"Forward! A little more... keep it coming... aaand... perfect!"

The Spectator gave a thumbs up to the person operating a small crane on their boat.

Spectators draped in their white uniforms rushed around the landing, hauling cargo and supplies around. The stench of sweaty workers invaded the forest line. Small animals, cloaked in the darkness of the forest, slither deeper in to escape the expanding workforce. Tents were propped up and the clanging of tools made any conversation a chore to listen to.

"Hiro, could you grab the other side of this?"

A heavy-breathing man asked, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Gotcha, Javier."

Hiro ran around to the other side, crouching down and locking his fingers beneath the sturdy crate.

Javier clutched onto the other side.

"Ready?"

Hiro peered his head over the crate, nodding.

"Lift!"

Hiro and Javier lift the box, their muscles bulging as they shuffled off the boat and onto the beach. Once they reached a pile of other crates, they plopped the crate they had down.

Hiro caught his breath.

"Need help with any more?"

Javier scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks, man but Ala should have it."

Javier gestured to the woman operating the crane. She nodded her head upon seeing Javier.

"Good, I need a break anyway."

Hiro climbed up and sat on the crate, the sun beating down on him.

Javier stood beside him, leaning back on the crate and pouring water on his face.

"Feels good to be here. Been waiting for this day."

Hiro furrowed his brow.

"This your first mission? I'll break the bad for you now, this is about to be the worst couple of days of your life."

Javier looked up confuzzled.

"I'm not talking about the mission! I get real seasick... being on that boat has given me trauma. Barely slept, and clutched my stomach all night in hopes the pain would go away."

"A little seasickness upset poor old Javier's tummy?"

Hiro mocked.

Javier chucked the water bottle at Hiro's head.

"Shut up asshole, least I'm not going at it with my supervisor on a mission."

Javier chuckled.

Hiro hopped down.

"The hell did you just say?"

Javier boasts.

"Come on! Everyone sees that little shithead clinging to you like a puppy, he's got eyes for you as well. Don't break him, I don't want another Julie. Or Turnip."

Hiro shakes his head.

"Hold on..."

Hiro gets close to Javier.

"Has there been shit said about me and Carleton?"

Javier's eyes widen.

"Shit. I'm not the best person you should be asking this about. Just heard some rumours."

Hiro scoffs.

"Are you a schoolgirl now? Get to work, idiot."

Hiro pushes past Javier.

"The hell does he mean by that..."

Hiro muttered, putting his hands in his pocket.

"Ah, just the one I was looking for."

Hiro looked up to see Carleton standing in front of him with his hands behind his back.

"Vivian's looking for us. A last debrief before we begin our mission."

Hiro's heart stops before he rubs his eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Be there in a second."

Vivian took a long sip from his glass, the diluted brown cider whisking around as he rolled his wrist in a light circular motion. The scented candles let his nostrils enjoy a much sweeter smell when he pulled away from his glass.

Terrintul swiftly approached Vivian with the bottle of cider, gently pouring more into his glass. Vivian smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, my dear."

Terrintul smiled back and bowed.

"Anything for you."

The door shot open, the candles blowing out along with the scent. Hiro and Carleton walked in.

Vivian looked surprised and placed his glass down.

"That was fast."

Vivian stood, his bare body attracting the single, quick glances of Hiro and Carleton.

"Most of my other agents and Spectators take 20 or so minutes to walk a couple of feet. I'm glad you're here though, don't mistake my remarks toward lesser subordinates as me brushing aside how pleased I am."

Hiro sighs.

"Let's just get this debrief over with. It smells like a shrink's office in here..."

Carleton clears his throat.

"You said you would like to go over the mission once more, my lord?"

Vivian strides toward them.

"Yes. The camp has almost finished construction. A scouting party will be sent shortly. Once our scanners and signal towers are operational you, and your team, will locate the Haab' and retrieve it. Then we will get the Haab' off the island safely."

Hiro perked up.

"What about everyone else? We'll all be leaving won't we?"

Vivian shook his head.

"No. Only your team, me and the Haab' will be heading back to Nuclear City. The remaining spectators will set up a permanent base on this island. See, this island has the unique feature of... moving. If we can somehow utilize it and control it then sneaking into Ignition territory will be easier. For now, we need to retrieve Haab' quickly, before Ignition finds us."

Carleton takes out his clipboard.

"We will uphold our duty. One last question though, are we to expect any dangers on the island?"

"Wait until the scouting party comes back, from the rough scans we have done, the only threats present are Necrobeasts. Though I'm sure those will be diligently removed."

Carleton bows.

"They will be. Let's go, Hiro."

Hiro and Carleton leave Vivian's room when Javier bumps into them.

"Oh shit. Glad I found you. Problems come up."

Hiro looked confused.

"Problem? Like what?"

Javier points to the sky, the glowing white clouds pulsate with an orange glow.

"Seems we aren't the only ones going for the Haab'."

Hiro squints, from the flashes of orange he can make out the silhouette of an airship.

"Great. Mission's already off with flying colours."

Hiro rolls his eyes before running off.

Navie dashed forward, to the bow of the airship. Her spyglass held firmly in one hand. In the sky, a dark mass congregated, rapidly descending toward the top deck. Navie pushed off her feet, swinging her body into a barrel roll and slamming her spyglass onto the wooden deck. The impact caused a springing motion that launched her upward. Navie twirled her spyglass around before swinging it forward, batting a group of cannonballs back toward her enemy. As her momentum slowed, she looked through her spyglass, pointing it at a zooming cannonball.

In an instant, her body zipped straight toward the cannonball she was looking at, a trail of electricity jetting out behind her. With a single swift motion, she batted the cannonball away, ricocheting it between several other projectiles. Another wave soon appeared, blocking out the sun. Navie zipped upward in a trail of electricity, reeling her spyglass back and launching forward. She bolted around, teleporting and batting each cannonball away before anyone could blink. The attack shattered all the incoming cannonballs, allowing Navie a small respite. She let herself plummet to the deck of the Advance.

She hit the floor with a thud, sparks of electricity surging off her. She got to her knees, coughing and gasping.

Draco saw a clear shot, the warship that was firing at the Advance had an opening for its weak spots to be hit. Draco let go of her bow, a barrage of glowing arrows cutting through the sky. The warship was hit, each arrow exploding into plumes of red smoke. The attack wasn't enough but Draco had already prepared another array of arrows. She couldn't waste this opening, the warship had to be reloading so it was the perfect time to hit them. To her surprise, however, a second warship suddenly flew in front of the one she was firing at.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Draco adjusted to aim at the second warship. Upon releasing the bowstring, the arrows hurled through the air. The warship promptly retaliated and sent forth another wave of cannon fire. The arrows were intercepted by the cannonballs. Draco's hand clenched her bow, she glared at the warship as she loaded another shot into her bow.

"Don't move!"

A man said behind her. Draco spun around to see a squad of Ignition foot soldiers aiming their rifles at her.

"You have the right to die quickly and silently."

Draco scanned each of them but she was unable to do anything with how many were surrounding her.

"UGH! Fuck..."

One of the foot soldiers clutched his head.

"Jamison! You alright?"

The squadron leader asked.

Jamison shook his head violently before lifting his rifle and pointing it at the rest of his squad members.

"Ugh... haha... For... MY QUEEN MEDA!"

Jamison pulled down on his trigger, unloading every bullet he had into the ignition soldiers. Draco used the opportunity to summon more arrows and throw them into the ignition of foot soldiers. Blood coating the room and Draco.

Jamison soon snapped out of his rampage and fell back. His eyes were wide as he looked at the corpses of his comrades.

"Woah... oh shit... oh god... no no... wait."

Jamison looked up at Draco who slowly walked toward him.

"Please, please! I don't wanna—"

Draco slammed her metal leg on Jamison's head, pressing down and crushing it. Draco looked up to see Meda standing in the doorway.

"Thank you."

Meda nodded.

"We're heading to the surface. Will you three be okay up here?"

Draco wiped the blood from her face.

"Of course. Focus on the mission. We will meet you down there."

Nayjhren stood behind Meda. His eyes widened at the piles of bodies littering the ground.

Meda grabbed his hand as they went down to the hangar. Once they entered, an ignition soldier slammed into the wall next to them before collapsing.

Werren retracted his tendrils, looking up at Meda and Nayjhren.

"Glad you made it. The others okay?"

Meda tied back her hair.

"Pyxis is safe, he's hidden in one of the engine rooms, controlling the airship remotely. Draco is handling herself well. Same with Navie. We're all clear to go."

Nayjhren looked around.

"Where's Century?"

Werren pointed behind him. Century was wrapped up in Werren's tendrils with her mouth gagged. Despite this, she thrashed around and screamed.

"She went bananas when she saw Ignition. Said 'They're the reason for all of this' and tried to climb up the hooks attached to the Advance..."

Meda pulled a lever and the barrel of a giant artillery cannon extended out. The walls opened up and a strong gust of wind entered.

"Alright, get in."

Nayjhren looked at the cannon, his hands shaking.

"Wait... wh-what?"

Werren put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. It won't be a long journey."

Nayjhren's eyes widened.

"No no! I don't mean that we're gonna die, hitting the ground will be quick. It's safe!"

Meda shook her head.

"Stop scaring the poor boy and get in."

Werren tossed Century into the cannon before climbing in himself. Meda took Nayjhren's hand and gently guided him into the cannon.

Meda inputs some commands into the console.

"Ready for launch. Anti-gravity cannon, Skyfall mode set. Prepare for descent."

Nayjhren held onto Werren and Meda tightly.

Century continued to struggle before managing to free her mouth.

"WERREN!"

Werren looked surprised.

"I SWEAR YOU'RE GONNA DIE YOU GREASY MOLERAT!"

Century tore her hand free, her glove slowly lighting up. Werren tried to stop her.

"Century don't!"

The cannon launched all of them from the airship. They all sunk into the clouds when Century ignited her glove. The explosion knocked them all away from each other.

Nayjhren tumbled through the clouds, losing his grip on Meda and Werren.

"No no! Meda!"

Meda reached her hand out but Nayjhren disappeared in the clouds.

"Damnit! Werren we... Werren...?"

Meda looked around to see Werren and Century both gone as well.

"You have to be joking..."

Werren whacked Century away with his tendrils but she managed to blast herself forward, slamming a diamond fist into Werren's stomach.

"How does it feel?!"

Werren glared at her. Tendrils sprouting out and bashing into the side of Century's head. She groaned before falling unconscious. Werren quickly snapped out of his anger as the unconscious Century drifted away from him.

"Shit... CENTURY!"

Werren reached out but she disappeared into the clouds. Werren tried to cut through the vapour but it was too dense to see anything. Werren plunged through the cloud for a few more seconds before finally bursting out of it. Below him was a vast jungle with birds and beasts traversing below. The deep green of the forest consumed all light that entered it as the entire island slowly shifted toward the expansive sea.

Werren gazed at the sight of an endless sea and thick jungle as he continued to fall, his vision soon being consumed by treetops and fauna this new hell offered.

Unknown Location - 24EE

"Please... just take care of her would you? I know it's a lot but I will only be gone for a couple of months."

Werren was on his hands and knees. rain running down his face.

An old lady scowled at him.

"Get yourself together Werren. My goodness. To think you have come this low. I'll take care of her. You are to never come back here."

The door slammed. Werren leaned his head against the wet concrete. His breath heavy and his fists clenched tightly.

A man stood behind him with an umbrella.

"C'mon. Let's get you out of the rain."

The man pulled Werren up and dragged him to a car. Plopping him down in the backseat.

Werren groaned.

"You know where. Wake me when we get there."

Werren lay down in the back.

The man began to drive.

"Alright. I will."

Werren slapped his face and shot up.

"Huh!? Where... what..."

The sun was peeking through the gaps in the trees surrounding the car.

The man was outside of the car, sitting on a fold-out chair and drinking from a can of beer.

"Ah! Finally awake I see."

Werren got out of the car to see they were in the middle of a forest.

"Where the... Blues!? I thought you'd take me to the bar! Not the middle of nowhere!"

Werren paced around.

Blues leaned back. Taking a long sip.

"I thought this would be a better place to relax. The last thing you need is more people. Come, sit, relax!"

Werren shook his head.

"What!? Listen, Blues I know you don't have a family so you won't understand but... this is the last place I need to be! Just take me back. Come on."

Werren turned back to the car to see nails flying into the tyres of the car. Werren rushed to save the air from leaking out.

Blues chuckled as Werren desperately blew air into the hole.

"That won't work, lad."

Werren closed his eyes. His anger boiled over.

"Blues... Get me out of this fucking forest RIGHT NOW!"

Werren turned around to see a can of beer flying at his face. He got hit and fell back.

"Huh!? Blues! I'll kill you!"

Blues finished off his drink.

"You can try."

Werren grabbed the can and looked at it. His eyes squinted before he cracked it open and chugged it.

"Let's go then. If it has to be this way then fine..."

Blues stood.

"Don't blame me if I break anything."

Present day.

Werren slowly opened his eyes. His stomach still recovering from Century's punch. Once his blurry vision faded he saw a small black and white bird with a red head inspecting him. The bird got close to Werren, its beady black eye darting around. Werren waved his hand and it flew away. Werren slowly got up, wiping the dirt off his face. The humidity of the forest made everything stick to him. He had to peel leaves and bark off him before looking around.

The jungle around him was dense and dark, looking up he saw the faint glimpses of a blue sky.

"Don't bother trying to escape by going up."

Werren shot around to see a kid sitting in a tree. He wore a black and white cloak with a wooden bird mask hiding his face.

"You have to keep going forward if you want to get out of here."

Werren looked confused.

"Who are you?"

The kid hopped down from the tree.

"I'm Casey. A resident of this here island. I'll be the one helping you leave on this fine day."

Werren shook his head, trying to make sense of everything.

"What's a kid doing here? Did you escape from Ignition?"

Casey tilted his head.

"Ignition? What's that? Is it an animal?"

"No... it's... never mind. I'm trying to understand all of this correctly... where did you come from?"

Casey chuckled.

"Oh no silly. You're the one who's supposed to answer that question. That's what this island's purpose is. Find out where people came from. Find out their past by facing it head-on."

Casey began to walk through the jungle.

"Come. Follow. You'll see soon."

Werren clutched his head.

"This... this is weird."

Casey turned around.

"Don't worry. If Ezra is doing his job then that girl will be heading toward the same place we are... what was her name? Cinna?"

Werren looked at Casey.

"Century."

Casey snapped his fingers.

"That's the one! Come on! Shouldn't keep her waiting."

Casey ran off. Werren quickly tried to keep up with him.

"Wait!"

Werren and Casey ran off into the jungle.

The past and present will become one.