ray

Hurry up! It's already 13:00! As soon as we finish lunch we need to start cooking! Golden carrots must be first on the list! Trust me. It's not a real feast without golden carrots!

Where are the plates? There aren't enough plates here! Where are the bowls? And we'll need at least twenty more tables, and chairs! My thirteenth uncle's second aunt came too, and she's bringing her five little kids. How exciting!

Hey! The whole reason I came here was to cook for you! So what if I'm a guest? Are you seriously not going to let me cook? Hurry up and hand me the spatula!

Wraw!

Come here, Sandbeast.

You're not afraid of all this noise? You... like it?

Wraw! Wraw!

Hey, Jerry, look! I see Ray over there!

Oh! Hey, Ray! We're over here!

Is someone calling me?

—over here!

Oh, Jerry! It's you!

I'm so sorry. There are just so many people here. I yelled as loud as I possibly could!

After Keira and I got back from our honeymoon, I wanted to throw a thank-you party for you. Then somehow the guest list just kept growing... Still, I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Because no one here would have thought that Keira and I would end up together, after we both ran away from the altar...

Jerry... It's awfully noisy here. I can't hear what you're saying!

Can you speak a bit louder?

(Takes a deep breath)

I SAID...

THAT KEIRA AND I...

ARE VERY GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT!

Okay. I heard you that time!

Oh—and I have to say, Keira and I both think that if you hadn't been there, so much of what followed wouldn't even have happened!

That's right!

Keira and I wouldn't have ended up running away and then meeting like that! We wouldn't have gotten to know each other so quickly! And everything else that happened afterward... WE TRULY HAVE TO THANK YOU!

Ah. I heard that too!

Did I make that much of a difference, really?

OF—COURSE!

If you hadn't hijacked the truck, maybe Keira and I would never have met up! Who knows when or if I'd have my family pushing me down another path.

That is why we're so grateful to you, Ray!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HIJACKING!!!

Hijacking? Did you hear that? Did I get the word wrong?

I remember Jerry said he was carjacked. They crashed through the checkpoint and had a fight with the guard. That was all her doing?

What? I can't hear you! You're saying that she stole Jerry away?

What? It's too noisy! You're saying she jacked the truck... for Jerry?!

What?! She crashed through the checkpoint and had a fight with the guard, only to hijack the truck and take Jerry away?!

WHAT?!

Sorry, Ray, but we still have so much to do. Do you still remember where you're sitting?

Yes. Pavilion 3, near the geyser, table 12, seat 6.

Warmy will be to the left of you, and Alanna to the right. There's also a wooden crate there for your sandbeast.

Right.

Ray, you just have to try our cooking tonight! OKAY! See you later!

Sure!

Wraw!

(Happily stretches its backfin)

(Happily digs into the sand)

Now, sandbeast. This isn't your personal playground. You can't behave like that.

Wraw! Wraw! Wraw! Wraw!

You've been so hyper ever since we got back to Rim Billiton.

...Sandbeast.

I've saved up a bit of money. We don't have to work tomorrow. Let me take you out to the wilderness for a little while right now.

I know you want to go run in the wilds, dig tunnels, and play with the sand.

Look! It's right over there. I'll stay here and build us a little shelter. You go on ahead. I'll keep an eye on you.

Wraw!

Wraw! Wraw—wraw!

Sandbeast, let's go out and play while we have the chance.

Long ago I took a sandbeast, my first sandbeast, to the wilderness to play.

It was so happy, as happy as you are now.

(Points out the window towards the wilderness)

Let's go have some fun, yeah?

(Rubs excitedly)

First we'll go get a map, and then we'll find you some snacks. Then we'll borrow Lanns's car.

Let's go!

Has that girl been talking to the sandbeast ever since Jerry and Keira left?

She jacked a truck so she could take Jerry away...

She looks like she's in bad shape...

Huh? Look... she left already? She doesn't even want to stay for the meal?

That doesn't seem right. I think you lot should follow her. Don't leave her alone!

I've been following her from a distance, don't worry. After she left, she went straight to that little shop outside town—probably to buy something.

Yup. I saw her walk in there. Don't worry. I'll go over there and get a few more groceries. What do you all need?

Cystymilk, onions, cheese... okay, got it.

Lanns said it was here, from what I remember... preserved corpses, skeletons, photographs...

Here's the place. Easy.

Hello? Is anyone here? I'd like a map showing the locations of large sandbeast caves nearby.

Huh? Who are you? Maps? You came here for 'Fins on the Night Desert' too?

I heard that legend before, but that's not why I'm here.

Then why are you here? What do you all think this is, a wishing well that anyone can stop by?

I'm a pitsinker. These are my old work credentials, medical report, and attendance records… If you help me, I can take you to any abandoned mine or underground cave you want to visit.

What do you think about that?

Now that's new—never seen anyone like you, coming here like you're applying for a job or something. Alright, let me take a look...

Wraw!

Oh? You actually managed to tame that little thing?

No. It just followed me here on its own.

Followed you here? Huh. Interesting.

This is... a Rhodes Island dining card? You're from Rhodes Island?

Yes.

Alright—you've worked as a pitsinker, you can tame a sandbeast, and you're a Rhodes Island operator... If the Doctor picked you, you must have some skills. Here, take the map.

Leave me your contact. Next time I want to explore a cave, I'll contact you.

Alright. I've finished my shopping. Let me see where she is... huh? Wait a minute, she... what is she going to that shop for? Is that... an animal carcass... and is that a corpse?

No. There's just no way I can let her stay in that kind of place by herself. I need to go see what's going on! Oh this is awful!

Hey! Unhand my guest!

Wha? What now? Where did you come from?

Whoa? Huh? Where is she? Where did she go?

Dammit! I lost track of her!

Don't worry. I was on my way back from rinsing out some old barbecue barrels in the mines, and I saw her coming right this way after I got your message.

Yes, she was there with the sandbeast. I'm sure you'll see her in another ten minutes or so.

You still need four more barbecue barrels, huh? Alright. I'll bring them over right away!

Sandbeast, look over there. We've found what we were looking for.

The mushrooms and moss that grow in the mine tunnels... they're tasty and good for your health. They can help sandbeasts purge toxins.

Wraw.