Chapter Text
Inside the pipe was dark, moss grew inside it in thick patches as the water ran through it. The pod moved quickly through the pipeline not knowing where their guide was taking them. To them the pipes were like a large maze, always twisting and turning. Hawks never seemed to hesitate in picking what pipes to go down when coming to a fork in the pipes.
Spinner huffed as they moved down another pipe, “I feel like we are going in circles.” His long green tail flicked with agitation.
Next to Spinner, Twice was quietly arguing with himself. His splotched, black and white tail flicked in quick succession. “It’s pipes, so many pipes! WE ARE LOST! No we aren’t, he knows where he’s going!”
Ahead Shigaraki and Dabi shared a look. Hawks seemed trustworthy so far. They’d been watching how he has been navigating. Hawks would swim up enough to break the surface before diving back down when they came to a split path. Hawks did this again as they came to another splitting path. “Okay, why do you keep doing that?” Dabi growled as Hawks came back down picking the right pipe.
Hawks turned to them tilting his head, “I’m seeing if I can smell the salt in the air.” Everyone gave him a weird look. Hawks rolled his eyes before swimming down the pipe, “The factories are usually close to a main water source," The water around them was starting to flow faster. “The main water source will lead out to the ocean; it just depends on how long it’ll take for us to find our way there.”
Shigaraki stops, “So you actually don’t know where we are going?” Spinner runs right into his back causing both to hiss at each other. The rest of the pod stops as well, looking at Hawks.
Hawks shrugged, “It’s worked the other two times I’ve been caught.” He flicked his tail to turn sound, letting the water flow drag him and the pod along. “I know we are going in the right direction.”
“And how do you know? Just smelling salt and it’ll lead us?” Shigaraki growled as Hawks spread his fins.
“I’m not lost.” Hawks fins were on full display, instinct working to intimidate the other slightly larger mer.
As Shigaraki glared at Hawks, Dabi noticed a small trail of red disappearing behind Hawks. He didn’t smell anything with the current pulling away from them and Hawks keeping a bit of a distance from them. He was about to ask about it when there was a muffled roaring sound echoing around them. The fact that the sound was getting louder and the water flow was picking up had Dabi’s heart pacing quickly.
“What's that sound?” Toga tilted her head listening to the roar as well. Everyone stopped talking and started to listen.
“Yeah, that doesn't sound good.” Spinner swam a bit forward near Hawks who moved away from him. “It’s coming from further down the line.”
Now Hawks was curious as he tilted his head to listen. He recognized the sound almost instantly. He grinned because this was going to be fun.
“Have any of you guys ever gone down a waterfall?” His grin widened when he only got blank stares.
“What's a waterfall?” Toga moved closer to Hawks wanting to know what this waterfall was.
Dabi on the other hand completely froze. A waterfall, this won’t end well. “God damn it.” His only thoughts were why he agreed to escape and the dread of this whole thing.
“Well, you're about to find out.” Hawks flicked his tail to get further ahead of the pod. The pipes were wider here and started to slant. Everyone could make out light at the end of the tunnel. “You're about to experience a bigger drop than when we escaped the tank. This one we will land in water, however there might be sharp rocks at the bottom.”
“You're kidding right?” Spinner glanced at the light now getting closer. The water was now moving faster all around them carrying them along.
“Nope!” Hawks' smile was way too happy for Dabi, “Make sure to tilt your body down. If you land on your stomach, you’ll regret it.” With that Hawks took off down the pipe and disappeared into the light.
The pod was frozen before Twice started to cry, “What do we do!? I KNOW WHAT TO DO! No I don’t!”
Compress looked behind them and sighed, “I’m afraid it’s too late to swim back, the current is a bit too strong.” He saddled up next to Kurogiri who nodded. “Gentlemen and lady, let's just follow his lead and instructions, shall we?” He flicked his tail and went through the light with Kurogiri on his tail. Toga shrugged and disappeared as well with a delighted squeal moment later. Twice followed, his shriek echoing back into the pipe.
“I’m going to regret this.” Spinner darted out soon after. They were now closer to the exit, to the point they could see the water running out of the hole. Dabi and Shigaraki hear Spinner terrified scream not too long after he exited the pipe.
“Ladies first,” Dabi bowed to Shigaraki who glared at the other eel mer. “Fuck you.” Shigaraki took off and there wasn’t a yell or anything that followed. Now Dabi was the last one left and he wasn’t very happy. “I’m going to kill Hawks for this.” He darted out.
Dabi found himself airborne not long after. He saw how far down the water was and gritted his teeth. He really wanted to scream, but his pride wouldn’t allow it. Tilting his body down and arms straight he plunged straight into the water. It took a bit before he rightened himself and saw the others gathered already. Once he swam over, he made a mental head count, they were missing Hawks.
“Where’s Hawks?” Toga looked around before a shadow flew over the water above them.
Everyone swam up, breaking the surface only to see Hawks. His fins were open and he was just gliding along. He waved at them from above before folding his fins back in and diving down. Once the bubbles cleared and Hawks joined them, they could only stare.
“What?” Hawks quirked an eyebrow as he swam past them and toward the river exit.
It was Shigaraki that answered, “You can fly?” His eyes were wide with curiosity and wonder.
Hawks tilted his head as the others followed him, “It’s not so much flying as gliding.” He turned around and fanned his fins out again. “I’m a hybrid, Lionfish and Flying fish.” His larger fins stayed open, “These allow me to catch the wind and glide along outside the water. It makes escaping great, especially when sharks aren’t expecting their meal to just glide away.”
“What's a shark?” Toga and Twice asked at the same time.
It was Dabi who surprisingly answered this, “A large fish with teeth that wants to shred you and eat you.” He swam past the two, “No you may not go out to find one once we get to the ocean I am not dealing with that.”
Hawks joined in, “Sharks aren’t friendly, mer-sharks are also not friendly, but we do have a couple in the pod.” Hawks flicked his tail in thought, “Sharks will stalk you until you let your guard down. They are ambush predators so they can come from the sides or from below.” He mimicked the attacks with movements from his hands. “If one shark is spotted the pod usually pulls close together.”
“What if a shark does attack?” Shigaraki swims closer, his long body curling closely around Toga protectively.
Hawks shook his head before going back to leading them, “The pod won’t abandon their own.” His fins pulled close as he swam a bit ahead of the others. “We protect each other.”
Dabi huffed, glaring at Hawks tail, “If they don’t abandon their own how did you end up here? Seems to me like your pod didn’t care you were caught.” He smirked when he saw Hawks finger twitch, he hit a nerve. The next thing happened so fast that Dabi didn’t have time to blink.
Dabi was shocked when hawks swam right into his face. Hawks claws close to his face as he pointed at him. “When I was caught my apprentice and a couple others tried to get me out of the net. I made the decision so the pod wouldn’t lose more of us. Losing me was worth less than three others getting caught as well.” He turned from Dabi, his tail fin hitting the other in the chest. “Besides, I can escape easier than most.”
Toga looked a bit confused as she sniffed the water around them. She swam close to Dabi, still sniffing and looking at Hawks worriedly. “I smell blood.”