A/N: There's a possibility this might be the last chapter for the next few months. Apologies, but something's come up unexpectedly that I have to deal with.

Jabba's Palace: The Star Jewel limped into its docking bay and sat on its charred landing gear before the gear gave way and the craft fell onto the bay itself. From the main entrance, Jabba emerged flanked by his gamorrean guards as around him, the members of his court also flooded out. Once they were gone, a roar filled the air as the Chariot LAV emerged and coasted to a halt. Neva Kee, Kirby, Zoda, Treadwell, and Zobba emerged and Zoda flipped open the hood to look at the damage.

"Can you fix it?" asked Neva hopeful. The inside was a mess as everything had gotten rattled during the various crashes the ship had faced. "I'd rather have a quick getaway vehicle if Jabba decides to rescind his generosity."

"I'll have to," he reasoned helplessly. "Kirby, Treadwell, let's get to work."

"Right," came the response from the puffball as Treadwell revved its motor. Neva nodded and motioned to Zobba to follow him and the two went further into the palace. The two went down various corridors and hallways, each more decadent and diseased than the next, before emerging in Jabba's wardroom.

It was a dark room to say the least, the only light coming from the various consoles that adorned the room. The Hutt for his part was in front of his 3-D holographic imager accompanied by his advisors and was talking with them in hushed tones. Zobba looked around at the various monitors, but as soon this Hutt focused on any monitor in particular, it shot off. But then as soon as he looked away it shot back on.

"Oh," said Zobba at a bit of a loss. He tried to look at another monitor but got the same results. "Hmmm…."

Neva Kee for his part had no trouble looking at the monitors as they didn't shut off for him.

"Nice armament Jabba, you could probably take over a good chunk of the galaxy with this stuff," the diplomat was forced to admit as he read the various scrolling displays. Jabba's head snapped up at hearing that and watched with surprise at the diplomat reading his displays.

"How are you doing that?" the Hutt questioned curious. "Those displays are not to show to a user if their retina scans do not match up with the files on hand."

"We all have our secrets," said the diplomat with a brief chuckle as his pure red eyes seemed even more eerie in the relative darkness. The Hutt shook it off as he knew the diplomat wasn't one to use that information to his advantage in a way that would cause him detrimental damage unless he deserved it.

"So he has two devices here and here?" the Hutt continued as Neva Kee hopped up and sat on the side of the imager as Zobba silently approached and looked wide-eyed at the display. Two dots appeared in the lava flows on opposite sides of the planet.

"Aye-firmative," responded the diplomat. "The problem being that Zoda and I are masters of the sky, mostly masters of the land, and have nothing to do with anything below ground."

Jabba nodded. "Well I may have a solution to that. But first, where is Kandor's location?"

The diplomat hesitated at that. "I'd…rather not say at the moment. I don't want you to hire a bunch of thugs to go 'flush' him out and then have him activate the end game scenario. Not until we have a sufficient answer to combat it."

Jabba wasn't pleased with this but let it go. The diplomat and his accomplices were what he called 'goody goodies' and they wouldn't let this planet go without a fight.

"Very well," he grumbled still not happy about it. "Now come with me, I have something to show to you."

Bay: "So there I am facing this naked glowing dude called Tabuu when Sonic the Hedgehog shows up and destroys his wings!" said Kirby at a complete and total loss as he leaned against the LAV while Zoda and Treadwell worked on the engine block. "And then we all fight and suddenly I'm back on Pop Star like nothing had happened. I then had to test my BAC to make sure I hadn't hallucinated all of it."

Zoda was covered in grease and oil as he used his wrench to make some adjustments. "You also do have the strangest stories of when we're not around. So how are you sure it did happen."

Kirby reached down his throat and recovered a golden wafer/badge with King Dedede's moniker on it. He briefly handed it to Zoda who looked it over before handing it back.

"And…?" he asked confused.

"It's worthless!" declared the Warp Star Warrior as he hit the badge against the side of the vehicle. "Course considering it came from Dedede that's probably no surprise."

"Ah," responded the Jedi as he made more adjustments with his socket wrench set. "But you never come up empty handed so I'm betting you swallowed something more valuable."

Kirby blushed and turned away. "I may have," he admitted at the very least.

Zoda sighed and stopped his work. "Spill it, what have you done this time?"

"You really don't want to know," Kirby responded vigorously shaking his head.

"Can I at least ask twenty yes/no questions?" the Jedi continued. Kirby thought about it before nodding.

"Is it big?"

"Yes,"

"Heavy?"

"Most assuredly,"

"Big blast radius?"

"Aye, aye dude,"

"Big payload?"

"I guess,"

"Non-traditional payload?"

"I'd say so,"

"Worth some coin?"

"Money, money, money!"

"Likely to kill us all?"

"With a little luck,"

"Oh hell,"

"Aye, aye dude!"

"You already said that!"

"…Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Both of you shut up!" shouted Neva Kee entering into the bay with Jabba and Zobba. "Now, Jabba let's see this device of yours."

The Hutt nodded and flicked his hand to the far side of the expansive room as two massive drilling devices rose from the floor. The group advanced towards the vehicles when one of Jabba's goons appeared before them with a mass of papers.

"Sign these," he indicated handing a pen to each of them on top of the stacks. The quintet looked at the non-disclosure agreements at a loss before turning to Neva Kee who merely flipped all the pages and then tossed it.

"No," he declared. Zoda flipped his up in the air and then turned it to confetti with his lightsabers as Kirby swallowed his and burped. Treadwell couldn't sign it and so the document slid off of his base and Zobba slowly began reading each byline.

"Fine," Jabba declared furious. "Explain the device."

The chief scientist nodded and began his speech about the two drilling units. When he was done, Zobba had finally finished reading his NDA while Zoda and Kirby were passed out on the floor. Neva Kee asked some questions for himself and Treadwell before nodding with the answers he got.

"So we hit them both hard and fast," stated Jabba cutting in. "And then we kill Kandor."

The diplomat shot him an annoyed look as Zoda and Kirby came to while Zobba put the NDA on the ground without having signed it.

"So three to a pod?" figured Zobba. Neva nodded.

"Figure Jabba, Treadwell, and myself in Pod 1 and you, Kirby, and Zoda in Pod 2," said Neva before turning to the other Hutt. "Assuming you want to come."

Jabba straightened himself up to be as tall as he could.

"This is far too important to be left to the hands of amateurs," he declared. "I will save this planet for the good of all its inhabitants."

"Uh-huh," said Zoda, none of them buying, though Zobba gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. "Not to mention that this could earn you some points amongst certain important individuals."

"A side effect I'm sure," the Hutt responded condescendingly. "Let's be off."

"But sir, I must protest!" declared his aide. "You must take a bodyguard with you!"

The Hutt look at him astonished. "I believe I am capable of defending myself against a droid and an alien the size of Salacious Crumb!"

Neva Kee and Zoda both shot a glance at the other wondering if they should make a crack about a 'slave girl with a chain' but let it go. The six split up and headed for their drilling units when Zoda briefly stopped by Neva Kee.

"Here, in case of emergency," he stated handing Neva Kee a wristwatch. The diplomat eyed it curiously as Zoda walked off before going to his pod. Inside, he took out the checklist and began going through it. In Pod 2, Zoda was also looking at the vehicle's checklist.

"I don't need no stupid instructions telling me what to do!" he declared tossing the booklet to the back

"Oh," said Zobba a little scared but not knowing what else to do as he picked up the booklet and looked it through in the cargo area.

"Do you know how to drive this thing?" asked Kirby curious as he sat in the co-pilot's seat. Zoda looked over him annoyed before looking over the controls.

"I can pilot anything, I'm a natural!" he declared as his hand accidentally touched a red button and the vehicle roared off straight towards the far wall.

"Aaahhhh!!" the trio shouted in fear while Zoda began pushing random buttons when the drill activated and ripped through the duracrete wall like it was tissue paper and then roared off down the Hutt Flats.

Inside Pod 1, Jabba was steamed at the destruction to his palace.

"For what it's worth, you have a good construction crew," offered the diplomat as he started up the vehicle and it trundled off. "They already removed your sail barge and have nearly restored your palace to its former decadent glory."

Jabba grumbled some things under his breath before becoming silent as the diplomat activated the repulsorlift and the vehicle tore off into the sky headed for the other side of the world.

Pod 2: "A natural, huh?" asked Kirby annoyed as he climbed back into his seat, visibly shaken.

"We got this thing started and made it out onto the Dune Sea without once reading or knowing the instructions. Now that's the sweet smell of success," the Jedi educated the puffball.

"Smells like foul air to me," came the response from the Warp Star Warrior. Zoda sniffed the air.

"I don't smell any-,"

BUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPP!!

Pod 1: The pod rocketed along above the ground as Neva Kee had an amused grin at hearing Zoda and Kirby fighting on the other end of the comm. while Zobba urged calm.

"Tell me diplomat," Jabba began. "How is it you came to associate yourself with such filth? Individuals such as us do not need 'ordinary' folk to make ourselves great. In fact, associating ourselves with them may even harm our reputations as you are no doubt aware."

"I don't follow," said Neva Kee feigning ignorance. "I don't see why you feel that we're better than anyone else."

"I think we both know that we're destined for greater things," responded the Hutt clasping his hands together. "With my empire and your diplomatic skills, we could rule this galaxy."

"Funny you mention the word 'empire'," said Neva Kee bemused at the Hutt's rhetoric. "Oh, Jabba your statements of grandiose are falling on deaf ears with me. Besides, I've seen the future and Treadwell over there is the one who's going to rule over all of it in the end."

Jabba looked at the droid doubtful before returning his attention to the diplomat.

"The point, Jabba is that the loftier you make yourself, the more likely the person below you is going to pull out that rug," the diplomat continued. "And when that happens, who will rescue you? Because those three on the other pod, and myself and Treadwell here, we may be screwballs, but we'll come through in the end. Unlike your entourage who aren't lifting a finger to save Tatooine."

That left the Hutt with food for thought. Not that he cared what the diplomat thought. All Hutts knew that they were superior to everyone else and the few exceptions who felt they weren't were outcasts like Zobba.

"Zobba," thought Jabba with anger. He hated that Hutt more than most others as he was an outcast who refused to stay that way. He possessed a wide-eyed exuberance for the universe when any sane person would know otherwise. But that universe seemed pleased to have him around and lauded him with awards and instead of leveraging that to his advantage he merely went on with his work. In fact, all of this crew he was now stuck with did. Jabba hated them all and vowed to be responsible for all of their ultimate demise some day. Perhaps sooner than any of them thought.

Pod 2: The trio was outside their pod as Zobba tried to read the map of where they were supposed to dig.

"Okay now that's west…I think," said the Hutt uncertain. "Then east is…okay so that means. Ummm…"

"Give me that!" declared Zoda grabbing the map from him and looking it over. "You've got it all wrong south is that way so we're supposed to dig right where we are. Right, Kirby?"

The Warp Star Warrior was shaking his compass furiously before closing it.

"We're expletive delete'd," he declared frustrated before re-entering the drill with the others. Inside, Zoda began pushing random buttons as the drill roared to life.

"You know, I find that that staying positive is the best way to deal with situations like this," Zobba declared as he looked over the map once more. "Like for instance while you two have seen fit to have a heated exchange of opinions, I've taken the liberty of learning the controls for this device and how to disarm the device we're about to reach."

Kirby and Zoda looked at him before both turned back to the controls.

"Okay, I press this and this and this," said Zoda pushing buttons, some random and some not.

"Okay, and then we push the stick forward and…," began the puffball as the drilling unit tilted downwards and tore through the ground.

"We're cooking now Axel," declared Zoda as the screens showed the ground flying past them.

"I hear that Lie…wait why am I Axel? I should be Liedenbrock!" roared the puffball. Zoda laughed.

"Because I'm the leader of this expedition!" he declared poking his control stick for emphasis. Kirby scowled at him.

"Not anymore!" the Warp Star Warrior decided as he grabbed for the stick and soon the two were wrestling over it.

"Gentlemen, I urge calm!" declared Zobba terrified as the craft began rocking left and right on it's course towards the device that lay ahead.

Pod 1: "If they get themselves killed, this will cause problems for Tatooine," Jabba forced Neva Kee to acknowledge.

"They'll pull it off, they've never failed yet," the diplomat replied. "They've only just royally screwed up on occasion."

"That is not reassuring," Jabba continued. "I need this planet completely intact, I don't accept damaged goods."

"And if you thought you could do the job better you wouldn't have scooped us up off the Dune Sea," Neva Kee responded curtly as he pulled a lever and returned his attention to the screens. "So just relax."

The pod dropped through the underground and into a river of lava as it floated around looking for the device that would trigger the cataclysmic eruptions.

Pod 2: Zoda was using his screwdriver to open a covering on the device as Kirby sat on it dangling his feet over the lava flowing beneath them. Zobba meanwhile was reading off the instructions as to disarming the device.

"Once you've popped the cover off, there should be three wires underneath attached to a timing device," the Hutt stated. Zoda put his tiny flashlight into his mouth and removed the panel and saw what had just been described.

"Check, got it!" he acknowledged. "What now?"

Pod 1: Neva Kee had to do all the work himself as Jabba refused to lower himself by reading instructions about how to disarm the weapon to what he know dubbed 'a commoner'. Treadwell was hovering nearby with the instructions on his base.

"Okay so now I…," began Neva Kee looking at the wires and then the instructions. But that quickly turned to disaster when a flying ember hit the instructions and they caught on fire before turning to ash.

"Oh that's just great," said Neva Kee rolling his eyes with aggravation. Jabba meanwhile was also troubled by this event. "Well, screw it, we'll keep going on."

"I don't think so," said the Hutt as Neva and Treadwell watched him power the pod and roared off. "See you in hell diplomat."

Neva cocked a non-existent eyebrow at the vanishing vehicle before turning to a frightened and shaking Treadwell.

"Don't worry," the Jedi reassured him. "He'll be going there first. Now, I believe that to fix the situation, the following action is required."

He clipped a wire and the device went off.

Pod 2: Zoda successfully disarmed the device with Zobba's help before the lava flow briefly rumbled.

"The hell was that?" asked Kirby also noticing it. The duo turned to Zobba who read the displays.

"Looks like the other device went off," he said in shock. Kirby and Zoda were also surprised by that.

"Went off how exactly?" asked the Jedi. Zobba pressed a couple buttons.

"I think the blue wire got cut and created a shockwave resulting in a massive displacement of lava," the Hutt figured. Kirby nodded.

"So we're looking at a case of acid reflux instead of a full blown hurl?" he deduced. Zobba thought about it and nodded approvingly as the two then hopped into the pod.

"So what do we do?" asked the Hutt curious as the doors closed and the vehicle headed upwards back to the surface.

"All we can do. Continue with the plan," responded the Jedi as the craft broke out onto the surface.

Silence.

"We have a plan?" asked Kirby finally.

Below: Neva Kee was riding Treadwell as fast as his little boosters would take him from the wall of lava that chasing after them.

"We're in hot water now old buddy," he said. The droid nodded as ahead was the tale-tell flash of the mining pod ahead being piloted by Jabba.

"So…got a will prepared?" the diplomat asked trying to chitchat. Treadwell shook his head.

"Yeah me neither," he said. "But at least we both know Zoda and Kirby will steal all of our stuff before the government can get their hands on it.

The droid nodded again when a beeping noise went off. The diplomat and droid looked around confused when a light flashed on the watch Zoda had given Neva. The blue alien held it up to his face and noticed the single button on it.

"No guts, no glory," he reasoned and pressed the button on it. A beam of light erupted from the side of the watch as Zoda's rocket powered surfboard materialized. Rather than question this strange turn of luck, Neva hopped onto the front part of the board and slipped his feet into the holders as Treadwell clamped on in the back. He then turned to Treadwell and the wall of lava drawing ever closer.

"Let's kick it!" he declared as he returned his attention to the front and then slammed his right foot into the board as it accelerated quicker than ever. Evidently, Zoda had tinkered with it after riding the Dragoon.

Unknown location: Kandor Ito was watching the displays silently as the indicators gave the locations of the pods and the wall of lava making its way around the planet and up the various volcanoes.

"Well done diplomat, well done," declared the ambassador as he held up his drink to him. "But this game isn't over yet."