A/N: Not to be dramatic, but this is the point of no return! I start foreshadowing in this chapter for things way out in season two! Phew! This is either a really good idea, or a really bad one. ;P

That being said, the seahorse episode was hard to rework with Finn included because he's not doing much, so I skim the episode content, then move onto the important stuff.


Half an hour later, Fontaine stared out the bridge's main view port. Will and Ant, having reconciled, huddled over Ant's tablet. Kaiko continued to study the brief flashes of video of the strange creature.

Fontaine never did figure out what had upset Finn. After letting himself be hugged and just shaking for maybe five minutes, Finn had dropped into his old, fake-smile habits. He had clearly wanted to be alone -probably embarrassed- so Fontaine had hesitantly left him.

She wondered what could have spooked Finn so badly. Since the incident with the squid, Fontaine had realized that she wasn't just searching for a way to get Finn accepted on the Aronnax. She also needed to ensure that Finn felt safe, which wouldn't be easy if Finn wouldn't tell her what was upsetting to him.

"Fontaine?"

Fontaine startled back to the present. She wondered how long Kaiko had been staring at her.

"Yeah, Mum?" Fontaine said.

"Did you hear what Ant said?"

"Uh…" Fontaine turned to see her brother looking very pleased with himself. "No."

"As I said before, we're going to prove to the world that this creature needs to be protected the same way Devil Daniels is!"

Fontaine wondered if she was missing something. "So you want to record us hunting the creature with cheesy music and weird edits?"

"No," Ant said, rolling his eyes. "We'll just make a video explaining that the creature is innocent and needs to be protected!"

"That's… a good idea, actually," Fontaine said. She wished she'd thought of it...

"I know it is," Ant said proudly. "Let me just grab a camera, and we'll be ready!"


Ant's plan was great in theory. In reality…

Okay, so it wasn't like anyone could plan the creature -which suddenly looked so much bigger- swimming right past the Aronnax. Or it nudging the Aronnax around, while all the Nektons panicked. On live camera.

The camera being left running during the whole fiasco could have been helped, but Fontaine had been kind of distracted.

But it all turned out alright. Devil Daniels was so much of a show-off, he was easy to track down. The Aronnax had arrived just in time to save the creature from Daniels' net.

The second accidental recording ended much better, even if everyone had thought that the giant sea-horse was going to hurt Daniels. And since Daniels wrapped up his episode with admitting that the creature needed to be protected, Fontaine considered the day a win.

Almost. There was just one more thing to do, and the day would be perfect.


Fontaine waited until midnight before making her move. She grabbed her backpack, which was sitting ready by her door, then hopped into the ducts.

Fontaine's first destination was the store room of clothing. She searched until she found what she needed, which she shoved into her pack, then returned to the ducts.

Fontaine adjusted her communicator settings. She had set up a separate line to connect her comm to Finn's tablet a few days before, so she could easily contact Finn.

"Finn," Fontaine said. "Finn, wake up."

There was a brief pause, then Finn's sleepy voice. "Quid?"

Fontaine blinked. "Say again?"

"Fontaine? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, but what was that?"

"What was what?"

"You said something strange. Squid?"

"Oh, er... that might have been quid. It's Latin."

"You speak Latin in your sleep?" Well, that explained Finn's occasional odd phrase.

"Sometimes, yes, but why did you wake me up?"

Fontaine shook off her amusement. "There's something I want to show you. Get up."

"What is it?"

"Just wait."

Fontaine reached the hideout shortly after and dropped inside. She grabbed a bundle from her backpack and tossed it to Finn.

"Suit up."

Finn shook out the bundle. It was a black fullsuit, just Finn's size. The legs, long sleeves, and hood were edged with red.

"You need to get out for a bit," Fontaine said. "We're going for a swim."

"Where did you find this?

"I told you that we keep spare clothes around. Spare wetsuits, too. Now hurry up, don't you want to swim?"

"But, how?" Finn asked.

"We can take the ducts to the solar ski tubes. Then, I can open the tubes with my tablet long enough for us to slip out."

"Wow. You sneak out at night very often?" Finn teased.

"Only when I have a swimming companion."

"How many stowaways have you hidden?"

"Who said my swimming companions were human?" Fontaine grinned. "Now come on."

Finn looked bemused, but didn't question her. Fontaine was just glad that he'd recovered from whatever had upset him earlier. She hopped into the ducts so Finn could change into the fullsuit, then they were on their way.

Fontaine led the way through the ducts, eventually reaching where they opened up to a small room. Each of the solar ski tubes had the small room for maintenance purposes and the only cameras were outside the rooms, making the solar skis the perfect place to sneak outside the Aronnax.

Fontaine pulled her tablet and two rebreathers from her backpack. Unfortunately, she and Finn wouldn't be able to talk since Fontaine only had the tube rebreathers handy, but they would work.

"Get ready," Fontaine said, handing Finn a rebreather. "I'm going to have the solar ski tubes run a test. This door will open for just a few seconds. We need to get inside, then the water lock will open. We have twenty seconds to swim past the locks."

Finn nodded. He pulled up the hood of the fullsuit. His hair still poked out and Fontaine hadn't been able to find him diving shoes, but it would work. And with how wide Finn was grinning, Fontaine didn't think he minded.

"Okay…" Fontaine tapped the screen. "Go!"

A panel on the tube slid open. The teens jumped inside and put in their rebreathers. The panel slid shut, then there was a warning chirp. Fontaine and Finn braced themselves, but were still knocked off their feet when the water locks opened, flooding the tube with water.

It took a moment to get oriented in the water-filled tube, then Fontaine found the opening. She checked on Finn, finding him floating beside her. He flashed her a thumbs-up, then they both swam past the water lock and into the ocean.

The Aronnax sat still in the water, just below the surface. Lights along the sub's sides lit the ocean in a gentle glow.

Fontaine set her tablet on a ledge beside the tube so she wouldn't lose it, then waved at Finn to follow her. She led the way to a corner of the Aronnax, where none of the external cameras could pick them up, then gestured for Finn to do as he wished.

Finn floated for a moment. Once he realized what Fontaine meant, his face positively lit up. In a second, he flipped and shot deeper.

Fontaine grinned and dove to follow him.


Finn was an amazing swimmer. Of course, he'd been raised on a sub like Fontaine, but she had never seen him swim so fast and freely, so his ability was a bit of a shock.

People always said the Nektons were uncanny in the water. They were faster, more agile, and supposedly had greater lung capacity than most. Fontaine assumed that if this was actually true, it was just because the Nektons had been raised in the ocean.

And it seemed that Finn was proof. He could nearly match Fontaine's speed, and had some lightning-fast maneuver to turn faster than Fontaine had ever seen.

After half an hour, Fontaine spotted a large shadow approaching. She waved to Finn, then pointed to the surface.

Finn grinned and raced past. Fontaine snorted, then darted after him. Both teens reached the surface and shot into the air at the same time.

For a moment, the teens were suspended mid-air. Droplets twinkled like a hundred moons between them. Moonlight reflected in Finn's eyes, making them brighter than Fontaine thought possible.

Then they splashed back into the ocean and everything vanished in a blur of bubbles.

Fontaine kicked back to the surface. She shook her wet hair out of her face and removed her rebreather so she could release the laughter she'd been holding.

She hadn't had that much fun swimming in a long time. And when Finn surfaced and almost lost his rebreather from laughing too hard, it was all Fontaine could do to stay afloat with her laughter.

Finally, the laughter trailed off and the teens could talk again. And just in time, Fontaine noted.

"Now, I told you that I had something to show you, remember?" Fontaine said as the shadow circled them.

Finn cocked his head. "What?"

Fontaine was about to point, when the giant seahorse lifted her head from the water beside the teens. Finn yelped in surprise, making Fontaine laugh.

"She's huge!" Finn yelled, luckily more amazed than scared. "I knew she was big, but… woah!"

"How much did you see from earlier?" Fontaine asked.

"I was watching Daniels' camera." Finn raised a hand to the seahorse while she inspected the new human. "But I didn't realize how big she was!"

Fontaine smiled at Finn's awe. "Think she'll want to play, too?"

Finn grinned over his shoulder. "Let's find out!"

Finn dove. The seahorse promptly followed, and Fontaine was on their tails.

The seahorse, as it turned out, was very playful. She weaved through the water, surprisingly graceful for something of her size. Sometimes, she'd scoop one of the teens on her back and race through the water. Fontaine could have sworn that the massive creature was smiling.

Eventually, though, the kids grew tired. They swam to the surface and tread water while the seahorse swam slow circles around them.

"Her new home is near here," Fontaine explained. "Far away from humans and cameras, so she can live in peace."

"Where did she even come from?" Finn asked, smiling at the seahorse when she lifted her head beside him.

"We don't know. She isn't the first creature, though. Until we figure out why they keep coming, we can only do our best to protect them."

"Too bad she has to go into hiding." Finn lifted a hand. "She's beautiful and friendly."

The seahorse pressed her nose against Finn's hand. Finn chuckled softly while he rubbed her nose. Fontaine paddled closer and put her hand beside Finn's.

"Maybe it won't be forever," Fontaine said. She looked at Finn and found him watching her. "My family isn't the only people protecting these beautiful creatures. Maybe, someday, they can come out and meet the world. They wouldn't have to hide anymore."

"Yeah…" Finn's face fell. "I really hope."

Fontaine opened her mouth to ask if Finn was alright, when Finn glanced to the side. His eyes widened. Fontaine looked back at the seahorse.

The seahorse was… glowing. The soft skin under her and Finn's hands glowed blue-green, and the light had spread from her nose to the tendrils on her head and the fin down her back. The seahorse's eyes, seeming brighter than before, stared at the teens.

"Woah. She didn't do this before," Fontaine breathed.

"I didn't know seahorses could glow," Finn said with a chuckle.

Fontaine moved her hand away, and the spell was broken. The glow faded and the seahorse's eyes turned away. The seahorse nudged the teens, then turned and swam swiftly away.

"Hey, where are you…" Fontaine trailed off.

Fontaine and Finn stared into the water for a long moment. Eventually, Fontaine spoke.

"I hope we see her again."

Finn nodded. "Yeah. Me, too."

"Come on." Fontaine turned. "Let's get back to the Aronnax."

"Can we do this again?" Finn asked as the teens swam closer to the Aronnax.

"Sure," Fontaine said. "And I'll get the solar ski tube testing sequence on your tablet, so you can go swimming if you want."

"That would be nice," Finn said.

Fontaine smiled at Finn, then replaced her rebreather. Finn did the same. Both teens dove to return to the Aronnax.


A/N: Guess who just became a recurring character? XD I love that seahorse (who's been named Luna), so I worked her into the plot. 0w0

Fontaine doesn't think too much about Finn speaking Latin in his sleep; it's just one of his quirks to her. And since Will likely speaks Latin and half-dozen languages, she doesn't quite realize how unusual it is.