Chapter Nineteen
It was only another hour later that the sun began to peek over the horizon, but in that time a lot was accomplished. Kay had been shown to her bunk for the duration of the trip; it was the bottom half of one shared with another crew member, and while she wondered how well a bunk-bed would work on a ship's lower deck, she didn't say anything about it. Then she followed Etsuko back up to main deck and was basically a shadow to her and other crew members as she watched them prepare for departure.
At some point the beaver she'd run into on the dock the other day came aboard, exchanged words with the captain, and then departed again. Just a few minutes after that Etsuko took up a station at the helm and started barking orders in her native language. The crew scrambled about quickly and efficiently, and just as the sun was beginning to make its way up over the waters of the sea, the ship pulled away from the harbor and they were officially underway.
Kay turned and watched as they drifted further and further away from Bygone Island, and Sonic, and everything familiar. Her heart ached a little and she let it, knowing that after this moment she would have to focus on what lay ahead and not what lay behind. Especially if she was on her way to a war-torn continent. The world lit up brighter and brighter with every minute that passed, and finally, when Kay could no longer make out the shape of the harbor, she took a breath, turned her back, and refused to dwell on it any more. It was time to move forward.
As it turned out, helping out around the ship wasn't as difficult as she thought it might be. The captain and Ayaki – who appeared to be her first mate – took care of most of the actual sailing part of the journey together. The rest of the crew simply made sure that their cargo was secure, the ship was clean, and the winds were in their favor. It was mostly smooth sailing, though despite this Kay was surprised at herself for not having gotten seasick yet.
Once or twice Sonic and the others crossed her mind. She tried not to think about them for too long, though, or what they may have thought when they discovered she'd gone. Kay reasoned that they had been doing just fine before her, and they'd do just fine without. If anything she was simply a passing occurrence. A weird anomaly that would be quickly forgotten.
Another thing Kay soon learned was that she and Etsuko were the only ones aboard who spoke the "western language." All other crew members conversed with each other in their native tongue. If any of them needed her for something they would gesture at her and point at things and so on; there wasn't much else they could do by way of communication. By the end of the first day Etsuko had picked up on this, and so she began to teach Kay simple, common words and phrases in their language so she could communicate better with the rest of the crew. Kay repeated the words to herself several times over, determined to commit them to memory. If she was going to a place where very few people spoke her language, she'd need to know enough to get by.
By far the best part of the entire journey was seeing the sky reflected in the ocean's waters when the sun went down. It was so clear, and dark, and the heavens were filled with more stars than she'd ever seen in her life. She didn't recognize any of them. There were no familiar constellations, no white-ish streak across the sky that indicated the Milky Way. This truly was a different world, with a different sky to match. It was beautiful and breathtaking.
Sleeping on the ship was difficult at first, but Kay simply imagined the swaying of the ship to be a gentle swinging in a hammock, and that helped immensely. At night, when she was below decks with most of the rest of the crew save the night shift, Kay allowed herself to contemplate what may lay ahead of her on Chun-Nan. Where would she go? What would she do? Who would she meet? Did she have a backup plan for if things did go terribly wrong? By the end of the second night Kay had decided it would be best to find the nearest village she could once she set foot on the continent, and stay there for a while as she learned the native language and traditions and whatnot. Once all that was mostly figured out, she'd think about what to do next. One step at a time, she told herself.
On the third day, Etsuko told her that they'd caught a particularly strong wind overnight that had helped speed up their journey by an hour or two, and that they would be arriving on the continent that afternoon.
"I think it's time," she added, "for you to learn a few common phrases so you can communicate with my people. Most of those who live near the coast know enough of your language to get by, but as you travel further inland that will not be as common. So listen carefully, and repeat after me."
Etsuko's language was very strange to Kay, with certain words and inflections that took her several attempts and repeats before they were deemed "satisfactory." She silently hoped that by being immersed in this new culture she would pick up a lot faster and sound more natural. She learned common greetings and farewells, how to say please and thank you, yes and no, and so on. The one thing she learned that took her the longest to master – and that she repeated to herself over and over even after Etsuko had left her – was a phrase that meant "I speak the western languages." This was something she was sure she'd be saying a lot in the beginning, so Kay was determined to get it right.
That afternoon – as predicted – one of the crew members shouted something and pointed toward the horizon off the starboard side of the ship. Kay looked out and saw land. Huge, dark green hills and light blue mountains that seemed to go on forever. Chun-Nan. Etsuko adjusted the ship's course, and before she knew it the continent was growing closer and closer. Kay's heart raced. Today was the day. It was time. Once she set foot off this ship, anything could happen.
The continent grew closer and closer. A harbor – much larger than the one she'd seen on Bygone – became visible. And then buildings, and then people. The crew hurried to do their jobs and get the ship ready to dock, while a handful of people on the boardwalk beyond did the same. Kay stayed put to keep out of everyone's way.
A few minutes later, the ship had reached the harbor and slowed to a stop.
Kay took a deep breath. This is it.
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Everything Changes (A Sonic Boom Fanfic)
Fanfiction*BOOK 6 OF 8 IN THE "EVERYTHING" SERIES* Kay was once the Emerald's Chosen. She once knew everything about Mobius. But things are different now. Gone are the Chaos Emeralds and expanding Eggman Empire. In this world, all is peaceful. No major threat...
