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raventroll80 · 1 year

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Stowaway Mer AU

Vega’s Hideaway

A little bonus story for y’all where Vega gets kicked out of Port Murlow’s only seaside motel for making the fish tank in his room glow and making it permanently smell of fish, and then proceeds to commit what is probably a crime.

Also this story contains alcohol mention, and animal abuse (fish). Also this is going to be a l o n g story

It was a fine Thursday morning when Vega had heard a knock from his motel room door. When he opened it he was greeted to the motel manager who had a sour look covering his face, and a pair of earplugs stuffed up his nose.

“Good morning Mr. Anders, how are you today?” He asked the man.

“Get out,”

“Pardon?” Vega replied startled by the man’s aggressiveness.

“I have had it with you and your damn ‘studies’,” Mr. Anders said,

“I-” Vega was cut off by Mr. Anders.

“I know what you’re really doing in here! You’re always leaving in the dead of the night and coming back in the wee hours of the morning,”

“I apologize if I’ve disturbed the other guests, I have been trying to be quiet when leaving-” Vega apologized.

“Also I’ve been receiving multiple complaints of a rancid smell coming from the room. Said it smelt like dead fish, but I know what you’re really up to…” Mr. Anders said in an accusatory tone.

“I-what?” Vega replied now thoroughly confused as to what the man was upset about. “Mr. Anders, what exactly do you think I’m doing?”

“Don’t play dumb with me Mr. Triton!” he growled, “I want you out of here by the end of the day.”

“Yes Mr. Anders, I will begin packing immediately. I apologize for any inconveniences I have caused you.”Vega calmly said before closing the door.

“Well that was rude,” he said to himself and he sat down at the kitchen table.

He looked out the window and sighed when he noticed Mr. Anders staring at him from across the motel. He looked around his room before digging out his suitcases from the closet.

He started with his clothes, then his waders and boots. Then he moved onto packing up his equipment, he carefully packed away his microscope and samples. His gaze drifted to the fish tank where he had managed to establish a colony of Vegastella scriptorseintillais, a species of algae he had recently discovered in the local sea caves.

The algae was quite peculiar, it hadn’t caused any skin irritation and life seemed to thrive where it bloomed. Though he noted that it had a hallucinogenic effect, but after repeated exposure to the algae Vega had developed somewhat of an immunity to the effects. It wasn’t a complete immunity as some days he’d swear he had seen the faces of his former colleagues in the algae.

Vega had taken his skimmer and skimmed the top of the fish tank trying to get as much algae as he could. He didn’t want to risk the algae affecting any future inhabitants. He was dumping said algae into a small container filled with water.

Once he was satisfied with the amount of algae in the container Vega contemplated doing a deep clean of the tank, but decided against it due to his time limit.

Vega finished packing up his equipment and belongings and was almost out the door when he remembered one last thing.

He quickly walked back to the kitchenette and grabbed a picture frame from the table. The picture was of Vega, Samuel, and Olivia, with a few other researchers as well. Vega sighed before packing the picture with his sweaters, he didn’t want to risk breaking it.

Vega grabbed the keys to his rental car and started bringing bags down. As he did so he noticed Mr. Anders had moved to the administrative office, and was still watching him like he was expecting him to load a body into the trunk.

Before leaving his motel room for the last time, Vega left a note on the fish tank stating that it would be wise to give it a thorough cleaning.

“Goodbye my friends. I have greatly enjoyed your company, and apologize for any unforeseen effects that my studies may have in the future.” He said to the tank of cichlids, though he knew they didn’t understand him nor would they remember him.

But as he took one last look at his finned companions he noticed a small group stare at him. They looked as though they understood him. Vega stood up before telling himself,

“They’re just fish, they aren’t going to miss you. No need to get emotional, right?”

He looked at the fish again and the small group were now looking at the container of algae water. Vega bit his lip for a moment and looked at the container as well.

“V. scriptorseintillias does produce a significant amount of oxygen… and I do have the funds to buy an acceptable temporary tank…” he mused.

There were about three cichlids in the group looking at the container, surely Mr. Anders wouldn’t miss three cichlids out of 15. And honestly the amount of cichlids in the small tank was far too many, cichlids needed at least 55 gallons while the one in the room was only 30.

“Honestly I should give Mr. Anders a piece of his mind for the poor state these fish are kept in, poor things.” Vega muttered to himself as he moved the five fish into the algae container, making sure to add more water for them.

“First stop after this is that pet store uptown to get you all a more ethical home.” He said as he wrapped the container in his jacket to hide his less than legal actions.

Vega placed the container in the front passenger seat and buckled it in before going to the admin office. He walked through the door and greeted Mr. Anders. He handed in the keys to his room and payed his for his stay.

“Oh Mr. Anders, I’m sorry to inform you that three of the cichlids in the fish tank have died. I was going to inform you when you visited this morning, but you refused to let me speak.” Vega said as he handed Mr. Anders the money.

“Oh, ok.” Mr. Anders replied rather annoyed.

“Also I must say the state that those poor fish are kept in is abhorrent and unethical. African Cichlids need at minimum 55 gallons, meanwhile you had 15 in a 30 gallon tank! 30 gallons is only acceptable for a single cichlid,” Vega explained as calmly as he could.

“They’re just fish, it’s not like they care or anything.” Mr. Anders replied dryly.

“They may be fish but they’re also a living thing. Fish most certainly care about the conditions they are kept in, and are more than capable of dying from stress and poor living conditions. This is animal cruelty.” Vega continued now slightly more agitated.

“Don’t care, now get out of my office.” Mr. Anders said also becoming agitated.

Vega left the office in a huff. Getting into his rental he drove away from the motel and made his way uptown.

—————————————————————————

Vega had managed to rent out an old boathouse by the port and had set up to the best of his ability in it. The dusty building creaked and groaned in the wind, and the roof leaked often but Vega had made do.

He had patched the holes with tarps, and he had even managed to set up a small generator to provide light and power the filter on the large tank that housed his cichlids.

Tonight, Vega planned to continue searching the sea caves for more colonies of Vegastella scriptorseintillais. So far he had no luck in finding any other colonies but he enjoyed these late night excursions.

Vega got into his small boat and started the engine. The small boat pulled out of the boathouse and into the bay. Vega was glad he had bought an electric motor as he quietly glided across the bay.

As he neared the cliffs and the stony beaches, Vega pulled out his map to check what caves he still needed to check. So far he had explored most of the caves accessible by foot leaving only the ones he had needed his boat to check.

There were quite a few caves that were water access only, so Vega opted to start from the edge of the bay and work his way in.

The first cave wasn’t of any interest, just a wet cave. The second cave however was much more interesting.

Inside the cave was a small wooden dock. Vega pulled the boat up to the small dock and stepped out.

The dusty boards creaked and groaned under his weight as Vega investigated the dock. It wasn’t too small but most of the space was taken up by various crates. Some covered in tarps and others exposed to the damp cave air.

One of the crates appeared to have been converted into a table of sorts with chairs surrounding it. Old cards and glasses sat upon it, left as though people intended to return to it.

A thick layer of dust on the cards suggested that those people never returned. Vega set his lantern down on the makeshift table and continued looking.

A part of the wall had been chiseled smooth to act as a sort of chalkboard, with notes and schedules still listed upon its cold surface. A large portion of the space appeared to be taken up by a drawing of a clock, while another smaller portion was dedicated to a scoreboard.

Vega inspected the “clock” and found a note saying,

The Whales Graveyard is at 4:27

As Vega continued to search about a soft crumpling sound came from underfoot. He looked down and discovered a small piece of paper. It depicted a drawing of the the bay and Port Murlow, it also had Xs marking where some sea caves were.

“Interesting… I wonder…” Vega mused as he held the paper up to the “clock”.

Looking back at the note Vega held the paper with Port Murlow at twelve O’clock, this left both the caves and the old whaling yard nowhere near 4:27.

Actually now that he was fully looking at the small map, Vega noticed that the old whaling yard wasn’t even on the map. Just Murlow and the bay.

“Maybe I’m missing something,” He said stepping away.

Vega looked at the paper again, this time he noticed that something was written on the back of the map. He flipped it over and looked at the note.

Docks at 7 O’clock

“Hmm…”

Vega held up the paper to the “clock” again this time having Port Murlow situated at the seven. This time one of the marked caves lined up with the time of 4:27. With the hour hand on the cave he was currently in, and the minute hand on one of the other unexplored caves.

Well, well, well… this is interesting.” Vega mused as he marked down this “Whale’s Graveyard”. He placed the paper back on the ground before getting back into his boat and left the cave.

Vega looked at the map and made course for the newly marked cave.

—————————————————————————

After a few minutes Vega had found what he thought was the correct sea cave. The cave was long and winding and it branched in different directions fairly often.

He had taken a wrong turn a few times before he noticed something peculiar about the dead end tunnels. It seemed that they had been chiseled out and made to appear natural. At first glance one wouldn’t have known, but upon closer inspection you could faintly make out the old chisel marks.

They had worn down over the years adding to the illusion of their authenticity. Vega made sure to take note of which tunnel was natural and which was not. He suspected that the natural tunnel was the one he wanted to take to find this “Whale’s Graveyard”.

He had made his third right turn when the passage began to open up into a larger chamber. What he found both surprised and amazed him.

Inside the cavern towards the back left corner was a stone dock and past that stone dock was what appeared to be a ballroom of sorts.

Vega moored his boat on the dock and walked up the steps and into this “ballroom”. It appeared to have been partially constructed in the water of the cave. Some sections of the floor were made up of large glass panels revealing an old neglected aquarium. Some panels were broken leaving gaps in the floor

Carved into one of the walls was an old wet bar. Dusty glasses and bottles sat on the counter, some were shattered littering glass everywhere. Old blood was splattered against the shelves and cabinets.

From the ceiling hung many elaborate chandeliers, but the most eye catching feature was the complete skeleton of a grey whale that also hung from the ceiling.

Soot and wax clung to its eye sockets giving the skeleton an eerie look. A large crack ran across the left side of skull. Vega was both amazed and saddened by the sight. When he saw the crack Vega absentmindedly touched the side of his head, running his fingers along his own scar.

At the very back of the ballroom was a large stage with its curtains drawn. They revealed more bloodstains as well as glass, scorch marks, and deep scratches in the oak flooring.

Vega frowned at scratch marks and quickly scanned the room before investigating them further.

They were old and deep, and appeared frenzied in their placement. Whatever made them was desperate.

The blood and scratches led off stage and down what appeared to be a corridor. The scratches turned to smears of black against the wall. The trail lead to a thick wooden door.

The door had clearly seen better days. Riddled with scratches and bullet holes, it was a miracle that it was still standing.

Vega tried the door but to his relief it refused to open. Still his curiosity got the better of him and he peered through one of the bullet holes.

From what he could see the room was once a storage room. There were boxes and shelves all around the room, many were toppled over presumably blocking the door.

Vega could feel his gaze being drawn to the centre of the room. He tried to fight the feeling but he quickly found himself staring into the charred eye socket of… something.

The body was burned beyond recognition, but he could still make out a few fragments of whatever this thing was. He refused to look at the corpse any longer and tore his eyes from the door.

After Vega regained his composure he finished exploring the establishment. In his search he found a kitchen, four bathrooms, several more storage rooms, and a generator room.

Vega had cleared off on of the barstools and sat down.

“Clearly no one has been in this place for quite a long time, I may even be the first person to set foot in here since it was abandoned.” He said to himself,

“It’d be a shame to let this place go to waste. It’s significantly closer to the Vegastella colony too…” he pondered, “No, it’d be illegal to set up my research here.”

“It is highly plausible that the town might not even know this place exists…” Vega continued, “It is a very nice place…”

—————————————————————————

About month and a half had passed since Vega had set up in the Whale’s Graveyard. During that time he had also bought another generator and upgraded the tank for his cichlids.

He had also done some research during that time and discovered that while the town was aware that the Whale’s Graveyard existed, they didn’t know where it was.

In fact most people thought it was either located on Taggart point or was on a retired whaling ship. Vega had decided that once he was done his research on Vegastella scriptorseintillais, he would clear out his belongings and make it appear he was never there. Before informing the town the whereabouts of the Whale’s Graveyard.

Though he’d have to remove the corpse of that thing beforehand.

For now though Vega was happy to have a larger place to conduct his studies. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt as free as he did on this day.

To celebrate this feeling Vega decided to go for a stroll along the beach. The weather was overcast and a light breeze danced around the bay. Maybe he’d find some sea glass on his walk.

#mermay 2023 #mermay #stowaway mer au #my writing #goblin’s mermay project #I felt kinda bad not having Vega appear much in the au so far #so here’s a Vega centric fic for y’all #also take a wild guess what happens later that day #you’ll get more Vega information on Friday #I’m starting to notice that I have a tendency to go into too much detail with my writing

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