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Puffy was furious when she came out of her office. Phil had seen her go in- something about an urgent phone call?
Doesn’t matter now that she’s storming around ordering an aquatic pick up ASAP.
That was fairly normal with APs- ocean life getting stuck on land not being able to breath is reason enough to rush- but this time it was a different kind of rush. Her strides are not quick because she’s panicked but because her stomps move her faster.
Puffy, Phil, Wilbur, Eret were leading the rescue. Fundy, Ranboo, and Tubbo were some of the interns coming. Jack drove the truck while Niki headed to the center and prepared the new tank once she got the word while Kristin continued with caring for the other creatures.
Puffy had explained the urgency once they were set up in the truck.
Apparently there were some ‘well meaning’ civilians who thought keeping a baby mer in their filtered pool was a good idea.
Good must mean stupid, idiotic even.
By the time they got to the residence the owners were outside trying to prove their innocence to the police.
The crew went forward while the criminals yelled at them to stop. Puffy stopped to talk to the police before guiding them to the back.
“They say that the mer is in the backyard, they haven’t gone near but he seems young but they’re not sure. Keep your head and proceed with caution.”
She always talked like that whenever something was about to get bad, Phil mused.
The poor thing was hidden behind some leaf net when they got to the pool.
He was small. Well. He was bigger than a normal human but very small for a mer. The dorsal fin implied that he should be around Ranboo’s age and Wilbur’s height. He was smaller than Tubbo.
They loaded him into the truck with little issue. The poor thing looked too sickly and scared to do anything.
They put some chemicals in the water, making him fall asleep hoping that it would cause less stress to the poor boy.
Phil took the time to observe the mer. He had golden hair and a dark tail.
That wasn’t right. Baby mers have bright colors on the back of their tails so their parents could easily find them. The babies would swim with their back to their parent’s chest so the predators couldn’t see them but the parent would still know that they’re there.
But because the small mer didn’t have a parent it’s instincts must have forced him to lose his color years too early. Hopefully once he’s situated in a tank some of the color will come back.
Shit. They couldn’t find him.
Jack swears that he had put the tiny new mer into the tank in room T133 but when the crew arrived that morning they found it empty.
The facility isn’t very big so they had searched all the empty rooms. Leaving the few with occupants in them.
They check the dolphins and whales first. When Niki had confirmed that the golden haired mer was not in sight, the panic set in.
They only had one other mer being kept, due to an extreme injury leaving him unable to survive in the wild. It also left him untrusting and slightly aggressive to some of the staff.
Only Phil and Wilbur could approach the mer after a lot of prompting and bribes.
If the mer thought Tommy was trying to claim his territory…
They suited up the duo to check on the whale shark mer they dubbed Techno.
Technoblade was large, one of the largest mers that any of the Crew had ever seen. The Mer came in at 15 feet long, with teeth as long as Phil’s hand.
Tommy was the size of a baby to him. But no size is too small for territorial instincts.
Wilbur had pushed the button to let Techno know they were coming down. The button was connected to a light that was set up in the opening of Techno’s cave which could be seen from his den.
The two humans double checked their gear before going in.
The swim down to the den was long, Techno normally coming to greet them as soon as they got part way down. The longer they swam the worse the looming feeling got.
The father and son had only been allowed into the den once before. A heavily medicated Technoblade high off his instincts ushered the two into his den, curling around them until their suits started to run low.
Now, though, they slowly made their way down alone.
The light Wil had hit was still glowing, odd as Techno normally turned it off on his swim up to greet them. But now they were almost grateful for it as they were able to navigate the cave.
They went through one of the tunnels which lead into a hollowed out room with kelp and coral littering the floor.
The room was lined in gold, something that the researchers noted had always calmed Techno. It was unknown if it was a mer thing or just a Techno thing.
And there in the center was Techno himself. He was curled up on his side and had yet to face Wilbur and Phil.
A rumbling noise could be heard. The volume decreased slightly as the massive creature shifted to sense the air around him.
Whatever he sensed made the noise come back tenfold. He shifted to Phil and Wilbur quickly herding them close to him, pressed up to some seaweed Techno cradled in his left arm.
The seaweed itself was almost as big and Phil and Wilbur were. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary. Techno had a thick layer of kelp along the floor with seaweed tangled together forming a pillow-like item.
Looking around, the two realized that the cave looked different from how it did in the early days, when the security camera was still in use.
Techno was the first mer to be placed in the rehab center, making the Crew curious. They had set up cameras in the tank, allowing them to see the habits of the rarest sea creature.
They had learned of his intelligence when he noticed the cameras overlooking his home. They learned of his anger to outsiders when they found the disconnected camera floating in the water the next day.
They had noticed that once they had their impromptu cuddle session, the floor had been padded more. Soft seaweed had been weaved together with sticks forming a cradle for the makeshift pod.
This time, however, Techno continued to hold the bundle. One giant hand spread across the top half of it while the other fussed over Wilbur’s hair caging in both of the divers.
The low noise gave way to soft scolding, clearly the beast wasn’t pleased with the state of Wilbur’s curls.
If Phil had to guess, the low noise was sort of like a purr. It was rare but it would make sense.
Somewhere between the soft noises the bundle made a soft coo, making both of the men freeze. Immediately the deep purr returns along with clicks.
Techno brought the duo closer to him, almost perched on his shoulder before retracting his arm to gently cradle the bundle.
He shifted the seaweed and it gave way to a familiar face. Nestled deep in the blanket was Tommy.
If they could, the humans would have let out a sigh of relief.
Techno slowly released the young mer from his silky prison and allowed him to look around.
Once he noticed the intruders a tiny growl built up in his chest, slowly swimming his way to them. Techno watched on with pride.
Once the baby got a few feet away Techno swept him up in his arms and made a few noises at him. The baby fussed a little before curling into his chest with a pout.
Techno suddenly moved and swept the divers next to the child and laid down.
It was a bit awkward with the purring that started back up in both of the mers. Phil opened his com and took a picture of the four of them and sent it to Puffy, confirming that all was calm beneath the weaves.
They had a day's worth of oxygen left so with a nod from Phil the two of them slowly drifted to sleep.