Read this chapther while listening to: "Warning Sign" from Coldplay
*See the end of the chapther for more notes*
How to take a mermaid in your arms as you walk right in from of one of the high security and central lab of the government? Norman didn't know that really. He just did and Emma was laughing in his arms.
Actually no one ever tough that he would leave and escape with her using the front door and she smiled at the imagem of the multiple guards and army searching for him everywhere until they would realise that...he was right there in front of their noses
He was so scared and more pale than he already was by nature. As he carried Emma his arms, runing as fast as he could, his arms and hands were shaking, the adrenaline being the one thing that kept moving him forward
Emma looked behind at the lab: it looked even more scary from the outside...and now she was leaving it behind as Norman took her. For a moment, she wished she had two legs, to she could run alongside him...
She was being a burden and she was already feeling dizzy due to be out of the water for some many time
" Emma! Hold on, we are almost there! All right! I will get you in the car!"
" Norman...thank you. Emma is dizzy"
" Yeah, I know that's why we must hurry!"
Norman placed Emma in the back seat of his old Peugeot 205 in a flash and he was ready to drive. The guards already found out his trick and he could see them far away aiming for him, getting into the cars to start a somehow cliche " car pursuit"
Emma was rather confused: she had never seen a car of course but somehow...she trusted Norman, who was smiling and looking at her from the front of the car
" Now...that's so damn cliche! Let's not underestimate my dear Peugeot...this boy is still a badass fat old car. Don't worry Emma! We are on a car and everything will be fine! Now...please hold on and don't move to much all right?"
" Yes, Norman...Emma trusts Norman and...the car?"
" Yeah that's good to hear, so now...let's get going before this gets to messy for our taste shall we?
Emma widen her eyes. The hole government guards there after them, maybe the hole military in the country was after them, and still Norman leaded back on his seat and pated a string of messy hair that was falling off her face
" I promised I would get you out of here right?...let's get out of here Emma...let's meet your family again"
" Norman..."
Now that was new. Norman loaded the accelerator with his foot. The old car made a strange noise but flew like an arrow to the road an the nearest intersection. Now, Norman wasn't that great of a driver but he knew strategy
The road would be like a game of chess for him and it was time to play, crossing the roads and leaving no trace, using trails that most people in the city didn't knew about...he had been studding his rote of escape for the past months...
Watching the city with his hawk eyes from his rooftop he was able to see everything is just a clear way...as he drove he could hear all the police cars so far so far behind him...could he finally breath and rest for a bit?
" Stop right there Norman! You are now a criminal of the state so don't move and place your hands on the ground!"
Norman shivered as he looked out of the window
Vincent that bastard how did he find him? I was sure he had ditched the car he was in just now!
Emma looked out of the window and snarled at the cops outside. She was actually ready to attack even if she was sore for being out of the water for so long...but Norman, lying on the ground looked at her with the corner of his ocean blue eyes
They wavered but they were also dead calm and collected
She trusted him
" Now Vincent, Congrats! It almost went everything according to plan until you showed up just now"
" Shut up Norman! You are out of your mind! Deliver the creature to us peaceful and we promise that you won't go to jail...we will put you in psychological recovering facility to make sure you treat your own mind...right now-"
" Funny! Are you saying that I'm crazy? Listen to me Vincent...I know what I'm doing and I'm aware of the consequences...do you think someone crazy could ditch all the cops like that?"
" Norman...I really don't want to hurt you...just hand us the mermaid and everything will go back to what it was before"
Vincent, who was behind Cislo and all the cops started to head towards where Norman lied. How funny...he was only one man and still they brought a hole army to catch him when he didn't even know how to use a knife for self defense
" You say you are aware of that you are doing? Norman...that you are doing is betraying your country, trow away one of the most important scientific discoveries! If you truly are a man of science you should know - "
" Don't come at me with that bullshit Vincent. Can you quit being a hypocritical for one second in your life? This...the experiment the government wants me to do are not science! These are murderous intents...your selfish need to satisfy your money interests. God know she would be dead by now if I did all the experiment you asked of me!"
Vincent greened his face and he was starting to feel really annoyed-
" And yet science was always used for evil, Norman. Did Einstein wanted to produce the atomic boom? He didn't and still it was made and killed millions of people. What's with that way of thinking? Do you think the world is a fairy tail? Are you the prince who is going to rescue the mermaid?"
Norman smiled as he got of the fool. Emma is the car, had to use all her strength to keep steal and she couldn't bare to look at him: Norman's eyes were cold and she wanted them to be what they were when he looked at her:
Warm, peaceful, calm and enchanting
Yet he smiled
" Now nice Vincent...I actually tough the same some time ago! Yes I'm being selfish, yes I'm trowing countless hours and years of hardwork just to do what I think it's right. Einstein couldn't stop the atomic boom from being made? Maybe he didn't, maybe he wasn't selfish enough to think that he could have changed that..."
Norman looked up that the cloudy sky. Was this right? Was that the end for him? Was this worth it? He didn't know up until that point and everything was falling down. This father came into his mind: was he crying out of happiness or sadness?
His tears missed with the falling rain that didn't hurt him...a curtain of sorrow and joy
He could feel...the height of emotions tears him down
His heart was beating, the adrenaline rushing in his veins
He finally felt alive and before him, the world appeared full of overwhelming sounds, smells and textures that he denied when he gave himself to his job, when society chained him down, when he found himself just a shadow between others
He was alive
His eyes didn't waver but...he was scared to the core of his bones
He muttered to himself as the rain washed everything he didn't understood
" You know what Vincent? I'm a coward and I'm selfish. Here is a fact: love is selfish, even calling that feeling that name is selfish...it's meaningless. I convinced myself it was fine when my conscience said otherwise. You may say I'm childish...but no one dares to be childish"
He placed his hand on his heart and Emma placed hers on the car's window
A tear feel down her face for the first time
" I want to be selfish and childish and destroy the name "science" you use to cover your crimes and desires. I want to rebuilt a new science, the one that I feel in love with and was been the reason of my life. My feelings aren't wrong...my desires bring good to the ones I love"
Vincent looked at him with the exact same face he did before and the cops were waiting for him command. Norman stood on the rain, defenseless, smiling in the most tender way
" Now you're attitude is really pissing me off, Norman"
" I know if I smiled I would piss you off and I'm glad it worked"
" You are out of your mind...There is no good or bad in this world Norman. Do you really thing your desires are pure? Are you trying to label us as the devil? Society is a devil! We all know that! And yet we live on it and we have to handle it as it is...those who deviate from the majority are always eliminated"
" Eliminated is a strong word, Vincent"
" Society is merciless, Norman. You are foolish if you think you can be a martyr of the great cause of justice to save science's principles and replace justice in the world"
" Oh you are right there! I really don't intend to die you see... I just want to use my insignificant existence to do something that I think is worth to leave behind"
" Than your legacy is a legacy of crime and foolishness, Norman"
Norman looked behind at Emma and she widen her eyes at the vision of his pale face. He was so scared and yet he was tenderly smiling at her. Her who couldn't do a thing, her to was just watching the hole scene as if she was watching a movie...reading a book...
The book Norman gave her
" As long has I knew I did right...than it was all worth the risk, Vincent"
When Vincent wiped the rain of his face and raised his hand to give the order for the police to take Norman and Emma away, he felt a flash of light dashing right in front of his face. When he realized he was on the ground, a blond girl with a hat full of pins on top of him with a huge gun
" Norman! Bro! Are you all right? Jesus mother we barely arrived in time!"
" God dammit! You need to use your smartphone, Norman! Are you a monkey or what? Use your damn brains!"
They had arrived: Gillian on top of Vincent, Violet, Nigel, Zack and Oliver guarding the cops who didn't had the time to blink, securing the area and making them all surrender their guns. Lucas, came smiling at Norman, placing his hand on Norman's shoulder
" Norman...so glad you are all right! You should have called us sonner! Do you have a place to keep Emma?"
" Yeah...I was thinking about Yuugo's house...at least she would be comfortable there, don't you think Lucas?"
" Yeah...your father was paranoid as hell so these incompetent cops would never be able to find the secret hide out, at least for now...We will come with you but some of us will stay behind to make sure they don't follow us"
" I agree, and thank you so much again...you saved me"
" You are turning into a troublemaker kid, Norman"
"I'm sorry, for calling you guys out like this"
" Your father would be so proud of you...you don't even imagine, Norman"
Emma widen her eyes: what a great contrast between Lucas and Norman's touching and tender moment and Gillian kicking Vincent in the stomach as Oliver and Zack intimidated all the cops so they wouldn't move
Who were these people?
" Sorry to interrupt your emocional moment you two softies, but these guys are tough as hell and we better get going if we want you all to arrive at a save place!" - Violet scream as she kicked one of the cops
" Really Norman? You really wanted to espace in this old car? No wonder you were caught, man! Just hurry and get yourself and Emma on our fantastic helicopter!"
They sure were fast: When Norman was about to take Emma out of the car with Luca's help, Nigel, Gillian and everyone else was already on the helicopter waiting for them to go up, Vicent's inconsistent body lying on the rain, as Zack and Oliver pointed the guns at the cops to keep them in check.
Norman and Lucas open the door for Emma to get out
She was scared
" Emma...I know this is sudden but I need you to trust me! Let's get out of here all right? Will you come with me?"
She blinked several times: two tender similes where staring at her, Norman's hand reaching out for her. She waited for him to open up his eyes...she trusted what she saw in his eyes. And he always would reach out for her, and he always treated her so gently...
He was her prince...a scared pale prince that was giving her his trembling hand
She had denied his hand before...she had abstain herself form giving him something that was hers' but not now...not after all he did for her
She would give him more than he asked of her
She would be more selfish than him
She would be more foolish than him
" Norman...Tank you and...sorry"
She would see the results of letting herself be cared for
To be cared for...with a touch of ocean eyes
------------------------ O ---------------------------
Note: Up until this point I've been relying in @stray_tori's original history to write this fanfiction! Due to the lack of original content and due to my pessoal need to let my imagination go wild, from this point I will deviate from the original comic!
Please continue to support the original content and look forward to it, just like me!
Thank you so much for reading this chapter! All the credits for the art , cape and AU ideia and comics of this fanfic are to @stray_tori on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram! Please go check her fantastic art!
Note: Mika-hime changed her name so please search her art by the new name of her account!
Thank you so much and see you soon!