An incessant buzzing is what woke San up from the beautiful dream he was having. And it pissed him off. He and Wooyoung had been enjoying time on the beach together, like they were during the summer. It felt so real...

But the buzzing wouldn't stop, so San slapped his hand down in his phone with a groan, then pulled it to his face so he could answer with a groggy. "Hello?"

"San you need to get here now." It was a Jongho.

The urgency of his tone made San sit up right away. Adrenaline courses through him at lighting speed and he was stumbling out of bed before he even managed to speak again. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, but he doesn't look good."

"YEOSANG!" San shouted away from the phone. "We are coming."

"They have the exhibit closed today so bring your badge."

San grabbed it as he spoke and finished tugging a sweatshirt over his head, then yanked on a pair of jeans.

Yeosang ran into the room already dressed and holding his keys. "Ok we are on our way." San hung up and the pair of them ran to the car.

They sped the entire way to the aquarium. San had already accepted that he would get out and run if they got pulled over, but thankfully they didn't.

He flashed his badge at the front entrance and pulled Yeosang behind him, saying he was a guest today to the person checking tickets and not giving him any time to respond.

Jongho's shift had started about midday, so there were a lot of people they needed to get through. When they reached the entrance of the shark tunnel, they ducked under the yellow tape closing it off and ran down the hall.

San slid to a stop in the main dome and felt everything within him shatter. 

Wooyoung was laying in the sand with his back to the glass. There were more noticeable holes in his tail from more scales being taken.

Several of the fish were swimming around him slowly, as if shielding him or even just being there to comfort him. A few crabs were also crawling along his tail.

"He's been like this since I got here." Jongho said. "I tried to get his attention, but he won't move."

San stepped forward and placed his hands on the glass. "Youngie?" He tapped gently, hoping the merman would turn around.

He didn't.

"What do we do?" Yeosang asked, his voice shaking a little.

Jongho stepped closer to him to loop an arm around his shoulders.

San, on the other hand, felt his anger rising. He looked around the tank for anything he could use. That's when he noticed the platform wavering on the other side of the water. "Are there cameras in there?"

"No, just the hallways." Jongho answered.

"And does anyone besides us check the cameras on a daily basis?" San turned to look at the younger with a hard glare.

Jongho's eyes lit up and he quickly shook his head.

"Keep them out of the cameras. We are getting him out of here. Today."

"San... how are we supposed to do that?" Yeosang asked.

"I don't know, but go back to the car and pull it around. We are going to have to be quick."

"We are going to be criminals..." Jongho whispered.

"If they ask you anything just tell them it was all me." San held up his hands when the other two tried to protest. "I won't let you take the fall with me, but I can't see him in there anymore." He paused for a moment, then locked eyes with Yeosang. "I love him."

His friend nodded and ran forward to hug him, crushing him with how tight his grip was. "Be careful." He whispered before hurrying back down the tunnel.

"This is crazy, you know that right?" Jongho said. "There's no guarantee this will work."

"We have to try. Keep them away from the camera room and out of the hallway if you can." San placed a hand on Jongho's shoulder and gave him a grim smile. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"There's nothing to apologize for, even if I didn't know you I wouldn't have liked this."

With one more nod between them, they both ran to the door for employees and Jongho let them in. He made a beeline for the monitoring room and San took a sharp right for the elevator that led up to the platform.

When he reach it, he looked at the scuba gear lined up for use but decided that would take too long to put on. So instead, he kicked off his shoes, took a deep breath, and dove straight into the water.

It had been such a long time since he'd been swimming, he'd forgotten just how heavy he felt while trying to pull himself through the water. Especially once the pressure started to build as he swam deeper.

His lungs were already screaming at him for air, but he would push through it.

He had to.

The fish in the tank all parted around him, except for the sharks. They continued to circle around Wooyoung, , but thankfully showed no sign of attacking him.

As he drew closer to the ground, San swung his legs under him and he pushed up against the water to force himself against the sand.

Wooyoung had his face buried in his arm and had shown no sign of moving...

When San touched down, the sand around him stirred enough that it caught the merman's attention. He slowly lifted his head up and San watched as his eyes widened in slow motion. He reached out to cup Wooyoung's cheek and smiled at him

But then his lungs started to scream at him even more, so he looked at the surface. Wooyoung instantly knew what he needed and hooked his arms underneath San's shoulders, and with two mighty pushes of his tail, they were rocketing toward the surface.

San gasped deeply when they broke through and he flailed his arms a little to try and keep himself above the water. He grabbed the edge of the platform and held onto it while trying to catch his breath.

Wooyoung gracefully bobbed next to him, his eyes still wide in disbelief. "S-S-San?"

Hearing his voice brought instant tears to San's eyes and he let go of the platform to embrace the beautiful merman in front of him, not bothered at all when they slipped below the surface again.

They floated there, with the help of Wooyoung's tail, for several seconds before going above water once more.

"Am I dreaming?" Wooyoung whispered. It was his turn now to gently hold San's face. Their bodies were pressed together and that's when San realized he had his free arm wrapped around Wooyoung's waist to keep him there.

He never wanted to let go again.

"No, Baby, you're not. I'm here to get you out." He beamed when Wooyoung looked like he was about to cry and flung his arms around San's neck. He let his hand travel higher to spread across Wooyoung's upper back. "I'm sorry I took so long, I was trying to find a safe way to do it but..."

"It doesn't matter."

"Can you..." San paused, suddenly unsure on how to ask how Wooyoung had legs before. "Um... Can you transform?"

The couple pulled away from each other and Wooyoung's forehead creased with thought. "I don't know... I haven't used magic since they caught me."

San raked his fingers through the merman's wet, purple hair and shook his head. "You have to try. It's going to be the best way to get you out." His eyes flicked over Wooyoung's face and he stated to worry about just how tired Wooyoung looked.

It took a couple of seconds, but Wooyoung clenched his jaw and nodded before closing his eyes. The look of concern that crossed his face looked almost painful, but San forgot about that immediately once the water around him started to glow purple.

It was Wooyoung's tail... it was... glowing!

San swam back a couple of paces to watch as the water even stated to bubble.

Wooyoung let out a small whimper and slipped below the surface for a second. He came back up before San had a chance to dive under, but he looked like he was fading.

"You can do it, Youngie." San urged. He wanted to reach out and touch him, hug him, anything to show support, but he was too scared he would ruin it.

After a few more seconds, there was a blinding flash of light. San covered his eyes with his arm, then lowered it.

Wooyoung was gone.

San inhaled and dove below the surface to see Wooyoung flailing his arms and... legs. He had legs again! But he had no idea how to swim with them. San quickly swam down to grab him and help him up, then the two of them clambered onto the platform and flopped onto their back while breathing heavily.

It didn't take long for Wooyoung to turn and curl into San's side, sobs shaking his entire body. The merman miraculous had a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on, which San would as him about later. The pair held onto each other as tight as they dared and just enjoyed the moment.

All good things have to end at some point though, and San knew they were playing with fire. So he lifted his head up and grabbed Wooyoung's chin to make him look up too. "Come on, we can't stay here." He moved to stand and started walking toward the elevator, but Wooyoung cried out and feel back to the ground behind him.

The merman's new legs wobbled dangerously. There was no way he was going to walk out of here.

San quickly spun around and crouched down. "Climb on."

Wooyoung did as he was asked and San stood up, stooping forward a little, to carry Wooyoung on his back. When they were in the elevator, Wooyoung nuzzled his nose against San's neck. He could feel the boy shaking behind him, so he tilted his head to return the gentle gesture while they still had a few seconds. "Keep your head down and hold on tight, ok? We are probably going to have to make a run for it."

He felt Wooyoung nod once right before the elevator opened.

As soon as he stepped out, San kept his head angled down to make it harder for the cameras to see who he was. He walked with a purpose, acting like he was supposed to be here and that this is what he was supposed to be doing.

No one was in the hallway right now, but that could change any second.

He decided to take the most direct path to the exit. It was a little riskier, but the faster they could get out of here, the better.

"S-San..." Wooyoung whispered. He was still trembling but his arms grew looser around San's shoulders.

They would never get out of here if Wooyoung collapsed.

San swore under his breath and started jogged. The action made a lot of noise that he knew would draw attention to him, but he didn't care.

One more right turn and the exit was it sight.

"Hey! What are you two doing back here?" Someone called from behind him.

San didn't hesitate. He hoisted Wooyoung up a little higher and ran as fast as he could with the extra weight on his back.

"Stop! Someone stop them!"

Suddenly Jongho appeared a few meters in front of them wearing a hat and ran straight into the door to open it.

Alarms blasted everywhere and lights started flashing along the ceiling.

Several doors opened behind him and he could hear others shouting for him to stop, but he never would.

He ran straight through the open door and kept going to where he saw Yeosang's car parked. The engine roared to life and Yeosang hurried out to open the passenger side front and back doors before jumping behind the wheel again.

Jongho matched pace with San and took Wooyoung from him so he could climb in the back, then handed the mermaid gently over so he could get in the car.

Yeosang slammed on the gas before the doors even shut and sped away with screeching tires.

"Are they following us?" Jongho asked.

"I can't tell." Yeosang was panting and shaking in his seat.

"Don't go directly home. Take a roundabout way, just in case. I don't think they know San and I are involved. Yet..." Jongho reached over to hold the back of Yeosang's neck. It calmed the older down enough to look at San in the mirror.

"Is he ok?"

San couldn't bring himself to answer. He was staring down and where he had Wooyoung curled into his chest.

Wooyoung was so pale... and he was starting to shake again.

As if to answer their question, though, a flash of light suddenly happened that made Yeosang swerve violently in surprise.

When they could see again, San cried out when he saw Wooyoung's tail bunched up in the back seat. It was too long to lay flat, even if Wooyoung were to sit against the door.

Jongho twisted in his seat to reach back and try to straighten it out so it wasn't twisted to bad. "What does this mean?" He breathed.

"I don't know... but I have a feeling it means he's too weak to keep up the transformation." San said without looking away from Wooyoung's face. He stroked it gently, willing for the boy to wake.

"Don't worry, San. We'll get him home." Yeosang voice was confident. San knew he meant back to their home, and eventually back to Wooyoung's home too.

They would figure it out, but one thing was for sure, San would never let those scientists get their hands on his Wooyoung again.