Despite the rough morning she had before, Olivia pushed through the rest of the day trying to cleanse her mind of the tree based terror that befell her.

As the sun began to set, she allowed herself a moment to sit on the steps of her home and enjoy a fresh Bao bun that Betty had dropped off for her since she didn't have a functioning kitchen yet. Olivia looked from her bandage covered, blistered hands then out at her field and she smiled. Her field. A small sense of pride bubbled inside her as she looked at the young turnips and sprouting daisies. It wasn't just a pile of weeds. She actually managed to get something to grow.

Part of her wanted to take out her phone, take a picture and send it to her parents, another part of her hesitated as she remembered her mother mentioned she never wanted to come back here. Yet another part hesitated further to show her mother what had become of her childhood home…

"Once I finish fixing the place up. Maybe then I'll ask them to visit," Olivia mused before finishing the last bite of her meal and gingerly pushing herself to get up and stretch out her back. "For now. Time to sleep."

Any hopes for a normal night's rest were dashed as quickly as her eyes shut for the night. This time she dreamt of the forest west of her home. The flower petals from before took the form of vibrant butterflies that circled one area in particular.

That image was all she saw for the entire night until the morning sun crept through the windows and chased what sleep she got away. Her alarm went off shortly after causing her to grumpily pout.

"I just want one night of sleep," She bemoaned. "Is that so much to ask for?"

Even then she tossed her covers to the side, shuffled to pick up her clothes and change again dawning what was becoming her standard outfit. A plain white tank top, a pair of brown overalls that she tied around her waist to look somewhat like jeans, and a deep orange bandana that she kept tied around her arm. The bandana was a newer addition to the ensemble but it proved useful to have around as a makeshift bandage in case she hurt herself. Which happened too often for her liking.

Once she was dressed, she opened the door of her cabin to find someone standing there, waiting. "who-"

"Yes good morning. I'm Mark, You're the new farmer. I know," the stranger said with a resounding lack of interest. Two large scars over his right eye and a full beard were the more notable traits about his face. "I'm here to give you some info."

"Okay," Olivia hesitantly replied. "and that is?"

"The cavern, north west of here, is now open. Right through the forest. When you see Jack's Ranch, go left and follow the path," Mark answered.

Olivia's expression fell to a deadpan stare as her shoulders dropped. "it was closed?" Heck, it existed in the first place? She'd been way too busy clearing out weeds and trees to worry about exploring more then necessary.

"Yes, it was closed and now it's open." Mark repeated while raising a judgmental eyebrow. This one seemed a bit slow. "Catch any of that?"

"I got it. Cavern, open. Thanks," Olivia repeated back. Who did this guy think he was showing up at 6 in the freakin' morning acting this rude?! After the nights she's had? This could have been an email.

"The band of smiles cleared out the first two levels. It's safe to roam, no monsters anymore," Again the unwanted guest looked Olivia over. "Just don't go too deep. Your garden rake won't help you there."

Of course there were monsters. WHY NOT! "Great. I'll keep that in mind," She replied seemingly unmoved by the warning.

Confused by this Mark glanced at her and around. She heard him, right? "Monsters."

"u-huh,"

"It is dangerous," he repeated.

"Heard you the first time," Olivia snapped back.

Mark rolled his eyes, seemingly biting his tongue for a moment. "That's all. If you wanna know more ask Kira. I'm done here." Little did he know, Olivia caught the mumbled 'waste of time' he'd muttered under his breath as he started walking away.

Like she knew who that was! He had to introduce himself! "Will do. Don't trip up the stairs on your way out." She called as Mark retreated towards the stairs that led up the cliff side to the west of her not so little farm.

What a jerk! Thinks he can show up at her door unannounced and. NO! She fought back the urge to punch at the air and vent her frustration. She still had some stupid fallen tree to find in the woods and now she was in a worse mood! Thanks for nothing, MARK. That name was certainly cemented in her mind now, what a first impression.

Olivia looked over at her field in an effort to calm down and mentally prepare herself for the day she was about to have. As she did so, the fact that her mailbox flag was up, caught her attention. "I forgot to check the mail," she muttered before shuffling over to check its contents, finding two letters.

PSA:

The lab is now looking for a suitable diving candidate. All applicants must conduct and on-site test for compatibility.

Visit the diving pier for more information.

Ling

Head of Starlet Laboratory

Reading this caused Olivia to raise her eyebrows and give a short, impressed hum. A museum and a lab? For a small town this place was rather well put together. "What on earth happened here…"

She shook her head and pocketed the letter before opening the next. The scrawled words caused her eye to twitch.

Hooman,

Afraid I was, when you summoned me.

But open the path she has, to my home.

This means hooman must come visit me.

Understand you will after meet, how to heal island.

Left of your farm, my home. If confused, look at drawing I share.

Chieftain

Morbid curiosity caused her to flip the page over and sure enough a scribbled map was found showing her house, some dotted lines through doodled trees and an X at the end. Her eyes drifted off the map to the left to see the dense jungle like forest that seemed to beckon her.

With a heavy sigh she put the final letter in her pocket as well before glancing over to her crops. "I will be back to water you guys later, I'm just going to get the bull-crap done for the day and I'll take care of you when I'm in a better mood." And now she was talking to plants. She really had gone insane huh?

She winced at that thought before her feet stepped into rhythm leading her into the forest. Surprisingly it didn't take as long as she thought it would. Almost like there was a gentle breeze nudging her in the right direction and before long, she found herself in a small secluded glade where a stone pillar stood at the center of four ornate circular stone mosaics.

"Hooman," whispered a quiet voice as another gentle breeze swirled around, passing by her to sweep up leaves and twigs that built by the ancient pillar allowing the giant from before materialized. "I, chieftain, thank you hooman, to come here."

Olivia stood, stunned for a moment. This was getting harder to deny and write off as simply seeing things. "You're a… What are you?"

"Goom?" they tilted their head to the side. "I, chieftain, is Giant."

"Right, Of course. Silly me," This was her life now, huh?

"For long waited I have for you. Come this way. Look here." Chieftain instructed as he shifted to stand off to the side of the pillar, and gestured to it.

"Okay," she walked over as some remaining hesitation nagged at the back of her mind that she should be questioning this further. Yet she stood by the giant and stared at the top of the stone lantern esque pillar.

"Seen you have these writings but understand you do not. See you not power of shrines but see you must," Chieftain insisted. "Key they are to help goddess. Help goddess, then sickness gone."

"I'm sorry who?"

"Time now for ceremony," Chieftain announced, seemingly ignoring the question as he walked away.

"Hold on I have several questions actually," Olivia urged though her feet refused to move.

"Fast we must do. Hurt only a little, but open your eyes will." Chieftain replied before holding up both of his hands.

"Excuse me hurt?"

"Starting in five… four… three,"

"Wait a minute!"

"NOW!"

The four mosaics on the ground each began to glow. One yellow, another blue, green, and red as one of the four elements appeared over each. As a larger glowing circle connected them, olivia felt her feet slowly lift from the ground.

Everything went white in a flash of light. Before suddenly she dropped to the ground and stillness returned. No more glowing mosaics. No more floating elements.

"What. Just happened," Olivia asked while taking a few small steps back.

"Awakened you have to the power of nature," Chieftain answered with content pride.

Olivia remained silent.

"Goom goom?"

"Okay…. Lets try this whole questions thing again… What do you mean sickness?" Olivia asked as she tried to keep herself from immediately sprinting away.

"Sacred site sick because goddess sick. When goddess not sick, sacred site also not sick." The giant clasped their hands together. "Ready you are to meet goddess. In lake temple, there her home."

"You keep saying goddess. What do you mean," Olivia asked as everything about this screamed madness. Science and logic should always prevail and yet things kept happening that she couldn't explain.

"Speak no more. Rest now I must after ceremony," Chieftain weakly replied as they fell backward to land on their rear in an effort to illustrate their exhaustion. "Again will I speak to you hooman. Not now. Later." With a wave of their hand the winds picked up forcing Olivia to shield her face from passing leaves and twigs that got swept up by the gale.

"Goombye."

The voice seemed to echo and when she opened her eyes she was no longer in the glade. Instead she found herself by the forest enterance.

She stood there in stunned silence. The thrumming headache forced her to accept that something in her mind had changed. "I need to find that temple…" She whispered before charging into a sprint to leave the forest. Past her farm into the town.

That giant. It mentioned a lake temple. There was a lake this way. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she did as she dodged past various concerned villagers along the way. "Sorry. Excuse me. Coming through."

The lake soon came into view causing Olivia to skid to a stop. At the center of the lake was a three-tiered platform. Large stone arches in the water marked hidden walkways that had long since been submerged. What likely was once a beautiful structure grew decrepit and decayed with the passing centuries.

When Olivia had caught her breath she cautiously walked over to one of the sunken paths and took a reverent step into the water. Each movement forward created ripples in the lake as if the waters were trying to announce her arrival to the unseen.

She climbed the stairs of the structure. Each layer housed once ornate fountains with the most delicately detailed pool waiting at the top. Among mossy infected water sat a single lotus flower that limply swayed in an invisible current.

"Olivia." Whispered the voice from her dream. "At last we meet… but I don't have much time."

A flurry of lotus petals surrounded her in an instant causing her to yelp in fear as she felt herself moved against her will yet again. When the petals fell away, she stood on the second level of the tower. Similar to the forest glade, she found four shrines surrounding her. Two to her left and two to her right.

"The altars, They will restore my powers. Slowly I will heal the land."

"How… How do I help you," Olivia meekly asked as her need to question why this was happening slowly melted away in acceptance of the request. Any concern for malice faded in the presence of the pure divine spirit's energy.

"Start by completing an offering. Then, I can bestow on you my blessing. To travel between shrines as a feather on the breeze. It will aid your Jo-"

The voice disappeared, and the divine warmth faded, leaving a hollow emptiness in it's place.

"Wait. Nonono. I just got here. What," Olivia looked around trying to figure out why the voice left. She hurried over to one of the shrines and ancient words shifted to become legible. Her eyes darted back and forth. "Wood, stone, fiber, sap, seed. GOT IT!"

Her legs were starting to feel like lead as she ran to the farm, gathered the required items, and ran back.

"Come on. No dying on me now," Olivia coached as she placed the items on the altar which gave a dim glow in response.

"You did it…"

"Oh thank god-dess. Goddess, I presume?" Olivia quickly corrected her expression as the voice returned.

A weak chuckle was heard in response before the same dim glowing light from Olivia's dream appeared before her. It shifted and contorted to form a glass vial that bore a lotus like appearance. "Drink this, to receive my blessing."

Logic and years of being told not to take candy from strangers told her to not drink the mysterious vial of unknown liquid. And yet she reached out, took hold of it and knocked back the contents. It tasted disgusting. Olivia coughed and wheezed a moment to clear her lungs of the overly floral fragrance. Maybe she should have listened to logic…

"Now you can use my shrines and travel freely between them..."

She wasn't sure what that meant but she had a feeling she'd figure out soon. "But, why me?" Surely anyone else on the island would be more suitable… Less resistant at the least considering the complaining she'd done over the last two days.

No response ever came.

Olivia pressed her lips together before quietly sighing. "Okay… I'll just, keep making offerings. I guess?"

Silence.

"Bye," She gave a parting wave before walking down the stairs as she did so she noticed a page floating on the lake below. Curiously she reached out to pick it up and found the letter she read before from the head of the local laboratory.

That's right… she kind of wanted to see what that was about.

A familiar nudge pushed her attention over to a pillar by the shrine. It looked similar to the one by chieftain. She approached and slowly reached out to it feeling a sudden lerch that caused her to blink. When she opened her eyes she found herself standing on the island docks.

"Hooo gosh that's going to take some getting used to…" She whispered while quickly looking around to see if anyone noticed. Luckily it seemed she was in the clear, she'd have to use this new gift sparingly.

After another second to regain her sense of balance Olivia walked down the dock towards the diving zone to find a woman with a white lab coat draped over her shoulders, looking out to sea.

"Ms. Ling?" Olivia cautiously asked which caused the woman to jolt before turning to face her.

"Ah, hello there…" She greeted before turning her head to look over her shoulder, back towards the ocean again. "Apologies. I seem to have gotten lost in thought… Ever since the oil spill, people seem to have forgotten about the ocean." Her defeated expression faultered. "Actually, that's not true. They still remember. It's just someone else's problem now. Someone else will fix it. Their concern is enough."

A sense of guilt tugged at Olivia's heartstrings. That was her up to maybe 30 minutes ago at best… Kicking and screaming the whole way when some greater cause asked for help.

"It's a shame, because we can still do something about it... There's still time," the scientist quietly mused before returning her attention to Olivia and forced a smile. "Plus, all of the valuable kelp down there is going to waste!" Strained laughter came and went just as quickly as frustration set in. "Argh! I, sorry to unload on you like that. Are you here because of the letter I sent?"

"Yeah, something about diving? I don't have any prior experience but, if you'll teach me. I'm pretty good at learning new things," Olivia offered.

Ling's forced smile returned though a sense of earnestness held traces of hopefulness before the woman muttered under her breath. 'What am I going to do if this person doesn't work out either…' "Anyways, it seems you already know this but My name is Ling. I run the lab in town."

"It was on the letter," Olivia replied to the unspoken question.

"Right. Well, thank you for showing up." She replied before moving over to a nearby chest to collect a diving suit. "Here's the deal. You need a diving suit to get into the water and I need the right someone to activate my 'Science' equipment down there."

Why did that sound like it had air quotes… You know what. She wasn't going to question it anymore. It was proving to be a waste of time. "Okay, so what do you have in mind?"

"For now, lets do an exchange. If you can activate five solar orbs in the ocean you can keep the diving suit." Ling held out the suit for Olivia to take.

"Five… in one day?"

"Oh good heavens no," Ling quickly confirmed. "Nono, that's ambitious but. How about by the end of spring. You can talk to me to borrow the suit until the deal is met. Okay?"

"Sounds more then fair to me. What am I looking for exactly," Olivia asked as she accepted the offered gear. This couldn't have been cheap… Ling was really going to just give it to her for such a seemingly easy task?

"Here's what a solar orb looks like," Once Ling's hands were free she pulled out her phone to bring up a fuzzy image that looked something like a conch shell made of marble, with a fire agate in a small glass and gold dome on top, and additional decorations adorning that. "You're going to want to bring your scythe to clear trash because the orbs are most likely buried under it."

There was the catch. "Okay. Sounds doable. I think I have that in my bag actually."

"Great! Now if you're able to activate one. Let's assume something happens. Because something will," She paused as a strange knowing glint in her eye seemed almost mischievous. "You'll have questions, I'm sure, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"That seems to be a recurring theme around here," Olivia replied which caused Ling to laugh.

"It does seem to be… Just know that what ever happens, the solar orbs are the key to restoring our ocean and healing the sick coral." Ling insisted.

"Well, you're going to be showing me the ropes first so I'm sure I'll manage," Olivia replied which earned a wince in response. "You are going to be showing me how to dive first right?"

"I can't go into the ocean, so you'll be accompanied by kible, the bot." Ling nervously held up the small egg like robot with four stubby legs. "You'll learn more about how it works when you're down there."

Trust the process, just trust the process. We're not questioning everything anymore, remember? "Great. Can't wait to get started. Where can I get changed…"

"There's a changing booth over there by the boat. Let me know how it goes. I need to head back to my lab." Ling vaguely gestured over to a small shed like building with a straw roof. "Good luck Olivia."

She was going to need it. "Thanks." Olivia watched as the scientist walked away. Suppose she was teaching herself how to scuba dive. How could that possibly go wrong.

Today was a day of faith and mystery though so off she went to the shed like changing room and dawned the scuba gear with the help of a few very informative YouTube tutorials. By the time she made it over to the edge of the dock towards the depth of the ocean, the small egg like robot was waiting in the water as it's digital face stared up at her expectantly.

"Geronimo," She turned around for her back to face the water and allowed herself to fall into the ocean with a resounding splash.

Several hours passed and luckily a body did not wash to the shore. Instead a sopping wet hand reached up from the depths to partially climb back onto the dock. Olivia happily laughed as she removed her mask. "That was incredible!" She announced and to her surprise, heard a response.

"You activated a solar orb!" Ling happily cheered. "On your first day. I wasn't expecting you to find one so quickly. I saw everything from my lab from kible's point of view. I'm glad the ocean finally found someone worthy."

"Found a bit more then that," Olivia corrected before allowing herself to slide back into the water. A few moments later she came back with a good harvest of kelp. "You wanted this stuff too, right?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll take any I can get for my research," She cheered as she hurried over to accept the offered stems of bronze kelp.

"One second," Olivia took a deep breath and once more sank back into the water. This time emerging with a decent size wooden chest which she put onto the dock with a solid thump. "I found this too while I was cleaning. Looks old but... It's hard to tell if that's the case or just an effect from the water."

"Oh it's plenty old alright," Ling confirmed. "Centuries ago, the islanders would make offerings to the gods and goddesses. Some offers were placed on shrines. Others were thrown into the sea. And some time after that, merchants would travel here as a resting point. An occasional pirate or two. Who knows what's in there."

"…. Am I going to be cursed for moving this then?" Olivia asked as she side eyed the chest.

"No, no. Goodness no. If any deity was going to accept an offering it would be long gone before it got so decayed. Theres no real guarantee that anything inside is still in one piece though…" Ling mused as Olivia pulled herself fully onto the dock this time.

"So how do we open it?" She asked as she looked over the chest with a sense of pride.

"We can't," the We held additional emphasis. "However, if you head intown there is a blacksmith not far from my lab. Speaking of my lab. Stop by after you've had some time to rest and recover. I believe I owe you an explanation."

Olivia emphatically nodded. That light show definitely needed an explanation if one was going to be offered. "I'll stop by first thing in the morning. I swear. I need to get to the blacksmiths before they close."

"Hurry then, but be careful with that. You don't want to damage anything inside," Ling cautioned.

"On it!" Olivia called back as she hurried over to the changing hut to switch back to her day clothes.

Once dressed she picked up the heavy, waterlogged chest and lugged it through town as quickly as she could.

Her arms burned considering the underwater aerobics she'd just finished and Oh good goddess she still had to water her crops after this. "If you have any mercy in you, please let me sleep well tonight." She muttered under her breath as she hobbled her way up a flight of stairs to a building that was conveniently labeled 'blacksmith'.

It took some work to shimmy the door open but some how she managed to hurry her way in and unfortunately left the door open behind her.

"Whoa hey new face," said the man from the Pufferfish riot. The one that was covered in soot and wore a thick leather apron. That made sense now. "You must be Olivia, right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked her over.

"Yep, that's me," she confirmed as she put the chest down as gently as possible so she could go back and close the door.

The blacksmith didn't seem to mind. "Damn, I was not expecting you to look like, this." He gestured to her. She'd half opened her mouth to apologize for her current soaked appearance only to be stopped before she could. "You're surprisingly cute!"

"Oh. I um, Thanks. You too?" Was that the right time to use that phrase?

"Seems we have something in common then. It's nice to finally meet you! Name's Pablo." He then pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "And the quiet one over there is my brother."

Quiet one? Olivia quickly glanced over and jolted slightly upon seeing the second face. "Oh um. Hi."

"Hi there," His voice seemed uncharacteristically docile for how broad and full his figure was. "My name is Rafael."

"It's nice to meet you too." Oh boy this was awkward. She usually avoided calling someone else 'cute' if there was an audience. "I was told that you guys maybe could help out with cracking this thing open."

"Sure can, it'll run you about twenty dollars though," Pablo agreed and to his surprise the money was willingly handed over. No haggling or bartering. "And your number?"

"HA,"

"It was worth a try," He shrugged as he picked up the chest as if it was as light as a feather for him. "Been a while since I last saw one of these. Should be easy enough to crack it open." He placed it down on a nearby anvil, then with a well-aimed strike of a hammer and chisel, the lid fell off. "Ecco!"

"Oh wow," She watched with quiet amusement at the man's showmanship as he shifted the chest so it was sitting upright once more.

"Not a bad find," He admitted as he pulled out a glass prism that was attached to a metal stand. "Guessing this one fell off an old merchant ship. It's engraved too. Poor luck for Marco but, finder's keepers."

She chuckled as the artifact was offered to her. "So it is old then?"

"Very, Scott would know more about that then me though. I usually meet up with him at Fishensips for a few rounds of pool but, he's probably still sulking at the museum." He affirmed before shifting to pick up the now empty crate. "Did you want to keep this? Otherwise, I'm just going to pitch it."

"Oh gosh right. Yeah, if you're okay with getting rid of it, that would help." She agreed. "Thank you again. I don't want to take up too much of your time. I should get going." She insisted while taking a few steps back. Probably best to leave before that Fishensips info turned into 'you should go with me to see if he's there,' considering the request for her number earlier. "Bye Rafael." She added, not wanting the other to think he was forgotten.

Yet being acknowledged seemed borderline confusing to him. "Bye?"

She'd question that later. For now, she hurried on her way to the museum, ignoring the screaming agony of her legs that were ready to give out even though the sun had yet to set fully. Her steps echoed as she entered the empty halls of the museum. A drop box placed front and center read "Donate here". Her pride in actually finding something left her unwilling to place the item in the box and walk away.

"Scott! Are you around?" She called into the seemingly empty building as she shifted to hold the prized artifact behind her back. A few moments passed with no reply before footsteps were heard.

"Thought I heard someone," Scott announced as he walked through a door way marked 'employees only.' "…Did you fall in the lake?"

"No. no. I decided to check out that diving PSA." Olivia explained before moving once more so she could offer the artifact. "Found this. The blacksmith, Pablo? He said you might find it interesting."

"An optical glass prism. That brings back some old memories," He smiled as he gently accepted it. "Often used for scientific studies. Particularly around light and refraction. Scientists have had a fascination with these devices as long as we've known the concept existed. Glasses, cameras, binoculars, microscopes. They all trace back to early variants like this. Can't imagine this one was particularly effective." He rambled while looking it over. Before glancing back to Olivia. "Er. Well, all that to say, Thanks." He walked away for a moment to gingerly place the item in the donation box before walking back over. "

"You know the other day I heard someone telling a funny joke about turning the museum into an oil storage facility." His laughter slowed to silence when he realized Olivia wasn't laughing. "It's just a joke… Right?"

Ooooh they didn't tell him. "Um. Well. Some people don't think it is." She grimaced while watching his frown grow more sullen and uncharacteristically angry.

"They can't I," He cut himself off as he clenched his fist to try and restrain himself. "You already managed to find one. If you find more. Please bring them to me. I can't let that happen. This museum. It was my life's work. IS. My life's work."

"I want to help this place. The island. Ignoring it isn't good enough anymore…" Olivia replied before offering a hand. "Let's work together."

His smile slowly returned as he pondered over the offered hand a moment and accepted it. "Team metropolitan it is then. Let's show them that not all city slickers are trying to bulldoze the place."