A/N: Welcome to the Rejects! Through the course of writing Intering on the Aronnax, I've come across alternate ways various scenes could have gone. These ideas are usually rejected due to being too emotional for the time, Finn is revealed early, or somebody ends up dying. (I'm serious, the squid incident was going to kill Finn at one point.) This also includes interesting sub-plots that don't make the cut because it's too complicated or pulls from the story. (Finn's twin AU, anyone?) So! Since I've babbled those ideas to various reviewers and they've wanted to see them, I decided to just go ahead and throw this together.
Chapters are in no particular order, written as inspired (sometimes while working on the actual chapter, sometimes coming after), and aren't always edited as well as normal. Each chapter stands alone and shouldn't be taken into Interning's context.
First off, is my early reveal of Finn that I posted as an April Fools' day special!
Fontaine couldn't leave during a mission, but Finn watched everything from the bridge cameras. Unsurprisingly, Kaiko turned the sub toward the creature's location as soon as she knew which way to go.
Finn watched the mission preparations in interest. Kaiko, constantly scanning routes and tweaking the Aronnax's path, didn't leave the pilot's chair the entire trip. Fontaine and Ant alternated between researching what they could see of the creature and keeping updated on Devil Daniels' videos. Will stared at his console the entire time, though Finn didn't have a good enough angle to see what Will was doing.
When the Aronnax reached the location of the camera that had recorded the creature, the search was on. Fontaine and Ant took the Rover to search, Will used a drone, and Kaiko watched their sonar.
Finn watched the Rover cameras, wanting to see the strange creature as much as the Nektons. Was it really as dangerous as Devil Daniels had made it to be? Finn knew the "monster hunter" was pretty fake, but what if he was right this time?
Unfortunately, even after three hours, the hunt turned up nothing. Will returned the drone and called his kids back.
Finn watched the Rover surface in the Moon Pool. Fontaine reported to Will that they hadn't seen a thing, then left. Finn was about to check on Kaiko, when Ant cautiously approached Will.
Finn couldn't help tensing. Will hadn't been pleased with Ant, since he'd been the one -albeit accidentally- who had allowed the world to see the giant creature. It would be like Finn telling the world about Hammerhead's newest treasure!
"Dad?" Ant said hesitantly. "It's been three hours. Are you still mad at me?"
...yeah, Ant had no survival instincts whatsoever.
When Will just looked at him, Ant went on, "When I say mad, I'm assuming more… disappointed?"
"Mad is accurate," Will said, voice way too bland.
Finn leaned forward. "Ant, get out of there!"
Instead, Ant just rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his feet. "Okay."
"Every day, more unusual and prehistoric creatures are appearing in our oceans," Will said.
Ant looked up, unconcerned and curious. "Why is that?"
"I don't know." Will's voice hardened. "But we can't afford to have them exposed to the world until people are ready!"
Ant sighed. "I'm really sorry, dad."
Will's hand moved toward Ant.
Finn's finger jabbed the tablet's comm button as he screamed, "Stop!"
Seconds earlier…
"Fontaine."
Fontaine, on her way to sneak off to check on Finn- startled and turned toward her mom approaching her. She hoped she didn't look too guilty.
"Yes, Mum?" Fontaine said.
Luckily, Kaiko's attention was on her tablet. "I want you to check something…"
Fontaine stepped forward to see what Kaiko meant. The hall speakers screeched, making Fontaine and Kaiko jump. Then, a familiar voice filled the halls.
"Stop!"
"Finn?" Fontaine sputtered before she could stop herself.
Kaiko looked quickly from the speaker to Fontaine. The girl grimaced, then Finn was yelling again.
"Get away from Ant!"
Fontaine jumped when Kaiko grabbed her arm. "Mum, I-"
"Explain later," Kaiko said. "We need to find Ant."
"He's with Dad in the Moon Pool room," Fontaine said, pulling Kaiko with her into a run. "Something must have happened!"
Luckily, they weren't far from the Moon Pool room. Fontaine and Kaiko burst into the room, on edge and hopefully ready for whatever threat they faced.
There was nothing.
Fontaine scanned the room again. Nothing had changed since she left. Will and Ant stood a short distance apart. Will had his hands up calmingly, and Ant just stared in confusion.
"What happened?" Kaiko asked tersely.
"Stay. Away." enunciated Finn over the speaker. "From. Ant!"
Kaiko looked at Fontaine. "What's going on?"
Fontaine shrugged helplessly. Kaiko gestured at the speaker.
"You seem to know just a little bit."
Fontaine winced at Kaiko's harsh words.
"Stop!"
The scream, accompanied by harsh feedback, made Fontaine cry out and cover her ears. Everyone stumbled away from each other, then waited.
Silence.
"Fontaine?" Will said. "What does Kaiko mean?"
Well, she couldn't talk herself out of this one… Fontaine sighed and straightened.
"Okay, Finn, what's wrong?" Fontaine asked, ignoring Will and Ant's surprise.
"He was going to…" Finn's voice trailed off.
His tone and the fact that he hadn't reacted to Fontaine revealing his presence told Fontaine that something was really wrong.
"That's Finn?" Will asked. He moved quickly forward, hand gesturing toward the speaker. "How did you-"
"Stop!" Finn yelled.
Will froze. Fontaine's eyes found Will's upraised hand. Her mind finally put the pieces together, much as it horrified her.
"Finn, it's okay," Fontaine soothed. "Dad's not going to hurt me or Ant."
"What?" Will looked at Fontaine. "I would never hurt my kids!"
The speaker was silent for a long moment, then, "You… wouldn't?"
"Never!" Will said solemnly. "I may get mad or disappointed, but I would never, ever hurt them for a mistake."
"Yeah, what made you think that?" Ant asked. "I'm pretty sure I was just going to be subjected to the 'disappointed dad look.'"
Finn was silent.
Fontaine shook her head, feeling sick as she answered, "Because Hammerhead would."
"Only if we deserved it!" Finn snapped back. "If we make a mistake, the Cap'n is just reacting so that we don't do it again."
"'Reacting'?" Kaiko repeated.
"Like, sending you to your room?" Ant asked, slightly oblivious to what Finn meant. "Because I got too old for spanking, like, three years ago."
"You don't…" Finn trailed off again.
"No," Will said firmly. He knew exactly what Finn meant. "Kaiko and I don't strike Fontaine or Ant."
Several minutes of silence passed this time. Fontaine waited tensely for Finn's reaction, but none came. She was so intent on listening, she jumped when Kaiko touched her shoulder.
"Where's Finn?" Kaiko asked.
Fontaine had a flashing thought of how much trouble she was going to be in, but she quickly shook it off. This was -kinda- what she had wanted from the start, and Finn pretty clearly wasn't okay.
"Follow me." Fontaine's eyes widened. "And we have to hurry before Finn tries to run away again."
Confusion crossed Kaiko's face, then she nodded. The Nekton family bolted, Fontaine in the lead.
"Finn, it's us," Fontaine called after a few minutes of crawling through the ducts. "We're coming in, okay?"
Fontaine hesitated at what seemed to be a dead end. Kaiko, right behind her, waited until Fontaine reached out and pushed a gray cloth aside. Fontaine poked her head into the hidden space beyond.
"Finn?" Fontaine dropped out of sight.
Kaiko crawled the last few feet and peered into Fontaine's hideout.
The room had changed since Kaiko helped her daughter set it up. There was a cot and clothes in one corner, and many more books than Fontaine usually borrowed at once. A water bottle and some containers were on the floor. An unfamiliar tablet, showing a view of the empty Moon Pool room, sat in the middle of the floor.
Across from the cot, Finn sat in an empty corner. Well, Kaiko had to take Fontaine's word that it was Finn. His face was pressed into his knees, showing only dark, spiky hair that was more mussed than normal. He wore regular clothes, and socks instead of boots. If he knew he had company, he didn't react.
"He's done this before," Fontaine cautioned. "I… I don't really know what's wrong, Mum."
"Will, Ant, back to the bridge," Kaiko said. She didn't know what was wrong, either, but crowding Finn would likely only do more harm than good.
"Kaiko…" Will said cautiously.
"We'll be fine," Kaiko said.
"Finn's not dangerous." Fontaine knelt near the boy. "He's just scared."
Kaiko looked at Will, and they traded a shrug. Kaiko wasn't ready to think about how long Fontaine had been keeping this very large secret from her, but she did trust her daughter's judgement.
Will gave Finn a long stare, but he did leave with Ant. Once he was gone, Kaiko turned back to the teens.
Fontaine, having moved to Finn's side, had convinced Finn to lift his head. His normal, knowing smile was gone, replaced by a troubled frown.
"I know," Finn said before Kaiko could speak. "Get off your sub."
While that had been her thought not long before, Kaiko was more curious about what Finn was doing on the Aronnax in the first place. She opened her mouth to say so, when Finn spoke again.
"Which way is land?"
"Finn," Fontaine groaned. "We've gone through this. We are not booting you off to live alone."
Wait. What?
"What happened to the-" Kaiko broke off when Fontaine frantically shook her head.
Finn met Kaiko's eyes. "I'm not going back to the Dark Orca. It's… it's not right, is it?"
Kaiko didn't understand, but Fontaine apparently did.
"No," Fontaine stated firmly. "It's not okay. Not at all." She looked at Kaiko. "Finn's not safe there."
Kaiko looked at the boy, then back to Fontaine. The girl stared firmly back, obviously set in her decision. Kaiko had never questioned her kids before, but…
Kaiko's mind flashed back to her and Fontaine's discussion a week before. Fontaine had asked about Finn and Hammerhead's relationship. That… hadn't been a coincidence. Had she gone out that day and found Finn to bring him back? Or had he been there beforehand, and something he'd said had caused her to question his family?
Looking at Finn, Kaiko didn't see a bit of defiance or trickery. He just stared at her with slightly blank eyes, slumped and resigned. Was this even the same boy who'd led the secret betrayal to take over the Aronnax after the Nektons saved the Dark Orca?
The same boy who'd asked -no, pleaded- with the Nektons to take him in, take him from a life he'd not asked for, a life he didn't want anymore. The same boy Kaiko had dismissed. The same boy Kaiko had let Ant dump into the ocean.
Kaiko sat down and murmured, "No." Louder, she went on, "No, I'm not sending you back there. Not if you don't want to."
Finn stared at his fingers. "No. I… I don't want to go back."
"Then you won't."
Kaiko pushed herself to her feet. She made a mental note to move slower when Finn flinched. Then, she reached a hand out slowly, palm up.
"Let's get to the bridge. We still have a creature to find, and could use another pair of eyes."
Finn blinked at her, confusion filling his gaze. "You want my help?"
Mind flashing back to Finn asking to join them three weeks before, Kaiko nodded. Finn looked at Fontaine, who stared at Kaiko with wide eyes.
Admittedly, Kaiko was startled with her own spur-of-the-moment decision, but it felt right. And if Fontaine had been hiding Finn for any length of time and Finn hadn't caused any trouble -quite the opposite, Kaiko mused as she remembered the mystery repairs- there had to be some truth to Finn's request.
Something must have shown in Kaiko's eyes, because Fontaine lit up. The girl stood, then nodded to Finn.
Finn raised a hand slowly, hesitantly. It took a moment, but he leaned forward and took Kaiko's hand.