca. And not just yours, but all sea monsters. It's just now they have an excuse." He took a deep breath in, and exhaled out heavily, whispering, "Because of my STUPID mistake!"

"So what can we do?" I asked him, worry beginning to bubble up in my soul, "What can we do?"

"Not we. I." He replied and closed his eyes, sighing out in defeat, "I caused this. I can fix it."

"But you said-"

"IT'S MY FAULT." He yelled at me, looking at me with cold but despairing eyes, "Not yours, never yours."

After he said that he suddenly rammed his body deep into a swimming sprint and swam with all he had back to Portorosso.

I knew I had to follow him. I literally had no choice. My gut, my heart, and my head all agreed. Better to die a martyr than live a coward.

My tail whipped about quickly as I swam after him and watched as the shoreline and pier came into murky view from the dark water.

Alberto literally burst through the waves as he landed on the docks with a roll before getting immediately to his feet. I copied and got up just as quickly. I stiffened in horror when I saw a sight I hoped never to see again. The fishermen were piling their boats with spears and nets. There were about ten boats all prepared and ready for this homicidal holocaust. I quickly glanced my eyes back over to where Alberto was. As he had climbed up next to the fountain, I could barely hear his voice as he yelled the words.

"PLEASE, LISTEN TO ME!"

But his words were drowned out by all the noise and commotion. They didn't care about him. They all thought it was my fault – and it was then I realized what I had to do. I quickly stood in the water of the fountain, pushing Alberto away as I let the sprinkling fountain wash over me and uncover my blue skin once more to the naked eye.

"HEY!" I screamed so loud, my voice echoed throughout the town. All the men turned to look at me, and I gripped my fists tight, willing to take any punishment if it meant the protection of my loved ones.

The men gasped in rage the moment they saw me and began to run at me. I saw it coming but I didn't react fast enough. The thing being a harpoon as it was struck through the air directly at me. I closed my eyes quickly in reflex, preparing for the strike but I shortly realized that the pain... wasn't there.

I peeked open one eye, then another when I saw who had taken my blow.

Alberto was standing before me, blocking me from the men and my jaw dropped when I saw that he had been stabbed with the spear.

"Alberto..." I whispered and he turned his head, looking back at me with a sad smile.

"It's okay..." He told me with a nod before he collapsed backward into the fountain's clear water... and it was soon filling with red blood.

The men and mob seemed to come to their senses the second they saw this, and I held Alberto's unconscious head on my lap, screaming at them to "GET HELP!"

The rest of the night was an erratic blur. All I could remember was Alberto being carried to a small doctor's practice and the doors being closed, leaving all of us outside and out of the loop.

Deep down I couldn't help feeling this was all because of me. I was the one that had caused this all. I wanted to die... to stop feeling this pain that was within. But the longer I stood there at the closed doors, the more I got thinking of the person who really needed to be here.

Alberto's father.

Marco.

He needed to be here. If anything worse happened to his boy, he needed to know.

And I needed to tell him.