Jake POV

We had been flying for about three hours now and all we saw was sea, sea and more sea. We were on a hunt for the corrupted Izzy's whereabouts and the first place we were headed to was-you guessed it-the creepy smoldering place itself, the Island of the Bells. And I could tell we were getting closer because the light was starting to fade away-and not like how it does when the sun sets. We were going to a place where the sun never rises. A place where daylight is too afraid to go. The sky was an ombré of pastel oranges, yellows, blues and a dark indigo was starting to form at the top. Cubby and I had sprinkled a bit of Izzy's pixie dust on us to ascend into the air and Peter of course flew naturally, carrying the forever flower with him. I had Izzy's yellow pouch around my neck and Cubby had his staff strapped to his back as he flew next to me. I couldn't help but notice an anxious expression on his face. He was just as eager to hopefully get the old Izzy back as much as I was but I could tell he wasn't very thrilled about seeing this horrifying island again.

"Uh….quick question you guys," Cubby said, his blonde hair waving in the wind and shimmering in the dying sunlight. "What about the dragon?"

"The what now?" Peter asked. Cubbys jaw dropped.

"That big purple fire breathing dragon that almost burnt us all to a crisp when we went to get that gold bell! Sound familiar?" Peter rubbed his chin, looking like he was actually in deep thought while Cubby and I just stared at him in astonishment and disbelief.

"Huh," Peter let out. "I guess I forgot about him."

"But what if he's still there?" Cubby asked. "Better yet, what if Izzy's there with him? And what if the only way we can get the cure to her is to go through him? What if—-."

"Re-lax Cubby," Peter said, quite casually. "We handled him last time so we can handle him again. Handling Izzy on the other hand, well, that's when you can't start worrying."

"Thanks." the sardonic twelve year old said.

"What are we gonna do about her, Peter?" I asked. "I mean….we have a cure, we just….don't know how to use it."

"Thank you for reminding me, Jake," Peter pouted. "But until we can figure it out, one of us will have to distract her." Both Cubby and I clearly got a little flustered when Peter said that. You could tell we both were thinking 'which one of us?' Cubby licked his lips, and then nervously giggled.

"So uh…which one of you guys would like to do the honors of keeping Izzy occupied?" he asked with an anxious smile.

"Well it isn't gonna be me." Peter said. My heart dropped and I scoffed.

"Well I most certainly am not gonna do it!" I protested. "I haven't held a weapon in three years! You're the one with the staff Cubby." I said, pointing at the blue eyed boy himself.

"You are absolutely right Jake," he agreed. "Here you go." my crew mate said, unstrapping the rod from his back and handing it to me. I looked down at the staff in my hands and my face dropped. Despite the fact that it was made of wood, it did look very sturdy and very durable. In fact I'm sure it could put up a good fight against a blade but I don't know how long of a fight.

"You are kidding me," I said in disbelief. "You guys want me to deal with her?" Peter nodded.

"I'm the only one who has a slight clue about how to use the Forever Flower." the redhead lectured.

"And I don't stand a chance against her, Jake," Cubby added. "But you do."

"But I'm the one she hates most. I'm the reason she did this!" I argued.

"Another reason why we have to fix her!" Cubby exclaimed.

"I will be as fast as I can Jake. I promise," Peter said. "But you are right. And I will warn you beforehand…this will not be easy. She won't give up. If she gets the opportunity she will kill you."

"That sure is motivating." I mumbled as I scratched my hair.

"Don't let her. No matter what. Alright?" the boy in green confirmed. "The only way we can do this is with all three of us working together."

Before I knew it, the light had fully disappeared and the sky had been painted with a dark navy blue….and we had arrived at the Island of the Bells. I think all three of us gulped at the exact same time as we hesitated to land on the ashy charcoal that worked as the island's shore.

"Uhm…," Cubby started. "Oldest goes first." he said, gesturing to me.

"Oh no..after you." I replied in a fake politeness. Peter slapped his forehead at our cowardice.

"You guys are bigger scaredy cats now then when you were seven!" he complained before confidently lowering himself onto the rocky beach. "Come on!" I grabbed Cubby's wrist and yanked him down with me onto the shore. We didn't join hands with Peter or get so close together that we were basically stepping on each other like how we had done all those years ago. It would look a bit stupid to see three adolescent boys holding hands like little girls.

As we made our way further into the island (which was in some way like a very large canyon) I truly had forgotten how horrifyingly eerie it was. There was a burning smell that filled the air and all around us were tall dark rocky mountains that had some sort of green plants growing up the side of them. The ground was rough and black and there were tall stone arches and rocks that had a reddish orange reflection from the pools of magma below them. There were streams and rivers of sizzling lava with steamy clouds ascending from them almost everywhere. If you were near one and took one wrong step, you were a goner. Dead trees also grew all around and made the place look like a haunted graveyard. And to top it off, there was a big volcano that oozed glowing bright orange lava and looked like it could erupt at any time. This place was an actual nightmare. Could anybody survive here?

"A-a-anybody home?" Cubby stuttered after a gulp.

"That's strange." Peter noted, looking around at the smoky atmosphere.

"What?" I asked.

"There's no sign of the dragon." he stated. There really wasn't. I guess I had been so caught up on my memory and observation of the island that I didn't even notice its main inhibitor -aside from hopefully not Izzy- was absent.

"Good. Let's keep it that way." said my blonde crewmate.

"But Peter look," I said, pointing up at what seemed to be a cave, high up in one of the mountains. A cave that was far too small for a dragon to fit through. There seemed to be a fire or light source of some sort coming from inside of it. Well, whatever it was it looked like it had just been lit. "What's that?"

"It looks like a cave of some sort," Peter replied, looking up at the cavern in the rocky wall. "And there's some sort of fire on a stick in there. A torch."

"There's no way a dragon made that," I noted. My heart dropped into my stomach when the realization hit me. "Which means—."

"Izzy did." Cubby finished in a tone as anxious and fearful as mine. I then heard a sound I had been dreading. A sound I had only been told about in Cubby's revelations. It was a sound of true insanity coming from above. It was a manic crackle. Peter, Cubby and I all gasped as we looked up to where the laugh was coming from and unfortunately, we saw where. Standing on top of a tall rock in front of the large moon- which had an eerie red tint tonight- was a very slender and feminine silhouette. In her hand, was a blade of some sort. But what really sent shivers down my spine was that I swore I could see glowing red eyes on her face. The figure's crackling laugh was followed by a few words in a voice tone so unnatural I debated on whether it was real or not.

"So you're back."

To Be Continued...