(Author's note: I took another break from writing to do another round of editing to make this looked good. Super happy with how it's going so far, and I'm even happier to see that people are still liking it, even while chapters weren't being updated. Thank you again for your amazing support.)

While James let out a long, happy sigh from getting out of that situation unscathed, Jody and Zoda are less than thrilled that James put them all in another super-dangerous situation, with even Beastman having to take a deep breath once it was all finished.

"That was way too close…", Zoda says as he tries to catch his breath. "I thought those engines were gonna explode."

"They wouldn't have exploded if they failed", James says, trying to get these two off his back, knowing that Jody would be next to say something, since she always had something to say about his methods. "They would've just stopped working, and if that would've happened, we'd just glide back to the surface, and call for the back-up. It's not that big of a deal."

"Oh really?", Jody says, standing up from her seat. "And we would've just slid back through the atmosphere, while not getting eaten by the Warbat or any of its friends, not falling through the rapidly deteriorating crust of the planet, not crashing into any trees or animals with limited flight controls without an engine, and then just chilled on the planet until backup arrived, all without getting us or the backup eaten in the process? Oh sure, easy as pie."

"Jody, I know you like to do things by the book, but you would be floored if I told you some of the ways I've landed a ship like this. That kind of landing is practically my speciality."

Zoda stands up from his seat. "Dude, I don't know why you're so worried about Black Shadow's feelings about this. He's got enough money from the Grand Prix to handle a simple rescue mission. You're not gonna get bonus points for putting us all in danger to help him save a few space pennies", he says, trying to stay in character, since he's the only one of the bunch who's actually worked with Shadow.

"Are you guys really gonna get all whiny at me over a bunch of maybes and what ifs? Even if it was 'overly dangerous' or whatever, it worked. We're off the planet, and in a few minutes the temperature will be low enough for us to head out and back to HQ. So if you guys don't like it, you're free to find a new crew once we get back there."

"No…", Jody says sternly. "Because someone needs to stop you from doing this kind of foolishness that's eventually going to get you and whoever's unlucky enough to be stuck on a ship with you killed!"

"And when is that going to start, Jody?", James says, getting up from his chair to get in her face. "Every time you've had a problem with my methods, you complain to the boss, and what does he say, literally every time?"

"Just because the boss is even crazier than you are doesn't make doing this stuff ok."

"That's just who we're working for. Get used to it, or find a different place to get dental."

"Beastman's gone…", Zoda says.

"Don't you tell me how to…"

"HEY!", Zoda shouts, not about to be ignored. The other two look over at the chair where Beastman was and, sure enough, there's no Beastman there.

"Oh crap…", James mutters himself, immediately forgetting his issues with Jody. "Zoda, pull him up on the cameras, maybe we can lock him in somewhere."

"Apologize first", Zoda says while grabbing the tablet away from anyone else.

"Wait what?", James says, super confused. "Um, ok Jody, I'm sorry I…"

"No, not to her. Why would you think I give a rip about how she feels? I meant to me for ignoring me when I said he was gone. When I speak, you people should listen."

"Seriously, Zoda?", James says, incredulously. "Now, of all times, you decide to get all high and mighty?"

"I'll find a high and mighty place to smash this thing from if you don't apologize to me", Zoda says as he lifts the tablet up high, ready to follow through on his promise.

"Alright, alright, fine. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you the first time. Now, can you please look up where the hell Beastman went?"

"I'm gonna want an apology too…", Jody says.

"Later!", James says, genuinely panicking that everyone's not understanding the time sensitivity of this situation. "Beastman! Gone! Might be about to kill us! Zoda! Map! Now! Please!"

"Eh, good enough…", Zoda says as he opens up the camera feed and looks through each room, trying to find Beastman. He's not in the bathroom, he's not in the engine room, he's not in any of the bedrooms or closets. For a second, the racers wonder if he's somehow left the ship entirely, but then they finally find him in the last room they can check: the food storage room.

"Oh thank goodness", Jody says. "He's just going for a bite to eat."

"Quick, Zoda, hit that fourth button down, that'll lock the door and keep him in there."

"But all the food?", Zoda says, worried about not being able to get to it.

"We can eat once we get to the mothership", James says. "Just do it quick, before he decides what to eat."

With a little grumble, Zoda hits the button, and locks the door, letting all of the racers relax.

"Are you guys finally done with your never-ending arguing?", Gazelle says, finally coming up from the basement now that all the yelling's stopped.

"For now", Zoda says. "Gimme a little bit though, I'll find something else to start another argument about."

"But in better news", Jody happily says to Gazelle. "At least, Beastman's secure and we can fly him all the way to the HQ without any more problems."

"Uh, guys…", Zoda says.

"Don't say it, Zoda, please…", Jody mutters.

"No, there's a problem, come see…" The other racers huddle around Zoda to see what he's talking about. Despite the fact that the door closed and locked behind Beastman, he hasn't moved from his spot. He's just kneeling down in front of an open shelf, completely motionless.

"What's the problem?", James asks. "Looks like he just can't decide what he wants to eat. Who hasn't been there at 3 in the morning, am I right?", he says, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"You're a hack. Look closer, in the shelf", Zoda says, bringing all the racers in closer. Suddenly a man rises up out of the shelf. A man with a bright blue vest, a single exterior shoulder pad, and a red racing helmet… with a golden falcon on it. It's Captain Falcon.

The rest of the crew is stunned silent, not wanting to say or do anything, lest they give away to Falcon and Beastman the knowledge that they know he's here.

"How the hell did you guys not find him when you were looking for bugs back on Porix?", Gazelle whisper-yells to the other three, genuinely confused about how he managed to slip through the cracks.

"Oh no, no-no-no-no-no-NO! I let that happen", Jody says as she starts to panic a bit. "I did that… Beastman said he would take care of the food pantry. What if they were in cahoots this whole time?", she says as her imagination starts going wild with ideas about how these two could have possibly communicated with one another.

"Wait a minute… what about you, Mr. Supersonic Hearing?", Zoda says to Gazelle. "You can hear a moth fart from the next planet over. You didn't hear any breathing or an extra heartbeat or anything?!"

"I can't hear if they don't make any noises. The guy must know how to drop his heart rate to super low levels, and at that point, it doesn't sound like a heartbeat.

"Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys…", James says, trying to calm the troupe down. "It's fine. We're ok. Remember when we had Guster in the bedroom on our last mission? The food pantry room has the same kind of lock on it, and we don't even have to worry about feeding them, because they have plenty of food in there. We just take these two to the mothership, lock it up, fly to the HQ, and hope the smart people have a cure by now. Beastman and Falcon are secured, AND the biggest threat to our mission is captured all in one fell swoop. This couldn't be a better set-up right now."

"And besides, even in the worst case scenario, let's say he escapes from the pantry, which reminds me…", James says as he takes the tablet from Zoda, so that he can't release them on a whim. "Even if that happens, we've got plenty of tranq ammo to put them out until we get to the mothership. It's… fiiiiiiiiiine…", he says as they start flying off toward the Big Wyvern.

Jody thinks about it, and sits back down in her seat, fairly satisfied with that line of logic. She's still got her tranq gun out, just in case the worst happens, but she's in a state of relative peace. She looks over at James who, while piloting the ship, looks like he's deep in thought about something. "Something bothering you, James?"

"Yea, it's that apology you asked for earlier. I was about to say 'I'm sorry', but then I started having trouble figuring out what would come after that."

"The telltale sign of an amazing apology, when you don't even know what you're apologizing for", Jody says with a little scoff, like he's just doing it to try to get back on her good side.

"Hang on, hang on, I'm trying here, gimme a second", he says without breaking his thoughtful look. "I'm sorry… that… my methods are more over-the-top then you're comfortable with?", he says, checking to see if that sounds right leaving his lips.

"So you're sorry that I'm not chill enough to let you light a space station on fire?"

"Right yea, that wasn't it", he says as he keeps trying. "I'm sorry… that… I haven't changed enough to meet your expectations?"

"That's… better?"

"A bit, yea. See, you're not the first GSF officer I've had on these missions. Normally, I have a go-to guy that Atchwa puts with me, a guy named Benson. ("Uuuuuugh, not Benson.") He's been my handler for years, and I know what I can get away with with him. He's given me a super long leash for years, and I've only gotten a few write-ups for dangerous methods from him. But, since you're here instead, I need to figure out ways to get out of situations without incurring your wrath. The first time on the space station, I'll admit, I've done worse and got a slap on the wrist. Besides, Atchwa said that was fine. The second time on the way back with Guster, I was genuinely trying to make sure that Guster would get unhypnotized, not just because of the bigger payout, but also to make future trips back home easier for all of us."

"That being said, blasting off of Porix like that with a sputtering engine and a freshly patched up ship was a little dangerous especially when the alternative of just getting Monique and Jack over there with the spare wasn't a bad idea. I kinda just didn't want to leave my ship behind, since the engine wouldn't've gotten any cooler down there, so that was the best time to get it back."

"There we go, I knew you'd find a real reason in there somewhere."

"Wow…", Zoda says, watching these two go to therapy. "This is just so…"

Zoda doesn't get to finish that sentence, as she points the tranq gun over her shoulder, and without looking fires the dart at Zoda.

"Oh god, you got him right in the face!", Gazelle says while trying not to laugh.

Jody turns back once James can't hold back his laughter and sees Zoda's face frozen with a look of panic as the dart had pegged him right between the eyes. However, unlike every other person who's been hit by the dart, since Zoda doesn't sleep, he's just stuck in this pose until the effects wear off. "Wow, that… is… horrifying."

James gathers himself back up enough to remember what he was trying to say. "Anyway, yea, I just wanna say…"

Suddenly, a loud "BANG" rattles the entire ship, sending it rocking to the left, almost like something hit them.

"Are we under attack?", Gazelle asks.

"Dammit, did they call for more back-up?", Jody wonders. "James, hand me the…"

Before she can finish asking, James hands her the tablet with the camera feed on it. Suddenly, another loud crash bangs the ship around again, this time knocking Zoda out of his chair, where he stiffly lands on the floor, like he's being frozen solid. She looks in the pantry, and expects to see Falcon and Beastman on some kind of communicator, but instead the door of the pantry looks like it's taken artillery fire. It's almost been ripped right off its hinges. Falcon shakes his hand a little, takes off his bright yellow glove, and gets back into a fighting stance. He takes a deep breath…

"FALCON…"

"Oh no…"