Archive of Our Own ^beta

“C’mon, grumpy gills, you gotta see my cave!” chirped Lance, pulling Keith by the wrist as he swam further into the depths.

Keith was a funny little friend. He was on the small side, human-sized to be specific. Lance’s clawed hand could almost wrap around Keith’s waist if Lance was so inclined. And he was quiet. Lance had never heard him say a word. But he sure could be aggressive. Lance still had a tiny bite out of his ear-fin that had yet to grow back from the last time he wrestled Keith.

When they arrived at Lance’s cave Keith was apprehensive. He eyed it warily, squinting at it, then the surface, then it again.

”Look, I know you don’t like swimming in deeper waters, but it’s only for a little while. And you’re a merman- the surface is for humans! Just take a quick look inside!”

Keith relented.

They had to squeeze through a small tunnel, but once inside it was was beautiful. Sparkling stalagmites, gorgeous corals and sea plants, and of course...

”Can you believe this? This statue came from a sinking ship! I think it’s a depiction of the captain” said Lance.

Keith rested a hand on the statue’s shoulder. It was a strong young man in uniform. Charmingly, a large tuft of hair poked out from under the hat on the center of his head. What peculiar hairstyles humans had.

”It’s beautiful, huh? And check this out! Eye-glass!”

Lance put on a large pair of spectacles.

”Pidge will love this. She always gets excited when we find inventions and stuff.”

Lance happily presented his treasures. Eventually, though, he had to admit the main reason he had brought Keith here.

“Uh, actually, there’s another reason I invited you here besides sight-seeing. I was wondering if you could help me get the statue out? Hunk brought it in here for me on his own but I can’t seem to drag it back out by myself, and I didn’t want to make him do it again. I want to give it to Allura to decorate the castle. She’s been so down since we lost the king and everything, so…”

Keith nodded in agreement despite the annoyed look on his face. They dragged the statue to where the cave narrowed.

“Here’s the tricky part” said Lance. They were going to turn the statue on its side, but in attempting to do so hit the roof of the cave. Some rocks fell and they thought that that was that, however…

Keith suddenly grabbed Lance with both arms and yanked him backwards.

“Wha-” started Lance, but the entire collapse of the tunnel interrupted him.

Lance didn’t know how Keith knew that was going to happen but he was grateful. The only problem now was that there were boulders blocking their only exit.

“Damn it. We’re trapped!”

Lance saying it out loud sent Keith into a panic. He desperately clawed at the rocks, trying everything to pry them away. Lance saw the statue’s feet sticking out from under the rubble and tugged on them, thinking that it would dislodge the rocks. Their efforts were futile.

The two gave up trying to escape for now to think.

“I’ll call Hunk and see if he’s nearby. I’ll try to get some big whales’ attention, too, if I can” said Lance.

He sang a tone only audible to creatures of the sea. Meanwhile Keith hugged his arms to himself and backed into a corner. Trembling. Lance had never seen him look so afraid… it was unlike him.

“Hey, are you claustrophobic? I’m not really good with comfort stuff but, um, I’m sure help’s coming soon!”

Keith stared at the floor.

A good few minutes of nothing went by until Hunk was suddenly right outside the cave.

“Guys! Are you okay?!”

“Hunk! We’re alive, but Keith’s freaking out or something!”

“Hold on! Me and Shay will get you out!”

The cave shook with booms as Hunk and Shay charged into the rocks, trying to barrel their way through. Lance swam over to Keith, who’d laid down in a ball and curled his tail around himself, his eyes shut tight.

“It’s okay. We’ll be out in no time” said Lance.

Keith hiccuped a flurry of bubbles out. Lance frowned. It wasn’t unusual for a mer to burp up a bubble or two but that was just excessive. Was Keith making himself sick or something?

“Guys…”

“One more push! Now, Hunk!” said Shay.

The rocks gave out and Lance narrowly avoided being hit by one. Shay swam into the cave.

Lance shook Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, wake up! The boulders are cleared and we can get out!”

Keith was motionless.

“…Keith? Wake up!”

He looked, to Lance, like the dead humans that floated down sometimes. Drowned.

Oh. Oh, no, thought Lance.

Wrapping his arms around Keith Lance charged past Shay with an apology, squeezed through the tunnel, and accidentally rammed into Hunk.

“Are you two- hey, is he okay?” asked Hunk.

“I think I know why Keith doesn’t like deep water. Follow me!”

Hunk barely kept up with Lance as he jettisoned upwards. They breached the surface.

Keith’s head lolled against Lance’s shoulder. Lance patted his face.

“Come on now, we’re here, so wake up!” said Lance.

“What’s happening? Why are we here?” Hunk begged to know, confused.

Lance didn’t answer, instead towing Keith to shore and laying him in the sand. Lance made sure to keep the gills on his own chest submerged.

“We’re on the surface but it’s not working!” cried Lance. He bent over and put his ear against’s Keith’s chest. “I don’t hear anything…”

He turned to Hunk. “You know how Keith always stays near the surface? I think it’s because he’s a human! I saw him drown in the cave!”

“Lance, he’s a merman” said Hunk slowly. “He has a tail.”

“Well maybe he’s both. We don’t know his parents. What if one of them is a human?”

“Does that even happen?” wondered Hunk. He scooted closer to Keith and ran his hand along the smaller mer’s ribs.

“No way… he has no gill slits.”

“Told you!” said Lance. He gave Keith one last shake. “C’mon, Keith...”

“Lance, I think he’s gone” said Hunk sadly.

“Damn it!” cursed Lance again. He felt like he could cry. “Why didn’t he try to tell us? I never would have dragged him down if I had known.”

“Maybe he thought nobody’d believe him. It’s crazy. Just like this whole day. First the cave-in, now this… what’s next, the sea witch finally leaves her lair?”

Lance froze. “Did you say witch?”

Hunk covered his own mouth. “No! Nope! Forget I said anything!”

“Please tell me, Hunk! If there’s a witch maybe she can help Keith with magic!”

“Witches are evil, Lance! But… fine. The lair is in the east, by the hydrothermal vents. Anyone’s only caught little glimpses of her. A black and purple octo-mer, long gray hair.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Hunk!”

And Lance was off again with Keith.

“Lance, wait for me!”

~

“Hello?!” called Lance into the lair.

“Shh! She’ll hear you!” said Hunk.

“That’s the whole point!”

“Oh, right.”

They swam further in, Lance clutching Keith protectively to his chest. Turning a corner they entered a grand room, full of all sorts of strange curios. It was reminiscent of Lance’s cave but… more disturbing. Dead preserved creatures in jars. Weapons on the wall.

“Anyone home?” said Lance.

There was movement from behind a large rock. The mers tensed.

“And whom do I have the pleasure of not slaying on sight for trespassing into my territory?” asked a deep voice. Someone rounded the corner and revealed themselves.

It was a purple and black octo-mer with long, silver hair. However, it was no old woman. It was a rather handsome young man with sharp teeth and a dark glint in his eyes.

“You’re not a witch” said Lance.

“Am I not?” the octo smirked mysteriously.

“U-um, mister, um, witch sir, our friend needs help and we were wondering if you could u-use some magic on him?” asked Hunk, terrified out of his fins.

“You will address me as ‘Prince Lotor,’ and I cannot fathom the audacity you have to demand my help after entering my lair unannounced.”

“I’m sorry, Prince Lotor,” apologized Lance politely, “It’s just that my friend is part human and he’s drowning and I took him to the surface but it didn’t help and it’s my fault in the first place-”

Prince Lotor raised a hand to silence Lance’s rambling. Lance understood and shut his mouth.

“It just so happens that I need to practice a few new spells that I’ve whipped up. I will use them, but make no mistake, I care nothing of what happens to you and your little friend.”

Lance nodded. “I’ll do anything” he said.

Prince Lotor rubbed his chin in thought. “Anything, hm?”

He swam elegantly over to a shelf of small bottles, viles, and beakers. He retrieved two intricately made bottles and returned.

“If your friend has any life left in him then transforming him into a pure creature of the sea will allow him to live on. We must purge the human contamination from his body.”

Lance gritted his teeth. Such disrespect, and dishonor to whichever one of Keith’s parents were human as well.

“However, this doesn’t come without a price…” said the prince. “I need to test my other new spell. A transformation from merman to human.”

Lance blinked. He pointed to himself. “On me?”

“Precisely. You have no choice if you want to give your friend a chance.”

Turning human? Lance couldn’t grasp the idea. It was almost a little exciting… but…

“When will I turn back?” asked Lance.

Prince Lotor threw his head back and laughed. “Never, of course! Such powerful magic is permanent!”

“No! Lance, you can’t!” begged Hunk. “Your family will never see you again! And you don’t know how to be a human- what if you can’t survive in the surface world?”

Lance’s lips trembled. He looked down at Keith in his arms and brushed aside a lock of hair from the smaller mer’s ashen face.

“You’re testing my patience. If you’re delicate constitution can’t handle humanity then maybe I shall add you to my horde instead!” said Prince Lotor. He swam to curtain of seaweed in the room and pulled it aside.

Behind it dozens of shrunken, withered creatures were packed next to each other. They used to be people just like Lance and Hunk, now shells of their former selves.

One of them looked familiar.

“King Alfor?” whispered Lance.

“Enough! It’s time!” snapped Prince Lotor. He uncorked one of the bottles and manipulated a stream of light out of it. He raised a clawed hand in Lance’s direction. Lance closed his eyes, ready as he could be to be changed forever.

The streak of magic hit Keith instead.

A brilliant, fire-red glow filled the cave. Warmth, almost searing hot, scorched them all. When the light dissipated Hunk and Lance stared in awe.

Keith floated before them, his size surpassing Lance and even Hunk. He was beautiful. His soft, pinkish tail had grown and bloomed into a gradient of sunset colors, brilliant fins billowing out from it.

The newly formed gills on his ribs flared with life. He opened his eyes and they shimmered with golden energy.

“Lance… Hunk…” breathed Keith.

It was the first time they had ever heard his voice.

“Keith. You’re okay” said Lance, little teardrops in his eyes threatening to spill

“Wow, Keith, you’re… magnificent!” said Hunk.

Keith looked in wonder at his hands. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

“I have cleansed you of your filthy impurities. For that you owe me your life” said Prince Lotor.

Keith narrowed his eyes at this new adversary.

“Shut up! Keith was perfect the way he was! We saved him but he didn’t need fixing!” yelled Lance.

“We? You insolent whelp! As if you hold any power!”

“Enough!” ordered Keith, intimidating in a way the mers had never seen him. “I don’t exactly know what’s going on here but we’re leaving, now!”

“Not without your parting gift!” said Lotor, uncorking the second bottle and launching his magic at Lance before anyone could react.

Lance felt the spell pierce the center of his chest. He could feel his body morphing, transforming, and it felt like his tail was being ripped in two. He opened his mouth to scream but when water flooded it he choked. It was cold and heavy. Was this how Keith felt? He had no more time to wonder as darkness quickly pulled him under.

~

“Lance!” screamed Keith.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

That octopus bastard was torturing his friend. He grabbed Lance, even before he was fully finished transforming, and zipped out of the lair. Keith knew all too well that humans need air.

He could hear the octopus cackling and Hunk calling after them.

It was hard to get a grip in the muddy sand as Keith dragged them onto the shore. It was raining hard up there, a perfect fit for such a day.

Lance was out cold. Keith rolled him onto his side and hit his back once, twice, hoping that would do something because he couldn’t remember any better solutions- but the seawater finally escaped the new human and Keith held him close while he gasped and sputtered.

“Lance! Keith!” called Hunk, his head peeking out of the ocean.

“Over here!” said Keith.

“Oh my gosh, is he dying?!”

“No! Give him a second, he went through a lot.”

Hunk calmed himself. He stared at Keith. Keith raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You just look a lot different, man. The witch took all of the human out of you. Hey, I don’t mean to blame you or anything, but… could you really not have told us that you were part human? And, y’know, had lungs instead of gills?”

Keith sighed. “Look at it this way. It’s not that I didn’t trust you guys with a secret. It’s just that if I ever made an enemy in another merperson and word got out that I was so vulnerable, they’d have a surefire way to take me out. If you were burdened with such a weakness would you tell a single soul about it?”

“Maybe not” conceded Hunk.

Lance started to rouse. He opened his eyes, saw Keith’s new face right in his, and yelped.

“Easy, dude! It’s just Keith, remember?” said Hunk.

“Whew” Lance sighed, and laughed. He started to say something but… it couldn’t quite come out. His voice couldn’t go high enough and his tongue couldn’t click in the right ways.

“Oh, no…I didn’t think of it, but humans’ bodies aren’t made for seaspeak” explained Keith.

Lance was crestfallen.

“So that’s why you didn’t talk before” said Hunk to Keith.

“Yeah. That, and I’d drown.”

This news and the events of the day had seemed to have taken a toll on Lance. He couldn’t help it- the tears finally fell. He hadn’t cried since he was a fry.

“I know. It’s been a rough day” said Keith. He embraced Lance, hoping that Lance wouldn’t mind. Lance didn’t hesitate to lean in, enjoying the new feel of Keith being the bigger one for once.

Hunk was sorely tempted to make it a group hug but let them have their moment.

Keith could feel Lance shivering. It was still raining and his lower half was underwater.

“You’re freezing, Lance. Humans need a lot of warmth…” said Keith. “Hunk, do you know anything about magic? How long will this spell last?”

“Prince Lotor said… that it’s permanent.”

Keith was livid.

“What? No way! He has to be lying! If he won’t fix it then I’ll make him!”

Keith whipped around, splashing Hunk.

“You stay with Lance. I’m going to wring the answers out of that octopus!”

Hunk would have protested but Keith was set on it. He watched him go.

Lance lifted a soaking, cold leg up and examined it curiously, wiggling his toes. Hunk twiddled his thumbs and waited. Minutes and minutes passed.

“Oooh… it’s been so long, I’m worried about him. Sorry, Lance, but I gotta go check on him!” said Hunk.

Lance nodded firmly.

Hunk dove down, through the hydrothermal vents, almost getting burned. He went through the twists and turns of the witch’s lair to find-

Lotor throttling the life out of Keith with his tentacles.

Hunk whooped a full-on battle-cry and grabbed Lotor’s middle in a vice grip before charging him into the cave wall.

With Lotor caught off guard Keith wriggled free of his bindings and chomped down on the octo-mer’s shoulder with his sharp teeth.

Lotor howled in agony.

“O-off of me you… d-disgusting freak!” he choked.

“Not until you turn Lance back!” demanded Hunk.

Lotor managed to wrench his hand free and slash Keith’s face with sharp, curled claws. Keith cried out and pulled away. Hunk struggled to hang on but Lotor slipped out of his hold and was out of the lair in a flash.

Keith pursued, but outside of the cave there was no sign of the witch anywhere.

“Coward!” screamed Keith. He turned back in.

Hunk was assessing the damage. Broken spell bottles littered the place. The ones that were intact were a mystery.

“I don’t know which one we need, if any. Using these things wrong could get us killed” said Hunk.

Keith sighed. “You’re right. This is probably bigger than what we can handle ourselves. We need to see the princess.”

“Allura! She may know more about this stuff than us, huh?” said Hunk. He looked to the grim little hole behind the seaweed. “She needs to know about this place for a lot of reasons.”

“But first we need to go back to Lance.”

“Right! I’m sorry I left him alone” apologized Hunk as they swam to the surface.

“I needed the help” admitted Keith

They broke the surface.

Lance was gone.

“Lance?! Where are you?!” called Hunk.

Keith’s blood went cold. Lance was right here! He couldn’t have moved- he didn’t even know how to use his legs yet!

“Lance!” he called desperately. Keith tried to look for his friend but the rain was pouring harder, clouding his eyes, getting too loud to hear his own voice.

He dragged himself forward onto the muddy sand. He crawled, pulling the heavy weight of his tail behind him with his forearms, trying to call for Lance but nothing would come out. The rainwater wasn’t enough for his gills and he choked.

It didn’t matter- Lance didn’t know how to walk, he didn’t know humanspeak, he didn’t know how to hunt land creatures- Keith needed to find him.

But Keith was fading on land now that he was fully, truly, a creature of the sea. He felt strong arms pulling him back into the ocean by his tail. His gills tasted water again as Hunk held him.

For the first time in his life Keith sang. He sang the tone that merpeople used to call each other home- but then he remembered; Lance was a human now.

So he cried instead.