So, here it is! I'm sorry about the extremely long wait, and also if there are any mistakes in here. To recap, Mia's soul has been taken by the Pendaloon, and she is no trapped in Paradise with Flynn. Also, if you can't remember, Elle is from Paradise, she is the character who's body was taken over by the Collector for most of the story. I hope you all enjoy. (Also I am aware that this story should belong to FictionPress, but since most of the people who love this story are here at FanFiction, I will continue to post here.)

Chapter 1. The Storm

The Sun's rays shone down from the sky as the sea washed over Mia's bare toes gently. She cared little for the warm water that soaked her feet, or for the bright rays of sunshine that landed on her. It wasn't because she was ungrateful, it was because it was all artificial. Everything in Paradise was, except the people trapped there. Two years gad passed by now since Mia had become trapped in Paradise herself. She had to admit that the time had passed in a blink, but it had dragged at the same time. The fact that she missed her parents made the two years seem like eternity, but being in Paradise with Flynn and Elle had filled the gap her parents absence left, and for this she was grateful.

Mia looked behind her shoulder and at the large island called Paradise. It was a typical island, quite cliché-like in Mia's opinion. The island was surrounded by a beige sand beach, and in the taking up the rest of the island was a thick jungle. At the centre of the jungle was a volcano, rumoured to be the home of the Pendaloon, the creator of Paradise. Mia found it hard to describe the Pendaloon to herself. She didn't see him as a monster, not at all. But he had lured her into Paradise and ate her soul, leaving her with no way out of Paradise. He was an element of fear, as he had told her last time they met. Maybe that was the way to describe him: fear.

The sand behind Mia crunched softly. She turned back around to see Elle standing behind her. Elle smiled softly. "Soaking up the rays?"

Mia scoffed. "I would if I could."

Elle chuckled and sat next to Mia, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her silver-blonde hair glowed in the sunlight like a shiny penny caught in the sun. She turned her head towards Mia and smiled again, her thin pink lips stretching widely across her thin face. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"To be honest, I can't wait until we get a bit of rain."

"Reminds you of Bloomwood, huh?"

"What?" The name of her old home town had caught her off guard. She had been at Paradise for so long that she could barley remember Bloomwood; she had trouble remembering her parents sometimes, too. "Oh, Bloomwood. Yeah, I guess. It used to rain there quite a bit."

"Well, looks like you might be reminded of Bloomwood very soon." Elle pointed up at the sky.

Mia followed her finger and saw the dark grey clouds creeping slowly across the blue sky. Mia laughed to herself. "How long do you think we've got until it rains?"

Elle shrugged. "I give it two or three hours. Quite a heavy downpour, I think."

"Excellent." She wasn't sure why, but Mia really enjoyed the rain. Maybe it was because the rain reminded her of her home town, or maybe it was because she liked the noise it made when it hit the roofs of the village huts. Either way she enjoyed it, no matter how many times Elle told her she was mad.

Mia pulled her legs towards her and stood up slowly. Grains of sand stuck to her wet feet and in-between her toes, making them itch. She wiped the sand from her grey cotton pyjama bottoms – they had became holey and ripped over the two years she had wore them – and turned to Elle. "Where's Flynn?"

"In his hut. I think he's sleeping, he seemed quite tired earlier."

Mia frowned. Sleeping wasn't needed in Paradise, and Flynn didn't like to sleep. He would rather stay awake all night, but lately he had been sleeping a lot, even in the day. "I'm going to wake him up." she said, walking away from Elle.

"Umm, I really think you should let him sleep, Mia." called Elle.

"No, I need to talk to him." Mia could hear Elle trying to complain from behind her, but she increases her walking pace and sped away from her and towards the village.

It was a small village that looked tribal. It consisted of seven small bamboo huts that formed a wide circle. At the far end of the circle was an empty space where an eighth hut used to be: the Leader's hut. It used to be the biggest hut in the village, but when it got out that the Leader was really the Pendaloon, everyone in Paradise had burnt the hut to the ground. The ground was still slightly blackened even after two years. And two huts to the right of the blackened spot was Flynn's hut. Mia pushed through the old purple curtains that hung from the door and stepped into his hut. Flynn always kept his hut tidy, their was no traces of sand on the wood floor and the bamboo walls were spotless.

Against the far wall opposite the door was Flynn, lying sound asleep in his hammock. Mia shook her head and hovered over him. Flynn looked so peaceful when he slept. His lips were parted slightly as he let out gentle snores and his shaggy brown hair hung like a curtain just above his eyes. Mia couldn't help but smirk at the childish freckles on his nose. "Flynn." she said quietly, shaking his shoulder. He let out a sleepy sigh and rolled over, his back now facing Mia. "Flynn!" she hissed, pushing her hand into his back.

Flynn snorted and rolled back over, his eyes opened into tiny slits. "What?" he yawned.

"Flynn, why are you sleeping? It's four in the afternoon."

"Well, I'm tired." he said sleepily.

"You never sleep, though."

Flynn smiled. "I like it now. I forgot how wonderful it is."

"Like eating?"

"Yes, like eating." Like sleep, eating or drinking wasn't needed in Paradise either. Which was just as well because the only food around the coconuts and there was no water except seawater. No-one felt hunger or thirst anymore, and no-one could decide whether it was a good or bad thing.

Mia sighed and moved away from the hammock, her hands behind her back. "I'd love to get out of this place. I miss eating, and sleeping."

"Me too. I can't even remember what food tastes like."

"Well, I can't remember what happens when you sleep."

Flynn smiled. "You dream, remember?"

"Dream? Oh yeah, of course." Mia laughed. "I don't remember what dreaming is like."

"Me either. I miss it."

"Me too, Flynn."

Flynn looked down, his hands twisted together. "How desperate do you want to get out of here, Mia?"

"Honestly? I'd give my soul," she smiled without humour. "if I still had it."

Flynn returned her humourless smile and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, you got me."

"Don't forget Elle." she laughed.

"Ha, how could I forget her?" Flynn smiled but it was a forced smile. Ever since a Collector had taken over Elle's body Flynn couldn't feel completely comfortable around her, even if she was her normal self again.

Then the storm arrived. Lightning lit up the hut for a second with a flash of white, before disappearing and leaving them both in darkness. Thunder boomed in the distance and the heavy patting noise of raindrops hitting the hut roof filled the silence. Water began to rush into the hut, spreading out along the wood floor.

"Damn." muttered Flynn. He climbed up onto his hammock, and Mia followed. "I need something to stop the water coming in here every time it rains. This hut gets flooded." he muttered. "I hate rain."

Mia turned to him and smiled. "I love it."

Flynn shrugged and sat cross-legged on the hammock, while Mia copied his posture at the other end. They stared at each other for a while, trying to get inside the other one's mind. Mia was worried about Flynn's sleeping patterns, while Flynn worried mainly about the wet floor. "When do you think Elle will join us?" he said in an attempt to make small talk.

"She could come here at any minute. She might not even come."

"Possibly not."

Mia sighed and looked at the floor. Flynn always changed when he had just woken up, like he was a completely different person. He was too serious about everything, and didn't smile as much as she would have liked. If Elle was here, Flynn would act differently, more casual. Was it because he preferred Elle to her? Was she beginning to get boring?

Stop it, Mia. Don't go creating problems in your own head.

Mia frowned at her thoughts but silently agreed with them. But was she jealous? Jealous of Elle?

"What's wrong?" asked Flynn.

Mia looked up. She hadn't realised she had been frowning to herself, but Flynn had noticed. "I just miss home." she lied. This excuse had always gotten her out of telling Flynn the truth, but it pained her to see his mouth turn down at the corners each time she said it.

He scooted forward so their knees were touching and took Mia's hand. Even though many people were always mistaken, Mia and Flynn weren't in a "relationship", they believed themselves to be good friends who relied on each other hugely. "It'll be fine, Mia. You trust me?"

Mia smiled at him. "I always do."

Flynn smile back, and at that moment Elle hurried into the hut, dripping wet. She opened her mouth to say something but started at Mia and Flynn, then stared down at their entwined hands. "Seriously, I swear there is something going on between you two."

Flynn shook his head, still smiling. "Just good friends."

Elle rolled her eyes and shook her silver hair, droplets of water dripping to the floor. "This place is soaked." she said to Flynn. She shook her hair some more and sat down on the hammock so she was between Mia and Flynn. "Sorry, I've made the hammock damp, but you can both sleep in my hut tonight if you like. The rain doesn't get in there."

Mia looked at Flynn and he nodded at her. "Sure." said Mia. "It's too damp in here now."

Elle clapped her hands together once. "Excellent." She stood up from the hammock and turned to them. "I'll be waiting in my hut. Sorry, Flynn, but I don't know how you sleep in here. It's so cold."

Mia watched as Elle left the hut and ran through the rain. "You ready to go then?" she asked without looking at Flynn.

"Yep, always am ready."

Mia breathed a laugh and pulled herself up, Flynn following closely behind her.

The rain hit the roof of the hut so hard that Mia was worried about the roof breaking under pressure and a waterfall of rain water would pour down on the three of them. The sound of the rain combined with Elle's snoring made it hard for Mia to fall asleep. She lay on her hammock facing the wall, the old grey blanket wrapped tightly around her shivering body. There rain clouds covered the moon completely and no moonlight shone down on Paradise, leaving Mia laying in the dark. Back in the real world she had always been scared of the dark, but once she came to Paradise she feared the Pendaloon more than anything else. In fact, after meeting the Pendaloon, Mia never felt the need to fear anything else.

"Mia?" asked Flynn. His whispering voice cut through the air like a nice, making Mia jump slightly.

"Yeah?" she asked. She rolled over so she was face Flynn, even though he had been consumed by the darkness.

"You know what day it is tomorrow?"

Mia thought for a while before answering. "Umm, no I don't." She heard Flynn chuckle in the darkness. If she still feared things other than the Pendaloon she would have feared Flynn's voice.

"It's your birthday, remember?"

Mia nodded, even though she knew Flynn couldn't see her. On her first week of being at Paradise, Mia told Flynn the date of her birthday. It had never came to thought that she would ever forget her own birthday after just a few months. She never thought about her birthday at all, until the big day came and Flynn surprised her by wishing her a happy birthday. She was confused when he did so and he laughed at her and showed her his right forearm. She studied his arm hard until she saw the four tiny numbers – 11/04 – engraved there. The numbers were bigger than a newspaper print but small enough not to be noticed. It flattered her that he had engraved her birthday on his arm, but she never showed it.

"It is?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. Well, if it's gone past midnight already then it's your birthday now. But until morning, your birthday present can wait."

Mia could almost see him smiling in the darkness. "I get a present this year?" she said with a smile.

"Of course. It is your sixteenth, after all."

That was another thing that Mia sometimes forgot: how old she was. "Thank you, Flynn." she cooed.

"Don't mention it. Now, get some sleep. Big day ahead for you tomorrow." he teased.

"Can't wait." she yawned. Flynn said something else to her but she didn't hear what he said because she was already asleep.