As the title of this chapter suggests, the time for running and hiding is coming to an end, and the time for action to be taken is quickly approaching. Our heroes are now returning to Mickey with the ammunition they need, so will Mickey use HIS ammunition for the right reasons, and against his true enemies? Read, my dear readers, and see! Thank you again for your support, and enjoy! :D

Turbo's eyes glowed as we began to head out of the cave, slowly looking up at me as he took my hand in his. "Are you going to be okay...?" He asked. "That was... a lot to handle."

I took a breath, nodding. "I'll be fine." My expression was hard; what the ponies were doing were heartless enough, but this? To murder their own kind? This was despicable.

Rayne walked, not floated, in deep thought. King Candy noticed this, gravitating towards her.

"Stho... that're you thinking about?" He asked.

She glanced over at him, her own eyes glowing in the dark as well. "If you're curious... I suppose I can tell you." She narrowed her eyes a bit. "But first... why did you embrace the girl?"

"The girl? What're you talking about?" King Candy tilted his head.

"Vanellope. You two were enemies."

"No... I never hated her. I never hated any of the Sugar Rush ratherth... but... in the end, they all hated me. Becauth of thomething I never even did."

"Hm... so why do you think she confided in you earlier... if she hates you so much?"

King Candy furrowed his brows in deep thought. "Well, becauthe she wath scared..."

Rayne nodded. "So... perhaps she confided in her enemy... because something far scarier threatened to harm her?" She raised a brow.

"I... thuppoth..." King Candy looked up at her for a few moments, before smiling lopsidedly. "Your eyeth are even more beautiful in the dark..."

Rayne cleared her throat, hissing as she whipped her head forward. "Don't stare at me!"

Rosie looked up at Ralph, staying close to hirm. "Ralph... I never thought that I would ever see anything like this... do you think... that this all has some meaning?"

"Huh?" Ralph asked her. "Meaning?"

"That... this is supposed to happen for some greater reason? What... what reason could there be for this to happen? What were we all put here for if this is how it will all end up?" She asked shakily.

Ralph stopped, bending down so she could see him better. "Now you listen, Rosie..." Ralph held the ponies in one arm, and drew Rosie close to him with the other. "We were not created to end up like this. I know we weren't. We're all going to protect each other, and we will figure something out, together. As long as we have each other and we remember all the good reasons to fight, nothing can stop us."

Rosie smiled lightly, hugging Ralph close. He smiled, scooping her up as they continued out. When they reached the outside, they stood there baffled as they came upon a very interesting conversation underway.

"Gawrsh, this is so confusing. So why can't I go in there now?" Goofy scratched his head.

Zim pulled on his bottom lip with his hands, stomping his feet. "LISTEN TO ME, YOU POOP DOG!" He screamed. "I was commanded by the tall human to guard this cave, no one can enter or the almighty Zim won't get praises! So go back to your filthy hole before I lay eggs in you, I mean it! It's bad enough I lost my STUPID robot when he mistook a rock for a burrito!"

Goofy blinked. "You sure are angry a lot... g'hyuk! You remind me of my friend Donald!"

"STOP TALKING!" Zim screamed, about to vaporize Goofy when I cleared my throat.

"Zim, I think we'll take it from here." I walked up to Goofy.

"Hey, you're the human! Mickey's awful mad, he's lookin' for ya!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Goofy, listen to me. We need Mickey's help. We found something in this cave that can help in the fight against the ponies. If you ask for Mickey to listen to us and vouch for us, I'd be extremely grateful." I said.

Goofy rubbed his chin in- for him- deep thought. "Well, you don't seem like anything Mickey said you would be..."

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, Mickey told me all this stuff about humans, how bad they are... but, you're a human, and you seem pretty nice! G'hyuk!"

Rayne rolled her eyes, rubbing her temples. "Good grief..."

I smiled lightly. "Thank you. So... will you help us?"

"Sure! I'll take you to Mickey and I'll tell him you're not horrible after all!" Goofy exclaimed.

Rafael stood there, shaking his head. "I swear, if I'm not on drugs..."

Mickey was waiting with the other overseers and Oswald, sighing as he inspected the cage we broke out of. "Someone assisted them, helped them escape." Mickey deduced. "Dirk, any sign of Goofy? He's been gone for a while... I hope he didn't get himself into trouble."

Dirk pursed his lips, glancing from side to side. "No sign of him yet, Mickey..." He then blinked when he saw something in the distance. "Wait, that may be him!"

Mickey gasped. "TV Guy, can you zoom in on him?"

TV Guy nodded, turning his dials a bit and Mickey looked at his face, seeing that not only was Goofy approaching... but he was accompanied by Rafael and I, Rayne, King Candy, Turbo, Ralph and Rosie, Felix and Calhoun, Vanellope, and Zim.

"What is Zim doing with them...?" Oswald asked to himself. "That guy is weird..."

Mickey took a step forward once we reached him. "Good job, Goofy. I didn't expect you to actually bring them back with you, I'm... shocked, actually. I only sent you to find where they were."

"Gawrsh Mickey, we were wrong about those humans... they're not so bad after all! They're pretty nice! In fact, they said they found something that could help us!" Goofy exclaimed.

Mickey facepalmed himself. "Goofy, they're just being nice to TRICK you! Don't you know when you're being deceived? Oh, never mind I even asked... just get back with the others, I'll handle this."

"Oh yeah, like you've done a fabulous job of handling everything else, this should be a cinch!" Oswald commented.

"Goofy isn't lying." I said, taking a step forward. "We found something in the-"

"I, found something." Rayne interrupted, before turning to Mickey. "Pleasure, by the way."

I rolled my eyes before continuing. "Okay, RAYNE, found something in the cave back that way, that could serve as a great help to us all to fight the ponies. They have a side of this story that needs to be heard by everyone. But you have to compromise with us. If you don't, you will never be able to defeat them, I can assure you that." I said.

"You think that making a deal is going to change my mind?" Mickey said. "I have hundreds of citizens to protect!"

Oswald growled, going up to the mouse and shaking him. "You are SO stubborn, you stupid rat!" He shouted. "Who CARES if they're human, they're TRYING to help us! You're gonna turn them away just like everyone else because they aren't a part of your happy-go-lucky group? Just shut up for once in your life and let someone else run the show, for ONE second!"

Mickey stared at his brother in shock and surprise, never seeing him act this way before. He may have always been bitter, but to fight him like this? Mickey silently turned back to us, clearing his throat.

"Oswald is right." Goku added. "We need all the help we can get, human or not. If they posed some kind of true threat to us, then I would understand your concern. They are offering something that may assist us. We should see what they have."

Mickey nodded and looked up at me. "Show us what you have."

"Just a moment, now..." Rayne floated forward a bit. "How do I know you're not going to just lock us all up after we tell you everything for committing treason? You give us your word, and we'll start talking."

Goku narrowed his eyes. "Who are you to speak that way to us? Do you know who we are?"

"Oh, but I do, Goku. But you have no idea who I am... not a single clue." She grinned, returning her gaze to Mickey. "Your word, mister mouse."

Mickey narrowed his eyes. He had heard about her briefly when she had caused chaos in the arcade some time ago. He was well aware she was force to be reckoned with, and was beginning to see this with his own eyes. He sighed lightly before nodding. "Very well, you have my word. Now, show me what you have to offer."

"Excellent." Rayne nodded as she floated aside, allowing Ralph to step forward and place the four ponies from the cave down as gently as possible.

"The generation one ponies..." Oswald tilted his head. "I haven't seen you for some time now... you know, why aren't YOU helping the other ponies take over?"

Paradise stood shakily. "Because... they are not like us. They... there is something very bad about them." She shuttered as she remembered that fateful day, and Pinkie Pie staring down at her, not a single ounce of remorse for her predecessors as they were attacked. "They seem very sweet, and loving and kind, but we have seen their true colors... and they aren't beautiful like their manes..."

Mickey took a step forward. "How so? How do you know that someone isn't behind all this, possibly controlling them?"

Paradise motioned Morning Glory to come forward, and she sobbed lightly as she dragged Meghan's skeleton forward, weeping over it. "This is what they did not long after they first arrived in Hubville. When they came, they called the other ponies from their generation to come and attack us. When they left, they left the rest of us to die... not one sea pony was alive after the first week... the pegusi didn't survive long either, for the others broke or tore away their beautiful wings... the unicorn's horns were broken, they couldn't make magic... we all starved and died away..."

Zim was wiping tears from his eyes, and Goofy handed him a tissue, but when Zim realized someone saw him crying, he flailed his hands and swatted him away. "I just got a... a moose in my eye! I don't need that!"

Mickey seemed deeply troubled by the generation one pony's tale, and Oswald was shocked.

"I had no idea this had happened... no one really went in that cave because we knew you were all inhabiting it. If you had come to me, I could have saved more of you." Oswald frowned.

"We were too weak... there was no way we would have made it out without collapsing from exhaustion..." Morning Glory said quietly.

"Ralph, bring them to the main gathering, have them tended to and nourished." Mickey said. Ralph nodded, gently picking the four ponies up and carrying them to where they could rest and recover.

"Mickey..." I started, approaching him. "I know that you dislike humans, and why. In many ways, you're right about them. But there's always good and evil everywhere. And if we work together, we can save both our worlds, together, we can have a chance to fight them. Please... accept my help."

The mouse turned around, thinking of his family and loved ones... his Minnie. He would do anything to protect her. He looked up at me, taking my hand to shake it lightly. "I'll accept your help... we... we'll work together."

"Finally!" Turbo threw his arms up. "Now, can we all just relax for a bit without being locked up or chased or kidnapped for five minutes?!"

We returned with them to speak to Mickey and make plans for a counter attack. But first, we needed to be aware of what was happening in both worlds in order to plan properly.

"PRAISE ME!" Zim screamed.

Rayne grit her teeth, having to deal with Zim's sudden outbursts for some time now. She was about to strangle the life out of the green alien when I rolled my eyes, getting down on my knees. "Oh, almighty Zim! You have done your job valiently, let me bow to you in gratitude!" I bowed a few times, and Rafael was doubling over in laughter, Vanellope leaning against his leg, also doubled over in giggles. Calhoun had a weirded out look, and Turbo just stared, bewildered.

"Maybe I should ask her to do that for me..." Turbo said to himself.

"Alright, enough fooling around!" Goku shouted, glowing a bit. "Discussions will go underway NOW!"

I straightened up, dusting myself off. "Okay, no that that's out of the way... Mickey. Can you explain how this all started, exactly?"

Mickey nodded. "I'll give you a summary. It began when humans had found a way to come into contact with cartoonverse. According to what Hub deduced, the ponies immediately made themselves known to the humans and made sure they established immediate contact, and continued to maintain talks with the humans until they were welcomed with open arms into the human world. While this was happening, they were secretly building factories in Hubville that were producing great numbers of their pony kind as an accelerated rate, thereby creating giant numbers enough to invade every single province in cartoonverse. Now, the only thing I know about the real world is based on what Chip and Dale reported back to me, that the human race had bent to the ponies's will somehow... exactly how this was done, I'm not sure."

I nodded. "Now that part I can fill you in on. Based on what I know, I think that they put something... either some substance, or magic, or enchantment... into the baked goods products in my world so that whomever ate it was put under their control."

"Huh..." Mickey raised his brows. "Well, it must only work on humans... if it worked on toons, they could have just done that to all of us instead of trying to drive us all out."

"Well, that's a relief..." I breathed.

"But here's the weird thing." Rafael spoke up. "Kara had eaten some of the bad cookie pony magic stuff, she and King Candy had made it. King Candy ate some, didn't do anything to him. But when Kara ate it... she didn't become like the others. It made her sick, really sick. She was throwing up really bad. It's like her body rejected it, and that's why we were being chased, because it was like Kara had some kind of resistance to it."

"Is that so?" Mickey looked from me back to Rafael. "Did it have the same effect on you?"

"Oh, I didn't even want to risk trying that crap. I have no idea." Rafa replied.

"I see..." Mickey nodded. "Alright. We now know both sides of the story. We have to plan what we must do now to stop them. We will need to have forces both here AND in the real world in order to stop them."

Rayne took a step forward, pondering a moment, as well as Calhoun. "Okay." Calhoun started. "We're going to need to do some spy work before we can make battle plans. We're not going to stop them unless we demobilize those factories in Hubville. We need to know exactly what we're dealing with here."

Mickey nodded. "Good point. But Hub said the place is heavily guarded, it will be hard to get a good layout without being caught."

Rayne raised a hand. "I managed to order a game console, create an entire game, blend in with the entire arcade without suspicion, and almost took over the entire place all under Surge Protector's nose... leave the stealthiness to me."

"Yes..." Mickey wasn't particularly happy with her supposed accomplishment. "But you will still need Hub to guide you, being he is the only one we have from the province, he is the only one who can guide you through it."

"Very well." Rayne glanced over to the floating sphere, smirking a bit. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun together."

Hub chuckled nervously, gulping. King Candy pouted a bit, slightly jealous that Hub got to spend precious time with the apple of his eye.

"What about the real world?" I asked.

"That will be difficult... we'll have to figure out what we're fighting against, and where exactly to begin." Mickey replied.

"When I'm finished lurking around Hubville, Kara and I can go to the real world and get an idea of what forces await there." Rayne replied.

I looked at her. "You... and me?"

Rayne smirked a bit at me. "Yes... we'll discuss some things there while we conduct the search."

I cleared my throat. "Fine, sure."

Rayne nodded, looking to Hub. "Well, let's get moving then, shall we? Now or never." As she turned to leave, she felt a light tugging on her arm, whipping around to bare her teeth at whomever touched her. King Candy jumped back a bit, clearing his throat.

"Boy, he really likes to play with fire, doesn't he...?" Ralph commented.

"What do you want?!" Rayne snapped at him.

"I... I jutht wanted to thay... be careful." King Candy replied, looking up at her bashfully.

She rolled her eyes. "And why would you be concerned as to what happens to me, besides the fact that I am a huge asset to this side of the playing board?"

King Candy blushed a bit, smiling at her. "Becauthe I... I care about you."

Rayne was taken aback, raising a brow in surprise. Even she could sense the genuineness in his words. "Don't be ridiculous. This isn't the time for emotions like this. Besides, I'm the last person you should care about... because I certainly don't care what happens to any of you." She turned, tuning King Candy's voice out as she floated with Hub to the edge of cancelville.

Rayne slithered like a snake in her 2D form as Hub floated near her, leading the way to Hubville. Once there, as they had discussed with themselves, he would pose as a distraction while she mapped out the place to report to the others upon their return. Just outside the province, the swarms were even larger, and Rayne looked up at Hub, as if she were sticking her head out of water.

"You know what to do. Sweet talk the sugar coated beasts while I do my work. Don't let them on to anything and this should go smoothly. Understand?" Rayne said.

"Yeah... this should be a piece of cake..." Hub said to her as she slinked back down, fully 2D again as she slithered forth. "I am so dead..." He whined to himself.

He lost sight of Rayne, wondering if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Hub looked all around, a bit horrified at the large swarms of ponies either prancing or flying around, a sea of high pitched, spine chilling giggling rippling through the air. When he turned around to continue forward, he gasped when Pinkie Pie was right in front of him, scared half to death.

"Hi there, Hub!" Pinkie giggled. "Didn't think I'd see YOU here!"

"Oh, Pinkie... I... I'm glad to see you're doing well." Hub replied.

"And why wouldn't I be doing well, hmmm?" She asked, circling around him.

"I, I didn't mean that... it's just... it's been some time since I've seen you."

"Yeah... where have you been anyway, Hub? I thought you liked us..."

Hub gulped, trying to quickly come up with an answer to her question.

Meanwhile, Rayne slithered into Hubville, past all of their lines of defense, completely undetected. She narrowed her eyes, quickly scanning the place; it was filled to the brim with ponies, some even walking right on her without realizing it. The factories were all joined together to make one large, single unit, and Rayne rolled her eyes. It was going to take about a month to get through the whole thing... but she knew she had no time to gripe, continuing on to mentally record the layout of the giant facility, pumping out dozens of ponies per second. She found an air vent nearby, smirking to herself as she slinked up the wall, slipping into it.

Little did she know that on her way up the wall, she had been spotted.

"Well...?" Pinkie asked Hub. "What's the matter, horseshoe stuck on your tongue?"

Hub cleared his throat. "Listen, Pinkie... I'm going to be honest with you... because, well... I care about you. I took a big hit for you guys, see, the other overseers were giving me a hard time, I had to tell them it was my fault, that I caused this. It... would have broken my heart to see them keeping you hostage and interrogating you like they did to me... b- but I didn't tell them anything, I swear... I... I stayed loyal to you." He smiled nervously.

Pinkie tilted her head, smiling sweetly at him. "Aww, Hub! I knew you were still our friend! Once a part of the herd, always a part of the herd, right?"

"O- Oh, of course!" Hub nodded.

Pinkie put a hoof around the floating sphere. "Come on, buddy! Let me show you all the upgrades I've done!" She led him to the facility grounds, buzzing with ponies chattering and moving in a chaotic fashion.

Rayne maneuvered through the many rooms of the factory quickly, mentally mapping out the place. She took note of the size of the rooms, the machinery, the equipment, and any entrances or exits and what they entailed; security systems, locks, anything that could be used as a weapon or defense mechanisms, her eyes darted, scaling and analyzing everything. However, as she did so, a certain rainbow colored pegusi narrowed her eyes, chuckling darkly as she followed the black shape moving along the ground, thin as paper. Rayne moved as speedily as possible, for she had a lot of ground to cover. When she reached a- miraculously, quieter area of the factory; a cafeteria, she became three dimensional, exhaling deeply as she stayed behind a wall. It was hard for her to stay two dimensional for this long, so she took a moment to breathe before continuing on her mission. As she was about to continue forth, she gasped as she was forcefully knocked forward, grunting as she wriggled, trying to flip over onto her back to see her attacker. Rainbowdash was fast though, grabbing a mouthful of Rayne's hair and dragging her over to a barrel of water filled with apples, dunking Rayne's head into it.

"Huh, I heard rumors that you were supposed to be REALLY powerful... some powerful human you are! you may be able to resist our spell to make you one of the herd, but you can't fight us!" Rainbowdash shouted. She grabbed a carving knife, grinning darkly. "Say goodbye, stupid human..." She lifted it into the air, about to stab Rayne in the head. However, this was interrupted when Rayne's hands, which were gripping the barrel, crushed it, water splashing everywhere and covering the floor. She threw her head back, emitting an inhuman shriek as her eyes burned with fury, groping at the pony clinging to her back. Rainbowdash gasped, hissing then the carving knife was dropped, clanging to the ground. Rayne grabbed her mane, flipping her off and crouching down low, whipping her head up so the pegusi could see her face clearly, baring her teeth, her black, wet hair clinging to the sides of her face.

"You are greatly mistaken, filthy beast..." Rayne spoke in dual voices, her aura glowing around her in red mist. "I am not the human you take me for... I am something far, far worse." The carving knife levitated, soaring through the air, its target right between Rainbowdash's eyes. However, this was the speedy one of the ponies, and she quickly moved out of the way, the knife embedding itself into the wall. Before Rainbowdash could pursue Rayne again, she became 2D again, slithering about the room, but her voice still echoed.

"Don't fret, wretched thing... we will meet again, when the time is right. For now, I have business to attend to... I will have the pleasure of ending your wicked life at a later time..." Rayne said before exiting the room. She had to finish quickly and get back to Hub.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie continued to speak with Hub in a meeting room within the facility. As they spoke, the door suddenly burst open, and Rainbowdash flipped some wet hair out of her face.

"Pinkie, we have a serious problem." She said.

"Oh, now now, Rainbowdash, can't you see we have a guest?" Pinkie giggled.

Rainbowdash looked to Hub, narrowing her eyes. "It seems our 'guest' didn't come alone..." She narrowed her eyes. "Someone is spying in the factory... I tried to get her, but she got away. She's got powers I couldn't keep up with!"

The corner of Pinkie's lip twitched, smiling a bit. "Really? Well then... Rainbowdash... go back out, and find the intruder. Bring a search team with you. I'll stay here and continue my little chat... with Hub."

"Okay." Rainbowdash said before zipping out of the room.

As Pinkie turned, her pupils shrunk, her curls unfurling into pin straight locks, her smile having gone from sweet and sugary to frightening, growing so wide she threatened to stretch her face to its limits. Hub realized the jig was up, and the floating sphere cowered in fear as Pinkie loomed over him.

Oh my! Is this the end of Hub? Will Rayne be able to search the rest of the factory, save Hub AND save herself? Will she be caught in the process? Find out next time and more in this exciting adventure! Don't forget to review! :D