24. Power of Teamwork

Solana; Star Train

An exciting brawl was taking place within Star Train's living room. Mario vs. Snake vs. Ike in Super Smash Bros. Universe. Because those were the characters Yellow Monkey – Specter's chubby, net-pants officer with questionable sexuality, Dennis – Plankton's hired bounty hunter, and Flint Vorselon (see earlier chapters) were playing as. The clash was heated and exciting, but in the end, Mario was supreme victor. "No fair! You cheated!" Dennis accused.

"Ohck, out-RAGEOUS!" Yellow replied cheekily, swaying his body and passing Dennis a flirty smile. For the moment, we'll decide it's a 'he.' "My qualities are inherited, they're naturally given! Excuse ME if you're a sore loser."

"I had a shotgun, grenades, a cool helicopter, your character shouldn't have had anything but plumbing equipment."

"If Lord Vorselon may intervene," said the Terraklon, "these controllers were not made suitable for one with my disability," he held up his robot claws, "and cannot be held or maneuvered with precision by my suit without error."

"We told you they didn't make controllers to accommodate a one-eyed fish in a robot suit." Dennis stated.

"True, but they did come with these pretty little rubies!" Yellow Monkey showed his pretty sparkling controller.

"Are you three playing that stupid game, again?" Dr. Nefarious scolded as he, Specter, and Plankton entered.

"It's NOT stupid!" Vorselon whined. "You're just saying that because I BEAT you yesterday and you know it."

"Shape up, Dennis, or your brain's going in the same place that guy's head is." Plankton ordered.

Dennis stood up and faced the microorganism with strict eyes behind his sunglasses, "Not until this cheater admits he BUMPED me with his big round bottom when I attempted the Down-B move."

"Don't flatter me, Mister No-Bottom, or take off those disgusting glasses." Yellow shirked.

"Lord Vorselon would like to reprise his argument, and criticize the lack of adaptability regarding these-"

"ARE YOU THREE QUITE DONE?!" the three masters screamed.

The henchmen's heads shrunk. "Yes."

"Then get to your stations already." Nefarious stated. "Two of the Seven Lights are on that vessel, and Mr. Dark is incredibly antsy about a certain one."

"And Maddy is here, and I captured that boy earlier, if we captured these kids, that'll make four of the Seven Lights in our possession!" Plankton beamed.

"You remember they still have to awaken, right?" Specter inquired.

"Yeah yeah, we'll get to that part later. What we wanna do now is put 'em into slumber until they learn where they gotta go in their dream. We'll wake them up every 5 hours or so to check progress, and once they learn something, we'll help them on the journey."

"Except that Sheila brat has to be asleep as well." Nefarious recalled. "Anyway, just work on capturing all the brats. …I wonder though, should we outright say who the Lights are? It's getting annoying to talk about them indirectly."

"Just for fans' sake, let's keep it a mystery." Plankton said.

R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. (Play "Space Battleground" from Star Fox: Assault.)

Stage 35: Star Train

Mission: Rescue Nefarious's prisoners!

"Can't you drive this train any faster?" Chris yelled. "You saw them take Maddy, Drake—and what I think was Zach, on that train!"

"Chris has a point, they're already sending ships at us." Aurora ducked when the smaller aircraft began blasting lasers. "We need to start attacking."

"Hey, what you think this is, your everyday track race??" Chimney scolded. "We playin' this by the book. Graceful train-fighting, precise, fair, and sportsmanly. I'M COALING HIS WINDOWS!!" She stomped the gas.

"WHOOOOAAAA!" All of the kids whipped against the wall when the train shifted sideways. Chimney flew along the Star Train's side, her R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.'s chimney aimed at the exterior as it made a trail of black smog.

A Pipo Monkey in an air helmet was innocently cleaning the windows when the train shot by, blackening his whole area. A camera crew was filming him at the time. We should've gone with the terrorist movie. the caption read.

Laser cannons appeared on the train's side, all firing bright green, diagonal lasers, some upward, others downward, but Chimney maneuvered her train like a worm in-between the beams. "A'ight, this guy wants to go loco a loco, Ah'll show him loco. SUCK THESE LASERS, Sāsūpāsaizu!" Chimney kicked over to a switch along the left of the controls and smashed, unveiling a row of cannons on the bottom corner of her train. They blasted lasers and destroyed the Star Train's turrets, then Chimney yanked up the steering wheel, looped the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. in a circle, and burned a hole into the side of the Star Train that exposed Space Mama naked in the shower—the woman screeching with her high opera voice before hiding behind the curtain.

When Chimney's train became horizontal again, the operatives were on their rears, with Mason unable to hold in barf. "Chimney, you gotta think about installing seatbelts…" Haruka moaned, Aeincha facedown on her skirt.

"Nnn? I dunno what those are. Okay, get ready, 'cause I'mma about to chop off the latch!"

"Chimney, wait!" Haylee cried. "If you cut a hole open, maybe we can use that to get in! Besides, you shouldn't do too much damage before we rescue them."

"SO, I'M to just sit here and let this bozo flash his turn-signal at me?!"

"Well, there is a lane-change coming." Dillon pointed. Apparently, they were on some kind of giant-train space-road that was between energy lines, and an arrow sign indicated a shift toward the right, so the Star Train had on its turn-signal as it did so. This road was not seen for the rest of the flight.

The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. swerved around to fly beside the opened hole again, but Space Mama had gotten a washing machine, hidden behind, and released a string of small rockets that formed a barrier over the hole. Chris lowered a window to punch fire while Sheila sent Light Spheres, but both attacks bounced off the shiny, round-ended explosives. "Can you blow open a different hole?" Chris asked.

"Hey, I got a lot-a stuff on this train, so I'm pretty limited in all o' them, including laser juice. I wanna try to save it." Chimney informed.

Space Mama climbed into the washing machine and came out in her astronaut outfit, dancing gracefully in airless space as she shot yellow lasers from her bazooka – which weren't really single straight beams, but rather segmented bars of energy, packing the strength of giant bullets when they struck the silver train. Angered, Chimney pulled a lever beside her chair, opening a hatch on the back of the train that dropped a powder keg. She stomped a gas pedal and ignited her rear engines, burning the keg as Space Mama was swallowed in colorful, intricately decorated fireworks. "Ooooo!" The light reflected in Vorselon's eye. "Is it Terraklon Midyear already?"

"Look at all those colors, April! So pretty!" Mary beamed.

"We got those from a girl in Sector JP." April mentioned. "I helped design the colors. They keep enemies mesmerized for a few minutes."

"Let's try to get inside in the meantime." Aurora decided. "Chris, I'll use my icebending to freeze the side, and you blow it open."

Chris pulled off his headband, giving the Combustion Eye breath. "Got it."

The kids held on when the train spiraled and swerved again, so the open window was aligned with the Star Train's side. "Ice Gate, open!" Aurora touched her head and powered with frosty Ice Chi, blasting twin rays at the train. The cold air reached the kids' skin, the low temperature of space also complimented it, and a great circle of ice was frozen against a tiny part of the massive train. Enemies came at them, so Chimney had to boost them away, activating mini turrets on the upper corners that blasted bullets. After most of the ships were down, they swerved around and flew slowly beside the frozen patch. Chris inhaled, channeled heat into his forehead, aimed directly through the open window, and spark. . spark. . BOOM. The wall was completely ruptured.

"The enemies have breached a hole in Wing 75." A Team Rocket agent examined a monitor. "We're sending a repair team to fix it."

"Don't." Giovanni spoke calmly, petting his Persian. "Let them board. It will be easier to catch them when they're inside. Besides, I want to see my enemies' face."

"Nyaaaaa." Persian yawned.

Chimney flew them away from the Star Train, several meters upward before turning around to boost directly at the opening. "I'm gonna drop you guys off and keep blasting this tonma from the outside. Don'tchu guys blame me if I hit you too hard." Chimney told them.

"Ready to go, Gonbe?" Aeincha asked, seated on the giant-to-her rabbit with her grappling hook ready.

"Gyom-gyom!"

"Mary, you're coming too, right?" April asked with a smile.

"Whuh? Can't I stay on the train?"

"NO! She has to go, too!" Chimney yelled quickly. "F-For experience, yeah!"

"Mary, what can you do, exactly?" Haruka asked.

"I stab people with this palette knife!" Mary grinned and showed them the thin, round-edge knife.

Dillon sweatdropped. "Those can't actually hurt people. Anyway, are we even sure this is a good idea? It might take forever to search this whole giant train for these guys."

"You dun' need to worry about that." Apis said with a sly smile. "Mocha has experience rampaging through trains."

The giant flushed and grinned. "It's a gift."

"Prepare for train-to-train exchange." Chimney declared with a strict face. "In 3… 2… 1…"

The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. rammed through the hole front-first and came to a stop partway inside a hallway. "RAAAAAHHHH!" Mocha stormed off the train and was eager to begin stomping the swarms of Nefarious Drones.

"She knows how to get things done fast." Haylee said in disbelief. After the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. backed out of the hole, the kids readied their guard when squadrons of Rocket Agents, Plankton robots, and Pipo Monkeys came down from either corridor. "We can do our part, too." Artie proclaimed. "Let's look for the pilot's station. We'll demand whoever's in charge to tell us where Maddy is."

"We'll search other parts and radio you if we find her." Aisa informed, clutching her G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. Dials. "Wish us both luck."

"You call THIS luck?" Sheila spun her left leg, turned it gold, then her right leg, and ran lightspeed through the Rocket Agents.

April held up her paintbrush and palette in a stylish fashion. "Ready to show them Goldenweek Art Style, Mary?"

Mary opened her briefcase and clutched numerous crayons between her fingers. "Let's do it!" She used a light-blue crayon to color the bottoms of her shoes. She raised her palette knife as April whipped red paint over it, then grabbed her cousin's arm before spinning around and sending Mary at the Nefarious Drones – the blue crayon under Mary's shoes allowed her to glide across the floor like ice. She spread the red paint around the robots, and this Color of Bullfighting forced all the drones to shoot each other, though they aimed to shoot the girls.

"Do not aim that at-" a robot spoke before being shot.

"I'm sorry. My sensors are processing that color so vehemently." his friend said, before being shot himself.

The W7 members followed April and Mary's direction (Mocha could take care of herself, for the moment) while Sector V faced the corridor of Pipo Monkeys. Kirie folded her hands, prayed, and summoned the Rainbow Monkey spirits to battle through them. Chris ignited his jetboots and grabbed Mason's arm, flying over the enemies while the latter drank Flurp and farted Gas Bombs downward. Haruka took the liberty of moving the gas aside so her friends could progress, but reformed the cloud so the monkeys could remain crying.

Team Rocket Agents summoned Rhydon and Machamp to attack Sheila, who ignited her tail with golden light and spun against the Pokémon, able to push them, but not enough to take them down. She spun her Midas Fists into being and socked the musclebods in the gut, causing them to cough spit and fall down. Hecklers stormed out next, and Sheila dodged the Hoodlums' cannons while spinning her fists again to punch through the armor. "Mr. Dark wants the raccoon captured alive!" an Elite Hoodmonger reminded. "Don't wound her too-" This Hoodmonger was kicked numerous times across the face by Sheila, 'til the Black Lum flew out.

"The real issue is not getting wounded by her too much." a Rocket Agent said.

"Ooooh!" The agents panicked when Sheila jumped before them, smirking. "Naaah, you dogs ain't worth my time." Sheila waved off. "My mates on the other hand can use a workout." She ran away, just when Sector V showed up.

"Shadow Possession!" Dillon stretched Mario to catch a number of Agents while Haruka defeated them with Sleeping Gas. Haylee extended her wrench and started whacking agents unconscious, and all Harry needed was a kick in the shin.

Before they could let feelings of victory get the best of them, a huge door behind the agents burst down, and out stomped Yellow Monkey in a bigger, inflated form. "Oh, I was WONDERING what was causing such a ruckus out here! What an ADORABLE bunch of cute, little kiddies!" He folded his fingers and swayed his hip.

YOU'RE a peculiar kind of Rainbow Monkey. Kirie signed with resent.

"I'd love to engage in your frilly little shenanigans, but you're being a tad rude with all this noise, so I must beseech. Don't make me tickle your little tootsies!"

Aurora was weirded. "Yeah… uhhh… I'll handle this guy, even though I'm a little creeped out. I shouldn't be too long." She balled her fists and switched to a determined aura, her friends supporting her decision to not let them fight the weirdo and going ahead.

"You have twin elements, but I bring with me the ancient stylings of Japan! By harnessing my chakra, I have access to all the powers of the universe. I'll give you only a meager fraction, of my NINJA ATTACK!" He pinched his breasts, sending shurikens from his nipples that were connected to thin chains.

Aurora dodged back, holding back her comments of disgust before freezing her leg in ice and flying at the ape. The heel of her foot gutted Yellow in his round, blubbery belly, but unsurprisingly bounced away. "Ooo la laaa! A frosty girl, aren't you? You make my nipples—"

"PLEASE don't finish that sentence!"

Four Nefarious Drones tried to shoot Mary, but she swiftly skied between them and colored their backsides using orange crayon. The robots were confused, but suddenly they felt their circuits overheating, repeating their "Not cool" remarks before exploding. "Hooraaaay!" Mary twirled on her ice-bottom shoes. "I did it, Ap—WAAAAH!" She lost balance, her feet frantically slipping, and she fell.

A swarm of saucers flew from another corridor, commanded by Pipo Monkeys. Apis focused her mind on the apes and tried to speak with them, Don't shoot at us. Land your saucers. The monkeys considered it, but their Pipo Helmets reminded them, Obey Specter. Specter is king. Attack the humans. The W7 members dodged the saucers' lasers, a far easier task for Aisa with her Mantra as she began blasting her G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.s with near-perfect precision. "Aisa, I want us to try and take the saucers to fly them. Can you hit the helmets so I can talk to them better?"

"If you say so." Since the saucers had glass domes over them, Aisa began flying with her Jet Dials and shot the domes with gumballs, steadily cracking them before they successfully broke. Aisa then retrieved her bow, took aim, and pierced arrows through the flashing helmets. Apis once again spoke to the monkeys, and with a weaker remembrance of Specter's orders, the apes complied and landed their craft. Apis hopped in a saucer, joined by Aeincha and Gonbe, Aisa her own, and Mary, but they had an awkward time sitting since the monkeys were much shorter than they were, ergo the saucers were small.

"Er- I- don't- know- hooooowwww…" Mary's saucer shook as it uplifted, but quickly plopped down.

"I can't fit in mine, anyway." April replied. "Let's just stay together. You guys go on ahead."

"Okay. Careful, you two." Apis replied before the three of them plus Gonbe flew down the hall.

"Wait, I just realized something!" Aeincha exclaimed. "Aisa, can't you use your powers to find Maddy's group?"

"Oh yeah! I never thought of that!" the Nimbi replied. "It's kind of a big place, but… I'll try." She slowed her saucer and closed her eyes. Hundreds of auras were made visible to her. "Lessee, monkeys… robots… Mocha's having fun… a… what's this?…" An aura was coming directly to her, leaping with its foot aimed.

Aisa gasped and swerved her saucer aside, avoiding Dennis and hitting the wall before she fell to the floor. "I was hoping for someone more worth my time… not a couple of little girls. Oh well… as long as I get paid."

"I don't have time for you!" Aisa yelled, blasting gumballs which the hunter rolled and avoided, lunged at Aisa to punch, but she dodged aside.

"Do you want us to help you?" Apis asked.

"Huff. Just fly ahead and keep looking, I'll keep this guy busy. I'll keep using my Mantra to look for Maddy and radio you if I find her."

"Sigh." Apis hated for them to be so separated like this. But since she and Aeincha might not fair well against a man of his agility, they kept onward.

Dennis whipped out throwing knives and hurled them at Aisa's feet, but she was more nimble than he gave thought, for she gracefully dodged them, jumped and kicked off the wall, and flew foot-first at Dennis, but when the hunter grabbed her ankle, the minute Aisa shifted upside-down, she grabbed an arrow and stabbed it through his wrist. "Ooo!" He released as Aisa landed on her feet, swinging a kick up to his crotch. She smirked victoriously when he slouched and backed away. "Hmph. Wouldn't expect that from someone with no boots. You might wanna get a load of these." Aisa's eyes widened when big, steel spikes appeared from the bottom of his boots. He stomped at her, Aisa dodged back and noticed how those spikes pierced the metal floor. "You're an angel, are you? Perfect! I'm a Fishman!" Dennis pulled off his bandanna to show his blue lips and sharp teeth. "We're natural enemies!"

"Really? Well, now I see why me and Chimney don't get along well. It'll be more fun kicking your butt." Aisa smirked. She joyously dodged about while Dennis stomped his spikes, going circles around the hunter until the floor around him was filled with holes. The floor shook, and Dennis screamed as he plummeted to the lower floor. "Hm-hm, and you're just as dimwitted, too!" She grinned.

Sheila and Chris were blowing down numerous enemies for their Sector V friends, Hoodlums were dropping like flies, then flying away like actual flies, 'cause they kind of are. Before long, too many Black Lums were clouding the hall, the kids unable to see through the blackness. "Darn bugs. I'll try and clear them." Haruka puffed a gas cloud into the air, causing numerous Lums to drop, but they didn't stay down, and the kids had mixed thoughts about crushing them.

"Any other bright ideas?" Mason asked.

"Bwah ha ha! There is nowhere you can run, you fools!" The Black Lums scattered when twin electric whips lashed across them. "Not when LORD VORSELON makes his grand debut, for the second time!"

"Lord… Vorselon?" Dillon looked up and gasped. "HE'S the one who kidnapped Maddy and Drake!"

"Then we found the right guy." Chris cracked his knuckles. "Tell us where they are."

"Bwah ha! Our Star Train is enormous! You can spend the rest of eternity, but you will never find the Maddy child, in Car 2 on the 4th floor in the central wing!"

"Can we take a guess?" Haylee raised a hand.

"You can try, but you will FAIL!"

"I think she's in Car 2, 4th floor, around the central wing."

"WHAT?! You couldn't POSSIBLY know that! Lord Vorselon will thwart you before you progress any further!" He twirled his whips, stuck the hilts against the floor, and the flimsy electric beams traveled around the floor and walls as 2-D lines, shifting at numerous 90-degree angles as they got below the group's shoes and zapped them.

Dillon jumped away from the lines and stretched his shadow to bind the cyborg, but a quick lash of the whips scared Mario off, then Vorselon turned invisible to sneak up behind Sheila and sock the back of her head. The others bolted away and Kirie pulled Sheila along before Mason and Haruka shrouded the area in gas, leaving Chris to ignite it. They dashed down the hall tirelessly, but stopped beside a directory of the train. "We just need to cross Car 3 and climb up three more floors." Artie observed.

"The bridge is over there. Let's go!" Chris yelled before the team proceeded.

Medical wing

"Nuuuuhhh…" Maddy moaned weakly, lain on a somewhat-soft bed while 'Clank' used a gas mask to fill her with pink gas.

"If more parents knew about Sleepytime Jelly, there'd be no more late nights." The robot said casually.

"Uu… Clank… what are you…" Ratchet moaned in his half-awake state.

"I would have thought you knew by now, Ratchet."

"No… you're… Klunk? But I thought I destroyed you."

"I was rebuilt by Dr. Nefarious." Klunk's eyes turned red. "The beauty of being a robot is extended life. You should try it sometime."

"Whaddid you do with Clank?…" Ratchet tried to sound angry.

"He is someplace where you will never find him. Not that you will have the chance. We need to keep Madeline alive, but Dr. Nefarious has not specified orders for the rest of you. Although a few hostages will come in handy, before you make the jump to slaves for our new empire. You'll feel more lightheaded after some sleep, Ratchet."

"WAAAAAH!" A storm of Planktonbots and Rocket Agents scampered across the room. "Help us! She's on a rampage!" an agent cried.

Klunk looked at the camera monitor, seeing dozens of robots crushed by the monster at large. "Here already, are you? This should be a good test of my abilities."

Outside, Chimney was ecstatically evading all the gunfire, maneuvering ever closer to the front of the Star Train. "This one's on YOU, Kodama!" She pulled a lever, the roof of a back car opened to unleash a swarm of fireworks. They flew in a circle around Nefarious's giant head, lighting with sparks as they seemed to be burning through the exterior. Chimney flew directly in front of the train's eyes and blew the train's horn loudly. "HEY, Mr. Orokana Robotto. YOU STINK!" She barrel-rolled her train against the massive window and flew away.

"HEEEEEY!" Nefarious screamed ragingly. "If that left a crack, I EXPECT YOU TO PAY WITH YOUR-"

"Sir, you must remember your oil pressure." Lawrence informed calmly. "You would not want to enter All My Circuits when you're about to meet your enemies."

"Yes… you're right, Lawrence. I'LL GET YOU IN TIME, you brat! YOU HEAR MEEEEEE? Sigh. Alright, let's go." Nefarious calmly walked away.

Chimney grinned proudly after her little move, but it seemed the fireworks burned out before burning through the head in time. Regardless, she kept her smile, looking at her wristwatch when Dillon sent a call. "Hey, we just learned Maddy is in the 2nd car. Think you can fly by and make ready for our escape? If you can't do it yourself, we'll tell you when we're about to blow a hole open."

"I might 'ave enough juice in this baby. That is, if I ain't exhausted thrashin' this guy. UNLIKELY!" Chimney stomped the gas and boosted around the Star Train's head, flying the opposite direction alongside it.

Apis had just received the call on her own watch, with Aeincha looking over her shoulder. "Second car, huh? Everyone, let's all try to meet there so we can get out together."

"Not-a so FAST!" sang Space Mama's opera voice, swinging her bazooka to knock Apis's saucer out of the air. "Meester Dark DEMANDS you all captured, so IIII weel cap-ture theeee."

April and Mary were skiing up the hall on Mama's left. "GO, Mary!" April threw her cousin by the arm. Mary flew at Space Mama, palette knife outstretched, and sliced her helmeted head clear off her body.

"AAAH!" Apis and Aein screeched. "You actually cut her!"

"No she didn't." April pointed. "Look."

For those who don't remember, Space Mama's hands, shoes, and head were separate from her body. The head spun in midair as it returned. "You an-noyeeng lit-tle girl, how DARE you at-tack meeeee. Time to make you pay, yes, time to make you bleeeeed!" Before she could blast her gun at Mary, Gonbe leapt up with Aeincha riding him and bit Mama's hand. She shook him off and redirected to shoot the rabbit, but forcibly whipped around toward a red mark on the wall and shot it. "Vhat?"

"Have fun with that." April smiled and painted numerous red spots on the walls before hurrying forward with her friends. The disembodied actress shot every mark in her attempt to shoot the kids. "Leetle brrrats, come BACK heeeere!"

The W7 kids found an elevator and rode it to the 4th floor, checking a nearby directory to confirm their selves close to the bridge to the 3rd car. Planktonbots were rolling up, so April drenched Mary's palette knife with pink paint so she could spread it against the robots and make them feel weak and depressed. The girls kept running and eventually crossed to the 3rd car. Pipo Monkeys excitedly hopped at them and blasted laser guns, which Apis countered by drawing a M.U.S.K.E.T. and shooting their helmets. "I wish I could do more. These monkeys aren't easy to control with those helmets on."

"April, maybe you can give us some blue paint?" Aeincha asked.

"I could, but it's dangerous. Chimney could handle it, but you never…"

"Just give it to me and see what happens." Apis said rushedly. Shrugging, April dipped her brush in blue paint and created a mark on Apis. The Arceist felt a powerful burst of energy. "Oh-ho, THAT'S what Ah'm talkin' about!" Moving much faster and stronger, she zipped around and punched all the apes unconscious, and when Protomantises started marching down, guns blazing, Apis was able to yank the weapons off their bodies and bash their domes in with them. "Come on, fellas, let's go!" She was excited to move forward with this pent-up energy.

"April, I think Chimney might've drunk some of your blue paint." Aeincha mentioned. ("Gyom-gyom.")

Sector V was rushing up many flights of stairs that shifted back-and-forth for each floor, no different than the ones at school, but at least they didn't need to carry backpacks. "Go, Typhlosion!" "Magmortar!" Rocket Agents sent their Pokémon to blast powerful bright flames around the whole hall, but Chris sucked up a portion like a vacuum and coughed Fire Bullets against the creatures. "Noivern, use Dragon Pulse!" Another agent summoned the Dragon-type, who charged a green energy ball and fired. Chris charged a Combustion Beam and destroyed the sphere halfway, but Noivern flew through the smoke and slashed Chris across the face with Dragon Claw. "Gah!"

A swarm of locusts were suddenly clouding around Noivern, released from Artie's mechanical backpack. "Kinda remembered this when those things were swarming us earlier." he mentioned. Sheila punched Light Fists to knock agents down one at a time so the crew could proceed. They heard another pattering of footsteps to their right, and were joined by Sector W7. "Glad you could make it." Mason said.

"We're almost at Car 2." Aeincha said. "We'll save Maddy and the others soon."

Their wristwatches rang as Aisa appeared to be calling them. "Guys, are you sure they're really in Car 2? Because whoever told you that might've been trying to trick you."

"Whaddyou mean?" Haru asked, the group not ceasing as they crossed the bridge into Car 2.

Down in her quarters, Aisa was about to cross to Car 3. "I'm sensing Mocha a few hallways down, and she's in a battle with something that's with four other presences."

Chinking sounds were heard behind her, Aisa turned to see two patches of steel spikes charging at her along the floor; Dennis was running across the ceiling in the lower room. "I think Maddy and the others are in there!" she yelled. "You might be walking into a-"

"AAAAHH!" Dennis burst up from the floor and flew his fist at Aisa, who evaded, grabbed the Conache Pumpkin from her satchel, and swung it against Dennis into the wall.

Sectors V and W7 ran past slide-open doors. "Aisa, what's-" Chris responded, the group half-focused on their path. They heard the doors close forcefully behind them, and Sleepytime Planktonbots guarded it. (End song.)

"So we meet at last, do we?" The friends faced ahead. Spotlights lit up a stage, and five figures appeared. Some of them were familiar.

"'ey! It's…" Sheila pointed.

"Prepare for trouble, you annoying worms." Giovanni smirked.

"Make it multiple like thousands of germs." Specter followed.

"To protect the universe from ultimate doom."

"To decorate it just like we would our room." Mr. Dark said.

"To rise above the average big-lug bullies!" Plankton perked.

"To carry everything on our pulleys!" Nefarious continued.

"Giovanni." "Specter." "Mr. Dark." "Plankton!" "Doctor NEFARIOUS!"

"Team Gnik, going faster than the speed of light." Giovanni said.

"Surrender now, or be destroyed by our might." followed Nefarious.

XANA appeared on a screen, then zapped onstage with his teammates in a second. "That's ri—ght!" He glitched.

"XANA?!" Chris and Dillon exclaimed.

"Whodat?" ("Gyom-gyom?") W7 asked.

"I must be honest, I thought the 'motto' wouldn't sell us very well, but hearing it roll off the tongue was very nice." Specter said.

"I still don't get why I only got the last part." XANA replied grumpily.

"Well, you have been hooked on the computer most of the time." Dark informed.

"And you haven't been dreaming?"

"So you're Dr. Nefarious?" Chris asked.

"And Mistuh Dark!" Sheila balled her fists. "'e attacked me an' Fybi with a genie monster!"

"Yes, and I was courteous enough to let you roam the Dream World in search of the Lights." Mr. Dark said. "How dare you repay my kindness by attacking my soldiers. Keeping bases organized isn't easy, you know."

"We should let you guys know," Plankton whispered, "Mr. Dark's a little grumpy since he's the only non-scientist."

"For the last time," Dark glared, "I don't need science when I have sorcery."

"Show me your PhD in magic and we'll be square."

"You little-!"

"I wanna play with the monkey!" Mary yelled, tugging on Specter.

No, I do! Kirie refuted, tugging his other arm.

"Nnnn, stop that! Stop it right now!" Specter's collar sparked, "You're ruining my voice-modifier!"

"Your voice sounds funny! C'mere, monkey!" Mary ordered.

"I, said, STOP!" He stretched a psychic bubble and blew them off. He fixed the collar while Giovanni spoke.

"By this point, you children have likely caught on to our actions by now. Our armies are conquering the Earth as we speak. Our goal is the same as yours, however: to find the Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses to enter the New World."

"But as this universe is seeing its last days, we felt it natural to make the best of things." Specter followed. "My goal is to dominate the Earth with apes. Nefarious wishes to rule with robots. Of course, ruling together will no doubt cause conflict, which is why we've made a pact: when the Keys are gathered, and the Gate is open, each of us will have a fraction of the New World. A fair deal, I would say. There should be no conflict involved. And my teammates agree."

"But there is another rule to the prophecy: who controls this universe controls the next one." Mr. Dark continued. "That is why we of Team Gnik must conquer now, so the denizens of this universe will know their future. In dreams, seas, stars, earth, and Cyberspace, we will control all."

"How the hell do you even know about the Apocalypse?" Harry asked.

"Thanks to a certain man." Giovanni grinned. "A man who saved us when we were down. Gave us a means of success, through each other. Lesser Lord Ragaj Gnik."

"Who's that? Someone who works for the World Government?"

"HA HA HAHAHAHAHA!" They all laughed. "How RICH that you think those pathetic humans are behind it a—ll!" XANA glitched. "Quite contrarily, we are against them, too."

"Our goal is to find the Twenty Keys." Nefarious recapped. "We know who they are. You know nothing! But if you cooperate with us, things can go much smoother. We will reveal the Lights to you and help you awaken them, so we can open the New World, save everyone from the Apocalypse, together!"

"Wait- you said you would reveal the Lights to us, but what about the Darknesses?" Apis inquired.

"Ah- yes, about that!" Nefarious spoke knowledgeably. "Y'see, we… have no idea who those are. Ragaj never told us. Zilch, not a clue."

"But that's besides the point." Plankton spoke up. "We see how well you work together, and well, I didn't like these guys at first, but given a few months, they're okay! So I'm sure we'd make such an unbeatable team, moral differences notwithstanding, and we're kinda stronger than you anyway, so whaddya say we forget this whole battle and work together? Like they teach kids nowadays, about the power of teamwork."

"Valid." Haru agreed. "But we have better things to do than be friends with a… germ, a computer nerd, a pair of clothes, an albino monkey, a guy with rectangle eyes, and a life-size toy radio machine." She pointed each respective member out, Nefarious last.

"LIFE-SIZE TOY RADIO MACHINE?!" The robot's circuits sparked. "If I haven't heard a misconception greater than that one before today, I'LL DISLOCATE MY HEAD AND USE IT TO BAKE—" His circuits overloaded, and All My Circuits was on.

"Oh, I'm just too confused, Boxy. How can you go on, knowing no matter what happens, robotic chickenpox will prevent you from adopting a puppy. Oh, why must we be plagued with such misfortunes. Can you ANSWER that, Boxy, despite your trillions of Gold Bolts and triple-size robo-Amazonians? I…"

Lawrence came out and lightly knocked his master's head. He put on a baseball cap, pulled out a bat, posed like he were about to swing, eye on the head, and… he fixed a loose bolt with a screw, and Nefarious was back to normal. "Thank you, Lawrence. Enjoy your baseball game."

"I will indubitably, Sir." The butler rolled away.

"Back to business… Of the lot of you, Sheila is the most crucial to our plan." Mr. Dark said. "So we will be taking her. I'll also be taking-"

"Yeh yeh, lemme ask something first." Sheila rose her hand. "So Maddy and 'er blokes are in the 3rd car, not this one?"

"On the first floor, yes, that's how we tricked you."

"Just makin' sure." Sheila lit her tail gold and spun two beams at the Sleepytime robots, then Chris blew the door open with combustion. "AFTER THEM!" Nefarious cried, the Team Gnik members chasing.

Aeincha rode Gonbe like a giant wild bull through the smoke, "Nyaaaa!" but soon after they were through, Persian was after them. He swiped his claw at the rabbit, who dodged aside while Aeincha through her grappling hook at his eye, the cat flinching and swiping his paw against the rope, flying Aeincha off of Gonbe's back. She nimbly dodged Persian's pouncing paws and snapping teeth, but soon found herself pinned. His fangs came at the tiny's head, but Gonbe leapt and sank his teeth in the cat's tail. Persian screeched and whirled in circles to shake the bunny off, but Aeincha had thrown her hook into his mouth so his rapid turning would yank the tiny into the air until she swung onto Persian's head.

"Bad kitty, down kitty!" Aeincha lied along his nose and tugged Persian's whiskers on either end. Strangely, the Pokémon settled down and became far more docile. "That's it, good boy. To the third car, let's go!" She tugged his whiskers toward the bridge as Persian obediently dashed that way.

"No! Come back, you stupid-!" Giovanni tried to chase and shoot the Return laser from his Pokéball. The operatives had crossed the bridge as Team Gnik chased them—"GAAAAAAH!" A string of huge blades sliced across the ceiling, hitting Nefarious and pushing him outside.

"How is THAT for teamwork, tonchikis?" Chimney exclaimed, having just sliced the roof of the bridge with blades on the bottom of her train. "Thanks for the heads-up, April, you all make it okay? Mary, too?"

"Yes, we're just fine!" her teammate responded.

"Dammit." Chimney cursed. "OK, get ta rescuing Maddy-chan and I'll meet you down there."

Nefarious flew up before her windshield using jetshoes. "You're not leaving 'til I get 10,000 Bolts in repairs!"

"Nehhhh. I rather just shoot you with lasers." Chimney pressed twin buttons on her wheel, pushing Nefarious through a wall of the Star Train via lasers.

Plankton bounced over to Mr. Dark and spoke, "Just so ya know, Mr. Dark, it's ready whenever you wanna use it." He smirked evilly.

"Yes… I think we should do that now. Come along, Sheldon." He held his hand open for Plankton to jump on, then Mr. Dark spun into a vortex with his Protoon.

Medical wing

Mocha flew backward and shook the room, rolling aside before Klunk lunged with his fist. The once-tiny robot had transformed into a super-strong fighting machine that was twice Mocha's size. "You might be larger, but your body is still flesh." Klunk said. "When bone hits metal, one is sure to break."

"I know that. Which one, though?" Mocha got up and threw her fist, Klunk caught it in his larger palm and swung Mocha against the wall, the giant collapsing on the floor. She thrust her hands against his hip as she stood and shoved with all her might, Klunk's feet scraping against the floor until she shoved him out of the door. Mocha hurried over to Maddy and poked her with her finger. "Maddy? Maddy, wake up." She spoke softly.

"I have given her 2 gallons of Sleepytime Jelly gas, ensuring she has sweet dreams." Klunk returned. "Many have fallen to their intoxicating lure, and not many have awakened. If you have any means of 'shocking' her out of such a state, feel free to try."

"WHOOOA!" Yellow Monkey suddenly rolled into the room and knocked the robot down. "Oopsie! Sorry, Dearie." The overweight ape was lain on his front over Klunk. "I got a little ditsy and got beat by that missy."

"Yes, and I'm proud to finish you in this pose." Aurora flew above them and released twin beams of ice to freeze both giants. She landed on the ice cube and slid to the floor, reverting out of her Ice Fury. "Okay, now I regret it. You alright, Mocha?"

"I'm fine." Mocha smiled, ignoring her own bruises and bloody nose. "We need to wake Maddy up soon. But she's out cold."

Aurora spoke to her wristwatch, "Chris, are you guys coming? Maddy and the others are safe, but we can't wake her up."

"The robot said we could wake her up with a shock, but I don't know anything that could…" Mocha spoke regrettably.

"Hmm… I know this sounds crazy, but… it just might work." Chris responded.

"If you're sure, then go ahead and try it. What is it?"

Three minutes later, they arrived. Aurora and Mocha stood aside and watched him approach the girl on the bed. Like Sleeping Beauty… Maddy was so pretty in slumber. Only one thing could wake her. He was on his way to fulfill this task. He stood over Maddy and bent his head down. Their lips made contact, a deep, warmhearted kiss… Maddy's blue eyes opened.

The gray eyes of Mason Dimalanta stared longingly into them. Maddy never socked anyone harder in the face, and Mason's speed flying into the wall was unusually fast. "PFFFFFA HA HAAAAA!" Dillon cracked up. "Oh man, I can't believe you did it!! Way to go, Bro!"

"Pluck!" Maddy spit several times and wiped her tongue. "Dillon? Mason? What're you guys up to?"

"Dillon offered Mason 20 bucks to test if metahumanism was contagious." Chris chuckled. "Now we just need to wait and see if he gets it. …You okay?"

"Y-Yeah… where's-"

"WAKE UP!" Mocha screamed, smashing Drake with the heel of her foot as the boy wheezed awake. Kirie tickled Ratchet's nose so the Lombax sneezed awake.

"Well, we worked that problem out." Artie said. "What's wrong with him?" He lightly tapped the Zach statue, which fell over.

"He's, uh… going through a… wh-where's the exit?" Maddy didn't know how to finish that.

"Chimney's supposed to pick us up on an upper floor." Haylee answered. "Let's regroup with Sector W7 quickly."

Outside, Chimney was still having a blast in her R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N., expertly evading all enemy aircraft and tricking them into crashing each other. Every little move that humiliated this giganto-size train made her even more happy, because it proved even further that her train was the big gahuna. "I no know what that is exactly, but it's time for this Rocket-san to go! Time to show this big-so my ultimate technique. Get ready for LIGHTSPEED JETSTREAM ATTAAAAACK!" She uncovered a hidden, giant red button that she pressed excitedly. Jet wings appeared on all sides of each car of the train, the craft glowing blue and zipping miles into the stars. The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. was returning, ready to puncture the center of Car 2 with extracted blades on the front.

Mr. Dark and Plankton appeared in a room of Car 2 as the latter hopped up to the cockpit of a giant ray gun (about the average size of a normal person). Plankton typed on a terminal and locked onto the incoming train. "Target sighted, all we need is the power source. Would you do the honors?"

"Gladly." Mr. Dark placed the Protoon into a slot in the cannon's base.

"This should be enough juice to take Bigmouth down a few pegs. Listen, Darky, since we're friends now, I uh… I wanna tell you something, and I don't know who else to turn to. …I think XANA is seeing my W.I.F.E. behind my back." Plankton spoke sadly.

"Now Plankton, you shouldn't go thinking that your wife, a computer, gets a little lonely because you're a microorganism and XANA's another computer she can relate to."

"But I don't know how to confront them about this, and it'll feel really awkward working with him.."

"XANA doesn't even work with us much, he's always in Cyberspace – look, can we just focus on this?"

"Okay… heh heh. Karen cheating on me with XANA, how rich." Plankton laughed it off. "Engine fully charged, target coming in range. Commencing fire in:"

"Rocket-san's pumped and prime, ready to BLOW this baby a new one!" Chimney exclaimed with an almost psychotic grin. "Engines more than charged, commencing contact – warning, countdown may be shorter than implied – in:"

"THREE…" Chimney and Plankton's eyes locked tight. "TWO…" Plankton's ray gun brimmed, Chimney's train was like a blue sun. "ONE…"

The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. was a split-second away from piercing the Star Train, but the green light of Plankton's device swallowed it. "What the—" Before she knew it, Chimney fell to an extreme decrease in speed. "WAAAAAAAAHHHH!" She crashed into the side of the train, her own train bouncing as rampantly as a toy down stairs.

"Chimney?" Apis spoke into her wristwatch. The W7 members waited worriedly by the window. "Chimney, where'd you go?"

"She didn't get shot down, did she?" Aeincha asked, still on Persian's head.

"Knowing her, she could've crashed herself."

"Nya-nya." A red light swallowed Persian, and Aeincha fell to the floor.

"Sorry about your pitiful friend." Giovanni remarked. "Perhaps you would've been better off on our side. Golem, use Tackle Attack!" He tossed his Pokéball open.

"Goooolem!" The Rock-type spun into a ball and launched, the kids jumping aside into an alternate hallway.

Apis used telepathy, Golem, are you weak against ice?

Yes.

"Mary, your blue crayon!"

"Okay!" Mary rushed over and drew light-blue on Golem's face. The Pokémon curled up and shuddered in place.

"Ahh!" Giovanni was caught in Dillon's Shadow Possession from behind. The other operatives were with him.

"Guys, where did Chimney go?"

Before any of the members could respond, Aisa called their communicators. "Guys, I'm sensing Chimney in Car 4, lower floor. You better come quick."

Sector V nodded W7 to do so, so the friends ran off. "NYAAAAH!" XANA appeared behind Dillon from thin light, the shadowbender dodging his dual blades. Chris and Mason shot fire and gas, but XANA warped and caused both powers to explode and blow everybody back. "Hahahahahaha!" XANA spun to a halt. "Didn't expect ME to come back, huh?"

Dillon glared. "XANA, I thought we destroyed you back in Cyberspace. Why are you alive?"

"The power of desire goes a long way, boy. I don't very much enjoy it, being in this human wor—ld. I'm not the only one. Vanellope hates it, too."

"Whaddyou mean Vanellope?!"

"Hehehe! Bye-bye, now!" He ran away with his cape blowing behind.

"Come back!" Dillon furiously chased.

"You must forgive XANA's childishness." Specter floated into view with Dr. Nefarious. "He is only 7 months old. Thank Nefarious's technical knowledge in repairing his software."

"Oh, you flatter me too much." Nefarious flushed. "Anyway… BACK TO THE BED WITH YOU!" he screamed at Maddy.

"We're in space, there is no bedtime!"

"Now tell us who the other Lights are!" Chris demanded.

Nefarious loomed snarkily at him. "Is there an 'Or else'?"

"Right here." Ratchet's grenade exploded against the back of his head. Nefarious poofed into smoke, and a metal drum replaced him. "What?"

"Watch out!" Drake grabbed him and ducked, the others following suit when heat vision beams zipped from down the hall.

"I didn't just take it like a wimp during my youth years. I've mastered Ninjutsu!" Nefarious declared. "Substitution… and now:" he formed swift hand-signals, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A squad of clones appeared behind and lunged at each kid, pinning them down. Chris lit with fire and dispersed his clone, then quickly punched fire at the others, but Specter lifted them with psychic.

"You can try to defeat us, but there is no means of escape. You're trapped here. Accept—" His collar crackled. "Son of a- what's WRONG with this-?"

Drake aimed his harpoon to pierce the base of Specter's chair, the ape falling as his psychic hold broke. Mason burped a Gas Bomb at Nefarious, which Chris countered with a fireball to blow the robot up, his Shadow Clones vanishing. "Let's look for the others and find a way off."

Cargo hold

"Nnnuuuhh…" Chimney was knocked unconscious after that sudden and bumpy ride. She was still on the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N., but the atmosphere beyond the windshield wasn't space, it looked like… mountain-size crates in a vast, metal plain. The ground outside suddenly shook, Chimney panicked and thought she was under attack, then a tremendous green shoe stomped before the windshield. She almost fell off her seat when the ship shook, for some force was raising it upward. A great blue eye was peering into her window, blinking. Chimney didn't need long to process what happened, but she was afraid, more afraid than she'd ever been about anything:

Mary Goldenweek was holding the shrunken train and staring at the tiny driver. "Chimney?"

"NAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The other W7 members came shortly after – even from their relative distance, Chimney had the loudest scream imaginable. "NOOOOO! PUT ME DOWN, PUT ME DOWN, ON'NANOKOS, SAVE MEEEEEE!"

"She shrunk!" Apis gasped

"Poor Chimney." Aisa sighed.

"Good thing Aisa has good Observation." Mocha noted.

"Oooooo! Chimney's train got small!" Mary beamed, observing it from every angle. "She's small, too! I wonder if she'll fit in my train set back home?"

"NOOOOOOO! I'd rather die before my baby becomes one of your toys!! Aisa, make me big before I kill myself!!"

"You have some anger issues to work out." Aisa said, lightly taking Chimney out of the window and holding a red apple beside her—Chimney jumped onto the magic fruit and munch-munch-munched right away. "Why am I still tiny?! WHYYYYYY!"

"Oh, is that Skypian Apples? That won't work." Everyone looked above when Mr. Dark appeared, holding the Protoon to his cloak while Plankton stood on his hat.

"I used Mr. Dark's Protoon as the power source for my shrink ray!" Plankton proclaimed. "He was so nice to let me borrow it."

"Indeed, our one weakness was that we squabbled too much. We at Team Gnik must learn collaboration if our plans are to have succession. So from now on, you may borrow my troops, Sheldon."

"And you may use mine, Thaddeus."

"Sheldon? Thaddeus? THOSE ARE YOUR NAMES? PFFFFA HAHAHAHAHA!" Chimney clutched her ribs and fell on her back, earning disbelieved stares from her teammates. "Gyom-gyogyogyogyogyogyogyo!" Gonbe was cracking up, too.

"At any rate," Mr. Dark continued with resent, "my Protoon's magic is powerful beyond your knowledge, so your toy train won't be flying you anywhere anytime soon. Enjoy your stay on Team Gnik Express-"

"HYAAAH!" Mocha leaped up and punched the cloak man into the wall, Plankton with him, and shook the floor upon landing. Mr. Dark fell, looking up with fright as Mocha flew toward him with an Armament punch. He whipped his Protoon upward and projected a pink shield, the impact of Mocha's punch creating a powerful collision that made the whole train car rumble. The shield broke after seconds, surprising Mr. Dark, but Plankton leaped up, puffed, and grew to Mocha's size with a burly muscular body – save for his tiny head, and sent the girl flying with a punch.

"I had second thoughts about Specter's Vita-Z Bananas at first, but they were SCRUMPTIOUS!" Plankton proclaimed, flexing his muscles. "Next time I visit the tavern, I'm telling those thugs HAVE SOME OF THIS!"

Mocha ran at Plankton and locked arms, shoving with almost equal strength. "Wh-Whoooa!" Mocha lost balance when Plankton shrunk back to normal, smashing facefirst into some crates. Mr. Dark caught Plankton before swirling his cape and vanishing. He appeared above Mocha, dropped Plankton, and the organism puffed to muscle-size again to crush Mocha's back.

"HNNN!" A large crate burst down by the might of Dennis's spiked boots. Space Mama gracefully landed beside him, dancing on her toes.

"Meester Dark, yooooww, I have found them noooow, I will GLADLY-"

"UGH, will you PLEASE shut up!" Dennis demanded.

"Mama…" Mr. Dark gestured at the girls with his eyes.

"Oh-ho, of course!" Space Mama jumped to the center of the girls, spun, and hit them away with her bazooka. Aisa gasped and rolled away before Dennis stomped, Gonbe jumped to bite his ear and Apis grabbed him around the neck, the hunter grabbed and threw both against the floor. The three hurriedly got up and ran when he threw knives, the hunter giving chase around the giant crates. Mocha was thrown into another stack, catching Plankton's fists in her palms and pouring every ounce of strength to hold him back. Aeincha ran up the giantess's arm, up Plankton's arm, and began punching the organism's little head. "Hey-hey! Get offa me! My muscles! They're too… big to reach!" Indeed, his arms couldn't flex enough to reach his own head.

"UUUUU-YAH!" Mocha gutted him with an Armament fist and sent Plankton across the room, leaping for a follow-up beatdown.

Space Mama flew above April and Mary and separated both girls by shooting the floor between them. They flew separate ways, but the actress focused her attacks on April, who jumped several paces backward while slashing pink paint at the woman.

Mr. Dark materialized above Mary, yellow eyes glaring. "Finally, you're alone. I've been eager to meet you."

Mary gritted her teeth and lunged at him with her palette knife, but Mr. Dark shot purple lightning from his Protoon and blew her backward. "You can drop the act around me. We both know what you really are."

"Wh-What're you talking about?" Mary asked.

"I have an acquaintance in the Dream World, you see. You'd be amazed how many people suffer… seek desire and redemption through means of slumber. You're… hur hur hur. A very interesting specimen. So I shall be taking you-"

"ZORA JUJUTSU!" A swift, sudden, bullet-size blur zipped every direction across Mr. Dark's vision, until it shot right between his eyes.

"No! Ugh! Uuuuuurrr!" Chimney squeezed herself between his eyes, and Mary watched as they both rolled out, his clothes drifting to the floor. The Protoon clinked and bounced across the floor. Chimney crawled out of the cloak and scampered over to Mary.

"For the record, I only saved you for April's sake, but I for one find you annoying. Now take me to on'nanokos AND BE CAREFUL WITH MY TRAAAIIIN!"

"O-Okay." Mary held the toy R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. steady and lightly picked Chimney up.

In Car 3, Dillon chased XANA and blasted a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A., but the Program became pixels and glitched behind, kicking Dill in the back of the head. "Hahahahaha! Surprised? After you 'destroyed' me with your H.E.A.D.S.E.T., I was able to absorb Vanellope's glitching prowess through it! I detest them strongl—y, but they make do."

Dillon recovered and glared spitefully, "Where's Vanellope?! What do you mean she hated this world?"

"I mean that she no longer desires you and your miserable group. She was suffering in this world, dying. She didn't belong. I helped her find solace after the Zoni returned her to my world, and now she is working with me. We are BOTH working under Lord Gnik's instruction, controlling the world of Cyberspace. Face it, boy. You may have thought you had a sister with Vanellope, but you were less than just non-blood. You were never one in the same."

"You're lying!" Dillon yelled passionately. "Vanellope loved our world! She loved being able to see it, and loved hanging out with us. And wherever she is… I'm sure she would come back to us if she could!"

"You're still the same as you were on our first meeting: gullible to strangers, gullible to yourself. You're the one who's lying, denying that Vanellope was dying in this world, denying her the aid she needed. Tell me, boy, why would she want a brother like you? A brother who refused to cure her illness? What sliver of evidence have you to show me she still cares about you?!"

"Becauuuuuuse… I do?" They both faced a nearby monitor—Dillon's eyes fell so wide, they would burn from its staticky image.

"V…Vanellope."

"Geez, Dillon, did someone carve your eyelids out? You're such a dweeb!" Vanellope said with her adorable, candy-girl voice.

"Vanellope!" Dillon reached up and touched both hands on the screen. "Y-You're here! Where are you?!"

"Look, I can't tell you everything and I don't have much time. I don't exactly know what's going on myself, but the Zoni had a message to send you and Maddy. They said you had to return to Earth, but Maddy needs to stay here, and find someone called… the Disbanded? They're never really clear about things, like apparently there's two of those Shimmer things, one of them is…—" Static.

"Vanellope!"

She appeared once more. "Dillon, I'm on the Bridge to the New World. Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but the Zoni said you'll be coming this way soon. So… we'll meet again. Count on it. See ya later, Dillon. Stay sweet!" The screen went off.

"GRRRR!" XANA fumed. "That LITTLE… ruining my demotivational speech, I'LL show her! WHOOP!" A fire and ice blast sent him away.

"Dillon, you okay? We have to find W7 and escape." Aurora said.

"Uh- r-right!" Figuring he could explain later, Dillon joined his friends.

They scurried back to the first floor and regrouped with Sector W7. "Where are those guys, did you lose 'em?" Aisa asked.

"For the moment." Maddy panted. "…Who's that?"

"I'm Mary!" the girl grinned, head tilted sideways and her knife drawn.

Maddy sweatdropped. "I don't like her!"

"Where's the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.?" Chris asked.

"We have a small problem…" Apis showed them the tiny train.

"You expect us to ride in that?" Artie asked.

"I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU FATHEADS IN MY BABY!" Chimney cried.

"We'll need to steal some of their ships or something if we wanna get outta here!" Haruka yelled.

"There's not enough for all of us, and we need to find a ship for Mocha." Haylee mentioned.

"Huff… huff…" Aurora was out of breath. "I'm too tired… I can't take another…"

Protomantises, monkeys with guns, Planktonbot Chucks, and Hecklers surrounded them. Dennis, Space Mama, and Vorselon smirked at their victory. The friends were too tired, their only means of escape was disabled, they were completely surrounded… if there was ever a time for a miracle, it would be now. "…Apis, what're you doing?" Chimney squeaked.

The religious child was on her knees with hands folded. "Praying for a miracle."

"Apis, if there was ever a time to stop being stupid, IT WOULD BE NOW!"

I'll. . save. . you. . . I'm. . com. .ing. . .

Apis's eyes widened. "Guys! Did you hear that?"

"I swear if you say 'The Lord spoke to me.'"

I'll. . save. . you. . . Get ready. . to jump. . .

The voice was distant, majestic, otherworldly… Apis, for a moment, believed Arceus was speaking to her… His voice was right inside her head… just like… her Animal Telepathy.

The train shook furiously at that moment. The right side of the hallway was steadily detaching from the rest. That whole chunk of the train popped off, in the mouth of—it was a weird sight for them, too—a tremendous space-whale.

"WHAT- THE- beeeeep." Nefarious's censor program beeped. He and his allies were aghast at the creature.

The great white whale spat the chunk of Star Train away and flew forward with his open mouth looming. It crashed against the side of the train, the kids frantic to keep their balance as it tilted. "Guys! I think he wants us to jump in!" Apis yelled.

"I'M NOT GONNA BE KRILL!" Chimney screamed.

"I must've summoned him with my power—he shouldn't harm us! Come on, let's just go for it!" Without waiting another second, the Arceist fearlessly jumped onto its tongue. With questionable looks, all the operatives and Ratchet dropped onto the squishy floor. The great whale, Mobius Dick, sounded its cry to the stars and flew away, unleashing a spout of energy from its hole and vanishing into space.

"Grrrrrr DAMMIT! Shitty cock-beep son of a BITCH!" Nefarious stomped. "Why is it that, just when EVERYTHING goes my way, some giant beep-ing space-whale comes and TAKES MY PRISONERS?!"

Lawrence casually swept the floor of the ruined train. "I should've paid extra for the censor options." He resumed sweeping.