Chapter Text
The water was cold and smooth this far below the surface of the ocean. Rocks jutted up from the soft sand, and here and there a frond of coral would wave in the currents. Small schools of silver fish swam around, their scales just barely glinting in the scarce sunlight that made it this far down. An octopus crawled along the craggy rocks, carefully unfurling each tentacle, and a couple of small sharks darted through the water. Down here, in the middle of this serene setting, Lance was in danger.
He swam swiftly from rock to rock, pausing to glance all around him. His blue-green scales almost perfectly matched the water, glistening when they caught a rare sunbeam. His fins were practically translucent, and he kept them tucked tightly to his body. The smaller he made himself, the easier it was for him to hide.
Lance poked his head out, surveying his surroundings closely before he darted to the next rock, squeezing himself under a ledge. He might not be able to see them, but he knew they were close. Every now and then his ears picked up the sound of a tail stirring up sand or a fin hitting the rocks. They were very close, and it was only a matter of time before they would catch up.
Lance sucked a breath in through the gills on his neck before ever so slowly raising his head to peer beyond the rock. He scanned his surroundings cautiously, first looking right, then left. Nothing but the octopus as it continued to fumble along. He spotted his next cover, a couple of boulders he could squeeze between. Lance shut his eyes for a moment, mentally preparing himself before he shot into the open.
He had barely swam a tail-length when something collided with him. Lance let out a gasp as he slammed against the ocean floor. He didn’t even have time to blink before his vision was blocked by a mass of writhing tails. Many pairs of hands reached out and grabbed onto him, holding him down. They’d found him. It was too late. Lance’s body shook as he opened his mouth to cry out.
“Stop it, that tickles!”
His statement was met by a bunch of gleeful giggles, and the tiny hands only continued to tickle him with renewed fervor. Lance shook with laughter and he raised his tail high, bringing it down on the ocean floor with a powerful thump. The motion allowed him to shoot up in the water, knocking him free of his tiny captors. He turned to grin triumphantly at the merchildren.
“The evil shark is free once more!” Lance declared. With a swish of his tail he shot off into the water, pursued by the squealing kids. He made sure to swim slow enough so that they could keep up, but not so slow that they would catch him.
“Get the shark!” one of the kids yelled.
“You’ll never catch me!” Lance shouted over his shoulder, doing his best evil laugh. He was just turning his head to look forward again when he collided with something solid. The children were upon him in an instant, mercilessly tickling him as he rolled through the water.
“Alright everyone,” a voice cut through the sound of the children’s laughter, “leave the shark alone, you’ve killed him already.” The kids reluctantly obeyed, leaving Lance to catch his breath as they rushed at the newcomer.
“Can you be the shark next?” A little girl asked while Lance finally composed himself and looked over. His best friend, Hunk, was floating there, smiling at the kids as they latched onto him. Lance had always been jealous of Hunk’s beautiful golden scales. His family was the only one in their shoal with such brightly colored scales. It meant they couldn’t help with hunting or scouting new waters, since they were far too easily noticeable, but they were still able to do other things, such as watch over the kids, look for shelter, protect their fellow merfolk from predators, and, the most coveted of tasks, pass on stories.
“Maybe in a bit,” Hunk told the girl. “We’ve strayed too far from the rest of the shoal, so we have to get back.” A chorus of groans met that statement. “But,” Hunk continued over them, “I can tell you the story of the hero Alfor.” At those words, the groans quickly turned to cheers, and Hunk beamed over at Lance, who returned his smile. Hunk knew this was one of Lance’s favorite stories. He turned to swim back towards the shoal with the kids in tow. Lance made sure to keep up, not wanting to miss a word. He’d heard this story a thousand times before, but it still thrilled him, and Hunk told it best.
“Our story,” Hunk spoke up, “begins, not with the hero Alfor, but the loathsome and evil Zarkon.” The kids oohed at that, staring at Hunk with wide eyes. “Zarkon was not a merman, but one of the vicious sharkpeople that roam this ocean. He was a monster that killed and ate anything in his path, including,” Hunk paused dramatically and gave Lance a meaningful look before he said his next word, “merpeople.”
On cue, Lance leaned down next to the kids and snapped his razor-sharp teeth together. Several of the children near Lance shrieked, including the boy closest to him. This same boy whirled around and shot Lance an indignant glare. “Lance, don’t do that!” the kid snapped. He had the same blue-green scales and light-brown hair as the older merman, though his eyes were brown instead of blue like Lance’s.
“Sorry, Tion,” Lance smiled, ruffling his younger cousin's hair. Tion huffed at him in annoyance before darting away from Lance’s reach.
“Half the ocean was left barren and empty from Zarkon’s great cruelty and greed. That was when Alfor, the founder of our shoal, vowed to end him. Alfor declared that he would not stand by as Zarkon slaughtered the innocent and destroyed our home. He armed himself with the Staff of Justice, the same staff his descendant, our leader Allura, carries with her today.” The children let out some oohs of appreciation and Lance nodded his approval. “Alfor went to face Zarkon. The terrible sharkman swam straight at him, intending to devour Alfor as he had so many before. But our brave hero stood his ground and struck Zarkon down with a single blow of his staff. Alfor had saved the ocean, and forever after the sharkpeople would be cowards, scattered across the seas and never daring to challenge the merfolk unless one wandered away from the shoal. If any one merfolk strays too far from home,” again, Hunk gave Lance a meaningful look, “they will be snapped up and devoured.”
“Like this!” Lance yelled, grabbing onto Tion and twisting through the water with him.
“Lance!” Tion cried out, but this time he was giggling.
“Get the shark!” a little girl screamed, and next thing Lance knew he was once more covered in writhing fins and tickling hands.
“Hunk, help me!” Lance pleaded, trying desperately to shake off his small attackers. Tion laughed triumphantly and squirmed from Lance’s grip, tickling him on the neck.
“You got him!” Hunk called out through his laughter. “The shark's dead, you can retreat soldiers! I see the rest of the shoal just up ahead.”
The kids cried out in joy and darted off, each swimming to their parents or tackling their siblings. Tion gave Lance a last playful whack of his tail before darting into the waiting arms of his mother.
“Hunk!” Lance beamed as he threw his arms around his best friend. “You saved me! I thought I was fish food back there.”
“Yeah, right,” Hunk laughed. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to be the shark. My tail’s not nearly as camouflaged as yours.”
“Your tail,” Lance began, “is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Don’t you dare bash it!”
“I wasn’t,” Hunk rolled his eyes, though he looked pleased at the compliment. “I overheard Coran say we should be at the winter feeding grounds by sunset.”
Lance lit up at those words. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
Hunk gave him a wary look. “That we will all go to bed and get a good night’s rest?”
Lance sighed. “C’mon Hunk. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Lance, we’ve been traveling for almost a month! That’s plenty of adventure.”
“Hunk,” Lance whined his friend’s name. “The winter feeding grounds have the biggest ship graveyard I’ve ever found! I’ve been waiting half a year to explore it again!”
“We aren’t even supposed to go near shipwrecks,” Hunk hissed, lowering his voice. “They’re unstable and dangerous and they were made by humans! Humans are the most dangerous things of all. It’s basically an entire species of Zarkons!”
“But there aren’t any humans in the ships,” Lance said. “Just all their junk. Pidge loves their junk!”
“Oh no,” Hunk shook his head. “You are not asking Pidge.”
“Why not?”
“Because then Pidge will want to go right away. If you wait until tomorrow then it’ll be daylight and we can all… Lance, where are you going?”
“I’m gonna ask Pidge!” Lance called behind him, smirking.
“Lance, no, wait up!” Hunk yelled. He did his best to keep up, but Lance was one of the fastest swimmers in the shoal and he was determined to see those shipwrecks tonight. He darted through the groups of people, searching for those tell-tale shiny green scales. He finally caught sight of said scales, and the fiery reddish-brown hair of the person who owned them.
“Pidge!” Lance cried out as he swam up to them. The person turned around and Lance paused in front of them. “Oh, hey Matt,” he smiled. “Sorry, ever since Pidge cut her hair you two look the same from behind. Where is she?”
Pidge’s older brother smiled back. “She got called out to join a hunting party. They’re off catching dinner right now so the shoal can eat when we get to the feeding grounds.”
“Damn it,” Lance cursed softly. “Thanks anyways, Matt.”
“No problem!” the boy called after him.
“Lance!”
Lance almost jumped out of his scales when he heard Hunk next to him. “You scared the shit out of me! What is it?”
“Don’t- just swim- off!” Hunk gasped as he tried to catch his breath. “I can’t keep up!”
“Sorry, buddy,” he smiled apologetically. “So it turns out Pidge got hunting duty. Guess it’s just the two of us tonight!”
“Lance,” Hunk frowned. “I was trying to tell you this before you swam off. Other than all the many other reasons why we shouldn’t do this, I really can’t. You know my older sister hatched some new kids recently. Our old cave in the winter feeding grounds isn’t going to be big enough anymore. I need to help look for a new place.”
“What?” Lance exclaimed. “That sucks!”
“We’ll have a safe place to sleep, so it’ll be kinda nice,” Hunk pointed out.
“No, I mean that you can’t come with me.”
There was a pause for a moment. “You aren’t still going, are you?” Hunk asked.
“Of course I am!”
“Lance! You can’t just go there alone!”
“Why not?” Lance frowned. “I’ve gone off on my own before.”
“Not to shipwrecks! You aren’t even supposed to be there at all in the first place! What if a ship collapses on you, or a shark eats you, or-”
“Hunk,” Lance put a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I know how to fend for myself. Besides, I got these bad boys.” Lance grinned wide, showing off his sharp teeth. “Each one is immaculate!”
“Why aren’t you bringing your spear?” Hunk asked worriedly.
“Because then my family will know I’m up to something.”
“Lance,” Hunk looked his friend straight in the eyes, completely serious. “Please don’t do this. Just wait until tomorrow. Then we can all go.”
“I can’t, Hunk,” Lance told him. “Tomorrow I have scouting duty, and then I’m on hunting patrol for the next two days! I can’t blame them, though. I have reflexes like a catfish.”
“Lance-” Hunk began.
“Look, if you’re so worried then I promise I’ll just go, take a quick look around, and then come right back. I won’t even go in any of the ships!”
Hunk still looked worried at this, his brow furrowed.
“Deal?” Lance asked, slinging his arm around the other boy.
“Fine,” Hunk sighed. “Deal. But you better come right back.”
“Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?” Lance asked. Hunk snorted and opened his mouth to comment but Lance cut him off. “The correct answer was no, Hunk. You fail the quiz.” Hunk bumped against him with his shoulder and Lance laughed, nudging him lightly back.
Just like Hunk had said, the shoal arrived at their winter feeding grounds right as the sun was beginning to set. Lance went as fast as he could with helping his family unpack the few belongings they had brought along on their migration. Once he was finished he yelled something about hanging out with friends over his shoulder before swimming off. Guilt coiled in his gut as he headed towards the ship graveyard. He hated lying to his family. Normally he told them the truth about everything, but visiting shipwrecks was the one thing he had to keep secret. Anything human-related was taboo and was supposed to be avoided at all costs. If his family ever found out, he would be in huge trouble.
The guilt vanished as soon as he spotted the looming shapes of the ships in the distance. Dusk was just beginning to settle across the ocean. However, this hardly hindered Lance. Like the rest of the merfolk, he had excellent night vision. His eyes lit up, glowing blue in the dark waters and warning any nearby predators to stay away.
Lance held his breath in excitement as he swam among the first few ships. This ship graveyard was so huge that even after all these years he and his friends still hadn’t seen all of it. There were mysteries around every corner, and new treasures to be found! He approached a gaping hole in the side of one of the wrecks. He had promised Hunk he wouldn’t go inside any tonight, but he’d never said he wouldn’t look in them.
The inside was encrusted in barnacles. The usual assortment of human junk lay scattered about, equally as barnacle covered. Lance wanted to pick each item up and examine it, but they all lay out of reach. He sighed in frustration, backing away. A promise was a promise. Besides, he’d be back with Hunk and Pidge in a few days.
Lance was backing away from the ship when he caught a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. He whirled around, flaring his fins out threateningly. All was still. That’s when it dawned on him. There was nothing in this ship graveyard. Just because it was a graveyard didn’t mean it was dead. Usually there would be schools of fish swimming around, crabs scuttling across the sand, and eels poking their heads up from their holes. But now, the place was completely empty. Something was wrong.
Lance bared his teeth and let out a warning trill. It rolled through the water, bouncing off the shipwrecks and echoing back at him. Nothing answered. Nothing moved. Feeling increasingly uneasy, Lance turned to head back home. Perhaps coming here alone really hadn’t been the best idea.
Just then he heard a rush of water behind him. Lance tried to spin around, but the next thing he knew he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He cried out and thrashed around desperately, but the pain only increased. Lance could see his blood clouding the water around him. He swiveled his head towards his attacker, and what he saw almost made his heart stop.
Rows and rows of jagged teeth were buried in his skin, and just above them loomed a pair of glowing violet eyes. It was one of the things that mermaids feared most. One of the things they must never run into all alone. This monster glaring back at Lance was a sharkperson.