{"sf1_id":802614,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 35","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":3942,"posted_at":"2015-01-01T22:46:00.000Z","tags":["Gay love","Human","Science","Story Progression","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/802614-aquata-cove-chapter-35","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/802614","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=802614\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Aquata Cove\nChapter 35: Next Method\n \n \n \n\"Nnnnhhhhh...\" Merrick groaned in pain as he huddled in the\ncorner of the cell. The lights are blazing bight upon him, with the white walls\nreflecting the blaring light of the electric bulbs above him. \"It's so hot...\" He\nmuttered quietly as he cringed slightly. His fair skin has a slightly red tint\nfrom a whole week of being under these imitation suns. His hand pushed against\nhis hot shoulder in attempt cool off at least one spot on his baked back, yet\nto no avail.\n \n\"Dammit...\" Merrick whimpered, \"... Why... Why are they doing\nthis...\" He clenched his eyes as he pushed his face into his arms, \"Adam...\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nNigel looks at the screen, where the security camera looks\nupon the merman. He shakes his head as he looks at the pitiful young man. This\ncan be so much easier if this kid would just talk. Instead, he'd rather spend\nhis free time in an Easy-Bake Oven. It's not like he's planning on invading the\nocean. He just wants to discover the ocean more and more. \n \n\"... I'm so close...\" He muttered as he glanced at the heart\nsymbol tattoo on the back of Merrick's neck. This harsh light treatment CAN'T\nbe any good for him - it HAS to be at least a little damaging to his body,\nbeing a fish and all. So why does he insist on cooking himself rare?\n \nNigel took a talkie up to his mouth, and pressed the button\non the side, \"Bring Merrick to the Interrogation Room. Let's try this again.\"\n \n\"Yessir.\" Came the voice on the other side. \n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick huffed through his nose as the guards locked his\nankles in place to the chair, placed handcuffs around his reddened wrists, and\nchained him to a bar on the middle of the table - just yesterday, he took a\nswipe at Nigel out of frustration.\n \nFinally, the head-honcho walked into the room again, taking\nhis seat on the opposite side of the table facing Merrick, with the two guards\nstanding in place beside him.\n \n\"Now...\" Nigel began, \"Ready to answer a few questions?\"\nMerrick just leered at him, like a panther ready to pounce and tear into him.\nEveryday each week, Merrick is stowed in that white cell with the burning\nlights, and Nigel has a couple of guards man-handle him into the interrogation\nroom for about an hour or two of countless questions about merfolk - to which,\nMerrick either responds with silence or an angry remark, and then it's back to\nbeing chained up in the hot-spot. \"Alright, here we go.\n \n\"What do you call your species?\" Nigel asked. Merrick said\nnothing, \"I know you're part fish, I'm just wondering if there are any other\nkinds of merfolk out there?\" Merrick glared at him with poisonous daggers, \"Say\nlike, a mermaid that has the tail of a porpoise. Or maybe a merman who has the\nbody of an eel. Ring any bells?\" Merrick simply blinked as his deep blue eyes\nstayed locked onto Nigel's glasses, \"Not even going to tell me that?\"\n \nNothing but silence. Nigel leaned down on his side, and\npicked up a pitcher of water, and an empty glass. Merrick immediately felt an\nextremely powerful urge to lunge across the table, and douse himself with every\ndrop of water in that glass pitcher, yet restraining himself with every once of\nwillpower in his body. Nigel poured a glass of icy water, and held it up.\n \n\"This glass is yours if you answer a question-\" The thin\nchain of metal clinked as Merrick reached out, but Nigel held his hand back\nwith the water, \"Just one.\" He said, \"That's all I want today, and you get the\npitcher. Now...\" He continued, \"How many types of merfolk are there in the sea?\"\n \nA fully detailed explanation almost leapt from Merrick's dry\nthroat, had it not his resolve to remain silent. With great reluctance, he\nturned his head.\n \n\"Come on, Merrick.\" Nigel said, \"One other subspecies? Not a\nsingle once of difference?\" Merrick closed his eyes as he balled his hand into\na slight fist, \"Alright then.\" Nigel brought the glass to his lips, and gulped\ndown the ice-cold water down his gullet. Merrick shook with rage as he can hear\neach glug of water drop down the man's neck.\n \nNigel picked up the pitcher, and poured another glass, and\nput it onto the table.\n \n\"How deep can you dive, Merrick?\" He asked. Again, no\nresponse. \"Come on. I'm really curious about how deep you can go.\"\n \nMerrick opened his eyes, and looked at Nigel, \"Why don't I\ntake you diving into the sea sometime, and you can find out yourself?\" Merrick\nretorted, \"I'm really curious how long a human can last underwater without\nbreathing.\"\n \n\"Now now,\" Nigel said as he tipped the glass to Merrick's\ndirection before bringing it to his lips again, \"No need to get dark...\" With\nthat, he took another swig of water. Merrick gritted his teeth as he watched\nthe water disappear from the glass's bottom.\n \nNigel poured some more water into the glass, turning the\npitcher upside down to get in the last few drops, and set it aside, \"Now,\nthere's a suspect we've been curious about for a while now.\" He put his hand\ninto his coat pocket, and drew out a few pictures, and laid them out before\nMerrick. Each one of them are of a woman with tan skin, bright pink hair,\nbright orange fingernails and rather skant, breezy attire. Merrick blinked as he\ninwardly gasped as he looked over the photographs.\n \n'Belinda...' He thought to himself, 'No... Above everything\nelse, she's at least always careful...'\n \n\"We've had more than a few suspicions of her, but we don't\nhave any hard evidence to prove anything... Except this one...\" Nigel said as he\npointed to a photo, where the woman's hand and forearm is white, \"Now, what can\nyou tell me?\" He asked.\n \n\"...\" Merrick looked at the indicated photograph closely. He\ntook several seconds, and shook his head, \"No.\"\n \n\"No?\" Nigel said, \"No what?\" He asked.\n \n\"She's not a mermaid, if that's what you're asking me.\"\n \n\"So you DO know her, though?\" Nigel said, his attention\nfocused in on how Merrick is responding.\n \n\"I've only met her a few times,\" Merrick said, \"She is the\nmate of one of Adam's friends. Honestly, I don't particularly like her,\" He\nadded, \"She was very rude to me when I made just one observation.\"\n \n\"And you're saying she's NOT a mermaid.\" Nigel said, \"She\nwears a lot of bait and tackle. You realize that's not normal jewelry for\nhumans, right?\"\n \n\"No, she's not.\" Merrick said, an ounce of hatred and adding\ndash of frustration into his tone, but always with that drop of sincerity that\nevery liar needs, \"One merfolk can always tell one from another, and she's not\none of us.\"\n \n\"What about the hooks and lures she's wearing on her ears\nand neck? Or about this white color on her arm?\"\n \n\"How am I supposed to know? I don't know what or why you\nhumans put shiny pieces on your face. And that white on her arm is probably\nsome paint stuff, or this thing called 'Make-Up'. Adam once told me humans can\nalter their appearence with fake materials?\"\n \n\"Good point...\" Nigel said. He leaned forward, and looked\nMerrick straight in the eye, \"So. You are telling me, in all honesty, that this\nlady is NOT a mermaid?\"\n \n\"No. She is not.\" Merrick lied. If he can fool his mother,\nthis arrogant ape is no challenge. \"I swear it on the life of my Father.\"\n \n\"... Fine.\" Nigel said, \"I'll take your word for it.\" He sat\nback in his chair, picked up the glass, and moved it to Merrick's side. Merrick\ntook the glass of water to his chapped lips, and immediately chugged the\nwonderfully icy fluid into him. \n \nNigel brought the three photographs together, and put them\ninto a thin folder. He turned to one of the guards, and held out the folder,\n\"Write up what was said here, and put it in the Dead-End Files.\"\n \n\"Yessir.\" The guard accepted the folder, and went off. \n \nMerrick groaned as he tried to swallow every drop of water.\nBefore he could have more than a second after gulping down water, Nigel took\nthe glass right out of his hand, along with the empty pitcher, and got up.\n \n\"Unlatch him, and take him to the Examination Lab.\"\n \n\"Yessir.\" Said the guard who came behind Merrick, and\nstarted to unlock the shackles on his tender red ankles.\n \n\"Wait, what do you mean???\" Merrick asked as Nigel was about\nto leave, \"Aren't you throwing me back to the heat place?\"\n \n\"Yes, but first,\" Nigel turned around, just as the guard\nsecured Merrick's arms behind his back, \"Since you refuse answer questions\nabout merfolk, we're putting you to forensic study for the day.\"\n \n\"But what does that MEAN?!\" Merrick asked.\n \n\"I told you when you first came here,\" Nigel calmly said,\n\"When we find a new creature, we break it down and study its anatomy, biology.\nIn other words, we're taking a close look at your body. Your REAL body.\" He\nsaid with a smile before turning around.\n \n\"Th-Then!\" Merrick struggled a few more times, \"Will you let\nme go???\"  He asked, \"You've kept\nme here in harsh light for seven suns, I can't take the constant heat anymore!\"\nHe begged, his eyes tearing up, \"Are you going to let me go???\"\n \nThere was a pause, before Nigel turned back to face him,\n\"When you start answering my questions, I MIGHT think about it.\" With a sneer,\nNigel turned away and began to walk away.\n\n\"You monster!!\" Merrick snarled as the guard pulled him down the hall.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nCLICK\n \nCLANK\n \nSHINK\n \nMerrick squirmed as his body was strapped down to a metal\ntable. He grunted as the tight metal confines hurt his lightly scorched ankles and\nwrists. His wrists were chained down individually, but his ankles were cuffed\ntogether.\n \nHe huffed as he saw another human approach him. He has\nrounded glasses on, a green, paper mask over his mouth, and a white cap over\nhis head. He also wears a long white coat. Merrick recognizes this human as a\nhealer - these 'Doctors', that Yuri works so hard to become. There are a few\nother humans with white lab coats on in this room, doing their own work in this\nlab of strange devices and objects. Merrick can feel a lot of lightning\nchanneling here, as well as many foreign smells and substances in here.\n \n\"Who are you??\" Merrick asked him.\n \n\"My name is Dr Kaiser\" He spoke in a very calm tone - the\nvery sound of his voice sends a surge of suspence in Merrick's spine. He sounds\ncalm, but also like that of a patient predator, \"I am the Head of the Anatomy\nand Research here at the Agency of Oceanic Research. I specialize in autopsies\nand identifying various species of sea creatures, see what makes them tick. And\nI am very pleased to meet you.\"\n \n\"Gnnhh...\" The more this human talks, the more Merrick wants\nto get away from him, \"What are you going to do to me?\" Merrick looked\nfearfully into his eyes.\n \n\"Unfortunately, nothing interesting today,\" Dr Kaiser said,\n\"How I would love to see every inch and every drop of your DNA first hand,\nyou're here to take a few X-Rays and give few samples for us to research.\nSpeaking of which...\" He then takes a rubber stripe, and forms a tourniquet\naround Merrick's right bicep. He takes a white square, and rubs it in circles\naround the space between Merrick's upper and forearm. Merrick remembers this -\nwhen Yuri injected saline when he was dehydrated, she had to 'clean it' with\none of these wipes. He whimpers as he sees Kaiser pick up a needle and a tube.\n \nKaiser lined the needle up to a vein he can easily make out,\nand stabbed the sharp metal into him.\n \n\"NGHH!\" Merrick clenched as a drill of pain invaded his\nskin. Yuri was WAY better when she did this. The human seems to be purposely\nbrutal.\n \nImmediately, the deep, red liquid surged through the tube,\nand started pooling into a pouch. Merrick hissed as he can feel the needle\nextracting his own fluids, \"What do you even need from my blood?\" \n \n\"Oh, you would be surprised by how much even a single drop\nof blood can tell about you.\" Kaiser replied. After the pouch was inflated and\nfull, the doctor placed gauze at the needle, and pulled it out. While wrapping\na bandage around Merrick's elbow and arm, Merrick noticed a second empty pouch\non the little table.\n \n\"Wh... Why are there two of those things?\" He asked.\n \n\"Oh, that's for a little later.\"\n \n\"What??\"\n \n\"You'll see.\" Said the strange doctor.\n \nKaiser then moved the table to a rather large machine.\nMerrick gasps as he looks at it from his forced perspective. He shakes as the\nmachine breathes into life, and slowly moves Merrick inward.\n \n\"Don't worry,\" Said Kaiser, \"This will not hurt a bit.\" He\npromised as he watches the massive machine gradually scan the naked male.\n\"Hmmmmm...\" He looks as Merrick's skeleton, muscle mass, and internal organs come\nonto the screen, bit by bit, \"Not much out of the ordinary... Though the throat\nlooks very elaborate...\" He says as he makes a note of the shape around Merrick's\nneck, \"The structure of the muscles are completely different compared to a\nhuman throat...\" His eyes then dart to the head, \"And that's quite a different\ndesign from a human brain...\" He looked over the muscle portion of Merrick's\nscan, \"Altogether, the muscles seem denser than normal, one might say\ncompressed, and yet he doesn't weigh as much as he should, what with the\nstrength his body is showing...\"\n \nOnce Merrick came out the other end, Kaiser came and took\nthe table around the machine again, \"What are you doing now???\" Merrick asked\nout, \"That felt strange!\"\n \n\"Oh, did no one tell you we were taking two scans today?\"\nKaiser asked softly.\n \n\"Agh... P-Please...\" Merrick's blood runs colder the more he\nassociates with this human doctor, \"Is there... Anyway to release me here?\" A\ntear runs down his cheek, \"I miss my Adam... He has no idea where I am, I need to\nget out of here...\"\n \n\"Hmhmhm,\" The man chuckled lowly, \"Sadly, I have no\nauthority there. Only Nigel can make THAT call. He decides who or what comes\nand goes in this place. And it's not like I would let you swim free, even if I\ncould.\"\n \n\"What? Why?!\"\n \n\"Fresh... Or sea?\" Kaiser asked.\n \n\"Wh-What??\" Merrick panted, \"Answer me!\"\n \n\"What the hay, let's go with seawater.\" Kaiser said before\nhe walked to the all, and wheeled in a glass cylinder that refracted light in a\nstrange, round way. He hitched a hose to it, pointed it at Merrick, and flipped\na switch to the cylinder.\n \nThe nearby scientists stopped from their work, and watched\nas imported seawater poured onto Merrick. He gasped and moaned as the cold,\nfamiliar water of the ocean washed over him. Everyone in the lab beamed as this\nyoung, blonde man transmuted right before their eyes. His skin glistened as its\ntexture changed dramatically, going from peach colored to a sheet of silver and\nsapphire blue. The sides of his morphing legs gave to a line of frilly\nmembrane. Kaiser aimed the hose at Merrick's feet, causing them to flatten into\na beautiful white fin. His hands became webbed, a fin formed on each forearm.\nHis blonde hair sharpened into a field of pointy fins, his face turned to silver,\nhis ears widened into gills - which immediately closed, as there is not enough\nwater to breathe in.\n \nMerrick's tail grew in length, and so a nearby scientist had\nto adjust the belt.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nFrom up on the observation glass, above the lab, where\nstudents would normally take their notes, Nigel's eyes looked in awe of the\naquatic transformation, giving him every ounce of confirmation that he has been\nright. A lifetime of searching, dedication, and blind faith, he has his reward,\nright in that lab.\n \n \nErin, in the opposite side of the observation section, has\nboth hands covering her mouth as she watches Merrick. She's always heard of the\nkind of things they look for here in the AOR, but she is seeing a real live\nmerman, able to transform from land to sea, right here.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"There we are,\" Kaiser said lowly, \"I'll bet that feels very\nnice, after a week of roasting, doesn't it?\"\n \nDespite feeling extremely refreshed from the water, Merrick\nlooked upon the doctor, \"Why?\"\n \n\"I'm sorry?\"\n \n\"Why... Why wouldn't you release me?\" Merrick moaned, \"You\nsaid you wouldn't let me go, even if you could. Why?\"\n \n\"Ah.\" Kaiser smiled softly, \"Well you see, the answer is\nvery simple...\" Kaiser then drew out a fresh new needle, \"You, Merrick Piscien -\nif that is indeed your full name - you, are by far, the most magnificent living\nspecimen I have ever had. How can I proudly call myself a scientist if I let an\nopportunity like you slip away from my fingers?\"\n \n\"GHHHH!\" Merrick gasped as the needle dove into his other\narm, and drawing more blood from his body. His tail curled and cringed as\nanother pouch swells.\n \nOnce the needle was out, they wrapped waterproof bandages\naround his arm, and aligned him to the X-Ray machine again. Merrick whimpered\nas the machine slowly drew him in.\n \nImmediately, he can feel the same electric energy resonating\ninside of him. This time though, it's hurting. He clenched his eyes shut and\nmoaned harshly. It's like there are electric eels are discharging like crazy,\nand aiming it at every inch of his body!\n \n~~~\n \n\"Ahhhh, yes.\" Kaiser said, \"Now we're talking.\" He said as\nhe looked at the reformed skeleton on the screen. \"The bones have reformed in\ndensity and mass entirely altogether - his very marrow changed from the\npresence of water...\" The muscles stayed the same, other than a reformation of\nshape, \"A lot more to look at in the membrane and fin department, I see...\"\nKaiser grinned as he looked at the skull, \"Ooh. His head certainly looks\ninteresting...\"\n \n~~~\n \n\"Nnnnnnggggghhhhhh!\" Merrick endured the stinging wave of energy\nrunning through his body. It feels like lightning is dancing in his body! He\nwasn't feeling THIS agony when he was in human form! Is his true form\nvulnerable to this kind of treatment? This machine is moving so slow! Will this\ncoffin of electricity NEVER cease?\n \n \n~~~\n \nErin watched as the scientists gathered around Merrick. She\nrushed around the seats over to Nigel, \"Mr Quinlan, what are they doing??\" She\nasked with a tinge of worry in her voice.\n \n\"They're just going to take a few examinations of him.\"\n \n\"They look like they're about to dissect him!\" Erin said,\n\"It's been a week, and he hasn't said anything, isn't this only going to make\nthings worse\"\n \n\"Look, Miss Connaly,\" Nigel said as he turned away from the\nwindow, \"You're still new to this sort of business, I know how you feel,\" He\nexplained, \"But sometimes, when you have a stubborn customer, you need to show\ntough love. Now eventually, he will have to come to his senses, and realize\nthat we need his help, and he will cooperate when the time is right.\"\n \n\"All I know is that I pass by his cell each day, and his\nskin is getting burned.\"\n \n\"We're giving him the essentials, he's not going to die.\"\n \n\"How do you know that?!\" Erin said, getting a little\nhysterical, \"We don't know how long he can last without water! He's a fish, all\nthat heat probably isn't good for him!\"\n \n\"Well,\" Nigel gestured towards the lab, \"We're gonna find\nout, now aren't we?\"\n \n \n~~~\n \nHe blinked as he came closer, and saw the merman crying as a\nfew scales were carefully plucked from his tail. More interesting is his tears.\nThe younger doctor looked closely, and sees that the fluid coming from\nMerrick's eyes are... Sparkling. It's like fine glitter twinkling in his tears.\n \n\"Pardon me,\" the scientist asked, \"Are these your tears? Are\nyou weeping?\"\n \n\"It hurts...\" Merrick answered, keeping his eyes shut, \"My\nbody feels so much pain...\"\n \nThe scientist grabbed a small beaker, and held it up to the\ncorner of Merrick's eye. As the merman sniffled and whimpered, the scientist\ncollected a meager sample of Merrick's tears from one eye, and was able to\ngather a few extra drops from his other eye. The scientist managed to collect\nhalf a vial of tears - 'You hear all the time that mermaid tears are magical,'\nThe guy thought, 'Lets see if that's true...'\n \nEven after gathering a good amount of samples, the scientist\ncouldn't help but feel sorry for this creature.\n \n\"Nnnnnhhhhh...\" Merrick sniffled and whimpered in fear as he\nwas helpless from the cluster of scientists looking and examining him up close.\n \n~~~\n \nCLINK\n \nSHCK\n \nThe silver and blue merman is now being chained back into\nhis white cell. Various spots of his body are stinging from the small\nextractions the white-coated humans took of him. He leered up at Nigel, who is\nonce again standing before him, looking as smug and condescending as ever.\n \n\"Now, once more-\"\n \n\"Let me go!!\" Merrick interrupted, \"You have my essence now,\nthat should be enough for you!!\"\n \n\"Hmph,\" Nigel scoffed, \"There's only so much we can learn\nfrom flesh and blood,\" Nigel knelt down to level with Merrick, \"Your body tells\nus nothing of your culture, your heritage, your purpose.\"  Nigel talked in a sympathetic tone, \"I\nam absolutely fascinated by your existence alone. Not only that, I want to\nLEARN from YOU.\" He said, \"How can you not see the beauty in the exchange in\nknowledge?\"\n \n\"I will not allow humans to wage war on my kind!\" Merrick\nretorted. 'Not again... Like the Kingdoms...' He thought.\n \n\"You're getting a little dramatic, aren't you?\" Nigel asked,\n\"What if we could make things better for merfolk? Did you ever think of that?\"\n \n\"You humans have NOTHING you can offer that we can want!\"\nMerrick said, \"My kind have prospered for eons without contact with humans!\" He\nseethed deeply as he spoke - just looking at this human repulses him to no end,\n\"You will never make me reveal my kind.\"\n \n\"Fine.\" Nigel said as he stood up, \"Then do enjoy another\nnight of constant sunshine.\"\n \nTCK\n \nOnce again, the heat lightbulbs flared up. Nigel turned\naround, and left the white cell, leaving a soaked merman to eventually dry, and\nfeel the heat again.\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/793837-aquata-cove-chapter-34.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/805573-aquata-cove-chapter-36.json"}