Somewhere deep in the middle of the ocean, a clock of some sort drifts silently, going nowhere. Tick...tock...tick..tock.tick-tock.....A silver rose is engraved in the back of the golden plate. It chimes sixteen times, the tones carried off by the waves.

~*~At the Xavier Institute~*~

"I don’t know how you’re doing it, but I know you’re cheating!" Kurt and Emerald were sitting by the fireplace. Kurt had about three cards left by his feet and Emerald had the other forty-nine by hers. He turned over a card. 6. She turned over a card. 7. She took both cards. He growled. "Qvit doing that!"

"Doing wot?" He turned over a jack. She flipped over a queen and took the cards again. "Doing dat!" He almost shouted. He was down to his last card. A king. "HA! Ze only way to beat dat is vith an...." She set down another card and grinned. "Ace?" She finished for him. He snorted. "Ja. An ace..." He muttered as he stood up and stretched.

"Care t’go again?"

"Vat...like you haven’t proved to everyone dat your ze best player of War ze last zeven times? You’ll just beat me again. You’re no fun. Dat’s it. I’m officially disowning you for being boring and not letting me vin." He folded his arms. "So there."

She frowned. It wasn’t really her fault that she won at War or Chess every time she played. But only her best friend Rogue understood why. Kurt caught her frowning and mistook it for something else. "Okay, okay. You can be my sister again. But next time, let me vin, K?" He outstretched his three-fingered hand to help her up. She shook her head and smiled, taking his hand. They had both ‘adopted’ each other as brother and sister, and the love that they showed each other was purely sibling. Probably because they had a lot in common, especially the way that they looked. He was blue and fuzzy with pointed ears and a long tail with a spade at the end of it and three fingered hands. He also ran like a cat. While Emerald herself was covered in blue-green fish scales, she had fins extending down her wrists to her elbows. And winged fins that sprout from her ankles. She also had huge green butterfly wings with white designs all over the back of them. Her tail was also long, and it resembled a mermaid’s fin, in order for her to become a mermaid in the water. Her feet also were webbed and resembled diver’s flippers. She yawned. The clock struck 10:00PM and she flinched. She had been flinching every time the clock struck the hour, but when Kurt asked, she told him not to worry about it. A little Pomeranian puppy padded over to Emerald and rubbed against her leg, giving a little yip. She smiled and picked up her dog, patting its head. He yipped again and licked her hand.

"C’mon. Into bed, Emerald. You too, Kurt. Everyone else is already in their rooms." Logan had walked into the room.

"Alright, sir. Goodnight. Come on, Rascal." Emerald opened up her wings and fluttered upstairs to her room, carrying Rascal. Kurt yawned and BAMF-ed into his bed.

~*~Emerald’s Room.~*~

She set Rascal down and sighed, glancing around her room. Everything was neat and perfectly in order. Nothing was out of place, which is the way she liked it. Rascal jumped up on the bed, waiting for Emerald. Instead of going right to bed, she walked over to her balcony and stared down at the lake. She frowned and sighed again. Not long now. How long can I hide from them? How long can I hide from it? A strange and awful feeling instantly shot throughout her body, all the way down to her tail. She clutched her stomach and fell down on her knees. Rascal hopped off the bed and licked her face in worry. Grasping the rail, she shook her head, then let out a deep breath. Her violet eyes began to glow. She jumped off the balcony and flew down to the ground. She began to run for the ocean. Right then, Rogue was looking out her window and caught Emerald running away from the institute. "Oh no..." Rogue ran to the Professor.

"Professor! She’s gone!"

"Who’s gone, Rogue?"

"Emerald...and Ah know where she went, we gotta stop her before it’s too late!"

"Alright. Scott, Kurt. Emergency. Hurry to the X-jet, Kurt. Scott, you take the car." He sent Scott and Kurt a mind-message.

~*~The Beach by the Ocean~*~

Emerald glided softly down to the ocean, seemingly in a trance. Faint music is heard over the waters. From a distance, her figure can be seen in the shadows of the night, her violet eyes glowing. She looks like a young woman, with a long satin skirt and bikini top. Which is unusual for Emerald, who is more of a tomboy at heart. She continues to walk to the ocean. Another figure appears from the ocean, singing softly, summoning her. The X-Jet lands directly in between the two creatures. Emerald stops, but is still trapped in her trance. "I must go..." She mutters, taking another step. Rogue jumps out of the jet and rushes toward her friend. "Emerald! Snap out of it!" She turned to the other figure, standing atop the water. "Leave her alone! She ain’t yer pawn!" She yelled angrily. The figure stood there, and ceased her song.

"I can do whatever I want with the girl. You don’t know how important her powers are to me and my army."

"So you have to hypnotize her to come and join you. I’m sure she would go with me willingly." An older male voice came from another side of the waters. The voice laughed menacingly.

"Yeah right. She wouldn’t go with either of ya." Rogue folded her arms. Emerald just stood there. Kurt ran up behind her and lightly shook her. She immediately woke up and shook her head. Once she saw the two figures, she raised her hands.

"NO!" The female voice shouted.

"Wait!" Was the cry from the other voice.

Emerald shook her head and sang. No words, just an endless string of beautiful notes. The waters rose. Higher and higher until the two figures turned and swam away.

"Cowards..." Emerald muttered and lowered her hands. The waters died down. She turned to the X-men, smiled weakly, muttered an "I’m sorry", and then fainted. Rogue called to Scott. "Scott, get a blanket from the trunk of tha car. Her blood is frozen."

~*~Back at the Xavier Institute.~*~

Emerald was quietly sleeping on the bed in the medical room. Rascal was curled up on her stomach. Her breathing was very slow as her blood thawed out. She shivered, even thought she was under a few layers of blankets. She was surrounded by Rogue, Kurt, Professor X., and Logan. Logan turned to Rogue. "So, who were those creeps in the water? And what did they want with the kid?" Rogue shook her head. "Ah can’t tell ya."

"Why not?" He grunted.

"Just cause." She lowered her head and refused to say anymore.

"Vill she be okay?" Kurt was somewhat worried. At that moment, Emerald’s eyelids fluttered open. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She groaned softly. Kurt rested a hand on her shoulder. "You okay, sis?" She nodded and swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, setting Rascal down. She instantly shivered uncontrollably, but when Kurt offered to help, she gently pushed him away. "I’m okay. Really. Just a little chilly, that’s all."

"You’re a pretty tough kid." Logan said.

"Aye. Thanks...I think. I’m gonna go to bed now. C’mon, Rascal." She began to walk out, but Professor X. stopped her.

"Wait, Emerald. Can you tell us who those two figures were who tried to kidnap you?" He asked.

"One, yes I could tell you, but I won’t...and two, it really couldn’t be considered kidnapping."

"What do you..."

"Good night." Her quiet interruption obviously meant she didn’t want the conversation to continue. She went up to her bedroom and plopped down on her bed. She checked her clock. 12:08PM. She yawned and shivered before closing her eyes. Rascal jumped on her bed and snuggled next to her. She sighed softly and stroked the puppy.

~*~The Next Morning~*~

Rascal whimpered at the window as he saw the X-teens head off for school. Ororo smiled and shook her head, patting the small Pomeranian on the head behind his ears. "Don’t worry. They’ll be back, little fella." He yipped and licked her hand.

~*~Bayville High~*~

Emerald slammed her locker shut (she had to because it often got stuck) and started walking to biology with her brother like they always did. They got to class and sat down in their seats while the teacher began to speak.

"Alright, class. Starting today, we will be studying Marine Biology, the wonders of the deep. You and your partner, whom I have assigned for you..." A few groans. "...will be working on a presentation of something in the Ocean. You can base your presentation on anything, along the lines of specific organisms, famous ships that sank, even the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle or Atlantis. So check the list and see who your with and get started." Everyone stood up and checked the list. Emerald traced her finger down until she found her name.

Emerald O’Shahana............Lance Alvers

~*~Lunch~*~

"Lance!?" Kitty asked at lunch. "I, like, can’t believe you got stuck with that jerk. I, like, feel sorry for you."

"Thanks, I feel so much better." Emerald said and slid her baseball cap backwards while blowing a bubblegum bubble. She had five cards in her hand, along with Kitty and Kurt. "How many?" Kitty set down two cards. "Like, two." Emerald handed her two cards. Kurt looked closely at his hand and set down three. "Like, three." He said, mimicking Kitty. She stuck her tongue out at him. Emerald handed him three cards. "And the dealer takes one." She arranged her cards and glanced at everyone. "Call."

"Like, two pair." Kitty revealed her hand.

"Three of a kind." Kurt showed his hand.

Emerald smiled. "You guys are very good at poker. Just not good enough. Read it and weep. Straight Flush." She set down her cards and grinned. Kitty and Kurt groaned. "Ach, I told you she cheated..." They stood up and the lunch bell rang. Everyone had already left as Emerald picked up her cards. She turned around and faced Lance.

"So, you like poker?"

"Yeah, it’s alright. No one’s beaten me yet, though." She grinned. Surprisingly, he returned her smile. He leaned over and whispered to her. "Meet me after school here, okay? I want to talk to you about our project." With another smile, he walked off. She watched him suspiciously.

~*~After School~*~

She sat on the outside table, with a fresh piece of gum in her mouth, waiting for Lance. He calmly walked over, shuffling a deck of cards. She raised an eyebrow. "What do cards have to do with Marine Biology, Lance?"

"Decides where we talk about it. If I win a round of poker, I decide where we discuss our project, if you win, you decide. Deal?"

She thought for a minute. "Alright, deal."

"Alright." He dealt out five cards to each of them. She sighed and looked at her cards. "What’s wild?"

"Deuces."

She nodded. She set down two cards. "Gimme two."

"You got it." He gave her two cards. "Dealer takes one. Alright, what ya got?"

She grinned. "A straight of clubs."

He grinned as well. "Royal Flush. I win."

"Okay, you won." Even though she didn’t sound surprised, she really was. For as long as she could remember, she had always won every card game in the world. And then one guy just shows up, plays her once and beats her? She was impressed. "So, where are we gonna discuss our project?"

"The beach. Tonight around seven." She rolled her eyes as he smiled and walked off. She had a feeling that discussing the project wasn’t all he wanted to do. She shrugged. Oh well. If he tries anything funny, I’ll throw him into a headlock. She decided to make a phone call to the Professor.

"Hello, Emerald." The Professor spoke on the end of the line.

"Hello, sir. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be back till later on this evening."

"Alright, Emerald, that’s okay with me. Erm...hold on."

"Sis?" It was Kurt.

"Yeah, bro?"

"If your not back by eleven, I’m gonna port all over town looking for you."

"Yes mother." She snorted and hung up. She went and worked at her stable until 6:30.

~*~ 7:00 ~*~

It was 7:00 and Emerald drove down to the beach. She hopped out of her jeep and grabbed a few books from the back seat. She pulled back her baseball cap backwards again. Her jeans were somewhat dirty and her pigtails were messed up, but she didn’t care. She had just finished volunteer work at a nearby stable, like she always does. She stared out at the ocean. The sun was beginning to set. Five minutes later, Lance’s car was pulling up. He parked and jumped out. "Just in time to catch the beautiful sunset, huh?"

"Yeah, whateva. Um, I have a flashlight in the back seat in case it gets too dark. And I stopped by th’house and picked up some books on Marine Biology. So, wot do you think our project should be about?" She sat down and he sat next to her.

"Well, I was thinking something cool, you know like, the Bermuda Triangle or maybe we can even do the Lost City of..."

"No!" She flinched, then covered her mouth. "Erm...I mean...can we...not do Atlantis? It’s not my...best subject..." She lowered her head.

"Uh...alright then. How about the Bermuda Triangle then?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Alright." She said very quietly. "I’ll be right back." She stood up and got a couple of books, then sat back down. "I found these at home. They’re quite interesting." She handed one to him. He flipped the pages.

"Dang...these are practically dictionaries on the Bermuda Triangle..."

"Well, my grandfather is a Marine Biologist. He studies the ocean and that’s how he met my aunt, I guess. I don’t really know much on my family..."

"What about your parents?"

"Can we not talk about them?" Her voice got quieter and she tried to hide the tear that was streaming down her face. He caught the tear on her cheek and sighed. She must not like to talk about them...what if she was abandoned? He hesitated, than reached over and wiped the tear from her cheek.

"C’mon. Cut that out." He smiled. She smiled weakly.

"Dreadfully sorry. I don’t normally do this..." She sniffed, and tried her hardest not to burst into tears. "...but, I just...can’t run from my parents. They always find me." She hugged her knees and buried her face in them. Lance moved a little closer.

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"Why aren’t you this nice at school?"

"What? Uh...." That question caught him off guard. "You think I’m nice?"

"No, usually I think you’re a jerk. Right now you are being nice."

"Oh. Thanks....I think."

"Anyway, I’ll never be alright. It’s just..." She hesitated. She was usually quiet and now she was about to tell the school jerk about her past? Yep. She sighed and began. "This isn’t going to make any sense, but try and follow along, alright? I have to tell somebody, it might make me feel better."

"Sure. You can tell me anything." He smiled. And for the first time in his life he was actually sincere, and he couldn’t figure out why. He listened intently to her story.

"Well, my past could be described as a game of chess..." She pulled a small chess game from her trunk and set it up. She picked up the kings and showed them to Lance. "Each of these kings represent my parents. And the board is the battlefield...the board is Atlantis."

"Atlantis? Like the Lost City?"

She nodded. With another sigh, she continued. She took out the queens and set the kings back down. She put the queens aside. "If I told you that you were to play chess like this, without the queens, what would you say about it?"

"I don’t play chess. It’s for dorks."

"Lance..."

"Well, that’s what I think. But if you play chess, then you disproved my theory."

She smiles faintly. "Thanks. Well if two masters of chess play without the queens, which are the most powerful pieces on the board, then the game could last forever. And that’s where I stand. My parents are two masters of war and strategy and they are fighting over domination of Atlantis. And I have the power of the queen. They need me on their army, but I can only fight alongside one. But...I don’t want to be with either of them. Because after they win the battle of Atlantis....then my mother or father, whoever wins, will...try and take over the world with their water powers..." By now she was crying. "I don’t want to take over the planet...I just want to live in peace."

"But your parents don’t care..." He put an arm around her shoulder. "You have water powers?" She nodded. "Can I see them?"

She hesitated. "Well...promise you won’t scream?"

"I promise."

She sang softly and transformed back into her original form. He gasped, but he never took his arm off of her shoulders. "Wow, you look good."

She blushed, and pulled out her pigtails. She sang again and the waters rose softly. She looked around and flowers bloomed all over the beach.

"It looks like you’ve got some earth powers too. I also work with ol’ mother nature." He shook the ground in a mini-earthquake. She smiled, then rested her head on his shoulder. He blinked, surprised. "Thanks for listening to me. I probably didn’t make much sense." She said.

"Hey, that’s ok. Everyone has some sort of problems with their past. Ya just can’t let it get ya down." He smiled at her for the hundredth time that night. And she returned his smile every time.

"Are your eyes really that color?" He asked. She nodded again and lowered her head again. "No, wait." He lifted her head again and looked into her eyes. "I think they’re pretty. Don’t look away." She blushed. He smiled.

"Lance, what time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "Erm, about midnight. Why?" She gasped and stood up.

"I promised Kurt I’d be back by eleven. Plus I’ve got school tomorrow."

"Aww, come on, Cinderella. Forget about the fuzz-boy and the X-freaks. And as for school..." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back on his lap. He rested his head on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "...we could skip it tomorrow. I do it all the time."

"Well, I don’t. Unlike you, I care about school."

He sighed and gave up. "Alright, I’ll let you go. But not without a kiss goodbye."

"We’re not that close..."

"Fine. The cheek then?" He smiled at her, and she shook her head and snorted. She gave in and kissed his cheek. "Can I get up now?" She asked. He sighed, "I guess so. Only if you’ll go to the school dance with me this Friday."

"Alright, I’ll go." She said. He took his arms off her waist and stood up. Then, he hugged her. "Okay, I’ll see ya tomorrow, alright?"

"You mean you’re not going to skip tomorrow?"

"Not if you’re going."

They smiled at each other and then got in their cars and drove off.

~*~The Xavier Intitute~*~

Kurt looked at the clock for the millionth time as Emerald quietly walked in.

"Vhere vere you? It’s almost morning!"

"Kurt don’t exaggerate..."

He folded his arms and glared. "Next time, don’t be late. I thought something might have happened to you!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh...get over it, Kurt, I’m fine."

He sighed. "I just don’t vant to find you under a pile of rocks. Avalanche isn’t the safest guy to be around..."

He was tonight. She thought. She shook her head. "I know how to handle myself. Besides, Lance isn’t so bad once you get to know him."

"Isn’t so bad?! He’s vone of our greatest enemies! He hangs vith ze Brotherhood, I mean he’s...."

"My date for the dance this Friday."

"Vat?! Have you gone out of your mind?!"

"Don’t worry, Kurt. I’m a big girl. Good night." She went up to her room, followed by Rascal. Kurt blinked.

"Vat vas dat all about?"

~*~ Wherever the Brotherhood hangs out~*~ (I don’t know the specific name or place.)

"Man, you are so lucky. An easy ‘A’ in Biology class and a beautiful blonde date for the dance..."

"Shut up, Toad." Lance was sitting on the couch, very irritated at Toad.

"What? What did I do?"

"Just shut up, man." He folded his arms and began flipping the pages of the book Emerald had lent him about the Bermuda Triangle. He took out a pencil and notebook.

"Man, what are you doing?!" Pietro Maximoff looked shocked. "Is that homework?! That’s not due till Thursday, man. Have you lost your mind?!"

"I’m fine. I’m just gonna write some of this stuff down so I won’t have to re-look it up later. You got a problem with that?"

"No, I’m just wondering why you’re doing that when you’ve got Emerald to do it for you..."

"Because this is our project."

"But..."

"I said this is our project. So drop it."

"Alright, alright. But Lance, dude, something about this girl is messin’ you up."

Lance looked up, shook his head, and continued to take notes.

~*~Friday Night~*~

Everyone was gathered in the gym, laughing and talking and dancing. Kurt was standing at the back, arms folded, glaring. Scott walks up next to him. "What’s up, dude?"

"I don’t like ze vay Emerald and Lance have been together all night. I mean, he’s nothing but trouble." They stared at the other side of the gym, where Lance and Emerald were both smiling at each other and talking. Behind Emerald’s ear was a red rose that Lance had given her earlier. Kurt looked disgusted. "Vat if she goes over and joins them?" His voiced changed from disgust to worry.

"Don’t worry. She’s smart. She knows how to handle herself."

~*~Over on the other side of the gym~*~

A slow dance began to play and Lance smiled at his date. "Shall we?" He said, offering his arm.

She smiled back and took his arm. "I’d love to." He led her over to a corner, slid his arms around her waist, and they began to dance. "I still can’t believe we got a B+ on that paper...it deserved an A- at least."

She sighed. "I agree." She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Emerald?" He said after awhile.

"Hmm?"

"We’ve got a little problem..."

"Really?" She lifted her head and looked at him. "What’s wrong, Lance?"

"Well, you already know by now that I like you, a lot...especially tonight...but..."

"But...?"

"What are we going to do about our gangs? I mean, I’m not going to join the X-dorks, no offence, and no matter how much I want you to, you won’t come over on our side, so...I mean, what happens when we end up in a battle?"

"That’s a good question, I....uh!" She rubbed her head and groaned softly. Lance held her tight and his eyes filled with concern. He looked around and lowered his voice.

"Emerald!" He whispered harshly. "What’s wrong? Your parents again?" She nodded.

"My ‘ead hurts...I think it’s my father. Last time we met, he froze my blood. He can freeze the wata’s, my mother can boil them...I need some fresh air..." He nodded and led her outside. Kurt caught them and secretly ported out as well.

"Better?" Lance asked. She nodded again and sat down on a bench. He took a seat next to her. Kurt ported in front of them.

"Vat’s going on?" He asked.

"My ‘ead hurts. That’s all. I just needed some fresh air."

"So vat’s this jerk doing out here?"

"She’s my date. And who are you calling a jerk, fuzz-wad?" Lance stood up and popped his knuckles.

"Oo, now I’m shivering vith fear..."

"Boys, boys! Please..." She held her head. "You’re not making my head cold any better..." Instantly, Lance stopped and sat back down beside her. "I’m sorry." He said. She sighed and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. Kurt continued to glare. "Emerald, I vant to talk to you...alone."

She looked up and nodded. "Alright. Lance, this’ll only take a second."

"Sure thing, Emerald. I’ll wait for you." He walked back inside to the dance, but turned around to look and make sure she was alright one last time.

"Well. Wot is it you want t’talk t’me about?" She said after Lance left.

"Vat do you see in him?"

"I can’t explain it."

"He’s going to hurt you."

"Oh, so now one of your powers is predicting the future?"

"Vhy are you even dating him in ze first place?"

"Why d’you care?"

"I’m your brother! I’m supposed to care and I don’t want to see you under a mountain one of these days..."

"He’s not going to bury me under a mountain, Kurt."

"Maybe not you, but he’ll do it to ze rest of us..."

"He will not."

"If Mystique tells him to, he vill..." They continued to argue.

~*~Back Inside~*~

Back inside, Lance was also getting chewed out by Pietro.

"Dude, you’ve been with her all night!"

"What’s your point?"

"She’s gonna make you one of them goody-goodies!"

"She will not. She respects me. And I respect her."

"See what I mean? Since when have you ever showed respect to some girl?"

"Since now."

"See? You’re proving my point! She’s turning you soft!"

"I’ll show you soft!" Lance punched him into a table. With a growl, he turned and left.

~*~Back Outside~*~

"That’s it, Kurt! I’m out of here!" She yelled.

"Fine!" Kurt ported out of sight and she stamped away. Lance stormed out of the building and saw her.

"Wait up, Emerald." She stopped and turned around to see him. She smiled. He also smiled and cooled down somewhat. They walked up to each other and hugged. "Come on." He said. He led her to his car. "Let’s go back to the beach where it’s quiet." She nodded and they drove off.

~*~The Beach~*~

They pulled into the sand and he put an arm around her. "Oh, Lance...what are we gonna do?" She sounded miserable.

"Sit here and stare at each other until sunrise."

She smiled. "I mean about our friends, and my brother..."

"Is he even really your brother?"

"No. But I love him like one. He’s always trying to protect me. And what are you going to do about Mystique?"

"Mystique can kiss my..."

"Lance...."

"...donkey as far as I’m concerned..." She giggled.

"Much betta." They smiled at each other again. She sighed and glanced out into the ocean. "Maybe we can get our friends to stop fighting among each other..."

"Heh. I wish. That’s like asking Mystique to save a kitten stuck in a tree..."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I want to run away and get married...but I bet you have college plans."

She nodded. "Perhaps we should talk to grandfather about it...he’s a good man. Besides, we can hide there until our gangs cool off, but with Mr. Logan...that could be awhile. He’s like the dad I’ve never had."

"Alright, we go see your granddad." He started the car and they drove off to her grandfather’s mansion.

~*~Mister O’Shahana’s Mansion~*~

After telling their problem to Mister O’Shahana, he sat down on the chair across from the two.

"Looks like you’ve got the same problem Romeo and Juliet did."

"Erm...sorry pops....uh, sir...I don’t read Shakespeare. Last time we had a test over it on English and I had to cheat...uh...anyways, didn’t R and J kill themselves?"

Mister O’Shahana surprisingly started to laugh. "Ah young man, believe it or not, I was just like you. One of those tough guys who didn’t really care much for school. How I became an old successful Marine Biologist, is probably because of Emerald’s grandmother." He winked, and the two looked at each other and blushed. "Anyway, I don’t suggest you kill yourselves."

"So, what do we do?"

"Go back and tell them that if they don’t agree with you two being together like this, then you will leave. If they really don’t care for you, you may always stay here with me if you like." They agreed and got back in Lance’s car.

~*~Outside the Xavier Institute~*~

Lance’s car pulled up to the gate and Emerald turned to get out, but he grabbed her arm before she could. She turned to him and he leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you, Emerald." She smiled at him and hugged him tight. "I love you too." She said and climbed out of the car. She walked up to the front door, sighed, and went inside. This isn’t going to be pretty.

Lance drove back to his hangout as well. Pietro had an icepack on his black eye. When Lance arrived, he glared. "Did you have fun?" He growled. Mystique walked up beside Lance.

"Perhaps you should learn more about this Emerald girl, and exactly how her destiny affects her and Magneto as well..."

~~~~~~~To Be Continued in Chapter 3~~~~~~~~~~