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Chapter Text

“I’m shit at fishing and everyone knows it. Don’t make me go.” Michael argued, folding his arms over his chest. Harry rolled his eyes.
“Bull. You just want to stay home and play video games all day.” Harry said. The two of them stood inside their shared garage, next to the massive boat Harry had just bought. (“But look at it! It’s top of the line!” Harry had said when Michael had questioned him. Harry had failed to recognise the fact that the boat cost them nearly half their vacation money. He was, after all, a bit of a compulsive buyer.)

“So what if I want to play video games. Video games are fun. Fishing? Fishing stinks.” Michael said. “Literally.”
“Well yeah, but, we would like, spend time together on the ocean, watch the sun go down, just you and I. That’s pretty romantic, don’t you think?” Harry asked with a smirk. He knew he’d won Michael over. It wasn’t that hard to do. Michael weighed his options. Romantic date with Harry Styles, or sitting alone in his pyjamas while his boyfriend went fishing by himself, in the cold, all alone...
“Whatever, you dork. Let me go get ponchos, I’m in no mood to be accidentally soaked.” Michael said, turning back and entering the house. He wasn’t letting Harry win. He was just, uh, sick of being alone. Yeah, that’s it. He just wanted some company. Heh.

Harry and Michael had been dating for a while. And, while Michael might deny it from time to time, they were pretty serious about it. Harry was special, under all his button-up shirts and fake hipster façade. It took Michael a while, but he wasn’t afraid to admit that he loved the guy.

“Back so soon?” Harry joked, and Michael tossed the poncho at his boyfriend.
“Let’s go now so we’re not in open ocean when sun falls. Drowning isn’t exactly my idea of a perfect evening.” Michael said. Harry smiled, and began to attach the boat to the back of his truck. He slid into the driver’s seat as Michael sat shotgun.

Half an hour later, the car was parked and their motorboat was started in the past the center of the sandbar. They were out in open ocean, just the two of them. “I told you that I’m shit at this.” Michael insisted. His line was caught to something, and he wasn’t sure what it was. He suspected a boot or a can of some sort.
“Michael, babe. You’re doing fine. Just hold the rod, just like this…” Harry said, putting his arms around Michael.

“Okay. Great. I’m holding the rod. Perhaps I should win an award for that.” Michael said sarcastically. Harry chuckled.
“Well it takes more that that, goofball. You pull the line back, like this.” Harry said, tugging the line back further. It became unstuck from whatever was attached earlier.
“Yeah, alright. Now what?” Michael said. His patience was growing thin. Fishing really wasn’t his thing.
“Now you’ve just got to flick your wrist. Ready? Okay, on the count of three. One, two... “ Harry said, counting down.
“Three!” Michael called, flipping the line forward. It fell into the water, only inches from the boat.
“Maybe I could have explained that better.” Harry said. Michael shrugged.

“Wait- hold on. I think there’s something on my line.” Michael said.
“I don’t know, Mike, fish don’t usually swim that close to the boat.” Harry said quietly, eyeing the water curiously.
“Well it happened in Nemo, so who’s to say it doesn’t happen in real life?” Michael said. “Now help me out, I have no idea how to do this.”

Just as Harry leaned to help Michael out, however, there was a loud thud. The line fell slack in Michael’s hands. Michael sighed, muttering curses under his breath.
“Um, Mike? Do you hear that?” Harry asked, looking around. Michael looked up, removing his focus from his loss. The waves pushed rhythmically upon the boat, but no other sound was heard.

“Hear what? Harry, what do you hear?” Michael said. It seemed everything was quiet. And then, Michael heard it.

A voice chimed through the water, echoing against the walls of the boat. It was a male’s voice, silky, soft, and low in pitch. Harry blinked heavily, and Michael eyed him warily. “Harry, you getting tired, babe?” Michael said. Harry didn’t respond, just faced the ocean. That’s when he began leaning towards the water. “Haz? Um, Harry, what are you doing? You do know that’s dangerous.” Michael said, but it was as if Harry didn’t hear him. Harry continued to lean towards the ocean. “Harry? Harry, what the fuck!”

The boat lost its balance, lurching both boys into the water. It splashed loudly, and Michael took a deep breath. He felt himself fall under the water, a cool feeling stretching over his body. Michael opened his eyes suddenly, looking around the colorless stretch of ocean. He tried to swim up, but felt his head collide with the boat. His vision blurred, and he attempted to swim around the boat, to surface for air. He saw Harry float by. Michael blinked hard, focusing, as the blurriness wore off as quickly as it had arrived.

That’s when he saw it. A near translucent hand, reaching up and snatching Harry’s wrist. Michael grabbed Harry's other wrist in response, and tried to pull the curly haired boy free. Almost instantly, a gut wrenching scream replaced the eerie music. Michael, surprised, looked to find the source. There, gripping onto Harry with unnatural force, was a creature of beauty. Blonde hair flopping in his face, chest toned and mighty. The creature was screaming, pulling Harry towards him. His skin was switching from translucent to opaque rapidly, and he seemed to want nothing more than to keep Harry. The creature was beautiful, and Michael was not tempted by this. He knew that in order to save his boyfriend, in order to stay alive, and in order to get away, he needed to free Harry. He tugged, fighting the water around him.

Michael’s legs began to tingle. He credited it to the lack of oxygen.

The air he once held was escaping. No matter how much he tried to fight it, his lungs were screaming. Michael teetered on the verge of consciousness, pulling weakly on Harry’s arm. I need to save him, he thought, mind growing numb. I need to… I need to…

Chapter Text

“I swear, there is no way killing can be right. Homo sapiens might be a little underdeveloped, but that should not mean we can slaughter and eat them, like some kind of… savage.” A voice called, and Michael felt himself awaking slowly. Fortunately enough, he’d seen enough horror movies to know that when a person is captured, they should always keep their eyes closed and eavesdrop. Nothing could go wrong. Well, except that one time when the main character gave herself away by not snoring loud enough-

“Zayn, we have been over this. We need food to survive.” A second voice said back. The second person sounded almost… weary.
“Uh, no. You need food to survive. Unless you happened to forget, I get energy from starlight. I am no savage.” The voice, Zayn, said. Michael laced the pieces together. These… these creatures eat people. Humans. They eat them.

“Whoa, ho! Looks like Zaynie boy has decided his new insult of the week- to call us savages. What’s it gonna be next week, huh? Maybe it will be neanderthals again- I liked that one. Or perhaps it will be monster, or beast. Hell, maybe he will start calling us straight up murderers!” A higher pitched voice exclaimed. “That would be great. Real great.”

“Louis, you know the rules. No fights at the dinner table.” The weary voice responded.
“I was not talking to you, Lou.” Zayn repeated.
“That does not matter. You were insulting my friends, including my partner, for something they cannot change. I am not down with that. Grow up, Zayn, and stop being such a bitch.” Louis said.

“Enough!” The weary voice boomed, and the voices grew silent.

“Liam, it is okay.” A fourth voice said.

“I know, Calum, but it must be stopped, or they will go at it all night.” Liam said. At that moment, as Michael lay, pretending to be asleep, everything went wrong.
“Um, Liam? Why does the other one have a tail?” Another unidentified voice called. There was audible shifting, and footsteps closed in, closer and closer. Michael felt concern growing. Were they talking about him?
“Damn, Ashton, he does!” yet another voice added, this one Irish. There were so many voices in the room; Michael had stopped keeping count.

“Niall, cursing has been prohibited. Keep this in mind.” The weary voice, Liam, said, and there was obvious stuttering from the Irish boy.
“Right. No swearing. Yeah. Got ya.” he said.
“Wake him up. Considering the shift, he is probably a Taurus. Our Teach could really use one of them.” Liam said, and Michael felt a finger prod into his ribs, and pretended to wake up.

“Hmm?” Michael asked casually, as if he had an idea of what was going on. Of course, he didn’t at all, but they didn’t need to know that.
“What is your Zodiac sign?” one of the creatures asked. Had it not been for the fact that he was just kidnapped by cannibals, he probably would have laughed.
“Well that’s a little forward.” Michael said, eyeing the nearest being up and down. What he saw nearly made him choke on his own breath. These people had tails. Long, multicolored fish-looking flesh hung from their hips down, and not a single one of them wore a shirt. The tails fanned out at the bottom, where feet should be.

“We understand. However, it is of supreme import that you tell us immediately,” one said. Michael could tell from the voice that he was Liam.

“Right. Scorpio, thanks for asking.” Michael said. His eyes were fixated on the tails of these people-fish, seemingly levitating in midair. When he glanced back up at their semi-human looking faces, he noticed the distress. He’d gone and done something wrong.

“Only Taureans can shift into humans. Scorpios should only be able to live in dark areas. Light would scald them, and I scarce think of their chances on ground.” one of them said.
“You yourself are an outlier, Calum, do not doubt the circumstances.” another creature said, one with a shimmery blue tail. When the creature flicked it, Michael noticed it turned invisible.

“Perhaps we have angered him- I mean, we did just murder his partner. Who you ate, I would like to remind you.” the one who must have been Zayn said. His tail was lighting up, and seemed to be covered in little bugs.
“Wait. Hold up. Ate? My Partner?” Michael said. There’s no way they could have… the simply can’t have-

“Oh, there you go. Murderer. I figured it would come sooner or later, I was just hoping later.” a high pitched voiced echoed. This must be Louis. He had a very similar tail to Zayn’s. Michael looked from creature to creature, and the myths from his childhood came to the front of his mind. Thoughts of sirens and seashells, flounder and Ariel...

“Y-you’re…” Michael stuttered out, and the crowd looked to him. “You’re mermaids! Cannibal mermaids!”

“Mermaids? Did you just say mermaids?” Louis asked, his tone mocking. “He just called us mermaids!” At that pronouncement, the entire crowd burst out in giggles and chuckles. Michael narrowed his eyes, confused. This wasn’t funny.

“Mermaids do not exist, you lunatic.” The Irish one, Niall said, grinning.
“Then what the hell are you?” Michael said.
“Oh, we are mermen. Much more plausible.” the outlier one, Calum, said. His tail was a sunny orange, much different from the rest.

“And, I mean, judging from the look of you, you should know what mermen are. Just look at you.” The other guy with the see-through tail said. Michael bit his lip, confused at what the man had said. He glimpsed down. Immediately, he wished he hadn’t.

In place of his two pale legs, a long black tail extended from his hips to his toes. From there, it extended into a dark fan, small daggers lining his sides.

“I’m dreaming. It’s the only answer. I have to be dreaming.” Michael said, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ll wake up in my bed, next to Harry, and everything will be fine.” He opened one eye, as to test it out, but only saw the entire group staring back at him.

“What is a bed?” The one translucent tail asked, squinting his eyes.
“Why do you keep stringing your words together? I’ll, can’t, don’t. They are two words, use them as such.” Liam said. Michael rolled his eyes. This was not happening.
“What the hell is a Harry?” The Irish one asked, and Michael jolted up.

“Where is he? Where’s Harry?” Michael said.
“Um.” Louis said, trailing off.
“They ate him.” Zayn said cooly.

It seemed to Michael like the world stopped spinning. “Surely you can’t mean…” He stuttered, glancing at the faces of the mermen around him. The one called Calum shrugged. The partially translucent one disappeared completely. Zayn shook his head empathetically. Michael felt his face go hot. “How do you do this? You fucking killed him, you monsters!” Michael shouted, trying to stand up. Upon realisation that his legs were completely missing, he fell off the table where he had laid. A snicker was heard above him, and he glared up, anger boiling.

“Told you ‘monsters’ was coming. Mind you, I would have assumed it would be Zayn, but.” Louis said, smirking. Michael snarled.
“You act so casually,” Michael shouted, causing the translucent one to flash opaque again. “about him being dead! There is a person dead! Dead!” Michael repeated, running his hands through his hair. He sat up straight then, looking around the room. His movements were sudden, and a similar thought occurred to him. He must still be sleeping- there was no other answer. “What am I thinking? There’s no way this is real. Hell.” He murmured, shaking his head.

“I apologise greatly, but this is no fallacy.” Liam said, extending a hand to Michael. Michael accepted it, and Liam pulled him up. “I am Liam. This building we call The Teach. Let me introduce you to everyone.”

Michael shrugged, pulling himself back to sit on the table. Standing was proving more difficult. If I’m going to sit through a long-ass dream, I might as well try to remember some of it, he thought, gesturing for Liam to go on.

“On my right is my partner, Louis,” Liam said. Louis winked overdramatically, linking arms with Liam. “followed by Zayn.” Zayn waved halfheartedly, smiling. “On my left is Zayn’s partner, Niall.” The Irish one, Niall as he was called, grinned.
“Hi. Sorry for eating your friend.” Niall said. Michael cocked an eyebrow. He didn’t exactly sound sorry.

“Following Niall is Calum. He is an outlier, just as you are.” Calum waved. “Following Calum is Luke.” The one who was invisible earlier blinked, and showed no acknowledgement of Michael whatsoever. “He… does not speak much.” Liam added.

“And last but not least,” Liam continued, “Ashton.” The last boy Michael recognised. His floppy hair, muscular build- he was the one who dragged Harry under. It was his fault.

“Hiya, Michael. It is really nice to meet you.” Ashton said, holding out a hand to shake. Michael looked down at it, and then averted his gaze.
“Wish I could say the same.” Michael said. Ashton lowered his hand lamely.
“Right. Well, anyways, off to your chambers, the lot of you. We will deal with this predicament later. Ashton, Calum, show Michael to the spare room. Keep your, um, position in mind.” Liam said. Calum nodded, as did Ashton. The majority of the group dispersed, leaving Calum, Ashton, and Michael alone in the kitchen.

“What does he mean by ‘keep your position in mind’?” Michael had asked, as soon as Liam had gone.
“Oh, um, we’re the only partnerless mermen in our Teach.” Ashton explained, shrugging.
“So you’re telling me he’s trying to play matchmaker, huh?” Michael said. Once again he felt his temper rise.
“In a manner of speaking, yes, I suppose. Each merman must have a suitable heir to their Teach-” Calum began to say, but Michael cut him off.

“Okay, what’s a Teach and why does everyone keep using that word? The big leader guy said it was a building, but you don’t need an heir to a building, that doesn’t even make sense.” Michael said. He looked between Calum and Ashton, suspicion growing. “Are you two lying to me?”
“Nope. We do not particularly like lying all that much. You know, being ‘honest creatures’ and all that garbage.” Ashton said. Calum flinched at the word garbage, but Ashton didn’t seem to notice.

“But seriously. The Teach?” Michael repeated.
“A Teach is a group of mermen who share a living quarters. An ideal Teach is two of each Chinese Zodiac symbol, totalling twenty-four members. Our Teach consists of seven currently.” Calum said.
“Eight if you count yourself.” Ashton butted in, and Calum drew a tight smile.

“How the hell do you even get a heir?” Michael said. Ashton put a hand to his chest as Calum cocked an eyebrow.
“Do you need us to explain the reproduction system?” Calum said. Michael took a deep breath, shaking his head rapidly.
“I’d really rather you not.” he said.
“As I figured. You are aware of the different types of mermen and their Zodiac meanings, I presume?” Calum said.
“Um,” Michael started, “You see, about that.”

“You have no clue.” Ashton said, smirking.
“I've lived with people my whole life- do you really expect me to wake up one day and just know everything about a world no one thought existed? I mean, fuck. This is really weird.” Michael said, shaking his head. “I can’t even stand! How am I supposed to memorize this chart your Team seemingly lives by?” Michael said. His patience was wearing thin.
“Teach.” Calum corrected.
“You fucking ate my boyfriend!” Michael screamed in reply.

“Hey, look. I will take you to the chambers, and we can talk a little bit about the charter in the morning. Does that sound good?” Ashton asked. Michael sighed, shrugging.
“Whatever.”
“Right then. Good night, Cal, see you soon.” Ashton replied, waving Calum off. Calum grimaced, but left the two alone.

“We did not prepare a spare chambers, we were not really expecting company, so, uh, you might have to share with me. Sorry.” Ashton said, leading Michael by the arm. Michael would have fought this, but considering the fact that he still couldn't walk - or, well, swim, - that seemed like a very bad idea.

“The Irish one said that you don’t know what a bed is.” Michael said, realization dawning. “How the hell do you sleep if you don’t know what a bed is?”
“Like all mermen sleep, we just sort of…” Ashton trailed off, tilting his head back.
“You mean you just sleep standing up. Great. Sounds comfortable.” Michael grumbled, rubbing a hand against his neck. “Oh my god what the hell.” Michael sputtered out,pulling his hand away from his neck. Instead of the smooth, sometimes stubbly skin that usually resided there, a set of gills protruded from the sides of his throat. “What the actual shit.” Michael said.

Ashton looked over, nodding. “Ah, I guess you were not born with those, so this must be a little weird. Well, I mean, everything here must be a little weird.” Ashton said. His words didn’t offer any comfort for Michael.

Ashton’s chambers were the first room on the right. He propped open the door, which basically was a large slab of rock. “Mi casa es su casa.” Ashton said, moving into the room. It was about the size of Michael’s childhood bedroom- and that was to say, small.
“Uh, thanks.” Michael said. There was no furniture in the room. No set of drawers, no wardrobe, no desk, not even a bed resided in the room.

“Hold on. Before we go to sleep, I have one quick question.” Ashton said, floating to the floor. He put his head in his hands, grinning cheekily. “What’s the outside like?”
“Oh god, I’m stuck with Ariel.” Michael moaned, falling to the floor. He wasn’t quite as graceful as Ashton yet, and he managed to land in some sort of funky heap.
“Ariel? Who is he?” Ashton asked, grinning.
“She. Nevermind. You know, this shouldn’t even matter, It’s probably just a dream.”
“That is another thing you do, you string your words together. Why do you do that?” Ashton said. He seemed honestly curious, which surprised Michael. This dream was really fucked.

“Contractions. They get you through words quicker.” Michael said.
“Hmm. So, like, I could say ‘they’re’ instead of ‘they were’?” Ashton said, and Michael frowned.
“No, they’re should be for like, they are.” Michael corrected. “And can we go to sleep? The sooner I wake up, the sooner I’ll be back in Harry’s arms.”
“I’ll. Does that mean I will or isle?” Ashton asked, raising his eyebrows.
“I will.” Michael said, leaning back to lie on the floor. His body floated centimeters off the ground, refusing to sink.
“Right. I’ll. They’re. It’s. Got it.” Ashton said, pulling his arms behind his head. “G’night, Michael. It was fun meeting you.” Ashton said, grinning sheepishly.
“Uh, sure.” Michael said, rolling to face the other way.

Chapter Text

It took Michael a full five seconds to realize where he was. The light blue taint to the room, the sturdy rock door, the mud caked walls. He was still here. He never left.

“Morning, moonshine. Would you like any kelp? Zayn said you might be opposed to meat, so I opted out of that.” Ashton said, offering a plate of some green vegetable to Michael. Michael lazily rubbed his eyes, sitting up clumsily.
“Uh, no thanks, I’m not hungry.” Michael said. He didn’t care about food right now. He needed to get out.

“Alright, suit yourself.” Ashton said, taking a bite of the kelp. It crunched in a way that made Michael uncomfortable. “Anyway, I thought we would talk a little about the charter today. You know, teach you the rules of The Teach.”
“I don’t wanna learn your stupid mermaid rules.” Michael grumbled, and Ashton shot him a glare.
“You calling me a mermaid is like me calling you a centaur. It is just not… I dunno, it is just not.” Ashton said, shaking his head darkly. All comedy had drained from his voice.
“Gotcha.” Michael said, not picking up on Ashton’s sudden sullenness.

“Gotcha. Does that mean, like, get you?” Ashton said.
“Uh, it means, like, I understand. Sorta.”
“Sorta? Sort of, right? And then it’s is it is?”
“Yep.” Michael said. He was growing sick of this quickly.
“Sorta, gotcha, it’s, they’re, and… what was the other one? Oh, I’ll.” Ashton said, pride seeping through. Michael didn’t care.

“I should be speaking of merman charter, though, that is what I was sent to do.” Ashton changed the subject. Pulling a list out of - where did he pull that out of? - Ashton read down the zodiacs, explaining each one.

“So you are a Scorpio, right?” Ashton said, and Michael nodded. “Scorpios usually have the job of Nightcrawler, which is really kind of important. The only reason our Teach has survived this far without one is that Luke’s a stellar hunter. Anyway, the Nightcrawlers are responsible for finding food. And by food, yes, I mean other mermen. Wait, wait! Do not fuss!” Ashton called, noticing Michael’s signs of distress. Michael was curled into some weird shape, staring at Ashton.
“You want me to kill other mermen? That’s not okay, dude! That's murder!” Michael shouted, shaking his head rapidly.
“You sound like Zayn. Anyways, it’s like that one scientist guy said. Survival of the fittest.” Ashton added, and Michael felt like he was going to be sick. He certainly wasn’t the fittest.

“So you have to kill mermen. Not only does this get us food, it eliminates competition from other Teaches. There is some pretty fierce rivalries going on, and taking out others, especially in their sleep, is really a good way to be taken seriously.” Ashton explained. Michael shook his head again.
“There’s no way, no way in hell. I’m not doing that.” Michael argued.
“Eat.” Ashton said, veering the conversation once again to the plate of kelp. “You get cranky when you’re hungry.”

“Maybe I’ll just kill you, maybe that will go easier.” Michael muttered, picking up the plant from the plate. It looked disgusting.

“Whatever. You are probably wondering why everyone was so surprised that you were not a Taurus. The Taurus does not really have a job, but will shift from human to merman and back at the call of another merman. That’s what you did, so we all thought you would be a Taurus. We were wrong, obviously. You must be an outlier.” Ashton said. Michael bit down on the plant finally, the texture gliding over his tongue. As wrong as it felt, it didn’t taste as bad as he would have expected.

“Cal’s an outlier, too. He’s an Aquarius, but has the traits of an Aries. That’s not really all that rare, which is weird, considering that Aries and Aquarius are polar opposites. Arieses are usually found in warm places, while Aquarians are almost always in freezing ones. Calum’s job is to train new members of the Teach. And um, please do not tell him this…” Ashton trailed off, as if expecting Calum to jump out, catching him in some sort of act. “but he’s not very good at it.” He whispered, leaning in. Michael nodded. “That is why I am here, speaking to you instead. The Teach probably has him gathering some sort of small fish or something.”

“So let me get this straight. Scorpios are creepy, Tauruses can shapeshift, Aquarians are cold, Arises are warm, and I’m an outlier? I think I’m following, thought I’m not really sure.” Michael said, taking another bite of the kelp.
“Does I’m mean I am?” Ashton said, tilting his head.
“Yeah.”
“Then yeah, you are following fine.” Ashton said, a grin spreading across his face.

“And you and the other guy, why can you go invisible?” Michael asked, looking down at Ashton’s tail.
“I’m getting to that, be patient.” Ashton said, rolling his eyes overdramatically. He smiled in a way like he was trying to hide it, but couldn’t. It was… odd. In a good way.

“Luke and I are Cancers. This gives us the ability to like, melt into the background, so to speak. No one can see us, but we are not truly invisible. Like, Luke and I can see each other pretty clearly. It’s the job of the Cancers of a Teach to gather food when the Libras, Scorpios, Geminis and Sagittarians cannot. We’re the most successful hunters, by far.” Ashton said, seemingly taking pride in this. Michael nodded slowly.

“So it really was you I saw then, when the boat tipped under?” Michael said, averting his gaze.
“Well, uh, yeah.” Ashton said. “That is our job, and we must do whatever it takes to keep ourselves and our Teach alive. There’s no right here, there’s no wrong. Morals become invalid. There’s only survive or die, and I do not want to have to make that choice.” Ashton said sternly.

Michael nodded. He didn’t understand, but he nodded anyways.

“Then there’s the Libras. We have not yet gotten them, but they are the singers of the ocean, the sirens the Ancient Greeks would speak of. Luke’s pretty good at timing a siren song, so that whenever a Libra starts from another Teach, we are always right there to steal the prey. It is admittedly kind of cruel, but. Oh well.” Ashton said. “Oh, the Geminis are cool. They have shark fins, so they look like a shark from the surface, you know? And then, when the people least expect it, bam. They hit.” Michael flinched at this, but Ashton didn’t seem to notice.

“And the last hunter is the Sagittarius. Unlike the rest of the hunters, a Sagittarius will use speed instead of plans when baiting. This can sometimes be reckless, but results are plentiful. As I said, we do not have either a Libra, Gemini, or a Sagittarius, so food is a little scarce.” Ashton said. Michael didn’t know what else to do but keep listening.

“You know, I’m sorry if I’m boring you. This whole spiel is really obnoxious, but it serves a cause, I swear. So you heard about our hunters. The other types are the Leo, Virgo, Capricorn, and Pisces- the sea’s kindest hippies, basically. They are known for general acts of kindness. Virgos, like Niall and Liam, spend the day trying to lure other mermen to join our Teach. They, along with Leos, are really graceful and kind, and very convincing. It was Niall that originally convinced me to join, in fact. I left my own Teach for them, and while I sometimes wonder why, I like my little family.

“Capricorns are the only type of merman that do not eat. Both Louis and Zayn are Capricorns. Since they use photosynthesis, they’re up near the surface all day. If it were not for them warning us, our hunts would never be so frequent.” Ashton said, looking off past Michael. Michael turned around to see what he was looking at, but there was nothing there. Must be reminiscing of past hunts, Michael thought, carelessly ripping people from their homes to the depths of the ocean.

“And of course, the last type is the Pisces. Pisces are the gardeners of the sea, always planting new things and watching out for the small animals that cannot protect themselves. They are really very nice.” Ashton said. There was something in his tone that implied that there was something else there, a story untold.

“So. It’s a system of hunters and gatherers, right? You eat plants and small fish, but also, like… people. Other mermen, and also… people.” Michael trailed off, sighing heavily.
“Yeah, that’s the jist of it.” Ashton said. Michael could tell that he didn’t know when to stop, really. “Just keep in mind that we need food to live, and if people supply it, then that’s just dandy.” Ashton said, a grin on his face.

Michael felt the sinking feeling of a stone in his gut. A thought occurred to him, one that he hadn’t even bothered to think before. What if this isn’t a dream? What if my parents are up there, above the water, reading of how I supposedly died? What if… Michael let the ideas slide across his mind, before muffling them. No. There’s no way. I bet that the reason I’m not awake yet is… I’m in a coma! Yeah, I did hit my head pretty hard, that must be it.

“Michael? You in there?” Ashton asked, waving a hand in front of Michael’s face. Michael jolted up, staring at Ashton.
“Uh, yeah, where else would I be?” Michael said, staring right back. Ashton laughed, smiling at the ground.
“Sorry, I have never dealt with a Scorpio before, I am unaware of their tendencies.” Ashton said.
“My what? Dude, speak English.” Michael said back.
“Uh, I don’t know you yet.” Ashton said, his voice blocky and confused. The contraction fell out of his mouth about as smooth as a handicapped flamingo.

“Right.” Michael said, shaking his head. If he was going to be in this coma for long, he better get used to all the bizarre words these people use.
“And I forgot to tell you, you have your first night on duty as Nightcrawler tonight.” Ashton said, as if this were no big deal.
“Ha, yeah. That’s not happening. I can barely stand, nevermind fight. Get your head outta your ass, mate, this is serious.” Michael said, his tone sarcastic.
“Ass?” Ashton asked. Michael groaned, sliding his forehead into his palm.

Chapter Text

Michael quietly sat at the far end of the breakfast table, with Calum sat on his left and Ashton on his right. Calum, behaving oddly, was glancing everywhere but Michael. Ashton, behaving infinitely odder, was glancing nowhere but Michael. Either way, he was sick of sitting between the two over a breakfast of uncooked seafood.

“So Michael. Welcome to the Teach. I trust that Calum and Ashton educated you well on the charter.” Liam said calmly, and Michael nodded. He knew some of the junk, true, but he didn’t have any idea how to get the hell out of here, the one thing that really mattered to him. He had planned it all out in his head; if he escaped, he would wake up from the coma. There was no other way.

“Well, it was mostly me, considering Calum didn’t want to be bothered to wake this morning.” Ashton said grudgingly.
“Excuse me? You told me that my help would not be needed, that you had it covered!” Calum called back, speaking a little too soon to be anywhere near causal. It was clear, to Michael at least, that this was a touchy subject.
“No, you told me that you were too tired.” Ashton argued, leaning over Michael to speak to Calum.
“No I did not.”
“You did, too!”
“I did not!” Calum protested, leaning over Michael to face Ashton. Michael backed up his chair, standing best he could.

“I’m, uh, gonna go get some fresh air.” Michael said, limping towards the door.
“You do know that we’re underwater, right?” Niall said, speaking over calls of Calum’s ‘I did not’s and Ashton’s ‘you did, too’s.
“Oh.” Michael said, standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“I did not!” Calum argued a final time, before Louis decided that it was enough.

“Oi, you two. Shut up, before shit gets bloody, you hear me?” Louis threatened, glaring at the two of them. Ashton huffed, slouching back onto his chair. Michael could have sworn that he heard him whisper ‘youdidtoo’ a final time under his breath.

“Now, Michael, if you would like to rejoin us, that would be lovely. I apologise for the conflicts of the two, but that is only to be expected during courtship.” Liam said calmly. Calum scoffed, crossing his arms. Michael nodded once again, sliding back into the seat between Ashton and Calum.

“What does he mean by courtship?” Michael whispered to Ashton. As much as he didn’t want to speak to the boy, he couldn’t do this alone. Ashton double checked to make sure Liam nor Calum was looking.

“He’s trying to hook you up, preferably with one of us.” Ashton whispered back, grabbing another piece of shrimp from the table. Considering that Michael would never eat another human, the Teach offered a seafood meal as a compromise. This would be great, if everything wasn’t completely raw.

“What?” Michael asked, not even bothering to whisper. “You’re trying to hook me up?”
“Michael, it is no big deal, he does it to everyone-”

“No, you know what? It is a big deal. Up until yesterday, I was in a long, serious relationship. Up until yesterday, I had my future, my career, planned out entirely for me. My life was great. I go on a single boating trip and all that’s gone. My boyfriend, Harry? He’s dead. He was eaten, probably bloodied, pained, by the very people sitting before me. And now you’re trying to hook me up. This is gee jolly good and all, but I just have one question.” Michael said, anger boiling. “Did he scream? When you killed him, I mean? Did he cry? What the hell is wrong with you people, is what I’d like to know.” Michael’s voice had escalated to a shout.

The air around the table was very quiet after that. Luke grabbed another shrimp, watching the conversation unfold calmly.

“He did not scream.” Zayn said, looking up to look Michael in the eye. “They put him down humanely, I watched them myself. I might be against their way of doing things, but at the end of the day, at least they refuse to torture.” Michael took a deep breath, tugging slightly at his hair.

“You know what? I don’t think I’m hungry.” Michael said, standing up once more. This time he wasn’t so lucky. Slipping off his chair, Michael felt himself fall to the floor.

“You need any help?” Ashton asked, and Michael felt like screaming.

“I just want to go home.” Michael said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut. The stone ground smelled salty, grimy, disgusting, and most unfortunately, back-breakingly realistic. “Please take me home.”
Liam and the others shared a look. Michael looked up, pulling himself onto his back.
“Michael, we have done some digging on the information of your type- Scorpios born into the above, growing to live in the below at the call of the Siren’s song. And, um, Michael, I regret to inform you…” Liam said, swallowing audibly. “The effects are irreversible.”

Michael took a deep breath yet again, finding no courage left. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t not go back on land, where his family lived, where Harry lived, where he should of lived. He wanted to go there so bad. If what Liam was saying is true, then he couldn’t. He could never return.

Chapter Text

Michael gripped weakly at the sword in his right hand, focus drifting. “Michael, prepare for a parry!” Calum shouted, swinging his trident in Michael’s direction. Michael blocked somewhat half-heartedly, and Calum pulled back, staring at him curiously. “What is wrong? You seem distant.”
“You’ve got that right, pal.” Michael mumbled. He rubbed at his eyes warily, exhaustion sinking into every fiber of his being. He and Calum had spent the day preparing for his duties at night- swimming, defending, and much to Michael’s dismay, preparing for killing. He didn’t want to be like these people, he wanted to be normal. But, as he was slowly starting to notice, there was no way in hell that was going to happen.

“Well, Michael, you need to focus on the prize if you want to remain in the Teach. For all I know, Liam might throw you out overnight, and we all know what happens to the Teachless at night.” Calum said, staring ominously at Michael.
“Dude. You say ‘we all’ like you mean it, and yet I have no idea what the fuck you’re even talking about.” Michael said. This seemed to be something Calum did often- assume the best of people, oftentimes overestimating.

“You are robbed, pillaged, and killed, after which to be eaten.” Calum said, before adding creepily, “Unless they opt to eat you alive.”
“What is wrong with you guys?” Michael said, shaking his head.
“More than you could even imagine.” Calum said. With that, a shiver ran down Michael's spine. He looked out passed the grounds of the Teach and into the areas westward. Dark ocean blended with light in a way that Michael would have usually found beautiful - but, in fear of the upcoming night, it seemed far from it.

“Hey, Mike! Cal!” Michael heard Ashton call, and he pivoted to see the boy.
“What.” Calum said, not even bothering to ask it as a question.
“No need to sound so happy.” Ashton said, moving steadily closer. “Michael, I would like to talk to you when Calum’s done, if that is okay.”
“Um, sure.” Michael said, twiddling the makeshift fencing sword between his fingers.
“Great! You two have a good time then, and let me know when you are done.” Ashton said, waving as he left.

“You are so lucky. You just joined the Teach, and you are already being courted.” Calum murmured, grimacing. “Lunge.” Michael dodged Calum’s lunge in the last second, responding with a quick passata-sotto.

“You are getting good at this, Clifford.” Calum said, a small smile fading over his cheeks. Michael smiled halfheartedly back, not caring all that much. Hell, there wasn’t much he cared about right now, anyways. “We might put you out to hunt tonight, test your worth.” Calum added. Michael’s smile slipped.
“You mean you want me hunting? Tonight?” Michael said, stunned. Everything was rushing so fast.
“Yeah, why not? You are already better than me, clearly.” Calum said. There was an underlying tone of bitterness there.
“Calum, I’m not ready. I just learned to walk - swim, whatever - today. This is ridiculous.” Michael said. And he was right, it was ridiculous. There was no way Calum expected him to actually hunt and not die, right? Was Calum trying to trap him?

“You are ready.” Calum said, nodding. His eyes were squinted.
“Yeah, whatever. I’m gonna go talk to Ashton.” Michael responded. He was suspicious of Calum, something he wouldn’t expect. Michael left in a huff, stumbling over nothing. No matter what he did, he felt like he would always be bad at swimming.

“Mikey, you’re already done?” Ashton said, a sloppy grin falling over his face. Michael liked Ashton the most of the Teach, but that didn’t mean he was oblivious to the way the guy looked at him. It was almost as he was looking at the stars, or a bouquet of flowers. Complete and utter bliss. It was a shame that Michael didn’t - couldn’t - feel the same way.

“Yeah, Calum says I’m ready for hunting tonight already. I sure as hell don’t feel ready, but I guess that doesn’t matter.” Michael murmured.
“You’ll do fine.” Ashton said. “Is that the proper use? You’ll?”
“Uh, yeah.” Michael said, not really paying attention. “But like, how do I find people to… hunt? How do I decide when I can take a person? Cause if it was up to me, no one would be dead.” Michael said, but Ashton didn’t seem to be listening quite well, either. He kept mouthing the word “you’ll” silently, trying to sound it out.

“Ashton. Ashton.” Michael repeated, trying to get the other boy’s attention.
“Yes?” he said, zoning back in.
“Why did you want to talk to me, anyways? Got any advice?”
“Right. I actually wanted to ask you about your meltdown at breakfast. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and I wanted to ask you…” Ashton trailed off, ducking his head down.
“Ash, you can ask me anything.” Michael said, growing impatient. Despite what he said, he really didn’t feel like talking about the meltdown. He didn’t want to be pitied.

“Okay. I wanted to ask you about the world above. I have never been there, obviously, but I wanted to know some about it. The counter actions, for instance-”
“Contractions, actually.”
“Yeah, contractions. I would not have known about them if it were not for you.” Ashton said. Michael smiled.
“Weren’t.”
“Hmm?”
“Were not. It means weren’t.” Michael said.
“Thank you.” Ashton said back, a sound of sensitivity in his voice. This meant more to him then Michael would have thought.

“So you want to know what life was like, right?” Michael asked, cracking a tight smile.
“Yeah. Like, who was in your teach? What jobs did Scorpios do?” Ashton asked, sitting gracefully on the ground. Michael sat next to him, this time managing to sit without falling.

“Wow, okay. Well, we don’t actually have Teaches.” Michael said, and chuckled at the aghast look that came over Ashton’s face. “Yeah! That’s why I find this system a little weird- it’s so different. Anyways, we do have houses, which are buildings where people live. I lived in a small house with my, um.” Michael said, his voice trailing off.
“With your Harry?” Ashton asked quietly. Michael was grateful for his carefulness, to say the least.
“Yeah. With my Harry.” Michael said. “But there’s other things. Like, I was an intern at a college, I was going to become a music teacher. Ever since I was little I wanted to be a rock star, but I guess that didn’t happen.” Michael said.
“A rock star? What on Earth is that?” Ashton asked. “I mean, I would think a rock and a starfish, but I’m willing to bet that that is incorrect.”

“Er, yeah. It’s a person who sings for a living.”
“Like a Libra? Is that what you mean?” Ashton said, leaning closer in curiosity.
“Sorta, I guess. Rock stars don’t commonly lure people to their deaths, though. I mean, there was Sid Vicious, but I’m not so sure about that-”
“Sid who?”
“Nevermind. I wanted to be a rock star, and I was an unpaid intern instead. People get to pick their jobs up there, within, like, guidelines.” Michael said, and Ashton cocked an eyebrow.
“Really? That sounds chaotic.” Ashton said,
“It can be, sometimes. Not always.” Michael said. “Harry was a bartender, and that’s actually how we met.” Michael said, glancing to the ground. “It’s weird to think he was here just the other day. I mean, things were so much easier, and now I’m a fucking mermaid.” Michael stood up sharply, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Uh, you’re a um, you’re a merman-”
“I don’t care, Ashton! I don’t care how your twisted dystopian Teach thing works, that you don’t care who dies and when. All I wanted was some peace, some sanity, and now that’s dead. It died with my happiness, with my boyfriend.”

“Mike, you can pity yourself all you want, but it won’t change what is going on. You need to focus. Hell, you could die tonight. I’m going to give everything I have to prevent that. If that list includes me hitting you with a hard dose of reality, then so be it.” Ashton said, that dominate tone returning. Michael reopened his eyes, sending the boy a glare.
“Whatever, man. I don’t even care.” Michael said.

“Well you should. I do. I care about you. I’m not going to let you remain so hopeless. Michael, you are one of the best people I have ever met, and you will do perfectly. Worrying is pointless.” Ashton said. He rested a hand on Michael’s shoulders, and Michael shrunk back to the ground.

“Okay.” Michael said simply. It seemed like arguing was pointless, too.
“Now come on, tell me more about life above.” Ashton said. At this point, Michael began to think that Ashton was just itching for a conversation change.
“Why don’t you tell me about life down here, before I came?” Michael said. He was curious about stuff, true, but he really just didn’t feel like talking right then.

Ashton shifted in his seat, something about the question making him uncomfortable. “Nah, what you have to say is cooler.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not.” Michael said. Ashton sent him a glance, then, so filled with vulnerability that Michael knew not to pry. “Okay, I’ll talk more about me. Anything you want to know?”
“Yeah. How was your childhood? Like, were your dads nice, did you have any brothers?” Ashton said, his voice a little shaky.

“About that. Um, I had a mom. Like, I know you don’t have mermaids, you don’t have to say it again, but a lot of people on land have one mom and one dad. Like, the mom is a girl.” Michael said.
“Wait wait wait. How does that even work? I thought only two men could reproduce.” Ashton said.
“Yeah, it’s not like that at all. I mean, there are guy/guy couples, and some girl/girl couples, but they can’t, you know, have children. That’s- I don’t know. That’s how it works up there. I just really don’t understand what’s going on here most of the time. You don’t have fire, no electricity, you manage to reproduce without legs, and have gills. It takes a lot to adapt to.” Michael said.

“Alright, what the hell are fire and electri- what was it you said? Electricsee or something?” Ashton said, cocking an eyebrow. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“No, not lying,” Michael said, “not even exaggerating. I’m just telling it as it is.”

And so Michael continued to tell Ashton of the wonders of the land above, describing everything from fire to marshmallows to mountains to electricity. (“Wait. You mean that you can spend hours staring at a rock in your fist and never get bored?” “Phones have games, Ashton. Games.”) In doing so, Michael explained his whole life story. Ashton had grown to know Michael. But to Michael, Ashton was still a mystery.

Chapter Text

They were all curled around the dinner table, a plate of crabs in the center. Everyone was sat in the same positions as they were before. Maybe they have some sort of seating chart, Michael thought, biting into a grab. He grimaced at the taste.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you get this table, anyways? There’s like, no other furniture in the whole place but this wooden table.” Michael said, breaking the silence. Everyone looked up at him, and he smiled awkwardly.
“We removed it from a sunken vessel.” Liam said.
“A sunken what?” Michael asked.
“A boat, Mikey.” Ashton said, reaching out to grab another crab leg.

“Yeah. We have had this table since before even Zayn came, eh, Ash?” Niall said. Ashton nodded. There was something weird with this boy, some fear of talking of his past. Michael would have to look into that later.

“I wonder how many people died at this table.” Zayn said. The whole room’s attention turned towards him.
“Zayn, you know how this works. We need to eat to live.” Louis said.
“Yes, and you have been surviving just fine with crabs and kelp as our food. Why do we not always do this? We are more elegant, more clean, than the beasts we were before.” Zayn said. His tone was solemn, but Louis looked like he was going to explode.
“See? I told you beasts was coming. Zayn, just mellow out on the insults, will you? My partner, hell, your very own partner is sitting right here, knowing that you keep insulting them, and pretending not to care. Do you really think they do not feel anything when they do have to kill? I know for a fact that it tears Liam up inside. If Liam is so upset about it, I worry how Niall will even cope.” Louis said. The tension between the two was thicker than Michael had ever seen it.

“Oh. So just because they are upset means it is okay. Take poor Michael here.” Zayn said, gesturing at Michael. Michael felt himself shrink in his seat. “Michael is a victim of the very system you deem okay. How would you feel if someone above stole Liam from you and dragged him ashore. They would suffocate him, rip out his entrails, and eat him right in front of you. How would that feel, Louis? The boy is no older than nineteen!” Zayn shouted. Michael watched as Louis turned completely red in the face.

“Excuse me? How dare you speak of my partner like that. He is well and protected here, and no one can change that. Additionally, we work at the call of a different siren. The Libra would call even if we were eating peasant seafood daily, and they would eat the person either way. It does not matter, Zayn.” Louis said.

“Yes, we do work at another siren’s call, but then the siren must call again to get more people to eat. They kill more if we kill more. Our society is crumbling to pieces, and we are the only ones to blame.” Zayn said. Michael glanced around, and noticed that everyone was paying close attention to the argument. Every fight Zayn and Louis had had before never drew attention- was there a reason this one did?

“You know, Zayn, no one’s asking you to stay. You could go join a group of hippies who munch on grass and float around all day, that’s fine by me. Just stop this whole superiority thing you have got going on- it is annoying as all hell.” Louis spat.

“Well, guys, I do not think leaving is the answer…” Niall trailed off, looking from Zayn to Louis.
“You know what? Maybe you are right for fucking once. Maybe I should leave,” Zayn said, standing up with a halt.
“Did you not hear a word he just said?” Calum said. The worry in his voice was a little more than obvious. Michael bit his lip, looking at this situation. Perhaps this would be a problem after all.

Zayn stood up with a jolt, and the table shook slightly. Niall reached out, grabbing hold of Zayn’s hand. “Zayn. Please,” Niall pleaded. Zayn shot him a glare, shaking Niall loose.
“Zayn, you can not go. You simply cannot!” Calum called, watching as Zayn began to leave. “Zayn!”
“Leave him. He does not care about us- all he cares about is those people,” Louis said.

Michael felt like he was going to be sick.

“Oh my god. I cannot believe he just did that. How are we going to get food? Louis will be alone in open ocean, he could be killed. They will not be able to tell us when people are coming. We will starve and we will die,” Calum said.
“Cal, it is okay. I am sure he will return. He is just throwing another tantrum, surely,” Liam said, but his face gave him away. There was no way he was coming back.

“I don’t know, I think it’s his choice. I mean, I left my teach when I was sixteen. He’s been stuck here for quite the while.” Ashton said.
“See? He is doing it, too. The whole, word scramble-y, speaking too quickly thing.” Calum said. Michael put a hand on Calum’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, Calum. Calm down.” Michael said. Calum heaved a sigh, and Michael removed his hand. Calum freaking out was something he’d never seen before, and he surely wanted it to stop.

Niall wasn’t moving. His eyes were straight ahead, looking at the wall across from him. “Ni? You okay?” Louis asked, but Niall didn’t respond. Things weren’t looking so good for their little group today. Things weren’t looking so good at all.

Chapter Text

Michael grimaced down at his black spike covered tail, not willing to admit how scared he actually was. Tonight was his first night alone in the deep ocean. Tonight was his first night as a Nightcrawler.

“You will be fine.” Ashton encouraged.
“Will I though?” Michael said.
“Of course you will. You are way better than me at like, everything regarding this shit and I have been here my whole life.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. I’ve been here a whopping two days and I’m expected to just get out there, good luck. It’s stupid.” Michael grumbled.
“Okay. Complain if you want to, but I know Tauruses who have basically got into water and immediately started hunting.” Ashton said, ruffling Michael’s hair. “Just remember, manipulative liars are going to share these waters with you.”
“What? Manipulative- why didn’t you tell me this before?” Michael asked. Ashton just smiled.
“You’ll do fine.”

And that’s how Michael found himself swimming alone in pitch black ocean. “Damn. Didn’t think it would be this dark,” he said to no one in particular. “I should’ve asked Ashton how long I’d have to be here.” Michael moved his hands around, trying to feel around for something, anything. “How the hell am I supposed to find anything? It’s darker than Hot Topic in here,” he muttered.

With a sigh, he set his arms down by his sides. He’d told Ashton that he wasn’t ready. Ashton didn’t listen, of course. Michael ran a hand through his hair. To be fair, Ashton had grown up doing this- perhaps he never knew what it was like to hunt alone for the first time. Perhaps he always had someone there, guiding him along.

Michael became resolute, at that point. He wasn’t going to kill anyone, not tonight. Not when he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, couldn’t swim in a straight line, couldn’t hear another person for what seemed like miles.

And there he sat, for over an hour, staring into black space and thinking. Thinking about how wild this has all become. Thinking.

“Hey. You lost?” a voice with a clear American accent called. Michael jerked his head up, scanning his eyes across the water. It only just occurred to him that there’s a chance of not only him killing, but also him being killed. “Don’t wanna hurt you or anything, just wondering if you need any help,” the voice said. Michael narrowed his eyes. The guy was speaking with contractions.

“Uh, this is kinda my territory, so it’d be cool if you back off. I guess,” Michael said, trying to sound as tough as he could while screaming internally.
“Yeah, I get you. You just look a little… stranded, I guess. You need a light?” the voice asked. Michael weighed his options.
“Uh, that’d be cool, yeah.”

A flashlight went on, illuminating the guy’s face. He had slicked brown hair, and tattoos covered his arms. The way he held the flashlight, under his chin, made the whole thing rather eerie. “Hey. I’m Zack, by the way. I know you might have been wondering.”
“Okay, but how are you using a flashlight underwater? That doesn’t even make sense.” Michael was growing more confused, as well as more freaked out, by the second.
“You’re new here, aren’t you? I bought a waterproof one up top, and it works pretty great. I do need to restock on batteries soon, but you know how that is,” Zack said.
“Wait. Up top? You’ve been up top?”

“Yeah, I have. So have you,” Zack said, grinning.
“How did you kn-”
“The contractions. The fact that you didn’t question what batteries are. The way you look so lost. You’re a Scorpio, right?” Zack said.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Well, I’m a Taurus, and I’ve met other Scorpios in your shoes. Lemme guess- you want to return home, but your Teach is saying that you can’t,” Zack said. When Michael’s eyebrows lowered, Zack nodded. “You’re not the first to be lied to. There is a cure, and my Teach has known about it for quite the while. If you join, we could make it so you can go back home whenever you want,” Zack said.

“Oh.” Michael murmured.
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure they’re lying to me? I mean, they seem pretty trustworthy and-”
“Is your Teach lead by a Virgo with a nearly shaved head, and has two bickering Capricorns that won’t shut up?” Zack asked.
“Well, the one left, but… how did you know that?” Michael asked back.
“I’ve been screwed over by them at least four times. I don’t quite know why, but they seem to have a thing against my Teach. It’s only Rian, Alex, Jack, and I, so I we’re kinda small. Easy targets, I guess.” Zack shrugged, and Michael sighed.

“Do you really think they’re lying to me? I dunno why, but I, like, trusted them,” Michael stuttered out.
“I get it. But I know them well enough to know that they won’t stop until they’re powerful enough to take down most of the Teaches around. C’mon, there’s a boulder over there. We could sit down and talk a little, if you want.”

So they sat. Michael listened to Zack’s stories of his Teach, and Zack happily listened to Michael. Michael learned that Zack’s Teach was made up by two Sagittariuses, Rian and Alex, a Gemini, Jack, and him, a Taurus. Jack was sort of their leader, like Liam was to Michael’s group. Rian and Alex were stellar hunters, working with speed and sincerity instead of force and brutality. Even though he’d never met them, Michael felt like he was growing to like Zack’s Teach, and sort of starting to dislike his own.

As the sun rose, Michael realised that he’d spent all night with Zack, just swapping stories of their lives both above and below the ocean. “Well, I’d better be going back. Alex doesn’t like it when people are late for breakfast.” Zack said, swimming off the rock that they were both sitting on. That’s when Michael got a first glimpse of his tail. It was a beautiful shimmering pink, almost looking like quartz. “Oh, uh, yeah. It’s um, it’s pink. Not as cool as your sleek black, but, uh.” Zack murmured, looking down.
“Shut up, it’s super cool. Black’s boring,” Michael said, grinning once again.
“Whatever. See you soon, okay? Keep in touch.” Zack said, swimming in the opposite direction of Michael’s own Teach. That wasn’t the last Michael saw from Zack Merrick- no, it was far from it.

Chapter Text

Michael arrived back at his own Teach in no hurry. He was a little stunned at how kind the Zack was, compared to everyone he’d met so far. Even Ashton didn’t seem as selfless as the other boy, and that's saying something.
“Mikey! You’re home!” Ashton called, racing down the hallway and flinging Michael into a hug. Michael patted the merman’s unclothed back awkwardly.
“Nice to see you too, Ash.”

“Michael. I see you’ve come home empty handed.” Liam said, and Ashton pulled away.
“Yeah. I couldn’t see a thing- it was kinda hard to hunt, nevertheless swim.” Michael said.
“Michael. Use echolocation.” Liam said, his voice heightened as if he was talking to a toddler.
“Echolocation? What, like bats? I can’t do that.” Michael said.
“Have you even tried?” Liam said, his tone still heightened. Michael shook his head. “Well, that answers that question. What did you do all night, sit around and stare into the darkness? Come on, the Teach is waiting for an FR. Follow me.”

Michael followed, nodding. Ashton swam behind Michael. “Any chance you know what FR stands for?” Michael said.
“First Report. Your first hunt with a Teach is documented. Usually recruiters, in our case Niall, record the happenings in a notebook.” Ashton said.
“You have notebooks underwater?” Michael asked. That seemed weird and sort of impossible.
“Sure we do. You have them above water?” Ashton asked.
“Yeah, but we don’t have problems with dissolving paper either.”

The whole Teach was gathered in what seemed to be the den, (well, the whole Teach except for Zayn but, you know,) sitting along the floor. Niall held what looked like a paper notebook, which was oddly not disintegrating. Michael just shook his head. He wasn’t going to question it any further. Niall also had a red ballpoint pen in his left hand, and he was twiddling it with what seemed like lack of motivation.

“So, Mike. How did your hunt go?” Niall said, the usual smile gone from his face. Michael thought he knew why.
“Um, it was okay. Rather uneventful.” Michael said.
“Most FRs are.” Louis claimed. He rolled back from his sitting position and layed down on the floor with a yawn.
“Anyway, I could use a play by play, if you will.” Niall said. Michael nodded, sitting down next to Calum on the floor.

“Okay. So. I basically stood watching the sunset until it was dark, then I sat in the dark contemplating how I’m surviving without balls.” Michael said. That last part was supposed to be a joke, but no one laughed. “Right. Anyways. This guy, Zack, comes up to me in the dark.”
“Zack?” Calum asked suddenly.
“Zack who? Was it Zack Merrick? It is vital you tell me who Zack is.” Ashton said, sitting next to Michael with a thud. Michael cocked an eyebrow. Ashton was usually so graceful- a movement this sharp must mean something.
“Uh, he didn’t say.” Michael said. “Anyways, I was totally scared he was gonna kill me, at first, but he pulled out a flashlight and we sat down and swapped stories. It was a little domestic, but you know, I haven’t really had a chance at domestic in a while now.” Michael said.
“You swapped stories? Stories of what, exactly?” Niall asked.
“Oh, uh, he was a Taurus, and he was telling me about his journeys above land and stuff. That and his Teach."

“Michael. Do you remember who was in his Teach?” Ashton said. The urgency in his voice confused Michael a little bit.
“Yeah. There was only three guys, I think, two Sagittariuses and a Gemini. Rian, Alex, and Mac I think. Or was it Jack? Yeah, it was Jack.” Michael said, shrugging. “There small number makes them a target for bigger groups. Actually, I think he said you guys were after them.”

Michael glanced over at Ashton, and was surprised to see the other boy with clenched teeth, his face gone red. “Ash? You alright?”
“Us? After them? How dare he say that. How dare he.” Ashton said.
“Uh.” Michael stuttered.
“Ashton, it is okay. Calm down. We will find them, before it is too late.” Calum said, smiling small.

“But it is not okay, Calum. They pillaged my family. They killed… they killed him." Ashton said.
“I know. We know, Ash. But please, do not worry. This time, we are prepared. We know they are coming.” Calum said, resting a hand on Ashton’s shoulder. "We will be safe." Michael eyed the two of them, eyebrows knitting together. Were they, like, a thing? He shook his head before glancing around the room. Luke sat in the corner, eyes drifting lazily. Louis was laid down, staring at Calum and Ashton. Liam looked somber, eyes not parting from the ground. It was becoming obvious that Michael was the only one without a clue what was going on.

“Okay guys, I am seriously lost.” Michael said, looking again to Liam. Liam usually knew what was up.
“Long story short, you just set one of the most dangerous Teaches in the Pacific Ocean after us. Short story long, Jack Barakat and his collection of mermen have been hunting weak Teaches for decades now. Ashton's old Teach is a relic of that. After Zack Merrick saw you, alone and helpless, you became a target. They are going to come tonight. They always do. We just need to be ready.” Liam said. Niall nodded stoically.

“Hell yeah we need to be ready,” Ashton spit, standing up. “These barbarians took all I had. They ransacked my family, terrorised us, and killed Oliver. They…” Ashton trailed off with a sigh. “We need to fucking fight. We can’t let this happen again. Never again.”

Chapter Text

The whole Teach had spent the day training in defense, offense, and anything in between. Drills with unlikely odds were ran ten, twenty times in a row, working their way into the group’s long term memory. Ashton looked as if he felt prepared. While this comforted Michael a little, it didn’t keep the seeping feeling from his chest. Someone Ashton was close to, this Oliver guy, died because of Zack and his friends. Michael thought that Zack could be trusted, that he could be, well, an okay partner.

He was so fucking wrong.

Michael stood lookout at the door, Calum by his side. Louis and Niall were on the roof, and Ashton and Luke were waiting by the back. Liam, stood alone in his room, was going to be the bait. Ashton had mapped the whole plan out to the finest detail. The way he did it, though, made Michael think that he’d been planning this ever since the last attack. That was odd to think about.

“Are we supposed to just wait here, or was there some sort of command about going outdoors?” Michael asked, looking out the small window.
“Wait here. Command was that if we heard the codeword from the roof, we would then go outside.” Calum said, leaning against the door.
“What was the codeword again?”
“I think it was ‘attack,’ which is a very Ashton codeword. I would of gone with something a little more conspicuous, but oh well. Not really my call.” Calum said.
“Yeah.” Michael agreed. A silence fell over the two boys as they waited for the call. Nothing came.

“Would you mind if I ask you something personal?” Michael said, turning to Calum. The thought had been bugging him ever since the morning prior.
“Go on.” Calum said.
“Well, I mean, I’m just curious…”
“Out with it.”
“Why aren’t you and Ashton partners?”

Calum turned around, raising an eyebrow at Michael. “We are not partners because we are not compatible. My sign, Aquarius, is most compatible with the signs Aries, Gemini, Libra, and Capricorn.”
“But can’t you just love someone? Why do you operate around this Zodiac calendar so closely? It doesn’t make any sense.” Michael said.
“Yeah, you are telling me.” Calum said.

“But I don’t understand. If you love him, why don’t you just be with him?” Michael said.
“Whoa. Who the hell said I loved the guy?” Calum said, his tone gone bitter.
“Oh. I- oh. You mean…” Michael stuttered out.
“Yes I mean. I, well, did not really plan on telling anyone, but.” Calum said, his voice trailing off. Michael paused, cocking an eyebrow. He didn’t really know where Calum was going with this.

“I think I might… hell. I think I might like girls.” Calum said. He was quick to avert his gaze.

Michael paused. That was hella anticlimactic, he thought. “What? Why is that even an issue?” Michael said. “Loads of guys love girls. No guy is judged for loving girls. That’s actually considered normal.”
“Yeah, maybe where you are from, but look around, Michael! There’s not a girl in sight. And I might try to love a guy, I might try as hard as possible, but it just doesn’t work! And I know I’m not like Luke, I really do like romance and stuff, but just. I just want to be normal. I just wish I could say, yeah. I am completely normal. That is a lie, though, a lie I have been living for years. And when I met her, above water, just living life like nothing mattered, I was smitten. She had a laugh like wind chimes and hair that fell to her shoulders and she was a girl. And that cemented it for me. I like girls. Honestly, I am a little worried that I would get kicked out of the Teach for saying so, but I no longer care. I do not. I am absolutely sick of this torn up feeling I get in my chest whenever I see Liam and Louis flirting, or Zayn and Niall doing that thing with their eyes. They look so fucking happy, Michael. That is all I want,” Calum said. Michael stopped and looked at the boy. He wore a face of distrust, as if he expected Michael to call him disgusting, to break him even further.

“Calum, I. I don’t know what to say,” Michael said. He rubbed a hand down his neck, feeling the rippled gills that used to be skin. A constant reminder.
“Just. Avoid saying anything.” Calum said, returning his gaze to the window.

They spent the last remaining hours of the night like that- Calum staring at the window with Michael right behind him. Michael was a little stunned at Calum’s confession- he had no idea that a species with only one gender could find a way to love another.

The sun rose without noise from the roof. “Maybe they fell asleep.” Calum said, and Michael yawned in response. He had stayed up well over 24 hours, and was planning to sleep the day away. “I would not be surprised.”
“Michael. Calum. Did you guys hear anything?” Ashton called, swimming towards them.
“Not a peep all night,” Calum said, smiling. “That seems like a good thing.”
“Well, I mean, yeah, but we did not get to whoop their asses, which I was really looking forward to,” Ashton said.

“Hold on. Doesn’t that mean that Zack never meant to target our Teach all along? Maybe he just wanted to talk to me,” Michael said.
“Maybe up above people just talk to each other, but not down here. You are either being recruited or being marked for death. There is no in between.” Ashton said.
“That’s horrible.” Michael said.
“Yeah,” Calum said with a sigh. “Yeah, it truly is.”

Chapter Text

It was becoming obvious to everyone that Niall was sad. Like, really sad. He wouldn’t even come to the table to eat anymore, which to Michael seemed like a mandatory thing. He just stayed cooped up in his room, staring blankly at walls and muttering only a word or two. It seemed like Ashton, Calum, and Luke cared the most about this; at least one of them was in his room at all times. Michael didn’t know what to do- he’d only spoke to Niall four or five times, he’s never step foot in the guy’s bedroom… it almost seemed like he wouldn’t be of any comfort at all.

Two days after the not-so-attack, the six remaining mermen sat around the Table, eating silently. They still hadn’t broken their vegetarian diet- maybe the cook was still hoping that Zayn would come back still. Now that he thought about it, Michael wasn’t really certain which of the mermen prepared the food. He knew which signs hunted (Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius, Libra and Scorpio, if he remembers correctly,) which signs recruited (Leo and Virgo) and those which train people (Aries and Aquarius), but who was the cook? Well, Michael thought, the only way to answer a question is to ask it.

“Liam,” Michael said, breaking the silence, “who is it that prepares the food? Like, cooks it and stuff,” Michael said, and the group all turned their eyes on him. He smiled tightly.
“The job of the Pisces is to harvest small food and plants, but also to serve it. Seeing our Teach is lacking, as per usual, Luke most often takes the burden,” Liam said. Luke gave a small nod of recognition.

“You have to try Pisces cooking. I mean, my old Teach, hell they were, were basically all Pisces, and their food? Delicious. I mean, I do not really need to eat, but I still did for their food. And I mean, their defense was awful and they were just generally lazy, but what more can you expect from a Pisces really?” Louis said.
“Pisces are amazing, excuse you,” came a call from Ashton, crossing his arms grumpily.
“Oh, I’m so sorry that your precious little Oliver bit the dust, Ash, but it was what? Five years ago? Hate to break it to you, but you need to move on,” Louis said, rolling his eyes. Michael turned to face Ashton, still curious about his thickly veiled past. So this Oliver guy was a Pisces, huh? Michael thought, before returning his attention to Louis, who was glaring at Ashton. Ashton stood up with a start, and the little table rocked. “I’m not hungry,” he muttered, swimming back to the general direction of his room.

Michael sighed, watching him leave.

“You are absolutely smitten,” Michael heard Calum say. Michael squeezed his eyes shut, turning to face Calum.
“No, I just really want to know him. But, at the same time, I want him to be the one to tell his past to me- I just want his trust,” Michael said, glancing at Calum. Michael hadn't given much thought to the matter, but he knew from the start that trust was important.
“You know what? You really are smitten. And to think I was joking earlier…” Calum said, a grin breaking out over his face. “I’m happy for you two.”
“Calum, shut up,” Michael laughed, grabbing another piece of kelp from the center. He really found himself growing partial to the stuff. In fact, he was growing partial to the whole thing- Calum’s ridiculous sense of humor, Liam’s know-it-all persona, Louis’s blunt nature, Luke’s silence… Ashton. Everything seemed to be looking up. Hell, Michael was starting to think that he could spend the rest of his life with the people across from him. This could really be it. He was happy.

That’s when a scream was heard from the chambers.

Michael stood up with a jolt, his tail not falling out from under him for once. He raced around the corner and towards the bedrooms, and he didn’t have to turn around to tell that the others were right there behind him. “Ashton! Niall!” he shouted down the corridor, before veering into Niall’s room.

Niall’s room was the first room on the left almost identical to Michael’s and Ashton’s, but the door was on the opposite side, and there was a little more space. A silver staff sat on the side wall. Niall himself was tied up in the center of the room to what seemed to be a makeshift chair, rope binding his arms to the armrests, a gag in his mouth. Black and blue bruises coated his skin, and the water around him was red with blood. Ashton was nowhere to be seen.

“Shit. They are here,” Louis swore. Luke moved to untie Niall’s arms. Niall’s eyes went wide, a scream erupting from the back of his throat. Michael stood, his breath increasingly heavy, and slowly turned his head. There, in the doorway they had just emerged from, stood a man with purple gray hair, smiling at the six of them. His tail matched his hair near exactly- it was almost eerie.
“Hi again, boys. Bet you missed me.”

“Alex,” Liam growled, and Michael noted the way his fists clenched.
“Liam! What a pleasure to see you. Last time was… hmm,” Alex said, stroking his chin in fake thought, “I think it was when you tried to kill me. Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Alex, you know that’s the way this goes. We must kill to survive-”
“Oh Liam, I know how this goes. If I did not, you would not be here right now, would you?” he said, a smirk playing on his face.

A gasp was heard from Niall, and Michael turned to see Luke trying to hold the merman. “Calum,” said Luke. “take him and the others and go find Zayn. I can hold him off.” Michael paused- that might have been the first time he heard Luke speak.
“There’s no way I’m leaving you here,” Calum said, his eyes locking with Luke’s.

A moment of silence followed. No one said anything.

“Here. I will take him,” Liam said, sliding Niall from Luke’s arms. “Calum and Luke, I wish you the best.”
“Oh, how cute. You think you can still make it,” Alex said, making his presence known once more. “You are not getting past me.”
“Oh yeah?” Louis said. He grabbed the silver staff, pointing the end at Alex’s face. Michael sighed in realization. How stereotypical was it for a merman to wield a trident?
“Louis, there is no way you are going to use that,” Alex said, his voice still cocky.
“And why not, huh? I have the upper hand here, you fish,” Louis said.
“Oh, simple. You are not fast enough.” As soon as the words slipped from Alex’s mouth, he was across the room, standing behind the chair that previously hosted Niall.

“Go,” Calum whispered, gesturing to the door. It seemed to be all Liam needed. He, and Niall, who still sat badly wounded in his arms, were out the door in an instant. Michael looked both ways. He didn’t want to leave Calum and Luke, and yet, his instinct for survival…
“Louis! Michael! Go!” Calum shouted. Michael watched as Luke flung himself at Alex, punching his face, his chest, his tail- with surprising vigor. Alex had the upper hand though, and kept swimming inexplicably fast, nearly teleporting.
“Come on,” Louis said, linking his arm around Michael’s, “they have made their choice.”

Michael had to be basically dragged from Calum and Luke’s side, Alex still racing around the room, beating them to every punch. “They need our help,” Michael said, tugging from Louis’ grip, but Louis held strong.
“I know,” Louis said through gritted teeth.
“Then why the hell aren’t we helping them?” Michael said, and Louis fell to a stop.
“You really do not get it, do you?” he said, shaking his head.
“I really do not.”
“Michael- there is no way they can take on that Teach. They just sacrificed themselves for us, Michael. Do not let them die in vain.” They continued walking, Louis’ words sinking in. That was the last Michael might ever see Luke and Calum. That was the last Michael might see of Ashton.

It took them less than a day of travelling to find Zayn. As Niall predicted (groggily, and with a bit of struggle,) Zayn was living with Josh Devine, Andy Samuels, Sandy Beales, Jon Shone and Dan Richards from his old Teach. “They are his friends. He usually does not stray far from friends,” Niall said, an undertone of betrayal in his voice.
“Yeah, well. People change, I guess,” Louis said, and they had kept moving.

It was Liam who knocked on the door. A merman with a jet black tail, similar to Michael’s own, opened it, a look of confusion coming across his face when he saw the state of Niall. “Listen, Dan, was it? We really need to speak to Zayn. It’s urgent,” Liam said, and Dan was gone from the door. Moments later he was replaced with Zayn himself.
“Zayn,” Niall said quietly, looking up at him. Michael noticed the way Zayn’s eyes softened at the sound.

“Niall,” Zayn said. Niall smiled up at Zayn, and Zayn just started in awe at the boy in front of him.

“Hate to break up your dramatic get together, boys, but Ni is literally bleeding out. How about you eye fuck or whatever after we get some bandages, okay?” Louis said, pushing past Zayn into the other Teach’s home.
“Yeah, okay, you are welcome into my house, please,” Zayn said sarcastically, but followed Louis anyhow. Michael and Liam followed his lead, Niall in tow.

Chapter Text

“It’s just a minor fracture, but he will not be able to swim for quite a while,” one of Zayn’s friends, Josh, said. Both Teaches were crowded around Niall, unconscious, whose tail was under close examination. “The bones in the lower part of his fin are bent slightly backwards, which might be a permanent handicap on his swimming speed. As he is not a hunter, this should not be the biggest issue, but it still kind of sucks,” Josh said. Liam nodded. He was sitting the closest to Niall’s head, running a hand through the blonde’s hair. Zayn was avoiding looking, but Michael could sense the jealousy. Bruises coated Niall’s pale skin, and Michael shuddered, only imagining what could be happening to the other three members of his Teach.

“We should find them,” he said, and the group looked at him. “It doesn’t feel right leaving them out there alone like that.”
“Michael, we cannot find them if they do not want to be found. They sacrificed themselves for us-” Liam started, but Michael cut him off.
“No, Liam, you don’t get it,” Michael said, frustrated. “They’re still out there, somewhere. I don’t know if they were kidnapped. I don’t know if they were killed. But what I do know is that I care about them. If there’s even the slightest chance that Luke, Calum, and Ashton are still alive, I will keep looking for them. I don’t even care if you’re with me.”
“Fine then, Michael,” Louis said. “Go ahead. Chase them down to the ends of the Earth. You can waste your whole life for all I care. But they are dead. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Michael said. “I think they’re still out there.” With that, Zayn looked up, eyes meeting Michael’s.
“I understand. It is the feeling that you would do anything for a person, trust them with all of your heart. I get it.”

Michael nodded, sliding his eyes shut. “I don’t know how to explain it-”
“Then don’t,” Zayn cut him off. “Follow your heart, Michael. Do not make the same mistakes as I have.”

Michael opened his eyes, looking around the room. He couldn’t stay here. He was going to find them, Ashton, Luke and Calum, whatever it took.

He burst out the door as fast as he could. He left like looking back would change his mind, like turning away would make him return. The water outside the home was colder, but it wasn’t like he could just throw on a jacket, so he kept going. He followed the route back as close as he could remember, retracing his footsteps -er, fin strides?- as fast as he could. He passed Zayn’s Teach, passed the rock where he met Zack, passed where his own boat had gone down only a few months ago.

That’s when he saw it. The little underwater structure that had once been his Teach’s was torn apart, pieces of driftwood floating around and above it. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought a tornado had come through.

“Fuck, Ashton! Luke! Calum!” Michael yelled, moving as fast as he could. The interior of the place was almost as bad as the outside- their table was smashed to pieces, blood covering the left edge. “Shit, fuck,” Michael murmured, pulling himself up the stairs. Claw marks lined the left side walls, and even more blood floated ominously in the water. Michael swallowed hard, trying to trace the stream to its source. Michael’s ears picked up a low groan, and he rushed to the source- Calum’s room. Opening the door slowly, Michael heard someone jump up.

“Who goes there?” a voice called, and Michael tensed up. “Calum? Is that you?” the voice continued. Michael opened the door the rest of the way. The sight he saw made him tense up even further.

Ashton stood wielding the trident, and it was pointed straight at Michael. Michael took a step back, eyes widening. “Oh, thank Poseidon, it’s just you,” Ashton said, lowering the trident. “I thought Rian might be back to take us all,” he said. Michael looked around the room. He looked down, and felt his heart leap in his chest.There, on the ground, Luke lay there, eyes shut and breathing shallowly.
“What the actual hell,” Michael said, kneeling down next to Luke. “What did those freaks do to you guys?”
“They are not freaks, but rather, just like we are,” Ashton said, leaning down to sit next to Michael. “I mean, this Teach has killed already, it’s not like it is an unusual occurrence.”

Michael looked up, realization dawning on him. “Where’s Calum.” It was spoken as more of a desperate statement than a question. Ashton took a deep breath, his eyes sliding shut. Michael took in his appearance. Scratches covered his bare chest, his hair was completely disheveled, and a long, gushing cut covererd his right cheek.

“Calum… Calum, uh,” Ashton said, his voice cracking.
“Ashton. Where is he?” With that, Ashton’s eyes slid open. He looked directly at Michael. Michael could tell that his eyes were glassy and swollen- he must have been crying. The tears, though, were carried away by the ocean.

“Michael,” Ashton said, slow and careful with his words, “Calum’s gone.”

END OF BOOK ONE