He awoke to the sound of his heartbeat, mechanical as it beeped from the nearby monitor. Beck stared at the dingy ceiling tiles, rust stains along the metal strips holding decaying plaster in place. He blinked at the bright exposed fluorescent lightbulbs, squinting to make out the details around him. His eyesight was still fuzzy, and his head was pounding with a splitting headache. What had happened? He had been running along the boardwalk then large arms around him. Had he really been kidnapped?

Now slightly panicked he tried to sit up, only to be restrained by tight straps across his chest and on his wrists and ankles. Yelling he tugged at the thick bands holding him down, but they didn't budge. What was going on? Yeah, he was definitely panicking.

"Hello?!" he hollered. "Where am I? What's going on?"

His echoed shouts did nothing other than make his throat hurt. Why had he been kidnapped? Why would someone want to take him?

He lay there, uselessly trying to work his way out of the restraints, his headache only growing. He kept his eyes closed, the lights making the pounding worse. He didn't know where he was or how long he had been there. Laying on the bed he stared at the ceiling uselessly.

At some point he must have drifted off to sleep. A sharp pinch in his upper arm woke him up with a start. Yelling he tried to jerk back as he opened his eyes to a strange woman standing over him, needle in hand.

"What are you doing to me?" he yelled.

Her grip on his arm was iron tight and the look on her face was just as steely.

He winced as the sharp needle was pulled from his arm. She dabbed it with a cold wipe but didn't bother to cover it. He tried to watch her as she walked behind the bed he was strapped to. He strained his neck but couldn't see what she was doing.

"Who are you?" he asked.

She paused and then gave a sharp laugh. "I was wondering how much your parents would have told you. It seems they've been keeping secrets."

He knew they had, but the kind of secrets that lead to him being kidnapped? He was beginning to think there was a reason they kept things from him. But he was also angry. Maybe if he'd known he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

"You didn't answer my question," he said.

She walked back over, her blue eyes glaring down at him. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a slick ponytail and her lab coat looked like it had seen better days. In her hand she held another needle. Grabbing his other arm, she quickly pressed it in, not giving him the chance to flinch and try to pull away.

"What is that?" His voice sounded small, and he swallowed, trying to clear the dryness in his mouth.

"This is something I've been working on for over a decade. In fact, you have your father to thank for the breakthrough I made in my research."

"My dad?"

"I wonder," she said as she pulled out the needle, "if they were ever going to tell you about me. Or the truth about them."

He didn't bother responding. She wasn't answering any of his questions and it didn't sound like she was going to.

"I do think it's strange," she said, "that they would give you a crystal from the moon pool and not tell you anything." She reached down and fiddled with the necklace he was wearing.

He was about to tell her off when his stomach rolled. Nausea overcame him and he turned his head and dry heaved. He was grateful the last thing he'd had was some orange juice.

"Good, that means it's working." The lady walked out of view again.

"Why?" he croaked when he had a moment of reprieve.

She didn't answer and he began to feel worse. His legs were aching, and his chest was burning.

Once more she came over with another needle. "It took me a long time to perfect this. Unfortunately for your father, my methods were unrefined back then."

The third needle went in over his heart and Beck screamed in agony. His body began to feel like it was on fire, and he writhed against his restraints.

"The data I will get from studying you will prove I wasn't crazy." There was a horrible grin sneer on her face as she stared him down. "It wouldn't have been right to use this on just anyone. But to study the son of Will and Bella, well, that's only fitting."

His body burned and he screamed as his legs ached, sharp piercing pain radiating from bone and muscle as his body began to deform. Ripping came from his pants as his legs merged, starting at his waist. Beck tried to look down, squinting as his vision swam, black dots filling his vision. His toes looked long and his feet flat and disfigured. What was happening to him?

Removing the straps from his ankles and replacing a bigger one across his deforming calves, his kidnapper watched on in unconcealed glee.

Wheezing in between raw screams, he felt tears coat his cheeks. He'd never been in so much pain! His legs itched and burned as scales began to replace flesh. His ankles and toes merged as they lengthened into a fish fin. The scales were a creamy white, darkening to a pale blueish green as they wrapped around his backside. A short fin grew from his tailbone, growing to the base of his fin.

The transformation took mere minutes and left Beck shivering with painful tremors as his body strained to not shut down. Unable to resist, he watched the lady connect him up to an IV. He was distraught and confused as he stared at where his legs used to be. His shirt had been pushed up as he'd writhed in pain. Now he could see his waist, where the tattered remains of his pants hung off him. Just below his navel tanned flesh gave way to creamy fish scales. His legs were gone, instead one long muscular fish tail twitched as the spasms of pain diminished. It was longer than his legs had been, and the fish tail moved almost of its own accord.

He could feel it. The way the muscles stretched and bunched, and the flick of the wide fin. When he thought of bending his knees, the tail curled inward, and he jerked in surprise. Did he no longer have knees? What was he thinking? He didn't even have legs! Beck could feel himself starting to hyperventilate as his new reality crashed around him.

He was half fish. A mermaid? No, a merman. How? What? His mind whirled and his vision tunneled. He fought to stay conscious, terrified at what else would be done to him. The choice wasn't his though. His kidnapper had all the control. He glanced up at the IV realizing there was something in it, his thoughts slowing and his movements becoming sluggish. His last thought was of his parents and how worried they would be before unconsciousness once again took him.

-t-c-o-m-

Slowly coming back to his senses, Beck felt dazed and heavy. His body wasn't moving correctly, and he couldn't figure out where he was. This had to be some sort of nightmare. Blinking he tried to identify his surroundings. It took a couple seconds for him to realize he was underwater, and he panicked. Holding his breath, he tried to swim for the surface, fear of drowning lacing through him. Paddling his arms and kicking he began summersaulting over himself as his body didn't respond the way it should.

As he tumbled in the water, he got a good view of the fish tail that was now attached to his waist. The white scales on the front with the slightly greenish dark blue scales on the back. Still dazed he let himself drift for a moment, staring at where his legs used to be. The fin that had replaced his feet and toes wavered in the water aimlessly. Stilling himself he tried for a dolphin kick and yelped as his new appendage responded by thrusting him forward in the water. Turning to face the surface he flicked his tail, amazed at how quickly he could now move.

Water splashed and he gasped as he tasted the air. The room around him was dim and he spun in circles haphazardly as his tail moved in unfamiliar ways. He was in some sort of large tank in a small room. Outside the tank were tables full of strange equipment. The lady who had done this to him was nowhere to be seen and he let out a tiny sigh of relief.

Around the edge of the tank was a wooden ledge with a set of stairs that led to the floor. If he had to guess he'd say the tank was almost five meters deep and just as wide around. Beck could stretch out easily, but that didn't make him feel any better. He needed to get out of there. With a flick of his tail, he swam to the edge, uneasy with how quickly his brain was adjusting to controlling the fish tail. He was still clumsy in his movements, but he was easily starting to move how he wanted to. Had it just been a costume he would have been eager to test out how fast he could swim.

But it wasn't a costume. It was real and he was freaking out. He couldn't be a merman. He just needed to get out of the water and find some way to dry off. That was how the myth went, right? A mermaid had legs when dry and a tail when wet? He had to hope some of the stories held some sort of truth. Placing his hands on the wooden platform, he flicked hard with his tail, lifting his upper body out of the water. With a hard thwack his stomach hit the edge and he winced as the weight of his tail threatened to pull him back in. Kicking it as hard as he could he thrust himself further out of the water. Clawing his hands and arms he pulled himself along the wood until he was breathless but exposed to the open air.

He panted as he lay on his stomach, exhausted from the effort. His tail weighed more than expected. But it made sense. If it was like any fish tail, then it was mostly muscle, and muscle was heavy. He twisted to stare down at himself. He was taller as a merman. He was easily a couple feet taller than before. Or was it longer now that he couldn't stand up? He didn't know and he didn't really care. The lady would eventually come back to check up on him and he wouldn't waste the chance to possibly escape.

Grimacing and taking a deep breath, Beck began to pull himself towards the stairs. His scales scraped painfully along the wood, as smooth as they were. He was surprised with how sensitive his tail was. As he reached the first step he paused to breathe. This was going to be the hardest part. Determined to free himself, he pulled himself down the first step, then the next. As his body began to incline, he could feel himself starting to slip. Yelling he slid as the weight of his tail worked with gravity to pull him all the way down. Tumbling, his shoulder and tail banged against the steps as he slid to a stop on the cement floor.

He didn't want to move. He hurt in places he'd never had before. His tail throbbed as his fin twitched, and his shoulder felt tender as he rubbed it. At least nothing was broken, he thought. Dragging himself to a sitting position he stared helplessly at his tail. It was dryer than before. Running a hand over it he winced at the places where it was raw from missing scales. As he ran his hand over the scales, he began to feel a tingle. Wherever his hand went, his scales began to dry. Jerking back his hand he stared at his palm. What was that? Placing his hand over a patch of wet scales he thought about drying them and the same strange tingle came back. He could feel it as the water evaporated and his mouth fell open in shock. He had powers? How did he have powers? Shaking his head, he scoffed at himself. He'd just been turned into a merman. Apparently, anything was possible now.

Concentrating, he raised his other hand and began to dry off anywhere he felt wet, watching larges spots of water turn to steam and then evaporate. It was cool he could manipulate water like that, but the fact still made his stomach squeeze. He didn't want powers. He just wanted to be human.

He could tell when he was completely dry, like a new sense or instinct. Watching his tail, he continued to sit there helplessly. Now what? He pictured his legs in his mind, trying to will them back into existence. Around his neck the blue crystal-like stone began to glow, a pulsing blue light emanating from it. Carefully he grasped it between his fingers then yelped as the light burst around him. A strange feeling overtook him, and he watched in awe as his body first turned into water then reformed back into his normal, human self.

Too stunned to move he sat there, naked as they came, unable to wrap his brain around what was happening. The necklace was magic? Or was he magic? Were they both magic? Did his parents know? Shakily he stood, his knees wobbly but gaining strength. As he looked around the room, he didn't see any clothes, but he didn't really care. He needed to get out of there, bare butt and all. Running for the door, he was surprised when it opened. Maybe she hadn't expected he'd be able to escape. Why lock a door when your prisoner can't leave the water?

Running down a long hallway he looked for anything that looked like an exit. Turning a corner, he found it. A door with a window where he could see the sun shining outside. A yell sounded behind him and he ran faster. As he pushed open the door an alarm began to blare loudly. He didn't stop. He could see open water ahead and a new, strong instinct was telling him to run towards it. Whatever the consequences of doing so, it was better than being stuck as some crazy lady's experiment.

He was almost to the water when a loud bang echoed, followed by a sharp pierce to his shoulder. He'd been shot! He ran faster and dove into the water, swimming for all he was worth. It wasn't a bullet, he realized, but a dart. He pried it from his shoulder and then paddled to the surface. He had to get away before whatever was in that dart knocked him out. Then, by magic he now had to assume, his body turned back into water, then reformed as a merman.

Pumping his tail, he dove then sped forward, bubbles in his wake as he blurred through the water. It was exhilarating at how fast he moved, and he was momentarily thankful for the strange ability. He knew he hadn't gone nearly far enough when his body began to grow heavy, his motions becoming lethargic. The dart, while enough for a human, was taking longer to affect his denser merman form. But it was working. He slowed and began to drift as he lost the ability to move his arms and tail, limply sinking towards the ocean floor.

This was it, he thought. This was how he would die. Eventually his lungs would burn for oxygen, but he'd be helpless to reach the surface. It didn't matter if he was now half fish. His arms lifted over his head as his heavy tail pulled him further down. As an excellent swimmer he was an expert at holding his breath and he'd always been good at water-related activities. He knew to slow his heart rate and to slowly exhale oxygen as he sunk further.

But he'd never been faced with the actual possibility of drowning. His panic was keeping his heart rate up, which meant he would use the little oxygen remaining in his lungs too quickly. The burn he'd been expecting began to build, and with his body numbing he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back the gasp for air that would come too soon.

His escape to freedom had been futile. He'd die without his parents ever knowing what happened to him. Would they think he ran away? Would they ever know he had been kidnapped? Would they ever find out he'd died as some weird half fish hybrid with who knows what magical powers? He would guess not. He wished he'd hugged his mum and dad one last time. Wished he'd stayed home rather than feeling like he had to go for that run.

The burn was becoming unbearable now and Beck could feel his throat convulsing with the urge to breathe. Fighting it he tried to keep his mouth shut, but bodies have powerful reflexes. It didn't matter that he was currently a couple meters below the surface. An involuntary gasp forced his lips apart, allowing the briny water to rush in and down his throat.

The burning should then have become excruciating as he drowned. Instead, the burning eased, and he felt himself reflexively take in another breath of water. He was breathing. He felt his heart slow as he felt the panic of drowning lessen. So, another strange ability. He was more half fish than his outer appearance would suggest. Briefly he wondered if that meant he now had gills or if his lungs were somehow filtering the oxygen straight from the water. Maybe it was magic, he didn't know.

That still didn't solve the problem of him sinking towards the ocean floor. Or the problem of the motor he could now hear speeding in his direction. He was surprised how sharp his hearing was. He was also noticing how nothing seemed blurry underwater like it should. That meant all his senses had adapted, not just his legs becoming a tail. He was a freak. How would he ever be able to go back home like this? What would he tell his parents?

As the boat got closer it slowed. His stomach dropped and he realized his escape to freedom had been more useless than he'd thought. Maybe he wasn't going to drown, but he didn't know if going back to the lab was the better option either.

Overhead the boat motor cut off and an anchor was tossed overboard. A diver tipped over the side and righted himself before swimming towards his direction. Behind him another diver entered the water. He was helpless as they grabbed him by the arms and swam him towards the surface. Emerging into the open air, his head lolled on his chest as two more people in the boat grabbed hold of him and heaved him on board. They were rough and his tail painfully banged against the deck as did his hurt shoulder. He gasped in pain but was still unable to move.

"Good thing Dr. Denman put a tracker in him," said one of the divers as he climbed on board. "He would've been one tricky bugger to find."

"You reckon we should tie him up?" asked one of the men on deck.

Beck felt a sharp kick to his tail and yelped. "Nah. I reckon we just given him another tranq dart if he starts movin' 'round, that or just him knock him out. So long as we keep him wet, he ain't goin' nowhere."

Beck glared at the group of men who stood over him. If he could have spoken, he would have had a few words for them. The two divers took a seat nearby on the small boat as the other two men went about hoisting the anchor and getting the boat headed back the way they had come.

As the boat spun around, Beck thought about his parents again. And Lilly. He didn't know what was about to become of him. This Dr. Denman, who he assumed was the lady who did this to him, seemed like she was out for revenge. She knew his parents. She had even mentioned the secrets that they had been keeping from him. If he was going to be a captive, he was going to try harder to get some answers.

Slowing down the boat began to approach the dock and he flicked the tips of his fin uselessly. His fingers tingled but he still couldn't control his limbs. He'd be back in that tank before he had control of his body again. As the boat was tied off, the two divers began to lift him towards the wooden dock. His tail scraped painfully as he was handed off to the other two men who had jumped over to catch him. All four men were soon off the boat and carrying him. From their grunts Beck figured he weighed more than he had thought. He must have gained some upper body mass with the tail mass. He wondered if he'd ever get to weigh himself to see if he was anywhere near the weight of a dolphin. His mum had once told him that a full-grown male dolphin could weigh over 150 kilograms.

Bringing his thoughts back in, he watched from a slanted perspective as he was carried back into the building. He had enough feeling back in his neck to hold his head up somewhat, but the effort was exhausting, and his scales were starting to itch where they were drying out.

"Put him on the lab table. There's something I need to do before he goes back in the tank."

Looking around he saw Dr. Denman standing outside a door that he was then carted through. She had a smug look on her face and a needle in hand. Beck jerked involuntarily at the sight and one of the divers grunted as his fin smacked him.

"Better make it quick, doc. That tranq is wearing off."

"Hold onto him and I'll do it here."

The four men paused, and Beck tried to squirm. He was regaining more feeling in his tail and arms. He needed to get away again. He knew it was probably useless, but he refused to go down without a fight.

"While I would have preferred finding out you could do that another way, I appreciate the information," said Dr. Denman. "It'll also be the last time it happens."

With a practiced hand she stuck the needle in over his heart and Beck couldn't help the yell that came from the pain. With her other hand she ripped the necklace off his neck, and he winced again.

"I knew these had magic, but I didn't expect them to be powerful enough to give you magic. You must be more connected to Mako than I thought. No matter. The serum I just gave you will fix that."

She nodded to the four men, and they walked him back up the stairs leading to the tank. Unceremoniously he was dumped into the water, twitching as he sunk towards the bottom. He shivered as he began to feel strange. His muscles tensed and his stomach rolled with the same nausea from when his legs had been replaced with his tail. What had she done to him? A feeling of loss overcame him, but he didn't know what for. Something else was different and he dreaded to think what that serum had done to him.

He didn't know how long he lay at the bottom of the tank. He'd always been a terrible judge of time. Slowly he stretched out his limbs and winced at the aches he felt. His shoulder was covered in a horrible purple and blue bruise and his tail ached from where he and the four men had abused it. But he could move everything and that was important.

Dr. Denman had remained in the room as he slowly regained movement, sitting in a chair and writing in a notebook as she silently observed him. The necklace that Jeremy had given him was discarded on the table nearby, its chord broken.

Fully able to move, Beck swam to the surface of the tank, flicking his tail hard enough to pull his upper body out of the water to rest on the wooden decking. He took a few deep breaths, feeling exposed but determined to get answers. He heard footsteps on the stairs and looked over as the blonde-haired lady joined him on the platform.

Her arms were crossed as she stared him down. "I thought you would have learned your lesson."

Glaring he heaved himself up more until most of his tail was also out of the water. Turning over onto his back he struggled into a sitting position, letting his fin dangle down into the water.

"Why did you do this to me?" Beck asked.

Dr. Denman rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "Because I can. After what your parents and their friends did to me, it's only justice." She opened her notebook and made a few other notes. "You should be grateful."

"Grateful?" Beck wanted to spit at her. "You turned me into a freak!"

Laughing, Dr. Denman closed her notebook and crouched in front of him. "You really have no clue!" She stared him down. "This is your birthright. You're connected to Mako just like your parents were. You probably would have been born a merman if things had gone differently."

Standing she began to pace. "It took me a long time to realize what I had been missing. In just a day you have helped put the final puzzle pieces together. Mako may have made the mermaids what they were, but now so can I. Now that I have my hands on the crystal from the moon pool, I can work on making the transformation reversable."

She stopped and stared at him. "It was unfortunate that you had to escape. I didn't expect my serum to work so well that the moon crystal you wore would actually think you were a real merman. No matter. That second dose serum will have taken affect by now, cutting you off from the crystal's magic." She gave him a wicked smile and gestured towards his tail. "Go ahead, try and become human again."

Beck's stomach dropped and he stared down at his drying tail. Holding up his hands he tried to summon the ability he'd used the first time. The tingle in his hands remained absent and the water didn't react to him. The feeling of loss finally had a name. It was the loss of magic and his humanity. The heaviness that the tail wasn't going away weighed on him as his shoulders drooped.

"I'm…" he gulped, "this…" he shook his head. "This can't be permanent."

Dr. Denman laughed. "Isn't it wonderful! Once I've collected all the data I need, I will reveal you and my research to the entire world. All those people who mocked and scorned me will see I was right. That I was always right. My name will go down in history!"

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a can of sardines and tossed it into the water. "Now go on little fishy. Back in your tank."

His heart pounding and his stomach heaving, Beck watched the mad doctor walk down the steps and out of the lab. Refusing to accept it he pulled himself further along the platform, letting his tail rest completely along the wooden planks. Laying back he draped an arm over his eyes to block out the harsh bare lights above. As he lay there, he tried to count the minutes.

After what he guessed was a good half hour he looked back at his tail. He was completely dry, his tail even felt crusty and itchy. His skin had started turning ashy and his scales were painful to the touch. Most importantly, he wasn't changing back. The realization knocked the wind from his lungs, and he wheezed as he felt hot salty tears on his cheeks. Rolling onto his stomach and flailed his tail uselessly, screaming into the wood beneath him.

"Why?" He hollered. "Why?"

Eventually he couldn't take the feeling of being dry and he was starting to find it hard to breathe. With a heave he rolled himself off the edge and into the tank. The water soothed him immediately and he sighed then cried again. He wasn't human. He was a merman freak. He no longer had legs. He couldn't escape and no one knew where he was.

Sinking back to the bottom he ignored the salted fish can that lay there, mocking him. His stomach growled at the thought of food, but he ignored it, too upset to eat. Laying on his back he stared up through the water as the lights overhead shut off. He fought to keep his eyes open, but the events of the day had been exhausting. He was emotionally and physically worn out and as much as he struggled to stay awake, he couldn't. His eyes drooped and he found himself drifting into a fitful sleep.

How's that for another chapter? Probably not the twist in the story you were expecting, but neither was I! What fate awaits Beck? Stay tuned to find out!