I want to say how sorry I am for not updating in months. I have been dealing with a lot of stress, and the loss of my Nan (even though it was in august) has been getting me down for a while now. I don't find myself motivated as much, but I really wanted to give you all something. Even if it's just a preview, it's still something.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Taemin quickly turned around, his tail stiffened by the sight of his very angry brother who was swimming towards him as fast as he could. "LEE TAEMIN, I SWEAR TO THE HIGH HEAVENS THAT I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" If it was possible, Key's eyes would be flaming with his rage. His arms were stretched out ready to grab onto the misbehaved merman.

"H-Hyung..." Taemin stuttered a few times, almost choking with the awful surprise. Before the merman could say anything more, his tail sprung into action, allowing the merman to roll back and propel himself away from the ranting sibling. Taemin had never felt as scared before as he was at that moment. Even when the King insulted him in the palace, Taemin was sure that the current dread that he felt in his stomach wasn't as bad as what he was feeling now. With strong flicks of his tail, he sliced through the water, panic sweeping over him as he heard his brother's shouts getting closer.

"YAH! GET YOUR TAIL BACK HERE SO I CAN SMACK IT UNTIL IT SHINES THE SAME COLOUR AS MINE!" Key's yells were so powerful, Taemin was sure that the surface probably had ripples due to them. Taemin flicked his hair out of the way of his eyes, making a sharp turn to the right in hope of pulling a trick of his brother to get more distance, but Key wasn't giving up that easily. "TAEMIN, I'M GONNA SMACK YOU UNTIL YOUR TAIL GOES NUMB! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Taemin took a low dive, skillfully swimming through large coral with a smirk on his lips as he heard Key continue to threaten him. "I think the whole ocean can hear you!" Taemin teased Key as he twisted his body to avoid catching himself on the bright coral as he swam.

Key yelled in anger, suddenly increasing his speed. The younger merman let out a yelp as his tail was pulled out of the coral maze, his body soon following due to his failure of trying to grab something to pull himself away. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Key grabbed Taemin's hair, forcing the merman to look at him. "YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME, AND I'M SICK OF IT!"

Taemin hissed in pain as his brother punched his gut, causing his tail to twist around in agony. "Aish! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Key glared at the younger, shaking him by the arms in rage. "ME? What the hell is wrong with you? Why won't you just listen to me!?"

"Because you're wrong!" Taemin shouted in his brothers face, not reacting when Key dug his nails into his own skin. "You think that you know everything, but you don't! You just let everyone else boss you around!"

Key's tail stiffened, his scales turning straight and sharp with his anger. "I'm wrong? I'm the one who's wrong?! I live by the King's rules, the rules that are set to protect us! The only person in the wrong here is you!" Taemin sent a look of hate to his brother, who continued to tighten his grip in anger. "If you go along with this idea, you're not the only one who will be affected by your stupidity!"

"The King is wrong to judge them in the way he does! He's never been up to the shore, he doesn't know what they are like!"

"Why should he go up there anyway?" Key grilled Taemin, who looked at his reddening arms. "If humans see one merman, they will look for the rest of us! The humans kill fish for their food, imagine what they would do to us!" Taemin bit his lip, not knowing what else to say. "I'm bring you back before you screw us all over!" Key suddenly announced, pulling Taemin back towards their kingdom.

"Sorry Key, I have to see for myself!" Knowing that his brother wasn't going to give up, Taemin struggled again, thrashing his tail around to disorientate Key. After a few attempts, Key accidently let his hold loosen on Taemin, giving the younger the change to whip his arms out of Key's grasp.

Key quickly turned around, watching his brother in annoyance. "No, you don't, and you won't! I'm not letting you risk our entire existence just to settle your curiosity!" Key made another attempt to regain control by reaching out to grab his brother, but Taemin was quicker, sending a strong fist into the elder's stomach.

"Sorry Hyung, I'm going to the surface, and you can't stop me!" Taemin called as he let his tail spring into action. He had never been so excited to break the rules before, and of course having a reason to hit his older brother was a bonus. But it wasn't just breaking the rules, he was making a discovery. The thought of settling the misunderstanding between humans and his own kind made his scales tingle with excitement.

Key held his stomach with his tail curled upwards, hissing in pain from the blow. The pain was only short lived though, as the merman quickly turned his attention back to his misbehaving brother, who had already made a dash towards the surface. Key flicked his hair from his eyes, catching a glimpse of Taemin's blue tail. "Y-Yah! Taemin, get back here!" Key gritted his teeth as he forced himself to quickly swim in hot pursuit of his brother, trying his best to ignore the pain that still lingered in his stomach. "You're being selfish! You're putting our whole kind in danger!"

"No I'm not!" Taemin continued to swim upwards, slowing down a little to ensure he didn't suddenly emerge from the water and startle anyone that could see him. "I'm thinking about the future of our kind! I'm going to settle this misjudgment once and for all." Taemin announced, steadying himself as he carefully looked around, making sure that he couldn't see anyone that could spot him and tell the King of the rule breaking.

"I said you can't!" Key yelled, reaching out to get a firm grip on Taemin's blue tail, before pulling him down, away from the surface. "You've come far enough! Now stop this stupid game of yours!"

"But Hyung, I have to figure out~"

"It's too dangerous!" Key interrupted without giving Taemin a chance to explain, who moaned in annoyance as Key forced him to swim beneath him. "We are going home, and you will swim either in front of me, or beside me!"

With a sigh, Taemin dropped his head in defeat, and swam until he was under his brother. Key kept his gaze on Taemin, waiting until the younger began swimming in the direction of their kingdom. Just as the two were about to set off, Taemin suddenly turned around, feeling uneasy about the waters around him. "Hyung, something is wrong with the water..." The current suddenly began to pick up, causing the two to be dragged upwards.

Without a moments hesitation, Key pushed Taemin down, allowing the younger to break free of the pull, but Key wasn't as lucky. Letting loose a scream, Key found himself being pulled to the surface, rolling around in the water as a wave hurtled towards the direction of the shore. The elder tried to swim away, but soon found himself too disorientated to get his body in the way he wanted.

"Hyung! Hold on Hyung, I'm coming!" Taemin yelled in shock, flicking his tail in a hurry before he lost sight of his brother. His body flushed with guilt as he tried to keep up, knowing that this was in fact his fault. "I'm coming, just hold on!"

After what felt like an eternity, Key gained back his consciousness during the unexpected tumble in the wave, managing to flip his body into a dive and escape from the wave's strong current. The water was somehow different to the part of the sea from home, Key didn't like it. It made him feel uneasy, the waves were trying to push him towards a certain direction, and he knew where it was most likely going to lead him.

"It's not safe here..." Key muttered to himself, convincing his brain not to give in to temptation as his scales clenched together in as a form of self-defence. Knowing that he had to get back, Key spun around and flicked his tail, sending him in the opposite direction of the current. Taemin lingered in his mind. Was he safe? Did he get caught by the guards, or worse? Was he back home safe? Key lowered his head as he swam around, realising that he was clueless as to where his home waters where from his current position. "But... Where do I go?" Key bit his lip, swimming in circles a few times. "Aish, I can't recognise anything around here~"

"HYUNG! HYUNG I FOUND YOU!" Key quickly spun around, only to be tackled by his younger sibling, who almost crushed him in a tight hug. "I was so scared when you got taken by that wave! You could have hurt yourself!"

"Exactly my point you pabo!" Key spat back, pushing Taemin away with a sudden burst of anger. "We wouldn't even be in this danger if you just listened to me! What if that was you in the wave, huh?" Taemin bit his lip, curling his tail up to his stomach and it in a guilty manner as Key continued to scold him. "I don't even know my way back from here! You stupid tuna fish! What do you propose we do now genius?" Taemin reminded silent, flashing his big brown orbs at his brother in an attempt to soften him up. "Aish... I'll deal with you later, but for now we need to get to a safer place in the water. It's lighter here, and it's making me feel uneasy."

Taemin suddenly looked up, noticing that his brother stated a true fact. From what he was told, Taemin recalled that the lighter water and stronger current indicated that they were very close to the shore. "Ani, we're almost there! I can feel the sun heat on my skin, my scales are tingling with excitement!"

"Exactly. Which is why we have to go back!" Key stated, turning in the direction of where he thought his home waters were. "The thought of being here is making my scales crawl. Let's go Taemin." Key looked back, panicking when he noticed that his younger sibling had done the exact opposite, and swam to the surface. His head now completely out of the water.