Noah gripped his knees while he sat nervously in the car in between his mother and father.
The car swayed gently, left and right, and went over a few bumps.
They were headed to the magic pool of water that turned legs into fins.
Uncle Seth had given him a picture in his head about what it looked like, what to do when they got there, and where he'd be waiting after they swam out.
It had been six months since they'd seen Seto, and the whole family was getting restless. Noah noticed his father had been drinking more heavily, and his mother had started telling him to 'practice thinking about swimming'.
Deep down, he knew it was a big deal, but he didn't know why it didn't feel that way.
It just felt like they were going to another vacation home.
Different but the same.
Adina always told him that Seto was resting, but she said that every time they played, it was starting to get concerning.
Noah overheard Uncle Seth talking to his father about possibly visiting Seto early, as soon as 'now', so they were on their way to the pool today. He was more excited about seeing Seto than turning into a fish. His parents held the opposite sentiment.
They were more concerned with turning into a fish than seeing Seto.
The car pulled to a gentle stop and Mokuba stayed glued to his seat, not wanting to move.
This was going to suck majorly.
He really missed Seto and wanted to see him just to make sure with his own eyes that his brother was okay, but as a result, he was exposing his wife and kid to something potentially dangerous.
"Ready?" Mokuba asked darkly, and his wife shook her head anxiously.
Noah nodded and sprang to his feet, racing to the door. "Yes!" He cried, pushing his way out of the car and racing to the edge of the road.
"Noah, be careful!" His mother shrieked, diving out of the car after him, and Mokuba quickly followed, feeling Kemo hovering quietly behind them to close the door for him.
Their manservant walked along the road and stepped underneath the construction tape barrier, gesturing for them to follow.
They arrived at a cliffside, and Noah tried to twist away from his mother's iron grip which was digging painfully into his arm.
"Ow! Mommy, you're squeezing me," Noah protested, and his voice caught in his throat when he saw a dark hole in the ground. Kemo was standing at the edge, pointing into it and saying, "There's a ladder. I can help you down. I was here with King Atem, and he says the bottom rung is slippery."
Mokuba said nothing and stepped closer to peer over the edge, hating how it was a dark, dingy hole. Noah seemed to share the same sentiment and wrinkled his nose.
"Well, I'll go first," Mokuba said shakily, and he gave his wife a nervous smile before sitting down carefully and swinging his legs into the hole.
Noah watched fearfully as his father's black hair disappeared into the darkness, and his mother's grip continued to tighten over his wrist, but he didn't have energy to complain anymore. This was getting scary and no longer looked fun.
"Your turn Noah, so your father can catch you in case you fall, and I'll be here in case you fall from up here," his mother said, nudging him closer to the hole. "Go on."
Grimacing, Noah sat down at the edge and wedged his heel securely on the metal rung beneath him, turning around slowly to inch his foot down, feeling for the second rung blindly before his toe landed on it, and he reached down with his hands to steady himself on the top rung.
"Got it?" His father's voice echoed from below, and Noah nodded, slowly climbing down into the hole. It was like playground ladders; except he didn't know where the bottom was. Soon enough, he felt warm arms wrapping around his waist, helping him to the ground, and he immediately looked up to see his mother's face peering at them from above.
"Everything okay?" Ayame called, and Mokuba stood under the ladder, waving back. "Yeah, I'll catch you if you slip. It's not too bad."
Noah watched nervously as his mother hiked up her skirt and nimbly dropped down into the sand beside his father, and the three of them looked around the tiny cavern. There wasn't much aside from Seto and Atem's clothes in plastic bags, and a metal box labeled, "keys - phone - supplies".
"This is the magic water!" Noah exclaimed, rushing to the shallow pool and hearing his mother and father shout at him simultaneously. "Noah, come back!"
Frowning, Noah backed away from the water and heard Kemo's deep voice booming down from above.
"Master Mokuba, is everything okay down there?"
"Yes, we're fine!" Mokuba called back, and he watched Noah stand on a nearby mat to begin taking off his shoes, just like Seth had instructed.
"D-Do we want to take turns or are we all going together?" Ayame asked timidly, squeezing her husband's hand tightly and eyeing the water fearfully.
"Seth said we have to go in all at once. One at a time might take too long," Mokuba said, letting his breath out slowly. "We're going to be okay. We did the pact-making thing with Mahad, remember? He said it would be fine…"
"Yes, but I don't believe him," Ayame muttered under her breath, and Mokuba had to silently agree. Sure, they'd pricked each other's skin, bled a little and said some 'magic words' under a full moon, but so what? If anything, that whole ritual made him feel like he was in a high school occult club.
While they were talking, neither of them realized Noah was already naked and sitting waist deep in the pool.
"Hey mom! Look!" Noah shouted, falling backwards into the water and shivering while lifting up his feet. "I'm a frog!"
Horrified, Mokuba and Ayame stared at the bright green webbing between Noah's toes and at the ugly, scaly patches growing up his pale calves.
Noah thunked his leg happily back into the water and splashed around, his heart leaping with joy. It was real! The story about the pool of water had to be true too. Seto growing fins wasn't an illusion. Adina was really a mermaid. Everything about Uncle Seth was real too, and now he was about to join them.
"I can't let him do that by himself," Ayame declared, stepping forward and hastily taking off her shoes and skirt, ignoring Mokuba's obvious blush creeping across his cheeks.
"Noah, stay still. Wait for Mommy!" She called, rushing to the water's edge.
Mokuba watched helplessly as his wife waded into the pool naked and wrangled Noah into a sitting position on the edge, scolding him, "Be respectful, remember? Why are we here? To see Uncle Seto. Don't play around until we get outside!"
She sat on the side and threw Mokuba an anxious look over her bare shoulder. "Coming in, dear? It's very cold…."
"Yeah, freezing!" Noah shouted, his voice echoing in the tiny cavern.
Shaking his head, Mokuba slowly stripped off and set his clothes neatly aside before wading into the pool, shivering violently. He leaned against the edge beside his wife and tried not to stare at her breasts while Noah grabbed her arm and clung onto her tightly, still shivering.
They sat together in silence, and Mokuba tried not to think about how ridiculous he felt.
After a moment, Ayame pointed at her thighs and exclaimed happily, "Look! Noah look!"
"Wow cool!" Noah cried, running his hands up his mother's hip, marveling at the shiny, bright yellow scales forming up her stomach. "How about mine—AHHH!"
Noah stared at his hand in shock, terrified by the long, curving claws sprouting from his fingertips.
"Oh. Seto used to have those all the time," Mokuba said dully, remembering all the annoying news outlets he had to send cease and desist letters to in order to make them stop writing defamatory articles about Seto's nails.
He glanced down at his own hands, alarmed that nothing had happened yet, but he reminded himself he'd gotten in the water last.
"Mooommm, my ears!" Noah moaned, clapping his hands over his ears and turning bright red. "They're gross! Like Adina's ears! Why don't I have human ears like Seto?!"
"Because you're a baby, silly!" His mother teased, pinching his cheek playfully. "Remember what he said? They'd come off soon."
"Yeah, in like fifty years or something!" Noah whined, throwing himself into his mother's lap, thinking about throwing a tantrum before his father snapped at him to sit up straight.
"And why do I have scales on my arms?!" Noah continued to complain, and Mokuba grit his teeth. This was what he wanted to avoid. It was going to give Noah horrible, crippling body dysphoria or something.
Noah lifted his legs out of the water and showed his mother and father his newly formed fins, partially unhappy with the fact the scales grew up to his chest, the same way it did with Adina. The only exposed parts of his skin were his shoulders, neck, and elbows.
"I'm a whole fish…! Seto was right…!" Noah groaned, throwing himself face down into his mother's lap and seeing her lift her newly formed fins out of the water.
They were a beautiful, bright yellow, and Noah stared at them, enchanted.
"Why are you guys different colors?" Mokuba asked, disgruntled. He stared down into the water at his own knees knitting together, and the color of his fins was a dark, blue green, the same as Seto's fins.
"Yeah, I'm green," Noah sniffed, frowning at the scales crawling up his arms. "Hey, Warrior Mahad is purple. Explain that."
"Yes, and Atem is red," Ayame mused, flapping her fins excitedly above the water before lowering them. "Maybe the color is random. Moku—?" She hiccupped nervously when she saw the signs of age instantly vanish from her husband's forehead, and his hollowed cheeks filled out nicely, becoming plump and hearty. He looked exactly like when they'd first met in their last year of high school, in his late teens.
"Ummm?" Noah raised his eyebrows, thoroughly alarmed. "Daaad? Did you just…?" He glanced frantically at his mother and realized the same thing had happened to her. The change was less drastic, and the only noticeable difference was that the shadows under her eyes had lightened and the slight wrinkles around her mouth were gone.
"What?" Mokuba growled, lifting his knees out of the water and sinking them back into the water when he saw that the scales had completely swallowed his legs whole. Perfect.
Now they were all fish. The nightmare had officially begun.
Noah might need therapy after this.
He glanced at his wife's breasts one last time, noting that they'd perked-up slightly, and she was blushing at him furiously, so red in the face that even her ears were pink.
"What? WHAT?" Mokuba cried, feeling his sanity slipping. "So, are we going now?"
"You need to look in a mirror," Ayame said seriously, finally composing herself and leaning forward over the edge into the water, trying to catch her own reflection. "Don't say we didn't warn you."
"Yeah mom, you need to look in a mirror. Don't say I didn't warn you!" Noah laughed, diving off the edge and swimming around in a circle, splashing water everywhere. "Let's go! Let's go! I'm bored! Uncle Seth said down here and to the left!"
He disappeared under the water, and Mokuba frowned anxiously, reaching out to grab his wife's hand so they could dive in together. He was more frightened than he'd like to admit.
Taking a deep breath, he sank under the water, expecting icy water to flood his ear and nose, but was surprised that it was warm, and he could see Noah darting in and out of a large, rocky hole near the bottom.
Another head stuck out through the opening, and Mokuba instantly recognized Mahad with his large, glittering violet tail. H-Holy crap. Mahad was huge!
He never looked as big when lying on the beach with them, but now that they were in the same space, Mokuba felt slightly intimidated.
"I will be your main escort for the entirety of your stay," Mahad said seriously, reaching out to grab Noah by the arm, and feeling the boy twist anxiously in his grip, too similar to Adina's squirmy behavior. "Stay near me, child. Do you want a boat propeller to take your head off?"
Noah froze and blinked fearfully, remembering Adina telling him the story of the terrifying white-water monster coming for her head, he threw his mother a pleading glance.
Ayame was too busy clutching her arms over her bare chest and hiding behind Mokuba, red in the face, and Mokuba was extremely tense, with strands of his black hair coming loose from his ponytail. Mahad had seen Ayame with clothes on. Now he would see her…practically naked. Was this okay?
Mahad opened his mouth to ask why the strange behavior when he finally got a good look at Mokuba's face, and he couldn't hide his shock.
It seemed Mokuba was of royal mer-blood after all.
The chrysalis had healed him nicely, and the pact he'd made with his wife had managed to heal her too.
"He looks weird, right?" Noah asked perceptively, and Mahad gave the child a nervous smile.
"Yes, you could say that," Mahad mused, realizing Seto was probably much younger than he'd anticipated. Seto might even be as young as Atem, or a couple centuries younger.
The thought was terrifying. It totally explained Seto's immature tone and erratic behavior.
"What? Who looks weird? Me?" Mokuba snapped, his temper flaring as he bobbed up and down in the water while Ayame's hands burned his skin with the way she was clinging onto his shoulders.
Seth approached them with a pod of dolphins, and Noah cried out excitedly, waving at them.
"Lili and Bibi!" Noah beamed, and the dolphin calf nudged him playfully, circling him and clicking.
"Ah, the royal child from Kaiba's Private Rock," the mother dolphin said warmly, coming forward to bow at the new royal family. "Prince Seth has asked me to help escort you down to the Kingdom of Muran. It is our pleasure!"
Mokuba could only gape as the dolphin's clicks and whistles filled his ears, but her voice was calming inside his head. W-Wow, no wonder he thought Seto was insane for all these years.
He'd been a fish for all of five minutes and he wanted to go back up.
"Follow us!" The mother dolphin said happily, turning to give Noah a good grip on her dorsal fin. "Hang on tight. We don't want any propeller incidents like we had with Princess Adina."
Noah said nothing and hung on tightly, fully aware that he was now extremely powerless to the world around him. When he was a human with legs, he at least knew how to run away. Now that he was a fish in the sea, nets and boats were a real threat.
The dolphin zoomed forward in the water, and Noah let out a laugh, his hair flying behind his ears as water rushed past his cheeks. It was exhilarating!
Mokuba and Ayame followed uncertainly, feeling awfully claustrophobic as the other dolphins swam around them, causing waves of water to push them back slightly as they powered forward through the water.
The world was extremely bright, and Mokuba marveled at the beauty and clarity. The way the sun streamed down through the water cast a magical glow over the sand and coral reefs beneath them was breathtaking.
Ayame reached out to touch a grey dolphin's tail that was swishing inches from her nose, and squeaked in surprise when it turned around to ask her, "Are you tired, maiden? I will carry you the rest of the way."
"Nope! I'll carry her, thanks," Mokuba answered stiffly, and he felt Ayame cling harder to his arm and giggle. It made his cheeks flush and he was instantly reminded of how she would do that on their dates before they had Noah. It was cute…
"He speaks!" Seth whipped his head around, hearing mer-speak in a familiar voice. "Mokuba! Seto has been teaching you?"
Mahad kept swimming forward, listening to their conversation with goosebumps rising along his arms. This royal family was always full of terrifying surprises. He would try not to react if Noah opened his mouth and was suddenly fluent in mer-speak too. He was Seto's kin after all.
"What? No," Mokuba said defensively, rolling his eyes. "The only thing he ever taught me was how to leave your nails all long and freaky."
A laugh escaped Mahad's chest, but he sobered up quickly, knowing that Seto's unconventional behavior on land was something to be taken seriously.
"Did we want to stop by my colony for a rest before we head down all the way?" Seth asked, flipping around to ask the adults swimming behind him, and he saw Mokuba frown and shake his head.
"Nope. I just wanna see Seto and go home," Mokuba said staunchly, and Ayame nodded vehemently in agreement.
She wasn't sure how much more embarrassment she could take, because Seth was seeing her topless too. But Noah seemed to be enjoying himself up ahead with the mother dolphin, because she could hear his laughter echoing from the front.
They took a turn downwards, and the water suddenly got darker and warmer around them.
The mother dolphin floated to a stop and turned to address the pod, "This is as far as we'll go. The guardians under Elder Lambda's guidance will be here soon. Farewell, Prince Noah and Majesties from Kaiba's Private Rock!"
She waved her fin, and Noah hung onto Uncle Seth's arm while he watched the pod of dolphins swim off to the surface. Something warm and slimy curled around the base of his fin, and he let out a shrill cry, clambering onto Uncle Seth's shoulders to avoid it.
It was a dark purple octopus. There were several, and all of them were swimming in formation, looming above them and speaking loudly in their heads. "GREETINGS, MAJESTIES."
Mokuba and Ayame trembled, clutching each other in fear while Noah nearly tore the roots out of Seth's hair while he cried, "AAAAAAAAAH TENTACLE MONSTERS! TENTACLE MONST—"
"HERE! FOR THE BABY." The octopus shoved a small glass bottle towards Noah, and Noah shrank away behind Seth, nearly clawing him in the stomach as he tried to hide behind his back.
"I believe he is weaned," Seth said gently, accepting the bottle from the octopus and trying to pry Noah off of his body. "Thank you for your care."
Mahad watched this scene with mild amusement and was less amused when Noah came zooming for him and nearly clawed him in the stomach too.
"They're harmless!" Mahad growled, trying to wrench Noah off of his body, thinking this boy was indeed Kaiba's kin, because this kid behaved almost identical to Adina. "Look, hold their hand. Look, boy."
Noah lifted his head nervously to watch Mahad grab onto one of the large arms offered out to him, and they drifted forward through the water.
"Grab on. They will protect us," Mahad said quietly, sparing a look for the two adults behind him. "We're going into deeper waters. Let's stick together now."
Mokuba and Ayame instantly shot their hands out to grab onto the octopi flanking them. They both recoiled at the feeling, but they put up a brave face for Noah and smiled.
"Look Noah, it's fun! Just like the dolphins!" Ayame encouraged, and Noah clung onto Mahad's stomach, shaking his head furiously.
No. Nope.
"It's fine. He can hang on to me," Mahad sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
Noah tightened his grip around Mahad's waist, remembering all of the comments Adina had made about Mahad being the strongest warrior in the entire ocean, and he rigidly believed that. Currently, Mahad was even bigger than Dad, so that made him stronger. He even had muscles.
It also didn't help that he'd seen his father turn into a teenager after growing fins.
That did not fill him up with confidence.
Mahad heard Noah's thoughts and gave the boy a pat on the shoulder, his heart warming at the sudden compliments. How cute. Princess Adina was touting his status among her friends. Once she was a fully grown queen, his life was going to be extremely comfortable.
The water grew darker and warmer, and Noah bit back a yawn, feeling sleepy. It felt like he was wrapped up in a hundred blankets. The darkness helped too.
"Here, drink this," Seth said gruffly, handing Noah the bottle of water, and Noah pouted at him.
"I'm not a baby," Noah shot back, and Seth sighed.
"It's for…stamina," he coaxed, having dealt with Adina's tantrums about drinking purified water despite being covered in baby scales. "All grown men drink this, right? Mahad?"
"Yes, I drink it before I sleep every night," Mahad said deeply, feeling the child's arms loosen around his waist slightly. "But I don't need it now, because…I had some earlier."
Noah glared at the bottle briefly before he snatched it out of Seth's hand and tossed it down in three gulps. It was a crisp, sweet water that left an odd tang at the back of his throat, but he felt energized after drinking it.
"You see?" Seth beamed. "Now give it back to me—" The bottle was thrown at his face so fast, it whizzed by his ear.
"Think fast!" Noah jeered, and Seth grit his teeth, snatching the bottle out of the water, hating Seto with all his might.
"Noah! That's rude!" His mother admonished from somewhere behind him, and Noah yawned loudly again.
Seth sighed and shook his head.
This child, Adina, and the two others Seto and Atem were carrying was going to be an extreme handful this decade and for the centuries to come.
He might not survive.
Mahad mirrored this thought with a sympathetic grimace and felt Noah's grip weakening around his body. He bent forward to sweep the child up into his arms, seeing Noah's eyelids flutter open.
"Sleep. We will be there when you wake up," Mahad commanded, thinking he couldn't take much more babysitting, and to his relief, Noah obediently closed his eyes and drifted off.
Amazed, he was secretly pleased that Noah was easier to deal with than Adina. But only slightly.
Mokuba stared at the way Noah's fins peeked out from over Mahad's elbow, the same way Adina's fins did every time the warrior carried her off the shore and he felt a rush of gratitude towards Mahad.
"We should thank him somehow," Ayame whispered, and Mokuba nodded stiffly, thinking Mahad was working overtime for their family, even more so than Kemo. Even Kemo didn't do this kind of hardcore babysitting.
Mahad heard this and held Noah tighter in his arms, his heart swelling with pride. He was receiving glowing praise from the royal family and custom presents from Prince Seto.
His career was really looking up this millennium. Now if Mana would agree to mate with him sometime in the next two centuries, his life would be complete.
They passed the hemisphere markers, and two royal guards approached them quietly, bowing with their spears at their sides.
Mokuba marveled at the way the octopi unraveled from their hands and swam away silently, turning into giant blobs of darkness in the distance.
"Welcome, Warrior Mahad, Prince Seth, and friends," said one of the guards.
"Shall I prepare a nursery pod for the child?" The other guard asked, and Mahad turned to look at Mokuba, who predictably shook his head and said, "No. He'll freak out if he wakes up and doesn't see us. He stays with us at all times."
"What's a nursery pod?" Ayame asked, and she received shocked looks from the guards.
"Men, leave us. We're here to see Atem." Mahad nodded, and the two guards swam away with their arms stiff at their sides.
"Your army is so well-trained," Seth muttered, thinking his own guards welcomed visitors with human hand gestures called 'hang loose' and careless greetings like "Yo!", "Halt!", and "Who're you?" Undoubtedly from the influence of warriors Joey and Tristan from this kingdom.
"Your kingdom is a resort," Mahad said reassuringly with a handsome smile. "Hang loose is an appropriate gesture."
Mokuba shut them out and stared incredulously at the beautiful, colorful rooftops of the houses beneath them. Odd writing was carved into signs propped up along the doors, and people were swimming by, going about their day, with some carrying large shopping baskets and others had children in tow who were whining in another language about wanting something.
"This way," Mahad said quietly, leading them towards the palace and feeling Noah shift in his arms. "If he doesn't wake up, shall I put him in Adina's room? We don't have another children's bed, although…we really should."
They were escorted through the lively streets, and Ayame gasped in surprise at the sunken ship play structure where children were darting in and out of the circular windows, throwing makeshift spears from the masthead into the sand igloos below.
Noah woke up instantly when he heard kids playing, and he twisted his head around excitedly, crying out, "WHOA! COOL! Dad, can we play? Please please please please?"
"And…he's awake," Mokuba sighed, palming his face. The peace and quiet had lasted all of one hour.
"After we see Seto," Mahad said firmly, and Noah clung onto his neck, gazing awestruck at the mossy play structure, not hearing a word anyone was saying.
Bright-eyed and alert, Noah craned his neck to take in all the wonderful new sights, from the way people waved at him when they swam by to the way the stones on people's rooftops shone in the semi-darkness.
They approached a set of towering pillars covered in mixed glass, and Mokuba's mouth dropped open. It was like Atlantis down here, except the people who imagined Atlantis were a few threads short of the colorful magnificence that towered before them.
They swam right in, past the bowing guards and through a beautiful hallway flanked by more of these artful pillars, and Ayame's hands were growing clammy in his. It was no wonder Seto wanted to live down here. It was…beautiful. Perfect.
Mermaids of breathtaking beauty were also everywhere, laughing and gossiping in small groups, waving at Mahad as they swam by.
"Gee, you're popular, aren't you?" Mokuba commented, and Mahad gave him a serious look.
"I directly serve King Atem and Princess Adina, so yes, you could say everyone knows who I am," Mahad said slowly, wondering if he detected a hint of jealousy in the younger Kaiba's voice.
"Trust me, you don't want to be popular here," Seth said quietly, but no one heard him, because Adina's squealing had drowned him out.
The tiny mermaid came zooming out of the garden and threw her arms around Noah, dragging him out of Mahad's arms and nearly drawing blood from his forearm in her excitement. Mahad jerked his arms back and folded them defensively across his chest, his heart thundering with nervousness. Nothing in all of his warrior training could've prepared him for the poisonous scratch of the Princess.
Mana was close behind her, and she bent forward to give Mahad a kiss on his cheek, beaming at the new guests.
"Hello! Who are y—" She froze and stared intently into Mokuba's face, instantly turning pink while Mokuba had gone past pink and was flushing dark crimson.
"What? What is this?" Mahad whipped his head around to glare at the younger Kaiba. "You two know each other? Have you…m-mated? Mana, please, tell me you don't know this-this…child!"
"Mated?" Ayame echoed, also turning dark red. "Moku, what is he saying?"
"Don't listen to him. He doesn't know anything," Mokuba said shakily, and Mana looped her arm around Mahad's to pull him away from Mokuba.
"He's a pervert!" Mana said haughtily, her eyes flashing as she glanced briefly at Ayame before turning back to Mokuba. "He acted like my breasts were ugly. He called me a 'boy-mermaid' in his head before lying to my face and saying I was pretty to make up for it! I remember you very clearly, bratty Mokuba! Don't think anything has changed because you've aged a few decades and now have fins. You were very rude to me and I won't accept anything less than a groveling apology!"
Ayame's mouth dropped open and Mana turned with a swish of her fins to swim away, pulling Mahad away from the group while Mahad's ears were dark red with embarrassment.
"You…called her…ugly?" Ayame breathed, feeling faint. "She's the prettiest thing I've ever seen! Mokuba! How dare you!"
"To be fair! I was twelve!" Mokuba said loudly, wishing he could disappear forever, because Seth was snickering at him. "And I didn't call her ugly! I was just embarrassed! She washed up on shore to deliver a break-up message to Seto from Atem, so yeah, sorry if I wasn't gonna be nice to her, okay? You guys don't even know the full story…! Stop laughing at me Seto—I mean, Seth! God!"
Seth sobered up and nodded. "Yes, speaking of Seto, let's find him. He doesn't know you're here—oof! Adina! Watch where you're going!"
Adina and Noah darted past in a stream of white bubbles, laughing and shrieking excitedly while they took turns doing flips in the water.
Atem and Kaiba swam groggily into the garden after having been woken by Mahad, insisting that they were both needed to calm Adina down. She was zipping around the tall seahorse sculpture, playing tag with another child, their screams causing their heads to split with pain.
"SETO!"
Kaiba was pushed into the nearest pillar with the force of a hug, and he glanced down at his waist, seeing a familiar crop of black hair, followed by a glowing face. Noah. And his ears were webbed and unformed, sticking out from the sides of his head while his body was covered in baby scales. A bright green tail waved in the water behind him, and the arms around his waist tightened with ferocious energy, sending a wave of shock to course upwards through his body…followed by a powerful wave of nausea.
"SETO I MISSED YOU!" Noah cried, squishing his face into Seto's chest and hearing his heart pound reassuringly against his cheek. "I love you so much! We were so worried!"
"Carefullll! He's gonna spew on youuuu!" Adina sang, floating above their heads in a slow circle. "And once Daddy spews, Papa spews too! It's double spew!"
"EW!" Noah jerked back and watched as Seto clapped a hand over his mouth, curling forward in the water.
A man and woman rushed forward with a seaweed woven bag, and just in time too, because something green and disgusting leaked out from Seto's fingertips, and the bag quickly took care of it. Atem was the same, leaning heavily against the pillar, trying to compose himself for the guests, but he had to heave into the bag provided for him by the medic before he could straighten up again, looking slightly pale.
"Oh… my god…" Mokuba blinked, feeling himself sink with shock.
It was real.
He'd seen Seto act like this on land, but it was somehow worse when Seto had fins.
"Goodness. Morning sickness?" Ayame swam forward sympathetically and gave Seto's back a reassuring rub. "I knew it wasn't drugs, Moku." She shot her husband a sharp look, and Mokuba shook his head in disbelief.
"No…just…sickness," Kaiba gasped, staring at her yellow fins waving to and fro in the dark water. Mokuba's fins were the same color as his, and…he'd somehow aged backwards.
He looked like he was 19 again.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
Seto finally composed himself and swam forward to throw his arms around Mokuba's shoulders, giving him a tight hug, feeling Mokuba stiffen in his arms.
"Wh-What…yeah missed you too big bro," Mokuba said awkwardly, patting Seto on the back and wrinkling his nose at the strange scent of baby powder that clung to his brother's hair.
"Seen your face lately?" Kaiba grinned and dragged his little brother over to a mirrored pillar, pushing him closer to it. "Take a good fucking look."
Ayame swam up behind them and watched Mokuba clap his hands to his cheeks and let out a startled yell that shook the statue behind them.
Adina and Noah clamped their hands over their ears, glaring at Mokuba.
"Uncle Moki, no screaming!" Adina shrieked, darting towards them to see what had happened. "You'll wake the babies in the infirmary and Daddy will spew again!"
"I don't spew anytime something happens," Kaiba said defensively, and his voice was drowned out by Mokuba's moaning.
"I'm fifteen again! Noooo, I'm eighteen! No! Wait, Yes? Ayame, look at me!" Mokuba cried, tugging at his hair which had come completely undone from his ponytail and was floating in the space around them, making him look like a black-haired madman.
"Look at me!" Ayame beamed and inspected her own reflection in the mirror, looking satisfied. "My breasts look amazing. The sag is gone from the breastfeeding!"
Then she remembered everyone could see her, including…Seto, so she hastily folded her arms defensively across her chest and tried not to blush.
"We're so jealous," Kaiba said flatly, rolling his eyes, and Atem approached them with a smile.
"Are we hungry? Let me show you to your quarters. Only the best for you," Atem said, hanging onto Seto when he felt another odd wave of nausea. "I apologize…we aren't…in the best shape to receive you. And we can't eat with you, but please…enjoy yourselves."
"Also, you cut your hair!" Mokuba ranted, pointing at Seto's head, becoming more and more unhinged. "The only thing that's normal about anything right now is your hair! What do you guys even eat down here?! Those octopi?!"
Atem looked offended and Ayame covered her mouth, biting the inside of her cheek.
"I'll let my friends who specialize in human matters explain all our delicacies to you," Atem said warmly, now itching to lay down because his head spun the more Mokuba raised his voice.
"Adina? Can you find Auntie Mai?" Atem called over his shoulder, but there was no answer. The two children had vanished along with Seth, having swam off to play somewhere else.
"Oh dear…" Ayame frowned, and Atem gave her a warm smile.
"Don't worry. They're always under supervision because we have many guards, and guardians on top of that," Atem said, swaying on the spot, and Kaiba reached out to steady him. Atem gave him a grateful smile.
"We need to lay down," Kaiba said stiffly, already leading Atem away from Mokuba and Ayame. "Do whatever the hell you want. We're sleeping for a week to get rid of this headache."
"A week?" Mokuba repeated incredulously, and Kaiba called back with a wave. "Yeah, a week, kid. So don't bother us! Go eat something."
Bristling at being called a kid again, Mokuba opened his mouth to shout back, but felt a warm hand on his arm restraining him. His wife was giving him a kind smile, shaking her head playfully.
"Let's find Noah and take them to the large ship so we can play!" She said, her eyes sparkling, and Mokuba readily agreed, grabbing her hand and swimming through the palace, eager to explore the many hallways and learn about how Seto had been living here in the past few months.
Everything about his life was changing so fast. He'd gone backwards in time, so that meant he had a whole other lifetime ahead of him. Finally, he understood why Seto preferred it here.
He could slow down to enjoy life with his wife, with Noah, and with Seto, in a different setting.
In this one. A happier one.
The one where they were all together as a family at last.
THE END
Author's note:
the. end?
Let me know in a comment if you want to see something in an epilogue!
If enough ppl comment about wanting to see a particular scene, i will post it next week! of course fanfiction will never reaaaly -end- but i felt like here was a good stopping point? feel free to correct me if im wrong! A few beta readers mentioned they wanted to see everyone touch base after the twins...etc, so yea, just LET ME KNOW!
stay safe, much love,
Ugli
