The sunlight beamed down through a cracked window, landing square on Eleo's face as he snored like a chainsaw chewing on metal. The wooden floor beneath him creaked as Tony barged in, shaking him roughly.
"Eleo, wake up, we made it!" Tony said, already half-laughing. "Kimyōna Island. Timmy was right—vampires are going full-out war with the Ascendants."
Eleo's eyes popped open. "HUH!? No way!"
He jumped to his feet, kicked open the upper deck door with wild energy, and ran up. Amai, Timmy, and Kawai were already there, peeking through the rail.
Eleo skidded next to them. "Lemme see—WOAH!"
The island was massive, with twisted stone arches rising from the jungle like claws, bizarre mountains that looked almost like fangs biting into the sky, and strange glowing plants blinking along the shoreline. The ocean bubbled red where fallen ships sank, and above the trees, distant towers flickered with chaotic energy. There were shipwrecks, black spires, smoky trails of magic, and the air smelled like something between sulfur and iron.
But the fight? The fight was even crazier.
Explosions flashed non-stop as Ascendant ships clashed mid-air with vampire blimps. Down below, Ascendants were getting torn apart—until, suddenly, vampires started getting shot back with laser bullets. Some ships bore symbols—one with a bear, the other a cat.
"Dude…" Eleo whispered, eyes glowing. "This is so cool."
Timmy squinted. "That's… weird."
Amai glanced down at him. "What is?"
"The vampires. They're in daylight. They should be, like, on fire or something."
Amai blinked. "You're right… they're not burning."
Tony growled, yanking at the wheel. "Amai, are you sure we're finding a girl to recruit here? I mean, it looks like a hellhole."
Amai, narrowing her eyes at the chaos, crossed her arms. "Ehh… well… now that I'm seeing it up close… probably not."
Eleo grinned. "Nah, I think we can."
Tony shot him a glare. "You're just saying that because you wanna fight 'em."
"Maybe…" Eleo smirked. "Maybe not."
Then BOOM.
A giant beam blast slammed the side of the ship, exploding one of the wings. The whole thing lurched and spun violently.
"WHOOOOO!" Eleo cheered, wind in his face as the others screamed.
Timmy clung to Eleo's head. "WE'RE GONNA DIEEEEE!"
Amai had her arms around Kawai and Timmy, both squished to Eleo's back. "TONY DO SOMETHING!"
"I AM doing something—SCREAMING!" Tony yelled, wrestling with the wheel like it owed him money.
The ship finally crashed into the shore with a brutal skid. Sand blasted up around them, and everything went quiet.
Tony groaned. "Ugh. Everyone alive?"
"NO," Amai and Timmy answered at the same time.
Kawai let out a soft, flat, "Meep."
Eleo popped up. "YEP!"
Two shadows leapt down onto the ruined ship's deck—two vampires in ragged clothes and wild grins.
"Well, look at this tasty little wreck," one of them sneered. His skin was pale and cracked like dry ice.
The other bared his fangs. "Maybe one of 'em knows where she is."
Amai's eyebrow twitched. "She?"
"Mm, prolly not," the first one muttered. "I just wanna kill 'em."
"Same," said the second.
Amai, Kawai, and Timmy all backed up behind Eleo.
Timmy whimpered, pointing at the two. "ELEO. Tony. Save us!"
Eleo stepped forward slowly, stretching his neck side to side with a grin.
"Heh. Wrong ship, wrong day, wrong bunny."
The moment the vampire stepped forward with a cocky sneer, Eleo grinned wide and—BAM!—launched a devastating uppercut right into his chin. The vampire's head snapped back, his feet left the deck, and Eleo followed up with a spinning kick that sent the bloodsucker flying off the ship and into the ocean with a splash so loud it echoed across the beach.
The second vampire barely had time to react.
Tony moved like lightning—his skeletal hand glowing with eerie energy as he grabbed the vampire's face mid-lunge.
"Get off our boat, you fashion-disaster freak," Tony muttered, and SLAM!—he drove the vampire into the wood deck, cracked the planks, then booted him off the ship like he was punting a soccer ball.
Another splash.
Timmy pumped his tiny fists. "YEAH!"
Kawai raised her tiny arms. "Meep!"
Tony brushed himself off and looked out over the railing, his coat flapping in the wind. "Welp… judging by that smoke trail, busted wing, and burning engine—seems we won't be leaving anytime soon."
Amai folded her arms, still standing at the edge. "They said she. That means a girl's here. One important enough to send an army of vampires after her."
Timmy tapped his chin. "Wait—maybe the vampires are looking for that girl. But then… why are the Ascendants here too? Are they after her too? Or is it just a coincidence?"
Eleo cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Only one way to find out! C'mon, Tony. Let's go, Timmy!"
Timmy blinked. "Me? But Eleo, I'm not strong though... I'm just—"
Eleo put a hand on the tiny boy's leafy head, smiling big. "Doesn't matter. You're part of us now."
Tony laughed, lifting Timmy and plopping him on his head like a crown. "Yeah, short stuff. We'll protect you. Think of it as a cursed family road trip."
Timmy sighed, then smiled a little. "...Okay. Let's go."
Amai waved them off with a smirk. "Good luck, guys."
Kawai raised her arms. "Meep!"
Tony turned and grinned at Amai. "Aww, Amai~ Don't miss me too hard. I know it'll be lonely without me here."
Thunk!
A shoe bounced off Tony's skull and landed in the sand.
"Okay okay! I'll stop!" Tony said, laughing as he hopped off the railing with Eleo.
They hadn't even taken two steps on the beach before—
"FREEZE!"
A squad of Ascendants surrounding them with laser blasters locked on.
Timmy immediately raised both arms. "BUT WE JUST GOT OFF THE SHIP!!"
One of the soldiers clicked a button on a turtle-shaped communicator strapped to his wrist. "Sir, targets identified. Eleo, Tony, and a Minari who might be Timmy are confirmed on Kimyōna Island."
Amai cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted from the deck, "Kick their ass, Eleo!"
Tony, already cracking his knuckles, smirked and twisted his voice into a poor imitation of Amai. "You too, Tony~ Oh thank you, Amai, I do appreciate it. You're so kind."
Amai rolled her eyes so hard it was almost audible. "You're the worst."
Tony grinned wider. "Flattery will get you nowhere—except maybe second base."
Eleo crouched low, muscles tense, and then BOOM—he exploded forward with wild energy. Tony was already moving, the wind snapping his long coat as Timmy clung to his skull like a terrified koala.
The first Ascendant soldier raised his blaster—too late.
Tony weaved under the shot, swept his leg in a fluid spin, and knocked the soldier's feet clean off the ground. Before he landed, Tony unleashed a barrage of bone-piercing jabs, each impact echoing like cracking steel. His movements were like a dance—precise, stylish, brutal. One final backhand sent the soldier flipping through the air and crashing into a boulder with a satisfying crack.
"Timmy, how we doing up there?" Tony shouted, spinning another soldier into the dirt.
Timmy held onto Tony's head with both hands and screamed, "I WANNA GO BACK TO THE FOREST!!"
Meanwhile—"INK BARRAGE!!"
Eleo hurled himself into the sky and came down like a meteor, both fists glowing with slick, pulsing black ink. His body blurred as he rained down a hurricane of punches—fast, wild, and unrelenting. Each strike was like a jet engine going off in rapid fire—thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
The Ascendants tried to raise their weapons, but Eleo's sheer speed and unpredictability left them stumbling. One soldier took a flurry to the chest and was launched into the air. Another tried to swing a blade—but Eleo vanished and reappeared above him with a spinning heel kick straight to the dome.
A shockwave rippled out. Sand exploded in every direction.
One by one, the soldiers hit the ground unconscious, groaning and twitching from the beatdown.
Tony and Eleo stood back to back, breathing heavily. They looked at each other.
SLAP!
Perfect high-five.
"Man, I love punching laser people," Eleo grinned, fist still dripping with ink.
Tony nodded. "And I love turning their faces into soup. Let's find out what the hell's going on."
Without another word, the two darted off into the frost-covered jungle ahead, branches slicing through the mist as they disappeared into the shadows.
Back on the ship, Amai watched them go with a shake of her head. "Idiots," she muttered, then looked down at Kawai, who was sitting quietly beside her.
"Well, it's just me and you now. Want to have some tea with me?"
Kawai blinked, then beamed and chirped, "Meep meep!"
Amai smiled—one of those rare, soft smiles that made her cheeks warm. "C'mon, little gremlin."
They headed below deck together, toward her room