"Even the mightiest tide must one day return to the shore."
---
Sons of the Land and the Sea
The waves broke softly along the Maine coast, sunlight scattering in fractured gold across the surface.
Inside the Curry home, the smell of bacon and sea salt filled the air. Thomas Curry, sturdy and sun-worn, poured three mugs of coffee as Arthur leaned against the counter. Across from them sat Orm, his hair shorter now, his once-proud gaze tempered by quiet reflection.
Orm shifted uncomfortably. "You really live like this? No guards, no attendants?"
Arthur grinned. "Just the occasional gull. They're louder than most Atlanteans."
Thomas chuckled, sliding a mug to Orm. "Drink up, son. You look like you could use something normal."
Orm stared at the steaming liquid. "This… 'coffee'… smells strange."
Thomas laughed. "You're supposed to drink it, not analyze it."
Orm hesitated, then took a cautious sip. His face twisted.
Arthur nearly spat his own drink. "You'll get used to it."
Thomas clapped Orm on the shoulder. "Normal folks don't live under coral domes or lead armies. Sometimes all a man needs is warmth and something bitter to keep him grounded."
Orm looked between them, his expression softening.
"You speak like our father might have."
Arthur smirked. "Guess that makes you my annoying little brother again."
Thomas watched them with quiet pride. Two men born of different worlds, finding their way back to family.
Outside, the waves whispered against the rocks, carrying the voice of the sea that had both divided and bound them.
The Sea Welcomes Its Fisherman
The Justice League submersible stood ready at the docks — sleek, obsidian, lined with magical glyphs and WayneTech armor plating. Inside it lay a special gift: a custom deep-sea suit, reinforced for human physiology, designed so that even a regular man could stand in the halls of Atlantis.
Thomas stared at the suit. "You sure this thing won't turn me into a can of sardine?"
Arthur grinned. "It's indestructible. Bruce said it could survive the core pressure of the trench. You'll be fine."
Atlanna approached, her eyes soft. "You look nervous."
Thomas smirked. "Just wondering how a small-town man like me got invited to an undersea royal tour."
Orm entered, dressed in a simple Atlantean mantle. Stripped of titles but not of dignity. His voice was even.
"You are the reason any of this still exists. If not for you, Atlantis would never have known your son or peace."
Thomas turned, studying Orm. "You got a lot of fire in you, kid. Reminds me of Arthur when he was trying to prove he was right."
Orm's eyes lowered. "I was wrong."
Arthur stepped between them, clapping Orm's shoulder. "Doesn't matter now. What matters is we build something better."
Atlanna watched them. Her sons, reconciled at last and her voice trembled when she spoke.
"If the ocean has taught us anything, it's that the tide always returns what was lost."
The Descent
The sea parted like a living veil when King activated the ship's descent drive. Atlanna, Arthur, Orm and Thomas stepped into the abyss, the water folding around them like a cathedral of liquid light.
Thomas's visor flickered to life. "You weren't kidding about the pressure…"
Arthur grinned. "Suit's got you covered."
The deep grew darker — and then, suddenly, it wasn't. The ocean around them burst into color.
Massive coral citadels glowed in bioluminescent hues, whale-sized manta rays glided through silver currents and schools of living light formed shifting constellations.
Thomas's breath caught.
" I've seen sunsets that'd make a painter weep… but this… this is something else."
Atlanna swam beside him, her voice a melody through the comms.
"You once pulled me from a storm. Now, I bring you to the calm beneath all storms."
Orm, swimming slightly behind, watched the exchange with a mixture of admiration and regret. "Mother… I wish I had seen this world through your eyes instead of my pride."
Atlanna turned to him gently. "And now you do, my son. That is enough."
Thomas looked at Orm, his tone steady. "She's right. Regret's a heavy anchor. Best thing you can do is let it go and start rowing."
Arthur laughed. "That's Dad-speak for 'move on.' "
Orm smiled faintly. "Then perhaps I will learn this language too."
The City Below
Atlantis opened before them like a dream — towers of coral and steel, illuminated by drifting energy spheres, the current singing through aqueducts and archways.
Atlanna's trident glowed silver as she guided them toward the royal spire. Atlantean citizens stopped and stared — the queen, her sons and a man of the surface walking beside them as an equal.
Thomas whispered in awe.
" I thought I'd lost her to the waves… but this is where she belonged all along."
Atlanna placed her hand on his arm. "And yet, it is you who kept my heart beating on the shore."
Arthur watched silently, pride swelling in his chest as the family he had fought to reunite finally stood whole.
Orm lingered nearby, eyes tracing the city he had once ruled by force, now alive in peace.
"Maybe… this is what it was meant to be." He murmured.
Arthur nodded. "Yeah. This is Atlantis's real strength — not weapons, not armies. It's family."
The Kingdom of Xebel
Days later, they descended again — this time through crystalline waters tinted green, to the coral citadel of Xebel.
King Nereus awaited them — Mera's father, tall and imposing, his emerald armor gleaming like sunlight through kelp.
Arthur bowed politely. "King Nereus."
Nereus raised an eyebrow. "Arthur Curry. You bring quite the entourage — a surface-dweller and a fallen king."
Thomas extended his hand. "Thomas Curry. Fisherman. Father. Brewer of bad coffee."
Nereus blinked, unsure how to respond. Then, to everyone's surprise, he took the handshake.
"You have courage, surface man."
Thomas grinned. "Comes with the beard."
Atlanna chuckled softly. Orm smirked for the first time in months.
They spent the day in the coral gardens of Xebel. Thomas asked questions about their architecture, their food, their way of life and in return, Nereus spoke of the ancient wars, the splendor of the deep and his daughter's fiery heart.
When Arthur and Mera joined them, Thomas leaned toward Nereus.
"You've got a hell of a daughter. Strongest woman I've ever met besides her mother-in-law."
Nereus nodded proudly. "She is the storm and the calm. I raised her to rule, not to be ruled."
Arthur grinned. "And she rules my life already."
Mera elbowed him playfully. "You're lucky I love you."
The laughter echoed through the coral halls. A strange, beautiful sound that no war had ever brought.
Later — Surface Pub, Amnesty Bay
Night fell over Maine again. The small coastal pub buzzed with warmth and music as two unlikely figures sat at the counter: Thomas Curry and King Nereus in his emerald armour causing people look at them with curiosity.
A foaming pint of Guinness sat before the Atlantean king, who eyed it like a suspicious potion.
Thomas raised his own glass. "Go on. Take a sip. Trust me."
Nereus frowned, then drank. A slow blink. Another sip. Then his eyes widened.
"By the Abyss… this is divine."
Thomas laughed. "Told you so. Wait till you try the cheeseburger."
Minutes later, Nereus was devouring his second one. "These… these surface feasts are… remarkable! Why do you not share this with Atlantis?"
Thomas leaned back, smiling.
"Maybe that's the secret. Each world's got its own flavor. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is sit down and share a meal."
From the booth nearby, Arthur, Mera, Atlanna and Orm watched the scene unfold.
Arthur grinned. "I think we just solved inter-kingdom diplomacy — one beer at a time."
Atlanna rested her head on Thomas's shoulder. "Perhaps that's what peace really is — learning to taste the world we once feared."
Orm sipped his drink quietly, glancing at Arthur. "Do you think… King would approve of this kind of peace?"
Arthur smirked. "He'd say it's about damn time."
As laughter filled the little seaside pub, the ocean outside shimmered faintly, almost knowingly — as if it, too, was smiling.
For the first time in generations, the sea and the surface shared the same song.
And far away, beneath the moonlit horizon, the King Engine rested silent, its master watching the waves in peace.
Read 38 chapters ahead on P.A.T.R.E.O.N
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