[Dawn and Dusk] Day 657: My Ex-Girlfriend and I Shall Save the World

(Could you believe it? In a short time, we all assembled once more at the bowling alley, and Izanami teleported us into the middle of Antarctica. Summer suddenly got really chilly, didn't it?)

Ah, Antarctica. Nothing but ice galore. Ice beneath your feet, ice on the horizon, and ice blowing through the air. Mountainous bodies of ice sparkled in the sunlight, and the sky was a breathtakingly deep blue. Everyone wore puffed winter jackets and scarves for this location, after having gone home to retrieve the appropriate clothing.

Isabella led the way to makeshift base she had her men set up in advance. The base was a deployable shelter, one that could be easily set up and broken down. It was akin to a very large tent, as the building was made of a tarp-like material that protected everyone from the cold.

On the inside, there were rows of desks lined up with computers and tracking equipment, each of them manned by a uniformed serviceman. These were no mercenaries, but official U.S. servicemen borrowed from Isabella's father.

Standing inside of the shelter and looking out at the scurrying servicemen, Osamu and the others were astonished by just how quickly Isabella managed to pull everything together.

"Even if I can't walk, it doesn't mean I'm completely useless." Isabella said. We've got multiple drones surveiling this continent at almost every hour of the day, each of them looking for Omagatoki."

"That's amazing Izzy!" Osamu said.

"You haven't changed one bit!" Tsukiakari laughed.

Rei was playing on her handheld as they walked, intent on saving Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser's tyranny.

"Okay! So...Isabella, is it?" Aika asked. "Where do we start?"

"Well, we can search the more mountainous and cavernous regions for Omagatoki. If she was rebounded into this environment, she most likely would've wanted to take shelter somewhere."

"All right! We can do that!" Izanami cheered.

(Did I mention that Izanami was wearing a coat made of polar bear skin? Because she's wearing a coat made of polar bear skin. Do you think she'll scare the penguins away? Oh never mind. My mind is meandering in thought again...)

"Osamu, here. I'm giving you a radio and a flare gun." Isabella said, handing him the items.

"Huh? Why me?" Osamu asked.

"Because you're the cutest and I love you." Isabella answered.

(Great reasoning there, doofus.)

After getting everything they needed, Isabella set herself up in HQ so she could monitor the UAV feeds. Meanwhile, Osamu and the others went climbing through the icy caves to look for Omagatoki. Every cave seemed to glow with the same deep blue that the sky reflected. Even with his white coat and black scarf on, Osamu found it very difficult to stop himself from shivering. Being able to instantly arrive in Antarctica left him with no time to grow accustomed to the weather.

Rei and Osamu split off from the group to investigate one of the caves together. It was spacious enough for their voices to echo and reverberate. Just standing near any of the cave walls gave Osamu the chills, as if he wasn't wearing a coat at all.

"Oi, Rei."

(No answer...)

"Rei."

(The silent game, huh?)

"Rei, you deaf bitch!"

You could almost see the excitement rush through Rei's body. "You should use that language with me more often, Osa."

"I was just telling you to focus on looking around. If you keep your end of the bargain, I'll keep mine." Osamu said.

There they were again. Those baggy, unbothered, and dead serious eyes. "Very well. But I want to be choked and spit on when we finally do it."

"I think that's too graphic even for this story." Osamu sighed. "Just help out and stop being a walking obscenity machine, please."

Rei began to notice something wrong within the cave. "Osamu..."

"What now?"

"Is this cave slowly getting more and more narrow?"

(What is she...)

Osamu took a second glance at his surroundings. The cave was getting smaller, and their voices carried for a shorter distance. In a different cave nearby, Aika and the others began to notice the changes on their end as well.

"Hey, is it just me or..." Aika began.

"No, I just noticed it too. Akatsuki, is this one of the symptoms of you being separated from Omagatoki?" Yoko asked.

Akatsuki pressed her kitty patterned mittens against her cheeks to keep them warm. "I believe so. It's not your perception of space that's off. Rather, the physical environment around us is slowly morphing. We should be able to continue our search, but I fear that searching enclosed spaces may be hazardous in the future."

And so, the group continued looking through the icy caves of the arctic inland. Despite their searches, Omagatoki was yet to be found. Even when Osamu checked in with Isabella on the comms, she didn't have any news to offer. By the time they vacated the caves, the sun was setting. A radiant kiss of orange light filled the sky and faintly coated the land. Knowing it was a long way away from the HQ, everyone decided set up their tents and rest out in the open.

They found a flat, open space and deployed their tents and portable stoves. Osamu brushed through his wavy, lion's mane of hair with his right hand as he stood outside of his tent. He released a heavy sigh as he looked around at the seemingly endless expanse of snow, mountains, and far off glaciers.

Aika and Izanami used the portable stove to make chicken soup for everyone while Yoko approached Osamu.

"Osamu, I'm sleeping with you as always." Yoko said.

"Yeah, that goes without saying at this point." Osamu agreed, remembering the days when he was far more opposed to the idea.

"Count me in, too!" Tsukiakari said, overhearing the conversation.

"I'll stay with Aika, Rei, and Akatsuki." Izanami said. "Keep the tents close! Let me know if you guys need anything."

(This is the first time in a while I've ever been tired at sunset. But I suppose it's normal since we've been searching all day. Now, we can close our eyes and rest, and continue our search for Omagatoki later. I really hope she's okay...)

When Osamu awoke, he thought the light shining through the tent was the morning sun. But he soon realized something realized something. The wild winds of the arctic blew through Osamu's wavy hair as he crawled the tent, looking on towards the horizon.

(Though our clocks indicated that we slept for five hours since sunset, the sun was in the exact same position as it was when we fell asleep. We were locked in eternal dusk.)

Osamu frantically pulled his radio out of his pocket, calling Isabella. "Isabella, are you seeing this?! The sun..."

"Yeah, I know." Isabella replied. "Where's Akatsuki? She might know why this is happening."

"I'll look for her!"

Osamu zipped down Akatsuki's tent, waking Rei, Izanami, and Aika out of their slumber.

"Guys!" Osamu called out.

Izanami yawned as she got up. "Osamu? What's wrong? It doesn't even look like we've been sleeping that long, but I feel like I got a good rest."

"That's the problem!" Osamu said.

Osamu showed Izanami his clock, and she immediately picked up on the panic of the situation. She ran outside the tent to check where the sun was and saw it for herself, the exact same position as five hours prior. Akatsuki waddled out of the tent, still rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes as she spoke in her usual, calm voice.

"I expected this would happen. With Omagatoki missing, the sun was bound to get stuck on its next phase. That next phase was dusk. With her gone, it can't fall all the way. "

"Eternal sunset..." Izanami whispered.

"Is it too late to fix this?" Osamu asked.

Akatsuki shook her head. "No. I don't think so. We just have to find her. That should bring balance back to every-"

The ground suddenly jolted, as if a mighty earthquake had suddenly rocked the area. Rei and Aika ran out of the tent in a panic, falling on their knees as the ground continued to shake them off of their balance. Yoko and Tsukiakari joined with everyone, confused as to what was suddenly happening.

"Guys, there's a lot of activity beneath the ground over there!" Isabella blared out on the radio.

"I think we've figured that out, Izzy!" Osamu said, his voice wobbly from the shaking.

All around, great glaciers broke out from under Antartica's icy ground and slowly rose up into the air.

"Run! Get out of here!" Tsukiakari shouted.

Rei picked up Akatsuki and carried her as everyone ran from the shattering and shaking ground. Those glaciers sparkled in the sunset's light, and because of the sun's position, they casted long shadows onto the land. The shaking soon came to a stop, but the glaciers remained in the air, levitating in place.

"Is everyone okay?" Aika asked.

Rei patted down her body to actually make sure she wasn't hurt. "Yeah, I'm all good!"

"You know, I saw you carrying Akatsuki back there. You aren't as selfish as you let on." Osamu said, catching his breath.

Rei blushed and refused to look at Osamu. "That was just because little girls don't have the body shape and leg length to run very fast. Anyone would have grabbed her in that situation."

(Sure thing, Rei.)

Isabella's voice chimed in through the radio. "Are you guys okay out there?"

Osamu: Yeah we're-

Rei snatched the radio from Osamu and screamed with horror and shock in her voice. "Oh god, there's blood everywhere! They're all dead, Isabella! They're all dead! Why did you send us out here?! Oh god!"

"You're full of shit Rei." Isabella groaned.

"Isabella, there are a lot of floating glaciers around us. Dozens of them!" Aika cried.

"Yeah, it's not just there. It's around the whole of Antarctica." Isabella said. "Listen to me. I don't think there's even any time for sleep. You guys need to find Omagatoki. I don't want to see how else this continent is going to change."

"I've found her." Akatsuki said.

"What?! Where?" Tsukiakari questioned.

Akatsuki pointed to one of the floating glaciers ahead. Omagatoki was trapped inside one of them.

"Everyone, Gather around!" Izanami shouted.

Sparing everyone the walk, Izanami teleported them in front of the glacier. Tsukiakari immediately unsheathed her sword, summoning a bolt of lightning to cut the glacier in clean halves, straight down the middle. The colossal halves of the glacier fell over, slamming into the icy ground with a thunderous crash. Omagatoki fell a great distance, landing in front of Osamu.

Osamu ran towards her and cradled her, shaking her to try and wake her up. "Hey! Are you okay?"

"It appears I've made a miscalculation." Akatsuki said. "Omagatoki is in all of these glaciers."

(We all looked up at those floating giants, and we noticed what she was talking about. Omagatoki was trapped in all of the glaciers. But none of them were really Omagatoki. As I looked down at the Omagatoki I was holding, she had already disappeared, as if she wasn't even there in the first place.)

"At the very least, this must be a sign that we're getting close." Akatsuki assured.

Tsukiakari laughed in disbelief. "This is getting way to trippy for me..."

"Damn it! Omagatoki! Where the hell are you?!" Yoko shouted, her voice echoing in the cold, Antarctic air.

Farther away on the icy plain, Omagatoki walked among a colony of penguins. She could actually hear Yoko's voice echo very faintly through the air. Her clothes and hair were wet, but it wasn't like she could die of hypothermia since she was deceased. Hundreds of penguins, big and small, furry, warm, and cute, followed Omagatoki's every step. Somehow, she had become the Pied Piper of penguins.

"C'mon, Junior! Put some backbone into your step!" Omagatoki commanded like a furious drill sergeant.

Junior. She actually named one of the penguins.

"I could've sworn I heard something just now...maybe I'm just losing it. Hey, guys, I'm not losing my mind right?"

She took the natural sounds penguins make as replies to her question. "Well that's not very nice! Apologize, Garbanzo!"

Garbanzo. She actually named one of the penguins after a bean, an edible seed.

Omagatoki puffed her cheeks and wiped her tears as the imaginary insults flew her way. "W-whatever! I'm doing my best, okay?! I'll lead us all to the promised land! Just continue walking with me!"

As Omagatoki continued to lead the way for her legion of penguins, one of Isabella's unmanned drones spotted the Shoku twin and her loyal followers from above. Isabella sat in her wheelchair in HQ, her eyes glued to of dozens of monitors.

"I found her!" Isabella cheered. "Is she...is she leading a colony of penguins?! That idiot!"

A sharp pain suddenly stabbed Isabella in her stomach. She hunched over as she winged in agony, her arms slapped over her aching belly. Her mind went numb as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her stomach ache erased every thought from her mind. One of her men noticed the immense pain she was in and cautiously approached her. He knelt down by her side, rubbing her back for relief.

"You okay, ma'am?"

Isabella waved and laughed it off, red in the face. "Oh, don't worry. I get stomach aches quite often"

"Are they usually this painful?"

"I'm probably just overworking myself. Don't worry about it." Isabella said with a smile.

"All right ma'am. Let us know if you need anything."

"Thank you..."

(This time, I wasn't the one being foolish. It was Isabella. But part of the blame lies on me too. Of course, I won't spoil how this predicament ended. But I will tell you this. Finding Omagatoki or not finding her ultimately didn't matter. Our world would be shaken either way.)