Chapter: The Homecoming

"So this is the prince that has been spoken of for quite a while. The hybrid, is this what you call a hybrid? A halfling? One incapable of transforming fully into a mer-person? Look at his nimble limbs, he walks in the sea instead of swimming with his tail. And you call this abomination a miracle?. Hahaha, I heard that you have started his initiation, so I have come up with a deal, why not we fast forward the process to the last, where he fights the strongest of all mer-person, I know someone he should fight." She said, the whole crowded place became unimaginably silent as they paid utmost attention to what she had to say. 

"Napoleon!" She called out, and this dark-skinned gigantic-looking garment merman came out, he was Napoleon, and he was the one that my evil aunt expected me to fight.

"No! Never, this can't happen. Napoleon is no longer an Atlantis, he is from the Bermuda triangle, and he is not even a full mer-person, he is a hybrid, a hybrid of tee sea monsters, he is not worthy to face my son." Dad said, he objected to the opinion.

"Hahaha, you fear that your son is not the strongest, no, you know that he is a weak folk, I thought you all say that he is a hybrid, why not you do it, a hybrid against a hybrid, a fight to the death. This is the deal, if you weak son defeats my hybrid, then, I shall never compete or contest for the golden plates throne of father." So she said. It was a very catchy deal, but I still do not accept it, even my friend Julio kept giving me the sign to never agree with the fight. Electra whispered to my ear saying that no matter the pressure, I must never give in, I must not accept to fight Napoleon. 

That Napoleon happens the be a beastly monster that everyone feared in the sea, both Atlantis and Bermuda Triangle dreaded him. But looking at the ground, they chanted for an end to this long feud, they need to sleep without the fear of Coastabel coming with her war 

I looked around and I saw the need for me to stand up and prove myself to my people, listening to their minds I heard the disappointing words, they were beginning to doubt me and even dad, someone said, if truly I was the strong hybrid father said I was, why then is he scared of me facing a fellow hybrid. Listening to these, I made up my mind that I must face him. Father looked at me and tried to hush that thought away from my mind, but no, I have made up my mind.

"I accept! I shall face your Hybrid, hybrid against hybrid, winner takes all, if I defeat your hybrid, you will leave Atlantis for good, you will have to forfeit all of your inheritance and go back to where ever you are coming from, and you will never bother Atlantis with your goofy looking face." So I said. And she only laughed and accepted the deal, she was so certain that I will never defeat the giant beast. Dad was very disappointed, he can to me and held me by the shoulders, he shook me wondering why I must be so stupid, even him do not believe in me, he was supposed to trust me, after all, I have the gift of Poseidon in me. But little did I know that I do not need to use any superpower tor this fight, it must be a thing of strength and physical skill of weapon combat. And poor little me, I have zero experience with the use of weapons.

"Why are you trying to change his mind? He has to divide this for himself, and he had just done, and I accepted all his dealings, and do you wonder where he got his stupidity from? Hahaha, remember, apples don't fall far from the tree, he got it from you, and this time, he won't be as lucky as you are. He is dying today. Hahaha ah!!!" She said and laughed at me. Now, without waste of time, Napoleon was already in the centre of the crowd. The crowd had created an arena for us to fight, it was a fight to the death, it was either I kill Napoleon, or he kills me. I won't lie, my heart was beating so fast, I just couldn't imagine dying down here, what about my mom and Cynthia, mom will also die, she can't leave with the story of my death, and that was the main reason why I had to decide never to die, no matter the outcome of the fight.

Both of us were now in the arena, we locked eyes, the bastard gave me a degrading smile, he saw me as an easy kill. Dad there down his sacred sword to me as Napoleon unleashed his sword, he attacked quickly and smart, he was too fast his size, I used my sword to deflect his sword which he brought against my shoulder, he reached out to grab me, but I have already realized how detrimental it is to be so close with a man twice my size during combat, so, frantically, I managed to move out his reach. He signed his heavy sword again desperately at me and I parried the forte of his blade but this time it slightly hit me across the shoulder, I then fell to the ground, and scrambled to get back up, my heart pounding desperately out of fear, but the more I tried to get up, the harder he made it for me as kept unleashing a wild swing of his blade against me. My open palm received a slice from his blade, and pain blazed across my bone.

Seeing how vulnerable I was at the moment, he landed a fist on my gut, then another, and after the other. I coughed and gulped as I felt the crunch of his knuckle against my bone, I felt the sour taste of fear right on my very tongue.

 "Father!” I roared, and dad stood up from his throne, coming to stop the fight, but the only mermaid stopped him before he go to the middle of the arena, and evil aunty stared at him and bled out a smile of victory. Dad was definitely restless, he literally saw how the giant Napoleon manhandled me in the fight. With this, the bastard curled his mouth to bring out a wicked smile of near victory, and I began to pray.

"God of my mother!" I cried out loud. I prayed to the God of my Mother, the Most High God, I prayed for his protection and assistance in this fight. Then, out of desperation and fear, I swing my sword without any target, and luckily I cut a sly path before him, darting between his rib cage and collarbone and blood-splattered like froth all over the surface of the river. Now, there was a yell of shock, as the cheers, the screams on every side of our enemies died down at once

 “go Damian!” this became the new chant from dad's people, my people. The crowd from our enemy side became afraid, and silence fell abruptly upon them and completely as I stood up vastly and started walking slowly towards him. Like a wild cat, his arms, legs, and claws darted out, desperately looking for the demonic sophisticated metal gun but he found only a cold spill of his blood, I had gotten up and already used the sword to kick out the gun from here he hung it. Terror mounted in his throat like a heavy lump of food swallowed out of greed refusing to go down as my footsteps drew near to him, he was already on the ground gasping for breath, and that was when he realized that he was no wild cat. He was only the godforsaken prey caught in between the teeth of the wild cat. 

"Yes, I don’t want anyone else to try to help,” dad said loudly, and in total silence, his voice carried like a trumpet call. 

“I love the fact that it is like, my some the Victor.

Kill him! kill him? kill him!" This was the chant, but I just can't kill, I can't take a life, I looked around with my leg placed on his ripped open chest as he struggled still keep his heart pumping. Father looked at me and understood that I had a problem with killing, and he said.

"I believe that it is over. Napoleon is only now a vegetable, he can not and will never torment anyone, my son your one true Prince had made sure of that. So I believe that there is no need to take his already dead life, let him go with his ruin, the ruin his mistress had cast on him like a curse." Dad said, and the crowd jubilated, they were happy that I, their Prince and heir apparent the gold plated throne was not over rates after all. But Evil aunty Coastabel was not happy with what dad said she was furious and disappointed, she called on her calm soldiers, surprised to take up their arms and continue with the fight, but no one obeyed her order, it was only the merpeople and creatures from the Bermuda Triangle that stood with her, but they were outnumbered, it was something that could seem to be, one soldier against ten. Seeing the situation of things, that was when disappointment heard her voice, and frustration stared her in the face. She took her arms and swam to the place where Napoleon now sat breathing high, she used her sword which had some markings on it and slit the neck of Napoleon, and then she looked around in the water before she called on her remaining and few loyalists to join her in her running away.

That was how peace returned to Atlantis, the entire Atlantis felt indebted to me, and it turned out that my decision to free Electra and the other Mariners was not wrong after all, the old lady made that announcement the next day, and she also said that the fight against Napoleon had concluded my Initiation and that I am now a full mermaid, and also that I can come and leave whenever in need. She said that the whole of Atlantis is at my service, whenever I need them, whether it be on land or in the sea, they will surely come for my assistance.

I was so excited about this announcement as I went to Dad and told him that I will like to go back home, I will like to go and meet my family, my mom and Cynthia, I have missed them a whole lot, and who knows how long that I had stayed if it eas to be counted by Earth's time?

Dad actually permitted me to go, but he made me promise that I will always find my sway here whenever I am headed, we even went before the great statue of Poseidon the great sea god.

On my return to earth, I found myself in my room, it was just as I left it, untouched, but dusty, I wondered how my room got that dusty, I walked around the room, then I decided to go and check mom's room, it eas also vacant, but it wasn't all that dusty, it wasn't even dusty at all, I look sound the house but I just didn't find her, and a box of hers was not present in her room, u windered where she could be, I tried to go outside, but no, I just couldn't open the door, that was when I realized that I had been trapped in the house, I just returned into a locked house. So I went back into my room in search of my cell phone which I later found after a long search inside the locker, it was wrapped in a white piece of clothing, mom must have kept it there for me. I took the phone and checked the battery was down so I quickly took the phone and plugged it into electricity to be charged, after a few minutes I took the phone and called on mom who picked up so fast like she had been expecting the call for a while now.

"Damie, is this you?" She said in a shaky voice. I responded to her, it turned out that she could no longer stay back in the house after I left, fake dad took her over to his place, where they stayed together, but every day she kept waiting and hoping for my return, I actually spent only three days in Atlantis, but spent one year and six months outside earth, how time flies. After my call with mom who said she will be home in a jiffy, I called on Cynthia too, she just gained admission into Nnamdi Azikiwe University In Anambra state Nigeria (Unizick). Whereas me, I have not even started my admission hunt, she was so excited to know that I was home, she ran to the house so fast only the stop by the gate where I could only see her through the window, I can't leave the house, and she can't enter the compound, I was locked in while she was locked out. I could see and smell her excitement from here. But as I stayed in there waiting for mom to come back, it got done on me that it will take mom at least an hour or even more to get home, and I just couldn't wait to get a grip on Cynthia. As I was there, I remembered how I managed to get back here, the process won't be that difficult, all I needed was to focus, so I closed my eyes and focussed on getting out of the house, I knew where mom and I usually keep the spare key, so I went and checked for it and I found it. And then concentrated on getting outside, when I finally opened my eyes, I found myself backing the door which I was facing earlier, I looked clearly and found out that I was outside, Cynthia shouted out of Joy, she called me to come and get her, she was supposed to be scared or surprised to see me perform this act, but no, she was only thrilled.

I ran to her with the key in my hand, she was stretching her hand into the compound through the space in the bars of the gate, I held her hand and kissed her before I hurriedly opened the gate, and have her inside, I hugged and kissed her as she jumped on me like a little baby, I felt like I had grown even stronger in Atlantis because she only got lighter on my arms as I carried her inside the house effortlessly.

We sat together, kissing, hugging, and catching up on what I have missed before mom came inside, we didn't remember to lock the gate, we were so excited to see each other. It was mom and fake dad that arrived together, she was so excited to see me, and even fake dad was also happy. How hilarious this was, I left home only there days, and they missed me this much, well, to me it was just three days, but to them, it was eighteen months.

Fake dad had been pestering mom for marriage, but she had insisted that she will never marry without me beside her, according to her, since she has no father, I was the one who will play the fatherly role for her. Well thank God I am back now, Fake dad will now have that which he had always dreamt of, my mom, he will finally snatch her from me. 

We had a lot of catching up and discussions, I told them of my initiation and the experiences I had in Atlantis and they were all overwhelmed by it, mom thinks that Dad was lucky, according to her, if any harm had come to me, that she would have skinned him alive and use him for a smoked fish. Anty Paula and The nice Mr Bright later joined us, everyone had already known about my relationship with Cynthia, I think that Cynthia on one occasion let it out that we were dating and that I am the love of her life.

Though everything was ok and back to normal, I still was not fully happy, yes, not until fake dad promised to get me an admission too in the same school where Cynthia got hers too. Mom thought it was impossible to get admission when I didn't even write a jamb not to say "sit for the entrance exam", but fake dad assured her that nothing is impossible with money, he also advised her to start thinking like a rich lady, he reminded her of all our assets, he said we are multimillionaires, and he said that it is high time mom start behaving like one.

The end...

Watch out for the part two ✌️...

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