The Volcanic Islands, at some point or other, had definitely changed. It was difficult to pinpoint precisely at what time this had occurred and whether or not it had happened very suddenly, or perhaps, so gradually that the three could not have noticed it had they remained there consistently. Regardless, as the ferry gained a respectable view of the shoreline, it was inarguable and entirely clear that the land was amiss.
The soft beige hues of the sand were tanned red; a red deep enough to give the faintest effect that the viridian water swaying over it was flaming with the roll of the waves. The long, fanning leaves of the trees were lightly greying and withering as though they were composed of ageing flesh with thin, chlorophyll veins. The reflecting sunlight over the active mountains bathed the human life below in a shimmering crimson.
Yet, despite all the now suddenly obvious changes, none of the island dwellers seemed the least bit wise to the transformation of their surrounding world. They swam freely in the ocean, strolled along the beaches, exchanged idle comments, and went about their daily routines just as they had each day before. It was to this scene that Gon, Killua, and Misaki returned, and before this scene that not one of the three dared to utter a syllable. Simultaneously, each wondered the initial murky thought of when exactly the Volcanic Islands had altered so much from its proper state. It wasn't until the three silently agreed to enter Haku's abandoned residence that words were finally spoken.
"They don't see," Gon reasoned aloud. The mixture of his tone and expression indicated the fine line he was dancing between interpretation and bewilderment.
Killua's usually clear eyes clouded over in thought. With arms folded firmly over his frame, he stared low into nothingness, using the kitchen counter for support. Misaki faced away from the boys, fingers curled together behind her back and she glanced out the single, small window.
"This obviously can't be good," the former assassin piped in, frustrated at his own lack of understanding.
"We don't have a lot of time left to help save everyone if nature is doing this," the green clad boy agreed urgently.
Killua shifted his stare to his friend, loosening his stance if only slightly.
"We have to go out and try to slow as many eruptions as we can with the time that we have," the paler boy decided.
Gon frowned, collecting his chin in his palm and resting his elbow on the table before him.
"I don't know if that's the best idea."
This earned him his blue eyed comrade's full attention.
"What do you mean it's not the best idea? You said yourself we don't have a lot of time!"
"Well, we don't..."
"Well, do we have time to sit around here trying to think of something better? We knew when we started working on this plan that we didn't have much time. What good is changing our method at this point?"
"Normally I would agree with Killua," Misaki chimed in, still gazing out at the foreign terrain. "In this case however, there is a very important factor that you're not considering."
Cheeks flushing in mild embarrassment at the very idea, the boy snapped, "Is that so, old lady?"
Turning his concerned, brown eyes to his frazzled companion, Gon explained, "The changes don't seem right. I've never, ever seen a tree do that before."
"Exactly," the girl agreed. "Volcanic activity or not, the way nature is responding suggests that there is something bigger going on here."
"An eruption is going to set off every volcano in the world. That isn't enough to expect that nature would act differently than usual?" Killua argued.
"Why is every volcano going to erupt?" the plum haired girl asked.
"You already know it's because of that underwater one under the north pole."
"What would make it erupt with enough force to destroy the planet?"
"We're really wasting time. We know all this stuff already."
Gon lit up, jumping into the conversation with new vigor.
"No one knew about this volcano before. Did L.I.G.H.T. cover it up?"
"Obviously, they're Conspiracy Hunters."
"Why would they need to?" Gon challenged.
"It's their job, isn't it?"
"No, but why would they have to cover up that that volcano exists in the first place, before it was ever causing any problems?"
Killua opened his mouth out of habit to respond and dispel the useless question, but to his own surprise he did not have a feasible answer. He turned the statement over and over again in his head, but no matter what way he looked at it, the idea did not add up. No, perhaps to say this was a lie. There were, in fact, many angles that did logically stack neatly upon themselves. The issue stood where these suggestions all pointed to a much different conclusion than the three... or four, if Haku was counted... had grasped so readily from the start...
"So," Killua began seriously, resting his chin on his knuckles, "what you're saying is that L.I.G.H.T. has always hidden the existence of that particular volcano?"
"Haku said there were hundreds of thousands of volcanoes in the world..." Gon voiced pensively.
"Well, what makes you two so sure L.I.G.H.T. has always hidden that volcano?" the other boy demanded.
"Their base is almost right on top of it," Misaki proclaimed monotonously. "Do you suppose that's entirely coincidence for these 'Conspiracy Hunters'?"
The boys exchanged glances before Killua's expression contorted to reflect a hint of restrained doubt. A deep sigh escaped him.
"Even if what you're saying could be true, all we have is a theory. Anyway, isn't L.I.G.H.T. trying to slow the eruptions, too? We even saw them doing it on the monitors."
"What if it's no use?" Gon replied sternly. "If they're causing the main eruption to begin with-..."
"How could they do that?"
"I... I don't know, but-..."
"Killua," Misaki said, turning to face the adolescent with neutral, amber eyes. "When you were an assassin, there was always a possibility that you could die during a hit. Why was that?"
In a manner perhaps too casual for the situation, the girl passed over the room and seated herself at the table, crossing one leg over the other so that her booted ankle rested mere inches above the opposing knee. She leaned back with a look of difference, reuniting her stare with that of the paler boy.
"It's because," she went on, "no matter the difference in experience or ability, both you and your target were human. Your target may also have had guards, or acquaintances, or trained creatures at his defence, but at the end of the day you and all of those things have in common that you are alive and animate. Man versus man, if you will."
Misaki paused, patiently allowing a silence in which either boy was welcome to speak. She checked back and forth once between them and, realizing they were both likewise waiting for her to continue, pursued the rest of her point.
"Mankind has the capability to fight mankind on the same playing field. All animate, living creatures have a wired in 'fight or flight' response. That is what gives us a chance. The situation we've been looking at... man versus nature... is not nearly as optimistic for us. We cannot stop natural disasters. No matter how hard we fight nature, we cannot win. We've been dabbling with something that is entirely hopeless simply because our first reaction is our 'fight' response. That is what makes us human, after all; fighting to the very end even when the circumstances are futile."
Closing her eyes for a brief moment, the purple haired woman allowed a sigh to slip through her vaguely parted lips.
"...But this," she warned, turning her suddenly determined stare back to the window, "is not a true act of nature. This is nature's way of demonstrating that it is being manipulated. Gon is right; the way the land is reacting is not right. There's a reason for that, and I highly suspect that L.I.G.H.T. is well aware of what that reason is. So now, we can continue trying to slow the eruptions and fight nature for the vague chance that we'll be able to usher some people into a few 'safe zones' so that the entire world population won't have to die..."
"...Or we can investigate L.I.G.H.T. to see if they're really an enemy and defeat them if they are," Gon finished, his tone unshakably focused.
"Like it or not, I know where we will definitely be able to recruit some support," the girl added, flipping open her phone to grimace lightly at the name she personally least wanted to see.
"You can't seriously mean-...?" Killua barked out, his body completely taking on a defensive position.
"That's if we can prove L.I.G.H.T. is an enemy," she clarified.
"I can't believe you'd even suggest that!"
"You don't think L.I.G.H.T. could be an enemy, Killua?" Gon questioned.
"No, I mean-...!"
"It doesn't matter now. The objective is staying alive. We can't waste time or let pride or grudges get in the way," the girl warned.
Gritting his teeth and letting out a short but sharp grunt, Killua responded coldly, "Fine. Let's go check out the base."
A/N: Thank you to all those reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting! I apologize for my absence, I've just been dealing with some things and haven't had the motivation to write. Hopefully that will change. -_-