Prologue

Along the scenic roads of Sicily James drove. To his right, Charmaine sat in the passenger seat cradling their three year old son Michael in her hands. In the backseat, of the Aston Martin Rapide, their older son Armando was taking a nap. Usually there would be chatter between James and Charmaine but this time, neither of them spoke. No it wasn't because they didn't want to wake Armando up. If they wanted to talk in the vicinity of sleeping children, the two would simply lower their voice.

Rather, Charmaine was a little pissed off with her husband. She knew the deal he made with Marcus Giovanni about letting "a true blood Italian" run Italy and yet here they were on their way to James' new residence in Sicily. Earlier in the day she had wanted to confront him about the matter but Michael ran into the kitchen asking for chips. Since she didn't want to go off on her husband in front of the kids, she decides to talk about it later in private.

Unfortunately for her, James could sense something wrong with his wife and unlike her, he didn't care if the kids had to listen to all of it.

"Something up?" He asks.

"Something up?" She glares at him angrily. "You lied to Giovanni! That's what's up!"

"Look, I couldn't let Littlefoot get blown up or shot through the face!"

"So you'll betray a friend to save a friend?"

"To be honest with you, honey. Don Giovanni hasn't exactly been on good terms with me, not after Ali's return."

"I'm not talking about Roberto, I'm talking about the deal you made with Marcus."

"What deal?"

"The one about letting a true blood Italian run Italy?"

"But I killed the true-blood Italian."

"What about his son?"

"You're not actually asking me to let seven year old Mario Giovanni run the show are you?"

Charmaine turns her head away from her husband and looks out the window, hoping the beautiful Sicilian scenery would cool her down. She still couldn't comprehend why her husband would take over Don Giovanni's business, even though it was good for the family and everyone else in the long run. In the meantime, far away from the beautiful roads of Italy, rain poured down on the shipping town of Calais. Near the pier and on opposite ends, Littlefoot and his former girlfriend stared each other in the eye.

It had been awhile since they've met but despite this, both still held affection for each other. Lightning flashed in the sky, accompanied by the sound of thunder's loud roar. Slowly, Littlefoot approached Ali, the disappointment in his eyes now more evident than ever.

"Didn't we promise each other that we would be together?" She shouts. "Didn't we?"

"We did, Ali." He answers. "You were the one who elected to leave."

"It was a mistake! I forgot to contain my emotions!"

"Well you were too late, because the minute Cera and I fell in love, it was over for you!"

"Can't we try-"

"No we can't, Ali! Cera and I are married and we are about to adopt a pair of younglings!"

"If that's so, then I will make sure she knows what pain and sorrow feels like."

Without warning, Ali lunged at her former partner and threw him to the ground. He was now just a few feet from the edge and all she needed was one good kick and he would go down and suffer the same watery death as his mother. But then, fate intervened by making her hesitate. She closed her eyes, trying to garner enough strength to power through her guilt and deliver the final blow. This was enough to allow Littlefoot to get back on his feet and he goes on the offensive.

Some would call this unnecessary but it was to Littlefoot. Who knows if she could attack him while he tried to back off? While Littlefoot only intended to knock his ex-girlfriend onto the ground, he applied a little too much force and smashed her off the pier and into the water.

"Ali, no!" He cried

SPLASH

For a few seconds, all Littlefoot could see were the heavy waves crashing onto the docks. Then a head broke through the surface. Ali coughed, struggling to keep her head above the surface of the water. If Littlefoot did not have a new partner, he might've jumped in to save her but he did and there was too much for him to lose. He could only watch on the dock as the currents dragged his former girlfriend under time and time again, only for her to break the surface.

She was as determined as his late mother to survive and the scene of her struggling did remind him of Madeline. Suddenly, a strong current dragged Ali under before she could even take a breath of air. As she coiled her head to look back, she realized she was the one who was about to meet a watery end. A vortex had been created by the strong currents and it was dragging her deeper and deeper down. But Ali was a fighter and she struggled as hard as she could.

Even without much oxygen in her lungs, she kicked and paddled. Slowly, she could feel the vortex's grip loosening. This vortex must be weaker than the one Madeline got caught up in. If she could just paddle hard enough, she might just be able to break free and power for the surface.

With each kick, bubbles rose from her nostrils. Oh how much she craved for air right now…