As the bull slowly sank into the depths of the underground lake, Bam stood in the bubble, triumphant. The enemy was defeated, the queen was near, and the test was almost over. He had done it. Now, he could carry Rachel up the tower with his friends.

Behind him there was a soft rustling, like a shifting of blankets, and the faint sound of a footstep. The back of his neck prickled. Something felt… wrong. Bam began to turn, and as he did, he saw Rachel standing there, her arms outstretched. He watched as she grabbed his shoulders and shoved him toward the edge of the bubble. Time seemed to slow as he began falling into the dark water… without thinking, he grabbed shinsu and froze both himself and Rachel.

After a moment's pause, he unfroze himself and scrambled to the center of the platform. "Rachel!" he shouted. "What did you— why did you—"

Rachel stood there, her arms still extended. She didn't meet his eyes. For a few seconds, they were both silent as the bubble drifted through the water.

"Rachel— " Bam glanced at her face, wincing at her faint frown. "I-I'm sorry for freezing you. I was just startled when you bumped into me." He feigned a reassuring smile, took a deep breath, then released his shinsu. Immediately, Rachel fell to the floor. "Rachel!" He rushed to her side, but Rachel was shakily climbing to her feet. He forced a small, strained laugh. "I thought you couldn't walk anymore. This is great! Now we can definitely make it to the top of the tower!"

She still didn't reply, instead frowning at the floor. Bam slowly stepped away from her. Then she laughed, and Bam relaxed. "Of course, Bam. I'm sorry if I startled you. You see, the doctor healed my legs, and I wanted to surprise you!" She smiled broadly at him, then sighed. "But I guess my legs were too weak and I slipped. Thanks for saving me."

Bam smiled, but this time it was completely genuine. "Don't worry about it. I'll always protect you." Rachel would never hurt him, and he would never hurt her. He was almost able to forget the sight of Rachel standing behind him, her arms outstretched. Almost.

As the bubble floated towards the mouth of the Goby Queen, the two of them fell silent. Then Rachel turned away and spoke. "Thank you, Bam. So many people have doubted me, but you— you've always helped me."

"You're my star," he said simply. "I have to help you. If I didn't, the world's ceiling would fall on me, remember?"

Rachel laughed. "You're right. We'll see the stars, Bam. Together."

Bam nodded, a small smile on his face. It was dark in the Goby Queen, but it wasn't anything like his cave. He didn't have Mr. Khun, Mr. Rak, or any of his new friends with him, but he had Rachel. While it was still lonely, it was bearable. Above them, the light steadily grew brighter and brighter, until they were suddenly thrust out of the Goby Queen. Upon exit, the bubble popped with a flood of slime, and they were met by the cheers of their teammates. They were all going to the next floor — together.

"Black turtle!" Rak roared, running forward. "You survived!" Shoving Hong aside, he lifted Rachel from the slime and began to put her in the wheelchair.

"Wait, Rak." Rachel smiled up at him. "Look at this! My legs are better!" She pushed herself up from the chair, only wobbling a little as she took a step toward Bam.

"Yellow turtle! That's amazing!"

Bam smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty great, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Rak grabbed the wheelchair, tossing it into the water. "You won't need this anymore. Hey black turtle, let's get food!"

"Sure!"

Rachel frowned. "I need to get clean first, I'm covered in slime. Bam, you should get clean, too."

"Then we go to the center, then get food!" Rak announced. "Let's go, turtles." As they walked back, Rak talked non-stop. "... so then, I jumped on top of the thieves' worm! Pickles almost had a heart attack."

Bam laughed. "Thank you for taking care of the thieves, Mr. Leader,"

Rak scoffed. "Of course. I'm the Leader! I have to protect my turtles." After quickly glancing from side to side, he added, "The Leader also has the best plans. That's why we passed the te—" A blue lighthouse darted under Rak's feet. "Waaa-AUGH!" Although he was sprawled on the floor, Rak's glare was still terrifying. "WHO DID THAT?" he bellowed, grabbing his spear as he jumped to his feet.

Khun stepped from the shadows. "If I remember correctly, I was the one who came up with the brilliant plan." He smirked, his lighthouse circling around behind him. "But you were good at running away."

"I'M NOT PREY! I DO NOT RUN AWAY!"

Khun glanced at Bam and smiled, "Good job taking out the bull. Even Endorsi and Anaak couldn't defeat it—" He paused, his eyes resting on Rachel, who was standing and walking with the group. "Congratulations on getting your legs back," he said coolly. "So anyways, Bam, well done with the bull."

Baam blinked at him. "Ah, thank you, Mr. Khun! I— well— never mind." He gave Khun an uncertain smile.

"You're getting stronger, black turtle!" Rak interrupted. "You're almost worthy of being my prey."

Khun sighed. "Gator, if it weren't for us, you would have easily failed. It doesn't sound like we are the prey."

"WHAT ABOUT THE DOORS TEST?! WHERE WOULD YOU BE WITHOUT YOUR LEADER!"

Bam laughed, then glanced back at Rachel, who was walking alone with her head down. "Are you okay?" he asked, slowing down to walk beside her.

"I'm fine, Bam." She gave him a tired smile. "But please leave me alone."

"Oh, okay!" After giving her a nod, Bam hurried to catch up with Khun and Rak, who were still bickering. They bickered the entire walk back to the Regular Living Area, and after cleaning up, the three of them made their way to the cafeteria. Even from the outside, they could tell some sort of celebration was going on; when they entered, they found Paracule openly blubbering and Amigocharz grinning broadly.

"Black turtle. Blue turtle." Rak tugged on Khun's arm. "Table first. I need chocolate."

"Sure," Khun replied, jerking his arm away. "But someone wants to talk to Bam first." He tilted his head towards Endorsi, who was standing at the end of the line and shouting, "Bam! Bam!"

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Khun. I'll find you at the tables." With a small wave, Bam hurried to Endorsi, receiving multiple congratulations and even a hug from Pickles along the way. "Whew!" he said as he joined the line. "Ms. Endorsi, can I buy you some food?"

Endorsi smirked and placed her hand on Anaak's shoulder. "Nah, Anaak promised to treat me since I didn't kill her."

Shrugging off Endorsi's hand, Anaak replied, "As long as you don't order anything expensive." She glanced at the menu, which Endorsi was eyeing speculatively. "That means no lobster!"

Endorsi huffed. "Is that how you treat a princess of Jahad?" After a particularly expressive eye roll, she turned to Bam. "Speaking of princesses, we returned the Black March to princess Yuri Jahad. Yuri took the Green April, too— Anaak wasn't too happy with that."

"Really?" Bam grinned. "That's great! Thank you, Ms. Endorsi." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And, um, sorry Ms. Anaak."

Anaak snorted. "Whatever, but you owe me."

"Oh, ignore her!" Endorsi stepped between Anaak and Baam. "So…" she said slowly, with a sly smile. "Now that you've passed the test… remember that date I mentioned?"

Bam rubbed the back of his head, giving Endorsi a cheesy grin. "Of course! It sounded fun."

From behind Endorsi, Anaak sniffed. "Who would date a twig like him?"

"Quiet, Lizard," Endorsi snapped. Then she turned back to Bam. "So, then, we'll have our date in a couple days, once we're on the third floor. This floor is so boring."

Anaak tapped Endorsi on the shoulder. "Hey. It's your turn to order." After Endorsi ordered a cheap bibimbap — 'my wallet thanks you, Witch' — Bam picked up his food and walked back to the tables where Rak was steadily eating his weight in chocolate.

"Hey, black turtle!" Rak roared as Bam took his seat, "Blue turtle has these chocolate bars with Ranker turtle on it."

Bam laughed, then sadly smiled. "I'm going to miss Mr. Quant and Mr. Lero Ro when we leave." Then he paused to look around the room. "Hmm. Has anyone seen Rachel yet?"

"I wouldn't count on seeing her," Khun said, sipping his tea. "She always eats in her room, remember?"

"I guess…" Bam sighed, picking up his chopsticks. As he ate, he listened to his friends talk. It was mostly Rak asking Khun to pull more and more outrageous things from his briefcase, but Bam was glad to see them happy.

When someone tapped his shoulder, he flinched.

"Congrats! Looks like the lucky guy won in the end." Shibisu said, sliding into the seat next to Bam. He slapped him on the back, then handed him the small, white wingtree token and whispered, "It's from Princess Yuri. She said that when you become a Ranker, come to the 77th floor. Urek Mazino is waiting." Then, in a louder voice, "Hatz wanted me to get your attention."

Hatz cleared his throat. "You have followed the spirit of swordsmanship. This is the highest compliment I can give."

"Oh, ah, thank you," Bam replied, shrugging slightly and smiling at Hatz. "I'm not sure I deserve it, though."

Khun smirked. "Does this mean Bam has to hara kiri every time he—"

"I wasn't talking to you, Earrings." Hatz interrupted, not even looking at Khun. "Bam, your spirit of swordsmanship is undeniable, but this girl will try to corrupt you."

"Earrings are manly! What do you have against them? Is the fearless swordsman afraid of needles?"

"Um," Bam said quietly, putting his chopsticks down. Both Hatz and Khun fell silent. "I— I'm so glad I have friends now. I used to be lonely, but not anymore." He gave them a small smile. "Thank you both."

Hatz and Khun glanced at each other, then Hatz gave Bam a quick bow. "You are welcome," he said before grabbing Shibisu's arm. "Let's go."

Khun watched them go. "Are you afraid of Shibisu?" he asked, glancing at Bam.

"No, of course not!" Bam replied, shaking his head vigorously. "Why would I be afraid of him?"

"No reason," Khun said with a shrug. "No reason at all. Are you ready to go back?"

Bam looked down at his almost-empty bowl. "Not yet," he said. "But don't wait for me! I haven't seen Rachel yet, so I'm going to bring her some food. Sorry, Mr. Khun."

"Suit yourself." Khun stood up, stretching as he did. "Crocodile, you coming? I'm giving Nare my briefcase tonight, so this is your last chance for chocolate bars." He chuckled. "I'll see you later, Bam."

"Goodbye, Mr. Khun!"

"Blue turtle!" Rak shouted, clambering to his feet. "I'm coming too." He huffed. "I'll hunt you later, black turtle."

Bam laughed, then watched Khun and Rak walk off. Although they were leaving, he didn't feel lonely. And why should he be lonely? He knew that they would still be there for him. He glanced across the room, to Shibisu, Hatz, Anaak, and Endorsi's table. He smiled.

It was good to have friends.

That night, after the festivities were over, a blue lighthouse glowed. On its screen, a video was playing over again and over again. It started with Rak, Nare and Hong crouched around the queen, waiting. At about thirty seconds, Bam and Rachel slid through the opening with a flood of green slime, and everyone began cheering. Bam grinned at his teammates, while Rachel smiled uncertainly.

Khun Aguero Agnes paused the video. He saw the slight hesitation in Bam's smile. Combined with Rachel's uneasy body language, the conclusion was unavoidable. Something must have happened during the test. Something between Bam and Rachel. But what?

Tapping impatiently at his keyboard, Khun played the video again. This time, he paused it earlier, as Rak pushed Hong out of the way to pick Rachel up. In that moment, Rachel was almost glaring as she knelt in the slime.

Questions began to needle him, questions that had formed almost immediately after the test. Why hadn't she been in her bed? Why had she chosen to use her crippled legs in the middle of a test?

Khun leaned back in his chair. "Such interesting questions," he murmured. Rachel shouldn't have needed to use her legs at all. Bam had protected them, neutralizing the bull without any help. Unless Rachel had done that? He shrugged away the thought. Impossible, she was practically useless. With a frown, he considered what other odd behaviours he had noticed.

Bam had chosen to stay behind at dinner, instead of coming along.

Bam had flinched when Shibisu tapped him on the shoulder.

Bam had bought dinner for Rachel, despite her habit of eating alone.

Bam hadn't helped Rachel to her feet after exiting the Goby queen, yet he hadn't been surprised when she could walk.

Khun sighed, then hit the replay button again.

Author's Note:

TL;DR (the Rak version). The Leader celebrates his victory. Blue turtle does blue turtle scheming things while black turtle is confused. Stupid turtles — they can't do anything without their leader.