Dawn broke through the sky and the sun shone against the still waters on the lagoon. Spirit and Askar were both asleep on the ledge by the far end of the lagoon. Spirit's eyes slowly opened as the light hit her face, she stretched out her body and dove into the glistening waters. She gracefully swam a few laps around the lagoon before breaching to the surface and sliding back onto the ledge. She looked over at Askar who was sleeping flat on his back, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his back leg twitching in the air. Spirit snickered at the sight of her friend.

"How majestic," Spirit said in a sarcastic tone, trying not to burst out laughing. "Come on sleeping beauty, time to get up," she lightly kicked Askar in his leg with her front paw. Askar let out a groan as he twisted onto his side and continued to sleep. Spirit laughed, Askar was definitely not a morning lykar. Spirit finally decided to leave the grumpy sleeping lykar where he was and went to stretch her legs by walking around the ledge of the lagoon. She sat down by the closest edge to the glass panels; she watched the early morning sun reflect against the bark of the trees by the edge of the forest, admiring the view. She thought about the fun time she had spent here with the trolls. Reminding herself of memories from when she was a calf, the time she had spent with Branch and the rest of the trolls, she knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye to them. Speaking to Branch had somehow made them seem closer, so why did she do it? Was it to prove that she understood him and the situation? Or was it that she trusted her friend and wanted to stay with him? Spirit was startled by Askar.

"So what did I miss?" Askar butted in, the fur on his face in a complete mess, one ear was lopsided while the other stood up. Spirit couldn't help but laugh. She shoved Askar into the water, after a second she jumped in after him. Askar's head surfaced as he shook off the sleep from his face.

"Feel better after that?" Spirit teased as she poked her head through the surface of the water. Askar climbed back up on the ledge and shook off the water drenching his fur.

"Nothing like an early morning bath!" Askar exclaimed as he stretched, not really bothered that Spirit was the one who pushed him in. Spirit climbed out after Askar but didn't bother shaking off her fur, she was a sea lykar after all.

"Think about it, in just a few days, we'll be free in the wild," Spirit closed her eyes and let the morning breeze flow into her face.

"Yeah," Askar said, but didn't look as happy. "It's just a shame we couldn't get our moms out into the wild." Spirit looked back at Askar, she never thought about that. Askar never met his real mother when he was born; the moment he opened his eyes he was transferred to the marine aquarium where he stayed his whole life. He was adopted by another old lykar at the aquarium named Coral, but just like Spirit's mother Kayla, Coral was transferred to another aquarium where she has most likely passed away. The thought made Spirit's heart ache, but soon perked up to reassure her friend.

"Well at least we have each other," Spirit smiled at her best friend. Askar smiled back.

The two lykars' focus was suddenly changed when they heard a loud noise. It was coming from the large rock wall that sealed off the back of the lagoon.

"What is that?" Askar asked, but they were both unsure.

***

Branch, Poppy and Iris were walking through the forest in the early morning sun. They were on their way to the rivered troll village to meet up with Tekai to discuss about releasing Spirit and Askar. But throughout the journey there, Branch noticed that Iris looked noticeably tense.

"Hey, are you okay?" Branch asked his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. Iris turned to the blue troll, a little surprised by his question.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Iris smiled in a strange way. She wasn't actually fine, she had the thought of Creek's scouts coming to catch Spirit floating in her head. She had a plan though; if Spirit is set free, they can find her pod and relocate them to keep them as far away from the island as possible, but that would mean going back to the training academy for another two years because she failed her task. How was she going to tell Branch? He'd be so upset. The two of them were just reunited, the last thing she wanted was to be ripped apart from each other again. Iris snapped back into reality as Tekai came running towards the three trolls on Manta.

"Tekai? We were just coming to meet-" Poppy started. Manta skidded to a halt just in front of them.

"No time! The lagoon is under attack! We need to get over there right away!" Tekai explained, distressed. She reached out her hand and helped the trolls onto Manta's back, then they shot off like a bullet from a gun.

Manta ran down to the shore, stopping just by the glass panels. The trolls gasped. On the other side of the rock wall at the back of the lagoon was a boat. A large boat just like the one that captured Spirit and Kayla all those years ago. The trolls jumped off of Manta and climbed onto the lagoon edge. Branch could see the boat better now, but when he saw who was on the boat his eyes widened. The snatchers. They were here for Spirit.

"We have to get Spirit and Askar out of here!" Branch commanded. But before anyone could respond there was a loud crashing noise. The boat had crashed through the rock wall. Both Spirit and Askar swam towards the trolls on the ledge.

"What do we do?" Askar cried. Iris had an idea.

"Spirit, Askar!" Iris called, the two lykars turned to face the purple troll. Iris pointed to the the hole the boat had made in the wall. "Swim through the gap! Get out of here!" The lykars obeyed and swam has fast as their tails could push them. The snatchers spotted the lykars and attempted to throw nets and ropes at them. Spirit and Askar dove deep into the water to try and avoid them, but they noticed that the gap was partially covered by the bottom of the boat and its propeller. If they wanted to escape it would have to be now, before the boat covered the hole entirely. Spirit and Askar swam to the gap so fast that the trolls weren't able to track them. Spirit was so close to reaching the small gap and Askar wasn't far behind. Askar suddenly felt something wrap around his tail flukes and before he knew it he was stuck, something was pulling him back, he let out a squeal of distress which caught Spirit's attention. Spirit turned her head to her friend, unaware that she was headed straight for the propeller! Spirit halted suddenly, her tail narrowly missing the blades of the propeller. She looked at Askar; his tail flukes were tangled in a rope.

"Spirit! Go before the gap closes!" Askar called, but Spirit didn't listen, she tried to snap the rope with her teeth and pulling Askar free. While she was trying to chew the rope in half, Askar noticed a net about to land on top of them. Askar head-butted Spirit away from him, saving her from the net which, unfortunately, captured him. The net started pulling Askar to the surface. Spirit tried the pull the net back down again, but it was no use. "Spirit get out of here! They'll catch you too!" Askar said.

"No I can't let them take you!" Spirit cried. She looked into Askar's golden eyes, he looked at her with a calm look in his eyes while tears filled up in Spirit's.

"Go back to where you belong, Spirit. Don't let anyone stop you," Askar said to his friend as his body was lifted out of the water by the net and he was dragged onto the boat. The trolls gasped as they saw Askar. Spirit desperately wanted to save her friend but she had to stay under the surface and out of sight of the snatchers.

"We got one!" One of the snatchers called in triumph.

"What about the blue one?" Another called back.

"We lost sight of her! But don't worry, she won't last long without her friend." The first one reassured. The boat started to turn and leave through the huge hole in the wall it left behind. Once Spirit was out of its sight, she surfaced and climbed up on a rock in the center of the lagoon. Tears started to form in her big blue eyes, she breathed heavily through gritted teeth before bursting.

"Askar!" She yelled. Branch watched Spirit on the rock. He noticed that the boat was away from the lagoon and the gap was clear. This was Spirit's chance. He shouted out to her while pointing at the hole in the rocks.

"Spirit! Go through the gap! You can be free, girl!" Branch tried to get her attention but Spirit didn't even look to him, her eyes were fixed on the boat that was sailing off. Clay arrived at the shore on top of his sea lykar, with some other mounted riders either side of him.

"What was all that noise about?" Clay asked angrily. He saw Spirit standing on the rock and the hole in the wall. He shouted at Branch, Poppy, Iris and Tekai, "Make sure that lykar doesn't escape!" He then turned to the riders, "get that gap filled up immediately!" He ordered. Clay looked back to Spirit and saw that she wasn't moving, just standing there like a statue, he glared down at his sea lykar. "Show her," he whispered to him. The lykar ran to passed the glass panels and jumped onto the lagoon edge, nearly knocking Branch into the water. The lykar then let out a load groan that sounded more like a roar, Spirit turned her head towards the lykar with her ears perked up and swam toward him, climbing onto the ledge and lowering her head in front of him; Clay smirked as Spirit obeyed his lykar's command. Branch glared at Clay in a confused way. "She's still a youngster," Clay said, addressing Spirit. He patted his lykar on the neck, "Thunder here is older and more dominant than her, she has no choice to obey him." Spirit looked up at Thunder, her head still low; her eyes followed him as he and Clay walked across the shore and back to the village.

After a while the riders finished blocking up the gap in the wall with more rocks. Spirit floated in the water by the ledge, looking sadly at the fixed wall; Branch couldn't bare to see his lykar friend like this, he crouched down on the ledge and stroked one of Spirit's ears.

"I know girl, you're sad about Askar," Branch calmly said. Spirit looked up at Branch, then back down at the water. "we can get him back, the aquarium is just over the cliff, surely we can-"

"You don't understand..." Spirit sighed, "the reason Askar escaped was because he was being transferred to another marine institute. I'm never going to see him again." Spirit's voice was breaking as tears streamed down her face. Spirit dove into the water and climbed onto the rock in the middle of the lagoon; she lay down and curled up, covering her face with her tail. Branch tried to go after her, but Iris grabbed his tail, pulling him to a halt. They turned to face each other and Iris gave Branch a look of compassion. Branch turned back to look at Spirit on the rock.

"We should go," Branch sighed.

***

The next morning rolled in as quickly as it left, Branch was carrying fish, treats and toys for Spirit as he made his way onto the shore. He stood in front of the glass panels and sighed at the sight of Spirit. She was floating near the surface of the water, her ears drawn back, her eyes were looking down. She would barely move, the only time she would was when she needed to take a breath of air through her nose. Branch placed his hand on the glass and frowned; he then tapped the glass, Spirit didn't even look at him.

"I'm sorry girl. I'm so sorry." Branch sat down on the cold stone ground, leaning his back against the glass. The test was tomorrow and if Spirit was too upset, would it be safe to do it? Branch decided to get up onto his feet and see Spirit from the ledge and try to cheer her up.
He sat on the ledge, dangling his feet in the water. Spirit heard him and turned around to face him. "Hey girl, come here," Branch patted his lap indicating Spirit to swim over to him, she obeyed. Spirit looked up at Branch, her nose against his knee. Branch stroked her snout up and down. "It'll be okay, Spirit. I promise you." Branch rested his head on Spirit's snout, moving his hand to her forehead.
Spirit broke the moment as she turned her head around and swam away slowly, gently floating on the surface. Branch sighed and decided to leave Spirit alone.

Branch entered his bunker, as he rode his elevator into the bottom of his bunker, he took out his pendant from his pocket and sadly looked at the sparkling blue gems. He was so worried about Spirit and the test tomorrow, he just didn't know what to do. He greeted Iris when his elevator reached the bottom, who was organising things that were in her backpack. Branch then sat himself down on his couch. Iris could tell that her brother was sad.

"How's Spirit?" Iris asked, Branch just sighed.

"She's not doing well," Branch replied, "she's really upset about Askar." Iris came over to Branch and sat beside him. "And her test is tomorrow, we can't put her under that kind of stress. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, unfortunately there's not much that we can do," Iris sighed, "just hope for the best." Branch frowned slightly as his ears dropped. Iris wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "She'll be fine."

"I know she will." Branch said confidently.

***

The day had finally come and Poppy had never seen Branch so nervous; he looked so tense, his shoulders were raised and his tail was almost always coiled around his leg. Poppy stood on the ledge next to him and held onto his hand.

"You'll be great out there," Poppy reassured Branch, kissing his cheek. He smiled at Poppy who was grinning sweetly at him. Branch noticed Spirit floating alongside the lagoon ledge with Tekai who was checking on her.

"How's she doing?" Branch asked as he knelt down on the ledge by Tekai.

"She seems okay, but I can't be sure," Tekai looked doubtful. She noticed Clay coming down to the shore amongst the crowd of trolls who came to watch. His sea lykar Thunder was by his side. "Good luck out there Tough-tail." Tekai ran down to the shore to keep control of the crowd. Branch stroked Spirit's head as she looked up at him.

"Alright girl, just one lap around the lagoon with me on your back and you'll be free in no time," Branch said to her. Spirit let out a few quiet squeaks before thrashing her head from side to side. "Talk to me Spirit," Branch was hoping for a response from the lykar, but nothing was said.

"Branch," Iris was standing behind him, looking at him with a concerned expression. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Branch stood up and faced his sister.

"We can't let them put her back into captivity," Branch said sternly.

"Just please be careful," Iris pleaded.

"This is Branch you're talking to, I'm the most careful troll there is," Branch laughed. Iris smiled slightly then she hugged him close. She went down to join the other trolls on the shore. Branch glanced back at Spirit, he couldn't help but notice the stressed look on her face. "Hey Spirit, are you okay?" Branch asked the lykar, she just looked at him in the eye. Her eyes looked in pain and strained. This wasn't right, she wasn't ready. "Maybe I should tell Cl-" before Branch could finish his sentence, Clay hit the ground loudly with the foot of his staff.

"Alright Branch, we're ready when you are," Clay announced. This was it. There was no going back. Branch pressed his forehead against the side of Spirit's face.

"Okay girl, let's do this." Branch hopped onto Spirit's back and knelt down, trying to keep his balance. Spirit started to swim on the surface down the length of the ledge, keeping her head and back above the water's surface and swimming slowly and gently to keep Branch steady on her back.
In the crowd, lots of the younger trolls, rivered and music, were standing right in front of the glass, patting it to try signal Spirit to come closer to them. Tekai and Iris noticed this.

"Hey guys, could you not smack the glass like that? It can make Spirit very distressed," Iris said nicely to the young trolls. The little trolls didn't answer, they just smiled at Iris and turned back to admiring Spirit. Tekai then gave Iris the 'hopefully the message gets through to them' look.

Spirit started to swim passed the glass panels still with Branch on her back. Her head was under the water but her back was still on the surface. The trolls looked in awe at her and the troll children squealed in excitement as she swam. Spirit's eyes glanced at the crowd of trolls watching her through the glass, she tried ignoring them, focusing on the task at hand; she just needed to swim one lap around the lagoon and then she'll be free, she closed her eyes and just focused on her movement, she wanted to keep Branch balanced; slowly moving her tail up and down, feeling the water stream through her flukes. A loud bang caught Spirit's ear, she looked back at the glass panel and saw the kids hitting the glass again. She started to get agitated. She started to shake her head violently. Branch was confused about Spirit's strange behavior and placed his hand on the back of her head, trying to calm her down.
The bangs got louder, she tried to keep herself together. They reminded her of that day, what she did to that trainer started out just like this. She kept on shaking her head, trying to get the thoughts out of her mind, but it was useless. That day was the reason she was being chased by the snatchers and started with her mom getting taken away from her; first her and now Askar. She couldn't do this.
Branch was holding onto Spirit for dear life, she wouldn't stop thrashing around, the worst part was that Branch had no idea why she was acting like this. He climbed up onto the back of Spirit neck and tried to stroke her head. Spirit suddenly thrashed her head to the side, throwing Branch off of her head and splashing him into the water. Spirit then turned to the glass, staring at the crowd; she swam fast, hitting straight into it. She dragged her body along the glass, causing the crowd of trolls to scream in fear and run away further up the shore. Iris, Poppy and Tekai knew that Branch was in trouble, they ran to the lagoon edge, calling Branch's name.

"Branch! You've got to get out of there!" Iris shouted out to him. Branch swam as fast as he could to land. Before he could reach the ledge, Spirit surfaced next to him and rammed her head into his body, forcing him underwater. Iris and Poppy gasped sharply.

"She's attacking him! Archers get ready!" Clay commanded. The archers held their bows and arrows in hand, waiting. There was complete silence. Everyone was waiting, hoping for Branch to surface.
Branch burst through the water, gasping for air. He was panting, but didn't even try to swim away.

"Branch, come to the ledge. We'll pull you out with our hair." Poppy called out, sighing shakily with relief to see that Branch was alright. Branch didn't obey, he just shook his head, he was staring at the water, his eyes filled with fear.

"She's got a hold of me," Branch whimpered. Tekai jumped off the rock leading to the ledge and peered through the glass panels. Her eyes went wide. Spirit was underneath Branch with his tail in her jaws.

"Archers!" Clay ordered. They all pulled their arrows into their bows, ready to shoot. Branch immediately stopped them.

"No, no, don't!" Branch commanded, "you'll scare her." Branch carefully patted Spirit's head, trying to ease her. Spirit lifted her head to the surface, still biting Branch's tail, her pupils were slitted. "It's okay, girl. You're alright." Branch slowly ran his hand from Spirit's head to the side of her snout. Spirit bit down harder on Branch's tail causing him to wince sharply, he tried so hard not to cry out in pain. "It's alright, Spirit," Branch said calmly, not wanting to startle the lykar. "You're not a monster, you're just feeling scared. But you need to let go of me." Branch grabbed his tail in his hand and tried pulling it away from Spirit's teeth, but that just caused her to clamp down on his tail even harder. Branch couldn't help but cry in pain, his teeth were clenched and his fists were balled up. Spirit's slitted eyes looked up at Branch and dilated when she saw how much pain Branch was in. What was she doing? What was wrong with her? She let Branch's tail out of her jaws, without hesitation Branch swam with all his might back to the ledge, Poppy and Iris helped him up onto the rock, but he immediately collapsed from exhaustion, he was shaking and breathing heavily.

"It's alright Branch, you're safe now," Poppy whispered in Branch's ear then kissing his cheek, she stroked his shaking shoulders and down his back. Iris inspected Branch's injured tail, there were three large teeth marks embedded into it, it was bleeding and the blue skin around it was staining red.

"We need to get a doctor over here!" Iris cried, "he's hurt!" She turned to her little brother and helped Poppy comfort him. Spirit watched sadly from the water at Branch.

"What have I done?" Spirit was filled with guilt, tears starting to form in her eyes, "I never meant to hurt him." She climbed onto a nearby rock and watched as Dr Plum and Olive checked Branch's tail; she heard him whimpering in pain as they tried to bandage it and also heard them mention about taking Branch to the hospital. How could she have let herself hurt her friend? "I'm a monster," she whimpered, pointing her head to the ground and closing her eyes, letting her tears run down her snout.
Clay pointed his sea lykar to Spirit, Thunder jumped over the glass, diving in to the water and pinning Spirit down as he jumped up onto the rock. Spirit thrashed, trying to get Thunder off of her. The riders threw ropes around her neck and pulled her to the small pen on the other side of the lagoon. Branch noticed them pulling Spirit and tried to get up to stop them.

"Stop! Don't hurt her!" Branch cried as he struggled to get up. "No! Leave her alone!" The doctor managed to get Branch to sit down again and draped a towel around his body. Branch watched in disbelief as Spirit was fitted with a muzzle, she squealed and barked in fear and distress.
The heart wrenching noises that Spirit was making distracted Branch from the shooting pain in his tail, only one question was running through his mind.

"What happened to you, Spirit?" He asked himself as the doctors helped him stand up, they wrapped Branch's arms around their own shoulders to keep him supported and walked him off the ledge. Branch watched Spirit getting shoved into the the small pen, trying to force himself to look away.