After Maria had finally satiated her hunger by eating enough sushi to feed three, and after the resultant three-hour nap, she is debriefed by General Gong. Once that task is complete, the boys are summoned to join Maria and Gong in a meeting room; they find Maria wearing just her sports bra and gym shorts, her brand-new dress and gloves neatly folded on the table in front of her.

"Not happy with the new dress?" Danny asks Maria as the boys take their seats.

"I want to make some modifications," Maria explains.

"There'll be time for that later," Gong interrupts. "There are more important matters to attend to right now, like how you're going to retrieve the Elemental Crystals and capture Captain Aquila Kawaguchi."

"Capture?" Rob questions. "He should be killed!"

"The Magister wants him alive," Gong explains.

"After all that he's done to us, you expect us to take him alive?" Rob counters angrily.

"If we kill him, then we are no better than he!" Gong retorts.

"Touché," Rob reluctantly admits, backing down.

"Good. Now that that's clear, we can discuss the mission itself," Gong continues. "This morning, we received a communication from Aquila. He's issued an ultimatum stating that we either help him rebuild his fleet so he can hunt down Brevon, or face destruction and enslavement; obviously we're not going to allow either to happen. Owing to your previous services to this city, the Magister has decided that we shall assist you in getting to Tenshijima. We can get you in by submarine; of course, that means you won't have your trikes and ATVs with you. It will also limit the supplies you can take with you, but given your Red Scarves training, that shouldn't prove an issue. I must warn you however that once you're in, you're on your own; we cannot offer support in any way. You either return successful, or you don't return at all."

The Scarves exchange concerned looks.

"The Magister looks kindly upon your services, but he also looks upon your failures," Gong explains. "He commends your actions in defending this city and bringing reinforcements, but he cannot ignore your failure to neutralise the threat long before it got to our borders. This mission is your last chance. If you succeed, your criminal records will be wiped completely clean. If you fail, consider yourselves permanently exiled."

"Why do I get the feeling we don't have a choice in the matter?" Xander asks.

"Because you don't have a choice in the matter," Gong confirms.

"Plus we need to rescue Hanna," Maria interjects.

"You depart at sunrise tomorrow," Gong informs. "Take the rest of today to prepare for your mission. You have full access to the Palace's facilities, but you must not leave the Palace itself; any attempt to do so will be considered a refusal of your mission, and you will be dealt with accordingly."

Gong leaves the room before anyone can respond.

"This is a suicide mission, isn't it?" Maria asks.

"Certainly feels that way," Rob agrees.

"I died yesterday," Maria continues. "It wasn't a nice feeling. I don't intend to go through it again."

"None of us do," Rob assures.

"Then let's make sure of it," Danny suggests. "We have little time to prepare; let's not waste it feeling sorry for ourselves."

"Aquila will use the Crystals against us," Maria sighs. "We can't defend against that sort of power."

"What would Hanna do?" Rob asks.

"Go in anyway," Maria answers.

"Exactly," Rob confirms. "And you'd refuse to be left behind."

"Darn it Rob," Maria chuckles, "you know me too well."

"You sounded just like Hanna then," Rob comments uneasily. "It was creepy."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just… try not to do it again."