The fireball split around Nisshoku's blade like water around a stone, the force of Marya's strike sending shockwaves rippling through the air. The flames cascaded past her in twin torrents, their heat washing over her skin as she twisted in midair. Her boots found the water's surface, and she pushed off, launching herself back toward the Dreadnought Thalassa's deck.
She landed with a soft thud, her knees bending to absorb the impact. Her raven hair settled around her shoulders, and she straightened, her golden eyes fixed on the spot where the fireball had crashed into the sea.
A massive wave erupted from the impact point, a wall of water that rose toward the sky before crashing down with the force of a tidal wave. The Dreadnought Thalassa groaned as the water slammed into its hull, the massive submarine tilting sideways. Marya grabbed the railing, her knuckles white as she rode out the jolt. Atlas stumbled, his claws digging into the deck plating. Jannali planted her feet wide, Gosan transforming into its spear form as she braced herself.
The wave passed, and the submarine righted itself with a groan of protesting metal. Water streamed off the deck in rivulets, and the air filled with the sharp tang of salt and something else—something that smelled like burnt metal and distant stars.
Marya's eyes narrowed as she peered through the mist. A shape materialized on the water's surface, sleek and black with three massive masts that caught the light in ways that made no sense. The vessel was unlike anything she had seen before—its hull smooth and curved, its design somehow both ancient and impossibly advanced.
"What in the—" Atlas started, his blue eyes wide.
Jannali let out a low whistle. "Bloody hell. That's not a ship. That's—"
"I have no idea," Marya finished, her voice flat. "I haven't seen anything like it. Have you?"
Atlas's jaw dropped. "No."
The door of the Celestial Pearl flew open, and three figures tumbled onto the deck in a tangle of limbs and expensive fabric. They gasped and clutched at each other, their voices rising in a chorus of panic.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god—we're alive!" Donna shrieked, her platinum-blonde hair a disaster of tangles and sea spray. Her crop-top pink baby tee was soaked through, and her white cargo pants clung to her legs like a second skin.
"Like, how are we alive? How is that possible?" Jeny added, her dark brown eyes wide with a mixture of terror and excitement. Her zebra-print dress was torn across the shoulder, and her six-inch heels had somehow survived the crash intact. "We fell from space! From SPACE! That's like—that's literally the highest thing you can fall from!"
Chad pushed himself to his feet, his pale blue eyes darting around in panic. His oversized white turtleneck was splattered with something that might have been engine fluid, and his scuffed leather loafers were soaked through. "This isn't fair. This isn't fair at all! I said we shouldn't have gone! I said it! But no one listens to me! Now we're—where even ARE we?"
They all gripped the railing, their faces pale with shock as they stared out at the endless blue expanse of the sea. The sky stretched above them in an boundless canvas of white clouds and golden sunlight, and the horizon curved in a way that made no sense to their space-faring eyes.
Donna's voice rose to a desperate shriek. "Where's the Bafana Nebula? Where's the—the—the space stuff? Where's the sky?"
Jeny's eyes went wide. "We're not in space anymore. We're—we're—"
"We're on water," Chad finished, his voice hollow. "We're on a planet. With water. And—and—" He looked down at his hands, then back at the sky. "Oh no. Oh no. This is bad. This is really, really bad."
"We're going to die here," Donna wailed. "We're going to die on this—this—whatever this is! I'm too young to die! I haven't even posted my nebula photos yet!"
Jeny clutched her chest, her voice breathless. "Okay, okay, okay—so like, we crashed. Through space. And now we're on a planet. With water. That's—that's actually kind of cool? No wait, that's terrible. That's terrible, right? CHAD! IS THIS TERRIBLE?!"
Chad opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the hatch of the Dreadnought Thalassa flew open with a clang.
Vesta Lavana burst onto the deck first, her rainbow hair a riot of color that shimmered in the sunlight. Her platform boots clacked against the metal grating, and Mikasi was slung across her back, the guitar humming with its own strange energy. Her violet eyes were wide with excitement, and she bounced on the balls of her feet as she surveyed the scene.
Aurélie Nakano Takeko followed close behind, her silver hair loose and framing her sharp-featured face. Her steel-gray eyes swept the deck, cataloging every threat, every potential danger. Her minimalist black tactical attire was immaculate despite the chaos, and Anathema hung at her hip, the black blade humming with dark energy.
Bō-Zak Kaminosukei emerged next, his unkempt dark hair streaked with early gray, his gold-flecked brown eyes gleaming with amusement. A lazy smirk played at the corners of his mouth, and he took a long drag from his pipe before exhaling a cloud of fragrant smoke. His tattered awayo shawl draped over one shoulder, and his dual sickles hung at his hips.
Kaburo Gusaki brought up the rear, his movements economical and precise. His dark gray, sleeveless kimono top revealed the old scars that crisscrossed his powerful frame, and Kalamaru hummed at his hip, the cursed blade pulsing with dark energy. His long, flowing dark hair was pulled back in a low, economic ponytail, and his scarred face was unreadable.
They all paused when they saw Marya, Jannali, and Atlas standing on the deck, their eyes fixed on the strange vessel floating beside them. The three of them hadn't moved, hadn't spoken. They just stood there, staring at the Celestial Pearl and its bumbling occupants with expressions of pure disbelief.
Bō-Zak's smirk widened as his gaze landed on Donna and Jeny. He let out a low whistle, his voice smooth and philosophical with that lazy cadence that made everything sound like a flirtation.
"Well, well, well," he said, exhaling another cloud of smoke. "This must be heaven. Angels just fell out of the sky, and I didn't even have to die to see them."
Everyone turned to him with a collective groan.
Aurélie's steel-gray eyes narrowed. "Bō-Zak. Focus."
"I am focused," he replied, his smirk still firmly in place. "I'm focused on the angels. Very focused."
Jannali rolled her eyes, her voice flat. "Give it a rest, mate. We got bigger problems than your love life."
"What bigger problems?" Bō-Zak asked, gesturing at the Celestial Pearl with his pipe. "They're kids. Lost kids. Probably scared out of their minds. And they're pretty."
"Bō-Zak," Kaburo said, his voice dry and emotionless. "Shut up."
"Never."
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