A/n: This fic has seriously taken me ages to write (mostly due to slackness). Any reviews/comment/concrit/feedback is greatly appreciated. :)


"Are you sure it's not coincidence, Vector?" asked Lena.

The Vector and Lena were in Cortes' cabin. The cards and chips had been replaced by a laptop and loose bits of paper that the Vector had been scribbling all over. They were both staring at the laptops screen intently; it showed the information files that Cheng had retrieved from the old Sphere base's computer systems.

"It can't be," the Vector shook his head. "This is fascinating…"

"VECTOR!"

Cortes' voice boomed so loud that Lena jumped.

"Oh, what does he want now?" the Vector frowned, having just had to catch the few loose sheets of paper that Lena had knocked from the desk. He didn't appreciate being yelled at from across the other side of the ship. He walked to the cabin door and peered out, mentally preparing something to say that would annoy the Captain, as he was obviously in a bad mood. It didn't mean he had to shout at him.

Cortes stood halfway up the deck, a bloodied bundle in his arms. It took the Vector a fraction of a second to realise it held Cheng.

"Vector, you've got to do something, Cheng's hurt," panted Mahad, coming up behind Cortes on the deck.

Cortes didn't say anything. He didn't need to. There were few times he would come to the Vector for help, but when he did it meant he really needed it.

The Vector asked no questions; not yet. "Okay don't worry, he's going to be alright. Just take him down to the room with the medical supplies."

"Are you sure he's going to be alright?" Mahad asked. "What can I do?"

"Stay with Lena in the cabin," said the Vector simply.

Mahad opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again. What good would frustrating everyone do? He glanced over to see Lena poking her head out of the cabin wondering what was going on, and decided that he didn't want her to have to see Cheng right now.

"What's going on, Mahad?" she asked as he rushed up to her.

"Cheng's been hurt…" Mahad explained, figuring it would do no good lying to her. He just didn't want her to have to see Cheng.

"Is he alright?!"

"Yeah, I think he will be. Vector's looking after him."

"What happened?"

He had now succeeded in getting her to step back into the cabin. "Something attacked him while we were outside… Cortes said it was a… werewolf." He frowned, because he couldn't imagine Cortes believing in something like a werewolf. But then… he remembered seeing the creature. Werewolf was a fairly accurate description.

"Werewolf?" repeated Lena.

"Yeah…"

"Mahad, I think you'd better take a look at some of the stuff Vector and I was looking through…"

"Okay, why?"

"Because that bloc the Sphere base was on? They were keeping information there on werewolves. And I don't think the Sphere is all that interested in fiction."

----

In the medical supply room, Cortes carefully placed an unconscious Cheng on the single flat bed that was there.

Dahlia was already at the medical supplies; something was tossed out of the cupboard she was going through and hit the floor with a bang.

"Careful, I think he's broken his arm," said Cortes as the Vector pushed past him. The older man had to push, as Cortes didn't seem that keen to move away from Cheng.

"Alright, I've got plenty of bandages…" said Dahlia as she pulled out a whole box, spilling a few rolled up bandages from the top of it.

The Vector nodded, and started removing the bloodied sheet from around Cheng's body. It was now well past its limited capacity to absorb any more fluid. "Don't worry Cortes, you know I'll be careful," he said, almost dismissively.

"Look, if there's anything I can do to help…" said Cortes. He just stood there staring at Cheng.

The Vector looked up at him, then across at Dahlia. She had already found something to do to help, while the Captain just stood there looking lost.

"Maybe you'd better just wait outside with Mahad and Lena."

"I…" Cortes started, as if to protest. But then he just shut his mouth, turned around and walked out.

Dahlia brought over what she had retrieved from the cupboard. "Are you sure he's going to be alright?" she asked, handing him a wad of bandages.

The Vector took them off her. "I hope so. It doesn't look like anything vital is damaged."

"He's lost a lot of blood…"

"I know."

They were both silent for the next few minutes, as the Vector worked on Cheng and Dahlia passed him what he needed, and held Cheng's hand in between.

"Dahlia…" said the Vector finally. He had not failed to notice that Cheng's wounds looked very much like teeth and claw marks. "… did something attack Cheng?"

"Yeah," Dahlia swallowed, and then looked up at him. "A werewolf."

----

It was after midnight when the Vector returned to the cabin and told Cortes, Lena and Mahad that Cheng was going to be okay. "It just… might take awhile."

Cortes just gave him a tired look. He stood, pushed past him and headed off to go see Cheng for himself.

Dahlia was still sitting with Cheng when the Captain walked tentatively into the room. "How is he?"

"Asleep," Dahlia replied. "He'll be okay, Sir."

Cortes sighed. "I know, the Vector told me."

Dahlia stood up. "I'll leave you alone for a bit."

Cortes nodded to her as she left the room then took her place next to Cheng.

The boy was fast asleep, his stomach rising and falling gently with each breath. It almost looked like he was simply asleep, if it hadn't been for the bandages around his chest and back, and his arm in a sling.

Cortes swallowed, and then reached out a hand to squeeze Cheng's hand gently. "I'm sorry, son."

Cheng didn't respond, and Cortes just hoped he was too out of it to feel any pain.

----

The Vector stood some distance away up the ship's corridor, back against the wall, arms folded. Now that he had made sure Cheng was alright, his mind was churning over everything he'd learned in the past few hours.

The information he'd gone through from the Sphere base, along with the stories of the werewolves from Marquis had been interesting. But coupled with what had happened to Cheng, what the rest of the pirates – whom he trusted far more than a couple of drunk men in a bar – had seen, brought the 'stories' to a whole new level. Something had to be going on on the bloc; maybe in this whole region of Skyland. And whatever it was involved a werewolf, or something that shared so many of its characteristics that it was easily confused with the beast.

"Are we going to tell Cortes about the werewolf stuff?" Mahad asked. He and Lena had said nothing to Cortes whilst they'd been waiting in the cabin with him. He'd sat so still and focused and hadn't even talked to them that they'd felt too uncomfortable to say anything.

"I think he already knows," Dahlia glared at him.

"There's more to it, Dahlia," said the Vector quietly. "Just give Cortes a few more minutes. But he does need to know."

They all stood in silence for those few more minutes. Until the Vector eventually pushed off from the wall and headed to the room they'd placed Cheng in. "Cortes…" He placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder.

"What is it?" Cortes finally answered, though he didn't move from Cheng's side and continued to hold his hand.

"There's something I need to show you…"

"Not now." Cortes cut him short.

"It might shed some light on what exactly attacked Cheng."

Cortes' gaze hardened and he looked up at the Vector. "I'd like to know just enough about that thing to kill it." He paused, as the Vector didn't reply immediately. "I don't want to leave Cheng…"

"Sir…" Dahlia was standing just at the door with Mahad and Lena. "I can stay with him until you get back."

Cortes seemed to think for a brief moment. "Alright." He stood up, his gaze continuing to rest on Cheng for as long as possible. "This better be good, Vector."

----

"A good sixty percent of the files that we retrieved from the Sphere base contain, or at least reference information concerning werewolves." The Vector paused, as if this piece of information held a great deal of relevance.

Cortes didn't seem to think so. "So someone was interested in fantasy," he snapped. "Just like this damn bloc…"

"Cortes, just listen to me. You saw something yourself, you must admit that there could be some useful information in all of this."

"Alright," Cortes sighed. The look he gave the Vector said that if this were so, then he'd have to prove it to him. "Go on."

They now sat in Cortes' cabin, the Vector behind the laptop, Cortes across the table glaring at him. Mahad and Lena had come back as well, wanting to hear the Vector's full explanation also.

"This information is not just fantasy," the Vector continued. "Some of it is mythological stories, yes. But that is only a very small fraction. Most of it is scientific, factual information and research…"

"Like what?" asked Cortes before the Vector could continue down a path he imagined he would find difficult to understand.

"Well, there's a partial DNA map in there. Those are not something you can just make up for a creature that does not exist."

"Okay, so there's something that actually exists that the Sphere knew about, and somehow it has ended up being called a 'werewolf.' How do we kill it?"

"Silver bullets," put in Mahad.

Cortes just looked at him.

He pointed at the laptop. "It's what it said…"

"Mahad!" said Lena, her voice hushed. "That was just one of the stories! Shush!"

"Cortes, I know you're upset about what happened to Cheng. But I think we need to know more about this creature before we go after it, if that is the best course of action to take. We know it's dangerous."

"That much has been firmly established," Cortes growled.

"And there may be more to this than just some wild beast that has been confused with a fictional creature. There is information in here, and not just in the stories, which points to humans becoming werewolves; about 'werewolves' not being so much a separate species, but humans that have been affected by a virus."

"You're going to have to explain further…"

"If what I've read in the Sphere's files is true, werewolves are humans that have been affected by a virus that alters their DNA."

"That creature was not human, Vector!" Cortes pointed out, quite vehemently. "Humans don't…" here he trailed off. Humans don't tear up children with teeth and claws. They prefer guns. He swallowed. "… don't look like that."

"He's right. It didn't look human, Vector," Mahad put in. "It was covered in fur and… teeth…"

"Yes, but remember I said that their DNA is altered, Mahad. That could mean that they grow fur and teeth…"

Cortes laughed suddenly, making them all jump. "I can't believe I'm listening to this…"

"I'm just saying that if the information the Sphere had has been right so far, that the rest may be correct as well…"

"It's completely ridiculous! You sound exactly like those men from the bar, only your speech is less slurred!"

"Cortes, why would the Sphere have all this information if it weren't true?"

"Oh, I'm sure they've still got information flying around about the prophecy…"

"We're getting off track! We know there is something out there…"

"Of course we do. We know because it mauled Cheng!" Cortes paused for a moment, drew in a breath. "I know there is something out there. Maybe there is something in those files that is true. And we know for certain there is truth in the local's stories. But that doesn't mean we have to believe everything. I believe what I saw!"

The Vector shook his head. "There's more to it, Cortes. Too much of this fits in. Trust me; there is more to this creature than you have already seen…"

"No!" Cortes shouted, slamming a fist into the table. His voice was now strained almost to breaking point as he continued. ""No Vector, you just want there to be something more to it! Cheng's been hurt and all you want to do is play around with your theories like its all some bloody joke!"

"Cortes…" the Vector tried, his voice in sharp contrast as he tried to calm the Captain down.

"There are no such things as werewolves!" Cortes snarled, his hands balled tightly into fists. His chair screeched across the floor as he flung it backwards, stood up and stormed out of the cabin. The door slammed shut behind him.

The Vector sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Wow…" said Lena, staring at the closed door, "he's really mad…"

"… or upset…" muttered Mahad, also staring at the door but with a somewhat confused expression on his face.

"He's probably right," the Vector sighed, opening his eyes and leaning back in his chair. "He's got enough to worry about – I shouldn't have thrown that at him now."

Mahad frowned. "Maybe you should've…"

"You said he was upset," pointed out Lena, "Vector's right… even though his intentions were good…" she added, smiling at him.

The Vector smiled back. "Thanks, Lena."

"No…" said Mahad, getting agitated by the fact no one was really listening to him. "What if the Vector's right? I mean what he was telling Cortes!" he clarified, when Lena gave him a quizzical look. "If that really was a werewolf, it… bit Cheng." He was uncomfortable using a more descriptive word, having seen the whole thing. "And one of those stories we were reading before said that if you get bitten by a werewolf you turn into one."

"But that was just a story…" started Lena.

"Maybe not…"said the Vector, sitting up and quickly looking at his notes. "Virus' can be transferred by contact with saliva and blood…"

"But Cheng hasn't turned into a werewolf," said Lena. "He's just hurt."

"Not yet," said Mahad. Then he looked out the Saint Nazaire's window, to the repair station. The moon had just risen to an angle where its light was beginning to shine through the open dock of the repair station, and was now creeping up the sides of the Saint Nazaire. "But isn't moonlight supposed to have something to do with setting it off?"

----

Cortes got partway down the central corridor of the Saint Nazaire before he stopped, turned to smash a fist into the wall, then instead just placed his palm flat and leaned heavily against it.

He knew he'd overreacted. But he just didn't have the patience to listen to the Vector's theories at a time like this. Cheng was hurt, and Cortes felt as if he should've been able to do something more to protect him. Realistically, he knew he'd done everything he could, and he could hardly have predicted something so dangerous would be on the bloc. Perhaps he should have been cautious anyway.

What angered him the most was the attitude of everyone on the bloc. If they wanted to believe monsters were going to get them if they went outside, and turn them into monsters, well, they could believe whatever the hell they wanted. But refusing to let a hurt child into a hospital?! That was going too far. For all Cortes now cared, the entire bloc deserved to keep on living in their ignorance. All he wanted to do was get the Saint Nazaire fixed and get away from Marquis as soon as possible.

He sighed heavily, and then stepped away from the wall. He'd go and sit with Cheng for the rest of the night if he had to.

There was a crash from down the corridor, making Cortes start. He recovered and jogged in the direction it had come from, and nearly ran into Dahlia.

"Sir, it's just me!"

"Dahlia!" Cortes paused for the briefest second, overcoming his shock. "Why aren't you with Cheng?"

Dahlia seemed confused, and just a little bit scared. "Something's happened. He's..."

At that moment, something howled. It was coming from inside the ship.

Cortes shoved Dahlia aside and dashed down the corridor to the medical supply room.

"Captain…!" Dahlia recovered quickly, and ran after him.

The door to the room was shut. Cortes flung it open. Inside, Cheng was nowhere to be seen, instead, there was another of the creatures. It was smaller than the first but otherwise looked practically the same. In its mouth it had a ragged piece of green material. It looked up and saw Cortes, backed into a corner and growled.

"No!" Cortes stepped towards it, anger flaring. What had it done with Cheng!? He reached for the gun at his side.

"Sir!" Dahlia almost crashed into the doorframe as she rushed through the door behind him. She grabbed his arm around the elbow and pulled him back.

"Let me go!" Cortes growled, trying to tug his arm away and struggling to understand why she wouldn't let him at the creature. "That thing…" He stared at it, hating it. "I'm going to kill it!" He jerked his weapon away from Dahlia, but she managed to hold on and throw off his aim. The gun went off, sending a blast into the wall.

The creature yelped.

"That thing is Cheng!" Dahlia shouted, desperate to get through to him before he did something he'd regret.

Cortes froze. He slowly looked at Dahlia before pulling his arm away from her carefully.

She let him go.

Cortes looked at the 'creature' again. Suddenly it didn't look like some horrible vicious beast that he simply wanted to kill. It had backed away into a corner. It was scared.

Cheng was scared.

Cortes swallowed, and took a cautions step forward. "Cheng…"

Cheng growled out a warning, and shuffled back further, brushing through a pile of shredded and bloodied bandages. Though it was difficult to tell under all the fur, he himself appeared to no longer be bleeding.

"Sir, be careful…" said Dahlia. She was worried as Cortes had moved further into the room, away from her and the door.

Cortes ignored her. He moved carefully forward again, and then knelt down on the floor.

Cheng continued to growl, but had now backed all the way into the corner and had nowhere else to go.

"Cheng, it's okay. It's just me…"

Cheng barked, snapped his teeth and darted forward.

"Look out!" Dahlia grabbed Cortes by the back of the shirt with one hand, the other grabbing the handle of the door beside her.

She managed to pull Cortes far enough back, and the door far enough shut, that Cheng smashed into the other side of the door and forced it shut all the way. He hit with such strength that both Cortes and Dahlia were flung back against the opposite wall.

Inside the room, Cheng could be heard throwing himself hard against the door again and again.

"I was just sitting with him… and… he turned into… that…" Dahlia tried to explain, short of breath. "I only just got out the first time…" she trailed off; Cortes just sat with his back against the wall, staring straight ahead at the shut door. "Sir..?" She put a hand gently on his shoulder.

The opposite wall shuddered as Cheng threw himself against the door again.

"I nearly shot him."

"It's not your fault…"

"What's going on?" The Vector had arrived. He stood in the corridor with Mahad and Lena; they'd heard the commotion on their way to check that the moonlight wasn't having an affect on Cheng.

"Cheng…" started Dahlia, but stopped and jumped as the far wall again shuddered. Snarls could be heard through the bulkhead.

Everyone turned and stared at the door. Imagining, but not quite wanting to believe what the sounds suggested was behind the door. For a moment there was absolute silence, save for the animalistic noises coming from beyond the wall.

"He's turned into a werewolf, hasn't he?" said the Vector, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Cortes just looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot.