Stiles POV
We only have to wait 10 minutes once we get to Ben's house for the others to arrive. They look a little tired and a few tiny scratches here and there, but other than that, they seem okay. "What happened?" I ask once everyone is in the living room. I'm still holding onto the trident, which everyone is looking at with fascination. "Oh, we just chased a few of the guards away from the palace. I guess Vanessa didn't have her brightest soldiers on guard at the time." Crystal laughs.
"Okay, so what's the plan now, Stiles?" Selena asks me seriously. Everyone looks to me for guidance. I feel nervous. I don't think I can do this. Suddenly, I feel someone's hand slip into mine. I look down to see that it's Scott's hand. I glance over at Scott, who looks over at me. I can't help but smile, feeling a lot more confident than I did a few seconds ago. I then turn to the rest of my friends. "We have to get to the underwater tunnels. We can't face Vanessa and her army alone. It doesn't matter how strong at fighting we are; we'd be heavily outnumbered and probably slaughtered within minutes. We need some help. We need to rally together as many merfolk as we can." I tell my land and oceanic friends.
"How are we going to do that?" Liam asks curiously.
"I'll talk to them." I say confidently. Everyone nods.
"Can you take us to where is everyone hiding?" I turn to Ben. He nods enthusiastically.
"Of course." He replies.
"Then let's go!" Malia cheers. I let Ben, Crystal, Selena and Max lead the rest of us out of the house and through the underwater kingdom known as Atlantia. I follow closely behind the merpeople, Scott's hand still intertwined with mine.
~~~
It doesn't take long to reach the tunnel. We quickly swim into the dark underwater cavern. At first, I can't see anyone. It's eerily quiet down here in the tunnels. I glance over my shoulder to see the pack swimming closely behind me, looking around with curiosity. I turn around again, not wanting to bump into anything or anyone by accident. "Is this the right tunnel?" I ask Ben curiously and quietly.
"Yes, Stiles. We can't exactly hide near the entrance, could we? It'd be too easy for us to be captured. Don't worry, we'll find everyone just up ahead." Ben replies. We continue to swim in silence. I feel my heart beating nervously, but I'm sure everyone is nervous right now. To be honest, I'm surprised at how calm I am right now. I'm planning to lead my friends as well as some of Atlantia's citizens into a freaking battle against Vanessa and her army. This is no game; people will probably die. Actually, people already have died for this cause, including my mother. My heart aches at the thought of her for a moment, but I quickly push the thought away, along with the memories. I need to focus. After a few more moments of swimming, we finally start to see groups of merpeople huddling together in the tunnels, their tails a huge variety of colors. The citizens look at us with curiosity and whisper as we swim past. I guess they realize that I must be the long lost Prince of Atlantia, considering I'm carrying a trident. Soon, the tunnels become very crowded. We almost have to push past merfolk. I have to let go of Scott's hand as we all swim in single file to get past the civilians. I feel shocked at the amount of merpeople hiding here, especially the little kids. I grip onto the trident tightly. My heart breaks seeing their terrified expressions or hearing them crying and whimpering into one of their parent's shoulders. Suddenly, one of the little girls swim up to me and grab onto my hand.
Scott POV
I come to a stop and watch in curiosity as one of the little girls grab onto Stiles' free hand. The rest of the pack stop as well and float either beside me or behind me. Stiles turns to look at the young mermaid in surprise. She couldn't be more than eight years old. My heart breaks for her. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a war zone like this, cramped in here every day, not knowing if things will ever get better. I suddenly realize that this could have so easily been Stiles' life... I exchange a sad look with Kira, who is on my left.
"Have you seen my mommy?" The little girl asks hopefully, her bottom lip quivering slightly. I watch as Stiles' eyes fill with so many different emotions within the span of a few seconds. Suddenly, his expression becomes determined. I can see that he has been filled with more strength and courage to defeat Vanessa and help these kids to have a normal life. However, Stiles seems at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer the little girl. I don't blame him. I wouldn't know what to say either. If her mother isn't here, she's most likely being held captive or dead. After another moment of silence, a merman who I assume must be the girl's father pulls her back.
"I am so sorry your highness, she just misses her mother. I promised Sophie that I would find her and bring her back to us." The merman apologizes.
"Don't apologize. I understand completely." Stiles assures the father with a warm smile. He then turns to the young mermaid. He floats down to her level. "So your name is Sophie, huh?" He asks her. She nods quickly, her glowing pale green eyes staring at Stiles intently. "That's a beautiful name." Stiles compliments her. I hear Sophie giggle and smile in response. "I promise you, Sophie, that I will find your mommy." Stiles reassures the mermaid named Sophie. The girl in question's eyes light up with happiness and excitement. "Yay! Thank you so much!" She exclaims in delight as she goes and hugs Stiles tightly, her rosy pink tail wrapping around Stiles' waist. As Stiles hugs Sophie back, I can sense that he's overjoyed that he's given the little girl hope. I can see it in his eyes. Eventually, the girl lets go and swims back to her father, who nods gratefully at Stiles. My boyfriend nods back in response. I smile at Stiles, knowing that he'll make an amazing leader and King for this kingdom. It doesn't matter if Stiles denies it or not. I also think that he'd be a wonderful father.
Stiles POV
I glance over to see Scott smiling broadly at me. "What?" I ask in confusion.
"I'm just so glad that I have someone like you." Scott chuckles as he swims over to me and holds my free hand. I blush in response. I hear a few of the mermaids making 'aww' sounds as they watch Scott and I. We stare into each other's eyes for a moment, almost forgetting the world around us. Scott starts to lean forward to kiss me. "Guys, come on!" I hear Max call out, pulling us both back to reality. Scott moves back a little, with a blush spreading across his face. I glance over to see Ben, Selena, Crystal and Max standing at the very end of the tunnel, waiting for us. I turn back to my other friends. I tilt my head slightly towards the end of the tunnel. "We should go." I suggest. Scott nods while the others hum in agreement. We swim towards Ben, Crystal, Max and Selena. When I turn around, I see that all the merpeople in the tunnel are gathering around us. Soon, everyone has packed in close so they can see my friends and I. They look at me with curiosity and wonder. I notice Sophie and her father near the front. I smile at the little girl, who giggles in response. I then turn to Ben nervously.
"What do I do?" I whisper to him.
"Lead them. Lead us." Ben smiles back. I shake my head and chuckle in response. Ben wasn't exactly very clear or helpful in his answer. Oh well. I can give this a shot. I turn to the pack. They all give me a reassuring smile, even Derek. I smile back at them. I'm so glad that I have them with me. I then turn around to face the curious crowd. I adjust my grip on the cool surface of the trident. "As you might know, I am Meonenim Mieczysław Stilinski, but please, call me Stiles. I am the son of John Stilinski, King of Atlantia." I begin, using my full name, which I haven't done in years. Out of everyone I have met on land, only Scott knew my real first name, but I didn't tell him my middle name though. I didn't want to confuse the nine year old Scott even more than I already had. I hear excited whispers through the crowd. I turn back to Scott, Kara, Kira, Lydia, Malia, Isaac, Liam and Derek. They stare at me with surprise. I don't blame them. My name is a mouthful; I doubt they'll be able to pronounce it without practicing a few times. Also, they haven't heard my real full name before. I give them a small smile before I turn back to face the crowd.
"So it's true then? The Prince of Atlantia has returned to lead the kingdom into battle against Vanessa and her army?" An excited merman asks me. I frown slightly in confusion. I turn to Ben, Crystal, Selena and Max for an answer. "Um, there might have been a few prophecies going around about you saving the kingdom." Ben says to me quietly.
"And when were you going to tell me this?" I ask my friend as I raise my eyebrows.
"I don't know. The prophecies never say what side wins." Ben mumbles. I pause for a moment, but quickly regain my composure. "I guess that's good. I've never been one for spoilers." I wink before facing the crowd again.
"Yes, I have come back here to fight for our kingdom, our home. I can't let Vanessa control Atlantia any longer. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to get here sooner. I wish I did. I feel like I've failed you." I continue, feeling guilty.
"Don't feel like that, Stiles! You haven't failed us! You could never fail us. It's not your fault that any of this happened." Sophie's father quickly states. I hear a lot of cheers in agreement. I can't help but smile. "Thank you. It means so much to me to know that you guys support me." I tell the crowd.
"Anyway, as I was saying. My parents and a very close friend of mine who is practically family both tried to keep me safe from this war. Even though I haven't been here, I know my mom fought bravely. I'm glad that she got to die fighting for what she believes in. As for my dad, I know that he's a brave fighter too. He'd do anything to help Atlantia get back to what it was before the war. I am keeping up my hope that he's still alive. I don't want to lose both of my parents and I don't want you to lose both of your leaders. Anyway, back to the point. Both of my parents have both fought valiantly for this kingdom, trying to protect it at all costs. I think it's my turn to step up and fight. This time, Vanessa will be taken down once and for all. We've all lost something in this war. For me, I lost my parents. Now it's time for me to fight back." I continue. Everyone looks at me with determined expressions.
"As you have noticed, I didn't come here alone." I say, gesturing to Scott, Kara, Isaac, Derek, Lydia, Malia, Kira and Liam. "Who are these humans? Why did you bring them here? Who's the mermaid? She doesn't live here, does she?" A young mermaid asks. She looks like she's in her 20's. "Well, first of all, they aren't humans." I chuckle. I see merpeople exchanging confused looks with each other. I explain what each member of the pack is, where Kara is from and how she came across me and my friends. "I trust them with my life." I finish as I look back to the pack and smile at them. They all grin back, especially Scott. He looks at me, his eyes full of admiration and love. I wish I could swim over and kiss the hell out of him right now, but unfortunately it is not the right time. I turn back to the merpeople again. "I brought them here because they want to fight with me. They want to help defeat Vanessa. We have had a lot of experience in fighting." I explain.
"But we can't do this alone. We would be vastly outnumbered. It doesn't matter how good at fighting we are; we'd be taken down quickly. We need some of your help. I know I'm asking a lot of you, but it's the only way. If there was another way to do this, then I would do it in a heartbeat. I promise that I am going to bring Atlantia back to its former, happier self. I promise that I'll defeat Vanessa once and for all." I continue. Everyone cheers once I finish speaking. I let myself grin a little. "Now, who's willing to fight with me?" I ask the crowd, raising the trident slightly higher for a moment.
"I will warn you though. I can't guarantee your safety. If you fight with me, you might get hurt... Or even killed. This is very dangerous." I warn the merpeople in front of me.
"I will gladly fight with you, your highness. I want to help take back our home." Sophie's father says, bowing in front of me. I smile gratefully at him. After that, at least half of the merpeople volunteer to fight with me, some of them civilians and some of them the reinforcements that had to retreat. I feel like the only reason that the others didn't volunteer is because either they were children or needed to look after children. Once the volunteers die down, I swim over to Sophie and her father. "Promise me you'll stay here, okay? I can't let you get hurt, Sophie." I hear her father say. Sophie nods bravely. I squeeze her shoulder comfortingly. "I promised to find your mom and I'll stick to that promise. Your dad is going to help me. You should be proud of him. He's very brave and loves you and your mom very much." I tell the little girl. She nods again. "Don't be too long daddy, okay?" She asks, looking over at her dad.
"I won't sweetie, I promise. I love you." He says as he pulls her into a hug.
"Whatever you do, stay in the tunnel until either Stiles or I come back to get you." The father says. Sophie nods in response as she pulls out of the hug. A mermaid that appears to be in her late 20's or early 30's swims over to us. "I'll keep an eye on her, your highness. I'll make sure that she's safe." The mermaid smiles at me. I nod in response, as does the merman beside me. "Be good, Sophie." He says as he kisses his daughter on the head as he guides her over to the older mermaid. We then turn around and head back over to my friends and the rest of the volunteers. I float above them all, raising the trident in my hand. "Let's go get our home back!" I cheer.
A/N: I started writing this story well before Stiles' real name was announced, so I had come up with my own name for him. The one I came up with for him is still Polish and starts with 'M', so until his real name was announced it was the best I could do, haha. Anyway, I decided to still incorporate his real name in the show for this story, so I made it his middle name, as I assume you noticed. I think it's good because his full name is a real mouthful now XD. I hope you guys are happy with it too. Until next time, happy reading!