Thank you very very much for all the reviews that I got for the previous chapter (I replied to them personally) :D I hope you like the new chapter and that you don't think Trouble is being too weedy. Please review and tell me what you think, and have a nice day:)

"Here we are." Said Devante. He stopped at the edge of the lake and Trouble disembarked.

"Thanks." He said sullenly.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." Devante comforted. Trouble turned away, his face full of disbelief. "Bye."

Trouble walked away from the water and Devante submerged himself in the squalid lake once more. The elf was about to go up the steps and back to the shuttle they had come in when he thought of the empty chair that was waiting for him and slid to the ground sorrowfully. He remembered how he and Holly had waved goodbye joyfully and how they hadn't known what to expect. "None of us expected this though, did we? Not in our wildest dreams!" Trouble spoke to thin air. "I can handle most things that life throws at me…but not this!" He cradled his face in his hands as his body racked with sobs; he had always tried to be so brave and strong and 'manly' (everything his late dad had expected of him) but he just couldn't manage any more. When Holly died it was as if something inside him had died also. When had he ever felt like this before? "Of course, when my dad passed away!" Recalling that awful day made Trouble sadder than ever…

"Kelp? The headmaster wants to see you." A young Trouble Kelp sighed and rose from the desk he was sitting at; it wasn't abnormal for him to be called to the principal's office –after all, you can't be the class clown and always get away with it- Across the aisle his best friend Holly gave him an encouraging smile, her long auburn hair fanning around her face. He smiled back and walked down the hall to the office and was surprised to see his brother Grub waiting outside too.

"What did you do?" Grub asked him accusingly.

"Nothing, what did you do?" He replied. Grub swallowed and shook his head, Trouble could tell he was scared; Grub didn't normally do anything to upset Mummy so he couldn't imagine what he'd supposedly done.

"You can come in now boys." Came the headmaster's wobbly voice from inside the room, and so they entered.

In the office sat their mother, her face was the colour of the snow and she was wiping her eyes of tears as quickly as they were falling.

"Mummy? What's the matter?" Grub asked curiously.

"Oh!" Sniffed their mother sorrowfully. "It's your father…" She trailed off and began to howl so the principal had to continue.

"I am very sorry to tell you this boys, but your father has passed away-" Grub slumped onto a chair.

"How?" Interrogated Trouble.

"Well," the principal paused as if he disapproved of what was coming next. "Wing Commander Kelp died whilst core-diving, he did not pull quick enough out of the drop." The young Trouble could just imagine his father's terror as he faced an imminent death. The chutes were wide and dangerous, but most of all high looking down from the top. His father's terror sparked a fear inside Trouble and from that day onwards he was scared of heights…

His dad's death had long since passed and gradually the pain had died a little. Now it was the day of Trouble's manhood ceremony and that morning his mother had handed him a letter.

Dear son, it read.

Today is the day of your manhood ceremony, and I will not be there to witness it. Your mother may or may not have told you this, my boy, but I am dying of terminal cancer. I have many hopes for you and my dearest one is that you will follow in my footsteps and go into the LEP. Please do this for me, my dying wish. Remember: always be brave and strong for your mother and brother, and take what life throws at you manfully. Good luck, my son.

Your loving father

"Mum? What is this?" Trouble showed the letter to his mother. "I thought dad died because he was killed core-diving?"

"Oh baby! You never knew your father like I did –he would rather die than face life slowly slipping away and watching it pass by him."

He would rather die than watch his life slip away from him –his father hadn't just died core-diving –he had killed himself because he couldn't bear the fact that he was dying, he had always said he would rather be killed in action than anywhere else! Trouble hung his head. "You don't understand, the LEP meant the world to your father." It was an unworthy explanation for suicide.

Trouble's world as he knew it was crumbling around him, and the only person he could rely on now was Holly. As soon as he was old enough he entered the LEP Academy and did the best he possible could despite his fear of heights –it was what his father wanted, and Trouble would do anything to please him.

"I've failed. I'm a failure –totally and utterly. I've let Root down by not completing the challenges, my dad down by not taking everything as he would have done and been brave enough to face up to my feelings to Holly, and most of all I've failed Holly and that is what I regret most of all." Trouble moped, returning to the present. "I've always loved Holly, and the moment I nearly got round to telling her she was taken away from me. Time has taken advantage of me."

"Now where could I be?" Holly thought. "This is really strange, I went in the lake and yet here I am in a very dry place!" She stood up shakily and began to look around. She was in a cave, and probably underwater as she could hear the dripping of water coming from the roof, Holly tiptoed along around the corner to try to find a way out. She knew that if she didn't hurry up and get out of the place then Trouble would leave without her and she'd have to live with the Mud People forever. The cave was pretty disgusting with mould growing everywhere and a muddy floor but gradually the fungi grew less and the ground sloped down even more so Holly had to go even deeper underground (which was no mean feat since she was practically at Australia already), suddenly she gasped with excitement; she was in a giant room with beautiful paintings all over the walls. However, it wasn't the breathtaking view but the fact of what the room was occupied by.

The whole chamber was filled with gems of every shape and size as well as piles and piles of gold so shiny that Holly was speechless. There were glittering emeralds and shiny golden cups the size of beer barrels, crowns made entirely of diamonds, and sculptures crafted of ice!

"This is amazing! And I thought we weren't going to get the treasure after all! How can I most of this stuff back to the shuttle without dropping over dead from the weight of it?" Holly thought ecstatically. "This has got to be my best discovery ever!" She threw herself into the pile and began to search for the best pieces. Trouble was going to be so proud, they were going to bring home the treasure despite having not won it! That wizard was going to get a surprise.