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At last, after what must have felt like hours of sifting through junk, there was the slightest brush of contact. One of the merfolk - the sense was so weak it was impossible to tell who - had sensed his arrival, and was responding as best he or she could.

It came from a corridor to the left. Of course this corridor was the one most thoroughly blocked with junk, some of it looking so heavy that it might take two or even three reasonably fit humans to move it.

But whoever was here, they were somewhere in behind there. And wasn't that just fitting? Beyond that corridor, not that Joshua or anyone who had come into the sub for the first time could know this, was the torpedo room. They were trapped amidst human weapons of war.

One would think the sight of such things would be enough to concern even the most warmongering of merfolk.

The area between the junk wall and the door had just enough clearance for Joshua to get through - opening the door was going to be a new challenge all its own. But the contact was growing a little stronger now; it was now obvious that the one responding wasn't Katalina, at least.

The answering one didn't seem to be making any attempt at all to open the door, or get out into the hallway, thus fueling speculation about whether or not he or she was alone in there. Or at least, without captors.

It was always possible, of course, that the door was just barred.

Should Joshua focus hard enough, he might feel the emotions slipping through the tenuous connection. Anger. There was a lot of anger. Surprise. Grief. And most worryingly, there was fear.

Whoever had connected with him, they were afraid.

The door squealed protestingly on rusty hinges, but as it inched open, the mental voice finally got through to Joshua. "Joshua."

It was a male's voice. The tension and fear in it was palpable.

The door gave another angry squeal as it eased open a little farther. The room looked empty. At least at first.

Then there was a movement in the corner of the room. "You made it," the voice continued. As the Siren uncurled himself, his exhaustion was obvious - he'd been throwing everything he had at the barrier, trying to break it. "Stay in the doorway - if you try to come inside you'll get locked in."

Now that he was uncurled, the source of his fear was evident. He wasn't afraid of something - he was afraid for someone. Katalina was here with him after all. But she was lying silent, floating just above the floor, pale as death; maybe that was why Tianara had been unable to be certain that there was more than one.

"There'll be someone back shortly, I'm sure," growled Narcis, the anger under his tone just barely held in check. He crossed the room to Joshua, carrying the mermaid. "Take her and get her out of here. Bring her back to Tianara's clan - they hurt her." Fury, grief, shame, all evident in his mental tone. "She'll need someone to tend her. I can keep them distracted."

Nezik and Jinx were nowhere to be seen, and Narcis shortly confirmed this. "I don't know where Nixie and Nezik are. They aren't in here - I've tried to reach them. I'm sure they're nearby." His attention wasn't entirely on Joshua - it was mostly on the area around them, listening for the sounds of anyone coming.

Narcis somehow found enough of his usual personality to shoot Joshua a stare, even as he followed the boy. "I doubt you could outrun them, boy," he pointed out, but his attempt at sarcasm was softened by the way he kept glancing down to check on the mermaid he carried along with him.

Finally, knowing that Joshua was probably right, he gave in. "At least make sure that one of you is safely hidden at all times, all right? Then if you get caught, Tianara can get you out. Or vice versa, I suppose," although the doubt there was evident. Apparently he had more confidence in Tianara's ability to cause a distraction without getting found.

As they passed through the junk wall, however, Narcis looked up suddenly. A minute later, what had caught his attention should become evident to Joshua - Tianara's mental voice was far softer in his head, but for Narcis she was all but screaming. "Joshua, hurry! Something's coming!"

The Siren growled again under his breath. Shifting his hold on Katalina so that he could grip Joshua by the wrist, he put his own speed to work - he was slower than usual, but since there was nothing physically wrong with him it was still a lot faster than human speed - and raced through the corridors, heading towards the girl's voice.

Tianara's mental voice filled with relief. "You found them! Are they okay? Are Nezik and Jinx with you too? Why don't I feel Katalina? Joshua, what's going on down there?" She seemed to catch herself after a second, now replying to his questions instead. "I don't know. They're still too far away to tell. But they're coming this way, they don't feel nice, and I want to have everyone out of here before they get here!"

"Tell her to stop talking with us," Narcis said abruptly. "If they're closing in, they're going to start hearing her if they're listening for it. We're almost there." Indeed, some light seemed to be shining down in the corridor in front of them. "We can talk later."

He found an extra burst of speed somewhere and went straight up and out, neatly avoiding having either Joshua or Katalina hit the hatch as he went. As soon as they were out, Narcis dropped the boy's wrist and turned his attention outwards, looking for Nezik and Jinx.

At last, he shook his head. "They're blocked," he muttered. "I can't feel them."

Tianara had sprung out from the side of the submarine, where she had been looking for a makeshift weapon of some kind. Now she went to Narcis, and they babbled quickly and quietly in their tongue for a few seconds. At last, she nodded. "Hurry. Take Sorry and go as fast as you can," she said softly. "We'll find them, don't worry. Just go."

Mac went with Aria back to the comfy couch, back with Mike. Sitting down, he watched the movie yet again. He watched as the drama unfolded again.

Mike had a bowl of popcorn, munching away. "Man, if I was there I would totally kill that seawitch" he said in between bites.

Mac began to reach the ending, and he was also beginning to drift to sleep when he realized he couldn't keep his eyes open. He felt Aria's arm touch his as he began to slowly slouch.

Mike got up and put his bowl away, and sat back down for the ending.