Hours had passed since Nightshade and Woodman returned to the Fish Farm. They waited in a sheltered hut, keeping an eye out for Poysenberry. But their friend and his new group never entered through the gates. ‘This is ridiculous,’ said Woodman. ‘He should be back by now.’

Their bags jingled as they marched over the desert plains. The sun was losing its power in the sky, making Poysenberry feel a little uncomfortable since last night’s visitor had tried to eat them. ‘I’ve been racking my brains over the past few days,’ said Shelly, ‘trying to figure something out that doesn’t quite add up.’

A gentle breeze blew a clump of matted tumbleweed between the decayed ruins. Poysenberry watched it roll to the base of a large statue of a creature he had never seen before in his life. Intrigued, he strayed a little from his new group to take a better look.

Sunlight poked through the entrance of the ruin, washing over Poysenberry and gently nudging him awake. The warmth from the light comforted him and banished most of the fear he had from the night prior. He turned onto his side and rose to his feet with a groan. Most of the others inside were still asleep, while Woodman was busy cooking a meal on a stick over some hot coals remaining in the ash. Poysenberry rubbed his eyes and began scanning the area for Nightshade. He turned around in circles but could not find her anywhere.

The Axies decided to stay the night inside the ruin to avoid running into another hungry creature on the prowl. Eventually, they wandered a little outside the ruin to gather up some sticks and dry desert grass to make a fire inside.

The Axies spent the entire day out at the oasis bursting Red Jams, disintegrating Toadies, and they even took down a Big Fang near the still lake. The sun was already touching the horizon by the time they finished and started walking back towards the farm.

After a long, uncomfortable pause, Smalls turned to Woodman and sneered at him. He moved closer to Woodman and lifted his head up to look down on them. ‘You all have three days to pay me back,’ he said. ‘Either 450 SLP or two Axie Shards each. Is that clear?’ ‘How much did you fork out for us in the first place?’ said Woodman. ‘Two Axie Shards? How do you expect us to find that here?’

The last cage was locked for the night. She could hear the keys jangling as they were plucked out from the metal hole. Her owner stood erect, swirling the key ring on his finger as he scanned the hut.

Poysenberry had never seen so many Aquas in his entire life. And all gathered in one place too. There were Aquas swimming in the stream cutting through the centre of the farm going from one end to the other, and also Aquas on the land slapping each other with their tails or throwing star-shaped beams from their heads at one another.

The air smelt of kelp as they headed closer to the Fish Farm. Poysenberry thought it had a unique fragrance to it, while Woodman started to cough loudly to make his opinion known. Both Aquas stopped them at the edge of the river, wearing big grins on their faces. The group looked past them at the farm on the opposite side.

The trio gathered in a defensive stance. Nightshade moved to the front while Woodman and Poysenberry gathered at each of her side. The blue Aqua was screaming its head off, rushing right at them, its eyes wide and its fishhook showing in its mouth. The blue Aqua was mere meters away from them when another Axie from behind the group let out a scream. A black Aqua appeared at their side — it had a star on its head and goldfish sail on its back, and looked almost exactly like the yelling blue Aqua. The group stood motionless as both Aquas charged at one another, completely oblivious to the Plants standing between them. They let out their war cries they raced across the lands and met in the middle, then the blue Aqua flipped its entire body round and slapped the black Aqua with its nimo tail.

The Bird at Miss Puffy’s right had an arrow sticking through its head, a piece of mail on her back and a balding tail with a single white feather on its end. The other Bird to her left was all black with a Kestrel on top its head, and had tiny black wings and a long swallow tail. The group moved in further, going round the side to the area where Nightshade and Poysenberry sat. Miss Puffy stopped and looked at Woodman on the ground. ‘Well, you all have already made our job easier to fly you back,’ she said. ‘One down, two to go.’

Poysenberry accidentally bites Woodman's leek tail!

The inside of the mobile restaurant was much larger than it seemed from the outside. Woodman sat at right side of the bar, keeping an eye on the front entrance and Nightshade and Poysenberry took the empty seats beside him. ‘You have any Oyakodon?’ said Woodman. The small Dawn’s eyes widened as it shook its head.

At one point in the night, Woodman stopped walking and refused to move. He turned back and faced the direction they had come from, as if he was staring back at the farm. ‘The sun will be rising soon,’ said Nightshade. ‘We should try to find some shelter at least?’ Woodman gave no response. Then after some time, he drew a long line in the sand and stood to one side, still facing the unseen farm. Poysenberry walked up closer to him and saw the Plant’s gaze fixed firmly ahead.

Le llaman Fish Face. Porque sus ojos, su boca y su espalda eran partes de Aqua. Sin embargo, su madre lo llamaba Poysenberry. Porque sin importar sus habilidades, seguía siendo una Planta. Y Planta sería siempre. Si sólo su boca fuera seria, o si sus ojos fueran Papi, entonces tal vez estaría en el otro lado de la valla. En la zona de cría. O en la puerta principal, donde los viajeros se detenían para comprar una raza pura para sus búsquedas.

The moon shone clearly overhead. Soft beams glistened on the river’s surface while a gentle breeze hummed past the three Axies. Poysenberry shivered as the winds grew chilly and the moonlight began to dull. He spied at the glowing orb, seeing a thin grey mist slowly drawing over its face. Then he heard a swooping sound in the air. Poysenberry wanted to stop and check out the noise, but thought it was best to keep walking until they decided to take their next water break.

The commotion from the farm faded into the background, giving way to new and unfamiliar sounds. Hoots could be heard in the distance and the chatter of bugs clicking their pincers seemed closer than they did before. Poysenberry had no clue how far they gone, nor how long they’d been walking. But he knew he couldn’t keep going at this pace without a break.