"... And then, Ichigo blasted him with a Getsuga Tenshou! This was by far the most well-animated scene at this point!" Logan beamed. The young Dream Defender passed by the Eight Spoon Café in Animal Kingdom to grab himself a little snack alongside Tomada and Sunny. While the two males got a plate of baked macaroni & cheese, the female got a Mickey pretzel with cheese. They all went to find themselves a table to eat outside. Logan and Sunny wasted no time talking about the latest episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the anime that recently arrived on Disney+.
"We are in agreement on that point." Sunny took a good bite of her Mickey pretzel with her wide jaw. "Can you believe that they actually brought the show back after cancelling it ten years ago? I never understood where that decision came from: Bleach is as popular as Naruto and One Piece."
"Beats me," Logan replied with a shrug. He took a bite of his macaroni before talking again. "I remember when I started watching Bleach for the first time, back in 2013 - I was barely a teenager at that time, so it was the perfect moment to start watching it. I, too, was sad when learning that the whole story hadn't been pulled into the anime, like it had been with Dragon Ball and Naruto. The only way to know the rest of the story was to read the manga, and I hadn't started collecting manga back then. But I'm really glad the show finally returned." He placed a hand against his cheek and gave a dreaming look at the sky. "Do you imagine how awesome it would be if Ichigo actually came to the Magical World? I'd get to meet one of my most favorite manga character ever created..."
"I wouldn't count on it," Sunny said with rubbing the back of her head. "Bleach may be on Disney+ now, but it's only because Disney have the rights of streaming it; they don't own the manga itself. I'm not sure if that means the characters are allowed here... Hmm, we can always hope."
After taking a drink from his water bottle, Tomada couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "D'you ever talk about other stuff than medias with a protagonist carrying a giant sword?"
"What?" Logan asked.
"When we went to command food, you were talking about Berserk; when we got our food, you were talking about Final Fantasy 7, and now, you're talking about Bleach," the falcon explained. "If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you guys have some sort of obsession over muscular guys carrying giant swords."
"Huh, maybe cause we can relate to them." To emphasize her claim, Sunny showed her longsword that was strapped at her hip. Logan also backed her up by briefly summoning his Owl Buster sword.
"True," Tomada mused before eating more of his macaroni. He was about to say something, but spotted something that interrupted him. "Huh, I don't know if my bird of prey's sight is getting rusty, but I'd swear those two guys - well, actually that girl and that strange feline creature with wings - are coming towards us."
Curiously frowning, Logan followed his friend's line of view to check what he was talking about. Indeed, two people were running towards the trio's table. Once they were close enough, Logan got a better view of their appearance: one of them was a girl with black hair that had blue and pink streaks in it and was wearing a black and grey vintage dress. The other was a little jaguar with wings on his back, topaz-colored fur with turquoise spots, a pair of flying goggles, and a crystalline scarf around his neck.
It didn't take long for Logan to recognize those two people, his eyes widening in surprise. "A-Aline?! Toren?!" The young man practically jumped out of his chair and ran toward the incoming duo. All three of them met in a collision, falling on the ground and gathering in a tight embrace.
"Logan! It's been so long!" Toren beamed while snuggling his face against Logan's cheek. "We missed you so much!"
"I missed you, too, guys!" Logan said, hugging his two friends with so much force that he almost cracked their bones. The embrace lasted for almost thirty seconds before Toren pulled away... Aline, however, refused to let go and actually hugged Logan with all of her strength. "Huh, Aline, you okay?"
Realizing what was happening, Aline finally let go of her friend and rubbed her arm. "Sorry, Logan. It's just... Let's say that something happened during our time in the Mirrorverse..."
"Something? What?"
Toren sighed. "Long story short, we've encountered an alternate version of you that turned wrong and tried to hurt us. In the end, he literally got incinerated by a monster inside a haunted mansion. I think Aline's still a bit shaken by the experience."
"Oooh," Logan exclaimed, understanding his friend's behavior. He hugged her for comfort. "Don't worry, Aline, I'm fine. In fact, I've never been in such a good shape." The two friends hugged each other for a long time before breaking up and getting back on their feet. "So? How did your training with Gabriel go?" Logan excitedly asked as he placed his hand on his two friends' shoulder. "Are you Dream Keepers now?"
"Hold on, I have a question too," Toren said. "What's this new costume? I can see your belly button. And when did you get a tattoo?"
"Ha, ha! That's a long story." Before he could begin to tell said story, Logan was interrupted by a coughing noise. He turned around to see Tomada and Sunny looking at him with looks mixing confusion and amusement. "... Oh, sorry, guys, I got carried away. Let's make some introductions." He placed his hands on his co-Dream Defenders. "Guys, this Toren and Aline, my friends, fellow Dream Defenders and occasional movie marathon companions. Toren, Aline, this is Tomada, one of my closest and oldest friends from the Real World, and Sunny, an independent knight, defender of the Magical World."
"Nice to meet you guys," Tomada politely said and shook wings/hands with Aline. "Logan told us a lot about you... Say, is it true that you totally kicked his butt during a competition?"
"Yes, absolutely," Aline confirmed with a proud expression and a little grin toward her friend.
"HEY! I PULLED ON A SOLID FIGHT AGAINST HER, YOU'LL KNOW!" Logan defended himself.
Toren looked at Sunny in awe, amazed by her snow-white fur, the red marking that made her golden eyes stand out even more, and her posture that made her look firm and strong without affecting her beauty for more. "So pretty...," he mumbled. "Hi, I'm Toren."
"So you're the king of pranks Logan told me about?" The wolfess smiled. "I must say, you look even more adorable than I had expected." She kneeled down and patted the Jaquin's head, making him blush.
"Where did you meet Logan?" Toren asked.
"We were eating with Tomada before you arrived; how about you and your friend join us so we can discuss all of it around a good meal?" Sunny offered.
After another quick passage at the Eight Spoon Café, the group of five found themselves another table to sit around and learn more about each other. Sunny went first, telling the two Dream Defenders how she met Logan and Destiny when she saved them from a Frost Giant in Nottingham, her love for medieval movies and games, and how she decided to come to the Magical World so that she could live her sword and sorcery fantasies whilst also helping those in need.
Tomada was the next to go, telling Aline and Toren how Logan and he became friends back in the Real World's Canada, how he learned from his uncle to become not only a great hunter but also a shaman after he finished school, and how he came to the Magical World because he wanted to live adventures with his best friend.
"A shaman? That's pretty cool," Aline said with interest. "Can you talk with the dead and do all that weird spiritual stuff, like they do in movies?"
"I can communicate with deceased people, but only to a limited extent," Tomada explained. "I can't simply enter in contact with their spirit and have a normal conversation as if nothing happened, like Kion can do in The Lion Guard. My specialty is befriending spirits, summons, and deities so that I can call them for help when I need to. Here, look." Standing up from his chair, he focused, made his eyes glow lime-green, and summoned a few spirit wolves who barked, scaring a few bypassers. "These guys are ancient members of my tribe who passed on and became animal spirits. When I started my shaman training, they were the first spirits I ever got to become friends with." He affectionately patted one of them on the head, making it lick his face in response
"Whoa, too cool!" Toren beamed, his tail shaking behind him. "Do you have many of them as your friends?"
"Outside these wolves, not really. I also have a bear spirit who was once the leader of my tribe in the past, but that's pretty much it," Tomada explained, making all the spirit wolves return to the Astral Plane. "I hope to befriend many more divine beings and spiritual creatures; it's gonna make me a really cool shaman. So far, I didn't get to encounter many of them, but I had the great honor of meeting the Egyptian God of Graves in person, Anubis."
"Really? How'd that happen?" Aline asked in surprise. That's when Tomada and Logan had to explain how the latter actually fought the jackal god in a wrestling match and became his disciple, also explaining how he got his hip tattoo and khopesh in the process. "... What?! You became the student of an Egyptian God while we were gone?!"
"A lot of things happened to me while you guys were gone in the Mirrorverse," Logan admitted as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "But enough about me; tell me about what you guys did! Have you succeeded in your training?"
Aline and Toren exchanged a little grin before the former cleared her throat. "It is our pleasure, Logan, to announce to you that Toren, Beth, Double D and myself have been dubbed Dream Keepers in training by Gabriel in person. We still have to prove ourselves before Mickey Mouse and Master Yen Sid before receiving the full title, but Gabriel has given us his approval to take on official Dream Keeper business."
Logan remained still for a few seconds, looking like a statue. Then, he jumped out of his seat and happily wrapped his arms around his two friends. "Cheese and crackers! Congratulations, guys! I knew you were going to pass with flying colors!"
"Thanks, buddy," Toren said with a little chuckle. He then pointed at a pin on his scarf that showed Skylar from Elena of Avalor enjoying an ice cream sundae. "He even gave us each a pin, not only to officialize the thing, but also so that we can all remember our special bonds." A cheeky grin formed on the Jaquin's face. "Hey, Logan, since Aline and I are now Dream Keepers while you're a Dream Defender, you know what it means? It means that you have to obey our commands in missions from now on."
"What?!" Logan exclaimed, looking shocked and flustered.
Aline rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Toren. "Stop teasing him. Gabriel just gave us those pins and assigned us each to one section of the Magical World, thinking our job would be easier if we focused on one place instead of moving everywhere. Toren is to look over here, Animal Kingdom, Beth is now responsible for Hollywood Studios, Double D's in charge of Epcot, and as for me, I have the duty to look over Magic Kingdom." She showed the pin on her vintage dress that displayed Marie from The Aristocats sleeping in a fluffy pink boa.
"Wow, well-done, guys! I'm really impressed," Logan once again praised his friends. He then looked down at the ground. "I just hope I'll manage to achieve something that amazing, too, one day..."
"What was that?" Aline asked.
"Nothing."
"Alright, now, it's your turn to tell us what you did while we were gone!" Toren exclaimed, putting his two forepaws on the table whilst excitedly shaking his tail. "Have you done anything special during your summer?"
"Oh boy," Logan said with placing his hands behind his head. "So many things have happened, where to start?"
Thus, Logan began telling his two friends everything that happened to him during his adventurous summer, starting with the fun activities he did with Destiny, then talking about the dogfight they had with Adam and Melanie, Logan's mission with Silver, Staghart, Max, Pistol and Blu to stop Nigel, how he got reunited with Tomada in the process, his first sleepover with the McDuck family, all the friends he made, how he got sick and had both Della Duck and Destiny take care of him, his first experience drinking alcohol, which led to his banishment from Epcot (Toren and Sunny had to restrain Aline when he said what he did to poor Oliver), and, of course, how he teamed up with all of his friends to rescue Sora from The Inventor and his virtual replicas of Organization XIII.
"You really defeated Roxas?!" Toren asked, amazed by his friend's accomplishment. "That's so cool! Don't you think, Aline?"
The cat girl shrugged. "Sorry, but I never played much Kingdom Hearts. Is this guy strong?"
"Yup. One of the strongest guys in the franchise," Logan confirmed with a proud expression.
"Really? In that case, well-done, Fluffy."
Logan's proud expression instantly melted away as Tomada and Sunny chuckled a bit. "Fluffy?" the falcon asked.
"Aline! Stop calling me that in front of my friends! I don't want to look like a moma's boy to them!" Logan yelled.
"But it's a nickname that fits you so well... Fluffy," Aline teased, making the others laugh.
Logan frowned in annoyance... before a little grin formed on his face. "Okay, suit yourself... CAT-astrophe."
Aline instantly stopped laughing and widened her eyes. "... How did you just call me?"
"Just by your new nickname. CAT-astrophe. Because you really like cats and also happen to be one of the biggest troublemakers I know. So that's a pretty fitting nickname, don't you think, CAT-astrophe?" Logan asked with a smug expression.
Toren and Tomada started laughing their head off whilst Sunny just rolled her eyes with a smile, amused by her friends' perks, and Aline glared at Logan with an undignified expression. After being the victim of her teasing, it was nice for the young boy to finally have a weapon to counter-attack with. Before the situation could escalate into an argument, Toren jumped on the table and wrapped his paws around Logan and Aline's shoulders. "We're finally back together again! The Shifter Trio has returned, baby!"
Sunny raised a curious eyebrow at this. "The Shifter Trio?"
"That's how we started calling ourselves after officially becoming a trio following our movie marathon," Logan explained. "Toren was originally a human before coming here and being turned into a Jaquin, Aline has the ability to assume a cat form, and I can also transform into a snowy owl, so 'The Shifter Trio' is a name that represents us pretty well. Aline's the one who came up with the name."
"Indeed," the wolfess agreed with a giggle.
"We're like the Destiny Trio from Kingdom Hearts!" Toren beamed. "With me being Sora, Logan being Riku and Aline being Kairi!"
"Hey, I already told you guys that I wanted to be the Sora of our trio!" Logan complained.
"Sorry, buddy, but we all know that I'm the most happy-go-lucky of us three," Toren said with a shrug. "Besides, you're the only one of us who succumbed to your inner darkness, just like Riku did. Not to bring back bad memories or anything."
Logan sighed and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Riku's also my Keyblade teacher, after all." He grinned a bit. "However... Riku cannot use Drive Forms, can he?"
This statement caused Aline and Toren to look at their friend in surprise. "You mean...?!"
"Yup!" Logan pulled at his headband with a grin. "This new costume was given to me by the three Fairy Godmothers who live in Master Yen Sid's Mysterious Tower. Not only do they reflect my style, but they also allow me to use Drive Forms, just like Sora!"
"Cooool!" Toren beamed. "How many forms do you have?"
"So far, only two: Valor Form and Limit Form. I'll show them to you, one of these days." At the same time, everybody finished their meal, patting their stomachs in contentment. "That was pretty good. I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some desert. Wanna go grab ourselves some ice cream?"
Nobody objected to that suggestion, so the group went to get themselves some ice cream before traveling to the Pandora section of Animal Kingdom and sat on top of a floating rock from where they could watch banshees from Avatar flying around. Once they were done with their ice cream, Toren and Tomada decided to leave their friends and go flying around for a bit. As they did so, Tomada couldn't help but admire the savanna landscape down below, with all those animals living together in harmony.
"This is such a beautiful world...," the falcon commented as he flew close to his Jaquin companion.
"Yeah, it's true," Toren agreed. "I've always liked animals as far as I can remember. Getting to protect a world like this with all these animals and make each of them happy is like a dream come true for me."
"It's always fun to enjoy the excitation of modern civilization, but personally, I think that we, living beings, are always at our best when we are in communion with nature and all its living forms like plants and animals. That's what my uncle taught me," Tomada explained
Toren held out his paw. "Let's build our friendship on our common interests!"
Tomada grinned and high-fived the Jaquin. "Say, no offense or anything, Toren, but how can someone as young as you become the guardian of a kingdom like this? You barely started your teenage years, didn't you? That sounds like a big responsibility for a kid, let alone an adult."
The young Dream Keeper shrugged. "I don't know. A few years ago, all I cared about was going around the Magical World and pulling pranks left and right for the fun of it. Then, one day, I met Gabriel, and everything changed. I made new friends, including Logan, started going on adventures, and now, here I am, filling in the role of Dream Keeper for Animal Kingdom. Back then, I was actually called 'Soren' instead of 'Toren', because I had a personality split into two: the Soren side that loved fun and pranking with a childish mind state, and the Terra side that was slightly quiet and reserved, but extremely friendly. Thanks to Bruce Banner, I managed to find the perfect middle between both, that's how I became Toren. Long story short, I came a long way from my immature days thanks to Gabriel - he never doubted me."
"Wow, that's a beautiful story," Tomada said with a smile. "I didn't get the chance to meet him yet, but your Gabriel guy sounds quite amazing. Logan told me plenty of stuff about him, and it's clear that he's holding him in high esteem. I hope I'll cross paths with him in the near future."
"You have to, man; Gabriel always know what to do in every situation and knows exactly how to always bring all of us together. That's the reason he's the leader of our group," Toren explained.
"Okay." Tomada nodded and looked at the ground again. "So you and your Dream Defender friends see this Gabriel like Sunny, the others and I do with Logan, then."
This statement caused Toren to raise a curious eyebrow. "You see Logan as a leader, too?"
"Not so much a leader, but more like a man worth following and placing our bets on," Tomada replied. "It's true that Logan isn't exactly a perfect person - he is impatient, prone to jealousy, isn't the smartest guy around, can easily get in trouble, can be immature by moment, and sometimes even act like a jerk. But, for all his flaws, Logan is also capable of accomplishing a lot of good. He's not afraid to go beyond his limits when his friends' lives are at stakes, he's capable of showing great compassion to those he feels need it and values family and friendship beyond anything else. I'm well-placed to know it: he offered me his friendship back when no one else would, took a lot of hurt to defeat Roxas and save Sora, extended his friendship to Nigel despite all the wrong he caused, and even formed a team made of me, a shaman, a socially awkward artist, a bounty hunter, a moody teenager, etc, while we didn't know each other, and they barely knew him. I don't know how, but Logan has this fire within him that makes us want to follow him, like flies attracted to a light." He looked back at Toren with a little smile. "He's far from being perfect... and that's exactly why I wanna be with him; to help him get back up when he falls."
For many seconds, Toren just kept flying whilst looking at his falcon friend in silence. "... That was a beautiful speech, Tomada. I'm sure Logan must really be happy to have you as his best friend." The two of them remained silent and just kept flying for a while before Toren spoke again: "Say, did you just come back to be with Logan, or is there something else you wanna do?"
Tomada rubbed his chin, thinking about the question. "Well, as a shaman, I can connect with the world of spirits and gods to do amazing things, like getting spiritual beings to help me in battle, ask for advice from the spirits, heal the sick, and lead ghosts to the afterlife. My personal goal is nothing special except to befriend as many reincarnated spirits, summons from Final Fantasy and transcendental gods as possible. Not only because I like making friends, but also because the more of them I connect with, the more useful I'll be when Logan and my other friends need me." The falcon turned his head in every direction. "You know, I already visited every kingdom in the Magical World, and this one has by far the most spiritual presences, a whole lot more than the others. I can see spirits floating everywhere, especially around the Tree of Life."
Toren chuckled a bit at this. "That's not surprising: thanks to the Tree of Life, nature is pretty much dominant around here, so it's normal that there are so many spirits in Animal Kingdom. Are there any that you want to befriend in particular?"
"Actually, yes, two of them," Tomada explained. "Have you ever heard about the Thunderbird? It's a legendary creature in my culture's mythology. According to our ancient stories, the Thunderbird is a powerful avian that can create thunder by flapping its wings and lightning by flashing its eyes. If I could befriend it, I'd become the most famous shaman in my entire tribe's history." The falcon blushed a bit as a cheeky grin formed on his beak. "The other one would be Shiva from Final Fantasy. Regardless which game version, I always found her to be quite beautiful. Having her as one of my spirit friends would be a great joy."
The two flying friends landed on the ground because Toren had to use the bathroom. Upon coming out, the Jaquin let out a sudden yelp of pain. "Ouch!"
"What's wrong?" Tomada asked.
"I stepped on something! I think it's a twig," Toren said, lifting his paw to show a little piece of wood embedded in it.
"Wait, let me look." Tomada took Toren's paw and used his beak to grab the twig and pull it out. Once it was done, the falcon made his friend sit down as he took the paw between his wings and began actually massaging it.
"Oooh, that's good, Tom," Toren sighed in relaxation. "I didn't know you could give massages."
"I used to work in a salon, back in the Real World," Tomada explained. "That was before I joined my uncle's tribe and started my training as a shaman. I eventually moved on to another job due to monetary problems, but I still kept that job long enough to learn some tricks." He kept massaging Toren's paw, making sure to help the muscles around the wound relax. "Just sit back and let me take care of your little owie."
Back to the floating rock in Pandora, Logan had fallen asleep from eating too much and the excitation of being reunited with his friends. He was currently lying on his back and comically snoring, whilst Aline and Sunny were having a little girls chat.
"... So you like to play DND a lot, huh? I heard a lot of people calling it the best table game ever created. Would you agree with them?" Aline asked.
"Personally, I'm inclined to agree. However, I must warn you that setting up a campaign and getting characters ready takes a lot of time and math. It doesn't have the easy pick up and play nature of other table games like Uno," Sunny explained. "But if you have the patience, and most importantly, if the other players don't mess around too much, then you're in for a really fun experience."
"Okay, that sounds quite complicated, indeed," Aline mused.
"What kind of table games did you used to play with your friends, back in the Real World?"
At this question, Aline's happy expression dropped, and she looked at the ground far below. "To be honest with you, I didn't really get to play table games as a kid because I didn't have many friends... If at all."
Hearing this, Sunny gave a look mixing confusion and interest. "Why's that? You seem like a nice person to be around."
"Long story short, it's because of my parents. They pushed me to become a great singer so that I could live up to my mother's reputation. Because of this, I had to spend almost my entire time training and practicing. I didn't get to befriend many kids my age because my parents thought it would only serve as a distraction. Well, they did try and get me to become friends with kids from other rich families... But that never connected..."
"I understand. Friendship's something that must come naturally; forcing it is never a good idea," the wolfess agreed with rubbing the back of her head.
"Exactly! Because of my upbringings, I didn't exactly make the best first impression when I came here and met Logan and the others," Aline continued, looking even sadder. "I was obsessed with getting Gabriel's position as the Dream Keeper, I mocked and ridiculed Logan when all he wanted was to have a fun competition, and have been an all-around jerk to everyone else."
With a look of sympathy on her face, Sunny sat a little closer to Aline. "It's okay, Aline; all of this is in the past now. Everybody's your friend, and you even reached the status of Dream Keeper you so desperately wanted."
Aline gently nodded her head before looking at Logan's sleeping figure. "We're friends, alright... But sometimes, I wonder if Logan doesn't secretly arbor grudges against me. He did show a lot of hostility against me during our latest competition because I added one of his close friends to my team."
Sunny suddenly grabbed Aline by the shoulders and gave her a serious look. "Aline, Logan isn't mad at you anymore. Not even a little. You know how I know that? Because while you were gone, he and I spent time together, time during which he told me about all of his Dream Defender friends. This includes you. And guess what, he didn't had anything mean to say."
"Really?"
"Yes. He acknowledged that your relationship didn't start very well, but he also told me that it was mostly his fault for not giving you a chance when you tried so hard to change. Plus, I heard him once telling another one of his friends that his biggest regret for his summer vacation is that he didn't get the chance to hang out with you and Toren since you were gone in the Mirrorverse. He missed you, Aline."
The young girl stared into the wolfess' golden eyes, seeing them so soft and full of compassion. She then looked back at Logan's sleeping figure... and found a smile creeping across her face. "... Thanks, Sunny." The Sun Knight just smiled and allowed the Dream Keeper to rest her head on her shoulder as she gently stroked her hair with her paw. "You know, you remind me a lot of another friend from Gabriel's group. Her name is Rachel, and she, too, is strong, warm and knows her way around with a sword."
This remark caused Sunny to chuckle a bit. "Logan said the exact same thing when we first met. I'm starting to really want to meet this Rachel. Maybe have a sparing match with her?"
"You will like her; she's so strong and brave that Gabriel made her the second-in-command of the Dream Defenders," Aline explained. Whilst in the wolfess' embrace, Aline couldn't help but reach her hands to gently stroke and pat her tummy, just as she would do to a beloved pet. In response, Sunny closed her eyes, letting out adorable moans that sounded more fit for a puppy getting pampered by its owner.
"What are you doing?" she asked as her puffy tail started swinging behind her.
"Oh, sorry, it's just the way I'm used to treating animals like my cats when we're sitting down like this," Aline explained. "Do you want me to stop?"
"No, actually, I find it pretty enjoyable." Sunny laid down on her back with her paws lifted and an adorable look in her eyes, almost like a little dog begging to receive tummy rubs. And Aline was more than happy to oblige. She placed her hands down and proceeded to giving the Sun Knight some precious tummy rubs, making her moan and wiggle one of her legs. Despite being a cat person, Aline couldn't deny that she was having a lot of fun with the lady canine.
Unbeknownst to both girls, Logan had awakened from his slumber and smiled at the adorable sight.
Author's note: The trio of Logan, Aline and Toren is officially back together, yay! And they also got a name now: The Shifter Trio. Alexc1209 is the one who came up with the name as she suggested it all the way back in chapter 10, the one where Logan and Aline make a movie marathon with Toren joining in. So prompts to her for that!
Aline and Toren also got to meet Logan's best friend, Tomada, and the Sun Knight herself, Sunny. We continue to have members of the Dream Defenders meet the friends Logan made during his summer vacation. I knew that Toren and Tomada would get along due to their enthusiastic personalities and the fact that they both like animals and nature. The author of Tomada, Tomada The Falcon, is a fan of The Aristocats and Oliver & Company, so maybe Aline can help him to meet all the characters he likes so much. Speaking of Aline, it was nice having her bond with a canine rather than a feline for once. I wasn't sure how I was gonna make their interaction happen, seeing as Sunny's Dream Defender counterpart is obviously Rachel, but I'm quite satisfied with the result. Sunny offered comfort to Aline by making it clear that Logan saw her as a close friend, and received a little pampering for it!
Next time: It's time to go weapon shopping!
