Upon arrival to the yacht, the now "100 clams richer" Emily Kimiyama Zukin and his "100 clams in debt" friend Sirius Chamberson are having some second thoughts. Just a few minutes ago, the two, still being chased by the law and the deranged Siren Lorelei Wantanbe, have taken the offer provided by a one Leroy Variant to take them to the "Isle of the Sirens," a secret island where any seafaring person would fear upon the mentioning of the name.
The reason they are having second thoughts is because of the fact that the guy just basically accepted them without question… at least to Sirius.
"Zukin, I have a problem with this guy." He said as they walked into pier 12. "It's like he is accepting to take us there without even saying a word."
"So what is the problem with that?" Zukin wondered.
"Let's think this clearly. This guy seems like he could be an agent of Lorelei or something. I mean, she did take control of Rick. What's stopping her from taking another man captive."
Zukin felt too determined to stop, but was a bit understand to Sirius. "Well, I can see how you feel, but at this point, we have no option. According to the map here that was with the suitcase, the island is at least a day's trip from this spot, and since this person is willing then…" She realized what Sirius mean. "O.K. but at least give this guy a few minutes, then if he gets dangerous, we kick him in the 'nads' and dump him overboard."
"Good plan."
The two arrive at the dock around sunset, where Leroy is patiently waiting for them in his very large 91 foot yacht. The entire boat, nestled on the pier, drew Zukin and Sirius in shock, not only because of its price range, but also because Leroy was the only one driving the boat.
"Ah, you've arrived. Come on board. I have your rooms ready down on the lower deck." Leroy said as Zukin and Sirius board the ship, where just by looking the inside did they notice a roomier and spacious cabin. In sequential thought, the two they were wondering just how this person was able to live his life with this type of expensive ship. "Leroy, how on earth were you able to get such a boat like this?"
"Well, I had a special friend who gave me possession of this beauty after she left for an ocean wide voyage. She told me to take care of it till she came back, but since then, it's been my home. I use it for ferrying between the islands and I have made sure I'd never experience any turbulent weather, but enough about that. Now, you said that you wanted to know something about the island, correct? Come inside and we can discuss this."
"I'll prefer to wait here outside." Sirius said, securing his open spot of escape.
Leroy read his body language and acknowledged his defensive state. "I'd figured you would. I saw by your stance that you do not seem to trust me, Andre. Why is that?"
"It is because you know about the island. I mean…"
"Do you actually believe those stories about the island?" Leroy replied. "I think that they are just stupid stories prevented to dissuade women from being sailors. Of course I could go on and…"
"Get to the point!" A disgruntled Sirius replied.
"I would hold out on this but, since you are so persistent on going to the island so quickly well… a job like this isn't cheap. What do you have to offer?"
"We'll pay you 100."
"250."
"200." Zukin interrupted.
"200? Zelda we don't have…" Zukin covered his mouth from speaking. "200 and we can help you in anyway possible."
"Deal! Since you are will to help, you'll get free breakfast when we reach there. You have all your things here?"
"Yep."
"Well then… the night is going to be calm, so… get settled. We'll sail in an hour."
About an hour later, the yacht was taken out of the pier and the three were setting out to the island. "We should be able to get there around daybreak tomorrow." Leroy said as he took control of the captain's chair. "Say, I have to ask, why is it that you are so desperate to go there so fast, Zelda?"
"Well, let me put it this way; the quicker we get there, the quicker we stop a wedding." A small interest developed in Leroy from Zukin's response as they left the Chimera Islands.
This is Alex Maelstrom reporting to you live at the main ports of Chimera Island, where as you can see behind me, there is a full scale street battle going on between the citizens of the island and the local police. It appears that an underground movement has just started within the island from citizens who are supporting the now fugitive Emily Kimiyama, once formerly know as Emily Zukin. As the police are entering buildings and detaining people for question, the citizens have taken upon themselves to defend it in what ever way possible. The police themselves are trying to subdue the citizens by whatever means necessary, whether it be tear gas, or very bad music.
"Captain Akira, are you sure?"
"Yes. Play Barney's "I Love You" at full volume!"
From our initial reports, there have been numerous arrests and various locations, including the Calini Amusement Center in the downtown region, and the Twilight Bar along the pier. There has also been considerable property damage, including a few statues that were on loan from the city of Amsterdam. However, from what I see behind me, the situation could get very worse. In this reporter's opinion, this island has transformed from an "Oceanic Paradise" to "Vice City" in less than hour. We shall keep you up to date on the situation and hope that the current chaos is…
"You! What are you doing here?"
"Uh… reporting with the news. Don't you know who I am?"
"I don't believe you! You are one of the rebels. Officer Yuni, play the song everyone hates so much."'
"You mean, "Let them Move?"
Fuck. Well, as you can very well tell, I am going to runaway and get to the next scene before I have to hear that evil… AHHHHH!!!!! My ears! They bleed!
Back at the boat, Zukin and Sirius are lying down in two unused and relativity clean beds down in the lower cabin. Considering that the captain had a spacious boat did not offset the problem of space in the lower area. Although it was relatively spacious upstairs, the lower cabin was used for storage space and some of the rooms were completely full with random items and gear. Since the two were comfortable with cramped spaces, they really didn't seem to mind…
…except for Sirius, who still had his paranoid thoughts about Leroy.
"Zukin, I really think that this was not such a good idea to team up with him. I think there is something that he is not telling us."
"Like?"
"Suppose this person is with Lorelei? Then what?"
"Then he would have done something to us right now. Next question?"
"What do you mean "next question"? What if he is taking us to the island so that we become his deranged slaves for the rest of our lives?! You know, I happen to like being single and a eunuch."
"Calm down already. I mean, he did tell us that he knew something about the island that he would willfully give it to us. I wonder why he isn't telling us now."
"Maybe we have to be more up front on him. He could be right now. Why not?"
"Good idea."
The two head up to the deck, with Zukin wondering about what Sirius just said seconds ago…
As the two arrived at the top, they noticed Leroy placing the anchor and setting down the ship for the night. "If you will just give me a few minutes, I'll set things up for dinner. I should be able to get something cooked up and they we can talk about the island.
"Yeah, about that, we were just wondering about what you said involving it." Zukin said.
"What about it?" Leroy asked.
"You said that you knew something that was happening there?"
"Of course, but right now, I have to get a few things before I can get the chance to speak it."
"No." said Sirius. "I want to know what is going on right now."
"Calm down, Sirius. You don't want to hurt… oops."
A small shock went through him. "You know something about us!" He takes a nearby spear and points it at him. "Are you working for Lorelei?"
"No!"
"Then who else are you working for: R.J. Reynolds, Philip J. Morris, Naoki Madea?"
"Sirius, what is with you and cigarette companies, and what does Naoki Madea have anything to do with this?!" Zukin replied.
"Absolutely nothing, but that is beside the point. You are working for Lorelei Wantanabe, the Siren that is about to destroy all of Chimera Island."
"You mean Lorelei Wantanabe, the deranged bioengineer that is trying to harness the natural powers of the Coralati, and destroy all of Chimera Island!" Leroy clamored.
"Bioengineer?" Zukin said in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Look, 1st off, Sirius, put the spear down." Leroy said, trying to calm Sirius down.
"Not unless I can trust what you are saying." He points the spear toward the neck. "Now… I'll be glad to let you live if you could just explain everything…"
"Zukin, let me say something before your friend suffers from ocean madness here."
"K."
"'In the ocean, she will guide you, and through the stars, the waters shall part." Your mom, Izumi Kimiyama said that, didn't she?"
Zukin's mind went back to the note. "You knew my parents? Explain!"
"Emily Kimiyama, not only did I know your parents, I survived the encounter at the island and this was the boat to which they sailed off to. If you don't believe me, there is a locked room in one of the doors down in the lower cabin. Open it with this key and you'll see what I am saying." Leroy tossed her a gold key as Zukin quickly caught. "Go on." Zukin departed to the lower cabin while Sirius kept guard on Leroy.
As Zukin went back to the lower cabin, at the very end of the hallway was a locked door. Very hastily, she unlocks the door and opens it wide. Turning on the lights, she sees something that she'd though was lost with the wreckage. "…no… it is real… this is my… Sirius, come down!" She called.
"What?!"
"Sirius, he is telling the truth. Let him go."
"Zukin, are you crazy? There is no way that I believe that he is involved with your parents!"
"He is, Sirius, because there is no way that you can fake what he has in his possession. It is something that only my father would give to anyone he trusted, and something that he would swear he'd destroy before he would surrender it to an enemy." On a table was a seven-point rainbow star, each point glazed with a different color of the rainbow. At the center was a crescent moon, with the tip of it glowing soft platinum.
"It's the "Solar Twilight Sculpture"… my father's sacred heirloom… and it still has color."
Sirius descended to the bottom with Leroy still in front. Upon first sight, he realized the truth. "Sirius, you know the history of the sculpture, correct?."
"Yes. Secretly, your father designed a device that monitored his own heart rate to the glowing intensity of the sculpture. The more intense the glow is, the greater the pulse rate is. I think I read it in your notes, but beside that, so long at it still glows, your father is still alive…" He turns to Leroy. "…I'm sorry… How did you escape?"
"Come up with me and I'll explain everything…"
As the three went back up to the main deck, Leroy told the two his ordeal. "Zukin, before I begin, I have to tell you that Leroy is not my real name. My name is really Tomonaga Tomiji, the brother of Tomonaga Ume."
"You mean the head of the Island Federation's "Cloudlight" Protection Agency." Sirius blurted out.
"Yes. You see, the one you look for, Lorelei Wantanbe, is actually a wanted bioengineer. Before Ume was promoted to the head of "Cloudlight", the two of us were assigned to apprehend her on multiple accounts of genetic manipulation."
"Hold up. Isn't genetic manipulation technically deemed legal in some areas of the islands?" Sirius asked.
"That is true. However, in Lorelei's case, she is tampering with what should not have been created. You see, among her criminal record, we found her guilty of animal mistreatment, massive laboratory contaminations, and the creation of hybrid animals that should not have been created. This person was almost about to tamper with human beings were it not for the fact that we raided her lab and stopped her operations."
"What happened then?"
"You see, after we raided and arrested her, she was found guilty on all accounts and was supposed to be given a life sentence. However, she disappeared without a trace. Of course, that was a year ago. Since then, she reappeared months ago as the president's former wife, and we all know what happened then."
"We could figure." Zukin said.
"After doing some research on her, and the governmental dealings with the organic substance called Coralati, we have located that she was trying to harness the natural substance for her own deeds. Your parents knew this, and commissioned this boat as a means of transporting ourselves to capture her. From that point, the four of us were on a mission that was supposed to have succeeded, but…"
"I know…" Zukin replied sullenly. "So are you telling me that they could still be alive?"
"They are probably still captive on the island. Knowing the background that your parents have, I'd doubt she'd have done anything to them." He went up and walked to his room. "I'd doubt you'd want to give up at this point, Zukin. I can tell you though that tomorrow is going to be one hectic day."
"Good idea. Just one last thing though. Why is that island so forbidden to everyone who speaks about it?"
"Because, Zukin… Lorelei has done a lot of things on that island that have made many a sailor run for fear. But… I am not one of those people that fear it. I guess you are hungry, so I'll start to make something quick and…"
"No… its ok… you can make it up at breakfast. We're too tired to eat, and we are not really that hungry so… I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Zukin said to him as Tomiji walked over to his room.
"Sure. I'll see you."
Sirius simply said good night as he descended with Zukin, knowing that somehow, he was telling the truth, but he just could not allow himself to accept him completely.
The next morning, as the two came out from the lower cabin, they see Tomiji in a much energetic mood, already on the controls of the boat and sailing towards the island. "Ah, you guys woke up. Breakfast is on the table. I hope you like pancakes."
"Say, what time did you wake up, Tom?" Sirius asked.
"I woke up just shortly after the sun rose. I don't need much sleep so I am usually the first one awake. We should be there in about two hours."
"What do you expect we'll have to deal with once we get to the island?"
"Most likely we'll have to deal with a bunch of electronic security guards, but I think we should be able to get past those areas. What I do hope is that when we do get there, we make sure that we get your parents out alive and well."
"I feel the same way too Tomiji."
Back at the now quelled island, the now identified bioengineer/siren known as Lorelei Wantanbe a.k.a. Princess Sherry is feeling furious for a lot of reasons that are just pissing her off!
"HOW THE HELL DID WE MISS THEM?! EVERY SINGLE SAILOR IN THE REGION KNOWS OF THE RISKS AND SOMEONE DID IT ANYWAY!?"
"Yes, your highness." said a very terrified Akira. "I am not sure how it happened, but she has managed to secure a ship out of the island. We also had our troubles with the recent rebellion that has just erupted last night. Of course, that has recently been quelled, but...."
"I'll have nothing of this. In about a few days, I am going to marry Prince Rick, and I'll make sure that this glorious day is not ruined."
"Yes."
"In order to do that, I want a full scale lockdown of the entire island. Not one person goes in or out without being investigated by us."
"But doesn't that undermine the point of a full scale lockdown?"
"Would you like to keep your job?"
"Yes."
"Then follow what I say and all shall be well, you cutie chaser." Lorelei response was as sweet as cane sugar. This placed some chills in Akira as he walked out of the throne room and out of the palace.
Once Akira left the palace, a surprised Yuni took one look at him as was flabbergasted. "Akira, what happened to you?"
"Yuni, if Prince Rick had a reason in choosing Sherry as his lawfully wedded wife, I do not want to know why."
After a long hiatus involving loss of interest, I have decided to finish the story and complete what I have started long ago. If you would like, you may make comments or criticisms, because I am all open to them.