The Mermen Battle

Just then Calem and Emma feel something brushing near their bodies. They see Titan, Athen, and the rest of the mermaid army there to save Acrilla. The mermaid army chases after the boat as Titan and Athen help Tyler, Calem, and Emma to shore. The mermaids swim fast to stop the fishermen’s boat until they finally reach it. The fishermen spot them getting close, and they throw things at the mermaids.

“Get back,” they all shout. Two of the mermaids jump on the boat to grab Acrilla to get her out of the net. The fishermen surround them with hunting objects when other mermaids jump in. With a small number of fishermen, they give up quickly as the mermaids free Acrilla, and they all dive back into the water.

“This isn’t over yet,” one of the fishermen shouts.” The mermaid army takes Acrilla to shore to meet up with the children as Athen and Titan take them back to the beach.

“You need to be careful, being alone out here at night,” Athen says.

“Are you allowed to be here alone?” Titan asks.

“No, we snuck out to help Acrilla,” Tyler says. They all see her swimming towards them now. She hugs her brothers for saving her.

“They saved our lives too,” Calem says.

“They train and work hard to help everyone in need,” Acrilla says.

“We were hoping to come back with you again,” Emma says.

Acrilla looks around as the mermaid heads back home. “I'm not sure you should, especially after what just happened, but since you’re with me now, I’ll get the rocks that will help you breathe,” she says. Acrilla leaves to go underwater for a few seconds and comes back with the rocks. The kids rub it under their necks and follow Acrilla back to where she lives.

Back near Acrilla’s home, the sea mammals and mermaids panic as news spreads about what happened earlier. Acrilla swims forward as all of the sea animals and all adult and child mermaids get together after the attempted kidnapping. Many are thinking of relocating to a new ocean to get away from any future danger.

“This is bad,” Acrilla says. She swims over to where her sisters, Aqua and Donnie, are listening. Athen makes a speech in front of everybody. Tyler takes Emma and Calem to hear the meeting. So far, they’re all thinking of other ideas as to what to do.

“It would be best if we do leave this part of the Atlantic to live off another coast,” Athen says. “There’s no way the fishermen will give up until we are taken, or they are stopped from their plans.

“We can’t leave,” Dawn says. “What about all of our children? Where will we raise them?” Other parents are concerned, but it is for their safety. The kids return to Donnie and Aqua.

“Are you all going to move away?” Calem asks.

Aqua and Donnie look at each other, confused. “What? No,” Donnie says. “This is our home, and I’m not leaving over humans trying to scare us all away. We have to stop this instead of giving up,” Donnie says. “We can’t let these fishermen drive us out of our home, and take away the sea creatures.” The other mermaid children and young sea mammals are all confused together.

“I hate to say this but humans have more to fight you with than what you all have to defend yourselves,” Emma says. “Real weapons, items to capture animals, and boats to easily hunt and take you far away.” As everyone talks to one another, Tyler steps in to calm them down. He blows a whistle with his fingers. The creatures stop talking and panicking after hearing him speak.

“Listen, you can’t let these people drive you out of your home,” Tyler says. “You have to fight back if no one at the surface will.”

“What are you kids going to do for us?” Titan asks. “How are you going to fight the fishermen? They have been after the animals for years, and many times we’ve failed.”

“We have to try. The least we can do is report it,” Calem says. Just then, they all feel the ground shake again for a few seconds. Light orange smoke-like wisps drift in the water. Many of the sea mammals can’t stand the smell and run inside the castle or behind rocks. The mermen swim close to the smoke and then up to the surface. Titan leads the group to where the smoke came from. They can also smell it, but it is not as bad for them since it mostly irritates animals. One of the mermaids points out to the fishermen’s boat.

“It has to be coming from over there,” he says. The mermaids follow Titan and Athens to where they spot the same boat the fishermen are on. The fishermen prepare their nets to capture any animals that come up to escape the smoke smell. The mermaids have trouble getting a glimpse of what they’re doing. Titan leads the mermaid army and circles around the boat to prevent them from leaving. One of the fishermen throws a net in the water while a few others prepare the cages to place the small animals in. They all stop working when the leader, Captain Samuel, comes out of his upstairs cabin for the first time in a while. The mermaids hardly see him at night. Captain Samuel is dressed in a dark blue coat and black pants and boots. He always counts on his crew to get everything right. So far, he has not been happy with the hunting results.

“What is it going to take all of you to capture a turtle or baby dolphin?” he asks. “What is happening with us?”

“It’s not our fault,” a fisherman says. “It’s those mermaids that are causing our hunting to fail.”

“Yes, you captured one, and it got away thanks to its friends,” Captain Samuel says. “I want her and the other mermaids went for good in these waters.” The fishermen continue preparing for their fishing. “And make sure no other mermaids get in the way.” They all feel the boat move. “What was that?” He and the fishermen look down and see nothing.

“The water is clear,” another fisherman says. But soon they all see Titan and Athen in front of the boat. Captain Samuel orders an attack with their fishing weapons. Many carry nets to capture them both before being stopped by the rest of the mermaid army. The mermen grab the net and pull it away from the fishermen.

Captain Samuel gets in front of Titan who leads the group. “Get out of my ocean,” he says.

“Your ocean?” Titan yells out. “This water does not belong to you.”

Captain Samuel laughs, along with the rest of the crew. “What are you going to do about it? You have no weapons to fight us.” The mermaids surprise them with spears. The fishermen take out their sharp weapons, and all fight back. The mermen stay in the water and battle the fishermen in their boat. But because they’re in the water, the mermaids disappear and sneak up behind the fishermen, and start to hit and attack the boat. Captain Samuel has had enough of the battle and finds a scented smoke bomb. The crew and mermen continue to fight when Samuel tells all of his fishermen to back up. He throws the smoke bomb in the water close to Titan, Athen, and the other mermen. This smell is worse than the last one, and it scares them back underwater. The fishermen cheer, thinking they have won.

“No it is not over,” Samuel says. “It’s not. After all of these years, I will destroy those mermaids.”