The Quest for the Fallen Angel... Island

[Mami Tomoe]

After a little bit too long an amount of time spent pulling the anchor back onto the boat, I steer the boat over to the lone spire that may or may not be what we're looking for. We drop anchor again next to a chunk of land off the side of the spire - it's only a few steps from the actual mountainside itself. The anchor lands much more quickly, which helps me relax a little. I put Histy back on my shoulder, where clutches her tome hard against her chest.

I step onto land and look at the mountain face. There's a crack that weaves and zigzags, starting at the ground and ending about six feet up the mountain. A bunch of smaller cracks branch off from it, and I immediately realize what I'm supposed to do. "You know what this means, right?" I ask Histy.

"Please don't do anything dangerous," she responds.

I reel back my hand, spin my fist around a few times on my elbow and, with a loud shout bring my closed hand down on the crack. The wall caves in before me and, with a satisfied smile, I look back at Histy. "See? Not stupid at all."

Then the pain sets in. "Ow. Ow. Okay, maybe very, very stupid. Owwwwwww."

After shaking my hand a bit and dusting off the powderized stone, I realize the injury's not that bad. It just hurts a bit, is all - I just probably shouldn't try punching rock any time soon. Luckily it wasn't too thick. From the looks of things, the rock was only about two times as thick as my thumb. "Isn't stuff underwater pressurized or whatever? Wouldn't rock that thin break or something?" I inquire.

"Well," Histy answers, "that appeared to be what it was doing before you took nature into your own hands." She adds, "perhaps more literally than most."

I laugh a little at that. "Sooooooo, do you think we need a light for this, or is this gonna be one of those caves that's lit up without having any light sources?"

Histy weighs the options for a second, then shrugs. "If we really need one, we can make one when the time arises." At that we step into the cave. It's a bit dark, but I can still see. It's cramped and doesn't seem to be leading anywhere, but--

Suddenly my foot comes into contact with... nothing. I shriek and we plunge into the dark.

. . . .

I wake up feeling groggy and tense. I feel sore all over, but for some reason, I feel an oddly comfortable warmth coming from somewhere. My muscles loosen under the heat. "Histy? Histy, where'd you go?" I ask, looking around and blinking.

"I think I'm on your back, Neptune," she replies, pressing down on my back as if to check. I straighten out in response. "Yes, I think this is you."

She hovers down from the top of my line of sight to between my eyes. "So, where are we?" I question as I stand up. I could've sworn I was going to die there. What happened? "I don't know what it is about this place," Histy interjects, "but I don't think we're supposed to be here."

I don't feel so great about it either, but I try to think positively. I offer a smile. "Well, that mountain rose up for a reason, right?" I grasp at ideas in the dark. "It didn't just come up for air or something. Mountains don't need to breathe, do they?"

"Mountains aren't alive," Histy affirms. "If it isn't alive, it's safe to assume it doesn't need to breathe. You had a better question earlier," she continues, "and it's wise that we address it. Let's keep going."

As Histy plops down on my shoulder, I start walking along in the cave. As I do, I notice the source of the warmth - waterfalls of lava. Or, better put, lavafalls.

...No, that sounds weird. Waterfalls of lava it is. Waterfalls of lava behind thick brownish stone pillars. I'm not sure why the lava isn't flowing into the hallway - maybe whoever built this place just wanted it to look cooler, so they used the staircase budget on poorly secured waterfalls of lava.

Seven marble pillars in a heptagon pattern lie ahead, with one big heptagon quarter-pillar at their center made of a deep bluish stone. The brownish stone at my feet lowers in a sort of natural-looking staircase down into a large cave where, at the center, there's the set of pillars.

As I approach, I look at the center pillar again. It looks more like a pedestal than anything, like something should be there that isn't. "Aw, man! Histy, we're late! Somebody else got the treasure, didn't they?" I complain. "I don't deserve this anymore," I decide, removing and discarding my eyepatch.

"Neptune, there might be more to this than we can immediately see," says Histy. "Let's look into this some more."

I step closer and rest my hands on the pedestal. I look at the walls past the pillars - there's a set of carvings that pans across them. From left to right, there's an intricately-cut gemstone of some kind, a picture of an island at sea and a picture of the skies. "Histy, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Was there a Goddess here before us?" chimes Histy. "Uh, I think you're reading ahead. I hadn't even thought of that yet."

"...No, this isn't like any Sharicite I've ever seen before," she says, floating over to the gem design. "At its size, I doubt it would function as a proper Sharicite..."

She stops herself, then floats back over to me. "But, uh, this isn't the world we know," I respond. "This is the Omniverse. If so much is different here, why wouldn't Sharicites be different?"

Histy blinks. "I suppose that makes sense. Now all we need is this new Sharicite, and we'll have this island floating in no time."

Seeker of the Emerald, booms a voice in my mind. Through the blistering sands, you will find what you desire within yourself.

I jump back. "Uh, did you just hear that, or--"

"Yes," Histy says with annoyance dripping from her words. "I just said..."

"No, I mean the other thing! The, y'know," I make as deep a voice as I can, "SEEKERS OF THE EMERALD bit." My throat hurts a bit after my voice going so deep. I cough a few times.

"I didn't hear that," she says apologetically. "Then again, you're touching this pedestal. Maybe that has something to do with it. What did you hear?"

I clear my throat and lower my voice. "SEEKER OF--"

Histy stops me. "Without the impression, please."

"Oh. Well, it said, 'Seeker of the Emerald, through the blistering sands, you will find what you desire within yourself.' Some help that is," I conclude, scratching the back of my head. "What, do I have to tear out my still-beating heart or something? All that'll do is cause a fatality."

Histy sighs. "Well, a better way of doing things is we could ask around somewhere. the 'blistering sands' part seems like a good starting point. Let's go back to town for now - we can find this place again once we've found the Sharicite."

Histy sits down on my shoulder again. I run back over to where we landed and look up. "Wouldn't hurt to try jumping," I suggest and, before I can hear any objections, take a big leap. We soar upwards through the dark and, after a few seconds spent with air rushing past us (accompanied by squealing from the peanut gallery), I plant my feet on the narrow ledge to the cave we entered through. After a short climb, we're under fading moonlight.

"Let's get back to sailing, then," orders Histy. "We shouldn't waste a moment!"