A/N: Again: love messing with canon scenes. At first it was hard because I was trying to match canon, but then I just went, "eh, forget it," and ran with it.
Response to Random Fan: Great! Because he's going to need it. And no panicking allowed! Yet. XD
"What do you mean 'someone' else?" Fontaine asked.
"I mean, this isn't my doing!"
Will turned the Mag Knight's arm, showing the view from the Rover's cameras. It was driving quickly through the tunnel, avoiding the walls with ease.
Ant whooped. "Good job, Cooper!"
Nereus looked at him. "Cooper?"
"He's our ghost friend. He's been haunting the Aronnax for a couple weeks."
"And you let him?" Nereus sounded horrified.
"Well, he's been very helpful," Ant said.
"Great, Nereus believes in ghosts, too," Fontaine said with a sigh.
Nereus frowned at her. "And you don't?"
"She refuses to, even though we have video proof," Ant said.
Fontaine turned to Kaiko. It was simpler to just drop the topic when somebody mentioned the Aronnax "ghost."
"The Rover is nearly here," Fontaine said, staring into Kaiko's eyes. "Just hang in there, Mum."
Kaiko gave her a weak smile.
Will moved closer. "Kaiko, will you be able to hold your breath long enough to get inside the Rover?"
Kaiko blinked slowly at Will, then nodded.
"After this, we're keeping rebreather masks in the Knights," Will said.
Kaiko gave a slight chuckle.
A hum made Fontaine turn. "Dad, the Rover's here!"
The Rover dropped and circled them. It turned to Kaiko, then to Fontaine. One of the Rover arms reached out and tugged on the Swamp Knight's arms.
"What?" Fontaine said blankly, subtly asking Finn what he wanted.
"Somebody needs to be in the Rover in case Kaiko needs immediate assistance," Will said. "I think… er, Cooper wants you."
Fontaine nodded. "I have the most medical practice of the rest of us, too."
The Rover tugged again, harder, then rapidly began to fill with water. Fontaine glanced at Kaiko and saw her intent frown.
"Now or never," Fontaine said. "Ant, wait to start filling the White Knight."
"'Fill the White Knight'?" Nereus repeated, shocked.
"It's the only way to equalize pressure," Ant explained, moving the Shadow Knight to the manual controls on the White Knight.
Fontaine took a deep breath and quickly filled the Knight. She opened the dome and swam through the cold water. She shuddered, the fact that she was inside a giant sea worm suddenly strange.
Fontaine reached the Rover and dug under the console for a couple tube rebreathers. She put one in her mouth, then kicked over to the White Knight. She creased her eyebrows in a silent question.
Kaiko blinked, then nodded. As water filled the dome, she shifted upward to keep her head above water for as long as possible. She took a deep breath, then the dome was full.
"Open it!" Will told Ant.
Fontaine slid to the side while the dome swung upward. She surged forward, putting one hand on Kaiko's shoulder. With her other hand, she pushed the rebreather against Kaiko's mouth.
Kaiko flinched when the metal touched her lips. She turned her head away, clearly confused.
Trying to not panic, Fontaine followed. She pressed the rebreather into place again, sighing when Kaiko let it slip into her mouth.
Fontaine kept a hand on Kaiko's arm as she swam to the Rover. The canopy closed once Fontaine and Kaiko were inside, then the water began to drain.
Fontaine settled Kaiko into the passenger seat. Kaiko, eyes closed now, didn't react. She slumped in the seat as the water level dropped. Fontaine jerked her rebreather out, then carefully pulled out Kaiko's.
"Mum!" Fontaine rubbed Kaiko's arms. "Come on, Mum."
Kaiko grimaced, then her body jerked in a cough. A bit of water she'd swallowed while avoiding the rebreather dribbled from her mouth. She inhaled quickly, jerkily, then exhaled slowly. Her next breath was steadier.
"That's it," Fontaine said soothingly. "You're okay now."
Fontaine was just glad Kaiko hadn't swallowed more water. The day had been weird enough. She didn't need to give her own mom mouth-to-mouth.
Kaiko's eyes opened a slit. Still too breathless to speak, she slowly raised a hand to give a thumbs-up to her family.
Will, Mag Knight hovering beside the Rover, smiled. "You're going to be okay."
With Kaiko doing well on her own, Fontaine turned her attention to the console. As she did, the remote controls deactivated.
"I have control of the Rover," Fontaine said.
Fontaine briefly wondered if Kaiko was coherent enough to notice her calling Finn. She rejected the thought, unwilling to risk exposing Finn before he was ready.
"I'm attaching the Knights to the Rover," Will said.
Fontaine turned and saw Will remove his Knight's cables. In short order, the Swamp and White Knight were connected to the Rover. Nereus sat on top of the Swamp Knight.
"Everything's secure," Ant said. "Even Jeffrey!"
Fontaine shook her head at the sight of Jeffrey inside the water-filled White Knight. The fish seemed quite happy with getting a ride.
"That's everyone, then," Will said. Everyone flinched when the sea worm growled again. "Now go, go!"
Hands braced on the console, Finn barely dared to breathe until Kaiko opened her eyes.
Finn heaved a sigh of relief. He slumped against the console and turned the controls over to Fontaine. Slowly, Finn got himself back under control.
As he did, Finn remembered the cameras in the Moon Pool room. He grimaced and ducked his head lower, then darted from the room. He returned to the ducts, replacing the grate and turning his tablet on.
Finn watched the Nektons and Nereus navigate the tunnel, then shook his head. He hadn't had such intense flashbacks since the first year without his mom. Even the previous year, after Pete had… left, hadn't been so bad. What had changed?
"The entrance!"
Finn's attention snapped back to the tablet at Fontaine's cry. He tensed, seeing the stalactites and stalagmites of the entrance closing.
Were those… teeth?
The Rover jerked to a stop in front of the now narrow entrance. Everyone cried out as the only way out grew even smaller.
"I've got a plan!" Will suddenly yelled.
The Mag Knight shot forward. Will put one mechanical hand and foot into the narrow opening, then shoved up. The massive Knight worked the mouth further open, until it was between the teeth. Planting the Knight's feet and hands, Will forced the mouth open.
Ant cocked his head to the side, then turned toward some sound Finn couldn't hear. "What's that noise?"
"We can't stay here to find out," Nereus warned.
"Dad!" Fontaine yelped when the Mag Knight shuddered.
Will grunted. "You'll need to go flat out to break through the waterfall!"
The Shadow Knight drifted closer. "But what about you?"
"I'll be fine," Wil grunted. "Just go!"
Everyone hesitated, then the Rover shot forward. The Rover gained speed, then slammed through the waterfall.
The camera jerked a bit, then Fontaine had the Rover under control. The Rover immediately turned back.
With everyone else out, Finn turned to the Mag Knight's cameras. The external and internal cameras didn't tell Finn much, but he did know the Knight wasn't moving.
Will grunted, then the external camera jerked to an angle. Finn grimaced, wondering how Will was going to get out.
As the seconds ticked on, everyone outside began to worry. Their murmurings came through the speakers. Will had to hear them, but he didn't give any reassurances.
Had… had Will put himself at risk without a plan of keeping himself safe?
A new sound came over the speaker. A sort of gurgling. If the Mag Knight had been above ground, Finn would have guessed it to be water, but Will was already underwater. What was-
Cloudy water suddenly surged from deeper in the sea worm's throat. It slammed into the Mag Knight with such force, the Knight was shoved out of its tight position and straight through the waterfall!
Everyone showed their relief in sighs and grins. Will just kept blinking. His and the Mag Knight's arms were held out to the side. The Knight was covered in thick, cloudy… something.
"Will!" Kaiko said. "What happened?"
"Uh…" Will grimaced. "I think I was… burped out?"
Maybe it was his own relief, but Finn laughed hard with everyone else.
Fontaine drove the Rover toward the Aronnax with the Knights trailing behind. Will occasionally gave a groan as he flicked creature saliva off his Knight, but Fontaine was focused on her passenger.
Once everyone was free, Kaiko had closed her eyes and laid her head back. Her face was creased and her breathing was still a bit weird.
By the time they reached the Moon Pool, though, Kaiko was sounding more normal. Her eyes were still closed. Fontaine suspected she had quite the headache by then.
Fontaine surfaced in the Moon Pool. She'd nearly forgotten about Finn by then, but was jolted back to her other issue when Ant groaned.
"Cooper's gone again." Ant sighed, then perked up. "Hey, I bet we could find him on the cameras!"
"Ant, we have to take care of Mum first," Fontaine said.
Kaiko opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side to give Fontaine a tired smile. "It's okay, Fontaine. I'm curious, too."
"Okay, let's go check, then!"
Ant opened the Shadow Knight's dome and jumped onto the deck. Fontaine opened the canopy and stood. She hesitated when Kaiko didn't move, but Will came to their aid by lifting Kaiko from the Rover.
"You should go to the infirmary first," Will said gently, sitting Kaiko against the console.
"Normally, I'd say you're being silly." Kaiko closed her eyes. "But that sounds good."
"I'll get a stretcher," Fontaine said, leaping to the deck.
Fontaine bolted from the Moon Pool room, and away from Nereus' stare. She didn't stop until she reached the infirmary. Panting, she paused to look at herself in the mirror.
Everyone had told Fontaine her eyes were glowing, but it didn't make the green glow emanating from her irises any less shocking. Fontaine stared for a minute, then forced herself to turn away. Her mom needed care, then she could deal with glowing eyes.
When Fontaine returned with the stretcher, Ant and Nereus were gone. Fontaine guessed they were checking the cameras on the bridge. She wondered how much Finn had revealed himself. She half wished Finn had been waiting when they had returned.
Fontaine shook her head as Will lifted Kaiko onto the stretcher. She'd deal with the "ghost sighting" when Ant found the right footage.
"Kaiko?"
Fontaine's attention was caught by Will's voice. She looked at her parents as Kaiko, expression thoughtful, carefully sat up.
"I'm fine, Will," Kaiko murmured, eyes wandering.
Before Fontaine could question her mom, Ant's excited voice came over the comms.
"Everyone, come to the bridge right now!"
"What is it?" Will asked.
"You have to see it for yourself!"
Fontaine hid a wince. Well, that had been fast.
"We'll be right there once we get your mother to the infirmary," Will said.
"Go on ahead," Kaiko said abruptly. "I'll wait here for you."
Fontaine looked back at Kaiko and felt the sense that her mom was hiding something. Her eyes were still distracted, but curious.
"Are you sure?" Will asked.
Kaiko nodded. "I'll be fine, Will. Go on."
Will hesitated, then turned and jogged from the room. Fontaine glanced at Kaiko once more, then followed.
Fontaine tailed Will to the bridge. The door opened, then Fontaine slammed into Will's back when he stopped without warning.
Will didn't react to the collision, instead breathing out a single word. "Incredible."
Now really curious, Fontaine stepped to the side. Her eyes widened.
"No way!"
It was the seahorse! Miles and miles from where she'd been hidden, she now floated right in front of the Aronnax. As she had during the night swim with Fontaine and Finn, the seahorse had glowing markings.
"What's she doing here?" Fontaine asked after a minute.
Ant, standing in the middle of the bridge with Nereus, spun. "I have no idea! But, look! She's glowing! She didn't do that before!"
"What does it mean?" Will asked rhetorically.
"It is bad news," Nereus turned and locked eyes with Fontaine. "Very bad news indeed."
A/N: Luna's back! 0w0 Which is... bad? The following chapters had me hesitant at first, as it takes one of my AU elements much further than I'd ever planned. So. Are you ready?
I've always questioned why they made Kaiko swim to Will and the Rover when she was barely conscious, instead of taking the Rover to her. Also, why didn't she have a rebreather in the Knight? So, I turned this into the event that prompted the handy rebreathers.
