King of the Seven Seas (EMH) Chapter 35: Like Cattle (1)

[Third Person Pov]

Arthur could feel himself being drawn ever closer to the source of the voice—to Garth.

“I can feel you more clearly now,” Arthur murmured, his brow furrowing in concentration. “I’m nearly there.”

The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden, violent surge tore through his mind.

“Arghh!!”

Arthur cried out in agony, the sound sharp and raw. Mera flinched beside him, startled so badly that her grip on the water beneath them wavered. For a split second, the liquid buckled, threatening to drop them straight to the street below.

“Arthur!” she gasped, her eyes glowing brighter as she forcefully stabilized the water with her magic. “What’s wrong?”

She turned toward him just in time to see Arthur nearly collapse. His knees buckled, his body folding inward as if something unseen had struck him. He dropped toward the water’s surface, one hand clawing at his head as a hoarse groan tore from his throat.

Arthur grunted and staggered, clutching his skull as though trying to keep it from splitting apart. His eyes watered uncontrollably as a stabbing, relentless pain drilled into his brain.

“It’s—It’s Garth…” he managed to force out through clenched teeth. “Ahhh!”

The world spun violently around him. His ears rang as if a massive bell had been struck directly inside his head, the sound echoing endlessly, disorienting and unbearable.

“Arthur!!” Mera shouted, panic lacing her voice.

The water beneath them began to tremble again, responding to her distress. Fighting to keep control, she redirected the current and guided them hurriedly toward the nearest rooftop. The moment she released the water, Arthur tumbled forward and hit the surface hard, curling in on himself. His fingers dug into his hair, his knuckles white, his eyes already bloodshot from the strain.

“I can feel… everything!” Arthur gargled out, his voice thick and distorted. “He’s—he’s accidentally transmitting his emotions and pain through his telepathy!”

Mera dropped to her knees beside him and placed a steadying hand against his back.

“Can’t you shut it off?” she pleaded. “Disconnect or something—anything!”

“I can’t—!” Arthur gasped, his jaw locking tight as another wave slammed into him. “He’s the one reaching out—Urghhh!!”

His teeth creaked audibly under the pressure, veins bulging along his neck and temples as they throbbed beneath his skin. When he spoke again, his voice cracked—not just from pain, but from the emotion rising uncontrollably inside him.

“Mera…” he rasped and whimpered. “What the hell are they doing to him? He’s just a little boy… What could they possibly be doing to cause this much pain?”

His hand clenched into a fist, trembling with fury. With a guttural snarl, Arthur slammed it down against the rooftop.

The impact was thunderous.

Cracks exploded outward from the point of contact, spreading like spiderwebs across the concrete. Jagged fractures raced along the surface, crawling up walls and across the roof as the entire building shuddered violently beneath the force of his rage.

After what felt like hours to Arthur—though in truth it was only minutes—the pain finally receded. His body slackened, and he rolled onto his back, drenched in sweat, chest heaving as he struggled to draw breath. Each gasp burned his lungs.

“It’s… over…” he muttered hoarsely.

Mera let out a shaky sigh of relief and leaned closer, watching him carefully. Arthur pressed his fingers to his temple, steadying himself as he reached out once more with his mind.

‘Garth… please,’ he sent gently. ‘Can you hear me? Are you okay?’

There was a pause—far too long.

‘I’m… fine. I’m okay,’ Garth finally replied. He tried to sound reassuring, but the tremor in his voice betrayed him completely. ‘I’m… used to it by now.’

Arthur’s jaw tightened. “Don’t lie to me, Garth,” he said aloud, his voice firm and unyielding. “I felt it. I felt everything. What’s going on? What are they doing to you?”

Another pause, heavier than the last.

‘It’s… it’s my magic,’ Garth confessed at last, his voice quivering as lingering pain rippled through his small body. ‘They’re forcibly siphoning it from me—pulling it out and storing it away. They want to use it for weapons.’

Arthur pushed himself upright, fury blazing in his eyes. He spoke both aloud and through his telepathy, every word carved with iron resolve.“You have my word, Garth. That will be the very last time you ever experience something like this. I’m coming for you—and I’m getting you out of that hell.”

The fairy magic within the sapphire pendant on Arthur’s chest trembled violently in response. The gem pulsed with light as the air around them grew thick and humid, popping and crackling under the pressure of his barely restrained rage.

Mera stared at him, fear and concern etched across her face. “What is it?” she asked quietly. “What are they doing to him?”

“They’re treating him like cattle,” Arthur snarled. The anger in his chest was so intense it felt suffocating, stealing the air from his lungs. “They’re milking him for his magic.”

Mera gasped, horror washing over her. She didn’t need to feel Garth’s pain to understand the cruelty of it.

“They’ll kill him,” she said urgently, her heart hammering. “We have to get to him—now!”

Arthur nodded sharply, straightening and wiping the sweat from his chin “I agree. We’re almost there,” he said, breaking into a sprint across the rooftop, locked onto the source of Garth’s presence. “Let’s go.”

---

Not much later, up ahead, Arthur and Mera both spotted people pouring out of a large building. The crowd swelled rapidly, spilling onto the sidewalks and plaza outside as overlapping voices filled the air with confusion and unease.

“What was that all about?” someone muttered anxiously.

“I know, right? They were acting so strange in there.”

“I swear those sharks were this close to shattering the glass!”

“And those sounds…” another person shuddered. “The noises they were making were terrifying. It sounded like they were being tortured.”

Arthur’s gaze locked onto the building immediately. His jaw tightened as recognition hit him. He pointed straight ahead, his voice sharp and unyielding.

“The aquarium,” he growled. “He’s inside there—somewhere.”

Neither Arthur nor Mera hesitated. They launched themselves from the rooftop above, descending in a blur before landing squarely amid the dispersing crowd. Their sudden arrival sent people screaming and stumbling backward in shock.

“What the—!?”

“Did you see that!?”

“Are they insane!?”

Arthur and Mera didn’t stop. They shoved through the mass of bodies with brutal urgency, gripping shoulders and forcing people aside. Some lost their footing and collided into one another as the two Atlanteans surged forward without apology.

“Hey!”

“Watch it!”

“You punks!”

The protests were meaningless.

When they reached the entrance, a pair of security guards rushed forward, hands raised defensively.

“Hey! You can’t—”

Arthur didn’t even slow down.

In a sharp, furious gesture, he waved his hand. The fairy magic within the sapphire pendant at his chest reacted instantly. Water surged forward out of nowhere, snapping like a living whip. It slammed into the guards with concussive force, knocking them clean off their feet and sending them skidding across the floor in a heap.

Mera paused for half a second, surprised—but the fury burning in her chest matched Arthur’s own. She said nothing as they vaulted over the fallen guards and charged inside.

The aquarium was chaos.

Water sloshed violently inside massive tanks, shadows of sea creatures moving erratically behind thick glass. Emergency lights flickered overhead as Arthur and Mera sprinted through the corridors.

“Where is he?” Mera demanded, scanning their surroundings as they ran.

Arthur skidded to a sudden stop at a branching intersection. He shut his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.

‘Please… help him.’

‘Save him.’

‘He needs you.’

The thoughts crashed into him all at once.

Every intelligent sea creature within the aquarium reached out—pleading, fearful, desperate. Arthur inhaled sharply and pushed back, sending out a wave of reassurance. He focused his telepathy, narrowing it into a precise pulse that swept through the entire building like sonar.

His eyes snapped open.

“Underground.”

With a sharp motion, Arthur ripped the sapphire pendant from his chest. The gem unfolded midair, transforming back into his trident with a resounding swoosh.

Arthur raised it high, the prongs aimed toward the floor beneath them. His face twisted with barely contained rage as he drew in a deep breath—and then roared.

“AHHHHH!!”

He drove the trident down.

Blue magical light erupted outward in rippling arcs, racing across the floor in glowing veins before detonating violently. The ground shattered like fragile glass, exploding downward in a thunderous cascade.

Arthur and Mera fell with it, plunging through layers of concrete and steel in one continuous, unstoppable descent.

Far below, deep underground within a sterile metal corridor crowded with HYDRA personnel, the ceiling began to glow ominously.

Then it gave way.

The explosion tore through the structure, sending debris and fire raining down. Emergency lighting instantly shifted to a deep, blood-red hue as alarms blared throughout the underground facility, their shrill wails echoing endlessly.

Arthur and Mera crashed through the ceiling.

Arthur landed first, his trident plunging straight through the chest of a HYDRA agent and pinning him to the floor. Mera slammed down atop another, the force of her impact shattering bones with a sickening crunch.

They didn’t linger.

Arthur yanked his trident free and hurled the lifeless body aside. Mera kicked her opponent away without a second glance as both rose to their feet in perfect, lethal synchronization.

HYDRA agents reacted instantly. Weapons were drawn and raised, crackling with unstable red and blue energy as they trained their sights on the intruders.

Arthur’s trident dripped with blood. Mera’s eyes blazed, glowing brightly with magic as water gathered around her clenched fist, spiraling and hissing with power.

Both were breathing heavily—not from exhaustion, but from restrained fury.

The rage of an Atlantean was the wrath of the sea itself.

Unforgiving.

Indiscriminate.

And utterly destructive.

“AHHHHH!!”

Their fury exploded simultaneously.

The prongs of Arthur’s trident surged with the force of a rushing river, currents roaring along its length. At the same time, the water coiled tightly around Mera’s fist, gleaming with concentrated magic—ready to detonate and wash everything in their path away.