Author's Note: Well, this chapter came out much much much earlier than the last one, but it is also much much much shorter…
Some cool stuff has been going on, got some cool comments, people thinking that Lotte and Akko died just like that. I would never do that to the Queen. Lotte shall live on, and when her death shall be a moment away, time shall stand still! And I guess for Akko as well...that little gook…
And what's with this passive aggression towards Akko?
Well, after what she did to me in my newest fanfiction 'A Corrupt and Catastrophic Collection of Decrepit Diakko Fanfiction', you'll soon see why.
But enough of what she did to me, it's time to respond to the guest's comment that was made in this short time!
""So much had gone wrong in such little time." That is a serious understatement."
Yessir, it turns out that if you visit an island full of monsters, ThAt MiGhT bE wHaT yOu GÃEt.
"Lotte! Akko!" I cry out, myself sprinting through the forest of Filicudi.
Mere moments ago, I was facing death and sheer terror, myself cowering to the ground as the beast towered over me, with intent to kill.
All that the staff and teachers had told us, the 'minimal risks', the 'docile creatures', the 'low risk high wield outcome', all of that had been proven wrong in those simple seconds, those terrifying minutes where my own end came closer than even a weakened Mendacious could muster.
Whether these were honest mistakes made by a school board that already wasn't thinking properly due to this dire situation, or if they were flat out lies used to lure naive teenagers to do their dirty work, it doesn't matter.
The fact of the matter is, these creatures on the island, they're anything but docile or harmless.
The mere presence of Akko, Lotte, and I was enough to let loose the minotaur, and even after all three of us ran away from the thing, it pursued, hell bent on conquest.
The beast would have succeeded, it would have swallowed me whole, leaving no morsel behind.
If it wasn't for the plane accidentally slamming into the thing, that what if scenario would have been a grim reality.
Eventually reaching the crash site, I spot the plane, sweat beating heavy on my brow.
What once flew us all the way from Britain to the Southernmost regions of Italy, now lies decrypted and abandoned, not yet landed, but instead consumed by the trees, windows destroyed, the frame torn, the entire front end of the plane gone, completely smashed and crumpled.
"Akko!" I call out to the metal carcass, cupping my hands around my mouth. "Lotte!"
No response.
Damn it!
The plane couldn't have crashed more than five minutes ago, and yet this entire scene is devoid of all life to speak of!
Just what happened to them after they crashed?! Could it be that they're all still on the plane, perhaps unconscious or even in a worse state?! Could they have already fled the plane, perhaps driven from it by some horrifyingly horrific monster?!
"Akko! Lotte!" I scream out, running towards the front of the plane.
My screaming is cut short as I bear witness to some horror of my worst fears.
Covering the giant whole in the cockpit, where the front end of the plane was smashed out, is blood.
Not just a drop or two of it, but a lot, puddles of blood, some it it splattered on the ground, or covering the plane itself.
I feel my heart stop cold, my head beginning to swim, as a deep and heavy feeling fills my stomach, almost making me want to vomit.
I swallow hard, looking away from the mess at the front of the plane.
Please, please tell me that this is from the minotaur, from when the plane smashed into it!
But...but that wouldn't explain all of it on the forest floor!
Oh God!
Taking a deep breath or two, I turn back to the plane, coming into visual contact with the same horrible red as before.
Whatever happened here, whatever creature that came by here, it seems to have left for the time being.
If it were indeed nearby, my recent screaming would have brought it onto my position, and I would already be dead.
However, that has not happened yet.
Hopefully, with the best of luck anyone in the universe could muster up, all of them, pilots, tour guide, Akko and Lotte, all five of them are still in the plane, keeping quiet for the obvious reasons.
Attempting to ignore the blood, I come back to the cockpit of the plane.
Although the plane still hasn't technically landed yet, being crashed into the trees, it's still reachable by me.
Whether the five are still on the plane could be debatable, but unlikely.
What is a true fact however is that the plane door is wide open, the blue inflatable evacuation slide jutting out, connection with the forest floor.
This is a good sign, a sign that at least some of them got out of the plane before whatever beast was here finished them off.
However, this also means that it is highly unlikely that my friends are still here, and are probably roaming the forest as I think these thoughts.
I climb onto the slide, grabbing at the side.
I dig the tips of my feet into the thing, pulling myself up, and physical effort, manage to climb my way to the top.
I enter the plane, calling out the names of those who were previously here.
Looking around the plane, lights now gone black, I notice the many broken windows, glass littering the floor, as all contents that we once brought aboard now flailed everywhere, books, clothing, food, all strewn around the cabin.
But no sign of any of them, absolutely no motion from the inside, completely and recently abandoned.
The loneliest feeling ever reeks in here, knowing that you don't know if your friends are still out their, either dead or facing many monsters, intent on making them the former.
This plane, the one that had flown us safely a great distance, even if I had my own natural uneasiness to the whole thing, now discarded, destroyed, and rendered useless, it's final resting place, The Ilinalta now stands still forever.
Turning towards where I sat, I see something in one of the chairs.
It's a big object, however, it's covered by the shadows created by the many trees.
Drawing closer to it, I see Bob, the tour guide.
He sits still unconscious from the spell, strapped to one of the many passenger seats by his seatbelt, just like Akko left him.
"Bob!" I cry out, trying to avoid grounded suitcases and equipment as I run to him."Bob! Wake up!"
I grab him by the shoulders, shaking him as I cry out
"Bob!"
I stop my assault as I see his eyes blinking, himself coming back to the world, this horrible and wild world.
"H-Huh?" He groans out, regaining his conscience.
He weaky sits up, rubbing his head with one hand as the other sloppily unfastens his seatbelt.
"W-Where…" He scans around the plane, his eyes still squinted as he analyzes his surroundings. "Where are we?"
I shrink back at this, his question hitting me harder than whatever punch that minotaur wished to deliver to me.
It was Bob who warned us about the dangers of the island, and he was proven right, all of us stranded here after the plane crashed.
We had ignored him, and now we were paying the price for meddling with the island.
Trembling slightly, both from the shock of the recent situation and from what might follow, I mutter out
"We're… we're on the island."
He furrows his brow, thinking about my words, taking another glance around the plane.
Gritting his teeth, his eyes twisting with blackness, he suddenly bursts to life, springing from his seat, bearing much more rage than before.
"Damn it, you stupid kid!"
In one powerful blow, I feel a sharp slap against the side of my cheek, the contact noise exploding in the otherwise quiet forest.
In shock by this action, all I can do is let out a whimper, cradling my reddened cheek with one hand.
Wasting no time in between his blows., Bob grabs me by the collar of my shirt, shouting
"I told you, we cannot land on this island! Only bad things happen here! Just why?! Why would you bring us here to this place of death?!"
He then shoves me to the ground, myself smacking against a seat as I tumble to the floor.
I groan, rubbing my back, shock and pain overriding whatever defensive responses that I should be taking.
He grabs me by the arm, dragging me towards the plane door, screaming his obscenities all the while.
He throws me out, purposely missing the slide, myself landing hard on the forest floor.
I cough from the impact, the cold dirt floor below me sparking myself awake.
I see Bob jumping from the plane, landing on his feet, intending on continuing his work.
"Wait-Wait-Wait!" I beg him, pulling myself up from the ground, covered in dirt and cold sweat. "Stop! Please…"
Whether it was his morality kicking in, seeing himself beating on a tired and scared teenager, or simply just interested in what I have to say, he stops his advance.
"It's time you did some explaining, Mr. Sempronia." Bob declares, cracking his knuckles as he stares above me, a mere thread holding him back from delivering revenge.
With knees wobbling both out of fear and sheer exhaustion, I lean up against a tree, managing to keep myself up.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way…" I tell him, rubbing dirt and trace amounts of blood from my cheek. "The plane wasn't supposed to go down. If anything, we were going to be leaving here soon, perhaps tomorrow…"
He raises an eyebrow at this, not yet understanding where I'm coming from.
"They called everyone." I say, referring to the school staff. "They did everything they could. No one would help them. The school had been having financial troubles for decades. As time went on, the funds dwindled more and more, until they eventually ran out due to overspending on a parade. If the school closes down, hundreds of witches now, and potential thousands in the future would be robbed of learning magic. But no one cared about that. Everyone else sees magic as an old art, something that should have died long ago."
"Fafnir." I go on to tell Bob. "That's Fafnir the dragon, the one who's been loaning to the school for years, told them that they should just accept the inevitable. Can you believe that?!"
"We had no other options." I continue. "We were alone. This island...it's full of treasure...filled to the brim. The monsters that live here have been collecting for decade, guarding it. If we were to find even a small amount of it, gold, jewels, expensive artwork, that would be enough to pay of the school's debt once and for all."
"The school let three teenage witches go onto this island rather than the adults?" Bob asks, confused by this. "None of you three seem very capable in this setting."
Although this insults me slightly, at least he's stopped his beatings.
"It wasn't supposed to be that way. There was supposed to be someone else, someone who is more than capable fighting monsters of all kinds. She's amazing, beautiful, kind, a very strong willed person, worth about ten of us, able to fend off any assault from anyone who would rub her the wrong-"
"Who was it?" Bob interrupts, tired of hearing my compliments.
"Diana Cavendish." I tell him. "She's the most talented student in Luna Nova's history, a more than able person. But she got sick…"
I trail off, thinking of Akko and the bad memories that came with that scene and the horrible events after.
"...She got sick and couldn't come…"
"Well. that's bad timing…" I hear Bob declare.
He sighs to himself, rubbing off the creases in his shirt, asking
"Alright...so, why me?"
"We needed someone who's been on the island before. Someone who's lived in the area, and could get us around quicker."
"A native?" He asks.
"A native." I respond.
With that, he lets out a sigh.
"You know, I've never thought about being a Filicudian, this island is so small, that it might as well be a town. But now, come to think of it, I really wish I wasn't a Filicudian."
I narrow my brows at him, responding with
"And I wish we finally hit 100 followers. But not everything is perfect in life."
"Yeaaaah, I have no idea what you're saying." He informs me, brushing off my comment with an eye roll. "Must have dropped you from that plane a little too hard."
"Anyway…" Bob goes on, turning towards the plane wreckage. "There still might be some useful stuff in here. What did you three pack, anyway?"
I turn to face him.
"We packed the essentials: Food, water, survival items, and plenty of potions."
He narrows his brows at me in question.
"Potions?"
"Yes, potions." I answer. "The school staff made sure that if they were going to send us to an island full of monsters, that we would at least have some security. Potions of healing, poison to harm and kill, a large bag of them I believe, although I don't remember how many."
Bob continues to analyze the damaged plane.
As his eyes cast over the pools of blood, he says
"Well, with all of that, we'll at least have a fighting chance out here. Years ago, when I had my back against the wall and my front facing a gang of hungry monsters, I'm sure some sort of brew would have come in handy."
I follow his gaze, seeing not only the blood, but now seeing the messy compression of dirt, a rather thick line in the ground, as if some giant snake or worm had left its print here recently.
Following the trail, I see it disappear into the nearby woods.
This must of been what attack the plane...
"So, how would you classify it, Theodore." Bob asks me, noticing my gaze as he squats down to better see the imprint.
I also kneel down, analyzing.
"Well, it's definitely a predator…" I mutter, referring back to the blood splattered around the plane.
Whatever this thing was must've gotten at least one of them.
Although this rightly sounds cruel, I do hope that if one of them indeed had fallen pray, let it be one of the pilots and not Akko or Lotte.
"The Lambton Worm." I finally tell Bob.
I remember hearing about that thing in class one time.
A giant worm, although it was eventually vanquished, who knows what this island's magic can do.
"No no." Bob tells me, already knowing the correct creature. "Think bigger."
"An Alaskan Bull Worm." I answer again.
I heard Akko talking about them on the plane ride over here.
They sounded pretty fearsome to me.
Legend has it, they can crush an entire town through body mass alone.
"Nothing that mainstream…" Bob mutters, brushing off my answer.
"Mongolian Death Worm." He finally tells me, pointing at a section of the battered plane.
Where a few windows once lied, a messy and steamy smoldering pile of metal is all that is left, almost as if it was burnt away with extreme clarity, no burn marks to speak of.
"The Mongolian Death Worm can spit acid." Bob explains to me, before pointing at an indent in the ground. "Plus, those tracks in the ground, only a giant worm could make something like that."
"Akko...Lotte…" I desperately whisper out, staring at the tracks in the mud.
I turn to Bob, weakly asking
"Is it possible that they got away from that thing?"
He shrugs at this, saying
"The Mongolian Death Worm might be able to spit acid, but as a worm, it is incredibly sluggish. All your friends had to do was use the trees as cover, and they could've easily gotten away."
He thinks about his words, before letting out a smug huff at this, coming back with
"Mongolian Death Worms are a dangerous creature, but one of the lesser monsters we need to worry about here. This place is a swarm of all kinds of nasty creatures from all around the world. Sasquatch, Werewolves, Bunyip, Orcs, Ogres…"
God damn it, all of that, and for all I know Akko and Lotte are all alone, perhaps separated from each other, hurt with no one to help them, just prey shivering in a ditch.
"It's the flying monsters that we should really look out for though." Bob also adds. "We can't run away from those, and out in the open, we're screwed."
And if the likes of Bob and I are screwed, the fragile and timid Lotte is helpless to whatever horrible creature might cross her path!
"Just hope we or them don't run into any rocs." He warns me. "Those things are some of the most dangerous on the island."
"I'm supposed to be afraid of rocks?" I question him, confused by this.
I've faced far scarier than a few rocks.
Hell, just earlier I almost died from a minotaur.
"R.O.C.S." Bob spells it out for me. "Rocs. Humongous birds of prey that can swoop down on a person like candy."
"God!" I scream out, kicking at a piece of rubble in rage. "Just what made the staff think that this was such a safe place?! And above all, they think it's a good idea to bring Akko and Lotte here?! Those two are the most harmless things around! Lotte herself is the type of girl to apologize for pressing the doorbell if she thought it was too loud! And now she's stuck on this god forsaken island of death?! Just what did we do to deserve this! I wasn't even involved with the parade! It just doesn't make sense!"
As I continue to rant and rave, kicking at rocks, scrap metal, and whatever I can find, screaming helplessly at the sky, Bob just watches one, slightly amused by my actions.
"Hey, whatever happened to that satellite phone?" Bob asks me, as I continue to raise hell.
I completely forgot about that thing!
I dig into my satchel, moving aside my already spent and now useless wand.
Pulling out the phone, I look at the screen, before coming to the grim conclusion.
"We don't have a signal…"
"Not from here." Bob tells me. "But from what I saw before you knocked me out with that spell, we arrived from the Northern side of the island. After that, what happened?"
"We landed in about the middle of the island." I tell him. "Near the base of the mountain at the center."
Even now, the thick foliage of trees and other wilds cover much of the sky from us, blocking the mountain from sight.
He smiles at this.
"Well then, that helps our situation greatly."
"What do you mean?" I ask him, rather confused by his rather upbeat tone.
"Well, with this island being a tourist trap before it was abandoned, modernization had to happen. Roads were built, hotels, all that. Radio and satellite towers were also made, in order to keep up with communication on the mainland, mostly for air traffic and things of that nature."
"Most tourists arrived from the Northern Side of the island." He continues. "And thus the towers were built on the Southern side, in order to keep the island's appearance of being a place of nature's beauty. If we have any hope of getting off of this island, we're going to need to go South."
"But wasn't this island abandoned years ago?" I ask him. "Surely, the electricity would have been caught off as well."
"That's just it…" Bob tells me. "Most of the island's systems ran off of solar and wind, thus being completely self sufficient from the rest of the terminal. With any luck, those monsters or natural events haven't damaged it too much. We could still get a signal."
"Just how do you know all this stuff about the island?" I ask him.
I did plenty of research into the island, history, geography, the sort of monsters that inhabit this rock as well as how to face them, and I don't remember reading anything about these satellite towers.
"Have you forgotten already?" He rhetorically asks me. "I used to live here. I also had to be evacuated from the island. It was a close call, but I got out…"
He thinks about this for a moment, before huffing out with
"Which is exactly why I didn't want to come here in the first place."
"Yeah, sorry about that…" I mutter out, my face growing red from embarrassment.
"At least you didn't come for your own riches." He tells me, as he begins to dig through the debris, pulling out what he can. "A lot of treasure hunters have met their fate here."
"After we finish salvaging what we can from the plane, we're going to go South and find one of those towers." Bob instructs me, pulling out his damaged suitcase from the dirt. "Hopefully we can find a signal and call a rescue boat to get off this god forsaken island as soon as we can."
"I'm not leaving here without Akko or Lotte." I firmly tell him.
He sighs at this, rubbing a hand through his wet hair, moistened through the humidity.
"It looks like we were both left behind by them." He points out, attempting to justify his own plans.
"We don't know what happened." I tell him, myself beginning to look through what has been thrown around.
"You're right." He agrees with me, digging through his suitcase, pocketing the essentials. "We don't know what happened, where they are right now, or even if they're still alive."
Under mounds of clothes, suitcases, large backpacks full of gear, and a few other items, I manage to find and pull out the bag of potions mentioned earlier.
"They're alive." I growl, as I look over the bag.
By the looks of it, the impact from the plane crash managed to toss the bag around, breaking the bottles, with all its contents mingling together into one huge mass of worthless liquid.
"Even if they are alive, the odds of them lasting past nightfall is slim at best." He answers back, strapping his backpack on. "We need to focus on the sure thing here, and the sure thing is that we need to head South, towards the radio stations."
"I don't give a damn about the stations!" I finally blow, throwing the wet bag of broken glass into the nearby brush. "If there is any chance that Akko and Lotte are alive, I'm going to find them. Hell, what happened here was only a short time ago! They could still be in the area! If we look for them now, I bet we could-"
"That would be pointless." He cuts me off. "For someone like you, who has no knowledge of the terrain, no experience. If you took off alone right now in your current state, you'll be dead before nightfall."
Lotte's favorite book is Nightfall...
And if we don't find her soon, along with Akko, then she'll never get another chance to read it again.
What she loves, what her passion is for, will be robbed from her, taken from her without mercy or second thought. All those positive emotions that she felt when reading that book series, it will never happen again if she's not found and taken from here.
The school and their financial troubles be damned! I'd rather see Luna Nova fall into ruins before my friends!
Done with this scavenging, Bob retreats from the debris, saying
"Either way, if we look for them or not…" I notice his eyes scan the ruined plane, and the blood on the ground. "We probably won't get off this island alive…"
And with that, he shoves what he can into his backpack.
Strapping it to himself, and with no further words, he turns away from me, beginning his trek alone.
And now, what am I supposed to do?
Here I am, a tired and battered boy who narrowly escaped death upon the first few minutes of landing, on an island full of monsters and other dangerous predators where no prisoners are taken. Friendless and out of any options, a crashed plane, surrounded by large amounts of blood, the origin being unknown, and the only one who knows how to escape is now walking away from me.
I turn to Bob, seeing his back to me as he walks amongst the trees, not taking a glance back at me or the plane, so positive in his own actions and plans.
What do I do?
I search for my friends, Akko and Lotte.
In the direction that he's going…
Author's Note: Short but hopefully sweet. I mean, who doesn't love seeing Ted getting his booty handed to him?
You guys know the drill, follow, favorite, comment, get me to 100, la la la, and all that good stuff.
Hope you bitches had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It's now the current year!
Also, in response to a comment made on Wayward's fanfiction:
"Nice story, liked it more than the other wizard one here on ff."
Ree