Maui, Pacific Time the Next Day
Tomorrow shines one the Hawaiian island, but it still reeks of last night. The sewer systems in Kahului are still draining the tsunami waters like mad. And even in districts already drained, debris makes it just as messy as hair in a bathtub drain. If one were to travel along Maui Veterans Highway, he’d find there isn’t one. The spiny reptiles’ journey created a game trail, with sixteen wheeler sized footprints thirty two feet deep. And the coastal cities north of the event in Makena were trampled by the beast.
Never to forget Makena itself. The Red Cross is stretched thin across the island, and the refugee spot there is overrun. On a park bench, Rainbow Dash waited for anyone word on her friends. All the trouble she had with that massive pterosaur earned her a few badges of courage. She feels something on her shoulder. It was Applejack with Fluttershy in tow. Behind them were the rest of the bird’s captives signing a form.
Kahului
Surprisingly, Sunset, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy don’t travel to Makena. A few hours earlier as the city was being drained, the Shobijin vanished again. But Sunset still senses their presence and persuaded them to come with her. They once again push through jungles.
“Sunset, darling.” Rarity pushed a vine, “I still say we should regroup at Makena. They’d be worried sick!”
“And hungry too.” Pinky adds, holding up a Tupperware full of pastries.
“Guys,” Twilight interjects, raising a finger “I think we’re not alone.”
Indeed, when the girls and dog look around, they find others heading their direction, and faster to their surprise. Ever more curious, the group continues on, pushing through bushes and branches. With one final parting of bushes, their curiosity pays off. Partially uncovered was a massive egg of blue with yellow stripes and white speckles. Everyone was taking pictures, newsfolk competing for the best spaces.
“My Lord…” Rarity gawked.
“The sky had a baby.” Pinkie added, eating one of her sugary sweets.
Sunset approached the egg, gently touching it with her fingertips. The dry plaster texture intrigued her before putting her palm on the shell. As what happened at Camp Everfree, Sunset gasps and her eyes glow. Her vision was of Mothra arriving at the spot around a few days ago. She glows before several thousand little moths fly off her. They form an oval shape before solidifying into the egg. Her colors now fainted, the imago left the egg to secure a hiding spot. As the vision continues, she could hear a thumping sound, loud but very familiar.
“It’s about ready.” Sunset answers with a gasp as if expecting a child.
“Hey!” Sunset is pushed back by a short pink man in a black-red suit and top hat with glasses, “Get away from my property!”
“‘Your property?’” Twilight begs his pardon.
“I bought it fair and square!” Verko stakes his claim, “It will be a star attraction at the Verko exhibit in San Francisco!”
“You cannot take the egg!” The Shobijin voice from out of nowhere caused a stir among the populace. Sunset is the first to spot the twins in their protest, “The egg belongs to-!”
Sunset immediately snatches them up into her satchel, letting out an uneasy giggle before stepping back. Out of earshot, she opens the bag.
“Why do you take us away from the egg?” They question, both having worried looks on their small faces.
“And be another sideshow attraction?” Sunset rebukes.
“The egg is ready to hatch,” The Twins argue again, “it would be too dangerous for humanity.”
“Why?” Spike looks down at the bag, “What happens if it hatches?”
“The magic used to create the child will be ebbed,” The twins lower their heads, “and it will be very hungry.”
Twilight looks at the massive egg, preparations from associates are already being made to excavate the egg.
“Well,” She raises her hand, making it glow, “maybe if I-”
“No!” Sunset clutches Twilight’s hand, then turns over to the Shobijin, “Besides, after what happened last night, the egg would be better away from here. We’ll find a way, but not like this.”
Still questioning her decision, the two priestesses lower their heads before Sunset closes the bag. It’s not long when Rarity feels a buzz in her pants. She takes out her phone; on the cover was Sweetie Belle’s contact picture. But when she answers it, a large hand snatches the device away. It was a face they hoped not to see again. Another one snatches Sunset’s bag away. Before either one of them could protest, they were cuffed against their will and pushed into the jungle. Unknown to them, a figure primarily in blue and dressed in light summer clothes was watching them.
They were brought back to the city, but not to the yachts and cargo ships like everyone else. Rather they were taken over to the Gotengo. While the size of a large Destroyer class vessel, there are several visual differences. Notable of which is the bow of the ship adorned with a giant drill with a large gun barrel at it’s tip.
“This is amazing!” Twilight exclaims as she was pushed up the stairs.
The guard on deck opens the hatch and lets them in. They were taken even faster.
“Shouldn’t we get a phone call?” Rarity asks. But the guard only moves them through the narrow corridors ever swiftly, “At least let me call Sw-!”
The guards shove the four girls into another room and shut the door. Twilight was quick to catch Spike in her arms. The puppy starts wagging his tail.
“Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash!” He barks, scurrying off his master’s arms and jumping into Fluttershy’s arms.
“Glad you joined the party.” Applejack complemented, sitting down with her legs on the table.
“How long?” Sunset asks, getting back on her feet.
“Long enough that they put food on the table.” Rainbow Dash raised her hand at the gourmet presented before them. Sunset’ belly rumbled, and the food was enough to get her to reach out.
“Wait!” Pinkie Pie steps in front of Sunset, “They might have injected it with truth serum!”
“Pinkie,” Rarity muttered, “they wouldn’t let this food spoil now-”
“Actually,” Twilight interrupts, pointing suspiciously “she has a point.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie looks at the one way window before them, “If you think that we’re gonna be swayed” - She sniffs the delicious food - “think again!”
A quarter of the way across the Pacific Ocean
The passenger ships were full steam ahead, keeping together in a tight formation. The gigantic egg was on a separate cargo boat. The military ships followed behind in a big ring, cannons aimed depending on their positions. The Gotengo and four other Destroyer vessels were further behind. So far, no aquatic or aerial reptiles to fight.
Inside the armored vessel, aside from the hard-working crew, boredom looms. The Rainbooms have the worst of it. Pinkie Pie hypocritically ate all the food, and is close to bursting. The others were bored to tears. Sunset tapped both ends of a pencil, turning one evil eye at the window.
“So you’re gonna keep us waiting?” Sunset asks, “Just gonna watch us like we’re a fish bowl?”
Not getting an answer made her snort before she throws the utensil. Sunset huffs, leaning back on her chair and rubbing her face.
“We get it.” Rainbow Dash groaned, “There weren’t any monsters.”
As if on cue, the door next to the window opens. A few familiar faces enter the room.
“Monsters?” Tempest asks, holding two vanilla folders, “What monsters?”
“Tempest, what the hell is going on?” Sunset questioned angrily, “Where are we?”
“Welcome to the Gotengo.” Grubber answers before taking a bite out of a bear claw.
“The Gotengo?” Twilight sat up in her chair at the mention of it, “I knew this ship looked familiar, but I read it wasn’t even finished.”
“The Garuda was unfinished,” Tempest taps her fingers on the table, “it was proven too expensive and overall unnecessary to make an all-purpose ship. This is one of the only two, the other being the Atragon.”
The other Rainbooms look at each other before Applejack slams her hands on the table, “Alright, what’s going on? We want answers!”
Tempest keeps her silence, but does curl a corner of her mouth upon opening the first vanilla folder. Inside were grainy photos of passing glances of the spiny reptile from last night.
“In nineteen fifty-four, when the first nuclear submarine ever reached the lower depths.” Tempest took another breath before pushing one image aside to a newspaper clipping. “Lawton Gone without a Trace” it reads, “It awakened something. The States thought it was the Russians and vice versa.”
Sci-Twi notices an old schematic; one bearing very familiar dates in some of her studies, all of which had the word, “negative” underneath them.
“So all the nuclear tests in history…?”
“They were trying to kill him.” Tempest answers, nodding slowly.
“Him?” Rainbow Dash questioned; after all, she didn’t see any… clues.
“We thought he had gone AWOL since the mid-seventies-”
“Until the Lucky Dragon burned.” Sunset finished, the mere mention made Tempest clench her fists.
“They all called me a crackpot.” Tempest breathes deep “But today, the world knows finally knows of him. We call him… Gojira.”
“Oh…” Pinkie coos, shaking her head with her mouth gaping, “Gorilla-Whale.”
Everyone gave the bloated pink lady a look, to which she further explains, “Because it’s a combination of “gorira” and “ku-.”
“We get it.” They interrupt her.
“But if he was gone for so long” Applejack picks up a photo, “Why now?”
“Well,” Grubber opens up the second vanilla folder. Inside were grainy, very blurry photos. Only the newspaper articles surrounding the Bermuda Triangle support the evidence, “it may have involved us chasing away Rodan from the Gulf.”
“Okay, a fight over territory.” Twilight summarises before here brain clicks on another thought, “Wait, ‘Rodan?’ Like the artist?”
That very question Grubber can only answer with a shrug. The room suddenly darkens, and a bright light shines on the wall. The footage counts down from five.
“Those two aren’t the only titans.” Tempest remarks as the first image that appears is a damaged Byzantine relief sculpture. It depicted a few holy men fighting a horned, bulldog-like reptile with crescent-shaped ears. A few seconds later the image switches over to a Chinese painting depicting a coastal city flooded by a sea serpent.
“It seemed that our history with them was inexplicably linked.” Tempest goes a little further. The slideshow switches over to a faded hieroglyph of a monstrous crocodile being offered the hearts of the unworthy. It then switches over to a Norse painting of a giant wolf. When it switched over to an Aboriginal painting of a gigantic walrus, the Rainbooms stood up, amazed and shocked.
“There’s no denying it,” The picture switches again to a Fresco of two gigantic, hairy men of yellow and green fighting each other in front of a volcano. The next was footage from around the first World War depicting a river tribe worshipping at a shrine. Inside the shrine was a statue of a spiny lizard with webbing on his sides; carved on the base, the Japanese word reads as “Baradagi-sanjin.”
“Ancient species owned this earth long before mankind,” The next few images went by fast from a gigantic Okinawan statue of a Shisa, a Lower Renaissance painting of another sea monster generating a hurricane with his tailfin, and finally photos of the dead turtle from days ago, “and if we keep our heads in the sand, they’ll take it back.”
When the lights turn on, the Rainbooms became pale. Their battles with the Dazzlings. The creatures of The Island. Kong and Camp Everfree. All of this felt like child’s play compared with the danger present now. And the fact that there are more of them out there...
“But,” Tempest interrupted their silence, snapping her fingers. A soldier holding a small dog carrier walks to the table, “there are still little surprises left in this world.”
Fluttershy placed both hands on her mouth. For God knows how long, the Shobijin were held inside like animals. With a scowl, Sunset unlatches the door and sets them free.
“I’m certain these two have something to add?” Tempest asks of the twins.
Sunset defensively puts her arms in front of the twins,“Don’t say another-”
“There is a greater danger than either of them.” The twins step over Sunset’s arms and walk towards the scarred commander, “For centuries, our island has been his prison. But now he has been unleashed, and when he grows to full strength…”
The twins stop and lower their heads. Tempest cocks her head and leans closer to them. An action that puts Sunset more on edge.
“Who?” Tempest asks, minding the Rainbooms’ defensive looks, “Who can be worse than Gojira and Rodan?”
Before the twins can answer, the room becomes dark once more before it is filled with a deep red. If pop culture be true, then the guests of the Gotengo know for certain. Danger is nearby. Tempest swiftly stands up and makes for the door.
“Wait here.” She asks of the Rainbooms before leaving with Grubber. Sunset turns a suspicious look at her posse before she too makes her way for the door. The hulking guard blocked their way, his beady eyes focused on their target.
“Let us through!” Sunset asks, getting a snarl in return. Rarity steps in front of her.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind a little-” Rarity realized that the crew took away her purse. She giggles, backing away slowly when the guard snarls again.
“All right, that’s it!” Rainbow Dash pushes her friends aside, “I got good news and bad news for you, pal!”
This threat gets the guard to lower his head and bares his yellow teeth. But little can beat big if a little smart. In a flash of bright light, the guard is presented with a band of girls with pony ears and ponytails.
“The good news is you’re wearing body armor.” Applejack fixes her stetson. “The bad news is-!”
Outside of the room, punching and slamming sounds echo the ship. A passing soldier takes a gander at this upstart, reaching for the door when an impression of his comrade juts out. Others quickly trail the hall, each looking worse than the last. The door slams open, introducing him to a few stern-faced Rainbooms. A long pause, then the guard turns a blind eye, whistling a tune.
The Rainbooms make it to the deck. The destroyers that were next to the Gotengo have stopped, turned starboard, and aimed their cannons at the unknown. The pursuer made himself known again with his three rows of dorsal fins. The crew on dock brace for impact. But Gojira stopped, his frontmost of his spines just a few meters from the closest destroyer. Silence once again as each readied their cannons. The mass then shook and swayed, rocking the massive ships. It rises from the deep, but to a great surprise, it was just the tail. The real deal rose from underneath the fleet, breaking their ranks.
“Open Fire!” Orders one of the captains. The ship unleashes their payload, cannon fire to even rifles from the soldiers themselves. The other ships follow suit, and engulf the massive reptile in fire. The wide open ocean echoes with the made gunplay and smoke fills the air. Then out of the smoke, Gojira’s massive hand reaches out, grabs the ship, and collides it with another. He spins around, lets out another roar before sinking his teeth into another ship. Such a powerful force even has the Rainbooms flabbergasted.
“Yeesh! There’s no end to this guy!” Rainbow exclaims just as she watched Gojira bite the ship in two.
“It’s like he’s full of that Regenerator G-1 stuff I analyzed.” Twilight added.
“I think it’s more than that, Twilight.” Sunset concurs, “I think he is Regenerator G-1.”
Always wanting a better view, Pinkie Pie fashions another pair of binoculars.
“Hey, girls!” Pinkie mutters, “Something weird is going on with his neck.”
Pinkie hands the goggles to Twilight. The same thing catches her eyes. On the sides of Gojira’s neck, some of the larger scales flap in and out, releasing a little steam. She hands them over to Sunset.
“Are those… Gills?” Sunset asks. Hearing that in earshot, Tempest looks through her binoculars. Careful observation on her part reveals these scales opening and closing in rhythm. She takes out her radio.
“This is Tempest Shadow.” She chimes, “Concentrate your fire on the monster’s neck.”
One of the strafing ships aims it’s canons at a higher angle before firing. The shell collides with the necks; this time it stops the beast and gets causes him to howl. The remaining ships repeat the process, causing Gojira to cry and wail.
Afar from one of the yachts, the mysterious blue figure was watching the fight. And in her mind, she will not have it. She goes below deck and prepares herself a small rescue boat.
“Ma’am.” A shipmate calls out, “You cannot be here.”
The figure ignores the man and drops the boat in the water. The man takes out some handcuffs and reaches for the woman. She grabs his wrist, turning a predatory eye at him. The next moment she drives the small boat away, heading for the barge with the massive egg.
Gojira too had enough being cannon fodder. With his mighty tail, he capsizes a ship before grabbing another with his teeth. He notices one ship aiming at him and slaps it with his hands. Gojira shakes his head, sending several of the ships crewmates to the water before dropping the vessel on top of them.
“Uh, girls.” Rarity asks of her friends, “Is it me or is that boat run out of gas?”
The rest of the Rainbooms and crew of the Gotengo immediately notice that they were passing the cargo boat. Through her binoculars, Tempest notices the crew abandoning ship and so tunes her radio to the boats frequency.
“Captain! What’s going on?”
“Our fuselage was sabotaged!” The captain radios from the other end, “We have to abandon ship!”
At the ship itself, the crew is well underway to getting lifeboats all packed up. One passenger in particular is not happy with this choice.
“Let me go this instant!” Verko protests as he was dragged across deck, “That’s my investment on that boat!”
The mysterious figure returned to her raft, opened up a barrel of oil, and left a long trail before using the magic of her pendant to ignite it. The fire trails over to the barge, connecting with the oil spill and igniting a ring of fire. The bright flame made it look like a second sun.
And so it attracts Gojira like a moth to a flame. The remaining two ships fire at him, but this time he justs shrugs them. The Gotengo aims its cannons at the monster, but each volley hits the neck a little too far from the gills. His heavy brow furrows at the sight of the egg. So strange and yet… So familiar.
“We gotta do something quick,” Applejack explains, “or that egg’s scrambled!”
“How!?” Twilight complained, “Nothing can even scratch that thing!?”
Sunset prepared her own idea when her ears pick up a thumping sound. Drums? But where and how? The drums continue in a rhythm. A familiar one from her exile at the Island. The Unicorn in ape’s clothing closed her eyes, took a few steps, then raises her leg up high.
“Uh, Sunset?” Rainbow Dash questioned as Sunset repeats her dance, “What are you doing?”
On cue, the twins sing in a language so foreign, not even the Rainbooms foreign language studies can comprehend.
“A form of ritual?” Fluttershy wonders as she and the others turn to the egg.
Sunset opens her eyes, but in her mind she’s in a whole different world. At their ravaged village, the Tagatu surround a shrine in Mothra’s image. A majority of them are on their knees bowing repeatedly and chanting, while a few bands of women practice the same dance Sunset is doing now. The shrine itself starts glowing in various colours, getting faster with the rhythm.
In the realm of modern man, those who couldn’t leave Maui notice a strong breeze. The perpetrator of this event is Mothra, whose fainted colors start shimmering. She lets out a cry in the direction of the boats. The egg too starts flashing in numerous colors. Gojira continuously blinks at this weird spectacle.
Sunset’s dancing becomes more erratic as she hears the rhythm hastens. Everyone on deck is all confused as to what’s going on. The sound of thunder on a sunny day only adds to this confusion. The Shobijin call out their last reprise a few times.
The flashes and the thundering reach their zenith. The Rainbooms see a crack forming on the egg before a bright flash causes them to avert their eyes. Once the music stops, Sunset stood on shaky knees before collapsing.
“Sunset!” The Rainbooms call out before coming to her aid. Her body was sweaty, almost feverish.
“Can someone get her some water!?” Applejack calls out to some of the crew. She and Rarity sit her up.
“The…” Sunset puts her hand on her forehead, “Egg…?”
Fluttershy picks up the Shobijin and joins the Rainbooms as they walk over to the edge of the dock. The crack on the egg gets larger, splitting into other, smaller cracks. The shell finally parts from the egg. Inside was no bird of course. Contrasting the colorful egg was a giant, brown caterpillar. Atop her segmented body had a grey-brown color. Her head is full of wrinkles, with three notches, beady blue eyes, and little tusks next to her beak. She announces herself to the world with a loud chirp. Everyone else admires this new member of the world.
“It’s.... It’s...” Rarity tried to come up with a way to describe the larva without being rude.
“It looks like a giant Tootsie Roll!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, her hands on her cheeks.
Immediately after saying that, the other end of the egg starts cracking. Coming out of it was another larvae. But this individual was a darker shade from his sister with muted stripes along his sides. His tusks were larger and his head is bumpy in place of the notches. The firstborn looks at her brother, and vice versa.
“There’s-?” Sunset questions.
“Two?” The Shobijin finished.
“So she had twins,” Applejack assures them, “so what?”
“That isn’t supposed to happen.” Sunset objects.
“Oooh.” Pinkie Pie cooes, “We should prepare a first-day party!”
The moment is ruined when Gojira lets out a terrifying roar. The Rainbooms, reminded of the danger, turn over to the innocent larvae blissfully chirping.
“Not gonna happen if they become paste!” Spike remarks.
“Come on,” Sunset beckons the larvae on deaf ears, “get out of there!”
The larvae continue to chirp at each other as the danger approaches. Gojira’s mouth opens and closes. The Shobijin realize his intention and emit a very indistinguishable sound. Rainbow Dash shuffles a little before clenching her fists.
“Well, I was almost killed yesterday!” She breaks her silence, ponying up before shooting out towards the giant reptile. The athlete flies close to his body, reaching to his squarish head. She grabs his eyelid and pulls as hard as possible. Gojira growls before snapping his massive jaws at her.
The larvae pick up on the strange sound; this creature before them is bad news. The male larva starts squirming, breaking his side of the egg before diving into the ocean. Gojira continues shrugging off Rainbow Dash. The girl looks at the Gotengo and flies back to the deck. She looks at Tempest angrily.
“Well?!” She questions the commander.
Tempest looks at her white whale approach his struggling victim. She tunes her radio to the frequency of her flagship.
“Aim all cannons at Gojira.” She orders.
The ship turns around and aims the cannons at Gojira. Even if they don’t hit him by the gills, the sheer firepower was enough to get the beast to turn around. The female larva arches herself, breaks free of her calcium prison and goes into the water. Unlike her twin, she surfaces at the other side of the barge. The Gotengo unleashes the next round of cannon fire, covering Gojira in smoke and fire. The monster continues on, looking at his smaller enemies with a fiery stare. Sensing the Shobijin’s impending danger, the female opens her mouth and fires a silky substance. This appears to be an afterthought on the “child’s” part; some of it reaches the Gotengo.
“Ah, great!” Spike complains, shaking the silk off his fur, “More webbing!”
Twilight feels something odd about this silk as she rubs it between her fingers and asks, “Anyone getting a burning feeling?”
Getting an idea, they look at Gojira. His dorsal fins are covered in silk like a cotton candy machine. Turning around only made it worse as his chest and face got covered. The beast tries pulling the silk away, but to no avail and the arms gets bound to his torso. The twin takes a breather before firing another stream of silk. Tempest’s stoic face draws a smile at this advantage.
“Continue the attack.” She orders once more.
The Gotengo continues firing its cannons at Gojira as he helplessly gets covered in silk. He roars furiously before the webbing shuts his jaws. When the ship completes its attack run, Tempest raises her hand, ordering the attack to stop. The smoke clears; there is silence, for the mummified beast was just standing still.
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash cheered victoriously.
“Take that, you dinosaur!” Applejack added, pointing at the creature in a defiant manner.
But victory is celebrated too soon. Blue light courses through Gojira, who swings his torso around. The silk expands, then explodes with a force so strong it tosses both the ship and the female larva a good distance. Freed from his bindings, the beast roars furiously. He snorts like a mad bull, twitching his wrinkled lip as his mind races whether he should tear apart the ship or the larva.
Suddenly he howls in pain yet again, raising his massive tail. The Rainbooms run to the boat again, seeing this newfound frenzy. The male larva bit down the tip of Gojira’s tail with his beak. He held on with all his might while being thrashed back and forth.
“Ride that tail!” Pinkie Pie cheered on.
The female returns to the barge, laying her knobby head. Looking at this fools errand, she aims her beak again before firing another web stream. But the giant reptile has had enough of this tomfoolery and dives so fast that the male is launched a good distance ahead of the Gotengo’s direction. The wave rocks the ship around yet again. Tempest regains herself and finds the beast gone.
“Get me a reading from the radar!” She orders to a shipmate.
With Gojira no longer in sight, the female larva takes the opportunity to join her brother. Calm as this is, it’s too soon to celebrate. In Twilight’s arms, Spike looks around before something catches his color-blind eyes.
“What is that?!” He barks, getting those on deck to look in his direction.
Another large hump of water passes by them. They are confused as to why they aren’t attacked, but they quickly realize that it was heading for the female. It disappears below the waves before a burst of water pushes the larva in the air. The seafoam clears, revealing a horrid sight. A monster with three necks, each bearing a head like a moray eel, and penguin-like flippers on the sides of his body has entered the fray. And he has the larva in his teeth, listening to her scream. The girls wince at the sight of the child being assaulted. Then, all of a sudden, the sea serpent was pulled into the water so fast he loses his grip on his quarry.
“Uhhh…” Rainbow Dash looked at the others, her face perplexed “What just happened?”
On cue, the injured larva pops from the water. She emits a pained cry as she is joined by her brother and swims to places unknown. The Rainbooms hear something churning, and look at the section of ocean water bubbling like a hot tea pot.
“Something bad, I’m sure.” Sunset answers, gripping the safety bar as the Gotengo moves away from danger.
Whether it was to vent his anger or something else, Gojira held the sea serpent’s webbed foot by his teeth as he swam deeper. The serpent curls forward and bites his slightly larger foe on the back of his neck. Momentum plants Gojira’s feet at the ocean floor. The beast gives an irritated snort, looking around for his unusual quarry.
Suddenly, the three-headed sea serpent jumps him. Gojira bites his foe’s flipper and pulls him forward. But this strange foe is clever enough to wrap his twin tails around Gojira’s waist and remain steadfast. Gojira again will have none of this and starts pulsing once more. The serpent bites down on the beasts’ arms and neck and sends several magical charges down his veins. Gojira howls in pain as the procedure continues before collapsing. The serpent unwraps himself, leaving his foe twitching and sparking.
At a distance, the mysterious blue figure watches the Gotengo move away from the fight. She then looks at the larvae swimming in another direction, noticing the female leaving a trail of yellow blood in the ocean. Her ruby pendant glows once more. She lets out a small hiss before turning the raft south-east and drives it away.