Dark Waters ||| ATEEZ AU

V

Yunho remembers being with Yeosang in the water till he suddenly lost his consciousness. He felt someone keeping him afloat and after what felt like seconds in his daze, he is laying on the sand. He would be puzzled if it wasn't for the blue-haired mermaid next to him when he wakes up completely. Her eyes are a soft violet color while her fins and tail are all coated in blue scales. Yunho backs away from her in fear but the mermaid puts her hands up in surrender.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I saved you. Sorry that I had to charm you but I didn't want you to freak out and drown." She speaks in a small but soft voice. Yunho relaxes a bit since she does look harmless and she hasn't moved from where she is sitting on the rock with her tail tucked neatly underneath her.

"Then why did your kin destroyed our ship? If it was your intention to attack us from the start why did you save me?" He asks seriously. Just because he has relaxed a bit, doesn't mean his guard is down.

"You need to save your friends. Damien took them and he is gonna turn them soon. This is not the way it should be done." She responds but Yunho is curious. She sounds so desperate and scared and he wants to know why.

"Who is Damien and what is he doing? Turn my friends to what?" He slowly panics. Is that guy gonna hurt them? Kill them? Is Jongho okay? He feels his blood running cold at the possibility of Jongho leaving him before he can confess his feelings. The mermaid takes a deep breath, watching him with pity.

"Damien is the merman that took your friends. His plan is to turn them into our kin but they will be more powerful than us." She sighs and closes her eyes for a second.

"I don't understand..." Yunho trails uncertain and she gives him a sympathetic smile. Yunho thinks back to how Mingi run-up to the deck, followed by Seonghwa and San. Are they all captured?

"To sum it up for you, not all mermaids have powers. Yeah sure we can cast some illusions and charm people but all to a limit. Only the mermaids and mermen with pure mermaid bloodlines have extraordinary powers. What Damien is trying to do is turn people with compatible genes to our kin." She informs and Yunho's eyes open wide.

"And how is he able to do that?" He asks intrigued. He is sure that if Mingi was here, he would be amazed by this discovery.

"First he tests them. He passes them air, that only we are able to breathe. It's what allows us to live in the water. If they have compatible genes with us then they are able to breathe underwater like us. If not they will drown. That's why both of your friends are lucky. Then he will inject them with pure mermaid blood so they get powers. He wants to raise people like that for his own plans. Our kin is dying. Everyone hunts us and there are only a few of us left. He wants to change things for us but he is doing it wrong by turning people against their will. He even killed one of the pureblood mermaids when she refused to give him her blood or the pendant you guys found. It responds to mermaid powers and that's why he wants it. To find out who is special and who's not. By taking that pendant with you, you guys made yourselves his new targets." She finishes, studying Yunho's face. Yuhno himself doesn't know how to comprehend what the mermaid just revealed to him.

"They are still okay though, right? Even if Damien turn them as you say, will they die? If we are too late, can we turn them back to normal somehow? Where does he keep them?" His voice comes out desperate. He needs to find them as soon as possible.

"I don't know where he keeps them exactly since I and my friend decided to save you and another blonde male. She warned him to keep off the ground as you should. Since only male mermen can test people for compatible genes, they can shift to humans once they are completely dry. If your friends weren't once humans they wouldn't be able to change back. Since they are, I guess that won't be a problem." She informs with a small smile. Yunho then stands up abruptly but the mermaid stops him when he takes a step for the woods.

"Take this with you. Wear it at all times. Hold your friend's hands and it will take you away from them to somewhere safe." A light purple ring is thrown his way and he does as told. He hastily says a genuine thank you to the mermaid before disappearing in the woods. Time is not his friend right now.

Yunho stopped running to reserve his energy as the sun disappeared, leaving only darkness around him except the half-moon that barely illuminated the path in front of him. He thinks that he should take a breather when he spots a fire in the distance. Someone is there and it could be the rest of his friends. He picks up the pace and as he nears, voices yelling can be heard. All familiar of course.

"We need to run now!" It was Mingi's voice, no doubt. Yunho sees them running by him in the dark with four other figures chasing them. He feels glad that the mermaid saved him and informed him of what's going on. He is relieved to know that his friends are alright for now. They keep running Yunho notices toward the fire he spotted earlier. More distressed sounds are heard when they reach it and he sees the rest of ateez gathered around the fire. All except Seonghwa.

"Mingi, Wooyoung you guys are okay!?" Hongjoong says sleepily as he just woke up. Yunho sees the bandage that's around his left leg and knows that he won't be able to run. Mingi doesn't have time to warn the rest to get up when one of the men that pursued them yanks him back. Wooyoung helps him out of that guy's hold but gets captured instead. Wooyoung pushes Mingi to the others as the rest unknown men come to the view.

Yunho steps out of the shadows quickly and runs to the shocked faces of his team, grabbing Hongjoong's and San's hands. He doesn't want to leave Wooyoung behind but it's better to have to rescue one person rather than let everyone get captured. He yells for the rest to hold hands as well, motioning to the ring but Yeosang dashes for Wooyoung's attacker that is dragging him away. The man releases his hold on him when Yeosang scratches his face. He then takes ahold of Wooyoung's hand and runs up to the others but before Wooyoung has the time to hold Mingi's hand, Yeosang gets tackled to the ground.

"Go!" He screams and Yunho mutters an apology before they are teleported away.