From then on, the day was mostly a ripple in my mind. Somehow sensing I did not wish to go near the subject of dolphins, Ember began to teach me many things about the human world. She identified almost every object in the house, and began to show me books and read me some of human history. The more she talked about the humans, the more I began to forget the dolphins I had seen on the TV.

When Mr. Fredrick returned- much to my dismay I might add- he seemed to be in a rather irritable mood, so Ember and I allowed him to view the TV in solitude and we retreated to her bedroom, where she continued to teach me many things. Even when our dinner arrived we ate in her room. She had set a blanket on the floor and called it a 'picnic'. While I was still unsure what a picnic was, I went along with her idea to please her. After which she showed me her 'toys' and 'plushies'. She began to play with them, and insisted I join. At first the entire process confused me, but I quickly became used to the idea of play and pretend. By the end of the night I had pushed the memory of the dolphins on TV out of my mind, and was enjoying myself greatly. Unfortunately, Mr. Fredrick ruined our play by announcing Ember has to retire for the night. However Ember, as well as I found ourselves tired from our play and did not put up an argument this time. I returned to the living room, where Mr. Fredrick was watching the TV. He had another one of the alcohol bottles sitting beside him, and was drinking heavily from it. I had learned my lesson; and turned his offer down immediately. He harassed me for a few moments about trying some of the alcohol, but once he realized I had begun to ignore him he ceased. Finally he left and retreated to Ember's parents' room for the night, and I lied down on the couch and drifted to sleep.

… They do not need me; they can handle themselves on their own…

Suddenly I was back in my dolphin body, swimming the ocean. I swam to the home of my pod, and looked around. The water was clear, but had a black tinge. I felt extremely uncomfortable, so I swam slowly and cautiously. Suddenly, a dolphin that looked just like I swam up to me. I stopped and looked at it.

"Who… who are you?" I asked the dolphin.

"Better the question… who are you?" it replied.

"I am Ecco the dolphin." I snapped.

"Dolphin? You are no dolphin…" it shook it head at me sadly. Suddenly I was unable to breath. I clamped my hands around my throat.

Hands!? I looked down, and say my body was that of a human. I could no longer breathe and the pressure under the water was agonizing. I swam to the surface as fast as I could manage, but in my human body I was clumsy. I was almost ready to die when the dolphin that looked like me swam beneath me and raised me to the surface. I gasped for air and coughed.

"Why… why do you help me?" I gasped.

"I am Ecco the dolphin." It replied.

"Impossible! I am the true Ecco!" I yelled. The dolphin looked at me, and it's gazed burned into my eyes.

"I am what you were what you forfeited!" it snapped at me. "I am the TRUE Ecco the dolphin, before you sold yourself out to the humans!"

"I did no such thing!" I yelped. "I became human to help a scared child!"

"And by doing it, you betrayed your own pod!" it roared at me.

"I did not!  I…" I began. The dolphin cut me off.

"They do not need me; they can handle themselves on their own…" it said coldly. I looked at it shocked. "You abandoned them… and because of you they have been captured by humans!"

"No! It… it was not because of me! That was not them!" I stammered.

"The mighty Ecco has forsaken his pod! The ones he swore to protect!"

"NO! I did not! I could not I…" I tried to defend myself.

"Ecco the dolphin is DEAD! All that remains is Ecco the HUMAN!" the dolphin screeched at me. Before I could react, the dolphin suddenly wailed in agony and disintegrated. I looked around franticly for any sign of the dolphin, when I heard the Asterite voice in my head.

It is your duty… Your duty to protect your pod Ecco… suddenly I saw my pod swim by, and one by one they wailed in agony and disintegrated, just like the first. But before each died, they looked at me with hate in their eyes.

IT WAS YOUR DUTY, AND YOU FAILED!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" I bolted awake and fell off the couch. I sat up, looking around in terror, gasping heavily. Sweat streamed down my face and body, and I gasped for air.

Ember came running down the stairs.

"Ecco!? Ecco are you okay!?" she ran up to me and kneeled beside me on the floor. I looked at her like a scared infant. "Oh Ecco are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?!" she looked at me with caring and concerned eyes. I looked back at her, now shaking badly. I barely nodded an answer. "Oh Ecco… it's okay…" she hugged me and held onto me. I held her, tears now streaming down my face. Ember held me and tried to sooth me. Finally, after many moments, I whispered quietly.

"My pod… I have to save my pod… at any cost…"