Chapter Text
“Dr. Afton?”
“Please, call me Tony.”
Sydney smiled weakly at the correction, nodding. “Right, sorry. I was hoping to review these charts from the latest specimens with you.” Tucked under their arm, Sydney pulled out two tablets and held them out to Tony. “They’ve made it past the first stage and might be viable to be placed in a tank.”
“Really?” Tony peered at the results, humming. “Responsive to light and touch stimuli…Have you tried transitioning from the tubes to real food?”
“Yes, although they had to be shown how to eat it. Once they picked up on it, however, they were efficient for being essentially babies.”
“Excellent, let’s move forward then.”
—
“Tony, do you remember when I mentioned the boys might be developing a language…?”
Tony glanced up from the papers at his desk, squinting at Sydney over his glasses. They appeared rather unsure, shifting their weight and clicking a pen at their side.
“…Yes? What’s wrong, Sydney?” He watched as they once again cast a glance around the room, as if expecting someone to jump out from a corner.
“Ah, well…uhm, you see, I’ve been hearing voices—“ Tony’s brows jumped up his forehead, Sydney sputtering at the incredulous expression across his face. “Not like that! At least, I’m pretty sure.” Sydney sighed slowly, mustering the courage to explain themselves.
“Words. Sometimes small phrases, repeating what I’ve said. But no one else seems to be able to hear them—“
“Like a parrot?” Tony clarified, removing his glasses and giving Sydney his full attention.
“Er…well, I suppose? Except—“
“Tell you what,” Tony held up a hand, interrupting. “Let’s keep this between you and me. Does anyone else know?” At Sydney’s head shake Tony hummed in approval. “Good. Continue to monitor their progress and let me know if anything changes.”
“Of course, sir…”
—
Using sophisticated technology, our team of scientists have collected and stored tens of thousands of samples from species great and small. Our geneticists teamed up with other like-minded partners across the world to create the first successful clones of endangered species…
The final draft of the latest advertisement faded into the background as Tony turned back to his business partner.
“Their potential is wasted here, in a tank, Henry. We could be making millions — no, billions — with this research.”
Henry set aside the tablets, brows knit, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “The mer are meant to be ambassadors, Tony. Not weapons, or-or some sort of money grab. Not to mention, who knows what kind of ramifications introducing a larger, new predator into our oceans would be. We could single-handedly cause a collapse of the very ecosystems we’re trying to protect!”
“My assistant’s research seems to indicate a possible, and viable, way to control these creatures —!”
“Tony, no,” Henry shook his head, standing from his desk and walking away from Tony. On his office mantel is a picture of his daughter in a pool with dolphins. “I can’t allow it. I won’t allow it. I’m not having this conversation with you again. We agreed when we founded this place to do it for the betterment of our planet. And we’ve been very successful in doing that!” Henry shook his head, picking up the picture and brushing his fingers across the image of his smiling daughter. “I promised to make this place a haven, Tony.”
Fists tightening till his knuckles popped, Tony glared at the back of his business partner’s head. Schooling his features in the next moment and letting out a slow breath, Tony rolled his shoulders and stood. “Very well. We’ll continue with the development of the other four and construction of the ARC theater.”
“Thank you, Tony.”
—
“Here is 250k, you’ll get the other 250k after delivery.”
“Sure, sure.“ The man waved off Tony, grinning at the contents of the paper sack handed to him beneath the table. “Easy, just a couple of samples—“
“That attitude will get you killed, idiot. They’re smart; you’re going to be asking an ocean’s version of a tiger with a higher IQ than yours to hold still long enough for a blood sample,” Tony scowled at the man, handing over a smaller hard case. “Don’t lose these tools. The case is built to keep samples cool short-term. Long enough for you to bring them back to our drop off. You know how to find their veins?”
“Yeah, yeah, I read the thumb drive like ya asked. I got this. Ice box for the blood, don’t stop for coffee on the way.” The man smirked, adjusting his cigarette to the other side of his mouth. “Anything else, boss?”
Tony leveled an unimpressed frown on the man. “The mer have a handler, Sydney. They sometimes stay after-hours to work with the mer, but should be gone by the time you get there. If for some reason Sydney is there, wait until they leave. Don’t engage — they’ll know something is amiss if they see you wandering around. They’re….protective, of the mer.”
With a shrug the man tucked away his payment and case. “No problem.”
—
“Who the hell are you?” Sydney stared up at the man standing in front of the tank’s gate, mid-motion pulling themselves from the water. Behind them the mer chirped curiously, glancing between the two humans in confusion.
“Just an inspector, ’s all.” The man recovered from his initial startle, shrugging idly. “From the construction company working on this exhibit.”
“Uh-huh…” Sydney slowly climbed the ladder and stepped down to stand before him, scrutinizing the man. “After work hours?” They glanced around. “And…just you?”
“You must be Sydney, hm?” He deflected instead, edging the case with his foot out of view. “You work with the mer? Perhaps you could fill me in on, ah…any feedback you have for the place? I’m told you’re the one who knows most around here.”
Sydney didn’t miss the motion, however, approaching and pushing aside the man to pick up the case. “What’s this?” They turned their gaze back on the man, stare hardening. “Who are you, really?” When he didn’t answer, Sydney’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you’d be fine with following me to the office, then? Just to confirm your credentials,” Sydney offered calmly despite their gaze never losing its intensity. “This way, please,” they gestured, turning towards the exit.
“Ah, shit—“ The man muttered under his breath, glancing around in mild panic before attempting to grab and stop Sydney. “Now hang on just a minute—“
“Wh-! Let go of me!”
The mer below began shrieking at the sight of their handler grappling with the man, splashing and scrambling for the platform as if to try and intervene. Struggling for the upper hand, and the case, the two humans shoved and pulled in an attempt to stop the other from advancing. Snatching Sydney by the back of their wet suit, with a grunt the man heaved them off their feet and to the ground, dropping atop them and struggling to secure their arms so he could grab the case.
“Hold still, dammit! Don’t make me hurt you—“
Sydney’s hands scraped across the ground for anything to use as a weapon, gasping to regain the breath knocked from their chest at the impact with the floor. A piece of cracked coral stem, broken from someone’s body knocking into it, is just close enough for Sydney to grab and rake across the man’s face.
“Fuck!!” Reeling back and pressing a hand to his face, the inspector grunts when Sydney succeeded in shoving him off and scrambling to their feet. “God— dammit!”
Sydney turned just in time to see the crowbar coming, but not fast enough to dodge. The first hit grazed their temple, but the second connected with the back of their skull. With a sickening thud Sydney collapsed to the floor, accompanied by the rising cries and shrieks from the mer below.
Heaving to catch his breath, the inspector stumbled back from their body and reached up to wipe the blood from his face. “Look what you made me do…”
“Tigers get hungry….ay? Nothin personal…” Grabbing Sydney under the arms and hauling their body over to the gate, with a grunt he dumps Sydney’s body into the water, a flurry of activity accompanying along with a piercing noise.
Shoving his hands over his ears in a pointless effort to block out the eardrum-bursting decibels, he stumbles across the floor. “Enough, knock it off!!”
There’s sharp sting in his calf, the inspector instinctively lashing out with the crowbar again and making contact with something solid. The shrieking and growling only intensified as he struggled to fend off the creature practically entirely out of the water and hauling him closer and closer towards its depths. Despite the several strikes making contact, it’s not enough to deter the creature from exacting its revenge. A big lunge forward and the inspector has lost his weapon and is swallowing water.
—
“He’s late…” Tony glanced at his watch, then around, scowl deepening the lines on his face.
Tapping one foot on the ground, Tony grunted in annoyance before stalking down the hall in search of the moron he hired.
Finding a frenzy of blood and water was not something he expected, nor the body on the rock. Tony’s feet carried him across the exhibit in record time, blazing gaze set on the staggering form of the man emerging from the tank platform. Below the water churned with the hisses and growls of the blue mer, and the cries of the yellow mer uselessly trying to help Sydney.
Snatching the man by his soaking collar, Tony leaned in to peer into glassy, blood-shot eyes and hissed.
“You had one job.”
Before the man could cough up an excuse, Tony shoved him over the foot ledge of the gate and tumbling into the water.
—
Tony watched from a distance as a boy he’d never seen before wandered ever closer to the glass. Freddy swam above them, performing lazy loops that delighted the younger kids squabbling nearby. The boy’s face was knit in concentration, almost scrutinizing Freddy. Tony half expected some snide remark about mer “not looking like that” or something similar.
What he did overhear the boy murmur, however, gave him pause.
“Is that you singing…?”
—
“An internship?” The boy, Gregory, squinted at Tony with suspicion. Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at the expression, vaguely amused by his boldness.
After noticing Gregory return to the aquarium on a near-weekly basis, Tony decided it was about time to find out if his suspicions were true. What better way to conduct research than in the field with your subject?
“Yes, we don’t normally host interns but I couldn’t help but notice your connection with Freddy. It’d be paid and would count towards your graduation credits. You’d follow me and help take care of Freddy here,” Tony gestured up to the mer watching them, who bobbed his head in delight.
Gregory mouth twitched with a small smile when he met Freddy’s gaze, nodding after a beat and shaking Tony’s hand. “Alright. Thank you for the offer, Dr. Afton.”
“Please, call me Tony.”
“Tony…What are you doing here?” What righteous rage that fueled your confidence two seconds before now withered in the presence of Tony, unconsciously shrinking back from his approach.
Tony merely smiled, calm but giving off an unsettling air you’ve never felt from him before. “The better question would be: what do you think you’re doing, hm? Didn’t you read the sign? No personnel beyond this point.”
You’re so caught off guard all you can do is gawk, standing between the transport tank holding a thrashing Moon and Tony, separating you from Sun and the other men. “The sign—“
“I must thank you, actually,” Tony continued as if you hadn’t spoken, slowly approaching and gazing upon Moon’s threatening display with indifference. “I’d feared the bond was a unique experience to one person, especially when the previous handler died,” he cast a side-long glance your way, freezing you in place.
“When Gregory formed a bond with Freddy, I thought ‘at last, a chance to see their full potential.’ Then, to my surprise, you came along and managed to not only lure out this specimen, but bond with both of them as well.” Tony reached up to tap the glass with two fingers, smirking when Moon lashed out and raked his claws across the plexiglass. “Two years you eluded us, but look at you now… So willing to protect even at the cost of your own freedom.”
“I didn’t —"
“Listen, kid,” Tony straightening his shoulders, smoothing out his shirt and turning towards you once more. “I am going to make you an offer. We’re still not sure how the bond is formed, so while it’s proven that I don’t need you, waiting for another to be the right match just isn’t in my timeline. Since you can control these specimen, come and work for me. You’ll be paid handsomely, and what’s more: you’ll be a part of a new order on the world stage.”
“What the fuck —“ Came out of your mouth first, not believing what your were hearing. The Tony you knew, calm and collected and a respected mer handler, and this ruthless man before you barely seemed like the same person. The buzz from Moon and Sun in your head made it difficult to process the situation you found yourself in as you struggled to answer.
“First of all, it’s not about control. It’s about trust, got that?” You push through the waver in your voice, gradually regaining confidence. “I didn’t make Moon or Sun do anything they didn’t want to. They’re sure as shit not going to work for you —” Eyes narrowing, you boldly take a step towards Tony. “—and I don’t think Gregory would want to either!”
Tony appeared unfazed, humming. “I suspected as much.” Too casually, Tony glanced over at the main tank and snapped a finger. Both you and Moon flinched at the sound of Sun’s shrieks returning, the nets snagging on his many frills and spines, tangling him. Horror flashes through your mind, followed by a sharp burning pain and the intense need to take that pain away. Through the haze you could hear Moon screaming your name, begging you to do something and save Sun.
“Stop it! Stop, you’re hurting him!!” You rush forward, drawing short when Tony’s arm is thrown out and cuts off your path. A painful, vice-like grip closes on your upper arm, drawing a gasp out of you as you’re pulled closer to Tony’s face. His calm expression had melted into one far more menacing, triggering alarms in every cell of your body.
“I don’t like to repeat myself —“
Moon’s thrashing followed by the sound of creaking made both of you pause. You’re knocked off your feet in the next moment with a flood of water, debris and a massive body slamming into both you and Tony. Your arm absolutely burns when your muscles are pulled, nearly dislocating the shoulder.
The sound of several pairs of feet rushing over and shouting just adds to the chaos of the moment, stretching seconds into what feels like hours. A blur of dark blue passes over your head and the footsteps abruptly stop, replaced instead with cries of pain and the thuds of bodies hitting the floor. Disoriented, you glance over to see the men struggling back to their feet.
“Moon!?” You yell, rolling off your back and onto your knees to see Moon clawing across the floor in a rage-fueled bid to grab and tear into Tony. Despite the shards of plexiglass wedged in his tail, leaving a horrible trail of dark blood across the ground, Moon thrashes forward in pursuit. That one second of horror gives you an almost slow-motion view of the gun hastily being jerked from its holster under Tony’s jacket.
You think you screamed — a warning or just in pure fear of what was to come you aren’t sure. Your body moved on its own, skinning your knees and the pads of your fingers as you grappled for traction on the rough concrete. Dashing at the pair, Tony near flat on his back and Moon’s own body crushing him from the waist down, you practically bodyslam into Moon in a desperate attempt to get out of the way.
The gun shots ring out with a deafening silence, a blooming heat searing across your already abused arm. Moon’s flailing beneath you hinted at contact being made somewhere on his body as well, though you were confident in the knowledge that at least it wasn’t anywhere near vital organs. You made sure of that.
Yet again another arm pushes you back, but this time with a much gentler touch. Moon’s face comes into focus from the corner of your eye, meeting your gaze with a grumble. You smile back.
“S-Sorry, couldn’t…let it happen.”
Moon seems to understand, if the quieting of your headspace was anything to go by. The moment he noticed movement, however, Moon’s head whipped away from you and his frills all flared out with a nasty hiss.
“Touching…” Tony slowly stood, scowling at the pair of you and adjusting his grip on the gun. “I suppose you leave me with no choice —“
A sudden seizing of Tony’s body takes everyone by surprise. Watching him jerk and completely lock up leaves you bewildered up until the point he drops to the ground. Behind him stood none other than Gregory, looking worse for wear but alive.
And very much not on vacation.
“Take that you old FUCK!”
“Gregory!?” You could feel your legs turn to jelly as the adrenaline dropped from your body, refusing to let you stand and move around. “What the hell!?”
Moon hissed low in his throat beside you, tail curling around your in a loose arch. The adrenaline seemed to be fading for him as well judging by the way his upper body began to lean against your back.
Gregory turned off the taser once it was clear Tony wouldn’t be standing back up, scowling at the other men who made no move to take up Tony’s defense. Tossing the taser aside, Gregory’s gaze returns to you.
“You guys look like shit.”
His flat tone takes you so off guard all you can do is bark a laugh, slumping back against Moon. “You don’t look so great yourself, tough guy.”
Gregory glanced at the various bandages around his wrists and forearms, shrugging without a care. “Still better than you two.”
You nod, not going to disagree. Hearing Moon’s labored breathing above you gives enough of a jolt of energy for you to stand. “Hey, Gregory, help me get Moonie back in with Sun, yeah?”
Watching Tony be taken away in cuffs didn’t feel nearly as satisfying as it should. Between your account and Gregory’s you hoped it’d be enough to keep him in jail for years to come. But honestly? You half expected him to buy his way out — such was the privileges afforded him.
Management sent their lawyers and non-disclosures, unsurprisingly. The amount of zeroes on your “keep quiet” check did shock you, however. Perhaps even more surprising was the offer for you to keep your job.
“So he basically kidnapped you,” you munch on a handful of chips, sitting on the tank platform for Sun and Moon’s tank. Gregory leaned back on his hands beside you, shoving chips in his mouth before nodding.
“Mhm. Took me to the research facilities on the other side of the campus for “testing.” I thought he meant on samples, not me.” A scowl crossed his face, tossing a chip to Sun who ate it with a happy chirp.
“When he wouldn’t let me leave, that’s when I got locked up. Lucky he was distracted with your progress here to leave me alone long enough to break out.”
“How’d you find this place?”
“Freddy told me,” Gregory shrugged, offering another chip to Sun. You watched in amusement, glancing to your left and offering a handful of chips to the shadow lurking just below the surface.
“I see…Guess I should thank him in person, then.”
“He’d like that, he wants to meet you properly.” A beat of comfortable silence passed between you two, merely watching the mer enjoy their snacks. “How’s your arm?”
“Sore as hell but…I’m getting range of motion back. Should only be a few more weeks and I’ll be good to go.” You smile when Moon’s head poked out of the water, reaching out to rub gentle circles over his crown. “Moonie’s recovering a lot faster than me, thankfully. Got a few new battle scars, huh, bud.”
-You are just a frail human— -
-Moonie! Don’t be mean! After they got you your favorite urchins treat, for shame!- Sun nipped at Moon’s shoulder, grumbling in protest at the teasing. Moon let it happen, unaffected.
“Alright, alright, yeah I know. We humans aren’t as robust as you guys,” you chuckle, smiling wide. Gregory snorts beside you, nodding along.
“Freddy said the same thing to me once—“
You cast a glance over at him, interrupting. “Can you hear them too? Sun and Moon.”
“Huh? No, of course not. Don’t know how exactly it happens but it seems to only work with those they’ve bonded with.” Gregory shrugged, idly kicking his feet in the water. “If you hear their song, or rather feel it, then you’ve got the start of a bond. I can’t hear or feel anything from these two. Not like I do Freddy.”
“Huh…Guess there’s just…too few of us to know how it works for sure.” You squint up at the ceiling, deep in thought. “If it’s a shared frequency or….”
A loud groan beside you interrupts your thoughts.
“Come on I just told you Tony tried to run those kinda tests, they didn’t work! Just,” he waved one hand in a vaguely gesture. “accept it.”
You chuckle, reaching out and ruffling his hair. “What’s this, wisdom from a teenager?”
“A teenager that saved your ass.”
“Fair.”
“Stop fidgeting, your nerves are going to make everyone else anxious,” Vanessa, the new director for the ARC, smacked your hands away from the zipper at your neck. “You look good.” She offered, awkwardly.
You weakly chuckle, taking a deep breath. “You being supportive sounds weird, don’t do that again.” Vanessa lightly punched your shoulder for that one, picking up her tablet and typing away.
Your gaze drifts down once more, taking in the new wet suit. One sleeve was entirely yellow, the other blue, with a matching contour along your ribs and sides. Your favorite little detail was the colored soles, though. Felt just a little extra but in a very satisfying way.
After the dust settled and you’d given your report enough times to make your tongue fall off, a small sense of normalcy returned to the workplace. Because this happened in a closed exhibit, the public was largely unaware of it (you’re pretty sure this is how you were able to keep your job, honestly). Nothing changed right away; you still worked the Tide Pools, your coworkers still called you Shrimp and your days often began and ended with Sun and Moon. Now, two years later, the opportunity you’d been hoping for was presented to you: lead handler at the Reef Experience exhibit.
Feeling antsy and awkward standing by yourself, you wander away from the other employees bustling about to quietly take in the room.
While everything outside the exhibit had remained largely unaffected, the same couldn’t be said for the Reef. A full remodel of all three floors expanded not just the tanks themselves, but the interactive areas as well; now Sun and Moon could travel through shallow channels and interact with the guests (under supervision, of course); the walls received a much-needed wash and repaint, coming with plenty of kid-friendly installments to practice their whale calls or identifying coral; each tank underwent a thorough deep-scrub and careful planting of new corals and plants to brighten up the reef, and Moon’s drop off zone housed even more bioluminescent creatures and plants just like him.
Between the well-deserved update to the facility itself and the overall effort put into ensuring this exhibit met its new grand opening date, seeing the place bright and full of life brought you so much pride and joy. Sun, predictably, could barely contain his excitement over all the activity. Moon took a lot more convincing, and plenty of quiet discussions down below before he too began to warm up to the idea.
Following the sound of singing, you take the employee stairs down a level to the main floor. Sun was flitting about, fussing with the placement of corals and shells. Its his song you heard, and how you knew that, despite appearing mildly unsatisfied with his work, Sun was the happiest he’d been in a long time.
“Looks good, Sunny.”
-You think so? Oh I don’t know, I’ve been moving this here and there all morning and it just doesn’t feel right!- Sun whined, slumping against the glass. From the reef’s shadow Moon watched, bemused at Sun’s antics.
-Just pick a spot, Sunny. It will look good either way.- He waved a hand idly, a gesture you realized he picked up from you at some point.
Sun, unimpressed, merely huffed. -I just want everything to be perfect for our first day!-
“Guys, guys,” you chuckle, smiling fondly. “It looks amazing. The kids are gonna absolutely lose their minds when they see you.” Your smile grows at the thought, brimming with pride. Both mer exchanged a glance, chirping happily in agreement.
-Right, right. It’ll be great! So many new friends to play with!-
Moon hums along, watching as Sun returned to his fussing with the shells. A flurry of fish flickers past, one of the newer additions to the tank. You catch the hungry look on Moon’s face, clicking your tongue.
“Ah, no, don’t eat those. They’re for decoration.” When Moon looked ready to protest, you cut him off with a grin. “Besides, you’ll spoil your appetite.”
-Food!?- Just as suddenly as he had left, Sun returned to the glass, frills and spines flared out in his excitement. -We’re starving!-
You chuckle at the antics, reminded of a cat who insists they weren’t fed 20 minutes ago. “Yep, food. Got you both something special for the big day! So don’t go eating your new tank mates.”
A pinging from your watch alerted you to the 15 minutes until opening, jolting you in your spot. “Ah, gotta run to the back real quick, I’ll see y’all shortly!”
Darting back up the stairs, you greet each of your new teammates as they settle in at their stations. These next few minutes were the longest 15 minutes of your life, so much so that you almost didn’t register the presence of the first crowd of guests. Taking a deep breath and psyching yourself up, you grin and grab your gear from the rack.
“Alright, showtime!”