A/N: Hi! I'm so happy someone finally reviewed! I was starting to worry that no one was liking this story. Anyway I'll get right to the chapter since I'm sure you're more interested in that then listening to me ramble.

EDIT: I'M SO SORRY!I SHOULD HAVE POSTED THIS MONTHS AGO! I've had this whole thing including the authors notes typed up for months I just forgot to post it. Please forgive me! I promise I'm going to continue this I'm just slow because of college stuff and school but I'm going to try posting more often from now on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or this AU. Only the story is mine.

Here you go, chapter 3.

Enjoy.

Chapter III

Kankri's POV

Porrim opens the door and we enter the room. Inside is the emergency tank. It's only used to hold animals, or in this case mertrolls, if they have severe injuries. It's the same as the other tanks in the aquarium except that this one has a special platform at the top for examining whatever injury the creature has and a special filter that can filter medicine through the water to help speed the healing process. The tank is also equipped with special machinery that the animal or mertroll can be hooked up to monitor their vitals.

Currently the tank houses a single inhabitant, the sight of whom causes my heart to clench up painfully in my chest and the burn of tears unshed to sting my eyes as they threaten to spill over. I'm able to force them back though. I don't want to break down in front of Porrim.

Cronus is asleep, resting against a reef that's covered in sea sponges and soft alleges in order to help make it more comfortable for him. There's several wires that are connecting to the machines built into the tank that are monitoring his vitals. His face has an almost serene look to it. This guise of peace is broken, however, by the bandages that are wrapped tightly around his torso. The bandages are specially designed by Mituna and Latula to stop bleeding faster and continue to work underwater.

I'm surprised to see that Meenah is in the room. She's sitting at a table when we enter, she whips around as if on edge when we enter but relaxes some when she sees that it's just us. She slumps back down in the chair. We approach and Porrim places a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Thank yo+u, Meenah. Fo+r watching o+ver him until Kankri co+uld arrive. Yo+u can return to+ yo+ur tank no+w. I'm sure Aranea is anxio+us fo+r yo+u to+ return," She says. Meenah just nods and leaves, not saying a word.

I draw closer to the tank, placing my hand against the cool glass. Porrim leaves, sensing that I wish to have a moment alone with Cronus. As I stare into the tank at him, I recall the day I first met Cronus. I was the one who found him and his family after they'd been attacked by poachers. I'd brought them here, hoping they'd be safe. Cronus was always so full of life. He was always trying to flirt with everyone, though he never meant any harm. Whenever I would come to visit, we would talk for hours on end. Well, more like I would talk and he would listen. He was the first person I'd ever met who didn't mind listening to my lectures. Sometimes though, he would tell me about his home. I loved to hear about where he came from, though it made me sad to think that as soon as he and his father were fully healed and able to survive in the wild again, they and little Eridan would be returned to the ocean.

I was never sure of why the thought of him leaving upset me as much as it did. Now though, seeing him so hurt like this, it feels as though I was the one stabbed. I feel as if a knife has been plunged into my chest and the blade is slowly twisting. It's just so painful seeing someone who's usually so vibrant and full of life so pale and injured like this. I've seen a lot of injured animals in my time working in the coast guard, but none have bothered me anywhere near as much as seeing Cronus like this does. Nothing could even come close to this pain and hopelessness that I feel right now.

Cronus shifts in his sleep before suddenly crying out in pain. The heart monitor that he's hooked up to spikes as his heartbeats begins to race at an insane speed. I race out of the room, trying to find Porrim or Mituna or Latula, anyone who might be able to help Cronus. I find Latula carrying cleaning supplies back to the supply closet. I immediately grab her wrist and practically drag her back towards the Medical room where Cronus is in some kind of horrible pain.

She drops the cleaning supplies she's holding in surprise and asks me, "K4nkr1, wh4t's go1ng on?" Worry is clear in her voice. It's no surprise she's worried, I'm usually so calm and collected, no doubt seeing me so frantic is worrying to her.

"It's Cr9nus! I d9n't kn9w what happened 6ut his heart rate started racing suddenly and l99ks like he's in a great deal 9f pain. He was c9mpletely fine 9ne m9ment, then the next he started thrashing and acting like he's in excruciating pain!" I reply, not slowing down at all as I explain the reason for my frantic behavior to her. Upon hearing my explanation, he teal eyes widen and she pulls her hand out of my grasp to reach into the pocket of her coat. She retrieves a device that looks like some kind of walkie talkie.

"Tun4, Porr1m, m33t 1n th3 3M3d room ST4T! K4nkr1 s4ys som4th1ng's wrong w1th Cronus! Hurry!" She practically barks into the device before returning it to her pocket and matching my pace as we hurry back to Cronus.

When we arrive, Porrim is already there, looking at the machines that are remotely monitoring Cronus's vitals, worry etched upon her features. Mituna arrives only seconds are Latula and I. They both rush to look at the monitors with Porrim as I stay back biting my lip in worry, wishing I could help in some way.

"H15 H34R7 R4735 5P1K1NG D4NG3R0U5LY!" Mituna exclaims.

Latula grabs something from the small freezer that holds the medicine and fills a syringe with it. Wasting no time at all, she sheds her white coat and hurries up the ladder to the top of the tank with the syringe and dives in. Swimming quickly down to Cronus, she grabs his trashing arm and holds it still against the coral as she injects whatever's in the syringe into his bloodstream.

After a moment, his heart rate slowly begins returning to normal and his thrashing becomes much less violent until it eventually stops completely and he's once again sleeping peacefully on the coral.

Porrim, Mituna and I release a collective sigh of relief as Latula swims back up to the surface of the tanks water and climbs out. She descends the ladder and throws the syringe into the biohazard bin before taking the towel Mituna holds out to her.

"7H47 W45 50M3 QU1CK 7H1NK1NG 0N Y0UR P4R7, 7UL1P. G00D J08," Mituna tells her smiling. Porrim and I nod in agreement.

"What was in that syringe y9u injected him with, Latula?" I ask, curious to know what the substance was.

"1 g4v3 h1m 4 shot of 4dr3n4l1n3. 1t looks to m3 l1k3 th1s po1son 1s work1ng 1n w4v3s to gr4du4lly 4tt4ck 4nd w34k3n h1s 1mmun3 syst3m. Th1s d3f1n1t3ly 1sn't go1ng to b3 th3 l4st 4tt4ck l1k3 th1s w3'll s33," She explains as she dries herself off with the towel, putting her lab coat back on top of her soaked pajamas. Porrim frowns at Latula's words.

"If what yo+u say is true, then we wo+n't be able to+ rely so+lely o+n the adrenaline to+ help him thro+ugh these attacks. Eventually his bo+dy will beco+me accusto+med to+ it and its effects wo+n't help as much and may even cease to+ help at all. The same will o+ccur if we try using so+me kind o+f o+ther medicine o+ver and o+ver again. We also+ run the risk o+f him beco+ming dependent o+n the medicatio+n and fo+rming an addictio+n to+ it. We must avo+id that at all co+sts."

Latula, Mituna, and I all nod. Giving Cronus pain medication or adrenaline to help with tall of these attacks, only to have him become addicted to the aids is definitely something that needs to be avoided at all costs.

As the others finish checking over Cronus' vitals and making sure they're returning to normal, I look back at Cronus himself in the tank. He's definitely a shade or two paler than he had been before the attack. My chest aches at the sight. The others eventually leave and I approach the tank again. I pull up a chair and sit right against the tank in front of where Cronus is resting. I place my hand on the glass, focusing solely on Cronus.

I look up at Cronus' face before speaking softly, "9h, Cr9nus. H9w I wish that there was s9me way I c9uld help y9u, 6ut I d9n't kn9w much a69ut medicine 9ther than 6asic first aid that I'm required t9 kn9w 6y the C9ast Guard. Even if I was a6le t9 simply 6e cl9ser t9 y9u. That way I c9uld d9 m9re t9 9ffer whatever c9mf9rt I c9uld pr9vide t9 help y9u thr9ugh this h9rri6le pain. Seeing y9u like this hurts me s9 much and kn9wing that I can't d9 anything t9 help y9u in anyway makes me feel s9 utterly useless. Damnit! I wish I knew what I c9uld d9 t9 help y9u"

I sigh and lean forward to press my forehead against the glass as I fight back the tears that burn behind my eyes. I nearly fall out of my seat from shock when someone clears their throat behind me after several moments of silence. Whipping around, I'm surprised to see that it's Meenah.

"Meenah, what are y9u d9ing in here? Sh9uldn't y9u 6e with Aranea?"

"I heard the commotion and came to sea what happened. I didn't expect to hear all that foam you. You never seamed to be the type to be so…sentimental, I guess is the best words for it," She tells me, causing a blush to paint my cheeks as I realize that she heard all of what I said to Cronus.

I look back at the injured Mertroll and shrug, "Well, it pains me t9 see s9me9ne I care a69ut in such a state, especially when they're s9me9ne wh9's usually s9 full 9f happiness and energy and life like Cr9nus was. And when I think that I'm the 9ne wh9's the cause 9f this-"

")(OLD UP. )(ow the )(ell did you anything to cause this? From what I've heard you've only ever helped Cronus and his family," Meenah says, cutting me off.

"Well, with 9ut me, Cr9nus w9uldn't 6e here right n9w," I explain to her.

"What are you talking about? Without you Cronus and his family would all be dead and sold on the black market right now. If you hadn't found the on that poacher's boat when you did, Dualscar would be dead and who knows what they would have done to Cronus and his brother. You saved them," she argues.

"True, 6ut I was the 9ne wh9 6r9ught them here. I insisted they stay here t99. They w9uld have 6een returned t9 the 9cean a few days ag9 since Dualscar, while n9t completely healed, has 6een getting str9ng en9ugh that he can survive 9n his 9wn again in the wild. They sh9uld have 6een 6ack in the 9cean already and the men wh9 6r9ke in w9uldn't have 6een able t9 get t9 Cr9nus and hurt him like this. They stayed here and he's n9w injured all 6ecause I was selfish and didn't want t9 see Cr9nus leave just yet," I counter, looking down at the floor, letting the full weight of my guilt crash down on my shoulders.

"Whale, from what I've heard from bee buoy and skater gill he's the first person to ever actually put up with our stupid rants and lectures that can go on for hours. If I was you, I probably wouldn't have wanted for him to leave either. Besides, I knew Cronus before we met here and-"

"Pard9n me f9r interrupting 6ut y9u did? How?" I ask, shocked considering this is the first I've heard of this.

"Yeah, he was one of the options for a suitor that my mom wanted me to marry. )(is father has dominion over a large area of the ocean that my mother has no control over. She wanted to use the marriage between Cronus and me to increase her area of influence further by joining our families. We only met a few times before I refused to meet him anymore, but I got to know him well enough to sea that he was a huge poser and a big douche. )(e always tried to act like he didn't care about how big and powerful his daddy was and how much higher up he was on the hierarchy he was than others. )(e also had this insane obsession with you human, like to the point where I'm pretty shore he wanted to be one of you. Looking at him now though, he's very different. He's still an idiot but he seems a lot more relaxed than he ever was when we would meet way back then. I'm pretty shore you have a big role in that. Whenever you visit and spend time talking to him, he seems, whale happier. Before it was like he always had a mask on to try and please those around him and live up to the expectations others set for him, especially his father. Here though, he seems like he's not putting that mask up as much as before. He's still a poser, but he looks much freer to me, less afraid to be himself," she explains. I'm left speechless at her words.

"W9w, Meenah. I….I never knew y9u were s9 perceptive, 9r that y9u even cared en9uh t9 pay attenti9n 9 such things."

"I don't to be honest. 95% of that was stuff Aranea's said to me. She's actually the one that wanted to know what happened , But since her leg's injured and she can't reelly walk out of water anyway, she asked me to come sea what's going on," She replies, shrugging.

"9h."

"Though what she said is true, even I can sea it. That's why I've decided I'm going to help you."

I look at her with wide eyes, completely shocked. My mouth is even hanging open I realize after a moment.

She frowns, "What? Just because I act heartless most of the time doesn't mean that I actually am. I may hate Cronus, but even he doesn't deserve the hell those bastard poachers are putting him through with this poison. NOBODY deserves it. So, I'm going to help you. Now I can't make him better, but I can give you the chance to be able to be closer to him so that you can comfort him better and help him through this without being stuck outside this tank. If there's anyone who can help give Cronus the comfort and support he really needs right now, it'd be you.

Now you probably know from my sister that our family is able to change a merperson to a human and vice versa through a kiss. I'm going to do this to you so that you can be closer to Cronus and hopefully offer him better comfort and make things a bit easier for him. Now, usually the change lasts only for a few hours, a day or two at most, however, before I ran away from home, my mother had begun to train me on how to better control this power. Through the small amount of training I received form her and the training I've done on my on with Aranea's help, I'm able to control the amount of time the transformation will last for and can even make it last for an indefinite amount of time. That's what I'm going to do with you since that will be the easiest way with the least amount of hassle. The only catch with doing this is that you'll need to stay in the water. Some part of you will have to stay wet at all times because if your body dries completely then that will be what triggers the end of the transformation and cause you to revert back to your human form. Do you understand?" she asks me once she's finished with her explanation.

I take a minute to let all of the information to sink in before nodding my head, "Yes, but, I must ask, why are you doing all of this? I was under the impression that you and your sister were forbidden from using your powers."

She raises an eyebrow and gives a short almost haughty laugh, "We are, but remember who you're talking to. When have I ever cared about the damned rules? So, are you ready to do this?"

"Yes, but not just yet. We should tell the others of this plan first.

"Why do we have to tell them? You know that all they're going to do is try to stop it."

"I do, but we still need to tell them. They are the ones in charge of the facility and they have the right to know what's going on within it," I respond, resolute in my decision to tell them. Meenah just shrugs and says whatever as he we go together to the others. I don't really want to bother Cronus with what is sure to be a heated discussion by having it in the EMed room so we quickly gather everyone in Porrim's office.

Meenah was right about them not approving to the plan and it took nearly an hour of arguing, which Aranea joins in on at one point when we move to the main room so that Tula and Mit can get some work done by feeding the others while we talked. Eventually, with a good deal of help from Aranea and even Kurloz and Horrus, we are able to convince them to agree with our plan and go along with it.

When we return to the EMed room, Cronus is still sleeping under the influence of the anesthetics that Tula and Mit had given him while bandaging him up. Meenah and I climb up the ladder to the platform at the top of the tank after I remove my shoes, socks, shirt, and jacket as per her instructions. I take a deep breath and slide halfway into the water, using the ledge to keep half of me out of the water. Meenah tells me to relax my body and kisses the palm of her hand, closing her eyes and focusing as she does so. I take a deep breath and so as she says as I feel her press the palm of her hand into my chest just above my heart. As a warmth starts to spread through me outwards from my chest, I think to myself, "There's no turning back now."

End of Chapter III

A/N: HEY! Sorry I took so long in getting this chapter up. I've been really busy lately with college applications and stuff and my portfolio. Anyway, I took some artistic liberty in the extent of Meenah's powers but it was necessary for this story to go how I wanted it to. But next chapter you'll get to see what Kankri's merperson form is. I'll probably draw a picture of it and post it somewhere and include the link with the next chapter or even add it to the end of this one.

So yeah sorry I took so long. I still need a Beta reader for this story. Preferably someone who's familiar with the Aquarium stuck AU but that's not completely necessary. They've just gotta be able to edit my grammar. Hopefully I will get one soon.

Also, do you guys think I should continue typing out the typing quirks? I can't decide if I could continue to do it or to just type them normally. Help me decide!

Welp I've got nothing more to say other than please continue to review. They are literally the only thing that keeps me updating. If no one reviews I feel like no one cares about whether I update or not so I lose my drive so please review more! Tell me how I'm doing! Also if you see any screw ups with the typing quirks or anywhere I can fit in a fish pun for Meenah please tell me I'm horrible at fish puns.

Until next time my darlings!

Wolf-chan out.