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It was his nightmare come true. That was the only thing Lance could comprehend as his mate and their son were literally ripped away from him.
He never swam faster or harder in his life as he did in that moment, reaching out for Keith and Orion only to lose them, completely, to the humans above. One arm was outstretched, the other gripping Kass tightly.
So tightly that, when he finally registered he might be hurting her and looked down, he saw his knuckles were bloodless. Kass looked frightened, eyes wide with tears lining her lower lashes. Her own face matched the color of his knuckles and she felt cold in his arm.
<Dad…> she whispered, eyes locked on where Keith and Orion had last been.
Lance pulled in a deep breath, chest rattling and heart catching. He let go of her, slightly, so that he wasn’t scaring her more with his body language. With both arms he pulled her up so that she could grab him around the neck and hold on.
<Papa, are we going after them?> She asked, face now buried against his neck.
He felt her trembling, though she wasn’t crying. She’d never been one for crying.
Every instinct within Lance told him to go up to the surface and rescue his family. It hurt to even think about doing anything else.
<No, baby, not right now> he told her.
The ache in his chest grew as he swam down, farther and farther from the surface. He needed to get them somewhere safe. He needed to get Kass somewhere safe.
<Why not!>
He just shook his head. Words were escaping him. If he opened his mouth he might start wailing.
<Papa, we have to rescue them!>
Kass only knew a little bit about humans and their dangers. Keith and Lance hadn’t wanted their guppies to know the details, afraid it might scare them, but they had wanted them to know so that they could be safe. She knew that the net meant humans, and that humans meant danger. She didn’t know what kind of danger.
<Papa!> Her voice edged into panic.
<Shhh> he murmured against her, rumbling deep in his chest to try and calm her. To try and calm himself. <Shhh, baby. It’s going to be okay.> He wouldn’t let that be a lie. It would be okay.
Lance was at an impasse: he needed to get Kass somewhere safe, but, if he left, he may never be able to find Keith and Orion again. He might never see his family again. If he left, his family might die. But he knew what Keith would want.
<We’ve got to leave here> he told his daughter. <We’ve got to continue on.>
And every piece of Lance’s heart felt like it was shattering as he took off, continuing the way they had originally planned, heading towards safer waters.
…
Lance had never pushed himself harder. By the time they reached the safer waters his tail felt as if it might fall off. His arms, too, were tense and sore, as he had carried Kass most of the way to make it a quicker trip. He was hungry, having made sure to eat quickly whenever they stopped, and making sure Kass got more food than he did if fishing was hard. He was tired because he only let himself sleep for an hour at a time, travelling as many hours a day as he could.
But they made it. And they found a huge pod of mer’s, all of them banding together to create new lives for themselves. There were plenty of caves to choose from to make a home, but Lance couldn’t do that quite yet.
When they arrived Kass had been asleep in his arms, but at the sounds of a lively pod she awoke. Her eyes were wide with wonder; she had never seen so many mer’s in one place.
Lance spotted a friendly face and practically let out a sob.
<PIDGE> he shouted to get their attention. <PIDGE!>
They saw him and swam over, dragging their brother with them.
<Lance? How are you?>
Obviously not well. The Holt’s took Lance and Kass into their cave—both Pidge and Matt still lived with their parents. Lance told them what had happened. At the end of his story he asked, <Please, watch her. I have to go after them. I have to get them back.> And now he did let out some tears, though he quickly wiped them away.
<Lance, I don’t know if this is a good idea> Matt said.
But Pidge shoved him. <Rest, first. Have something to eat.>
He shook his head; he didn’t have time!
<Yes> they said sternly. <Yes.>
It had been more than a week since Lance had seen either Keith or Orion, but Pidge laid him down to rest and he was out like a light.