Title: Beyond Murky Waters

Author(s): RottingInTheCloset

Rating: T(May change to M later on)

Pairings/Characters: SolxEri, Feferi, Karkat, Gamzee, others possibly to come.

Warnings: Excessive amounts of adoreable innoccent Eridan. This will eventually be a yaoi. If you don't like that, how the fuck did you end up here? Really?

Word Count: 3,455

Summary: In a world where Trolls and Humans coexist and thrive, the sea has gone to waste due to pollution. The sea-dwellers have been forced to adapt to land or died, believing the finned ones to be officially extinct. Sollux is helping his now landwalking friend Feferi at her new marine biology lab when he finds the most unexpected thing washed up on the shore...a supposedly wiped out royal blood troll.

Notes: First try at a Homestuck fic, not so much first fic. (has plently more on another account) Might be crappy in homestuck standards...forgive me. I was just kinda suprized that there wasn't much a little mermaid thing going on with this pairing lol. Enjoy. Also on a note this is a gift for a friend. I don't really plan on making any fics after this.

He shouldn't be out here. Pulling off his glasses and setting them gingerly in his lap, he reached up to rub at his heterochromia eyes. Not that he wasn't used to staying up countless nights to program the computers but that was nothing for a troll like him. He was a technical genius after all. At least that was what others called it...in his mind it was nothing special. He could gaze into the glow of a laptop for countless hours with barely a blink and concentrate on single zeros out of ones in any pattern.

He wasn't in his comfort zone however, sitting in the infernal contraption humans called a 'jeep' in the middle of the night. He had promised Feferi however that he would take over Gamzee's watch duties for one night while the druggie was pulling double at guard with Karkat. They had just gotten new equipment in the lab and without a security system installed they couldn't trust to leave it alone with just the short troll. Sure he was strong, loud, and enough to scare off a common human...but any unknown troll would see his stature as an advantage...and possibly bring back-up. A quick buck these days was worth far more than species loyalty.

At least with Gamzee there he would look slightly imposing. The six foot something clown faced subjugglator may have been incoherent half the time...but he could swing a club when prompted.

He pushed his glasses back onto his face as he gazed out into the night. He needn't bother turning the headlights on...he could sense if something was out there. Frankly the vehicle was completely unncessary in itself...but he indulged the overexcited troll when she placed the keys in his grasp. Feferi seems to have become even more perky since she as with the other sea-dwelling trolls left in the world merged completely onto land. Her fins were now gone and her means of talking had simplified...only on a rare occasion and out of habit would she 'glub'. As her royal blood taught her she was one to take immediate action and project finding a solution to the sea's pollution over the years.

Humans. Humans were the reason Sollux was forced to patrol a shoreline at...1:32am. They had abused their resources as per usual and never bothered to clean up after themselves. Choosing instead to dump all of their waste in the precious ocean..it didn't take long to kill off thousands of creatures living in the depths...some trolls included.

He groaned softly to himself as he started up the machine with a fumbling of keys and pressed his foot slowly to the gas pedal. He figured he would make a round every hour...just a quick sweep of the shore and under one of the piers at either end, waiting out this night.

It was only halfway down the coastline when he sensed it...

Reaching forward and flipping on the lights just to make sure he wasn't wrong, not that he would be, he peered out into the water. The waves were casually splashing against the sands just barely touching something solid laying in the middle of the beach. He blinked, unsure of what he just saw.

Parking the vehicle and sliding out of the seat, he fished a flashlight from the glove department opposite him and exited completely. Turning it on and pointing directly at the object he at first thought it was one of those things called a 'dolphin'. It was definately a fish of somesort...a long scaly gray body stretched out in drag in the sand. A deep rich purple color was splashed amoung the scales like the marks of a koi fish and the tail tipped off in a spike to the one side. It almost reminded him of how Feferi's fins looked...

Venturing closer and moving the light along the body of the creature he began to notice the scales ended at a large dorsal fin, the same shape as the tail. What continued from that point nearly made him drop the lightstick and his jaw altogether. It was the upper body of a troll...the gray coloring continuing with flecks of the purple koi marks lining the muscular back. It was face down in the sand, the fins that all sea-dwelling trolls sported sprouting out from either of his cheeks and two were on both elbows, his fingers curled upward like he had been clawing his way onto the land before collapsing. The two signiture troll horns were curved slightly over his head, almost like subtle lightning bolts in their shape...

"Hey buddy! You okay?" He called out, though from the looks of it that wasn't going to do much good. The creature never moved, sounded, or by any means acknowledged the other troll's presence. He took a few steps more until he was practically overtop of the stranded fish and knelt slowly, in case it would be startled awake. He nudged the tip of the flashlight against what would've been a hip and waited for the reaction to come.

Nothing.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit..." He drowned out the i's in the word, biting his lower lip. He didn't have a rescue on his hands...he had a burial. Glancing around the area to see how far he was from the lab he eventually stood and crossed back to the jeep. He wasn't going to be able to lift the thing into the back...it was longer than he was tall. He didn't want to catch how much it weighed just it case it would crush him. Then he'd have to wait on either Gamzee or Karkat to realize he hadn't checked in...that could take hours. Gamzee would be too far off in lalaland and Karkat never turned on his walkie.

Maybe he could manage to grab the taller of the two for helping with lifting...

Leaning in through the driver side window he grabbed the walkie with the tips of his fingers, pulling it from the drink slot and into his grasp. Just as he was about to call the name out however there was a loud rasping sound from behind him. He whirled around immediately, preparing for a fight if neccessary but was met with nothing but darkness. The flashlight was still on the creature and he studied the path the light created for a moment. Who would jump him out here at this hour? Then he saw it. The slight rise of the troll's back as it forced itself up in a desperate breath of air, the rasping sound releasing again.

The damn thing was still alive.

"Fuck!"

Dropping the walkie he raced over, a million thoughts running through his mind over what exactly he was planning on doing. Basing it off the first thing that seemed a good plan, he hooked his arms under the chest and heeved. To his surprize the creature was much lighter than expected and he was falling back into the sand with the force of his lift. He heard the rasp again, this one quieter and he knew he was running out of time. Glancing over his shoulder at the sea he put force against his knees and stood, dragging the fish half more on the ground than he intended to. He knew he needed to be at least a few feet into the before he could revive the thing with a face of seawater. Enough to get it a few gulps of proper fish oxygen and then he would haul ass to the lab, knowing that the water here was definately not good for it.

His shoes were soaked when he deemed it good enough and lowered the creature slowly into the water. What he wasn't expecting was the thrashing he recieved next.

The troll was recoiling from the water, his rasping turned violent screeches of pain and Sollux yanked him as far away from the water as he could finding himself flat on his ass again. He stared as the sea-dweller used the whatever was left of its strength to crawl even further from the waves, mimicing the drag in the sand it had left earlier. Another rasp and it resumed its position face-down in the bank.

"...the fuck wath that!" He demanded out of reflex, despite knowing he wouldn't recieve a proper answer. He pushed himself to his feet once more still pondering over the violent reaction but more determined to rescue the stubborn thing. He repeated his earlier means of lifting the fish and dragged the now eerily silent being towards his jeep. Opening the back, he did all manners of pushing, pulling, shoving, tossing...anything that would fit it in properly. He had a tank of clean water in the back for emergencies such as this but with the reaction the thing had for the sea he decided against it.

Grabbing the items discarded he hopped into the front seat and revved the machine, taking off down the shore at a faster rate than normal. Holding the walkie up while trying to drive with both hands was proving difficult.

"KK you there? I need you to open the gateth!"

The last person he needed to talk to right now was the one of course who answered.

"Hey motherfucker, this is Gamzee motherfucking Makara on the walkie. Your voice is ringing out like a songbeast's melody and its magical. How blessed am I to be a motherfucking witness to such a beautiful thing."

"Gamzee not now! I need you to open the gateth for me! I got a rethcue coming in!"

"Right away brother."

Well at least that solved one problem.

"And tell KK to turn on hith damn walkie!"

He was barrelling through the open wire before he knew it, Gamzee holding true to his word luckily and he didn't bother to acknowledge the troll as he raced by. He was doing the logic in his mind once more as he pressed the garage key hanging by the mirror. A steel door opened in front of his path and he was slowing as he drove in, coming to a stop in front of two large water tanks resting in the basement. Observation tanks. Both were crystal clear and filled to the brim with fresh water. They were planning on emptying the second one day and refilling it with saltwater but being understaffed and lacking in subjects just made getting research done even harder. So far their only collection were a few freshwater trouts.

He was out and dragging the limp body up the ramp that rounded the first tank, moving to the platform the connected the two worlds. He was tense and prepared for the worst reaction yet as he slid the tail first this time into the water. No reaction...good or bad? He slowly let more of the body slip until finally all was submerged and he took a step back. The body was floating...not a good sign for fish. No movement, no rasps...the creature had to have been dead.

Sollux didn't make it in time.

He sighed and stared at the body for a moment. He had agreed to help Feferi for many reasons...some of them selfish...but at the same time he wanted what she wanted...

He wanted a normal world back. Well normal in what a troll would consider normal. He wanted to be able to curl up his recuperacoon and rest without any worries, knowing that when he crawled out the world would be the same as it should be. Slowly he came to rest on his ass and tugged his two color shoes off, rolling his pants up in liquid motions. He felt a bit dead from all of his work just now...all of it had been for nothing. If he hadn't been slacking off this creature could've been saved...he could've done so many things different.

Slowly he waded his legs into the water, staring at the body in front of him. He'd give it a few minutes of rest before he would put the being on ice for Feferi. He may have died in his quest for salvation but that didn't mean he would never be of help. Sollux tilted his head as he gazed at the face of the sea-dweller. He was young looking...his hair a scraggily mess of black with a purple wave going through it just as his scales. His eyes were closed but sensing the theme Sollux claimed them purple.

"I'm thorry..." He whispered, closing his own eyes as he looked down at his lap. It was a small moment of silence and after he had given the creature its respects he opened them again.

Only to find the body missing.

He snapped his head up, gazing around the tank curiously to see if it had drifted away but there was no sign. Maybe the dead troll had sunk...he assumed and groaned inwardly. He would have to take up diving gear to retrieve it then. This night couldn't possibly get any worse...

He was shuffling back to the edge of the platform, wetsuit clinging to him in places he certainly didn't appreciate. Slipping the mouthpiece between his lips and the appropriately bi-colored goggles around his eyes he was sliding into the tank. It was darker than he expected...he had only ever been in the water twice...and the lights having dimmed overhead to save power didn't help his visibility at all. He sunk lower and lower, assuming the body to have gone all the way to the bottom and didn't hesitate onto the tip of the flippers touched concrete.

On his guess he could see about two or so feet in front of him, using his arms to test the length. He walked slowly along the bottom, an eerie feeling rising on the back of his neck. He felt the water press against him...his head turning to see what had caused the disturbance but was once again met with nothing. The body had to have been close by...this tank was taller than it was wide. He continued his awkward shuffle until once again he felt the water churn. He gazed to the left, once again seeing nothing to have caused it and inwardly sighed. He didn't feel comfortable in the water.

Just when he thought to leave the body until the morning he felt the push against his back. He whirled his body with such force that he caught sight of what he was dreading to see.

There, hovering before him in the water, much more alive than anything...was the troll. He was maybe a foot away, head tilted and narrowed yellow eyes with purple iris that glowed violently in the dark of the water. They were both frozen as they stared each other down. The only movement being the occasional bubble from his oxygen mask or the swish of the mighty highblood's tail.

The fins across his face were twitching slightly and Sollux wasn't sure how to interpret that. He chose to remain still, in case the creature became startled and defensive.

Slowly the fish was making the first move, lacing its body around him in a close circle. It was as though it was studying him or seizing him up. Closer and closer the circle became until it was right on Sollux, nose an inch from his ear and it was doing the fish equivalent of sniffing at him. He couldn't help it...he shuddered.

In the next second the being had swam away, a feral sound escaping its lips as it did. He took a gulp of oxygen he forgot he needed and stared at the spot where it had just been. It was more scared of him than he was of it and that was a good thing. He didn't need to fear needing a means of escape. He pushed at the floor with his feet and sent himself upwards a bit, hands propeling him further. He smiled behind the oxygen mask. He couldn't wait to tell Feferi. An ancient troll was in her biology lab. She might even be able to get it to speak...see if there were others left like it.

He was close to the surface when he felt a strong grip around his leg. His gaze went downward and there with the most ferocious look he had seen on a troll in a long time was the sea-dweller. Eyes were wide with anger, fear, hunger...he couldn't tell but the pupils were mere slits compared to their fullness just a minute earlier. its mouth was open, skin stretched around the teeth it bared and the sound that was coming up through the water was anything but welcoming. It was on the defense now...and it was in its element.

He was tugged down deeper, the mask being slipped from his mouth from the force and the silent scream it brought forth. He had little air left now and what he would've had was bubbling up from the container, being wasted. The creature was pulling him deeper, trying to drown him apparently and it was swiming in quick zigzags. The speed and force was like a sick game of crack the whip and the last bit of air he had managed to save was released from his lungs. A torrent of water rained in on his mouth and he instinctively was trying to spit it out, only to let more in.

He was going to die at the hands of the being he just saved. What sweet irony.

Focusing what little of his mind that wasn't drifting into the sweet coon of death, he enveloped his body in his signiture telekinesis. The sea-dweller turned its gaze and screeched again, releasing his leg and hurtling towards the bottom of the tank in a panic. Once free he used the last of the energy surrounding his body to propel himself straight out of the water and onto the concrete platform. His lower half slid back into the water but he grabbed at the grated rock, gasping for all the air he could take.

Before Sollux could get used to breathing again however he felt the grip back on his leg. Managing a cry of help before he sucked in a breath he was drug underwater once more. The creature seemed intent on killing him one way or another. Now it was adding flips and spirals to its dragging, slamming his body with such power against the glass that he thought for sure one would break. It flung him into the open water and he scrambled to dog paddle up towards the surface again but the creature was back on him. This time it wrapped its tail around his mid-section, the scales that tipped it digging through the wetsuit into his flesh. Mustard colored blood was leaking into the water as it flipped, dragging him in an arch. His lungs were close to burst just as it uncoiled, sending him shooting up through the water and high up in the air. Just as his telekinesis had done he was thrown against the concrete, this time much further from the watery death.

"Jeez Sollux! We heard you screaming like it was the fucking end of your life and here you are taking a swim?"

He glanced up, air still pumping quickly through his lungs and nearly burst into a smile as he saw his friend Karkat standing above him. The security uniform was slightly wet, mostly due to the fact that Sollux had just splashed down in front of him and his face wore an agitated scowl like usual. That scowl soon dissappeared as he realized there was blood slowly pooling underneath his friend. Pulling a sickle from presumably nowhere, he growled low in his throat.

"What's going on!"

He didn't need to wait for an answer as the splashing behind Sollux was evidence they were not alone. Looking up from the wounded he gazed in rather stupored awe at the being gazing around the room.

"...that'th a highblood...a thea-dwelling highblood KK...just like Feferi wath..."

The fish turned to look at them, his head tilting slowly. Eyes were narrowing once more and its body ducked forward to swim towards them...

Karkat gripped the sickle tighter, moving to step up beside Sollux.

"If you were smart, you'd stay the FUCK back!"

It didn't head the warning, whether it didn't care or couldn't understand was the million dollar question. Closer and closer it swam and Sollux found himself shuffling further away from the edge.

"I SAID. STAY. THE. FUCK. BACK!"