"I know about Tooru's Stand, I was just being salty. Anywho, looks like we got us a semi-official Star Wars season, so that's cool."

The Science Center, Safety Shelter

"Sorry for going off-topic, but why didn't you ask him for his name?" Juan asks Stacy. "The talking mons here do have names, it's kinda weird to just refer to him as 'the anthro Alolan Vulpix' all the time!"

"Well, I only named my Wooloo Sunshine after I rescued her from that fateful season," says 6k1, "but I'm thinking of nicknaming my other mons if I decide to train them outside the Arena someday."

Underground Bunker

"But how did you know, Ich?" asks Bezier as he keeps Power's Stand drawing. "You can't see Stands!"

"He knows about JoJo," says Power, "but Ichi, please don't say 'Worf' every time your all-powerful tributes die, because that's only for when a SIGNIFICANTLY weaker tribute kills them!"

"And if this the 3rd anniversary of your platonic love confessioning," asks Bezier, "how loooong have you two been together?"

"Since the very first Reboot Nom Games (S50), or almost five EP years!"

"Well, I hope it'll last as long as my friendship with Vivi did... maybe even longer!"

"Awwww!" go the rest of Power's family.

"But yeah Ich, sorry for not greeting you for the 2nd, we were all tired from playing dinos with Pepper, remember?"

"Of course, I remember, sis!" says Star.

Outside Dark Stanford's Lair

Twilight smiles weakly at Ugo's decision while Steven sighs in relief.

"Thank you for listening to me," says the latter. While he knows that trying to change Raven Beak's mind by himself isn't going to work, at least Steven was able to persuade an ally to think twice about this mission.

"Oh well," says Bismuth, "if that's the case, then I'll join you on the ship," she tells Ugo.

"But Steven?" asks Connie. "Are you and the other Gems really sure about staying behind?"

Garnet looks at the other rescue teams and nods. "We are certain of it, as that is the main goal of the Crystal Gems, too."

"It was Rose's mission to protect Earth and all its inhabitants, and believe in love and risk everything for it," says Pearl. "And we shall extend that to every universe that needs saving right now!"

"And so what if we all get shattered here beyond what our nominators' revival tech can do?" says Amethyst. "As Biz said, everyone back home will still remember us!"

Steven sheds a single tear. "Hey... isn't that our theme song? That we Crystal Gems will always save the day?"

Peridot facepalms and groans. "C'mon, now's not the time for a song..."

But he still continues. "And if you think we can't, we'll always find a way!"

The OG Crystal Gems join in. "That's why the people of these worlds... Believe in!"

"Garnet!"

"Amethyst!"

"And Pearl..."

"And STEVEN!"

Connie claps for him and hugs him gently, while some of the Equestrians (except for those who are unconscious or barely awake) laugh and thank him for cheering them up a little. Fire Eyes and Blood Moon then open the ship's door to let them in.

"Well then... good luck to all of you." says Connie.

"Yeah... we'll do our best," says Steven. "And before I forget..."

He takes his pills again and then approaches Ugo to text him something.

"Here's my therapist's number if you still need help recovering from all of this. I don't know if she's available right now, but you can arrange a video call with her when you're ready."

"And repair this for me please, Biz!"

Amethyst gives her whip to Bismuth, and she uses the last few scrap materials to make it good as new.

"Just don't break it again, arright?"

"Hehe, can't promise ya that, but I'll try!"

"Hey, I won't be able to come back to fix it again, and I mean it!"

"Welp... Okay then!"

"And good luck to y'all!"

Bismuth then joins the Crystal Temps in the ship.

"Alright, looks like we'll be in for a bumpy ride," Peridot tells the Wolf Rookie. "I'll be the Captain while you'll be First Officer, okay?"

Meanwhile, the OG Crystal Gems are still concerned about Blood Moon.

"I am unsure about putting him under probation with the prisoners," says Garnet.

"As NTC said, there should be a better way than this," says Pearl, "but if we're going with that, then he must be in a separate, heavily guarded room from them."

"But at least he kinda conceded... right?" asks Steven.

Edited by TroperNo9001 on May 5th 2024 at 8:03:37 PM

Hotel Room, 5th Floor

Nomi flopped backwards onto their bed and let out a sigh. “Ya know, even though Tammy isn’t one to hurt people, I’m kinda proud that she almost won! And she made with that dude in the bird suit after she punched him, so I’m happy!” Swain finished washing his face, and peeked his head out of the bathroom. “Well, if you’re happy, I’m… mildly content, I suppose. Goodness, I wish I brought more clothes. This armor and overcoat are not exactly comfortable.” “I could help ya with that! I sometimes design clothes, but we don’t got any supplies! Anyways, I wish I could see Tammy and I could tell her I’m proud of her. And that you’re here!” Swain chuckled humorlessly. “I’m sure your friends would not like me. Or any of your fellow colonists, for that matter. Regardless, it is quite the achievement.”

ZDR, outside Dark Stanford's lair

Ugo: Thanks, everyone. I mean it.

Safety Shelter

Stacy: Yeah, you're right. Whoops.

Edited by CosmosAndChaos on May 5th 2024 at 10:45:19 AM

Dark Stanford's lair

   "Figured so. And there's something else, this time about Dark Stanford. Bastard's first goal was to absorb his other selves. But we know as shit where he's at. If he already absorbed some of his counterparts, how the fuck do we get them out, if we even can?"    Freyja pointed out again.

Hanubia

   "Of course the Org is not working for Raven Beak. From what I know, this "Rouki" is working with someone who has yet to make his move. You just have to ask your colleague Bale to see how much of a thorn he has been in your sides long before you came into the picture. But fine. Hopefully, you will not regret letting that creature live."    Blood Moon said, still a bit disappointed he was denied a tasty meal.

   "Traitors, huh? My tribe is the black sheep of the Chozo. Otherwise, you are talking about tribes filled with people like Quiet Robe. You overestimate those decrepit doves's wickedness. But they do tend to unwittingly create things that blow up in their faces... The Chozo from Zebes learned it the hard way with Mother Brain, and the Thoha learned it from the Metroids."    Blood Moon then snorted, amused by NTC's remark. Fire Eyes would have argued with both, but...

"Sigh... Your assistant is right. If we are to continue this conversation, we should do so once your men are out of here, or not at all. We already talked about this between the two of us. It's too risky that we put Blood Moon alongside the people you were trying to save in the first place, and it's too risky that he gets close to Raven Beak. He shall stay behind with me. We might take this opportunity to watch out for the parasites."

   "What Fire Eyes said... I want to see Raven Beak's corpse ripped to shreds with my own eyes if you survive him and Stokes."    Blood Moon darkly said with a bloodthirsty look before he looked into the horizon, pensive.

   "...And I just remember. Fire Eyes and I have something to retrieve."   

With that said, NTC mentioned a potential kill switch. Still traumatized by what happened to his other squadmates, Fire Eyes turned to Blood Moon with concern.

"The Hypnos-Stone... Don't tell me Raven Beak-"

   "Why would he do that? I am already a Nightmare. At least, so to speak. I don't need to remind you who my most efficient host is?"    Blood Moon pointed out, referring to Rodriguez.

   "But Raven Beak does have a kill switch, one that he likely planned for a long time ago should he lose control over me, one way or another. It's right here."    he continued, pointing at the VL!Metroid guarding the lair.

Though he didn't squeal as loud as Henry, James still yelped in fright when Dess jumpscared the former.

"You two never change..." Arthur muttered to himself, eyes rolling.

"Well, at least we know Dess is doing fine." Tokage remarked.

"Hey Dess... We've got important news for everyone inside the book. And Henry and Tenn need to talk to their teammate. It's urgent, we may not have much time." Aaron said.

Edited by Scipion3 on May 6th 2024 at 10:01:31 AM

Ugo: By the way, guys, to those of you who are religious, I hope you all go to Heaven if you die fighting for the Multiverse.

Edited by CosmosAndChaos on May 6th 2024 at 1:53:54 PM

ZDR

Outside

(Ball says looks out toward the VL!Metroid.) Yeeeeeah, that makes sense.

That's understandable. (Sidon says to Fire Eyes.) Do be careful!

Aw, no problem, pal, go on 'n get some rest, okay? (June says to Ugo.)

And please take care of yourself. Talk to people if you need to. (July adds.)

(They turn back to the book.)

   Hey, I'm not Dess, I'm Dread Pirate Odessa! What are you talking about?    ("Odessa" says, still not breaking kayfabe.)    But I'll get you mateys in here anyway if it's important, alright?   

("Odessa" grabs Tenn with her other claw and in one swift motion, pulls them directly into the book.) WHOA-! YIII-!!

   Anything else? Anyone else I need to bring in?    ("Odessa" asks, poking her head out of the book after doing so.)

(Oscar still keeps a tight grip on Lucian.)

(Henry and Tenn land face-flat on the sand on the fruit island.)

Henry! Tenn! (Shelley exclaims, running over to them, quickly followed by Shelby.)

(Henry looks up and spits out the sand in his mouth.) Shelley! Wonderful to see you again! Are you enjoying your new look?

(Shelley chuckles slightly as Shelby arrives beside her.) I guess...I mean, I don't intend on replacing my old form with this one, but it's been fun.

Glad to hear. (Tenn says as Shelby helps her to her feet.) [[red: But real talk, we've got something important to tell you guys.)

Something important? What is it? (Shelby asks.)

(Lyric (still in Sharpedo form) comes up as well, with Flotina a little ways behind.) Tell us what? Are my girls still alright? Are all of you still alright?

Inside

   Works for me.    (Knox says, summoning both of his swords.)

   That's a good question.    (Greta says.)    Perhaps it may not be too late to save the counterparts he's already absorbed. Maybe there is some way to reverse the process or something?   

   Bet we aren't gonna know for sure until we get closer.    (Wanda says.)    Wherever he's gonna be, anyway.   

   We might need to check where the Atomizer is.    (Veena says. She shudders slightly even just thinking about that horrid machine, let alone being in the same room as it.)    That's one of the places he usually is. We would just need to make sure that he doesn't Atomize any of us...again, in some cases.   

(Greta gently puts a hoof on Veena's shoulder.)

   He ain't gonna do crap.    (Knox says.)    We're gonna kick his ass before he can do anything.   

Palm Key

(Without waiting for Dr. Quest to explain, Awoona grabs the picture of herself in mutated form to holds it up for Hal to see.) 'Cause before we looked like THIS!

Yeah, Dr. Quest found a way to reverse Dark Stanford's mutations and got her and the three of them back to normal. (Jared says, motioning to Jacoby, Elisa, and Sam Scrawl.)

Hey! (Elisa says. Scrawl forms into a hand and waves. Jacoby still looks nervous.)

Edited by kablammin45 on May 6th 2024 at 9:28:14 AM

Outside Dark Stanford's Lair

In response to Ugo's well-wishes for those remaining here, Pearl looks up at the sky. "May the stars guide us on what's hopefully the final final phase of this mission."

"Yeah..." says Steven.

He and the Gems then look at the VL Metroid they sneaked past earlier.

"Hey, I thought we already shut it down!" says Amethyst.

"I believe Quiet Robe's bracers could only do so much to it," says Garnet. "It's possible that Raven Beak can override them and activate it once his plan comes together."

She then firmly tells the other heroes, "Once you have decided on who's staying and who's leaving, and are done negotiating with Blood Moon, we must hurry to the heart of the lair. But if you still have any last-minute questions or suggestions, we can try discussing them on the way there."

The Mawkin Starship

As the others enter the ship, Peridot goes to the cockpit with the Wolf Rookie while Connie, Lapis, and Bismuth escort the ex-prisoners to the medbay. It's slightly larger than the wards back in the Science Center, and the medbeds are sufficiently advanced that the patients should be able to steadily recover from their injuries by just resting on them. They're all in one large room, but each bed is divided by holographic sliders to give privacy to the patients.

In one section, Bismuth takes Spike and Flash to wherever Ugo takes Twilight, Connie accompanies Discord, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie to another, while Lapis ushers Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity to one more. They each adjust the sliders, and then carefully help the patients onto their medbeds and activate them. Energy flows from the beds and into the patients, and they slowly start to recover.

Connie watches over her patients like her mom in her section. She stays near the slider between her and Twilight's room, in case she needs to go there to help Bismuth console Ugo. On the other side, Bismuth waits for Twilight to fully come to before she can speak with her about him.

Palm Key

"Oh, goodness!" Hal shudders. "You looked like some of the more monstrous xenofauna back home, but at least you were nowhere near as grotesque as the Faceless that destroyed our colony one Glow Season!"

He refuses to describe to the others what it looked like, for he still remembers sheltering the younger colonists in his classroom from that hideous, colossal alien as it tore through the colony's walls and into its various buildings. Although more than half of the colony was devastated and several people died trying to fight the Faceless, the Engineering Wing miraculously suffered the least damage, and everyone in the classroom was shaken, but safe.

"Anyway," Hal continues, "who's this Dark Stanford, and why did he do this do you?"

Living Quarters, Creche

Rex and Nomi pull Tammy into one corner of the Creche, away from the kids, and explain to her what happened to her "data clone" last season. One child toddles over to them and innocently asks what's going on, but Sol picks them up and carries them back to the playmat.

"This is grown-up talk, little one," says Sol. "You'll understand when you're older."

"Awwwww!"

Sol then returns to their friends and sees Tammy gasping at Rex and Nomi and tugging on her ears again.

"W-What do you mean, my 'data clone' made the podium last season?" she asks. "No nominator ever told me that it was my turn in the Arena!"

"Or maybe they just didn't tell you that they cloned you?" Sol shrugs.

Truthfully, that Tammy was actually an alt Tammy that this time, Sol isn't sure if they remember growing up with in a past life, but they don't let this one know about it either way. Still, Tammy shakes her head at the news.

"Aw, what a bummer!" says Rex.

"Would've been really cool if you actually won a season!" adds Nomi.

"Um... honestly? I don't think I'd like it there, much like Cal..." says Tammy. "But if my clone ever goes there, I hope she can stand up to those bullies!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" says Sol.

"So ya wanna cheer for your other self when the Battle Royale comes?" Rex asks Tammy.

"That's gonna be in Season Three-Three-Three!' says Nomi.

"Um..." she hears a baby crying, "I'll think about it, but it looks like someone must be hungry! Gotta go feed her!"

"Okay, take care!" says Sol.

They, Rex and Nomi then go back to the main room of the Living Quarters... only to find what seems to be a certain scientist in purple on her podium.

"Here We Go Again!!" says Nomi.

The Science Center, Safety Shelter

"So you forgot, then?" Juan asks Stacy dryly.

Meanwhile, 6k1 gets a video call from Sol, who first tells her about the "other" Tammy.

"I see... I'm still gonna root for her in the BR, either way!"

"Fair enough," they say.

Edited by TroperNo9001 on May 6th 2024 at 8:14:27 PM

~Troper No 9001 in case you’re wondering about the whole speaking English thing, it’s a little headcanon I have that a majority of the colonists know English as a second language, either through experience or learning it. If that doesn’t work, I’ll change.

Hotel Room, 5th Floor

“… and that’s how Kled became a folk hero of sorts to Noxian soldiers everywhere. I still remember when me and a few other soldiers left a sign that read “Property Of Kled” in front of a castle whose kingdom we conquered.” Swain had just finished explaining to Nomi about a certain Noxian Folk Hero, which was something that Nomi was actuallly interested in. “Huh. Kled sounds like a cool story! Kinda vulgar though. On the subject of other countries, don’t ya speak any other languages? Seems like something you’d know.” “Why, yes, I do. I can Ionian and many Frejlordian dialects. You probably haven’t heard of any of those languages. Do you speak any?” Nomi grinned and nodded their head. Everyone in the colony speaks something called “Esperanto.” The universal language! But I also speak English. Picked it up myself.” Swain let out an amused hum. “Universal? If it were truly universal, my dear, I would have heard of it as soon as it came into existence. Regardless, I’m glad that we can speak the same language.” “Yeah! Means everything ain’t so awkward. Ooh! The show’s startin’ up again!” They eagerly pointed to the television, where amongst others, a large man with purple skin and a lolling blue tongue and a young woman with white and purple hair stood on separate podiums. “Oh my gosh it’s Tang! Oh, you don’t know who Tang is, but she’s this really smart friend of mine. Like, really smart. Don’t know about the purple guy though.” Swain tilted his head. “I’ve seen that man before in my visions. He thinks he’s a doctor. He’s anything but.”

Hanubia

"No, I don't think it works like that. My best guess is that the bracer disables the Metroid when you are close enough to it. Get too far away from it inside or outside the lair, it reactivates. Ironically, this also serves our interest, you'll be safe from the X inside. But it is still a temporary solution." Fire Eyes said to Amethyst.

   "Think, fools. If that Metroid guarding the lair was gone for good, then the X would have overrun this place already, with the consequences you can guess: Sparkle-X, Discord-X, and an entire army of various Stanfords-X. Something that Raven Beak can't allow, he needs Stokes to create his army. And he needs that Metroid to make sure no parasites enter whatsoever."    Blood Moon grunted.

"The Gems raise a good point. Dark Stanford was able to patch up the main weakness you found when you first got here. The next monsters he will produce will likely be updated to counter Quiet Robe's machines. He may be insane, but he is still a genius unlike any others. You can't let that happen." Fire Eyes agreed.

Just as Garnet was done warning the group, a large, monstrous roar echoed through the area. Judging from the sound, it fortunately sounded like it was far away.

"W... What was that?" James asked.

   "That would be the large X I warned you about. Whatever it is you are doing, you only have minutes left before it spots us."    Blood Moon said.

Still busy with Lucian and Oscar, Aaron nodded at CAC's decision.

Lucian got a bit startled by how swiftly Tenn and Henry got dragged into the book, and he certainly got scared by the sudden roar from afar. But it wasn't too bad with his friends all around him. He felt tempted to hide in the book again, but he wanted to be here for Squishy.

"I-It's fine. Henry and Tenn will explain everything. But..." Lucian stammered before sighing, resting his head against Oscar's chest while Aaron was petting them.

"I don't know if we'll see you again. But if we don't... T-Thank you... for everything."

Edited by Scipion3 on May 7th 2024 at 10:46:21 AM

Shelter

(Once Ally is out of sight (give or take a few minutes), Verdi comes out of hiding and starts looking around for some way to hide himself from everyone else.)

   Ooh, Verdi so nervous Verdi can't even think!    (He squeaks. He pokes around and eventually finds a pile of several of Phoebe's potions piled away.)

   Maybe one turn Verdi invisible, onba!    (Verdi says, grabbing the closest one and draining every last drop into his mouth.)

(However, it quickly becomes clear that Verdi drank the astral projection potion, as he immediately falls asleep, and the next thing he knows, he's floating upward toward the ceiling.)

   EEK! HELP VERDI!!    (He shrieks. Seeing his sleeping body down below him, Verdi tries to swim through the air back toward it.)

(As he does, he moves past Caedia's sleeping body. Verdi tries to grab her shoulder and propel himself further by pushing off of it.)

(However, this doesn't happen. Instead, the next thing Verdi knows, he's suddenly incorporeal form again and looking up toward the ceiling.)

Wh-...what happened, juka? (He mutters in confusion.)

(Then he looks down to see his still sleeping body on the floor.) Oh no, juka! Why Verdi-

(Verdi stops when he reaches for his body, as he sees that his arm is long, skinny, green, and has two blades attached to it. Trembling, Verdi turns to the mirror in the room and sees Caedia's face staring back at him.)

AIEEEE!! (Verdi shrieks, instinctively diving behind one of the beds in the room.) Verdi become Caedia!!! Help Verdi!!

ZDR

Outside

Then we must hurry before it makes its way here! (Sidon says.)

(Sidon and Miss Ball lead everyone onto the medship in a hurry.)

(Reba and Les of course take medbeds adjacent to each other.)

My dearest Reba...I think we have just lived through the "worse" part of "for better or for worse", haven't we? (Les comments.)

You said it, dumpling! (Reba agrees.) ...Oh, I sure hope Wanda and her friend make it out of here safely...

(Miss Ball pauses by where Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are. She cannot help feeling extremely bad that she had to attack them despite the circumstances.)

Fluttershy...uh...if it's not gonna hurt you, can I give you a hug? (Ball asks Fluttershy.)

("Odessa" seems very worried upon hearing this from Lucian. So much so that she transforms back into Dess, at least for the time being.)

   H-Hey, what are you sayin'? Don't say stuff like that. It's not funny!    (Dess says.)

(Oscar swallows nervously.) We...there's a chance we...we might not make it out of here.

(Dess's eyes narrow and they start shaking their head.)    N-No, you've d-done so much for me! You helped me not hate everybody! I-!   

(Dess realizes that for the first time since they became a white Zoroark, they're actually crying.)    Yall are practically all I've got. What am I s'posed to do without you?   

(June sighs sadly.) Dess, it’s okay. We might still be able t' make it out. We just…wanted t' warn yall. (She says.)

   But what if y' don’t?    (Dess asks.)    Now that I remember what havin' friends is like, I don’t wanna be alone again…   

Hey, you’re still gonna have Shelley 'n everybody, too. Don’t forget 'bout that! (June points out.)

(The distant growl reaches everyone.)

Something tells me we'd better get going pretty soon. (August says, worried.)

(Henry and Tenn have explained as such to the Shels and everyone else within the book.)

…No…NO! You can’t! (Shelley exclaims, immediately devastated.)

Shel, it has to be done, or else the entire multiverse could be destroyed. (Tenn explains.)

But it can’t come with losing you both, too. (Shelley says.) I wouldn’t be half of who I am now without you two.

Indeed, and it is our wish that you continue to be that person should we fail to escape. (Henry says.) Be that person for Shelby!

(Shelley looks back at Shelby, who is standing by quietly, not sure what to say.)

Just promise me that you’ll keep carrying things on for us, alright? (Tenn says.) Start a new rescue team, or just keep living life with Shelby. Just keep doing your best whatever you end up doing.

And…do tell my brother and his dear wife what happened, too, if we don’t escape. (Henry adds.)

(Shelley nods and immediately pulls Henry and Tenn into a hug. Her arms don’t quite reach all the way around like they would in her normal Golisopod form, but she hardly cares.) Thank you…

(Shelby joins the hug as well.) Good luck…I hope it doesn’t have to come down to all of that, but if it does…thank you.

(Lyric is staring intently at the sky, though.)

Whatcha thinkin', matey? (Flotina asks.)

I hafta go up there. (Lyric says.)

Whoa! If you leave here, we might not ever see you again! (Flotina says, worried.)

But I ain’t gonna let my three girls go at it alone. (Lyric says.)

Palm Key

I guess you say he’s pretty much the whole reason for this mess. (Jared says.)

Yeah, and he's been takin' people and turnin' 'em into monsters so they could do his dirty work for 'im! (Jabberjaw adds.) I’ve seen 'em do stuff with my own eyes!

They almost kidnapped Mr. Bern, too. (Jonny finishes, pointing at Eye-Sicle’s counterpart in this universe close by.)

Edited by kablammin45 on May 8th 2024 at 8:44:13 AM

Ugo: Okay. Don't want to fight that abomination, anyway.

(Ugo cradles Twilight like a baby and takes her to one of the medbeds, then Dick and Elfin go to two other medbeds, while Ugo shapeshifts back into CAC and also goes to rest on a medbed of his own)

CAC: (Whispers) Hopefully I have better dreams this time... good night, everyone!

Dick/Elfin: Good night.

Edited by CosmosAndChaos on May 8th 2024 at 6:08:50 AM

The Science Center, Safety Shelter

Sol then tells 6k1 that they saw Hal off to Palm Key a while ago.

"Alright, good luck to him!"

"And hey 6k1!" says Nomi. "If that wasn't 'our' Tammy last season, what about the Tang this season?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"But she told us not to disturb her experiment!"

Sol shrugs. "I'll call her, anyway."

They do so, and the Tang in the Arena doesn't pick up, while the "real" Tang shows up in the group video call and rolls her eyes at them.

"Sol, if I was nominated this coming season, I would've called you right away. Now let me get back to my experiment, okay?"

They sigh sheepishly. "Okay, then."

"But actually, do let me know what happens to that other me after the season. I'll see about recording her run for research purposes."

"Heh, I was thinking of watching you— I mean 'her', too, for that reason!" says 6k1.

"It's a coincidence that we share similar traits even when we're from different worlds, but that is fascinating to hear. But anyway, I have to go."

Tang then leaves the group call, and Rua briefly returns to tell 6k1 that only Bagheera will use VR this season, after he declined last time out of fear of killing his friend Baloo, which didn't happen at all.

"Then hopefully he does better this time."

Palm Key

Hal looks at Mr. Bern. "What did he want from him, specifically?"

The Mawkin Starship

Fluttershy slowly opens her eyes. "Y-Yes please..."

She wonders what she and the others are doing here in this unfamiliar place.

"It's a long story..." says Connie.

Meanwhile, Discord sulks in his medbed as he slowly starts becoming opaque.

"Just how much longer until this ship takes off?" He grumbles.

As Bismuth sits near Twilight and watches her fading in and out of consciousness, she contemplates on CAC's decision. Would he have been forced to fight Dark Stanford had the Red Squad not found this ship? But on the other hand, if he really meant to only rescue the Equestrians regardless, then what was that time when he suddenly declared that that cruel fox and his evil bird partner "deserved" to be Atomized for? And while CAC had a reason to join this mission despite his personal issues, should he have stayed behind instead?

I was fighting a war... what was his excuse? Bismuth repeats in her mind. Bale was right when he said that CAC almost lost himself in the pursuit of justice... just like I did back when Steven confronted me... and I need to the trust everyone outside to consider the proper punishment for them... And Steven, I hope those pills are still working...

Just then, Twilight finally opens her eyes.

"Where am I...?" she asks weakly. "What happened to CAC...?"

"It's a really long story, girl..." Bismuth sighs.

"Is he here...? I need to talk to him..."

The burly Gem looks at him on his medbed. "He just went to bed, sorry. I-I'll try to explain the best I can, okay?"

But Twilight gasps and starts crying. "No, I need to talk to him right now!"

Ronny Gold's Place

Now the whole castle is flooded! Ronny motioned anyone who's near him to follow him to the basement. Surely the water shut-off valve had to been there, right?

Hanubia

Aaron sighed sadly upon Lucian feeling bad for Dess. Motioning at Oscar, June, and the others to follow him, he got close to the book. Despite the imminent danger, Lucian hugged the Hisuian Zoroark.

"Dess... Mark my words, I'll do everything so that everyone comes back, safe and sound. After everything you've done for us, it's the least we can do." Aaron said with a sad smile.

"You could stay inside the book or go directly with us instead of leaving with the others, of course. We will need the book to rescue Stanford and his counterparts." Tokage added.

Back inside the book, "Fred" also heard the conversation. While he was glad that the rescue team made it this far, his signature grin faded upon learning of the danger.

The Gengar thought for a moment before shaking his head.

   "Geh! There is no way Fred... No, Freddy the Gengar backs away so easily! I shall stay here to protect the Stanfords should something happen to them once they are rescued. I trust the fox of death and his rival to keep our "mateys" safe."    he said.

Edited by Scipion3 on May 8th 2024 at 8:27:27 PM

"Methinks you're prolly misunderstanding what I'm saying here, Pow-Pow."

Safety shelter

Stacy: That's right, I did.

Mawkin Starship

CAC: Zzzzz... huh? (Hears Twilight talking and gets off the bed)

CAC: (Sees Twilight crying) What's wrong?

Shelter

(Stella wanders into the common area of the shelter. Judging by the slight dampness in her ruff, it does seem that she was indeed in the shower as Verdi had stated.)

(She looks around.)    Hey, anybody else seen Verdi?   

Ronny Gold's Castle

Everybody hang on to me! (Ed says.)

(As the Pokémon grab on to Ed, Caedia pauses a moment with a strange expression.)

You okay there, Caedia? (Friday asks.)

Apologies, I just felt strange for a moment! But that isn’t important! We must follow him! (Caedia shouts.)

(Ed and the others follow Ronny. Haban still seems unresponsive.)

ZDR

Outside

(Dess still tenses up for a moment, but returns the hug. They give a sincere (though still tearful) smile to everyone.)

   Y'know…Fred’s gonna have his hands full keepin' track 'a so many people.    (Dess says.)    I should get Odessa t' help him.   

(And with that, Dess transforms back into Odessa.)    Best of luck to yeh, mateys! Oh, and…do try your best to get outta here, saavy? I might have another quest for Captain Montalvo and his lil first mate comin' on soon.   

(Odessa winks at Oscar and Lucian.)

Can’t wait to see what you have in store. (Oscar says with a smile.)

Sir, if you truly wish to help us stop Evil Stanford, then I simply hope you know what you’re getting into. (Henry says.)

Yeah, a heap of trouble. (Lyric laughs.) But I’m not letting him lay a hand on my three girls. Take me out with you when you leave.

Sure thing. (Tenn says.)

(Something occurs to Shelley.) …Where are we even going to put so many alternate Stanfords? I don’t know if we could fit them all here.

Hey, I may have been cooped up for a long time, but I know there’s plenty of much bigger islands around here, mateys. (Flotina says.) We’ll find something.

I sure hope so… (Shelby says.)

(Henry hefts Lyric onto his back and they and Tenn leave the book as Odessa returns to it.)

Lyric? (Oscar gasps when Henry and Tenn return from the book with Lyric.)

Papa?? (June also gasps. She almost forgot Lyric was a Sharpedo.)

Why did you come out here?? (July asks.)

Thought I was gonna let you all have all the fun? (Lyric says as he rolls off Henry onto the ground with a splat.) Besides, I figured I was due for another outing with my three girls.

Dad, uh…hope you know what you’re getting into. (August says.)

Yeah, I do. Wouldn’t miss seeing you three and the others saving the Multiverse for anything at this point. (Lyric chuckles.)

Medship

(Miss Ball actually starts to cry as she hugs Fluttershy. It really seems to dawn on her that she was just forced to attack some of her favorite characters (or, rather, favorite people; she knows they’re as real as the whiskers on her face at this point).)

I’ll never do anything like that to you or anypony else again, I promise. (She says.)

Palm Key

He’s a parallel counterpart to my sister’s old rival, Eye-Sicle, and Dark Stanford hates him. (Jared says.)

…Well, aren’t I lucky? (Mr. Bern grumbles.)

Now wait a minute, why are YOU here? (Race asks Hal.)

Edited by kablammin45 on May 8th 2024 at 2:24:05 AM

Science Shelter

"Hooray!" Said Ai as she got the crayons.

"Oh, that's good." said Nozomi, hearing the others' progress.

"Speaking of, i could get some paper." said Adeleine. "...do you have any paper?".

Edited by Oggy123 on May 8th 2024 at 12:02:57 PM

Underground Bunker

"What do you mean?" asks Power. "And didn't I tell you before that I'm autistic? You even asked me why I keep on misunderstanding your expressions!"

"Oh yeah..." says Bezier, "I have that, too. I don't understand sarcasm sometimes..."

He still thinks Data Ugo legitimately found his cactus pun funny last Nom Games.

"But Ichigo," says Miranda, "you should try to be clearer with your expressions so that she'll understand you better!"

"But I think that's a little bit hard to do when you're worked up," adds Heart.

"Still," says Power, "remember when you explained to me why you compared my dad to Liam Neeson? I prolly wouldn't have gotten it if you didn't tell me that!"

"I remember that!" says Trial. "Wonder what his pony counterpart, Liam Neighson, would think should we ever meet, haha..."

The Science Center, Safety Shelter

Juan sighs at Stacy, just when Stella enters the room and asks around where Verdi is. He shrugs at her while 6k1 says that she has no idea about him.

Meanwhile, Ally shapeshifts into Power and prints out some sheets of paper from her mouth for Mimi and Adeleine. Some of them are blank while others are coloring book pages of various child tributes.

"Yay, thank you!" says the Starble.

Dupe grabs an empty sheet and doodles on it with the markers. To him, it feels strange for his sister to mimic Power while the real one's still hiding with Ichi, but he hopes that the latter's still doing alright.

Ally then notices Stella and tells her, Affirmative, his last known coordinates were in the mini-laboratory.

She still keeps her promise not to snitch on him to Stella about his vandalism.

Palm Key

"Hmm, wonder why..." Hal remarks about Mr. Bern.

"But anyway, as I was trying to say a while ago, 6k1 and Sol referred me to you because they said you guys might know better than me on how to fix a ship that crash-landed somewhere in Panem. I mean, I know how to fix one in general, but that one might have a different design from the ones I'm familiar with. Can you guys help me here?"

Outside Dark Stanford's lair

While waiting for the other members to confirm on who's staying and who's leaving (and there's not much time left), the OG Crystal Gems turn heads at Lyric coming out of the Pirate Book as a Sharpedo.

"Dude, I thought you were a Lucario!" says Amethyst.

"Did entering that book change your form?" asks Pearl.

"If it did, then how come you didn't instantly turn back to normal?" asks Garnet.

The Mawkin Starship

Bismuth quickly gets up from her seat. "Wait CAC, stay where ya are! It says here that the bed does not require you to sleep on it for it to heal you!"

True to her word, Twilight's medbed is still transferring its energy to her even after she woke up. She then slowly turns around while still lying down to face the nominator.

"CAC, i-is that really you? But all I r-remember was that I l-last saw you in Asriel's nightmare..."

Fluttershy smiles weakly at Miss Ball but is still confused at what's going on.

"D-Do what to me?" she asks her.

Connie shakes her head. "Basically, Dark Stanford brainwashed all of you into attacking us, so we had no choice but to fight back!"

Fluttershy folds her ears lower than usual. "But but... why would he do that?!"

"I can't believe he beat me at my own game!" says Discord.

"Wait, you brainwashed us, too?" asks Pinkie.

"Of course, I did! Remember when we first met, when I tested Twilight by pitting you and your friends against her?" he chuckles.

"Uh... I think so? But still, she managed to snap us out and then we zapped you into stone with our rainbow friendship lasers!"

He crosses his arms. "Touché, but I've long moved past that thanks to Flutters over there!"

"Aww..." says the pegasus.

CAC: Oh... okay. (Goes back inside) And, Twilight, yes it's me. And well... I had a nightmare myself where I intentionally let Dark Stanford kill me. Speaking of... suicide... while you were brainwashed, I tried to kill myself because of your accusations concerning Timewrecking Asriel. If it was not for one of my friends calling me, I'd be dead right now. But it's okay, I know it was not your fault.

Edited by CosmosAndChaos on May 8th 2024 at 5:18:38 AM

Hanubia

Lucian relctantly let go of Dess and smiled sadly at her.

"A-Aye..." he said.

"Don't worry about that. And who knows? Maybe they could use some help next time." Aaron Added, rubbing Oscar and Lucian's heads. The Lycanroc quietly nodded.

To everyone's surprise, Henry and Tenn came back with Lyric.

"Lyric, sir? Are you sure about this? Things could get very serious." Aaron asked. But the Lucario didn't argue with the older one.

"Alright, then. I know Dark Stanford manipulated you and everything, but I hope you'll be careful." Aaron said to June's dad.

"Say, Tok... When this is over, how do you think he, Lilac, and Darnell will react to you-know-what?" Alex discreetly asked

"'Alex. Later. We should focus." Tokage scolded. Of course, the Grovyle would also have to explain this to his own father.

Edited by Scipion3 on May 9th 2024 at 3:08:13 PM

Cafe Sweetrhythm

With the broadcasting of the results, one of the customers got annoyed and screamed: "What!? The owner's tribute got murdered by a freaking sheep! This is a dishonor to the reputation!"

"No, it's not a disrespectful thing. It's... I underestimated these other nominators... They are willing to pick anything out of the ordinary for their tributes." Rayne said.

His personal android assistant, Ellanne (which Rayne just often called her as "Ella"), responded to that. "Maybe you should consider nominating non-human tributes, then. These creatures can be more powerful than humans, or at least have higher odds of surviving longer."

"...Yeah. About that... It's about time for the 324th season, and I think I found who could spice up the next season." He hands out a paper with an image printed in it: A cinnamon-haired girl with blue chestplate and a yellow rabbit. "Huh, I assumed those two tend to stick together, not separately. And as for the other one..." he put down the previous paper, and put a new one, this time with a separate drawing: A young girl with a flower stick. "I don't think she has been nominated by her own. We will see how it goes."

"So these are your tributes for the next season? Very well, allow me to send these submissions to the nomination registration!

"Oh, and by the way... I have a feeling about something bad might happen somewhere. Can you find and track it?"

"..." There was no response for a while. But then... "...I think I can figure out from where the omnious feeling comes from... but I can't tell you, because I cannot reach them or contact anyone near them. However, we could hire some guards to protect this building, just in case."
"...Don't we have that girl with a large black shield with streaks of red?"

"We might need more protection in the future. I would suggest find strong tribute candidates for the future seasons. It is unfortunate, but none of your tributes have scored more than 2 kills so far.

He shrugged. "I see. What are the odds this continues for up to 30 seasons?".

"...low chance. I cannot exactly predict it because the number of nominators are chnaging over time, and due to the unpredictable nature of RNG. But it is unlikely to stay that way, considering how the other nominators get streaks of luck at times."

"In other words... Don't give up, Mr. Rayne."

Edited by JustNormalMusicLover on May 12th 2024 at 6:17:56 PM

"Oh, right, sometimes I forget that."

Shelter

   Thanks!    (Stella says, turning to head that general direction.)

(Along the way, she passes by Cricket.)    Oh, hey, weren't you just with Verdi?   

Oh, uh, yeah, I ducked out to the bathroom, but when I was headed back, Magnus started tellin' this crazy story and...uh... (Cricket trails off.)

   Aw, don't worry about it, I know how it is.    (Stella laughs.)    I was just about to check on him.   

Oh yeah, I sorta left him-... (Cricket glances around nervously.) ...Uh, doin' stuff.

   Huh?    (Confused, Stella starts toward the mini-lab with Cricket tailing behind.)

VERDI, GET OUT! VERDI, GET OUT!!! (Verdi shrieks, tugging on his face as though that'll get him out of Caedia's body and back into his own.) Caedia not going to be happy! She probably make big Feraligatr eat Verdi as punishment!!

(Then he hears footsteps approaching.) No! Verdi hide! Verdi hide!!

(He scrambles underneath one of the beds and doesn't make a sound as Stella and Cricket come in.)

WHOA! (Cricket says.) Lil bat feller got pretty busy while I was gone.

   No kidding!    (Stella agrees.)

(From where Verdi is laying, he sees Stella pick up his sleeping body.)    And it looks like he wore himself right out, too...either that or he used Phoebe's astral projection potion.   

Astral wha-? (Cricket asks.)

   Aw, never mind. I know Verdi wouldn't have used it. He refused to earlier and I can't think of a reason why he'd change his mind.    (Stella says.)    Think I might bring him over to everyone else. Maybe seeing more people might help him calm down when he wakes back up. And I'll probably ease him into helping clean everything up.   

And [everyONE=] up, too! Lookit that, the giant gator's just got a huge smiley face on his belly! (Cricket laughs.)

   Hoo boy, I hope they aren't too upset when they get back.    (Stella says as she and Cricket leave to return to the common area...as Verdi watches in horror from under the bed.)

No no NO!! JUKA! VERDI BE CAEDIA FOREVER!!

ZDR

Outside

Will do. Same to all of you. (Lyric says.)

Do you want us to change you back to normal, Papa? (June asks.)

Well, Aaron has Lucarios covered, doesn't he? (Lyric laughs.) But if yeh mates got a way for me to go back to my normal self, I'll take it. If not, I guess taking Dark Stanford on as a Sharpedo could be a fun challenge.

(Lyric does notice that July and August seem a lot closer to Tokage and Alex than before.) ...Say, did I miss something?

(July blushes again.) Um...well... (July says, looking at Tokage.)

Oh, not much, you can probably figure it out. (August says, pulling Alex a bit closer to herself.)

(Lyric makes a toothy grin. Looks like he already has!)

We should probably make our way back to everyone else as soon as we're able to, though. (Tenn says.)

Medship

I am glad you were able to change your ways. (Sidon says to Discord.)

Sounds awfully familiar if you ask me. (Reba chuckles.) For me and Les, it was this crazy shared nightmare we both had, though.

The most important thing though is that you guys are all back to normal and we're getting you outta here. (Ball says.)

Palm Key

Right, that WAS what we were originally here for, wasn't it? (Ira says.)

I certainly don't see why not. (Dr. Quest says.) This experiment was a success, so I believe I can move on to something new.

But Benton, going by the way he described it, the ship may be extraterrestrial in origin. (Race warns.)

Yeah, but Dad did just figure out how to save those four, too. (Jonny points out.)

Yes, and whatever technology that turned them into that is BEYOND extraterrestrial. (Hadji adds.)

(Bandit barks in agreement.)

...Well, you've got me there, boys. (Race concedes.)

Edited by kablammin45 on May 9th 2024 at 9:06:05 AM