Hey everyone! Long time no see! Sorry that I just dropped off the face of the Earth for a while! ^^; Between life craziness (moving into a new apartment, being in my Junior year of college—you get the picture!) and a really, really bad case of writer's block I just haven't had the time or the energy to write. BUT! The wait is now over, and I have a completely new story for you guys that I'm super pumped about! I fortunately went back to my old rule of finishing writing, typing, and editing the story before beginning to post it, so I swear, this one will actually have a proper ending instead of unfortunately leaving you guys hanging when my inspiration runs out! Also for the first time, I had a beta for my story, the lovely TheNightFury ( u/3098244/TheNightFury) who helped make this story sooo much better than it would have been if I'd just gone it alone! Anyways, enough of my chatter, I know you all want to get to the story! So, without further ado: Big Hero Mer!

0o0

Fred wipes his brow as he leans against the wall of the stately living room that he was cleaning. Dang, housework was harder than he'd ever imagined! For his entire life, Fred had lived in a house with an army of servants to pick up and clean after him-it was one of the perks of having a father who owned a large corporation. Until about a week ago, Fred had never even held a mop. But it was funny how necessity could change things. Well, not necessity, exactly, but close enough.

For as long as he could remember, Fred had lived in the same house (well, mansion, really) on the same street in the same gated community in the same town. Sure, his parents had exotic vacation homes all over the world, but the truth was, most of the time they went off on vacations without him, leaving him to be looked after by the family's loyal manservant and butler, Heathcliff. It was bad enough during the school year, when at least Fred got to be around other teens-not that he actually had any friends at school, mind you. He set off everyone's nerd radar in a hundred mile radius and no one wanted to be associated with the dweeb that the bullies at school took great pleasure in shoving into lockers and throwing in the dumpsters on a regular basis. But at the very least he had company there. Now that it was summer, he was stuck at home and completely B.O.R.E.D. Almost all of his neighbors were elderly couples who were sweet but had a bad habit of pinching his cheeks and smelled like cat urine or else were young rich who had no interest in him, much too busy with their own fabulously adventurous lives to care about the teen who liked to spend his weekends at conventions or resorting his massive collection of comic books. Of all the neighbors on the street, the ones which fascinated him most were the Hamadas. The family had lived there for as long as anyone could recall, which was a very long time considering how long some of the residents on this street had been there. Apparently years ago the home had been owned by a young doctor and his wife, but they had died in a terrible car accident, leaving behind a young son as heir to the estate. An aunt had been found, and she had come to live with the boy, and that's about all that anyone knew about the matter.

Even before the accident, Mr. and Mrs. Hamada had been very private people, never coming to parties or associating with their neighbors. After their death, the son and his caretaker were almost never, ever seen. There were rumors that the aunt had a cafe somewhere in the city, although no one had taken the time to confirm it and she was never seen coming or going. The son was apparently taught by tutors at home (he was rumored to be a genius of some sort, a child prodigy, but that also had never been confirmed.) Most of the families in the neighborhood decided to leave them in peace, if that's what they wanted, or were just not interested enough to care what happened behind the gates. But to Fred, the Hamada mansion held an air of mystery, a riddle just begging to be solved. And, given the fact that he had nothing but time on his hands, Fred was determined that this would be the summer that he would find out what was going on in that mansion.

It hadn't been easy to get inside. He'd tried the subtle approach-sending a formal invitation to the boy who lived there to come over to hang out. After all, they were approximately the same age (he was seventeen; the boy, whom he had found out by asking around was named Hiro,was thirteen) and it could be considered a nice, neighborly gesture. Unfortunately, he had never received a reply, and after a couple of weeks of hoping, he'd given up on that course of action. Next he tried the more direct approach-spying. He'd go for "walks" in the neighborhood, dawdling outside the fence of the Hamada estate for as long as he could without raising suspicion (although he was pretty sure he had anyways.) He now knew just how many cracks there were in the sidewalk in front of the mansion (28) and how many bars were on the fence (232), but little else. Aside from a gardener who absolutely refused to even answer to "Hello", no one ever came or left the mansion, and the solid stone structure refused to yield any of its secrets as the drapes were always drawn in all the windows (even around back, he'd managed to check once). He was just about to give up and sink into a dull, listless apathy like he did about halfway through every summer when he finally found the answer to his prayers.

It had come in the form of overheard gossip from two of the maids who were cleaning the living room. Apparently one of them had heard from a friend, who heard it from another friend, who heard it from their cousin's sister's step-daughter's brother who apparently knew the man who delivered all of the Hamada's groceries that the mysterious mansion down the street was looking for a new house boy as the previous one had left to be married and were discreetly asking around in hopes of finding a replacement. Instantly, Fred was filled with a fiery determination. It didn't matter that he knew nothing about cleaning or taking care of a house-he was going to get the position and find out once and for all what was going on over in that house.

It had honestly been almost a miracle he'd gotten in. First he'd had to convince some of the servants to show him how to clean the house-they had looked at him like he was losing his mind, but, then again, they were used to his slightly eccentric whims and eventually he'd convinced them. Once he was finally able to tell a broom from a mop, he was ready for the next part of his plan: actually getting an interview. It had taken a lot of work-given it would be suspicious to ask the maid he'd heard about the job from to help him, he had to try every grocery store in the local area, pretending to work for the Hamadas and needing to "make a change to their regular order" before he'd finally located the one that they actually got their supplies from (and man, apparently they ordered a lot of fish…) As soon as he'd found that out, he'd managed to get Heathcliff to drive him over (thank goodness the butler hardly ever asked questions, let alone spoke) and, after much asking around, finally located the friend's friend's cousin's sister's step-daughter's brother's acquaintance who actually delivered the groceries. The man thought he was absolutely insane when he asked him to help him get a chance to apply for the job ("What does a kid like you need with a job like that?") but after much begging and pleading (and, all right, a little bribery), he'd finally managed to score the interview.

As much trouble as it had been to get the interview, Fred was prepared to face the forces of Valhalla when he finally arrived at the Hamada estate on an early Thursday morning. He'd expected to be interviewed by the head of staff, like most of his family's servants were when they applied for a job. When he heard, though, that he was to be personally seen by the lady of the manor, he'd almost passed out-surely she would see right through him, even with all the references he'd managed to get from his family's staff (he'd told them he was applying for a theater arts program at the local community college and needed references of his character, and they'd bought the story easily enough-although maybe it was just that they knew he'd stop bothering them the sooner they did as he asked and had learned not to ask too many questions.) But, to his great surprise, Cassidy Hamada (or Cass, as she insisted he call her) was a very sweet, kind, unassuming lady who looked like she'd be more at home in a small apartment, wearing sweats, baking cookies, and taking care of a cat or two than running an entire manor. The interview was very brief-apparently the fact that he'd been recommended by their regular delivery person whom she trusted and that all of his many references spoke very highly of his character was enough for her, and, to Fred's utter amazement, he landed the job. There was a slight snag in the fact that he would not be living on the grounds-he was tempted to actually agree to that in order to go completely undercover, but apparently his story that he was a local university student and also was needed at home to look after his ailing mother and seven younger siblings (okay, he'd probably been pushing it a bit with that-why hadn't he thought of a more sensible number, like three?) had been believable enough that she agreed to allowing for that. In exchange, however, he had to sign a massive privacy contract: apparently he was not allowed to even talk about anyone or anything he saw on the grounds or else he would be sued within an inch of his life (not in those exact terms, but close enough.) Fred had gladly signed-after all, solving the mystery was something he wanted to do for himself, it wasn't like he was planning on telling the entire world (unless it turned out that the Hamadas were actually super villains or something-but in that case, he'd find a way to become a superhero and deal with the problem himself. Going to the police was completely for amateurs!)

So yes. It had been about a week since Fred had started working here, and while he hadn't seen anything definite, he had his hopes high! The house itself was something of a mystery-the entire place was nautically themed, with artifacts that looked like they might have come off of actual sunken ships decorating every room, and more twisting passages which seemed to lead to nowhere and dark, abandoned wings than he could ever care to count. The staff themselves were a very tight-lipped group-there were very few of them to begin with, just barely enough to keep up with general care of the house and taking care of the family, and either they were extremely determined to keep their mouths shut or just weren't talkative by nature as he rarely could get even a "Hello" out of them (and he had definitely tried!) The family… Well, Cass seemed perfectly normal (it turned out that she did own a cafe, which she worked in every day, as it had been her dream to run one ever since she was a little girl and she hadn't wanted to give that up, even when her brother's death had left her with more resources than she knew what to do with), but even though she was generally talkative and friendly, there was something in her tone and the way her eyes sometimes shifted at the slightest unexplained sounds that made Fred think that there was more to her than she was letting on. As for her nephew, Hiro, Fred hardly ever saw him, and the few times he had seen him the teen had refused to even make eye contact with him-he had an air that seemed to say that he wanted to be left alone and yes, in fact, he did think that he was better than everyone. All of these things kept Fred determined to keep trying, despite how hard the work was (he was kind of the catch-all for any tasks which the other servants couldn't or wouldn't do, on top of some small regular duties, and he soon discovered that cleaning a mansion was an endless job.)

Oh. And had he mentioned the locked secret room?

Yes. That was where he was sure the key to the whole mystery lay. On the day of his interview, once he'd signed all of the forms, he'd been given a tour of the mansion, and while he'd been told that his job would be to help keep the areas of the house which the family used regularly clean as well as any other portions of the mansion he found time for, he had been given very clear and almost threatening instructions that he was never to try to enter or so much as go near the door to a certain room in the house. Of course Fred had agreed to these terms, but since that day he'd used every opportunity he could to try sneak in. He'd attempted just turning the handle, and when that hadn't worked, he'd tried his skills as a lock picker, only to discover, to his great disappointment, that the room required a fingerprint scam to unlock it. From then on, he'd try the handle whenever he could, just in case it was accidentally left unlocked, or at least to press an ear to the door in case he could hear something behind it-so far he had only ascertained that there seemed to be running water of some sort in the room-but even this was difficult as the door seemed to have someone guarding or keeping an eye on it almost 24/7 so attempts had to be squeezed into lucky moments when no one was looking. Still, Fred would not give up hope. He was desperate to know what was going on in that room, especially now that it was almost in his grasp!

Unfortunately, at least for now, he had a job to do and, realizing that he'd been standing still, lost in his thoughts, for so long that it was probably beginning to get suspicious, he shakes himself and continues mopping the floor of the sitting room. It was the room next to the hall which lead to the family's living quarters and also housed the door to the secret room, and he spent as much time as he could cleaning in here everyday. However, he was beginning to think that the other servants were starting to get suspicious and that he was going to have to change up his routine if he didn't want to be found and and, consequently, fired before he could even find out what was actually happening here.

He lets out a tiny groan of frustration as he shoves the mop across the tile with a little more force than was necessary. He was so close! When was he going to catch a break?!

It was almost like Heaven had heard his pleas and was finally answering them. Out of nowhere, Fred suddenly became aware of the sound of voices-or one voice, at least, which he managed to identify as Hiro's-coming from out in the hallway and-was he imagining it, or was it actually emanating from behind the door to the mystery room?

Instantly formulating a plan of action, Fred ducks behind the curtains of the study-maybe it wasn't the most original hiding place, but it served his purpose. He stays still, barely breathing, listening, listening…

There it was! The sound of a door opening-and not just any door, a door that sounded like it hadn't been used in a while!

"All right Dashi, laugh it up, but maybe you'd like having to walk around the long way to get to your room when you accidentally locked the second door from the wrong side!" Hiro's voice says, catching Fred completely off guard. Not only was it much more cheerful (despite the obvious annoyance in the tone) than Fred had ever heard it before, but apparently, unless he was talking to himself, there was someone else in that room-someone who, if Fred had heard right, was named "Dashi".

The man's heart pounds in his chest as he hears the younger boy's footsteps in the hallway, padding off down the corridor. From what Hiro had said, he was heading back to his room-that was a good ways down the hallway. If that was the case, and he hadn't actually seen him, Fred had time to sneak over to the door and give it a try. Was it likely that the door would have stayed unlocked? Almost definitely not. It probably automatically locked whenever the latch went back into place. But still, there was the slight chance that maybe it hadn't properly locked. It was one-in-a-million chance, but it was still a chance and he had nothing to lose by trying.

As soon as he's certain that he doesn't hear Hiro's footsteps in the hall anymore, Fred carefully climbs out from behind the drapes and sneaks across the study to the opening to the hallway. He peers around the corner-no sign of the younger boy.

All right, this was it-this was probably going to be his best shot at ever finding out what was going on in this place, and he might have only moments to go for it. As fast as he can, he races across the hall, putting his hand on the bar-like metal handle and pressing down on it. Please open, please open, please open!

And, lo and behold-it opened.

Gasping with exhilaration at his success and good fortune, Fred pushes the door open and ducks inside. The heavy weighted panel "clicks" shut behind him with a note of finality. If he'd been thinking clearly, Fred might have realized that he was potentially stuck in here- with Heaven-knew-what was being hidden inside, maybe you had to thumbprint scan your way out as well as in. But Fred wasn't thinking clearly-he was instead gaping with awe at the scene in front of him. It was almost like a tropical paradise had been brought inside-the entire room was filled with exotic plants which filled the air with their sweet, heady scent, the floor covered in pure white sand. And, in the middle of it all? An olympic size swimming pool full of pure, crystal blue water, so deep that, from his position near the door, Fred couldn't see the bottom of it, although he could faintly see some murky shadows in the water, suggesting that there was something beneath the surface. What drew the majority of his attention, though, was a man-made cove on the side of the pool closest to him. Stones were stacked to create a miniature cave, the inside of which appeared to be fitted with stone benches, some of which were halfway in-and-out of the water. It was somewhat hard to see the inside, however, as there was a waterfall running down over the front of it like a protective curtain, shielding it from the rest of the room.

Unable to contain his curiosity (he had come too far to go back now, even though he'd probably find himself up to his eyeballs in trouble and lawsuits if he got caught poking around in here), Fred makes his way across the sand as silently as he can, intent on investigating the cove. Surely the family wouldn't be this intent on just keeping an indoor paradise a secret, even from nosy neighbors who might want to make use of it! There must be something more to it, and somehow he had the sense that whatever he was looking for was in that cove.

Just outside the entrance to the cave, Fred draws up short-there really was no point of return here-he had to go under that waterfall to get into it, and he'd have no explanation as to how he'd ended up soaking wet if asked and he'd end up completely busted. Was it probably the stupidest decision of his life? Oh yeah. But he was determined that it would be worth it. So, taking a deep breath, he ducks his head and runs underneath to find-

Nothing. After all this time, after everything he'd gone through, he had found absolutely nothing! Nada! Zip! Zilch! Goose Egg! The cave was just a stupid cave, there was nothing special or of value here! Gah, how could he have been so stupid?! Building up the "secret" of this place in his mind-he had probably been making it all up, and now what did he have to show for it? Nothing but potentially a life in prison for completely breaking his employer's trust like this. Maybe it would be easier just to drown himself in the pool-a lot quicker and a lot less painful too.

Just as he's about to ram his forehead into the wall in frustration (wondering if he knocks some brains loose if maybe he can plead insanity), a voice says, "Hiro? Hiro, is that you? Did you find the screwdriver you were looking for?"

Instantly Fred whirls around to face the direction of where he'd heard the voice coming from-he hadn't even heard someone else come in! Moments later, he spots him-half submerged in the water, obviously having swum in (which explained the silent entry), he was without a doubt the most beautiful man that Fred had ever seen. His raven black hair glistened almost blue, the water droplets caught in it shining like tiny diamonds. His pale alabaster skin spoke of a life lived without much sun, his toned chest and arms adding to his almost statue-esque quality, as if every one of his perfectly defined features had been chiseled out of marble. And his eyes-oh, those eyes. Fred swore that he could feel himself melting into them, as if he was being sucked into twin chocolate whirlpools that had him in their deadly thrall but were so warm and inviting that he didn't even care that he was drowning.

He was so caught up in them, in fact, that it wasn't for a full minute that he realized that he'd missed one very, very important detail about this almost demi-god that he'd just encountered: Namely, that beneath the surface of the water, where his legs should have been, he had a long, lithe silver tail.

He was half fish. And Fred had just completely and irrevocably fallen for him.

0o0

Well, things just got interesting, didn't they? What a cliffhanger to leave you guys on! (I know, I'm horrible, but hey, it'll give you something to look forward to, right?) I really, really hope that y'all enjoyed this first chapter, and I can't wait to hear what you think! Virtual cookies to all my lovely reviewers this week! See you next week with chapter two!

~Bonnie