The sounds of wooden forks pressing down against plates of the same material kept repeating themselves as both Jerico and Alex's groups ate together around the table in a rather awkward silence. Today's serving was fish with a serving of fried savoroot chips, a special recipe Norman had been working on for a while and though could help lift up the mood of the students and the sailor. The meal was just as delightful as one could expect when made by someone of his skill yet unfortunately it hardly seemed to fulfill its intended purpose.

Rick and Olivia ate without feeling all too bothered and although Lily wasn't exactly all too hungry at the moment she ate both out of respect to the trader's hospitality and to show her gratitude for the indian man's effort to prepare the meal. Alex hardly touched his own serving and Alice didn't even bother to show up to eat, instead choosing to sit down just outside the house and look out at the forest.

"Yo muscle boy, pretty sure doing a staring contest with the fish ain't exactly the best idea when the other side can't even blink" Said Jerico before taking a bite out of his fried savoroot

The small attempt to lighten up the mood was only greeted with more silence, which only made things even more awkward.

"My friend, I understand your mood is hindering your hunger but refusing to eat will only hurt your body and mind even further" Added Norman this time in an attempt to reason with him more directly.

The indian man made no attempt to hide the concern in his tone when speaking, yet this didn't seem to help all that much either.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not really hungry right now..."

"Fine then" Interjected Eddy before taking Alex's plate and putting it next to his own "More for me then"

"Hey, Eddy! Come on man!" Retorted Harold, who was sitting right next to him.

"What? He says he's not hungry, so I'm eating it" Replied the club-wielding man without a care in the world "Better to have someone actually eat it than let it rot"

"Yeah...I think it would be better like that" Said Alex before getting up and walking away "I'm gonna go get some fresh air if you don't mind"

"Hey, muscle boy..."

Despite Jerico calling out to him the sportsman simply walked up the stairs and headed for the garden on the rooftop, leaving the others behind.

"Real classy, Eddy" Said Harold while looking at him with an unamused look.

"What? You're gonna give me shit just because I tried to snap some sense into him?" Retorted Eddy.

"He went through a pretty nasty week with all that cave shit and the falling out, you know?"

"And we had to go through some pretty nasty years while trying to find a way to live in this damn island! But we all got over it and moved on, didn't we!?" Snarled the man, notably more irritated by everyone's looks "The sooner he learns to do that, the better...Otherwise he won't make it past a year"

"Even so, it wouldn't hurt to give him at least a day or two to process it!"

While Harold and Eddy discussed about the issue for a little longer Norman decided to get away from all the noise and instead go check up on Alex. The sportsman was leaning over the railing and looking at what he initially imagined was the forest, but upon approaching the indian man noticed he was actually looking at Alice sitting down with her knees up to face level outside the house.

Upon their arrival it was clear as day everyone was in quite the distraught state yet most of the group eventually started to lighten up save for Alex and Alice, who were still in either pensive or brooding states for almost an entire week with no clear end in sight. Thanks to Jerico the traders had a more or less vague idea of what happened to cause this and how the events that took place prior to their arrival weighted down on those two the most.

It took a moment or two before Alex noticed Norman's presence, though it didn't make much of a difference to him.

"Sorry for the gloomy mood back there. I just haven't really been feeling very hungry as of late" Finally said the sportsman after some silence.

"Do not let it bother you, my friend" Replied Norman with a smile "My mother always said that when a man's heart weights too much for his chest, it falls onto his stomach and crushes even the hunger within. I suppose she was right"

Alex responded to this lighthearted comment with a short and weak smile. It wasn't very uplifting but at the very least it was the first time since their arrival that the sporstman attempted to have a brighter mood. This gave Norman the motivation to try and push the conversation a little further.

"Jerico told us what happened" He said while leaning on the wooden railing next to him and looking at Alice "I am deeply sorry for your loss"

"No, it's okay. I didn't really knew them all that well to be honest" Replied the sportsman "But lately I feel like I've been getting used to seeing people die around me...Maybe a little too much"

"It is yet another curse of living on this island. You experience certain horrors so much that you are left with no choice other than to accustom yourself to them...It was the same for all of us, including Eddy" Commented the indian man with a pensive look "I hope you can forgive him for earlier, he meant no harm by it"

"Don't worry Norman, I'm not angry...I'm just..."

Alex attempted to explain his current state of mind yet was unable to properly put it into words, yet Norman was more than capable of doing so for him.

"Disillusioned?"

"I guess you could say that" Responded the sportsman as both of them saw Lily walk out of the house and approach Alice "I honestly believed we could gather up the students from all over the island. You know, join as one group and work together in order to find a way for everyone to get out of the island and go back home"

While he explained his crushed plans, both men looked at the young woman sitting down next to Alice and seemingly speaking something to the little girl, which eventually lowered her head further against her knees. For a moment Lily reached out an arm to hug her yet stopped mid-way through as Alice got up and walked away from her.

"In the end they were just making us do the dirty work, and the very first time I actually felt like they were finally willing to help out they almost killed us all by the back" Continued Alex "In the end, turns out I was the crazy one for trusting them so easily just because we were all students of the same school"

The sportsman let out a sigh of exaustion while lowering his head. The feeling of failure was weighting down on him.

He had failed to help Max due to narrowing down all of his issues to a simple nervous breakdown caused by the island and not past trauma of abuse from both other students and even his own family twisting his mind, he failed to persuade Dahlia into helping them as he could make no solid argument to her other than "simply because we're fellow students" nor see beyond that logic, he failed to persuade the rest of the blue students into accepting Max as one of them despite getting the first artifafct and attempting to talk them into it for months with no end in sight. And now he even failed to get the third artifact they worked so hard to find for weeks despite having paid the cost of two lives.

Norman looked at him for a moment or two before looking forward at the massive trees.

"My friend, did I ever tell you about Aditya?" He questioned without diverting his gaze "He was our village's weaver and a childhood aquaintance. Aditya was a good man from a caring family who had a passion for weaving. He made more than enough of an honest earning to live comfortably and sometimes donated part of his earnings to the school we once attended to. He even got an arranged marriage with a young, beautiful woman too"

"Sounds like he was a pretty happy guy"

"Indeed, Aditya was a happpy man. Or at least he was until he began to suspect his wife was cheating on him with the neighboring village's butcher" Continued Norman while growing more stern in expression "The doubts kept haunting him until one day he went and killed the butcher before running back home and beating his wife to death...The very next day he hanged himself on his workshop"

"That's...That's awful" Said Alex.

The sportsman was honestly unsure what else to say upon hearing such a story out of the blue like that, though he was unsure what the point of it was as well.

"The vilest of demons are not the ones roaming around the island my friend, they're the ones romaing inside the mind and the heart" Explained Norman with a pensive tone "fear, doubt, hatred, anger, envy, resentment...Thoughts plagued by these emotions can drive people into taking actions that they would never do otherwise, this is something we have all have gone through. Much more than any of us could possibly be willing to admit out of shame"

"Yeah" Replied Alex, recalling the very first man he killed. His grip on the hatchets surprisingly steady as he cut him down "I think I get what you mean..."

Another short moment of silence took place as Alex thought about Norman's words. What Milly did still felt unforgivable in his eyes, but was lashing out at Angela and Sally like he did afterwards really okay? If anything, did he really lash out at the Blue flower because of the red-headed student's actions or simply because he wanted to vent out on her for commiting the same mistake he himself was just as guilty of?

One way or the other, all the toughts juggling around inside his mind only served to give him a headache rather than helping him solve anything. And this was without even taking into account the fact he still had to figure out what to do in regards to the issue with the artifacts.

"Damn it, this turned into one big mess" Said Alex with one hand on his head and his eyes closed "I don't even know what to do anymore"

"In that case why not try and put this artifact hunt of yours aside and take some time to distract yourself instead?" Proposed Norman "That way you should be able to figure out your next move more easily"

"Makes sense, I guess" Replied Alex "Still, not too sure there's any relaxing hotels or spas around the island. Or a gym, for that matter"

"I'm afraid not, but I do have a suggestion if you're interested" Commented Norman "As you may already be aware of, Fredderick the clothing trader has been suffering from back pains as of late"

"Yeah, he told me about it before"

"Well, ours and a few other trading groups have been searching around and eventually heard from a marine goods trader about a coastal tribe" Explained the indian man "This tribe deals mainly in crafts made from seashells and fish meat, but they also know how to make a special medicine out of fish oils. According to the trader, this medicine is capable of relieving and eventually healing all kinds of physical pains, including back pains"

"I see..." Commented Alex

"The tribe seems willing to receive them and make a deal for the medicine but Fredderick's back has worsened to the point many of us worry the trip could take a toll on his body. Jordan has offered to go in his stead, so how about offering up to go along with him as bodyguards?" Continued Norman "I'm certain both Fredderick and Jordan would appreciate the help, not to mention spending a day or two on the beach would be a perfect way to relieve some stress as well"

"You mean the beaches filled with giant alligators and Dilos?" Asked Alex with a raised eyebrow

"Well, more relaxing than the monster and raider-infested jungles at the very least" Replied Norman.

"Fair point...Okay, I'll do it. I'll need to ask the others if they want to tag along, though"

Though not fully sure if the beach would be as relaxing as Norman was hoping, Alex decided it was worth a shot and decided to ask the others if they were willing to go. Olivia rejected the offer as she instead preferred to stay with Jerico's group and help the cowboy-ish man do maintenance on his crossbow while Rick agreed to go with surprising eagerness, though in a way it was somewhat predictable he'd feel interested in such an idea. The purple flower was quick to accept the proposition as as well since she also felt the trip might help cheer Alice up a little, though convincing the latter took quite a fair share of effort.

Once they eventually got her to tag along Alex went to visit Fredderick's group and offered to help them out, the middle-aged man was more than glad to hear of this and accepted right away before setting everything up for them to make trip the following day.

"Alright then, is everyone ready?" Asked Jordan while looking at the four of them before facing forward "In that case, let's get going!"

The man nudged the Stegosaurus to move forward by using the reels while everyone rode on its back. Slowly but steadily the spiked dinosaur began to walk forward towards their destination.

Rick rested against one of the large scales on the back while Alice sat down against another scale with her knees up to face-level and arms wrapped around them. Both Alex and Lily, who sat behind the trader, looked at the little girl for a moment or two before Jordan spoke up.

"Thanks again for the help, darlings" He said with a gleeful tone "I was honestly debating wheter to ask you to help or not and then you suddenly just come up to our tree to offer a hand of your own accord. Such selfishness is worth quite a high score, let me tell you."

"No, it's no problem really. If anything, I felt like the trip to the beach would make for a nice change of pace" Replied Alex before looking back at Alice again with slight concern "For all of us"

"I see..."

Though many things weighted down on Alex's mind he couldn't but keep thinking about Alice right now. The little girl usually made an effort to be cheerful and light up the mood for others alongside Lily, yet she had been awfully quiet as of late. Not only that, but the apathy she expressed towards most of the young woman's attempts to cheer her up and even the trip itself were getting concerning. He couldn't really blame her for it either, especially after hearing about what happened during the latest confrontation with her older brother from the Purple flower.

Alex always carried the sneaking suspicion something was off with the Rockwell family yet the truth was beyond anything he could have expected. He couldn't imagine just how much of an impact it had on Alice's mind, especially considering the rather harsh way she was forced to face this revelation.

"Hey, Lily. How is Alice doing?" He asked to her with the hopes of hearing at least some faintly good news.

The young woman initially shook her head with her eyes closed before speaking up.

"Not good at all. She barely eats or sleeps, she does nothing but sit down and stare at the forest in silence" She replied with notable concern in her tone and a dejected expression as well "She doesn't want to talk with me either. She probably hates me for what happened with Max..."

"Come on now, that's not true" Quickly said Alex "You were just trying to help"

"Even so, I ended up doing something I shouldn't have" Persisted Lily "I tried to help but in then end I just made everything worse..."

Though bearing no ill will when doing them, the young woman felt like her actions were the real reason behind this disastrous result and felt deeply regretful for them. Unfortunately Alex was unsure what to say or do to convince her otherwise.

Jordan couldn't help but listen to them talk yet refrained from prying and instead focused on leading the tame through the forests.

A sombre aura lingered in the air during the whole trip from when they left the redwoods and crossed the river to when they ventured through the tropical Western jungles. They faced the occasional Raptor or Carno attack but it didn't pose too much of a problem as they were easy to fend off with the combined strength of the group's metal weapons and the Stego's powerful tail attacks.

Eventually they reached the coastline and from there found a portion that extended out further into the ocean, in that place they spotted a small village composed of a dozen or so simple thatch huts and a few woodend rafts alongside the coast. The bigger raft looked like it could be capable of carrying about a dozen people or so and resembled a fishing boat or an old boat from the 17th century.

"Is that the place?" Asked Alex.

"Hm...This is the location marked down on the map, so yes. It should be" Replied Jordan while looking at the map "Well then, we won't find out by sitting here. Let's go and ask"

Though unsure if it was the right tribe the group decided to carefully approach them. As expected they were received by guards dressed in cloth clothing, with some choosing to wear no shoes or shirts due to the heat, pointing their spears and arrows at them. Fortunately they put down their weapons and received the group more readily after Jordan explained the motive of their visit and gave them a letter to prove their identity as traders.

Upon entering further into the village they were received by a man dressed in a blue hide coat over blue fiber pants and shoes along with a white fiber shirt and a black captain's cap. He had brown hair and a messy beard along with a more or less average body with a beer belly and was just a half a head or so taller than Alex.

"Ahoy! So ye be the landlubbers I was told about?" He spoke with a rough yet confident tone and a smirk "Welcome! I'm sparkleg, captain of the sparkleg pirates and this tribe here be me hearty crew!"

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Jordan, the trader who works alongside Fredderick and these darlings here are my companions" Replied Jordan before gesturing at Alex's group "I'm sure you already know why we're here, right?"

"Aye! Ye landlubbers want some of me tribe's oil fish medicine fer yer bucko. The trader we deal with told us everything already" Asserted Captain sparkleg with both arms crossed "Follow me and we'll talk some sweet trade. Yer mateys can wait here but be no rapscallions now, me crew be watching ye"

"A-A what now?" Asked Alex with a raised eyebrow, who was having a difficult time following what the man was saying every now and then.

"A mischievous person. He basically told us to cause no trouble while he's talking with Jordan" Explained Rick without moving from his spot.

"Ohhhhhhh" Said both Alex and Lily at the same time.

"Why does he talk like that, though?" Asked the young woman before showing sudden excitement "Is he actually a real pirate!?"

"Aye lassie! I'm a man of the seven seas! A pirate!"

"Either that or someone who's really obsessed with pirate talk" Quietly said the sailor while looking away from the leader of the coastal tribe.

Fortunately his extra comment went unheard by Sparkleg, who was instead leading Jordan to his hut to make bussines with him. Eventually his attention was directed elsewhere as a man's voice called out to him.

"Rick? Rick, is that you?"

"Huh?"

Upon turning his head the sailor saw a middle-aged man with dark grey-ish hair approaching the Stego. Unlike his fellow tribemen he was dressed in a white shirt and pants, both torn and dirty, along with a captain's hat. It took only one look at the man's face for Rick to recognize him as his employer and captain.

"Captain!?" He said with shock and widened eyes before getting off of the Stego and approaching him in a rush "Captain, you're alive!"

The sailor's face lightened up in a way Alex nor Lily had ever seen before. For the first time since they met Rick looked genuinely happy.

"Captain, I thought you were dead!" Continued Rick with both arms on the middle-aged man's shoulders.

"I could say the same thing about you" Replied the captain of the cruise "I feared the storm might have sent you to Davy Jone's locker"

The purple flower and the sportsman looked at the two men speaking to each other before the captain noticed their uniforms and brought them up.

"Are those students from the cruise?" He asked.

"Yes. I met with them right after we got shipwrecked" Answered Rick before looking at the trio "They're Alex, Lily and the little one on the back is Alice. She's the sibling of another student"

The middle-aged man looked at them with a mixture of relief and guilt before speaking to them.

"I am terribly sorry about all of this. I cannot even imagine how horrible it must have been for you and your classmates"

Both studetns lowered their gaze with pensive expressions, though Rick was quick to try and ease the man's guilt.

"Please don't blame yourself, captain. There was no way we could have known something like that was going to happen"

"Tha-that's right...And even if you did, I don't think any ship could have escaped from something like that" Added Alex as well.

Their attempts didn't seem to cheer up the cruise captain but at the very least he seemed grateful for their effort.

"Well then, I believe we have some catching up to do" He said before gesturing them to follow and turning around.

Rick and the group followed behind the middle-aged man deeper into the coastal village while leaving the Stego to rest and feed in peace. The sound of the waves of endless clear blue water kept going back and forth while the winds blew along the coast.

While the sailor and his captain exchanged information and caught up to what they've been up to and what they discovered over the last couple of months Alex, Lily and Alice simply relaxed by looking at the waves and the ocean spreading out into the horizon, the last of the trio sitting at a short distance away from the others.

"So how did you end up joining a coastal tribe?" Asked Rick.

"Well, I was escaping from a pack of alligators and happened to run into Sparkleg and his tribemates" Explained the cruise captain "He and his tribe took a liking to me after I told them a few tales about my years riding the waves during World War II and they accepted me as one of their own. It was certainly a lot better than constantly being on the run from pre-historic monsters day and night"

"Yeah, I get what you mean" Replied the Sailor.

"By the way, did you found out anything about the rest of the crew yet?" Asked the captain.

"I'm afraid not. They're either probably spread out with small tribes around the place like you or...well..."

A short moment of grim silence took over as both imagined the unlucky fate of their fellow crewmates before everyone heard Jordan's voice and turned their heads to see him coming over with a rather distressed expression.

"Jordan? What happened?" Asked Alex while getting up "Did the deal go okay?"

"Ye-Yes, I managed to strike a deal but this might be rather troublesome one" Replied the trader with a concerned expression "You see, my boy...The thing is, I'll need you and Rick's help for this"

"Me?" Asked Rick before everyone saw captain Sparkleg approaching with a smirk.

"Hope yer ready to get pressed into service, lads!" Said the pirate with a spear in his hand and a net over his other shoulder "Cause yer gonna go do me some fishing!"

*Scene*

"Ha!" Shouted Alex as he stabbed into the water with his spear.

The sharpened rock tip dug under the surface and straight at a Coelacanth swimming underneath, stabbing and piercing through the piscine creature as it struggled for a few seconds while Alex pulled it out of the water.

Deep-knee in the water, both him and Rick hunted down fish with a bone spear and a fishing net while the rest of the group sat on the shore and watched them, Lily in particular using the opportunity to draw them. Though Alice didn't seem as interested to watch the fishing taking place as the others.

"Yes! I got it!" He cheered in joy.

"Not bad, lad!" Said Captain Sparkleg with a satisfied tone "Yer no first rate I'll tell you that, but ye certainly show ya know the ropes!"

Alex didn't quite understand some of the slang used by the so-called pirate and his rougher accent didn't exactly help yet he could at least tell his achievement was being praised, or at least he hoped it was.

"Thanks?"

"Oh my, I didn't think you were so skilled at spearfishing" Said Jordan with honest amazement from the pleasant surprise.

"We traveled around rivers during our first few weeks on the island so I had plenty of practice already" Replied the spotrsman before looking at Rick "Though I can't even compare to Rick"

In contrast to Alex who had managed to gather about two or three fish in thirty minutes or so of searching the sailor managed to gather over twice that amount in the same time, this was mainly thanks to far fewer fish escaping him as his strikes were better timed, more precise and he was also able to better predict which direcction the fish would attempt to swim away in and use the net to stop them before taking them down with a second stab.

"Aye, yer matey's got a copper-bottomed eye for catching them fishes" Commented captain sparkleg "Where did ya learn to spear them like that, bucko?"

"The Bois Fort indians taught me how to spear during winter and how to net during summer when I was fourteen, I also learned a few other fishing techniques from a couple of other west-coast indian tribes like the Quillayute and the Goshute but for now this is about as much as I can do with what I've got" Explained the sailor, still focused on spearing and capturing fish.

"Eh? You grew up with indians?" Asked Alex this time.

"No. My mother simply used to take me with her to visit the tribes and learn how to fish from them during summer and winter breaks. She always ended up giving most of what we caught to the locals to either eat or sell so she had an easy time befriending them" Continued explaining the sailor "She was something of a fishing hobbyist and always loved to go fishing whenever she could take a break from working with my father and his research"

"Research, you say?"

"Rick's father is a marine biologist and his mother works with him as a diver" Explained the Cruise captain, who was sitting alongside Lily.

"She loved to capture what lived in the water and he loved to study what lived in the water. They always complimented each other in that way" Continued the sailor before spearing yet another fish.

"Huh..." Said Alex with certain interest in his tone "I never heard you talking about yourself before, Rick."

"You never asked" Replied Rick calmly.

"True" Asserted the sportsman before spearing a fish but unfortunately failing and letting it escape "Damn it, I missed...Hey cap, how many more of these do we need to make that medicine?"

"Argh, the Coealacanth is not the fish ya need to make the medicine lads" Explained Sparkleg "The medicing yer looking for is made from the oil of another fish named "Salmon Sabertooth". Those rapscallions live deeper underwather"

"Eh!? Really!?" Said Lily, whose focus was more leaned towards the conversation taking place now that her drawing was mostly done.

"Wait, what?" Asked Alex "Then why did you make us capture these ones?"

"For food, of course. Coelacanth ain't that pricey in the market but sure makes for good food for my crew" Continued the pirate captain.

"Are you telling me you used us to catch you your dinner!?" Questioned the sportsman.

Alex was notably irritated by the news, and Sparkleg not only could notice this but was also quick to act.

"Easy now, lad. Don't go blowing yer top off just yet and listen to this old pirate" He interjected "Ya got me a much better haul than expected so how about this? I'mma sweeten the deal and lend ya one of me best fishermen to help out"

"One of your fisherment?"

"Aye. I've got me one copper-bottomed fisher among me crew that knows the ropes when ya need some Salmon fished. Ya get yer medicine and we keep the meat for selling, I'll even let ya keep some of the Coelacanth fer yerself" Asserted Sparkleg "So, what'cha say, bucko? Deal?"

Alex looked at the pirate for a moment as he got the odd feeling he was actually planning this little twist from the start. Then again, he was a pirate after all. If it wasn't for Fredderick, he probably would have put down the spear and walked away.

"Deal..."

"Yo-ho-ho! We got a deal then!" Said Sparkleg with delight before turning around to look at his tribemates "Avast, me crew! Bring me the mermaid lass!"

As the pirate captain called out to his tribe they all gathered in front of him, though many were slightly anxious and hesitant before one of them spoke up to reveal the reason behind their current state.

"Erm, captain...Maya's not here..."

"What'cha mean by that!?" Questioned the pirate.

"We haven't seen her in hours, actually" Said another tribe member "I think she said something about going for a dive"

"Then what'cha waiting for ye bunch of sea cows!? Find her before I break yer barnacles!"

"Ye-Yes captain!"

The tribe's men and women quickly spread out to search around the base for the so called mermaid yet none of them seemed to have any luck so far, which only served to irritate Sparkleg even further.

"Shiver me timbers, where did that little rapscallion run off to now!?" He questioned with an irritated tone while looking around "Maya! Maya, where are ya!? Ya better come out now or I'll make ye walk the plank!"

Sparkleg kept calling out to Maya for a few more moments before a figure eventually jumped out of the water just a short distance away, this was followed by a sound that the group almost instantly recognized as a Dolphin's call.

"Ah, there she be" Said the pirate, notably unamused at the moment "Damn lass, messing around with her dolphin pet again"

The dolphin called out a few more times before swimming towards the sandy shallows, and together with it a second figure appeared. This one was not another dolphin-like animal but a human. A young woman with moca-colored skin and light green eyes, her hair was about chest to waist-lenght and quite messy, her body was in notably good shape and well-toned due to spending so much time swimming everyday though a few cuts and scrapes could be seen here and there.

Currently she was only wearing simple panties and what seemed like a strapless sports bra, both made out of clothing, along with a piece of cloth wrapped around the upper portion of her head. Part of her hair was tucked in under the wrap to help keep her vision clear but a few bangs slipped out and framed her face. On one hand she had a spear and on the other a small hide bag.

Oddly enough, she was wearing a belt with a couple of jars full of what seemed to be honey.

"Maya! Where the hell were ya at, ya damn lass!?"

"Huh? I was doing some diving, that's all" Replied the woman with an unamused tone "What's with you?"

She didn't seem happy at all to be yelled at by Sparkleg, whose anger didn't ease up in the least.

"Don'cha dare tell me ya were searching for that damn mystic fish again!" Nagged the irritated pirate "I keep telling ya, yer job's to gather sillica pearls! Sillica pearls! Not look for children's tales!"

"And I keep telling you it's real! I saw it!" Snarled Maya while planting her spear firmly against the sand "Besides, what's the big problem with me searching for it as long as I keep bringing you pearls!?"

"Talking about that, did'cha bring some pearls this time?" Questioned Sparkleg, quickly changing the subject as his mind focused on the last word she said.

The diver simply passed her small bag at the pirate captain before he caught it and looked at the handful of pearls inside.

"Arrrgh...I'll let this one slip, but ya better drop that damn search and find me more pearls instead next time!" He said after counting the pearls and looking at her again "Or I'll make ye walk the plank and feed ya to the Megalodons!"

"You mean the plank of the ship you sank while trying to ram it against the barrier last year?" Questioned Maya with her arms crossed "Cause I'm pretty sure that one's still rotting at the bottom of the reefs along with the rest of the ship"

"Shut yer trap, ya little rat! Yer lucky the chief likes ya or I'd have sent ya straight to Davy Jone's locker already!" Snarled Sparkleg "Either way, just listen. I've got a job for ya"

The woman looked at the pirate with a raised eyebrow before finally noticing Alex's group, who were up until now quietly witnessing the argument taking place.

"Landlubbers here need Sabertooth Salmon for that special medicine of yers, and I offered ye up to help them do some fishing"

"Why me?" Asked Maya.

"Because I said so, now shut yer trap and obey yer captain!" Argued the pirate captain "And ye better bring more salmon than pearls or I'll chop up yer dolphin friend and serve'im for dinner!"

And with that warning Sparkleg walked away, giving the woman no further explanation as she gave him a rather nasty glare before turning her head to look at Alex and Rick, then noticing Timothy, the cruise captain among them.

"Hey, mister Tim. What was the greasy old fart talking about?"

"Well, you see..."

The captain of the shipwrecked cruise proceeded to explain Maya the situation surrounding Alex's group and their need in regards to the medicine that could only be made from the Sabertooth Salmon's oil.

"...And that's pretty much the situation at hand" Said the cruise captain after finishing his explanation "Putting Sparkleg aside these people are friends of mine, I'd appreciate it if you helped them out"

"Well, since you're the one asking I don't really mind. Besides I'd rather not deal with that rotten old pirate again if I can help it" Replied Maya with a more friendly expression and tone "Sabertooth Salmon are pretty vicious when attacked, though. You guys sure you're up for it?"

"Don't worry about us. We're ready for it" Commented Alex with both hands on his spear.

"If you say so. Keep in mind, swinging a spear underwater ain't the same as swinging it on dry land" Warned the fisherwoman before taking a hold of her spear and turning around "The Salmons live pretty deep into the sea so we'll need a raft for you two. Come on, follow me"

Both the sailor and the sportsman looked at Timothy, who nodded at them as a way to affirm they could rely on her, before following her alongside the coastline and borrowing a raft for the trio to venture into open waters. Alex and Rick used the raft while Maya instead rode on her Ichthyosaurus tame, which swam slightly ahead in search of a good fishing spot.

"Alright, stop the raft. I think I saw a couple of them somewhere around this area earlier while diving for pearls"

Following the diver's words Rick pulled up the sail and tossed a bag full of rocks tied to the sail's mast, the bag quickly sunk down to the sea floor and effectively stopped the raft from getting dragged by the waves.

"Which one of you can hold their breath the longest?" She asked while looking at both of them.

"I think I can hold it for about a minute or so..." Replied Alex.

"Around five to six minutes, I think. Seven If I push it a little" Replied Rick this time, giving a much more impressive answer.

"In that case, you'll come with me" Decided Maya while looking at Rick, and then looking at Alex "And you will stay here to watch over the raft"

Both men agreed with her decision and Rick took a hold of his spear before getting into the water with the woman. But at that moment a sudden thought popped up in Alex's mind.

"Now that I think about it, how long can you hold your breath underwater?"

"About fifteen to seventeen minutes" She replied calmly despite the shocked faces of the sailor and the sportsman "I can hold it up to twenty minutes if I try really hard, though"

"Tw-Twenty minutes!? Is that even possible!?" Asked the sportsman.

"It is possible...Though it's pretty much a world-record level at that point" Answered the sailor while sweat dropping.

"Come on now, we should hurry up and get this over with before it gets dark" Interjected the diver to try and make both men focus back on the task "Believe me, you don't want to be out in open sea at night"

"Okay then"

"Also be careful with the Salmon. They might seem passive at first but the whole pack will become extremely aggressive when one gets attacked"

Rick nodded in agreement before both of them and the aquatic tame went underwater. Holding onto his breath the sailor looked around him and saw an endless world of pure blue. The sensation of his body floating, free of all bindings, invoked a sense of nostalgia and freedom in him that unfortunately he couldn't afford to thoroughly enjoy, he had a job to take care of Maya soon reminded him of it as she urged him to follow after her.

The sailor attempted to focus on the task at hand and dived deeper alongside the diver and her tame, all three heading deeper and deeper into the cold waters. Rick didn't have too much problem dealing with the cold, he barely even seemed to think of it as his mind was too focused on looking at Maya swimming. He always liked to think of himself as a proficient individual when it came to swimming but he paled in comparison to the diver. Her movements were so smooth and swift that he now understood why she had the nickname "mermaid" given to her. Her expression as well was one of ease of mind and focus, as if her mind found the balance to push aside all other thoughts and focus solely on the act of diving itself.

While swimming they passed a school of Coelacanth swimming close to the surface and even got followed by a couple of curious wild Ichthyosaurus that eventually swam away as they headed deeper. In the distance Rick could see a couple of very large sharks swimming about yet Maya's lack of interest in them gave him the feeling they were probably not an inmediate concern, at least as long as they kept their distance.

After a moment or two they finally found a school of Sabertooth Salmons, though instead of attacking them all at once Asha and Rick waited until one or two lingered away from the rest to ambush it together. Surprisingly enough a Salmon would end up getting sepparate from the school quite often as they didn't seem to be heading in any direcction and rather just lazed around the general area.

Every couple of minutes or so the sailor had to swim back up to the surface to regain air and bring Alex one or two captured Salmons, though while he had to surface and submerging about three or four times Maya hardly needed to do it just once. A few times the Salmons grew restless and even tried to fight back when the spears failed to kill them right away yet the diver and her piscine tame were more than capable of quelling down the attempts of retaliation. Things took a rather dangerous turn when the blood spilling into the water began to attract Megalodons closer yet this didn't stop them.

Eventually one of the Sabertooth Salmons slipped off after getting hit and attempted to escape deeper as Rick chased after it. Almost right away he was stopped by Maya but the confused sailor was quickly made to understand why as a Megalodon got attracted by the blood and rushed at the Salmon to devour it, though the shark itself soon became the prey of a far larger and far more terrifying creature that emerged from the depths.

Rick's blood froze as he saw the imposing shark getting trapped like a mere snack by the jaws of what he could only describe as a sea monster before it descended back down into the dark depths of the abyss that it called home.

Both of them swam back up to the surface afterwards and got up on the raft with Alex, who carefully stacked up the Salmons and tied them up using a fishnet and some rope to make sure none would slip off and fall into the ocean.

"What the hell was that thing we just saw!?" Asked Rick while turning to look at Asha "It was about the size of a whale!"

"Wait, what did you see down there?" Asked Alex this time, growing uneasy at the possibility of getting attacked out in open waters.

"A Mosasaurus, they're the apex predators of the oceanic depths" Replied the diver while sitting on the edge of the raft "Don't worry, the wild ones don't swim above a certain depth so we'll be fine up here. We should still hurry up and go back, the blood from the salmon could attract more Megalodons if we stick around for too long"

The sportsman nodded in agreement and began to pull up the improvised anchor while Rick lowered the sail. The winds weren't quite as strong as before so the trip back was much slower, and in order to kill some time Alex attempted to strike up a conversation.

"Hey...Maya?" Asked the sportsman while looking at her "Mind if ask you something?"

"What is it?" She Asked back.

"That Sparkleg guy mentioned something about a chief earlier. He's not the tribe's leader?" Questioned Alex.

He was not fully sure where to start from, so he chose to use what he heard from her earlier conversation with the pirate captain.

"No he's not and for that I thank the gods. Otherwise we'd be spending every single day searching for pearls non-stop and building him a brand new ship for him to wreck all over again" She replied with notable irritation in her tone "Our tribe's chief lives in the miniature island to the south-east with a few other aquatic tribes in a community of sorts. We are a scouting group sent to look for potential sites to harvest resources like Pearls and Oil"

"Thinking about it, you did say something about his ship sinking to the bottom of the ocean earlier too. What was that about?" Asked the sportsman.

"The island we live in is mainly protected by both a small group of ships and a large amount of water tames like Megalodons and Plesiosaurus" Further explained Maya "That guy proved to be quite experienced at naval warfare and had a knack for commanding a crew so they appointed him as captain of one of the larger ships, but last year the rotten fool thought he could break through the barrier by raming his ship against it"

"Somehow I get the feeling it didn't work out all that well for him" Commented Rick.

"The ship got wrecked and sunk down to the bottom of the ocean along with half of the crew, afterwards they demoted him to scouting squad leader" She continued "Now the dumbass thinks he can earn back the favor of the chiefs and get his old postition back by bringing the motherlode to them. Working for him is a pain in the ass but at the very least I can search for the Liopleurodon all I want out here"

Both men looked at the fisherwoman for a moment or two in silence, up until now they couldn't help but notice she had a less than favorable oppinion of the pirate captain by how she spoke of him and now it was a little more clear why. With that said there was still one doubt left in their minds.

"What's a Liopleurodon?" Asked Alex, much to the curiosity of both of them.

"The Liopleurodon is an ancient, magical creature that lives somewhere in the seas around the island" Replied Maya with notable excitement in her tone and expression "Many people believe it's just a legend but it's real! I know it is!"

"Wait, wait...What do you mean by "magical"?" Questioned Rick this time with uncertainty.

"Legends say the Liopleurodon holds magical power and will lead those who find it and gain its favor by feeding it honey to treasures beyond their wildest dreams" Continued the diver while looking at the sailor this time "Of course, since there's rumored to be only one in existence and the sightings are extremely rare most people think it's just a legend"

"So you want to find it to get riches?" Asked Alex.

"I don't really care about finding treasure, I just want to find the Liopleurodon" Asserted Maya with a stern tone and expression "I want to find it and prove everyone it's real..."

Both the sportsman and the sailor looked at each other again for a moment or two, giving Maya the feeling they didn't believe their story in the least until Rick spoke up.

"Sounds like quite the convenient story. Still, I've seen crazier things in this island so it's definitely possible" He said while laying down on the raft.

"So that's why you're carrying flasks with honey even though you went diving? " Added Alex "Guess it kind of makes sense since you never know when you could run into it"

"You...You guys believe me?"

"Like I said, we saw way crazier things already" Assured Rick.

"A couple of weeks ago we found a screaming feathered dinosaur and a werewolf named Lupa on the snow biome, so your story is not all that far fetched" Added Alex "I mean, I'm sure there's probably a more logical and grounded explanation for the Liopleurodon but that doesn't mean it can't be real either"

"A-A werewolf!?" Asked Maya with a paler expression "Weren't those just an urban myth to scare children!?"

"So you can believe in a one-of-a-kind legendary magical fish but not in a half human half wolf creature?" Questioned the sailor while sweatdropping "On hindsight, I can kind of understand why..."

"I guess it would be possible for a werewolf to exist a wolf mated with a human or the other way around..." Conjectured Maya "I did hear of a northern tribe that attempted to breed a werewolf they could use against the legion by doing that with their tames a few years ago"

"Why did you have to put that image in my mind?" Asked Rick with a slightly nauseated look.

"We-Well, that aside I wouldn't worry all that much" Interjected Alex with a weak smile "Lupa is stronger than your average human but she's also really friendly towards people"

The sportsman couldn't help but feel the conversation was taking a rather disturbing turn so he quickly attempted to change the subject by bringing up something rather important.

"A-Anyway, I've been meaning to ask but what do we do with the Salmons once we get them back to the settlement?"

"Just leave them to me, I'll extract the oil from their tissues and use it to create the medicine" Replied Maya.

"Wait, so you're the one who makes the medicine too?" Asked Rick this time "I didn't know you were also a doctor"

"No, I'm not a doctor. I just know how to prepare the pills, beyond that I hardly know anything medicine-related besides basic first aid"

As the sportsman turned his head to look at the stacked up fish next to him once more he couldn't help but get lost in thought. All that talk about medicine and oils started to remind him of his classes back from the green school. These memories kept lingering in his mind for a moment or two before Rick called out to him.

"Alex...Hey, Alex!"

"Huh? What wrong?" Asked Alex.

"That's what I wanted to ask" Replied the sailor "Everything okay? You looked like you were under the weather for a moment there"

"Ah, sorry...I was just thinking about the path we'd take for the trip back to the Redwoods"

Rick could faintly tell Alex was not being honest but decided not to press the issue any further. Instead he chose to leave the task of steering the raft to the fisherwoman before approaching the sportsman and sitting next to him, bringing up a question that lingered in his mind for a while now.

"So...When are you planning to talk about what happened with Alice?"

"Lily already explained what happened the other day to her" Bluntly replied the sportsman.

Alex was faintly aware of what Rick was hinting at with his question but attempted to dodge the subject nonetheless. Unfortunately Rick was not letting this one slip by so easily.

"You know what I'm talking about, Alex" Interjected Rick "You really need to have a proper talk with Alice. Ever since we left the Weathertop she's been pretty subdued lately, and it's only gonna get worse if we don't do something"

"And you want me to talk with her?"

"She's been ignoring Lily so far and knowing my skills with children or heart to heart talks I doubt I'll do any better" Commented the sailor "Besides, you've known those siblings for far longer than either of us. You'll have an easier time getting her to open up to you"

Alex didn't say anything in return this time around, instead giving into silence as Rick got back up on his feet.

"Do whatever you want. Just keep in mind that the more she thinks about it, the worse it's gonna get"

With those words of advice the sailor returned to the fisherwoman side and focused on steering the raft while Alex looked at his own reflection in the water.

Once again Alex received unwanted advice that just added up to the pressure weighting down on him. Both Rick and Norman's words were only meant to help him yet at the same time he could feel the hints hidden behind them, the indirect attempts to urge him into doing something or merely dumping the responsibility of something on him. Always expecting him to make a decision, to take action even when uncertainty or the fear of failure being blamed upon him lingered in his mind. Such was the burden of those placed in a position of leadership, wether it happens with or without their consent.

In a way, it made Alex wonder if this is what Angela had to go through everyday while doing her best to keep order among the blue students who would otherwise start going at each other's throats at the first sign of trouble. This did not make him feel any less justified in his angry outburst, but it did make him ponder about it.

Rick did not speak any further with Alex, instead he left him alone to ponder on his thoughts while the sailor focused on steering the raft while engaging in conversation with the fisherwoman. Around an hour or so went by before the trio returned to the sandy coasts with the spoils of the hunt.

They were greeted by Lily, Jordan and Timothy who awaited their return. Sparkleg, who took a much bigger interest on their cargo than the trio themselves, was also there. While he got in a slight argument with Maya about making sure to keep the prime meat as intact as possible for selling later on and Rick helped unload the salmon Alex turned his head and saw Alice sitting down on the coast just a few meters away from everyone else, her eyes focused seemingly without any real interest in the ocean streching out in front of her.

The sportsman and the sailor exchanged stares for a moment or two before the former sighed and walked towards her. If he was to have this conversation with Alice, might as well do it sooner than later.

"Hey there Alice" He said with a casual tone "Enjoying the beach?"

"Not really..." She replied bluntly

"I-I see..." Commented Alex while sweat dropping "Do you mind if I sit here with you...?"

The little girl didn't reply to his question, though she didn't reject him either.

"Okay then...I'll just...sit down here..."

The mood at the moment was rather awkward to say the least. Usually Alex had little issue in breaking the ice with young women during his times as the star and number one sportsman in the green school but this was proving far more difficult than expected. Of course, seducing a woman into a one-night relationship and having a heart to heart talk with an emotionally scarred child required extremely different skillsets.

Nonetheless Alex knew he had to keep trying, and so he decided to just go straight for it.

"Lily told me about what happened the other day" He said quite bluntly "Can we talk about it?"

He could come up with no other way of bringing up the subject that didn't require some persuation or smooth talking, but Alex didn't want to take that approach. He tried that with Max multiple times and the results spoke for themselves, perhaps it was for the best to just be honest and straight-forward about it.

"I don't really want to talk about it..." She replied with a dejected tone.

"Yeah, me neither...But we do need to talk about it" He replied back while looking at her.

"Why?" She questioned.

"Because I'm worried about you, and so is everyone else" Explained Alex to her "I can't imagine how you're feeling right now but shutting yourself away from the world is not gonna make the problem go away"

Alice didn't reply at first, she simply remained silent for a few moments before finally speaking up.

"Hey, Alex...Do you think it was okay for me to be born?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The sportsman looked at her with bewilderment, unable to understand the point of such a sudden and seemingly random question.

"Max told me that all the bad things dad did to him happened because I was born and became her sister" Explained the little girl, her face buried behind her knees "Maybe he was right all along, maybe it really is my fault...Maybe it would have been better if I had never been born to begin with..."

"That is not true. This isn't your fault" Replied Alex "That drunken old asshole is the one at fault here, not you"

"But-"

"Alice, he was beating him up years before your mother married him and you became step-brothers. It has nothing to do with your birth, so don't think like that"

"Even so! I didn't notice!" Snarled Alice with a notably more lively tone while getting up on her feet and looking at him "Even though dad was always being so horrible to him, I always ignored it! Even though I always ignored it when he needed help the most, the first thing I did after we ended up here was hope he would keep me safe!"

The sportsman looked with widened eyes as Alice's eyes soon began to get teary-eyed.

"Even though I never really cared about being a good sister, I kept saying all that stuff about being siblings and family...All just because I was scared!" She said while sobbing as tears began to run down her face "I...I'm a bad person!"

Alex looked with a sunken heart as at long last Alice broke down and cried her eyes out in front of him for what felt like the very first time. He didn't even hesitate to get up and wrap his arms around her in a hug. For nearly ten minutes she kept crying non-stop, her tears falling down like little droplets and getting lost into the vastness of the ocean which went back and forth. The sounds of the waves echoing alongside her cries before she eventually calmed down and allowed the two of them to sit down together once more.

"Are you feeling a little better now?" Asked Alex,

"I think so..." Replied the little girl, taking a short moment of silence before speaking once more "Hey, Alex...What do we do now?"

The sportsman took a moment to think about the question posed by Alice. Had she asked a few days or even a few hours earlier there might have been no clear answer, but now Alex felt like he had a faint idea.

"To be honest with you, everytime I try to take the lead or make a decision things either go horribly wrong or become even more complex" He replied while looking at the orange skies "But even then, we can't just give up on finding a way out of the island. At least that much I'm sure of"

After standing back up on his feet and brushing off the sand in his pants, Alex took a breath while looking forward with both hands on his hips.

"Once we go back to the Redwoods, I'll have a proper meeting with everyone and we'll try to figure out a solution to this" He continued before placing one hand on the back of his head.

A moment or two of silence took place as Alice lowered her head to look at the sand, then looked forward at the sunset once more.

"I think I know what I want to do now" Said the little girl with a more confident tone.

"Hm? What's that?" he asked while turning his head to look at her.

"I want to find Max and talk with him..."

Alex's expression quickly changed into one of bewilderment as he heard this statement from Alice, though she was quick to elaborate on her words.

"I know he probably won't want to listen to me, but I still want to try" She explained "I want to try and talk things out with him, and I'll keep trying until he hears me out"

"But why, though?"

"I mean, mom and dad were always mean to him and that's why he's like that right?" Continued the little girl while looking at him with a lightened up expression "So I'll do my best to make up for it, I'll keep trying lots and lots until it finally works out!"

"Alice..."

To Alex, especially after the last few days, Alice's idea felt nothing short naive and even childish, yet at the same time there was something inspiring about it. In a way it made him want to support her on that endeavor.

"In that case, I'll do my best to help you out" He said while looking at her with a smile "After all, I've been wanting to give Max a piece of my mind for a while now too"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Cheered Alice.

The sportsman looked at the little girl getting pumped up about her newly decided course of action before suddenly thinking about Angela. If they were to try and talk things out with the young man at some point, then perhaps it wouldn't really hurt to pay the blue flower a visit later down the line as well.

But all of that thinking could be left for later. Right now, he decided to instead just try and enjoy the sunset for once.

*Scene*

With the Sabertooth Salmon acquired Maya was able to make the promised medicine in exchange of letting Sparkleg's crew keep the most vaulable prime cuts of meat, as according to the agreement made between him and Jordan. The following day Alex's group was fully prepared for the trip back to the Redwoods.

"Argh! Pleasure doing bussines with ye!" Said the pirate captain with a wide grin.

"Take care on your journey back home" Added Maya while handling over the small bag full of medicine "Here, I hope this helps cure your friend's ailment"

Upon looking into the bag he saw the fish oil medicine was a pop-up like shaped pill wrapped in leaves from trees. It had a slightly yellow-ish color that reminded him of honey but with a tinge of red as well.

"Tell your friend to take one in the morning, and one in the night before going to sleep" She continued "The symptoms of pain should subside after a couple of days, but make sure he takes the right amount everyday"

"Thank you, we really appreciate this" Said Alex while beaming at her.

"Indeed! Your medicinal skills are worth an extremely high score!" Added Jordan witch excitement, much to Maya's confusion in regards to his curious way to praise her.

On the sideline, Rick decided to have one last conversation with his former boss.

"Captain, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" He asked, attempting to convince him one more time.

"Thank you for the offer but I'm doing okay here. Men like me are more at ease when closer to the waves, though I'm sure you know what I mean" Replied Timothy with one hand on his hat "If anything, why don't you just stay here with us instead? You'd fit right in"

Rick took a moment to consider the offer before turning his head to look at Alex and the others for a moment or two before looking once again at his captain with a certain mixture of uncertainty.

"I'm sorry, but that won't do" Replied the sailor "Those three, especially the guy, have the bad habit of diving headfirst into all sorts of trouble without even thinking. Someone has to be there to make sure they don't drown"

Timothy looked at him before beaming with a feeling of ease and pride in his eyes as he looked at his grandson.

"Heh, I figured you'd say that" Said the cruise captain with a tone of confidence "Just try to take care out there, okay? My daughter would feed me to the sharks if something happened to her son"

Rick nodded in agreement before he heard Alex calling out to him from the top of the Stego.

"Hey, Rick! We're ready to go!"

"Just a moment!" He replied before looking at Timothy one more time "Alright, I guess it's time to go. Take care gram-I mean, captain..."

"Likewise, Rick. Have a safe trip"

The cruise captain placed one hand on Rick's shoulder for a few seconds with a slight shake before moving it away and letting him go back to Alex and the others.

Now with the medicine in their posession and ready to go, the group departed while waving goodbye at Maya and Timothy. Eventually they left the beaches and ventured back into the forests, following the same slow but steady path they used earlier until Alice noticed something rather concerning mid-way through crossing the river.

"Hey, everyone...What's that over there?" She asked while pointing to the south.

Past the swamps and the forests, a column of black smoke could be seen rising up into the skies above the trees. The large size signaling to the group that it was being produced by a large fire.

"Do you think it's a wildfire?" Asked Alex while looking at Jordan.

"No, the southern areas of the island are too humid for wildfires to take place. At least not to a magnitude capable of growing to such an extent" Replied the trader with a serious expression "Whatever's burning over there, it was man-made"

The group looked at the smoke column for a short moment before Lily's face suddenly paled upon coming to a concerning realization that the Weathertop was in the same direcction.

"Hey, isn't that the place where Angela and the others made their base?" She asked with a ghastly expression

"Oh shit, you're right! That's coming from the Weathertop!" Asserted Alex with sudden panic.

A sense of dread soon loomed over the group as they could only imagine the situation over at the blue student's base before the sportsman suddenly handed over the bag of fish oil pills to Lily jumped off the Stego and into the water.

"Alex!? What are you doing!?" Questioned Rick while as he and everyone looked at Alex.

"I'll go and have a look to see if the Weathertop is okay, you guys head back to Fredderick's base and use the Parasaur to meet me there!" He said while looking at the group.

"Wait!" Interjected the sailor before jumping down into the water.

"Rick, I have to go!" Replied the sportsman.

"Yes, you do!" Asserted Rick "And I'm going with you! So shut up and don't argue!"

Alex looked at him for a moment or two before nodding in agreement and looking at Jordan.

"I'm sorry Jordan, but do you think you guys can make it back on your own?" He asked.

"Don't worry about us, boys. Just hurry up and go!" Replied the trader with both hands on the reins of the saddle.

With those words Alex and Rick then turned around before swimming to the shore on the other side as Jordan urged the Stego to move faster. The moment he got out of the water the sportsman began to dash through the shores as fast as they could, dodging creatures, jumping over rocks, pushing vegetation and bushes aside, crunching branches as he stepped over and breathing heavily. The growing unease in his mind overshadowing any possible feeling of exhaustion right now.

"(Come on, come on, come on!)" Thought Alex to himself while moving as fast as he could faster "Shit! Please, be okay! Please!"

With a body drenched in water and sweat, leaves stuck over his clothes and the feeling of his heartbeat echoing in his ears Alex kept moving as fast as his legs could carry him. So fast he was that even Rick could barely keep up before reaching one of the slopes that served as an entryway to the plateau. As he and the others had feared, the smoke was indeed coming from the Pleateau, and much to his horror the first thing both men saw was exactly the one they feared the most.

A raging fire was coming right from within the walls of the base of the blue students, the faint sounds of multiple voices yelling echoing in the wind.

"Oh shit, no!"

Upon running towards it Alex noticed the thatch structures burning and steadily crumbling down with each crackling sound, students running about in a panic as they kept tossing water from stone bowls and bottles at the flames in a vain attempt to stop them while a few others attempted to carry the wounded to safety, many of them crying or moaning in pain as a few others sat down on the grass.

While looking around for Angela the sportsman eventually spotted Sally helping to carry a wounded student closer to the front entrance.

"Hey, Sally!" He called out while running towards her, whose expression was one of shock upon seeing him "What the hell happened here!? Where's Angela!?"

"A-Angela...Angela's..." Replied the girl with a frightened expression and a difficulty to speak at the moment.

The student's words were shaky and her eyes teary, which only served to make him fear the worst outcome before both of them turned their heads to see the flames consuming the meeting house becoming more intense.

Alex quickly let go of Sally and ran up to the group of students attempting to put it out and tried to help them control the fires while Rick helped carry the wounded out of the base.

Despite their best attempts the wrathful force of nature proved unrelenting, forcing everyone to back away as the houses crumbled down to the ground and the whole base turned into a raging inferno. After a couple of hours all that remained was nothing but a smoldering pile of pitch-black embers.

"I-Is it over?" Asked Sally as she saw Alex walking up to her again with a more exhausted expression.

"Yeah..." He replied "The whole place burned down to the ground but at least the fires didn't spread to the walls"

Looking at the base Alex felt like the walls, though damaged in a few spots, would still provide some safety to the blue students. They would need to rebuild the thatch structures but from the look of things that was the least of their concerns.

Over half of the blue students were injured, some quite severely. Yet none of the injuries included burns but rather cuts, bites, stab and even gunshot wounds.

"Hey, what the hell happened here?" Questioned Rick while looking at Sally.

The blue student remained silent at first before finally speaking up with a shaky voice.

"We...We got attacked by a group of pe-people with guns" She said while wrapping her arms around herself "They came out of nowhere and started attacking and killing everyone"

Both men looked around at the injured and saw that, unfortunately so, a couple of students were indeed dead and others were already on the brink of death from their injuries.

"They called themselves the black raptor company and...And the woman leading them threatened to kill everyone unless we handed over the artifacts..." Continued Sally "And then Angela...Angela...!"

"What? What happened to Angela?" Asked Alex while getting closer to the teary-eyed Sally "Sally, what happened to Angela?"

"She sacrificed herself..."

Upon turning their heads the sportsman and the sailor saw Milly sitting down with her knees up to face level against the wall. She was just a few steps away from them and her clothes were stained with blood. Just like her friend and many others she seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Questioned Alex.

"That woman, it was the same one we saw in the cave" Explained the red-headed student "She kept telling us to hand you and the other artifacts over, but since no one knew where to find you she got pissed off and started killing people...Or at least she tried before Angela made a deal with her"

"Angela convinced them to take her as a hostage and not hurt anyone else in exchange" Added Sally while sobbing "But even then they set fire to the houses and took our food before leaving! Even though they took Angela...!"

Sally's speech broke more and more until she eventually started crying from frustration rather than fear or sadness.

Shortly afterwards Lily and Jordan arrived to the scene riding atop Parasauruses. The purple flower was quick to hurry up to Sally's side and attempt to comfort her while the trader looked at the destroyed base and injured students.

"Oh dear goodness. What a mess" Theorized Jordan with one hand on his chin and the other on his elbow "Did they get attacked by bandits?"

"No, it was the black Raptor company" Answered Alex while looking at them "They raided the Weathertop and kidnapped Angela before setting the whole place on fire"

"No way!" Said Lily with widened eyes

"But why did they take Angela?" Wondered Rick

"It seems they were looking for the other artifacts and tried to get some answers out of the blue students" Continued Alex "Maybe they felt Angela knew more than she would admit and took her to try and squeeze more info out of her"

"I wouldn't put it below them. Destroying and killing is as normal to their bunch as eating" Commented Jordan with notable anger "Barbarians, the lot of them!"

"Anyway, we need to focus on helping the injured right now!" Asserted Rick while looking at the students "Some of them need medical attention ASAP"

"I know a trading post that has a doctor in it, I'll go fetch him up" Said the trader while getting back up on the Parasaur "I'll return as fast as I can! Make sure to tend to the wounded on the meanwhile!"

The trio nodded in agreement and quickly began to focus on helping treat the injured students while Jordan hurried back to the Redwoods in search of medical assistance.

Meanwhile, back at the Golden Hesperonis, Sasha and her mercenaries returned back to their base of operations. George dragging a tied up Angela by the arms and shoulder before reaching a prisoner's room and locking her up inside.

"Hey, boss. What'cha planning to do with the chick?" Questioned the second-in-command of the mercenary group while looking at Angela over the door window "If don't think she really knows were to find those weird ass artifacts"

"I agree" Replied Sasha "Even so, if we let word about us capturing her spread out we can use her to lure them out of hiding. For the time being keep an eye on her"

"You want me to do guard duty?" Asked George.

"These dumb bastards don't know how to keep their dicks in their pants, no way in hell I can trust them to keep an eye on a woman" Explained the raptor queen.

The vice-leader of the black raptor company wondered if this decision came about because Sasha was a woman as well as Angela, because it felt like quite an unnecesary hassle to deal with or simply because she wanted to keep her as a stronger bargaining chip if she ever needed to trade her for the artifacts. One way or the other, there was little point to pondering about it. He had a job and that's all there was to it.

At the same time Angela looked at her surroundings. The cell was small, dark and smelled quite bad. The only light source was the one coming from the window in the door, from which she could see the mercenary keeping guard right now.

Although she did her best to try and remain calm, it was impossible to stop her hands from quivering at the fear of the uncertain future lingering ahead of her. In an atempt to control the fear she tried to focus on thinking about the fate of the blue students that remained behind while hoping she might have been able to save as many as she could through this decision.

"(Everyone...Please be okay)" Begged the blue flower within her mind while closing her eyes and curling up against the wall.