For the Sake of Survival [Sea Emperor x Reader]

Chapter 11: Quarantine Enforcement Platform

In the Aquarium of The Primary Containment Facility, lied a lonesome human that cried the death of their dear friend - The Sea Emperor Leviathan. (Y/n)'s eyes, now widen in horror and revulsion, didn't dare to blink, since under their palm the colossal Emperor lied on the sandbed, lifeless.

Pressing their forehead onto the motionless body, (L/n) closed their eyes. Their chest heaved with a quiet sob, and tears welled up behind their eyelids, slipping down their cheeks without resistance. Another sob wracked the poor human, followed by a thin wail. They curled closer to the dead leviathan and wept, shoulders hauling.

"No no no... " - (Y/n)'s once (eye-color) eyes became glacier blue under the sheen of water, constant, yet allowing the tears to flow without pause. The (gender) human could barely swim anymore, as they felt their knees giving up. "Please, don't leave me too."

"ᵐᵒᵐ.... ᵐᵒᵒᵒᵒᵐ

ˢᵃᵈ, ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ˢᵒ ˢᵃᵈ ⁻ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉ...

ᴹᵒᵐ, ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ᵘˢ, ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ᵘˢ..."

Jeffery, Billy, Samwise, Marshall and Sean all scooped closer to the Human adult: nudging, cuddling and nibbling slightly on (L/n) to sooth them, which didn't aid (Y/n)'s mourning. The human rose their head slightly, her/his eyes locking on the little ones'. The bouncy little newborns wobbled their paddle-like claws as if dreaming of cuddling their (gender) human who stood so closely by. 'It's funny' - pondered (Y/n), they're only a week old and those tiny leviathans began to root, grow up, their instincts strong - just like their Sea Emperor parent.

But the human knew what the Sea Emperor wished for their small ones, thus they won't stay here any longer. (L/n) turns their glossy eyes to the Juveniles and in a voice that's almost broken they tell - "H-hey...It's time for us to see the sunshine outside, in the safe shallows."

Shamrock light shone brighter than any green as the Warp-pad revealed a human and 5 baby leviathans.

(Y/n)'s viridian orbs scanned the vast ocean upon their arrival. The blue water mirrored the sky above, indicating that it was a luminous day. The cold calefaction of the water enveloped the human, diminishing them from emotional pain and brought color to their usually pale cheeks. Glaring around in hurry, (L/n) recognized the place as the Mountain Island - the floating mass of land that held the Quarantine Enforcement Platform. "Finally, we arrived at the Safe Shallows. Kids! Stay behind me, alright? Remember, we're swimming together."

(Y/n)(L/n) glanced at the 5 juveniles who all had their eyes wide open. They swam excitingly in every direction possible, their cyan tendril fluttering uncontrollably. Their eyes peered in awe at every corner of their new environment, soft coos and giggles were audible. For the younglings, it was the first time they've seen the wonders of the world around them. Obviously, (Y/n) had to nudge them all together to keep their excitement in control - fearing they might swim off in a different direction.

"ᴹᵒᵐᵐʸ ˡᵒᵒᵏ, ˡᵒᵒᵏ, ˡᵒᵒᵏ!

ᵃ ᶠʳᶦᵉⁿᵈ! ᴬ ᶠʳᶦᵉⁿᵈ ⁻ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦˢ ᶦᵗ!"

'A friend?' - (Y/n) lifted their eyebrows as the stared in confusion. The little ones stared past (L/n) with joy as if something else was there. Turning around in contempt, the human was met with a Warper staring straight at them "AGH!"

With a repulsion cannon tight in hands, (Y/n) blocked the Warper from coming any closer to the little ones, ready to launch him off if it dared to attack. But Instead, it just glided close by - the Warper didn't attack, didn't screech nor did it shoot at them. "It's just... swimming."

"-. --- .. -. ..-. . -.-. - . -.. .. -. -.. .. ...- .. -.. ..- .- .-.. ..." - Without any more noises being emitted, the warper swam further as if (Y/n) and the juveniles weren't present at all. (L/n) stared in shock - "It left? Could it be that..."

"ᴼʰ, ᶦᵗ'ˢ ˡᵉᵃᵛᶦⁿᵍ, ˡᵉᵃᵛᶦⁿᵍ ⁻ ᵇʸᵉᵉᵉ.

ʷʰᵉʳᵉ'ʳᵉ ʷᵉ ᵍᵒᶦⁿᵍ? ᵐᵒᵐ? ᵐᵒᵐ?

ᵂʰᵉʳᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ʷᵉ?"

The Human survivor kept their eyes focused, now it was a matter of returning to (Y/n)'s first base in the safe shallows and keep the little leviathans close to them. By all means, shock, confusion, and exhaustion still haunted the young (gender)'s mind, but it wasn't time for that. "Okay, doesn't matter. My Dearies - we're now heading to our new home!"

"ᴴᵒᵐᵉ, ⁿᵉʷ ʰᵒᵐᵉ, ʰᵒᵒᵒᵒᵐᵉ

ᵀʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ, ᶜᵃⁿ ᴵ ˡᶦᶜᵏ ᶦᵗ?"

"But first, mommy has to check on something. You all stay here and wait for me - no swimming too far, and no separating from each other! We're supposed to stay close by, okay?" - (Y/n) spoke reassuringly, as a mother would speak to her children "Is it clear?"

"Yᴇs, Mᴏᴍᴍʏ!" - the little ones gaped in sync, proving (Y/n) that they're listening. So patting each one the head, the (hair-colored) human gilded her/his way into the alien structure - the Quarantine Enforcement Platform.

Stepping forth into the massive building, (Y/n) felt the water drop from them onto the floor. They didn't want to keep the juveniles alone for too long, so they had to hurry. The (gender) survivor practically ran towards the core of this extraterrestrial gun, passing all the stairs and green lights that enveloped the halls.

(Y/n) remembers when they first discovered this place. They were petrified, once they discovered that they were alone and that it was the gun that shot Aurora and Sunbeam down - everything turned into hell. The Deactivation terminal refused to turn the whole facility off since it revealed that (Y/n) used to be infected. But that was a long time ago, (L/n) is no longer infected - they're fully healed, strong and new with the Enzyme flowing in their systems.

'Maybe, just maybe' - (Y/n) wondered; 'I'll be able to finally turn it off?'

Upon (Y/n)'s arrival to the control room, The deactivation terminal was left untouched since the last moment the (gender) was here. Its core shone brightly, as usual, running the ion energy through the whole construction. With a deep sigh, (Y/n) revealed their bare smooth hands onto the machinery, not knowing what to expect.

Unsurprisingly, a long metal cord rose up, scanning the human individual. "Oh hello again, it's you." A strong sense of dejavu came back to the carefree (gender) as that same Alien cord tried to stab (Y/n) hard in the arm, but they smoothly dodged "Hell, no man not this time-UGH YOU LITTLE-"

No matter how hard (Y/n) tried, the thick syringe managed to pierce them in the arm to analyze their blood. Obviously, (L/n) groaned and hissed in pain before yanking their arm back in torment, this time hitting the terminal panel out of anger.

"The control panel is broadcasting a message. Translation reads: Weapon successfully disabled. All Controls off."

___________

(Y/n) is healed, adopts the children, and turns off the GUN. Congrats to you!

Yet again, I apologize for making you all wait. I know Subnautica's fandom is no longer active as it used to be - but I'm willing to finish this story of course.