Braids and Waves

Parings: 1x2, 2x1 (eventual!) 3x4

Warnings: General OMC evilness and another cliff hanger!

Notes: When I originally had this story planned it should have finished last chapter but my brain being my brain decided that no, more was needed and so here we are. I think I really might get screamed at here though. Thought you would all appreciate a quick update!

Thanks: To my little demons (my muses!) who would not let this story
lie.

Summary: Duo is living with Quatre and Trowa. But what no-one
realises is why. And what happens when they find out the truth,
especially Heero.

Enjoy

Chapter 15 – In the Name of Research


The mermaid had told Heero about ‘surfed’ and how some of her friends, such as fish, dolphins and other sea creatures had been taken and never returned. It was because of this that she feared for Duo so much. He was no ordinary sea creature that was for sure. She was only aware of the name from listening to humans on the shore. But it was evident to Heero that she feared the desolate looking building at the top of the cliff and he couldn’t blame her. It reminded him too much of OZ facilities. He asked the mermaid one last favour before he set out on his new mission, to rescue Duo.

-x-

Robert Thornton wandered across the beach feeling depressed. He had been a fully qualified scientist for over a year now and yet he was still treated like a trainee. He knew he had to prove himself but he didn’t know how. Professor Leonard was a highly intelligent man; Robert was just a little weary about his methods. Research was vital to future generations, Robert had no doubts on that front, but he didn’t think the way this particular lab worked was how it should be done. But he dared not step out of place for fear of loosing his job. Science was his life and he didn’t know what he would do without it. He kicked at a stone that was lying on the sand. He watched it rollaway and come to rest near a strange object lying on the beach. Squinting, he tried to work out what it was. Finally he realised it was the shape of a person.

He swiftly ran over to the figure and knelt down beside it. At first he had thought it was a woman but on closer inspection he realised in fact it was a man. The long hair hadn’t helped with his initial guess. He brushed the hair back to find a young elfin face, perfectly relaxed. Robert put a finger to the pale neck and felt a strong pulse. He decided that the youth was just unconscious.

“What are you doing here?” Robert asked quietly not expecting an answer. It was only then that he really took in the whole figure. He fell backwards in shock when he realised what was really lying in front of him. “But- but this is not possible.” He ogled the lilac tail that lifted slightly with each wave that reached it. He quickly realised that this creature was what would help his promotion in the field. It could certainly lead him to fame and fortune. This was what he had been waiting for. He looked around him not seeing anyone else nearby. He took off his white coat and draped it over the merman. Not seeing any other way he braced himself then picked the strange creature up. He was lighter than Robert expected, but that would make it easier for the long climb back up to the lab.

-x-

“What have you got there Thornton?” One of the other scientists sneered as Robert, panting heavily, managed to get into the lab nearly dropping his precious load.

“Get Professor Leonard.” He puffed, trying to relax after the long climb but remained nervous for his discovery.

“The Professor isn’t at your beck and call you know.” The other man smirked unhelpfully.

“He’ll want to see this.” Robert almost snarled. At the look on his co-worker’s face the other scientist decided to do as he was asked.

“Bear in mind I’m not doing you a favour, I just want to see your face when the professor fires you.” Robert just smiled back. It unnerved the other scientist, Robert was too confident for his liking. He quickly went to find the professor. As soon as the other man had left, Robert put down his load on a nearby examination table and looked down at the still unconscious figure.

“Well, I hope you’re worth it.” He whispered.

-x-

A short while later, a tall, stern looking man walked through the door. His dark, heavy eyebrows almost met in the middle from frowning so hard. The cold, blue eyes were full of anger and were directed at Robert. The scientist who had got him was standing behind him, smirking and had managed to collect an entourage to what they hoped would be Robert’s downfall.

“I hope this is worth my while Mister Thornton.” The deep voice shook Robert; there was something very over dominating about the man.

“Y-yes sir.” He moved over to the figure lying on the table. “If- if you would- um- take a look sir.” The man walked over to the table and looked down his nose.

“This is a man. We deal with sea creatures. Is this a joke Mister Thornton?” Robert heard the others sniggering. He took a deep breath and went for the plunge.

“Sir, he’s a… a mermaid, sir.” He didn’t know what else to call the young man lying on the table.” The others laughed outright then.

“Pull the other one Thornton.” The scientist managed to choke out.

“Don’t make a fool of me, Mr Thornton.” Professor Leonard warned the frown deepening.

“I- I’m not sir.” Robert stammered.

“Well, would you like to explain to me then, what he is doing here? He is clearly not a maid, which would involve him being female, which evidently he is not.” He looked the unconscious male over. “The other issue would be the fact that mermaids are fantasy creatures. They are half human, half fish. They do NOT exist. Evidently this young man is not such a creature as he has legs!” The voice had got louder as he went on. Robert was nearly cringing. He pointed to the fact that feet were indeed hanging out of the bottom of the coat. Robert stared, not understanding how this could be.

“B-b-but sir, when I got him off the beach… he had a tail.” The tall Professor took a step forward.

“I have heard many stories in my time from youngsters trying to get further up in the world but this… this is the most extreme I have ever heard. And it will never happen again. Pack your bags, Mr Thornton. You can leave straight away.” Robert stood with his mouth hanging open; he couldn’t quite believe what he heard. In the background the other scientists were high fiving each other. He looked back down at his finding. He couldn’t understand what happened. He thought back to how he had found the young man half in and half out of the water. It was then that realisation hit. He looked around and spotted a cup being held by one of the others. He made a dash for it then spun around.

“Stop him; he’s going to throw it at the professor!” A few of the scientists tried to rugby tackle him, to prevent any ‘harm’ coming to their leader. One managed to wrap his arms around his ankles. Robert could feel himself falling forward so threw his arm out.

To Robert the moment seemed to go in slow motion. He managed to see some of the water land across the bare feet before he hit the floor. He heard gasps all around him and smiled against the floor. Carefully standing back up he met the professor’s face dead on.

“I think I owe you an apology mister Thornton. You have just made the greatest discoveries in the world.” He turned to face the other scientists. They had all fallen silent now staring at the wonder in front of them. “I think we all owe Mr Thornton an apology.” They all nodded. Professor Leonard turned to two of the scientists. “Take the subject to one of the containment units, until I am ready for him.” They all watched as the chosen pair carried the mythical creature away and they all left. Robert turned to the professor.

“What are you going to do to him?”

“What do you think? He needs to be looked at more closely, see how this works. The change with water is particularly interesting.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

“How we always do.” The professor walked away then, leaving Robert alone feeling guilty. He knew exactly what the Professor meant. He was going to open the creature up and poke around. What scared Robert mostly was that the majority of the test subjects that had happened to had died.

-x-

Duo slowly opened his eyes. His head really hurt. He looked around him, unable to work out where he was. He swam to the surface of the water and looked around. His stomach suddenly twisted painfully. He was in, what appeared to be, a five by five metre room filled with water. The only light was given by a small window near the ceiling that was impossible to reach. He suddenly remembered that he was trying to save Heero. They had got separated and he hadn’t been able to swim in the current and was thrown against the rocks. It didn’t explain where he was now though. He noticed a door in the wall opposite but it had no handle on this side. It reminded him of the OZ cell he had been in when Heero had been sent to kill him, except there was more water. It could only mean one thing. Someone else knew he was a merman. Not good.

He heard the door open and swam back against the wall. He was shocked when he saw who was at the door.

“Heero?” As he swam forward he realised it wasn’t, although the man at the door did have a passing resemblance to his lover. His hair was lighter and shorter and he had brown eyes instead of blue. His heart sank quickly.

“What did you say?” Duo remained stubbornly silent. The man knelt at the door.

“My name is Doctor Robert Thornton. Do you speak English?” Duo nodded begrudgingly. The man seemed reasonable enough. Very few of the OZ soldiers introduced themselves. “What’s yours?” Duo looked uncertainly at him. “Please, I won’t hurt you.” Duo took a deep breath.

“Duo Maxwell.”

“You’re American” He sounded surprised.

“Yeah, gotta problem with that?”

“Not at all, just didn’t expect it is all.”

“I lived on L2 for most of my life.” The Doctor nodded.

“Not in the sea?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I came to apologise to you Duo.” It was Duo’s turn to look shocked. “It is my fault that you are here. I found you on the beach. I only thought of myself and getting a promotion. I didn’t think about you. I’m afraid I’ve put you in terrible danger.” Duo gave a sad smile.

“It wouldn’t be the first time. I’ve been through a lot.” He paused for a moment. “You said you found me on the beach.” Robert nodded. “Did you see anyone else there? Um, a human.” He held his breath for an answer. Robert shook his head.

“No, we were the only ones on that beach.” Duo’s heart sank, did Heero…? He shook his head. He couldn’t think like that. Heero was strong he would make it; he knew it in his heart. Like he knew that Heero would come and find him. Robert turned suddenly.

“I’m sorry I’ve got to go.” He stood up quickly and shut the door, sending Duo into near darkness once more.

-x-

Duo had watched the sunset from the limited amount of light the window let in. He then laid on the surface in the darkening room, lulled by the water. It was night when Duo suddenly realised he wasn’t feeling right. He felt drowsy. It suddenly occurred to him that whoever these people were they were not good news, they were drugging him, through the air. He made a quick decision to dive under the water. Quickly he realised that wasn’t going to help either, they had drugged the water too. The last coherent thought he had was to hope that Heero would find him or if he was already dead, let him die with him.

-x-

“Professor, he’s under.”

“Good, bring him in.” The Professor pulled on his scrubs in preparation for the operation. He was looking forward to this immensely. He hadn’t wanted anyone with him. This was far too important to be sharing details with others. He waited while the merman was being brought in before starting to record details of what was in front of him.

Two of the scientists laid the unconscious form on the special table. It was partly filled with water to keep the young man in his ‘fish form’. “First appearances show early twenties Caucasian male to the waist. Hair, waist length, chestnut brown with fringe reaching cheek bones. Eyes are…” He opened the eyes carefully. “A deep blue, possibly violet in colour. He appears to be in good health with good muscle mass. Below waist there appears to be what is essentially, a fish tail. Lilac in colour as if to compliment the eyes, with double fins. It is interesting to note that the tail works vertically rather than horizontally like a mammal, similar to a dolphin or whale. Scales range from an inch to a millimetre in width. Fins are translucent like that of a fish. Subject is lying in sea water to remain in this form. An unrecorded test earlier showed that when subject is dry, he subject human. It is only with contact of water does subject have this fish form. Will now take basic tests.” Professor Leonard took pulse, heartbeat rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and took a blood sample. Jotting down his findings he turned back to the subject. “And now to the important part. I intend to discover what happens to the internal organs when in this form.” He picked up the scalpel and lowered it to the section where waist merged into tail.

-x-


Hehehe! Yes that is the end of the chapter. You know you all love me really.