"Now hold on a minute, I don't think I caught what you said." Even someone as cheerful as the manta ray wore a look of skepticism, and also that of pure horror as though Fly had suggested they impale someone with a knife. "You want us to do what?"

"Escape," Fly said simply, keeping his voice low in case any crabs were listening.

The ray glanced warily out into the prison hall and shook his head. "I dunno, kid. You and I are looking at the same place, right? It's crawling with guards. And that's if we get out of this cage in the first place."

"Tr-tr-trust me, I've thought ab-bout escaping before," the snapper said. "B-but what's the use? If you g-get caught, you get fed to the sh– the sh–"

"Sharks?" Fly finished.

The snapper cowered over and covered his head as though Fly's word conjured an actual shark into the cage. The manta ray rested a fin on Fly, looking grave. "Hate to say it, but he's right. We'd be instant lunch before we'd get anywhere."

Fly frowned. "But look! There's hundreds of us in this prison," he said, gesturing at the entire hall. "The crabs are way outnumbered! We could take 'em easily if we could somehow unlock the cages, and—"

"I know you mean well, but what you're asking is impossible," the sea turtle said ruefully. "The crabs keep the keys on them at all times, and wouldn't just hand them over."

"Then we'll snatch them somehow," Fly muttered, trying to get the gears moving in his brain. He turned to Sasha. He recalled his last escape attempt from when he was captured by Joe, although this time Sasha was here in the cage with him. So that wouldn't work.

The turtle cocked his head. "How so?"

A loud metallic bang cut off the conversation, startling everyone in the cage. A crab guard had hit the bars with his claw like a mallet. "Hey! Pipe down, or else I'll make ya!" he warned. He glared specifically at Fly before returning to his patrol.

Once the boxy crustacean was out of earshot, Fly said in a hushed voice, "Or maybe we'll get the guards themselves to open the cages. Is there a time they let any of the prisoners out?"

The sea turtle gave Fly a look to suggest that the young fish might be crazy. "Only when the executioner gets hungry. And that can happen at any time. There's no telling when."

Fly clenched his teeth. Time wasn't exactly a luxury he had, and even so there was no way he was waiting for the executioner's mealtime.

"Y'know, I got an idea!" The manta ray wore a teasing smirk, directing his eyes at the leopard eel, motioning his brows up and down. "Maybe it's time ol' Leopard Eel fessed up to kidnapping Joe, so the rest of us can go free."

The leopard eel veered her head sharply and snarled. "I'll confess to your disappearance instead," she hissed without even a trace of humor.

The ray made an uncomfortable chuckle and backed off. "Okay, okay. Learn to take a joke, will ya." The eel curled back up, even tighter this time.

"It's too bad we'll never know who really did it," lamented the angelfish with a sigh. She pressed her fins together, her doe-like eyes cast down.

The sea turtle inclined his head toward her. "Whoever it was, I hope they will do the right thing."

No one was looking Fly's way, yet the words felt directed at him. He hoped they didn't notice the large lump he swallowed.

"It doesn't matter who did it," he said. "The point is that if we want to stay alive, we need to break out of here…and fast."

"D-do you have a p-plan?"

"I think so." Fly tapped a fin against his lip. The manta ray was definitely on to something, joking or not. He indulged the idea, and the more he thought about it, the more it sounded plausible.

"Maybe we don't need the confession," he voiced his thoughts aloud, "but just a confession."

Everyone in the cage turned to watch Fly, curious and confused. "What do you mean?" asked the manta ray.

"What I mean," said Fly, "is that we get as many fish to 'confess' to being the kidnapper as we can, ideally one from each cage, at least."

"N-n-no way! Not me!" the snapper interjected. "I did-didn't do it."

He might have said it a little too loudly, because a passing guard snapped his attentive eyes toward the prisoners in Fly's cage, reprimanding them with an animalistic snarl.

Fly waited for the detection to pass before whispering, "I know you didn't, that's not the point. The confessions are fake. It's only so the crabs will open the doors. We've got to get all the cages open at once so we can all get away without the guards being able to stop us."

The old turtle sighed. "You'd be hard pressed to convince these folks that they're the kidnappers."

"But I'm not saying they are." Fly was getting frustrated. What was so hard to get about this? "We just have to lie about it."

"Lie?" the ray questioned. "Well, it sounds good, except they," he pointed to the guards," won't know that, and we'll be punished big time. Just sayin'."

Fly just about slapped his fin to his face. "That's the point! They're not supposed to know that. We're not actually confessing, just tricking them!"

The sea turtle bowed his head. "Listen, it will only get us into more trouble than necessary," he said. "I don't see it being worth the effort. That's one way to a quicker execution if you ask me."

The other prisoners had looked at the old turtle, and turned back to Fly with resignation on their faces, subtly confirming their agreement with the elder.

"Sorry, kid," the manta ray said. "I like your spunk, though."

Fly glowered, his entire body tightening. It was unbelievable how quickly they were ready to give up. How these guys were blissfully unaware of the injustice being committed against them, and that they would rather give in than stand up to it.

"But you guys didn't do anything wrong!" Fly emphasized each word like he was trying to hammer them into their thick skulls. "Don't you see? You're locked up here for no reason at all! You at least owe it to yourselves to fight back, to claim your innocence!"

The sea turtle looked tired. "As long as our leader is still missing, there's nothing we can do."

It seemed the more the turtle spoke, the angrier it made Fly. "There is something you can do, you just choose not to do it. I don't know if it's because you're too scared or too stupid, but either way, maybe you deserve to be here."

The sea turtle said nothing, he just stared out beyond the cage walls. None of the other fish were willing to speak up either. Fly huffed. "I'll figure out how to escape on my own then. Come on, Sasha."

The seahorse obediently came to the Californian Fly Fish's side. Fly looked to the adjacent cage, the one that was directly to the right of them. There were definitely many more fish crammed in there, if only he could talk them into following his false confession scheme. Their greater numbers would have better luck overwhelming the guards than Fly's own cage. However, the two holdings were spaced out far enough that Fly would need to shout to get their attention, and it would draw unwanted scrutiny from the guards as well.

Fly watched the crabs marching up and down the aisle. Recalling what he had overheard earlier, an inkling of an idea started to form in his brain, and he smiled. Maybe this would work, if they were as dumb as they usually were.

"Hey, guards!" Fly yelled.

Behind him, his cell mates reacted either with confusion (the ray, the turtle, and the angelfish), dread (the snapper), or apathy (the eel), but still said nothing. Fly paid no mind to them.

One guard broke the routine and marched over to Fly. "Thought I told ya to be quiet!" he bellowed sharply in Fly's face.

Fly didn't let that waver his resolve. He put on the most innocent-looking expression. "Hey, I just wanted to ask you something. Who's the warden of this prison?"

The crab straightened his posture, not breaking his eye contact. "Why, that's me. Of course."

Fly crinkled his eyebrow, placing a fin over his mouth in faux-thought. "I dunno…" He averted his gaze to another guard who passed by. "By the looks of it, I think he'd be the one in charge."

The crab glared in the direction of his coworker and bared his jagged teeth. "No! I'm the one in charge! Me!" He pounded his claw against his chin repeatedly to make sure Fly understood.

The other crabs took notice and came scuttling over. "Hey, you're not in charge, I am!" one of them cried.

"Who put you two clownfish in charge?"

"Lord Joe said I was the warden!"

"Shuddup, morons! Get back in line!"

Fly smirked at how easily his plan was unfolding. So it was confirmed that there was no organization whatsoever among the crabs. No sense of hierarchy. He had to egg them on further. "Well, one of you has to be the warden. Who is it?"

The original crab to whom Fly instigated the conflict appeared to be seeing red now. "I told you already, it's me! Don't listen to those bozos!" He turned to face them. "You are acting in insubordination and I will have you all executed!"

"You can't execute us, you're not even the warden!" one of the guards exclaimed.

"That's right! Which is why you'll be executed!"

The crabs started to bicker among themselves, pointing accusatory claws in different directions. And to Fly's surprise, not that he was complaining, the claws were thrown at faces, starting a full on brawl. The boy couldn't help snickering to himself as he watched the guards pile onto each other, swinging their club-like arms and shooting insults.

Fly smiled with self satisfaction. Now that he'd created the diversion, he could begin the next phase in the plan.

The sea creatures in Fly's cage stared in astonishment. "Not bad, kid," the manta ray admitted.

"However, we're still in the same position as before," said the sea turtle. "We don't have the key."

"I'm getting there," said Fly, gritting his teeth with impatience. He stuck his head out from between the bars facing the neighboring cage. The animals inside were already watching the fight, also passing incredulous glances Fly's way.

"I don't know what you did, but that was really something," a sunfish said.

"Yeah, lookit those guys! What idiots!" a squid laughed.

Fly smiled at the compliment, but then straightened his face. "Okay, I need you guys to listen to me. We're going to escape this prison, and I'll need your help."

Fly's calls went unnoticed by the guards. Most eyes of the other prisoners locked onto Fly, some curious, some suspicious.

Once Fly felt like he had their attention, he cleared his throat. "I know this will sound crazy and suicidal but hear me out. We'll need the crabs to open up your cage, and in order to do that, you guys'll have to tell the guards you're Joe's kidnapper–"

"What!"

The other prisoners divided up their attention, swapping apprehensive looks and mutterings. An angler fish flashed his needle-like fangs, his tiny round eyes piercing Fly. "What did you say?" His voice was like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

Okay, should've seen this coming, thought Fly. "Look, I'm not saying any of you did it–!"

"Then why do we have to confess to anything?" demanded a dolphin.

"I bet he's the real kidnapper and is trying to pin the blame on us," a voice piped up. Fly couldn't locate the source of it.

"No! Guys, listen to me–!" Fly couldn't get a word in edgewise because now everyone in the neighboring cell was shouting over each other. With that and the crabs fighting each other, it got so loud in the room that Fly couldn't hear his own thoughts. Now I've done it.

But one singular noise rose above the others, as though on cue. It thundered, its echoes rippling through the room, instantly silencing any voices it passed over. All faces followed the origin of the sound. The door to the prison room was wide open, a large creature floating in front of it, his big dumb eyes scouring the place.

Fly didn't expect to see him again, that round abdominous shark with the crooked snout and misshapen set of teeth. The same shark that accompanied Joe and followed his commands like a trained dog. Now the shark aired a sense of authority that made even the crab guards tremble. The reactions of the prisoners was much the same, some as still as statues, others backing away slightly as though they could just disappear from sight. Fly noticed the forktail snapper looking like he was going to pass out.

"What's goin' on here?" demanded Shark. "You guys are bein' too loud! I'm try'na take a nap!"

Silence. The crabs had stopped their brawl midway, freezing in positions as they stared fearfully at the shark. The shark smacked his lips the longer he stared out into the prison.

"Is just as well, I think I'll have a snack!" With a toothy grin, he swam up to the guards, his shadow casting over them like a dark cloud over the sun. "Hey, you! Bring me some prisoners!"

The crabs straightened themselves up, arranging in a single file row. "Yes, sir!" they said in unison.

The one crab who insisted he was the warden moved his eyes between cages like a security camera. "All right, which one of you lowlifes kidnapped our leader? I want an answer now, or else everyone here will be executed!"

From what Fly could see, everyone was hesitating. Everyone pressed their lips together. Eyes were darting around waiting for someone to step forward.

"No one?" the crab shouted. "Still nothing? Do any of you know who did it?"

This question received the same response. The crab was growing impatient. He and several other guards fanned out in the room, taking their keys and unlocking cages. The crab who had spoken unlocked the neighboring one where Fly was trying to recruit co-conspirators to his escape plan. "You! You're coming with me!" he said, pointing.

There were gasps, but no one moved. No one spoke. The animals allowed the crab to drag out a large blue tuna fish by the tail. She looked panicked, like she was about to cry. She was begging for mercy over and over. Fly could feel his heart drop down to the tip of his tail.

Your cages are open, now's your chance! Fly tensed up, hoping the other prisoners at least listened to his plan and would get it rolling now. But they didn't. They weren't doing anything. They floated there dumbfounded, allowing their cell mates to take the fall for them. Heat rose within Fly's body, every limb of his quaking. He bit his lip. What's wrong with these fish?

The crabs brought their respective prisoners before Shark, the brutish creature staring hungrily at them. The tuna's pleadings grew more desperate, her sobs uncontrollable. "Please! I didn't do it! Give me another chance! Please, please don't eat me!" There was nowhere for her to go except forward into the shark's maw. She and the others had their eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable while she still wailed.

And then it hit Fly. No. What's wrong with…me?

Fly took a deep breath, his heart pounding. He was reliving the memory yet again. That scene that imprinted itself on his brain, and would haunt him forever in his nightmares. As much as he wanted to avoid thinking about it, he couldn't do it now. Not for the price of innocent lives. It was now or never, he had to confront the truth. These sea animals didn't deserve to be here, he did.

"Wait! It was me!" Fly shouted. "It was me, I'm the one who did it! Let them go!"

The proceedings halted, and Fly felt the burden of a hundred stares condensed in that moment. His own cell mates gawked at him. The manta ray faced Fly, his eyes wide. "Wait, kid…You're only bluffing. Right?"

Fly grimaced, shaking his head. The guards all came scuttling at the same time. "We have a confession!" one of them shouted. The crab in the front locked his eyes on Fly. "I knew it the moment I saw you," he said. "You have guilty written all over that pointy nose of yours." He grinned a toothy smile as he took the key from his side. "Now tell us, where are you keeping Lord Joe? Answer right now!"

Fly glared at him. "I'll talk, but on one condition. You let everyone here go. And I mean, everyone."

The crab considered. "No! You tell us where he is first!"

The Californian Fly Fish crossed his fins defiantly. "No deal, not until you agree that the prisoners can leave."

Shark was growing impatient. "Hurry it up already! I'm starvin'!"

"Fine, the prisoners can leave," the crab said, waving his claw nonchalantly. "Now tell us where he is!"

"You have to promise," said Fly.

"Urgh…fine, I promise. Now—"

"Okay, I'll tell you where he is." A spiteful grin crossed his face. "He's dead as a doornail."

Silence ensued, with scattered gasps filling the audible gap. Crab took a step backward. "You're lying! Tell us the truth!"

"That is the truth," Fly stated, his smile becoming more wicked. "I watched him drown in front of me. He had a little too much of his potion."

Everyone in the room, including the prisoners on the "chopping block", directed horrified stares at Fly, as if he were some dark hex they had to stay away from. Even his cell mates created a wider space from him.

The only voice who spoke up was Shark's. "Aw, big deal! I didn't like 'im anyway! Now lemme eat!"

Shark chomped down on the nearest prisoner, the tuna, causing the others to back away swiftly. As Shark chewed his victim, crunching the bones in his teeth, Fly's heart rate shot up, and his anger escalated into a burning rage he was unable to contain.

"You–you promised!" he yelled.

The crab laughed. "We don't make promises to murderers." Fly flinched at the last word.

Finally the crab opened the cage and was backed by three other crabs. The only one coming to Fly's defense was Sasha, who planted herself in front of her friend. Two crabs walked inside to approach Fly. Sasha came between them trying to get them to back away, but one of the crabs knocked her clear across the cage.

"Sasha!" Fly shouted, but felt a strike to the face. It was millimeters close to his eye, and a sharp pain like a scratch. He was dragged out of the cage, with the one additional crab taking the key to lock the door back up. Sasha pressed her face between the bars, reaching a fin out and letting out a cry.

"Don't worry, Sasha. I'll come back for you." said Fly. "I'll get out of this—"

Then, another hit to the face. This time, Fly saw a thin cloud of blood float overhead.

"You best keep your mouth shut, traitor!" one crab snarled.

What happened next was so quick and unexpected, Fly had to double take to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. The sea turtle had javellined his cane right between the eyes of the crab who was locking up. The crustacean howled in pain, immediately slapping his claws over his face. The key dropped to the side. All the animals, especially the leopard eel, charged out of the cage, knocking out as many crabs that stood in their way. Amid all the chaos, the silent angelfish slipped by unnoticed and unlocked the neighboring cage. Then all those animals broke loose and joined in the fight.

A crab guard that managed to avoid the brawl scurried away, shouting, "We have a security breach! A security breach! Send reinforcements!"

More cages were opened, and the crabs were outnumbered. Many of the prisoners were trying to find the exit, and some stayed to beat the daylights out of their oppressors, including Shark, to whom many of the larger animals were pile-driving and pinning him to the floor. The forktail snapper was slapping a crab while shouting, "T-take that! I won't be sh-shark bait today!" Fly watched in amazement the mayhem that was unfolding before him. He tried to locate Sasha in all of this, but couldn't see her.

The guards that were holding Fly muttered to one another, "Let's get outta here, quick!" They tightened their grip telling the Fly Fish, "Don't think you're getting away that easy."

Fly and the crabs were soon out of the prison room and into a narrow corridor. The boy could no longer see what was happening, and hoped for the best possible outcome for the prisoners. And that Sasha would survive. His heart sank. Stella would never forgive him if he came back empty-handed, as well as bearing the news of the fate of her seahorse friend.

If he'd come back at all.

No! He didn't come all this way just to hand himself over! Fly struggled with all of his strength, flopping his body wildly, and trying to push at the crabs with his nose. Their holds were loosening. It was working!

When he thought he was free, Fly felt a sharp pinch on his tail fin, and then came a very excruciating burn. It was like someone gashing all across his leg. Fly clenched his teeth, trying to withhold tears and a scream. Something vocal came out of his throat anyway, some kind of muted roar. He felt his whole body drag backward, and then the burning sensation happened again, this time on his back.

The crabs were trying to hold onto him by both his tail and dorsal fins, slowly tearing rips into them. Fly struggled harder, but then felt a heavy slam against his side, causing him to float silently to the ground. One of the crabs smiled viciously, towering himself over the fish.

"Let's kill 'im!" the other crab shouted. For that one isolated moment, the debilitating fear paralyzed Fly, and his insides shook with anxiety. With death now becoming so imminent, his mind couldn't think. It was over.

The sound of a door opening caught them off guard, and the two crabs squealed in fright. Fly couldn't tell what was going on. He caught in his peripheral vision a yellow spotted eel grabbing one crab with her jaws and clamping down as hard as she could. Streams of blood floated out of his corpse. The other crab tried to get away, but he was not spared. He suffered the same fate as his comrade, his lifeless body tossed to the side.

The leopard eel passed an acknowledging look at Fly, her face still as prickly as it had always been, before she continued down the hallway. Fly watched her disappear, his mind still trying to process what just happened. Even if her intentions of saving him were unclear, in the end it didn't matter. It was because of her he was still alive, and for that he felt immense gratitude toward the grumpy eel.

He tried to get up and swim back to the prison hall, but he found he was unable to propel himself as quickly as he'd wanted. His swimming was off-balanced, and he constantly felt like he was going to turn over like a rotisserie chicken. He didn't know what his fins looked like at the present. If they were anything like they'd felt, he didn't want to see.

Instead, he dragged himself on the floor, grabbing with his pectoral fins to push forward. His whole body still throbbed with pain, and he clenched his teeth to overcome it. After a while, he managed to get through the door to the prison hall. All the prisoners were out of their cages, erupting in cheers. The crabs and Shark were locked up, with Shark banging his whole body against the cage walls, grunting and roaring, but to no avail. Fly smiled. More than he was happy for the plan succeeding was his joy that the prisoners took action. They helped free themselves.

Among the crowd, he spotted Sasha, who at the same time caught eyes with him. An excited squeak coming out of her, she swam as quickly as she could to her friend. The other sea creatures followed her with their eyes until they met Fly's, many of them still uncertain about the boy.

Fly grinned weakly at the seahorse. "Hey, Sasha."

Sasha looked over Fly with concern, nudging him with her nose. The fly fish tried to be reassuring. "It's not as bad as it looks. I'll be okay."

A group of sea animals was swimming toward the two, being led by the elderly sea turtle. The manta ray couldn't hide the pride in his smile. "Kid! I mean, wow, that was a stunt you pulled! And you're still in one piece!"

The sea turtle nodded at the sentiment, then turned to Fly solemnly. There was a twinkle in those aged eyes. "I'm sorry that I ever doubted you, son. You can forgive an old turtle, can't you?"

Fly gave a ginger smile at his former cell mates. "Actually, it was you guys. You freed yourselves."

"Well," the sea turtle said, looking thoughtful. "I couldn't just simply stand by as they took you away, could I?"

Fly's smile faded, and averted his eyes. "I thought you guys would be mad at me, because…you know…Joe." He couldn't quite get the last part out. The word "murder" occupied his mind, and he tried to push it out.

The forktail snapper was the one out of the group to actually place himself beside the orange fish. For once, he had a big smile on his usually-anxious face. "B-but you took the fall for the r-rest of us. You s-saved our lives."

Fly frowned bitterly and felt a swelling in his chest. He was reminded of that tuna, and how he couldn't save her.

The angelfish followed the snapper to be next to Fly as well. "But is it true? Is Lord Joe…dead?

It took some time before Fly answered, "He is. What I said wasn't a lie." The memory of Joe's rag doll-like corpse being carried by the water flashed in his memory. He cringed when he could pinpoint the cause of the disturbing way in which he died. A few questions, some sips of the antidote. Of course, Joe would not have hesitated to kill Fly himself, as he seemed to view life like it was a crumpled up paper to be thrown away. At the time, Fly reasoned that it was necessary, but did that make it…right? Had there been another way that he simply hadn't seen?

The manta ray joined the angelfish and snapper. "Hey, I wouldn't worry, kid. It's like you said, he had too much of his potion. That made him…what's the word…hyoo-min?"

Fly nodded. He was impressed that for someone not that intelligent, these creatures could grasp the concept of the fish potion, and that they could know what a human was.

"Wow, I wonder what being hyoo-min is like?" the angelfish chirped.

The manta ray tapped a fin to his chin. "From what I heard you can't breathe underwater, and you can't swim either. You'd have legs much like a crab's, only they're not the little stubby things." He smirked, laughing to himself. "Nah! I can't see it."

"You're pretty much right," said Fly, remembering what that was like. He couldn't bring himself to smile knowing what he had to look forward to when he got home.

The manta ray looked incredulous. "Is that so? Whaddya know? Tell me more!"

Everyone was staring expectantly at Fly. "Well," said the boy, hesitating. "A human normally lives on land, which is why they can't survive in water. And they're big enough to hold you guys in their hands."

"H-hands?" asked the snapper. "What are those?"

Fly extended out his pectoral fins. He did the same motion with them as he would wiggling his fingers, and found how very similar the movements felt. His fins waved like a flag in the wind. He then curled them like fists, and also did the "thumbs up" gesture. The tip of his fin folded in itself while one corner extended out. For some reason, this made Fly smile. His fins still worked as "hands", even to a smaller degree. Maybe some things would still be possible for him…

"Oh, just things humans have instead of fins," was all Fly answered.

Finally, the sea turtle came forward with the rest of the group. "I may be an old turtle–not bright, mind you–but I've noticed something…different about you." He scrutinized Fly, his expression curious rather than accusing.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked.

The turtle adjusted his specs with the tip of his flippers. "You know, I couldn't be sure. All I can say is you remind me of Lord Joe in a lot of ways. You're a lot smarter than you let on. Did you receive as much of the potion as he?"

It would be inaccurate to say Fly got any antidote at all, but he didn't wish to make things more complicated for these creatures. They at least had a faint idea of what a human was. Their tiny brains had reached as far as they could go, but they wouldn't be able to truly understand. "Yeah, that's it," he said, deciding to leave it at that.

Fly saw Sasha in the corner of his eye. "Well, Sasha and I need to get going now."

The ray placed both his fins on Fly's "shoulders". "Hey, it was fun while it lasted, huh, kid?" he said with a smile. "Guess I'll see you around at some point."

Fly nodded. "Definitely."

The angelfish came up to Sasha and gave her a hug. "Goodbye, little seahorse. Be careful next time, okay?"

Sasha squeaked, and returned the hug to her newfound friend. When they released the embrace, the angelfish acknowledged Fly appreciatively.

The forktail snapper grabbed both Fly's fins with his own, and shook vigorously. "I sure owe you one, p-pal! I w-won't forget this!"

After Fly readjusted himself, he said, "Don't mention it."

"Hey, I wonder where Leopard Eel went," Manta Ray said with a smirk. "She's missing out on this party."

"G-good riddance, I say. Sh-she gave me the creeps."

"I saw her before she left," said Fly.

Then the sea turtle was swimming right before Fly, meeting him at eye level. "Thank you, Fly. I do hope we meet again."

Fly was doubtful, but didn't want to give the turtle that impression. "Me, too."

With Sasha holding onto Fly for support, the two swam out the exit of the prison hall, waving goodbye to their former cell mates, they waving back as well.

After all that, Fly just wanted to be home again, not having to ever deal with sharks and crabs for the rest of his life.

He looked at Sasha. "Ready to see Stella again?"

And just as Fly had predicted, the seahorse let out an excited whoop.

"Okay then. Then let's go home before it gets too late."