Chapter 11

Several hours later, Coro woke up to bright sunlight coming in through her window. When she arrived at the bridge, San was at the wheel, while Ashitaka was in the crow's nest.

"Morning...Give me a report." Coro said happily.

"Sky told us that this world is all water and no land, and he found his mother several miles ahead of us, we'll be there in about ten minutes." San reported as more people walked onto the bridge to begin their jobs.

"How are we going so fast?" Coro asked amazed at the speed of the ship.

"Sky is on his sand skis and full sail, hydroplaning, what ever that is." San said as Coro took over for her.

'So, I get to see your parents.' Coro heard Tery say sleepily in her mind as he just woke up.

'Amazing you could sleep that long.' Coro thought back to him as she spotted the speck on the horizon.

As the spot grew larger Coro gasped in surprise, Exile looked like it had years of neglect with rusting sides and structure, and it was in the middle of a town of boats. As Sky dropped it's speed, Coro took in more detail, the ice tree was gone, steam wasn't coming out of the funnel, and there was gardens built on the deck.

"What's going on? it looks like they left it to die." Coro asked aloud.

When they were close enough to the ship, Sky extended his aeropods, and lifted up onto the deck of Exile. As they began to set down, the decks doors opened and Sky set gently down on the deck inside the cargo hold.

"So this is Exile." everyone exclaimed in wonder, except Coro, sky, and Harrow.

"Funny, I can't feel the engines running." Harrow said curiously.

'Coro, something's wrong, I can't feel or find Mother.' Sky told her as she hopped down to the deck.

Then, Coro found a note attached to the door leading to the rest of the ship. She called everyone over and read it aloud,

Coro, if you are reading this then you are the last surviving heir to the throne of Exile after the great war. Currently it has been 5 thousand years since you left and everyone with us wishes you good fortune on your travels.

Since you are reading this then that means that you have returned to Exile in search of us. You are the only one who could have opened the cargo bay doors, next to us, and found this note. Please be warned, in this world will lie a great evil if we fail, use the ut most caution. Also, for protection, we are taking Exile's consciousness to Exile island to guard it until one of us returns.

We want you to know that we love you incase we aren't found, or die. All of us agree to what we must do to save the world, it's our choice. We also leave this ship and all belongings to you. Use them well.

Signed,

Mom, Q, and everyone else.

Coro turned to the stunned group and saw tears in all their eyes.

"We shall do as they wish." Coro said sadly before burying her emotions and ordering, "Search the ship and put everything in Sky. Don't go out side under any circumstance."

"Right." they all said and rushed off to their jobs.

'Follow me, we're going to awaken this ship.' Coro thought to Tery as she walked to the door.

…

Coro and Tery walked into engine room and looked around, all the engines were covered in a layer of rust.

"It looks to me that they will run." Tery said when he looked at them closer.

"This way." Coro said as she walked into the boiler room and stared at the holder for the blue steam ball.

As she pulled out the ball, she said, "Let's hope this works," before placing it in the holder and pulling on a lever to it's side, while Tery checked the gauges lining the room.

'Coro, what's Claudia?' Tery asked her in his mind as he noticed extra gauges on the wall.

'Some type of gas or liquid that can lift this ship in the air instead of Aero-pods.' Coro thought back as the latch slid onto the ball with a squealing groan, and the hiss of steam filled the room. Immediately, Coro felt a strange sensation of being able to feel where she was and where everyone else was.

'This feels weird.' Tery thought to her as he finished checking the gauges.

"We'll wait to turn everything on until we have a talk with the people on the boats attached to the sides." Coro said as she turned around and walked to the door.

'Huh, the engines are slowly turning.' Coro heard Tery think as he looked in engine room at the squeaking engines before stepping into the cargo bay.

"Everything is salvaged and loaded...and we put your parents stuff with Q and May's in your bunk room." Harrow told her as she stepped onto Sky.

"Good, all we need now is to take Sky onto the top deck." Coro told him. Suddenly, with groans, poppins, bangs, and squeals, the cargo doors began to roll open and the deck began to lift up until Sky was on the top deck.

"Well that was easy." Harrow said as he entered the bridge of Sky.

'Shall we go and talk to the leader of of this floating town?' Tery asked her mentally.

"Let's." Coro replied before running and jumping off the deck, riding the thermals with her wings open.

"There's the bridge for the town!" Tery said as he circled and landed on a long balcony with windows across the wall. As they entered a door on the side of the balcony, they saw in the large room a boy in a wheelchair who roll over to them with a line of people behind him.

"Hello, I take it that you are our new arrivals?" the boy asked cynically.

"You are indeed correct." Coro said politely.

"Pray tell, may I ask, has brought a group of advanced people to our fair city, Gargantua, while it is being pursued by pirates out for blood? And how they are able to operate a ship that had not worked since this town was built?" The boy asked amused.

"Your the captain?" Coro asked amazed.

"I am indeed. And you are?" the boy replied with a grin.

"I'm Coro Elysium, Captain of the Midnight Sky and Exile. I was merely here seeking my parents who were Captains of Exile, unfortunately they are gone and have left me their ship." Coro answered as she gestured to Exile out the side window.

Suddenly, a piercing scream built before a giant blast of water erupted to the left of the town.

"Captain! They've caught us." one of the advisers said as fountains of water erupted around the town.

"Try to outrun them." the boy ordered before he turned to Coro and muttered, "Now, what to do with you?"

'May I suggest something?" Tery finally asked, "Coro flies over to the pirates and tries to send them off. If she's successful we stay and help you find the lone piece of land in this world, and if not we leave with our ship and Exile."

The boy stared at them for a moment, calculating the proposal before bowing his head and saying, "Agreed."

Coro turned, ran out the door, jumped over the rail, before flying out to the pirate's barge city, and leaving Tery behind.

"That was easier than expected." Tery muttered to the boy.

"It's a good thing you bumped into one of my senior staff in there, things could have gone a lot differently...By the way, name's Bebel friends call me Bell." the boy said as he wheeled his chair next to Tery at the window.

"Terrian Sallow, call me Tery." Tery told him before shaking his hand.

"So, is there really a lone piece of land somewhere on this desolate planet?" Bell asked Tery as they stared out the window at the pirate town closing in on them.

"One, but it's in the sky, at least that's what it said in the report." Tery answered him.

Suddenly, Tery felt anger boil through his connection with Coro and a pain begin to grow in his chest.

"Oh no." Tery gasped out as he clutched his hand to his chest as the pain grew.

"What's wrong?!" Bell asked as he saw Tery's pain.

"They're teasing Coro!" Tery gasped as the pain increased again and he rushed to the balcony of the bridge.

Acting on a idea, Tery pulled out the steam ball and heaved it like a grenade as hard as he could away from the town.

"My word, what was that?" Bebel asked as he wheeled himself onto the balcony.

"Watch the pirates!" Tery gasped as the pain began to subside. Tery kept the ball in his sight as it arched up above the town. Suddenly, the ball exploded in a white blast, harmlessly above the town. Just as Tery turned his attention back onto the pirate town, a massive white mushroom cloud slowly rose high into the air in the middle of the chasing town.

"Hang on to something!" Tery yelled as he spotted a white line advancing across the water and gripped the rail.

As the line passed them, a shockwave almost flipped several boats out of the water and windows shattered all over form the blast of air.

When the wave left, Bebel turned to Tery asking, "What happened?" as they watched the town slowly sink beneath the water.

"Someone called Coro a Princess and teased her." Tery said as he regained his strength.

"Really?" Bebel asked as he tuned a little white at the thought of what she could do here.

"She is the heir to the Kingdom of Exile, and I'm the Prince. Since her parent's are the king and Queen, she is the 'Princess'. Also, that ship that is connected to your flotilla, used to be their ship." Tery quickly explained as he spotted Coro flying overhead.

Coro alighted on the balcony and Tery could see she was fuming.

"You healed up your end of the deal, so we'll keep our's" Bebel told her while Tery walked over and hugged her, calming her down some.

"So, which way to the island?" Bebel asked slowly as they entered back into the bridge.

"Keep the course that you're on for a start, I need to talk with Sky to find out how to get everyone onto the island." Tery replied as he seated Coro down in a chair at a table in the bridge, before sitting down as well, and Bebel rolled to the table.

"By the way, I never got your name." Coro said as she took off her hat and coat.

"Bebel, But my friends call me Bell." Babel returned as one of the advisers brought out a map of the area they were on.

"If we continue on our course we'll leave the flow we're on and be set adrift." Bebel told them with concern after looking at the map for several minutes.

"Unfortunately we aren't from this time, can you tell us what a flow is and why this town stops at the end of it?" Tery asked for Coro, who was tired.

"Ok, but you have to tell me about yourselves after this." Bebel replied curiously before continueing, "A flow is a patch of water that's electrically charged by lightning and other phenomenon...Our engines channel this water thru pods below the ships that use magnets to channel the energized water in the direction we choose. Thus allowing us to move and steer."

'Hey Sky? Is there a way that we can lift this entire town to exile island?' Coro asked as Bebel continued to explain to Tery.

'Yea, you can control Exile since your heart is in place of mother's. Exile can absorb all the ships, as long as they're attached somehow, and connect them together. As for the people, anyone on the ships will be turned into Exile Children, like you and Harrow were before your powers were activated...Also, Bebel can't use his legs because of a neurological problem, the change will fix that for him. Along with everyone will have wings and if they meet their other half, their minds will connect like your's and Terry's, and Q and May.' Sky lengthily explained to her.

'thanks for the information, and how do I control the ship?' Coro thought after absorbing the information.

'Think it and it will happen.' Sky told her before going quiet.

"So, now do you see? We can't leave the flow." Bebel said decisively.

"Yes we can, you just have to give me and Tery command." Coro said warily.

"But what can you do?" Bebel asked annoyed.

"We can get the entire town up to Exile island and give them the power of flight. Also all the disabled will be able to go on with their daily lives." Coro told him, shocking Tery and Bebel.

Suddenly, the rumbling hum around the room died and the lights went out.

"Darn! we've reached the end of the flow!" Bebel cursed under his breath.

"Make a decision." Coro ordered him.

"Fine! I reced command to you." Bebel said after an exasperated sigh.

"Good." Coro said as she closed her eyes.

Suddenly, a loud steam whistle blasted from behind them.

...