Aquata Cove Ch. 100: Final Pt. 01

"I am sorry, Brother..." Proteus says as he rubs Pelagios's left shoulder, "I truly liked Leander... His mind was more enlightened than he might have realized..."

Pelagios looks to his mother; the high priestess is so enveloped in the incense and prayer that she is probably not even aware of her immediate surroundings as if she is hypnotized by invisible creatures swimming around her...

The Aquaform may very well happen... They really might survive and evolve into the sea... All of the soldiers that have invade will die...

Pelagios's heart pounds as severe nerves of fear and anarchy start to pull at his brain... Looking upon his family, all of them somber and calm, readying themselves for a forced metamorphosis. The work of the Gods, to spare them, to live on... But if this is what it all comes down to, then what is the point? Very slowly, Pelagios's hand goes to his side, and draws his silver moon-shaped dagger...

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Leander steps side from side with a shield in one hand, and his sword in the other. He pants and grits his teeth as his fellow soldier assaults him with a spear. He blocks each thrust, listening to the other men step, grunt, growl, as well as the many other sounds of metal clashing against each other.

Pelagios watches the sparring session in progress of the morning, leering at every soldier wearing very little - helmets, for one. Also sandals with leather bands and straps on the shins and on his forearms, and a leather garment that they wear that protects only the loins and the buttocks.

"ENOUGH!" Calls the captain. All of the soldiers stop their sparring immediately, and turn to attention, all of them coated in sweat and panting, "Most of your reflexes are improving, but you are losing finesse. Go for rest, and report back when I command."

"CAPTAIN!" They all shouted before the men go their separate ways. Leander huffs as he takes his helmet off, shaking his head and bringing a cloth up to wipe the sweat away.

"Your company is very skilled with the blade." Pelagios says as Leander comes near him. Leander turns to him, chuckling as he comes.

"Hah, yes... I am a little lacking today, I can barely keep up."

"Hmhm... Maybe I can help with that~" Pelagios teases as he puts his hand onto Leander's very thick pecs, his moistened muscles glistening with the workout and the thin layer of hair of his body.

"Hah... You would make me delayed for my training? The Captain will have my head."

"Heheh... Not if I have it first..." Pelagios says as he tucks his fingers into Leander's leather bottom piece, and escorts him away onto a cooled shade in a secluded spot. Leander can easily spot a bottle of oil and a few cloths on the side, as well as a half covered basket of fruit and bread, before his sees Pelagios shrugging off one of his own togas. "Ugh, I will never become accustomed to your empire's immensely hot climate. How do you people stand it?"

"We manage." Leander says as he crept down onto the grass, crawling down, just as the Triton puts his lips to the other as they lay down on the soft grass, putting his hands onto Leander's face. Leander huffs deeply as his lover really digs his mouth into him. Pelagios holds Leander's arms firmly the younger male cuddles with the manly soldier.

"Hhh, hhh, hhh, heh heh," Leander chuckles as he rolls onto his back, as his mostly exposed prince sits on top, wearing only his very revealing white loincloth, "And what if the Captain were to summon me back to the quarry?"

"As far as he is concerned, you are escorting foreign royalty for important business." Pelagios grins as his hands dig and grab onto Leander's beefy chest, while Leander's hands are holding Pelagios's hips. Pelagios's growing erection can be seen within the semi-transparent cloth, while Leander's leather bottom pushes forward as his contained penis slowly shoves forward.

Pelagios moves his face in, and starts to lick and gently gnaw on Leander's neck, "A-Ahhhhh..." Leander sighs as his mouth becomes ajar with his lover gently grazing on him, "Hhhhhh..." One of the Triton's hands wonder down into the relatively firm leather piece and started to pull one of the straps back, loosening the right hip seam.

[][][]

"On this day our lives will be placed in the embrace of the ocean," Oceanus continues to his eulogy of his kingdom, "Let our sorrow bring out plea to-"

-CLANGangnngnng-

They stop and look to see Pelagios has dropped his helmet on the floor.

"Pelagios?" Eidothea suddenly says. They see Pelagios a little farther from them, holding his dagger in his hand.

"What is it, son?" Oceanus asks, his eyes going to Pelagios's crescent-shaped knife. He notes the dark look in his son's eyes as he slowly brings his face up, "Pelagios... Answer me."

"I... I cannot allow this to be my end..." Pelagios says as he brings his small blade up, shimmering in the light. Proteus stares at him.

"Brother? What are you doing??"

"Forgive me." Pelagios says before the blade rings up, and slashes down, "AHHH!" His cry echoes in the chamber. The two children gasp out, Eidothea and Proteus as well as Oceanus stare in shock.

"What are you doing?!?"

Pelagios strains as blood pours from the knife in his hand, having stabbed and slashed into his other hand, spilling his royal blood onto the floor. Wracked with pain, Pelagios grunts harshly as he then unequipped his chest plate that contains his sacred Atlantean gems, allowing his blood soak into the ornate armor before throwing it to the floor.

"Oh son..." Oceanus looks at him with remorse eyes, "Pelagios."

"I-I-I am sorry, Father, I cah..." Pelagios takes a couple of steps back, "I can't..."

"NO!" Eidothea suddenly grabs onto Pelagios's reddened arm, "You must STAY! If you leave now, our Kingdom does not have a chance!"

Pelagios yanks his arm back from his older sister. "Pelagios." Oceanus speaks up. He comes to his son, and puts his hand on his shoulder, "You realize what you are doing..."

Pelagios pushes that hand away from him. Tears run down his face as he walks backwards, taking one last look at everyone. His mourning father, his praying mother, his furious sister, his stunned brother, his horrified baby brother and sister, the shocked monks and priests.

With his hand still bleeding, Pelagios turns right around, and sprints from them.

"NOOOO!" Eidothea runs after him. "GET BACK HERE, BROTHER!!" Before she can leave the hall itself, she finds herself being caught in the mighty arms of the king, "PELAGIOS! Return to us now!!" She shouts. Oceanus huffs in sadness as Eidothea writhes in his grip, "Let me go, Father! We NEED him!" Oceanus does not answer, but only watches the hall as he sees Pelagios's silhouette in the illuminated halls. "You have ended us, Pelagios!! YOU HAVE EXTINGUISHED US!!"

Pelagios pants and moans as he runs as fast as he can, blood still flinging and dripping from his injured fist, running freely as he goes. He sobs with hurt and excitement as he passes the Ningyo sentinels, fighting and protecting the temple from the soldiers still trying to get in, "I'm coming, Leander... Please wait for me! I'm coming!"

Draws his trident, he commands two Ningyo nearby to guide him through the battle. The golden merfolk-like statues, moving as if the air itself is made of water, circle him as he runs, their glowing eyes aiming for any soldier who dare come at the prince.

~~~

"Pelagios..." Leander mumbles as his body grows cold and tired. His vision is blurry, he can hardly see. He has lost so much blood... Part of him wants to go to sleep, while the other part of him wants to make it to the end. He closes his eyes as he tries to summon a brighter memory.

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Leander swims along the river, all of his clothing neatly left over by the rock of the creek. Pelagios swerves and zooms around him, easily the better swimmer. Leander dips down, and swims around, breaking the surface, laughing right before his naked prince rises up and pushes him down under. Pelagios hugs Leander tightly as they swim further with the cooled current.

~~~

Pelagios walks with Leander as they wonder about the home village. The heated air carries the scent of fresh pastries as the Phoenix Festival brings the cheer and excitement about the people. Leander buys a kite from one of the merchants, and Pelagios takes the string to attach it before they run off.

~~~

King Oceanus and Queen Atargatis smile as they sign the parchment before Leander, promising him his future position as an ambassador of Atlantis, with Pelagios beaming with joy.

~~~

"You truly are the most important man I know." Pelagios says as he lies on his back on a soft mound in Leander's home.

"Heh... How many times must I correct you?" Leander inquires with a raised brow, "I'm just a peasant with connections."

"Heh... Your people take everything so in material." Pelagios says as Leander rests on his side, "It does not matter if you are nobility or rabble; these years has proved that much, has it not?"

"I try to keep humble." He simply says, "Some of the other men tease half the time for being courted with a prince, and some of them even accuse me of special treatment." Leander stretches with a chuckle. Pelagios cuddles close as he holds him.

"You make me feel more alive when I am with you..." Pelagios mumbles, "You are all I can think of every day that passes..."

"Yes..." Leander kisses Pelagios's forehead, "And every time I may see you is far more than anyone can bargain for..."

"Heheheh..." Pelagios breathes lowly as they slowly doze off, "I love you..."

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Eidothea sits on a chair with her hand holding her forehead, while Oceanus paces with low spirits. Atargatis flinches as her eyes remain closed, the Urn vibrating slightly.

"Why did you let him leave?" Eidothea finally broke the silence, "Why did you stop me, Father? You know we have no chance without 7 members of our family..."

"Leander Aeolus is dying out there... Pelagios must go to him."

"Leander is not of our kind! We are the only thread of which our continued survival hangs upon, and he has forsaken us!"

"He left us his blood... And his mantle..." Oceanus says as he looks to the puddle that leads out of the chamber, "By the God's mercy, I pray it will be enough..."

"But WHY Father?!" She stands up, "You allowed him to throw all of us away! WHY??"

"My daughter..." Oceanus says as his dreary eyes look to her, "Out of all of my children... He is the only one to have found the precious light that holds his heart; love. And even that will always be worth dying for in the very end..."

"I have never known you to be so foolish and sentimental, Father." Eidothea spat venomously, "After the years of discipline you posed upon us, and you just let him run."

"Alas..." The king consented, letting her get her angry words out, while she can...

~~~

"Pela... Pela..." Leander pants, fading very slowly, "Pela... Gios..." He is so tired, the lingering memories are more like the fleeting images right before you fall asleep, when dreams first start to trickle into the mind. He knows he has lost a lot of blood. Maybe he should have patched himself up... Or then again, if this is where he's going to die, perhaps it's best to succumb to slumber rather than face the explosion of a God's wrath.

At least, in the very end... He is in the homeland of where his love was born...

"... Leander...!" Some very distant voice calls out. His eyes blink open for a moment, thinking he may have heard something. His vision meets the broad side of his sword, with the sinking royal city behind his weapon. He can make out the flying golden statues of Atlantis, the moving protectors of the Sea Kingdoms, he recalls. They're swimming everywhere, taking out the other soldiers who have invaded the boundaries. "... Leandeeerrr!" He heard his name again.

"Peh... Pelagiuh..." Leander mumbles as he struggles to get up. He grunts weakly as his legs push under him, and he rises himself up. His arms shake as he pushes down on his sword's handle until he is finally back on his feet. His blurred vision focuses down below, in the gravel and tragic carnage. He slowly inhales as he sees a sprinting Atlantean, running away from the chaos, a shining trident in hand as he runs up.

"LEANDER!!" Pelagios cries out as he starts to climb up the cliff ruins like a mountain with many edges for him to grab and run onto, "I'm coming! I'M COMING!!"

"Pelagios..." Leander's eyes moisten with tears as his chest wells heavily with joy. He came back... He came back...

Taking a very tired step, Leander leaves his sword and shield behind, and clumsily makes his way down. He grunts in mild discomfort as he slides down the rubble and broken metal until he rolls onto his side on a ruptured platform. He whines roughly as he pushes himself up again, and crawls back over an edge.

"LEANDER!!" Pelagios called out as he runs as fast as he can. He shouts a foreign word as the Ningyo guards circle him. One of the golden merfolk swims up to clear several huge rocks in front of him. Pelagios gasps as he sees an opening crack next. Taking a deep breath, Pelagios stops, and LUNGES his trident like an almighty arrow. The trident sings through the air until pries deep into the crack, somehow stopping it from moving. Pelagios run faster, and leaps over the crevice, just before it gave in, and the silver trident falls into the deep rising tide of the ocean.

"Hgh hgh hgh..." Leander coughs as his battered body lies on the rock he landed on next. "Keep... Going..." He wheezes as he pulls himself forward. His knees move and pushed him forth, and let himself slide down the edge, as he can see his true love come closer. Leander lands on his feet this time, his legs wobbling before he stumbles onto a corner of a disembodied house. He winces as he sees Pelagios just below him. Panting with exhaustion, Leander limbs forward, and goes off the edge once more, "Pelagios..."

"LEANDER!" Pelagios jumps up several parts and stones, and finally made it, just as Leander collapsed in front of him, "I am here! I'm here!" Pelagios catches Leander just as he fell onto the platform. Pelagios hugs him as tight as he possibly can, weeping openly as his fallen soldier pants with fatigue, "I am so sorry, I left you! I left you behind, you were alone," Pelagios cried as he holds him.

"Pelagios... You came back..." Leander hushed, feeling so very tired and bruised, "You came back for me..."

"I couldn't leave you." Pelagios sobbed, "I couldn't leave you behind, I cannot bear to be away from you, not now!"

"You... Came... Back..." Leander mumbles, his arms are barely able to move.

"I love you, Leander, I will never leave you alone again!"

~~~

"A-AAHhh!" Atargatis suddenly cries out.

"Atargatis!" Oceanus goes to her.

"Mother!"

"A-Ahhh!" Her eyes show pain and horror as her skin begins to change somewhat.

"No..." Oceanus says with despair, "We... We are lost..." He casts his eyes down.

"NnnNNoo!" Atargatis says as her eyes begin to leak a fluid akin to melted platinum, "I-Iiiii..." Her voice distorts as water begins to gurgle inside her throat, her eyes starting to strain, "I will not... Let us ffFFffaaAAAll..."

"M-Mother!" Proteus frets as he sees the queen's long hair turn metallic, and then transparent, as the veins on her body begin to push.

"Hhh!" Oceanus looks at the Urn of Amphitrite. It shakes as the contents began to glow. "It... It is opening...!" He looks to his changing wife as she puts herself through so much agony. "G-Gaahh!" He stumbles when his insides start to churn and race. He looks at his hands, shaking as they also begin to radiate within his flesh. His quivering eyes look to Pelagios's forsaken armor. The crimson mess left by his son twitches as light starts to bite and shimmer from it before it started become light itself.

"The blood of the royals and the priests must be spent..." He mumbles to himself as he then looks at the praying monks, all of them starting to tremble and gasp, all of them feeling the Aquaform begin to happen. "And on this day, the Gods will allow us the Force of the Guardians and the Songs of the Sky. Tritons and Noitas will inherit what we have lost, and all that we are..."

Oceanus falls to his knees, and his hand lands on the floor. He coughs as his eyes suddenly flash out in blinding light, as well as his sons and daughters, and the holiest of monks.

The Urn of Amphitrite suddenly explodes as a wave of solid light erupts and consumes the entire temple!

~~~

The center of Atlantis quickly springs a very vast dome of light. The radiant bubble sends out a thin mist of force that races through the land. The fighting soldiers continue the clash, until each and every one of them that is hit with the wave abruptly to the ground, coughing and gagging on their stance, choking on nothing. The light races up the ditch, and finally hits Pelagios's back!

"AHHH!" Pelagios's arms lash around Leander harshly as he feels a very hard force charge into him, as if a giant blade of the Gods impales him from behind!

"P-Pelagios?" Leander grunts, feeling himself snared significantly tighter.

"A-Ahhehh! Aaagghh...!" Pelagios falters on his feet as his eyes and mouth leak a floating white mist. Before another loud clash rings, and Pelagios is once again hit by another blast!

"AAAHHHHH!" He cries out as light begins to pour from his body. His hands tighten around Leander as he endures it all, "IIIWILLNOOHHLEEEYOUHEERRRR!" He manages to shout.

"Pelagios... Pelagios..." Leander whispers as he summons one last ounce of strength in his body. Another blast firs off into the boundaries of Atlantis, the ravenous light consuming everything in its path, exterminating the soldiers, absorbing the last of the Atlanteans, possessing the soulless Ningyo sentinels, and making its way to complete the dome once more.

"AAHHH!!" Pelagios shouts out as his blood rages with overflowing power as Leander drags them to the edge.

"I love you, Pelagios... Thank you so much... For..." Leander's eyes close just as their weight tips the balance on the edge. Their bodies fly for a brief moment before they descend down. The moon-like wave rises up, as if to catch their fall. Leander's life slowly leaves his body as the lovers fall together, while Pelagios's thrashing blood finally greets into the ruthless shine of Atlantis.

Everything within the borders of Atlantis is consumed into the colossal orb of light. The men of the coming warships at sea stare with awe and horror as Atlantis becomes an impossible dome of radiance, sinking down into the vast sea, and illuminating much of the ocean.

Soon, the entire body of water becomes a glowing space of holy divinity, the moon-shaped kingdom descending deeper and deeper into the sea, never to know the world of the surface ever again.

†††

"Is... Is this... Elysium...?" Says the soul of Leander, weary and tired. The Soul soon finds himself floating in a stream of over flowing light and nothingness. All he is allowed to see is shining streams of veils and many, many lights. Upon squinting, he can make out that the lights are human-shaped, flying through the void, and into several white suns flaring in the light of everywhere. "No... This..."

The shining spirits drift and fly through the heavenly space. Some of them entering what seems to be blinding gates, while others follow the current along a different direction, and some of them walk through one of the huge portals of intensity.

"Y... You ..." Comes another voice. The soul turns, and sees the ethereal essence of Pelagios.

"My love..." The Soul opens his arms, and flies slowly towards him, both of them wisping of divine vapor before they soon reunited as they drift in the endless abyss of light.

"So... This is the after life..." The Entity wept with happiness, "And you are here... I did not lose you... I did not lose you..."