"So, first of all, the planet is called Kelusia. But y'all already knew that."

"We did," Hunter said with a nod.

The batch had taken up various perches around the main space of the Marauder for my presentation. Not a single man opted for a chair like a normal human being, no no. Tech sat atop the table, Wrecker sat on the floor, Hunter sat on the small counter space, and mad lad Twiggy was atop the fridge. He barely even fit, having to hunch over so he didn't hit his head on the ceiling.

Gargoyle lookin' ass.

Yeah, I definitely had been absorbed into a gang of frat boys who had a license to kill and no braincells to speak of. Tech had a few, but none of them were dedicated to common sense. At least they drank Respect AFAB JuiceTM.

"Tell us more about Kelusia," Tech said, tapping away at a datapad. "Size? Position? Seasons? Rotation speed? Revolution speed? Parental star? Moons? Primary landmasses?"

"Slow down! Makin' my head spin!" Wrecker groaned, smacking Tech's leg and earning himself a death glare.

"These are all relevant questions!" He turned to me. "Please continue."

"Were about to when you interrupted 'em," Crosshair growled around a toothpick. When did that even get in his mouth?

"Questions are appreciated," I said, hoping to quell any squabbles. "Help focus my attention on relevant things y'all wanna know."

"I am ready when you are," Tech said, fingers hovering over the datapad.

"Right! Can't tell you the size off the top of my head, but it's big. It's third in the system, bordering on the slightly colder end of the habitable zone. Four seasons throughout the year. Makes a rotation every twenty six hours and a revolution around its star Avon Prime every four hundred days." As I spoke, I vaguely remembered that the time measurements may have been different for the boys. However, I didn't address it. "One moon, Alpha. There's…" I counted on my hand. "Five main landmasses, or seven if you count the small islands surrounded by ice at each pole."

"Names?"

"Alphiana, Itheria, Humalera, Mainlandia, and Mysteria. Poles are Bleak North and Bleak South."

Hunter squinted. "Mainlandia?"

"Hey, it works," I said, resisting the urge to telekinetically yeet a spoon at his head for daring to question my unhinged brilliance.

"Island chains?" Tech said.

"Couple main ones. Outkast Isles, with a K instead of a C. Tradesmen Isles, Dragon Isles, Seafarer's Sanctuary, and the Shimmering Isles. Plus, of course, the Forbidden Isles."

"Forbidden Isles?" Tech asked, sitting up straighter. "Tell me more about those."

"They're like the origin point for the planet. See, the landmasses are all arranged in a circular shape around those isles. Located where the prime meridian and equator intersect, it is the only spot that has not shifted on the planet aside from the poles. It used to be a massive volcano, and I'm talking damn near breaking the atmosphere, but collapsed into the sea after the continents all broke away. At the bottom of the caldera, which the sea falls into, is the Forbidden Isles. It's the main source of magic on the entire planet and, as such, things get really funky down there."

Wrecker and Tech hung on to every word, eyes wide and mouths open. Hunter looked impressed himself, though not as obviously. Crosshair…

I swore the man looked proud. Proud of me, maybe? My imagination? My creativity?

Talk about getting the warm fuzzies.

"Whatcha mean by funky?" Wrecker prompted.

"I'm talkin' portals. Things beyond your wildest imagination."

"But not beyond yours?" Crosshair asked.

"My attention-span ain't the only thing hyperactive," I joked. "My imagination is probably more intense than y'all's. No offense."

"None taken!" Wrecker laughed. "You're our creative member! I'm explosives, Tech's nerd stuff, Cross is weapons, and Hunter's the strategic guy!"

I looked around at the others, to see if they found fault with Wrecker's designation, but all I got were nods of agreement even if Tech was giving Wrecker a truly venomous side-eye.

The creative one, huh? Wouldn't be the first time that was my role in a group. But it would be a title I wore like a badge of honor.

"I am curious," Tech spoke up. "Is the Forbidden Isles our destination for this crystal of yours? Kelusyte?"

I shook my head. "No, thankfully. Though we could get it there."

"So where are we goin', Ice?" Hunter asked.

"Mysteria. Specifically, the Red Raider Clan territory."

"What's that?"

"The Red Raiders are a clan of Polar Rageryans who control a chunk of territory in Mysteria." I frowned. "Hopefully they'll be willin' to let us stop in. Cause if not, we're in trouble."

"If they don't we can always-"

"You can't strong arm these guys into cooperatin'," I said, cutting Hunter off. "They're all built like Wrecker and, on average, are about a foot taller than him. They're big bois, and gals. The females are bigger."

"I thought Trevor was a Rageryan!" Tech exclaimed. "He was not tall!"

"He's not normal. He can take any form he wants, and any size. You've never met a true Rag yet. They've all got superhuman strength too. Not to mention each individual has a supernatural ability granted by the high Rageryan goddess Inzikuz. She's a Star Swimmer." I sighed. "And Trevor's grandmother."

"Huh?!"

"Trevor's mother, Vivvik, is a Rageryan Ancient. Like how Max is a Kelusian Ancient. They're the children of Star Swimmers."

"Is there any possibility of negotiation?" Tech asked. "With the leader of the clan?"

"Possibly. Valarie, the matriarch, is Trevor's… cousin. Inzikuz is her mom."

"Do you have any normal characters?" Hunter exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Or are they all overpowered?"

I grinned sheepishly. "At least if everyone's overpowered, it evens out?"

Hunter sighed and cursed in Mando'a. "Alright," he huffed. "We just gotta leave the known regions, jump into a new universe, head to a planet constantly leaking immeasurable amounts of magic, and convince supernatural entities to let us take a crystal that is banned galaxy-wide due to genocidal properties. Simple."

I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "Ah, it gets better."

A deadpan glare. "Of course it does."

"We can't just… take Kelusyte. Not without revealing myself as the creator which will not end well. The crystal is harmful even if an Alphian just touches it. Not deadly, but still can make them sick. Probably won't affect me, but we can't let the clan know that."

Even as I spoke, I knew the likelihood of completely hiding my "Realm Walker"-ness was extremely low. All Rageryans, especially some of the ones at the Heart, could sniff out deception like a bloodhound. If they asked if I was a Realm Walker, I would have to tell them.

"We have to get a mixture to transport it in," I continued. "But it's not kept on hand. I do know what we need to make the mix. Again, though, can't reveal I know before they tell us."

"More fetch quests," Crosshair groaned. "Had enough of this."

"Hey, at least you get to do a fetch quest with your partner!"

He held my gaze before the corner of his lips twitched. "Suppose that's true."

I pointed finger guns at him.

"So, we just need to gather items for the mixture and then they'll give us the crystal?" Hunter asked.

"Eh, no. We also gotta get the crystal from deep in the local mines. But that's… tricky, to say the least."

"Had enough of karkin' mineshafts," Crosshair spat, teeth pressing into his poor toothpick.

I didn't blame him in the slightest for viewing mines less than favorably. After all, last time we were in some mines…

Bad things went down.

"You and me both," I agreed. "But these are… special."

"Everything about your creation is special, Squeak!"

I smiled tiredly at Wrecker. "I appreciate the compliment, but this is the bad special."

"Like us rejects," Crosshair muttered.

I jabbed a finger in his direction. "One more self deprecating comment outta you and you'll get a lamp to the cranium."

Crosshair raised an eyebrow. "A lamp."

"Yeah, to make you lighten the fuck up."

Wrecker roared with laughter, falling on his back as he clutched his stomach. "Lighten up!" he howled, tears streaming down his face. "Love it!"

"Shadow, how is this mineshaft system of yours unique?" Tech asked, shifting forward and side eyeing Wrecker. "Will we encounter another location like the Vault?"

I shook my head then turned to Hunter. "Remember back before we entered the barn? When I mentioned interplanetary portals?"

"Yeah."

"That's what we run the risk of encountering."

"Portals?!" Tech exclaimed, eyes wide. He wiggled in place, borderline vibrating with excitement. "To where? New planets? New locations? New galaxies? Tell me!"

I smiled. "Anywhere, everywhere, and nowhere all at once. Some places within reality. Some places… not. Boys, we very well could end up beyond the mortal plane."

I had all their attention now, each man on the edge of his makeshift seat.

"Enough suspense, Squeak!" Wrecker urged. "Tell us!"

"What's the fun in just divin' right in? It's all about the dramatic pauses, after all-"

"Shadow!"

I raised my hands in surrender at the four man chorus. "Alright! Impatient fuckers." I glared goodnaturedly at Crosshair. "Expected better from you of all people, ram'ser."

He stuck his tongue out at me.

I laughed. "Ok, so, the network of portals that can transcend time and space is…"

The men leaned forward.

"The Network."

Silence before Hunter sighed. "Of course it is."

"Hey, I'm creative with concepts, not names," I defended with a playful glare.

He just shook his head at me.

"Anyways, the Network does indeed exist within Whitecap Mines. So we gotta be careful."

"What happens if we cross into the portal unknowingly?"

"Can't do it unknowingly," I said. "There's something called the Gateway Threshold that marks the entrance of all portals. You'll know it instantly because you'll start floating. Gravity is zero in that area because there's no gravitational force."

"But that would mean there is a vacuum outside the tunnel!" Tech exclaimed.

"Correct. Break through the tunnel and you'll fall into an endless abyss. Forever and ever. Darkness without end." I grinned at the horrors expressions. "Good thing no natural or supernatural force can break through that!"

"I'll say," Hunter remarked with a shiver.

"Y'all ain't gettin' cold feet on me yet, are ya?" I teased, crossing my arms.

"Never!" Wrecker yelled.

"What did you mean beyond the mortal plane?" Tech asked.

"Aetheria, is what I mean." I picked up the writing tool Tech gave me and started doodling on the board. "For simplicity's sake, Imma draw it in a tier system. But the thing is more in the shape of an interdimensional donut. Sorta. I can't accurately describe its shape because it's beyond my dimensional understanding. We are limited to a three dimensional plane but Aetheria isn't."

"Aetheria is…?"

"A seven layered realm of sorts that includes the godly cosmos, the afterlife, the dream realm, and something… in between. Which, yes, is called the Between." I scribbled out seven sections, taking special care on the middle three, then began to label them only to stop. "Wait, y'all can't read my letters."

Tech came to my side with a writing tool of his own. "Tell me what to label."

"Alright, from top to bottom. Apex, Beyond, Sanctuary, Between, Depths, Void, and Abyss."

Tech scribbled the names in Aurebesh.

"Right. So, technically by looking up in the Apex you will be looking down into the Abyss and vice versa. Those two are the god realms, the Void and Beyond are the afterlife, the Sanctuary and Depths are dream realms, and the Between is where the Network connects to." I shivered. "And the Farlands."

"Do we need to worry about that?" Hunter asked, eyeing me worriedly.

"If we end up in Aetheria, yeah. If we end up there physically, then we have to escape physically. And the only way to do that is going through the Farlands."

"Then we won't end up there physically," Hunter said firmly.

Don't jinx us.

"Can you map any of Aetheria?" Tech asked.

"Only the middle three. They're the only ones that have more or less static environments. The other four have some general locations of interest, but have infinite borders."

"Let's stick to what we need to know for now," Hunter interrupted. "You mentioned components for transferring the Kelusyte. What are they and where do we need to go?"

"It's all in the Heart. That's the central territory, situated around a magic leak."

"How does it affect this one?" Hunter asked. "The magic leak?

"Shadow mentioned on our first day together while in the barn that despite being above sixty degrees in latitude, which puts the region within the Arctic Circle of their planet, the region is home to a tropical area."

I nodded, impressed but not surprised that he remembered. "Tech's right."

"Any demonic Howlers?" Hunter grumbled, rubbing his head.

"No. You and my back and Tech's ankle can rest easy," I snorted. "But don't come cryin' because you wish we were dealin' with a Howler."

"There's something worse?"

"There's always a bigger fish."

"But Howlers are not fish?" Tech said, nose scrunching in confusion.

"Metaphor. But while they may not be as aggro, they're definitely far more dangerous."

"Bigger fish such as?" Crosshair asked.

"Behemoths, Enervipers, Marinexes, and, of course… dragons."

"Like your form?"

I shook my head. "Bigger. Long as five Marauders end to end and with wings ten times the size of the ship's."

"A True Dragon!" Tech gasped. "You said only a True Dragon would reach monumental sizes compared to a Pseudo or False dragon. It would also make sense for a True Dragon to be found around a magic leak as the leak would enable the dragon to easily feed without expending energy by traveling."

"Look at you, little sponge!" I said, grinning. "And you're right! This True Dragon is what's called a Lava Lurker and is exactly what it says on the tin. Likes to vibe in big lava lakes along a volcanic mountain range called Red Ridge."

"We need to go into an active lava zone?" Hunter demanded.

I nodded. "Aye. And we need to go to the dragon himself. His scales are needed."

"What's his name?"

"There are some who call him… Tim," I said mysteriously.

Hunter narrowed his eyes. "That's a reference isn't it?"

"Correct! I'll show you Monty Python on a run across the galaxy at some point," I chuckled. "But back to Tim. He's laidback."

"Alright, so. Red Ridge and dragon scales. What's next?"

"Wait!" Tech exclaimed. "Shadow, what type of volcano? Composite, shield, or stratovolcano?"

"They're technically shield," I replied. "Because they don't really erupt but just ooze continuously, but they are conical in shape like a mountain. There's plateaus at the top and lava lakes, which is where Tim likes to vibe."

As Tech scribbled more notes, Hunter quickly said, "Next regions?"

"You want me to go through all the regions or just ones we need?"

"Just ones we need-"

"All of them!" Tech interrupted. "Hunter, I need to log all locations-"

"Later. We do have a mission here."

"But the scientific value-"

"Later."

"Tech, I'll be able to tell you plenty when we get there," I assured him.

The engineer pouted but remained quiet.

"Ok, so. Next is Thunderfoot Plains with Behemoth tusks."

"A Behemoth is…?"

How did I describe it to someone who didn't know what a mastodon, panda, ground sloth, and porcupine was?

"I'll just have to show you when we get there," I sighed. "They're herbivores, though."

"At least there's that," Crosshair snorted.

"Next region?"

"Blackfern Swamp and brine. Fungal Furrow with Bleeding Heart sap. Ashen Plains with pyroboreals bark. Rainbow Bay coral fragments. Finally, we'll need some charged crystals to absorb any extra bad magic leaching out."

"Six regions?" Wrecker asked, then laughed. "Easy!"

"There is still the issue of even getting there," Hunter reminded him. "Shadow, do you have any clue how to reach your galaxy?"

I thought for a moment. "There… is a way to access other galaxies in my stories."

"That way is?"

"They're called-"

"Hey! Clones!"

We all turned as a grouchy looking Sullustan appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Your karkin' order is done. I ain't got all day!"

I narrowed my eyes, fur bristling along my tail as it began to twitch back and forth. "What's your problem?" I growled, stepping forward.

He glared in my direction, eyeing my sabers. "Great! Didn't you hear? Jedi ain't welcomed on this side of the galaxy!"

I laughed darkly. "Jedi? I ain't one of those spineless pricks."

"You got lightsabers and run around with these meat droids, of course you're a Jedi."

Oh, you done done it now, bitch!

I took a menacing step forward, tail slowly swishing side to side. "Say that again."

"What? It's true!" he sneered. "They blindly obey orders and just march to their deaths without even thinking-"

His eyes suddenly widened and I quickly realized why.

The metal around the ship rattled ominously, the clattering steadily growing into a dull roar. My markings swirled brightly across my skin, illuminating both the ship's interior and the fear in the bastard's eyes. The ship creaked and groaned, all sharp instruments within the room slowly turning towards the Sullustan.

A surprise to be sure. But a welcome one.

"The last man who called my boys meatdroids," I snarled with a wicked grin. "Died less than twenty four hours ago. Wanna take a guess who cut his miserable life short?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Batch getting to their feet and moving worriedly towards me. I held up a hand to stop them.

I wasn't going to kill this guy.

But the Sullustan didn't know that.

"Look uh, was just playin' around!" he stammered and raised his shaking hands, desperately trying to backtrack.

"Play? Oh, I love to play!" I summoned a lightsaber to my palm and ignited it. The red plasma warbled menacingly and brough true terror to the Sullustan's eyes as I held it towards his meaty neck. "But I play a bit… rough." I ever so slightly tilted my head, staring down the shorter man as my smile vanished. "Get me?"

"Uh, yes, sir! Apologies!" he yelped, heels at the edge of the stairs. One simple push and off he'd go, hopefully breaking something in the process.

But I refrained; we had supplies to get.

I pointed my saber behind him. "Now, be a good little boy and run along home. Do yourself a favor and forget you ever saw me. Or I'll haunt your dreams to the point every time you close your eyes, even to blink, you'll see me and these red blades coming straight for your neck. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" One last look at the batch and he fled the scene, jogging as fast as he possibly could.

Straightening, the ship and metal going quiet, I sheathed the saber and spun it once with my fingertips before clipping it to my belt. Dusting my hands off before placing them up my hips in a satisfied stance, I then turned as Hunter sneezed.

"Who got horny from that?"

Hunter shot a glare Crosshair's way.

I looked over at the sniper then smirked. "Second time your dick made a surprise appearance from me actin' like that. Got an Amazon kink, Twiggy?"

He remained silent for a moment before he matched my smirk and slowly swaggered over. "Who wouldn't get a kick from seein' you defend us like that?" he purred, slipping an arm around my lower back and pulling my hips into his.

"Oooo, Twiggers got a territorial kink, too," I teased.

"Rich comin' from you." His hand slipped lower and, when I didn't protest, splayed across my ass and squeezed. "Sweetheart."

"Oh no you two don't!" Hunter growled as Wrecker cheered us on. "Not here and now. We got crates to load. Stow it."

Crosshair audibly groaned, glaring venomously at Hunter. "Cockblocker."

"Cry me Kamino," Hunter snorted, marching out of the room.

"C'mon, Squeak!" Wrecker laughed, elbowing me as Tech scurried into the cockpit. "Let's get this done so we can go to your world!"

"Alright, Wreck, I'm comin'!" I looked up at Crosshair. "Alas, Twiggy."

"Soon, sweetheart." A hand lifted my chin, a thumb running over my lower lip. "But, for now, how about a little bit to hold us over?"

I narrowed my eyes and matched his sly smile. "Say no more."

He quickly closed the gap between our lips, hand slipping to the back of my head as the hand on my ass squeezed tighter and lifted me up. Just like the celebratory battle kiss, passion blazing with the heat of a thousand supernovas raced through me and my hands found his belt once more. Jerking him in, I resisted the urge to run my tongue along his lips. He had no such reservations, however.

"Today, please!" Hunter yelled, sticking his head back in.

We more or less ignored him, although I did raise a singular finger in his direction as I continued to drink in my sniper's affection.

Fuck off, Sarge!

When we finally broke apart, panting hard, Crosshair pressed his forehead against mine. "Kark, taste even better the second time. Especially with that meiloorun juice."

"Ain't half bad yourself, Twiggs."

He smirked, pressing another kiss to my nose. "Glad to hear I can satisfy you, darlin'."

"Oh, you ain't got no trouble doing that." I paused, tail tip twitching.

There were risks associated with my next proposition. It was still pretty soon after the nightmare, and it hadn't been too long since that cruel whisper echoed in my head. Yet…

"And, if you wanna, can call me kitten."

He blinked in surprise. "You sure?"

I nodded. "Miss hearin' it from you. The real you."

"Well then." He lightly kissed my lips one final time. "I'll be sure to use it far more often." A hand slipped down past my ass and curled tightly around the back of my thigh, a finger barely brushing between my legs. "Kitten."

Fuck yeah.