The next morning, Madeline and Fontaine were on high alert as everyone assembled out on the deck for their final activity, which appeared to be a relay race of sorts. 

    Ant was shocked when Maddy popped out of the crowd, eagerly volunteering herself first to be his partner. He pointed at her in bewilderment and seemed to be wanting to formulate the words to snitch on her but nothing was coming from his wide-opened mouth.

    Madeline mentally high-fived herself. Wow, she must've been doing a great job at being sly. Whether this was actually true or if Ant was just horribly oblivious was up for debate.

    Fontaine was also quick on the draw when volunteering as Finn's partner as per her and the small pirate's agreement. That drew some ugly looks from the envious troublemaker from the previous day that did not go unnoticed by either sisters. Jess simply shared a confused look with her friend and shrugged her shoulders.

    Essentially, there would be four winners of the jet skis based on points people had accumulated individually over the course of the week. Ant was pretty safe in his position since he was currently in first, so he was pretty much guaranteed a jet ski. All he need were a few extra points from this race to secure him in the top spot. Fontaine fondly rolled her eyes at how invested her brother had been at this camp.

    Finn was vying for the fourth spot with a couple of other kids so this final activity would be the determining factor. Did Fontaine really want Finn to win this expensive jet ski that would ultimately end up being sold by Hammerhead for an outrageous price on the black market? No, not exactly. But, it would be a nice to show off to those teens with superiority complexes.

    During the relay, the first person would swim for about 1000m to reach a platform where diving gear would be provided and they would then display the proper method of suiting up and diving for a flag placed among the rocks on the seabed. The second leg would drive a jet ski (not the expensive prototypes) around the small island and through the obstacles placed in their way. First to reach the finish received the highest number of points.

    Fontaine turned to Finn. "So which portion do you wanna do, swim or jet ski?"

    After a moment's consideration, Finn asked, "Your mom's a pilot, right?"

    "Yeah..." replied Fontaine slowly, not seeing where he was going with this.

    "So you probably know how to pilot a jet ski way better than me," said the pirate with a satisfied grin on his face as if he had solved some great puzzle.

    Fontaine's lips tugged up into a smirk as she accused, "You have no idea how to pilot a jet ski, do you?"

    Finn's grin turned sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck, admitting, "...no. Not really."

    The Nekton cocked a judgmental eyebrow.

    "Hey, you already know what's gonna happen to that thing if I win it," defended Finn. "You didn't have to partner up with me."

    "Whatever," chuckled Fontaine, shaking her head. "Let's just do this thing. You swim, I'll drive."

    Madeline and Ant's planning was far less agreeable than their siblings'. After squabbling for some time, Madeline begrudgingly conceded the right to drive the jet ski to Ant. 

    Finn chuckled at his sister's grumpy expression as she situated herself to begin the swim portion of the race. "I take it Ant won the argument." 

    "Yes," huffed Madeline. The only good thing about both Nektons on the jet skis was that she got to stay with Finn should anyone try to sabotage him.

    Madeline liked to think that since she and her brother lived underwater, they had an edge over the competition. Still, 1000m was a pretty long distance to swim and halfway through, she could feel her limbs beginning to tire. But she consoled herself with the fact that she saw a couple of kids out of the corner of her eye who had to be fished out and saved for safety's sake. Ha! Weaklings!

    She kept as close an eye on her brother as she could but no one attempted to pull anything during the swim. The diving portion was another story entirely.

    Those who managed to complete the long distance swim jostled each other none too gently as they raced to gear up despite there being plenty of diving equipment for everyone. Stupidheads.  She noticed a boy purposefully push her brother and knock an oxygen tube loose. She discreetly corrected it and yanked the other boy's loose.

    The boy was in such a hurry to dive that he didn't notice the young pirate's sabotage until it was too late and he was being rescued from the depths. Behind her oxygen mask, Madeline had a wide grin.

    But the attempts to impair her brother didn't end there. Things took a downwards spiral as a couple of guys literally started grappling with Finn as they descended downward. 

    Seriously? Dogpiling each other in the middle of the ocean? Ugh boys. They really weren't the cleverest fish in the sea.

    Desperate times called for excessive measures. Madeline, being the young, zealous pirate she was, pulled out a fishing knife and charged at the tussle. At the flash of a silver knife coming for them, the boys wisely backed away from Madeline. Security was not exactly top notch at this camp.

    She swung the knife in a wide arc around her. The boys backed away even further, getting the message loud and clear. Mess with her brother and they just might end up as shark bait.

    Once they retreated, Madeline looked over victoriously at Finn who looked incredibly exasperated behind his scuba mask. He couldn't comment on it though and simply brushed past her to retrieve the flag. She followed suit, not apologetic in the least bit.

    After presenting their flags and signaling for the second leg to go, Finn pulled off his mask and stared down at his sister. He wordlessly held his hand out and she subtly handed over the knife. 

    "They deserve worse than a little scare," grumbled Madeline, unwilling to be scolded for just looking out for her brother.

    Finn's stoic expression broke and he just had to crack a grin as he reached over to ruffle his fierce little sister's soggy hair. "I know. Thanks."

    While they had been waiting for the first leg to complete their portion of the race, Fontaine had idly scanned the line of competition. Oh great. Just their luck. There was Jacob, that little brat who had a vendetta against her and Ant. She'd definitely be keeping an eye out for him.

    "Oh c'mon!" cried Ant when Fontaine got the go ahead before him. He seriously feared Madeline had purposefully ditched him but half a second later, he got the green light too.

    While Fontaine wanted to look out for her brother, the competitive streak in her also wanted to  beat him. She resolved to only win by a little bit so that she could still keep a watchful eye on him. 

    They kept pace for most of the jet ski race, breezing past any obstacles. But the ambitious little brat that was Jacob came zooming up on their tails and showed no signs of slowing.

    Fontaine immediately saw that he was aiming for her brother. Was he so foolish as to risk their lives to rear end her brother on a speeding jet ski? Boys really had no logical neuron in their body.

    She decreased her speed ever so slightly, allowing her brother to pull ahead so she was even with Jacob. The boy jerked his head in shock when Fontaine steered so close to him that she was mere centimeters away. She simply reached over and, with pilot dexterity her mother would've been proud of, grabbed the controls guiding both of them from the path of the obstacle course.

    Once they had slowed to a stop, she tore into him with such ferocity, it would've made the bravest of men cower. What was he thinking?! Risking his life and, more importantly in her opinion, her brother's life? She was beyond incensed.

    Despite declaring that she had no words for how reckless he was, she proceeded to scold him for another twenty minutes. Only once they finished slowly crawling past the finish line did she let the truly penitent boy hastily retreat from her presence after stuttering out an apology to a confused Ant.

    Ant wasn't sure if it was safe to approach his sister with the wrathful expression still painted on her face, but he decided to take his chances. "What happened? I thought you were right behind me."

    To his relief, her face softened as she looked at him, happy to see him safe and sound with a medal looped around his neck. She waved him off, not wanting to worry him with the peril he had been in. "It was nothing. I thought you needed to have a win today." She flipped her sea sprayed hair haughtily. "After all, we both know I got mum's awesome piloting skills, so I'd have won if I was actually trying."

    Ant could take a pretty good guess on what had actually happened from Jacob's nervous response at the end of the race. He took his sister's taunting in stride and simply laughed pulling his sister into an unexpected hug. "Yeah right. Even mum can eat my dust."

    "Oh, is that so, Antaeus Nekton?"

    The boy in question gasped, pulling his sister around and using her as a shield from his mother's well-practiced "mom look."

    Ant greeted his parents in an overly exuberant voice. "Hey, Dad... Mum! Did you see me win out there?"

    "Of course, son," answered Kaiko. There was a dangerously playful glint in her eyes. "But what was that little comment—"

    "It was nothing!" interjected Ant desperately. "We were just discussing how great a pilot you are and how much we love you."

    "Right," chuckled Will. He patted his son on the back. "Congratulations on the win! We're proud of you." He fixed his eyes on his daughter and she could definitely see the proud, knowing glow there. "Both of you."

    The Dark Orca children dared to approach the Nektons. Finn cordially greeted them, "Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Nekton. I see you'll be taking home a shiny new jet ski. Congrats."

    Will and Kaiko warily eyed the pair of pirate siblings, suspicious of their sudden appearance. Had they been at this camp this whole time?

     "Thanks. But you better not be trying to steal it," warned Ant, equally as skeptical as his parents.

    "Nah," waved off Finn breezily. "We'll just tell dad that you Nektons were here and stopped us after a ruthless encounter." He held up a consolation ribbon and completion certificate. Will and Kaiko were reminded that Finn was still very much just a kid as he proudly showed them. "Besides, I still got a bit of a treasure for myself."

    The Nektons' wary expressions had to soften at that.

    Madeline had nothing to show for from her time at this sciency junk camp but that was only because she hadn't applied herself. But she did come out with her brother intact so she'd consider that a technical win.

    Still though, she pouted silently over the fact that she would not be bringing back a jet ski to their father, but she did spare Fontaine an imperceptible nod of respect. The do-gooder's protective streak had been admirable and it appeared they had both succeeded in their missions to protect their hapless brothers.

    Finn gave a small, two-finger salute and plastered a lopsided grin on his face as he and his sister strolled off. "We'll be seeing ya."

    Will had to question, "Did they cause any trouble?"

    "Surprisingly, no." Fontaine couldn't keep a small smile from forming on her face as she watched the siblings saunter away. She might not have always understood the ways of pirates and she definitely didn't get Finn's brat of a sister, but she had finally found a common thread between her and the little, feral pirate.

Don't ask about the point system to win the jet skis. I have no idea. As mentioned before, I'm not completely satisfied with how this piece turned out but I hope the fandom enjoys it anyway.