ONESHOT: A Horse With No Name

Lana's hearing aids screeched in her ears as she adjusted them, Minerva and Leilani stopping to wait for her while she steadied her backpack. She and Minnie had both insisted on taking ones for the trip despite their tiny sizes…or, more accurately, her tiny size-Minnie was twice that and almost up to her uncle Kixx's upper set of arms. She carried a regular child-sized pack, while Witch had to generate a custom one for Lana, and it was this one that held the majority of the two's things for the trip; flashlights, a lantern, some dried fish, pens, and a small notebook.

Phones-not that they could use any to begin with-were relegated strictly to their parents and older siblings; all they had was a few pocket-sized copies of the Time Quintet and Minerva's Switch-all of which were held in Heat's pack. Not that they minded right now-as the place they were headed to wasn't one they usually got to see.

Lana's eyes opened back up to the sight of Leilani offering her a gentle smile while Minerva squinted at the ground, jamming a toe into a tiny crack with a weed growing out of it. Upon glancing at Lana, she straightened back up and grinned, "Ready?"

Lana nodded, "Yeah. How far away from there are we?"

Leilani cast a glance towards the trail cutting through the forest, "About a quarter of a mile; why do you ask?"

"I kinda wanna take 'em out when we get there." Lana explained, falling into stride alongside her cousins, "I don't think I need them if we're going here-we're surrounded by nature, so…"

"Weeeeellll…what about any interesting bird calls? You might miss out." Leilani asked, but Lana shook her head, "I kinda just don't want to deal with them Lei, sorry."

"Aw. That's alright; you and Hiro both really-he's only wearing his brace until he gets to the clearing, same as you." The gazelle-like experiment said, waiting for her younger sister and cousin as they helped each other over a fallen log, "'S probably going to feel nice to take it off for the night."

Lana nodded, "Yep-plus we're going somewhere pretty neat, so I wanna enjoy it as much as I can."

"Aw yeah-isn't it only our fourth time coming here?" Minerva asked, "We should do this more often-Mimosa'll be happy."

At the mention of the Sproutling, Lana's face lit up, "Oh yeah! We haven't seen her since she was planted here. It's gonna be cool to see how much she's grown."

"Ah-almost forgot she was here now," Leilani said, her upper set of ears quivering as they approached the edge of the clearing, "She does well in shade, so I'm not sure how much of her we'll be able to see until the sun goes down."

Their arrival into the clearing was met with the sight of their waiting families, Leilani quickly put up a hand to both greet and calm her and Minerva's fathers, "Hearing adjustment-we stayed with her while she worked it out!"

"Alright, just…thanks Lei." Heat's worried glance didn't go unnoticed by Leilani, who returned it before taking her younger sister and cousin by the hands to lead them over. Thankfully, Lana and Minerva didn't seem to have noticed, judging by their glares at her as she led them toward the campsite.

She knew as well as everyone old enough that the current state of the clearing was far removed from what it'd originally been. In the distant past, there'd been more trees. More undergrowth. A river had cut right through the center, pooling and rippling around smooth, sun-drenched boulders strewn throughout. All of it had once stemmed from a small but powerful waterfall, one that had created a deep pool at its base from which the river bloomed. Leilani had been told it'd ended in a tiny delta before running into a cove littered with a mixture of river rocks and shells.

But that had been the old clearing; the one that, over thirty years ago, had held a ship, and with it, her father, her uncles, and her aunts. This new one was wider, young trees sprouting up from the tiny valley where she'd been told the ship had once stood. These were edible forests made by the 5-series, tended to by Mulch and Backhoe and visited by Yin and Yang for maintenance. Instead of a river, near-daily rainfall was brought by Cloudy and Eva. The old pool had been restored, but the waterfall was still a mere trickle. Instead of dirt, low-growing plants, twigs, and underbrush coated the ground. It was dry, almost unnaturally so in comparison to the surrounding wilderness, but Leilani understood why it was.

The air was dry here. The temperature always above average. Despite the birdcalls from deeper within the forest, animal life was scarce in comparison to plant. Fish were the only constant, stocked by older experiments and bred by younger ones as part of yearly school projects. Leilani could see Joules looking over her fishing gear and nets from the corner of her eye, evidently deciding which ones would work if they were going to have extra meat for the night.

There was no post, so the forest sufficed in its place. Its only permanent resident was the aforementioned Mimosa.

As usual, Mimosa wasn't visible. Probably asleep-she was good at coiling herself up so she wouldn't be seen and would have some protection against the sun. Nevertheless, Leilani still caught a glimpse of a blue and green vine pressed up against a tree.

She was about. Quite literally.

"Go off and play, okay?" She asked Minerva and Lana, nodding towards the pool, "We'll get set up and then call you back, alright?"

The two perked up and nodded, "'Kay-thanks Leilani!"

They probably shouldn't have tried to, but they did; Lana and Minerva's first plan of action was to try and find their fellow new experiment, searching for a hint of her roots and spare vines as they wandered around the clearing. They were careful in how they did so-delicately removing and replacing rocks and the odd stick as they brushed aside the undergrowth, but they weren't having any luck so far.

But it wasn't as though they weren't finding anything; occasionally, a sprout would turn up, tiny leaves glistening green in the sunlight. The odd flower-a tiny spurt of pastel against the earth, swayed in the breezes Minerva created as she stepped around them. The two must have turned over and replaced nearly twenty rocks before giving up, deciding to visit the tree-filled valley instead.

"Where do you think she actually is-like, her main body?" Lana asked. Minerva shrugged, "I dunno-she was pretty small when Auntie Lilo planted her, so who knows by now."

"She does dislike the sun though, so she might be at the edge of the clearing or something." She mused, and Lana nodded, "Right; Ani wanted to name her Carmilla before Lilo stepped in. She is kinda like a vampire for that."

"Kind of. Kind of sparkles in the sun like one-"

"Not those! The old ones!" Lana exclaimed, grinning at Minerva's reference and causing both of them to giggle at the idea, "I wonder how she's been doing since she was planted here." Her cousin said, carefully picking a honeysuckle off the lower-hanging branches of its tree, "She's pretty shy, but still-she's all alone here save for when Aunt Eva and Uncle Cloudy come around."

"It's weird she asked for this place, yeah." Lana said. She spied a mango hanging from one of the older trees and went to climb towards it, but was stopped by her cousin's stretched-out arm cleanly plucking and handing it down to her. "Thanks Min!"

Minerva smiled, "No problem Lana; lemme know if you see anythin' else."

"Will do!" Lana said, Minerva tucking the fruit under her upper arm as the two continued down the path. They'd almost reached the end when Minerva's eyes caught sight of a vine-a bright blue and green one coiled up against the shade of a papaya tree.

It was one of Mimosa's.

She nudged Lana and nodded towards the vine, and both cousins exchanged excited glances at finally having found the new experiment. They carefully stepped towards and then around the vine and followed it to the very edge of the clearing…and what appeared to be a pile of bejeweled vines shimmering in the spring shade.

Mimosa was alerted to their presence, uncurling her central head from the pile and blinking at them blearily. Minerva offered her a small wave, and the Sproutling unfurled her petals in greeting as she smiled at the newcomers. She-like her parent and siblings, couldn't speak; they all lacked the ability, so the most she could offer them was a quiet hiss, mouth agape in a grin as her central head bent down towards them.

Lana laughed, "Hey Mimi! It's great to see you again! How've you been?"

Mimosa trilled as she placed her head beside her two cousins, Minerva and Lana hugging it in turn. As they did so, they felt her shiver, her stems and vines vibrating slightly as she reacted to their touch. It was unconscious on Mimosa's part and the reason she got her name, but it didn't seem to bother her too much. She carefully gnawed on the top of Minerva's head, causing the shifting experiment to giggle and rub the heating elements scattered around her forehead, "Agh-that tickles!"

Mimosa's smile turned apologetic and she placed her chin on the top of her cousin's head. Minerva returned it and patted her vines in acknowledgment, "It's okay Mimi; I get it, they must look pretty good if you're goin' for 'em."

"Like Aunt Nani's alien eyeball dumplings?" Lana asked, causing both her cousins to raise their eyebrows in her direction, "What?"

Minerva snorted, "I still can't believe she made black ones. Dad asked if she was going to harvest 'em from his head when he first saw them."

"Ah right, that was funny!" Lana smiled as Mimosa carefully unfurled the rest of herself, revealing another, still-growing head from her central stem. She gave a cheerful hiss and peered in the direction of the camp, evidently trying to see the rest of their families' camp. When she failed, she let out an irritated huff before bending back down towards them and nodding.

"Do you see Lei coming or…?" Minerva asked, and Mimosa grunted a yes, her dark blue eyes reflecting their approaching older cousin. Minerva frowned and turned back to see Leilani making her way towards them, giving them an awkward wave as she approached. All three younger cousins let out annoyed sounds at her presence, but Leilani simply crossed her arms and shook her head, "Guys, come on. We finished setting up camp. You know the drill."

"You can come join us if you're able Mimosa-I get it if it's too uncomfortable though." She offered, and Mimosa grunted in thanks. She pointed a vine towards the interior of the forest as if to map out her route to the camp, and this brightened Lana and Minerva back up, "Oh cool-you're gonna just travel back around then?" Lana asked, and Mimosa nodded, "Awesome-we'll see you back at the camp then!"

Mimosa hissed and waved with a vine, her cousins returning it as the older led them back down the path towards their campsite.

The bird book he'd brought was filled with photos. Seabirds, the pueo, doves, raptors…it had it all. All neatly categorized and stacked on top of each other in glossy little boxes, the Latin names emblazoned underneath glowing like comets in deep space.

Right now, he was turned towards the latter half of the book's picture section, carefully balancing purple fingers between an image of an Anianiau, its brilliant yellow plumage making its surrounding green foliage look dull by comparison. Hiroki was on a mission to draw every bird in this guide, and he was proud of getting nearly three-quarters of the way through.

He was however, on a break; he'd left his colored pencils at the house so he could have one. The book served its actual purpose to him at the moment-a guide to finding local birds in the area, despite the presence of one Sproutling and a vastly changed environment.

A twinge from his knee caused him to glare at it in irritation, rustling the book as though it were a newspaper, "Piss off." He mouthed, narrowing his eyes at the bare fur coating what he knew was a weak cap and bone. He'd removed his brace for the night, making himself sedentary until dawn-but, as long as it wasn't going to bother him, he didn't care.

The thing was, it seemed like his knee wasn't going to cooperate with him.

"Is it acting up again?" Lucy's voice came from his left as she sat down beside him and opened a bag of chips, popping one into her mouth before offering him another-albeit with her gaze trained on the offending knee in a similar glare. He nodded as he took it, "Yeah; really hoped it would work out, but, eegh."

"Man." Lucy craned her neck as she sat up in her chair, "Is it in your bag? Or does Dad have it?"

"Bigger or smaller dad?"

"Bigger."

"Probably." Hiroki leaned back and closed his eyes to the clouds drifting across the sky, "It's so nice here, knee aside. Just wish the animals felt comfortable enough to come back."

"I'm sure they pass by from time to time." Lucy said, "I think they just got used to all the action here, so they'll be staying away for a while."

"Aw yeah; still though. 'S gettin' boring to just sit here and look through this thing. I can't exactly use it like I'm supposed to."

"Well hey. If all else fails, you still have Minnie and Lana's pens; I'm sure they'll let you borrow them if you ask." Lucy said as both siblings began to look through the guide together, "What about that one?"

"The Laysan Albatross?"

"Thought it was called the Laysan Disgrace."

"Yeah well. I prefer the other name."

She nodded, "It does sound weird to say about a bird that looks like it wears eyeliner."

"It does." Hiroki spied Kixx opening his bag from a ways off and held up a hand. He could only offer his father a sheepish shrug as his brace flew right out of the bag and into his hand-barely avoiding a stunned Kixx. He gave Hiroki a flat look before returning to the bag and continuing his search for the stove they'd shortly be using.

"...Oh you're gonna hear from him later." Lucy said, giving her brother a sly smirk, "You know how he feels about that after what you did with the pan last time."

"Okay, in my defense, he moved in the exact wrong direction for that thing." Hiroki said, snorting at the memory of the incident, "I've never seen someone walk into a frying pan in real life until then."

"And then he just, took it off his face and set it on the stove with that dead expression," Lucy snickered, "Yeah, that was-"

She suddenly froze, staring in the direction of the trees. Hiroki did as well, following her gaze toward the edge…and seeing a small yellow bird flitting between the branches of the undergrowth.

"What do you think that is?" Lucy whispered, both siblings leaning on each other as they stared at the bird's path. Hiroki squinted before answering, "...I think that's a Western Side Meadowlark."

"Are those rare?"

"Not really. They're still neat though; it's cool we're seein' one." Hiroki said, watching the lark inspect a branch further out of sight in the canopy. The two watched it disappear from view before more movement entered their field of vision.

"Oh-hey Mimosa." Lucy said, raising a hand in greeting to the Sproutling as her central head tentatively entered the clearing. She only smiled at them in greeting, trying not to disturb the bird they'd just seen before her entrance. Hiroki returned it before twisting back around in his seat, seeing Leilani escorting Minerva and Lana back to the camp. He squinted, seeing both had…handfuls of river rocks?

That was odd; those hadn't turned up in a long time. He'd assumed they'd all been buried with the terraforming done by the five series, but he supposed a few remained.

Blood still stained Joules' hands. She was irritated at that-she'd tried her best to scrub it all out in the clearing's pools and then her family's camp, but she could still see bright red seeping out from her damp fur as she tended to the fish simmering away in the pan.

Heat had insisted on starting her fire, which she was thankful for. At the moment, she was frying a combination of the fish she'd caught and cleaned, and some they'd packed for the trip. They were having surf-and-turf for the night, Kixx lugging along some ground beef to make into burger patties and Heat bringing the vegetables and carbs. Both had joined her aunt and uncle in cooking the beef and dealing with the bag of potatoes Heat had brought along, so she was left to her own devices when it came to her catch.

She was about to flip the fish over, taking and holding her spatula between her hands and narrowing her eyes at a spare clump of oil catching on her fur. The fish had browned well, and she was sure it was going to taste as good as it looked.

That was, until she felt an outstretched hand poke her side.

Joules started, "Agh-jeez! Minnie, what'd I tell you about surprising me? I've got boiling oil here."

"Sorry Joules." She could tell the danger didn't register to her little sister-not that it would, because Minerva was immune to fire and heat, quite like herself and their energy-based father. Lana however, took a step back and offered Joules a wave, holding up a river rock in her spare hand, "Hi Joules! We found Mimi-and we found these on the way back!"

Joules relaxed, smiling to her sister and cousin, "That's nice to hear; how's she doing? I'm sure she's a lot bigger than she was when Lilo planted her."

Minerva nodded in confirmation, "She's huge! She's growing another head too."

"Is it conscious yet?"

"Not yet, but it looks neat!" Lana said, pulling up a small stool as her and Minerva sat on another, both deigning to be Joules' audience for the night. "Anyways-we found these river rocks; you think they came from the waterfall?"

Joules shrugged, gently prodding the fish filets with her spatula, "They might've. They're definitely small enough to have fallen from there. But, there's plenty buried around here too. Did you dig for them?"

"Kinda. They were half-buried. We dug 'em up a bit away from the pool."

"Ah."

She wasn't going to let them see it, but a knot grew in Joules' stomach at the idea. It wasn't that the rocks were necessarily a bad thing, but she knew that to Heat and Angel, they'd…likely be unpleasant reminders of the past. They'd come from the old, dried up riverbed that was now buried under a layer of volcanic soil brought in by Richter, Yin and Yang, and Woody, and they were everywhere under the surface.

Another rock-this one a pale orange, entered her field of vision, and Joules turned to raise an eyebrow at Minerva, "I'll take it when I'm done here, okay Min?"

"But it's got crystals in it."

"Awesome. I can see them in a minute." Joules flipped the filets before setting the spatula down and taking the rock offered by her annoyed sister. She was right; Heat had told her the sparkles would point to the presence of crystals, something Minerva had definitely taken to heart from how many similar ones she could see in two of her four hands. "That's cool you managed to find some; just make sure to leave 'em here when we go, okay?"

"'Kay." The younger experiments' voices sounded a bit dejected a the thought, but it was quickly dashed when Minerva cast a curious glance towards the long-dried and buried river, "Hey Joules? If these were here, then…did there use to be a whole river in here?"

Blitznak.

Joules paused before answering. "Well. Yeah. But it dried up a long time before you were born. Dad, Angel and Stitch are the only ones here who have seen it."

"That's too bad." Lana said, ears flattening at the image of the river's eventual death; she visualized it spontaneously evaporating, cracks forming across the bottom like an old cartoon. The picture didn't last long however, quickly being replaced by the lush bushes and plants lining the paths into the clearing. Lana tilted her head at the change, turning her gaze towards the sky as orange light began to fill it; the sun was setting, stars just starting to blink into existence in the deepening purple sky.

"Right. I'm done. Ya wanna take these to the table?" Joules' voice cut into her thoughts, and Lana nodded as she and Minerva stood up, both taking the plate of fish between them as Joules began to dismantle the stove and wipe down the pan.

The fire Heat had made crackled with a ferocity only he could fuel, spitting ash into the pit housing it and sparks into the air. Him and Angel sat together, in-between their spouses and across from their many children-with the exception of one. One who was held in between Angel and Stitch and gazing at the fire in fascination as his mother carefully fed him ground beef from her plate.

Kealani was a year old by now, his rose-colored fur near matching that of Angel. He had Stitch's face and features, pink antenna quivering in the firelight as he sniffed the air in between bites. Stitch smiled and ruffled the fur atop his son's head, earning him another curious glance from Kealani as he tilted his head back towards their campfire.

"Only your uncle can do that Kea, isa impressive, ih?" He asked, and Kealani gazed back at him before pointing and grinning at the flames. Stitch returned it before poking his son on the shoulder, pointing him to another spoonful of beef headed his way, "'Nother delivery; take it before it burns up."

Kealani took the spoonful in his mouth, teeth leaving thin but deep scratches in the metal in the process. Angel held it up and sighed, handing it off to Heat to repair and patting the top of Kealani's head, "Again? That's the fifth time tonight 'lani. Heat can't keep fixing our spoons forever you know."

Her son only smiled up at her before snuggling up against her fur. Angel returned it and placed her hand around his shoulder, drawing him close to her as he kicked his legs in the air.

"Okay okay, I forgive you." She said. Heat's hand entered her field of vision, holding the spoon she'd given to him to fix throughout the night, "Here; will warn, I'm not Witch, so he's thinning this one out."

"Thanks Heat; it's just for the night, so I'm not too bothered about his teething this time." Angel said, taking the spoon from Heat and scooping another helping for Kealani, "He's not taking the whole top off, so it's an improvement from a few months ago."

"Yeah, there's that. I remember you'd feed him and have a whole pile of backups sitting next to you."

Angel snorted, cupping her hand underneath the rice she'd scooped up, "Man, poor Witch; she had to call Tank for extra metal just to keep up. Little guy tired her out and she wasn't even in the same room as him."

"Or the same house." Kixx added, leaning forward to wave to his nephew as he placed another log on the fire. Kealani didn't return it-instead cackling and clapping with glee at the storm of sparks that momentarily flitted up and into the sky. "...Of course; ignore me, look at the pretty lights instead."

"Aww, he's only one Kixx, come on…" Stitch teased, the earlier 6-series giving a smirk in response, "When I was one I was training to level cities. Then we have him. Biting the heads off of spoons instead."

"Well, we all start off differently. I was just trying to sit in the lab's oven at that age." Heat said, igniting the bulb on his head and firing a short blast into the flames. Angel shook her head at both her cousin's comments, "Right; you two train to destroy the world and eat energy, I was on the Galactic Net unsupervised, and Stitch was…"

"On Earth actually. How about that." Stitch finished, "And then there were the new experiments after us."

"Well, still had to work out the kinks first if 627 and Leroy were anything to go by." Heat said, "But yeah; glad this one can just worry about eating silverware."

"Do you need another repair?" He asked Kealani, his nephew only peering curiously at the heating element on his head before reaching up at it. Heat smiled before the spoon was once again shoved towards his face…and right onto his nose, "Since you asked!"

He rolled his eyes and pulled it off his nose, noting the scratches now reached all the way through the spoon's metal. "Wow. This is finished."

"Well, Kea's finished too, so you can do with that what you will."

"Ah." Heat crumpled the spoon up into a melted ball before cooling and depositing it into the trash bag the adults had set up next to them. By this point, most of the two families had finished eating, Leilani doing her best to pack away their own trash bags and Hiro and Lucy leaning on each other reading the field guide. Lana and Minerva weren't in sight, but he'd already seen them run inside their tent-which was illuminated from the inside with a lantern hung from the ceiling. He stood up and thanked Leilani as she handed the kids' trash to him before putting them into his bag.

"Alright, dinner's done, let's head inside, okay?" He said, nodding towards his and Kixx's illuminated tent.

"'Kay Dad-what about uh…?" The jab of Hiroki's thumb towards the tent drew Angel and Stitch's attention, Angel quickly handing Kealani off to Stitch before standing up and stretching, "Don't worry-I'll go and grab 'er."

She stepped inside, returning a moment later with a slightly irritated Lana in her arms-who wasted no time complaining. "I'm not tired yet Mom; we were almost at the end of the game!"

"You promised me only an hour and a half of blue light tonight Lana…" Angel countered, causing Lana to cross her arms and tiredly lean against her chest as she carried her to her and Stitch's tent, though still carrying several of the river rocks the two had dug up earlier. Stitch shook his head before doing the same with Kealani, giving him a reassuring lick on the forehead as he whined and reached back towards the fire. "No, no-you aren't your uncle Kea; let's go to bed, okay?"

Kealani's whine only became a frustrated cry as he stood up to head back. Heat and Kixx, who had been ushering their own children inside their tent, offered him reassuring smiles, "I think he wants to say goodnight to the rest of us." Heat suggested, pointing to his nephew's outstretched hand.

Stitch shrugged, "Probably; I'll bring him 'round."

"Staying up or?"

"Are you?"

"Wantin' to."

"Ah." Stitch craned his neck towards their camp, seeing as Angel had come back out and was zipping it up, "Angel? What do you think?"

She nodded, "I'm for it."

"'Kay; I'll put this one with Lana."

They dimmed the fire slightly so their kids could have an easier time sleeping. Years had passed since they'd had to worry about being outside at night, but the adults couldn't help but cluster together around the campfire and cast alert glances around the clearing. Aside from the now wandering Mimosa and a slight breeze, all was still and quiet.

It was a while before any of them spoke, preferring instead to listen to the ambience of the surrounding nature. There was a quiet agreement between them, both before and during their time here, that they would not-under any circumstances-bring up the old clearing. And to their credit, they'd followed it…but only when their children were around.

Angel fished out a stick from the pile they'd gathered, handing it to Heat who tossed it into the fire with some kindling. Both of them, normally the more outgoing halves of their couples, had been silent ever since they'd sent their kids to bed. Judging from Heat's glances towards the tent, they almost seemed to be watching for when they'd fall asleep, not wanting them to hear the ensuing conversation everyone by this point understood was inevitable.

Heat was the first to speak, his voice low against the crackle of the fire.

"...How many years has it been now?"

"30." Kixx answered, poking at the fire with his stick, "...We're not gonna go too far into this, are we?"

Heat and Angel exchanged a glance, then shook their heads. Kixx sighed, "Okay, good."

"It has." He added, sitting back down and squinting at the flames, "...Wanna know something funny, by the way?"

"What?"

"Never saw what this place used to look like. The first I did was…well, after it died. So I only see what's in front of us, not…"

Heat blinked, gazing back at the surrounding darkness, "...Huh. I didn't really think about that, but…yeah; you never did see the old clearing."

"...I like what we have now better though." He finished, causing the others to nod in agreement, "I couldn't go near this place and not think about…you know. That situation. Lots of bad memories in that clearing, nice as it was."

"Feels a little weird though." Angel said, "I remember how much denser it used to be. And it didn't need our help at that."

Stitch nodded, "I remember running in here all the time trying to rescue cousins. It's…nice to not have to do that anymore, terraforming aside."

"And hey; we do now have some good memories starting to come out of here, ih?" He asked. His cousins nodded amongst themselves, Heat and Angel especially seeming to relax at his comment. He was glad to see they were; unlike him and Kixx, they were the ones who'd lived here for months. To see them feeling more well…at home in what was once their odd mix of a prison and a house was encouraging.

He reached down to pick up another bit of detritus to add to the fire when something sparkled beneath his foot. He paused, then dug it out of the soil and held it in his hands.

It was one of Lana's rocks. He knew it was from the now dried and buried riverbed from the shape and texture. Stitch prodded it with a claw as he tossed the dried leaves he'd been reaching for into the fire.

"You two are…okitaka, right? You're not…"

Angel shrugged, "...Not really. We kind of feel some emptiness, but it's not too bad."

"It's mostly over how much has changed." Heat explained, "I saw this place when the ship was here, I got it killed, then I helped put it back together. The only thing I wasn't here for was-"

He was suddenly interrupted by a sniff from behind him. Heat started and spun around, only to find Mimosa's luminous eyes and markings staring back at him, evidently wanting more scraps from their camp.

"I was just about to mention you." He said, chuckling as Kixx placed an arm around the back of the Sproutling's head, "Lookin' for more food?" He asked, and Mimosa let out a quiet hiss in confirmation.

"Alright. Lemme get the fish guts then."

A few minutes later found the four watching as the Sproutling retreated back towards her spot, her glowing eyes fading into sparks as her leaves folded up for the night. Stitch smiled before turning his gaze to the sky, seeing tiny pinpricks of stars shining overhead. Things had changed here, and…sure, the place needed more help now that it'd been at the mercy of Heat's powers, but…it was now something they could make good memories out of, and he supposed that was what mattered.

The night sky shimmered overhead as Heat downed the fire, the flames forcibly dissipating as his eyes and bulb briefly glowed yellow. The others watched the remains-near immediately chilled by the night breeze as specks of ash swirled in the faint moonlight offered by the waxing crescent.

"...I guess…'s time to head in?" Angel's voice seemed distant. She'd joined him in stargazing, but the two quickly turned their attention back to each other.

Stitch nodded, "Yeah; we have the beach tomorrow, and then home, so…"

"Right; we're heading off then." Heat carefully unzipped his family's tent, nodding to Angel and Stitch as he slipped inside, "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah; thanks for taking care of the fire."

"Anytime."

The riverbed showed itself again as the group came up on the cove it used to empty out into. It still filled with water from time to time, but only during rains and…the heat ensured it never lasted long. Brush and stones lined the path, calling back to the ones that had once been scattered across the clearing. Dust kicked up with the slightest breeze, the younger members of the families intentionally running ahead and kicking it up-much to the upset of their parents. Minerva and Lana stopped at the edge of the path to take in the sight of the cove, casting excited glances towards what Heat and Angel knew were small sand dunes before scrambling to the water. Even with their shared weakness for water, the two had no fear of it, their siblings and parents arriving at the mouth of the former river to see the two wading in the surge and dunking each other in the water.

It'd been years since anyone had stepped foot here. The cove was small, only large enough to house Gantu and a few of them back in the day, and erosion had only shrunk it further-though, admittedly, not by much. It was shielded by the surrounding cliffs and forest, the dunes guarding patches of brush dotted with tiny flowers.

Joules was the first to leave her parents' side, joining Minerva and Lana by the water as the latter started digging in the sand. She quickly found a fragment of a shell and handed it to her elder cousin, who pocketed it with a small smile. The triplets also took off-Leilani practically dragging Lucy and Hiroki by the wrists as she ran up to a hibiscus bush. The adults and Kealani were left alone to set up, though admittedly, there wasn't much aside from a few beach towels. Their remaining gear was packed up and carried in a foldable wagon by Kixx, who sighed in exasperation and pulled Kealani from its side as he tried climbing into its depths.

This cove was different than the clearing; it had the opposite association to the two who had been visiting it when they lived near, being a reward for when they were "good" in the ship. Despite the effects of Heat'is haywire abilities, the cove was largely the same, only-like its connected clearing, slightly warmer than the rest of the island. A sigh from the thermal experiment cooled the air, Heat rolling his eyes in annoyance as he shook out a beach towel.

"...I don't think you really had to do that." Angel said, but Heat shrugged, "It feels weird to have it warm here."

"Well, yeah…" She opened up the cooler and grabbed several sodas in a row, tossing them to the others one at a time before taking her own, "Still though. Things adjusted here. You don't want another permanent ass print in the sand you know."

"You comparing me to Gantu?"

"If you eat enough you'll eventually fill his old spot."

Heat snorted, "Thanks. Speaking of which-I wonder if it filled up yet. He hasn't been there in years, so…"

"The hell are you two even talking about?" Kixx interrupted, himself opening the cooler to hand Kealani a juice box, "Do you mean to tell us he left a permanent ditch because he kept sitting in the same spot?"

"Yeah basically." Angel snickered and jabbed a thumb over towards the far end of the beach, "We'd go here every Saturday after his exams-if he wasn't too tired."

Heat shrugged, "Eeh-even then I demanded they go ahead or just pass out on the beach. Great place to recharge after something like that."

"I'd imagine; isn't the sun like a magnifying glass at the beach?" Stitch asked, "Must've been nice to come here after a rework."

"Oh it was. Only ones who weren't fans were the usual suspects, but then again. They are 0-series."

"Aw yeah; I remember how Hammer would complain about sand in everything." Stitch smiled, "Felix too, even when he'd clean it."

"Well, what can you do; they just like the indoors." Kixx said, shrugging as he downed the rest of his drink. He crushed the can between his fist and dropped it into his backpack, gazing out towards the ocean. "Hard to believe this was at the end of that poop chute of a clearing. I'm glad to see it after so long spent repairing the place it's connected to."

"Ih. 'S beautiful here, even moreso since ya only went here to recharge." Stitch said. He was suddenly alerted to a tug on his side and looked down to see Kealani reaching up towards him. Stitch smiled and lifted his son into his arms, adjusting him so he could have a view of the cove. The rose experiment gazed at the shoreline in awe before staring back up at Stitch, gesturing towards the surge where his sister and cousins were still playing.

"Ih-that's the ocean here Kea." Stitch explained, "It's a little more protected than usual, so naga any waves. Instead, we have surge."

"Surge."

"Ih."

"That's another one down." Angel said, "He doesn't take much time to learn 'em, does he?"

"Nope. None at all actually."

"Minnie was the same way; then again, she got my memory, so it checks out." Kixx said, "And speaking of which."

His words were followed by the arrival of Minerva and Lana, the former of which holding something bright and…wait a minute-

"Minnie, what do you have?" Heat's voice turned as stern as Hammerface's had once been as he stood up, but Minerva was undeterred, waving the object over her head as she and Lana dashed up, "I found a bottle! Or half of one-but that counts for somethin'!-"

"'Kay-hand it over."

Heat's words came out a little harsh, and Minerva sensed it. She fixed him with an echo of his own glare, her upper set of claws digging into the glass as she eyed him irritably. "I can't be cut."

He sighed, "I'd still like that smoothed out. I promise I'll give it back, okay?"

"...Fine…" Minerva begrudgingly held the broken bottle out to her father, who carefully melted and smoothed the glass between his fingers. He tried to keep its general shape, and for the most part, he succeeded, cooling and handing it back to his daughter with ease. This seemed to lighten her mood back up; she and Lana passed the reworked glass between them before holding it up to the sun, green light shining onto the sand in a concentrated beam.

Heat smiled, "Better?"

Minerva nodded, "Yeah-it's easier to hold now."

"We're gonna go down the opposite end." Lana said, pointing to her right as Minerva continued to peer into the bottle half. Heat nodded, "Alright, try to…avoid sharp glass-or bring it to me to smooth, okay?"

"'Kay-thanks uncle Heat!" Lana's words came out hasty as the two immediately took off down the beach, leaving the adults-and Kealani, to themselves again. Angel smiled as she watched them go before clapping a hand on Heat's shoulder, "Reeeeeeally takin' after old Hammy are we."

"Very funny. You know how many bottles Min's brought me? I swear she's almost stabbed me a few times trying to make me hold them."

"She's just curious Heat, come on." Angel said, "Also, didn't you pick up a few when we'd go here?"

Stitch and Kixx watched as Heat's face turned an embarrassed magenta, "Well, why else would I not want her picking them up?"

"And leave her out of the experience?" Kixx joked, earning him a flat look from his partner as he sat down beside him, "That is the idea."

"Hammer would be proud then."

"Indeed he would. Should I text him and tell 'im?"

"When we get back? Yeah."

Heat snorted as he leaned into Kixx, leaving Angel to cast her own glance to the shoreline. She crossed her arms as she sat down next to Stitch and Kealani, but only for a moment-as their son's finger was suddenly pointing towards the shoreline.

Angel smiled, "Hi Kea; want to head down to the shoreline?"

"Ih!"

"What do you think?" She asked Stitch. He hesitated, but shrugged and nodded, "I don't see why not."

"Right then. Wanna lead the way?"

"Yep." Stitch huffed as he stood up, draping Kealani over his shoulder as he excitedly turned towards the ocean.

Angel raised a hand in goodbye to Kixx and Heat as the three made their way down to the shoreline. Not much about it had changed, quite like its surrounding cove. In truth, it felt strange to be returning after so long, under such different circumstances than the ones she was under now. She couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia as she assisted Stitch in holding their son's hands as he kicked at the shallow surge.

There'd never been complete peace until now. Sure-they'd known of it, even experienced it for a time. But Gantu's dishonorable discharge and the subsequent disappearances had near irreparably shattered it. It'd taken a long time to grow back, but…she was hoping it could keep doing so the more years passed...