26. Birka

Star Train

"I don't CARE who was supposed to handle the budget for welding equipment." Dr. Nefarious yelled at his and Plankton's robots, standing on the edge of where the chunk of ship was ripped off by Mobius. "Get this train fixed or you'll all be welded to FIX IT!"

"Uuugh…" Mr. Dark appeared out of a vortex.

"Well, LOOK who decided to rematerialize, Mister Most-powerful-being-in-Dreamland. What good did your lousy Protoon do this time?"

"Hey! In the Dream World, the Protoon makes me more powerful than you could possibly imagine. But even with it in my possession, there are rules that Imaginary beings, such as myself, must abide by. (One of those rules is 'the Protoon must not leave its resting place', but screw that.) I assure you, however, if I was at my full power here, you would fear me."

"I'm sure I would, but right now, I fear the amount of Bolts it will cost to have this train fixed. Yell at some of your minions to help out. I need to see if Lawrence recorded that new Gobots episode." The robot marched away.

Mr. Dark sighed with aggravation as Plankton hopped over. "If it makes you feel better, I clogged the electrical outlets of his TV with chum."

Dark turned away, staring at the pink electrical sphere and rubbing a finger against it. "Plankton… do you know what a Creation is?"

"If it's not my robots, I've been using the wrong term all this time."

"A Creation refers to any sort of life-form that was not naturally created, except by the will of ordinary mortals. Psychicbenders are more well-known for creating Imaginary Friends, but they are not the only ones who can. We Dream Spirits are subconsciously created by sleeping mortals and primarily thrive in the Dream World, and on a more literal sense, robots are created out of physical material and Programs are designed in the sub-dimension, Cyberspace. But strict laws are established upon the species that are created from thoughts. An Imaginary Friend can easily fade into nothing if the Creator no longer cares, or dies, and we Dream Spirits cannot survive in the Waking World for long. Only by the power of the Protoon am I standing here, talking to you."

"Kinda like my situation with being out of water for too long. I know how you feel."

"Yes, and I would like to have as much power in the Waking World. Do you know about the Switching Spell? It is a special charm that allows two mortals to trade bodies, based on a matter of trust and agreement. Creations have their own version… via a trading of existences between a mortal and Creation, the imaginary can become real. That was a theorem discovered by Weiss Guertena, a legendary artist. And one that can help me spectacularly, because if I could trade existences with another mortal, I would have power in this world! I could manipulate the dreams of mortals from outside, and rule the Dream Realm from this position."

"Can't help ya there, buddy." Plankton declined simply. "I love you Thaddeus, but not enough to trade my existence."

"Regardless… it is a theorem I want to research. That is why… I must get my hands on that girl named Mary." He looked at Plankton with maniacal eyes. "Because she is Guertena's daughter."

Skypia; Rubberband Land

It was 10 in the morning before Sector W woke up. Sleeping on solid cloud was a wonderful experience, they never felt more relaxed. So much better than camping on soil. "Yaaawn-d'ow!" Anthony yawned awake, and splatted cream against his face with his hand.

"HAH! And you all wondered why I packed whipped cream!" Aranea shouted.

Anthony angrily wiped it off with his arm, then onto the cloud ground. "Arise and burn like the sun, mine comrades." Fybi sang from the air. "Yon time to fly to Birka hast dawned. Clothe in yon suits of rubber and let us make haste." She dropped a skinny blue rubber suit beside each of them.

The kids each went behind a rock-cloud, as they had to take off most of their clothes to fit the rubber suits on. They all appeared skinnier than their bodies, but once the feet were in first, they could see how they stretched to a more worthy size. They were still very hard to squeeze into, then they had to fit the rubber hoods over their hair, making them all appear totally round and hairless. "Hnnn-nn-nn, stupid-!" The girls and Harvey giggled at Anthony, who rolled out from behind his rock in his underwear, unable to squeeze his big foot into the suit.

"He he he he!" Phosphora giggled through her teeth. She blushed at her action, frowned, and turned away. She looked at the suit Fybi had dropped beside her.

"Thou art powerless, but a bender of lightning nonetheless." Fybi said. "Thine choice to wear is optional."

"…" Phosphora slung it over her shoulder. "No, I don't think I will. I grew up in that atmosphere, I want to feel it. …Hang on… where's your suit?"

"Prithee, am I ungeared?" Fybi sparked with mock-realization. "Nay, I canst not fly without wind on my skin. I will not be able to maneuver thee through storm. I fly metaphorically naked."

"HUUUUURRRR!" Aranea struggled to help Anthony squeeze his suit on. She stretched the hood a great length, then- "Ow!" released, letting it snap onto his head. "Ugh… thanks, Nea. Fybi, are you sure you'll be okay without a suit?"

"The suit wouldst feel uncomfortable on my wings, call it a hunch. I am certain I canst navigate thee through the storm. Phosphora, where is Birka's direction?"

"Around this time of year, Birka usually flies near Europe. That doesn't make it easy to track; their clouds shift location pretty quickly."

"The inside of my vessel possesses yon weather radar. I am certain it canst find Birka's ominous clouds shouldst I flutter 'cross the continent. Into the ship, and we shalt lift off."

Everyone boarded the Angel Wing as Fybi stood the seven feet in front of it, letting it read her motion-sensor straps. The weather map appeared on the front deck in the cockpit, reading them over the Atlantic Ocean. "Yes, Europe is just northeast. And…" Phosphora swiped her finger across the monitor to Europe, and zoomed in, "there is a storm; a big one. About to pass over Greece."

"Then yon skies of Greece, 'tis where we head." Fybi smirked with enthusiasm. "I pray that its gods allow us safe passage. Art thine seatbelts buckled? Wilt no one go flying in midflight? Willest-"

"JUST hurry up and take us, Fybi, before we run out of air-fuel!" Anthony shouted.

Fybi stared. "On-thy-mark-get-set-GO!"

"WHOOOA!" Fybi shot forth without warning, and the open skies awaited. (Play "Cloudtop Cruise" from Mario Kart 8!)

Stage 37: Birka

Mission: Find the lightning island, Birka!

Act 1: Cloud Cruise

This was the very kind of flying Fybi was looking forward to, high, unmatched speed going a hundred miles per hour, thousands of feet over the sea, wind pounding powerfully against her features. Her friends really wished she wouldn't go too fast, but as long as they had a straightforward path… well, until they get to the storm. "Avast, yon creatures of the sky wisheth to thwart our path! Well, guess once more!" Fybi drew her B.O.W. and blasted arrows at the strings of Spiked Parabuzzies who tried to impale her with their spikes, or the Lakitu who tried to chuck Spinies. Her energy arrows came out at whipping fast pace, although the creatures weren't defeated instantly because of their shells, Fybi's arrows got through before long.

An airplane was flying by, unseen at first because of the large cloud in their way. "Whoops! My apologies!" Fybi swooped down, her friends screamed when the ship mimicked the action. She flew smoothly again as she shifted altitude upward, but as if out of nowhere, a plane shot up to them from behind another cloud, but Fybi quickly shifted up higher and soared over its roof. A higher plane soared by from the right, she dodged down, dodged up to avoid a low plane from the left, then when a longer plane was coming up from behind, Fybi dodged left and flew along its side. She slowed her flight to let it pass, smiling at the passengers inside, and shifting heights to dodge the plane's many wings (for both herself and her ship, requiring Fybi to use good judgment so neither would hit a wing). "The plane schedules are too clustered for my comfort!" Aranea cried.

After this final plane was cleared, Fybi could fly safely through open skies. The clouds were far away, and shadows of landscapes could be seen across the horizon. Once they crossed the sparkling sea, it was a shorter distance away to Birka. "Huh? Fybi, look at all those Nimbis up there." Sally pointed directly ahead.

Fybi almost thought they were clouds, but drawing closer, she realized they were a fleet of adult Nimbi. "Prithee, art we on path of Skypian militia's patrol route? Mayhap I shalt alter course this direct-" She swerved and dodged by the beat of her heart; the Nimbi had begun shooting arrows. Before long, Fybi was flying through the scrambled fleet, rapidly blasting the Nimbi with her B.O.W..

"A no-fly zone in Skypia?!" Aranea exclaimed, baffled.

"Wherefore ist thine reason?!" Fybi shouted.

"By order of the Government, these children art not permitted access within Birka's boundaries. Heed our warnings and return to whence thou cometh."

"THESE guys work for the Government?" Harvey asked.

"Wait, I remember Viridi telling me a story." Phosphora mentioned. "Earth's World Government convince Nimbi to believe they're angels of the true Heaven, forced into the mortal world because of everyone's disbelief. They work with the Government to help realize their ideals."

"But how do these Government Nimbi know what we're up to?" Nea asked. "Even we don't know why Fybi wants to go there."

"I shalt shoot first and ponder these queries later." Fybi nimbly dodged and air-rolled every direction, charged a powerful arrow to shoot through a team of Nimbi, then Tornado Spun to create a wind drill, bursting through several more. She shot upward and out of the swarm, flying forth with breakneck speed to get away. "I shouldst not engage them much, lest my sensors rip. We must get away." She swerved and maneuvered around groups of clouds to lose the Nimbi, but she stopped behind one, whipped around, and whirled a tornado with her arms to blow some Nimbi away, then kept flying. Armored Nimbi began chasing them, wielding Flaming Swords of Vengeance that launched flaming beams.

The Angel Wing took a few blows, much to the passengers' horror, so Fybi evasively tried to maneuver away, throw air blasts back to disperse the flames, then decided to dive-bomb toward the sea. She about-faced upward while still descending, her ship going behind as a result so she could blast charged arrows at the Flame-sword Nimbi. Most evaded her shots and narrowed closer; then forming an idea, Fybi smirked and spun during her descent, and since the ship always stayed behind her, it whirled around Fybi and knocked some Nimbi away. She faced down again and dove faster, her friends shut their eyes in fear she would hit the sea. Then—Fybi stopped, the ship stopped, the Nimbi sped by and splashed into the sea, which bubbled from their flame swords. Before they could dry their wings, Fybi took off toward the nearby landscape. "We're about to pass over Spain." Phosphora reported. "Then over the Mediterranean, past Italy's southern shore, then Birka is over the Ionian Sea."

"The wind under my wings grows as great as our destination. I canst feel the air guiding me thither, closer." Fybi pressed her arms to her body, legs together, and flew faster with as little resistance as possible. Spain's landscape was passing under so quickly, they needed each moment to marvel it. Especially when Fybi had to start maneuvering through a herd of giant f**king Sky Whales. Seriously, how do Earth people not notice all these things in the sky? Fybi turned sideways so her ship could squeeze between some whales. She shifted up to fly over a whale, then dodged left around a line of whales. A large whale glided below her, just for fun she flew down and dashed along the whale's back, thankfully the ship followed her since she wasn't stationary. "If some o' these whales fart, it probly ain't pleasant for the other ones." Anthony remarked.

"Anthony, why can't you keep your freaking mouth shut during these parts?!" Nea shouted. After they were clear of the whales, more Flame-sword Nimbi were after them, riding the backs of Loftwing. Fybi dodged down and flew past them, but the Loftwing about-faced and coughed giant nuts at the Angel Wing. Fybi performed a somersault and got behind the colored birds, shooting the Nimbis in the back with charged arrows. "I do not wish to harm fair birds. Pity they must be tamed for such evils." A gentle pattering hit her ears, the tiny wooden propellers of Fly Guys. The masked sock creatures fluttered over Fybi, dropping bombs or spikeballs, though the Shy Guys were easy to shoot down with rounds of small arrows.

"Phosphora, at how further a distance must I fly?" Fybi yelled.

Phosphora wasn't looking at the monitor. "It's… right over there."

Fybi smirked at the great mass of dark clouds directly ahead. "I know. I doth be checking thine attention span."

"How do we know that's even Birka?" Anthony asked worriedly. "Aren't there like a zillion storms happening per day?"

"It's Birka." Phosphora knew. "We had pictures of its pattern."

"We enter yon storm noweth." (Play "Cloudtop Cruise Thundercloud" from Mario Kart!) The inside of the clouds was like a tunnel, in brightest day, the sun couldn't get inside. The air was still very hot, which was to be expected since there was no rain. Tornados spiraled from the clouds on their upper-left, direct right, and from below, Fybi barely dodged them and got herself and her ship away from their current. Armored Nimbi were still riding into the storm, but their swords were electrified and unleashed such beams. Fybi briefly turned around, blasted one with a charged arrow, dodged two others' beams, then turned back to resume flight. She swerved around numerous bulky clouds to lose sight of them, if it wasn't for all the flashing lightning, she couldn't tell which way was open and which way was solid cloud.

Parts of the clouds swirled and rose to become Dark Puffs, small clouds with smiling faces and sub-sentience, but they were anything but kindhearted smiles as they charged lightning bursts and blasted. Fybi evaded and dispersed the clouds into fragments with her arrows, but parallel rows of Dark Puffs flew along the floor and ceiling, or both walls, connecting with their parallels via electrical bars. Fybi had to shoot a few of the Puffs on either side, creating openings for her ship to fit through. The Angel Wing briefly took a shock, not damaging the kids because of their suits, but it wasn't healthy for the ship all the same. The great cloud tunnel shifted leftward, where clouds became more pitch-black, but still enough light from the lightning.

The clouds above had many bright flickers, so to be safe from lightning, Fybi landed on the flat cloud path below and ran. Bolts did strike down on various parts of the path, it was a matter of dodging left or right, lest she be forced to stop. The path curved sideways along the right wall, steadily looping to upside-down, the left wall, then back to normal, her quick pace allowing her to shift in these directions. The tunnel ended as Fybi took flight, across an open expanse of the storm where tornados spun in place. Fybi kept a safe distance, but Skytails flew out from the darkness, she repeated her evasive skills and shot their weak tails. "We just need to fly around a few more trenches before we make it." Phosphora informed.

"Yeah, but one problem." Anthony pointed. "Those Angels of Vengeance are everywhere!" In either of the two routes on their left and right, squadrons of Lightning-sword Nimbi were appearing, and there would be risky chance at avoiding their strikes at close range.

"Prithee, ist Birka just beyond hither?" Fybi yelled, drawing closer to the cloud wall.

"Y-Yes, but I don't see-" said Phosphora.

Fybi forcefully spun her arms and sent a cyclone beam, drilling a hole within the cloud, then spiraled into a wind drill herself and burrowed through the cloud like ground. Her friends spun and spun in the ship, there were moans of disgust when Anthony puked. Fybi felt the sparks of lightning tingling her skin, her wind drill glowed brighter as it drew in the lightning. She withstood the tingles and kept spinning, if she lost momentum now, she would never get through. She came bursting out of the other side as a spinning bolt, but the lightning dispersed as she flew straight. "Art thou okay?"

Fybi really didn't need a response for that. They wished they'd stayed in Hawaii. "On the bright side, though, we're nearing the center." Sally observed on the monitor. "I really can't wait-"

After a blinding blue flash of lightning, a titanic, godlike figure of bright blue skin, with white hair and beard, glowing blank eyes, and a darker blue toga, rose from the clouds and yelled at them with a mighty voice that rang in their ears. "EISVOLEÍS. EXAFANÍSOU APÓ AFTÓ TO MÉROS. PLÉNONTAI, EPISTREPSETE STON ÁDJ."

"YAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Sally and Harvey screamed and hugged each other. "What IS that thing?! What is it saying?"

"Incidentally, our native tongue is Greek." Phosphora replied calmly, though was just as panicked. "It's telling us intruders to be gone and be purged. It's our energy-made Thunder Lord, Birka's guardian; we won't be able to get through unless we beat it."

The Thunder Lord roared another sentence in Greek, raising a massive bolt of blue lightning in its right hand before striking down with supreme power. The range and the force resulted was larger than expected, Fybi barely avoided. She stretched and shot charged arrows one after another at Thunder Lord's face, then proceeded bombarding him with smaller faster arrows. Thunder Lord swiped his arm at Fybi, she dodged up as that strip of air lit with lightning for a brief second. The guardian roared and coughed energy balls at Fybi, easy to dodge as she ceaselessly bombarded arrows. The guardian raised another lightning spear, Fybi blasted two charged arrows at his wrist, the deity roaring when his attack ceased. He unleashed a deafening cry, blasting endless beams from his eyes, Fybi had to maneuver far away so neither her or the ship would be struck.

"Pray tell, how doth a being of such power stand for so long?"

"All of it is lightning created from complex arrangement of clouds with positive and negative charges." Phosphora replied. "It's Lightning 101, pretty basic stuff for Birkans."

"I view the weather channel every day, I know what creates it. And how it disappears." Fybi whirled her arms and blasted a constant air gust at the Thunder Lord's base. She spun it like a tornado, poured a lot of strength into expanding, trying to push the clouds away. The Thunder Lord threw another spear, Fybi zipped to the left, dodged, then flew far up into the sky. "Thou wilt not enjoy the sensation, so thou wouldst understand." Fybi smacked the sensor strap on her waist, and the ship deactivated. The kids were horrified, but the parachute equipped and slowed their descent. Fybi spun into a wind drill, dove beneath the clouds, and spun and spun and spun.

The guardian cried thunderous curses in Greek, staring at his hands which steadily began to fade. The Thunder Lord roared to the heavens before he was nothing, his clouds separated. Fybi flew up, back faced toward the Angel Wing's tip, and let it read her sensors. The parachute retracted as Fybi resumed flight. After the last few clouds moved away, the expansive island was in view. "There it is… Birka!" Phosphora beamed.

"Sweet!" said Harvey. (End song.)

The Lightning Nimbi on Birka were both confused and a little excited to have a visitor. Down from the clouds he came, on his homemade spaceship. But Killer Bee, the dark-skinned ninja rapstar with yellow hair and sunglasses, was not just touring. No, he was a little lost. "Hmmm." Bee looked at a map of space. "I was almost certain that wormhole to Termina was three light-years left of the third quasar. Unless it was counting that one way off my path. Ah hope it wasn't a temporary wormhole. Hmmm…" He folded the map and looked around. "One thing's for certain, Ah don't got a clue what this planet is. It's not bad, though. The staticky air feels good on my nerves. Ah feel a nice tune comin'. Gonna find me a club or somethin', introduce some beats to these flashy angels. Fools, ya fools…" He jigged his way up the path.

Under a flash of lightning, the island denizens saw another ship approaching, guided by a redheaded angel. Despite the powerful winds, Fybi was able to slow to a halt over the shore, landing softly as her ship did the same. Her friends climbed out of the cockpit to welcome their selves to the atmosphere. Well, the other four were wearing rubber suits, so they weren't too welcoming, but Phosphora felt a feeling of nostalgia tingle her nerves.

Birka was a fiercely windy place, and though no sun could penetrate its dark, endless-spiraling clouds, the electricity kept everything bright as day. The Nimbi had shades of gray with their white skin to match the clouds, and they wore mostly loose robing. With their sparkling blue wings of energy, they zipped everywhere all the time, one part of the island to the other in the blink of an eye. There were many metal devices, small platforms that uplifted to floating houses via lightning beams, platforms that traveled along electric-powered rails all across the island.

A Birkan man zipped up above them, "Heeeeey welcometoBirka, islandoflightningstormsandenergy, wehopeyouenjoyyourstayhere, pleasevisitourgiftshopstouristsstayatourhotelsforfree, havefun!" He zipped away before they could ask him to slow down.

A group of Birkan kids appeared around the Sector W members (except Fybi, who was airborne). "Hey're these guys humans?"

"They got funny outfits!"

"Come play shockball with us!"

"Betcha they can't."

"So lame."

"Watch me fly to Dashi's Peak—watch me do it again!"

They all zipped away before I could briefly describe their appearance. "Well, the people are awful friendly." Sally smiled.

"How short is a Birkan's lifespan, anyhow?" Anthony asked.

"Pray, doth not ask such things." Fybi told him from the air. "Each and every split second, the Birkan lives their life vigorously."

"Kmm, he he!" the friends giggled.

"…Prithee?"

"Fybi, your…!" Anthony choked snickers.

Fybi's frizzy hair was puffy like an afro, standing right upward. She glanced at it and laughed softly. "Thou hast gotten me thither." She tried to pull it down, but it stayed standing. "Birka's air be very static, unpredictable. Shalt we begin knowing the structure of this land?"

"There's a playground I always used to hang around up this path." Phosphora said. "Let's see if it's still up."

They followed a road that was carved into a small gorge. The more they were in Skypia, they more they wondered if platforms, stairs, or pathways were even necessary if everyone flies all the time. Of course, there was always the chance of visiting humans, not to mention flightlessness was a disability. There was a park at the end of this path, where Birkan kids were playing. The swingset's swings could loop constantly around the bar they hung from, and took the form of electric circles when kids used them. The roundabout flew high into the air when kids powered them with electric charges. Hoops sat at the top of thin poles, each at varying altitudes, and tested kids' precision as they zigzag-zipped through them. The five Birkan kids from before were in the air above the playground, one of them holding a metal ball, which was really a grouping of stick-like bars with wires, wrapped into a sphere with many gaps. While I have a moment, the three boys were named Dio, Brendix, and Laxy, while the two girls were named Amper and Ela.

Dio lit the ball with his power, causing a blue electrical sphere to shine in the center. He looked down and saw the humans. "Look, it's those humans again."

"Do they wanna play?" Amper asked.

"Betcha they can't." said Brendix.

"Hey humans, lookathis." Dio zipped above, kicked the ball at Ela, she zipped to its side, kicked it at Brendix, he kicked yards away, Laxy zipped that distance and kicked at Amper, she zip-flipped and kicked the ball towards Anthony. Thinking fast, Anthony kicked the ball with his rubber-covered foot, and considering the speed at which it came, it was amazing his kick sent it across the park.

Impressed, the five Birkans zipped down to Anthony, fluttering in a circle above him. "That was strong." said Dio. "What's that about?"

"Are you herculean?" asked Amper.

"Who are you, anyway." said Brendix.

"Wait, I've seen those teeth somewhere. He's an Earth-beaver." Ela said.

"How'd you get up here, Beaver?" Laxy asked.

"I'm not a beaver!" Anthony shouted. "And we flew here on a ship, we're on… vacation." That's the only available reason of their coming there.

"Weird vacation suits." Dio said. "Those look too sweaty. No wonder humans and Air Nimbi sweat." The kids zipped to another place every few seconds.

"We wear things so we don't get struck by lightning."

"Why're you worried?" Brendix asked. "Gonna die? Sure, we can shock you to death. But we'll just shock you back to life. Want me to kill somebody and show you?"

"No, please!" Sally panicked. "We'd rather not test it!"

"You guys need an official tour." Laxy told them. "We can do that, here I'll give a tour right now. Try to keep up." He zipped away—he came back, "Thus concludes our tour. Any questions?"

"Thou mayest not notice, but yon woman of the still yellow hair wast one of thou, at one point." Fybi mentioned. "We hath come hither based on her knowledge."

The Birkans flew around Phosphora. "So you used to live here? Where's your wings, why'd you move?" Ela asked.

"If you're from here, tell us stuff." Brendix told her.

"Okay, okay, sheesh." Phosphora waved them off. "Birka was created a long time ago by ordinary airbending Nimbi who bended hundreds of thunderclouds together into an eternal fortress, and have mended Island Clouds from the same type clouds. Buildings were constructed, society formed, they learned how to bend lightning through airbending, and in time, they developed lightningbending in general. Of course, lightning is unstable and needs to be controlled, so the five Thunder Towers were constructed around the island. They absorb the energy from the everlasting clouds outside and provide power for the entire town."

". . ." The five Birkans looked at each other weirdly. "We don't pay attention in history, we don't know this stuff." Laxy said.

"Except the Thunder Towers." Amper said. "Everyone knows them. My mom says they're better than ever, because of God Thor."

"Phosphora mentioned Thor to us." Aranea replied. "Last night, she told me…"

"The people of Birka believed the Thunder God, Thor would appear one day, and bless pure energy unto us." Phosphora explained herself. "22 years ago, he came from the sky above Dashi's Peak."

"You were there when he came?" Brendix asked, the kids zipping around her. "What was he like? Did all the girls go crazy? Did YOU go crazy?"

"Like you wouldn't." Ela remarked.

"Don't you guys got other people to bug?" Anthony asked.

"Fine, screw you." Dio said. "Let's go prank that fat human that showed up here." They zipped away.

The sectormates approached the central statue in the park, constructed from solid Island Cloud that was black as onyx. He wore ancient garb and a cape, held a staff with an electric spark inside a cube, and a helmet which kept his still, sharp face exposed. For the moment, they had no developed opinion on the god, statues were common in places. Phosphora led them down a nearby village street, where several houses or buildings were at varying levels on either side. They'd like to say the citizens strolled or skipped merrily up the street, but no, most of them were zipping place to place. At times, they were afraid of people bumping into them. They tried to avert their eyes away from the people to avoid getting dizzy.

"Hey visitors hey visitors!" a fat Birkan man said quickly, waving behind his Snack Stand (written in Greek). "You like it here in Birka you never really know it until you try our fabled Electro Cookies!" He held up a whitish-brown cookie with blue icing and a yellow icing lightning bolt in the center. A small electric spark flowed around the whole thing, only presented itself every few seconds.

The kids exchanged wondering glances before Sally said with a smile, "Well, it's no vacation if we don't embrace their culture. Who knows, it might be tasty." She took a cookie and bit a piece, the light electric charge sparking in the empty chunk. She swallowed, "A little tingly, but very tasty, too."

Her friends shrugged and took a cookie themselves, then Phosphora, smiling as she savored the taste. She really forgot how good these were. "Hmhmhmhm!" Fybi laughed. "Mine tongue feels most jiggly! Pray that it dost not jump from my mouth and run."

"Yeah, these are kinda fun." Anthony smiled. "You use to have these, Phosphora?"

"Oh, yeah." She smiled. "Here comes the best part."

"What's that?" Harvey asked after swallowing.

Phosphora mentally counted down. …Anthony jumped back from a spark in his mouth, then Harvey, Sally, Fybi, Nea. "W-What's th-" Nea said, her head shook as she uplifted off the ground several feet due to a shock, then landed. Sally flew several yards back, Harvey slammed against a pole, Anthony spun vertically like a wheel, Aranea stumbled and twitched along the ground, Sally zigzag-zipped sideways around the air (within a set area), Harvey uplifted a few feet as his ear hairs stuck out, while Fybi just inched farther and farther and farther to the sky.

"Hm hm hm h-! Zzzzzz" Phosphora giggled, then felt the twitches herself, "Hahahahaha-zzzzzt."

After that silly sensation was done, the group proceeded to the end of the village path, standing atop a steep hill that overlooked a gray cloud river. "You might guess it, but our main source of hydration is rainwater." The lightning woman commented. "Sky people are more adapted to it, but you humans might think differently."

"We play outside in the rain sometimes." Sally said. "We taste it. It's so-so."

Several yards away from them, in reality high above the river, five familiar Birkans were zipping. "Guess who." Anthony said.

The shockball kids zipped above them. "Hey it's the humans again." said Dio.

"They're just now getting here?" Amper asked.

"They're so slow." said Brendix.

"Excuse us if we aren't lightningbenders." Anthony stated.

"We're just saying, Birkans make a hundred rounds around the island in minutes." Dio zipped away, came back. "We aren't used to visitors."

"Especially humans." Ela said. "God Thor doesn't like outsiders. If he knows you're here, he could smite you."

"Everyone else seems nice." Sally replied with a frown. "Not to suggest anything, but wouldn't they be smite, too?"

"It's because you're kids, so they're nice." Brendix zipped away, returned. "They know you can't stay here, so they feel self-satisfaction in showing their homeland to visitors, in their few moments."

"Not that we'd tattle on you." Amper said. "That's what grown-ups do. Besides, you shouldn't have to worry about anything since you're kids. Still, don't get too close to Dashi's Peak. See you in a few minutes!" And they were gone again.

"Where's Dashi's Peak?" Anthony asked.

"That's it over there." Phosphora pointed at a great, dark-gray tower a few miles away. It was roughly 80 feet wide, but stretched hundreds into the sky. Its top appeared to be at the center of the spiraling clouds above. "God Thor lives all the way at the top."

"They can never just live on the second floor, huh." Anthony gulped, his fear of heights kicking in. Well, at least they might not have to go up there.

Three blue strips of straight, flat lightning zipped across the air, the force creating a strong breeze that almost moved them. They watched as the source of those strips swerved leftward around the island in the distance. "What were those?!" Harvey beamed.

"Oh-ho, those." Phosphora chuckled. "Those would be Lightning Chariots. Birkans can only go at lightspeed a few meters every interval, but those things can fly to other planets if they wanted to. The Thundercorns (lightning unicorns) that pull them are among the fastest creatures in the universe. It takes a strong stomach and sense of will to control them."

"Sweet!"

"I get the feeling our skulls would fly out of our noggins if we attempt to ride one." Nea commented. "Well, as a small estimate."

"Pray, dost thou ever wish to ride one as a youth?" asked Fybi.

Phosphora blushed and looked away. "Maybe my former dream was… to become the fastest Chariot Master around."

"Ha ha HA! Thou were a true child!"

"It does look pretty cool." Anthony sat on the ground and tried to scratch his arm through his suit. "But I still don't get why we came here."

"Phosphora, thou sayest yon people of Birka hath long awaited Thor's arrival." Fybi recounted. "So wherefore were thee to speak of him in a negative light? Thou speakest as though he were not a god, but a mere king which calls himself such. You spoke of him as a stranger, whom appeared atop the peak, as though thou hast not expected. Am I on track?"

The kids stared at Phosphora curiously. The woman shifted her feet and looked down with a downtrodden expression. "Your few minutes are up!"

"DAAAH!" A shockball flew by and bashed Anthony in the face. The boy bumped all the way down the hill and splashed in the Rainwater River. The Birkan kids flew above his friends, staring down. "Maybe that was too hard." Dio said.

"Toldja he couldn't." Brendix remarked.

"We should help him." Laxy suggested.

"No, we might shock him to death." Amper noted.

"Oh well." Ela said, and they were gone.

"Ay. We shalt help him." Fybi flew down, followed by Sally and Harvey who slid down the slope.

Phosphora sat down with her legs hanging over the hill's edge, and Aranea joined her to watch the show. "So, I wonder, is your religion connected to Arceism in any way? It's just that my family are Arceists… and since we know the gods and Firstborn are physically real, I never really thought about it."

"I see why you would think that." Phosphora said, still turned away.

"Fybi has a point, you said that your people have been waiting for Thor to arrive, but on the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., you talked about him differently. …Did you not… believe in Thor?"

Phosphora smiled sardonically. "I believed in Thor greater than anyone. I believed… for a very long time, he would come."

"So what happened?"

A thin, dark veil fell over the sky that shadowed Phosphora's eyes. Her smile alone looked comical and mocking. "I learned that religion is for fools."

Sector W7 Treehouse

After the team had dropped Sector V at their treehouse, Sector W7 returned to their own. They were delighted to breathe the salty air of Water 7 again, and wanted to return to the living room so they could pass out. "'ey, you girls flip on the TV and look for something good, I gotta make a phone call right quick." Chimney told them before leaving to the hallways.

"You girls as hungry as I am?" Apis asked, going to the kitchen. "I'll cook us something to eat."

Aisa perked at the thought of her friend's terrible cooking. "I-I could, run down to the market really quick." She hurried to stop her.

April and Mary carried their canvases to the former's room, storing them with the collection. "There's another of a hundred adventures I won't soon forget. Hmhm, and Mary, I see you have some yourself." April giggled at her cousin's crayon drawings.

"Yes, but… April… do you ever consider coming back to Germany?"

April looked a little quizzical at the question. "I guess I could, if I asked Cheren to transfer sectors… but I'm happy here. Why, do you miss me that much?"

"Not just transferring sectors, I mean… stop doing this KND stuff altogether."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because, it's dangerous!" Mary said with a worried, downtrodden look. "We almost got killed by those people, and some of them are really scary. That cloaked guy, he said…he said something creepy." Mary replayed the words in her head.

"You can drop the act around me. We both know what you really are. I have an acquaintance in the Dream World, you see. You're… hur hur hur. A very interesting specimen."

"Oh, right… you got hurt by that guy, I saw. We'll get you treated if it still hurts, Mary." April smiled. "Don't let anything he said get to you, bad guys are always pulling this stuff."

"Um…" Mary looked away, sadly. Truthfully, she didn't know what that man was talking about, yet it gave her a foreboding feeling. She didn't know how to address this to April, however. "I guess so."

"You'll feel better after a snack." April put an arm around Mary. "Let's go with Aisa and get your favorites."

Mary gasped. "Macaroons, macaroons, yaaaaay!" She skipped as April led her along.

In Chimney's room, the Sector Leader switched on her personal transmission monitor. "Sector W7 Leader Numbuh W473R, requesting Sector JP's Numbuh Chinese New Year. Kodama, pick up!!"

The static screen projected a jovial girl with a light-red, knotted headband under her short, shiny black hair. She wore a blue robe with yellow, spiked explosion designs on the shoulders, orange sleeves on her undershirt, and had purplish-red eyeliner under her vibrant black eyes. She grinned and greeted Chimney with a salute. "What's-up, Chimney!"

"First I wanted to say, that your fireworks blew this shitty giganto train's mind away like the day yo' numbuhed for!!"

"Wow, really? Well, I'm glad to help out!"

"Yes, and I woulda wasted them beautifully, if I ain't got ***king shrunk!!"

"Oh. …" Kodama's face sunk, but she still smiled sheepishly. "You got small, huh? Happens to everyone."

"Yes, and Giganto totally humiliated my baby! Now I gotta work extra hard to make her as beautiful as ever!"

"I'm sure you can handle that easy, Chimney!"

"NOT DONE! If I'm gonna give those deki sokonai a show, I'm gonna need bigger more beautiful fireworks. That's where you come in, Ko-chan!" She pointed vigorously.

"What do you want me to do, exactly?"

"Do whatchu always been doin'! Make me the biggest, most powerful fireworks you gooot!!"

"Even more powerful than before?!"

"Yes! I need fireworks big enough to dazzle a whole galaxy, and you're the greatest explosive expert I know! So what say you, Ko-chan? Are you NOT the biggest firework fanatic around?!"

"Whaddyou mean, of course I am!" she yelled defensively.

"Then can YOU make fireworks good enough ta be on the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.?"

"You better bet I can!" She balled a fist and smirked.

"Then will YOU work your ARSE off to CREATE such explosives?!"

"I WILL, Chimney!"

"I AIN'T HEAR YOU LOUD ENOUGH! Yell that to me in a full sentence!"

"I'LL CREATE THE BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST FIREWORKS YOU'VE EVER SEEN! SO YOU BETTER MAKE EXTRA SPACE IN YOUR TRAIN, 'CAUSE THEY'LL BLOW YOU AWAY!"

"GOOOOOD! I expect them before month's end!!"

"YEEEEEAH!"

"Yaaaaaaah!"

"YEEEEEAAAAAAH!" They both screamed, before the screen switched off.

Mocha stomped in with a confused look. "What's with all the Japanese screaming?"

"Ahhhh, it's madgirl-style business, Mochan, you wouldn't know." Chimney casually walked by the giantess, who shook her head in disbelief.

Florae Galaxy; Galactic News Studio

"-so Planet Rovere is sure to see good times with their latest discovery of molten Alumitanium." The green-skinned anchorman reported.

"In other news," continued the anchorwoman of the same species, "tomorrow, Earthican billionaire Ted Wassanasong will begin construction of his project, Golfing in the Stars, which will be established over the would-be former Violet Dwarf System."

"Planetary citizens all over the galaxy are excited and have shown their support for the Earthican benefactor, whom is supported by Galaxia's very own Mom of Mom's Friendly Robot Company. Speaking of which, if I may, I bought the greatest robot from them a few weeks ago, hasn't shorted out once. Robot 1-X, my antennae, please."

A short, floating white robot with a round-square head, a blue monitor face, and no legs glided over, extracted Q-tips from its fingers, and twisted gunk out of the anchorman's green antennas. "Your ears are void of all unnecessary wax and I shall begin refining them into a bottle cake as you requested."

"Not what I wanted to hear before dinner…" said the anchorwoman with disgust.

"Hey, you can't go in there!" The doors swung open when Arianna burst in, escaping the large-bodied guards.

The child ran behind the stand between the anchorpeople. "People of Florae, you must NOT support Ted Watchacallit!"

"Did our translators spell his name wrong?" the anchorman said into his headset.

"Young lady, this isn't a playground, do you have-?" The anchorwoman was cut off as Arianna spoke.

"The people of this galaxy can't allow this man to destroy an entire system just for some pastime entertainment. I have flown by the Violet Dwarf System many an occasion, and I'm certain many of you have, too. The Violet System is a wonderful place, endlessly frolicking with creatures too majestic for our eyes. Those creatures do not exist in many quadrants, they struggle to survive today, so who are we to let them die tomorrow?"

"Miss, we can see you're very sensitive about the topic," the anchorman intervened, "but the money was already donated, the people of Florae support Ted. The star system isn't located too close to any settlements, so its destruction won't hurt-"

"YES IT WILL. Do you not think these animals are people, too? Don't think their habitats are settlements? Very well, as part of nature, stronger or more intelligent species hunt and kill the weaker for food. But that act is terrible on its own, even if necessary, so to kill them just for temporary entertainment is soulless! How would you all feel if the same thing happened to you, WHAT IF we were to die tomorrow, every one of us?!"

"No, don't go into commercial, this girl's bringing our ratings starward!" the anchorwoman whisper-yelled into her mike.

"All I'm saying is, try to imagine yourselves in the animals' place. Grazing in your homes, your markets, carefree and innocent, when all of a sudden, a force beyond your control rains down and destroys everything you care about. A being that deems itself far greater than us has no qualms, it laughs at our planets reduced to rubble and lives its existence happy and uncaring. Never once had it considered what we felt. All the children we love, the parents and friends. Our existence meant nothing to this 'person'. How would you know the animals don't think and act in their own special way? Living lives as average as ours, for the sake of living. Do we think ourselves as gods? …I guess we must."

The news aliens were silent for a while. Everybody in Florae was silent before their TV screens. For an 11-year-old girl, she sounded very passionate and sure of herself. They never really looked at this whole operation from a different point of view. True, a lot of parents took their kids to see the star system, it was a pretty place. They wondered if a golf course would be any better. Sure, it might be wicked fun, but establishments are sure to be torn down after a while, the Violet System has been there for eons, roughly.

"Yeah, but then again, she's just a little kid." Arianna gasped when someone else barged in the room and shoved her away. It was Ted's son, Chane Wassanasong, a handsome black-haired Laotian of 15, with a white shirt and gray jacket that made him resemble his father. "But the Chanester thinks differently. Hey ladies, how's it hangin'?" He winked.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Teenage alien girls were instantly swooned by his appearance, screaming gleefully.

"I'm just saying, who cares if a few animals in the universe go 'bye'? I mean, it's not like we see 'em all the time on our home planets, right?"

There were mutters between a club of teenage boys at a party. "Well, yeah, maybe…"

"Before long, they'll grow old and die within a fraction of our own lifespans. And since all they have are those little strips of asteroid, there won't be too many mates to have more kids with. The last of those generations will just get old and die alone, and no one wants that, right?"

"NOOOOO!" screamed more girls.

"It'd be better to die together than alone, that's what I'm saying! But you guys, all you male and female species out there can have fun for years to come at my dad's new golf course. Cotton candy made of all fruity flavors for the little ones." He showed a picture of the rainbow-colored candy.

"Mommy, I want that!" an alien girl pointed.

"For the adults, a million different flavors of wine, including static, skin cream, and garbage sludge."

"Mmmmm I want that." A blobbish garbage alien smiled hungrily.

"So if you wanna see animals, pick up a pet or something. We can lose an asteroid field-full. Continue supporting Ted's Golfing Galaxy, and please, tune in or join us tomorrow, and witness the unveiling of Golfing in the Stars." He knelt down and put an arm around Arianna. "What say you, little lady? Will you come golf with us?"

Arianna stared enticingly at his gorgeous face. Her purple skin flushed, she spoke excitedly, "I would love to, Chane!"

"You heard it here, folks, on Channel One Quadrillion!" the anchorwoman grinned. "Tune in tomorrow as we film the bombing of the Violet Dwarf System!" The cameras panned away and the anchors left. Arianna was still blushing as Chane walked away. …The color immediately drained from her face, and no longer did she want to live anymore.

Birka

"Cough, cough, keh. Huff… huff…" Anthony was soaking wet by the time Sally and Harvey were able to fish him out of the water with their yo-yos. He had the soaked appearance as though he were out during a rainstorm. Aranea and Phosphora eventually chased after them, and Anthony flowed quite a distance up the river. "Uuugh… now I'll never get this dumb suit off."

To Aranea, the comical ordeals that happen to Anthony get old after too much. Instead, she let her mind wander to the area they were now. They were at the edge of a small, cluttered, decrepit village that looked like a power plant, thin wires connecting house-to-house with small, weak sparks traveling along them at random intervals. At the other side of the village stood a Thunder Tower. "What's this place?" Nea asked.

"It…It's Joel." Phosphora answered solemnly. "My… home."

Meanwhile, Fybi had flown over the island's edge and beneath the whole mass, to get beneath the river's base as she used her airbending to keep Anthony within. Since cloud water was weaker than land water, Anthony sunk faster, so this was a necessary precaution, of course Fybi didn't wanna submerge through herself, lest her wings get too droopy. The bottom of Birka was unsurprisingly barren—except for the gigantic upside-down antenna not too far away. The grayish-black device shone with energy, before sending a powerful beam directly through the clouds below. Fybi wondered if this was some strange means of creating lightning for the earth-dwellers, but she would ask Phosphora. She quickly flew toward the edge to return to her friends.

Very near the large antenna, an armored Birkan saw her. He flapped up through an opening in the cloud and up Dashi's Peak that the antenna was connected to. He landed at the very top and kneeled before the man on the throne. "O Great and Powerful Thor. A little Nimbi child has seen your machine. Her wings were feathered, so she must be from outside."

Thor tapped his fingers on the armrest. "Outside, is she?" He spoke with a light, calm voice.

"Yes, and according to earlier reports, she is accompanied by four human children, and one adult."

"Would this adult be the singing human that was reported previous?"

"No, it was a woman. With yellow hair and little clothing. We do not know how the singing human landed here, but our Thunder Lord was destroyed half an hour ago, after he appeared. The only explanation is these kids. Shall we make ready to banish them from the island?"

"…Not yet." Thor picked up his staff and stood. His greasy black hair was shiny and smooth, his sharp face stretched a smile. "I want to meet them first."