"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

The terrified shriek from Wooyoung pierced the night air and made everyone who could turn to look at him.

Hongjoong had just finished pulling himself out from the truck cab, with Jongho's help, when he'd heard it.

He'd also heard all the gunshots...

Fear boiled hot in his veins as he turned to see San fall over the edge of the cliff.

"H-Hey!" Jongho called, bringing his attention back to what he'd been doing, which was holding onto Jongho's legs while the boy entered the cab and worked to pull Yeosang loose from the wreckage.

The impact from Seonghwa's car had forced the entire truck to tip onto Yeosang's side. Shattered glass and shredded metal had exploded in all directions, slicing their skin.

Hongjoong knew he was bleeding in several locations, but thankfully his body's adrenaline had kicked in and he couldn't feel anything.

Yeosang, on the other hand, had a large trail of blood running down the front of his face and a few bloody spots on his arms.

He looked dazed too... So much so that he just sat there while Jongho tried to undo his seatbelt. His hand drifted back and forth, as if he were trying to unbuckle himself but his hand didn't know what to do.

"Sangie? Sangie, can you hear me?" The Jongho said, his voice strong yet still wavering a little. "Please, Sangie can you say something or take my hand?"

The truck groaned from all the movement. Hongjoong sucked in a breath and adjusted his grip again.

"Wooyoung! NO!!" Mingi called, causing Hongjoong to jerk his head up to see the prince reaching for Wooyoung at the same time Yunho started grappling with Seonghwa to protect them.

"SAN! SAN! LET ME GO! SAAAAN!!" Wooyoung clawed at Mingi's arms, doing everything he could to free himself.

All while Seonghwa was now beating Yunho into the ground...

His heart ached watching it.

"Go help them!" Jongho grunted below him, twisting to slip from Hongjoong's grasp and ease himself into the cab. "I've got him!"

Hongjoong didn't need to be told twice. He launched himself from on top of the truck, yelping when he slammed to the ground. His legs crumpled beneath him, giving way and forcing him to his knees. But he pushed himself through it and charged at Seonghwa.

Red clouded his vision, getting darker and darker each time Seonghwa's fist connected with Yunho's face.

It was easy to see that the merman had no idea how to fight in this mortal body without the power of water behind him.

Hongjoong wouldn't let him suffer anymore at the hands of that monster.

Part of his mind registered Mingi's cry of anguish and his eyes flicking up to see Wooyoung leaping over the side of the cliff, but that was merely an afterthought as he tackled Seonghwa to the ground.

They rolled twice before the older yelled at him and pinned him to the ground. "How DARE you! After EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR YOU!!"

Hongjoong roared, then jerked his head forward, connecting it with his former boss's. They both hissed with pain and shifted away.

The move didn't work like how Hongjoong had wanted, though, because it just allowed Seonghwa to stand up and start running for the cliff edge.

With another shout, Hongjoong hurried after him. "No! I won't let you hurt them anymore!"

Seonghwa spun around, the back of his hand connecting with Hongjoong's cheek. "You worthless, spineless, piece of shit! How DARE you turn against me." Another smack. Hongjoong whimpered and stumbled back. "I gave you eternal life! Something men would kill for! Something you BEGGED for!" Another smack. "Now get back in your place! On your fucking knees!"

The man raised his hand to slap Hongjoong one more time, but the contact never happened.

"Don't. Touch him." Yunho growled. His large hand squeezed Seonghwa's wrist and held it there. Rage turned his eyes dark.

"Get your filthy hands off me, you disgusting fish!" Seonghwa tried to rip his hand away, but Yunho just growled again, then twisted his arm around so that it was behind his back and Seonghwa was now in front of him.

In a quick motion, Yunho also grabbed the man's other arm and pinned both of them. "I would shut my mouth, if I were you." His voice dropped another octave, so threatening and hostile that even Hongjoong shivered.

A sudden flash of lighting illuminated the darkness around them, followed almost immediately by a deafening boom of thunder.

It drowned out whatever profanities Seonghwa had started to say and made all of them flinch.

Then the rain started. The downpour was almost instantaneous, soaking them with freezing cold water.

Hongjoong couldn't help but tremble where he stood. Despite the rain, the hairs on his arms and neck stood up straight as Yunho forced Seonghwa onto his knees.

Then the merman looked over his shoulder to where Mingi was on his hands and knees looking over the cliff.

Where both Wooyoung and San had fallen from...

"Mingi!" Yunho called for him, the power behind his voice fading.

The prince's head fell in defeat right before he rose to his feet and marched over to them.

Even in human form, he moved with all the grace Hongjoong would expect from someone with royal blood. He was used to seeing it with Seonghwa, but Mingi...

Mingi was enchanting.

Especially when his magic sparked angrily over his skin, mingling with the static from the storm and making Hongjoong wonder if Mingi was the cause of it.

"Unhand me! Now!" Seonghwa roared, continuing to struggle. But it was all for naught.

With smooth, gliding steps, Mingi stopped in front of him and dug his nails into the man's forehead. It forced Seonghwa to tip his head back. His eyes rolled back so far they turned white... While blood trickled down from where Mingi was holding him.

Then he screamed.

A painful, unholy, unearthly wail that made Hongjoong stumble back a couple of steps.

He's spent so long serving Seonghwa... so long thinking he was going to spend eternity with the man... hearing him scream like that was heartbreaking. He wanted to scream too. Or cry. Or run...

But then...

Arms. Strong, warm, protecting arms surrounded him and pulled him into Yunho's chest.

The merman tried to turn his head away, but neither one could look away from the scene in front of them.

Seonghwa, still on his knees, was leaning back. His arms were lifted from his sides slightly, fingers gnarled and twisted, and he was... glowing?

A faint green light seemed to emanate from beneath his skin. It started at his stomach, then filtered through the rest of his body.

And Mingi... He was glowing too, a brilliant, deep blue. A blue that reminded Hongjoong of the ocean on a beautiful, sunny day.

When the glowing grew to be too bright for Hongjoong's eyes to handle, he pressed his face against Yunho's chest, which was joined by Yunho cupping the back of his head and holding him tighter.

Suddenly, the screaming stopped.

Hongjoong chanced turning his head to peek at Seonghwa and stood up straight again when the older sagged before falling to the ground.

"What did you do to me?" Seonghwa rasped. He clutched at his own chest, then paused to look at his trembling, pale hands. "What... What did you do to me?!"

Mingi glared down his nose at the man. "I've only given you what you deserve." His deep voice rumbled as one with the thunder. "Even though I would love nothing more than to slit your throat and watch your blood seep into the earth."

The prince started to walk toward Hongjoong and Yunho when Seonghwa fell forward and grabbed his ankle. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

With a fed up scoff, Mingi kicked him away and said, "I took away every ounce of magic within your body. I took away any ability for you to be able to use magic ever again. You will live your worst fear day after day as you slowly make your way toward your inevitable death."

"NO! NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"

"It's already done." Mingi didn't look back.

He closed the gap between himself and Yunho within seconds. The two of them pressed their foreheads together and inhaled deeply, greeting each other in a way that seemed more intimate to Hongjoong than anything else, even as he still stood there in Yunho's arms.

The moment was over quickly, though, when Yunho pulled back. "Wooyoung!"

Urgency rose in all three of them as they ran to the edge of the cliff, ignoring where Seonghwa was ripping at the ground beneath him.

But even as they looked over the side and looked at the darkness beneath them, Hongjoong couldn't help but fear for the worst...

Even if San had survived being shot...

There was no way he had survived the fall.

.

.

.

.

If he'd been in his right mind, Wooyoung would have felt bad for how much he had most likely hurt Mingi. He hadn't held back clawing at his friend's arms, but he had to.

He had to save San.

Wooyoung jumped off the cliff as soon as he freed himself. He shifted midair, letting his magic rip through him. It sizzled, knowing it was about to be back where it belonged again and charged him with power.

The weight of his tail allowed him to fall faster than San, who was halfway to the water now, and gaining speed.

He cried out, reaching for his human and straining to grab him.

It happened mere feet above the water and Wooyoung's magic reacted, just like he trusted it to do, forming a protective shield around himself and San as he pulled San to him and twisted around so that he could hit the water first.

The splash they made was gigantic, displacing the water that just rushed back to engulf them and welcome Wooyoung home.

And he truly felt it, deep down.

He was home.

After so long... Wooyoung was finally back in the ocean!

He wanted to badly to swim and swim and swim. He wanted to speak with the dolphins. He wanted to look at all the coral. He wanted to swim back to Aquatis.

But he pushed all that aside because he needed to protect his human.

He quickly covered San in the spell that would allow him to breathe underwater. Then sank down lower to get away from the turbulent water at the surface.

As if sensing he was there, bioluminescent fish started to gather. It was mostly jellyfish, huge groups of jellyfish that all bobbed in place, giving Wooyoung light.

"Thank you." He said to them before glancing down at San. His heart instantly leapt to his throat.

Blood flowed openly out of a wound in his human's chest. From what he could see, San only had one injury, but there was so much blood... so much blood...

It turned the dark water red around them.

"Sannie? Sannie, please, wake up!" Wooyoung shook him gently.

But San's limbs just floated uselessly in the water...

Wooyoung leaned over to press his ear over San's heart and...

"San?! San!! No, no! San!!" Wooyoung screamed into the dark void. He turned so he could hold San in one arm, then let his other hand hover above San's heart. Calling upon his magic, he let it flow out of him and into San.

He'd give it all if he needed to...

"P-Please, San. Wake up!" The merman screamed. His tail flicked back and forth underneath him, giving away his panic and stress. "Wake up!!"

The fish around him started to circle, getting closer and closer with each pass. He could sense the more dangerous jellyfish staying on the outside, forming a protective barrier around them.

And he knew why.

There was so much blood in the water, it was only a matter of time before sharks started to swarm.

Wooyoung whimpered and pulled more of his magic out, funneling it all into San.

It had to work...

It had to...

He would ask for nothing ever again.

If only he could restart San's heart.