Everything I Need - Orm Marius/Ocean Master

Chapter One - In Far Too Deep

She jumped.

The blood red light from the flare surrounded her as the still-churning sea fully engulfed her. Even over the continuous and persistent roaring of the thunder overhead and all around her, she could still just make out the screeching of the Trench creatures - just enough to know that they were still in hot pursuit, and that they were close.

The void of the sea swallowed her whole, and she was thankful for the bright flicker of the flare which pierced the void. Even with her Atlantean-enhanced eyesight this part of the sea was darker than any part she had ever encountered before. 

Great. Just great.

She was in far too deep - perhaps she always had been, right from the start. She'd always had a gut feeling about this whole prove-yourself-as-queen-and-rule-Atlantis thing, and now here she was, alone and trapped at the centre of it. 

Yeah, in too deep was right. What a mess. 

Her eyes strained against the darkness, searching for any sign of Orm's body. Maybe it wasn't too late, maybe she could still help him...

She pushed herself further, faster - where the hell was he?

A sudden and great cry from the creatures drew her attention to a light up ahead, right in her path if she carried onward - and where else was there to go? But how could there be light this far beneath the surface? And so bright?

No more creatures pursuing her now, thanks to the mysterious light - thank the gods for that!- she pushed onward, and then she saw it, saw him-

"Orm!" Her voice rumbled through the heavy water. 

She still couldn't believe what Orvax had done: stabbed his own son, leaving him for dead. She had thought of him as a monster before, but now - now she didn't know how to describe him. Monster didn't seem bad enough anymore, and maybe it never had been, not with Orvax.

Finally, she reached Orm. She grabbed hold of him, touching his cheek. His face was pale, his body still and limp.   I'm here, I'm here to help you. I'm so sorry...

The source of such a strong burst of light, she found, was a swirling whirlpool-like void just ahead. There was nothing beyond it except a dead end. She had no other choice.  

"No!" She had barely reached it before she was violently trashed around, causing her to lose her hold on Orm.  She was not  losing him again, like hell she was. He had stood by her side - albeit reluctantly, at least in the beginning - on this journey, and had even told her that he believed in her and what she was doing.  He was on her side, and she wasn't about to give up on him, and certainly not now.

She was disoriented  when she finally shot out of the whirlpool.  She just managed to catch sight of Orm - being dragged to the surface by some creature.

Wait, surface? Hadn't they been in like the deepest depths of the ocean just a moment ago?

She shot through the water after them, and when she broke the surface - yes, it really was the surface - an incredible sight met her eyes:

Dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs? What was this, the Jurassic Park franchise suddenly? Okay, that was pretty cool.

But no, not only that - they had come to a hidden island, the most serene place she had ever seen. That crazy whirlpool thing must have teleported them here. 

But there was no time for distractions, not even by this beautiful place that she wanted so badly to explore. "Orm! Orm!"

A figure dressed in silvery-white was dragging Orm's unconscious body onto the beach ahead.  

"HEY!" Aurelia launched herself at the figure, whoever they were, not wanting anything to get between her and Orm. "Get away from him!"

She had had her fair share of shocks and surprises along the way of this journey; but none of those - not the tech wonderland of Atlantis, not finding proof of Atlan in the Deserter Kingdom with Mera, and not even a fight with pirates and Atlantean soldiers through the streets (and rooftops) of Sicily -  had prepared her for this, when the figure turned around to face her.

When they did so, her heart skipped and her breath caught in her throat.  

"Mom?"

(I know we all knew what was going to happen there, but it's still an exciting cliffhanger! ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))