"Are you sure about this?" my friend asked me quietly, worriedly. Across the room, the others were all making sure everything was prepared. Cameras, oxygen tanks, even several EMTs.

Tugging my diving suit over my arms, I chuckled. "Are you gonna go down there?" I retorted.

Harumphing at my jab, he zipped me up and grabbed my flippers off the table. "I'm serious, Sehun," he said, fiddling with the plastic footwear. "That one guy is still in the hopsital from when he went down. That thing is dangerous."

"I've dove with sharks, whales, and many other dangerous sea creatures, hyung. They all just need a gentle hand and some cooperation." I took the flippers from him and slid them on, buckling them tightly. 

Chanyeol hit me over the head with my goggles. "Please don't let your ego cost you your life, kid."

"Don't worry about me," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "I didn't train for years to be the only one to back out of dive with a mermaid."

Still reluctant and possibly looking for another argument, Chanyeol helped me strap on my oxygen tank and head over to the edge of the aquarium. "Everything ready?" he asked the set of marine biologists, giddy interns, and many other officials standing around with notepads and worried looks.

"Everything is set," confirmed Junmyeon, head of the Mermaid Research Facility. "How's our diver feeling?"

I nodded once. 

"Great." Junmyeon clapped his hands and signaled for the assistant to raise the tank lid. After so many incidents of the creature pulling trainers and biologists into the aquarium, they had sealed it off with a cement covering, locking the thing securely in it's home. 

Junmyeon came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Now, remember. If it tries anything, you can abandon mission immediately. And I mean anything. Biting, scratching, drowning, even just a touch. We know nothing about it yet. We can't even get a freaking sample of it's flesh because it's so violent. So just—"

"I know the risks, Junmyeon," I cut in. "I can handle it." Sliding my goggles on, I brushed his hand over and crept to the edge of the tank. Chanyeol came over, cautiously and eyeing the water worriedly. 

"Don't be stupid, Sehun. Know your limits," he murmured. I tried not to laugh at him. He was a 3 year marine bio assistant and terrified of a mermaid. I reached over and patted him on the shoulder before I put my oxygen mask on. "We'll be right on the other side of the glass. Signal if you need anything."

"Ready?" Junmyeon called. I gave a thumbs up. "Go for it!"

Plunging into the water, I held to my mask and let myself sink into the brightly lit tank. The bubbles began to clear from my intial disturbance and I could nearly make out the ocean plants laid along the tank floor to make it more homely to the creature. Before I could see clearly and gather my bearings, a heavy force hit me from the side and began pushing me at an alarming rate towards the walls of the tank. Unable to compare to the creature's strength, I could only let it slam me harshly into the glass, my head glancing off it and nearly knocking me out cold. I started to sink lower, my head spinning. Then it was on me again, pushing me lower and lower.

I had been wrong. This was no shark, or whale, or even octopus. This was a creature with the upperbody of a human, with arms, and with more strength than any man on the land could possess. This was a very powerful and angry ceature. A creature that did not want any friends or visitors. And it's intentions was to kill.

The hard rocks of the bottom dug into my back as the creature pushed me into it. My head was spared