When We First Met

This is a One-Shot by Josh-Son Of Hyperion
Third Person P.O.V
Ariel had it enough. She is tired to stay on the surface, but on the other hand, she kinda like it because it's so very humid in here.
Ariel spent almost all of her time staying submerged to look for fishes for her to eat, and most of the time she lay below the waterbed to catch fishes by surprise.
She took a deep breath before putting her head under the waterbed, and as soon as one of the fishes came near, she immediately swam with a sudden burst of speed and she got the fish in her mouth and chomps it.
"Wow, it's not so hard after all..." Ariel said.
Ariel heard some strange noises and listened. Fortunately for her, she had been in the forest for so long that her ears are very sensitive to quiet things.
So, Ariel decided follow the noise, while travelling underwater, with only one of her ears sticking out in the air to listen to noises. She continued to follow the noise until it stopped.
She popped up her head gently and saw the boy in golden hair and golden eyes. He appeared to be hurt and he is washing his blade in the creek. She approached him slowly as not to make any sound that might draw his attention.
The boy then sheathed his sword and he appeared that he is going to cry. Ariel slowly came out of the water and gently touched his shoulder.
As soon as Ariel touched his shoulder, he turned around very fast and She got a closer look at his face. He had a tannish white skin and also a plain shirt that some of them already ripped off. Judging from what She saw, he didn't come from a good family. He had a round head and round ears. Ariel heard a cannon went off in the distance. She turned around and looked at the pirates raiding this place.
"Let's go!" Ariel said, grabbing his arm, and dragging him.
Fortunately, he is not heavy at all to carry, but he kept resisting, so Ariel tried to talk to him.
"What's your name?" She asked him.
The boy, with sad eyes, replied, "Josh."
"Now come on! Let's go!" Ariel said, dragging the guy named Josh. At first, he is reluctant, but after he saw the pirates, he agreed to go with her and started running.
Ariel and the guy named Josh continued to run across the jungle and into Ariel's underwater base. Josh took a deep breath and followed her under the water.
Ariel just swam round the mines planted below, dragging Josh in the process. Ariel kept holding onto him as she swam towards her base.
Then, both Ariel and Josh reached this place where there's a submerged house that stretches for hectares in area, and she went under while dragging Josh with her.
They saw an pocket of air and they go for it. As soon as both heads broke into the surface, Ariel is pretty much breathing normally but Josh gasped and coughed and needed to be helped up. Ariel gave him a hand and he took it as she helped him climb up the mattress.
Josh began to collapse and buried his face in his hands and started crying again. Ariel looked at him in shock. She has to find out what has happened to him, why he is so very sad.
Ariel approached him. "Josh? Are you okay?"
Josh looked at Ariel and shook his head, and Ariel fired another question. "Why are you crying, Josh?"
This time, Josh didn't have a choice but to answer. "It's.... it's my mother."
"What happened? Did she abandon you?" Ariel asked.
Josh nodded, and he went back to burying his face in his hands. Ariel approached him further and touched his hands.
"Josh... I have been abandoned by my mother too." Ariel spoke. "I ran away when I was 10 years old, and since then I had to rely on my skills to survive the immense flooded jungle in the Pantanos De Centla, Mexico."
It got Josh's attention. Josh stared at me for a while, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "You were abandoned by your mother too?"
"Yes." Ariel said to Josh. "My mother always be cruel to me, but I gathered my nerves to leave the house, even though my mom told me to stay at home at all times except school times or else my mother would beat me to death."
"My mom was the same..." Josh said. "She...." Tears pooling in his eyes. "She always... treats me like a freak! Have you ever read a book 'The Child Called It'?"
Ariel's mind reeled. She doesn't want to remember that story. It is way too disturbing for her to tell. I remember one page where the mom called Dave Pelzer child an 'It', and other cases where Dave's mom torture him to death.
"Yeah." Ariel told him.
"Well, let's just say that mom treated me like in the last chapter in the middle section, where my mom called me an 'It'.
Ariel was shocked. His mom called him an It! A non-existent person! His mom had stripped him of his existence! She doesn't recognise him as her children anymore!
"The worst thing is that I don't know my father is!!" Josh yelled at her. "I don't know how or why but it's been already 5 years I've been on foster home, and they treated me like slaves! And I still haven't get to know my father!"
"Your father is a god, then." Ariel told him.
This shocked Josh like never before. His father is a god? Why hasn't anyone tell him this before? If Josh's father is a god, then why is he crying like a baby? Is his father the god of tears and feelings? Is that why he cried almost every single day?
Thoughts kept reeling around his head while he stayed below the underwater base that Ariel and the water nymph and her friends had built.
Ariel went down the stairs and Josh followed her.
Looking at the base, it seems that it stretches for hundreds of kilometers, like the Ku Chi tunnels in Vietnam, but the only difference is that this tunnel is big enough for 4 normal people to walk side by side and it leads to this giant room where everything is provided, from kitchen, food, armory, supplies, beds and many others.
Josh looked at all the facilities our base had to offer, and he smiled. He had never seen anything wonderful like this, especially the fact that it's underground.
"You haven't seen anything yet." Ariel said, and she continued to tour him.
As Ariel toured him, thoughts revolved around Ariel's head. They had made this base as secure as possible, and there's no possibility that anyone is going to break in through the walls since it's made from heavy steel walls.
Ariel led him to one of her rooms, which is on another long tunnel, and after it seemed for eternity, they finally reached Ariel's living quarters. Ariel opened the door and Ariel glanced at Josh, who stares at the walls and the decoration with wide eyes.
The walls are painted with bright colors. There are decorations in the form of diamonds and golds, but he hasn't seen the best of it.
Ariel guided him to the bedroom. The bedroom is very huge, about the size of 4 king sized bedrooms, and there's one weird bedroom as big as 2 king sized bedrooms lying on the huge aquarium.
"Now, enjoy Joshy." Ariel told him. "I have an important thing to do, defend this swamp."
And with that, Ariel left.
Ariel ran as fast as she could to the entrance of the base to find that pirates were swimming under. The fortunate part is that she can quickly knock the pirates out since they will be gasping for breath once they reach this hidden lair of hers.
Ariel is correct. Of course, after swimming for about 1 minute, one of the pirates gasped for air and in that timeframe, she quickly hit his head and he went back under, and that was followed by his friends, which also came up gasping. She quickly grabbed a sword and stabbed the pirates. The other pirates started to retreat, and some of them drown because of the stab wound Ariel gave to their arms.
Ariel then quickly dashed to the underground lair, afraid that someone might have taken Josh. Ariel knew in her head that the pirates are going to keep coming, so she cannot hide forever in her hideout.
When she found Josh, he is sleeping, so she had to wake him up.
"Hey Joooosh..." Ariel poked him below his armpit. He squirmed a little and opened his eyes.
"What happened?" Josh asked.
"We have to..." I began, but was stopped when Josh's eyes widened.
Behind Ariel, there stood 3 ugly looking pirates with an eyepatch, and some scars in their cheeks. They wore the usual pirate shirts and jeans, and they had guns in their pockets.
"End of the line, miss!" One of the pirates said, and I could tell it's the leader.
We tried to go past them, but more pirates began surrounding us, forcing us to surrender. Josh looked like he was about to cry, but I patted him in his head, telling him not to worry.
"Josh, don't worry." I told him. "Everything's going to be okay."
As soon as I said it, I realized how cliche it sounds. My foster father always used 'Everything's going to be okay' phrase, and I'm sure that Josh also felt it was a cliche.
Then, Ariel put my hands behind her head, and Josh did the same. The pirates walked towards them and knocked both Ariel and Josh out.
Ariel woke up in a daze. Ariel opened her eyes and all she can see is a dark place with wooden walls that resembles a ship. Ariel notices that she had been rocking back and forth shortly after she woke up, and she notices she had been tied and gagged along with Josh. Josh is still fast asleep, his head is rolled against his right shoulder. Ariel squirmed towards Josh in order to wake him up, but she had to make sure that the pirates above didn't notice me already awake, or else it would get their attention.
Ariel reached Josh, and she nudged him slightly. Josh still in his sleep, so she muffled softly in his right ear. Josh then woke up, and he looked at his body, which is bound in ropes, and he started to struggle.
Ariel concentrated around her and felt that the ocean is around this ship, so all she had to do is command the waves to sink this boat, but that would be a stupid thing because Josh here is her friend too, and she cannot allow him to drown.
Ariel concentrated and felt something beside her, water. Fresh water.
Ariel felt a tug in her gut, and she muffled scream, and the water jetted in a small stream, but they are travelling in very high velocity that could cut through blankets such as the gags in Ariel's mouth. The water jetted through Ariel's and Josh's gags, and Josh began to undo Ariel's gags with his mouth. After Ariel got free, Ariel undid Josh's bonds and they began to think of a plan to escape.
Fortunately for Ariel, the sea is with her, and she went upstairs and commanded the seas to be very rough.
"What's happenin' mate?" One pirate said. "The seas are getting rough in a sudden!"
"Ah... That's just..." The captain began, but when Ariel motioned her right hand up, 40 foot of wave began appearing near the pirates ship, and the captain began to panic.
"Brace yerselves!" The captain said. Ariel began wave her hands down and then the ship dropped drastically and the pirates fell to their bums, and both of them decided that this is a good time to leave the ship.
Ariel's perfect bearings are working. Right now, they are not far from the dense jungle of Pantanos Da Centla, Mexico. It is just about 60 miles.
Ariel figured that the pirates will be coming back, so she needs to make a quick escape.
As soon as they started to jump, one of the pirates grabbed Ariel's leg and the other one grabbed Josh's leg, and the pirates pull them both back to the boat, and the other pirate came in with a set of ropes to tie Ariel's and Josh's legs and arms. The pirates were having slightly more compassion, because Ariel saw that the captain of the ship was thrown overboard by that one gigantic wave that Ariel had created. The pirates threw them below deck.
"We should have escaped straight away." Josh muttered.
"Silence, Josh!" Ariel chided him. As soon as Ariel said that, she was confused. How could she chide him for one small statement? "Sorry..." Ariel said.
"It's okay." Josh said. "We have to think up another plan then."
"Yes, now how do we get out of here?" Ariel told him. Then, she saw Josh closing his eyes and put his hands together.
"Father..." Ariel could hear Josh's murmur. "If you are here... please help me. Give me a sign or something, and something useful. I may not know who you are exactly, but I know you're a God. Please... send me a sign."
Both waited. One second, two seconds,.... five seconds,..... ten seconds,...... nothing.
Josh sighed in exasperation, and started to cry. This time, he cried on her shirt.
"I can't believe it!!!" Josh cried. "I don't even know who my father is, and the worst thing is that he allowed me to rot in this pirate ship!"
"Don't cry, Joshy!" Ariel comforted him. "He might have more important business to tend to."
"But..." Josh stopped crying for a while, then he started crying again.
The pirates apparently heard his cries and stormed below the deck, and they carried guns with them. They looked for a while then closes the door again.
I waited for Josh to stop crying. He was blubbering about how he had never been told that he had a father, and how he wanted to get out of here so badly. Ariel wished the same thing, but they have to form a plan, and this time it better work because the pirates are going to execute us at any moment.
After about 15 minutes, Josh stopped crying, and his face is red and full of tears. What kind of crybaby is he? Ariel thought. His godly parent must have been one of the lousiest ones to even claim a child. Or his godly parent is the god of tears or feelings. That would explain why he is a crybaby.
"So, any plans?" Josh asked me, his face and eyes were still red from crying.
Ariel scanned around the room. There's a bunch of tanks that were labelled 'Methane', 'ethane' 'propane' 'butane' 'hexane' and 'octane'. Ariel knew about this! She had studied organic compounds when she is in 7th grade! Methane, Ethane, Propane and Butane are all in the form of gas, and octane is in the form of liquid. They are all fuels. Ariel looked around and saw a match right beside each tanks. Ariel had an idea.
"I know." Ariel said. "I will blow up the tanks, as well as drowning the ship, and we get out of here."
"But how are you going to do that?" Josh asked. "You're a child of poseidon, you don't have any heat manipulation."
"Good point..." Ariel said, and she notices that Josh's hand is glowing gold. "Josh! Look at you!"
"What?" Josh raised his right eyebrow.
"You're... glowing!" Ariel told him.
"Thanks." Josh blushed.
"No... you're really glowing! Look!" Ariel glanced over to Josh's tied hands and while Josh looked at his own hand, he is perplexed that the ropes are melting.
As soon as the ropes melt, there's a symbol of the sun with an arrow pointing to the east. Ariel gasped. He is the son of the titan, Hyperion!
As soon as Josh is out of his bonds, he proceeded to help Ariel. Apparently, Ariel had her hands untied and had been hiding it from Josh the whole time, and as soon as Josh frees himself, Ariel revealed that she is not tied up anymore.
"Now, let's blow up the tanks!" Ariel said.
So, Josh concentrated his hands to aim on the barrels and he took a careful aim. He pointed it and laser comes out of his hand and into the barrel. The barrel is starting to heat up, and after a while, they exploded.
One barrel after another exploded, and eventually the whole ship is brought down and both Ariel and Josh swam to safety.
For Ariel, she didn't need to worry since she can simply command the waves to carry her and Josh along to the Pantanos De Centla, Mexico. This is where initially where Ariel had shown Josh her base, that once had been thought to be very secret.
Now Ariel don't know about her base if it's already been overrun by pirates and if the pirates decided if that base stays or goes to Davy Jones Locker, then Ariel will have no more place to stay.
The trip took about 2 hours, and by the time they get there, it's already tiring and late at night. Ariel asked Josh to light out the surroundings, but Josh, being the first time using his powers, have trouble igniting his hand with a ball of light, and he tried clenching it, flicking it and all sorts of stuff.
Ariel laughed as she looked at how Josh tried his powers voluntarily for the first time, and he kept trying until he learned the secrets of the powers. Apparently Josh had to concentrate on using his powers or else it wouldn't work.
Josh closed his eyes and flicked his hand, and a ball of light emanated from his hand.
"Hooray!" Ariel clapped her hands. "You have successfully used your powers voluntarily for the first time!" Then, Ariel and Josh took a deep breath and went under. Ariel swam towards the secret base entrance and surfaced together. Josh came up gasping and coughing while Ariel looked like she hadn't ran out of breath since she could breathe underwater.
As Ariel checked, there's no signs of properties that had been damaged or taken, so Ariel sighed her relief.
Just then, Josh tapped at Ariel's shoulder. "Ariel, if I may, may I stay here?" Josh asked. "I don't want to go back to my mother or the outside world again. They're way too cruel for me."
Ariel walked towards Josh and patted him in the head. "Sure you can stay here!" Ariel said. "You're a valuable ally! I don't want to lose a valuable ally either! Together, we will fight monsters and defend our own base."
Josh looked slightly disappointed for a moment, and then he smiled as well. Then, Ariel decided that Ariel and Josh can sleep together.
THE END!!
Category:Josh-Son Of Hyperion
Category:One-Shot