A/n: And we're back! We're going to the regular story now, but first, I would like to thank you for over 200 reads! Super happy!

Biana threw back the towel from the mirror.

"Wow," Sophie gushed. "This is amazing."

Her gold eyeshadow matched the wavvy blues of her swim shirt and the matching skirt. Her hair was braided beautifully, with emeralds woven in her hair. You would think she was going on a very fancy date, not a beach vacation, except for the swimwear. Biana also looked amazing, thanks to Linh's makeover the day before. Now she was wearing a pink bikini- and Sophie had adamantly refused a matching one, instead picking the swimsuit that covered her the most.

"Girls, are you ready? Keefe is here!" Della called from out in the hall.

"One second, mom, we're almost done!" Biana wiped away an inexistant (probably, but Sophie wasn't the best at makeup) smear of mascara. "Now we're ready."

Both girls came out of the room, and everyone else couldn't help but stare. "Biana..." Keefe said, "You look... amazing."

Fitz rushed to Sophie and hugged her, very very tight. "You're beautiful," he whispered in her ear.

"Thank you. You look amazing." He had just swim shorts and a swim shirt, nothing fancy, but he always looked amazing.

They stepped away from each other a little bit and he flashed her his signature smile.

"Woot woot! Fitzphie for the win!" Keefe exclaimed, and Sophie blushed.

"Go Beefe!" Fitz said. "Wait, I just realized how wrong that sounds..."

They shared a laugh, Alden and Della joining in.

"Let's go."

They walked down to the Leapmaster and Della called, "Royalton Shores!" Together, they stepped into the light.

***

The beach was awesome. It wasn't deserted, but it wasn't crowded. No litter. Not too hot. The water actually wasn't freezing!

"Come on!" Biana dragged Sophie into the water. Sophie braced herself for cold water, but to her surprise, it was really... nice.

"Ah..." she sighed.

FItz and Keefe, meanwhile, abandoned their swim shirts with the other beach things and ran straight in, immediately starting a splash fight.

"You guys do realize you can't start a splash fight without me joining in, right?" Biana said, pushing herself into the fray.

"I'm coming!" Sophie said, then immediately getting a wave of water in her face. "Keefe!"

But it wasn't Keefe that had splashed her, apparently. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she saw Keefe and Biana shaking water off their faces, too. And Fitz... murky shadows surrounded Fitz, dragging him down. A Shade was trying to kill him.

A/n: Which Shade do you think it is? Or other explanations? I want to hear your theories!