It was close to sunset when you finished helping Eclipse build her raft and stock it to accommodate you both while the two of you talked. You decided against telling her about the message you got from Zulon, instead you told her about what happened to you and why you were injured and what happened to your crew and captains with Bon Abell. She had a complicated and sad look on her face when you told her that Moon managed to kill her in a sword fight. Eclipse also took the time to help you re-wrap your wounds in fresh wrappings.

As she was helping you wrap up your wounds, she told you about how she had been adrift at sea for, she doesn't know how long anymore. However, it had been long enough that she was starting to shrivel up before the sea granted her a mercy and gifted her the ghost ship they were on. She had been on the ship for two weeks. She also told you how she wished she knew who of her original crew was still alive or if they had joined Bon Abell's crew or not.

"Wait? I thought if a captain of a ship is killed then the captain-less crew leaves," you questioned.

"It's one of the outcomes that can happen. Sometimes the crew is killed with the captain. Sometimes the captain-less crew joins the victorious captain. All kinds of situations can happen. It depends on what the crews and captains want."

You were quiet for a moment as you thought about it. "Then I guess the Crusty Waters was lucky that the Dying Light 2 left us alone."

"It is."

After you double checked everything that you tied down, Eclipse started talking to you about setting up a pully system to safely lower the raft into the water without capsizing it, but you stopped her in the middle of her planning.

"It's good. We've got a buddy to help us."

"There's more people on this ship?"

Instead of answering her, you went to the edge of the broken part of the ship in the cargo hold and yelled, "DJ!"

You heard Eclipse walk up to you from behind, but any other noise she made was soon drowned out by DJ's trilling for you in a way that made you think of slow down dubstep. You heard her gasp as DJ's big eye peered into the hole of the ship. You heard wood smack against wood behind you and you turned to see Eclipse sprawled along the floor, the autumn-colored leaves on her head were pinned back against her head making her look like she had a cone for a head, her arm stump was held up in fear as she gazed in horror at the siren.

You went over to Eclipse and squatted beside her. "Easy. Easy. He's not going to hurt you. I promise," you then turn to DJ and said in a baby voice, "Isn't that right, buddy?"

DJ clicked and sang in response.

When you turned back to Eclipse, she was looking at you like you had grown a second head. Honestly, you were fine with that and expected it. You grabbed her arm stump and pulled her to her feet, then you pulled her back away from the raft. Then you told DJ to grab it and put it on the water for you. With a rumble DJ shoved his hand gently into the hole of the ship, picked up the raft, then easily pulled it out without damaging it. You pulled Eclipse with you to the broken hole of the ship and in the dying light the two of you saw DJ slowly and carefully set it into the water.

"Are turn," you stated as you looked up at the giant stickman.

Eclipse gave you an incredulous look, but you only smiled in return. DJ's hand came to rest at the entrance of the hole, and you stepped down on to his soft scaley palm, towing Eclipse on with you. The tree woman stood ridged as you held onto her, and DJ lowered the two of you down next to the raft. Pulling Eclipse along, the two of you walked off DJ's hand and onto the raft.

"Thanks buddy."

DJ hummed low at you. His kids popping their heads out of the water to look at you, Eclipse, and the raft. Eclipse jumped at the sight of the babies.

You hold the old woman's hand. "I promise they're not going to hurt you. They're my friends and are like family to me."

She said nothing, but she gave you a look like you were insane or maybe she was in awe. It's hard to tell when someone's terrified. Regardless, she straightened up and started unfurling the sails to the little raft. You helped her.

"So, how far away are we from South Shallows Isle? That's where I'm hoping to find the Crusty Waters at."

Eclipse looked at the sky and you saw her eyes shift like she was doing the math in her head. Then she said, "If we don't face any storms. We should get there in two weeks."

You frowned at that. You doubt there'd be no storm. That's a rarer occurrence than unsalted foods.

"Welp," you state with a fresh smile, "Guess we better get going then."

The wind blew and immediately filled the sail, pushing the two of you across the water. DJ and his kids followed at a leisure pace as the water gently rocked you. Now it was nothing more than a waiting game as you two sailed across the sea.

The days were passed with idle chit-chat and playing with DJ's kids… Or well, you played with the kids. Eclipse kept her distance as best she could, considering how small the raft was in comparison to DJ. You also tried to do busy work on the raft with Eclipse, but she insisted that you stay still and rest. You were practically fully healed at this point, but you were still sore, so you complied with the demand to rest. It didn't stop you from complaining, though.

Eventually, the two of you started asking questions about each other. You learned that Eclipse has always loved sailing and being out on the water with her crew. You learned how she grew up on a community ship mostly comprised of elephants and hippos and she specifically told you about this one hippo that was the best navigator in the world and how she learned everything she knew about navigation and sailing. You don't remember his name that Eclipse tells you, but you do remember that he was a hippo that liked eating his rainbow kelp fresh from the sea. She then moves on to telling you about how she amassed her first crew and how she slowly watched them get old and retire. Then she talked about how she first met Bon Abell and how she helped save her from being cut in half by people who wanted to use her body as building material. She even pulled up her shirt to show you the indentations on her sides that turned her boxy frame into an unwanted hourglass look. You were amazed by the life she lived and despite how old she was, she still sparkled with life.

In turn you told her about yourself. You told her about your parents and about your little garden that you took care of. You told her about the kids that you made laugh at the park. You told her about your job that you weren't the biggest fan of but still miss in a weird way. You told her about your love of gymnastics and exploration. You tell her about your favorite foods that you miss eating from your world. All while Eclipse quietly listened to you talk and only interrupting to ask clarification questions. You thought it was nice to finally talk to someone that you could clearly understand after being away from the Crusty Waters after so long.

Eventually the conversation turned to the Crusty Waters and to your Captains. She wanted to know how they are. As you told her about how everyone was, before what happened with Bon Abell, your mind eventually wondered over to what The Voice told you about your captains and how they feel about you.

"Hey, Kid. You okay?"

You pause in your petting of Mi as your head snapped up at the stickman. She was in the middle of checking the ropes on the raft as you sat under the little roof thing that was used to protect the two of you from the sun. Do and So then grabbed Mi by her tail and roughly pulled the baby siren back into the water to mess with her. Fa immediately jumped onto the raft to take Mi's place on your lap, and you began petting again.

"I'm fine… I was just thinking about Moon and Sun."

"Worried that they didn't make it away from the siren attack that The Voice caused?"
"No. I believe that The Voice was true to their word about leaving the Crusty Waters alone when they took me."

"You have a lot of faith in a creature that kidnapped you."

"What else can I do? I'll keep believing they were true to their word until I see that they weren't."

"Mmm. Then what were you thinking about?"

You sigh in embarrassed pain, like all those times you talked to your parents about your love life. Eclipse giggled in response as she sat down next to you, pointedly ignoring the baby siren draped across your lap.

"I promise. Whatever you say will stay with me. I'm an impenetrable treasure chest."

You sigh one more time. Then you said, "So, I learned from The Voice that Sun and Moon have romantic feelings for me."

"And you trust what The Voice said, because?"

"Why would they lie about it? They were really haughty about it, too, when they told me. They were using the information as like, a way to make me feel repulsed or something to try and bond with me over it or something to that affect."

Eclipse nodded as she leaned back to lay down. "Hmm. So are you repulsed?"

"No. I'm worried."

"What are you worried about? If you like them romantically back, then you just have to tell them and the three of you will be together. If you don't like them, then you just have to tell them and the three of you will work on what you all want moving forward. Simple."

You laugh at how easy she makes it sound. "I don't know about that. I don't think I should examine how I feel about my captains. As much as I've grown to love this world and the people here, I still want to go home."

"In our history, none of Zulon's creatures have ever returned from once they came from."

"Then I'll be the first," you state confidently, "Even if it takes the rest of my life to do so."

Eclipse sat up to lean on her one hand. "Then why refrain from being in a relationship with them?"

"It just seems sad and unfair to have a partner that's wanting nothing more than to return to their home and I can't ask them to come home with me. They'd get hurt like I have been here. I feel like I'd just end up breaking their little hearts each time I remind them I'm trying to leave them."

The two of you were silent. The only sound being the wind pushing the sails, the ocean water sloshing the sides of the raft, the baby sirens playing in the water, and DJ's low rumbles.

Then Eclipse asked, "How do you feel about my boys? What do you think of them?"

"I think they're both good people. They are caring and kind and strong and they make me laugh. I admire Moon's no-nonsense attitude and his compassion, and I admire Sun's enthusiasm and wonder… I like Sun's smile and I like Moon's voice… I like them both a lot…"

You are drawing patterns into Fa's scales as you avoided looking at Eclipse. It felt embarrassing admitting this to the person who is essentially Moon and Sun's mom. Eventually you look over at Eclipse and she's giving you the softest smile you've ever seen on her face. It almost looked relieved in a way. You looked away quickly.

"I think you three will be fine. Of course, they'll be sad that you'll always be looking for a way back home, but they'll help you no matter what. I think you should talk to them when you get the chance. Trust me, even if it hurts, it's still worth being with the people you love."

"Can you really say that with all your heart, even after what happened with Bon Abell?" You asked not to change the subject but because you don't like the idea of hurting the people you care about. You know how hurt Sun and Moon were by the blue rabbit and you don't doubt that Eclipse isn't hurting just as much. How can she say that after that kind of hurt?

The smile was still on her face but the warmth in her eyes was gone. Then the stickman chuckled without humor. "That's not what I meant. If the people in your life are trying to kill you, then of course you should cut them out of your life. I'm just saying that the kind of hurt you think you'll be inflicting on my boys will be a pain worth having if it means they'll get to have you in their lives. If I know my boys, they'll be happy to be anything with you." Eclipse laid back down as she relaxed.

You felt butterflies in your stomach after hearing that. However, it just made you more nervous about the prospect of having that kind of conversation with them. You covered your face with your hands and pulled down at your face as you sighed.

"I don't know…"

"You know," Eclipse started quietly with a bit of hesitation, "I still love Bon Abell."

You felt your neck pop with how fast you swiveled your head at her. "After everything she did to you and my crewmates and captains?!"

"Yah… I miss her. I trusted her a lot… She was the best swordsman I have ever known."

"Would you have rather she didn't die?"

There was a pause as she sighed like she was in pain. "I would rather she hadn't done a lot of things. It was good that Moon was able to defeat her, but I wish it were me instead of him just so I could spare him the pain. Alas, as you can see, my last sword fight with Bon Abell didn't go as well." She waved her stump arm for emphasis. "I'm just trying to say that I love her despite it all… even though it hurts. Knowing her… Knowing who she was… She was one of the best parts of my life."

Your heart went out to the strange wooden woman beside you, and you leaned over and wrapped your arms around her. Fa hummed disapprovingly at being disturbed from resting in your lap and slipped off the raft to swim with his siblings. You felt Eclipse's hand stroke the back of your head as you smushed your face into her firm woody midsection.

Now, despite just being a random human that's supposed to have some kind of "magical" connection with this world's god and planet, you really wished that included protection from the elements as after a week into your travels to the South a storm hit your little raft. You were lucky it wasn't a hailstorm, but it made the waters angry, and the heavy rain made it hard to see.

You and Eclipse worked to keep the raft upright. Ropes were tied around your midsection; connecting you to Eclipse and to the raft. Somewhere out in the water, you could hear DJ's distressed singing as he tried to stay close to you and keep an eye on the kids.

Through the rain and the wind, you yelled, "DJ!"

You heard his whale-like cry and then his head emerged out of the water. Two of his hands cupped around the raft as he tried to protect you while his other two hands were spread out to balance him better. On his stomach you saw the kids holding comfortably tight to him.

"DJ! Don't worry about me. Just get underwater. Take care of the kids."

DJ gave you a concerned wail as a medium sized wave crashed over his hands and splashed you and Eclipse.

"I promise I'll be fine! Just go! The kids are more important to protect right now."

DJ still looked hesitant, but you insisted until he was gone under the water. The water was too dark for you to be able to see him go.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Kid," Eclipse warned as the raft heaved and made them fall to their knees.

"I'll be damned if I don't see my little siren family one last time before I go home. I'm telling you that much," you state as you get back on your feet and shout at the horrible sight in front of you.

Eclipse turned to see what you were looking at and she cursed with all the breath in her body. A nine-story tall wave was heading right for you. You and Eclipse ran for the oars and tried to keep the raft up right as the two of you attempted to surf the wave. The wave crashed over you filling your nose with salt water but the two of you stayed up right and on your raft. The second surprise wave that crashed into you two is what flipped your raft over.

Your eyes burned from the salt water, but you kept them open to follow Eclipses lead. Resurfacing, you gasped for breath right before another waved crashed over you, like a sadistic man enjoying the feel of you struggling against being drowned. Pushing you down as you fought your way up. Eventually, you and Eclipse had a moment to grab onto the raft and right it back into place. Once it was right side up you were double checking the knots while Eclipse checked the stock. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. The storm lasted for four long tiring days and nights.

Eclipse and you were sprawled out on the small raft as the two of you stared at the stars. Watching them wink in and out as the dark clouds dissipated.

Fading in and out of consciousness, you asked, "So. How far off… course are we?"

It took Eclipse so long to answer that you almost passed out from exhaustion. "We're about three days off course..."

"Oh? Only… three days. Cool…" Then you finally passed out.

The sun was hot on yours and Eclipse's back as the two of you paddled across the ocean. The waves barely rocked the raft, and the wind was nonexistent. Sweat dripped down your back and brow and your skin burned from over exposure. Your stomach ached like you had hunger pains.

"Alright. Break time." Eclipse threw down her oar in the middle of the raft and went to lay down in the small, shaded area.

"What? Already? We just started." You waved around your oar as if you were proving a point.

"Kid. It's hot. You're going to over work yourself. Aren't you sore?"

You sigh in defeat, because you were, and you toss the oar down. You grab a salted potato, wanting to relieve your hunger pains, and you lay down next to her in the shade.

"We'll get there when we get there. We don't need to fight every second to reach our goal. Taking breaks is just as important to getting to our goal, as working is."

You roll your eyes to yourself, less out of disrespect for Eclipse and more from the frustration of the whole situation. You wanted to be at South Shallows Isle now. You wanted to see your friends now. You wanted to go follow that message now. You were starting to get the sneaking suspicion that there was some entity out in the world purposely making your life more difficult than it has to be.

You offer your half eaten salted potato to Eclipse. "Are you sure you don't want any."

She said, "You seem to need more food than I do. Please. Keep it for yourself."

"I haven't seen you eat all day though. Is it a part of the whole being a tree person thing?"

"Yes. Now eat."

With a huff you continue eating the salted potato.

As the two of you drifted, you heard a splash in the water. You sat up excitedly. "DJ?!" You look out across the horizon.

"I'm pretty sure we've lost your siren friends," Eclipse stated as she sat up with you.

You dragged your eyes away from the water to look at the old celestial themed woman. "But I know I heard something."

She looked like she was going to say something, but then her eyes zeroed in on something behind you. You turned around and saw a dorsal fin poking out of the water that looked as long as your arm. More dorsal fins poked out of the water as they circled your raft.

"Uhhh… Eclipse… What are those?"

"Get up… Slowly," Eclipse forced through a whisper.

You tense up at her words and only nod at her as you followed her to the oars. The two of you slowly started rowing the raft. Looking into the water, you saw what looked to you like giant sharks. Their razor teeth were jutting out of their jaws, and they had strange tiger like stripes along their body. They looked bigger than Eclipse was tall and swam with a patience only stalking hunters have. They kept swimming around the raft despite your attempts to keep moving.

"Eclipse," you whispered harshly, "Please. What's going on?"

"Wasp sharks. One of the most aggressive creatures of the ocean. One wrong move and they'll start jumping out at us. Just keep slowly paddling. They'll stop following us eventually."

You two make good progress but the swarm of wasp sharks kept following the two of you.

"I don't get it. What are they following?" Eclipse finally said.

The two of you slowly move away from the edge of the raft. You were so tired, and your stomach hurt, and you just wanted to curl up and cry. Eclipse looked you over.

"Are you bleeding out from your wounds?" You lift your shirt to look at your midsection since your arms are fine. You weren't bleeding there. "Then why hide an injury from me?"

You follow Eclipse's gaze to your feet and see that your pants and feet were soaked in blood. You were so distracted by the new stressors and from being wet 95% of the time that you didn't even notice that your period had started. You shouldn't be bleeding that much… This is probably because you didn't have a period last month…

"Oh boy. Do they like blood?"

"Yes." Eclipse confirmed with a grim nod.

The both of you jump at the sound of water splashing.

"Don't worry. I'll sew up and cover the wound quickly," Eclipse said as she went to take off your pants.

"AH! WAIT!"

In your panic you rocked the raft and the next second you two were diving out of the way of a wasp shark as it launched itself out at the two of you.

"Don't panic," Eclipse yelled as the two of you dodged two more wasp sharks.

"Are you fucking kidding me!"

In all your frustration and pain, you stand in a batter's position with your oar and as the next wasp shark jumped out of the water, you hit it square on the nose, breaking your oar in half and cutting the shark. You shake your broken oar at the circling sharks.

"Leave us the fuck alone already!"

"I said don't panic," Eclipse hissed.

Two more wasp sharks jumped out of the water. You stab one in the side with your broken oar, and it took your oar with it, but you failed to dodge the second one and you felt its skin scrap against your back. Immediately you felt pain ripple through you like you just got stung by a swarm of wasps. You wheeze out a scream as your body ceased up.

It was hard to breathe through the pain, but you tried anyways. You focused on the sound of the water splashing wildly and soon a strong breeze was blowing over you. You heard Eclipse scramble to unfold the sails. Then you felt the raft stutter then glide across the water as the sound of splashing faded away.

"Kid!"

You felt a hand on your shoulder, but it just exasperated the pain in your back and you pulled away with a hiss.

"Don't worry, Kid. Saltwater helps with the swelling. Just hang tight for a second."

You heard her walk away from you. Then she came back, and you felt her pull your shirt up. Then cold water was poured on your back. Unfortunately, the desired affect that she was hoping for didn't happen as you yelped in pain and scrambled away from the water as your back burned worse than it did before, which is a horribly amazing concept.

"Wait! What's wrong? Why does it hurt more? You should be feeling better."

You felt her hand on your back and it brought you more pain and you yelled, "STOP! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Her hand left you before you finished your sentence. You held yourself tightly and your back felt sponge-y to you, like the swelling had gotten worst.

"Kid. I am so, so sorry," Eclipsed crooned sorrowfully, "at least let me stop the bleeding. That way no more animals will try to follow us."

"No. Stop. Just listen to me for a second."

You breathed heavily to try and compose yourself through the pain. Then, embarrassingly, you explained what a menstrual cycle is and how you just need some cloth, and it should stop in seven days… more or less…

Eclipse was silent for a bit as she absorbed the information. "Do you need any help?"

"Just give me some privacy. Don't look at me until I'm done."

"Okay Kid. I can do that."

You cleaned yourself up to the best of your abilities. Then you laid back down under the shaded spot of the raft onto your side.

"Sorry I lost us an oar."

You heard her from the other side of the raft. "It's okay, Kid. At least you got the wasp sharks to focus on something else besides us." You lifted your head up at her and you saw her shaking her head. "Cut throat. The lot of them."

You lay your head back down with a hum. "I don't blame them. They're just animals trying to survive."

That's true too.

"I'm going to pass out now."

"Wait! What do you mea—"

You lost yourself in unconsciousness. Happy to be rid of the unbearable pain your body was being subjected to.

As you slept you had a strange dream. You were in an endless darkness. You could see some sort of purple goo bubbling and broiling around you and you shined like sunlight through a prism.

"Um? Hello?"

The purple goo seemed to fizz higher at your words and soon you were able to see pained faces reach for you but never get too close as they cried and moaned. You laughed nervously at the sight as you were frozen to the spot.

"Uh… Do you need help… Or…?"

The crying and moaning died down as the purple goo seemed to suddenly dissipate and a single figure emerged. They didn't look like anything. The figure was just a shape that was vaguely humanoid, but you couldn't be sure. You just know that they are also made of the purple goo.

"I do. I desperately need your help." The voice that came out of the figure sounded like a British gentleman. Or well, what your brain interprets as a British gentlemen accent.

You felt yourself feeling free to move and you said, "Okay. What can I do for you?"

"Give me your heart."

You laugh. "Sorry. Sorry. That's so corny." You clear your throat. "But seriously. What can I do for you?"

You blinked and the figure was looming over you. Despite being so close, the figure was still unclear as to what it was. "Give me. Your heart."

"Why?"

"I need it."

"I need my heart too. It's kind of hard to share a heart."

"Give it to me."

"No. You're being very rude right now." You pouted at the figure. The purple goo figure pooled at your feet and was standing at your chest height. You stared at it, and it seemed to stare back at you. "What happened to your heart anyways?"

"It's lost…"

"Is it now." You questioned.

"Yes…"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Have you thought about making a heart?"

"Yes. It didn't work. Too much water."

"Huh…" You and the strange goo creature stood there for you don't know how long. Then you made an offer. "What if I made a heart for you?"

"You? Make a heart? Do you know how?"

You shrug. Then you start looking around. "There's not a lot of material to work with here, but I'm sure I can."

You start walking in a random direction as you looked for materials to make a heart with. As you walked you kept up the conversation going. Starting with introductions. "You can call me whatever though if my actual name is too hard for you to remember. What's your name?"

"You already know it."

"Ah, fuck. I'm sorry then. I'm terrible with names. Mind telling it to me again?"

There was a long pause and you wondered if the purple goo was gone or done with the conversation when it spoke up. "No…"

"Ah! What!? You're going to let me suffer like that?" The purple goo cackled as you pouted. "Fine then. I'm just going to call you Goopster."

The purple goo cackled louder. Eventually it died down as you continued your search for heart materials. The blackness surrounding you wasn't letting up as you walked and the strange light that you emanated didn't penetrate the mysterious blackness either.

"Where are we anyways?"

"Where my heart is supposed to be," Goopster said.

You pause for a second. "…Oh…" Then you kept walking.

"You're welcome to be my heart for me."

You snort at that. "Yah no. I have places to be."

"You won't be in pain if you stay here and be my heart," Goopster persisted.

"Eh. That doesn't sound too good…"

"And why not? Everyone wants no pain!"

"Well. I mean, excluding chronically in pain people, pain is just a natural part of life. How would I know I have something good, if I've never felt something bad?"

There was silence for a long time again and once again you thought you were alone before the figure spoke up. "What if all you've ever felt is pain and agony?"

"Ooof… That's a tough one. You'll have to get creative in making your own happiness. There's this artist from my world called Frida Kahlo. She got in a bad accident, and she was in pain for all her life after that accident. She used her art to help her express her pain and I think that gave her a form of happiness… I think… I only just started learning about her in my college classes before I was brought here, so… Yah… You'll just have to figure out what makes you happy if pain is inescapable."

"… What if I can't find it on my own…" Goopster said meekly.

"You mean you don't have any friends or family?" You stopped to look at the purple goo.

"… Kind of…"

You put your hand on the purple goo figure like you were cradling their face. "Hey. I may be neither to you, but I'll help you. Okay? You'll get a heart one day. I know it."

The purple goo started to inch up your arms and the world around you spasmed, shaking you to your core. Your back started to burn and your stomach ached. The world seemed so bright suddenly and you tried to shield your eyes, but your arms were glued to where they were.

"Kid!" You heard at first as an echo.

You squinted through the sunlight as you heard Eclipse call for you. "Uh?" You're able to move your arms now and the memories of your dream quickly fade from your memories. Only a vague memory of the color purple graced your mind.

Arms under your tender back lifted you up as you were embraced. "Oh, thank Zulon! I thought you had died." Eclipse voice was much clearer now.

"I was just sleeping," you slurred. You struggled to get out of her hold, her one-handed touch on your back burning you.

"You've been unconscious for over a week."

"… Ah. That's why I feel like I have to take a piss badly... and why my mouth is so dry… and everything else." You slowly get up. "Sorry to leave you alone for so long, Eclipse."

"I'm just happy you're breathing again."

You paused. "I wasn't?"

Eclipse gave you a grim look. You could only mirror her and unable to say anything too comforting, because how do you help someone breath when you don't know how to make them do that in an emergency. Even you're not CPR certified, you just have a hazy idea of how to do it through movies and tv shows.

You slowly go about taking care of yourself. Your back still hurt, but not as bad as it had. The cover you used to prevent your blood from going all over the place looked new and you were obviously at the end of your cycle. You appreciate Eclipse's care for your unconscious body, but that was still embarrassing.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"Of course, Kid. I'd hate to lose anyone else."

You nod at her. "So how much farther until we get to South Isle?"

"We should see it tonight," Eclipse stated.

"Fucking finally!"

Eclipse laughed then said, "Hey! If anyone gets to say that, it's me. I'm the one that's been conscious the most on this boat ride."

You gesture at Eclipse and said, "Well?"

She laughed again and yelled, "Fucking finally!" Eclipse lifted her stump arm, and you elbowed it like you were hi-fiving her.

The Southern Shallow's Isle was a beacon of light against the dark ocean water. You were happy to see it, but you weren't excited to go back to hiding in plain sight. An angry part of you wanted to just flaunt your stuff willy-nilly, be damn the consequences. Unfortunately, the consequences are putting yourself in danger, and your crewmates and friends in danger. Plus it also means making, whatever the Agony Cultists have planned for you, easier to do. You're not about to make things easier for them, that's for sure.

As soon as the two of you docked, Eclipse and you cut the sails of the raft and wrapped it around yourself. She proceeded to lead you as the two of you walked through the shaded parts of the lantern lit isle. Under your covering, you noticed that the things on this boat constructed isle were bigger than usual, not just in height, but in width too. Then as you and Eclipse walked into a bigger crowd, you saw that most of the isle was comprised of Elephants, Hippos, and Pigs. You thought it was pretty cool that such large land mammals were able to survive living on a water planet.

"I see the Crusty Waters," Eclipse said.

You squeaked out your excitement at being so close. "Do you see anyone on the deck?"

"Not yet."

"I'm so excited to sleep in my own bed again."

Eclipse chuckled. "Don't you go passing out on me again. You've slept plenty."

"I'll sleep for as long as I want." You huffed. That made Eclipse laugh again.

You passed a rather large crowd and as you hunched in on yourself, you accidentally flared up your wasp shark stings on your back. It made you a bit lightheaded, but you moved on. Soon, you and Eclipse were walking up the ramp that led onto the Crusty Waters. The deck was deserted.

"It is pretty late," Eclipse stated, "They're probably below deck."

"Yah… Totally…"

Once you were down the stairs you took off the sails serving as your cloak, and you took the lead into the dark hallways of the ship. You checked the crew's quarters, but no one was there, and half the beds were missing. Odd. Next you checked the cargo bay. Sometimes you'll find your crewmates and friends having secret gambling bids over stupid stuff, but no one was there either. At this point, you were starting to get nervous because, the ship looked fix, so they should be here. You're only glad that The Voice honored their word and left your ship alone once you were taken, but what happened to your friends? Shouldn't you have crossed paths with someone at some point if the ship wasn't empty?

You wanted to check on one last place before you started to panic. You led Eclipse to the kitchen/dining area of the ship. Relief flooded you when you heard voices coming out of it and lights were flooding the hallway out of the kitchen/dining area. Still veering on the side of caution, though, you peeked into the area. Half of the crew was in the dining room, sitting at the long tables or laying on the beds that they took from the crew's quarters, and you could see people schmoozing in the kitchen. You saw Happy, and Pigpatch, and Chip, then your eyes landed on the back of a white chicken.

You stepped out of hiding with Eclipse right behind you as you shouted, "Chika!"

All eyes snapped to you. You specifically saw the giant, white-feathered chicken woman jumped at your shouting, and she quickly turned around. Her shocked expression quickly morphed into a mix of relief and happiness and worry.

"Chick-a-dee!" Chika cried as she got out of the bench and ran towards you.

You ran into her arms and allowed yourself to be swung about like a bag of potatoes as Chika spun the two of you around. It hurt your back like a bitch, but you were just so happy to see her and your crewmates, even if it was just half of them.

"I'm never letting you go again, Sug!"

You gave Chika a kiss on her feathery cheek. "I missed you all so much. Y'all have no idea!"

Chika put you down, but she had her hands on your shoulders as she was appraising you. "Oh, Sug. You look awful. We need to draw you a bath and get some good food in you stat!"

You chuckled then cringed in pain when your back was suddenly slapped. You turned to see Roxy as she was giving you a big smile. "It's good to see you again, Tiny."

You leapt at the wolf woman and gave her a big hug and started kissing the nearest part of her, which was her shoulder. "I'm so happy to see you too!"

You let go of her and started wiping away your tears as you looked at everyone as your crewmates were starting to circle up around you.

"Ugh! Just get in here, the lot of you. I'm giving everyone hugs and kisses!"

Everyone laughed as you tackled Happy into a hug and gave him a kiss on his smooth leathery forehead and started doing the same from one animal crewmate to the next. Ignoring your back pain was easy with how you were filled with such joy and relief that you couldn't contain any affection that you had for your friends. You just had to show them all as much love as you could. Any embarrassment that you could feel for giving them affection that was the equivalent of you giving kisses to puppies at your dimension's pet store was nonexistent.

As you were doling out the affection, Eclipse was quietly keeping to herself for the time being. You attempted to get her to join in on your excitement and happiness when a familiar voice yelled over the chatter.

"What is going on!?"

"Moon!" You shouted gleefully.

Your crewmates parted as you came face to face with the shocked lunar themed stickman. "Starlight!"

You smiled wide at him and ran to give him a hug. "I'm so glad you and everyone are okay! I'm so sorry for thinking I could talk our way out of a siren attack!" As you gave him his hug, Moon picked you up in his arms. He was holding you up so high that you were looking down at him.

"You look exhausted. How did you find us?"

"Eclipse helped. She's alive."

Moon, not bothering to put you down, started looking for Eclipse. You and him immediately spotted her speaking with Pigpatch as the pig man was offering her some soup from the kitchen.

Moon let out a breathy, giddy chuckle. "Sun's going to be so happy to see her." Then he looked back up at you. "He's going to be so happy to see you too. As am I. We're both glad you're alive and safe and here and… and…"

You weren't thinking. You had cradled Moon's round face with your hands. Simply happy to see him. Simply happy to hold him. Then suddenly you were kissing him on the lips. You were ten seconds into the kiss, and overheard someone saying you owe me ten quartzers, when you realized what you were doing and immediately pulled away. It made the pain in your back even more acute and you were feeling lightheaded from the ache and from your own embarrassment.

"I am so sorry! I should have asked first. Actually we have a lot to talk about and… Uh…"

Moon was now holding you up with one arm as he was holding your face with his other hand. You felt like you could hear your heart in your head with the way he was gently guiding you to look him in the eye again.

"Can we do that again?" He asked.

You let out a nervous laugh. "Uh… Mm-hm…"

You felt Moon's hand glide to the back of your neck and pull you in as your lips tentatively touched once more. He tasted like sandalwood, and salt, and freshly cut grass. The kiss would have lasted longer if you didn't start seeing dark specks floating on the edges of your closed eyes. You pulled away from Moon with a curse on your breath.

"Damn it, I'm going to pass out again." Your vision fully turned black despite knowing you opened your eyes. Your body went limp against your will and the last thing you registered before fully passing out was Moon calling for Mr. Hippo to take a look at you.