Chapter One
The Arrival

I heard that you loved me, but only for two weeks
To be hopeless or not to be, I'm weak with indecision

Could we begin again on a terrible date?
It would be greatly appreciated by me

I'll wear my normal shoes this time
Then maybe you'd like me better in the sunlight

If I built a raft, will you stay with me then,
And fall in love all over again?

Martin shouted in pain as the waters roughly threw him onto the shoreline. Luckily, the (mostly) fine and wet shingle somewhat cushioned his fall, so he easily concluded that none of his bones were broken. Though, there would definitely be some bruises… He coughed up some salt water he had involuntarily swallowed in the rough ocean. Weakly, he crawled onto shore before the crashing waves could pull him back under.

Once he knew he was well on land, he went completely limp on the hot sand. Yes, he was fully aware of all the sand sticking to his wet skin and clothes, but at that moment, he didn't care. He didn't question how he came to land so quickly, or where he even was. This was the first time in hours he could properly think (despite a massive headache and a more-than-likely concussion), and there was only one thing on his mind.

Finn… Finn! My son! Oh, God... What happened to him?! Did he just float off in the other direction? He couldn't have gone far, surely! He's got to be somewhere on this island!

He sighed shakily, forcing his aching body into a sitting position. He knew he was telling himself lies. Of course, just when everything seemed like it was going to be fine, he lost his son at sea and unintentionally abandoned his wife! His stare locked onto the sand beneath him.

His wife… Minnie… Was she safe? Was she alright? He couldn't believe he left her, that he allowed himself to get in this situation. …What would she think of him now? He held onto a vague hope that she would understand, but all the pieces just fell in place so perfectly against him.

"So what are you, a con artist or something?"

"Yeah, you make it sound so glamorous."

"How about me? How would you con me?"

"I wouldn't con you. I wanna have dinner with you!"

"Okay, but if you had to, how would you do it?"

"Um, okay, you like helping people, right? So I'd get you to feel sorry for me. I'd act real pitiful."

He ran his hand through his tangled, wet hair. What if she thought it was all just a trick, that he, Martin Mertens, was the ultimate con artist, a Hider? The realization hit him like a punch in the gut, dread quickly falling over him.

Oh, you've done it this time, Mertens…

Martin never cried. He clung onto the stupid ideology that it made him look weak, but at that moment, he felt completely vulnerable. He was weak. He lost everything. His son wouldn't remember his parents and would grow up as an orphan. His wife most likely thought he was tricking her the entire time to try and leave the island (with their son, no less!). Now, he was washed up on some random remote island with nothing, save for the constant reminder that all of this was his fault.

He tried to stop himself from shaking in a vain attempt to hold back tears. It didn't work. The trauma of the past few hours caught up with him fast. He placed his head in his hand, tears starting to fall down his sand-covered cheeks. It wasn't long until it turned into a long, silent sob.

Everything he ever cared about was gone. What else was he supposed to do?

Pull yourself together, man, he told himself after what felt like hours of sitting in hopeless self-blame and itchy sand. The sun was peeking from the horizon line, slowing rising into the ever approaching daytime. He found himself giving a low chuckle in spite of himself. How did his life change so drastically over the course of one night?

He stood up, yelping in surprise at the amount of sand that came with him. Ignoring the spottiness in his vision, he dusted as much sand off himself as possible, though most of it stuck to his wet clothes. He sighed, taking off his drenched sweatshirt and tying it around his waist.

Martin looked around at his surroundings, finally able to see them properly thanks to the new sunlight and his cleared eyesight. A few paces in front of him, the sand was replaced by lush green grass. There were mountains of sorts in the distance, along with a lake more to the right. An orchard of some sort was just close enough for him to make out, and even beyond that he could see… were those candy canes sticking out of the ground?

He shook his head. He had to have brain damage of some sort; he was seeing things, surely. The Guardian did take quite a beating on him, huh?

He took in a sharp breath, knowing he had to stop that train of thought immediately. He couldn't think about those events or Minnie and Finn. Not now, not while he was in such a sorry state both physically and emotionally. He knew it would only make his mental situation much worse, not to mention that he still felt very weak and dizzy. Maybe there was some hospital near that orchard?

He could only hope as he began to walk forward.

Martin made most of the journey with his head down and his hands in his pockets.

At first, looking around at the scenery seemed like a great way to distract himself from all of his existing problems, but he quickly figured out even his current issues ruined something as simple as that. In the lake, he saw what looked to be some mythical water sprites from a children's book he'd read to Finn, and he could've sworn he saw a pig and an elephant eating pie in that house near the orchard. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. He had to be hallucinating. Thus, in order to try and control it, he just stared at the ground. At least that just stayed green the entire time and didn't grow a face.

He didn't know when he stopped, though if he had to guess it was probably around noon, maybe a little before then. Nevertheless, he decided to take refuge under one of the apple trees on the outer edge of the orchard. He used a considerable amount of strength to shake down a few apples, but it was worth it, because they were probably the best apples he had ever tasted.

He leaned his head against the tree, looking out into the distance. Near a multitude of apple trees were tall, thin trees with pink leaves. Martin furrowed his brow. Were they apple trees that hadn't blossomed yet? If so, then how come these apple trees had fully blossomed? Maybe they weren't apple trees, then. They did look more like pine trees, anyways.

Martin gave a small chuckle. Oh, the things he'd do to distract himself. He supposed it was just in his nature, something akin to how no matter what he'd always find some way to get a new gadget that he wanted no matter what, and he sure was a master at it. It was determination at its finest. Conning people just seemed so easy. He was surprised no one on the island saw through his tricks, save for that old widow and her damn body guards that got him into this mess.

Bad train of thought, Mertens. Don't think about it. It'll only make things worse. Just don't think about it.

With that in mind, Martin decided it was time to leave, taking a few more apples and shoving them into the pockets of the sweatshirt still tied around his waist.

He started towards the oddly pink pine trees, only to stop after a few paces. He caught a glimpse of something he was envisioning from earlier, two candy canes sticking up from the ground, looking almost natural. Was that how hallucinations worked? He wasn't entirely sure, leaving him to wonder if what he was actually seeing was real.

Oh, how he wished Minnie was with him. That brilliant woman could probably explain what was happening to him in a heartbeat.

Gotta keep goin'. Don't think about it. Just gotta keep on goin'.

Martin shook it off, taking small strides towards the odd trees and the ground candy canes. The closer he got, the more yellow grass (could he even call it that?) and orange pavement (again, a loose term) started to replace the normal forest ground. Everything just looked so much… gummier, like some artificial candy. Definitely still hallucinating. I gotta be.

He turned left and almost instantly regretted the action. A beautiful light pink arc marked the entrance to a brightly colored kingdom, complete with a chocolate bridge gracing over a sparkling carmel river. Some strange creatures that looked like banana popsicles guarded the pretzel gate. Not only that, but there were so many other strange creatures that looked like other sweet foods milling about on the other side!

…Was his subconscious trying to tell him something?

He started to feel extremely lightheaded.

Unfortunately, just when he was about to run off, one of the guards noticed him and waved at him warmly. "Hello, sir! What brings you to the Candy Kingdom?" the banana creature said in an odd voice Martin had never heard before.

In response, Martin just simply stared. There was no way his mind could fathom this, right? Not out of thin air? That wasn't how hallucinations worked! That couldn't be how hallucinations worked! He continued to stare as he considered the possibility… Was every strange thing he already encountered actually real? Maybe the dizziness was getting to him. He couldn't exactly think straight. In fact, his lightheadedness just seemed to be growing.

And just like that, he fainted.

A/N:

Just a note - this takes place before the Islands Miniseries, and after Reboot. Thank you for reading! There's more to come! :)

~Emily Believes xoxo