Taking Back the Crown

by JCMorrigan

Mozenrath. Archibald Snatcher. Roman Torchwick. Mad Madam Mim. Yzma. The Huntsman. Wuya. Ayam Aghoul. Their mission: take over the multiverse, or look fabulous trying. Rated M for swearing, steamy implications and VERY bloody battles. Contains slash and het shipping.

91. Prepare for Takeoff

A/N: Started KHIII. Am going to be incorporating some gameplay mechanics, Heartless designs, and allusions to plots seen in the trailers, but no big spoilers yet. Also, this is the AU where Hades and Maleficent like being on the same team. AS IT SHOULD BE. I have also learned since beginning this chapter and publishing it about a certain plot twist that happens post-Caribbean, and this is the AU where NO. ALSO also, I forgot to say this last time around, but the Harry Potter discontinuity cutoff is right after the main story of Deathly Hallows; the epilogue isn't canon here and Cursed Child DEFINITELY isn't canon here. (Fantastic Beasts will be addressed on a need-to basis, and I don't expect needing to beyond this point.)

...

When Mozenrath and Roman crossed paths in the hallways of the warship, Roman greeted his friend with a "Going my way?" and fell into step alongside him.

"That depends," Mozenrath replied. "Is your way the control room? That's where I've assembled my team."

"Gummi hangar, actually," Roman replied. "So, who'd you all take?"

"George, naturally," Mozenrath began. "I want him by my side."

"Of course."

"Wuya will lend us an extra boost in magic," Mozenrath went on. "Then, when I invited her, she insisted on bringing Hannibal, since the two of them apparently haven't had time to bond in a while. So he's in. Hämsterviel was responsible for pointing out Flint's map in the first place, so he earned his spot. We figured we could use some good old-fashioned muscle, so Snipe's in. After all, we're going to be crewing a whole new ship from Crescentia out to Treasure Planet, and we need enough hands to manage the deck."

"Yeah, I was just gonna ask why Dragonface wasn't enough muscle for ya," Roman replied. "Best of luck trying to deal with the dumbass on board."

"I'll need it. Finally, I'm bringing Malfoy. He wanted in on the action, and the Etherium is like nothing he's ever seen before."

"Cool!" Roman nodded. Then: "Who's Malfoy?"

Mozenrath realized there had never been a formal introduction. "He's a wizard I picked up on the Knockturn Alley mission," he explained. "He was – "

Roman was biting his lip, giggling wheezes escaping past his lips.

"What is it?" Mozenrath asked dryly.

"YOU SAID 'NOCTURNAL EMISSION.'"

Mozenrath let Roman laugh about this for a good minute before interrupting him with "Very mature."

"Oh, yeah, thanks, Mr. Maturity," Roman replied through his laughter. "Because I'M totally the one who locked myself in my room and wouldn't talk to anyone after the plan failed."

"Still better than laughing at dirty puns."

"Um, no, it's really not."

Mozenrath decided to change the subject. "And your team?"

"Well, we were originally just going to be me, Archie, and Neo," Roman explained. "Then I ran into Corpsey, he asked, and when I told him, he was all 'I didn't realize you had a death wish' and went on about how us going to Asgard without any magical backup was going to be 'the death of us.' Basically, he said the word 'death' a lot. And I was like, no, we GOT this, we're picking up Gar and Mister Twister and Jester, and he was all 'They're ALSO mortal' and I'm just like 'Who on this team isn't?' and he reminded me, yes, him, and I was just, okaaaaay, but he kept going on and on about how a team of humans with no magic has no CHANCE in Asgard, so I agree to let him come along, and next thing you know, HE TOLD BOAT LIGHTS AND ICEMAN ABOUT THE WHOLE THING AND THEY'RE COMING TOO. Which, first of all, now means Boat Lights and Iceman KNOW ABOUT THE ALLIANCE WE'RE TESTING. And, second, means I have to put up with fucking Iceman. Corpsey was the LAST person I thought was going to play dad-friend, but here we are. And Neo actually agreed that THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA! She is that convinced I'd get myself killed."

"You don't exactly have the best track record," Mozenrath pointed out.

"Shut up."

"That wasn't a denial."

Roman just snorted.

"Xayide and Vexen don't gossip," Mozenrath told him. "If things don't work out in your favor regarding Firefly and Ragdoll…and Harley…you can count on them to keep it secret."

"Iceman will tell Maestro."

"And swear her to secrecy."

Roman sighed. "It isn't a SECRET if that many people KNOW."

"And you thought you could keep this under wraps forever?"

Roman fell silent, glaring straight ahead.

Mozenrath sighed. "If it doesn't go well, and anyone contests your position as their superior over it, they have to answer to me. And I WILL remind them your status is non-negotiable."

"Is that the sound of you trying to comfort me?" Roman asked in awe.

"Don't get used to it," Mozenrath grumbled. "If anything, doing this has gotten LESS natural over time."

"Riiiiiight." Roman may not have been as astute at reading people as Snatcher was, but he could still tell when Mozenrath was putting up a front to save his reputation (and prevent Roman from trying to make a habit of leaning on him). "Look, I'm just saying this mission almost feels doomed from the get-go, between this and the drama with – "

Roman realized he had nearly blurted out the secret Snatcher had asked him to keep regarding Gothel, and quickly bit his lip.

"Drama with…?" Mozenrath prodded when it became clear Roman wasn't going to finish his sentence.

Roman frantically searched for a lie. "Neo just…had this idea for an outfit," he came up with. "She wants to wear it somewhere, and wasn't sure if this was the right mission to break it out or not."

To Roman's surprise, Mozenrath bought it. "We do want to make an impression."

"Yeah, well, we're going to be spending most of that mission in disguise anyway," Roman told him, "so I nixed the outfit."

"Couldn't she just conjure it up anyway with her Semblance?"

"Yeah, but now she doesn't see the point if she's going to use the same Semblance to give us illusions right away."

Mozenrath suddenly thought of a point of interest regarding Neo's Semblance and her wardrobe. "So, basically, all of her clothes are projections."

"Yes."

"She…does WEAR clothes, right?" Mozenrath asked. "Those aren't just illusions over her naked body."

"No," Roman confirmed. "That would be a safety hazard. Neo does have clothes on at all times when you see her wearing clothes. It's just that the original pieces might look plainer than what she made out of them using her Semblance. But does it really matter what they used to look like? They're still clothes. They're just different on the outside. And now they actually look like what best fits Neo. That's barely an illusion. What you're seeing IS her real outfit. Is that so hard to understand?"

Mozenrath wondered why Roman was getting so passionate about Neo's clothing. It then occurred to him Roman might have been alluding to something beyond mere fashion, but he couldn't really decipher what. He did, however, agree with the logic. "It's not hard to understand at all. The presentation makes a reality. It's a principle often seen in magic. It's only a 'glamour' when the label doesn't match the contents. For instance, if I transform myself to look like you, I'm obviously not you. If I just use magic to look a little taller, on the other hand, can you really say I'm NOT taller?"

"Oh, GODS, that's going to make things so much easier in the long run," Roman sighed.

Mozenrath shook his head. "Roman, what are we actually talking about?"

"No," Roman replied. "NOT this time. I have LEARNED my lesson."

Mozenrath shrugged. "All right, then. I suppose I should allow you the grace of ONE secret given recent events."

They came to the divergence point. "And this is where we part ways," Mozenrath declared.

"Hey, Righty…"

Mozenrath faced Roman, noting a mischievous gleam in his emerald eye. "Yes?" Mozenrath asked.

"It's been a while since I've had a decent gamble," Roman told him. "You and me, we're going out to look for similar things at the exact same time. What do you say we make this interesting?"

"I'd say that's already pretty interesting," Mozenrath told him. He then realized the figure of speech: "…But you meant putting money on the outcome."

"Bingo. Whoever gets back here with the magic thing first gets the cash."

"I follow." Mozenrath smirked. "And, since I'm fairly confident my team will be able to retrieve the map before you can find the entrance to Asgard's vault, I'm in. How does twenty crystals of munny sound?"

"How much is that in lien?"

After Mozenrath reminded Roman of the exchange rate, Roman nodded and said, "Yeah, that sounds fair." It wasn't a large amount at all: just enough to make it fun. "So! May the best man win."

"I appreciate the blessing, Roman," Mozenrath replied coyly, "and now that I know you want me to win this, I'll be sure not to let you down."

"Ohohoho, so you have jokes! Well, you know what you don't have? A head start."

"I don't see how you – "

Roman bolted down the hallway to the hangar without warning.

Mozenrath watched him disappear before smugly teleporting himself to the control room. "I wonder how long before he remembers I could do that?" he mused.

"Before who remembers you could do what?"

The sound of Wuya's voice alerted Mozenrath to his team assembled behind him in line: the Huntsman, Wuya, Hannibal, Hämsterviel, Snipe, and Draco. "Long story short, we now have twenty munny and our reputation as the superior faction riding on collecting this map," he explained. "Keeping that in mind, let's go."

...

Hades had sent word ahead of time, in the form of a parchment that magically appeared on the table, that he would be visiting Facilier's quarters. Facilier did not have as many accoutrements as the others with which to make a lair; all the same, he did have a small cluster of rooms all to himself that he had decorated to his liking, including a bare stone chamber used for summoning Heartless and observing their actions. He'd only recently been tipped off that the Satyr variety, unlike most Heartless, would actually move in synchronized crowds, and he had been testing their unison movements out shortly before he found the message. Apparently Hades needed to see him regarding something "Very, VERY important."

Facilier told himself repeatedly not to get his hopes up regarding the nature of this visit. It only made sense that Hades trusted him with crucial matters. After all, the two had become quite close friends. Facilier enjoyed Hades' company greatly.

And that was the problem, because the last thing Facilier wanted was to be some sort of lovesick fool, but he could feel the symptoms gnawing at him anyway. He had noticed how being near the death god had made him feel simultaneously comfortable and out of his element. He had noticed how he would slip into what might be passable for flirting, then realize what he'd done after the fact. He'd also noticed that Hades took a somewhat flirty manner around him, but the roadblock there was the fact that Hades acted like that around everyone. There was no benchmark to distinguish between Hades considering you an ally and Hades considering you attractive short of him saying the words outright.

It wasn't even sensible to want anything to come of the two of them. It could make their professional partnership very awkward, after all. And it hardly seemed like it should be a priority. Facilier wanted to gain power first and foremost, just like everyone else who worked with Maleficent. Getting distracted by muscular arms and slender fingers and pointed teeth (the latter of which mortals didn't even usually find attractive; what gave?) was an absolute detriment to that goal.

This was a business meeting and nothing more.

That didn't stop Facilier from becoming very aware of his own body heat when Hades did show up.

"Yo, Anton!" Hades greeted. "Sorry not sorry for the short notice, but I've got a problem only you can solve."

"Rest assured," Facilier said confidently despite not even knowing what Hades wanted yet, "you're in good hands."

"Now that is what I like to hear," Hades replied. "See, even if your gods cut you off, you still know how to read tarot, right? Because, me? I don't have a clue."

Now this was interesting. "You're lookin' for a hint at the future," Facilier deduced. "Hate to break it to ya, but the cards ain't gonna be as reliable as some of the magic we got 'round here."

"Yeah, well, any and all divination magic we have is focused on sure things," Hades explained. "Fixed points in the timeline. My area of interest is a little more…ehhhh…fluid, let's say. It could go incredibly RIGHT or it could go incredibly WRONG, and that could change at a moment's notice. What I need is a read on if I'm driving this chariot in the right direction."

"I see," Facilier replied knowingly. "This is a future that depends on you…and you wanna make sure you're headed down the right road before you get too far into the woods."

"Bingo, babe."

"Well, then," Facilier invited him, "sit down at my table, and let me take a look at what your future has in store."

He'd never read for a god before. Would that make a difference? Hades didn't seem to think that would influence the outcome. Not to mention that stripped of his prior godly associations, Facilier could no longer produce a dead-on accurate tarot reading of the future; he was, however, still able to interpret, as Hades had said, and he had studied the signs and the symbols thoroughly. He could see nuances in a spread that few others could pick up. And he was hardly ever wrong.

They sat at a circular table, Hades at one side and Facilier on the other. Facilier showed off a little, as was his habit, performing shuffling tricks with the cards to get them completely mixed. This was in no way trying to impress Hades more than anyone else, Facilier told himself, rather dishonestly. His mind wandered to the deck itself; it was new, one that Maleficent had provided him with, and lacking in some of the artistic themes characteristic of a New Orleans deck. He secretly had plans to replace it with one more like what he'd used in the past. For now, however, this one would do. "So what is it that you're lookin' for?" Facilier asked. "What is your deepest, darkest heart's desire that you want to see fulfilled in the cards?"

He hadn't meant it to come out that much of a double entendre.

"I need to know what the future is of my love life," Hades insisted, "and I need to know ASAP." (Pronouncing that last word as "ay-sap.")

Facilier just about fumbled the deck; cards would have bent and exploded in his hands, fluttering everywhere, if he hadn't steadied his fingers. Maybe he and Hades had actually been on the same page. However, he knew it was too soon to tell. "Matters of the heart, huh?" he asked. "You sure you don't wanna ask somethin' a little more specific? Everyone wants to read for love. I started chargin' double for it back home due to demand."

"I said love life," Hades insisted, "and I meant love life. I need this answer PRONTO."

"Ask and you'll receive."

Facilier dealt the spread, turning up each card one by one. The results surprised him, though his tone didn't betray it. "Well, well," he declared. "Looks like you're gonna have some real luck in love. Accordin' to this, it's gonna go your way. Whoever you got your eye on is lookin' at you too."

Hades' jaw dropped. "You serious? I need a one hundred percent guarantee here, Anton."

"Serious as the grave," Facilier replied coyly.

Hades' flames spread to cover his body as he pumped his fists; "EEEEEE-YES! HAHA! HADES RULES! WINNING HEARTS LEFT AND RIGHT!" He looked directly into Facilier's eyes. "Seriously, Anton, you don't know how much of a weight that is off my shoulders."

Now, if Facilier were lucky, this would be the part where Hades confessed that the object of his affections was, in fact, sitting across from him.

"Do you know how long I have been holding back from saying ANYTHING about this to Malef? Here I thought she'd just shoot me down on the spot!"

Facilier never had been a lucky man.

"It's Maleficent caught your eye, huh?" Facilier asked, trying his best to hide his disappointment.

"She didn't just catch my eye," Hades corrected. "She has had my eye for CENTURIES. I am telling you, she is the ONE. She is the alpha and the omega. Problem is, she's not the kind of woman you just pour out your feelings to. She doesn't really do 'feelings.' Well, not in the usual way, at least. She's got a heart, trust me. She's just…different. The good kind of different. The enchanting, bewildering, BEGUILING kind of different."

Facilier had to admit he could see it. Maleficent carried a definite strong, imposing presence: the type that would frighten some and allure others. May the gods help those who were in the opposite category from where Maleficent wanted them to be. She was her own entity; you would never be her "other half" and she never yours. To be considered her equal was a high honor. Her regal elegance was far more subdued than Hades' brash talkativeness, but in a way, they complemented each other – Facilier almost thought "opposites attract," but they really weren't all that opposite when you dug deep. They had the same ambitions, the same sense of superiority, the same burning fire hidden deep beneath a cool exterior. He could placate his disappointment somewhat in the thought that Maleficent truly was a good match for his friend.

Hades went on: "Thing is, we got a hot tip on where the Mozenbrat is going next. The big thing is getting Malef's powers back up to snuff, and Loki's on that detail. While he wraps up his half of business, we got some time to kill, so we figured why not listen in on the new WHAM disaster and see how bad we need to crash it? And…oy. This one's a doozy. There's a snowball's chance in Tartarus that they'll actually be able to pull this off, but it's probably something we need to nip in the bud. So Malef is going after him to see if she can run a kebab skewer through his heart before he manages to pick up this all-powerful map, and who did she pick as her right-hand to tag along? Yours truly. Probably because I can make up for her current magic deficiency in spades, but, y'know, there's a chance it's because she thinks I'm hot stuff."

"She'd be a fool not to see it." Facilier really had to stop.

"Right?" If Hades had picked up on the hint, he wasn't about to acknowledge it. "And get this. Even she does not know where Treasure Planet is. That's the place with the map. Kinda a fixer-upper right now, but whatever. So we have to start out at a space port, commandeer a ship, and set a tracking spell on the jackpot. You know what that means? A voyage across a whole ocean of space, just her and me. Romance is in the air! Or maybe that's just brimstone. Anyway, I needed to make sure this was going where I thought it was going, and you've just given me the green light. Can't thank you enough."

"Once will do," Facilier replied with a smile.

"Then thanks, babe," Hades responded. "Pretty lucky to have you for a bro."

"Likewise."

"So, uh, on the subject of me and Malef…you wouldn't happen to know how I could, y'know, move things along?" Hades pressed.

"What," Facilier teased, "the Lord of the Dead don't know how to woo a woman?"

"That was always Aphrodite's turf," Hades replied. "Listen, I am only just coming off the realization that the 'kidnap her and make her live in your house with no way to escape' school of romance is actually not effective."

"Pretty sure Maleficent would kill you if you tried that."

"I'm the Lord of the Dead," Hades responded. "I literally cannot be killed. And I'm STILL gonna agree with you on that point anyway. No, Malef…I need to go about this carefully. People came to you for matchmaking, right? Love potions? That kind of stuff?"

Facilier sighed. All his secret hopes aside, he truly did want Hades to succeed in winning the heart he desired, and he regretted having to deliver the news that he couldn't help when it came to Maleficent. "Can't do any of that without the help of certain ex-Friends," he explained, "an' if I did, you wouldn't want it. All my roads to romance were designed to be doomed to fail. Just so long as it put money in my own pocket. I ain't your guy."

The third voice caused them both to flinch: "Fortunately, I am."

Hades whipped around to look at the door; Facilier craned around him to get a peek. Hans leaned against the frame, the one whole arm he still had folded across his chest. "Don't mind me," he said. "I just came up here to find Hades after Maleficent assigned me on the Etherium mission."

"She what now?" Hades said, rather crestfallen.

"She wanted me to tell you that she assigned me on the Etherium mission," Hans reiterated, clearly smug.

"So…no cross-Etherium voyage, just her an' me," Hades repeated.

"This actually works out in your favor," Hans told him. "Trust me."

Hades was beginning to heat up. "And the reason she put a no-powers, charisma-less serial sword breaker like you on this mission would be…?"

"Because I've had experience sailing a ship," Hans explained. "Granted, Blackbeard's was an actual water-type ship, not a…light ship? I think that's what it's called. But apparently it's similar enough that I'm the resident expert. She just refuses to call that Hook person back after whatever happened between them, and then, this part I don't really get, she said, 'If I am to employ a Captain Hook, it will not be that one.' Whatever that means." His quoting of Maleficent was said in a mimicry of her voice, one that made Hades bristle all the more and turn slightly red with frustration. "Though, actually, now that I think about it…no, but that one's a stretch, isn't it? Whatever. It doesn't matter. The point is, I'm your bolt from the blue."

"I don't know if you know much about my history with BOLTS FROM THE BLUE," Hades growled, "but…NOT A FAN."

"Touchy," Hans remarked. "Okay, okay, I'm whatever metaphor you want. I just couldn't help but hear your conversation – "

"How long've you been standin' there listenin' in?" Facilier asked, starting to get rather miffed himself.

"Long enough," Hans stated. "I know you, Hades, want Maleficent to fall in love with you. Now, in case you forgot, my entire line of work is getting people to fall in love with me. It's how I get what I want. It's how we almost ended up taking the WHAM ARMY out of play before they pulled a suicide move that miraculously paid off. 'Sailor' is not my primary occupation on this team. You want someone to fall for you, but you're not sure how to get there? That's where I come in. You need me, Hades."

"I don't NEED the advice of some two-drachma SPOILED BRAT – "

"How many people have you gotten to fall in love with you?" Hans asked.

"Persephone technically counted," Hades growled.

"Now let's run my tally," Hans responded. "Anna. Zelda. Mozenrath. That's my three to your one. Oh, and Dem, but that one just kind of happened by accident. So I guess that makes it four. Now are you starting to see how you might need me?"

Hades cooled off slightly. "What exactly are you offering me here?"

"I play the Cupid hovering over your shoulder," Hans stated.

"Don't like that guy," Hades said immediately.

"Basically," Hans went on, "when you get lost on the road to romance, come to me. I'll tell you what to say and what to do. And I promise that before you get to what's left of Treasure Planet, you'll have the girl of your dreams, thanks to me. So. What do you say?"

Hades thought about it for a moment, then cooled back to blue-gray, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Your track record does speak for itself. And I have it from Anton that I already have a head start. I'll let you be my translator for the language of love. But if this goes sour, I am launching you right off the ship and into orbit of the nearest celestial body. Capisce?"

"Capisce," Hans said with a nod.

Hades rose from the table. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he declared, "I have a dream girl to rendez-vous with." He turned to point at Facilier, giving him a click of the tongue; "I'll catch you on the other side. Get it? The other – yeah, you get it."

Though Facilier by all means shouldn't have found that humorous, he cracked a smile. "Best of luck, Romeo."

As Hades stalked out of the room, Hans furtively hurried forward to take his empty seat at the table. "You know," the redhead remarked, "my offer is open to anyone who wants it, and I'm not bothered by conflicts of interest."

"And that's s'posed to mean somethin'?" Facilier asked.

"It means I've seen the way you look at him," Hans called out. "Everything I promised him to help him win Maleficent? I can show you the same way to win him. From there, we let his heart decide."

"His heart's decided," Facilier insisted. "Couldn't ask for better for him than her."

"But is that what you really WANT?" Hans cajoled. "It would be fun for me and potentially VERY satisfying for you if he falls."

Facilier dealt Hans a venomous glare. "I ain't gonna play a friend like that."

Hans shrugged. "Suit yourself." He rose from the table. "The offer's open anytime, by the way."

Facilier scowled as Hans showed himself out. He very nearly called after him that he felt sorry for Demyx, having to believe in the loyalty of someone who saw romance as such a game, but that would've gotten him into an argument he didn't want to bother seeing through. Besides, he still couldn't actually figure out any benefit to seducing Demyx, and that was really all the proof he needed that Hans' feelings for the sitarist were bafflingly genuine.

Now what Facilier really needed to worry about, rather than his feelings, was whether Hans would cause irreparable damage to Hades and Maleficent's relationship. He didn't trust a wild card like that one bit – if not because of his easily divided loyalty, because of his lack of competence.

He shuffled the deck.

...

Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy were the ones to gather in the hourglass chamber, with Merlin accompanying them as usual to interpret. Though the rubble had been cleared away, the wall hadn't quite been replaced yet. However, since it was a nice day, nobody was bothered (well, except for Donald, who was always mildly bothered in general) and they let the warm breeze wash over them as they stood before the glass.

"You sure about this?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "Mozenrath's gotta be after some kind of new plan to replace the old one now that he knows it wasn't gonna work. I think we should figure out where he's going and if we need to stop him."

"So ask already!" Donald huffed. Then, without waiting, he cast a loud "THUNDER!" that crackled through the hourglass' crystal.

The sands swirled: stars on a black sky. A sphere, engraved with circles and webbing lines, levitating in their midst. Green designs erupting from the sphere, curling through the starscape.

"Flint's map?" Merlin said in surprise, jumping slightly. "Now, that's unusual. I can't think what he'd want with that."

"That's a map?" Sora was confused.

"Not just any map," Merlin informed him. "The only map to Treasure Planet. A well-hidden planet within the Etherium where the pirate Nathaniel Flint kept all of his ill-gotten treasures! That map was the only way to find it!"

"The…Etherium?" Sora repeated, now more perplexed than ever.

"Yes, yes, the Etherium!" Merlin confirmed. "A world where space is – well. You'll see for yourself if you're going there. The only problem, of course, is that…no, no, perhaps that hasn't happened yet. Yes, that's definitely in the year – oh, dash it all, this IS that year!"

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy cried in unison; Riku had to chuckle at how in sync they were. They hadn't been together on a mission in what seemed like ages, yet they still fit together like the gears of a clock.

"Treasure Planet was blown to smithereens!" Merlin explained. "And the map was last seen there, so it's likely still floating around the remains, waiting for someone to pick it up. Though for what, I can't imagine! The portal mechanism is too damaged to use, and it can't lead anyone to a treasure that doesn't exist anymore! It's just a useless lump of mythril now!"

"But it's Mozenrath!" Donald insisted. "He's gotta have some plan for it! He's gonna use it to do somethin' bad! We gotta get it before he does!"

"Right," Riku agreed. "I don't think we can take any chances."

"All right," Sora decided, "then we should go. All four of us, together!" He looked to Donald and Goofy. "I haven't gone on an adventure with you in forever! I miss you guys!" He looked to Riku. "And you know I ALWAYS want you along with me."

Riku smiled. "I love you too, Sora."

Sora beamed.

"But I don't think we can go together on this one," Riku went on.

Sora not only made a disappointed expression, but slumped over as though he'd been deflated.

Riku laughed, moving forward to nestle a hand in Sora's chestnut locks and ruffle the spikes atop his head. "We'll see each other again," he promised. "It's just that I'm the only person who can go to Jabberwock Island and wake up all of Kazuichi's friends, since I have the Power of Waking. I have a bad feeling that if they stay asleep, they'll end up in danger with everything going on. Luna and I have been talking about it. She'd have to come with me, since someone needs to cast the magic that will send me into the sleepers' dreams. And she was gearing up to bring the Elements of Harmony back to Equestria with Cadance, so we're going to make it the same mission. It should just be two quick stops." He thought it over. "Well…three, actually."

"Huh?" Sora replied in confusion, straightening up.

Riku quickly explained to Sora what he wanted to do.

"Oh," Sora realized. "That's a good idea!" He nodded. "Okay. So you'll go on your mission with Luna and Cadance, and I'll go with Donald and Goofy."

"Ready when you are!" Donald proclaimed.

"This'll be just like old times," Goofy added. "A-hyuck!"

"And if you wanna bring someone who likes treasure hunts and high adventure," Riku pointed out, "Aladdin and Jasmine are probably the ones to ask."

"Oh, that's right!" Sora agreed. "They'd love to go!" Another thought occurred to him. "And Kazuichi! You should bring him with you to save his friends!"

Riku grimaced. "I'm…not sure that's the best idea."

"Why not?"

"I might be reading too much into things," Riku replied, "but I kind of want to get a handle on what Sonia thinks of him when he's not around. I'm just…worried about him. He has a lot of faith in her, but I've never heard him mention anything significant the two of them have done together, or even anything about her liking him back. And I just think back to when I loved you, even if I didn't know it yet, and Maleficent convinced me you abandoned me for Donald and Goofy. It was one of the biggest hurts I'd ever felt in my life. Kazuichi feels about Sonia the way I feel about you, but I don't know if he's learned the same lessons I did. And I got lucky that you felt the same way about me. If Sonia doesn't feel that way about Kazuichi…it could send BOTH of them into a dark place under the wrong circumstances. I want to talk to her in a way that there can be no misunderstandings, and then, if the feeling isn't mutual, we can be there to help them. I don't want Kazuichi to feel lost because he put so much faith in someone who didn't feel that way about him, and I don't want Sonia to feel like any of it is her responsibility to fix."

"Hang on," Goofy mused. "Isn't that kinda like muddlin' in their friendship?"

"MEDDLING!" Donald growled.

"That too!" Goofy said with a smile.

"Maybe it is," Riku admitted. "But…I wish someone had been there to figure out where all four of us stood and bridge the gap as soon as we started drifting apart. I would've been glad if someone had meddled. Maybe it isn't my place, but…if I can be that person for Sonia and Kazuichi, I might be able to stop something bad before it can start." He nodded. "I am going to deliver those flowers he got for her. That should give me an idea of where they stand. Actually, Sora, why don't you ask Kazuichi to go on your mission?"

"That's not a bad idea," Sora replied. "But…I'm still not sure exactly what we're gonna be doing. How are we gonna find a hidden planet?"

"There was one final voyage to Treasure Planet before it was destroyed, actually!" Merlin broke in. "It's a famous story among the Etherium nowadays. The map fell into the hands of a boy named Jim Hawkins, and he, the researcher Delbert Doppler, and the brave Captain Amelia all traveled to Treasure Planet on a ship they didn't realize was filled with pirates! Thankfully, they made it back in one piece! If you ask around at the Benbow Inn on planet Montressor, you should be able to find them. I'm not positive any of them will remember how to get back to Treasure Planet, but they're your only hope, really. It's possible they could show you the way to steer your ship across the Etherium to where the map lies."

"Hm…I don't know," Sora mused. "If we're gonna be driving a long way through space…Kazuichi doesn't really do well with that kind of travel. But he has been getting better lately. I'll ask. But now I KNOW this is something Aladdin and Jasmine would love. This sounds a lot like those stories Aladdin told me about sailing with Captain Merc! …I think that was that guy's name, anyway."

"Sora!" Donald stamped his webbed foot. "We gotta get goin'! Mozenrath might already BE THERE by now!"

"Right!" Sora cried. "Thanks for everything, Merlin!"

"Oh, no trouble," Merlin replied. "Unlike SOME of the items on my to-do list…" His eyes wandered to the open space where a wall was supposed to be.

"And I'll see you when we get back!" Sora told Riku, punctuating this with a swift, soft kiss to Riku's lips. Laughing, Sora darted from the room, Donald and Goofy in hot pursuit.

Riku smiled rather dreamily after him. He then turned back to the hourglass to ask the question regarding his third objective.

After interpreting the answer, Merlin watched Riku hurry away. No sooner had the boy left than Nani and Jumba entered the chamber, looking rather grumpy.

"Ah, you've returned from your first route!" Merlin proclaimed; they and Pleakley had taken to the meal-delivery job. "How did everything go?"

"Not so swimmingly," Jumba huffed.

"Well, it was MOSTLY fine," Nani clarified. "Almost everyone was really grateful that we brought food by."

Merlin sighed. "You didn't skip the address we told you to skip, did you?"

"We just thought it wasn't fair," Nani replied. "No matter what problems you had with the people who lived in that house, we thought they needed a nice meal delivered to them like everyone else since all those disasters."

Merlin shook his head. "And?"

"We didn't think we'd get that food THROWN at us," Nani said coldly. "Or…whatever that green slime was."

"Managed to procure sample of mucus toad boy attempted to use as ballistic fire," Jumba grumbled. "I suppose would be unethical to use to create lifeform trained to lock onto genetic signature and follow him everywhere playing loud and annoying folk music, hopefully aggravating speedy boy, angry girl, strong boy, and earthshaker in process."

"It most certainly would NOT," Merlin replied, "and you are FORBIDDEN to do anything of the sort!" He put his hands on his hips for emphasis.

"Figured you would say that," Jumba replied. "Will let sleeping dogs be laying down for now. Cannot say same for future aggressions."

"We're NOT going to create any experiments designed to target a bunch of rowdy teenagers," Nani insisted.

"Well, I'd say you've earned the right to relax for the rest of the day," Merlin informed them.

"That sounds good right about now," Nani admitted.

"Actually, Pleakley has already found set of friends to share common interest with," Jumba remarked. "Perhaps we should attempt to do same."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked in on Aladdin, Jasmine, and Kazuichi all gathered in one of the lounges, Kazuichi fiddling with a screwdriver and a device of unknown purpose while Aladdin and Jasmine regaled him with a story from the Seven Deserts. When the tale concluded, Kazuichi said excitedly, "That sounds SO COOL! I want to know how those scorpions WORKED! …Well, okay, it…it really wasn't cool that they destroyed so much of Agrabah, but…"

"I understand," Jasmine told him with a smile. "Honestly, we could've used you there. I bet you could've taken them apart when Mechanicles wasn't working and thrown a wrench into his plans."

"Literally," Aladdin laughed. "I guess we'll know who to call if it happens again."

"I'll be right there!" Kazuichi promised.

"Hey, you're all together!" Sora cried, drawing the trio's gazes. "This is perfect!"

"It's kinda like destiny!" Goofy remarked.

"I think it's just a big coincidence," Donald huffed.

"We were just looking for all of you!" Sora explained. "We've got a new mission, and we were hoping you'd come along."

"We're tryin' to stop Mozenrath!" Goofy proclaimed.

"Well, you know I'm always up for showing Mozenrath a thing or two," Aladdin said cheerily – more cheerily than he actually felt, to be sure, but that was all the more reason to go.

Jasmine picked up on this; "Are you going to be okay now that you know what he is to you?"

"I'll be fine!" Aladdin insisted. That was the thing: he wanted to reach out again. He knew he would probably fail. But would Cassim have wanted him to give up on his brother? Would he ever have wanted himself to give up on his brother? "So. Where are we going this time?"

"That's the thing!" Sora said excitedly. "We're looking for a treasure map, but we have to sail across outer space to get to it!"

"We gotta beat Mozenrath to the map!" Donald asserted.

"The thing is," Sora went on, "it will involve being on the Gummi ship for a long time, so – "

"I WANNA GO!" Kazuichi stood right up, leaping in front of Sora. "PLEASE TAKE ME! I WANNA GO TO SPACE!"

"But we're gonna be on the ship the whole time," Sora reminded him. "Aren't you gonna get sick?"

"I'll power through it!" Kazuichi insisted. "I'll use pure brute force and willpower! I just gotta go!"

"It's just gonna be like a regular Gummi trip!" Donald huffed.

"But SPACE," Kazuichi argued. "It's gonna be actual space, right? With stars and planets? Not interspace?"

"That's what I saw!" Sora confirmed.

"Ya sure do like outer space, don'tcha!" Goofy observed.

"My best friend was all ABOUT outer space!" Kazuichi gushed. "We always used to talk about the rocket ships we could build together, and – " He suddenly halted, eyes downcast. Once again, he'd remembered what had become of their friendship, and that boy's fate. "I guess I just…wanna relive those days a little. Think about him a bit."

"Then this'll be the mission for you, all right!" Sora swung his fist.

"And you know I love a good treasure hunt," Aladdin chimed in. "It's almost too bad we can't get my dad and Iago in on this one."

"We'll do it for them," Jasmine decided. "For Cassim, for Iago, and for Kazuichi's friend."

"What was that guy's name, anyway?" Sora asked.

Kazuichi cringed. "I kinda…I don't really…"

"It's okay if you can't talk about him," Jasmine told him. "A lot of traumatic things happened."

"I'm just not ready to say his name again," Kazuichi said softly. "I'm trying to get there."

"Do it at your own pace," Jasmine cautioned.

"We ain't gonna mind if ya can't do it at all!" Goofy added.

"Let's just focus on having fun NOW," Sora insisted. "On THIS mission!"

A smile spread across Kazuichi's face, showing off his pointed teeth. "Yeah. Let's do that!"

"Then we've got a map to find!" Aladdin proclaimed.

Meanwhile, as Riku entered the kitchens to collect the object of his first errand, he heard snippets of a conversation taking place there. He walked into the room unnoticed, observing the four who had gathered. Rapunzel was holding out a frying pan as Pleakley stirred a mixing bowl full of batter; Sadira sat on a counter, kicking her legs slightly, and Stork leaned up against a nearby wall.

"I THOUGHT those were melee weaponry when I first saw them!" Pleakley cried triumphantly. "It didn't make sense to me that their primary application was culinary."

"Well, I'm here to tell you that a frying pan is both," Rapunzel said proudly.

"How easy are they to wield?" Pleakley asked.

"Well, the ones I'm used to are pretty heavy," Rapunzel answered. "But if you can hold one upright for a while, it's pretty simple."

"Maybe I should figure out how to fight with one," Pleakley suggested. "I still feel a little…unprepared, not having any real way to defend myself. After what happened last time was here, I need to get armed!"

"Listen," Rapunzel said, "I've only known you for a few hours, but I already know a frying pan is EXACTLY your kind of weapon. I could show you how I use mine if you're interested."

"Would you?" Pleakley replied excitedly.

"Hey, I wouldn't mind learning how to use one either!" Sadira piped in.

"Don't you have sands, though?" Stork asked, baffled.

"Yeah," Sadira replied, "and a lot of good that does me when we're not in the desert. I didn't come off so great from that data Organization thing either."

"I can sure show you too!" Rapunzel said pleasantly. "Though it's really not hard to learn. I'm sure you'll both pick it up right away."

"Rapunzel's self-defense classes are in session!" Sadira proclaimed.

"After the baking club's first meeting is over, of course," Pleakley added. "And is anyone going to help me pour this batter into the first tray?"
"Sorry!" Rapunzel scooted next to him to lay out a cake tray, and the pair worked on delicately, carefully tipping the batter from the bowl into the tray.

"So what do you think, Stork?" Sadira asked. "You want in on Rapunzel's frying pan class?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing her technique," Stork replied, "but I actually have used frying pans in battle before. In melee and as armor."

"They can be ARMOR?" Rapunzel said in surprise, nearly shifting the pan away from the path of the batter.

"I find a saucepan is just the right shape and size to fit over a shoulder," Stork explained. "And if colanders weren't meant to function as helmets, they wouldn't look like how they do."

"You HAVE to show me how to wear those!" Rapunzel cried.

Stork shifted, smiling nervously. "Sure," he told her. "And actually, you probably know stuff I don't about pans in melee, so I'd like you to show me."

Riku had been caught up in listening to the others' conversation, distracted from his goal. Realizing he had to get moving, he quickly opened the refrigerator he was positioned before, spotting the gaudy arrangement of flowers that was even bigger than he'd remembered. He plucked the bouquet from its resting place, struggling to carry the arrangement without disturbing any of the petals with his chin. With one hand, he shut the refrigerator door.

The resulting soft thud caught the attention of Pleakley, Rapunzel, Sadira, and Stork, all of whom looked to the source. "Riku!" Rapunzel cried cheerily. "Welcome to the first official meeting of the UNofficial Radiant Garden baking club!"

"Chefs unite!" Sadira added. "Well, okay, Rapunzel and Pleakley are the chefs. Stork and I are more like…apprentices."

"We're learning," Stork added.

"I SWEAR we're not making dog food!" Pleakley insisted: a statement that baffled Riku, though he decided just to take it at face value.

"Wanna join us?" Rapunzel invited. "We're always looking for new members!"

"Think I'll pass today," Riku told her. "I've got some flowers to deliver."

"Sora's the lucky man, right?" Sadira teased.

"Ohhh, I've seen THOSE flowers before," Stork groaned. "There's no way this ends well."

"We'll just have to see," Riku laughed. "You guys have fun."

"We are!" Rapunzel confirmed.

Riku smiled as he left the room, the conversation behind him turning to Sadira asking "So will the oven bake this faster if we double the heat?" and Pleakley informing her, "Oh, no, no, no, that's a rookie mistake I'm certainly not about to make again!".

...

Mozenrath was divided. The more he looked around Crescentia, the more he was unsure. The entire city seemed to have a luminous glow, one that lent it a cheery aura. Not to mention most of it was white. Its old-fashioned wooden architecture made a stark contrast against the heavy machinery seen every so often and the robots that walked down the streets, not to mention the fact that the air was thick with ascending and descending spaceships, kissing Crescentia like flies on a fallen apple. Though they did resemble galleons with sails more than actual spacecraft; these were apparently the "light ships" Hämsterviel had described (and was still in the process of describing as the team meandered through the port city). The entire thing curved around so that if you were at one end of the port, you could look up and see the other end above your very head, and yet gravity kept everything neatly in place.

Mozenrath interrupted Hämsterviel's ramble with his observation: "I don't know if I hate this place or not."

"I would've thought that'd be an obvious call," Wuya snorted. "This is exactly the kind of place we HATE."

"Too much sunshine, if ya ask me," Hannibal grumbled. He swept his gaze over the thoroughfares where races from a hundred planets, with a wide array of builds and physical features, conversed and commuted. "An' a li'l bit too much livin' in harmony."

"And yet," Mozenrath argued, "it's also an efficient and simultaneously flamboyant design for a port. And if we're going to be a major power, we're going to need to do trade with other existing powers, which would require a port. This isn't a bad blueprint. Take the sunshine down a notch and you could even talk me into taking this exact territory and relocating it over whichever of our ground is exposed to the sky."

"Well, then, live your dream," Wuya huffed.

"You obviously don't agree," Mozenrath observed.

"Why would we need to do TRADE with any other powers?" she asked. "We'd just be marking them for our own conquest later! We could take their throne and skim off their resources for ourselves!"

"But that's the key," Mozenrath argued. "MARKING them for conquest. Establishing a relationship, getting our foot in the door, getting our crafts past their walls…and then getting close enough to spear them in the heart before they realize we were playing the long game."

"A suitable plan," the Huntsman agreed. "Perhaps Crescentia is worth revisiting when all is said and done."

"Since when do you play the LONG game?" Wuya asked.

"You don't think spending months collecting the ingredients for a spell was a long game?" Mozenrath retorted. "Or, going back to my early days, outfitting a thief with magical trinkets I didn't want anymore to have him collect the Sultan? Or painstakingly collecting sprites to unearth the entire city Shamash called home?"

"I'm saying everything you do has a sense of gratification to it," Wuya replied. "Even when you make a plan that will take a long time, that's because you can still chase it down the shortest path. I don't recall anyone else ever being able to forge a Philosopher's Stone in THREE HOURS."

"THREE HOURS?" Draco sputtered. "It's been said Nicolas Flamel needed half a century to forge his! If it were that easy to make, Voldemort would've just made his own and been done with it!"

"Did your Nicolas Flamel have a method of harnessing the power of TWO genies?" Mozenrath asked smugly. "How about Voldemort?"

"Genies?" Draco was baffled. "The river spirits? How could two of them hold enough power to make a Stone?"

"And that's how I learned your world's genies are pathetic," Mozenrath replied. "If that was the standard for magic where you come from, I'm all the more glad we found you. You would've wasted away on that world and never known the half of what was out here for the taking."

"I'm starting to believe it," Draco agreed. "This whole place is like nothing I've seen. And I agree that I don't know whether or not I hate it."

"You just wait until we are boarding the light ship!" Hämsterviel practically cackled. "Your diminutive wizard brain will simply EXPLODE!"

"I still don't buy you playing the LONG GAME," Wuya huffed.

"Can't I grow as a person?" Mozenrath challenged. "Can't I become more strategic? More diplomatic?"

"You and Snatcher were talking about this right before we left, weren't you?"

"No!"

Wuya waited for it.

"He and I were talking about this after the slide presentation," Mozenrath sighed, "which was before we even assembled teams, so no, we were not talking about it right before we left." A beat. "Also, Yzma was there and came up with half the idea."

Wuya smiled. "That's my girl."

"Ugh, all this boring trade stuff and talking about long games!" Snipe growled. "When do we get to the fun part? When do we get to beat up the crew of the ship we want?"

"I'm with the musclehead," Hannibal agreed. "Chewin' the fat's fine, but I wanna get down to some real evil."

"Patience, patience!" Hämsterviel urged. "I was EXPLAINING to you how to properly launch a light ship! We will have to take off at incredible speeds. I, of course, am an accomplished sailor of all vehicles spaceworthy and interspaceworthy, so I will not stumble the tiniest step. All of you, on the other hand, are neophytes to Etherium travel, so you will have to make use of restraints. Like children needing travel seats."

"Well, THAT'S not happening," Mozenrath huffed. "I can handle a little speed."

"Can you handle manually generated gravity?" Hämsterviel retorted.

"I defy gravity on my own all the time," Mozenrath said with a smile. "I think I'll be fine."

"None of us needs to be taught how to ride a ship," the Huntsman added. "We are all versed."

"It is not just one one of your silly WATER ships!" Hämsterviel insisted. "Nor is it one of your cushy GUMMI ships! It is a LIGHT ship! A LIIIIIIGHT ship!"

"What sort of ship are we looking for anyway?" Draco asked.

"Something practical," the Huntsman answered off the cuff.

"Practical is nice," Mozenrath began, "but it's not the be-all end-all. I was hoping we could find a mode of transportation that shows what we're really about."

"It's gotta have GUNS!" Snipe broke in. "Lots and lots of GUNS!"

"It will have a reasonable amount of guns," Mozenrath agreed. "It needs to be something sizeable. Something imposing. And, most importantly, something flashy. Something – "

His peripheral vision alerted him. He stopped in his tracks, backpedaling a few paces to get a peek through the buildings at a dock across the block, where a light ship was moored. "Something EXACTLY like that," he said with a sly grin, gesturing toward the parked vehicle.

The RLS Planetary was indeed an impressive craft, one of the larger light ships employed by the royal navy. Captain John Ronald Stevenson was honored to have been assigned to such a ship, given the importance of its diplomatic mission. He stood tall on the bow, a light breeze rustling the deep crimson tentacles that grew from his scalp and chin in place of hair. Gazing out into the Etherium beyond, he inhaled the air that blew from far away. He always had loved embarking on adventures, and this was one of utter priority.

"Captain Stevenson!"

Stevenson whirled about to see his first and second officers hoisting the precious cargo they had been assigned to deliver. The statue of the five-armed woman with a birdlike beak was hoisted up on one side by First Mate Roberts, a tall, slender green man with a scaly reptilian complexion, and on the other by Second Mate Lewis, a much shorter man who resembled an anthropomorphic beetle, body blue and cobalt-hued carapace shimmering in the sunlight. Roberts and Lewis staggered slightly under the weight of the statue as they carried it.

"Careful, now, gentlemen!" Stevenson cautioned. "Can't have her breaking now! Easy does it! She can rest right there if need be."

Lewis immediately took advantage of this suggestion and let go of his side of the statue's base, causing Roberts to wobble before managing to relatively gently set the statue on the deck. "We're just about ready to depart, Captain," Roberts stated.

"Good," Stevenson replied, looking over the statue. She was an icon of a water goddess from the planet Artelia, taken long ago in a territory war. Finally, after a century, she had been relinquished in a push for peace with Artelia, and Stevenson's crew was in charge of returning her to that planet where she belonged. That would mark the end of the conflict and usher in an era of tolerance and agreement. "I'll be glad to see this war over. Never was fair, what happened to her."

"You keep talkin' about her like she's real," Lewis grumbled. "Just a stone statue, that."

"Not the way I see her," Stevenson said almost dreamily. "Can't you see it in her eyes? She IS the goddess. She's seen eternity from the other side, and we're just drops in her ocean, moving on in the flow of time past her."

"Argh, there he goes again," Lewis grumbled. "Always with that poetic nonsense stuff. Get yer head outta the clouds, Captain!"

"I mean, Artelia worshipped it – her – for SOME reason," Roberts mused. "It can't be COMPLETE nonsense. Though, admittedly, I don't really see how a carving can be a goddess. It was, after all, made by mortal hands – but that doesn't matter, truly. What matters is we get it - her back where she belongs to the people who DO believe in her."

"All right, lads," Stevenson demanded. "Prepare to set sail."

Lewis and Roberts gave each other a shrug, then turned about-face to begin preparations. Before they could get far, they witnessed several complete strangers walking up the gangplank (most of them walked, anyhow; one of them, being a rather large bean, rather slid instead).

"Oi, you!" Lewis pointed a pincer. "What're you doin' aboard OUR ship?"

The ringleader of the crowd, a well-dressed human decked out in royal blue, placed his right hand – the only one, Lewis noted, encased in a glove of sorts – over his chest. "YOUR ship?" he said in mock shock. "There's obviously been some kind of misunderstanding."

"Well, I'm just glad you realized it," Roberts replied. "We could help you find the ship you were supposed to be boarding, if it's quick."

"No, that's not what I was referring to." Mozenrath's mouth twitched into a smile. "The misunderstanding is that YOU are aboard OUR ship."

"Oh, I'm afraid you're mixed up," Roberts told him. "See, the RLS Planetary was assigned this mission months in advance – "

"It's a THREAT, Roberts!" Lewis cried, withdrawing a rapier almost as long as he was from a belt.

Wuya pointed at Lewis, winking. "THAT one gets it."

"Oh, dear…" Roberts drew his own sword, which looked comically short given his height in comparison. "Now I'll ask you one more time to leave. If you don't, things may have to get violent!"

"Ya hear that, Snipe?" Hannibal asked. "Finally, some good old-fashioned violence."

"YEAAAAAH!" Snipe roared.

Stevenson had been caught up in another reverie, watching the sky and thinking about the stars beyond and the forces that held them together. Being in the presence of a divine icon tended to bring such thoughts to his mind. He was diverted when the sounds of utter chaos erupted from behind him. Turning, he beheld the scene with horror.

Wuya was dancing across the deck, roundhouse kicking members of Stevenson's crew into the air and blasting them over the edge with raw magic. Hannibal knocked two crew members' heads together with his tendrils before picking one up, twirling her by the ankles, and launching her. Snipe barged across the deck like a rampaging bull, whacking sailors out of all directions with his enormous mace. A blast from the Huntsman's staff brought three sailors to their knees at once; Mozenrath called a geyser of magic to erupt beneath them, throwing them clear off the ship. Hämsterviel darted through the crowd, blasting the legs of anyone he got close to and calling that good enough help for one battle. Draco, not used to such fast-paced melee, found himself frozen in place and watching the battle take place around him, not certain how to proceed.

In almost no time, every one of Stevenson's crew except Stevenson himself had been thrown off the side of the deck and landed hard on the stone below. Though Stevenson felt a rush of fear for Roberts and Lewis, his first instinct was to defend the icon. He drew not one but two swords, planting himself directly in front of the water goddess as he brandished the dual blades. "COME AT ME!" he yelled. "I'LL NOT LET YOU TAKE HER OR THIS SHIP WHILE I STILL BREATHE!"

That piqued the attention of the invaders. "Well, well," Mozenrath declared as he strode toward Stevenson, the others falling into step. "That's an invitation if I ever heard one. So who wants the honor of rupturing his lungs?"

"He'll make for a fine trophy," the Huntsman grunted.

"I wanna smash him!" Snipe cried.

"I believe the etiquette is ladies first," Wuya chimed in.

"Never was big on etiquette," Hannibal broke in. "I'm more of a me-first kinda fella."

"Ooh, allow me the pleasure of decapitating his writhing tentacle-covered head!" Hämsterviel chirped.

Stevenson glared. "Go on and kill me," he seethed. "I'd rather die protecting her than bow to the likes of you."

"Well, THIS just got interesting," Mozenrath remarked. "We have a fighter on our hands. Suddenly I'm not so keen on giving you exactly what you want. But I'm willing to give this a try. Get off our ship, or we'll destroy you."

"NEVER," Stevenson hissed.

"Get," Mozenrath repeated. "Off. Our. Ship."

"Did you come here to give orders or to get your hands dirty?"

Mozenrath sighed, rolling his eyes. "Guess we'll just have to settle for killing – "

And then, a sudden cry of a single word: "IMPERIO!"

As the curse hit him, Stevenson's eyes went blank and the sword hilts slipped from his hands, the blades crashing to the planks.

Draco, now sure of where he fit in, stepped in front of his allies. "Get off our ship," he growled. "NOW."

"Yes…" Stevenson said in a voice as blank as his expression before walking briskly down the gangplank, which Wuya splintered shortly after.

"That…actually was more satisfying than killing him," Mozenrath admitted. "My only regret is that we won't be able to see the look on his face when he realizes what he just did." He turned to Draco. "Good work. That's a handy curse."

Draco beamed, glad to have impressed Mozenrath so.

Mozenrath glowered at the statue of the goddess. "Also, will someone get this ugly thing off our ship?"

"At once," the Huntsman said immediately, springing to action. It took only his strength to lift the icon; he carried it to the edge of the deck.

Snipe, in the meantime, grumbled, "I wanted to bash that guy's head in! Why'd the blond guy have to go and resolve things all peaceful?"

"Ain't too happy myself," Hannibal muttered in return. "Mozenrath might be after pride, but I wanna see some blood get shed."

"Men," Wuya huffed from behind them; both flinched, not having realized she'd been listening in. "All the same."

"You ain't so different," Hannibal grunted. "'S why we get along so well."

"Yes, but even I understand there's more to true evil than gore and violence," Wuya responded. "Of course, that won't mean anything to you, so instead, you can think about how much fun you'll get when we get an opportunity for destruction LATER."

"We're sailin' 'cross empty space for miles," Hannibal reminded her. "Who're we gonna meet to give a whoopin'?"

"That's right," Wuya sighed. "You haven't been with us long enough to know about the people who ALWAYS TURN UP TO RUIN OUR PLANS RIGHT WHEN THEY'RE GETTING GOOD. Just trust me. There'll be skulls to break." She turned and stalked away, muttering, "Good luck breaking them, though…"

"Who's she talkin' 'bout?" Hannibal asked Snipe.

"Just some weird spiky-headed kid with a key sword and that faery we went all the way to that weird world to fight over Mozenrath," Snipe answered. "They always show up at the worst time! And no one's gotten to smash 'em yet! Well, this time, it's gonna be different!"

"Sure is," Hannibal agreed. "Sounds like a real challenge. And I do like a challenge…"

Down on the dock, Stevenson regained his senses, blinking as he looked around to where his crew, bruised and battered but alive, was scattered below the ship. "Lewis?" he said in confusion. "Roberts?"

First and second officer rushed to the side of their superior, crying, "CAPTAIN!"

"The goddess," Stevenson mourned. "She's…she's in the hands of…"

The statue dropped directly to the left of him after the Huntsman had heaved her off the deck; miraculously, it landed unbroken.

A cheer went up.

"Now if only we could get back the Planetary – " Stevenson began.

Of course, that was when the ship began to move out.

Hämsterviel called out orders; Snipe, Hannibal, Wuya, and the Huntsman rushed to unfurl the solar sails so that they shimmered with energy, powering the mast and energizing the engine. Mozenrath and Draco stood at the prow, letting their more physically agile companions do the brunt of the work. The ship's thrusters activated, lifting the craft up into the air. As the ship entered atmosphere, Mozenrath and Draco found themselves lifted ever so slightly by the loss of gravity, garments billowing.

"ENGAGE ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY!" Hämsterviel bellowed. "NOW, NOW, NOW, DO IT NOW!"

"There is no need to SHOUT!" the Huntsman barked as he pressed a circular lever that brought everyone's feet back down to the planks. That job done, the Huntsman raced to the helm, spinning the wheel to bring the ship about.

Hämsterviel hopped down into the engine room, positioning himself beside the crucial lever. "Those idiots better have known about what they were doing so much talking," he muttered. Then, to himself, he yelled, "FULL SPEEDING AHEAD!"

He threw the lever, rocketing the ship out into the Etherium.

And every single person on deck lost footing, crashing into the furthest-back wall.

There was a group effort to scurry back to full height; Mozenrath yelled, "WE DO NOT TELL HAMSTERVIEL THIS HAPPENED."

"And what are we not telling me has happened?" Hämsterviel asked, returning from the engine room.

"That part where we all fell over," Snipe blurted before anyone could stop him.

"HA!" Hämsterviel crowed. "I KNEW IT!"

"Save it," Mozenrath grunted, storming up toward the helm.

The Huntsman had hurried to the wheel the moment he regained balance, steadying the ship. "Set our course," he bade Mozenrath.

Mozenrath produced the compass, displaying it before the both of them. "We have our direction," he stated.

"And sailing true," the Huntsman replied, turning the ship to gracefully arc toward that path. "As a note, I did glance at the ship's hull upon our ascent. It does have a name."

"Am I going to like this name?" Mozenrath asked, already doubting it.

"We've just made the Planetary go," the Huntsman replied.

"And I think it's time for the name 'Planetary' TO go," Mozenrath said immediately. "We're calling it something else."

"Mim would certainly suggest a name with violent connotations," the Huntsman reminded him. "Or something disease-related."

"Or just generally evil," Mozenrath added. "Something vicious." He rolled the word around in his mind. "That's not bad, actually. The Vicious."

"The Vicious it is," the Huntsman confirmed.

...

Hajime Hinata supposed he should really stop being surprised by things. By a person's talent literally being luck to the point where he could count on winning a straw draw or Russian Roulette every time. A monochromatic bear turning up out of nowhere and telling him that he and his friends were going to kill each other. Learning he was comatose and living out a virtual experience. Waking up from that coma to find that the apocalypse had come and gone already, and he'd been responsible for that in no small part. And, finally, a boy from another world turning up in the hotel, clutching an enormous bouquet of flowers, flanked by two talking winged unicorns, and claiming that with the help of one of these unicorns, he could use magic to awaken Hajime's brain-dead friends.

Yet Hajime still had a bit of trouble processing the last item on that list as it happened before him.

He, Sonia, Fuyuhiko, and Akane were arranged on the hotel's upper floor dining hall, listening to Riku, Luna, and Cadance explain where they had come from and why they were here.

Hajime's eventual reaction was "I guess that makes as much sense as anything."

"So," Akane asked, "do you, like, need anything? Candles or pentacles and shit?"

"I actually have all the magic I need with me," Riku replied.

"And what he does not have," Luna chimed in, "I will provide."

"So this is it, huh," Fuyuhiko said with uncertainty. "If you're not just fuckin' with us…then Peko's gonna wake up today."

"All of your friends will," Riku confirmed.

"And the flowers are part of it?" Hajime asked with derision.

"Oh, uh…no," Riku said awkwardly. "These are actually for Sonia."

"Aw, man, not another one!" Akane groaned.

"Wha – no!" Riku recoiled. "It's not like that. I'm just the delivery boy."

"Oh," Sonia said flatly. "Kazuichi."

In that moment, Riku had his answer. "I, uh…" He stepped closer to Sonia, presenting the bouquet. "I guess you don't exactly want to get him any flowers back."

Sonia took the plants into her arms, cradling them as one might a child. "He is a good friend," she stated, looking down into the colorful petals. "A very good friend. It's just…"

"He feels differently about you than you do about him."

Sonia sighed. "I would have hoped he would move past me after all that has happened."

"Have you told him?" Riku asked.

Sonia shook her head. "He has not truly asked."

"That hardly seems a reason to be dishonest," Luna stated harshly.

"Well…is it really being dishonest if she's just not telling him?" Cadance argued.

"I just want to find a way to get him to stop pursuing me without breaking his heart," Sonia admitted. "I am the Ultimate Princess. I should know how to handle this situation with tact and diplomacy. And yet I do not."

"Maybe that's because there's no way to have both," Riku told her. "I don't know exactly what you should do, but thinking back on my own experience, it feels like if you don't make things clear about where you stand, it could turn into trouble later."

"Though it seems to me that Kazuichi should have taken the hint by now," Luna scoffed.

"I can't argue with that either," Riku admitted.

Sonia looked at the flowers a while longer. "It is a beautiful arrangement."

"I think it's supposed to say something in flower language," Riku told her, "but I'm not really sure what."

"Well, I recognize some of those blooms," Cadance analyzed. "It conveys wistfulness, admiration, a little bit of jealousy, but most of all, hope."

"Always comes back to hope, doesn't it?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"And I just hope you can help our friends," Hajime broke in. "Can we please get back on topic?"

Riku faced him. "Right." He gave a nod. "Can I see where they're sleeping?"

All seven ended up down in the chamber of the pods. Riku, Luna, and Cadance walked slowly around the perimeter, peering into each glass lid to view the person slumbering beneath. A young woman with long hair that was dyed colorful streaks, all set off with a gaudy bow. A redheaded woman with a scattering of freckles. A young man with a suspiciously smug smile for a brain-dead person, his fluffy and untamed hair so light that it almost seemed to reflect a pink tint.

"We can only begin by sending you into the dream of one," Luna told Riku.

"Okay," Riku replied. "So who should wake up first?"

"COACH NEKOMARU!" Akane cried loudly, causing the others to jump. "The way he died wasn't fair! I need – we need him back!"

"And what happened to him was more unfair than what happened to PEKO?" Fuyuhiko argued. "I never got the chance to be more than her boss! She lived her whole life thinking she was just a tool for me to use! She needs to be able to live as her own person!"

"Oh, she was fine!" Akane argued. "She knew what she was getting into when she whacked Mahiru! Nekomaru didn't ask for what happened to him!"

"Nekomaru agreed to a FIGHT TO THE DEATH," Fuyuhiko reminded her. "He knew what he was doing too! And he knew who he was all along!"

"Yeah, but he died TWICE! Like THAT'S fucking fair!"

As Fuyuhiko and Akane squabbled, Cadance turned to Hajime; "Is there anyone you want to wake up first?"

She noted the quickest motion of his eyes: a glance stolen toward the pod of the man with the smug smile. "No," he stated. "The person I really want to see…isn't here."

"PLEASE stop arguing!" Sonia cried, trying to push Fuyuhiko and Akane apart. "All of our friends will return! It does not matter who comes back first!"

It hit Fuyuhiko and Akane at the same time like a bolt of lightning. "Actually, I think it does," Fuyuhiko said submissively.

"Yeah," Akane agreed. "There was one guy who gave up his life for all of us. The only guy who worked out an actual plan when Monokuma had us backed into a corner in the funhouse."

"The one who thought he didn't have anyone who really cared about him," Hajime added, "but made that sacrifice for all of us anyway."

Sonia gasped. "You don't mean – but that sacrifice also cost us Nekomaru – "

"Look, don't act like you've been down here visiting your man way more than we came down here to visit ours," Akane said with a wink.

Sonia's cheeks flushed bright pink. "He is not – we are not – he was simply a good friend."

Riku stepped forward. "He IS a good friend," he corrected. "And it sounds like everyone here wants him to wake up."

Sonia looked to Riku with wide eyes, filled with hope and disbelief. "I will show you," she said after a pause.

She led the group to the pod containing the one they'd all been referring to: the young man dressed in black, his dark hair streaked with white and his eye painted over with a false scar.

"This is Gundham," Sonia introduced. "Gundham Tanaka. He was…he is…" She struggled for the words. What she said at last was "He walked into his execution smiling."

"You said he made a sacrifice," Riku recalled.

"We were trapped in a building with no way out and no food," Hajime explained. "We were starving to death."

"But, like, would that even have killed us?" Akane suddenly wondered. "We weren't even real. We were in the virtual world."

"It felt real," Hajime reminded her. "You felt it more than any of us."

Akane's stomach growled at the very thought.

"The only way Monokuma would let us out or give us anything to eat was if a murder took place," Hajime explained. "Gundham came up with a plan to lure one of our other friends into a death trap."

"THAT doesn't seem like the right way to solve that problem," Cadance said in shock.

"Coach Nekomaru agreed to it once he figured out he was the target," Akane said mournfully. "He an' Gundham had a duel to the death because they both wanted to get all the rest of us out. Coach Nekomaru lost."

"It's not like it mattered," Fuyuhiko added. "They both knew whoever didn't die in that battle would get executed for murder. They knew they were both dying for us."

"But Gundham was the one who came up with the plan," Hajime concluded, "and in the end, he let himself get caught so we could escape."

"I…still don't think I understand the rules of this whole killing game," Riku admitted, "but what matters is that Gundham saved you, and he paid for it by falling into that state of sleep." He then looked directly at Sonia; "And he was special to you."

"Very, very special," Sonia confirmed.

A suspicion grew in Riku's mind. "Sonia, did you love – "

"Oh, no, it wasn't like that!" Sonia protested, though a little too vehemently given the circumstances. "It couldn't have been! But he has always meant so much to me as a friend. When we were together at Hope's Peak. We were perhaps closer than anyone else. When we agreed to work for Junko, he and I carried out unspeakably terrible deeds together. He looked out for me, and I protected him. And then in Neo World, I forgot I ever knew him, but it didn't take me long at all to become friends with him all over again. When we were exploring the Funhouse, we knew it was desperate, but we just talked to each other about everything, and it all seemed a little less hopeless, and I just thought if he and I could stay together, then everything would be all right – " A sigh. "And that was when he committed the sacrifice."

"It sounds like you two were destined to be friends," Riku observed. "And a friendship like that, nothing can ever really keep apart. His heart will find its way back to you."

"Oh, I do hope so," Sonia said mournfully.

Riku wasn't too sure that Sonia didn't love Gundham in the romantic sense. However, he knew better than to dispute her statement. "I'll bring him back," he promised. "Then you two can be together like old times."

"He is your selection?" Luna confirmed.

"Yeah," Riku replied. "He is."

"Then I will assist you into his dream," Luna stated.

The ritual was very simple. Riku lay down on the hard cement floor, the soles of his shoes touching the edge of Gundham's pod. He shut his eyes, thinking about how uncomfortable the floor was first and foremost.

"Riku!" Sonia suddenly cried. "When you see him – "

"Shut up!" Fuyuhiko snapped. "He's gotta do his magic thing!"

Luna bowed her head over Riku, touching her horn to his head. The tip of her horn glowed a deep blue, setting off an aura that blanketed Riku. He became drowsy, losing consciousness immediately.

Then he was diving.

The dive into Gundham's dream was perhaps the most surreal of any dive Riku had ever taken. All around, he saw black and white, occasionally swirling into the silhouette of a teddy bear with one eye replaced by a jagged red line. The multiple instances of this bear laughed at Riku as he plummeted: a high, mocking tone that grated on Riku. He pushed forth, slashing through the images of the bear whenever they got in his way.

Then he landed, taking a moment to establish his surroundings. He was on an island, and it looked for all intents and purposes like one of the archipelago of Jabberwock Island, but the features of this landmass were unlike anything he'd seen on the journey to Hajime's domain. He definitely would have remembered a funfair with an enormous rollercoaster being part of the landscape.

The area was deserted. Riku began to walk, unsure exactly where he should begin looking. An instinct pulled him in a direction, and so he followed it. Along the way, he passed a great castle in the center of the park that seemed a little more than familiar from the outside, and he gave it a smirk as though it had said something cheeky to him.

He ended up standing before a ride fashioned in the shape of a train, and without knowing why, he was certain that he needed to board this vehicle. Hopping into a central car, Riku kept alert as the train took off with no driver.

Without warning, Riku was suddenly no longer riding the colorful train but instead standing in the midst of perhaps the biggest eyesore he'd ever encountered in his life. He was in a large, open room with a low ceiling; the walls were bright green and patterned with light projections, shaped like bunches of even greener grapes, that flashed across the surface. There was nowhere Riku could look to rest his eyes from the sight of virulent green and intrusively bright grapes.

"If this is Gundham's dream," he muttered, "he really needs to wake up."

His instincts brought him down a narrow hallway to a double door. Beyond that doorway lay a strange chamber. Here, the lighting was muted and soft, and though the color scheme was still green, it was dim enough to be palatable, and lacked the pulsating grape pattern. Across the round room, there was situated a set of double doors with a bright pink strawberry-shaped emblem inset. The ceiling was higher here; a quick glance up taught Riku that the dim lighting didn't allow him to place exactly where it was.

And in the center of the circular chamber, a boy stood with his back to Riku, his long, black coat trailing and hiding most of his body.

"Gundham?" Riku said experimentally.

The boy did not respond.

"Gundham Tanaka?" Riku tried again.

Still no response.

Riku stepped forward, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey – "

That got his attention. "You DARE lay hands on me?" the boy growled, spinning to bat Riku's arm aside lightly.

Riku was taken aback. It was definitely Gundham Tanaka: the same man he'd seen sleeping in the pod. However, where that Gundham had obviously been a young man in his early twenties, the same way Sonia and Kazuichi were, this Gundham was a few years younger, appearing closer to Riku in age. His hair was shorter and gelled into a more polished style atop his head. His black jacket was open to reveal a white T-shirt with a red pattern; a jaunty purple scarf was wrapped around Gundham's neck. The faux scar still decorated his left eye, which Riku noted had a gray iris in contrast to the magenta of the right. When he had spoken, it was with a surprisingly deep baritone Riku wouldn't have expected to come out of this young body, and it was almost comical at first.

"So you are paying attention," Riku told him. "Why didn't you answer when I was calling your name?"

"I heard a name called," Gundham replied, "but as it did not belong to me, I did not answer. I am no fool to fall prey to those who hunt the innocent en route to their intended victims."

Riku certainly hadn't expected this. Had he gotten it wrong? Was this not Gundham after all? "If you're not Gundham, who are you?"

"Who am I?" The boy smiled in an attempt to look proud and malicious, but really came across as joyous. "You know not who I am? I am the very only…"

His smile faded. "Hmm," he mused. "It seems I do not know who I am after all. I am a wanderer, a man of one purpose, and a purpose unknown. That purpose is to stand vigil here, at this waystation between realms, and wait until the sin that bloodied this ground has been paid for."

"Waystation between realms?" Riku asked. "Is this some kind of portal?"

"A portal indeed!" Gundham (Riku was sure it was Gundham now; he simply didn't remember his own name!) asserted boldly. "To the mortal eye, it seems merely a transport from the insidious House of Grape to the nefarious House of Strawberry. However, it is a threshold between the realm of the living and that of the dead, across which one has already traversed!"

Riku recalled the summation of Gundham's sacrifice: the duel to the death. Perhaps this was the site, and Gundham had manifested here in his dream because of the impact to his subconsciousness. "Someone died here," he stated.

"Yes," Gundham confirmed, his tone suddenly soft and somber. "Yet I do not recall who. The winds speak to me of a great warrior who fell here." A pause. "Perhaps…perhaps it was me who perished."

"Gundham," Riku insisted. "You need to wake up."

"FOOL!" Gundham barked. "You continue to call me by that false moniker!"

"How do you know it's NOT your name if you don't even know what your name is?" Riku retorted.

Gundham took this into consideration. "Well played," he remarked. "I see you have done battle with the forces of Darkness before."

"More than you know," Riku told him. "But you have to come with me. You have to leave this nightmare. Sonia is waiting for you to wake up."

"You speak this name 'Sonia' as though I should recognize it," Gundham told him. "Yet I have never met any such entity."

"Sonia!" Riku cried. "Sonia Nevermind! Your best friend!"

"Hmph." Gundham glared at Riku with suspicion. "One such as I has no friends in this or any world. Only my vigil, and the stains of the sin that occurred on this unhallowed ground."

"No friends?" Riku repeated. "But what about Hajime? What about Fuyuhiko and Akane and Kazuichi? What about all the people you sacrificed yourself to save? They're waiting for you! Even the ones you lost just need to be woken up!"

Gundham gave a low chuckle. "Names that mean nothing to me. And your claim is laughable. To think that I would sacrifice myself for another. I, the harbinger of…the harbinger of…" A sigh. "And yet I do not even remember what doom I brought with me. Only a vague sense that wherever I went, doom followed."

"You don't remember anyone?" Riku asked.

"…There is…something," Gundham admitted. "The fragments of what may be a memory. A memory of those I may once have called true companions."

"Who is it?" Riku asked eagerly, wondering if he were on the verge of a breakthrough.

Gundham broke into another wide, proud smile. "The ghost of a memory informs me that I was once accompanied by four devastating familiars of incomprehensible power!" he bragged. "They were my Four Dark Devas of Destruction! Leaving nothing but ruin in their wake, and following at my side! Though I cannot recall their true forms nor their names, I do know I gave them my very all in order to ensure their survival – nay, that they would THRIVE!"

"Dark…Devas?" Riku repeated. "You mean like Dream Eaters?"

"My Dark Devas would DEVOUR NIGHTMARES!" Gundham affirmed – though really, he'd just convinced Riku that he wasn't talking about Dream Eaters at all.

"Is that all you remember?" Riku asked.

"Hm, it would seem," Gundham replied. "Your words have not convinced me. And yet…even if you were to persuade me with your sweet trickery, I could not abandon my vigil if I so desired. For you see, it has occurred to me that this state of mine is not all it seems. That this is not a true reality. I need no sleep nor sustenance. It feels as though only a piece of me is here, and the rest scattered to the winds of fate. As though it is a dream, if you will. When this flight of fancy crossed my mind, I attempted to wake up. But I could not. For I did not know the path, and I did not know where it was I was meant to be."

It clicked for Riku then. "I can't help you, can I?"

Gundham turned his back on Riku. "You wish to wake me up," he said softly. "Yet even I do not know what power you would be awakening."

"I understand now," Riku told Gundham. "I'm sorry I bothered you. I promise next time I come back, I really will know how to wake you up."

"Worry not for me, fiend," Gundham told him. "I am where I am meant to be. And there is no one who truly desires me to be anywhere else."

Riku wanted to tell him that wasn't true, but now, understanding the exact nature of the problem, he was well aware that it wouldn't have any effect whatsoever. So he simply bade himself leave the dream.

He vanished; Gundham felt his presence depart. Right on time, too, or he would have heard Gundham mutter "Fall, my tears," right before what he described began to happen.

As Riku came to, he was first aware once more of how hard the floor was. Then he noted that Cadance and Sonia were having a lively conversation that had started while he'd dove:

" – the Equestria Games, where ponies get to play all kinds of sports. It was a big day for us to celebrate Equestria's unity."

"Your empire sounds simply wonderful! Oh, how I wish I could visit it someday!"

Riku blinked his eyes open, hauling himself to his feet. If he hadn't hardened his body through so much battle, he would've been aching a good bit.

"Hey," Akane noticed, "he woke up!"

"And Gundham didn't," Fuyuhiko growled. "What kinda shit're you tryin' to pull? Did you just put on a big show so we'd believe you?"

"No," Riku replied, though it struck him that he had no way of really proving that. "I found Gundham, but I couldn't bring him back."

"Why not?" Sonia asked, turning away from Cadance and giving Riku a pleading look. "What went wrong?"

"I've seen this before," Riku explained. "My friend Sora. He lost his memories, and he had to be put to sleep so someone could fix them. But some of those memories ended up somewhere else." He thought of Roxas. "That person had to give Sora his memories back before Sora could wake up." And lose himself in the process. "Without him, Sora would've stayed asleep forever. And without his memories of Kairi – "

Riku suddenly gave a start. "No," he realized. "That's wrong. He never lost his memories of Kairi. Just what Roxas had." He wondered why he'd said that at all. He must have just been very mixed up. "Gundham barely has any memories at all. He didn't remember who he was, or who any of you were. And he definitely didn't remember what happened to any of you in that virtual world."

"That's convenient," Fuyuhiko snorted. "Gundham just HAPPENED to not remember anything. You just took a nap on the floor, didn't you?"

"I couldn't take a nap on this floor without magic if I wanted to," Riku argued. "The only thing Gundham seemed to remember was something about Four Dark Devas of Destr – "

"IT WAS HIM!" Sonia cried, her eyes watering. "YOU DID SEE HIM!"

"Kazuichi coulda told him about that!" Fuyuhiko argued.

"No." Sonia closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I know Riku saw Gundham. So what's wrong? Why can't he come back?"

"Because he doesn't have his memories," Riku answered. "Without his memories, he can't wake up. I think he lost whatever memory he had of Neo World when he was executed."

"And the memories he had from his life before that were taken away from him to give him a clean slate in Neo World," Hajime stated. "Both those sets of memories would still be on file in the computer system…but…"

He, Fuyuhiko, Akane, and Sonia all gave a defeated sigh.

"The files aren't there anymore," Riku guessed.

"They were kept with an AI," Hajime told him. "She filed them for us. And that AI died in Neo World. Because she was never human, she couldn't come back. She doesn't have a body we can even keep to wake her up in. She's just…gone."

Cadance recognized Hajime's tone. "She was the one you wanted to see. The one who isn't here."

"I almost wish I hadn't remembered her," Hajime grumbled. "If I never remembered her, then I couldn't miss her."

"Are you sure she's gone?" Riku asked.

"I've tried looking through the systems for anything that could be her files," Hajime replied, rather curtly. He supposed that was his Izuru shining through, miffed that anyone thought he hadn't covered all his bases. No – Izuru hadn't had enough heart to be miffed. "There's nothing. Unless you can rebuild an AI with your magic."

"Huh." Riku thought that turn of phrase over. "I don't know how, but there should be some way to do it." He looked Hajime dead in the eye, noting his asymmetricity, like Gundham's but more striking – Hajime's olive green next to Izuru's crimson. And this one wasn't the result of colored contacts. "I wouldn't give up hope just yet."

"I know better than to give up hope," Hajime replied flatly.

"What about everyone else?" Akane asked. "Can you try one of them?"

Riku shook his head. "If they all died the same way Gundham did, in the virtual world after their real-life memories were taken away, they're all gonna have the same problem. I can't do anything else right now."

"If there is nothing more here for us to do," Luna broke in sternly, "then we must move on. Other matters need our attention."

"Yeah," Riku agreed. "I'm sorry I got all of your hopes up."

"You should be," Fuyuhiko grumbled. "Bastard."

"FUYUHIKO!" Sonia cried. "Riku tried to help us! He tried to rescue our friends! He is not lying!"

"Everyone else lied," Fuyuhiko reminded her. "Teruteru lied, Mikan lied, your precious Gundham lied, Nagito lied about fucking everything, Mahiru FUCKING LIED, SATO FUCKING LIED, AND JUNKO MADE A LIE OUT OF OUR ENTIRE LIVES!"

"Calm down!" Akane scolded. "Seriously. We're not gonna get anywhere if you don't trust anybody."

"We must go," Luna said softly, moving to whisper in Riku's ear. "Our presence is causing a disturbance."

She, Riku, and Cadance began to move toward the chamber door, but were halted by a plaintive cry of "PLEASE STOP!"

They turned to see Sonia following behind them. "I want to go with you," she stated.

"What?" Hajime cried.

"You serious?" Akane chimed in.

"Ever since Kazuichi left," Sonia admitted, "I have been curious about these other worlds. What little you tell of them makes them sound like fabulous role-playing game plots, or the colorful worlds of American cartoons…I suppose that reduces their actual beauty to describe them like that. But all my life, I have been a fan of stories like yours, and I have realized I cannot simply sit on the sidelines while one is playing out! But more importantly, somewhere out there is the way to save Gundham, and it is my duty to search for that way!"

"It's not your duty," Cadance told her. "If it's something you want to do to help him, then we'll be glad to have you along. But if it wouldn't fit in with the rest of your life…"

"I am sorry," Sonia corrected. "I am used to speaking like the heir to a kingdom. It is not my duty. It is what I must do for him and for myself. And for all of the others who need to wake."

"We really would be glad to have you come along," Riku told her, "but wasn't it going to be too suspicious if more people than Kazuichi vanished?"

"I can probably cover for her if there are still three of us," Hajime stated. "Makoto Naegi is already helping us keep Kazuichi's disappearance secret from the Future Foundation. I didn't give him all the details, but he didn't seem to need them."

"You seriously think you can trust these assholes?" Fuyuhiko cried.

"I do," Sonia confirmed.

"And against my better judgment, I do too," Hajime agreed. "If Sonia wants to go, then we should let her."

"Just promise to come back, right?" Akane bade her.

"I will," Sonia confirmed. "I will see all of you again."

"Just so you are warned," Luna told her, "Gundham is not our first priority. We are in the midst of another mission right now."

"Then I will help you carry that mission out!" Sonia said with a proud smile. "After all, you can only be on your way to help other people, and it is my duty – no, I WANT to help other people to make up for the damage I have done!"

"Then welcome aboard," Riku said with a warm smile.

As Riku, Luna, Cadance, and the newly-joined Sonia boarded the Gummi ship that had taken the original landing party to Jabberwock Island, Riku asked, "So what are the Dark Devas of Destruction, anyway? Gundham talked about them like they were powerful."

"They were his hamsters," Sonia said wistfulluy, her eyes misting once more.

"HAMSTERS?" Riku and Cadance cried as one.

"Yes," Sonia confirmed. "Gundham was – is the Ultimate Breeder. His talent is to nurture animals. His four hamsters were the closest to him of any animal he took care of. They always rode around on his shoulders or in his pockets. San-D, Jum-P, Cham-P, and Maga-Z! Gundham was always so kind and caring to them. In fact, we first became friends because I noticed San-D crawling out of his pocket during class and asked him about it later. They…were unfortunately lost during our time as Ultimate Despair. I don't know how any animal could ever replace them."

"Gundham just…didn't seem like the kind of guy who would keep hamsters," Riku replied. "But he did surprise me in a lot of ways."

"That is what Gundham does," Sonia confirmed.

"We'll save him," Cadance insisted. "I know we will."

"But first," Riku announced, "we have to tell someone else where their friends ended up."

...

The RLS Unstoppable was not as large or as grand as the Planetary, but it was still spaceworthy, and it could carry a small crew as well as a divine icon from one port to another. Perhaps it was better, Stevenson thought, that he'd been equipped with a smaller and less conspicuous ship. It was far less likely to be attacked.

Almost identically to the first time they had done it, Lewis and Roberts carried the divine statue aboard. "I'm gonna be real glad when this is over," Lewis grumbled.

"Well, at least it could have been worse," Roberts reminded him. "We're all alive, and the statue – er, the goddess is intact!"

"Aye, true," Stevenson sighed. "We're lucky to have gotten away with her, let alone our lives."

"YOU'RE SAYING OUR LIVES ARE SECONDARY TO THIS CARVED PIECE OF ROCK?" Lewis retorted.

"Now, now, Mr. Lewis," Roberts said in an attempt to make piece, "you know this mission is of INCREDIBLE diplomatic importance, and the captain of course values our lives – "

That was when the Corridor opened and Hades strode through onto the deck.

"Oy," he grunted upon arrival. "I mean, I wasn't expecting Royal Aegean Cruise Line, but this is barely a rowboat."

"Now, now," Maleficent said, bemused, as she followed him, "we mustn't judge by appearances. After all, this ship will be less likely to fall under attack."

"Which is ironic," Hans concluded, rounding out the trilogy as he stepped through the now-vanishing Corridor, "since we're attacking it right now."

"Oh, not again!" Roberts moaned.

Lewis drew his sword once more. "NOT THIS TIME, BILGE-RATS!"

"Yeah, pretty sure light ships don't pump bilge," Hades commented. "Anyway, are we gonna do this the easy way, or are we gonna do this the way that slightly inconveniences us?"

"You will surrender your vessel to us," Maleficent declared. "There are no terms for negotiation."

"Our boat now," Hans said with a grin.

"How many times do I have to tell you lot?" Stevenson snarled. "I would sooner die."

"You know, we could arrange that," Hades told him. "It'd be sort of a win-win. Anyway, looks like you picked the 'slightly inconvenience' path. Adios. Not nice knowin' ya."

In an eruption of fire, the crew was thrown en masse off their second ship of the day, including Roberts, Lewis, and Stevenson, who all crashed down to the dock below hard.

"THE GODDESS!" Stevenson cried in horror.

Hades had noticed the statue by that time. "Yeesh," he remarked. "I think I've seen that one at one of Zeusy's diplomatic dinners. A little too heavy on the chit-chat."

"Remove this eyesore from my presence at once," Maleficent demanded.

Hades wasted no time in hurling the statue off the deck, then launching a fireball at it that shattered it to smithereens upon contact.

"NO!" Stevenson cried as the rubble of the last hope of peace with Artelia rained down upon him in a dusty shower.

"Make haste," Maleficent bade Hans, "and take us out of this port at once."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Hans said mischievously.

"Still not a fan of the tiny boat," Hades grumbled. "Not only do boats this small make GREAT targets for hungry monsters, but it's not really our style."

"No," Hans reminded him, "but it is small enough to be crewed by ONE MAN who only has ONE HAND." With that, he rushed for the solar sails.

"So, uh, when are we gonna make Hans back into two-Hans?" Hades asked Maleficent.

"I HEARD that," Hans barked from across the ship, "and that joke is ONLY funny when Dem makes it."

Ignoring him, Hades went on, "I could whip him up a spare real quick, y'know. Did it for Qilbs."

"Your gift to Qilby was impressive indeed," Maleficent praised. "However, I have already promised Hans a special reward for his delivery of Mozenrath. I intend to replace his arm once my powers have been restored by Loki."

"All right," Hades told her. "You wanna do the deed? I'll stay in my lane."

As the ship took off, the sudden burst of speed Hans initated from the engine room causing neither Hades nor Maleficent to falter in balance, Hades felt quite optimistic. He and Maleficent were already getting along well, and now they had the whole voyage across the Etherium to get along even better. It would be just him and her.

And Hans.

...

It was agreed on that at their next stop, Luna and Cadance would wait upon the Gummi ship while Riku and Sonia carried out the diplomatic section. People on this world, particularly the people they were addressing, were used to a lot of things that might be considered supernatural, but talking alicorns might've been a bit too much of a shock for them at this point. Besides, Luna was tiring of being awake all day, and she eagerly took the opportunity to slip off into a quick nap to regain her energy.

Riku and Sonia walked up the long drive to the mansion that loomed before them. It wasn't long before cannons sprang up from hidden panels in the ground, aiming at the "intruders" on the path.

"Oh, my!" Sonia cried.

Riku instinctively summoned up his Keyblade, ready to block any fire.

"No!" Sonia corrected him. "You must keep still! They will come to see the source of the disturbance, and you do not want to look like an aggressor!"

"Right," Riku said, his adrenaline subsiding as he realized Sonia was completely correct. He hoped he would've eventually come to that conclusion on his own.

In a puff of smoke, their first greeter appeared before them, strikingly blue from head to toe. "All right," Kurt Wagner said in his best intimidating tone (which wasn't very intimidating at all), "who are you and why are you here? Are you with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Magneto's new sidekicks?"

"Um…we're not with any of those people," Riku replied. "We just came here because we have to tell you something."

"Oh yeah?" Kurt folded his arms, leaning back slightly. "What is that important? How do I know you're not here from some anti-mutant group who wants to hurt us?"

"I know where Lance Alvers and his friends are," Riku said plainly, "and I wanted to let you know."

Kurt gaped. "You know where the BROTHERHOOD is?" Before Riku could elaborate, he'd seized one of Riku's shoulders and one of Sonia's. "You must tell everyone, ja!"

In a flash, all three had been teleported into the dining room of Xavier's mansion. Onto the table, to be exact; Kitty, who'd been eating an apple at one of the seats, was surprised into falling back right out of her chair. "KURT!" she cried in frustration.

"Was that magic?" Sonia asked Kurt, eyes sparkling. "It is wonderful!"

"It is not magic," Kurt informed her. "It is a mutation! And you have no idea how many people do NOT think it is wonderful. Now stay here! I have to get everyone else!"

"Stay here?" Riku replied. "I hope you don't mean on the table."

"Oh, no, you can get down from there," Kurt stated as he leapt onto the floor.

"UGH!" Kitty had righted herself, standing. "Kurt, what GIVES? Why'd you just show up like that – and who are THEY?" She gaped at Riku and Sonia, who were descending the table to take seats. "They better not be here to try any funny stuff!"

"No!" Kurt insisted as he bolted from the dining room. "THEY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BROTHERHOOD!"

"LANCE?" Kitty cried. "You KNOW what happened to Lance?"

"Yeah," Riku confirmed.

"So spill!" Kitty urged. "We all thought they just – I mean, they vanished, and we never heard anything from them since, so a lot of us were worried they – well, you know!"

"They're okay," Riku assured her, not adding that it seemed more logical to be worried for the Radiant Garden denizens who had to live with the Brotherhood than it did to be worried about the Brotherhood. "We should probably wait to tell the story until everyone's in one place, though. Otherwise we'll have to explain everything all over again."

"Right!" Kitty nodded emphatically.

"In the meantime," Sonia said as she glanced around the mansion's dining room, "you have a very lovely home."

"Hey, thanks," Kitty replied, beaming.

Slowly a crowd filed into the dining room; Kurt had teleported to every room he could think of and called everyone he found to the central meeting location. Riku and Sonia stood to be able to look everyone in the eye. When Kurt himself reappeared, he glanced around the room at the group that he'd collected: Scott, Jean, Rogue, Logan, and Hank were all present, among many others. "Okaaaay," Kurt declared, "I think that's everyone."

A voice inside his head and his alone: "Not quite."

"Oh, yeah," Kurt said sheepishly. "I don't know how I forgot."

An elderly man entered the room, borne on a wheelchair, and the crowd parted to accommodate him, indicating to Riku and Sonia that this was someone incredibly important with great stature among the house's residents. "So you are the ones who claim to know where our missing Brotherhood has disappeared to," he stated.

"Uh, yeah," Riku answered. "We do."

"But Riku knows far more than I do," Sonia corrected. "I have only just joined his adventures. His name is Riku, by the way, and I am Sonia Nevermind." Out of habit, she performed a curtsy.

"I am Professor Charles Xavier," the elderly man replied, "and it seems you bring welcome news."

"The thing is," Riku began, "this story's gonna sound a little unbelievable."

"They got zapped to another world, didn't they?" Forge piped up from his spot leaning against a wall.

"This other world stuff again?" Rogue sighed. "Seriously, Forge, they're gone. Caput."

"No, they're fine," Riku confirmed quickly. "How…did you know about the other world?"

"'Cause that's what I built that device they took to do," Forge said rather smugly.

"Wait a minute!" Rogue replied. "So all this time, you were right, and there actually ARE…"

"Other worlds?" Kurt said with awe. "Which means you must COME from one."

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "I do."

"This is getting hard to believe," Jean said with a tone that was the vocal equivalent of weak knees.

"Oh, what, like after learning we were all mutants with superpowers, it's so hard to believe there are other worlds?" Kitty argued.

"But…the IMPLICATIONS of this…" Scott broke in.

"WILL EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP?" a new voice barked. Tabitha Smith pushed her way closest to Riku. "This guy knows what happened to my FRIENDS, and I need to know if they're okay!"

"Why don't you tell us what happened, Riku?" Xavier invited.

"Well, I'm not sure how they got to my world," Riku admitted, "but maybe you can fill in for that part."

The tale was put together of how the midnight robbery had activated the teleportation device that brought the Brotherhood to Radiant Garden and subsequently led to their trying to scam Riku and his friends into paying up for the objects that, when combined, would lead to the end of the worlds.

"And that about covers it," Riku concluded. "I knew they ended up here from somewhere else, and I figured whoever they were close to should know they were fine."

Tabby let out a breath she'd been holding for days. "SERIOUSLY. I shoulda known those guys would be fine. They've probably survived weirder. Not surprised they gave you such a hard time." This was said with a proud smile. "You learn to love 'em."

"I'm guessing you'll want them back here where they belong," Riku stated.

The sudden amount of uncomfortable looks on the faces around him suggested that Riku had made an incorrect assumption. The hourglass had shown him this world as their home, and Xavier's mansion as the place of interest on this world, but he hadn't exactly asked if this mansion was their home. "Wait," he realized, figuring out that people generally didn't break into their own houses to rob them. "They never lived here."

"No," Kitty grumbled. "They sure didn't. None of them longer than a week, anyway."

"But Merlin said this was the only safe gathering place for mutants in the country," Riku related. "This doesn't add up."

"Yeah, well – " Logan began.

"DID YOU JUST SAY 'MERLIN'?" Kitty interrupted, eyes wide.

"Heh," Logan replied. "At this point, I'd believe just about anything this guy said."

"The Brotherhood did not exactly value safety in numbers," Xavier explained. "There were many days I wished I could welcome them into our ranks. And perhaps I failed to try hard enough to reach out, to make them feel welcome. But the truth is – "

"The truth is they're all kinda JERKS," Kitty broke in.

"I, uh…I kinda figured that," Riku admitted.

"Take it from somebody who used to live with 'em," Rogue added. "They didn't wanna be part of the team. They barely look out for each other."

"They seemed to be a pretty close team when we ran into them," Riku recalled.

"Things were already changing by the time I showed up there," Tabby clarified. "I wouldn't be surprised if they got closer. They definitely didn't want to be part of THIS team, anyway."

"Or our team," Riku added. "We offered. I guess that should've been the sign that they weren't from here. If they wouldn't join us, then they wouldn't have joined you, either."

"I suppose there is little more to be done," Xavier stated. "Thank you, Riku, for bringing us this reassurance. And thank you, Sonia, for accompanying him."

Sonia felt she hadn't really done anything of note, but was glad to have been acknowledged nonetheless.

"If they have made their choice," Xavier concluded, "we must let them follow that path."

"Following your heart is tricky business," Riku replied. "You have to know what it's really saying, or you'll end up in the wrong place. But sometimes you have to learn that lesson for yourself. I guess we'll figure out if Lance and the others are on the right path or not."

"I sense you have more to do before you can return home," Xavier told Riku. "As that is the case, we shan't keep you further."

"Thanks for letting us know, though," Kitty said sincerely. She may have ended on bad terms with Lance, but that didn't mean she couldn't care about his well-being. Any decent person would.

"Yeah," Rogue said softly, thinking of her short stint living with the boys and how it hadn't been completely terrible. "Thanks."

As Riku and Sonia made to leave, Tabby put a hand on Riku's shoulder. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Riku replied.

Tabby gave Riku a beaming smile. "Give Todd a hard time for me, will ya? And tell him Boom Boom said so."

"He'll probably give me the hard time first," Riku laughed, "but I'll deliver the message."

On their way out of the mansion, Sonia was a fountain of observations: "I think Professor Xavier could read our minds! That seems rather invasive, but it is an intriguing power! How else could he have known about our trip to Equestria? I wonder what powers the others had! I knew it would have been rude to ask. But one of them was wearing quite unusual sunglasses, so I suppose his power was linked to his eyes. And if that girl who stopped you was named 'Boom Boom,' do you suppose her power is to make explosions of some sort?"

Before Riku could say anything, he was greeted with the sight of Luna and Cadance charging up the drive. "I thought you two wanted to stay on the ship," he said in confusion.

The alicorns halted before him. "We did," Cadance told him, "but we couldn't wait. Luna had a dream."

"No ordinary dream," Luna corrected. "I went on a short patrol while asleep. However, rather than finding anypony, I was the one who was found by a pair of roving spirits. They told me to find them where my dreams take me. And as of now, that is still Equestria. Our destination has not changed, but our goal may now be twofold. Their statement did confuse me, however. They insisted that they were 'where dreams go,' and yet I know not what that means. They were not ponies, so I find it rather strange that they were linked to Equestria. And I could not get any more specific information out of them before they faded out of view."

"This is becoming a real adventure!" Sonia cried happily.

"But that's not the most important part," Cadance insisted. "Luna, tell him."

"This mission became doubly important for you, Riku," Luna stated. "I recognized these spirits. They were the girls who accompanied you when you were brainwashed in the nightmare of Radiant Garden."

Riku gasped. "No!"

"Yes," Luna told him. "Mal and Lianna are alive somewhere, and we must travel to Equestria to find out in what state."

...

As Harley stepped onto Roman's Gummi ship, Garfield and Peter close behind, Roman awaited her at the pilot's seat to greet her with a "Thank you for flying Air Torchwick! We may not serve peanuts or show an in-flight movie, but we're sure as hell going to get you to your destination without being wrecked by Heartless ships!"

"Fancy!" Harley cried. Already, she was enamored by Roman's more charming demeanor toward her, though part of her recoiled. She couldn't trust him just yet. She needed time to figure out if he was worth the trust.

"All right," Roman declared, "introductions. Listen up, because this is the last time I'm using anyone's real names on this mission. Except Neo."

Neo saluted from the back row.

"Everyone," Roman began, "this is Harley. A.k.a. the girl I kinda fucked over. Anyone tries what I did on her and that person loses their kneecaps, though, actually, it probably won't be me who removes them."

"Darn right it won't," Garfield muttered.

"Anyway, this heist is about making her feel welcome," Roman went on, "so at least try to pretend you're civil."

"I am QUITE civil," Vexen growled. "Certainly a cut above present company. Xayide potentially excluded."

"I will accept that as a compliment," Xayide said smugly.

"Okay, so, first off, that's Vexen," Roman said as he pointed to the first of the ship's passengers. "He's…man, there is really just no good way around this. He's an ass. Here's a tip, since you're new: you really don't need to listen to anything he says unless it's life-or-death. The insults kinda just become white noise, y'know? But admittedly, he's ANNOYINGLY smart, so he'll probably save your ass at LEAST once and then you'll actually have to be grateful."

"Your description may be less than flattering," Vexen replied with a grin, "but I will focus on your acknowledgment of my intelligence."

"So that's Xayide," Roman moved on, indicating the witch. "Super powerful. Crazy magic. Probably our MVP. Also probably bigger guns than we needed."

"You underestimate Asgard," Xayide replied. "You WILL need me."

"Nice to meet both of ya!" Harley waved. "This is already soundin' like a dream team!"

Vexen looked to Xayide. "I'm not sure what to make of flattery this early on."

"I do not think this is flattery," Xayide told him. "She is sincere."

"She's also a CATCH," Aghoul broke in.

Roman sighed. "Hands off, Aghoul. Seriously. So that's Ayam Aghoul, yes, get the laughing out of the way, it's a pun, we know. Pros of working with him: he's dead, so he literally can't die. Cons: womanizing and really, REALLY bad death puns."

"I'm so delighted to meet you," Aghoul told Harley, "I might just keel over!"

Roman groaned. "Like that. Exactly that. That's what you have to put up with."

"Hey, I'm no stranger to puns," Harley assured Aghoul. "If I didn't like 'em, I wouldn't'a went with the name 'Harley Quinn'!"

Roman did a double take. "That's not your real name?"

"No," Harley responded. "It's Harleen Quinzel. 'Harley Quinn' was somethin' that – well, let's just say it made a better supervillain name."

"Seriously thought that was your actual name," Roman said in surprise. "You hang out with a guy named 'Ayam Aghoul' too long and this is what it does to you. Anyway, moving on, this is Neo. She's not the talkative type. She is the stabby type."

Neo nodded in affirmation.

"Aww, ain't you cute!" Harley gushed. "I love your hair! AND your clothes!"

Neo blushed, waving a hand in an "Oh, stop, you" gesture.

"You're the first person to actually get away with saying that and live," Roman said in awe. "Neo, are you feeling okay?"

Neo shrugged, then using gestures to convey that Harley was just that likable.

"Ooooookay," Roman replied. "Then in the grand tradition of saving the best for last, you have the silver-tongued genius known as Archibald Snatcher. Tip for the newbie: that's 'Mr. Snatcher' to you. It's 'Archie' to me and ONLY me."

Snatcher was the only one to rise from his seat and approach Harley. "Quite charmed to meet you, Miss Quinn," he said as he took up her hand in an old habit; he decided against kissing it as would have been custom in his youth, as that would establish far too much intimacy between them far too quickly. "I look forward to seeing how this mission pans out. I've high hopes for you."

"Aww!" Harley was now the one who was flattered. "That's so nice of ya! You're a real sweetheart, ain't ya?"

Roman bit his lip to keep back a laugh. Peter didn't bother, giggling rather raucously.

"Dear, dear Miss Quinn," Snatcher replied, knowing exactly what the source of the comedy was and addressing it, "within the WHAM ARMY, you'll find very few sweethearts, and I am assuredly not one."

"Don't tell me she's the SENTIMENTAL sort," Vexen huffed.

"It may not be as bad as that," Xayide said dubiously, not believing her own claim.

Neo wanted to see where this went, and gestured that point over to the skeptical pair.

"Well?" Aghoul asked. "Shall we?"

"I do have twenty munny riding on this," Roman replied, "so – " He then froze. "SHIT."

"What's the matter?" Harley asked him.

"Just remembered Righty can teleport," Roman muttered. "No time to waste! Asses in seats; we are TAKING OFF!"

"Oh, goodness, not again," Vexen groaned in dismay, not wanting to endure another flight in which Roman was the pilot. He felt as though he'd barely survived the trip to Remnant.

"What?" Aghoul teased. "You don't enjoy a little near-death experience?" He elbowed Vexen playfully.

"DO NOT touch me," Vexen growled at him, recoiling toward Xayide, who gave Aghoul a glare.

"Near-death?" Harley repeated as she claimed her seat. "That's a funny joke!"

"Uhhh, Harley?" Garfield said as he settled in beside her. "You've…never ridden a ship Roman flew for a long distance."

"It makes even a rebel like me want to wear a seatbelt," Peter added from Garfield's other side, far too amused.

"C'mon," Harley urged. "This is funny, but it can't be as bad as – "

Roman gunned it. The ship rocketed off Remnant and into the atmosphere at maximum speed, turning a full barrel roll in the process.

As frightened yelps (from Harley, Garfield, Vexen, and Xayide) and whoops of joy (from Aghoul and Peter) filled the cabin, Neo and Snatcher exchanged a knowing look. Neo made a gesture that Snatcher read perfectly.

"Yes," he told her, "but he is OUR dum-dum, so to speak."