"No...! No! Not another island!" Sigils yelled, his voice strained with frustration and disbelief as he watched the island collapse and plummet into the Weather Dump. The scene was one of chaos, the vibrant land disappearing into a swirling vortex of turbulent weather patterns.
"It's like we don't learn anything," Henwy quipped sarcastically, his tone biting. "Thanks a lot, Nico."
"What?! You started it!" Nico retorted, his face flushed with indignation.
"Ian, we have to get to the station!" Sigils demanded, turning his attention to SSundee, the one person he hoped could steer them out of this mess.
"Sure thing. I just have to check the weather nodes, gimme a second..." SSundee mumbled, his fingers flying over his device.
"...you don't know where the station is?" Biffle asked, his eyebrows raised in a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"I do! I'm just checking when the train comes to the nearby station," SSundee replied defensively, not looking up from his screen.
"Wait, you can do that?!" Sigils asked, incredulous.
"Duh! I live and work here!" SSundee boasted, but his bravado quickly faded. "Wait, there's no... signal? This hasn't happened before! Why?!"
SSundee sat down, stunned by the sudden failure of his trusted technology. The others exchanged worried glances. Sigils, ever the leader, approached SSundee with a mixture of caution and urgency.
"Hey, it's going to be okay. We can fix this! We just need to get back to Headquarters. Which way to the train station?" Sigils asked, trying to inject some confidence into his voice.
Still stunned, SSundee replied, "I had a whole trip planned for us."
Sigils tried another tactic to snap SSundee out of his stupor, making a silly face and waving his hands animatedly, but it was no use. SSundee remained unresponsive.
"Oh, here's a fun game! You point to the train station, and we all go there! Won't that be fun? Come on, let's go to the train station!" Sigils exclaimed, trying to infuse some energy into the group. He started to walk off, hoping the others would follow.
Biffle, seeing that Sigils's efforts were in vain, sat beside SSundee, attempting to comfort him. "I'm sorry you couldn't find a signal for us. It's sad," he said gently.
"Biffle, don't make him feel worse!" Sigils snapped, his frustration evident.
"Sorry," Biffle mumbled, his shoulders sagging.
"I can't believe trying to help could lead to such a disaster. I'm sorry," SSundee apologized, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Don't be. You did your best," Biffle reassured, placing a comforting hand on SSundee's shoulder. He leaned his head against SSundee's shoulder and began to cry. SSundee, though still sad, kept his arm around Biffle until his tears subsided.
"I'm okay now," SSundee said after a few moments, standing up with a newfound resolve. "C'mon, the train station is this way." He began to walk, and Sigils and Biffle quickly followed.
"How did you do that?" Sigils asked Biffle, impressed by the unexpected emotional breakthrough.
"I mean, he was sad, so I listened to him," Biffle began to explain, but was interrupted by SSundee.
"Hey, there's the train!" SSundee shouted, pointing excitedly.
The trio hurried to the platform, boarding the train just as it began to move. The rhythmic clattering of the train wheels on the tracks provided a momentary sense of relief. As they settled into their seats, a sense of uncertainty lingered in the air.
"Are we going to make it back to Headquarters?" Sigils wondered aloud, his voice tinged with worry.
"You have to," SSundee replied firmly. "This isn't over until you fix what you started."
Sigils looked at his friends, a renewed sense of determination in his eyes. "We're not just going to fix this; we're going to make sure it never happens again."
YOU ARE READING
Tempest Tangle
General Fiction(Cover by me!) The Regulars. They were in charge of controlling the weather and are also blessed with elemental bending abilities. They have their own islands as well, just in case they weren't well so that the islands can control the weather for th...
