Note: Like an episode of Haven, this chapter has Stephen King references.

Thanks to TRDowden1 who let me revitalize another one of her old stories is a terrific editor!

Let me know if you have requests for chapters and please review! Thank you!

Dear Samiir,

I couldn't believe Dominic until I received the photos! You're really at Science Camp? Don't you know you're supposed to relax over the summer, not study? Still, I'm glad you're having fun; learning new stuff, seeing new things, meeting new people, like what I'm doing . . .

Ch. 2: The Strange Island

Duke checked the map coordinates, seeing that he was in the right area. They'd sailed down the Eastern coast, and were now in tropical waters.

Todd was excited; Duke had promised to take him snorkeling and show him the aquatic life, and he couldn't wait. But first, Duke had told Todd and Jennifer, there were some people that he'd promised to meet.

"I thought you said you weren't doing anything funny," Jennifer pouted.

"I'm not," Duke protested. "Pappy radioed me the other night, and said he was in the area. We're just saying hi to some old friends I haven't seen in quite a while. The Troubles took up most of my time, if you'll remember."

"I remember," Jennifer smiled, and kissed him.

Todd peered out at the horizon. He still could see no sign of a ship on the water, but Duke had said they were going to meet up with them in the next half an hour or so.

"Are we almost there?" he questioned.

"Actually we are there," Duke said, throttling down the engines and The Cape Rouge slowed to a stop. He released the anchor, hearing it splashing noisily into the ocean.

"So—now what?" Todd asked, picking up binoculars and scanning the horizon.

"Now we wait."

"How far out did they say they were?"

"Not far. Should be along any minute," Duke said.

Todd peered again through the binoculars, his face puzzled, and Duke suppressed a faint smile. Jennifer too, scanned the horizon.

"I don't see any sign of a ship," Todd answered as he placed the binoculars next to Reinette who was cleaning herself.

"Me either," Jennifer said.

"Maybe they're invisible," Todd grinned, and Duke chuckled.

Off the port bow, they could hear a faint bubbling sound that was growing louder.

"Lesson Number One of life on the sea, Todd—not every ship sails on the water," Duke told him, heading out to the bow of The Rouge.

"Huh?" Todd blurted, following along behind him, and gaped at the sight before them.

There was a submarine surfacing about ten yards from The Rouge, water streaming from it as it ejected its watery ballast, the noisy diesel engines thrumming with power. The Intervallic could be read painted on the nose of the sub.

"The owner bought it from a Navy scrapyard," Duke informed an open-mouthed Todd and Jennifer. "Don't worry, it's decommissioned. But then again, knowing Pappy-" he trailed off, seeing their expression. "Keep an eye peeled, okay, kid?"

"Sure," Todd got out as the wheel atop the hatch began to spin, and a dreadlocked head emerged. It was a man, his graying hair done in dreadlocks, his skin burnt brown by the sun, emerged. He flashed a dazzling white smile, and Duke returned it.

"It's been many a moon since I laid eyes on that old lady!" the man exclaimed, climbing out of the submarine to stand on the top of it. "Surprised you haven't scuttled her yet!"

"I'm a damned good skipper and you know it," Duke shot back.

There were others now piling out of the submarine, looking for all the world like pirates—dreadlocks, tattoos, piercings, replete with a teenaged girl in an eye patch, who emerged from the sub.

"Duke Crocker," she said, craning her neck to look up at him. "I'd heard you'd died!"

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Duke quoted, and then sobered. "Actually, it was Wade who died," he finished in a quieter tone, pushing the unpleasant memories to the back of his mind.

"Sorry to hear that," the older man spoke. He spied Todd, and looked at Duke.

"Got a boy of your own now, do you?" he grinned.

"No, actually this is my cousin," Duke told him. "Todd Beale-Grant, this is Captain Patrick Dawson, alias Pappy. These other reprobates are his crew," he jibed. "Save for the lovely lady—this is Fortune, Pappy's daughter."

"Hi," Todd breathed, taken in the by sight of Fortune. She had long dark hair, pulled back into a braid, green eyes, well, eye, with a full mouth and a dynamite figure. The eye patch only added to her mystique, and Duke could see that Todd was somewhat smitten with her.

"Don't forget about Bridget back home there, sailor-boy," Duke whispered to Todd, who blushed furiously. "I overheard what you and Bridget said to each other."

The girl saw Todd gawking at her, and gave him a faint smile. She looked to be a little older than he, maybe about three years; and he couldn't help but think how cool she looked, like an anime character come to life.

"Permission to come aboard," Duke called.

"Come ahead then," Pappy hollered back. "But ya gotta make your own arrangements!"

"You want to lower a lifeboat?" Todd asked.

Duke stripped his tank top off and shed his deck shoes.

"Nope," Duke said, and kicked the rope ladder over the side. "There's that way down," he told Todd and Jennifer, "but the express lane's a lot faster," he finished, and launched himself from the railing and into the ocean below, bobbing back up a few moments later, and swam to The Intervallic, getting hauled up out of the water by two of the crewman. He exchanged hugs with them, and then did the same with Pappy and Fortune.

Todd climbed up to the rail, and taking a deep breath, did the same, Duke using his Favor to help keep Todd from going too deeply into the water, and he popped up like a cork a few moments later, and was hauled aboard the submarine by a Samoan man with his face covered in tattoos.

"I think I'll hold the fort," Jennifer called over the side, standing next to Reinette, who meowed at them, and Duke waved to her as he and Todd headed inside the submarine.

Todd couldn't believe it, and was pretty sure his friends were never going to believe he had been inside an actual submarine—with pirates, no less!

"So how's the salvage game?" Duke asked as they descended the ladder into the sub.

"Well, funny you should ask that," Pappy said. "I was just about to call you about our latest find."

"Ah, I'm out of the smuggling racket. Well, mostly out," Duke grinned.

"We heard you'd gone straight," Fortune remarked. "Pappy said he'd believe it when he saw it for himself."

Pappy looked him over. "There have been a few changes in you since I saw you last. You cut your hair. And is that gray I see in that sad excuse you call a beard, Crocker?" he teased, giving his goatee a gentle tug.

'If you'd been through what I've been through in the last five years, you'd be old before your time too,' Duke thought, but aloud he said, "Well, we're all getting older, aren't we?"

"Ain't that the truth," Pappy grouched. He started to say something else, but a fit of coughing wracked his body, and Duke saw the concern in Fortune's face, but she said nothing.

'Can you read her mind?' Duke asked Todd.

'I never done it before with my Favor, but I can try,' Todd replied, and focused on Fortune.

Pappy cleared his throat, and stood upright again.

"That's a nasty cough," Duke said evenly. "You get a doctor to take a look at it?"

"Ah, doctors, what do they know," Pappy said dismissively.

Todd looked up at Duke.

'He's sick—bad sick,' Todd said. 'She's really sad.'

"So, what were you going to call me about?" Duke said, changing the subject. "Find any objects you think I'd be interested in?" he grinned.

"Funny you'd say that, Duke," Pappy told him. "Here—let's siddown in the galley, an' I'll tell you the story."

They seated themselves at the dining table, and Pappy got out a bottle of rum, pouring Duke and himself a healthy dose before he sat down, the bottle on the table in front of them.

Fortune took two glass-bottled sodas out of the vintage fridge and gave one to Todd after expertly popping the top off, and they sat down at the table as well.

"Well, we were doing a salvage off the coast of Isla de Marguerite, teensy little island," Pappy began. "And we came across a few interesting artifacts, one of which was this," he continued, setting down a silver box on the table.

Duke stared at the box as though Pappy had just placed a cobra on the table. He knew the design by heart, because it was the exact same pattern as his own little silver box that he and Evi had found; and the larger one that had housed his father's weapons.

"Where'd you get that?" Duke asked.

"In about 350 feet of water in an old shipwreck. Found it on a ship called The Eastern Star, she went down in a hurricane in 1870, I figure," Pappy replied. "Least that was the date on some of the coins we recovered."

"You guys found treasure?" Duke inquired.

"Not like we'd hoped for," Pappy sighed. "There was a small chest of coins, a silver crucifix, and then there was this silver box. It'd been wrapped up in several layers of oilskin, and was shut inside a metal box, that was inside a wooden box. Somebody wanted this box safe, for a rather peculiar reason."

"Peculiar in what way?" Duke asked. He stretched a cautious finger out, and touched it, feeling nothing but metal. "So—what about this made you think of me?" Duke asked carefully. He didn't know if Pappy knew about the Troubles; he'd certainly never told him, and he didn't know if Simon had.

"Well, I'm gettin' to that part," Pappy answered. "When we first recovered the box, it was pretty grimy, but we set to cleaning it up, and when we did, we discovered this," he went on, lifting the lid of the box.

Underneath the lid, there were words craved into the box—'Invenient Me Dux,' it read, along with a series of numbers. It was Latin, and the words translated to 'Find Me, Duke,' and Duke felt that creepy feeling at the back of his neck that he'd felt so often in Haven.

"The numbers I recognized as a code that your old man and I used to use back when we were running contraband," Pappy said softly. "Translated, they're 0-5-2-5-1-9-7-7; your birth date," he informed Duke.

"That's your birthday?" Todd asked, leaning in to get a closer look at the box.

"Forgotten already?" Duke joked. He thought Todd already knew since the kid was experiencing his memories when he was stuck inside Todd's mind, but then again, Todd a difficult time sorting through the memories. "I am a Gemini, Aquarius rising."

"Oh," Todd said, trying to hide his confusion.

"It's actually a really interesting transit," Duke said, smiling at Todd.

"Back to the subject at hand," Pappy said. "Now, what I would like to know is, why is there a box on a 300-year-old shipwreck that has your birth date and says 'Find Me, Duke', in Latin on it?"

"I—I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Pappy," Duke said, his best Bluffing face on, but Pappy wasn't biting.

"I think this was meant for you, Duke," Pappy told him sternly. "Ya know, Simon, God rest him, never talked much about where you two came from, but he'd tell me stories, once he'd had a few," he continued, pouring himself and Duke another round. "That things happened there. Weird things."

Todd and Duke looked at one another, but said nothing.

Pappy cast a critical eye at Duke. "I also heard it was why Simon ended up dead."

"I wouldn't know," Duke flat-out lied.

'Try as we might, no matter how far we go, no matter what corner of the world we sail to, it feels like we're never going to outrun our family legacy—or Haven's,' Duke radiated at Todd, and Todd had to agree.

Duke picked up the box, holding it in his hands, reading the inscription again.

"You didn't find anything else at the wreck?" he asked Pappy.

"Actually, we're only about fifty miles from Isla de Marguerite," Fortune spoke. "I thought maybe you'd like to go down and have a look for yourself."

"I haven't dived in a pressure suit for a long time," Duke said. Not counting that time we had to talk down Aiden Driscoll, he thought, and forcefully pushed the incident from his mind. He didn't want to dwell on the Troubles anymore. If he never heard the words Troubled or Cursed in his life again, it'd be too soon for his reckoning.

"Come on, Crocker, what else have you got to do?" Fortune wheedled, a smile playing around her lips. "Brad and I will dive with you."

"How about you, Pappy? You're not coming?" Duke asked.

"Naw, I don't pressure dive anymore. I'm gonna sit here and run the equipment," Pappy said offhandedly. Duke could see the disappointment in the older man's face, and he resolved to talk with Fortune privately a little later on. "Well, we'll think on this tomorrow. Tonight, Tony's made his famous six-cheese spaghetti. Why don't you and Gilligan get Mary Ann on the squawk box and tell her we're comin' over?"

"Hey," Todd protested, but Duke grinned at the choice of nickname Pappy had bestowed on he and Jennifer, and he nodded agreement, heading on up to the radio room. The dial was still set to his ship's frequency, so he picked up the handset and began to talk.

"Intervallic calling The Cape Rouge, you copy?" he said.

"Um—this is The Cape Rouge, Intervallic, go ahead," Jennifer answered.

'I guess my girl is kinda like Mary Ann,' Duke grinned to himself. "Jen, we're headed back. Captain Dawson and his crew will be joining us for dinner, they're buying," he told her. "Stand by to be boarded."

"Cape Rouge standing by," Jennifer blurted, and Duke clicked off the handset.

"So where'd you find your junior mate there? Hiding behind his momma's skirt?" Kai grinned, gesturing at Todd, his gold tooth gleaming in the light. Large and brawny, Kai's Samoan heritage was evident, even if his face hadn't been tattooed in the traditional Maori style.

"We were all novice sailors once, Kai," Duke sighed, shaking his head.

Duke remembered he'd signed on with Mack Freemer his senior year and had gotten the hell out of Haven the second he had his diploma in hand. And he hadn't come back until he'd begun hearing the whispers about Haven again, and he'd honored that promise Simon had extracted from him so long ago on the deck of his ship and returned home to Haven.

Once aboard The Cape Rouge, Duke introduced Pappy and his crew all around, and Jennifer and Fortune made a large salad while Duke and the crew set up a makeshift galley table that was large enough to seat them all.

With the mystery of the box on his mind, Todd forgot to put Reinette in his room, so Pappy and his crew were caught off guard when Reinette entered the galley, smelling the fresh meat Tony brought to make meatballs.

'Meat!' Reinette cheered as after she jumped onto the counter, smelling the meatballs. Everyone was still in shock hearing Reinette, so no one noticed Reinette walking away with one of the meatballs, chanting: 'Meat! Meat! Meat, meat, meat! Meat!'

Todd soon recovered and caught Reinette, then wondered how he was explained what happened to the others. Pappy soon came over to Todd and looked at Reinette, who decided to eat her meatball.

"Is she one of those weird things Simon mentioned?" Pappy asked.

"Um, yes?" Todd said.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Pappy studied Reinette. He then petted her and she purred.

"I've seen a lotta strange things, but a talkin' cat just jumped up to number one," Pappy said as he stroked Reinette.

Todd smiled, relieved as Pappy and his crew interacted with the cat, petting and playing with her. Kai seemed the most enraptured with Reinette, and Duke couldn't help but smile seeing the muscular Samoan cuddling with the cat.

Duke put the silver box out of his mind, and they dug into Tony Moretti's infamously decadent six-cheese spaghetti. Pappy's crew gave Todd a good ribbing, but it was good-natured, and he took it all in stride. Reinette pursued around, trying to beg for some extra food by sitting up and purring. Todd soon decided to put Reinette into his room by using a cook meatball as bait to lure Reinette inside.

After dinner, While Kai, Brad and Pappy proceeded to try to teach Todd the finer points of Dead Man's Poker, Duke went up on deck to find Fortune, gazing out at the sea.

"When you spend most of your time underwater with six guys, you forget about how beautiful it can be topside," she commented, watching the sun streak the skies with orange, purple and yellow streaks, the red-orange ball slowly disappearing on the horizon. High above them, the deepening purples and blues of twilight made their debut, the stars beginning their nightly spectacular.

"You ever see the green flash, Duke?" she asked.

"No, can't say as I have, Fortie," he replied, calling her by her childhood nickname. "I've seen a lot of strange things, but never that."

"I have," Fortune replied softly, looking back at Duke. "I saw it the night Mama died."

Duke remembered the old seaman's tale, that those who died at sea, there would be a green flash when their souls crossed over to the other side.

He could see she was in a pensive mood, and he touched her arm with an ice-cold root beer, which she gratefully accepted.

Duke had known her since she was a baby; and Pappy since he'd been a boy himself. Pappy had a ship back then, The Philanderer, and Simon had his own boat.

Duke remembered the summer Fortune was seven; Pappy had also been a smuggler in those days, and when one of his deals with a Tong Clan member had turned bad, shots were fired, and Fortune had been hit in the eye with a ricochet bullet. Pappy had sworn on his knees by her hospital bed that he'd give up smuggling entirely if she survived. She had, fortunately; and Pappy kept his promise. He knew, however, that other kids could be cruel to a little girl with one eye, and he'd schooled her well in how to defend herself, as more than one soul stupid enough to tangle with her had found out.

"What's wrong with Pappy, Fortune? I saw your face when he was coughing," Duke questioned in a softer tone of voice.

There was a long pause before she answered.

"Daddy has emphysema," she said softly. "All those years of smoking and diving have finally caught up with him."

"Are the doctors doing anything for him?"

"Not much can be done," she laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, they talk about this and that and the other, but it all means that he'd have to give up the sea, give up The Intervallic, spend his days in a hospital bed," she retorted. "Pappy said he'd sooner we put him out to open sea on a raft before he'd do that."

"I'm sorry," Duke said sincerely. "I really am."

"Me too," Fortune replied, looking out at the water. "Doctor says if he continues living like he always has, he gives him six months to a year, maximum. But you know Pappy."

"Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me," Duke sang softly, remembering how Pappy had dressed up as a pirate for Fortune's birthday one year, even paid Duke to dress up as his first mate. Pappy moored The Philanderer in shallow waters so all the kids attending the party could 'walk the plank', seeing who could do the silliest dives.

"Say, whatever happened to that wife of yours?" Fortune grinned. "When Pappy heard about that, he said, 'oh boy, I bet he regretted that in the morning.'"

"Evi died," Duke answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Duke, I really am," Fortune apologized. "I didn't mean any harm," she went on. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Duke said, and Fortune nodded.

The pair sat in silence for a while, and then she spoke again.

"You're quiet for a change," she noted, turning her head to face Duke. "Daddy always said you were the most talkative individual he ever knew. Now you don't say much at all," she went on, looking at him. "You're different now, Duke. What happened to change that?"

"More than I'd care to talk about," Duke said, changing the subject. "Did you see anything else down there while you were on the dive of The Eastern Star? Were there any markings, map tubes, anything like that?"

"No markings, none that we noticed. Of course, we were all kind of excited to get back and open that chest we found too," she grinned. "So we'll make sure to take an extra good look around tomorrow. You are coming down, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming down," Duke replied.

Just then, Kai appeared in the doorway.

"C'mon Crocker," he grinned. "I just finished fleecing your cousin, now it's your turn."

"You won't find me so easy a sheep to shear, Kai," Duke warned, and he and Fortune went inside.

Some hours later, after Pappy and his crew had departed and Todd and Reinette were asleep in his bed, Duke finally lay down next to Jennifer for some much-needed sleep.

He was just about to drift off, when he heard music. He opened his eyes, glancing around to see if the radio was on, or if one of the crew had left their phone behind. Nothing. But he could still hear the music—it was soft and sort of sad. And old, as though it were being played on old-fashioned instruments.

He swung his legs out of bed, and padded silently around his room, listening for it. It seemed to be coming from his wall safe, and as he opened the door, it grew louder.

Duke stood there for a long moment, just staring into his safe with his mouth hanging open.

The music was coming from the box. That in and of itself wouldn't be so strange, if it had been a music box. But there was nothing inside the box, no mechanisms of any kind, but it still continued to play as Duke reached for it, holding it in his hands for a few seconds before he opened the lid.

Just as quickly as it had begun, the music, or whatever it was faded away, and there was only the small sounds of The Rouge as she adjusted herself on the ocean's currents.

Duke put the box back in his safe, and went topside, taking a bottle along with him. He'd thought all of that was behind him. That no other-worldly being would control him; that he'd just be Duke Crocker, Jennifer's boyfriend and surrogate big brother for Todd, and nothing more.

'Find Me, Duke,' he thought. 'Who wants me to find what? And what happens when I do?'

He thought about calling Nathan and Dwight who were now the official secret-keepers of Haven, but quickly scratched that notion. He hadn't spoken to Nathan in almost two weeks. Besides, it was three am in Haven right now, and he was pretty sure Nathan Wuornos did not want to speak to him at that hour.

He didn't remember dozing off, but he woke the next morning to the patting of Reinette's paw on his face.

'Wake up! Emergency! Todd can't find where you store the extra food for me!' she squalled.

"Todd, get your cat," Duke grumbled removing Reinette from his face, placing her aside. He looked at Reinette; no matter how food she consumed, she remained lean. He guessed running around The Cape Rouge was good exercise for a cat. He felt the ship rumble to life, and he got up and went onto the bridge, where he found Jennifer starting the engines.

"What are you doing?" he asked, yawning.

"Following the coordinates you laid out last night," Jennifer answered. "You never came to bed, so I figured you were out here."

"Sorry," Duke apologized. "I was—thinking."

"Todd told me that your friend Pappy is sick. I'm sorry," Jennifer said tenderly.

"I am too," Duke replied.

Todd then entered with a bowl of food for Reinette, who was prancing around his legs as she looked at Todd and meowed and purred.

"So, you're really going to go on a deep-sea dive," Todd said after he placed the bowl down and Reinette ate. "You could just swim down yourself with your Favor, right?"

"I could, but I would have a whole lot of explaining to do," Duke pointed out, then grinned. "So I better do it like normal people would for now."

"You think—you think maybe I could try deep sea diving?" Todd asked hopefully.

Duke frowned. "Todd, it's not something for novices," he replied. "If you want to try scuba-diving, I'm sure Pappy or one of the crew or I will be happy to teach you. But there is so much that can go wrong on a deep dive if you don't know what you're doing. You could come up too fast and get the bends; your air hose could get tangled or cut. The suit's really claustrophobic too," he added, seeing Todd's face. "If you think your room is too small—try wearing a deep-dive suit, and then you'll really find out what too small is."

"Thanks for the warning," Todd said. "I don't mind closed spaces too much, just not for a long time. Hey, I heated up some of that leftover spaghetti, if you want any."

"No thanks," Duke muttered, then reconsidered. He'd need to eat before they dove, so he had a small plate of the leftover pasta, supplementing it with a few eggs for protein. He'd need his strength for what lay ahead.

The Intervallic was sailing topside, with Pappy standing on the ladder outside of the hatch, the wind blowing his dreads around as they sailed, and Duke felt a twinge of sadness, knowing that Pappy probably wouldn't be around a whole lot longer.

After an hour, they reached their destination, and this time, they managed to pull close enough together so that all Duke had to do this time was descend the ladder on the side of The Rouge to reach Intervallic.

Todd dropped the anchor, and he and Jennifer helped as Fortune, Brad and Duke were geared up in the heavy dive suits.

"God, this thing weighs a ton," Todd grumbled, picking up the helmet that Duke was about to have put on over his head.

"Kind of has to, kid," Brad Connelly told him. "Otherwise, we'd just float back up again."

The three shuffled out to the deck of the sub, where Pappy and Tony made their final checks.

"You hear me in there?" Pappy's voice crackled in the built-in headset of Duke's dive helmet.

"Yeah," Duke answered, giving him a thumbs-up.

"You guys be careful down there—no unnecessary chances, right?" Pappy ordered.

"Right, Pappy," Brad answered; making sure the spear gun he carried was on safety.

"All right," Fortune said. "Over, under, sideways, down," she said, quoting one of Pappy's favorite tunes, and the three of them jumped from the deck of the submarine and into the ocean, plummeting into the depths.

Duke felt the suit become lighter as the water eased the weight on his body, but it was still heavy enough to pull him steadily toward the bottom.

The light around them began to grow dimmer, and he was relieved when the lights built into their dive suits came on, illuminating the water around them.

"You okay, Crocker?" he heard Fortune's voice.

"So far, so good," Duke answered. "It's been awhile."

"We're almost there," Fortune replied. "Trip down's the easy part. It's the getting back that takes forever."

"Don't want the bends, that's for sure," Brad put in, and Duke thought back to when he and Aiden Driscoll were watching Vince and Dave in the hyperbaric chamber arguing back and forth. He regretted now that he hadn't questioned them further about things, when in their impaired state, they probably would have told them everything they'd ever wanted to know about the Troubles. And then maybe he wouldn't have imploded. Maybe he wouldn't have infected Haven with all those Troubles.

The ocean floor drew closer to them, and Duke, Brad and Fortune landed with a solid thump, a cloud of sand swirling around them.

Once it cleared, Duke looked around, and could indeed see the wreck of an old sailing ship. She was laying on her side, mostly gone, the ribs of the hull still intact, covered in barnacles and starfish, with assorted sea life swimming around it.

They plodded along slowly, approaching the wreck. Duke could see the damage that The Eastern Star had suffered in that long-ago hurricane, her main mast snapped like a dried twig, and he wondered how many how gone down with her.

"We found the box over here," Fortune gestured at him, and he walked over to the site with her.

The two helped one another down to their knees, carefully sifting through the debris, and Duke was searching intently, when something gleaming caught his eye.

He tugged at it. The object was mired in the barnacles, and he got out his knife, chipping at it until it came loose, and Fortune helped to steady it.

"A sexton," she said. "Nice find, Crocker."

Duke grinned inside his helmet, and took it from Fortune to get a better look, and then suddenly, he was on the deck of The Eastern Star, watching as her crew scrambled around, struggling to survive the storm that was determined to send them all to Davy Jones' Locker, and then suddenly, the next thing Duke knew he was lying on the deck of The Intervallic, with Pappy, Todd and Jennifer looking down at him. He was saying something, but Duke couldn't hear him. He focused, and then heard Pappy yelling, "DUKE, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you, don't yell," Duke grumbled. "What happened?"

"Hell, you tell me," Pappy shot back. "Fortune said you blacked out down there, we just hauled you back up on the wench as quick as we could. She said it looked like you just keeled over. We ain't that far from land; soon as we finish winching Brad and Fortie up, you need to let a doc have a look at you."

"I'm fine," Duke said.

"I don't wanta hear 'I'm fine'," Pappy argued. "Man collapsing on a deep dive's serious business, Duke. I want to make sure you're fine, so no arguments."

"What he said," Jennifer put in, her voice quavering. Todd shrugged, but nodded.

"Okay, all right, you win," Duke sighed. They needed to put in for provisions anyway, so he determined that once he'd gotten done at the doctors, it was time he started looking into his mysterious box.

"I'll make sure the doctors on Delphie Island treat you right," Pappy said, as Duke removed his diving suit. "Some of them owe me an IOU."

"We're not going to Isla de Marguerite?" Jennifer asked as Brad and Fortune surfaced.

"It's supposed to be uninhabited," Pappy said, and Duke noticed his choice of words.

"What do you mean 'supposed to be?'" Duke asked.

"About a month ago, we're heard stories about that island," Fortune spoke up when she was freed from her diving suit. "That monsters inhabit Isla de Marguerite now: beings of both man and beast frighten people away from the island."

"Run into anything like that?" Pappy asked Duke.

"It's a new one to me," Duke said.

"First time I hear of it, didn't know what to believe, but then I think back to what Simon said . . . but still . . . nothing happened when we salvage The Eastern Star the first time," Pappy said.

As Todd listened to the adults, he looked out to the sea, and he thought he saw a flock of seabirds and perhaps a pod of dolphins in the not too far distance. However, the birds and the dolphins seemed to be headed in their direction . . . and the birds appeared larger than anything Todd had seen . . . and why did the dolphins have a . . . human shape?

"Um, Duke," Todd said, getting the adults' attention as the animals were now close enough to be clearly seen.

A flock of humanoid birds comprised of different species circled the sky. Each one was armed from bows to guns. The Intervallic was soon surrounded by humanoid dolphins, whales, even a sea turtle.

The leader of the birds, who looked like an osprey, signaled and his group opened fired on The Intervallic, however the humans noticed that these . . . were-birds were not aiming at them; they were firing warning shots. The pod of were-sea animals began ramming The Intervallic. Brad still had his spear gun and fired a shot, grazing the dorsal fin of a were-porpoise.

Soon, the birds stopped attacking along with the sea animals. The flock of birds split into two groups, half landed on top of The Intervallic, while the other half went over to The Cape Rouge. Duke was about to protest, when a were-petrel took out a knife, indicating to Duke to be silent and he compiled. The were-osprey took a step forward, gun ready.

"Leave," the osprey said.

Pappy blinked, then walked up to the osprey, staring right at him. "Not until I get an apology."

Duke had to grin at Pappy's resole even when facing the unexplained. The osprey blinked a few times, as if he was caught off guard.

"Leave or else we will use force," the osprey stated.

"I'm not moving until I get an apology," Pappy said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"What do you want us to apology—" a heron began to say.

"We do not negotiate with madmen, Bonsaint," the osprey said.

"Insulting me as well? Then I'm definitely not moving until I get an apology," Pappy said and sat down. The other group of birds soon returned and reported the only thing they found was a hissing cat aboard The Cape Rouge. "Now, get off my ship."

"We will remove you by force," the osprey warned. "This is your last warning."

Pappy refused to move.

The osprey nodded at the pod of sea animals and they began to ram The Intervallic again. This made Pappy loose his balance and Tony caught him. This is when the hatch opened at Kai and the other crew members came out, armed, and gave other weapons to their crewmates. Brad drew a gun on a were-tern, but then noticed on closer inspection, the tern was definitely female, and she noticed him staring.

"What's the matter? Can't hit a woman?" the tern mocked.

"I can," Fortune said as she punched the tern.

Duke then noticed the osprey was about to shot at Pappy and decided enough was enough. Using his Favor, water rose from the ocean and encapsulated the osprey, getting everyone's attention.

"Stop right now or I will drown him!" Duke ordered.

A tiny gasp escaped Jennifer's mouth and she held onto Todd's hand, who looked shocked. Last time Jennifer saw Duke like this, Wade was trying to kill her.

Nothing happened, but when the osprey began choking, a pelican dropped his weapon and soon, the others followed.

"Madison, tell them to stop," the pelican said to a puffin.

For a moment, the puffin didn't move, then he dove into the water, and a second later, the sea animals stopped their attacked. As soon as the puffin and the sea animals surfaced, Duke gestured with his hand and the water surrounding the osprey flowed back into the ocean. The osprey coughed up water before he stood up and looked at Duke.

"What are you?" the osprey asked.

"I could ask the same question," Duke replied.

The osprey barked out a chuckle. "It seems we are at an impasse, so I purpose a compromise: you will have safe passage to and on our island if you explain yourself to our leader."

Duke was pensive, but Pappy decided his opinion.

"You got yourself a deal," Pappy said, causing everyone to look at him. Pappy looked at Duke. "I want to hear how you did that little water trick of yours."

Pappy offered his hand to the osprey and they shook hands. The osprey looked at his group.

"You two, fly ahead and inform Peter what happened," the osprey said to a couple of birds, who nodded back and flew off after they collected their weapons with the others. He then looked at the humans. "Please, follow us."

The flock of birds and the pod of sea animals went ahead to guide the humans to Isla de Marguerite. Duke was about to return to his own ship, but Pappy caught his arm.

"You can tell those zoo rejects any story you can think up, but sooner or later I want to hear the real truth from you, Duke Crocker," Pappy said and let go of Duke.

"Whatever you say, Pappy," Duke exhaled. "Let's go."

The Cape Rouge and The Intervallic, sailing topside, followed the were-animals to Isla de Marguerite, and they lead the humans to an area to where they can dock. As the humans disembarked, they couldn't help but noticed the large gathering of were-animals watching them, comprised of various species of mammals, birds, and reptiles. A figure stepped out from the crowd and walked over to them. It was a werewolf with grey and white fur and golden eyes. Even though the werewolf was bipedal, he walked with a digitigrade stance, and had a wolf tail and head. The werewolf wore ripped jeans and a simple vest. He stopped in front of the humans.

"I am Peter Defoe," the werewolf said, extending his hand. "Welcome to Isla de Marguerite."

The humans shook hands with Peter and introduce themselves. Peter then escorted them inland through a tropical forest filled with plants no one recognized. They entered a small village that had a more 'rural' feel than 'primitive village' occupied by were-animals. Peter led them inside a wide building where there was a long table surrounded by chairs; some of the were-animals came inside with them and closed the doors behind them. Peter sat down first and the humans followed suit.

"Would you like anything to drink? To eat?" Peter asked.

The humans politely declined; half of them were high suspicious that there might be something in the food and water.

Peter asked a were-lizard for some water before he spoke to the humans. "I have reports that one of you did something . . . extraordinary; here I thought we were the only unique ones. How is this possible?"

Duke was silent and knew no one else will talk, and Peter noticed this.

"Perhaps it would be better if I start," Peter said. "I was just your ordinary single white-collared businessman who lived in an apartment. One month, I impressed management with my hard work and they invited me to one of their yacht parties. I was having fun, until an unexpected storm hit and sank the yacht. I held onto a piece of driftwood and somehow drifted to this island. When the storm was over, I found the sun was setting; I was too tried to care about food, water or even rescue, so I just passed out."

"The next morning I woke up . . . looking like this. You can imagine my horror, but I soon found out your need to survive outweighs your vanity," Peter then paused and smiled as the lizard returned with Peter's drink. "I have to admit without this . . . transformation, I won't have survived. I was able find food, fresh water, even built a little hut, but I gave up returning home; I knew I was never going to be treated the same looking like this."

"I don't know how long it was until another shipwrecked family came ashore. I kept myself hidden, but watched them. Once they fell asleep, I saw the same thing happened to them. I introduced myself the next day; they were suspicious, but soon they welcomed me. Over time, survivors from disasters, both shipwrecks and plane crashes, found themselves on Isla de Marguerite and transformed, thus this village was born," Peter said.

"Then what's with the scare tactics?" Pappy asked.

"We . . . do not want the same fate befalling others unnecessary, so we try to scare people off to prevent them from being transformed," Peter said. "We did run into some difficulty when a ferry stopped here in ordered to conduct human trafficking."

"Bet you gave them a run for their money," Pappy said with a huge smile, then he thought of something. "You didn't . . . you know . . . eat them?"

Peter smiled. "We sent the human traffickers out to sea on a raft with minimum supplies. We welcomed their victims onto Isla de Marguerite and they are happy and thriving. "

"I'm starting to like you," Pappy said and chuckled, before falling into a fit of coughing.

"Why didn't you attack us when we first came here?" Fortune asked, trying to get everyone's focus off of Pappy.

"Our scouts did notice and surveilled you, but since you left and did not go near Isla de Marguerite, we did not see it necessary to scare you off; only when you returned with another ship, we decided to take action," Peter explained. "Well, you have heard my story, I think it's fair that we hear yours. I only ask that you leave Isla de Marguerite immediately afterwards or find yourselves transformed the next morning."

"Yeah . . . we have a problem with that arrangement," Pappy said and indicated Duke. "You see, someone thought it was a good idea to black out during a dive and I like him to see a doctor as soon as possible. Plus, we both need to put in for provisions."

Peter nodded. "We do have doctors here, but you know what will happen if you spend the night here."

"What if we . . . sleep on our ships?" Duke suggested.

Peter blinked. "We never had the resources to try something like that, but you are welcome to try."

"Well, since that's settle," Pappy said, then looked at Duke, "we're all ready to hear how you learned that magic trick."

Duke sighed. "I think we're going to need refreshments because this is going to take a long time."

After refreshments were served, Duke then proceeded to spend the next three hours telling Pappy and the others as much as he thought they could process. He told them about Haven, Audrey, and Nathan, and William and Mara, even briefly touching on what had happened to him, Jennifer, and Todd.

"But at any rate, all of that's over and done with," Duke finished, refilling his glass. "So . . . what do you think?"

"I think that's either the biggest fish story I've ever heard, or damn glad I ain't from Haven, Maine," Pappy remarked dryly. "But after what I saw, I can't say you're a liar."

"Do you think what's happening with Isla Marguerite has any connection to what happened in Haven?" Peter asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty certain," Duke said.

"Very well, then," Peter said. "You are free to explore the island; we will review our laws so there will be no future confrontations. Manuel will escort you to our doctors."

Duke glowered at the doctor who was shining her penlight in his eyes. Dr. Corazon Raul was a were-snake; to Duke she looked like a human-sized garter snake with scaled-covered arms and hands, wearing a blouse and a doctor's coat.

"Stand up; close your eyes and touch your nose, please," Dr. Raul said in a vaguely Trinidadian accent.

Duke did as he was asked, successfully touching his nose with both hands.

"I'm not drunk," Duke snapped.

"I did not say you were, Mr. Crocker," Dr. Raul answered. "Have you been experiencing any dizzy spells or bouts of fainting before?"

"I didn't faint, and no, I've never fainted before in my life," Duke replied. "I just . . . blacked out."

"You blacked out over 300 feet underwater, Mr. Crocker," Dr. Raul told him, adjusting the blood pressure cuff as she squeezed the bulb to check his vitals, as though he hadn't experienced it personally. "And then you remained unconscious for nearly an hour. Captain Dawson and your family are worried about you, and rightly so."

'I was out for an hour?' Duke pondered, not aware of Dr. Raul's snake tongue flickering in and out in front of his face. 'I swear it only felt like a minute!' But he also remembered that he'd only been in the Barn for what had felt like no more than 30 seconds, and when he'd been ejected from it, it was six months later than when he'd gone in!

She unfastened the blood pressure cuff from his arm, the Velcro making a loud ripping noise in the examination room.

"Are you hostile because I am a woman or because I am a snake?" Dr. Raul asked, getting Duke's attention.

Duke looked at her. "I prefer the company of women and snakes to doctors."

Dr. Raul gave Duke a serpentine smile. "That answer I will fully accept; some men did not like a woman telling them what to do."

Hearing that made Duke wondered what happened in Dr. Raul's past, but it was her personal past, and he knew how it felt to be questioned on subjects he wanted to be left buried.

"So do you like it here?" Duke asked, changing the subject.

"I was very distraught when I saw my transformation and the sight of a giant snake does not comfort some people," Dr. Raul said. "But like many others, I found out some benefits of this transformation which assists me with my job."

Dr. Raul then looked over her notes. "Well, your blood pressure is normal, X-Rays and blood work and my senses shows no abnormalities."

Dr. Raul had to smile seeing Duke's puzzled face. "You see, snakes can sense—"

"Please, no science lesson," Duke pleaded.

"Very well," Dr. Raul said. "I would advise not diving for a few days, and to take it easy." She studied him as her tongue flicker in and out in front his face again. "You seem as though you've been under a great strain recently in your personal life," she remarked. "Maybe take a few days off from your ship. Isla de Marguerite is quite lovely, despite it's . . . effects," she gestured out the window.

'Lady, you don't know strain till you've lived in Haven,' Duke thought.

"Running a ship's not an easy job," Duke said. "And yes, I noticed—your little island's actually beautiful. But it seems as though you don't get a lot of tourists, though," he noted, and she flashed him a dazzling serpentine smile.

"We're a well-kept secret," she replied. "And we kind of like it that way. But you don't seem the tourist type."

"I'm not," Duke answered. "Are we all done, Doctor?"

"Yes, I think so. Some rest and relaxation I think would fix you right up. Regular swimming would be all right, but no diving for at least the next 72 hours. If you experience any further blackouts or dizzy spells, I want you to come to me or Dr. Fenimore, understand?"

"Yes, Doctor," Duke said faithfully, and Dr. Raul nodded, and left Duke to get dressed again.

Pappy and Jennifer slipped in the door the moment she'd left.

"What'd she say?"

"She says I must be working too hard," Duke told him. "And that I shouldn't dive for the next few days." He looked around the room. "She also said I should take a few days off," he went on. "And I think I might do just that. We need to stretch our legs."

"The animals, er, people, um, the locals are really nice," Jennifer said. "Brad ran into the porpoise he shot at and she forgave him."

Duke had to smile, then looked at Pappy. "How's The Intervallic?"

"She's a tough old gal, it would take more than that to sink her," Pappy said, proudly smiling.

Duke then realized something. "Where's Todd?"

"Some of the . . . were-animals . . . took Todd and Fortune on a tour," Jennifer said. "We're going to meet up with them for lunch."

Todd and Fortune somehow got involved helping the two other doctors with their research: a chemist, Dr. Wallace Lukens, a were-hedgehog, and a zoologist, Dr. Dina Franklin, a were-wren. They were also joined by a were-otter who was one of the were-animals Peter assigned as their guide, named Jeremy Dean.

"So after I isolated the enzyme, I was able to successfully produce shampoo and conditioner that also work as a parasite control agent," Dr. Lukens concluded as they were gathering plant samples.

"Oh, that's great," Todd commented.

"You didn't understand one word I said, did you?" Dr. Lukens said as they finished.

"Um, you know I'm just 13," Todd said.

"Not everyone is a born genius like you and Dr. Dina," Jeremy said and Fortune laughed, making Jeremy smile.

"Well, thank you for your assistance," Dr. Franklin said.

"So what's with the plant samples?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, Wallace and I are going to use them for different purposes," Dr. Franklin said. "I believe they might hold a clue about what causes the transformation . . . oh, I do wish a botanist would join us . . . not that I want something unfortunate to happen to a botanist . . . it would just make the research easier . . ."

"I think they understand, Dina," Dr. Lukens said. "Oh, yes, I'm performing experiments with certain pathogens."

After some small talk, Todd, Fortune, and Jeremy parted ways with Dr. Franklin and Dr. Lukens and headed for lunch.

"It's a nice set-up you have here," Fortune said to Jeremy as she scanned the area. "Kind of sophisticated for an island village."

"Yeah, well, for a hidden island, Isla de Marguerite gets a strong Wi-Fi signal," Jeremy said. "We acquire some pretty good tech from those human traffickers and went online shopping for supplies, unfortunately we have to scare off the delivery service, but no big deal; we don't have to sign for anything or pay. Some of us are pretty good covering our tracks online."

"Are you one of them?" Fortune teased.

"Well, I may know a trick or two," Jeremy replied, smiling back, as the light bounced off of his earring on his left ear.

Todd felt a tinge of jealously as Fortune and Jeremy talked, but he remembered what Duke said and he knew guilt would eat him alive if he broke his promise to Bridget; plus he knew Fortune would grind Jeremy to a pulp if he did anything stupid.

To take his mind off of Fortune and Jeremy, Todd looked around. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a were-bear carrying a bag, but the bag rip, and contents spilled out. Maybe it was all the times Ida took Todd to help Mr. Tremayne when he was recovering from knee replacement surgery, but Todd found himself going over to the bear and helped her picked up her items.

"Oh, just place them in my apron, dear," the bear said, holding her apron out. "Guess I have to go look for a new bag. Thanks for your help, sweets."

Todd blushed and then rejoined Fortune and Jeremy.

Jeremy lead them to the main eating area of Isla de Marguerite, which was mainly buffet tables surrounded by chairs that resembled park benches. Fortune and Jeremy stood in different lines, while Todd looked at the different types food. Something smelled really appealing and he went to get it, but someone pushed him away and took his place.

"Um, excuse me," Todd said to the were-sheep, trying to sound polite. He didn't really want to start a fight; he hoped he didn't inherit that Crocker gene. "I think I was ahead of you."

The sheep glared at him. "Back of the line for you, furless."

As Todd was still reeling from that . . . very unusual insult, the were-sheep started to serve himself, but he was stopped when a ladle smacked his hoof-hand. The sheep looked up at the very angry bear.

"Percy Bowers, how many times I have to tell you? You and your family may be filthy rich where you came from, but here on Isla de Marguerite, you are the same as everyone else here, including that nice young man," the bear scolded. "Now either apologize or go to the back of the line."

Percy frowned, but the bear glared back at him. Percy then turned around and stomped to the back of the line.

"Knew he'd take the easy way out," the bear commented.

"You didn't need to do that, M—" Todd said.

"He needs to learn to treat others nicely, and the name's Maya Pittman, but everyone calls me Mama Bear," Mama Bear said, smiling at Todd. "So, what's your name, sweets?"

"Uh, Todd Beale-Grant."

"Well, Todd, have you ever tried fried conch before?"

"Um, no, can't say that I have."

"Well, I just cooked up a fresh batch so here you go," Mama Bear said, serving him. "Say, Todd, could you do me a favor?"

"I could try."

"I tried a new recipe for my boysenberry pie and I would your opinion on it," Mama Bear said, placing a piece of pie on Todd's plate.

"Yeah, sure, I will," Todd said, smiling. "Thank you."

After Todd got himself a glass of orange juice, he spotted Duke and Jennifer and sat down next to them.

"Are you going to be okay?" Todd asked Duke after he sat down.

"The doctor said I should take a few days off, but not diving," Duke said.

"Does that mean including your Favor?" Todd asked.

"I didn't mention that part," Duke said.

"Well, Isla de Marguerite seems like a nice place to relax," Jennifer said, trying to change the subject. "We can see what provisions we can get here."

"Okay," Todd said, then noticed Duke staring at him. "What?"

"I recognized that tone, kid; I use it too when there's something on my mind that's really bothering me, so what's up?" Duke asked.

Todd looked around before he used his Favor to communicate.

'What if what's happening Isla de Marguerite is my fault?' Todd asked.

'How can this be your fault?' Jennifer asked.

'When you were at the doctors, I ran into Peter again. According to him, Isla de Marguerite was uninhabited, people just came and left, but now people have to stay because of the transformation. The day Peter arrived on Isla de Marguerite was about a month after we fought the Void,' Todd said. 'You told me how the explosion of the Pellucid Aether Cores changed the world. What if—"

'Todd, this is not your fault,' Duke said. 'There is no way this is your fault.'

'But there was Pops, the box Pappy found, you blacked out, now this,' Todd said. 'The Troubles are gone, what—'

'It's not you; it's . . .' Duke thought of the right words. 'It's like someone wants to go back, no forcing, the Troubles, but can't.'

'Or something,' Jennifer had to add.

'Whatever, look, Todd, don't blame yourself,' Duke said. 'Or else I'm giving you to Pappy.'

Duke and Todd grinned and continued their lunch with Jennifer.

Duke, Jennifer, and Todd spent the rest of the day exploring the island, shopping, and had the crew of The Intervallic over for dinner again before they all went to bed for a good night's rest.

The next morning, Duke felt Jennifer tickling him. First she touched one place, then stopped, then tickled him in a new place.

"Mmmm," Duke said, half asleep. "Someone feels playful this morning."

The tickling continued, and Duke grabbed her hand. Only it wasn't Jennifer's hand, this was long, furry, and thick.

Duke immediately opened his eyes, and saw two strange things. The first was that in his hand was a long, thick, white, tail. The second was that his arm and hand was now covered in dark brown fur, the same color as his hair. Duke looked at the tail, then at his arm, then at Jennifer and he cleared his throat.

"Um, Jennifer?" Duke said as he let go of the tail.

"Hm?" Jennifer muttered, half asleep.

"I think sleeping on The Rouge did not help us," Duke said and Jennifer turned over to face him.

"What are you talking about—OH MY GOD!" Jennifer and Duke chorused when they saw each other.

Jennifer was now covered in white fuzz, her nose flattening, her cheekbones widening, and her rounded tips of her ears poked through her hair.

Duke's body was completely covered in fur, and his eyes were a different color; not silver, but now amber. His ears were now pointed and so were his teeth. Duke then noticed something moving under the covers and lifted the sheets to noticed that he too had now a tail, dark brown and bushy.

Jennifer slowly got out bed as she examined herself and saw her reflection and Duke followed her. She then turned around and saw Duke.

"What are we going to do? I don't want to be like this!" Jennifer cried out and Duke hugged her and kissed her on top of her head.

"We'll find a way, somehow," Duke said, then a thought occurred to him. "Todd."

Todd rolled over in his sleep and hit something, or rather someone. It was probably was Reinette hogging his bed.

"Move over, Reinette," Todd grumbled, trying to push her to the other side, but found it harder than usual, like he was pushing something heavier . . . and bigger.

Curious, Todd opened his eyes and was greeted by a human-sized cat face, which caused Todd to scream and fall out of bed, tripping over his tail.

Oh no . . .

"What?" Reinette's voice asked, but this time her voice was audible, not psychic. The humanoid cat face peered over the bed and Todd realized what happened.

"Reinette?" Todd asked.

"I'm Reinette," Reinette said.

Reinette was now the size of a little girl. Her front paws were now fur-covered hands, and Todd thought he saw shoulder-length dark hair coming from the top of her head.

"Why is Todd now furry again?" Reinette asked.

Todd looked at himself then ran to the bathroom's mirror to see himself looking like he did when Mrs. Bleak's Trouble hit his school. However he remained the same size, and his face still looked human. His ears were beginning to get pointy and he still had his hair.

"Todd!" Duke called out, and Todd went back into his bedroom and gawped alongside with Duke and Jennifer when they saw each other. Duke then noticed the little cat girl, still under the covers. "Todd, who—"

"Morning!" Reinette happily greeted.

"Reinette?" Jennifer exclaimed. "Animals can be affected as well?"

"It looks that way," Duke said. "Jennifer, find some clothes that would fit Reinette. We can't leave her onboard like . . . this; she has to come with us. I'm going to check on The Intervallic."

Duke entered the radio room and picked up the handset as Todd came in.

"Cape Rouge calling The Intervallic, do you copy?" Duke said.

Duke heard animal sounds in the background before he heard Pappy ordered his crew to be quiet. "Intervallic here; what happened to you, Duke? Are you furry, feathered, or scaly?"

Duke had to smile. "Furry, guess we tell Peter our idea didn't work."

"See you ashore then," Pappy said.

"Cop—" Duke began, but his body then felt odd as if the muscles and bones were rearranging themselves inside his body, and he heard a gasp from Todd. When the odd sensation was over, Duke noticed his fur was coming in thicker and he now stood like Peter. He saw Todd also had a digitigrade stance now and black whiskers sprouted from the sides of his nose. Duke cleared his throat. "Copy that."

Duke and Todd soon meet up with Jennifer and Reinette, who was wearing one of Jennifer's Maxi dresses. Jennifer's face had taken more of a feline appearance, while Reinette now looked like she was performing in the children's version of Cats.

As soon as Duke and the others got on land, they saw a crew of animals leaving The Intervallic. The first one was a large black and white dog that resembled Newfoundland. Then came a white crane, trying to readjust her eyepatch with her still human hands. Followed by a rhinoceros, a seal, a crocodile, an ox, and a cormorant. Duke then noticed familiar dreadlocks brained into the fur of the dog.

"Pappy!" Duke called out, getting the dog's attention. "You ol' sea dog!"

Pappy grinned, which showed his fangs. "A sea dog, am I? Well, then if I'm a sea dog, then you're a sea wolf!"

Duke grinned backed as the two crews came together to talk.

"Todd, you look . . . foxy," Fortune said when she saw Todd, making him blush.

"Um, thanks," Todd got out, then noticed something was missing. "You don't have wings?"

"They're beginning to grow," Fortune said, showing Todd the two lumps on her back.

Pappy then noticed Reinette behind Jennifer.

"Did you make a new addition when I wasn't looking?" Pappy questioned. "Or is she a stowaway?"

"Um, no, this is Reinette," Duke said, as Reinette stepped forward.

"Hello!" Reinette said, smiling, shocking the crew of The Intervallic.

"Aww! Isn't she cute?" the rhinoceros, Kai, cooed; his Maori styled tattoos still visible on his thick hide.

"How can that happened?" the seal, Brad, asked.

"Guess we have to ask Peter," Pappy said.

"So, she was your cat?" Peter asked Todd, who nodded back, as Reinette was being examined by Dr. Joseph Fenimore, a were-hawk. Peter looked thoughtful. "I'm sorry I am not more helpful, but she is the first . . . real animal who has transformed."

When Dr. Fenimore was done, he went over to them, as Dr. Franklin went over to Reinette to examine her.

"Anything you would like to share with us, doctor?" Peter asked.

"I would like to say she's a healthy little girl, but I can't say that because you tell me she started out as a cat," Dr. Fenimore said. "That's why I asked Dian for another examination. Sorry, but this is beyond me. Give me someone who started out human and I can give you a more definite answer. Give me a woman and I'll be gone for the rest of the day."

Peter laughed, used to Dr. Fenimore's sense of humor, while Todd just politely smiled. Soon, Dr. Franklin came over to them with Reinette.

"I concur with Dr. Fenimore's notes that she's in good health, but no clue on why she was affected as well," Dr. Franklin said as Reinette hugged Todd. "In slightly good news, I can say that the transformation can affect mammals not native to this island."

"So what do we give her for a reward for being a good patient? A lollipop or catnip?" Dr. Fenimore joked.

"Well, with this information perhaps we can find out what caused the transformation," Dr. Franklin said.

"Todd, are you all right?" Peter asked, seeing the pensive expression of Todd's face.

"I—" Todd began.

"I think he's hungry, we all are," Duke said, entering the room along with Jennifer, the crew of The Intervallic, and the two remaining doctors. Duke gave Todd a look, while Reinette hugged Jennifer.

Peter nodded, then looked at Reinette still wearing Jennifer's dress. "We have some clothing stores; please feel free to get new clothes for her."

Peter then left. While Dr. Franklin was talking to Duke and Jennifer, Todd then noticed Pappy wasn't with the rest of the crew of The Intervallic. He was about to ask, when he saw Pappy and Dr. Lukens enter the room, arguing about something. Even with his now enhanced hearing, Todd couldn't make out half of what they were saying, but Todd concluded it must be about Pappy's health, seeing Dr. Lukens sighing in defeat.

"Look, I'm just giving you . . . suggestions," Dr. Lukens said. "But I would like your permission on something."

"What?" Pappy asked.

"I would to perform some experiments on the samples we got from you," Dr. Lukens said. "I believe—"

"If it shuts you up, do whatever you want," Pappy said, and went over to his crew.

Dr. Franklin meekly stepped forward. "Um, Captain Dawson . . ."

Pappy turned around and saw how nervous Dr. Franklin looked. He smiled, trying to calm the wren.

"Well . . . I finally got the test results back to determine what kind of were-animal you became," Dr. Franklin said. "Would you like to know?"

Pappy looked at his crew and there were no objects. "Well, it would be nice to hear something different from a doctor; let's hear it. Let me guess: I'm one of those fancy water dogs . . . what do you call them? Newfoundlands!"

"Well, you're close," Dr. Franklin said, getting out her tablet to show Pappy the photos. "You're a Landseer; they're actually—"

"Could you wait a moment?" Pappy asked, then turned to face Duke. "Looks like this will take a while. Why don't you go and eat?"

Duke nodded. "We need to get clothes for Reinette first. We'll meet when we can."

Pappy agreed and Dr. Franklin continued talking.

"Ah, yes, Fortune, you're a Whooping Crane. They're quite endangered in . . ."

"Duke," Jennifer said, getting Duke's attention while they were waiting for Reinette in the clothing store; a were-swan offered to assist in finding clothes for Reinette. She showed Duke her arm. "Duke, look."

Greyish black spots and rosettes were appearing on her arm; first one, then many that covered her body. Duke looked down the back her dress.

"You're covered in spots," Duke said, looking back at Jennifer, who now had pale green eyes. "Just like a snow leopard."

Jennifer was about to say something when Duke felt his body changing again, and her eyes grew wide seeing his mouth and nose stretch out into a muzzle. From the sounds she heard from Todd, she could gather the same thing was happening to him.

A moment later, the changes stopped and Duke rubbed a fur covered hand over his new muzzle, while Todd looked crossed-eyed trying to see his own changes. Duke went over to a mirror on a counter and looked at his new face; there wasn't anything remaining of Duke Crocker when he looked at his reflection. Jennifer and Todd still had some human facial features remaining, but Duke couldn't find anything human about his new face.

'Hello, stranger,' Duke thought as he studied his refection.

The swan and Reinette then returned. Reinette wore a blue and white summer dress and her hair pull back in a blue bow. Jennifer, Todd, even Duke smiled seeing her as she rejoined them. The owner of the shop, a were-peacock, came over to see them.

"Everything okay, Heidi?" the peacock asked.

"Yes, Mr. Gunther," Heidi said and handed Jennifer some outfits. "She liked these as well."

"Oh, we can't—" Jennifer began.

"Nonsense, for newcomers to Isla de Marguerite, everything's free here," Mr. Gunther said. "But if you buy something tomorrow, you have to pay for it."

"Yeah, about that—" Duke began, but then they heard a ruckus outside, and soon Pappy, who also had a muzzle now, poked his head in.

"Duke! Why did you make so hard to be found?" Pappy said. "I'm not used tracking you by scent!"

"What's wrong, Pappy?" Duke asked.

"Fortune's wings grew in; tore her shirt to shreds, and she's not the type of girl who likes to advertise," Pappy said, walking in.

"Oh, dear; Heidi, make sure we're fully stocked with female avian tops," Mr. Gunther said and went over to Pappy. "Relax, sir, your daughter is in good hands."

Pappy nodded and signaled his crew to enter. Tony, the crocodile, and Brad then entered with Fortune, who had a towel over her shoulders, covering her chest. Long crane wings grew from her back and her hands were now covered with black scales. The rest of the crew remained outside, standing guard.

"Don't worry, darling; we'll take care of you," Mr. Gunther said and escorted Fortune to a chair so she could sit down. "Heidi, would you get some ice tea for the young lady? Now, if you feel up for it, I designed a new top that I think will be perfect for you . . ."

"You don't have to wait for us, go on and eat; we'll catch up," Pappy said to Duke, who agreed, then left for breakfast.

"Just stay with me, Reinette," Todd said, holding Reinette's hand as he led her to the buffet tables. The last thing he wanted was to run into Percy Bowers again and have the were-sheep bully both him and Reinette.

"Oh, hello; are you new here?" Mama Bear asked, seeing Todd and Reinette. She then looked over Todd. "Hey, I remember you! You're that nice boy who helped me yesterday! Todd, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Todd said, and saw from the corner of his eye that Percy did noticed him, but decided to avoid him. "Um, your boysenberry pie was great."

"Oh, thanks, sweets," Mama Bear said and saw Reinette. "And who is this? Your little sister?"

"Uh . . . no . . . yes . . . kind of . . ." Todd stammered out, trying to think of a way to explain Reinette.

"You don't need to explain, sweets," Mama Bear said and turned to Reinette. "What's your name, sugar?"

"Reinette!"

"Nice to meet you, Reinette; you can call me Mama Bear," Mama Bear said. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Meat!"

"What kind of meat?"

"All!" Reinette said as she looked over the selections. "I'm very hun-gry! I had to wait to get food! Had to stop by other places first! Now I'm very hun-gry!"

Mama Bear chuckled. "I see, but I can't just give you meat; you need a balanced breakfast."

"Um, we'll have bacon and scrambled eggs," Todd spoke up and looked at Reinette who nodded and smiled back.

"Sure thing," Mama Bear said and served them the food. "Here you go."

"Remember what I told you to say next," Todd told Reinette.

"Thank you!" Reinette said, smiling.

Mama Bear smiled back and Todd and Reinette went over to join Duke and Jennifer. Reinette quickly understood how to use utensils, but she kept on asking why she needed to use them. A little while later, Pappy, his crew, and Fortune, wearing a new top, joined them. They were almost done eating breakfast, when Peter came over to them.

"Since you're all together, perhaps we should talk about your life now on Isla de Marguerite," Peter said and sat down with them. "Captain Dawson, if you like, with your submarine, you can help us with supplies."

"You're saying I can keep doing what I'm doing?" Pappy asked and Peter nodded. "I'm fine with that."

"Very well," Peter said, then looked at Duke, Jennifer, Todd, and Reinette. "I'm still working out where you two will be the most helpful, but for the . . . children, we have a small kindergarten for her to attend, as for Todd—"

"Wait," Todd said. "We . . . do really need to stay? I mean . . . Duke told you about Haven . . . I mean . . . there's weird stuff happening . . ."

"Todd, do you really think you'll be treated the same?" Peter asked.

Todd was about to say "Yes," thinking how his parents would still love him, no matter what he looked like, but then thought about Caesar and Mrs. Bleak, and knew they would make life difficult for him. Plus, Bridget's dad might have a hard time accepting a were-fox dating his daughter. He could live in Haven then; the town is used to having strange people there. He could stay with Duke and Jennifer or Gloria . . . but that meant being separated from his parents . . .

Todd dropped his fork when he realized he was never returning to Haven or Delain.

"I'm sorry, Todd, but—" Peter began.

Todd dashed off . . . on all four paws, disappearing into the forest, ignoring the calls from his friends and family.

"We'll find him," Duke said, getting up.

Jennifer nodded, taking Reinette's hand, and followed Duke into the forest.

'I am so glad Nathan can't see me right now,' Duke thought as walked on all four paws to get Todd's scent better. Jennifer and Reinette followed behind him, using their own senses to locate Todd. Duke sniffed the ground. 'The jokes would not stop.'

Duke's wolf ear twitched and picked up his head, when he heard a small sniffle, and Todd's scent became stronger. He stood up to get a better look. He looked at Jennifer and Reinette and he knew they heard the sound as well. They soon found Todd sitting in the tall grass, sobbing. Reinette immediately ran over to Todd and hugged him as she began to purr. Todd looked up to see Duke and Jennifer sitting down on either side of him.

"I'm sorry I ran away," Todd said, trying to hold back his tears. "I . . . I just can't leave everyone behind! I can't go back! I don't know what to do!"

Jennifer hugged Todd, and found herself purring as well.

"Todd," Duke said, as he placed his hand on top of Todd's. "We're not mad at you, no one is; we're going to find a way to make this work for all of us."

Todd sniffed once more and hugged Duke, who returned it.

"What are going to do?" Jennifer asked.

"Get help," Duke said as he stood up and so did the others. "We're going back to Haven. That's best place to start looking for what caused this."

"Will we be okay?" Jennifer asked, coming closer to Duke.

"I know the sea and with my Favor we would avoid detection," Duke said.

"I don't think Peter would like that idea," Todd said.

"I don't need Peter's permission to leave," Duke said, then thought over his words. "But it would be nice to go somewhere and have a good reputation."

Jennifer nodded and they were about to go back when they saw Jeremy and Kai running to them.

"See? I told you I'd find them," Jeremy said, once they stopped.

"Yeah, great, kid," Kai said then looked at Duke. "Duke, we need you. We were going over The Intervallic, when this . . . killdeer offered to buy it and convert it to some sort of generator. You know how badly Pappy took that news, and the killdeer is not taking 'no' for an answer. Fortune's afraid it's going to end in a fistfight . . ."

"Which is not going to help Pappy's health," Duke concluded and Kai nodded. "Show us."

When they reached the docks, they could already see a crowd forming around the were-killdeer and Pappy, who being held back by his crew and Fortune.

"This is a waste of time; when my people return with Peter, he will agree with me," the killdeer said.

"He said I can continue my work," Pappy said, breaking free, "which includes not selling out to someone like you."

"He said that to placate a weak old man," the killdeer said and Pappy snapped.

"I'll show you a 'weak old man!'" Pappy yelled and was about to hit the killdeer, but stopped when a fit of coughing hit him so violently that he fell to his hands and knees.

Fortune and Duke immediately rushed to Pappy's side, as the killdeer backed away. Duke looked at Todd.

'Go to the doctors, Todd. Pappy is going to be furious, but that's where he's going,' Duke said to Todd, who nodded and dashed off.

"So how long you knew you were pregnant?" Dr. Fenimore asked Pappy, who was lying in bed. Pappy had to chuckle seeing how Dr. Fenimore approached talking about his health. "You probably heard the old song and dance before, so you won't hear it from me, unless you really want me to sing and dance. If you want to avoid an episode like that again, I say try to relax; trust your daughter and your crew to take care of your submarine."

Pappy nodded and Dr. Fenimore let Fortune, Todd, and Reinette inside. Pappy allowed Reinette to sit next to him on his bed as Dr. Fenimore talked to Fortune before he left the room. Pappy then looked around the room.

"Where's everyone else? Is Duke afraid I'm going to hit him?" Pappy asked and Todd and Fortune chuckled.

"They're talking to Peter about the issue over The Intervallic," Fortune said.

"Duke's also talking to Peter about leaving Isla de Marguerite to go back to Haven," Todd said and saw Pappy's expression. "He believes there could be answers to the island in Haven."

"Duke's asking for permission?" Pappy said. "He's sure changed since I last saw him."

"He said something about going somewhere and having a good reputation," Todd said.

Pappy chuckled. "Now that sounds like Duke."

A little while later, Duke, Jennifer, and the crew of The Intervallic entered the room.

"What's up?" Pappy asked.

"Peter sided with you," Kai said, and Pappy had to sigh in relief.

"He also said we can leave for Haven so we can try to find answers," Duke said, but Todd felt like Duke was holding something back and so did Pappy.

"There's more, isn't there?" Pappy said and Duke relented.

"If my trip to Haven brings . . . unwelcome guests . . . I would be held responsible," Duke finally said and Jennifer held his hand, trying to reassure him.

"What did you say?" Fortune asked.

"I agreed to his terms," Duke said.

"You really think Haven will have answers?" Pappy asked.

"I don't know where else to look," Duke said, then looked at Todd and Reinette. "We leave in an half an hour."

"Guess I have to say good-bye to you from here," Pappy said and extended his hand. "I have to admit resting right now does feel good."

Duke shook Pappy's hand. "When I come back here, you better still be here."

Pappy chuckled. "You can't get rid of me that easy, Duke."

With help from the crew of The Intervallic, The Cape Rouge was able to depart without causing a stir from the public.

It was mid-day when Jennifer decided to ask Duke what he wanted for lunch. She passed Todd helping Reinette balance herself on a moving boat when she found Duke. She about to speak, when her body felt strange and from the sounds she heard from Duke, Todd, and Reinette, she could tell the same thing was happening to them.

Jennifer found herself gawping when she saw Duke's face shifting to look more human; his muzzle retracted, his ears shrank, and his fangs reshaped themselves. His fur and tail receded under his skin as his feet shifted their shape. Soon, she felt okay, and looked at herself; no fur, human hands. Jennifer looked back at the now human Duke and he could tell from her expression that he was no longer a werewolf. Jennifer ran into his arms and they hugged, relieved.

They broke apart when they heard Todd complaining and saw Todd, also human again, entering the room, holding Reinette's clothes.

"What's the matter with you?" Duke asked, grinning.

Todd frowned a bit. "I don't walk barefoot on a ship."

"Where's Reinette?" Jennifer asked.

Something moved underneath the dress and soon Reinette poked her head out.

'What's happened?' Reinette asked, staring at the adults.

"The transformation . . . it isn't permanent . . ." Jennifer stated.

"It must wear off when you're at a certain distance away from Isla de Marguerite," Duke guessed. "We have to let them know."

"We're sailing back?" Todd asked, as he placed Reinette down.

Duke shook his head. "Half of the population doesn't know we left, so seeing The Cape Rouge might lead to unwanted questions." He then looked at Jennifer. "Can you make a Door?"

Jennifer's eyes grew wide. "I never created one this far before . . . I don't know if it will work."

Duke let out a soft sigh of frustration before he looked at Todd. "Todd, if we're not back in one hour, radio The Intervallic; they can tow you to the nearest port. I want you to contact Haven afterwards."

Todd nodded, understanding. "I hope it doesn't lead to that."

Duke smiled back and ruffled Todd's hair. "Me too, kid, me too." He then looked at Jennifer. "Let's do this."

"Daddy, please slow down," Fortune said as she followed her father and the crew of The Intervallic to Peter's office.

"Dr. Fenimore said it was okay if I could walk around, so that's what I'm doing," Pappy said. "I'm walking to Peter's office to see if the stories are true."

When they reached Peter's office, they saw a crowd was beginning to form. The crew of The Intervallic made a path so Pappy and Fortune could enter and their eyes grew wide when they saw Duke and Jennifer with Peter.

"I thought I was getting worse when I heard the news, so I had to see this for myself," Pappy said and looked over Duke and Jennifer.

"I did not like it when people kept me in the dark on important issues, so I will not treat Isla de Marguerite the same," Peter said. "I just need to think of a way of presenting the news without causing chaos."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Duke said and Pappy chuckled. "But I will transport anyone who wishes to leave."

"You got another volunteer as well," Pappy said.

Peter nodded to them. "Thank you. I appreciate the help. If you excuse me, I need to write my speech."

When Dr. Fenimore heard that Pappy was leaving, he asked Pappy for one more examination before he left.

"So it's true then?" Dr. Fenimore asked after his examination.

Pappy nodded. "You can see for yourself; they're coming by later with Fortune. I'll be happy to drop you off wherever you want."

Dr. Fenimore laughed. "Yes, return to the world of medical business and corporate greed; no thank you."

"You want to stay here?" Pappy asked, his eyes wide.

"I'm not the only one, so does Dr. Raul," Dr. Fenimore said.

"Look, I know it's none of my business, but, can you give me a hint why do you want to stay?" Pappy asked.

"I was with Doctors without Borders before—" Dr. Fenimore began.

"Thanks for the hint," Pappy said, and Dr. Fenimore smiled, glad that Pappy respected his choice of not wanting to sharing his past.

A moment later, Fortune, Duke, and Jennifer entered, and Dr. Fenimore looked amazed when he saw Duke and Jennifer.

"Either this is real or I inhaled too much ether," Dr. Fenimore said, making them chuckled.

"How is Pappy?" Fortune asked.

Before Dr. Fenimore could answer, Dr. Lukens and Dr. Franklin rushed in.

"Dr. Fenimore! You never believe what happened!" Dr. Franklin practically chirped in excitement, and then saw Pappy. "Captain Dawson! It's great you're here too!"

"It's a breakthrough! It's fantastic! It's wonderful! It's—" Dr. Lukens said.

"You know we'll be happy too if we knew what you were talking about," Dr. Fenimore said.

"Right, sorry," Dr. Lukens said and looked at Pappy. "I did some testing with the samples from you with the plants samples, and with the right combination, I believe it could cure emphysema!"

Everyone smiled except Pappy.

"I guess I'm staying here lying in bed, while you test me, right?" Pappy questioned.

"Um, no, not exactly," Dr. Lukens said and looked over his notes. "I would offer you a treatment, but . . . and these are the primarily results . . . I don't think you need to be lying in bed."

This made Pappy smile.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Write out the prescription!" Pappy said.

"Well . . . you see . . ." Dr. Lukens nervously began. "For the treatment to be truly effective . . . the best course of action . . . would be to administered shots . . . every 3 to 6 hours . . . I would also need to record the results to see if the treatment works . . ."

Pappy sighed. "Which means I have to stay here."

"Um, we'll give some time to think," Dr. Franklin said, nodding to the others and they agreed, and she, Drs. Lukens and Fenimore, Duke, and Jennifer left the room.

Duke didn't want Todd to worry that something happened to them when Jennifer used her Favor, so she brought Todd to the island, and almost Reinette.

"No, Reinette, you have to stay here," Todd said, picking up the cat and placed her back on The Cape Rouge.

'Boring,' Reinette responded. 'Want to explore, want somewhere new.'

"We'll talk about it later," Todd said and quickly went through Jennifer's Door.

While they were waiting, Todd explained Reinette's behavior to Duke and Jennifer.

"Maybe we can teach her to walk on a harness," Jennifer said. "Back in Boston, I had a neighbor who taught her cat to do that."

Duke and Todd agreed her idea was worth the try as the waited on the beach. After some time, Pappy, Fortune, and the crew of The Intervallic walked over to them.

"So . . . what it's going to be?" Duke finally asked.

"If finding the balance between a reasonable treatment and still sailing The Intervallic is looking like a dog, then I'm staying here," Pappy said. "My crew still wants to stay with me because they're loyal idiots, and Fortune staying as well to keep them in line."

Duke had to smile, then chuckled as Todd used his Favor to send Duke a message. "Todd tells me Fortune might be distracted."

Duke indicated Fortune, and Pappy turned to see Fortune had stepped aside to talk to Jeremy, and both of them were smiling. Pappy just shrugged at the scene before he looked at Duke.

"Oh, before I forget," Pappy said and took out a letter from his pocket and gave it to Duke. "Dr. Fenimore wanted someone to deliver this to his family in Maine."

"I'll be sure they get it," Duke said as he received the letter, then a mischievous thought came to him.

"So, how soon will you be casting off?" Pappy asked.

"Actually, I was thinking staying overnight," Duke said, causing Jennifer and Todd to stare at him, and he noticed and looked at them. "There's something I always wanted to do to Nathan since we were kids, and I'm not going to miss this opportunity."

Haven, Maine, the next day

Nathan's scream brought Paige rushing into the room, holding James, to find Nathan backed away from the laptop, looking very frightened. Before Paige could even ask, she heard a familiar chuckle from the laptop, and looked to see an amused werewolf on the screen. Paige's eyes widen when she realized who it was.

"Duke?!" she exclaimed as Nathan recovered and went over to Paige. "What . . .?"

"Don't worry; it's temporary," Duke chuckled, and he grew serious. "But you should be aware of what has happened . . ."