The reprieve from the training wetsuit was most welcome, though sleeping with similar rhythm-suppressing bands didn't help the void in Pacifica's heart.

Not to mention, being forced to sleep in a separate room from the loves of her life only served to further deflate the otter's mood.

The final nail in the coffin for the young otter was the alarm ringing loudly in her ear at six in the morning.

"Mrrrpgh…" She couldn't express herself in her usual over-the-top outbursts. Instead, she wanted to curl up and cry. Taika hadn't been treated this cruelly by Sarayul. She could chalk it up to differences in ideology and training methods, but it still sucked to live through.

Shouri, Taika, and Rebecca's smiling faces flashed through her mind. It was all for them. She couldn't hold them back any longer, and for that, she rose.

After a quick trip to the facilities, Pacifica joined the rest of the family in the dining room. Just in time too, as Taika was serving up breakfast.

"Oh look who decided to get up," said Captain Wik, also seated at the table with the others. "Mmrpgh…" Pacifica plopped down into one of the open chairs.

Shouri shot a glare at the teacher. "She looks awful," he snipped. "Part of the process, playboy. You can etude with her when she doesn't need to have her excess rhythm suppressed." "Remember what happened yesterday," he warned.

The elder otter rubbed her cheek. "Brat," she grumbled.

Pacifica couldn't help but be impressed by her Maestro. He was three for three in punching people who threatened them, though she had a sneaking suspicion his attitude may have made today's training that much more difficult for her.

Either way, she pushed her worries down with Taika's lovely home cooking. While Pacifica slowly consumed breakfast, Wikolia addressed the other three.

"I need you to visit a few people today," started Captain Wik. "We're not doing anything illegal," Shouri immediately shot the teacher down. "Oh don't worry, I just need you to send a message. Some of my people think they're above my leadership. I need you to convince them otherwise."

Shouri sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Attacking people is highly illegal," he pointed out.

"Oh don't worry, as soon as you say Captain Wik sent you they'll be more than happy to throw caution to the wind." The excessive show of the woman's pearly whites told Shouri the scope of the assignment.

"I don't even want to know what you did," he groaned. "Probably better that you don't, so at least you have plausible deniability in that case," Wikolia reclined in her chair, allowing the front two legs a little air. "Just stop talking." Shouri glared at the mentor figure.

With that out of the way, Shouri and his vixens made their way to the front door. "Alright, be good," he told the two otters.

"You think she has a choice in the matter?" Captain Wik smirked. "I was talking to you, Ms. Alana," Shouri spoke flatly. "We'll go deal with whatever problems you've made for yourself, I guess."

And with that, Pacifica was left with the she-devil who called herself Captain Wik. Rebecca took the driver's seat as usual with Shouri in the passenger's seat and Taika comfortably in the back.

"So what do you think she did?" Rebecca asked. "She's got this like pirate motif going on I noticed, so probably smuggling, thievery, or something in between," Shouri posited as they drove to their first destination of the day.

"Wait, we're gonna be fighting pirates? This officially has become badass," Rebecca squealed with delight.

"Pirates? I hope we get to see one of their ships," Taika said with wonder. "I guess I'm glad I'm the only one not excited about whatever nonsense we've signed ourselves up for," grumbled the Maestro of the trio, resting his head against the window.

The trip didn't take long, with them staying on the rough southern side of the island. Rebecca brought the car to a stop and turned it off. They sat for a moment, looking around.

"Rilevare l'intenzione, Lento," Shouri called out as his first action of the mission.

Taika nodded and focused on their surroundings, the quick pulse of mental energy radiating out and washing over the surroundings.

"Five people – one Maestro, four Resonators," Taika relayed. "None show hostility, very exciting," Shouri noted. "Wonder how strong they are," Rebecca mused aloud. "Dunno, but we gotta get them to take the first swing before we can do anything about it," he reminded them.

"Right!" The two vixens nodded.

With their plan secured, the trio made their exit from the car. They passed through the gate and up the walkway towards the home which was surprisingly well-kept given the area.

"You know, maybe I should have brought some sunglasses," Rebecca said suddenly. "Why's that?" asked Taika. "Just feel like it'd be cool as we're walking up to pull the shades off. Or even when we introduce ourselves, I can be like 'I'm Rebecca of the Renard clan'." "Oh! That would be cool!" Taika's eyes sparkled with wonder as the scene played out in her mental movie theater.

Shouri shook his head but also imagined Rebecca sporting sunglasses. Pretty cool, he decided. Reaching the door, he raised a fist to knock.

"Wait wait." Rebecca stopped her Maestro before he could touch the door. "Maybe we should be in front, just in case they come out swinging," suggested the fox. "Do you sense anything?" Shouri queried back. "Not really, but the house could just have decent shielding," Rebecca suggested.

She did have a point, so Shouri stepped back, allowing the fire fox to take point while Taika acted as rear guard.

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KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The trio tensed up – Rebecca's heels sparked at the ready; Shouri grasped the tuners at his side; and Taika's beads clattered in anticipation. The knob turned and the door swung open to reveal.

A child.

Instantly the pressure dissipated, replaced instead by perplexion. "Hey Sho, this is the right place right?" Rebecca hissed back. "Unless she gave me the wrong address, it should be!" he whispered while double-checking the details on a tuner.

The child just stared at them with wonder. They were a small thing, probably no older than five years old. A pair of circular ears sat atop the child's head, and they wore a tail on their rear that in tandem looked ever so familiar to the trio. "Thumb war?" asked the otter pup holding out a hand.

Rebecca quickly jumped to her Maestro's defense. "I got this bossman!" declared the vixen. "Alright have fun," Shouri mumbled, trying to figure out what was going on while his Resonator threw herself into mortal combat.

Pacifica sat on the sea floor. Now that she wasn't panicking about her predicament, she had come to realize exactly how deep the ocean was in this part of the world. That was to say, not deep at all. The sun still shone brightly through the liquid above her.

She had visited depths much further than that in the past. Though right now she was still in a tough spot. Captain Wik was on the little speedboat that cast a shadow above her. She had figured out how to ration her negative rhythm to keep her breathing, but it was still sapping her physical strength with every passing second.

She didn't have the luxury of a fully realized Bolla D'acqua, only the imitations provided by Fisher of the Sea. Against any otter with both, she would never be as fast or efficient. She definitely didn't want to experience drowning again, so waiting it out wasn't an option.

Alright Pacifica, she thought to herself. It's showtime!

It was a puzzle meant to stress her rhythm and control over water. That much was obvious to her. Given her stave, she tended to avoid puzzle games – they just ended up frustrating her.

But she was Shouri's Resonator! There was a bit of pride in flexing her Maestro's strong stave. Even if she was having a hard time feeling that connection at the moment, she knew it was there.

The water above was pushing down on her, probably a result of Captain Wik's meddling. Given how clear the tropical waters of the Sierra Islands were, she doubted her ability to make a clean escape to the surface.

It was only then she remembered a detail. An embarrassing one, but a thread to pursue nonetheless. When she lashed out at Rebecca before, the water struck up in a spike, pulling a ton of water from around her to do so. Her emotions at the time were admittedly a complete and utter mess.

The other time she had performed such a feat was when Shouri almost drowned and she managed to get the same effect as L'onda di Tempesta, creating a river straight to the surface.

So, she reasoned out that if she could get one specific emotion to flare up, it would kindle enough rhythm to get the job done.

Probably.

Honestly, it was a gamble, but she didn't have much of a choice. She closed her eyes and channeled her frustration into a single razor-sharp point. A sword that would cleave through the wide net cast by Captain Wik. Everything she had gone through. Everyone that had stepped on her. Every time she felt useless. She pooled it all together and pushed up with as much strength as she could muster, timed with kicking off the seabed.

And…

It worked! Pacifica flew up and out of the water! Only to splash back down and find herself sinking. Her limbs stopped working?

No… No!

She used too much rhythm and emptied everything she had! Her body refused to listen to her commands any longer despite being consumed by the water.

Fuck… I'm an idiot…

She closed her eyes, hoping her fall from consciousness would be quick. Drowning sucked.

SPLASH!

And then she could breathe!? She wasn't going to touch this gift sword and took in deep gasps of life-giving air.

"I should have let you eat shit again, but I decided I didn't feel like getting served another knuckle sandwich," Captain Wik grumbled.

"Thanks, I guess," Pacifica grumbled right back. "What was that?" the irritated captain asked. "I'm grateful for your generosity Captain Wik!" "That's what I thought."

Pacifica lay splayed out on the beach, still trying to recover from her second near drowning in two days.

"So what did we learn today?" "Water sucks."

A wave washed over to the soaked otter courtesy of Wikolia.

Coughing and wheezing, Pacifica sat up to try and deter any more water-flogging attempts. "My emotions affect my rhythm," the student tried again.

"ad-Libs are your will, your power. When your playboy pumps his rhythm into you-" "Phrasing," Pacifica muttered, hiding her now flushed face.

Captain Wik continued, either not hearing the remark or choosing to ignore it. "-his will is carried, so no matter your emotional state your magic is stable. He guides you, and in turn, you exert his will onto the world."

"Okay, could have just led with that instead of how you started it," Pacifica continued to mutter. "What was that?" Wikolia raised her voice. "Nothing Captain Wik!" "Those two foxes were trained well. I can tell it's difficult to disturb them, and even at their angriest they still control their ad-Libs. They can direct their anger."

Pacifica's eyes widened at those words. It wasn't about suppressing unwanted emotions, it was about sharpening them into a point – focusing her strong emotions into a weapon.

"I get it."

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