Evolution is a fascinating topic that is near and dear to my heart. Animals are among my biggest interests, right next to dinosaurs and the documentation of cases.

What really gets me about evolution is how some animals that seem very similar are actually different in many ways. Most people probably can’t tell the difference between members of the crocodilian family, even though there are some striking differences. If you look at crocodiles and compare them to alligators, there are many differences that are visible to the naked eye.

Their snouts have different shapes based on their different hunting styles, and the bottom teeth of the alligator are usually hidden. Their legs are also different, with the alligator being better at walking on land than the crocodile.

All of these differences stem from evolving to fit a specific environment. It is quite rare for the two animals to meet in the wild, as one prefers saltwater, while the other lives in freshwater.

And the great thing is, you can see that in every animal. They are all perfectly built for their exact lifestyle. Well, ignoring some errors, such the female hyena having a pseudopenis, which complicates birth, making it a highly risky and often deadly ordeal for both the mother and the young, the kiwi, which lays eggs nearly its own size, or the babirusa, which has ever-growing, twisted tusks, that can drill into its own skull, eventually killing the animal. Evolution can’t be perfect all the time.

Evolution follows the simple rule of adjusting to the surroundings.

Although there might be an animal that defies this. Interestingly, humans might have evolved too far for this simple principle. Sure, at some point, our species had to adjust to its surroundings, but now we simply change our surroundings.

When you look at different animals, you can often point out different strengths. Yet with humans, I believe our only strength is our advanced intelligence compared to other animals. Otherwise, we’re really not that special. Not only have our bodies evolved with some obvious flaws, but compared to other animals, we’re also not good at getting around on our own.

We can’t fly or glide. I mean, there are even reptiles, fish, and other mammals that can do that. We’re basically blind in the dark, and we have barely any stamina compared to many other animals. Sloths are better at swimming than we are. Both heat and cold force us to our knees, and all our closest relatives are better at climbing.

In a way, we are the dodos of primates, perfectly evolved to be lazy. Whenever we’re faced with a task we’re not made for, aka basically any task, we come up with something that does it for us. And with the current development of just creating machines that do those tasks for us, but also lead to the planet's destruction, I doubt that our intellect is truly a strength, and not just a ticking time bomb.

Wait, why was I talking about this again? Ah, yes, all of this was an elaborate way of saying that humans aren’t great at maneuvering through certain terrains. What if an investigator had to solve a case in such a challenging environment?

This next case shows one such instance.

Case #59: Guardians of Atlantis

Monday, June 24, 1:15 pm: Near New Haven, Connecticut

The motor of Ralph’s car hummed quietly as the vehicle passed by a large truck. The AC was doing its best, fighting the summer heat.

The small car barely had enough space for five people and their luggage. Because they couldn’t fit all their bags in the trunk, they had to squeeze them in front of the backseat.

“I can’t take it anymore, it’s so hot! Are you sure the AC is at its limit?” Alice asked, fanning air to her face. She was wearing a bikini with an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt over it. The shirt was one of her own creations, which was rather obvious, looking at its design. Instead of the typical motives of flowers, waves, or palm trees, the bright pink shirt was adorned with blue band-aids and green drops of some unknown liquid. Just like the jacket she’d made for Mika, the shirt was certainly unique, and most likely a reference to something.

Alice had been recently experimenting with new printing techniques and different kinds of fabrics, which netted the other members of the group their own personalized pieces of clothing, like custom swim trunks for Mika, or a shirt for Xavier with a motive, referencing a niche musical he had shown Alice and Amy.

Alice was squeezed between Xavier and Mika on the backseat and stretched her legs between the front seats to compensate for the lack of legroom. The left one was still in a cast, to the great annoyance of Alice, who’d been trying to scratch it for the entire drive so far. The cast had taken on a beige coloration, as Alice didn’t care much about keeping it clean. The only spot that was untouched by dirt was a section that was signed by Mika.

“Yes, as I said the last ten times you asked. But we’re most of the way there, in case that helps,” Ralph answered, while keeping his eyes on the road.

He, too, was dressed for the heat. His long hair was tied into a bun, and he was wearing a shirt that was already stained with sweat.

“How long will it take?” Alice asked.

“If we’re lucky, we’ll get there in about two and a half hours.”

Alice let out a loud groan. “I’m all for moving Pridemonth to one of the winter months. How am I supposed to feel any joy if I’m sweating myself to death?”
“I mean, the parade isn’t the only reason we’re going to New York,” Xavier said, while reading articles on his phone about different musicals that were currently being performed in New York. He’d already seen most of the bigger shows, so he was mostly looking into smaller productions.

He, too, was dressed in a T-shirt, swim trunks, and flip-flops.

“You can cool off in the ocean when we get there,” he continued.

“No, I can’t, because of this stupid cast.”

“I’ll just dunk you in the water upside down, Achilles style,” Xavier offered.

“Sure, I’ll take anything at this point.”

“Lucky, I have a ton of work to do, and you guys get to relax at the beach,” Ralph complained.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad. You can feel the ocean breeze 24/7 in your lab,” Xavier tried to calm him down.

“I doubt we’ll get to relax. Going on vacation with Xavier means we’ll probably just end up investigating a new case,” Amy said, frustratedly. She sat next to Ralph. Throughout the entire trip, she’d been trying to find a comfortable position, ending up leaning her head semi-comfortably against the window. The brim of the sunhat she was using as a pillow covered her face in shade and protected her eyes from the bright sunlight.

To the confusion of the others, she was wearing a jacket, despite the heat.

“Come on, that’s not true,” Xavier defended himself.

“Dude, did you forget that the last few days, which were meant to be a ‘relaxing camping trip’, were mostly spent solving a case?” Alice countered.

“That’s no surprise. According to the books I’ve read, it is statistically impossible for investigators to go on vacation without ending up involved in a case,” Mika explained.

They were sitting cross-legged next to Alice, staring out of the window. Both their loose tank top and the chest binder under it were covered in sweat stains.

Lupin was sitting on their lap, calmly sucking on a baby bottle. It was filled with a weird blended paste of milk, blood, meat, and vitamin supplements. Ralph had worked out the recipe, specifically for Lupin, after Alice had asked him to.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you’re reading too many books,” Ralph said, shaking his head and smiling.

Mika looked at him in shock.

“To be fair, they’re mostly right with their predictions, based on books,” Alice said, slowly stroking Lupin’s head.

Mika looked over to the radio. “Can we listen to something better? I picked out the perfect audio play. In this story, the Clever Foxes go on vacation at a beach in America, and they have to catch smugglers.”

“Like we said before, it’s nice that you want to share it with us, but we don’t speak German. So we wouldn’t even understand it.”

“Alice speaks German, I’ve been teaching her. Show them!” Mika looked at her in anticipation.

“Oh yeah, check this out.” Alice paused for dramatic effect. “Ick bin ain Berliner,” she said in purposefully broken German. “That’s about all I got.”

“No, don’t tell me you forgot it all, Big Sis!” Mika looked heartbroken.

“I’m just joking. But it’s not like I speak the language perfectly after a few lessons and watching a few movies in German. Even if I have a great teacher.” Alice patted Mika on the head, making their face light up.

“How come you speak German, Mika? Do the Bandas speak the language?” Ralph asked.

“Grandma Maeve doesn’t, but Grandpa Tzuriel’s family is from Switzerland. He helped me with some phrases, but I taught myself most of it with books and audio plays. I just compared the English books to the German originals.”

“Has anyone ever told you, you’re kinda weird?” Ralph asked, chuckling.

“Yes, I’ve been told before,” Mika said, not picking up on Ralph’s joking tone.

Ralph realized his lighthearted question had the opposite effect he had intended. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant it more as a compliment.”

“I mean, who in this car isn’t weird?” Alice said jokingly.

“Guess the word queer takes on a different meaning in that context,” Amy joked.

“True. What’s up with that? Do you only befriend gay people, Xavier?” Ralph asked.

“Pansexual, bisexual, nonbinary, and aromantic. He’s collecting us like damn Pokémon,” Alice said.

“Seems like I attract a certain crowd.” Xavier started laughing.

“Well, Alice counted you in that list, which doesn’t make sense in that comparison as…” Amy began correcting.

“Shut up, nerd!” Alice yelled before turning to Xavier.

“Weren’t you gonna change your business cards? How about you add the slogan “Be gay, solve crime”? I think it has a nice ring to it,” Alice suggested jokingly.

“I know you said that as a joke, but I actually like it.”

“Seriously?” Alice said, surprised.

“Of course. And the more you protest the mo…” Xavier was stopped by a loud bang.

“What was that?” Mika asked. They were hugging Lupin, who was shaking from the sudden loud noise.

“Please don’t tell me…” Alice said worried.

“Looks like the AC is broken,” Ralph reported after a quick look at the device.

“No!” Alice let out in despair.

They had to continue their drive without the AC for three more hours.

Maybe I can use this opportunity to give you some context, dear readers.

After the events of the last chapter and after Alice left the hospital, the team decided to take a road trip to Acadia National Park. They traveled together with Ralph, who had to return to the lab afterward.

As Alice had pointed out, their stay in the national park turned into another case, Case #58: Forest of the Flaming Paw.

While Xavier, Alice, and Ralph searched for the poachers who were using wildfires to cover up their actions, Amy refused to help, fearing she’d get in the way.

After successfully solving the case, they continued their trip as planned, taking a detour to Stony Shores to pick up Mika and Lupin. They planned to visit Ralph’s lab, spend some time at the beach, and visit New York City.

That should probably be enough to catch you up.

Monday, June 24, 4:30 pm: Long Island, New York

After a while, the agonizing drive came to an end, and Ralph parked his car in a small private parking lot. The only buildings near them were a few luxurious beach houses, all far apart.

“Finally! Oh, fresh air, how I’ve missed you!” Alice said loudly while getting out of the car. She nearly fell over, forgetting her cast for a second.

“And where’s your lab?” Amy asked, looking around.

“Out there.” Ralph pointed to the horizon.

“I didn’t really get it. Is it a houseboat?” Alice asked.

“No, it’s a small building on a swimming platform. We can attach it to our captain’s boat and bring it wherever we need it. But we need multiple anchors to keep the boat and lab in place.”

“Pretty cool, so you just take it out on the ocean and go deep-sea exploring?” Alice said, doing a bad job of hiding how interested she was.

“I think you’re overestimating our budget. Most of our material is second-hand or even from scrapyards. The Mantastation isn’t able to handle the open sea, and we can’t dive too far down either.”

“Oh yeah, I totally forgot the lab has a name,” Xavier said, breathing in the fresh ocean breeze.

“Not just the lab. Marlo gives all our equipment names. The submarine is called the Belugasub, and the jet ski is named Marlindasher, for example.

While they were talking, a small motorboat landed at a pier near them.

“I haven’t seen him in a while. How’s he doing?” Xavier asked.

“You can ask him yourself. He’s right over there.” Ralph pointed to a man about his age, who was securing the rope to hold the small boat in place.

“He’s already back on his feet? Shouldn’t he be resting?”

“It’s been like a month, and it’s not like he had his entire body reconstructed,” Amy pointed out.

“She’s right, Marlo came back to work as soon as he was able to, which wasn’t actually that long after the surgery. But the captain told him he couldn’t go diving for the time being,” Ralph explained.

“He’s just overprotective. I’m more than ready to get out there,” Marlo said with a smile on his face. He had heard the conversation while he was walking up to them.

Like the others, he was dressed for the warm weather, simply wearing flip-flops, sunglasses, swim trunks, and an unbuttoned shirt. His skin was tanned, and his arms were covered in tattoos, including a cute-looking shark, long tentacles, and the phrase “Creature Power!” in bold letters.

“Hey! Feels good to be back,” Ralph said while hugging Marlo.

“I feel you. I’m not made for hospitals. And it’s great you’re finally back with us.”

Ralph nodded. He had been mostly confined to working from home for a while as he was recovering from a diving accident.

“Xavier, you never visited me in the hospital,” Marlo said jokingly, acting like he was upset.

“Sorry about that. I don’t really like hospitals.”

“No problem. Say, how do you like my new look?” Marlo pumped up his chest and posed, trying to look cool.

“I can’t see a difference,” Xavier said jokingly.

“Ha, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.” He turned to the others. “And let me guess, you must be Alice, right?”

“Yup, that’s right,” Alice answered.

“Meaning you are junior investigator Mika.”

Mika didn’t notice he was talking to them. They were too focused on the scars on Marlo’s chest.

Marlo crouched down a bit to be on eye level with Mika. “Hey, my eyes are up here,” he said, chuckling to himself.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to stare!” Mika got nervous and turned red.

“I’m just joking. Don’t worry. If I didn’t want people to see my top surgery scars, I would button up my shirt.” He gave Mika a thumbs-up. “I like your style, by the way.”

Mika started smiling happily and squeezed Lupin tighter.

“And who’s this little guy?”

“His name is Lupin. I named him after the famous thief. You can pet him if you want. He’s really nice.”

“Maybe later.” He turned to Ralph. “That’s one of the animals you told me about, right?”

“Yes, all the other specimens were taken in by the police. I did some tests, trying to find out more about them. Maybe you and the others can help me. We can have a look at the collected data later.”
“I’m sure Jacky and the captain will be happy to take a closer look.”

“Great, I even brought some samples of the fungi.”

“Then what are we waiting for? The Dolphinrider awaits us.” Marlo led them to the motorboat.

Xavier jumped in enthusiastically, followed by a headshaking Ralph.

Amy slowly climbed on board, her legs feeling like jelly as the vessel bounced up and down on the waves. She tried not to let the others notice.

“Hey Mika, do you need help?” Amy reached her arm out. Lupin used the opportunity and jumped from Mika’s shoulder onto her head, clinging onto her face.

“Lupin, I can’t see!” Surprised, she took a step back, losing her balance. As she was falling over, Xavier caught her.

“Everything alright?” he asked, trying not to laugh.

“Can someone please take the monkey from my face?”

“Mika.” Xavier looked at them, waiting for them to act.

“I can’t, I have to help Big Sis.” Mika pulled out a small bag and threw it over to Xavier. The sound of it was enough to lure the monkey. He quickly climbed onto Xavier’s shoulder, waiting for a treat.

“Is that better, miss? The evil King Kong has been defeated,” Xavier said teasingly.

Amy smirked and sat down, slightly blushing.

“Okay, let me help you,” Mika said, reaching out to Alice.

“I’m more than capable of getting on a boat.”

“But the doctor said you should be careful with your leg.”

“You’re one to talk, Mx. I-crush-my-own-ribs.”

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

“You know I got into trouble with Maeve and Tzuriel because you wore your chest binder for too long last time you stayed with us.”

“I didn’t wear it that much longer than I should.”

“You slept in it. You know the rules. If you wear it for too long, I’ll have to take it away.”

“What?!” Mika stared at her in shock, nervously opening and closing their hands.

“No, I won’t do that, I don’t want you to feel like shit. But you really have to follow the rules. Don't wear it for longer than eight hours, and don’t wear it while sleeping or doing sport.”

“Okay.” Mika let their head down.

“She’s right. I know dysphoria can be a bitch, but wearing your binder too long can lead to serious problems,” Marlo said.

Mika hugged Lupin and sat down next to Amy.

“It’s kinda like cuddling a cat,” Marlo said, while starting the boat.

“Oh, here we go again,” Ralph said, dramatically rolling his eyes.

“Hugging a cat is no problem, even if you give it a little squeeze. But do it too much, at the wrong time, or in the wrong way, and you get hurt.”

“You’re really proud of that metaphor, aren’t you?” Ralph asked, having heard Marlo use the same comparison multiple times before.

“Of course. It’s how I explained it to my parents and the captain.

The boat quickly picked up speed as it drove towards the lab. After a while, it started jumping from one wave to the next, rattling its passengers around.

Monday, June 24, 5:00 pm: Mantastation, Atlantic Ocean

As they arrived at the lab, Marlo quickly jumped over and skillfully tied the Dolphinrider to a small post.

The lab stood on a small platform and took up most of the space. It was a small building split into multiple rooms.

As they began to board the platform, a man approached them. He was one of those people who you could absolutely tell what occupation they had.

The elder gentleman had grey hair and a scruffy beard. He smiled and bit an old pipe. Despite his age, he looked very fit and strong. The rolled-up sleeves of his old-fashioned captain’s coat revealed scars and tattoos on his arms.

“Ahoy, landlubbers!” He started laughing, although it quickly became a scratchy cough.

“You okay, Captain?” Ralph asked while leaving the Dolphinrider.

“Don’t worry, lad, I won’t end up in Davy’s locker for a while. Takes a lot more than a light cough to take down an old seadog like me.”

He grabbed Xavier’s hand firmly and shook it. Not to be outdone, Xavier squeezed his hand harder while staring into the eyes of the captain.

“Hahaha, I see ye still got that there competitive spirit. You’d make a mighty fine pirate.” “Come on, John, you don’t have to scare everyone off with your pirate act.” A woman had appeared behind him. She wore a diving suit, which she had pulled down, tying the sleeves around her hips. Under it, she wore a crop top, revealing well-defined abs. She wore. To complete her sporty look, she wore a cap, aviators, and had her wet, dark brown hair tied in a ponytail.

Curiously, she looked at the people on the Dolphinrider.

“Just ignore him, he thinks he’s some great pirate.”

“Act?! I, John Anthony Albright, descendant of the great Mary Read, have sworn on Jolly Roger’s name that I will amass the world’s greatest booty, lassie.” The captain pointed to the flags, proudly waving on top of the boat. There were so many flags that they had to be spread over multiple flagpoles. There were some, one might expect, knowing Captain Albright, like the Union Jack, in reference to the captain’s homeland, the flag of an animal preservation group he was part of, one portraying the logo of the university the captain went to, and the aforementioned Jolly Roger, both the most common version and a custom one, but there were also others you might not have expected, such as one displaying the logo of Irukandji Sting, Ralph and Marlo’s band, and multiple relating to different movements such as a Black Lives Matter flag and the Ally Pride flag. Certainly an interesting collection, you would have likely not seen on a pirate ship. But I guess that makes sense, considering this is more of a lab than a pirate’s vessel. And the entire collection of flags is really a perfect display of Captain Albright’s character, even down to the fact that he goes out of his way to announce his care for these subjects.

“I know.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I’m happy you all made it. Ralph keeps going on about you. I’m Jacky, by the way.”

“Yes, he sang yer praise, but the sea will show if ye be truly such capable heroes or just a bunch of landlubbers.”

“I’m not a landlubber. I’m a person of the sea, I even live in a lighthouse,” Mika said proudly.

“Aye, the scholar of mystery, tamer of the undead. Ralph has talked about ye. Have ye ever thought about goin' on adventures on the open sea?” Captain Albright asked.

“Sounds interesting. Grandpa Tzuriel taught me how to swim, so I should be ready for the open sea.”

“Didn’t you want to become an investigator?” Xavier asked.

“I could be a seafaring investigator, locking up smugglers, busting evil pirates, and finding treasure. That could be my gimmick, every good investigator has one.”

“What’s my gimmick?” Xavier asked, intrigued.

“Daddy issues!” Alice yelled from behind him. She tried not to let the others notice, but her tone and greenish face made it clear she wasn’t doing too well.

“No, that’s not it,” Mika said in a completely serious tone, seemingly not catching onto the fact that Alice was making a joke.

Xavier just glared at her and turned back to Mika.

“I don’t know what your gimmick is,” Mika said disappointedly.

“That must hurt, our expert in everything relating to investigators thinks you’re not good enough for a gimmick,” Ralph said, poking Xavier in the ribs.

“No, it’s just that I haven’t found it yet. I’m sure he has one.”

“Don’t worry, I just wanted to tease him.”

“Are you two okay?” Marlo asked, looking at Amy and Alice, who were still sitting in the motorboat. They both had the same sick expression on their faces.

“Do you need help getting up?” Mika asked.

“Don’t worry, we just need to take a quick break,” Alice answered.

“If you’re seasick, it’s best you get out of the small vessel. The larger vessels are less affected by the waves,” Ralph explained.

“Here, I’ll help you,” Jacky offered, holding out her hand to the two. Somehow, this gesture was enough to turn both their green faces bright red, although both tried to hide it. Badly, I might add.

Xavier watched as the two slowly and carefully moved over to get onto the Mantastation, leaning against the wall as they tried to get their seasickness under control.

“Pretty ironic that one of the few things you two have in common is a weakness,” Xavier pointed out, while the group moved to the entrance of the lab.

“I’ll give you a weakness!” Alice said grumpily.

“Not your best insult,” Xavier countered gleefully.

“It’s best if you take a seat and fixate on a spot on the horizon. I’ll get you some water. That should help as well,” the man sitting near the entrance said in a calm and disinterested tone.

They looked at the man sitting next to the entrance. He was reading a book in the small patio area that made up the open deck of the floating platform.

He had short, greyish hair, and his chin was unshaven. The glasses he wore had been hastily fixed with a Band-Aid after they had likely snapped in the middle.

He put his book down and went inside. Before Amy and Alice had even sat down, he had already returned with two glasses of water.

“May I introduce, this is Tanner Anderson, our local doctor and dealer,” Marlo explained.

“Marlo, how many times do I have to tell you? Just because I pick up your T does not mean I’m your dealer. It’s not that kind of drug, and we have no transaction going on.”

“Speak for yourself. I always have trans action going on,” Marlo said, grinning while striking another dorky pose.

“Hilarious. How about you go have a laugh at a transport vehicle again?” Tanner suggested, clearly not interested in Marlo’s jokes.

“I’m just messing with you. Geez, you’re always so grumpy before diving.”

Tanner sat back down and continued reading his book.

“Wow, is that an original copy of The Clever Foxes Book #3?!” Mika yelled, staring at the old book he was holding.

“You know it? I would have thought you were too young to know stuff like this,” Tanner said, surprised.

“No one’s too young to know a classic. The German original was actually released in 1965. In 1968, it was released internationally. Interestingly, the German book is actually number 8, because the international release order is different from the original one,” Mika explained in their typical overly excited tone.

“Wow, I only knew that it came out in the ‘60s. I guess you got me beat.”

“Believe me, no one knows more about this series than Mika, not even the author,” Xavier said proudly.

“Authors. There are multiple people who have written books for the series,” Mika corrected him.

“Great to see someone enjoying these old books.”

“Mr. Anderson, which one is your favorite book of the series? Which one was your first one? What do you think of the spin-offs?” Mika’s eyes were glowing from excitement.

“Calm down, kid. I’ve only read a few of them as a kid. I got them from my parents back then. I guess I got nostalgic recently and started reading them again.”

Mika was about to get into a long monologue about their favorites as Ralph cut them off. “Easy there, I’m sure you’ll get some more time to talk about books with him. How about you look around the place first?”

“How about I show you around, kid?” Tanner asked, smiling friendly.

“Can I see the submarine, Mr. Anderson?” Mika asked enthusiastically.

“No need for formalities, you can call me Tanner,” he said, warming up to Mika’s excitable personality.

“He’s right, everyone here just goes by their first names,” Ralph added. “Well, except for the captain. You gotta respect the man’s title after all.”

“I understand.”

“Well, I guess we can go on our tour, now that that’s resolved. And of course, I can show you the old rust bucket.”

“Ye better watch yer mouth or I’ll send ye keelhaulin'. That there submarine be a high-tech prototype!” the captain exclaimed.

“Anyone else interested in a tour?” Tanner asked.

“No, I’ve already seen it before,” Xavier answered.

Amy and Alice simply shook their head, not taking their eyes off the horizon.

“Wait up, I’ll tag along with you,” Marlo said, jumping off his seat. “I can use the opportunity for the final checkup of the equipment for tonight’s expedition.”

After the three had left, the others all sat down at the table.

“Wow, Mika seems to be really into those old books,” Jacky said, laughing.

“You’re one to talk. You’re the definition of a super fan. You buy like everything Wimbley puts out, and know everything about them,” Ralph countered.

“Plus, pretty sure The Clever Foxes don’t destroy entire ecosystems,” Captain Albright added.

“This again. You can say that about any company of their size. Just let me have some fun.”

“Do you really have to buy all their stuff, though? Isn’t it enough to just enjoy their movies?” Ralph asked.

“I don’t buy that much. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Do you know how much all their merchandise costs?”

“Maybe I’m out of the loop here, but what is Wimbley?” Xavier asked.

“Jesus, I thought Mika was the sheltered one,” Ralph exclaimed in disbelief.

“They be one of the biggest movie studios, buyin' up properties left an' right,” the captain explained.

“Okay, don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?” Jacky said in protest.

“May I remind you that the very coral reef we are currently researching would not exist anymore if it had gotten their way,” Ralph said.

Jacky looked down at the ground.

“How so?” Xavier asked.

“Some years ago, they wanted to build a theme park. Basically, their version of Disneyland.”

“Wasn’t that in New Jersey?” Amy asked, still in a weak voice.

“That’s where their current one is,” Ralph continued. “Originally, they had plans to build an artificial island for it. The intended location was right here. When the public found out it was on top of a coral reef, they had to change their plans.”

“An' even though she knows all o' that, Jacky goes to their theme park constantly,” Captain Albright said.

“That’s not true. I go there maybe once a year. And obviously I have a problem with a lot of the things they do, I’m not an idiot.”

“Just keep in mind that some o' the money used to finance such horrible acts came from ye,” the captain said, taking off his old-fashioned captain’s hat to scratch his head.

“I know.” Jacky sighed. “But, I’ve been cutting back on my purchases. I used to buy way more of their stuff a few years ago.”

“That was before you racked up your student debt,” Ralph pointed out.

“I promise, that’s not the reason. Or at least not completely,”  Jacky tried to argue. “I think I should start preparing for tonight as well.” Jacky got up and left, hoping to drop the subject that way.

“She’s right, there’s a lot left to do.” Ralph got up as well.

The captain decided to stay a bit longer, spending more time with his guests.

Monday, June 24, 5:15 pm: Submarine Dock, Mantastation

The Mantastation was divided into four parts, excluding the other vessels. First was the patio area, which mainly served as a hangout spot. Entering the building led to the main room, the lab. The equipment appeared to be very advanced, and it was clearly where most of the funds had been invested. A door to the left led into the med bay, where all the medication was kept. It even had a corner reserved for treating sick aquatic animals, with multiple water tanks of different sizes.

To the right of the lab was an open area, the submarine’s dock. Due to the large opening for the submarine, there wasn't much floor space to stand on.

Mika stared at the strange-looking vehicle, hanging in the middle of the room, attached to two large, automated winches. It was mostly painted in a messy collage of greys and blues, with some colorful splotches mixed in.

“So this is the Belugasub?”

“Hey, you remembered the name!” Marlo said excitedly.

“Yes, it’s our submarine. As I said before, it isn’t perfect, but it will do,” Tanner answered.

“What’s the problem with it?”

“For one, it’s very old. In fact, it was a prototype, built during the Second World War. It was never used because it wouldn’t serve well in a war, being too slow and vulnerable for it,” Tanner explained.

“But those problems don’t seem like they would get in the way here,” Mika assumed.

“You’re right about that. But the other problems are more general, mainly in construction. The captain bought it from some collector who was running out of money. Jacky was then somehow able to make it usable again, even upgrading it with some modern tech.”

“How about we just show them?” Marlo suggested.

“Sure.” Tanner turned to Mika. “We’ll have to go in, one by one. We won’t fit through the airlock otherwise.”

“What’s an airlock?”

“Well, it is basically a small chamber at the entrance of the submarine. It is necessary when we leave or enter the submarine underwater. Just imagine, you come in from the outside. All the water would flood the submarine. But this way, the water gathers in the airlock, you close the door, and all the water gets pushed out by filling the chamber with air, before you enter the main room.”

“That sounds cool.”

“We just can’t do it too often or we’ll run out of oxygen,” Marlo pointed out jokingly.

“But we don’t have to worry about that for now. The Belugasub fills up automatically when it’s above water. Thanks to Jacky’s upgrades,” Tanner explained.

“So she’s the team’s mechanic?”

“That and our most skilled diver,” Marlo answered. “She actually got a mechanical engineering degree as the youngest of her class, so we’re very lucky to have someone so talented on our team.”

Tanner had already entered the submarine. Marlo quickly explained to Mika how to get through the airlock before opening the door for them.

While standing in the small chamber and waiting for the door to open, Mika stared at the machinery in awe. The airlock was a small, cylindrical chamber, just wide enough for an average adult to stand in.

Lupin clung to Mika’s shoulder, nervously staring at the ominous, red lamp glowing above them.

The light turned green, and the second door opened. Mika walked into a crowded room filled with machinery and equipment. They only now noticed the windows, all around the sub, some small and some large.

“Pretty neat,” Marlo said, as he entered behind Mika.

“Are these windows one-way?”

“Well observed. When observing animals, it’s best to be invisible to them,” Tanner explained.

“That’s why the Belugasub has such an interesting paint job. It serves as camouflage, to not scare the animals,” Marlo added.

“Hey, are you in there?” Jacky’s voice came from a speaker in the control panel in the front of the submarine.

The sudden loud noise made Lupin jump and run away. He quickly slipped through the gap of a partially opened closet in the back.

“Don’t be scared, it’s just Jacky,” Mika said, trying to calm the little monkey down. They walked up to the closet and pulled the door open. There was some stuff in the way, making it harder for them.

“Wait, don’t!” Marlo exclaimed. But it was too late. Just as the door finally moved, a mountain of equipment fell out, burying Mika under it.

“Help!” Mika called out, surprisingly calm.

Tanner and Marlo picked up some scuba gear, large flashlights, and bags of snacks. Even some buoys were among the equipment.

“Are you okay?” Tanner asked.

“Yes, but what is all this stuff?”

“You know how some people have a junk drawer?” Marlo asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, we just kinda stuff all the stuff that’s in the way in here.”

“Don’t you need this equipment?”

“Sometimes, but not right now.”

“Hello, anyone in there?” Jacky asked again.

Tanner walked over to the control panel. “Yes, we’re in here.” He spoke into a small microphone on the panel.

“Will you be long? I want to make the final checkup.”

“We’ll make it quick.”

“So you can communicate with the Mantastation with this?” Mika asked. They had picked up Lupin and were holding him tight. He seemed to slowly calm down as he made himself comfortable, snuggling up to Mika.

“Yes, the submarine is directly connected to the Mantastation via radio signal. That way, we can access certain controls even from outside the Belugasub,” Marlo answered.

“But the submarine always has priority. For example, should this button be pressed, the sub can’t be pulled up, even if the station activates the winches.” Tanner pointed to one of the buttons on the panel.

“Why?” Mika asked, trying to think of an explanation themselves.

“Should we be underwater with the submarine and someone leaves to get closer to the specimen, we can’t allow the submarine to go up. We would put them into potential danger.”

“That would be scary.”

“Yeah, although we would at least not be that far away from the Mantastation. The submarine is really more of an elevator, as it just goes up or down in a straight line, always connected to the winches above,” Tanner explained.

“Sadly. I wish we could explore more freely.”

“We can go plenty deep down, isn’t that enough?” Tanner asked.

“Come on, don’t you want to explore the deep sea too?” Marlo asked with an enthusiastic look on his face.

“I don’t get what you like so much about it. You can’t see shit down there, and all the animals look weird. I’d much rather explore a coral reef or swim with dolphins.”

“But that’s exactly it, the weirdness and the mystery. There is so much down there, we don’t know.”

“I read a book about it recently. I’m trying to broaden my literary horizon,” Mika said proudly.

“What’s it called?” Tanner asked.

“20000 Leagues under the Ocean. It is really informative.”

“You know that’s a fictional story, right?”

“Let them dream a little,” Marlo said. “We don’t know what’s down there, just think about some of the discoveries the ocean has brought us. Giant squids, barreleye fish, underwater volcanoes, yeti crabs, or even living fossils like goblin sharks or coelacanths.”

“You know a lot about the deep sea,” Mika said, impressed.

“I mean, that’s nothing. My goal is to one day go on a deep-sea expedition and see things that no one else has ever seen.”

“Or get sucked dry by a vampire squid,” Tanner said.

“Those exist?!” Mika asked, surprised.

“Yes, but they don’t eat living prey. They look really cool, though,” Marlo explained.

“I think we should get going, Jacky needs time to finish the checkup.”

“Wait, I just want to show Mika one more thing,” Marlo said excitedly.

“What is it?” Mika stared at the metal door at the back of the submarine. It was about the same size as the portholes of the submarine.

“This is our fart cannon.”

“Stop calling it that. What are you, ten years old?” Tanner rolled his eyes.

“Why do you have a fart cannon?”

“It is actually the torpedo tube. It still works, but because we don’t have torpedoes, it only shoots out water pressure, making it seem like the Belugasub farted.”

“You could use it to shoot out food for the animals, making them come closer so you can observe them better,” Mika suggested.

“Not a bad idea. You know, the entire firing sequence can be initiated with one button press. Want to give it a go?”

“Okay, I think it’s time to leave, you’re clearly getting some dumb ideas,” Tanner said, while he opened the airlock.

Disappointed, Mika followed him, while Marlo stayed back to check on the equipment and help Jacky.

Monday, June 24, 5:15 pm: Patio, Mantastation

“Say, can I help ye with something?” Captain Albright asked, looking at his two sea-sick guests.

“No, I think I’m starting to get used to the waves,” Amy answered. Her face was slowly returning to its normal color.

“Thank Poseidon, I thought I had to get out the Yellow Jack. But ye’re tougher than ye look, lassie.”
“Thanks.” Amy stretched, taking her eyes off the horizon. “I’ve been wondering, how do you pay for all this? Do you have any investors or something like that?”

“I paid for it all meself,” Captain Albright answered, seemingly ashamed.

“But all this must have cost a fortune?!”

“Lassie, ye 'ave discovered me greatest shame. I may say that I’m a descendant o' Mary Read, but to tell ye the truth, I’m more like Stede Bonnet. I be the son of a wealthy British family, born with a golden spoon.”

“So, you’re actually rich?!” Alice asked.

“More or less. I used to travel all over the seven seas when I was a wee scallywag, not a worry in me life. But as I grew old, I realized I could 'ave all the doubloons in the world, but they would still not bring me true joy. If money is the only thing ye care about, ye become like Richard Scent or the execs o' Wimbley Studios. Money isn’t the true booty, it’s what ye do with it. I’m sure ye can agree with me, Xavier.”

Xavier looked uncomfortable. “Money brings out the worst in people. But you’re right. It can be used to do good and find true fulfillment beyond material riches.”

“Why would Xavier specifically know about that?” Amy asked.

“So yer friends don’t know?” Captain Albright asked, surprised.

“My lineage isn’t something I brag about.”

“Well, I started donatin' money to charity, but while I knew I was supporting good causes, it didn’t feel like I was doin' enough. All I did was give some o' the money I was handed away. So I decided to invest in a personal project. I realized that me booty would be knowledge that I could share with others. I went all in on buyin' the necessary equipment an' paying me crew.”

“Are you looking for anything specific?” Alice asked.

“I mainly want to record the state o' the ocean. We humans 'ave done some bad things to it, and I want to 'elp where I can. In me youth I studied geology an' biology, so I got some o' the necessary knowledge.

“Seems like a pretty small crew for such an undertaking,” Alice pointed out.

“But I assure ye, they be a perfect crew. I made sure that each member would be a perfect fit. Jacky be one o' the most skilled engineers me eyes 'ave ever seen with incredible ideas to boot. Ralph be a highly intelligent marine biologist even at his young age. Marlo used to work at an animal sanctuary as a vet. He also directly 'elped prepare captive animals to be released into the wild. An' Tanner be in a league of his own. He used to work as a paramedic, but he lost his job after leadin' a group effort to free the animals from an aquatic theme park that mistreated them. I 'eard his story an' was moved. I pulled some strings an' got him out o' the brig. Another perk o' bein' part of an influential family.”

“Wait, I think I remember seeing that on the news when I was little!” Amy said.

“His actions were widely broadcast, but they never found the animals. He 'ad brought them to different animal sanctuaries that were in on it. Even the one Marlo would end up workin' at was one o' them.”

“This whole project is so cool!” Amy said.

“Thank ye, lassie. But truth be told, I’m not sure 'ow much longer I can keep it afloat. I wasn’t one for savin' up money when I was a young lad. There be only so much left.”

“Oh no! Do the others know?” Amy let out.

“No, they don’t. But I think some o' them might 'ave caught onto it. But no worries, lassie. A good captain goes down with his ship. I will find the money to keep goin'. I owe it to me crew and this planet.”

Amy tried to switch the topic away from the sad note it had taken on. “Captain Albright, I was wondering, what kind of expedition have you planned for today? It is getting a bit late for a dive, isn’t it?”

“Aye, well observed. We 'ave a night expedition planned.”

“So you’ll dive down in the dark?” Alice asked.

“Well, we won’t leave the Belugasub, but we’ll be stayin' there for the entire night.”

“Sounds exhausting,” Alice remarked.

“A true pirate never gets tired. But just to be sure, we did get some extra rest today, so we won’t run out of energy.”

“How many of you will be in the submarine?” Amy asked.

“It will be me, Tanner, and Jacky. I want the younger lads to take it easy for a bit.”

“I assume Ralph because he recently ruptured his ear, and Marlo because of his surgery, right?” Xavier put together.

“Aye.”

“I assume they’ll be monitoring you from the Mantastation, right?” Amy asked further.

“They’ll check in on us regularly via the intercom. They’ll work in shifts.”

“Maybe I’ll keep Ralph company. Just waiting around is probably not all that interesting,” Xavier thought out loud.

“I’m sure the lad would enjoy that.”

“Enjoy what?” Ralph asked as he walked out on the patio.

“Xavier suggested he’d be jolly good company for you during the night.”

“Sounds good. I wanted to talk to him about something anyway. But I actually have something to report to you.”

“What is it, bucko?”

“Well, I checked out the weather instruments. Seems like the storm is approaching quicker than expected.”

“How quick?”

“It will probably get here by tomorrow morning around 7 or 8 am.”

“Blimey, we’ll have to batten down the hatches in that case!”

“Will the night expedition take place as planned?” Ralph asked.

“Yes, but you’ll have to keep an eye on the weather, lad. Should it get here any faster, we’ll have to cut it short, or we’ll be feeding the fish soon.”

 “Understood.”

“Will you be safe?” Amy asked, concerned.

“Aye, lassie. We’re mighty fine seafarers, we’ll be all good.”

“I’m relieved. I’m sorry if all of my questions are annoying. I recently got sucked down the rabbit hole of underwater exploration, and reading about stories such as the OceanGate and Byford Dolphin disasters terrified me.”

“How dumb can you be? I bet you’re the kind of person who binges 9/11 documentaries before going on a flight.”

“I’ve never been on a plane, so I couldn’t tell you.”

Alice rolled her eyes and looked back at the ocean. “What are those buoys marking?” she asked, looking out at the ocean. A bunch of buoys had gathered not far from the Mantastation.

“Oh, those aren’t meant to be there. Sometimes, some of them fall off the Mantastation, if the weather’s rough,” Ralph explained.

“Why are they all gathered in one spot?” Amy asked.

“It’s because o’ them currents. Poseidon’s palace twists ‘em,” the captain explained.

“A palace?” Xavier repeated.

“I knew you’d be interested in that. We discovered these weird currents when we moved the lab here two weeks ago. They all twist around in weird shapes and converge in one spot. On our first dive, we discovered that there was some weird monument right below the center of the currents, so we assume that the large object is affecting the currents.”

“What do you mean, you discovered a large monument?”

“There is no record of it being here. But we decided not to investigate it further. It stands on very uneven ground and could fall and sink deeper if disturbed. Plus, the door was locked with some strange mechanism,” Ralph explained further.

“How wasn’t this the first thing you mentioned?!” Xavier asked.

“Oh no, I know that look. You heard him, it is too dangerous to investigate,” Amy protested.

“Come on, doesn’t it sound exciting?”

“I’m not an investigator, so don’t ask me. You and Alice can do what you want, but keep me out of it. And I would absolutely recommend not getting near any strange and unsafe underwater temples.”

“We can’t actually let you go down there anyway, Xavier. We can’t let an inexperienced diver swim around freely that deep underwater,” Ralph explained.

“Come on, you can’t bring it up if we can’t explore it.”

“Sorry. Maybe we can explore after you’ve got a C-Card, and after the OPRNH has had a look at the building.”

“The what?” Amy asked.

“The Organization for Preservation and Restoration of Nautical Habitats,” Alice explained, to everyone’s surprise.

“I did not expect you to know that,” Ralph said.

“What? Dude, you talk a lot about your job when we hang out together.”

“Sure, but I was not expecting you to actually listen. I’m actually kinda flattered.”

“Wow, is the bar really that low? Do you guys really expect so little of me?”

The others didn’t answer, which was in itself an answer, I suppose.

“Unbelievable.”

“So, that OPR-whatever is coming to check on the temple?” Xavier asked.

“Yes. Well, they’ll stop by as soon as they can. Jacky contacted them, but they told her that they had a very busy schedule at the moment, so it might take a while for them to get here.”

“That sucks. Isn’t that dangerous? What if there are dangerous substances in there, or something like that?” Amy asked.

“That’s what we’re worried about, too. But I guess there are currently many threats to marine life, so compromises must be made.”

While the group was talking, Amy’s phone rang. Taking a look at the screen showed that the call was coming from Amy’s mother.

“Sorry, guys, I have to take that.” She stepped away from them, inside the building, so that the others couldn’t hear her. She had clearly not noticed the open window, which allowed the other to overhear the conversation without even intending to.

“Hey, Mom.”

The group could not hear her mother, but from the pause, it was obvious Amy’s mother was currently talking.

“How are you doing?”

“That’s good to hear. We’re doing great, too. The weather here is fantastic.”

Amy seemed caught off guard. “What?”

“I just thought you might want to know how we’re…” She paused mid-sentence, listening to what her mother was saying.

“We’re on Long Island. I told you, we were visiting Ralph’s lab.”

“Well, yes, it’s a vacation.”

“I know. I promise you, I won’t neglect it, just because I’m on vacation. I think I’ve made some good progress.”

“What? No, I don’t have a boyfriend yet. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I don’t think that means I haven’t made any progress,” Amy said in a tone that could not be further away from talking back.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you’re wrong.”

“I don’t think we should be listening in on this,” Xavier said.

Alice looked frustratedly over to the open window. “I’m gonna put an end to this.”

“So, why did you call? Did something ha…” Amy was startled as Alice knocked against the window.

“Hey, dipshit, we can hear everything you’re saying!”

Amy looked flustered and quickly closed the window, continuing her phone call.

“I promise, we did not try to eavesdrop,” Xavier said as Amy returned to them.

“Oh, no problem. Not like I’m hiding a normal conversation with my mother.”

“Tragically, I fully believe you that these sorts of conversations with her are the norm,” Alice said, still upset.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Amy said defensively.

“Yes, you do. You should really just block her number and move on just like I did. And I never looked back.”

“Weren’t you on your way to see your parents when you got here?” Xavier asked.

“I just needed to get some of my old stuff. You know, old toys I wanted to donate,” Alice tried to explain. Before she could be questioned further, she left to take a nap.

The other split up too. Xavier went to look for Mika, Ralph went back to work, and Amy picked a quiet spot to read. She was currently in the middle of a Goosebumps marathon and had gotten to “Deep Trouble”, which was very fitting for the beach vacation she was on.

Monday, June 24, 6:50 pm: Patio, Mantastation

After everyone had returned, they started preparing dinner. Xavier, Marlo, and Jacky worked in the small kitchen on the fishing boat while the others set the table.

During that, Ralph went over the checklist for preparing the night expedition to make sure everything was in order.

“Thank you for helping out with the kitchen duties, lad,” Captain Albright said to Xavier, looking at the assortment of dumplings on the table.

“Make sure to try my homemade iced tea. I put some ice cubes in to make it extra refreshing,” Jacky said.

They all started eating and talking about different things.

“Ralph, can you tell us more about that monument you found?” Xavier asked.

“There isn’t much to talk about. We haven’t investigated it because it looks very unsafe.”

“True, it looks like it was just dropped there. It isn’t attached to anything, just loosely lying on top of some rocks,” Marlo explained.

“And the worst part is, it’s right next to a crevasse in the reef. It’s wide enough for the monument to partially slip into.”

“But an entire palace can’t just appear out of nowhere,” Xavier said.

“Palace might be a bit over the top. It is a small pyramid, made to look like some kind of Aztec temple,” Ralph said.

“Still weird,” Xavier said.

“Mika, I was wondering about that glove you’re wearing,” Marlo said.

Mika became visibly uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just something I don’t like to talk about.”

“I had assumed so. You wouldn’t be covering it up, otherwise.”

“Dude, stop prying into it. They said they don’t want to talk about it,” Alice said.

“It’s okay, Big Sis. I want to hear what he wanted to say.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“Well, I noticed a black line when your glove slipped slightly. Are you covering up a tattoo under the glove?”

Mika nodded.

“Thought so. If you want to get it removed, I could probably ask my girlfriend about that?”

“A tattoo can be removed?!” Mika let out in surprise.

“Yes. It isn’t typically done on minors, but neither are tattoos, so it might be doable.”

“Do you think Gina could do that?” Ralph asked.

“She doesn’t have much experience with removing tattoos, but I know that they offer that in the studio she works at. Maybe she can talk to her boss about it.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

“No problem. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make sure to ask my girlfriend about it.”

Alice thanked Marlo, while reaching for some more of the food.

Xavier was also about to reach for seconds, as he looked over to Amy. “Don’t you want to eat anything? I’m sure there’s at least one flavor you’ll like.”

“No thanks, my stomach is still a bit upset.”

“Are you sure? Maybe…”

Xavier was stopped by Jacky, who started coughing uncontrollably.

“Are you okay?” Marlo looked at her in surprise.

Tanner jumped up and ran over to her. “Jacky, can you say something?”

She opened her mouth, but just continued coughing.

“Her tongue is swollen. She must be having an allergic reaction!”

“That can’t be, I made sure not to…” Marlo said.

“That doesn’t matter, just get an EpiPen, quick!” Tanner instructed.

“Here, I always carry one, just in case.” The captain handed it to Tanner, who immediately used it. It took a bit, but Jacky eventually stopped coughing and calmed down.

“Are you better now?” Tanner asked. He had gotten her a glass of water.

“I-I think I’m good.”

“Did you eat anything unusual?”

“No, just the dumplings.”

“What are you allergic to?” Xavier asked, trying to think of every ingredient he had put in the food.

“I have a citrus allergy.”

“I knew that, that’s why I made sure not to include any citrus fruits in the food,” Marlo said, concerned.

“That is true. None of the dumplings has citrus in them. And I assume the iced tea you made would not have any in it either.”

“Obviously,” Marlo confirmed.
“Could it be that you’re allergic to something else?” Amy asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“It’s best if you get some rest,” Tanner advised.

“Then she should sit out tonight’s expedition. We can do it as a duo. Unless you want to stay with her,” the captain said, looking at Tanner.

“No, she should be fine, I can tag along as planned.”

“Let me come with you. The storm will last for a while, so we need to gather as much information as possible before it gets here. And three people are better than two,” Marlo said.

“Are you sure, lad?” Captain Albright asked.

“Captain, we’re just sitting in a submarine. I’ll be fine.”

“Fine. Ralph, you’ll take the first shift, and if Jacky feels up to it, she can take over. Otherwise, you’ll have to pull an all-nighter, if that’s okay with you.”

“No problem.”

They made the last preparations after dinner and gathered by the submarine.

Monday, June 24, 8:10 pm: Dock, Mantastation

“Ralph, any news on the weather?” the captain asked.

“No, currently there are no detectable changes. The expedition can continue as planned.”

“Excellent.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Avast ye, let this be a bountiful expedition!”

“Aye, Captain!” the crew replied to various degrees of enthusiasm.

“Here, I’ve prepared your drinks for the expedition.” The captain handed out reusable bottles. They were all custom-decorated by him. His own had a large Jolly Roger on it, Marlo’s was decorated with different sea creatures, Tanner’s had a simple pattern on it, and a sea serpent coiled around Ralph’s bottle. Jacky’s bottle, which was decorated with a pattern of cogs, he put aside, as she was currently resting on the boat.

“Thanks. Here, I have some boosters for you.” Tanner pulled out a small, transparent, red bag filled with pills. He reached in and handed Captain Albright and Marlo each a red pill.

“Down the hatch,” the captain said, as he threw it into his mouth.

“What are those?” Xavier asked.

“They’re energy pills,” Marlo answered while taking his pill.

“That just sounds like you’re taking cocaine,” Alice said.

“It’s actually mostly sugar with a bit of caffeine. But they can give you a little boost, so we take them before longer expeditions,” Tanner explained. “They’re not much different from energy drinks, just more concentrated.

“Can I have one?” Mika asked.

“Sorry, they’re really annoying to prepare, so I need to be conservative with them.” He held the bag up to his mouth and swallowed two pills.

“I think we’re all set,” Marlo said.

“Right, lad. Weigh the anchor and hoist the sails, let’s get the old girl moving!”

The three entered the Belugasub, and Ralph sat down in front of the Mantastation’s control panel.

The submarine was slowly lowered into the water.

“Will they even see anything underwater?” Alice asked.

“The submarine let’s out some weak light, not enough to disturb the animals, but enough to improve one’s vision. Plus, they’re not that far down. Enough moonlight reaches them,” Ralph explained. “The submarine is also equipped with a night vision camera.”

“I see. Hey, is it okay if I leave you alone? I wanna talk to Amy about something.”

“Sure, we’ll be fine,” Ralph answered, looking at the control panel display. It showed various information, such as the Belugasub's current depth.

Alice looked over at Mika. They’re eyes kept falling shut, and they were trying to hold back their yawns. “Mika, how about you go get some rest?”

“What, but I want to stay up and hear what the others discover!”

“I’ll wake you up if anything interesting happens.”

“But I’m old enough to stay up late!”

“I know, but I’m sure Lupin needs a nap. And you know he can’t sleep alone.”

“But…”

“Mika, have you ever slept in a hammock?” Ralph asked.

“No. Are they comfy?”

“They are really comfy. And we only have one on the boat, so whoever gets there first gets to sleep in it.”

“That hammock is mine!” Mika quickly ran past Xavier.

“Clever,” Alice congratulated Ralph.

“Thanks. I really had no idea if that would work.”

“I never knew being a big sister was this hard.”

“You’re doing a good job.”

“You think so?”

“Of course. You’re a great sister.”

Alice seemed unsure of how to take that compliment. It was clearly conflicting with a part of her.

The two continued talking during the uneventful shift of Ralph, making sure to check in on the expedition team about every hour.

Monday, June 24, 8:30 pm: Cabin, Mantastation

The sleeping quarters were split into two cabins in the boat’s hull of the boat. The hammock was hung up in the cabin, where Jacky was sleeping. As Xavier looked inside, Mika was clearly close to falling asleep.

He opened the door to the other cabin and lied down on the bed next to Amy’s. She was curled up into a ball and had her back turned on him.

“Amy, are you asleep?” he whispered.

“No, I’m still awake,” she answered without turning around, in a meek tone.

“Are you still seasick?”

“No, I’m better now.”

“Is everything else okay?” Xavier looked concerned and uncomfortable.

“Of course, what…?” Amy flinched. Her stomach started gurgling loudly.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re fine.”

“Don’t worry, my stomach is just a little upset. Maybe the seasickness isn’t completely gone yet.”

Xavier sighed and scratched his head. “I’m really not good at this.”

“Not good at what?”

“Ever since you moved into my house, I noticed how little you were eating.”

Amy clearly looked uncomfortable. She still had her back turned to Xavier.

“I’m worried about you. We both know that you have unhealthy eating habits.”

Amy tried to answer, but she couldn’t think of a reply.

“I don’t know what I should tell you. I asked Alice, but she just told me to leave it, as not to risk making it worse.” Xavier paused. “But that doesn’t sit right with me.”

Amy was listening intently, still unsure how to react.

“I could tell you that you look great the way you are, but I’m sure that won’t actually help you. You’d probably not believe me and just see it as some empty compliment, but I really mean it. I can’t relate to your problem, because I’ve never been through something like an eating disorder.”

“I don’t have an eating disorder. I just… It’s just that…”

“You know, you don’t have to talk to me about it if it makes you uncomfortable. Something like that should be dealt with in a safe environment. I mean, I hope that you feel safe and like you can trust me, but I guess I can’t know for sure.”

“No, it’s not that. I do feel safe in your presence. It’s just that… Never mind. Just don’t worry about it.”

“Is it because of your mother?”

“What, why would you say that?!”

“Sorry that I keep prying, but I guess it’s in my blood as an investigator to follow a lead where I sense one.”

“A lead?”

“Well, like I said, I recently talked to Alice about it. She said that her mother had body dysmorphia disorder. She started developing bad habits like not eating enough and over-exercising. She also started projecting her own insecurities on Alice, making her feel insecure. And considering you and Alice have the same mother…”

“My mother wouldn’t want to harm me. I know you must have had bad experiences with your relatives, but not everyone has bad parents.”

Xavier hesitated. “I’ve never told you what makes my biological relatives so shit, did I?”

Amy turned around and shook her head.

“Well, as you already know, I was born into a wealthy family. Basically, everyone on my mother’s side is in the upper 1%. Believe me, having that much money basically guarantees you’re an asshole.”

“So they were rich assholes, that sounds annoying.”

“No, that wasn’t the problem. You know what really sucks? When I was five years old, my parents got bored of having a child, so they left to jet-set around the world, living in luxury. They simply dropped me off at my grandparents’ place.”

“You’re parents are horrible!”

“Oh no, I actually have some respect for what they did. At least they fucked off out of my life. That way, I never have to see them again. My grandparents were much worse. Let’s say they are exactly what you’d expect rich, old white people to be like, so their half-Hispanic grandchild represented everything they hated about their son-in-law. After treating me like dirt, they kicked me out when I was 16, so I had to live with my great aunt. The only reasonable relative of mine. At least out of the ones I know of.”

Amy stared at him with her mouth wide open. “I can’t believe how horrible you’re life is. I mean, my mother might not treat me very respectfully, but she’s nowhere nearly as bad as your relatives. Sure, she might make me feel insecure occasionally, but that is nothing compared to what you’ve been through.”

“Aha, you admitted it!” Xavier said triumphantly, but still in an empathetic tone.

“Admitted what?”

“You admitted that your mother isn’t treating you well.”

“Wait, was this just some trick to get me to say that?”

“No, but it still worked. You have a habit of downplaying your own problems in relation to those of others.”

“Well, yeah, it looks pretty stupid if I complain about my small problems when others are suffering much worse.”

“Amy, you don’t get it. My relatives suck, but my life isn’t horrible. I’m not suffering. I have a great family, as I’ve said before.”

“But what about your excessive drinking?”

“Sure, not everything in my life is perfect, but I use the negative stuff as a driving force. My boyfriend goes missing? That just means that I have to find him. A good friend passes away? He wouldn’t want me to suffer because of it.”

Amy remained silent. She was baffled by Xavier’s strange speech, unsure if she should feel motivated or pity for him.

“Listen, I don’t know what would help you with your problem. If you need an open ear, I’m here. If you want to see a therapist, I’ll pay for it. If you want to go to a support group, I’ll help you find one. If you just need someone to help you prepare proper meals or some healthy exercises, I’m your guy.”

“I don’t think I can do any of that. These feelings just feel impossible to overcome. I mean, I’ve seen how my mom was dealing with that stuff, ever since I was little.”

Xavier looked at her, waiting to see if she had more to say.

“She would always say, how fat she was, and I would always tell her, “But mommy, you’re so thin and pretty.” But she would never listen. And as I grew older, she just kept repeating the same things, but she also started saying those things about me. I just felt so gross.” Some tears were rolling down Amy’s cheeks.

“Did you not have anyone to talk to?” Xavier asked, unsure if it was an appropriate question.

“I didn’t want to bother my friends with it. Most of my relatives just helped instill those feelings in my mother, so I would probably fall on deaf ears. And my brother… He and I haven’t been on speaking terms since I was 16.”

“I wish I could have been there for you. Dammit, if only I had known you back then!” Xavier said, genuinely upset about his inability to change the past.

“It’s not your fault. How could it be? But I guess these feelings are just something I have to live with. Like you said, we can use the negative feelings as motivation to push forward.”

“Shit, I should have probably not said it like that. Naturally, I didn’t mean to imply that you shouldn’t do anything about your harmful coping mechanisms.”

“Coming from the alcoholic?” Amy was shocked by her own words. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, you’re right. Who am I to preach about leaving unhealthy habits behind?” Xavier looked at Amy, his face lighting up as he got an idea.

“How about we make a deal? I promise to seek help with my drinking, and you work on overcoming your eating disorder. And we both promise to support each other.”

Xavier looked at her with an encouraging expression.

“I can give it a try,” Amy replied. She looked at Xavier, seeing him as the shining beacon of hope she had thought of him as when she first met him. But something had changed. He felt closer. He wasn’t some untouchable, perfect symbol of hope. Yet, that somehow made him appear even more motivational.

“Great. How about we watch a movie and get you a small snack? Just enough to calm down your stomach. Only if you’re okay with it, naturally.”

Amy considered it. Just the thought of food made her throat tighten. “Fine, just a little.” She hesitated. “But, could you maybe look away while I eat?”

“No problem. Anything to make you more comfortable.”
Xavier pushed the two beds together and went to get some of the leftover dumplings.

The two watched Child’s Play, as chosen by Amy, as it was a comfort movie for her. As strange as that might seem.

Both slowly drifted off to sleep, while the murder hungry doll was racking up its kill count.

Tuesday, June 25, 12:10 am: Dock, Mantastation

Ralph had been talking about different things while regularly checking in on the expedition team.

“So, have you played any gigs recently?” Alice asked, as the two were talking about Ralph’s band.

“Yes, we’ve played a few. Marlo’s aunt owns a bar. She’s asked us to play there a few times. We also got a bigger one coming up. You know Chimpy’s Funhouse? That indoor playground in…”

“I’m well aware,” Alice said, shuddering at the thought of it. “Those animatronics are the stuff of nightmares.”

“I guess I know one game series you will never play, then.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of FNAF. But those ones have nothing on the real animatronics.”

“I was about to ask if you wanted to come see our performance there, but that’s probably a no on the invite.”

“I’m not going anywhere near those animatronics. I’m telling you, one day those things will kill someone, and my suspicions will be proven right.”

“I’ll make sure to keep an eye on any news stories relating to that.”

“But why are you even playing a gig there. Isn’t the whole point of that place that they have the animatronics entertaining the guests? As far as I remember, they even have an animatronic band.”

“They do. But the anniversary is coming up, and the manager wanted a more varied lineup. And because He knows me, he asked if I wanted to play there with my band. We get to perform in front of a large crowd for the first time.”

“Man, being in a band sounds awesome.”

“Someone sounds excited,” Ralph pointed out.

“Well, I mean, I’m sure it’s a fun hobby,” Alice corrected. She was flustered, having been called out on breaking her usual disinterested character.

“Do you play an instrument?”

“No, I tried learning to play the piano, but it was a bit too much effort. But I have done some sampling. I don’t think I’m very good at it, though.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Ralph replied.

“No really, it sounds like what a child makes when they get their hands on an instrument.”

Ralph chuckled. “Speaking of children, have you heard anything about Teddy?”

Alice looked down at the scar on her right arm. The doctors had managed to treat the infection, but the bitemark was still left behind.

“I have. Inspector Willson actually arranged for me to be permitted to visit her on a regular basis. But there hasn’t been much progress made. She’s still in the same state as before. She just sleeps more than before.”

“I hope they find a cure. For Teddy and the animals, obviously.”

“What about Penny, any clues?”

“You mean Paradox? Sadly, no, they disappeared from the face of the planet.”

“That sucks.”

“That’s actually nothing new for them. As soon as one of their fake identities is found out, they drop it completely, never reusing it.”

“I mean, that makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Normally, yes, but Paradox truly lives as these fake identities. They aren’t just a quick costume they put on for one crime and that’s it.”

“They’re certainly dedicated to their disguises, I guess.”

“You know what the strange thing is, I’ve known Penny for almost a year and had no idea they were actually Paradox. And I’ve met Paradox multiple times before that.”

“Are you sure they didn’t just replace Penny?”

“No, Paradox doesn’t steal identities. And the police confirmed that Penny was a fake identity.”

“So Paradox has just been hanging out with you for that long?”

“I guess so. Like I said, they truly live as these identities until they’re found out. They have a ton of fake papers, they rented an apartment under a fake identity, and they even worked a part-time job at a coffee shop. They were friends with their colleagues who didn’t know Penny wasn’t real.”

Alice nodded along, baffled by the new information.

“To be fair, looking back, the name should have raised some questions.”

“What’s so strange about Penny?” Alice asked.

“Well, her full name was Penny Perry. What parent names their child like that?”

Alice coughed sarcastically. “Richard Scent.”

“Well, yeah, but that guy is on a different level. He literally named one of his kids after the entire periodic table.”

“What? You’re saying you wouldn’t name your kid Hhelibebcnofnena…”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Ralph cut her off. “But you did prove your point. I guess we can’t just assume someone is Paradox in disguise, just because they have a strange name.”

“Man, if we could track them down, we might learn more about all the timeline traveling bullshit!”

“I get that it must be frustrating for you. We’re all doing our best to help you.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“No problem. But on that note, I actually found something that you might be interested in.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been looking through all the stuff Mr. Cabrera left behind. Among his notes, I discovered some on exactly that subject.”
“What?!”

“Don’t get too excited, they are very vague and there isn’t much. It kinda sounds like he was trying to wrap his head around it himself, there aren’t really any calculations or measurements.”

“Then what did the notes say?”

“They described what seems to be the process of transporting something from one timeline to another. The object or being will always appear in the same spot as it disappeared in.”

“So like I was transported from the alley in one timeline into the same alley in this one.”

“Exactly. He also assumes that it works as a sort of exchange, meaning whatever was in the alley in this timeline was swapped with you.”

“So you think a person or object was displaced, just as I was?”

“Maybe. Not necessarily, though. From what I can grasp it seems more like an if statement. If there was something in the position you appeared in, then yes, but your transportation likely did not rely on that.”

“God, I hate science so much. It always gives me a headache.”

“If you want me to, I can give it a try, rephrasing it.”

“No, anything but that. I think I got the gist.”

“Fine. Further, he describes the three steps of traveling from one timeline to the other. Step one: dematerialization, step two: transportation, step three: rematerialization.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think it could describe how the transported subject gets split up on an atomic level. Or maybe even reduced to pure energy. It really is absurd to think about, as there isn’t much I can compare it to, and the notes don’t give us much to go off of.”

“So, like in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, when he gets transported?”

“What?”

“He gets split into all these small cubes, those cubes get transported, and he’s then put back together,” Alice explained.

“I guess that is a somewhat fitting comparison.”

Ralph glanced at the time on his phone. “We should probably check in with the others. They’ve been quiet for a while.”

“When did you find all of this out?” Alice asked while Ralph was typing on the panel.

“A few days ago.”

He bent down to the microphone. “Hello, can you hear me?”

“Why didn’t you tell us about it?” Alice asked.

“I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Xavier before I have any concrete information. I’m sure he’s concerned enough about Natsu. I don’t want to make him think about this any more than he has to.”

“Fair enough. If our current theory is true and Natsu was transported into another timeline, this could be catastrophic. I mean, look at what kind of dangers lurk in some of those,” Alice said, referencing the sick animals.

“I don’t even want to imagine something like that.”

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t find anything else that could help us, right?”

“No, sadly not. But, there is something strange I found out. Have I told you about that?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“You’re right. Well, when I was talking to the current owner of Paradise Heights, he mentioned that Mr. Cabrera’s apartment was not rented by him.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Apparently, the actual tenant, whose contact data is used to rent the place and who is paying the rent, is someone named David Peralta, some police officer from Lawreyville. I met up with him, but I couldn’t get much out of him. He said he owed Mr. Cabrera a favor for helping him through school.”

“So he paid for Mr. Cabrera’s apartment? I know the American police system is overfunded, but they typically use that to buy tanks and shit, not to pay some crazy scientists rent.”

“Mr. Peralta wasn’t even a high-ranking officer, so I doubt he has enough money to spend it so carelessly.”

“To be fair, the rent in that building is barely existent. So maybe he really can afford to support Mr. Cabrera like that.”

“He certainly seems likeable enough. He even offered to help me transport Mr. Cabrera’s stuff and let me leave it in the apartment for as long as I want.”

“Sounds like you’ve made a friend. Ever thought about the fact that he might just want to look through those files?”

“As skeptical as always, I see. I thought about that and placed a small camera in the room. He not once went to check Mr. Cabrera’s stuff.”

“Guess I’m wrong, then.”

“Yes, you are. Anyways, I really should check in with the others.” Ralph turned back to the mic. “Mantastation to Belugasub, please answer.”

Again, there was no reply.

“Do you think something happened?”

“Probably not, there shouldn’t be any danger down there. The intercom sometimes decides not to work.”

“Can you call them?” Alice asked, concerned.

“No, they don’t have reception in the submarine.”

“Then what should we do?”

“We’ll wait. Like I said, there shouldn’t be anything dangerous down there. We have to be very certain to pull up the Belugasub, as it will disturb the animals and make it impossible to continue the observation tonight.”

“You’re the expert, I guess. But this better not turn into some Oceangate situation. I’d rather not have to look at memes about the deaths of people I knew.”

“They should be able to come up on their own, should they run into any problems.”

“Okay. About those notes, do you think there are more?” Alice asked.

“Could be. I’m not nearly done looking through all his stuff.”

The two continued theorizing about the nature of traveling between timelines while repeatedly trying to contact the submarine.

Not only did they not get a reply, but the Belugasub would also not react to any commands. According to Ralph, that meant someone in the sub was actively giving the command against it.

Tuesday, June 25, 1:00 am: Boat, Mantastation

Alice opened the door to one of the sleeping cabins in a hurry. She limped past the hammock, up to Jacky.

“Hey, wake up!” she said, trying not to simultaneously wake up Mika.

“What? Is it my shift?” Jacky sat up and looked at Alice with half-open eyes.

“Yes, but there is actually a problem. Ralph said I should come and get you.”

“Did something happen?” Mika asked sleepily. They looked out of the hammock, holding Lupin like a limp stuffed animal. The fabric of the hammock had nearly encased them like a cocoon.

“Just some small complications. You can go back to sleep.”

“No, I want to see what’s going on.”

“Fine, get dressed and come to the dock,” Alice answered.

“Okay, but can you help me out? I can’t get out of the hammock, and I really need to pee.”

“Why didn’t you just call out?”

“I didn’t want to wake Jacky up,” Mika answered sincerely.

“Geez, come on, I’ll help you.” Mika held onto Alice’s shoulders to get out, without falling to the ground.

“Let’s go!” Jacky said to Alice. She had already gotten dressed and seemed worried.

The two quickly left. Well, as fast as Alice managed with her cast. While walking to the dock, Alice caught Jacky up on what was going on.

“Oh, thank god, I really need your help,” Ralph said when he saw Jacky.

“Alice told me what happened. When did you last have contact with them?”

“About 11:30 pm. I’m starting to get really nervous. What do you think we should do?”

“I would say the smartest thing would be to pull the Belugasub up. But apparently that doesn’t work.”

“Exactly. I tried over and over again, but it wouldn’t react. Same for the intercom.”

“We don’t really have an emergency protocol for such a situation,” Jacky admitted, frustratedly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?! What kind of back-alley operation are you running here?” Alice asked.

“What is going on?” Xavier asked. Mika, Amy, and he had all just walked into the room.

“We just woke up. Mika told us there is a problem,” Amy explained.

“The Belugasub and the expedition team have gone unresponsive,” Ralph explained quickly.

“That might not even be our only problem,” Jacky said. “While walking over here, I looked up at the sky. Looks like the storm is rapidly approaching.”

“What, it should only get here in the morning?!”

“Maybe it sped up,” Alice assumed.

“I’d have to check. Amy, could you do me a favor and print out the current statistics? They should be the most precise.”

“Can do, if you tell me where to find the data.”

“Perfect. The program opens up automatically when starting the computer. I’m sure you’ll figure out the rest,” Ralph said.

Amy nodded and went back to the boat to take care of it. There was a small office in the hull, opposite the cabins, where the computer, printer, and some other devices were kept.

“Is there nothing we can do?” Xavier asked.

“First of all, we should keep calm. We don’t know if they’re even in trouble,” Jacky said, trying to speak in a reassuring tone.

“Can’t you swim down and get in through the airlock?” Mika suggested.

“Technically, it is possible, but they are pretty deep. Quickly descending that far without any protection can be really dangerous for a human,” Jacky explained. She was clearly considering the possibility.

“If anyone could do it, it would be you. I’m leaving it up to your better judgment,” Ralph said.

“Just to be safe, I think I should at least try it. I hope not all our diving gear is in the submarine.”

Jacky was about to leave, as a loud static noise came from the panel, followed by a voice.

“…all around us! We’re trapped!” Marlo’s panicked voice could be heard from a speaker.

“We need to get out of here!” Tanner yelled.

Ralph, Jacky, Alice, and Mika stared at the control panel. A mechanical noise started, and the group could see the winches starting to pull the submarine up.

“Shiver me timbers, the beast will sink us!” the captain yelled. Even in his panic, he continued speaking in his pirate tone.

“We won’t make it!” Marlo said, scared.

“Batten down the hatches and fire the cannons!”

Everyone heard a dampened bang, and the group could feel the ocean under the Mantastation rumble.

For a short bit, the waves got stronger, and Alice started to feel sick again. She nearly lost her balance, but Xavier noticed in time.

“Captain, what is happening down there?” Jacky asked, speaking concerned into the microphone.

She didn’t get a reply, just more panicked, incoherent yelling.

After a few minutes of uncertainty, the Belugasub broke through the water’s surface. One after the other, the three explorers stumbled outside. Last was the captain who was in such a hurry that he fell through the gap between the sub and the ground, landing in the water. Ralph and Alice quickly helped him out.

“Captain, what happened?” Ralph asked.

“In the name of Poseidon, ye won’t believe me, lad. We came face to face with the kraken!”

“That can’t be. There wouldn’t be any large cephalopods here,” Ralph said.

“Don’t you understand, ‘twas no mere octopus or squid. It was the beast of legends.”

“Are you sure you’re not confusing something?” Jacky asked.

“He’s right, I saw it too,” Marlo said. He was breathing heavily and looked nervously down into the depths of the water.

“There was something out there for sure,” Tanner confirmed.

“I can’t forget those strong tentacles wrapping themselves around the Belugasub,” Marlo said, visibly shaking.

“How about you calm down and slowly explain what happened?” Ralph suggested.

Tanner took a deep breath. “I don’t remember much. I was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. I closed my eyes and when I came back to, I saw that creature through the window.”

“Wait, you fell asleep?” Xavier asked.

“The same happened to me. All of a sudden, I was really tired,” Marlo said. “And I woke up feeling cold and wet.”

“Communication with the submarine was blocked. Did one of you do that?” Jacky asked.

“No, we had no reason to do so,” Tanner answered.

“Maybe one of you fell asleep on the control panel and accidentally pressed some buttons,” Mika suggested.

“Now that you say it, I think that could have been me,” Captain Albright said. He was holding his aching head.

“I think it’s best you three get some rest,” Ralph suggested.

The explorers got up and walked to the cabins with the help of Ralph and Jacky, followed by Alice. They were seemingly very dizzy and had to walk carefully so as not to fall over.

Tuesday, June 25, 1:15 am: Office, Mantastation

Amy was sitting on an office chair, nervously holding onto the armrests. She had just felt how the boat had started shaking more.

Only after it had returned to normal, she sighed in relief and let go.

She was navigating through the interface of the program that was collecting weather data from the area.

She pressed a button to print the documents, comprised of multiple pages of data, and walked over to the old printer. Confused, she looked at the different buttons, trying to figure out how to print the file she had sent.

After some slight hesitation, she pressed one of the buttons labeled "Print All,” and to her relief, the machine printed out a document.

While the printer was still making noises, she picked up the sheet of paper.

“Wait, that’s not right!” Amy said, looking at the recipe for pizza dough she had just printed.

As she looked back at the printer, another document was spat out. And then another and another.

Nervously, she tried to stop the machine. When she managed to turn it off, a stack of about ten sheets of printed paper had piled up.

She picked it up and looked through it. Glancing over the papers, she saw more recipes, some notes, blueprints, and the weather data she wanted.

She turned off the computer and left the office, running into Ralph, who was just leaving one of the cabins.

“Ralph, I got the data you wanted.”

“Oh, thanks, I almost forgot about that.” Ralph grabbed the three sheets of data. “What is all that other stuff?”

“I must have made a mistake. It printed all these different things.”

Ralph started laughing. “Oh yeah, I know what you did wrong. You must have pressed the “Print All” button. The printer spits out all the files it was sent in the last 48 hours.”

“I see. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry. We can use it for taking notes on the back. No need to let the paper go to waste.” Ralph looked over the weather data.

“Damn, just as I suspected. The wind must have sped up. The storm will be here in one or two hours.”

“Then we have to get the others up now!” Amy realized.

“Oh, of course, you don’t know yet. They’re back. So we should all be safe now. I just hope you and Alice will be okay with all those waves.”

“We’ll manage. At least no one’s stuck underwater anymore.”

Tuesday, June 25, 1:25 am: Dock, Mantastation

After the others had left, only Xavier and Mika remained. Both stared at the submarine, which didn’t show any signs of an attack.

“Mika, you’re the expert in the field of mystery stories. How many stories of underwater monsters are you familiar with?”

“There are a lot. Let me see, I can think of about 13 for The Clever Foxes alone. Young Kettlers has some, like The Siren Cave or Night of the Kappa. The original run of The Three Investigators had The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon. Scooby Doo has a ton of aquatic monsters like the ghost of Captain Cuttler, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Fish Freaks. Even the first Ace Attorney game has a case that involves one. Alice and I recently started playing the series.” Mika seemed out of breath from their speech, but still eager to continue.

“Thanks, that’s more than I expected. And based on your experience, how likely is it that such a monster is real?”

“Based on the mystery stories I’ve consumed, specifically aquatic monsters are statistically always fake. Although in the case of The Three Investigators, another cryptid is canonically real.”

“But no aquatic ones?” Xavier asked again to confirm.

“No, I haven’t encountered a real one.”

“Then I assume we can agree that this kraken can’t be real, right?”

“I think so. I would like to investigate it further, though.”

“It’s as if you read my mind,” Xavier said happily. “Let’s investigate the submarine. Maybe we find some clues.”

“Okay!” Mika answered excitedly.

Stepping inside the Belugasub, Xavier realized immediately that he was standing in water.

“This explains why Marlo said he was cold and wet,” Mika realized as they got inside, trying not to step in the water that had gathered on the floor.

“Do you think the Belugasub could be leaking?” Xavier asked.

“I don’t think so, the team checked the sub before the expedition, and there was no visible damage on the outside."

"So the water would have come in another way."

"Is it possible that using the airlock underwater might not get rid of all the water that comes inside?”

Mika opened their eyes wide. “Oh yeah, I get what you mean. The three were asleep, but if one of them lied about it, he could have left the Belugasub, and when returning, he could have accidentally brought in some water.”

“That would also imply that one of them drugged the others. If only we knew what they consumed when they were underwater, then we could find out how they were drugged.”

“But why would someone do all that? Why drug them? And why leave the Belugasub?” Mika asked.

Xavier looked around the room, tapping against his forehead. “You’ve been here before. Do you notice anything different about the place?”

Mika thought hard while looking around. “No, besides the water, I can’t see anything different. Although they cleaned up the mess I made.” They awkwardly looked over to the closet they had previously opened, containing all sorts of equipment.

“I think I know why someone would leave the submarine. Or rather, where they went.”

“Really, where?”

“Ralph mentioned that there is a mysterious underwater temple near us. Maybe the culprit wanted to look for something inside it.”

“Like a treasure?” Mika asked, surprised.

“Maybe.”

“A kraken and a mysterious underwater temple?! This case is awesome!”

Xavier jumped as he realized something. “Oh my god, I know why it had to happen tonight! Apparently, the temple is at risk of being destroyed by the elements. And considering a storm is on the way…”

“The storm would destroy the temple and all the treasure inside it!” Mika realized.

“Exactly.”

“But that means the storm would also destroy evidence. We have to investigate the temple now!” Mika said eagerly.

“Can you swim?” Xavier asked, trying to keep his enthusiasm under control.

Mika nodded excitedly. “Yes, Grandpa Tzuriel taught me.” Mika walked over to the closet and grabbed the diving gear. Thankfully, it wasn’t as full as before, sparing them from making a mess again. “Here, we can use these!”

“Let’s do this!” Xavier said eagerly.

They quickly figured out the submarine's controls, as there were few buttons, and most of them were labeled.

Both watched as the water surface slowly went past the windows as they were lowered into the depths.

Tuesday, June 25, 1:50 am: Dock, Mantastation

“Thanks for tagging along, that way we can get the checkup done quicker,” Ralph said, as Amy and he walked up to the dock’s entrance door.

“No problem. But I don’t think I saw any damage.”

“Me neither, but it can’t hurt to check.” Ralph opened the door and entered the room.

The two froze up, staring at the room that was lacking its most important feature.

“Where the fuck, is the submarine?!” Ralph let out.

“You don’t think…?” Amy asked, realizing immediately what had happened.

“Dammit! I shouldn’t have left Xavier and Mika alone in here!”

The two ran over to the control panel. “Xavier, can you hear me?” Ralph asked.

“I can hear you loud and clear.” Xavier’s voice came from the speaker built into the control panel.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“Calm down. Mika and I are going to investigate the temple.” While talking to Ralph, Xavier was putting on the diving gear. “We think one of the three roofied the others and then snuck off to get something from the temple.”

“Are you insane?!” Amy yelled. “The temple is dangerous.”

“But we have to investigate before the storm gets here, or the evidence gets destroyed.”

“Xavier, the storm will be here in a few hours! It’s already started raining and the wind is picking up,” Ralph said sternly.

“The more reason to investigate now. We only have this one shot.”

“What about Mika? You’re putting them in danger, too,” Amy pointed out.

“I’ll be fine. I promise we’ll be careful.” Mika’s voice was dampened. They were inside the closet putting on the diving suit. There was just enough room for them.

“Xavier, Alice will tear your head off if she finds out you’re endangering Mika. And to be frank, I would do so too,” Amy said, worried and frustrated.

“We’ll report back after the investigation is done,” Xavier said, before flicking a switch to turn off the intercom.

“No, Xavier, wait!” Ralph said.

“Can’t you get the submarine back up?”

“No, not as long as they give the opposite command.”

Amy and Ralph nervously watched as the display showed their depth.

Tuesday, June 25, 1:55 am: Belugasub, Coral Reef

 As it reached the bottom, the submarine came to a sudden halt. Xavier looked out the large front window. Despite the relative darkness, he could make out the surrounding area. The rocky area brimmed with life. Vibrantly colored corals and fish of all shapes and sizes surrounded the submarine. Long strands of kelp moved back and forth with the current.

“Wow, it looks amazing!” Mika said, as they stepped next to Xavier. The diving suit they were wearing was clearly not made for someone of such a short stature, and they had trouble walking in fins.

“Here, take these. I found them in the closet. The diving masks have built-in microphones and headphones. This way, we can communicate underwater.” Mika handed Xavier a diving mask.

Mika was already wearing their mask, which thankfully was built in a way that it would fit any head size and shape. Their face was slightly blurred, due to their nervous breathing fogging up the transparent front, but it was still visible through it.

“Great. Are you ready to investigate?”

“Yes, I am! Look, I even prepared for the darkness.” Mika proudly showed off their wrist. They had taped a waterproof flashlight to their arm.

“Perfect. I’ll grab one of the flashlights as well, and we’re ready to go.”

Xavier stepped into the airlock. The weight and temperature of the water wrapped around him as the chamber slowly flooded before fully opening. It took longer to get out than it did getting in. It was likely programmed in a way that would allow the divers to slowly acclimate to the stronger pressure they would be facing when leaving the submarine.

Stepping out of the submarine, he was overwhelmed. He felt both weightless and crushed. He slowly floated down, landing in the sand. He could see fish scurrying away as he turned on his flashlight.

He spun around, admiring the beauty of the reef. While waiting for Mika, he noticed some trash tangled around a coral. Annoyed, he grabbed it and stuffed it under his weighted belt.

“Wow, this is completely different from swimming at the beach. It’s like I’m in space!”

Xavier smiled, hearing Mika over his earpiece. They slowly swam over to him. They clearly had some trouble moving around, as expected from someone who only recently learned how to swim.

“You’re doing great, Mika.”

“Thank you.”

“Now we just have to find the tem…” Xavier looked around with his flashlight. He stared at the large monument, which the light had revealed. It was easily the size of four single-family homes. As Ralph had described before, it resembled Aztec temples, although it was clearly not as old or of the same attention to detail.

Above the building, he could see a cloud of trash caught in the current. It was one of Captain Albright’s goals to clean up the reef, but clearly, it was quite the tall task for such a small team.

“It is almost as high as my lighthouse,” Mika said, impressed, finishing their sentence with a slight cough.

“I think you're underselling your lighthouse.” Xavier chuckled.

“But the temple is really tall.”

“That just means there’s more to investigate. Let’s go, we have a case to solve.”

The temple wasn’t far from them, yet it took them a while to get there, due to the difficult terrain.

“This is exhausting,” Mika said, breathing heavily down the microphone.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, don’t mind me.”

The two faced the door, which had a bizarre design. It was round and consisted of three circles, each smaller than the last. The circles were inside each other, making for an appearance that could be described as an ancient version of a dart board.

“Is this really the entrance?” Xavier asked.

“Maybe it is some kind of puzzle?”

Xavier swam closer and started pulling and pushing, trying to get the door to open. By pure coincidence, he ended up pulling at the right angle to realize how the door worked.

“The circles can be turned individually. Maybe we have to align them just right to get the door to open.”

“Alice is really good at cracking locks. Maybe we can go back to the submarine and ask her for advice,” Mika suggested.

“Good point, but I don’t think she’s very familiar with a lock like this. And it’s not like she can really help us from up there.”

“So we have to solve the puzzle ourselves,” Mika said, determined.

While Mika started investigating the door from up close, Xavier looked at it from a distance. He was trying to figure out some kind of pattern.

In contrast to the Aztec-like building, the door was decorated with mosaic stones. The rings were totally covered in them, aside from a few spots. There were a few grooves, large enough for someone to put their hand into. They probably served as a help to turn the circles.

Xavier tried looking at the door from all angles, but he had a hard time actually imagining a logical pattern. He even turned himself upside down, although he had to quickly turn back around, as he could feel the blood rushing to his head.

“Xavier!” Mika called out excitedly.

“Did you solve it?”

“No, but I think I know a way to cheat.”

Xavier swam closer while Mika desperately tried to turn the largest of the rings.

“Let me help you.”

“Thanks.” They were breathing heavily. “Here, I think I discovered something interesting. I assume the door slides to the side when opening it.”

“That would fit the style.”

“Good. Now look at this. I was looking for lines that stretched over multiple pieces. Grandma Maeve recommended I do so when trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. She’s a jigsaw expert, so I followed her advice, and I noticed this scratch on the ring. I think what might have happened is that a small rock was jammed into the gap between the wall and door. As the door moved aside, that rock left a scratch mark across the entire door.”

“Which means we just have to line up the scratch marks and we’ve unlocked the door. Mika, you’re truly a great investigator.”

“Really?! That means so much coming from an actual professional.” Mika’s excitement was cut short by a series of coughs.

“Are you okay?” Xavier asked.

“Yes, let’s go.” Mika tried to keep the coughing at bay. Before Mika turned away from him, Xavier could make out how their nose and left eye twitched, but he didn’t think anything of it.

Xavier was quickly able to align the rings the right way, and as predicted, after a quiet clicking sound, the door could be moved aside.

The two stared into the darkness of the temple and entered.

Tuesday, June 25, 2:10 am: Dock, Mantastation

Amy and Ralph sat at the control panel, waiting nervously for Xavier and Mika to return. Amy absentmindedly crumpled the papers she was holding.

The door opened up, and Alice walked in. “Is Mika here? Lupin just woke up, and I think he wants to see them.”

She was holding the little monkey in her arms, giving him his bottle.

Amy and Ralph both looked at each other, unsure how to break it to her.

“What is going on?” Alice asked, suspicious of their facial expressions.

It was only then that she noticed the absence of the submarine and put everything together.

“D-don’t tell me Xavier and Mika are in the submarine.” Her left eye started twitching, almost as if she was subconsciously mimicking one of Mika’s nervous tics.

“They wanted to investigate. We tried to convince them otherwise, but you know how the two can be,” Amy said.

Alice walked over to the control panel, grabbing onto the microphone. “Sherlock, fucking turn around or I swear I will kill you!”

“They can’t hear you. They blocked the intercom,” Ralph explained.

“Can you get them back up here?” Alice asked. Lupin started to get nervous as well. He could feel how scared Alice was.

“No, for the same reason as before when the others were underwater. I know this won’t sound good, but the only thing we can do is wait,” Ralph said. He spoke in a soft tone, trying to calm Alice down.

“You want me to just wait?! My little sibling is down there with an irresponsible manchild. The two could be in danger!”

“Xavier would not want to endanger a friend. Just think back to when we infiltrated the Disciples of Dei. He didn’t want you to go in there on your own because he was concerned for your safety,” Amy argued.

“That doesn’t mean the two could not be in danger. May I remind you that it was you two who ended up on trial in that case!”

 “Okay, bad example. Just try to calm down. I know it must be tough, but Mika isn’t some baby who can’t take care of themselves. The two will be fine.”

Alice looked down at Lupin, who was nervously clinging to her shirt. She sighed and sat down.

“You’re right. Panicking won’t help anyone. So what now?”

Amy thought and looked down at the papers in her hands. She had crumpled them unintentionally, as she’d tensed up from the stress. “Shit, I ruined your note papers.”

“Don’t worry, I can fix the wrinkles.” Ralph grabbed the papers and started flattening them, removing the wrinkles.

“Amy, what are these?” He looked confused at some of the documents. Some had blueprints on them, some others were covered in pictures and digital notes.

“I don’t know. I told you, I accidentally printed them out.”

“Yeah, but this image shows the door of the underwater temple, above water.”

Amy took a closer look. “No, that’s actually a digital recreation. You can see it based on some graphical bugs. See, the textures overlap in this spot.”

“But why would someone print this?”

Alice grabbed one of the papers. It showed the blueprint of multiple floors of a building. “If these two are connected, then maybe that means that picture isn’t a recreation, but rather concept art,” Alice pointed out.

“Wait, you’re right! So this could mean that the temple was only recently constructed. It isn’t some ancient building. It is a modern building masquerading as one,” Ralph said.

“But why would anyone build a temple, just to toss it into the ocean?” Alice wondered.

“That is definitely weird. On top of that, it must have been constructed somewhere else. You can’t just build a temple out on the ocean with nothing beneath it.”

Ralph and Alice sank into thought, trying to wrap their heads around the situation. Amy slowly got up and walked over to the door.

“What are you doing?” Ralph asked.

“I wanted to check on the others. If you’re working on a case, then I won’t be much help.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not actually an investigator, and I would only get in your way.”

“If you say so,” Ralph said, looking back at the documents.

Alice seemed much more relaxed than he was. As Amy was about to open the door, she was stopped by Alice. “Sit your fucking ass down and help us!”

“What?” Amy asked, confused.

“Xavier and Mika might be in danger, so you better help us with the investigation.”

“But it’s not like me helping you with these files will protect them in any way.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I think it’s best if you do as she says,” Ralph said. “And if it helps, I don’t believe that you hinder an investigation in any way. If anything, you add to it.”

Amy quietly got back and sat down next to the others. The three looked over the papers, hoping they might find something to explain the origin of the temple.

“You know what’s weirdest? I could swear I’ve seen these plans somewhere before, but I don’t remember where,” Ralph said.

Alice looked over the different files related to the temple. “Wow, whoever took these notes wasn’t fucking around. They have like entire paragraphs on the locking mechanism of the door.”

“Wait, do you mean, whoever wrote these notes could open the locked door?” Ralph asked.

“I’ve seen instructional manuals less informative. This is basically an exact explanation of the mechanism, including the correct configuration.”

“But how did they get all that information?”

“Maybe it was available online,” Alice suggested sarcastically.

“Maybe the person helped build the temple,” Amy theorized, ignoring Alice’s suggestion. She still sounded unsure if her contribution would be of any help.

“I see what you mean,” Ralph answered.

“Do you think anyone in the team could have worked on it?”

“No, I don’t think so. Jacky only recently finished college and has been dedicated to this project since then. Captain Albright is a biologist and geologist. Marlo works with animals. And Tanner is a medical expert. None of these skills seems likely to contribute to building a structure.”

“Could anyone of…” Amy began speaking, as she was interrupted by Alice.

“What the fuck?!”

“What?” Ralph asked.

“What is this?” She held up one of the sheets with weather data.

“That’s a graphic of the water currents around here. I already told you they look weird above the temple.”

“Wait, don’t you recognize it?”

Both Ralph and Amy looked at the swirling lines, not understanding what Alice was getting at.

“Here, I’ll show you. Do you have a pen?”

Ralph handed her a pen and watched as Alice started adding some details to the lines on the paper.

Amy and Ralph stared at the familiar shape on the paper. It was the same, bizarre spiral that had previously appeared in an alleyway, a warehouse, and the Coleson zoo.

“Wait, that shape is a side effect of the timeline traveling, right?!” Ralph realized.

“So it even affects water permanently?” Amy asked.

“It twists space. Twisting water doesn’t seem that absurd in comparison,” Alice said.

Ralph gasped. “Now I get it! I know where I’ve seen these plans before. Alice, you were right. They are available online. They were among the leaked information on the planned Wimbley theme park I told you about!”

“That means this temple is probably from a timeline where the theme park was built. And when it ended up here, it sank without an island to stand on,” Amy added.

“And when we stumbled upon the temple, someone recognized it from the concept art. And I know who it could be,” Ralph explained.

Amy and Alice realized who he was talking about. Ralph and Amy left to confront the person, leaving Alice behind to monitor the control panel.

Tuesday, June 25, 2:20 am: First Floor, Wimbley Temple

Xavier and Mika floated in the entrance of the temple. The light of their flashlights wandered along the walls.

“Is this what ancient temples look like?” Mika asked, clearly underwhelmed.

“It looks more like some office building.”

The two followed the hallway, swimming past dead, potted plants, floating furniture, and ceiling boards that had come loose. The carpet below them had started to peel off the floor and had taken on a wavy shape.

“I’m confused. What is this place?” Mika asked, breathing heavily down the microphone.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

They swam past broken doors that led to conference rooms. Behind one door, they discovered what looked like a break room. Bags of snacks floated above the broken vending machine.

“Why would anyone break in here? This place sucks!” Xavier said frustratedly.

“Maybe we need to go up. Think about it. The entrance is at the lowest point. And treasures are typically hidden at the last spot you’ll reach,” Mika suggested.

“Good idea. But I haven’t seen any stairs.”

“Back there is an elevator door.” Mika pointed to a half-opened pair of sliding doors. “But it will probably not work underwater.”

Xavier started laughing excitedly. “Mika, don’t you realize, it doesn’t need to work.”

“It doesn’t?” Mika asked, confused. They started coughing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine.”

“Good, just tell me if you have a problem.”

Mika nodded, still waiting for Xavier’s explanation.

“About the elevator, don’t you get it? We can just swim up the shaft!” Xavier explained happily.

“You’re right!”

The two swam through the opened door into the elevator cabin. Above them was an open hatch they used to enter the elevator shaft.

Mika had some trouble maneuvering upwards but managed to follow Xavier. He was waiting for them on the third floor. He watched as they slowly made their way up. He could hear their heavy breathing over his headphones.

He was also having some trouble. He could feel the water pressure pushing down on him. He felt the pressure, especially on his lungs, but he simply used the same breathing techniques he used when he had trouble breathing during training sessions.

“Look, the elevator door has already been forced open!” Xavier pointed out, before leaving the shaft.

Due to the pyramid shape of the building, this floor was the smallest. It consisted of a single room. Looking around the room, it seemed much fancier than the rest. An office that probably belonged to the boss.

“Looks like…,” Mika started, before breaking out into wild coughing. “Sorry, I…”

“Mika, are you having trouble breathing?” Xavier asked, seriously worried.

“A bit. I feel a little lightheaded.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want you to worry.” Mika’s voice started sounding more nervous, and they covered their ears. A strange gesture considering they were wearing a mask with built-in headphones.

“Wait, are you wearing your binder?”

Mika hesitated. “Y-yes, the diving suit… It made my che-est look big, and it ma… It made me uncom…” Mika started coughing again, and their voice was getting louder. “Xavier, wh-why is the oce… the ocean so loud?”

“What?” Xavier was confused by that question.

“It’s do loud! Ma-make it sto-op!” Mika sounded close to tears. Seeing them like this made Xavier realize what was going on. Mika was behaving in a way that Xavier was familiar with, even if he was used to this behavior coming from someone else.

Xavier grabbed their wrist. “Let’s go back,” he said, trying to sound calm and quiet.

“Wh-what, but we ha-ave to investigate!”

Xavier simply shook his head, trying to minimize the noises he made.

“But th-the eviden-ence will get… It will get d-destroyed!”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“But…”

Without giving an answer, Xavier pulled them back down the elevator shaft and along the hallway, keeping a close eye on them.

Mika looked ashamed and panicked at the same time. They were still covering their ears, and tears were rolling down their face, collecting at the bottom of their mask.

As the two left the temple, they could feel that the current had picked up. Clearly, the storm was getting closer.

Xavier pressed Mika closer to himself. He had to do most of the work to get the two through the current. Some floating pieces of trash were flung against him, but he simply ignored them, swimming forward determinedly.

They managed to reach the submarine. Instead of going in one by one, Xavier climbed in together with Mika. They could just barely manage to squeeze in together, but Xavier did not want to leave them alone, even just for a minute.

He calmly hummed a melody, hoping it would be enough to block out the noises of the machines.

As they left the airlock, Xavier took off Mika’s mask right away. He grabbed his phone from where he’d left it. It was protected by a strangely bulky casing. But there was a purpose behind the clunky design as Xavier revealed a hidden compartment containing earpieces.

“Here, take these,” he said calmly. “Take all the time you need to calm down.”

Mika looked at him confused as he handed them his phone with a selection open of all the music he had downloaded.

With some encouragement, they turned on a song while sitting in a quiet corner. They covered their ears on top of the earpieces, hoping it would help further cancel out any noises.

The two sat in the submarine for a while, no one saying a word. It took Mika a while to collect themselves, but Xavier had no problem waiting.

Looking around the submarine, Xavier felt dizzy. Having some time to catch his breath was just what he needed. From the corner of his eyes, the seaweed was waving at him, and the shapes of the coral reef became distorted into all sorts of strange silhouettes.

As they had calmed down, Xavier started the winches, instructing them to keep listening to the music until they got back to the lab.

Slowly, the submarine returned to the Mantastation.

Tuesday, June 25, 2:30 am: Cabin, Mantastation

The crew was gathered in one of the cabins. Jacky was keeping an eye on them while Marlo, Tanner, and the captain rested.

“How are they doing?” Ralph asked as Amy and he entered the room.

“They’ll be fine. I’m not a doctor, but it seems like it was mostly stress getting to them.”

“Could we talk to you?” Amy asked, gesturing out of the room.

Jacky followed the two in the other cabin. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to ask you if the temple looked familiar to you,” Ralph asked.

Jacky was visibly surprised. “Why would it? And why do you bring this up now?”

“These notes wouldn’t happen to be yours?” Ralph showed Jacky the papers.

“I-I can explain.”

“Please do,” Ralph said angrily.

“I know I should have shared it with you, but I need the money. I know it’s selfish.”

“Wait, what money?” Amy asked.

“Michael Wimbley’s emergency stache. Is that not why you asked me about the plans?”

“Can you please explain to us what you mean?” Amy asked.

“I guess now the secret is out, so I might as well tell you everything. When we first saw the temple, I recognized it immediately. Ralph had talked to the rest of us about the whole timeline traveling, so I quickly realized what must have happened.”
“You talked to them about it?”

“I trust the crew. And I was hoping they might be able to help me with my research,” Ralph explained.

“It is common knowledge that Michael Wimbley stores gold bars in every one of his offices. He doesn’t trust banks. At first, I wanted to tell you, but then I realized. The morally right thing to do would be to invest it in this project or a good cause. But I need the money. It would certainly be enough to pay off my student debt. Look, I know it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

“So, when you said you had contacted the OPRNH, was that a lie?”

Jacky looked ashamed. “Yes. I’m sorry, but had they inspected the temple and found the gold, I would have never gotten any of it.”

“You know that you’re putting the entire coral reef in danger, right? If this temple gets destroyed in the storm, it would dump everything it contains into the ocean. I thought I had enough time before it would come to that, but I realize that was stupid of me to assume.”

“Did you ever get the money?” Amy asked.

“No, I never had the opportunity. And now that the storm gets closer, it will probably be lost.”

“I see,” Ralph said, still sounding disappointed in his friend.

“How did you get the documents? Did you look through my files?”

“No, Amy accidentally printed everything that had recently been printed.”

“But I never printed out these files,” Jacky said.

“That means, someone else discovered them on the shared computer and printed them out!” Ralph realized.

“We have to tell Alice about this!” The two ran back to the dock.

Tuesday, June 25, 2:45 am: Dock, Mantastation

Alice was standing by the water, while the winches were turning.

Amy and Ralph ran inside and were about to tell Alice what they had found out, as the submarine appeared.

Overjoyed, Alice hugged Mika as they left the Belugasub. “Thank god you’re okay! I was so worried.”

“I’m sorry I made you worry, Big Sis.”

“Don’t worry, we’re alright,” Xavier said, as he left the submarine.

“You fucking dipshit, what were you thinking?!” Alice turned around and punched Xavier in the gut.

“I deserve that,” Xavier said, fighting against the pain.

“Please don’t be angry at him,” Mika said, still looking ashamed. “He was making sure I was safe. He even stopped the investigation because of me. I…”

“They told me to turn around. I ignored how dangerous such a dive was for two inexperienced divers. Thankfully, Mika was more mature than I was and convinced me to leave before something could happen,” Xavier said.

Mika looked at him confused, but he simply nodded at them. “How about you go put on some normal clothes?”

Mika nodded and walked back to the cabins together with Alice and Lupin.

“Did you find anything out?” Amy asked.

“The temple is some office building on the inside.”

“We know, we’ve figured some stuff out while you were gone.”

“We didn’t even need to put two lives in danger to do so,” Ralph said, with a judgmental undertone.

The two caught Xavier up on the new information.

“So, what do you think?” Amy asked.

“We have a motive, but that still doesn’t help us figure out who did it. We don’t even know where the money is. For all we know, the gold bars could still be in the office. They certainly weren’t in the submarine. I searched every nook and cranny on the way up and down. There was nothing suspicious in the submarine.”

“Maybe they’re hidden on the Mantastation. The culprit could have snuck them out of the submarine,” Ralph suggested.

“Let’s go look for them,” Amy said.

“I need to get some fresh air. I’ll join you later.”

The two returned to the boat, while Xavier went to the patio.

Tuesday, June 25, 3:00 am: Patio, Mantastation

The rain and wind had drastically increased. Xavier was sitting under the sunroof, staring out at the ocean.

“Is it okay if I sit with you?” Mika asked. They were wearing the jacket Alice had made for them.

Seemingly unaware they were blinking rather quickly, as if they were trying to keep up with the sound of the raindrops.

“You don’t have to ask. But don’t you want to stay inside? The sunroof is doing nothing to stop the rain.”

Mika shook their head. They nervously looked around the patio, awkwardly biting their bottom lip.

“Well, make yourself at home.”

Mika sat down and looked out at the ocean. They were trying to think of what to say.

“Why did you lie to the others?”

“What do you mean?” Xavier asked, even though he knew exactly what they were talking about.

“You said I was the one who decided to go back. Big Sis is really mad at you. I’m sure she wouldn’t be if she knew the truth.”

“She has every right to be mad at me.”

“But I had trouble breathing because I put on the binder while diving. It was my fault.”

“Neither of us is a diver. Something could have gone wrong at any moment while we were down there. Really, the chance of something happening to you was already so high that the binder made no difference. Not to mention that you would have likely had a hard time breathing, even without it. Even I felt it. I should have turned around right then and there. Screw it, I should have never even gone down there.”

“You don’t have to blame yourself. I wanted to investigate as well.”

“But I should have been the mature one from the beginning and not put us in danger. I keep acting like I’m still some teenage sleuth with no sense of consequences. But I’m an adult now and I have other people I need to watch out for.”

“I promise I’ll be more careful. I need to be more mature as well.”

“Great. But just remember, it’s okay for you to act immature sometimes, that’s how you learn,” Xavier said calmly.

“But I need to do better to be a great investigator.”

“Tell me, how old were Paul and Enno when they solved the mystery of the missing poker player?”

“They were about 12 years old. Wait, you’ve read The Clever Foxes?!”

“I picked some up after hearing you talk about them. But do you see what I’m getting at? Sure, the two get older over time, but they were always great investigators. And so are you. You don’t need to act older or more mature to be a great investigator. You’re allowed to be a kid, especially after spending your childhood the way you did.”

Mika smiled and hugged Xavier. “Thanks, Big Bro.”

Xavier put his arm around their shoulder with a pleased look on his face. The two looked back at the ocean.

“Mika, do you have any over-ear headphones?” Xavier asked out of the blue.

“Yes, do you need them? I left them in my bag.”

“No, I was just asking because I know they can help with your problem.”

“My problem?”

“You’re sensitive to noises, aren’t you? Natsu has a similar problem, so he always makes sure to have a pair of over-ear headphones with him.”

“Thanks for the advice.” Mika paused. “But it’s strange. I was doing fine at first, but after a while, everything around me started sounding much louder.”

“Not really. There’s a simple explanation. You felt uncomfortable, which led to you being more aware of surrounding noise, which made you more uncomfortable, and so on. Well, that’s at least how Natsu described it to me. I guess just because you share a certain symptom doesn’t mean they behave in the same way. I mean, it’s called the spectrum for a reason.”

“What spectrum?”

Xavier was taken by surprise by their question. “The autism spectrum,” he answered, questioning whether they even knew what that meant.

“Never heard of it. Wait, so how does that relate to my issue?”

“I frankly don’t feel qualified to answer that. I guess I also shouldn’t have just assumed. I’m not some professional on the topic.”

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my question,” Mika said, misunderstanding Xavier’s awkwardness.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t make me uncomfortable. I should be sorry for making this awkward.”

Mika was unsure what to say. They started biting their lip again, avoiding eye contact. Looking around, something dancing on the waves caught their attention.

“Oh, that’s where the buoys went!” Mika said, dropping the previous subject completely.

“What?” Xavier asked, confused as to why they would point that out.

Mika pointed to the group of buoys that had gathered above the temple. “This afternoon, there were some buoys in the Belugasub, but they had disappeared. I had assumed the others had put them away somewhere, but I guess they used them.”

“No, those were already there this afternoon. Apparently, they sometimes fall off the Mantastation and…” Xavier stopped. A thought had just overcome him. He started tapping against his forehead as he put all the puzzle pieces together in his head.

“Mika, is it cliché for an investigator to wrap up a case with a monologue?”

“Yes, it’s probably the most common trope in mystery stories,” they answered bluntly, although clearly not intending it as a critique.

“Are you in the mood to be a bit cliché?” Xavier asked, smiling from ear to ear.

“Does that mean you’ve solved the case?!”

“Yep, and I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Awesome! Where’s the treasure?”

“I’ll explain while we prepare our speech.”

Tuesday, June 25, 3:20 am: Laboratory, Mantastation

Everyone had gathered in the lab, as per Xavier’s request.

“Why did you want us to come here?” Marlo asked.

“Did you find the gold bars?” Amy asked curiously.

“Gold?! How would the lad get his hands on such a magnificent bounty?”

“As it has recently been revealed, there was a treasure hiding under all our noses, or rather, our feet,” Xavier began his speech.

“Well, not exactly under us, it’s a little to the south, but very close,” Mika added.

Xavier chuckled and gave them a sign to continue with the speech.

“There is a temple beneath us that holds a treasure in the form of many gold bars,” Mika continued, trying to mimic Xavier’s tone and body language. They could barely contain their excitement. Their eyes darted around the group, and their fingers were twitching nervously.

“Jacky was the one to realize this. She kept it a secret from the rest, while she did her research, preparing to get her hands on it,” Xavier explained.

“Are you trying to say I stole the treasure and am keeping it a secret?” Jacky asked, confused.

“No, you had no chance to do so. But someone else found your notes and decided to take the treasure for himself. But there was a risk that you might have something planned for this night. After all, tonight might be the last chance to get the treasure before the temple gets destroyed, making it much harder to reach the gold. So your competitor had to keep you away from the submarine.”

“So he triggered your allergy to force you to sit this expedition out,” Mika stated.

“But I was in the kitchen. No one put any citrus fruits in my food or drink.”

“Someone did. And the one who put the lemons in was none other than you!” Mika pointed at Jacky.

“Are you sure you’re not mixing anything up? Why would Jacky purposefully put something that she’s allergic to in her food?” Ralph asked.

“I didn’t say on purpose. And I’m not talking about her food, but her drink. Take a look at this!” Mika held up a bag of ice cubes. “Would everyone who isn’t allergic to lemons please try one of these?” Mika was giddy, handing out the ice cubes.

Hesitant, the group grabbed some ice cubes and put them in their mouths.

“In the name of Poseidon, what is this?! This be no ordinary ice cubes!”

“You’re right, these taste like lemonade!” Alice realized.

“The taste was masked by the iced tea. And because Captain Albright always carries an EpiPen around, the culprit could be sure that Jacky would be treated instantly. The intent was just to get her out of the expedition team, not to actually endanger her.”

“Who did this?” Jacky looked around at the other crew members. They all looked just as confused as her.

“Let’s continue,” Xavier said. “The expedition continued as planned, just with Marlo instead of Jacky. But as we heard, during the expedition, the team fell asleep. The culprit had drugged the other two.”

“How?” Amy asked.

“We’ll get to that in a moment. The culprit put on diving gear and went to the temple. Thanks to Jacky’s notes, he knew exactly how to get in, and he even had a map. He quickly swam to the boss’s office and broke open the safe. He grabbed some of the gold bars and returned to the submarine. He needed to hide them in something that he could inconspicuously carry out of the submarine. Thankfully, there were some buoys, stuffed into the submarine’s closet. The culprit cut them open, put the gold bars in, and closed them with tape, which can be found inside the Belugasub. He had to make sure no one else would pick them up, or they would notice the tape and how heavy they were all of a sudden. So he put them in the one spot no one would normally look. The torpedo tube.”

“Are you serious?” Marlo asked.

“This be turning out to be a wacky tale. Are ye sure ye haven’t had a bit too much grog, lad?”

“I assure you, I am absolutely certain of it.”

Mika continued the explanation. “The culprit probably had to leave multiple times to get all the gold bars. This had an unintended side effect. Every time he used the airlock, the air tanks lost air. When the others woke up, a shortage of oxygen, the sleeping drugs, and the relative darkness combined made the passengers see things around them that weren’t there. Or rather, mistake things that are truly there for ones that aren’t. One of the drugged crew members looks out the window, sees the seaweed, and mistakes it for tentacles. He starts screaming about a kraken, leading the other dizzy victim to imagine the same thing. The culprit decides to play along, turns the intercom back on, and watches what happens.”

“But in all the chaos, something unexpected happens. The captain panics and, while trying to shoot the kraken with a nonexistent torpedo, he actually fires the buoys filled with treasure out of the submarine. The culprit realizes he has to wait and get the treasure later. I’m sure he’s currently sweating, hearing us reveal the location of his stolen treasure.”

“So if they were inside buoys and were fired from the submarine, they would probably float to the top,” Ralph said. “The buoys can carry quite some weight. So a few gold bars would be manageable.”

“And the current would pick them up, which means the gold bars are bobbing on the waves right next to the other buoys,” Alice realized.

“Exactly, now there is obviously one question left. Who did it?” Xavier said slowly.

“The motive is very universal. Everyone needs money. So we need to look at the how and not the why,” Mika explained. “How did the culprit drug the other two?”

“Like with the ice cubes, it was done in front of everyone. Tanner, could you give me those booster pills you handed out before the mission?”

Tanner slowly grabbed the red plastic bag from his pocket and gave it to Xavier.

“It couldn’t have been the pills. All three took them,” Alice pointed out.

“You’re right, all of them took pills from this bag. Tanner even took two because he dropped them directly from the bag into his mouth.”

Xavier quickly peeked inside the bag. “Can one of you tell me what color the pills were?”

“They were red, matrix style,” Marlo said.

“Or like the one all those life coaches keep going on about,” Alice added sarcastically.

“Don’t ever compare those two things,” Marlo had turned surprisingly serious.

“Okay, sorry. Didn’t know that was like a sore spot.”

“No, I’m serious, I’ve had it with those idiots misusing The Matrix like that.”

“I said I’m sorry.”

“Hey, we’re doing a cool investigator thing here,” Mika said, trying to get everyone’s attention back on them.

Everyone looked back at Mika and Xavier.

“Thanks, Mika. Now, you said the pills were red. Please take a look inside.”

“These all be as white as a skull!” the captain realized.

“Exactly. There were only two red pills. He simply handed those and then took the white ones that didn’t have sleeping drugs in them. Obviously, both red and white pills look the same when looking at them through a red lens, or in this case, a red bag.”

Everyone turned to Tanner, who was staring down at the ground.

“Why did you do this? Just for the money?” Ralph asked, not wanting to believe it.

“I really need it.”

“What for?” Marlo asked.

“My father, he’s been battling with an aggressive brain tumor. The medical bills keep racking up, and when I stumbled across Amy’s notes, I knew I had to get my hands on them.”

“Why didn’t you just ask? I would have given you all the money you needed,” Captain Albright said.

“Captain, we all know you’ve invested basically all you’re money in this project and charities. I couldn’t ask you for the little money you had left.”

“You knew about it?”

“We all did. That’s why we never asked for money from you, even though you kept telling us we could,” Marlo said.

“I know it was selfish of me, and what I did to you all was horrible. Especially you, Jacky. I was so desperate, and I could never make up for it.”

“Not that I’m proud of it, but I also didn’t want to share the money, had I gotten it,” Jacky said.

“The worst thing is, when I found the gold, it was way more than I could have imagined. But I couldn’t just admit what I had done. I was too ashamed of it. I swear, I would have only taken what I need and would have donated the rest anonymously to keep this project afloat.”

The captain walked over to Tanner and patted him on the back. “Cheer up, lad, ye did all of this for a noble cause. And ye gave this old seadog a great adventure. A run-in with the kraken, the mighty beast of the sea. There will be chanties sung about this here night.”

“I will obviously leave the gold to the crew. You all get to decide what you want to do with it. But, and I know it isn’t really my place to ask, but can I get the money needed to help my father?”

“Of course! You think we don’t want to help your father?” Jacky answered.

“I think it’d be fair to use this bounty to take care of yer debts. Ralph and Jacky, I’m sure ye still have some pesky student loans to take care of. And Marlo, lad, I’m sure you have some medical bills left to pay.”

“And what’s left will go to our project,” Ralph said.

Captain Albright looked around proudly. “I just want to say, a captain could not wish for a better crew than you lot. Come here, my buccaneers!”

And with that, came this eventful night to a happy ending, with no kraken in sight. Thankfully, the temple had not taken too much damage, and the captain made sure to contact the OPNRH, so they could secure the building. Choosing to do it himself this time.

The storm luckily calmed down after a few days, allowing the crew to retrieve the gold and letting Xavier, Amy, Alice, and Mika spend a few nice days at the beach and in the city. They’re vacation concluded with them going to see the Pride Parade, which Alice had been so excited for. Ironically, though, Alice and Mika missed the entire event. They spent the whole afternoon in a coffee shop to avoid the loud noises and large crowds that would make Mika nervous.

After their vacation, they dropped Mika off back in Stony Shores, choosing to leave out certain details while telling the Bandas about their vacation.

They then returned home to Ashbypond. Amy went back to working on the new game with Ms. Walker, Xavier instantly started writing up the case file, trying to improve some of his organizational problems, and Alice prepared for the next case.

You want to know what this next case will be about? Well, as always, I will leave you with a teaser. Normally, investigators come in after the fact to solve a crime, but what if they were hired to prevent a crime? You’ll see in the next chapter.