A/N: I really give up on this chapter. I wanted to keep close to canon, but there are just... so many questionable choices made in that episode. I gave up on my third try but, hey, at least Fontaine isn't sobbing and screaming in this version!

Anyway. Jump ahead to Fontaine during Will and Kaiko testing her on her navigational abilities. Also, only the most vague knowledge of sextants going on here.

Response to Random Fan: Finn's either really brave or really bored. Both? And throw in Jeffrey? Bad mix. XD Pete is... a secret. XD Soon. Ish. Soonish!


Fontaine wondered how many teenagers got sent out in a rowboat into the middle of the ocean at five in the morning. She was willing to bet not many.

Sure, she could call her parents if she got into trouble. And it wasn't like Will had sent her out unprepared…

Fontaine regretted not studying the old-school methods of navigation as much as her parents had urged her. If she'd known that Will was going to pull her out of bed before the sun rose and sent her on an impossible mission to find Kaiko, she definitely would have practiced some more.

But, there wasn't any changing what she should have done. She was halfway through her time to find Kaiko, and she was still clueless as to where she was.

Until she finally lined up the North Star with the horizon.

"Oh, I get it!" Fontaine grinned. "I totally get it! I have conquered you, sextant!" She grabbed the compass. "And that means Mum should be right over… woah!"

In her excitement, Fontaine forgot to keep the rowboat balanced. She stood quickly, then found the rowboat rocking wildly beneath her.

"Woah!" Fontaine yelped.

Fontaine grabbed the edge of the rowboat, then felt the compass slip from her hand. It fell into the water, causing Fontaine to panic. If she lost the compass, she'd never find Kaiko! She reached quickly for the compass, forgetting that the rowboat was already off-balance.

The wood dipped sharply beneath her, and Fontaine's hand slipped. Before she could react, she fell face-first into the ocean.

Though she hadn't had time to grab a breath, Fontaine didn't let herself panic. She quickly righted herself and surfaced. She shook her hair out of her face, then took stock of her situation.

The rowboat was still right-side up, though climbing back inside would be nearly impossible in the deep water. The compass was completely gone. She was safe, had her life vest, and could tread water for hours, but she was alone in the middle of the ocean. Worst of all, Fontaine was pretty sure she'd failed her parents' test.

"Oh, no," Fontaine groaned.

Fontaine scanned the horizon. She could see Professor Fiction's island in the distance, so at least she knew which way to get home. Swimming so far in the ocean was a huge risk, though. She'd call her parents before she tried to swim back alone.

Fontaine turned back to the rowboat. Failing the test or not, Fontaine didn't want to have to be picked out of the ocean. Would it be possible to get back into the rowboat alone?

"Worth a shot," Fontaine murmured.

Fontaine paddled closer to the rowboat, then froze when something touched her foot. She looked quickly down, but couldn't make out anything in the water.

"Just a fish," Fontaine told herself.

Something hit her foot, hard enough to knock her off balance and briefly duck under the water. She flailed back to the surface, sputtering.

"Too big!" Fontaine yelped. "Please be a dolphin, please be a dolphin!"

Fontaine spotted a shadow in the water, and spun to face it. She braced herself as it rapidly grew closer.

Splash!

Fontaine yelped and swatted toward whatever had surfaced. She hit something, but stopped from striking again when she heard laughter. She blinked.

"Finn?"

Finn, wearing the fullsuit and holding a rebreather, grinned at her. Had he been following her?

Fontaine opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but Finn stopped her by raising his other hand. He held out her dropped compass, grin growing.

"Finn!"

Fontaine splashed Finn, laughing when he sputtered on the faceful of water.

"What was that for?" Finn asked, chuckling while he backed out of reach.

"Have you been following me this whole time?" Fontaine asked back.

"I heard your dad sending you out, and I was curious."

"So, that's a yes. Why are you even awake this early?"

"I always am."

Fontaine raised an eyebrow in surprise. No wonder Finn had become bored enough for a "ghost act" the previous day.

"Is it really that strange?" Finn asked. "After all, Ant and Griffin already left."

"Left the Aronnax?" Fontaine looked at the sky, which was barely lighting. "Nobody else was supposed to be up."

"And yet your entire family is up," Finn pointed out.

"I'm only up under protest, and Ant probably snuck out. I wonder what could have caused him to do that… no, Griffin's with him, and Griffin is responsible." Fontaine shook her head. "But that doesn't matter right now. I have to find Mum."

"I can help," Finn offered.

"Do you know how to use a sextant?"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Old-school methods worked a lot better than the Dark Orca's navigation instruments. I could get you anywhere in my sleep."

Fontaine snorted. "And so humbly, too."

"When you have a gift, don't hide it," Finn said, dramatically cocky.

"Okay, Mr. Gifted," Fontaine said with a haughty sniff. "But how am I supposed to do that in the water?"

"Get out." Finn threw the compass into the rowboat. "Come on. I'll hold one side so you can get in."

"Shouldn't I get in myself? It's kind of a solo test."

"Yeah, but I think you'd sink the boat if you tried," Finn said. "Rowboats aren't really made for climbing back inside alone in the middle of the ocean."

Fontaine looked at the boat, and had to agree. Her dad had barely covered getting back into the rowboat, probably assuming Fontaine knew enough to stay inside the boat or at least call if she fell out.

"I won't tell anyone if you won't," Finn said with a grin.

"Deal, ghost boy," Fontaine said.

"I'm not a ghost," Finn said as he swam to the opposite side of the rowboat.

"Tell that to the rest of my family; especially after your stunt yesterday," Fontaine said.

"Did anyone get suspicious?" Finn asked, sounding nervous. "Should I lay low again?"

"I don't think so. It's so weird. Not even Mum was curious about the 'ghost' prank."

"She was a little distracted with getting the Aronnax back to base," Finn argued.

"But Mum can multi-task, or at least have us search," Fontaine said.

"She was very distracted?" Finn grabbed one side of the rowboat. "Climb in."

With Finn steadying the rowboat, Fontaine was able to get back inside. She quickly took stock of her tools, and was relieved to find that nothing else had fallen out.

"Alright." Finn propped himself up on the edge of the rowboat. "Where are we?"

Fontaine looked at the map. She made some mental calculations, then hesitantly pointed to the map.

"I think we're here." Fontaine moved her finger four inches to the left. "And Mum should be here."

"So, north it is," Finn said, pointing across the rowboat.

Fontaine checked the compass. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Finn jutted a thumb to his right at the rising sun. Fontaine flushed at the obvious clue and busied herself with folding the map.

"I'm going to have to hurry," Fontaine said, ignoring Finn's grin. "Once I can't see the stars, I'm going to have to start all over with the sextant."

"At least it's a straight shot," Finn said.

"Yeah, but I won't know when I'm over her." Fontaine carefully stood and squinted across the dark waters. "I wonder if she'll be on the surface, or if I'll have to dive… Well, I won't figure it out just waiting here. Do you need help getting in, Finn?"

"I'd better stay out here," Finn said. "Once we're close, I'll have to stay back, anyway."

"Oh, right." Fontaine adjusted the oars, then sat down to start rowing.

Minutes passed in easy silence. Finn was content to stare across the water. He was so much more relaxed than he had been a week before, Fontaine was caught up in the moment. The only sounds were the splash of the oars.

Eventually, Fontaine said, "I think we're getting close."

Finn blinked back to the present. Without warning, he released the rowboat and ducked beneath the surface.

"Finn!"

Fontaine leaned forward, just catching herself from standing in time. She twisted, expecting to see the White Knight watching.

The ocean was empty, though. Fontaine checked the map, then Professor Fiction's island. She was straight out from a small cove she'd been using as a landmark on the west side of the island. Though, the sun rising behind the island obscured details. Was it the wrong cove?

Fontaine double-checked the map. No, she should have been far enough north. Maybe she needed to go further out.

Finn popped back to the surface. "No Knights in sight."

"So that's what you were doing," Fontaine said, relieved Finn hadn't left. "Hang on; I think we're in the wrong place."

Fontaine picked up the sextant, but the north star was long gone. By the time she got her bearings, Fontaine had a sinking feeling that she'd taken too long.

"Well?" Finn asked when Fontaine lowered the sextant slowly in defeat.

"Mum should be that way," Fontaine said, pointing further out. "But it's too late."

"Too late?" Finn asked.

"I'm pretty sure my hour is up. The sun is too high."

Fontaine glanced at her communicator, but didn't have the heart to turn it on and see how far past the time she'd gone. As she did, the screen lit up. Fontaine's eyes widened with an incredulous laugh.

"Hey, I've still got ten minutes!" Fontaine lifted one oar and shoved the other, turning the rowboat. "I can still make it!"

Finn laughed. "You really should watch more sunrises."

Fontaine grinned. She checked her comm, and was startled to find a message from Kaiko asking where she was.

"Almost there, Mum," Fontaine murmured, then sent her mom a quick message that she was on her way. "Come on, Finn!"

"Only until I see the Knight," Finn warned, but he was grinning, too.

Fontaine's comm buzzed with another message. Fontaine checked her comm. Her smile immediately dropped when she saw the message.

"Ant and Griffin have gone missing. Sorry, Fontaine, but we're going to have to finish this later. Head back to the Aronnax, okay?"

"What? No! I… I'm almost there, Mum."

Fontaine stared at her communicator for a long minute before sending a brief confirmation to Kaiko. She slowly readjusted the oars to turn back to base, but hesitated.

"Fontaine?" Finn asked.

"Mum and Dad gave me a test." Fontaine dipped an oar in the water and shoved in frustration. "Even if they aren't there, I'm finishing!"

Fontaine rowed until she thought she was far enough. She checked the sextant, but was suddenly unsure of whether or not she'd used it right.

Fontaine had told herself that she didn't care about the silly test. It had been easier to think when Fontaine thought she would fail.

But now, so close to passing the test, Fontaine realized that she did care. Her parents so rarely made a big deal about the things Fontaine knew. This test was… new. And she'd been so close to finishing, only to have it taken away because Ant couldn't sit still for two seconds.

"Fontaine?" Finn asked. "Are you okay?"

"What am I even doing here?" Fontaine muttered. "I don't even know where here is."

Finn didn't say anything. He just took the sextant and fiddled with it while treading water. After a moment, he nodded.

"Exactly where you're supposed to be."

Fontaine blinked down at him. Finn wriggled the sextant with a grin.

"Congrats, you passed the test!" Finn said.

Fontaine stared at Finn, then felt her mouth turning up in a smile. She'd done it? She'd really done it? Fontaine had told herself that she didn't care about passing the test, but now that she had… it felt amazing.

Her comm chirped. Fontaine looked guiltily down, aware that she'd ignored her mom's instructions.

"You made it, Fontaine! Sorry I couldn't be there to see you," said the message.

Fontaine looked at Finn grinning, then responded, "Maybe next time. Have you found Ant and Griffin?"

"No, Ant's signal cut off half an hour ago and your father found the solar skis abandoned."

"Wait, nobody actually knows where Ant is?" Fontaine asked aloud. Finn looked confused, so Fontaine explained. "You've seen the trackers in all of our communicators, right? It's so Mum and Dad can keep an eye on us -specifically Ant- if we wander off. There's no way to just turn off the trackers, either. But Mum can't find Ant's signal."

Finn's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"

Fontaine shook her head, her earlier anger at Ant replaced with worry. "It means Ant and Griffin are really, totally lost."


A/N: For those heartless people who want to see Fontaine screaming to the ocean, I'll be starting up Intern Rejects. It'll be all for alternate ways various scenes could have gone (usually involving tears or death) and some sub-plots that didn't make the cut.