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Hannibal

Mermaid AU

Merman! Hannibal & Pirate Will Graham

"Ocean Crescendo"

Avoiding the fish hook

Breathing a breath of relief

When the world is a net

Swim, swim, swim away.

My dreams dive into you and drown

Swim, swim, swim away.

My life dives into you and drown

"The Tide" by TABLO

{ Present ---- Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean }

Calm waters across the horizon while the setting sun grew faint with the moon's usurping of the sky, Captain William Graham watched his crew pace back and forth on the ship deck. At least forty men handled Captain Graham's glorious ship, the Black Stag, and even more stationed in Port-Au-Prince. The Black Stag was an onyx colored Brig repossessed from the English by Captain Graham's grandfather, Ishmael Graham, and has been in the family for many moons. The previous captain, Will's father, had lost his life at sea chasing a creature he had no immortality to face.

Graham's fist clenched on the knobs of the wheel as the memories of his father spending long dreary nights out on the deck of the very ship that was the death of him. The most lethal creature underneath the ocean blue who's mortal beauty lured victims to their watery graves. The creature had escaped every net, harpoon, and chain hook Captain Graham's father fired at it, as if it was a phantom in the water. Will found several accounts of his father's observations of the creature, portrayed as a slender monster with a shark's tail. There was a few detailed sketches but mostly grotesque versions of what a "man" looked like.

It made no difference to Captain Graham, his father was gone and so was the mythical monster he died trying to kill. Past the lavender-orange horizon was the outline of Port-Au-Prince, or what William called his "Crown of the Caribbean". The captain had built up his empire from the slums of Port-Au-Prince while the French searched every corner, relentless in their search, yet they were fruitless in their labors. Will was one of the most wanted pirates on the western hemisphere, he couldn't think of any country that didn't want his head on a spike. He's ransacked settlements along the Caribbean and even going as far as landing in the Peruvian coast line. He was a seasoned criminal and even deadlier warlord--Not too many people would condone his way of life. It couldn't be helped -- William didn't see himself as a soldier or a peasant, and besides, he had a passion for the sea. Whenever he set sail, the ocean brought him the calmness he doused the flames of his life with. An unknown mother, a father lost by his own obsession, and lover who left his bed ages ago. All the memories washed underneath a crystal blue tide.

---- "Prepare for shore!", Captain Graham hollered to his crew. A series of clamoring ranged off amongst the crowd of men as the sails were folded inwards. The ship's speed halved as the waters picked up, easily sailing the brig into port. Will left the wheel and descended from the upper deck and readied himself to disembark. The sea needed her rest as did the captain. Will seldomly left the Black Stag but he had to visit an old friend. He couldn't simply put his father's ramblings about some "creature" lurking in the waters. He wanted the truth: if the creature was real or just some silly folktale...

{ Several Years Ago -- off the coast of Chile }

Hannibal watched as the last frail siren fell to the sandy ocean floor, black-red blood seeping from her neck and torso. He hovered around for a while before deciding the rip her succulent flesh between his teeth, nothing left other than bone and tougher muscle. Her fluorescent tail flailed helplessly during Hannibal's ravenous feeding, she was still barely alive and felt every single stab of the predator's teeth. She had been no match for the elder siren, merely hatched and inexperienced on how to keep herself safe in deeper waters. Hannibal paused his feeding as the ocean floor darkened, the shadow of a ship overcasting the light above. His sharp fins on his back and forearms extended, resembling the look of his brother species (the great white shark), and ascended upwards. His eyes studied the ship through fully, finding that it had to be manned by at least fifty humans--fairly over what Hannibal had faced over decades. It looked more to be cruising than actually sailing, Hannibal's speed matched with the ship and he reached out to gently touch the darkened wood. It was foreign; not the type of ships that normally cruised the warm waters of South America.

Hannibal had been displaced many moons ago by a summer hurricane. He had roamed the cool waters of the Atlantic since he's hatched but had to quickly adapt to the tropic waters of the Equator. He was young then and hadn't known the greater dangers other than rival merfolk. Men were the monsters that walked with two legs and rode giant wooden ships across oceans, using sharp rods and heavy iron spheres to hunt ocean creatures and those alike. Hannibal had been maimed long ago by the infamous Captain Ishmael Graham of the Black Stag. He had a jagged scar from his neck down to his navel, he was fortunate that it didn't split him in half. The ship's captain was lucky yet unknowingly igniting flames on Hannibal's vendetta..

His fin broke the water first before one of the sailors aboard noticed his existence, yelling in some language Hannibal had never heard before. Soon there were more men equipping themselves with nets and harpoons, Hannibal lowered his fin back in the water and picked up speed, easily passing the ship then making a u-turn.  He saw the onyx colored stag with ivory horns and knew immediately it had been the ship he once encountered years before. The man steering the gigantic ship was no other than Ishmael Graham or what Hannibal named him as "Madman Graham".

As he swimmed, he turned over onto his back and continued feeling the ship. He couldn't believe mankind would make such monstrosities to violate the sanctity of the sea. He's seen the bones of fallen ships before and even the treasures left behind. Gold, pearl, and even sapphire was return to the ocean floor. Greedy mankind was but they were too frail to dive underneath the water to retrieve their claims. He twisted his body back around and continued swimming under it, watching steel harpoons slice through the ocean's surface.

The sea didn't take vile creatures defiling her precious kingdom lightly, waves increased by intensity, slamming into the ship relentlessly. Hannibal had to retreat to deeper or he would've been swamped against the ship. From above he could see the ship rock violently, at one point, it looked as if it was about to tip over. Men spilled from above and flailed helplessly in the strong tides, the muffled sound of their cries like music to Hannibal's ears. He lunged from the sandy floor and up to the surface, his eyes adjusting to the light fairly quickly.

The first sailor he grabbed wailed helplessly and gagged on the water pouring into his gaping mouth, powerless to Hannibal's vice grip around his ankle. Those aboard the Black Stag only intensified their efforts on saving their fellow sailors, throwing rescue floats in quick succession, even some equipped barbed harpoons in attempt to maim the creature beneath. As the first sailor was drowned, another one soon followed his companion to a watery grave ---- Hannibal always killed in a succession of three. Harpoons sliced the water like Poseidon’s spears, Hannibal strangled his last victim before escaping farther down into darker waters, still cautious of the activity above him. The waves began to die down and the ship regained its posture up on the surface.

Hannibal registered the vibrations of something much heavier diving into the water. He released his victim and looked upwards ---- eyes widening to see his destined enemy. Ishmael Graham, tanned-skin and dark haired man in his prime, swimming down with only his jeweled cutlass, intent on hunting his aquatic rival of late. The merman bared his teeth and met his challenger half way. Ishmael was mortal, he couldn't hold his breath for too long, he must've known his limits and was even foolish to meet Hannibal on his own field.

Ishmael tried his best to swing the cutlass but it only slugged along, Hannibal chuckled under his breath and swimmed around the captain, close enough where his scales scrapped against the man's bare chest. Captain Graham attempted to claw his way back up to the surface, his cutlass sinking down to the ocean floor, his face growing blue with the lack of oxygen. Hannibal produced a soft keen from his throat and gently scaled Ishmael's back,. his webbed fingers gripping onto skinny wrists like shackles. His teeth lightly grazed the skin of Ishmael's neck and he felt the little air that was left escape. The human was growing weak in his embrace yet Hannibal couldn't help but hum and wail softly, involuntary of course, and couldn't believe the impending battle was over by the mortal means of death. He held Ishmael's wrists and folded his arms into his chest then swimmed back, coddling the cooling human towards the sandy floor. The Black Stag's shadow long passed ---- Knowing now that her captain had met his demise to the creature beneath.

"I'll sing for you dear Ishmael Graham.", Hannibal began, eyes lidded down at his fallen rival.

"Then I'll sing for your sons' sons."

{Present Day ---- Port-Au-Prince ---- Day Time}

Captain William held his breath when the foul smells of farm animals and rotting food invaded the air. The marketplace was bustling with traders and customers alike, many knew the marble-skinned man well enough to stay out of his path, few others dared to even look his way. Though he wasn't as intimidating as the locals perceived, being soft-faced with large blue orbs and curly chocolate hair, his grandfather's and father's titles still weighed heavy in Port-Au-Prince. His destination was the apothecary hut just a little out of the marketplace. An old friend of his grandfather's, Jack Crawford and his beloved wife Bella, once sought after the same monster that took two of the most important people out of William's life. He walked in carefully and was startled by a flock of roosters running between his legs, quickly going flustered, till he heard a woman's dry laugh further in the hut.

Bella Crawford, now nothing more than a tired soul, had cured many generations of Haitians since her and Jack set up shop. She had every cure from colds to warts in the nether regions, not that William sought after much needed balms, but it covered many European's steamy reminders. They had no children other than the few who came from the streets, some of them now William's age and off planting sugar cane on plantations, and even more living just down the dirt road. Bella looked up from her lap with a wrinkled smile.

"And so the swimming pup returns to the shore.", she greeted fondly, holding out her wrinkled hand for William's courtesy. He got down on one knee and kissed the pearl encrusted band that he gifted the elderly woman a few years ago. Bella withdrew her hand and watched her husband appear from the back entrance, a chicken clucking within his arms. He was also aged yet his body remained sturdy and well-managed, island life called for good figures and excellent dexterity.

"William, it's been ages since we've last seen'ya.", Jack commented, letting the chicken out of his arms for it to run outside. William nodded in agreement and took off his tricorn, his curls rolling down to his shoulders.

"I must agree it's been far too long since I've been in Port-Au-Prince. The sea is not a gentle lover as you can tell.", the captain jested. The elderly couple laughed in unison.

"You didn't leave your lover to chat up a few ol'folks, am I right?", Jack asked, sitting Indian-styled on the hard packed earth. The twisting coils of his tattoos from his bald head to his toes had always intimidated William. He personally had no ink on his body but couldn't help to feel his heart pump against his ribcage whenever Crawford was close.

William cleared his throat. "No, I came to ask you about the beast that took my father and grandfather away from me."

The hut grew eerily quiet as Bella and Jack looked at one another, recognition in their eyes, and Bella rose from her rocking chair, trudging towards her crafting bench. She started to pull out heavily bounded books with papers spewing from around the edges, clearly overused in the recent years, but still useable. She sat back down in her rocking chair and opened the book, damping the tip of her finger to turn the yellowed pages. William came up closer to kneel beside the elderly woman, vigorously interested in the many detailed sketches of marine life, and collecting the delicate pages that had fallen out of the book. The one in his hand looked more recent than the whole book itself, William read the words 'sirena' up above the document. It was a sketch of a woman with the lower part of a fish then some words written at the bottom. He couldn't read the language but assumed it was a detailed description of the 'sirena'.

Bella looked up from the book and noticed the page William was currently holding, her lips pursing into a thin frown, clearly not happy of the young captain's findings.

"You're chasing the Devil, Captain Graham, the Devil under the sea", she stated.

Jack nodded in agreement and had drew his knife from his belt. It was a curved dirk with a distinct canine design on the handle. He brandished the knife against the flesh of his arm before handing it towards William, the captain reluctantly took the blade and held it in his hand.

"That was Ishmael's dirk before he was lost at sea. One of 'yer father's sailors brought it to me almost a four decades ago. His cutlass was never to be seen again but I thought the dirk would shed some light."

Will ran his finger over the snarling wolf on the handle, his eyes nearly welled in tears, he hid them well enough with a forced smile.

"Please Jack, you have to tell me what this beast is."

Bella closed the book and sighed deeply, returning it to its proper place, then exiting the hut. Jack rubbed his hand on the nape of his neck, looking as if he wanted to avoid the entire topic. He couldn't look at the child he once saw aboard the deck of the Black Stag, happily singing along with drunken sailors, now a man grown with too much to live for.

"You must promise me you ain't gonna go huntin' this thing, yah?", Jack sternly asked, his beady black eyes making William cringe internally.

The captain swallowed dryly and thought it over for quite a time. He nodded and Jack rested his hands on his crossed legs.

"Many moons ago, my papa had found a poor lass bloodied on the shore. Her body had been missin' as if someone just ripped 'er apart. When he looked out towards the water, he saw red hot coals up from the surface. He thought t'was a man but when he got closer to the shore, he saw a shark's tail. He 'adda be real close if the beast had started to crawl up to 'im. The look of man but body of a shark, it made my papa run all the way home. He hadn't told no soul what he saw that day till another little girl been sliced."

William felt goosebumps prick up and down his arms at the thought of a mutilated girl left on the sandy bank to decay. He had never heard of people ending up murdered on the beach or did he listen to the town crier’s gibberish. He leaned in closer as Jack continued to recite his father's story.

"Everyone was pretty damn mad and demanded the French men to offer 'sum help but 'yah know how that went. So my papa, uncle, and a few good men from town and set off in a small boat. I was a wee lad then and didn't understand what was goin' on. My mama told me papa was huntin' the Devil. After a few hours, we didn't hear back from papa or uncle, then it became a whole day without their return. I went down to the beach at midnight to watch the waves. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the same eyes my papa said but they were soft--like 'yer eyes, Will. I saw shiny scales and a mane of honey hair, it was a beautiful thing really. Before I knew it, the beast was at my feet with its tail splashing around. I never forgotten the way the Devil looked at me.", Jack concluded with a shaky sigh, his face had gone pale-grey and his eyes vacant of emotion.

Captain Graham had sensed the wallowing sadness Jack had recited in his story and felt his own chest swell painfully as a result. He rose from the dirt floor and ran his fingers through his thick curls, the dirk now strapped into his belt.

"What happened to your papa and uncle, Jack?", Will inquired.

Jack came back to reality and shrugged his shoulders. "Fiddlin' with the Devil."

{ Evening ---- Waters near Port-Au-Prince }

Hannibal spotted the Black Stag in the port, eerily empty of the men aboard, and dared himself to swim closer, even though the risk of detection was slim. There was no one of board except for the yapping beasts that growled, barked, and even tried to jump overboard. Hannibal mocked the little beasts by appearing, disappearing, and finally reappearing on the other side. The dogs went absolutely nuts while they ran back and forth to bark at Hannibal, until a passing dock guard noticed the ruckus. His lantern flashed orange over the water and Hannibal's scales glittered underneath.

"Who goes there?", the dock guard announced. "Show 'yerself!"

Hannibal took the challenge and rose to the surface. The dock guard nearly dropped the lantern as he paled. He fled immediately while screeching his head off, Hannibal snuck back under once the dock guard was far enough away. Mortal men were easy to frighten with just a glimmer of teeth or being the last thing they see when death calls.

Captain Graham walked away from the robust pub into the silence of night, a dozen stars up above lighting his path back to the ship. A few drinks not to his liking made him flee from the drunkards around him, piss-drunk and not with a coin in their pouches, and liquor never settled right in William's stomach. Besides, the sea was singing her lament for the captain's return.

He heard a shrill cry before being slammed to the ground, a burly man in uniform tripping over him, hysterically shouting and looking as if looked the Devil in the eyes. Captain Graham got back on his feet while the panicked dock guard prayed in his native tongue.

"What's happening? Answer me!", the captain demanded.

"La sirena! La sirena! La diablo sirena!", shrilled the dock guard.

Captain Graham pursed his lips and looked towards the direction the man had ran from, Bella's words echoing in the back of his head.

You're chasing the Devil, Captain Graham, the Devil under the sea.

He didn't hesitate for a moment to rush towards docks. His hat had flew off somewhere along the way into the dark waters but the captain didn't care. The Devil awaited just below, watching his every move, playing his golden fiddle, disguised as mortal beauty. Will skidded to a halt and picked up the fallen lantern, somehow it was still lit on the damp boards, and raised it above his head. Nothing but calm waters and reflected moon light, Will spied every inch in his view, not ready to let the Devil flee.

Hannibal saw another mortal man up on the docks but was entirely different from the one before. Bright blue vestments, a crown of dark curls, and a face Hannibal had seen so many tides ago. He smirked from where he floating. He awaited the day where he could drown the last of Ishmael's cursed sons ---- Hadn't he already conceived another child, but Hannibal felt the youth off the Black Stag's new captain. A man grown but had no tides to crest, Hannibal swam towards the orange light on the water's surface. The fin on his back erected and his presence was made clear.

Willi's eyes widened when he saw the jagged looking fin bobble on the water's surface, the lantern dropping from his hand, and a cold sweat spreading over his body. He watched as the fin went in circles until it disappeared again and  a pale hand clung to the edge of the dock, then another. The captain took a step back and watched as a man was crawling up onto the planks, the body of a shark where his legs were supposed to be, thin greyish-white fins on his arms and his sides. Crimson rubies glaring at him like a predator eyeing his prey, Captain Graham swallowed dryly as the Devil under the sea made a slow crawl towards him. The beast was abnormally handsome given the circumstances, perceived as nothing more but as a monster, but Will couldn't help but feel his chest ache. He heard soft notes being hummed by the beast of legend or what surviving sailors called 'Death's calling'. His body swayed with the harmony and before he realized it, he had fallen over the dock, hitting the water with nothing more but a 'slap'.

The Devil joined him shortly underneath the water ---- The same melody starting to become more of a whispered note. Will felt himself almost falling, it was a calming sensation and felt almost unreal, until a pair of arms wrapped around his torso. Teeth grazed his bare neck as the moon light above started to fade, slowly but painfully, Will couldn't breathe. His chest burned for the much needed oxygen but his body was still under the spell of the merman's lullaby.

Captain Graham felt himself crying but couldn't see the tears amongst the escaping bubbles. He saw his grandfather and father's visage in front of him with their arms open. He wanted to be embraced in those arms that hadn't been felt for years. He wanted to swim back up towards the world he had grew comfortable with, instead, he was being dragged to his watery grave. Black spots painted his vision and the last breath left his chest was stolen...

Hannibal felt unsettled as the mortal in his arms had felt like a thousand stones. He needed not to swim as deep because of the low tide but he couldn't help but feel empty. He had drowned Ishmael and his firstborn son, now his grandson, but no amount of vengeance could pacify his dark heart. Hannibal moaned weakly and entangled his fingers in chocolate curls, mourning, something he hadn't done in many moons. He changed direction and swimmed, with the slowly dying captain in his arms, towards a desolate coast nearby. The water was low enough where he had to forcibly drag the man in the snow, having trouble because of the lack of legs he possessed. Tears began to trail down his sunken cheeks, Hannibal curved his body and did his best to get William out of the clutches of the sea. On the sandy bank, he climbed on top of Graham and ran his hands over his blueish face. The unsettling feeling in his chest, tears that never ceased, and an ache too painful even for immortal to experience. He couldn't allow the last of Ishmael's flesh and blood to pass, even if his scars were to never heal or he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Hannibal pressed his lips against purplish ones, exhaling as much air he had in his other set of lungs, even if this meant death ---- He couldn't harm someone who hadn't done him great injustice...

{ Early Morning ---- Somewhere on the Haitian Coast }

After a while, Hannibal had collapsed on top of the mortal, his tail moving weakly as the lack of oxygen in his body began taking its toll. In general, he could last without oxygen in his 'human lungs' as long as water was going through his gills, but the lack of both had started wrecking his body. He didn't even have the strength to crawl back into the mourning sea. The sun had trickled through the clouds, warming both him and the mortal underneath him.

Captain Graham let out a strangled cry, his body racked in shivers, and numbness all over his body. It was bright now and coastal birds screeched up from the heavens. He tried to move but something was on top of him. He realized it was the creature before, looking pale and almost sickly in the sun's golden hue, and a wave of panic washed over him. William quickly rolled the beast off his torso and got up on his feet, ignoring the burn in his throat and lungs. He remembered being drowned and now he was on shore but not in Port-Au-Prince. The merman moaning painfully looked up at him with cloudy vision ---- an understanding between them surfaced.

A Devil under the sea...Yet my Angel on the shore...

Will Graham grabbed the merman underneath his arms and did his best to drag him back to the water, having trouble because of the sheer size of the beast. Water slushed to his ankles, then his knees, and finally his waist. The merman almost instantly came back alive, tail splashing violently as color returned to his skin. He wiggled out of Will's grasp and anchored himself into the sand. Graham, at this point, was already floating within the water, thanks to rising tides. He had so many questions but a 'thank you' was in order.

"You saved me.", he commented before a wave slapped him from behind. "Thank you."

The merman's eyes lit up in recognition yet he didn't respond. Will wondered if the creature even knew what he was saying. He had enough of the water so he treaded the water back to shallow waters, the merman followed him back but was weary on how close he could get without suffocating.

"I don't know what to think of you, merman.", the human commented. Hannibal raised an eyebrow and perched like a sea lion on a rock, his chest puffed up proudly. "I know you killed my grandfather and my father...Even tried to kill me. What stopped you?"

Hannibal pursed his lips and turned away.

"You hadn't caused me harm."

Captain Graham was surprised that the merman knew English with such perfect pronunciation.

"And I can't stay angry at men who are dead."

That was the last thing Will Graham heard of the siren before he vanished in the approaching tide. He couldn't help the feeling that he should chase after the creature but he knew it was leaving for a reason ---- He hadn't caused it harm. He could live with that resolution. There was no point getting vengeance for a creature simply scarred by actions so long ago. He collapsed on the bank and laid out in the sun, watching seagulls fly overhead, the sound of waves lap easily calmed his conscious.

It wasn't a Devil that saved me on this day but, a scarred Angel who hadn't seen forgiveness.

{ Several Years Later ---- Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico }

The Black Stag was in full sail with another shipload of jewels and rum taken from the Spanish. Captain Graham had grown exceptionally old except he kept his mother's delicate features, hidden underneath his beard, and had sons of his own. Twin boys; Cecil and Edward, both of them happily manning a sail at such an early age. His boys reminded him more of himself when he was a young lad, pulling sails, tightening ropes, and even loading a cannon. Their mother protested bringing them on board but Captain Graham had reassured her this was the best for his sons. In the end, his boys would find the sea was more than sailing and plundering, but more as a way of life.

He couldn't help but lament on the creature that saved his life so many tides ago. Where did it go? Was it still alive? It could've killed him if it really had to instinct to do so, hell, it tried to drown him. Will stepped away from the wheel and took in a deep sigh, looking over the side of the ship. His first mate took the wheel in his place. The waters of the Mexican gulf sung to him in beautiful notes, the seagulls added to the chorus, and the sails only conducted the entire mantra. From the water's surface he saw a glimmer of a fin but it quickly disappeared. He smiled lightly and returned from the railing.

Perhaps the Devil isn't really the Devil ...Maybe injustice made him what mortal men feared in their dreams.

“Father! There’s a shark!”, his twins announced, both of them looking over the railing.

“That’s no shark, lads! That’s an old friend!”, Will responded, seeing Hannibal appear again, this time with a toothy smile on his face.

An old friend indeed.