Chapter Text
It was a picture-perfect day. The bright sun was well on the way to its afternoon peak in the cloudless sky, giving off a heat that matched perfectly with the cool breeze rolling off the ocean. Violet Sabrewing stood on the deck of the Gearloose Lab’s small research boat, looked out at the vast blue sea, and gripped the railing tighter. Violet took a deep breath of the salty air and sighed. Her job required her to make dangerous expeditions to gather information, but most of them occurred on land. Statistically, she’d been due for an aquatic adventure for quite some time. After all, 80% of the ocean is uncharted territory and she happened to live by the sea. Hoping in vain could only get her so far, and it seems her luck had run out. Violet was left with the assignment to find the ideal spot in the water to collect samples of the local sea life and study them.
The trip was longer than Violet would have hoped, but her team needed to get further out to sea to gather the data they were looking for. Most of her co-workers were enjoying the weather, and a few of them had even been lulled to sleep by the rocking of the waves. But Violet found it incredibly hard to relax. The wooden seats were hard, and the sea mist made it almost impossible to read without ruining her books. She’d thought about asking someone on deck to switch seats in favor of a dryer area, but they all seemed focused on their own tasks.
So instead she sat in silence, listening to idle conversation from one side of the deck and quiet music playing from the other. No one seemed to notice her, but she didn’t mind. These people were her co-workers, not her friends. (She didn’t have many of those). And Violet worked better alone, in a quiet setting. So gazing into the blues on the horizon seemed to be the best activity for her, despite adding to the rising pressure in her chest. Grabbing her bag, she checked it’s contents for the third time in the last hour and ran down a mental checklist.
Waterproof camera? An obvious choice for ocean data collection. Violet checked it off and hoped she wouldn’t have to use its underwater features. The camera was unused, V.S. neatly written on the plastic case in purple marker in case it got mixed up with her team’s.
Flashlight? Regardless of the task and weather, it’s always important to be prepared. Check.
Her wallet and keys? She never left home without them. Her wallet contained her keycard to get into Gearloose Labs, and some spare cash in case she needed it. Check.
A copy of, ‘The Magic of Science’ ? Violet will admit bringing along one of her favorite books was in poor taste, but she’s a sucker for literature.
A peanut butter sandwich and a canteen of water? Despite the plans of lunch promised to the team, Violet always left the house with a spare meal due to her fast metabolism. Check.
A notepad and pens? Any decent scientist carries important research and data to compare. Her notebook had a few dozen pages of notes pertaining to marine life already, and she was hoping to expand it.
Violet filtered through a few more items in her bag and repacked it, throwing the single strap over her shoulder as the boat neared the desired destination. She watched as a buoy marked with the Gearloose Lab’s symbol passed by. On cue, the engine turned off and the boat floated to a stop. As her team got up and made their way towards the gear, Violet took the opportunity to stretch against the railing. She straightened her back and leaned forward.
Then her world went dark.
Violet had no idea what had happened. She didn’t even know where she was. The last thing she remembered was the boat ride. Opening her eyes, she felt a painful sting that made her blink. Looking around was no use, her surroundings were a murky blob of dark blues and a flash of red and green. Everything was too blurry to make out. Her movements were slow, almost as if she was floating. No… No, that wouldn’t make any sense, why would she be floating? She must have fallen asleep like a few of her crewmates and was having an odd dream.
But no, the fading sting of her eyes reminded her she was awake. Violet realized she had been holding her breath and inhaled.
Water.
Violet’s brief inhale had been met with water in her lungs and she involuntarily coughed. Opening her eyes wider, she noticed the bubbles around her and her sluggish movements made sense, and what Violet had feared most happened.
She had gone overboard.
Panic rose in her throat as she turned to locate her bag. Luckily her vision had started to clear as her eyes got used to the saltwater, but how lucky could someone thrown overboard be? She hastily grabbed her bag and checked it’s contents. Violet instinctively reached for the flashlight but realized it was useless now. She mentally cursed at herself and threw the flashlight out of frustration. Watching it slowly sink into the inky depths below, Violet momentarily wondered how far she had sunk and if she’d make it to the surface before she ran out of air. The tightness in her chest reminded her she was already on borrowed time.
Her train of thought was interrupted by another flash of red and green, and her flashlight floating back up to her, almost as if it had been thrown up from below. Violet tilted her head in confusion, shoving the flashlight back in her bag. As she prepared herself for the long swim up, she felt a faint tug at her shoulder. Violet whipped around to discover the source of the tug. She thought she’d see a fish, or even seaweed caught in the strap, but when she turned Violet saw something completely unexpected.
A pair of bright green eyes stared back at her.
Violet was shocked. Had this girl fallen off the boat with her? She can’t recall a redhead on her team... She opened her mouth to speak but was painfully reminded of her current situation. As Violet’s hands went to her throat, the girl grabbed the bag and shuffled through it. Violet started to protest but got a closer look at her.
Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, the red curls float in the water with an alluring aura. The girl’s caramel skin was dusted with freckles, a mischievous smirk on her beak as she shouldered the bag. Sure, the girl was beautiful… And looking at her, Violet lost her train of thought. Violet couldn’t tell if it was the lack of oxygen or the mysterious girl’s smile, but something had set her heart racing. Something about her made the water warmer, more welcoming. As she lowered her gaze, Violet found out why.
Below her purple shirt, her feathered skin started to break away into patches of green scales. The patches turned into a long fishtail, a light green dorsal tail, and dark green fins idly moved in the water. The scales on her tail shimmered and glistened in the water, and seemed to reflect light despite there being no source of light to reflect. Violet’s eyes widened and she held back a scream. She was no stranger to weird, but she was still a scientist. The… mermaid … Followed Violet’s gaze so her tail and she flicked it with a smirk. She seemed to be enjoying the reaction.
After coming to the conclusion that this girl was part fish (whether it was real or not), Violet noticed more key details. The girl’s ears were webbed, riddled with piercings and metal. She had even used a fishhook as an earring on her right ear. The fact that she seemed so calm underwater should have been a dead giveaway, and Violet momentarily wondered how she could breathe.
Breathing.
Violet was so captivated by the mermaid, she has forgotten about her current predicament. Idly kicking her legs to stay in place had taken a toll on her and she felt weaker. Her lungs screamed in pain and her throat burned. She wanted to gasp out, she so badly wanted to take a deep breath in. But Violet knew the consequences, and she’d already inhaled more water than recommended. Not that watery lungs was something she had hoped to experience. Violet waved her arms at the mermaid and pointed up, hoping her message was clear without words.
But no, the girl was focusing on Violet’s kicking legs. She suddenly grabbed one, yanking Violet through the water with unexpected strength. Violet let out a scream, the sound muffled by the water. Bubbles of precious air forcing their way out of her mouth and floated up towards the surface. The girl seemed amused by Violet’s scream and examined her shoes, lifting up one of the laces. Violet supposed her fascination with legs made sense, given her tail, but Violet was in no such mood. She kicked her leg away, and the girl seemed to laugh, bubbles forming at her lips.
Violet’s gaze lingered on the girl’s lips longer than she would admit, and the girl said something. Violet couldn’t make out the words due to the water, but the sound of her muffled voice stayed in her brain. It was light and airy, the end of her words had a slight roughness to them. Violet wasn’t even sure if this girl spoke some mermaid language, but she wanted her to continue. It didn’t matter what she was saying, Violet just wanted to hear her voice again.
Violet didn’t know how long she was lost in thought, but the face of the redhead told her it had been a while. She looked almost bored as if Violet struggling underwater had become less entertaining to her. Meeting her green eyes again, Violet watched the girl swim around her body and flicked Violet’s beak with her fins. She swam away, looking over her shoulder at Violet.
Stupidly, Violet followed. She wasn’t a strong swimmer and struggled to keep up. With each stroke, her vision blurred and the pain in her chest increased until it was almost unbearable. Violet watched as the mermaid sat on a rock and smiled at her. Violet’s sight began to darken at the edges as she started to lose her grip on consciousness, but god damn was her smile stunning. As her legs slowly stopped kicking and she drifted down, she saw the mystery girl point at her throat, blow a bubble of air out of her mouth, and pointed up. Even without words, the message was clear.
She had run out of time.
With a gasping breath, Violet woke up on the soft sand of Duckburg’s beach. She was soaking wet, her bag and left shoe missing, and no mermaid insight.