For He's a Jolly Good Fellow...

Disclaimer: Same as before. Warning, I wrote this on a caffeine high about five minutes ago.

~ ~ ~ ~

Bilby rolled out from under the mosquito netting of his cot once more. The good dreams were worse as the nightmares, because he at least knew that the nightmare was reality. The good dreams were merely thoughts of what might have been, ones that meant he would sleep well, only to awaken with the knowledge that it wouldn't ever happen.

The dream was always the same. The sunshine poked through the Venetian blinds of the window of the comfortable suburban house. Martin Bilby moved gently in his bed, trying not to rouse Akima, who was sleeping soundly beside him.

It didn't work, she woke up anyway. She smiled at him, "It's beautiful isn't it?"

"You know, in the years since I picked exile to this world, I haven't regretted it." Bilby replied, gazing at the verdant greenery of New Earth, the warm tropical sea that his backyard overlooked.

"I haven't either." Akima replied, smiling back, nestling against his side.

Bilby smiled contentedly, this was the only thing in the world he ever desired, a stable loving home, a simple existence, a life that flowed at an even, non-frantic pace. Well there was the wee bit of excitement that would befall New Earth occasionally, but other than that, nothing really ever happened.

He could see a pod of bottlenose dolphin playing in a newly created reef. They had all been born and nurtured last year and they were growing well in their lagoon playground. The green of the palm trees in the back yard was particularly vibrant and despite last night's storm, everything was absolutely wonderful.

Most beautiful was the house he and Akima had built since they had driven the Heartless of a year ago. In the backyard, Akima tended a small, but healthy garden. Bilby helped tend their tiny vegetable garden as well. They still had their jobs, Akima flying for the New Earth Defense Force and Bilby training their same force. Other than training and the occasional pirate attack, New Earth had few problems.

It may have been an adjustment, living on a planet again for the Drifter Colony refugees now having a new home, but Martin Bilby, former member of the Gamma Unit, had helped them understand the basics of planetary living.

He glanced at a picture on the table, it was a picture of Akima and himself at their wedding, six months ago. Outside several small children already were playing, carefree and innocent. Bilby propped himself up on his pillows to watch as Akima smiled at him, "So, Martin, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking this is the best choice I ever made..." Bilby began.

He always woke up after this part of the conversation. He always woke up to the dismal reality that New Earth was gone, its surviving residents scattered like the inhabitants of many worlds destroyed by the Heartless. He knew Akima was no longer living, and that lovely domestic scene he often dreamt of would not be his to live.

Was this the sacrifice the old sage had mentioned? If it was, then where was that damned Keyblade. "Hey Bilby, we've got another flight!" Sergeant Aroza, Super Seven Four's junior crew chief shouted.

Warrant Officer Peyton Farquahar, 1st Lieutenant Ray Granger, and Staff Sergeant Theodore L. Foresman, the senior crew chief, a short squat, chubby fellow from North Dakota, were preflighting the aircraft. About a dozen Rangers piled into the aircraft and Bilby was designated to provide eyes on target, basically dropping any moron with an RPG in Los Angeles trying to shoot down the Black Hawk.

The Rangers were hooting and laughing excitedly. They loved these profile flights, gathering intelligence around Los Angeles for the next surprise Gamma Assault on COBRA positions. The Gamma snipers flying on the birds were less enthusiastic, but still vigilant. The last time a thug with an RPG tried to shoot down a Black Hawk he wound up being hit by three separate bullets from three different snipers. Mario, Shades, and Hedaya had all hit the same target from three different helicopters. The flight had ended, pretty much uneventful except for a single RPG gunner that Mario had nailed through the skull with a single round.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Guys, have you noticed Bilby's been looking a little down in the mouth lately?" Althea remarked.

"Well duh, big sis, he just lost the woman of his dreams." Trinity remarked, the triplets had an annoying tendency to speak in unison lately.

"I say we try and cheer him up." Tabitha said. She had begun hanging out with her former housemates more and more, while a lot of the other Institute kids hung out on their own. Multiple, Kitty, Kurt, and Bobby were sitting in the room as well.

"There are plenty of healthy females of breeding age in the area, maybe we should put in a personals ad for Sergeant Bilby." Xi suggested.

The room went dead silent for a long time of about a minute and a half and then was filled with tearing laughter. "Xi, sometimes you are a laugh riot." Lance said, wiping tears out of his eyes.

"Yeah, moody Australian sniper, seeking woman." Fred replied, "That sounds like something Pietro would write."

"Hey!" Pietro snapped.

"No, seriously guys, what should we do?" Kitty asked.

"We could hire strippers." Pietro remarked.

"We'd be doing KP duty forever if we did that." Althea replied, "Besides, I've got a better idea."

~ ~ ~ ~

"Courtney, do you hear something strange?" Shipwreck asked as he walked downstairs, where Cover Girl was grading papers.

"No, I don't hear anything. What's up?" Cover Girl replied.

"The fact that nothing's exploded, caught fire, or otherwise been destroyed in the past hour." Shipwreck replied.

"Hmm." Cover Girl remarked, "Come to think of it, you're right. The older X-men and most of the students are on a training exercise with Stith and Gune, the babies are sleeping, and the Misfits..."

"They're supposed to be in here waiting for Roadblock and his Home Economics class." Shipwreck remarked.

"Do you think those ninjas....?" Cover Girl remarked.

"Courtney, seriously, those ninjas were morons through and through, they couldn't handle trying to sneak into the house a couple nights back." Shipwreck replied.

"Hector, I'm serious." Cover Girl replied.

The pair started to search through the house and saw that the babies were still sleeping soundly in their crib, but the kids were nowhere to be found. "Hector did you just see something moving outside this room?"

"Courtney, it was probably just my stupid parrot again." Shipwreck remarked.

"Awk! I've been in here the whole time! Awk!" Polly remarked.

"Then that must mean..." Cover Girl remarked.

"The ninjas..." Shipwreck replied, grabbing a pair of tiny cymbals he had bought for Claudius earlier that day.

"Shh! Shipwreck, that ninja could be right outside the room." Cover Girl remarked, grabbing Barney's little whiffle bat.

Shipwreck held his arms out as wide as he could, holding they cymbals at the moment a head poked around the corner. "Let him have it!" Cover Girl shouted.

CLANG!!! The sound of cymbals crashing together with a head in between resounded throughout the house. Unfortunately that head belonged to none other than Roadblock who fell like a shotgunned bird to the ground.

"Oh Shipwreck..." Roadblock began, "YOU ARE DEAD!!!"

"Yikes!" Shipwreck shouted, running like a lunatic.

~ ~ ~ ~

Bilby walked into the Misfit house, he was still down about that dream he'd had last night and part of this morning. He opened the door, rather surprised that he didn't hear explosions or fighting.

He got an even bigger surprise when he walked into the living room. "SURPRISE!" all the Misfits shouted.

"For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fell-ow! Which nobody can deny!" The kids all sang.

"You kids are the best." Bilby said, grinning tiredly when suddenly the big banner they had made ripped in half as Shipwreck tore through it with Roadblock after him.

"Come back here and be clobbered Shipwreck!" Roadblock shouted.

"HELP!!!" Shipwreck shouted then he stopped, "Huh? Where have you kids been?"

"We were planning a surprise for Bilby." Althea explained, matter of factly.

"Some bozo here thought the ninja nincompoops abducted you. Excuse me while I turn him black and blue." Roadblock replied.

"BAGGA WAGGA!" Claudius yelled in Cover Girls arms, banging a pair of tiny cymbals together.

"Shipwreck, of all things, did you have to buy your kid a pair of cymbals!" Low Light yelled from an arm chair as he put down his novel.

"They were on sale." Shipwreck shouted, "Sue me!"

"I'll do worse than that!" Low Light shouted and tackled Shipwreck.

Cover Girl and Roadblock watched the pair brawl on the living room floor, the Misfits all trying to give Bilby a group hug with Fred jumping in on the deal.

"Courtney, why in Sam Hill did you start dating Shipwreck again?" Roadblock replied.

"I don't know Marvin." Cover Girl began, not wanting to reveal what she knew about Shipwreck's sensitive side.

Bilby's depressed mood seemed to have temporarily evaporated, "Blimey you chaps are a lot of fun."

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I know, kinda short, I'll meander back to the plot eventually, but what do you expect from a sugar high...