This fanfiction will update every Friday! Enjoy, and just know that all of your comments and kudos really encourage me to keep going.
Chapter 2: Escape
"Here you go, little fish." The short man said with an overly gruff voice as he threw a piece of rotting fish into the tank. The siren stared at it for a moment, watching the piece of fish for a moment before he reached out for it. It was a lot harder to starve oneself than it seemed, and soon he found himself willing to eat as long as it meant he wouldn't be forced to eat. Being force fed by the bearded lady wasn't something he wanted to repeat.
"Marcus said you did good today. Didn't try to bite anyone." The man glanced back, as though Marcus the ringleader would show up and reprimand him for talking to the siren. "Tomorrow we're gonna have a treat, but Marcus says you can't have any. If you're good I'll sneak you some though."
The siren didn't eat the fish offered to him, and instead he simply splashed some of the water out of the tank to get the man wet. The man chuckled and jumped back, as the siren let out a small laugh that looked like nothing more than a couple bubbles just floating to the surface.
"Eat your fish, I'll see ya tomorrow." The man said before he disappeared.
The siren watched for a moment before he floated to the surface, lifting his hand and throwing the rotting fish as far away as he could. It landed with a thunk on the railing of the pier, before it slipped off and landed in the water. The siren sighed for a moment, glancing around to make sure that no one else saw that before he slipped back under the surface of the water. Another day, another night, trapped in the bowl like a fish.
Dipper walked through the people heading home for the night, the only thing suspicious about him was the two burly men following behind a step after him. Dipper wasn't looking forward to seeing the siren again, remembering how the fish had just looked lifeless against the bottom of the tank.
What must it be like to go from the wide ocean to a small and confined tank? Dipper didn't want to think about it, more so because he didn't want to think about what it would be like to be confined. He didn't have to think about it too much, as they were standing on the edge of the pier. Dipper glanced around for a moment, before he looked back at Killbone and Ghost Eyes.
"Go get a tub or something, we can't move him unless he's in water. Gideon would kill us if we accidentally killed him." Dipper instructed, and the two men nodded before they started off in their search. Dipper called after them to be careful, but he was sure the two of them had served prison sentences, they would more than likely be okay.
There was no gate surrounding the pier, only a waist high fence guarding the abandoned shops that were active during the day. Dipper easily hopped over the fence, well as easily as one could when they hopped over the fence when their foot got caught and they nearly landed on their face. Luckily for Dipper there was no one out to see him, and he easily slipped through the stalls to the freakshow he was at earlier.
He made his way up to the tank, using the light of the moon which was barely peeking over the horizon to see his way. He would occasionally duck down so that he wasn't seen, but it was easy to avoid it even if he had been walking. Dipper was small enough to move through a crowd unseen, and he always had a way of going unnoticed when he moved through places.
Finally he was at the tank though, and it had a large metal plate over the top of it. He hadn't accounted for that, but he knew Killbone and Ghost Eyes would be able to move it easily. For a moment he wondered why it would be there, until he imagined himself being trapped in a tank. There would have to be a lot more to keep Dipper trapped there.
"Hello." He whispered, thankful that the sides were clear so he could see the siren. Dipper didn't know if the siren could hear him, and tapped gently on the side of the tank.
The fish was asleep, but that didn't stop those blue eyes from opening slowly. As soon as the siren saw him, the blonde backed up to the other side of the tank, watching him with wary eyes. Dipper didn't expect anything else, but he didn't move from his place next to the tank. He would be wary of strangers too.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you." Dipper reassured the siren, holding his hands up so he could show he wasn't hiding anything. The siren didn't come any closer, but didn't try to back up further. For a moment, Dipper was at a loss for words, before he started to talk. He was always one for making speeches anyways.
"My name's Dipper, I work on a ship." He pointed at the shipyard down the docks, almost unable to be seen in the night. "I came to see the show earlier. Can you hear me okay?" Dipper's heart felt like it was trying to beat out of his chest. He did nothing to show though, just tapped his fingers on his knee.
After a long moment of just sitting in silence and hearing nothing but the waves, Dipper saw the golden haired siren nod. Dipper breathed a sigh of relief, and looked over at the golden tail for a moment before he looked back at the siren's blue eyes.
"I won't hurt you. I came to see you because my boss wanted me to, and I'm here now to make an offer. I don't think it would be nice to lay in this tank all day." Dipper reached up and placed his hand flat against the glass as though that would prove his point. "I saw what you did to your neck, did that hurt?"
The siren reached up, tracing the dark scar that laid across his pale neck. For a moment, Dipper didn't really expect a response to his question, and tried to think of something else to say instead. Then the siren nodded, hand still on his neck defensively like he thought Dipper would be able to jump through and do more damage to him.
"That's a terrible thing to do to someone." Dipper muttered. "I can't imagine what that was like, do you know sign language?" Reaching up, he made a couple signs he had learned from when he was younger and bored, going through a couple of his uncle's books. The siren didn't respond to the motions, and Dipper's hands fell back in his lap.
"I can take you away from this place, and you won't ever have to be put on show again." Dipper didn't know what Gideon had planned for the siren, but he doubted it would be anything like this. "You can come with me, and I can make sure that you aren't hurt again. This." He paused to gesture at his own neck. "Won't ever happen again."
The siren rubbed at his neck, as finally Dipper heard the hurried whispers of Killbone and Ghost Eyes approach them. Dipper glanced back over his shoulder, looking at the two men who were carrying a large tub of water between them. Dipper stood, looking back at the siren who had moved closer to the edge where Dipper had been sitting.
Dipper explained that the top needed to be broken off, and the two pirates immediately set to work on it. The siren was more interested in how he seemed to be given a choice than actually leaving, and he watched as the two men managed to get the top of his tank off with a loud crack. The siren glanced back at the ringmaster's tent, but no one seemed to hear it yet.
"Listen, we can get you away from here, we can make you safe. Come with me." Dipper said as the siren slowly moved up, water dripping from his chin as he looked at Dipper. "Don't you want to get away from the people who have hurt you so much?"
Dipper reached out a hand, looking at the other places around them as the lights started to come on once more. Dipper didn't have time for this, and was about to tell Killbone and Ghost Eyes just to grab the siren and throw him in the tank, but then the siren reached out, taking Dipper's hand and staring at the other expectantly.
A firm nod from the brunette, and with the help of Killbone and Ghost Eyes, they got Bill out of the tank and into the tub of water. They scurried from the pier and towards the ship, just as the ringmaster started screaming about his missing attraction, a certain siren who had tried to escape before but had never succeeded. The siren hoped he would never have to go back.