Author's Note: Well my adoring fans, here we are again! Back into the wonderful world of Little Wizard Academia! And what makes this world so wonderful?
Well, my great children, I have finally done it. Thanks to the collective effort of you all, my American Dream has finally been realized. I have finally reached 100 followers! Past 100, actually!
This is next level, really. Triple digits on my first story. Amazing.
And of course, since this mighty number has been reached, as promised, I'll play The Chamber of Time on Youtube.
I've already downloaded some software to record and all. Maybe some of my little ponies here can give me some advice on this stuff? Never done this before.
Also, we have almost 2000 views on this story from this month so far!
I roll the pen around in my hand, quite satisfied at what I've been able to create.
In only a few hours in the early morning, I've been able to revise that sorry excuse for a poem entirely, the creation not even resembling the horror that it once was.
While the poem is far from complete, it has definitely taken a turn in the right direction.
Unlike the horrible creation of yesterday, this one actually bears a great amount of rhymes, as well as making sense and creating an easy to see message.
I look over page, passed the many scribbles of failed attempts.
Under all that, all the wrinkles of the many crumpled pages, a very charming poem, more of a song really, can be seen.
'I must say that you captivate
In so many ways that I can't relate
But I want to be your latest thing
For you girl I'd do anything
I've never been attracted to a girl that's quite like you
We've got more in common than you think. You make me move
Don't you walk away from me
Cause I got to get you next to me
If you've got game girl step to me
Just lose them friends and dance with me
Dance next to me, dance next to me
Oh please, oh please, oh can't you see
That I've got to get you, baby
To lose yourself with me.'
After I woke up from a brief few hour nap, I was able to churn out a few notes, practice the poem, and create this work, all the while Lotte peacefully slept on my shoulder.
Quite the night, indeed.
However, even with these great breakthroughs, I feel as though the poem is too short, it's just missing something.
Despite myself not quite knowing what this is, that doesn't keep me from trying to figure it out, even if we have bigger things to worry about at this current time.
All I know is that I love Diana, and that is enough for me.
But still, this poem only reminds me of an unpleasant truth.
Diana and I have never danced.
She did teach me that one spell during Alchemy class, the object repair spell.
I remember vividly when she grabbed my arm, showing me the motions, coaching me in the correct position.
That was the closest we've ever gotten to dancing.
Either way, we really missed a chance back in Italy.
I can see it now, the two of us, dressed in fancy clothes, candle lit background, ourselves close, dancing the night away till the brink of day.
That would have been the best Christmas present ever...
Last I checked, Christmas is only two days away, very improbable by that thin margin that we would be rescued and Diana and I would return to our vacation in Italy.
I can only hope for a miracle at this point, that Diana and I can at least find some way to celebrate the holidays together, even if it were to happen after.
As much as I always say it, Diana surely lives up to her name.
For as long as I've known her, she's only been divine to me, only under the most rare occasions bearing any uncomfortable expression, anger not coming easy to her, only kindness and understanding.
There are very few women quiet like Diana, and even fewer that I've had the honor of meeting.
Even if this island contains as much treasure as the stories say, it's nothing compared to the richness of Diana, of her heart and mind, her actions and thoughts.
The Earth proudly bears Diana as its crown jewel-
"We just have to find this river." Bob informs us, his voice snapping me back into our reality. "It flows South. It'll help us find those towers."
"Yeah, you keep reminding us." Akko comments, scratching at her neck. "When are we going to take a break?"
"Once we reach the towers." Our tour guide tells us, not losing stride in her pacing. "If we keep it up, we might reach it by nightfall."
"Ugh!" Akko goans out in protest. "Nightfall?!"
I can agree with Akko's protests on this one, we have already been wandering for hours now.
All of us, Lotte, Akko, Bob, Brad, and I woke up at the crack of dawn, when the sun was still rising out of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Southern radio stations are our objective to reach.
Now, it's nearly the afternoon, all of us not taking any breaks since our awakening.
I feel the beads of sweat rolling down my face, mixing in with the dirt and grime of our travels as the joints in my legs pound with pain in each step I take, already inflamed through overuse.
Even the normally energetic Akko has lost her cheery tone, long since abandoning her skipping and spastic movements, now trudging through like the rest of us.
I see Lotte's knees buckling, herself collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
"Lotte?!" Akko and I both cry out.
I take a knee next to her, a hand outstretched as I ask
"Are you alright?"
"It's...it's too heavy…" She moans out, her small frame unable to carry such a load.
Despite our reunion and consolidation of our resources, our rations have been subpar at best, only consisting of a few meager snacks, maybe a few slices of jerky if we're lucky.
We didn't even eat breakfast this morning, only breaking granola as we marched.
"I'll carry it for you." I inform her, grabbing at her pack as she silently takes it off.
"Thank you…" Lotte mutters to me, herself embarrassed by my help.
She stands up, now relieved from her weight, as I sling her pack onto my back.
I feel the additional weight immediately, myself trying to hide my shaking legs from the rest of the group, most importantly Lotte.
However, somehow, the normally aloof Akko notices my struggles.
"Don't think your going to carry all that on your own." She tells me. "We're a team, remember?"
I cast a glance to the two adults, getting conflicting responses.
"Of course we're a team." Brad affirms Akko's words. "Tom always told me about the importance of teamwork."
"Don't look at me." Bob casually declares, holding up his empty hands. "I'm not taking any extra weight."
Looking back to my friend, I nod at her, a smile on my face.
I open Lotte's backpack, emptying half of it into Akko's, my load now decreasing considerably.
Slinging the newly weighted backpack on, I feel more confident, my legs actually keeping still, only firm steps just as before.
However, I grit my teeth as we continue our journey, even this lighter cargo adding more pressure for my sore feet.
The straw that broke the camel's back, they say.
But even still, if this action take pain off of Lotte, then by God, I'm going to do this!
"You really don't seem like your built for this kind of environment." Bob comments towards Lotte, himself hardly winded by our long march. "I doubt you could fight against even the tiniest of monsters."
"I never said I could." Lotte replies rather defensively.
"Well, that's true…" Bob agrees, nodding at her words. "So, why are you here then?"
"Oh, well I'm more of a bookworm than an outdoorsman." Lotte goes on to explain. "One of the girls got sick and couldn't come."
"Lotte fought off a titan once!" I hear Akko beam at her friend, attempting to provide support.
"It was a team effort." Lotte corrects her, not wanting to take credit for what Akko was ultimately able to do with The Shiny Arc. "You, Sucy, and I, all three of us did that. The rest of the girls and Theodore also helped."
I hear Bob smuggly huff at this, this new news of Lotte's exploits shocking the man, but also creating some respect for her.
"You never can tell about people, can you?" Bob ponders.
"Ain't that the truth?" Akko responds.
Our casual conversation ends as we all hear some noise.
It's definitely not a growl or the roar that we've come to hear often on this island, but something else.
The noise seems to be constant, not rising and falling, but keeping the same rhythm without losing stride.
"It's the river." Bob informs us. "We're getting close."
And with that, he picks up his pace, moving through the forest as the rest of us follow, the rushing sounds of the water only growing louder.
"I can't wait to get out of here!" Akko cries out with exhilaration. "This place is too creepy for me!"
"I've never seen anything like it before." Brad adds. "Tom and I went all around the world, from Singapore to Seattle. Nothing can even compare to this."
"The sooner we get back to Luna Nova, the better." I say. "Even if we don't bring any wealth back, I just want to get out of here."
Akko smiles at this, saying
"Time just drags on here! Hasn't it felt like we've been stuck here for like two months?"
I take a glance at her, responding with
"But the plane crash was only two days ago."
"I know, right!" She sounds off, appalled by the whole situation.
Bob stops his movement as we break into another clearing, myself hoping that this one is a monster free one.
I see his eyes, scanning through the tall grass, following the clearing as it leads to the riverbank, some large thing covered in foliage at the river's edge.
"What's that?" Akko questions the thing.
Upon closer inspection, it's an old, decrepit building.
Large and made out of sturdy material, it stands covered in moss and rust, the forest beginning to reclaim the land around the structure, the fence around the place long since fallen, almost completely covered by nature's natural growth.
Behind it is a wooden dock, stretching out into the broad river.
"It's a dock house." Bob informs us. "There should be a boat inside."
"A rescue boat?!" Akko pipes up, scooting closer as to get a better look.
"No, one that someone left behind." The tour guide corrects her. "If there is one there, we can ride the boat down the river and reach the Southern towers much faster."
"Yes please!" Akko happily declares. "I feel like I've worn my feet down to the bone!"
As do I.
Wandering around in the dense foliage, taking cover and hiding from every little noise, can certainly take a toll on even the hardiest of adventurers, and trust me, I'm no adventurer.
All of us could use some rest, but my mind mostly drifts to Lotte in this setting.
Bob and Brad are grown adults, Akko is an energetic girl, taking beatings left and right, most of them clumsily self inflicted.
However, Lotte can be fragile at times, both in mind and body.
As we make our way across the field and towards the building, I can't help but take a glance at the sky, perplexed by its nature.
"Strange." I comment. "Clouds are covering the sky."
While the wispy and weak white clouds are an occasional sight in the sky, these almost remind me of what England has to offer, large, full of mass, and black.
Some sort of storm is coming.
"Well, it is December." Bob reminds me. "Even in this humid climate, Winter weather can still happen."
"Clouds like that normally don't come this far South in the Mediterranean." I tell him.
"What are you?" Brad sarcastically asks me. "A meteorologist?"
I hear Akko laugh at this joke.
Brad opens the door to the building, dust being kicked up upon this action.
It's a large white room, full of dust and dirt, most of the windows broken as rust covers the frames.
Strewn around the room, besides trash and whatever nature had blown in, are several barrels, filled with whatever materials were needed to keep up maintenance to this dock house.
"Hey!" I hear Akko cry out. "Those look familiar!"
Upon Akko's curiosity, our group now stepping towards what caught her gaze.
They indeed do look familiar.
"Are these burn temperature machines?" I ask.
"They are." Bob answers back, taking a glance at me. "How did you know that?"
"Our Destruction Magic teacher has some." I inform him. "She uses them when we duel."
He turns back to the machines, now dusted with cobwebs.
"When the sightings of the monsters were low, but still proven as real, the island tried to use them as a sort of enticement to new tourists, sort of like their version of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, a circus of sorts. They had a few put into cages, a few killed and turned into museum skeletons, all that. The monster hunters would use these devices to identify how strong one of them were."
"That's horrible." Lotte protests, herself feeling pity for those monsters.
Bob turns to face one of the machines.
"They probably still work." He guesses, flipping a switch on the device.
The whole machine lights up, displaying underneath a thick layer of dust the numbers 0000.
"Yep, hooked up to the power grid, and the generators." Bob declares. "We're getting closer to those radio towers."
"Hey, I've got an idea!" I hear Akko declare, excitement in her voice. "Let's read what Lotte's burn temperature is! After all, she's the only witch here who hasn't used one yet."
I cough in one hand, catching Akko's attention.
"Magic user." I correct her, myself not classifying as a witch.
"You and your pronouns!" Akko laughs out, the both of us brushing off the joke with a few laughs.
"Anyway…" She gets back to the subject, still happy in its prospect. "Ted! You know how to use those machines, right! Do Lotte!"
"Will it hurt?" The Finn asks me, herself a bit nervous by this attention.
"Not a bit." I inform her.
Also interested in what power Lotte could potentially hold, I turn to device, pressing the button on the old machine.
Immediately, like some kind of slot machine, numbers fly, reaching a higher and higher quantity, until...
"What is it?" Lotte asks me, herself slightly timid as she's never been read by such a machine.
"322." I tell her, flashing her a smile. "That's a good amount, more than enough firepower to at least maim a monster."
"Nice job, Lotte!" Akko beams at this, playfully punching her in the arm. "You've got the skills to pay the bills."
"And that's all in her resting state." I add, sending more confidence towards the little witch. "Her true temperature is even higher than that."
"Awesome!" Akko exclaims at my statement.
Lotte smiles at all the love being shown to her, before asking
"And what is your burn temperature, Theodore."
"Last time I recorded mine, I had a reading of over 1000." I answer her back, pushing the power button on the machine.
Alot, but nothing compared to the likes of Diana or Faralda.
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I find myself associated with the idea of their true power. If the both of them were ever pushed past their comfort zone, I have complete faith that they would just be the pure spirit of fighting instinct, a force to be reckoned with, an unstoppable machine, and so on.
I can only guess what would happen if the two were to fight it out for real-
My imagination is cut as I hear Lotte cry out in shock.
Ready to face whatever caused her discomfort, I spin my head around, coming face to face with some horrible creature.
It's a sickly brownish monster, shaped like a human, walking upright on two frail legs.
However, while it's legs may seem weak, it's arms, as thick as tree trunks, hang low to the ground, it's fatty and swollen hands closely resembling baseball gloves.
It's facial skin clings tight to the skull, revealing a bony jawline and sunken grey eyes.
It stands, hunched over in the far corner of the building, staring at us, mouth growling and slobbering a thick white foam, it's broken and rotting teeth exposed.
I see Lotte tremble upon bearing witness to the monster, my other three companions not faring much better.
Even Bob, the survivor, has his mouth slightly hanging in fright.
I can't blame them. This is a scary creature after all, almost as if it came straight out of hell.
"Don't worry, Lotte." I attempt to calm her down, reaching into my satchel. "Just one zap, and this beast will be no more!"
I pull out my wand, pointing it at the creature.
I take a breath through my nose, focusing all my magic, whatever strength I may have left, pushing it through my arm and into my wand.
My arm tenses as I can feel it passing through, the tip of my wand letting off a faint glow in the process.
Now satisfied that this beast shall be dealt with in one fell swoop, I cry out.
"Murowa!"
The glowing wand expands its magic, but not in an attack, but rather into a small cough of smoke.
"Huh?!" I exclaim in worry, confused by this.
I glance at the wand, and I suddenly come to the revelation, the memories of the minotaur, but most importantly how that encounter stripped my wand of its limited supply of magic.
It doesn't work anymore!
"Oh no…" I mutter to myself.
The thick bodied beasy lets out a deep roar, similar in sound to an elephant before charging at me with a swift furry.
Almost immediately, it grabs me with one of its powerful arms slamming me against the wall with its charge.
I feel my back crack against the wall, myself letting out a horse cough as a familiar iron taste arises in the back of my throat.
The protesting cries of my friends become deafened out, the only two expressions being the roar of the beast, and a second hard slam against the wall, punching a hole in the sheetrock.
I feel it's hardened hand tighten around my waist, squeezing me like a lemon.
I open my mouth to scream but no words come out, my chest under too much pressure to allow any form of sound.
All I can do is cast a frightened gaze towards the rest of the group, Lotte with a few visible tears while Akko glares at the beast in anger, her mouth forming into a scowl, her fists balled up against her legs.
I attempt to claw at the monster's hand, my freshly cut nails doing no damage against the leatherlike flesh of the creature.
Suddenly, the beast twists it's body as it slams me against a window, the glass cracking through the force.
Another slam, and I burst through the window and into the adjacent room, my arm scraping against the framing, covered in razor sharp glass.
As I fall to the glass covered floor, I cast an eye at my arm, now with a rather long cut running the length, blood beginning to drip onto the floor.
Hearing that same deafening roar, I look back up, seeing the beast slam right through the wall, broken masonry littering the ground.
It takes one fleeting glance at me, before letting out a roar for blood, flexing its body as it readies itself for another charge.
"Hey!" I hear someone cry out.
The beast twists its head around, turing to face Akko, herself standing in the holeway.
Gritting her teeth in pure rage, her eyes now shining with malice, her hand firmly clenched around her wand, her whole body practically shaking with fury.
I breath, using my uninjured arm to push myself up, blood dripping from my wound, my drywall covered back bruised and beaten, the aching mess pounding almost as much as my heart.
But even under this great pain, even with the comforting feel of Lotte against me, I can only focus on one singular factor.
The burn temperature machine…
I hear the jingle, the bright and wide screen rolling through the numbers at lightning pace, breaking passed 500 as soon as it reaches, the number only continuing to rise.
"Her...her burn temperature…" I mutter out, my eyes widening as the number only gets greater.
At this point, visible smoke eeks out of the machine, this rapid incline too much for the old and otherwise unused device to handle, a crack beginning to grow as the glass from the screen heats up to a heavy degree.
"It's at...it's at…"
Like thunderous rain clouds, the numbers continue to roll over each other, each tick in the device summoning another number, much higher than the next.
Gradually, as Akko continues to stand in anger, herself practically reeking of powerful energy, the number on the machine slows, until stopping at a number I never would have expect from Akko, or really any regular witch from Luna Nova.
"1307?!" I scream out, myself feeling like falling over again in the face of this great power.
"Leave him…" Akko mutters out, the tip of her wand glowing red hot, sweltering with heat and raw power.
The monster stifles at such force, even its primordial instincts telling the beast that it has just met its match.
"ALONE!" I hear Akko cry out, releasing the powerful beam towards the beast.
With a shine almost as bright as the Summer sun, I shield my eyes from this blast, feeling the immense heat sweeping through the building.
A large explosion later, and I feel the force, the very hot winds blowing across my body, and after that, it all goes quiet.
Unshielding my face, I see no longer the beast that almost did me in, but a large pile of ash, a plume of smoke sizzling into the air.
Just like that, a creature that almost had me, no completely gone, only a fine power being what it left behind.
"A-Akko…" I can barely choke out, eyes glued to her in bewilderment. "Did you just…"
What...just what did she do?
One moment, the creature was there...and then…
My eyes widen as I come to the realization, something that I would had never expected from Akko.
"Where'd you get all that power from?!" I cry out, this newfound adrenaline numbing my wounds.
"Power?" She questions me, turning to face the other two men in question, the both of them just as baffled as I, if not more.
She turns to face me once again, her eyes catching a glimpse of the smoldering pile that once threatened us.
"Did I…" She mutters out in disbelief, herself bearing an even more clueless face than usual. "Did I do that?"
Even Akko is in a state of shock, herself not believing that she could summon such strength within such a short period of time.
However, I know what happened, even if I wasn't able to see it.
"Okay…" I say in an effort to calm myself down. "Okay, that's astonishing. Incredible really…"
I trail off as I can't even come to terms with what this means.
Perhaps I just don't want to.
Akko, the witch that most people in Luna Nova look down upon, able to create such powerful magic in the blink of a moment.
While burn temperature is not an expression of skill or technique, but rather as a simple rating of how strong a spell is, this is still an alarming situation.
The maximum that Diana has shown me was around 1500, during the duel with her, Akko, and myself.
Besides us three, with the exception of Faralda, the closest I've seen came from Hannah with a reading of 750 if I can recall correctly.
All of that, Akko being able to generate 1307, Diana at least around 1500, and I can barely get passed 1000?!
I almost wish that beast had killed me…
But even with this slight embarrassment, I can only thank Akko for what she has just done.
If she had waited a few seconds longer, I might be the pile of dust.
"Was that all the magic in your wand, Akko?" I ask her.
That was a great amount of power that she just wielded afterall.
She eyes over her wand, the thing now smoldering at the tip, red hot from the recently violent spell.
"Yeah, I guess so." She answers back, rubbing her head sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
I take a deep breath, the movement sending waves of pain from my back and around my body.
It feels as if my back has just been smashed through my chest, and my arm is on fire, the running of blood only adding to the discomfort.
Gulping back this pain, I tell her
"No problem, you just saved my life from that thing. Thank you, Akko."
I hang on these words.
I think this is the first time that I've thanked her for anything important, let alone something as big as saving my life.
To think, just a few days ago, I was angry at Akko like I had never been, all because of a simple mistake.
I honestly feel ashamed for how I acted. I let my emotions get in the way of reality and our friendship.
But now, I'm thanking Akko for saving my life.
The emotions and feelings of a teenager definitely change at the drop of a hat.
"With mine and yours now gone, Lotte's is the only one left that's still usable. We'll just have to save her magic for an emergen-"
I'm cut off from my warning, as Lotte swiftly grabs my injured arm, and with two taps from her wand, cries out
"Sosomme Tidiare!"
Upon her incantation, my wound begins to glow a bright green, gradually growing dimmer as my cut tightens.
A mere moment later, and the wound completely heals, my arm in the exact same state it was before the fight. I can even feel that my back also has returned to normal, no more pounding pain.
I feel my eye twitch, myself barely able to manifest a trembling smile.
"Lotte…" I mutter out with as much control as I can, turning to face her. "Did you...did you just use up the rest of our magic?"
"Sorry!" She pleads with me, her large eyes shining. "I'm sorry! You were just hurt and I had to help!"
I have to admit, right as I was stressing the ideas of conservatism with our magic, Lotte just uses up the rest of it.
Now we have no more magic.
But still, this is Lotte we're talking about, and it's not like she wasted it on conjuring a glass of water or something.
She just healed my wounds, both back and arm.
Truly a kind a caring soul she is, one that I can't get mad at under any circumstance.
I swallow hard, muttering to her with a bad smile
"No, it's fine…"
"How's the arm?" Brad asks me, leaning over as to get a better glance at it.
That's right. He's not really a magic user, so he must be completely lost as to what just happened.
I take a glance at it, rotating my arm with no physical pain or difficulty.
"It's alright." I inform everyone. "All better now."
"Tough kid." I hear him comment, smirking at this.
"Oh!" Akko comes to an epiphany, moving onto a different subject. "There was only one monster in here, right?! Maybe it was guarding something!"
Could that be true?
I turn to Bob, sharing the same concern as Akko.
"Unlikely." The tour guide informs us. "They would take them underground or in a cave, not in some crumbling building."
"We at least have to check." Akko points out. "Wouldn't hurt to look."
"She's right." I tell Bob. "We haven't fully explored this place. Who knows? Best case scenario, all the treasure we need is right in this building."
"Unlikely." He repeats himself.
Ignoring that, the three of us magic users fan out around the building, searching for whatever treasure that beast might of had.
I scan over the machines, bending down as I look under and behind them, seeing nothing but dirt and cobwebs.
As I continue to wander the room, I come across the pile of ash, what is now left of the monster that had attacked us, had almost killed me and put my friends in danger.
With a steady growth of vexation rising within me, I place my boot upon the pile, grinding my sole into the powder.
With this act of disrespect done, I turn back to the corner of the room, where that monster was before it charged me.
Even under the overgrowth's thick shadow, I see something sparkle in what little light can get in.
With my curiosity now peaked, I head towards the room's corner.
"Check this out." I alert the others, picking up my find.
"You found something?" Akko questions me, peeking over my shoulder.
"A ring." I declare, holding it out to the group.
It's a gold band, with a large crystal diamond in the center, around the size of a garden snail.
Weird measurement, but okay.
"One measly ring?!" Akko wails, grabbing at her hair in sorrow. "That's not nearly enough to fund our school!"
"It is big." Lotte ponders, herself also scanning the ring. "Could it be enough?"
"Not nearly." I hear Bob interject. "I don't know what kind of debt your school is in, but that ring might be worth a few thousand dollars at most. Not enough to fund a school, I think."
"It's better than nothing." I inform Akko, myself feeling her uneasiness at this ring.
"But not enough." Akko retorts.
True.
But still, even if it might not be enough for the school's purpose, I'm sure I can find my own purpose for this ring.
With a higher purpose for the ring, I slide it into my pocket, the jewelry sitting heavy.
"What are you going to do with it?" Akko questions me.
"Give it to someone." I nonchalantly tell her, patting my pocket for security.
Lotte lightly smiles at this, our talk last night giving her all the information she needs as to who I have in mind.
"I see." The Finn whispers to me between her grin.
"Now that that's taken care of…" Bob nonchalantly changes the subject, heading outside to the river's dock. "How's the boat?"
With the rest of us going outside, I see that it's a small freighter boat, no larger than the average suburban driveway. It seems to have a concrete exterior, the whole boat in the shape of a large rectangle, rather than the typical hull. Only three notable features lay on the deck of the boat. The first being the wheel and its fellow controls, protected by an overhang roof. The second is the rather large fuel tank which sits behind the wheel, hugging the edge of stern. And the third, and most eye catching, being the rather large metal cage at the boat's bow, easily taking up a third of the deck space. Inside of the cage are a few containers, long since rusted.
While I take these mental notes, I see Brad run aboard and to the the fuel tank, unscrewing the large cap at the top.
"Plenty of gas left…" Brad declares, shaking the loosely attached oil tank, the liquid audibly splashing around.
"That's good. And the equipment?" Bob asks.
A quick look at the controls, and Brad takes another glance back at us.
"All intact."
"That's all fine." I tell him, my group seeming to forget one important note. "But just how are we going to pilot this? I don't think any of us here are adept at sea faring."
"Good thing we're on a river." Bob jokes.
"Captaining a boat is not that much different from a plane." Brad informs us, correcting me on my phrasing. "Most of the same gear is in place."
He moves to the wheel, taking the rusted circle in his hands, feeling it up as he analyzes the buttons.
"This one's a Model Three." I hear the pilot mutter. "When Tom and I crashed in the Pacific, this was all the locals had to ferry us back to civilization."
"I got this." He mutters to himself.
"You sure about that?" Bob skeptically asks the man, an eyebrow raised.
"I have to make some use out of myself." Brad admits, breaking his wheel concentration. "With you having the most screen time of us minor characters here, I have to do something to make the fans like me more."
Bob raises his eyebrow even further.
"You're not making much sense here."
Before Brad can have a chance to explain, Akko finally notices the large cage.
"Who would need a cage that big?!" She questions.
"It was probably used to transport a few of the monsters." Bob guesses. "To bring them to the zoos and what not."
A sudden rumble erupts from inside the ship, a grinding of gears, and then a low hum, followed by an occasional crack.
"Yes!" We hear Brad proudly triumph from the wheel. "I got it started!"
I hear Bob begin to let out a light laugh, more like a relieved giggle.
"This should cut your journey by a few hours." Bob declares, even himself exacerbated by our recently good fortunes.
A working boat, and an easy path to our salvation!
I can see it now!
In just one day, we'll be off this island, and I can finally see Diana again! One day!
"Let's get this show on the road!" I holler out, myself filled with new found determination.
"Home again, home again!" Akko happily sings aloud, in tune with my joy. "Jiggity Jig!"
A loud crack of lightning echoes throughout the island, heavy rain pouring down from the darkened skies.
A swirl of strong wind blows the heavy raindrops, smacking against the concrete hull with a loud thunk, almost like hail.
The river itself, which was perfectly calm only a few hours ago, now churns and bubbles, the rain and winds stirring the water with ease.
However, even under this dark haze of this rainy and cloudy night, the radio towers, which we had strived for for nearly a day, are now perfectly within view, and more importantly, within range of the phone.
"Turn off the power!" Bob instructs me under the wind's shriek, myself turning the satellite phone off. "You've got juice for maybe one call, make it count. Make sure you call someone who can help us-"
"Hey guys, come here!" Akko interrupts us, pointing into the river. "Look at this!"
We all rush to the shipside.
Underneath the heavy rain and rolling waves, a cluster of creatures, silver in color, can be seen, swimming along the current.
"Anchovies." Bob declares, identifying the fish.
Anchovy…
Even if that was only a nickname, the very utterance of that word flashes the image of my childhood friend throughout my mind.
It was a very quick departure after Diana and I received the letter from Luna Nova, ourselves leaving only hours later.
This was not enough time for myself to give Anchovy a proper goodbye, only relaying the message to my older brother, Feliciano, and hoping he delivers it to her.
Even if the longing is not quite as much as Diana's, I still miss her.
"Something must've spooked them." Akko hypotheses, sending me back into this reality.
Not wanting to take any chances, Bob turns to the copilot, saying
"Get the engine going, Brad."
With a nod, Brad heads back over to the wheel, turning the rusted key, the engine roaring back to life as we cut through the river.
Taking this chance of relative silence, I turn the phone back on, gazing at the keypad, wet from the rain.
"Who are you going to call?" Lotte asks me, herself beginning to shiver against the cold.
"Try Family Force Five!" Akko suggests, proudly declaring "I'm their number one fan! They wouldn't let me die!...And, I'll make sure to put in a good word for the rest of you."
Ignoring this as just Akko being Akko, I stop to think about who I should call.
A face does flash across my mind, and satisfied by that image alone, I immediately press the buttons of the phone.
After the code has been punched in, I put the phone to my ear, pleading under my breath
"Pick up...pick up…"
After a tone which seemed to last forever, I hear a voice at the other end.
"You have reached Diana Cavendish-"
"Diana?!" I cry out, myself feeling already safe from her voice alone. "Diana! It's Theodore! Our plane crashed, and we're stranded-"
"I'm unable to get to the phone." The prerecorded Diana continues.
"Damn it!" I cry out, catching the attention of my fellow survivors.
"You called Diana?!" Akko demands, stomping her foot against the deck in anger. "She's probably powdering her nose, or going on expensive dinners...or she didn't want her studying to be interrupted!"
"She would interrupt it for me." I tell her.
"That's so sweet." I hear Lotte beam.
"Please leave your message after the beep." Diana's voice apprises us.
After this word, a heavy beep rings from the phone, causing me to slap it against the side of my head in eagerness.
"Diana!" I repeat myself over the heavy rain. "It's Theodore! We crashed two days ago and-"
I feel the ship jerk hard, causing all of us to crash onto the ship deck, the phone flying from my grasp.
I horrible face emerges from the churning river, water flushing out of its gaping mouth as heavy rain continuously peppers the beast.
Even under the night's shadow, I can make out the monster, clear as day.
A long, tubular body, it's rough red flesh covered in scars and wounds, its beady eyes glaring at us.
It's the Mongolian Death Worm! They very same one that attacked the plane, that killed Tom, and almost killed us just yesterday!
It creature turns to face our boat before letting out a loud roar, its familiar jagged teeth all the more present.
Like some sort of whale, the beast rises from the water, towering higher than any tree.
It then crashes down, its sheer body mass smashing onto the controls of the boat, Brad barely jumping out of the way as the worm crushes the wheel, and then slides back into the water.
It reemerges once again, this time headbutting the fuel tank, foul smelling oil exploding out everywhere, splashing into the beast's eyes.
The Death Worm lets out a shrill cry at this self inflicted pain, the now blinded beast now swinging its large head back and forth, attempting to shake the oil off as it slams against the ship, splintering the concrete and cracking the deck.
"Get in the cage! While its distracted!" Bob orders us, himself rushing into the metal thing.
We all follow his direction, Brad closing the heavy barred door.
No way to escape now.
The beast hovers just above the water, it's face mere feet from our boat, a low growl slipping through the blood stained teeth, its once black eyes now an irritated dark red, the oil now gone as the monster bleeds from a wound on its head, self inflicted from its panic.
It's head is nearly as big as the boat!
Even if we could get out, with the controls smashed and the remaining fuel now running out into the river, our odds are none.
"We're going to die, aren't we?" Akko hopelessly contemplates, her question hanging heavy in the air.
"Not today!" I hear Brad declare, now invigorated by the young witch's worry. "This bitch is going to pay!"
Whether it be the insult or Brad's sporadic words, The Death Worm headbutts the cage, the sheer force causing it to slide a few feet across the deck.
The beast repeats this action, each blow sending us further to the boat's stern.
"It's smashing us into the water!" Akko cries out, coming to realize the monster's intentions.
"Look in the boxes!" Bob cries out, scrambling through the metal tins at our feet. "Find a weapon! Anything!"
While we all follow his instructions with haste as the beast continues to push us even closer to the edge.
I quickly open a red metal box, turning it over and spilling the contents onto the cage floor, revealing a red flare gun.
I stop myself as some noise grabs my attention.
Even over the roar of the monster, the heavy rain, and the churning waters, I can still make out a faint but recognizable ring, something that I heard before we left to Filicudi.
'Life is Good' by the Vienna Boys' Choir!
The phone is ringing!
'Where's the phone?!" Bob cries out, also hearing its tune.
"There!" Akko shouts back, herself squeezing her arms through the cage, attempting to grab at it.
"Get the phone!" Bob screams out, the rest of us running over to met Akko.
I shove my arms through the cage bars, clawing at the air in hopes of reaching the phone.
The monster does one more headbutt, shoving half of the cage over the side of the stern, the boat beginning to tip over.
Through gravity, the heavy phone follows, sliding across the boat's floor, and just into my reach.
With lightning instinct, I grab the phone, the vibrations from the device sending me hope as I hastily thumb the answer button.
However, this hope becomes waterlogged as the whole cage slides into the violent river, the heavy metal prison dragging us into the deep water.
"Diana!" I cry out into the phone, the cage rapidly sinking into the river. "Diana! Listen to me!"
"Theodore!" I hear Diana's scolding voice, herself seeming to have recovered from her illness. "It's been two days since you've departed, and I-"
"The river!" I cry out over the roar of my companions' screams. "Crashed! Send help!"
As the heavy cage sinks into the water, all of us, the phone included, become submerged in the fluid.
The cold water sends spikes against my skull, slamming into my brain, my whole body quivering as the chilly feeling slithers around my body.
All I can see is darkness, the tiny boat which carried us so far now sinking helplessly just like we were.
I open my mouth to scream by instinct, cold river water rushing into my mouth and down my throat.
I choke and cough on the water, letting out a muffled scream not only for our situation, not only that my friends are in grave danger, but because of one glaring truth, one that meets hand in hand with my phobia of flying.
And as my vision darkens, the image of my struggling friends now blurring, this singular truth shatters my skull harder than the cold waters ever could.
I don't know how to swim.
Author's Note: That shocking revelation! Is this the end of Theodore?!
Probably not.
Anyway, to help give some light to this dark ending, I have a special announcement to make.
Somehow, even I thought we wouldn't reach this, but it has come.
Yes, I'm talking about the Third Anniversary Special, coming up in a few months!
While my first two were rather simple to come up with, the first one I basically just copied an already existing movie, and for the second one I just added a little bit of flavor to already created scenes. This time though, it's a completely original story, painstakingly put together by me!
Since college has started for me again, and free time is now short, I'm going to work on the special right after this chapter, rather than the next main chapter.
I won't spoil much, but I'll just say that it's going to have an otherwise minor character taking center stage, not to mention the arrival of the one true ship!
Also, even bigger news has come.
The legendary woman herself, MissEljebel, who sometimes writes fanfiction, but mostly works on DeviantArt, has created her own fanart of Theodore! An amazing feeling to see this!
Again, her name is MissEljebel on DeviantArt, name of the art being 'Commission- Theodore'.
Alright my little ponies, that'll be all for today.
Next time I see you boys, Third Anniversary Special!