Author's Note: I am back. There'll be no song in this chappie. Sorry. Okay, so as you all know, Marquella died and now Anchor is sad. What's going to happen now?

tinks-belle85- Yeah, I know how you feel. Bruce and Chum will be appearing in this chapter, to answer your question.

Insane Pirate Dragon- Yep, I sure did have to pull the rug from out under your feet. Don't you hate how sixth senses have to give everything away? As for what I'm going to do wit his love life… you'll see…

Chapter Ten: Reflections

Anchor swam back home in the dark dreariness of the thunderstorm. Tears were running down his face, but to anybody who didn't know his problem, they would've thought it was because of the rain.

Flash!

Anchor looked up at the sky as a flash of light streaked across the moonlit sky.

'I better get home soon.' Anchor thought. 'Bruce an' Chum are probably worried about me…'

Anchor swam home even faster than he did before, but not very fast.

'I was too late to get Marquella, and she died.' Anchor thought. 'I told her I wouldn't let anything bad happen to 'er. And I did. Maybe it wasn't my fault, after all, if Dante hadn't 'urt 'er like that, she'd still be alive… but I still can't help but feel responsible.'

A loud clap of thunder rang through the air, but Anchor didn't notice. He was too caught up in his thoughts.

'She was just lying there, helpless… I should've taken 'er to a doctor! But then again, she was too weak to move, so it probably wouldn't have made any difference.'

Anchor looked below and saw a kelp bed, ignoring the fish that scattered away from him. It was the same kelp bed he used to make a bandage for Marquella. A small smile flashed across his face.

'I remember this place. I made a bandage for Marquella after… she had the displeasure of getting 'ran over.' Anchor gave a small chuckle, but then it died down. 'Those were good times. Now, those good times seem to have been substituted with the bad.'

As Anchor began to swim for home again, he glanced back at the kelp bed. 'At least I know that Marquella was a survivor. Back at that cave… she held out to tell me everything she had to say, even though it probably 'urt 'er to talk. I didn't even get to ask her my question… and there's no chance of askin' 'er now…'

Anchor saw in the distance, the outline of the ship. Sigh, how was 'e goin' to explain to Bruce and Chum what 'appened to Marquella…

Chum was pacing in the living room of 'the old wagon', and Bruce was watching helplessly.

"Chum! Stop pacing!" Bruce shouted.

Chum stopped pacing, but only for a while. "Sorry, but I can't 'elp it! I'm worried!" Chum replied. "Haven't you ever thought about what's taking them so long? What if they got attacked by divers again? Or what if they run into trouble with a Whale shark? Those guys are big."

Bruce just sighed and shook his head. "Stop imagining the worst mate, you'll hurt yourself. Besides," He added with a small smile, "What d'you think they're doin' right now?"

Chum stopped his pacing and said, "Bruce! If you wanted to stop my worryin' you should've just shoved something up my mouth! Anything would've been better than what you just did to me!"

"And what was that?" Bruce asked.

"You gave me a mental image." Chum said with a shudder. "Thanks a lot mate. It'll take me forever to get this image out my mind."

"'Orry." Bruce said. He looked toward the direction of the door and added, "Chum! Chum, c'mere!"

"What?" Chum asked, swimming towards Bruce.

"It's Anchor!" Bruce exclaimed. "And he's probably got Marquella with 'im. See, I told you they were probably just…"

"Ugh!" Chum shouted, covering his ears. "Mental image!"

Anchor swam onto the 'front lawn' of the ship. To his surprise, Bruce and Chum came rushing out to meet him. Bruce seemed to maintain his cool, but Chum swam right into him, hugging him so hard he could hardly breathe.

"Where were you mate?" Chum said, still hugging Anchor. "We've missed you! I was so worried!"

At this point, Bruce pulled Chum off of Anchor. "Chum, stop 'ugging 'im already! He can't breathe!"

Chum looked up to see Anchor gasping for breath. Chum smiled sheepishly and said, "Orry."

"So," Bruce began, looking around. "Where's Marquella?"

Anchor's eyes went down, and he looked away from his friends, not answering. Bruce and Chum weren't expecting this reaction.

"C'mon mate, tell us." Chum said. "You can always tell your old chum, Chum."

Anchor took a deep breath. This wasn't a question he wanted to answer, but he couldn't leave his friends clueless. "She's not coming back." He mumbled.

As good as their hearing was they couldn't hear Anchor. "What?" Bruce asked.

"She's dead." Anchor mumbled, in an even lower tone.

"We can't hear ya." Chum said.

"She died, okay!" Anchor shouted, putting shock on his friends' faces. "This shark named Dante kept 'urting 'er, and she lost too much blood!" Tears began to form in Anchor's eyes, but they never fell. "I couldn't help 'er, by the time I found 'er it was too late. She died right in front of my eyes." And with that, Anchor dashed into the ship to go to his room.

Bruce and Chum still floated outside the ship, shocked. They couldn't believe what they had heard.

"I can't believe she's dead." Bruce said.

"She was so full of life… poor Anchor…" Chum said.

Bruce and Chum swore they could've heard the faint sound of crying, but it was only the wind… right?

TBC…

That's the end of the chappie. Sorry if it didn't give enough info; it was only three pages. No reviewer's choice, so until next time… adios…

R&R please!