Atem handed the garbage bag up to Kemo, who reached down from the edge of the Chrysalis to take it from him, and thanked him with a nod.

Is this goodbye?" Atem asked, turning to face Seto, who was once again buried in his phone.

"Yes, one second…" Kaiba hissed, sending one last vengeful text to Mokuba before he handed the phone to Atem and said, "Hand this back up."

Kemo wrapped his hand around his phone and tucked it into his pocket, sweating as he hauled the garbage bag over his shoulder and walked back to the car. He knew the hole in the rock was important, so he'd wait faithfully at the edge until Master Kaiba and Atem were gone.

"I'm sorry we both don't feel well," Atem said forlornly, taking off his shoes and setting it on the mat they'd brought in to shield their bare feet from the tiny rocks. He remembered to take off his mother's ring and place it on the edge of the water before soaking his legs.

"I wanted to play on the beach with you while you were in mer-form," he added, slightly irritated that Seto was still engrossed with the phone.

You and me both, Kaiba thought darkly, tucking the phone and keys to the mansion safely inside the metal box they'd also brought down. The entire chrysalis was looking quite welcoming after they'd swept it up and cleared away all the dead debris and rotting seaweed.

The mossy rocks were the only untouched characteristic of the pool. They'd even taken the time to replace the metal rungs on the side with newer ones, with the help of Kemo and a power drill.

Kaiba admired their handiwork and palmed the walls of the rock, itching to cut into it to make shelves. He'd have to come back with Seth, and a spear.

"What are you doing? Get in!" Atem urged, already naked and shivering in the edge of the shallow pool of water. "We'll be cured of this illness the moment our fins come back."

Doubt it, Kaiba argued back blithely in his head, and he made sure to keep it to himself. He had a sinking feeling about what the nausea might mean, but all of him refused to believe it.
It was shore illness, plain and simple.

He stripped off his suit, folded his tie neatly atop the stack of clothes, and placed his shoes carefully on the mat besides Atem's and stared at them wistfully. Goodbye, feet.

"Seto, get...in! I'm already halfway th—" Atem clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide while his shoulder shook.

"Don't vomit here!" Kaiba cried warningly, glancing around nervously for a solution. His gaze landed on the set of syringes filled with liquified slugs tied together in a neat pack beside the metal box, so he snatched one up and didn't hesitate before stabbing Atem in the hip with it, emptying the contents with one fluid push of his thumb.

Atem shuddered and slowly pried his hand away from his mouth, giving Seto a weak but grateful smile as he said, "…I-I feel…better…thank you..."

"…Fuck," Kaiba muttered, and he grabbed another syringe for himself before plopping himself down into the water unceremoniously, his mood darkening fast. He could feel his toes webbing together, and he jerked his leg up to stare at it, seeing a disgusting array of green and blue scales sprouting from his calves, so he shoved his foot back into the water, his heart pounding thickly in his ears.

"I see. This is what you used to keep yourself alive," Atem said shakily, reaching over to place his hand over Seto's much paler one, giving him a loving squeeze. "It must've been painful, administering these needles to yourself."

Kaiba said nothing and watched his knees knit together and slowly disappear underneath a giant mesh of shiny scales. He lifted his hand up to his face, seeing his claws return with a furious rush and sharpen to an alarming point again. Great. Perfect.

"Hey. We're going home. Stop that nonsense in your head," Atem reprimanded anxiously, giving Seto's other hand a tighter squeeze. "You want to come home, don't you?"

Kaiba held Atem's gaze for a long time, admiring how the sun glinted off of Atem's beautiful angular eyes before he relaxed and nodded. Yes. This was fine.
He could come back to this place anytime he wanted.

Atem smiled warmly at him and pointed at his lower body, his eyes bright.

"Look! You're all done. Let's go." Atem insisted, snatching his ring off the edge to slide it onto his finger and grabbing Seto's hand again, giving him a tug.

Kaiba stared emptily down at his fins, waving it to and fro in the water one last time, taking it all in. Atem gave him another tug. Finally, he gave in and sank into the water, swimming towards the hole that led to the ocean.

Atem's violet fins were glistening prettily before him in the minty blue water, and Kaiba stared so hard, his eyes began to water. This wasn't a dream. This was real.
Atem was holding his hand, leading him down, down, deeper, back to their home.

Beaming, Atem threw Kaiba a charming smile, faltering when he felt a strange surge of nausea rising up in his chest, growing tight at his throat, making it hard to breathe.

My pact?! It's activating again! Atem cried silently, curling forward in the water and feeling Seto's warm arms around his shoulders steadying him.

No, it's not, Kaiba replied, fuming privately.
He looped his arm strongly through Atem's elbow and tugged him through the water, searching for the markers that indicated they were near Seth's hemisphere. He could feel Atem weakening beside him, and he dug his fingers into the king's arm, hanging onto him tightly, hating everything.

Goddammit.
Goddammit.
Goddammit it all.
Adina was barely a decade old.
Seth was right….

"What are you thinking about?" Atem asked breathlessly, his vision fading dangerously in and out the deeper they got. A guard swam steadily towards them, his arm in a stiff salute with his spear at his side while they drifted past.

"Where's the Medic? Go get them," Kaiba snapped at the guard, and the man sprang into action, diving away in a flash, leaving a trail of bubbles behind him.

Atem leaned his head on Seto's shoulder, breathing shallowly as the urge to vomit was high.

Did I eat something bad? Am I ill? Atem asked wildly, seeing Seto set his mouth in a thin line and shake his head, his blue eyes nailed to the black-haired medic zooming towards them, his eyes wide with concern.

"Glad you're back," he said informally, grabbing both Seto and Atem by the arm and practically dragged them through the water to the infirmary.

Atem blinked slowly, trying to take in the wonderful sights of the glittering dwellings before he was pulled through a set of sliding glass doors and wrapped up in a pod. The green leaves closed tightly around his shoulders, and the medic's frowning face was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.

Meanwhile, Kaiba was shaking his head furiously, fighting the medic.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," Kaiba ranted, struggling to pry his arm out of the medic's iron grip. "Don't put me in there. Last time you gave me some fucking therapy which I never asked for—"

"Prince Seto…. Don't make me force you!" The medic cried, his voice rising hysterically as he gave the royal's arm another vicious tug towards the open pod. "Or I will call another pair of hands to help me! Do you want to be humiliated? Your title and status are thin enough given how young this colony is. Get in the pod now!"

Growling under his breath, Kaiba relented and let the medic shove him shoulder first into the steaming green leaves, and the tips of his fins were pushed inside forcefully before the pod closed up around him, sending a cool wave washing over him.

"Do not claw your way out, or Seth will murder me," the medic continued, talking more to himself. "These new pods cost a fortune and take years to make, you hear? Years!"

Kaiba shut him out, staring at the blob beside him on his left—Atem. The blob on his right swam away in a huff, so he settled into the pillow and stared up at the milky green membrane, hating how most of his time underwater was spent inside this thing.

Whatever. It was fine. He'd wake up and the horrible sinking feeling churning low in his stomach would vanish.


Seth swam tiredly into his colony and was immediately accosted by a guard.

"My King! I mean, Prince Seto—Seth!" The man stammered, pushing his crooked helmet back into his head nervously. "The medic requests your presence, immediately!"

Grinding his teeth, Seth nodded and handed the man his spear before swimming for deeper waters. He had a gnawing feeling that this was about Seto.
His gut was telling him he'd arrive to discover Seto wrapped up in a pod…again.

Sure enough, as he floated through the glass doors, he saw two pods glowing bright yellow—Seto and Atem. His heart dropped into his stomach, and the medic nearly dove into his chest while stammering, "S-Seth! You won't believe this! It's…a miracle!"

Seth stared emptily at the medic, seeing his mouth move and make sounds, but all he heard was a strange buzzing.


Mokuba heard a telltale splash in the water beneath him, and he jumped off the rock furiously, eager to give Seto a piece of his mind.

That text was offensive!

To his rising fury, it was Seth and not Seto who rose out of water, shaking seaweed from his long brown locks as he rolled into the beach after riding a large wave.

"Hey, you!" Mokuba shouted, and he saw Seth flinch.

"I'm Seth!" Seth cried, holding his hands up defensively, and his chest burning with resentment at how he was always on the receiving end of the consequences from Seto's bad behavior.
Just like old times. It made him feel like he was eleven all over again.

"I know!" Mokuba growled, kicking his shoes off and stalking across the sand to his brother's twin. He paused and blinked, realizing he'd addressed Seth incorrectly in his mind.
Seth was his half-brother. Seto was his half-brother.

"I see you're still coming to terms…with that!" Seth delicately spat out some sand and swiped his chin in disgust. "The wave was sandy," he offered apologetically, but Mokuba didn't care, already launching into a rant.

"Tell him to come up here and show his ugly face! He was way out of line, calling me a coward and selfish for not wanting to take his stupid Chrysalis offer!" Mokuba balled his fists at his sides, feeling like hitting something, so he continued ranting. "What if this fucks Noah up for good? You don't just drop fairy tale bombs like this on kids who are barely old enough to comprehend what life and death even mean! And my wife? What about her?!"

Reeling, Seth held his hand up politely, shaking his head, trying to get a word in, but Mokuba still wasn't finished.

"Am I supposed to just go on living for hundreds of years without her?! Do you know how hard it was for me to find someone as kind and understanding as her?!"

Breathless, Mokuba plopped down into the sand beside Seth and hung his head in his hands, ignoring the cold wetness seeping into his ass. His body was aching from the stress.

"Finished?" Seth asked kindly, itching to rant as well, but he held back to give Mokuba some peace of mind. "Your wife can easily join us underwater if we draft up a pact that will ensure her well-being. Some colonies replenished their dwindling populations this way, which was extremely immoral if you ask me. King Solomon banned this practice after the wars—"

"Yeah yeah, war with humans changes all your rules, got it," Mokuba snapped, his cheeks still red with anger. "And Noah? Will he stay the same age forever?! Ayame and I are really concerned about his social development already. He's being bullied at school for being a Kaiba!"

Seth set his mouth in a tight line and nodded. Yes, yes, he could see that.
Now, could he say his piece about Atem and Seto?

"How does it work? The Chrysalis?" Mokuba asked wildly, his ponytail coming loose the more he continued to shove his hand through his hair in distress. "Adina is, what, five?"

"She aged fast due to trauma," Seth explained patiently, wondering if he should give Mokuba a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "She should still be an infant in the early stages of nursing. Normally, mer-babies age about… I believe, it's one decade for every human year on land. It's different as you get older—"

"So, you're saying Adina is fifty-years old?!" Mokuba breathed, staring blankly at his bare feet which were slowly turning blue due to the cold.

"No, she aged…" Seth shut his mouth and decided he was best to let Seto pick up from here when he saw Mokuba again. "Now, I have some news. Are you finished…expelling your displeasure?"

Mokuba narrowed his eyes at the ground and nodded glumly. Sure.

"Do you want to call your wife here for this? And Noah? This is…family news," Seth said delicately, already regretting asking. Thankfully, Mokuba shook his head vehemently and shot him a wry smile.

"Just say it. Seto's crazy antics aren't news anymore. We've all gotten used to it," Mokuba said ruefully, poking his finger in the wet sand. "So? What is it?"

Seth took a deep breath and said in a rush, "They're pregnant with twins. The medic says it's too early to tell the genders, but based on our genetics, it's likely to be boys."

And predictably, a cold silence followed.

Mokuba blinked and stabbed his finger into the sand again, giving it an aimless swirl.
What the fuck was Seth spewing? Who was pregnant?!

"They are!" Seth exclaimed, feeling himself slipping. If Mokuba couldn't grasp Adina's aging process, how was he going to take this news?!

Mokuba raised his head to look Seth dead in the eye and recited in monotone. "You're telling me that, Seto, who is male, and Atem, who is also male, are…pregnant… with twins. So, is it four kids or two?"

"Two! One each!" Seth cried, exasperated. "This is how our species produces twins! It's a genetic chance! Two souls, connected intensely on the same chord—that is the miracle that produces twins in our species!"

Mokuba glared at Seth and turned his nose in the air, his heart thundering in his chest as he retaliated with, "Yeah that sounds like some bullshit to me. There's no way I'm having Noah learn crap like that. We're a family of science."

"Yes, of course, whatever you say," Seth replied heatedly, feeling a headache coming on. "You worry about that while I have to shoulder the responsibility of opening a trust for four royal children! It's always me! Seto is always the one who gets to behave recklessly while I pick up after him!"

"Now we're talking," Mokuba growled, shoving his whole fist in the sand. "You have no idea how insane he was acting. The whole world thinks he's crazy, dead, or reincarnated. He's the reason why Noah is having such a hard time in school right now—wait. Did you say you're starting a trust for four kids? Where'd you get that number?"

Seth stared blankly at Mokuba, his frustration rising. What was Mokuba not understanding now?

"Adina and two twins," Mokuba said dully, holding up his fingers to tally them off. "Three. Where'd you get four?"

"Noah?" Seth raised his eyebrows, his heart skipping a nervous beat. "Mokuba, are you ill? I know we've barely talked before this, but I'm—"

"Whoa whoa," Mokuba interpreted Seth rudely, holding his hand up firmly. "You don't need to set up anything for Noah. I've got it covered. He's my kid."

"Yes, indeed. What happens when he chooses to sit in the Chrysalis for his coming-of-age gift?" Seth prompted, narrowing his eyes at his black-haired half-brother. "Do you have a way of ensuring he's going to have a comfortable stay? Who is paying for it?"

"Set…o?" Mokuba's eyes widened, and he shook his head furiously. "Wait, who said he's going to touch that water?! We haven't even decided if he's going to stay in contact with you guys!"

"What I'm hearing is that you want to cut off contact with us because Seto insulted you a little?" Seth raged, his temper flaring briefly. "You're too prideful. Just like him. Figures, considering how you both had each other while I was alone, thinking everyone I had in the world had perished!"

Mokuba said nothing, mildly shocked into silence as he gazed into Seth's face, taking in his kind, almond-shaped eyes which were filled with pain.

A wave washed heavily onto shore, drenching Mokuba's legs completely, and he jumped up, cursing and shivering.

"Think about it," Seth said calmly, after having regained his dignity in that moment of silence. "We have two more children coming up in the family. Atem is bearing one of them. Don't you want to live to see that? A child with sharp wit like Seto, but is as mild-mannered as the king? Just imagine; a child like Adina, but nicer." Seth's cheeks flushed pink with excitement, and he looked away to stare out over the horizon.

Mokuba sighed and sat back down gingerly in the wet sand, noting that the tide had risen, and another wave was coming for him. It was pointless to stay dry.

"I'll…" Mokuba faltered for a moment before composing himself and saying, "Yeah, of course I want to see Seto's kids. That has nothing to do with Noah touching the Chrysalis. He'll never know about it."

"Eggs, which are where mer-children come from, are extracted at five years, and then incubated for two to five decades depending on the egg's needs," Seth continued kindly, knowing this news would not sit well with Mokuba, and sure enough, Mokuba's face turned white as a sheet.

"At the rate you're aging, I'd say you have a good three or four decades in you left," Seth said blithely, now realizing that speaking callously was the way to get through to Mokuba.
Act like Seto. Make Mokuba realize what he was losing in a shocking way.
Because he'd grown too comfortable on land.

Mokuba lowered his head silently and stared at his knees, feeling something building horribly behind his eyes. Tears.
Tears of helplessness?
Happiness?
Relief? Fear?

"I'll be here to guide you every step of the way," Seth urged gently, reaching out to rest his dry hand on Mokuba's shoulder, giving him a warm squeeze. "And when they're hatching, we can all be there together as a family to watch them emerge. If you wanted to come even sooner, well, Adina's ears are almost fully developed. When they fall off, she'll be getting them pierced. Come down and watch that ceremony with us."

Mokuba looked up to stared into Seth's face, at a loss for words.

Seth sensed this and added, "And it'll just be me and you for a while. Seto won't be able to surface because of the child. Pressure changes for an egg bearer…it's not good, you know? This means you might not see Seto for the next five years. You'll have to come down to see him."

Nodding and nodding, Mokuba hugged his knees to his chest and wondered why he felt so numb. His entire life was about to change. His whole family's life too.

"I'll talk to Ayame," Mokuba said firmly, finally finding his voice. "I know Noah will agree. He loves Seto to death and probably can't wait five years to see him again. I'm sure if Noah wants to…transition into a fish, then Ayame will come with us."

"Good. See? We're family until the end. Seto's crazy antics and all," Seth said happily, clapping Mokuba strongly on the back, feeling accomplished.

"…Don't do that," Mokuba grumbled, and he stood up slowly to dust off the sand sticking to his wet pants. "What now? Same time next week? Need more spears? What is it? Hurry up and tell me."

"Helmets," Seth said gently, giving Mokuba a grateful smile. "And perhaps you could bring Noah here two or three times a week to meet a tutor I've arranged for him. Even if he hears our traditions as stories first, he's a young prince, and needs to be understanding and accepting of our ways—"

"Okay okay," Mokuba walked off down the beach, waving carelessly over his shoulder. "Helmets, same time next week, Noah's tutor two times a week. I'll fit it in somehow."

And starting a trust for three extra kids, Mokuba growled, clenching his fists at his sides, his feet sinking into the sand with every step forward. Leave it up to Seto to mess up his retirement plans for good. His retirement money was going straight into those trusts.

Maybe he would sell some of Seto's cars without his knowledge. That would teach him a lesson or two.

Don't do that! Seth called, waving at Mokuba's disappearing figure. You know how he gets when you touch his things! I have some currency to spare! Our treasury is full! Reconvene next…week….

The glass door leading into the house slammed shut, and Seth shook his head, sighing.

There was still some emotional distance to close between Mokuba and himself, but it was fine like this for now. The family was currently stressed and overwhelmed with the news of these twins.

Pushing off the beach, Seth enjoyed the way his hair streamed off his shoulders as he rode a wave into deeper waters, intent on catching a messenger so he could alert the council.
The entire ocean was going to be in an uproar when they found out.
The first twins this century!


Author's note:

woooooooooooooo LOL (I swear this story is almost over! Can you feel it?)

also im like, stressed but too numb to cry (my bunny has an ear infection and the appointment got pushed to "anytime past nov 4th ugh. and also stressed about the el*ction so im like stress-making a ygo coloring book. stay tuned for that? and let's hope i finish it by Christmastime given the speed of which i draw-which is very slow)

anywayyy dsjhdskjhdskjh CHOOSE KINDNESS. UNITE IN LOVE. STAY SAFE EVERYONE!

-Ugli