Ocean Blue

Chapter 12

(Mermay Katie!)

Shiro glanced at Keith, who hadn't moved since he'd put him in a bed. Shiro was getting worried; even when Keith had sprained his wrist he'd been lively and pugnacious. This silence and always sleeping, never seeming to get any better...

Shiro peeled off Keith's shirt, keeping the brand hidden, just in case Allura or Hunk walked in, and undid the bandages around Keith's back. He dropped his friend in shock. Bloodred lines, the same color as the coral, were spreading in Keith's back, under the skin. Shiro prodded one gently, and it burst, spraying him with blood. He let out an oath and stumbled back, wiping blood off of his face.

He steeled himself to look at the bandages and saw the fresh blotches of red from burst blood patches. Near the bullet wound itself, the blood blotches were turning black.

"Allura! I need you! And Lance!"

Allura came almost immediately, princess-carrying Lance. "What?!" she dropped Lance. "By the ancients- what's that?!"

"That's the coral's effect," Lance told her grimly, "It makes its own veins, essentially, and they're incredibly sensitive. They burst at the slightest provocation. And once the veins are made, the poison is sent through them. That's the black stuff. It'll kill him unless we get a certain plant."

"What kind of plant?" Allura demanded.

"It only grows deep underwater," Lance warned her, "It's in really small caves, so we'd need someone small to get it."

"That'd be me."

Allura whirled around to face Pidge. "What?"

"If we can figure out a way to get me down there, I'll get it."

"Yes, but Lance said that it only grows deep underwater. You won't be able to breathe! And the pressure will crush you!"

Lance sighed. "Oooo, boy, going to regret this. Okay, someone poke me in the harpoon wound."

Allura gaped at him. "What?!"

Pidge immediately poked him right in the tail, and his eyes watered. "Ah! That stings!" he blinked out one tear, and it crystalized, turning into a pearl as it hit the deck. Lance winced. "Geeze..."

Pidge went to take the pearl, but Lance slapped his hand away. "No! Don't touch that, not yet!"

He blinked at him. "Why not?"

Lance sighed. "Well, first of all, I'm not supposed to give those to humans. So, yeah, there's that. But second- um- well- mermaid tears, when cried on land, they turn into pearls, yeah? And if a human picks one up- he or she temporarily gains mermaid powers. They get gills, except, uh, they'll be different than mine. I have lungs for breathing on land, and then oxygen diffuses into my blood through my gills in the water. For you, though, the gills will be on your ribcage so that the oxygen can go right to your lungs, yeah? Uh- just try not to breathe in through your mouth too much. You only get a tail once you're in the water."

Allura crossed her arms. "No. I refuse to let you go, Pidge. You'll be eaten alive out there. I'll go."

"You won't fit to get the plant," Pidge argued, "I'm the most logical choice!"

"How about we poke Lance again and get another tear?" Shiro piped up, "Uh- only if you want to, Lance."

Lance shook his head. "One mermaid can only have one ability-giving pearl at a time. It's horribly selective."

"Pidge isn't going," Allura said firmly, "and that's final. He's too small."

"Again, good asset," Pidge argued. He plucked the tear out of Lance's hand. "Too late. I'm going." He shuddered, and Lance saw his ribs start to writhe.