"What should we do with him?"
"Skin him! A single Merman scale is worth hundreds!"
"Let's torture him! Make him tell us where other Mermaids are!"
"Let's give him to scientists!"
"Let's have se--"
"What is going on up here!?"
Gene stormed up onto the upper deck, a furious expression on his face. He had been trying to make a new plan of action for his crew, seeing as they were just aimlessly sailing around the sea. He had been coming up with a perfect idea, but then his crew had started making that commotion.
"You all better have a good reason for this." Gene frowned, his arms crossed over his chest.
"We do, captain!" Zenix promised him, grinning like the madman he was. "We got a Merman, a real one!"
Gene rolled his eyes, believing that it was just another one of Zenix's hallucinations. However, looking at the other crewmembers, he saw that they were all nodding in agreement. Raising an eyebrow, he approached the bundle of netting that they had yanked up onto the deck. The crewmembers parted as he walked by, giving him a clear path to the Merman.
Gene's eyes widened as he saw the fish person squirming around in the bundle of netting, tugging and pulling at the ropes to try and get out. He was looking around frantically, the fins on the sides of his head twitching. His face was becoming a purplish blue, and he was breathing heavily.
"You wanna know why Mer we catch don't live?" Gene asked, turning to his crew.
"Because we're too rough?" Ivan responded, shrugging.
"BECAUSE YOU TAKE AWAY THEIR WATER, DAMMIT!" He yelled, smacking him on the back of his head.
~~~~
"Hey, hey, calm down.... I won't hurt you, I promise..."
The Merman growled slightly, bubbles leaving his mouth as he sank further beneath the water. He had been chained up in a glass water tank, with very little room to move. He glared daggers at the human who was leading the group that captured him, called "captain" by the others.
"Look, I get it. You don't like or trust me, and you wanna go back to the water." Gene sighed heavily, crossing his arms. "But, trust me, I'll take good care of you."
Zane didn't say anything, only turning his head so he didn't have to see the human. He tried to cross his arms over his chest, but the chains on his arms prevented him from doing so. He growled lowly at the metal links, wishing he was in open water.
"So... your family.... do you have one?" Gene asked him, trying to make conversation with him. "Can you even talk?"
I can, I just don't talk to land dwellers. Especially ones who kidnap my kind and drag us away from our homes, Zane thought bitterly, narrowing his eye at the human. Because, trust me, if I did talk to humans of any kind, especially yours, you would wish I kept my mouth shut.... motherfucker.
"I suppose you don't..." Gene frowned, walking closer. "I wonder...."
Gene extended one arm, reaching for Zane's face. Zane didn't know what he had planned, but he didn't want to find out. He didn't trust humans of any kind, especially ones who went out catching Mer. He knew what happened to those Mer. They were either used in some horrible experiments, kept as pets for status symbols and praise, killed for their scales and fins, or forced to perform for the land dwellers sick entertainment.
Gene's hand got closer to Zane's face, before it was only a few inches away. On instinct, Zane opened his mouth and bit down on his hand. Gene let out a shriek of pain, his entire arm practically jolting from the sudden attack. The human's blood dripped into Zane's mouth, leaving him with a bitter taste.
"You little fucker!" Gene swore, balling his other hand into a fist, and punching Zane in the side of the face.
He backed away from Zane as he thrashed around in the water tank, his tail hitting the glass sides. The Merman growled loudly, his ear fins flaring in clear anger. The two males glared daggers at each other for what seemed like hours, before someone finally came down from the upper deck.
Zane immediately recognized them. They were the person who had first gotten that net around Zane, he was positive that Gene had addressed him as "Zenix" not too long ago. Zenix seemed like a madman, he had various anger issues as well as signs of insanity.
"Your hand isn't looking too good, Captain." Zenix noticed, then looked over at Zane. "Holy shit. Did you punch him?"
"The little bitch bit me!" Gene shouted, turning his furious expression to Zenix.
"Damn." He said with a straight face, blinking. "Should we put more restraints on him?"
"Yes. Make sure he can't open his mouth." He nodded, grinning in an evil way.
"Pathetic." The Merman spat, surprising both of the men. "You land dwellers are so focused on your own personal gain, you're consumed by greed and power. That's why you face so many hardships, you only think about yourselves."
"Did.... did he just talk?" Zenix asked, his face becoming pale.
"Tch... you don't even know anything about my kind, do you?" He questioned, putting on an amused expression. "You only know the worth of our scales, and where to find us. You don't know about anything else."
"Then why don't you tell us?" Gene frowned, crossing his arms. "I would just love to hear more about your kind."
"Why should I tell you? You have no right to it, and you certainly have not proven yourselves you me." He pointed out, shrugging. "It is a shame, though..."
"The species of the land could have been such great things... such wonderful creations of Earth, but you all abandoned your natural heritage." He sighed, checking his nails. "You do nothing but take from this planet, and slowly drive it towards its destruction. You do nothing to try and help it." (Why the hell can I see Kokichi Oma saying this shit?)
"Shut up." Gene glared, pulling a dagger from his belt. "Shut up or I will gut you like the fish you are."
"You would think that a species who became 'civilized' would have more peaceful approaches to confrontations and other species." Zane frowned, his ear fins twitching. "That doesn't appear to be the case... bummer. A true, genuine bummer."
"This ain't it, Chief." Zenix muttered to Gene, narrowing his eyes at Zane.
"My family is of royal blood, descendants of Mer kings and queens, and even one of the Divines themselves." He smiled innocently, putting his hands behind his head. "They're coming to find me. My family and my people. You have been warned, Gene."
"Are you.... being serious right now?" Gene asked him, his face becoming pale.
"Who knows? I am a liar, after all." Zane snickered, holding his hands out innocently.
