The first thing Measly noticed was the sky.
It was wrong.
Not dark.
Not bright either.
Just… unfamiliar.
He blinked slowly as consciousness returned in pieces, his body aching from sleeping on hard ground. The air smelled strange here—saltwater mixed with wet stone and thick vegetation he didn't recognize.
For several long seconds he simply stared upward through swaying tree branches.
Then memory hit him all at once.
The village.
The fire.
The soldiers.
His parents.
Tillie.
Raymond.
Measly jerked upright immediately.
Tillie was still against his chest, wrapped tightly in the blanket he'd carried her in before—
Before…
His thoughts stumbled abruptly.
Before what?
He frowned.
Something felt missing.
Not like forgetting where he put something.
More like reaching for a stair that should exist and finding empty air instead.
Nearby, Raymond groaned softly.
"…Ow…"
Measly turned instantly.
Raymond lay sprawled beside him in thick grass, fur covered in dirt and leaves. A half-second later the flying squirrel bolted upright too, panic flashing across his face before his eyes locked onto Measly and Tillie.
"…You're okay."
"Yeah."
Raymond visibly relaxed.
Then immediately frowned.
"…Where are we?"
Measly looked around properly for the first time.
Dense jungle surrounded them on all sides, thick roots twisting across dark stone beneath the soil. Massive trees stretched overhead, their branches tangled so tightly they turned the sunlight green.
And beneath all of it—
Ruins.
Ancient stone structures partially buried beneath moss and vines rose throughout the jungle around them.
Not broken.
Sleeping.
Raymond slowly stood.
"…I do not remember this place."
Measly frowned harder.
"…Me neither."
Tillie stirred faintly against him, making soft sleepy noises.
At least she was okay.
That mattered most.
Still—
Something was wrong.
Measly rubbed at his temple.
"…Do you remember…"
He stopped.
Because the moment he tried thinking further—
Pain stabbed sharply behind his eyes.
He hissed quietly.
Raymond flinched.
"…You too?"
Measly looked toward him immediately.
Raymond rubbed his own head now.
"…Feels like my brain's bein' squeezed."
Before Measly could answer—
Something green flickered in the air nearby.
Both boys froze.
Thin glowing strings stretched briefly through the jungle around them, almost transparent against the air itself. They drifted between trees and stone ruins like threads suspended across reality.
Measly stared.
"…Do you see that?"
"Yeah."
Raymond's voice dropped immediately.
"…What is that?"
The glowing green tethers shimmered softly for only a moment longer.
Then—
Faded.
Gone entirely.
The jungle returned to normal instantly.
Or at least as normal as this place could feel.
Raymond swallowed nervously.
"…Okay I officially hate today."
A new voice answered from behind them.
"You'll likely say that often here."
Both boys spun around immediately.
Three figures stood several yards away partially obscured by hanging vines and ruined stone.
The first was a female echidna Mobian dressed in dark robes lined with gold markings. Her crimson eyes studied them carefully beneath long dreadlock-like quills.
The second—
Another echidna.
Male.
Young.
Probably only a little older than them.
He leaned casually against a broken stone pillar with his arms crossed, green eyes narrowed curiously beneath messy dreadlocks. Unlike the woman beside him, he looked more relaxed.
Though still cautious.
And beside them—
A chipmunk Mobian boy around their age stood silently watching.
Measly noticed his eyes first.
Tired eyes.
Older than the rest of him somehow.
The female echidna stepped slightly forward.
"You are on the Sunken Demon Island," she said calmly.
Raymond blinked rapidly.
"…The WHAT?"
"The secret Demon Island," she clarified.
"That… does not explain anything!"
The young male echidna snorted.
"Means ye're very lost."
His accent hit hard and thick immediately.
Irish.
Heavy enough Raymond needed a second to process the sentence.
The echidna grinned slightly at Raymond's expression.
"Aye, that look's common."
Measly shifted Tillie protectively.
"…Who are you?"
The female echidna inclined her head slightly.
"Lein-Da."
She gestured toward the younger echidna.
"This is O'Nux."
O'Nux gave a lazy little wave.
"Howdy."
Then toward the chipmunk boy.
"And Elijah Acorn."
The chipmunk nodded once quietly.
Not unfriendly.
Reserved.
Measly frowned slightly at the surname.
Acorn.
Even he recognized that name.
Everyone did.
Raymond looked between them nervously.
"…Okay cool introductions and all but uh…"
He gestured wildly around them.
"…How'd we get here?!"
Lein-Da's expression sharpened slightly.
"That," she said calmly, "is precisely what I wish to know."
Silence followed.
Measly opened his mouth—
Then stopped.
Because he genuinely didn't know.
His thoughts moved backward automatically.
The village.
Burying their parents.
Walking into the woods afterward.
Then—
Blankness.
A wall.
The harder he tried pushing against it, the more pain stabbed through his skull.
He winced sharply.
"…Anarchy Below…"
Raymond grabbed his head too.
"…Ow— okay nope nope don't think about it—"
O'Nux blinked.
"…The hell's wrong wit' ye two?"
Raymond squeezed his eyes shut.
"I dunno!"
Measly tried again anyway.
Something about a forest.
Something red—
Pain exploded behind his eyes immediately.
He nearly stumbled.
Tillie started crying softly from the sudden movement.
Elijah stepped forward slightly.
"You okay?"
Measly forced himself steady again.
"…Yeah."
Lie.
Lein-Da watched them carefully now.
Very carefully.
Noticing too much.
"That reaction is unnatural," she said quietly.
O'Nux frowned.
"…Ye think somebody messed wit' their heads?"
Lein-Da did not answer immediately.
Which felt like answer enough.
Raymond looked horrified.
"Can people DO that?!"
"…Yes," Elijah answered softly.
Raymond immediately looked like he regretted asking.
Tillie continued fussing quietly.
Measly adjusted her carefully, rocking her slightly until she calmed.
O'Nux watched that for a moment.
"…Yer little sister?"
Measly nodded.
"Yeah."
"And him?"
O'Nux pointed toward Raymond.
"My brother."
Raymond blinked.
Then grinned slightly despite everything.
"…Yeah."
Not technically true.
Didn't matter.
They had buried their parents together.
That counted more than blood.
Elijah's expression shifted faintly at that.
Something quiet and understanding crossing his face.
Lein-Da folded her arms.
"The Sunken Demon Island is hidden for a reason," she said calmly.
"Very few arrive here accidentally."
Raymond glanced around nervously.
"…Could somebody've brought us?"
Measly rubbed at his head again.
"…Maybe."
But the moment he tried thinking further—
Another sharp pulse of pain.
Fragments flickered through his thoughts too quickly to grasp.
Green light.
Stone.
A voice he couldn't remember.
Then nothing.
He hissed quietly again.
Elijah frowned slightly.
"…You really can't remember?"
Measly shook his head slowly.
"No."
Raymond looked frustrated now too.
"It's like…"
A pause.
"…Like there's somethin' there but every time I try thinkin' about it my brain starts punchin' itself."
O'Nux snorted loudly.
"…That's a sentence."
Raymond pointed accusingly.
"You know what I mean!"
"Aye, unfortunately."
Lein-Da stepped closer now.
Not threateningly.
Studying them.
Her eyes lingered briefly on Measly.
Then Tillie.
Then Raymond.
"…You feel it too, don't you?"
Measly frowned.
"…Feel what?"
Lein-Da's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…Difference."
Silence.
Because the moment she said it—
They both realized it was true.
Something did feel different.
Not physically exactly.
But inside.
Like static beneath their skin.
Like the world itself sounded slightly louder than before.
Raymond flexed his hands slowly.
"…Okay that's weird."
Measly looked down at himself.
The feeling was faint.
But undeniable.
Something had changed.
And somehow—
Neither of them knew when it happened.
The jungle shifted softly around them as wind finally moved through the trees overhead.
Far below the island cliffs, waves crashed faintly against hidden shores.
And standing among ancient ruins beneath a foreign sky—
Measly and Raymond slowly realized that whatever happened between burying their parents and waking here—
It had altered them in ways they did not yet understand.
-------
The jungle breathed around them.
That was the only way to describe it.
Leaves shifted overhead in slow waves while distant animal calls echoed through the ruins hidden beneath the canopy. Somewhere nearby, water trickled steadily through stone channels carved long before any of them had been born.
And in the middle of all of it—
Measly still felt like the ground beneath him wasn't entirely real.
Tillie had calmed again, though she remained tucked tightly against his chest beneath the blanket. Raymond stood beside him rubbing absently at the back of his neck while trying—and failing—not to stare suspiciously at everything around them.
Which included O'Nux.
Mostly because O'Nux had not stopped staring back.
The echidna tilted his head slightly.
"…So ye just woke up here?"
"Yeah," Raymond answered.
"No memory at all?"
"Well, not no memory."
Raymond pointed toward Measly.
"We remember buryin' our parents."
The atmosphere shifted slightly at that.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Even O'Nux lost some of his casual amusement.
Elijah's eyes lowered briefly.
Lein-Da remained composed, though something quieter entered her expression now.
"…And after that?"
Measly frowned again.
Trying.
Immediately regretting it.
Pain stabbed behind his eyes hard enough to make him flinch.
"…Anarchy Below…"
Raymond pointed instantly.
"See?! That keeps happenin'!"
O'Nux winced sympathetically.
"…Aye, alright, stop doin' that then."
"I'm TRYING to remember!"
"And yer brain's apparently threatenin' ta explode over it."
"That ain't my fault!"
Tillie made a tiny unhappy noise from all the yelling.
Measly immediately softened.
"Sorry," he whispered to her quietly.
The shift was instant enough that O'Nux blinked.
"…Yer good wit' her."
Measly looked confused by the observation.
"She's my sister."
"Still."
O'Nux shrugged slightly.
"Lotta kids would've panicked by now."
Raymond snorted.
"Oh he definitely panicked earlier."
Measly glared at him.
"You cried first."
"I was emotionally expressin' myself!"
"You screamed."
"It was a tactical scream."
"That ain't a thing."
"It absolutely is."
O'Nux laughed loudly.
A real laugh.
Not mocking.
Lein-Da sighed faintly.
"Elaborate."
O'Nux straightened slightly.
"It means he screamed because he's a coward."
"RUDE."
Elijah quietly covered part of his mouth, very obviously hiding amusement.
Raymond pointed at him too.
"Not you smilin' over there!"
"I'm not smiling."
"You absolutely are."
"I'm really not."
"You got the eyes of somebody smilin'."
"What does that even mean?"
"I dunno but you got 'em."
For the first time since they woke up—
The tension eased slightly.
Not gone.
But lighter.
Measly noticed Lein-Da watching all of it carefully.
Not just listening.
Observing.
Evaluating.
And suddenly he understood something important.
They weren't trusted here.
Not yet.
That made sense.
He wouldn't trust random strangers appearing out of nowhere either.
Especially not now.
Especially not during a war.
Lein-Da finally stepped closer again.
"…You said your village was attacked by Overlander Supremacists."
Measly nodded immediately.
"Yeah."
Her expression sharpened faintly.
"…How many survived?"
Silence answered first.
Then quietly—
"…Us."
Raymond looked away slightly.
The jungle suddenly felt colder.
Lein-Da closed her eyes briefly.
Not dramatic.
Just acknowledgment.
When she opened them again, her voice sounded softer.
"…I am sorry."
Measly didn't answer.
Because he didn't know what to say to apologies anymore.
Elijah noticed that too.
The chipmunk shifted slightly beside Lein-Da before speaking carefully.
"…Lein-Da."
She glanced toward him.
Elijah lowered his voice slightly, though Measly and Raymond could still hear.
"…We don't know how they got here."
Raymond immediately frowned.
"…We already said we don't know either."
Elijah nodded once.
"I know."
A pause.
"But that's part of the problem."
Measly's expression hardened slightly.
"We ain't lying."
"I didn't say you were."
Elijah's voice remained calm.
Measured.
Too measured for someone their age.
It reminded Measly vaguely of adults who'd seen too much too early.
The chipmunk looked toward Lein-Da again.
"…People don't accidentally find the Sunken Demon Island."
O'Nux scratched lightly at one dreadlock.
"…To be fair, they do look confused enough ta be accidental."
Elijah nodded faintly.
"Maybe."
Then quietly added:
"Or maybe somebody wanted them here."
Silence settled immediately afterward.
Measly frowned.
"…Why would anybody do that?"
Elijah looked at him carefully.
"…There are people who hide knives inside gifts."
The statement felt older than him.
Too old.
Raymond blinked.
"…That sounded ominous."
"It was meant to."
"Okay cool just checkin'."
Lein-Da folded her arms slowly.
"Elijah believes you may have been manipulated."
"We're kids," Raymond said.
"Exactly," Elijah replied softly.
That shut Raymond up.
Because unfortunately—
That made sense too.
Measly shifted Tillie slightly higher against his chest.
"…We're not gonna hurt anybody."
Elijah's eyes flicked briefly toward Tillie.
Then back again.
"…I believe you think that."
The wording bothered Measly immediately.
"You think we're dangerous?"
"No," Elijah answered honestly.
"I think someone else might be."
That silence lasted longer.
Lein-Da finally spoke.
"…Enough."
Her voice wasn't harsh.
Just final.
Elijah looked toward her immediately.
"…Lein-Da—"
"I know."
The echidna woman's response came quietly.
Very quietly.
So quietly Measly almost thought he imagined it.
But Elijah heard.
And the look he gave her afterward said everything.
She already understood the risk.
Of course she did.
Lein-Da looked toward Measly and Raymond again.
And suddenly—
The severity in her expression softened slightly.
Not weakness.
Not carelessness.
Something almost maternal slipping through the cracks for just a second.
Three orphaned children standing alone in the jungle.
One of them carrying a baby.
Even after centuries of war and betrayal—
Some things still reached people.
O'Nux noticed it too.
The younger echidna snorted knowingly.
"…Aye, there it is."
Lein-Da shot him a look.
"Silence."
"Ye've got that look again."
"I do not."
"Ye absolutely do."
Raymond leaned slightly toward Measly.
"…What look?"
"The 'I'm adoptin' strays whether I like it or not' look," O'Nux answered immediately.
Lein-Da pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Elaborate further and I will throw you off a cliff."
"Aye but ye won't mean it."
"You continue gambling on that."
Raymond quietly whispered toward Measly:
"…I kinda like him."
"Yeah."
Elijah exhaled softly.
Not annoyed exactly.
Concerned.
He stepped slightly closer to Lein-Da and lowered his voice again.
"…You know this could be dangerous."
Measly pretended not to hear.
Mostly because the chipmunk clearly intended him not to.
Lein-Da's answer came almost as a whisper.
"…I am aware."
Then after a brief pause:
"But I will not harm children over possibilities."
Elijah's expression tightened slightly.
"I know."
And Measly realized then—
Elijah wasn't warning her because he was cruel.
He was warning her because he understood how dangerous the world had become.
Maybe better than most adults did.
Lein-Da's dark ocean blue eyes shifted briefly toward Measly again.
Then Raymond.
Then Tillie.
"…I have a test."
O'Nux blinked.
"…A test?"
Lein-Da nodded once.
"To gauge the threat they may pose."
Raymond immediately looked nervous again.
"…What kinda test?"
Lein-Da's expression remained unreadable.
"One that children manipulated into becoming weapons would struggle to pass."
The jungle suddenly felt quiet again.
Measly frowned.
"…And if we fail?"
Lein-Da held his gaze steadily.
"…Then we determine why."
Not punishment.
Not execution.
That alone eased something slightly inside him.
Elijah studied her carefully.
"…You already pity them."
Lein-Da didn't deny it this time.
Instead she looked out across the ancient ruins surrounding them.
At the island hidden from the world.
At the children war kept creating.
"…The world has enough dead children already," she said quietly.
And for a moment—
Nobody joked.
Because every single person there understood exactly what she meant.
-------
The path downward curved through the jungle like something grown instead of built.
Stone steps emerged unevenly from beneath roots and moss, twisting deeper through the island while ancient structures appeared more frequently between the trees. Towers leaned at impossible angles. Broken bridges vanished into heavy mist below. Strange glowing crystals pulsed faintly from cracks in the earth like veins beneath skin.
Raymond stared openly at all of it.
"…Okay this place is insane."
O'Nux walked ahead backward somehow without tripping once.
"Aye, ye get used ta it."
"How?!"
"Practice."
"That ain't a real answer."
"It absolutely is."
Measly stayed quieter than the others while following behind Lein-Da.
Not because he was scared.
Well—
Not just because he was scared.
Everything here felt huge.
Ancient.
Like the island itself existed on a scale larger than the rest of the world somehow.
And every so often—
He thought he saw those green strings again.
Tiny flickers between trees.
Gone the moment he looked directly at them.
Each time it happened, his head hurt faintly afterward.
He stopped mentioning it.
Tillie had fully awakened by now and was peeking sleepily around from where Lein-Da carried her against one shoulder.
And somehow—
The terrifying echidna sorceress woman holding ancient island secrets had instantly become softer around babies.
Raymond noticed it too.
"…That is weirdly adorable."
Lein-Da shot him a glance.
"I heard that."
"You're literally baby-talkin'."
"I am not."
At that exact moment she lightly tapped Tillie's nose.
"And who is the tiny armadillo?" she asked quietly.
Raymond pointed dramatically.
"EXHIBIT A."
O'Nux burst out laughing.
Even Elijah looked dangerously close to smiling again.
Lein-Da sighed.
"…I regret helping any of you."
Tillie grabbed lightly at one of Lein-Da's dreadlocks.
The echidna immediately melted further somehow.
"Oh no, she has accepted ye," O'Nux said solemnly.
"She's doomed now."
Lein-Da gave him a flat stare.
"You are enjoying this too much."
"Aye."
"Honesty does not make you less irritating."
"I disagree."
Raymond nudged Measly slightly.
"…Okay I know she's scary but she kinda reminds me of my aunt."
Measly blinked.
"You had an aunt?"
"…No."
"Then how would you know?"
"…You ask too many questions."
"That was literally one question."
As they descended lower, the jungle gradually opened into something larger.
The Sunken Demon Island spread beneath them in layers.
Measly slowed slightly in amazement.
The island wasn't just ruins.
It was a hidden civilization.
Structures carved directly into cliffs stretched across enormous caverns and valleys concealed beneath the jungle canopy. Bridges woven from stone and thick ropes connected platforms high above glowing waterways. Strange lanterns lit sections of the lower city with soft green-blue light.
Mobians moved throughout it too.
Mostly echidnas.
Though Measly spotted others occasionally.
Dingoes.
Chameleons.
Even a crocodile that was slightly older than Elijah carrying crates through one marketplace area below.
None of them looked particularly surprised by magic anymore.
Which somehow made the place feel even stranger.
Raymond stared openly.
"…Anarchy Below…"
O'Nux grinned proudly now.
"Pretty nice, eh?"
"Pretty NICE?!"
Raymond pointed wildly downward.
"You people built a hidden civilization inside a magic underwater island!"
"Aye."
"And you say that casually?!"
"We've had it awhile."
"That is NOT the issue!"
Elijah quietly walked beside Measly now while the others continued ahead.
The chipmunk glanced briefly toward Tillie.
"…She's doing better."
Measly looked down slightly.
Tillie had indeed stopped crying constantly.
Now she mostly just looked confused.
Which honestly felt fair.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…Thanks."
Elijah blinked slightly.
"For what?"
"Not treatin' us like monsters."
Elijah looked forward again quietly.
"…I didn't say you weren't dangerous."
Measly frowned slightly.
"…You still think we are?"
The chipmunk was silent for several seconds.
Then—
"I think bad people use good people all the time."
The answer sat heavily.
Not accusatory.
Careful.
Measly looked away slightly.
"…We ain't gonna hurt anybody."
"I hope not."
That answer bothered him less than before.
Because Elijah genuinely sounded like he hoped that was true.
Ahead of them, Lein-Da suddenly stopped walking near the entrance to a large circular stone platform overlooking portions of the hidden island below.
Ancient symbols glowed faintly beneath their feet.
O'Nux immediately noticed the shift in her posture.
"…Ah."
Raymond blinked.
"'Ah' what?"
O'Nux pointed toward Lein-Da.
"She's thinkin' serious thoughts."
"How can you tell?"
"She stopped threatenin' people for thirty seconds."
"That's concerningly accurate."
Lein-Da ignored them.
Instead she carefully adjusted Tillie in her arms while turning toward Measly and Raymond.
The softness faded slightly from her expression now.
Not entirely.
But enough.
"The test will occur here."
Raymond's ears lowered immediately.
"…Right now?"
"Yes."
Measly stepped slightly forward.
"…What kinda test?"
Lein-Da looked toward Elijah and O'Nux.
Then back toward the boys.
"To determine whether either of you have been conditioned, manipulated, or altered into potential sleeper agents."
Raymond blinked.
"…I understood like half those words."
"It means," Elijah said calmly, "we're checking if someone secretly turned you into weapons."
Raymond immediately looked offended.
"We are FIVE."
O'Nux scratched lightly at one dreadlock.
"…Aye, and war's ugly."
That shut Raymond up again.
Because unfortunately—
He already knew that.
Lein-Da crouched slightly to adjust the blanket around Tillie.
The tiny armadillo grabbed lightly at her finger.
Lein-Da's expression softened instantly again despite herself.
"…You are very small," she quietly informed the baby.
Raymond stared.
"She keeps switchin' between terrifying wizard and grandma."
"I heard that too."
"You keep hearin' things!"
"You keep speaking aloud."
"That sounds fake."
Measly barely listened now.
Because nervousness had finally started settling in properly.
He looked between Elijah and O'Nux.
"…What happens during the test?"
O'Nux grinned.
"A fight."
Raymond froze.
"…Excuse me?"
Elijah looked equally unenthused about the phrasing.
"It's controlled."
"Aye."
O'Nux cracked his knuckles lightly.
"Controlled beatin'."
"That is somehow worse!"
Lein-Da finally straightened fully while still holding Tillie carefully against one shoulder.
Her crimson eyes settled steadily on Measly and Raymond.
"The test is simple," she announced calmly.
"You will be attacked."
Raymond made a noise of genuine distress.
"THAT IS NOT SIMPLE."
Lein-Da ignored him.
"Elijah and O'Nux will pressure you physically and emotionally."
O'Nux gave a cheerful little wave.
"Hullo."
"The goal," Lein-Da continued, "is not victory."
Elijah folded his arms quietly.
"It's observation."
Raymond pointed at him immediately.
"You are WAY too calm sayin' that."
Measly frowned slightly.
"…Observation of what?"
Lein-Da's eyes sharpened faintly.
"…What emerges when frightened children are cornered."
Silence followed.
Wind moved softly through the platform high above the hidden island.
Tillie yawned sleepily against Lein-Da's shoulder completely unaware of the tension around her.
Then the echidna woman lightly bounced her once and made a tiny cooing sound toward her.
The contrast nearly gave Raymond emotional whiplash.
"…That should not be adorable right now."
Lein-Da ignored him completely.
Instead she looked calmly toward Elijah and O'Nux.
"…Begin whenever ready."
And as O'Nux's grin widened and Elijah quietly shifted into a ready stance—
Measly slowly realized this island might change their lives forever...