TKATD: The Island From hell

Chapter Fifteen: The Consequences of Our Actions

Koko kicked every little twig and pebble on her way around the island. She figured she would find where the ship was, fly over to it, and wait until everyone else had 'done the right thing' and 'become heroes.' She thought endlessly about how long it would take Yuno to get over it, and perhaps Koko herself needed to get over it and quit being so stubborn. But she ignored her responsibilities and kept walking, truly she could've just flown around and found the ship more quickly, but a part of her wanted to take this route, which Koko knew had a detour where all the people had gone missing. She just needed to make sure that Kyve was ok, that she was alive.

She eventually made it to the eastern side of the island, she felt her stomach drop. Her anxiety couldn't help but get in the way as she slowly trekked through the ruins of an old village.

"I just have to get through this little patch and then I can leave," she thought to herself, all rational thought being thrown into the deepest depths of the sea.

But just as soon as she was there, she was gone again. In fact she wasn't on the island at all, she was staring at her fathers defaced grave, Kyve beside her. She must've blacked out for a while and ended up there.

"-so he just thought that was the end of it?" Kyve finished, talking about Koko's father.

"Yeah," Koko began, simply guessing what she was talking about, "I don't really talk about him much, honestly."

"Well I'm glad you could open up to me about him."

Koko picked at the moss patch on her forearm. Once upon a time there had been bruises laid upon that skin, and way back beyond that which Koko could remember, her skin was not green, but it had been kissed by the sun, and covered in freckles even the queen admired.

"Who's grave is this?" Kyve pointed to the pristine, white marble headstone that stood beside the defaced grave of Koko's father, "Andromeda of The Starboard" She read off of the stone.

Koko froze. She hated to remember that name, hated how it was so familiar to her.

"Long live the queen." Kyve continued reading, "I thought the last queen was Lorelai II of the Eastern Starboard, is this a former queen? You'd think the grave would be more extravagant."

"Can we go back to the others now?" Koko held herself, refusing to look at the pretty white stone with her name etched in gold upon it.

"Others?" Kyle's head tilted slightly.

"Y'know, Yuno, Leilani, Mursai?"

"Oh them," she looked at Koko, and for the first time, Koko got to see into those red eyes of hers. Something wasn't right. "They left, after you said you'd rather be with me."

"Why the fuck would I say that?" Koko took a step back, "if anything I'd invite you on the ship."

"Maybe I should rephrase," Kyve stepped closer, "They left, you stayed, we burned their ship."

And that was when Koko was slapped back into reality.

She gasped as her eyes burst open, she looped up to see the blur of red hair above her, the air smelled of smoke, and she could hear the muffled sounds of Leilani's yelling and Yuno calling her name.

"Koko!" Yuno almost screamed once the pixie opened her eyes. "Do you know how to use nunchucks?"

It took Koko a moment before she could fully ground herself, but once she did, her face almost lit up with passion.

"Can I use nunchucks? The real question is what nunchucks haven't I used?" Yuno almost melted with relief as Koko answered.

"Bet you haven't used these ones," Yuno turned to Leilani who was jabbing a white haired dude with a staff. "Leilani!"

Leilani quickly threw Yuno two pairs of green nunchucks. Yuno caught them and presented them to Koko, who's eyes lit aflame at the sight of them.

"Are these evergreen wood, diamond crusted, brass plated, blessed chucks of the goddess Vita?" She gently ran her hand across one of the chucks, almost afraid to fully grasp them.

"Sure." Yuno answered, barely knowing whatever Koko just said, "now can you stop fangirling and help us?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot that's what was happening."

Yuno stepped back and helped Koko up.

"Are those new katanas?" Koko was looking at the two katanas at Yuno's side.

"Helio gave us all new weapons."

"Sick." Koko looked around, "we should probably help out now."

"Yeah probably," Yuno unsheathed both of her Katanas, "let's fuck this pig."

The two of them raised their weapons and prepared to charge, expecting to be met with the image of Leilani and Mursai fighting as well, instead they were met with their two unconscious friends, lying motionless in the dirt, and a red eyed man with white hair who smiled at them so eerily it hurt.

The worst part was that Leilani and Mursai were also smiling, as if being knocked out was such a pleasuring experience for them.

Koko looked to Yuno for some sort of direction, but she only saw a demon with a blank look in her eyes, and a wide grin they stretched ear to ear.

"Yuno?" Koko tapped her shoulder, "Yuno!"

"She can't hear you," Valentine said, creeping closer to Koko.

"What are you doing to them?" Koko stepped back with every step he took forward.

"The same thing I did to you." Valentine took a bigger step forward this time, no longer matching Koko's shorter strides.

Koko almost tripped over herself as she tried to evade his gaze, she looked around everywhere to find some way to help her friends. Nothing. Nothing but their unconscious bodies gleefully looking towards the sky.

Then she saw her messenger bag beside Leilani, and she took a run for it.

Valentine grabbed her arm as she passed, sinking his nails into her skin.

Koko winced but then shifted to her normal pixie height of six inches, fooling valentine in the process.

"What the fuck?" Valentine said as she flew faster than sound towards the bag.

Koko shifted back to a sensible 4'11" once she made it to the bag. She dug through it, grabbing every substance she could.

Valentine slowly walked closer as she devoured whatever was in the bag.

It was when Valentine aggressively grabbed her arm that she grabbed the syringe, and it was then that Valentine realized she wasn't fucking around.

Her eyes were almost entirely dilated and she was very visibly shaking.

"You wanna go motherfucker?" She jammed the syringe into her thigh. "You fuck with my family, I fuck with you." 

{It's getting goooood.}