Dan felt like he was buzzing with excitement as he stood waiting with the Tarrons, Eli & Toby at the War Memorial monument that overlooked the city, for Stuart to arrive. The halfa had dreamed of going into space since forever—a dream he'd thought long dead & buried along with him—but now it was coming true! Yes, it was only to the moon to rescue Vex before his untimely death, but still! It hadn't even been Dan's idea to tag along (he figured he'd be left behind because of the whole half-human thing), but Krel & Aja had more or less stuttered through some kind of flimsy excuse involving dreams, armed muscle and revenge that had warmed his core. He suspected that Mother had let it slip of his dreams about outer space at some point, but at that point, he didn't care. Ah! Just thinking about it made his eyes shine in wonder.

"He should have been here by now!" Krel complained again as he checked his watch for the umpteenth time. "Those Durians are always late!"

"And this is all one big rescue mission to save your geezer friend?" Eli asked again, eyes resolutely stuck to the binoculars that were trained on the horizon as the princeling paced irritably behind him. Dan had to hide the snort inside a cough when he noticed two perfect rings of ink printed on the boy's glasses where someone (probably Steve) had tried to prank him.

"For Varvatos, yes! He's being held at a bounty hunter outpost on the Earth's moon"

"The moon? So flippin' cool!" Toby gasped, sharing in their awe before quickly back-pedalling at Krel's unimpressed expression. "Although, probably not so much for your geezer friend"

"…I told you! We're at a sleepover with our friends, Toby & Eli!" Aja, as the better liar of the two siblings, reiterated in the background as she tried to convince Zadra that they were safe, but occupied for the time being.

"…" There was a pause as the young queen listened to whatever the lieutenant was saying with a roll of her eyes whilst twirling a lock of hair between her fingers.

"I'll find out and report back. Tomorrow!" She rushed before heaving a tired sigh as she turned to face the boys gathered together. "Thanks for covering for us. Did you bring the gear?"

"As requested" Toby smugly petted the cardboard box containing Arcadia High's mascot costume.

WHIP-WHIP WHIR! WHIP-WHIP WHIR!

"Awesome!" Eli breathed in awe as they all turned at the sound of the UFO pulling to a stop beside them. The clunking sound of the engine reminded Dan of a cross between a helicopter's blades and a sputtering secondhand car; it made his eyes gleam nevertheless.

"Saucer!" Toby agreed, turning his usual catch phrase into a sort-of pun.

"A real life actual saucer!" Dan fanboyed as he hovered above the ground, hands clasped together and tail wagging furiously in much the same manner as Cujo's or Luug's did on occasion.

"What are you so excited about? You've seen Mother" Krel turned to the older boy in confusion who practically had stars shining in his eyes like a kid loose in a candy store.

"Yeah, but this is like, one of the classics! I wonder how it works? How big is it? What's the inside like—?" His rambles trailed off into incessant mumblings that had the princeling looking at the halfa oddly before shrugging it off as another human oddity.

"Greetings your majesties! And Daniel" Stuart popped out of the top of the saucer that was now parked before the War Memorial. "Your chariot awaits"

KRRCH! BANG!

"Eh, that doesn't inspire confidence" Krel commented as the old saucer made odd little noises like a backfiring car that served to wobble Stuart from his perch. But Dan's enthusiasm couldn't be swayed, he just thought that it added to the aesthetic of the whole thing.

"And how long is it going to take us to reach the moon in…that?" Aja asked as she jumped from the railing to the edge of the saucer and turned to help her brother with the box. Dan brought up the rear, pushing Krel back upright when he nearly fell overboard.

"Assuming we make good time?" Stuart hummed once he had regained his footing. "20 to 30 tops"

"Wow, minutes?" Eli gasped, leaning out as far as he dared.

"Haha, very droll, this one's a comedian! No not minutes, hours!" He slipped back inside with the teens on his heels. "So if you have to use the john, do so now or forever hold your pee!"

Whilst Aja & Krel quickly dove for their seats, ready to get this show on the road, Dan marvelled at the interior of the spacecraft. He wanted desperately to know what each & every little illuminated button did and he had to ignore the very real urge inside him to push all of said buttons. But the warning look that he could being burnt into the back of his head told him that doing so would be a very bad idea.


"Ugh! Why do I feel like I've heard this song a thousand times?!" Aja groaned in frustration, throwing her hands up in the air and tossing her head back as some ditzy song played on loop for hours on end. Seemingly, Krel too, had had enough as he tiredly rose to his feet and made his way over to the radio on the console where Stuart sat. He had barely even raised his hand when Stuart had slapped it away.

"Uh, uh, uh!" Stuart snapped.

"Ow!" Krel hissed as he pulled his smacked hand back & cradled it to his chest with a look of betrayal on his face.

"It is Uncle Stewie's turn to pick the music"

"But I'm the—"

"—Yes, yes, the King-in-waiting, it's a nice try. Out here, rules of the road, thank you very much"

"But there are no roads"

"Ugh! I'm so bored!" Aja groaned again as Krel collapsed back into his chair and began to lazily spin in circles. Across the way, Dan had taken up residence in one of the portholes that lined the vehicle, where he sat precariously perched on the windowsil with his wispy tail bopping away to the beat. Aja was pretty sure he hadn't listened to a word that had been said since he stepped inside, but his childlike gaze had remained locked on the passing stars outside ever since.

"Are we there yet?" Krel whined as he span.

"No" Stuart replied.

"Are we going to be there soon?"

"No"

"How much longer?"

"Not for a while"

"Like ten mekrons?"

"Twenty mekrons?" Krel asked aghast at how something so big could move so slow.

"No!"

"Nn! Thirty mekrons?"

"WE'LL GET THERE WHEN WE GET THERE!"


At about the 25 hour mark when they were all growing annoyed & wary with each other's presences and doing their utmost to stave off mind-numbing boredom—Aja, herself, having chosen to sleep—felt herself been shaken awake. "Hey! Sister! Wake up!" Krel shook her shoulder, rousing her from sleep.

"If you're waking me up, we better be there!" Aja yawned as she rubbed at her eyes and stretched her back as much as possible from her seat.

"C'me on! You're gonna wanna see this!" Krel exclaimed pointing out the window to the fantastical visage of Earth as it sat illuminated by the sun.

"Oh! Lively!" Aja cooed with hands clasped in front of her.

"It's so far…" Dan breathed in awe as he hovered above the siblings with his tail just tickling the napes of their necks, having finally pried himself from the windowsil where he had spent most of the journey. "Is that really home?"

"Y'know for a dump heap, it's really quite beautiful" Krel commented.

"Or as Vex would say 'glorious!"

The sweet heartfelt moment was quickly cut short however by a different gaseous cloud that wafted through the ship; one much fouler than the big blue giant outside. Aja's face immediately scrunched up at the sour odour, her hand coming to slap itself over her nose in an attempt to block it out. Next to her, her brother had done the same only he had had the misfortune of falling from his chair and into the smog below. Dan, it appeared, couldn't smell it at all. Whether due to his ghostly abilities or his partially deceased status, either way Aja couldn't help but feel a little jealous that the ghost boy did not have to suffer the same fate as the two siblings. "Aw!" Krel choked as he fell from his chair.

"Oh! Stuart!"Aja gagged, trying to waft away the smell.

"That was rank even for you!"

"Y'know the fact that you immediately assume it was me, is really very offensive" Stuart growled over his shoulder before he turned back to the console as they neared the Earth's moon. "According to the computer, there appears to be an anomaly in quadrant 245. Here, in sector 45"

"Finally!" Aja cheered, wanting nothing more than to get out of the rank ship. There was only so much of the boys that she could take and that fart had been the last straw. Stuart just grumbled to himself as he pulled the saucer into park amongst the glistening ships already stationed there.

"Get me out of here! I can't take it anymore!" Krel burst from the older saucer, choking on the gas inside before sliding down the bonnet towards the ground after his sister. Or at least, that was the idea.

"Whoa! A moon with low gravity! So lively!" Aja grinned as she suddenly became buoyant and floated towards the ceiling.

"I've got you! I got you!" Krel quickly latched onto his sister's waist as the pair floated off, not really sure about how they would get down.

"Great, but who's got you?"

"Ah! I forgot how much I love it here! You weigh less, you've got none of that unnecessary oxygen clogging up the respiratory system" Stuart sighed happily as he, in turn, latched onto Krel's ankles and the three of them all floated gently to the ground. Behind them, Dan brought up the rear with the cardboard box containing Arcadia High's mascot costume. To him, the zero gravity and lack of oxygen appeared to be no problem as the halfa just simply hovered nearby unbothered by the change as his wispy tail flitted to & fro.

"But how are you okay with this Daniel?" Aja cocked her head in question.

"Hm?" Dan hummed coming back to the conversation at hand.

"I thought humans like you needed oxygen to survive? Don't you?"

"Ah, no, not for me" Dan replied, handing the box over to Krel as he did so. "My halfa status is a little, er, different than what it once was. So a few extra benefits there, I guess"

"Halfa?" Stuart's brows furrowed in confusion, "Doesn't that mean you're like, half human & half ghost. Doesn't that mean you'll need the same necessities as other humans?"

"Yeah, but at this point, it's less 50-50 & more 90-10" Dan shrugged as his eyes continued to rove about the place, trying to drink it all in. "There's just enough human in me to need food & sleep & stuff. I mean, I'll need to breathe eventually, but I'm good 'til then. Don't worry, I know my limit"

"Well, if you're sure…"

"That must help in Stuart's employment" Krel snickered.

"Well…"

"Hey!"

"Look! Zadra's ship!" Krel exclaimed as his eyes alighted upon a triangular spacecraft across the parking lot. "Alpha must have taken it when he captured Vex"

"Then the intel from that hammer guy was right!" Aja's eyes gleamed with something dangerous. "They're here"

"Whoa—wait!" Stuart's hand suddenly shot out to snag the young royal from marching into the bar. "Easy there, this is the Hunters Guild: Lunar Outpost! Where the most dastardly bounty hunters in the galaxy refuel and reload; it's also got a temporary prison. Humans would call it a 'drunk tank'—"

"—I get it!" Aja snarked as they bounded their way across the lot to the front door with Dan floating behind them. "It's a rough crowd"

"Which is why we're going to stick to the plan! Thanks to Toby & Darcy" Krel replied gleefully as he spun the box on his finger & tossed up into the air before he was reminded of the moon's low gravity which made the box hang in the air far longer than he meant it to; completely ruining a dramatic moment. "Ay, ay, ay"

"Wait—what about you?" Stuart then turned to Dan who had alighted down next to Aja & himself, his tail returning to legs. "You said before that some of the bounty hunters may know you too"

"Er…"

"I was just gonna do this" Dan shrugged as two familiar rings of white exploded from his core and ran up & down his body before they retreated back inside, leaving the three aliens to gape at this unknown power.

Red eyes stared back at the trio from beneath a fringe of white and amusedly watched their reactions to his new look. Standing in place of the visage that he had come to recognise over the passed decade as his own, was something a little more regal and a lot more menacing. Instead of the t-shirt & jeans he had arrived in, he now wore a deep green shirt that was cinched at the elbows by elbow-length arm guards of leather. Matching pants were tucked into boots of silver with a tunic of black tunic lined in chartreuse that was belted at the waist and barely brushed the tops of his knees.

"Huh?" Krel blinked dumbly, mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

"How long have you been able to do that?!" Stuart exclaimed loudly, pointing his finger at the fantastically dressed boy who seemed to appear more like the supposed emperor he said he was.

"Er…forever? It's how I hid my ghost side from everyone back home"

"So this would have been your human appearance, then?" Aja inspected the new form with curiosity gleaming in her eyes and hands pawing at the material that hung from him.

"Nah, this is more something I'd wear 'round the castle" Dan replied as he allowed the queen-in-waiting to move his hands this way & that so she could see the new look.

"Lively"

"Right" Krel grinned as he fished out the mole mascot head. "Let's do this"