The Soulpadres with the other four went to the vehicle charging station, and hangout at the convinient store to have something to eat and drink to ease their nerves. Gussie was inside to buy them, Mauro and Evan was on the phone.

"Did you really saw a wagan?" Vance whispered.

Perfida nodded. "Yup."

"What did they look like?" March asked.

"I didn't see much, the white cloaks but I didn't see a face."

"Did he... do something?" Vance questioned.

"No," she said. "No, actually, it said something."

"What?"

"Sama...? I'm not sure if I heard it correctly."

"It's an old Zumuyan language," Koru said. "We don't really speak much of it when Arions came in our island."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Perfida replied. "I guess, because of us you don't practice your culture much."

"Don't be, and we still practice our culture. The reason some of us are not like those rebels is because we want a better lives to ourselves, and that's what the Island leaders wanted too."

"Really? So do you know what does it mean?"

"It's like take care."

The Soulpadres tilted their heads with this puzzled look in their face, "so basically, it's telling me to take care?" she asked.

Koru shrugged. "Probably."

"Still... That was scary," March exasperated.

"Yeah, I know, let's just be glad that we got out of there alive," Vance said.

"You're right," Perfida sighed.

The ghosts girls were listening at the side, "is that true? you really saw a Wagan," Lexi asked.

"Yeah," Perdita answered, and looked at Lexi in a weird way. "Didn't you?"

"No, I was with my Dad when there was a mist. Wow, can't believe you've seen one?"

"Me too."

Few minutes later, Gussie carried two bags of chips, and beverages. "Here, let me help you out there, Gus," Evan offered then took one bag from his hand.

"Thanks, Man," Gussie replied. Even though, he was grateful that Evan saved them, he still didn't know how to act towards him after two years of not talking to each other.

"You okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah... uhm... by the way, thanks for saving us back there."

"Don't worry about it," Evan said then looked over the Soulpadres, and Koru. "The least I could do after... being a shitty friend."

"You got that right, you have been a shitty friend," Gussie responded bluntly.

"Listen. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry about everything, and I hope we can go back to being friends."

"Me too, that's what I wanted before but now... I don't know. I still want to leave this island."

As dejected as Evan was, he comprehended. "I get it."

"Don't get me wrong, I want still want that, just not right away, you know."

"I know."

"But visit me wherever I'll end up," Gussie requested with a friendly smile on his face. "If you can."

Evan beamed then the two old friends fist-bumped, and hugged it out. "Just tell me where."

Meanwhile, Mauro sat beside Perfida, "so how old are you?" he asked her while the ghost of his daughter watched them.

"Seventeen," she answered.

"I think my daughter was around your age," he blurted.

"I heard, so you are Papoli's old friend?" she quipped.

"Yes, we saw each other yesterday with Bryce by the way, he looked a lot like your father. Sorry we have to meet... that way."

"Yeah... I'm sorry about Lexi."

"Thank you, you know, she wanted to be a chef and own a restaurant," he babbled. "What about you? What do you want to do?"

"Well, I'm going to be scientists like my Mom," Perfida answered.

"Really? that's wonderful. Is that what you always want to be?"

The girl shrugged. "Not really, but that's what my mother want for me."

Mauro began to sympathized. "I see, but what do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you want to find that out?"

"Sometimes, but I don't see the point when you know your direction you're going," she explained.

Mauro was taken aback from hearing her reasoning. "Perhaps you're right, although it wouldn't hurt to know what you want for yourself," he told her that the girl raised a brow. "Before my daughter died, she was an apprentice chef in one of the most top restaurants in the island."

"Stellar."

"All I can say is at least she was able to do what she wanted," he added which made Perfida thinking from that last part.

"By the way, what if people wondered what happened to us?" Koru voiced his concern.

Everyone paused, and looked at each other. "I know what you mean, but I'm not sure if I want to tell my parents that we were taken," Gussie sighed.

"It is hard to explain," Mauro said. "Let's just tell the truth."

"What if... we don't have to?" Vance suggested.

"Like lie?" Gussie lifted a brow. "It's not our fault that we got ourselves in that situation."

"I know that, but it's not like we can actually explain what happened now that our proof are gone into thin air. Literally."

"So let's not say anything then," Perfida told them. They all contemplated it for a second then nodded their heads.

----

About an hour later in the Frenz Resort, Archie kept pacing around the lobby feeling worried and stressed for her granddaughters, and her friends. "Ophelia, Hector, you see, over the summers, she has been doing this mission because she can see ghosts, and with her twin Perdita," he mumbled quietly so no one could hear him while rehearsing what to say to her family. "No, that sounds stupid. Ophelia, Hector, your daughter had this gift, not only her but also me and Bryce. Oh, and we see Perdita."

"Archie?" Torrey called out to him with her husband yet it startled the poor man. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. What are you doing?"

"Uhmm... nothing," he stammered. "I was just... thinking."

"I see... By the way, have you heard from Perfida?" she asked. "I'm starting to feel worried that our kids aren't back yet."

Archie gulped. "No, I haven't heard from my granddaughters."

The couple looked at him in a weird way. "You mean granddaughter?" Ram said.

"Yes, granddaughter, singular. Tongue slipped. Anyway, I'm... not worried."

"Yes, Archie is right. They're fine, you know how teenagers are."

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Torry replied. "I know Gussie went out a lot, but this time, I can't put my finger into it, it feels different."

"You know how kids are, they wonder off somewhere," Archie rambled. "Probably, they're gone somewhere fun, and forgot to tell us."

"You're right," she sighed trying to release her anxiety away. All of sudden, Archie's phone rang. "Is that Perfida?"

The man took a quick look to see that Caller I.D. "No, it's Hector."

"Hector?"

"Her stepfather, I'll just take this."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Honey, calm down, Gussie is fine," Ram reassured his wife then he called one of his hotel manager. "Please, get a glass of water for my wife."

Archie quickly answered the call. "Hello, Hector?... Oh, yes, she went out with the boys and my friend's son... Bryce is with me... No, I didn't take Bryce to the casinos... Alright, alright, I'll tell Perfida once she get back. Okay, bye." Once he put his phone down and saw Torrey drinking to stay calm. "He's just checking in."

"Hector sounds like nice man," Torrey said in a bitter tone. "Checking on two kids that are not his."

Archie felt bad for lying after knowing that the worried woman's son was taken away and his granddaughter wanted to save him. However, since it didn't look promising that they were going to return save and sound, he decided to break them the bad news, and also ready to face the how would they react to this.

"Torrey, Ram, you see, I... the kids are..." Archie stuttered nervously.

"What?" the French couple asked in unison.

"They're..."

"Papoli!" Perfida called out loudly to him as she got out out of the vehicle with the others.

"They're back!" The grandfather was stunned, and relieved when he saw his granddaughter, and her friends were back in the resort.

"Papoli!!" Perfida ran to Archie, and hugged him.

The couple turned around to the main entrance to see the young kids went inside with smiles on their faces since they were glad to be in the resort with their families. "Gussie," Torrey sighed in relief to see her son that once he got nearer, she instantly wrapped her arms around her son.

"Hi, Mom," he said as he embraced his mother back. "Hey, Dad."

Torrey pulled away, then was surprised to see her son's ex-friend with them. "Evan?"

"Hi! Mrs. French," Evan greeted in an awkward manner after two years for not talking to her child.

"Hello, fancy seeing you here."

"Where did you kids went?" Ram began asking them then looked to Gussie. "You mother got worried sick for you."

"Ram, it's fine, they're here now. So stop interrogating our son!" Torrey snapped.

"I'm just asking..."

"Mom, Dad, it's okay." Gussie knew he had to say something before his parents argue. "The thing is..."

The teenagers exchanged glances especially Archie, they didn't want Gussie's parents to know that they were in the hands of a dangerous group of people. "We went to the Skirring Competition," Koru answered out of panic. "At the opposite side of the mountain."

"But after that, the... car broke down," Perfida said by fabricating a story. "On our way... here."

"It did?" Torrey agaped while her husband had this look of doubt like he was not convinced.

"Yeah..." Gussie played along.

"We were... in the middle of the nowhere." March followed.

"Until we... waited for help," Vance added.

"We... waited very very long too," Leyo said.

"Then what happened?" Gussie's father questioned.

"RAM," his wife growled.

"I... saw them on the road, and... I felt bad so I decided to help them bring Gussie's car at the nearest auto shop," Evan interjected. When all eyes were on him, the younger ones were very grateful to make their fake story make sense by subtly smiling, nodding, and giving him a thumbs up.

Archie released a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness... that you all are in one piece before these... wagans could get yah."

"Me too," Ram responded, and his expression became softer. "I'm glad that you kids are in one piece."

"Thank you for helping them, Evan," Torrey said to him. "And making sure they're safe."

"No problem, Mrs. French," Evan replied.

"I'm also happy that you two are friends again."

"I think it's time to forgive and forget anyway, Mom," Gussie expressed. Evan gazed over to him and smiled even when their friendship were not whole-heartedly redeemed, but it starting to be bits-by-bits.

"Well, you kids must be tired, why don't you go to your rooms and rest now?"

"I agree," Archie said then shifted to Perfida and signalled her with his eyes to explain herself while she had this troubled awkward expression.

----

"So you're telling me that Gussie was abducted, you used your psychic power to find him, but you and your friends got caught and tied up to a tree where the construction site that is Mauro's property then they brought him in too. Eventually, that Evan kid tried to save you, and you were all about to run but the insurgency caught you again, aimed a gun at you. However, there was mist, and you saw a Wagan then the next thing you know, the mist was gone, the spirit was gone, and so was the men that kidnapped you?" the grandfather questioned his the twins while also trying to process what had happened to them.

"Bingo," the girls confirmed,

"You too saw a wagan?"

"Yes."

"It... sounded like they saved you guys."

"Yeah, I know, we couldn't believe it either," Perfida said.

"It's a good thing too, I don't know what to tell you mother when she gets here," Archie replied.

The twins darted their heads towards him. "Mom is coming to Thoto?"