Amiel stopped talking mid sentence and gave a look of surprise looking towards the water. Toby ceased his pushing and looked towards the direction of the Nobodies eyes when he heard Riley shout towards Ace. His hair was still wet and somewhat drooped over his face, water slid down his cheeks and neck. The boy laughed softly, his eyes observing the situation. Surely they were trying to scare the girl or something clever like that. Of course Riley would think up something so devious, her shouting was quite convincing. "Watch out Ace! Shark in the water, shark in the water!" The boy shouted sarcastically with his eyes focused on the water and a smile on his face. Even though it was a silly prank he couldn't shake an odd feeling in his stomach.

Suddenly Jasper was beside Riley gesturing everyone to move away from the water, followed with even more shouting. The two were very, very convincing. "Geez, this is kinda getting scary," The prank didn't seem so humorous anymore. Toby turned to Amiel who still had a look of concern on his face, which made the boy quite worrisome. Turning back towards the ocean, he looked more closely at the situation which only caused his stomach to tie up in a knot. "ACE!" Toby shouted before running past the two girls heading towards the edge of the water. The dark shadow was terrifyingly large and it was amazing he hadn't seen it before.

Toby stood on the very edge of the coastline, water rose up to his ankles as his eye's shot all over the beach, trying to think of a way to save Ace from becoming shark bait. "Gosh, what's a shark even doing here?! Out of all the fish!" His eyes locked onto the Jet ski that almost crushed him earlier. Ironic how the thing that almost ended a life is now going to help save one. Toby dashed towards the aquatic vehicle. "ACE! Hold on! Don't get eaten! Try to look less appetizing! Er- I mean, I'm not saying you already look appetizing I meant lik- AH JUST DON'T GET EATEN!"

The boy hopped onto the Jet ski and to no surprise he had no idea how to work the stupid thing. He gripped onto the handlebars and analyzed the vehicle. "Oh, c'mon. Um, work! Turn on! Go! Forward! Mush!" It didn't even have a keyhole or anything, no buttons or instructions, only handlebars. "Work! Work! Turn on! Please! I don't know what to do! Ah!" Toby quickly looked back and forth between the immobile Jet ski and the surfing Ace, trying to come up with a solution. If only their guide had dropped harpoons and rifles. "Amiel you gave us a broken Jet ski!" He shouted towards the Nobody. After some more poking and tinkering Toby was beyond frustrated with the vehicle and was in fear for his new friends life. The party seemed less and less grand by the second.

The boy stood up on the Jet ski and gripped the handlebars tightly, fed up with how stupid of a problem not being able to turn on a vehicle was. "PLEASE JUST TURN ON SO I CAN SAVE MY FRIEND!" His face was almost red as he screamed at the vehicle. Moment's after the words left his mouth the Jet ski's engine revved on and it practically came to life, shooting through the sand and onto the water on it's own initiative.

"WhooooooooOOOOOOOAAAAAHHH!!!"

Toby tightened his grip onto the handlebars, almost hanging for dear life as the Jet ski sped through the water and towards Ace. His hair flew backwards and his eyes shot open. His body couldn't help but recall all the junk food from earlier and once more his face turned somewhat green. Within moments the Jet ski had gained on Ace's position in the water along with the shark that was dashing towards her. The vehicle bounced up and down on the water as the two were now racing towards the girl. Fortunately the Jet ski was much faster than the shark and reached her first, the vehicle came to a quick halt beside's Ace causing Toby to jolt forward a little.

"Let's not become fish food!" He shouted towards her.

By now they were at the Hall of Doors, and while Songbird hoped that they would find the other Lost Souls without having to initiate conversation with one another, Inadi wasn’t having any of it and asked yet another question.

“So the Queen mentioned that we had gotten farther than any other groups prior to this if I remember correctly. Any of the guides ever worked with those who came before us? Or do guides get switched out with each collection of humans?”

“I… don’t know. It’s only my first time as a guide. I haven’t met the previous guides either,” The item hunter looked over his shoulder at the group, “If that’s correct, shouldn’t you be relieved? I know you lost a lot of friends, but some of you are still here, fighting. There’s us guides to help out too. At the end of it all everyone will return to their normal lives. Maybe. I don’t know what encompasses ‘normal’ in the human world.” Yeah, all he wanted was to go back to searching for rare ingredients and tumbling off mountains. That was the life. “If you’re really intent on finding more about the previous batches, you should take the opportunity to talk with Lt. Falkner, because apparently all of you will have to go to the City of Cogs and Gears- everyone just calls it “Cogs” because it’s a mouthful- for the next item. Maybe she knows something. Oh well.”

Just then, a familiar human burst out of a nearby room and headed straight for them. Songbird whiffed up the scent of salt as Lesley waved his hand in the air. “Oh would you- Brandy, it’s the beach room,” He turned to the bunny and whined, but nonetheless followed the others inside out of worry that they would massacre Charles. That shark does have a scary face after all, but everyone knew he just liked hugs.

How does a shark hug someone, anyway?

Songbird sighed and tugged at his scarf. He hated hot and sunny places.

Something caught his eye. Wait, wasn’t that…? “Amiel Brightenburg, your father’s searching for you. He said he’d wait for you in the main hall, so let’s get going,” The item hunter walked towards the other nobody, scowling as bits of golden sand stuck under his shoes. He also saw an unfamiliar face peeking out from behind Amiel, and judging from the company, this must be one of the new humans.

“Hello, my name is Songbird. I’m one of the guides that have accompanied and will continue to accompany you humans for the duration of your quest here in Nowhere,” He recited blandly and by rote and gave the boy a wan smile. A commotion stole his attention and Toby rocketed out from behind Amiel, whom Songbird was now ushering out the door. Ah, looks like Charles made his appearance. Whatever, it wasn’t like he was going to eat them. He shrugged and vanished inside the dressing room for a few minutes, then reappeared wearing a plain pair of swimming trunks with a scarf draped around his waist. In the short span of time he left, the new human was whipping around with a jet ski and everyone was having a panic attack.

“Ugh,” Songbird wiped at the beads of sweat that had popped out on his forehead and walked towards the shore. Although he wanted to torture the humans by watching this play out, it was better if he stopped the drama now before anyone cried and had a heart attack.

“Hey Chaaaaarles! Over here! Brandy wants a huuuuug!” He inhaled deeply and then shrieked, pushing the bunny in front of him as the giant silhouette in the water did a 180 and made for them.

“Oh would you- Brandy, it’s the beach room,”

"Hm? Oh yes, that is the beach room." Brandy blinked, having been nodding along at Song's explanation to Inadi's question. He looked up, indeed seeing sunlight filtering through the open door and Lesley waving enthusiastically at their little group. He gave the disgruntled item hunter a pat on the shoulder, following the humans into the sunny tropical room. Judging by the way they were still frolicking in the water, Charles must have not made an appearance yet. Perhaps he was with Marti? This beach and the mermaid's room was linked by an underwater tunnel, he knew. The shark probably decided that the food Marti had received was more interesting than these bunch of humans.

He picked his way through the sand, wrinkling his nose in distaste as sand got into his shoes. While Song introduced himself the rabbit slipped away to quickly get changed, seeing how Marti would skin him alive if he got sand all over her outfit, or soaked it with salt water. He came out in swim trunks and an open shirt draped over his body right as some of the humans started to scream about a shark. Had Charles returned?

Everyone started to panic and he tried to calm them down, but everyone was screaming and the sound of the roaring jet ski didn't help much at all in helping him in being heard. "Please, it's jut Charles-" He tried again to get one of the humans' attention, but was suddenly pulled in front of Songbird.

“Hey Chaaaaarles! Over here! Brandy wants a huuuuug!”

"I- What!? Song you didn't- wait, Charles don't-"

His protests came too late as the shark barreled out of the water, all but tackling the bunny to the ground and splashing everyone within a ten meter radius. Brandy was soaked from head to foot, trying to pry the heavy fish off of him. It was wriggling around, fins flapping in what the shark liked to call hugs and chomping happily in the air, sharp teeth glinting. Brandy finally managed to sit up, pushing Charles' head away but couldn't resist giving the overly friendly shark a pat on the head before sending him back into the water. He stood up, trying to wring out his shirt but ultimately throwing the soaked piece of fabric on top of a nearby sun chair when it didn't make much of a difference.

"Anyways, as I've been trying to say, Charles is harmless. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to play with all of you" The shark was now waiting in the shallow, turning in quick circles and peeking up at the humans. The guy must've been ecstatic to have so many visitors over. He turned, fixing narrowed eyes on Songbird. "And as for you..." He lunged forward, all but tackling the item hunter into the water. If he had been sacrificed as shark bait, then he certainly wasn't going to let the white-haired Nobody off dry and warm on the sand cackling at him.

Watching Harper walk away made Inadi a little disappointed but in the end he supposed it was for the best. The boy needed his space and it would be a bad idea to force any further conversation. Everyone needed to heal in their own way, he knew that much. He just hoped that the boy wouldn't be too down on himself for any longer than he needed to be. Last thing the group needed was for someone to fall into some kind of a depression. Especially one of the few leaders the rest of them could look to during times of stress and uncertainty.

Song also responded to his question with what seemed to be a little more uncertainty than he had originally hoped. Inadi was praying that he could just get all his questions answered here and not have to do the whole fetch job of going back and forth between people to get the full story. But naturally nothing ever comes that easy nor that harmless. There's always a middle man, and you've either got to go to him or cut him out. Or in this case her.

A voice further down the hall caught Inadi's ear and the voice was recognized almost immediately. It was Lesley coming over to great them, and it seemed that he was out enjoying the sun somehow. He was in a pair of swim trunks which only made Inadi confused. What was he doing in that? Was there a beach near the castle that he didn't know about? And why did it suddenly smell of salt water? Noticing Jasper's staring at Lesley's chest made Inadi do the same, wondering what the girl was potentially staring at. Was there some kind of scar or maybe a bug on him?

Inadi didn't see anything so he shrugged the thought off as he continued along to find a huge beach room. The young man was shocked to see an entire beach standing before him and before he could even say something to marvel at the impressive sight he was thrown into yet another changing room as he let out a bit of a sigh. Here he had spent all that time finding a good suit jacket and now he was being forced to change out. As he took his shoes off he noticed that he already had some sand stuffed into them. Rolling his eyes he continued to undress and put on some dark orange trunks that he liked in the room. They went a little higher than the knee, but it was a good fit none the less.

Looking down at his calves he noticed that they were extremely pale in comparison to his arm, which he now noticed was slightly darker than the rest of his body. Confused, he pressed his forearms together to get an idea as to what was going on and realized his mistake. He had walked practically the entire journey in Sol without one of his sleeves for the most part. Now he was paying the price with an uneven tan. Frustrated, he growled in his throat and walked outside with a white t-shirt he had also found in the changing room so that he could hide what he could of the disgraceful shades in pigment he had going all over his upper body.

Spreading out a towel he carried out, he laid himself down and noticed a nearby umbrella. Scooting slightly so that the umbrella would keep the sun from his eyes he looked up and saw Jasper enjoying the view of the beach. Strange he didn't see her as he approached before, but he waved it off as a symptom of his frustration. And then there was the Toby fellow that had joined them after the fight. Strange. Normally Inadi wasn't nearly this unaware of his surroundings. Then again today wasn't the most agreeable afternoon he had ever experienced, so again he blamed it on the frustration.

As he began feeling the sun grace his skin and the heat pick up around him, the sudden screaming of Toby and Jasper began filling his ears. Looking out to the sea he noticed a gray fin that the two seemed to be warning the ones in the water about. Inadi was hoping he would just be able to have some relaxation time but clearly this was not his day. He quickly pushed off the sand, threw his glasses onto the towel behind him and began running into the water and tried his best to fight against the waves. But some particularly hard ones hit him in the chest as they came crashing to the beach shore that it threw the boy back a few steps. Flipping in the water a bit made him wash up back on the sand as he choked against the water forcing itself down his throat. He wasn't as strong as he was when he first started this whole adventuring thing, as he had lost some weight with all the running around and nearly dying stuff.

Toby went to a Jet ski and began gunning it towards the others in the water as Inadi tried collecting his breath. Looking back at the guides behind him, he noticed that Brandy didn't seem all that worried about it. As he began thinking of something to yell at the guide for his lack of concern, a sudden grey fin appeared in his peripheral and Inadi jumped in fear as a wave crashed down on him and the girl still standing next to him near the umbrella. It was then that Brandy explained that the shark was harmless and probably just wanted to play. The boy looked back and forth between the guide and the shark and realized.....the guide was probably telling the truth. The shark was just sitting there it seemed while making a few quick looks at them all.

Looking up at Jasper, who was just about as wet as he was, Inadi let out a sigh as he stood back up. “Seems to me like this whole day is just trying to test how far my patience and blood pressure can go,” he half joked as he looked back at Brandy going after Song and trying to get him into the water. Raising an eyebrow he began laughing at the two. “Hey guys, I thought you were supposed to be setting examples for us, being guides and all.” Inadi said as his laughter died into a chuckle.

It was then that the shark, now known as Charles, decided to give Inadi a nice little present. With a quick slap of his fin, a small splash hit the boy right in the face. Wiping the water out of his eye, the burning sensation from the salt water all but hidden due to his silence, he looked at the big aquatic mammal with a smirk on his face. “Alright big guy, you wanna play? Let's play then!” Inadi yelled as he began running after the shark in the water, this time fighting off the waves with a new found energy and vigor. Diving at the shark, Charles made a sudden quick jolt to another part of the shallow area near the shore. Getting himself out of the water and locating the shark again Inadi pointed at the creature while blowing water off his face as it dripped down the bridge of his nose and upper lip. “I'm gonna turn you into a nice bowl a soup for that! Jasper! Toby! Help me get this guy! This 'fish' thinks he can get away with splashing us and giving us all a heart attack!” Inadi joked as he continued chasing after the shark.

Charles continued to dart back and forth in the shallow end, even a few times tripping Inadi in the water by slapping him with his tail from behind. Each time Inadi got up faster and went right back to chasing after the thing with a grin on his face. If this was the relaxation he was praying for, he was more than happy to get it this way. All the concerns and worries disappeared from his mind and all he cared about now was catching this one creature who seemed to think splashing him in the face was the funniest thing in the world.

Hall of Doors: The Beach Room

Wait, wait, wait, so the shark was friendly? God, that was such a relief.

For a moment, Riley thought the others would be turned into shark food. "Damn...we should have seen that coming. This is Nowhere after all." She grinned at both guides and watched as they tried to push each other into the water. "Is Charles the only shark here?" She asked before laughing at how soaked the guides were. Even Inadi and Jasper had been soaked, luckily, she was still nice and dry.

"Father, hmm?" Amiel looked a tad disappointed but he couldn't help but laugh at everything that was happening. "Thank you for informing me, Songbird, and humans." He gave Lesley one last wink before smiling at everyone. "It was such a pleasure to meet you, I do hope we see each other again, you're all such charming folks." The Nobody got to his feet and began dusting the sand off his chest and shorts. "Best of luck on your mission, and take care, alright?"

"You take care of yourself too," she slung an arm around Lesley's shoulders. She was aiming for his neck, but the height difference made that really hard. "Lesles will be waiting for ya, Amiel."

The Nobody laughed, waved at everyone then bid them goodbye. Soon enough, he disappeared out the door.

Shouts echoed across the room and she watched as everyone waded in the water in an attempt to chase Charles. It was nice, all of them just enjoying themselves, but it was a shame that Harper and Ran weren't present. The silliness of the day, it helped her forget about the death and chaos.

"Hey Lesles," Riley grinned from ear to ear then turned to face the soaked Jasper. "Jasper! We can't leave 'em all alone with Charles. We need to help out as much as we can too." She tightened her grip around Lesley's arm before pulling him all the way to where the albino stood. She hooked her arm with the girl's then gave both her companions a devious smile. "We leave no one behind, so come on troops! TO WAR!" And with that she ran towards the water with both her friends in tow.

Unfortunately, running on uneven sand with linked arms wasn't exactly the easiest feat. Riley tumbled into the beach, dragging both Lesley and Jasper down with her. There was an audible splash followed by laughter and as a result Charles poked his head out of the water to peer at them.

The shark narrowed his eyes then grinned toothily before diving back under. He reappeared behind Inadi and gave him a surprise tackle hug. Due to the shark's size, it sent him crashing into the water. As soon as it was done, the shark clapped its fins together and made its way towards Toby and Ace. It peeked out from under the water then blew a mouthful of water right at their faces, and then it tipped the jet ski onto its side and pressed its nose against Toby's chest.

It was lonely, swimming by himself all day, so he spread his flippers and pulled both Ace and Toby into a hug.

"Heh! For a giant, he looks really gentle--AH Jasper duck!" She pulled Jasper towards her and they managed to use Lesley as a shield. The shark sent another mouthful of water their way before leaping into the air and landing smack dab beside Songbird and Brandy. A large splash soaked all of them.

"Hey Songbird, Brandy!" Riley's bangs were covering her eyes, but she was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. "Whaddya say we combine forces?" She slammed a fist into her open palm. "All of us against Charles, I bet we could do it."

Charles clapped his flippers together before knocking the guides into the water with his tail.

Ace was enjoying the fun. The wind was in her hair, she surfed the waves that came around, and it was a perfect temperature. Turning her gaze for a quick moment, she noticed more of their friends arrive to join in on the fun. Even better! Ace whistled and waved to them. Unfortunately, it took her focus and concentration off of her surfing and it ended up being another wipeout for her. She fell in the water, swimming under to see colorful and pretty fish around. She would've admired longer, but she didn't take a proper amount of air when she fell in.

The redhead was removing her hair from her face and going after her board when she realized Riley and Toby yelling from afar. At first, she waved a little confused why they were waving, but the shadow caught her attention before she could decipher what they were saying. By that time it seemed everyone joined in on the yelling. "Yeah, I know guys. It's not like I can run on water." Ace said, too low for them to hear. She just knew that yelling for her to get to safety wasn't going to exactly get her there any faster. The shark was gaining up on her, but the revving of an engine made her look the way it came from. She saw Toby speeding towards her and he honestly looked more dangerous than the shark.

By that time, she was on top of the surfboard, centering her balance so it didn't tip over. "Toby please know how to use the breaks." He was going pretty fast towards her...Luckily he did manage to break near her. Though when she looked back she noticed the shark fin speeding in the opposite direction. "Hugs?" Ace slipped in the water only to move to the front of the jet ski, scooting Toby backwards. "My turn to drive!" She had no experience with jet skis either, but she thought it looked fun. "Buttons...Buttons..."

She pressed the closest one near her thumb and it gently went forward. "Hehe, hang on tight!" Ace pressed the appropriate button and whirled the jet ski around. It whipped them around, nearly throwing the two off before speeding towards the sand. "WOOO!" She realized they were still missing a few from the crowd, but she supposed they'd catch the next fun time. "Oh crud I forgot to see which one was the brake." She quickly turned in order to avoid colliding with the shark, before halting to a stop.

"Well...that was fun." She looked back at Toby and laughed. "You okay back there?" Seeing Inadi having fun with the shark, she grinned and decided to slip in the water but before she could, the jet ski was flipped over. "Wah!" Ace yelled and swam from being pushed by the jet ski. Though she swam right into a fishy hug. "Some gentle giant he is." She laughed and swam until she managed to get ashore and walk over to Riley and Jasper. "Well, that was fun." She pushed hair out of her face and looked over Inadi being 'attacked' again. It was nice to see all of them having fun and not crying and such.

Ace laughed as the guides fell in the water. Looking at Riley, she grinned. "Us against the shark? Of course we can take him down! Brandy, Birdy! Come on, we need all the help we can get! That means you have to help too Jasper." She smiled and laughed softly. "Don't worry, if you don't want to get in the water you can be our lookout if the shark tries to do some sneak attack." She laughed and moved ankle deep in the water before looking around to see where Charles had swam off too. Seeing his fin, she called out to Toby. "On your left Toby! On your left!"

“Hahahahahahaha! That’s the spirit!” Songbird cheered as the giant shark flew out from underwater and landed on top of Brandy, covering the poor bunny in seawater and torn pieces of seaweed as it wiggled about. He deftly stepped away from the two in case the shark had any grand ideas about targeting him next, but that didn’t happen as Charles was sent back to sea after Brandy had enough. “Good job Charles!” The item hunter raised his fist in the air as the creature disappeared under the depths again, and barely realized that Brandy was now free until he heard…

"And as for you..."

Eek! “Waaah, Brandy! That was just a jo-,” Before he could even finish the two of them fell into the shallow water with a splash.

“Hey guys, I thought you were supposed to be setting examples for us, being guides and all.”

Songbird broke through and gasped for air as he and the other guide sat up. “Yeah, yeah, I can’t very well be all nice and polite when he’s trying to drown me, right?” The item hunter joked and tossed a weary salute at the humans, who all seemed to be having fun with Charles. “Guess I deserved that, huh?” Laughing, he pulled his hair back from his face and got up from the ground along with Brandy, “Oh snap, I got sand on the scarf! Martini’s going to skin me alive!” Sand on the scarf, more like sand all over my bum. He didn’t realize that he would get into a scuffle in this place, to be honest. Envisioned more of a chill, under a parasol pose with a coconut drink in one hand as he serenely watched the frolicking humans.

Before he could even remove all the bits stuck on his back, Charles careened towards them and both guides got soaked yet again by seawater. Songbird blew at the strands of seaweed that landed over his face and raised his fist in the air, but this time in an aggressive manner. “You’ll pay for that, you slimy-!!!”

"Hey Songbird, Brandy! Whaddya say we combine forces? All of us against Charles, I bet we could do it."

Just as he was about to agree with Riley, Charles knocked them back into the water.

“CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!” Songbird let out a bloodcurdling shriek as he rose from the water. In all other scenarios it might be like watching a mermaid surface from the ocean, but as it was, a harpy seeking revenge after being dunked in the depths would be more fitting. The item hunter waded towards the shore and, upon reaching dry land, unfurled the scarf around his waist. His body was toned and fit due to the activities of his vocation, and he sure felt strong enough to take down that evil shark!

“Aight, let’s take him out!” Songbird yelled and ran towards the humans. Sure, Charles just liked hugs, and this was now turning into a sharkhunt, but eh, who cared. Charles flew out of the water and made a giant splash right beside Toby and then disappeared again, this time heading back at the shore. “Come at me, you lemming!” Songbird hollered and, as if responding to the challenge, the shark burst out from under and landed on top of the poor guide.

Songbird could be heard calling for Charles in the distance. "Charles? That s'posed to be another human?" The name wasn't familiar to Toby, but suddenly the shark that had been dashing through the water towards Ace quickly made a 180 turn and was heading towards the beach. Toby's eyes grew wide and a smile began to form on his face as he realized what was going on. His suspicions were confirmed once Charles the shark launched himself out of the water and onto Brandy. The boy burst out laughing at the sight, what a fortunate relief! He should've known better, but when one see's a shark fin making it's way through the water towards a surfer, it's not really common sense to consider it friendly. No matter, they had a new friend! And Toby was anxious to play.

"My turn to drive!"

"I didn't even get to use it that long!"

Even so he wasn't going to protest any further, he had enough fun whizzing through the water clinging for dear life and gladly scooted backwards to let Ace drive. She seemed to handle the Jet ski better than him anyways, they started to gently move forward. Although, as scary as the thing was at full speed, their current pace wasn't exciting at all. The boy hopped up and down on the Jet ski in anticipation, wanting to hug Charles as soon as possible.

"Hehe, hang on tight!"

"Wha?"

And in a moments notice, the two zoomed through the water crazy fast. Toby obeyed and held on tightly, it was much easier to enjoy the Jet ski when somebody else was piloting the death trap. "THIS IS FUN! THIS IS REALLY FUN! CHARLES HERE I COME!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as the sound of the engine roared like an animal. Water constantly pelted his face and his heart rate was crazy high but it was all in the name of fun. Toby couldn't be any happier right now. He was in his element. Niran popped up in his mind during this moment for some reason and he couldn't help but regret his friend wasn't here to enjoy the beach with them. Toby was in a blur of excitement and it took a moment to realize they were much, much closer to Charles than before. "She's not gonna ram the shark is she?!" Fortunately Ace made a sharp turn and both their bodies leaned to the side before jolting forward simultaneously as the vehicle of death came to a stop in the water. Ace laughed, then asked if he was okay. Toby threw a big, dumb smile onto his face for the hundredth time today.

"Never better"

He heard Inadi shout his and Jasper's name, calling for backup. The boy looked around, wondering where Charles was, when suddenly the shark was right beside the two and greeted them with a surprise sneak attack. Toby threw his arms up in delight, giggling as water sprayed all over him. The lovely shark then tipped the Jet ski over and the boy made no effort to stop himself from falling into the warm, beautiful blue water and merely floated along in the ocean letting the waves guide his body. Charles pressed his nose against Toby's chest as he floated underwater. Bubbles flew up from his mouth as the shark pushed Toby up and out from underwater before pulling him and Ace in for a slippery hug.

"Yes! Shark hug!"

With that Charles released his grip and sped off into the water elsewhere. Toby was not at all yet satisfied. With determination he swam onto shore, ankle deep in water he was just in time to watch Songbird and Brandy get knocked into the water. Riley plotted to overpower Charles and Toby still craved more hugs. He couldn't agree more with her idea.

He ran back into the water, towards the shark's last know position. "Bring it on fish face!" his eyes shot back and forth, all over the water in search of their opponent. "On your left Toby! On your left!" Ace shouted, with that Charles shot it's head up from underwater, right beneath Toby, "WHOA!" Charles balanced the boy's butt on his nose before launching him into the air, spewing water from it's mouth directly into the airborne and giggling Toby, almost keeping him afloat. The boy fell back into the water and Charles swam away plotting his next move. "Come back here! I'm not done!"

“CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!”

Songbird's warcry spurred Toby's excitement, the item hunter was on their side! "IN THE NAME OF NOWHERE!" He added before moving through the water once more in search of Charles. He jumped at the sound of splashing, their enemy was definitely about to make it's next move. "I'm not afraid of you shark! Even if you do weigh like a million pounds!" After a brief moment of suspenseful silence Charles burst out the water and right onto Songbird. "Gotcha!" Toby rushed to the nobodies aid, hopping onto the shark, clinging to his back. "I've got him! Everyone attack!" He shouted before immediately being thrown off. Charles made his way back into the water but not before Toby leaped and grabbed onto his tail. "Oh no you doblbglgbglbg!" His voice was incoherent and bubbly as the shark dragged him through the water. "Blblblblblbl!" Charles leaped out of the water like a dolphin, twisting his body midair launching Toby off his tail and towards the shore.

The boy flew through the air, screaming "WEEEEEEE!" just before colliding into Inadi, knocking the two into the sand. After a brief moment of coughing, Toby pulled himself onto his knees, brushing sand off of him. "Haha, sorry!" He stood up and offered his hand to Inadi, willing to pull him up if need be. "This is much harder than I thought. We need a plan!" There was no way they could overpower the shark alone, teamwork was necessary! He recalled moments ago how slippery Charles was when he jumped onto his back. It would take more than one person to hold down something so big and slippery.

Toby ran up to the others, "Hey! Hey guys! I have an idea!" Sand still coated some of his body and fell off with each step. Approaching his new friends Toby ruffled his own messy hair as water dripped from almost every strand, he was no doubt soaking wet but he looked to the others with excitement and determination in his eyes, clenching his fists in anticipation as to what they would think of his short and simple plan.

"Let's all give Charles, ONE. BIG. GIANT. HUG!"

Martini’s collection of clothes was intimidating at the very least.

How such large a place is allowed in the structure of the building just to accommodate these clothes was unfathomable. The estimates Leila gave on the size of Marti’s room judging by the door was fairly accurate only up until the mermaid revealed the space behind the door, which, eventually, led to Leila now standing amidst row of after row of hung clothing in a collection that seemed to extend endlessly in all directions, while seriously considering the possibility that since it was mentioned that time didn’t work properly in nowhere, space, perhaps, didn’t either.

Footsteps could be heard, and she saw tips of shadows and moving feet nearby despite most of her vision being obscured by the items of clothing, The walking space used to be decent until she somehow ended up in the section that seemed to feature only dresses that happened to be exceptionally puffy.

“A dress that fits the occasion” was what Martini said. Leila tried to make the most information out through those words, and eventually decided to select something that was visually similar to what she remembered seeing people wearing at these “occasions”, and to hope that doing so would heighten the chances that the decisions her eyes untrained in the sense of fashion could at least land on the safe side of being acceptable; as not to upset the already unwell guide.

She also wondered how Martini was doing. They did bring a lot of food though, and that would supposedly help although Leila suspected whether the invariable overwhelming sweetness found in the confectionery at the feast would actually be appropriate for a patient in recovery. Well, perhaps mermaids had a different mechanism for...

It took quite long, as it usually did for her hesitant, always unnecessarily worried, and constantly side-tracked self, to arrive at a decision.

* * * * *

Hall of doors.

Leila walked along the majestic hallway. The castle never seemed to lack spaces with elevated roofs, and the number of staircases they’ve walked up and down throughout their journey in it as well as the constant reminders from guides and other Nobodies that is is but a small portion of the castle itself that they have seen raises the question of how large and how tall exactly the structure was. Leila told herself to remind herself to get a good look from the outside once she had the chance.

The tall walls on both sides were lined with doors, each decorated elaborately in its own style. As the group marched on she stopped frequently to look at one or two doors that caught her eye, to look at it for moments before having to run a bit to catch up after realizing she was lagging behind. Sometimes she had the courage to touch one. The door with the snowflake patterns engraved over it was actually cold to the touch, as if it was actually snowing on the other side of the door.

Wait, are these…?

She placed her palm onto the metal handle, which was even cooler.

“Are these…” this time out loud. She tried to decide whether to turn it - given the circumstances there was probably no guarantee as for what would happen if she did. And before she had a chance to, the door in front of the group swung open, and the moisture-saturated, blazing seaside air gushed into the hall, into their faces.

The door led to a beach.

“...oh dear.”

Leila ran over to the edge of the door, and looked back. No sign of the doorframe. Beach scenery with a rectangular cut-out that showed the hallway from one side, and hallway of doors with the open one leading to the beach on the other. She wanted to try sticking her hand through it, but then realizing that in excitement she had already done the same with her head. She took one step, and the shoe sunk into a soft layer of sand.

“This is so great! How - how do these -” She looked back at the edge once again to make sure she didn’t see wrong. This was no beach room. It led to an actual beach. An actual beach somewhere else because she could walk around what would be the frame and to the other side of the other side of the door, and still be on the beach. it was a...wormhole? Portal? Quantum space-hole? Even nonsense techno-babble seems to have been exhausted in attempting to describe, or even just appropriately name this device.

“How much energy does it take to open up jUST ONE OF THESE?” She stared for another moment before finally failing to contain the excitement,, “AND THESE ARE ALL STABLE? I NEED TO -”

Eh? Where was everyone?

”Hey! Over here!”

“Oh.”

With that, she shed her shoes, careful to make sure no sand still stuck to them, placed them at the door, and walked back through the door, taking multiple glimpses backward along the way.

* * * * *

Her thoughts twitched a bit with the first few steps, perhaps from the recent memory of being engulfed by the soil - but walking on sand felt rather comfortable, she came to decide.

Leila originally objected to the idea of changing again, but the unbearable heat made her change her mind soon. Besides, she thought it might also be a good idea to not get the clothes dirtied - which became increasingly hard as even on her tiptoes the edge of the long dress still scratched the ground.

These changing rooms were relatively small in size compared to the last one she was in - not that much of a surprise - and the decision this time was easy. She took the one that didn’t require her to figure out all the strings.

She’ll just stay by the side, she told herself. Wasn’t really a fan of the water. The heat and sunlight neither, but there was an umbrella. It’ll be alright.

* * * * *

Moments later.

The water was much cooler in temperature than the sand on the beach. And it didn’t really feel that bad on the skin after all. And while she didn’t swim - she realized that only much later - that it really wasn't that hard to stay afloat in water, especially with a lifebuoy to hold onto.

Seawater was splattered all around the place, breaking up into droplets in mid-air and eventually merging back into the gentle waves on the surface. Leila laughed as Songbird and Brandy as well jumped into the water, and as Toby was flung - through means out of her observation as the splashing water obscured most of her sight - into mid-air before falling back into the water.

She didn’t really know how she ended up there, hair untied and sticking to her face, and paddling...quite helplessly in attempt to drive herself somewhere. She wasn’t exactly sure either why exactly she was laughing. It was not just because the water tickled - she thought as she squinted to see the others in the seawater and under the sunlight. She had never experienced anything like this and, although the few rashes left on her skin still hurt when met with the salty water, whatever was happening was somehow, genuinely enjoyable.

When she needed to, she managed to make her way around by grabbing the floatation device with one hand and pulling onto things with the other, which behaved in a way much more predictable than whatever her legs were doing inside the mess of a fluid. Most of the time, though, she just

Beside the slightest thread of doubt that she was just losing her sanity because of everything that happened, Leila found herself to be happy. And she hadn’t felt like this for a long time.

Toby suggested hugging the shark.

...alright?

With nothing near to grab onto this time, she paddled her way with one hand very inefficiently towards the group, trying to decide what exactly a group hug with a shark implied. Just as she was nearly able to hold onto a hand that she assumed to be that of someone from the group to further propel herself, a spindle-shaped silhouette that was rapidly increasing in size emerged nearby in front of them.

Leila then remembered something. Shark skin was composed of tiny, overlapping scale-like components with rough edges and of a hard material.

She let out a short lived shriek in the late realization, and then brought her arms up and held her breath as the only thing that wasn’t too late to do to alleviate the damage of the collision.

The force of the wave from the shark breaking out of the surface shoved Leila and the other people away from a direct impact. The crash still happened, but as the body of the fish slipped against her arms Leila noticed the texture to be not of sandpaper, but of…rubber? She didn’t know. It was soft, though and between being rough and being too frictionless as that of harder variations of plastic. It felt comfortable, and so Leila wrapped her arms around it since she needed something to grab onto anyway - of course, her arms weren’t long enough to go all the way around, of course, so she ended up grabbing someone’s arm in the process. She couldn’t tell who, but she didn’t have the time to either let go or apologize, so whoever that was would have been dragged down as well as they formed the pile that was indistinguishable between an embrace, a tackle, or a giant collision.

She pushed her head out through the surface again and inhaled with her mouth, tasting drops of seawater in the process. “The shark is okay, people...”She intended that louder, as a notice to those who were fearing the same as she was, yet there seemed to be no necessity. The words were drowned out in the cacophony of giggles and laughter and whatever the sounds made by a shark is supposed to be called, as the lot of them flopped around in the water chaotically in one giant mess.

Nowhere sharks probably had smooth skin. Or maybe just this one. Who knew. Who minded? Her voice faded into a whisper, directed at herself, as she smiled:

“...the shark is okay.”

Everyone was working together to defeat Charles, and even the guides had decided to pitch in.

The sound of laughter echoed throughout the beach, and Riley grinned from ear to ear. She had never seen everyone so happy, even the grumpy Songbird, Brandy, and Inadi were laughing and it made her feel glad. After everything they had gone through, they deserved a day like this. A day where they all just laughed their troubles away. It was things like this that made her try her darnedest, that made her want to keep grinning no matter what.

Damn it. She really cared about these people. We're going home, all of us. Together.

She shook the serious thoughts away and laughed, it was a shame Ran and Harper couldn't join them. "Toby! You got him, don't let go, we're coming!" The boy was tossed off when Charles leaped into the air, but hell no, they weren't going to give up. "We need to give him backup!" She shot at grin at Ace then waded towards Songbird and Brandy. As soon as the girl was behind them she grabbed them both by the arms. "C'mon, c'mon, you guys are the experts, aren't you?" Riley's expression turned mischievous, "and you, Songbird! If you're going to talk all tough, then you better prove it us and go give that Shark the biggest and manliest hug ever! You too Brandy." She ushered them into deeper waters only to freeze.

“The shark is okay, people...the shark is okay.”

"Eh?" Leila had already beaten them to it. Riley blinked slowly before practically shoving both guides ahead. "Now's our chance! Oi Ace, Lesles, get your butts here!" Riley swam towards Leila and the shark before reaching for her friend's arm. "Wow, dragon tamer, you did it again." She ruffled Leila's hair, messing it up. "We have Charles! It's time for the combo move people!" The shark wiggled and swam through the water, but was careful not to hurt them.

Charles felt like a giant stuffed animal, only smoother. She held on tight and instead of focusing on the adventure, she focused on everyone's expressions. Bright. Cheerful. Happy. She rarely saw Leila like this, and she couldn't remember seeing Songbird without a scowl on his face.

Riley laughed before turning to face Leila with a grin. She looked like a dog that had been hosed and her bangs clung to her face, obscuring her vision, but she didn't care. "It's a good thing time is irrelevant, huh?" She didn't want this day to end, she just wanted to see everyone as happy as they were now. "Oi! Leila and I can't keep this up forever, c'mon already!"

Charles spun around in a playful circle. He was feeling pretty happy too.

Ran felt his heart race rapidly as the announcer spoke once more. The whole thing was just so surreal. He hadn’t been in a dance competition for almost five years. He was totally invigorated! It no longer mattered if they win. All that mattered was that he got to dance his heart out. Anna’s fingers tightened around his own.

Announcer said "Will it be our returning champions! Orrrrr, will our newcomers win?" The entire room erupted into cheers and Harper laughed, it was clear who the winners would be.

The screaming and yelling was absolutely crazy when the announcer mentioned the returning champions – Casper and Leena – yet when they were mentioned the room erupted into a huge resounding roar. Ran felt his mouth hang open. No way. No freaking way! They. They actually won! He fisted his hand and pulled it close to his chest. YES! They actually won. 6000 stars!

He was so called up with the thrill of the moment that he didn’t even jerk away when Anna leaned in to kiss him. Instead he pulled her into a bear hug before swinging her round and round. The trophy was the last thing on his mind. Their adoring fans literally swamped the dance floor, and soon both of them were carried towards the stage. Gosh he felt like an absolute rock star at the moment! He bet he could even leap off stage and the Nobodies would catch him. Secretly he wondered if he could do a little crowd surfing. Then again he decided against trying. The humans would be leaving quite soon, and he had no intention of hobbling around with crutches.

“Thank you.” He murmured graciously as the female Nobody in the white dress handed him the trophy.

Ran held it out so that Anna could hold onto the other handle. Once she managed to steady her grip, the dancing duo hoisted their trophy up in the air for everyone to see. A few tiny stars fell from the overflowing. Gradually the partners lowered their prize and took a deep bow.

He blew a few kisses to the crowd before bowing once more. “Thank you everyone! We wouldn’t have won without your support. You guys are awesome!”

Anna said ”Let’s give all of you three cheers as well.”

“Hip… hip… HURRAY!”

As the last hurray faded off away, their rivals came on stage to congratulate them. Ran shook Casper’s hand and gave Leena a hug. The illustrator was happy to see his Nobody partner being just as gracious. All hostility had faded away completely.

“That was really fun! I hope we can dance again.”

The winners remained on stage holding hands as they waved farewell to Leena and Casper. The euphoria was finally dying down. The lights came back on as the band struck up once more, and the Nobodies began dancing. Ran chuckled as he saw how some of his moves were catching on. He was willing to bet that one day they will be coming up with moves that will dazzle him. All they needed was a little push.

Anna was busy talking to the organizers about how the two of them had agreed to divide the prize. He wasn’t too bothered how she planned to do it. The cat-eared Nobody didn’t seem like the type of person to cheat him of his share of the winnings. He scanned the crowd and spotted a familiar boyish face. Woah! Harper is smiling. He grinned as he leaped down the stage, and ran towards his fellow human.

Harper said "Congratulations you two. That dance really was something."

“Hey kid!” Ran greeted jauntily as he grabbed the boy into a bear hug and playfully muzzled up the kid’s hair. “I am glad to see you smiling. Try to smile more! I think it suits you way better than that hurt, lost boy air you were sporting the last few days.”

A familiar gurgling came from his stomach. The man felt his entire stomach bubbling. He winced. This is bad! It had to be the diary he ate earlier. He squeezed his right eye close as he doubled over slightly. He clamped his teeth tightly. Ran knew he had mere minutes before things get ugly. Once the gas starts it won’t stop till god knows when. His stomach was punishing him for glutting on all those forbidden milk based stuff.

“Oh erm kid! I have to go to the … BATHROOM!”

Ran yelled hurriedly as he dashed out of the door. He paused for a brief second outside the ballroom doors. He swiveled his head right then left. Which way was it? Hazarding a guess, the adult human ran down the nearest corridor at record speed. He tried to hold back the gas as best as he could. Desperately he pushed against the nearest door and burst into the room. He slammed the door as a loud fart rip through his pants. He sighed as another one followed it. He clutched his stomach as he held onto the door knob. More gas followed for a good five to ten minutes before the pain retreated momentarily. Hopefully there was a toilet in this room. Tiger eyes scanned the room. All he saw was a mini lagoon that filled up half the room.

“Oh erm… hello?” Ran asked tentatively as he limped away from the door. “Err… is there a toilet here?”

OTL Please blame RPG!

As she continued to flail her arms helplessly, trying to call Ace to safety, a figure zoomed past her and Toby and dived straight into the water. Seeing that it was Inadi, she really wasn't planning on loosing two people instead of one, but was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he rolled back on the shore from the force of the waves. After all the panicking and her coming close to the verge of having a heart attack, the shark ended up being completely harmless and even had a name, Charles. As the "predator" emerged from the ocean and onto Brandy, a large wave followed along side it, drenching Inadi and her in salty sea water. She was glad that no one was in any real danger and even laughed a little when the playful aquatic animal sent a splash at Inadi.

Eventually, everyone was in on the fun, messing around with theirnew friend which was none other than Charles the shark.

"Jasper! We can't leave 'em all alone with Charles. We need to help out as much as we can too."

Yanking up her rubber ducky floaty which was slowly inching its way down to her thighs, she gave Riley a nodded and plastered on a playful determination before marching into the ocean. It was quite chilly and the hair on her legs prickled up as soon as it made contact with the sea. Shivering a bit in her 2-piece she watched as the shark hugged some of the humans and even spat water at some of them. Feeling a hand pull her back, the shark had made its way towards her and Riley, but the red head grabbed her just time, but poor Lesley was caught in the shark attack of seawater spitting. Unfortunately, Riley's force from the pull knocked all three of them out fo balance and they all tumbled down under the surface. Standing back up, she giggled a bit and rubbed her stinging eyes to clear some of the salt.

"Us against the shark? Of course we can take him down! Brandy, Birdy! Come on, we need all the help we can get! That means you have to help too Jasper."

The entire thing evolved into a match between the humans and guides against Charles. Nodding in response to Ace she was surprised to see that even the guides had taken up the calling and joined in on their mini game of tag against the shark. As it headed for Toby, the boy was sent flying up on a blast of water, but successfully landed on the thing's back. Triumph was at their grasp but before they could tackle the sea creature into defeat, poo Toby was sent hurtling to the shore towards Inadi where the two collided and fell. For a moment there she thought they would be needing some medical help, but they were both fine. Toby shot right back up and yelled,"Let's all give Charles, ONE. BIG. GIANT. HUG!"

In no time, Leila had the shark put into a vulnerable position for the to dog pile on top of it and with Riley and Leila already clinging onto beast, Jasper jumped in and gave the thing as well, waiting for the rest of them to come piling on over the shark in order to pin it down in a huge group hug. No doubt, she was tired at this point, but this was definitely the most fun she'd had in a long time.

Continuing the challenge of trying to catch and control the little trouble maker in Charles the shark, Inadi found himself more often than not falling face first into the water and grabbing hold of nothing as he dived for the creature. Frustration began settling into the mind of Inadi and he desperately continued his chasing of the shark. With the other humans and guides now joining in on the venture he had a feeling that it was only going to take a few more minutes to really get the big guy and hold him down. At least that was what the theory was in his mind.

Continuing the chase Inadi was being hammered by waves made by the great shark and it was getting to the point where it was almost too much to handle, even for a game. Inadi had never been much of a beach guy and swimming was never on his top of the priority list. With the large amounts of heavy salt water crashing on his face and his eyes starting to burn from the foreign liquid, Inadi had no choice but to retreat slightly and gain his composure again. Standing on the beach, just far enough away that Charles wouldn't reach him, he gripped his hips and began collecting his breath. All the while the fight was still going on.

Looking out to the water Inadi saw everyone enjoying themselves to the fullest for the first time in a long time. Everyone was all smiles and nothing seemed to be distracting them from the enjoyment at hand. Even Inadi had to admit that this was a lot of fun considering how simple it was. Everyone chasing after the big shark and how the thing would constantly trip them up and splash them with waves none of them could ever hope to make. It was all a great distraction from the troubles of old.

The boy, lost in his thoughts while looking at the scene, heard a happy squeal from Toby it felt like. Strange thing was that it seemed like it was getting louder. Looking up slightly he saw what looked like a person flying towards him. Inadi wasn't sure if this was just the sun playing trick on him, but the shadowy figure seemed to be getting louder and bigger as time passed. Squinting his vision he began seeing a familiar face on the figure and came to the sudden realization. “Oh dear lord.”

Inadi quickly took the impact of Toby landing on him without any time to prepare for the collision. All the air that he had collected on the beach suddenly disappeared and his eyes began bugging out of his head. Letting out a small groan as he tried to figure out how many ribs he had left that were in tact, Toby offered him a hand to get back up. Quickly taking the advantage of the offer Inadi was back on his feet leaning over while trying to get his air back in him. Toby went right back to facing off with Charles with the others and Inadi could do nothing but watch.

While watching it seemed that Leila grabbed a hold of Charles and suddenly Toby's plan to get everyone involved in a dog pile hug seemed to be working. Jasper, Riley, Ace and everyone got on top of the creature and everyone was laughing and having a great time. Inadi smiled from up on the beach and gave them all a big thumbs up as he began slowly walking back into the water, clutching his stomach as he did so. Deciding to just sit down in a shallow part of the beach, Inadi looked at the group and noticed that the bottom of the pile seemed a little still for the most part. Suddenly a shark's head appeared from out of the pile and looked towards Inadi as everyone continued hugging the big creature.

Inadi, curious as to what Charles was looking at, leaned in slightly to get a better look. Just as he did so however, a quick squirt of water shot out of the shark's mouth and right into Inadi's face. A defeated and annoyed look showed on his face, but a smile soon showed after wards. Wiping the water away he looked back at Charles and shook his head. “Here I was thinking of helping you escape so you could play some more,” He told the shark as he leaned back in the water, the water just splashing over his stomach as the waves died at the shore. “Now you just get to sit there and let them all hold you down big guy. And its all because you had to spit that water at me. For shame.” Inadi joked as he let out a laugh as Charles started to rapidly nod his head, making small splashes that hit some of those who were on him. The shark seemed to have had his fill of play time, as he now had all the attention he had been clamoring for. Inadi smiled at the sight as he felt the waves massage his still sore stomach, a sigh escaping his throat from the calm he had so desperately needed.

Ace watched everyone pile on top of the shark and laughed. What a day to be alive. To think they actually dragged themselves from practically hell, to be on a beach. They had gotten so far... It was nice to see even Leila and Jasper happy. She realized she was one of the last to be in the group hug and she ran pushed her wet hair to one side.

"Uhh...yeah I don't do group hugs."

Being so chipper and optimistic, one would think she would be fine with being affectionate, but that wasn't the case. Ace was no cold hearted criminal, but she wasn't one for being too close to others... It was one of the reasons she moved from place to place. Staying with people too long caused a whole lot of emotional struggle to leave them when it was time to go. The only ones she went back to was that gang of hers, but that was business. It had nothing to do with friendships- merely allies working for a common goal.

Thinking about it, made her feel rather contradictory. Here she was, having the time of her life with people- and nobodies- that she actually considered friends. For the first time she could say something like that. Ace sighed and laughed softly to herself. "I've gotten into quite a predicament." She noticed she was standing for some time, and was ignoring the disappointed look the shark gave for not receiving a hug from her.

"Ha, it's too crowded, I'd rather not."

This earned water in her face from the shark along with a grin showing off his rows of sharp teeth. "You know Charles, are you sure you weren't suppose to be a dolphin or something?" Ace laughed, pushing hair out of her face. With some persuasion, probably some light arguments of participation, and more than likely some protests- Ace playfully rolled her eyes and walked over to join the huge hug. Well, she more like sat on tip of the shark while everyone else hugged him. She watched as it looked like Charles was trying to flap away and then laughed.

"I think sharky here is giving up and tapping out." She jumped off of Charles and walked off to the sand. "I'm pretty tired too. Hah, I think I've had my fill of water and sharks." She adjusted her bikini top, almost forgetting that she had to be careful in them. They weren't normal shirts and shorts...

"Okay. Next time we do something, we all have to be here. Guides and humans." Ace declared and grabbed the cloth that wrapped around her waist like a skirt.

Toby wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. One moment he was explaining his not so well developed or thought out plan to the others, the next he was launched back into the water for probably the fiftieth time in the past thirty minutes. Shooting his head out from the water he imitated Charles by spitting water into the air followed by a very cheery laughter. During the commotion Leila had somehow managed to latch herself onto the shark, Riley and Jasper were quick to provide backup. Toby swam towards the dog pile, giggling the whole way. "The tide of battle has turned, soldiers!" He shouted before grabbing onto the sharks tail once more, except this time with much more leverage thanks to the support of his comrades.

"Man the cannons! Counter-attack! We've got the enemy on the run!" Toby tried his best to speak in a military like accent, but any chance of that was drowned out by his unceasing giggling and shouts of joy. Charles went from zooming all over the water attacking from all sides to being practically pinned down close to the shallow end of water. He probably could've escaped their grasp at any moment, but simply chose not too. It was hard to tell if Charles was smiling or not, what with his naturally vicious looking teeth, but the happiness radiating from the shark was almost palpable.

It was time for the finishing move. Toby tightened his grip on the sharks tail and began to climb onto his back, gently though as to not hurt his new fish friend. Eventually he found himself on Charles back once more. Wrapping his arms around their friend he squeezed tightly. "Victory is ours!" he declared with a smile. The boy kissed the shark's fin and rubbed his face against his rubbery skin.

For some reason, Ace stayed on shore rather than participating in the group hug. However after some protesting, especially from Toby, even she joined in on the fun. Everyone pretty much kept their positions in the group hug. Toby wasn't sure how long they had spent hugging Charles, all he knew was he enjoyed every second of it. His laughter and shouting died down eventually and he found himself lying on the shark rather than hugging it, his arms dangling off the sides, his eyes staring at the ocean blue water with a permanent smile on his face. He tried to recall something. When was the last time he had this much fun? Every moment he spent pondering the question only made him feel uncomfortable and broke his smile.

"I think sharky here is giving up and tapping out." Ace remarked before hopping off Charles and heading towards the shore. "Ha!" Toby shouted before rolling off the shark and into the water. Ace claimed that she was satisfied with the water. Not good. The boy's face turned to an upset frown, it was only a matter of time before the others joined Ace and eventually they all decided to leave. "I don't wanna go," Toby mumbled under his breath before diving underwater and swimming deeper into the ocean. It was a strategy he had used years ago when his grandmother would take him to swim at a lake or pool. If he couldn't hear them say it was time to leave, he wouldn't have to leave. Simple as that. Toby poked his head halfway out from underwater, only his messy wet hair and eyes could be seen as he was now further away from the shore than before.

"I'm Charles,"

His legs and arms swayed back and forth in the water keeping him afloat as he observed his friends from afar, practically stalking them in the water, avoiding the inevitable end to the fun they were having. Thoughts from earlier resurfaced as Toby tried once more to recall a moment much like this one where had just as much fun, if not more. "Christmas?" Too far back. "Halloween?" Too close, much too close. He swam in circles, pretending to be a shark as he contemplated the question.

Eventually came to a conclusion. Toby poked the rest of his head out of the water before muttering "My birthday," and continued to swim in circles. "I don't wanna leave," he mumbled again. The water felt like it was at a perfect temperature, the sky was a perfect blue with just the right amount of clouds.

He could swim for hours.

Outside the Castle: A Conversation Takes Place

Outside the castle, they went unnoticed. Everyone inside was far too busy enjoying the party after all. It made the young man laugh and he bounced on his heels like an excited kid on Christmas morning. "They're headed to the city of Cogs next, aren't they?"

The voice that responded was riddled with a mixture of emotions. "Yes...that appears to be the case."

"Hold on a minute, appears? Hey, hey, are you sure about this?"

"Hm, yes. I'm Positive about their next location."

"Great, great, you heard him, C." Luke grinned from ear to ear, "I guess that'll be our next destination too."


The girl beside him nodded her head, her expression was blank, but she sounded worried. "Understood."

"I can't wait to tell Numair about all the sky ships." The boy threw his hands into the air, "oh, and the hoverboards too."

He could see her glaring from underneath the hood. "We should leave."

"Right, right, those pesky bunnies aren't very fond of us." A grin stretched across the boy's face. "Such a shame they hate us, they're freaking cute." He wrung his hands together only for her to yank him by the ear. "Ow! Ow! Okay, okay!" Luke flailed his arms then hopped away from his friend. In the distance, the castle lights shone brightly. And for a moment, he wished they could stay for just a little longer.

It was bringing back all sorts of memories—a part of him didn't want to remember.

And he couldn't because just as a hazy wisp began to resurface, fingers wrapped around his wrist and he found himself being pulled along. "Oh," he shook his head right and left then mustered up a smile. "I guess it's time for us to go then."

"I supposed it is," two eyebrows furrowed together in worry and the corners of the Nobody's mouth drooped into a frown. "It's better this way."

He gave the Nobody a hearty wave, "maybe it is, anyways, thank you for all the help, Mr. Cuddles."

Setting Sail

On the Airship: Approaching the city of Cogs and Gears (Two months after the witch fight)

"We should be arriving shortly," the Nobody before them grinned from ear to ear, his pearly whites clashing with his oil-stained mechanic suit. A pair of goggles dangled around his neck and all sorts of weird doohickeys and contraptions hung from the loops of his belt. He held a trashing robot close to his chest and sighed, "hold still Bolt, this is no way to act around guests!" A low rumble left the tiny contraption's throat and steam began pouring out of its ears. "Forgive the little tyke, he hates getting his parts changed."

The sound of twisting gears filled the room they were in, and several Nobodies walked around the room, fulfilling all sorts of tasks.

"I really need to change this little fella's gears. If you want, you should head onto the deck. The view outside is absolutely breathtaking." This time, the guides wouldn't be accompanying them on a mission, but then again, this one would be particularly easy.

The USB they were to retrieve had already been paid for by the queen, and as soon as the soldiers finished their daily rounds they would meet the humans at the museum and hand it over. It would be as easy as that, and it was more like a vacation than anything else.



"I think I'll stay here," Harper gave the Nobody a grin and watched as Riley tried to drag as many people as she could out the door. The thought of falling from this high up made him choose to stay in the room. Besides, the center portion of the room had a glass bottom, allowing them to see the many structures below. The closer they got to the city of Cogs and Gears, the more industrial things appeared to be.

The boy approached one of the windows and pressed his hands and face against it. He could see sprawling towers of shifting gears and houses that moved on robotic limbs. It was absolutely amazing and he smiled broadly at the sight. "Hey Leila," he motioned for the girl to come over. "Take a look at that," they were getting farther and farther away from the strange structure but it was clearly a house in the shape of a dinosaur and it trotted along, it's eyes not too different than car's headlights.

The mechanic appeared behind them and twirled a wrench between his fingers. "Wait till you see the city," a dreamy sigh escaped his lips. "There's an entire village up in the sky and the best inventors live there too." He tapped both humans on the back then walked away.

It was things like this that made him forget about the dark side. "All we have to do is collect a USB, it's a nice change of pace, isn't it Leila?" The queen compared this mission to a vacation. Instead of them doing the work, the soldiers would do it for them.

Shwosssshhhhh!

Harper watched as a boy on a hover board zipped past and he found himself smiling at how amazing everything was. "It's almost like a high tech—"

The idea eluded him and he felt his heart sink. They were forgetting even more things, it was a slow process, but it was starting to become obvious. Names of objects would flit out of reach, faces became less distinct and memories turned hazy. His throat went dry and after a fearful moment he managed to remember, "almost like a skateboard." He recited his parent's and sister's names inside his head.

The queen examined the list and her lips quirked up into a smile. "My, my, you darlings are doing quite a spectacular job." She ran a finger over the crinkled piece of paper and smoothed out the edges. "Two more items to go, after that," she clasped her hands together. "The next phase will begin."

The items in his bag felt weightier than usual. Just two more to go, they could definitely do this. Harper gave his friends a grin and motioned for them to come up to the window, "you're missing out on the view."

---

On the Airship: The Deck



"Lesley," the girl was almost teary-eyed. The view, it was beyond spectacular. "You need to paint this...this is beautiful."

A cool breeze whipped at their faces as the walled city in the distance began to draw nearer. In the center of the city was a massive tower of cogs and gears and if one squinted they could see the parts moving together. The structure was a humongous well-oiled machine.


"Hey gramps," Riley's expression turned devious. During her stay at the castle, she had dubbed Ran the group's grand father. He was a little spacey but all in all was cool for a grownup. Nah, if she was being honest, then Ran was cool for being Ran. He was a softy too and usually he'd cover for them as long as they said please. "Do you have your sketchbook? Ugh, I'd take a photo if I could. If we don't capture this moment, it'll be an absolute crime—oh geez!" A flock of birds flew overhead and few of them thought it was a good idea to release their waste.

"Stupid birds, wrecking the moment!" The girl scrunched up her nose and began waving a fist at the creatures.

"So Martini... What would be doable to wear in this city we're going to? Yes I'm taking my hat with me!"

After the party, and however many days of rest they got, it was high time for them to be leaving. They did have things to collect. She refused to go outside of the castle with the red dress she had on, so she decided to ask Martini for help. It indeed was an awkward experience, considering she had to try on clothes to see 'what looked best'. More than once, Martini attempted throwing her in a dress or skirt, but the scowl the redhead had made the mermaid give up that dream.

"Actually... This isn't that bad. I can deal with this. Thanks!" Instead of putting her hat on her head, it was now fastened to one of the belt loops of by her hip.

And the journey began!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the Airship

"This is so cool!" Ace looked below her, eyeing the structures underneath them. She tapped her foot on the glass a few times, only to be reassured by a Nobody that it was safe and sturdy. "I want one of these. It would definitely beat walking everywhere." She laughed and then went out on the deck to look over that way as well. She wanted to view the city from all the angles she could manage. Ace had never been in the skies, so this was definitely an amazing experience. "What a view." Ace moved past Ran, Toby, and Lesley, all talking about drawing or taking a picture of it. That didn't interest her all that much.

She hurried back inside to stare down, now standing on the glass that they could see out of. "Yep...still sturdy." Something got her attention. Whatever it was, it whizzed past and towards the deck. Ace ran back out like a hyperactive child. This time though, she gripped the railing and leaned dangerously over the edge. Her feet lifted off the floor as she looked around and leaned over. They were on the bottom floor, so if she slipped, that would...probably be...a problem.

"I know I saw some weird bird thing... I swear I did." Ace stared at the empty sky with a small frown. There were a few times she leaned a little too far forward, but eventually she stood on her own two feet and sighed. Just as she was about to turn, those "weird bird things" flocked past.



"Aha! I knew I saw something!" Ace spoke triumphantly, now satisfied with her find. The mechanical bird that took the lead of the flocked looked as if it was carrying something. Maybe it was a messenger bird. She didn't know. But they looked cool nonetheless. "Do you think we can keep a robot or something? Even like a little one?" This question she had, she looked behind her to Jasper and Inadi.


*Mah serious banner*

The entire time spent on the airship, Toby's entire body was overcome with anticipation to head onto the deck and take in the view, without borders or restrictions. The glass bottom in the center of the room only tortured this desire greatly. He had never even been on an airplane before, so something like this was hard to comprehend even for him. Still, what could go wrong? The crew of Nobodies seemed fully capable and knew what they were doing so there was nothing to worry about. The moment their Nobody suggested they make their way onto the deck Toby jumped to his feet and rushed outside without saying a word.

The boy's legs dangled off of the airship, he swung them back and forth in delight as his head and arms lay on the railing, initially provided for safety but now being used as a pillow for him to rest his head and admire the view before him. Their Nobody was wrong, it was more than just breathtaking. Toby was mesmerized at the sight and lost himself in it's beauty, he had never been so high in his entire life, his entire body tingled with excitement. Part of him wanted to leap over the railing and fly towards the sun. "I mean, I haven't tried flying before," he thought to himself, "Maybe all of us can fly and we just don't know it, there's only one way to find out..." The boy peered down below, he was no Icarus but no doubt he couldn't stop himself from contemplating if the fall was worth discovering the power of flight.

He wasn't able to come up with the answer.

As Toby sat on the edge of the deck he inevitably began to daydream. At first he imagined a wingless dragon made up of old junkyard parts soar past the airship. The image was much more vivid due to the fact he was so lucky as to see and even pet dragons. The mechanical dragon he daydreamed of morphed into a plane the color of a rainbow, and the rainbow plane morphed into a pegasus flying gracefully among the clouds. "Wooosh, wooosh!" They were pointless thoughts but thoughts that entertained him nonetheless. Eventually he found it more enjoyable to imagine himself soaring through the sky.

The boy snapped out of his daydream when Riley scolded the birds and Ace proposed taking a robot home, which was a great idea in his opinion! Maybe they'd get to build their own robot companion at some point? The idea reminded him of a teddy bear store he admired as a child, however he couldn't recall the name. Toby gripped the top railing, using it as support to pull himself up to his feet. "Did those robo birds just take a poo?" He said in regards to Riley's fist waving. "I wonder if they eat nuts and bolts, and maybe use a screwdriver as a fork," his face contorted at the thought in confusion, "Or maybe they eat screwdrivers too? Wait, birds don't use silverware. N-nevermind,"

Toby approached Riley and leaned on the railing beside her, admiring the view once more, contemplating how to capture the sight before them. "If Ran doesn't have his sketchbook, than there's only one solution." The boy looked like he was about to give a lecture the way his arms moved. Each word was spoken with confidence. "If we can't sketch it, and we can't paint it, our only option is to take a beautiful mental picture using our brain powers." Toby proceeded to extend his arms outwards to the approaching city, his hands positioned as if he were holding a camera. "Just point your lens towards the horizon annnnnnd" He made a clicking sound whilst pressing down on the imaginary button, "Ta-da! Now i'll never forget this," He declared, which was probably not true. He believed it was though, with all his heart.