Lulu sprang up the next morning, a loud yawn leaving her. "Good morning-" She went eerily still, her eyes locked on the two bodies on the other side of the room from her. Lily was curled up against Malroth, who was stretched out and snoring loudly. She shrugged and reached into the pocket of her dress to grab her left over scallywag, only to let out a cry when nothing was there. She turned her rage filled brown eyes on Malroth. "Wake up, you forgetful lump!" She stomped over to the two, her voice growing louder. "Fess up, Malroth! I know you're the one who took it!"

Lily shot up when Lulu started yelling, gasping when she realized how close she was to Malroth. She quickly stood and brushed herself off, staring at Lulu with wild eyes. "Lulu! It's so early, why are you yelling?"

"What the hell are you going on about?" Malroth was slower to rise, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "Took what?"

"My scallywag! I was going to eat the leftovers this morning! Now hand it back!"

"I didn't take your damn half-eaten, slimy mollusk!" He growled as he got up and started for Lulu when he stopped abruptly. He looked around like he had last night before going to fight the rats, but then he was out the door.

Lily grabbed Lulu's hand and yanked the girl with her. "Malroth! Wait up!"

"Hey, now wait a minute!" Lulu gasped as Lily dragged her out the door. The two girls stood behind Malroth as the cliff behind their hut all but exploded, revealing a stairway that led up into the rocks above. "Hey! Did you take my scallywinkle?!" Lulu ripped away from Lily, glaring at the monster that appeared in front of them.

"Ho, ho, ho! This way, young whip-whip-whippersnappers!" The monster carried a nice-looking hammer in one hand while the other had a nicely cooked, albeit cold, scallywag. It winked at them and bounced up the stairs, disappearing over the top.

"Thief!" Lulu gasped and took off after it.

"Lulu! Don't just take off after little floating freaks!" Malroth growled, running after the girl. "We can make more scallywags!"

Lily ran by Malroth, leaving him to follow both girls. "Maybe we can learn a thing or two about the island from that monster, Mal! I'll cook him however many scallywags he wants!"

The trio ran up the stairs and across the land bridge that waited for them, Lulu huffed and puffed as she ran as fast as she could, trying to reach the floating being. "Give me back my scallywag!"

"This way! This way! Quick-quick-quickly now!" The monster laughed and bounced into the air before disappearing in a small puff of smoke.

"Stay where you are, you freaky frog!" Malroth sprinted ahead of the girls, almost hitting the being. "Dammit!" He stopped for a moment and looked around, frowning. "Hey now… that mad old monster made the sky turn a funny color…"

"Who cares about the sky?! I want my breakfast and you two are going to jolly well help me get it back!" Lulu exclaimed, angry boiling in her eyes as she turned and ran up the old path.

The three kept running along the path, twisting around the sheer drops and following the lit braziers as they moved. "Lulu, you need to slow down! We don't know what's stable around here and what's not! I don't want you to fall down the cliffside." Lily shouted ahead at Lulu who was clearly hellbent on this mission to get the scallywag back.

"That monster has some kind of weird power, I've never felt anything like it before, Lily." Malroth had slowed his stride to keep pace with Lily who was just trying to make it safely to the top of the mountain. "We'll lose him at this rate."

"Sorry, I don't want to die on some crusty old island!" Lily snapped at Malroth as she rounded a corner, nearly slamming into Lulu. "What the hell?!"

Lulu's jaw was slack as she stared up at the stairs leading to a small temple. "He went up there…" She turned to Malroth, forcing him in front. "You go first!"

"What?! Why me?!" Malroth growled, but he headed up the stairs first without further complaints. "What's a place like this doing on an island like this?" He looked around, seeing small statues in the shape of hammers and braziers that lit themselves as he progressed up the stairs.

Lulu gave Malroth another shove when she saw the monster. "Ha! There's no escape now! You sneaky scallywag swindler! Hand it over and he won't attack you!"

Malroth glared at Lulu over his shoulder. "Shove me again and I'll shove you right off the mountain."

"Surely a noble lady such as yourself can permit a hungry ham-ham-hammerhood her half-snarfed leftovers?"

"I'll tolerate no excuses! Stealing is stealing, no ifs or buts about it! Lily seared that scallywag especially for me! Now give it back, you horrible, hairy hermit!" Lulu jabbed a finger in his direction from behind Malroth.

"But I didn't…" Lily whispered, stepping around Lulu and Malroth, ignoring the shocked look on Lulu's face.

"Ah, yes – Lily. It just so happens that I've been waiting for a builder to rock-rock-rock up here for an oh-so-very long time!" The monster twirled and bounced around where he stood before them.

"Did you take the scallywag to lure us up here?"

"Mostly you, but yes! I did! Look around you, Lily. The temple has lain in this sorry state for far too long. If you are the builder I believe you to be, then you can fix-fix-fix it all!" He jumped forward, a smile in his eyes when the three jumped back some. "Everything you need to rebuild this temp-temp-temple is right here!" He gestured to two chests on either side of the stairs he stood at the top of. "I have a gift waiting for you when you fin-fin-finish!"

The trio watched the monster disappear, Malroth stomped his foot, growling hatefully. "Get back here, you slithery old cod! If you think we're going to fix your old house, you've got another thing coming!"

While Lulu and Malroth shouted for the monster that was long gone, Lily crossed her arms, thinking of how to fix the temple. She slowly walked around, looking at all of the different things in front of her. "Aha!" She jumped, punching a hand into the sky before running to the chests and pulling supplies out.

Malroth and Lulu shut their mouths and watched in awe as Lily ran from one end of the temple to the next, fixing it up. An hour later, Lily stepped back, wiping her hands on her clothes. "Gosh… you've never even been here before, but you were still able to fix it up? That's incredible!" Lulu ran around, looking at the braziers and pillars that Lily had fixed up. "You fixed it up and you didn't even break a sweat! Would you build my palace next? That shouldn't be any trouble for an expert like you."

Malroth watched as Lily placed a thick, leather bound book into a pack on her back, his eyes narrowing. "Wait… does that book tell you how to do things? Can I read it and learn how to build!?"

Lulu looked over at the two, tilting her head. "Is something the matter, Lily? You've gone all red." She came around, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Don't tell me you've got some mucky magazine sandwiched between those pages, huh?"

"Muckiness doesn't bother me none! A quick wipe down with a damp rag and it'll be good as-" Malroth started when Lulu let out a roar of laughter. "What's so funny?"

Before Lulu could say any more, the hairy hermit appeared next to them. "You've finished repairing the temple! I knew you would-would-wouldn't let me down! As a thank you, Lily, I'll give you a little present." He held out his hammer, smiling at her. "You deserve this for the crack-crack-cracking good job you did!" He twirled around when she took it, flitting around her as she looked over the mallet. "And one more gift! This here island! Every last piece-piece-piece!"

"What?!" Lulu's jaw dropped as she nearly fell over backwards. "This entire thing?! All she did was repair this old temple…"

"This world was once home to a legendary builder. They came to this island – the Isle of Awakening – and sought to turn it into their very own piece of paradise." The hairy hermit moved to Lily's side before grabbing her hand and leading her up the stairs so she could look out over the island. "But now, everything has crum-crum-crumbled away. All that remains is the ancient builder's belief, emb-bed-bedded in the blocks beneath us. Long have I waited for another builder to come… one who can breathe life back into this land."

Malroth followed them, glaring at the small monster. "Lily can't rebuild this whole place by herself! What is she even supposed to build?"

"Why… whatever she wants!" The hairy hermit laughed and bounced back down next to Lulu. "This is her island after all!"

Lulu turned and looked at the hermit, ready to snap at him for telling Lily to rebuild this messy island when something caught her attention. She ran to the edge of the cliff, putting her hand up so it shielded her eyes from the morning sun. "Lily! Malroth! Look at this!"

Malroth helped Lily down from her spot on the rocks before running over to Lulu's side, looking down at what she saw. And there it was, a small ship pulling up to the shore down below. "Hey! It's a ship!"

"No duh, Brainiac." Lulu put her hands on her hips and frowned at Malroth. "Maybe we can talk to the captain of the ship and see if he'll take us to different nearby islands so we can gather more materials to build Lulutopia! This island has nothing when it comes to materials. Just rocks and sand."

"Lulutopia?! You mean Empire of Evisceration!"

"Empire of what?!"

Lily laughed as the two argued over what their new home should be called. "I'm pretty sure the hermit gave me the island." She laughed harder at the looks on their faces when they turned to her. "C'mon! We gotta go see what this guy is doing here!" She carefully picked her way down the side of the cliff, ignoring the shouts from Malroth and Lulu to be careful going that way.

Lily was the first down the cliff side and the stairs going to their little beach. She ran through the shallow water with Malroth hard on her heels. The two bounded around the outcrop of land, watching as the ships captain nearly jumped from his skin. "Ahoy there! Humans! I haven't seen any other humans for fathoms! The name's Brownbeard. I was paintin' the ocean blue, mindin' me bee's knees, when I sailed right into the path o' one of the Children's slave ships! I managed to avoid them, but then I got turned around and me map was upside down! By the time I realized that, I was already headed for this coffee stain!"

"My name… is Lulu…" Lulu came around the corner, panting heavily as she struggled to talk. "This island… is the home of Lulutopia. At least, it will be when Lily finishes my palace."

"…Lulutopia?" Brownbeard looked between Malroth and Lily, smiling awkwardly when they shook their heads. "Sounds like a lovely place for land-lovers like yerselves. Aye, and a safe haven for a salted old sea dog like meself. Goddess only knows what would've become o' me if I hadn't sloshed up on these shores."

"What is he talking about?" Malroth leaned towards Lily, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the captain.

"Tell ye what! If ye let me stick around, I'll take you around to the different islands around here. Or, I'll try at least. I know the oceans like the back of me neck – and I don't know me neck at all! But I'll look over me map and see that I can find! If I find an island, I'll take you!" Brownbeard pulled a map out of his back pocket, shaking it out so he could take a look at it.

"The boat's a little small," Malroth shrugged, frowning at Brownbeard. "But it looks like it's in decent shape. I'd say we have a deal, right Lily?"

"Seems like things are drop-drop-dropping into place!" The hairy hermit laughed from next to Lily when the builder nodded in agreement. "There's an island nearby known for it's fertile fields and fruit-fruit-fruitful farms." The hermit waddled to Brownbeard's side, poking to an area in the upper corner. "Right around here is where the island should be!"

Brownbeard squinted his eyes at the map then jumped some. "Oh! I can see the little coffee stain! Alright, if you all are ready, we can weigh anchor and head out!" He turned and started to walk onto the ship when he turned back to Lily. "This vessel ain't built for chuggin' cargo, ye'll have to be picky with what you bring with you."

Lulu stepped back when Malroth ran onto the boat and climbed onto the bow. She hugged herself and looked away, something bothering her. "Lily… you're going to go ahead and try and find this new island?"

"Lily! Lulu! Let's get going!" Malroth twisted from his spot on the bow of the ship, his red eyes narrowing.

Lily went to Lulu, touching the girls' shoulder. "Are you alright, Lulu?"

"I don't think…"

"Think what!? Just get on the ship!" Malroth growled from his spot.

Lily turned to Malroth; the look she gave him shut him up. But when she turned back to Lulu, her eyes were soft. "It's alright, Lulu. You can stick around here and keep Hermit company."

"I'm sorry, Lily. After that shipwreck, I just…"

"You're fine, Lulu. You don't have to explain yourself." Lily smiled at the other girl as she waved to the island behind them. "Why don't you stay here and find a good spot to build a home for us? When I get back, I'll have all sorts of new building techniques and we can get started on that palace."

Lily smiled more when Lulu beamed. "You two go off-off-off on your little adventure. Lulu will be safe here in my care." The hermit came up next to Lulu, reaching up and grabbed her hand carefully. Lily gave a sharp nod, smiling at the two before turning and hopping onto the boat.

Lulu and Hermit waved from where they stood on the rocky outcrop while the others pushed off and started sailing away. "Bon voyage!" Lulu jumped up and down, waving to her two friends.

"Wait for meeee!"

Lulu turned on her heel, gasping when a dark ball flew by her and rammed into Lily. Lily gasped, catching the little monster as he fluttered into her. "Little Monster! What are you doing? You should stay on the island!"

"I can't! I don't want you getting hurt! I would feel horrible, the captain wanted us to watch over you, if you got hurt while under my watch… I don't know what I would do!" The tiny monster looked up at her, his dark eyes quivered as he fought the urge to cry at the thought.

Lily nuzzled into the little monster, smiling. "Thank you, Tiny." She looked up, waving back to Lulu and Hermit. "We'll be back soon! I promise!"