A/N: Okay, I wrote this story to take part in a virtual 4th season, where each story would be an episode. Since my story is really just about Malone, you don't have to have read any of the other ones to understand my story. Hope you like it, and don't forget to leave a review please!

Disclaimer-I don't own any of the Lost World characters, this is all for fun. Okay, onto the fun stuff.

"Lost But Now Found"

Chapter 1

The plateau had been saved. Challenger had returned from the future, Finn went back to the future, and Marguerite and Roxton had been removed from their almost life-ending experiences and were put back where they belonged and safe out of harm's way.

To everyone's surprise, Malone had returned as well but not in the same condition as how he left. When Veronica found him at the base of the treehouse, he was unconscious and bleeding heavily.

Now he was bandaged and feeling much better. Once everyone had had their reunion, they were anxious to talk to Malone. Where had he been these long months? How had he gotten hurt? How did he get back?

In all fairness, a lot had happened at the tree house during Malone's absence but they all promised to give him the details after he shared his tale.

"Malone, when are you ever going to get around to telling us what happened to you?" asked Marguerite always getting straight to the point. "You obviously got hurt somehow and we want to hear where you've been all this time."

Malone looked around and saw the concerned, yet eager faces of his closest friends and finally at Veronica. She had made her way back safely after he left, and for that, he was glad. He decided to share his tale as soon as possible. Even though he was hurt, it wouldn't be fair to keep them waiting to hear what happened to him, especially Veronica. "Well, it's a long story…"

Malone had abruptly left his tree house comrades behind to go live his life without having to live up to anyone else's expectations; to actually LIVE life instead of watching from the sidelines. He was finally in control and decided to take things one step at a time.

He traveled east, away from the tree house, away from the Zanga Village, and away from everything that he knew on the plateau and all the people he cared about most.

Each day was a new adventure, a new lesson learned. He was surprised at how much he had actually learned from Roxton and Veronica about wood lore and hunting. He had many run-ins with apemen, headhunters, and raptors, but he managed to survive. Each struggle made him stronger, both physically and mentally. He learned to stop doubting his instincts, to start believing in his own abilities, and realized his opinion DID matter.

He kept traveling farther out into the plateau, to places that Veronica had never been to or even heard of. He took advantage of his surroundings and started mapping his journey. He knew this new knowledge would put a smile on Challenger's face.

But no matter where he was or what he was doing, Veronica was never far from his thoughts. He had left the tree house hoping that Veronica would find her way home, but he never gave up hope. With every new valley he charted, every new village visited, he kept looking for her and kept hope alive that one day they would be reunited, that one day they would finally be more than friends.

One day, he stopped at a seemingly peaceful village for supplies when something caught his eye. Hanging from one of the stalls in the market place was a picture of Veronica's mother. He went over and asked the vendor where he got it but the man quickly became defensive and started shouting, "It's mine, it's mine. The Protector gave it to me! You can't have it!"

Malone saw that the man was becoming highly upset and tried to calm him down. "Look sir, I don't want to take it from you, I just want to know where you got it. You see, this woman looks exactly like my friend's mother and she's been looking for her parents for over 10 years. If you know what happened to them…"

"Liar! Thief! You want to take it from me! Well, you can't have it! Guards! Guards! This man wants to steal the holy relic of the Protector!" Three guards with three large swords started to make their way over to Malone and he knew he was in trouble…

To Be Continued

A/N: Okay, I know it's a short first chapter, but I already have the second one written so I'll be updating with the next one soon. That is, if I get some reviews. :) Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you honestly thought, I'd appreciate it!