"Who Am I?"

Chapter 4

*Sam's POV*

As I left the cove late at night, I could still feel Danny's glowing-green eyes still glued to me. I felt bad for having to leave him all alone again.

"But I may have some invaluable information that could give me a clue as to who or what he is. I have to do this." I assured myself.

Once I got out of the beach, I walked across the park. Luckily, my house was only a block or so away. Still, it was somewhat creepy walking through the desolate park in the middle of the night. It was a new moon, and the park lights were out, so I had only the glow from the stars to guide my way. I shivered as a cool breeze blew past me.

"I'm definitely getting a pair of sweats and a lot of extra blankets once I get home…" I muttered.

After a few minutes passed, I arrived at home. The inside of my house was quiet as always. An old grandfather clock in the living room made a "tick tock" sound as the hands shifted ever so slightly. I went up the creaky stairs to the second floor and then into my bedroom.

"All right, now I have to find that book."

I went to my bookshelf and began pulling out all of the books, novels, and magazines I had piled inside of it.

"Come on, it's got to be in here somewhere…"

I reached in the very back of the stack of books until I felt my hand grab something.

"A-ha! Gotcha!"

I slowly pulled the book out of the crevice. It was covered with a lot of dust and dirt. I blew off what I could, and then I wiped the rest of it away with my hand. In large, golden letters, the word "Atlantis" was spelled out on the book's light blue cover. Below the title was a depiction of the legendary utopian society. I got my bag and stuffed the book inside. Before I left, I also changed out of my swimsuit and into a pair of black sweats and a black tank top. I found a black hoodie in my closet, and I put that on, too.

"All set. Now I'll get back to Danny."

Even now, I felt bad about the lone teenager. When he told me of how humans rejected him, I couldn't believe anyone could be so heartless. Like me, no one ever gave him a chance.

"I just hope that I can help him…" I thought.

Clutching the bag close to me, I went downstairs and out the door, making sure that the door was shut and locked behind me.

~Line Break~

Back at the beach, I saw Danny sitting near the fire with his arms around his knees. The fire was still ablaze, but I noticed that the flames had started to dim. I walked over to him and sat down. Danny immediately smiled as he stretched and looked up at me.

"Sam! You came back!" he said happily.

I nodded and smiled.

"Of course I did, Danny. I said I would, didn't I?"

I reached into my bag and pulled out the blankets, both black. I handed Danny one and wrapped myself in the other.

"Thanks!" Danny said with gratitude as he pulled the blanket around him.

"You're welcome," I replied. "Now, about that book I mentioned earlier…"

I dug into my bag once more and pulled out the old, dusty book.

"Atlantis?"

"Yep. Atlantis is a city located somewhere underwater in the ocean," I explained. "According to legend, Atlantis is home to the God of Seas. His name is Poseidon."

I flipped open the book to a picture of Poseidon himself.

"Wow…" Danny said as his eyes widened.

"This is the picture I was talking about earlier, Danny. Like the older man in the photo in your locket, Poseidon has long black hair and blue eyes. And look at his ears."

I pointed at the picture. Like Danny, Poseidon also had fin-ears that reminded me of webbed feet. He also had arm fins.

"This guy looks just like me!" Danny cried.

"They all look like you, Danny. Look!"

I flipped the pages, and more pictures of creatures that looked nearly identical to Danny were on them.

"But wait, where are their feet?" asked Danny.

"These people are mermaids and mermen, Danny," I replied. "They don't have feet. Instead, they have a fish's tail."

"I don't have a tail. I have legs, Sam. Like you."

"Yet, your other physical appearances mirror these pictures perfectly. This doesn't make sense." I said.

"I'm confused, does this mean… I'm a mermaid?"

"Well first of all, since you're a guy, you'd be a merman, not a mermaid. Mermaids are girls, Danny."

"Oh…Oops."

"And second, I'm not sure. You don't have a tail, like they do. Maybe there's more information in this book that give us some leads."

I flipped passed the rest of the pictures and began reading.

"Let's see…Atlantian holidays, Atlantian customs, nope."

I turned the pages.

"Here we go, mer-people life and lifestyles. This is what we need."

Danny looked over my shoulder as I started to read.

"Look at this. It talks about how mer-people have children."

Danny scowled.

"Really, Sam?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Not what I meant, Danny. It says here that mer-people can mate two different ways. The first way is when the male entwines his tail with the female's tail. This method is generally more preferred because pregnancy is not possible."

"Where are you going with this, anyway?" Danny asked impatiently.

"It…uh…goes into more detail with that, but afterwards it talks about the second mating process."

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on!"

"Danny, pay attention!"

"I'm not really that interested in how mer-people screw each other…" Danny muttered.

"That's not the point." I argued.

"Then what is your point?"

"It says that mer-people possess the ability to grow legs and walk on land. From there, they can mate just like humans do. In this way, this form of mating is much more intimate and can ultimately lead to reproduction."

Danny continued to scowl.

"Don't you get it? It's possible for mer-people to have legs, Danny. Perhaps you're more related to them than we think."

"Yeah, but read on," Danny said. "It also says that the legs are only temporary. Once they touch water again, their tails grow back. I've been in and out of the ocean millions of times, and I have never grown a tail."

"You're right," I agreed. "But then, what else could there-"

Suddenly, my hand accidentally slipped off the page by accident. It was slightly windy, so the pages began turning.

"Whoops! I've got it!" I said as I put my hand back down on the page to stop the ocean breeze from blowing the pages around again.

"Woah, hang on a minute. Take a look at what page it landed on."

"What is it?" Danny asked.

" ' Very rarely, mer-people are separated from the rest of the society during the first couple of years after birth. Because of this, the majority of mer-people offspring cut off from their parents will end up dead within a few weeks."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Danny, didn't you say that you've been alone for your whole life?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And you have that locket with the tiny picture of you and those other adults inside of it. Danny…I think those people…are your parents."

"My parents?"

I nodded.

"It makes sense. Shortly after you were born, you must have been separated from them at a very young age. That's why you've been alone this whole time."

I flipped the page.

" 'Separated mer-people, due to their distance from the rest of the population, never acquire their tails, but retain physical features such as webbed fin ears and arm fins."

"S-So…I'm…I'm really one of them?"

"I-I think so…You're a merman, Danny. You never acquired a tail because you and your parents were taken away from each other when you were little. Miraculously, you managed to survive."

I continued reading to see if there was any further information.

"So…that's it? I'll never grow a tail and therefore, I'll never get the chance to see if they're out there. My parents, that is…" Danny said softly.

"H-hang on a sec!"

My eyes caught something on the very bottom of the page. I yanked the book closer to me as I read the heart-stopping words over and over again.

"Oh no…"

Danny came over closer.

"What? What is it?"

" 'S-Separated mer-people who are lucky enough to reach adulthood undergo what this book calls a 'm-manual transformation."

"Into what?"

"It's a transformation where you acquire your tail as well as gills."

"Wow! Cool! That's awesome!" Danny said joyfully.

"N-Not really, Danny. The transformation involves every bone from the waist down breaking into small fragments."

Danny's smile as well as his joy immediately disappeared.

"B-Breaking?" Danny questioned with a startled look on his face.

"Shattering, Danny…the bones shatter and fuse into one hollow tail bone."

I gulped.

" 'Accounts of mer-people surviving this painful transformation have never been recorded or even heard of.' "

"W-Well, what else does it say?"

I continued on.

"It says that this transformation commences on the eighteenth birthday of the individual, and the duration of the entire process is about ten minutes. First, the bones crack, break, and condense into one bone, as I've said. Afterwards, it's less painful. Scales grow over the entire tail and a pair of fins extend at the tip. From there, three openings form on the neck, resulting in gills. Once that's done, the change is complete."

I shut the book and placed it back in my bag.

"But I don't understand…n-no one survived it? Not ever?" Danny asked softly.

I shook my head.

"The transformation is so painful that the individual ends up dying from pure shock."

"And to think," Danny whispered. "I'll be eighteen in about a week. If that's true, then I'll undergo that same transformation, too."

Danny sighed and put his head down. He didn't move for the longest time.

"Danny?"

He sniffed and his whole body tensed. Cautiously, I put one hand on his shoulder. I could easily tell that Danny was crying.

"Danny, it'll be okay…" I said as I consoled him.

"S-Sam…I d-don't…I don't want to die…"

I pulled Danny into my chest and wrapped my arms around his body.

"You're not going to die."

"B-But you saw what the book said! No one ever s-survived the change!"

"It also mentioned that those who did transform were all alone and often in poor health."

I rubbed his back and stroked his soft, white hair.

"We haven't known each other for very long, but we've already connected so much."

Danny sniffed and buried his head in my chest.

"You didn't know me, but you still saved my life. Even though I was a human, you risked your life to save my own. And now, Danny, it's my turn to save you. I won't let you go through this alone. Right when it happens, I'll be with you every step of the way."

Danny looked up at me, his green eyes filled with desperate tears.

"I'm not going to let you die, Danny. I promise."

Chapter 5 is already written, and it includes the major change that Danny will go through. I plan on editing some parts as well as including detail. I'll have Chapter 5 posted at the very latest, tomorrow. I plan on trying to make the change somewhat graphic, so be ready for that. Until then, I hoped you liked the added DxS fluff :3 Please review =)