The morning air was quiet and still. It was not really how Sonic preferred it- he would have liked to be speeding about in search of new records to break- but he could at least appreciate the sort of charm it must have held for others like Cloud. The mercenary was the only other occupant of the second-floor veranda that looked out over the town, towards the rising sun. Sonic shut the door quietly behind him and decided to make conversation.

"You been up for a while, Cloud?"

"Since midnight," yawned the man, continuing to gaze out toward the horizon. He patted a spot on the railing, which Sonic zipped to and rested himself against. "Sure is pretty, up here."

"Yeah, I guess so," agreed the hedgehog, taking another look back out at the vibrant tones of orange and salmon rising in the distance. "But… it's just a desert. Nothin' real fancy."

"It may not look like much to you, but it's beautiful to me," explained Cloud. "It's not very real or anything, but any time I look out at one of these arenas, all I see is what could be- what I could be doing, back home. Making people's lives better."

"A sunset reminds you of that?"

"My world was one that had been ruined by foolish people, the very life sucked out of the ground in pursuit of money and power. The whole planet was dying… even a desert wouldn't have been as vibrant as this. I was going to make things better."

"Huh. I never would've pegged you as an environmentalist type."

"I don't know if I'd say I was doing it so much for the planet, as the people in it."

"Honestly I wouldn't have taken you as a people person either."

Cloud turned from the sunset, smiling. "Heh. Yeah. I guess I don't run my mouth a whole lot, but I like having some company, to pass the time."

"Well, it's a pleasure to be of service to ya," replied Sonic. "So… can I ask you something?"

"Uh, yeah, maybe. Is it weird? 'Cause you're making it sound like it's going to be weird."

"No, not weird, but personal. What do you think of… the boss?"

Cloud's smile grew a little fainter. "You mean, Poppy? That's a tricky question. I guess you could say there's two answers to that. What she really is… it's a mean thing. None of us could really wrap our heads around the kind of evil power she's got, that's undeniable. But her beef isn't with us, it's with the Master of Games. And for her to acknowledge that she needs our help, to offer to cooperate with what she considers lesser beings, means she's got some spark of good in her, somewhere. I can feel it. So in that regard- which is more important than how I feel about her personally- I think I'm content taking orders from her. After all, we've done well so far. Why'd you ask?"

"I don't know what you'd call it," shrugged Sonic. "It hasn't happened to me, but… I've seen a lot of deals like this go sour. And I just can't shake the feeling that-"

"Eventually, you may be betrayed?" said Poppy, finishing his sentence.

Sonic shed a few quills in fright, turning to find his boss standing with her arms crossed behind him.

"How- when- did you-"

"While my omnipresence isn't what it used to be, these elves' ears are useful for hearing things far away," she explained.

"So you heard… all of that?" whispered the hedgehog nervously.

"Yes."

"Well, I said how I really felt," stated Cloud. "If you've got a problem with that, just say the word and I'm out of here."

Poppy shook her head.

"That will not be necessary. I understand your concerns… you, Sonic, desire your own freedom above all else. Cloud, you wish to protect others. Neither are uncommon wishes among mortals such as yourselves, and with your motivations as such, you may doubt my agenda. But I assure you, my intentions are as I stated. Through our cooperation, I will shame my loathsome brother, and you will achieve victory. There is no more to it than that. I do not care if you do not trust me, nor if you find my methods displeasing. All I care is that you are willing to do as told and help your allies for your mutual benefit."

"So… you don't care what we think of you… at all?" asked Sonic.

Poppy shook her head again, looking a little weary of it. "When one lives as long as I have, one learns that what others think has little to do with their actions. Most creatures are motivated by their thoughts second, and their primal urges first."

"Well, you've chewed us out all you need to, then," Cloud sighed. "I'd better get back to guard duty."

"Actually, I was searching for you two on another matter entirely. I am in need of your assistance."

"What's up? Is somebody closing in on us? Need me to run a scouting mission?" asked the hedgehog excitedly.

"No. Morrigan woke up. I'm certain she had something very profound to say when she stumbled into my office, but she ended up vomiting instead. I've already put her back to bed with a glass of water, but somebody needs to clean it up."

"Well, um, look at the time!" cried Sonic, dashing away.

"Wait!" shouted Cloud, but it was no use. Sonic was no doubt far out of earshot already, and Cloud was certain that even if the speedster had been close enough, he wouldn't have stuck around anyway. He turned sheepishly to Poppy.

"Uh… can't Snake help you?"

"He is currently securing the town's gold coin."

"How about Bayonetta?"

"I actually have no idea where she is," admitted Poppy. "Morrigan mumbled something about her and a trap- I think right before she ejected a bottle of scotch onto my carpet."

"Oh. And Haruto?"

"Broken pelvis."

"Fine, I'll go clean it up."

Cloud trudged back through the door reluctantly. He was a little surprised to find Poppy crouched on the floor of the office, scraping a rag back and forth across the carpet.

"But- I thought you wanted me to-"

"I did not say that I was not going to help, did I?"

Cloud smiled weakly. "Thank you, Poppy."

***

Hermione made sure to wiggle back into her seat as far as possible. It was illogical, but she felt as though the few extra millimeters might keep her a little safer from her superior.

"So, Granger. Report."

Hermione cleared her throat and pulled on her collar, which suddenly felt quite restrictive.

"Well, we spoke with Ikari. He was evasive."

"So he didn't give you any answers?"

"No, Chief Kiryuin. But there was some evidence pointing towards… something."

"Something?"

"In his experimental lab, there was a single empty tank. It had some signs of recent use, and there was a trail of LCL on the floor, like something exited it."

"There was no possibility that this was a sanctioned project?"

"He claimed that the tank was out of order, that its current distributor was broken. But the tanks don't use charged LCL. He was lying."

Satsuki raised an eyebrow, and Hermione wondered if those muscles were as strong as the rest of her. Probably so.

"Interesting. And you retrieved the weapons from Research and Development?"

"We were told that they were most likely in the Munitions wing. We checked there, nobody had them."

The corners of Satsuki's lips turned further downwards. "And you did not think to investigate the other two wings?"

"I did not have any reason to believe they were there."

"I'm disappointed in you, Granger. I thought you would have been more thorough in your investigation. I cannot allow those weapons to be unaccounted for any longer."

Kiryuin pushed her chair back and picked up her sword from her side of the desk, marching towards the door.

"But, Chief-"

"You are dismissed, Miss Granger. If I have another assignment for you, I only hope you will be a little more diligent."

With that, the younger woman stormed out, tapped something on her AEGIS, and disappeared. Hermione dragged herself from the chair and sulked into the hallway.

"Didn't go so well, huh, Curly?" sneered Nonon.

Hermione would have snapped back, but she was too tired. She instead nodded and began to enter the mess' coordinates into her AEGIS.

"Where are you going?" asked Sanageyama. "You're not planning on leaving us out, are you?"

"Well, I actually was," admitted the witch. "But I suppose you could come along. As long as I don't hear anything from Nonon while we're there."

"I BELIEVE WE CAN KEEP HER QUIET," Gamagori supposed.

"Fine. You can come."

***

"That is a simply stunning cake!" the Doctor remarked. He was a human-looking fellow of middle height and a dark complexion, his tightly-knotted hair drawn back into a ponytail. He pulled off the apron he had been wearing, and wiped a few stray spots of flour off of his greatcoat. "You're really outdone yourself, Pinkie!"

"Aw, thanks, Mister The Doctor!" giggled the pony. "I really hope Haruhi likes it. I mean, I even fixed how I spelled her name wrong earlier!"

"I don't reckon she'll get real upset over a little bit of icing," assured Applejack.

Rei Forty-Seven removed her oven mitts and placed them back on the counter. "Program Coordinator Suzumiya is a woman of discerning tastes. Regardless of her sentiment on the cake, displeasing her is not advisable. Her powers alter the metaverse on a massive scale. If she merely thought of a world where any one of us did not exist, it could become reality."

"Is that why she has to wear those limiters everywhere?" Applejack asked.

"Spot on," confirmed the Doctor. "A lot of the Illuminated have powers that could be dangerous to others, and have to wear limiters to prevent them from hurting anyone. If they were ever in serious danger, they could pop those limiters right of and save their own skins- or anybody else's, if need be."

"Here's to hoping that the cake finds her with those limiters on," laughed Applejack, and the rest followed her example. The kitchen was busiest during meals- since they were at a lull, they had time for special projects. Pinkie and Applejack were certain that the cake had turned out just fine, but wanted some advice on the decorations. The Doctor knew Suzumiya well and volunteered to help after finishing a tin of kippers. Rei Forty-Seven happened to be passing through the line and had wondered what the commotion was, and was invited to stay.

"It's just a wonderful place, this ship," roared the Doctor. "All of you brilliant, wonderful people doing brilliant and wonderful things. Nearly as nice as Equestria was."

"You can come back any time, Mister The Doctor!" chirped Pinkie Pie. "And you can bring your companions or whatever, too!"

"I'm certain I will," said the Doctor, suddenly more serious. "Because as much fun as we're having now… one day, this will be over. And we'll all have to go back. I'll try and pay everyone a visit as much as I can, but I'm sure we'll all miss each other."

"Yes, we will," whispered Forty-Seven. No one was laughing anymore.

"Hey, let's not get so glum!" cheered the Doctor. "Pinkie, didn't you tell me about a surprise you made for everyone?"

"OMIGOSH you're right! I almost forgot!" she squealed, hopping in place. "Me and Applejack baked a whole extra cake for ourselves to try! Rei, you're close, can you get it out of the oven?"

"Of course," nodded Forty-Seven. She made her way to the oven, retrieving her mitts from the counter as she passed them. She opened the heavy door and removed the second cake, but halfway back to the table, she stopped, and looked up at the ceiling.

"This vent, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie turned around, a little confused.

"I didn't say any-"

Words eluded her when she saw it- above Forty-Seven, descending from an innocuous ventilation port, was a horrible black tendril, writhing back and forth. Before any of them could say anything, it coiled around her midsection and lifted her up into the vent, the cake falling from her hands. Several dull thumps were followed by a messy crunching sound, and Rei fell back through the vent covered in her own blood.

"Wonderful place, this ship," repeated the Doctor, whose greatest defense mechanism was sarcasm.