ultima-owner - Indeed

texancoconut51 - This one's a bit longer than usual :P Thanks.

Lumoa - Well, after over a month... here it is! Thank you

emma2679 - One hyperactive friend you have there. :P Or was it your sister... I forgot. D: Thank you very much for the review. :D

bomrocks23 - Uhhh... I'm saving your life... a month too late! Better than never, right?

KIRAisJUSTICE13 - Welcome to my fanfic! :D Thank you, that means a lot. Please make your reviews essay length if you want! I love your type of reviews much more than the 'Great update!' type... So please, keep that length :P. I'm glad you like my characters.

animalcrossinglover - Don't worry, series won't end anytime soon... When Christmas comes, I'm going to get more dedicated to this. This is my favourite fanfic, I just can't find time to write lately.

Animal Crossing - Hello, hello. Yes. I'll get to reviewing it ASAP. Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad I inspired you.

BoboPatchia - Thanks =)

Xamem-The Heart of Oblivion - Sorry, got another one for you here. Yes, making clicheness good is a favourite of mine. xD Thanks very much. Chapter 29? *Looks* Ooooh, Not A Dream! That's my favourite too. Yeah, hopefully Mystery will be awesome, and Laura's going to hopefully change your mind... Poor girl got a very bad intro. Thank you for contributing to that amount of reviews! ^^

Fear

"Okay... everything seems fine with you now." Bobby confirmed, drawing back from Laura's bed and observing her with concern, "Though it's probably best if you stay over night... just to be sure." By now, Rosie and Nibbles had left the room, leaving me alone with Laura and Bobby. The dog turned from the bed, locking her medical equipment back in the cabinet that took up most of the far wall. "And when you do leave, I'll supply you with painkillers..." She paused a bit, looking back to the girl, "You ever taken painkillers before?"

"Of course I have..." Laura frowned, gazing into the muscular dog's fierce eyes, still rather afraid of her, "Quite a lot of times, actually... And do I really have to stay overnight? I want to go."

"And where will you go?" Bobby responded with a quizzical frown, "As far as I'm aware, you have no house or Bells. You'll have to speak to Nook, but that will have to wait for tomorrow." Laura seemed startled by this realisation, before she nodded. Bobby continued to say, "Besides. I think some time alone will do you good, and will give the other residents here some time to calm down. Your arrival has created a lot of complications, and... maybe even someo-"

"I know." Laura cut her off quickly, turning her head to face the wall, the guilt obvious in her voice, "I probably killed that turtle thing... I get it, and I'm sorry. I stuffed things up... majorly." Before she or Bobby could say anything else, the door swung open and an angry, old-looking tortoise marched in, glaring around before spotting Laura.

"You!" Tortimer snapped, storming past Bobby and I to prod Laura sharply in the head with his cane. The girl cried out in pain, and Bobby immediately stepped forward to snatch the cane out of the mayor's hands, almost causing the tortoise to fall backwards. The girl whimpered as Tortimer continued, "What have you done to this town? Don't you think I have enough to deal with? Eh? Not going to speak? See... I just got elected mayor for the twentieth year, running... each election is a very stressful time, you know!"

"...Because you're the only candidate." Bobby murmured under her breath, but the mayor didn't seem to hear on top of his rambling.

"-I just managed to save up enough money to buy Nook a new store," Tortimer continued, and Bobby sighed, "When you arrive! And now I need to pay to hire some professionals to come and catch those bugs, I need to replace the stand that was broken in the museum, I need to pay for a professional rescue team... And I really wanted a new office chair! But no! You had to-"

"Tortimer!" Bobby suddenly barked, causing the tortoise to flinch and turn to face her, "Shut up, and stop harassing my patient."

"W-What?" Tortimer gaped, standing frozen for a few seconds, before continuing, "You're defending this criminal? Well, whatever... you have duties, I suppose. But when she's recovered and out of your care, I want her out of my town. Immediately!"

"Mayor Tortimer, that's not-"

"I don't care!" Tortimer snapped in interruption, snatching his cane back from the nurse's hands, "Get her out of my town, and that is an order."

"Wait..." I suddenly spoke, and all three pairs of eyes turned to face me.

"Oh! Louis!" Tortimer suddenly exclaimed brightly, hurrying over to shake my hand vigorously, "Good to see you again. You deserve a medal for your bravery, eh? Hmm... let me think..." The tortoise began to pace, murmuring inaudible words to himself in his thinking. A small frown reached my face, and Bobby simply cursed under her breath and leant back against the cabinet. Laura only watched with confusion. "Eh, whatever... I'll sort it out later. How can I help you, dear boy?"

"...Um..." I hesitated, before saying, "Why not... instead of kicking her out of town, have her do service to the town? She has no idea where she even is, you can't kick her out... she'd get lost straight away. Have her work somewhere, or even... have her replace the bugs in the museum or something. That'll save you money, as well. And also, if you kick her out, you'll have to pay more money so she can at least find a life somewhere else. If you're worried about expenses, this is the best solution." Laura stared at me, wide-eyed, and I could see the gratitude in her expression.

Tortimer turned away from me, gazing out the window, again deep in thought, "Hmm... a wise idea, boy. Yes! That's settled. You are... to assist Chef Topas in the kitchen of the Pierview Restaurant, and you are also to catch as many bugs for the museum as possible. Do you understand, girl?" He turned from the window, now glaring at the girl on the bed. She nodded timidly, and Tortimer gave a firm nod, "Very well. It's settled. Louis, dear boy, will you go and tell Topas of this new arrangement please?"

"...Topas is assisting Josh and the others on the rescue mission, Mayor." Bobby cut in.

"Hm... right, of course." Tortimer gave an appreciative nod to the dog, before looking back to me, "In that case, please tell Miss Soap. I doubt she'll like the arrangement, but just tell her that it's on mayor's orders."

"...Alright." I agreed with a sigh, before pushing myself from the wall and heading for the door. I offered Laura a small smile, before leaving the room. I headed to the south-east of town, passing through several bunches of trees and crossing the river, before the pier came into view. I crossed the sandy beach, before my feet touched wood and I found myself at the entrance to the restaurant. I pushed the door open, looking around at the fancy interior. I hadn't visited the restaurant since my first day, but nothing had changed inside. The sound of a door opening sounded, and the familiar ostrich that was Soap skidded over... on a bar of soap.

"Ah. You. What do you want?" The ostrich chirped sharply, sounding as bored and rude as usual.

"...You're not going to like it, just as a warning." I murmured, before shrugging slightly and explaining the situation.

"What the heck was that?" Josh demanded as he and Jenny hurried over to the pile of rocks. Those at the top of the pile had quickly retreated to the bottom as soon as the rumbling had started. A massive cloud of dust now filled up the gap, causing a few animals to cover their mouths. The rumbling had stopped now, and an eerie silence had filled the inside of the cave.

"Gah, well this just makes things perfect." Topas spat, before turning to Pete and Josh, "Kabuki and Goldie are in there. We have to go in there now. You, Pete, that Mystery kid and me. All in there, now." Josh paled a bit, gazing up at the pile of rocks. Pete immediately gave a nod, flapping his tired wings up to the top of the hill, ready to help the other three up should they need it. Topas stared at Josh a bit longer as the boy continued to stare up at the pile, before saying, "Get a move on. We need ya." The octopus then began to climb the rocks, not quite as swiftly as Pete managed.

"What's this?" Josh didn't even turn as Mystery's voice entered his ears, "Is the magnificent Josh afraid of a dark cave?"

"Mystery! Josh!" Pete called as he helped Topas reach the top of the cave, "Get up here, now! You're wasting time."

"You heard 'em, boss." Mystery said smugly, clapping Josh roughly on the shoulders, causing the boy to turn his paled face to look at him, "Wow, don't look like you've seen a ghost... just a cave." Josh simply sighed, taking one step closer to the looming pile of rocks, "Oho, you are afraid! What a classic moment... Josh, the one who's practically in charge of this town, leading this entire search... I was wondering why you stayed so far away from the pile! You're scared of a cav-"

"Uuuuuuuuughhhhhhhh..."

"...What the...?" Mystery broke off his speech to turn to face the cave, eyes widening a bit. Topas and Pete turned uncertainly to stare into the dark mouth that was their entrance. Josh simply stared blankly, retreating the same step he had just advanced. The others on the ground shared a similar reaction.

"AHHHH!"

"J-Josh... what was that?" Jenny asked in a whisper, approaching her best friend. "That... that was a scream..."

"Ah, for heaven's sake!" Topas suddenly snapped, "Forget you two. Come on, Pete!" The octopus lowered himself through the gap, making his way down into the cave. Pete stared uncertainly back at the daylight, before hurriedly following.

"Uuuuuuuuughhhhhhhh..."

And thus... five animals were inside the cavern...