A/N: Before I forget, I had to adjust Finn's story in chapter 42, because Pete was supposed to come along when Finn was FIVE, not two. Must've been a typo. (This is important.)

I'm sorry to any guests who are trying to leave reviews. FF glitched out or something, because it keeps turning guest reviews off. It's a setting I can only access on my phone, and I only recently discovered this, so who knows how long you've been unable to review! 0_0


The Nektons regrouped to plan their exploration. Kaiko reasoned that if they stayed in the Rover, they'd be safe from whatever was in the Blue Hole. Nereus joined them in case they found another rune. And to be mysterious, Fontaine thought.

Fontaine wondered what they would find. It was strange enough to find a new Blue Hole, but this Blue Hole was just creepy. Strange, human-ish shapes moving too quickly to follow, the other Ant, Lemurian symbols, and the fact that the Blue Hole was mentioned in the Chronicle only put Fontaine more on edge.

Could there be mermaids? Could Lemurians have been mermaids? Were they about to discover a key to finding Lost Lemuria?

"Okay," Fontaine said slowly. "I might have been somewhat wrong about the divers…"

"Ha!" Ant exclaimed triumphantly.

"But you have to admit you might just be seeing things!"

"Dad saw it, too!" Ant said.

"I don't know what we saw," Will said. "I didn't get a good look at it… er, him."

"He swam right up to me!" Ant insisted. "He looked exactly like me!" He tilted his head to the side. "I never knew I was that good looking. I mean, I suspected…"

Fontaine shook her head. "You're deluded."

Ant huffed, then spotted something outside. "Jeffrey!"

Fontaine leaned to the side. She was a bit surprised to see Jeffrey actually in front of the Rover. Especially the fifty or so look-a-likes right behind him!

"Looks like he made some friends," Kaiko said with a laugh as Jeffrey and the other Bicolors swam around the Rover.

Fontaine eyed the other Bicolors. "Is it just me, or are his friends…" She trailed off as Jeffrey made a swirling motion with his fins, and all the others mimicked him in sync.

"Really friendly?" Ant supplied.

"I was going to go with creepy," Fontaine said.

"Well, they certainly like him," Will laughed. "They won't leave him alone!"

Fontaine watched the school of Bicolors swim over the top of the Rover. Apparently, she was the only one who found them odd. Then again, that was normal.

"Ah, look there!" Ant exclaimed, pointing. "Mum, go!"

Fontaine leaned past Kaiko's shoulder and spotted a small diver. When Kaiko moved the Rover closer, the diver swam deeper before stopping and turning to the Rover. As the Rover stopped near the diver, Fontaine finally got a good look at them.

It was… Ant?

"No, what-" Fontaine looked at Ant sitting beside her, then the Ant in the water. "How?"

"Told ya," Ant said smugly.

The other Ant treaded water for a minute, just staring at the Rover. He did, admittedly, look exactly like Ant. His face, the outfit, even the studious expression on his face was the same!

Then, as suddenly as he'd come, he dove.

"Hey, come back!" Ant protested.

The other Ant kept going.

"Hold on!" Kaiko said, throwing the Rover into a steep dive after the other Ant.

The other Ant vanished into one of the deeper tunnels. Kaiko didn't hesitate to race after him, though the other Ant moved way too fast for any human!

"Stay with him!" Will warned, leaning forward as the tunnel grew pitch-black past the Rover's lights.

"How does he swim so fast?!" Ant asked.

"I have no idea!" Fontaine said nervously. "I've never seen anything like it!"

Ahead, a wall loomed out of the darkness.

"Kaiko, stop!" Will said.

Kaiko slowed the Rover to a stop in a large underwater cavern.

"It's a dead end," Will said, peering into the darkness.

Kaiko turned the Rover in a slow circle, but the other Ant was gone!

"That's-" Kaiko started.

"Impossible?" Nereus finished.

"Where'd he go?" Kaiko asked, starting another turn with the Rover.

"There's no other way out of here," Fontaine said, eyes on the stone walls.

"This doesn't make any sense," Will said. "There must be another way out."

"What's that?" Nereus whispered.

Fontaine looked at Nereus. His eyes were wide and fixed straight ahead. Fontaine followed his gaze as Kaiko stopped the Rover.

Fontaine was fairly certain her entire family flinched at the same time. The second Ant had been odd enough. But now Fontaine found herself staring at… herself!

Directly across from Fontaine staring over Kaiko's shoulder was a second Fontaine with a second Kaiko in a second Rover, along with a second Ant, Will, and Nereus!

"Impossible," Will said.

"Understatement of the year," Fontaine thought. She half-hid her face behind Kaiko's chair, her action mimicked by the other Fontaine. "Is that really...?" It couldn't be them, could it?

"Will," Kaiko whispered, "Say something to them… us… whoever they are."

"What do we say to ourselves?" Will asked.

"Will someone just say something?" Fontaine pleaded. The suspense was killing her!

"I got this." Ant cleared his throat, then waved. "Hey, me. How's it going?"

An orange-ish light rippled across the other Rover's canopy. A second later, it disappeared.

"What was that?" Ant asked.

Kaiko looked back long enough for Fontaine to see Kaiko's shock was gone, replaced by curiosity. Of course Kaiko would just see the other Rover as a grand mystery.

"Let's get a closer look," Kaiko said, nudging the Rover closer.

Fontaine shivered. Yep, they were going to die.

"Don't!" Ant yelped. "We can't touch the other Rover!"

Fontaine glanced at Ant, wondering if he'd been replaced by a fake… whatever the other Nektons were.

"Why not?" Will asked.

"There's only one explanation!" Ant said.

"Mind is open." Fontaine looked at Ant, hoping he actually knew what was going on. "I'm listening."

"Time travel!"

Fontaine groaned, exasperation replacing a bit of her panic. "I take it all back. Bring on the mercolony! I wanna believe."

"We're seeing our future selves," explained Ant, the Aronnax expert of all things sci-fi. "If we touch them, the whole space-time continuum could collapse!"

"No!" Nereus interrupted. "'The Abyss stares back'! That was the clue."

What clue? There was nothing logical in the warning!

Then again, what was logical about the other Rover?

Ant's eyes widened in realization. "It's not time travel. It's like a mirror! I saw me, and Jeffrey saw Jeffrey."

"And the divers were us?" Will asked.

"Back up a few brain cells," Fontaine said, shaking her head. "There were more than two Jeffries."

"And we all saw them," Kaiko said, turning.

Will faced Nereus. "No more half-truths, Nereus. Is there anything else the Chronicle says about this place?"

"Nothing more than I've told you," Nereus said.

Kaiko and Will looked skeptical, unsurprising considering how mysterious Nereus liked to be. But Fontaine found she believed the old man. Sure, Nereus liked to be mysterious and speak in riddles, but she didn't think he would hide something that could harm them.

"Perhaps it's worth mentioning," Nereus went on, his gaze going past Will, "That the other Rover now looks… alive?"

Fontaine jerked back toward the front. The odd light had returned to the other Rover, but Fontaine now saw the effect was from something colored rippling under the Rover. From inside? Tiny, finger-like objects flickered on the Rover before it returned to its former state.

"Actually, I don't want to see that." Fontaine turned her head and blocked her peripheral with one hand. "Can't we just turn off all the lights and pretend it's not there?"

Ant suddenly laughed. "That's it! You're a genius, Ant!"

"Which one?" Fontaine asked shakily, lowering her hand.

"Turn off the lights, Mum," Ant said without explaining. "Trust me!"

Well, that was the scariest two words ever. But if Ant had even the slightest clue as to what was going on, Fontaine was going to have to roll with whatever Ant suggested.

Kaiko flicked off the lights. The other Kaiko did the same, throwing the cave into complete darkness. Fontaine tightly grabbed the back of Kaiko's chair, eyes wide and blind.

"Wait…" Ant said, sounding excited. "Everyone, just keep watching."

Fontaine threw a glare in Ant's direction.

"Three… two… one, turn the lights on!"

Lights flooded the cavern. Across from the Rover was only open water… and hundreds of tiny orange octopuses.

The octopuses swirled in the sudden light, then darted into one large group. Their colors changed and blurred together as they took on a familiar shape and color. Within seconds, Fontaine was once again staring at herself in the back of a second Rover!

"No way," Fontaine breathed, awed.

"Wow!" Ant said. "Thaumoctopus mimicus!"

"The mimic octopus," Kaiko repeated, shock in her voice. "But not the one we know."

"An entirely new subspecies," Will said.

"Much more advanced than anything else on Earth," Nereus added. "Remarkable."

"So, they've been down here evolving for hundreds of years?" Since before the writer of the Chronicle had even explored the tunnels!

"The normal mimic octopus works alone," Ant observed. "And can only copy animal shapes. But these are working together, in low light."

"They must have developed this behavior as extreme camouflage to hide from predators," Kaiko said.

Fontaine cocked her head. The octopuses must have been mimicking the Nektons and Rover, thinking they were predators. Or maybe they were just curious about the visitors to their habitat?

"This must be their lair," Will said.

Fontaine shuddered. "I really hate that word: lair."

The last time they were in a "lair," they'd almost been eaten by a huge undersea dragon. And maybe if inside the sea worm counted, then that made two instances.

Motion brought Fontaine's attention to a second bunch of octopuses gathering on the right side of the Rover. A third Rover appeared as the octopuses put their camouflage to use. A second later, a fourth Rover appeared to their left. The octopuses were surrounding them! Why?

"Hunting ground, perhaps?" Nereus suggested.

Fontaine glared at him. "Not helping!" Fontaine could see her family tensing again, and she honestly didn't blame them. "Okay, as much as I'm enjoying the feeling of thousands of beady eyes watching us…"

"Let's get out of here," Kaiko said in agreement. "Slowly."

The Rover moved backward. The octopuses didn't follow, so Fontaine dared hope that they were just going to leave them alone.

Bam!

Everyone jerked forward as the Rover struck something. Kaiko spun, and the Rover's lights illuminated a blank wall.

"Okay, must have taken a wrong turn," Kaiko said.

"No," Ant said ominously. "That dead end wasn't there before."

"Well, it didn't come out of nowhere," Fontaine snapped.

"There's a tunnel!" Will said, pointing to the side.

Kaiko raced the Rover into the tunnel. Nobody mentioned that the tunnel was unfamiliar, just kept an eye out for pursuing octopuses.

Kaiko tried to find the exit, but time and time again, they found themselves at a dead end. Each time, there was a separate tunnel they had somehow passed without spotting. And with each new tunnel, Fontaine got the sinking feeling that they were getting further away from the exit.


"Another dead end?" Fontaine fretted when Kaiko stopped the Rover for what felt like the hundredth time. "How many is that now?"

"Try another tunnel!" Ant said.

The Rover raced backward. When Fontaine turned, she could see movement at the edge of the Rover's lights.

"Kaiko," Nereus said, eyes fixed down a narrow tunnel Fontaine was sure hadn't been there moments before. "Might I suggest you gun the engines?"

"Hold on tight," Kaiko said, staring at the octopuses. Before anyone could ask why, Kaiko whipped the Rover into the new tunnel, racing the octopuses camouflaging into boulders.

"Look out!" Will warned when the tunnel ahead abruptly narrowed.

Kaiko jerked the Rover to a stop, inches from the newly-formed boulders.

"Reverse, quickly!" Will said.

"On it!"

The Rover raced backward, only to slam to a halt against boulders Fontaine now knew hadn't been there seconds before.

"Can rocks do that?" Ant asked.

"The mimicry isn't a defense mechanism, it's predatory," Will said.

"They've herded us here," Nereus said. "We are the prey!"

"So we're… trapped?" Ant asked.

"They can't get to us inside the Rover," Kaiko said confidently. "We're safe."

Then the octopus-rocks moved inward, nudging the Rover.

"Or not," Fontaine said. Could the octopuses crush the Rover?

"This is incredible," Ant said.

"Ant, this is not the time to be fish-gazing!" Fontaine snapped.

"Technically, they're cephalopods," Nereus corrected.

Fontaine couldn't bring herself to care. "Technically, they're trying to eat us!"

"By pretending to be rocks!" Ant laughed. "How amazing is that?"

Fontaine narrowed her eyes, wondering if the pressure was getting to Ant. She flinched at a creak from the Rover.

"It won't hold for much longer," Will said.

Pop!

Kaiko jumped and looked down. "Everyone, put on your scuba masks."

Everyone did as ordered. There was a crack, and Fontaine looked to see the canopy near Ant was cracking, letting in a spray of water.

"Mum?" Ant said. "Do the electrics still work?"

"They do for now. Why?"

"The lights!"

"Of course!"

"We'll only have a few seconds to escape when the lights come back on," Will said.

"That's all I need," Kaiko said with a grin.

Kaiko turned off the lights, throwing the Rover again in darkness. Except… this time, there was still something glowing!

"Where's that coming from?" Fontaine asked, trying to trace the faint green light. "Are one of the lights still on?"

Fontaine flinched at a sharp snap, then water sprayed her ankle. They didn't have much longer!

"Fontaine!" Ant yelped. "Your eyes!"

"My…"

Fontaine's eyes widened in realization, accidentally making the Rover a bit brighter. Of course her eyes would choose now to glow!

"Turn them off!" Ant said.

"I don't know how!" Fontaine yelled back nervously. The only way she knew to stop the glow was to calm down, and there was no chance of calming down when the Rover was slowly getting crushed!

"Just- here!"

Ant lunged toward Fontaine, who couldn't dodge in time for him to cover her eyes with his hands.

"Ow!" Fontaine jerked back, more startled than hurt. "Ant!"

"Just for a few seconds!" Ant told her.

Fontaine stilled, hoping Ant's solution worked. She had to wince, though. Even though the glow was blocked from the others, Fontaine realized she could see the glow perfectly well against her eyelids.

Luckily for everyone, the scrape of the octopus-rocks against the Rover stopped.

"They're moving back…" Ant pulled his hands away. "Now!"

"That way!" Will called.

Fontaine opened her eyes. Her vision was a bit blurry from the brightness, but she was still able to make out the Rover forcing its way through the octopuses scrambling to replace the "wall."

The Rover rushed through some more half-formed fake walls into a larger space. Fontaine recognized it as the entrance from the coral, but where the opening should have been was just a blank wall!

"Another wall!" Kaiko groaned.

"This has to be the way out!" Will said, looking around.

"The octopuses aren't going to just let us out," Kaiko said. She turned the Rover to see more approaching octopuses. "And we're too close to the light outside for our lights out trick to work."

"What are we supposed to do?" Fontaine asked, shifting further back in her seat.

"I don't know, maybe we can-"

Whatever Kaiko was going to suggest was cut off by a long, muted bellow from behind. Kaiko spun the Rover to face the octopus-wall as it rippled.

"What else is in here?!" Fontaine demanded.

The bellow repeated, then a loud thud echoed through the water.

Fontaine shuddered at the sound, but found herself leaning forward. Her panic was lessening, replaced by a thoroughly out-of-place feeling of excitement.

A moment later, the wall exploded!

Everyone screamed as a massive tentacle burst through the wall, scattering octopuses and grabbing an arm of the Rover. Before Kaiko could pull back, the tentacle yanked the Rover outside.

Fontaine braced herself to face an oversized mimic octopus. Then she saw what was outside, and her eyes widened.

"It's the sea horse!"

The sea horse turned her head, as if checking on the occupants of the Rover, then raced away from the octopuses' tunnel with the Rover. It took very little time for her to reach the surface, where she released and circled the Rover.

Fontaine laughed, giddy with relief. "Good girl!"

"When- how-" Kaiko shook her head. "Where did you come from?"

The sea horse nudged the Rover with her nose, then drifted quietly beside them. Jeffrey popped up at the sea horse's side, seemingly grinning at Ant.

"Jeffrey!" Ant said happily. "I bet he got the sea horse here!"

Fontaine shook her head, but didn't comment. If Ant wanted to think Jeffrey had somehow called the sea horse, she wouldn't complain. She had a pretty good guess on why the sea horse had suddenly shown up, anyway.

"We can figure this out in the Aronnax," Kaiko decided. "Once we inform the WOA that this area needs to be protected."

"This area, or anyone who might want to dive?" Fontaine asked drily.

"No one should ever see what's down there," Nereus said solemnly.

Will tilted his head. "I don't think you're talking about the octopuses."

"Now whatever makes you say that?" Nereus asked.

Fontaine snorted at Nereus' innocent expression. "I wonder."