➨ Sylvania was gone, but you had appeared in her place.

Seawater still inflated your lungs, making you fold over in a coughing fit. Vomiting up everything that had snaked its way into your mouth. Your eyes burned with a mixture of tears, sand, and salt.

Zora leaned over you, his hand patting your back. Your throat was sore, and every time you thought you were finished, your stomach said otherwise.

The pain was scorching your torso. It was like you were being ripped apart from the inside, but you remained intact. All you could think about was it being Sylvania's pain from whatever the hell was happening to her right now. Or had happened.

Your left arm felt like it wasn't even there, and that was less concerning considering everything else that was going on.

It took a few minutes for the fit to let up. You had nothing to say at the moment. Everything in you was shaking. Cold, horrified, while still half-deaf and blind.

Wiping your eyes didn't help because your sleeves were soaked. Shakily, you bring yourself to a seated position. The boat didn't seem to be under control anymore, so luckily, it wasn't teetering and rocking.

Zora bent down in front of you. "I have no clue your puppet went. She got all glowy and then vanished. Then... you were here."

The first thing you do is touch your stomach. Phantom pressure from when you were being held captive underwater remains as a terrifying memory stapled to your brain. Everything still aches, or really, you feel numb. Too cold to feel cold, too hurt to feel hurt.

Too mortified to really feel mortified.

Weakly, you bring your grimoire out, but in the back of your mind, you feel it is futile. You didn't even use the spell; you just stared at a puddle on the floor. "Sylvania." You said her name dryly, half-hoping that she'll rise.

"Sylvania."

When nothing happened, when you couldn't even sense her presence, you went from mortified to crushed.

Sylvania was the first puppet you could properly summon. Your father named her and even helped you train with her. He would take a bunch of hits from her cursed mark so he could prove how useful she could be if used right.

The number of times she healed you when you had been off doing dumb shit and recklessly getting into trouble was unfathomable. It just seemed like she was always there. And this was the first time you couldn't feel her connected to you.

A hand swiped across your face, and Zora wordlessly semi-dried your face. You can only imagine how insane you looked. "Your eyes are bloodshot." It helped a little bit.

You prepared yourself to stand before you wobbled on the way up. The railing assisted you as you stood, feeling like you'd collapse with a single step. But like you do with most things, you pushed it aside.

Since the spell had been broken, you could navigate to Heart because the wheel was no longer moving by itself. From... wherever it was you were. It can't be that difficult to steer.

Just before you can walk up to the quarterdeck, Zora grabs the back of your soggy shirt. "What are you doing?"

"If we figure out which direction to go, we can make it there in the next few hours." You tell him, not turning around.

"Are you seriously just going to start spinning the wheel and hope you hit land? Sounds like a shitty plan."

"And it sounds like you don't have one that's better." You shake him off in response, heading straight for the wheel.

He follows.

"You need to sit down for at least ten minutes before you do anything else." He positions himself between you and the wheel. "Your arm is fucked up too."

"I'm fine; get the hell out of the way."

He tilts his head to the side, but he doesn't move. "I don't know what just happened to you, but obviously you're not taking it well. Sit your ass down and think."

"I'm not in the mood for this." Your patience was paper thin, and he was testing it.

"Look me in the eye and see if I give a shit." He takes a step forward, making you take one back. "I'm not going to let you go on a blind temper tantrum while we're stranded in the middle of the goddamn ocean."

You pause. "A temper tantrum? I almost drowned because of a sick and twisted shadowman, suffocated at the bottom of the sea, and lost one of the closest friends I had. I think I have every fucking right to be pissed off and try to find out who's behind all of this!"

He shakes his head. "You're losing your mind."

"And since when does that concern you so much?"

"Because you're not the only one here!" He snaps. "And I physically cannot sit here and watch you walk around like a zombie because you don't know when to take a breath. Not when you insisted and begged for me to come with you. I just watched you skydive into the ocean, and suddenly you're on a warpath. You're doing all this crazy shit, but you don't ever just stop."

Stop?

Never once have you considered taking a break. You've been in constant attack mode, needing to just go after whoever was so hellbent on making your life harder than it has to be.

Rage and pain might've been the only things propelling you forward.

"I can't." You reluctantly admit. "If I stop, then I'm letting everybody who prayed for my downfall win. Stopping isn't an option; it never was, never will be."

"You know what's going to let them know they've won?" He gestures to you. "Seeing you beat up and or dead on the ground. Seeing you so burned out and exhausted that you can't fight back anymore. That's their win."

The entire time you've been with him, he's proven to be a thorn in your side. Always had a comeback for something, always had something to say. Now... this was the first time he said something that didn't immediately make you want to slap the shit out of him.

He had a point.

But what now? You just float off in the middle of nowhere when there's still so much to accomplish?

Even if your brain was still trying to think of solutions to your predicament, your body was spent. It proved as much when you slowly lowered yourself onto the wooden planks. You placed your head in your functional hand and took a few necessary deep breaths. When it finally fully sinks in that your other arm isn't functional, you do your best to not hyperventilate.

In the midst of that, Acro galloped over to where you sat. They slithered between your arms and sat in your lap, staring at you with large eyes. Aegis leisurely joined as well, hovering over the two of you. He placed a heavy hand on top of your head.

Zora seemed content with seeing you quietly taking a breather. He disappeared down onto the main deck and down the trapdoor.

You rubbed your hand over Acro's head. "What happened to her?" You mumbled, not knowing where Sylvania went or how you even ended back on the boat.

The little hand stretched out and joined Aegis's on top of your head. With that, it sounded like a ripple in the water bouncing off the walls inside your head.

"Sacrifice to save."

You flinched at the unfamiliar voice that echoed through your mind. It was a deep, godlike masculine one.

"Aegis?" You twisted to look up at the puppet, who hadn't moved since he arrived.

"My lady."

When in the hell could he talk? And why were you just now figuring that out?

You quickly turn to face Acro again. "And what about you? You've been hiding a voice box too?"

"Mute," Aegis speaks slowly. "After a certain incident, The Acrobat chose to galivant in silence."

For some reason, you would've expected them to be the loudest one in the bunch. A long time ago you'd given them all voices inside your mind, and Acro always had a high-pitched cheerful one when you fantasized. What type of incident would've stopped it from talking?

Despite there being a giant stitched smile on their face, you can tell there's hurt behind it. Really, you can feel it's there. Or it could be yours, and it's bouncing between both of them. Growing up, you could feel their emotions in your bloodstream—the same way you were able to feel their physical pain.

"It's my fault she's gone, isn't it?" You frown at them.

Acro shakes its head and then presses its free hand directly over the heart. Then they switch and place that same hand over your heart. A wordless action that speaks more than a sentence could've.

You wipe your hand through your tears. Thinking that maybe if you caught them fast enough you weren't technically crying.

"Place swapping is an ability you haven't unlocked yet. On the contrary, it is something we can do with ease."

So that's what happened? She willingly traded places with you at such a distance like that?

That sounds like something that would be useful. Though not at the expense of their lives. In a situation like that, you wouldn't even think about sacrificing one of them. Maybe that's why you haven't learned to do it on your own yet.

"Rest. The pointy-toothed man seems to stress a great deal over your antics."

Both of their hands come off your head, and then they descend back into the abyss.

A few moments of silence pass before you hear footsteps making their way back up the steps. Zora emerges with an extremely rusted object in his hand. He stands behind the wheel and dangles the object by the chain.

"Compass. Seen better days, but it'll at least point in the right direction." He turns his body to the right, then does a 180 to the left. "Heart is the complete other way. We would've ended up in Diamond."

He didn't sound or appear to still be nauseous. Before he was on the ground, looking like he was about to pass out. "You know how to drive this thing?"

"Sort of, but I can figure it out. Your thing–" He cuts himself off and rephrases his words. "Uh, Sylvania did some healing trick on me, so I'm not so queasy."

His using her name brought a smile to your face. "Good thing she did because I'm trusting you to get us there in one piece."

"Yeah, yeah, just be quiet and let me concentrate, alright?"

"Aye aye, Captain."

The underbelly of the boat was relatively dry in comparison to the top. Crates got tossed around, but the contents stayed intact for the most part. You found a few blankets to create a makeshift nest to lay in.

Initially, you weren't actually going to fall asleep. You intended on just laying there for a couple of minutes to unscramble your head. But now that the water wasn't choppy and actively trying to flip you overboard, the waves were calm enough to lull you into a slumber.

————

"Hey," something nudged your shoulder, "we're here—I think."

Slowly, your eyes flutter open. The first thing you focus on is the pile of blankets you're lying on top of. Amid your sleep, you had burrowed your head halfway underneath them and had to force it to rise.

Rubbing your eyes, "already?"

Zora tilted his head as if you were crazy. "It's nearly sunrise."

You paused and then exchanged the crazy look. "Sunrise? I slept through the whole night? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because it wasn't that necessary. Plus, I enjoyed the peace and quiet with you knocked out down here." He doesn't wait for you to get up; he just leaves you there and heads to the main deck.

A few moments later, a question floated in your head. Did he stay up all night steering with barely any experience?

Even further, did it really take the whole night to get to Heart? After all that nonsense and getting turned around, it doesn't seem too hard to believe—the timeline was getting blurry. Your stomach was about to touch your spine, so that led you to understand that you'd been out for some time now.

Soon enough, you peel yourself up and follow the same path. The first glimpse of the sun peeking over the edge of the water gives you a small boost of relief. Adjacent to that was land. Actual land—Heart.

It's been a little while, but from what you can see, nothing changed. The greenery was vibrant, like someone cranked up the saturation. Waterfalls rose over tree branches and strong mountains. Leading into mini falls and intricate systems that eventually lead back to the ocean.

The boat drew closer and into a channel that gave a clearer peek into the terrain. On either side was lush forest. Mostly concealed from the early morning darkness and brush. Even then, the canal was reflective and not a deep, infinite abyss.

"I don't know why you'd wanna live in Clover when you could've had this." Zora mumbles, taking in the completely new area.

You don't respond, still in awe that you made it this far. That you made it here at all. From wishing and theorizing to being back home. If you weren't starving and injured, you would've done backflips.

But that wasn't going to happen, so you settled for throwing yourself into Zora's arms and spinning around like a child. Watching the arm, of course. "You don't even know how excited I am right now. Do you know how long I've been looking for answers? It's not a hypothetical anymore. We're literally here."

Catching you seemed to be more of a reflex than an actual action of his own free will. However, he had the option to shake you off, but it seemed like he accepted his defeat. "Not too much spinning. I'm getting sick again."

He had one hand on you, and his other one was trying to keep you from falling over and bringing both of you down. Last time you got this close, his heartbeat picked up; this time was no different. "Thank you, by the way. A lot, actually. Like a hundred times—thank you."

"Um, you're welcome?" When you're up in his face, he drops that facade he enjoys hiding behind. Some of it, at least. He tries to appear nonchalant, but what you hear gives him away. His heart and that semi-opened mouth expression, where he observes you like some extraterrestrial.

You reach your hand up, stopping for a moment to see what he does. When he gives you a questioning stare, you tap his cheek. "I never asked; are your teeth actually that sharp, or is it the mask?"

He lifts an eyebrow, unamused. "What?"

"Are your teeth—"

"I heard you the first time." He cuts you off. "I mean, why are you asking?"

"Does it matter?"

He rolls his eyes. "I don't know, does it?"

You shrug, wrapping your arm around his shoulders. "Let me find out," you murmur before forcing him to bend his head down a few inches to your level. There was a split second before you continued, an opportunity you graciously gave him to pull back.

And then his time was up.

Cautiously, your lips gravitated together. A teasing brush of skin makes you shiver, though it doesn't stop you completely. The first kiss was a test; the second one was a confirmation. The third one, however...

"You tell any of those idiots about this, and I'll kill you in your sleep."

"Do it when I'm awake. I want to see you try." You taunt him with a challenge.

His hand runs down your side, and he lets himself go a little more. His teeth, or mask, whatever it may be, didn't get in the way. In fact, you favored having the sharp points nip at your lips. Much more fun was had than you anticipated.

The second you close your eyes, faded vision starts to bloom behind your eyelids. You see your dad talking to somebody. Someone around his age with crimson hair and a blinding grin. Behind the man, there's a child. A young boy with a matching hair color and a nervous smile.

You and Zora jolt away at the same time. Static soaks into your brain, and suddenly it becomes difficult to recall what you just saw. You rub your head, taking another step away from him. "Sorry, I thought I saw..."

Even though you trailed off, Zora caught on to the feeling. "Yeah, it was weird. Thought I saw... like an old ass memory or something."

How exciting. Another thing that doesn't make any sense.Not that you can do anything about it at the moment.

"Anyway... Like I was saying earlier, the teeth? A great surprise."