After dinner that night, Marcello went to the throne room to speak with his parents. He told them about how he apparently saw Marcela on Dryland, pleading with them to set out and lead the hammerhead sharks onto the battlefield so they could see the proof for themselves when the Drylanders began invading Salacia.

The Hammerhead King asked, "But Marcello, how can you be sure that's Marcela, and how can you be sure the hammerheads will recognise her when they see her?"

"I don't know, but don't you want to see for yourselves, even if that girl doesn't turn out to be Marcela?" replied Marcello.

The Hammerhead Queen said, "More to the point, how can we get her to accept that she is a saline when she's been living with the Drylanders all these years? It's too much to think about right now!"

"Thank you for telling us, Marcello, but we need some time to think," the Hammerhead King said to his son.

"Yes, Father." Marcello left the throne room and went upstairs.

Marcello returned to his room, where Veto was looking at some photo albums. The Hammerhead King and Queen had arranged for Veto to sleep in Marcello's room.

"What did they say?" Veto asked.

"Nothing. They sounded more doubtful than elated. I shouldn't be surprised, though. Can you imagine getting any good news after being disappointed for many years?"

"Hmm… yeah. We should think of something to do tomorrow before we get ready for the operation."

"We should go out for lunch in the metropolis with Tubarina and Soraia."

"You sure it's a good idea? I mean, we are essentially hiding from Father, after all."

"Why do you care so much? Uncle doesn't seem to want to hunt us down. If you're so scared then you can stay in and order take-out." Marcello stood up as he went to find the girls.

Veto stood up too and followed Marcello out. "Who says I'm scared? I'll show you who's scared!"

Meanwhile, in what would have been Marcela's room, Tubarina and Soraia were talking as they looked at photos of baby Marcela. Everything in that room was just as it was when Marcela disappeared, but the cot was moved aside so sleeping bags could be rolled out for the girls.

"Wow…" remarked Soraia. "Did you ever imagine what Marcela would look like now?"

"I didn't need to," replied Tubarina. "I might have passed by her when Marcello and I were brought to the Drylander base. If that girl is really Marcela, then she seems alright. I won't have a better idea until I see her again."

"How does it feel knowing you're not going to be the only girl among the cousins?"

"Honestly, I wish I could say I'm excited, but who knows if Marcela wants to move back to Salacia or stay on Dryland? If she stays on Dryland and doesn't want to visit, then nothing's really going to change."

"But surely she would be curious to know who her real family is. Wouldn't you want to know who your real parents were if you were adopted?"

"I guess, but she's also the Hammerhead Princess. Will Uncle Macnus and Aunt Molly take it easy on her, or is she just going to have lots of duties and responsibilities shoved on her?"

"You're overthinking it, Tubarina. Maybe you should just focus on whether the girl you saw is really Marcela or not."

It was then that the boys knocked on the door to ask the girls if they were interested in going out to lunch the next day. The girls accepted and the boys went back to Marcello's room. The four of them went to bed that night with questions and thoughts on their minds that slowly drifted away as they fell asleep.

Polvina and Ester were on the phone to each other as they got ready for bed.

"How could Dustin betray the cause like this?" said Ester.

Polvina replied, "Are you seriously asking at this point?"

"Yeah. Someone like him needs to remember the Laws of Salacia. Hey, Polvina, don't you think the Laws of Salacia should be changed by now?"

"Well, the First Law's been broken a long time ago, but when we eventually make peace with Dryland we'll definitely need to change that law."

"Hey, remember when you told me you saw the Drylander boy? What would you do if you saw him again?"

"I want to thank him for helping us with the whale and for leaving those shells. I'd go on a date with him to say thank you, but I'm not sure if he's going to be the one."

Ester gasped in delight. "You want him to be the one?"

"Well, it's not like there's anyone in Salacia who's right for me. Maurico's a perv, Caton's a jerk and Dinho isn't interested in being anything more than friends. My only worry is what he'll think of me because I'm a Salacian and he's a Drylander."

"Sis, listen to me. That boy joined the resistance because he wanted to see you again. I'll bet he wants the war to end so he can be with you for real. Maybe we can talk things out with him now that we can understand each other."

Polvina sighed. "We'll just have to see how things go. Now, tell me about that girl you remembered at King Marcos' base before Tubarina killed her."

"Fine. Remember the Drylander girl that made the barracuda happy? I saw her that day, but I didn't get to find out who she was before Tubarina killed her."

"Well, if she goes into the water, it'll be pretty easy to spot her. She'll have barracuda swimming around her."

"Hey, if fish can breathe and swim through Dryland's air, why aren't the barracuda trying to find her?"

"Fish senses don't work the same way out of the water, especially when there are lots and lots of species to take into consideration. That's the downside of environmental emulation. Look, I've had a pretty long day today. I should get some sleep. Good night, Ester."

"Night, Polvina!"

As the two of them went to sleep that night, Ester was giddy over her meeting the descendant of the lost Barracuda Kingdom and Polvina meeting the Drylander boy, while Polvina was nervous about meeting them.

At the Unified Resistance Army base, Parker and Seretao were talking over the phone about what happened that day. Seretao also informed Parker of the Turtle King's plans so he could plan accordingly.

After listening to Seretao for a while, Parker asked, "Hey, can I ask you something? Whose side are you on? What are you really fighting for?"

Seretao replied, "My loyalty is only to myself. I only want to see this war end just as much as you do."

"If you really wanted to end this war, you wouldn't have let things end up like this."

"Would you rather see your friends sacrifice themselves for your ideal world?"

"My friends would have been happy to die knowing that their deaths meant something."

"Then would you be willing to sacrifice yourself for your cause?"

"Oh please," Parker scoffed. "You and I both know that you couldn't let me die even if I wanted to. Clearly you need me for whatever you're planning. Look, why don't you think about my question and call me back when you have an answer?" Parker hung up.

Daniel and Kelvin were watching a soccer game in the former's quarters as they talked.

Kelvin began, "So you finally managed to see that Salacian octopus girl again, I hear. Disappointed you can't be friends with her because of the war?"

"Yeah." There was a pause after Daniel's response. "I remember when I told you and the other guys about her and you guys wouldn't believe me, even when I tried to get a photo of her and her friends. Must have had egg on your face once war broke out."

"You kidding, man? All of us couldn't have apologised to you fast enough." Kelvin then asked, "You still wanna be friends with a sea monster even after what they did?"

"Yes. Just because she fights with them doesn't necessarily mean she agrees with everything they're doing. If those rumours about a split among the Salacians are true, then I'll bet that girl will be among the rebels. I just wish there was some way I could talk to her."

"You're not afraid that Parker will execute you when he catches you fraternising with a sea monster?"

"If I'm gonna die, I wanna know who that girl's name is first. I won't rest until I do."

Liam and Mauricio were watching another soccer game in the latter's quarters.

Liam commented, "That Marli seemed so confident and gutsy, like she's a take-charge kind of person. I'd sure like to play tug-of-war with her sometime."

Mauricio replied, "Dude, settle down. You're coming on too strong to someone you just met."

"Hey, I never said I wanted to play with her that quickly. I'm happy to wait until she's ready."

"And stop saying you want to play with her. What are you, 12?"

"What else do you think sex is? Besides, I know Marli's into me. You could just see it from the way she looked at me. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same with Socita."

"Socita seems softer in nature compared to Marli. We need a bit more time to get to know each other. You should think about doing the same with Marli instead of worrying about fucking her."

Nikki, Windy and Marcia were chatting with Angelina at her quarters.

Angelina stated, "Dad's army managed to drive back a Salacian regiment attacking my home. The saga between my dad and the Shark King continues on…"

"How often is your dad having to fight off raiders?" asked Nikki.

"It used to be twice a day, now it's once every three days. I think they're running out of men to raid us and that's why the raids have been happening less often."

Windy mentioned, "My Nanna calls me every few days to find out whether someone read the letters she wrote and threw in the sea when she was young."

Marcia retorted, "I'm surprised your Nanna hasn't been arrested for treason."

"Honestly, who's going to care about some innocent letters a girl wrote when she was nine?"

Nikki said, "My Nanna used to say she came from the sea, but no one ever believed her. She doesn't say it so much now for fear of being persecuted, but luckily not all of her neighbours are hardcore anti-sea chuds."

"You'll be eating those words when you see how right we are, skank. Nah, I still love you," joked Angelina. "If your Nanna really comes from the sea and she understands the harm that Salacian colonisation is doing to the rest of us, I'm sure everyone will understand."

Windy asked, "Hey, weren't most countries in the world created through colonisation? How can we be against Salacian colonisation yet ignore the harms that imperialist powers have done to colonised countries?"

"Because for all the harms that it brought, colonisation has brought benefits to the world as well thanks to the exportation of Western culture. People wouldn't be wearing t-shirts and jeans, drinking tea and coffee or even using electricity if it wasn't for colonisation."

Marcia replied, "All that could have been done through trading and cultural exchange without the need for colonisation, though."

"Maybe people back then did some bad things, but that doesn't mean that we in the future should still be footing the bill for things our ancestors did. Bottom line is, would the world have been better off without the colonisation of 'imperialist powers'? Besides, it's not like colonisation isn't still happening nowadays. Parker says that a lot of people like him are moving to Western countries and buying out properties and businesses, driving up house prices, inflation and the cost of living. The only reason why nobody has a problem with that kind of colonisation is because they have the money to justify it."

Nikki pointed out, "Maybe we should change the subject before Angelina goes full chud. At least we can be mature enough to admit that." Angelina, Windy and Marcia agreed.