David watched another school of luminescent fish scatter through Marina's chamber walls, their panicked movements painting crisp patterns in the dark water. His wings ached from the leech-fish attack yesterday, though Marina's enthusiastic application of her tentacles had kept most of the bloodsuckers from reaching him. His stomach had finally given up its rebellion against the constant motion, settling into a sort of resigned acceptance of its fate.

"You know," he mused, watching Marina's bioluminescence flicker in response to something massive moving in the distance, "when I pictured crossing an ocean, I was thinking more 'relaxing cruise' and less 'running from literal sea monsters every six hours.'"

"Honey," Marina's chamber vibrated with exhausted amusement, "if you wanted relaxing, you should have tried the desert. Though I've got to admit..." Her tissue rippled meaningfully. "That thing with the current yesterday? That was new. Never hitched a ride on something moving that fast before."

David's ears flattened at the memory. The 'current' had felt more like a underwater hurricane, though it had certainly helped put distance between them and the horror that had chased them from Waypoint West. Even Marina had seemed impressed, once she'd stopped cursing about the pressure differential.

"Pretty sure my internal organs are still rearranging themselves," David muttered, checking on his Cuddlebugs. The tiny creatures had adapted surprisingly well to underwater travel, though they still huddled against his fur whenever something too massive moved beyond Marina's walls. "Though it beat the alternative. That thing following us from the waypoint looked hungry enough to eat a small continent."

"Please," Marina's tissue pulsed with false bravado, "I had it handled. Mostly. Kind of." A pause. "Okay maybe we really needed that current."

David snorted, then immediately regretted it as the motion sent his barely-settled stomach into fresh acrobatics. "Pretty sure 'handled' doesn't usually involve screaming 'oh shit oh shit oh shit' while breaking your own speed record."

"I was just expressing enthusiasm," Marina replied primly, though her bioluminescence patterns betrayed her amusement. "Besides, you weren't exactly keeping cool either. What was that noise you made when we had to surface and split up for the leech-swarm?"

"That was a perfectly dignified battle cry," David defended, unconsciously touching his wings.where some of the creatures had managed to latch on before getting a Miasma bath. "Also, we agreed never to speak of that again."

The conversation died as Marina's tissue suddenly rippled with unease. Her bioluminescence dimmed slightly as she adjusted their course, sensory organs working overtime to process their surroundings.

"Something wrong?" David asked, noting the change in her usual patterns. His ears swiveled forward, catching subtle changes in the chamber's vibration.

"Maybe?" Marina's uncertainty was clear in her tone. "Everything tastes... wrong. The currents, the pressure, even the salt." Her tissue rippled with growing agitation. "I've been out this far before, but something's different. The seafloor is too high, the water's too shallow, and none of my usual landmarks make sense anymore."

David's fur bristled slightly at her tone. After two days of watching Marina navigate everything from deep-sea horrors to impossible currents with unwavering confidence, hearing uncertainty in her voice was... unsettling.

"Hey," Marina's chamber walls vibrated thoughtfully, "any chance you could do some aerial reconnaissance? My distance vision is basically worthless up there, but maybe you can spot something I'm missing?"

David's ears perked forward with interest. "You want me to go outside?" He glanced at his Cuddlebugs, who immediately pressed closer to his fur. "Like, in the air? Above the ocean? Where all those things we saw might be watching?"

"Don't be dramatic," Marina's tissue rippled with what might have been a shrug. "I'll keep my back lit up bright enough to guide you back. Besides, after that leech incident, I think we've established you can handle yourself."

David considered the offer. On one wing, flying over open ocean after everything he'd seen beneath the waves seemed like a fantastic way to develop new phobias. On the other wing...

"Fine," he sighed, already gathering his Cuddlebugs closer. "But if something tries to eat me, I'm blaming you."

Marina's chamber began to rise toward the surface, her movements careful and precise. "That's fair. Though really, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You did not just say that," David groaned, his mane poofing out dramatically. "You never say that. That's like asking the System to get creative, and we both know how that usually ends."

The chamber broke the surface with surprising gentleness, Marina's upper tissue already beginning to pulse with brilliant teal light. David took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was about to be a very exposed position.

"Right," he muttered, stepping through the opening Marina created. "Just a quick look around. Nothing to worry about. Definitely not thinking about all those things you mentioned that can jump like fuckin-."

"If it helps," Marina called after him as he spread his wings, "most of them only hunt during the day!"

David's reply was lost as he shot upward, his powerful wings carrying him rapidly away from the water's surface. Some of the Cuddlebugs clung to his fur anxiously, their forms barely noticeable against his bulk as he gained altitude. The rest stuck close by, clearly unhappy with the extended voyage but following along determinedly.

Higher and higher he climbed, until Marina's bioluminescent form was just a bright speck against the dark water below. The moon painted the ocean's surface in patches of silver, creating an almost peaceful scene that David absolutely refused to trust.

Then he saw it.

"No fucking way," David breathed, his snout wrinkling in shock.

The landmass rose from the horizon, its silhouette massive enough to boggle the mind. Moonlight caught the edges of what might have been mountains, their peaks disappearing into low clouds that seemed to cling to the mysterious shore.

David dropped altitude rapidly, his wings tucked close as he dove back toward Marina's glowing form. He barely registered the rush of falling, his mind still trying to process what he'd seen. The Cuddlebugs chirped excitedly against his fur, clearly picking up on his agitation through their link.

He hit Marina's chamber entrance with more speed than strictly necessary, nearly bowling over in his haste to deliver the news without injuring her with his talons.

"There's land," he announced, shaking water from his fur. "Like, a lot of land. Really big land. How did you not notice really big land?"

"That's…impossible," Marina's tissue rippled with disbelief. "There shouldn't be anything out here except...well, water. Lots of water. Maybe a seamount or two, but nothing breaking the surface."

David's ears flicked in annoyance. "Pretty sure I know what land looks like. Big rocky stuff? Goes up instead of down? Usually has trees and things?"

"Save the snark," Marina's chamber vibrated with uncertainty. "Which direction?"

David pointed with a wing, then remembered she couldn't actually see the gesture. "About forty degrees to port? That is what you call left-ish, right?"

Marina's entire form shifted as she altered course, her bioluminescence patterns betraying her agitation. "This doesn't make sense. I was out here before Wave Two hit, and there was nothing. Just deep water and the occasional..." She trailed off as her sensory organs registered something. "The seafloor. It's definitely rising."

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David felt his Pack Sense surge, the familiar pull toward Claire suddenly sharpening. Like someone had finally tuned a radio frequency that had been nothing but static. His fur bristled with excitement as he processed what that meant.

"She's there," he whispered, more to himself than Marina. "Somewhere on that island, Claire's..."

"Your missing friend?" Marina's chamber walls vibrated thoughtfully. "Though I've got to say, if she picked real estate, she picked weird real estate."

They moved through the dark water with renewed purpose, Marina's usual casual grace replaced by caution. David could feel the change in depth through subtle pressure variations in her chamber, the water growing steadily shallower as they approached.

"You know," Marina mused as moonlight began to filter through her upper tissues, "this might explain a few things. Like why some of my regular routes started feeling wrong after Wave Two. The System must have done some serious redecorating out here."

David was about to respond when he caught his first clear glimpse of the shore through Marina's chamber walls. His words died in his throat.

The beach, if you could call it that, looked like something had taken a normal coastline and decided everything needed to be bigger. Massive stones dotted the shore like fallen monuments, their surfaces worn smooth by waves that could have leveled smaller islands. The jungle beyond rose in tiers of impossible scale, trees that would have made redwoods look stunted reaching toward clouds that seemed to permanently shroud the higher elevations.

"Well," Marina's voice carried equal parts awe and concern, "that's definitely new. And also probably why my sensors are having a crisis. Everything's reading wrong because everything is wrong." She paused thoughtfully. "Though I've got to admit, it's not the worst vacation spot I've seen. Assuming you ignore the whole 'appeared out of nowhere' thing."

David watched as something moved through the distant canopy, its form hidden by the gloom but its presence undeniable. His ears picked instinctively to track the sound of its passage, though he was unable to hear anything but the rush and surge of the sea all around them.

"Right," he managed, his fur bristling slightly. "Because random shit appearing in the middle of the ocean is totally normal."

"Says the bat who made friends with crabs," Marina's chamber vibrated with amusement as she navigated toward a relatively sheltered cove. "Though I've got to admit, this is definitely more interesting than my usual routine. Mind if I stick around for a bit? You know, purely for research purposes."

David's ears perked forward in surprise. "You'd do that? I mean, after everything we went through getting here..."

"Honey," Marina's tissue rippled with what might have been affection, "I just found a whole new landmass. My curiosity is basically having a party in my sensory organs right now." She paused as her tentacles guided them into the cove's calmer waters. "Besides, leaving you stranded on mystery island seems like bad karma. I'll hang around that deep trench we passed - you know, the by that big spire of rock over there? Give me a couple days to explore, and if you need a ride back..."

"You're a lifesaver," David breathed, relief evident in his voice. "Literally, considering half the things that tried to eat us on the way here."

Marina's chamber opened to reveal a beach that put their last haunt to shame. Even the sand seemed oversized, each grain catching the moonlight like tiny crystals. "Just check this cove in a day or two. And hey, maybe bring back some juicy gossip about whatever's going on here? You know, make it worth my while?"

David leaped into the shallows, his Cuddlebugs immediately fanning out to secure the perimeter with their usual enthusiasm. "Deal. Though knowing my luck, it's probably something ridiculous."

He cut off as his Pack Sense suddenly wobbled, the pull toward Claire becoming fuzzy for a moment before readjusting slightly to the right. Somewhere beyond that wall of vegetation, she was waiting. Maybe even looking for him too.

"Go get her, tiger," Marina called as she began to withdraw into deeper water. "Or bat. Whatever. Just try not to die? I'd hate to have wasted all those painkiller treatments."

David watched her glow fade into the darkness beyond the cove, trying to ignore the growing sense of isolation. He was getting used to being alone now - hell, it made things simpler for him in a lot of ways.

But there's something about this place...

Movement in the canopy drew his attention upward, and David felt his jaw drop slightly. The trees weren't just big - they were wrong. Their trunks twisted in ways that suggested architecture rather than nature, as if something had tried to grow a city and given up halfway through.

"Right," he muttered, spreading his wings. "Time to see what's really going on here."

The sea air carried him higher with surprising ease, winds rising from the strange landscape like invisible elevators. As he gained altitude, the true scale of his surroundings became apparent.

What he'd taken for random ruins among the vegetation revealed itself as something far more deliberate. The entire island seemed to have been built, though time and aggressive plant life had reclaimed most of the construction. Massive stone blocks, each easily the size of Claire's entire body, formed patterns that might have been streets or courtyards in some distant past.

"Holy shit," David breathed, banking around what had to be some kind of tower. The structure rose through the canopy like a ancient bone, its surface weathered but still bearing traces of what might have been carvings. "Who builds things this big? Who would even need..."

He trailed off as his keen eyes caught something through a gap in the vegetation. A statue, half-buried in vines and debris, dominated what might have been a plaza. Its form was vaguely reptilian, though the craftsmanship was so degraded it was hard to make out any real details. But the scale...

David landed on a relatively clear space near the statue's base, his fur standing on end as he took in what he was seeing. Its head, what remained of it, disappeared into the canopy above.

The Cuddlebugs pressed closer onward and shrunk their perimeter as something moved in the distant jungle, the sound suggesting mass and the will to use it. David's ears swiveled to track it, picking up other noises in the distance - faint calls pitched so low he felt more than heard them.

His Pack Sense pulled him onward, toward whatever waited deeper inland. But as David spread his wings to continue his exploration, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd stumbled into something far bigger than a missing friend.

I really hope you've got a good explanation for all this. Because this is weird even for us.

The moon painted the strange landscape in shades of silver, light filtering through the clouds in ways that casted the faintest of midnight shadows. David banked around another half-buried structure, this one bearing traces of what might have been metalwork beneath centuries of growth.

His continued deeper into the ruins, each new discovery further adding to David's bewildered expression. The architecture seemed to follow rules he couldn't quite grasp, as if designed by minds that thought slightly to the left of human. Everywhere he looked, signs of ancient habitation stretched toward the sky in impossible scale.

"Getting warmer," he muttered, following that familiar internal pull. Captain chirped in response, the Teams tiny forms darting through the air around him as they kept their tiny suspicious gazes over the jungle. "Though I've got to admit, Claire, you really know how to pick real estate."

A silhouette caught his eye - another statue, this one better preserved than the first. David leaned slightly, gliding onto on a convenient outcropping, his ears swiveling to track the various sounds echoing through the ruins. The stone figure loomed before him, its reptilian features caught in what might have been a snarl or a smile, depending on the angle.

"Well that's not ominous at all," David hissed, studying the careful detail work around the statue's eyes. Unlike the weathered surfaces elsewhere, these carvings seemed almost fresh. As if something had maintained them while letting the rest crumble. "Pretty sure this is the part where Claire would be making references."

Something moved through the jungle nearby, its passage marked by the sound of creaking wood and low rumbling. David's fur melted into the hazy shadows as he decided he needed a moment to process.

"Right," he whispered after a few moments of thought, spreading his wings again. "Note to self: everything here is probably bigger than me. Possibly hungry. Definitely more at home than I am."

As he gained altitude once more, David couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Not with hostility, exactly, but with the kind of intense curiosity usually reserved for Cuddlebug antics. His Pack Sense urged him onward, slightly stronger now than it had been on the shore.

"I really hope you're not expecting me to fight something the size of a building," he muttered, imagining Claire's response to his arrival. "Because I left my 'kaiju slaying' equipment in my other fur."

The moon climbed higher as David continued his search, painting the mysterious island in light that seemed to shift and change with each passing moment. Whatever this place was, wherever it had come from, one thing was becoming increasingly clear - nothing about it was natural.

"Though really," David growled as he soared between towers that might have been buildings or might have been art, "what counts as natural anymore?"

His own reflection caught his eye, distorted in the surface of a thin waterfall cascading down the stone, blanketing the side of yet another impossible structure. The bat that stared back at him was a far cry from anything nature had intended, his Evolution a testament to how far the world had strayed from its original path.

Somewhere in this disaster of 'fuck you, that's why' design choices, Claire is probably having the time of her life. Assuming she isn't currently fighting something the size of a small moon.

"Don't worry," David whispered, following deeper into the mystery. "I'm coming. Just...please stay out of trouble. No David-stuff until I'm there to participate."

The jungle swallowed him as he descended, its shadows holding secrets that would have to wait for another time. For now, there was only the pull of that familiar connection, leading him toward whatever waited in this land of giants.

Behind him, the saurian statue's eyes seemed to follow his passage, its features caught between warning and welcome in the fog.