"It's drifting a bit again," Keith said for the third time after they had started following the weird mass of fog, "Around 30 degrees or so to the North."

  "Good, just keep us updated," Dan said.

  Voyager had full control as she steered herself behind the weird mass of fog, it was too dangerous to leave the steering to anyone else, so they didn't need to correct their path or anything like that, but it was still better for them to know the path they were taking.

  Also, with it finally not changing its location constantly, Keith's skill was able to get a hold of it, a bit. The mass of fog didn't show as a colored dot on the screen, instead, there was barely a glitchy circle there. Keith herself said that she only saw it as a silhouette atop the water.

  They had been moving for around 20 minutes or so, and the atmosphere on the bridge was much better than it was at the start, the tension having bled out after nothing off happened throughout the whole thing.

  "The weather seems to be improving, or is it just my imagination," Dan wondered out loud.

  "Not really," Jackie answered before anyone else could, "Something weird is happening out there, a hundred meters away from us or so, the waves seem to be just as strong as they were before, if not a bit stronger. But all around us, it's much calmer. I don't know if it's something that happens around these parts naturally, or it's because of our current escort."

  Dan shrugged, they had no way to say which of those it was, especially with how even after asking Arnold and the natives through the walkie-talkies, none seemed to know what or who they were dealing with.

  Dan even brought up the possibility that the other party might be of the Ocean Dwellers, but that was shot down fast by Arnold. The Nautical Archivist said that Ocean Dwellers weren't known for hiding themselves behind such camouflage-type skills, that they were more open with all those who drifted on the oceans, helping when they could, as long as you weren't a pirate that is.

  None of the natives had an idea what it might be either, which made Dan a bit worried about who they were dealing with. The fact that none knew what the other party was at all was getting on his nerves. Granted, the natives they had on Voyager weren't seafarers in any measure of the word, so it was expected that they didn't know about some of the lesser-known happenings of the ocean, but it was still concerning.

  "This will be tiring," Dan heard Robert murmur from the side, and he found himself agreeing with his right-hand man.

  The journey was going to take them a full day at least, and staying focused throughout it all would prove to be hard. They did have Voyager and Dan trusted her, but he doubted anyone would be able to fall asleep without much concern knowing what was happening outside... except the young blacksmith of course.

  "Can you tell us how long we have to go?" Dan asked through the speaker.

  As expected, and like all the times he had tried before, there was no response. Dan just sighed as he shook his head lightly, he had been trying to get the other party to engage in a conversation with them ever since their journey started, with nothing to show for it.

  Time passed slowly, but it passed nonetheless, and people started relaxing as nothing bad happened. Soon, what bit of light was able to seep through the dark clouds finally disappeared as the sun set, and the world outside fell into total and absolute darkness. With that, Dan could feel the tension that had disappeared a bit throughout the day return stronger than ever.

  Dan had been on stormy oceans and seas at night, the howling winds and dark abyss trying to consume your boat whole never failing to humble him, or anyone who found themselves in such a situation, it wasn't that different this time either. The people with him on the bridge were having the worst of it, with a front row seat to what was around them, even if it was unclear. Dan also had some worry for the others on Voyager though, those who had no experience with such weather and were facing it for the first time.

  Fortunately, due to how stable Voyager was, and whatever was keeping the waves around them somehow less apocalyptic than they were just a few hundred meters away, things weren't as bad as they could have been, but he still felt his heart sink from time to time as his augmented eyes caught sight of one of the gigantic waves passing by in the distance.

  "W-we should be around the centre of the stormy barrier between continents," Freddie said, his face the palest Dan ever saw a man and his eyes wide, "This is the worst of what we are going to face."

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  "That's good to hear," Dan answered calmly, trying to project a sense of security and be an anchor for his crewmen. "We will clear it fast."

  He had also been giving updates over the speakers to everyone else on Voyager, aiming to help calm them down and make sure that everything was alright.

  "Big girl, have you noticed anything else about her?" Dan asked Voyager suddenly.

  She just feels trustworthy, again, Voyager used the same words she had used before, Maybe familiar, a bit?

  "It's alright, you don't have to push yourself," Dan comforted her as he felt her confusion rise.

  Just like that, the rest of the night passed. Dan used the argument that with Advantage, he didn't need to worry about not sleeping for a night to stay on the bridge, while he chased the others to go and get some rest, refusing to leave no matter what they said. It wasn't just an excuse too, Dan truly didn't need to sleep as much as everyone else, though he doubted he was the only one with such a gift on Voyager, there must have been others like him too.

  As the bridge emptied and more and more people left, Dan suddenly found himself alone. With the wind howling and the huge waves passing by in the distance, he sat there as he looked outside, finding the situation surprisingly cosy. Losing himself in the atmosphere and his thoughts, Dan suddenly found himself with a slight smile on his face.

  "Big girl," he whispered to Voyager, admitting something that he had felt ever since he knew about how much of this world was unexplored. "Once we are stronger, strong enough that such weather isn't a problem for us, I wouldn't mind taking routes through such dangerous places. I want to see more of this world and oceans..."

  We will! Voyager sent excitedly. Dan's smile couldn't help but widen.

  ***

  "How was your sleep," Dan asked Freddie as the man returned to the bridge.

  "Surprisingly comfortable." Freddie chuckled. "Considering what it's like out there."

  "It's not as bad as it was last night," Dan said as he glanced to the side through the window, "It's calming down."

  "It should be, we aren't that far from exiting the stormy zone." Freddie nodded.

  With Freddie back on the bridge, more and more people trickled in slowly, till it was as full as it was the day before. Not long after that, weak, diffused light started filtering in through the heavy clouds lighting the area around them. At that point, they were able to see that the ocean around them was almost back to normal, it still wasn't as stable as it was on the Imperial waters, with waves hitting them and some light rain falling down, but it was much better than what they had been through that night.

  "It stopped!" Keith suddenly shouted, putting an end to the different conversations happening all over the bridge.

  Dan again felt a third consciousness link with him and Voyager, initiating a conversation.

  We have made it, the other party's voice sounded once again in his mind, Just continue ahead and you will reach the Dynasty.

  Thank you for escorting us, we will never forget your help, Dan hurried to say, fearing that the other party might just blink away. Can you please tell me who you are?

  The other party didn't answer straight away, taking her time to answer. Dan would have thought that she had cut the connection between them if he couldn't feel her right there at the edge of his and Voyager's consciousnesses.

  I have been known by many names throughout the years, the other party finally spoke, having focused a bit on Voyager before that. My first name is lost to the world at this point, and the others hold little meaning... though if you need to know what I'm referred to these days, that seems to be, the Blue Avenger.

  With those words, the connection cut off and the mass of fog blinked away, and didn't reappear this time.

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