He sighed, looking up at his hand through the darkness of the room. No matter how hard he looked, his hand hadn't changed. It was still the same as ever. Still callused about the fingertips from guitar, and about the top of the palm for a reason he didn't quite know. Bicycling maybe?

Dissatisfied, he rolled over, kicking his feet off the edge of the bed before standing and quietly making his way to the window. He stared out, at the dim lights all about Traverse Town. Most of the residences had their lights off, signifying it being that time of the eternal night most citizens slept.

A sigh, and Ethan pressed his hand against the cool window pane, closing his eyes.

-

Lucidia huffed as they turned back from the door to the shop in the town center. No, Mari was out and about as far as the owner knew, but he did supply them directions to a couple places she could've been. He'd been staring at the strawberry blonde the entire time, obvious curious as to why she was standing there looking all the world like a drowned rat.

The former princess had silently walked outside, obviously irritated, reaching the steps in front of the shop and closing her eyes.

"You know, you really can't blame him. Perhaps on our search we could stop by your little apartment thing and grab a towel so you don't look so..." He smirked as a few damp strands of her hair fell into her face from behind her ear.

"Like a wet animal?" she growled, pushing the strands back.

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'victim of a pool side prank'," he replied simply, chuckling as the previous hair fell back into place across her face.

Another growl, and she tilted her head back, running fingers through her now strawberry brown locks. "Yes, well, whose fault is that?" Her head came back down, hair slicked back neatly, effectively keeping the offending strands out of her face for a while. Ethan felt his stomach clench. "If you hadn't pulled a damn magic trick with that water I wouldn't be..." Lucidia cocked an eyebrow at his expression. "Uh. Ethan?" She waved her hand in front of his face. "Anyone home?"

-

He shook his head. Now why had that of all things surprised him? He'd been trying to think about that all night... and that had probably been the reason why he couldn't sleep now, and probably also why...

-

A man slammed his hand into the table he sat behind, light blue eyes blazing angrily. "That meteor shower! I'm telling you it's a BAD omen! The last time I saw one of those my world was destroyed!"

"Calm down please, sir," a voice said from the front of the large audience hall. Mari stood there, looking firm and determined. "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, this world isn't in any sort of danger of disappearing, the Heartless can't get to its heart! The Keybearer sealed the doorway a couple years ago."

"What about us?!" Another man said, gripping the sides of his head, fingers mussing his cotton candy blue hair. "What are we supposed to do?! If the Heartless are back, they're a serious danger to us. I don't want to end up becoming one of them! Or WORSE."

A murmur ran through the crowd, people turning to discuss the man's words with their neighbors.

"Yes, I admit that seeing one after having gone without a Heartless sighting for nearly six months is a problem, but that may just mean they're not gone like we thought they were," Mari explained quietly. "We must once again raise our guardsand stay on the lookout for these things."

-

It had ended with some sort of Q and A sessions afterwards, everyone badgering he and Lucy for an account of what had happened. Most of the people were excited about his being able to call the water from the fountain, while a few remained skeptical or even suspicious of both of them. Mari had pulled them aside a few minutes later and told them the vessel Gepetto's apprentice had been working on was almost complete ahead of schedule, but the man wasn't busy and had nearly been breaking himself trying to get the thing pieced together. It would be done, they figured, within the next 'day' or two, so she asked the two of them to meet her at Gepetto's old shop and they could go over some things tomorrow.

Neither Lucy nor Ethan knew precisely what these 'things' were, but they agreed anyway. Probably just instructions on how to fly the thing, what to look out for.

They had parted after that, and now, several hours later, Ethan found himself staring out the window, wondering just what the heck they were getting themselves in to. The more he thought about it, the more he realized 'going over things' probably meant there was some trick to it. He didn't know what had prompted that realization, or even if it was an accurate one.

He sighed and turned back to the bed. He might as well keep trying to sleep, no use being exhausted starting out on a journey. The bed was uncomfortable, he wasn't tired, but he closed his eyes anyway, and after an hour of tossing and turning fell into a light sleep.

A knock to the door a while later quickly aroused him, and he stood up, making his way rather quickly for someone who had just woken up to the door. He swung it open to find Lucidia and Mari on the other side.

"How long were you planning on sleeping in, Ethan?" Lucy chided, frowning at him.

He yawned, and stretched while trying to shrug. It didn't quite work. "No one said a specific time, so I just... slept."

Lucidia huffed and rolled her eyes. Mari stifled a giggle and tried to disguise it as a cough.

He turned back from them, grabbing shoes and socks and putting them on before following them out into the hallway, running his hands through his hair to try to take the edge off of his bed head.

They arrived, seating themselves around a small, round, wooden dining table, leaving an extra chair open to Ethan's left. There was silence as they sat down, and it just bordered uncomfortable, though none of them could figure out something to say. Finally, an old wood door at the back of the home creaked open, and out came a young man, probably in his mid twenties, built wide of shoulder, holding a laminated book in his grease-stained hand. He seated himself without a word, and placed the book down on the table, flipping it open to the first plastic covered page.

"Hello there everyone," he said finally, nodding to the other three. They all nodded in return. It seemed so stiff, so formal, but Ethan couldn't figure out a way to lighten the mood. Probably because the man before them seemed so very serious. "Before we get started, do note that inter world travel is not easy, nor is it safe, especially considering the barriers the worlds have put up to protect themselves have left several unsavory creatures floating in the spaces between the worlds, and they're not happy. As such, I've taken the liberty to install weapons on the ship. Also, as the trip is likely to be a long one, I have modified the cockpit. Where normally it would only have seats as most journeys between worlds are short ones, this has fully stocked quarters for a crew of up to four people, provided said people weren't opposed to sharing a room with one of their fellows. It has been stocked with enough food and water to last the two of you about two months, any more than that, and you're going to have to procure your own provisions. Do be careful. Now..." He flipped a couple pages in the book, before turning it around to show the gathered a collection of pictures on both of the pages. "These are going to be some of the creatures you'll have to deal with. On the right are the Heartless ships. They're generally straightforward, some are slow and powerful, some are quick and don't quite hit as hard. They're all very dangerous. On the left, and for reasons neither I, Gepetto, nor King Mickey can decipher are the Nobody ships."

Ethan blinked and winced. "Nobody...?" God, he knew what that meant, it was right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't... quite... think of it.

"Yes, Nobody ships. We all thought they'd disappeared when the Organization was defeated, but apparently the lesser Nobodies are still a problem in several places, and they still have a strong presence in Twilight Town, according to an acquaintance of mine from there."

Ethan shook his head violently. "That's not what I meant..."

"He means for you to explain to us what the hell a Nobody is," Lucy snipped from her position next to Ethan.

"Ah... I forgot there were those in this town that don't know all of the creatures," the man stood up, turning to a bookshelf behind Mari and stepping over to grab a relatively new, leather-bound book. He opened the book and showed them all a picture of a small creature that looked like it was wearing a tight white outfit, with the 'mouth' un-zippered to see out of.

Ethan choked on his own saliva at the picture, coughing violently, doubling over and folding his arms on the table. Mari hopped up almost immediately and went to get a glass of water, which he sipped from graciously as the coughing fit died down.

The nurse exchanged a look with the mechanic before they returned their gaze at Lucidia and Ethan, both pale faced and wide-eyed at the site before them. Gepetto's apprentice cleared his throat and slowly closed the book, and though the other two finally looked up, the shock didn't quite leave their countenances.

"As I was saying..." the man continued on, slowly. "Those are just some of the enemies you'll be finding, and they have terrestrial counterparts as well. You've fought a Heartless before, and though Heartless can be powerful, they're the easier of the two types to defeat.

Another thing I believe you should know is there is a warp drive installed on this ship. It can sense the frequencies of the worlds you've been to, but you must program in if you want to save the world as a destination. It's a simple process, and the instructions are written in the instruction manual in the ship, but make sure you write down the code you put in for the world so you don't forget it." He flipped several more pages through the book. "And here's the most important part. A majority of the worlds have managed to fully reinstate their barriers. By this, I mean the thing which protects them from visitors from other worlds, because as we know, people crossing worlds has a tendency to throw things out of balance. Some worlds, like Traverse Town, have weak barriers, or even none at all. However, worlds have been known to temporarily open their shields if they sense an inhabitant, someone that belongs there. I've installed a little device that basically will... amplify and project the thing about you that the worlds sense and will lower their guards for. This means, if you find a world that's traversable to, it's most likely your world or one with a weak shield. The only real way to figure it out is to go down there. Any questions?"

A pair of heads shook.

"One final thing. It's generally a wise idea to not tell anyone in the worlds you visit, unless they're your own, that you are from some place else. It's just to protect balance. What you're going to be doing is technically against the laws of the universe. It was never supposed to happen, and safeguards were put into place to ensure it didn't happen, but now that it has, you must tread carefully. Got it?"

And Lucidia and Ethan nodded their heads.

"As long as you know that, I'll show you the ship. There's still a couple tweaks I need to make, but it should only take me an hour or two, complications pending, to work out and ensure it's safe to travel. That projection emitter is really just a prototype, mostly engineered in experiments between myself and the engineers over in Disney Castle, whose findings we send to each other through Mognet," he explained as he led the group through the wooden door he'd emerged from, and down a long set of stairs. Ethan listened with interest as Lucy practically flew down the stairs, maintaining her balance surprisingly well. She wasn't interested in the technobabble, she wanted to see the mostly finished product.

"Woah..." it was the only word anyone who hadn't seen the ship before could muster. Before them floated a relatively massive ship, colored in a deep, metallic red with black detailing. Beneath the nose of the craft, a pair of cannons shown, with two different sets of cannons mounted to the undersides of the wings.

"I take it you like it...?" the apprentice said, smirking, his voice showing the first real emotion since he'd appeared a short while ago. Lucidia had already jogged ahead to get a closer look, but Ethan turned to the other man and nodded, grinning. "Want to hear more specifics about it?"

Ethan's grin widened. "Hell yes."

The man laughed. "Well, the basic composition is traditional of Gummi Ships... that's what these things are called..."

Near the ship, Lucidia was running her fingers over the glossy finish of the ship's paint, looking at herself in the partially transparent reflection. Mari laughed from behind her and she turned back around, looking at the nurse. "I'm... not entirely sure how to thank you..."

Mari waved her hand. "Don't. The materials to make this ship...? They've been looking for an excuse to use them for so long. You should've seen Trevor's face when I told him we'd be actually needing a working ship. He may act serious, but when it comes to playing with these machines, he's like a little kid." She turned back to watching the two men talk. "Seems you're boyfriend over there's a technophile as well."

Lucy looked over, catching part of the boy's conversation.

"... and these weapons! You see those two on the nose? Those are custom built FIRE Mk. II automatic cannons. They fire energy at a fully automatic rate, though they're not really powerful, they do hit a lot, and are good for guiding shots. The smaller of the cannons on the wings, those on the inside? Those are... wow. We call them the C-037 or COMETs for short. They fire pulses of energy that are magnetically attracted to Gummi material, basically, they're homing lasers. And the big cannons on the outside are the M-37302, or METEOR Cannons. They don't fire very quickly, and aren't really accurate, but they hit hard..."

The former princess returned her gaze to Mari. "Yes well... and he's not my boyfriend."

Mari smirked. "So sure about that?"

Lucidia's cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink and she looked away grumbling. "... I'm pretty sure..."

The two males joined them, and for a moment there was silence in the huge underground cavern. That was until the apprentice laughed and spoke. "Well, I better get back to work on this beast. The pulse system needs another tweak and I'm going to re-calibrate the targeting system. Some other final checks, and it should be good to go like I said in about an hour ish."

"Wow. Thanks again," Ethan said, nodding at the other man, to which he was answered with the wave of a hand.

"Don't worry about it! I love building these things."

They said brief, temporary goodbyes before returning to the surface to find it drizzling the cold, wet, permeating, sort of rain that could make anyone feel like they were coming down with something, even if they weren't.

"Well, are you guys ready for the trip?" Mari asked as they watched the cold, wet weather.

Lucidia shook her head. "I wasn't expecting it to be done so soon, I barely had time to start packing, I should probably head back and finish."

"Oh god, we'll be old and gray by the time you're finished..." Ethan grumbled, rolling his eyes. Lucy punched him on the shoulder.

"Oh, and what makes you so absolutely sure of that, Ethan?" she growled, challenging him with her eyes.

He smirked at her. "Women can't do anything involving clothing in less than two hours. Hell, back in the days when my band was on the road, I'd have women getting ready to leave the morning after I'd taken them to the hotel long after I'd woken up."

Lucy turned bright pink. "Gods! I reiterate: does everything with you have to revolve around sex? I do not need to know you are or were some playboy."

"The One-Night Stand is God," he sniped back, smirk widening slightly.

The former princess snarled, throwing up her hands in exasperation and stalking away angrily.

"Do try not to destroy your relationship with her before you've even left. You're going to be spending a lot of time in very close quarters to each other you know," Mari commented as Lucy marched out of earshot.

"Oh. I know," Ethan replied. "But she asked for it."

-

A/N: HAHAHA. HA. Cough.