Missing Land

The sea waves hit the shore, with the sun brightening the day. The ocean seemed calmer and warmer near the beach where Timothy and Alpha lay unconscious.

Alpha coughed out the salty water and supported her body with her arms dug into the sand. She coughed again and stopped in a couple of seconds.

She pulled herself to her knees and looked around the area. "Where am I?" she wondered, "There's nothing here but a basic island." She believed until gazing further into the distance. She spotted another island. It had a hill shaped like a cake, but there were only trees and no houses or huts. What stood out the most about it was a rope that connected another island in the sky.

The sky island seemed decently small, but it seemed like it had some town where the civilians could live. "An island? In the sky? Why should I be surprised? I've literally been on a train that could move underwater." She stood up and pressed her palm on her forehead. "I have a headache." She claimed, following up with a sneeze.

"Wait... underwater train..." came to her mind, "Damn it! What time is it, and where's Tim?!" she freaked out and looked around, noticing that Timothy was on the opposite side of the beach, unconscious.

"Hey, Tim!" she rushed toward and approached him. She looked down at his half-soaked body, seeing that he didn't move. She tried to wake him up by calling out his name, but she wasn't successful.

She placed her knee on the sand, leaning her arm onto his chest. "Hey, Tim. You alright?" she asked, becoming nervous a little. She gave herself a few seconds to see if Timothy would move, but he didn't, right up, until she heard him snore.

She became agitated in a second and forcefully rammed her instep into Timothy's left hip. "Wake up, you lazy ass!" Timothy's eyes popped open, hearing a crack as if his bones shattered. He rolled to the side, grabbing his hip an instant.

Alpha heard him complain and curse out words until he looked at her in silence. "What was that for?! Are you trying to break my bones or what?! I'm too young to end up in a wheelchair!" he shouted Timothy, glancing right into her eyes.

She reached into her pocket and grabbed a small box. "...Soaked..." she claimed but took the gum from it anyway, tilting her head to the side. "Look, we don't have time to nap. We're on a random island, and we don't know how far away are we from La Cadena de Narón. We need to find a boat because swimming's not an option, and there doesn't seem to be an underwater station around here."

Timothy observed Alpha turn in the opposite direction as he sat up, thinking about Chiaki. "R-Right... I didn't want to think about it. I was really hoping it was a dream. But, no... we're... somewhere, I guess." He explained, looking in between his feet.

"Let me remind you," she looked at him but then stepped forward, "We can still find her. It's only the morning of the next day. If we ask around and find somethin' to use as transportation across the sea, we can use it to look for her. But that's a big "if." The best we can do is hope." She finished, giving Timothy time to stand up.

He wiped the sand off his clothes and sighed in frustration. "What is wrong with me?" he looked at his palm and tried to ignite it on fire, but no matter how hard he tried, all he could do was a small spark. "I can't use my ability, but my body feels normal." He explained, drawing Alpha's attention back onto him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm fine. Your ability's all about heat, fire, and temperature, am I right? Maybe your body canceled it because you nearly drowned in the seawater. But, you seem to have some control of it, so it's not entirely gone." Explained Alpha, crossing her arms and popping a bubble in her mouth.

"How the hell am I supposed to save Chiaki without it? It's the only way I can fight, and I don't think pure force is helpful." He claimed, intriguing Alpha in the following. "That makes me wonder. What the hell happened to your sword? When you were attending the academy, it was your main way to fight."

Timothy raised his view after lowering his arm and crossed his arms, keeping a neutral expression on his face. "I lost it during the time I visited Golden Wasakona. A "Sea Noble" named Byron decayed it and rendered it useless. Ever since, I merely started using my limbs and my ability. Tried to come up with a few techniques, but that's all. Without it, I'm like a hopeless jellyfish." He explained as Alpha tilted her head.

Timothy looked at her swords and grinned. "Whoa! I just got the best idea! I can just use your swords to-!" Alpha immediately shut him down before he could continue, denying. "Forget about it. No way I'm letting you touch my blades. We'll figure something out about and retrieve your ability in some way or another. Maybe we'll even come up with a new ability that could aid us when we'll actually launch an attack on La Cadena de Narón."

Timothy became unamused. "Of course... You're that one person who's over-protective about their own belongings despite me being a friend." He said. "Just because we're friends doesn't mean I'll share "anything" with you. I'm keeping these for myself. I feel vulnerable without them." Timothy sighed at her response but understood. "Just like you're "vulnerable" about your boobs?"

Alpha's eyes widened and turned white as her head practically lit on fire. Without hesitation, she slammed her sole into Timothy's face and smashed him against the ground. "One.. more... time, and I'll kill you!"

As she removed her foot, Timothy's face got revealed. It was lifeless, with a white soul slipping from his mouth. "I... expected that..." He spoke, half-broken on the sand. "Get on your feet, and let's ask around for a boat or something." She waltzed into the distance, leaving Timothy beaten down.

They headed toward the other island with the hill and hoped to find somebody who could aid them by providing a ship. They also hoped to learn more about the island they were stranded on.

"So, just a quick thought... but I don't think it's normal for an island to float in the sky." Alpha popped another bubble, keeping her hands in her pockets, and looked up. "Wow, you learn slowly." She claimed, "But is anything normal here at Vast Expanse?" Timothy gave it a thought, "An always dark island, an underwater railway, giant sea beasts, giants... nope." Timothy finished. "Wow, bravo! I'm so proud of you. But for real, I didn't expect to see a floating island. Let's check it out."

Timothy allowed Alpha to walk into the distance before looking to the ocean. "Yeah... I just hope we make it in time. And even if we somehow do, I don't know how we'll rescue her..." he whispered, thinking about Chiaki, knowing they had less than 16 hours.

To be continued...