Author's Note:
[Merman!Evan]
Inspired by noodlebirdie and June Ellie's conversation about a mermaid AU.
Human experimentation setting idea by June.
Sounds super fun because I've never thought of approaching a mermaid AU that way, so I took it and developed it into this because she said I can XDDD
Warning for being occasionally macabre.
Also, this will probably be episodic rather than have a plot.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction and has no connection to any military or law enforcement agencies. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any trademarks appearing in this work are the property of their respective owners.
【Mermaid Project】
【Prologue】
Hidden labs, Geneva, Switzerland 14:21
Following a trail of unsolved mysterious disappearances all over Europe had led to the discovery of a hidden laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the intel provided by VSSE field operatives Alan and Wesley, the lab had been conducting illegal human experimentation to create biological weapons, led by a scientist known only by the alias of 'Dr. Frankenstein'.
Most of the kidnapping victims being children, the local authorities and the VSSE had decided to take him down immediately. For that, they had assigned Giorgio, one of their top solo agents, to infiltrate the facility with the help of the Swiss Armed Forces. The mission's objective was to capture Dr. Frankenstein and destroy all the biological weapons that he had created.
As expected of Giorgio, the mission had gone mostly smoothly, aside from the fact that Dr. Frankenstein shot himself in the head the moment he knew that he had lost.
Afterwards, led by Giorgio, the Swiss soldiers had gone down to the lower levels of the lab in search of the reported biological weapons. However, upon reaching their destination in the dark, maze-like building, they found things so inhuman that they had been shocked to the core.
Cut-off body parts of humans and animals kept in storage, conjoined bodies on operation tables twisted in unnatural ways, limbless torsos kept in cages, giant tubes filled with preserved creatures that were half-man and half-beast, corpses of deformed failed experiments, as well as various other monstrosities.
Every creature in the room welcomed the newcomers with either extreme aggression or extreme fear. They didn't seem to have any humanity left in their soulless eyes as they took after the behavior of whichever animal they had been fused with, scratching and biting at the iron bars of their cages. The disturbing view caused nausea in all those present.
"Destroy everything. Burn down that lab!"
Enraged by Dr. Frankenstein's actions, it was the immediate order that was given by the higher-ups. Giorgio and the soldiers agreed that these monsters should not be left to roam free, and death was probably the only thing left in this world that could end their despair and misery.
On the upper floor, Dr. Frankenstein's body had a sick grin on his face even in deathーthe grin of a man who had accomplished his goals and was satisfied that he had lived his life to the fullest, dying with no regrets.
Dr. Frankenstein's Notes
24/8/1991 [Mermaid Project]
As I've said before, we're basically trying to make a whole new 'race' of people. My hypothesis that young children would be the best to experiment on has proved to be true so farーtheir bodies are still in a developmental stage and will therefore accept our cellular modifications and new body parts much more easily than adults.
Having come to a level where we can at least create hybrids that survive up to a few years after their fusion, I've decided that my next project will be a mermaid. (I've always been fascinated by them and wanted to see one!)
Unfortunately, all the girls we currently have were used up to create lamias, sirens, sphinxes and harpies. Time is of the essence though, so I've had to pick one of the boys. After looking through our captives and running them through compatibility tests, I've decided that 10-year-old Evan Bernard will do. (He has such angelic features and I was told that he came from a fisherman's family. How sweet! I'll make sure that I do him justice and turn him into a beautiful being.)
For the fish half, I'm thinking of maybe using a bottlenose dolphin, the reason being that dolphins are mammals and will most likely have a better chance of fusing successfully with us humans than your average fish.
Either way, this will be our 81st project. Can't believe that we've made it this far! What progress!
5/12/1991 [On Subject 81]
We've successfully completed the fusion stage of the mermaid project. Unlike our other experiments which had behaved in an entirely beast-like manner after their fusion, Subject 81 seems to have retained his human side, maintaining high levels of self-awareness and brain activity.
I'd say that I'm quite impressed! Is it because dolphins are intelligent creatures? We'll continue monitoring him and see how things go from here.
【Meeting 1】
VSSE HQ 16:14
Giorgio put the reports down with a sigh, almost not believing his eyes. It turned out that Dr. Frankenstein hadn't been making biological weapons, but was instead experimenting on humans to satisfy his sick needs as a mad scientist.
Even though the mission was over, Giorgio had decided to pore over the scientist's notes, just in case they could shed some new light on their investigations. Aside from that, he had another major reason to be interested in themーin front of him was the VSSE HQ's wide swimming pool, now housing a 23-year-old Subject 81, Evan Bernard.
"Giorgioooo~! Come and play with me, won't you?" Evan laughed joyfully, throwing a light beachball that the VSSE had given him towards Giorgio. It bounced harmlessly off the top of Giorgio's head, landing and rolling away on the tiled floors. Giorgio sighed again.
"Coming," he said, picking up the beachball and walking over to the edge of the pool, throwing it back at Evan.
The ball flying over his head, the merman playfully swam after it, his tail glistening in the water. Watching him, Giorgio thought back to the events at Dr. Frankenstein's lab a few days ago.
The command was to destroy everything in the lab, and the soldiers were ready to do just that. However, one creature had stuck out so clearly from the rest. It was Evan, being the only one of Dr. Frankenstein's creations who was capable of speech and retained some sense of humanity. He had hidden away fearfully in his tank, begging for his life.
"Killing this one would be like killing a civilian!" Giorgio had insisted aggressively that day, "He's a victim and I request that you spare him!"
After a lot of mess and persistent debates among the higher-ups, they had eventually agreed to let Evan live, provided that he stayed within the VSSE HQ, as letting him back out into the world might cause a panic. Afraid of people after his traumatic experiences in the labs, Evan himself had no intention of leaving either. They had lent him the HQ gym's swimming pool to live in for now, while they decided where they could build him a more private tank.
Giorgio sat down at the edge of the pool, dipping his legs into the water. Evan swam over to him excitedly, folding his arms over Giorgio's lap. Giorgio brushed the wet hair out of Evan's face.
"Evan... Aren't you lonely here?" He asked. Evan shook his head.
"I have you, and that's enough," he said confidently. "I think you're the first person who's been nice to me in... I dunno, 13 years?"
"..." Giorgio had a sympathetic look in his eyes as he continued the conversation. Having been the one to rescue Evan, he felt responsible for him.
"Hey, tell me if you ever need anything, alright? I'll do my best to get it for you," he offered.
"Giorgio! Being so nice?" Evan laughed. "But euh... I can't think of anything. To tell you the truth, I'm currently living such a comfortable life already, compared to my time at that lab. I don't think I really need anything else..."
"Is that so?" Giorgio asked, leaning back a little to take a good look at his new friend. "Then let me ask. Are you... happy?"
"...?"
That question seemed to have struck Evan somewhere uncomfortable. He remained quiet, avoiding Giorgio's gaze.
"Well, umm..."
It suddenly hit him that he had forgotten what happiness was, having been locked away in the labs for so long. Bitter memories of how scary things had been began to crawl back. The scientists had killed his parents and kidnapped him. In the labs, he had seen things that a child was not meant to see, before falling victim to the heinous experiments himself. He shivered, suddenly afraid for his life again.
"Evan."
Evan gasped as Giorgio's voice pulled him back, his savior's firm, comforting hand resting on his shoulder.
"It's okay. Look at me," Giorgio said with reassurance, "I'm here with you and you're safe, alright? Sorry about that."
"..." Calming down, Evan shook his head. "No, it's not your fault."
"Well... I guess that's one thing we can work on, then," Giorgio said, seemingly having decided on something.
"...?"
"Let's see how much I can cheer you up while you're here!"
And so began Giorgio's personal quest.