📚Jelly stone

Abzu pulls off the stunt of the century, but is hungry for more – no matter what it takes.

For Coelune July prompt; Coelunes at work

Characters: Abzu/Tiamat, Dina

Warnings: Abzu’s behavior is risky and unhealthy – there is also a near-death experience and aftermath near the and, albeit vague.

Wordcount: 2,749

Vibe: uh oh

AN:

that shit hurted –me writing this

anyways hi sorry im only writing about these guys anymore i am just thinking about them a lot </3 anyways here’s abzu instead of hazel and mariska for a change (which means i don’t have to put a profanity warning LOL)

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“Thank you, Abzu.”

“But of course! Was easy-peazy!”

Dina’s eyes narrowed.

“Can we talk, actually?”

The two figures stood in a dark room, illuminated only by the dim lights of the tank of water in front of them. Contained inside was the parasitic jellyfish species Nihilego – the first of its kind captured alive.

While Abzu was admiring their handiwork, the scientist beside them had her doubts.

“I’m worried, Abzu.”

“Worried about what?”

“Your desire to continually ‘outdo’ yourself… it’s not going to end well.” Dina sighed.

“What you’re doing is already incredibly dangerous. If you push your luck too hard…”

“What, I pull off some massive feat that NOBODY has done before, and the first thing you do is doubt me?” Abzu replied in a snap, cutting Dina off.

“I’ll be fiiiine! Besides, it’s not like I’m going in alone – Tia’s always with me.”

“Tiamat is concerned too.”

There was a silence, and the energy in the small room shifted.

“If she was concerned, she would have told me.”

“That’s the problem, Abzu. You refuse to listen when other people worry – Tiamat doesn’t feel like even she can bring you to your senses.” Dina said, adjusting her glasses.

“This has gone to your head far too severely. And I’m worried that-”

Dina was cut off again, though much more aggressively.

“You don’t understand! If I wasn’t riding this rush, what would I be doing?! Sitting on my ass doing gravity maintenance or something? This is what I was meant to do!”

There was a long pause from Dina as she thought of a way to reply.

“I can’t stop you. Tiamat can’t stop you. We can only advise you of our worries so we can spend further time with you.”

“Whatever. Enjoy your stupid jellyfish.” Abzu said in a huff.

Abzu left the small room, partially slamming the door behind them – before Dina could say anything else.

They quietly made their way through the dark laboratory – as it was after hours, and Dina had technically smuggled Abzu and their trophy in.

When Abzu exited through the back door, they were surprised to feel rain falling – despite the facility being located rather deep within the floating station.

Though, their brief pondering was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“How’d it go in there? Is it all stored away?”

Tiamat had been waiting in the shadows of the dark station.

“Eh, could’ve been better. Dina was acting a bit uncalled for, but suppose that’s like her” Abzu said with a shrug.

“I see. Maybe she was just excited she got a live specimen after so long?”

“I wouldn’t really say it was a positive uncalled for, but that’s besides the point.” Abzu said, before pulling their coat onto their shoulders a bit more.

“Didn’t know it rained this deep in.”

“You learn something new every day, I suppose. I think it’s because the station almost has a mind of its own and doesn’t like water, and it’s raining on the outside.” Tiamat said, looking upwards.

“I’ve been sensing the station shifting constantly for the past hour, it’s a headache. It’s why I couldn’t look into your conversation with Dina like I wanted.”

Oh thank god.

“That sounds like a pain, jeez. I’m… pretty exhausted as well.” Abzu sighed.

“I don’t feel like sleeping in the ship tonight, it’s too cramped. Maybe I can use Dina’s card and get us a nice hotel room or something.”

“Would she be okay with that?” Tiamat asked in response.

“Pfft, she owes me big time. Sure she wouldn’t mind me spending her money for one night.”

Tiamat smiled and grabbed Abzu’s hand.

“Well, you lead the way then! I’m sure you must know the better hotels around here, considering this is my first time here.”

Together, Abzu and Tiamat made their way out of the dark as neon lights slowly appeared on the sides of the station as the two approached downtown. 

Abzu wasn’t too familiar with hotels in the station, but they were well aware of the most upscale one, just out of principle of wanting to go someday when they ‘made it big’.

House of Carina, considered to be one of the most high-end hotels period, was located in the tourist’s district of the space low-atmosphere station. It was usually where government officials or touring celebrities that visited would stay.

With unbreakable confidence, Abzu marched on into the upscale lobby, soaking wet from the rain.

The receptionist gave both Abzu and Tiamat a strange look, checked their watch, and squinted.

“You are aware… it’s 4am, correct? We don’t… do bookings this late.”

Abzu simply shrugged.

“Isn’t it always night here?” they said sarcastically. 

When the receptionist only responded with a tired stare, Abzu shuffled through their coat pocket to find Dina’s card – which they had discreetly swiped earlier.

“If you can book us now, I’ll pay double, upfront.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Triple.”

“Abzu…” Tiamat said in a hushed voice, tugging at Abzu’s coat as they leaned closer over the counter.

There was a pause.

“You know what, screw it. If I get fired for this, I’m just gonna pocket something.” the receptionist said with a defeated groan, tapping the tablet that was propped up in front of them and scanning Dina’s card. The card, to both Tiamat and Abzu’s surprise, didn’t decline.

The receptionist shook their head to wake up afterwards, which caused their halo to give a faint jingle. After a deep breath, they gained a newfound customer service smile.

“Your room is number 68, fourth floor. Enjoy your stay!”

Abzu nodded, and Tiamat and themselves made their way up to their room.

The door to the room was unassuming, just like the others in the sleek hallway. But when Abzu opened the door and stepped inside, their eyes widened.

It was almost like a palace, with elaborate decor from floor to ceiling. The expensive tiled flooring was pleasantly cool beneath Abzu’s feet, and the air seemed sweet.

Tiamat’s tentacle horns twitched a little bit, indicating she was also assessing the surroundings.

“…Wow.” was all she could mutter after making herself a mental map of the suite.

“Yea, that about sums it up.” Abzu replied, with a similar sense of awe in their tone.

A few more steps into the room, the conditioned air fully surrounded Abzu – making them realize how soaked from the rain they were as their clothes quickly became cold.

Tiamat was able to pick up on Abzu’s reaction to the sudden uncomfortable cold.

“There’s fluffy bathrobes in the bathroom – those should be cozy!” Tiamat pointed out.

“Oh nice!” Abzu replied.

“Er… where is the bathroom?”

Gently, Tiamat grabbed Abzu’s hand.

“Here, follow me!”

Together, the two of them made their way to the bathroom – which they ended up spending longer than intended unwinding in, thanks to it being equipped more like a spa than a bathroom. There was even a tablet to call in an attendant for massages, but the two both figured it was far too late to call someone up – as much as Abzu’s back did hurt from their recent adventure.

After a copious amount of relaxing, Abzu and Tiamat made their way to the master bedroom and flopped down next to each other in their fluffy robes.

“Guess this is the kind of treatment that the greatest adventurers can expect from now on, ha!” Abzu said triumphantly.

Tiamat snickered a little.

“It certainly is nice.” she said with a smile.

“Though, it makes me wonder… what will we do after this?”

“Hm?” Abzu hummed in response.

“I kind of want to go back home and tell everyone about it. Take it easy for a while, ‘yaknow? Maybe we could start a business out of that old processing plant.”

There was a pause, as Abzu sat upward on the bed.

“You don’t wanna keep doing this? Just think – this is only the beginning, not the end! I think if we can keep this up, we’ll be more than renowned all over!”

Tiamat’s expression shifted to one of concern.

“I’m just not sure if we can keep up… if I can keep up, Abzu.”

“Tia?”

“You’re just getting more and more ambitious, and… I worry something awful is going to happen. That something awful is going to happen and not even I’ll be able to prevent it…”

“Tia…” Abzu sighed.

“I… I know… you’re worried. But I promise… I have it under control, OK?”

Abzu’s words didn’t exactly inspire confidence in Tiamat, who nuzzled into Abzu’s side.

“I just don’t want to lose you.”

–

Groggily, Abzu awoke to the sound of the bedside phone ringing loudly. Gathering their senses, they felt around for the phone before picking it up.

“…Hello?”

“ABZU.”

It was Dina.

Abzu’s stomach dropped like a pit. They didn’t say anything.

“Abzu, I know you’re there. Answer me.”

“I… hi, yea. Uh, sorry?”

There was silence from Dina’s end.

“…We’ll talk about that later. I wanted to call you to let you know something more important.”

“Wait, what’s up?”

“Just as I was about to leave the facility last night, there was an incredible anomaly detected in the Ultra Deep Sea. Something unprecedented. I’m informing you because under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to attempt to investigate.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s something we’ve never seen before. Something dangerous. Too dangerous for you.”

“Pshh, that’s quitter talk.”

“I’ve impounded your ship as a precaution. Do not disobey me.”

“WAIT, WHAT?!”

And just like that, Dina hung up.

Abzu slammed the phone on the ground, and swore loudly – waking Tiamat up in a shock.

“Abzu, what’s wrong?!”

Abzu mumbled incomprehensibly for a few seconds, before grasping their face in their hands and groaning loudly.

“I’m gonna kick Dina’s ass.”

“Wh… what?!” Tiamat said in a shock.

“Ugh… I had a feeling she’d be upset about you spending her money…”

“It’s not about that.”

“Wait, really?”

“…I need to take care of something, actually.” Abzu said, beginning to storm off towards the bathroom where they had left their clothes to dry – though they were quickly stopped by an orange tendril.

“Wait.” Tiamat said, sitting upwards on the bed.

“Please… don’t do anything stupid.”

Abzu said nothing, and after a short period of silence, Tiamat let them go.

They got dressed and freshened up, trying to formulate a game plan in their head. 

Before they left, Tiamat stopped them again – and though she didn’t have eyes, she appeared to have a look of pleading concern.

“I love you. Be safe.”

Abzu nodded in silence before heading out the door.

The rain had stopped, but the night was still eternal. Still, the streets were busier, and with more of the station’s downtown neon lights turned on.

Abzu was frustrated. Frustrated that nobody seemed to understand. Not even Tiamat.

This was Abzu’s job, what they were MEANT to do.

They let out a frustrated sigh as their thoughts trailed off, before snapping back to reality.

Abzu knew they needed a ship of some kind, one powerful enough to breach the Ultra Deep Sea’s inverted surface. They also needed a ship that preferably was stocked with some array of supplies – while finding one that contained Abzu’s usual special set of tools would be impossible, they figured they could probably be covered if they jacked another adventurer’s ship.

Abzu made their way to the station’s ship port, and scouted the surroundings. It seemed busy enough that they could slip in and take an unattended ship without making much of a fuss, so Abzu was able to identify a ship model that was similar to their own, and, while trying to remain discreet, find a way inside.

Thankfully, for whatever reason, this ship wasn’t locked. Abzu wasn’t thinking clearly enough to consider why it wasn’t locked, they simply made their way to the control panel and began hotwiring.

As the ship whirred to life, Abzu could hear yelling from outside.

“Hey, wait… THAT’S MY SHIP!” cried the ship’s owner, who was apparently working on paneling when Abzu snuck in.

But they were helpless to stop them, as Abzu quickly slammed on the thrust and made a hasty escape.

Besides – where they were going, no authorities would dare follow.

The Ultra Station was located a relatively short distance from the inverted sea’s surface, at least compared to the launch site Abzu normally used. In no time at all, gravity shifted in on itself as Abzu breached the surface, and descended into the abyss.

As the ship was making its automated descent, Abzu took the time to see what kind of equipment the ship’s owner had stocked.

It appeared to be mostly maintenance gear, though a combination of items did grab Abzu’s attention.

A towing cord and hook, as well as a rather sturdy aluminum tarp – with a little bit of fiddling, the two in tandem could work rather well as a capture device.

Suddenly, with a rumble and a thump, the ship touched down on an abyssal shelf – which was Abzu’s cue to get going.

They stepped through the airlock, which began to fill with water. As it did, the mixed anger and determination to prove Dina wrong started to waver, and Abzu began to feel a bit of a pit in their stomach.

Tiamat wasn’t here. They were all alone.

Abzu tried to shake the feeling, reminding themselves that they’d done trips here without Tiamat before. But Dina’s mention of an ‘anomaly’ had Abzu worried, even if they were morbidly curious.

Even still, they couldn’t swallow their pride. Abzu had already done what many had thought was impossible time and time again – they just couldn’t let their ego falter, not now.

Makeshift capture device in hand, Abzu approached the edge of the abyssal shelf. In the distance, they could hear… something. While unable to see the source, it sounded like a hellish mix between the cries of nihilego and a human. It was bone-chilling, to say the least.

Still, Abzu leaped off the shelf, and floated into the ever darker abyss below – antennae providing the smallest amount of illumination as everything became pitch black.

Abzu touched down on the seafloor, and began to walk in a direction they’d hope would lead them to something.

As they were walking, something caught the corner of their eye – light golden specks lit up the seafloor, ever so slightly. In all of Abzu’s adventures, they’d never seen anything like this before.

So, they followed the specks – they grew more frequent and brighter, and eventually led Abzu to a cliff wall – except there was a large, brightly glowing star symbol imprinted on it, with the wall itself appearing cracked in addition.

Was this… the ‘anomaly’?

Suddenly, the water around Abzu felt like it shifted.

They weren’t alone.

Abzu jumped around, only to see… Tiamat? She was smiling and waving, but something about her wasn’t right. This felt like some kind of trap, but as far as Abzu was concerned, they were cornered.

But the lights that danced around Tiamat were almost hypnotizing, blocking out Abzu’s other senses – so much so that they couldn’t hear the distant, desperate calling of their name. So much so that they barely felt the strange brush on their shoulders, or the rapidly enclosing danger.

And then it was black.

–

Distorted words, stinging white lights.

Everything was numb, but the blackness faded into an impossible bright.

Everything started to hurt.

Where am I?

Who was I?

Sounds began to take form again, starting with a repetitive, slow, but rhythmic beeping – until a familiar voice broke through.

“Abzu, please stay with me…”

And while their memory was still blank, while their feelings were still fuzzy, Abzu began to cry.