The boat sped across the water and Xavier began to slowly turn it around. Alarm bells were sounding throughout Heacha, but the job was done. "That was incredible! You lasses really know how to fight!"

"Yeah, growing up in the streets was good for that," Maya bragged, flexing her arm. "Picked up a thing or two, so she was nothing."

Luna didn't take her eyes from the ship. "The job is done, you need to explain everything." Xavier could tell that there was no putting it off any longer.

It would sound absolutely insane to try and put it into words, but the pirate had never even imagined getting this far. So he had to try. "Well, you're familiar with the seven Guardians, right?"

Both girls nodded, and so Xavier continued. "That was one of them, Clymene. She and some of her siblings have decided they'd rather rule these isles then protect them. I've had my spats with them in the past, but everything came to a head a few months back. They had taken control over Kingston, and some friends and I managed to stop them. Temporarily."

The girls seemed to be following him. They probably didn't believe him, but at least they were picking up what he was saying. "But what does any of this have to do with Luna?"

"And why did she call me 'sis'? I don't have any siblings." Luna added in.

"Well lass, while we were gathering resources to stop them, we learned there was actually and Eighth Guardian. And given you possess the powers of the Guardians, I believe you are the Eighth Guardian." Xavier stated. He braced immediate pushback, but instead both girls seemed to be in shock.

Maya then laughed nervously. "No way, that doesn't make any sense. Luna looked nothing like her! I-that's impossible!"

"It couldn't be true, I can only remember things from maybe ten or so years back." Luna sat down as she said this. "The Guardians have been around for centuries, I didn't even know they were real!"

"It seems insane," Xavier agreed. "I don't exactly have much to convince you. Clymene and I both agree, but it still makes no sense. I had hoped when looking, if I found that Guardian, they'd be aware of their status to some extent. I had also hoped Atlas would return, and they could offer some wisdom. I need help to bring these Guardians down, not much can stop them. Your magic is one of those things, but I'm not going to ask a young lass to leave her home more than once. I found what I needed to find, at least."

Xavier couldn't help but admit defeat. There was no way either of them would believe him, even if he had good proof. And it wasn't like he could answer their questions.

The captain began piloting the ship back to Heacha. "Disembark once we get back to the docks and hurry into the alleyways. I'll be off, I appreciate your help lasses. One Guardian down is more than enough."

Luna looked up at the pirate, seemingly struggling to say something. "You mentioned someone by the name of Atlas, who is that?"

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "The former Guardian of Solanja, currently being imprisoned by their siblings to power that gemstone Clymene had. When it was all together, it could be used to destroy this archipelago. Atlas must be stuck inside a different fragment."

Luna and Maya suddenly looked at each other, gasping in sync. "You don't think that your dreams-" Maya speculated.

Xavier looked over questioningly, and the girls sighed. "I've been having dreams these past few months about a figure sort-of like Clymene. They had a long sword and were trapped in some sort of void. Calling out for someone to help them. Each time I saw them, they got more and more downtrodden and seemed more hopeless. The thing I always remember are their super distinct, orange eyes."

"That's Atlas alright," Xavier confirmed. The Guardian was as distinct as they came, and the fact that Luna was dreaming about them... it HAD to mean something.

Maya took Luna's hand as the girl furrowed her brow. "I just... I don't know what it means." Then she looked at her girlfriend. "Maya, what should we do?"

"I don't know, whatever you think is right. It's your power and your dreams. I'm with you either way." Maya assured her. Xavier felt a little pang of sadness in his heart, the two clearly loved each other.

Luna stood up. "Alright then, let's do this! If Atlas is my family, or even if they aren't, I want to use my power to help them. And putting a stop to Tradton is the icing on the cake!"

The pirate couldn't help but grin. "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that, lass! Welcome aboard, both of you! Our next stop will be Marok, see if Arvirdi knows where our next target is hiding out."

Xavier was about to turn the ship around, when Maya cleared her throat. "Could we maybe go and get some of our belongings? It's not like we know when we'll be getting back."

The Ice Mage mentally face-palmed. "Right, that's my bad lassies. We'll have to be cautious, but hopefully the chaos by the docks will let us slip in and out unnoticed."

Luna smiled. "No worries, we know this city inside and out!" The ship arrived at the docks, and the trio disembarked.

They hurried throughout the alleyways of Heacha, weaving between various narrow corridors. Maya and Luna lead the way through the passages, holding each other's hands the whole time.

The city of Heacha was like an endless maze, with all of the dilapidated buildings looking near identical. Xavier nearly slipped on the dirty slush that covered most of the ground multiple times.

Still, the girls dashed around the city like it was an open field. Eventually, the group came to a stop outside of a tiny building. "This is where Maya and I stay, at least for now." Luna explained.

Maya nodded and pushed open the door. "We won it with the help of Luna's magic, kicked out everyone in the Bloodstone Gang and sent them running."

The Bloodstone Gang rang a bell in Xavier's mind. One of many gangs that populated Heacha, and arguably the most dangerous. Xavier had done a bit of work for them in the past, and it was not a group he'd choose to cross.

"Course, that was when we were part of our own gang," Maya continued, heading inside of the building. "We ended up leaving them about two years ago, since they were our style."

Xavier walked into the small house and found it to be surprisingly quaint. It wasn't too dirty, most of the ceiling was in place, and they had a bed pushed into the corner of the room. It was livable, at least.

Luna chuckled while Maya started sifting through a chest. "Not our style? We weren't their style!"

"In a way, but that was their loss." Maya shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Xavier questioned, and the two girls laughed again.

"What actually happened was Maya and I started dating," Luna explained. "Turns out our gang weren't fans, so we had to take our leave."

Xavier sighed. "Aye, many in my crew have had similar experiences. Good friends of mine turned to piracy because nobody else would put up with them being gay. It's a rather shame that even some pirates have the same outdated outlook."

The two girls nodded, and went back to collecting their things for a bit. Xavier felt a little awkward, standing in the girls' home and doing nothing. "So when did you two meet?"

Maya shrugged. "Something like five years ago? Hard to keep track of time, but we were both orphans who have been in Heacha our whole lives. We stuck with each other through it all, and now we're here."

Luna pulled out a necklace for their storage chest and handed it to Maya. "Remember this? You stole it a little while after we met, because you knew I wanted it."

"That's right!" Maya gasped, suppressing a laugh. "You were so upset too, I thought you returned it!"

"Guess even back then I cared too much about your gestures," Luna said, staring down at the necklace and holding it in her hands.

It didn't take much longer for the girls to gather everything, and it wasn't much. A few belongings they had accrued over time that they stuffed into a satchel.

The trio exited the home and could still hear alarms echoing through the night. Their distraction was still going on.

Maya and Luna looked back at their home and hesitated. "This might be goodbye for good," Maya mused.

Luna took her hand and looked up to the sky. "But now we're going to finally get somewhere in life."

Xavier grinned. "That's right lassies, there's a whole world out there to see. And while it won't be easy, there's something special about an adventure through the archipelago. And it'll all be worth it, when we deliver another big blow to Kingston, and save Atlas."

The girls nodded, and the three of them dashed back to the ship before escaping into the night.

The boat flew across the water, and Xavier couldn't help but feel his luck was turning around. One of the Guardians was defeated, the Jewel was no longer a worry, and now he had the tools to save Atlas.

He could finally begin to make up for what had happened before, back at Kingston. "So, before when you said you stopped the Guardians... did you go to Kingston?"

The pirate was pulled from his thoughts by the question and nodded. "Sure did! It was during that period they had 'gone dark' as it was. One of my allies was a member of the CIF, so we ended up organizing the whole battle that happened a few months back."

The two girls' jaws dropped. "YOU were behind the Caros Independence Battle? That's insane! I could hardly believe it when I heard about it!" Maya blabbered for a bit.

Luna's mouth was agape for a few moments more. "T-that's inconceivable, the whole thing was organized to stop the Guardians? I thought it was bad enough that Kingston got beaten."

"Yeah, they weren't exactly up to snuff. The Guardians took control of the isle and put it under some spell, and they weren't ready to get hit as hard as they did." Xavier explained. "I had some good adventures with that crew, and now it's time to finish them." The pirate turned his sights to the horizon, and set a course for Marok.