When Piper and Cyclonis entered the hallway, they promptly began dripping. Sopping wet and cold, Piper dropped the bundle of damp wood on the floor and sighed.

"So what should I expect from your squadron members?" Cyclonis asked dryly – ironic, considering her current state.

"Maybe nothing. We could slip past them and hide out in my room," Piper suggested. "I could bring some fresh towels from the laundry, too."

"Now you're being awfully forward," Cyclonis said with a hint of amusement in her voice. When Piper stared at her blankly in response, she continued. "Inviting me immediately to your bedroom?"

Piper's cheeks lit up. "I didn't… look, you know what I mean. Anyway, we should try to stay quiet in case we run into –"

"What are you guys doing in the hall?" a familiar voice asked confusedly from about a foot away.

"Junko!" Piper exclaimed. "Hello. We were just… this is… well, it's raining pretty hard outside."

Junko nodded good-naturedly. "Yeah, it's really coming down. Finn, Aerrow, and Radarr're still out talking to the council about that crystal. Not sure if they're gonna come back or wait there until it stops raining." He raised an eyebrow. "What're you up to?"

"Well, uh," Piper began, searching for an explanation. "Yeah, I got some wood here for a project, had lunch, and ordered something at the blacksmith's. Then it started raining and I had to rush back."

"Oh, alright," Junko said. "I fixed the landing bay door. Just in time, too, looking at the weather. Hey, who's your friend?"

"Oh, well, it's funny you should ask. Uh…" Piper began, floundering horribly.

Cyclonis took a step forward. "I'm from the Atmosian Port Authority, and I'm required to take a look around the ship for my inspection. It's the new policy," she said in a commanding tone.

"Oh, er," Junko said, glancing around nervously. "I guess I'll just head off, and make sure everything's… good."

He scurried away, and Cyclonis smiled.

"That was mean," Piper muttered as she scooped the wood pile back under her arm. "Now he's probably running around fixing anything he can get his hands on."

"Just be glad that I got him to wander off. I'm fairly certain that you didn't have an answer for him," Cyclonis remarked.

"Whatever. Let's just head to my room and lay low before we run into anyone else."

Cyclonis chuckled, but they eventually found themselves going through the door to Piper's room.

"Good thing we didn't run into Stork. He might've been a bit more skeptical," Piper murmured once the door sealed behind her. "Well, here we are until the rain stops and I can sneak you back out. Speaking of, where are you staying?"

"A hotel in town. The most opulent one I could find – I always stay there when I visit."

Piper shook her head. "I still can't get over that. Anyway, we have some time to kill, I guess." She placed the pile of wood on the floor.

Cyclonis nodded. "I want to know something," she said with a frown.

"Sure," Piper replied. "Oh, let me just run down to the bathroom and grab a few towels first."

Once Piper received a nod, she left her room, jogged down to the bathroom, and took a couple of bright white towels from the fresh linens. When she spun around and began to leave, she nearly ran Stork over in the hallway.

"Sorry, Stork," Piper said after a brief gasp.

Stork didn't look pleased. "Is the inspector gone?"

Piper blanked for a moment, but then recalled Cyclonis' ruse. "Yeah. She only stayed for a little while."

"She left? Back into the storm?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Piper said slowly, stalling until a light bulb went off. "She said she had other ships to look at, and that she had to leave if she wanted to finish in time."

"She didn't come to the bridge, and Junko told me that she didn't even look in the engine room. What was she looking at?" he asked grimly.

"The bay doors," she blurted out. "Good thing, too, since Junko just fixed them. She said there was a change in the guidelines. Just a formality, or something."

"So we passed?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine," Piper replied. When Stork nodded slowly in response, Piper started strolling off.

"Wait a minute," Stork called out, prompting Piper to turn around again. "Why do you have two towels?"

Piper stared at Stork, then at the towels, and then at Stork again. "I… my window was open just a crack before I left and some water leaked in. I was going to put this down to soak it up."

"Oh. See you, then."

Piper exhaled shakily, then rounded the corner back to her room. When she stepped inside, Cyclonis was chuckling.

"Maybe I'm a bad influence on you," Cyclonis said softly from Piper's desk.

"You heard?" Piper asked unhappily as she tossed a towel over to the desk and began unfolding the other. She ran it through her hair and then her arms before glancing over at Cyclonis. Her jaw nearly dropped.

Cyclonis was casually toying with the Infinity Stone while giving Piper a poignant stare. She had also switched off her disguise. "Yes. However, don't feel too bad. A little white lie here and there – or, rather, a number of them – is decidedly better than the truth in this particular instance."

"Yeah…" Piper murmured, dropping her towel off to the side. "Cyclonis, you're holding the Infinity Stone."

"Yes, I figured this was it," she remarked. "It seems a little less important to me than it did just a few days ago. I wonder why that is. What a remarkable hiding spot for such a valuable item – your left desk drawer!"

"You wouldn't have maybe… seen anything that stood out?" Piper asked cautiously.

"What?"

"Some kind of… hallucination, maybe?"

Cyclonis placed the crystal on top of the desk and picked up the towel. "Piper, you're beginning to worry me considerably. Perhaps you were out in the rain too long?" she asked as she began drying her hair.

"Never mind," Piper said with a sigh. "What was that question you wanted to ask me?"

"I wanted to know your reasoning for suddenly being attracted toward me. You've certainly never seemed to display any kind of affection prior to now, and I had no idea you were even of that particular persuasion," Cyclonis added with a shrug. "And you said earlier that you couldn't explain it."

Piper chuckled. If only she knew. "Well, I can't, really. You'd probably think I was crazy."

"I suppose you don't have to tell me immediately if you don't want to," Cyclonis conceded. She placed the towel on top of Piper's discarded one. "Could I inquire what the purpose of the wood you purchased and the order you made is?"

"That's for a project of mine," Piper said. "Funnily enough, I came up with it the same way I came up with… well, let's just say you'll really think I'm crazy if I explain it."

Cyclonis shook her head disappointedly. "I can't tell if you're being cryptic or just odd."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Hey, how long do you think this storm's going to keep up?"

Cyclonis glanced out of the window. It was pouring down rain. "I'm not sure. If it stops I ought to be able to sneak back to town without a problem. The only problem will be avoiding the big Wallop."

"Don't forget to turn that disguise back on, though," Piper reminded her.

Cyclonis turned back to face Piper and raised an eyebrow. Still seated, she glanced down at her hands and clothes. "What? I don't remember…" Her breath caught in her throat, and then she slammed her fist on the desk. "Stupid!"

"What's wrong?" Piper asked curiously.

Cyclonis ripped off the necklace bearing a small crystal out from under her collar and tossed it on the desk. "I was going to replace the Chroma Crystal shard today, but once our paths crossed, I quickly became sidetracked. It slipped my mind completely, and now the crystal has run out of power."

"Hold on," Piper interjected. "We might be able to make a Chroma Crystal from what I have on hand here. I have the matrix plotted out already, and I'm pretty sure I have the crystals we need to make one."

"Excellent!" Cyclonis exclaimed.

Piper pulled open the rightmost desk drawer and shuffled through her notes until she arrived at the proper sheet. Chroma Crystal notes in hand, she glanced over it briefly before handing it off to Cyclonis.

"Yeah, I have everything we need," Piper commented while Cyclonis skimmed the information. "Let me just put this away first…"

Cyclonis stepped out of the way as Piper leaned over to return the Infinity Stone to its drawer. About halfway to picking it up, she frowned. An Infinity Stone-driven episode could happen again, she thought grimly.

It didn't make sense. Initially, she had been able to retain her ability to think and move in the dream worlds, but slowly lost the ability to think outside of her current universe. In addition, before she had to end the visions by touching the Infinity Stone in that world, but soon it seemed like the Infinity Stone was determining the duration of her trips rather than herself.

She shrugged. Cyclonis had touched the Infinity Stone barehanded and nothing had happened. It wasn't as if a crystal could determine who was touching it. It was safe.

She picked it up after another moment of hesitation, but as soon as her hand came in contact with the sparkling object, it began to glow.