Brandy's Bizarre Adventure

by Von Reivanon

Brandy the Bandit lives happily with her king Oticat, her best friend Dan the Knight, and the rest of her fellow troops. But when the dark machinations of an evil King and an evil Clan start to tumble into motion, her life is thrown into chaos. Rated T for intense action, peril, heavy themes, and slightly suggestive content. And yes, there are lots and lots of JoJokes.

13. Chapter 12

"Cookies! I made cookies!"

The cry rang throughout the rooms of the Legendary floor of Oticat's castle, as the bright rays of the late morning slowly filtered throughout the halls.

"Wha…", Brandy mumbled, her eyelids fluttering open. She sat up, smacked her lips together, and yawned, stretching all the way back down onto Dan's torso. "Cookies?"

The words banged around inside of her head for a few moments, before they made contact with the conscious part of Brandy's brain. Her eyes shot open, and she straightened up almost immediately.

"Mmph.", Dan mumbled, and slowly raised his head. "Honey, what are you doing-"

Brandy placed one hand on Dan's arm, using her momentum to catapult herself off the bed and onto the floor. "Just waking up."

Brandy landed on the floor with a slight thud, muffled by her impeccable form. She grabbed her freshly washed cloak from where it had been hanging on a nearby chair, swinging it around her shoulders with a bright flourish. With another quick set of movements, she slipped on her socks and boots, then reached for her gloves. "Aren't you waking up too?"

With a massive movement, Dan slowly sat up. He rubbed his eyes, and stared dead ahead.
"Yeah.", he said. "I guess I am."

He stuck out his arms to the side in a T, while Brandy pulled on her slick gloves. Dan's armor, which had been placed on the other side of the room the night before, flew to him in an instant, guided to the perfect spots on his body by the Star that swirled around him. The cloud of golden light fell back into him as the armor congregated on his body, then disappeared. He left the front of the helmet off, though- Brandy liked that.

"Who said something about cookies?", Brandy asked, turning her head to sniff the air. "I heard someone calling."

"I think it was Helen.", Dan said, standing up from the bed. "You know, the Villager."

"Right…", Brandy said, thinking of Helen's tendency and talent of cooking. "Probably her."

She was about to say something more, when she felt Dan scoop her up by the waist, placing her gently onto his shoulders. "Let's go get some breakfast, Brandy. I'm starving."

"Good idea.", Brandy said. "Probably grab some cookies on the way."

Dan opened the door, stooping so as not to hit either his or Brandy's heads on the doorframe. They walked out to head downstairs, leaving the stillness of their room behind. They were still both too tired to quite here the muffled laughter coming from around the corner, by three mischievous individuals.

Song: Silver Twist

"It's a bright, early, sunny day on the Continent of Royale.", said the radio cheerily, barely even able to be heard over the sounds of frying eggs, bacon, and especially pancakes that were right next to it. "For all of you living up near Frozen Peak, though, be on the lookout. I hear there's a snowstorm in the area."

Crink the Mini Pekka, not wanting to hear any more rhetorical nonsense, used an extra-long finger extension to flip the channel to something different.

"The Continent of the Clans is currently-"

"Locals report-"

"The entire Village of Ty85 gone missing-"

Crink was sure that it was interesting news to some people, but he did not wish to hear it. He scrolled through several more channels, including old news reels, a Goblin talk show, and some assorted music before coming to his favorite- a seemingly endless conversation between a Mini Pekka and a regular one.

"Butterfly.", said the Pekka.

"Pancakes.", the Mini Pekka responded in kind.

"Butt. Er. Fly.", said the Pekka, with a sudden stroke of genius.

"Pan...cakes?", the Mini Pekka guessed, not really knowing how to handle that type of retort. Crink nodded in agreement, in awe at this Mini Pekka's soul and wit.

"Ey, Crink!", came a voice from behind. "How about hooking me up with some of that food, huh?"

Crink turned around to see Dan, and put his hands on his hips. A plume of smoke rose out the sides of his head, which turned a bright red and spun around.

"Oh, sorry.", Dan said, and bowed a little. "Chef Crink."

Crink pretended not to hear him, and turned back around. He focused all of his attention on the food he was cooking, refusing to give Dan any. He had slighted his honor as chef, and thus did not deserve anything in Crink's eye.

"Dan, I got this.", Brandy whispered, as she saw Dan begin to clink his fingers together in annoyance at the Mini Pekka. "Don't worry."

"Can I have some?", Brandy asked. Crink brightened up, and turned around. He spread out his hands, as if indicating Brandy to make a selection.

"Yeah, uh…", Brandy said, and put her fingers to her chin, leaning back on one foot. "Lemme get a… 12-piece bacon pancake with a foot-tall of OJ, make a platter of toast. Medium rare."

She elbowed Dan in the hand, and winked. He winked back, but Crink failed to notice. He merely switched out one of his spatula hands for a huge plate with a single perfect motion, loading up a massive payload of food onto it. He swung around towards Brandy, handing her a plate that was nearly as large as she was.

"Thank you, Crink.", she said, straining under the weight. "I'll just- oof- let Dan help me hold this one, if you don't mind?"
Crink gave Dan a grumped-out stare, but said nothing. He merely returned to his work, and began to cook up another fresh batch of breakfast fodder.

"Now, where were those cookies Helen was talking about-", Brandy said, then saw the mentioned sitting calmly at a nearby table. "Ah! There!"

When Helen saw Brandy and Dan approach her, her old hands instantly flew to her skirt. She straightened up any lines she had in the cloth, then formed her hair into a tighter shape within a second. By the time Brandy hopped off Dan's shoulder and onto the table, Helen had managed to make herself look at least somewhat presentable- or so she hoped.

"Brandy! Dan!", she said. "What brings you two kids to my table?"

"Where are those cookies you were talking about?", Brandy asked, but Helen only looked confused.

"Cookies?", she asked, before Double, Trouble, and Tim at the next table over exploded with laughter.

"Haha!", Double laughed, clapping her hands together. "You fell for it!"

Trouble looked up from rolling around long enough to point right at Brandy. "You thought it was Helen talking about her cookies, but it was I, Trouble!"

Tim said nothing, as he wasn't that big of a talker. But he laughed.

"Really?", Brandy said, her keen eyes noticing something underneath their table. "Then what are…"

In a Dash and a flash, Brandy disappeared, grabbed one of whatever was in the box, and almost instantly returned to her seat. She turned the object over in her hand. "Huh."

Double looked down, then back up, trying to follow Brandy's pattern of movement. "Okay, okay, so we do have cookies. I guess that you can try one."

"They're chocolate chip.", said Trouble. "We both know how much you love those, right?"

"Neat.", Brandy said, and took a big bite. But as soon as she did so, all the Rascals burst out laughing yet again. Double wiped away a tear from her eyes, trying to form words.

"You fell for it again!", Trouble said. "Those weren't chocolate chip, those were oatmeal raisin!"

But Brandy kept on munching, much to the twins's chagrin. "What?", she said, giving them what almost nearly was The Look. "I like oatmeal raisin."

Nicolas the Electro Wizard clapped his hands together, and took a step back. He looked at the TV, which was now 6 feet across, flatscreen, slightly glowing, and powered via hooked-up Elixir pump. All in all, he and the boys were quite proud of their work.

"Hey, Oticat!", he shouted, trying to attract the King's attention. "TV's fixed!"

Oticat poked his head around the corner. "Oh, it is?"

Then he took a look at it, and boggled his eyes. "Uh, wow. Looks… different."

"Yeah, thought I should upgrade it a bit.", said Nicolas with a shrug. "I could, so why not- am I right?"
"Right…", Oticat said, and grabbed a sparking remote from the end table. It bent in his hands like rubber as he picked it up. "Well, let's see how it works."

"Now, I haven't tested it yet.", said Nicolas. "So just be warned, it might-"

Oticat, not really listening, flicked on the TV. It hummed for a moment, then immediately showed an odd looking cartoon of a muscular man in yellow throwing a steamroller onto an equally muscular man in purple and black. It was quite bizarre.

She turned to Dan, sneaking an arm up towards his shoulder. She only reached his elbow, but it was the thought that really counted. "Dan?", she asked quietly.

Dan looked up from shoveling a pile of food into his mouth. "Hmm?"

Brandy looked down, at the envelope that she held in her hand. She had no memory of grabbing it from their room- it must have been a subconscious action. "I had another dream last night."

"Mmm…", Dan said, and swallowed. "What of?"

"It wasn't just a dream, Dan.", Brandy said, tapping him on the arm. "It was a Dream. Like, a The Dreamer dream."

"Oh.", Dan said, and slowly put down his plate. He seemed serious now, more so than he had been for weeks. "Tell me about it."

Song: Rubicon

"There was… a Dragon.", Brandy said, recalling what she had seen in her vision from the night before. "But he wasn't just any Dragon. He was… different. Huge. Powerful"

Dan listened intently, nodding his head. He saw brief images flash in Brandy's eyes, but it was hard to tell what exactly they were.

"He was talking about… saving the world. Somehow.", Brandy continued. "And he was in some huge cave. And I think that… we were there."

"Where was the cave?", Dan asked. "Did you find out?"

"I didn't need to find out.", Brandy said, and leaned down. With a quick "excuse me, sorry", she grabbed a newspaper out of the hands of a nearby Goblin and brought it up to the table. "Look."

Plastered across the entire front page was a massive, if grainy, photograph of what looked to be an enormous golden Dragon in flight, spreading fire across an entire village. VILLAGE UTTERLY DESTROYED!, screamed the headline. No survivors. And not like regular destroyed, either. The Village didn't come back this time., said the words underneath in regular type.

Dan's eyes looked more and more worried as his gaze slowly went down the newspaper.

"Do you think that this is what you dreamed?", he said. Brandy nodded.

"We're supposed to go there, Dan.", she said, looking pleadingly up into his eyes. "That's what The Dreamer says. And plus…"

She took the envelope from her hands, laying it onto the kitchen table. "I think my parents are over there. I need to find them."

"Right.", said Dan quietly, staring forward into nothing. "I guess we never did that."

"Honey, are you okay?", Brandy asked, reaching her arm up the length of his. "You're acting a bit strange."

"No, I'm fine.", Dan said. "I'm just thinking. About… what could be over there."

"You mean you want to come?", Brandy asked hopefully.

Dan looked at her a little funny, then scratched her back with a single huge stroke. "Of course I want to come!", he said warmly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I wanna come!", said Chloe, as she slid in next to them with a cheerful laugh. "Where are we going?"

Brandy stiffened, and Dan almost choked. It took a bit for them to form words, Dan giving himself a few stone-breaking beats on the chest.

"Uh…", Brandy said, looking around in desperation. Her eyes fell on a bottle of honey, and she got an idea. She waved her hands in front of her face, hoping to distract Chloe from the conversation that she and Dan had been having.
"We were just talking about where we were going to go for our honeymoon!", she said, glancing at Dan for approval.

We already went on our honeymoon!, he thought. The uncharted forests, remember?

Yes, but Chloe doesn't know that, Brandy thought back. Just play along.

"Didn't you already do the honey moon thing?", Chloe asked, scratching her cheek.

Brandy's eyes widened, and she looked up at Dan. Her hands were still in front of her face.

"Um, yes.", Dan said. "But this is our second honeymoon. You know about second honeymoon, don't you Chloe?"

Chloe just tilted her head, almost like a little bird.

"I don't think she knows about second honeymoon, Dan.", Brandy said.

"What's all this, then?", asked Bowza, as he suddenly appeared next to Dan in a flash of golden light. Agatha was next to him, looking around in confusion.

"Bowza, what?", she mumbled, digging around in her pockets. "I haven't even put on my contacts yet! Why are we downstairs?"

"I'm sorry.", Bowza said. "I was just drawn to Dan's great emotions, and teleported automatically."

"Great, let's just make it a party, why don't we?", Brandy whispered under her breath. "It's not like we're talking about a secret operation or anything."

"Secret operation?", Chloe asked excitedly, and Brandy flinched. "Can I come?"

"NO!", Brandy screamed, then sat down. "I mean, no. Sorry, this is a private thing. Just me and Dan."

"Brandy?", Dan asked, and tapped her on the shoulder with a single spark of Star. "You might want to look up."

Brandy looked up, to see most of, if not actually all, of the Troops in the kitchen and dining room all staring at her. Her sudden outburst had attracted the attention of many.

"Heh, uh, sorry…", she giggled, and smoothed out her skirt. "Just, uh… overreacting to nothing, is all."

"No, you can't come, Chloe.", she said after sitting down again. "A honeymoon is just between two people."

"A honeymoon?", Bowza asked. "I thought you already had yours."

Brandy looked towards Agatha, meeting her eyes with an expression that read talk to me in private. Agatha nodded, and Brandy relaxed a bit.

"But you said it was a secret operation!", Chloe whined, slumping down into a floppy state on the table's bench. "That's not a honey moon!"

"Well, it's, uh…secret operation themed!", Dan said, making sure that his voice was loud enough to be heard from anywhere else in the room. "Yes, we are having a themed, second honeymoon on the Continent of the Clans, for anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks, starting very soon. Because we just love each other that much- don't we, Brandy?"

Brandy, sensing her queue, rubbed up against Dan's chest and closed her eyes. "That is right, honey."

The rest of Oticat's Troops, their curiosity appeased, turned away and resumed eating. Chloe walked away to join her sisters at the table in the center of the room. But Agatha and Bowza weren't so easily satisfied.

"Brandy.", Agatha said, a single random Skeleton popping up from somewhere behind her. "Something tells me that you're not really planning your second honeymoon."

Brandy looked around to make sure that no one was watching, which no one was. "No.", she whispered, then winced.

"Then tell me.", Agatha said. "What is it that you're planning?"

Brandy breathed in, then looked up. "Can't we talk about this somewhere else?"

Agatha gently placed her contacts in, then nodded. "That would be good. Bowza? Dan? Take us away."

Bowza but his arm around Agatha, and Dan around Brandy. There were twin flashes of golden light, and the two pairs vanished, leaving nothing behind but a faint gold symbol of a sword and the smell of electricity in the air.

Brave the Baby Dragon hopped up onto the table, where Dan had left the majority of his food.

Awesome!, he thought, and eagerly began to lap it all up. Score one crown for the mighty Brave!

Once the four arrived upstairs, Brandy tried to explain everything at once.

"I had a dream last night, but it wasn't just a regular dream, it was a The Dreamer dream, and there was this huge evil dragon but we were there and also there was this weird office and-"

"Woah, woah, Brandy.", Agatha said, patting one hand onto the air to get her to calm down. "Calm down. I can't understand you when you talk so fast."

"Okay.", Brandy said, shaking her head. She looked up again, and spoke.

"Me and Dan need to go to the Continent of the Clans.", she said.

Bowza arched an eyebrow. "Why?", he asked.

"There's a Dragon. A very important one that we need to go and find", Brandy said, and shrugged.

Agatha blinked, slowly trying to comprehend what Brandy had just said. "What?", she finally forced out.

"I had a Dream.", Brandy said, trying to explain. "There was a Dragon that said… something. At least, I think it was a Dragon. And we were there- me and Dan. And… I think that it means that we're supposed to go and find him."

Agatha touched the corner of her eye, dabbing away a single tear. She sniffed, and looked up.

"I knew it.", she said.

"What?", Brandy asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I knew that this would happen.", Agatha said. "I knew that you would try and find your parents eventually. Well, go if you must."

"My parents?", Brandy asked. "I mean, yeah, them too, but I think the real priority is the Dragon."

"Oh, I guess.", Agatha said with a shrug. "But I was really thinking about your parents."

"From the way you're talking, it sounds like you knew them.", Brandy said, suddenly suspicious. "Did you?"

"Perhaps.", Agatha said, then slammed her staff onto the floor. Larry popped out of the floorboards and gave a sharp salute, to which Agatha responded with a coded gaze. Larry jumped into the air and ran off, eager to complete his assigned task.

"Perhaps yes, or perhaps no?", Brandy asked. "Which is it?"

"Just perhaps.", Agatha said, then turned her head towards Bowza. "Light, are you ready yet?"

"And then, you gotta focus it- here's the good part- through your fingernails.", Bowza said, spreading out his hands in front of Dan. "It sounds weird, but trust me, it works."

"Through my fingernails?", Dan asked. "Really?"

"Yup.", Bowza said, and breathed in. Golden Star flowed into his hands, as he extended one finger. He gave a sharp exhalation, and a flash of blue light came from his fingernail that slammed into a book on the far shelf. It spun around once and fell to the floor, still slightly sparking.

"Woah…", Dan said, then breathed in a breath of his own. He had just been about to release it, when he saw both Brandy and Agatha staring at him impatiently. Brandy's foot tapped against the floor, and Agatha folded her arms.

Bowza placed his hands together, and bowed shortly. "I apologize. I was merely teaching Dan some… advanced techniques."

"That's fine.", Agatha said. "Are you ready?"

"Wait, are you guys coming?", Brandy asked. "Because that was not our intention."

"Oh, it wasn't?", Agatha asked in surprise, and she floated back down to the floor. "Sorry. I thought it was."
She felt a soft tap on her back, and looked down to see Larry jumping up and down, a small glittering ring clasped in his bony hands. He looked up at Agatha with pleading eyes, begging for her to take it.

"Well in that case…", Agatha said, and took the ring. She dropped it into Brandy's waiting hand, who looked at it with curiosity and natural admiration.

"What is it?", Brandy asked, grabbing it between two fingers and staring through it. "Some sort of good luck charm?"

"Close.", Agatha said, and Bowza put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's a very old item.", he said. "Known as the Ring of Three Wishes. We've been holding onto it just in case we need to go on a dangerous journey of some sort."

"Wishes?", Brandy asked in shock, staring at the item in a whole new light. "You mean this thing can grant wishes?"

"No.", Agatha said. "That would be amazing. But it does do something similar."

She grabbed the ring in her fingers, rubbing against two of the raised seams on the side.

"If you twist the ring together and press the button on the top, help will arrive.", she said. "No matter where you are. The help is… unpredictable, to say the very least, and it can only be used three times. But no matter what, help will arrive."

Brandy felt Larry tuck the Ring back into her pockets. She looked forward at Agatha and Bowza, who had served as practically her surrogate parents for basically her entire life. She wasn't sure the next time she would see them again, or how long the journey would take.

"Thank you, Agatha.", she said, and suddenly went forward into a hug. "Thanks… Mom."

Agatha was a little surprised, then she patted Brandy on the back. "You're welcome, Brandy."

Dan held out his fist, and Bowza met it with his own. There was a flash of golden light that briefly illuminated the entire room, before fading into the numerous cracks and corners.

"Well, see you soon.", Bowza said. "You're going on this quest, and all."

"Yup.", Dan said, not sure quite how to express his feelings on the matter. "See ya."

They bumped their own chests with their fists, as proud semi-father to grateful semi-son. The four stood there for a brief second, not knowing quite what to say next- until Agatha shattered the spell.

"Well, don't just stand there.", she said, and winked. "You've probably got a boat to catch."

Approximately half an hour later

"Is that everything?", Brandy asked, struggling under the weight of her pack. "You sure you have everything we need."

"Well, let's see.", said Dan, looking down into the huge barrel that he was carrying. "Some extra armor for me, some extra clothes for you, some extra food and Elixir for the both of us, and some other various, uh, supplies. And stuff."
He looked up, and gave a huge thumbs up. "Yep, that's everything!"

"Okay, good.", said Brandy, checking to make sure the Ring was still in her pocket, tucked safe and secure in its special pouch. "So… are we gonna leave now?"

"Yeah.", said Dan, but stopped. "I guess that we should."

They stood there for a moment, taking one last look around their room. The shelves were full of things they had collected, reminders of all the things they had done together. On on shelf was Dan's first sword, the one he had used while he was still a new Knight. Next to that was the Ice Golem Card he had found, pretty beaten up but otherwise still in good shape. Then there was a single piece of rubble from the castle of TheEvilOverLords, with a faint permanent marker drawing still scrawled across it. Far across from that was a pair of jars, the magical fluid within somehow managing to keep two Elite Barbarian hearts from collapsing into Elixir. And the grand prize of the whole collection, of course, was a pair of lovely, Gold and Gem wrought statues over the bedside, of Brandy and Dan together.

"You're worried, aren't you?", Brandy asked. "Dan."

"What? No.", Dan said, and Brandy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe."

"Come on.", Brandy said, and Dan gave in.

"Okay, I am kind of worried.", Dan said. "I mean, have you even taken one moment to consider just what it is that we're getting ourselves into?"

"I'm… trying not to.", Brandy said. "But come on, it's not all some quest. We can make this our second honeymoon. I already picked out a place for us to stay."

"Really?", Dan asked, and Brandy nodded.

"Yeah. It's a 4-star resort by the coast. We can plan our attacks in luxury. That's actually the place's slogan."

Dan grinned, and picked up another box in his massive arms. "I guess you're right. There's probably nothing to worry about. After all, it's only a short little vacation, with some fighting thrown in."

He strode towards the door, Brandy following in suit. "What could possibly go wrong?"

All things considered, those were probably not the right words to say right before beginning a quest.

Song: Limit Break X Survivor (Relaxed Version)

"Hey, you about to head out?", asked Kars, as he saw Brandy and Dan stumbling down the stairs. He raised his glass of Elixir, and burped.

"Yeah.", Dan said. "Just, uh, going on our second honeymoon is all. Heh."

"Nice!", Kars shouted, filling up his cup with Rage. "Good on you, bro!"

"Good luck!", Sadie said, next to a sulking Oticat.

"My two best Troops are gone again.", he said to himself. "And just before another special challenge…"

"Dad, don't worry.", Elizabeth said. "SpaceKrakenX is here, remember? His Troops can fill in."

Oticat blinked, and sat up straighter. "Why, you're right! And they're even a higher level, too!"

He enthusiastically waved to Brandy and Dan, who waved right back. "Good luck, kids! Don't get into too much trouble!"

Brandy chuckled a nervous laugh, and looked straight ahead. Oh, I hope.

So intent was Brandy on looking where she was going, that she forgot to look where she was going. She almost tripped over someone slumping in front of a random flight of stairs, somehow managed to catch herself right before she actually fell. She looked down, and frowned.

"Jack?", Brandy asked in annoyance. "What are you doing?"

Jack the Goblin Brawler was lying sprawled out in front of a flight of stairs, turning a mysterious dark purple crystal over and over in his hand. "S' nothing.", he said.

"Hey, Jack.", Dan said. "What is that?"

Jack briefly looked up in annoyance, before returning to the crystal. "Oh, it's just a little something I picked up in the raid."

"Raid?", Brandy asked. "What raid?"

Jack looked up. "What raid? I mean the raid on TheEvilOverLords! What, didn't you come?"
Brandy opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. She could have yelled at Jack, or told him just what her role was in the raid. But she decided that, in the end, talking to the notoriously thick-headed Goblin Brawler would be like talking to a brick wall.

"Ah.", she finally settled on. "I see."

Having finally reached the door to the outside, Brandy tossed her pack up onto Dan's arms. She turned around, giving one last final wave. "Goodbye, everybody!", she shouted. "See you all in a couple of weeks!"

"Bye!", shouted several Troops, as Dan and Brandy left the Castle, and slowly closed the door.

Fisherman's Wharf was a rather busy place. Dozens of ships left on the hourly, taking food and supplies from everywhere in the world to everywhere else. Slightly less common but still numerous were the travel ships, that carried people from all sorts of lands. Seagulls whirred in the air above, as the docks teemed with dozens of busy Goblin workers, oversaw by a handful of elite Fishermen. The sun loomed overhead, beating down on the dock with a heady mid-fall fury. There were several booths set up, as it was at all famous places, hawking wares ranging from frying pans to double-edged blades. Next to these were the typical crazy people, and the ones who chose to entertain such folks for fun.

"I'm telling you, I am the one who created the world!", slurred a clearly drunken King, his crown hanging low over his eyes. "I- burp -know all!"

"Sure, reddzeppelin, sure.", said Glaizman, a Knight. He slowly picked the King up by the armpits, dragging him off towards a nearby cart. "How about you come with me?"

"Thales!", reddzeppelin gestured wildly, waving his empty bottle of Party Elixir around in the air. "Of Miletus! Read his story! Read-"

Glaizman picked reddzeppelin off of the ground, swinging him into the back of the cart. He gave it a slap on the side, and it took off under its own power. "See that he gets home alright.", he sighed. "He needs it."

Dan and Brandy ran along the docks, carefully making their way through the crowd of smaller Troops. Brandy rode on Dan's shoulder as always, making sure he was going the right way.

"Excuse me, sorry.", he said, picking his way through a warren of Goblins. "I'm sorry, coming through. Sorry!"

"Okay, that's our ship up ahead.", Brandy said, pointing forwards. "The… the uh…"

"The Pesci Flapjack?", Dan asked, trying to read the ship that it looked like Brandy was pointing at.

"No, not that one.", Brandy said with a shake of her head. "Watch out for that Goblin. It was the, uh…"

"The Crappy Diamond?", Dan asked, reading the names of more ships. "The Goblin Stonehenge? The Hail Daria?"

"No…", Brandy said, racking her brain to try and remember the name of the ship. "It was-"

There was a momentary flicker of blue lights behind her head, and Brandy's eyes glowed as she suddenly remembered.

"The Undefined Value!", she shouted, just as she saw the ship up ahead. "That's the one!"

"I see it.", Dan said. "Just up ahead."

He looked out across the dock's crowded boards, calculating where a gap was about to open up in just a few seconds. Within half a second, his combat-oriented brain had come up with exactly the right timing and placement for him to jump- and he took his chance.

Brandy's eyes shot open in alarm, as Dan soared over the momentarily panicking heads of the crowd. He landed just in time to avoid squishing a group of Villagers and their children, who stumbled back in surprise.

"Sorry about that.", Dan said, and winced. "Just in a bit of a hurry, is all."

The Villagers formed up into a line, all ready to tell Dan just exactly what they thought, but he wasn't listening. He had already begun speaking to the Fisherman that was the captain of the Undefined Value, and thus the exact person that they needed to speak to.

"Excuse me, we'd like to buy two tickets to the Continent of the Clans.", Dan said, holding up two fingers. "One trip now, and one for later."

"Three.", the Fisherman croaked. "The Bandit's one, and you count as two tickets. On account of yer size, and all."

"Eh, I suppose that's fair.", Dan shrugged. "I am pretty big."

"Three?", Brandy said in panic. "Dan, I can't afford three!"

"What?", Dan said. "I thought you brought-"
"I only brought enough to pay for two tickets!", Brandy hissed. "Not three!"

"I thought you brought a ton of spending money!", Dan said. "Can't you use that?"

"It still doesn't equal one ticket!", Brandy said. "Tickets are expensive!"

"Well then, what do we do?", Dan asked.

Brandy slapped her hands against the side of her head. "I don't know!"

Song: Setting Off

"I'll… call back home.", Brandy said with a spark of inspiration. "Someone's bound to pick up, right?"

"That's a good idea.", Dan said with a nod. "Oticat can lend us the rest of the Gold."

The Fisherman tapped his wrist impatiently. "Ahoy, maties.", he said with a gruff grunt. "Are ye going to pay for yer tickets or not?"

"Sorry, sorry.", Dan said. "In a bit. We just have to get the rest of the Gold. We don't live far from here, it won't take long I promise."

"Hmph.", the Fisherman said. "Well, it better not. For your own sake."

"What's that supposed to mean?", Dan said, standing up a few feet taller.

"Oh, nothing.", the Fisherman said, slowly running his fingers around the anchor rope wound tight around his muscular shoulder. "Just something I say, is all."

Dan relaxed after a few tense moments, as did the Fisherman. "Well, alright then."

Brandy grabbed her communicator our of her pocket. She didn't even bother to dial- she just pressed the first number she saw. After the device rang a few times, she could see that the number she had just called was Brenda's.

"Yeah, hello?", came Brenda's muffled voice on the other side of the line. "What is it?"

"Hiya, Brenda.", Brandy said, and winced. "See, the thing is-"

"That you don't have enough Gold?", Brenda asked.

"That we don't have enough Gold-", Brandy said, then stopped. "How the-"

"It's just something I do.", Brenda said. Although Brandy could not actually see her through the line, she sounded like she was shrugging. "Anyway…"

"Yeah, we need some Gold.", Brandy sighed. "About, I don't know, maybe 12000 more. Could someone bring some?"

"Sure.", Brenda said. "We're on it."

"Hold on, we-", Brandy started to ask, but Brenda had already hung up.

"Alright.", Brandy said, then turned to Dan. "Okay, we've got the Gold coming."

"Good.", said Dan. "Hopefully they won't be that long-"

He stopped, mid-sentence. He somehow detected something on the far edge of his hearing, rustling in between the trees.

"Do you hear that?", he asked quietly.

The Fisherman stopped tying a rope around some random part of the dock, and looked towards the trees as well. "Ay.", he said. "I do."

"What?", Brandy asked, flipping back her hood and hair to expose her ears. "What is it-"

Then she heard it too. A low, almost imperceptible growl, coupled with a ferocious rustling.

"That doesn't sound good.", Brandy said, leaning back on one foot in a subconscious preparation for combat.

"No, it does not.", Dan said, and took a single step forward. "No, indeed."

By now, most of the activity on the dock had ceased. The growling had grown louder and more intimidating, and the bushes on the very edge of the treeline had started to shift.

Dan drew closer to the trees, throwing out his arm behind him. "Get behind me.", he said, looking around to make sure that everyone on the dock was. "Don't go anywhere near it."

Then the bushes finally parted, and the thing stepped out into the mid-morning light.

Song: Rubicon

The front row of the crowd gasped in horror, as the monster emerged. It stood on two powerful legs, with a pair of strong arms hanging from its torso. A long, stiff tail extended outwards from it, gently snaking from side to side. It stood at a low angle, its head tilted forward almost parallel to the ground. A long, narrow snout full of razor sharp teeth sat on the end of its long neck, two reptilian eyes filled with sheer malice. The claws on the end of its hands and feet were long and sharp, the sunlight glinting off of the almost metal blades. A thick coat of pure blue scales ran across it, steam gently rising off and into the air.

"What is that thing?", shrieked a Villager, scooting further behind Dan.

"It's a monster!", screamed her child. "Mommy, help!"

"Get back!", Dan roared, spreading out his arms. "Get back even further!"

The crowd obeyed, some taking shelter behind the rows of small ships and booths. Brandy walked up beside Dan, holding out her club in aggressive defiance.

Several assorted Troops began to walk forward. There was a Barbarian, holding out his sword in caution. There was a Bowler, who wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. And coming down the road was a Pekka, her massive metal frame making the walk slow going.

The reptilian monstrosity took a single step forward, its razor-sharp claws clicking upon the rocks. A pair of raised claws, almost scythe blades in form and function, were held high above all the others. The eyes and mouth of the beast burned with a feral rage, as it opened its mouth to speak.

"Stand… User.", it rasped, the words sending waves of chills through the entire dock. "Star… Master."

"Who are you?", Dan shouted, raising a glowing fist. "How do you know about us?"

"Stand User.", the monster hissed again, crouching in preparation to leap. "Star Master. You must… must…"

Dan had heard enough. He drew back his fist, coating it in sparkling Star energy.

"Brandy.", he whispered, aiming with one eye. "When I give the signal, strike it right in the center of its stomach."

Brandy nodded. "Okay."

"You must...must…", the beast hissed again, then leapt forward into the air.

"By my master, you must die!"
"Overdrive Hammer!", Dan shouted, throwing his fist forward right at the monster's exposed stomach. There was a rush of golden wind, as the beast screamed a ferocious battle cry.

As razor claw met metal armor, raging fist met scaled belly. The claw slashed open a part of the armor, but the fist blew a solid hole through the monster's stomach. It screeched in endless pain, as The Star ran through its muscles and tissue. Within seconds, the powerful destructive force had ripped through its entire body, sending it flying in chunks throughout the area and back into the trees. A fine mist of Elixir sprayed over the crowd, in a purple mist.

Dan closed his eyes, as drops of rancid liquid splattered all across him from the kill. They soaked into his armor, vanishing almost instantly. More of the drops flew across Brandy's face and clothes, disappearing just as fast.

"Yay!", shouted one small Builder. "He did it!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, at the sight of the strange monster now banished with a single blow. "Hooray!"

"Uh…", Brandy said, and giggled. "Am I still waiting for your mark?"
"No.", Dan said. "Although…"

He studied his arm, where bloodstains should have been everywhere. "I'm a little worried."
"Worried about what?", Brandy asked. "You took it down in seconds."
"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about.", Dan explained. "It went down almost unnaturally fast. Almost as if…"

He looked down, and locked eyes with Brandy. "It wanted to die.", they said together.

"So.", said the Fisherman, and crossed his arms. "I be leaving in a couple of minutes."

"Yes.", said Dan, and spun around, one finger in the air. "We're almost ready, I promise."

He leaned down to Brandy. "How much longer till Brenda gets here?", he whispered.

"I don't know.", Brandy whispered back. "She didn't say."

"As great as that monster slaying was…", the Fisherman said, "It doesn't pay the bills back where I'm from. Now, hand over the Gold, or you aren't leaving with me."

"Now hold on!", Dan said, taking a quick glance over his shoulder for anyone that he knew. "We're really almost ready, just hold on a minute."

But even as he argued and haggled, he could not get the strange image of the monster out of his head. It had said something about a master that it served. Who was that master? Did it have anything to do with the Dragon that wanted to save the world? And what was that stuff it had gotten all over them?

The Fisherman had been just about to speak. He had been just about to tell both Brandy and Dan that if they wanted to slow down his business like this, then they could go and do it somewhere else. But another voice cut through, from somewhere behind the two.

"Hey guys.", said the voice, with a sassy click of the tongue. "Need some help?"

Brandy turned around, and her eyes lit up. "Brenda!", she said. "What took you so long?"

Brenda reached back, and pulled Meg out of the crowd. An Ice Golem stood behind them, a huge sack of Gold clutched in his frozen fingers. "I just walked."

She pointed towards Brandy, and narrowed her eyes. "Your next line is: Well, good thing that you're here, anyway!"

"Good thing that you're here, anyw-", Brandy said, then stopped. She gave Brenda an annoyed glare, only to receive a shrug in return. "Yeah, we need it."

"Well, good thing I was here to stop by your room and get some for you.", said Brenda. "Me and Meg."

The Ice Golem let go of the bag, as it felt Dan grab it by the top. It felt either no emotion while doing so, or so many they could not possibly be put into words.

"Thank you so mu-", Brandy said, then stopped. "Wait a minute. From my room?"

"Yeah.", Brenda said, and winked a devilish wink. "I took a little from your stash."

Brandy's face reddened. "Why, you little-"

She playfully tried to grab Brenda by the neck, but the tension was quickly laughed off between both of them. They were friends, after all.

"So.", Brenda said. "This is goodbye, huh?"

"Goodbye?", Brandy asked. "What do you mean, goodbye? It's only for a couple of weeks."

"A couple of weeks is a long time.", Brenda said. "Meg's only a couple of weeks old."

Brandy stopped, and thought about that fact. "I see your point."

"I mean, who knows what could happen in that time?", Brenda asked. "A lot, that's what."

Meg crept forward, staring into Brandy's eyes. "What Brenda's trying to say is… be safe, okay?"

Brandy smiled, and gestured up at Dan, who was still haggling with the Fisherman. "Don't worry. We will."

"That's good to hear.", Brenda said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And you two have fun, okay? I mean, what, this is your second honeymoon?"

"Yeah.", Brandy said. "Have you guys had yours yet?"

"No.", Brenda said. "We're not, technically, uh, married yet."
"Yeah, there's a lot to sort out.", said Meg, holding her arm behind her back. "We'd do it in a heartbeat if we could, but…"

"There are a lot of legal issues.", Brenda finished. "For some reason."

"Oh.", Brandy said. "Well, keep trying."

"Brandy.", said Dan, from up above. "We're leaving now."

Brandy startled, and threw out her hands. "Okay, I have to leave now. Sorry, see you soon. Just remember-"

She turned to Brenda. "Keep being awesome. Keep being you."

She turned to Meg. "Keep working on yourself. There's so much potential under there, I know it."

The Fisherman tugged once on his boat horn, and a loud blare of solid sound blasted outwards across the dock.

"Brandy, let's go!", Dan shouted urgently.

"Okay, okay!", Brandy shouted back, and bent her legs to jump. "Okay, I really gotta go now. Bye, love you both!"

Then she Dashed up into the air, and onto the boat with a loud crack of the air slamming back together. She bent herself over the side, and waved.

"Goodbye!", she shouted, while Brenda and Meg waved back. "See you all soon!"

As she watched the boat pull away, Brenda remembered about the blue Arrow that was still in her pocket. Had she meant to use that now, or was it best left for later? Oh well…

"Come on, Meg.", she said, and turned to leave. "Let's go home."

"Yes.", Meg said, looking up towards the sun. "Let's."

As Brandy pulled herself over the side of the boat, she slumped down onto the wooden bench with a slightly dramatic flourish.

"That went kind of quickly.", she said.

"What do you mean?", Dan asked, scooting closer.

"I mean that it went kind of quickly.", Brandy explained, holding up her hands in front of her. "Like, you'd usually expect goodbyes to be long, and heartfelt. You know, meaningful. But this one was just a little… short. I don't know."
"Not every goodbye is planned out.", Dan said. "Some of them are sudden. Some of them… you don't really have the chance to say goodbye at all."

Brandy thought for a moment. "I guess you're right.", she said.

The Fisherman clapped his hands together, looking around the boat and glancing at each troop in turn. There was an Archer, huddled up with a Barbarian next to the central heating. There was bespectacled Goblin next to the back, wearing a book on his back that was larger than he was. There was a fast-asleep Wizard, his hood drawn long over his face as he reclined against the main cabin. And there was a Sandy on the top deck, who was supposed to be keeping watch- but he, of course, had fallen fast asleep as well.

"Alright!", the Fisherman barked, startling the Wizard awake. "Welcome aboard the good ship Undefined Value! My name is Jonah, and this here is Jack.",

He swung his Fish around his shoulders, who gave a friendly little wave. Brandy blinked, and waved back.

Jonah then slapped Jack back onto his shoulder, and began to pace up and down the ship. "Okay! This is my ship! And as such, you are expected to follow my orders! Do so, and we will arrive at our destination safely! Do not, and we might all meet our gruesome ends, at the hands, tentacles, maws, or whatever of what mighty monsters do patrol these here waters! Do I make myself clear!"

"Yeah.", Dan said. "You do."

"Good!", Jonah yelled, and straightened back up. "We will now go around the circle, and introduce ourselves! This is mandatory, do not try and Goblin out of it! Even you, Goblin!"

Jonah pointed to the said Goblin, who startled and almost dropped his book. "You! Goblin! Go first!"

"Uh, well…", the Goblin said, as he fumbled for words. "I'm Glabnack. I'm a Goblin Scholar, and I'm going to the Continent of the Clans to study underneath Jilrose the Grand Wizard."

"That was more information than any of us needed!", Jonah shouted, and Glabnack flinched again. "However, I'm glad that you were willing to share such information with complete and total strangers such as myself! Next!"

The Wizard rubbed his eyes, and leaned forward onto his knees. "Uh, I'm Jakko.", he said. "I'm just returning home after a vacation that stretched on too long. Too long, I'm afraid."

He rubbed his eyes, and settled back in against the wood. "Too… long…"

"Okay!", Jonah yelled, and spun around on his feet towards the Barbarian and the Archer. "And who, I ask, are you?"

"Oh.", said the Archer, drawing her cape off the Barbarian's thighs. "My name is Anne- although my friends call me LVNLCJ. And this is Terrence."

"Short, and to the point!", Jonah shouted. "I like it! I like you two! However, I will not be calling you that totally ridiculous name, as I am not your friend!"

He turned again, and pointed at Brandy and Dan. "Now! Who are you two?"

"Let me take this.", Brandy whispered, and straightened up. "My name is Brandy. This is Dan, my husband."

Dan gave a small wave, a tiny spark of Star flashing from his fingers to his wrist.

Jonah's eyes shot up in surprise, actually becoming visible from underneath his thick eyebrows.

"Why, my sea and stars!", he shouted. "Are you a Star user?"

"Yeah.", Dan said. "Weren't you watching back when I-"

He was about to say killed the monster, but Jonah was no longer listening.

"Good.", he said, finally a little quiet. "That will be very helpful once we run into our first monster."

"Uh, don't you mean if, sir?", Glabnack asked, with a timid raise of his hand. "If, we run into our first monster?"

Jonah rolled his eyes, and began to wind up his hook. Glabnack looked on fearfully as he did so, clutching his robes just a little tighter. "Did I stutter?"

Jonah launches his anchor to grab right on the railing behind Glabnack, pulling himself closer in an instant. "Did I stutter, Glabnack?"

Glabnack shook his head, and Jonah stood back up. "No, I did not. These waters are crawling with monsters- every voyage I've ever made has had at least one."

He pointed up towards the crow's nest, where Sandy was still asleep. "Now to finish off our introductions! You've already met me, obviously, but that sleepy boy over there is Sandy. My first mate… and adopted son."

Upon hearing his name mentioned, Sandy slowly stood up. He brushed the sleep out of his eyes and looked down to the ship's main deck with bleary eyes. "Did you call for me, Dad?"

Jonah chuckled, and waved a hand. "No, not yet. Go back to sleep. Se'th knows you need it."

Sandy yawned again, stretched, and fell back asleep within the second.

Brandy's eyes lit up as soon as she saw him, her fists scrunching together with excitement.

"Aww!", she said, and Dan looked down with worry. "He's adorable!"

"Aww?", he asked. "Excuse me?"

Brandy looked up, and her cheeks turned slightly red. "No, no, not like that. I didn't mean-"

"Then what did you mean?", Dan asked.

"I just mean he's cute. Like- like a puppy. Or a Baby Dragon.", Brandy said.

"Hmm.", said Dan. "Are you sure you didn't mean-"

"Quiet, you two.", Jonah said quietly, suddenly deadly serious. "Listen."

Everyone on the boat immediately stopped talking. All ears strained for purchase on any strange sounds, but there was nothing but the rhythmic creaking of the ship and the steady roll of the azure waves. No sound out of the ordinary at all, until-

Brandy, having the best hearing out of anyone on the ship, heard it first. It sounded like an impossibly deep, low, rumble coming from somewhere below the ship. If the sound could be given a color, it would be dark slate blue, tinged with echoes of inky black.

Jonah, having the most experience in these manners, was the second. His nose twitched, and Jack in his hand began to look nervously around. "Oh boy…", was his only whisper.

"I hear something.", Dan said. "Brandy?"
Brandy nodded. "I hear it too.", she said, then both her and Jonah simultaneously confirmed what all of them were thinking. "There's something in the water."

"Sandy!", Jonah shouted, and Sandy was abruptly shattered out of his curtain of sleep. "Run down the mainsail."

Sandy scrambled to do so, and a smile that glowed with insanity crept onto Jonah's face. "We've got ourselves a real monster on our hands."

"Mons- monster?", Glabnack stammered, pulling his hood over his face. "I don't want a monster!"

"Good, because ye won't.", Jonah barked, and pointed to a nearby door. "You get belowdecks. Same for you, Anne and Terrence."

The three ran for the door, as Jonah pointed Jack towards Brandy and Dan. "You two. Help me. If this is what I think it is, we're going to need it."

"What?", Brandy asked. "What is it-"

Then she saw what was happening past the edge of the deck, and stopped. For the water surrounding the boat was no longer a brilliant blue, but a terrifying pitch-black.

"Dad?", Sandy shouted from up above. "I think I know what our monster is."

"Ay, boy, you're correct.", Jonah said, and began to ready his hook. "We got ourselves a real Kraken!"

Song: Burning Colosseum

As if on cue, an enormous tentacle rose over the side of the boat, dripping sludgy water onto the railings. It must have been at least 60 feet long, looming over even the tallest points of the ship.

"Brandy!", Dan shouted, and breathed in. "I want you behind me! Check out anything I miss!"

"Got it!", Brandy shouted back, and flipped over his shoulder. She looked around, club in hand, ready to take down anything that even so much as moved.

"Come on, you big beast!", shouted Jonah, and spun his hook around his head. "Come and-"

Then he saw something which shocked him to his very core. The tentacles on a normal Kraken were either blue or red, depending on the circumstance. But this one was a deep purple, accented with metallic flecks of gold.

"Dear Se'th…", Jonah whispered. "That's not just a Kraken."

"What does that mean?", Brandy asked. "What do you mean, not just a Kraken?"

"I mean that's THE Kraken!", Jonah shouted. "The very first, and by far the most powerful!"

"Oh shoot.", Dan said. He knew all about the nature of the Primals from his Star training, both at the camp and with Bowza. Yet, the Primals were only for Troops that existed. And he had never heard of such a Troop as the Kraken…

"Dan!", Jonah yelled, and threw his hook. It wound tight around a special pole that had been made for such a situation, collapsing the wood in on itself. With a tight yank and a creaking groan, the fragile pole fell right onto the Kraken's primary tentacle, shattering in a spray of sharp wooden spikes that dug into the monster's flesh.

There was a deep roar from down below, the surface of the water vibrating with the sheer force. A sound from the sky echoed the action, and stormclouds began to gather from the far horizons.

As everyone on the Undefined Variable watched in horror, a dozen more tentacles all appeared from the deep water, looming over the boat like the trees of some horrible forest.

"Now!", Jonah shouted, revving up his hook for another attack. "Dan!"

"Overdrive Cannon!", Dan shouted, and threw his fist forward. A blast of Star energy barreled straight forward through the air and right into a tentacle, severing the top part of it clean off. The cut off section fell into the ocean, burning away with a sizzling scream.

A tiny bit of tentacle creeped its way up behind Dan, only to meet Brandy ready and waiting for it. With a single quick Dash-infused swipe, the tentacle found itself flying back into the sea.

The Kraken roared in pain and anger, bringing down its hurt tentacle back into the water. The remaining 11 slammed down onto the side of the boat, snaking their way towards Jonah.

"Dad!", shouted Sandy from up above. "I finished harnessing all the sails!"

"Good!", shouted Jonah, and threw his hook. It wound tight around one of the smaller tentacles, shrinking the width down to nothing and cutting it right off. "Now help us fight!"

"Okay!", Sandy said, and put one foot on the ladder down to the main deck. He turned towards the sea, throwing three quick handfuls of sparkling sand as he did so. The cloud of dust settled into the rightmost tentacle, burning skin and muscle down to nothing.

"That storm's getting closer.", Jonah muttered, then jumped backwards to avoid a creeping appendage. "Sandy, we're going to need a sandstorm pretty soon!"

"With a ferocious heat…", Dan roared, and brought both of his fists together. A gigantic golden light glowed within them, larger than any he had ever summoned before. "And noble purpose!"

"Dan, hurry it up!", said Brandy, slashing her club across another miniature tentacle. "You can't take too long!"

"I'm coming, Dad!", Sandy yelled, making his way down the ladder. "Just hold o-"

His words were cut off, as a tentacle grabbed him across the waist and yanked him into the air.

"Sandy!", Jonah shouted, and ground the tip of a tentacle into the deck. He wound up his hook, aiming for the tentacle that had grabbed his son. "I'm coming!"

"I got it!", Brandy shouted. She crouched, made some last second calculations, and leapt forward into the air. With a powerful, Dash-boosted attack, her club slashed right through part of the tentacle that held Sandy. It was just enough for the monster's grip to weaken in pain- and for Brandy to grab Sandy out of the tentacle, landing safely on the dock below.

"There.", she said. "I got you."
"Thank you, madam.", Sandy said, and bowed. Then he was instantly back to combat mode, gathering another pile of sand in his hand. "I'm safe now, Dad!"

A massive roar echoed through the air, the Kraken almost seeming to form words. The thunder and lightning of the storm it was bringing began to draw closer, a gigantic bolt striking the surface only a few miles away.

"Aaaaaiiiii…. Sssmmeeeallll yyooouuu!", it roared, and shot out another tentacle, this one longer than the rest. "Huuuunnnttee eeeuuuu!"

Brandy spun around on one foot, slashing the tip off of a wandering tentacle. She brushed the hair out of her face and delivered a sharp backhand to another tentacle that tried to sneak up behind her. "Did it just talk?"

Jonah wound up and threw his hook, latching on to the top of the ship. He pulled himself up into the air, landing right next to Sandy. "Ay, I think that it did!"

Dan breathed in and launched another blast of Star, burning through an attacking tentacle and sending it screaming back into the sea. But for every one that was cut down, many more rose.

"It said something about… smelling us? And hunting us from it?"

Brandy gasped, and jumped into the air to avoid a low sweep. "Dan! That monster on the shore! Do you think the stuff he sprayed us with-"
Dan finished her sentence, right before coating his hand in light and slashing off the tip of a tentacle that tried to grab his arm. "Was done so that The Kraken could track our scent?"

They stopped, and looked at each other. "Yeah, probably."

"Craaauuusshh eeeewwweee!", The Kraken bellowed. All the tentacles that were on the ship suddenly halted their forward momentum and slammed downwards, digging into the wood.

"Blighter's trying to bring down the whole ship!", Jonah shouted. "Sandy, how's that Sandstorm coming?"

Sandy launched another volley of magical dust into a waving tentacle, burning off bits of the skin and muscle. He felt his Super grow closer to full strength- just a few more attacks and it would be ready. "It's coming, Dad!"

The Kraken roared again, and at last heaved its main body up to the surface of the water. Jonah narrowed his eyes in disgust, as the beast revealed itself.

It was a deep, ancient purple in color, although mostly covered with multi-hued gemstones and shattered shell. A single great eye sat unblinking at the center of its circular body, with two more on either side. Dozens more ringed the edge of its disk-like body, peering out in all directions. An enormous beaked mouth floated upon the surface of the sea, chomping and gnashing the nearby water into a froth. A seemingly endless storm of tentacles continuously rose from underneath its body, even now joining the dozens upon dozens that held the ship in a diamond grip.

A lightning bolt struck the top of the ship, Jonah jumping out of the way mere moments before it hit. He threw his hook mid-fall, taking both him and Sandy safely to the main deck in a tuck and roll.

"He's about to drag down the ship!", Jonah shouted, wiping blood from his forehead. "If we don't take him out soon, there's no way we'll all survive!"

"Dad!", Sandy shouted. "I have an idea!"

Jonah looked, and Sandy held up his hands. "Operation thundersand."

Jonah's eyes lit up in parental pride, and he gave Sandy a big thumbs up. "Understood! Dan, you be the instigator. And don't worry if you don't know it, Sandy'll explain everything."

"Got it!", Dan said. He picked up Sandy in his arms and jumped to the top deck, then bent down to hear Sandy's orders. "Brandy, cover us!"

Brandy saluted, and crouched to deliver an extra large blow to one of the tentacles, pressing down on the deck. She could notice that the very edges of the ship were already starting to lull a little listlessly in the water.

She leapt forward, her Dash propelling her to maximum speed. With a mighty slash, she cut open a huge gash in a tentacle, forcing it to let go of the deck.

Brandy wound up for another blow, too focused on dishing out damage to notice the other tentacle sneaking up behind her. "Get ready for a beatdown, you-"

Her words were cut off with a sharp shriek, as the tentacle fastened itself around her waist. She hardly even had time to react before it pulled backwards, yanking her off the deck and far into the air.

"Brandy!", Dan shouted, and raised a fist. He breathed in, aiming directly for the tentacle's base.

The tentacle reached its highest point, dangling Brandy directly over The Kraken's mouth.

"Eeeeiiiitttt yyyuuuu!", it boomed. It was going to drop her.

"Lightning Spear Overdrive!", Dan roared, and launched a concentrated blast of energy. But The Kraken raised another of its seemingly endless tentacles in order to block, absorbing the blow in a burst of sizzling, meaningless flesh.

The Kraken laughed, and released Brandy from its grip. She fell out of the tentacle, and began to fall right towards the waiting, tooth-lined maw. But even as she did so, Brandy just sighed.

"Really?", she said, and clenched her leg muscles. "Next time, at least try."
"Huuuaaahh?", The Kraken asked in confusion. "Eeeyyee eeeiittt eeewwee-"

Brandy huffed, and Dashed. She flew right out of the path of the shredding maw, spun around on the base of a thick tentacle, and landed right on the Kraken's exposed body.

"I already know that I can sort of control where on my body my Dash is.", Brandy said to herself, digging into the Kraken's flesh as she planned her next move. "I also know that I sometimes turn intangible while using it."

She looked at her hand and concentrated as hard as she could. "If I could just, maybe, do both at once…"

The Kraken bellowed, and gave up on trying to snatch Brandy from its hard-to-reach body. It instead increased the grip it already had on the ship, causing much of the wood to splinter.

Song: The Hand

Brandy winced, beads of sweat dripping off her. There was a spark of sky blue, and a glowing aura of Dash appeared within her right palm. She grinned, and held her hand aloft.

"Then I should be able to do…", Brandy said. "This!"

With a dramatic flourish, Brandy swiped her hand downwards, in a sonic boom that blew her cloak backwards and her hair into her face.

A sharp pain ran through her hand and down her arm, which was flashing white with the sheer amount of force it had just emitted. But Brandy's tactic had worked- there was a solid band of flesh missing from the Kraken's tentacle.

She clenched her teeth together, trying to dull the pain. The Kraken shrieked in shock, the tentacle that had been holding Brandy suddenly letting go and flopping down into the water.

Brandy backflipped in mid-air, landing on the deck of the ship. Her arm hung limply by her side, still burning from the energy it had taken to pull the technique off. By concentrating a large amount of Dash energy in the palm of her hand, and then turning the rest of her hand intangible, she had managed to create a field of destruction, that wiped out anything in its path. It was confined to her hand, of course, and ate up a remarkable amount of stamina, but it was still a powerful move.

Brandy coughed, spitting out a few flecks of blood. Too bad I probably won't be able to use it again…

"Sandy!", Jonah shouted, backing away from a particularly large tentacle that was slowly snaking its way across the deck. "Are you ready?"

Sandy blasted another spray of magic sand at a stray tentacle, then felt his body swell with strength. A strong yellow light emanating from his hands, and he looked up. "Yes!"

"Then let him have it, my boy!", Jonah yelled, slapping Jack across the flat face of a tentacle and sending it back across the ship. "Give it your Sandstorm!"

Dan crossed his arms across his chest, gathering a massive beam of energy. He knew that constant batterings of weaker blows had done nothing to the Kraken so far- it seemed to be able to grow tentacles at will. No, the way to defeat it would be through one, gargantuan blow.

The Kraken smiled, under the surface. Its tentacles wound tighter around the ship, almost covering the entire deck. It aimed not to sink, but to hold. The finishing blow would come from the thunder storm overhead, that even now had finally reached its destination.

The waves off the side of the ship grew larger, slamming against the side in a ferocious rhythm. There was a gigantic clap of thunder, and the rain began to fall in heavy sheets. The Kraken roared again, and raised yet another of its endless tentacles. This one streaked right across the bottom of the deck, and to Brandy still nursing her injured arm.

Brandy had no idea that the tentacle was coming. It was snaking alone right in her blind spot, the one place she could not see. It was far too loud to hear it, no way to sense it at all.

And yet, that did not stop Brandy's arm from striking out with the speed of a beam of light, slamming against the tentacle with the force of a Rocket.

The tentacle flew backwards, the tip of it blown clean off. The Kraken blinked, its old and worn-down brain gradually beginning to click into higher gear.

"How…", it said to itself. "How she do that?"

But it figured that such questions were best left for later. It just roared again, and tightened its grip.

Sandy's eyes glowed, and he floated up into the air on a sandy cloud. His arms moved around his body with the speed of a desert wind, arcane symbols flashing between each one.

A huge purple field built up around him, the raging sand carving an orb around him free of the rain and wind from The Kraken's storm.

"Take this, you overgrown squid!", he yelled, and pressed out his hands. "Sand...storm!"

There was a flash of light, and the sand behind him erupted. A powerful burst of sand sprayed in all directions, pushing back the enemy's storm into the ocean. Constant bursts of damaging sand rudely burst upon The Kraken's tentacles, causing even more damage than before.

"This thing's a tank!", Dan yelled, shooting a brief pulse of Star from his eyes that poked a neat hole in a tentacle. "No matter how much damage we throw at it, it just keeps on coming!"
"It's THE Kraken, what did you expect?", Jonah shouted, retreating to the upper deck. "This was never going to be easy!"

Down belowdecks, Glabnack came to a sudden realization. He shot up from his hiding spot, dropped his book onto the floor, and headed for the door.

"Glabnack, what are you doing?", hissed Anne. "We're supposed to stay!"

"I know what the Kraken's trying to do!", Glabnack said, fixing her with a piercing stare. "I've seen it. In my studies."

"You go, bro.", said Terrence, in muffled enthusiasm. "Put those studies to work."

Glabnack gave Terrence a brief salute, before Anne had the chance to say anything. Then he took a deep breath, opened the door, and ran off into the rain-slicked battleground of the upper decks.

Sandy grit his teeth, pushing his sandstorm against The Kraken's force as hard as he could. But it was an uphill, difficult battle- the main force was going upward into the clouds, rather than outward in order to deflect The Kraken away from the ship. "Come on…"

Dan felt his arms start to burn, and he looked down. The attack that he had been setting up was finally ready. "Brandy! Get out of the way!"

Brandy looked up, still rubbing her injured arm. "What-"
"I said, get out of the way!", Dan roared, barely able to contain all his built up Star. "And hold on to something!"

Brandy saluted, and Dashed in a random upwards direction. She grabbed hold of a random piece of rigging, and held on for dear life. She wasn't quite sure what Dan was planning, but it was going to be big. From her high vantage point, she could see what looked like Glabnack emerge from the lower deck, slipping and sliding frantically across the upper.

"Glabnack!", Jonah shouted, breathing hard from all the combat. "What the frick do you think you're doing? Get back below decks!"

"It's the Kraken, sir!", Glabnack yelled at the top of his fragile lungs. "It's going to direct the lightning through the sand and blow up the ship! That's why it hasn't tried to drag us under!"

Jonah snarled, and pushed up his hat. "You're probably right. But that means-"

He looked up to where Sandy hovered, pushing with all his might against The Kraken's storm. "Sandy!", he yelled. "Break the storm!"

"What?", Sandy yelled back, not quite sure if he had heard right. "What do you mean, break the storm?"
"I said let it go!", Jonah screamed, getting louder and more desperate. He could already see the lightning coiling in the clouds above, only moments away from hitting.

"I can't!", Sandy shouted in confusion. "It'll let the Kraken in!"
"Sandy!", screamed Jonah, red in the face. "Just do it!"
"Okay, fine-", said Sandy, but it was already too late. The edge of his sandstorm had already been forcibly flattened into a huge disk, stretching up all the way to the sky. And now, a bolt of The Kraken's summoned lightning was already streaking towards it.

Sandy's eyes widened, and he began to slowly break off the sandstorm- but it wasn't enough. The bolt had already traveled half the way down the sand, and was about to hit the ship.

Dan, at last ready to unleash his move, opened up his eyes. He spread his arms open wide, aiming directly at where the lightning bolt was going to be when his shot collided.

"Reflecting Yellow…", he roared, and threw his hands forward.

"Dan!", Brandy shouted. She had noticed where the lightning bolt was going to come down- and it was not good. The Kraken had anticipated just what Dan was going to do. "Don't fire!"

"Why not?", Dan shouted, just barely managing to hold on to his burst of Star. "If I don't fire, the ship will explode!"

Brandy leapt onto the far side of the ship, throwing a protective arm over Sandy as she did so. "The bolt's going to be attracted to yours! It'll-"

Dan didn't listen to whatever else Brandy had to say. His eyes flashed, and he let go of his Star. "Overdrive!"

Just a tenth of a second before the lightning bolt hit the very fragile, flammable, wood of the deck, Dan's own force hit it head on. There was a tremendous explosion of blue and purple light that shook the ship, the waves, and the sky, then a huge cloud of smoke and ash that would go on to blanket the area for several days.

But the spot where the bolt had come down was not affected by the smoke. It had been the exact epicenter, immense amounts of force radiating out from it in all directions. The waves still shook from the blow, as did the very air. But as the sun slowly filtered in through the breaking clouds, it was not the boat that had received the full brunt of the mighty blast.

Song: Jonathan Joestar theme

The Kraken's body still floated on the surface of the water, but the storm it had summoned was now growing weaker and weaker by the second. Smoke rose off its bubbling body, as flesh sizzled into nothing from the electric flame. A long, listless rumble escaped its twisted mouth, as the once mighty Kraken began to sink below the surface.

"Is… it over?", Glabnack whimpered, holding his book up above his head.

Dan fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Echoes of spent Star still flickered around him, his arms twitching involuntarily. "Yeah.", he coughed. "I think it's over."

"Now, I wouldn't be so sure.", Jonah said, as he hobbled to the front of the boat. One of his ankles had been twisted in the explosion, and he was using a shattered bit of pole to haul himself forward. "Krakens are tricky beasties. We can't be sure of anything, until he turns to Elixir."

"Right…", Dan said, and shakily stood up. "We have to make sure."

Brandy could feel the protection of her Dash shield hum around her, having automatically activated in the explosion. She looked behind her- and sighed in relief, seeing that Sandy had been unharmed. A huge piece of wood lay split in half somewhere behind him, still shaking with electric flame. Had Brandy not dove in front of him in time, it would have almost certainly taken his head clean off.

"You… just saved my life.", Sandy said shakily.

"Yeah.", Brandy said. "You little guy."

She smiled, and Sandy blinked. He could now see the way the wind blew through Brandy's hair, the way her eyes sparkled in the light. "Uhh…"

"Hey, Sandy!", Jonah shouted from down below. "Get down here! I need those eyes of yours."

"Yes, Dad.", Sandy said, his cheeks turning a little red. He gave Brandy a little bow, then ran down the ladder and to the bottom deck.

The Kraken could feel himself sink lower into the water. His forest of tentacles hung loosely by his side, now only dragging him down. But that was good for him- although the redirected lightning bolt had dealt him vast amounts of damage, he was still alive. If he retreated now, he could attack the boat later. Perhaps bring some allies, some way to give him an edge over the Mega Knight that could use the Star. The forces of Dragonlord Rakastamos needed everything they could get, if they were to triumph against the forces of the world.

But as a sudden, sharp pain pierced the middle of The Kraken's exposed body, those thoughts came to a sudden halt. A dozen or so of his eyes swiveled around to assess the damage, and saw that a massive spear made of pure Star-infused steel had been stabbed right through its vulnerable midsection.

Oh, bother…,thought The Kraken, as the edges of his tentacles began to dissolve into Elixir. That's not good at all.

Jonah nodded, as he saw the great plume of Elixir bubble up from below. It hit the top of the sea and spread out across the surface, just below the very edge.

"Well, that's that.", Jonah said, and turned around. "He's dead."

"Wait… really dead?", Brandy asked, slipping in behind the group and right up next to Dan. "I thought you said he was a Primal."
"Ay, I did.", said Jonah. "But he's a Primal of a Troop that doesn't really exist. Henceforth, he's not actually immortal."
"But aren't there other Krakens?", Dan asked.

"Yes.", said Glabnack, chiming in from the back. "But they were never selected by the gods to be an official troop. Henceforth, he's not a real Primal. Just the first of his kind."

"Huh.", Brandy said, as she watched the Elixir that had once been The Kraken spread out across the surface of the sea. "Wonder why he attacked us."

"It was that stuff the other thing put on us.", Dan said. "Remember?"

"Oh right.", Brandy said. "But why did that thing attack us?"

Dan shrugged. "I don't know."

"I don't know about you guys, but seeing all that Elixir makes me thirsty.", said Glabnack, nervously leaning back on a chair. He cracked open a can of Super S Brand Elixir, and took a deep, refreshing sip. "How about we all kick back and enjoy the fact that we're still alive?"
The hatch to below decks opened, as Anne and Terrence slowly emerged. "I think that sounds wonderful.", said Anne. "Terrence, what do you think?"

Terrence just grunted, and shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?", Jonah shouted, and pointed towards the cabin. "Sandy, go grab our guests some drinks. I think we've all deserved them."

"Certainly, Father.", Sandy said, and bowed. "Just… you put all the drinks up on the high shelf yesterday, after you said I had too many. I can no longer reach."

Jonah put Jack up to his head, who dutifully scratched underneath his hat. "Huh. Oh yeah."

He pointed to Brandy, who pointed to herself. "Bandit, go help him grab the drinks."

Song: The Stardust Man Appears

Brandy sighed, and pushed herself off the bench. Her hand still sparked and twitched with remnants of Dash, but she could at least use it now. "Alright, I'll be back in a few seconds."

"Could you bring me back some Green Party Elixir?", Dan asked, groaning from the massive expenditure of energy he had used to bring The Kraken down. "I really feel like I need it right now."

"Sure, honey.", Brandy said, walking towards where Sandy stood. "I can do that."

Sandy gulped, watching as Brandy walked. His forehead under his turban felt hot, and he shuffled around in his blue slippers. "So, uh…"

Brandy reached him, and continued walking towards the cabin. "Where did you say the drinks were? In here?"

"Uh, yeah.", said Sandy quietly. "Just on the top shelf, where I can't reach."

"So your dad thought I could reach it, because I can jump high.", Brandy muttered, as she and Sandy entered the small, cramped cabin. There was a desk against one wall, and a huge sheaf of papers that covered the rest of the tiny area. A small window valiantly struggled to be seen.

"Not because I'm that much taller than you."

"Uh, no.", Sandy said, and scratched the back of his neck. "Wow, is it hot in here or what?"

Brandy seemed not to notice Sandy's shy advances, and just looked around in confusion. "I thought there was supposed to be a fridge in here, or a shelf, or something. Where is it?"

"Oh, it's in here.", Sandy said, and placed his hand on a lever that hung against one wall. "I guess someone forgot to unlock the secret compartment."

He flicked down the switch, and one of the walls swung back. It revealed a long, dimly lit stainless steel hallway, a huge cupboard at the end.

Brandy gave an appreciative whistle. "Ah. Very nice."

"So.", Glabnack said, craning his head upwards to look at Dan. "You're… not a regular Mega Knight- are you."

"No.", Dan said matter-of-factly. "I'm not."
"What was that thing you were using earlier?", Glabnack asked. "You know, that flashy lightningy stuff."

"Oh, that?", Dan asked, and flexed his right bicep. "That was The Star. It's a martial art that I picked up about a month ago. Gotten real good at it."

"Interesting…", Glabnack said, and stroked his nonexistent beard. "Tell me more."

"Well, uh, I'm honestly not sure what to say.", said Dan, with an actual stroke of his. "I still don't know all that much about theory, just how to use it."

"Well, how do you use it?", Glabnack asked. "Strictly for research purposes, of course."

"Hmmm…", Dan said, and stood up. "Well, suppose you want to blast something. You'd just stand up, breathe in, and…"

He breathed in as deep as he could, filling his lungs to maximum capacity. A surge of golden light flowed and flickered around him, heating up the wood that he stood on. He threw out his fist, and a blast of Star erupted into the sea. "Overdrive Spear!"

Glabnack watched the golden blast explode upon the surface of the water, instantly purplemisting a random small monster that had decided to come to the top of the ocean at precisely the wrong moment. "Ah."

"So, that's all the stuff I can carry.", Brandy said, slightly struggling under the weight of a couple dozen cans of various types of Elixir. "Sandy, what about you?"

"Uh, yeah.", Sandy said, holding a large keg over both shoulders. "That's it for me, too."

"Okay, great.", Brandy said, and started to walk away from the vaguely ominous fridge, sitting at the end of a totally blank, dimly lit, steel hallway. Or perhaps that's why it was ominous. "Then let's go."

Sandy nodded. "Okay, ladies first."

Brandy huffed, but started her walk. "Oh, so you're from one of those places."

But even as she walked, she was unaware that Sandy's plan was sliding into place. He was fully capable of carrying the keg with one hand, leaving his other open for any action. As Brandy walked in front of him, he slowly maneuvered one hand downwards.

He didn't really think about what he was doing, at that moment. Brandy was the first female Troop that Sandy had laid eyes on in half a year, and he was barely able to contain himself. So when he gently pinched Brandy's rear end, he did not happen to think of what consequences such an action could possibly cause.

Brandy gasped, and stopped walking. Sandy ran into her, falling down backwards onto the ground. He looked up, and scrabbled back in terror as he saw Brandy turn around. There was purple fire in her eyes, the corners of her mouth pulled back into a vicious snarl.

"Do you want to die?", she spat, clenching her fist. A burst of purple energy shot out from it, surrounding her arm in a corona of Rage.

Sandy tried to speak, but all that came out was a tiny whimper. He raised a hand in defense, only for it to be stomped against the hard metal floor by Brandy's boot.

"Because that.", she said, and grabbed Sandy by the collar. "Touching me like that. Is how you die."

"H…", Sandy squeaked, finally finding his voice. "Help!"

"And this is my other trick- sort of.", said Dan. "I haven't really practiced it- at all. But I think that I can do it at least a little bit…"

He held up one finger, aiming it like a gun. He breathed in, taking precise care to not lose any of it. He felt bits of the golden aura around him turn to blue, as he focused on feeling and internalizing the rotation of the energy. "This… is…"
He opened his eyes, and released his breath. "Rotation!"

There was a soft, small poot, and the energy was released. A thin blue line jumped from Dan's finger a whole 2 feet before giving up and dissipating against the wind.

Dan frowned, and sat back down. "So, uh, that's it.", he said, gesturing with one hand. "I haven't really gotten Rotation down, as you can see, but I'm pretty good with Star."

"I see.", said Glabnack, who by now had finished writing down his notes. He turned to Jonah, and pointed at the cabin. "Hey, isn't that your son screaming?"

Brandy slammed Sandy against the wall, her grip growing tighter by the second. He gurgled in pain and tried to get away, but Brandy was too strong in her rage.

"I don't know why you tried to do… whatever you were going to do.", Brandy said. "But you can bet that it will be the last time you ever do it."

"I didn't-", Sandy choked out, about to lose consciousness. He gathered up some sand in his hand, trying to fight back, but Brandy smacked his arm against the wall with a single lightning-fast blow. "I wasn't trying to-"

For just a second, Brandy's rage lifted. She saw how terrified Sandy was, pinned against the wall by the neck and totally helpless to fight back. She saw the sheer, abject horror in his eyes, and gasped.

Brandy loosened her grip, and Sandy fell to the ground. His hands flew to his throat, as he breathed in a deep gulp of much needed air. The color returned to his face, and he coughed up a little bit of blood.

"I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that.", Brandy said, and reached out a hand. "Not to that extent, anyway."

Jonah rounded the corner of the secret hallway, Fish and hook in hand. He looked sharply around, his gaze falling on Brandy and Sandy in the middle of the hall.

"Oi!", he shouted, and the two turned. "What's going on here? Sandy, why were you screaming?"

Brandy smiled, and squeezed Sandy's shoulders just a little too tightly to be friendly. "Oh, nothing. Don't mind us. I was just teaching Sandy here a little… life lesson."

"Oh.", said Jonah. "Well, that's very nice. What, exactly?"

"Uh, not to touch people out of nowhere.", Sandy said, looking up nervously at Brandy, a thin purple flame still burning around her. "That's all."

"Hm.", Jonah said, and spun Jack in a circle. "That's a good lesson, I suppose. You two have the Elixir?"

"Yup.", said Sandy, gesturing to the general area that was behind him. "We got it all, right here."

"Good.", Jonah said. "Now, if you'll both carry it, we can just be on our way."

Sandy picked up one half of the Elixir, and Brandy took the other. As they passed each other, Sandy looked up- only to see that Brandy's eyes still smoldered with barely tempered rage.

"Hey, what took you guys so long?", Dan asked, as he saw Brandy, Sandy, and Jonah all emerge from the cabin. "You get lost in there?"

"No.", said Brandy. "I did get a little… caught up… though."

She stretched, and placed the pile of cans of Elixir down onto a nearby table. "Anyway, here's the Elixir. Se'th knows we all deserve it."

Dan thought about getting up, but then decided against it. "Hey, pass me a dozen cans will ya? I'm thirsty like-"

Then he turned around, and his eyes shot open in shock. "Hey, Brandy?"

"What?", Brandy asked. "What is it?"
Dan's brow knitted in confusion. "You're not Blue anymore."

Brandy's own eyes widened, and she looked down. Grabbing her shirt in confusion, she looked all around herself for any sign of her familiar Blue colors. But there was none- only the default Bandit's shade of black and green.

"What the…", she mumbled, then looked up. "I really am not Blue anymore. And Dan, neither are you!"

Dan looked up- but, of course, could not see past his own face. "Really? Because I can't see my feather. Hey, can anyone see my feather?"

"Yeah.", Brandy said. "It's black."

Glabnack looked down at his once Blue tunic, only to find that it had turned a slightly darker shade of green than him. "Hey yeah, me too."

He turned to Jonah, who stood with Sandy on the other side of the deck. "Jonah, what do you think is causing this phenomenon?"

Jonah just shifted his shoulders a bit, not even bothering to turn around. "I take it from your reactions that none of you have ever been off continent before."

Everyone looked around- none of them had. This was all their first time off their native continent.

"Well.", Sandy said, a mere moment before Jonah had a chance to explain. "Only on Royale do Troops like you have team colors. Everywhere else, you assume your natural hues."

"Which means, everyone…", Jonah said with a dramatic flair. "That we have already crossed over into intercontinental waters."

"I see.", Brandy said. "Does that mean that we're almost there?"

Jonah put his hand to the sky, and squinted. "Eh, maybe about halfway.", said Jack. "We were really booking it during that Kraken fight."

"Speaking of which, are we going to run into any more monsters on this trip?", asked Glabnack nervously. "I don't think I could handle it."

"No, probably not.", said Jonah with a shake of his head. "We just slew one of the most dangerous monsters in all the ocean. Everything else will know now to steer clear of the Undefined Variable, at all costs."

"One of?", Dan asked. "Does that mean there are more dangerous things out there?

Brandy looked over the surface of the water, and gulped. Who knew what could be lurking out there in the deep, this far away from land where the depth had never before been recorded?

"Ay.", Jonah said with a nod. "It does."

"What?", Dan asked. "What animal could be more dangerous than The Kraken himself?"

"Oh, you know.", Jonah said, and squinted his eyes. They glinted with memories of epic battles, and legends of truly titanic monsters. Monsters that could drink rivers and break mountains, beasts that hid the sun with their size and changed the weather with their bulk. "Stuff."

I'm stuff, thought someone on the boat, but no one knew who.

Song: Cheerful Journey

"So.", Brandy said, and cracked open a can of Elixir. She took a sip, putting one hand to her forehead as she looked out towards the horizon. "How long till we get there?"

Jonah raised Jack as high as he could above his head, who squinted his tiny fish eyes to check. "Probably around… I don't know… maybe 60 minutes?"

"Hey, nice.", Dan said, as he flicked the top off of a keg of green Elixir using a tiny bit of Star. "That's not so bad."

Sandy yawned, and started a slow walk back up towards the crow's nest. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yes?", Jonah asked, without even turning around. He knew exactly what his son was going to say next.

"I'm gonna just go back to sleep.", said Sandy, as he slowly climbed the ladder. "Wake me up if something happens."

Jonah chuckled softly to himself, as Sandy hoisted himself upwards onto the upper deck and fell asleep instantly.

"Ay, my boy's an odd one.", he said. "Can never get enough sleep."

"Yes, that seems to be typical for his type.", Glabnack said. "Sandys sleep a lot."

Once Glabnack had spoken his mind, no one else seemed all that keen to follow. As awkward gazes shifted around the boat, everyone fully expected someone else to step in and carry the conversation. But when no one did, the tension in the air kept on growing, and several of the people there started to feel more than a little uncomfortable. Finally, after almost 30 seconds and a single, slight cough from Anne, Brandy decided that it was her turn to break the silence.

"Whew, is it hot out here, or what?", she groaned, leaning back. "Like seriously, how hot is it?"

Jack licked his fin, sticking it straight up into the air. He gave an affirmative nod, then retreated back into Jonah's hand. "It's 98.6 degrees. Exactly."

"Are you sure that's just not your own body heat, fishy?", asked Terrence, looking up and speaking a real sentence for the first time since he had gotten on the boat. "That's body temperature, you know."

Jack frowned, and slapped his fins together in what he hoped could be intimidation. "Hmph. I'll have you know that not only is the body temperature of fish different from you mammals, I also have a highly developed heat-sensing apparatus stuck underneath my fin. So there."

"He doesn't have any of that stuff.", Jonah slurred, from underneath his sun umbrella. He ruffled his special, Giant-sized issue of Fishermen monthly and took a sip of his Elixir. "Jack's a compulsive liar."

"Wha-", Jack spat, then put his fins on his hips. "You're not so honest yourself, Jonah."

But Jonah just gave a deep, throaty chuckle, set Jack down, and went back to his reading.

Brandy felt the sun beat down on her skin. She thought it odd how ever since The Kraken had been defeated, it had almost seemed to be getting warmer. Steadily hotter the sun had become, for whatever reason.

"Okay, seriously, why is it so hot?", Brandy asked, as she felt herself start to sweat. "Does anyone else feel that?"

Glabnack looked up, and sniffed the air with his long, sharp nose. "Yes.", he said. "I agree. It does seem oddly hot."

Dan took a deeper swig of his Elixir, and set down the flattened can. "Hmmm…"

He stood up and swiveled his head, seeming to search for something. "I agree."

"Honestly, I'd take off my tunic if we were alone.", Brandy grumbled, flipping back her hood to let out some of the heat. "Why the…"

Song: Sudden Battle

"Brandy?", Dan asked, as he slowly approached the side of the boat. He moved slowly, as so not to attract the possible attention of whatever might be there. "Don't you think it's odd?"

Brandy thought for a moment, scratching the side of her head. She rolled down her socks, scratching the now bare skin. "That ever since we decided to start on this journey, we've been randomly attacked? Yeah."

"It's almost as if…", Dan said, and gathered up some Star energy in his right hand. He brought it far above his head, ready to strike at the first chance he got. "We're being targeted by someone."

"But who?", Brandy asked. She started to breathe in harder, trying to banish the overwhelming heat from her body. Sweat dripped down from her forehead, gathering in a small pool on the deck. "Who would-"

She shook her head, and broke off the words. "Dan, I can't take this heat anymore. I'm going in the water for a bit."

Dan, leaning over the side of the boat, barely even heard her words. "Okay, honey. Have fun."

Brandy strode over to the side of the ship, making sure that nobody was watching. Once she confirmed that Sandy and Jonah were asleep, she slipped out of her tunic and jumped over the side of the boat.

Once Dan heard the splash of Brandy entering the water, his head snapped up to attention. He turned around, in mild panic. "Brandy, wait!"

But Brandy didn't hear him. She just felt herself fall into the water, the blessed, cool ocean. As soon as she hit the sea, all the heat that had been concentrated on her left, dissipating into the salty sea air. "Aaaahhh…"

She let herself float to the surface, lying on her back in the cold water. She was somehow swept along in the ship's current, allowing her to keep pace.

But her peace was shattered by Dan looking over the side of the boat, his face full of panic.

"Brandy!", he yelled. "There's something in the water! Something else!"

Far below Brandy, something stirred in the deep cold water. Something ferocious, hard blue scales covering its body. Reptilian eyes glinted coldly, and it began a quick, yet unhurried swim towards the surface of the sea.

Brandy opened her eyes, and looked up. "Wait, what-", was all she could say before something grabbed her by the foot and dragged her underwater.

"Brandy!", Dan yelled, and raised his fist. A ferocious lance of Star sparked at the end, ready to impale whatever it hit. He cast his vision downwards to aim at whatever had grabbed Brandy- but he could not see it. Whatever it was had vanished.

Brandy felt herself being dragged deep underwater, by some strange monster. She could feel the powerful scaly hand that had her by the foot, unwilling to let go. Fish and monsters streaked by, almost seeming to be standing still next to the speed at which Brandy was traveling. She could feel the air leaking from her lungs, as the edges of her vision started to fade into black.

"You little-", Brandy yelled through the water, and viciously kicked at whatever held her. Her blows connected, tearing off bits of scale, but the dragging force still persisted.

"I'm gonna-", Brandy spat, trying to drag herself into a position where she could attack better, but the force of the water against her was too strong. "Gonna-"

Brandy could see the water darkening around her. She knew that if she didn't escape within a few seconds, she would drown. She had to escape. She had to-

Brandy's eyes flashed blue, and the shimmering lights of The Dreamer appeared somewhere behind her head. She could see herself a few seconds into the future, being dragged into a dark cave with no chance of escape. No, wait- the vision was splitting. Now only one quarter of her vision showed that horrible outcome, and the others were all different. One was a massive fish coming out of the deep blue, swallowing both her and the attacker whole. Another was of the attacker suddenly letting go, and Brandy floating to the surface, perhaps dead or alive. But the fourth was good- that one was of Jonah's hook snatching her back, dragging her alive and gasping to the surface. Brandy grimaced and reached out with her mind, selecting the fourth option.

As if by magic, she felt Jonah's hook snag on the back of what clothes she still had on. The grip of the scaly beast was nothing compared to the raw hooking might of Jonah, and she was yanked upwards. Upwards, and back towards safety.

Dan gasped in relief, as he saw Brandy break the surface of the water. Jonah's hook launched her overhead and onto the deck of the boat with a loud crack- it would hurt. But she was alive, and that's what mattered.

"Brandy!", Dan shouted, and ran over to her side. He slid one hand under her back, lifting her up into the air. "What was that? How did you-"

Brandy coughed up a mouthful of water, then looked up into Dan's eyes. "I used… The Dreamer.", she said. "To choose… the future. For just a little bit."

"You can do that?", Dan asked. "Since when?"

"I can't do it often.", Brandy said. "Just when… I really need to."

She coughed again, and gestured towards where she had left her tunic.

"I should put my clothes back on.", she said. "Before everything falls off."

"Oh.", Dan said, and reached over. He tossed Brandy's tunic to her, and she slipped back into it as fast as she could. "Right."

He looked down at her, worry etched across his face. "Are… you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.", Brandy coughed. "I'm just a little wetter now, is all. And my lungs hurt. And I'm kind of exhausted, if we're being totally honest."

"Well, get some rest.", Dan said. "We've got quite a day ahead of us still."

"Right…", Brandy said, and grabbed Dan's arms a little tighter. "We still gotta get to the shore, and check in to the hotel, and then find out where we're going from there."

"To find your parents, right?", Dan asked. "That's what we're doing."

"Right.", Brandy said. "And then finding the dragon that can save the world."

"Yeah…", Dan said. "But that's all stuff you want to do. To be honest, I kind of just want to explore."

Brandy smiled weakly, and stroked his arm. "Don't worry, honey. There'll be plenty of time for that. We can do whatever we want, together. Because hey."

She closed her eyes, and cracked a sly grin. "It technically is our second honeymoon."

She slid down from Dan's arms onto a chair, and coughed again. The sudden depth and reemergence had hurt her lungs something fierce. Then she noticed something- it was no longer warm. "Hey, what happened to the heat?"

Glabnack put one finger into the air, the universal gesture for I might have the answer for that.

"Perhaps whatever tried to attack you was able to generate heat, in order to cause its prey to get themselves into a vulnerable state.", he said, his biology training showing. "Once it was defeated, the heat it generated quickly vanished into the air."

"Huh.", Brandy said. "Yeah, that sounds probable."

She coughed again, scratching at the claw marks that were still on her foot. "I think I'm gonna take a little nap. Wake me up when we get there."

"Can do, Bandit.", said Glabnack, for he had quite forgotten her name. "Can do."

"I'll wake you up.", Dan said, as he saw Brandy close her eyes and gently drift off into much-needed sleep. "Don't you ever worry."

Dan closed his eyes, and sighed. If he was being honest with himself, the encounter with… whatever it was had shocked him. Every time that something had come up on the journey so far, he had been the one to protect, to save. He had protected Brandy and the civilians from the reptile, and protected everyone again from The Kraken. But then something had snuck in under his nose, and snatched away Brandy before there had even been a second. If it wasn't for both Jonah and The Dreamer, she would have been dead. Dan himself had been unable to do anything. He knew that fact, and he hated it with every fiber of his being. What good was he, what good was his strength, if he could not protect?

"You look a little down, me boy.", said Jonah, reaching down into a secret compartment beside him. "How about a shanty, to raise all our spirits?"

"A… shanty?", Dan asked. "What do you mean?"

"You know, a shanty.", Jonah explained, and brought up a guitar. "A song."

"Ah.", Dan said. "That would be quite nice."

Jonah sang a few notes to test his old, grizzled voice, and brought the guitar up to his knees. He cleared his throat, placed his fingers against the tired strings, and began to play.

"As I'm filled with silver fire…", he sang low, strumming out a few simple notes. "I gaze upon the stars on higher…"

Even though it was still early afternoon, the air seemed to grow darker and cooler from the sound of his song. But it was not an evil darkness, nor an oppressive cold. No, it was the dark of sleep, and the cold of a comforting, cozy evening.

"Looking down upon me they…", he sang again, then paused for a bit as he tried to remember the right notes. "Shine on brightly all my way…"

He looked up, and grinned. "Well?"

Dan put his hand to his chin. "I liked the song. What's it from?"

Jonah shook his head. "Ay, I don't remember anymore. But it's a very old shanty, that much I can tell ya. Been passed down even before since there were Fishermen. Heck, its probably been sung longer than you folks have fought in the Arenas."

"Older… than the Arenas?", Dan asked in amazement. "I thought they were as old as civilization itself."

"Ay, boy.", Jonah said, with a glint in his eye. He took a moment to remember all the stories he used to hear, then spoke. "They are."

"Then how-", Dan asked, but Jonah just waved his hand.

"The continent of Royale is young, Daniel. Next to the age of the Continent of the Clans, it has but existed for a mere smidgen of time. The history of that place over there extends back for probably thousands of years. Most of it, sadly…"

He looked down again, then picked up his guitar. "Lost to time."

"I see.", Dan said, but his mind swam with thought. Thousands of years old? He didn't know that anything was that old. What history did the Continent of the Clans have, that he didn't know about? He would have to find it out, as soon as he could. Perhaps he could find someone once they got there that would know. Or, he thought as he looked around the deck and saw a certain scholarly Goblin, I could ask Glabnack.

"Hey, Glabnack.", Dan said, with a friendly wave of his hand. Glabnack fell out of his chair with a start, almost dropping his book that he had been reading. "You know your history, right?"

Glabnack stood up indignantly, and shook his head once he saw that it was Dan that had addressed him. "Erm, no. My field of study is mostly biology."

"Oh.", Dan said. "Well, you know anything about where we're going? Just want to know what I could run into."

"Yeah…", Glabnack said, scratching nervously behind his ears. "I… don't really… know that either."

Glabnack fully expected Dan to get angry, but instead he just sat back. "Oh well. Not everyone knows everything, after all."

Then there was the sudden blare of trumpets from the deck in front of them, accompanied by an almost overly energetic strum of Jonah's guitar. Dan and Glabnack looked up, to see Jonah and Sandy launching into another shanty- this one far more lively.

"What do you do with a drunken sailor?", Jonah sang, almost shouting his words. He blasted out a note on his guitar, and pointed to his son.

"What do you do with a drunken sailor?", Sandy repeated, but with a different intonation.

"What do you do with a drunken sailor-", they both sang together, then pointed to Dan and Glabnack.

Glabnack took a deep breath- he knew this one. Dan didn't, but he took a deep breath anyways.

"Early in the morning!", all three of them sang, their voices echoing out through the tranquil blue waters.

Brandy, who had laid down to sleep in the cabin, now felt herself drifting into wakefulness. She closed her eyes and sat up, trying to remember what she had been dreaming about. It wasn't a Dreamer dream, to be certain- no, she always remembered those. It had just been a regular dream, but even those carried some meaning. Even those were worthy to be remembered.

"What the…", she muttered, her ears picking up strange sounds coming from outside. It sounded like muffled, extremely off key, almost overly enthusiastic music.

Brandy slipped over the side of the counter, landing with a soft noise on the hard wood floor. She placed her hands on her back and stretched, letting her hood fall to reveal her frizzled hair.

"Are they…", she whispered to herself- then in a flash of sudden inspiration, Brandy remembered her dream.

It had been of her and two other small children she couldn't recognize, sitting around a table. One appeared to be an Archer, and the other an Electro Wizard- although younger versions.

"Brandy, finish your soup.", had come a voice from behind her. "Otherwise-"

Then her memory cut off, leaving Brandy to only wonder what the rest of the dream had contained.

"Put him in a longboat till he's sober, put him in a longboat till he's sober!", sang Jonah, and bent down to deliver the musical baton to Dan.

"Early in the morning!", Dan roared, not hitting the right note. But he was having fun with it, and that was the point of a shanty's existence.

"Way hay and up she rises-", Glabnack sang, and spun around in a circle, his book almost causing him to fall over. "Way hay and up she rises-"

"Way hay and up she rises-", Brandy sang, taking a good guess at what had been coming next in the song. She slowly snuck her way into the circle, and sat down on Dan's lap.

"Early in the morning!", Sandy sang, finishing the verse. He spun around, looked up, and stopped singing. His eyes widened, as he saw what was now in front of the boat.

"Shave his belly with a rusty razor, shave his belly with a rusty razor!", Jonah sang, his eyes closed in joy. So utterly engrossed was he in his singing that he somehow failed to notice the quick and frantic movements of Jack the Fish, tapping and slapping his shoulders.

"Shave his belly with a-", Dan sang, then stopped. He looked at what was in front of the boat, and sat up a little straighter.

"Shave his-", Jonah sang some more, then he felt Sandy tap his shoulder. "Dad?"

Jonah stopped singing, put down his guitar, and tried to look serious. He failed, but the effort was there. "What is it, son?"

Sandy pointed, and Jonah turned to see what everyone was looking at. His old, weathered gaze fell upon two huge black pillars of stone, marking an entrance to what seemed to be a truly massive harbor. Ships of all sorts pulled into the bay, the square clouds above a marked difference from what everyone was used to. A different sort of aire permeated the entire area, signifying this place as unique from all others.

Brandy bent at one knee, awestruck, and looked up at the legendary Continent of the Clans. "We're here."

Song: Not Alone

"Ay.", Jonah said. "So we are."

He glanced over his shoulder at Sandy, who was still standing awestruck at the sight. "Come on then, boy. Make yourself useful."

Sandy nodded, and ran off to grab everyone's luggage. It had been stored in the bottom deck of the ship, safe and secure during the journey.

"Jack, who's running the dock today?", asked Jonah, hoisting the Fish up so he could see. Jack put one fin to his brow, trying to take a closer look.

"Uh… looks like Ted, sir.", Jack said. "The Giant."

"Ted…", Jonah said, and returned Jack to his hip. "Oh, he's a good one. Take care of these fellows alright."

Jonah waited for a few seconds, judging the distance from the shore and what speed they were currently traveling. He wanted his throw to be exactly right.

But no one else saw the calculations going through his head- all they saw was their captain, staring blankly ahead off into space.

"Uh, Jonah?", Dan asked. "Shouldn't you be, uh, getting us the rest of the way there?"

"Hm?", Jonah said, then looked up. "Oh, I am. Just watch."

His calculations complete, he stood up, unwinding his hook from his shoulder. "Just sit back, and learn."

He started to gently throw the hook in a circle, building up momentum and speed. A glint flashed in his eye as the speed of the hook reached a fever pitch, a low whine emanating from the flashing steel. Finally, right when it seemed as though the hook was going to break in two, he let go, flinging it right towards the dock.

Just barely within the sight of the boat, the hook landed on a solid stone outcropping by the side of the shore. It snagged itself on a huge relief carving of a Dragon, holding fast into the rock.

"This is how we do it, Dan.", Jonah grunted, and pulled. It took a few seconds for anything to happen, but between the force of his hook and the force of his muscles, the Undefined Value began to move.

"Dad!", Sandy shouted, as he ran up the stairs. "I got- I got everyone's luggage."

Jonah kept pulling, as he turned Jack to check. Sandy stood in the middle of a pile of Chests, his arms aching from the exertion. "It's… all here."

Jack put his fins on his hips, as Jonah took a look through his eyes. "Boy, you didn't have to carry it all by yourself. You should have waited for me to help you."

"We could have done it.", Brandy said. "We should have grabbed our own-"

"Nonsense!", Jonah squeaked out, as the immense weight of the boat started to take its toll on his arms. "You're our- oh Se'th- guests! We wouldn't dream of making you do- holy frick- a thing! Isn't that right- ooooo- my boy?"

"Right.", Sandy said, and felt his eyes automatically close. He put his hand over his mouth as a massive yawn came over him, not even bothering to open his eyes again once he finished.

"I'm just gonna…", he yawned again. "Go back to sleep now."

Then he collapsed into a purple-clothed pile on the deck, asleep and snoring before he could even hit the ground.

The Undefined Value hit the side of the land with a sudden thud, sending Glabnack tumbling head over heels and onto his face. Or he would have, if Brandy hadn't suddenly lashed out with her arm and stopped him from falling with a quiet "You're welcome."

Jonah stopped pulling, and let his arm fall by his side. He smartly saluted, Jack the Fish slapping against his face. "Ay, this be it. Your destination."

Dan looked up towards the far away hills, and stuck out his hands. Golden Star flashed between them, and both his and Brandy's bags immediately flew into his grip.

"Right.", he said, and nodded deeply. "I guess we should be going now. Thanks for the ride, Jonah."

Jonah scoffed, and waved an off hand. "Oh, don't mention it. It's just our job."

Sandy would have said something, but he was asleep. So he didn't even notice it as both Dan and Brandy stepped over him and off the boat, Brandy giving him a little rustle of the hair as they went by.

Several minutes later, Dan and Brandy walked along the boardwalk of the pier, luggage in hand. Well, it was more all in Dan's hands. And Brandy wasn't so much walking as alternating between riding on Dan's shoulder and Dashing her way into and out of the various shops and booths there were as they passed by.

"Hey guys.", said Glabnack from behind them. "Where are you two going?"

"Uh…", Dan said, as he tried to remember. "Brandy, could you get the map? I think it's just in my-"

"Sure.", Brandy said, and flipped upside down. She grabbed the map from Dan's back pocket, giving it a little pat, then flipped herself right side up again.

"Back pocket.", Dan said, then realized what had just happened.

Brandy unrolled the map, looking for the location of their chosen hotel. "Hmm…"

Upon finding it, she pointed to the eastern tip. "There we go. The Grand Goblin Hotel."

"The Grand Goblin?", Glabnack excitedly asked. "Awesome! That's where I'm going too!"

"Really?", Brandy asked. "Nice."

She looked around for the other two boat partners, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where are Anne and Terrence?", she asked. "Didn't they get off the boat?"

Glabnack scratched his head. "Beats me. But eh, who cares?"

He took out a small spyglass from his pocket, holding it to his eye for whatever reason. "As long as we three are all together, we don't need them."

"Right…", Brandy said. "Yeah, us three."

How soon until we ditch him?, Dan thought.

Ditch him?, Brandy responded. What do you mean, ditch him?

I thought that's what we were talking about, Dan thought back. Getting rid of him.

No!, Brandy thought, and folded her arms. She huffed a single lock of hair out of her face. I was just being sarcastic.

Oh, Dan thought. Sorry, it was a little hard to tell.

No, no, you're good, Brandy responded. It's all good.

"Good.", Dan said, finally out loud. "And I love you, you know."

Brandy nuzzled his ear. "And I love you too."

"And it's not even that far from here!", Glabnack said, who apparently either had not been listening, or chosen not to acknowledge their conversation. "Only about maybe a 20 minute walk."

"That's great, man.", Dan said. "But which way is it?"

Brandy took the map from Glabnack, who had somehow grabbed hold of it, and held it up in front of her face. "Uh… it says that it's to the right."

"Alright then.", said Dan, and took a sharp rightward turn. "So let's go-"

He stopped, as he suddenly saw what was in the alleyway in front of him. A Villager and a Wizard stood stock still against the side of the wall, trying their hardest not to move. In between them was a small child, who seemed about to cry.

"Don't cry, don't cry…", the Wizard whispered, making a series of what he hoped were calming hand movements. "Don't you dare make a sound…"

"Hey!", Dan shouted. One hand flew to Brandy, and she frontflipped onto the ground in front of him. The other flew to Glabnack, shielding him from whatever thing was in the alley. "You!"

The monster finished ripping into whatever it held in its hands, swallowed, then looked up at the source of the sound. It pushed one rotting arm against its mouth, in some vestigial instinct of cleanliness. All it did in this case was remove more skin. "Grrrraaaahhh…"

"You two. There.", Dan said, making sure not to make any sudden movements. "I need you to slowly back away, opposite directions. Brandy, grab the kid as soon as I say so. I'll take down this… thing."

"Right.", Brandy said, and crouched, preparing to strike. "I've got this."

The Villager and the Wizard looked at each other nervously, not wanting to leave their child's side. But they saw that it was probably for the best to leave the strange, undead creature to the huge Troop that had suddenly appeared. So they slowly backed away.

"On my mark.", Dan whispered, slowly drawing closer. He breathed in as quietly as he could, trying not to attract the monster's attention. "Ready…"

The Zombie sniffed the air and swung its head back and forth, trying to detect what was creeping up on it. It had no intelligence and hardly any senses, relying entirely on basic instinct. It had been made for one thing and one thing alone- to hunt and to kill. So when the baby, suddenly cut off from its parents, began to cry, whatever it had as a brain was suddenly kicked into high gear.

As soon as Dan saw the baby start to cry, his hand shot open. "Grab him!", he shouted.

Brandy Dashed right for the baby, picking him up in both hands. She continued right down the alley, underneath and between the Zombie's legs, and into the window of a nearby abandoned shop.

"Graaah!", the Zombie roared, and whipped around. To Dan's surprise, it ripped off its own hand with a sickening crunch. Setting the severed limb down on the ground, it took off in pursuit of Brandy and the child.

"Hey!", Dan roared, and raised his fists. The Zombie turned around and growled, only to be met with the colossal impact of a pair of iron fists.

"Ora!", Dan yelled, as the Zombie was slammed directly into the ground. Rotten flesh splattered all over the sides of the alleyway, putrid Elixir leaking out from the crater that the impact had made in the stone.

"Gaaahhh…", the Zombie groaned, and tried to get up. But even though it had somehow survived the hit, all of its bones had been shattered by Dan's attack.

"Stay down!", Dan shouted, and kicked the Zombie directly in the side. The undead monster roared in pain as part of its entire torso was obliterated, but Dan's kick had actually had the opposite effect- the Zombie flew out of the crater and further into the alleyway.

The Wizard, the Villager, and Glabnack all took this golden opportunity to slowly back away, then stop slowly backing away and full on run into a nearby ice cream parlor. They slammed the door shut and locked it behind them, ignoring the protests of the patrons.

"Gehehehe…", the Zombie laughed, slow and long. Its shattered limbs slowly knit themselves back together, as it pulled itself back onto its feet. "Gehe…"

Dan watched it turn around, and lumber off down the alley in pursuit of Brandy and the baby. But, he knew as he began to charge up some Star, it wouldn't be able to get very far.

"It looks like it can just regenerate from physical harm.", he said to himself, as his hand lit up with golden light. "But Star will most likely do the trick."

The Zombie slapped one wet, rotting hand onto the brick on the other side of the alleyway, as it emerged into the next street over. It turned its head- just its head, not its neck or shoulders, and took the time to growl at a passing pair of Archers. They screamed, and turned to run away.

The Zombie chuckled to itself, and reached out one long hand to grab them- then stopped. Even though it could feel no pain, it still somehow noticed that there was now a gaping hole in its chest, the edges still sizzling with the energy of the Star.

It screeched in what was almost fear, if it was capable of feeling such a thing, and looked down. It clawed in desperation at the edges of the hole, trying to keep the Star from spreading, but it was a losing battle. Its fingers were turned to dust even as it fought to keep the energy from spreading, and it's torso wasn't faring much better. Within mere seconds, the last traces of the Zombie's howl faded away, as its entire body was turned to purple ash.

Dan stepped through the alleyway, and looked around. He saw the two Archers, as their fear turned to relief. "Good morning.", he said. "Either of you ladies seen a Bandit carrying a baby?"

"A… Bandit?", one Archer asked. "What's that?"

Dan stared at her for a second, then shook his head. "Oh, never mind."

Then he took off running in what he hoped was the right direction, even though it was not.

Brandy leapt through another window, Dashing to throw up a quick shield. The shattered glass reflected harmlessly against her, not a single scratch coming to the baby.

She took a quick glance behind her, searching for the Zombie's hand- yep. There it was, still scratching along at the ground at speeds that should have been impossible for any severed hand to move, especially a dead one- yet there it was.

Brandy jumped over a fallen steel beam, seeing that she was now in some sort of abandoned factory. The small, boarded up windows only allowed in a small portion of light. Huge stacks of dead machinery littered the factory floor, dust hanging all over everything in some sort of bizarre pattern.

The Zombie's hand still raced behind her, somehow keeping pace with her. It didn't make sense to Brandy. She was a Bandit, one of the fastest runners there was. Somehow, the severed hand of some disgusting monster was keeping pace with her- or almost, at least. As she ran, it seemed that the gap between them was growing larger.

"Hey, hey, don't cry.", Brandy said, as she slid on one hand underneath a falling door. It hit the platform they were on with a crash, allowing Brandy to catapult off of it and onto an upper level. "There's nothing to be afraid of, it's only a creepy, gross, infected hand."

She ducked underneath a hanging line of spikes, but there was no room for the baby. She just threw it up, and caught it as she came up again on the other side.

The baby whimpered, and Brandy held it closer to her chest. She dropped to both knees to avoid a swinging beam, then jumped back up again to keep running. "Don't worry. We're gonna get you back to your parents real soon…"

The thought gave Brandy momentary pause. It reminded her of her own parents for a bit. It wasn't long, but it was enough to make her trip up for a second- and trip over a rusty bit of metal that was sticking out of the floor.

"Shoot!", she shouted, attracting the attention of a flock of Bats roosting on the ceiling. She stumbled, almost falling off the elevated platform she was on. Her arms fumbled the baby for a second, but were able to reign it in.

Brandy staggered back onto the platform, clutching the baby tighter in her arms. "Whew.", she said. "It would have been bad if I dropped you."

But then her relief turned to panic, as the bundle of blankets collapsed in her arms to reveal that there was nothing in them.

Brandy knew what she had to do. Without any hesitation, and barely even thinking, she turned around and threw herself off the side of the platform.

"Where are you… where the-", she muttered, as she fell. The wind buffeted her face, making it hard to breathe or see, but- there! Right next to her, falling at the same rate, was the screaming baby. "Gotcha!"

Brandy reached out and grabbed the baby as hard as she could, noticing that it had been an oddly long time since she had started falling. She looked up and down, and realized why. She had accidentally thrown herself into a giant pit, which apparently had opened up just for this special occasion.

"Dang it dang it dang it dang it!", Brandy screamed, clutching the baby hard against her side. She Dashed to the wall, digging her fingers into the soft stone. It hurt a lot, but she was able to grind to a halt. "What is this place?"

She looked up, preparing to swing upwards. But there, tapping its fingers on the edge of the pit, was the Zombie Hand. Right next to it was what appeared to be some sort of pushbutton, doubtlessly used for triggering some dangerous device.

"Shoot, there it is.", Brandy growled, as she flexed her arm. Clutching the baby tight, she began to formulate a plan to dodge the impending attack. Maybe if she swung to the left, then to the right, Dashed up at a 45 degree angle, and-

Then she stopped, and remembered something that she had been forgetting somehow.

"What am I worrying about?", she laughed, and pressed her foot against the wall. "That thing's just a hand!"

The Hand, as if hearing her words, shrank back a bit. Brandy gave a yell of triumph and pushed herself upwards, Dash flickering around her as she flew. Once she cleared the top of the pit, the Hand reached for its button- but it was already too late.

"Die, you piece of crap!", Brandy shouted, and drove her foot downwards. The sharp edge of her boot sliced directly into the Hand, and landed all the way through. Although it technically made no sound, Brandy could swear she still heard it scream, as it fell in two pieces into the pit.

Brandy landed with a soft impact on the side of the pit, turned the baby right side up again, and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Well, that's that.", she said. "I wonder where Dan is right now."

She looked around in the empty factory. "He's not here, that's for certain."

She began a slow walk towards what looked like the exit, her left arm still hurting from all the things she had done with it. It was that hand that had scraped away The Kraken's flesh, and that hand that had propelled her upwards. It was also the hand that she had used to pin Sandy to the wall, but that hardly even seemed worth mentioning next to those two other things.

"Come on, kid.", she said to the baby, who gurgled with pleasure. She tickled its chin, prompting some burbling laughter. "Let's go give you back to your parents."

There was a titanic rumble of shattering stone as something huge broke through the wall. Brandy spun around, ready to take on whatever it was- but relaxed, as she saw it was just Dan.

"Brandy, where's the kid?", he asked breathlessly. "Is it alright?"

Brandy held up the baby, who giggled again. "Yeah. She's okay."

The Villager appeared behind Dan, and rushed forward with her arms outstretched. "Oh, thank Se'th!"

Brandy handed the baby to her mother, who clutched it tight. She looked up at Brandy with tears in her eyes. "Oh, how can we repay you?"

"Uh… maybe some Go-", Brandy started to say, before a quick eye from Dan told her otherwise.

"I mean, we don't need anything.", she said, struggling mightily against her instincts as a Bandit to do so. "You're good."

"Really?", asked the Wizard. "Because-"

"No.", Brandy forced out, before she was unable to say otherwise. "We. Are. Good."

"Well, if you insist.", the Wizard shrugged, and put his arm around the Villager. "Come on, honey. Let's go."

As the three walked away, Brandy sighed wistfully.

"You know Dan, I kind of want a kid.", she said. "I bet I could actually take care of one now."

"I thought you said you couldn't get pregnant anymore.", Dan said.

"Yeah, I can't.", Brandy said. "But I wish I could. It's not like you'd have a problem doing it to me."

Dan's face stiffened, and Brandy giggled. She gave him a small knock on the arm. "Oh, come on, Dan. We're married. We can talk about that kind of stuff."

"I know.", Dan said. "Just… we shouldn't talk about it in front of people."

"In front of people?", Brandy asked. "What do you mean? There's no one he- oh."

She saw a pair of big green Goblin ears from somewhere behind Dan. "Hi, Glabnack."

"No, no, keep going.", Glabnack almost said. But somehow, he detected that it would only end up with Brandy's fist planted firmly in either his face or chest- perhaps even both. So he wisely chose to say something else.

"So, are we going now?", he asked. "To the hotel."

"Yeah…", Dan said. "About that."

"It's gonna be a long walk.", Brandy said, stretching her hands on her back. "I really don't feel like-"

Glabnack raised his hand, revealing a trio of tickets. "No. It's cool. I called us a taxi."

There was a honk of a horn from outside the factory, and Glabnack tugged on Dan's hand. "Come on guys, let's go."

Brandy and Dan looked at each other, thought, then nodded. "Taxi. Yeah, that sounds good."

Dan bowed politely, then threw open the doors of the structure. There, in front of them, was a stocky, thick black cart pulled by a pair of Golemnites.

"Wha-", Brandy said. "Golemnites? We might as well just walk for all the speed this'll give us."

The Goblin in the driver's seat put his hands on his hips indignantly, and scoffed. "Well! Look at little miss knowledgeable over here!"

He patted one of the Golemnites on the head, whispering sweet nothings and assurances into somewhere near its ear. It did not care, but the Goblin did- and that's what really mattered anyway. "There, there. She didn't mean it."

"I'll have you know these are nothing but the finest bred racing Golemnites, capable of achieving speeds of up to 25 miles per hour!", the Goblin huffed.

Brandy thought about carrying on the argument, but knew that it was folly. So she just rolled her eyes and flung open the cabin door. With not even a word, all three passengers were in. The Goblin gave a sharp yell and flung his hand downwards, the Golemnites taking off in the direction of the hotel.

Dan waited for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath. He stared directly down at Brandy from up above, and Brandy felt her heart flutter.

"Brandy.", he said gently. "You… kind of just took off back there. Without warning."

"Wasn't I supposed to?", she asked. "When you said for me to-"

"I guess.", Dan sighed. "You were just going through with the plan. But when you left my sight, well… I panicked a little bit. I don't like not knowing where you are, in such a strange, unfamiliar place. Who knows how many more of those… things… are wandering around."

Brandy rolled up her sleeve, and flexed what muscle she had. "Oh, you don't need to worry about me, Dan. I'm a tough girl."

"Yeah, but…", Dan said. But then he stopped. Even though he had been about to argue, he didn't want to disagree with Brandy.

"And you're my bigger, stronger man.", Brandy said, leaning up against Dan's waist. "The biggest, strongest, manliest man ever."

"That's true.", Dan said, rubbing one finger across Brandy's front. She grabbed his arm, and climbed up onto his chest.

"And we'll be able to take on anything that this place can throw at us.", she said, and grabbed his face in both hands. "No matter what. Me and my massive, strong, strapping…"

No more words were needed. Dan grabbed Brandy from behind and pushed her forward, meeting her in a passionate kiss. Glabnack watched, and gagged a bit, but neither of them cared. And as the cart continued onward towards the Grand Goblin Hotel, no one heard Brandy gently whisper, in between breaths, "Hero."

In the center of the continent, in the center of Dragonlord Rakastamos's cavern, the mood was altogether different. A single ragged individual raced among the spiked rocks and worn down runs of stone in front of the cave's entrance, eager to deliver his news.

He climbed over the broken rock as fast as he could, almost cutting his hands on the shattered bits of metal and glass. He ducked under a floating altar of stone, running on hands and knees even farther into the cave. But finally he found it- a long, narrow slide of small stones, leading down into the darkness. With a shake of his head, he gathered up his courage and jumped in.

"Dragonlord Rakastamos, sir!", he yelled, sliding down the rockslide into the cavern's central interior. "I have eager news, sire! From the eastern front!"

He waited for a few seconds, breathing heavily from his long run, awaiting his master's appearance. The cave seemed mostly empty- just him, the robots, and Rakastamos's elite Skeleton Guard. Perhaps He wasn't there- no, the idea seemed silly. Rakastamos never left the cave. He couldn't, not when he had to-

There was an impossibly low rumble, and the runner suddenly had all of his fondest dreams answered. He saw a truly massive eye open up in front of him, revealing the deep orange pupil of Dragonlord Rakastamos. "Yes?"

The runner's face lit up in delight at the sight of his master- but there was no time for that now. He had to deliver his message, had to make it quick. "I'm afraid I have some urgent news, master. There have been… losses. On the Eastern front."

"Oh?", Rakastamos rumbled. "What happened? Tell me…"

His eye rolled lazily, and the runner felt himself shiver with both delight and dread. "More."

"My lord…", the runner said, then gulped as he prepared himself for the next bit. He felt the sweat drip from his brow in fear, but he kept on going out of sheer duty. "The Kraken- Chacalatokus- is dead."

Rakastamos's eye shot open, and he reared back. Although not much of his full size could be seen, he still towered over the runner like a mountain over a tree. "What?"

"And the Raptor… as well as the Zombie.", the runner continued, wanting to impart as much information as he could. "They were all slain not but a few hours ago."

Rakastamos gripped his head in his hands, swaying back and forth in despair. "No, no, no, no, no! How could this have happened? Chacalatokus was one of my finest warriors! And now- he's dead?"

He gritted his teeth in anger, the action sending the entire ceiling trembling. "I expected as much of the Raptor and the Zombie, but not him. No, not him."

He leaned down to the runner, who took a fearful yet excited step backwards. "Who did this to him? Who was so powerful they could bring the likes of Chacalatokus down with nary even a fight?"

The runner gulped, and checked his small notecard. "Well, according to our field scouts…"

He took a harder glance, trying to read the messy handwriting. It had been smudged during his journey back. "It was a combined team of a Fisherman, a Sandy, a Goblin Scholar, a Mega Knight, and a Bandit. The Bandit was found to be a Stand user, and the Mega Knight was reported to have been using the Star on multiple occasions."

"Fisherman?", Rakastamos asked, stroking his beard. "Sandy? Mega Knight? Bandit? Tell me, what all are those?"

The runner thought for a moment, then realized what Rakastamos was getting at. "Oh, right. You've been dormant for really a long time. Uh, well…"

The runner felt Rakastamos's eyebrow raise, and he could almost feel the heat of his breath. "They're… new troops, sire.", he stammered out. "That have been added to the world while you were asleep."
"Interesting…" , Rakastamos mumbled, stroking his chin. "How very interesting. For so much to be added while I was asleep."

He leaned down, propping his head up on one titanic palm. "Tell me, what else has been added?"

"Uh.", the runner said. "Well, there aren't regular people anymore."

Rakastamos raised an eyebrow. "No regular people? Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, you know how people used to train to become Troops?", the runner asked. "They don't really do that anymore. They're just born that way. Now, Troops make up almost 100% of the population."

"Why?", Rakastamos asked. "That all seems rather odd."

"Well, when your last rampage was halted by the gods, Rakastamos sire…", the runner said. "You had already managed to deal so much damage to the world that it sort of had to be… reset. Played around with, retooled. Now things are different."

Rakastamos stroked his chin again, and got a faraway look in his eye. "Fascinating. I'll have to study, then, what the world has become."

He turned back into the shadows, addressing the runner from the casual backhand he gave him. "Go get my spying scope.", he said. "The one I use for special occasions."

"Yes sir, right away.", said the runner with the deepest bow he could muster. "But… what of the group that killed the Kraken? What should I do with them?"

"Right…", Rakastamos said, and growled. "Them."

He tapped out a rhythm on the wall, letting someone somewhere in the cave know it was her time to be up. "I'll send out a little greeting."

His face turned hot with rage, a small mourning for the mighty Chacalatokus coursing through his draconic heart.

Song: The Stardust Man Appears

The sun was beginning to approach the midway point to the horizon as the cart finally pulled into the massive parking lot of the Great Goblin Hotel. Dozens of vehicles of various types all surrounded the massive structure- Hog Carts, Cannon Carts, repurposed boats, Balloons, donation carts, even a huge Wall Wrecker that hung ominously, suspended on metal feet.

The cart gently rolled to a halt inside one of the main parking areas, and finally stopped with a violent jolt.

Brandy woke up with a less violent one, but a jolt all the same. She rubbed Dan's cheek, trying to wake him up from his semi-sleep. "Hey. Hey Dan. We're here."

"Mmph.", Dan snored, and slowly sat up straight. "Thanks, honey."

Brandy smiled. "You're welcome."
"Thank you for riding Golemnite Travel Services.", said the Goblin, and gave one final snap of his reigns. The Golemnites sat down and became still as solid rock- which, of course, they technically were. "I ask you to please leave my cart now, as I have other passengers to pick up. Also we ask that you please take all carry-on and personal items with you, as I will not exactly chase you all over the continent in order to have them safely returned."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever.", Brandy said, as she threw open the door to the cart. "We can carry all our stuff… can't we Dan?"

Dan slowly exited the cart, holding both his and Brandy's luggage in one giant bundle under his arm. Also under his arm was Glabnack, but he was standing on the ground. He was actually underneath his arm, not merely tucked within it.

"Yes we can.", Dan said, and jutted out one leg. "Or, I can."

Brandy motioned with her hand, and Dan lowered one shoulder. She hopped up onto it and wound herself around his neck.

"So.", said Glabnack. "I suppose that we should all go in and find our rooms. You've got a busy day ahead of yourselves tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah…", Brandy said, and scratched Dan's neck. "I guess you could say that."

"What is it that you guys are here for, again?", Glabnack asked. "I forgot."

"Honeymoon.", Dan grunted. "Nothing else."

"Right.", said Glabnack, making some quick finger pointing motions. "Cool."

As they walked through the parking lot, Brandy looked at the license plates of some of the vehicles they passed by. Most of them were registered in the Continent of the Clans, of course, but more than a few read Royale upon them. One read Brawltopia, a sleek grey number with 14 wheels.

"Hey.", Brandy said. "Let's see who can find the rarest license plate."

Dan smiled, the corners of his mouth twitching a little bit as he carried the heavy bags. "Okay. Um…"

He looked from car to car, his Star-enhanced vision taking in every detail. Out of all the ones he could see, there were 47 from the Continent of the Clans, 13 from the Continent of Royale, 1 from Brawltopia, and one from the Boom Beaches.

"I think I got it.", Dan said. "Boom Beaches."

Brandy looked around, trying to find any one rarer. She was pretty sure that a plate from the Rushlands or the Hay Day Farms would win out, but she wasn't quite sure.

But then, one odd one caught her attention. It belonged to an almost impossibly sleek, bullet-shaped vehicle at the very edge of the lot. It shone with an aura that looked Legendary, soft multicolored lights coming from within.

"What does that plate say?", Brandy asked, pointing down to it. "Anyone recognize it?"

"Uh…", Glabnack said, leaning down to take a good look at it. "Certainly not a place I've ever heard of. But I think it reads… miyg… neear?"

"What?", Dan asked, and bent down. He took a look at the unfamiliar word, but could only shrug. "Beats me."

Brandy swung down from Dan's shoulders, staring the name right in the face. She racked her memory for anything that might possibly match, but could only come up empty.

"That's weird.", she said, and swung back up. "Probably one of those lost areas."

Dan thought for a moment. "You mean those places the gods put together but never finished?"

"Yeah.", Brandy said. She quickly grabbed a comb from her bag and ran it through her air- she wanted to look at least presentable before they all entered the Hotel. "Like… oh, what was it called…"

She snapped her fingers trying to remember, not noticing that Dan had already started moving again. She perked up once she remembered, and shouted the name out loud. "Smash Land! Wasn't that it?"

"Hmm…", Dan said. "Yeah, that sounds familiar. I remember hearing about that. Somewhere."

"Plate's probably from one of those places, then.", Glabnack figured. "Maybe we should-"

He was about to say take a picture of it, due to its likely overwhelming rarity. But when he turned around to check on it, the vehicle was already gone.

Glabnack stared for a moment, trying to force the chill off his body. Then he turned back around and ran into the Grand Goblin Hotel, along with Brandy and Dan.

As soon as the trio entered the lobby, they gasped in wonder. The scene unfolding in front of them was one of utter chaos- Goblins ran underfoot, overfoot, and inbetweenfoot. Goblins swung from many cheap chandeliers that had been hung on the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, it would seem that they had been put there for that very purpose. A huge dart board along one side of the wall provided a target for a few dozen Dart Goblins and Spear Goblins to shoot out, making a thick wall of Darts and Spears that no one could pass through. There was a massive pit off to one side, shouts of Gobbish slurs echoing throughout. And in the center of the room sat an imposing Goblin Giant, smoking a pipe and drinking some fine bourbon.

"Ah, this is good.", he thought. "Nice to finally get away from life in the woods and to settle down here. Nothing to hunt me, no one to-"

Then he chanced to look up, and saw a familiar Bandit and Mega Knight enter.

He spat out his drink, and grabbed for a newspaper to cover up his face with. Hot fear pulsed through him- for this was the very same Goblin Giant that had cornered Brandy in the woods, and the very same one that Dan had mercilessly oraoraora-ed into days of painful oblivion.

He hid his face as Dan and Brandy made their way through the Goblintide all the way to the front desk, which was staffed by- what else?- more Goblins. Although this time they were Old Goblins, which was a welcome change of pace.

"Hey there!", Brandy said loudly, struggling to be heard over the utter chaos of the entryway. "Could me and my husband get a room?"

"What?", the Goblin at the desk shouted back. "What was that?"

"I said,", Brandy said, and took a deep breath. "Could me and my husband get a room?"

"I'm sorry, can't hear ya.", the Desk Goblin said, with a flick of his paper. "You'll have to speak louder."

Brandy inhaled deeply, and she yelled as loud as she could. "Could me and my husband get a room?", she shouted, her face turning red from the effort.

The Desk Goblin still looked confused for a second, before nodding and smiling in recognition. "Ah, yes, yes, a broom.", he said. "They're down there in the cleaning hall, second floor to the right. Just on the left, can't miss it."

Brandy huffed in anger, her nostrils flaring from her frustration. She looked up at Dan, who nodded. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled a yell of his own.

"HEY!", he erupted, the Star coming from his mouth only amplifying his sound. "ME AND MY WIFE HERE NEED A ROOM!"

The wall of sound blasted outwards, knocking what surely must have been hundreds of Goblins off of their feet. All activity in the room simply ceased, the Goblins looking to see what the interruption was.

"Ah, a room.", the Desk Goblin said, and nodded profusely. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Brandy's nostrils flared again, and the Goblin didn't notice as he pointed down the hall. "You're in luck! We have a room open at the very end of the hallway. Room 17-A. Better hurry, though- someone else might grab it."

"Don't we need a key?", Brandy asked, after waiting for a bit.

"No.", said the Goblin. "Whatever for?"

Brandy counted to 5, then sucked in a breath. "Never mind."

She crouched on the floor, then nodded. Dan grabbed her in one hand, with Glabnack and the luggage in the other, then ran off towards room 17-A.

Dan leapt over a pile of unconscious Goblins in the grass-lined hallway, dodged past an upright Elixir keg, and finally landed in front of an old, beat up door labeled 17-A. He sighed in relief, and relaxed his arms.

"Oooh…", Brandy groaned, as she landed on the floor in a crouch. She straightened up and massaged her back, wincing from the pain. "You were a little tight on the grip there, Dan."

"Oh, sorry.", Dan said. "I'll be more careful next time, I promise."

"No, no, it's fine.", Brandy said. "It's all good. Besides, I can always just do this-"

She bent backwards, further and further, until there was a soft, multi-layered pop. She touched the back of her feet with her fingers, then flung herself forward again. "That."

She looked up into the beaten, faded figure of room 17-A. "Some 5-star hotel this is.", she grumbled. "I expected a palace, not some glorified Goblin Hut."

"Glorified?", Glabnack asked. "This place- ouch- is a Goblin Hut. Just a really, really big one."

Brandy looked over her shoulder, to see Glabnack reaching out a hand. "And…"

He sighed. "This is where I leave you. My room's over there, room 25-A. And before you ask how I got it… I didn't."

Brandy shook his hand, then withdrew. "It's been real. Good luck on your schooling."

Dan gave him a light fist bump, as light as he could. However, it was still enough to send Glabnack back a few feet. "Have fun, little dude."

"Yup.", said Glabnack, and started to walk down the hall. "You two have fun with your, uh…"

He bounced his eyebrows. "Honeymoon."

Then he kept on walking, and vanished around a corner.

Dan swung open the door, and dropped their stuff on the floor next to the side of the door. He and Brandy looked up and down at each other, now finally able to show how exhausted they truly were.

"So.", Brandy said. "You wanna-"

"I just want to sleep.", Dan muttered, already making his way towards the Giant-sized bed. "That's all."

"Honestly?", Brandy said, following him. "That's all I want to do, too."

Dan fell onto the bed, Brandy jumping onto his torso. With a swift movement, Dan pulled the thick wool blanket over both of them, and turned off the candles with a single breath.

"That's alright.", Dan said, his voice already slowing from the tiredness. "That's...perfectly…"

Then they both fell asleep, Brandy's quiet breath mingling with Dan's massive snores. They had earned it, after such a massive day.

Song: Space of a Lone God

"Dan.", came a voice. It was the sort of voice you would expect to hear in a dream- powerful, yes, but also as quiet as you could imagine.

"Wha…", Dan mumbled, and sat up. He saw himself in a blank black space, infinite void stretching out in all directions. He jumped to his feet in alarm, taking a deep breath. A vast amount of Star flared around him, far more than what he could usually summon.

"Where am I?", he said, looking around for who could have said his name. "Who are you?"

There was a flash of movement out of the side of his vision, of steel and purple cloth. Dan whipped around, firing a tremendous beam of Star right at it.

"Overdrive!", he roared, the crackling ray splitting apart the thick black glass that served as the ground of the void. The shot continued onwards- and stopped, met by an equally powerful blast. There was a massive burst of smoke at the blast's meeting, obscuring whoever could be attacking.

"What is going on?", Dan whispered to himself. "Why is this happening? Brandy's supposed to have these kinds of dreams, not me."

The smoke cleared up, and Dan took a stance. "Show yourself, you-"

Then he stopped, put down his hands, and merely and stared in wonder. For there in front of him was not an enemy, but the Primal Knight Jonathan.

"Oh, my Se'th.", Dan said, and instinctively dropped to one knee. "It's- it's you!"

"Yes, Daniel.", Jonathan said. His voice was kind, yet unshakable and incomprehensibly strong. "It is I."

"What… what are you here for?", Dan asked, trying not to let his nervousness show. "Why my dream?"

"Nothing.", said Jonathan, and Dan looked in confusion. "What?"

"Well, nothing right now at least.", Jonathan said again. "I'm just opening a communication channel with you. But rest assured…"

He put two fingers on his forehead, and both he and the entire dreams began to flicker away. "I will come again."

Then he was gone, and the edges of the dream fell to chaotic nothing that tumbled and swirled around Dan as he fell back into regular sleep.

Far down along the adjacent hallway, Glabnack placed his book on the side of his bed. He dusted his hands off with a contented sigh, and put his hands on his hips.

"Ah, there we go.", he said neatly, and turned towards the door. He fished in his pocket for a pair of sunglasses, and slapped them on with a stylish movement. "Now, the nightlife awaits!"

He took a confident stride towards the door- in his tiny, affordable room, there wasn't much space between it and the bed. "Look out, Grand Goblin Hotel, here comes Glabnack!"

He placed a hand on the wooden doorknob- a crucial, but unnoticed detail. Had it been metal, he would have been able to feel the effects of what was outside, and the doorknob would have been ice cold. But it didn't work the same for wood, and so he was totally unaware of what was going to happen.

He stumbled out into the hallway, and took a sharp left turn. He could hear the sounds of a great feast happening in the main lobby, and he did not want to miss a second. He was glad to be home, among the company of Goblins, before he had to go study under Wizards for a few years. It would be his last hurrah before schooling.

So wrapped up in these thoughts was he that he almost didn't notice it when he bumped into a large, scaly trunk of a torso in the middle of the hallway. But of course, notice he did, and he looked up in annoyance. "Hey, do you mind-"

Then he stopped, his throat going dry in fear. For as the thing he had bumped into turned around, she revealed a scaly-skinned nightmare. A nest of vipers made up her hair, and her eyes were hidden behind a thick yellow vizor. "Hello…", she hissed, leaning in close to Glabnack's terrified face. "Worm."

"H…", Glabnack whispered hoarsely, trying to get some word out through his terror.

"I don't think you were supposed to see me.", continued The Gorgon, the snakes in her hair shaking their collective heads. "I was just supposed to be a quick assassination job. Oh well…"

She grabbed Glabnack's shoulders, pulling him closer to her. "I certainly wouldn't object to one more."

Glabnack finally found his voice. "Help!", he shouted, and tried to pull away. "Somebody help me-"

But it was too late. The Gorgon's vizor flipped up, revealing a pair of eyes burning with magic and yellow ochre. Glabnack's own eyes were drawn to the movement, and he stopped screaming as soon as he saw the color. He writhed and screeched in pain, then abruptly stopped. For the magic of the Gorgon had turned the hapless Goblin, horribly, into a statue of solid stone.

The Gorgon chuckled, and slithered back away into the shadows. "Curse him… I'll have to wait now to spring my trap.", she said. Then she smiled, rubbing her scaly hands together with glee. "But I certainly wouldn't object to a few more victims while I'm here."

Her eyes narrowed, already imagining all the lovely statues for her garden back at home. "A lot more."

Song: Danger Draws Near

Brandy felt the air change against her skin, as she happened to drift back into consciousness. She had been dragged out of full sleep by some odd, panicked sound, although she couldn't quite tell what it was. It had hit her subconscious brain, only acknowledging the raw emotion.

She opened her eyes, and looked up. The window was open- but it had been open since they had gotten there. It was, after all, a Goblin Hutel. The window was just a square cut into the wood.

She checked the side of the room- all their stuff was still there. It seemed that even in a place full of Goblins, they were wise enough not to steal from a Bandit and a Mega Knight.

"Dan?", she whispered, reaching out and scratching his cheek. "You awake?"

"Mmm?", Dan mumbled. "Gwah?"

"Dan.", Brandy said, sitting up. "Something's wrong."

"Wha…", Dan snored, and sat up. He glanced at the clock, and groaned. "Brandy, it's 10 at night. What is it?"

"I don't know.", Brandy said. "But something's not right. Something…"

She slipped out of Dan's grasp, and gently tiptoed barefoot against the soft grass floor. She put her ear to the door- nothing. She frowned, trying to listen harder. "Something…"

"Brandy, come back to bed.", Dan mumbled, falling onto his back. "It's too late for this kind of stuff."
"Okay, but hold on.", Brandy said. "I'm just gonna check the hallway real fast."

"Mmph.", Dan said, and put one arm over his face. "You do that."

"Thanks, honey.", Brandy said with a grin. "You're the best."

She opened the door, looked outwards into the dimly lit hallway- and almost jumped back in shock. For there, right in front of her, was the stone statue of Glabnack, his face twisted in fear. His last movement seemed to have been pointing at something, judging from the way his finger pointed towards a dark side closet.

Brandy screamed, and Dashed back into the room. She saw Dan leap out of bed onto the floor, stirred to action by her screams. "Brandy.", he said. "What is it."

"There's something out there.", she said. With a quick circle around the room, she had pulled on her boots and cloak, snatching up her bat in one hand. She gave it a nervous twirl, and stared out the open door. "Something that turned Glabnack to stone."

"Oh my…", Dan said, and held out his arms. His magnetically charged armor flew to his body, snapping on in a series of clinks. He let his arms fall again by his side, a small pulse of power bursting out. "That sounds serious."

Brandy crouched low against the floor, slowly making her way forward. "We better go and check it out."

Dan sighed, but he knew what he had to do. Sleep could wait, when there was a monster on the loose. So he took a deep breath, stretched, and followed Brandy out the door.

The Gorgon, from her hiding spot deep in the closet, stroked the forehead of another Goblin she had turned to stone. "Yes, yes…", she whispered, hopefully quiet enough not to be heard. "Step into my trap, fragile prey."

She saw the door open for the second time, and Brandy slink her way out, low against the floor. The Gorgon's delight turned to annoyance as she felt her eyes waver trying to keep an eye on the Bandit, her natural jungle and forest camouflage taking effect.

"Just a little more, come on, come on…", The Gorgon hissed, leaning forward in anticipation. "Just… a little… more…"

But so excited was she, that she had forgotten to keep her voice low. That was a mistake she did not realize until she saw Brandy stop, and her ears perk up in The Gorgon's general direction.

Brandy halted in her tracks, slowly swiveling to face the direction where the whispers had come from. The closet seemed empty, but it also looked very, very deep.

"Who's there?", Brandy asked, tightening the grip on her club. "Come out, or I'm coming in."

"Yes, yes, come in.", the Gorgon said, out loud. "Please, I need help."

She grinned maniacally to herself, and began to adjust the shades on her face. Her power of turning things to stone with her gaze only worked a small amount of time per day- she wore the glasses in order to access those times at will.

"What kind of help do you need?", Brandy asked. A subtle shift of the back of her foot signaled Dan to quietly get ready. He nodded, and took in a silent breath.

"Uh…", the Gorgon hissed. "I've fallen. And I can't get up."

"Is that so.", Brandy said. "You speak pretty good Clash, for a Goblin."

"Why, thank you.", the Gorgon said. "I've been working hard on it."

"Yeah…", Brandy said. "So hard, you don't even sound like a Goblin anymore."

"Well, uh…", the Gorgon said. "Does that really matter? Come in and help me."

Brandy nodded. "Right."

Then she pointed forwards, and winked. "Dan, give her all the help she needs."

Dan nodded, and brought his hands in front of his chest. "With a cleansing flame…"

The Gorgon's eyes widened, her snakes bunching together in panic. "Hey, what's that? What- what are you doing?"

Brandy took a step forward. "Well. Here's the thing."

Dan's eyes glowed, his hands heating up with a pure white light. "Sparing the good…"

Brandy grinned, and twirled her stick. "You're not a Goblin. That much is obvious. And we were the only non-Goblin guests that came in today. Now normally, that wouldn't be a problem."

She gestured to Glabnack, who still stared forward with fear in his eyes.

"But this seems to have happened.", Brandy continued, and raised her hand into the air. "Which means that there's got to be something lurking around. And no Troop that I know of can do something like this- which, in turn, means that you must be one of those Strange Troops that've been following us around today. Which, in turn, means…"

She looked up at Dan. He nodded, at last ready. Brandy blinked, and let her hand fall. "You die."

"Pure Justice Overdrive!", Dan shouted, and released his energy. It blasted forward as a thin, white needle, passing straight through the clothes that were hanging in the closet. Piercing right through the back of the wall, it shot out through the dining hall and into the night. It did not harm a single Goblin- for that was not its intended purpose. The special properties that Dan had given it made sure that it only harmed the souls of evil Troops, leaving the good and neutral ones entirely alone. It was one last way to check, if the Gorgon really was against them or not.

Dan put his hands down, still smoking with white energy. He raised one finger and gave it a gentle blow of air.

Brandy stared forward, looking for any sign if the Gorgon had survived or not. She might have dodged out of the way- that would have been unfortunate. For her.

The Gorgon slowly got up from the floor that she had thrown herself against, checking to make sure the beam had not hit her and that all of her snakes were there. Finding both conditions met, she withdrew further into the closet, to try and plan her next move.

"You think she's dead?", Dan asked. "I don't see her moving."

Brandy sniffed the air, pulling down her hood to better hear. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "No. I can smell her still."

The Gorgon hissed in alarm, scrambling to the emergency exit she had dug into the wall. The assassination attempt had gone just about as badly as it possibly could. Reporting back to base now and getting backup was going to be her best option.

Brandy took another sniff of the air, closing her eyes and mouth to focus on her smell. In her mind's eye, she could see the Gorgon- slipping out the back wall and into the backstage of the hotel.

"She's going around the back!", Brandy shouted, spinning around on one heel. "We gotta go catch her before she gets away!"

"Can't we just break through the wall?", Dan asked, holding up his fist as if to demonstrate his capability. "It'd be faster."

Brandy gestured to the hallway. "Yeah, but we shouldn't break any part of the hotel we don't have to. Let's find another way."

Dan sighed, and rolled his head all the way around on his shoulders. "Fine…"

Then they both ran off, in hot pursuit of The Gorgon.

Song: Overdrive

The Gorgon slashed against the interior brick of the wall, surrounded by fragile wood and straw. It seemed that underneath the Grand Goblin Hotel's fragile exterior, it had quite a strong center.

But after a few rounds of slashing from her razor-sharp, toxic claws, the brick collapsed, sending her spilling out into the cold night.

She rolled behind a dumpster, shaking her communicator from her pocket into her hand. A couple of snakes leaned down from her hair and put it on, as she prepared herself to speak.

A stylized image of a great red Dragon appeared on the communicator as it turned on, and a gruff voice barked from the other side. "Yes, hello? What is it?"

"This is Vulgalia.", the Gorgon whispered, looking around to make sure she couldn't be spotted. "I made it to the Grand Goblin Hotel and found the targets, but-"

"Ah yes, the assassination job.", the voice said. "Did it go well? Did you do it?"

"That's what I'm trying to say.", Vulgalia hissed. "I didn't. They almost killed me."

Although she could not see it, the owner of the voice on the other end drew back in shock. "What?"

Thak the Goblin leaned up against the straw wall, picking his teeth with a stray piece of it. Once he removed the offending object, he checked in the wall mirror to see that a bit of straw, for whatever reason, had lodged itself in his mouth. With a growl of frustration, he snapped off a length of straw from the wall in order to take care of it. This caused, of course, another piece of straw somewhere in his teeth.

The process could likely have gone on for years had Dan and Brandy suddenly not rounded the hall's corner, Dan skidding to a stop. He scooped up Brandy in one hand and placed her on his shoulder, before bowing down and digging his fists into the floor in order to halt.

Thak stepped away from his futile self-dental work and put his hands behind his back, making sure to smile. "Good evening, customers.", he said with a thick Gobbish accent. "How may I help you today."

"We'd like a behind the scenes tour.", Brandy said. "Of the back."

"Ah, of the back.", Thak said, making sure to write himself a note. He wrote it with a piece of straw, however, so it did nothing. "That's a rare choice."

He looked up. "Are you sure?"

Brandy vigorously nodded. "Yup. Ah hu. Back lot tour, let's go."

Thak tossed both piece of straw and paper into a nearby bucket, thereby totally negating any advantage he might have had by possessing them. But, then again, it was the way of Goblins.

"Alright then.", he said, marching off like a frog. "Follow me."

"Vulgalia!", the voice roared, and Vulgalia pulled back a little bit. "Have you forgotten who you are?"

"No.", she said. "It's just that-"

"You are The Gorgon.", crooned the voice. "The Witch who became one with the ways of nature, who can turn her enemies to stone with but a single glance. These two are no match for you… right?"

Vulgalia's pupils dilated at the sound of her master's voice, and she clenched a fist. "No, they are not.", she whispered.

She stood up, and adjusted her glasses. "Thank you, master. I'll go get them. After all, everything matters…"

She switched off the communicator, putting it back into her pocket. "When you're building a perfect world."

She heard the door swing open, all her snakes turning to look a half second before she did. What she saw made her startle a little bit- Dan and Brandy jumping out the back door, landing in the lot.

"And this here is the back lot.", Thak said with a flourishing air. "Very nice, very nice-"

Then he saw Vulgalia standing menacingly in the middle of the lot, and recoiled. "Egad! What is that?"
"That's what we're here for!", Brandy shouted, starting to run forward. "Let's go!"

Thak saw both of them run towards Vulgalia, who merely chuckled. "Well alright then.", he muttered to himself. "I guess I should go. Those bingo tables won't run themselves…"

As Vulgalia saw Dan and Brandy run towards her, she spread out her arms and laughed. "Oh, you fools! My powers are the perfect ones to kill you! For I, Vulgalia the Gorgon, can turn my enemies to stone!"

"Yeah!", Brandy said, as she prepared to Dash. "We figured!"

Vulgalia merely grinned, and took off her glasses. Her eyes flashed with a burn of magic and yellow ochre, the beam of stone aimed right at Brandy's face.

Vulgalia knew that all it took for an enemy to be turned to stone was even a half second of eye contact. So she was that much more surprised when Brandy continued on her Dash-infused leap and planted her boot right into the side of Vulgalia's head.

"What?", she screamed, through the blood. "What the-"

She flew backwards, skidding across the ground, and hit her head on a rock.

"How…", she mumbled, scrabbling backwards. "How can you resist my power?"

Brandy landed on the ground in a crouch, not even looking up. "What was your power? Did I miss it?", she asked. "I wasn't looking."

"Wasn't… looking?", Vulgalia screeched. She got up, and nervously looked behind her. The dark woods loomed huge and tractless, a good means of escape. But she had to make sure the situation was truly hopeless before she did anything like run away. "Of course…"

"What?", Brandy asked. "Is your power vision based? Do I have to look at you for it to happen?"

"Of… of course not!", Vulgalia shouted, in a wild bluff. "I was just saying that! For my true power is…"

"I've heard enough.", Brandy said, and leapt forward.

Dan ran forward, stretching out his arm. "Brandy, wait!"

"What?", Brandy asked, just before she collided with the Gorgon.

Vulgalia screeched in triumph, and spread her hair open wide. Dozens of snakes all hissed furiously, their tiny eyes glowing green. "I have another power, Bandit! That of venom!"

She jumped backwards, and Brandy skidded to a stop on a patch of bare rock. Crossing her arms to protect herself in a half-second effort, she winced in anticipation of pain.

As one, the snakes spat out their venom. Dozens of droplets of green, acidic liquid struck Brandy all across the arms, eating holes in the sleeves. There was another volley of hissing, as the acid fell off and dripped onto the ground.

Brandy unfolded her arms, and growled. She did keep her eyes closed, as so to avoid any further attacks by the Gorgon.

"Still protecting yourself?", Vulgalia screamed, and lunged forward. She slammed against Brandy's chest, pushing her into the ground and across the wet mud. "That won't work against me again!"

Brandy tried to punch Vulgalia's jaw, but a veritable storm of snakes shot out from her hair, wrapping around Brandy's wrists. Vulgalia's long, scaly fingers wrapped around Brandy's arms, pinning her down to the ground.

"It's over, Bandit!", she screamed, shaking her shades off her eyes. Beams of magical and yellow ochre energy drilled down from her eyes, threatening to pierce right through Brandy's eyelids. "Within moments, my power will-"

She felt a light tap on her shoulder, which soon turned into a hard squeeze. Forgetting about Brandy for a moment, she looked over her shoulder and up into the firm face of Dan.

"Hey.", he said. "Mind letting go of my wife?"

Vulgalia thought for a moment, then snarled. "No."

Dan blinked. Before that, he had already struck. "ORA!"

The Gorgon screamed, as she was launched backwards and into the woods. She smashed through a tree in an explosion of wood chips and a single Gem, before sliding backwards on her face and landing in the mud with an unceremonious sqluench.

Dan grabbed Brandy by one arm, gently picking her up. "Hey."

"Hey,'' Brandy said back, adjusting her hood. "Thanks for that."

"No problem.", Dan said. "It felt good to punch her like that."

"Right.", Brandy said, and rolled up her sleeve. She rotated her arm around, then formed a fist. "Let's go get her."

Vulgalia slowly pushed herself to her feet, spitting out a mouthful of mud. She glared at the two, and pointed out an angry finger.

"You fools!", she yelled. "You punched me right into the woods, into a place where I can retreat!"

"Well then, we'll follow you.", Dan said, as he and Brandy walked forwards. "What's the big deal?"

The Gorgon grinned maniacally, and turned around to run. "Because if you see my eyes, you're dead! But you're gonna need those eyes wide open to travel through the woods!"

She and her hair hissed, then ran off into the vast amount of trees.

"Shoot, she's right.", Brandy said, then crouched downwards. "Or she would be, if it wasn't for…"

She Dashed upwards, landing on Dan's shoulder with a soft timp. She quickly wrapped herself around his head, slapping both hands over his eyes. "This!"

"Oh.", Dan said. "I see. If you cover my eyes while being on my head, you can guide me through the forest with the subtle gestures of your hands. Very nice."

He pummeled one fist into his hand, and roared. "Let's go!"

He lowered his body's angle, and started running, blindly into the trees.

"Right!", Brandy yelled, leaning right.

Dan shot out his right arm, crushing a nearby tree into bits. A Gem flew out from the wreckage, which Brandy caught with an outstretched arm. "I meant turn right."

"Oh.", Dan said. "Yeah… we're gonna have to-"

"Work on that. Right.", said Brandy, with love.

Vulgalia ran as fast as she could through the forest, thinking madly. She had come in through the northmost path, but she wasn't quite sure that she could find it again. The dark of the night had made it much harder to see where she was going, even if she did have some night vision. And with such powerful opponents giving chase, sitting down and getting her bearings wasn't exactly an option. Wait, no. That was an option. Because she had managed to shake them off her trail, with her flawless plan. There was no way they would be running through such a huge, trackless forest blind-

From behind her, there was a crash of breaking trees. Vulgalia turned around in shock, and saw Dan plow through another tree. He roared as he threw the entire thing aside, it crashing over the top of the woods.

"Dan!", Brandy yelled, from atop him. "I told you to turn left, not to-"

Vulgalia swore under her breath, and jumped over a log. Not The Log, just a log. She couldn't believe that they had somehow managed to follow her this deep into the forest.

"You fools!", she screeched, and stopped running. "I warned you!"

She ripped off her glasses, using the fullest power of her gaze. Yellow ochre and magic energy tore through the air, only to fall harmlessly on Dan's closed eyes.

"Now?", Dan asked. "She's close!"

"Not yet!", Brandy yelled, tugging on Dan's ears to steer him straight. "We gotta get right on top of her!"

Vulgalia started to run. Then she tripped over a root, turned around, shook her head, and started to run again. Her snakes hissed in alarm, as they saw Dan drawing ever closer.

"I can shake them, pretties.", she whispered under her breath, rounding a tree near a large clearing. "If I can just run to where I need to go…"

As she ran forward a few more feet, she saw the entrance to the clearing open up in front of her.

"Yes!", she whispered, putting a little more effort into her sprint. "I need to-"

But her words were suddenly cut off as her foot slammed into something running against the ground. She flipped over into the air, sprawling across the path and into the dirt.

"You little-", she spat, and swung her head around. A small fox that had been making an innocent crossing turned towards the movement, and was caught directly in her stone beams. With a bark of surprise, he turned to solid stone.

"Fire!", Brandy yelled from somewhere behind, and a blast of golden light shot out from the trees. It passed right over Vulgalia's head and sliced right through a dozen trees, turning some of them into Gems. Vulgalia looked down at the stone fox in some shock, as she realized that if he had not tripped her, her head would have been right in the way of that blast.

But then she stood up, and just snarled. It didn't really matter. He had gotten in her way, stopped her. No longer would that happen.

She quickened her pace, taking off running through the clearing again.

"Dan!", Brandy yelled, tugging on his right ear. "Go through the clearing in a straight line! Don't stop!"
"That's what we've been - oof- doing!", Dan roared, and kept up his solid charge.

Putting even more effort into her running, Vulgalia ran for the cave as fast as she could. She could hear the crash of Dan from behind her, but the sound was starting to grow further and further away.

"Yes!", she shouted, as the cave's entrance grew closer. Once inside, she would be able to use the mirrors she had stored there earlier to lure the two into their doom. "I win-"

But even though she had been running fast, she had not been running quite fast enough. The speed of the Star was still far faster. And so it was that a bright beam shot out from Dan's fist, Brandy giving it careful aim, and struck the entrance of the cave.

The entire front of the rock was blown upwards in a gigantic explosion, boulders and pebbles flying out in all directions. Vulgalia skidded to a stop, crossing her arms to shield herself from the blast. She was unharmed by the shrapnel- but her hopes were not so lucky. Her ace in the hole had just been taken away from her.

After stopping for a moment to plan out her next move, Vulgalia took off the opposite direction, into the clearing. It was quite fortunate for her that she had not taken longer, because both of Dan's Star-charged fists came down onto the ground right in the exact area where she had been standing.

The ground cracked, sending up a burst of golden light. "Did I get her?", Dan asked hopefully.

"Not yet.", Brandy said, and gently steered him to his right. "But you will."

She gave him a gentle slap on the top of the head, and he dropped to all fours. With a mighty battlecry, Dan charged after the Gorgon, into the open grassy field.

Vulgalia looked behind her, her mouth dropping open in shock. Dan didn't look like a Mega Knight anymore- not with the position he was in. He seemed more like some ancient monster, or a berserk Troop, or… or a Forgotten. An idea popped into her mind- a stupid idea, yes, but an idea nonetheless.

"Stop!", the Gorgon yelled, throwing out her hands even as she kept running. "As your leader, I command you to stop!"

Had Vulgalia really been looking, she would have seen Dan's eyebrows knit together in total confusion. But she was not, and so she only saw Dan's unyielding approach.

"Shoot…", she said to herself, and kept on running. Far across the clearing, she saw a river and a boat- maybe she could escape on that.

"See you later, mortals!", she yelled, as the distance between her and the boat drew smaller. "I'm leaving- without you!"

Brandy looked at the ground, carefully noting its natural pattern. If Dan hit just the right way, and at just the right time, with just the right amount of force…

"Dan!", Brandy yelled. "Hit the ground at 30 degrees, 15 firepower…"

Her eyes strained, Dan making sure to keep his exact pace.

"Now!", Brandy shouted, and Dan stopped directly in his tracks. He smashed one fist into the ground as per his exact instructions, rotating around it and onto the ground. A burst of golden light spread outwards underground from the impact zone, a low rumble accompanying the movement.

Vulgalia didn't even notice, however- she was too busy reaching the stream. The Bloody Stream, if the nearby signpost was to be believed. She crowed in triumph, and prepared to jump into the boat. But just before she did, she turned towards Dan and Brandy- and saw a massive wave of earth heading right for her.

With a grunt of shock and pain, but mostly pain, the earthen wave brought upon by Dan's shockwave smacked right up against Vulgalia. The force threw both her and the boat backwards, the stream buckling into bits around the tectonic force. She screamed as she flew through the air, the boat vanishing somewhere above the trees and herself landing face first in a pile of tall grass.

"Curse… you…", she growled, spitting out more mud. "I can't believe…"

She heard Dan and Brandy approach, taking one mighty leap over the rearranged river. Her eyes shot open in rage, and she stared at the two with all the fury she could muster. "I have to run from children like you!"

But, just like all the other times, her stone gaze failed to work. Dan's eyes were still covered by Brandy's hands, and Brandy was still covered by Dan's massive bulk. The force continued past, hitting a group of butterflies that instantly dropped to the ground. She swung her head in a crazy arc and pattern, hitting a sleeping robin and a baby bear. Every one of them halted in their tracks, as they turned to silent stone.

Vulgalia screamed, and leaned back. Every single one of her snakes took a deep breath as well, preparing to launch a painful storm of venom.

"Get ready, you little upstarts!", she yelled. "I, Vulgalia the Gorgon, shall-"

There was a wet popping sound. Vulgalia's shock increased, even as her vision went dark. Her breath caught in her throat, falling upon the shock. Whatever she had been about to say was forgotten as she stumbled backwards, clutching at her face in fear.

"My- my eyes!", she wailed. "What did you do to them?"

Brandy flashed a mischievous grin, bouncing the eyeballs up and down in her hand. She made sure to keep them firmly pointed down, not looking at them besides. She wasn't quite sure if removing the Gorgon's eyes would remove her powers, but it was worth a try.

"I'm a Bandit.", Brandy said. "I steal things. I just stole your vision."

Vulgalia wailed, and fell down to her knees. One by one, she felt the snakes on her head fall off, quickly evacuating for safer parts unknown.

Song: Propaganda

"It seems they knew what was coming.", Dan said, as he took a step closer. He cracked his mighty knuckles, and Vulgalia scrabbled back in primal fear. "Smart little guys."

Although she could no longer see, Vulgalia could still tell what Dan was about to do to her.

"W- wait!", she stammered, desperately searching for a way out. "I- I-"

She looked towards the northwest, and pointed. "I have lots of Gold back home. I can get you some of it-"

"We don't want Gold.", Brandy said, and the Gorgon flinched. "Well, I mean, I guess that I always do. But what we want more of, of course, is information."

"In… information?", Vulgalia asked, then shook her head."Never!"

She made a fist, even hopeless as the fight now was. "I'll never betray my master!"

Dan sighed. "Well then."

Quick as a flash, Brandy Dashed down and out from Dan's shoulder. She slammed each of the Gorgon's hands into the ground, securing her to the spot. WIth another quick movement, she was on top of Dan's shoulder, who merely leaned down with his fists raised.

The Gorgon saw Dan's mighty, massive fists, and knew that something had to be done.

"P… please…", she stammered, attempting to sound innocent. "This was just an accident! A misunderstanding! Please… uh… please forgive me…"

But her words fell to nothing to Dan, who had already begun to heat up his hands. He swiped his finger across his forehead, adding a fourth notch to an already existing set of three.

"Beg for forgiveness in whatever afterlife you happen to end up in.", Dan said, and Brandy shivered with excitement. "Because we will not grant it. Who knows how many Goblin lives you have ended today alone…. You have to be finished."

"Wait, no-", the Gorgon said, and threw out her hands. She had wanted to explain how her master was far beyond anyone there. She had also wanted to say how she had only hurt around 3 Goblins- but it was too late. Dan's punishment had already started.

"Ora!", Dan roared, and punched the Gorgon in the stomach. Blood flew from her mouth, her half-face screaming in pain.

"Ora!", Dan yelled again, and repeated the process. This time it was shorter, but no less painful.

"Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!", Dan roared, delivering a flurry of punches so fast they could hardly even be seen. Each one left a small explosion behind it, and a large explosion in front of it. The Gorgon wailed one last time as her body was blown to bits by the magnificent assault, her screams dying on the cool night wind.

Brandy watched the last few scales that had been left behind by Dan's attack rush drift slowly down into the mud. The light rain that had been falling the entire battle slowed down, then stopped entirely. For a moment, the only sounds that could be heard were Dan's heavy breaths and Brandy's lighter ones.

"Well.", said Brandy after a bit of thought. She readjusted her hood, as it had become rather crooked during the chase. "We sure showed her, didn't we?"

"Yeah.", Dan said, looking down at the broken crater his impact had caused. A puddle of strange-looking, red Elixir could still be seen in it. One might think it was blood at first glance, but upon further inspection, one could also see it had the odd texture that marked it as Elixir alone. "Pity we couldn't save that guy, though."

"What gu- oh.", Brandy said. "Glabnack. Yeah…"

Then she looked up, and saw a butterfly flying near her face. At the edge of her peripheral vision, she thought she could see a bird get up from off the ground and look about in utter confusion.

Her eyes shot open. "Hey, wait a minute!"

Dan looked up. "What?"

She pointed to a baby bear, who was staring at its limbs in astonishment as they turned from stone back to flesh and fur. "Look at that bear!"

Dan looked, and his face furrowed. "Isn't that the same one that-"

"Yeah.", Brandy said, as the bear was fully restored and walked away in confusion. "It looks like everything that she turned to stone came back to life once she was killed."

"Oh.", Dan said, and breathed out in relief. "Well, guess we won't have to worry about Glabnack then."

"Right.", Brandy said, and turned around towards the way they had came. "Speaking of Glabnack, we should most likely head back to the hotel."

Dan started to confidently agree, before he realized something.

"Uh, Brandy?", he asked, as he looked around some more.

Brandy leaned back. "Hm?"

"We're…", Dan coughed, then said it. "We're lost. There is no way clear back. To the hotel."

Brandy jumped into the air, as high as Dan could see. She landed on the ground again and stared at the tree in front of her. "Shoot."

She began to gesture randomly, a side effect of her stress. "But- but-"

"Yeah, I know.", Dan said with a sigh. "All of our stuff was back at the hotel. All our extra clothes, all our food, all our supplies-"

"And our only good chance of finding a guide.", Brandy grumbled, and folded her arms. "Well, great."

"Hey, let's not freak out just yet.", Dan said with a crazy smile. "There's always one more way to anything?"

Brandy looked up. "Just head out somewhere random and hope you somehow find success even though you're pretty much just making it up as you along?"

Dan grabbed Brandy by the waist, and picked her up. He gently dropped her one his right shoulder, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "Exactly."

Brandy felt her heart flutter, as she was filled with a sudden burst of confidence. "Well, alright then.", she said, and pointed in a totally random direction. "Let's head that way!"

Dan just smiled, shook his head, and walked off, exactly in the way she had pointed to.

As they walked, a thought occurred to Brandy. She tilted her head, and wrapped herself around Dan's neck.

"Say. Dan.", she said. "You've been acting a little strange this whole time."

"What do you mean?", Dan asked. His hand twitched in preparation.

"You've just been acting so serious.", Brandy said, almost in a whine. "You've been so tough-guy and heroic- not that that's a bad thing- but you haven't really tried to relax at all."

"Brandy!", Dan said, with a bit of a smile. "Are you saying that I've forgotten how to have fun?"

Brandy just shrugged, and winced. "No, but-"

She was about to say more, but was abruptly cut off when a bolt of Star energy shot out of Dan's finger and ran across her stomach, tickling her all the way down.

Brandy let out a quick snort, her hands flying to her torso. She retreated and curled up, then looked down at Dan. "Hey!"

Dan lifted one eyebrow, then clenched his fist. The huge steel maces flexed, then retracted into his wrist armor. His mischievous grin became clearly visible, even under his beard. "What?"

Brandy quickly snuck a quick scratch of her own at the bottom of Dan's neck, right where he liked it. "Well.", she said, and snuggled in closer. "It looks like someone hasn't forgotten after all."

"Of course I haven't!", Dan said. "I could never…"

He looked up into Brandy's eyes. "When I have the funnest person in the world by my side."

Brandy's face turned slightly redder, and her eyes grew just a little bit wet. "Oh, Dan…"

"Your cheeks are wet, Brandy.", Dan said. "Are you crying?"

Brandy tapped her cheek, to discover that some of the tears had indeed leaked down. But she just stroked Dan's shoulder, and purred into his ear. "My cheeks aren't the only part of me that's wet right now, Dan."

This time, it was Dan's face that changed color. "Brandy, you shouldn't say stuff like that."

"Why not?", Brandy whispered. "We're married, there's no one around, and you know what a naughty girl I am."

She wound herself a little tighter around his neck. "Maybe I should be… taught a little lesson."

"Maybe you're right…", Dan said. "Although to be honest, I feel like I should just let you off with a warning."

"Oh, just a warning?", Brandy asked in fake disappointment. "Why not a-"

"Don't worry.", Dan said. "I'll be sure to give you a really big warning."

"Mmm.", Brandy moaned. "That's what I like to hear."

Then the two walked off, further into the night, or really early morning as it were and off

towards the unknown.

Song: Wind in the Wilderness

Deep within the Clashcrush mountains, beneath the slowly gathering storm, a dark cloud floated upon the silent wind. It simmered with hatred, steamed with anger, and would have boiled over with the aching desire for sweet revenge if not for the deep control it had over its own strength.

Its glowing red eyes swept over the entire area, searching for the thing it now desired.

Rakastamos…, it whispered, sending the query over the pass. Where are you?

Then at the other end of the valley, it saw the entrance. At the top of the largest mountain, like a jagged fist punching upwards into the sky, so high it seemed almost to bend in on itself. A great gap opened up in the stone, so black it would make the blankness of space seem blinding.

Its eyes lit up with excitement, and it swooped down from where it hung in midair. No sound was made from its flight, no air was stirred by its passing. It was an unnatural entity, not supposed to even exist. It had been born out of sheer, absolute hatred and will to survive.

Inside the cave, a small Elixir Golemnite crouched down on purple knees. The incalculable form of Dragonlord Rakastamos loomed overhead, eager to await the news.

"The Gorgon is dead, my lord.", the Elixir Golemnite squelched. "She was killed by the Mega Knight who wields the Star."

Rakastamos's eyes shot open in pain, then slowly closed. If one were to listen very hard, they could hear the faint sound of gigantic sobs. For as unlikely as it seemed, the great Rakastamos was crying.

"Not Vugalia.", he said quietly. "Not her."

Rakastamos turned around, refusing to let anyone see his reaction. "My children are dying.", he said to himself. "Four in one day. All at the hands of that cursed Mega Knight and his sidekick- whatever she was called. A thief, was it?"

He waved one hand, and the Elixir Golemnite knew it was its signal to leave.

"Leave me.", Rakastamos rumbled, trying to conceal his emotions. "Let me think."

As the cloud passed through the curtain of darkness, there was a shiver that flashed through the air. Several Bats flying by were struck by the wave, falling to the ground as Elixir within moments. The weather had nothing to do with it- it was the sheer force of the two evils meeting for the very first time.

Rakastamos…, the voice said again. It echoed throughout the cave, reflecting off the walls and back out into evil space. Rakastamos…

The entity waited a few more seconds to receive an answer. After those seconds were up, it waited a few more seconds in which to check. Then it waited a few more seconds in which to begin to leave. But once those seconds were up, it at last felt something move.

A huge eye opened up somewhere behind it, a vast yellow light lighting up the whole cave. The entity turned around, to see a vast raging sea of power, thousands of years of vengeance concentrated into one overwhelming force.

"You…", Dragonlord Rakastamos boomed, lazily tilting his head to one side. The entire cave rustled as he did so. "Who are you? And why have you come?"

The entity took a moment to think, then shaped itself into the form of a muscular man. It removed its helmet, then took a deep bow.

I have come merely to serve you, oh great one, it said. For you see, you and I share a common goal.

"Oh?", said Rakastamos. "Funny… it does seem that a human like you would be overly enthusiastic about destroying the world and rebuilding it into a realm for Dragons alone."

The entity laughed, then stood back up. "I'm not human, my lord. Not anymore. No, I have become far more. And…"

It stretched out its hand, the black smoke making up its body twisting and curving into the shape of Brandy and Dan. "These two. The girl is a Stand user, and the boy is a Star user."

"Those two…" Rakastamos growled. "Those are the ones that killed my Chosen. The Raptor, the Kraken, the Zombie, and now the Gorgon."

He covered his face with his hands, and closed his eyes. "May their souls rest in peace."

"Er, yes.", said the entity, and tactically withdrew the image. "I, too, have history with these two. I also have managed to recruit a rather large and capable fighting force of beings from across the sea. If we work together to stop them, I believe we could."

Dragonlord Rakastamos blinked, then stretched. His sheer size stretched far and above the entity, reaching high up into the furthest recesses of the cave. "Very well then."

He would have extended a hand, if not for the size differences between the two. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"I, uh, don't have one.", said the entity. "Not anymore."

"I see.", said Rakastamos. "How strange. Well then, unnamed…"

He looked up, staring out the hole in the cave's top to the starry night sky. "Welcome to the ranks!"

Many hours later, the night had ended.

The sun rose high over the forest, beating down hard and hot upon anyone that was unlucky enough to be in it. That, unfortunately, included both Dan and Brandy.

Dan stumbled through the trees, seeking shadow as much as possible. He was starting to really regret pushing onwards instead of just finding their way back to the hotel. There was a lot of stuff they had left. All of their Elixir bottles, for one thing. As well as all their food. What Dan wouldn't do for either some food or Elixir right about then. It had been hours since either of them had eaten or drunken anything, and it was starting to show- especially on Brandy. Dan had been able to use Star to keep himself going through the night, but Brandy had not.

"Dan…", she whispered, hanging limply on his shoulder. "Are we- ooohh- there yet?"

"We're not anywhere, Brandy.", he said. "Go back to sleep."

Brandy groaned, trying to shift herself into a comfortable position. "Okay."

"Woah, woah.", Dan said. "You okay back there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.", Brandy rasped. She smacked her dry lips together, and held her head in her hands. "Just haven't uh… eaten or drunken anything in hours."

Her eyes closed, and she fell limp on Dan's shoulder.

"Woah, hey!", Dan shouted, lifting her up with one finger. "Stay with me Brandy, stay with me!"

"I'm…", Brandy mumbled. "Trying…"

Dan took a closer look at her skin. It had begun to turn grey from lack of Elixir, and bits of it were starting to flake. Bandits had extremely high metabolisms. If she didn't get some form of sustenance soon, Brandy would die.

Slightly panicking, Dan looked around. His gaze fell on an apple tree, a fresh crop of fruit hanging from the branches.

"Here, eat this.", he said, and sliced one off with a sharp movement. "It'll help."

He handed the apple to Brandy, who looked up weakly. With a trembling hand, she grabbed the apple and ate the entire thing in one massive bite. At once, some of the color returned to her skin- but it wasn't enough. The one thing that all Troops needed was Elixir, and she had not drunken any for many hours. Dan could hold on for much longer with his Star, but it was unknown how long Brandy would be able to survive.

"Dan…", Brandy whispered. She looked up, and Dan's heart nearly stopped. Her eyes looked listless, the edges beginning to turn a soft grey. "I don't… feel so good."

"Brandy, stay with me.", Dan said, holding her face in his hand. "We're almost to a village. We can get you some food, and all the Elixir you need. We can-"

But he stopped, when he saw that Brandy's eyes had closed once again. She fell limp in his hand, unresponsive. If he let go, she would fall to the ground.

"D…", Dan growled, and his fist began to glow. He jumped into the air, breaking the branches above him. But even as he looked around, there was no sign of a village anywhere nearby.

In desperation, he looked around for any Troop that might be nearby. If he killed it, then Brandy would have some Elixir to drink. It would be a last resort, but anything was better than Brandy dying on him.

But he could see neither of those things- just the same exact trees that they had been walking past for hours. Dan's eyes twitched, and his fist lit up even more. "D…"

"Dang it!", he roared, and brought his fist up above his head. He slammed it into the ground with the force of an Earthquake, shattering a massive split in the ground the size of a stream.

He fell to his knees, propping Brandy up on his hands. Her skin was starting to turn a darker grey. There was only minutes before she faded away, and Dan's attack on the ground had done nothing. He wasn't sure what he had even hoped to accomplish.

Until, that is, the crack he had opened up rumbled. Until, that is, a pink glow began to come from within. His heart lifted, as a massive spurt of Elixir erupted from the crack, spraying all over the clearing like a gift from the gods.

Dan saw the geyser of Elixir burst into the sky, sending a rain of purple life all over the trees. He shouted excitedly, and opened Brandy's eyes.

"Brandy, wake up!", he shouted. "There's Elixir!"

"Elixir…", she mumbled, and slowly came back to wakefulness. "Wha?"

Then she saw the Elixir gushing forth, and shot upright. "Ah! Elixir!"

Without warning, she fell from Dan's grasp, and right into a spray. Opening her mouth and closing her eyes, she welcomed the life-giving liquid like a blessing.

As soon as Brandy took the first gulp, the warm glow returned to her. Her shriveled skin bloomed out fuller, the color going from grey to pink. Her frame swelled back to its normal size, small as though it was. She opened her eyes again, now their normal bright green.

"Elixir!", she yelled, and leaned back. Taking a pool in her arms, she took another deep drink. Then she turned to Dan. "Where did it come from?"

"I just… hit the ground.", Dan said. "And then it came out."

Brandy took a closer look at the geyser, after taking another deep gulp of it. "You mean, Elixir just comes out of the ground here?"

"Uh, I guess.", Dan shrugged. "Now that I think about it, where else would it come from?"

Brandy got up from the ground, and twirled around in the spray. "Come on, Dan.", she said. "Let's dance."

"Yes.", Dan said, and smiled. "Let's."

He dipped down, and grabbed Brandy by the hands. He swung her around in a circle, and she let out a loud whoop. He stuck his head into the spray, taking a deep gulp, and gasped.

"Oh, this is amazing!", Brandy shouted. She jumped out of Dan's grasp, over his shoulder, and slid underneath him. "Wild Elixir tastes even better than the normal kind..."

"Really?", Dan said, then took another sip. He nodded, noting its rather complex flavor. "Yeah, I guess it does."

Brandy laughed, and twirled around again. Dan put his hands over the spray, trying to contain it, but it was too much. He threw his arms higher into the air, and the geyser erupted even further all over them. Brandy wiped the Elixir from her face, and buried herself in Dan's torso.

So celebrant were the two, however, that they failed to notice a Builder standing on the edge of the forest path, arms crossed and an even crosser look on his face.

"Ahem.", he said. He said it just loud enough for both Brandy and Dan to take notice, ceasing their dancing for a moment and turning around to see.

"Well, looks like I found the reason why our Elixir pumps suddenly all broke down.", he said with a sigh, and took out a notebook. "I'm gonna need your names."

"Our… names?", Brandy asked. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah.", said the Builder with a sarcastic look. "What, you think I'm just gonna let you do this without any consequences?"

Brandy took another look at the Elixir geyser. Now that she thought about it, it did indeed seem odd that it had just been out in the open like that. "I'm sorry, was that… yours?"

"No, not mine.", said the Builder, and Brandy perked up. "It's my village's", he said, and Brandy gulped.

"Your village?", she asked, and Dan thought it would be best if he took control of the situation.

"Ah, yes.", he said, taking a massive stride forward. "Of course. That's what we're here for. We were supposed to come here."

He gave a broad smile, not quite sure if his gamble had paid off. But from the Builder's expression, it seemed that it had.

"Oh, you must be our Clan Castle Troops.", he said, tucking his notebook into his pocket. "Was wondering when you'd show up."

"Yes, yes, that's us.", Brandy said, trying to appear official. "Your Clan Castle Troops. We are here."

"Aight, guess I can spare you the write-up.", the Builder grunted, and turned around. "Follow me. I'll fix that leak later."

Dan and Brandy snuck a look of victorious co-conspiracy at each other, and tried not to laugh. But they followed the Builder, through the trees and to the edge of a large clearing.

The Builder took a step to the side and gestured, to what lay beyond. Brandy and Dan stopped making faces at each other, then gasped at the sight.

"Welcome, friends.", the Builder said, and bowed. "To the village of SpaceKrakenX."

Next time: chase, defeat the gorgon, we're lost, wandering, find the village