"Atlas, that locket means a lot to Shadows. We need to get it back."

Back inside their new home, M. Shadows and The Rev had plopped themselves down onto the couch, with Atlas joining them following their meeting with Foster. It was made crystal clear that Matt was in a foul mood, a disgruntled expression plastered over his face as he held an ice pack to his aching jaw, and his face downcast. His free arm had been crossed over his chest, and he stared at the floor across the room. Since returning, he hadn't uttered a word, and it was apparent that he had no intentions on doing so throughout the course of the evening.

So, Jimmy had done all the talking. He'd explained to Atlas what had taken place within Foster's grand living room, and how he stole the precious locket following Matt's blatant disrespect towards the leader.

"Somethin' tells me he's not too keen on you guys..." Atlas sighed, briefly glancing over at the miserable Matt. "But Foster's a dick who doesn't really like anyone, and this is an issue. Now, what exactly did the locket have within it?"

Matt raised his head and looked at Atlas, adjusting the pack on his jaw. Jimmy could see some sort of fire burning in Matt's eyes. Anger. Not towards Atlas, of course. "My family. My wife. My best friends." He simply stated.

Jimmy added, "To be exact, a photo of him and his wife taken recently and a group photo of our band, his wife and his parents. Really personal stuff."

"Hmm... I'll see if I can have a word with him."

"If I can't go home to my family, then I at least want my fuckin' photos of them back." Matt spat.

Atlas rose to his feet, approaching the front door. "I'll see what I can do. No promises though, Foster's a real bastard when he wants to be." His hand grasped the door handle, turning it, when Matt leaped up out of his seat and rushed over.

"I'm comin' with."

"That's not a good idea. He'll break that jaw of yours." Atlas warned sternly, shaking his head.

"And what kind of guy do you take me as? A pussy?"

"Brave but stupid, I'd say."

Matt shrugged his shoulders, removing the frozen pack from his swollen jaw, and he tossed it onto the table, the pack landing with a crunch. The Dragon sighed and gave a reluctant nod, opening the door of the tiny home and stepping outside. Matt followed him out and they walked to the grand mansion at the back of the clearing. Upon arrival, Atlas shoved the door open and allowed them both inside. Then, he turned to Matt.

"Stay here, let me do the talking. If he sees you, chances are you'll be paying a visit to Venom."

"Venom?"

"The doctor. He keeps being bitten by snakes and things. Anyway, stay here. Don't wander off and don't follow me in the living room." He warned. Matt gave a half-assed nod and leaned against the wooden railings of the staircase, watching Atlas disappear into the living room. The door closed.

The vocalist glanced all around. The walls here were scarce, as if Foster had saved all the best decorations (If you could even call them that) for the living room and possibly other rooms. Matt peeked his head up the stairs and looked up to the landing. Mounted onto the wall was a colossal tiger skull, seemingly in perfect condition. Foster really loved hunting. Or maybe just skulls. Most likely both.

It wasn't long before Matt was pacing around, mentally debating on whether to defy Atlas's orders and explore or to wait it out. As he paced, he examined some of the doors, presing his ear against the wood, hoping to hear something, anything of interest. Nothing. Then, out of curiosity, he pressed his ear to the door leading to the living room. What he heard was Atlas and Foster engaged in a somewhat heated conversation.

"Foster, come on man. You're not like this."

"Yeah, but this is my island. I can do what I like, how I like. Matt and Jimmy are intruders to my island, my home. They need to learn that I'm not fucking around here." Foster's voice was like ice. Matt's eyes narrowed in disgust.

"That locket's important to Matt, and you've lost your respect for 'your people', including Matt and Jimmy. You wouldn't like it if I took, I dunno, your father's watch and threw it into the fire, would you?" Atlas retorted.

The low growl that ripped from Foster's throat was one of warning. Atlas was inches from crossing the line. "Speak like that again, Seth, and you'll be living with Venom, in a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

"And if you keep disrespecting your people and treating them like dog crap on the bottom of your shoe, you're gonna have everyone turning against you, overthrowing you." Matt couldn't help but grin. He could imagine himself and Jimmy, leading that sort of uprising, taking control of the island, before leaving and setting everyone free.

"And who's gonna lead that? Everyone's scared of me!" Foster roared with delight, his hands clasping together.

Matt burst through the door, storming inside to answer Foster's question. As he entered, Atlas jumped in surprise, then shot Matt a glare. However, the singer was more focused on the tyrant sat upon his couch, a glass of blood red wine in his hand, the other toying with his greasy, raven locks. "Oh yeah? Well, you're gonna fuckin' love me when I kick your ass off your throne!"

Foster glanced from Atlas to Matt and rolled his glacial eyes. The sight of the hideous bruise on Matt's jaw brought sick joy to the man, and he expressed as such with a wicked grin. "Knew Mr. Cocky over here wouldn't be far behind." He commented.

"Give me the locket." He demanded, outstretching a hand towards Foster, his fingers beckoning him to place the locket in his palm.

"Oh, you do love making demands, huh? I bet your wife really loves you."

"More than anyone will ever love you. Now hand it back."

"You're gonna have to fight me for it."

"Foster," Atlas intervened, stepping in front of Matt, blocking him from Foster's view, "Just hand it back already. It's not like he's asking you to take him home."

Foster shook his head and rose from his seat. He circled the pair, eyeing Matt in particular. Matt stared back, fists balled tight and threatening to rise. No way in hell was he allowing himself to take another beating. "How badly do you want that petty locket?"

"Well, seeing as you're keepin' me prisoner here and I can't see or even speak to my family, pretty fuckin' badly." The singer answered. Foster nodded and tipped the rest of his rich wine down his throat, placing the glass on the coffee table.

"If that's the case..." He began, pausing with his back turned to Matt and his index finger pointed to the ceiling. He glanced over his shoulder, the lighting in the room casting an ominous shadow onto his scratched up face, "Then you'll take me on in a swordfight. If you win, you'll get your locket back and I'll leave you alone, for you'll have proved yourself. If I win, you and your friend die. It's okay if you want to chicken out now though, I'll just keep the locket and you'll lose out. What do you say, hm?"

Atlas turned to Matt, shaking his head, pleading for him to reject the offer. He needed Matt and Jimmy alive to take down Foster. Surely, a simple locket with a precious set of memories could wait? After all, Atlas could always take it in secret. He couldn't bring them back to life though.

"Bring it on, Foster." Matt replied, "Bring. It. On."

---

The sound of the sea lapping up onto the soft sands surrounded the small gathering upon the beach, accompanied by the cries of the gulls. Handheld candles flickered in the gentle breeze, as well as those on the sand. Their light fell onto two framed photographs side by side, along with bunches of flowers rested alongside them and against them. To the tourists and the locals, it was a touching, heart-wrenching sight. They had heard about the situation. This wasn't any old gathering - This was a gathering remembering two best friends, brothers, bandmates.

Bandmates who were presumed dead.

Brian closed his eyes, gripping the candle in his hand, while his other arm held Val close to his body for comfort. The searches in the sea resulted in nothing, and every island around had no better news. With that, the remainder of Avenged Sevenfold and their wives had no choice but to assume that Matt and Jimmy were dead. Val, Matt's wife, was clinging to Brian, sobbing into his side. Her twin sister and Brian's wife, Mich, comforted her love. Johnny and Zacky were comforted by their wives too, and they stood close together in a small cluster.

"Oh man, I'm gonna miss them so much..." Johnny murmured, his face downcast, eyes glued to the photographs.

"Me too buddy..." Brian added.

"What do we do with the band..?" Zacky asked, glancing up from the sand to his bandmates.

"Screw the band, if I'm honest. We've lost our best friends, the fans have to understand that we physically, mentally can't right now." The elder guitarist replied. "Maybe one day we'll be able to do it again, but that won't be for a long time."

Zee and Johnny nodded, looking back at the photos. No one could quite believe what had happened. This was supposed to be an amazing vacation, an enjoyable, memorable time off. Instead, it had turned into a tragic time.

"Val, you okay..?" Brian then asked, looking down at the woman. Of course, she wasn't okay. Brian knew that; she'd just lost her husband. However, Brian was aware that Val had been feeling unwell for a while, and that was what he wanted to check on.

"Not really." She answered quietly between sobs, wiping her eyes. Brian frowned, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I think maybe we should head home.." Mich suggested, "It just seems wrong to be on vacation when we've lost people so close to us."

The rest of the gathering nodded in agreement. "Perhaps we should pack our stuff back up tomorrow, set off for tomorrow night?" Brian asked.

"I don't really want to go back on that boat..." Val whispered, burrowing her face.

"I know... But bein' here isn't really the best idea anymore. It's better if we go home."


The evening began to draw to a close. Everyone placed their candles onto the sand and they eventually started to leave, with Mich taking her sister, and Johnny and Zacky leaving with their wives. Brian, however, remained at the site, sitting down by the candles and looking at the photos. His best friends in the world. He recalled the times that Jimmy would stay round his house, that he, Jimmy and Matt would always hang out together, enjoying each other's company. They'd drink together, write music together. Hell, they met their idols together. Everything they did, it was with each other and the rest of the band.

Now, a huge hole in his heart had formed, and nothing could ever fill it. Only Matt and Jimmy could, but they were gone.

Brian felt a tap on his shoulder. He glanced upwards and his eyes met an elderly man wearing an old vest shirt, tattered jeans and a black hat upon his head. His wrinkled skin was covered in dark tattoos resembling dragons and monsters, which Brian was somewhat surprised to see. His eyes were like shadows, and he spotted a scar just below his hidden hairline. He had a short, silver beard, and a few wispy locks poked out from under his hat.

"You okay there, son?" The elder asked, his voice croaky and slow but his eyes full of sympathy. He could tell by the look of grief on Brian's face that something was obviously wrong, and of course, there was the memorial too.

"My best friends are.. Dead." Brian said bluntly, looking back at the photos.

"I'm sorry to hear that..." He frowned, crouching down at a snail's pace. Then he looked at Brian, "Excuse me for asking... But you sounded somewhat unsure there. Is there a reason? Perhaps you have doubts on something?"

Brian hesitated. He fiddled with his hands for a moment. Did he have doubts? Of course he did. There was just one thing his mind wouldn't settle on. "Yeah, I guess that's it..."

"What would that be, pal? Don't worry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to... I understand this is a hard time."

"Well..." Brian began, his eyes shifting to the boat. Then he pointed to it, "You see that boat? That boat belonged to my buddy Matt, the guy in the first photo. It's clear he and Jimmy, the guy in the second photo, fell off the boat. Thing is, when we checked the boat, the life ring was gone. Matt would never take the boat out without one, and we definitely had one onboard, so we think they tried to save one another with it. What's interesting is that the search team never found it, and it never washed up on another of the islands, either."

"So what you're saying is that you think they're still alive?" The man asked.

"It seems like it. I they got attacked by sharks, surely they wouldn't eat a massive life ring and sharks don't even like the taste of people. No bodies have been found too. It seems to me that they've washed up somewhere, but where?"

The an pondered or a moment. "You say you've checked all the other islands? And found nothing?"

"Correct." Brian nodded.

"Hmm... I have an idea, but I mustn't speak of it out here. It's forbidden for locals such as myself to discuss such a matter in public. However, if you desire a possible answer, I will tell you privately."

Brian's eyebrows raised, looking up at the man curiously, "When?"

"Tomorrow evening. There is too much to tell you tonight, and I am unavailable until the evening."

"What's sayin' that this isn't some elaborate trick or something?"

The old man chuckled, shaking his head. "At my old age, I see no reason to pull such tricks. I have also been in your position, and I know that it hurts. I will leave the decision to you though. I'll have someone at your hotel give you the address and the meeting time. Come if you wish, there is nothing forcing you to do so if you do not trust me."

Brian nodded silently, and he rose to his feet. "I'll consider it." He simply said, "Thank you for your offer, nevertheless." And with that, he turned and began to head to the hotel. The old man watched as he left, then glanced down at those photographs.


Matt and Jimmy... He had a feeling those names would come to mean more to him than just the names of a tourist's dead friends.

Notes

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Sorry for such a long wait, I've had no motivation to write. I hope to update this story more often. For those waiting for an update for The Wild Ride, I plan to get the next chapter up soon!
Feedback appreciated!