The trip to Nuku Hiva brought Subterra and the others back to daylight as they changed time zones once again. The waters were choppy and slightly murky, owing to the years of illegal dumping. It was bad enough that the oceans were overfished, but the pollution was sure to kill even more lifeforms along the way.
“Not a single fish in sight…” Leilani shook her head sadly as she piloted the Brandy 2 along, crashing through another wave. “One day, I pray we will right this world and return it to the way it was envisioned upon creation. A world of green, a world of peace, a world of worship.”
Ocellus waved a hand. “You know what? That sounds better than anything your world is going through right now.”
“Is yours like how Leilani said, Ocellus?” Subterra asked, pulling up her legs to her chest on the seat.
Ocellus’ face got darker. “It was. It was beautiful. I’m sure it still is, but with TWI becoming corrupted after visiting your world, I fear ours might soon fall into neglect.”
“Are you saying our world is at fault?” Leilani looked back slightly.
“Well… I don’t mean to be that bad, but yes. Since coming here, TWI has become obsessed with righting your world. Compared to Equestria, everything in this world is on the brink of destruction. You can’t deny that.”
“If you’re so sure our world’s going to end, then why aren’t you helping your princess?” Shiho leaned closer to her. “Why are you on our side?”
Ocellus sighed and ran a hand through her pink hair. “TWI hasn’t been the same, not since you beat her the last time. It’s as though she’s someone else now. She’s been overcome with the need to change your world, even if that means first sending it into turmoil. That’s not something I can stand behind. If it’s sense we need to beat into her, then that’s what’s gonna happen.”
“If we could talk her out of it, if we could end this without killing her…” Subterra gulped. “W-Would you do it?”
“Death is the only way, Subterra.” Crafteon looked into her eyes as it materialized by her side. “The penalty for all she’s done is too high. Her penance must be served.”
“If she could become the princess she once was…” Ocellus said. “Then it’s worth a shot.”
“No, no no no.” Shiho took her foot off the chair and sat back down. “I’m beating her to a pulp. She’s not coming back from this. Not again.”
“God gives everyone a second chance. To repent. To come back to him,” Leilani started. “Even someone like TWI deserves one.”
“You tell yourselves that.” Shiho leaned against the side and put her feet up on the chair across from her.
In two more hours, Nuku Hiva came into sight, its peaks standing high in the sky as their boat thundered on, smashing through wave after wave. Leilani spun the wheel and slowed their speed, gently easing them to a stop a little away from the shore.
“So, what are we looking for here?” Shiho scooted herself off the boat, splashing into the water with a grunt as she had Curtain Call drag the boat towards the sand.
“We need to determine where the island is from here. We need to find the Charter.” Subterra Shiver looked around, then pointed to the mountains. “Maybe if we get high enough.”
“What’s this charter?” Ocellus asked as she slipped out of the boat once it hit the shore.
“It’s how we get through Ocean Man’s illusion,” Subterra continued. “It shifts from time to time, but if we can get it, we can get to the island.”
Subterra could picture the large Imbibed Man, lying on the beach with his belly facing up. That’s all she ever saw him do in her time out of the labs. She didn’t know how he kept himself from burning to a crisp, but she had speculated it had something to do with the sand. Perhaps he had covered his body with a thin layer of sand to act as a barrier of sorts, or perhaps he just stayed safe with Ocean Man’s ability to hide the island.
Leilani pointed to a cluster of dome-shaped structures atop the slopes overlooking the water or the forests. “These observation domes will be good places to start. They were built about seven years ago to attract more tourists for money.”
“It’s always about the money. I guess that explains all this.” Shiho scowled at a series of crumpled soda cans and wrappers on the sand around them. “People all over the world have stopped caring.”
“Indeed they have…” Leilani said sadly. “Our planet does not deserve this.”
“The faster we solve this TWIssue, the faster we can get back to protecting the world.” Shiho shoved ahead and pointed to one of the domes as she shoved her other hand in her pocket. “Let’s start with this one. It has a good view of the south.”
Subterra followed along behind the three women, watching the sun’s reflection off the dome’s metallic surface and its multitude of windows. Each dome consisted of a metal frame shaped like a spider’s web, holding all the glass panels in place. In the very top was some sort of round orb that could turn all around. She guessed it was some kind of camera for a better view all around.
The trek up the first hill proved exhausting as it was quite a steep incline. Even with steps built into the dirt, Subterra found it hard to follow along, but she had Crafteon help halfway through with its tentacles, pulling herself along.
“The end of the world approaches, Subterra. What will you do at the very end of it?” the Stand whispered. “TWI is only the beginning. You cannot stop what is to come.”
“I’ve got to do what I can to save it,” Subterra said. Every time she talked to Crafteon, she made sure to keep her voice low. She didn’t want the others to think she was mad.
“If that is your idea, then why are you not with TWI? She’s attempting to save the world, no matter the cost.”
“I… because…” She shook her head. “It’s wrong. To kill people like that.”
“You’ve been killing TWI’s followers. You all have. What makes you any different? This is what you are, Subterra. You and TWI are not so different. You just need to embrace that and nobody can stop you.”
“I… I shouldn’t…” Subterra muttered.
“As your memory returns, so does my power, and our reason for existence… We can do it, Subterra. You just need to open your mind.” Crafteon drifted behind her and faded as they arrived at the top of the hill, leaving Subterra to her thoughts.
“So, let’s be having a look at these observatories then,” Shiho said, wiping a few drops of sweat off her head. “What I wouldn’t do for an ice cold beer right now…”
“We can get one if you really want it in any of the observation domes.” Leilani pointed, then moved her finger over to the next dome and then the next one as well. “Each dome has a special themed restaurant or cafe for hungry guests.”
“Is that so?” Shiho nodded with approval. She led the group over to the nearest dome and went inside.
Once they entered the observatory dome, the group’s attention was caught by a sort of convenience shop and cafe combination that was just inside. There were cold drinks being served, with a handful of tourists taking a break here. The theme for this cafe seemed to be red pandas. There were statues of red pandas by the cafe’s counter and entrance, along with a big face of one above it, with the name, ‘The Red Panda’.
“Really creative…” Shiho rolled her eyes.
“Incredible that the tourism industry is still working even with the planet in such dire straits,” Ocellus mused. “I’m not sure what that says about humans in these times. Probably nothing good.”
“Even though they should be working towards making the world more sustainable, people just want money, no matter the circumstances…” Shiho groused. “An island like this, reduced to nothing more than a money making scheme.”
“At least the scenery from here is still something.” Ocellus looked out through the dome’s windows, overlooking the forests and the ocean below.
Shiho went straight for the cafe, stopping for nothing else as she found a table closest to the entrance. It only had two seats, so Subterra opted to explore the dome’s perimeter to see what she could find out in the ocean, with Leilani deciding to follow suit.
“Only fifteen bucks for a beer?” Shiho leaned back in her plush leather seat after ordering. “It’s amazing how water is more expensive now.”
“When your world is on the brink of expanding its resources, I’m sure that’s how it’ll be.” Ocellus eyed her. “I guess that’s why TWI is devoting Equestria’s resources here. To support your dying world.”
“Having doubts now, Ocellus?” Shiho cracked open an eye.
The Equestrian shook her head. “What TWI is doing may be just, but her methods are not. She has to be stopped. This isn’t the way. Releasing my mother and Equestria’s other criminals from their eternal prison certainly isn’t the way.”
Shiho sighed. “I had once considered her a friend. Her and her little friend, Spike. They traveled alongside me to stop another organization from annihilating the world’s leaders. I never would’ve thought they would turn against us to pursue the exact same goal.”
“It is a pity, what happened to Spike…” Ocellus said. “I had known them for years. I would still hope that we could talk some sense into TWI.”
“Nope.” Shiho sat up quickly. “She’s gonna get the biggest beating of her life for taking my grandmother.”
“Goodness exists in all of us, Shiho. Even TWI. She’s just… she’s just lost her way. She has to be reminded of it again.”
“And if doing so lets her get away again?”
“Then we’ll find her again. We will, Shiho.”
Shiho pulled at her strands of red hair. “I’ve spent eleven years searching for her. It was only because of Subterra’s escape that we’re even this close. We can’t risk letting her run.”
Ocellus was about to add on more, but a waiter appeared beside them, carrying their drinks on a platter.
“An ice beer for this fine lady.” He placed Shiho’s bottle before her, then a glass cup with yellow liquid before Ocellus. He had a thick french accent, but judging from his dark skin and dreadlocks that reached his lower back, Shiho could only assume he was from somewhere in the caribbean. “And a lemon brandy for this fine lady. Enjoy.”
They both nodded their thanks as he walked away, all smiles.
“TWI still has good in her. I know it,” Ocellus continued. “I think we can stop her from herself.”
“But she will not stop herself…” Shiho grumbled and placed her bottle against her lips, taking a sip. The cool liquid flowed down her throat, making her feel so much better about coming out to this island. “This only ends one way. Either she dies, or we all do.”
Ocellus leaned back in thought. Shiho had her mindset, and so did she. It seemed there was no turning either of them. Suddenly, Shiho clutched at her stomach and doubled over. Blood dripped down the corner of her mouth and her skin slowly started forming red splotches underneath.
“Shiho, what happened?” Ocellus stood up, knocking over her chair.
“Something… in my body…” she grimaced. “It has to be… enemy Stand.”
“Again? Forest Rangers!” Ocellus’ Stand split off four of itself from her main Stand, sending them into Shiho’s mouth as they moved through her body, looking for what caused her injuries. “Your vessels are ruptured. It’s as though… something blew them up.”
The inside of Shiho’s body was like that of a serious car accident. Dozens of blood vessels flailed around in empty space, severed part way as blood poured out of them and into her body. Ocellus sent more Forest Rangers in, each of them grabbing two ends of the vessels as they tried to link them back together to prevent too much blood loss.
“I can keep you from bleeding out, but we need to find whoever is responsible and how they did it.” Ocellus scanned the crowds.
By now, they had caught the attention of about half the cafe’s patrons, some of whom had whipped out their phones to video Shiho’s plight.
Ocellus ignored the other people and looked around to see where an enemy Stand might have attacked from. However, she saw nothing that looked like a Stand at all.
“Where could…?” Ocellus’s eyes landed on Shiho’s beer, then her lemon brandy, which she had not yet drunk from. “Wait a second…”
A Forest Ranger dived into the water and though it was invisible to the human eye, Ocellus’ Forest Rangers were far from human. Through the eyes of the Forest Ranger, Ocellus found little specks of white crystals, almost like that of salt, floating around in her beverage.
The Forest Ranger brought a piece of the crystal up to the surface. Ocellus wasn’t familiar with the drink recipes of this world, but she was fairly certain that salt was not an ingredient in a sweet drink. This was something else. And she was quite sure it was what caused Shiho’s blood vessels to rupture.
“Now we just need to find out who did this… But where do we begin?” She eyed the crowd. It could’ve been anyone out there.
- To be Continued...-