Chapter Text
The edges of your view went dark.
Your lungs tightened, your ribs clenched, and your legs buckled.
The small windows in the doors waited patiently for you to use them and observe your friend.
But you couldn’t move.
Everything was too distressing.
The muffled, never-ending beep of the heart monitor is the only noise you can focus on. The voices of the nurses and doctors as well as your own breathing were drowned out by the beep.
A noise that would make anyone grow weak – if it was attached to someone they held close to their heart.
You don’t know how long you stood there for, but you’re pulled out of your frozen state when one of the doctors walked out of the urgent care room. He put a hand on your shoulder.
“We’ve managed to stabilise him… Eclipse is going to be okay…”
You let out a shaky breath, relief flooding you as you couldn’t stop yourself from being overwhelmed with happiness. Tears of sadness becomes ones of joy.
Sunlight did it’s best to filter through the curtains, you don’t know how long it’s been, everything was as blur as you did nothing but sit by Eclipse’s bed. All the noises from the different monitors were lost on you.
A groan escapes your mer friend’s maw as his eyes slowly blinked open, squinting in confusions at the ceiling above him. “Wha…?”
“Eclipse!” You grasped his hand with both of yours. He was alive, it didn’t feel real.
He turned to face you and leaned towards you. You instantly moved closer and rested your foreheads together, getting a small purr of content from him. “You’re going to be okay Eclipse…”
He grumbled with relief, nuzzling against you slightly. “What about Sun? Please tell me you found him…”
You held him closer, giving a squeeze of reassurance. “We are doing everything to track him down…”
Eclipse looked up at you with a determined frown. “Good…” He winced from the wounds around his gills. “… I’ll tear the humans who did this to shreds…”
You scoffed at him. “You should rest first. Can’t turn people into ribbons when you’re bedbound.”
He huffed in return. “Fine…” He brought his hand to your shoulder. “Look at you… always taking care of me. Just like when we were kids…”
You smiled and snarked. “What would you do without me?”
Some nurses entered the room, slowly crowding around Eclipse’s bed. “Apologies. We just need to run some tests and give Eclipse his meds.”
You nodded and moved back to give them space. Eclipse stared at you through the gaps of the nurses surrounding him, weakly smiling at you as the drugs slowly pulled him back into slumber.
You were sat at the table by Eclipse’s bed, tapping away at your laptop and doing some less demanding work for P.A.M.A.
Eclipse was sat up and chewing on some small fish that he was given, trying not to overwhelm his stomach with lots of food.
A knock on the door caused both of your heads to snap to it. “Yes?” You called. To your surprise, the Glamrock team entered the room.
“Surprise!” Chica exclaimed as she strolled into the room, holding a gift basket. The other three followed in after her.
You closed you laptop and stood up, getting quickly pulled into a hug by Chica. “Hey, you guys! What are you doing here?”
“We’ve come to check on you, dummy.” Roxy remarked with a smirk.
Chica put the gift basket down on the table and opened it. “We all pitched in and got you two some things!”
Eclipse stared at them all with awe, a small smile on his face, leaning forward to look at the basket. “Wow… you didn’t have to do this…”
Monty huffed gruffly. “Yes we did.” He then jabbed a finger into your shoulder. “This one is glued to you and won’t let themself leave unless their bladder is about to burst.”
“What?! Don’t be dramatic, Monty!” You sputtered, knowing he was telling the truth, but you refused to admit it.
Eclipse chuckled. “Yeah, tell me about it.”
“Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side!” You pouted, getting a laugh from everyone.
Freddy stepped in and pulled out a small bag of baked cookies. “Bonnie and Gregory send their regards.” He handed you the bag before pulling out a bag of sliced fish. “And this is for you, Eclipse.”
His eyes widened as he accepted the bag and opened it, the smell of raw fish hitting his nostrils. “Ah! Eel! One of my favourites. Don’t tell the nurses I’m having extra snacks…” He teased before turning the bag upside down and dumping the whole lot into his mouth.
You chuckled at his antics before turning to Freddy. “Your family is too kind, tell them I say thanks.”
Freddy smiled. “I will, they’re always happy to help.”
You were about to open your bag when Roxy snatched and held it above you, out of reach. “Roxy, the hell?!”
“Nuh, uh. You’re not getting these until you give those legs of yours a stretch!” She tossed the cookies to Monty and grabbed your arm, Chica looped one of her arms around your free one. “We’re taking you outside.”
You tried to pull away. “Come on-”
“You’re not the one stuck in bed, sweetie.” Chica chimed in.
“Yeah. Leaving fish boi over here for five minutes won’t kill you…” Monty snarked.
You groaned and sighed dramatically. “Okay, okay. Fine!” You let Roxy and Chica lead you outside while Freddy and Monty stayed with Eclipse, who was waving you goodbye.
You carried Sun and Moon through the corridors of the base, heading for the infirmary to get them checked out. Moon was clenching your shoulders as he buried his face into the top of your head. “Hey… are alright up there?”
Moon just hissed slightly in response. Sun warbled a little, getting a grumble from the blue mer. “He doesn’t like the light much, hurts his eyes.” Sun explained to you.
You nodded and hugged Sun a little closer. “Okay... we can turn off some of the lights when you two get looked at.”
As you passed the doors that led to Eclipse’s room, you paused. Sun and Moon both reacted, Sun staring at the door while Moon flinched and hissed, eyes squinted from still not being adjusted to the lights.
Sun tugged at your arm and looked up at you. “You okay?”
You snapped your head back down to him. “Yeah… just worried about Eclipse-”
“Eclipse is here?!” Sun squealed, instantly trying to free himself from your arms to go and see him. “Is he okay?!”
“Woah, Sun! Take it easy, please!” You did you best not to drop him before he calmed down.
“Can I see him? Please?!” Sun stared at you with his puppy eyes. Damnit, you can’t resist those eyes.
You groaned slightly, knowing that the two needed to be looked at, make sure there was not health issues. One of the doctors approached you, overhearing the conversation. “You can take them to go and see him. It will probably be easier to treat them if Eclipse can keep them grounded.”
You nodded and Sun squealed with joy, his tail wagging like mad. Moon just leaned over your head at Sun, looking extremely confused by his behaviour. You chuckled and carried them to Eclipse’s room.
As you entered through the doors, Eclipse sat up, happy there was something to distract him from staring at the ceiling. His eyes lit up when they locked with Sun’s. “Sun!”
The second you got close enough, Sun leaped from your arms, to Eclipse’s. Who happily coddled the small mer. “Eclipse! You’re okay!”
Eclipse purred and closed his eyes. “Of course I am, Sunbeam.” He then took notice of the lack of Sun’s head fin and grasped his head. “Sun! What did those monsters do to you?!”
Sun’s frills flattened and he looked away. Eclipse gently pulled him into a hug. “Don’t worry. It will grow back.”
Sun shook his head. “No… it won’t. It hasn’t for a while now…”
Eclipse gently squeezed Sun and held him closer, on the edge of growling but restrained himself to not spook Sun. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you…”
Sun nuzzled into Eclipse’s chest. “It’s okay, brother.”
Moon just stared at the two, taking in the wholesome sight. He felt a little left out and whined a little, hiding his face behind your head so only his eyes were visible.
Eclipse looked up at Moon and went silent, his eyes slowly drifted down to you. “Eclipse. This is Moon… another one of the mers we found during the raid. He and Sun grew close through… everything…”
Eclipse’s face softened as he moved to cradle Sun in one arm, reaching the other out towards you and Moon. Moon lifted his head and stared at Eclipse’s hand, his pupils locked onto his claws. He slowly moved himself to your shoulder, wrapping his tail around your neck not to fall. He leaned forward hesitantly as he clicked at Eclipse.
Eclipse crooned in response as Sun chirped at Moon, both smiling at him. You moved closer so Moon could slip off you and onto the bed. He was startled by the softness of the sheets before he curled on Eclipse’s tail.
“He’s rather spooked…” Eclipse mentioned casually, gently rubbing Moon’s back, under his dorsal fin. Moon originally stiffened at the touch before relaxing.
You nodded. “Yeah, he tried to tear my arm apart at first. But I can’t blame him.”
Your comment got a small smirk from Eclipse. “Neither can I.”
The doctors slowly entered the room, causing Moon to snap back to reality and hiss deeply, arching his back. Eclipse just scooped him up and held him in the air, causing Moon to dangle, blinking in confusion before snarling at Eclipse. He just growled softly in response, probably a mix of light scolding and gentle reassurance.
You stepped back and let the doctors carefully look over Sun and Moon while Eclipse kept the two calm.
You stopped the engine of your boat and carefully dropped the anchor over the side. You decided to wear your diving uniform despite not working at the moment. It was easier than having your own swim suit, and the mers in the area would know you’re friendly.
You slung on your equipment, making sure everything was secure before sliding off the boat and into the sea. You could feel the warm water surround you before swimming off in the direction of Eclipse’s cave. The mers in the area seemed more lively than ever, some darting around as they hunted for their lunch while others were relaxing and cleaning each other, waving at you as you swam past.
A smile grew on your face as you got closer and closer to the familiar rocky area of the reef. It was much quieter than the main area with all the corals. The second that you turned around, a red and yellow blur slammed into your chest, small arms wrapped around you best they could as Sun thrilled and nuzzled into you. You happily hugged him back, laughing at his playful antics, you were glad you could do this again. That his joy wasn’t taken from him despite everything that happened.
Moon slowly swam out from behind the rocks Sun was hiding by to jump you, he cautiously approached before looking up at you. You smiled down at him. “Hey, Moon… you feeling okay?”
His pupils dilated slightly at your question, but he huffed. “Yeah, fine…” Despite trying to keep his guard up around you. He couldn’t deny the fact that you were different, that he was started to like you. Learning why you were friends with Sun and Eclipse.
He swam towards your hand and brushed his back against it like a cat wanting attention. You rubbed his back before he decided enough was enough and swam off again.
Sun followed him and you did too, entering the cave. Eclipse was curled up in the back of the cave, not pushing it as he was still recovering. The two young mers swam up to him and clicked at him.
He groaned and opened his eyes, rolling over. He grumbled at them, causing the two to chuckle before Sun spoke up. “We have a friend over.”
Eclipse bolted upright, turning to lock eyes with you, his signature smile plastering his face. “Tch. Took you long enough.”
You rolled your eyes, he was always the sassy one. “Oh, shut it. Do you have any idea how long it takes to check my diving equipment?”
Eclipse chuckled and swam over to you, the scars across his body from the poacher attack becoming visible as he got closer to the light. “You and your excuses.” He teased, poking at your wetsuit.
You playfully pushed his hand away, laughing along with him, Sun and Moon soon joining in. “Come on, lazy fins. I bet you’re hungry.”
“Yeah, maybe just a bit…” He quietly admitted, causing Sun to dart out of the cave.
“Whoever catches the last amount of fish for lunch has to clean the barnacles inside the cave!”
Moon quickly darted after him. “Hey, no fair! You can’t have a headstart!”
Eclipse and you followed soon afterwards. “Come on, guys! I don’t have claws or fins like you!” You complained.
Eclipse smirked and swam past you, sneaking in a cheeky flick of his tail fin into your face. “I maybe injured, but I have more experience than the three of you combined!”
You watched as the three swam off into the never ending waters, fading from view. As they got further and further away, you started to gain a sinking feeling. Like you couldn’t catch up, no matter how hard you tried, they would slip away. “Hey! Wait up!”
You reached out, trying to get back to them, but none of them could hear you…
Everything started going dark…
You couldn’t lose them again…
You sat up in your bed, sweating and beathing heavily. You put a hand on your chest and felt your heart’s powerful pumps as it attacked your ribcage.
You didn’t notice there was anything else around you until you felt a small scaled hand touch your palm as you covered your heart. Your mind snapped back from reality as you finally realised that Sun and Moon were looking at you, Sun’s frills drooping as he stared at you with wide blue eyes. Moon’s face was creased with worry, frowning slightly as he shifted closer.
“It’s okay.” Sun crawled over and curled up against you. “You’re awake now.” You felt your body relax from its rigid state and let out a heavy sigh.
You placed a hand on Sun’s back and rubbed it. “Yeah… it was just a bad dream…” You smiled down at him as he used your words of comfort whenever he had a nightmare back at you.
Moon curled up next to Sun on your lap and leaned his head against you. “You wanna talk about it?” These two, sweet little mers.
You made a small noise of hesitation before nodding. “… It was about Eclipse…”
Sun’s frills perked up at the familiar name as his head snapped to yours, looking at you with a soft pity. He whined a little before patting your arm.
Your face twisted with regret, despite how sweet it was for him to be comforting you. It felt wrong. They were the ones that were kidnapped and abused for profit. You were just sat around, mourning your friend while waiting ages for any information to help rescue them. “I- I should’ve done more. I should’ve gotten to Eclipse sooner. I should’ve gotten to you two sooner! I should’ve-”
“No!” Moon snapped, his small hands grabbing your cheeks as he frowned at you. Everyone froze for a second before he softened and sighed. “… It’s not your fault.” He moved one hand under your eye and wiping away some tears. “That’s what you keep telling us when we’re upset. Whenever I berate myself for not doing more to look after Sun…”
Sun joined in, cleaning your other cheek. “Whenever I feel guilty for not trying harder to escape when Eclipse was attacked. Or when I gave up when we were stuck…” Sun added on, the hurt in both their eyes as they brought up their own emotions was there. But their determination to cheer you up overpowered it.
You chuffed and looked down, smiling weakly. “You guys…” you sniffed. “You’re both very cheeky for using my words against me…” You joked, just barely croaking out a chuckle.
Sun smiled at you while Moon smirked before the two collectively pushed you over to live back down in your bed, causing you to laugh. They both giggled along with you before snuggling up either side of you.
“Well, we learned from the best.” Sun rested his head against your shoulder as he curled into your side.
You smiled and looked up at the ceiling, still feeling the longing to see your friend again. Wishing he never left.
But the fact that Sun and Moon were safe was a balm on that wound. And you will continue to keep them safe until they are old enough to fend for themselves out in the open sea.
And you’re going to keep doing your best at the P.A.M.A. to make sure no mer has to suffer like that again.