B-16. Whereabouts of the Few

Reykjavík, Iceland

Egroeg and AlyakAm waited for a chance to steal the spare S.C.A.M.P.E.R. in the Uno House. When Sector V went on a mission to Dressrosa, the siblings seized the chance. It took them a while to find Iceland's location in the Posiverse; it was in the opposite direction it usually would've been. They saw a treehouse growing from a house they recognized as their own.

"I wonder if our parallels are home." Egroeg asked tonelessly as they stepped off the ship, which they parked in the front yard.

"We can determine that by our Positive mother's reaction if we knock." AlyakAm replied.

With that, the younger sister knocked on the house's front door. A woman who looked like their Positive mother, Misty King, answered. "George, MaKayla! Welcome back from space!" She grinned.

"I guess they aren't home." Egroeg said.

"Who's not home, George?"

"Greetings, Mother." AlyakAm spoke with a higher tone, in attempt to sound like how she perceived her Positive to sound. "Is Father—I mean, Mr. King—I mean… yes, Father, is he home?"

"N…No, he's still at the Great Clock." Misty replied, confused by her daughter's behavior. "He should be back by tomorrow…"

"That is well." Egroeg said. "We will go up to our rooms, and change clothes, and brush our teeth, and look over Kids Next Door files. You do not need to come check on us, because we will be down for dinner."

The two kids with their blank expressions entered the house as Misty watched them. She couldn't shake the feeling that they sounded too much like robots today.

Egroeg and AlyakAm passed their Positives' rooms and entered their parents' room. AlyakAm searched the closet, moving the couple's clothes aside to find nothing unordinary. She picked up a book leaned against the closet's corner. It was a copy of the Avalaran fairytale, Fairy Sisters… there was a white tape under the title, but AlyakAm couldn't pick it off. "Meh." She put the book back in the closet, not thinking it was relevant.

Egroeg searched the nightstand drawers. There was a crayon drawing of Jagar and Yuki, smiling and holding hands. There was a drawing of a six-fingered hand. There was a drawing of a smiling green skull with green eyes. Egroeg decided to search under the bed. He pulled out a heavy book and read its title. "AlyakAm, look at this." His sister walked over and looked at the book on the floor. Its cover depicted a body of green mist, with a hooded head on its top and bottom. Ghosts of my Family, by Alexander Pines. (Illustrations by Trevor Wickens.)

They turned the book over and read the description on the back. For as long as I can remember, I was haunted by green ghosts. My father claimed that he too was haunted, and that his father was haunted… So I sought to learn the truth behind these spirits which I have called Shimmers. My colleague, Trevor Wickens, and I travel to find a way to delve into the hidden confines of the human mind and discover the meaning of dreams.

"We should look up the online reviews and see if it's any good." AlyakAm said.

Egroeg opened the book—there was a paper taped inside the back cover. See also: Diary of Stanford Pines. …No, I am not an egotist.

They searched the room, but found no trace of any supposed diary. "AlyakAm… do you suppose our Positive father keeps things in the basement, too?"

The siblings quietly crept down the stairs, seeing Misty was cooking in the kitchen. They snuck into the door they recognized as the basement entrance. Instead of finding a meeting room where their father gathered a bunch of intergalactic supervillains, there was dusty junk piled in the basement. There was an upside-down poster of a tree hanging on the wall… no, apparently the tree itself was upside-down, and a room underneath the tree was circled.

Egroeg found a dusty book laying on its front. Diary of Stanford Pines. "Why are these people so fascinated with these… Pine Trees?" AlyakAm asked.

"AlyakAm, you remember the stories our father has told us, right?" Egroeg asked, flipping pages of the diary. "The connections I'm drawing from these books is much too similar. Which means that, perhaps somewhere in here, is a clue as to how…?" He glimpsed at a peculiar page with bolded writing.

Dear Diary: ASTONISHING! Today, I learned the equation that baffled scientists for eons: the equation that can cancel the seal of any chi-block anywhere! I wrote it in my journal—but don't tell anyone!

"UUUUGH, another book we have to find!" AlyakAm groaned.

"Now I understand how Mr. King stole from Father." Egroeg said, looking at the poster of the upside-down tree.

"You are right, Brother. But the question remains, where did he hide the-"

Knock knock knock, the sound rang from upstairs. "Oh, maybe it's Jagar!" Misty's voice cheered, making no sound with her bare feet as she fast-walked to answer it.

Adrenaline filling them, Egroeg and AlyakAm went up the basement stairs and peeked through the door, watching Misty about to answer the front door. "What if it's our Positives? Or worse, Mr. King?" Egroeg asked.

"If it's our Positives, we can make the claim we were just doing a playful prank." Alyak said. "If it's their father, I vote to sacrifice you."

"Why? It's not like their powers can effect us."

"But if he knows that equation, he can."

Misty answered the door. "Oh, Miyuki, hello! And I see you brought friends over. Lemme see, you kids were… Dillon York and Melody Jackson, right?"

"Haha, I guess they are!" Ikuyim's cheery voice said. "Hi, Positive Egroeg and AlyakAm's Mother! We're looking for our friends, Egroeg and-"

"GUYS!" Egroeg shouted (still sounding a bit toneless) as he and Alyak ran up to them.

"THERE you two are." Nollid stated. "We need to talk to you about a few things."

"Kids, what's going-" Misty tried to ask.

"They're here for a study project," Egroeg and Alyak rushedly pulled Ikuyim and Nollid upstairs, "we'll just be up in our room again, no check!"

Misty looked down at Ydolem's solemn smile and creepy white eyes. "I enjoy your choice of décor." Ydolem said before calmly following the others upstairs.

The five kids gathered in George and MaKayla's room, and slammed the door. "All right," Nollid began, "I don't know if you heard, but Nerehc was possessed by the goddess, Medusa, who apparently wiped all our memories of his existence until a while ago. The last thing he and Sipa remember was leading you two to the Posiverse to meet your matches. Is that just a coincidence? If not, why did you end up finding your way here by yourselves? You didn't notice that they didn't follow along?"

"That's why we volunteered to come here and look for you." Ydolem said.

"Actually, she kinda just wanted to come outta nowhere." Ikuyim mentioned.

"I have a reason. AlyakAm…" Ydol stared at the female Gnik. "You were the one who came to me that night, weren't you? On the night before my brother became a traitor… you were the one who made me keep that secret."

AlyakAm was silent. "Wait…" Nollid said, remembering that night, "you mean the secret you wanted me to transfer out of your mind?"

"…Your vow is to keep secrets, isn't it?" AlyakAm asked. "So whatever this secret is… you should hold by your word."

"But is what you're doing here have to do with that secret?" Ydolem asked. "Because… why else would you come here alone?"

"Questioning her on a supposed secret?" Egroeg asked. "You're a hypocrite, Ydol."

Ydolem looked saddened, folding her hands behind her and leaning forward. "I…"

Someone knocked on the door. Egroeg answered, finding Misty standing there. "Mother…"

"…You kids… are Negatives, aren't you?"

"If you know what our Positives look like," Nollid began, "then we thought you would catch on to us earlier. We didn't mean to intrude, we just wanted to bring these two home."

Misty looked at her Negative children. "…If you two are my kids' Negatives, then your father must be…"

The two made a break for the room's dresser mirror—Misty used her timebending to freeze the room in time. Nollid, Ikuyim, and Ydolem stood like statues, frozen with shocked expressions. Egroeg and AlyakAm observed their frozen forms. "Whuh…" Misty was confused as to why they didn't freeze. "Why are you still…"

Egroeg and AlyakAm pulled up their shirts. Japanese symbols were inscribed on their bellies. "Our father cut these chi-blocks into our bodies to make us immune to all forms of bending." Egroeg explained. "Except, of course, to the bending of the Lord of Time, according to Father. You must know his name. It's ___."

Misty stared at him confusedly. AlyakAm glanced at Ydolem. "Oh. It seems the Secret-Keeping Spell is still in effect." She said. "Our father forbade us from speaking his name, so I told it to Ydolem, and it seems Nollid ensured that no one but her or me would be able to utter it."

"I wonder if we told her the equation to disable chi-blocks, no one would be able to use it." Egroeg said.

"You kids-!" Misty lunged to grab them, but Egroeg and AlyakAm dodged and jumped the woman, bringing her to the floor.

"You know, if I killed Egroeg, then your son George would die." Alyak mentioned. "And you couldn't stop me from doing so. So you have to tell us where it is. The item your husband stole from our father."

"I'm afraid it's not here!" Misty grunted, trying to shake the kids off. "And I wouldn't allow you to take it back for him!"

"It doesn't matter." Egroeg said. "We figured we'd kidnap you, anyway. According to our father, your husband is afraid to face him. So he won't try to save you if we-"

"Stupefy!" Nollid casted stunning spells to make Egroeg and AlyakAm stiff. He, Ikuyim, and Ydolem were mobile again. "I guess your chi-blocks don't make you immune to magic. When you jumped this lady, your chi-blocks wore her Freeze off."

"It's all right, Miss Posi-Mom!" Ikuyim said happily. "We'll bring these two back home and make sure they don't do this again."

"Heh heh… Thank you." Misty smiled nervously. She watched as they carried the stunned Negative kids out of the house, then she shut the door. "Sigh…" She put a hand to her forehead. "Jagar, why did you have to go and take that thing? Sigh… I really hope George is safe."

Fizzuras House

The Marzipan Pirates completed their submarine, titled the Ace Swimmer. It was relatively small, but big enough to fit the five pirates. "So how are we going to carry this thing? Shrink ray?" Augustus asked.

"Bingo!" Stewie pulled out the ray gun in question. The submarine zapped to a portable toy size, which would be stashed inside his Infi-Cube.

"Convenient! How do you even make that?"

"The key component is a Size Crystal, a very rare gem. Fortunately, Big Mom had her resources."

"Couldn't we just use it on all our enemies?"

"Well, it won't affect strong targets immediately, and if they jump out before the effect finishes, they'll grow right back. It's mostly a good source of storage."

"If you say so. I ain't a scientist."

"Aughsucks not sinus?" Nel asked, sucking a drop of snot back in her nose.

"Alright, then what we need to do now is go to Gumdrop Cove." Augustus climbed in the Ace Flyer. The Baby Trio got in the backseat, and Nel climbed in the trunk. "Let's hope we can reason with the pirates."

"You're going already?" They looked to the garage entrance as Ace walked in. "You haven't even been back for one morning. Isn't there a limit on this adventure thing?"

"It isn't just about adventure, anymore." Augustus replied, starting a new lollipop. "I don't know why, but… I really think I need to try and find the Lost Candies. I need to know why the World Government hates them, and why the fairies want me to find them. At this point, we're probably the only people who can."

"…Well, there's no trying to stop you, anyway. Just come back before your mom gets too upset." Ace smiled.

"Hm. We'll see." Augustus smirked. The captain started the plane and took off for the sky. Ace walked out of the garage and watched them fly into the sun.

"AUGUSTUUUUUUS!" Fuming in rage, Henrietta charged outside, hopelessly chasing the plane. "YOU STUPID SHIIIIIIIT!" She bounced on one foot as she pulled the boot off the other. She spun around rapidly and chucked the boot skyward. It hit the plane, but did no damage. "Vhen you get back home, I am putting ein MUZZLE on your ARMS! …Und YOU!" she shouted at Ace. "You just let zem LEAVE?!"

"Uhh…yeah. But on the bright side, make-up kissing?" Ace grinned sheepishly.

Henrietta knocked him out cold with an Armament punch.

On the flight to Gumdrop, the Marzipans saw a redheaded Nimbi girl guiding a ship across the sky. Augustus missed the feel of the breeze on his face. Every few minutes, Nel peeped open the trunk, and one could see her big hazel eyes looking around.

Eventually, they landed on the shore of the light-brown island that was shaped like a wad of gum. Augustus and the babies climbed off the plane as the former opened the trunk. "You alright in there, Nel?"

"Mmmmmm-mmmmmm…" The cavechild was trying to put her mouth around the Rock Nut, baring a loving expression as she savored its succulent taste. Her drool was dripping all over it. "Uhhhh…" Augustus stared weirdly. "'kay, you just stay in here and guard it." He shut the trunk.

"AUGUSTAAAAAHHHHH (Gustaaaaaarrrrrrr!)!" Gumdrop's bands of Candy Pirates stormed over to the infamous teen.

"FRIEEEENDS!" Augustus happily walked over with open arms. "Glad to SEE ya again!" They all drew swords and aimed them at him. "Ooo, did you sharpen your swords?"

"Gustah!" The pirate with the brown beard and eyepatch – Harold the Helium Voice – shouted in his hoarse, high voice. "I look forward to one thing and one thing a year: the Davy Back Fight!" He gasped. "Yoo ruin it! Yoo take the Fairy Princess for yourseeeelf."

"Yes, I betrayed the rules of a Davy Back Fight." Augustus admitted. "But Captain Hook captured that fairy by force, he had no right to give her away as a prize. Besides, those rules are ridiculous, a member of the loser crew has to join over to the winner crew? Isn't the key to being a pirate supposed to be freedom? Freedom to make one's own choices and decisions?"

"YER a wreshed liar, ye wreshed flesh wretch!" Gelatin Gerald shouted. "If yush had the fairy in yer grasp, why would ya NOT want ta keep her luscious powers for ya?"

"Why don't we move this to the Soda Can? I'll thrill you guys with a story…"

Soda Can

"Thank you, thank you everybody!" said the leader of the owl mariachi band. "Thank you for welcoming us to Gumdrop Cove, we will take any low-paying gig we can get! We are Los Búhos Musicales, here to tell you the story of Augustus the Stone Fist!"

Ohhhhhhh

There once was a boy

Who deeply loved candy

He sought it and found it

In places most dandy

His abuela was BIG and

So round and fat!

She gobbled so much

And made mountains of scat!

One day, she found him and said,

"COME WITH ME!"

So Augustus sailed with her

Across the great sea

To find the world where

They would find their dreams

To great Candied Planet, 'tis where

The Sugary Wonders lead!

But LO, it was a trick, so

Au-gus-tus leaves

He and his crew sail

To find new things

Other pirates, so rageful

So drunken and pissed

But when they cross Augustus

They'll meet his fiiiiist!

Hard as iron, unmoving as stone

The sound of his name brings chills to the booone!

His FIIIIST… of STOOOONE

His FIIIIST… of STOOOONE

While they were livening the bar with their music, Augustus explained the adventures he has been on since he last met the Gumdrop pirates. "Before Princess Aisling left, she told me to go to Oceana and see a friend of hers. Since these babies can't swim, I wanted to buy some Oxybursts in this town, help them breathe."

"Aye, that do be a tale of thrills and chills." said Bubbly Brandon. "The Sugar Fairy Princess? The one only known in legends?"

"He must be fibbin'." Harold gasped.

"Heheh, it's not a fib! Everything I told you is real. The fight with Azula, the trip to the past, the Rock Nut and the cavegirl I have in my trunk."

"Even if we wanted to believe you, you're wanted among pirates for what you did at the Back Fight." Brandon said. "Helping you would be a crime."

"But isn't that what makes us pirates?? Breaking all manner of rules to follow one's dreams?"

"Didja not take history in school, Lad?" Gerald questioned. "Pirates always had rules. That's why there's good and evil pirates. 'Tis the Code, set by the Brethren Court, the Pirate Lords of the olden times. Freedom has a price."

"Politics in piracy is total crap." Augustus threw the finished lollipop away. "Even in normal society, rules are meant to be broken. I saved an innocent person, I saved the Fairy Kingdom, and the only reason those pirates are hunting me is because they wanted Princess Aisling for their own selfish plans."

"You got two Pirate Lords and a Pirate Empress on your tail." The skinny Black pirate mentioned. "Good deed or not, you're a cursed man."

"So what, you're not gonna sell me ANY Oxybursts, OR a new sword?"

"It would be bad karma." Harold replied. "'Course, if you wanted to steal such supplies, we could not be held liable."

"Since ya like freedom so much, mangy cur." Gerald followed.

"Captains!" A skinny pirate with a red bandana and striped shirt ran in. "The Silver Bullet from the Slag Pirates is outside!"

"Silver Bullet?!" Augustus exclaimed.

Near the town's shore, the silver robot with the single red eye spotted the Ace Flyer after landing. "That looks like something Augustus would fly. A real shabby piece of work." The robot approached the biplane. "I hear something in the trunk. What could be…"

She opened the trunk and found Nel happily sucking on the Rock Nut. The cavegirl looked up at the robot curiously. "Some kind of unevolved human? Hmm… Perhaps I'll take you as a pet."

A Gobstopper flew and struck Bullet in the back of the head. "She isn't for you, la hojalata." Augustus stated.

"You know, a remark in your ethnic language isn't always necessary." Stewie commented. "Just call him a tinplate and move on already."

"Will consider." Augustus began a new lollipop. "But I'm afraid you're mistaken, Stewie: she's a girl."

"You see her robo LADY PARTS?!" Rallo gaped.

"Heh heh… no, but her build appears ladylike. And before you tell me robots are genderless husks, I doubt this person is a real robot."

"You're very intuitive, Captain." Silver Bullet approached him with a gun raised. "Maybe if you hand me the Forest Fairy, I'll give you my number."

"I think the question should be, do you want MY number." Augustus smirked. "Plus, you're out of luck. The Fairy Princess already fled. I have a tight schedule anyway, so if you'll excuse me!" The teen ran at Bullet with an Armament fist, dodging the disguised robot's self-named bullets. He knocked the gun out of her hand, but Bullet dodged his punches, rolled behind him, and pulled Augustus's arms back. She pinned the captain on his front, still bending the arms in a cross.

"I may be a lady, Captain, but you won't believe how many people doubted my abilities. True, I'm not very strong, but this suit changes that. If I capture you with brute strength alone, perhaps the pirates may respect me a bit more."

"Heeeeey!" The Bullet turned to find Nel dashing to her on all fours. "Get off of Aughsuuuuucks!" The cavegirl leapt, swung a foot, and kicked Silver Bullet with enough force to send her flying.

"Ow!" The Bullet recovered and glared at the Neanderthal. "That brat is stronger than she looks!"

"Nel knows Rugle Frugle!" Nel made karate poses. "Nel defend her mate!"

"You're too young, Nel, so please get off." Augustus was still laying down with Nel standing on him.

"Hold on, doesn't that Rock Nut make things stronger?" Rallo asked. "She been suckin' it all this time, so maybe she got a power boost."

"Did she now? In that case," Augustus grabbed Nel and got to his feet, "back away or she's going old school on your arse!" he yelled as he held Nel toward the robot.

Silver Bullet aimed her left arm, shot the hand over like a grappling hook, and took Nel away from Augustus. She quickly tied the cavegirl up and propped her over the shoulder. "You'll have to make better threats than that, August-"

"Haaaaa-MMP!" Nel sunk her teeth into a spot below the back of the robot's neck.

"Don't hurt your teeth, girl. I doubt you know any good dentists-"

"NYUH!" Nel ripped a piece of armor off the metal suit.

"GYAH! How in the world did you-"

Augustus ran up, socked the fake robot in the chest with Armament, and sent her flying while Nel dropped back in his arms. "That yuckiest rock Nel ever taste!"

"Augustus!" Stewie shouted as he, Rallo, and Maggie ran for the Ace Flyer. "Maggie stole everything we need from the candy store! Let's hurry before they catch us!"

Augustus saw a swarm of angry Candy Pirates storming over from the town, swords and guns raised. "W-What?" When Silver Bullet looked up and saw them, she was immediately trampled by the scallywags.

"Hm. Good plan." Augustus smirked, carrying Nel as she ran for the Flyer, stuffed the cavegirl in the trunk, then hopped in the cockpit. "Hasta la vista!" The biplane took off, and the pirates hopelessly chucked swords that dropped after partway, and shot guns in the wrong directions.

"Uuuuhh…" After Silver Bullet recovered, she was unable to clear a way around the rowdy pirates. "Damn it—you guys—move aside—I can't see…"

Little did she know was that the pirates were doing what they were doing on purpose. From atop some stairs, Gelatin Gerald and Bubbly Brandon watched their crewmen act. "Well, we shouldn't be in trouble with the other pirates now." Brandon said. "It ain't like we told them to steal… did we?"

"That's shnotty shwabbie better not be yankin' our licorice!" Gerald yelled. "He better show us that them Lost Candies are worth all this nonsense!"

"Nice thieving, Mags!" Augustus praised, viewing the small sack of yellow starbursts the child had stolen. "This should be more than enough to go to Oceana."

"Mw-mw!" Maggie smiled, reached into the bag, and drew out a Candycane Cutlass with gold stripes. "WHOA-HO-hooo!" Augustus took the blade and lightly rubbed it. "Nice!"

"You actually stole a lemon-flavored cutlass?!" Stewie exclaimed. "How much was it worth?"

"Mw-mw."

"DANG, that's a lot!" Rallo shouted. "I don't actually understand her, but it is, right?"

"Mw." Maggie winked.

"Okay, Oceana," Augustus clutched the steering wheel firmly, "here we come!"

"You remember the coordinates, don't you?" Stewie asked.

"Pull out my phone and double-check for me!"

Negaverse; DNK Moonbase

Egroeg and AlyakAm were handcuffed to a table in the interrogation room. Nerehc paced before them, looking less than pleasant as he tried to formulate a question. "After everything I've just been through these past few days… I dunno where to begin. Just… WHY did you sneak into your Positives' house and try to kidnap their mother?"

"It was a simple matter of 'eye for an eye.'" AlyakAm replied. "Mr. King took something that belonged to our father. We were unable to find it, so we tried to take something that belonged to Mr. King."

"And what was this item that was so important? Gardening sheers?"

"Our father forbids us from telling you… so we won't." Egroeg said simply. "We know you won't torture us at the risk of harming Cheren's friends, our Positives. You don't need to know. Medusa is helping you find the Darknesses now, is she not?"

Nerehc looked at him with a raised brow. "How would you know about that? You weren't around when she…"

The two Gnik siblings glanced at each other. Nerehc gritted his teeth and slammed his hands on the table. "So you DID set me up! You knocked me and Sipa out, giving Ragus the chance to kidnap me…"

"Fine, you caught us." Egroeg admitted. "It was part of our father's plan, too."

"Silence, Brother." AlyakAm kicked him.

"In other words, your father is the one I should interrogate." Nerehc summed.

"It's an unwise decision to pick a fight with him." Egroeg said.

"I'll decide that." Nerehc walked out of the room. Nollid, Ydolem, and Ikuyim were sitting on the bench outside, with Sicnarf beside them. "Anyway, thanks for bringing them back, you three. I'm going down to their house so I can question their father. Apparently, he's the one who staged a lot of this."

"Before you do," Ikuyim got up and spoke loudly, "Ydolem's been keeping a secret for AlyakAm! They were talking about it back there, and it sounds like it's important!"

"Well, Ydolem?" Nerehc looked at the shadowbender inquiringly.

Ydolem turned away. "I can't… I can never betray anyone's secret. I made a vow… to be the most trustworthy operative in the team."

"Ydolem, if you have information that is VITAL," Sicnarf stood over the girl imposingly, "then you HAVE to tell us! As a fellow operative, we trust you to help us, and we trust you not to be gullible and let traitors like those two misuse your trust. So can't you break your lousy vow and tell us-"

"HEY." Nollid held his wand to Sicnarf's cheek. "Her brother did the same thing when he turned traitor. If she doesn't wanna tell us, she doesn't have to."

"You can't be serious. If she was told to keep how to save the world a secret, would you let her be silent??"

"Nollid's right." Nerehc stated. "Before the DNK changed its name… Ydolem was the one person that everybody could trust. She was the symbol that we could be better than what we were."

"So you want her to keep the secret?"

"Well… at least let her make the choice to tell us if she wants to. But AlyakAm is the owner of the secret, so we can choke it out of her later. For now, I'm going to their house." Nerehc began to walk away. "The rest of you can head home."

Nollid smiled as he got up and pulled Ydol to her feet. "I'll take you home." Ydolem stayed silent and let Nollid lead her along.

Gnik Household

Nerehc landed before the house where Nega-Sector IC's treehouse was growing from. As he approached the front door, Ghirahim came out of the Devil's Sword. "Master, perhaps I should do the interrogations this time. I'm a master of torture."

"No, Ghirahim, if we hurt the Negative, we hurt the Positive, like they said. Still, if he's in league with Medusa, there might be more to him than we expect. I hope we don't end up in a fight."

Nerehc turned the doorknob and opened it. "Dude just leaves his house unlocked?" The interior was dark, so Nerehc lit a violet flame to see the way. He and Ghirahim walked upstairs, searching the vacant rooms. Before long, they came upon the parents' room. A woman, Ytsim Eneerg, was injecting syringes into a bedridden man's stomach.

"I keep the door unlocked for my guests." said the man in bed; Nerehc flinched when he seemed to acknowledge their presence. "There is nothing in this home of impertinent value."

". . ." Nerehc shook his head, "But then why did you send your kids to take back something that was stolen from you?"

"Because the item that was stolen did not belong in this house." Ragaj Gnik replied. "Granted, it did not belong where it originally was, either. I planned to find a way to retrieve it, but my Positive got ahead of me."

"…Mr. Gnik, are you allied with Medusa? Did you plan for her to infiltrate the DNK?"

"The answer is yes, and no. I am the one who verbally instructed Medusa… but I speak for someone much higher. I act for him. I am his voice and his ears… but sadly, I am unable to do more for him."

"What are you talking about?"

"…" Ytsim moved away as Ragaj sat up. "I long to be able to taste… to look at the world around me. But my only sustenance is nutrition compressed into liquid which my dear wife injects me with, day after day. It is the only way this mortal body can survive. Just until… the Final Day." He turned to Nerehc.

The boy stumbled back, struck with horror and disgust at the sight. He turned off his flame so the man's features could not be seen in the dark. "Nerehc…" Ragaj slowly swerved around to put his feet on the floor, and approach him. "For many years, the Gnik Family and the King Family have been doomed families… because we are the only ones who can possibly know."

"Kn-Know what?" Nerehc backed up.

Ragaj stopped at the doorway and put his fingers on his round head. "You seek the whereabouts of the Darknesses, don't you? Some are close, but others are far. Since before the beginning, their destinies were set in motion. And throughout time, their journeys have been. And others work to bring them to their fates. Even if they do not realize. I will give you some examples." A line of green mist floated from his head to his fingers, making them glow. "With memorybending." Ragaj bent down and placed the glowing mist against Nerehc's head.

Dozens of images flashed in Nerehc's eyes, too many to keep track of—his vision zoomed up to a prison cell, where a vicious woman with frizzy black hair and a broken skull mask, clothed in black, smirked at her captors. She was tied by spirit chains.

"For some reason, my spiritbending isn't affecting this one." Rukia Kuchiki said. "She has a stronger soul. Will you be able to restrain her?"

"I will." Aggie Prendergast replied, aiming her glowing hands at the restrained witch. "Once Ellen arrives, she can search this woman's mind and see what's keeping her."

"RUKIA!" Norman cried. "We have intruders!"

Arrancar stormed the base, attacking the Spirit KND operatives. One of the Arrancar cast a spell to break Bellatrix's chains. The black-haired woman fell on her front and gaped at her savior. "Dolohov…"

"You know where he is, don't you?" Dolohov questioned. "Go. He trusted you to save him."

Bellatrix almost felt like crying. ". . . AAAAAAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her madness and desire became her fuel, for she flew out of the base faster than the wind.

"Who are you people?!" Rukia demanded, her sword drawn.

"We are DEATH EATERS! We serve the Dark Lord."

Mysterious train station…

This station was so bright, nobody could see, and so white, no one could make out anything. No soul had been here for decades… except one, who continues to linger here.

This soul was writhing with pain. A bloody, shriveled, hairless imp. It had destroyed its soul after creating seven Horcruxes. It tried to find strength… It tried to crawl forward… but its pain was endless… as much as this barren station. And yet, it wanted to keep crawling… because it saw him, just in his grasp, but still so far away… "Harry Potter…"

Then it heard something: shoes clanking across the posh floor. A dark figure emerged from the hallucination. It stood over him, shielding him from the blinding light at long last.

"My Lord…" Bellatrix knelt down and picked him up like a child. "My Lord…" She cried, hugging him close. "It's been so long… I wanted to come here sooner… Oh, why didn't I…"

"Bell. . . atrix. . ." He spoke hoarsely. "I need. . . a vessel. . ."

"I will, My Lord… I know someone… who can serve as your vessel. A friend of mine… showed me to him…"

Unknown world

The chamber was composed of glistening white diamonds, smooth and unbreakable. A towering woman of yellow skin and clothing approached the throne. She had a yellow diamond on her chest, and a tiny, slender yellow woman with a pearl on her chest skittered close to the giant's feet.

"My Diamond, we have driven the angels away from the Quartz Training Grounds. They failed to take any of our Power Crystals."

"Very good, Yellow Diamond…" White Diamond spoke softly. She was twice Yellow Diamond's size, and wore a beautiful white gown that complimented her flawless skin. "We cannot afford to lose any of our resources…"

"My Diamond, I suspect that the angels have formed an alliance with the trolls. We must attack their world before they can do anymore-"

"No, Yellow Diamond. The project which the trolls are constructing makes them too dangerous to confront. You remember what has happened to the Black Queen of Derse. Protecting Homeworld must be your only concern. Tell the other Diamonds."

"My Diamond, if we let those organics be, they will keep marching onto our surface and taking our crystals. The troll called 'Sanula' stole five of them last cycle. Our precious Ether!"

"Patience, Young Diamond. The amount of Ether in their possession is no concern. But we Diamonds are responsible for maintaining the Ether. Without us, it will go everywhere, and all order is lost. Yellow Diamond… do not try to engage the trolls. Is that clear?"

". . ." Yellow Diamond restrained her rage and answered, "I understand. Excuse me… My Diamond." She turned around and left the throne, with her Pearl skittering after her.

Unknown wasteland

Thousands have died in this barren landscape, their weapons discarded on the ground. Two men of Japanese ethnicity stood face-to-face… One of them was clothed in black, with long spiky hair, and very strange eyes with an unusual design. "Madara…"

On the sea

The next vision Nerehc saw was of a ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge. "Ehhh?" Blackbeard looked utterly confused. "I ended up on a different world? How is that possible?!"

"I wish I could say." Medusa replied. "But do you really need to know?"

"Heh… As long as I can still sail, I'll be just fine! Ze ha ha ha!"

Underworld Prison

"For ten years, I longed to sail upon the shore where you had gone…" Davy Jones spoke, sulking in the back of his dark cell. "For ten years, I waited to be with you… And all I was to you… my emotions were just toys-ah. They were nothing more than fickle little things you could mold to your whim."

"Davy Jones… please come with me." Medusa held an arm inside the cell. "I need the Thirteen Darknesses… to make the New World. When I do… I will give you a thousand oceans. I will give you as many as you need to finally conquer your despair."

Jones shot up and grabbed the woman's neck in her crab claw. "I will be rid of my despair myself. I will not be a toy to this cruel entity called 'destiny.' I will not fulfill the duties you had planned for me. I will never give you… my heart."

"…I wonder, before I up and dumped you, were you planning to literally put your heart on an engagement ring?" Medusa inquired.

"GUAAAARDS-AH!" Jones cried.

Blackbeard ran by, holding a cherry pie in one hand while he grabbed Medusa's in the other. "Forget him, he's a baby, LET'S GO!" The chubby pirate dragged her off.

Gnik House

Nerehc fell over as the memories overcame him. "Master!" Ghirahim gasped. He growled at Ragaj, drew a sword, and readied to stab him…

Ragaj slowed Ghira to a Stop. Winding his finger counterclockwise, Nerehc and Ghirahim began to Rewind, from talking to Ragaj to coming up the stairs, and entering the house.

The Rewind wore off when they were outside by the ship. Nerehc fell to his knees, feeling the weirdest sense of déjà vu. "I don't understand… are those people the Darknesses?"

"What people?" Ghirahim asked.

"But how are we supposed to find them? We still don't know how to get to the Original Worlds… even if we could, how do we know where to look?"

"You need the keeeey."

"Huh?" Nerehc looked up. Four small, black aliens with big blue eyes floated down to him. "Wait, I remember you things."

"The KEY is what you need."

"What key?"

"THIS KEY!" The four Zoni shocked Nerehc at once.

Another image flashed in his mind: an ocarina, colored sapphire. "The Ocarina of Time is the key. Take him to Termina, and find it."

When the vision ended, the Zoni vanished. "The Ocarina of Time? …Take who?"

Facilier's Voodoo Emporium

"Really?…" Facilier asked curiously, holding a phone to his ear. "Ohhh, reallyyy…?" He nodded, becoming more fascinated. "Well, if that ain't worth checkin' out… Got it, I know, I'll send someone over. 'kay, see ya later, Stanny." He hung up. "Heyyy, Wendy! It's time for another job!"

"Really, another job?" Wendy ceased organizing a chest and raced to sit in the chair.

"And what masochistic objective do you have in mind today?" Carla asked.

"Oh, don't be like that, Charlie, think of it as an adventure! Wendy, I want you to run to a town called Gravity Falls, Oregon, and find a house called the Mystery Shack. I just got done talking with a friend of mine – his name is Stan Pines – he found himself a couple of shrunken merman heads. I'll lend you some money so you can buy them – and get a few other souvenirs if you want. Use the Point Me spell to find the place."

"I know, Point Me." Wendy repeated quickly. "Okay, it sounds fun! Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually." Facilier winked. "According to Stan, Gravity Falls has been having weird gravity anomalies these past few months. The town crawls with all sorts of supernatural voodoo, but even this was unusual, Stan says. I want you to poke around and see what's causing them. Then come back and write a report about it!"

"More homeworrrrk?" Wendy moaned.

"I'll bring your notebook, Child." Carla said.

"Oh well, it still sounds fun." Wendy stood up eagerly. "I'll go to Gravity Falls and be back in a jiffy!" She and Carla raced out of the shop.

Somewhere hidden…

The machine hadn't been turned on in 30 years. It was shaped like an upside-down triangle with an empty center. Little sparks lit up within the center, too weak to do anything. But that was going to change very soon…