LSS: Voyage of the Starry Seas

Since Safi had done here the courtesy of pretending like her question was normal, Anna would do her the favor of pretending like that answer was perfectly normal too. After all, Anna couldn’t exactly rule out the possibility that the sole reason she was providing an answer of that sort had to do with the fact that Anna had phrased the question so weirdly. Maybe Safi had assumed that was just how Anna tended to talk with people in the morning. Was Anna going to have to pretend like this was the normal greeting for the rest of her life to avoid being embarrassed in front of Safi?

Thankfully for her, she was saved at the last second by Sally herself, striding in about five minutes earlier than Anna had been expecting her. Sally really must’ve been serious about this one. Anna tried her best to not look too surprised at that. It wasn’t like Sally was notorious for purposefully coming late to things she didn’t find important. Sally just seemed to have terrible luck when it came to actually arriving at anything on time. Kate had once said it was actually a rare blessing where no one who wanted to ambush Sally would ever be able to do it because Sally never appeared on time anywhere.

Before Anna could go off on another tangent of thought that someone would have to rescue her from, she managed to pull her act together.

“Sally. Welcome. Welcome. Well, this is great. We can get down to it. I have a bit of information that we’ve gotten from Kate herself overnight. On top of that a lot of other things have finally finished being fully processed so hopefully we’re going to be making some pretty solid progress today.”

“That’s great,” said Safi, walking up immediately. Well, that was now. Anna didn’t expect the girl to break off from the protective bubble that Serafina offered. News by Kate herself was probably one of the only things that could pull someone out like that. “What do we know? Is it a lead from the past? An effect on the future?”

“Well, this is an interesting one actually. There’s a bit more to it than we first thought. Sort of. Kate just made it a point to nail down the fact that this here investigation is in fact rather important even though every other sign that we’ve gotten from it so far suggests that while its mysterious its not exactly going to be changing the timeline.”

“Oh. Oh. Oh. Does that mean its being reassigned or something? Is…um. I assume it’s going to be- “

Anna raised her hand before Safi could go on too much of a downward spiral. She was going to have to note that down for later though. Being willing to step down immediately like that from an opportunity that literally everyone else who was competitive enough to make it this far in the organization would have fought tooth and nail for was quite an impressive trait. Well, if nothing else it was certainly a noticeable one that merited a mention in the evaluation for Safi.

Anna spared just a tiny glance at Serafina before she went about explaining the rest of their situation. Serafina was looking… well like Serafina. Whatever was able to push her buttons enough to cause emotion that wasn’t Safi being Safi, it had yet to reveal itself. Not wasting any time trying to decipher anything more from Serafina Anna spoke up.

“We have in fact been told to remain on the case. And not just out of the fact that there’s no one else to take it or anything else. Kate in fact made it a point to tell me that she’d reviewed everything we’d discovered so far and was very happy with the pace things were going at. She only told us to keep in mind that this case was more important than it seems and gave us some of that background information we really, really wanted. She did of course also tell us to try and maintain this pace. Well sort of. She said something more along the lines of trusting us to continue as we have because she trusted the judgements that were made but the pace thing was implied pretty much.”

“Ohh. Ohh. Ohhh. Right. She would’ve looked through everything. Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Sally had a grin on her face. “That woman never misses a trick.”

“Well, that’s kind of why she’s still in that chair after well…everything.”

“Yeah. Not like anyone else would ever want to actually sit in that chair.”

“Hmm, it does have terrible lumbar support.”

Sally rolled her eyes. “No chair in the world has enough support to actually keep you on it.”

Anna tried her best not to make a faux offended face and drag this out any longer, certainly not when Safi and Serafina were still very much in the room and in the mood for things that were more along the lines of being serious and being professional and saving worlds and the timeline.

“So, the background information. I assume we start with that, “chimed in Serafina speaking up for the first time that day. Anna was very proud of herself for not flinching at that. Serafina had somehow been gifted just the perfect voice for the kind of situations in which she actually ended up using said voice. It was unfair. Everybody made fun of her for having a voice that was too soft to be coming from her giant frame. Okay well maybe not everyone made fun of it, and some of them weaponized it like a certain Sally to make her blush like a schoolgirl but it was still very much an unfair thing. The only time it came in handy was when she had to go undercover.

“I think background information is a great place to start, “said Anna. “It was what I had in mind.” She managed not to say the part about how she was planning on covering that first while Sally made it past her early morning zombie phase and soldered on. “I think it’ll be good to have a little more on the sidelines to help really place all of what we’ve discovered in context. I myself haven’t had the most time to pore over everything that Kate gave me but the little I have seen has enabled me to place a few things into context in ways that we were already imagining but this whole bit of information makes several assumptions certainties.”

“Oh, that’s exciting,” said Safi, looking like she was trying very hard not to pace around the room excitedly to think. “We can learn so much more and maybe some of the weirder readings will make sense. I mean I don’t know if that’s a great thing exactly because it could make a lot of the leads we thought we had invalid but at least we’re going to get something concrete in these places so that’s a plus.”

Aquarius sat up at a knock on her door. Who would possibly want to speak to her off all people? Was it a ghost maybe like the ones Belinda was talking about. Maybe they got bored now that Belinda was not there. Was it someone else? Who could it be? She tried not to think too hard on it, instead of setting the book aside and getting things semi tidied up.

There was another knock. It was a little more insistent this time. She huffed. Well looks like ignoring this one and just pretending to not be there wasn't going to be a reasonable option. She had been hoping just a little bit that the person would just get tired and move on. Oh well.

Aqua quickly walked over, opening the door cautiously. It was Sidney. She grinned happily.

"Sidneyy! How are you? Haven't had a proper chance to talk since we vibed over ice cream the other day!" Aqua was very happy she'd chosen to open the door.

SIdney grinned. "Yes exactlyy. That's why I came to find you. Like we were vibing hard on that ice cream and then I have barely seen you around since it. We really should like hang out more."

Aqua flashed a thumbs up, opening her door enough for Sidney to come in. "Say less sis. Say less. We absolutely need to be hanging out."

Sidney beamed and walked in. "Wow this place is pretty neat. Better than my room anyway."

"Thank you, thank you. You know I just tidied it up like three seconds ago." Aqua giggled. She didn't mind Sidney finding that out. She was pretty sure Sidney was chill about things like that.

"Tell me about it." Sidney giggled. "When someone comess over is the only way my room's ever going to reach a state approaching tidy."

Aqua giggled. "Work smart not hard, the motto of everyone smart obviously."

Sidney offered her a hi five. "You really are a zodiac. Just dropping the wisest lines out here left and right like its your day joy."

Aqua giggled, taking the hi five. "Girl it is my day job."

Sidney cackled, doubling over with laughter. "Omg you really are good. I think this was one of the best decisions I've made all day."

"I think letting you in was hands down the best decision I might've made this week. Okay second best, right behind getting on the ship in the first place." Aqua took a seat on the bed.

Sidney sat opposite her on the desk chair. "Absolutely. That ice cream was an absolutely amazing addition too. I mean Gray's food is amazing. Ice cream though. That's a whole other league to be competing in."

Aqua nearly jumped up and down to agree with that statement. Finally someone who understood the true importance of ice cream and the many incredible benefits that it could offer a person.

"YES. YES. YES."

Sidney grinned offering another hi five that Aqua enthusiastically returned. "Besties?"

Aqua didn't even pause to think. "Besties!" This was going to be a very fun conversation.

Will hadn't expected to find someone talking alone in the laundry room, but hey, maybe the laundry machines were good listeners. Could be nice to just talk to something that wouldn't talk back and would patiently listen.

He opened the door of the laundry room, stopped in the doorway with his load of laundry, and greeted Willow. "Hey! Er... mind if I come in?"

Willow paused her mumbling and turned a bright shade of red, shushing... whoever she was talking to, "Shh! Be quiet for just a second!" She looked to Will, "Oh, yes, come on in. I promise I'm not crazy. They get... loud sometimes."

"Ah, that makes sense." Will remembered what she'd said about talking to ghosts. He put in his load of laundry, then sat down next to her. "How are you holding up? We're at the island, with your vision, and... Well, to put it mildly, that island looks creepier than a ship with a skeleton for a figurehead."

Willow chuckled and looked at the floor, contemplating, "Yeahh... thankfully the vision drama has passed. And I don't know if Sidney is going on the excursion so... I think we're good for now. And I'm just glad I'm not going. I want to try and avoid leaving the ship as much as possible. How are you holding up?"

"Maybe we should just tie Sidney up in the cargo hold," Will said thoughtfully. "If she's imprisoned on the ship, she won't die at the hands of terrifying creatures, right? And I've been doing much better since the ship stopped bothering me about barnacles."

The ship hummed in contentment. Thanks for scraping off the barnacles~

Willow made a funny face, "Barnacles. I could only imagine the ship would feel very uncomfortable with barnacles. Did you ease the ships concerns?"

"Indeed I did. Took me most of a day." He grimaced. "The work of being the ship's servant in all but name never ends." He said it with laughter in his voice, though. Ship maintenance was his job, after all, and as much as he complained, he didn't mind it too much.

Willow smiled at him, "Makes sense. It is a very important job. I'm dreading the day someone asks for entertainment. I don't know why Pisces signed me up as an entertainer-- knowing that I'm not the most social person."

Will brightened. "You must be very skilled, then! What kind of entertainment do you know? Music?"

"Yes, music. I sing," Willow blushed, and looked back down, "Unfortunately. I didn't think anyone heard me in the shower, but I guess Pisces did."

Will looked at her with frank admiration. "When I sing, I sound like a yowling alley cat. My mother has begged me never to sing in public, and not in private either, honestly."

"I'm sure you sound wonderful," Willow said, "With a personality like yours, I doubt anything you do would come off as annoying or... replicate an ally cat."

"You wanna bet?" Will grinned mischievously, then opened his mouth and belted out a few wobbly notes of a ballad he'd once heard. "Aaaaiaaiaaaaaa wanna hoooold 'em like they doooo in Teeeaaaaaxas~" His pitch varied wildly between sharp and flat. His voice squeaked on the last word as he dragged it out.

Willow didn't even cringe, she just started clapping wildly, "The Boat's Mechanic Everyone! Once in a lifetime performance, get your tickets now before they sell out!"

Will burst into laughter. "Wow, what enthusiasm! You could almost convince me I'm actually a decent singer. Though I'm pretty sure those tickets would all be stolen by someone wanting to prevent poor fools from making the mistake of buying one."

Willow shrugged "I think with a little practice, anyone can be good at anything. Plus, who wouldn't want to see a literal mechanic sing? I mean... I wasn't lying when I said it was a once in a lifetime performance." She giggled.

"That is true," Will agreed. "Haven't seen a mechanic giving concerts before. But what about you? Any chance we'll get to hear some songs?" He smiled. He was quite curious about Willow's singing, actually.

Willow blushed and smiled shyly, "I'll sing if you turn away."

Will immediately turned away from Willow and faced the other end of the room.

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. It took her a moment, but she eventually started singing, "Nearrr... Farrrr.... Where ever you areee..." Her voice was melodic, almost like a siren, "I believe that the heart does go onnnnnn...." she laughed, "Sorry. Sorry. I should probably get used to singing without laughing, right?"

"Can I turn around?"

"Yes, you can turn around," Willow covered her face.

Will whirled around to face Willow and stared at her with excitement. "Willow! That was amazing! Your voice is so beautiful; it makes my heart soar." He couldn't believe she'd been hiding a talent like that this whole time. It was honestly such a tragedy for the crew to have been unable to hear this at all. The melody drifted through his head again, like grains of sugar floating in a gentle breeze.

She peeked through her fingers, "Really?"

"Yes, really!" He nodded emphatically, a wide grin on his face. He listened for a moment, then says, "The ship doesn't quite understand the concept of human music yet, but agrees that the vibrations from your voice are very soothing and pleasant."

"Well, I appreciate that. Thank you," She blushed harder and smiled wide.

He just stared at her while smiling for a moment. Then Will cleared his throat and tried to ignore his faint blush. "Anyways. It's up to you, of course, but I think the crew would love to hear you sing some time. If you want, I could be a backup dancer... I dance better than I sing."

(969 words)

Breton slumped against the headboard, reflecting on the day before. The meeting. Mutants. Rabbits. Darvi. Apologizing. Giving up.

He felt guilty. If they had done anything they had worsened her mood. He frowned, and picked up his bag, fishing out a sleek leather-bound journal and a pen.

Flipping to a blank page, they began writing.

father said that i should be strong and support
but even rocks erode after time
they too try to escape their bodies like i-
but they are less complex beings
they can escape- forever. and i cannot.

mother said that i should try to love everyone
and i still try to follow her words in my heart
but some ice is permenantly burned on to skin
some hearts are locked with indestructable chains
some locks were never meant to be tested

father said that i deserved every misfortune in life
that i needed to man up and to be everything like him
but in doing so i break myself and sacrifice my smile
and if i cant make one person flourish into a bloom
then what is my purpose? i just become nothing

yet mother said i was her ever loving sun
who graced her with day, and brightened her night
but her arms were my air because
they held my wounds closed

and father said that i was not normal
but mother's heart said otherwise.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away from his face as he put away his journal and pen. They then got up and stretched, walking out the room and wandering the ship.

While he was wandering, he came across Rina. Surely she wouldn't notice the fact that Breton looked like he was on the verge of crying or laughing. "Hi Rina!"

"Hello!"

"How are you feeling, Rina? Any better?"

"Uhhh. I think so. Are you good?" Rina looked a little concerned.

A bead of sweat rolled down Breton's face. "Yeahtotallywhywouldyouaskthatsillyquestion?" They were practically rapping at this point.

"You seem a bit... just a little bit down."

A second bead of sweat rolled down Breton's face. "Whaatnoyousillygoosei'mtotallyfineandeverythingisokdefinitelyhahahahaha!" He said, almost speaking gibberish.

Rina put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Its alright if you're not okay Breton."

Breton slowly took Rina's hand off their shoulder. "No really l'm fine! Just a bit cold is all."

"You sure?" Rina narrowed her eyes.

A third bead of sweat rolled down his face. "Yeah... totally. Peachy. Fine. A-OK. Absolutely grand."

"You're quite literally sweatting and you claimed you were cold." Rina shrugged.

"Well...." Breton looked away. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Just walking about."

"Hm. What are the others up to?" Breton said, very blatantly trying to change the subject.

"Umm I believe we were all thinking of getting lunch actually!"

"Ah, could I join you all?" He said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Sure of course. Come along!" Sefarina smiled warmly, and gestured in the general direction of the kitchen.

Breton followed her, smiling softly. She definitely cared about them... He just wasn't ready to open up to her.

Idris rubbed her hands over the freshly waxed banister. It felt much nicer now, with no splinters or sea roughness. It would be much more comfortable to hold on during a storm now. She patted the banister and picked up her rag. She was sure something else was needed.

Waxed banisters! Oh, what a luxury! A slightly metallic voice rang out in her head, somehow conveying delight. Now, if only something could be done about the blandness of their color...

Idris froze. She looked around for where the voice could be coming from.

Perhaps an ocean blue... There was a pause for a moment as if the voice was listening to something Idris couldn't hear. Hey, don't be such an anchor. A little color around the ship could do wonders for boosting morale! Like my morale!

Hello...? Was this it? Was her history of head injuries catching up to her? Was she having a seizure?

There was a creak that, with its sharp sound, conveyed surprise. ...Hello? There was another series of creaks. Idris?

Who is this? Why are you in my head? People aren't supposed to be in my head. She couldn't breathe. What was happening?

I'm the ship! Nickname pending. Oh, I'm so delighted you can hear me! Now that stuffy mechanic isn't my only choice for a conversational partner! There was a sound like waves crashing against the sides of a ship. It gave off the impression of... giggling.

So... why can I talk to you? I don't have a constellation.

I have no idea! Amazing, isn't it? You're officially my favorite person ever.

That seems... excessive. Idris bit down on her thumb. It tasted like wood cleaner and wax. Probably not the best thing to put in her mouth, but the situation called for it.

Oh no, not at all. Tell me, o favorite human, what can a humble ship do for you?

What would you want to do for me? I guess telling me where I've missed is a good start. I would scrape the barnacles, but Sefarina's worried I'd drown. I can't swim. She frowned. I can learn though. Once we're not on the endless sea.

Not to worry about the barnacles. Will's taken care of enough of those for now. And are you sure all you want me to do is tell you where to work more? I mean, I do like a good pampering, but it sounds a tad bit unfair to you. There was a thoughtful creak.

I appreciate the sentiment but... what can you do?

Hmmmmmm. Sing you a song? Heat the banister, maybe, so your hands don't get cold? Teach you about the life cycles of ships?

Life cycles of ships...?

There was a snapping sound like the clearing of a throat. Ahem. Yes. Every ship starts as an idea. I was a very noble one, of course-- a ship to be built for long voyages, for the grand goal of exploration and discovery!

Idris nodded, then realized the ship couldn't see that. I see.

Then, the plans. Months of working on designs, ironing out details, deciding on what exactly the figurehead should be, and arguing about shaving an inch off here or there.

Sounds... much more stressful than the first part.

Definitely. But now... construction! Ahhh, the delightful scent of a lumberyard and the sound of the voices of workers ringing out. The excitement of youth and first experiencing the world around you!

Much better. But how good does lumber smell? Papa used to cut up firewood but it always smelled like cigar ash.

Well, it really does depend on what kind of lumber it is. For example, what ship and type of tree was it cut from? Also, how old is the wood? Who saw it? Who breathed near it? One guy was famous for stinking up every piece of wood he so much as walked next to...

I guess Papa was like that too. The ash was all over his shirt. Even when he took it off for bed it was on his skin. Like his sweat made it stick to him.

That sounds very unpleasant, the ship observed. Can't be good for the health either...

He had a bad cough. Idris cleared her throat. I guess I can't say too much about that. The fresh air makes it better, though. I'm not used to just... being able to walk outside.

That, the ship announced dramatically, is an absolute and utter tragedy. Idris, my dear favorite person, I hereby grant you the always and forever right to walk outside in the fresh air. Anything that prevents you from doing so will have to answer to me, grand defender of the seas, and also certain people!

Idris turned red. Oh. Well, that's sweet. But, I'm not sure it will last.

Nonsense! I can follow you around. Or, well, you can follow me around. I don't think I can choose the captain, but if I can somehow manage to communicate with other humans like with you and Will--still have no idea how either works--we could figure something out. There was a gentle rumbling like engines running.

I just don't see how this ends without me going back to... She shook her head. Never mind. I appreciate it, friend.

You may stow away in Breton's old lifeboat if you would like to stay here after the mission. I'm sure he doesn't need it anymore. And going back to where? the ship asked curiously.

I'm small enough to fit. Idris sat down and leaned against the banister. Would it be a good idea to tell the ship everything?

The ship rumbled comfortingly again. I could ask Will to talk to Gray about setting up some food stores. Make this a permanent home and fresh-air-provider.

Thank you.

Of course, esteemed cleaner!

There was a moment, and then the ship made the sound that was the equivalent of clearing a throat again. Now, to continue with that life cycle... I'm currently a young adult! On my first expedition away from home! Ahhh to be a youth, untried, eager to prove oneself against the varying trials of the world... Someday, I'll be a true weathered ship, faithful and sturdy. And many, many voyages later, I may retire or be repurposed into something else... Hopefully, that's in a long while, though.

I hope so. You're a very nice ship.

Why thank you! There was a happy crunching sound. Speak to you soon, Idris!

Idris leaned against the banister and felt her eyes drifting closed. Speak to you soon...

Nicky carefully balanced the large mission gun against her hip. She glanced at Darvi.

"Think this is good enough?" she asked Darvi.

Darvi frowned. "If it's not, we were never meant to survive. Which is a distinct possibility."

"Not gonna lie, yeah. This is about the best we got besides the ships' canons themselves."

"Hopefully we can make it back in time if they're needed." Darvi leaned against the wall, picking at something on her finger.

"I hope so too." She reached out to shake Darvi's hand with one hand, managaging to just about balance the machine gun. "Good Luck out there fellow explorer. Watch my back? Mostly cause I cannot turn any faster than a mounted machine gun while holding this?"

Darvi shook her hand, one of his nails glistening strangely in the light. "I'm good at speed."

"Perfect."

Nicky moved about the cramped little staging area carefully. It was just the side of the deck, which was fairly big, but while the lovely wooden flooring and the railings could handle the weight of a full machine gun and a lot of people, it was a narrow ish part of the deck that was probably not meant to have a full party of like seven people hanging out in it. She had not bothered to count.

Alz half-thought the boy would return to polishing his rock, but his curiosity was piqued. Slowly, the boy nodded. And so they dueled.

While parrying the boy's strikes, Alz found something of his old self again. It was like smelling a familiar scent on the breeze and being transported back to the kitchen and freshly-baked goods of one's youth.

Alz danced forward, then dodged backwards. He wove around stones and freshly-planted lettuce. He melded with his past self and the excitement he'd once felt at moving, improving, sensing one's opponent and adapting in the moment.

Before he knew it, he'd disarmed the boy. Breathing slightly harder from the exertion, Alz offered him a grin. "You dueled well."

The boy burst into tears.

Aw, wind and waves. I've misstepped again, Alz thought. He dropped his stick. "What's wrong?"

"I f-failed!" the boy wailed. He slumped onto the ground. "I'll always be a failure."

Alz bit back a comment about getting back up and trying even harder. He at least had enough sense to realize that that could come across as callous, despite his intentions to be encouraging. But... it did confuse him. Losing had only motivated Alz more. But it had the opposite effect on this child.

Silently, Alz sat down and tried to do something that had never come easy to him: to listen. To take a moment and simply try to understand.

(233 words)

Nicky frowned, her concern ephemeral as the machine gun she was holding tilted just slightly off to the side.

"Something wrong?" Darvi frowned slightly.

"Nothing, just thought I was going to lose balance for a bit there!"

"Oh, glad you didn't." Darvi nodded. "Anything else you need? Or should we head out?"

"Uhh I think I'm good! You?" Nicky nodded to Darvi.

"How much ammo do you have?" Darvi nudged Nicky's bag.

"Uhh. Enough for a few thousand."

"Few thousand what?" Darvi crossed their arms.

"For the machine gunn. So .50 BMG."

"Anything for something more close quarters? Bit more control?" Darvi held up his pistol.

"Uhhh. Good point. I was going to get like a stick."

Darvi sighed. "Please don't put your life in the hands of a stick."

"I meann it won't be only a stickk?"

"What else do you have?"

"My constellation gifts!"

"We don't know if gifts work on land, so prepare to depend soley on firepower."

"Ooh I did not think of that!"

"I figured." Darvi handed Nicky his pistol. "Here. I have a spare."

Nicky accepted it with a smile. "Thank you thank you kindly!"

"Yeah. Don't die." Darvi put their hands in their pockets. "That's the price."

Nicky nodded. "As long as you promise to pay that price too!"

"Why do I have to pay a price for giving you my gun...?"

"Uhhh. Call it a friendship charge? Tax?"

Darvi sighed. "You're lucky I'm not keen on dying."

"I'm glad!"

Darvi nodded. "I'm gussing you need ammo for that."

"Oh yeah these machine gun rounds will not fit in there!" Nicky giggled.

"I have some in my room. I can grab you some."

"Oh that would be delightful!"

Darvi opened the door. "I'll let you finih up, then. I'll be back."

"Sounds great!"

Darvi gave her a small smiled and walked out.

Nicky beamed, flashing a thumbs up as best she could with her currently quite heavily laden arms. This was going to be quite a tough journey but a rewarding one. Certainly with this many wonderful people to be going along with.

Juniper wasn't sure what to think about this place. It had good vibes, she could feel it, but there was something eerie and unknown about the vines that covered the ruins of what looked to be abandoned technologically advanced buildings. Old billboards and wires poked from under the rubble-- the air smelled of mildew and still water. All that could be heard was wind that seemed to overcome the chirping of distant birds and crickets.

Rune and the others walked ahead of Juniper and Belinda-- his boots crunching above the damp soil that outgrew the cracked streets. Juniper smacked a couple of mosquitos on her arm and groaned, "If I would've known this place would be this overgrown, I wouldn't have come. Something seems off."

Belinda looked up from her journal. "It's probably how old all of this is. And the fact walking is... weird."

"True," Juniper sighed and glanced around, looking for any sign of human life. She spotted a stuffed teddy bear-- old and molded, and rushed over to it, "Belinda, Look! Here, have this. We can clean it up when we get back. A little token of my love to remember," she joked, and held it out playfully.

Belinda took it gingerly, nose wrinkled. "Thanks. That's so sweet."

Juniper nodded and grinned before turning to look at their surroundings again, "Hey. I know they said not to wander off but... It wouldn't hurt to try and find a cure, right? I doubt that Rune will even let us stop anyways," her eyes landed on the top of a building that seemed to be poking through the trees, "There. There has to be something there."

Belinda snorted. "I'm sure Darvi won't let him notice. I'll race you!"

Juniper raised an eyebrow, "Oh, a challenge? I'm in!" Juniper started running first, pushing vines and rubble out of her way in the process. A flock of birds took flight at her sudden movement. She could hear Belinda's steps behind her, and just as they stopped in front of the building, Juniper froze. It looked like an apartment building. She frowned, "Oh. Not sure we'll find anything here, but we could scope it out. Do you feel anything, Belinda?"

Belinda huffed as she finally caught up. "There was supposed to be a countdown!" She swept some of her hair out of her face. "And... yeah. I feel a lot of energy."

Juniper eyed her, somewhat regretting their decision at this point. Maybe Rune was right. She shifted her footing, "What... kind of energy?"

"Thick. Many... heads. So many thoughts. And..." Belinda's eyes widened, her mouth falling open.

"And?" Juniper shifted her weight again, "Bad things?"

Belinda's heads snapped towards a darker street of town. "There. Come on." She took off.

Juniper hesitated and glanced back at where they came from longingly. Sure, she needed to find a cure. But Rune was right. All these unknown things, things that could possibly hurt them, lurked in the back of her mind. She sighed and followed Belinda, tracking not far behind. It was too late to turn back now.

Belinda gasped. "Stop! Wait up!"

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Juniper looked around frantically, "What is happening? What are we chasing?"

"A ghost! A human ghost!" Belinda almost tripped, but managed to catch herself, vaulting forward down an increasingly dark street.

Juniper's stomach dropped. She shook her head, "If it's running away, don't you think it wants to be left alone? Isn't it.... I don't even know, disrespectful to chase them?"

"I'm sure he's just leading us somewhere!"

"Leading us to our deaths," Juniper whispered under labored breaths, trying her best to keep up. It was times like this when she realized that she needed to work out more.

Belinda suddenly came to a stop, this time stumbling on to her knees. She grinned. "Hi!"

Juniper looked to see what Belinda was talking to, but saw nothing. All she felt was chills run down her spine, "Belinda... let's go. Please. This doesn't feel right. W-We should've stayed."

"It's okay, June. This is huge! Ghosts mean there was once people here." Belinda nodded. "This is my girlfriend, June. She can't see you." Her eyes widened. "There's more of you? Of course I want to meet everyone!"

June shook her head violently, "Belinda, I'm telling you I don't have a good feeling about this. Remember what happened to Willow when these ghosts started getting in her head? She went absolutely bonkers. Let's not test our luck."

Belinda frowned. "The ghosts aren't in my head. We just chat."

Juniper rubbed her arms nervously, "O-Okay. Fine. But only because there could be a cure at the end of all this."

"There could be! If anyone would know, it would be ghosts!" The door in front of them swung open, the hinges creaking loudly. "Woah... there's so many of you."

"Oh?" June stayed in the doorway, "Are they nice?"

"I don't know! Probably." Belinda walked in. "Hello. I'm-" She froze.

"Wh-What?" Juniper asked, her voice wavering.

Belinda gasped, a light blue fog rolling out of her mouth before she collapsed on the floor.

"Belinda!" Juniper dropped next to her and glanced around them, attempting CPR, "What," she said inbetween breaths, "The Hell," pump, "Were you thinking!" When nothing worked, she attempted to take Belinda in her arms. At this moment, she definitely wished she had worked out more. She screamed.

"Rune!" She screamed louder, "RUNE!"

There was a low chuckle as a man phased into existence in front of her. "That girl is powerful. A little stupid, but powerful." He did a slow spin, checking out his new form. "This is great!"

Aquarius grinned at Sidney as they exchanged probably about the twentieth story of the night. It was proving to be a really fun discussion the further and further they went and Aquarius was loving it. Talking about ice cream with someone who appreciated it on a level similar to that of Aquarius was not something Aquarius was able to find on a daily basis and she very much appreciated the chance.

Aquarius was always pretty good at the whole capitalizing on small opportunities thing. She had a fair amount of experience in that department. Mostly from the fact she'd had to become a zodiac at an age wildly considered just a little bit too young for that sort of thing. Maybe. It wasn't like anyone would ever say that out loud. Well maybe besides Sag.

Aqua grinned about that particular thought. Most people had predicted, maybe somewhat accurately based on past experiences that Sag would be one of the people that disapproved most of Aqua. And to be completely to fair to all of them Sag did, on a fair few occasions, especially in public when all of them were gathered together but at the same time Sag was also secretly Aqua's biggest supporter.

Well not secretly necessary. It was more like Sag pretended that the air which Aqua breathed could sometimes be fatal to be in but at the same time gave just enough little pointers that Aqua's crazy ideas often badly needed in order to go from concept up to something a little bit more realistic and effective. It was a good system. One that Aqua quite liked.

Aqua shook her head and tuned back into the conversation that was at hand.

"Ahh Sidney. We really should've hung out so much earlier than this. Like I'm thinking before Pisces even found that thing. How have I not met you already?"

Sidney giggled. "Might have something to do with me being at home with mom who refused to really let me go about."

Aqua shook her head. "Cancer does like to be a little quiet when it comes to things like that. To think Cancer was spending so many meetings boring us all half to death when she could've just sent you and we could've absolutely vibed so hard at all of those meetings."

Sidney grinned. "I would absolutely have been your biggest supporter!"

Aqua beamed. "Oh I have zero doubts about that! Just the support and understanding of ice cream alone is something I have not been able to find in anyone." She shook her head. "I know it is in some sense just a desert, enjoyed quite a lot by children. I mean that is what it is. But there's so much more to it, especially in this day and age."

Sidney nodded gravely. "Ice cream philosophy is something that is quite unappreciated. Honestly you need to try and educate people a bit more. Maybe this expedition and the joy that the ice cream you brought could bring will help out with it. You know a proven example at a level like this might really help you convince people of how good it is!"

Aqua's eyes nearly fell out of her head. That idea was so amazing she couldn't believe that she hadn't figured that one out yet. She would very much be lying if she said any kind of revolutionary inspiration like that was going through her head when she'd made the choice to be on board. Now she was mildly tempted to claim it as her plan all along.

"THAT IS SO GOOD!" Aquarius nodded rapidly.

"Reallyyy? I just thought of itt! Cause you know. And the know. It just works out I think. You could make a real impact," Sidney was on her feet now.

Aquarius nodded even more rapidly. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!. Ahh you're the best. I need to just straight up hire you as my chief advisor at this point."

Sidney giggled. "I might not be quite qualified enough for that job."

Aqua nodded solemnly. "Okay you kind of do have a point on that one. I'd be asked questions left right and center and then you'd probably get insulted and yeah. I mean I've seen this go down before. Not that I don't want to risk it with you but I'd rather not see you be treated like that you know?

Sidney nodded, equally as serious. "No, no I totally get it. I mean I might spend a lot of time inside but I am Cancer's daughter. I've seen enough to know just how mean people can sometimes be. I mean sometimes its justified, especially with my mom. I won't completely hide behind that but at the same time sometimes they are just a bit too over the top. I think my mom only became my mom half because of how people sometimes treated her."

Aquarius nodded rapidly. "Yup Yup. Oh I believe it trust me. The kind of pressures that was on me. I mean it wasn't so bad. I wasn't I guess the most prominent of Zodiacs in some sense. Its hard to say. But Cancer on the other hand. With all the tech things and everything else that has to go down, there's just so much your mom needs to do."

Sidney nodded slowly. "Urghh. I'll just be your ice cream advisor then!"

Aqua grinned. "I adore that plan. Immediately. Let's do that!"

Sidney beamed. "Perfect. Urgh. Don't take this the wrong way but all of this is bumming me out just a little bit I think. Wanna do something a bit more fun for a bit before we revisit this topic again?"

Aqua stood up and offered a high five. "I adore the way you think!"

Sidney grinned as she went in for the high five with a resounding clap to seal their unspoken deal. "And I adore the way you think!"

Aqua roamed to her table and picked up a book. "Might a propose a joint reading session? Judging by some of those shenanigans you described you do love a good book."

Sidney smirked. "You're the only one who is entrusted with that highly dangerous secret so do please proceed with the required amount of caution there young Aquarius."

Aqua giggled. "I will protect this knowledge with my very life if need be." Aqua was mostly joking along at this point, but somehow Aqua believed that in some sense that it wasn't entirely a joke either. A bond was being formed here and Aqua felt it would be quite a strong one.

Sidney built up a little reading nest for the two of them, dashing back to her room to pick up extra pillows as well. She really had an incredible system. They crawled in and spread the book out in front of them. It was time for some good old fashioned reading, and for once in quite a long time, Aqua didn't have to do it all alone.