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Mako didn't know why he was eight again, but he didn't care. He was happy and carefree once more, innocent and naive. He was running in between his mother and father who chuckled at his antics as they walked the New Zealand beach.
Mako looked more like his mother with the soft brown eyes and wild black hair that most New Zealand natives had. Her skin was slightly more tanned that Mako’s and today she was wearing a white dress and a flower crown of daisies. Whenever she laughed, Mako thought of it like a doves coo, soft and gentle.
His father though was different. He came from the mainlands of Australia in search of relaxation from being in the army. His brown hair was already graying at the temples and Mako loved to sit in his father's lap and listen to ridiculous stories on how he got each and every one. His father had green eyes, the same color of an emerald but much more gentle. His father was getting round in the years, but somehow, he was as fit as the old pictures and was even in his army dress uniform.
“Don't get too far ahead Mako,” his father called out.
“I won't papa,” Mako answered.
Mako saw a brown blur at the corner of his eye and when he looked at it, he smiled as he saw who it was.
“Tane, wait up!” Mako called as he ran after his brother.
Tane is Mako’s younger brother but Mako doesn't remember ever really being without him. Apparently their mother was told that there was a cancer or something in her uterus that should have prevented children. When she went in to get her uterus removed, they found out at the last second that she was pregnant with him. They gave her the option of an abortion and when she chose to keep Mako, they told her that if she wanted another child, she would need to try for one after he was born. That's how Tane came to be. Even though they're a year apart, Mako and Tane’s birthdays were only three days apart from each other so they thought they were twins. They always did things together and were the best of friends. Tane looked behind him and his own green eyes twinkled with mischief. Those eyes and the lighter skin where the only way to tell each other apart in the younger days.
“Come on Mako!” Tane yelled as he ran off.
Mako followed after his brother and the air was filled with laughter. They were at first running at the beach but the world began to bleed and the boys are turned into teens. They were running through some alleyways, laughing and trying to be quite though.
“Come back here you brats!” the owner of the store they just stolen from yelled.
Tane was able to see the small crevice first and after telling Mako, they and their two friends hid there. The lone female of the group was smiling from ear to ear, her blue eyes blown from the adrenaline that was somewhat hidden by her purple hair. She was trying to contain her giggles as the nerd of the group kept trying to shush her. He was the quiet one and skittish one. His own brown eyes were hidden behind circular frames and his blonde hair was plastered to his forehead.
Once the store owner ran past them, the group of friend turned tail and ran to the nerds house to hide in his guest house.
“That was amazing!” the girl exclaimed.
“One of our best heists yet,” Tane agreed as he held out his fist.
“Agreed,” Mako chuckled as he had his fist meet his brother's.
“You guys, maybe we should think of our attack more. We almost got caught,” the nerd said with a frown.
“Well if Mako didn't decide that he should push over some of the aisle shelves, we would have gotten off Scot free,” the female said.
“I didn't do that on purpose. I fell,” Mako complained.
“Yeah and besides, Jamie was able to get us out of there with his quick thinking anyway,” Tane stated.
“Well someone has to be the brains of this group because clearly, you three are as useful as a bull in a China shop,” Jamie huffed.
The four friends then laughed, knowing there was no true bite in his words. Slowly, the surroundings changed again and only Tane, Mako, and Jamie remained. They were all dressed in the blue camouflage uniforms of the Navy, enjoying their lunch on the ship they were stationed. Their game of stealing what they please came to a crashing end when they were just seventeen and they were given two options, they could either join the military or enjoy three years in jail with a nasty record to greet them when they came out. Mako, Tane, and Jamie chose to join the navy while the female of their group was let off since she wasn't noticed as one of their accomplices and they didn't dare rat her out too.
“You should have seen Lieutenant Commander Jackson’s face when he sat down,” Jamie snickered. “The small firecracker went off and he jumped up so high I thought he was going to hit the ceiling.”
“Oh god Jamie, you shouldn't have done that,” Tane said as he fought not to laugh.
Mako though, he didn't hold it in and was laughing so hard he was crying. Ever since they joined the S.S. Elizabeth, Lieutenant Commander Jackson has been a thorn in their side. He was their commanding officer sure, but they didn't think they had to deal with his shit.
“So you three are the assholes who messed with my chair,” Lieutenant Commander Jackson snarled when he got at their table. Immediately the three men were at attention as he continued, “I should have known since you three were in the Junker Gang. In fact, you three started it didn't you?”
"Sir, we didn't start a gang sir! We were just three boys having fun sir!” Tane said.
“Yeah, it wasn't our fault that some other kids liked how we called ourselves Junkers and decided to make their cutthroat society in our name,” Mako sneered.
“Shut it Petty Officer Rutledge,” Jackson demanded. “You three boys clearly don't understand that we're here to prevent a war or fight in one if it comes to it. You three are now on janitor duty for three weeks. Now go and give me twenty laps around the deck!”
“Sir, yes sir!” the three boys yelled in unison.
Mako was running after Tane and Jamie, a bit stung by their punishment but none the less still smiling from what Jamie did.
Soon, the world began to bleed once more and now instead of on a ship, Mako was on land that he didn't quite recognize. It didn't matter though since he was here to fight, not to sightsee. Mako, Tane, Jamie, and a few more of their crewmates were taking cover from the machine guns that were shooting at their enemies. Mako smelled the gunpowder in the air and he felt his heart hammering in his chest at the thought of their real battle. Mako didn't hear much, most of the roar was drowned out but when one of his crewmates cried out a grenade, that wasn't hard to miss. Mako’s eyes were drawn to the small device that held so much power. Mako was frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do, but Jamie did. Jamie threw himself on top of the grenade just in time. Tane had yelled out, fearing for his boyfriend as his body was lifted from the ground. Mako closed his eyes to try to block most of the carnage, but he could still smell the blood in the air. Mako heard his brother growl in pain and rage. He had just gone out with Jamie for six weeks and now his boyfriend was dead. Mako opened his eyes just in time to see his baby brother get up and ran onto the field, wanting to kill something and not caring for his own safety.
“Tane! NO!” Mako called out as he reached out for his brother.
He heard the gunshots way before they hit Tane and he watched with grief as his brother slowly fell to the ground.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!”
Mako suddenly shot out of bed, his skin sticky with sweat and his heart hammering in his chest as if he ran a marathon. His eyes scanned the area, searching for the field of death and for his brothers body.
“Mako, are you alright?” a female voice asked behind him.
Mako turned around and sighed at the sight. Gone was the purple dye from her hair and long gone was the slim, curvy body but he still believed she was as beautiful as the day he saw her.
“Sorry Rose, it was just another night terror,” Mako sighed as he laid back down.
Rose immediately cuddled around him, not caring of the sweat as she placed her head on his chest. “Was it of Tane and Jamie's death again?” she asked.
Mako nodded and they stayed in their silent embrace for a while until Mako felt something small kicking his side. “I'm thinking Tane isn't liking laying like that,” Mako said with a grin.
“I think you're right,” Rose said as she got up from the bed. “They're really feisty this morning.”
“Is little Regina is taking after her mother?” Mako asked.
"Mako, no matter how many times you try, I'm not going to slip the gender of our baby out. Soon you'll meet little Tane Jamison or Regina Grace but until then, you'll be kept in the dark,” Rose teased.
“You're so mean,” Mako said as he got up from the bed.
Mako rolled his eyes but he didn't tell her that as soon as he heard she was pregnant, Mako was ready to leave. The navy had him for twelve years now and he was married to Rose for six of those years. Their marriage was strained a bit with how much he was gone and he wasn't going to be the dad who only saw his kid over a computer screen. “Fine. How about we have a small truce over breakfast?” Mako suggested.
“Sounds perfect to me, but no eggs!” Rose warned.
“I know,” Mako said, knowing that with Rose's pregnancy, even the smell of eggs made her vomit the entire day.
As Mako was working on a breakfast sandwich minus the egg, he heard the sound of wet feet hitting their tile floor as the sudden smell of the sea hit him. Confused, Mako turned around and his eyes widen at the sight. Standing before him was Rose but her skin was chalky white and her eyes had a fog like look to them. In her matted black hair was seaweed and there was a hole in the middle of her chest where the merman stabbed her. In her arms, though, was a baby whose skin was as pale as Rose's with blue lips. She was still as Rose walked to Mako, not seeming to notice how the baby's umbilical cord was dragging on the ground.
“Mako….save us,” Rose begged with a raspy voice.
Mako was pinned to the counter and he looked for a way out but when he went to the back door, there was his brother, still in his navy battle outfit but he was riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. “Why didn't you stop me Mako? Why did you let me run out?” Tane asked, his voice both sad and mad.
Mako backed up once more and looked for another escape. Rose was more in the kitchen now so he ran past her where he planned to run out of the living door but there was someone who stopped him in the living room. “Why didn't you do anything? You were so close to the bomb Mako. You could have grabbed it and thrown it back at the enemy,” Jamie said, his voice sounding so sad. “Why did I have to die? Why couldn't you save me?” Mako stared at his best friend, trying to keep his eyes above his chest, not wanting to see the hole that the grenade left behind.
He began to back up once more but he bumped into his brother. “Why didn't you stop me? I thought we were brothers,” Tane stated.
“Why did you have to kill our daughter Mako? Was she not good enough?” Rose demanded as the baby began to cry.
“Tane and I just started dating! If you did something, we would have been married too. We could have given Regina a cousin,” Jamie said as he began to cry.
“I'm sorry,” Mako muttered.
It was clearly not good enough as the four ghosts surrounded Mako, demanding answers to questions he couldn't, blaming their deaths on him, and calling out for him to join them. Mako was crying, not knowing what to do other than to huddle in a corner and cry. He didn't stay there long before he woke up with a start, cold sea water hitting his body for a very rude awakening.
“Finally you're up mate,” an annoying voice said that Mako grew to hate. “You were crying and screaming so loud it woke me up! And I was having a good dream too.”
“Shut up Junkrat,” Mako grunted as he stood up from the deck. This boat was pretty good for being a small size. It fit them right though and Mako knew this and it was why Mako chose it to be stolen.
“Oh come on mate, you wake me up from a good dream and you get to tell me to shut up? You should be thanking me for getting your sorry ass out of the nightmare,” Junkrat complained.
“Shut up Junkrat before I wring your neck,” Mako growled as he dug into the mini fridge he stolen from the boat.
Junkrat quickly duck under water, afraid of that threat becoming a reality and Mako just grunted at him as he closed the door. He then went to sit down and lifted his mask a little bit so that he could drink his beer and watch the stars. Once again, he was apologizing to Tane and Jamie that he couldn't do anything. He then swore once more to Regina and Rose that he will hunt every Merfolk down and kill them so that they could be at peace.