The Abyss

Els/Shota AU
_

It was night time in the small cove where a furtive figure darted about, checking and triple checking lists and equipment. A round metal vessel with powerful engines floated in the dark water, and the figure finally clambered inside, the hatch squealing closed behind them.

"Check, check... scrubber's fine, okay. Backup. Radio, just in case." The person lifted their head, tucking twin purple locks of hair behind her ears. "I'm ready," she gasped with nervous excitement. "Time to visit the depths."

Elly had always been fascinated by the ocean abyss. When others thought the moon was the "final frontier", she wondered why people didn't understand they didn't know everything about their own planet yet! Well, she was out to change that. This tiny sub was capable of travelling far down into the deepest parts of the ocean. She grinned and set it in motion, crossing her fingers.

"Here we go."

The Ocean Zones were breathtaking; each one with its own beauty, colors, and creatures. She watched, entranced, as Sunlight gave way to Twilight, where silvery sparkles flashed by in schools and jellyfish bubbled past her tiny viewing window. These gave way to the Midnight zone with zooming red shrimps and flashy hatchet fish. She found she had started to hold her breath when the inky darkness slipped into the eerie Abyss. Her vessel couldn't reach the Trenches, but this would be enough for now.

There would be nothing... and then, suddenly, a cascade of fireworks, lights flashing in cascades or bursts all around. She saw a couple of angler fish, giant females with their tiny, parasitic mates attached to the sides of their bodies.

Twin red dots flashed in the darkness, zeroing in on her submersible. They seemed to be tracking her wherever she went, though she knew that was foolish. It was probably just a few creatures showing up at different times when she looked up. There was a larger flash of light and she frowned, shocked at the size. That lure was much bigger than anything previously recorded. Thinking it might be a new species, she positioned the craft and aimed directly at it, shining the sub's light into the water.

The creature blinked, confused. What was this huge thing doing in the deep? His own bulk was immense; nothing else approached it except the errant dead whale that drifted down to settle on the ocean floor from time to time. No, this thing was rounder and more intriguingly, seemed to be made up of different colors he never saw down this far. So he followed, keeping a safe distance away but not letting it out of his sight. Then bright lights flashed, and he saw into the porthole on the side. There was a woman inside it! He gasped in shock, bubbles rising as he used his mouth for something other than eating underwater. He had to get closer now. She looked pale, pretty, and just as lonely as he was.

He flicked out his lure again, enticingly, hoping she could see it and would know it was a signal.

Elly's eyes widened. When she turned the lights one way, the bioluminescence deliberately moved away. It was almost as if this being was sentient and trying to converse with her. Of course, that was insane, and she admitted to herself with a low chuckle that she was probably just oxygen deprived. She stayed still, lowering the intensity of the light to see if it would come closer.

He whisked his tail through the water, bringing him up to the window before he could think too much. Elly was staring intently out as he rushed forward, and she let out a startled yelp as the impossible happened. The face of the creature was illuminated by the search light, showing white skin and jet black hair stubbling along a very human upper lip and jaw. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief - it was a man! He blinked at her, stunned partially by the light he was not accustomed to, and placed a hand on the small window. There was a thin network of webbing but there were definitely four fingers and a thumb. She reached out and held hers up against it.

It was so small, her hand on his. He saw that he had been correct, this was a female. But why was she was locked inside this hard shell where he couldn't reach? After all this time he had finally found another, and now he wasn't even able to communicate properly. He moved closer and sadly pressed his face to the little hand. How he wished she could touch him.

He had dark circles under his glowing red eyes, patches that shone when he turned his head sharply to wave something out of the way. She didn't see the lure but knew he had been the one using it to communicate. One eye had a frightening looking scar underneath it, remnants of a fight perhaps, but she could only vaguely guess with what. Unfortunately, she was running out of time and had to start the long journey up. Elly pointed, desperate to let him know where she was going. She didn't want to leave, especially now, but she would die when the scrubber couldn't oxygenate the air any longer. He frowned, watching her as she frantically pointed, then realized she was a mammal that needed air and the shell could only hold so much. He nodded, hair flowing about in the dim light, then tapped his chest and pointed up as well.

She looked alarmed and pantomimed an explosion. He understood her concern as he had once taken a creature from the deep up with him when he was little. He shook his head to alleviate her fears. No, he could travel all the way up and yes, he was following her. The only difference would be he would surface in the open sea instead of the cave he normally used. He knew the dangers but couldn't help himself. None of the land mammals had ever come to his domain before and his parents had been very explicit in their rules. No one of their kind was to make contact unless they were reached out to first.

The trip up was even more exhilarating than the other had been. She cursed the tiny porthole a thousand times, unable to see him in his entirety as he swam around her sub. Once, a bull shark swam close and he spread his arms out as if to protect her until it swam away. She was growing fond of him already and wondered what his name was, if he even had one. She had so many questions!

The surface loomed at last and her heart pounded madly as they reached it together. The sea sparkled with the shiny points of so many stars overhead, shattering in a silvery fountain as he broke the calm surface. He swept his hands around to pull his hair back as he breached, the gills on his neck flattening and smoothing into near invisibility. In the light of the moon his eyes looked gray and not red as they had in the abyss. She hurriedly popped the hatch and crawled out, glad it was a tropical climate and she had been wearing a swimsuit under her clothes. She could join him if it appeared safe. He waited for her patiently, his tail keeping him afloat as he watched her climb out. His lower half resembled that of a black dragon fish, smooth skinned with beautiful lights that ran down the dark length, designed to attract prey in the deep. It appeared more sinuous than a fish tail and much stronger, however. The base had a set of multiple fins and two feathered ones that covered him around halfway down.

"You're amazing," was all she could say.

He tilted his head as if struggling to remember something very difficult. "No... you are ... more." His voice was deep and soft.

"I'm glad you can speak," she sighed. "We seemed to communicate well enough under water, but I wasn't sure if you had the ability since you might not have had the need."

"I just... haven't in a long time." He shrugged as he swam closer to the sub. "No one to talk to anymore." When he got close he stared at her quizzically and held out his arms.

"Oh," she gasped. Well, there wasn't a question of wanting. She slipped down and into the water and his arms.

"You can swim."

"You sound surprised."

"Well..." He ducked his head under the water for a moment, then came back up with his lower lip twitching in dry amusement. "As graceful as any mammal can with those two sticks of yours, anyway."

She snorted. "Thanks. So, um. Do you have a name? Mine is Elly. Elly Sketchit."

"My family name is Aizawa. My ..." He paused, an expression of pain crossing his features momentarily. "Mother called me Shota."

"I have the feeling she isn't with you anymore. I'm sorry, Shota."

"I haven't seen anyone in a long time. They were gone when I was old enough to take care of myself."

"Your parents?"

He nodded. "I knew creatures that were half like me existed, but never saw any until you." His speech was flowing better now that he had been talking for awhile. "Let me hold you. Your sticks are tired."

"Legs," she laughed. "They're called legs."

"Whatever." He reached out and grasped her in his arms. She was surprised at the warmth of his body and grew shy at the close contact, blushing but willing since he seemed so sincere.

"You looked sad down there. You must have been lonely."

"I was." He sighed, rubbing the skin of her arm to compare it with his. "Not anymore."

"Well, um. That's good."

"You looked lonely, too. That's why I tried to contact you."

"You were the big light."

He nodded. "Yes."

"But how? I don't see anything except the markings on your tail or your ah - headlights," she added, motioning to the patches under his eyes.

He opened his mouth wide.

"Is that a - you do have a lure!"

"Yes." He unfurled the bioluminescent tip from his tongue and she measured it, exclaiming softly.

"Used to catch food in the abyss?"

He nodded, folding it back to lay hidden again. "I get a lot of fish from the upper levels, though. I only like the shrimps in the deep. The other things are not to my taste, and few and far between, as it were."

"Yeah. I have favorite foods, too." She patted the side of her cheek, harder when her mind refused to move from thoughts of kissing him. She was afraid she sounded like an idiot.

"Would you like to feel?" He placed a warm, smooth palm on the other side of her face as he approached her.

Elly felt dizzy. Here was this fantasy man, handsome and apparently very willing to be with her. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone, and, truth be told, she had become disillusioned with the human race. It was difficult to believe this was happening, and perhaps that's why she let him softly press his lips to hers. They kissed for some time, gently, mouths brushing against each other. Aizawa finally sighed and reached up to caress her other cheek, holding her to him as he fluttered his tongue inside. She met his touch with her own, sliding along his teeth and tongue. There was no way to detect the lure unless he used it and this fascinated her. Everything about him was thrilling and not just from a scientific point of view. Her heart beat so quickly she was on the verge of losing her breath and she closed her eyes, giving in to the moment.

Desire that had eluded him so long flooded his entire body as they kissed, pooling in his groin and making him pleasantly uncomfortable. That he wanted her was not the question and from her light touch as they kissed he knew she felt the same way. What he wasn't sure of was the way humans forged relationships. He wanted to be certain she would be his with or without the massive amount of pheremones he was secreting. His lure rolled out and he heard her gasp at the feathery touch far back in her throat.

"Wh - what's happening..?"

The tip of the lure burst, the symbiotic bacteria releasing into her system. About half remained in his now smaller line which he tucked away once more. "You can be mine," he murmured lowly.

"What..."

"You still have a choice. But I've imprinted with you. If you wish to be with me, the bacteria inside you will make it possible. If not, you may leave the water and they will die."

"I seriously have to be dreaming." She shook her head.

"If this were a dream, what would you do?" He asked curiously.

"I would let you take me away from all the stupid shit I have to deal with. From all the cruel people out there."

"And we could be happy?"

"Yes."

"Then do this." He bent and nibbled on her neck. "I have waited far too long to feel a lover's touch."

"Oh." Elly blushed, but pushed aside her inhibitions. This was either a real merman, or she was dreaming. In either case, he was attractive and she was honestly drawn to him. If it had been a club wouldn't she maybe go home with someone? This seemed far more personal and permanent than a one night stand. He was offering her a fantasy come true.

"Elly," he whimpered softly. "Please."

"Oh, Shota. I want you. I really do." She reached out and tentatively touched his chest.

Aizawa moaned softly as she kept going, stroking lower until she reached his tail. "Lower, please, lower..."

"I - I don't know what I'm doing. Or - or what to expect."

"Below the anal fin, there's a slit... there," he breathed as his sex slipped eagerly out into her hand. "You found me."

"Oh... oh, Shota, it's - you're just like a human here!"

"We mate with you if need be, that's why. Only a few differences..." He wheezed as she gently stroked him, "like how we can retract our genitalia."

"How do we..?"

Aizawa pulled her naked body close, facing him in the water. "Let me show you. My body knows what to do."

"Yes."

His tail curled around her lower half, the coils moving until he could maneuver his sex to hers. "I'm so glad you decided to mate with me," he panted. "I want you so much." He found her warm heat and sighed with pleasure. "Relax, and accept my body so that we can begin."

"God, Shota!" The penetration was intense. She had thought he was exactly like a human male but now she knew differently. "Wh - how?"

"Little bit on top of my penis, another on the tip." He thrust, grinning widely at her. "Designed to hit your pleasure spots. Makes us irresistible to you, keeps you with us while we finish."

"You were already irresistible!"

"Ahhh." He shuddered lightly all over. "Flatterer."

"I mean that. I mean, we just met..." She shivered with pleasure and fell backwards in his arms.

"My kind forges an instant bond with anyone we find suitable. You are a pretty mammal, and brave. I chose you."

"But you said I could choose!"

"You can. If you leave me, you will stay fully human. If you remain with me in the water, you will develop into one of my kind.

"Am I not pleasuring you enough?" His thrusts paused as a worried expression crept across his pale features. "I thought this act was supposed to be so good we would not talk so much."

She smiled, touching the side of his face briefly. "This is a big deal for me," she said seriously. "You're making me feel very good, I just wanted to be sure. Please don't stop."

"Ah," he grunted affably, resuming his movements to their mutual delight. She curled her legs around his tail and he wondered what it would be like when they were more suited for each other.



"You might want to hold onto me." She looked up at him. She really was lovely in her passion, he thought. The hectic patches of color on her cheeks, teary eyes and parted lips all combined to make her even more beautiful. He kissed her and slowly licked her lips, murmuring into her mouth. "My orgasm will fill you like no other."

"To - to make sure..."

"Yes." He locked his smoldering eyes on her. "To make sure I impregnate you."

"Sh - Shota, I'm on birth control, it..."

"I know what it means." He bit her neck, groaning in ecstasy. "That doesn't diminish my wanting to put a baby in you. I will come, twice, hard. Be prepared."

"Twice?!"

"I will make you come, too," he whispered in her ear. "Your body fits so perfectly with me inside it that there can be no doubt. Later..." He groaned loudly, his arms tightening around her as his release approached, "later I will love you again, and it will take. We're no longer alone, together!"

Both of them cried out in the still of the night, and no one heard.

Several months later a diver was sent to search for any clues as to where the marine biologist had gone. The sub had been found but no records, video or person had ever been recovered. He started at the dive site near the cove and sank down into the waters below. The route was set along the rocky wall of the bay and there was some thought that she may have gotten trapped in a hidden cavern. He searched aling the rock face, peering into holes and ducking moray eels that were viciously territorial along the way. He found nothing, only when he reached the maximum depth limit he spared a look down into the inky blackness she had dove into with her submersible. Frightening, that. You wouldn't catch him going so far down. The dark seemed almost to swirl with a malevolent force, moving under him. He choked when he realized there was something there! The dark shape moved in the water, and a terrifying pair of red eyes shone up at him for a moment. He yelped and swam away as quickly as he could, but not before he saw another, smaller form slip around to the larger one's side.

Aizawa stared up at the intruder with narrowed eyes. He watched as the human sped away to the surface with a great sense of relief. Those beings usually brought nothing but bad luck.

Usually.

Elly slipped close to his side, twining her long, dark tail with his. She shrugged and indicated that she would need food again. She was barely showing, her stomach only a small bump, but absolutely ravenous as to be expected. He placed an arm protectively around his mate and led her back to the deep underwater caverns that were their home.