The Deep Caves of Oruko were not merely holes in the earth; they were the lungs of the world, exhaling a damp, ancient breath that smelled of moss and forgotten time. Inside the largest cavern, the cult boys huddled around a dying fire. Mama was pacing, her shadow dancing like a jagged demon on the limestone walls, while Kanpe stared intensely at the Celestial Stone, which sat on a flat rock, its golden pulse now rhythmic and heavy.
In the corner, away from the heat of the flames, Scooby and Ada lay on a bed of dry ferns. Their hands remained locked. To an outsider, they looked like lovers; to them, they were two survivors tied to the same sinking ship.
As Scooby hovered in the twilight of sleep, the Accidental Bond pulled him under again. It wasn't a dream it was a shared reality.
In the mental space of the bond, they stood in a field of white jasmine, the air smelling of the rain Ada loved so much. There was no Fogo here. No blood. No dead friends.
"You're in my head," Ada's voice whispered. She stood before him, not as the terrified hostage, but as a radiant spirit. Her eyes weren't filled with fear, but with an overwhelming, painful clarity. "I can see it all, Scooby. I see the day the village boys pushed you into the mud, and the way you smiled just so they wouldn't see you cry."
Scooby looked down at his hands. Here, they weren't clumsy. "I'm sorry, Ada. I thought... I thought if I had power, I could protect you. I didn't know the price was Poro's life. I didn't know the price was your father's peace."
Ada stepped closer, her spiritual form glowing. She reached out and touched his cheek. The sensation was more intoxicating than any drug Fogo had provided. It was a warmth that reached into the coldest corners of Scooby's soul.
"The goofy boy I knew didn't have shadows in his eyes," she murmured. "He had sunlight. That's why I smiled at the well. Not because you were funny, but because you were kind."
Back in the physical world, Scooby's eyes fluttered open. The cave was dim. He felt a soft pressure on his hand. Ada was awake, watching him. Her eyes were searching his, looking for the boy she had just met in the jasmine field.
"They're planning to move us," Ada whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackle of the fire. "Fogo knows the bond is the only thing keeping the Stone stable. He won't let us go."
"I won't let him hurt you again," Scooby said, his voice dropping the "goofy" lilt for a tone of steel. "The bond... it's not just visions, Ada. I can feel your strength. I think... I think we can use it."
Across the fire, Scorpion watched them, his jester's bells giving a lonely, mournful jingle. He saw the way they looked at each other a romance born in the heart of a catastrophe. He looked at Fogo, who was arguing with Lighter about the price the black-market dealers in the next city would pay for the Stone.
Scorpion knew the order was failing. The pragmatism of survival was starting to outweigh the loyalty of the cult.
"Hey, Goofy," Scorpion called out, throwing a small pebble at Scooby's feet. "Enjoy the quiet while it lasts. Tomorrow, we cross the Borderlands. And once we're in the city, Fogo won't need the fool anymore. Only the girl."
Ada's hand tightened around Scooby's. The intoxicating romance was now a desperate race against time.