Trust

Iona lay on one of the tables inside the same building where Avalon had proposed his idea to the others. Unlike before, only he, Hyuuga, Gunzou and Kongou were present. While the two boys waited and watched, Hyuuga had her hands to either side of Iona's head. Both of their faces were lit up with Fog symbols as the former Flagship examined her treasured friend. Kongou, meanwhile, was pacing back and forth on the other side of the table from them. She was clearly agitated by this latest development, and no one could really blame her.

None of them had any idea what was affecting Iona, and that not knowing had led to speculation. One of the others had suggested it could be the work of a virus that Hallelujah had implanted in them before they severed their connection to the JTN. While it was pure speculation, the prospect of suddenly falling unconscious had unsettled many of them. Privately, Avalon was hoping it was something as simple as that. Iona's words were still gnawing at him, and he suspected that there was a far different reason for her current condition.

After what felt like a small eternity, Hyuuga suddenly cried out in pain before leaping back from the table. The only thing that kept her from stumbling and falling was Gunzou's reflexes as he caught her. Taking a few deep breaths, she pressed one hand to her temple as the Fog symbols on her face faded.

"Thank you…Captain," she said after a while, looking at him and smiling.

"Are you alight?" he asked, receiving a nod.

"I am," she said as she stood up straight, "But…Iona…"

"What's wrong with her?" Kongou demanded, her patience already pushed to the breaking point.

"…She's…exposed," Hyuuga finally told them.

"Uh, no, she's not," Avalon commented, gesturing to her, "All of her clothes are still on."

His attempt to lighten the mood failed spectacularly as Hyuuga shot him a glare, and Avalon wisely took the hint and stopped with the jokes.

"She's still connected to the JTN," Hyuuga explained as she finally seemed to recover, "I don't know how, or why, but a lot of information is being exchanged between her and the remnants of the Network. Far more than what we usually experience."

"Is it dangerous?" Gunzou asked, looking at Iona in concern.

"It would hamper her abilities, but that's not what's wrong," she replied, "She's still connected, Captain. That means that anyone else still using the Network can find her. And now that most of the Fog has severed their connection…"

"Hallelujah can track her easier," Gunzou surmised, understanding the danger his friend was in, "Can he corrupt her?"

"I'm not sure."

"Why don't we just force her to severe the connection?" Kongou asked, looking at the two of them, "Even if she's technically your superior, you're still a flagship-class Model. Between the two of us, we could override her and force her to disconnect."

"You would just… You would do that?" Avalon asked, appalled.

"If that man hasn't pin-pointed our location yet, then it's only a matter of time," she shot back, "As you've said; it's a matter of survival."

"I…already tried that," Hyuuga admitted, catching both boys by surprise, "But I was stopped. There was…another layer of security around her, focused solely on her connection to the Network. The moment I tried to alter her access, it shut me out. I didn't even have a chance to from a counter, it just…shut me down."

"How's that possible?" Avalon asked, now thoroughly lost, "You've got to have one of the strongest processors outside of the Supreme Flagship, so how can something just shut you down without a fight?"

"I don't know…" Hyuuga admitted, looking unsure and possibly a little scared, "But it's keeping her connected to the Network, so it's only a matter of time before Hallelujah finds her…and us."

"Then we need to speed up our own plans," Avalon decided standing up and clasping his hands. Turning to Kongou, he asked, "Where are we with volunteers?"

"Two ships have said they are willing to try letting humans aboard," she replied, "Which is two more than I had expected."

"…Two ships?" Avalon asked before sighing, "Did you, or did you not, explain to them the situation we're in?"

"I did."

"…It was your take on it, wasn't it?"

"Are you accusing me of something, human?" she asked hotly.

"I don't know, are you guilty of something?" Avalon shot back, causing Hyuuga and Gunzou to sigh. The two of them could never seem to hold any kind of conversation without an argument starting.

"I will not apologize for wanting to protect my subordinates!" she replied, taking a step forward, "I made it clear from the start; you will not be taking control of us. Your crews will be there in a support capacity only. Is that clear?"

"Support only? Are you-!" Avalon began before taking a breath and stopping himself. He wasn't going to win this argument here, not now. Turning to Gunzou, he asked, "How are we with the human volunteers?"

"A lot more people seem willing to give it a shot than I'd thought," he replied, "But there's an… issue we need to address first."

"Oh great, more good news," Avalon muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose, "And what is this one?"

"Commander Ryoukan and Secretary Ryuujirou want to meet with us before the crews get to work," Gunzou told him, looking at Kongou briefly, "They say that, regardless of the circumstances, they have…conditions for working with the Fog."

"They think they can demand things from us?" Kongou asked, appalled.

"Kongou, enough," Avalon said before she could continue, "I'll work this out when they arrive. In the meantime, where does this leave us with the 401?"

"…That's another problem," Hyuuga said as she stood back up, "Iona is still registered as the controller for the ship, and she didn't have the time to give me the proper access to control it independently of her. Unless she regains consciousness soon, we won't be able to use it."

"So, we're down another ship?" Avalon asked before running his hand through his hair and sighing, "Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?"

"It could be much worse, Avalon," Gunzou told him.

"How?" he asked, waving his arms around to emphasis his point, "How could this possibly get worse? Iona is down for the foreseeable future, my Gundam still hasn't been fully restored, Hallelujah probably knows where we are and is on his way, Kongou's still being a stubborn mule over this whole concept of an alliance-"

"I resent that!" Kongou interrupted, glaring at him.

"-And we still don't know if anyone on our side is even willing to take up our offer and try to fight back," he concluded, shooting a glare right back at her, "They've lost their Tactical Network, and we've lost almost all of the big guns in our arsenal. From where I'm standing, we're screwed in almost every sense of the word."

"We're still alive," Gunzou countered, placing one hand on Hyuuga's shoulder as she looked at Iona in concern. Feeling his hand, she looked at him and gave him a small smile. "We still have our crew," he continued, "And we still have our will to fight. If Hallelujah wants to take Iona and the others, then he will have to go through us first."

"Without a doubt, Captain," Hyuuga agreed, her smile growing broader.

Looking at the two of them, Avalon put his head in his hand as he tried not to groan. Why was it he always seemed to encounter hopeless optimists? But as tiring as they could be, he still found their optimism helpful and encouraging.

"…You people are hopeless fools," Kongou concluded before turning and leaving, "I do not know why I continue to entertain this idea of an alliance."

"Kongou, wait!" Gunzou called out, only for her to ignore him.

Looking after her retreating form, Avalon decided then and there that he would need to resolve this problem long before Hallelujah arrived. Even if they pulled together some kind of fighting force, in their current state they would just fall apart once things got bad. And he had no doubt that if they didn't find some way to stop him here, then very little would be able to stand in Hallelujah's way.

Taking a moment to prepare himself, Avalon adjusted the gloves for his uniform to make sure the metal of his hand was hidden. As nice as the suit he'd gotten from Kongou's forces was, and that was a surprise all on its own, he much preferred the Celestial Being uniform. And he would need as few distractions as possible, considering what he was about to do.

The volunteer crews had arrived a couple hours after Iona's incident, and there had been more people than he'd thought. What was even more surprising was that there were many from the regular Army that had been cross-trained in basic seamanship. From what he'd been told about Gunzou's interaction with the Japanese army, they were hostile towards the Fog on principal. To have a decent number of them sign up for this was unexpected, but that wasn't his main concern at the moment.

Secretary Kamikage Ryuujirou and Commander Kita Ryoukan had indeed shown up as they had said, which was both good and bad news. The latter of the two made him somewhat nervous, since he hadn't heard many good things about him. If he remembered right, Kita was the one that had authorized the raid on the Blue Steel's base. Had Gunzou not been as prepared, then he would have likely succeeded in seizing the 401.

Whether or not he personally felt animosity towards the Fog wasn't the problem anymore, since he'd come to symbolize the fear and hate humanity had towards them. Jumping to conclusions and killing children just to reclaim one ship was not how Avalon had been taught to fight, and it was something he would need to demonstrate to the others. And then there was the problem of Kongou and her subordinates.

Only Nachi and Myoukou had volunteered to allow humans aboard their ships, but only the bare minimum necessary to take a load off their processors. This left them with a large number of potential sailors without a ship, and that was before he took the blatant mistrust the Fog was showing into account. He knew, he just knew that Kongou had only passed along the bar minimum of information regarding his proposal. Chalk it up to his Sense, or experience, or just a good old-fashioned gut feeling, but he knew that she wasn't putting the kind of effort into this that they needed.

While a part of him could understand the feelings both sides had for each other, it was clear that they still didn't fully grasp the situation they were in. That, in and of itself, was infuriating since he'd assumed the Fog was smarter than that. Although, he should have seen this arrogance coming now that he thought about it, considering how Yamato acted towards others. The Fog had been the dominant power until recently, and even in the face of a real threat their assumption of natural superiority was still there.

"This can't continue," he mumbled as he turned to walk outside.

"Trying to psych yourself up?" Takao asked from where she was leaning next to the door.

"You could say that," Avalon said before stopping with his hand on the handle. Turning to Takao, he asked, "Takao, do you trust me?"

"What kind of question is that?" she asked, confused, "After everything you've done for me, why wouldn't I trust you?"

"Because I'm about to walk out these doors and make what is probably the biggest gamble of my life," he replied, looking down, "I don't think they realize what they're facing, not really. If we can't stop him here, then this planet is doomed."

"That's a little morbid, don't you think?" she asked, standing upright and turning to face him, "Even if we don't win, the other fleets aren't just going to sit around and wait."

"Takao, it's just…" he began before sighing, "Never mind, let's just do this."

Pushing the door open, Avalon walked out into the evening light and examined everyone that had gathered. To his left were the human crews, milling about and talking among themselves while more than a few shot looks towards the group on his right. Looking right, he saw that Takao had indeed gathered all of the other Models for this impromptu meeting. Between them was the Blue Steel, talking with a couple of the human volunteers but generally looking uneasy. The one shred of good news they had was that Iori had been discharged from the hospital not too long ago. In spite of the toxins she'd been exposed to, it appeared that Haguro and Ashigara had acted in time to keep her from receiving a lethal dose.

Of course, what little good mood had come from her were return was likely to get shattered with what Avalon was planning to do. Of course, the word 'plan' was really generous considering it was more of an outcome he needed to achieve, he just hadn't really worked out the how yet. But considering how things were going, they probably didn't have long to do much of anything. They needed to start working together now, because he was willing to bet that they didn't have much more than a week before Hallelujah was knocking on their front door.

"Kongou," he called out, waving her over.

With a grimace, she decided she would humor him for now. While she couldn't grasp his reasons for having them all gather together, she was starting to learn more about their kind as a result. This had only made her more conflicted and untrusting of their species, considering that each and every one of them was somehow unique. She was also starting to realize that this uniqueness was the source of humanity's divisions, and if that was the fate of her kind on their current path then she was going to do all she could to oppose it. The Fog was One people, united by the Admiralty Code. They could squabble as much as they wanted so long as that didn't change, but she suspected that this course would do just that.

"What are you planning, human?" she asked as she stopped before him.

Ignoring her, he asked, "You still regard humanity as your enemy, right?"

"…Why wouldn't I?" she replied, now confused, "Even with this 'Hallelujah,' your people are still a threat to my kind. You might not be able to challenge our power, but your influence is spreading like a disease. I assure you that once this matter is concluded, I will take steps to correct that."

"So, I am your enemy," he said, lowering his head briefly. Moving quickly, he reached forward and grabbed her wrist with one hand while the other went to the base of his back.

"What are you-?!" she began. Ignoring her, Avalon brought her hand up before forcing his handgun into it and pointing it right at him. At the same time, he was looking her in the eye with a kind of determination she'd never seen before.

"Avalon, what are you doing?!" Takao demanded as she started to move forward.

"If I am your enemy, then shoot me," he said evenly without breaking eye contact.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but-!" Kongou started to say as she pulled back.

"If I am really your enemy, then it is your duty to shoot me, machine!" he shouted, quieting everyone else with his declaration, "If you really are just machines of war, then it is your purpose to kill your enemy! So, do it, Kongou of the Fog! Shoot me!"

"You think I'm going to play along with this and jeopardize our deal?"

"What deal?!" he demanded, waving his hands at both sides, "Your kind don't trust mine, and they clearly don't trust you! This isn't a fighting force, this is a disaster waiting to happen! If you're not willing to trust them, if you're not willing to work with them, then you might as well just kill us all now. Death is all we can expect if we go into a fight like this. So come on, do it!" Stepping closer so the barrel was pressing against his chest, he said, "Do it, Kongou, and prove to me that you're all just machines. That's all you want to be, isn't it? None of you care about learning what it means to be a people, to be individuals. You're all just puppets serving a pointless code."

"Watch your tongue, brat!" Kongou shouted, raising the gun so it was pointing between his eyes, "The Admiralty Code is our highest law! It is our reason to exist!"

"And look where that's gotten you!" he fired back, "You're bitter, divided and ultimately without an actual goal to achieve! Your 'code' might have been a great starting point, but where is it now when you need it most?! All you have are each other and those that are trying to help you survive, but you're still clinging to something that isn't here!"

Spreading his arms so he'd have no chance at retaliating, he said, "So if you're all just going to sit there and let fear and hate rule you, then just do it. I've seen people die from ELS infections, and I'd rather be shot than suffer like that. So just do it, kill me and be done with it. God knows I probably deserve it."

Looking at him, Kongou seriously weighed her options while she tried to not let his words sway her. This had to be a bid to appeal to her emotions, and if that was the case then it wouldn't work. She was determined not to let it work…and yet…

And yet, she couldn't deny that, behind all of the odd jokes and arguments, he had a point. She couldn't face this threat alone. Maybe if she had her entire fleet with her, she would be able to pummel this Hallelujah into atoms. But she didn't, and even if she set out to gather her forces there was no telling how long that could take or if Hallelujah would attack her before she could. And if his fleet wasn't bound by the Admiralty Code, then there was nothing stopping them raiding the human cities for supplies.

As much as it pained her to admit it, Avalon was right; if they didn't make a stand here and now, then this enemy could really take this world. And their only way of challenging him would be together, and not in the way that she would prefer.

"…You're really willing to die for this?" she asked finally, feeling something strange as she looked at this human.

"I told you before, Kongou… My world is gone," he replied, relaxing slightly even if his eyes did cloud over a bit, "I don't have anything else to lose but my life. If that's what it takes, if I'm what's stopping you from really trusting humanity, then… just do it."

For the briefest of moments, she considered just that. Taking a firm grip on the gun, she pressed it to his head while she heard everyone, Mental Model and human alike, inhale in anticipation. For what felt like the first time since they'd met, she held the only power that mattered. He'd actually handed it to her, and he was showing no signs of trying to take it back. And yet…she discovered she didn't want to. She couldn't lose more sisters to this monster, and she wasn't sure she could stomach having to destroy the ones they had already lost. If this man, and his people, could help them end this, then wasn't it worth it?

Finally, she lowered her arm before switching on the safety for Avalon's sidearm. Turning it around, she held it up for him to take back. "We don't have the time for this, Avalon," she said as he accepted the weapon, "You…are right. We can't afford to become divided now. And if that means that I must…trust your people to help us…then so be it." Before he could say anything, she raised her hand and pointed at him, saying, "But, I will only agree to ally with you for this battle. Once Hallelujah is dead and gone, there are no promises. Do you understand me?"

"…I suppose I can live with that," he replied as he holstered his weapon again. Hearing footsteps off to the side, he turned to see that Kita and Kamikage had approached them.

"…I never thought I'd see the day," Kita said, looking at Avalon and then at Kongou, "Even with the 401 and its crew, I never really thought I'd watch one of our own put themselves on the line for something like this."

"It's not as great as you seem to think it is, old timer," Avalon replied, allowing himself a humorless smirk, "We just don't have the luxury of, well, anything right now. It's either work with them or die."

"So, this enemy really is as dangerous as Gunzou made it out to be?" Kamikage asked.

Nodding, Avalon invited them back inside. There were, after all, other things that they would need to work out before they really started building this fleet. Watching them, Gunzou couldn't help but smile. Whether or not Avalon realized it, he'd done something incredible. Kongou was wildly considered a traditionalist among the Fog, so getting her to concede to any kind of change was a challenge on its own. Even if they went back to being enemies after this, things would undoubtedly change because of his resolve.

"Things will be different once this is done, won't they?" Sou asked his Captain, although it was more of a statement than a question.

"Without a doubt," Gunzou replied as they followed the others inside, "Regardless of where this battle takes us, things will change."

"…You did WHAT?!" Avalon demanded, glaring murder at an unapologetic Hyuuga.

It had been less than a full day since their meeting to formalize what was being called the Yokosuka fleet. Avalon had privately wanted a flashier name, considering how significant this was. Even just using 'Blue Steel' as the name would have worked for him, but it had been agreed that they couldn't assume relations would stay cordial once this battle was done. Besides, it was highly likely that the fight would take place somewhere near the port city, so it had made sense.

Once the ball had started rolling, Avalon had stepped out since his knowledge on naval matters was basic at best. He'd returned to the Assault Container and collapsed into his bed gratefully, completely drained after everything he'd dealt with. Of course, fate had to prove that it had a vendetta against him, since when he woke up the next morning it was to an unpleasant surprise from Hyuuga.

"I just thought it'd give you better protection is all!" she protested, sitting calmly in a reconstructed version of her capsule, "I don't see what the big problem is, anyway. It's not like I changed the entire design. I even rebuilt the big sword from your records, so what exactly is your problem?"

"My problem is that my Gundam doesn't have the processing power to handle a system like that!" he shot back before sighing and face-palming, "Now my drive has to supply power to a system I can't use."

"Who said you couldn't?" Takao asked, appearing behind him only to pout slightly when he didn't jump in shock. Truth be told, she enjoyed those reactions.

"How about the fact that Klein fields are designed to work with Fog processors?" he asked, turning and looking at her, "And my Gundam certainly doesn't have one of those."

"It will when I'm aboard."

"Well, I don't see how…" he began before her words finally sank in, "…What?"

"I said I'm going to be with you in the Exia," Takao said simply, "You can focus on piloting and combat, while I'll keep an eye on the wider picture and manage the Klein field."

"Takao, no," he said somewhat forcefully, "Forget for a moment that I'm much more likely to get taken out than the ships. If Hallelujah, or any of his mobile suits, get a good hold on me then they're going to seed ELS material. I'm not exposing you, any of you, like that."

"Well, that's just too bad, now isn't it?!" she demanded, walking up so she was in his space, "I guess I need to remind you of what happened during your last fight against that bastard, again, don't I?!" Before he could try and interrupt her, she just continued as her voice steadily rose in volume. "We have no way to make new ships here, and without Iona conscious we can't even use her ship in this fight!" she shouted, "While Hyuuga might be willing to act as command and control in the back lines, I'm not about to let the rest of you go out there without me! I'm also not about to ride second-seat to one of Kongou's ships, and I sure as hell am not letting you out of my sight again! So guess who that leaves me with, Avalon!"

Seeing the look in her eyes, he had no doubts that this was an argument that he would lose. The fact that she'd gone around him and convinced Hyuuga to install systems only a Mental Model could handle proved as much, and he was sure that it had been done on Takao's request. And while a part of him wanted to suggest that she could take the Assault Container again, he knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. Considering how bad this battle was likely to get, he couldn't risk his only means of orbital escape now. He was risking a lot just by taking the Exia out, so if he could potentially have better protection then…

"…I'm going on record and saying this is a bad idea," he said before turning back to look at Hyuuga, "Alright, what else has she convinced you to do?"

"Nothing I wasn't going to do myself," she replied as she gestured to the Exia's prone form, "I tweaked the solid swords to increase their efficiency, while also reinforcing them to better resist extreme temperatures. Your large sword also got a special upgrade, although I don't think you'll be able to use it much outside of your…what was that red mode called again?"

"The Trans-Am," Avalon replied as he walked up and placed one hand on the side of the Exia's head. Half of the machine might be made of nano-material now, but it still felt good having it back in one piece. Taking a moment to be thankful for that, he asked, "You didn't mess with the drive, did you?"

"I would need a proper understanding of its construction first," Hyuuga replied, somehow not sounding upset that she didn't, "Considering what's going to happen, I'd recommend taking this machine out for a test flight. I'm not sure if the addition of so much nano-material has thrown its balance off, so it could be worth it to get used to any changes now."

"I will, but first I need to check on someone," he said as he turned to leave.

"…Sister Iona hasn't woken up yet," Hyuuga informed him, looking down as she guessed his intentions, "As things are now, I don't think she will until we deal with Hallelujah. I'm guessing the Captain's considering Kongou's proposal?"

That, more than most things, had surprised Avalon. He never would have guessed that she'd offer to take the Blue Steel's crew on personally, giving them access to her systems in order to ease her own load. On the surface, it seemed to be a gesture of trust, but Avalon had his suspicions. He wouldn't put it past her to take them hostage after the battle and either deliver them to Yamato or barter them for concessions from the rest of them. Of course, there was still the possibility that she was sincere in her desire to win, and she recognized that Gunzou was likely their most capable leader for the fight. It only made sense to station him on one of their battleships, considering they had the strongest Klein fields.

But going so far as to at least appear to trust Gunzou to command her, or at least advise her, was not a decision he had seen coming. 'Maybe my little speech really did have an impact,' he thought, remembering that the rest of Kongou's ships had also said they would take on crews. Even Kita had given his tentative approval for their temporary alliance, especially after Avalon laid out everything the ELS were capable of to him and the Secretary.

Now, the Mental Models were teaching the humans how to handle the systems they would need to, while the humans were pointing out aspects of seamanship and naval combat that the Mental Models lacked. Even if this partnership only resulted in an exchange of knowledge, he would consider that a plus.

"I'm willing to bet that he's going to accept," Avalon said after a moment, "If nothing else, it will give her the chance to get to know humans other than me."

"Yeah," Hyuuga agreed before smirking, "She really doesn't like you, does she?"

"The feeling's mutual," he said.

Taking a deep breath, he decided that rather than trying to find something to do he was just going to rest. Walking to one end of the Container, he sat down and leaned against the wall. Doing so jostled his left arm, and he felt a brief lance of pain because of it. After being sure the two girls were looking the other way, he reached up and gently massaged the area near the main plate. He'd been getting lances of pain on and off from the prosthetic ever since his defeat, and he was worried it meant something was really wrong. Bringing his left hand up, he slowly clenched it into a fist before opening it again. As he did so, the pain returned as a dull throb, and that just concerned him more.

"Something wrong?" Takao asked, noticing his look.

"Nothing important," he replied.

"Really?"

"Takao, I'm fine," he assured her as he lowered his arm, "Quit fussing, I'm not that fragile."

"Uh huh," she replied skeptically, but she left it at that.

Hyuuga, meanwhile, and seen him looking at his left hand, and she could guess what might have been bothering him. If his prosthetic was damaged, that could become a problem.

"Avalon, you should let me check your arm," she said as she floated over.

"It's alright, Hyuuga."

"Right, because the rest of you survived that explosion so well," she shot back as she stepped down onto the metal. Before she could press the issue, however, the base alarms wailed.

They only hesitated for a moment, and then they were in motion; Hyuuga was moving for the nearest hatch that would take her outside while Avalon was running for his room to grab his pilot suit. Takao, meanwhile, had quickly brought up a diagnostic screen to check the Exia before she boarded it. They also all triggered their communicators, with Avalon beating them to the question.

"What is it?" he demanded as he skidded to a halt in front of the door.

"Multiple contacts at the extreme of our range," Shizuka replied. They'd broken down Iona's support ship the previous day before using it and other components to create another 'radar string' like the one they'd had at the Blue Steel's base. While Kongou had questioned the need of such a thing, Avalon was glad they'd done so. "I'm hearing at least five different engines," she continued, "One of them is a cruiser, I think."

"You think?" Takao asked, really not liking the uncertainty in the girl's voice.

"They're deploying interference, and it's messing with the acoustics," Shizuka told them, "Also, the number of contacts are-ARGGH!"

"Shizuka?!" Avalon demanded, stopping with his suit half-on.

"…I'm alright," she said, panting and sounding in pain, "…Multiple explosions. They just…they just cut the wire. I'm blind."

"Upload their previous positions and headings," Gunzou requested, "All hands, to stations! This is it!"

Avalon hadn't known until that moment how much he was looking forward to hearing those words, or how much he dreaded it at the same time.

Forced onto the defensive, the newly created fleet throws all they have against Hallelujah's rebuilt forces. Meanwhile, Avalon faces his old friend once more in combat.

Next chapter; Yokosuka

Meisters clash as a world's future hangs in the balance.

A/N; Alright, got this one out sooner than I hoped! Also, I feel like I should say something now so it's not as much of a shock later. There's a particular world that I'm going to need to use next that doesn't actually have a dedicated page on this site. Thankfully, I shouldn't need to spend much time in it, so folding it into another one won't be too bad. I hope. Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying that this particular one won't end with him leaving this realm. There's going to be some time spent in another place before he jumps to that next world.

That also means you'll get to see where he goes when he's not in a realm, and I'm looking forward to writing that. So, I hope you enjoy, and feel free to drop a comment. They're always nice to read, so long as you're not trying to be real hurtful.