A/N: Okay, so I ditched this for a little bit, but I'm pretty sure this is the chapter for... -party horn- 200 reviews! You guys are awesome! 0w0 And, there's a new cover!
This chapter was a bit weird because Nereus talked so much. I almost cut it in two, but you guys have been waiting long enough.
Guest responses! (Got a lot since I dropped off the face of the planet.)
Random Fan: So many questions about the curse, so little time. XD Nereus actually does a decent job at explaining it here. No, any sort of attack is never fun... -hugs Finn-
Guests: (1) -gives Fontaine and Finn extra blankets because it gets worse- (2) She is! My theory is that both Violet and Hammerhead are Atlantean, though Violet is the one with the strongest Atlantean blood. (3, I believe the last eight are all yours?) ch. 18- I think I have a Knight name sorted by now, but thanks! Ch. 22- What I meant is that there may be a medically sound reason for Finn to pass out after there's sufficient air, but I'm uncertain. It's an issue that's going to be causing problems later. ;) Ch. 23- Because I can! Ch. 24+25- Eh? And I do say. ;) Ch. 27- I love that song! Ch. 54- Lost in the abyss of "Griffin got distracted." Don't worry, it's temporary!
Kiwi: Ch. 30- Funny when we find comparisons like that, eh? Ch. 54- Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! Since this is supposed to be primarily humor, I'm not going to really dwell on Finn's past, aside from him noticing differences, especially since Fontaine doesn't like him sad and won't let him focus on what used to be. 0w0 I know when Finn's going to be revealed, but it's way further out than I thought it would be!
Fontaine could tell her parents were confused when she decided to speak with Nereus alone, but she needed them gone for a few minutes. As soon as Nereus had explained her sudden sickness was due to the curse, Fontaine knew she had to check on Finn.
Once the infirmary door was closed, Fontaine called Finn on her tablet, which Kaiko had retrieved for her, "for notes." Fontaine sighed in relief when he answered, though he looked so worn.
"You got sick, too?" Fontaine said in greeting.
"Yep." Finn sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "Just finished cleaning."
"Ew."
"Not any worse than the bilge tanks on the Dark Orca."
"Finn, you're going to make me throw up again."
Finn grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Hey, we've got a few minutes. Think you can make it to the infirmary?"
"Probably."
"Good. Mum's got this electrolyte drink that really helps. There's a bottle for you near the grate. And Nereus is here. He said he found out more about the curse."
"I'm on my way. It'll take me a bit, so I'll listen on my way."
"Deal." Fontaine turned to where Nereus waited patiently. "Now, do you really think the curse is what made Finn and me sick?"
"I believe so. It's happened before," Nereus said, pulling a scroll that looked ready to fall apart from his belt. "I found various stories, but this was in the Guardians' records."
"You should really find a better way to keep records," Fontaine said drily.
"This scroll is six thousand years old," Nereus said, sounding insulted.
"Oh." Fontaine blinked. "What does it say?"
"First, I should explain the curse. It's a protective curse," Nereus said.
"That sounds counter-productive," Finn said, giving a small grunt as he climbed into the ducts.
"It's named such because only Atlanteans can set it in place," Nereus said. "And anything Atlantean is generally considered a curse."
"Gee, thanks."
"I am using Lemurian records." At least Nereus sounded apologetic.
"Okay, you win this time. What does the curse do?"
"That is when it gets… tricky," Nereus said. "There are few records of the curse, and most are unreliable. But it appears to bond an Atlantean to another."
"So… we both feel what the other does?"
"Perhaps eventually."
"No, it's happening now," Fontaine said. "Finn and I both got sick."
Nereus shook his head. "You aren't asking why you got sick in the first place."
Fontaine glanced at her tablet. Finn had stopped crawling to give the screen the same look of confusion Fontaine was.
"People get sick when a virus gets inside them, Nereus," Fontaine said.
"But do they get sick for no reason, then simply recover?"
"I mean… sometimes," Fontaine said, not understanding what Nereus was getting at.
"Really?"
"Okay, there's always a reason," Fontaine admitted. "But sometimes it's not clear and doesn't really matter because it clears up on it's own. Like the common cold."
"Except this curse is anything but common," Nereus said.
"Yes, but the curse made us sick?" Fontaine asked. "How? Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe one of us just got sick, and the curse made the other one sick. You said it's a protective curse, Nereus, but that makes no sense!"
"Throwing up is the body's way of getting rid of toxins," Nereus said, frowning worriedly. "Because you two have no doubt been stressed this week, the curse is trying to get rid of the cause of discomfort."
"By making us throw up?" Finn asked.
"I never said the curse was entirely effective."
Fontaine rolled her eyes. "Fantastic. Yeah, we were stressed because Mum and Dad went into overprotective mode and Finn's at more risk than ever at being discovered."
"Which you can't let happen because Finn is Atlantean, and you're afraid they won't let him stay on board because of the curse," Nereus said.
Fontaine nodded. "I don't want him to leave."
"And I don't want to go," Finn added.
"Finn can't leave, not while the curse is unstable," Nereus said.
"'Unstable'?" Fontaine repeated.
"Unstable appears to be the best way to describe the curse," Nereus explained.
"You've got a point. What is this curse even supposed to do, anyway?" Fontaine asked.
"The curse will do what it can to remove you from danger," Nereus said. "However, if there is nothing physical to remove or get you away from, the curse will do… other things."
"Like make us throw up because something is wrong and the curse is trying to get rid of it," Fontaine said.
"That's rather extreme," Finn huffed.
"And it can get worse," Nereus said.
"What do you mean?" Fontaine asked.
Nereus looked away. Fontaine hesitated to ask again. For once, Nereus didn't seem to be keeping quiet for the sake of being mysterious. His expression was too mournful.
"Nereus?" said Finn, who couldn't see Nereus. "Nereus, how can it get worse?"
"Like I said, the curse will remove you from danger in any way possible," Nereus said slowly. "In cases where the cursed are permanently separated, the curse may consider death to be the best option."
There was a pretty high chance that everyone heard Finn's "wait, what?!" but he didn't really care just then. Finn gave up crawling to stare at his tablet, sure there was a punchline to Nereus' very unfunny joke.
"What kind of protection curse kills?" Fontaine demanded.
"It's an Atlantean curse; who knows why they thought it was a good idea," Nereus said.
"That's the worst idea in the history of worst ideas!" Fontaine snapped.
"Nevertheless, you are stuck with the Atlantean curse," Nereus said.
"A curse that can just 'nope' us out of existence." Fontaine rubbed her face. "What's the cure?"
"If there was a cure, it was lost with the Atlanteans," Nereus said.
"Fantastic. Are you sure the curse could kill Finn and I?"
"Only in a very extreme situation," Nereus said. "Theoretically, if the separation was done calmly, you would be fine. As you are right now, however, the stress would cause the curse to… kick into overdrive, I believe the saying goes."
"Okay, okay…" Fontaine exhaled.
"I guess it's a good thing your parents still think I'm a ghost?" Finn tried.
"Yeah. Hard to get rid of a ghost." Fontaine shook her head. "How do you know the curse could kill us, Nereus?"
Nereus raised a beat-up scroll. "This scroll is the Guardians' most reliable source of information on the curse. The writer explains the effects of the curse."
"Why isn't there more information on the curse?" Fontaine asked. "You said there were other sources. Why is this one scroll so important?"
"It's Lemurian."
"Which… makes it more reliable?"
"For Guardians, yes."
Finn shrugged and resumed crawling. "Works for me. I just want answers. Why aren't there more scrolls written by Lemurians about the curse?"
"It's the only known case in which one of the cursed was Lemurian," Nereus said.
"And it's really reliable?" Fontaine asked.
"As reliable as one can get," Nereus said confidently.
"And that scroll makes you think Finn and I could die?"
"Yes."
Fontaine sighed. "Fine. But Mum and Dad have to hear it, too."
"Of course." Finn kept moving, hearing a moment later as Nereus said, "William, Kaiko, I believe you'll want to hear this."
"Fontaine, how are you feeling?" Kaiko asked.
"I'm fine, Mum."
"Are you sure? You're pale again. Maybe you should rest."
"No, I'm not tired, it's, um… about the curse…"
"What about the curse?"
Finn grinned at Kaiko's suddenly angry tone. He glanced at his tablet and saw Kaiko glaring at Nereus.
"Maybe Nereus should just tell you," Fontaine said.
"Ah, yes." Nereus spread the scroll. "As I explained to Fontaine, this scroll holds record of a Lemurian caught in the Atlantean's curse."
"When did it happen?" Will asked.
"Over six thousand years ago, before Lemuria was lost," Nereus said.
"And that's the only time it's in Lemurian records?"
"Lemurians and Atlanteans never mixed," Nereus explained. "The writer explains this as a mistake."
"What's the story?" Ant asked, clearly bored with the history.
"The writer tells of a Lemurian named Niko. He was from one of the royal branches."
"He was a prince?" Ant asked.
"Yes, but with little chance at ruling. He was the second son of the king's sister, so he would never have taken the throne."
"In Lemuria, younger siblings or cousins to the rulers were often trained as advisors or bodyguards for the Rulers. They were known as Guardians."
"Is that where the Guardians got their name?" Ant asked.
Nereus paused. "I don't know. Perhaps."
"So, Niko was a Guardian?" Will guessed.
"Yes, he was. Niko was cousin to Queen Doreus, having been born to the sister of her father. Aside from Niko and Queen Doreus, the royal line of this time is largely unknown. The writer, Nereus, recorded many stories about Lemuria, but apparently wasn't keen on bloodlines."
"The writer's name was Nereus?" Will asked.
"Yes, he is my namesake," Nereus said.
"Now, the story goes that Atlanteans were spotted on Lemurian borders," Nereus said, running a finger along the tattered scroll. "A patrol, which included Niko, was sent to drive them away. Battle ensued, and a single Atlantean was taken prisoner."
"The writer goes on to explain that Niko began to act oddly after the Atlantean was taken. He neglected his duties and became short-tempered. He was often seen in the prison where the Atlantean was being kept. And," Nereus tapped the paper, "His eyes glowed."
"As time passed, Niko began to suffer from a mysterious illness. The details aren't given, but Nereus does note that Niko's symptoms lessened when he visited the Atlantean.
"Unfortunately, Niko's visits to the prison couldn't go unnoticed for long. Nereus explains that it was decided that the Atlantean was to be executed before her influence caused Niko to do something drastic."
"However, it was too late for Niko. Two weeks after the Atlantean was captured, Niko devised a way to break her free. As he did, the guards arrived. Before the Atlantean could be recaptured, however, a giant shark with glowing markings broke down the prison walls."
Nereus peered over the top of the scroll. "Keep in mind, this story is before Lemuria was lost to the ocean."
Finn turned off the tablet and crawled around the last turn. He peered through the grate, seeing the Nekton family staring at Nereus with a mixture of awe and confusion.
"A giant glowing shark?" Kaiko repeated.
"I believe they are referred to as 'Megalodons' these days," Nereus clarified.
"That glowed?" Kaiko said. "I don't know, Nereus, that story seems far-fetched."
"Mum, we have seen a giant seahorse that glows," Ant offered.
Kaiko thought about it. "Fair enough. What happened next?"
"At this time, Niko revealed he didn't just plan to free the Atlantean, but to flee with her. Niko was confronted -likely by Nereus since no one else is mentioned- and convinced to stay. According to Nereus, even the Atlantean pleaded with Niko to stay in Lemuria with his family."
"Would that have been allowed?" Will asked. "After helping free a prisoner?"
"It could be argued that the curse forced him to free her," Nereus said. "Lemurians believed Atlanteans cursed others to do their bidding. This Nereus-" -Nereus waved the scroll- "-learned straight from an Atlantean that the curse worked both ways, and that the curse sought to protect both of the cursed."
"How is there no mention of this in the Chronicle? Who was this Nereus?" Will asked.
"He was probably just a scribe who was close to Niko," Nereus said dismissively.
"I still think it's a terrible protecting curse," Ant said. "I mean, 'protective curse'? The name doesn't even make sense!"
Will shushed Ant. "What happened next?"
Nereus' face fell. "Niko and the Atlantean forced themselves to go their separate ways. As more guards arrived, Niko's resistance to the curse became priority over recapturing the Atlantean. The shark took the Atlantean, and the guards held Niko."
Touching a few lines near the bottom of the scroll, Nereus read, "'The curse, however, is like a string, binding two together. I hoped the string would break once they were far enough apart.'"
"'It did, but how I wish I had known the cost. When the string snapped, so did Niko. You see, there is no escaping a curse, except in death.'"
Finn grit his teeth. He'd known how the story would end, but it didn't make it any easier.
Nereus finished, "'In the curse's attempt to keep them together, Niko and the Atlantean were joined again in death.'"
A/N: If the string comparison just doesn't make sense, please let me know! I was trying for something, but it can be removed if need be. Also, I have a chapter for the next three, possibly four, days!
There's going to be a connected story called Crossing the Line. It was supposed to be a brief one-shot done by now, but it's panned out larger than I thought and it's basically all OC's, so I'm also scrambling together personalities and appearances.
