Guys… I know I keep delaying posting, and I'm really sorry. I'm flying to Texas tomorrow, and I've just been really busy with packers and whatnot. I'm trying to write this chapter quickly so I can post it today, so you don't have to wait who knows how long. I would write on the plane, but I can't write in such as cramped space (plus my family would probably be nosy at some point, and I get embarrassed when people watch me.) I know it'll take me a while to write after this, and I apologize in advance. Thanks for understanding :D

A second note: I've been calling Celia "Cecelia." I. Am. An. Idiot. Hahaha, I know, it's not the worst possible thing, but still. Sorry.

Chapter 25: Homebound

"Chelsea, I'll soon be leaving to go speak with the harvest sprites," Gustafa said suddenly.

"What? You can see the harvest sprites?" Chelsea inquired. Was he a farmer?

"Of course I can. And you can too. And I know what you're thinking. No, I am not a farmer nor a rancher. It's part of my gift.

"Oh," Chelsea said. "You better go soon."

"I will, but first let's wait a moment." Gustafa knew that soon, his presence would be needed at that very spot. They would soon be joined by the others.

X~*&*~X

"What just happened?" someone exclaimed; Denny wasn't sure who.

"That was the Witch Princess," Denny answered. "She's a maniac witch who enjoys making other people suffer… And Nami is her daughter." At this, the villagers gasped. Denny tried explaining what he knew about the witch's past, but he was still a bit in shock himself.

"What is she to you, huh?" Rock asked angrily. He knelt back down beside Griffin. He clutched Muffy's corpse, tears staining his cheeks. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I…." Denny stumbled, unsure of what to say.

"What is your involvement?" Ruby asked softly. "That is what Rock is getting at. Do not take it personally."

"Hm… Well… It started a couple weeks before I came here. Actually, I came here because of what happened:" he proceeded to tell them the story of what happened to Chelsea.

"Hmph! Yeah right! Who do you expect to believe such bogus?" Rock said.

"I do." Celia stepped forward from behind Jack. "I believe you," she said, looking straight into Denny's eyes.

"Cel…?" Jack looked at her questionably. He didn't doubt Denny, but it was Celia's boldness that puzzled him. Celia was timid, more reserved than anyone else in the valley. Her sudden forwardness for a story so foreign took Jack off guard.

"And I want to help." Celia ignored Jack. Rather, she kept looking right at Denny.

"Celia, that's not necessary," Denny said, "I do appreciate it, but –"

Jack cut him off, "That's crazy talk, Cel! You really wanna help this guy?"

Celia turned to look at him with serious look. "It's not crazy, it's –"

"It is rather outrageous, dear," Ruby interrupted.

"How?" Celia sounded choked up, and tears burned her eyes. She stepped towards the center of the room and looked around, making eye contact with every single person. "How is it so out'ageous? We just saw that very witch! She took Nami right in front 'o us! Y'all saw it too, no? I ain't just helping Denny and his Chelsea, I'm trying ta help Nami, too!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and her voice got progressively louder. "And Muffy – God have mercy on her soul! We watched her kill Muffy! How can we sit back and let her walk free? How? HOW?"

As soon as Celia mentioned Muffy, Rock straightened. "She's right." Everyone's heads snapped away from Celia to look at him. "She's right," he repeated, standing. "I'll help to avenge Muffy… And whatever comes with it."

At this, the other villagers piped in, voicing their opinions. Denny informed them that they'd have to go to Sunny Island, which led to the debate of who would go and help. Eventually, it was decided: Denny would return to the island with Rock, Jack, Celia, and Chelsea (who was selected by default.) Griffin wanted to go, but had couldn't due to his old age and need to maintain the Blue Bar.

X~*&*~X

The group set out to find Chelsea and found her talking to Gustafa. Chelsea quickly recapped their conversation. "In other words, I will be accompanying you to find Nami's mother."

"Oh…" Denny frowned and told them what had happened back at the Blue Bar.

"What?" Chelsea gasped. "Muffy's dead? Who's Muffy…?" At this, Rock growled, clearly upset. "And Nami's been kidnapped? What?" Chelsea paused. "And why is no one shocked to see a mermaid in front of them?"

The group discussed everything, and the whole story was eventually straightened out. Rock, Celia, and Jack went to their respective homes and packed suitcases. Denny knelt beside Chelsea and kissed her as hard as he could. "I'll be right back…" He was reluctant to leave, but he needed to grab his belongings.

Denny hurried to The Inn, where a worried Ruby gave him a sad smile. Denny thundered his way to his room and swung the door open with unnecessary force. He quickly threw everything in his suitcase, which thankfully, hadn't really been unpacked in the first place. He'd spent too much time without Chelsea, and he wasn't wasting a second now that she was here.

He ran back to the beach, and didn't give a warning before throwing his trunk down, causing a puff of sand to blow upwards, and jumping into the sea beside Chelsea. His arms were around her in an instant, and he didn't care that salt went up his nose.

Lucky for him, Gustafa had left moments prior to speak with the harvest sprites. The two kissed passionately, making up for the time they had lost. When the sun fell and the moon rose, Denny clambered out of the water onto the sand. The sand clung to his skin, creating a blanket. Chelsea went as close as she could go while still being submerged in the water. Denny rested his head on her stomach and she wrapped her hands over his head, lacing her fingers through his hair. The couple fell asleep like that and didn't awake until morning, when Rock let out a girlish scream of disgust and Celia cooed that they looked adorable.

X~*&*~X

Denny looked over the side of the ferry, his eyes trying to stay focused on the red tail that slipped between the water: in and out of his line of vision. 'Chelsea's learned to swim really fast…" he thought to himself.

The group had gotten on the first ferry that day and Chelsea swam alongside them. Chelsea was given a waterproof walkie-talkie like device so she could communicate with them that Gustafa designed. The group discussed a plan: they decided to round up the islanders and hunt down the witch.

"You know Lanna, don't you, Rock?" Denny asked, remembering what Muffy had told him about their past love triangle. Chelsea was surprised, but waited for the answer.

Rock hesitated, "….Yes…"

"Lanna? I remember her! Yes, I haven't heard from her in ages!" Celia chirped.

"Who's Lanna?" Jack asked.

"Oh, that's right! You moved to the valley only a few years ago! I forgot since it feels like I've known you forever!" Celia proceeded to tell Jack about how they were childhood friends and how Lanna and Muffy used to be as close as sisters. She started losing momentum as she came to the part about the love complications between Muffy, Lanna, and Rock. She was almost there when Rock stopped her.

"Enough." Rock was oddly cold. "You've said enough. Thank you, Celia." All eyes were on him.

"What happened?" Chelsea asked, wondering what odd connection Rock had with her. It was obvious that something had happened, thus his reluctance to speak about her.

"I…chose her….over my dear Muffy." His head fell and blonde hair covered his face. "I hurt Muffy… She'd loved me the whole time, and I had no idea… She only recently told me…" Celia started to reach across the table when Rock suddenly slammed his fist against the table, shaking the whole thing. "I was such an idiot!" He yelled as he did the action. His eyes were dark, pained.

"Relax…" Gustafa hummed softly. "There is nothing you can do now… Just relax…" There was a moment of silence, but everyone knew it could not last.

"We'll have to speak with Lanna at some point," said Denny, though he was sorry for it. "We don't have to right away, since the other islanders will be more than glad to help Chelsea. Lanna… Well… she might want to avenge Muffy, too."

"What?" Rock glared at him. "Why? She betrayed her so long ago, why should she care now?"

"I understand, but –"

"Understand? You can never understand!" Rock yelled.

"Rock, please, calm down," Celia reached out to comfort him. Rock didn't think… His arm swung back and slapped her right across the face.

Jack didn't hesitate in punching Rock square in the face, making his nose bleed. Rock gasped and clutched his nose. He was about to fight back when Denny grabbed both his arms. "Don't," Denny said into his ear. "Calm."

Gustafa placed his hand on Jack's shoulder, nodding once. Jack understood that Gustafa was telling him to calm down as well. He breathed heavily for a moment before smiling and nodding back. Celia hugged Jack tightly, afraid of this new side of Rock. Jack soothed her wordlessly, still unsure of what to say. Denny still held Rock back, despite the blonde's struggles. Eventually, Rock gave up and stopped moving. The fisherman released him.

Rock slouched back down into his chair. He cupped his face in his hands and started to sob. "I wasted so much time… So much time…" No one knew what to do.

X~*&*~X

The ferry pulled into the dock of Sunny Island just behind a bigger ferry that was pulling away. The passengers walked off. Denny was nervous, but not as nervous as Rock was to see Lanna. He still had buried feelings for her, and he was furious at himself for it. He wouldn't tell anyone, he promised.

There was a gasp. Mirabelle came running in a waddling manner towards them. Julia saw what her mother had seen and came following; she quickly passed the older woman and hugged Denny excitedly. She was about to ask where he'd been and who these people were, but Mirabelle caught up and wrapped her arms around him, too.

In the background, Denny saw Vaughn and knew instantly that he had just arrived on the big ferry, and that was why Mirabelle and Julia were at the beach. He was relieved because he knew Vaughn was strong and could be of use to their cause - if he was willing to help. And that was a big "if."

"Denny, who are these people?" Julia asked.

"Oh, this is Rock, Jack, Celia, and Gustafa," he motioned in order. He quickly explained everything and was glad she already knew Chelsea was a mermaid.

"Does that mean Cheals is back?" Julia asked excitedly.

"Yes, and we need your help. Are you willing?"

"Absolutely!" Julia proclaimed. She took off towards the edge of the shore and called to Chelsea. "Where are you, Hun?"

"Right here, girl," Chelsea said with a smile, popping out from the waves. Julia was a bit taken aback by her change in physical features, mainly the teeth. But Julia shook it off, knowing it was none other than her best friend. The two hugged, happy to see each other.

"What's this about a witch?" Vaughn's voice surprised everyone, especially Denny. "I know what I heard, and I'm not asking you to repeat it. But do y'all need help?"

"Why are you interested? You don't really care, do you?" Denny frowned.

"I don't," the cowboy said flatly, "but I wouldn't mind having a little adventure. Besides, if it's to get Chelsea back on the farm, I'd be more than glad to help. Mark's incompetent and gets on my nerves."

"Thanks, Vaughn!" Chelsea grinned. "We'd love to have you!"

Vaughn tilted his hat. "Don't mention it."

"But don't call Mark useless again – he's more help than you know!" Chelsea added.

Vaughn frowned. "Whatever you say, fish girl."

Denny frowned and was about to say something, but Vaughn already turned around and walked away. "Hey!" Denny called out, not pleased.

Vaughn turned around. "Relax fish boy. I'm just messin'." With that, Vaughn resumed walking away. Denny was left with his mouth hanging open. Vaughn was kidding with them?

It seemed too good to be true. But after recent events, anything was possible.

Okay guys… My mom's making me start packing my suitcase now… Darn. I guess it's been enough. Next chapter will be from Texas! Sqeal~ Not really… But I am pretty excited to go to my home state! And I was going to feature more characters from Sunny Island, but I wrote too much about leading up to their home journey. (Pretty ironic, isn't it?) And yeah, Vaughn is being nice. I think he likes Chelsea a bit. Of course, I'm not sure. I have no idea what goes on in these guys' minds… I only control the main outline, but everything in finer detail is theirs to decide… Anyways: review please!