Author's note: I'm about 6 or 7 chapters ahead of schedule so enjoy this extra one! Poor Blowhole can't catch a break can he?

Blowhole hadn't known, but Kowalski had returned faster than what he had expected and had managed to listen in on his and Doris' conversation. He hadn't wanted to be deceptive and spy but he couldn't bring himself to insert himself into the situation. The talk would have been better without him and he was right. Blowhole knew how to handle his sister and things hadn't ended bad at all.

It was later on that day, the pair of scientists were working hard in the lab with Blowhole at the lab computer and Kowalski going over research papers and documents.

"Uuggh! Look at them! They're at least 2 inches long now! They keep getting caught on things."

Kowalski looked up from his position on the desk and took the pencil he was chewing out of his mouth. Blowhole was with that stupid hand mirror again.

"Stop obsessing."

Blowhole slammed the mirror down and turned to shoot Kowalski a look of hate.

"You try living with horns!"

Kowalski rolled his eyes and looked back to the documents he was scanning. But Blowhole picked the mirror up again. Kowalski tried to ignore him this time but no matter what, Blowhole had to make a point to moan about how he looked. Not that Kowalski didn't feel bad. The guy was literally turning into a monster. But even then, they had a ton of work to do and Blowhole's screen was a few seconds from going into standby.

"Kowalski? Kowalski, where are you?!" Blowhole suddenly panicked.

Kowalski sat still and just looked over to the dolphin. He hadn't moved for a good hour but the dolphin was frantically looking all over the place.

"Kowalski!" Blowhole shouted.

Kowalski jumped up from his sitting position and waved his flippers in front of Blowhole. The poor dolphin looked terrified and Kowalski could finally see why. Blowhole's eye had turned black with only a small ring of white around his black pupil.

"Kowalski! I can't see!" He exclaimed.

Kowalski jumped up and grabbed one of Blowhole's flailing flippers, bringing it down and holding it tenderly.

"It's ok, it's ok."

"Everything's in black and white! I can't see?"

"Well, which is it? You can or can't?"

Blowhole pushed the bird back with their interlocking flippers and growled.

"Don't get smart with me! My vision has tunneled and it's in grayscale!"

Kowalski latched onto Blowhole's flipper again and tugged at him to gain his attention and pull him away from going on another frantic panic.

"Look at me. Focus on me. Can you see me?"

Blowhole focused and looked down. Kowalski tried to look as calm for Blowhole as he could but looking into his void eye scared the life out of him. What kind of a monster was Blowhole turning into that included blue skin, horns and black and white tunnel vision? A sea monster perhaps? One camouflaged to the rich, deep blue depths of the ocean where there was no need for vision in colour. This was getting freaky.

"Kowalski, I can't cope with this. We're not fast enough!"

"We are, we are. Just don't panic."

Blowhole grew agitated. The initial shock and panic wore off as he now stared into nothing with a scowl.

"I swear, if I ever find out how this happened. I'll strangle myself if it really was my carelessness."

Kowalski rolled his eyes again, somewhat lucky Blowhole couldn't see because if he could, Kowalski would be very sore in many places by now. But he would love to find out how this happened too and indeed would strangle Blowhole too if he had done this to himself.

"We just need to focus. Can you focus? Keep working? Can you see your computer screen? Your keyboard?"

Blowhole growled slightly and pulled his flippers away from the bird completely.

"Of course I can. I've not gone blind. And I can type on my keyboard with my eye closed."

"Then zip the beak and keep working."

Another growl and the clicking of keys told Kowalski his orders had been heard and he could continue on with his work. He couldn't afford for Blowhole to go crazy with panic and the best distraction was working.

Kowalski carried on with his own work for a few minutes until he could do no more with the physical sheets of paper. He needed a computer. He looked up to see Blowhole still working away and sighed internally.

A relieved sigh that productions were on the go again.

"Blowhole, I just need to use your computer for a moment. I'll use the one in your office."

Blowhole didn't say a word. Just nodded. Kowalski could tell the situation was getting to the dolphin, but he was very mentally strong and pushed through it like a champion.

Kowalski hopped down from the desk in the lab, making sure to be extra heavy footed so Blowhole could tell he was leaving without the need for sight and he disappeared behind the lab door and into the hallway.

He gave a sigh as he leaned a flipper on the wall in the hallway. Things were moving way too fast for Kowalski's liking and he really didnt know what to do. Was it even any use keeping on track with developing a cure? They wouldn't be able to make it on time that was for sure. It would take some miracle for everything to turn out fine in the end. But he had to push on, had to keep strong. He couldn't show weakness to his new friend, not when he was counting on him.

Kowalski set himself up in the office as he heard distant voices from the lab. He could tell one was Blowhole. Blowhole's voice was often loud and obnoxious so he had no trouble deciphering that. But it wasn't too many minutes later that everything went quiet again and the electrical hum of a segway inched closer.

Blowhole suddenly appeared in the door, clutching the door frame, looking every which way and giving up trying to find Kowalski as he sighed and just looked down to the control panel of his segway.

"Red One wants to speak with you. I don't know what about since he won't tell me. But you will tell me when you return. He'll be waiting in the lobster's quarters."

Kowalski nodded and felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Then he realised Blowhole probably couldn't see him and acknowledged with words instead.

He didn't know why but he always felt uneasy around that lobster. Whether it was their weird lack of sentimental emotions or something else, he couldn't quite put his flippers on it. They were almost like machines. Unable to feel pain, apparently they could live forever until killed by a third party. Just overall weird creatures.

He travelled the lair to where Red One had wanted to meet him. It was the lobsters quarters. A weird room with a wide but shallow pool that they used for sleeping. The room was otherwise empty, bar Red One who stood at the bottom of the pool. Kowalski couldn't tell whether he was sleeping or just pretending but he didn't have to awkwardly wait for long, as the lobster began scuttling up the ramp and out of the water.

"Kowalski."

Kowalski said nothing, just stood and waited for the lobster to state his business.

The lobster looked down and did nothing else as his scratchy voice broke.

"We found out how Doc got infected."

Kowalski perked up completely attentive and pressed the lobster on.

"How?" He demanded.

"It was an act of treason by one of our own."

Kowalski's heart thumped in his chest. He could feel his blood rush to his head where he grew light headed and enraged with whoever would dare do something like this.

"Who was it?!"

"Me."

There was silence that seemed to last an eternity. Kowalski could not begin to think of something he could say that would express just how angry he was. Or how much he wanted this to just be some sick joke that the lobster didn't understand was not funny or appropriate.

"But I didn't mean for it to get this far."

Kowalski couldn't stop his eyes clouding over with red rage and clenched his flippers tightly.

"What? What?!"

"I only want to teach him a lesson! I thought he had a cure and everything already! That was in the plans. I didn't mean for all this to happen."

"Didn't mean it? Red One, thanks to you, he's going to die. There's no other way around it. He's going to die! I can't make a cure in time and everyone knows it! I know it! Blowhole knows it! Skipper has a dagger with Blowhole's name on it the second his mind snaps! You've killed him!"

The lobster made some noises akin to sobbing yet Kowalski had never seen a lobster cry so could not confirm or deny if that was what was happening to the little red guy.

Kowalski could not see how Red One's explanation could even justify thinking of doing something like this but he couldn't bring himself to walk away not knowing.

"How? Why? Why would you do this to the best person in your life? The guy that saved your miserable little life from a lobster cage?"

Kowalski wanted the daggers to hurt. Every one he threw he wanted the lobster to feel inside him and feel remorse for what he had done.

"It was to teach him a lesson. He's boiled me before, ripped other's legs off. He's a monster inside so I thought he should have a body to match."

Kowalski couldn't hold in his rage this time. Blowhole had saved all of these lobster's lives. Yes, he wasn't the nicest guy in the world and Kowalski certainly didn't want to validate his abusive behaviours but lobsters can't feel pain like they could. They couldn't even feel it emotionally as he could. The amount of pain Kowalski was in, the lobster couldn't even comprehend.

Kowalski had to stop himself ripping every leg off the lobster at this point. Instead he headed for the door and only looked back once to scowl.

"You had better run from this place. As far as you can and hope to the sea Gods Blowhole doesn't find you."

But the lobster looked down and seemed to apprehend the situation, much to Kowalski's surprise.

"Actually, I would like for Blowhole to do what he will with me. I have wronged him more than he could ever wrong me."

"You really are the most senseless creature on the planet."

The lobster looked up, gave a straight face and nodded.

"I am. But now I want to right my wrong. I know exactly when he got infected. Won't that information be valuable?"

Kowalski took a moment, then nodded.

"You had better come with me then."

With that, the pair made their way back to Blowhole. If Kowalski had nails he would have been biting them the whole journey back. He just felt himself lucky he wasn't on the receiving end of what Blowhole was going to give this lobster for this absolute betrayal.

He did however, feel a sense of relief that they had finally found out how this happened. Dates could then be backtracked and Kowalski could tell roughly how much time Blowhole had left before he was completely consumed by the virus. But, he found himself not wanting to know more and more. It was a weird feeling, just waiting for the eventual demise of your friend.