Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

Note: I thought I was late, and what do you know, I was late with posting this. My bad, everyone!

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To think of shadows is a serious thing.
-Victor Hugo

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"I'm beginning to believe she's not anywhere in this thrice-damned world."

The morning mist was thick and quiet as it continued to skirl about on the soft winds, cool on his skin. Ares snorted quietly beside him, ears occasionally twitching. He could hear the other rangers beginning to stir in their pitched tents. Alastor remained quiet as he stirred life back into the once-dead fire pit.

"Has it occurred to you that maybe that thing killed her? Or sent her elsewhere? Perhaps another world?"

Violet eyes flicked to the Houndoom in mild annoyance. His lips pressed tightly together as the embers in the camp fire were coaxed into a little spark. They flickered, catching onto the fresh wood and brush carefully arranged atop them. Soon he had a fire crackling away again, filling the air with the scent of wood smoke.

"No. I can smell it when others lie. And it tried its damnedest for a while. But it gave up the truth eventually. I made sure of it. Josie wasn't much kinder, either."

In the weeks following Lupin's disappearance, and his finding of the creature, he tore through every scrap of information he could to try and find its weakness. Something to use against it, but it was an ancient being, a creature lost from the pages of tomes and faded ink of scrollwork. Forgotten by time and man alike, but certainly not gone, it was a rediscovery of sorts.

One thing was certain about it, though: it hated fire with a passion. Most monsters did.

Perhaps that was why it had reacted the way it had with Lupin; to fling its fear as far away from it as possible out of irrational terror, rather than ending her. Or maybe it had delighted in tearing her out of her world and into another, like any of its other victims. It seemed to feed of the energy that leaked off the portals it created, and it had been gorging itself upon one when Alastor had found it at last. More innocent people that didn't deserve such a fate, even if they ended up in a place like this, were gone now. Perhaps they were here, or maybe they were in some other world. Who knew how many worlds this creature had access to?

At least Lupin's notes had been accurate enough for him to decipher this information, the ones from the seedy motel room she had been shacked up in at the time of her disappearance. Without her journal telling it straightforward, it took time picking through what little she had been able to uncover and the transcripts she had jotted down. Sometimes it was in jumbles, pieces, not whole on their own and out of order that only she seemed to understand. Other times, it was in an odd little code she'd make up herself that took time to unravel. In this case, it was the latter. But it had helped him greatly when he couldn't find anything in the end.

And now I know. And she's still missing.

Would she expect him to follow, to help her? He wouldn't have left her alone like that, she would know that. There had been moments he had come unexpectedly on one of her hunts to help her. To let her know he was there, when he could get away from his own tidings. That she wasn't alone.

It was the one thing he knew she hated and feared herself: being abandoned. Being left behind, forgotten, being left alone. She didn't voice it, and she thankfully wasn't the clingy type to overcompensate or override that fear. But it was there. Quiet-like and simmering in the back of her mind, it tried to worm its way and poison her outlook on relationships with people. It would whisper away in her ear, trying force her to push away others and continue down the self-destructive path she had once been on.

He knew that feeling all too well.

Once upon a time, she had almost let it get the best of her. It had almost kept her at bay from getting close to people. She was getting better, though. But now…now, the weeks she'd been missing have turned into months. Soon it'd be half a year gone by, and what did he have to show for it?

Alastor drew himself from his thoughts before they could grow worse. A shrill, whistling screech carried itself on the morning air. Feng appeared an instant later, a grey shape in the misty fog at first, landing heavily on a jutting tree branch not far from Alastor's tent. Her rust-coloured feathers looked dull in the pale grey dawn light.

"Morning," he called out to the Talonflame. She bobbed her head in greeting. She had a dead Patrat caught in her claws. The dusty brown coat of fur was covered in dirt and blood, no doubt from a struggle of predator and prey. Feng dipped her head and jerked a piece of stringy gristle from her prize.

Ares snorted again, watching the bird of prey through half-lidded, lazy eyes.

"Bird's gonna drip that thing's blood and guts all over our tent." He grumbled, slowly lumbering upright to his feet. "Hey! Hey! Go eat that at another perch! Hey!"

Feng tilted her head to peer at the Houndoom, her eyes flashing with annoyance. She hissed at him, beak gaping wide and feathers ruffling. Alastor paused in getting his own breakfast prepped to look up at the Talonflame.

"Feng," he called softly. He nodded his head to another tree, just a few yards away from where he was camped. "I don't want you staining the tent again. Go."

Her beak clacked shut loudly and after gathering her meal in her talons, she took off again to a new perch. But, not before dipping low enough to lightly scratch at Ares' retreating backside with her free foot. The Houndoom snarled, and snapped his jaws, but didn't pursue the bird as she glided away. Instead, he flopped back in his original place and watched the merry little cook fire. He heaved a heavy sigh.

"She might not be in Kalos, then. Maybe one of the other regions. That thing might have dropped her off elsewhere and you away from her on purpose to screw with your head." Ares finally amended, woofing softly.

Alastor nodded. The thought had occurred to him, yes. Not for the first time, either. He'd have to reach out more and farther, to the rangers, the police departments, perhaps even the professors of respective regions and find her. He had been hoping to see signs of her somewhere, anywhere, but that wasn't the case he was coming to find.

He could easily slip away. Employment with the rangers had been a means to an end; they traveled frequently enough and paid well. Not as well as his job with DEM, of course. But it wouldn't help him if they were taking him further away from his goals and the longer he stayed, the more likely the forged paperwork he had would make him soon enough.

He eyed the rows of tents, heard the quiet shuffle of bodies working their ways out of the synthetic cocoons to greet the cool morning air. One of them noticed Alastor and gave a sleepy wave. Alastor nodded in return. Ares watched with a suspicious eye. It had taken the Houndoom a long while to loosen up around the other rangers, to not raise his hackles and go on the defensive if they came too close to Alastor. Trust came slowly to the Houndoom.

The man yawned and stretched, shuffling off toward the small brook not far from their encampment. The werewolf watched until the man disappeared from sight, but he could still hear the ranger well and clear.

Alastor liked the unit well enough. But he felt his time here was coming to a close. He could easily make money to travel another way. He could travel well enough without these people too.

"We'll strike out on our own before we start heading for Mount Molteau," he told Ares.

The Houndoom offered a smile with all teeth and laughed. "When?"

"End of the day," Alastor said, lifting his gaze up to see the other ranger returning. "We'll be gone at the end of the day."

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She awoke with a start, her heart pumping hard in her chest. A rush of white noise roared in her ears that died as suddenly as her waking. It was soon drowned out by the quiet beeping of an EKG machine. She breathed deep and wiped at her clammy brow, finding it slick with sweat. Her hand was shaking. She couldn't remember what she'd dreamed, but she had been afraid. The feeling of fear resonated for long and lonely minutes, and she sat there, trying to steady herself and focus on where she was instead.

She was okay. She was alive. There was nothing to be afraid of in here.

The air was stale and cold, filled with the scents of bleach and fur and blood and antiseptic.

Lupin blinked, trying to clear her vision, but even when she was looking around, she wasn't quite taking it in. Not at first.

Only when she looked at the comfy, padded bed beside her did she calm herself. Bullet was resting. He was okay. He was hurt, but he was okay and recovering. There was only so much the nurses at the Pokémon Center could do with their healing machines before surgical intervention was needed in its stead. He was fine, or so she was told, just needed some stitches, an overnight observation period, and then he'd be free to go. Today, in fact.

She leaned forward, her neck aching from the crick in it, and reached out to gingerly run her hand over his fur. He stirred at the gesture, breathing long and deep, but didn't wake.

Lupin watched the Growlithe for a time, occasionally breaking her gaze to look at the beeping machines and the quiet, steady rhythm that indicated his blood pressure, heart rate, and so on. An IV drip with hydrating liquids in a banana bag stood beside the machinery, the clear tubing snaking its way onto the bed and threaded by needle into Bullet. He didn't seem too bothered by it.

The battle had gone well enough, she reflected. The Metapod that Bugsy had sent out had been more challenging than she'd originally anticipated. It had hit hard and hit fast, and it had drained Bullet more than she had realized. It was the Scyther that nearly did him in. The wounds had been deep, but she had recalled him just in time, the nurses told her. Locked in stasis in his pokéball, Bullet was saved the trouble of bleeding out too quickly. It slowed everything down, gave him a chance. If she had waited any longer, he would have died.

Riptide had to get out and take care of the Scyther in the end. It was fast too, faster than the Metapod, but Riptide's hard scales were a saving grace compared to Bullet's soft furred body. But the Scyther had fallen, in the end, to Riptide's newly learned Ice Fang attack. Bug-types were vulnerable to ice as much as they were to fire. It had been Lupin's follow-up plan in case Bullet went down, and she was glad she had put in the extra time to ensure the Croconaw could learn it in time.

Something stirred beside her, drawing her out of her thoughts. She turned in time to see Riptide stirring beside her, snort-huffing out from his nostrils, as though trying to expel all evidence from his body, inside and out. He turned his crimson eyes toward Lupin first, blinking slow and steady, clacking his jaws. He turned to look at the bed next, and hummed low in his throat.

"Is the furball still asleep?"

She nodded, shifting in her seat. Her back hurt from the cramped, stiff position she'd fallen asleep in.

"Mmmm. Yeah. He's fine. Just resting." She looked toward the door suddenly, hearing approaching footfalls. She had been somewhat listening to them, coming and going, but now they were heading their way. An instant later, a nurse appeared, her jade-coloured hair haloed by the brighter lights outside.

"Oh, you're still here? I thought you'd have gone back to your room for the night." She stepped inside, and gestured to the curtains. Lupin nodded in return, and the woman opened the curtains. Early morning sunlight filtered inside, flaring up the dust motes and making them dance in the visible shafts of light. Bullet stirred again and whined low in his throat.

"Too bright…'m still tired…" He muttered, lifting his paws clumsily to cover his eyes.

Lupin smiled and leaned forward, gently rubbing his head. "Hey, sleepy head. Almost time to go."

Bullet lowered a paw and peeped one blue eye open, still glazed with sleep and exhaustion. His thick, cream-coloured tail wagged slightly at the sight of her.

The nurse was checking machinery, smiling as she went, before checking on Bullet himself. He sat up halfway through the examination, giving up on going back to sleep. The bandage around his midsection was changed, as was the one on his front left paw. The stitches were examined as she did this, occasionally asking Lupin to help. Riptide had taken over the seat Lupin once used, wanting to see the proceedings. He was quiet the entire time, while the nurse filled the silence with her own words, mostly instructions on how to care for Bullet for the next few days.

"In a few days, the stitches will dissolve. We have the super potion working its way in his system, but he'll need more applications until then, at least twice a day, three if you can. Have him take it easy, no battling whatsoever."

After that, Bullet was unhooked from the various machines. The nurse was kind and gentle, making it easier for the Growlithe. He limped around the room for a test run, found he could walk fine enough and moved to the door. Lupin took that enough as a sign without needing words, thanked the nurse and led the way out. Riptide followed without a word himself.

Down the cool hallway the trio went, until they were back in the Pokémon Center proper. The lobby was stuffed with people. Outside was bright and sunny, but most were crowded around the television sets littering the cushy space. There was a low buzzing of voices rolling over one another in waves, but she could hear the program playing on all televisions: it was an interview with the Johto-Kanto League Champion, Lance. The redhead was groomed, prim and proper, for the occasion. He smiled at the interviewer, a pretty blonde woman with watery blue eyes and a sleek suit.

Riptide watched the screen for a moment, then trotted after Lupin when she began to move again. Bullet was scooped in her arms, looking exhausted. He sighed, reluctant to leave.

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The gait outside coming closer was familiar to her, even if she barely knew it. There was something about listening to things, rather than filling the silence with her own noise. The hushed rushing of cloven and hooved feet; the whisper of paws running in the forest; the frantic breathing of prey; the flutter of a rising heart rate…the sliding of shoed feet in an urban setting.

Her neighbor to the left shuffled with the stubbornness of a young child. Her neighbor to her right clomped without realizing it. The neighbor at the end of the opposite end of the hallway, all the way down, treaded lightly and quietly, as though they had danced with grace once upon a time.

She recognized these people she didn't know by scent and hearing alone, even if she didn't know their names or their faces.

Bugsy's walk was a purposeful stride that carried him swiftly to Lupin's room in the Pokémon Center's lodgings. She heard him long before she smelled him, and even before she saw him. She was mildly surprised by his visit, even if she could hear him coming up the stairwell and down the hallway. She got up at last when he knocked on the door without hesitance and opened it.

"How's your Growlithe?" He said in way of greeting, dark eyes flicking past her into the room. He saw Bullet sitting on the bedspread, eyes glued to her television screen, ears flicked forward in curiousity. Riptide was coming out of the bathroom, still dripping from his soak in the tub.

"He's doing fine, thanks." She narrowed her eyes at the young man, bracing her arm behind the door a little more securely. "Something tells me you don't do this often. Checking on a challenger's pokémon, that is."

"Just the ones that get badly hurt," he countered. "I'm sure you've seen plenty of nasty injuries occurring in the tapes."

She had. She just didn't know what happened beyond that. Lupin relaxed a little. "He's doing fine," she repeated. "Thank you."

He relaxed as well, a tension in his face she hadn't noticed until it left draining from his frame. "Good. I'm glad. Contrary to popular belief, I don't like it when my Scyther land such horrible blows to others' pokémon. It's horrible losing a partner. I've lost many, I know the feeling. The reason I work with them so much is to try and curb that urge. Scyther are strong-headed, and they tend to resort to killing instinct in battle. There's a bit of a stigma against Scyther that I'm trying to erase from societal beliefs. I've come pretty far with the ones I have now. Years ago, I wouldn't have used them at all in a gym battle."

"That…sounds pretty vaguely horrifying," Lupin said, feeling queasy at the implications his explanation gave.

"You don't want to know the gory details," he confirmed with a Mareephish grin. Clearing his throat, he dug into the back pocket of his khaki pants and produced a folded pamphlet.

"Look…I'm sorry you weren't able to find the people you were looking for. And for the injuries of your Growlithe. It's the reality of a gym battle, and the risks as well." He started off, flipping the pamphlet over to show the cover. "I just got a few battles scheduled for the next few days, last minute things, you see. And I have these reservations down in another town that I can't fulfill anymore because of them. So, instead of canceling, I thought to myself, someone else could benefit from this more than me."

Lupin studied the cover. It showcased a city on the water, with a myriad of pokémon performing water-type attacks to create artistic flairs into the air. 'Alto Mare Summer Sea Festival' was written in bold white lettering at the top of the pamphlet. She lifted her eyes back up to Bugsy's.

"And what do you benefit from this charitable act? Good publicity?"

He looked wounded at the jab and placed a hand over his heart.

"I'm offended you'd think I'd do this for sheer publicity! The mere suggestion is horrendous slander to my good name! I'm always charitable." Bugsy sobered and offered the pamphlet again, smiling. "I'm being genuine with my concern for your pokémon and you. And you'll need to visit as many places as you can, if you want to find out where you originally came from. And who you once were, and who the people in your photos are. Besides, Alto Mare is a beautiful place. Not like the Ilex Forest is for me, but to each their own. I'm sure your Croconaw would enjoy it. They've got plenty of relaxing festivities you can enjoy while you're there."

Lupin looked to the proffered pamphlet and slowly, reached for it. There were other papers inside, and something else as well. Something small and hard. Bugsy's hand slipped away as soon as she secured hers around the papers and gave her a nod. "You'll be okay, Lupin. Even if you don't find the people you're looking for right away, I can tell. You'll be okay, in the end."

He grinned, giving her a small salute and turned on his heel, his marching and confident gait taking him back the way he'd come. He paused near the end of the hallway, still within earshot.

"By the way, you earned that! Your pokémon were tough. You should be proud. Especially of your Growlithe."

The werewolf rubbed her thumb along the object beneath the pamphlet cover and opened it. Inside, the Hive Badge sat, its red and black finish shining brightly in the fluorescent lighting. When she looked up again, Bugsy was gone, his footsteps retreating down the stairwell.

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The ticket proclaimed they were needed in the small fishing village to the south of Azalea by tomorrow evening. It was half a day's walk, not far at all to the coast. Even the hotel arrangements in Alto Mare had been made, from tomorrow at check in to five days from now. It really did look enticing. And once more, Bugsy had made a rather succinct point. She'd need to hit as many places if she wanted to cover all bases on her case.

Bullet was snoozing against her side, still sleeping off the medicinal cocktail coursing through his body. Riptide was laying his bony skull across her belly, eyes closed, napping just as lightly. She carefully disentangled herself from the two, allowing them to sleep off their exhaustion while she began packing.

The evening came, her pokémon awoke and they went down to eat. One of the nurses, the same from earlier that morning, came to find her. She wanted to double-check on Bullet, and made small talk to see where Lupin was going.

"I saw Bugsy leaving just as I was taking my shift at the front and I knew you had your match with him the other day. What was it he wanted?"

"To check on Bullet, and to offer a course of direction. He suggested Alto Mare."

"Ohhhh, that's right! The Sea Festival! It's a great event, goes on for almost a month when summer comes along. It's almost over, but I've already been. I wish I could stay the whole month, but I love my work here. Couldn't leave these critters for good, even if I tried."

She smiled sweetly at Bullet as she said this. He grinned, tongued lolling, in response and barked at her. The nurse smiled and rubbed her nose against his cold, wet one and he slurped at her face. Riptide made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat, shrinking further away from the Growlithe. He turned back to his meal of flaky and fresh fish meat, eyeballing Bullet suspiciously through narrowed crimson eyes.

Lupin smiled at a little as the nurse stood and brushed imaginary lint from her scrubs. "Well, I think he'll be fit enough to travel. It's not that far a walk, if you leave early enough. Hope you have fun!"

She left with that said and a wave. Riptide tipped his snout upward toward Lupin.

"Alto Mare?" He queried interestedly. "The City of Water?"

"Water?" Bullet muttered, making an ugly snorting noise. Riptide shot him a glare. Bullet sniffed pointedly, although his ears pressed against his head in reticence.

"Yeah, Alto Mare," Lupin continued, carefully watching the two. Satisfied that they weren't, for once, going to fight much further, she nodded. "We'll be there by tomorrow evening."

Riptide hummed. Lupin noticed he's been doing that lately. The skin beneath his jaw and along his neck puffed out, his eyes closing in contemplation. Or was it a pleased look? It was sometimes hard to tell with his lack of actual facial expressions. Bullet eased into the idea with a sniff and look at the pamphlet. He whined.

"We won't have to swim around this place, will we?"

"No, no. No swimming. Looks like there's plenty of walkways and bridges, and even gondolas to get across the canals. We'll be fine." She said as she reached over to rub at his head. He leaned into the familiar touch and licked his chops.

"Well…okay." He said quietly, turning back to his food. Riptide downed the last of his food as well. Lupin was already done, waiting for the two of them. They returned to their room, and Lupin finished the last of the packing, and parked her bag by the door, ready to go in the morning. They turned in early, Bullet still feeling exhaustion gripping him. Riptide felt rested, but he clambered onto the bed all the same, taking his place beside his trainer, as close as he could to her warmth. Bullet was already snoozing away, his head tucked into the crook of Lupin's neck, his warm breath tickling her skin. For a long while, Riptide sat there, listening to Bullet's breathing and feeling Lupin's. Her hand was on his back, quiet and still. He realized he was the only one left awake and stayed that way for what seemed like hours.

Morning came too soon for him, but at the same time…it took too long. He found himself on the other side of the bed, near the foot of it with his tail dangling over the edge. Bullet wasn't far from him. Lupin had curled herself to the opposite side of them both, tangled in the sheets. Crying. Muttering to herself. Tense and twitching.

Riptide got up in a hurry, crawling over to her. Before he reached her, she screamed and sat up, her eyes wide open and breathing haggardly. He flopped over backwards to avoid her flailing arms, and struggled back upright, but he hadn't missed the look on her face. Pure, undulated terror. Tears down her face. She couldn't breathe right, and he suddenly worried that she was going to need a human doctor to look at her. But could a human doctor help her, if she wasn't even human herself? Did she even go to the doctor like humans do?

The questions fled as quickly as they came as Lupin seemed to realize where she was and got up in a hurry, thrashing her way out of the sheets. She stumbled to the bathroom. Something stirred behind Riptide and he glanced over to see Bullet getting down off the other side of the bed. He grunted softly and limped his way after Lupin. Riptide did the same, trailing after the Growlithe.

"What's wrong with her? Why was she screaming?"

"Bad dreams," Riptide answered as they entered the bathroom behind their trainer. She was hunched over the sink, gripping it with both hands on rigid, lean arms. Like she was trying to stop herself from shaking. Her tail was bristled and standing completely on end. She shuddered and let out a breath to reflect that motion.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to wake you two…" She said after a minute of silence.

"Can you stop? The bad dreams, I mean."

"I don't know how," she whispered back, her voice hoarse and strained. "I don't know why I'm having them. I don't know what they even mean. I don't even remember what goes on in them. I just remember feeling so scared…and I wake up afraid. I don't know why."

Her shoulders shook and she sobbed.

"I just want them to stop."

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The rest of the morning was both a haze and a rush. Before they all knew it, they were back on the road. The morning fog had rolled out in full force on Azalea City as they marched outside its borders and struck out south. The skies were clear, but the ground was anything but. The forested trails to the fishing village of Mako was a grey, shapeless cluster in the distance as they pushed forward. The quiet and shrill cries of Pidgey and Spearow alike was their music on the road. The morning fog silently curled its cold, damp fingers around everything.

It provided them with little scenery to look at as they traipsed further along south.

None of them spoke about the incident earlier. Lupin had nothing to discern from her waking nightmares. Bullet didn't know how to talk to her about them, didn't know the first thing about approaching the subject. Riptide knew a little more, but he too wasn't sure how to broach the subject. It almost seemed pointless. She couldn't remember anything from them, and pushing her would only give her a headache and nothing else to show for it. Telling her she'd be okay felt like a hollow gesture, a weak lie when he honestly had no clue.

He wondered again if she needed to see a doctor for these things, or if they would eventually pass with them. But they were getting worse, he realized. Worse and more frequent. She once could be stilled while she slept with a mere touch, with him lying down on her stomach to calm her. Now she's not even staying close enough for him to reach her in the dead of night.

So he said nothing too.

They broke off the main road for a break, both to eat and to let Bullet rest. Lupin offered to carry him, but even after thinking about it, he shook his head. "I'm feeling fine, really. I just need this break, is all."

They were back on the road in an hour, and the fog was finally gone. Crisp, warm sunlight threaded its golden tendrils down, heating things up until it was sweltering. The fishing village of Mako came into sight, slow and steady over the cresting of a hill, with the sparkling silvery-blue shine of the ocean in its backdrop. Little schooners and fishing boats with nettings draped over their sides and plunging into the deep blue sea were all over the water's surface. Wood smoke drifted up into the air, pale grey little wisps that scattered and were easily lost into the blue of the sky.

People and pokémon alike milled along the quays and wharfs and docks, while boats were skittering across the waters or carefully anchoring themselves down. Lupin watched with a little wonder on her face. Riptide inhaled deeply and hissed softly.

"Ohhhh, I want some fish now…" he muttered hungrily. Really, that on-the-road processed tripe he had to eat barely qualified as food. He didn't know how Bullet could just gobble it all up and happily ask for seconds. Lupin laughed, and it was a soft sound that startled him. She had barely spoken today in light of her early morning terrors. It was almost refreshing to hear her laugh.

They had plenty of time to spare by the time they made it into the village proper. The boat that would take them was called the Angelique, and she was accepting passengers as early as two hours prior to departure. They had to wait about an hour, so Lupin suggested they snoop about, perhaps grab a few extra supplies, and maybe some food. Riptide pounced on that idea as soon as she finished, immediately concurring they should get more food first.

"You just want the fish," Bullet remarked. Riptide sniffed pointedly and croak-laughed.

"I have a transparent agenda, yes. I'm also still hungry." He tilted his head to peer up at Lupin, eye narrowing with mirth. "And I know you are always hungry."

She offered a scant, embarrassed smile. Bullet snorted softly but limped alongside her and Riptide as they made their way along the wooden docks. The hour flew by quickly, with Riptide ending up with a huge slab of tuna fish in his jaws. He'd stop every time Lupin did and tear chunks off the scaly fish hide. Bullet would steal stray bits, much to Riptide's consternation and irritation. Lupin had no luck in getting her extra supplies and concluded she'd have to wait until they reached Alto Mare.

The captain of the Angelique greeted them as they approached the gangplank, taking her ticket and examining it. He nodded, waving her through onto the main deck. Over the next two hours, about twenty or thirty people were milling about the ship. The crew worked furiously to meet their deadline and before long, the Angelique was pushing away from Mako.

Lupin watched as the mainland slowly shrank in the distance, the sea swallowing it up as the Angelique picked up speed. The sun was still hanging in the sky, a golden halo of burning light to their right. The sea churned and frothed beneath the bow of the ship as they sluiced through the waves. The waters were mostly bright and cheery, warm and inviting. She watched, even as Riptide snapped at Bullet and defended his dwindling scraps of tuna fish. The crowds around her were too absorbed in their own little worlds, mingling with one another while she sat on the second deck, watching. Staring into the horizon.

She stirred when she saw a large, dark shape passing within a hundred yards of the Angelique. Keeping up with the ship, in fact. Long and slippery, it sluiced through the waves just as easily as the shape. It breached the surface—if only for a second—before dipping back under the waves and breaking off away from its race with the ship.

She got the impression of something sleek with an arching back.

The shadowy shape was swallowed by the waves and the ambiguous shape of the creature disappeared from sight completely.

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