A/N: I know Juliet is incredibly OOC. Oh well. She's matured, after all.

4

I cast an anxious glance at her. So far, there hasn't been any big outbursts, but this cruise was going to last nine hours. The longest Mother had lasted without throwing a tantrum after her nervous breakdown was four. I jumped as a hand touched my shoulder.

"It's alright," said Aunt Juliet gently, her blonde ringlets done up in an elegant bun just for the occasion. "I'll handle her if she breaks down."

I look at Mother again. Today, with make-up done expertly by Aunt Juliet and curly hair brushed, for a change, she looked like the old Mother, before Father's death. Her violet dress ruffled in the breeze, her sleeves looking like butterflies. I had to admit that she had never looked better ever since the funeral. Looking at her, I could almost pretend that he was never gone. Mother smiled at me, pointing at the horizon.

"Look, Sommy, there's blue lights. I'll get Artemis to see, too. Where is that man, anyway?" she headed for the deck, muttering under her breath. I started to sweat. Soon, she would realise that he is no longer here.

Better enjoy the tranquillity while it lasts, I thought grimly. Beside me, I felt Aunt Juliet tense.

"Somnus," she said. "Where's your mother?"

Her voice was tight, like she was trying to keep the panic out. I glanced at the horizon, seeing the odd blue lights. I frowned.

"Is that natural?" I asked.

"No. It isn't. That's the problem."

She looked at the horizon again. "There's not enough time. We need to jump, now."

She grabbed me by the shoulder and tucked me under one arm. She then ran full tilt at the railings. With a deft swing, she vaulted over them but held on, for a moment, with one hand. I gasped. I had never known that she was such a gymnast. But one thought overshadowed the amazement.

"Wait, what about Mother?"

Her reply was a grim as her face. "We're out of time. "

With that, she let go. We splashed into the cold, freezing water of Port Phillip Bay. Aunt Juliet pulled me up and swam quickly away from The Spirit of Tasmania. The ship that my mother is on. A few curious passengers were staring and pointing at us.

"Wait," I said. But the next moment took the words right off my tongue.

The blue light hit the ship, and the aforementioned passengers just slumped down and toppled over. I suppressed my shriek of horror. A word, from a far away fragment of memory, surfaced in my mind.

"Blue rinse, "said Aunt Juliet, echoing my thoughts.

My next thought let loose the shriek I was holding in.

"Mother!"

Beside me, drenched in the near-freezing salt water, I heard a sob.

It was all a blur after that. Up until the port authorities stopped us, on land. Back on Station Pier.

"You are the prime suspects in the mysterious mass murder of the 150 passengers aboard the cruise ship, The Spirit of Tasmania. Please come with us to the police station."

Oh no. They've seen us jump, and they thought we set off the blue rinse.

Blue rinse. Why was that name so familiar, yet so foreign?

The world is flashing by. So many fragments. A blue light is chasing us. I see Father carrying Mother. She is unconscious.

I look up and see a pair of eyes. Hazel and blue.

I hear random snatches of conversation, yelled between my father and the person carrying me. "… blue rinse… Opal… Solinium 2… half life… -teen seconds… Past self… lemur… Where did… blue rinse… Mind-wipe… moving my family… "

I catch the last word, loud and clear.

"Melbourne."

The shattered pieces of my dream float away as I awake. There is only one thing I remember.

The hazel and blue eyes that match my father's eyes perfectly. They look the same, but somehow, I know that they're not his.

A/N: I killed off Minerva. Happy? Personally, I thought about saving her, but I realised that a madwoman would be a burden to the storyline.

So... what's with the mysterious flashback? Is Holly in it? Who set off the blue rinse? What will happen to Juliet and Somnus?

Ahaha... So many questions! They shall be answered in a few chapter's time.