The shore wasn't far past the bridge where the heroes fought Jack. It was quite an exciting view. Golden beaches, crystal blue waters, and tropical greenery mixing with the edges of the forest all lay before them.

For Natalie, the sight brought back memories of her first adventures and a stony beach where she and Matt had bonded in combat with strong enemies. Matt pictured himself on the beach with a cold drink, the hot sun, and good food. Lance had a different view of the beaches. Beaches meant women in swimwear and cute girls.

Still, as they approached the shore, they could see a few people scattered across the beach. There was even a tent set up on the forest line with a couple sitting in front of it.

"Well, I feel like that earns us something of a beach day," Lance noted, gesturing over his shoulder. "Maybe we take the rest of the day off from travel and stop for rest and fun." In part, he just wanted to see what kind of swimwear Natalie had, but it was also a reasonable suggestion. Jack had taken more out of them than any of them would openly admit.

"I didn't bring anything good for a beach day," Natalie argued. She had been under the assumption this was the part of their journey they would spend the least time in and had packed accordingly. "If we use the transport stone, we could get what we need in Town."

They had discovered that Jack hadn't only been guarding the bridge to the coast, but also a magic stone that seemed magically connected to a golden star in Town's town square. When they placed their hand on the stone and pictured the other, they would open their eyes and find themselves standing touching the other. It had been an interesting development and meant they would be camping out far less often than they expected.

They all agreed that if they wanted to relax, this would be an ideal time to do it since they were already close to the transport stone. After a short stop in Town, they were all ready for a great beach day. They had towels, swimwear, umbrellas, and fishing supplies ready to use.

It wasn't too hot that day, but the sun still shone in a cloudless sky above the ocean. Matt had chosen a flame print pair of swimming trunks and dove into the surf right away, feeling the soft sand under the water between his toes. He waved to Natalie, trying to get her to join him. Natalie waved back, laying out a towel. She had picked out a white two-piece swimsuit, but wanted to tan before doing anything in the water. Nolegs curled up on one of the corners of the towel, basking in the light of the sun beside her.

Lance took a far more military approach to his beach day. He was clad in a pair of black trunks and a skin tight green shirt. He pulled a pair of goggles over his eyes and dove into the water, efficiently fighting the waves and cutting like one of his bullets through the water. He surfaced next to Matt, sucking in fresh air. Matt looked over to him and started laughing.

"What's with the outfit, Lance?"

"I would think that would be obvious," Lance answered, not seeing the humor in his attire. "I have to keep salt water out of my eyes, and I burn way too easily to not wear a shirt in the water."

"But you look so stupid with the goggles," Matt retorted. "Like, a complete idiot." Lance frowned at this and responded by splashing his hand into the water and sending it flying into Matt's face. The salt water stung Matt's eyes and he spluttered a little. By the time he opened his eyes, Lance was already out of the water and laying out his own towel near Natalie's and setting up an umbrella to cover his own space. Matt went back to his own fun in the water, brushing off the attack.

"You know," Lance informed Natalie, "we redheads really do need to apply sunscreen far more often than others with how easily we burn in the sun." He produced a bottle of the cream from his things and began applying it to his own legs since Natalie didn't respond. She was lying with her face buried against a curved pillow and her back to the sun.

"Did you want some too? I have plenty. I can even put it on for you." Still no response. He squeezed some of the cream onto his fingers and slowly reached over, wondering if she might have fallen asleep in the warm sun. His fingers were only inches away when she finally responded.

"If you touch me," she muttered into the pillow, "I will set your hair on fire, creep." Lance froze and slowly retracted his hand. He rubbed the cream onto his own face instead, opting to keep his hair as it was.

"Lance!"

Lance looked around to see who had shouted his name, but Matt was still in the water and facing away. It took him a moment to notice the slim blonde girl walking towards them on the sand. It was another moment before he recognized her as one of the group of girls that had taken a liking to him back in Town.

"Hey, imagine running into you here," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, we are taking a day off before we start traveling again." Lance looked the young girl up and down, sizing her up in more ways than one. He noted that when her gaze flicked over to Natalie, her smile faltered for just a moment.

"Oh, are you here with your girlfriend?" The question seemed innocent enough, but Natalie chimed in before he could respond.

"I wouldn't date this pervert if he was the only guy on the planet." The pillow muffled her words

"Ouch," Lance said, faking a hurt tone, "I think you would find me quite charming if you needed to." He turned his attention back to the blonde girl. "How did you get out here anyway, um…" he trailed off, trying to remember her name.

"It's Hikari," she provided, "and I find you plenty charming, Lance." She plopped herself next to him and put a hand on his arm. Lance scooted away just a little, feeling something wasn't quite right about this girl, despite her cute appearance. He noted that she hadn't actually answered his question. Just as he was really getting uncomfortable with her, Matt shouted from the water.

"I need to, um, check that out. Seems important," Lance stuttered as he pulled away from her. He jogged to the water and she followed close behind.

"Something just grabbed my leg, I'm sure of it," Matt called to Lance when he reached the surf.

"Probably just a fish brushing against you," Lance noted. Still, it was an excuse to keep the focus off Hikari's flirting. He stepped into the water to help Matt and she didn't let him get any further from her as she tagged along. After a few minutes of stomping around in the water, they found nothing.

"I guess it was nothing," Matt admitted. Just as he said the words, the surface of the water broke as something red emerged. It whipped out of the water and slapped into Matt. Another red object reached for Lance and he jumped back. He could see now that the thing was a tentacle, and he could see that he had leapt back behind Hikari.

The seeking tentacle had missed Lance, but now it wrapped around Hikari's ankle, and she barely had time to scream before it pulled taught and she hit the water.