LSS: Voyage of the Starry Seas

Belinda leaned against the railing, staring at the sea. She had been on land. It was still surreal. The ground didn't move, dirt was as natural as air. Water was scarce. She sighed, looking up at the sky. It was still the same blue it always had been. Her life had changed but the world hadn't. That island had been there long before this ship passed by it. Who knows how long Johnny had been there until...

Until he what?

The moment was all a blur. She had followed a ghost, young and spry looking, into a large building. A warehouse. She had seen warehouses before. But not ones covered in vines and holding so many of the dead. There were so many ghosts. But Johnny had been different. Johnny could... feel the power in her? Knew she had a connection to the dead beyond seeing them? Took a gamble and just hoped it paid off? Whatever had happened, he stole something from her. Something that made her her.

The feeling would sometimes flash through her mind, firey and deep in her bones. Her mind went blank, her eyes shutting against her desires. She fell to the floor, still feeling but paralyzed. She didn't know if she stayed like that for seconds or hours, but slowly her vision turned white against her eyelids and her heart slowed so much it felt like she was dying. Life slipped through her fingers and she couldn't even think enough to stop it.

And suddenly, it was over. She woke, her brain and her mouth having a severe enough disconnect that she was practically asleep with her eyes open. She stumbled through her sentences and the messy thoughts she could occasionally muster. As soon as she recovered, she freed the spirits in the warehouse. She didn't think about Johnny's absence. Ghosts liked to wander, always have. She was glad not to see him, glad not to have to relive the feeling that came with being stripped apart. Of course, she didn't have the exact intimate knowledge that it was his fault. She just associated him with danger, the subconscious part of her mind that felt his power baring its teeth at the very thought of him.

Letting the ghosts go was easy. All they needed was a push. Getting back on the ship and learning Johnny had followed them, was still using her essence to transcend the laws of death, was hard. She sighed, holding her head in her hands. His laugh set something off in her. Something primal and maybe even feral. Nothing she ever wanted to associate herself with.

She lowered her hands, staring into the ocean. Familiar but forever changed. Just like her power, just like the ship's newest ghost.

Suddenly, Belinda felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, how are you feeling after all that?" Juniper appeared next to her, her white dreadlocks tied up into a messy bun. She was wearing a flowy white dress that complimented her figure, something almost mindnumbingly different from what she wore on the last island.

Belinda smiled and turned to her. "Hey, love. I'm better now that you're here." She scooted over to lean her head on June's shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of potting soil and crushed flowers. "You look amazing in that dress."

Juniper blushed and leaned her head against Belinda's, "Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself, given you practically died on me."

"Nah, I wouldn't have died." Belinda frowned. "I think, at least. Johnny... he just wanted my power. It helped him achieve a state no other ghost I've ever met has reached before. And I was possessed when I was six!" She flicked her wrist towards the ocean, emphasizing how ridiculous the situation was. "But he didn't have to possess anyone. He created a new physical form out of manifested celestial energy. How did he know how to do that? Was it just a stroke of luck? How long will it last?" She sighed. "Too many questions and too cagey of a man to answer them all."

Juniper chuckled, an eyebrow raised, "Who knows anymore? I don't understand the supernatural. That's your fortee. If I had an answer, I'd say maybe magic? Maybe... and this could be crazy, but what if there was still some... left over energy on that island? Like... those people passed not too long ago, and that's why he was able to hook onto you like that. It's... crazy because our whole entire expedition has been about finding life. And maybe that was the first step, the first clue, that we aren't alone."

Belinda nodded. "If we convince Johnny to talk, we can learn so much more about how life was before The Great Ending. Maybe even after it! That city could have been the last apocalyptic stronghold. Imagine that. The ghost of the last land-dwelling humans." She stared wistfully to the horizon. "If they're the last we find."

Juniper nodded, but frowned slightly, "I never found a cure for Idris. After all that happened... it slipped my mind. I cannot fail, Belinda. I can't. Imagine how much praise I'd get when I return home if I do this. What if there's no hope for her? What if, no matter how good I think I am, she's uncureable?"

"Junebug..." Belinda turned towards her. "That island had no cure. It was ransacked, and apparently overrun with horrible creatures I'm glad we didn't see." She shuddered, recalling Darvi's horrific description of a lizard with wings. "But we're still sailing forward. We still have a chance." She gently kissed June's forehead. "Have faith."

"I've only ever known faith," June looked out at the ocean, and gripped Belinda's hand, rubbing her thumb on her palm, "Back at Virgo, that's all I ever knew. Faith that my garden would grow. Faith that I'd live up to my mother's expectations of me. But that place was technologically advanced... Imagine if we found a hospital or something. It could've been the only chance at a scientific breakthrough. What if, the next island isn't as resourceful? What if that's the best we'll get?"

"What if we found a hospital but all the medicine was expired and poisonous? What if the next island is full of advanced, living people who could cure any illness with just a thought?" Belinda snapped her fingers. "What if we never had a chance at all on that island but one is coming soon?" Belinda brushed June's hair out of her face. "We just have to keep going."

"You're right," Juniper shook her head, "You're always right. I can't lose hope now, not when we're so close. I can feel it."

"So can I. Juniper Wren discovering the most substantial cure known to man." Belinda spun her around. "Her name will live in history books for eons!"

"And Belinda Esther, writing the first book, detailing the findings of the only living civilization. Your stories will be in museums for generations!" Juniper giggled.

Belinda giggled too, feeling lighter than she had been since that warehouse. "The most famous lovers of modern history." She kissed June's nose.

"I--" June was about to speak just before a loud set of footsteps sounded behind them.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with you both?!"

Belinda whirled around, still holding June's hand. "Rune? What's wrong?"

Rune stood there, his face sweaty and his shirt slung over his shoulder as if he'd just finished doing a million push-ups. He had an angry look on his face, eyebrows scrunched, "You left the group. After Darvi and I specifically told everyone about how dangerous it could be--"

"Darvi thinks everything is dangerous. He would ban stairs if he could because you could break your leg." Belinda crossed her arms. "Besides, we made an amazing discovery! This is a great thing."

"Oh yeah, a discovery that getting posessed by ghosts is a terrible thing!" Rune wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, "You need to take these things seriously! You both could've died. And I would've been responsible. I don't want to come back to Sefarina and tell her that we lost our fucking medic and scribe."

"First of all, I wasn't possessed. I made that discovery when I was six and decided never again." She waved her hands. "My magic was used as an energy source for a ghost shell. Secondly, we didn't die so it's fine!"

Juniper nodded, "Why are you such a grumpy pants today? You alright? You need a check up? And why are you sweating so much? Do you have a fever?"

"It's called working out," Rune just stared at them, "It helps me take my mind off the idiotic actions of my crew. Y'know, because they can be fucking stupid."

Darvi jogged to catch up to Rune, wearing a sports bra with a towel around their neck. Sweat made its way down the expanse of his neck, gathering on the already dark fabric. "Is it yell at my sister for giving me a heart attack time?"

Belinda rolled her eyes. "Is it tell my twin to start taking medication so they're not so paranoid time?"

Gray walked up next to Rune, carrying a fresh piece of banana bread. "Rune, I've been looking for you."

Juniper started, "Are you sick too? Maybe some anxiety meds and a nice ice bath to lower the obvious fevers?"

"Yeah, I'm sick." Darvi huffed. "Sick of the constant shit you pull, Belinda. You might be able to revive the dead but I'm pretty sure you can't use your powers six feet under!"

Rune snuck a piece of banana bread from Gray, "I'm right here. And thanks for the banana bread, as always."

"You look like your veins are about to burst." Gray said, taking his rag frok his apron and patting it on Rune's forehead.

Rune turned a bright shade of red and looked down, "My veins are about to burst. These two are making my blood pressure bounce like crazy."

"I also have a medication for that!" Juniper grinned.

"Juniper, not the time." Gray looked dead into her eyes.

"Are you sure working out helps with stress? Seems like it's making it worse..." Juniper mumbled, making a funny face as she trailed off.

"Are you sure being an airhead helps with medicating someone?" Gray spat.

Belinda groaned. "I knew you would overreact, Darvi. But seriously? Pulling Rune and Gray into this?"

Darvi marched up to Belinda, shoving a finger in her face. "You were unconscious! You were crumpled on the ground for hours."

"Hey! Be nice to her," Juniper snapped, "Listen. I told the both of you that I was going to explore every inch of that island to find a cure for Idris. It's not my fault that we saw something that looked forgiving. Like Belinda said, it's not like anyone died, okay?"

"It is your fault for trusting it! It is your fault you thought you knew the island better than we did. Do you understand?" Darvi's hands were shaking. "Belinda woke up acting fucking lobotomized."

"What are you talking about? You two have never been here before, either. We saw just as much as ya'll did. If not more, actually. Everything is fine, we're safe, and we're alive. Is that not enough?" June studied Darvi.

"No! It's not!" Rune's voice raised, just slightly, "This is the problem! You're justifying this behavior as if it was normal. Back at Sag's ship, this would've never--"

"Oh, save me that shit," Juniper rolled her eyes and turned back around, shaking her head.

"Juniper, politely, shut the fuck up. I will go as far as to cook your plants. Think rationally for once. One time." Gray took another bite of his banana bread.

Juniper spun back around and took a step towards Gray, "I'm the most rational thinker here. Unlike you, I'm actually useful on this damn ship. Without me, all of you would be fucking dead. I can make my own banana bread, thank you very much. Can you create pathogens from scratch, or heal a person with one fucking plant? No! I don't think so. When you need me, and you will, I don't wanna hear it,' Juniper snapped.

"With what pans? With what pots?" Gray raised an eyebrow. He clearly was not taking this very seriously.

"Oh my god, everyone just shut up!" Belinda stood between June and Gray. "Look. Was it dangerous? Sure, maybe. So sorry. Won't happen again! There? You happy?"

Everyone went silent for a moment, and then Rune finally spoke, studying all of them, "Thank you. Was that hard?"

"Yes," Juniper grumbled and shot a nasty glare at Gray before turning back around.

Gray coughed very loudly. "So... does anyone want banana bread?"

"Yes. Thank you, Gray." Belinda held out her hands, forcing a smile. Gray put a thick slice of banana bread in her hands.

Darvi sighed and stormed off, wiping their face off with a towel so hard, it was a wonder he didn't wipe his own nose off.

"...Do you think he would like some banana bread? I mean, they have to eat something." Gray walked off towards Darvi.

"I'm going to finish this workout and then scope out the next island," Rune said, sighing. He walked away after Darvi.

Belinda sighed. "Well that went about as well as a shark in a desert."

"They don't understand," Juniper shook her head, eyes locked on the water surrounding them.

"I know." Belinda rubbed her shoulder. "They're fearful. But we'll make them see."

Rune had just finished showering when he saw the island for the first time. It was eerie and dark, and a grey foggy mist surrounded the perimeter. For some reason, he felt a pull to the island, something that made him feel at home. But, there was still that edge, the lingering feeling that there was something more sinister going on. His eyes scanned the shore before he quickly started making his way to Darvi's cabin.

As he started walking, he couldn't shake the fact that Juniper and Belinda were going to pull a stunt like that again. He didn't trust one thing they said. Maybe, after all, it'd be better if they went with a smaller group this time around. Maybe, the medic should stay back. And maybe, the scribe could write from the perspective of someone else on the ship. Maybe.

But, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Juniper was right, they needed her. And they needed to document what they see in real time. Belinda's the only one that could do that. Nobody else carried around a journal and an insane amount of writing utensils. Plus, he knew that Sefarina would want them to go. It's not like he had any say in it, anyways.

So, he pushed through the doors that led to the cabins and found Darvi's. He needed to show him the island, so they could figure out a plan and scope it out; mainly to see if it was even trekkable. If they couldn't even set foot on the island, there was no point in exploring it. From the outside, it looked like the place was completely barren, like no life could've ever existed there in the first place aside from some broken down abandoned buildings.

Rune knocked three times, "It's me!"

Darvi opened the door, looking wrecked. Their hair was in all different directions, their eyes red. "Rune?"

He paused for a second and didn't ask before walking in, "What's wrong? You okay?"

"My... my twin sister almost died. And she doesn't even care." He rubbed his temples. "I held her. She was lifeless, her head falling back like a newborn babe. She was barely breathing. I thought... I thought I was never going to speak to her again." Darvi's hands fell to their sides.

Rune fell silent for a few moments. Images of Glyph flashed through his head, the last time he saw his brother. Hanging off the railings of Sag's ship, pale and lifeless just as Darvi explained. He shook it off, and nodded, "I get it. It's frustrating, and traumatizing for both parties. I can't even... I can't even imagine how you felt."

But, he did. He just didn't want to bring those feelings up, especially when he was trying to be here for his friend. His friend, who needed it most.

Darvi shook her head. "Maybe one day Belinda will forgive me for being me." She shook her head. "So, what brings you here?"

"She appreciates you. She might have a strange way of showing it but.. she'd feel the same way if something happened to you," Rune flashed a smile, "And uh... the island. We're here."

Darvi let out a dry laugh. "Maybe. But... star's above, we're at the island? We need to go." Darvi picked up a pistol.

"Hey, slow down," Rune stopped him, "You okay? Maybe you should... fix your hair first, or something? Did you take a shower?"

"Uh... yeah. A shower." Darvi shook their head, their powers making their hair fall in perfect curls. "There. Shall we?"

"Better. Don't want you looking like a crazy person," Rune chuckled, "Let's go."

They walked out of Darvi's cabin and made their way to the middle of the ship. Belinda and Juniper were already waiting for them-- Juniper refusing to make eye contact.

"You guys ready?" Rune asked, rolling up his sleeves.

Belinda grinned. "Let's go! Do we have any light sources? It looks dark."

"Uh. I think Darvi has a flashlight," He looked to Darvi.

Darvi pulled it out, their face tight. "Here."

Rune took it and sighed heavily, "So this place looks... interesting. We stay together. This does not look like the island to screw around on. Okay?"

"Yep, no screwing around," Juniper sighed.

"Look, it doesn't seem like you have a flashlight. So if you want to get lost in the dark, be my guest. But that doesn't sound pleasant to me." Darvi crossed their arms. "Let's get going."

They slowly made their way off the ship. Rune's footsteps were light and cautious. There were a couple caves in the distance, but nothing looked alive. Even the plants were dead. The air was freezing cold, and the fog was almost unbearable. It was hard to see, even with the flashlight.

Juniper shuddered, "Not liking this at all."

Rune sighed loudly and with a pull from his mind, a couple of the shadows moved and shifted to open up to make room for more light.

Belinda turned around. "Who is that? Show yourself!"

Rune spun around with her and erratically moved the flashlight around to see what could've been behind them. He only felt a cold energy pass through him, something that sent chills down his spine. He was almost positive that by now he had goosebumps all over his body.

"Stay focused," Rune said, turning back around and slowly trekked forward.

Belinda groaned. "No! We're not here to hurt you. I don't even think we can... don't touch her!"

"Don't touch who?" Juniper screeched, and smacked the air.

Rune stopped again and looked to them, "Stay focused! All we need to do is go about a mile in, and then we can leave. We just need to see if there's anything that could help us. We just need to hold out for twenty more minutes. Can we do that?"

Juniper nodded slowly, "Yes," she hesitated, "But like... how could anything live here? Literally nothing could survive here. Look at the plants! They're dead. So no cures here. And if you expect me to... go into one of those caves, you have another thing coming."

Darvi frowned. "I don't trust this. I think--"

Belinda screamed and fell to her knees, covering her ears. "Get out! Get out! No!"

Juniper moved to sheild Belinda, "Get out! Get out of her brain! Leave her alone, whoever you are! May the power of the stars compel you, evil beings!"

Darvi growled, looking around. "Rune. I think this island is dangerous."

"Every island is dangeous," Rune glanced around them, just as a low whisper traveled past his ear.

A branch crashed to the floor in the distance before them. Belinda's head snapped up. "Run," she whispered.

"What the fu..." Rune's voice trailed off, just as everything turned red.

The smell of rot hit him first. Worse than anything he had ever smelled. The grass around him seemed to wither further, turning into straw beneath his feet. A single person emerged from the trees. They were missing an arm and Rune could hear some fluid drip from the wound, splashing on the floor. "Flesh..." Their voice was a mere rasp. "Flesh..."

More footsteps emerged, falling the putrid leader. More branches fell. Eyeless birds fluttered from above. Engorged beetles crawled across the ground. Skeletons long decomposed dodged gnarled roots and further spread the smell of rot.

He ran. Faster than he ever had before. He ran so fast that he could feel the wind whistle in his ear. He couldn't see, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to get the hell out of there in one piece. As his feet hit the ground, one after the other, he glanced behind him to make sure Darvi, Belinda and Juniper were following. He couldn't see anything but the outlines of their bodies through the fog, but atleast they were only a few feet behind.

Belinda was practically wailing. "Get back! Don't! No!"

"Keep moving! Only a few more yards, I think!" Rune yelled through the adrenaline. He tried his best to use his gifts, to move the shadows and create some sort of path back to the ship. He was running so fast that he couldn't keep up, and he could feel his power draining him by the second. Each shadow he moved seemed to feed off him, steal a piece of his energy. He kept pushing, kept creating paths, kept dividing the fog to hopefully make things easier for his crew behind him.

That was a part of being First Mate, putting your life before your crewmates. If he didn't make it, and his gift drained him completely, atleast he knew that his crew would make it back safely. They can get a new First Mate, but not another Juniper, not another Belinda, and definitely not another Darvi.

"I have an idea!" Darvi whistled. "Everyone to me!"

Rune paused, but hesitated, "Darvi, we have to keep moving! We have to go!" he yelled, running over to him.

"I'm turning into a fucking bear and getting the hell out of here. Get on my back."

"Are you sure?" He didn't hesitate before climbing on, and June and Belinda followed, "I-I can clear the path. I-I'm tired, and drained, but... I can do it. We won't be able to see!"

Darvi nosed at the fallen flashlight before tossing it up to Rune.

Rune grabbed it and aimed it straight in front of them. Even with the light, everything seemed to blend into eachother. The fog was relentless, "A few more yards, Darv! You can do this! One last push!"

Behind him, June held onto his stomach. He knew that Belinda was holding onto Juniper, probably with so much force that her shirt began to rip. Everything was moving in slow motion, and the footsteps behind them seemed to be catching up.

Darvi ran faster and faster, letting out quiet huffs and growls as he kept going. Belinda whimpered. "So... so loud... they're... run!"

Darvi just kept going, and before light could let Rune acknowledge what was happening, Darvi was running up the board of the ship. He shook off his passengers once he got to the top.

Rune felt an overwhelming sense of relief. He dropped to the floor, breathing heavily, and rolled onto his back. He saw little black dots, and his hands were starting to form black veins from the excessive use of his gift. Finally, a small smile creeped across his face, "Who gets to say that they got to ride on the back of Darvi Esther?"

Darvi has turned into some sort of great ape, lifting up the board before the horde could board the ship with them. Even stronger than usual, it was a clear struggle, but they made it work. They turned back to human and collapsed, holding their shoulder. "Someone... someone tell Sefarina to move... now!"

Breton sighed, taking a bite of the banana bread Gray had left out for everyone. They looked around the deck, staring at the very ominous dark island in front of them. As he was walking to the railing, he saw sillouhettes appearing through the fog. It was Darvi, Belinda, Rune, and Juniper.

He started to back away from the railing as all 4 of them collapsed onto the ship. "I'm just gonna... get Rina... or something."

Rina frowned as Sidney did a little tap dance, offering up the ice cream on a chilled out bowl. Aqua stood proudly beside it. Gray was very unsatisfied with the amount of people in the kitchen. This was somehow more juvenile than a teenager's birthday party and at the same time more formal than the announcing of a new zodiac.

Breton dashed into the kitchen, panting. "...Rina-" They panted some more. "Our four adventurers are... collapsed on the deck."

Rina whirled around. She knew very well that it could be bad news, judging by the speed at which Breton had rushed in, but at this point she would take it. Anything to get out of this ice cream debacle Sidney and Aqua had somehow talked her into.

Rina ran for the deck, Sidney and Aqua close behind her. SIdney hadn't put the ice cream down, but they looked serious again, like they had back when the acidic slug attacked.

On the deck, their little party was back. Darvi and Rune were collapsed on the floor, Darvi holding their shoulder. Belinda was looking over the side of the ship, covering her ears. June sat beside her, trying to pull her away.

Darvi groaned. "Zombies. Need to leave now."

Rina gasped. "Zombies?" She had so many questions but they had to go first.

"Any chance of them getting on the ship? How far behind you were they? Is it infectious?" She rattled off the most important questions, already moving for the wheel.

"WILL ENGINES AT FULL POWER NOW!" She hollered. "NAIM LOOKOUT FOR ZOMBIES APPARENTLY!"

Darvi groaned, rubbing their head. "I don't know. Probably? They were very close. Had to go bear mode. I have no clue."

Sidney offered the four of them ice cream, kneeling down beside them as Aqua produced several spoons for them to eat with.

Rina nodded. "Okay we just go and hope for the best. Aqua do your thing, stop them getting anywhere near us."

She jogged over to the wheel of the ship as the engines roared to life. "NICKY MACHINE GUN!"

The roar of the on board machine gun whirred to life as several hundred rounds of lead were rained down in the direction that Darvi and the rest had boarded from. Rina herself couldn't see them but if Nicky was firing with no hesitation it was probably really bad.

Gray walked over to the clump of people and handed them all a bottle of water.

Sidney helped Gray, handing more ice cream to the people while Aqua walked over to the railing. Sefarina was already turning, the anchor retracted fully and the ship eagerly embracing the waves.

"Darvi was anyone bitten or any danger like that? Do we need to quarantine?" Rina guided the ship expertly as it skidded among the rocky beach of the island, turning fully out to sea now. The gunfire was starting to die down as well.

"I don't think so."

Rina nodded. She was worried sick about Darvi. They weren't usually so quiet about something related to security if they weren't genuinely tired or hurt. She'd have to look into that later.

The ship motored out to sea, the island starting to finally get a little smaller in the background. They were fine. They were fine. They'd made it out.

"Aqua send it in now!"

The ship's engines hit full throttle right as a tornado of wintery wind blast out from the back, hopefully scattering and taking down anything that was chasing them. Another massive gust of wind cleaned through the sides of it.

That would hopefully get rid of anything that was clinging onto the sides and trying to board. Aqua stood smirking, arms outstretched.

"Cleanup job nice and complete, Captain." She grinned

Rina grinned back. "Aye Aqua. Once more into the unknown then."

"I'm calling it. Next one's going to be poltergeists and ghouls. I mean we've had horrible ghosts and zombies."

Rina chuckled. "Only one way to find out."

Well, as an understatement, none of those islands had been great. Yes, they'd found some signs of humans, but neither island looked like it'd support human life now. Or really, any non-monstrous life.

Will strolled to the railing of the ship as they prepared for landing on their third island. Naim had spotted it a couple hours ago, and it looked... relatively normal? As normal as a surface that was not a ship could look. There were hills on the land, bigger than the mounds of dirt that passed for hills on the ships.

The sun slanted across the open plains. Grass waved in a slight breeze from the ocean, and it looked almost deceptively peaceful. Will couldn't explain it, but the closer they grew, the more anxious he felt. When they finally landed, he pushed down the urge to immediately turn back. No. They were here for a reason, and they would pursue their mission, strange feelings or not.

Idris wandered on to the grass, her eyes wide. Her hands shook slightly as she fell to her knees on the grass. Water lapped gently at the shore behind them.

Breton quickly rushed to her side, clearly curious as to what made her fall down to the grass. Idris didn't seem to notice, burying her face in the grass, a muffled giggle emerging from the pile of girl.

Rina was at the head, staring out into the distance. The open plains seemed to be stretching on for miles and miles and not a thing appeared to be in sight. At least for now. Sidney and Aquarius were chattering about something or the other, towards the back of the group. They were both working away on identical ice cream cones.

A few clouds drifted lazily across the sky. By all measures, it was a beautiful day. Will bent down to feel the grass. It felt very similar to the grass grown for parks on the ships, albeit a tad bit rougher.

"The weather seems pleasant," Will remarked. "But I just feel..." He glanced behind him nervously. Just the ship and the waves. He didn't even know how to explain it, and ended up shrugging awkwardly.

Darvi walked from behind Sidney and Aquarius, a serious frown on their face. "I think we should turn back. I don't like this."

Breton turned around to look at her. "But look at how much... uh... fun, Idris is having!" They sounded somewhat like a child that was begging to stay at the playground.

Rina nodded. "I agree. There's just. Bad vibes around this island. All around. Its so. Its so plain. So unthreatening that it just feels like a trap. I don't know about this guys. Given our track record for islands so far... this feels very bad. Maybe the worst one yet."

"Yeah." Will thought he saw something move from the corner of his eye, but when he whipped his head towards it, it was only a blade of grass. A gentle breeze caressed him, as if laughing at his paranoia. It only made him feel worse.

The hills were clustered towards the center of the island. It was large enough that there could conceivably be some kind of settlement there, but... Would it be a friendly one or a terrifying one? Will's money was on the latter. "Soooooo," he said, grimacing. "I'm assuming we can't just ditch without investigating. As much as it would be nice to."

Rina shook her head slowly. "Yeah as much as I want to agree about the whole getting out of here plan, I think we owe it to everyone back home to at least take a look around. This is what we signed up for after all. We just have to hope the stars will guide us through this and won't lead us into something we can't come back from."

"That sounds cute and all, but we just escaped from a zombie apocalypse." Darvi crossed their arms. "And I don't want to find out what this place is hiding."

Aqua hopped up with an answer. "My vote is on Plants vs. Zombies."

Sidney nodded. "I second that answer."

Aqua grinned. "My advisor is backing me up on this decision. Looks like that is the majority vote folks."

Sidney and Aquarius exchanged a high five. "Plants vs Zombies for the in. We've brought appropriately themed ice cream of course."

"What is Plants vs. Zombies?" Breton asked, fiddling with his bag.

Will raised an eyebrow, amused. "Zombies sound terrifying, but I wouldn't underestimate the plants, honestly. Just wait until we somehow stumble into strangling vines or flowers that chomp your toes."

Darvi grimaced. "Look. We go and we turn back at the first sign of trouble."

"At the zeroth sign. The negative first sign." Will squinted at the hills. No signs of technology that he could see-- at least, the sun didn't glint off anything that looked remotely like metal.

Rina nodded. "Alright I can live with that. We set foot into creepy island that is giving all of us the worst vibes because we kind of accidentally, misguidedly, sadistically or on purpose agreed to do this but we turn back at the first sign that stuff here is obviously hostile and couldn't be host to an intelligent civilization. How does that sound?"

"Acceptable. A good plan, considering the circumstances." Will tried to remember the sense of purpose he'd first felt when agreeing to this mission. Maybe that could bolster his resolve.

Idris sat up from the grass, breathless and her cheeks cherry red. She still had a massive grin on her face.

Sidney and Aqua nodded. "We can live with that."

SIdney continued. "Not getting kidnapped by zombies sounds like a wonderful plan."

A silhouette appeared in the near distance. Will was fairly certain it hadn't been there before. He squinted at it, but his eyes didn't quite seem to want to focus. Even moving slightly to change perspective didn't help-- the figure remained in shadow, despite it being completely incongruous with the position of the sun.

Will wanted to hope it was a human, but the nervous feeling increased until he could practically feel his fingers trembling. He couldn't see their face, but somehow, he knew it was staring straight at them. Well, that wasn't ominous at all.

Darvi noticed the figure too and jumped. "What the fuck is that?"

Sidney spotted a figure up ahead. It was odd. It was only a sillouette. It was hard to tell if it was even three-dimensional or just a shadow standing straight up against nothing. By all means, that was impossible. But no more impossible than something being pure dark at noon with nothing around to cast a shadow.

Sidney frowned, glancing over at Aquarius.

"What do you think that is?"

Aqua frowned just the same. "I honestly haven't the foggiest idea."

Sidney shrugged. "Yeah its. I don't know. Weird. Feels like a shadow of some kind."

Aqua nodded. "Yeah. That's the best way to describe it. I can't really think of anything else."

"Should we try and go talk to it?"

Aqua shook her head. "I don't know Sid. That seems very dangerous. Maybe let's ask Darvi first?"

Sidney sobered up pretty quickly at that statement. "True true. Let's make sure our security expert is okay with it first."

Aqua nodded and bounded over to Darvi.

"Darvi. Rina. There's something up ahead. Like a weird shadow thing. Should we go talk to it?"

"Absolutely fucking not." Darvi glared at it, his eye twitching slightly. "We're staying far away."

Aqua looked a little bummed out but nodded. "Think its too dangerous to take the risk?"

Sidney leaned in close as well. "Yeah. I mean it is interesting."

"I think you're suicidal for even considering it." Darvi scratched their neck, harder than necessary. "It's just... staring. Like a predator."

Rina nodded. "Yeah. It looks. Hungry. I know. That's a weird assumption to make on a creature you can't really make out an actual mouth on but that's how it feels."

Sidney nodded, blushing slightly. "Sorry. We'll avoid it then. Although maybe we should investigate together. It could be a friendly civilization. Or maybe it can lead us to one. We have to at least try together?"

"I don't see how anything that looks like that can be friendly." Darvi can't seem to tear her gaze away, still scratching at their neck.

Rina hummed. "I have to agree. But we do also have to consider the fact they are what appears to be the inhabitants of the place. I don't know if we can consider them hostile without making some form of contact."

Sidney nodded. "That's what I'm thinking."

Aqua giggled. "Totally Sid."

Sidney huffed. "Shush. It was kind of the idea. I'm just not great at putting into words sometimes."

"Words are hard." The two of them nodded solemnly.

"We are not making contact." Darvi hissed in pain, pulling their hand away and looking at it as if they just were snapped out of a daze. He shook his head and stuffed his hand into his pocket. "We're keeping our distance."

Sidney grumbled and huffed. "Fine. Fineeee. I'll stay away."

Rina shrugged. "I would probably make contact, but I'm going to defer to Darvi in this matter given Darvi has been on more of the islands and is our security expert. She gets the final say."

Darvi nodded, eyes locking on the creature again. "Yeah."

Sidney huffed a tiny bit and maybe puffed a tiny bit but no one could prove that unless they had videotaped it.

Aqua patted her on the back. "It's fine. We'll get to explore other islands."

"Other islands?" Sidney grumbled. "That's assuming we even find another one."

"We've found three now. Of course we'll find other islands."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sidney. "What if this is the island. The island where it all goes down and the island upon which the greatest mystery of our time is resolved?"

Aqua shrugged. "Okay I'm not saying that this island isn't going to be that because no one can say that for certain except maybe Willow but I have a feeling this is not it."

Sidney frowned. "How can you be so sure though?"

Aqua shrugged. "Call it a hunch girl. I can just feel it. Something about this island is just wrong. Honestly I am on team get out of here as soon as we possibly can."

Sidney huffed but nodded. "Well you have proven so far to be one of the coolest people that I know and love so if you are also agreeing with Darvi I guess its true. We should try and leave soon then."

Aqua nodded. "Attagirl."

"Can I have one little walk first? I won't go too far away and I'll stay away from the creepy figure I promise."

Aqua and Rina, who'd probably also been listening in nodded. Sidney beamed and skipped a few steps away from the group, heading away from the figure and keeping it in her sights. You never know if these things could teleport or if they were like those scary angels she'd read about once that only moved when no one was looking.

Darvi practically yelped, though he would never admit that. Not even to Libra's face. "Sefarina..."

"Yeah?"

Darvi pointed towards the creature.

The creatures.

Somehow a second one had appeared, much closer than the first one.

Sidney wandered away from that too. A walk alone had sounded like a great idea only moments before but the fact that a second one had appeared was making her question it. If a third one appeared, she was going to turn back. She had to. It was too dangerous to end up being cornered by them.

Sidney felt warm breath on her neck, the sun suddenly appearing dimmer.

Sidney frowned, turning around to see what that was. It felt like someone. Something. Something was close to her. What was it?

It was another creature, right behind her. It was taller than she expected, towering above her. Probably even taller than Sefarina. Even this close it was pure shadow, but there was a clear head on a clear set of inky shoulders. It was bent down slightly, like it was peering down at Sefarina. At its feet was a flower that seemed to sparkle like crushed gemstones. It was a magnificent bluish color.

Sidney gasped at the flower. Oh it looked so beautiful. Surely she could go ahead and take that. The creature was only looking away. It was probably busy staring at Sefarina and Darvi and all the others. They were the people who could present a real threat to it anyway. Sidney was just door girl. The one who barely had any powers. No one was going to pay attention to her. No one would stop her taking this pretty flower. It was such a pretty flower. She was just going to slowly lean down and pick it up.

Sidney lowered herself into a crouch and gently plucked the flower. It even felt like a precious gemstone. So cool to the touch and so sparkly in this light. It was the prettiest thing she had ever laid eyes on. That she was quite sure of.

When she looked up again, the creature was standing straight up, staring off into the distance, the opposite direction of the group and behind Sidney.

Sidney didn't give it too much notice. The flower was so pretty. Too pretty to be looking at anything but it really. It would be very disrespectful for the flower if she looked away. The creature was behind her. She should probably move from this spot. The creature was too close. Yes. She should move. But the flower. The flower. It was so pretty. Would be rude to move without touching the flower and telling it how pretty it was.

"You're such a pretty flower."

The flower didn't respond because it was, well, a flower. It did however seem to turn its head behind Sidney.

Sidney frowned. Did it want her to go in that direction? Maybe that direction was safe. Was home? Or was it? Should she even go home? Or even in that direction. No No No.

There was a much better idea. A very good idea. More flowers.

She could get more pretty things. The flower would know. Know where to get more pretty things.

"Are there more pretty things in that way darling?"

The flower bobbed its petals, almost like it was pushed by a breeze.

Sidney grinned. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Good flower. Sounds like a great plan. Go in that way. Find more pretty things. I like to find pretty things. Pretty things are nice. Nice. People like me more when I have pretty things. People will like me more. That's what's wrong. That's why everyone on the ship hates. They all hate me. They think I don't have enough pretty things. They think I'm stupid. Of course I am. Stupid people don't have pretty things. Pretty things. Pretty things."

She turned fully and began to walk. This was the right thing to do. This was going to make everything better. Everyone would like her. She would get so many pretty things. She would get the most pretty things. Then everyone would like her the most. Like her the most. That sounded good.

Up in the distance there was another splash of glitter on the ground. Another flower? Something better?

Sidney jumped at the chance, moving towards it quickly. She had to get it. She had to get it before anyone else could see it? If they saw it of course they would take it. They would take her pretty thing. They would be the owner of the pretty thing. Sidney would never be a valued member. She skipped her way to the flower, kneeling down beside the beautiful glimmering flower. It was just so pretty. Too pretty to describe. This was one was a sky blue, it's head shaped like a heart. Another creature stood in front of her, but she could barely focus on that when the flower caught the light like the ocean.

She sighed happily and picked it up as well. Two pretty things. She had two pretty things now. Who could care about shadow creatures when they had so many pretty things in hand? The creatures were probably just admiring how amazing she was. She must be so amazing to be able too have so many pretty things. She simply had to be. She grinned, looking for more pretty things. There seemed to be an entire path of glitter in front of her now. Everywhere else was pure darkness. The sun felt so far away, but it was just jealous of all the pretty things that went on and on. They never seemed to end.

Sidney happily skipped after them. This was the way to follow. This was the way to the pretty things. She would have so many pretty things. She was going to pick each and every one. She was going to bathe in pretty things. All of the pretty things would be hers. They would all be hers.

She announced loudly to the heavens, making sure that even the stars knew who was the owner of the pretty things.

"MY PRETTY THINGS! MY PRETTY THINGS! I own all the pretty things. All the pretty things will be mine!"

She ran after the trail, hurriedly picking each beautiful glittering thing. She could just feel herself become better and more likeable with each flower. Each pretty thing would make her better. More beautiful. More fast. More. More. Just more. Her brain was a little fuzzy now. Thinking was hard. Luckily for her, thinking wasn't needed. Not when you had pretty things. The creatures closed in on her, drawing closer and closer as her eyes grew heavier. But the flowers always stayed in her vision. Always there.

She didn't mind them. They were friends. They were good. Good. Good. Good. Flower pretty. Pretty. Pretty. Pretty flowers good. Going back bad. Going in good. The figures kept on coming. They were so many. So many new subjects for her, the queen of pretty flowers. They would crown her now. They had all chosen her.

She wandered deeper and deeper into the plains. The beach was far behind her now, her crewmates long since out of sight.

Juniper wasn't sure what to make of these... things. They weren't human, that's for sure. They reminded her of necrotic tissue-- dark, festering spots on the skin that signaled decay and rot. But, these figures weren't physical. They seemed to warp reality themselves, turning the bright day into something dark and unnatural.

Her mind raced, trying to find a medical parallel, a way to make sense of the insensible. Perhaps they were like metastases, spreading an unseen malignancy across this island, corrupting everything they touched. Or maybe they were akin to anoxia-induced hallucinations, a symptom of something larger, more insidious disease. But these creatures weren't hallucinations, and they weren't a disease. They were real, and Juniper had the gut feeling that they were more than dangerous.

Sidney had been right there, moments ago, but now she was gone. Juniper's heart tightened, and she turned to the rest of her crew, gulping. The fact that they allowed Sidney to wander off didn't sit quite well with her. But, there wasn't much she could do. She was only a medic, after all.

"Where's Sidney?" She asked, scanning their faces for any sign of recoginition. Her voice possessed a slight hint of panic.

Rina frowned, looking deeply unsettled with everything at the moment. She seemed to be slightly out of it but seemed to hear her.

"Sidney. Where is she? What do you mean?" She began to look back and forth rapidly.

Will blinked, looking like he was coming out of a trance. "Huh?" He absentmindedly fiddled with something from his pockets.

"How long ago did she go on that walk?" Juniper asked, eyes scanning the premises. Goosebumps suddenly appeared on her skin, as if something was crawling on her. She instinctively smacked her arm, and then itched it rapidly.

Rina blinked, turning to Aquarius. "Aqua?"

Aqua turned. Her eyes were a little glassy and unfocused. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Ice cream is a delicacy. I promised my pet mongoose I would take xem on a walk."

Rina blinked, shaking her head. "What?"

"The mongoose who dances or the other one?" Will asked. He blinked sleepily.

"The dancing mongoose, " Aqua replied. Will nodded like that was perfectly sensible. Rina walked over and patted both of them on the back.

"You're not making sense. You're... but are you?. Maybe you are. Am I the one speaking nonsense?"

"That sounds silly," Juniper yawned, "Nap. Maybe Sidney took a nap. Nap sounds good."

"Nap. Wait naps." Rina's eyes sharpened.

"Sidney???" Juniper called, and her voice echoed through the vastness, "We're taking a nap! If you want a nap, yell 'Nap!'"

Nothing.

"Hm. That's strange," Juniper yawned again. Will fell to the grass and started to curl up and close his eyes. In a second he was snoring softly, a blade of grass in front of his face moving back and forth as he breathed in and out.

Rina shook her head. "Nap. No Nap. We were going to go back. Go back." She jumped, eyes wild now. "We have to go back. Go back. Everyone. On your feet. On your feet." Will turned over and mumbled under his breath.

"Rune would let us nap," Juniper sat next to Will and leaned her head on his back as a pillow, "A little nap won't hurt. Just.... just thirty minutes."

"Or thirty years," Will muttered.

Darvi, meanwhile, was pacing, looking far away from sleep. “They’re… it’s in my skin. I can’t… and they’ll…”

"No Naps." Rina shook her head wildly. Why was she concerned? She shook Aqua. "Sidney. Sidney is in danger. The ice cream is melting."

That seemed to trigger something in Aqua's who's eyes suddenly looked much clearer. "Not the ice cream. They wouldn't... oh the stars. Sidney. Sidney's gone. She was just going to wonder over. How long has it been?"

Rina shook her head worriedly. "I have no clue. Its. Everyone's speaking nonsense."

The look on Aqua's face was pure fear. "Guys. Guys. Sidney's missing. We have to find her." She groaned coming over to Juniper and Will and shaking them both.

"Guys uhh. Belinda is dating the ship now. She told me herself. Are you both going to live with that?"

Juniper's eyes shot open and she looked around wildly, "Ship Belinda dating? Oh, silly. Belinda is already dating. I ship her and I."

"Huh? The ship didn't say anything about that to me." Will sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at Aqua's fearful expression, and looked like a bucket of water had been dumped on his head. "Sidney! Missing! Right!"

When Will jumped, Juniper's heart dropped. Suddenly, she was thinking clearly, "What? Missing. Sidney's missing."

Breton looked up at the group, still sitting in the grass next to Idris. He clearly was obliious as to what what was happening. "Hi guys!"

Rina and Aqua nodded feverently. "Sidney's missing. We have to find her. Only thing is there's no telling how long its been. Its not like we can just search the whole island."

Aqua groaned. "If only there was an ice cream that could track people."

Juniper thought about it. She could sense living things. Her gift from the stars allowed her to see particles, gather bacteria, and scope out anomalies. Maybe... if she could concentrate the oxygen, and somehow manipulate it to her favor...

She focused.

Suddenly, a pull to the East targeted itself in her gut. Her eyes moved, but they soon dropped. All she could taste was hemoglobin.

Blood.

"Blood," Juniper pointed East, "Over there."

"Yay!" Breton jumped up from where he was sitting. "Too bad that this island has so many hills."

Rina beamed. "Perfect. And I know just how we can get a lock on Sidney. Breton. Astral projection. Let's head that way, then Breton can go in before us confirm that Sidney is being held there."

"Me?!" They looked like their jaw was about to snap off.

"Yes. You're our biggest hope right now of being able to pinpoint this."

"But... I'm practically being watched while I'm sleeping!"

"At least that means the figures won't be able to carry you off like whatever they did with Sidney," Will commented. "We'll make sure you stay safe."

"Sidney could be dead. Breton, I know that you're nervous, and I get it. Because like... imagine having to leave your own body, in an unknown place, and travel to find someone that could possibly have been killed by now. You got this. No big deal. No pressure," June was shaking now. She didn't feel good about this at all.

"Yeah. Sure." Breton rolled his eyes.

Rina patted his shoulder. "We'll watch over you without staring directly. I promise no harm will come to you."

Breton sighed, laying down in the grass. It didn't help that everyone was banking on him to find Sidney. Or that there was this nagging feeling that someone, no, something was watching them. The others probably were watching him.

He shuddered, as he felt himself drift slowly out of his body. He looked down at the others. Oh wow. They really didn't look at him. He shook his head. That wasn't the point of projecting. They started floating the way Juniper had pointed. East.

The hills looked so pretty from up here. Very grassy. Very hill-y. The breeze ruffled a few blades of grass playfully. A few minutes in they spotted something. It was. It was hard to describe. Crumbling walls. Mossy threads spreading out across it. It was a large room of some kind.

It seemed like some sort of ceremonial hall perhaps. Breton didn't know anything about whatever culture this was to tell. That wasn't the worrying part at any rate. There was a chair. A single chair. Sitting on it was Sidney.

She looked happier than Breton had ever seen her, smiling widely and grinning adorinly out to everyone like she was their queen. The creatures were surrounding her. There were so many of them now. Dozens upon dozens, maybe even hundreds. They were encircling her, boxing her in completely with their sheer numbers.

Sidney didn't appear to be the slightest bit bothered by this. This was concerning. She was way too happy about being kidnapped by some... shadowy stalker creatures.

It felt like they could still see him. He hoped, prayed, that they couldn't. At this point, it looked like they were going to eat her or something. He shook his head. He had to tell the others.

He floated back to his body, and gasped for air. "Sidneysbeingworshippedorsomethinginsomealtarbythecreepystalkercreatures!" They panted.

Rina's eyes widend. "Creepy stalker creatures. Worshipped? Sidney? Altar? What do you mean by altar?"

"Worshipped?" Will frowned. "How? Are they offering her food? Or is this one of the creepier things with sacrifices?"

"She's being... surrounded by them. She looked like she was enjoying it, somehow. There were also like, so many flowers. So many." He paused. "And by an altar, I mean that it's some sort of... hall. It looks like it would fall over if a strong wind hit it though."

Aqua gasped. "A hall? You mean. You mean. It's some kind of temple? Are they worshipping Sidney or..." Aqua paled. "Are they about to kill Sidney in sacrifice to some god that they are worshipping?"

"Probably. I didn't get too close. It felt like they could still see me when I was projecting."

Aqua shook with fear at the thought. "A sacrifice. Oh my. Oh by the stars. Oh this is. Sidney's going to be sacrificed to some strange god on a forgotten island. We're going to lose her."

Rina patted her on the shoulder. "No we're not. No. No. I'm not letting that happen. Not on my watch. We're going to go find Sidney and get her back."

"I agree. If we waste too much time, she might be in danger." Breton stood up, cracking his back.

Rina nodded. "I accepted her on this ship giving Cancer my word that we would bring her back in one piece and safely and I'll be damned if I don't do that."

Aqua nodded as well, steeling her face. "I haven't known her for very long but she's amazing and she is also my ice cream advisor. Aqua is many things, but someone who leaves people behind, she is not."

Breton looked around the hills. There didn't seem to be any more of those... stalker things. He started walking towards the ceremony hall thing. "This way!"

Rina nodded, following along. "Thank you June as well for figuring out which direction to go in and thank you Breton for talking this risk. I know you were uncomfortable and now it looks like the creatures ended up spotting you as well. I know how horribly unsettling just a normal person watching you can be, so thank you so much for braving it. Now let's go bring our girl Sidney home. Who's with me?"

Aqua jumped up. "Me!"

There was a ascending cheer from Darvi as well as Will.

Rina grinned.

"Go on then Breton. Let's do this!"

"Alright. Follow me!" They started marching (more like skipping) towards the spot they had floated to earlier.

Rina followed along. The plains didn't seem to change much as they marched. It was somehow just the same grassy plain over and over. It was hard to explain. Rina almost felt like they were looking at some sort of illusion. This photograph of a perfect grassy plain that was being looped over and over for them, making them believe that's what was surrounding them.

A few minutes passed as they walked. Then, as they reached the top of a hill Breton laid down, peeking at the bottom. "Right there!" he whispered, pointing to a moss-covered ceremony hall.

Rina seemed to spot it too. "I see it. I see it. Oh that looks dangerous." She shuddered as Aqua glared as menacingly as she could muster at the hall.

"I don't love the vibes that its giving off but if that's where Sidney is, then that's where we need to be as well. Let's go free our girl!"

"Let's go save Sidney from the stalker monsters!" Breton said, standing up. Hopefully nothing bad would happen. Hopefully.

Aqua was starting to really feel the burn now. It had been easy enough to trek across the vast open plains up till now but it was starting to get tougher and tougher. It was honestly a little on the strange side. Aqua wasn't exactly a marathon runner by any stretch of any imagination whatsoever, but Aqua was pretty fit. So struggling while going across a vast open field that had almost nothing at all to block their way or make it harder to traverse was just a tiny bit concerning.

The only thing that this sudden fatigue could be attributed to were the creatures that roamed this area. They were creepy. Creepy was honestly not advanced enough to properly describe them. There was something that was just plain... wrong about them. Everything about them. From their shadowy forms that were mesmerizing as much as they were terrifying to the blank, vacant faces that betrayed absolutely nothing.

Aqua figured that along was incredibly disconcerting. Blank, empty faces that appeared to have no eyes. No mouth. No nothing at all but at the same time if Aqua had to describe what they were doing with one word it would be watching. Observing. Seeing. They were seeing them. They were staring at them. Intently studying them like they wanted to look deep within and extract the secrets of how they functioned. All of that without ever having a single visible eye. It was disconcerting to put it mildly and Aqua would love it dearly when they could leave this island.

That of course was the cause of all of this. They couldn't leave anyone behind and right now leaving this island would mean leaving Sidney behind. Aqua knew that Sidney was maybe not the most popular member on board the ship right now, which Aqua had no qualms in admitting was because she was admittedly a little bit spoiled. Aqua knew there was much more to her though. In fact, if someone asked Aqua to pick out a favorite among the crew Sidney was almost certainly the name that would come to mind. She would probably tell anyone who asked it was Sefarina because that was the person Aqua had genuine reasons to justify her response with but deep down Aqua knew it was Sidney.

It was Sidney on all six ways to Sunday and that was very much set in stone. Sidney was the one that Aqua just.. vibed with. it was hard to put any of this into actual words, that's just how the cookie crumbled. Some feelings were impossible to really some up. After all, what was language but a human construct. A pale approximation set up so they could attempt to communicate the vast depth of feeling in the human mind but it was clear it wasn't enough. More often than not, any feeling that mattered a lot just could not be summed up. Not with words.

Aqua let out a small sigh, tapping on her chin. Oh they had to get Sidney.

"Rina, do you think we will make it back with Sidney?"

Rina frowned, her face going through several expressions rather quickly.

"Look. These creatures are freaky. You have no idea what they were doing to you like thirty minutes ago. It was intense."

Aqua nodded. "Yeah I felt that. I just. I wasn't myself."

Rina nodded. "Exactly. That's about the best way to put it."

"So you think our chances are pretty low?" Aqua was starting to get steadily more and more worried as this conversation went on.

Rina attempted something that could pass for a reassuring smile. She looked like she was trying to reassure herself more than she was Aquarius but Aqua found comfort in it all the same.

"Well. In a word. Yes." Rina nodded grimly. "But that doesn't mean we're going to give up or stop. We're all going back home together or none of us is going home."

Aqua nodded. "I can stand by that captain. I can stand by that. I know for one I am not going back without Sidney. I know we've maybe not known each other long enough to actually miss each other that much but.."

Rina just nodded, cutting Aqua off. "You don't have to explain to me Aqua. Trust me on that one. I know how easily you can become friends sometimes." She giggled. "Especially when you end up fighting an acidic maggot together to save your captain. Thank you again for that by the way."

Aqua flushed slightly and waved it off. "Oh please. I did hardly any of the actual heavy lifting. Naim was there and umm Sidney and you know they along with Idris were definitely the bigger players in that equation."

Rina huffed. "Girl you're the one who used all that ice and impaled the thing to death. Sure the others helped in the distraction but with my powers being a bit on the lower side there I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for your intervention."

"Well I..." Aqua began but Rina cut her off again.

"No if and or buts. Because you were the major player in that rescue and that is quite simply put a fact, so I won't be hearing out any excuses to the contrary."

Aqua grumbled but conceded the point. She was kind of proud to be acknowledge like this but somehow getting acknowledged by Rina proved to be tough. Aqua was always grateful and fighting to get the acknowledgement of so many others especially back on the Aquarius ship where those old idiots sometimes tried to undermine her but somehow this felt different. Maybe it was the fact that Rina was just far more accepting of her and willing to hear her out. Maybe she felt on some level that Rina would acknowledge and appreciate her no matter what. As opposed to those other clowns who of course just did their best to undermine and undercut her own accomplishments as much as possible.

Aqua shrugged. "So... time to bust down this temple then? Do we have some kind of plan or are we just?"

It was Rina's turn to shrug. "I don't really know. I think we just try and get inside an go from there. I have no clue where to begin."

"Sounds good to me," Aqua nodded.

"Let's do this," said Rina as they began the trek up to the temple.

Idris was no stranger to old buildings. The house she grew up was well lived in. The floorboards creaked and the doors seemed to protest opening. The windows never closed quite right, letting in the faint whistle of the breeze. It was comforting knowing that their house seemed to have a life of its own, a history beyond just Idris and her family. It seemed cruel that her sad existence was the only thing that house knew.

She felt no such way for the temple before her. It seemed ancient, built with natural Earth that used to be so foreign to her. It was clearly from a time before the shadows, they didn't seem to possess hands or tools. That meant there had to be a group of people here once, carving a place from the ground itself. She distantly wondered if the temple missed them. Did the Earth feel the moment when the humans were replaced by those creatures? Was it forced to sit there, unmoving, as its people were devoured?

Idris shuddered, patting the stone wall of the temple. It must hurt to be used for some vile purpose and have no way to stop it. She hurt enough from her own vile deeds that she controlled.

Darvi paced around it, face twitching with guilt and fear. He had the same air as an inmate on death row, wringing his hands in a feeble attempt to stop thinking about the inevitable.

As they got right up to the walls of the dilapidated temple, Sefarina held up a hand.

"Okay we're here. I feel like this isn't really necessary since all of you came this far but is there anyone who would rather stay outside and sit this out or make their way back to the ship? This is your final chance. If you set foot inside the temple, there's no going back."

Aqua nodded immediately. "I'm not going anywhere without Sidney."

Will nodded solemnly. "The ship wouldn't want to lose a crewmate. Not like this." Breton, who looked a little tired from all the astral projecting nodded hesitantly as well.

Darvi flickered back to reality long enough to nod. "I'm not failing her again."

Idris gently tugged on Sefarina's shirt, frowning slightly.

Rina looked down at her. "Yes Idris? Was that you agreeing?"

Idris pulled out her notepad and wrote a single question that had been stuck on her mind since Sidney went missing. Why am I here? She hesitated before writing again. Won't I just get in the way?

Idris was bad at many things. She was most notably bad at breathing. She was bad at beliving June or Sefarina when they acted like she was good. But she was not stupid. She knew that bringing a sick, frail, powerless person on a rescue mission was more likely to be a liability than any help. Sure, getting her off the ship maybe had some merits. And it was such a pleasant experience she didn't want to ask any questions that sent her back. But once things took a turn for the dangerous, she shouldn't have had a choice in the matter to stay.

She was a problem. She couldn't help Sidney. Sefarina shouldn't want her there.

Sefarina shook her head, smiling softly. "No Idris. You won't be in the way. I can promise you that. You're one of us. You belong here. Hey you've saved my life once already from that horribile acidic maggot thing and now we're all going to save Sidney."

Idris shook her head even faster. No! That was a fluke! I just knew you were in trouble. That doesn't mean I saved you. I just got the people who could to you. You're already here for Sidney.

Sefarina patted her on the back. "No Idris. You helped too. Remember. You were the one who distracted the beast while Aqua was able to stun it. And. On top of that. Your bravery that day. You marched in without powers into that battle without a second thought. Everyone else there had something to fall back on. All you had was your notepad and you prevailed. That is a pretty incredible thing Idris."

Idris' face turned red. Bravery isn't going to save Sidney. Skill is.

We'll find out soon enough."So, will you come with us? I promise that you're only going to be a help. I guarantee that. I know I feel safer marching into battle with you by my side than you staying behind."

"The ship thinks you're the greatest person ever," added Will. "Genuinely, Nicky and I are going to build a shrine and everything."

Idris turned even redder. She seriously hoped they were joking about that. Fine. She pocketed the notepad. If she was coming along, her hands should at least be free.

"In we go then," declared Sefarina as she stepped in first, closely followed by Aqua. Sidney had never seen Aqua look so determined to do something. Not when it was time for ice creams and not even back when they'd run into save Sefarina. Darvi was close on their tails, a hand already on their pistol and a grim look on their face.

Will and Breton brought up the rear, Will holding several nuts and bolts and what looked like a large monkey wrench. Breton didn't appear to be nearly as prepared for battle but it was clear he wanted to be with them on the inside.

Idris hesitated before following them. Maybe she could just slip away now, when everyone was too focused on Sidney to try and spot her. But, if they did notice, they would probably assume the worst and worry. Or even if they thought she had gone back to the ship, there was every possibility that something bad could happen to her and they wouldn't even know.

She swallowed, swiping the hair out of her face before she shakily followed after the group. She was about to jog to catch up when there was the sound of metal being pressed into the floor beneath her foot. Frowning, she lifted her foot back up to see what it was.

A scent blew through the air. She frowned. So far there had been absolutely no wind at all on this island, but now a breeze. It was gone as soon as it had come but the fragrance still remained. She could never forget that fragrance. Honeysuckle. Her favorite flower.

She glanced down closer at the thing she'd stepped on. It was shiny, polished a gleaming silver and standing out in the otherwise unremarkable dirt. It was shaped like a heart, unlike most lockets that were usually round or oval shaped.

Then she saw it. A familiar inscription. One that she could never really hope to forgot. A faint, faint S. She bent down and picked it up with shaking hands. The dust smeared across her nails but she couldn't care about that now. She opened the locket.

Inside it was a picture. Sefarina's picture. The one she'd found earlier. It should've been back on the ship but here it was, nestled into the locket like it had been their for years. It even looked a little yellowed, like the picture had aged a little along with the locket. She was reminded of a moment from long, long ago.

Ms. Hawthorne put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Here. A little gift for you, for being so brave and coming back all that way with me."

"Oh? I never get gifts." She tilted her head.

Ms. Hawthorne knelt down to her height, smiling softly at her. Was she imaging it or did Ms. Hawthorne's eyes look like little fireflies, all glowing. She rummaged in a pocked in her skirt somewhere and pulled out a small locket. It was in the shape of a heart. There was a small S inscribed onto it. She opened it to show it was empty.

"This is for you to fill. Someday. With a little picture of the people who love you. It will help guide you someday. This little S meant something to me once upon a time, and maybe one day it will mean something to you." She gently put it in Idris' hand. "Don't worry about losing it. When you have a picture to put in someday, it will find you. This little lady knows her way home. And her home is.." She gently placed a hand over Idris' gently beating heart. "right there. Keep her safe with you."

Idris nodded. "I gotta hide it or Papa will break it when he gets mad."

Ms. Hawthorne gently kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it too much for now baby. A man like your papa could never even leave a scratch on it. You don't worry about it too much till you have a picture to put it. Its when you have a picture inside it that you should keep it safe. Until then she will know her way home to you."

Idris nodded. "Like magic."

The woman winked. "Exactly like magic."

Idris gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. "Ms. Hawthorne!" Her throat burned at the sudden intrusion of three whole syllables. Her voice was foreign and rough to her ears. It took a strength she didn't know she had not to fall to her knees as tears threatened to spill from her eyes,

Rina blinked. Even Aquarius looked taken aback. "Idris. Did. Did you just...? What is..?" She looked at a comlpete loss for words.

Will raised his monkey wrench uncertainly, looking around. He stared at Idris.

Idris held up the locket like it explained everything. As if anyone else had any idea of how much it meant to her. "She... l-like magic!" She couldn't help but dissolve into coughs, her tongue thick and uncooperative.

Rina blinked." Magic? I.. Is that?" She leaned over to Idris. "That's a picture of me.The one that somehow was in my pocket... that. I. Huh? I guess magic is one thing that could probably explain that."

"Is it haunted?" Will asked, clearly having no idea what to make of the situation. Still, he lowered the wrench.

Idris shook her head, cradling the locket to her chest. "Safe. I... She... I buried this." She cleared her throat. "In my... in my yard."

Rina blinked. "You buried this in your yard? To keep it safe?"

Idris nodded, trying to choke back the tears that threatened to escape.

"While I appreciate that this is creepy magic ghost bullshit or whatever, Sidney is about to get skinned like a fucking chicken." Darvi jabbed their thumb towards the innards of the temple. "So let's leave the existential crisis until after, please."

Rina shook her head. "Right. Right. Yes you're right. We need to save Sidney first. We'll figure out what that locket means in a moment.. and Idris being able to speak. I suppose with everything we're encountered on the island up to this point, Idris gaining the ability to speak is one of the more benign things to happen to us." Will smiled at that.

Idris swallowed cradling the locket close to her heart. Its home. "S-Sorry." She couldn't help but look at the ground, guilt wrapping around her throat at the idea of distracting from Sidney.

Rina patted her on the shoulder. "Come on then. Hey don't feel bad about it. We were all distracted. That was an incredibly distracting moment there."

Idris nodded. Darvi had already gone deeper into the temple, so she followed suit, trying not to visibly squirm from all of the attention she felt on her.

As they slipped in deeper, they entered some sort of central chamber within the temple. It was... old. The stone was crumbling, falling apart, looking like it was either held up by ancient magic or someone's hopes and dreams. Creatures were packed into every inch of it, stuffing the room completely full with dozens if not hundreds of the things.

It felt bright and shadowed at the same time. The faded designs on the stone were visible, and yet it was difficult to make out details on the creatures. There was only an oppressive sense of being watched.

At the center of it all sat Sidney. She was sitting down on a stool, facing them and smiling brightly. In her hand was a collection of shiny flower petals. She looked as happy as can be. As Idris watched, she happily announced.

"I AM THE QUEEN OF ALL PRETTY THINGS. I AM SO PRETTY!"

The sound was deafening in the otherwise quite island and as Idris watched with growing horror, a bigger creature than the rest was coming up behind her. It was holding a large curved crescent shaped blade. They were going to skin Sidney. It was happening.

Darvi growled and turned into a lion, pouncing on the creature with the blade. Will chucked his wrench at it. The creature howled in pain, falling back at the sudden assault. All the creatures around them began to hiss. It was a strange sound, like water flowing through ancient pipes.

Aqua growled in challenge, raising her hands. "I will end each and every one of you if I have to. Leave now or be destroyed."

Rina echoed the challenge marching into the center and starting to untie Sidney, eyeing the creatures that were inching closer and closer to the chair. They seemed to expand somehow, filling the space and sucking up what little light was left in the room. And always, always, that sense of being watched.

Darvi bit into the creature, actively trying to injure what would be its neck. Idris watched in horror, heart pounding loudly in her ears like the ticking of a clock. A clock that seemed to count down the seconds to their doom. She took a step back.

Sefarina just about barely scooped Sidney into her arms as the creatures crowded them on all sides. The crew was force into a tiny circle, standing back to back. Aqua was straining her arms but all she could muster was a brief chill. Her powers couldn't function as well without the ocean to power her. Sefarina was much the same on this weatherless husk of an island.

The creatures got ever closer. All of them watching.

Will chucked nuts and bolts at the creatures, but they only watched impassively, not even flinching. "Do these things even have any weaknesses?" he asked, sounding decidedly panicked.

The ground under them rumbled, that hissing sound deepening and spreading out all across the floor. The ground began to shake. Cracks formed into the ancient walls. The place was starting to fall apart. Will stumbled slightly as a crack formed underneath one of his boots. He edged away quickly.

The creatures pressed forward.

Idris felt something inside of her snap. She couldn't hear the commotion anymore, only the steady beating of her heart and the uneasy breaths she took in. The creatures weren't moving. The team wasn't moving.

Idris blinked, looking down at her hands. They felt like they had fallen asleep, the skin abuzz with phantom pins and needles. The feeling moved up her arms, through her shoulders, down her sides, and to the soles of her feet.

From the creatures, who were now nothing more than foggy statues, a light emerged. It was dim. If it weren't for the thick shadows, Idris probably wouldn't have seen it. It leapt towards her, landing just before her feet.

It was a small fox, its glowing ears twitching as it looked up at Idris.

"What are you?"

The fox, being a fox, did not answer. It simply sat on its haunches, pointing its snout right at Idris' stomach.

"What? I don't..." She patted her stomach. "I don't understand."

The fox simply blinked, cocking its head slightly to the side.

"What do you want? Why are you here? What..."

The fox yipped, jumping slightly on its front paws. It was endearing, actually. Idris didn't know what possessed her, but she leaned forward to pet it. She knew you weren't supposed to touch wild animals, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from tracing a finger down its slender nose.

Suddenly the fox's light brightened until Idris had to shield her eyes. The buzz in her limbs suddenly condensed back into her chest before it softened. It felt almost like... strength.

She opened her eyes.

"I should've written a will," Will lamented. His toolbelt was lying in a corner, evidently having been chucked by him in a moment of desperation. One of his arms was bleeding and he breathed heavily, barely managing to avoid yet another attack.

Aqua collapsed onto the floor. "I can't do it. I can't do it. There's nothing here. No wind."

Sefarina shook her head sadly. "I've got nothing either. We. We need. We should. Just. Just try and r.. run. Run." A creature lunged at her.

"Enough!" Idris held out a hand. The creature flew back, hitting the wall hard enough to leave a noticeable fracture. The crumbling of the floor grew louder until Idris managed to wrench the team into the air, holding the floor with... nothing. It was hovering in the air.

Cancer was feeling rather sad today. It was an odd feeling. One that Cancer didn't often encounter when it came to life. After all, Cancer was the one with the perfect memory, the perfect intelligence. Almost everything that Cancer ever did was perfect. The rest of the world after all, was only just too dumb to see it.

Cancer allowed herself a small smirk at that. It was something at least in this recent mire of sadness. A small semblance of normalcy amidst these foreign feelings of fear and sadness. Cancer needed something to help her survive. She was perfect but not that perfect. She giggled quietly to herself and got herself out of the bed. If she lay in there all day she wasn't going to end up getting anything done, that much was certain.

Her bed was a rather luxurious affair, fine silk adorning her mattress and her pillows being made of only the finest cotton. All of them were based on her own designs of course. Sure, maybe she wasn't the absolute expert on pillows, but she was absolutely enough of an expert to produce a pillow far better than what any other manufacturer's in the area could ever hope to come up with. She was quite certain on that if nothing else.

The bedsheets were also naturally her work although she was quite delighted to proclaim to anyone who would care to listen (which was everyone of course. She was the smartest among all the people that one could listen to. Who else would they listen to instead of her after all?) that her daughter Sidney had been quite helpful in designing these sheets. She was a budding inventor as well. She might not end up being the smartest out of the family. It would be quite tough to beat Cancer but Sidney could probably come about as close as anyone could. Cancer did genuinely think so. It wasn't often she thought others would ever be able to match her but this was one of the rather rare times. It was her own daughter after all. Cancer had personally guided her education, especially during the last few years and Sidney was taking to it fairly well.

There were roadblocks. Of course there were roadblocks. If there was nothing at all trying to oppose one, was one even doing something worth doing. That was one of the fundamental teachings Cancer herself gave to all those willing to listen. Naturally that was also... everyone. Of course. One has to overcome a few hurdles in order to be doing something that is actually worth doing. In fact if everyone around you goes about accepting. If your lovers and especially if your haters think you're doing something that they all like and they all want, now that's the time to worry. The time to take a step back and wonder if you were even doing something worthwhile. Worthwhile to yourself at any rate. The others would probably feast on the bones of your success. That's what they all wanted to do anyway.

She shuddered quietly at the thoughts. These were not the kind of thoughts that sat quietly in one psyche. She had to shake them off. After all, she had other problems currently to be incredibly concerned about. It was time to do her daily check up on that. Hauling herself up, she wandered into the bathroom, to where she'd brought along a little toothbrush contraption that her daughter had made for herself in it.

Cancer's truest pride and joy. She would kill anyone who ever claimed she'd said this but in the end of it all, if she were to pick a favorite among everything she'd ever said, everything she'd ever brought to life it would be her daughter. It had been a harebrained and horrifying but rather necessary step that she'd taken to send her daughter off on that horrifying voyage into we unknown. She knew that. Knew that all too well honestly. She'd weighed the pros and cons of that decision so many moons since actually making it. She knew the horrible weight it carried and horrible implications it would have if something bad was to happen.

She shivered even in her perfectly tailored nightgown that was designed to keep her at the golden temperature of twenty seven degrees celsius. There was no other temperature that one should be at. Today however it felt far cooler. It had been the same yesterday and the day before it. She knew that today wouldn't be the last. Tomorrow would be more of the same and so would many more days, stretching out so so far.

She knew not how long that expedition would go out for, but she knew they had on board food and drink for several months, probably a year at a stretch and they would not be coming back lest something had gone horribly wrong or something had gone incredibly right.

She was hoping with ever fiber of her being that it would be the latter but there was no telling. Certainly not with voyages of that particular nature. It was rarely more than a few seconds, a single decision that could spell the difference between horrible wrong and incredibly right.

She let out a sigh. Cancer knew many things. Cancer would nay Cancer had gone so far as to proclaim that she knew all things. Several times. If she had to make such a declaration again though, Cancer would refrain. For all she knew of her daughter's fate was that she'd only find out in about a year.

It was a chilling and horrifying thought that had infested her mind and spread like a rampant wildfire causing only carnage and pain in spades. It was horrible and it could only have horrible effects. She powered through it like she had the past couple of weeks and began her morning rituals. Of late, the comfort and care they provided to her mind had started to wane ever so slightly.

That was concerning but maybe the most concerning thing of all was how little it concerned Cancer. She should've been rushing every which way trying to solve. Trying to scheme up more and more things. Figure out how to balance this out. How to connect to her daughter out on the seas. How to champion a vessel to go accompany her and keep her safe but none of it would come to her. No solutions were present. Certainly nothing that was doable. Going over to Sag and begging her to send the entire naval force of the Zodiac Isles to prevent her daughter was certainly not the most doable idea.

She had no qualms that she could do it of course. However that would then put the Zodiac Isles themselves and most importantly Cancer herself at quite the risk should any threats materialize out of long forgotten waters. While the illusion of peace stood for most of the year with nothing to question, Cancer knew that beneath the ancient waters there could be any number of threats. Pisces had found the one. Almost by complete accident. She didn't even want to know the magnitude of what they might find if they actually conducted thorough checks on a more daily basis than this.

Sighing she relented, finishing up her brushing before giving in and calling for her maids. Her face was going to be impassive instead of its usual excitement. That was simply going to be how things were. At least until her precious daughter was once again back in the safety of this castle.

"Alvira, Sera, Cheese, Pumpkin please come in and be of some use!" she barked out a quick order.

The four girls in question were prompt in their entrance, knowing that Cancer liked a great many things, but any delay on the part of the staff was most definitely not one of them.

"We're here," said Cheese, the leader of the pack as it were. Cheese Sauce had ninety nine good things about her, one of which was the fact that Cancer was rather fond of cheese and had risen up the ranks of her ladies in waiting pretty quickly. Of course quickly with respect to the rest. Cancer did not pick someone for a promotion without having done quite a lot of due diligence on them first. Cancer had been able to track down five generations of Cheese's family, going all the way back to through her parents Brie and Parmesan to her grandparents Camembert, Cheddar, Goat and Sheep and end all the way back at Farmer, Goatboy, Cheesewizz and her personal favorite Jason.

Jason Sauce had been a inventor back in his day which was quite far back and Cancer had appreciated that kind of genes being in one of her head ladies of waiting. It was unbecoming of her to be served by anyone lesser if she was being perfectly honest. The others of course had interesting connections and relatives of their own.

Avira Maria was another daughter of a long long since passed away inventory. This one had been a little bit less exciting however. Pinata Maria was a wonderful woman but her storied carrier of inventions was mostly revolving around various bats of various natures all with the express purpose of designing the pest device to open a Piñata. It was an interesting exercise of course. Cancer and Sidney had even worked on this themselves. Cancer had in fact referred back to some of the work done by the wonderful Pinata Maria. Cancer wasn't one to look through other's work unless they had truly earned her respect.

Either way it had allowed little Alvira Maria here to rise up the ranks. To heights that her parents Carlos and Tortilla Maria had been unable to achieve back when they had both worked for Cancer, or rather the former Cancer would be a more accurate way to put it. Cancer allowed herself a small smile.

"What do you need?" asked her next favorite Sera. Sera Cinnamon was quite the lively individual, her parents Sage and Rosemary being quite the interesting pair. Her most interesting family lay a couple more generation back with the dynamic twins Basil and Parsley Cinnamon. Not only did they make a fantastic pairing in many of the dishes that her private chef cooked for her, they'd also come together quite nicely to run this wonderful machine shop back in the day. Naturally it had fallen through somewhat. That was why Sera was even working in this position in the first place but in its heyday it had been quite amazing and that was another place where Cancer had unashamedly looked through. She could say with a dead certainty that those devices invented by them were no joke.

Pumpkin Spice was the newbie of the bunch and truth be told Cancer didn't trust her family too too much. She wasn't the best lady in waiting either so losing out on that one wouldn't be the biggest loss to Cancer all truths be told. Cancer was just waiting for her to mess up one of her orders. Her parents hadn't made the cut either, both Latte and Cappuccino being a bit too outspoken for her tastes. The only reason that Pumpkin was even still working for her was the work done by a great great great great grandparent of the Spice family known as Mocha. Mocha had been a bright young woman who would've been an excellent maid for Cancer if only Mocha had been lucky enough to be born in the same decade.

She sighed. There was just no accounting for the bad luck of others when it came to their wonderful services being unavailable to Cancer. Well more accurately they did not get the opportunity to provide their wonderful services to Cancer. Anyone who had the privilege of serving her of course knew to keep in mind that it was in fact a privilege. Cancer didn't just allow any old joe to go ahead and serve her, now that she did not.

"I need the bathtub full, do you know my usual order?" asked Cancer. Of course they knew. Forgetting something as simple and daily needed as that would be an instant fire of the old you're fired canon that she had of course personally made sure to fit into ever room where it shot a t shirt emblazoned with the you're not good enough to work for cancer logo she had had Sidney come up with some years back. However, she made s8re to ask every other day. It was always a very good idea to keep one's employees on their tows when it came to stuff like that. Otherwise they were likely to get rather complacent.

"Yes ma'am," said Cheese promptly. "How could one forgot something as simple as that?"

Cancer beamed. "Now that's exactly what I was thinking. The rest of you? Do you remember as well?" She of course had to ensure everyone knew. You never knew when one would pick up the sniffles. She did everything in her power to keep every surface perfectly clean of course but that could not guarantee that no one was going to go picking about in places they shouldn't. Staying safe from diseases did have a lot to do with the environment but there was a personal standard that one just had to meet. Cancer herself, thanks to the constellations and her own diligent work, had not gotten sick, not in any time that she could remember at the moment but that didn't meant that these more common folk were up to the kind of practices that came with that level of benefit.

Sera nodded vigorously. "I remember Cancer. I definitely do."

"Good. Good. That's what I need to hear. The other two you aren't escaping in the slightest. Come on I need confirmation from each and every one of you."

"Yes ma'am," echoed Alvira at last. Cancer had started to get worried about the girl for a moment. She was really lined up to receive a few ranks within the house. It would be very sad if she had to end up being fired instead of promoted. Cancer shrugged to herself mentally. It wouldn't be the first such instance of course were that to happen. It simply was just that hard to live up to the kind of standards required from this particular job. One could be amazing in every single aspect. One could be almost the perfect perfect maid but they were all just trying. At some point their own lack of intelligence would sadly occasionally catch up to them. It was truly a sad moment for Cancer when she had to let someone go due to something like that. On some level, she knew that they just couldn't. They forgot simply because they were only human. They were not Cancer. But she had to have the best and every year at least one of them did make it through. The year that no one makes it through, she'd reconsider her decision if only slightly.

Cancer glanced a little suspiciously at the quiet Pumpkin. Surely the girl wasn't about to go out in this manner. Fired for forgetting such a basic instruction. Pumpkin was on the chopping block sure. Sure she was far from the best of the lot but Cancer had figured her to be above mistakes that were this simple. Surely not. Surely this wasn't going to be the fateful moment...

"I remember ma'am," finally came the works from one Pumpkin Spice and Cancer breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't going to lose out on one of her ladies in waiting while she herself was in the midst of this personal crisis.

"Very well. Go ahead and run the bath for me then. I shall wait and finishing up the appropriate amount of brushing and washing. I trust that all you have already done so as well."

Cheese nodded as always. "Of course dear ma'am. I would never dream of coming to serve you without carrying out my morning rituals properly and having an appropriately cleansing bath."

Cancer beamed. This was the level of performance that she'd come to expect from Cheese of course. That's why Cheese was even in this position but it was another matter entirely to always see that performance met. That never failed to bring a little glow to Cancer's heart.

She beamed at the lot of them.

"Perfect. Did the rest of you do so as well?"

To her surprise Pumpkin was the next to nod, "Yes ma'am I did. The bath has been a wonderful thing. Your advice truly is the best that a girl can ever hope to receive."

She beamed. Well to think Pumpkin would start out so poorly and then end up doing so well.

Alvira and Sera nodded reverently as well, Alvira speaking up first. "I wouldn't dream of missing out on such an important and necessary bath ma'am."

"Nor would I," chorused Sera and Cancer beamed. She could tell they had of course. The detectors had made sure of that but the way they spoke about it was an important metric which is precisely she kept it quite mysterious how she knew if they had had their baths or not. The less they knew, the les they would attempt to cheat the system as it were.

It was of course a win win situation for all those involved. Cancer, smiling quite proudly to herself, continued through her daily ritual doing her best to do it as quickly as was necessary without ever missing a second of important scrubbing time. It took her precisely fourteen minutes and sixteen seconds to complete everything that was necessary and she was pleasantly surprised by the fact her bath, drawn to the exact specifications she requested of course, was already waiting for her. Sometimes she would have to wait a time as inconvenient as a whole ten seconds for it.

"Thank you kindly girls," she beamed as she gently climbed into the tub.

Sagittarius was starting to feel a little out of her depth. It wasn't a feeling that Sag could claim to having felt many times in life, but here it was, relentless and unforgiving. Sagittarius really wasn't a big fan of it. It was so foreign. Usually she got to call other people out for being out of their depth.

She let out a sigh. Well. She could still do this. She had an amazing team. One led by an amazing women who most certainly wasn't out of her depth. In fact this was her whole job. Together they could do this. They were going to pull this off no matter what came in front of them. Idris would get the justice that she very much deserved and Sag would make damn sure of that.

She sighed quietly, looking through her diary again. She'd noted down a full action plan at this point. With all the footage from that baseless threat and all the mounting evidence now thanks to what she'd found with the two cronies their case was heating up in all kinds of directions.

The only thing that was leaving her in this current mess she found herself in was the seriousness of all the people that were currently involved in this thing. The old Libra might have been regarded as a pillar of justice by every one that she had talked to but the deeper she dug the worse it became. It was a small miracle if the current Libra got out of this whole thing without major backlash.

She could at least see for certain why most of these records were so hidden and hard to find. The sheer number of guards that had put very simply, taken it much too far were just too high. Sag had a feeling Libra maybe didn't know quite the depths of this depravity. It had been a policy of trusting everyone a little too much and being a little too hands off that had caused this. Well that coupled with the fact Libra was known to be incredibly ruthless in enforcing rules. Sure they were on convicted criminals. Criminals with evidence like the case had been for Idris. Idris had of course murdered her parents. This was unshakeable news. Libra had taken it much too far with it however. There was attempting to correct and better the practices of someone. Then there was this.

This was torture plain and simple. An obvious and rather brazen display of power. Or rather abuse of said power. Sure, the constellations probably allowed it because it was on the most basic of levels just but that had absolutely nothing on the nuance that came with humans and the reasons that they did certain things.

The one time someone should be sentenced to the kind of turmoil Idris endured would rather ironically have been Idris' parents. Sag would have no problem with torturers like that being tortured in the fashion that poor Idris was. She still seethed at just the very thought of what she'd found.

It hadn't been easy of course. This far into the future since the fateful days Idris had spent with them had hidden many clues but she'd been able to track them down. It had taken a lot of work, but thankfully it seemed a concerned citizen had been their to help her on her way.

It was honestly almost an act by one of the very constellations that ruled over them. Or an act of god if she were to adhere by the old religions. This woman a Ms. Katherine Hawthorne had somehow gotten multiple pictures of the condition of Idris' living quarters, the cage that her parents had at one point put her in and generally the kind of activities they had forced the very young Idris to perform.

That was the other matter of course.

Every single despicable act that Sag had picked up would be an utter horror and an abomination performed on a toughened military general like herself. To think that a child, a growing child had to endure this not from an employer or some evil third party but from her own damn parents was a horror on a scale that Sag honestly hadn't found herself prepared for.

However, Ms. Hawthorne had been thorough, and her pages upon pages of notes made it clear she'd been doing her best to get justice for the young Idris in a system that was admittedly at the time very poorly built to accommodate for this. She'd been about to make her move when it would appear things had come to a head and what had gone down had gone down.

When Idris had been taken away it looked like Ms. Hawthorne had attempted several times to do all sorts of things to get the case thrown out but neither of them had ever even gotten to a prosecutor much less to court. The horrible system in place eliminating it all. It would seem during one of these things Ms. Hawthorne had suffered an unfortunate heart attack.

Sag had of course looked further to see if this was somehow an act by one of those horrible officials but it seems it was just a horrible stroke of luck and Idris had lost her secret guardian angel.

Sag smiled to herself. Until now at least. Idris had a new guardian angel now and having tracked down the work of the other one Sag was picking up where she'd left off. Sag patted her heart gently.

"You're not planning on giving out on me are you?"

Predictably, the heart didn't answer. Not that Sag was expecting one anyway. It was kind of tough for a heart to answer when it happened to be... well an inanimate object.

She giggled to herself and picked up the diary again. Ms Hawthorne's notes that had been forwarded to her highlighted a clear problem area. Now that coupled with the person who had been dumb enough to threaten her legal team would lead her right into the very heart of these matters.

Some horrible people were about to have a very bad day.