With a heavy heart, Urcinetta guided Hank through the dark waters, searching for a safe place where he could rest and recover. She remembered hearing about an old shipwreck covered in corals and seagrass – a peaceful sanctuary where weak and tired sea creatures could find shelter.
When they arrived, a kind loggerhead sea turtle named Nonna Livia welcomed them.
“Rest here, dear ones”
she said gently.
“Hank needs time to heal, and the ocean needs strong messengers like you.”
Urcinetta thanked her and promised to return. Then, without wasting another second, she set off toward the village of Clio & friends, where her uncle Urcino lived.
The journey was long and exhausting… But as she approached, something felt off.
The village, once lively and filled with the scents of fresh plankton and cold waters, now carried a warm, salty, and artificial smell. The water shimmered oddly, and tiny fragments of the Strangers drifted through the currents like dust in the wind.
When she finally reached Main Street, she saw them, PETer and his friends. The Strangers were everywhere.
And standing beside them, smiling and shaking hands with PETer, was Urcino.
“Uncle!” Urcinetta gasped. “What’s going on?”
Urcino turned, surprised to see her.
“Ah, Urcinetta, my dear niece! You’ve returned just in time for our grand partnership!”
He gestured at PETer, who grinned with his gleaming plastic body.
“These fine gentlemen are our future. They are… progress.”
Urcinetta’s stomach turned.“Progress? Uncle, they are poisoning the ocean! They made Hank sick! They’re inside our food, our water… inside us!”
Urcino chuckled, waving a spine dismissively.
“Oh, my dear, you worry too much. We’ve adapted! We are survivors. The Strangers are here to stay, so why not make the best of it?”
The villagers, who once trusted Urcino, shifted uneasily.
They remembered Copepito’s dad’s warning. They had seen the Strangers creeping into their lives, but they hadn’t realized just how deep their influence had become.
Urcinetta clenched her tiny appendages.
“No, Uncle. This isn’t survival. This is surrender.”
For the first time, doubt flickered in Urcino’s eyes. But PETer stepped forward, his voice as smooth as oil, and gestured in his uncanny language:
“Now, now, little creature” he purred. “Why fight what you cannot stop?”
Urcinetta stared at him, then at her uncle, and at the villagers. She had come to warn them, but now she realized she had to do more than that…
She had to fight... And she would not be alone!
English 
Italiano