"Ahhh! How is this even happening?" the little girl screamed. Shortly after she had calmed down and they agreed to go to Coral Cove to save her town, Lucas turned into the map-making dragon species and picked her up as he flew. With the dragon species being skilled at all things maps, he knew it'd be easy to read the island, but the little girl wasn't expecting to ride on a dragon on her way home. As they took off in the middle of the night, the residents nearby were awestruck, seeing a dragon soaring into the skies. Topped with the panic of seeing a strange dog-like creature earlier, the islanders had experienced far too many surprises that day.
"Relax. If you squirm around like that, you'll fall," Lucas said, trying to calm her.
"There's no way I can relax! You're not the one riding a dragon!" the little girl said in a fuss.
"Do you have to fly this fast?" she cried out.
"Hoo," Lucas sighed as he slowed down. "Maybe I got carried away," he admitted.
"Ha. Hahaha. Woohoo!" After Lucas had slowed down, the little girl started seeing the beauty of the night sky. As they flew high above, she was amazed by the sight, gazing at its beauty.
After flying for the rest of the night with the little girl sleeping on his back, they finally arrived. "Arriving in this form will definitely draw attention," Lucas muttered as they drew near to the island. He pondered if he should change into a less noticeable form so he wouldn't have to worry about the little girl's safety being compromised. "Or maybe I should go in like a tank and own them," he pondered.
"Haa... Things like this aren't my forte," he said, feeling a bit unsure.
"Hmmm. Is it morning?" the little girl woke up from Lucas's rants.
"We've arrived, kid. You can wake up now," he said as he descended onto the ocean.
"Why are we stopping here? Didn't you say we arrived?" the little girl asked, confused.
"Well, yes, but I wanted to change back so I can draw less attention," he replied. "I wanted to try something as well," he said, revealing his real motive as he changed into Big Chill and froze the water they were hovering above, landing on it.
"Okay, let's see. The Sentry, High Elf, and an Anodite to maximize mana," he muttered as he closed his eyes. His eyes lit purple, he grew taller, and gained more muscles. His Omnitrix changed his clothes to those resembling the Sentry but with purple and black, and his hair turned grey from the High Elf genes.
"Are you done? It's cold," the little girl said, shivering.
"Not even a wow," Lucas responded, a bit disappointed as he thought she would be impressed by his endless changes. But the girl was not only used to it but also worried about her home.
"Get on," he said as he made a purple mana platform. The girl looked at him skeptically.
"If you could do this, why did you turn into a dragon earlier?" she asked, slightly frustrated.
"Just 'cause," Lucas shrugged off her question as he got on the platform, flying straight to Cove Island. As they rode the platform, he inscribed some runes in the air and moved them near the little girl's hands. He placed the runes on her, and they vanished on the back of her palms. Next, he formed an invisibility rune, making them invisible as they approached the island. Pirate ships had filled the harbor as they passed by.
"Wait. There's also marine ships mixed in there," Lucas noticed as they passed by.
The town was in bad shape. The stalls were rundown, some buildings were trashed, and the people seemed unenthusiastic. "Guess it's been pretty bad, huh?" Lucas muttered, feeling a pang of sympathy as they flew slowly overhead. Suddenly, the little girl jumped off and ran towards a house that was in ruins.
"Brother!" she cried, her voice filled with desperation as she ran to a person who was picking up the rubble.
"Hey, wait! If you get off, you'll... And she's gone," Lucas said, stopping the platform from moving as the invisibility spell wore off.
"Mirai?" the little girl's brother responded, his voice trembling as he heard her. Turning back and seeing her rushing towards him, he exclaimed, "Mirai, I was so worried about you!" He welcomed her with open arms, tears streaming down his face. The other residents came out of their houses to see what the commotion was about. Seeing Mirai back, being welcomed by her brother, some of them teared up, thinking she was dead.
"Mirai, what happened to you? Where have you been and how are you back?" an old man asked, his voice shaky with emotion.
"I think we should talk inside first," Lucas said, disrupting the heartfelt reunion.
"And who are you?" her brother asked, standing protectively in front of her, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"I'm the one who brought her back," Lucas responded, his cape billowing in the breeze, trying to appear reassuring.
"Mirai, do you know this weirdly dressed man?" the mayor asked. Mirai responded with a nod.
"I see. Then we must give you our gratitude. Please come to my place if you want to talk," the mayor said, his voice filled with gratitude.
"Sorry, old dude, I made a promise to the little girl to solve her problem first," Lucas replied. Mirai's brother tried to reprimand Lucas for being rude, but the mayor stopped him.
"It's fine, Wren," the mayor said. "All of you are welcome," he added, leading the way.
"I must again thank you for bringing our little one back. I'm sure you might have questions as to why our town looks like this," the old man said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
"I know the rough bits of it," Lucas replied, trying to keep the conversation focused.
"Our island was a peaceful island befo—" the mayor began to explain, his voice filled with sadness.
"Woah, woah, woah. I said I know the gist of it," Lucas halted the mayor. "Is he one of those explaining characters?" Lucas muttered. He wasn't going to sit through such exposition, especially if he could just read their minds using Ampfibian or even through his magic, which he did.
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The current situation of Cove Island was as follows: Coral Cove, an island known for its clear waters and stunning reefs, was a rather stable island with a stable economy and high tourism. It was suddenly raided by pirates. They called themselves the Crimson Corsairs and were led by Red-Eye Drake, their captain. They took over Coral Cove, drove down its tourism, and started extorting the people. When the marines came, the people rejoiced, thinking they'd be free, but were driven to despair when the marines started working with the pirates. Apparently, there's a treasure on this island called the Scarlet Pearl, a massive red pearl which the Crimson Corsairs are after. One day, it was found that two children were trying to escape and seek help outside. One escaped, and the other was caught. He was going to be executed, but their father pleaded for him, claiming he'd find the pearl in a month if they let the boy go, to which the pirates agreed. But later, they beat down the boy, broke his leg, and tore down their house.
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