To Be Proud: A Story about Gay Pride

Off to A Colder Tundra

~Bona~

After the entire Monster of Spooktacular thing, Kayna went off to prepare the skyship while Thwok and I said our goodbyes. All of the monsters were nice and wished us happy travels. Some monsters even gave us a couple of flowers as good luck presents.

I glanced over at Bowgart who was still being surrounded by monsters. He seemed joyous, and I was glad he was. The monster deserved the praise, to be honest. Bowgart went through a lot of trouble trying to figure out what made Punkleton tick.

      "Ona, come on!" Thwok yelled as he and Petite got onto the skyship. I laughed and held up a finger to tell them that I would be there soon.

Going through the crowd, I went up to Bowgart and put a hand on his higher shoulder. He looked up at me with those glowing yellow eyes that I saw a few days ago. I watched as a smile appeared on his face. Jumping up, he hugged me tightly with all four of his arms and giggled joyfully.

      "Thank you, Bona. I don't know how to repay you."

      "No need," I said with a smile. Bowgart held up a finger and tugged at his horn. This confused me, but I stared as he pulled out the broken end horn and gave it to me.

      "Consider that a thank you gift," he explained. I heard Thwok calling for me, so I waved goodbye and went on the skyship.

As the skyship rose, the monsters on Plant Island waved goodbye to us. We waved back as the island slowly became smaller and smaller until it was out of sight. The water shimmered beneath us as the clouds above us swirled in the sky around a floating island. Air Island, I thought as we passed through the island's shadow.

I sighed and watched the bright red birds in the sky fly around the now glowing island Kayna pointed out as Fire Oasis. She's mentioned hard Plixie's glass and wooden beams, which is what I assumed the island was made up of. The island shimmered and hummed in the distance as we passed by the premises.

~Kayna~

We passed by Fire Oasis, and I could hear Mammott's humming and Congle's tapping from the skyship where me and the "supernaturals" were. Thwok and Petite were listening behind me, and I could see Bona reading a history book from the small bit of reflective glass I found years ago on Fire Oasis.

As we flew past the storm that was Earth Island, I started feeling woozy again. My vision blurred, and my grip on the wheel quickly started to fade. I tried to fight the nausea, but it overtook me by a longshot. Arms caught me as I fell backwards, and I could hear voices calling my name as my vision drifted off into pitch black.

I was back on the skyship, sailing away from the red island. Monsters were throwing spears and shooting arrows. The sky was swirling with a red storm, and the air was toxic enough to rot the molten rock that was my skin. Having to cover my mouth, I continued sailing on through the storm until I exited the poisonous atmosphere.

I remember the sky being beautifully dotted with different stars and the islands glowing with their own colorful lights. There was a volcano in the distance, but I couldn't remember what it was called. I went underneath a shadow and continued forward until I came across what looked like a traveling island.

The island's lights were pretty, like it was the main lightshow of the monster world. I could hear xylophones and grand pianos and the güiro. There was humming and singing in the chorus, and underlying vocals to accompany the main chords. Looking at the eyes of the large creature, I stared into the glowing yellow lights of Phosphora.

Suddenly, the music stopped. Looking up at the top of Phosphora's head, I stared at the black void circling the titan's head like a halo. I backed up, staring at the halo as it covered the titan entirely. Starting up the skyship, I fled up and away towards a glowing and floating purple island. Screaming for help, I reached my glowing hand out as I was consumed by the darkness.

      "....yna........ayna......Kayna!"

I bolted up, lava dripping down my cheek. Thwok was knelt down next to me, making sure I was okay. He had a worried look on his face, like I did something bad while I blanked out unconscious. Petite was on the other side of me, her three eyes sparkling with the remaining sunlight we had.

      "What...What happened?"

      "You fell again, Big Sis," Petite said to me. "Thwok and I were very worried." My eyes suddenly shot up as I looked around.

      "Wait, who's piloting the-"

      "Ona is," Thwok replied slowly to sound clearer. I glanced at Bona who was keeping the wheel straight. Looking at our surroundings, I saw the small glaciers going in the opposite direction we were. Cold Island, I thought.

      "We're close. I'll-"

      "You'll stay in the sleeping quarters," Bona growled. "I'll pilot the skyship until we reach Cold Island." I wanted to speak, but the glare Bona was giving me through the glass told me to shut up and head down into the lower deck. Sighing, I went down and made my way to the sleeping quarters at the end of the long hallway.