Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The seaweed flowed peacefully in the waves as small fish swam back and forth between the leaves. A slight disturbance in the water halted them, and a split second later they fled the scene, just a giant figure rushed past, laughing heartily. Three smaller figures followed close behind, laughing just as well.

The first one was as large as a shark, with smooth gray scales and dark stripes all over his muscular body. His tail was scarred and pockmarked, and despite his sharp teeth and intimidating figure, his smile was warm and genuine.

The next one to follow close behind couldn't have been more different if he tried, with a pale chest and face, and a full head of long dark hair. His tail was the color of midnight, with shimmering scales that mesmerized all who took notice, when he wasn't trying to sneak around. He kept a thin belt of kelp wrapped across his chest, with a bag at his hip where he stored his most precious keepsakes, like his trusty dagger.

Closely behind him, a very similar looking mermaid followed. In certain lights, they could almost be mistaken for being the same person, if not for minute differences. One, for example, was that the other's hair was lighter and longer, tied back in a loose braid reminiscent of the ropes found in shipwrecks. Her tail, near as dark as her twin’s, had more of a navy sheen to it, but glistened just as wonderfully as her brother’s. She had a similar bag as well, but had a small crossbow slung across her back that looked very well taken care of.

Finally, we come across the last little mermaid, who was the smallest of them all, barely half the size of the giant. Her tanned skin was spotted in tiny golden scales, blending in with her shining tail, which sparkled like the finest coins. Her own hair was as bright as the sun, and the only thing that could be considered an affront to her beauty was the long scar that ran from her forehead and down her eye to end at her lip. A large spear was strapped to her back as well, made of bone and decorated with rainbow colored pearls.

The four merpeople raced along the sands, laughing and twirling and zipping through the waters. The giant smacked his webbed palm on a large rock formation at the edge of a cliff and hooted in victory.

“That's four to nothing for Grog! Hahahaha!”

“Pretty sure you meant three, big fella,” said the smaller merman as he also hit the stone, smiling mischievously.

The giant, now known as Grog, frowned in thought. “I thought four was bigger?” He said.

“Vax, quit teasing him. You know he doesn't count well.” The twin said as she approached, brushing her dark tail against the sand. She reached down to pick up an abandoned shell as the smallest mermaid trailed behind them, panting slightly.

“It couldn't kill you guys to slow down for two seconds?” She said, drawing in deep breaths as she swam in a small circle around them.

“Sorry, Pikey.”

Vax had joined his sister down to search for shells, but found something more impressive. “Vex, look!” He cried out, holding up his treasure.

Vex looked up and her eyes widened. “Is that…”

“Real coin? I think so.”

“Let me see!” Pike shouted as she swam closer, Grog following close behind. The four surrounded Vax's outstretched hand, revealing a shiny gold coin. Vex gingerly picked it up and examined both sides.

“A big leafy coral with stars around it. Just like the last ones.” She passed the coin over to Pike and Grog before turning to her brother, “You'd think the humans would get better at not losing their stuff.”

Vax just shrugged, going back to searching the sands for more treasures.

“What do you think they even use these things for?” Grog asked, holding the coin up to his eye, “It's not good for eating or looking through.”

“Maybe they just like shiny things.” Pike offered, taking back the coin and giving back to Vex, who placed it in her bag.

The small mermaid looked up at the water and sighed. “We better get back before it gets dark. You know how your dad is about curfew.”

Both Vex and Vax just groaned.

“I don't get how he can disown his own children and still expect them to follow a bedtime.” Vax complained as he straightened up, holding up more coins, “At least we have something to show for our troubles.”

Vex smiled and reached out her hands. As the two divided their share, Grog swam up a bit and narrowed his eyes.

“What's over there?”

Vax was the first to look up, and instantly saw what Grog was looking at: a huge sunken ship listing to one side.

“Whoa. It's so…”

“Dangerous.” Vex finished, swimming up next to him, “We should leave it alone for now.”

“Come on, Stubby. You really want anyone else to pick through it before we can? What if there's more treasure?”

“Or what if there's other creatures?”

“We have Grog.”

“Grog can't fight everything!”

“Yes I can!” Grog bellowed, puffing out his chest, “I can beat up any stupid fish who comes our way!”

Vax looked at his sister, who just sighed.

“Fine. Let's check it out. But if there's even the slightest hint of trouble-”

“We'll be out of there before our bubbles know. Come on, you sourpuss.”

Vax swam off towards the shipwreck, followed closely by Grog and Pike, who grabbed onto Grog's fin to keep up with them. Vex sighed and adjusted her bag before swimming after them, hoping they wouldn't get into too much trouble for being late.

---

They swam up to the shipwreck and observed the outside for a bit. It looked empty enough, but the waters were full of dangerous things that mastered the art of camouflage. The twins exchanged a look and nodded.

“Vex and I will scout ahead, we'll signal when it's clear.” Vax told the others.

“Don't go too far!” Pike whisper-shouted as the twins carefully made their way towards the ship. Vax pulled out his dagger, while Vex grabbed her crossbow and loaded a small dart into it. Together, they approached the ship, keeping their eyes peeled for any intruders. A few tense minutes later, Vex let out a low whistle. Grog and Pike swam towards them to catch up, and they met near the side of the ship. Vax grabbed a piece of wood and tried to pull it away, but the water-logged board refused to move.

“Do you need help?” Grog asked.

Vax gave him an annoyed look. “I can do it. I just… need… to…gah! Stupid splinter!”

“Let me look at it.” Pike offered, taking out a piece of kelp from her bag. She wrapped his finger in the kelp and sang a low melody, as Vex looked to Grog.

“Will you pretty please pull the strong board off the ship so we can get inside?” she asked with a bat of her eyes.

Grog grinned and swam up to it, taking a moment to stretch his shoulders out before reaching out and pulling off the board like it was nothing.

“Thank you, Grog!” Vex smiled as she darted into the ship. Pike patted Vax on the arm and swam after her, leaving the two mermen outside. Grog looked expectantly at Vax, who just rolled his eyes.

“Thank you for being so strong and helping little ol’ me. What would I do without you?”

Grog narrowed his eyes, but Vax swam inside before he could figure out if it was sarcasm or not. “You’re welcome,” he finally said.

Before he swam inside, he took one last look around the ship, searching for any sign of movement. Satisfied with his search, he swam in after the others, not noticing a shadow passing over a moment later.

Inside the ship, there were overturned tables and chairs, a waterlogged map, and several pieces of fallen silverware and plates.

“This must've been a dining room of sorts,” Pike said as she watched the twins gather as many pieces of unbroken dishes as possible, “It doesn’t look very recent, though.”

“How can you tell?” Vex asked as she pored over the silverware.

“Well, the wood, for example. It’s already growing moss and coral. Not to mention-”

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the others turned towards it with their weapons drawn. The noise turned out to be Grog, who banged his head on the upper beam of the room.

“Grog.” Pike sighed as she put away her spear and swam towards him.

Vax and Vex continued to pick through the rubble, occasionally showing the other their prize. Soon, Vex got bored and swam up to look at the map, whose paper was already starting to disintegrate in the water. She sighed sadly and brought up a hand towards it, delicately tracing a path from the sea to a shoreline.

“Vex, come and help me with this!”

Vex turned away from the map. Vax was trying to pull one of the far doors open with no luck. . Together, the twins strained and pulled the door from the frame with a jolt. The two peeked into the room, which looked to be a captain's quarters.

Meanwhile, the twins picked through the room carefully. Vex immediately swam towards the impressive collection of books on a shelf, while Vax went to rummage through the large, ornate chest.

“Another pointy thing,” Vax said, holding up a two-pronged compass, “This can go in your collection, Stubby.”

Vex glanced over and nodded, holding out her hand while she continued looking at the shelf of books. Vax swam up to her and placed it in her hand, then reached out and tugged a book out of the shelf.

“No, stop!” Vex cried out, “You'll ruin it!”

“They're already down here. Nothing can fix them.”

Vex glared at Vax for a moment before rolling her eyes and going to search the desk. She found a small telescope and held it up to her eye as Vax flipped through the book.

“If these things are so fragile, why take them anywhere?” He asked as a page tore under his grip. He let the book sink to the floor and went to the desk, sorting through the materials.

“It's not like they planned to sink, Vax. Things happen sometimes.”

Vex went over and picked up the book, reading the cover, The Legends of the Deep. She went to place the book back on the shelf when something slumped over in the corner.

Vex looked up to see a skeleton staring at her with vacant eyes. She screamed, causing Vax to whirl around with his dagger.

“What?!” he said, before looking at the body, “Oh, that’s creepy.”

Vex gave him a look as she caught her breath, her hand pressed against her chest. “Damn thing nearly gave me a heart attack.” she said as Vax swam to get a closer look.

The skeleton looked to have been picked clean by scavengers, but surprisingly, the clothes on the body were still somewhat intact. Well made boots and a dark blue coat, as well as a pointed captain’s hat.

“ Vax rummaged through the pockets and pulled out a golden pocket watch. The same symbol they found on the coin earlier was stamped into the case.

“Another collector’s item.” he said, holding it out to her.

Vex took it and studied the compass carefully, turning it this way and that. It had a long chain, and Vex used it to tie around her neck like a necklace.

Suddenly, Pike and Grog barged in. “There's something out there! A big thing!” Grog said, his eyes wide in panic.

The twins exchanged a look and stuffed the rest of their loot into their packs before drawing their weapons. A large shadow passed through the window at that moment, and the four merpeople froze in place.

“Time to go?” Vex questioned.

“Time to go.” Vax confirmed.

A second later, a large tentacle burst through the window, sending shards of glass out into the water. It flailed out until it grabbed hold of Vax. Before anyone could react, Vax was dragged out of the ship with a yelp.

“VAX!” Vex yelled as she swam after the monster, preparing to shoot at it.

Pike and Grog followed close behind, Pike brandishing a spear and Grog cracking his knuckles and letting out a battle cry. Vax struggled to get free of his constraints as he was dragged deeper into the abyss by a monstrous squid. Vex shot a dart at the creature, who let out a painful roar.

Vax used the distraction and managed to get his arm free, taking out his dagger and stabbing the tentacle. The squid roared again, its grip loosening enough to let Vax escape. By that point, Pike and Grog had swam up to it and started whaling on it.

“Get back!” the littlest mermaid shouted, her voice vicious and louder than it had any right to be as she stabbed the squid. Grog just roared and punched the monster several times near its eye. Vax swam back to Vex and she gave him a bone crushing hug.

“Stop getting taken!”

“Can't help it that squids find me irresistible.”

Vex rolled her eyes and loaded another dart, shooting the creature once again. It roared in pain and flailed out, wrapping Grog in a tentacle and pinning him to the ground.

“Grog!” Pike screamed as she swam towards him.

“Pickle, look out!” Vax called out as he darted towards her.

She looked up as another tentacle came alarmingly close to smashing her, but Vax got there in time and pulled her away, swiping at the limb for good measure.

Grog roared and bit down on the tentacle with his sharp teeth, ripping out a piece of flesh. The squid roared in pain once again and let go of the merman, finally taking the hint and swimming back down to the depths. Vex let off one last arrow at it as it vanished off the cliff edge.

Grog groaned in pain as he sat up, clutching his arm. It looked severely broken.

“Hold on, buddy, I got you.” Pike said as she rushed into her bag for more kelp. She wrapped the kelp around his arm and began singing a soft melody that seemed to make the water brighter for a moment.

When the song was finished, the kelp fell away and Grog's arm looked good as new.

“Thanks Pikey,” Grog said with a relieved sigh.

Vax smiled before getting punched in the arm by his sister. “Ow!”

“‘Before our bubbles know?’” she said accusingly, crossing her arms.

“How was I to know we were going to encounter the fucking kraken?”

“Guys, we should really get back.” Pike said as she looked up at the surface, which looked significantly darker than before.

Vex frowned and lightly punched Vax again. “Pike's right. Besides, I've had enough shipwrecks for today.”

Chapter Text

The palace of Syngorn was a beautiful structure, carved from sea-stone and coral, illuminated in the early morning by glowing bioluminescent lanterns. Both servants and nobles swam through the halls, preparing for the day ahead. One particular group, dressed in their finest, were making their way to the throne room when they heard someone shouting from inside.

The mermen stopped and looked at each other uncomfortably. A moment later, Vax swam out of the room angrily, with Vex following close behind.

“Vax, wait!”

The group of mermen exchanged glances with each other before just shrugging their shoulders and continuing on their way.

“This is so stupid!” Vax shouted as he barged into their bedroom, Vex trailing behind him. She sighed and sat her bag down on the dresser.

“Vax, just calm down.”

“Who does he think he is, going off on us!” He said, kicking up bubbles as he swam back and forth across the room, “It's not like we were doing anything wrong! We were just exploring!”

“Brother, please. It's way too early for this.” Vex pleaded.

Vax fell back onto his bed, his face stuck in a scowl. He grabbed a piece of human treasure -a long piece of chipped, painted pottery- and began playing with it absentmindedly. “I just don't understand,” he said, “Why do we have to respect him when he doesn't even respect us?”

“He is the king, Vax,” Vex replied, “Kinda goes with the job.”

“But we're his children! That should account for something, at least.”

Vex sighed as she sat down at the small vanity and began combing her hair. Their father, King Syldor, had taken the twins in shortly after the death of their mother, a poor but beautiful weaver, a commoner. Despite their connection, he acted more like a prison warden than a father figure, instilling harsh rules. The twins could never figure out why exactly he took them in instead of leaving them for the wild. The best they could figure was some sort of political act, as he had no trouble parading them around when they were younger. It was only when they got older and started questioning him that they began to drift apart. The divide had only grown bigger as the years went on, and now that they were adults, the chasm had grown too wide to measure. The final straw was the King declaring that Vex and Vax were not eligible to be heirs to the throne. Not that they ever wanted the crown, but to have it laid out so plainly felt like a final slap to the face.

After a long while, Vax suddenly sat up. “You know what? I'm done with him. To hell with Syldor and Syngorn and all of it!”

“Vax, what are you talking about?” Vex turned and saw Vax opening a bag and stuffing his belongings into it.

“We're leaving. For good this time.”

“Brother, we already tried that. We made it a day before the guards found us.”

“We were just kids then, sister. We're grown now, and it's not like he still has to have a reason to keep us around.”

He tied the bag closed and swam over to Vex. “Think about it. Just you and me, out in the open sea. No rules, no Father. Finally living life the way we want. Doesn't that sound great?”

Vex looked at Vax for a moment, biting her lip. In all honesty, she wasn't sure. Their father wasn't the greatest man, but he was still their father.

Vax seemed to sense her hesitation, and said, “What kind of life would we have if we stayed? Be honest with yourself.”

Vex sighed once again, turning back to the mirror and beginning to put her hair back in its usual braid. “I don't know, Vax. We've lived our whole life here. I don't think I can just leave.”

With a slight frown, Vax took over the braiding. She could tell he was getting frustrated with her, but she was scared. Yes, he had a point, but Syngorn was still their home. She stared at herself in the mirror, considering her options.

As Vax finished tying her hair with a piece of seaweed, Vex grit her teeth. “You're right. There's nothing for us here anymore. We'll leave tonight.”

Vax smiled and gave her a quick hug. “Yes! This is going to be great, Vex! I can feel it!”

He went over and grabbed another bag, filling it with his sister's possessions. Vex rolled her eyes and helped him, taking care to not squish anything. They made a plan to sneak off when the guard’s shift changed that night.

Once their bags were packed and they had their plan ready, they quickly made their way through the palace to find Grog and Pike. As they passed by the throne room, they heard several voices talking inside, one of them being their father. The twins vaguely recognized the other voices as members of the royal council.

“-in a month. There has to be some explanation for the sudden increase.”

Vex pulled her brother close before he could swim past and made a shushing gesture. He gave her a questioning look, but Vex just pointed at the room. She wanted to know what they were talking about.

“Does it really matter what is happening in the surface world?” They heard a man's voice say, “It's not like they even know about us. What's a few lost ships?”

“Their ‘few lost ships’ are sinking closer to our borders. What if they try to recover it and discover us?”

“That would be impossible. Humans don't have the gills for such an undertaking.”

“Enough.” They heard King Syldor's voice boom, “Celandir, increase the patrol on the city outskirts. Have them report any mysterious sinkings they find.”

“Yes sir.”

Vax pulled his arm away from Vex and made a let's go gesture. She was about to follow him when the next sentence stopped her.

“Next on the agenda, the marriage treaties for Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan.”

The twins froze and stared at each other. The what?

“As you are aware, Prince Saundor has already claimed the daughter to be his, and is willing to give a mighty sum to curry your favor.”

Vex covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting. She had met the so-called prince a while ago, and the encounter made her feel so gross she had to scrub herself with a coral rock for hours afterward. And they wanted her to marry him?

“As for the son, the Duke's daughter is almost of age to be wed, and I believe that they could be a potential match.”

Vax clenched his fist tightly, but before he could storm in and scream at the council, Vex reached out and grabbed his hand. She shook her head violently.

“We're leaving, remember?” She whispered to him.

Vax still looked pissed off, but he relaxed his grip and took a deep breath. He nodded his head and together they swam off to find their friends.

---

Pike and Grog were in the courtyard near the infirmary, where Pike was singing to a soldier's wound and Grog was beating into a training dummy. As Pike's song filled the water, the large cut on the boy's arm grew smaller and smaller, until it vanished into nothing.

“Thank you, Miss Pike!” The boy said, giving her a quick bow before picking up his spear and going back to his squad.

Pike sighed deeply, her face a bit pale. Her face brightened when she saw the twins approaching, then she noticed their grim faces and her smile vanished.

“What happened?” She asked, swimming up to them and checking them for injuries. When she was satisfied that it wasn't physical pain, she crossed her arms and looked at them worriedly. “Was it your dad again?”

Vax looked at his sister, who still looked a bit green, and quietly told Pike a shortened version of what they overheard at the council meeting.

Grog joined them and looked pissed off on their behalf. “That's silly! Vex doesn't even like marriage!”

“It's not that,” she said quickly, “I just don't want to marry him. I'd rather kiss a barracuda.”

“What would be the point of these alliances anyway? Syngorn isn't doing that badly, is it?”

“It doesn't really matter.” Vax said, “It's probably just a way to get rid of us for good, without getting his hands dirty.”

Vex picked up a forgotten spear and lobbed it at the dummy with a grunt, stabbing it directly in the chest. “To hell with him, and to everything he stands for! I won't be pawned off like some prized meat!”

“That's the spirit!” Grog said loudly, then looked confused. “Uh, how are you going to stop getting married?”

“We run away, obviously.” Vax said, his voice low with conspiracy, “Go somewhere where no one will find us and make our own destiny.”

Pike stared at the twins in disbelief. “You're leaving?”

“Tonight, once the guards finish their rounds.” Vex whispered, “We're getting as far from Syngorn as possible.”

“We wanted to let you know because you're our friends,” Vax added, “And we didn't want you to worry or get into trouble.”

“Your dad isn't going to be happy once he finds out,” Grog started to say, but Vex interrupted him with a glare.

“By the time he finds out, we'll be too far for him to do anything. He wants us gone anyway, why does it matter how it happens?”

Pike and Grog looked conflicted for a brief moment, exchanging worried looks with each other, but then Pike pulled herself together and pulled the twins into a hug.

“You better take care of yourself out there,” she told them.

“Of course we will. You do the same.” Vex and Vax both gave a hug to Grog as well, then swam off to make final preparations, unaware of Pike whispering to the giant.

---

Later that night, as the bioluminescent lanterns glowed gently in the water, the two mermaids peeked through the archway. Vax scanned the area carefully, then whispered to his sister, “No guards. All clear.”

Vex nodded and swam ahead as quietly as she could, Vax following close behind. The way was silent, not a single living soul passing through. It was once they had safely passed the edge of the kingdom that they heard someone calling out. They quickly dove behind a boulder and kept quiet, waiting for whoever it was to pass over.

Vax quietly drew his dagger as Vex loaded an arrow. They didn't want to hurt anyone, but they couldn't let themselves go back. A minute later, they heard the voice calling out again, but it sounded more familiar now.

“Vax! Vex! Where did you go?”

The twins exchanged a look and peeked over the boulder, and what they saw shocked them. Pike's glittering tail shone even in the darkness, dimly illuminating both her and Grog as they swam through the water. Vax put his dagger away and swam up to greet them.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” He asked.

“Did you really think that you could leave without us?” Pike said with a smile.

“Yeah! We're not gonna leave two of our friends to swim through the open ocean alone!” Grog added, “What if you need protecting from another kraken?”

Vex had joined at this point and looked between the two in disbelief.

“But what about your training, Pike?”

The little mermaid just shrugged. “I basically learned the important stuff anyway. Besides, experience is the best teacher, right? We're bound to get lots of experience out there!”

“You guys realize that we're not coming back, right?” Vex said carefully, “This is for good. Once we're gone, we're gone. No take backs.”

Grog looked serious for a moment. “Yeah, we know. But like I said, we're not leaving you alone. You're our friends. Friends stick with each other.”

“Especially if they're going out on some big adventure.”

The twins looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Finally they seemed to come to an agreement and turned back to face the other two.

“Strength in numbers, I guess.” Vex said with a smile.

Vax whooped quietly, doing a small flip in the water then making a big come on gesture. “What are we waiting for, then? We have a whole wide ocean to explore!”

Chapter Text

Vex took a slow breath as she aimed her crossbow. The slight shimmer of silvery scales was her target, and she kept her eyes locked on it. Another slow breath, and she fired the bolt. The bolt embedded itself into the fish's side, and instantly it bolted, leaving a small blood trail in the water. She cursed and gave chase, loading in another bolt. The kelp forest was thick and tangled, but she knew how to navigate it, and quickly began to catch up with the fish.

Suddenly Vax popped up out of the weeds and sliced his dagger at the fish, but it was too fast for him, even in its injured state, and simply darted in the opposite direction. Vax groaned, then Vex's arrow whizzed past his ear, nicking it slightly.

"Ow!" He cried in pain, "Vex!"

"Sorry, Vax!" She called out as she continued to race after the fish. The chase continued for another minute, until they reached the edge of the forest where the open ocean was.

As they burst through the seaweed, Grog appeared from behind a large rock, shouting as he brought his fists crashing down on the fish's head, knocking it out. Pike came in a second later and stabbed it in the gut with her spear, twisting the blade for good measure.

Vex came out of the forest breathing heavily, soon followed by Vax, who was holding his dagger with one hand and his ear with the other. "Are you okay?" She asked him, reaching for his ear.

He waved her off. "I'm fine. Barely a scratch."

Pike pulled the spear out of the fish and looked over at the twins. "Did something happen?"

"Vex shot at me. I'm totally fine, though."

"It was an accident!"

"Look at this beauty!" Grog exclaimed as he grabbed the fish, which was almost as long as his torso, "We're gonna eat good today!"

The other just smiled. It had been over two weeks since they left Syngorn, and they had been living off of mussels and crabs for the majority of those days. Plenty to spare and easy to hunt, but not exactly the most filling.

As Vax approached to help butcher the fish, Vex turned to scan the horizon. So far there hadn't been any signs of scouting groups or royal guards, but that didn't mean they weren't out there. The king had to know the twins were gone by now. The ocean was a big place, but someone should've come after them by now, right? The uncertainty of the situation made Vex uneasy, and she couldn't shake the feeling, no matter how often she looked over her shoulder.

"Vex? Vex!”

The mermaid started, looking over to see Pike next to her with a worried face.

“Everything okay?” She asked softly.

Vex just nodded, suddenly feeling silly.

“Okay… can you help me set up camp, then?" Pike asked, "Vax and Grog might take a bit."

The girls turned to watch the boys argue over the fish, Grog holding it above Vax's head and Vax trying to swim up and grab it to no avail.

Vex chuckled before turning back to Pike. “Do you think this is a good enough spot?”

Pike shrugged, looking at the kelp forest. “I think so. It's nice and hidden, plus we can always harvest the bulbs as food.”

As if to prove her point, she swam up towards the tops of the kelp and ripped off a few and held them up triumphantly.

Vex followed after, and soon the group had a nice campsite set inside the forest. They ate the fish and the kelp bulbs heartily, and towards the end of the meal, Pike brushed her hands against her tail.

"So," Pike said, looking at the twins, "What's next?"

Vex and Vax exchanged confused looks. "What's next for what?" Vax asked.

Pike narrowed her eyes a bit. "I mean, what's next for us? We left Syngorn. What happens now?"

A brief pause hung in the air as Vax and Vex pondered the question.

"We... haven't decided yet?" Vex said sheepishly.

The littlest mermaid blinked a few times. "You haven't decided?"

Vax picked at the fish bones, his head hung low while Vex suddenly grew a sudden interest in her fingernails. Pike stared at them for several long moments, then groaned and pushed her head back.

"You mean to tell me that your entire plan after leaving Syngorn was to just float around the ocean like a jelly?"

Vex opened her mouth to protest, but a second later closed it, her face growing pink.

"Is that so bad?" Vax added quietly, "It's better than staying in that place."

"You were the one who agreed to come with us," Vex interjected, "I told you we were never going back, and you were okay with that!"

"Because I thought that you were actually going somewhere! Another kingdom or-"

"NO!" The twins shouted, startling Grog and Pike.

"We can't go to another kingdom!"

"Are you insane?"

"Why not?" Grog asked.

"Because the second we set a fin anywhere permanent, our dad could show up!"

"And he has one of the largest armies under the sea, so he can make anyone give us up!"

Pike and Grog exchanged glances at each other.

"So, we're homeless?" Grog asked quietly.

Vex and Vax looked at each other guiltily. "We weren't planning on having you guys come along," Vax admitted, "So it didn't really bother us that we would end up nowhere."

"Listen, you don't have to stay with us," Vex butted in, "It's clear this isn't what you signed up for. Vax and I won't blame you for wanting to go back home."

"Who said anything about going home?"

The twins looked up at Pike in surprise. Her mouth was set in a determined line, and her eyes seemed to gleam with resolve.

"But, I thought-" Vex started to say before Pike raised a hand.

“Maybe we should've asked for more details about your plan before we joined,” Pike admitted, “But honestly, we probably still would've joined you regardless.”

“Yeah!” Grog added cheerfully, “You’re our best friends! We meant it when we said we wanted to be there for you guys.”

“Even if it means never seeing home again?” Vex looked at her brother, whose face was forlorn.

Pike swam up to him and gave him a big hug. “Even if it means that,” she told him quietly, “We're a family now. Family sticks together.”

Pike smiled and patted Vax's cheek before turning around. “Okay, I think that's enough for one evening. I think it's time we turn in. We can always come up with something tomorrow.”

“We got a big tomorrow ahead of us!” Grog shouted.

The group settled down for the night, and in the dim light of the moonlit waters, Pike and Grog were soon snoring. Vex tried to sleep as well, but her mind was unable to settle, going over the conversation over and over. She turned to her other side and found Vax staring up at the surface, tapping his fingers along his arm. Vex watched him for a bit before sighing and scooting closer to him.

“Okay, what's wrong?”

“What? Nothing's wrong.”

“I've known you since we were eggs. Tell me before I make you regret it.”

Vax looked at his sister for a moment, then looked back up at the surface. “I mean… being out here is great. I love that our lives are finally our own. But… I don't know. Everything is just starting to feel the same. Like, there's only so many times I can trick Grog into racing a clam.”

Vax sat up and brushed his hair away, carefully avoiding eye contact with Vex. “Maybe Pike has a point. We didn't really have much of a plan besides getting out.”

“Would you have rather stayed?”

“Of course not! I just feel like… maybe we're meant to do more than swim in the ocean or look pretty for Father's court. There has to be something out there.”

He looked at his sister, whose face was unreadable.

“You can laugh if you want,” he told her, “I know it sounds silly.”

“No, it doesn't.” She said, but before the conversation went any farther, there was a low rumble that shook the water around them.

Vex sat up and looked around in confusion. “Did you feel that?”

“Yeah. What-”

Another rumble, and this one startled Pike and Grog awake.

“Is it morning already?” Grog asked groggily before another soundwave shook the water around them, then another and another, all going off in close succession.

Suddenly, a large shadow passed over them, blocking the very little moonlight they had. A burst of colorful lights exploded on the surface, and a second later tiny pieces dotted the water's surface, causing multiple tiny ripples to dance above them.

As the shadow moved over them, Grog pushed himself up and started to swim upwards.

“Grog! Where are you going?”

“To see what's going on up there!”

The others all looked at each other for a moment, then pushed themselves to follow. Grog swam up and up until bursting through the surface of the sea, wiping the salt from his eyes. He turned this way and that, and finally laid eyes on the culprit.

Pike shot up next to him next, followed closely by the twins. A bright burst of red exploded in the air above, causing Pike to grab hold of Grog's arm.

“What was that?”

“It's coming from that floating ship.” Grog said, pointing ahead of them.

Indeed, there was a large ship sailing away from them, with more exploding lights coming from the rear.

“Wow. I don't think I've ever seen one that wasn't sunk before.” Vex said.

Vax grinned and dove back into the water, reappearing a short distance away, closer to the ship.

“Vax, what are you doing?”

“We're adventuring, right? Pretty sure this counts as one!” He called out as he dove back into the water.

Vex huffed and shook her head. “My brother is going to get himself killed one day.” She said in an exasperated tone and dove after Vax.

Pike looked at Grog. “You think it's safe, buddy?”

“I dunno. But we're not gonna let those two get hurt.”

Pike nodded and together they followed after the ship.

Chapter Text

While it wasn't the largest ship they had ever seen, it was still rather tall, and it took clever maneuvering to climb up the side of the ship. The explosions had stopped by this point, but they could hear cheerful music coming from the deck, as well as rhythmic stomping. Pike and the twins ended up perching themselves on a narrow beam on the side, gripping some stray ropes as tightly as they could. Grog stayed in the water, as he was too large to climb with the others.

“Can you see anything?” He called out, swimming alongside the ship as close as he could.

Pike shushed him and leaned closer to the small opening on the side, giving her a decent view of the deck. Across the wooden planks, about a dozen humans spun and swung each other around while a few played instruments near the top of the ship. Meanwhile, a large creature with shaggy brown hair was running back and forth across the deck, making a loud ‘BORF’ sound as it weaved through the humans' legs. Vex remembered seeing pictures of similar looking animals in a human book once, and tried to remember what it was called… a bear? A horse?

Suddenly the creature stopped and started sniffing the air. It began to wander towards the mermaids, and before anyone could react, it was looking right at Vex with big black eyes and a large slobbery tongue. It gave her a long sniff, then proceeded to lick all over her face.

“Trinket! Here boy!” A voice called out.

The creature, now known as Trinket, looked up and gave another friendly borf as he bounded away. Vex quickly wiped her face clean of slobber, but she couldn't help the smile on her face.

“That's a dog,” she said proudly. Vax and Pike exchanged quiet laughter with each other as the party on deck continued.

The whole scene was lively and joyful, and in the middle of it all was a tall human with bright red hair, laughing and twirling in a dark green dress. Trinket approached her with another loud borf, and the human stopped to give him some pets on his head and neck. Vax’s eyes widened and a fond smile began to form on his face.

Another human with stark white hair and a blue jacket approached her and offered his hand to the woman. She took it with a smile, and together the two began to step in time with the music.

“What are they doing?” Vex asked curiously.

“I think…” Vax said slowly, watching the red haired human closely, “It's called dancing.”

“Doesn't look like any dancing I've seen.” Pike remarked, squinting to take a closer look at the instruments. A few of them looked familiar enough, having been found in a few previous shipwrecks, but hearing them above the water was unlike anything she ever heard before. Pike found herself tapping her hand along her tail to the beat.

A minute later, the song ended and the dancers clapped towards the musicians. One of them, a short human wearing a floppy hat, bowed deeply and smiled at the applause.

“Thank you, thank you!” He said loudly, “I, Scanlan Shorthalt, am deeply honored to provide you all with fantastic music this evening, if I do say so myself. Another round for being such great guests!”

Meanwhile, the human with white hair leaned over and said something to the red haired human, who threw her head back and laughed. Vex narrowed her eyes at the exchange, but her train of thought was interrupted by Scanlan.

“And of course, we wouldn't be here without the birthday girl herself. Come on up, Keyleth!”

The rest of the crew cheered as the red haired human was pushed up to the front. She turned to look at them, her cheeks turning nearly the same shade as her hair. Vax continued to stare at her, pulling himself up to get a closer look. Vex hurriedly smacked his arm, giving him a warning glare.

“Uh-um. Hi everyone!” Keyleth said, giving a small wave of her hand, “I know Scanlan already did, but thank you again for being here and making this evening a great time! After… well everything, it means a lot that you guys would do all this for my birthday, so thank you. A-and a huge thank you to Percy for providing the fireworks!”

Another cheer went up, and the white haired human brought a hand up in acknowledgement, a tiny proud smile across his face. Trinket borfed once more and jumped onto the man, almost knocking him to the ground. Vex almost burst out laughing, but quickly swallowed it before it escaped.

Keyleth started to step down when Scanlan cleared his throat. “Actually, Keyleth, we have one more present for you.”

The back door suddenly slammed open, and a group of sailors wheeled in a large object covered in a white tarp. Keyleth’s face turned bright red as she looked between the object and Scanlan.

“What the hells are you doing?”

Scanlan gave a shit-eating grin as he hopped off the stage and approached the object, saying, “Well, we figured that since this trip was a bust, you wouldn't want any reminders of it.”

Scanlan removed the tarp with a dramatic flair, and revealed a larger-than-life statue of Keyleth, its arms outstretched like it was expecting an embrace. Trinket started to growl at it as soon as the sheet was gone, the hair on his back rising.

“Behold the beauty!” Someone from the crowd shouted in a silly accent.

The living Keyleth groaned and covered her face as the rest of the crew laughed and jeered at the statue. The observing mermaids all exchanged looks with each other, ranging from amusement to confusion.

“So we thought we would give you the honors of getting rid of the evidence.”

A section of the railing suddenly opened, a few feet away from the mermaids. Vax, who was closest, ducked his head and pushed himself against the side of the boat as tightly as he could.

“My lady?” Scanlan's voice was mirthful. There was another round of laughter, then the telltale rumblings of something rolling across the deck.

“GROG! Move away!” Pike hurriedly whispered, waving her arm. Grog gave her a puzzled look. Vax and Vex also made the motion to move as the rumblings got closer.

“Grog, you giant brute, move your tail!” Vax finally called out, hoping that the humans couldn't hear him over the crowd.

Grog's eyes widened and he let out a swear as he dove under the water. A moment later, the statue toppled off the side of the ship, vanishing into the dark waves below with a large splash. The crew cheered and clapped as the mermaids watched the ocean with bated breath.

“Grog?” Vex whispered, her chest tight with anxiety.

After what felt like an eternity, Grog popped up with a gasp. The rest of the mermaids let out sighs of relief. Grog gave them a big smile and a thumbs up.

“Alright, the night is still young and we have plenty of drinks to spare,” they heard Scanlan's voice call out, “so let's keep the party going!”

The musicians began playing another song, and Vax quickly pulled himself up to see what was happening. He saw the three named humans walk away from the crowd. Vax instantly started to follow them, much to Vex's dismay.

“Vax! You're gonna be seen!”

“I'll be careful, Stubby,” was all he said as he climbed away from her.

Vex cursed quietly and helped Pike towards the back of the ship, where there was a slightly larger piece of wood to rest on. Grog pulled back a bit to follow them, grabbing the top of the rudder to keep himself steady.

“You're going to hurt yourself,” Vex whispered to Vax once she situated herself next to him. He shushed her, craning his neck upwards as the humans talked above them. It was difficult to see what they were doing, but their voices drifted down as clearly as

“Seriously, why the hell would you get someone a statue of themselves as an ‘engagement present’?” Scanlan was saying, “It's just tacky at that point.”

“Do you think we'll get in trouble for dumping the statue?” Keyleth questioned nervously.

“I doubt it. If anyone asks, we can just say it fell over.”

“By itself?”

“The ocean is a cruel mistress.”

“Never pegged you for a poet, Percy.”

“A man can have his hobbies, Scanlan.”

There was a brief pause, then Keyleth sighed. “Guys I'm… I'm really sorry.”

“For what?”

“For dragging you on this stupid trip. It just felt like a huge waste of time, and I know you’re busy with your own things and-”

“Don't worry about it,” Percy reassured her, "We're happy to come along and support you.”

“Especially when it comes to your love life.”

“If you can even call it that,” Keyleth groaned, “I just thought that maybe this time… He wasn't that bad, was he? Maybe I was just overreacting?”

There was a longer pause, then Scanlan and Percy both spoke over each other, “No, no, no.”

“The guy was a huge prick. You definitely dodged a bullet.”

“You dodged a whole cannonball.” Percy added, “No one should have their head that far up their own ass.”

“Speaking from experience, de Rolo?”

The trio laughed, and Vax found himself smiling. He liked the sound of Keyleth's laugh, bright and melodic. Vex just rolled her eyes, then the trio began talking again.

“Hey, at least we'll be back in Zephrah by morning. It'll be good to be back home, right?” Scanlan tried to sound upbeat, but there was still a hint of worry in his voice.

“Until the next proposal comes around. Then my dad will ship me off again.” Keyleth said in an exasperated tone, “Why is it so hard to get married?”

Vex looked at her brother, expecting him to laugh with her at how ridiculous the human was being. But to her surprise, Vax was fully engrossed in the conversation, his body so still he could almost be mistaken for a statue.

“Well, to be fair,” Scanlan said, jumping onto the railing and swinging his legs around, “You're probably gonna have a slightly harder time of it than most people. You know, being a princess and all.”

“That's true. You have an entire kingdom to worry about, not just you.”

“I still think it's ridiculous that there's a law like that. I mean, your dad ruled for years and he did fine!”

There was another silence, a heavier one than before. Scanlan spoke again after a second. “Sorry, Keyleth. It just slipped out.”

Vax frowned and tried to see what was happening above him. All he could make out from his vantage point was Keyleth's red hair moving as she shook her head.

“No, it's fine. It was a long time ago. And you're right. I shouldn't have to get married to prove I'm a good leader.”

She sighed deeply as she rested her head on the railing. All of the merpeople pressed themselves against the ship or ducked beneath the water, trying desperately to avoid her eyesight.

“Do you know how many times I've gone to meet a potential suitor? Five times! Five times I've had to sit there and smile like an idiot while these nobles parade around their wealth and power like I actually care about any of it!” Keyleth’s voice grew louder and louder, until she was basically shouting her frustration into the ocean.

Then her voice softened. “Believe me, I’m not expecting to fall in love with any of them. I know that's too much to ask for in my position. All I'm asking for is to at least like them. But each one just gets worse and worse. At this point, I have to wonder… is it me? Am I doing something wrong?”

“It's not your fault, Keyleth. It's just extremely bad luck,” Percy said gently, “I'm sure the next one will be a much better match for you.”

“What if it isn't? What if I'm cursed to never find anyone to marry?”

“Cursed is taking it a bit too far, I think.”

“You know what I mean.” Keyleth snapped, looking back at Scanlan. Then she sighed dejectedly. “I'm sorry. I'm just worried about telling my father what happened. I know that he's trying his best, but I can tell he’s getting impatient. I don't know how much longer I have left to find someone on my own terms.”

Vax's gaze softened as he listened, and his hand seemed to automatically reach up to her. Vex noticed and frowned in disapproval, moving closer to her brother and pushing his hand back down.

“I know there's more to this world than sitting in court and getting married,” Keyleth suddenly blurted out, “But is it too much to ask for someone to share it with? Someone kind and loyal and who would love my kingdom as much as I do.”

For a moment there was only the sound of the waves and wind. Then Percy spoke up.

“I don't know if I'll ever get married. I don't even think I want to.”

Scanlan snorted. “Like you could ever get anyone.”

“Scanlan!”

“Am I wrong? Listen, I admit it, he's a handsome devil. But he spends all his free time in that workshop. How is he ever going to find someone when he barely goes outside?”

“It's my life's work,” he protested, although he didn't sound too hurt by the remark, “Besides, if anyone here should say something it's you, Scanlan. You have a whole fan club after all.”

“Fans aren't the same thing as lovers. Even though I've got plenty of both.” Scanlan brought out his instrument- some kind of tube with holes in it- and put his mouth on one end of it, and soon began to play a sweet melody.

“Do you think you'll ever settle down, Scanlan?” Keyleth asked.

The short human put down his instrument and scoffed.

“Not for a while, at least,” he said, “I'm still young! I've got plenty of time to fool around before it gets awkward.”

“But if someone did come along, you wouldn't be opposed to it?”

Scanlan grew silent, then said, “Well, I wouldn't say no. But like I said before, I've got plenty of life left in me before that happens.”

There was another long silence. Vex took the opportunity to tap on Vax's tail and mouth to him, We need to go. Vax frowned and shook his head. The mermaid gave him a cold stare and pointed at the water. Vax once again shook his head, his eyes traveling back up to stare at Keyleth's shadow. Vex took a deep breath to prevent herself from dragging them both off of the ship.

Didn't he remember the stories they heard growing up about humans and how cruel they were? Did he want to get caught and sliced up like a filet? Suddenly another cheer came from the sailors on the main deck. Percy sighed and adjusted his glasses.

“We should get back. Are you coming, Scanlan?”

“In a minute. I'll catch up.”

“Don't fall overboard.”

“Ha-ha.”

Percy and Keyleth both walked away, leaving Scanlan to his own devices. As he started to play another song on his instrument, Vex grabbed a hold of Vax's arm and gave him a stern look.

“We need to go now!” She whispered at him.

Vax rolled his eyes, but nodded his head as he pulled his arm away. Vex let out a sigh of relief and leapt back into the sea, Vax following behind after a moment's hesitation.

As Grog vanished beneath the waves, Pike prepared herself to jump. Suddenly, she heard a gasp from above.

She looked up and saw Scanlan staring at her. For what felt like a lifetime, the two just looked at each other.

“Hi?” Scanlan finally said, bringing a hand up in greeting.

That seemed to break the spell. With a start, Pike suddenly turned and dove into the sea.

“Hey, wait!”

But the mermaid was gone before he finished speaking.

Scanlan stared into the water, trying to catch some glimpse of her shimmering scales. But the ocean was too dark to see anything.

The man rubbed his head, deep in thought. Part of him wondered if it was his imagination, or the alcohol he drank earlier, but a deeper part of him knew that what he saw was real. There was an actual mermaid on the ship! And it looked right at him!

He spun around to go back to the party when a low rumble made him stop. He turned back and saw lightning in the distance, growing steadily closer. Scanlan frowned. The sailors assured them before they left that the trip home would be simple, with no storms crossing their path. From the looks of it, they were horribly wrong. Scanlan tried to ignore the unease he felt as he wandered back to the main deck, hoping the storm would pass right by them.

Chapter Text

The storm came faster than anyone expected. They saw the dim outline of clouds in the distance, but figured the storm would pass by them. When it got darker and the wind began to blow more fiercely, the sailors insisted it would be a small squall, nothing more. Then the rain started to fall. Lightly at first, as gentle as sea spray, but it soon turned harsh, pounding the ship as the waves grew higher and higher. The sailors desperately tried to keep the ship steady, running across the deck like mad men, shouting at each other to be heard over the storm.

“Keyleth!” Percy shouted, pushing his way past the rushing sailors, “Keyleth! Can't you calm the storm?”

“I've never dealt with something this big before!” She cried out, holding onto the railing as tightly as she could as her hair whipped around her face, “I don't know if I can!”

“Can't make the situation worse!” He called back, “Just try!”

Keyleth looked absolutely terrified, but she nodded her head. She shut her eyes and tried to focus on the eye of the storm, and when she opened them, her eyes were glowing bright green. She raised her arms, and the wind seemed to calm around her, going from strong gales to a heavy breeze.

Scanlan noticed what was going on and hurriedly pulled out his lute, playing a fast, upbeat melody. The strings began to glow purple, and the music seemed to improve the weather for a brief moment, as the rain began to lessen and the waves stopped climbing so high.

The captain of the ship, a short woman with reddish-brown hair, looked down from her position at the wheel. “Whatever you’re doing is working!” she called out as she fought to keep the ship upright. Keyleth's brow was beginning to bead with sweat as she continued to concentrate on her magic.

“Captain!” One of the sailors shouted, running up from below deck, “There's a crack in the hull! We're taking on water!”

The captain cursed and looked back at Keyleth and Scanlan. “How long can they keep it up?”

“Not much longer!” Percy called out, “Enough time to get everyone off the boat!”

The captain nodded and began to shout orders. “Everyone to the lifeboats! Now!”

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the deck with a catastrophic BOOM. Keyleth was knocked over by the impact, and the wind and waves immediately picked up again, tossing the boat to its side. Almost everyone was able to grab onto something, but Keyleth slid across the deck. She let out a horrible scream as she was thrown over the railing and into the churning waves.

“KEYLETH!” Both Percy and Scanlan cried out, rushing to the edge of the boat as soon as they were able.

“Do you see her?”

“I can't see anything! Keyleth!”

“Forget her! Get to the damn boats!” The captain said, suddenly appearing behind them and grabbing the two by their arms. The deck was set ablaze by the lightning, despite the heavy rain, and was slowly consuming the ship.

“We can't just leave her!”

“You can't help her if you're dead! Now come on!”

Scanlan cursed, but started to make his way to the lifeboat. He was about to climb in when he realized Percy wasn't behind him.

“Percy? Percy!”

Scanlan searched the deck until he caught sight of a familiar blue coat, flapping wildly in the wind. The white haired man tried to move forward, but then Scanlan realized his foot was stuck, caught in a hole caused by the flames.

“Scanlan, go! I can handle this!” Percy shouted as he desperately tried to jerk his leg free. He began coughing as the smoke from the fire surrounded him.

Scanlan looked at the lifeboat for a moment, then steeled his resolve and jumped out.

“What are you doing?!” One of the sailors asked incredulously as Scanlan released the switch that held the boat up.

“No man left behind!” He called out as the lifeboat plummeted down. He hoped that the small boat would survive the waves.

As he turned to help Percy, he noticed Trinket there as well. He had Percy's jacket in his jaws and was pulling at it harshly, nearly tearing the fabric. The white-haired man's face twisted in pain as Trinket tugged at him like a rope, growling determinedly.

“Trinket, let go! Drop it!”

Scanlan looked around and grabbed a spare piece of wood, probably from the deck itself.

“Hey, mutt!” He called out, waving the wood above his head, “Wanna play fetch?”

Trinket looked over and barked, letting go of the coat for a moment. Percy took the moment to tear off his coat and try to smother the growing flames around him.

Scanlan shook the wood, and Trinket kept his eyes locked on it intently. He prepared himself to jump, and once he was sure Trinket was about to lunge at him, Scanlan threw the wood piece into the ocean as hard as he could. The large dog bolted, diving over the railing and landing in the water with a splash. Scanlan took a moment to watch him as Trinket swam over to the lifeboat, where the rest of the sailors were trying to call him over. For a scary moment, it looked like the dog wouldn't make it, that he would get overwhelmed by the churning seas.

But miraculously, he seemed to gain a burst of energy and clambered into the lifeboat. If Scanlan didn't know any better, it looked like something guided him towards the boat. He didn't think too hard about this though, and quickly turned back around to help Percy get out of his predicament.

Just then, another bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the monstrous wave that was seconds away from hitting the ship. Scanlan only had just time to hold his breath before the wave hit, crashing over the ship with a mighty roar. The water receded a minute later, and as Percy looked around, sputtering and coughing, the musician was nowhere to be seen.

“SCANLAN!” He screamed out, but the only response he received was the howling wind.

He cursed and kept trying to remove his leg. The monstrous wave had put out most of the fire above deck, but there was still risk of it still burning below. Percy recalled the barrels of black powder meant for cannons stored below, and worked even harder to get himself free. He had almost managed to pull his leg out, when there was a deafening explosion. The world exploded, and Percy was tossed to the sea like a meteor, burning and bright. He landed in the water harshly, knocking his glasses from his face. He tried to swim to the surface, but he couldn't seem to go up. Something was dragging him down down down. He looked and saw something stuck around his ankle, the same wooden plank that had caught him in the first place. He kicked and kicked at it until it broke apart. With his leg finally free and what little strength he had left, he swam up and up as his lungs burned for air.

After what felt like a lifetime, he broke through and took huge gasping gulps of air, looking around for any sign of help. As he watched the ship begin to fall to pieces and sink below the waves, he saw a flash of red, and he realized with a start that it was Keyleth, holding onto a floating barrel. He tried to call out to her, but the smoke and seawater in his throat and lungs made his voice weak. There was a loud crack, and Percy looked up to see the stern of the ship split in half and come careening down towards her.

“No!” He cried out, but he was helpless to do anything. He thought he saw her look at him, then she vanished beneath the water as the stern fell, almost like something pulled her under.

Percy tried to keep his head above the water, to look out for the lifeboat, but even that small bit of effort grew too great. His limbs were growing heavy and his body was screaming in pain and exhaustion. He slowly slipped into the ocean, letting the coolness of the water envelope him.

Well, he thought, If this is how I go, at least it would be fitting.

He shut his eyes, praying he would get to meet his family on the other side. Then he felt hands on his sides, locking under his arms and dragging him up and up until they burst to the surface. He sputtered and coughed, accidentally swallowing more salt water as the waves crashed into him.

“Dear gods, you're heavy,” said a voice beside him.

Percy tried to turn to look at his savior, but without his glasses all he could make out was a pale face and dark hair. “You-”

“Just focus on swimming.” The person said, her voice stern but gentle, “You're not dying today.”

He wanted to listen to her, but the adrenaline in his body was beginning to run out, leaving him drained of all his energy. The person dragged him to a floating plank of wood and heaved him onto it with a grunt.

“I think there's a shoreline nearby. I'll get you as close as I can.”

He coughed again and really tried to focus on her face, but the fiery ship was gone, and there was only a sliver of moonlight peeking through the clouds. Between that and his lack of glasses, he couldn't see much of anything at all.

“Who… who are you?”

The person didn't respond at first, then she sighed. “Unfortunately, a decent person.”

Percy let his head fall onto the wood, too exhausted to think anymore. He shut his eyes and let sleep overcome him.

Chapter Text

The sunrise over the beach was beautiful, painting the sky in various shades of pink and blue. The loud cries of seagulls and the soft lapping of waves added to the atmosphere of calmness, a harsh contrast to the night before. A short distance away, two heads suddenly popped up out of the water and began making their way to the shore. The red haired one was unconscious, while the black haired one pushed them both up onto the sand, keeping their heads above the water.

Vax collapsed onto the shore as soon as they reached it, breathing heavily. The journey was a lot longer than he anticipated, but he kept a tight grip on Keyleth, making sure to keep her above the water as much as possible.

Vax brushed the hair out of his face as he turned to look at Keyleth. Despite nearly drowning the night before, she was still one of the prettiest people he had seen. She had light freckles across her nose and cheeks, and certain strands of her hair seemed to turn almost metallic in the sunlight. There was a nasty cut on her forehead, however, and the caked-on blood made him nervous.

“You're safe now,” he said gently to her, shaking her arm, “You can wake up.”

Keyleth didn't move, and Vax's chest grew tight with concern. He tried shaking her again, harder this time.

“Keyleth?”

Still no response. With a groan, Vax pushed himself up and moved closer to her, placing his ear on her chest.

“Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead.” He whispered mostly to himself as he listened closely. It took a moment, but he thought he could hear a slow thumping in her chest. That had to be a good sign, right?

Vax leaned back and focused more on Keyleth's face. Her face was pale, and her lips were turning a concerning shade of blue. Vax thought about everything he ever learned about humans, but it was frustratingly little. He knew humans couldn't breathe water, and despite his best efforts, she had been underwater for a long time. If he couldn't help her right now…

Before he could stop and think about what he was doing, Vax took a big gulp of air and placed his mouth over hers, breathing into her as hard as he could. He could taste the salt on her lips, and a tiny bit of water came out of her mouth. Vax pulled away and tried to see if there was any difference, but there didn’t seem to be any.

“Come on!” He groaned. He took another breath and tried again. Over and over he pushed more air into her body. Each time, small amounts of salt water came dribbling out of her mouth, and Keyleth’s face turned less pale. Eventually, Keyleth started to cough and sputter, turning her head to hack up the remaining water in her lungs.

Vax pulled back, sighing in relief. She collapsed onto the sand, her eyes still shut as she breathed heavily. Vax continued to watch her, studying the way the sand clung to her eyelashes. He wished he could heal the cut on her head, but Pike was the one with magic, and she was… Actually Vax didn’t know where Pike was at the moment. Last he saw, she and Grog were helping another fallen human. The musician, if he recalled correctly.

Vax shook his head and focused his attention back onto Keyleth. He gently brushed her hair away from her face and began humming a soft song, one of his mother’s old lullabies. The worried lines on Keyleth's face faded away as he sang, and a small smile appeared on her face. Her eyes started to flutter open, and Vax noticed they were bright green, almost like the seagrass that swayed below the waves.

Despite his father’s warnings ringing in his head, he suddenly wanted nothing more than to stay here with Keyleth. He had always been fascinated by humans, ever since he was young. Swimming through shipwrecks with his sister and collecting lost tokens had satisfied him in the past, when he knew that was all he could get. But now, sitting here with Keyleth, seeing the humans up close for the first time… He wanted to be a part of this world.

Suddenly, Vax heard voices nearby. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew his time with her was running out. He gave the human woman one last look before pulling himself away and dragging himself back into the ocean. He vanished just as a couple of men came over the dunes, pointing at Keyleth and running up to her. Vax perched himself on a nearby rock formation, far enough where no one would notice him but close enough he could see what would happen.

The men pulled Keyleth up into a sitting position and tried to wake her up, and after a moment she did so, looking around the beach. She was saying something, but the waves and the cries of seagulls prevented Vax from hearing her words. One of the men looked out into the sea, causing Vax to quickly duck behind the rock. When he looked up again, the men were carrying Keyleth up the beach. She looked out into the ocean, and her eyes passed over the merman. When she looked back, the figure at the rocks was gone.

----

Vex cursed for the hundredth time as she pushed the wooden slab towards the beach. The wood was clumsy to push around, and every little wave threatened to knock over the man on top. It took all of her effort to keep it from toppling, and her arms were growing tired from the strain. She wanted to ask Vax for help, but he had vanished after grabbing the woman from the ship. Part of her was worried, but mostly she was annoyed that he had talked her into this plan in the first place.

There was a soft groan, and Vex looked at the man she was pushing around. The human was still unconscious, but at least he was breathing steadily. His shirt was tattered, and the skin on his back was covered in painful-looking burn marks, most likely from the explosion. It nearly made Vex sick.

“Almost there,” Vex said, mostly to herself, “Just a bit further.”

As they approached the shoreline, Vex's tail started to scrape against a sandbar. She was still a fair distance away from the beach, she figured they were close enough that the human could swim back to land.

“Where am I?”

Vex looked at him worriedly. His voice was weak, and he struggled to lift his head, but he was definitely alive.

“I don't know,” Vex replied without thinking, “Some beach. I’m sure there’s someone here who can help you.”

He sighed and laid his head back onto the wooden, drifting back to unconsciousness. Vex watched him for a moment, looking at the burns and frowning. The human was obviously weak, probably too weak to swim back. Even if he could, it would be a painful experience for him. So, Vex grabbed the wood and shoved it as hard as she could, hoping the waves would finish the job and bring him safely to shore. She turned to leave, then something knocked into her back, pushing her face first into the water. She turned around and found the slab floating towards her again.

“No no no, you go that way.” She said, taking the wood and pushing it again. The plank started to drift towards the shore, then the current pulled it back out again. Vex cursed once again and grabbed hold of the driftwood once more, preparing to push it with all her strength. Incidentally, this put her at a position where her face was extremely close to the human’s, to the point where she could make out the slight indentations on his nose where his glasses were.

As she looked at his face, all Vex could hear in her head were her father’s warnings: Humans are dangerous creatures. They're vicious and bloodthirsty and only care for their own kind. Never ever let one see you, less you want to meet a grim end.

But Vex remembered how the man talked to the red-haired woman, reassuring and comforting her. Would something as cruel as their stories care for another person like that?

Suddenly there was a loud bark coming from the shore. The mermaid looked up to see the large brown dog galloping towards them.

“Borf! Borf!” The dog came to a stop right at the water's edge, continuing to bark and bark loudly.

“Be quiet!” Vex hissed at him. To her surprise, he calmed down almost immediately and stared at her with a wagging tail. Vex looked at the dog, them at Percy, and suddenly had an idea.

“Hey! Come here boy!”

The dog tilted his head curiously. Vex frowned, trying to remember what they called him.

“Trinket?”

Trinket barked in reply, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Vex smiled in relief. “Trinket, come here!”

The dog splashed into the water and swam towards them. He climbed onto the sandbar and waded over to the mermaid, who brought up a hand to pet him. Trinket's fur was surprisingly soft to the touch.

“Trinket, can you take him over there?” Vex asked, pointing at the sand. Trinket barked once again, then gently grabbed Percy by his ruined sleeve and began to drag him off the wood and up the beach.

Percy's head dunked under the water a few times, but after a minute he was safely on shore. Trinket began to lick all over his face, cleaning the salt water away.

“Borf! Borf! Borf!”

After a few moments, Percy stirred awake. He blinked a few times, bringing a hand up to wipe the salt and slobber from his eyes. Trinket continued to bark as Percy pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Hey, boy. What happened?”

“Borf!”

Percy reached out to stroke the dog’s fur, and squinted out into the ocean. Without his glasses, all he could make out were blurry shapes and colors.

“Hello!” He called out, his voice hoarse from the seawater, “If you're out there, I… Thank you!”

There was a distant splash, and Percy thought he saw a glimpse of dark blue diving beneath the waves. But before he could make any sense of it, he heard voices from behind him. He turned and saw several shapes approaching him, growing clearer the closer they got.

“It's him! We found him!”

The first person to approach him was thankfully someone he recognized, the captain of the ship. There was a nasty bruise along her jawline, and her arm was wrapped up in a sling.

“Glad to see another survivor,” she said, kneeling down and checking him over, “Are you hurt?”

Percy started to nod, taking note of the tenderness of his back and shoulders, and the shooting pains in his leg. Suddenly his eyes widened in panic. “Keyleth! Is she-”

“She's shaken, but alright,” the captain informed him, “They found her half an hour ago further up the beach. You both were lucky bastards to get out of that storm alive.”

Percy shook his head, looking out over the ocean. He didn't really believe in luck, but what else could it have been? He wiped his eyes again, squinting his eyes as he scanned the horizon again.

“I… thought I saw someone. A woman…”

The captain frowned and looked onto the sea, but after a moment shook her head.

“Nothing's out there. Maybe you hit your head? Come on, we'll get you all patched up. Can you walk?”

Percy tried to stand, but his leg refused to support his weight. The captain slung his arm over her shoulder as another sailor came running up to them and did the same with his other arm. As Percy limped up the shore, he couldn't help but look back, hoping he could catch another glimpse of the strange woman who saved his life.

----

“Come on, Grog. Just a little further.” Pike insisted, readjusting her grip on Scanlan. Grog kept swimming forward, his large body cutting through the water like a blade.

“We've been going up and down this place for hours. Can't we just drop him off at the beach?”

“No.” She said, “We can't risk you getting stranded. You heard the stories. Most humans would kill us at first glance.”

“Then why are we saving this one?”

Pike didn't respond at first, causing Grog to turn his head to look at her. Pike had a distant expression on her face, making it hard to figure out what she was thinking. She noticed Grog staring at her and cleared her throat, pointing ahead.

“Look, tide pool. We can put him there.”

Grog turned towards it and swam over. After a few minutes of searching, they found a relatively shallow pool and placed the unconscious human into it. As Grog shooed away a few nosy crabs, Pike leaned over Scanlan’s face, studying it carefully.

“Do you think he's gonna wake up?” The large merman asked.

Pike bit her lip, deep in thought. “I really hope so. We saved him pretty quickly.”

The little mermaid put her ear to Scanlan’s chest, then sighed in relief. “He's breathing at least. That's good.”

Pike began examining the human's body more thoroughly, humming softly as she worked. She found several bruises on his chest and sides, and a nasty cut on his leg. Pike began wrapping it in seaweed while Grog watched on.

”Do you think Vax and Vex are okay? Their people got hurt, too.”

”I know. But I’m sure they’re fine. The twins are tough, and they know what to do. They’re going to be okay.”

Once she was finished with Scanlan, she leaned back onto her hands with a sigh.

“He might have some broken ribs, and a concussion, but he'll live. Honestly, I’m surprised he isn’t more injured.”

Grog looked between her and Scanlan for a second, then asked, “Aren't you going to sing to him?”

Pike looked at him quizzically. “What?”

“To make him feel better? You always sing when you're healing me or the twins. Aren’t you gonna do the same for him?”

“We-Well, I… I wasn't planning on… I'm sure the human doctors can-”

“But you're already here.” Grog insisted, “And you did patch him up.”

“Yes, but I don't know if healing him is the same as healing you guys. What if I make it worse somehow?”

The merman didn’t know what to say and just shrugged. Pike looked at Scanlan again, her eyebrows furrowed with worry. It seemed like he was close to waking up, and moaned quietly in pain.

“I mean…” Pike said slowly, as if she was convincing herself, “It couldn’t really hurt. It’s just singing. I’ve done it a million times.”

Pike took a breath to calm her nerves. Leaning over the human, she began to sing softly, focusing on the music. Soon a gentle, golden glow began to surround Scanlan.

It was different from singing underwater, where the magic swirled and wrapped around the body like a current. Up in the open air, Pike had to focus her voice so it didn't overwhelm any one part of Scanlan. She sang to his leg at first, then moved up his body, up his chest and down his arms. Slowly, the bruises and cuts faded away, leaving perfectly smooth skin behind.

Once the song was finished, Pike leaned back as she fought to catch her breath. Her throat ached terribly, and her whole body shook like she had a chill.

“Pike, you okay?” Grog asked, his voice filled with concern. Pike nodded her head, fighting the urge to cough. Scanlan began to groan, his eyes flitting open slightly.

Pike started to lean over him, moving to brush the stray strands of hair away from his face. She didn’t know exactly why, but she felt the sudden need to reassure the human. She wanted to tell him that he was safe, that she saved his life and he would be okay.

Suddenly, Grog pulled her into his arms and away from Scanlan. She tried to protest, despite her voice being nearly gone, but Grog just leapt back into the water. He swam a fair distance away, swimming further into deeper waters. Pike struggled against his arms, and a second later, Grog pulled back with a loud yelp.

“Hey!” He cried out, shaking his hand, which was starting to bleed, "You bit me!”

Pike swam away from Grog, wiping her mouth. “What was that for, Grog?” She said, her voice raspy and low.

Grog pressed his hands together to stem the bleeding. “Other humans were coming.” he said, “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“And you couldn't just tell me? You had to drag me away like a guppy?”

Grog hung his head guiltily, then Pike sighed. She rubbed her throat and swallowed, trying to get rid of the soreness. She looked up at the surface and began to swim up.

“Pike, wait!”

But she ignored Grog and broke through, looking around until she saw a group of humans surrounding the tide pool where they left Scanlan. She watched as they guided him to his feet and led him away. He tried to look back at the ocean, but Pike ducked back underwater before he could see her. She swam back to Grog and pointed out into the ocean. Grog nodded and together they swam off into the distance.

Chapter Text

The merpeople decided to stick around the wreckage of the ship, picking through it and recovering what they could. While it wasn’t their first shipwreck, it was their most recent, which meant everything inside was practically brand new. Pike had found a broken crate filled with glass bottles, some still intact and filled with brown liquid. Upon further examination, the liquid inside burned their gills and made them dizzy, so the merpeople left those crates alone. They found the instruments the band played and spent a long time trying to figure out how exactly they worked. They found so many human treasures, both familiar and unknown, that it seemed impossible to go through it all. But as the days passed, they found less and less, and it soon became clear that the time to leave was approaching.

Vex was busy pulling at a chest half-buried into the sand. After a few moments of struggling, she huffed and turned to search for her brother.

“Vax! Can you come and help me with this?”

It took a moment, but she eventually spotted him on the broken mast, still splintered from the storm. He was resting with his eyes gazing wistfully above, his tail slowly swishing back and forth across the wood.

Vex sighed and rolled her eyes. “Vax, are you even listening?”

After he made no move indicating as such, she sighed again and swam up to him. He was humming something too low for her to make out, and he had a small smile on his lips as he stared at the ocean surface.

“Vax? Vax’ildan? VAX!”

The merman startled and nearly fell off the mast. He caught himself at the last second, turning to find Vex glaring at him. “Vex, what the hells?”

“I've been calling your name over and over,” she said, crossing her arms, “Where's your head these days?”

Vax looked at her for a minute, then just shook his head. “You didn't have to scare me,” he said as he brushed the hair out of his face.

“Well, I wouldn't have to if you weren't acting all… weird.”

“I'm not acting weird.”

“Yes, you are. Ever since that night with the ship, you've been thoughtless and distracted and moony-eyed-”

Vax raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Moony-eyed?”

Vex huffed and lightly pushed him. “You know what I mean! You've not been yourself, and it's beginning to worry me.”

“There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine, sister.”

He picked up his bag, which was hanging from a large splintered part of the mast, and went to put it over his head. The clanging of metal inside caught Vex's attention, and she reached out and snatched the bag away from her brother. With a triumphant “Ha!” She darted away.

“Hey, what- Give that back!” He shouted as he gave chase.

Vex dodged and weaved through the ship, avoiding Vax's attempts to grab at her. “I just want to see what you got!” She called out as she ducked further into the ship, out of sight. Vax stopped for a moment to catch his breath, listening for signs of life. He heard the sound of something hitting the ground, and he carefully followed it until he saw Vex in one of the inner rooms of the ship, sitting at one of the tables and about to open his bag.

“That's my stuff!” He said defiantly as he swam towards her, grabbing the bag and pulling it close to his chest before Vex could see inside, “You have no right to-”

“No right? Vax, I'm your sister, and you've always shown me your stuff before. Why is this different?”

Vax's face flushed slightly, but before he could say anything, they heard Pike calling for them.

“We're over here! Be there in a sec!” Vex shouted before turning back to her brother, “We are not done here.”

She swam out of the ship through the cracked hull, and Vax let out a sigh of relief. He secured his bag across his body once more and followed Vex. Pike and Grog were waiting just outside, the latter carrying the trunk that Vex was pulling at earlier.

“Check this stuff out! I've never seen so many in one place!” Grog bellowed as he dropped the chest and opened it. The mermaids peeked inside, and Vax gave a low whistle.

“Wow. Look at it all.”

Vax reached in and pulled out a human dress, shaking it out and assessing it. It was similar in color to what Keyleth wore the night of the wreck, but the bottom was much wider, and it had long sleeves with shiny thread embroidered on it.

“How do they use these?” Grog was saying, pulling out a pair of pants and studying them. He tried to fit his arm through the hole, but it got stuck halfway through.

Pike let out a soft laugh as she swam up and tugged the fabric off. “Humans wear them on their legs. Not their arms.”

“Oh.” Grog looked at the pants again, raising an eyebrow quizzically, and slowly brought them to his tail. They were almost comically small compared to his giant frame. He considered it for a moment, then said, “I mean… I kinda get the whole legs thing, but this can't be comfortable.”

Pike shrugged with a small smile, and as she helped Grog pull out more of the clothes inside the chest, she began to explain how the humans on the ship wore most of them. Grog listened intently, while Vex glanced at her brother. He had a small, goofy grin on his face as he looked over the dress in his hands, rubbing the strange fabric between his fingers.

Before she could say anything, however, the blonde mermaid plucked a floppy, purple piece of fabric from the chest. With a grin, she placed it on her head and spun in a circle.

“It's the same as that musician!” She exclaimed, “The one with the thing-a-ma-jig!”

Vax laughed as he watched Pike move around. He reached into the chest as well and pulled out a dark vest with silver buttons. As he went to pull it over his chest, a long, thin strip of fluffy fabric floated out of the chest and up towards the surface. Grog reached out and grabbed it, brushing his hand over the strange texture.

“What do you think this is for?” He asked.

Vex pondered for a moment, tilting her head left and right as she studied the item. “I'm not sure,” she admitted, “Maybe a belt or something?”

Grog hummed thoughtfully before shrugging and tying the ‘belt’ around his waist, which was barely long enough to fit. As he reached back into the chest, Vex looked up and saw Vax and Pike fully decked out in human clothes. Vax, along with the vest from before, had put on a wide, bright red hat with floating strings on the edges and a long skirt around his hips that shimmered like Pike's scales. Pike on the other hand had found a neon colored dress with bright stripes zigzagging across it, and several shiny baubles hung from her wrists.

“Did they really wear all of this?” Grog asked as he put on a pointed hat with thick strings coming from the end.

“Well, not these exact things,” Pike said thoughtfully, “But yeah, pretty much. Oh, Grog, I wish you could've seen it properly.”

Vax smiled as he adjusted his hat. “It was wonderful! The music and the dancing, it was all magical!” He smiled in that same goofy way he had been since they saw the ship, and held out his hand to the little mermaid. “You look absolutely dashing, Miss Human,” He said in an overly pompous voice, “May I dance with you in the human way?”

Pike smiled and grabbed it. “Of course, Sir Human!” She responded in a similar accent, and soon they were spinning around the ocean floor, laughing as they tried their best to imitate the dancing they saw on the ship.

Grog and Vex watched on, one with amusement and one with worry. After a minute, the bigger merman, now wearing a long, fluffy coat with spots, swam forward and tried to copy what the other two were doing. As they tried to show him how to move, Vex reached down and picked up the dress that Vax had dropped, looking it over carefully. She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder as the dancing merfolk continued to spin around, giggling and smiling.

“Vex, come and join us!” Vax called out, holding out his hand. She looked at it for a long minute. A part of her wanted to take his hand and join the dancing, to let loose and have fun for a brief moment. Finally, after a long pause, she shook her head and swam up to the others, snatching the hats off their heads.

“Hey!”

“What gives?”

“Vex!”

“Yes, yes, it was all lovely and wonderful and blah blah blah, we get it.” Vex cut in with a slight edge to her voice. She swam towards the chest and stuffed all of the hats and the dress inside. “We're not taking any of this.”

Grog's face fell. “We're not?” He asked sadly.

“No, we're not. We need to focus on survival, and what can help us here in the real world.”

The others exchanged glances with each other, then Vax spoke up. “We were just having fun. No harm done.”

The dark-haired mermaid resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Whatever.” She huffed, glancing up at the darkening surface, “We should head back to camp. Tomorrow, we'll head out.”

“Out?”

“Already?”

Vex looked at her friends' faces with a determined gaze. “Yes, already. We need to keep moving before anyone finds us.”

“What makes you think someone is following us?” Grog asked, “We haven't seen other merfolk in weeks.”

“I'm with Grog,” Vax jumped in, “There's nothing to worry about. If Father was really coming after us, we would've noticed by now.”

Vex pursed her lips. She was worried about their father showing up out of nowhere, but beyond that, she couldn't shake the growing feeling that something was watching them.

“Still, I'd rather keep moving than stay in one place,” she said firmly, “I'm going to go back and make sure we have what we need at camp. You guys can finish going through that chest. See if there's anything actually useful in there.”

And with that, Vex swam away, leaving the other three staring after her. Grog slowly peeled off the coat and belt, gently placing them back in the chest.

“I should go help her. You guys good by yourself?”

Vax and Pike both agreed, and Grog swam after Vex, his tail cutting through the water like nothing. The two remaining mermaids took off their clothing as well, placing them in the chest as carefully as they could. As Pike pushed the jewelry off her arms, she noticed Vax's gaze linger on them for a brief second. A minute later, as they dug around to search for ‘useful’ items, she caught him slipping something into his bag. It looked like a golden band with green stones embedded in the metal.

She looked up and regarded Vax for a moment. She didn't really notice until now, but Vax looked exhausted. The circles under his eyes were darker than usual and he kept blinking rapidly, as if he was fighting off sleep. He fought back a yawn as he shut the chest.

“I think that's everything. Or, what Vex would consider everything.” He let out a sigh and rubbed his face. “I love her, I really do. I just wish she would loosen up every once in a while.”

Pike hummed noncommittally as she brushed some hair away from her face. Finally, she said hesitantly, “Vax, can I ask you something?”

The dark-haired merman looked confused but nodded. “Yeah, of course. What's up, Pickle?”

Pike couldn't help but smile. If he was still using nicknames, whatever was bothering him couldn't be that bad, right? “Well, I mean… look, I don't want to pry, but you have been a bit… off the past few days. We just want to make sure you're okay.”

Vax raised his eyebrows. “And by we, you mean you and Vex, right?”

Pike shrugged, and Vax sighed.

“I don't get why she's so worried. I'm completely fine! I've never been more okay in my life.”

Pike raised her arms defensively. “I'm not saying it's a bad change,” she continued, “I'm just saying it's different. You're more… peppy, I guess? I'm just trying to understand what changed.”

Vax considered her for a moment, then sighed and sat on the chest. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Pike swam up to sit next to him, tapping her fingers on the wooden lid. The silence grew longer between them, until Pike glanced at his bag again, bulging with treasures.

“Can I at least see what you've got?” She asked, pointing at it, “I promise I won't laugh.”

Finally he looked at her, his eyes shining. “Whatever you do, you cannot tell Vex, alright?”

Pike nodded, and Vax turned over his bag and dumped out the items within. Pieces of jewelry, cutlery, even ribbons scattered across the sand. As the two mermaids looked over the treasures, Pike noticed a common theme amongst them.

“These are all very… shiny,” she remarked as she picked up a slightly dented fork, “What do you plan on doing with them?”

“Well, I…” Vax started, then paused. His face showed an array of emotions, but Pike was patient as he struggled with words. “I just think that… maybe these things would be nice gifts.”

Pike blinked, staring at Vax with confusion. “Wait… gifts? Gifts for who?” Vax didn't respond at first, his face turning red as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Come on, Vax,” she pleaded, “You can tell me! Who are the gifts for?”

He smiled slightly as he picked up a shining cup embedded with jewels, pointedly avoiding making eye contact with her. “Someone special,” He said in a soft voice, “Someone I would really like to know better, and hopefully these gifts will help.”

Pike's brow furrowed, then her mouth dropped open with a gasp. “You're in love!” She cried out, swimming up and pacing back and forth, “I can't believe it! Does Vex know? I can't imagine she wouldn't, but we have been preoccupied lately. What are they like? Are they pretty? Who is it?”

Vax’s blush turned deeper as he smiled fondly. “She’s one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. The way she smiles and how it lights up her face… I've never felt anything like this before. I don't even know if it's love, but it must be, right?”

As Vax continued to talk, Pike's brain ran in a million directions at once. Who could Vax possibly be in love with? He wasn't involved with anyone back at Syngorn as far as she knew. They haven't met anyone in weeks, not until the ship and…

Pike's eyes widened. “The human?” she screeched.

Vax jumped at the sudden jump in volume. He quickly reached out and covered her mouth with his hands, preventing Pike from making more noise. He listened carefully for signs that Vex was nearby, and after a moment, he deemed it safe. Vax looked at Pike, who was still staring at him incredulously.

“Keep it down! Please?”

Pike nodded her head slowly, and as he removed his hands from her mouth, she repeated herself in a whisper this time. “The human? The red and green one?”

“Her name is Keyleth.” He said without thinking, “And… yeah. I'm pretty sure.”

Pike’s mouth opened and closed multiple times as she tried to come up with a reasonable response.

“She's a human.” she finally said.

“I know.”

“And you're a mermaid.”

“I know.”

Pike held up her hands as if to say Do you not see the problem?

Vax's eyes flashed with guilt as he began to pack up his gifts. “I know how it looks. Believe me, I know.”

“But do you really?” Pike questioned, “Because from what you're telling me, it looks like you want to go to land and find a human and give her a bunch of junk.”

“It's not junk! It's valuable!”

“You don't even know where she is!”

Vax opened his mouth as if to respond, but Pike held up her hand to stop him. “Vax, listen to me. There has never been an instance of a good interaction between our kind and theirs. It’s just not possible.”

“You don't know that.”

“I studied this stuff back in Syngorn. I’m pretty sure I do.”

“You didn't seem to mind when we saved them from that storm.”

“That was different.”

Pike swam closer and gently placed her hand on his arm. “You're one of my best friends, Vax. I'm saying this because I care about you. You need to stop thinking like this. Nothing good ever comes from our species interacting.”

Vax looked at her for a moment, then sighed deeply. “You're not going to tell my sister, are you?”

Pike pursed her lips, then finally shook her head. “No, I won't tell. But only because I'm trusting you to forget this whole thing. Humans and merfolk can't coexist peacefully. The most we can hope for is avoidance. The sooner you get that into your head, the better.”

Vax nodded his head, his eyes downcast. He picked up the golden band from earlier, turning it over in his hands before slipping it into his bag. Pike watched as he put it over his head, unable to fight the slight guilt lodged in her chest. She knew that love was a complicated feeling, and one couldn't control when or who they fell in love with. But she had heard too many stories about merfolk being slaughtered by humans for their tails, their hair, or for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We should head back before Vex gets worried. Are you gonna be okay?”

Vax hesitated, his hand brushing away the strands of dark hair in his face.

“Actually, I kinda want to stick around a bit longer. Just to see if I missed anything.”

Pike frowned at him. “Vax, Vex was pretty clear when she said-”

“I promise I'll be careful, Pike. What's the worst that can happen?”

After a long moment, she finally rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I’m gonna stay with you.”

Vax blinked. “What? Why? I don’t need a babysitter, Pike.”

“I know, but given what you just told me, I can’t risk you running off on us. Vex would freak out, and Grog… well, he would worry, too.”

She turned to make sure that the chest was shut, continuing to talk. “And besides, the chances of actually finding her again are super small. Like, she would have to live both near the ocean, and near our location, and given how massive the human maps are, that’s pretty unlikely. You’d have better luck finding a blue pearl than…”

By the time she turned back around again, Vax was gone. She looked around, searching for any sign of him, but she found nothing.

“Vax? Where did you go? Vax!”

She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes with her palms. “Oh, Vex is not gonna be happy about this.”

---

They had searched the area around the ship multiple times, and with each pass, the others grew more worried. Vex couldn't keep still, swimming back and forth across the sand so many times it was almost dizzying. “If he got himself tangled in a net or something, I'm going to-”

“I'm sure he's fine.” Pike tried to sound confident, but she couldn't help but worry as well. Vax had always been headstrong, but he was also smart. He wouldn't get himself into any serious trouble, right?

Grog swam back towards them, shaking his head as he approached. “No sign of him. It’s almost like he vanished.”

Vex shook her head. “No, I know Vax. He wouldn’t leave without a good reason, or at least an explanation.” She turned back to Pike. “Are you sure he didn’t say anything to you? Anything at all?”

Pike hesitated. Part of her wanted to tell Vex about the human, but it wasn’t her secret to tell. Or maybe it was? Before she could decide, Grog spoke up again. “Maybe he went to find his beach?”

Both mermaids stared at him. “His what?” Vex asked.

Grog shrugged. “I heard him a couple times muttering about ‘finding the right beach’. I don't know what beach he was talking about exactly, he kept changing the subject when I asked.”

“The right beach?” Pike mumbled to herself, a nervous feeling growing in her stomach. She looked at Vex, but Vex was busy pulling her bag over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Isn't it obvious? I'm going out to find him.”

“But Vax-”

“Is going to get himself hurt if someone doesn't find him.

“Vex, wait up!” Pike swam up behind her, adjusting her pack. “We can find him faster if we split up.”

Vex nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. The mermaids split directions, calling out for Vax. Thankfully, the moon was full and bright, illuminating the sea in dim blue light.

“Vax!” Grog shouted, his voice a booming echo through the water, “Vax! Where are you?” He swam for a bit, picking up rocks and pushing aside seaweed as he searched for the smaller merman. “Your sister is gonna kill you if you don't show up! And probably me, too. VAX!”

“Pipe down, Grog!”

Grog spun around and saw Vax behind him. He let out a sigh of relief, then noticed that Vax had several long stalks of seaweed wrapped around his body, some of them were loosely braided into ropes.

“What are you doing?”

Vax shushed him, looking around like someone was listening in.

“I… I found something. And I need your help.”

Grog frowned and pointed at himself. “My help?”

“Yes, Grog. Your help. But you can't tell Vex, alright?”

“But she's-”

“I know she's looking for me. But I just need to do this one thing, and then I'll go back. Can you help me? Please?”

Grog blinked. He had never seen Vax so… determined before. It was a rare sight for Vax to seriously ask for help with anything. What could possibly be so important to him?

After a moment of consideration, he finally nodded. Vax beamed at him and instantly swam off.

“It's not far! Just a little over this dune!”

Grog followed after him until they came upon a deep, dark trench, with jagged stones sticking out like fangs. He stopped for a moment to stare, until Vax's voice called out.

“It's over here! Come on!”

Grog shook himself out of the unease and moved forward again. He found Vax a bit farther away, closer to the edge of the trench, tying the rest of the seaweed together into ropes next to a large statue of a woman.

“Isn't that from the ship?” Grog asked, pausing a few feet away.

Vax nodded as he wrapped the rope around its legs and tied it together. “Yeah, it is.”

Grog swam closer and examined the statue further. The base was covered in cracks, and there was a short divet in the sand behind it, like it had already been dragged a short distance. One of the hands was broken off and part of the face had been chipped, but other than those small deformities, the statue looked to be in good shape. Grog squinted at the face, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Vax, I know you like human things, but this seems a bit much. You’re not gonna drag this around everywhere we go, are you?”

Vax, who had been busy securing the ropes around the waist of the statue, looked up at Grog, his face amused.

“Of course not! I'm just moving it over there.”

He pointed up towards a small cluster of smooth stones a fair distance away from the edge of the trench. Vax gathered the ropes in his hands. He swam further away and began to slowly drag the statue away from the trench, huffing from the exertion.

“It's… a very… important… human item… that needs… to be safe.”

Despite Vax’s efforts, the statue only moved a little bit forward. The base of it dug further into the sand, and the momentum made it almost topple forward. The merman darted forward and caught it just in time, pushing it upright again. He glanced at Grog.

“Aren't you going to help?”

Grog frowned, looking at the statue again. “What’s in it for me?”

“What?”

“I'm just saying, I think it's only fair since it tried to kill me.”

“They weren't trying to- look, I'll give you first choice on food for the next hunt, okay? Please, just help me get her to safety.”

Grog stared at Vax, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

“Her?”

There was a brief pause. Vax's face turned bright red, clearly visible even in the darkness.

“It's not- I just mean- She's obviously, I mean it- it's just a… look. Just help me get… it away from the ledge, and we never have to talk about this again.”

The larger merman stared at him for a while, long enough that Vax started to fidget nervously. Finally, Grog approached the statue and wrapped his arms around it. The statue was as big as him, maybe a bit bigger, but he still hefted it onto his back and began swimming up to the place Vax pointed out before. Vax grinned and followed after him, making sure that Grog wouldn't drop it.

It took a long time to get the statue to safety. Grog, as strong as he was, could only carry it a short distance before having to drop it and take a rest. The two mermen alternated between Grog carrying it and dragging it up with the ropes. It nearly fell over several times, each time causing more cracks and chips to appear. Once they reached the spot, the bigger merman dropped the statue into the rocks with a thud and a groan.

“Be careful!” Vax chastised, inspecting the statue further. Grog stretched out his arms and watched Vax as he untied the ropes and began inspecting the statue further..

“I still don't get it. Why do you care about this thing?”

Vax didn't respond at first, totally engrossed in his examination. He reached out and brushed something away from the face, but his hand lingered just a beat too long. Grog tilted his head curiously, but before he could say anything-

“THERE YOU ARE!”

The mermen both startled and turned towards the voice. Vex rushed towards them, with Pike following close behind. She paused when she saw the statue, her face a mix of shock and concern. She gave Vax a look, but before he could do anything, Vex had him in a nearly painful embrace.

“Where have you been, Vax? I've been worried sick!” Vex was saying as she pulled away to inspect her brother, “You can't just swim off like that! You could've been eaten or captured or-”

“Vex, I'm fine. You don't have to-”

“Don't you dare tell me to not worry! I thought something had happened to you! You can't just swim off whenever you feel like it.” She continued to talk as she grabbed Vax's hand and began to drag him away. “You need to at least tell us where you're going before-”

“Wait, wait! Vex! Stop!” The dark haired merman tore his hand away from Vex. “Don't drag me around like a child!”

“Then don't wander off like one! What were you thinking? Do you know what could've happened?”

“I was gonna come back soon.”

“That doesn't excuse leaving in the first place. Now come on, we need to go.”

She reached out to grab his arm again, but he swam out of her reach.

“Wait, now? I thought we were leaving in the morning.”

“That was the plan, until you decided to disappear on us!”

“But-”

“But nothing, Vax! We should've left after that storm, but you kept insisting on staying for some reason. We scoured through that entire shipwreck for days, and we can't even take most of it with us!” Vex paused and sighed. “There's nothing left for us here. It's time we move on from this place.”

Vax stayed quiet, again shifting back towards the statue. Vex continued on, seemingly unaware of his hesitation.

“There's a lot of good reefs in the south. We can start that way and-”

“Why can't we stay here?”

Vex looked at him for a second and let out a breathy scoff. “Stay here? Vax, look around. There's nothing out here.”

“Okay, maybe not right here, but we don't have to leave this area.” Vax's eyes brightened as he continued to talk, unaware of Vex's growing displeasure. “We don't even have to go that far. There's a little reef just this way that-”

“When did you have time to find anything? We were searching the ship for days.”

Vax hesitated for a moment, his face turning pink. “I might have done a bit of scouting while you guys were sleeping,” he finally admitted, “But it was worth it!”

Pike's eyes widened. Her gaze fell on the statue again. “Vax,” She said slowly as her gaze turned back to him, “When we were talking earlier about luck…”

Vax bit his lip nervously, then shrugged. “Turns out luck was on my side,” he said in a way that almost sounded like a question.

Pike’s eyes widened. “How far?”

“About a league or two north. It’s nearly on the water, once I almost saw-”

“Almost?” she shouted, her face turning pale, “Vax, you know better! I can’t believe you would do something this reckless!”

“Pike, listen-”

“You can’t throw your whole life away for something like this!”

Vex looked between the two, confused and surprised at Pike's outburst. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”

Pike and Vax stared at each other for a moment, locked in a silent battle, until Pike broke the silence. “You better tell her, or I will.”

“Tell me what?”

Vax looked towards his sister, struggling for words. “I… the reef I mentioned… It might be a bit close to a human town?” he finally said sheepishly.

Vex blinked. “Near a… Why would we ever go near a human town?!”

“I thought you would be okay with it.”

“Why would you think I would be okay with this? Humans are dangerous! Can you even imagine what would happen if they caught sight of us? They could capture us and kill us or-”

“You could try not sounding like our father for once.”

Vex blinked, momentarily speechless. “What?” She finally sputtered out.

Vax's eyes went wide, like he didn't mean to say it out loud. “What I meant was… I mean,” he started to say, then he paused and took a breath. “Our father was usually wrong about a lot of things, and-”

“This isn't one of them!” Vex cried out, growing more animated with her movements, “I hate him, but he had a point this one time!”

“But you've seen what the humans leave behind,” Vax went on, “You've seen the incredible things they've made! You've collected more of their things than I have!”

“That's their stuff, Vax! It's not them! Humans are hunters, and they don't care about anything except themselves!”

“You can't say that. We just saw a whole ship full of them! Are you honestly telling me that all of them are horrible monsters?”

“Vax, I don't know what's gotten into you recently, but it needs to stop. We are leaving now.”

“If you would just listen to me-”

“No! I'm not listening! I can't believe you're defending those creatures after what happened to our-”

Vex stopped herself, but it didn't matter. Everyone knew what she meant to say. This whole time, Grog had been watching everyone fight with a concerned and confused expression. His eyes kept darting from the twins, to the statue, to Pike, then back again, over and over. Finally, he swam between the twins and held his arms out.

“Okay, I think we all need a moment to calm down. Let’s just go back to camp and we can talk about this in the morning, okay?”

He tried to approach Vax, but the merman backed away from him, closer to the statue. He clenched his fists tightly as he stared at Vex.

“This is different, sister. Not all humans are vicious killers. I refuse to believe that.”

Vex shook her head. “Why, because you spent all of five minutes watching them? Seriously, it's like you’re…”

Vex stopped, focusing her gaze onto the statue behind her brother, like she was just now noticing it. She saw the ropes laying around it, the sand leaking out of the cracks. When her eyes finally met Vax's again, there was a low simmering emotion he couldn't quite place.

“What are you doing with that thing?”

Vax hesitated, but he said slowly, “I was just moving it. It was going to fall into the ravine down there.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“I’m not lying!”

“Like I'm supposed to believe you just happened to stumble on the same statue from the ship.”

Vax didn’t respond. Vex took a deep breath, running her hands through her scalp. “You know what? This isn’t our biggest problem right now. We are leaving now, and we’re putting that thing back.”

“What? No!” Vax moved to block her from coming closer, “It's fine where it is!”

“It's just a dumb hunk of rock! It was fine where you found it!”

“Vex, please! She's not a threat!”

The water grew still. Vax's face turned bright red as Vex processed what she heard.

“She? She’s not a threat?”

Vax averted his eyes, looking everywhere except towards Vex. She stared at him for a long time.

“Vax, please don’t tell me you’re… Are you in love with a human?”

Vax was quiet for a beat too long. Finally, he said in a small voice, “Her name is Keyleth.”

Vex’s hands started to shake. She tried to swim towards the statue again, but Vax blocked her way, holding his arms out.

“This is way too far, even for you! She's a human!”

“I wish you guys would stop bringing that up.”

“Vex, just calm down,” Pike said, swimming up to join them, “We can just go and-”

“Did you know?” Vex turned towards Pike so fast she was briefly surrounded by bubbles. “Did you know about this?”

Pike struggled to speak for a moment. “I-I tried to warn him. I told him it was a bad idea!”

“It’s not her fault, Vex. And it’s not Keyleth’s either! So you can’t-”

“Just shut up, Vax!” Vex shouted, turning back towards her brother, “There's no universe where this turns out okay! The best thing to do is forget about her and forget this whole thing!”

“I CAN'T!”

The sudden power in Vax's voice surprised everyone, even Vax, but he kept going. “I can't forget about her. So what if I fell in love? I can’t help it. Keyleth is important to me now.”

“You don't even know her!”

“I know enough! I know that she's strong and beautiful and caring and she is nothing like Father's stories!”

“She's still a human!”

“I don't care about that! I love her!”

“No, you don't!”

The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. Vex reached out to her brother, he tried to dodge out of her way, and somehow they crashed into each other, and also into the statue of Keyleth. Their combined weight toppled over the heavy stone, and it began to fall back into the ravine.

“NO!” He shouted, and went to swim after it, but then a firm hand grabbed him by the wrist. He turned back to see Vex glaring at him. He tried to pull away from her, wanted to shout at her to let him go, but then they heard a sickening series of thuds and cracks. Everyone turned to watch the statue crash against one of the sharp jutting stones, causing it to break into a hundred pieces. Some of the pieces landed safely on the sand, but most of it fell into the dark abyss below.

For a long time, there was a heavy silence over the group.

Vex slowly let go of her brother, her face pale. “Vax, I…” She said softly, her voice wavering, “I thought you were going to hurt yourself. It was going to hit you and…”

Vax didn't respond, instead swimming closer and gathering the small pieces of Keyleth left behind. Once he had them all in his hands, he knelt in the sand and just stared at the pieces mournfully. Pike carefully approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It'll be okay. We can figure something out.” She tried to sound comforting, but Vax didn't seem to be listening. Vex swam closer.

“Vax?”

The merman suddenly looked up at Vex, his eyes filled with anger and grief. “I hope you're happy, Vex’ahlia.” He told her bitterly.

He straightened up and pushed Pike aside, swimming far away from the group.

“Vax, wait!” Vex cried out, but her voice echoed uselessly across the water as they watched Vax disappear beyond the dunes.