Chapter Text
Nix looked at the distant island with stars in her hazel eyes. Her long, wavy black hair ended with a navy blue ombre. The nineteen year old’s sun-kissed skin was slightly flushed from the heat, making the freckles that bridged over her nose more noticeable.
“Ya ready, girlie?”
Nix turned to face the older man who spoke. He was wearing a long, black captain’s jacket with the cliche white hat. There was a scar over his left eye, but he held a kind grin on his face.
“Sure I am, Captain!” Nix responded with an excited giggle.
Nix had received an email a few weeks prior, inviting her to join the Fazbear Mer Sanctuary. She had been so ecstatic that she immediately packed up her bags after she told her mom. Her mother was proud of her, but worried too. The sanctuary was very far out in the ocean, and the duo had never really been apart before.
Nix had reassured her mom before she left, (and gave her the world’s longest bear hug).
It had taken a two day bus trip, a sixteen hour plane ride, and a four day boat ride to get to the sanctuary. And Nix couldn’t wait to get inside and see all the mer.
Every since the discovery and rescue of the first Mer several years ago, Nix had desired to see one up close. As more and more reports of Mers appeared over the globe, Nix’s desire to help rescue and release these magnificent creatures did as well. Anytime the young woman found a new picture or video of a Mer being pulled from a fishing net or dragged onto shore, her heart sank and ached.
Only when Fazbear’s Mer Sanctuary appeared did Nix finally feel relief and hope that the mer would be helped. She watched videos of tearful and heartfelt goodbyes as Mers were found, rescued, healed, and released by the new foundation.
Nix was glad that her mom had pushed her so hard in school, which allowed her to graduate high school at the age of seventeen and go to college early. Nix had chosen any and all biology courses, especially those that covered Mer.
When her Mer Behavior professor had mentioned that he had sent a letter to Fazbear regarding his ‘star pupil’ as he called her, she was shocked. After receiving the email from Fazbear asking her to come to the sanctuary, Nix had endlessly thanked her professor, who had merely laughed and waved her off, wishing her good luck.
Now, here she was, standing just a few feet from the dock of the sanctuary’s island.
“Take care, girlie. Ya hear? If ya ever need me, you know how to reach me!” The captain said, waving her farewell as she stepped off the supply boat and onto the Sanctuary’s island.
“Bye, bye mon capitain!” Nix yelled out with a laugh.
The ravenette took in a deep breath to calm her nerves as she clutched her satchel bag to her side, With a slight gulp, the young woman made her way into the sanctuary.
“Nix, right?”
The girl in question turned at the voice, her eyes locking onto an tall, broad-shouldered older man with shaggy, golden brown hair and kind blue eyes.
“Yes, sir.” She replied, just barely biting back a stutter. The man laughed heartily. “Oh, please, little cub. There’s no need for the ‘sir’. Just call me Freddy.” He said, reaching over to ruffle her hair.
Nix fixed her hair, giving him an odd look. As if realizing what he just did, Freddy looked sheepishly down at her. “Sorry, you just remind me of my son, Gregory. I miss him dearly.”
Nix relaxed at his words, giving him a warm smile. “It’s ok. I just got here and I already miss my mom.” She admitted, making him smile down at her in a fatherly way. The way he was looking at her made her heart ache. She had never known her own father.
“Well, are you ready for your tour?” He asked her, watching as she nodded excitedly.
The tour took only a little over an hour, but Freddy showed Nix where the quarantine was for the mers that had just been rescued or are sick, the cafeteria where everyone gets their food, the library for any research needed, some of the labs where they looked at the samples collected from Mers, and the housing structures.
The housing structures were all seperate little bungalows, prebuilt and taken to the island anytime a new person was going to be living their. Freddy had given Nix the keys to her small home, before taking her to where she had been anxiously awaiting to see; the Mer enclosures.
They didn’t have many at the moment, as they had just released a bunch of Mers, but they still had several. Enough to garner her recruitment.
At Freddy’s words, Nix had stopped. “Wait… I’m going to be the caretaker of a Mer? I thought I’d just be shadowing someone…” She said, nervously. As excited as she was to help out Mers, she didn’t find herself qualified to do so yet, not without proper training at least.
Freddy furrowed his brows, frowning slightly. “You have completed the Mer Behavior course in your college, yes?” He asked her. Nix nodded, tilting her head. “That’s all the qualification you need. You’ll get a crash course by watching Xander with our two newest Mers. Come on, he should be heading there now, I’ll see if we can’t cut him off and you can go with him to the enclosure.”
Nix followed Freddy, her nervousness rising as she began to nibble on the skin on her right thumb.
What if she messed up? What if she somehow ended up hurting one of these Mers? What if she got the caretaker hurt? What if-
“Xander!”
Freddy’s shout pulled Nix from her thoughts, causing her to jump slightly in alarm. The teen followed Freddy’s smiling gaze to see a boy around her age with spiked black hair, slate gray eyes, a pierced right ear, and a spike piercing that went through his left eyebrow. He was wearing a black shirt and black khakis, a covered gallon bucket hanging from his right hand. He looked like a cliche bad boy, especially with his resting bitch face.
“What do you want, old man?” The teen called out to Freddy, not seeing Nix behind the man’s huge frame.
“Our new recruit came in, and you're taking her to Sun and Moon’s enclosure so she can shadow you.” Freddy informed, disregarding the teen’s tone. Freddy stepped aside, revealing Nix, who looked unsuredly at the new person.
The moment Xander laid his eyes on Nix, he lit up, a smirk rising to his face as he swept the fringe of his bangs out of his eyes with the flick of his wrist.
“Hey there, doll. Ready for your crash course?” He asked her, his dark eyes looking her up and down like she was a piece of meat. The thought made an unpleasant shiver race down her spine. She looked over to Freddy, who merely gave her a warm smile, before she huffed out a sigh and hesitantly crossed the distance to the taller teen.
Xander smirked down at Nix, his eyes roving her form. She was definitely great eye candy, her breasts weren’t as big as he hoped, but they weren't small either. She was definitely curvy around the waist, which made him smile. More for him to hold on to.
“So, doll. Let's get going.” Xander said, resisting the urge to drape his arm over her shoulders. She seemed flighty, wouldn't want to scare her before he got a chance to get to know her.
Nix eyed him, distrust in her hazel gaze. She was getting a bad feeling from him.
They walked to the enclosure in silence. Nix was trying to focus on the fact that she was about to come face to face with two Mers, and Xander was planning out how to woo her.
“So, how do you like being a caretaker?” Nix's voice broke the silence. Xander frowned in distaste at the question. “Eh. I'm stuck here because my mom runs the place. I have to feed nasty fish to bigger, more disgusting fish.” He said, rolling his eyes.
Nix felt her blood begin to boil at his words. This guy was starting to piss her off. Eyeing her like she was going to be his next conquest, now insulting the Mers he's supposed to be taking care of and healing.
Nix took a deep breath to calm herself. It wouldn't be good if she was angry when she meets Sun and Moon. “How long have you been their caretaker? Are Sun and Moon mates?” Nix asked, trying to see how long he was more than likely abusing these Mers.
“Eh, only for a week or so. Their other handlers all quit. Couldn't handle the darker one. They aren’t mates. They’re brothers. But they refuse to be seperated.” Xander sighed. Were these dumb fish all she wanted to talk about? He thought to himself, clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth in distaste.
Nix furrowed her brow at his words. Only a week? The others quit? “Why?” She asked almost without realizing it. Xander rolled his eyes, “They're too aggressive for anyone else to handle.”
Before Nix could say anything else, Xander stopped in front of a large metal door. “Look, just stay behind me. I'll protect you, doll.” He said with a wink, before swiping his ID over the digital lock. The little red light flashed green with a small beep before Xander opened the door and walked inside, leaving Nix to follow behind.
Nix let out a small gasp as she stared at the enclosure in amazement. A large pool took up most of the area. Sand covered the ground and the bottom of the pool. There was a small rocky cave at the bottom of the pool, most likely where their nest was. There was sparse vegetation that surrounded the enclosure.
“Get back, freak!”
A violent hiss sounded to her right, and Nix snapped her gaze in the direction, only to have her breath stolen once again.
There was a large, yellow Mer, sharp, dagger-like teeth pulled back in a hissing snarl. The Mer’s tail ended in a large, extravagant, flowy fin. The tip of which faded from a sunny yellow into a beautiful sunset orange. There were two small fins that hung down from a little bit below the hips of the Mer, with the same coloration as it’s tail. Around the Mer’s hips was a crimson ruffle-like fin, it had a matching one around its neck almost like a ruffled collar like jesters wore. Seven, large, yellow fins surrounded its head, they were flared out threateningly as the Mer snarled and hissed at Xander. The Mer’s blue pupils were slitted in aggression, its claws digging into the sand while its tail slapped the sand.
The Mer was getting ready to pounce.
“Eat your damn food, you fucking fish.” Xander snapped, tossing a small, half rotten mackerel towards the Mer. The Mer hissed, swiping the fish away with its claws.
“What are you feeding it? It needs something fresher, something alive !” Nix said, stressing her last word. “What does that matter?” Xander asked her, scoffing as he tossed another fish towards the aggressive Mer.
Nix’s gaze darted around the enclosure, before she remembered the cart that she had passed jut a little ways away from the door.
Nix slowly backed away, so as not to draw attention to herself, before she opened the door and slipped outside, taking her sneaker off and slipping it between the door and its frame so it wouldn’t close on her.
The cart that Nix had seen was only a few feet away, but it waas loaded with fresh fish, swimming around in buckets.
“Need something?”
Nix yelped, turning to the voice, only to see Freddy. She sighed in relief. “Xander needs a few fish for Sun and Moon. I don’t know what they like though.” Nix said, smiling up at the older man.
Freddy hummed, before he leaned down and grabbed a gallon bucket filled with water. He grabbed two of each fish and started to hand it to her before faltering. “Uh, will you be able to carry this?” He asked her worriedly.
Nix smiled at him before grabbing the bucket and easily lifting it. “I’m stronger than I look.” Nix said cheerily before thanking him and slipping back inside the enclosure, making sure to grab her shoe and put it on.
The Mer was still growling and snarling, and had scooted closer to Xander, who had dropped the bucket of rotten fish onto the sand.
“Hey, Sun.” Nix called, assuming his name from the color and look of the Mer.
Sun snapped his head around to face her, his blue pupils still slits as he continued to hold himself in an aggressive stance.
Nix held up her hands, palms out, a kind smile on her face. “Are ya hungry? I’ve got some tuna here?” She tried. His growling didn’t stop.
“How about marlin?” Still no.
“Red Snapper?”
His snarls quieted slightly.
Nix’s eyes lit up and she reached a hand into the bucket and pulled out one of the snappers. The fish wiggled and struggled in her grip, but her heart melted at the way Sun’s eyes brightened and his pupil widened slightly.
Nix took a few hesitant steps towards the Mer, not daring to get too close, and she placed the fish on the sand before retreating back to the bucket.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Sun shot forward like a bullet and snatched the fish up, his sharp teeth tearing into the scales and ripping the fish’s head off in seconds. Sun quickly finished off the fish before his gaze landed back on Nix, his pupils even bigger than before, but his blue gaze still held a caution that she understood.
“I have another.” She said, before grabbing the second snapper and following the same process. Sun was just as quick to grab the fish, but he was slightly less aggressive.
Once Sun finished his food, he cautiously scooted a bit closer to Nix, who didn’t move from her spot by the bucket.
“Your brother must be hungry too. What does he like? Tuna?” Sun let out a little growl. “Hm, probably not the marlin then either.” Sun let out a warbling chortle like he was laughing and saying ‘no’.
Nix looked into the bucket with a frown. There was only one other fish.
“Barracuda?”
Sun let out a soft purr and scooted a bit closer to her. “Would you take these to your brother for me?” She asked him, as she placed the streamlined fish down on the ground.
Sun let out another warbling purr before he easily pulled himself over to Nix with a flop of his tail. Sun grabbed the barracuda and looked Nix in the eyes as he warbled.
Nix gave him a smile as he stared at her, as if deciding on something. Suddenly, with a nod of his head, Sun shoved his face into Nix’s and dragged his tongue up the side of her cheek before he was suddenly in the water an swimming down to the cave that housed his nest.
Nix let out a giggle as she gently rubbed the saliva off her cheek. The teen stood up and brushed the sand off of herself before she grabbed the bucket and turned back to the exit.
She didn’t get far before she bumped into Xander, who was looking down at her in anger.
“What was that?” He asked her, a scowl on his face. Nix frowned up at the taller teen. “I was doing my job. You know, taking care of the Mers.” Nix snapped back harshly, her hazel eyes narrowing in anger.
“She did a great job.”
Both teens whipped around to see Freddy standing there, frowning as he leaned against the side of the door.
“In fact, I think she’s more qualified to take care of these two Mer than you are. So, I’m putting her in charge of them and demoting you to kitchen duty.” Freddy said, glairng at the boy.
“What?! You can’t-”
“I can, and I will. Your mom put me in charge of handling the caretakers. That’s what I’m doing. I’ll give her a run down of what to expect. You’re dismissed.” Freddy said, holding open the door.
Xander clenched his fists and stomped out of the room, giving a nasty glare to Freddy as he left. Nix glanced back at the pool, seeing a pair of blue eyes watching her. She gave a smile and wave before following Freddy out of the enclosure.
“Let’s get you settled in your room. I’ll wake you up bright and early in the morning so I can give you a run down on taking care of a Mer. Then, you can get to work.” Freddy said as he walked with her to her small bungalow.
Nix gave him a tired smile and waved him goodbye before she closed the door and slumped into her room. She flopped onto the bed, exhausted. She’ll take a look around her new home tomorrow.
*****
Sun smiled to himself as the new human waved goodbye to him. He felt a purr rising to his throat as he thought about her taking care of him and his brother.
She was so sweet, so kind. She figured out what the horrible human was doing wrong within seconds and quickly fixed the issue. She was even so thoughtful as to give him fish to give to his brother! He liked this human so far. Hopefull she’s a good one. They hadn’t had a good human.
Sun tightened his grip on the barracuda as he made his way down to his nest where his brother slept. While Sun liked to sleep in the sand, his brother preferred somewhere darker.
It was almost time for his brother to wake up anyway, so Sun sped up. He crossed the distance in record time, poking his head in the air pocket to see his sleeping brother.
Sun frowned at the look of him. His brother’s tail was broken, which made it hard for him to swim. The two brothers were protective of each other, refusing to be without the other. It’s why the humans haven't been able to get close to Moon. Sun would always be in the way, attacking if provoked.
“Moonie?” Sun called out, pulling himself onto the rocky outcropping that held their nest.
Moon grunted, opening one eye as he yawned, showing off his sharp teeth. “What is it, Sun?” He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Tell me you didn’t bring those rotten carcasses for me to eat.” Moon growled out, his red eyes narrowing at his brother.
Sun grinned as he held up the two fish.
Moon’s eyes widened and he grabbed them swiftly before devouring them.
“Where did you get these?” Moon asked him after he finished both fish. For the first time since they’ve been here the brothers weren’t starving anymore.
“We have a new caretaker! She’s super sweet, and sososo soooooo nice! While the rude human was yelling at me and throwing the rotten fish, she grabbed a BUNCH of different fish and asked me what I wanted! She also asked what you would like and then gave it to me!” Sun said, his tail wagging happily.
Moon’s eyes widened at his brother’s words. “A new caretaker, huh?” Moon asked, his eyes narrowing with interest. Sun stopped at his brother’s tone. “Moon, I know what you’re thinking. Please don’t scare her away! I have a good feeling about her!” Sun pleaded, whimpering slightly.
“Sunny…” Moon warned, a growl rising to his throat. Sun backed down, his head fins flattening. “Okay just…be gentle, please?”
Moon grunted non committedly, which only made Sun’s worry grow.
As Sun slipped away to swim more, Moon let a savage grin spread across his face.
This new caretaker may be on Sun’s good side. But now it was time to pass his test.
*****
Nix spent the morning with Freddy as he went over the do’s and dont’s of taking care of Mers. She paid close attention not wanting to cause her new Mers any pain or strife.
It close to sunset when she was finally done, and Nix quickly made her way to Sun’s enclosure her satchel bag slapping gently against her hip as she walked. She had a bucket with several snappers and barracudas swimming around. Nix had filled her bag with books and toys for the Mers to play with.
She got to the enclosure as the sun began to set and she swiped her brand new ID on the door, smiling as it flashed green and beeped.
Nix closed the door behind her and started walking closer to the pool, but kept her distance, knowing that the two Mers don’t know her well enough to trust her yet.
A cheerful warbling reached her ears and Nix turned to see Sun swimming up to her as she reached a rock big enough for her to sit on.
“Heya, Sun!” Nix greeted, smiling at the large yellow Mer. Sun purred happily before she noticed his eyes focus in on the bucket. Nix laughed at his reaction as she pulled her bag off and set it down beside the bucket.
“I brought plenty to eat-”
A loud roar was all the warning that Nix got before something tackled her into the water. The impact of what she could have only assumed was Sun’s brother, Moon, felt like being hit by a sledgehammer.
Nix turned in the water, unable to see either of the Mers.
From the corner of her eye, Nix saw a flash of midnight blue. Turning towards it, Nix’s eyes widened at the sight of the other Mer circling her like she was prey.
Moon’s body was mostly a midnight blue, so dark it was almost black. His torso was two toned, his front half a grayish white, while the back matched his tail. His arms followed the tail coloring, but as the color reached his claws, it faded into the same grayish white color. He had similar side fins that matched his brother but were his own colors, and he also had the same sort of ruffled fins around his hips and neck that were a navy blue. His tail ended in a forked, hook-shaped fin that faded into the same grayish white as the front half of his body. Half of Moon’s face was grayish white while the other half was that same midnight blue. There was a large midnight blue fin that came from the top of his head and stretched down to his shoulders. A small ball of light dangled from the tip of it. His entire body sparkled under the light of his esca, making it look like his body was covered in thousands of little stars. Moon’s eyes were completely different from his brother’s. Instead of white sclera, no iris, and blue pupil, Moon had bright red sclera, no iris, and white pupils.
Pupils which were very narrow.
And his sharp teeth were on display with a ferocious snarl that shook the water around her.
And Nix can’t breath. Why can’t she breath? Oh right. AIR!
Nix kicked her feet to go to the surface for air when Moon’s snarl got louder. Nix’s last breath escaped her as a flurry of bubbles when Moon’s claws gripped her neck.
Moon swam like a missle to the bootom of the pool, slamming her into the sand so hard that she felt a crack as her vision blacked out for a moment.
Nix looked into Moon’s furious eyes as his grip tightened around her neck. His claws tore into her pale throat, leaving deep scratches in neck. As Nix’s vision darkened, she faintly noticed her blood rising up around them as a small cloud.
Then, everything went black.