From the young Wonder Soul children to the elderly Teachers, every person on the island was given a job to do.

Different tasks for this new operation which will secure the people's safety. Or at least try to.

Considering their time slot, they will have to give every single day of work they've got their whole. If the empire's fleet is going to be arriving in ten days, then the preparations on the island need to be done within at least eight days. So that they will have the element of surprise.

If the fleet arrives to the island's coordinates but finds nothing there, it will throw the empire off. They might consider the island gone already, or maybe consider this a failure. Which would provide enough time for the fire island to fly in a different route, straight to the to the core of the empire's island itself.

And in order to leave this location empty, they will have to be on the move at least a day before the fleet's estimated arrival. Everyone in the crew knew it took them about two days and a half to reach here, so the plan has been curated to that fact accordingly.

The stronger more capatable adults were brought to take the ship apart, smelt the metal and mold it into the correct shapes with their fire, which was then cooled off in the body of freezing cold water provided by Minseok and Junmyeon. Once the pieces were made, it was up for those with larger technical knowledge to build the secured holders before attaching the pieces.

Every little step of this process took a lot of time. Taking the piece from the ship, smelting it, measuring the shape, size, and requirements for the mold, cool it off, have the machiasm holding that piece built, then attach the piece to it.

While that group of hard workers was busy, Sehun took the lead of a few more technical island people to help build a proper steering system that'd allow him to fly the island  in the right directions.

The yoke of the original ship the group arrived with was used, but to create the rest of the control wheel's settings they will have to make the wires reach a much larger scope of a distance.

Based on the shape of the island itself, along with the general direction they will be going, measured and properly sketched out by Yixing, the cockpit of the entire island as an aircraft would be located at the very edge of the village itself.

The side that's turned towards the various crops and flower fields. Since that would be the most aerodynamically efficient part of the island to keep at the front as the structure's nose.

And while the front was busy extracting every piece of wire possible from the skeleton of the metalic ship, the back was carefully creating a unique tail to the new large scale ship. With Jongdae's knowledge of ships structures, he decided that the most fitting one would be an inverted Y tail.

When asked, he explained that this tail type would give them enough freedom when it comes to turning and changing directions, while also making the most out of the fiery force they will be employing to replicate the original ship's engine.

That combined with the strange shape of the island itself, would make the brand new sandy aircraft as functional as perhaps an old Dearther type ship.

All while those complicated intricate measurements took place and started taking forms thanks to the hard working strong adults of the island, the elders and children were given different other tasks to complete.

Rather than working on anything assertive, their goal was to create and build different sorts of protective mechanisms in the village itself.

Things that will help keep them safe and unharmed inside of the village's structures when the time of collision between the islands arrives.

With guidance from Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Jongin, the children were happily filling up sacks of sand to provide even a little bit of barricading help in front of entrances. The Teachers were great help at getting everyone to thread new ropes, tie up whole nets, and sew together cloth pieces to use for contraptions.

As long as they will build enough 'traps' for possible empire soldiers to fall into in case they manage to still invade the island itself, the time they will remain in safety only increases.

However, each stage of the plan for protection takes just as long as the plan of turning the island mobile, so nobody dares slacking. Even though most of the children aren't entirely aware of just how dire the situation actually is, and how much importance rests within their very hands, there's a strong feeling of commitment coming from them.

After three days of nonstop work on all fronts, Kyungsoo's group task had dwindled and slowed. Not because they wanted to work any less, but because they were running out of the materials to create more.

Of course what they've made was impressive, and probably more than enough to provide them with plenty of options to put their created items into use, and they seemed to be pretty pleased with that. But Kyungsoo couldn't shake off that nervous atmosphere.

On the other end, Jongdae's metal work with the creation of the new aircraft's back tail was coming along nicely.

All of the pieces looked very clearly hand crafted, but they all held tight and correctly onto their hinges which are attached to the back of the island, right above the open end cave-like area from which the coffins left the island and floated away during the funerals.

That spot was carefully chosen for the sake of making sure the Wonder Souls will have enough space to use their powers when the island will be put in motion. Them standing directly below the metalic pieces will give exactly the needed push of hot air that Jongdae planned for. Or at least it should.

There's still a lot of work to do on that end, but it seems what's taking the longer to get into shape was the navigation system. Sehun's plan of keeping the yoke from the ship had to be scrapped when he and his group realized they most likely wouldn't require much of an altitude change.

Unlike real aircrafts that can bend up and down in order to fly higher or lower in the air, a whole island cannot exactly be tilted for that same goal. Especially not an island made out of sandstone and actual soft sand. It'll all just fall off.

So they've come up with a new mechanism that'll depend even more on the back part Jongdae's building onto the island. The wiring of that new system will be a tad more simple as well, and will depend a little more heavily on mouth to ear communication in real time.

It technically should work better, but at the same time, the fact that it depends on other people who will be busy with their own tasks in the days of the action is a little risky.

Kyungsoo cannot judge it though, since it got approved by Jongdae it means it's doable and useful for the plan.

The work schedule of the island had changed during these days.

Before, the days would pass by slowly, every minute stretched out, there was no pressure, no time limits, no rush... The workers in the fields would take their time and enjoy the sun, the children would be present at the classroom with their Teachers, and the elders would be researching in their tower or in the underground library... Dinner was served at the evening for everyone together...

But now every task needs to be done fast, and every task takes a lot more effort to complete. Even those who get to work in the fields cannot slack anymore. They need to gather twice as much crops in order to store it for the days of the journey, since continuing with the daily tasks while the island actually is moving would be risky. At least one thing remains... The communal dinner everyone eats together, and the bedding house.

Everyone are working hard, and it is paying off.

After five days, all of the mechanisms related to the island becoming a mobile aircraft were done. But the celebrations couldn't happen unless everything actually works. So at the evening of the fifth day of hard work, they were to conduct their first test run.

The tired yet willing adult Wonder Souls who could, gathered at the back of the island in the unique open end cave underneath the metalic tail installed onto the island. Near the entrance of the cave, stood the large box-like structure of the Talkie that was previously in the nook of the ship.

To that Talkie were many many different wires attached from different corners coming from the tunnel leading to the cave, and even from the cave's side that's open to the air.

All of the testing Wonder Souls, including Chanyeol, stood in a line underneath the tail, bent their knees, and held their arms sideways, in position to shoot out the flames from their hands.

Right by the Talkie stood Jongdae, beside him Kyungsoo and Junmyeon, along with a few more island people who came to watch the curious display.

The sun was already falling under the open edge of the cave, making the Wonder Souls look like shadowy figures standing against the pink and orange background of the sky.

"Sehun, we're ready."

Jongdae called into the only cup-shaped device attached to the Talkie machine.

Moments later, the large metalic boards building the special tail above the cave started slowly moving. The back side dorsal fin started turning left and right in pretty quick and in a large angle, while the back side of the ventral fins were slower in turning up and down.

It made a strange little sound when they moved, but nothing broke, popped out, or seemed out of the ordinary.

"Start!"

Kyungsoo heard Sehun's voice coming from the Talkie. It was strange hearing the voice come from the large box and not from the little cup device that's wired to it. Jongdae and Sehun somehow managed to pull apart those output and input cups and separate them while mainting connection.

He was impressed, to say the least, by just how much effort and innovation went into creating this magnificent yet terrifying of an aircraft.

"Alright, try it out guys, don't go in full power, we just need a stable stream of fire."

Jongdae spoke to the Wonder Souls, who all exchanged a glance with one another for a moment. Chanyeol counted down from three, and in perfect unison, all of the people in the line released the exact same sized flame backwards.

It wasn't large or strong, but it seems to be directed perfectly straight back, and stable. Looking at the Wonder Souls' faces, Kyungsoo noticed none of them look like they're straining either.

Putting this much power out and yet not at all fazed... Kyungsoo didn't realize just how strong the connection of the fire people with their powers actually is.

Suddenly he came to understand the fear of the empire from the fire people a little more. The empire's gem is an unstable mix of all six gems who remained after the separation. The light gem cannot be activated, and the ninth gem does not exist when the fire gem isn't there.

Because the fire people are staying in the proximity of their gem and only their gem at all times, they are, for lack of a better word, charged with the energy of the gem a whole lot more than the uncertain amount of energy the empire's gems produce.

If to judge by the way Yixing got exhausted so easily after using his magic a little bit to heal Kyungsoo's stomach when he heard his brother die, the fact that the Wonder Souls are so rooted to this land and their gem, gives them a huge magical power advantage over anyone else.

Kyungsoo can't even imagine what they'd be like as dangerous tools of destruction, meeting the way the empire imagined they were. Their education towards peace and acceptance as opposed to aggression and competetivity is truly what makes their incredibly powerful fire abilities even scarier. He's glad that he is standing on their side and not the other.

After a few seconds of the hot air shifting into a balance stream upwards, a large sound of a rumble started reaching everyone's ears. A few drops of sand from the surface of the island above the cave fell down like the waterfall's stream, and the ground beneath their feet shook a little.

With a thud that still wasn't strong enough to throw anyone out of balance, they began moving.

It was slow but stable. The ground was trembling very lightly, it almost felt similar to the gentle movement that Kyungsoo remembers occurs in the ship itself when it's being set in autopilot.

"Let's keep it up for a minute more!"

Jongdae called out and clasped his hands together. His voice sounded more than just excited. When Kyungsoo glanced over, he noticed the bright hopeful and victorious shine in Jongdae's eyes.

He must be truly happy and relieved to see this giant island become an actual moving aircraft. Kyungsoo would have never imagined he'd be seeing anything like this happen. But well, just the fact that he is there at all means he's seen a whole bunch of things he never imagined.

"Jongdae, everything smooth? I'm going to try and turn now." Sehun's voice was heard from the Talkie box, and Jongdae quickly brought the wired device to his mouth.

"Yes, no errors occured yet. Please do."

He replied in a hopeful yet serious tone, and kept watching with anticipation as the metalic back part of the dorsal fin started turning to the right. Which means their direction should be turning to the left.

And, to everyone's expectations and hopes, they could all sense the gentle shift in the direction. The view behind the Wonder Souls pushing out the flames slowly turned left, just as it should.

"YES! IT'S WORKING!!" Jongdae shouted in excitement, punching the air in front of him with a victorious grin. Murmurs of happiness and relief spread between the people who were watching the ordeal taking place.

"Sehun, we've done it."

He spoke into the machine with a wide smile across his lips, and only received a heartful laughter from Sehun in return.

Moments later he instructed the Wonder Souls to stop the flames, and everyone carefully watched around themselves when the island-aircraft lingered in motions for a few seconds more until the pushing force completely disappeared.

Everyone were ecstatic from the success, and Kyungsoo felt the atmosphere and energy rise high with the happiness that took over them all.

Now there were only a few more things left to take care of before the island will be ready to... Fly. Just thinking about it still feels wild to Kyungsoo. But he welcomed Chanyeol with opened arms and a smile into a large hug when he returned to the cave's entrace from the edge.

"Jongdae is a genius!"

Chanyeol called out with a grin while Kyungsoo's arms were wrapped around him, hands his head with affection.

"That he is." Kyungsoo replied with a smile, and by the time the sky's shades turned darker, the cave has been emptied.

Jongdae was more than proud to announce to everyone during the dinner that so far, the construction work on the tail has been successful, and that the island was indeed, turned into an actual flying aircraft.

And after the happy cheers he continued by explaining how this is still not yet the end of their work, that there are more things to finish before they'll be able to depart away from this location and begin the actual operation itself.

The next two days received the focus of a different task. Now that most of the technicalities are in place, it was time for the island to prepare for a physical invasion. Just in case.

Work in the fields has been increased in order to keep up a fitting supply of food for the people during the days of the journey, and all of the ropes, nets, and various other items that were created by the children and the Teachers were to be put in use.

Mostly with local supervision, the village started getting barricaded and y trapped. Contraptions that are fairly easy to avoid for those who know they're there. A lot of those were similar to the hunting traps Kyungsoo remembers seeing Chanyeol, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon build in the jungle.

The purpose of these isn't necessarily to hurt anyone, but rather slow them down enough to save time for the people of the island to prepare even a little bit before an actual encounter with any unknown outsider.

On one of the general breaks, after hours of working on different rope ties and knots since the morning with a group of children and teens, Kyungsoo used his free time to sit in the shade on top of the sandstone platform at the center of the village.

He examined his hands after the consistant work in crafts, and noticed a few callus spots where his fingers and palm meet.

This isn't going to stop him at all. They're so close to being prepared best to their abilities to the big plan. A little bit of an inconvenience isn't going to stop his will to ensure the safety of this island.

While sinking in thoughts, suddenly a new sound echoed between the different structures of the village and right into his ears. He was confused at first, because it was a singular hit of sound.

But moments later another hit-like sound came to him. It didn't sound like something was happening to any person, the slap wasn't of actual skin, but rather something rather soft that'd provide such strange echo.

He stood up from his shady spot and began touring the village to find the source of the noise and make sure everything is alright. Who would have thought Kyungsoo will ever become the type of person to actually seek the source of an issue to fix it on his own. As a soldier if he wasn't told to fis his own issues those wouldn't be taken care of either.

Shortly after turning around one of the structures, Kyungsoo heard a commotion of children gawking. More of the strange hitting sound, and a lot of laughter.

Another step forward revealed to Kyungsoo the exact reason he heard those noises.

He saw a group of children of various ages running around and kicking a ball made of tightly tied cloth pieces from one to another. Most of them were moving only within a rectangle shape drawn roughly onto the sand like a field, and some of the smaller ones were standing a little further from the limited space and watching in awe, maybe cheering.

Along with all the children, he spotted two familiar men. Jongin and Minseok were there as well, running around, laughing and kicking the ball around with the rest of the kids.

At first Kyungsoo was mostly surprised at this strange game the group was participating in. Who knew kicking a cloth ball between one another would be an activity that results with so much laughter?

He made his way to stand together with the smaller children at the side of the game's space, and watched along with them.

The game was fairly fast paced, and it took Kyungsoo a bit to understand what exactly was the goal and why everyone were running around in the sand all the time, but seeing just how much joy everyone participating were sharing... How naturally the children welcomed both Jongin and Minseok into their circle of trusted people... How attached both Jongin and Minseok got to the kids, to the island...

Even with the dark and scary situation looming, all of them played around without a care in the world.

Kyungsoo felt himself getting to the verge of emotional deep inside. Jongin and Minseok have given so much of themselves to this island, they put their hearts and trust into these people, these children they're playing with are like the successors of their own future... It's very heartwarming.

However he was yanked out of his state of emotional softness when one of the kids on the game's field spotted him and called his name out loud.

All of the participants turned to look at him when the kid ran over to him and grabbed onto his hand with an excited smile.

"Kyungsoo! Come play with us! This is so much fun!" He grinned and started pulling Kyungsoo by the hand towards the roughly sketched rectangle game space drawn in the sand.

From behind him the rest of the kids began cheering and rushing to Kyungsoo as well, trying to tug on his body and clothes to pull him faster.

Kyungsoo wasn't so sure if he wanted to participate in such a game. It looks tiring, and he needs to save the energy for the rest of the tasks the island needs to complete. So out of hesitation, he tried to pull back and remain outside of the game's boundaries.

But when he looked at Jongin and Minseok, both sweaty and breathing fast, yet smiling happily in Kyungsoo's direction to approve of the invitation, he started questioning himself.

The two of them were working just as hard as he was all these days to make sure everything is going according to plan, and yet they are still spending this time, this effort, this energy to play with the children and have fun. 

Why should he not do it as well? What's holding him back? Who is he saving this experience for? If he wouldn't do it right now, he might never get the chance to do anything like this again. What is he so afraid of?

In a change of heart, Kyungsoo turned his apologetic hesitation into a confident smile, and stepped into the game's field with the rest of the squealing happy children.

After joining them, he didn't do too well. Running around and trying to kick the cloth ball was hard and very exhausting. He could feel his energy plummeting down the longer he stayed.

But at the same time, his heart was dancing in happiness. Spending that energy, sweating, running, shouting, laughing, it was so worth it. The children were ecstatic. Jongin and Minseok were doing even more.

They began goofing around, falling over and tumbling down, bringing children down carefully to the sand with them to fake themselves getting injured in a very extreme and joking manner, which made the children highly amused with the simple humor.

Everyone were having such a good time, and genuinely enjoying themselves. For quite a while of playing, not a single thought about the fact that this island is in the middle of being turned into an aircraft crossed his mind.

Kyungsoo decided that this is exactly the essence of this island. This joy, this fearless display of bliss, innocence, activity... This purity of genuinely loving each other's company and living life, making memories worth remembering...

All of those children playing are probably not even fully aware of just how dangerous everything around them is. Just how deadly might be the result of the whole operation they're trying to work on every single day... And yet, they live in the moment, and they make the best out of it.

Jongin and Minseok too, remove all of the burden off their shoulders at least for the time they spend with the children, because deep down, Kyungsoo knows they too wished they could be children playing happily with a ball of cloth and enjoying their lives, instead of being forced into harsh and cold military discipline from the moment they learned how to walk.

This is so much more meaningful than simply playing a fun game.

This is exactly what life is all about. This is the freedom every person should feel when growing up. This is the time for the children to make the memories that will shape them into better adults.

This is the reason they are risking their lives to make sure this island remains in tact, and safe. Because these children building memories of playing with Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Jongin, will grow up knowing peace and warmth. They will become better adults than Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Jongin ever were.

So yes. Kyungsoo could spare his time, efforts, and energy to participate in a game. Even if he wasn't doing any good, letting go for a little while, letting loose and simply enjoying the moment was everything.

Eventually, the game was stopped due to one of the Teachers who came around and saw the commotion. She laughed at first when the small children who stood and watched ran up to her in excitement, but managed to calm the spirits down and cease the game.

It was already evening when Minseok, Kyungsoo and Jongin were waving the kids goodbye as the Teacher led them to the dining room to finish their days with a good meal before bed.

When the coast was clear, the trio glanced between one another and began laughing. They were all sweaty, covered in sand and little marks of the children clinging onto them during the game, but damn was it amazing.

"Thanks for joining Kyungsoo! Pretty cool, right?"

Minseok grinned happily, his already curled and fluffy black hair was turned in all directions and his back was drenched in sweat.

"They are so adorable. They talk so much, they're so smart, they love showing me so many things about this place. One of them even showed me their pet uh---... Snail, I think it was called." Jongin began talking, his long silky brown hair stuck to his face and neck, yet also frazzled from movement.

"It was so small!" He put his finger out and pointed at it with his other finger. "And it crawled so slowly on my finger, but the kid was so excited and kept encouraging it to continue." His excited posture shifted into a calmer standing pose, and he ran a hand over his forehead.

"These kids are something else, man. Their hearts are huge, and they are being taught how to love... How amazing."

Jongin finished talking, and Kyungsoo felt a drop of sweat slowly running down his own neck. At least the breeze was gentle and pleasant, a little colder now that the sky is starting to darken at the end of the day.

"I hope we could stay here for a long time." Minseok spoke, looking up at the view of the colorful sky around them, and then towards the direction of the dining room.

Both Minseok and Jongin then approached Kyungsoo on both sides, and half-hugged him from the side before smacking a hand over his back in a friendly manner.

"See you at dinner, thanks again for the game, even though you !"

Jongin called out with a playful grin as the two of them began making their way back into the village. Kyungsoo saw Minseok nudge Jongin's side with his elbow after his last commant, but the two of them then just began laughing again before disappearing behind one of the structures.

On the ground beside him stood the cloth ball, and next to it the remains of the gaming field. There were too many footsteps to even recognize this shape was supposed to be a rectangle. But Kyungsoo felt warm inside.

He had so much fun playing. Even if his body is now sore. He felt so refreshed... Seeing the children smile, laugh, run around, enjoy the game... Seeing his own friends enjoying just as much.

He loves this game. He loves the sand. He loves this island. He loves these children, and he loves his friends. 

While being himself, being free, being who he really is on this island, he learned to love himself, too. He loves his life, he loves who he currently is.

This love is what will save this island. Because it's the only thing the empire lacks. Love.

-----

They've done everything they could to ensure that things on the island will remain in tact and functioning properly even through constant movement. On the technical level, the island is ready to depart and begin the journey towards the empire.

Uniting the gems back together means they'll have to catch the empire by surprise. Leaving an empty spot where the fire island once was, and coming straight for the core like a fleet of their own.

A fleet made out of soft sand and pretty flowers.

The morning of the actual beginning of their journey was more than stressful. Not because of the fear that something in the mechanism or the system will break, but rather the fear of... Well, going on such an extreme adventure with so much unknown.

Kyungsoo made a final check up tour around the village, checking all of ropes, all of nets and cloth pieces that were carefully tied into contraptions for safety. Activity on the island will clearly have to cease at least until it is confirmed to be safe to roam even while the island's in movement.

So most of the people remained either in the bedding house, the class, or in the dining hall. Those are secure locations that are built strong enough that no harm will be done to them even in high speeds. Plus they have the highest chances of still being socially functioning with other activities.

The only people on the island who were located somewhere else, out and about even when it was time to sit still inside safe structures, were Junmyeon, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, the rest of the crew, and a few more adult Wonder Souls.

When Kyungsoo arrived at the improvised cockpit of this gigantic sandy aircraft, he could tell immediately that just like himself, not many of his friends managed to get any sleep the previous night.

Sehun was sitting in the strangely constructed room made out of a mix of ship mechanics and electronics, wires, and buttons, but also a bunch of wooden poles, cloth pieces and ropes. It looked like a mismatch of materials somehow bound together to create a space that makes sense.

Within that tent-like room were also two elders who were discussing something with Yixing in the back, and Junmyeon, who was standing beside Sehun and watching with patient silence how Sehun's conducting a list of tests on all of the equipment in front of him.

He knew that at the back of the island aircraft, at the bottom, right within the open cave, were the groups of Wonder Souls ready to embody a fiery engine, including Chanyeol, Jongdae on the rewired Talkie, and Minseok. Who will be able to provide instant cooling in case anything goes wrong with the fire's use beneath the metalic tail attached to the island's skeletal stone structure.

The atmosphere in the air was tense and high on pressure resulted from the unknown they are facing.

Previously, the test run turned successful, but it only lasted a short period of time, and not even at the full power that they'll be using for the whole length of the journey. So the stakes are high.

At least Kyungsoo knows that all of the adult Wonder Souls that'll be taking a part in the 'engine shifts' will have enough food to eat from the supply whenever their time is up, enough time between the shifts to rest and recharge their energy, and even a readied medical care center of Teachers at the base of the tower.

"Everyone are ready back here Sehun. Let us know when it's time."

Jongdae's voice came from what looked like an internal piece that belongs to the Talkie originally. To it, was the actual input cup-shaped device connected by a wire. 

In between a few clicks and final checks of some settings, Sehun grabbed onto it.

"Jongdae, I'm going to check the fins again. Starting with dorsal."

If in the previous test, Kyungsoo was able to see the fins of the tail moving directly, this time he got to see what Sehun actually does in order to make them move. He generally knows how to fly a ship if he has to, but he was never taught how to fly an entire island.

Everything in this sytem works different than normal, and Sehun still managed to make it all function properly and learn how to control it like an expert. Truly, the best pilot Kyungsoo could have hoped to have.

He watched Sehun turn a few switches on, then hold onto a strange crescent shaped handle and twist it to the left.

"It turned right!" Jongdae's voice called out from the Talkie piece. Sehun turned switches off, then others on, and twisted the handle to the right. "Now left!"

With an exhale of relief Sehun quickly switched all of the little levers off and instead pressed two other buttons. Some more clicks, switches and turns later, with Jongdae's voice reporting the up and down movement of each of the individual ventral fins, the tests were done.

Sehun grabbed onto the Talkie's device with one hand, while using the other to do the last few adjustments of angles. Yixing, who finally returned to the front of the make-shift cockpit, spread a large detailed map against one of the cloth walls, and attached it with a few little pins.

"Everything is ready. Whatever you do back there, just keep me updated. Stopping or slowing down wouldn't be an issue, I just need to know about it ahead of time."

Sehun explained into the device while glancing sideways at the map Yixing had just finished hanging. The two of them exchanged an understanding nod, and Yixing stepped up to the front beside Junmyeon.

"Yes, yes, Mr.Pilot!" Jongdae's voice sounded playful and happy.

Which on one hand, was a little bit unnecessary. Considering just how serious and intricate this situation is, making fun of it or taking it with anything less than utmost seriousness was a little disrespectful to the hard effort of everyone involved.

But on the other hand, knowing that mechanic Jongdae's able to throw a smile out means everything must be going well in his end. So it was a good sign.

"Are you ready?" Jongdae's playfulness eased back into focus.

"Yes." Sehun replied with a hand on the crescent shaped handle.

"Starting the flame in... Three..."

Kyungsoo felt the atmosphere thickening quickly. The inside of this strange tent was suddenly very stuffed and thick. It might just be the general stress everyone are sharing at the moment. Maybe the silent anticipation.

"Two..."

Sehun's facial expression sharpened as he looked forward at the view of the island's sharpest tip and the large endless skies around it in every direction. His brows furrowed with intensity.

"One..."

Junmyeon's palm was gripping tightly onto the very edge of the cloth tied around Sehun's arm. Although it wasn't a direct physical contact between them, which was something Junmyeon looked like he clearly needed out of nervousness, it was close enough.

"Small flames starting now!"

Jongdae announced over the Talkie, and Kyungsoo remembered how unique and strange the line of Wonder Souls creating flames behind them looked like when he was present during the test run.

All of the thick air that was locked inside the half opened tent-cockpit-room mishmash suddenly vanished.

Kyungsoo felt the soft sand rumble under his feet, and moments later, a breeze starting blowing against his face from the front.

It took him a second, but he quickly enough realized that it wasn't just a breeze. It was the actual movement of the island pushing through the air and moving forward.

What he knew as a stable ground beneath him, despite it being made out of sand that causes his feet to sink and make moving around a lot more physically challenging, was now in a state of constant very subtle rumble.

There weren't any hard shakes, nothing was quite trembling, or noticably moving. Things that were balanced on top of flat surfaces remained fairly stable other than the initial little jerk that signalled the beginning of the movement itself.

A while of tense silence later, Sehun began clicking and turning different switches on and off, turning the direction of the handle to the side only a little bit. But it was enough for the island to begin very slowly changing the exact direction to which it was heading.

The speed of this new aircraft wasn't fast, but even if they were only advancing at a speed similar to one of a person running as quickly as possible, which is still barely anything compared to the speed of the normal empire ships, it was incredible.

It felt surreal. Feeling that same buzz Kyungsoo's familiar with from the ship, but emitting from the island itself.

Minutes of further silence later, Sehun straightened the direction once more, switching all of the buttons and levers back to their original state, which Kyungsoo by now knew it means he's bringing the fins at the back of the island's tail back to the neutral straight position.

One of clouds which were located ahead of them in the path started getting bigger and bigger, then engulfed the nose of the island and proceeded to look like it's swallowing the island whole.

A gush of cold wind flew over them inside the tent when the island came to their location, but moments later, the cold vanished, and the cloud kept passing over the rest of the island.

Passing through clouds wasn't anything too special for Kyungsoo and the crew, since all of them know very well how to meneuver through much thicker, much more deadly storm clouds that wrap around the empire island as a protective shield.

But crossing this cloud, out in the open, feeling its chill, the damp of its air, the direct impact of such a minor natural phenomenon head on, was pretty amazing.

"Set us on track."

Sehun broke the silence by talking into the device. 

"We've done it." His tone changed into something much more emotional as a smile took over his lips.

Junmyeon's nervous and curious eyes eased and his lips curved into a smile of his own as he leaned down from behind Sehun and planted warm kisses on the back of his head. Yixing's sigh of relief soon turned into a laughter of pride.

"Yes!!!"

Jongdae's loud shout of excitement was accompanied by the sounds of clapping and happy cheers coming from the people occupying the cave under the tail, at the very back end of the island.

They've done it... They made this crazy island aircraft work.

Kyungsoo felt his heart fill with warmth and relief. All their hard work and efforts paid off. This stage of their mission has been completed.

They still have many more stages to get through in order to make it to the empire prepared, but it's a start. It's a push of a success in the right direction after a series of failures.

For the next several hours, nobody moved in or out from the locations they had during the departure. Just to make sure nothing will suddenly break or fall apart in the middle, while it's still only the beginning.

But eventually, after everything kept going as smooth as they hoped, for hours in a row, the tension and worry about being mobile on the surface of the island had faded.

People started leaving the structures of the village to look at a view they probably haven't seen before. Did any of the villagers ever see the clouds passing by this quickly? Have any of them ever felt the ground rumble under their feet?

Other than knowing that this segment of their operation was a success, Kyungsoo knew that soon enough, Chanyeol will be pulled off from the duty of providing a constant stable flame as part of the engine's system. And he could barely wait to exchange this happiness with him.

As expected, after a shift of about eight whole hours in which Chanyeol had to continuously create a stable flame behind him in order to... 'Be an engine', he received his well deserved break. 

Kyungsoo was waiting at the exit of the tunnel that leads in and out of the cave, holding a basket filled with fruits and vegetables, watching quietly as different people pass by. Either walking into the tunnel in order to switch another Woner Soul's job, or walking out of the tunnel looking exhausted.

It didn't take long for Kyungsoo to recognize his own beloved giant walking out. Slow yet large steps, hair frazzled, and fairly wrecked from the hard work.

As tired as he looked, Chanyeol's eyes lit up quite a lot when he noticed Kyungsoo was there. His exhausted frown turned into a wide smile, and his steps quickened until he made it to the exit.

"Hi." Kyungsoo greeted with a small smile.

"Hey!"

The two of them stood there in front of one another for a few moments. Kyungsoo's eyes scanned over Chanyeol's body. He was a little damp with sweat, and had a few marks of... Not quite burns, but rather a light singe on his cheek and arms.

Chanyeol's arms... Kyungsoo got lost staring at them. After putting a lot of effort through them for hours, they looked bulky, veiny and even more refined than they normally already are.

He heard Chanyeol clear his throat after a while, which was when he realized he will probably never be reaching his heart's content when looking at Chanyeol. He'll always want to see more. 

But Chanyeol's cough was a signal for his heart to start beating with slight embarrassment already. So instead of saying anything more, Kyungsoo simply spread his arms sideways and upwards to give Chanyeol a wordless invitation for a hug.

Which the giant took without hesitation.

He grinned in amusement before diving in and wrapping his arms all around Kyungsoo, receiving just as much of a loving embrace in return, and even a few kisses along the side of his head where Kyungsoo could reach.

"Ah... I feel so much better already."

Chanyeol's deep voice vibrated from him onto Kyungsoo's body in the tight hug. He took advantage of that and the back of Chanyeol's head with his palm for several moments.

"Let's get you a proper break. You've worked hard. Well done." Nothing wrong with praising Chanyeol, right? Especially when it is evidently true and accurate. He really did work hard. And he really did do a good job while at it. He deserves it.

When they pulled back from the hug, Kyungsoo found Chanyeol's cheeks and tips of his adorably large ears flushed in pink while his eyes glistened with emotions.

He heard a small 'Thanks' when they began walking calmly towards the fields.

What better way to relax than to lay down in the flower fields that are now utilized as the nose of the ship.

On their way there, Kyungsoo told Chanyeol all about how things work under Sehun's control as the pilot that flies this entire island forward with his own Air Carrier powers along with the fiery engine.

After mostly Chanyeol devoured the delicious goods in the basket hungrily, the two of them placed the basket aside and lied down on the bed of soft flowers beside each other.

Kyungsoo stared up at the sky for a while, watching how quickly the clouds above are passing, and enjoying the gentle breeze created by the stable movement of the ship forward. Technically, Chanyeol and him are now within Sehun's scope. But from that distance they couldn't possibly be an issue.

When glancing to the side, he realized that Chanyeol's eyes were shut. He wasn't asleep, but he was in a very relaxed state where he just needed to let his body rest and ease down from the intense effort he put into turning his energy into fire.

"How are the kids doing?"

Chanyeol's voice was soft and airy, carried with the wind in a pleasant tone. Even while being this exhausted, all he thinks about are the rest of the people on the island. Kyungsoo almost felt like it was unfair of him to worry so much about others compared to how much he worries about himself.

"They're doing well. They've got Baekhyun and Jongin with them." Kyungsoo hummed in return, while his hand naturally slid over Chanyeol's wrist, and he began gently massaging the muscles in the area. They felt tense.

Chanyeol chuckled lightly and Kyungsoo could hear he was smiling when he mumbled something about how the children must be fine if these two goofballs are there.

And the two of them fell into another peaceful period of silence.

Kyungsoo never knew just how intimate and meaningful silence can be. Especially when that silence is spent with a person so dear to his heart. It's comfortable. It's soothing. It's the security of knowing that they want to be with one another even for the sake of doing absolutely nothing.

Even if they're thinking about completely different things quietly, the fact that they do it together is what makes it so special. Though Kyungsoo would love to know what Chanyeol's thinking of.

He glanced sideways once more, letting his head fall to the side and look at the profile of Chanyeol's face. His fingers were still pressing gentle patterns over Chanyeol's arm. He is so beautiful.

The slope of his nose, the little beauty mark off to the side, his pretty shaped lips... His jaw, his adorable ears that make him look so childlike despite being huge... His eyelashes softly swaying with the wind...

Chanyeol is everything Kyungsoo considers good in the world. Not only on the outside, but on the inside too.

He'd never reach the end of the list if he tried using words to describe just how much good there is within Chanyeol. He's like a gem of his own... Like a beautiful flower growing in a field. But not just any flower, The most beautiful one. The one that catches the eye immediately, yet is so rare that when you don't see it, you miss it in your vision.

Even when he's so exhausted, he looks like he's blooming.

Flowers... Blooming...

Kyungsoo's mind turned around to remember the flower crown Chanyeol had made for him on their hunting trip with Sooyoung and Hyoyeon. How he got complimented, and how only later he found out how meaningful it is to receive a hand made flower crown from someone.

It's a symbol for a confession of the heart, the truth of love, that makes whoever wears it feel adorned and fancy. Love, much like flowers, makes people beautiful.

Wait... Has Kyungsoo... Even told Chanyeol that he loves him?

Well, Chanyeol hasn't quite said it verbally either, but he expresses it with every breath he takes, every smile he shoots in Kyungsoo's direction, every kiss he plants against his skin and every time he makes Kyungsoo's body experience the pure bliss of pleasure in the hidden hours of the night.

Those are things Kyungsoo is, or at least hopes that he is doing for Chanyeol too. Chanyeol himself was the one who taught Kyungsoo that love doesn't necessarily come through words. And it made Kyungsoo feel a lot more comfortable expressing that feeling without depending on it.

But... Chanyeol had made his confession official with the bravery of making Kyungsoo a flower crown.

Kyungsoo hasn't done anything of that sort in return.

And what better time will there be than now? While they're both lying in the fields of flowers and just breathing, just existing with one another and enjoying the company?

With new found determination, Kyungsoo pulled himself upwards, and sat in the grass. Looking around him, he knew he doesn't need to worry. The field is filled with different flowers of many shapes and colors.

Using the knowledge he'd achieved by learning how to weave a basket, how to create ropes, and how to tie even the most intricate of knots, he started plucking out flowers from the field. Singular flowers which he knows have more flower friends surrounding them, so he wouldn't accidentally take a flower that's one of a kind.

With a pile of long stemmed little to larger flowers spread on his leg in order, he began attempting to make it work.

It took several failed tries to tie the stems together until he figured out where to insert each piece and how to make sure it all holds together without falling apart.

Quite some time later, in which Chanyeol was still just, lying on the field and breathing with his eyes shut, Kyungsoo was done. The crown was definitely large enough for Chanyeol's fluffy haired head, and although it didn't look as beautiful as the one Chanyeol made for him, it had flowers. And that's all that matters, right?

Oddly enough, Kyungsoo had to pause before touching Chanyeol awake from his state of relaxation. He felt weirdly nervous and shy about this for a reason he couldn't understand. Maybe it's because he now knows what giving this to Chanyeol would actually mean.

He exhaled deeply, then very gently placed the flower crown over Chanyeol's head.

Chanyeol immediately felt the touch of a foreign object against his head, and opened his eyes. Making eye contact with Kyungsoo wasn't very helpful, because Kyungsoo simply stared at him with subtle nervousness. Wondering if he'll discover what it is.

Slowly Chanyeol's hand rose up to his head, and he carefully grabbed onto the crown and felt it between his fingers. His eyes widened in surprise quite quickly, and he sat himself up as well in order to examine it properly in his hands.

Kyungsoo felt like all of the nerves on his body were overworking. He was tingly and shy. He knew the crown wasn't as good of a quality as a crown made by someone who knows nature way better than he does, but he hoped Chanyeol would at least understand what it is.

It seemed like he did.

Because after the initial shock of staring at the item in his hands, Chanyeol's head turned to Kyungsoo. His eyes glazed with a thick veil of tears, and his cheeks and ears as pink and bright as the flowers in the crown itself. Kyungsoo's heart thumped loudly.

Without saying a word, Chanyeol practically pounced onto Kyungsoo, wrapping him in a hug and pressing his head over Kyungsoo's shoulder while pushing him backwards on the grass and lying on top of him with the entirety of his much larger body.

The hug was tight and hot. It was shaky, and Kyungsoo knew it wasn't because of the island's rumble.

He could feel just how emotional Chanyeol actually was from realizing he had been given a flower crown. But also from the intense turmoil of emotions he's generally going through with everything that's changing around the island, from the scary plan with an unknown end result, and the exhaustion of working so hard for everyone's sake.

"Chanyeolie... It's okay... Do you like it?"

Kyungsoo asked softly, wrapping his own arms around Chanyeol and his head in order to calm him down. He tried comforting him back into relaxation although he felt pretty squeezed under the weight of Chanyeol's giant body lying directly on top of his own.

He wasn't crying, Kyungsoo couldn't hear him weep, but after a few moments of silence Chanyeol raised his torso above Kyungsoo. With flushed cheeks and teary eyes, he stared down at Kyungsoo. His lips quivering.

Ah... So the reason Chanyeol isn't saying anything is because he must fear he really will cry if he opens his mouth. 

He is so cute. Kyungsoo loves him. He has to know that by now, right?

"You're amazing. It looks good on you."

Kyungsoo took it upon himself to become the soothing force to help Chanyeol relax. So he giggled lightly and smiled up at his Wonder Soul giant with warmth.

Easily enough he trailed his hands up and over Chanyeol's chest, gently cupping his face in order to his cheeks with his thumbs in a circular pattern.

"...I love you."

Chanyeol spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, choked back in his throat as his eyes only began sparkling even more with another layer of tears filling them up.

Hearing those words coming from Chanyeol threw Kyungsoo's heart into an insane leap inside of his own chest. He felt all of the butterflies in his stomach, which were bumping into the walls from the inside, suddenly get released, and instead, a warmth strong like fire was lit through his entire body.

Kyungsoo's smile grew wider until he could barely see anything beyond his squinted wet eyes, and his cheeks stretched up.

Somehow, a strange and slightly awkward cough-like chuckle came out of his throat, and another, and then honest heartful laughter. All while he was grinning up at Chanyeol hovering above him, and his cheeks.

He felt his own face heat up before making direct eye contact with Chanyeol once more.

"I love you." Kyungsoo replied in a voice that came from deep down.

Less than a second later, he pulled himself up and pressed his lips to Chanyeol's. Wrapping his arms around his neck and letting the both of them fall back down onto the grass, glued in a kiss that kept growing more and more passionate the longer it lasted. And he didn't plan on stopping it any time soon.

They spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling on a bed of soft grass in the flower field at the edge of the island. On the nose of the island aircraft.

From that moment, through the dinner, into bed, and back out into the sun the next morning, the flower crown Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol didn't leave his head. He kept wearing it with pride everywhere he went. Flaunted it to everyone he talked to.

Kyungsoo wasn't going to argue with that. Although he found himself smiling to himself a lot more often whenever he thought of the bizarre view of Chanyeol intensely creating fire from his hands while wearing a soft flower crown.

But that truly is what Chanyeol is.

Intense like the fire of a burning heart, yet gentle like the flowers that bloom when the skies are clear.

No matter how much the world will change when they make the gems reunite, Kyungsoo knew he will be where Chanyeol is. He will go where Chanyeol goes.

Soon enough everything will change. Everything except the way his heart is beating to Chanyeol's drum.