When Norman realized wthat time it was he almost feel out of his bed. Yes, he didn't sleep a thing last night and he loved to sleep in the morning...maybe he should had taken that into consideration before applying  to that job? Damn it...

" Jesus Christ! I'm so late for work! Ahh Vicent is gonna kill me and Don and Gilda are waiting for me! " 

With the speed of a lighting Norman took his coffee ( that he needed to survive ) in one loud gulp and picked up his papers as he ran to his old car ( which haven't fallen apart because of a miracle ) When he drove and arrived at the lab, Don and Gilda were already there and it was almost lunch time

Oh god he was so dead by now...Vincent would come to scold him for sure!

" Norman, man! You sure took a nap this morning! Don't worry cuz boss hasn't arrived yet and me and Gilda did all the paperwork since you've been working hard on the experiments and you are the only one that can get close to the mermaid"

Norman sighted...what a relive! Still, Vincent not being here by that time was strange? He always arrived at the lab by 8am and he always went to check Norman's work. The facility was so big, and Norman wasn't allowed to see many areas beyond the lab and the equipment room since he was a rookie...

" Thanks Don, I'm so sorry and thanks for all your help guys! You did saved me!" 

" Do you want to eat with us Norman? I know you might have taken your breakfast some minutes ago but it's lunch time and me and Don got permission to eat at the restaurant next door! Wanna join us?" 

Norman looked at Emma and smiled...she was still reading the book he gave her and she seemed to enjoy it quite much. Norman turned his head again to face Don and Gilda waiving 

" Thank you so much for the offer but I brought food with me so I'll have lunch here..." 

" Are you serious Dude? You hardly go out anymore... your company being that fish isn't good for you, you know that? More than that...you got the tank walls down? Don't you think that's dangerous Norman?"

" Well, actually she resembles more a whale than a fish...and don't worry I put the walls down to be easier to understand what she might try to tell me as I teach her some words with the book I gave her..." 

Norman felt uneasy. Were Don and Gilda against his approach? They did help him a lot and did he work he was supposed to do, but they seemed so distant from him...from Emma. Gilda was actually looking at her and she was looking back at her as well with wonder 

 Would she be able to be peaceful towards other people besides him? Norman wished that, he wished that if she behaved like that he might...they might let her go after the experiment and return her into the sea...but that was a child's dream. 

Involved in his thoughts with Don trying to take him by the arm to eat at the restaurant they mentioned, Norman noticed a quite curious look on Gilda's face as he pated her on the back gentility pushing her near the tank here Emma was looking her her:

" Do you want to inspect her, Gilda? Go on she is not aggressive anymore so don't be afraid"

" Well...no I mean, It's ok...she is really pretty" 

She was pretty treacherous Norman would add. Just as fast as she took the audio recorder from his hand she took Gilda's glasses from her face and placed on her own face. At first Norman wanted to laugh his but off but than he got worried about Gilda...she needed those to see...

" Emma! Gosh! Give me that back I'm serious! You always love to take object from people's hand without permission, don't you?"

" Emma...? That's a nice name...it's her name, did you gave it to her, Norman?" 

" Yeah...I tought that giving her a name would help her in the learning process so I came up with it..." 

Norman looked at Gilda's face. She was not like him and she had her emotions all over her face. She, just like him knew how dangerous was to give a test subject a name. Names have the ability to make something unique, making a being special, a singularity in the world full of people, something that Norman gave her and now belonged to her.

That's why they were only test subjects... a name that meant nothing, a simple administration process that had to be done...a way to take all the humanity of the things they did to them. And with no name, there was no bond, there was no affection and...

It was more easy to let go and to make them suffer

And Gilda knew, just like Don that Norman was creating a bond with her, spending that much time with her and teaching her all kinds of things...he was steeping in a very dangerous place and Gilda couldn't smile even if she saw him happy with her, just like that. Norman knew that he was doing, she was sure of that. After all he was the most intelligent person of that facility and she tought he would choose the most rational option... 

What made him put his life and job on the line, just to get close to her? Did his morals speak louder that his obligations? He was always cold and objective with the past experiments...why this now?

" N-A-M-E?"

" What?" - Gilda was surprised by the way Emma talked to her 

" Oh...she wants to know your name! She can vocalize Human speech and she gets better each day!" 

" Well...it's Gilda...my name is Gilda"

"G-I-L-D-A?" - Emma repeated after her with quite an innocent face as Norman smiled at her. He seemed to be so happy that she could talk so well, and actually Gilda was impressed as well by how quickly she had learned all that with Norman's intervention. 

" Look Emma...I'm going to take lunch with Gilda and Don but I will be back and teach you more stuff, all right? I'll be back soon!" 

As Norman waved at Emma and she smiled and waved at him, Gilda descended her eyes from the beautiful sight of the mermaid and her green scales that glowed at the limpid water of the tank. She was starting to get emotional with a test subject 

And that was something that was not allowed...at all 

As Don, Gilda and Norman went to eat at the restaurant near the facility, Norman asked himself why he was so hungry if he had eaten lunch before he left his house, even if he did only drink coffee and he almost chocked on it cuz he drank it so fast. 

Gilda ordered an hamburger, Don decided to eat a burrito with a lot of spicy sauce, and Norman choose to eat sushi since he haven't eat any for a long time. Was that supposed to be a friendly lunch with work colleges? The environment was to tense and Norman had a feeling he knew why

" So...you guys want to talk to me about the approach I took to test Emma, right? I know that I'm going with the hardest and most dangerous way of doing things..." 

" Norman, listen...we are not against your approach even tough is different from usual, the problem is...this is a test facility and you know that you will have to do...what will happen to her, so we just wanted to make sure you wouldn't suffer" 

Gilda wasn't sure that to say anymore

" Yeah, man! It's nice that we didn't have to use violence to test on her, but you know that...she is still a test subject and in the eyes of the government she is just a toy for them to play with, and we...we are the one who have to do the dirty work in the name of knowledge" 

Oh...but Norman knew that all along. He had received a lot of government papers  in his house ordering him to conduct heavily experiments on her...taking blood, hurting her to see her regeneration abilities, leave her out of the water to see how many time she holds on...

He had turned them all down and now the government...Vincent was on his neck

Maybe plotting something to play with him, make him pay or make him torture her like that. More than that Vincent gave him the case so he could toy with him as well and he played his game, he fell right into his trap 

And he fell knowing that all the way... what even before he began the experiment everything was lost for him. 

" I know all that, Gilda, Don. I know Boss gave me this case not just to play with Emma but to play with me as well. But I accept the challenge... it's an endurance game to see who gives up first and I don't intend to lose. After all, I hate losing..."

Don and Gilda felt shiver down their spines: they never saw Norman like that, with no hesitation in his strong voice, his eyes so focus and concentrated resembled those of a monster searching for his pray to come...his soft and innocent look nowhere to be seen 

He was playing the devils game and he was ready to unveil the truth before they could stop him from doing so. He knew he was heading strait into hell and that his life would change forever after that but...

He felt trilled... a bit scared but he was ready to go against the world.

--------------------- * -----------------------

Flashback

"Norman you listen to me son... promise me that if you feel that something is wrong but everyone thinks that it's right, you will do that your heart tells you and change the word if you need to...you have to promise me that"

" But father...I would lose everything if I went against the whole word just like that!"

" Yes...indeed but you will have your heart in peace. And with a heart at peace with itself you can rebuilt everything up again, as long as you live were is hope, son" 

" That's so selfish... I can' change the world... I can't do anything" 

"My greatest mistake was not to follow that  I tought it was right, son. And now I left a great work and legacy but everything is empty and meaningless because it was all against my will" 

" Meaningless? Your  communications studies inspirited millions of people, you father...you changed the word... all you wanted was to be was a great scientist and you are" 

" Since when did I said I wanted to be a scientist? All I ever wanted to be was a child, Norman. See things for the first time each time I see them, don't give a damn about the world...it's completely selfish but it's the hardest thing to do..." 

--------------------------- * ----------------------------- 

Norman woke up...he didn't had that dream for a long time. He got up of his bed and smiled at the stars...should he go up to the roof like he did the other day? His father really hunted him all the time, but this time...he was able to smile

He smile because he understood that he meant when he vanished from this world 

He smiled because he was also being selfish and childish, just like he told him to be 

He smiled because he knew that to find his humanity he had to trow everything he built away

He smiled because he never tought he had the strength to go up against the word 

Oh...and he didn't. But here was something in him, a voice in his mind that told him that it would be worth all the pain, that in the end he would be able to be true to himself, calm his heart form all the noice and turbulence of this world and just smile happily. 

" N-O-R-M-A-N?" 

Her innocent and strange melodic sound echoed in his mind as he smiled looking at all the lights of the city below him. Since when did the little dirty roof of his house become that peaceful, and the wind that gentle? 

" Don't worry Emma...I won't let anyone hurt you...no matter what"

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Thank you so much for reading this chapter! All the credits for the art , cape and AU ideia and comics of this fanfic are to @stray_tori on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram! Please go check her fantastic art!

Note: Mika-hime changed her name so please search her art by the new name of her account!

Thank you so much and see you soon!