To Find Cyber Refuge

Timothy, his sisters, and his friends borrowed Aurora's uncle's ship to sail the east. They arrived on a warm tropical island: with a hot, skin-relaxing beach and calm ocean.

"Are you sure Ayuka entered the east like us?" Chiaki pondered as she walked next to Timothy.

They were on an island that had a major city with several skyscrapers. It had a beach on the front with people swimming, sunbathing, and children playing.

"Lukewarm Isles... It feels so refreshing. I wish I could stay here and worry less about the cold atmosphere Hailstone has. I could almost float away." Aurora inhaled the soothing air and refreshed her chilly skin.

The one time Aurora came in touch with the sun was when she arrived at Acropolis, but it was never as warm as the Lukewarm Isles. She could almost feel her sickness fade away, despite knowing it wouldn't disappear so easily.

Chiaki stared into Timothy's expression. To her, it looked natural, with no sadness or happiness. As casual as one's expression can be.

She decided to ask, "Why did we come here to find Ayuka anyway?" as nicely as possible.

She received Timothy's eyes locking onto her. She listened to what he had in mind, "There's something I want to look for, but you already know my sense of direction isn't the best when it comes to the sea. If I don't have somebody to take over, we'd get lost in an instant. I'm more of a land person." Those were the only words he shared.

He didn't reveal anything else, especially Aurora's sickness.

"I get it..." Chiaki believed, "But how will we find her? She could be anywhere on this island." Timothy pretty much declined Chiaki's thought and grinned confidently, "Trust me. Ayuka's the easiest person to find when it comes to warm places. And if I know her well, she's most likely sunbathing."

Cassidy planted her hands on her hips, puffing with her cheeks, "Of course, you'd be the to know everything about Ayuka, Mr. know-it-all." Timothy's gaze became depressed, bored of Cassidy's remarks. "Why can't you be like Trinity? She knows when to be quiet." Timothy added, looking at Trinity, who licked an ice cream. Her left hand was in her pocket.

Cassidy crossed her arms in disbelief, "Uh-huh... If you didn't buy her the ice cream, she'd be yapping way too much and probably tease you."

Trinity enjoyed the sweet ice cream while it lasted and listened in silence. "Speaking on which... Why didn't I get the ice cream?" Cassidy tilted her head to the side, waiting for Timothy's response, "You don't eat ice cream. You don't even eat chocolate."

Cassidy grunted and looked away, "That's what you think," Only to get interrupted by Trinity, who removed the ice cream from her lips, "Did you ever think, Cass? Maybe he likes me more." Trinity called, proudly teasing her younger sister, "Hey! That's not true! You're a boring and lazy person! There's no way he likes you more than me!" She folded her arms and snuck a view on the side.

"I'm not going to judge or choose, but it's true that Trinity's more mature and understanding." His words made Trinity grumpy and jealous. It caused her cheeks to redden. "How dare you?! I'm not mature? You're not mature, hmph!" She finally became silent.

As they walked through the city's street and arrived at the beach, Timothy already spotted the person they came to look for on a sun lounger.

Ayuka rested her body underneath the umbrella, black glasses covering her eyes. She was sleeping on her stomach, revealing the side of her busty chest, and had a lemonade next to her. "Some peace and quiet really do fresh you up." She claimed with a smile and sighed in relief.

As she lay on the sun lounger, a shadow covered the sun from coming in contact with you. Then, she felt something poking her at the top of her back.

"Aah!" It jolted her awake, and quickly turned around, covering her breasts from popping out with her arms. "Hey! What do you want?! Who are- Tim?" She froze in confusion and looked at him. "Good to see you, Ayuka. Looks like you've been relishing yourself." He answered, crossing his arms with a grin. "Don't give me that look. It makes me think you came here just to see me half-naked." She turned around, grabbed her bikini and put it on, and finally shrouded her torso with a beach shirt.

She grabbed her warp and tied her hair into a ponytail.

When she finished, she tucked her hip to the side and placed her palm on it. "Okay... So, I'm guessing you didn't come here just to check me out. What's so important, and who are these people?" She wondered, throwing looks between his sisters and Aurora.

"You've already met my sisters in the past, and this here is Aurora. She's a friend I met when entering the east." He stepped closer to Ayuka and moved his lips closer to her ear.

He whispered, "She's been dealing with an illness that doesn't have a cure. Don't tell her I said that. But at least you should know." Ayuka slightly drew a line with her eyes, glimpsing Timothy from the side.

"Anyway... We need your help. I'm pretty sure you already know I'm not the best when it comes to my coordination across the waters. I came here because you were the closest. And you have better knowledge regarding the weather and how to sail," He explained with a calm demeanor, "I know I said to meet at Winterpeak Island after two years, but we really don't have time to wait that long and gather the rest of the crew. So, please, Ayuka." He bent his torso forward, placing his hands together, and begged, "Come with us and help."

She seemed puzzled about the scenario but was willing to come along. "I mean, I'll come and help gladly. But where are you planning to sail?" She pondered, crossing her arms under her stacked chest. Aurora coughed, making sure not to cough into them, and explained, "Ayuka, correct? I know Tim introduced me already, but I'm Aurora. We're trying to find an underwater city known as Cyber Refuge. I know I might sound crazy, but I know it exists."

Ayuka positioned herself straight, slightly waving her hand to the side, "I've heard crazier stuff," and moved her hand to her chest, "And I don't intend to disagree with your request after you came all the way to meet me here in Lukewarm Isles. If you give me some time to grab my clothes at the hotel, I can meet you at the ship very soon."

Timothy screamed in happiness and excitedly revealed his sparkling eyes, "Thanks a million, Ayuka! And... one more thing. I know I asked you to take care of the directions... but..." He scratched the back of his hair in awkward silence, "Could you take care of the cooking as well? I'll do everything else, I promise. Whatever you want."

Ayuka became unimpressed, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I thought we agreed I won't cook anymore."

Timothy nodded. He inhaled the fresh air, "But I can't cook myself! I'll probably poison everyone with how horrible it'll taste." Luckily, Aurora interrupted them, "It's okay. I can take care of the cooking if you wish not to, Ayuka. I've been doing it myself for years. I just hope it'll be to everyone's taste." Aurora explained with a kind-hearted chuckle, trying to cover the coughing stuck in her throat.

"Then I guess that settles it. As long as you can cook for everyone, it's alright. I'm sure everything will work out. I believe there won't be any trouble when we find Cyber Refuge. I'll grab my clothes for the voyage and meet you back at the ship you came with."

They agreed with Ayuka's words and returned to the ship.

As they waited for Ayuka, and while Chiaki chatted with Timothy's sisters, he decided to talk to Aurora. "Aurora... You're sick. You shouldn't push yourself too much. I can talk Ayuka into cooking for us. She's an easygoing person. She'll understand."

Aurora pressed her palm on her chest, breathing and gathering air in her lungs, "I-I'm fine... I can cook, really. It's not like I'll cough into the food. I want to be useful somehow. I don't just want to stand in the back and watch everyone trying their hardest to help each other. So please, this is my one and only request, Tim."

Timothy rolled his eyes to the side. He sighed and surrendered, "Okay, alright. I get it. You can cook. I'm sure it can't be worse than my cooking."

Aurora laughed and pounded Timothy's chest, "See, we can get along champ!" She crossed her arms, turned her head to the floor, and peeked with her left eye from beneath her expression to glance at Timothy with a smile, "And I'll make sure not to kill you with my cooking? Are we equal?"

Timothy looked at her unamused, and all he received was Aurora's innocent and teasing laugh.

Finally, Ayuka arrived and looked at Timothy in suspicion, "... you sure are getting along nicely..." She ensured to be as quiet as possible so others couldn't hear her, "I'm here!" She shouted and drew everyone's attention to herself.

"Good. Are you ready to go?" Timothy pondered with a joyous smile, "Ready when you are."

And upon boarding their borrowed ship, their journey to find the Cyber Refuge unfolded before them in an instant.

Timothy stood on the forecastle deck, the cold wind scraping his skin, blowing his hair aside, and rippling his hood off his head. He held the hood tightly and shared a wide smile, "Let's go and find Cyber Refuge!"

To be continued...