Pretty Much, Erdas - Chapter 2: Against the Tide

Meilin: *has saved Abeke's life countless times, and now calls her a friend*

Rollan: *talks with Abeke a lot and trusts her with his life*

Abeke: :( They'd probably be happy to find me gone... but I would miss Conor too much to leave.

Conor: ..... nyas of course!

----

Lenori: Remember, you DON'T say no to Mulop.

Mulop: Yes, I think you're right, but do I agree? Yes, I do, but I must ask me first. What do I think? Do I think I agree? Yes, I most certainly do.

Abeke: Oh yeah I see what you mean.

----

Meilin and Rollan: SHOOT THE SEAGULL

Abeke: *misses the shot because the seagull is so far away she can barely see it*

Meilin: GREAT TELLUN ABEKE YOU'RE SO USELESS

Conor: It was an impossible shot, though!

Meilin: SHUSH

----

Meilin: Don't be stupid, Rollan, the talismans can't do anything like control the weather. Obviously.

Rollan: Oh, yeah, I forgot that talismans can only *sarcasm overload* do normal things like make the wolf the size of a house.

Abeke: *helpfully* They can also great huge invisible arms, let you jump off cliffs, and temporary turn you into jelly.

Conor: Don't remind me.

----

Conqueror ships: *slowly advancing*

Conor: Oh no it's like a raging fire and they're going to destroy us and there are terrifying sharks and there's no exploding Maya -

Meilin: It's FINE. There are only, like SIX ships and the sharks can't get to us.

Abeke: THE WHALES

Meilin: *rolling eyes* Well, obviously I'll just JUUUMP overboard and fight off huge bloodthirsty sharks with my small knife on a moving, slippery whale. *does it*

Rollan: FOOLISH STUPID CRAZY LUNATIC BRAINLESS

Conqueror: EXQUEEZE ME??????

Rollan: Oh. You're excused. *throws him overboard*

----

Rollan: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? You could have become shark chow!

Meilin: I could make YOU shark chow if you wish. I could throw you pretty far.

Conor: Wait but aren't you much shorter than him

Meilin: SHUSH

----

Rollan: Whew! As long as Kalani and Meilin stay on our side, we'll be unstoppable.

Meilin: *gets controlled by Bile and goes off on an enemy ship*

Kalani: *refuses to speak to him because he's tapu and evil*

Rollan: Okay, I didn't say that as a challenge.

----

Kalani: My grandfather is so unusual, I don't think you can talk to him.

Rollan: Oh trust me, we've seen rhino riders -

Kalani: *unimpressed*

Rollan: Underground cities of ice -

Kalani: *bored*

Rollan: And Conor in a skirt.

Kalani: WOT

Everyone: You don't want to witness it.

Lord of Glengavin: *appears out of nowhere* WHAT DID YOU SAY -

Conor: HELP THEY'RE TARGETING ME

----

Tangaroa: That's a leopard!

Abeke: This is Uraza, the great beast.

Tangaroa: I don't care if it's the Emperor of Zhong.

Emperor of Zhong: *materializes*

----

Tangaroa: Racers ready?

Ngaio: YE!

Abeke: Yes!

Tangaroa: Be swift!

Abeke: :D

Tangaroa: Be sure!

Abeke: *hair flip*

Tangaroa: Be... ORANGUTANS!

Abeke: Wait -

----

Abeke: *already behind like two minutes*

Abeke: *hears orangutan crying*

Abeke: *huge dilemma because she might lose the race that she's already losing*

Ngaio: I take pity on poor human.

----

Conor: *slaps mosquito*

Rollan: Too late.

Conor: Wait HOW DO YOU KNOW?

Meilin: Busted. His spirit animal is actually a mosquito.

Conor: That makes more sense. Since no one cares about the no-insects rule.

Rollan: What?

Meilin: SHUSH

----

Kalani: You can't speak about ... THAT island!!

Rollan: Let me guess, something evil.

Kalani: YOU'RE EVIL

----

Kalani: Sunlight Island... actually Monster Island.

Rollan: Fantastic. I hereby unvolunteer.

Abeke: As you can see, Rollan, life isn't that easy.

Meilin: What if we could just unvolunteer from life?

Conor: What? So you don't care about saving Erdas and revenging your dad anymore? I thought you were going to be a warrior and -

Meilin: SHUSH

----

Meilin: Ha, since when did YOU have a problem with stealing?

Rollan: I only stole from people who deserved it.

Meilin: You mean people who had stuff you wanted.

Rollan: *all serious* No. I only stole from the bad people, who wouldn't give a meal to a starving orphan and throw it away instead. I was moralistic.

Meilin: *faints because her brain can't process the fact that Rollan just used a big word*

----

Tarik: This journey is leaving everyone hating the Greencloaks.

Rollan and Meilin: Oof.

The Ravens from Amaya: YOU RUINED OUR HONOR!

Trunswick: GREAT, NOW WE'RE UNDER SUPERVISION!

Dinesh's Priests: YOU LEFT A HUGE DENT ON OUR PYRAMID!

Samis People: NOW WE CAN'T LIVE FOREVER!

Everyone: WE HATE YOUUUUUUUU

Tarik: But we need to save the world!

Everyone: THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT WE HATE YOUUUUU -

Meilin: For. Once. And. For. All. SHUUUUUUUUUSH

----

Rollan and Meilin: *holding hands*

Tarik: ...

Jhi and Essix: *secretly shipping it*

----

Meilin: *so worried because she lost Jhi in the fog of Nightshade Island*

Readers: Wait, but your connection is a Bile connection, so couldn't you just order her to come to you?

Meilin: Stop being big-brainy and show some respect.

Rollan: QUOTE KALANI

----

Conor: Sunlight Island is too sunny and beautiful to be a Conqueror base!

Conquerors: Who says we only like dark and shady places? We like the beach, too! Stop being stereotypical!

Zerif: See, that's the problem with the Greencloaks.

----

Abeke: *goes off into tunnels to find a good path*

Conor: Hmm, if she was the mole, I could be in a lot of trouble right now.

Kalani: We're all moles.

Conor: Huh?

Kalani: We're finding our way through underground tunnels relying on super senses. We're practically moles.

Everyone: *big brain moment: technically, Kalani, Conor, and Abeke were the moles*

----

Kalani: TIMOTE! *thrusts torch at Conor and hugs her brother*

Timote: I don't need you anymore!

Kalani: ...what? What are you talking about? What's wrong with Waka?

Timote: I've joined the Conquerors. Now that I've drunk the Bile, I can make my emu attack anyone I want. *glares at Conor*

Conor: What did I do to offend you? Hold my torch and blink?

----

SA authors in the first few books: *writing down super detailed descriptions of how gigantic the Devourer's crocodile was*

SA authors in later books: *getting tired of long descriptions and just writing "huge"*

----

Rollan: Are you kidding? Getting the white conch has been so hard, I bet getting the black conch has been a piece of cake.

Abeke: HELP THE KOMODO DRAGON'S GONNA EAT ME

Conor: Don't worry, we'll escape on our boat.

Abeke: Okay, but run!

Conor: OH NO THE BOAT'S GONE

Everyone: *panicking*

Meanwhile, Meilin and Rollan: *holding hands in the canoe*

----

Meilin: *to Conor* Okay, let's do this.

Meilin and Conor: *stand on the edge of the cliff and blow the conches out together*

Random fisherman out in the ocean: What on Erdas is that?

Random whale: IT'S MY MOM

----

Tarik: NO! I won't let you go off all by yourselves to any of a HUNDRED islands. I might never see you again!

Meilin: Well, you can't leave any of us behind.

Conor: We'll be careful, I promise.

Abeke: We'll take care of each other, and we'll be back soon.

Rollan: The bad guys won't be able to find us either.

Conor: Have faith in us!

Tarik: Fine. BUT BE CAREFUL.

*a few hours later*

Kingray: Hi Tarik! I left them on that island because there are humans swarming around everywhere and one girl's unconscious, one girl's eyes turned yellow and creepy, one guy's... somewhere out in the shark-infested ocean, and the last guy's flying around crying.

Tarik: STUPID CHILDREN

----

Everyone: *arrives on the island on the Kingray*

Meilin: Okay WHERE'S MULOP I DON'T SEE HIM

Rollan: We've only been here for ten seconds

Meilin: QUIT FLOATING THERE LIKE A WET PIECE OF SILK YOU KINGRAY

Conor: Come on, we better start looking.

Meilin: For Mulop?

Rollan: No, for WHO THE TELLUN ASKED ABOUT YOUR OPINION.

----

Mulop: Rather small than last time. Also mute? Very unexpected. Did I expect that? No, I did not.

Conor: Um... I'm not mute.

Mulop: Excellent! Won't that make things easier? It will, I'm right. I prefer questions, don't I? yes, otherwise it's hard to keep track of what I know and what others don't know, and there's so much I know and everyone else doesn't know, but then it's not surprising when I know so much after all. Oh I have a question. Go ahead.

Everyone: ...well -

Mulop: Where are my other friends? Ah, good question. I think they're here, don't I?

Everyone: Is he talking to himself or to us or to his imaginary octopus friend?

Mulop: Indeed. Friends? Friends? Don't be shy. Do I think they're being shy? That certainly doesn't sound like them. Does it? Do I think so?

Conor: I agree, Rollan. Let's go search.

Mulop: For who, I wonder?

Rollan: For who the Tellun asked you.

----

Mulop: There is indeed one I would rather not see, yet she is free, free as a snake -

Gerathon: I AM a snake!

Conor: Gerathon is free?

Gerathon: YES YOU MORTAL

Mulop: There are too many warnings, but which, which is for you, that is the question.

Rollan: Um, I say all of them. All of the warnings, please.

Mulop: Well, the world will nearly end, and your crush tries to kill you many times, and your mentor will die, and Zhong will need to rebuild for years and years, and you're going to accidentally kiss Meilin when this is over. Should I go on?

Rollan: ...

Gerathon: I am not used to be KEPT WAITING -

Mulop: Do I think that is creepy? Yes, I do, in fact.

----

Mulop: Kovo can only break open his prison with the power of many combined talismans.

Conor: *guilty of Iron Boar*

Mulop: Here's my talisman so you can defeat the Conquerors.

Conor: Would my friends trust me with it? After what happened with the Iron Boar?

Meilin: *fed up* For Mulop's sake, what could you even DO WITH IT? Yeet it across the ocean to your family?

----

Mulop: I'll need to see a demonstration of your bravery. One of you should swim down here through this hole and meet up on the other side.

Conor: I'll do it.

But wait. What if Conor hadn't done it - and Meilin had done it instead? What would have happened? Would the Conquerors have gotten the Coral Octopus? Would Conor have been able to help them win the Battle of Mulop? Would Meilin and Abeke have been able to save Tarik? ...Would Shane have never stolen the talismans at Tarik's funeral?

Meilin: Okay, we'll bring the Kingray around to pick you up.

----

Mulop: *to Jhi* There is another thing I know. And I am sorry.

Meilin: What is it? What do you mean?



Mulop: You will wish you had been kinder, little warrior.

Meilin: *confused*

Everyone: IF YOU KNEW YOU COULD HAVE JUST KEPT HER THERE IN THE GROTTO WITH YOU MULOP WHY DID YOU LET HER GO AND RUIN EVERYTHING

----

Abeke: *worried about Conor* Maybe I should have gone instead...

Okay, let's have another moment of thought. What if ABEKE had gone to swim with Mulop? That probably would mean Meilin would have brought Conor to the Conquerors, and he would DEFINITELY not trust Shane enough to bring him to Greenhaven. (In fact, the two of them, Meilin and Conor, would have punched the lights out of him) And... what if Abeke had been able to save Tarik?

----

Meilin: WHAT THE TELLUN DID THE KINGRAY JUST LEAVE US??

Abeke: It was probably scared. Or it thought now we have plenty of boats to carry us off the island.

Kingray: *swimming happily with the random whale from earlier*

----

Meilin: ...it's ME. I'm the mole. *splintering apart* No...

Abeke: No actually it's me and Conor and Kalani.

Meilin: *still dying*...what?

Abeke: We navigated underground tunnels using our super senses. We're moles.

Gerathon: *so confused she forgets her line*

----

Rollan: Please! You're the strongest person I - the strongest person maybe ever. I know you can fight her!

Conor: But... wasn't she much shorter than you?

Everyone: SHUSH AND JUST BRING THE TALISMAN FOR TELLUN'S SAKE

Conor: I CAN'T MULOP'S GONNA EAT ME

Mulop: NO I'M NOT

----

Gerathon: *decides that she's going to get Rollan too and attacks*

Meilin: *just barely holds back from stabbing him*

Rollan: I'M NOT LEAVING YOU MEILIN

Meilin: *literally JUST barely holds back from stabbing him again*

Rollan: Uhhhh bye!

----

Rollan: The Conquerors have both Meilin an Abeke.

Tarik: D:

Rollan: And... I couldn't find Conor anywhere.

Okay, let's have one last moment of thought. Why didn't Zerif kill them? I mean... in the earlier books the Conquerors were trying their best to kill them, and suddenly they're just capturing them. They could have easily made Meilin kill Abeke and then even kill herself, and the Bile-enhanced sharks would have probably been able to find Conor and Mulop in the ocean. The Conqueror ships have cannons, they could have blasted Rollan and Essix right out of the sky. So... why didn't they?

----

Conor and Rollan and Tarik: *quietly sitting on edge of boat, hoping that Meilin and Abeke are safe*

Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that they don't have any grudges against Meilin. She was always the one distrusting everyone else, refusing to fight with Abeke during combat, running away to Zhong after Conor gave away the Iron Boar... and they aren't mad at her. Wow.

Well, that's what friends are for.

THE END