✔️Scales (Hankcon Mermaid AU)

9^ I Have Legs

I float on the edge of the pool. I miss Conan. I feel really depressed because it's not his fault that he was designed to be a spy. And, now he's gone. I just want him back.
Corvin wades over to me with his fancy, new legs. I roll my eyes. Legs are overrated. "Are you ok, Connor?"
"No!" I snap, rounding on him.
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't understand." I lay my head on the side of the pool.
"I think, I would. You're upset because you miss Conan, right?"
"Mhmm..."
Hank walks into the room. "Wha- Corvin!! I thought, I told you to put pants on when you used your legs!"
I roll my eyes.
"Sorry..." The metal plates of his tail slide into place.
"Thank you. Connor..."
I turn to look at him. He sits down on the edge of the pool.
"C'mere."
I flick my tail, bringing me over to him. I grab into his leg and press my face against it. I don't have the energy to do much more than that.
"I'm gonna take you to Elijah Kamski. Gavin, Corvin, and I are going to see if we can't infiltrate CyberLife."
"Wh-What!? You can't leave me!" I look up at him in alarm.
"What do you mean? We're not leaving. You'll be with Kamski."
"But, it's dangerous! You could be killed!"
"You're right, but we won't. I promise, it'll all be ok. We can't risk taking you with us. I don't mean to offend, but... you'd be a burden."
I glare up at Hank. "Is that all you see me as? A burden?"
"No! Of course, not! Be reasonable, Connor. You can't walk, so we'd have to carry you around, and you could be injured." Hank takes my hand. "I don't want you to get hurt. Having you there would really... slow us down, you know? And, you're more useful with Kamski."
I pull my hand away and cross my arms over my chest.
"Connor..."
"No, it's fine. I get it."
"Don't be upset."
"I'm not upset!" I lie. I am upset. I'm very upset. I don't want to stay with Kamski while everyone else gets to go break into CyberLife!
"You are. I can tell." Hank holds his hand out to me.
I stare at it before swimming forward and pressing my cheek against his open palm.
"Don't be upset. You aren't a burden to me. You just wouldn't be useful in this kind of operation."
"I don't wanna be stuck with a babysitter!" I cry.
"Kamski won't babysit you. He wouldn't bother to. I want you to go to him, because he used to be CyberLife's CEO. He can help us."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place?!" I whine.
Hank chuckles. "I tried to, but I was more worried about you being upset." I take his hand and let him pull me towards him. "I just don't want you to be upset at me."
"I'm not upset at you. I'm just upset that Conan's not here."
"I know." Hank lifts me into the air, then cradles me against his chest.
"I really am a burden..." I whimper.
"You're not. I'm alright with carrying you around. I just... can't do it for a super long time."
"I don't want to be a burden..."
"You're not." Hank takes me to his car. Gavin sits in the front seat. Hank opens the trunk and sets me inside, then leaves.
I watch him go.
"Hey." Gavin turns to look at me. "Elijah's my brother. You'll love him. He's nice. Nice enough."
"If you say so..."
Corvin follows Hank into the car. He starts the car and drives off.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"To Elijah's place."
"Oh... ok.." I lay down in the back and sigh softly. It's going to be a long, long day. And, I'm so, so sad. I don't even want to be awake. First, I lose Conan, and I'm about to lose Hank.
I stare at the roof of the car. This is not fair. I need legs, and I need them soon. Hank will always have to carry me around unless I get legs. What happens when he gets too old to carry me around? Hank won't be young forever... I don't want him to suffer because of me.
Hank's car stops, and he gets out. I wait for him to come around and get me, and I sit up. Hank opens the trunk. "He'll take care of you. I promise."
"I don't want him. I want you!" I complain. "I don't want to lose you, too."
"You won't lose me." Hank takes me in his arms and kisses my forehead. "I promise, you won't lose me."
I press myself against him. "If you say so..."
He takes me to the door, which is opened by a small, blonde woman.
"Are they here, Chloe?!" someone calls from another room.
"Yes! They're here, Elijah!" She opens the door wider. "Come inside."
Hank carries me inside. I compress myself against his body, scared to touch anyone or anything else. "Thank you," he murmurs.
Someone sticks his head out from the doorway. I can only assume that this is Elijah. "Oh, wow... An actual Mermandroid. I've never seen one before." He steps forward. "Well, come on. I have a pool, and I have questions."
Hank follows him. We walk into a room with a large pool in it. It looks like it's slightly tinted red. He lifts me over his head, then throws me into the pool.
I stay towards the bottom, observing the water around me. Red lights shine from the floor. I curiously float up to one of them and poke it. I know, it's a light, and I won't be able to touch the redness, but I had to try. You never know.
I pop my head out of the water and stare around.
"Interesting." Elijah stands at the edge of the pool. "I designed Mermandroids as a passion project that I never intended to carry out. However, CyberLife got wind of this idea and took it for themselves." He sits on the edge of the pool. "Mermandroids were all designed with legs they could use when they needed to. My designs were made that way. I don't know if CyberLife necessarily gave them all legs."
I swim over to Kamski.
He takes my face in his hands. "You should have legs, Connor. I would've designed you that way. I'm not sure if CyberLife created you with legs, though..." He lets me go.
"Well, we should go," Gavin urges.
Hank nods. "We should." He kneels down at the edge of the pool.
I float over to him, then press a gentle kiss to his lips. "Please, come back to me," I whisper.
"I will." He stands and leaves. Corvin and Gavin follow behind him.
Elijah and I are left alone.
"I know, you don't exactly want to be here." Elijah fixes his gaze on me. "Which is why I have something very important for you to do."
His words pique my interest. "I'm listening."
"First, I'll do a scan to see if you really have legs. I'm assuming that they're dormant, so I'll have to find some way to... jumpstart them." He takes my hands and lifts me up, pulling me into his arms. "Wow, Hank was right. You really weigh nothing."
I frown.
"I'm joking..." He takes me down a hallway to the right of the pool, then into a door to the left. He places me on a table and covers my tail in a blanket. It feels weird and scratchy.
"What's this for?"
     "It'll help me see what's beneath that tail." Elijah flips a switch and takes a look at the blanket. "Heheh, look what we have here."
     I sit up to see two legs clearly silhouetted against the blanket.
     "They're definitely dormant. They're there, and they work, but you're designed to not acknowledge them. You'd never know they were there."
     I have legs? I have legs?! "I-I never imagined that I could have legs!"
     "I bet, you didn't. Let me find some way to... force your tail to retract. Like, Corvin's tail." He pulls the blanket off of me and pulls out a small stick. "This." He indicates the stick. "This is my little toy I use to make Androids retract their skin. Your tail works the same way. The only difference is that your tail is solid, and your skin is not." He presses the tip of the tool onto my tail, and I gasp as the metal plates slide back.
     "There we go." He smiles in satisfaction. "Perfect."
     I stare down at the legs I never knew I had. "I-I can't feel my legs..."
     "Of course, you can't." He lifts one of them up. They're the same pale color as my chest. My eyes trail down my slender leg until I get to my genitals. It's the first time I've seen them outside of me. I swallow in embarrassment. Elijah shoots a look at me. "Don't worry, Connor. It's nothing I haven't seen before."
     "I-I'm not used to being naked around people..." I look away.
     "That's ok. No one is really used to being naked around others." Elijah sets my leg down. He pokes the tip of the tool into my leg, and sharp jolts run through me. My legs twitch to life as I move them.
It's so weird having legs.
"Better?"
"Y-Yes."
Elijah smiles softly at me. "That's good."
"Th-Thank you." I look up at him in awe.
"It's not a problem at all. But, this brings me to what I needed you to do."
I fix a confused gaze on him. "What do you need me to do?"
He smirks. "It's simple!" He sets a pile of clothes down on the table. "You want to help Hank and the others, right?"
I nod vigorously.
"Well, you can do something for me, too." He sits down in a chair. "CyberLife has a drainage pipe that leads directly into the ocean. It drains every two hours. I want you to swim your way on up there and infiltrate them. Once you're inside, you'll change into these clothes, and you'll have your legs to help you."
I frown. "What exactly do I do? How do I do it? Why?"
"I want to take back CyberLife as its CEO. The current one is a bit... rash, don't you think? Androids were my original creation. They're taking my work and profiting off of it. Do you see why I'm so upset?"
I nod. "Yes..."
He shows me a map. "This is CyberLife. You'll be going in here." He points to the drainage pipe. "It's big enough for you to swim through easily. There's a huge octopus-Android hybrid thing that patrols the pipes for some reason. Probably so Mermandroids like you don't try to get in. I would know. I ran into it." He points along the map, tracing a trail with his finger. I carefully map the route in my head. "Once you get out here, you'll change into your clothes, then finish the rest on foot."
I nod slowly. "Alright... But, what exactly do I do?"
"I'm getting to that." He points to an elevator. "Take this to the top floor and find him. Hank and the others will be worrying about the lower floors, but you need to worry about the control center. Assassinate him, then throw his body out of the window. It will be assumed that he committed suicide."
"Is it necessary to kill him...?"
"Yes! It's very necessary. You have to. Can you do it?"
I frown down at the map. This is my chance to see Conan again. And, if Elijah is at the head of CyberLife, they won't be trying to find me, anymore. I have everything to gain from this. I have to do it. I nod in finality. "I'll do it. I can do it."
"Perfect! I knew you'd be up for it. Now, get ready. We haven't a second to lose!"