"WHAT?!" Iris blurted.

"We need to go out into the ocean and look for Spirit!" Branch explained. "It's been days, she's probably trying to get back, maybe she just needs a push in the right direction."

"So do you!" Iris said to Branch dryly. Branch was pacing back and forth in his sister's pod. "Look, I want Spirit to come back as much as you do, but going out into the ocean to find her is a long shot!"

"Iris!" Branch snapped. "Spirit has been gone for too long!" Iris stayed silent, even she had never seen Branch so angry yet upset at the same time. "You and Poppy are always telling me to look on the bright side and I'm trying to! So either you're with me or not!" Branch turned around and walked toward the door of Iris' pod. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I may not be able to stop you..." Iris said to him, Branch turned to face her. "So I might as well join you." Branch smiled at his sister until a loud voice came from outside the pod.

"I'm coming too!" Poppy chimed in loudly as she poked her head through the door. Branch and Iris both screamed.

"What are you doing here?!" Branch asked. Poppy entered the pod.

"I was coming to see you Branch, then I over-heard what you said and there is NO WAY I'm letting you two go alone!" Poppy explained. "Plus, I know someone who can get us to sea."

***

"Why me?!" Tekai blurted as she turned away from Manta who she was stroking.

"Because you're the only one we know who can sail!" Poppy replied.

"My buddy Rey can sail, why don't you ask him?" Tekai said dryly. Branch facepalmed.

"Tekai we don't have time for this!!" Poppy yelled. "We need to find Spirit!!" Tekai had a change of heart.

"Then why didn't you say so?" Tekai asked. Poppy, Branch and Iris all looked at each other. "You guys just came running in here and shouted 'BOAT'. Sure I'll help." Tekai led the trolls to her boat down by the dock.

"It looks smaller than last time," Branch stated as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Yeah, because it's not mine. It's Correy's," Tekai explained. The other trolls looked at her confused. "Well we never got my boat back because we were captured by the snatchers so it's still at the lykars island...most likely in pieces."

"Okay...Does Correy know we're taking his boat?" Iris asked.

"Nope!" Tekai replied. "Now get your butts on here!"

***

The lykars had just got up to carry on with their journey, they would have set off earlier but Spirit's tail was in such bad condition that she needed to rest. Askar stayed by her side while they swam, ready to help her if her tail couldn't support her any longer. Which had happened a few times previously since it was so painful for her.

"Ali! Can you see anything familiar ahead yet?" Spirit asked Ali, who was leading the group.

"It's hard to tell," Ali replied. "Besides, how do we even know those Speckled lykars were telling the truth? Or if they were thinking of a different island?"

"Because Speckled lykars are found at the East side of our island, that's one of the only places you can find them!" Ula explained. Ali just shrugged.

"Having a ridiculously smart friend has its advantages and disadvantages," Ali muttered under her breath, not wanting to admit defeat.

"Wait guys!" Corkscrew butted in. "Doesn't that cliff look familiar to you?" Corkscrew pointed at a large cliff on the far horizon with his snout. The cliff was tall and narrow, with patches of grass visible on the top. There was even a small rock formation near the bottom, it was the rocks near the back of the lagoon!

"That's it! That's home!" Spirit exclaimed. The five lykars smiled in awe. "Let's go!" Spirit commanded excitedly, forgetting about her injured tail for a second as she struggled to swim without it hurting. Askar caught up to her and kept by her side.

However, little did the lykars know that there was a far too familiar face not too far away from them, ready to greet them.

...But this time, it wasn't just the trolls...

***

On the boat, the four trolls sailed out of the lagoon. Iris had the map from the book they found in the library with the lykars' migration paths marked on it. Branch kept an eye out for any sign of lykars.

"We don't want to go too far! I'm not sure how well-supported this boat is." Tekai stated. "Correy has never been the best at building boats!" Branch looked back at her with wide eyes, now the intense fear of the boat falling to pieces in the back of his mind.

"And you're just telling us this NOW?!" Branch shouted. Tekai shrugged. Branch turned as he heard the sound of water splashing nearby and squinted at the water. A slight glimpse of a dorsal fin appeared above the water surface. "Guys!" Branch pointed to the water. The three trolls joined Branch and looked over the surface. The dorsal fin appeared again, with more following behind.

"That has to be them!" Poppy exclaimed. The trolls cheered! Tekai steered the boat towards them. But as the head of the lykar rose above the surface, Branch realized that it wasn't Spirit. The lykars started to make a low growl sound as they circled the boat. "What's going on?"

***

The five lykars were not far from the cliff and were getting excited. Spirit couldn't wait to see Branch again, he must have been so worried about her. Now that the pod was staying at the island, she could spend so much more time with him.

"Hopefully our families weren't too worried about us," Corkscrew said. The others agreed.

"I can't believe we're going to see the trolls again!" Askar said. "It'll be strange to co-exist with them!" Spirit remembered that Askar didn't live at the lagoon when he was a calf, so never got to properly live with the trolls, only after their last adventure before the pod left and Spirit was recovering.

"It'll be great!" Spirit chimed in. "It was fun while I was growing up! Corky will remember!" Spirit said, indicating to Corkscrew.

"Yeah, we made some great memories there!" Corky said. "Especially with Bran-" Corkscrew was cut off when the lykars spotted a sinking boat, not far from the lagoon. There were trolls on it!

"What's happening?" Ali cried. The lykars swam closer to get a better look. They spotted a group of lykars attacking the boat. One lykar in particular that they knew too well. It was Jasper and his Deep Dwellers.

"What's Jasper doing here?!" Spirit cried.

"He must have followed us!" Ula replied. Spirit spotted a familiar blue troll who was holding onto the mast of the boat for dear life.

"Branch!" Spirit dove into the water and swam as fast as she possibly could, not caring about her injured tail. She spotted Jasper jumping out of the water to try and snap at Branch. He jumped one final time and rammed head-first into the mast, snapping it in half and sending Branch falling into the water.

"Branch!" Poppy cried desperately. Spirit knew she had no time to spare and swam faster and faster to reach her friend. Jasper snarled at Branch and started to circle him. Branch didn't know what to do as he struggled to keep to the surface of the water. Spirit rammed into Jasper, knocking him away and grabbed Branch in her mouth. She surfaced again and placed Branch safely on a nearby rock. Branch opened his eyes, looking terrified, but when he looked up to see Spirit his eyes widened and a smile spread across his face.

"Spirit!" Branch wrapped his arms around Spirit's head, hugging her. "I knew you'd come back." Spirit nuzzled Branch with her snout, but she suddenly let out a huge shriek of pain. Jasper had sneaked up behind her and bit down on her tail. Branch looked at her concerned, then saw Jasper. He lashed his hair at his face, causing Jasper to stare at him angrily.

"Leave him alone!" Spirit barked. Trying to push Jasper away from Branch as he tried to snap at him. "Guys! Get the trolls to safety!" Spirit's friends nodded. Ula and Askar rescued the trolls while Corkscrew and Ali fought off the Deep Dwellers. "Why are you doing this Jasper!?"

"Now that old Shadow isn't around to protect you, I'm going to show you what happens to lykars who mess with me!" Jasper snarled. He scratched at Spirit's face and rammed into her again. Spirit tried to fight him back. Jasper kept slashing at her tail, knowing it was her weakness. Jasper forced Spirit underwater so suddenly that she didn't even get the chance to breathe. Branch stared in horror at the water, just waiting for Spirit to resurface. Underneath, Spirit felt her entire world spinning as she tried to keep the small amount of breath she had. Jasper had the back of her neck in his jaws to hold her, Spirit tried to kick him with her hind legs, but it was no use. She could feel her vision fade.

Branch knew he had to do something, he dove into the water and swam towards Jasper and Spirit who were deep under the surface. Askar noticed Branch dive in just before he could rescue him and get him to safety. He knew something had to be wrong.

"Spirit!" Askar realized. His eyes were full of worry for his friend.

Branch could see the strained look on Spirit's face as she tried to fight back. Without hesitation, Branch swam towards Jasper and used both of his legs to kick him in the eye. Jasper roared as he let go of Spirit and swam away, but Spirit didn't react. Branch feared the worst and grabbed her neck and tried to swim up to the surface. Spirit slowly regained consciousness and saw Branch pulling her to the surface; she nudged him with her snout and made a break for the surface, with Branch still on her snout. The two of them gasped for air as they climbed onto a rock.

"Branch...get out of here!" Spirit said tiredly as she nudged him away. But Branch wouldn't listen.

"Spirit, I almost lost you once and I'm not letting that happen again!" Branch said sternly as he looked down Spirit's injured body. He looked into her tired half-opened eyes, his mind was filled with the image of the day he found Spirit stranded on the beach; she had that same tired but scared look in her eyes. She was so determined to break free of those ropes yet so afraid to give up, just like how she is now.

"Spirit! Are you okay?" Askar asked as he nuzzled his head into Spirit's. She gave a slow nod before turning to Branch again.

"Branch please," Spirit leaned down to her troll friend. "I can't let anything happen to you." Branch gave her a stern and worried look. But before he could say anything Jasper resurfaced and rammed full-force into Spirit, knocking her off-balance as he pinned her body against another near-by rock.

"SPIRIT!" Branch and Askar both cried. Askar jumped into the water and swam fast to Spirit, with Jasper still pushing her against the rock. Jasper caught sight of Askar through the corner of his eye and used his tail to smack him hard in the face. Feeling disorientated from the hit, Askar's vision became a blur. Catching Askar off guard, Jasper took advantage and used his front claw to scratch him across the face. Askar shrieked as he reached the water surface.

"Let go of me! Stay away from my friends!" Spirit grunted. Her heart ached as she saw Askar hauling himself onto the rock with a huge claw mark down his face. She saw Branch running to him to help him and see if he was okay. That filled Spirit's urge to escape and stop Jasper, but he was much larger and stronger than her. Jasper used his head to push Spirit's body alongside the rock, scraping it on the sharp edges.

Branch knew Spirit didn't stand a chance against Jasper. He had to act fast. He couldn't stand to lose her again. He extended his hair and used it to catapult himself to the rock that Jasper was pushing Spirit against on. Branch used his hair to hit Jasper across the face again, much harder this time; the force jolted him and left a visible mark on his eye. Jasper was furious. He slowly turned his head to face the troll who was ready to hit him again, thinking it would distract him and Spirit could struggle free, but that wasn't the case. Jasper let out a loud roar, but Branch kept a stern face. Another one of his Deep Dwellers jumped out of the water with her front legs extended and she rammed into Branch and pushed him underwater.

Spirit stayed in silence, she stopped struggling, she didn't even move, she was just waiting, hoping for Branch to resurface. Branch gasped for air as he surfaced for a second but the Deep Dweller just pushed him back under the surface, she dug her claws into his back, legs and tail, causing Branch to wince in pain.

Spirit had enough, she forgot about the pain of the rocks scraping her body, the suffocating feeling of Jasper against her, the agonizing pain in her tail flukes. She felt herself fill up with nothing but anger. No one was going to harm her friends or family on her watch! She stared at Jasper with narrow eyes before digging her claws into the side of his face, he roared loudly and let go of Spirit. She immediately swam to Branch who was still being attacked and rammed head-first into the Deep Dweller's side. The two lykars fought for a bit then Spirit hit the Deep Dweller with her tail, causing her to back down. Spirit rushed to Branch who was unconscious, and immediately picked him up in her mouth. She jumped out of the water and onto a rock, just as Jasper and his Deep Dwellers started to surface. Spirit gently placed Branch on the ground and stood in front of him, protecting him.

"ENOUGH!!" Spirit snapped. Jasper had a huge scar around his eye. "If you do anything to hurt my family or friends again you'll have to answer to me! And this time I won't be afraid to show you a piece of my mind!" Jasper turned away, looking defeated. He roared to call for his other Deep Dwellers and turned tail and left.

"You may have one this time..." Jasper turned his head to Spirit, then he glumly swam away with the rest of his pack.

When they were gone, Spirit turned back to Branch. She picked up and placed him on her back and swam to the edge of the island, she limped as she walked onto the sand. She gently placed him on the sand and nudged him, hoping we would wake up. Nothing. Spirit whimpered, still nuzzling him. Branch was covered in bruises and scars and his vest was torn in places. She lay down beside him and wrapped her tail around his body, keeping him safe. Spirit felt tears fall from her eyes as she whimpered. She rested her head on top of her tail which had a huge bite mark in it. She looked at Branch again and nuzzled him with her face as if he was a young calf.

Spirit was reminded of when she and Branch were young. When Branch was upset or having a hard day, Spirit would try to make him feel better by wrapping her body around him to make him feel as safe as possible. She would also try cheering him up by gently biting his ears which would always tickle him.

She gently nibbled the tips of Branch's ears, hoping he would react. But there was nothing. She carefully placed her head on top of Branch's small body to keep him safe.

Suddenly Iris, Poppy and Tekai came to Spirit and Branch. Poppy let out a small gasp when she saw Branch in the condition that he was in. She tried to approach him but Spirit spotted them and snarled loudly at them, keeping Branch protected by holding him in her paws.

"Whoa Spirit!" Iris raised her hands, trying to reassure Spirit.

"What's the matter with her? She knows us," Poppy asked. Tekai put a hand on her shoulder.

"She wants to protect him," Tekai explained.

"It's okay, we're going to help him." Iris said very gently. Spirit kept her tail around Branch, staring at Iris with narrow eyes. Iris placed her hand on Spirit's head and felt her relax slightly. "That's it, It's okay. It's good to have you back, girl." Spirit moved her tail out of the way to let Iris go to Branch. Iris put her ear against Branch's chest, listening for a heartbeat. She sighed in relief. "He's gonna be okay! We just need to get him back to the village!" Iris scooped Branch in her arms, and walked over to troll village, Poppy followed beside them, stroking Branch's head gently and kissing his cheek. Spirit watched from the sand and whimpered, but soon her ears perked up when she heard something approach her.

"Spirit!" Askar cried out. Ali, Corky and Ula following behind. Spirit sighed in relief to see her friends as she walked over to greet them, limping as she held one of her front legs off of the ground. She nuzzled Askar with her head.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Spirit sighed. She looked up at Askar who had a scratch on the side of his face, she looked at her friends who were also covered in bruises, bite marks and scratches. "I'm so sorry guys, this is all my fault." Askar looked at her, confused. "I should have been protecting you all," Spirit lowered her head in guilt. "I should have kept an eye out, maybe I would have noticed Jasper following us..." The four lykars looked sadly at Spirit. "I put everyone in danger...including Branch." Askar pressed his paw against Spirit's and nuzzled his head under her's.

"It's not your fault, Spirit," Askar assured. "I don't know why Jasper wanted to attack us or the trolls, but you're not responsible for his actions." The four lykars surrounded Spirit and nuzzled her, comforting her. Askar was the last one to break away from the huddle, he looked at Spirit in her blue eyes. "Let's go to the pod."

Back at the lagoon, the lykar pod had settled into their new home. They were excited and already exploring the area. In a small corner of the lagoon, Kayla and Kotar were still upset about their lost daughter. Storm was sad too, but tried everything he could to make his parents feel better.

As Spirit and her friends limped to the lagoon, they were overcome with memories. When Corky and Spirit would play as calves in the sand, where they connected with the trolls over the time they spent there. Spirit spotted her family on the other side of the lagoon and limped over to the edge. As Kotar turned to the water of the lagoon, his face lifted as he saw Spirit on the other side of the water. Kayla turned around also, not believing what she was seeing. Spirit looked at them with an emotional smile as her parents and Storm swam over to greet her. They jumped out onto the lagoon edge and wrapped their necks around Spirit, all four of them crying with relief.

"My baby," Kayla looked at Spirit with tears in her eyes. "You're alive, you finally came home to us." Spirit smiled as she nuzzled her mother.

"I swear I am never letting you out of my sight ever again!" Kotar chuckled, trying to hold back his tears, but failing. Spirit caught sight of her friends reuniting with their families. Askar with his mom, Corky with his parents, Ali with her dad and her siblings, and Ula with her parents.

Spirit and Askar locked eyes with each other after their family reunions. They smiled at each other as they approached one another and nuzzled their heads together.

"You're amazing, Spirit," Askar said. "We wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for you." Spirit smiled.

"Thank you for always standing by me Askar," Spirit replied. "I don't know who I'd be without you." Spirit nudged her nose against Askar's then licked his cheek, causing his eyes to go wide and a smile to spread across his face. The two of them lay down next to each other, their tails overlapping behind them. They watched the happiness of the lagoon. They were finally home.

The smile on Spirit's face soon faded, now she only needed one more person back.

Branch...