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The ocean was Happy Chaos's grave.
Or was it? Was it more accurate to say he was buried alive in a tomb? He couldn’t remember who he was or where he had come from. He had hazy memories of land above the surface, of people from his past, of his burning dedication to the ocean.
One thing was for certain: Chaos had undergone a transformation, be it from life to death or one form to another. Either way, Chaos didn’t care because while it may have been his grave, the ocean was also his home, whether he liked it or not.
The only clear memory he had from his past was that of an air-filled chamber in a deep sea cave at the bottom of the ocean. Chaos only knew he had entered the cave from submerged tunnels because he swam out. How he arrived at that location, Chaos didn’t know.
His circumstances leading up to that point didn’t matter, not anymore. Whoever he was before died in that cave, not that he intended on that. Inside the cave, which Chaos hadn’t been able to find again, was a pool. Normally, that wouldn’t be too odd.
The pool filled with an inky black void, dotted by distant stars and planets unfamiliar to this galaxy, swirling around so rapidly his head hurt, flickering with bright flashes of light and sudden complete darkness, was odd. Whoever Chaos had been was permanently destroyed when a single touch of the pool’s surface sucked him in.
Whatever the hell that pool was, it destroyed Chaos’s mind. His previous thoughts, experiences, personality, the essence of his soul , were destroyed by the knowledge of everything. Complete omnipotence and omniscience didn’t suit the human body.
For a while, Chaos was in a comatose state. Well, he thought he was in there for a while. It might have passed in a second or stretched on for a millennia. Time didn’t work the same in that pool, and neither did space. The pool vaguely shrank and grew around him, rising and falling like the tide on a universal scale.
When the pool finally spit him out and returned him to the reality he knew, Chaos’s mind was shattered with the knowledge of everything and nothing. Other things must have fallen into the pool with him, too, as Chaos came out a weird hybrid, lacking many human traits from before.
At that point, life didn’t matter anymore. His mind was broken enough to leave behind only shards of glass as memories, and his body changed beyond recognition. With his newfound knowledge spanning from the beginning to the end of time, Chaos found the uselessness of whoever he was before easily dismissable.
He could explore further and deeper than ever before. Even if his ventures meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, Chaos would have gone insane without seeking any form of entertainment possible. More insane than he already was.
This time, Chaos knew he entertained himself for a good while. There were biomes he never imagined could exist; no human knew about them, certainly not the man Chaos used to be.
Forests of kelp lead downward into murky, pulsating depths. Massive gashes in the Earth gave way to open waters, an ocean beneath the known ocean. Underwater chasms spanned so far and so deep that no matter how long he swam, Chaos felt as if he never descended. Those chasms were easy to get lost in if Chaos lost his sense of direction for even a second.
Impact craters billions of years old, from the earliest days of the Earth’s formation, teemed with odd, small lifeforms clinging to it, filling the surrounding waters with an odd substance and forming its own pocket of an alien world within the alien world that was the ocean. Corpses of creatures far larger than any extinct or extant Chaos knew of created its own environment, a whale fall on the mass, environmentally changing and sustaining scale. In those areas, the rotting corpse echoed the mournful calls of an unknown creature even larger than the corpse itself.
Long chains of underwater volcanoes released impossible things, living, screaming, charred things on the verge of death. Underneath those volcanoes, in endless caves and tunnels beneath the ocean’s crust, life flourished compared to the death occurring above. The tunnels beneath the chain volcanoes created a massive system of connected coral reefs despite the boiling hot water.
Those reefs were Chaos’s favorite. The water never got to him, impossible to melt his skin and flesh, allowing him to explore to his heart’s content. Various species of strange corals, anemones, and all the staple creatures dwelling in a typical reef near the surface livened up the empty tunnels that would be devoid of life otherwise.
It was in a particularly strange, deep, unique, one-of-its-kind coral reef that Chaos decided to keep a singular memento on his person. Chaos observed coral ranging in colors all across the light spectrum, oddly structured anemones, triangular tube worms with sharp corners, soft urchins and sharp sea stars, and any other possible form of life with something that made them different.
Of all the areas Chaos found, that reef came the closest to being Chaos’s home, temporary or not. Though it fascinated him and likely would for a long time, nothing without communication could entertain Chaos for an eternity. Still, Chaos decided to keep a memento for himself, a coral so black that it reminded Chaos of that void pool when it went completely dark without the light of distant stars.
So, Chaos fashioned himself a halo out of that black coral, snug enough around his head so it wouldn’t fall off as he swam. That was that, and he continued his fruitless endeavors to find something, someone able to hold his attention.
If the biomes failed, the lifeforms flunked even harder, no matter how vibrant, alien-like, and amazing they could be. He encountered living, breathing rock formations, terrifyingly massive creatures that were too grandiose to be defined by deep sea gigantism, things that looked older than the Earth itself, and things that were completely alien to even the life found a few hundred meters above.
He encountered a swarm of jellyfish once, his entire vision looking out over the cliff face he sat on entirely covered by colors of moving gelatin, blanketing the area with a thick, impassable mass. The unfortunate creatures on the ocean floor must have suffocated long ago.
He had ridden on crabs with too many legs and claws, large enough to have a microbiome thriving on its back as it slowly moved across the ocean floor.
He had seen truly colossal squids, an unsettling amount of tentacles writhing around the water, shed their skin. A creature that shouldn’t have been able to exist at that size, let alone shed its skin like a reptile despite being a mollusk. Chaos watched its skin, a husk of an unfathomable creature fall deeper into the void below, to an unknown bottom Chaos hadn’t yet reached.
Large patches of algae aimlessly drifted by in all the wrong colors. So far, Chaos had seen bright red, yellow, purple, and neon green algal blooms. The colors were wrong, as were its eating habits. As it was carried along, the patch swallowed everything that came in contact with it. Nothing ever came out.
The scariest thing he had seen in this strange, horrifying, alien-like world were siphonophores spanning in a long string beyond Chaos’s line of sight in both directions. One moment, the colony that made up the string would be peacefully moving along; the next, suddenly snapping together in one crisp movement, curling the entire, enormous length around an unsuspecting creature as it strangled its large prey to death. The fiercest of sharks, the largest of whales, and the most dangerous creatures all fell victim to that thing. Needless to say, Chaos steered clear of siphonophores.
Despite all the strange, scary things Chaos encountered, everything paled in comparison to that cosmic void he couldn’t find again. He looked everywhere, retracing his steps inside each and every cave for naught. It wasn’t bound by space or time, so Chaos assumed it moved around in planes he couldn’t reach.
Chaos would rather lose his sanity in an unfeeling world, thoughtless for an eternity than spend the remaining billions of years of this solar system confined to linear, so painfully slow time.
Despite all the strange, scary things Chaos encountered, the one thing he needed the most yet could never find was a single sentient being capable of thought, speech, conversation .
Chaos was completely alone, with no one to entertain him but himself, with no one to talk to, with not a single being capable of a simple ‘hello.’ He may have been a good actor, but it got old after a while. Apparently, his all-consuming need for codependency to be a functioning human stuck around.
Don’t get him wrong, Chaos did try connecting with humans, the only sentient creature he knew of. Unfortunately, those encounters always ended poorly; they’d get scared, try to kill him, or try to capture him to experiment on.
So, after time and time again, Chaos decided that humanity was a no-go.
There were no other sentient beings, no matter how far, how deep, how thoroughly Chaos searched.
Understandably, he lost his mind for an infinite and finite stretch of time. Not the complete comatose state that void pool threw himself into, but a dull, meaningless existence. He was less of a living thing than the peaceful siphonophores; they were a colony, they ate, they survived , but Chaos? Chaos was numb, uncaring of what happened to him.
He must have tasted horrible. A few creatures tried eating him, only to swim away without fully consuming him. It never impacted him because of his ability to regenerate his whole body like a starfish would with its limbs.
Sometimes, when he floated higher than he thought the water would carry him, he got tangled in fishing nets. He’d untangle himself, then float away with the currents, rising and falling with the rides, uncaring of anything, letting his mind drift away.
It was when he was almost captured in a net for the tenth time that Chaos had enough of floating about. If he wanted to stop thinking, to stop existing without that void pool, the open ocean wasn’t the way to go. There were too many distractions to shake Chaos from his semi-slumber.
Chaos already explored the ocean to its depths, so he’d find the deepest, emptiest cave he could to hibernate in. How long, Chaos didn’t know. Forever would be nice, but Chaos didn’t think the most isolated place on Earth could leave him undisturbed for eons. If only he could find that damned pool…
Maybe he’d feel better after a long sleep, then he could try to find that pool again. Floating in the cosmos, eternally and undisturbed, was better than waiting a tumultuous eternity, only to end up in the same situation aeons later when the sun exploded.
So, without much care, Chaos searched around for a deep trench. That’s where he found himself thinking over his situation; how pitiful immortality was when completely alone. All his ventures amounted to nothing, a blink in the long, winding, near-endless road of time.
Soon enough, Chaos found a decent trench. Decent, except for humans disturbing the area in a metal-reinforced, impenetrable home. It made Chaos stop his plans momentarily.
It would be a decent way to go out, one last attempt at communication before he hibernated. Even if the distant memory of the surface made Chaos’s skin feel dry, humans, if they humored him, would have far more stories to share than any fish could. Maybe they could take Chaos to the surface if he was lucky
Chaos hadn’t been lucky so far, so he didn’t get his hopes up. He’d lurk around the area, determine if the humans were hostile (they would be), and proceed with his plans for eternal slumber.
He’d have to find some comfortable algae patches for padding against the hard rock of deep-sea caves.
—
Chaos hadn’t been lucky so far . He hadn’t been lucky when he was sucked into that void, he hadn’t been lucky when his mind shattered, and his abysmal luck ran out with his solo adventures.
Chaos hadn’t been lucky up to this point.
Finally, Chaos must have been favored by a fictional Lady Luck. From what he observed and assumed, these people had to be different from those Chaos encountered before. These people lived on the seafloor, simply existing without disturbing the surrounding environment as best they could.
He made a great choice to lurk around these humans; otherwise, he wouldn’t have met that wonderful, human clad in purple. His favorite human. Well, Chaos hadn’t exactly met his favorite human yet, but he caught Chaos’s eye quickly.
At first, his favorite human stood out because of his ability to be like a rock rather than a living creature while doing whatever he was doing. It looked like he was taking notes about something, so maybe he was also observing the environment like Chaos was observing him.
He was skilled in camouflage, but another thing that caught Chaos’s eye was the purple suit he wore when traversing around the area. There wasn’t much color further down in the ocean, at least not that specific royal purple his favorite human wore.
The other humans also seemed to wear different colors, so it wasn’t exactly unique to his favorite human. What was unique about his favorite human was that he met Chaos’s gaze. His favorite human was outside near the base as Chaos observed him when he suddenly looked around and made direct eye contact with Chaos.
Not that his favorite human knew that. Still, it made Chaos feel seen like never before. It was addicting from the brief moment his favorite human looked his way, looked at him . It may have been a small occurrence in the long run, but now? Now, with intelligent creatures that might be friendly, Chaos felt like living in the moment.
After such a long drag of time spent alone, Chaos could enjoy himself more than ever before now that he was known. He wasn’t looked at like prey to be stalked or a predator to be avoided; he was looked at curiously like he was an anomaly to be discovered.
Like he was an intelligent creature worthy of conversation.
Chaos had a good feeling about this. He had already gotten high on his hopes of contact, and if he was wrong, the crash would be fatal.
His favorite human, the purple man, was the only one who had spotted Chaos unwittingly before. No one else had paid him any mind, not even noticing his presence or looking around for a predator. So, the purple man, his favorite human, stood out to Chaos. So, Chaos started watching him more closely to see what he did.
Even if he wanted to, Chaos didn’t constantly watch his favorite human because he couldn’t blend into the environment as well as him, given his size and bioluminescent markings. Chaos wouldn’t have been able to watch him always, anyway, because his favorite human went back into the metal box he called home.
When he couldn’t observe, Chaos would wait around, swim through the trench, look for deep enough caves just in case, and memorize the layout of his favorite human’s home from the outside. There were a ton of interconnected metal boxes, most of which didn’t have any glass to look through, unfortunately.
There was one perfect room, the glass dome connected to the other metal boxes. It seemed to be a gathering area, so Chaos watched it closely, lurking nearby until he caught sight of his favorite human inside.
The light from inside made the surrounding area even foggier, darker, and a better cover for Chaos. He had a good view and strong eyes because of whatever he was, so he could watch his favorite human to his heart’s content.
He was even prettier without the suit and all those mechanisms weighing him down. He was more captivating than he already was in Chaos’s mind. He was even more alive, talking and breathing and living . Without the suit, Chaos could get a good look at him, at his blond hair that would look amazing floating around in the water, at his preference for beautiful shades of deep purple, and at his sharp blue eyes.
The only reason Chaos knew his favorite human’s eye color was because his intuition was sharp. When Chaos observed him, he’d often look up from whatever he had in his hands, scanning the outside for life. He stood up a few times in an attempt to get a better look outside, crossing his arms behind his back as he peered around the area.
Chaos knew he couldn’t be seen, not lying on the ocean floor far from the light. He wouldn’t reveal himself yet, but the thought of being known excited him. Here was his favorite human, recognizing Chaos’s presence inside and outside his home.
It always dampened Chaos’s spirits when his favorite human went inside or moved away from the glass dome to a place Chaos couldn’t see. Sure, there was usually always one human visible, but none of them were his favorite human.
There was an odd one with white hair that made Chaos’s mind attempt to piece together the broken shards of his memory. Chaos pushed it aside; white hair was common in old people, so he was probably reminded of a relative of his who was long gone.
Anyway, no one else paid attention to Chaos. Not like his favorite human did.
So, to remedy his falling morale every time his favorite human disappeared inside, Chaos took advantage of a moment when no one was home. A group of them had ventured into the trench while his favorite human swam to another area with a second person. After checking all the places Chaos could see inside, no one seemed to be hunkered down at home.
After double-checking areas nearby in case any of the humans were returning, Chaos attempted to enter the base. He wanted to see what was in there, what he couldn’t see, or at least figure out how to get inside. That way he’d have another way to reveal himself.
The first time he observed his favorite human out in the water, Chaos watched him open the door with a lever on the side of one of the metal boxes with a sliding door. From what Chaos could see, a small panel opened up on the side. He wasn’t sure what that panel did, but it wouldn’t hurt figuring out the first step of opening that door.
Chaos failed. He failed miserably.
His hands were good for nothing. The webbing between his fingers prevented him from gripping the handle well, only managing to push it halfway down. Even if he tried his hardest, his hands didn’t do the trick. Well, then Chaos would try his teeth. He’d eat through the walls.
Those metal walls hurt his teeth. Chaos couldn’t eat through the wall.
Scratching at the wall didn’t do anything, either. Chaos had killed creatures much larger, much more ancient than him with his claws, yet he couldn’t put a dent in this wall? Pathetic.
He even tried biting the lever; it was made of a softer material than the metal, so Chaos could probably move it with his mouth.
He couldn’t.
For now, he’d give up. He could have tried harder with the entire weight of his body, but Chaos didn’t know when the humans would return. Those trips to the trench in that swimming machine usually took some time, but not the outdoor excursions to nearby areas. His favorite human might be back soon.
Chaos wouldn’t mind seeing him, but he didn’t want to be seen just yet. He’d like to see his favorite human, so Chaos decided he’d watch him do his work, whatever it was. It wasn’t hard to track them; Chaos had seen the direction they swam in. His favorite human and the other person were at one of the cliffsides Chaos had inspected for caves.
Unfortunately, there were no caves deep enough for Chaos to hibernate in. They did make good hiding spots, though, so when the humans were distracted, Chaos darted inside a cave with just enough space for him to hide inside.
Every so often, Chaos peeked his head outside to watch them. If he watched them the entire time, he’d likely get spotted. This wasn’t exactly a good observation point, but it would have to work. His favorite human was too absorbed in his work, anyway. The other guy didn’t even give him any mind.
Even if the hiding spot wasn’t preferable, it was the best way Chaos could learn (or relearn?) human mannerisms. It would be a good way to attempt to communicate as just watching one person interact with the environment didn’t work. Two people inside the base didn’t work, either, because they talked with one another.
Chaos so desperately wanted to talk with his favorite human.
For now, the hand gestures the humans made to each other would suffice. Whenever the other guy waved his hand forward at Chaos’s favorite human, he would approach. Whenever the other guy waved his hand back, he would recede.
Chaos had seen his favorite human smiling, happy in that glass dome. He had a charming smile, even if it was odd for any creature to bare their teeth to show happiness. Chaos loved his smile. Frowning was the opposite of a smile. Pointing was simple, shaking the head side to side meant no, and shaking the head up and down meant yes.
(Maybe he also watched for signs the two were close. He hoped not.)
Chaos kept up his observations, watching his favorite human work until the two finished whatever they were doing. It was disappointing, but Chaos would have to stay put until they were far from his view, so he was alone.
It was while they swam away Chaos decided he’d pass the time with a nap. He wasn’t sure how long he napped, but he didn’t have a choice about waking up when an eel tried to electrocute him and take his spot. Chaos felt nice, so he exited the cave without ripping the eel in two.
A brief check of the base didn’t show his favorite human, so instead he decided to venture into the trench. That would be interesting enough if he couldn’t watch his favorite human.
As he came to the cliff on one end of the trench, Chaos spotted that metal spherical device, some sort of ship that Chaos despised. He was understandably pissed at first because he’d have to circumnavigate the humans from a distance. He might not be able to get to the bottom without being seen.
All his annoyance dissipated once he saw a glimpse of his favorite human inside! Chaos wasn’t expecting to see him inside as he’d never seen his favorite human on that ship before. Briefly, Chaos swam a fair bit above the ship while thinking of what to do.
His favorite human was right there! He was mostly alone, in a confined space for his own safety, and Chaos was feeling incredibly lonely.
That was enough consideration; Chaos would introduce himself. Announcing his presence would be better than swimming ahead of the ship and scaring his favorite human to death. Maybe he could show his favorite human his favorite places in the area if it went well.
It didn’t go well.
Well, it kind of went well. It could have gone worse, but it could have been much, much better.
All he did was knock on the top of the hatch. When he didn’t get a response, he started biting and scratching at it in case they’d hear that better. All of his efforts attempting to communicate failed, especially when the beams of light were cut.
A glance downward told Chaos that not only were the lights shut off, but the ship’s power was cut completely. It might have been his favorite human trying to communicate with him. Was this his way of telling Chaos to back off?
Chaos weighed his options as he floated above the ship. He could swim ahead, but that might scare them more. Plus, Chaos didn’t think they could see in the darkness, not like him. Clearly, they didn’t want to communicate with him right now, so Chaos would try again later.
He swam down the trench, away from his favorite human but not far enough to miss the ship turning back on. He was disappointed but determined to enter their base himself. That way, he could make himself known without any possibility of miscommunication.
He would have waited longer to ensure the ship was gone, but Chaos couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see his favorite human. He pushed himself to wait another minute or two before exiting out the top of the trench and to that glass dome.
Just as he hoped, his favorite human was inside. He was with the person with long black hair and that lanky guy. The lanky guy seemed to be… tending to Daryl’s hand? Chaos squinted to see what the lanky guy was doing to Daryl’s hand, trying and failing to look closer. He didn’t stray closer into the light, not when two people accompanied his favorite human.
Huh. Chaos decided to leave for the moment.
After that, Chaos continued lurking around, watching people enter and exit the metal box. He was certain several days had passed without his favorite human exiting the base once. That wouldn’t be a problem if Chaos saw him in the glass dome. Chaos never saw him.
Every time someone exited the metal box, Chaos’s stomach jumped as he rapidly scanned for that purple suit his favorite human wore. Every time, it was some other person.
Most of the time, watching those people go about was boring. Chaos had to lay low, blend into the environment, and remain unmoving for a long time. Even if no one but his favorite human really paid attention to him, Chaos didn’t want to be spotted.
The only interesting thing happened when that large, unobservant human was entering the base. From what Chaos had seen, that human was ignorant of his surroundings, or at least of Chaos’s presence. So, Chaos took advantage of this, sneaking close enough to see what happened when the lever was pulled down.
He knew he could get past the lever if he tried hard enough. Next time, he’d try putting his whole body weight into it. After the lever, that small panel in the wall opened to reveal some buttons. Thankfully, from his hiding spot, Chaos could see what buttons the human pressed to open the door, so he didn’t have to wait longer to figure out the third step.
The human pressed the topmost left button four times, and then the door opened. Finally !
To make the most of his time waiting for the perfect moment beyond learning how to enter the base, Chaos watched closely to confirm how many people lived within the metal box. Other than his favorite human, there were five others, plus this lanky guy who never entered the water, but Chaos had only seen him inside once. He wasn’t worried about that guy.
Now, he could finally make contact; he just had to wait for a good time. The wait seemed to go on forever, even if Chaos knew what forever actually felt like. It was boring, too. None of the humans noticed him like his favorite human did. His favorite human never exited the base once.
Not nearly soon enough, there was a moment where everyone was gone. A few were in the sub (three, if Chaos counted right), and the other two went to the surface. Even though Chaos missed seeing his human over the past few days, he was glad he was inside and easy to reach.
Swimming at the lever from above and ramming it with his shoulder was enough to push it down all the way. The panel opened, and even with his webbed hands, Chaos could press the topmost left button four times. With bated breath, Chaos waited for the door to open for him.
It was so easy to enter now that Chaos knew how. He was giddy with excitement as he swam through, only to briefly panic as the door shut, trapping him within a small box. For a moment, Chaos thought he had been lured into a trap, horribly claustrophobic compared to the open ocean he lived in.
His dread lasted only for a moment, though. Chaos let out his held breath as the wall that was actually another door opened, revealing an interior Chaos had never seen before.
What made it even better was the deep enough pool in the immediate vicinity of the door, allowing Chaos to be comfortable. Well, he’d only be comfortable in the water for a moment. Hoisting himself onto the metal floor was already difficult enough, but Chaos was prepared to drag himself all around the connected metal boxes to find his favorite human-
Nope! There he was!
Chaos felt even giddier than a moment ago, so wonderfully excited in a way no discovery had made him feel. Here was a human, a sentient, living being capable of conversation! A human that noticed Chaos, who paid attention to him even if he was never in sight.
Well, now he was. Without glass or water distorting Chaos’s view, he could get a much better look at his favorite human. He was handsome , more handsome than Chaos thought. His hair was a strawberry blond, a color that didn’t reflect as such in the water. His eyes were prettier up close, a striking ice blue with a beauty mark next to his right eye, opened wide as he stared back at Chaos.
He had a human body, well built with two legs, two arms, and a thinking brain. His human clothes, these lovely purple trousers in a shade Chaos hadn’t properly observed before, and a white button-up halfway tucked into his pants, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows with the top few buttons popped, fit him well. Very well.
His favorite human was frozen in the doorway, so Chaos smiled and waved at him to come closer. Smiling was a human trait, a muscle memory that Chaos remembered, but Chaos hadn’t had much reason to smile before. Now? Oh, now his favorite human was right in front of him!
Chaos’s hopes paid off when, after a second or two, his favorite human smiled back. It was a hesitant smile, but it meant he was trying to be cordial with Chaos! It made him smile even wider. He even approached Chaos, still hesitant but coming closer nonetheless.
Once his favorite human was within arms reach, Chaos slid his palm over the smooth, soft, purple fabric of his pants and down against his even softer, warm skin underneath.
Chaos didn’t realize how much he craved the presence of another warm, living creature. Sure, he’d found warm areas, but nothing was this kind of warm, not like his favorite human was. He was so warm, so incredibly, addictingly warm.
Then, Chaos’s hopes became a reality when his favorite human sat down next to him, hugging his legs to his chest and watching Chaos closely now that they were at eye level. Without any complaints, Chaos continued sliding his hand along the fabric, fiddling with the crease at the ends of his pants and running against his smooth skin.
As if Chaos’s day couldn’t get any better, his favorite human asked, “What’s so interesting, anyway?”
His voice was so beautiful, melodic, perfect that Chaos could cry. Maybe it was because this was Chaos’s first time hearing another coherent voice instead of random noises, but he knew his favorite human had the most wonderful voice of them all. Chaos wanted to listen to him talk forever, that rich timbre heavenly music to Chaos’s ears.
Interesting. Chaos kind of remembered that word. He was pretty sure he knew what it meant, but speaking was an issue in itself. An infinite and finite time passed while he floated in the void, then through the water carrying him wherever it pleased. All that time rotted his already microscopic slivers of memories and his vocal cords, too. Either his vocal cords were completely shot after disuse, or they were malformed and poorly paired with human speech after his transformation.
It was probably the latter. Who knew what other animal parts messed with Chaos’s human side, mutating his body in ways that shouldn’t be possible.
Chaos could remember the basic concepts of humanity, the ideas and feelings that made humans sentient creatures. He had forgotten so much, which wasn’t helped by the sprawling knowledge of the universe stored within the recesses of his broken mind.
He couldn’t find the words to explain concepts he was familiar with, though. The only thing that echoed in his mind was the name Happy Chaos, his name. When he had tried speaking in the past, his voice came out so garbled on his tongue, speaking a language undecipherable to every other living thing on Earth.
Human language was hard, but Chaos would learn to speak fluently in all varieties if it meant he could talk to sentient beings. The worst thing about immortality was the loneliness it brought, especially when Chaos was trapped at the bottom of the sea.
Even so, his determination didn’t change the fact his voice was shredded. Chaos couldn’t even remember if he was ever able to talk. Could he? What did he sound like before?
Whatever. Now, that didn’t matter, not when his malformed but working body, a mesh of human and creature, of fish and shark, of odd pieces of strange animals here and there, kept his vocal cords. Or something akin to vocal cords, something that gave him the capacity to speak.
Ugh, Chaos could speak the language of the stars, of time, of the past, present, and future, yet human speech was difficult. It was difficult, but Chaos knew he’d be able to speak the language of humans if only he could remember.
His favorite human was a good teacher. As Chaos tried to copy him, his favorite human repeated himself, allowing Chaos to roll the word through his mouth a few times to say it right. The process reminded Chaos of what the word meant. It was the exact word that described his curiosity toward his favorite human. His favorite human was interesting .
“Interesting,” Chaos said the word once he got it down, flicking his tail in the water back and forth in excitement. Using his vocal cords hurt, but his favorite human’s surprise when Chaos spoke made everything worth it. Oh, it was so incredibly worth it, especially when his favorite human was more than surprised; he looked excited!
His smile wasn’t hesitant anymore. He was happy to hear Chaos speak.
“Daryl,” his favorite human pointed at himself as he grinned.
Daryl. Daryl, Daryl, Daryl! Chaos was more than happy, he was ecstatic to put a name to his favorite human’s wonderful face. Daryl. His name was simpler than the word interesting, so Chaos got the hang of it much quicker this time.
“Daryl,” Chaos repeated Daryl’s words as he pointed at him.
Daryl’s smile was blinding as he nodded, returning the gesture to Chaos. “You?”
Unfortunately, Chaos’s words didn’t translate well. He tried speaking his name in the universal tongue his mind spoke in, but what came out must have been undecipherable to Daryl’s ears. In fact, Chaos’s voice might have hurt him as he winced ever so slightly. Chaos stopped immediately, not bothering to repeat himself if it hurt Daryl.
“Haop,” was all Chaos managed to get out. At Daryl’s confusion, Chaos tried again, “Coas.”
Even to himself, his voice sounded horrifically destroyed. Chaos shook his head and frowned as he strained his vocal cords in one last attempt to properly say his name.
Water in his lungs would help him speak. So, Chaos dove back into the water, soaking his body back to a comfortable level, before popping his head out of the water. “Hoapy,” Chaos tried again, sounding much better this time.
“Happy?” Daryl asked. Yes, that was it! Happy. That’s how his name was said in the human tongue.
Chaos nodded enthusiastically, attempting the second part of his name, “Cayos.”
“Chaos?” Daryl repeated back, surprised when Chaos nodded once more, a smile blooming across his face. Well, a wider smile than before. Chaos had been smiling so much his face was starting to hurt because of untrained muscles he hadn’t used once before.
“Happy Chaos?” Daryl said as he pointed at Chaos, his voice the most beautiful sound Chaos had ever heard.
He said his name to himself a few times to get the pronunciation down. “Happy Chaos.”
Daryl didn’t speak for a minute. And then another minute passed as he thought about something. His furrowed brow and frown on his face made Chaos think he was… surprised, confused, uneasy about something. Unconsciously, Chaos stiffened with fear at the thought of messing something up. He was addicted to conversing now; if he lost it, Chaos couldn’t stand to exist. Because of his fear, his spikes protruded from his back as his fins bristled.
No, no, no! Daryl scrambled backward, fear all over his face at Chaos’s sudden defense mechanism he couldn’t stop. Shit. Chaos somehow messed up even more, so in a desperate effort to salvage their interaction, he made himself smaller in the water, moving his hands to rest on the submerged wall of the pool and sinking lower so only his eyes peeked over the metal.
Chaos must have messed up further when Daryl frantically waved his hands. The quick and unknown gesture frightened Chaos further. He must have really, really messed up. Although he didn’t want to, Chaos receded further into the pool in case of danger.
Instead of doing anything other humans did when they saw Chaos, Daryl ran a hand down his face as he frowned before smiling and beckoning Chaos to come closer. He was trying to be friendly again, so Chaos had no choice but to trust him. He wanted to trust him, too.
Slowly, Chaos came closer to the near edge of the pool, relaxing once he realized Daryl wasn’t trying to do anything to harm him. Maybe it was some misunderstanding, then. He rested his arms on the metal by Daryl’s feet and his head on his arms, angling his head upward to look at Daryl as he idly flicked his tail back and forth.
Daryl looked relieved, happy that Chaos returned. So maybe Chaos hadn’t done anything wrong?
When Daryl pointed to the ground and asked, “Wait here?” Chaos did just as he was told. He waited as Daryl left the room, watching him as he turned the corner and disappeared from view. His departure made Chaos somewhat nervous because what if he didn’t return?
Chaos knew Daryl would return. To distract himself, he looked around the room, at the curved walls, the random boxes scattered around, and the diving suits hung on racks. Nothing was that interesting, not as interesting as Daryl, so Chaos scratched his claws against the metal floor to test how much he could dent it and idly do something with his hands.
The minute Chaos heard rapid footsteps approaching, his nerves disappeared and his smile grew as he looked up at Daryl.
And then, right as Daryl came through the doorway, smiling at him in return, the entrance opened behind Chaos.
The minute Chaos heard two other humans talking, he darted out of there before the outer door shut. He barely made it before the door closed from the top to the bottom.
Just as he swam away, that ship returned, catching him in its high beams.
Chaos ignored everything else, swimming fast and swimming away so he wouldn’t get trapped.
He trusted Daryl, but not the other humans.
—
Just in case, Chaos found the deepest, furthest cave from any life form, human or not. Once he was nestled within, he was reminded of his plan. The plan he made before he met Daryl. His plan to hibernate.
Chaos decided this cave would only be his temporary hiding spot, not the area he’d hibernate in. If he needed to, he could find another suitable location. Chaos hoped he didn’t need to; he wanted to meet Daryl again. Still, he waited some time until coming out of the cave, just to be safe.
He trusted Daryl, but not the other humans. If they knew he was inside their home, who knows what they’d do to him. They might trap him, dissect him, and attempt to kill him, but Daryl wouldn’t. Chaos wasn’t stupid enough to think his opinion would sway all the other humans, though. So, he waited.
He waited until exited the cave, and waited even more to find a good time where everyone but Daryl left.
He waited until he got impatient. Considering his long isolation, Chaos was surprised he found himself impatient. Well, maybe he wasn’t. He had spent so long isolated that he needed to be around a sentient being at every moment.
He waited until most of the humans were out of the base. He didn’t bother counting the people who left because he knew he wouldn’t get as lucky as he did in his first meeting with Daryl. And, if things went bad, he was sure Daryl would let him go.
Thankfully, a good time came soon enough. Though Chaos wouldn’t mind meeting Daryl inside his base or outside, he was happy to see Daryl again within that glass dome. He was doing… something with colored sheets and a small metal stick as he talked to the person with long black hair.
Chaos waited far too long, maybe a few minutes in reality until Daryl was alone in that room. Once the other person left, Chaos made himself known, approaching the side nearest to Daryl. He tapped at the glass and rested his palm on the cool surface, even if he didn’t have to because Daryl had already been looking around as Chaos inched closer into view.
When Daryl’s eyes landed on Chaos, he smiled. His smile was even more beautiful than Chaos remembered. His eyes shined brighter than the stars as he approached Chaos. From the inside of the glass dome, Daryl rested his palm right across from his.
With a gesture of his head to the right, Chaos knew Daryl was asking him to return. To the right of the glass dome was the base entrance. He was right, too, because when he nodded, Daryl nodded in return.
Chaos couldn’t help but feel excited, even more than when he managed to open the entrance himself, because he knew Daryl wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.
Courteously, Chaos waited outside the entrance, deciding against opening the door again in case he read Daryl wrong. That, and he’d have to ram himself against the lever harder than he’d like.
The door opened. Chaos happily swam in, didn’t freak out too much by the brief moment of claustrophobia, and smiled when the door opened to reveal Daryl sitting by the pool and dipping his feet into the water.
Once he was next to Daryl, his head resting on his crossed arms on the metal, Chaos smiled up at him. “Hi,” Daryl greeted.
“Hi,” Chaos said back. He didn’t need to practice that word; it was short and easy.
This time, Daryl had a stack of books next to him. Books, Chaos forgot about those. Chaos watched closely, anticipating Daryl opening one of those and flipping to a page full of jumbled text. Instead, Daryl hesitantly held his hand near and above Chaos’s head.
Chaos thought for a moment before realizing Daryl wanted to do what he had done last time. Rather than nodding or saying a simple word, Chaos butt his head into Daryl’s hand. Daryl let out a quiet ‘oh’ as he smiled, his hand nice and warm in Chaos’s cold hair.
The locks of silver were drenched, messy, and probably gross to touch, but Daryl stroked his hand through Chaos’s hair anyway, brushing it out of his face and behind his pointed ears. Chaos felt his chest rumble as he let out a sound he never had before, a low, rhythmic purr.
When Daryl laughed in surprise, Chaos paused and looked up at him. Daryl shook his head like it was nothing, hovered his hand over Chaos’s face, and hesitated. Obviously, he leaned closer so Daryl’s hand wasn’t hovering, instead resting against his ear.
Very softly, Daryl ran his hand along the helix of his ear. His touch was so light that Chaos felt it necessary to push himself upward, holding his arms straight on the metal so Daryl could reach him more easily.
Once again, Daryl ever so slightly removed his hand as he gestured to Chaos’s face and asked, “Can I?” Chaos answered him by pushing his face back into Daryl’s warm, so very warm hand. His hands were even warmer than the skin Chaos touched, so warm he made Chaos melt.
He touched Chaos’s face as light as a feather might, so wonderfully careful and warm that Chaos had to have more. He opened his eyes briefly, admiring Daryl’s wondrous smile, sparkling eyes, and joy at Chaos, his happiness resulting from Chaos’s presence.
The feather-light touches trailed against his cheek and down his jaw as he closed his eyes, involuntarily purring at Daryl’s touch. He was a euphoric puddle as Daryl’s soft hand trailed down from his jaw to the side of his neck and down to cup his shoulder.
The cold was stark compared to Daryl’s warmth when he again removed his hand. Though Chaos would have been annoyed at Daryl’s hesitancy, he was instead met with a feeling of adoration inside as he opened his eyes. Daryl was sort of red in the face, a beautiful pink color spreading across his cheeks. The color was almost prettier than his strawberry blond hair.
Chaos blinked and cocked his head to the side, his confusion met by Daryl’s averted gaze. He was still smiling, though, so he must have been happy? He bit his lip, gently enough to not draw blood, then asked as he pointed to the fin on Chaos’s elbow, “May I?”
To make it easier for Daryl (and to ensure he was continuously lavished with his warmth), Chaos hoisted himself out of the water, sitting next to Daryl and holding his right arm out over Daryl’s lap. Daryl was even more breathless than before, marveling silently as he gently ran his fingers from Chaos’s arm to the crease of his elbow and out toward where his fin started.
Like Chaos wasn’t clearly addicted to his touch, Daryl looked back up at him for confirmation. When Daryl continued with his staunch approval, Chaos all but dissolved into foamy particles. Daryl’s touch was still just as light, so pleasant, so nice, so warm and tender against his fin.
If Daryl was in awe of Chaos, he would be Daryl’s most ardent worshipper. He watched Daryl closely as he softly touched his fin, using his other hand to hold up Chaos’s forearm. He was so close to Daryl that their sides almost pressed together. The warmth radiating from Daryl’s body was more than enough to make Chaos’s head dizzy.
Almost dizzy enough to miss the sound of footsteps. Almost. When he heard that noise echoing across the metal hallways, Chaos broke from his stupor.
He trusted Daryl, but not the other humans.
“Wait!” Daryl asked of him, even if he let go of Chaos’s arm should he escape. That’s why Chaos trusted him; he wanted Chaos to stay (and he wanted to stay, too), but he gave Chaos the freedom to leave if he desired.
So, Chaos didn’t attempt to swim out of the base. This time, he could have because Daryl left the door semi-open should Chaos need to leave in a heartbeat. Still, he retreated further into the water as two people walked in, the long-haired one and that new hat guy. For a moment, Daryl stood and talked to them (Chaos could pick up recognizable words here and there; that was a good sign).
Once the conversation was over, Daryl waved at Chaos, his smile never leaving his face. When Daryl sat back down with his feet in the water, beckoning him closer, Chaos swam closer to him. It helped that the other two people sat as far away as possible, at the other end of the pool.
Even if the distance was comforting, Chaos slunk into the corner, hiding behind Daryl’s knees.
“They’re Testament,” Daryl introduced the long-haired one, pointing toward them as he looked down at Chaos. Then, he turned his hand to the hat guy, “And he’s Johnny.”
Instead of attempting to say their names, Chaos just nodded. He was still on edge, cowering in the corner, unsure of their intentions, and his spine bristling. His attention turned from the other two staring back at him to Daryl when he shifted around to bring something out.
Curiously, Daryl procured what seemed to be a sharp, retractable blade. It didn’t exactly put Chaos at ease, but he was sure Daryl wouldn’t hurt him with it. Not that the blade would hurt him that much.
“No one will hurt you like this,” Daryl explained in simple terms, basic concepts that Chaos remembered. The more he heard Daryl speak, the more Chaos remembered the basic rules of the human language. To prove himself, Daryl raised his palm upward, splaying his fingers outward toward Chaos as he-
As he slit the tip of his finger? Why would he do that?
Without thinking, Chaos grabbed Daryl’s bleeding hand, not paying attention to the cuts healing on his palm (was that what the lanky guy was tending to?) as he lapped the blood from his finger. Whenever Chaos was cut, bitten, or anything that spilled blood from his body, sharks tended to circle him.
He made sure his dozens of sharp teeth didn’t scrape Daryl. His teeth were sharp, but they only pierced flesh when Chaos intended to eat something. He wasn’t going to eat Daryl.
From the corner of his eye, Chaos could see the other two humans, Testament and Johnny, scramble upward in a panic. Chaos himself was in such a panic that he couldn’t care what they’d do to him at the moment. He didn’t want sharks (or anything, for that matter) to harm Daryl, even if they couldn’t enter the base.
Daryl, though? He didn’t even flinch, a shocked expression across his face that was quickly replaced with a warm smile. A smile as warm as he was. “Thank you.”
Chaos smiled once blood had stopped seeping from his finger, though he didn’t let go of Daryl’s hand. He settled his hand back onto the metal, allowing Chaos to hold his hand while he showed off the books he gathered.
(He’d seen the other two humans, Testament and Johnny, hold hands within the glass dome before, as they were currently doing. Was that a way to show affection? Chaos assumed it to be so.)
For a good while, it felt like it was just him and Daryl. The other two were easily ignored as long as Chaos toned them out and avoided looking at them. Daryl would show him a picture from the thick books next to him, pointing at things and saying the words for Chaos. Chaos would repeat the word back, and the cycle would continue.
About halfway through the stack of books, Daryl slid one of the lighter books across the metal to Testament. Chaos anticipated them coming closer to do the same, but he couldn’t help but feel more reserved. Daryl wouldn’t let any harm come to him, but that didn’t mean Chaos was comfortable talking with an apex predator right away.
His reservations slowly diminished as he, albeit as slow as a sea slug, got comfortable enough to have a small, basic conversation with Testament. Not Johnny, though. From what Chaos could tell based on snippets of words he understood and body language, all Johnny did was flirt with Testament.
Chaos didn’t mind that much. One person other than Daryl was already a lot at the moment.
Anyway, the other two stayed long enough to get Chaos somewhat comfortable with humans. Chaos figured it was Daryl’s way of slowly introducing him to the others. He was assuring Chaos no one would hurt him.
That was sweet of him.
When Chaos poked at the last few books off to the side with his free hand, Daryl faltered, “You don’t have to hold my hand. I’m safe.”
He was wrong, so Chaos made him aware of that. Chaos shook his head as he denied Daryl’s claim, “I do.”
It was simple but effective. It made Daryl laugh, too, so it worked. His laugh was enchanting, like the most beautiful songs of passing herds of whales, like the melodic rippling of waves on a calm day. His smile was even brighter than before, brighter than the sun above the water’s surface, where it shone the most.
Chaos felt a pang shoot through his heart. He was infatuated with this man.
This man, Daryl , gave him a chance. Daryl was the first to finally understand Chaos beyond the restraints of a relationship between prey and predator. Daryl was also seemingly mesmerized by Chaos, be it because of his strange anatomy or not.
Instead of removing his hand from Chaos’s grasp, Daryl let out a soft, warm, fond sigh as he flipped Chaos’s hand over, entwining his fingers as best as he could with Chaos’s webbed ones rather than leaving their conjoined hands lying limply against the metal floor.
There was a slight roughness on Daryl’s palm, so Chaos lifted Daryl’s hand to inspect those cuts he had seen earlier. The cuts looked pretty deep, held together by woven stitches. “How?” Chaos asked, bending his head to look for a hint of blood.
“Ah, it was…” Daryl paused. When Chaos glanced at him, Daryl’s face was flushed again, though he seemed shyer than when he last went red. After a moment, Daryl continued, “I hurt it by holding metal too hard.”
Why would Daryl hold something so tightly that it would cut so deeply into his skin? At Chaos’s confusion, Daryl gently sighed as he rubbed his thumb along the webs between Chaos’s fingers. “I was scared.”
Why would Daryl be scared?
“When you encountered the sub,” Daryl finished in a hushed voice, looking down at his lap like he was embarrassed by himself.
Chaos… Chaos had scared Daryl so much to the point he unintentionally hurt himself?
Hugs were comforting; that was something Chaos knew from observing the humans go about in the glass domes.
Now that he thought about it, Chaos had to admit it would be scary if someone knocked on the door of a traveling ship when nothing around was supposed to be capable of that.
So, Chaos hoisted himself onto the metal floor, sitting on the corner of the pool with his tail delicately curling around Daryl’s legs submerged in the water. He briefly let go of Daryl’s hand, opting to wrap both his arms around Daryl in an awkward embrace.
Well, the positioning was awkward. A moment passed while Chaos hugged Daryl, remaining unresponsive without saying a word or moving an inch. Then, his body relaxed, made what Chaos assumed was a happy noise, and wrapped his arms around Chaos in return.
“Sorry,” Chaos mumbled into Daryl’s neck. His head was dizzier than before now that his body was pressed close to Daryl’s warm, personal heater of a body. His hands caressing his back had Chaos melting further, both in body and mind.
“I forgive you.” Daryl’s voice, his steady breath against Chaos’s shoulder made his mind spin even more. That, and Daryl forgave Chaos’s accidental misdeed so willingly out of his own volition.
Once the hug had gone on for long enough (or as long as humans deemed normal from what Chaos had seen), Chaos rested his arms against his side, placing one hand back atop Daryl’s and the other poking the books again.
He wanted to learn (or relearn?) everything Daryl was willing to teach him.
He had a good feeling that Lady Luck, real or not, chose to favor him after so long by gracing him with Daryl.
All that wretched time spent alone was worth it. Chaos would endure it for almost an eternity if it meant he’d get to see Daryl at the end.
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