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Chapter 12: Just Breathe

Sally was about to lose her mind.

Sighing to herself, she rubbed her temples, thinking about what she could possibly be doing wrong.

Her and her clan had made the trip to the underwater science labs, a giant underwater scientific palace that was controlled by a large clan of scientifically advanced Mer-folk. Clans often split off into one of three categories- they used magic, used science, or used neither. Sally's own clan used a mix of all three, something that Sally thought made her unique and believed that that what was going to make the difference between succeeding and failing. But she had to do her experiments at the professional grade labs, it was one of the only places that would have the equipment for the experiments that she was trying to complete. Emphasis on trying.

Sally was in the middle of running over her last failed experiment notes as one of the lab workers swam in, her tail changing to legs as she walked into the bubble of air that Sally was working in.

Sally wished she could be working underwater, it being really annoying needing to step back into the water every 30 minutes or so. But it was necessary. Sally shuddered thinking of that particular experiment.

Sally's goal was to create a hybrid-mutant mer-child who could not only breath underwater, but also be above water for extended amounts of time. Then, she would use that Mer-child as a donor for her to use the child's body parts to try to synthesize a serum that, if injected, could allow Mer-folk to enhance their powers and breathe above land for long periods of time. Only then would her clan be able to take revenge on those who had wronged them. 

Sally had this goal for a long time. She started at her own lab back at home, and after failed multiple results, she decided maybe it was the blood donor. But when she killed a different human and harvested their blood, the results weren't any different. She tried again. And again. And it didn't work. Then she decided it must be her equipment. So she proposed the plan to travel to the ocean temple, her clan was more than happy to make the trip. Then she met him.

Wilbur.

She was so sure that his blood would work. So sure. He radiated strong fae magic. And when he said yes to giving her blood, she was over the moon. She enthusiastically had drawn his blood, not caring that he had just passed out. She might've taken just a tad bit too much, but she didn't know exactly how much blood a land dweller could lose before it became dangerous. After she had distilled his blood of the toxins they had drank together that night, she was so sure that her experiments would work as soon as she got to the ocean temple.

But it didn't.

The first experiment resulted in the first live heartbeat from a genetically mutated child. A huge leap from the results she was getting before. It had a heart beat for only three minutes though.

The second semi- successful experiment she decided to bypass the fetus stage, instead using magic to form a body before trying to give it a soul and a heartbeat. It had worked, the child was strong and healthy. One problem. The child couldn't breath underwater. Hence why she was now working in the annoying 50/50 lab of half water and half air. She didn't want another drowned baby in her lab.

After that experiment, they all just got progressively worse. They came out all mutilated, human and mer traits fusing together unnaturally.

Sally could only handle seeing the dead children's corpses so many times. She was doing this because it was for the greater good, but it still didn't stop the aching when she had to have another assistant carry another small body bag out of her room.

But she was so sure that this one would work.

It had to.

It was the last bit of blood she had. She was a hundred percent sure that Wilbur's blood had been perfect. He wasn't the problem. She just- she wasn't trying hard enough.