Author's Note: Whoa! What a long chapter created in such a short amount of time! Consider me paying back for my sins of that long three month upload space. But nevermind those sins, I'm glad to get this chapter out quickly! Come to think of it, there are only like two more chapters of this island arc left, and then just two more arcs left, and then BOOM! This two year, almost three year now, fanfiction that has lived before there were even ten LWA fanfictions, will be finally over!
In the clear blue skies of the Mediterranean sea, the rising sun casts a golden glow that stretches as far as the eye can behold. The entire darkness that once occupied the land is now being slowly replaced, the lush environment of the island now coming into better view, the sparking trees, the strong overgrove, all almost shining in face of the bright ball of fire in the sky.
It's too bad that the island has fallen into such a dangerous location. I can see why it was once such a tourist hot spot.
In such an isolated position, the nearest landmass being another island, this chunk of dirt has not yet been ravaged by the modern world. Since our arrival, we haven't even come across the tiny villages that dot the coast of this island, the only modern marvel we've seen being the derelict and tiny landing strip, too small to be used for commercial reasons.
Ever since yesterday's horrible introduction of the island, our group is now split, myself with Bob, while my friends and the two pilots are somewhere out there.
To think, all the planning, all the preparation, the drills, the practice sessions, all of that proved to be a futile effort all in a few crucial moments.
The crashing of the plane, our abandonment and separation was thought as unthinkable, and thus never rehearsed, no questions to answer if such a scenario had come.
And now that this unthinkable scenario has come to realization, all that can be done is what we make up as we go along.
I have not seen my two friends, Akko and Lotte, since yesterday.
It was that dreaded minotaur, that horrible afternoon plane crash that had caused our seperation.
Ever since then, the only friendly being I've bared witness to has been Bob, once an inhabitant of this island, and now a tour guide, as well as a fellow stranded soul, him being the only person that I can rely on at the moment, the only one who treats me the best on this island full of monsters.
"Hey, wake up." I hear Bob instruct me, himself landing a light but firm kick into my side.
This contact serves to wake up my tired body, leaving a stinging pain in my ribs.
"I wasn't sleeping." I grumble out, myself sitting up.
"Yeah, whatever…" He mumbles, himself squatting down to retie his shoe.
Ever since we met up in the crashed plane, Bob has been less than delicate with me, himself almost beating me to a pulp when he was stirred from unconsciousness.
Besides that, a kick, an insult, some kind of negative remark or mark has been directed at me.
And it's not hard to see why.
After all, I'm apart of the very group that lied to him, forced him unto an island that almost led to his death, and now he's back to that horrible time, attempting to avoid any dangerous creatures all the while trying to make his escape. He has every right to feel this way towards both the situation and myself.
I'm surprised that he let me follow him in the first place.
I rub the sleep from my eyes, brushing dirt from my stained shirt as Bob begins to pack up.
Last night was a night that I shall not forget.
Huddled in the dirt, only a low and weak fire warded off the chill Mediterranean air. No conversations were shared, as the two of us stared into the fire, trying to wink out any sleep that we could manage, after our meal that is.
Dried jerky and bottled water, a feast fit for kings.
I do hope that Lotte and Akko suffered through a greater night than our own. Maybe they hid out in an abandoned house, or something similar.
Whatever happened, I can only hope and pray that they are in a place of safety, or as close to safety as they can get on this island.
As we finish packing our gear, we continue our long march.
From one side of the island to the other, in search of the radio towers, where help can hopefully be contacted.
During yesterday's trek, I made up my mind on this issue.
Even if we don't find Akko and Lotte before we reach the towers, I'm not leaving without them. The coast guard or whoever will come for us, they wouldn't leave two young girls on this hostile island. This rescue force would only serve to help in my endeavors to find my friends.
Using a sharp rock, I break from Bob's path, carving an arrow into the side of the tree, pointing in the Southern direction, along with my initials.
Throughout yesterday, and continuing into today, I've carved this same image indiscriminately into any tree that seems suitable.
If we can't find them on our own, then perhaps I can at least lead them to where we're going.
"The odds of finding them the day after they ran away are even lower than yesterday." Bob informs me, his sense only continuing to anger me. "Who knows? They might just be on the other side of the island by now."
"We're going to find them." I tell him, placing the rock back in my satchel. "Those two girls, they're an unstoppable duo together. What if I told you that they survive the sadistic activities of a mad potions woman daily?"
This strange but true question at least proves to stifle him, at least for the moment.
"I don't even know how to respond to that one."
"They're alive." I remind him. "I just know they are. They've been through too much, the both of them, to have this be their end."
My mind flashes to all that they've been through, The Labyrinth, when the dragon escaped and attempted to steal The Sorcerer's Stone, The Titan at The Witch Parade, the mushroom monster in Ms. Finnalin's class, Lotte and her dad.
Hell, and that's only what I know of!
Who knows what kinds of adventures they've gotten themselves into over the course of the school's semester?!
"I hope you're right." He sighs out. "I don't want them to be dead just as much as you, especially with them being teens. But I saw my fair share of horror when the island was struck. Mothers threw themselves into the mouths of monsters to protect their young, only to have their children die anyway moments later."
I feel a strong weight press up against my chest upon hearing this, the pressures of empathy and pity upon this story.
It must've been a dangerous place, where the only law was the law of club and fang, survival of the fittest.
A horrible place, truly.
But even if it pains me to imagine such a place, I can't help but imagine just what Bob's story is.
"And how did you survive?" I ask him, my curiosity growing as time goes on.
He sighs at this, but doesn't lose stride in his pace, as he says
"Well, it's not a pretty story."
He pauses for a brief moment, before saying
"It was during the final days of the evacuation. The monsters had overpowered what forces the government and private companies had sent in. The military, special forces, mercenaries, all of them were eventually overpowered. They had cornered us into one airport. It was crowded, many people desperate and weary, were crammed in there, waiting for the final planes to pick us up. The monsters were at the gates, they broke through the barriers and rushed into the airport. It was a slaughter…"
"In the confusion…" He continues. "I happened upon one of the few surviving red cross volunteers. He was a large guy, fat man with an orange beard. Anyway, he was injured, bleeding from his leg. We joined forces, and continued to move towards the hanger, where the plane was."
"What happened?" I ask.
"The monsters were charging at us. We were close to the plane, but still in a tight spot. We had just about had it, he was limping, almost bled out, and I wasn't feeling too good myself, another refugee had given me a fever earlier. So this red cross volunteer, he…"
"He what?" I beg him to go on.
"He stops while we're running, and turns to confront the monsters. I didn't know it until I looked back and saw…"
He pauses his story, stopping, as he turns to face me.
For the first time in my presence, I can see a visible stain of remorse, a quivering of the lip on his otherwise hardened face.
That's all I need.
"He sacrificed himself?" I suppose.
He nods at this, saying
"If it wasn't for that, I might not be here right now...in this same situation again…"
That hint of malice again, depression and anger in being present on this island of blood yet again.
"I only knew what the staff told me…" I confess to him, my voice as somber as his tale, my steps slowed. "If I had known what you'd been through, what it had really been like...I don't think I could've kept the truth from you."
He huffs at this, asking with a tone
"You don't think you could've?"
"I don't know." I honestly tell him, scratching at my head. "When the staff told us, it all sounded good. A little expedition, returning with carts of treasure, we'd be home before Christmas…"
He lets out a suppressed chuckle at this, muttering
"Home before Christmas…"
Gazing away from him, I see another tree, a new canvas to paint this message to the two.
Even if we don't stumble on them by chance, I can only hope that they can spot this sign, giving them an indicator as to our direction.
Holding the rock, I carve another crude arrow into the trunk of tree.
"You know that's pointless, right?" Bob informs me as I create my message, returning to his composed state. "Save your energy for the monsters, not to look for the dead."
"They're not dead!" I scream at him, gritting my teeth as I halt my printing. "Why are you so sure that they're dead?!"
"I'm just being realistic. The odds of them living for this long are extremely slim. Hell, the plane crash was yesterday! Even if they did survive the Mongolian Death Worm, the chances of them living past nightfall and finding your wood workings are slimmer than The Wakhan Corridor."
"That is pretty slim…" I mutter in agreement with him. "But even still, I just know that they're still alive! And I don't care if the entire coast guard comes and they're still not found. I'm not leaving without them!"
"Then why are you following me?" He asks of me. "I'm not exactly searching for them. If anything, I'm the only thing that's going to keep you alive here. If we followed your plan to look for them, we would've surely stumbled onto something horrible."
"It still would've been worth the risk." I hold on steadfast. "Finding the others just means more strength and a better chance at our survival."
"Alright, say that we do find them, or that they manage to find us. What then?" He demands, playing with this thought experiment. "We're still stuck on the island, still surrounded by monsters. Our situation hasn't changed."
Instead of responding to this loaded question, I ask him
"Why do you keep trying to reason with me? If you can brush Akko and Lotte off so easily, then why don't you just ditch me?"
"Besides the fact that you're following me?" He asks, bearing a slight smirk at this.
"Besides that."
"I...I don't hate you." He informs me, slightly shocking me. "Despite how I've treated you lately, I really don't. Sure, when you first woke me up in the plane, I wanted to beat you black and blue, but that wouldn't have put us in a better situation. Even if you knew we were landing, you seemed pretty uninformed about this whole situation, and underestimated this whole adventure."
"Does this have a point?" I annoyingly ask, not wanting to hear of my mistakes.
"I'm just saying...most kids your age when the evacuation was taking place were either dead, crying and broken, or selfish in their own survival."
"At least you still care about your friends." He tells me. "I heard a lot of stories of people sacrificing their 'best friend' in order to survive. A survival situation like this really can bring out the worst in us. Sometimes I feared the people more than the monsters. At least the monsters were predictable."
"That sounds awful." I respond with, not even being able to understand such actions.
I would never do that to Akko or Lotte, those two mean too much to me.
Even with this somber atmosphere, I can't help but let out a slight smile at this.
It's funny.
Before I came to Luna Nova, Anchovy back in Italy was my only real friend, myself most of the time retreating to our family manor.
I have known Anchovy for many years, and have developed a strong bond with her, but that was a long time in the making.
And now these two girls, Akko and Lotte, not even needing to mention Diana, have done in a semester what took Anchovy years to accomplish.
"Alright then…" I begin. "Since you're saying my hopes of finding my friends are only hopes, answer me this. What if these radio towers are, perhaps, knocked down or in any other way prove to be unserviceable to us. What if your hope is, also, only a hope?"
"Well then…" He answers, himself stepping over a fallen log in our path. "If the stations don't work then we can make our way to the coast, and find a boat. Although the odds of finding a serviceable boat after all this time are also slim."
"And then what?" I ask him, myself doing the same as I follow.
"One step at a time." He tells me, a low sound rising from the distance.
"Wait…" I say to him, myself halting my advance.
"What?" He asks me, himself copying my act.
I block him out, I block everything out, the movement of the trees, the crunching of leaves, the sounds of birds and insects, even my own hushed breath.
My ear picked up something, something that briefly broke the norm of the noises and proved all too alien in this alien land.
It was high pitched, sounding a little low in spirit, but only served as an echo, a vibration of sound bouncing between the trees, carried over a considerable distance, and just so happened to hit me directly.
I heard that sound before, something I'd often hear at school, a sort of depression that could only be replicated when Ms. Finnalin's tests came, or when this whole island plan was brought up in the first place.
And then it hits me, the creator of this sound.
I feel my otherwise bland expression twist and explode into a bright smile, my eyes growing just as wide, my tired body now filling with energy, my heart beating in excitement.
"That's Akko!" I cry out, myself immediately taking off into the direction of the sound.
"Wait a minute!" Bob calls out, running after me. "How do you know?!"
"Luna Nova's Witch Parade!" I happily cry out, continuing my sprint through the forest. "She whined a lot during that!"
"Akko!" I scream out happily, cupping my hands around my mouth.
In the distance, I hear a cry.
A faint cry, but audible nonetheless.
"Ted!"
"Akko!" I cry out again, the sound of her voice only raising my spirits. "Akko! Lotte!"
As Bob and I tumble through the trees, they begin to gradually thin, until we find ourselves bursting through the darkness, coming across a bright and sunny clearing.
However, this clearing is in much contrast to the landing strip that we previously occupied.
Its lush and green, almost like a picturesque meadow from some musical. With a wide open space, and grassy flat land, no monsters could hide and stalk. It's just us.
Right now, Bob, the pilots, all of them have disappeared from my subconscious, even the clearing itself is now gone from my vision.
At this moment, my entire concentration, my whole attention is focused on my two dirty friends, the both of them sharing my same feelings, springing for the same goal.
Even Lotte, who had been in a previous state of doom and gloom, is now happy, herself charging at me with as much passion and want as Akko, perhaps even more.
The smile on my face grows even bigger as the distance between us slims, my heart racing as fast as my legs.
Akko's face is of her classic goof, her eyes wide, mouth opened in a toothy grin.
Lotte herself isn't faring any better.
Even under the shine of her thick glasses, I swear I can see a tear or two right under her eyes.
That's how close we are!
I can see Lotte's eyes in great detail, the distance only closing even more!
I can almost feel them! If I stuck out a hand, I bet I could-
My feeling are grinded into a halt as I smash face first into a large metal fence, myself falling to the ground in pain.
I cup my nose, that being the first thing to hit the wall, as I stare in awe at the structure.
A large fence, towering at least twenty feet, in the middle of a wide open clearing, and I didn't even notice it!
I can hear Bob come up from behind my, himself letting out a few chuckles at my blunder.
But who cares about that!
I jump back up, ignoring the pain, myself shoving my hands through the gaps in the fence, grabbing onto my lost friends.
"I knew it!" I exclaim, the three of us clinging to each other as if we'd lose each other again in an instant. "I knew you two were okay!"
"Boy, am I glad to see you." I notice Brad say to Bob, giving him a handshake through the fence. "I thought I was the only adult left here."
"How was the babysitting?" Bob sarcastically asks him.
"Just delightful." He replies.
"And just what was that noise?!" I cry out to the two, referring to what I heard earlier.
"I screamed because I stubbed my toe on a rock!" Akko responds, in her usual clueless smile.
"Akko!" I cry out, squeezing her even harder.
Not wanting to leave the Finn out, I also squeeze her, calling out her name.
"Lotte!"
Rather than respond with her own happiness like Akko, Lotte instead fidgets under my tight in embrace.
"I...I'm sorry that we left you." She quietly mutters to me. "Please...forgive me…"
"I forgive you." I tell her, attempting to squeeze her even tighter through the bars.
Honestly, at this point, I don't even care about that. I never did think about it as an abandonment, but was solely focused on finding them.
And here they are!
"I did just as you said!" Akko informs, herself presenting her friend in a grand manner. "You said to keep Lotte safe. When the monster came, I took her away from the situation. And look! Not a scratch on her!"
Her words are exactly true.
As I scan over Lotte, only dirt and and an even messier hairdo are any evidence of foul play.
Even through the plane crash, the monster that attacked them, and whatever horrors they faced, Lotte has come out of all of it with neither a scratch nor a bruise, only an occasion smudge of dirt or two.
Just how did Akko do that?
Even with this good news afoot, I can't help but notice one of our companions missing.
I turn to Brad, asking
"Where's Tom?"
"He...he didn't make it." I hear the co pilot get out, himself staring at the ground upon contemplation.
"It was horrible!" Akko claims, herself reliving the events. "When the plane crashed into the forest, this giant worm that shoots acid came out of nowhere, and tore the plane apart!"
"I pulled out the evacuation slide." Brad tells me. "The two girls had already gone, and I was about to go as well."
"And what was he doing?" I ask.
"He lived in the plane, and died in the plane." Brad explains. "Like a ship captain, he wanted to go down with his plane. There was no talking him out of it. He loved that plane, had it for decades."
"I'm sorry to hear that." I tell him, attempting to give him some sort of morning. "He was a good guy. I hadn't talked to him much, but he seemed like he had tons of great stories."
"He did." I see Brad smile slightly upon this very memory. "He told them so much though, they got old fast. God, I'd give anything to hear his voice again."
"We need to find a gap here." I hear Bob declare, himself staring at barbed wire covered fence top.
I place a hand on the thing, attempting a tug or two to no avail.
This was probably set up to halt the advancing monsters, perhaps to give the evacuation more time.
It looks too big to scale, even if that wire wasn't up.
And who know how long it stretches for? It could take all day to walk around the thing.
"Ooooh! I got it!" Akko declares, reaching into her satchel. "I'll just cast a destruction spell and-"
"No!" I cry out, waving my arms around in alarm. "Don't!"
Akko blinks once and then twice, confused by my words and actions.
"What's the matter?" She asks, pulling her wand out, full of confidence.. "Don't think I can do it?"
She points it at the metal fence, declaring
"I've been practicing a lot. I'm sure I could-
"Don't!" I cry again, desperation in my voice. "We're out of range of The Sorcerer's Stone! You'll just be wasting magic!"
Akko grumbles at this, half heartedly putting her wand away.
"Fine…" She mutters out.
Lotte stares at me, asking
"Theodore, is your wand out of magic?"
"Yes. I used it up on that minotaur." I answer her back. "You and Akko have the only working wands here."
"Didn't the teachers pack us with bottles of Magicus Synthesis?" Lotte asks me. "We can use magic freely out of range of the stone then."
"All the bottles were cracked during the plane crash." I inform her, causing her to slump in depression at this. "The magic that you two have in your wands right now is the only magic that we have left."
Akko pounds her chest confidently, declaring
"Wands or not, we're more than capable of dealing with these monsters, especially now that we're together!"
"Yes." I agree with her, nodding my head. "Now that we're together, I'm not scared of any-"
I stop my words of courage, as I notice all three of them before me, Akko, Lotte, and Brad, all of them ghost white, eyes wide, mouths agape. What's worse is that they're not staring at us, but behind us, off in the distance.
As Bob and I turn, we see what has caused our friends such dread.
Staring at us from the forest, head poking out through the treetops, is a large and bloated mass.
In the shape of a tube, with its blood red body covered in scabs and scars, it stares at us with two solid black eyes.
It's mouth, opened with hunger, reveals a chasm of thin, but razor sharp teeth, bearing the same ugly blood red color as the rest of its being.
I stare at the creature, completely petrified in fear, as do the rest of us.
"Run…" I hear Bob mutter to me.
Upon that whisper, the death worm lets out a shrill whine, itself beginning to tear through the trees towards us.
As the creature closes the distance with swift speed, Bob and I begin to run the length of the fence, the others following from the other side.
"There has to be some kind of gap in the fence!" I hear Bob declare. "There has to be!"
The worm lets out a booming cough, itself hacking out a sickly yellow gob in our direction.
The slug like matter splatters against the steel fence, burning a hole straight through the thick metal.
That'll do!
Without hesitation, I scramble for the hole, myself leaping in the air, about to dive into the thing.
"No don't!" I hear Bob cry out.
Some large force smacks into me, ceasing my dive, myself tumbling to the ground, feeling the pressure of something heavy on me.
With my back to the ground, I look up, seeing Bob now on top of me.
"What are you-"
I stop as I see the same hole which I had attempted to jump through, now considerably larger, covered in a fresh layer of whatever the beast hacked up.
"You...you saved me?!" I declare, myself bewildered by his actions.
"Run!" He orders me, effortlessly picking me up and throwing me through the hole.
I land on the hard grass yet again, but this time on the other side of the fence, Bob soon following.
The giant worm stops its advance, the thing staring at the high and solid structure, eyeing at the barbed wire as well as the thick beams.
There's no way it could get passed that!
Also seeing this, Akko and Lotte don't hesitate to give me a direct hug, the two colliding at me from both sides, nearly breaking my ribs.
Pushing past the pain, I throw my arms around the two, the both of us laughing and smiling at our reunion.
I can almost cry right now, I can already feel my eyes water just a little.
But only a little.
Our happy hug is cut short as we witness the worm dive into the structure, it's large and fat body slamming into the steel fence, crumbling the construction as if it were a pile of toothpicks.
Without any further word, we take off, following Bob as he leads us away.
"Into the trees!" He commands us.
The four of us follow his instructions, leaves crunching under our feet as we run through the forest, the monster still gaining.
Tremors from the beast's movement rumble under my feet as we run, ourselves gradually going deeper into the forest.
As the woods thicken, the worm is slowed with each trunk it slams against, until its fat body can't hope to knock down the sheer number of trees.
While we continue to run, not daring to look back, we hear the creature give off a morningful cry at its loss of meal, the sound echoing through the trees, giving us a reminder of what could had been.
Huffing and puffing, I continue to follow the tour guide, the others doing the same, putting a great deal of distance towards us and the monster.
As Bob soon stops his sprint, the rest of us follow his actions, myself grabbing at my knees in exhaustion, my heart in my throat.
Even under this fatigue, my eyes still dart around the woods with as much reflex as a rabbit, every swaying branch and falling leaf taken into account, the only sounds being our rapid and heavy breathing, ourselves worn out by this chase and terror.
"I-I think we lost it." I hear Bob finally confirm, himself taking a few deep breaths.
And with that, he turns towards a large patch of vines and branches between the trees, blocking our new path.
Annoyed by this, he pulls at the vines with great strength, revealing an extremely large mass of flesh, flies buzzing away from us in fright.
Larger than all of us combined, some fallen creature, hacked and torn into pieces, lies on the ground, freshly killed and feasted on by some other monster.
I hear Lotte gag at this, while Akko pinches her nose in disgust.
Not even the monsters here get along...
"It's okay." Bob informs us. "It's dead."
At this sound, some other horrible creature raises its vicious face from the dead one, its mouth drenched in blood, flesh hanging from its teeth, its reddish eyes staring at the five of us.
"Not dead! Undead!" Akko cries out, reciting a verse from Family Force Five. "A new creation!"
Upon Akko's outburst, the beast lets out a blood curdling roar, causing our group to engage in another sprint for our lives.
Once again, I can't help but follow Bob, himself darting through the trees, dodging and jumping over rocks and logs alike.
Still running, I twist my head around, bearing witness to this horrible creature in detail.
It's a very large creature, as large as a tree, walking on two legs.
The creature has a strong build, with green scaly skin, large black spines on the back, and blood red eyes, almost the same color as the real blood dripping from its jagged tooth mouth, hooked tongue outstretched in appetite.
Hearing Lotte letting out a swift cry, I twist my head back to the front, seeing the large worm like body of The Mongolian Death Worm.
The large worm lets out a cry of glee at seeing its victims.
The lizard monster also catches up, the two creatures now trapping us!
However, I hear the worm monster let out a roar, its beady little eyes glued to the lizard.
Our group dodges to the side, while the lizard runs towards the worm, seeing it as the biggest threat.
The worm curls up, prepared to strike like a snake, hissing at the charging monster.
The lizard slashes with its sharp claws, tearing through the thick bodied beast with ease, blood spraying out of the fresh wound.
While the worm is distracted by this injury, the lizard bites down on the worm's neck, shaking its head back and forth like a dog, ripping apart at its flesh.
I almost want to cheer for the lizard, the worm having caused us so much trouble in the past.
However, with a swift crack of its tail, the worm strikes the lizard on the head, forcing it to let go.
With a mighty roar, the worms seemingly dislocates its jaw, its mouth expanding to an incredible size, revealing columns of razor sharp teeth, jagged and stained through use.
In one jerk forward, the whole head of the lizard disappears within the mouth of the worm, blood dripping onto the forest floor.
Not wanting to see this any further, I feel Bob grab at the collar of my shirt, himself pulling me back into the thick trees.
"Run!" He cries out to us. "While they're distracted!"
With that being all we need, the five of us take off once again, not daring to look back at the deathly battle taking place.
Once a great distance has been put between us and the monster, the same procedure is repeated, rapid and horse breathing, and our eyes dashing around the scene to ensure that all is well.
"That's the same worm from the plane!" Akko declares, herself throwing her hands up in disbelief. "Is it following us, or something?!"
"Unlikely." I hear Bob explain. "Monsters don't 'follow'. They're not like humans. They wander and then kill what they find. This is a small island, and that's a large creature. I wouldn't be surprised if we run into it again."
"That's just great!" I cry out, flabbergasted by our worsening situation.
"How is that great?!" I hear Akko fire at me, herself not understanding the sarcasm.
Brushing this off as just Akko, I hear Bob declare
"Alright. Well, now that we're all together again, I find no reason why we should just wait around for another monster to come by."
He looks up at the sky, the setting sun letting off a dull glow above the treetops.
"We should set up camp, and then head to the South first thing tomorrow."
"What about the treasure?" I hear Akko question.
"The situation has changed." I tell her. "We thought we were safe here, but we were never safe. Now that we're all together, we need to focus on getting out of here."
"But if we don't save the school then I'll never be like Chariot!" She desperately declares, reminding us of her Shiny Chariot dreams.
"How do you expect to run away from another monster with gold and silver tied to your back?" I attempt to reason with her.
"I agree with Theodore on this." Lotte informs us. "Now that the plane is gone, we don't have any reliable ways of transporting the treasure."
"Even if we do find some, our equipment was destroyed in the plane crash." I add.
In frustration, Akko crosses her arms at hearing this, herself facing away from us to in shock.
"We'll think of something to save the school." I tell Akko, putting a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. "But right now we have to focus on heading south."
After a moment or two of quiet contemplation, Akko turns back to me.
"Yeah…" She sadly mutters out, unfolding her arms. "I guess you're right."
"What's in the South?" Lotte inquisitively asks Bob.
"Radio Towers." Bob answers back. "If we get close enough to them, Ted's satellite phone can pick up a signal and we can radio in for help."
Lotte lets out a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"At least the phone managed to survive the crash."
"I had it on me the whole time." I inform her. "When we first left the plane, I took it with me."
In a flash, I see Bob whip out his bed roll, laying it on a flat part of the ground.
I also see Brad forming a pile of kindling on the ground, in preparation for a fire.
"Less talking, more working!" I hear Bob instruct us.
And with that, the five of us work to establish our camp.
The fire crackles, sending a few sparks into the air, smothered and blown away by the wind.
Base camp has been set up, and the meal of the day has been consumed, this time consisting of a shared can of beans and one of the candy bars that Akko brought along for the trip.
I take a look at my companions, Bob, Brad, Lotte, and Akko.
All four of them appear to be in slumber, themselves worn out by all the cardio that today entailed.
This is a good time to throw a few ideas around to myself.
Pulling out a notepad and pen, I put the writing utensil to my lip, biting as I think.
While this was something I planned to do yesterday night, and every night of the expedition, the events that transpired put a temporary halt on my advances.
But now, now that we are all together again, I can pick up where I left off.
However, unlike homework or studying, there's no clear cut path to this, no guides nor any sort of redo should I mess up.
I lean up against a log, thinking hard.
After I departed from Diana, the same feeling that I felt for carried over, all the way from England to Filicudi, and have only festered and grown, unable to be released for the time being.
Love.
Just how, how would anyone go about telling someone their deepest and most powerful feeling, that that someone is the person that they care about the most and would wish to spend the rest of their lives together?
It's not just something that you can just say, it's something that needs to be done with care and presentation.
Maybe a poem?
Playing around with idea, I remove the pen from my mouth, writing down my first comes to my head.
'Diana
My love for you is unfathomed
When I see your face
All other beauty is a disgrace
I would crawl through the blazing Savanna
Just for you
Throw me in the fire, and I'll walk right through
Diana'
Well that was lame. Guess I didn't get the poetic side of being Roman.
In disappointment, I quickly scribble away at this song, attempting to think of something new.
"What are you writing?" The Finn asks me, peering over as to get a better look.
I thought she was asleep!
In a flash, I hid my notebook against my chest, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, heart pounding from her sudden words.
"I'm…" I cease my hesitation as I realize it's Lotte that I'm talking to, as well as the rest of the group being fast asleep. "I think I'm in love with Diana."
She raises an eyebrow, asking
"Aren't you already dating her?"
"Yes, but not that kind of love." I explain to her. "What happened with Diana and Akko, even if it was just an accident, it made me realize just how much I care for her. Seeing her like that, sick and helpless, even if she tried her best to act strong, it still scared me, made me want to reach out to her and help her in any way I could. It made me realize that I love her, that even after Luna Nova, I still want to be with her, to spend our lives together."
I tap my notepad with my pen, showing Lotte my notes as I do.
"I might not know how to tell her." I inform her, smiling as I think about Diana. "But what I do know is that I love her."
"That's wonderful, Theodore!" Lotte cries out in a hushed whisper. "I'm so happy that you found someone like that!"
She takes a seat next to me, her self leaning back against the log as well.
"I bet you miss her." She reckons.
"When we get back to school, I'm going to kiss Diana until she bleeds." I happily relay to Lotte, myself staring into the fire with a light smile on her face.
I hear her chuckle lightly at this, that sound alone setting off a small spark of satisfaction in my heart.
It was only a few days ago that she was in such a negative state, and now it seems as if she's reverted back to her usual self.
I wonder what caused such a disturbance.
As if by magic, I hear Lotte speak.
"You're probably wondering what came over me, why I was acting the way I did."
I turn to face her, her face more serious, but still bearing that same light smile that lets me know all is well.
"I stayed up until everyone was asleep." She informs me. "I already told Akko why, but I think you of all people should have the right to know."
What does she mean, myself of all people?
"Please tell me." I beg her, myself drawing closer to her in anticipation. "You really worried me. I was fearing the worst."
"What was the name?" Lotte asks me, her voice noticeably growing a little more timid. "The name that that evil god gave my dad, after he put him in the body of a dog?"
"Bruno." I tell her, myself slightly disheartened as I'm reminded of that time. "He gave him the name Bruno."
I could understand why Lotte would want to know more about her father while he was in that situation, but why would she bring that up here? Why now that a great time has passed since that incident?
"Huh…" Lotte ponders, herself longingly glancing at the night sky. "That's a cute name for a dog."
She turns back to me, saying
"But my father's real name was Cooper Yanson."
She takes a breath through her nose as she recalls her father and her past.
"My family and I own a magic items shop in Finland, where my mother and dad would work. He had retired from his old job awhile ago, and spent most of his time afterwards at the shop."
She smiles at his memory, as she goes on.
"He was a kind and generous man. He would always tend to me in both my darkest and lightest moments. I can still remember even know. When I was little and feeling down, he would pick me up, and spin me around his head."
"He really was a great guy." I tell her. "Even if we weren't related, he was still very warm to me."
Her small smile grows slightly larger at this.
"That's nice to hear." She whispers.
I hear her hum a little, perhaps as an attempt to lift up our spirits.
"He was a kind and caring person, both as a father to me and as a friend to others." She informs me. "When he heard about what was going on in Filicudi, saw on TV the destruction, the refugees, the orphans, he didn't hesitate."
I can hear her voice grow slightly more strained, herself however not giving up stride.
"He signed up as a volunteer for The Red Cross, and was sent to Filicudi as part of a relief team, bringing food and water to the island, caring to the sick and injured, all of that."
"Really?" I ask her. "He told me that he was a mercenary."
"Oh no." She declares, her eyes widening confusion at my claim. "You must be mistaken. My father was no mercenary. He was a part time red cross volunteer. I don't think he'd have the heart to be any mercenary."
I can't help but raise a brow at this statement, a finger rubbing at my chin.
It was a while ago, but I'm pretty sure he told me he was a mercenary, although I never put it together that it was actually this island where he lost his life.
I wonder why he would be purposefully misleading to me.
Or perhaps maybe he himself was manipulated by Mendacious, and lied to into thinking it was that way.
Although that doesn't make any sense either. Why would Mendacious bother with that?"
"I have a picture of him." Lotte tells me, her growing smile complementing her gentle eyes. "Want to see?"
This offering snaps me out of my questioning.
"Please." I whisper to her, that word barely getting past my lips without a shake.
She reaches into her satchel, pulling out a small slip, handing it to me.
It appears to be a family picture.
While the woman in the middle is recognizably a younger Lotte, the woman to the left of her bears a striking resemblance to her.
Even at Lotte's young age during the time of the picture, the woman is still short, being very similar to Lotte in every aspect, the only obvious difference being her wearing a long and dark purple veil over her head, almost like a hijab.
This must be Lotte's mother.
The man to the right however is where my interest is most strong.
He's a very large man, towering over the two, with a large and round head, blue eyes and orange hair, two features he shares with the others in the photo. He also sports a beard with a red shirt and a pair of blue overalls, a wooden pipe in his mouth.
I smile at his image.
He looks more like a lumberjack than someone who would take orders from a god.
Before this moment, the only picture that I could imagine when thinking of him would be in that dog form, a boxer dog.
But now, now I have him in his natural state, not morphed by Mendacious, but just as he was.
"Thank you." I tell her with wet eyes, myself handing back the photo to her.
"He did well." Lotte lets me know. "He always sent us pictures of the people he rescued, letters full of love of us, and a promise to return home after everyone was safe."
She pauses, before saying
"But...he never came back home."
I turn to face her, seeing now that a few tears have welled up beneath her glasses, a shine to those gems known as her eyes.
"When I hear we were going to Filicudi." She explains, taking back the picture. "I just had to come, to see it for myself."
It all makes sense now, why in Principal Holbrooke's office Lotte completely lost herself, shedding her normally sweet self and becoming something quite unlike her in all ways.
She wanted to come, come to the place where her father died, experience what he went through.
I would've done the same thing, reacted in the same manner. I hold no hard feelings against Lotte for this, it was a response that anyone would had done, even if it was painful for me to see.
I lean ever closer to her, myself putting an arm around her shoulder, drawing her close to me in a comforting hug.
"He died saving others' lives, and a second time to save mine." I tell her. "He would be proud, beyond proud to see what you've done, the friends you've made, and what you've become growing up."
I feel her snuggle closer to me, accepting my outreach.
"Thank you." She whispers to me.
No words are said from this point on, the sounds of our breathing being the only noises emanating from us.
It's as if a great weight has been lifted from the both of us, my worries and concerns now coming to an end, an answer to my long standing question.
And now, now we're all together again, the barriers that had divided us now torn down, torn down for good.
I feel her breathing grow more faint, more steady, herself slipping away from this place and into dreamland.
My eyelids grow heavy, myself feeling rather comfortable with her against me.
I should join her.
Author's Note: It's been a while since we've had a good old wholesome Lotte and Ted moment. Could this be the return of the Theodotte crew and a revanchism of the ship as a whole?! Nah, just some good old moments to shine light on the autism that has been my last few chapters. And what do you know, I've got 99 followers, and you ain't one! Yes, you know who you are. What happens next? Will I get 100 followers? Will someone unfollow me just for the meme? Or with nothing happen? You can decide at GoldFishFun dotCom!