Chapter Text
“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! I’m going down! Nav system is NOT working!”
“What’s your checkpoint, Shiro?!”
“Last check over AARC!”
Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane opened his eyes. Water was filling into his little plane at an alarmingly quick and steady pace. Crap. Not good at all. He went for the belt keeping him in place, working at it with his left hand. His right arm had been caught in part of his plane, the impact it made with the ocean crushing in the side and pinning him.
Shit. Even worse. If he could get the buckle undone, which he was almost too panicked to do, how could he get out? He had to try and find a way to free himself. But his arm was caught and he didn’t even think he could twitch his fingers.
Fuck.
And the plane had filled up completely, barely giving the pilot time to take a deep breath to try and prolong his survival. In his state, he felt he had about three minutes to get out
of there before he needed to breathe again… or ultimately end up giving in and letting the dart, salty waters overtake him. He had to be quick.
He was both thankful and concerned that the light was still working in his plane, illuminating the area around him. This let him see the buckle, which he thankfully got undone in about half a minute since holding his breath, as well as his pinned arm. The worst part of being able to see, though, was what was around him. He could hear something that he could explain as a deep, sonance, melodic and ominous at the same time. Was it a creature? Was it just ambiance? No. Shiro couldn’t focus on that; he had to escape, even if his arm was starting to hurt further up.
Shiro was losing his battle. He was struggling to keep his breath held as he pushed past his three minute mark. The lights remained, but he could hardly notice them anymore. It was hard seeing in the water to begin with, the its natural salinity levels made it even harder… but his condition, everything was blurring further.
And then he saw movement. It startled him, but he managed to not give up on his breath holding competition with Fate. The movement seemed to circle him. Quick? No. Massive. It came around again and he saw them illuminated by the lights of his aircraft. Large, round eyes, clearly meant to see in the darkness of the ocean. But this thing… it wasn’t just his off perspective, right? His possible delirious state of being in pain and on the verge of dying in a watery grave? He didn’t know… but he could have sworn this thing that pulled its hands up around his plane was a giant mermaid.
He reached out with his good hand, mentally praying that this creature was real and perhaps sought to be merciful. But it couldn’t be, right? If it was real, logic said it could eat him. But it couldn’t be real… either way, he would die in the end.
-+-+-+-
“Over here!” came a very familiar call. He opened his eyes, seeing through the bleariness the best he could. “I found him! He’s still breathing!” the figure called. He could make out some defining features. Something was familiar about this person. “He’s badly hurt!”
He coughed. Did he survive? What happened? How did…
“Shiro? Shiro, it’s okay, I know it hurts.” The figure looked to him. Yes, this person was definitely someone he knew. “Just try to stay awake. They’re on their way. Just stay awake.”
-+-+-+-
Shiro woke up. He didn’t realize he passed out. He looked around to see himself in a hospital room of sorts. Looking to see a recognizable, framed image, he realized he was at AARC, Atlean Aquatic Research Center. It must have been the closest place to take him for… whatever. He then looked to his side, someone holding his left hand. Keith. A good friend. He was like a little brother to the pilot. Keith had appeared to have fallen asleep there.
Smiling softly, Shiro didn’t want to disturb him. He left his hand in place, letting Keith continue to hold onto it. He then tried to move his right hand, feeling for a button to let the doctor know he was up and would like assistance. Nothing. Not that there wasn’t a button, he didn’t know. He couldn’t feel anything.
Shiro dared to look over to his right. Bandaged up was his shoulder, the arm that was supposed to be connected to it was gone. He looked up when he heard the muffled sound of soft shoes hit tile floor before entering his room. An albino with a Mohawk and intricate, dark tattoos entered. He had been to AARC enough times to know this as Ulaz, the resident doctor. Sure, he was mainly on site for veterinary purposes, but he trained to work with humans, too.
“Hey.” Shiro rasped out, realizing his throat was dry.
“Glad to know you’re awake.” Ulaz said, going to a small fridge in the room and pulling out a pitcher of water. He poured it into a cup and put in a straw before taking it over for Shiro to sip on.
“Thanks.” Shiro said after a few long sips. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“How do you feel?” Ulaz inquired, setting the cup on the bedside table. He brought up a chair and sat down.
“Surprisingly fine, groggy. Hungry.” Shiro admitted. “Must be the pain killers.”
“We had you properly dosed; you’ve been in and out of consciousness for a few days now.” Ulaz explained. “Do you recall what happened?”
“I… I don’t know.” Shiro sighed. “My plane went down… hell if I knew why...”
“Indeed it did; thankfully what could be found was brought back so it could be combed over and see if there were any malfunctions.” Ulaz stated. “You were found not far from it. How you and your plane got to shore, well, hopefully the team can figure it out.” He showed the tablet in his hand, a design for a prosthetic on the screen. “We’re already looking into a new arm for you; due to the damage and time frame, we could not have your original arm reattached.”
Shiro smiled. “Looks like I’ll still get an arm. And months of rehabilitation.” he nodded. “Has… anyone contacted Adam?”
“He flew out the first day to help with the search; he’s in another building helping with the examination of your plane; he’s certain it has nothing to do with pilot error as some have questioned.” he informed. “Kolivan is leading the investigation. Surprisingly there isn’t much missing.”
“You mentioned my arm… it was...”
“Found in the wreckage.” Ulaz nodded. “Shiro, oddly enough, it was removed almost cleanly. And not in a way the wreck should have removed it.”
Shiro closed his eyes, thinking of the crash, his arm pinned. “My arm… it was… it was being crushed in the plane. I couldn’t pull it free.” He did his best to recall the facts. “But something… there was something there. In the water.” He opened his eyes again. “Maybe I was hallucinating. I was in pain… losing oxygen in my lungs… scared.”
“Something?” Ulaz questioned. “What do you think?”
“It was giant… face like a human but not… I can’t tell… even the lights in my ship couldn’t penetrate the darkness that much, right?” Shiro asked. “I had prayed, though, that whatever it was, it would show mercy… but… like I said, I could have been hallucinating.”
“You could have. Or there really was something out there looking out for you.” Ulaz stated. “There are a number of mysteries out there and the ocean is often the most mysterious.”
“So something could be out there?” Shiro asked.
“It’s probable.” Ulaz nodded.
“Nng...” Keith lifted his head. “Huh? Shiro?” He looked over. “Shiro, you’re awake.”
“So are you.” Shiro slipped his hand free and ruffled Keith’s hair. “Hey, buddy.”
“Hey.” Keith smiled. “How you feelin’?”
“Hungry.” Shiro admitted.
“I’ll go fetch some food.” Keith perked up, ready to help.
“Maybe we can walk together to get food. If the doc permits.” Shiro looked to Ulaz.
“Take it easy, you’re still a bit groggy from the meds, but your legs are fine and work.” Ulaz chuckled. “If you need to, use a wheel chair. Your arm should be ready in less than a week, then onto rehabilitation.”
“Hey, as long as I can fly again, one or two arms, I’m good.”
“You crashed and you still wanna fly? Adam’s gonna give you an earful.” Keith sighed, shaking his head. He got up and helped Shiro to his feet, the older man a bit wobbly at first, but soon able to hold his own. “You okay?”
“Just gotta take it slow and easy to start.” Shiro nodded. “But yeah, I’m fine.” He then walked out of the room, looking to see Lance seem to walk past. “Oh, Lance, good… afternoon?”
“Almost.” Lance confirmed. “Glad to see you feeling better and on your feet.” He then walked off.
“Well, he didn’t stay to chat long.” Shiro commented. “That’s odd.”
“Looks like he wants to get somewhere.” Keith admitted as he shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get you fed.” Shiro’s stomach audibly rumbled. “Yup, your stomach agrees.”
“Knowing him, probably to catch some waves.” Shiro chuckled, knowing Lance loved to surf. “My mind agrees with my stomach, food would be great.” He nodded and walked with Keith supporting him, Ulaz slowly moving behind them to keep an eye on the pilot.
