Hey guys! here's another chapter- I feel like there wasn't enough of the kid's in this chapter, so the next one I will try and focus on them. In the meantime, Julia goes full work mode and dose more work to keep herself from feeling things. On to the story!

(Chapter Seventeen: More Vacation Work)

Dark, that's all that could be seen. It was strange, the girl was familiar with it. Though she was used to walking through it, however, this time she had a body. Nothing. Just a vast empty, space.

"Child."

What was that?

"Green-eyed child!"

She could hear whispering words, something was calling out to her. Then sudden fast flash appeared before Julia; A box, a blurry man, and a large expansion of sand. As fast as those pictures came, they went away.

Julia snapped her eyes open, not making a move. She glanced over to her side as she saw Kero sleeping soundly, MoonJumper was not visible, but she knew he was watching her. Carefully getting out of the bed, she left her child to sleep.

Julia quietly walked out of the room and she knew Moon was following her. It was still night by the time she had woken up, reaching the dining area, few owls moseying about along with a few night time seals. She decided to sit at a table that was not sliding around like mad. While she sat, she held her hands to her face, waiting for a warm drink to come her way.

"Julia.. are you alright?" MoonJumper quietly asked, while clocked still. "You seem troubled."

What could have been those pictures that flashed in her mind? Who's voice was calling out to her from the void? Why did she see that chained up box.. so many thoughts came rushing through her head until she finally said a word.

"It's nothing, just.. just some thoughts woke me.." Julia softly smiled.

MoonJumper sighed, he looked at her in the eye, her eye patch still covered the other one "I can see something had been bothering you even before we arrived on the ship.." he placed a hand to her cheek, she closed her eyes as she felt it. "It's always going to be my job to worry about you... but you can talk to me. Like we used to."

Many things were bothering her at the moment... Gabriele, Zephyr, Sometimes Melody but it wasn't as strong of a feeling as she felt towards herself. Julia held a hand to her chest, almost trying to consult with her cousins within her locket.

Truth be told, Julia was scared to talk to MoonJumper about her past conflict with Gabriele.. considering what her dad had done to Zephyr in the past. What if she explained something wrong and he just... snaps? She doesn't want Gabriele to get hurt, he'd been hurt enough, and His hurt had hurt her as well. That was too much to think about and she couldn't stop.

Why did her heart feel pain every time she thought of what he said?

"Hewe uwu gow ma'am!" A little seal had come up with a serving tray on its head, holding the drink up to the troubled lady. "Be vewy cawefuw, it's stiww hot."

She smiled at the little thing, watching as it waddled away.

"I've been.. feeling pain.. not physically! I'm perfect find!" Julia waved a hand around as she quietly talked "it's just.. my heart hurts."

"Do you miss home..?" He asked, a little surprise in his voice.

Taking a sip of the green tea she had ordered, which was good in her opinion, and shook her head no "I miss my cousins.. but I'm happy I'm here"

The two had talked for a while, Julia skirting around other topics of why she was hurting, and what the cause of it was.

"Benjamin, I didn't think you'd sneak aboard," Gabriele spoke up. He stood at the top deck, looking up at the moon. "But I guess I was wrong."

It was odd, how such a thing that was in the sky, real as can be, looked like a beautiful painting. The stars stretched out like tree branches and shimmered like glitter on a fancy dress. He wished Julia could share this view with him... He wished Amalia could.

The badge seller, slowly hobbled out of the dark corner he stood at, taking a set at the small table with the umbrella that was tied up.

"A beautiful night, is it not? It's always so much more wonderful when it's cold." The badge seller looked up as well, patting a chair for Gabriele to join him.

The two sat down, the calm movement of the waves hitting the boat was relaxing. Gabriele spoke up once more "I don't think I'm getting anywhere much with Julia..."

"I have a feeling you are making the situation more complicated than it has to be." The twitching man calmly accused him, then looked at him "You're also still thinking of the past as well."

Gabriele just sighed, placing a hand to his head while he took his hat off. "You have suggestions, just get to the point." He looked down at the table.

The badge seller looked back up at the moon, mumming in thought. Taking a moment, the man spoke up again "what are some things she likes? I would have said something snarky, but honestly, you require help."

Gabriele, ignoring that lest comment, thought for a moment, what are some things she likes? He knows she's stubborn, protective, and kind... But the things she likes are still a mystery to him. Which didn't bother him until now.. how strange.

"It's clear to me you like her.." Badge seller suddenly said, leaning on his folded hands and never took his eye off of the doctor "in a stronger sense, which is honestly better than crying for a century-long gone."

"Are you telling me to forget?" It was hard not to with his PTSD and an ever reminded of why he can't.

"Funny you should say that, but no. Not forget, but to let go and try to forgive.." the man said, having a rather fast spasm then normal, "harder said than done, yes.. but clearly, everyone has changed besides you and the jester."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Gabriele asked, irritation in his voice. "This body doesn't age unless I'm chopped to pieces!"

"Approach the man you hate the most and talk to him about Julia."

Day time rolled around, Julia found herself back in her bed. When did she pass out? The girl couldn't remember, but what she did remember was that strange dream, or where they visions? Either way, Julia was pretty sure she was brought back by MoonJumper.

The furious knocking was at the door of her room, rubbing her face, Julia put back on her cardigan and slowly made her way to the door. The knocking didn't cease until she had opened it.

There stood Melody and Bonnie, both exhausted and troubled. Julia immediately crouched down to see what was the matter with them.

"Juuuliiii!" The hatted child whined, unable to keep herself away from the older girl. "We need more hands-on-deck!"

"Why? What happened!?" The taller girl was caught off guard, confused by the sudden call to action.

"Nothing bad, we just.. a bit more off then we could chew.." Bonnie added, sighing and rolling her shoulders "So the story goes, we found one of our Timepieces... However.."

"They put it in the lost and found!" Melody stomped her foot, looking upset "and they won't let us take it unless we work for it!"

"Even though it's ours" the bow child chimed in, shrugging.

Julia hummed "well.. that sound familiar.. kinda like our entire experience on this planet." The taller girl softly smiled at Melody "at least we're not fighting.. here, I'll tell you what." The girl stood back up, stretching her arms, then looked back down at the two younger girls.

"I'll help out with the hard stuff, we'll focus on one thing each." Hearing this made Melody smile, and Bonnie whispered a small 'yes' out of joy.

The three walked to the kitchen, Since Julia was more akin to cleaning larger areas, she decided to stick there. It was a major hub of travel with the roots the two children were using.

Between running with small babies, which were still on the losses, Carrying plates and glass cups from the top to the kitchen, throwing away trash, and doing laundry. It was just a whole mess for the two kids.

The kitchen was already a hazard itself for moving, so cleaning up the area and making sure the seals don't set the ship on fire was a top priority to Julia. It was honestly a miracle that hey hadn't already. Why weren't there more broken things with all this sludge on the ground?

"Hewwo, miss! awe you hewe to hewp us?" A small little seal wobbled up to Julia, those beady eyes looking into hers.

"That's right you little puffball of snow," Julia smiled at the pup "were's the mop? I'm going to clean the floors... and... turn down those ovens.." The tall girl eyed the raging fires of those square metal contraption.

"Yay! thank you!" They danced in place, happy that they have some tall to assist them.

"Okay, kiddo." Julia turned around to Melody, Bonnie had vanished somewhere. "You should focus on the top of the ship, clear out glass cups and plates." She pointed out, "when you do, bring them here and just put them on the counter. I'll do the rest."

Melody saluted, charging off to start on her job. Immediately after, Bonnie arrives with more hands; Kero has come to his mother's aid.

"There you are, Bonnie!" Julia looked up, trying not to get burned and turning down the stoves, then started getting a bucket, filling it up at the sink. "I need you to run around the ship and find trash. If they're cans or bottles, crush them!" Julia points out, already starting to clean the floor.

"You got it!" Bonnie ran off as well, leaving Kero to watch her.

The boy tilted his head, watching as Julia was skillful and quickly mopping up the gunk on the ground. Working at a convenient store and cleaning up after rowdy children were paying off.

"Mama, what do you want me to do?" Kero asked, looking around. If she planned on cleaning up this entire area, the Kero thinks he needs to step up too!

"Hmm, let's see!" Julia stopped for a moment to think, then continued to mop. "Think you can deliver dishes to people?" The girl eyes all the plates with the food they haven't left the counter yet. "Be careful though! I don't want you hurting yourself."

Kero nodded, taking one plate at a time. There were little papers with numbers on them, showing what table they were supposed to get to. The sack child carefully traveled back and forth, even seen taking the elevator up to get those who sat above.

Julia was now focused and finishing up the last of the spill zone, a little seal rocking back and forth in one of the sinks. They were having a good old time, but that sink was going to be needed soon. Melody was seen running back into the kitchen with a few empty plates.

She left them and headed off again, almost like she was on a timer.

Once the floor was spotless, Julia moved over to the counters, putting dishes in the sink and wiped counter surface down. Cracking her neck as a short break, she went back to it.

Lynn roamed around, arms folded and watched as a few of her friends zoomed around. They were busy working for the captain for some reason? Why would they need to work in the first place? Even Julia was working herself on her vacation!

The girl just hummed, shrugging her shoulders. If that's what they want to do, who is she to stop them?

"Excuse me, Lynn.." the girl turned her head to the tall doctor, "You wouldn't perhaps know where Julia is, would you? I need to ask her were.." he seemed to sigh "where MoonJumper is.."

The hooded girl raised a brow at the man but said where Julia's whereabouts were "She's taken over the kitchen, be careful. Last I saw, she was armed with a mop." She pointed away from her.

Gabriele nodded his thanks and headed for the kitchen, why would she be there of all places? Once he arrived, he stopped short of the door. He could bear an ongoing conversation between Julia and Kero as the sound of rushing water and clacking ceramic.

"Mama... I'm really happy you saved me that day." Gabriele just listened in, if he were to walk through these doors now, Kero might go quiet.

The poor boy looked like he wanted to talk for a while now.

"If you hadn't gotten me out of that cage, I probably would have withered away.." said the boy, the sink went quiet, indicating that Julia had looked up from what she was doing. "And I'm happy you gave me a new name, but I remember my old one! Though, I'd much prefer Kero!"

"And why's that little buddy?" Gabriele heard Julia ask, also curious as to why the child refused his original name.

"Because that's my life with you! You're my family now, and I'm happy with it! It's like starting over, I get to finally live a life.. that was taken from me." Kero started to whisper.

There were footsteps, Julia was on the move. Gabriele quickly looked through the circular windows on the push doors to see that Julia had walked over to Kero, who was sitting on a stepping stool and kissed him on the head. A kind smile on her face.

"I love you, mama!" The boy smiled at her, hugging her.

Julia hugged back just as hard, Chuckling "But what is your real name? You got me curious now kiddo."

"It's Louis!" He smiled.

The doctor walked in like he wasn't eavesdropping for the past few minutes, happy to know that these two were bonding closer. His face didn't show it so Julia and Kero were left in the dark. He took Kero's words to thought about starting over... helped a little to listen, though he was still unsure.

"Ah, Julia! So this is where you've been." He waved at Kero then turned to Julia again, "Working on your vacation? You never seem to catch a break."

Julis smiled at him "couldn't help it, Captain Melody called me to action.." the girl then scratched her head "plus it looked like she needed help.."

"I see." The doctor nodded, "Well.. do you need any help?" He'll ask about Moon later.

Julia stood back at a sink, rinsing off dishes from the soap that covered them. "I'm good, thanks though.."

"Are you sure? I could cook with the food-" clattering of plates dropping from her hand and Gabriele jumped from the sudden noise.

"No, Gabriele. You're a good cook..." Julis looked at him, a serious expression on her face "but I don't want you to do something stupid."

"Helping you is considered stupid?" The doctor crossed his arms.

"No- Getting burnt is!" Julia point at his hands, "I noticed that the other day Gabe, I appreciate the thought, but I don't want you hurting yourself anymore!"

"Burns cannot hurt me, Julia! Sure they leave marks, but I never feel them!" He called out, half lying to her. she was already fretting about him, he didn't want another thing for her to worry about.

"That's even worse!" Julia stressed.

"Uh.." Kero spoke up.. "you could help with the laundry..?" The two arguing adults looked at the child. Julia slowly calmed down hearing this, water and soap. That was a better option than fire.

"Yeah! There's only one seal down there; the pup could use your help." Julia went back to washing, trying to forget that she was under stress at all.

Gabriele just stared at the back of her head, then walked off down the stairs that connects the kitchen.

"Mama.. are you and Gabriel me okay..?" Kero asked once the doctor was gone

"I'm not sure, baby.." Julia sighed.

Kero wondered around, the day was almost up. Melody was able to retrieve the Timepiece the was stuck in the lost and found, returning it to the vault on the ship. The child all gathered around one another, almost like it was a secret organization; Lynn was at the head of a table on the top deck.

They stood a good amount away from any eyes and ears. "So, something is going on between Julia and Gabriele." Lynn crossed her arms, as the three looked at her. "I was the first one to notice something before we came back to Subcon. Now I'm sure something is up."

"They had a huge argument in the kitchen.. but it was strange." Kero fiddled with his finger. "It wasn't like an agreement where they hated each other."

Lynn pointed at the sack child "Like I said, I think he loves her-" then looked to Melody and then Bonnie "But something happened in between the Zephyr fiasco."

"What could have possibly happened? Gabriele was a vegetable." Bonnie raised a brow, thinking it was absurd.

Melody gasped, thinking to herself. This gained attention from the rest of the group. "Kero, the dreamscape! They were both asleep!"

"So they fought within their minds..?" Kero looked at her, understanding, though the other two were at a loss.

"You could say that." The group screamed out, the sudden voice of the badge seller scared the children. "You're not too far from the truth, but you do not know all of it."

"Can you not sneak on us!" Bonnie shouted, "your gonna give me a heart attack!"

"I have that effect. Though That is just who I am." The badge seller held a smile in his voice.

"You said we don't know the whole truth. Tell us!" Melody looked at him, wanting to know.

"You see, I'm trying to help him conquer his past." The twitching man said, "He confused Julia for a girl of his past he was supposed to marry." He tilted his head "I was told he had said some very hurtful things."

"And now he's trying to fix it with your help." Lynn mused to herself. Then she looked up and pointed "Wait a minute, that just makes you an over-glorified wingman!"

"In a sense. They are very entertaining when together." He tapped his cane down for a second "do you child wish to assist him?"

"Are you saying we should play matchmaker?" Bonnie asked perplexed.

"They are already a match." The strange man said, searching for something in his pockets. "They just need a little push." He held out something, a music player, that belonged to Julia.

The children all looked at each other. Things could go well from here or horribly wrong.

there we have this chapter, as stated at the top I'll going to attempt to make it mostly about the kids trying to help push things into action. though we are coming to an end of the Arctic arc, I'm going to be making up my own arc for next coming chapters to come and save the Metro Arc for last, as I think I stated before in a review answer. I'm having a hard time remembering.

Pmoneygreen: I'm not that good a drawing when it comes to poses (even if it's like t-posing at the bow of a ship-) However, I am pretty excited for Animal Crossing: New Horizon to come out!

OPFan37: SO first things first, I understand that the shipping was probably a joke, but I take child shipping as a big no. The only ship they'll be sailing on is friendship. If children started seeking romance at a young age like I accidentally did, there would only be traumatic events that will scar and prevent then from ever trusting another person with their heart. (I'm sorry about that, I got personal problems) Other than that, thank you for reviewing! Yes, I did think it strange that the timepiece didn't go all crazy like the others- and I'm glad you understand what I was going for with the slides!

Mad King C: I don't see the great problem from saying great, I think it's great! Jokes aside though, I'm happy that the reasons behind the last chapter were adequate. Melody does notice that every time that she does anything with Julia, something bad happens sooner or later. However, Julia is apart of her crew and always will be. she can't escape the alien child's shenanigans. What I was aiming for with Julia and Gabriele's romance was... It's more of an Emotional Support romance if that makes sense? they'll still do the normal lovey stuff like hugging, attempt to kiss (since Gabriele has no mouth.), nothing that goes over the top. It's all soft relationship. I wanted to make that clear here just in case I couldn't in the next chapter. No nasty, get your mind out of the dark place if anyone reads this.