^ "Lior and Nightlight 3" (4-23-2020)

—

LIOR

"Break!"

Thank Arceus! Lior's fingers screamed for joy as the call echoed across the work site: it was General Carys, long-calling from the far side of the wreckage, where she and a glut of soldiers were working to break the boat's largest mass into giant pieces. A handful of Army Pokémon were assisting her, including a Dewgong: a concentrated Aurora Beam had frozen the giant rod of iron and steel, and it had been a simple matter of smashing it apart afterwards.

Lior was on the opposite end of the boat, and he had no help: all of the soldiers and squires that had been assigned to this task were busy clearing out the inside of the boat wreck or assisting Army Pokémon in boring holes in the hull or snapping apart the vessel's railings. He didn't need any assistance anyway: all he was doing was tying together bundles of metal and setting them aside for easy transport back to the trench.

All the same, his poor fingers were grateful for a break: they'd been out here all morning, and the tips of his digits were beginning to go numb from the chill in the water, which had been steadily growing stronger over the past several weeks.

He pushed up from the rocks and made his way to the outskirts of the work site. A small pavilion had been erected here by Enos and his couriers, and they were busy handing out small parcels to the soldiers queuing up: lunch, if you could call it that. It was all seaweed, three different kinds, according to Tirza Mari — she was one of ones who'd helped put the packets together. The taste was akin to eating grass, but she'd assured him that each strip of seaweed was packed with enough carbohydrates to fuel him for another four or five hours at the boat, which was the point.

Jabez was one of the couriers distributing lunch. When he spotted Lior, he kindly placed another belt of seaweed in the pack before handing it to him. Remembering the taste, Lior sort of wished he hadn't bothered.

Just like yesterday, they were allotted half an hour to consume their meal, so he looked for a spot to choke down his seaweed in peace. He'd just decided on a nearby ledge when a familiar voice called to him from the other side.

"Hey Lior! Ew, is that lunch again?"

He turned to see Elon swimming down into the ravine, waving at him. He tensed a moment, his eyes going over to General Carys; the lady warrior was still by the boat, saying something to some of the soldiers. None of the generals seemed to like Elon very much... Probably because the boy's frank personality hadn't ingratiated himself to them. Luckily, it looked like she hadn't noticed yet, so he smiled.

"Hi. Yes, it's today's lunch. Probably tomorrow too, and the next day."

Elon twisted down and took a seat next to Lior, wrapping his tail around them both. "Well, Elon to the rescue! Why don't we swap?" He pulled something from his pocket and held it grandly out for Lior. It was small and roundish and red. And hard — Lior tapped it with a finger and almost thought it was a rock. But he'd never seen a stone this color...

"It's an apple," Elon said. "Surface food."

Lior raised a brow. "How did you get it?"

"I didn't. I snuck it out of the kitchens. Someone there got it on Drought."

"Are you sure it's safe to eat?"

"Why would it be in the kitchens if it wasn't? Go on." Elon stuck the apple in Lior's hand, then plucked the seaweed out of his lap. He crunched off a piece and grimaced. "You're so lucky I'm a nice person," he groaned. "This tastes like dirt!"

Lior gave the apple an experimental bite, and was stunned at the sourness hidden underneath the ruby red skin. His mouth puckered painfully, but after processing a moment, he realized that it wasn't as bad as his poor gums made it out to be. In fact, after a couple of bites, he detected a bit of sweetness in there somewhere... Overall, it was about a thousand times tastier than the three strips of seaweed.

"What are you guys doing down here anyway?" Elon groaned. He was still working on the first belt of seaweed, nibbling on the end with a nauseated expression. "You've been out here for days! Why're you fooling around with that stupid boat?"

That "stupid boat" was the same one that Titus had overturned weeks ago, sending the sailors overboard...and to their doom. The vessel itself had settled in the bottom of one of the dozen ravines winding around the Ruins, and two days ago Titus announced that they would make use of it, scavenging the insides of the vessel for anything useful, and then harvesting the metal from its skeleton for the purposes of creating new weapons: armor, spearheads, tridents, even swords. As Lior told Elon all this, he felt a pang of sympathy for Adiah — the poor toolsmith was going to be overworked again, this time to the extreme if Titus was serious about all the product he expected.

"Seems pointless," Elon said around a mouthful of seaweed. "Do you guys even use the weapons you have? I see the soldiers hunt sometimes, but can't your Army Pokémon do that?"

Lior took another bite of the apple — he was working on the other half now. "I don't think they're for right now," he said uncomfortably. "I think he's stocking up for..."

Elon lifted an expectant brow.

"You know," he coughed. "Later. After...the ceremony, and..."

Yes, after Kyogre was resurrected, and Titus had the strength to begin his assault on the human race in earnest... However that was to happen. Elon's expression became dark—his eyes flattened as he stared out across the cherry-picked corpse of the boat, tucked against the bottom of the ravine, swarming with merfolk. Some of the soldiers had finished off their sparse meal and were getting back to work. Lior remained where he was — he estimated he had fifteen minutes left, and he wasn't going back until the last second had expired.

After a while, Elon said, "What are you doing?"

"Tying together the salvage." He wasn't strong enough to assist with much of anything else except cleaning out the inside, and they'd done most of that yesterday. He could tie very good knots, though, so General Carys had provided him with a mountain of seaweed rope and told him to get to work.

It was a good task, though — he didn't have to move so much, and once and a while, he got to see Nightlight. The Lanturn had come along on this venture today, and was one of the Pokémon toting scrap metal from the wreckage over to Lior. Every time he set down a segment of rusted railing or a broken pipe, he'd put it down very close to Lior, close enough that a tiny spark would kiss Lior's hand. Lior never said anything, but he would give the Lanturn a big smile — he was still getting used to the way his good friend looked, but kindness was such a rarity in this place that he probably would've smiled if Cephas had done the same thing.

"When do you guys stop?" Elon asked.

"Dusk."

Elon gave him a pitying look. "Well, at least that stupid Titus isn't badgering you."

Lior's smile was thin. "At least."

"And hey! Good news. You're with me again in five days, right?"

Lior frowned, and did a mental calculation. "Yeah... I think so."

"Great! Well, we're gonna go see Debbie again."

Lior's smile faltered. Not because of Debbie — Lior liked Debbie. He also liked Sister Latias and even Brother Latios, standoffish as he was. He and Elon had been back to see the three of them twice more after the first time, and both occasions had been...interesting. On their second visit, Sister Latias had gone off somewhere and brought back a pack of cards, and around the pool they'd all made Lior play this weird game called Palace — he'd even won once.  The third time, Debbie had brought out a giant box filled with string, plastic and clay beads, and colored yarn — all of it apparently stolen from her mother's sewing room. They'd spent a good forty-five minutes putting together bracelets and necklaces.

Had Lior been just a curious, freewheeling merboy like Elon, he probably would've had a great time on both occasions, but he hadn't for fear of what Titus might say or do if he found out. Interacting with humans in such a familiar manner — especially humans that knew about merfolk! — was taboo in the first place, but to actually travel into a human city to do so? Boat-rocking, human-drowning Titus would...frown on that, to say the least.

And how many days had it been since their last visit to Debbie's Sanctuary? Two? Three? They'd snuck there and back without being caught the last couple of times, but Lior felt like they were tempting fate.

"I think we should stay closer to the trench," Lior said. "I don't want to get caught, and—"

Elon glared at him. "We're not gonna get caught, dummy. And we have to go! Debbie promised we'd have a party this time."

Lior blinked. "Party?"

Elon gawped at him, looking betrayed. "You forgot?" he cried. He reached out and pinched Lior's nose. "Give me back my apple. I'm sorry I was nice to you!"

"What are you talking about?" Lior squirmed — thank Arceus Elon wasn't exerting any of his Kin-related strength.

"My birthday, stupid! It's my birthday in five days! That's why we're gonna go see Debbie! We're gonna have a big party together! Only, I think you're not invited anymore — only the people who remember my birthday are!"

"You never told me when your birthday was!" Lior snapped, prying Elon's fingers loose.

"Yes I did! You weren't listening! And I told you that if you forgot again, I would..." Elon trailed off. "Or...maybe that was Dion." He blushed. "Yeah... That was Dion. Oops. Sorry."

Lior rubbed his sore nose. The enthusiasm had drained out of Elon's face again — it seemed his retainer's death still stung every now and then. He placed a hand on Elon's shoulder. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "Fine. I guess if it's your birthday, we have to go."

Elon brightened. "This is gonna be so fun!" he said, whipping up and spiraling above Lior. "I've never had a birthday party before. Debbie said she would bring a cake! Ever had cake, Lior? It's this really sweet, spongy stuff that only exists landside. I've only had it once, and it was amazing! I can't wait for you to try it!"

Lior couldn't help but smile at his frantic anticipation. That was, until a giant shadow fell over him.

"What are you doing boy? Sunbathing?"

It was Cephas, and he was staring straight at Lior with an expression that said he was ready to strangle something. Lior leapt up, and his apple core went flying off behind him.

"No sir," he said, saluting frantically. He tried not to meet the beastmaster's eyes, and instead peered behind him, where a group of squires, soldiers, and Army Pokémon were trailing down into the ravine after the giant merman. Ah yes, Lior remembered General Carys mentioning that some of the soldiers down here would need to be switched out with fresh bodies because of the backbreaking labor. Lior assumed he would not be one of them.

He was right: "Then get back to work, guppy. I don't remember telling you to come out here and lounge around while your comrades labor."

"Yes sir." But I had five minutes left! What's worse, it looked like he was going to be working under the beastmaster's cruelly watchful eye for the rest of the afternoon, and unlike General Carys, Lior had a feeling that Cephas would pay him particular mind, just looking for an excuse to put back on those horrible weights he'd been liberated of just last week.

Elon spoke, and Lior stiffened: "Hey, he was on break! And he's been working hard all day. Cut him some slack."

Cephas motioned the rest of the soldiers forward, and then treated Elon to a withering stare. Or, that's what it should've been — Lior was sure that Elon had never withered before anything in his life. Except maybe the Gyarados. "Where's your nanny, whelp?" he sneered. "Find him, and then go back to the trench before you're missed. I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss your bedtime."

"I don't have a nanny!" Elon snapped. "And I don't need one — I've come out here by myself plenty of times! Unlike you! You couldn't even swim a yard out of the trench without a pack of soldiers with you!"

Cephas turned his back on the boy, and glowered at Lior. "Do I need to repeat myself?" he rumbled.

Lior swept back down to the boat without another word, back to the growing pile of scrap metal by the seaweed rope. Nightlight was there, idling — he was dragging a giant plate of metal cut from the boat's hull, but he was swimming a lot slower than he could have. Deliberately, Lior was sure.

He went a little faster when Lior arrived and sat down, and a minute later, Elon came after him, huffing. "Showed him," he muttered. "And I'm not a whelp! I'm almost as old as you, Lior — I could probably do all the stuff you're doing. In fact, that's what I'll do! I'll help you tie all this stuff together."

Lior tried not to groan. Not that he wouldn't enjoy Elon's company, but he was trying to keep his head down, and Elon had a bad habit of drawing attention to himself. "Do you even know how to tie a knot?"

"You'll show me." Elon spiraled down to the seabed and grinned at Nightlight, who was finally setting the hull plate in place against a pile of scrap metal. "Hi! I'm Elon. I'm not a soldier, but I'm helping Lior today."

Nightlight flashed Lior a curious look.

"Elon," Lior said. "This is Nightlight."

Elon's brows rose. "Your Pokémon! I thought he was just a Chinchou."

"He evolved a couple of weeks ago."

"Wow," Elon said. "Congrats. And nice to meet ya. Can I pet you?"

He reached out, just as the Lanturn came closer, scrutinizing Elon closely. Again, it struck Lior how big he was — bigger than Elon, in fact, but only slightly. After a moment, Nightlight brought his antenna down, where it brushed Elon's forehead. The merboy's ponytail straightened like a sword, and his fringe stuck out in all directions in a starburst.

"Ow!" he cried. Nightlight smiled and swam away. "What was that?"

"That's how he communicates. He must like you." Lior couldn't help but smile too as he stacked several pieces of metal together, and then wound a long strip of rope around them. Elon and Nightlight, friends... How nice.

Lior showed Elon how to make a good knot, and then the boys got to work. Elon was surprisingly helpful, keeping pace with Lior as they put together giant parcels of scrap metal for Adiah to melt down later. If only he didn't talk so much — Elon chattered loudly and incessantly, and it was beginning to draw the attention of the other soldiers as they passed by and dropped off more scavenge. Most of them just looked bewildered that a child was helping Lior on a military expedition, but others looked noticeably displeased — General Carys and Cephas in particular drew closer, giving both boys dirty looks. But amazingly, they said nothing — Elon was working, after all, but Lior suspected that it had more to do with the fact that Titus called Elon "brother", and therefore was under his...protection? Whatever the case, they couldn't lay hands on him, either to remove him or shut him up, so they kind of had to ignore him, which gave them quite visible mental stress. If Lior hadn't been so anxious, it might've been funny.

Half an hour later, Elon's story about summer stargazing was suddenly interrupted by a cry that came from high above: "Humans! Hide!"

Lior's head whipped up — a sentry was coming down the ravine, spear in hand, shouting in high Pitch. Above him was a great shadow in the shape of a black eye — the hull of a boat, bigger than the one they were cannibalizing. It drifted over the ravine and came to a slow halt, casting the small canyon into a deeper gloom.

General Carys rose above the work site, her face severe. "Get out of sight!" she shouted.

The soldiers left the boat like a stream of Durants, seeking cover in crevices and behind large rocks. Lior spun around, searching the terrain for a good place to hide, and Elon tugged on his sleeve.

"Psst, this way," he said.

He whipped over to the ravine wall — a bare, flat ravine wall, free of any cracks or crannies that two merboys could hide in. Then Elon placed his palm against the mossy rock, and something confusing happened: the stone seemed to recoil from Elon's touch, drawing backwards and caving in on itself until there was an entrance to a small cave where there'd been solid rock a second before. Elon disappeared inside, and Lior followed, reeling. There was a small space beyond the tiny entrance, enough for the two of them to crouch comfortably and peer out. Lior tried to refocus, but for a moment, couldn't: the mud cloak had been amazing, but this? Was this how he made that cave where we hid from the Gyarados?

With effort, he turned his attention back to what was happening outside, cramming his face against the sliver of an opening with Elon. For the longest, nothing appeared to be happening: the sea remained quiet and dark and empty, and the only vibrations Lior could feel in his lateral lines were those coming from Elon's anxious breaths. What was going on? Was the boat still there?

Yes: all of a sudden the shadows stretching across the ravine floor began to ripple, like sea grass in a strong current. Lior craned his neck, trying to see what was causing the motion, but his vision was obscured by a jutting nub of rock. For a moment, at least. Then the source of the ripping shadows came into view, and Lior felt himself shrink down, even though he was already hidden.

Humans, it was a group of humans. No, it can't be — this far underwater? But no, they had to be humans, they couldn't be anything else — two arms, two legs, hands with five fingers. But their feet...on their feet were strange shoes, black slippers, each with one extremely long, fan-shaped toe, almost looking like... Flippers? Are they wearing those so they can swim more easily?

That might also explain their strange, body-hugging garb, and the ungainly masks adorning their faces, each accompanied by a thick black tube that connected to a silver canister strapped to their backs. Lior watched with amazement as they continued down — twenty of them — and waited for their faces to turn pale, for their eyes to bulge, and for them to rapidly reverse, kicking up to the surface for air.

But they all reached the bottom of the ravine, each one turning on a strange, bizarrely-bright, cylindrical torch attached to their shoulders — in the hard, artificial light, their faces were calm and serene, with no evidence of shortness of breath. How can they breathe so long so far underwater?

He must've accidentally spoken aloud, because Elon responded: "They must be divers."

"Divers?"

"Debbie told me about them once. Humans that explore the deep for fun. They take giant cans of air with them underwater, and it gets pumped into their masks."

Well, that was one question answered. "What are they doing here?" Lior mused.

Elon shrugged. "Maybe they're looking for that ship."

Lior tensed. There was an idea. What did that mean for the Army? After Titus had overturned the vessel and drowned those sailors, Phinebas had mentioned the risk of other humans coming to investigate the incident... Was that what was happening? But why now, weeks after it had happened? He didn't care about that, he realized: What do we do now?

Elon seemed to read his mind: "I guess we gotta wait until they're done pokin' around..."

Lior agreed, and leaned back, preparing to be stuck in this hole with Elon for quite a while. Beyond the cave, the humans were swimming in a big pack towards the ship. One of them floated to a stop by Lior's station and pointed down, looking incredulous — he was looking at the big pile of seaweed rope Lior and Elon had yet to use.

Lior's heart rocketed up from his chest, jamming in his throat. Damn! The seaweed rope! No! Would they understand...? Would they realize...?

The human unhooked something strapped to his chest: something big and metal and blocky. He pointed it to the ship, and then to the pile of seaweed rope. Flash. Flash.

Lior got a terrible feeling in his stomach. He didn't know what that metal contraption was, but he had a sickening feeling that it had done something to... He wasn't sure. Record what the human had seen? Yes, make note of it in a way Lior could not understand.

So what? It's just rope. But the feeling didn't go away. It was seaweed rope—something woven together by dexterous, clever hands. Mer hands. And what had Father told him over and over and over? Humans are dangerous, persistent, and intelligent. Leave enough evidence, and they will begin to put the pieces together. And there was that damning evidence, in the middle of the open for anyone to see.

Lior pushed forward, emerging from their hiding place with his heart banging around in his sternum. I have to do something!

"Lior!" Elon hissed, grabbing his hand and pulling Lior back into the darkness. "What are you doing? Those aren't Seawatchers! You can't reveal yourself to them!"

But he had to act. He was the only one who'd left something made by merfolk out in the open — he should've taken it with him, but he'd panicked, and now the humans had seen and surely it would pique their curiosity enough for them to look closer, or to leave and return another day for a more thorough search. The trench wasn't far from here... And for the second time since they'd arrived, Lior was certain he was about to bring disaster down on their heads.

He shook Elon off and wove his way out into the open, heart thundering in his ears. The metal box... Maybe if I can run up and snatch away that metal box...

But there was no running and no snatching. Almost as soon as he emerged into the open, the humans saw him, and though he couldn't see their faces clearly, he could feel their incredulity: it was in the wideness of their eyes and the flurry of bubbles escaping from their masks. The one with the metal box turned his way, and there was flash of light, and then Lior knew that he'd made a grave mistake, for now they'd documented him. Elon was right, he should've stayed in the cave.

But now he was in the open, and he was frozen with indecision. What do I do now?

Another flash of light, but this one caused heat to sizzle through the water. The human with the metal box gagged and slumped, curling limply in on himself. Behind him, Lior saw Nightlight, sparking furiously.

Behind the Lanturn, soldiers and Army Pokémon were rising from their hiding places, sweeping across the seabed towards the humans. "End them!" General Carys roared as she seized the ankle of one of the humans; he released a cloud of frightened bubbles as the warrior mermaid pulled him brutally close, and her short sword appeared in her other hand. "Don't let a single one escape!"

Lior's terror turned to a numbing despair as a nightmarish scene unfolded before him: the soldiers swarmed the stunned humans like hungry Sharpedos, and Lior felt his gorge rise as he saw teeth sink into arms, spearheads plunge into flesh, and swords slash throats. It was swift, and it was brutal, and it was horrifying. Lior found himself screaming: "No! The box! We just need the box, please stop!"

"What's happening?" Behind him, Elon was holding his hands to his white face, aghast. "Why are they... What are they doing? Why are they killing them?"

Lior couldn't spare a second to explain: ten of the twenty humans were already dead, and the others were making a desperate break for the surface, only to be stopped when Army Pokémon bit into their legs or soldiers grabbed their arms, pulling them back down. Lior spotted Nightlight hanging in the background, idling anxiously — by some miracle he caught Lior's eye, and gave him a desperate look.

I have to stop this! Lior kicked forward, swimming directly into the cloud of blood and floating bodies. The man with the box, where is he?

He was near the outskirts, having floated lazily upward as he was pushed aside by moving soldiers and Pokémon. He was still clutching his camera, and to Lior's astonishment, he was still alive: Nightlight had paralyzed him, not electrocuted him. His limbs shook weakly and his eyes bulged with desperation when Lior reached him.

"I won't hurt you," he assured the human. "But please, let go! I need this." If he could break the contraption, maybe General Carys would call off the assault.

He wasn't sure if the human understood, but Lior managed to wrangle the metal box out of the man's hand, and get the cord over his head. "Can you swim?" Lior demanded. The man just stared at him, eyes wide and his pupils black pinpoints. Lior grabbed his shoulder and, with effort, swung the human around, towards the surface.

"You have to move!" Lior cried. "Hurry! Before—"

"Soldier! Seize that human!"

Ice rolled down Lior's back — Cephas. The burly merman was coming up from below, his long braid trailing out behind him like a white harpoon. He bore a long trident in one hand, and its prongs glinted in the scant light, peerless as the tip of a thorn.

"Are you deaf?" Cephas roared. "Now, whelp!"

Despite being underwater, Lior's mouth went bone-dry. His fingers trembled across the cold metal surface of the box. It was a mountainous effort to find his tongue: "S-sir, we...w-we don't have to. This box, it's what they used to—"

"Am I speaking in tongues?" In an instant, Cephas was before him, and his hand lashed out, seizing Lior's face and crushing his jaw with his meaty hand. Lior dropped the box, and it floated down to the seabed. "Do you and I no longer speak the same language? I gave you an order, runt, and you don't have the luxury of disobedience. Seize that human, and end him. Now!"

End him? The beastmaster couldn't be serious—Lior couldn't...he couldn't end anyone! For Arceus's sake, he was nine! He couldn't be expected to...

The beastmaster stared down at him, his face seemingly hewn from unforgiving stone. Except for his eyes: those were liquid, boiling with threat and menace, threatening to spill over and scorch Lior alive. He began to shake — he felt tears burn at his eyes.

"I...I-I can't move, sir," he said, and it was a desperate lie...yet the truth. "A-and I don't have a weapon. I—"

Cephas's hand lashed out — dread stabbed down into Lior's belly, until he realized the beastmaster hadn't hit him. No, he'd reached out behind him and captured the paralyzed human's arm, yanking him close. The man had never had a chance. Cephas's other hand left Lior's jaw and went to his belt. A moment later, he was pressing a knife into Lior's hand.

"Do it," Cephas hissed. "Now."

It was like he was dreaming — only in a nightmare would something so ludicrous be asked of him. Surely he would wake up in a second, and find Lady Tirza sleeping soundly beside him...

But nothing happened. He looked at Cephas. Cephas looked at him. Blood spun up into Lior's ears and abandoned his face. His breaths tapered, became thin and sharp. Above and behind him, the human regained some of his autonomy, and began to weakly paddle his legs. But Lior knew that it was too late for the man. Cephas was here, and the darkness in the beastmaster's eyes told Lior that the human would not be alive for much longer. A sob built up in his throat...and broke loose.

"Nine," he whimpered. "P-please, sir, I-I'm only nine, I c-can't—"

"Nine, nineteen — what does it matter, whelp? The sooner you learn, the better."

"N-no! It was... Please, it was my fault t-this happened, they didn't—"

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. They've seen us, so they must die. It's the way things are — it's the way things have to be. If we don't kill them, they'll kill us."

"B-but... Can't you—"

Cephas leaned deadly close, but the menace left his voice, replaced with something surprising: age, regret. "No. You will do it because you must do it. Not for you. For the hundreds of mermen and nine-year-old merboys that have come before you. Ones trapped in nets, caught by hooks, put in tanks... Like Carys's husband. Jeshuah's brother." Now a note of grief, pointed and cold like one of Titus's ice skewers. "My sons. They were naïve, stupid, or too kind to see the harm in human awareness, awareness of us." The hard-jawed glower returned. "But you and I... We know better, and we will show no mercy where they did, and we will be cruel where they were kind. And because of that, we will survive. You will survive, guppy — right here, right now, I will show you how."

No, Lior wanted to scream, no, but Cephas took hold of his shuddering arm, the one holding the knife, and made him raise it. Something low and raw and grieved came out of his mouth as Cephas made him cut the tube connecting the man's mask to his canister of oxygen. A churning morass of bubbles exploded from both ends, surrounding them, swirling towards the surface like a smokestack. The human's eyes pushed from his skull, and Lior heard him gag, watched as the greedy ocean pushed into his lips, his nose, overtaking his insides, filling and expanding and crushing and destroying.

It felt like an age before he was gone.

Cephas made him watch.

***

They left a graveyard behind when they returned to the trench.

Another group, led by Titus, went out after they arrived. General Carys and some of the soldiers had taken care of the bodies, spending several hours burying them in the a stretch of seabed a few miles from the ravine, but something had to be done about the boat, which was where Commander Titus came in. No doubt one of those freezing whirlpools would be enough to send the vessel sailing far, far away from the trench, throwing any curious humans off the scent.

Tirza Mari was waiting for him when the squires returned to the corrals — she hung by there some days, usually to give him a friendly smile, but sometimes to look for Elon too. Today was such a day. "Where have you been?" she demanded, glaring at Elon. The young boy had swum alongside Lior on the way back. "Phinebas is off his head about..." She paled. "What is it?"

She was still looking at Elon, who looked thoroughly rattled, and then her eyes turned to Lior, and her expression went from concerned to terrified. What did she see on his face? He felt... Was there a word to describe it? Bleak. Cold. Hideous. And painfully nauseous. He wanted to go somewhere and curl up, cry. But horrifyingly, he couldn't — it wasn't yet dusk. He still had work to do.

Lady Tirza gathered Elon to her and then reached out to him. "Lior—"

He turned away. Her kindness suddenly felt dangerous. He felt that if she touched him, she might pop him like a bubble, and he would... He wasn't sure. He didn't want to find out.

He hurried away.

Cleaning, feeding, lifting and fetching. For once, he was grateful for it, for the mindless work made him feel...well, mindless, and this was certainly a day when he did not want to think. Every second he wasn't focused on scrubbing a breastplate or clearing sleeping areas for Army Pokémon, he saw it: the human man's face, his marble-like eyes, his manic desperation to pull in a breath, and the invasive, violating ocean, filling him, ending him... And the tube, sliced in half, releasing clouds of his precious oxygen.

Cephas, he screamed. Cephas did that. It was his knife. He put it in my hand. He moved my hand. Cephas killed him. It wasn't me...

But it was him. He knew that. He'd given in to Cephas's demands. Why hadn't he fought more fervently against something he'd known was wrong? Why hadn't he tried harder? Now someone was dead, and it didn't matter that he'd been human. He'd had eyes, ears, a nose, two arms, a mouth, just like Lior — humans and mer, they were so alike that he might as well have killed one of their own.

He was a murderer.

In fact... All the humans there... All twenty of them... If he hadn't come out of the cave... Would they still have been alive?

Yes.

No! For a second, the grief was so strong and so painful that Lior wanted to die. He stared up towards the surface, agonized. No, please. It wasn't me... It wasn't me!

"Lior."

He turned. He was near the edge of the corrals, hammering giant pegs of rotting wood into the ground: they served as practice dummies for the squires. A few yards above him, a courier was floating, a satchel slung over one shoulder. He looked two or three years older than Lior.

"You've been summoned to the Commander's pavilion, to report on what transpired in the ravine."

Lior was too numb to feel anxious. He heard it's my fault. He wants to punish me for acting stupid. That didn't frighten him either. Maybe it was because he felt so horrid right now... So hideous that the thought of being made to dig latrines, or getting strapped across the tail, or getting hit in the face was suddenly welcome. Cleansing. Distracting. Anything to make him forget what Cephas had made him do... What he'd done.

The courier moved on, and Lior reported his summons to Camon before heading off to Titus's pavilion. When he arrived, the soldier standing guard outside barred his entry — apparently, the Commander was meeting with someone. From here, Lior could hear their voices. It sounded like Phinebas.

"It appears you have bigger problems on your hands than your bloodthirsty ambitions."

"Nothing I didn't already expect. And no more bloodthirsty than the Era of Bloody Water, would you not agree?"

Phinebas did not agree, and there was a pointed tension in the silence that spanned between them. Were they arguing?

"How many have fled?" Phinebas asked with brittle courtesy.

"A handful from a unit under General Jesh's command," Titus rumbled. "They did not report for muster this morning, and Jesh suspects that they took off the previous night when they were on patrol."

Lior frowned. Who were they talking about?

"I see. And who will be committed to...recovering them?"

"I, and about twenty others."

"You expect to encounter resistance?"

"Not at all. But my presence is required for other matters. We spoke of it during our last meeting with Elon."

"The Orb?" Phinebas's voice sharpened. "So your search begins... I would wish you haste, but as I've already said many a time, I doubt you'll find it in this lifetime."

"We'll see. Your literature and Lord Elon's very existence has given me ample evidence to think otherwise. Two Kin alive at the same time... I would not be surprised if the Orb found us."

Another long silence. The flap the pavilion drifted lightly in the current, and through the slit, Lior could see Phinebas staring at Titus, with something that could only be described as angry incredulity.

"What is it?" Titus asked.

"Do you truly believe this is it? That this is the time?"

"You don't?"

Phinebas hissed. "I don't want to believe it."

"I'm afraid you haven't a choice. Look at your ward. Look at what he can do, what's he's done. And look at me... Underwater water and underwater earth, just as it was told in the tales passed down from the Era of the Kingdoms. Two of us, alive in the same lifetime, in the same place. We are not here simply to pass our Kin blood to the next generation... This is it, Phinebas. Divine providence."

Phinebas snorted. "Kyogre can only rise if the four of you are—"

"And we are. Will be. Wind and fire are out there — I couldn't tell you how I know, but I do. They are out there, and I will find them. The same with the Orb. It's close, I can feel it."

Lior imagined Phinebas shaking his head. "Even if that all were to come about," he argued, "what sin have the humans committed that warrants their complete annihilation?"

"A long-standing sin that has blackened our relations since time immemorial, starting with the Era of Bloody Water. And not just that. Overfishing. Dumping. Oil spills. Mistreatment and degradation and slavery of water-types. Need I go on?"

"Fine. I can't say I disagree... Humans are a wasteful, contemptuous species. But even so! Does that warrant resurrecting such a powerful spirit, to see to their destruction?"

Titus's voice became cold: "I simply seek to finish what King Kyogre started long ago."

Phinebas had nothing to say to that. Eventually, Titus barked, "Lior. Enter," and he did so, pushing silently into the large tent and hovering by the door. Phinebas turned away from Titus and left, his crusty old face looking highly troubled. He ducked through the flap and was gone.

Titus growled, "Were you listening, Lior?"

"Yes sir." He sounded dead.

"Phinebas takes issue with what I plan to do, because it may directly result in a staggering loss of life. Do you know what I plan to do, Lior?"

"Yes. You want to resurrect Kyogre. Elon...told me."

"King Kyogre. And Phinebas is right. When the Sea King rises again, many souls will be lost to his waves. Human souls. He will balance the scale between us, land and sea, and right old wrongs. But to even get to such a point, we must make hard decisions, Lior. We must think how best to keep ourselves safe, the secret of our race safe, and sometimes this results in life or death." Titus went to his desk, curled down onto the cushions behind it. "Today, in the ravine—Cephas made the right decision. Do you understand?"

Tears bit at Lior's eyes. "Sir, I—"

"It was hard. I understand. You are just a boy. I understand. But consider the stories you heard when you were young, when your Father held you in your lap." Lior flinched. "Think about all the times merkind has suffered at the hands of humans. And imagine yourself in such a situation." Something changed in Titus just then — nothing outward, but his eyes... They seemed to become blacker, and his voice became polar. "Imagine, Lior... Imagine being fished out of the sea, and thrown in a tank, a tiny square barely ten tail-lengths across and seven tail-lengths high. Imagine people staring at you, laughing at you, and maybe worse: poking you, prodding you, shearing off your scales and making incisions along your tail. Studying you. Imagine being subjected to such a fate, because you cannot defend yourself. Because no one will defend you."

Lior was silent. He was also crying.

"There are people like this out there, boy," Titus warned. "Always and forever, there will be humans who bear their heels down on us, exploit us and our environment, delight in our pain. In our long and painful history, we have tried to conquer our human foes with kindness, and our folly has all but driven us into hiding. So now, we have but one choice, Lior — we must destroy them before they destroy us. And you did that today, boy. Do you understand?"

"B-but I killed—"

"You didn't kill anyone. You saved yourself. Do you understand? Repeat."

"I... I saved...myself." The words tasted evil and rotten on Lior's tongue, like oil, poisonous, deadly oil. More invisible tears streamed from his eyes.

Titus's face was unreadable as he contemplated Lior. "Make it your mantra," he said, "for I will not be here to say it to you in two days."

Lior blinked, thoughts of murder suddenly forgotten. What?

"Yes," Titus rumbled to Lior's stunned look. "I have things I must do beyond the trench. But you and the rest of the Army will remain here under Jesh's command. I expect you to continue to put your full effort into your duties, and if that involves bringing humans down to their doom, I expect it to be done without guilt, shame, or tears. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Lior's mind reeled as he saluted the commander. Where is he going? What was it that he and Phinebas had mentioned earlier? Something about an Orb? And people leaving? Is he going to find them?

"What news of Elon?" Titus asked. Lior stiffened. "Have you made any progress with him and his abilities?"

Awkwardly, Lior told him about Elon showing him the mud cloak, and managed to leave out the part about them traveling to Debbie's city.

"His birthday is in five days," Titus growled. "I expect he'll rope you into some sort of celebration."

Lior tensed. How does he know that? Perhaps Phinebas had told him. "Yes sir. He said he—"

"Never mind. I will speak to Jesh, and ensure that you are given that entire day off to be with him. Attend on him, and endear yourself to him — go where he leads, and see that you have a gift for him. Understood?"

Lior was stunned. And entire day off? He hadn't had so much time to himself since his first day with Enos. The gift was even stranger — was Commander Titus truly ordering him to get Elon a birthday gift? If it hadn't been for the hard look on Titus's face, it might've actually been funny.

But there was no amusement on Titus's face as he said, "In my absence, he should warm to you even more quickly. I pray that's the case, for when I return... Who's to say that there will be time to train?"

--

Author's Note:

Hello! Long time, no see folks! I'm glad to be able to bring you more FLOOD, but unfortunately, I still don't have a lot of new content for the story. For that reason, FLOOD may be on biweekly updates until I can pull ahead enough to have the story updated on a weekly basis. Apologies for that!