Ocean's Descent ||| Woosan (Ateez)

25

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.