Everything seemed so peaceful. Even after losing another battle. The sun was setting, giving off a radiant orange-pink glow. The waves splashed gently against the shore of one of the many beaches on this island. In the jungle behind the beach, lilies had bloomed, and butterflies played vigorously around them. In the distance, a blue jay chirped its love song.

A tall blue man stood on the shore alone, watching the sunset. His armor was ripped to shreds, his lab coat, singed. He threw off his helmet and rustled his black, laid back hair. He discarded his armor and his lab coat. On this island, the weather was warm all year round. He had no fear of catching a cold. He looked around, searching for his weapon: a very large tuning fork. He found it sticking out of a nearby sand dune. After pulling it out, he smacked it on the ground twice. Unseen waves of sound rippled through the air to a satellite. Now, he just had to wait for his friends to find him.

As he sat down in the sand and watched the sunset, he let out a sigh and said, "If only I had someone to watch this with. Here, on this spot." He lied down, closing his eyes. "As if that would happen." He added sarcastically.

He took a minute to remember his time before he joined his friends in evildoing. He wasn't much different than he was now, but he was not feared, he was picked on for his "unhealthy" love of time. For his cold, blue skin. For his Asian appearance when he was clearly British. He thought much of changing his ways, and his appearance, but his love for time made that impossible. He was convinced that nothing could change that. He was convinced that he would never love anyone or anything more than time.

Suddenly, he felt a stinging in his eyes. Drops of warm water slid down his face.

"Wow…" he was shocked at himself. "I haven't cried in… God knows how long." He wiped his face. Though he knew no one was around to see him, the thought of him crying was embarrassing. But the next tears that flowed down his face, he didn't stop. Or the next, or the next… His face kept getting hotter as the minutes went by. He thought he was going to be sick.

Something soft and damp with cold water was then placed over his face. He jolted his body up, clearly startled. He removed the towel, and looked around. Sitting next to him was a teenage girl holding a wooden bowl with water in it.

Where did she come from? He thought. He hadn't even noticed her coming, which was alarming, for he had the best ears among his friends.

They just looked at each other in shock for what seemed like forever. He studied her appearance. She wore a skirt made of straw, and a tank top made of leaves. Her necklace, bracers, and ankle bracelets were made out of the canine teeth of some wild animal. Her short brunette hair came down a little bit past her shoulders. And her green eyes matched his. He decided that she was a castaway, taken in by the natives of the island.

He decided to introduce himself. "A pleasure to meet you, I am Dr. Nefarious Tropy." Like a gentleman, he took her hand and kissed the back of it. She giggled, face turning a little red.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Dr. Nefarious Tropy. My name is Mariana Torachelli." She bowed her head. An Italian!

"So… what are you here for? …On this island… this… beach… with me…" Nefarious was stumbling for words.

"Well, when I was a child, I had a shipwreck, and floated here where the natives took me in."

So, I was right… Nefarious thought.

"And… when I found you, I heard you ask for someone to watch the sunset with, so I came to watch it with you."

Nefarious decided to ask a dumb question. "Are you not frightened by my appearance?"

Mariana just looked at him and said, "No." Then, she added what she thought would be a dumb answer. "I think you're quite… I don't know… handsome?"

That did it. Nefarious hid his face, which had perhaps turned beet red. He had never been called anything but "tall blue freak" in all his life. This was turning out to be a good evening for him. He looked at her again. She was smiling.

Mariana pointed in the direction of the sunset. It was almost done sinking below the horizon. It cast out its last rays of light like a dying fire, and all went dark. She gasped and stood up abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Nefarious stood up, too.

"I was to be back at my village before the moon turns from red to white. I'll never make it now…" She turned to begin running, but Nefarious grabbed her hand.

"I'll take you. Just give me directions." Before she had time to accept or decline, he gently scooped her up in his arms and ran through the jungle. He jumped over rocks, between trees, over holes and small streams, and leapt from branch to branch.

"Left…right…down the hill…left again… left… here!" At Mariana's final word, Nefarious skidded to a halt. He looked at the moon. It was still red. He set her down, still inside the cover of the jungle.

"Well, we're on time, I guess." He smiled, sweating, exhausted.

"Thank you, Dr. Tropy." She smiled back, but did not leave.

"What's wrong? Shouldn't you be going in now?"

"Well…I…this may be the last time we see each other…right?" Her voice trailed off. She looked down.

Nefarious scratched his head and thought about that one. On his next mission to the island, he could always come see her, but if she knew he was evil, it wouldn't make such a good impression.

So, he decided to lie. "Yes, I'm afraid so…" He gently lifted her chin. "Or… perhaps we'll see each other again in the future." He had instantly become a bad liar. What is wrong with me? He thought.

"Well… until then," she smiled at him. Then, she ever so gently pressed her lips against his cheek. "Thank you."