Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Terrible Demise Of Tortuga

Chapter five: Again and Again

-By SunnyFox57

Originally released sometime in January, 2024. Now rewritten and reposted January 10th, 2026)

The water around Aaron’s boat was calm along the sides of the boat in a way he knew couldn’t be trusted. It stretched endlessly, going on for miles, dark and glassy and reflecting the sky with a almost mocking serenity. He stood at the helm, one hand resting loosely against the wheel and the other braced against the worn wood railing. The boat knew him probably more than any other person did. They’d been through thick and thin together from the very beginning of his journeys. It probably knew him more than he knew himself.

He’d sailed these routes so many time that sometimes it felt that even the sea too anticipated his movements. But he knew better than that. The ocean cared not about him, nor any other man. It had evolved over time, growing wilder and skittish the more it expanded. It had learned that it couldn’t trust anyone. Not the men who roamed it’s surface nor the men who went below. Not the creatures alongside or in it. Not the pieces of land and structures that depended on it to survive. It was all alone. It’d forgotten what it once was.

Aaron exhaled slowly, letting his eyes drift to the horizon as Tortuga faded behind him. This job was supposed to be simple. In and out. No complications. What was what Dante has promised, at least. Then again, Dante had promised a lot of things over the years didn’t always quite pan out. The thought pulled a half-smile from Aaron’s mouth. He hadn’t thought about it in years, not consciously anyways. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience, back then, whenever he’d first met the man. In fact, it still wasn’t. It wasn’t something he could look back on and find funny, or ever tell his children or grandchildren. He’d been young back then. Too young to understand what fear was. To understand the darkness that tore at the edges of the world, ready to swallow it at any moment. Too young to understand how far a person in love was willing to go. Or not go.

He swallowed and tightened his grip on the wheel. It was better to not think of such things. There was no use in bringing up the past. Its not like it was part of the present. The dock of the far shore was slowly coming into view, its wooden planks jutting out from the shoreline like broken teeth. Gulls screeched and circled for scraps along the edge of the beach.

As Aaron pulled into it, he spotted Dante Schwartz. The man was perched on a few crates, legs swinging back and forth in a nervous manner, his head tilted upward. He looked older than Aaron remembered when last seeing him. Then again, everyone he’d known in his youth had been seeming that way recently.

“Surprised that you’re actually here! I half expected you to not show at all.” Aaron calls, as he hops onto the dock, boots thudding softly against the wood. Dante huffs a laugh at that. “Yeah well, I debated it.” He clambers to his feet and walks over to his..”friend”, gloved hands tucked into his pockets.

“You never could make up your mind at anything.” Aaron chuckles, reaching out to firmly shake the man’s hand. “So where’s your little buddy?”

Dante shakes his head and steps backwards toward the crates behind him. He scoots a few of them aside, to reveal a metal reinforced crate. On first glance it looked empty. But then there was a slight shift and two yellow beady eyes peered out. Its scales were a dark silver color, the only flecks of color were dotted along its horns and snout and snout. Aaron lets out a low whistle, kneeling in front of the cage and pressing one hand tentatively against the bars. The shadowmane makes no move to hiss or even change positions at all.

“So you were telling the truth.”

Dante kneels beside Aaron. “Aye. He’s the last one. Nobody wanted the poor thing, they all said he looks sickly. Absolute bonkers, in my opinion. He’s just a tad bit shy, that’s all.” He pats the cage fondly.

Aaron glances up away from the shadowmane and at Dante, studying him for a minute.

“If you care about him so much,” He says finally, standing up slowly. “Why give them away?”

Dante’s shoulder slump and he sighs, fidgeting with his gloved hands in a act of slight agitation.

“Because..I’m tired, Aaron. I’m tired of waking up, afraid of my own creatures. Of wondering if somehow…someway they can see what I am. I’m tired of being scared that one of them will someone break out of its cage and strangle me to death.”

Aaron says nothing, so Dante continues.

“I want out. I need something normal. Anything normal and predictable. Bloody hell, I’d even settle for being a taxi. Traffic, weather, crazy people..at least I know how that type of danger works. I’m tired of constantly looking over my shoulder. I just can’t do this anymore. I’m tired. Aren’t you?”

~

“Aren’t you?”

The question lingers somewhere in the back of Aaron’s mind as he sailed back towards Tortuga, even after finishing up with the transfer. The shadowmane had made no complaint or struggle being loaded onto his boat.

Yes, he was tired. Why wouldn’t he be? Everyone in his line of business grew tired eventually, especially if they’d been through what he had. He’d thought about quitting, many many times but…he just couldn’t seem to. He had never learned to quit. This was his job and his duty, and to abandon it now would quite frankly destroy any that was left of his sanity.

The return trip was quiet. The only sound was that of the waves shifting and a occasional bird passing by. By the time he reached Tortuga, the sky had dimmed to a bruised purple coloring. If he had to guess, it was almost seven o clock.

A peacekeeper, Helen, was already standing out on the docks, her hands on her hips. “I was beginning to think you’d gone off and died at sea without telling me.” She snorts dryly, as he hops down from the boat onto the dock. Aaron grins, as he ties it down.

“Sorry to disappoint. I’m surprised to see you here. Isn’t it Zooey’s shift today?”

Helen crosses her arms, watching him with narrowed eyes as he grabs the metal crate and hauls it forward. “Yes, well, she was posted at the city square with Paul today, since it’s a bit more..busy.”

Her gaze flickers from Aaron to the crate and then back again. Her mouth tightened, not quite in disapproval but not quite curiosity either.

“And what,” she begins flatly, “Is that supposed to be?”

“My new best friend.” Aaron says easily, shifting the crate’s weight against his hip.

Helen snorts at that. “Funny. What is it? Please tell me it’s not another Tyrannosaurus rex.”

“No..it’s a shadowmane, Helen. I learned my lesson last time.” Aaron chuckles, continuing to walk down the dock, boots echoing softly against the dock as the metal crate squeaks faintly.

“You know the rules, Buckleshoot.” Helen says, falling into step beside him, blonde braid swinging slight back and forth in the wind. “Anything with too much teeth, claws, attitude problems or violent tendencies gets shipped away back to where it came from.”

“This shadowmane doesn’t bite or claw. According to his old owner, he is quite timid. He won’t cause trouble.”

Helen sighs. “That’s what you always say, Buckleshoot.”

“Yeah well, I mean it this time. He won’t cause trouble.”

Helen studies him for a long moment, then sighs in a tired way that had nothing to do with her shift.

“Everyone’s suddenly bringing more trouble into this city lately,” she grunts. “More creatures. Unexpected arrivals. Etcetera. When will it ever end?”

Aaron snorts softly, as they near closer to his home. “Tortuga’s always had trouble, Helen. We just pretend we’re surprised when it shows up in more prominent ways.”

She huffed a laugh at that, shaking her head.

“Get it settled,” she says finally. “Then fill out the paperwork, unless you want another deceased animal on your hands.

Aaron smiles faintly. “Goodnight to you too, Helen.”

~~

To say that Paul was mad was an understatement. A HUGE overstatement. He was mad plenty of the time, in a calm resentful way, but right now…he was absolutely furious. The time had blown by after he helped the Peterson kids and then Elizabeth to their homes, him barely noticing or thinking about anything else. He couldn’t even remember relinquishing his post for the night. Adrenaline pushed him forward, as he angrily made his way through the city and towards Mrs. Lois’ house.

He felt like a ballon just waiting to burst or even a ticking time bomb counting down, as he finally reached the door. Paul rapped on it loudly with a closed fist. He knew that she was home. She’d probably closed up shop right after the kids went home, knowing her.

Sure enough after a few seconds, the door slid open a crack, Lois’ brown eyes peering at him narrowly. He wasted no time or energy trying to conversate after that, simply pushing past her and the door, into the room.

“Well, come in. I’m always happy when I have a unexpected guest burst through my door.” Lois says dryly, shutting the door.

“Oh, please. Don’t throw that nonsense at me. You knew I was gonna be coming here the moment that you started messing around.”

Lois sighs and gestures toward the two cups and teapot on the counter. “Tea?”

Paul’s only response was a glare. She sighs again and takes one into her hand, filling it up and then hobbling over to the living room. “At least take a seat for our conversation.”

Reluctantly he does as she says and sits down on one of the armchairs across from hers, still fuming.

“So, why are you here?”

“Don’t play coy with me!” He snaps. “I’m here because you broke our deal. You messed with the children.”

Lois sips at her tea slowly for a moment, then sets it down with a clink.

“What do you mean? I didn’t break our agreement at all. The poor child suffered from a mild spout of dehydration—”

“Don’t lie to me, witch!” He finally snaps, one hand balled into a fist, slamming into the table in front of them. A dull thud resonates through the room for a moment. Lois’ purses her lips in disapproval.

“Please don’t call me names. I am not a witch, nor anything of the sort and I do not appreciate being named such things as insults. I did not hurt the Peterson girl. Believe it or not, i would not hurt a child intentionally. That isn’t who I am.”

“I don’t CARE who or what you are!! We had an agreement! You leave me, Aaron and the rest of the people from this town alone and we leave you alone to do whatever you are up to!”

Lois regards him steadily, wrinkled hands folded in her lap.

“I’m afraid you misunderstand the nature of our agreement.” She says calmly. “I agreed not to interfere with you or your little friends. Not to completely blind myself.”

Paul lets out a sharp and humorless laugh at that. “You can’t just twist the semantics! You. Owe. Me.”

“I don’t owe you nothing. If anything, you owe me everything. Again, I didn’t hurt the Peterson girl. She was suffering from dehydration.”

Paul leaned forward in the chair, jaw clenched. “So the girl just collapsed all of the sudden? At YOUR shop? And you expect me to believe that was just coincidence?”

“Look Paul-” She began, reaching out to touch his palm. He instinctively pulls away immediately, expression darkening further.

Lois catches the cue and sighs, going back to sipping at her tea again, expression softening a tad bit.

“I don’t expect you to believe anything I say, Paul. But there ARE things greater than you and me. Whoever Fate chooses is beyond us. Certain doors are going to open for that girl, whether I touch them or not. You know what I mean. You’ve seen it happen before.”

There was a pause after that, silence stretching uncomfortably through the room, the only sound being the clock ticking faintly.

“I hate this. I hate you. I hate this place. I hate this belligerent world. How can we stand it? How can you stand it?” Paul finally says quietly, massaging his forehead with one hand.

“Patience. One day something good will come of this world or some of its people. One day we will be free to live in a world that won’t discriminate others. One day…we’ll all be free.”

~~

Author’s note:

This chapter is a lot shorter than most others of the reboot have been/are going to be, and I do apologize for that but i can’t say it wasn’t for a reason