Island Getaway

Lamb and Ro where speaking to each other in hushed whispers as the two watched over their injured companions. They weren't exactly pleased that Lucy had failed to get rid of The Heroes. "I think it would be easier to just... Do it ourselves." Lamb sighed, leaning against her crook.

"But that would cause problems... And I don't think we could subtly kill the fox below." Ro mused while checking on Kiola. The dragon was covered with burn marks, the only real extent of the outward damage to her. Ayre was less lucky, having lost permanent use of his left eye thanks to Mollia's transformation. 

It was clear that things were getting bad, and since Lucy was unable to transform back into her more human form, everyone was practically stranded in the snow. The demon herself was in a state of mourning, just lying down against the snow outside.

Lamb would be empathetic to the demon... If only her ghastly demonic wailing wasn't so damn loud. "You could try and do some magic stuff?" Arlo said as he walked into the medical bay of the ship. He was followed by Min, who was, as usual, eating a random meal he found lying around. 

The four of them knew it would probably be awhile before they got to travel anywhere and it bored them to no end. Yet Min casually dropped in the middle of their conversation; "That the little centipede thing might know a way to sling shot the ship across the world."

Lamb was quick to ask for a follow up. Min began rambling about the centipede saying something about how the slime Vinea found was actually a living teleporter or 'warp gate' as Nvr put it. So Senshi had the idea to just attach the slime to the ship and warp it to wherever.

"That is... Really? A slime can do that?" Ro questioned his claim, but was silenced by a sudden shake. The ship was slowly being pulled into an inky sea that enveloped it from below. The four looked out the side window to see Lucy's gargantuan form slowly sink inside with little resistance. 

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE, EVERY DOG FOR HIMSELF!" Arlo yelled before running away. The three looked between each other for a second before realising their brother was more than likely going to try and jump ship.

"Oh gods." Min groaned as he, Ro and Lamb chased after Arlo. They ran to the top deck as Arlo was preparing to jump, only to be yanked back by Vinea's vines. "Relax..." He sighed. Everyone else was already there, watching over Senshi as she used her latest engineering marvel. Using the slime's innate Heart ability to teleport to anyone or anything she had seen, it wasn't exactly a surprise that they'd use her for something like this. 

The centipede had attached a device powered by Iyu's own body directly onto the dragon skull that sat on the bow of the ship. 

As Iyu's liquified heart pumped more and more, the sea below grew more and more vast until tentacles sprung upwards and dragged the ship into the murky below. The four horsemen were clearly stunned at the power of the slime. Granted, they never knew her as the Receptionist and Laboratory of Splice. 

With how many times everyone had been dragged through Iyu's body, they were numb to the scare factor of the ink. Even Kiola's crew were accustomed to it, since many of them had been using Iyu like a travel service during the Void Voyage.

Once the ship had been fully submerged, they emerged out into the great blue ocean itself with a lighthouse in the far distance. Nvr took Iyu out of the device, but was a bit confused why they were so far out. After all, Iyu had never over or undershot her teleporting before.

Ro peered over the side of the ship to see Lucy's shark fin pass under the moonlight. "You reckon we could go fishing?" Arlo joked as the airship began flying behind the titanic fish. Though an eerie sensation came over Lamb, as though something cruel loomed on the island ahead. 

"E-Everyone be cautious. I sense a powerful e-elder being!" She warned, only getting a chirp of laughter from Avis in response. "Well, duh? Did we not tell you who were going after?"

"N-No. Senshi mentioned something about a-a demon? Not w-what ever that is!" The horseman seemed nervous, despite everyone's casual calm about this. Avis felt like giving a recap to the horseman would be best. And what better way to recount the past than with a song by the self proclaimed Rock Icon herself. 

"So...." Avis took a long breath before singing to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody . "A while ago, my sister wanted to be better thaaaan me. Caught in her greed, to prove her place in society... A god opened her eyes, looked up to the sky to seeeeee... 'She was a poor girl, I want your sympathy.' Because I sorta left, faked my death. A little cry, a little no. Anywhere the wind blows, doesn't really matter... To meeeee!"

"This doesn't explain anything..." Min grumbled. But Avis was just getting really into the song and ended up singing Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety. Vinea had to step in and just give the clipnotes.

"Avis has a sister, Ami. Ami got possessed by some old god that Rat trapped in a VHS tape. After a nearly city destroying fight, Ami used her body as a vessel for Penumbra. We just stick to Amumbra or Peni because it's easy. And it didn't take a whole song to explain." He grumbled. Avis mocked offense and began playing Bites The Dust for fun. 

It was lightly surprising to the four to find out so much about the people they had originally assumed were just weirdos. "Okay... That makes sense... But who's Rat?" Ro asked, making everyone else groan. 

"Did Lucy not talk about her life before?" Arachne laughed. It was true that Lucy had only ever really gone over her past as a warden, but they really didn't know the full extent of her or her worlds past.

Once the Royal Fortune had reached the dense jungle island, the ship docked next to the island's main city. A lavish, multicultural hub filled with different creatures of varying shapes and sizes. It was quite the sight for sure. As the touched down on the water and landed in the city's dock, Avis felt a cold hand grab her hair. 

"Boo!" A distorted yet oddly cute voice yelled from behind her. Avis, in a moment of panic, quickly swung her guitar like a battle axe, hitting the young red haired girl around the face. She fell to the ground, her body lightly glitching in pain. "W-W-What the h-hell!?" She screamed, nearly in tears. 

To Avis, it had been years since she heard that whiny tone. "Oh shit, sorry... Ami? I'm assuming Ami is in front of me, right?" She asked, turning around in confusion. Despite Avis using the air itself to make out her surroundings, Ami was the only person she couldn't make out. 

The young girl slowly stood up, rubbing the part of the hole that was her face in pain. "You c-could try a-and be nicer!" She moaned, her single galactic eye staring non threatening daggers at where she thought her sister stood. 

"D... Do t-they not see each o-other?" Senshi questioned, staring at the two facing away from each other. "I see her... Just w-where she'll be. Still as h-harpy looking as ever!" Ami grumbled. It seemed her future sight had gotten better... Only now she could only see into the future, leaving her a full minute ahead of everyone.

"So... How has life without me been?" Avis asked as she put her guitar down and crossed her arms like a disapproving mother... Despite the fact she was staring at the ground. Ami gave a confident laugh, saying in a smug tone; "I-I'm worshipped l-like a god here. A-And how h-has your six months been?"

The harpy gave a confused chirp, forgetting that for everyone else it had only been a few months since she got lost in the Fae realm with Vinea. "It's been twenty years for me, dummy. I went blind, became a rock icon and hermit. So, all things considered, great." 

Ami was a bit stunned, but quickly began feeling around to find Avis. Just feeling the harpy's face made her laugh. "Y... You're old! H-Ha! I'm t-the prettier s-sister now!" 

"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that." The harpy smirked as Vinea decided to get to the point. "Ami... We wanna talk to Peni. Bring her out." He asked, slowly walking over to the future sighted vessel. 

She gave a nervous laugh, quickly changing the topic. "Peni d-d-doesn't want come to come out. P-Perhaps w-we should j-just explore MY c-city instead? A-After all, w-w-when do I-I get to see family?"

Before Vinea could question her further, Ami ran off, glitching away in a blink before appearing on the boardwalk below. "C-Come on, y-you'll love this place! W-Welcome to D-Daydream!" She cheered. 

With little options, Avis grabbed her guitar and followed her sister, joined by the horsemen who were desperate to touch actual land for the first time in a while. 

As Ami began taking the 5 on a tour of her city, Lucy remained underneath the ship, wailing and mourning to herself quietly. Well, not quietly, since people could defiantly hear her... Perhaps it would be better if she remained silent.

Because you never know what's lurking beneath the waves.