Elizabeth, Will, Hayley, and Phoenix walk out on deck. Jack was staring at some boy who looked about Hayley, Phoenix, and Annabelle's age. He looked really confused. Will walked up to him.

"Welcome aboard. I'm Will. You are?"

"I'm Jay."

Phoenix walks up to Jay and asks, "Would you by any chance happen to be a sorcerer?"

Hayley looks at Phoenix as if to say, You can't just go around asking people if they are sorcerers!

Jay backs away. "Why…?"

"Because we really really need one we can trust."

"What do you need?"

"So you are a sorcerer?"

"Yes."

"Follow me."

Phoenix leads Jay into Will's room.

"This is Annabelle."

"What happened?"

"Long story short, there were evil sorcerers, one who needed to be brought back to health,"

Jay's eyes darted to the red 'x' on Annabelle's hand.

Phoenix finished his story and looked up at Jay.

"So, can you help?"

Jay nodded.

He touched his hand to Annabelle's, and in a matter of seconds, Annabelle sat straight up and gasped for air. Phoenix smiled and ran out onto the deck.

"Guys- you have to come see this."

Everyone rushed into Will's room.

"Annabelle!" Elizabeth shouted. She ran over to Annabelle and pulled her into a hug. When they pull apart, Will smiles at Annabelle. She smiles back, and looks at Jay.

"Who are you?" Annabelle asks.

"I'm Jay."

"The person who saved your life." Hayley added.

Annabelle looked to Jay. "Thanks." She said.

"It's fine. Don't-" Jay stopped and stared at the wooden wall of the ship.

"What is it?" Will asked him, a look of curiosity spreading across his face.

"I-" Jay paused. "I have to leave."

Jay pushed past everyone in the room and burst through the door onto the deck of the ship. He waved his right hand and a navy blue hooded cape appeared in his hand out of thin air. He pulled it around his neck and threw the hood over his head.

"What's going on?!" Jack asked as he burst out onto the deck, followed by everyone else. Jay flashed a look at the group.

"I have a weird feeling. It's evil sorcery. I have to go."

Taking a last look at the group, Jay leaped into the water and disappeared. Annabelle ran to the side of the ship.

"There was no splash! Where did he go?" She asked.

Hayley shrugs, "I haven't a clue."

All of a sudden, Jay appears from the water. He's floating upward. Then, Adam appears out of the water. His hand seems to be moving slightly upward and is clutching something. Adam then thrusts his hand outward and Jay falls out of the sky. He collapses on the ship's deck, lifeless as a rag doll. Hayley winces, then stomps her foot on the floorboards. She looks up at Adam and grits her teeth.

"You..."

Adam smiles,

"Me."

Hayley tenses up and growls,

"I can't believe I thought that you were a nice person. Why did you change? You used to be the sweetest. Now, you've become... this. Why?"

Adam laughs, "You see, Hayley? I learned a very long time ago that being nice gets you killed. That happened to my parents... They were too nice and they got taken away from me. After that, I learned that you can't trust anyone. Then, I found you and your 'crew'. You were naive and lovestruck, so I just decided I would be your little 'crush'. You were a part of my game. Without you, I possibly would've never ever been successful in this game. After all of you thought I was dead, I started spying on your crew. Then, there was that one moment when Phoenix... poor poor Phoenix... he explained that I never actually loved you and you didn't believe him. Thank goodness you didn't. If you did, I probably would've been shut down. I hope that you realize that... No one will ever love you. You are unlovable. You think Phoenix actually loves you? You can never be loved. If you just give up..."

Adam throws a pistol at the ground. He smiles cruelly,

"One bullet."

Hayley goes down to her knees. She stares at the pistol, as if considering the bullet. Just end it all here. I'm never going to be happy. Just one bullet. That's all it takes. She picks up the pistol and looks at it for several minutes. Adam impatiently sighs.

"Well?"

Hayley puts the gun to her head and closes her eyes. Phoenix screams,

"HAYLEY!"

Phoenix blinks and hears a gunshot. Phoenix falls down on his knees and starts weeping softly. Then, he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry."

Phoenix screams, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He feels a hand on his and the person tries to pull him up. Then, he opens his eyes and sees Hayley smiling back at him.

"Hi, Phoenix."

Phoenix embraces Hayley and says, "Don't ever do that again."

Hayley shakes her head, "I won't."

Phoenix lets go of Hayley and Hayley screams, "COME ON EVERYONE! HE'S ONLY TEMPORARILY STUNNED! WE HAVE TO MOVE!"

Annabelle runs across the deck and embraces Hayley. She lets go after a couple of seconds.

"So, what did I miss while I was... you know?"

Hayley flashes a mischievous smile.

"Well, Annabelle-"

Phoenix ran up to Annabelle, his face was a dark shade of red.

"ANNABELLE. That doesn't matter! Let's just... be happy that you're okay! Umm..."

Phoenix backs away and his voice raises.

"We have to go now!"

Will, Elizabeth, and Jack finally start manning the ship. Phoenix runs to the guest room. Annabelle raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hayley... what was that about?"

Hayley smiled mischievously again.

"Oh, nothing."

Hayley skips away. Annabelle shrugs. I guess I'll ask someone else. Annabelle runs up to Jack and asks,

"So, what happened while I was gone, Jack?"

Jack turns around, "First of all, there should be a 'Captain' in there. Secondly, you expect me to just store everything in my memory? I suggest you ask someone else."

Annabelle groans and walks to Will.

"Dad, what happened while I was gone?"

"I don't know. I was mainly focused on you the entire time."

Annabelle groans and walks away. She walks to Elizabeth.

"Mum! What happened while I was gone?!"
Elizabeth winces. "I don't think your brother wants me telling you, love."

"So, it has something to do with Phoenix."

"Yes. I mean no! I MEAN, ask your brother!"

Annabelle throws her arms in the air and stomps to the guest room. She throws open the door and sees Phoenix sitting by himself, staring off into space. Annabelle slaps him across the face and Phoenix yelps.

"Annabelle! What in the bloody world was that for?!"

"What bloody secrets are you keeping from me?"

"I don't have any secrets!"

"Liar! You're a secret-keeper and a liar!"

"FINE! I'll tell you anything! What do you want to know?!"

"WHAT BLOODY SECRET ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?!"

All of a sudden, a wistful voice speaks.

"Oh, the fighting..."

They turn to see Hayley in the doorway. Her eyes are closed. Phoenix walks up to Hayley and asks,

"Hayley? Are you okay?"

Phoenix puts his hand on her shoulder. Hayley's eyes open and her irises have changed from a warm, bright hazel to a blood-looking red. Hayley monotonically says,

"Don't touch me."

Phoenix looks into Hayley's eyes and says, "Hayley..."

Hayley screams wildly, "I SAID GET OFF!"

As if threw by an invisible force, Phoenix gets thrown against the wall. He collapses to the floor. Annabelle winces and looks at Hayley.

"Hayley, what have you done?!"

All of a sudden, Hayley collapses to the floor and a misty figure walks from behind her. Annabelle growls.

"Adam."

Adam smiles cruelly. Annabelle stomps her foot.

"What have you done with Hayley?!"

Adam laughs. "Oh, don't worry, Annabelle. I promise to make her death slow and painful."

"Answer my question, you fool!"

"You know what, Annabelle ? You have been so kind to me over the years, I will answer not only one, but both of your questions."

Annabelle looks at Adam in confusion, but he pays no attention and continues.

"You see, Hayley has become my... puppet. She will do whatever I say, say what I say, and feel whatever I feel. Everyday that I do this, a small part of her soul gets destroyed. You have exactly one week to get her back before she becomes mine."

Adam reaches into his pocket and pulls out a jar. He throws it to Annabelle and Annabelle looks inside. She sees a greenish tint swirling around slowly.

"What is this?"

"That is Hayley."

Annabelle frowns and puts the jar down. Adam smiles cruelly. Annabelle asks, "So, what's my second question?"

Adam made his hands into a rectangle and expands them. A hologram appears and it shows an image of Phoenix and Hayley kissing. Adam smiles.

"You're welcome."

Annabelle kicks the image and it shatters like glass.

"NO. That isn't possible. You're bluffing."

Adam smiles and shrugs, "You're right. I'm bluffing."

Annabelle lets out a sigh of relief. Then, she backs up to a table. She puts her hands on a dagger behind her. Annabelle starts walking back toward Adam. Adam starts staring at Hayley. He sighs.

"There may have been a point in my life where I would've wanted Hayley to notice the fact I fancied her... She noticed when I went too far into the void of destruction. When I no longer cared for a partner."

Annabelle frowns, "Well, you know what would've helped?"

"What?"

Annabelle takes the dagger and throws it at Adam. He gasps. Then, Adam turns around and Annabelle sees another dagger through his back. Adam falls dead. Annabelle looks beyond him and sees Jay.

"Oh, umm..."

For what seemed to be a second, Jay blushed. Then, his expression grew slightly happy. He waves to Annabelle, then rushes away. Annabelle blushes slightly. That was weird... and fun... Annabelle smiles to herself.


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