A/N: Oh my gosh guys! I am so sorry this took so long! I'm two days late past the deadline I promised and I apologize! It's been a cluster of work and school and trying to word this chapter just right. Speaking of which, I apologize in advance for the epic fail of Spanish translation that is included in the past chapters. Spanish isn't my strongest subject, and I blame my Google Translate for any inaccuracies that might occur lol. So yeah…Umm…as for what to expect, all I can say is…Hope for the best and try not to hate me! Lol

When you think about the concept of courage, bravery is naturally associated with it. However, when you think of bravery in general, the sense of being fearless is what comes to mind; which actually contrasts with the notions of courage since it usually involves being brave in spite of your fears. If that truly is the case, then despite what others might have perceived of me, being courageous was a quality that I lacked in childhood…And maybe, something that I struggle with even now as an adult…

Helga tried to control her breathing as she once again shot up in the middle of the night, nearly shouting her husband's name as she shook off yet another random nightmare. Her pride be da**ed, she was ready to crawl into the comfort and safety of her husband's arms.

…Only to remember that he wasn't there, and that she was alone...

Helga then sighed as she pulled out her locket and lightly stroked the glass exterior which contained a picture of her beloved husband and herself holding their adorable twin children.

She couldn't remember a time when she felt so happy and complete than when they were all together as one happy family; safe and sound with her where they all belonged.

Which now seems to not be the case…

At least she didn't know for sure if it was or not…

Which is what bothered her the most.

That uneasiness and sense of fear that she felt subside after receiving a message from her husband days ago was merely pushed aside, if not buried where she refused to feel it and instead, believed that everything would be okay.

And even now, she felt that everything was fine and concluded that she was overreacting. The sudden nightmares that caused her to lay awake at night were merely indications of how much she missed him.

At least that's what she kept telling herself; which is why she cursed herself for the sense of helplessness that threatened to make its appearance through the worried expression on her face and her rapidly beating heart.

"Pull yourself together Helga! Criminy, you're more of a pathetic wreck than usual! There's nothing wrong with the stupid Football-Head! I just miss him a little that's all! O-okay fine. So, I-I miss him a lot! But he's coming back the day after tomorrow so...So quit being such a basket case and dare I say look at the bright side of things! Just one more day and he'll be back with us…Safe and sound…And I'll be in his arms again…"

Comforted by her pep talk, she made herself settle into the warmth of her pillow and chanted her hopes silently until sleep took over her once more.

"Besides…I'm sure that no matter what, Football-Head is brave enough to handle whatever comes his way and take care of himself…"

Arnold Shortman had never been more terrified in his life as he closed his eyes in concentration, repeating the plan that he and Maria conjured up in his mind over and over again; reflecting on every detail, every possible setback and risk, and every action that needed to be taken. But although he was scared sh*tless, Arnold was also determined and not to mention...

very, very pissed off.

This monster was on the rampage of destroying everything precious to him without remorse or regard.

And he was just getting started…

It was one thing to completely disgrace and dishonor someone who meant a great deal to not only him, but to a whole civilization while killing half of said civilization in a matter of hours.

It was another thing to capture and torture him to where he would have been better off dead, but also treat him with enough medical attention to where he could still suffer without reaching death…

It was an even higher level to destroy and torture someone who was one of his closest friends in one of the worst ways a woman can imagine…

But this bastard threatened to go after his family.

After his wife!

That was when all lines were crossed beyond the point of no return.

Arnold was never one to stand for violence whatsoever. Even when it came to the ones that truly deserved it, he believed that justice would take its course.

But now, he was completely ready to do whatever it took to get rid of this twisted piece of sh*t once and for all.

Even if it cost him his own life.

That was the only thing that got to Arnold. The thought of his plan going wrong and something happening to him made his stomach twist with anxiety and disquieted him. Especially since he did not want to picture his wife being widowed or his children suffering the same fate he did.

…Only for there to be no hopes of their parent ever coming back…

But the thought of what this monster could do to his wife and children overruled that fear in an instant.

Scowling at the thought, his expression darkened and he used that conviction to fuel his valor to go through with the plan.

Suddenly, the sound of multiple footsteps filled his ear drums, making him turn towards Maria who nodded at him in return.

He listened carefully through the prison bars.

"Is everything ready?" Los Diablos asked calmly.

"Affirmative my lord. Everything is a go. All weapons of destruction are in place with backup in our secret storage spot if need be." One guard reported.

"¡Sí! And the sacred Green Eyed Tribe has been captured and held in confinement in our specialized prison camps below the inactive volcano. We have them all, save for the rats that escaped with their newest ruler anyways…" The second guard replied.

"And our final huddle ceremony? Is everyone present and accounted for before we take action?" the dark cladded pirate asked once more with a strict tone.

"¡Si mi señor! Todos, desde los especialistas en armas a los secretarios se contabilizan y están esperando actualmente en la sala de conferencias principal en estos momentos. (Yes my lord! Everyone from the weapons specialists to the secretaries are accounted for and are currently waiting in the main conference room as we speak.)"

"Excelente." He smirked.

One guard hesitated, but spoke up. "But m-my l-lord…I-if I may ask? A-are you certain that all of the people involved in your genius plan, and all those who follow you in general, should be present in person in this final meeting? Should we not have at least some men on the outside guarding the prisoners or at least keeping an eye on surveillance in case there are any disturbances in the plan? Like a backup or extra soldiers to cover our blind spots? You are taking everyone away from their posts and positions and it could be dangerous since there will be no one left to-"

The guard's explanation was cut short as he fell to the ground with Los Diablo's dagger impaled in his chest.

The head pirate then removed his dagger, wiped off the blood, and turned to his other soldiers.

"Now, would anyone else like to share any comments or concerns with my plan and waste more of my precious time?" Los Diablos asked in an eerie pleasant tone.

"No sir! You know what you are doing and we are confident in your abilities to triumph sir!" They all chorused.

"Good. On to the meeting then."

"¡Mierda!" (Sh*t!) Este monstruo es despiadada! (This monster is ruthless!)" Maria whispered in horror as she watched the guard bleed to his death.

"He's also overconfident, which gives us an advantage. Now that their meeting is about to begin, we just have to wait for the right moment before we put our plan into action." Arnold replied seriously.

"But you heard it for yourself, everyone that is of that demonio (demon) is at the meeting. There is no one to stop us from getting away, and yet at the same time, he has us severely locked down to the point where escape is futile even if we tried." Maria explained sadly.

Refusing to be deterred, Arnold kept looking outside the bars to see guards rushing to get to the conference room. He noticed the desperation in their expressions and evaluated it as fear for what would happen to them if they were late or absent from the conference. He then noticed a lean, yet muscled guard that scurried behind the taller guards, cursing at them to hurry up.

He smiled slyly and saw their opportunity for escape.

The lean guard continued to curse at the other guards who kept toppling over him to get to the meeting. As he passed by the prison cells, he heard multiple grunts coming from one of his boss's most hated enemy's cell and out of curiosity, rushed over to see his boss's weirdly shaped headed nemesis tug vigorously at his already loosened chains. They were quickly becoming loose enough for the Football-Headed man to escape; especially since the beautiful woman, now clothed in what he guessed to be the prisoner's shirt, was helping him by using a piece of cinderblock.

He called out to them without a second thought.

"Detener ahí! (Stop right there!) What do you think you're doing prisoner?!"

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to escape out of this hell-hole doi!" Arnold answered back in a snarky tone.

"That is not allowed! If you continue to rebel, I will-"

"-You'll what? Use force to stop me? I don't see that happening since all of your buddies are occupied by that piece of sh*t head's little get together, and you clearly can't take me all by yourself." Arnold smirked.

"I AM FULLY CAPABLE OF PUTTING YOU IN YOUR PLACE WITHOUT ANYONE TO AID ME YOU PEDAZO DE BASURA (piece of trash)!" The guard shouted.

"Piece of trash. Wow, well with a rebuttal like that we might just be convinced! Oh wait, no we're not." Maria folded her arms.

"Now if you'll excuse us, I think we'll be making our grand escape now." Arnold smiled with fake amusement as he showed the guard the now broken chains.

"NO HABRÁ ESCAPE DE MÍ! (THERE WILL BE NO ESCAPE FROM ME!)" The guard roared and immediately took the keys to unlock Arnold's cell, only to charge, jump, and lash at him; thrashing on Arnold with full force...

Only to be knocked out by a piece of hard cinderblock.

"Nice shot Maria!" Arnold smiled, wiping the blood from his mouth. He then went over to the unconscious guard and removed his clothes.

"Arnold what are you doing? There is no time to waste! We must escape now!" Maria hissed with urgency.

"We are but first, here. Get dressed in these. It's more decent than the shirt." Arnold gave the guard clothes to Maria who then blushed uncomfortably as she adjusted the shirt he gave her that barely covered her enough to where she was decent. She muttered her thanks and dressed in the guard's clothes as Arnold turned to give her privacy and to look over his latest entry of his journal.

"My dearest Helga, if you're reading this, then two things must have happened. One good and one…not so good…"

"You can turn around now." Maria called out.

"Ah now see? That'll make moving around a lot easier don't you think?"

"I'm afraid nothing will ever be easy for me now Arnold…" Maria thought sorrowfully. She pushed down the bitterness and smirked at him instead. "Yeah, yeah. Let us just go."

Arnold and Maria quickly made their escape out of the prison cell and ran down the halls. Luckily, there was no guards or form of security in sight, save for the surveillance cameras, which in turn made Maria nervous as they hid behind a huge wooden crate.

"Arnold! There are cameras everywhere and you are exposed! We need to get you a disguise." Maria declared.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. No one is there to man the cameras so we should be okay. This is only a convenience that works out in our favor as long as time is on our side, but then it's going to hit the fan if we don't hurry. Come on, time is of the essence." Arnold replied back in a serious and focused tone.

Maria shook her head at his stubbornness as he continued to watch for any openings for them to make their next move. She then spotted another guard rushing to get to the meeting room and quickly decided to take him out with other guard's spare gun.

Without Arnold's supervision of course.

"Okay, on the count of three, we'll run as fast as we can out that exit and to the volcano where you said the Green Eyes are being held. Ready?" Arnold stated expecting a response.

He didn't get one.

"Maria?" He turned around to find her gone. His eyes widened in panic as his eyes scanned the area for her, only for him to jump at the sound of a gunshot.

Before he could shout her name, she appeared with an armful of clothes and weapons.

"Maria da*n it! Don't scare me like that! Where the he** did you go?!" He hissed at her.

"To get you your disguise of course. Here, get dressed. It will be more advantageous for us this way." Maria replied emotionlessly.

"Wait, where did you get these? What did you do?" Arnold pressed, his tone expressing disapproval.

"No time. Just hurry up! Like you said, time is of the essence." Maria replied hastily, wiping off the stains of blood on her hands.

Arnold just shook his head and put on the guard's clothes. Maria quickly took the guard's dark hooded robe and wrapped him in it where his head and mouth were covered, but eyes were still exposed. She took one of the guns that happened to be a silencer and shot at the camera above them. They rushed out of the exit towards the volcano in the distance.

Once they both reached the inactive volcano, Arnold's eyes widened and softened at the sight of all the innocent people who were held captive against their will. He had to hold back his emotions as he saw the children all gathered in a small cell; tired, and miserable.

They came upon more of the jail cells to see some of the Green Eyed people cower in fear, while others growled in defiance.

"Seguidores del asesino! (Followers of murderer!) Have you come to do away with the rest of us now? Rest assured that we will not go down without a fight! Even now as we speak, your so called secret base has been discovered and an army has been assembled to come against you!" One member valiantly cried.

"No tenga miedo de mi pueblo! (Don't be afraid my people!) It is I, Maria! I have returned to you with a plan of escape. And if what you say about Roberto's army is true, then hope has graced us with an opportunity to escape this monster!" Maria replied calmly but firmly.

"M-Maria! Tu gracia! (Your grace!) It is an honor and pleasure to see you again." The member trembled with respect as he and the other members bowed briefly with respect.

Maria blinked in utter confusion, but before she could say something, another Green Eyed member spoke up.

"If we may be so bold to ask, why have you brought one of the torturers in our midst?"

Maria giggled. "Fear not. It is not one of the guards, but is actually the chosen one in disguise! In order to escape properly, we needed to look convincing…But as you know, the shape of his head made it quite difficult…" She smirked at Arnold's slightly annoyed look as he took off the dark hood.

"Ar-Arnold!" One member gasped out loud as he quickly bowed. The others followed his notions as they chanted Arnold's name with deep respect and bowed.

Arnold just shook his head uncomfortably. "Is this really necessary?"

"Well you are considered higher than royalty to the people you should know that by now!" Maria smiled, but then frowned in confusion.

"Wait a minute. That reminds me…If I may be so bold to ask; why did you refer me to such a high title earlier buen señor?" Maia asked the member that addressed her with a royal title.

"You do not know? Now that Roberto has taken Elder's position as leader, are you not the one who will remain and triumph by his side as he carries on his grandfather's legacy?" The member replied.

"M-me y Roberto?! No seas ridículo! Yo nunca podría ser considerado la realeza, y mucho menos ser digno de tal título! (M-me and Roberto?! Don't be ridiculous! I could never be considered royalty, much less be worthy of such a title!) She blurted out in alarm and disbelief. "Besides…I do not believe he thinks so highly of me in that sort of manner…" She finished softly if not almost sadly.

Arnold along with everyone else just blinked at her incredulously.

"What?" Maria asked innocently.

"You seriously have no idea? I mean you haven't caught on to any hints or paid attention to any clues? They're so obvious!" Arnold blurted out.

"What are you talking about? What hints have I not caught onto? What clues have I not paid attention to, and regarding what?" Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Wow…Was I really as clueless as she is right now in the past? Poor Helga…I can't imagine the type of hell I must have put her through…" Arnold thought as he shook his head at Maria.

"What?!" Maria pressed impatiently.

Before Arnold could brush off the subject, he couldn't help himself as he suddenly blurted out, "Do you like Roberto?"

"What? Of course I do. He is a good man and a dear friend since our childhood. How could I not? You like him also, no?" Maria replied as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

Arnold shook his head and smirked his infamous half lidded smile. "No. I mean do you like Roberto…you know, like-like him?"

"Wha-what?! What type of question is this?! I do not understand what you are talking about! This is nonsense! We are close friends that is all! N-nothing more!" Maria rushed in one sentence.

But her blush was not lost on Arnold as his sly expression grew.

"Enough with this foolishness. We must get back to the matter at hand now." She quickly turned towards one of the members from earlier. "Sir, you mentioned something about Roberto having an army assembled for attack, meaning he must be near yes?"

"¡Sí! I know this for certain since I came from his army. I was merely going off to scope the headquarters when I was captured and placed with the others in here. But I can say with absolute certainty that he is within range of our location." The Green Eyed member replied with confidence.

"A-and he is safe, yes?" Maria asked with concern.

"Sí. As far as I know of, he is hanging in there strong for now. His only pain is not knowing if you are safe or not, Tu gracia." He replied solemnly.

Maria blushed, but smiled softly once more, only to then frown painfully as flashbacks of her torture and violation tore through her mind. She shook it off. "I am…managing." She replied quietly.

Arnold frowned and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "Don't worry Maria. Roberto will find us. I just wish there was a way we could get a message out to him somehow."

"Me temo que eso es imposible Su Excelencia. (I am afraid that is impossible Your Excellence) I am certain that you have heard about the ones that have tried to communicate a message or reached out to get help…" Another member solemnly replied.

Arnold closed his eyes briefly and painfully as he thought of how such people now exist as only a memory.

"There must be some way around this…" Maria broke the silence.

Arnold turned around to find a little boy he recognized as one of his friends that just so happened to be into pigeons.

Carrier pigeons to be exact.

He then smiled with inspiration.

"That's it! Hey Alejandro! ¡Mi pequeño amigo! (My little friend!) Come here for a second!" Arnold called out.

The scared little boy reluctantly looked up only to see the bright smile of his older friend that also shared his interest in pigeons and ran up to him with excitement.

"Arnold! Arnold!" The boy cried as he hugged the football headed man tightly. "Estoy tan feliz de que estés vivo! Pensé que el malo de la película que tiene seguro! (I am so happy you're alive! I thought the bad guy got you for sure!)"

"Well he didn't get me down yet little buddy. Say listen. How's little Pal-Pal been doing since the last time I was with you both? Have you been trying to train him in sending and receiving messages?" Arnold asked.

"Usted apuesta que tengo! (You bet I have!) Ever since you helped tend to his broken wing some time ago, he has been up and flying left and right! He hates being cooped up." The little boy replied as he stepped aside and showed Arnold a closed off cage with a frantic bird flapping with all its might and cooing loudly.

"Well we're going to put him to good use now. Hold on, I'll get him out." Arnold replied as he used one of the guards' extra keys to unlock the bird cage. The bird instantly flew around the open cell and landed on Arnold's shoulder.

"Okay Pal-Pal. We've got a big job for you. I hope you're up for it. You're our only hope now…" He quickly reached in one of his pockets and pulled out his journal; ripping out a blank page, scribbling a message on it in haste, rolling it up, and tying it to the bird.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Arnold. Really? A carrier pigeon? How is that going to help us?! The meeting is about to start and I doubt that it will last that long! Destruction is upon us now and we need to think of something fast! Even if your idea of a message carrying bird works, there's no telling if the fowl is reliable or how long it would ta-"

"-Don't doubt me Maria. Birds are smart. My friend Phoebe once told me that pigeons are very intelligent and can fly in open spaces for up to 40 miles per hour. Seeing that Roberto is nearby, we should have more than enough time. Besides, I observed the guard's little pow-wow with Diablos. The meeting should be going for hours. If there's anything I've learned anything from Diablos, it's that his ego is endless. He'll spend a good hour and a half bragging about how he accomplished everything that his father couldn't." Arnold replied.

Arnold brought the bird to a nearby window and stroked him softly. "Listen little Pal-Pal…like I said, you're our only hope here. The plan is in motion, but it's going to be too dangerous for them to handle and I don't want any of the kids getting hurt…I need Roberto to take them away to safety. So…please…fly to Roberto and get this message to him as fast as you can…For me…You know the Green Eyes signal. Find the symbol and fly towards the hidden green colored smoke. Roberto should be there and respond. Creo en ti amigo mío. (I believe in you my friend.) He whispered. And with that, Arnold sent the bird off, watching it fly high across the night sky.

As the clock continued to tick against Arnold and the remaining Green Eyed tribe, all they could do now was hope and wait…