Ocean Blue Eyes//A Garmau AU

17

Aphmau parked her car in the parking lot of the research center, seeing Aaron not too far away. She got out and locked it before rushing over to him saying cheerfully; "Good morning!"

"Hey Aph,", He said in the same tone. "Someone seems happy today."

"A good night's sleep definitely helped. Now, I can go into today feeling slightly better,", Aphmau hummed, clutching her messenger bag. "I also wanted to ask but, uh...what did Zianna drop off to you last night?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow, confused to how she got to that conclusion. He said; "I never saw Zianna after I left last night. Did she say what I left?"

This puzzled Aphmau even more. What the heck was she doing then that late at night? "No...she didn't."

The two were left to ponder it as they walked in but, were immediately forgetful about it once they saw the absolute chaos that center was in. People were running around with papers, folders, and even small equipment. Aaron pulled someone aside and asked; "What's going on?"

"Apparently Dr. Vick discovered something last night about the creature! Everyone is scrambling to help him look further into it. I'm sure he would like to see you both as well."

And with that, the person ran off to wherever they were going in the first place. Aphmau and Aaron looked at each other, worried of what possibly could of been discovered in just one night. They quickly made their way to the aquarium, both agreeing that they didn't have time to drop their stuff off in the lab. They both gasped seeing what was going on. Garroth was out of the tank, being held down by some of the team while another member was hooking a tube to him. Aphmau, her instincts kicking in, ran towards them demanding an explanation saying; "What on Earth are you doing to him? He needs to be in water!"

Some of the team held her back, saying that everything would be explained once Dr. Vick returned. Aaron stood by, not wanting to get on anyone's bad list but, kept asking questions. No one would clarify. They were both left to watch Garroth struggle on the wet tile floor as the tube started to draw blood. Aphmau made eye contact with him, seeing absolute terror in them even though he tried to keep a brave face.
A few moments later, Dr. Vick entered the room and Aphmau immediately shouted out; "Did you authorize this?"

Dr. Vick smiled and said; "Why yes and I have a lot to tell you both. Sorry that I couldn't explain sooner but, we made a huge breakthrough last night and I didn't want to disturb you. Would you like to come into the lab?"

Something was off by his posture and tone but, Aphmau and Aaron agreed, hating that they were leaving Garroth behind. He only shot them a sympathetic look as if to say he'd be okay. The two followed Dr. Vick to the lab and he started up the projector, showing an image that resembled a blood sample. They both quickly noticed a small glimmer of some sort in the blood.

"You see that?", Dr. Vick said, a smile still prominent on his face as he pointed towards the same thing. "That my friends is a healing property. Now, I know I sound crazy when I say this but, I remember reading old sailor tales of merfolk and one account said that after catching one, their blood stained the ship's floor. It unfortunately escaped but, it read that anyone who touched the floor would be healed of any injuries."

"You're right, I do think you're crazy,", Aaron grumbled, crossing his arms. "How do you know that those tales are true? They're accounts from drunken, homesick sailors!"

"Well, Mr. Lycan, as a doctor it is my job to experiment and that I did. Last night we drew more blood and tested it on an injured dolphin,", He said, going to the next slide to show a video. The group watched as they injected the blood into the dolphin, who had a damaged tail from a fishing incident. They watched as it's wounds healed and completely disappeared. As if to assure them, the dolphin clicked happily and swam back down into the tank. Aaron and Aphmau were in shock to see it as Dr. Vick turned to them and said; "I didn't want you here last night Aphmau because it seems that you have formed an attachment to the creature-"