No warnings, just a bit of "crushing" introspection.

...xXx...

Roderich was screaming.

A ragged, ear-splitting cry that was framed by the hissing laughter of the darkness wrapped around them.

Then the sound was quickly sapped away. The merman mouthed wordlessly at the water, eyes blown wide and unfocused as he slumped onto the monstrous claw stabbed through his chest. Like a fish caught on a hook.

And Vash felt the agony in his heart with equal intensity.

The violet male's shrieks of horror and pain felt like his own being ripped from his throat, and the chill seeping through the water had his blood frozen.

He didn't know exactly when he moved, or how, but suddenly he was upon the terror. An invisible force surrounded him, filled him, and pushed and pulled his muscles into action. Biting and clawing at the formless void monster, the flesh of which his attacks melted right through like it was a glacial slush. The wispy voices screeched and it shrunk back, then the shadow began to pull out of the porthole, taking its catch with it.

No!

Vash threw himself onto the other merman, kicking his tail in heavy strokes to keep the creature from taking Roderich away. He dug his nails into the male's icy skin, holding him tight to his chest. The blackness cried out, violently slamming him into the metal walls, sending clouds of sand swirling around them in a wild storm.

Despite the breath being knocked out of him, the green male held on. He reached out in an attempt to grab around the malicious appendage and pull it from the violet merman's back. The black mist writhed in his hold, barely corporeal, yet unable to struggle away from him.

let go

he's ours

Metal bit sharply into his skin as he was crushed against the side of the room, the rusted wall groaning under the force. Vash gasped at the hit, scales stinging, and he grit his teeth in desperation.

No one was going to fall prey to that thing. Not that night, not if he could help it.

Especially not him.

The claw twisted and jerked in his grasp, the wraithy limb burning into his palm with an icy fury. That guttural, disembodied voice screamed out once more, making the water tremble.

OURS

Vash heard distant, muffled screaming—barely recognizing it as the merman in his arms. His mouth was right next to his ear, yet he sounded like he was a world away. The cry set a fire within him, his entire being all at once flush with rage and pain and a renewed strength.

The green male hissed with frustration and yanked on the shadow, his mind a torrent of, No, no, no.

LET GO

No!

He was slammed into the sharp edges of the porthole, pressing the length of his tail against the metal to keep them both from being pulled out. The creature shrieked and thrashed around disturbingly, its form twitching and swelling, and he thought he caught sight of a pinpoint of light outside the ship around the rippling darkness.

YOU ARE NOTHING

No . . .

HE BELONGS TO US

The green merman strained against the shadow, the fear welling up within him threatening to overwhelm his senses.

"No!"

With a howl, Vash coiled back and ripped the claw away.

A white light shot out in front of him, searing and brilliant. The instant pressure that burst forth shot them backward, and the two mermen tumbled roughly into the sand. The vivid light waved and pulsed so brightly that Vash could no longer keep his eyes open. The raucous of wailing and metal warping and breaking around him nearly deafened him.

All he could do was hold onto the merman in his arms, burying his face against the too-harsh light. He would later curse that blinding light for making him unable to see the wall of metal that crushed down on top of them.

...xXx...

The sound of soft crying woke him.

Vash lifted his head slowly, blinking his sore eyes to peer through the dim water around him. Everything was quiet and calm, but space was too tight around him. Metal was caged around him, two pieces of the ship having crumpled and caved onto him, trapping him between sharp metal and cold flesh.

The malevolent darkness was no longer present. He breathed a small sigh, grateful, when he noticed that he was still clinging to Roderich.

The other male was freezing to the touch and completely limp, unmoving.

Vash pushed up onto his elbows, as much as he could with the heavy weight of rusty metal pressing down on his back. It was hard to take in a full breath, and he could just barely shoulder the weight. He bit back the ache in his muscles from his fight with whatever that thing was, and stared down at the merman beneath him.

Roderich's palette was that of death; all the color drained from his skin and scales and hair, leaving him waxen and varying shades of grey. No deep violet, or shining silver, or lush umber locks. A black starburst mark was scorched across the skin over his heart where the claw had pierced him. The mark was moving, flickering like strands of seagrass in the current. It unsettled him to be pressed so close to that dark mark.

His blood pounded in his ears at the sight of the much too still male. Roderich wasn't breathing, his chest static, gills motionless. The leopard-tailed merman carefully ran a knuckle underneath the male's jaw, feeling no pulse. He snatched his hand away.

What? Vash shook his head, blinking his eyes to try and grant him another sight than the one before him. This can't be happening. He'd saved him from the monster, from—from death, so he shouldn't be—Roderich couldn't—

Hushed cries and sniffles momentarily drew his attention, and he glanced to the side.

Through the heap of metal he could hear the quiet sniffles of his sister and the other pup, both being whispered to by the older mermaid, Emma. Vash felt his heart settle a bit, sensing that his sibling was unharmed, and he reached out along their bond, I'm alright, Lilli. He was torn between being pleased and distraught when he heard her cry out louder, getting waves of relief in the back of his head as a response.

The leopard-tailed male turned back to the merman beneath him, icy skin and scales chilling him to the bone. Jagged metal edges pinched him awfully as he adjusted himself again, scooting upwards a bit so his face was level with the other male's. Roderich's expression was oddly peaceful looking; his eyes were closed and relaxed, long lashes resting against pale skin, his grey lips parted slightly.

Vash was at a loss for what to do.

The fire he had felt burning through him during his struggle just moments ago was now nothing but a flicker. Nearly snuffed out by shock and disbelief, and the ever growing sludge of horror seeping through his veins.

There was just no way the other was really . . . was . . .

Roderich had been a stranger this morning—so why should he care? Why was he trembling at being unable to put some distance between him and the too horrifyingly motionless merman? So what if he'd saved him from being eaten by a shark, or taken by a monstrous creature, or if the other male had in turn saved his life when he was so close to bleeding out. Why was it getting so hard to breathe? Since that morning so much had already happened, so much unwanted violence and tension and . . . and touches and teasing. He felt his eyes getting hot. Oh, why was his heart nearly choking him?!

He wouldn't accept it.

How did I do that light trick? he thought, mind churning for a solution. That was me, wasn't it?

Vash rolled his weight onto his left side, gasping as the metal wall groaned and slipped further on top of him as he reached down towards that shimmering shadow mark on the other's chest. He pressed his palm to it, swearing he could feel the wriggling of the dark strands against his skin despite his mind saying that was impossible. It was just a mark on the skin, a wound, not a physical entity—

He stilled as he felt the something definitely move then, shying away from his hand. He shook his head, forcing away his doubts for the moment, and tried to crane his head to look down at the mark. The pure black starburst wiggled and waved away from his fingertips, and that's when he realized it wasn't a stain on Roderich's skin. It was beneath his skin.

Vash shuddered at the thought, his scales raising a bit with unease.

That thing was still with them.

The green male pushed against the weight atop him, trying his best to raise up just a bit more so he could see better. That was a mistake. A loud creaking noise echoed around him and then he was assaulted by a cloud of bubbles as the wall fell even more into the small space, pressing him harder to the body beneath him. He gasped again as he felt his shoulders give out and he fell on top of Roderich, his right arm being trapped between him and the sand and his ribs aching at the immense pressure now seeking to eradicate all breath from him.

"Vash!" Hearing his sister crying out to him captured his focus, and he could only moan in response, his cheek pressed painfully against the other male's collarbone.

"Vash?" Emma's voice was next to ring out, this time in surprise. "Vash, you're alive!"

Can't talk now, he sent to Lilli, pleased to hear her relay the message to the older mermaid. His hands sunk into the sand and his arms shook with the strain of keeping the metal from smothering them further. Merfolk had great strength, much greater than that of humans, and that realization only had him certain now that the entire ship must have fallen on them.

"How is—Ah, nevermind, let me just try to get this off of you," Emma called. He could hear more metal grinding against metal to his left, but felt no change.

You should leave, Vash attempted to plead with his sister mentally, ignoring her surprise at his statement. The ship is just going to collapse more.

Not without you.

The leopard-tail merman was almost proud of his sister's stubbornness, if the thought of her being crushed to death by an old ship didn't terrify him. More sounds of metal scraping, along with Emma ushering the pups this way and that, carried through the water, muffled by the layers separating them.

The cold skin against his cheek suddenly had him very aware of the absence of a heartbeat he definitely should have been hearing, as well.

Roderich . . .

He grit his teeth to keep in his whimper, slowly allowing his arms to give out. The relief he felt in his muscles was nothing compared to the massive burden now lying atop him. Vash gingerly scooted upwards until his cheek was resting on Roderich's left shoulder, moving his hand to tilt the merman's face to the side to protect it from the enclosing slate of metal falling evermore on top of them. He felt something squeak and shift and a sharp weight fell against the lower half of his tail, effectively immobilizing it and sending pain shooting up the length.

How dare you. Emerald eyes stared at the gentle looking face in front of his, their noses brushing from their closeness. This is the second time today that you've made me think I am going to die, he inwardly scolded the merman, simultaneously meaning and not meaning the heat behind those thoughts.

Vash caught the movement of something on the merman's neck, and he was suddenly very, very angry.

His left hand snapped up to grab at the mark, chasing the dark thing up to Roderich's jawline. Sparks of hot rage filled his vision as he seethed, hissing at the small, unnatural thing as it struggled to evade his grasp. Nothing he did could truly touch the mark, however, short of scratching through frozen skin. He knew now that light mustn't have been him—it couldn't have been, after all, since he was unable to do basic magic—but he wouldn't allow this thing to spend another minute inside the other, corrupting his death, taking him away from him.

Vash flinched slightly when he heard a hiss answer him as the mark climbed up the male's cheek. It had fizzled inside of Roderich's mouth, tickling the water between them. The green merman glanced to parted grey lips and abandoned his chase for the moment to part them further. He swore he could see something in the dark of his throat.

A resounding thunk! made him snap his gaze to the side. He could still hear Emma trying to call out to him and her brother, to locate where they were stuck. He quickly gave his sister more mental instructions to help, unwilling to waste his shallow breaths on speaking.

He heard a hiss again and his attention was instantly back on the merman pressed against him. The vibrations in the water coming from Roderich's mouth almost mimicked that of a small exhale, if the stillness of his chest and the malignant aura of the feeling didn't betray it. Vash ducked his chin to look further past the other's fangs and dark grey tongue, a shiver running down his spine at the sight of something twitching and glinting in the dull light at the back of his throat.

Glancing across Roderich's face made him realize that the black starburst was no longer on his cheek, or anywhere to be seen for that matter. He quickly looked back into the merman's mouth to make sure the whatever-it-was hadn't moved. It hadn't. It only hissed again.

A chill was seizing his chest—from the metal pinning him, the freezing skin against his, the horror of this new unknown thing seeming to mock him from within Roderich. He could feel a growl rumbling through him and he narrowed his eyes, hot anger chasing away the coldness.

Without giving any warning, Vash swiftly dipped his fingers into the male's mouth. Something familiar, like that slush of the creature from earlier, pressed against his fingertips as he hit the back of the other's throat and he quickly took hold of it. He tried not to think about the sharp fangs digging into his knuckles as he used all of his strength to pull the thing out. There was hardly any resistance, which came as quite the shock when he accidentally smacked his own chin with his forcefulness.

As soon as the object was free from Roderich's throat, however, it began trembling and fizzling like a flame in his fingers and tried to dart out of his hold. He wished very much that he had both hands free as the black ball of gross tendrils nearly escaped his hold. Adjusting his pinky and thumb, he managed to ensnare the thing in his fist and he was just about to squeeze when he heard a voice ripple through the water.

wait wait WAIT

He hated that he hesitated, sucking in a shallow breath as he realized the thing was trying to speak to him. The wiggling stopped and he fully enclosed the dark blotch in his webbed hand now that the resistance was gone.

he is not dead

not dead

He didn't dare believe a word. His morbid curiosity, if anything, allowed the voice to continue.

but he will die without us

we can save him

Heart pounding, Vash didn't wait another second before crushing the creature in his hand as it screamed. The tendrils crunched like bone in his grasp, and he squeezed as hard as he possibly could. He only relaxed when he felt no more movement, no more cold, and no more oppressive presence. It was finally snuffed out after a few long seconds, and he brought his fist closer to his face, carefully opening his fingers.

In the center of his palm was a single black pearl.

Vash couldn't even bring himself to feel comforted at the victory as he turned his gaze back to the face beside his.

He dropped the pearl into the sand in shock as pink lips and brunette hair greeted him. The color was slowly seeping back into the merman beneath him, and even though he was still pale Roderich was no longer varying shades of white and grey. He was back to his usual colors, cream and caramel, iridescent silver shimmering across the skin at the tops of his ears and across his black lashes.

Roderich! Vash felt his heart stutter at the sight, immediately flooded with disbelief. He heard another breaking sound through his waves of incredulity and he felt the wall of metal shift slightly atop him. He attempted to take in a deeper breath, astonished he could, and then began to lean up onto the violet merman's chest. The wall leaning on his right side buckled and slid slightly in the sand, but allowed him to move. He tilted Roderich's face back to look at him, holding both his cheeks as he stared down at closed eyes.

Something in the back of his mind lit up, slowly burning and brightening and . . . he thought he felt a tug.

The chest pressed against his stomach stuttered, and he nearly collapsed again from the dizziness that hit him. The tail under his twitched, and he thought he was going to go mad at the anticipation eating him. He blinked several times, almost not believing what he was seeing or feeling.

It took him a few moments to realize that the merman still wasn't breathing.

Vash stiffened and looked around his arms at the male's unmoving gills, clenching his jaw in panic. No! No, no, no, no—he was so close! The leopard-tailed merman quickly moved one of his hands down to wave water into the other's side, hoping it would help his gills start working, start breathing.

Nothing.

Vash couldn't help the weak warble that escaped him. He stared down at the still too still male under him, bringing his hand back up to cup the other's cheek again. He tried smacking him lightly to wake him, whispering, "Come on, come on. Wake up."

The eel-like tail curled slightly beneath him and he doubled his efforts, ignoring the way his voice broke on every other word.

"Roderich, hey. Hey. Come on, just breathe, okay? You can breathe. That thing is gone now."

Nothing.

Vash stopped his movements and words and just stared down at the . . . the beautiful face in his hands. He choked back a scream of frustration as the male didn't react to him, didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't open those gem-colored eyes.

Was he really . . . gone?

His eyes burned with unshed tears, not that they would show underwater, but he still felt their strain and the heartache that accompanied them.

That slight tugging sensation returned to his attention and his gaze dropped to that parted mouth once more.

Swallowing his heart, Vash was unable to stop from pressing his lips to Roderich's own with an anguished cry, letting grief overtake him.

...xXx...

Sad fish,

Misses fish,

Mad fish,

Kisses fish,

Then is sad again. Oops.