Dark Waters ||| ATEEZ AU

|V

Mingi was absolutely terrible with directions. Not that he would confess that to anyone except Hongjoong. Even if he was the second in command he preferred to be inside his cabin, analyzing and discovering what abilities all the beautiful stuff they found could do. They had discovered previously a bracelet and after Mingi studied it further, he was amazed at its healing abilities. Of course, they chose to sell it for a good amount of money since they didn't really need it. They had Yeosang for that matter.

So imagine how surprised he was when he tripped and fell inside an underground cave when they just boarded off the ship. He didn't mean to wander on his own but then again he didn't want to ask anyone to come with him. When he stood up and dusted himself, he screamed. In front of him was a creature he only ever heard of. A dead mermaid but a mermaid nevertheless. It didn't look like she was caring any injuries on her body but Mingi's attention got caught at what was in her hand. He carefully untangled the black pendant from her fingers and held it.

It was lightweight with a silver chain attached to it. He didn't feel different or noticed anything unusual changing around him so he crossed the word magic from his list. Still he was intrigued to find out if that's all there was to it. If the mermaid held it till her last breath, sure that must mean something. He figured that he should fill in the others and have a voting take place but he was afraid that they wouldn't understand the gut feeling that was telling him to keep this pendant. Not when they looked at Mingi like he was a crazy scientist. He could only trust Hongjoong at this moment and so he left the cave with the pendant in his hands for evidence. His captain would agree to keep it, his curiosity is the same after all. It could be their little secret, without the others knowing.

And he was right. They almost got into a heated argument but soon Hongjoong gave in. He warned him though that Mingi is to update him on whatever he finds about this pendant. That he agreed. Now you would think that Mingi would be more careful when he told Hongjoong to not look suspicious but Mingi himself was not. He did little to none to hide his new item, leading Seonghwa to catch him in the act when he brought him dinner so he didn't have to skip yet another meal.

Mingi was speechless as Seonghwa started to rant at him before going to find Hongjoong. They managed to calm him down by telling him that it was just a simple pendant and nothing more. Mingi was sure there was more to it but of course he kept it to himself. That is at least till Seonghwa saw the pendant light up the next morning. Mingi was so into analyzing what could be triggering it that he didn't realize he had left his own door open. That caused another fight to break out between Seonghwa and Hongjoong that didn't end well.

Hearing then about mermaids being spotted passing by while the pendant kept lighting up, had Mingi in deep thoughts. He wanted to try something. Attempt to talk to the mermaids or maybe try to unlock its powers if he placed the pendant near them. A stupid decision from his part but he always wanted to know all the answers. He knew that Hongjoong will punish him but he still run up on deck after he told him to stay low, even opening the heavy door that separated the inside from outside in a flash. That's how much he wanted to know and soon his questions were answered.

He heard the mermaid calling out to him in his mind and he couldn't block her amazing voice out of his head. When the red-haired beauty beckoned for him to come close, he blindly did. He climbed out of the safety of his ship, not noticing the menacing look the mermaid was giving him or Seonghwa calling out to him. He felt hands around him, pulling him away and waking him up from his daze. Then he heard the mermaid's voice reaching his ears instead of listening to it inside his head.

"You two seem special. Come." She simply said and Mingi felt that he couldn't control his own body as he pushed Seonghwa in the water. He lost his footing, following behind Seonghwa shortly after. Once he was fully underwater he started to panic from all the hands preventing him to swim back up to the surface. He heard loud noises and saw the ship falling apart as the mermaids around him had their hands extended towards where he was standing seconds ago. He kept sensing the pendant lighting up from inside his pocket though and he instantly made the connection. It responded to mermaid powers.

Then the mermaids were gone in the next second but another figured swum up to him in the water. A merman. Mingi didn't know that it was possible since mermen were very rare to find. At least from what he previously read. He turned his head around and saw another merman in front of Seonghwa with his hand around his waist as the older was fighting against him. Then the merman kissed Seonghwa, shocking Mingi. What made him open his mouth in complete bewilderment was that Seonghwa actually breathed after that. He was breathing underwater. Then the merman kissed him again and Seonghwa became unconscious.

Mingi felt a pair of hands around his own waist and he quickly covered his mouth. He was already struggling with whatever air was left in his lungs. His hands were swatted away and a pair of lips crushed on his own. He then felt his last breath leaving his lungs but been replaced with a more fresh one. The merman was passing him air but it felt different. He saw the merman waiting for something to happen as Mingi's body struggled to accept that breath. Dark spots appeared in his vision and when he thought that everything was hopeless and about to give up, his lungs filled with air.

Now that's impossible. That's against everything he has studied before and he freezes as the merman kisses him again, satisfied with whatever he just made Mingi do before he feels his body shut down. When he finally wakes up he is on land. He can feel the hard soil beneath him. It's dark once he opens his eyes but he makes out Seonghwa's silhouette next to him. He tries to sit up but his hands are tied behind his back as well as his legs. He recalls everything that happened and he feels a pang of guilt in his heart. Everything is his fault. He inspects around him. They appear to be in a cage of some sort. Mingi doesn't know how they got there but they need to leave now.

"Seonghwa." He whispers to him but the other male doesn't stir even a little. He appears to be out cold. Mingi tries to free his hands or legs but to no avail. He sees a light from afar, coming closer. Upon inspecting the source, he notices two unrecognizable figures heading toward them while holding a torch. He internally curses as he stops moving and pretends that he is still sleeping.

"Damien, which one you want to turn first?" One of the two ask. Mingi is confused by that and he is afraid that they are gonna do something to them. That much is obvious.

"The black-haired one. He breathed almost instantly when I tested him. He is gonna be the best merman I had the pleasure of turning. We can deal with the red-haired in the morning." Mingi is afraid for Seonghwa as they approach him. From what he heard they will do something to him in the morning. He should stop them. When one of them is ready to inject something to Seonghwa he kicks him with everything he has. The man groans as he falls to the side and the man that Mingi believes that talked first, drops the torch in surprise.

"Grab him Tom." The man named Damien yells as Mingi feels lucky that the torch fell near his hands. He withstands the burning sensation on his skin for a few seconds before his hands are free. He immediately punches the guy named Tom when he tries to pounce at him. He knows that he landed a good hit when the man falls on the ground groaning. He kicks Damien again and then frees his legs as well. He hears Seonghwa make a sound of protest and he sees that he has regained his consciousness.

"You're not going anywhere!" Damien yells and grabs Seonghwa before Mingi has time to touch him and injects him with whatever it was inside the syringe, making Seonghwa scream in pain. He notices the man he knocked out earlier is ready to get up. He then makes his choice and runs outside the cage while Damien is preoccupied with Seonghwa. He swears he will come back for him as he keeps running even when he trips. The only source of light he has to guide him is the half-moon above him. Mingi trips again and groans loudly when he lands roughly on the ground but pauses when he hears a familiar voice.

"Anyone there?" Wooyoung asks from atop of a tree. Mingi watch as his eyes lights up in relief when he spots him. He quickly climbs down and helps Mingi up. Loud footsteps and voices are heard behind them and Mingi's blood runs cold.

"We need to run now!"