21. The World Torn by Storms
The lounge was empty but for four. Snatcher, Roman, and Yzma stood before Mozenrath, who fixed his teammates with a stern glare, awaiting their report.
"As it were," Snatcher explained, "once we reached Knightdock proper, I placed a call in to an acquaintance of sorts. One Officer Walter Clarence, who was quite besotted with Madame Frou Frou. We exchanged pleasantries, of course, and I was able to extract from him exactly…the information you don't want to hear."
"Try me," Mozenrath suggested.
"The Datascape was apparently returned to someone whom Mr. Clarence does not believe is its rightful owner," Snatcher explained. "A boy matching the physical description of the one we saw escaping the mountain. Mr. Clarence identified him as 'Sora.'"
"Sora," Mozenrath repeated.
"Perhaps the worst of it is this is the SAME boy who led those bratty teenagers to hold us off in Vale," Yzma added.
"Describe him again," Mozenrath demanded.
After Snatcher, Roman, and Yzma fought to have the floor and give Mozenrath a breakdown of the boy's physical features, Mozenrath put up both hands to silence them all. "I've heard enough," he stated. He lowered his hands; "The same boy who gave us a humiliating defeat in Radiant Garden. This 'Sora' could potentially be a problem to us. Sooner or later, we're going to need to figure out how to destroy him."
"Completely agreed!" Yzma and Snatcher said in unison; Roman just nodded.
"In the meantime," Mozenrath went on, "I want to share a little story with you. Once upon a time, I recruited a thief named Amin Damoola to do a little bit of my dirty work. All he had to do was turn the Sultan of Agrabah to gold, then bring that statue to me. I outfitted him with…admittedly the bottom of the barrel when it came to the magical tricks and trinkets I kept on hand at all times, but it should still have been enough for him to bring me back the Sultan and secure the conquest of Agrabah for me. Still, he failed. I pressed him into servitude after that. It was the standard punishment. He was in charge of cleaning, cooking, every task I didn't want to do myself that I could think of piling on his shoulders to make him miserable. Then, after certain plans failed to come to fruition in a ruined city and my gauntlet was buried somewhere in the vast expanse of desert by a pack of annoying sprites, I enlisted him in digging for it and watched him slowly burn in the heat of the sun while I stayed in the comfort of shade. It took months for him to find the gauntlet, and once he did, he ran away. He found a way to escape without my notice, and I never heard from him again until Aghoul mentioned that he was present in the standoff against Maleficent.
"Why am I telling you this? So you know what I could and all rights should be doing to the three of you for failing to protect that Datascape. After all, it had the Atmos outlined on it as our next target. There's a fifty-fifty chance that it will lead this 'Sora' right to us."
"Fifty-fifty?" Roman interrupted.
"Atmos is a world divided in two," Mozenrath told him. "I'll explain later, when I'm not trying to make you all realize how much you potentially ruined EVERYTHING. Yes, I should demote you to servitude, or perhaps strip you of your humanity, or maybe even just cast you out into exile on some desolate wasteland of a world you can't leave." He sighed, his expression changing completely, becoming more sincere. "But I'm not going to."
There was a silence before Yzma asked, "And, er…why?"
Roman elbowed her hard in the side. "Don't ASK; just TAKE IT!"
"I daresay you've actually gotten attached to us," Snatcher realized, smirking proudly.
"Mamluks were so much easier," Mozenrath sighed. "Never thought I'd fall this far. But yes. We're close enough to…kindred spirits that you three can consider yourselves safe for the foreseeable future."
"Thank…you…?" Yzma replied gingerly.
"I think it's sweet, Righty," Roman taunted. "You actually have real FRIENDS now."
Mozenrath raised a hand, index finger extended, to tell Roman off for that remark, but he lowered it and gave first a sigh, then a small smile. "I suppose I do. I would say not to spread it around, but they all know at this point." The smile faded. "This better not be what undoes us."
"Could make us stronger," Snatcher suggested. "Only a possibility."
"It could," Mozenrath agreed. "You're all free to go. I have to figure out what to do about our Sora problem. Though if we could isolate him, we would have the advantage in numbers. We could bring him down together."
"After all, what are friends for?" Yzma joked.
...
A week passed.
Roman found Mim out in the forest, hand pressed to a tree that was gradually growing blacker and more hole-ridden by the moment; birds, squirrels, and insects abandoned ship as quickly as they could, springing onto nearby trees, scuttling into the grass, taking wing for the skies.
"Mad Madam Mim!" Roman greeted. "Are you rotting this tree just to watch it die?"
"That is EXACTLY what I'm doing!" Mim crowed.
"Have I ever told you I like your style?" Roman replied.
"You're being awfully pleasant today," Mim told him. "I'm not sure I like it."
"What, can't I tell my good buddy how beautiful and smart she is – "
"YOU STOP WITH THOSE INSULTS RIGHT NOW, MISTER!" Mim removed her hand from the tree to wag a finger at Roman.
Roman sighed. "I need a favor."
"Then spit it out!"
"So you know Neo looks up to you like some kind of twisted mom, right?"
"She's a most delightful friend!" Mim confirmed.
"Glad you think so," Roman told her. "Because I need you to take her somewhere else for a while. Somewhere that's not here. Pick a world, any world."
"Why?" Mim asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Wellllll…" Roman put up his hands to gesture while he explained things. "So Archie and I are getting pretty serious."
"We all know," Mim answered. "We've heard."
"So the news spread – "
"Oh, no, I meant we can hear you through the walls of your room."
Mim found the look that came across Roman's face when she informed him of that fact absolutely priceless. He gave an awkward cough before trying to resume, only to sputter, "Wait. YOUR room is on the other side of the mansion from mine!"
"I know. You're THAT loud," Mim said gleefully.
"You're…making things up?" Roman tested, but Mim's expression held firm, and he knew she wasn't. His face flushed momentarily, but he forced himself to regain composure. "Anyway, there's a little thing Neo likes to do when I'm really interested in somebody. She likes to…test their durability. To make sure they're tough enough to run with us."
"I'm not sure I get your meaning."
"So the other day, during lunch…"
...
On the other day in question, Roman, Neo, and Snatcher had been taking lunch together in the lounge; Neo dished out lamb stew into all of their bowls.
"I'll say," Snatcher declared, stirring his spoon around vigorously in his bowl before thinking about taking the first bite, "I was skeptical at first, but I'm growing to like this town. No one's batted an eye at us yet."
"Well, except for when I ordered the lamb for this at Cudgel-point," Roman brought up.
"Really," Snatcher told him, "one time around, we've got to find a way to acquire our basic necessities without putting you at such risk."
"That just takes all the fun out of it," Roman informed him, grinning broadly.
"I suppose it would," Snatcher said, returning a thoughtful smile. "At the end of the day, that's part of your charm, after all. Your constant – "
There was a tiny "clink" as his spoon hit something else metal. Reaching delicately into his stew with two fingers, Snatcher withdrew a nasty-looking silver sewing needle that glimmered under the lounge's low light.
As Roman gaped in horror, Neo eagerly gave Snatcher vigorous applause, pleased that he'd passed yet another one of her tests.
...
"…And that's just ONE example," Roman finished explaining to Mim. "In the interest of not having the next time be cyanide, or, arguably worse, milk, which can't actually be fished out with a spoon, I kind of need her out of the house for a bit. Maybe put her destructive energy toward something that actually needs destroying."
"Taking Neo on a day out sounds fun!" Mim told Roman. "I'd be more than happy to! Perhaps I'll invite Aghoul as well! Oh, we could spread so much chaos back on the world I come from!"
"You're a pal, y'know that?" Roman replied.
"This better not turn into more insults," Mim warned.
Roman shrugged. "Wouldn't dream of it."
A thought occurred to Mim. "Where is Mr. Snatcher, anyway?"
"Scoping out the next world with Righty and Iceman," Roman answered. "Apparently, there's some kind of crystal there that will work for the Air part of our spell."
"I can't imagine THOSE three can be having that much fun together," Mim remarked. "Not without any of us along!"
They passed Yzma and Wuya, who stood outside a locked door clutching shower baskets filled with luxuriously scented toiletries. The former banged on the door, screaming, "MIM! YOU HAD BETTER BE ALMOST DONE! YOU'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR TWO HOURS!"
Wuya cleared her throat loudly, tapping Yzma on the shoulder with one finger and pointing at Mim as soon as Yzma's attention was gotten. Yzma gave a great sigh. "You turned on the water, locked the door, and teleported out, didn't you?"
"You know it!" Mim laughed.
"You're shameless," Roman told Mim, giving her a proud clap on the back.
"Finally, a compliment!" Mim crowed.
...
As Mozenrath had informed his cohorts, Atmos was a world largely composed of barren or violent wastes and populated by hulking beasts. Civilization had taken refuge on top of a series of plateaus, each separated by miles upon miles and only accessible to each other through air travel. This particular plateau had been devoted almost entirely to an enormous amusement park, rainbow lights flashing all over and the scent of fried food permeating the air.
"Digsusting" was the first observation Vexen had to make about it.
"Truly, this is a moment of opportunity!" Snatcher announced. "Men of intellect, such as ourselves, forging a path through a realm previously unknown!"
"Tell me the entire world isn't given over to such frivolities," Vexen sighed.
"Only this Terra, as far as I know," Mozenrath replied, keeping his voice low so as not to alert any passerby to just how far away the trio hailed from. "That's what they call the kingdoms here. I don't know which one we're on, thanks to SOMEONE leaving the Datascape behind – " He gave a brief glare to Snatcher. " – But the one we're looking for is Terra Atmosia. That's where they keep the Aurora Stone, which is the crystal that should, according to my research, give us the best results. Now, about getting there…"
Mozenrath strode several paces toward the heart of the frivolity, passing parents guiding children who carried positively massive bundles of cotton candy. He put a hand on the shoulder of a nearby man and asked, "Is this Terra Atmosia?"
"You don't know?" the man responded, giving the trio a look of disgust before he turned away and lost himself among the crowd.
Before Mozenrath could ask another member of the throng, Snatcher put up a hand; "Wait for it."
They waited. And waited. But Vexen said nothing.
"Mr. Vexen," Snatcher said at last, "I was wholly expecting a reproach about how Lord Mozenrath thoroughly proved himself to be an outsider to this world."
"Hm?" Vexen tore his gaze away from the crossbeams of one of the roller coasters. "I was observing. There's something rather unusual about this park. That being said, whatever Mozenrath just did, I'm certain it gave us completely away."
"Well?" Mozenrath asked. "What's out of the ordinary here?"
"Have you noticed that a great many of these…shining metal diversions are brand-new?" Vexen posed. "And yet the district we came from had much, much older machinery."
"So they built more rides for their park," Mozenrath reiterated, deadpan.
"Perhaps…" Vexen mused. "And yet I see even more machines that are a mixture of both aged metal and newly polished substance. It is indeed likely that it is all a matter of construction out of want. But another possibility occurs to me. Could a part of this park have, in fact, been destroyed and then rebuilt?"
"Possibly," Mozenrath replied. "After all, this world does have a history of war."
"All the better to keep in mind," Snatcher stated cryptically. "I must thank you for pointing it out, Mr. Vexen."
"And just why is that?" Vexen raised a brow in curiosity.
"Gentlemen," Snatcher began before turning to stalk further into the crowd. Picking out a target, he stepped alongside a woman munching great mouthfuls from a packet of flamecorn: "Pardon me, Madam! I apologize for this inconvenience, but my cohorts and I were en route to Terra Atmosia when we became thoroughly turned around."
The woman nodded. "It's easy to get lost around here." She pointed in a direction, and Mozenrath and Vexen immediately memorized its location in reference to the position of the sun. "My family's actually from Atmosia. Keep heading that way and you can't miss it."
"I thank you kindly, Madam," Snatcher responded, sounding as sincere as possible. "Pity you aren't a native to this world, then. I was about to congratulate you on the reconstruction."
"It's hard to believe it's finally up and running again," the woman sighed, looking toward the tops of the tallest rides with nostalgia. "I thought it was gone for good after the Cyclonian warship wiped it all out."
"It would have taken an incredibly large warship to do as much damage as I've observed," Vexen stated.
As the woman looked to Vexen, puzzled, Snatcher clarified: "We still can't comprehend the size of it ourselves. We saw it pass on the horizon, of course, but it was simply unbelievable to us. We never truly got a handle on it. Was it truly as large as they say?"
"Well, they SAY it was as big as an entire Terra," the woman replied, "and from what I saw, I would say that's right."
For a moment, all Snatcher, Mozenrath, and Vexen could hear were the words "It was as big as an entire Terra" echoing through their heads.
"Unbelievable, right?" the woman said to break the silence.
"…Most certainly!" Snatcher snapped himself back to attention.
Mozenrath positioned himself behind the woman, right in Snatcher's line of sight, being sure to slowly and deliberately mouth the words "ASK ABOUT THE SHIP."
"'Twas a terrible tragedy, all that," Snatcher went on, giving Mozenrath an almost imperceptible nod. "Funny thing. Reason we got lost in the first place is we were taking a detour to see the site of the, er, Cy…clon…ian? Ship's last stand, which we never ended up finding."
"I think it went down somewhere near where Terra Cyclonia used to be when we thought it was still just a Terra?" the woman said tentatively. "That would be…" She pointed again. "I THINK it's that way. No promises. I know I wouldn't want to even look at that thing, but to each their own." She shrugged.
"Well, thank you for all your help," Mozenrath told the woman, stepping back into her view. "I think we can take it from here."
"No problem!" The woman continued to stride on, making her way to a row of game booths. "Good luck!"
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mozenrath asked hushedly as soon as the woman had left.
"A warship the size of an entire Terra would certainly solve our space qualms with the manor in Twilight Town," Vexen pointed out. "Perhaps everyone could finally stop griping over how many bathrooms there are."
"You included," Mozenrath pointed out.
"Not to mention it would have better defenses that would negate our need for a low profile," Snatcher added.
"If we took it far enough offworld," Mozenrath mused, "we wouldn't have to worry about blending in anywhere. I'm sure all it would take is a decent amount of magic to place an airship that size in the space between worlds. So it sounds like we're in agreement: we have a new goal."
"And once we've acquired a weapon of that caliber," Snatcher pointed out, "obtaining this 'Aurora stone' would be a mere cakewalk."
"Will it?" Vexen posed. "We can't be the first to have thought of this. Why is a Terra-sized warship lying around where anyone can commandeer it, yet no one has?"
"That's a question we'll answer when we find it," Mozenrath decided. "We'll just have to succeed where everyone else failed when it comes to that. First, we should go back for a few of the others."
"I know Torchwick will be quite elated to hear there's a new airship that needs a pilot," Snatcher stated.
"I must admit I still don't see what in him appeals to you," Vexen commented, "and your display today exemplifies just that."
Snatcher's voice had an edge to it as he asked "How so?"
"Simply that you got us what we wanted quickly, peacefully, and without making waves," Vexen pointed out. "You've somewhat of a silver tongue. Torchwick, on the other hand, would have held this entire Terra hostage at gunpoint until someone gave him the answer he wanted, and we would have become Atmos' most wanted."
"Torchwick and I merely take different approaches to such things," Snatcher argued. "His is more direct."
"And once we have that warship," Mozenrath pointed out, "we're going to be VERY direct about what we want. Torchwick is exactly who we want at the wheel, guns blazing."
"I suppose," Vexen snorted.
"As for Torchwick's approach," Snatcher said coldly, "I'll ask you to put your observational skills toward him a bit more carefully until such time as you no longer see a need to complain about him."
"If this is going to turn into a fight," Mozenrath sighed, "at least wait until we're back in Twilight Town."
"There'll be no fight," Snatcher vowed. "…Provided Mr. Vexen chooses his words more carefully."
"Is that a threat?" Vexen replied.
"NOT HERE," Mozenrath seethed. "AND NOT NOW. What happened to men of intellect, trailblazing this or that? Focus on this: we're about to move house into our greatest weapon to date and seize the Element of Air in one fell swoop. Compared to what we've had to go through for the last four, this should be easy."
"You shouldn't have said that," Vexen and Snatcher immediately replied.
"Whatever lies in wait for us is going to be infinitely worse now that you've SAID that!" Snatcher hissed.
"I would have waited to tempt fate until our victory was closer to assured," Vexen added.
Mozenrath shrugged. "At least I got you to agree on something."
...
Necrolai struggled for a lie as Maleficent's gleaming eyes burned into her mind. She wondered if the faery knew that she was searching desperately for something to say, something that sounded convincing. She hadn't the faintest where the Book of Prophecies had disappeared to, but with Leelee on the line, she was ready to say anything.
"Sculpin mentioned a hiding place for the Book," she sputtered at last. "He took it to…" She prayed that the phrase she'd come up with matched the description of an actual world. "The world torn apart by storms!"
Maleficent's mouth curled up into a grin. Obviously she liked what she'd heard. Necrolai's heart beat impossibly fast. "The world torn by storms," Maleficent repeated. "An unlikely hiding place…but perhaps that is what makes it so fitting."
As she turned to leave the room, the temperature dropped strikingly, sending chills and aches through Necrolai's body. "Be aware that if you lie," the faery stated on her way out of the room, "there will be grave consequences. But you and your daughter will both remain alive until then. After all, if you are wrong, you are still of use to me."
Necrolai knew she'd been had; if Maleficent somehow turned up the actual Book of Prophecies on this "world torn by storms," it would mean Necrolai and Leelee could both be tossed aside and killed. But without a lie, Leelee would have been brought to death's brink and back again and again, and Necrolai knew it. There was no way out.
In the circular gathering room, Cinder and Jafar awaited Maleficent's approach. "We are going to a world called Atmos," she stated. "A world torn in two, divided by storms. And to tell you the truth, I have had my eyes upon this world for quite some time."
"And why is that?" Jafar wondered out loud.
Maleficent summoned her staff to hand, circling her hand over the globe. A light projection emitted from it, forming into a miniature scene tinted with green: a girl of about fourteen aboard an air skimmer, piloting it at maximum speed, glancing briefly over her shoulder at something that elicited a sneer. She carried a staff of her own, though this one looked to be more mechanical than Maleficent's, and she used it to throw a beam of energy behind herself at whoever or whatever was pursuing her.
"This girl's heart," Maleficent explained, "contains an immense amount of Darkness. Such as warranted observation. I believe she could be of great use to us."
...
Nora Valkyrie hoisted Magnhild high, then brought it down hard over the back of an Ursa. The Ursa's spine cracked, and so did Magnhild, the head separating cleanly from the shaft.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nora gathered up the pieces of her weapon and cradled them as though they were a fallen comrade.
Riku and Kairi took out the last Ursa on the battlefield by slicing across it from different angles. The Grimm had ambushed Riku, Kairi, Nora, Jaune, and Ren on a side street, and Jaune and Ren had already been unable to participate, as their own weapons had been broken in prior bouts. With Vale in shambles, there was no opportunity to give the weapons the proper care or maintenance.
"Well, there goes Magnhild," Jaune sighed. "Looks like we're running on Keyblade power now." He held up the severed hilt of his sword and his cracked shield in dismay.
"There has to be a way we can fix all these broken weapons," Kairi insisted.
"Where would we?" Ren asked her. "Every facility that deals in weapons is closed now."
"I wish we could take you to Radiant Garden," Kairi lamented. "The town there is full of weapon shops. Someone there could repair all your weapons in an instant!"
Riku's peripheral vision caught sight of something small, white, and very familiar making its way down the road one block over. "Huh?" He blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. Then he ran toward it, discovering that it was, as he'd perceived, a Moogle. "HEY!"
The Moogle made an excited squeaking noise before greeting, "Hello, kupo!"
"Hi," Riku replied, skidding to a stop; Kairi, Jaune, Ren, and Nora had begun to follow him. "What are you doing all the way out here? We haven't seen any Moogles on this world so far."
The Moogle nodded with understanding; these were obviously people who knew about the network of worlds, and whom he could be open with without disrupting world order. "We wanted to open up shop here, kupo! But it seems we picked a bad time. Everything is overrun with monsters, and nobody has the time or money to spend on even a Potion! So I'm going back home!"
"Where is home?" Riku asked.
"Radiant Garden, kupo, of course!"
"Can we hitch a ride there?" Riku continued. "We could use a trip to town."
"After looking at this place, I'll say you could, kupo!" the Moogle insisted.
"If you're sure it's not too much trouble," Kairi added.
"Of course not!" the Moogle said happily. "My ship has more than enough room for six!"
"ROAD TRIP!" Nora cried. "WE'RE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP!"
Riku smiled at her. "It's a little more exciting than an ordinary road."
...
Wind rushed through Master Cyclonis' short-cropped dark hair as she sped her skimmer through the skies of the Far Side of Atmos. A very valuable crystal indeed had just come into her possession without permission from its owner, and this brought a pleased smirk to her face. As satisfied as she was, however, she realized she had to be on her guard, for it was only a matter of time until she was caught up with by –
A distinctive horn sounded through the clouds behind.
So they'd found her already.
Inside the airship known as the Condor, young captain Aerrow, leader of the sky knights known as the Storm Hawks, looked down through the front window to see Cyclonis speeding ahead. "There she is!" he cried.
"Dude, she is SO not getting away with this one!" sniper Finn said with a fist-pump.
"Remember, we have to be careful," crystal specialist Piper warned. "That Disruption Crystal packs a punch. If she uses it against us – "
As this conversation took place onboard, Cyclonis had fumbled with the stolen crystal, attaching it to the tip of her staff. She spun the staff back over her shoulder, firing a beam of energy at the Condor. The beam burned right through the floor of the cockpit and out through the roof, causing all of the Storm Hawks to leap to the side, away from the burning energy. With a scream of fright, the ship's Merbian pilot, Stork, ended up leaping into the arms of the Wallopian strongman Junko. Only when he was sure it was not so much safe as less dangerous than it had been did he lower himself to the ground. "She. Did. Not. JUST. Put a hole in my ship!" Stork growled. "THAT'S IT! MAKE HER PAY!"
"Let's go, everyone!" Aerrow beckoned, waving his friends to follow him to the ship's hangar. Weasel-like co-pilot Radarr chirped enthusiastically as he followed.
"Y'know," Finn urged Stork, "if you're really that mad about her messing with the Condor, you should come out and help us take her down."
"Ohhh, I'm fine right here," Stork replied. "See, from in here, not only do I not get burned to a crisp by that Disruption Crystal, but the Condor and I are also at the ready to bail the rest of you out when you inevitably need it."
"Well, we appreciate it," Piper told Stork with a smile, which he returned. "Keep close behind us, okay?"
Stork flashed her a thumbs-up, and Piper, Finn, Radarr, and Junko took off following Aerrow to the hangar.
Cyclonis knew they would be mobilizing to take to their own skimmers. She was ready. So far, they'd tried to take her into custody no less than fifteen times since they'd all arrived on the Far Side, and she'd evaded the grip of the law every single time. This would be no different.
However, a variable presented itself. From an enormous Corridor of Darkness, a black mass of rock descended in the air in front of Cyclonis, where it suspended to support the three people standing upon it: a dark-haired, pale woman in a red minidress; a tall man robed in red with a twisted beard; and an elegant woman clad entirely in black who seemed to have a faint green tint to her skin.
Cyclonis veered her skimmer to avoid the rock and its triad of occupants, but Maleficent pointed her staff at Cyclonis, and suddenly the skimmer was halted in midair, unable to progress, surrounded by green aura. "Wh…" Cyclonis forced the controls of the vehicle only to find that none were working. "WHAT did you to do my skimmer?" she barked at Maleficent.
"Master Cyclonis," Maleficent said calmly. "I would like to make a proposal to you."
"I DON'T HAVE TIME!" Cyclonis barked. "Now LET ME GO or I'll – "
"Oh, but of course," Maleficent replied. "We shall just have to make time, won't we?" She turned her staff upward to point it at the Condor.
Inside the hangar, Aerrow, Finn, Junko, and Piper took their places on their skimmers; most were of an X-wing model, but Piper's ran on a propeller-based design instead. Radarr hopped into place behind Aerrow.
"So…think we'll actually catch her this time?" Finn wondered out loud.
"We can hope!" Aerrow replied with a debonair smile.
"Let's go get that crystal back!" Junko announced.
They readied to speed out of the hangar, to pursue Cyclonis, to surround her and perhaps this time actually arrest her for her crimes.
But before they could move, the Condor exploded in a conflagration of green flames.
From below, Cyclonis watched in awe as the vehicle that carried her nemeses was reduced to fire and shrapnel in mere moments. A slow grin crossed her face, growing wider and wider. She finally turned her attention away from the brilliant emerald explosion in the sky, addressing Maleficent once more; "So. What did you want to talk about? I'm listening."
High above, one moment, Stork was at his usual post behind the wheel of the Condor, filled with his usual sense of dread that somehow, in some way, this encounter would lead to the doom of the whole crew…and yet this feeling had never quite come to fruition the same way as it did this time. The next moment, the floor beneath his feet was only shards of metal and carpenting, and he was falling down, down, down through extreme heat, flames licking his body momentarily only for him to miraculously escape the worst of the fire. Above him, growing slowly smaller in size as he fell, the remains of the Condor burned. He had enough of his wits about him to pull the cord on his emergency parachute, which ballooned up above him, slowing his descent to a safe one. But between the physical and mental shock, blood rushed and ebbed from his head, and soon after, there was only blackness.