Aquata Cove Ch. 37

"He's fast. Keep a close eye on everything."

~~~

Merrick sent a signal up ahead. He flew through the water, waving his tail up and down as much as he can, 'Hang on, Adam,' He thought to himself, 'I'm coming!' He swam quickly as he savored the much-adored taste of the ocean.

~~~

Monitoring his throat, the scientist compared it to other analyses, "He's emitting a very subtle soundwave as he's moving. I think it might be a type of sonar, sir."

"Interesting..."

~~~

As Merrick moved, he can sense many strange... Energy clusters around. It's agitating his senses a little. He signaled over and over again, and eventually traced one of the clusters. He swam towards the source, and found an odd-looking crab. He narrowed his eyes as he came up close to it. It's not moving at all, it's just staring at him. Usually crabs scurry to the side if you get too close.

One of its eyes moved slowly to the side. Merrick's throat flexed as he emitted a scraggly noise directly at the crab. Not even a reaction.

~~~

"Heh. Looks like he's on to us..." Nigel said with a sneer at Merrick's face looms closer to one of the hidden radio cameras. The merman's face winced, as the machines show that he is cracking a high-frequency noise. Suddenly, that screen distorted, and lost its signal.

"Sir, we've lost visual on one of the cameras!"

"That's fine. There are too many cameras to break for him to bother with."

~~~

"Human tricks..." Merrick mumbled. He swam forth, and signaled again. Something doesn't feel right. Whenever he's in the ocean, can feel the vastness of the sea itself. But now the ocean feels... Cramped.

Merrick swam around, and gasped as he saw a shark in the distance – a LIVE one. It swam closer and closer to him, its teeth looking ready to attack.

~~~

"Well now..." Nigel said he watched Merrick in one place, and the shark in another, "Did we order a shark?"

"No, sir," Said another scientist, "It must've been in the area when we set things up here."

~~~

The shark increased its speed at Merrick, getting ready to strike. Merrick looped out of the way of the shark's path rumbling a strange sound as the shark turned its way towards the merman.

However, the shark immediately slowed down as Merrick swam about it, signaling it with strange noises that seemed to have a mellowing effect on the predator.

~~~

"Hm... Looks like he CAN talk to animals..." Nigel muttered as the merman swam around the shark, which seemed to have lost interest in devouring him.

~~~

The shark was soon convinced to swim in another direction. Merrick kicked his tail a little too fast, as he almost ran into a Box Jellyfish. He whirled around it, signaling the Jelly several times over, and even made to push it.

He has a few suspicions about the situation. Something doesn't feel right in this, and if he's right about this...

~~~

"What is he doing..." Nigel said as he watched Merrick loop around the Jellyfish, and pushed it away.

"Sir, he's almost reached the edge," Reported one of the scientists, "Should I rise the mechanism?"

"Yes" Nigel replied, "Wouldn't want him jumping over..."

~~~

As he traveled further, Merrick's signals became less and less reaching. As a matter of face, they kept bouncing his own sound back at him.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHH

Merrick gasped as he felt the moan of a large machine, all around him. He swam faster and faster, until his signals came up right onto his face!

He thrust his hand out, and his palm hit a solid wall!

"What?!" Merrick's eyes widened, as he felt around an invisible wall, "No" He swam to the right and felt the invisible wall again, "No. No, no no! PLEASE don't do this to me!" He whimpered as he swam further to the side, keeping a webbed hand long the wall. "No!!"

Merrick swam until his arm fell through. He found a perfectly round opening on the glass wall, but immediately concluded that it is way too small for him to fit. He put his face to it, and signaled loud.

"HEEELLLLPPPPP! HEEELLLLP MEEE! I AM A PISCIEN MERMAN! I HAVE BEEN CAPTURED BY HUMANS! HELP ME!!"

~~~

"What's he doing now?" Nigel said as the merman let out strange cries from the very edge of the Reef Tank.

"I think he might be calling for others." The scientist said, "Should we bring him in?"

"No, let him be..." Nigel said, "The more the merrier, after all..."

One mile long, one mile wide, or measured for the area, the Reef Tank his a piece of natural ocean for the Agency to study any particular sea creature out in a natural environment.

~~~

"MOTHER!!!" Merrick called out, white wisps starting to come from his eyes as can sense no mermaid or merman anywhere close by, "FATHER!! PLEASE ANSWER ME!!" He called out. There is not a single trace. Merfolk would never come near a place with just such energy reading as this glass box, "SISTER!! BRISHEN!! ANYONE!!!!" He called as he wept.

"ANYONE!! PLEASE ANSWER ME!!" Merrick's calls became lower and lower as he lowered his head.

"Anyone..." He moaned, "Adam..."

Suddenly, he felt something. He gasped as he looked up, but he immediately backed away, "No... Here too..."

~~~

"Sir, his heart levels are elevating dramatically." Said one of the scientists, "His adrenaline is going crazy."

"What's going on..." Nigel pondered.

~~~

"You... You know I'm here as well?" Merrick muttered as he drifted back. Out in the distance, coming closer is a green, reptilian sea creature. It propelled itself with a spiraling tail, and claw-like flippers. Its golden eyes glowed in the dark blue, before its whirled, straight-standing horns on its goat-like head.

"By the Depths..." Merrick muttered as the creature reached the small opening. His heart pounded as the creature stared at him with one of its eyes, "It can't be..."

The Capricorn looked at the merman as it is unable to reach him from behind the glass.

~~~

BZZZZT-KSSSHH-BZZZZT

"Sir, several of our cameras are starting to fail."

"Is he causing this? Is he making them fritz out?"

"Negative. The merman is staying quiet for the timing being."

Nigel leered at one of the screens, "..." He can barely spot a strange animal on the buzzing, fuzzy screens.

~~~

"Why..." Merrick drifted backward more, "You look different... Each time I see you, YOU look different!!" He said at the Capricorn. The creature responded with an eerie bleat that Merrick can't understand.

"Can you help me?!" Merrick begged, "The humans have been torturing me!" Again, the Capricorn didn't show any indication that it understood him. "If you can't save me without guiding me to death, then stay away!!"

Terror got the better of him, and Merrick swam the other direction.

~~~

"Sir, he's returning!" One of the scientists said. Half of the screens are still malfunctioning and can't maintain a clear image, "The readings suggests that he's terrified."

"Huh, so it looks like Fagfish IS afraid of something." Keith said.

"Lets head to the shore," Nigel said, "We've got plenty of data, but I want to know why he's so scared."

~~~

Merrick kicked his tail as hard as he can to the shallower waters. Whether he's moving back to those humans or not, he doesn't care!

'I'd rather endure and survive to see Adam than die mercifully by the Capricorn!' He thought.

Soon, Merrick swam up to the beach, and pulled himself out of the tides with the rocks and sand. He panted as he laid himself down onto a boulder. He growled and moaned as he heard the humans quickly approaching. He rumbled lowly as he readied his right hand...

"Merrick!" Nigel called out as he came to the aquatic male, "What happened?!" Merrick didn't respond. He just simply laid there, his eyes closed, as if he fainted, "You're not fooling me," Nigel knelt down and shook him.

"What happened out there?! What did you see??" He urged him, "You were out there, and suddenly you were terrified, WHAT did you see?!"

"Ngghh..." Merrick groaned.

"WHAT WAS OUT THERE?!"

Merrick's eyes flew open and glared at Nigel, "RgghhAAA!" His hand flew up, and slapped Nigel RIGHT on the face!

"GHAAHH!" Nigel cried in pain as the slap threw him off the merman. The old man fell to the sand, and clutched his face, "AAHHH! What have you d- AHHHH!"

"Mr Quinlan!" One of the humans came up to them, and went to Nigel, "Mr Quinlan, what's going-" He pulled his hands away, and he gasped as he saw several transparent lines around Nigel's left cheek, ear, and along his neck, outline by red.

"Oh my God, MEDIC! Get the Medic over here! NOW!!!" He called out. He looked at Merrick's hand, and saw the same jellyfish tentacles around his wrist as well, yet they have no effect on the merman's shimmering blue flesh.

Nigel writhed and wailed in pain as the stingers quickly took their toll on him. A medical human came knelt on the sand and quickly rummaged through his equipment, "What is it?! What are we dealing with?!"

"Box Jellyfish! Hurry!"

Merrick sneered as Nigel coughed and gagged, a spurt of blood splashed from his mouth.

"Night-night, Faggot!!" Merrick whipped around, and saw Keith. Before he can say anything, Keith took a blunt object to the merman, and everything went black.

-=-=-=-

"NNnnngghhh..." Merrick moaned. His head hurts, a lot. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he is surround by a lot of light. He can feel his wrists and tail held down. He groaned as he could make out a humanoid face.

"Well..." Came that familiar, raspy voice, "Finally awake?" Nigel asked. Merrick's eyes adjusted, and focused in. Nigel's face is heavily patched up – gauze is tied down on his cheek, his left ear is wrapped up, and his neck is securely fastened.

"Nigel..." Merrick smirked, "Are you alright? You look rather broken."

"Thanks to you, I nearly died." Nigel said, "Jellyfish venom. What kind of a cheap trick was that?"

"Aw, I'm sorry, Nigel," Merrick groaned, "Next time, I'll kill you quickly so you won't be so uncomfortable."

"Hmph." Nigel stared a deathly gaze over the merman, "You think you're funny, don't ya?" He said as he suddenly grabbed Merrick's neck, "You think you're SO hilarious, don't ya???" Merrick gagged slightly as Nigel pressed his fingers around his throat, "Well I hope ya got a good laugh!" He let go of Merrick a little too soon, remembering to compose himself.

"You know, I overlooked that little stunt you pulled with Keith because he provoked you. And I even was kind enough to ignore your little session in the Wreck Room when I was out the other day." Nigel seethed, "And then you try to kill me?"

"That is the penalty for doing what you've done to me." Merrick growled, "If you would have just let me go, I wouldn't have given you another thought."

"Hmph, yeah well," There came some light footsteps, "Now you've gone and made things worse for yourself."

"What?"

"Hello again, Merrick." Came a calm, poisonous tone. Merrick gasped as he turned his head, and saw Dr Kaiser right next to him.

"No, not you!"

"On behalf of the entire Agency of Oceanic Research," Kaiser smiled under his paper mask, "I thank you for your most generous donation..."

"What? What are you talking about???" Merrick struggled in his bonds.

"The lab is out of samples, Merrick," Nigel explained, "They need more. A LOT more."

"What... No..." Merrick shook his head, "No!"

"This is the penalty for doing what you did to me, Merrick." Nigel said, "And once you're done here, you can spend another warm night in the heat cell."

"NOO!!" The merman flailed on the table, "Stop this now! JUST LET ME GO!!"

"Dr Kaiser," Nigel said as he straightened out, "Get any and everything you need off of him to get some results. Just keep alive and MOSTLY in one piece."

"I'll contain my excitement..." Kaiser said as he pulled a tray of shiny, very sharp tools to him. He looked to the terrified merman as he picked up a scalpel, "And unfortunately, Nigel has forbid me from using any aesthetics. The faster we get this done-"

"LET ME GO!!!" Merrick shrieked as Nigel walked out the door, "LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER! LET ME GO OR I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

~~~

Erin walks towards the lab with some folders – he had sent in a request to have a door-window repaired, and she needs his signature to authorize it. She spots Nigel coming her way, along with hearing some yelling, "Oh, Nigel, I-" She gasped as she saw his face heavily bandaged, "Oh my God, Nigel! What happened to you??"

"Oh this?" Nigel felt his gauze, "Just Merrick's idea of a little prank."

"Nigel, what does that mean-" She jumped as she heard a loud screech from the lab, which was hushed just as suddenly. "What was that?!"

"Just being fussy. Now, do you have the order forms to repair the door?"

"Nigel, what is going on?!" Erin said.

"The lab needs more samples, and Merrick is just a crybaby."

"What?!" Erin looked to the door, and gasped, "You mean they're dissecting him?!"

"Not yet." Nigel said, "But he's REALLY pushing his luck now."

"Nigel, you can't do this!!" Erin exclaimed, "He's a living being, he has rights-"

"Rights?!" Nigel yelled. He grabbed Erin's shoulder firmly. She grunted in pain as his grip pushed to the point of breaking, spraining, or dislocating her shoulder if she made the wrong move. He forced her back and pinned Erin against the wall. Getting right up to her face, he seethed with rage.

"IT is not a human, Miss Conally! IT is a fish! IT is an undiscovered fish! IT does not know its place! I am at my wits end with IT, so I am doing as I see fit to get my answers! And I am in a VERY foul mood, so if you want to keep your job, your life, and all that is dear to you, I highly suggest you don't even THINK about lecturing me on how to run my Agency!"

Nigel let her go, and stormed down the hall. Shaking head to foot, Erin threw the folders to the floor, and went to the doors. She pushed at the heavy lab doors, but alas found them locked. "No..." She banged on the doors as the scientists crowed around the merman. "Open the door! LET ME IN!!" Erin fought the doors for several minutes, but they would not open. "HEEEYY! STOP!!!" She cried out, "LISTEN TO ME!!"

None of them would even look at the door. Erin sobbed as she watched the white tailfin cringe and tense. "Gawwd..." She sniffled and put her forehead against the door's window, "I'm sorry, Merrick..." She cried as she can still distinctly make out the muffled screams of the merman, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." She cried as she stood helpless to stop the scientists around the merman.