Wooyoung couldn't take it anymore. He was in too much pain and he didn't want to give the humans anymore of himself.

So that night, when he was once more grabbed by the claw, he decided to fight back.

He allowed the thing to pull him above the surface of the water, but when he got close to the humans, he hissed angrily at them and swiped at them with his fingers. His nails weren't long or deadly by any means, but it was enough to make the humans cry out and jump back.

The one controlling the claw was startled enough that he accidentally pressed the button that opened it.

Wooyoung fell back into the water with a huge splash and he instantly darted for the tunnel so they couldn't catch him as easily.

He heard the claw enter the water behind him again and concentrated on finding his magic. It was a risk, but he needed to do something...

Once he slipped into the narrowed tunnel, the merman pressed himself against the rock wall and made himself as flat as possible.

A few of the bigger fish and moved to protect him as well, acting as a shield against the claw.

The contraption was a formidable foe though... it snaked its way into the tunnel and stopped right in front of Wooyoung, then clicked its claws a couple of times.

Wooyoung shook his head in defiance and searched within himself. It was hard. It had been so long since using his magic he could feel that it had sealed itself away. But he wouldn't give up.

The claw slowly moved closer and as it moved to grab him, Wooyoung threw his hands up in front of his face and a small, invisible barrier appeared between him and the claw.

If anyone was watching, it would merely look like the claw was too big to be able to grab him with where he had placed himself.

Then something surprising happened.

A few of the zebra sharks and other species of sharks stated attacking the snake-like part of the claw. They ripped at it with their teeth and pulled chunks of it away.

The humans were quick to recall it and Wooyoung knew it was only a matter of time before they appeared in the tank themselves to try and take him out.

A ripple in the water caught his attention and the little crabs who had helped him earlier appeared carrying a longer, pointed rock.

Wooyoung dropped to the sand and held out his hands for the crabs to scuttle onto and he deposited them on the rock wall for their protection after taking the pointed rock for himself.

With a nod, Wooyoung started swimming out of the tunnel. He would be cornered if he stayed in there, at least in the open tank he had room to maneuver and try to get away.

The sharks stayed close by his side, rubbing against his tail and arms for a brief second before circling him.

Several splashes alerted him to the humans and Wooyoung tightened his grip on the rock. Each one had the long poles they used to restrict his arms and tail, giving them the advantage with distance, but Wooyoung knew he was faster.

What he wasn't expecting, though, was for one of them to pull out a little, palm sized black box that, when they pushed the button on top, emitted a sound that immobilized everything thing in the tank.

Wooyoung immediately seized up and dropped the rock to slam his hands over his ears. He couldn't even scream. Whatever the high pitched frequency was, it trapped him within his own body.

All of the fish and sharks floated around in the water, unable to move as well, while the humans quickly came and grabbed Wooyoung with their poles. Once he was contained, the human holding the black box let go of the button and all of the fish wriggled to life again and quickly darted away.

The humans were able to easily drag Wooyoung from the water now. He was too scared to try and fight back and... he hated that they had harmed the other creatures too...

"Big mistake." The head scientist growled when Wooyoung was deposited on the platform. He reached down to grab the merman's jaw and squeezed until Wooyoung cried out in pain and tried to pull away. "No water tonight. Let's see what It does with that."

Wooyoung felt his heart beat faster and he did his best to pretend he didn't understand what the man had said. A night with no water would potentially kill him.

When he was lifted off the ground, it took everything in him not to cry and call out for San. He wanted to see his human so much... Why hadn't San tried to free him yet? And Jongho?

After a few moments, he we dumped into an shallow, empty tank with a painful thud. His body felt so heavy without water to keep him buoyant. And it didn't help when the humans descended in him immediately and started pulling scales from his tail again.

"Let's take a skin sample tonight." The head scientist said with a sneer. "Get a tray below him to catch his blood too."

Several men wrestled with Wooyoung so that one arm was tied behind his back, with a rope that was looped around the end of his tail so that he was immobile, while his other arm was pulled from his body so that most of it hung over the side of the tank. A role was tied around his wrist and anchored to the wall, making it so that he couldn't bend it at all.

Then one approached with a knife and carved a small piece of flesh from his forearm. It was no bigger than his thumbnail, but Wooyoung screamed the entire time and flopped uselessly in the shallow tank. Blood started to ooze down his arm and drip into the tray they had provided.

And then he was left there. Wooyoung could already feel himself drying out...

He was in for a long night.

Especially when he heard the humans talking about making new combinations. They were searching for something. Some kind of miracle only he could provide.

It terrified the merman. If they discovered whatever it was they were looking for, he would never be free. Especially once they figured out that his scales would grow back. The missing skin he wasn't so sure about... but his tail was an endless supply of magic.

He glanced down at the new holes in his precious tail. The purple sheen he was so proud of was faded and pale. So was the red that made up the bottom of it, although right now it was hard to tell what was natural red, and what was blood.

It didn't take long for him to be lying in a pool of his own blood too... which the humans came to scoop out for their use as well.

After while, Wooyoung could feel his strength fading. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open.

A single tear slid down his cheek when he thought about how much he wanted to be home right now.

It was a matter of seconds before a scientist harvested that as well...

Mingi signed for what was probably the thousandth time that night since he had tried settling into bed. Yunho was pressed against his side with one arm wrapped around his stomach and head resting in his shoulder.

But for the first time that only provided a small comfort.

Wooyoung was supposed to return two days ago with the other members of their pod. Or, that was the soonest he could have returned at least. They always gave a window for any detours or incidents that might have happened, but when the convoy didn't make an appearance Mingi instantly had a sinking feeling fall over his shoulders.

It didn't help that the number of tiger sharks in the area was still on the rise so almost of his day was spent trying to figure out what had caused the change. Protecting his people was his priority, especially since it would rest solely on his shoulders soon.

That was

They had also expected representatives from other pods to start arriving any time now. His father was only getting worse. Most days he could barely carry on a conversation with Mingi.

They were running out of time.

When Mingi signed again, Yunho shifted next to hun and lifted his head up. "Min, if you don't stop sighing you're never going to sleep."

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"I know. I'm worried about him too." Yunho lowered his head back down and hugged Mingi tighter. "But he's still within the window." The way Yunho's voice tapered off made Mingi think that there was more to be said, but the unspoken statement weighed heavily on them.

Wooyoung was smart. He would be ok.

But when three more days passed and no one came back from the convey or arrived from other pods.

Now Yunho was starting to worry too. He spent several hours a day by the front gates staring into the open ocean.

And uneasy silence fell over their entire pod when mates didn't come home.

But the biggest surprise came two days later when a messenger arrived inquiring about the health of their king.

Mingi received him in the throne room. His entire body was tense with stress and he couldn't stop tapping his fingers against his scales.

"Your Highness." The visiting mermaid greeted with a bow of her head. "I come with a message from Pod Pearling. Our queen wishes to know how your father is doing. It has been awhile since we've received an update and she has expressed her concern." The guards who accompanied her nodded their heads as well.

The Prince felt like he was being sucked into the abyss at her words. Pearling was supposed to be the second stop on the convoys journey... "I- Y-Your queen isn't w-with you?" He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Everything slowed down as the mermaid shook her head. "No..."

"We... We sent a convoy with a s-summons... two months ago."

The mermaid lifted a hand to cover her mouth. "We never received it. And we stopped by Kelpa Pod to stock up in supplies before coming here. They hadn't heard of any updates either."

Mingi couldn't stop the strangled cry that came from him at her words. He sank to the sea floor and covered his mouth with both hands.

Yunho was by his side immediately, embracing him with all the strength he possessed.

"This entire time..." Mingi whispered into his mate's shoulder. "He's been missing since the very beginning..."

"I know..." Yunho forced out. A few more guards gathered around them, as well as the staff working in the palace that day.

"I'm so sorry." The mermaid offered. "I wish I didn't have to bring such poor news to you." She spoke with a gentleness to her that made Mingi understand why she was a messenger for her pod. "I know my queen well, I'm sure she will offer whatever help you may need."

"I just n-need to find them." Mingi almost choked on his words and he forced his eyes closed. "Y-Yun... organize a search party. Take as many as you can"

All Yunho had to do was look at his guards for them to hurry off and begin preparations. Time was of the essence now. Every second they delayed put the chances of them not finding anything further at risk.

Although it had been two months... Mingi's stomach churned at the thought, so much so that he was afraid he would throw up.

Two months.

Members of his pod had been missing for two months and he had no idea...

And now he didn't know what he would do if they couldn't find them.

Wooyoung... He didn't know if he would ever be the same if he couldn't find Wooyoung.