Quatre was worried. He was very worried. But he was doing his best to hide that, because Duo was clearly very worried as well. In fact, Quatre was doing everything he could to siphon away Duo's sharp-edged anxiety so his friend could focus on the upcoming mission. As a Wave Whisperer, Quatre had the ability to sense and influence others' emotions. It came in very handy at times like these.
"You've been studying and spying on humans for years, Duo. Of course you'll be able to fit in well enough. Besides, you're quick on the uptake. You can do this."
"I have to do this. There's no choice here," Duo responded.
"There's always a choice, Duo." When the braided merman made to object, Quatre held up his hand.
"Sometimes there are no good choices, though," he continued. "I understand why you're doing this, and I'm grateful. You know I would if I could, but his Excellency needs me here. You know I'll do what I can to help. Even when you're inland, Iria will always be able to find you when you need her to."
"I hadn't thought of that. That's… good. Very good. Alright, Quat. Time's a-wastin. Let's go see a witch about a spell."
Dorothy's lair was at the bottom of a deep trench, so they brought pieces of bioluminescent coral to light the way. Halfway down the trench, they picked up an escort. Two eels slipped and slid around each other in an intimate dance, mismatched eyes following the mermen's every kick as they followed in their wake. Quatre could feel… something… from them. They were Dorothy's. He was sure of it.
Dorothy awaited them outside the grotto, hair floating around her like a halo of pale seaweed.
"Gentlemers, I've been expecting you," she said, voice ringing like a bell. Like the bells humans used on ships to sound the alarm, Quatre thought with a barely-repressed shudder.
"Follow me."
With that she turned and swam into the darkness, followed closely by the eels, which were still twining about each other.
Quatre and Duo shared a look, then swam after her.
They emerged into a large room. Toward the back, there was a doorway leading Quatre knew not where. The walls were lined with shelf after shelf of spectacular and strange items, many of which seemed to still be alive inside their glass vials and tubes.
Dorothy turned back to face them. Two of her tentacles reached behind her to gather up her hair, tying it in an elaborate knot. Then she snapped her fingers and the eels responded at once – one twining about the proffered arm and the other around her neck like a living necklace.
"You are here for something important?"
It wasn't really a question.
"I… yes," Duo stuttered, obviously as flustered as Quatre himself was at actually meeting the fabled sea witch.
"Well, spit it out. I haven't got all day," she commanded.
"I need a spell. A spell of transformation."
"That's no small deed. What exactly do you need to become?"
"Human," Duo said firmly, showing no more trace of the trepidation Quatre could sense emanating from him.
"Is that so?" the witch crooned. "What are you willing to pay for that?"
"Name your price."
She looked genuinely surprised.
"Name my price? This just gets better and better. In that case, your price will be two-fold. First, your voice–"
"My voice? But–!" Duo interjected.
Dorothy held up a finger.
"Don't interrupt. It's rude. First, your voice. Second, well, that cost is not mine to collect. Old man!" she called.
From the doorway in the back emerged a strange – but clearly old – merman. His hair… there was something wrong about his hair.
The man gave a sinister smile.
"The heir," he began, eyeing Duo up and down. "How very fortuitous. I'll be exacting the remainder of the price."
They waited.
"And what would that be?" Duo asked, finally.
"All in good time. When I have need, I will call on you, and you will do as I say."
"It's too much, Duo," Quatre warned.
"Any price, he said, Quatre," Duo whispered under his breath. "I have to fix this."
"But what about your voice?" Quatre insisted.
"His voice?" Dorothy interrupted, her own echoing through the water. She laughed.
"He'll have his looks, his pretty face. And that body…" she trailed off, unabashedly looking Duo up and down like she was surveying a fillet of fish at the market.
"Did you know that the vast majority of communication occurs through body language? Surely, an accomplished spy–" Quatre started. She knew Duo was a spy? "–like yourself can adapt to such a small obstacle as not having your voice. And besides, you'll be able to use it anytime you like."
"I will?" Duo asked, confused.
"Of course! But doing so will break the spell, so I advise you only do it when you have access to water."
"So I can't speak, and I have to do some… some favor for… who are you again?" Duo asked, turning to the old mer at Dorothy's side.
"Most know me as Old Man G. You may call me that."
"If I'm on shore, how will you be able to tell me what you want?" Duo asked.
"Oh, don't worry. You'll know."
Quatre didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. Dorothy was a blur to him, which was to be expected. A sea witch as strong as she could block a Wave Whisperer out anytime. But he felt absolutely nothing from this Old Man G. It was as if the merman didn't even exist.
"I'll know," Duo stated, anger beginning to rise to the surface. Quatre carefully began to draw that anger away from the braided mer, being sure to pass it through and then out of himself rather than letting it linger.
"Yes," was all the strange merman said.
"We've named our price," Dorothy said, apparently occupied with petting her eels, which were now slithering and dancing amidst her arms and a few of her tentacles.
She looked up, eyes piercing into Duo, then Quatre.
"Will you meet it, or are you just wasting our time?"
Quatre looked at his friend. Duo swallowed, then straightened his spine.
"I'll meet it. Tell me what to do."
Heero walked along the beach, lost in thought. This was where Nanashi and the others had come ashore. Ostensibly, the two of them were searching for other survivors. In reality, they both knew there weren't any, unless there were other half mer amongst the crew and passengers on their ship. Heero highly doubted it. Which was why he was too shocked to react when the next wave that came crashing in deposited a body at his feet.
Nanashi suffered no such impairment. He immediately knelt down next to the man. It was undoubtedly a man, given the complete lack of clothing. Grabbing him under the shoulders, Nanashi hauled him back from the crashing surf, then leaned down and put his ear to the man's mouth.
"No breathing, but maybe..." Nanashi placed two fingers on the side of the man's neck.
"He has a pulse," he said, and Heero let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
Nanashi didn't hesitate. He plugged the man's nose and, leaning down, breathed slowly into his mouth. He paused and, when nothing happened, repeated the process. This happened several times, with Trowa checking his pulse again, and Heero was starting to lose hope when the man began to cough.
Nanashi quickly rolled him onto his left side and held him there as he coughed and sputtered, a surprising amount of water spewing from his mouth.
Now that he was on his side, Heero noted a long chestnut a long chestnut braid trailing down his back. Interesting. Heero definitely didn't remember any of the crew or guards from the ship having hair that long.
He knelt down in front of the man, far enough back so as not to crowd him.
"Are you alright?" he asked after the coughing had finally subsided.
The man looked at him, then nodded and started to push himself up from the sand.
"I'm Heero. Who are you? Is there any way we can help you?"
The man opened his mouth as if to reply, then closed it with a click. He brought his hand up to his throat and shook his head.
"You can't speak?" Heero asked, surprised.
He shook his head again.
Heero looked at him more closely, wondering what to do. He looked somehow... familiar?
Heero's thoughts were interrupted as Nanashi held his jacket out to the braided man.
"This should help warm you up," Nanashi said, then turned to Heero. "We need to get him back to the castle, get him warm and dry. After nearly drowning, he's in danger of catching pneumonia."
"Of course," Heero replied, kicking himself for not thinking of that on his own.
They bundled him into the carriage, finding a blanket under the seat to both warm him and afford him some privacy.
Heero was at a loss. Who was he? Where did he come from? How could they figure any of this out if the man couldn't speak?
Nanashi cleared his throat.
"If I may... what do we call you?" he said, addressing the stranger. "How do we find out your name?"
The man thought about it for a minute, cocking his head in contemplation. Then he brightened, obviously having an idea, and the smile that lit his face left Heero completely stunned.
This man was absolutely gorgeous.
The stranger held up to fingers, bringing Heero out of his daze.
"Two?" Heero asked uncertainly, brow furrowing.
The man shook his head, then shook his hand, fingers still up, as if to emphasize it.
"Pair?" Trowa ventured.
He shook his head again, frowning. Next, he held up both hands, one pointed straight up, the other curved and connecting to the first at top and bottom.
"D? The letter D?" Heero queried.
The man nodded encouragingly, then made the "two" gesture again, alternating between that and the D.
"Two, D... two, D... Duo? Your name is Duo?"
He nodded his head enthusiastically, giving them a thumbs up.
Duo. What a strange name.
"Alright Duo. We're headed back to the castle in the city of Ryuusei. We'll get you some clothes, and a place to rest. Then we can see about getting you home safely."
Duo looked momentarily alarmed, then seemed to school his features. He bowed his head and nodded, as if in gratitude, then smiled at Heero again.
Once again, Heero was taken aback. He'd never before seen a smile so transform someone's face. Something niggled at the back of his mind, as if he were forgetting something important. For the life of him, he couldn't think of what it
