A/N: This chapter is most definitely a reject. It's honestly pointless angst. Everything that I won't bother listing aside, I'm still glad I wrote this. I was originally going to keep a low-key version of "the curse will literally kill them" where it took longer and never actually happened until after Interning, but realized it simply didn't work. There's too many factors at play, most of which I can't explain yet. Because spoilers.
It kicks off right after Finn and Fontaine got sick, and the Abyss episode is ignored. For the sake of space, time (I try to not spend too much time on rejects), and spoilers, I removed a lot of Interning factors.
Guest responses!
Lily: Thanks! Rat was fun to write. I'm excited, too! 0w0
somibel: I made myself sad there, too. Oopsie. I want a Lemurian water dog, too! She'd be perfect for the Nektons!
The sickness came out of nowhere, knocking Fontaine down and out for a full day. She threw up everything she put in her mouth, developed a fever, and rambled nonsense before dropping into a fevered sleep.
Then, as suddenly as it had come, the sickness left. Less than forty-eight hours after the terrifying morning, Fontaine was on her feet and back to her old self.
Mostly.
Physically, Fontaine suffered no aftereffects of the mystery sickness besides dehydration and lingering exhaustion. However, Kaiko suspected something was still wrong for Fontaine mentally.
Fontaine had always been the quieter of the Nekton kids, but now she almost never spoke. She gave up teasing Ant -though Kaiko was sure he was intentionally giving her more opportunities- and she didn't protest when Kaiko ordered frequent rest after the sickness.
Now, Fontaine just… stared. Sometimes as the screen or intently at passing ocean creatures, but sometimes into space. Half the time, Fontaine's eyes shone a dim blue, a far cry from the bright glow of the past.
Another abnormality Kaiko found was Fontaine had become a restless sleeper. Monitoring Fontaine's sleep patterns with her comm, Kaiko found Fontaine slept only a couple hours at a time before waking for several minutes, then resuming sleep.
Kaiko ran test after test, but everything put Fontaine in perfect health. If not for the eyes and odd sleep patterns, Kaiko might have believed it.
Questioning Fontaine provided zero answers, as well. Fontaine sometimes complained of being tired, but that was all. If Kaiko pressed, Fontaine became twitchy and guarded.
Kaiko eventually had to stop asking, for fear of driving Fontaine further away. All she could do was step back, watch, and hope Fontaine open up on her own.
A week after Fontaine recovered, Kaiko got her wish.
"Mum?"
Kaiko turned and found Fontaine standing in the doorway of Kaiko and Will's room. Kaiko fought a frown, knowing she'd sent Fontaine to bed two hours before.
"What is it?" Kaiko asked, approaching Fontaine.
"I…" Fontaine lowered her -currently non-glowing- eyes. "I need your help with something."
"Okay, let's go," Kaiko said, then added over her shoulder as Will left their bathroom. "Will, I'll be right back."
Kaiko followed Fontaine into the hall, where they stopped. Kaiko silently rubbed Fontaine's back, letting the girl gather her thoughts.
"It's over here," Fontaine suddenly said.
Fontaine broke into a jog down the hall, and Kaiko hurriedly followed. Fontaine didn't give any explanation, only led Kaiko to one of the lesser used halls of the Aronnax.
"What's wrong?" Kaiko asked, feeling distressed when Fontaine again hesitated.
Fontaine just waved a hand, then removed a panel in the wall. Fontaine vanished into the hidden vent. As she crawled after her, Kaiko recognized the area as the vent leading to Fontaine's hideout.
Sure enough, the vent soon opened into a small room Fontaine had turned into her own. Kaiko froze near the opening, face twisting at a terrible smell from inside. Kaiko recognized the smell as a sickroom, giving her pause before she rushed on.
It took only a glance for Kaiko to see Fontaine had really changed the room since Kaiko had helped her set up. The inflatables and odds-and-ends hanging on the pipes had been removed. More rugs were scattered about, along with clothes and various books. A backpack spilled food items, and several bowls of water sat on the floor.
Most significant was the cot shoved against one wall. Or, more specifically, the fact that someone was occupying the cot!
While Kaiko gaped, Fontaine went to the cot. She touched the stranger's shoulder, prompting a small sound. They gradually unfolded themselves and turned their head.
"Finn?!" Kaiko exclaimed.
Fontaine and Finn flinched.
"I- h-he needs h-help," Fontaine stammered.
Kaiko made herself calm down. Finn was obviously not well, just based on his silence and restless motions on the cot. There would be times for explanations later, not-
Finn's eyes fluttered open, and Kaiko saw a familiar glow behind the lids. She swung her gaze to Fontaine's, and found the same glow.
Okay, maybe it was time for explanations.
"How?" Kaiko asked.
"He ran away," Fontaine mumbled. "I wanted to help him, but longer and longer passed, and then our eyes started glowing, and Nereus said Finn's an Atlantean, and that's why we got cursed? It was fine, we were fine, but then we got sick, and I got better, but Finn just got worse, and I know I should've said something earlier, but it's not safe, we don't want to go, Mum!"
...yeah, Kaiko didn't understand.
Finn groaned, and Kaiko had to admit there were more pressing matters at hand.
Kneeling beside the cot, Kaiko eased the blanket off Finn. The boy grimaced, a thin whine coming from his throat. Fontaine made a startled noise and appeared to be about to push Kaiko away before catching herself and hugging her arms. Kaiko glanced at Fontaine, then focused on Finn.
Finn was freezing to the touch. Kaiko couldn't see any injuries, but he frequently whined while Kaiko was checking him. He also reeked, making Kaiko wonder when he'd last gotten a proper cleaning.
"I'm not seeing anything wrong," Kaiko murmured. "Fontaine, can you help me get him out of here?"
Fontaine again hesitated, then nodded. Kaiko called Will's comm and asked him to bring a stretcher to the hall.
Getting Finn outside was no easy matter. Kaiko took his shoulders and Fontaine got his legs, but Finn whimpered and writhed until they swapped places and Fontaine could speak to him. Once they got Finn into the vent, Fontaine had to drag him backward while Kaiko pushed from behind.
"What-" Will started when Fontaine and Finn appeared from the vents.
"We'll figure it out later," Kaiko said from out of view. "But he's sick."
Will held in his questions and gently transferred Finn to the stretcher. Fontaine stayed by his head, murmuring and clutching Finn's hand while Kaiko and Will wheeled the stretcher to the infirmary.
Once to the infirmary, Finn was moved onto a rubbery platform with curved walls. Kaiko pulled off Finn's shirt. She grimaced when he began to shiver, but there was no helping it. She closed a short curtain arching over the platform at Finn's shoulders, then directed Will to finish undressing and clean Finn while she took care of scans.
Fifteen minutes later, Finn was clean and in fresh clothes. Will put him in a soft infirmary bed, Fontaine remaining in silence at his head. Kaiko's scans finished moments later, so she pulled up the results on her tablet.
"Fontaine," Will started as Kaiko scanned the results. "Why is Finn on the Aronnax?"
Fontaine stumbled through a less disjointed explanation. How Finn had followed after the Nektons' last interaction with the Dark Orca, how the two of them had hidden Finn's presence while they found him a purpose, how Finn was the Atlantean "spirit" and had somehow caused the curse between him and Fontaine, and how the two had been afraid Kaiko and Will would send Finn away because of the curse.
"B-but then we both got sick," Fontaine went on. "I got better, but F-Finn just got worse and… and I thought it would pass, I thought I could help him, but then I g-got up this morning, and Finn wouldn't wake up, a… and I was more scared of him dying then…"
"Yes?" Will urged gently.
"Don't send him away!" Fontaine pleaded, eyes shining with tears and none of the unearthly glow.
"Finn isn't going anywhere," Will promised.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Kaiko added. She lowered her tablet. "He's not going anywhere."
Fontaine blinked slowly at Kaiko, sending a single tear tracking down her cheek. Her eyes were sad and distant, as though she didn't believe them.
And that was worse than Finn's state.
Finn opened his eyes at dawn. He and Fontaine stared at each other, eyes aglow, for half an hour in silence.
Kaiko watched them, wanting to know what they were thinking, what they were saying with their gazes. But she held her tongue and returned to her screen.
When Kaiko looked up again, Finn was sitting up and leaning against the wall. He and Fontaine were holding hands and staring at Kaiko.
"How are you feeling?" Kaiko asked, uncertain which one to direct the question toward.
"Better," Finn said slowly. "I… I feel better, I think."
Whether the uncertainty in his gaze or the distrust in Fontaine's eyes, Kaiko didn't believe him.
Two days passed. Finn never really got better, but he at least didn't get worse. Fontaine never left his side and Kaiko never tried to send her away. Kaiko ran test after test and made Finn eat whenever he was awake. Will and Ant were kept busy trying to find Nereus, the only person with the slightest idea about the curse.
Day three marked improvements all around. Finn was able to sit up on his own and Kaiko finally felt he was really present. Ant rushed into the room at noon to announce Nereus had called them, and they were going to pick the mystery man up. By evening, Nereus was on board and Kaiko was ready for answers.
Even if she didn't like them.
"Here is what I know about the Atlantean curse," Nereus said after seeing Finn and Fontaine. "It will do everything in its power to keep the cursed safe."
"Then Finn isn't sick because of the curse?" Fontaine asked.
"I'm afraid that, yes, the curse has sickened Finn," Nereus said.
"Then it's doing a terrible job at keeping us safe," Finn rasped. He blinked his lightly glowing eyes.
"Here's the thing," Nereus said, gesturing at nothing. "The curse will remove you from danger in any way possible, no matter how extreme. You were both ill recently, correct?"
"Yeah, threw up all day," Fontaine said.
"That was because of the curse?" Kaiko asked.
Nereus nodded.
"Then we have to get rid of the curse," Kaiko said. "If we separate them-"
Fontaine and Finn cringed, both of their eyes brightening. Nereus shook his head.
"Unstable as the curse is, doing so could kill them both," Nereus said.
It took a second for Nereus' words to sink in. Once they did, Kaiko jolted forward.
"What?!"
"The curse seeks to rid the cursed of whatever may harm them," Nereus said. He seemed to be struggling to explain. "That's why they were both sick. Vomiting is the body's way of getting rid of toxins, yes?"
"But there wasn't anything wrong in the first place," Kaiko said in frustration. "And what's this about the curse killing them?"
"I don't understand it, either, but if Finn or Fontaine become too distressed, the curse will deem the best way to fix everything is to just… remove everything altogether."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Will said. "And I've spent my whole life searching for ridiculous things!"
"Magic is unpredictable," Nereus said, silencing the Nektons.
"What?" Ant asked after a minute. "Magic?"
"You expected something else?" Nereus asked. "Magic is all but gone in this world, but it lives on in a few things. Atlantean bonding is one of them."
"Can't he just… turn it off?" Ant asked.
"Even if he was trained in magic, I don't believe the Atlantean curse can be 'turned off,'" Nereus said. "Only adjustments made to accommodate."
"How? Is Finn and Fontaine just going to fall sick at the drop of the hat?" Kaiko asked tiredly. "What are we supposed to do, Nereus?"
"Exactly as you are doing now," Nereus said. "Just the fact that Finn is already getting better says you're doing the right thing."
"Okay, but after he gets better?" Will asked. "Curse or not, Hammerhead's going to want his son back."
"Are you sure?" Ant asked before anyone else could react. "Because by my count, it's been five weeks and, uh, no Hammerhead."
Kaiko blinked, then glanced at Will. "That is odd. Hammerhead can't go a month without causing trouble, but there hasn't been a peep from him."
"The Cap'n's not an idiot," Finn chimed in. "He has to know I'm on the Aronnax. If he wanted me back, he'd have told you by now."
"Well, if Hammerhead is going to remain silent," Kaiko mused. "I don't see why Finn can't stay."
Fontaine leaned forward. "Really? Just like that? He can stay?"
"There's no reason to send him off," Kaiko said with a shrug.
Fontaine and Finn grinned at each other.
"That's not to say you're not in trouble, young lady," Kaiko said, voice going firm. "You did hide Finn from us for five weeks."
Fontaine wilted, but the hope in her eyes didn't dim. Kaiko shook her head, chuckling a bit despite herself.
Days passed. Fontaine improved until she was back to her old self, cheerful despite being grounded indefinitely. Finn improved slowly, but somehow never gained much strength.
Nereus left for information on Atlanteans, Will and Ant pored over the Chronicle for details on the curse. When Fontaine revealed Finn knew Lemurian, studies of the Chronicle usually took place at Finn's beside. With Finn's help, several sections of the Chronicle were translated, but to no avail.
Because the whole issue would likely have been avoided if Fontaine hadn't hidden Finn for so long, Fontaine was assigned as Finn's caretaker. Kaiko highly doubted Fontaine thought of it as punishment.
Fontaine kept an eye on Finn's vitals and researched a dozen remedies to help Finn regain his strength. Kaiko set up a schedule of exercises for Finn, and Fontaine made sure he followed it daily.
After a week, Fontaine and Finn's eyes stopped glowing altogether. Kaiko took this to mean they were settling into Finn's presence becoming known. She didn't wholly understand why the teens had been so frightened to reveal Finn to the rest of the family, but she was immensely grateful when they were finally comfortable enough to at least be in separate rooms when the need arose.
Two weeks after Finn was revealed, Will carried the boy off the Aronnax to the shore of a small island. Fontaine trotted at his side, carrying a large blanket. She found a suitable spot for the blanket and spread it on the sand, then Will set Finn on the blanket.
Kaiko, still on the Aronnax ramp, watched them. Her attention slid to the side when Ant raced by with the Jorange on his back, then returned to the trio.
When Finn's condition remained the same, Kaiko had suggested getting the boy out in the fresh air for a bit. She guessed part of his weakness was due to lack of movement while hiding, and hoped getting him outside would help.
The group spent an hour outside. The air seemed to energize Finn, but he still lacked the strength to stand without Will's help.
The process was repeated daily. Finn was brought outside, where he and Will walked a slow circuit of the beach. Each day ended with Finn exhausted but excited. Kaiko worried over the lack of change, but hid it from the kids.
"Why isn't he getting better?"
Kaiko whispered the question two weeks after their first beach excursion. As always, Finn was smiling and laughing, but he resisted Will's encouragement to stand. His cheeks were more flushed than normal.
They'd missed one day of outdoor exercise due to bad weather, and Finn had slipped right back to where he'd started. Perhaps worse.
Kaiko glared at her tablet, like it was withholding answers from her. She'd found the source of Finn's weakness -his body wasn't absorbing nutrients like it should- but still didn't know why.
Kaiko had tried giving Finn different foods, vitamins, and had gone so far as using an IV for a couple days. Still, Finn's body simply refused to take in the nutrients it needed.
She'd run every test in the book, called every doctor friend, even consulted a wizened old woman who thought throwing lavender in the ocean would calm a storm. Nobody could explain it.
Finn was young, had been in perfect health, with the best foods, air, and doctoring. He showed no symptoms of illness, just a persistent weakness. What was wrong?
Watching Finn lay back on the blanket, Fontaine and Will exchanging worried glances over him, Kaiko prayed she'd find answers.
Answers came in the form of Nereus the next day.
Being on land had been helpful in the past, so the Nektons and Finn had camped outside for the night. They'd been woken in the morning by Ant hollering about a spider on his chest, and found Nereus beaching a rowboat beside the Aronnax.
While Ant danced around, wiping at imaginary spiderwebs, Kaiko approached the old man. She wasn't even going to ask why he was in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean; all she wanted was answers.
"Everyone sit down," Nereus said before Kaiko could ask.
Kaiko's heart dropped.
Everyone gathered around Finn's blanket and sat. Finn was grinning like usual, but one hand had a white-knuckle grip on Fontaine's.
"I told you before that Lemurians and Atlanteans were at war," Nereus said.
Everyone nodded.
"According to everything I have read, the war never ended." Nereus paused and pursed his lips, then went on. "Lemurians and Atlanteans cannot coexist. I don't know why -DNA, magic, who knows- but they simply cannot. Their very souls clash."
Finn and the Nektons gave Nereus confused looks.
"If a Lemurian and Atlantean come close together, they will do all they can to get away, no matter what it takes. Neither knows why. To this day, we can only guess. Some react more harshly than others."
"I don't understand," Kaiko said. "Does this have anything to do with why Finn isn't getting better?"
Nereus nodded. "Remember when I told you that the curse could try to remove the cursed from something that could harm them?"
"Finn's getting sick because he's near something Lemurian?" Ant asked, receiving a nod. "Okay, is it, like, a thing? Dad's got some Lemurian artifacts in his study."
Will went pale at the thought that his life's work was making Finn sick. His mind raced for some way to keep Finn safe from his research.
"We'll separate them," Will said immediately. "Suppose Finn stays at home base when we get close to finding more artifacts?"
"I'll stay with him," Fontaine piped up.
"We'll find a place to keep the artifacts away from Finn," Kaiko said. "Setting up a research lab would be easy enough."
Kaiko had a fleeting thought of amusement over how far the Nektons had come in regards to Finn. Only a month, and they were all willing to postpone Lemurian research and move Will's life work off the Aronnax. She hadn't thought about the change she'd felt toward the boy until that moment.
"Mr. Nereus?" Ant asked.
Kaiko brought her attention back to Nereus. The old man's expression was pained.
"There is something I should have told you all long ago," Nereus said. "William, why do you suppose you, your parents, your grandparents, and countless generations of your family have sought to find Lemuria?"
"We like a mystery?" Will offered.
"That is true," Ant said with a nod.
"No. You- all of you," Nereus' gaze swept over the Nektons, "You all are Lemurian. For generations, you have been searching for-"
"Home," Will cut in, sounding awed. "We were looking for home. Nereus, you must be joking!"
"I am not," Nereus said. "The Guardians have watched the Nekton family for centuries. Your family can be traced all the way back to Queen Doreus."
Will shook his head slowly. "That's-"
"Terrible!" Fontaine exclaimed.
Startled, Kaiko looked at Fontaine and saw she was crying. "Fontaine, what's wrong?"
"It's us, isn't it?" Fontaine said shakily.
Nereus nodded his head slowly. Kaiko looked between the pair, her mind moving slowly. Perhaps it was somewhat intentional, but surely Nereus didn't mean…
"I'm Lemurian," Fontaine whimpered, squeezing Finn's hand. "Finn's Atlantean. We're connected, and Finn's the one with the magic. The connection -this curse- is killing Finn because of us!"
The Nektons decided the only solution was their first one: take Finn to home base and hope it would be enough. If it wasn't -if being technically a Lemurian base was too much- they'd have to find someone else to watch Finn. It wasn't a perfect solution and separating the teens held its own risk to them both, but it was the best they could come up with.
Kaiko pushed the Aronnax all the way to home base, fearful of Finn spending any longer than necessary. Everyone was relieved when Finn's condition remained stable.
Unfortunately, it didn't last.
Kaiko expected the separation to affect Fontaine and Finn. Sure enough, the Aronnax had barely left the dock of home base when Fontaine was running to the toilet to throw up. On base, Fiction reported Finn was in the same condition. It was all Kaiko could do to not turn the Aronnax back around, but doing so would only endanger Finn.
Luckily, the teens were calmer within a few hours. Fontaine was pale and her eyes glowed for the rest of the day, but Kaiko was just glad that she wasn't throwing up.
The solution wasn't perfect, but it worked. Aside from slight relapses when Fontaine and Finn missed each other, Finn's recovery suddenly sped along.
He and Griffin -who wasn't used to company- bonded quickly. Griffin quickly picked up doctoring skills under Kaiko's guidance via the screens, monitoring Finn and helping the teen recover his strength.
A week after arriving at home base, Finn was walking on his own. Kaiko hardly dared hope, fearing a violent relapse that might take Finn away forever.
Luckily, Kaiko's fears were unfounded. Finn grew stronger and stronger until he was his old self. He pleaded with the Nektons to come visit, reasoning that staying a day or two couldn't hurt him.
Kaiko and Will gave in, albeit hesitantly. They still knew so little about the curse and the magic that could have killed Finn. There was no telling how their presence would affect Finn.
Again, their fears didn't come true when they returned to home base. Fontaine and Finn were ecstatic and practically glued together at the hips, so inseparable were they.
After two days of joy, thrills, and nonstop chatter, Finn collapsed on a hike with Fontaine. An hour later, he was sitting on the dock, glowing eyes sad and hand raised in a wave to Fontaine standing on the deck of the departing Aronnax.
They fell into a pattern. Every two weeks, the Nektons would visit home base and Fontaine and Finn would have a day together. Short enough visits to prevent a relapse, and enough time between visits to ensure Finn was fully recovered. Again, not a perfect solution, but it worked.
Until it didn't.
Finn was nineteen. A young man, discovering his place in life and chasing adventure with a passion.
Or, he should have been.
An urgent call from Griffin had the entire Nekton family frantic. Finn had lost all his strength overnight. Nobody could wake him.
The Nektons wanted to return, but didn't dare for fear of their presence making him worse. They hoped it was a regular sickness; one that would pass.
It did pass. But not before Fontaine collapsed. Both teens were unconscious for two hours before waking suddenly in confusion and feeling fine.
It was the start of a downhill trend.
They reduced their visits, increased video time. Every effort was put out to keep Fontaine and Finn calm and happy. Telling themselves the kids were fine, this would all pass.
One visit a month. Three fits in the week before the visit, one shared by Fontaine. Kaiko struggled with staying away or going to Finn.
Another month brought four fits with no rhyme or reason. Fontaine suffered along with each fit, and once Finn had none while Fontaine lay unconscious.
Distance wasn't the issue. Two visits a month again, then three. Three fits for two months, but Finn was recovering slower. Fontaine was getting weaker.
A visit a week brought no fits, but Finn wasn't laughing anymore. Two months of weekly visits, and Fontaine's lungs were weakened.
A month apart brought a fit a week, and everyone knew it didn't matter anymore.
The Aronnax docked at home base, this time to stay. Finn stood on swaying legs and Fontaine coughed her way through a hug, but their eyes were happy and Finn dared to laugh.
Day by day, Fontaine and Finn held hands and talked. Stared at the stars and counted dolphins in the waves.
Day by day, Fontaine caught Finn when he fell.
Day by day, Finn rubbed Fontaine's back while she heaved up breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Day by day, Kaiko watched two young lives fade.
Day by day, Fontaine and Finn struggled to walk, to laugh, to simply breathe.
And days become months of fighting and clawing their way to wakefulness when they collapsed in the ocean surf. Of smiling through the pain in their chests and heaving for air. Days passed in a blur, moving too fast for two young adults who's lives were measured by months, then weeks, then days, and finally hours.
And day by day, Kaiko just closed her eyes and wished for one more.
"I'm tired."
Fontaine's voice, soft and breathless, was for Finn's ears alone. The young man looked at her, moving his head slowly as though it weighed a hundred pounds.
"Yeah. Me, too."
Fontaine and Finn fell silent then. They had snuck out to the beach before dawn, driven by a silent, shared desire to be alone and outside.
Leaning against a palm tree, Fontaine's head rested on Finn's shoulders and Finn's body leaned on Fontaine. The fingers of each of one of their hands were interlaced and laying across their laps.
"If you knew… about the curse," Fontaine said slowly, with effort. "Would you have done… anything different?"
"No." Finn's answer was immediate. "No, I can't… imagine my life without you… Fontaine."
"Me, neither," Fontaine said. "Hey, Finn?"
Finn nudged Fontaine's chin up with a weary hand. "Yeah?"
Fontaine's eyes began to glow. "I love you, Finn."
"Thought you'd never say that." Finn's glowing eyes were full of joy. "I love you, too."
Fontaine smiled contentedly. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer. Finn wrapped his thin arms around her, closing his eyes as well as a broad grin spread across his lips.
They were still in that position when Kaiko discovered them ten minutes later.
Kaiko's scolding died on her lips as she got closer. She hesitantly put a hand against Finn's neck, then Fontaine's. She worked her fingers under Fontaine's wrist, tears flooding her eyes.
They were gone.
A/N: Welp.
Originally, Alpheus was going to be the one to realize the curse was killing Finn and Fontaine. (My only regret in cutting this is losing the conversation where Alpheus looks at Finn and flatly states, "It's killing you, isn't it?") Fontaine was also going to live, but then I thought of them dying in each others' arms and there was no going back.
Finally, good news, I'm finally working on Interning again! It's slow going because the final version of the Abyss episode isn't as exciting as the original idea (which I'll be posting here next week!) but I have to get the ball rolling again.