"Wait, Melville!?" Horsenado nearly fainted when he heard the name. "Melville from Melville's Massive Mizzenmast Mart?"

"Ah, so you have heard of me? I'm surprised my name is still familiar to the Toons of Toontown. That must mean somebody has carried on the shop in my stead. I must thank them." the tall brown horse rubbed his chin in thought. "How unfortunate, I must surely give them my apologies for being gone so long if that is the case."

Horsenado flailed his arms around. "That's not what I mean! Scurvy! My captain is Scurvy! Short blue cat! Don't you remember them?"

Suddenly Melville froze in place, with nary a breath as he tried to comprehend the information he was given. "Wait... Scurvy... You couldn't possibly mean...?"

"Yes, I do mean! How is this even possible?" Horsenado was both giddy with excitement, and overwhelmed with anxiety at the prospect of meeting a supposedly dead horse. "I mean, that's incredible but how? I thought you died? Scurvy thinks you're dead? They've been blaming themselves for your death for as long as I have know them! How did you get here? You're so far away from where the accident happened?"

Melville choked up a bit at the mention of his former love. The one he had been holding out hope for so long. The one who he thought he'd never see again when he had given up hope and embraced his new life. "They think I'm dead and it is their fault?" a tear drop rolled down Melville's face. "What a fool I have been. An old, stubborn fool. All of this time and Scurvy has not given up on me, and yet here I am living life as if I did not leave behind the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have had so many opportunities to leave, but didn't out of fear and out of regret. I've wasted thirty years that should have been with them. Son, please tell me. Are they well? Are they healthy?"

"Um. Well. Kind of? I mean, they are still quite spry for being so old. They were fighting off Corporate Raiders, flesh-eating monkeys, and apparently severe loneliness for this long. However they are missing a leg, and they have an eye-patch." Horsenado closed an eye and imitated walking with a peg leg.

"Ah, that old eye patch. I wonder if it is the same one I saw so many years ago." daydreaming, Melville was snapped back to reality which a pair of snapping fingers. "Ah, excuse my daydreaming though. You asked me a question. How did I get here? Now that is quite the tale. How about we go get ourselves a drink, because this is going to take a while." Horsenado and Melville walked out of the hut and basked in the warmth from the large fire as they walked towards Melville's massive hut.

Melville was not an experienced boater. As the horse struggled to contain the ship from venturing off in one direction or the other, he also had to account for the gargantuan beast attempting to turn his fiancee into dinner. "Hold on, babe." he whispered to himself as he prayed that the boat would soon outrace the large mackerel. Melville hit the final thrust, and shot along the water, splashing small waves behind the pair, careful not to accidentally knock Scurvy off into the water. Turning around, his face dropped as now he could see the blue cat holding onto the rope, dragging themselves onto the boat. A few hundred feet behind, the large fin had made itself shown again. "Scurvy!" he screamed out. Placing the boat into auto-drive. he tumbled over as he reached for the rope and began to pull. Hand over hand, Scurvy struggled to pull themself up. "I got you babe, just hold on!"

Pull me up, Mel!" Scurvy screamed as the large fish quickly approached. The boat's speed was no match for the large fish and soon enough the abomination of nature was now within biting distance of Scurvy. Melville was not particularly strong, and fighting against the momentum of the boat, the cat's weight, and his sweaty hands make getting a good grip much harder than he would have liked. As he tugged on the lifeline, the horse could not keep his eyes open. He could not watch in fear of what would happen. Then he heard it, the blood-curdling scream that would pierce his dreams for years to come. The painful agony and tearful cry of a Toon who had just lost a limb to an attack. Melville dropped the rope and ran straight to the edge of the boat. Pulling up Scurvy, he dropped to his knees and began to cry out in horror as Scurvy's eyes flickered open and closed.
"Get us out of here!" Scurvy cried out.

"We need to get you help!" Melville screamed out, as he watched the fish slowly disappear back into the depths below, delighted with the treat it had just received. With the sudden realization that the boat was still driving itself, the brown horse flew upwards and ran to the steering wheel. Gaining control, and taking auto-pilot off, the horse flung the ship the opposite direction. Picking up the radio, he began to cry for help. "Somebody please help! My name is Melville and I am with my fiancee Scurvy! We were attacked by a large fish and have a severe injury. Please send medical help! I am coming towards Toontown, but I don't know where I am!" unfortunately for Melville in his panic he did not see the sharp rocks pertruding from underneath the foamy blue waters. A jolting crunch screeched through the air as the ship was punctured and catching itself underneath the hull and trapping the craft in place. "No! No not now! Cog damn it!" the brown horse screamed. Thrusting the engine as hard as he could, he soon realized they were stuck. He had to do something. Running over to Scurvy, he felt their heart rate which was still going. Ripping off his shirt, he tied it around the open wound where Scurvy's leg had been, assuring that there would be no further bleeding at least. Running to the upper area, he began rummaging for a medical kit. He knew there had to be one. Toonup was vital and he needed it now. Frustrated and crying, the horse could hardly see. The salty water that had already bathed his face hadn't helped itself. Angrily, Melville jumped back down towards the steering wheel and began to punch the gas. "Come on you son of a beach!" he screamed as he tilted the gas forward and backwards, revving the engine into a fury. The harder it went, the more he could feel the boat budging from the static position it had been put in. "Yes, yes! Go baby go!" he called out to the heavens above. Finally with one last thrust the engine hit full force and rocketed off the pointy rock and back again. "Okay babe, we're free! We're getting you to safety!"

While Melville was quite familiar with the nautical life, he was not well versed in physics. Unfortunately for the pair, they were in some trouble. Not accounting for the large hole in the bottom of the boat, he could feel things slowing down, as the boat began to come to a crawl. The boat sank slightly lower. Now willing to give up yet, Melville slammed on the gas, as the boat stuttered. He had to speed this boat up, and he only had one idea. It was risky, but what choice did he have? If he did nothing Scurvy would likely die. Putting the ship back onto auto-pilot, he ran back over to the storage area where they would keep a stock of gags in case of any Corporate Raider attacks. Grabbing three TNT, the brown horse sighed. Jogging and avoiding slipping on the wet wood, he made his way to the back of the boar and wrapped the TNT in a rope. Lighting them, Melville screamed and tossed them out into the water. With a big enough explosion he would either hopefully bring attention to his location, or at least cause some momentum to the ship with a large enough wave. Winding up his arm, Melville tossed the rope as far as he could. Unfortunately as he was throwing the explosive cylinders, he didn't account for how short the rope was, which landed just ten feet away from the ship. In a panic he began to pull in the rope to get another attempt, ironically dooming himself as the TNT set off, ripping an explosion that could be heard from miles away. The ship flew into the air, rupturing in half and sending both Toons unconsciously through the air. Melville landed with a splash onto a small section of what had one been The Ravioli, unable to do anything about his fiancee who was now out of fight, and out of options.

"Good Lord, Mr. Melville. How did you manage to survive that? Scurvy told us about the Holey Mackerel, but hearing it from you just makes it even worse." Horsenado shivered in fear and sadness as the older horse recounted his tragic tale. "Plus how did you end up here? You must have been hundreds of miles away?"

"Well, even with my incredible misfortune, somebody above must have been looking down on me, much as the same with you I'd say. I awoke, who knows how long after, on top of a large piece of the ship that had fractured off and began to float away. Fortunately for me I had strapped on the gag pack before the explosion, so I wasn't completely out of supplies. Unaware of where I was, I just began to paddle myself forward. For three days I worked relentlessly, hoping to find something or somebody who could help me. One day I landed on a small island. It seemed uninhabited but something felt off about it. I restocked myself on fruit and fresh water with my empty seltzer bottles and struck off, knowing the longer I was gone the harder it would be to return home." Melville slumped forward, placing his arms between his legs. "Anyways I go sailing another three or four days, things are going - well they're going about how well you'd expect. I was starving, weary, destitute. I had given up hope. The only thing feeding my hunger to survive was the slim chance I would see Scurvy again, and even that seemed to be dimming. The worst of it was when the storm came. Wasn't much I could do. I tied myself down but the waves battered me, hitting with body blows until I was too weak to fight back. Eventually it got the upper hand and knocked me clean out. Not that it probably took much, I had little energy. When I woke up, I was stuck on my board, stuck on a small rock floating at sea just a few hundred feet from the same stretch of beach you were found on. I came over, not really caring what I'd find. Fortunately for me there were other Toons, strange Toons. I thought I had died. I thought I was hallucinating. There were species I never could have imagined. They spoke just like me though. They acted like me. It's like I was in some alternative Toontown."

Horsenado shook his head in awe. "That's amazing. That's almost exactly what happened to me. Well, except for the giant fish and some other stuff. I was knocked overboard by a large wave and just woke up here. Crazy how that works, it's almost story-like." the red horse joked. "Didn't you mention that they thought you were some sort of God?"

"Ah yes." Melville chuckled. "It was the strangest thing. Immediately I was swarmed by confused Toons, many who were unsure what to do. Most stared, some dropped to their knees and bowed to me. I didn't even think to say anything, assuming they didn't speak. Finally their leader came out, a green kiwi named Pineapple. She was quite convinced that I had come to dethrone her she ordered the others to capture me. I understood her, and I was able to speak to her. I explained to her what happened, and eventually got her to believe me. Many still regarded me as some mythical being, a God, a divine presence among them. Of course it didn't help matters when Pineapple died suddenly just two weeks later of an illness. I was thrust into a position I did not wish for, I was requested to become the new leader. I didn't know what to do, I tried to convince them otherwise. I told them I didn't belong, that I wasn't a god. They didn't believe me. So I just sort of accepted things. As horrible as it is, I thought I might be able to leverage my position into having a boat built to bring me home, but the more I thought about it, the guiltier it made me feel. I then assumed I would make my own boat and sail out. The more time that passed, the harder it became. I settled in, became a part of the community. Even at my lowest and loneliest moments, I never felt completely alone. I had them. This is where our stories must diverge from each other. You do not belong here, and as much as it pains me to say it, neither do I. Horses were never meant for a place like this. Now that I know Scurvy is still out there, I must find them. There is so much left to say, to do. I'm only seventy-four, I have many years ahead of me still."

"But you said you felt bad earlier? Especially with all of the dangers. What if that giant Holey Mackerel is still out there? Storms? Pirates?" Horsenado shivered again at the thought of the dangers they had gone through.

Standing back up, Melville placed his hands on his hips. "Son, speaking with you has sparked something inside of me. Like a snap of the fingers, my fear has dissipated. My longing for Scurvy outweighs any negative feelings. Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that everybody knows I want to go home, but nobody wants to offend me by trying to make me leave. You're the perfect excuse to get me out of here. My biggest worry is that we will pass by your ship and never know. Do we head for Toontown, or do we wait longer? What if they stop here somehow? It would be a shame if we were not here. I propose we wait three days. After the third day, we will set out for Toontown. For now, you relax and bask in the relaxation you so strongly deserve. I will handle all the preparations, the crew, and everything else. We're going home, or we'll die trying!" Melville placed his hand out. Horsenado reached out and grabbed the outstretched hand, shaking eagerly. "Now, try to get some sleep. I'm sure you're overwhelmed. If you hear any cult chants or violent screams just ignore them, we're definitely not a cult that intends to eat you."

"Wait, what!" the red horse jumped up in fright.

"I tease, my boy. You are frightened quite easily. I apologize. I used to have a friend back in the day who was always joking about cults. Ah, Rainbow you crazy cat. I wonder how you are doing these days." the brown horse ducked out of the hut and walked back down to the beach, chuckling to himself. He had a pep in his step that Horsenado hadn't seen of him since they met. It looked like he would be leaving this place in three days. Standing up, he slowly tip-toed out of the hut. While he was sure that Melville was kidding, the reminder of the cannibalistic monkeys had come back into his mind.