33rd Shot: The Light of Hope and Despair
Work and lack of inspiration drowned me, but I can finally, FINALLY, finished this chapter (and it's 10K so I hope it's satisfying after I made you guys wait for almost 2 months). I feel like my writing ability is decreasing... But I hope you guys enjoy this! Thank you for all of your support! See you in the next one!
Nothing was more than rewarding finally seeing their current goal just before their eyes. All of their preparation lead to this very moment of truth, another leap they took in order to get closer to the truth of humanity's petrification 3,700 years ago. Treasure Island was a quite large area but not big enough to be frightened of, secluded by the open sea surrounding it. There's a looming mountain upon and rather dense forestry covering the land.
The very place where the new era of humanity was born from the last astronauts of earth.
And also the resting place of the rarest material on earth, encapsulated and protected for thousands of years by Soyuz spaceship; platinum.
Once Kingdom of Science successfully retrieved it, there wouldn't be any more worries and conflicts about the revival fluid. The miracle fluid, which was the main ingredient, wouldn't be called miracle anymore as it could be produced through the ways of science. With just a tiny piece of platinum, they could create endless amount of nitric acid–that equals an unlimited amount of revival fluid to restore humanity's seven billion population.
Even in between the heavy downpour fell upon them, the apparent silhouette of Treasure Island still could be seen as Perseus sailed even closer to it. Shinko jumped out from the crow's nest, climbing down the mast carefully because the surface was slippery from the rain water and the ropes dangling around to keep the sails intact. She safely landed on the deck with a light thump and splashes of water from puddles formed upon the wooden surface.
"We made it! The Treasure Island!" Yo was the first one who looked eager, wanting to just dashed to the place and searched high and low for his view of 'treasure'. Thankfully, Nikki was there to keep him on a leash from doing reckless things–her hand held onto the back of his clothes.
"I wish we could all charge in together." Senku stepped out from the control room to see the view for himself, supporting a look of satisfaction knowing their goal was just up ahead.
"However, it doesn't work that way, right, Senku-san?" Shinko remarked, standing beside him. Her palm pressed onto her hair to prevent it from flapping around and slapping someone else accidently.
Kinro's brows furrowed at the idea of unknown danger that would wait for them. "We don't even know what kind of people inhabit the island!"
Chrome huffed and puffed his chest, arms crossing in front with could only be described as pure confidence. "Still, though, we definitely have a huge lead on them in science!"
"How can you be so sure?" Kohaku questioned through the communication pipe.
"We're the only ones in the radar, at least." Ukyo answered, his voice resounding through it and could be heard clearly even through the crashing waves and all the commotions the storm brought to them. "If the islanders have radar, they would have found our ship by know."
"That means, the people who live in it are still untouched by the concept of science. We have a great advantage in our hands!" Shinko pointed out, realization immediately dawned on her. Kingdom of Science truly had more cars on deck in this matter, giving them an upper hand in the knowledge and technologies part.
"Yeah." Senku replied, planting a firm pat on her back. "At the same time, our only advantage is science. Let's use our eyes of science to sneak up to the island while the storm is giving us cover."
"I can't see anything ahead of us." Kokuyo commented in a rather worried tone, standing near the railing as he looked to the distance with Kaseki beside him. "We aren't going to hit anything underwater with such a large ship, are we?"
Senku snickered at his remark in a harmless way because there's no need for him to feel so– especially when they literally had the best pair of ears around. "You don't want to underestimate our sonarman, Ukyo-sama."
Kaseki cheered and jumped at the fact that science could deal and gave them breakthroughs in dire conditions like this which couldn't be solved by human hands alone. "Hooray for the eyes of science! Who could've crafted such a thing? Oh, wait, it was me!"
Shinko couldn't help but smile at the easiness they feel even if they're still sailing in the middle of a storm. With the more advanced machinery in hand, the risks of crashing onto the worst scenario possible could be decreased even though it's impossible for it to be fully zero. So far, they moved on smoothly and safely during the journey–she hoped it would stay that way until the end.
"All hands return to the station!" Ryusui's command could be heard through the communication pipes, it was firm and stole their attention instantly. "It's about to stop raining. We're going to hide the ship behind a rock before the weather clears. I'll have special rewards for those who work well!"
The promise of reward, which without a doubt were a good amount and tempting Dragos, was enough to make most of the crew pumped up. Shinko chuckled as she heard them cheering enthusiastically and began running to their designated places with a renewed spirit–Ryusui always had the ways to moved people, indeed. No one was better in holding the position as a captain other than he was, who knew how to raise everyone's morale up in the perfect time.
The captain cackled in pure amusement and excitement, hands on the ship's steer. "Time to storm the Treasure Island!"
As Perseus broke the waves to shorten the distance in between to the island under the coverage of raging storm, Shinko could hear faint noise coming from the communication tube. In between the hyped and burning atmosphere surrounding them, the cold and anxiety it held was a complete contrast. She blinked in confusion before speaking through. "Is something wrong, Ukyo-san?"
"…It's just a probability. I'll tell you when I have concrete evidence later." The sonarman replied in the quietest tone she heard for the day, sounding uneasy with whatever he managed to caught onto.
It was more than clear that he didn't want to cause unnecessary panic, being considerate enough as the crews were consisted of amateur sailors unlike him nor Ryusui who ventured in open waters a good thousandth time. Shinko unconsciously swallowed upon his statement, the familiar faint alarms of danger thrumming in the back of her mind.
.
.
Just like what their captain mentioned before; the ocean was filled with mysteries and a will of its own. The previous harsh storm filled with downpour, howling wind, and vicious waves was gone in an instant–being replaced by a bright blue sky and soft cottony-looking white clouds. The traces of storm vanished without a trace, as if it never happened in the first place. Absurd almost as if sorcery was involved, however that's just how nature was. She's a fickle being and human could never completely understand her no matter how hard they tried. Thankfully, Perseus successfully sneaked into a good hiding spot before the tough weather was over–an open spot near the cliffs decorated with lush greeneries. It was hard work, but it was worth it in the end and was done perfectly even for Ryusui's standard and with the lack of experience the crew has.
"We managed to slide behind a rock just in time! You've all done well!" Ryusui's laughter boomed as he stepped onto the center of the deck, seemingly pleased with the results. Without a doubt he had full appreciation of everyone's efforts. His fingers snapped as a cue for his grand announcement. "A ten thousand Drago bonus to all!"
And as expected, Ryusui never broke his promises. He guaranteed the whole crew would earn ten thousand Dragos, which definitely boost their mood and made them forgot their fatigue instantly–in just a blink of an eye, everyone was recharged fully. Even Francois was ready to distributed the exact amount Ryusui announced, doing their work as a butler even to utmost perfection in this terrain.
"We don't have time to waste on games." Senku chuckled in amusement at the event, the light thump of his shoes reverberated on the wooden floor of the deck. While Shinko knew he didn't want to ruin their fun, they still had a more pressing matter needed to be deal with. "They'll find us if we stay too long. Let's get going-"
"Treasure hunting!" Yo exclaimed, cutting his words off as he ran to the end of the deck–rush of excitement moved him to start this 'treasure hunting' as they decided to put it.
"I'm going to kill everyone on the island!" Magma followed not far behind with a more sinister plan in mind, definitely not sounding like rainbows and sunshine.
"Nikki-chan!" Shinko called out to her warrior friend as the two bolted past her accompanied by some breeze from the sheer speed. They're unstoppable–at least for most of them.
"On it!" The said young woman didn't hesitate to send a strong kick to their family jewels, instantly incapacitate the two without much of a retaliation. Both withered on the floor, feeling their lifespan reduced to almost a half from the vicious yet effective attack. Even when they're unstoppable, they sure were in Nikki's hands. She even made it a success in a single try. Although wincing at first, Shinko sent a thumbs up to Nikki, who replied with a grin of her own after looking at Yo and Magma in pure annoyance. At this moment, she felt Nikki was the perfect babysitter for the troublesome kids.
Senku could only watch the view in an uneasy look, must be from the exceedingly force she put on into stopping the two, before looking away a short moment after. Though, it was good for him as he didn't need to hold another lecture nor sending others to intercept. "Recon squad, let's go!"
There's a harsh thump of wood against wood resounding, stealing their attention immediately. Ryusui just slammed a whole barrel onto the deck in a quite… peculiar pose, and abruptly at that. Shinko blinked at the unexpected gesture he did and she swore there's a glimpse of light green rolling on the deck before it happened, somehow- Could it be just her imagination playing tricks on her?
"If we go in large numbers, we'll start a war. Am I right?" Moving to sit on top of the barrel, the captain chuckled as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. His eyes never wavered; confidence never faltered. "We'll go in with the smallest team possible."
"Don't you lot forget why we're here." The scientist reminded, trying to keep all of them straight into the lane of their purpose and goal. Sure, they could lay back in ease but not too comfortable and unguarded just because danger hasn't showed itself around the corner. "We're here for the infinite revival fluid machine. We're taking the platinum that's in our treasure chest. If we find it right away, great. Otherwise, we'll have to ask the islanders where it is."
"We go in quick, and preferably, undiscovered by the natives of the island. To prevent unwanted conflict that is." Shinko nodded in understanding, summing the whole plan up to make everything clearer and easy to comprehend.
"Which means the recon squad will need four members!" Ryusui decided quickly, snapping his fingers in conclusion. He began to list all of them right after, already knowing the exact people perfect for the task. "Senku!"
Said young man chuckled, a finger on his ear knowing his involvement was expected. He was the core of their plan. "You'll need me to identify the platinum, after all."
"Soyuz! You're the only native!"
"I-I'll do my best to try to remember something." Although there was stuttering in his words, his eyes shone in determination.
"Kohaku! Defense and vision!"
"Indeed." The blonde warrior hummed in agreement without hesitation. Kohaku was the nimblest and one of the strongest people around so she wouldn't catch too much attention and suspicions especially in a matter of built.
"Gen! You're in charge of negotiating with the islanders!" Which earned an apparent uneasy look from the said dual-haired mentalist. It was clear that he was hoping to be out of the list.
"Francois-san and I already prepared the boat. You can use it immediately if you want to go." Shinko informed the four. The more refined motorboat they built before Perseus also tagged along in this journey as a small vehicle connect the crew with the mainland. Perseus was a big ship, so it required some depths to keep itself afloat and since the terrains were undoubtedly different from one area to another, they needed a smaller transportation in case the ship wouldn't be able to get close to land.
Soyuz was the first one to go down the rope onto the motorboat, and soon followed by Gen. Their departure was being watched by everyone, encouragements accompanied them through it.
"See you later, Shinko." Kohaku pulled the young woman into a short but firm hug. She chuckled at the heartful gesture, it was always nice to be hugged by the blonde. Her arms were strong and unhesitating, giving a different and pleasant kind of security along with assurance. She knew Kohaku and the recon squad wouldn't go to long, however she appreciated on how the blonde spared some time to bid her a heartful goodbye.
Shinko leaned into the hug, patting her back gently in return. "See you later, Kohaku-chan. Be careful, okay?"
Kohaku pulled back, sending her a large confident grin before jumping off the edge–landing safely onto the motorboat below. Her landing wasn't too smooth and it made the vehicle rocked violently for a few seconds, triggering a moment of panic from Gen while Soyuz tried his best to keep it steady. The last one to be on board was Senku. Climbing over the wooden railing, the scientist took a first step onto the rope ladder–making sure he got his footing right.
"Same drill as before, huntress." He remarked, throwing her his infamous smirk and the signature nickname he had. To be honest, Shinko thought he would change it permanently from how he called her sniper slash watchman before several times. Compared to that, she preferred this nickname better as it gave her a sense of familiarity.
Shinko nodded without hesitation, understanding what he implied in an instant and gave him a smile in return. "Same drill as before, Senku-san. Please be careful."
The scientist chuckled breathlessly, his fist bumped onto her sternum lightly before he climbed down the rope ladder onto the boat. She instinctively placed a hand on the spot, not expecting the gesture but it wasn't unwelcome either while she watched him stepping onto the boat. Gen automatically took the wheel once all of them were on board. Her eyes followed the motorboat as it sailed away, stopping near a cliff after they tied a rope around the more secure rocks.
"Well, they're gone." Shinko tilted her head in confusion the moment she heard such peculiar words from Ryusui, not to mention it being quite solemn as well–which wasn't like him at all. He removed himself from the barrel he sat on and lifted it, revealing an extremely familiar watermelon rind underneath.
"Suika!?"
"What are you doing here!? When did you get on the ship!?" Kaseki exclaimed in shock, the sentiment was shared to everyone who stayed on the ship. Suika rolled away immediately in panic across the deck, hiding behind Shinko's legs for security away pairs of eyes boring onto her small figure.
"Suika also wanted to be useful! Suika's specialty is scouting and reconnaissance!" The little girl tried to reason, tears pooling in her eyelids knowing she was neck deep in trouble for sneaking into the ship. Her hands holding onto Shinko's legs as she trembled.
"I was wondering why I didn't see you at the farewell." Chrome commented, looking both amused and nervous at the circumstances they're currently in. His words became a realization for Shinko because indeed Suika didn't show up anywhere when they departed from Japan–who would've though she snuck up into Perseus when everyone else was distracted. She probably planned to tag along from the start after knowing she wouldn't be involved in this journey.
"I can't allow it!" Though, her reasoning was nowhere near being accepted by the captain in charge–who made no room for protests from the strict and firm tone of finality he used. It was a new side Shinko saw in him–a serious and unrelenting one. "Any stowaways found on board must clearly be sent back home! Until we get back to Japan, you're gonna stay put quietly here on the ship!"
The scolding was harsh and Suika knew her other excuses wouldn't go through the captain–she had no choice but following the captain's orders as he was the who in charge. The little girl choked slightly on her sobs, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ryusui huffed, turning his back the other way as if to emphasized that any sorts of effort to talk this through would be futile.
Shinko sighed as she found no wrongs in Ryusui's statement and decision. Suika was basically an infiltrator and as a captain, Ryusui had all the rights to manage everything happen upon the ship–that includes necessary actions to discipline the crew and set up strict boundaries about certain aspects.
She kneeled down in front of the little girl, face marred in worry as she patted her head gently. Her chest twisted in pain and guilt for Suika, however Shinko needed to tell her that what she did was wrong. "You can't be here, Suika-chan. We know you're the most capable in recon and scout, but we can put you in a situation as dangerous as this. Ryusui-san and all of us are thinking the same thing, that's why we didn't bring you along."
"B-But, Shinko-nee," The little girl sniffled as she held onto the young woman's hand.
"If I may, Lady Shinko," Francois remarked as they approached closer as well, kneeling near the two and leaning close to Suika to whisper. "A captain can't risk the life of a child on such a dangerous mission, scouting on a mysterious island. Master Ryusui is only being concerned for your safety."
"Stay out of this, Francois." Ryusui stated firmly at his butler to prevent them doing something unnecessary. His gaze soon rested on Shinko, giving her the same stern look although still soft on the edges. "I hope you don't take this as an offence, my lady, but I won't accept any sorts of bargaining in this matter."
Francois smiled at his words and bowed briefly, not taking the captain's harsh words to heart. "My apologies."
The archer also nodded, throwing him a nervous smile as she rose to her feet. When he wanted to, Ryusui could be incredibly intimidating himself. Suika immediately pressed closer to her legs for comfort, undoubtedly feeling guilty from being a trespasser. Shinko's hand stayed still on her head. "Don't worry, Ryusui-san. I won't coax you into anything either."
"Don't worry, it'll be alright, Suika!" Noticing the heavy atmosphere looming around the little girl, Taiju was there to lift her mood up with his ever-positive energy while holding a broom in his hand. "There are plenty of ways you can be useful! Now, let's clean the ship while we wait for the others! It's nasty from the storm!"
"Okay! Suika will do her best!" Surely enough, it worked effectively as enthusiasm returned to Suika–it made Shinko felt relieved a little bit.
"Ew, this sucks…" Ginro groaned in distaste, not looking forward to clean the whole deck and she already expected such answers from him. It wasn't hard to understand Ginro's disliking towards activities that required hard work.
That's right, rather than sitting idly and let the mess be as it was, the whole crew divided portions of work that would cover all the deck and everything on it. With the numbers they had currently, cleaning became a lot easier as multiple hands could work at the same time. Their cleaning supplies were also abundant, so no excuse for tardiness. After finished wiping the crow's nest and the rope ladder rolling from it dry, Shinko's part of duty was done. Since Kohaku was out for recon squad, the tall places not everyone could reach became her domain.
Between the crews who huddle and split on every part of the deck, it wasn't hard for Shinko to notice an extremely familiar someone was absent from the group. Someone who said that he required some time to make sure of something, glued onto his workspace.
Francois seemed to understood her intentions clearly. She knew her display was obvious–the way she kept glancing on the control room already spoke a thousand of words. The butler handed the archer a tray filled with some refreshments–some cold tea in a single glass and a plate of baked goods. "Please give these to Master Ukyo, Lady Shinko. He's been working for hours now."
"Of course!" Her tone maybe sounded a little too excited–more specifically how she didn't have to make excuses to check on Ukyo who's still tinkering with the sonar and radar in the control room. Realization dawned on Shinko on how she became too obvious at the moment, sending heat crawling onto her cheeks. Without a doubt an apparent flush was already there–she wished for the meteor to strike somehow and put her out of misery immediately.
Fortunately, Francois only gave her a knowing smile–saving her from a lifetime embarrassment. Bless them for not mentioning anything.
Balancing the tray carefully on her hand, Shinko opened the steel door towards the control room–closing it again with a light creak after she stepped in. Ukyo was still sitting in front of the radar like what she thought. If anyone didn't know, he looked similar to a statue from how stiff he was on his seat. Something put him on the edge. And whatever it was, it's nowhere near good.
The atmosphere hung heavily in the place, sending Shinko a confirmation that something was indeed wrong from how the sonarman wasn't moving an inch from his place.
"Ukyo-san?" She called out softly, approaching him after placing the tray onto the nearest table. Breaking his concentration was the last thing she wanted to do. "Are you okay?"
"I knew it." Ukyo muttered underneath his breath, the tone he used was tense and full of cautiousness. His intense gaze was drilling onto the radar right before him. "There's something down there…"
"Did you find something?" Shinko questioned as she stood beside him, looking at him in worry. Having Ukyo in full alert definitely wasn't a good thing to have, it always meant something wrong bound to happen sooner or later–his instincts were top notch in this department.
"I did and I don't like it, to be honest." The sonarman sighed in a mix of frustration and defeat altogether, tipping his yellow hat downwards slightly. Hearing how grave his tone was, it spurred an unwanted wave of worry for Shinko–not half a day they arrived at the Treasure Island and it seemed they already bumped to a wall called 'problem'.
She swallowed heavily at the thought, at the worst scenario that would happen to them and the whole crew of Perseus. "W-What should we do then?"
"I need you to confirm something for me, Shinko." Ukyo decided, sighing once again with mixed feelings of wanting her to stay for her own safety and ask further for a favor. In the end, the need of knowledge and information was more crucial and he had no choice but pushed his feelings aside if he wanted to keep the whole people on board safe–including her. Reaching out for her hand, he held it firmly. "The sonar and radar caught multiple strange readings ever since we're got closer to the island during the storm. It's on going until now. That's why, I want you to look at the seafloor. Knowing you have a good pair of eyes, it will be a lot easier. Don't take too long, okay? Just checking and you're out. I'll have someone to go with you."
"A-Alright, just checking the sea floor and I'll climb out." She nodded and repeated the main highlight of his request, her hand tightened slightly around his. Having a short look and that's it, it would only take a few minutes and it shouldn't be a problem. "I'm going then."
"Be careful." Ukyo reminded once again, squeezing her hand and finally letting go almost too reluctantly.
Shinko pushed the door open with a creak, stepping out of the control room–she jogged to face their captain who stood on the deck for permission. Ryusui seemed to not expect her presence, seeing at confused look marring his face. "Ryusui-san, I want to check on some things in the water."
"Wait, my lady-!" Without waiting for his reply, she jogged towards the edge of the ship and jumped. The sound of muted splashes resounding beside her ears at the same time salty water engulfed her figure.
Treasure Island was in the southern area and knowing the temperature of the sea was nowhere near freezing was considered lucky. In addition, the water was crystal clear after thousands of years being free from any sorts of pollution–which helped her vision a lot to catch more details.
She didn't expect to immediately face the problem just by looking at the seafloor.
It took her whole will to not scream out of surprise and depleted her oxygen intake by mistake. The salt in the seawater stung her eyes, but not once it decreased the sharpness of her vision. More importantly, it helped Shinko to convince herself that it was indeed what she saw and that her sight wasn't playing incredibly mean tricks.
Statues–no, petrified people could be found on almost every surface of the seabed. The numbers were more than ten, even twenty or maybe way higher considering this was just a single spot in the whole waters surrounding the island.
Moving her hands and kicking her legs, she swam against the current to reach the seafloor. Her heart hammered against her ribcage, threatening to pop out of its cavity in her chest the closer she got. Another splash soon followed after, which she instinctively snapped her head towards the source. Ginro was in the water long with her and seeing he looked pretty much content in swimming down meant he's the person who Ukyo maybe asked for accompany her.
The blonde gave her a thumbs up as he swam closer and Shinko replied with a nod, though like her he was quite in shock with the presence of the statues littering on the seafloor.
Her hand reached out to one of the statues for leverage so she wouldn't be dragged away by the current. Each one of them held the same expression; fright, horror, and panic–the exact same with every statue on the mainland Japan.
Algae covered the surface, corals even grow on some other. Suspicions rose in her mind as she inspected a few of them. They weathered significantly from both the salinity and constant exposure of water, but the degree was differed from one statue to another. Without a doubt it was beyond strange–signaling that these people weren't petrified at the same time.
Kicking her legs, she swam towards the surface and broke out of the water the same time as Ginro. Ukyo was already standing near the railing to hear from both of them, along with the rest of the crew.
Shinko panted before swallowing hard, not wasting anytime to explain what they found as clear and as simple as possible. "Statues! Lots of them, more than a handful! It's definitely abnormal!"
The urgency in her tone seemed to caught Ginro's attention as they tried to keep themselves afloat. He gave her a look of pure confusion. "So, what's wrong with that? We see statues everywhere we go."
"The chronology doesn't line up, Ginro-san." She answered almost immediately, realization on how grave the situation was falling down on her like sacks of bricks. This was beyond bad. "Before every bit of modern humanity was petrified, this island was uninhabited. The first people who came here were the last astronauts on earth and it started to be habited after that. Then, when were those people we saw was petrified?"
That revelation threw everything they knew into jeopardy. It took at least decades to form a proper settlement with adequate habitants, and the number of statues she saw was more. Moreover, there's apparent differences between the weathering degree of them. Did that mean the petrification occurred more than once? Was it really a natural cause? What kind of sick joke was this?
Sudden chill went through her spine, breaking Shinko from delving into her mind further to rake of answers.
Unsettling feeling of a pair of eyes watching over them prickled her skin. It didn't take long for her to find the source standing near the cliff, staring down at Perseus. A girl donned in translucent robe with unrecognizable decorative accents, the view of such a big ship didn't faze her. Her hand rummaged through a satchel hanging to her robe, pulling something out. It was attached to a long rope as she swung it for a few seconds before throwing it unannounced.
It was like a shock of electricity to her brain.
"We're under attack!" Shinko yelled from the water, swimming as fast as she could towards the rope ladder so she could climb back up to the ship.
"NO! STAY PUT, SHINKO!" Ukyo's harsh shouted made her froze–it wasn't a request, it was an order.
An arrow whizzed through the air and grazed the object, undoubtedly Ukyo was the one who launched it. She reached out for her own, preparing her compound bow to hit the object. If it's really something dangerous, then it was a must for her to ruin it or at least leave a damage so it ceased to function.
No matter how much they prepared, how much precautions they took situations wouldn't follow their plans as it was–sometimes Shinko cursed at that fact because this was one of those unfortunate moments. Her veins froze as the object spreading eerie green glow, the very same light which doomed modern humanity 3,700 years ago. There's no way she would've mistaken it, not when it ingrained deeply into her memory.
"What!? What!? What!? What!? What is that light!?" Panicked yells beside her should've been a burden in a pinched circumstances like this, however it was the only one that could snap Shinko out of her shock induced reverie.
Strapping her bow around her arm, she followed Ginro when he dove into the water. The light was traveling quickly, it was a race against speed as they were struggling to swim as fast as they could. There's a limit in her movement and effort in trying to not be caught by it. Shinko couldn't let herself being petrified once again, however she began losing hope knowing there's no way human speed could outrun light's speed.
The moment she resigned to her fate and prepare for the familiar endless darkness, the green glow stopped only an inch away from her nose.
She almost made a second mistake of inhaling sharply, thumps of her alleviated heartbeat drummed against her ears. It's definitely not an imagination; the light truly stopped. Her mind immediately recalled at how Ukyo's arrow grazed the source a little, changing its trajectory and made some room for her and Ginro to not get hit. That small act saved them.
It wasn't long until the light dimmed before vanishing completely. Her oxygen supply was diminished greatly from the adrenaline pumping in her veins, using the chance to broke out of the surface to gain some air.
For the first time after a long time, Shinko felt incredibly lost. Static noise filled her mind, everything was too fast to comprehend. What should she do next? Could she even do anything? How-
"Live on, Suika! Let Senku and the others know the ship's been attacked!"
That's right, Suika! Ryusui must've done something to save her! Shinko could hear him yell before. Knowing it would be too late for him to save someone in his own size, the captain chose the most effective move of sending Suika who's the smallest between them.
She looked around frantically as she tried to keep her head above the water, looking for any signs of light green melon helmet in between the blue color. "Suika-chan, where are you!? Suika-chan!"
"S-Shinko-nee!? Shinko-nee! Are you there!?"
Her head perked up at the faint call in between the crashing of waves. The ever-moving surface made it hard for her to locate the little girl, so Shinko decided to dove into the water once again. A view of green swimming towards her immediately caught her attention. Kicking her legs to move towards it as fast as she could, Suika was back in her arms without so much a scratch Shinko could sob in relief.
Open waters weren't a safe place for them and they found a hiding space in between the rocks of the cliff, where waves crashed onto it. It was quite a secluded place with big rocks and lush greeneries, they should be safe at the moment. Not once did Shinko remove her arms from the little girl as they watched over Perseus with its now petrified crew.
And them, along with Ginro as the only survivors.
"Suika don't know what just happened, but Ryusui kicked me away to save me…!" Suika managed to explain a little part of the situation she experienced. Tears running down her cheeks as she choked lightly on her sobs.
"I know. I heard Ryusui-san's shouting when the petrification light hit the ship…" Shinko muttered softly, fingers wiping up the tears running down Suika's cheeks. She hoped the little girl wouldn't notice how great her hands were trembling. She couldn't let Suika know, not when she's the only reassurance she had currently. "Ukyo-san also told me to stay put. They saved us."
Both Ryusui and Ukyo did–being level-headed in most aspects enabled them to process the situation quickly and took necessary actions needed. As a result, managed to let some of the crew be spared to inform their recon squad still wandering deep in the island.
Shinko had to accept that the intense adrenaline running through her bloodstream wouldn't go away that easily, if she somehow suffered a heart attack then it's probably given from how much shock fallen onto her. She couldn't think, much less respond to this horrible circumstance. The only thing existed in her mind was static white noise which seemed to affect her bearings because she swore she could hear it buzzing right by her ears.
Getting a solid grip on reality seemed almost impossible at this rate, not when everything happened too fast and dug up hidden traumas. Seeing that eerie green light once again was something coming out of the deepest nightmares. The very light that destroyed two million years of civilization and ruined their lives.
Ukyo.
He saved her but at what cost? The probability of trapped in an eternal abyss of darkness inside the stone for the second time? They haven't located where platinum was, there's a possibility they wouldn't ever find it at this rate–as if they're backing up from a lion's cage only to be plunged into a river full of crocodiles instead. She couldn't lose Ukyo too; not after she lose her former live and family. The thought of never seeing him again would break her to the point of irreparable.
Shinko was in too much shock to even cry.
.
.
Kirisame was intense–that's probably the only word Kohaku needed to describe the female warrior in general.
Exactly like what Amaryllis had told them–she was strong, fierce, and relentless. No wonder she became one of the island's strongest warriors and the strongest girl around. Kohaku was at enormous disadvantage handling her alone only equipped with her bare hands. When she successfully slipped away without further retaliation was all thanks to Gen's quick thinking.
Just with the slimmest changes in the atmosphere, he created a scenario where Kirisame retreated herself… Though, Kohaku couldn't pinpoint how to feel when she knew the warrior was somehow similar to Nikki in a way. In terms of personality that is, especially when she's being extremely flustered over the fake public display of affection Kohaku threw into the package.
Still, even if the 'Lab' message was extremely effective, it would hold no meaning if there's truly no survivors on the ship. Like Senku mentioned, the two-bit acting means nothing if there's no one left on Perseus. However, Kohaku could feel it deep in her bones.
You may call it as stupid as instinct but she strongly believed someone escaped from being petrified. With someone as capable and quick witted as Ryusui and Ukyo on the ship, they must've done something to let at least one person escape. At this moment, anyone would work as long as they could get their mobile lab out of the ship's bilge.
It could be fate decided to be merciful and stood on their side right now because her eyes caught intentional movements been made from the ship, upon the deck to be precise. Kohaku put pride in her sight, however she couldn't make out the true form of the silhouette from the night's darkness. If it's Shinko, she would instantly know who. Her heart twisted at the thought of her friend lying down on the deck as a stone statue.
"Someone's on the ship!" The blonde announced in a hopeful tone, reflecting the feelings currently stirring on her chest. Her heart started to beat faster in anticipation. "A survivor from the Kingdom of Science!"
Senku wasted no time to step closer to the edge, his telescope already in front of his eye and facing the direction she was referring to. "Who is it!?"
The second Senku's face fell after a single view, Kohaku never felt her hopes being crushed to fast in her life. There's only one person, one person in their crew, who could make someone as composed as Senku faltered just with a blink of an eye during moments of crisis.
Next time, if she would wish for anyone, her words would restate as 'anyone except Ginro'. May that thought forever be ingrained in her mind to avoid future devastation.
"It's Ginro…" Thankfully, basically everyone shared the same sentiment as her–pressing their face into their hands full of desperation.
It felt like death bells being rang to them and Kohaku wished to just kick fate seven ways to the solar system.
"What? Is this Ginro person not good enough?" That's right, Amaryllis didn't know Ginro so it was normal for her to be utterly confused and nervous with their more than a disappointed response.
"It's not that. It's not that he's not good enough. He does what he needs to when it really comes to it. But…" Even someone as eloquent as Gen was running out of words to try to smoothen the landing and look for a more positive angle. Fiddling with his fingers nervously, Kohaku could see him swallowing heavily–cold sweat trickled down his temple. "In terms of getting our lab back, if the person who came out of the barrel was Ryusui or Francois or Ukyo or Shinko-chan that would have been an SSR gacha pull…"
"But it's Ginro…" They even repeated it for the second time and it would be impossible for Amaryllis to not understand on how they're in a dire pinch at this very moment. Their tone and reaction already explained a thousand words.
Besides, if it's indeed their rare SSR gacha pull, they would already notify the recon squad via phone and not, well, hiding under the barrel. Kohaku couldn't imagine either Ryusui, Francois, Ukyo, or even Shinko would just sit idly when they noticed trouble. That, and it felt weird classifying their friends according to gacha rates and gaming terms.
"N-No! Ginro does the right thing when push comes to shove!" Yes, that's right. It was way too early for them to give up on Ginro, Kohaku refused to do so. She held onto that positivity because human took completely unexpected actions in the most severe situation–some kind of a burst of miracle at the edge of a cliff. "Look! I think he's trying to convey some important information!"
Senku already gave her an uneasy almost deadpanned look, signaling he didn't put any kind of hope or whatsoever to keep his expectations low. Though, the scientist still put a consideration into Kohaku's words and decided to peer into his telescope once again for this so-called 'important information'. He hummed as he began to decipher the message being sent through movements of Ginro's mouth.
"H. E. L. P." Senku said word by word and Kohaku wished to smack her forehead to the nearest stone wall there was. So much for this important information she thought. Internally, the blonde cursed Ginro for plunging himself deep into people's distrust and herself for setting expectations too high despite the outcome. The scientist himself looked like he's about to popped a blood vessel–Kohaku could relate spiritually. "That's. Not. It. Dumbass! You need to help us!"
Their communication was cut off abruptly as she watched the guards and Minister Ibara started to round around the mast. Ginro's movements while holding the barrel over his head could've been causing some noise which caught their attention. Her heart palpitated when Minister Ibara peered right into the exact barrel Ginro used to hide himself. How? Even though it only moved slightly, the detail should've been missed. There's no way he could know if he didn't have a sharp memory.
This was beyond bad, if Ginro had been found out who knows what would happen to him in the future. For Kohaku, there's only fear and internal panic at the moment along with helplessness. All of them couldn't possibly board the Perseus to help–the only result for the reckless act would be utter failure and they would never return back to mainland Japan.
However, suddenly the guards and Minister Ibara had their heads snapped up to another direction–attention diverting away from the barrel. That's when Kohaku could breathe because she would sure to suffocate if she held her breath much longer. From the direction they were seeing, their eyes were zeroed to the ship's greenhouse.
Was someone in there?
"Someone grabbed their attention from the greenhouse?" Kohaku questioned breathlessly, glancing over to Senku in an uneasy demeanor.
The answer she got was his signature chuckle filled with pure amusement and excitement, which was enough for hope to rose again between them. Keeping himself peering through the telescope, Senku smirked what she could interpreted as pure victory. "We've got mega elites in there. The boat we used to get to the island. They would have noticed that someone's on the island if they'd found it, but they ten billion percent hid it in the greenery and a place secluded enough for them to keep it on watch but not others to notice. No one's going to find it there for a while. They're here fully prepared; the master of nature and infiltration and the ever-seeing watchman of Perseus!"
.
.
"The lab! I want the lab! That's all we need! Please!"
It was a faint and muffled echo from outside the ship, but for Shinko, she could hear it loud and crystal clear. A sign for any survivors upon the Perseus, a secret code only for the residents of the Kingdom of Science. Native islanders wouldn't be able to recognize the unfamiliar noun Kohaku just shouted.
She could feel Suika's excited tugs on her shorts, and she knew the little girl heard it too. Looking down to face her, both of them nodded firmly as they understood the simple message. Senku and the others needed their mobile lab and it was Shinko and Suika's job deliver it safely to them. Hopefully, Ginro would cooperate and didn't back off to execute his own plan.
Craning her neck, she could hear every shift and drag of the barrel Ginro used to hide himself. So far, the guards didn't venture much too deep into the ship so they still have some time and room to move around freely.
"Say there, warrior, has someone touched these barrels?"
"Uh, no, sir."
"Why has it moved?"
Both Suika and Shinko shared another look, this time in a more urgent way. If they didn't cause distractions now, Ginro will be caught and that's the worst outcome possible. Kingdom of Science was already in full disadvantage, they would be crushed if the other side caught one of them as a hostage. Her mind instantly running a thousand miles per second–the barrels he hid under was near the second mast and the second mast was right in front of the greenhouse-
"The greenhouse…!" She whispered underneath her breath once realization dawned on her. Definitely a perfect choice of place for distraction being closer and all–it was also big enough with many nooks and cranny to hide. The guards would definitely hear the ruckus caused inside, without a doubt checking on it for anything suspicious.
"Suika will do it because I'm small and I can disguise myself as watermelons on the shelves! Shinko-nee should go to the lab!" The little girl insisted and hearing the determination in her tone, she made it clear that she would do it. "Suika will be useful! Ginro, Shinko-nee, and I are gonna get the science lab together!"
Shinko had no choice but to comply even with all the reluctancy she had considering Suika was just a child. However, she knew Suika was capable–that was the positive side she would focus on for now. They needed to move as fast and as efficient as they could with limited number of resources.
"Okay. Be careful, Suika-chan." Holding her hand out, their palms meet with soundlessly. She wasted no time to moved swiftly in the hallways while Suika rolled away to another direction which would lead her towards the greenhouse. Shinko tried her best to be as stealthy as possible, not making any sorts of noise in her movements–avoid any guards loitering the area. It was a must because once a guard knows, it would cause a huge domino effect and she couldn't afford that. Not when she was outnumbered by default.
Thankfully, not many of them searching to the depths of the ship–only interested in useful everyday trinkets like furniture and food supplies. Possibly because the islanders had never seen them being a human of new era where people were back into their more primitive and traditional self.
Pushing the door towards the bilge, she made sure it moved smoothly without making any smallest creak. The young woman sighed in pure relief seeing that there's no one taking even a step closer to the lab. Shinko climbed down the stairs towards their mobile lab, which was already placed upon a leverage. Attached to a manual jack, it was connected to a trapdoor above. All she had to do was pumping the jack and the lab was ready to launch.
However, she couldn't do it alone, extra sets of hands were needed–and the only hope she could rely on was Ginro.
She found what Senku mentioned before, feeling relieved that he decided to put it somewhere visible and easy to find. It truly saved time. Their mobile lab was fully prepared with different mechanism and equipment; one of the was a camouflage cover to protect it from animals. Lifting the cover from the floor, she threw it so it draped over the mobile lab. Rounding the vehicle, Shinko made sure it hid all the mechanical parts of it except the tires and the window.
Ruckus could be heard upon the deck above–series of heavy footsteps, things falling, and yells of annoyance. Without a doubt Suika did a good job to make form distractions, enough for Ginro to sneak inside. Anxiety had a vice grip on her, her heart threatened to wrench out of her chest.
Just a little bit more and they could bring the mobile lab out.
"Shinko-chan!" That single call managed to erase all her worries away. Turning to face the opposite direction, she found Ginro panting and already standing near the lever. He threw him a nervous smile, she knew he was beyond terrified but having him decided to stay and help was a definition of relief.
Her eyes lit up at the view, hope found itself settling in her heart once again. "Ginro-san!"
"Go! I'll handle it! You're the only one who can drive!" The blonde remarked, urging her to step inside the lab and took her seat as the designated driver. His hands were already on the lever, gripping it and started pumping so the leverage slowly rise.
Shinko nodded without hesitation, feeling confidence back in her system–a much needed boost in this kind of situation. "Alright, thank you, Ginro-san!"
Slipping into the mobile lab easily, the young woman immediately went towards the driver's seat. She made sure that the engines were on and everything was ready. Her hands clutching the wheel as the vehicle shook slightly. Her ears caught large creak of the trapdoor being opened along with the lab's own trap door, revealing Suika without her helmet jumping inside the large space the lab had.
"Shinko-nee!" The little girl cheered, approaching her and settled on the empty seat right by her side.
"Good job, Suika-chan!" The young woman threw her a wide smile, feeling extremely proud of her for being so clever and strong even in a situation as dire as this.
Once the view outside the window finally changed, her foot instantly stepped on the gas pedal. The lab roared to life and accelerated, heading straight towards the manmade bridge the islanders built so climb onto Perseus. The ride was far from smooth seeing as she drove frantically, however she didn't have time to worry about that. All Shinko needed to focused was to bring the lab off from the ship.
Mobile lab went straight for the open waters–instead of sinking into the sea floor from its weight, it floated and treated the surface as if it was a bumpy road. The whole vehicle shook as it plowed through the waves, rounding the whole ship. Not long after, Ginro joined in the ride–climbing inside with sea water clinging onto his figure from his second jump. With the complete crew of three, Shinko turned the wheel and going straight for the island. They had nothing else to wait when they finally had the mobile lab in their possession.
"The lab car's so awesome! It's amphibious!" Suika cheered, her tone sounded shaky from the uneven surface they handled.
"Indeed! Thanks to Senku-san's ideas!" Truly, turning the mobile lab into an amphibious vehicle was pure convenience. This way, it could move in every kind terrain there was–not minding if it was above the surface of the waters or upon the dry land. A super helpful invention the Kingdom of Science owned.
Finding the biggest path there was, Shinko found her way to reached the land. Stepping onto the gas pedal, she directed the modified car straight to it until they went pass through thick greeneries. Rustling of shrubs could be heard as branches grazed over the body of the lab. She stopped by pressing on the break after they drove for a while, panting lightly from adrenaline rushing in her bloodstream.
A hand settled on top of her head, both her and Suika to be exact. Shinko didn't even realize that the door was open in the first place. Throwing her gaze over her shoulder, she was greeted with a pair of ruby red eyes shone with thrill and proud. It was hard to tone down the burning feeling on the corner of her eyes.
"Nicely done, guys!" Senku exclaimed as the rest slowly piled into the mobile lab; Gen, Kohaku, Soyuz, and an unfamiliar but beautiful girl who dressed differently. Shinko could guess that she's a native, meaning that the Kingdom of Science had found an ally.
"Senku!" Ginro was surely didn't hold back his own waterworks, his face was in pure relief the moment all of them were reunited.
"Shinko!" Kohaku wasted no time to tackle the said young woman into a fierce hug, which she returned the same amount instantly. The blonde's secure and strong hug brought a sense of calmness and liberating Shinko from her worries.
Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at her friends, her arms wrapped tightly around Kohaku. "Kohaku-chan, you're okay! Everyone too!"
"But we're surrounded!" Ginro shrieked in panic not a minute later on, which kind of broke the heartful atmosphere.
That's given because they're not truly out of the trench yet. Peering outside the round window, Shinko could see figures holding torches steadily approaching them from every side of direction. Essentially, they were trapped even though they're hiding between the thick greeneries around.
"I guess we should've expected that…" Gen remarked, chuckling nervously as a respond to the blonde's panic. The mentalist was correct, though. They're stopping not far away so the guards catching up to them quickly would be the next case in their list.
"Damnit, it's so dark, I can't see a thing…!"
"I thought it was a boat, but it was moving on land too…! Is it yet another beast?"
That simple conversation was enough to trigger series of realization on them, especially people of the Kingdom of Science.
"I-I see. The people on the can't conceive of a vehicle that moves on its own." Soyuz stuttered a little bit but all of them were having the same thoughts as him. "It looks like an animal to them. I thought it was at first, too."
"That's right. The people in this island are similar to how Ishigami Village is when Senku-san had yet to introduce science. They only own basic and primitive knowledge. We can use this chance to escape them by making the mobile lab more like an animal." Shinko remarked before turning to face the said scientist.
He chuckled in amusement, and seeing from how he reacted they shouldn't be in too much worry. "That's a convenient misunderstanding for us."
"They won't find out we're still alive!" Gen added, there's optimism underneath the tone of nervous in his words.
"We're going to be spewing a tone of fumes if we go any faster. They'll know immediately that it's a manmade-"
Shinko gave Senku a look of confusion when he cut his words off abruptly. His attention was now elsewhere, staring straight outside the window with widened eyes. Following his line of sight, she noticed his gaze was glued onto the shrub filled with small white flowers on it. They were fully bloomed. "Flowers?"
"Those flowers…" Senku muttered, recognition marred his voice.
"Uh, they're jasmine flowers. What about it?" The unfamiliar girl questioned after she took a single look outside the window.
"We're in the south, after all." Gen commented, knowing that they would grow in the southern area. "What, are having a tea time now? Jasmine tea?"
Shinko chuckled nervously at his unexpected guessing. "I don't think that's what Senku-san means…"
Rummaging through one of his satchels quickly, the scientist pulled out something from inside–something round and wide with smooth surface which the archer immediately recognized. The native girl only stared at the object in confusion before muttering, "Shells?"
"The ones you were collecting earlier in the day, Amaryllis." Shinko perked at the name being mentioned by Senku and instantly connected the dots together. So, her name was Amaryllis. Unlike Ishigami Village's naming system based on minerals, the people in this island seemed to have a more diverse naming sense seeing as amaryllis is a flower. "I never would have thought we'd have a use for the rotten flesh. Huntress, help me gather those jasmines."
The said young woman nodded in understanding. Opening the window slightly, she tried to pluck as many as jasmine flowers she could from the bushes–collecting them on a large leaf she found lying around on the ground. When Shinko was finished with her task, Senku was done removing the rotten flesh from inside the shells.
"If we're going to blow fumes their way, we may as well as make them mega fragrant!" Grabbing a handful of jasmine flowers and some rotten shellfish, he rolled them together in his palm. "With amines from seafood and meat, and skatole from jasmine!"
"Skatole…?" Shinko couldn't help but looking uneasy after Senku mentioned that unfamiliar but familiar term.
"Even the name sounds nasty…" Gen added, sharing the same look as her.
"Just gotta warm up some rotten clams wrapped in jasmine petals," Senku held the wrapped-up shellfishes with a pair of chopsticks before heating it up with the heating pipe in the mobile lab. Only in a matter of seconds, an incredibly familiar but unpleasant smell wafted into the vehicle–to which Shinko immediately pinched her nose at.
Now, they acquired poop! (Definitely didn't sound exciting at all).
"We don't need to acquire that! I get plenty from my butt!" Ginro protested as Senku held up the source of that disgusting scent.
The scientist only chuckled in amusement at his reaction. "It's just a smell. And for the cherry on top, we'll season it with a dash of sulfur scent to make it even more fart-like~"
"The lab sure is convenient…" Gen muttered underneath his breath as he watched Senku put up a block of sulfur to be heated up for a more realistic… fart smell… Shinko couldn't discern between feeling impressed, disgusted, or confused altogether. Mixed emotions were probably the best to describe her feelings at the moment.
Burning all of their creative and improvise invention upon the heating pipe, all the fumes were out through the funnel above. They could hear the shouts of the guards mentioning how the air reeked of nasty smell. Gen didn't waste any time to open the door slightly, whistling through his hand to make an incredibly convincing… fart sound.
"Damn it! I knew it was just a beast!" Shinko could hear one of the guards shouted as she stepped onto the gas once again, pushing the lab to climb upon the short cliff and then drove away immediately as fast as she could–leaving fumes and smokes which paraded as… excretion smell.
"YAY! We got the lab!" Ginro cheered in pure glee knowing they finally escaped by a hair, rising his hands up in the air in victory.
"The great escape was a great success!" Suika also shared the same response as him.
"I'm feeling conflicted, though…" Shinko laughed nervously in between their excitement because she couldn't exactly relate with the condition they're in.
Breathing through her mouth, the archer tried her best to withstood the horrible scent filling the vehicle while concentrating at driving the mobile lab at the same time. Well, at least she, Kohaku, and Amaryllis had the same sentiment of having a hard time with the smell.