"Look, Neville, they're taking my father there, and you're the only person who knows where it is," John B explained once they'd reached calmer waters. "Neville, they're going to kill him unless you help us.'

Neville sighed. "They're going after the gold?"

"Yeah, what else are they going to be going after?" JJ asked.

"Then they'll die anyway," Neville said plainly.

Elora frowned. "That's a pretty negative way to look at it."

"You say negative, I say truthful," said Neville. "They will die, unless they can pass the test, which they won't if they can't translate the idol. You know the story."

All three of them looked at each other, frowning.

"No," JJ finally said.

Neville sighed. "El Dorado was found by a Guajiro king, and when it came for him to slip his mortal coil and meet my greats on the astral plane, he wasn't just going to give the gold to his sons. It was the source of his power. It had to go to the wisest man, and to ensure this actually happened, he set up the test of the gnomon."

"A test?" Elora frowned. "There's a test now?"

"There's always a test," John B replied.

"Whoever passes the test gains access to the gold," said Neville. "You fail the test, you die. If you somehow gain access to the gold without taking the test, then you die."

"Great, uh- he's lying, right?" JJ frowned, facing the other two.  "Cause there's no way that's actually gonna happen, right?"

"Tell that to the crew of the San Jose and the Royal Merchant," Neville shot back.

"We don't want the gold, Neville," said John B.

"Well-" JJ started but Elora stamped on his foot.

"I just wanna save my dad," JB finished desperately.

Neville sighed, looking to JJ. "Take the wheel."

"Yes, sir," JJ said, jumping in. Elora sighed, watching Neville retrieve pencil and paper to illustrate his point.

"You must go to the port of Tres Rocas," he started, making a map. "From there, find ferry passage from a river guide called Jose. He will take you up the Orinoco to El Tosoro.  It is there. In the bush, you will find a site."

"Guess we back in the G-game?" JJ asked from the wheel.

Elora nodded, murmuring. "Hell yeah."

"Make yourself pure of heart, pure of mind," said Neville, looking to John B.  "You are there to save your father. The gold kills everyone. Move over," he added to JJ, taking back his spot at the wheel.

"Yes, sir."

Elora bit her lip, watching as Neville took the wheel back up again, steering the boat.

She didn't want to die.

But she also couldn't help wanting the gold, either.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

This was decidedly hell, Tyler thought, as he entered the Carrera's anniversary party with a brand new dry cleaned shirt on, his mom and his brother by his side.

"Okay," his mom told him, smiling up at him as if she wasn't the one forcing him to be like this. "Be good tonight, alright? Try and do a bit of socialising."

"Yeah," Tyler nodded, clenching his jaw, as Topper gave him a pat on the back and went off on his own way.

He saw Sarah and Kie across the way and made a beeline for them, given the fact that they were the only two here he wanted to look at, let alone speak to.

"Hey," he said as he approached them, seeing their long faces. "What's wrong?"

Sarah bit her lip before disclosing to him. "Ward's back."

Tyler's eyes widened. "What?"

"He tricked me with that message," Sarah said, referring to one she got from 'Wheezie' earlier. "He told me he wanted to make amends and-" her eyes widened as they caught sight of something in the near distance. "Oh shit, Topper's here."

"Yeah, no shit, how'd you think I'm here?" Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Well, I didn't really think, I-"

"It's not a big deal," Kie spoke up. "I'll keep him away."

"Yeah, and I'd rather cut off my own arm than speak to him tonight, so-"

"Tyler!"

Shit.

Ruthie Gordon was standing right there, dressed in a short black dress, hair all curled, makeup all done, smiling up at him. Or more like smirking.

He wanted to run. To get out of here. To get back to Elora and tell her that she was the love of his life and kiss her and-

"Hey, Ruthie," and knew he couldn't do that, so he just smiled down at the girl, trying to make her believe he actually wanted her.

"Do you wanna dance?"

𔓘𔓘𔓘

"So here's the gameplan," John B said as they moored up the HMS Pogue at the dock near where the Carreras were having their party, the sounds of music floating out towards them. "We go get the girls, go find Pope and Cleo, get down to South America as soon as possible, cool?"

"Yeah," Elora nodded, all for cutting Tyler out the plan completely. Bigger share for her, she guessed.

"Seems a bit vague, though, I gotta say John B," said JJ. "Also, I don't got a passport, dog."

"I think I do," Elora shrugged. "But it's probably out of date."

"Okay, look, don't bore me with the details, alright?" John B said, hopping out of the boat. "We'll figure that out later, alright?"

JJ's gaze suddenly flipped to across the water, to where they could clearly see Mike and Anna Carrera.

"Hey, look at me," John B said. "Gonna get Sarah, gonna get Kie, little rendezvous mission. Elle, you stay here with the boat, then when we get back, we get outta here."

"Look, the other day, Mike and I kinda got into a tiff, alright?" JJ said. "And if I go over there right now, and he sees me? He's not gonna let Kiara out of his sight, boom. Mission blown, we're not gonna get to South America-"

"JJ, it's fine, just don't get seen," Elora said, looking at the boy. "It's okay."

"You're right," nodded JJ. "I'll stay here, you go get her."

"No, no, no, Jayj, that's not what I was saying-"

"Yeah, I'll stay right here, I got your six, I'll keep her running-"

"No, JJ, okay?" Elora said, tone firm as she looked at him. "Go get your girl, okay?"

JJ frowned. "See, the way that you say that sounds-"

"Shut up, just go," Elora said, managing to convince him to get off the boat and join John B, walking along the dock.

"Good luck!" She called after them, sighing slightly.

If only she knew what was to come.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

She felt wrong, in his arms.

Ruthie felt all wrong.

Sure, Tyler was dancing with her, and he was managing, but he didn't feel right.

And all he could think about was Elora, and a dark night on Poguelandia the two of them once shared.

It was dark, and there was no light apart from the dull glow of the moon and the embers of the fire, which were burning low.

Six Pogues were asleep. Two were awake.

Two by the names of Tyler Thornton and Elora Easton.

"Elle?" Tyler frowned as he saw the girl, his girl, sit up, her red hair being illuminated by the moonlight.

Elora's head snapped round to his and she frowned, seeing his blonde hair, his open eyes. "Ty?"

Tyler smiled slightly, asking. "You alright?"

She sighed heavily. "Can't sleep."

Tyler sighed before a smile floated onto his face, being fully formed by the time he sat up, looking at her. "D'you wanna get outta here?"

Elora chuckled weakly, shaking her head. "You do know we're on a deserted island, right? There's nowhere to escape to."

"I mean, do you wanna get out of this godforsaken shelter?" He rephrased.

"Hey," Elora giggled. "JB and Sarah spent a lot of time making this, don't disrespect them like that."

"Shut up," Tyler advised her, standing up before he leaned down and offered her a hand. "Care to join me, Miss Easton?"

Elora shrugged. "Depends on what you have to offer, Mr Thornton."

Bullshit. Cause she'd always follow him, no matter where he was headed.

They ended up walking along the beach, a warm breeze on their backs and the beautiful view of the sea on one side. Their hands stayed connected the whole time, fingers interlocked, palms pressed together. Tyler loved every single second.

"Hey," Elora said as she turned to him, eyes bright. "Do you wanna go swimming?"

Tyler chuckled slightly, saying. "Midnight swimming? How can I say no?"

"Come on!" She'd whipped her top off in no time, leaving her in her shorts and bra as she waited for him to do the same. Tyler allowed his eyes to shamelessly wander her body for a second, wondering how a girl could be this fucking beautiful.

After he'd stripped into just his boxers, the two ran into the water, giggling and laughing and just really happy. Tyler had the time of his life as he splashed her, hearing her screams of giggles and frankly wondering how the others didn't wake up.

Elle gave as good as she got, splashing and shoving him into the water, her whole body filled with more happiness than ever.

Eventually, when they got too cold for the water, they left it, and went back to put their clothes on, which they'd left on the shore.

"Hey," Tyler said, noticing the redhead was wracked with shivers as she put her tiny top back on. "You're cold."

"I'm fine," Elle shrugged off.

"No," Tyler said, handing her his t-shirt without a second thought. "Here, take this."

"It's fine, Tyler-"

"Elle," he said meaningfully, making her look at him, her blue eyes the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in the world. "Take it."

Elora sighed, rolling her eyes as she took the t-shirt and lifted it over her head.

And listen, the sight of her in bikinis and crops tops was more than amazing, but the sight of her in his clothes? He could die happy now.

"Do you wanna dance?" He asked, his mind suddenly overtaken with another idea.

"Dance?" Elora asked, raising her eyebrows. "There's no music."

"Who cares?" Tyler asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her into him, his arms wrapping around her waist and hers coming up to encapsulate his neck.

And there, in the darkness in the middle of nowhere on some deserted island, Tyler realised that there wasn't going to be anyone else after this girl. She was it for him. She was the love of his life, and he'd be damned if he ever let her go.

"What?" Elle asked, looking up at him with wonder in her eyes.

He looked down at her, his eyes filled with awe and wonder and happiness and love.

Then he said. "You're the love of my life, Elle."

This seemed to take her by surprise, and she just stared up at him, continuing to dance with him. She didn't want to ruin the moment, he could tell, but she also did want to say something.

So she just reached up and kissed him, instead.

But later, when they were falling back asleep atop their cliff after some lazy stargazing, she turned to him, their faces inches from each other, and whispered. "You're the love of my life too, Ty."

"Hey," Ruthie's voice pulled him from the memory, his eyes returning to hers as she smiled. "You okay?"

Tyler sighed, nodding as he tried to smile himself. "Yeah, I'm fine."

(But he wasn't. He'd let her go. He'd failed her. He wasn't ever going to get her back and it would be all his fault and-)

"You know, I still can't believe you survived a month on a desert island," Ruthie said with a stretched out, affected chuckle.

"Yeah, uh... neither can I," chuckled Tyler, trying to have fun.

"I mean, what did you even do?" Rhthie asked, raising her eyebrows. "Tell me the truth, alright, did Elora make you have sex on there-?"

"No! Uh..." Tyler tried to play off his disgust as amusement. "I mean, no, we didn't do anything."

Ruthie's gasp turned into a laugh. "Well, I'm surprised she managed to hold herself back that lon-"

"Sarah! Sarah, hey!"

Tyler's body tensed slightly as he looked over the top of Ruthie's head, his eyes widening considerably as he saw John B sneaking into the party, his face dirty and his hair unkempt, and hugging Sarah tightly.

"Hey," Ruthie said, with a small smile. "You alright?"

He wasn't. If John B was here then so would JJ be, so would Elle be. And if she was here then there was a good chance she could see him, which meant there was a good chance she could see him dancing with-

"Yeah," he nodded, his smile tight lipped as he looked down at her. "Yeah, I'm absolutely fine."

𔓘𔓘𔓘

"Jesus christ, you guys take so long!" Elora grumbled.

The sky was darkening when she finally saw John B and JJ wandering back down the dock, neither Sarah nor Kie with them.

Her eyes immediately widened. "What's going on?"

"Sarah cheated, and Kie doesn't wanna go, so... I guess it's just us," shrugged JJ.

"What?!" Elora demanded of John B. "Sarah cheated?"

"Yeah, with Topper," he spat the name.

"Guys, it's fine," JJ said. "The clock's ticking, let's just go."

"I mean, yeah," nodded Elora, turning back to the party. "Let's just g-"

And then everything froze.

It was like the whole world imploded.

She stopped moving. She stopped breathing for a second. And tears sprang to her eyes.

Because just across the dock, across from her, was Tyler Thornton. Dancing with Ruthie Gordon.

"Elle?" JJ asked, turning to see the girl rooted to the spot, unmoving and unblinking.

How could he have moved on so fast?

The question flitted through her mind, a tear running down her cheek as she just stood and watched. He was smiling as he danced with her, his hands around her waist, hers around his neck. He looked happy.

"Elle?"

"Gimme a minute."

She didn't know where she was going. She didn't know what she was planning to do.

All she knew was that next second, she was darting forwards, making a beeline for Tyler and Ruthie. And both John B and JJ were following her, but JB was going in search of Sarah and Topper, not of Tyler, and-

"Elle, I know I should be the last one to say this, but this is not a good idea!" JJ hissed, running after her.

"I don't care."

"Elle, if somebody sees you-"

"It doesn't matter."

She had reached the gate now, wrenching it open as her eyes stayed locked on them, wiping a tear from her eyes as she walked straight up to them, JJ still behind her, trying to discourage her.

"Well," her voice was loud, her tone a mixture of jealousy, anger and bitterness. "I was told things changed, but I didn't think they changed this much."

Tyler and Ruthie turned, both their eyes going wide when they saw her.

Across the party she could hear John B and Topper shouting at each other, but she didn't really care anymore.

"Elora-" Tyler began.

"Save it," Elle snapped at him, looking up into those blue eyes she had once loved so much. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Elle, listen to me-"

"Did I mean anything to you?" Elora demanded. "This whole time, was it just another game?"

"No, Elle-"

"You don't get a say anymore," Elora snapped. "Especially not cause you're dancing with her."

"Um, excuse me!" Ruthie was now brought into the argument, shoving herself in front of Tyler and shouting. "He can pick who he wants to be with, and it certainly isn't you!"

It is, Tyler wanted to scream. I pick you every time, Elle.

"Shut the fuck up, you're not involved in this conversation," snapped Elora.

"You're coming in here and harassing my date, I'm pretty sure I am involved!" Ruthie shot back.

My date, flashed through Elora's mind, and she swallowed to stop more tears from coming.

She looked at Tyler, shaking her head. "Guess I wasn't the love of your life after all, huh?"

She knew he'd know what she was talking about. A night on Poguelandia where he had professed that very thing in the darkness, and she had said it back.

He held her gaze, his blue eyes guilty and sad and remorseful, but not loving.

Tyler was fighting hard to not give anything away on his face, this whole interaction, trying to pretend that Elle wasn't the most important thing in the world to him... it was hell.

"Big John's been abducted," she snarled at him him, clenching her fists. "We're going to find him in South America."

"Elora..."

"Stop it," Elle said, holding his gaze. "I just wanted to say goodbye. But clearly you feel good enough to move on without one."

She gave one more scornful gaze to Ruthie before turning, and walking out of there.

JJ remained for a second, looking at Tyler as well.

"I'll never forgive you for hurting her like that," he snapped, shaking his head. "We really thought you were a Pogue, dude."

It was all he needed to say. It was all that Tyler needed to break.

JJ turned, following Elora back to John B, who was now facing Topper, looking ready to punch h-

Supposedly.

She was going to leave it alone.

She really was.

But then Ruthie turned to Tyler, and said very loudly. "You don't want her anyway, Ty. She's just like her mom, and you'll end up in a grave before you're twenty."

Elora froze.

Her whole body game to a stop for a second.

And then she was swivelling round.

JJ's eyes widened. "Elle-"

But Elora didn't care anymore. She didn't even care what would happen to her after this.

She marched back to Ruthie, pure venom in her voice as she faced her, spitting out her words.

"What did you just say about me?"

Ruthie looked at her, scoffing slightly as she snapped back. "You heard what I said, bitch."

And JJ was behind her and he was telling her to stop, but Elora didn't care anymore, all other noises were background to her now.

So, when she darted forward and clocked Ruthie right in the face with one punch, sending her flying to the ground, screaming in pain, she didn't feel anything but satisfaction pulsing through her veins.

"Elora!"

People around them turned, most of the party guests gasped, but Elle didn't give a shit.

And across the party, she heard more gasps. She presumed John B was having it out with Topper, and to be honest, she was glad.

But Ruthie was already standing back up, and shoving her backwards.

"Elle-" JJ started, but Elora didn't care.

She grunted, shoving back as the girl tried to throw a punch, but missed. Elora took that as an opportunity to get another hit in, right in the jaw this time.

"ELORA!"

"ELLE, GET OFF HER!"

"RUTHIE!"

"POLICE, CALL THE POLICE!"

"THAT'S MY DAUGHTER-"

There were a hoard of shouts all around as everyone came rushing over. Elora and Ruthie were on the ground at this point, Tyler just watching, feeling more terrible than he ever had.

"Tyler, do something!" He could hear Kie shout, but he didn't listen, rooted to the spot as he watched them.

"Hey! HEY!" Mike Carrera roared as he pulled Elora off Ruthie. The redhead's lip was split, but that was all she had to offer by way of injuries. On Ruthie's part, her eye was swollen, her mouth was bloody, her cheek was bruised and her dress was slightly ripped.

"Get outta here!" Mike yelled at her, advancing towards her-

"Get away from her!" JJ warned, stepping in front of Elle as John B came running over, panting slightly.

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Mike roared.

"You happy, Ty?!" Elora demanded, crossing her arms. "Has all this made you really happy-?"

"Elle, come on!"

As JJ dragged her and John B away, Kie, Sarah and Tyler looked on at them, all three breaking inside.

Kie was angry at JJ. Because he'd stolen from her dad, because he was too scared to tell her he loved her, because he didn't think he was good enough.

Sarah was angry at John B. Because he'd fought Topper, because he'd kept punching even when the guy wasn't defending himself.

But Tyler's heart was just shattered. He had never meant this to get that bad. He had never meant Elle to do this, ever.

'Why do people do the things they do?'

"Topper? Topper!"

He looked sideways at Topper, lying on the ground, his own face bloody. John B had clearly got his own back on him for hooking up with Sarah.

Two Kooks had been battered tonight, then.

By two Pogues.

'I guess it's not really the 'why' that I'm most interested in.'

He turned, a shiver heading down his spine, to face the dock.

Elle was there, with John B and JJ, heading back to the HMS Pogue. Ready to go to South America, he knew, and save Big John whilst he stayed here, and played the role of the perfect Kook.

'It's another question.'

Then, just before she got on the boat, she turned to him.

Her gaze was stony, and his body shook as he held it, yet after all this time, her blue eyes were still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

'How far can you go down the wrong path... before it's too late to get on the right one?'