The Great Gas Excursion

On the eve of the New Year, Enopac Egeb led Glasses Girl and the Nega-MG operatives to the basement of their mansion. The roots of a shining green tree enveloped this chamber, though the tree itself was fairly thin. "This is our most sacred place." The godfather said. "When our ancestor, Mama Tebrehs, took her final breath, she became this tree. Her soul has since watched over us. And only on New Year's Eve will she speak to us. Only she will decide if you're trustworthy. Now, go and greet her."

"I waited three months to talk to a tree?" Airam questioned.

"You'd think being on our best behavior all that time would've been enough." Revilo figured.

"If you call that best behavior." Lihp remarked.

"Just do it." Ydnew insisted.

Airam sighed and approached the tree. "Uh…what's up, Mama Tebrehs?"

The tree emitted a brighter glow as a tall, thin spirit formed. She wore a dark-green dress and matching hair that was shaped like broccoli leaves. Her nose was long, eyes closed, and she frowned serenely. She spoke in a gentle and refined voice. "She, who descends from Shrews. I, Mama Tebrehs, appear before you."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Pin it with that mouth, kid." Egeb stated. "So, Mama… what do you make of this brat?"

"Ambition and vengeance fill her eyes… Unrest taints her 'til her mother dies."

"I mean, I was under the impression you didn't like her either, so what's wrong with that?"

"Though we share a most evil foe, what future will you come to know? When the toxic power becomes yours, will you rule benevolent forevermore?"

"Forever's a long time, lady."

"Airam, we've already been over this." Ydnew said. "We're going to fix all the damage your mother has caused and restore Toadstool World's vegetation."

"I guess, but it ain't the most important thing I'm worried about."

"Look, kid," Egeb said, "you may've been behavin', but don't think we appreciate that tongue of yours. All you care about is gettin' what you want and usin' us and those pals of yours to get it. You take us all for granted and ya ain't even grateful."

"Hey, cut her some slack." Revilo said. "She's been through a lot and we haven't made any progress in taking the Mushrooms down! There isn't much to be grateful for."

"Yes, there is." Ydnew stated strictly. "She should be grateful that her friends stuck around this long despite making little progress. Unless you're thinking of bailing out, Revilo?"

"Exactly." Lihp agreed. "To be fair, we still don't have to stick around. And if the Galactic Navy finds and questions us, we could rat you out afterwards. You know how much trouble we're gonna be in 'cause of you?!"

Airam bit her lip in frustration. "Look, I ain't good with emotions, okay? You three are just about the only ones I can trust, but it's because we haven't made any progress that it's hard to feel grateful!"

"Your heart has been tormented so. But your comrades speak truthfully though. They've tied their hearts and their burden to you. What is the least that you can do?"

"I don't know, wash their clothes or something?"

"Wouldn't saying 'thank you' be easier than that?" Ydnew asked.

"Well… thank you, then."

"Geez Esiuol…" Egeb sighed.

A vine reached over and tipped Airam's sunglasses down. The stern-eyed girl directed her gaze at the ancestor. "Your words are small… but your eyes tell more. You treasure them all, these friends you adore. Though my family bear their resent, I sense no ill will from you at present. I would like to think of you as family, too, and implore you work together to see this battle through."

"If you think she's clean, we'll do as you say. But I'm pretty sour about our lack of progress myself. Sutsugua's gang have been on reconnaissance for weeks, but we haven't heard hide nor hair of him."

"I believe his farming will now bear fruit. His men are returning with new loot. But I feel a great danger has befallen. It is time to let the ball in."

"'Let the ball in'? You're startin' to rhyme like a first grader."

"Don Egeb! Don Egeb!" Eiwets came bouncing down the stairs in his ball form. He puffed back to his normal, pudgy size.

"Eiwets?! Ya finally made it back!"

"I'm sorry, boss!" Eiwets began weeping. "But we didn't all make it. Sutsugua… he was nabbed by the Mushroom Mafia!"

"HE WHAT?!"

"We was carryin' out reconnaissance on Contempora. The mafia had a big drug ring on the planet. They even had little kids workin' for them! That little sweetheart can't ignore kids in danger, so we done saved as many as we could."

The group headed upstairs to the foyer. Ollar was holding several children in his books. One of them was Okot, a pink-haired girl whose eyes were dry from endless crying. She had been forced to eat drugged plants that made her like this. Another was Amat, a purple-haired girl with flabby, almost melting skin. "So, you spent all this time abducting kids?" Egeb questioned.

"'Saving' is a kind way of abducting." Ollar reasoned. "In any case, our journey wasn't a total waste. We've managed to collect some imperative info."

"Yeah!" Eiggam perked up and spoke quickly. "The mafiosos are on a huge expedition in New Galaxia and looking for six planets that have really strong Poison Chi because they think it'll make better drugs than ever, I think they're named after the Six Noble Gases-"

"Settle down, Eiggam." Egeb said.

"New Galaxia… Isn't that the place where the Positives went?" Airam asked.

"Yeah, but after the universe reset or whatever, I heard more people started to go there." Ydnew said. "As if it was always open."

"Talk about confusing." Lihp scratched his head.

"Then why don't we go there, too?" Airam suggested. "I'm tired of waiting around here. If my mom is searching for six powerful gases, then we need to stop them. Heck, maybe the gases can restore my poisonbending!"

"We can't just go up there without barely any clues." Egeb said. "Unless you got a map of the place."

"I bet I know who can get one." Ydnew replied. "Nerehc can probably get Cheren to call one of the people from that universe. I'll fly up to Moonbase and ask him."

"If you kids wanna risk your lives fighting the Mushrooms in some unknown galaxy, that's all well and good." Egeb said. "But my priority is saving my grandson. The most I'll lend you is a ship."

"And you're fine with me going, too?" Airam asked.

"If Mama says you can be trusted… so be it. But you better not dare double-cross us… or I'll come for your head myself."

"I have no intention of betraying any of you."

"We're gonna need more of an answer than that, Airam." Ydnew said. "Don't you have anything more to say after all Little Dad has done for you?"

Airam flushed and looked away. "Th-Thank you… for letting me… stay here."

"For once, it sounds like you actually mean it." Egeb said. "I'll get you fixed up as soon as we're fixed up."

From the basement, Mama Tebrehs smiled blissfully at the child. "You will go far… Little Mushroom. I await the day, for when you bloom…"

DNK Moonbase

Ydnew put on a space helmet before warping to the moon, garnering the attention of the base's cameras. Some operatives were sent to retrieve the girl and bring her inside. (There were spells in place so that people couldn't warp into treehouses.) Ydnew told Nerehc about the situation and that they would go to New Galaxia. "Actually, do you think any other operatives would be available to help us?"

"To be honest, Ydnew… things have been a little iffy with us. Ever since that Sir Prize business, we've been on the Galactic Navy's priority list, and the Black Lotus are having a hard time keeping them off our backs. We were in trouble for 'harboring' the heir to the Mushroom Mafia, but they've accepted the excuse that she tricked us and you guys are renegades. If we send operatives to help you, they'll be sharing the blame, too."

"The navy won't even know we're on this mission!"

"They've been scouting New Galaxia, too. Look, I can agree that this matter is important, and I'll see if Cheren can contact an escort. But where it stands, I still haven't told anybody about her true identity, so I'm not sure if anyone will be willing to help."

"Hm…" Even two of Ydnew's old teammates wanted to immediately bail out when they learned the truth. "Alright. I'll appreciate whatever help you can get us."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Ydnew."

It took until about -3 Yraunaj before an escort finally arrived: Terezi Pyrope, a blind troll with slim red glasses and a walking stick. Her strong sense of smell was bound to sniff out the Six Noble Gases. Of course, they confided in Terezi about Airam's identity, but such news bore little relevance to her.

Enopac Egeb was kind enough to give them a fair-sized greenhouse-like ship with plenty of essentials. Nega-MG made flight to the upside-down Great Clock. But as soon as they arrived, a small Galactic Navy fleet ambushed them. Asked to identify their selves, Ydnew argued that they were travelers. Sadly, she was already recognized as the daughter of Itaav, the Black Lotus leader.

"The Oiram daughter is onboard, isn't she?!" proclaimed a proud, Australian voice. "I know you had allied with her!" The voice's owner marched on the keel of her ship: a Moebian raccoon with a blue cape, a white military uniform, and sharp, silver high-heel boots.

"Yo! That's Admiral Eniram!" Lihp exclaimed.

"The Silver Foot?!" Even Revilo recognized one of the Galactic Navy's strongest, and the mother of Aliehs from Nega-V.

"Ydnew Llevram, you're doing your father a great dishonor aiding that girl!"

"For your information, we're trying to stop Don Shrew! She's up to something in New Galaxia!"

"And we're not about to let Airam meet up with her. I'm taking you all in!"

"Screw you!" Ydnew formed a huge portal to envelop their ship and skip past part of the fleet. Eniram turned and slashed her heel, sending a silver streak of lightbending at the Green Castello. Ydnew tried to catch the streak in a long rift, but Eniram simply redirected the streak around. Revilo steered the ship right, so only the left of it was scratched.

"B4D T1M3 TO 4SK, BUT 4R3 4NY OF YOU C4RP3NT3RS?" Terezi asked.

"Bad time to say this, but the way you talk is annoying!" Revilo answered. "Also, no!"

The navy vessels fired lasers at them, but Ydnew opened portals to catch some and direct them back. Managing so many portals was difficult, so their ship took some hits, but Lihp and Airam used their ship's cannons to fight back. Ydnew dedicated some chi to warping the ship around in evasion, and they were eventually able to make it through the Time Gate.

"Admiral Eniram, shall we go after them?!" a koala asked.

"Yes, pursue them immediately! But first, I have a call to make…"

The Nega-Mages traveled the First Byway (remember when it took three years to get through?) and made it out within 10 minutes. New Galaxia was beyond anything they could've imagined. Comets were flying into a giant asteroid carved like a cereal bowl; an enormous snake made of stardust wrapped around some planetoids; an enormous crocodile opened its mouth, revealing an entire marshland. Travelers began to fly into the marsh to fish.

"This also might've been good to bring up," Revilo said, "but how is a blind girl supposed to guide us through this place?"

"1 C4N S33 W1TH MY NOS3, STUP1D!" Terezi bonked his head. "I've memorized most of this universe's scents. How else do you plan to find the Noble Gases?"

"So, Terezi, what exactly are the Noble Gases, anyway?" Ydnew asked.

"They're elements on the periodic table. Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. There are high concentrations of each of them on different planets, centered around a core. I don't really know much about them, but theoretically, I suppose you could upgrade your poisonbending if you could adapt with them. But what about these mafia guys? If they're really that dangerous, are you sure we don't need more people to deal with them?"

"Don Shrew wouldn't have all her crewmen involved on this mission." Airam replied. "She's gotta have people watchin' the bases and fighting their enemies."

"Otherwise, the four of us are plenty strong." Revilo assured confidently. "So, we'll handle whatever they throw at us."

The first planet they journeyed to was the Land of Crypts and Helium. A desolate, gray landscape, it was defined by thousands of colorful balloons floating from the surface. "The seed pods are grown from the Helium Pod in the planet's core. They float to other worlds, collect water, and return that water to the planet in the hopes that life will return." True to Terezi's words, those balloons were raining water into the canyons. "Sniff, sniff…and 1 smell foul play in that direction."

They parked the ship in the field, but the best part about being a spacebender was that Ydnew could shrink the ship to pocket size and store it in the Infi-Cube. Following Terezi's nose, they soon came upon a camp and drilling rig for the Mushroom Mafia. The operatives fought their way through the soldatos and made their way down a canyon. The canyon led down into the "core" of the planet, ultimately leading to the Helium Pod. It was an enormous sphere connected to a great many pipes that led up into the earth.

"'ey, now! Is that YOU, Underboss Airam?!" A bearded Toad with a brown mushroom cap approached them in a wheelchair. "I thought I 'eard a ruckus up there, but who'd-a thought you'd be payin' us a visit? Your mum's been worried sick about you, eh?"

Airam trained her guns on him. "What are you doing down here, Toadsless? Are you planning to steal this Helium Pod?"

"Stealin' it's a wee bit difficult, but that don't mean we can't pump all the gas inside! There's a mouth hole right up there, prob'ly meant for some git to prove 'er girth as a poisonbender. And that git's gonna be Shrew, I tells ya!"

"Shrew doesn't need any more gas! The only one gettin' a fill-up is me! Now, take your soldatos and get outta here!"

"Sorry, lassie, but your authority's been suspended! Lessin' ya return to the boss, you ain't gettin' a word through us. But we've been ordered ta bring ya with force if need be. Get them, you worthless Wizzerds!"

A swarm of floating, yellow pod robots called Wizzerds flew out. They attacked Ydnew and were resistant to her spacebending, so Revilo helped. Toadsless summoned a red, blue, and yellow Chain-Chomp from his wheelchair: it was an Underchomp that had been fed the Chair-Chair Fruit. "Yeah, well have we got a surprise for you!" Lihp declared.

At his cue, Ydnew released a swarm of rats from the Infi-Cube. Lihp commanded them to work in unison as they evaded the Underchomp and attacked Toadsless directly. While the fighting transpired, Airam jumped up to the pod's mouthpiece. She put her lips to it and began trying to suck the helium in. It was an agonizing sensation, feeling as though her head were swelling and threatened to pop.

Lihp was able to KO Toadsless, and the others destroyed the Wizzerds. The Underchomps decided to retreat for their master's sake. "Hah! Guess we know who the better pet is!" Revilo praised.

"I ain't your pet, Revile-o!"

"H3Y, 1S 41R4M OK4Y?" Terezi pointed.

Airam lay on her back beside the mouthpiece. The friends hurried up to her in worry. "…uck! Helium tastes awful!"

They snickered. Airam's voice was very high-pitched. "Ugh, I knew this was gonna happen. Am I just gonna sound like this for the rest of my-" As Airam hit her fists to the ground, she blew upward! Light as a balloon, she flailed to readjust herself. She began blowing herself in various directions. "Hey! I'm poisonbending! The helium is inside my chi paths!"

"It worked!" Ydnew beamed.

"Yes… but it came at a cost." Terezi said. "The strength of the Helium Pod has weakened. I fear there will be a significant decrease in water harvests this year."

"But that means my mom won't be able to suck it much."

"The guardians of this planet won't approve of this… but I suppose it's better in your lungs than the lungs of this Don Shrew. You have to promise to return the helium."

"We will." Ydnew answered. "If we defeat her, maybe we can take back the poisonbending she stole from Airam. After that, Airam can return the helium and the other gases. Right?"

Airam sighed. "Fine. After all, Mom is killing our home planet, so I shouldn't let another planet get any deader. I just hope I can handle the other Noble Gases."

Earth; swimming pool in a desert town

Asigan Atoihs was like a dolphin in the public pool. Her movements and flexes were swift and fluent, and with her bending, she left a trail of water in the very air! She burst out of the trail and performed a gracious pose, the droplets glimmering off her flawless skin.

Oemor couldn't take his eyes off her. From her head, down her light-purple swimsuit and her blue-painted toes and fingers, Asigan's beautiful body was refined and one with the water. Her sky-blue hair was like a sweet, refreshing ice cream on a hot day.

The purple-haired bookworm wore only some brown swim trunks, his frail, skinny body exposed to the sunlight. He had tons of sunscreen to thank for his bright peach skin. The spectacled dork would normally be glued to his books, but whenever Asigan was in action, he couldn't look away. "Yeah, that's good stuff!" A green skirt with a white-rumped bikini bottom enveloped his view.

"AH!" Oemor fell back, his glasses going crooked.

"It's okay, Oemy. You can stare at me, too, I won't mind~" Anaigrom wriggled her rear temptingly.

"N-no way, that's rude!" The nerd flushed.

"Nah, he only has the hots for Asigan." Xedni teased, poking his arm. The chubby gamer girl wore a rotund, black one-piece.

"I-I just really like her swimming technique. She's very elegant, and stuff…"

"Well, Allebmoog's being pretty 'elegant' herself, why don't you stare at her?"

Their Abmoog teammate was swimming like a frog, her arms and hands tattooed with frog fins. She hopped onto shore, squatted her arms, and sprung high. Asigan got level with her as they performed synchronized, graceful maneuvers before splashing in the pool. Allebmoog raised her arms and held Asigan above the pool, the latter making an upside-down, diagonal pose that showed off the curves of her figure.

Both girls climbed out of the pool and took seats beside their friends. "Sorry for hogging up the pool!" Asigan laughed sweetly. "I hope I didn't take too long."

"Yeah, some of those guys were a little impatient." Oemor said. "But I think most of them kind of enjoyed it!"

"None more than this little guy~" Anaigrom teased.

"Anai!" The nerd's peach skin flushed.

"Hehe! Did you?" Asigan leaned over him slightly.

"Uh, it reminded me of a picture from a book." Oemor cracked a smile, having a hard time thinking straight with Asigan's chest in plain view. "You looked j-just like the mermaid from that book."

"Tehe! You'll have to show me sometime~"

"Hey, there's Ikik's rocket." Allebmoog noticed up in the sky. The rocket in question landed outside of town.

"It's not time for her to pick us up." Asigan said. "Is there an emergency?"

After a while, Ikik arrived at the pool… alongside some Black Lotus agents. Leading them was Einna, Ydnew's mother, with long brown hair and sunglasses. "Kids, we need to talk."

"Uh…should we get dressed?" Oemor asked, tensing up. A serious convo in swimwear wasn't exactly comfortable.

"What's wrong?" Asigan asked the woman.

"My daughter and her friends were reported heading to New Galaxia. They fought Admiral Eniram and the navy officers patrolling there. They suspect they had the 'Glasses Girl' with them."

"Glasses Girl? Who's that?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?" Allebmoog asked.

"Hm…it's best we go somewhere private."

Oemor and Ikik shared a worried glance.

After they all got dressed, they returned to Ikik's rocket. Afterwards, Einna divulged the truth behind why Nega-MG vanished and the team split up. "No… way." Allebmoog was astonished by the news. "You guys had DON SHREW'S DAUGHTER IN YOUR TEAM?!"

"Uh…uh-huh." Oemor choked.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU NEVER TOLD ME!" The Abmoog grabbed and shook Oemor in a fury. "Don Shrew completely ruined our home, my parents and I barely got out of there alive!"

"Stop it, Alleb!" Asigan struggled to pull her strong fists off.

"We're sorry!" Ikik said. "Nerehc asked us not to tell anybody. This is why we left, we didn't wanna be involved with her business! But Ydnew and the others were determined to help her. She's planning to take down Don Shrew and take over the mafia."

"Why have you come to finally tell us this?" Xedni asked.

"Because the Galactic Navy believes the DNK is obligated to help with this." Einna answered. "After the transgressions during Halloween along with other ones, not to mention that the DNK were harboring her in the first place, all you operatives are in serious trouble. The Black Lotus doesn't want anything bad to happen to you… but the Fleet Admiral himself said that if you help us seize Goddaughter Airam, he'll pardon some of your crimes."

"Crimes?!" Anaigrom shouted. "The navy were the ones committing crimes! Excusing General Kroy trying to kill our emotions, I heard those guys-"

"Forget it, Anai!" Ikik shouted. "I wanted to stay out of trouble, I didn't wanna get involved with Airam or the mafia! But if it's already come to this, then fine. I'll help you capture her."

"Yeah, I'm with you!" Alleb raised a hand, propping herself on the other.

"Very well." Einna said. "What about the rest of you?"

Oemor gulped. He really didn't want to fight his old team… especially under such heavy circumstances. His anxiety was swelling up. But the girls were looking at him expectantly, as if he were the final key in this decision. He only focused on Asigan's eyes: consoling, knowing this was a hard and sudden decision for him, and wanting to support him. So, Oemor took a breath and answered.

New Galaxia

After leaving the planet, the Nega-Mages took a relaxing bath in the Green Castello (the girls and boys taking respective turns) and had a well-deserved slumber. ("I am not sharing the tub with a rat!" Revilo would complain. "I don't like seein' your wiener either, Revile-o.")

When they were all refreshed in the morning, they sailed to the next planet in the periodic table: the Land of Pyramids and Neon. The planet was immediately eyecatching: a great sphere of neon (multi-colored) gas covered it no different from an ozone. The light-orange surface of the planet seemed remarkably rugged, making it seem less spherical and more polygonal.

That was because the world's surface was almost entirely covered in pyramids and other Egyptian-style ruins. "I can't see it myself, but I heard it looks pretty colorful." Terezi said. "As for finding the core… do you see an area on the planet where all that light seems to come from?"

They saw a smallish light amongst the pyramids and the neon energy flowing from it to join the barrier. "Yeah, I see it." Ydnew said. "Is the planet even safe to breathe on?"

"It may be safe to wear air helmets." Terezi answered.

They landed the ship behind some pyramids close to the light. There were roads of desert in-between the structures. Some pyramids were "cut" in quarters as energy traveled up their gaps, capping at bright lights on the peaks. Each of those lights were different colors.

The vastness of Crypts and Helium had made them feel empty inside, but the denseness of this world and the numerous pyramids made them feel small. The planet was desolate all the same… though, surprisingly, they encountered a woman named Berisclase, with shiny blue gem hair and a blue and white, militaristic dress. She was quite an unusual person to find on a place like this, but she had come here studying the ancient ruins. Of course, the ops couldn't stay to chat long before Airam ushered them to keep going; their oxygen tanks wouldn't last forever.

The spire of neon ozone was rising from a glass pyramid with a red-orange energy shining inside it. This pyramid was an entrance to the planet's core, but the neon inside would only discharge for a few hours a week. Luckily, that time was now. They quickly entered the glass pyramid and followed a passage downward. The dungeon was partially chi-blocked to limit bending, but Airam could pump helium into balloons that would serve as platforms. They also fought and took down several mummy creatures guarding the dungeon.

The bottom of the dungeon had an altar with a smaller pyramid on top, surging with red-orange neon similar to the larger one. There seemed to be electrical conduits to the sides that would charge up and power the pyramid, sending the energy back through to the surface. Airam climbed up to the pyramid and touched it, beginning to absorb its energy.

But it was then that mummy bandages launched and bound Ydnew and Lihp, while Terezi and Revilo avoided. An Apook in a black soldier uniform marched down with a band of Apooks. Airam recognized him as "Nebraskapook," a Capo in the Mushroom Mafia. He was infamous for his disrespect for ancient ruins and cultures, known for trashing whatever ruins he came across.

(Nebraskapook is the Negative of Kolorado, a famous Koopa archaeologist from Paper Mario. Their names are based on the Colorado-Nebraska football rivalry. Just as Kolorado parodied Indiana Jones, Nebraskapook's group resembles his Nazi foes.)

Nebraskapook ate the Mummy Fruit, a Mythical Human model. Wrapped in bandages, he could launch them to ensnare his enemies, causing the captured kids to shrivel and wither. Terezi fought the Apooks while Revilo fought Nebraskapook, as both the darkbending and Mummy power could drain each other's stamina. The Apook had also stolen the bandages from the mummy enemies they KO'ed earlier. He could add them to his own and increase his limits.

Revilo managed to hold him off, but he and Terezi became exhausted. Some of their limbs were trapped by the bandages, causing them to wither. Fortunately, Airam finished absorbing the neon, causing the light in the pyramid to shrink. Her eyes were now flicking neon colors, as reflected even in her sunglasses. She removed them and shot neon beams at Nebraskapook, finishing the job as he lay defeated. The grip of his bandages weakened, releasing their team as their flesh slowly swelled up with life.

"We got another one!" Ydnew cheered. "How do you feel, Airam?"

"Like my retinas are burning. But that first output helped relax it. Now, we need to finish the job…" She trained her gun on Nebraskapook.

"Hey, we can't kill them!"

"Why not? If we let them live, they'll only be a threat. They might even destroy this-"

"We'll drag them out of here and detain them. I'm sure the Galactic Navy is still tracking us, so maybe we'll leave them to find these guys. Either way, if they die, then their Positives die, and they could be good people."

"What if the navy just kills them? Or even my mom? She's not afraid to kill failures."

"Sigh…I guess we couldn't really help it then."

"Whatever. Do what you want, but we need to get going."

"Now that the Neon Core has weakened," Terezi said, "this place shouldn't heat back up. The neon ozone will probably decrease and make this place more breathable, but you're still expected to return it."

"I get ya. We should still go before our oxygen depletes."

As they made their way out of the dungeon, Ydnew brought up the question of the next planet, which should be Argon going by the periodic table. This brought up a problem: Terezi didn't really know where that planet was. In fact, the same was true for the "Radon" planet.

When they made it back to the surface, they fought their way through other soldatos waiting outside, dropping Nebraskapook's group with them. Before leaving, the group ran into Berisclase again. She told them of a curious, empty coffin she found inside a ruin, with an "Ar" written inside it.

The group took this as a clue: when they set off to space, they searched for anything that resembled a coffin. Terezi also believed the gas planets were close to each other in order, so it would have to come before the Krypton planet. They searched that region of space for a while and found an enormous stone coffin. And somewhere amidst that coffin was a gate they could fly into, leading into a dark sub-dimension.

A planet came into view: the surface seemed to have clouds of whitish mist and a matching surface, with a purplish atmosphere in-between. Roads of purple flowers surrounded gardens of white and gray coffins. This must have been the Land of Coffins and Argon.

There was a church where smoke rose heavily from the steeples like smokestacks. The core was most likely down there, but first they had to clear the smoke. By opening certain large coffins in the surrounding area, the smoke could rise through them, making it clearer within the church. They still had to wear air helmets to make it through the dungeon within. They also fought various ghosts made of smoke that came out of the coffins. Airam's new Neon Vision could activate solid neon platforms or devices.

The Argon Core looked like a giant, purple fire extinguisher, emitting smoke up through openings on the ceiling. There was a spot for Airam to directly absorb the gas, but they were attacked by the guardian of the core: a giant, purple ghost in a priest's robe, his white head round with beady eyes. It sent minions to battle the others while Ydnew fought Argemis directly. Its body was dense, so she struggled to fully suck it into her sub-dimension, and it was strong enough to resist shrinking and Space Blocks. She was steadily able to thin the ghost's veil by sucking it in, exposing its skinny underbody.

Ydnew defeated the ghost in time for Airam to finish absorbing the Argon. What happened next was pretty embarrassing. Let's just say she had a pretty bad gas problem, and she had to change her pants once they left the place.

Meanwhile…

Nega-SA flew into New Galaxia on Ikik's rocket, accompanied by Black Lotus agents. Admiral Eniram had interrogated Toadsless and his captured crew, and one of the soldatos caved about what they were doing. They learned that Airam was targeting the Noble Gas planets, too. When this info was relayed to Nega-SA's group, Einna suggested they try to head them off at the 4th planet, which would be Krypton. To make sure that Airam would be arriving there, Nega-SA had Beard Kiddo in their company. Her Magnet Fruit power could sense Airam if she was close.

"We goin' to Krypton?!" BK-o asked excitedly. "Ain't that where that there Duper Dude is from?!"

"How do you even know about the Positive Duperman?" Xedni asked, already tired of the annoying girl.

"Won't we end up fighting the mafia if we go there?" Oemor asked.

"We'll try to handle the mafia agents ourselves." Einna assured. "But it'll be up to you to secure the Goddaughter. And your old friends may need to fall in with her, too, but even I'm not sure if we can spare them a punishment."

"Whatever gets us off the hook, I'm fine with it." Ikik stated. "I don't really mind bagging Revilo either…"

Oemor stared at her with worry. It's true that she didn't get along with Revilo, but he never imagined she would be willing and ready to turn him in. He even thought she and Revilo were learning to understand each other… but a few months apart no doubt widened that gap. Even so, she couldn't be that comfortable handing in Ydnew or Lihp. Oemor still wasn't comfortable with any of this.

Xedni felt her own sympathy for the astronaut. Looking out the window, this place was truly a galactic paradise. "Looks pretty amazing, huh, Ikik?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, it is." Ikik hadn't given herself the time to absorb the fantastic sights. "It's way more abstract than I'd like space to be, but… it's still really great."

They could tell her heart wasn't in it, not with the situation at hand. It made Oemor feel a little relief. She must feel bad about this, after all.

The next day

After Nega-MG rested once more, Terezi directed them to the Land of Tombs and Krypton. The surface was a dense green with a huge, red chunk of land. There were flashes of yellowish lightning, along with huge, light-blue spheres of plasma. The planet seemed like a forest from above, it was actually a city of towering, dark-green temples, which resembled those of the Khmer Empire.

"The air above is fine, but the gas grows denser further down." Terezi explained.

"Yeah, we figured." Ydnew said, equipping her air helmet. "But, are you sure you don't need one, Airam?"

As they traveled down a trail among the towers, Airam embraced the air in her lungs. "Never needed it to begin with. With these other gases in my system, my immunity is stronger than ever. And it feels nice to stretch the old chi paths." She smirked at herself and flexed her arm.

"You still can't seem to do as much as other poisonbenders." Lihp said. "If we get the last three gases, you think that'll be enough to take down your mom?"

"Honestly, with where my powers are now, and assuming the last three double it… my mom would still be way stronger."

"So, we might need a lot more help to pull it off." Ydnew replied. "I mean, we'd already need help taking out all her minions. What's important now is stopping her from getting any stronger."

Naturally, they expected the huge red area of the surface to lead to the core. It was an enormous crater where the gas only grew stronger, though Airam could still tolerate it. They were attacked by dark-red skeletons with three eye sockets, but as they traveled further in, the ground seemed remarkably clean.

Indeed, the soldatos made it this far, too: Washlings were patrolling the area. They were human-like kids with squid and octo-tentacled hair, bubbling with soap, and they fought with high-powered cleaning items. The center of the crater had a vast hole leading down into the planet. But near the edge of this crater… there appeared to be navy officers fighting the mafiosos. But more than that, there was an all-too-familiar group of six waiting by the path downward.

Nega-MG's eyes widened in surprise: Nega-Sector SA were waiting, along with their old teammates, Oemor and Ikik. "You must be her!" Allebmoog stated. "The daughter of Don Shrew!"

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Revilo shouted.

"The Galactic Navy is making us catch her!" Ikik answered angrily.

"Why?" Ydnew asked in concern. "Are they blaming you for letting us escape?"

"That and a ton of other things that weren't our fault!"

"What she means is the navy is starting to lose patience with the DNK." Asigan followed. "The Black Lotus is having a hard time defending us, but they might lighten up if we capture the Goddaughter."

"Lighten up?" Ydnew raised a brow. "Hmm…honestly, are you sure about that? If the navy already deemed you guys as criminals, they won't just leave you alone. They might even try to take the DNK over. Aren't they making you guys work for them now?"

"All they want is the Glasses Girl!" Allebmoog argued. "She's the only criminal here, and you guys might as well be, too, for working with her!"

"She's never done any crimes!" Revilo stated.

"Technically, I… participated in a few raids when I was younger." Airam replied.

"Shows what you know, Revilo!" Ikik snapped.

"Shut it, Fatty! Did you forget why she came to us in the first place?!"

"Because she wanted to use us to take out her mom so she could rule!"

"But she wants to fix Toadstool World and put an end to the drug business!" Lihp reasoned.

"That's an easy excuse to make." Alleb figured.

"Well, we believe in her." Ydnew stated. "Not just us, but the Little Dads and even their ancestor."

"Aren't the Little Dads criminals, too?" Xedni asked. "How does that make it better?"

"They're good people." Airam said. "Better than Mom's group, that's for sure."

"E-Even if you guys are right… we still have to catch you." Oemor gulped. "The navy wants us to."

"And what if the navy keeps making you work for them?" Ydnew asked.

"Uh…w-well, both of us stop villains, right?"

"The navy wants to enslave everybody and remove all freedom in the universe. All the DNK should know that. And that's besides the sour way they treat civilians."

"Y-yeah, but it's not like we can just take them down! It's one thing if we beat up a few officers bothering a town, but…"

"It's no different from when Aluben was in charge of things. I know you weren't around, but the DNK sure showed her a thing or two. And all those people that worked for her are our allies now. So, why DON'T we take the navy down?"

"Uh, aren't we already preparing to fight the Mushroom Mafia?" Lihp asked. "Isn't that gonna be… just as hard?"

"I'm just saying we should take them all down! The only reason we didn't before is 'cause we were afraid, but now it looks like we have motivation, right?"

"I was kind of hoping we'd just focus on my mom." Airam said. "This is a tall order to spring on so suddenly."

"And besides, I still don't trust you at all!" Allebmoog yelled. "You're only gonna end up another threat, but we won't let you get away!"

"Y-yeah…" Oemor stuttered. "I'm sorry, Ydnew, but I just wanna get this over with."

"Of course you do, pansy." Revilo snapped.

"Hey, don't call him that." Asigan glared. "This whole thing has been really stressful for him. I don't really know what's gonna happen, but we just wanna get back home. We'll take the chance and stop you!"

"Sorry, but I've got gas to get." Airam said. "Try and stop me."

As soon as the fighting ensued, the Goddaughter immediately bolted down the gassy shaft. Ikik fought Ydnew, Revilo fought Oemor, Lihp battled Xedni, Terezi attacked Asigan, and Anaigrom and Allebmoog chased Airam down. Even her limited poisonbending was enough to counter Anaigrom's poison attacks. Anaigrom was frustrated that she couldn't bend the planet's gas very well, having to rely on her own, while Airam adapted with this air just fine.

Anaigrom could throw Tattoo Grenades over Allebmoog and change her arms to different designs, fitting the situation. She used different combos to chase and attack Airam, but the heiress withstood the attacks. Though she fought back with her own bending, she made little effort to really hurt them.

They eventually made it to the core: it seemed like a giant lightbulb discharging electricity through wires. They probably linked to the spheres of plasma around the planet, and it explained the lightning flashes in the sky. Airam ran to a conduit on the bulb and grabbed it, electrocuting herself as the Krypton was absorbed into her body.

"Is she absorbing the gas?!" Anaigrom exclaimed.

"Anaigrom, stop her!"

"Yeah!" She blasted more Gas Bombs at Airam, but the heiress endured and tolerated the stench. "Ugh, they're just not strong enough in this air!"

"Then I'll stop her!" The Abmoog charged over.

"HEY! You'll get electrocuted, too!"

"Well, you're a poisonbender, why don't you grab her?! Maybe you can take the gas yourself!"

"It…it looks a little too strong."

"Ugh!" Alleb resumed her advance.

"STOP!" Anaigrom launched herself over and tried to hold Allebmoog down. "That doesn't mean you'll have better luck!"

"We can't let her get any stronger!"

"Just wait for her to finish! Maybe she'll get exhausted afterward!"

"Grrr…" Allebmoog knew that touching her like this was dangerous, but she was impatient. She just hoped that Anai was right.

The plasma inside the bulb died once Airam finished absorbing it. She lay panting on the ground, her body flickering. "Now's our chance!" Alleb declared.

"Is she safe to touch?"

The two approached Airam with slight caution. Anaigrom reached to touch her—Airam's sunglasses lit up and FLASHED like a camera. Their eyes were dizzied as they fell off the bridge, down the chasm below. The girls flailed their arms for something to grab, eventually meeting each other's. "Hold on!" Anaigrom used a Gas Rocket to launch herself skyward, but she bumped her head on the bridge, smashing her helmet. They fell again, but Airam quickly leapt off. She used a Helium Blast to fly lower, then redirected to push them back up. She brought them safely to land.

"Goddaughter Airam!" She looked up: Einna and her agents entered the chamber. "There you are! What've you done to these two?!"

"I saved their butts, dumb butt!"

"Her helmet is broken!"

Airam looked to Anai. "I still brought my own helmet just in case!" She pulled the helmet out of her cube and bent the gas away from Anai's head. She put it over and attached it to her oxygen tank.

Einna was surprised by the act of kindness. "Even so… I still can't let you get away!" She used Rokushiki techniques in attempt to seize her, but Airam generated plasma with her new gas, taking her off guard as she was briefly stunned. She dodged through the other agents and made her escape from the dungeon.

Upstairs, Asigan had gotten torn up and worn out by Terezi. Revilo's darkness made Oemor grovel in despair. Ydnew made Ikik skinnier, negating the force of her sumo techniques. Lihp made it to Xedni's computer and tore it up. "You've gotten stronger, Ikik, I'll give you that."

"That's because I was afraid I might have to fight you."

"If nothing else, this should convince the navy that you're not with us." Lihp said.

"What's the point…" Oemor whispered somberly. "There's nothing good about this… and there's no good way out of it… I'd rather just die…"

"We better get him some Light Chi or something." Asigan said. "And what about you? What do you have to gain from this?"

"Hey, these guys just needed an escort." Terezi answered. "And well, I kinda get where the little mafia kid is coming from."

"Guys!"

"Airam?!" They looked up at seeing the heiress in question rush out of the cave.

"I got the Krypton! We can go!"

"Hey, where are Anai and Allebmoog?!" Xedni demanded.

"I left them with the agents downstairs. Don't worry, they're fine."

"I guess this is where we say farewell, for now." Ydnew decided. "Let's meet again on better terms."

She resized the ship as the crew made their escape. Nega-SA cursed their own failure. Einna would come back up and explain the apparent selfless act Airam did for Anaigrom, and they would take their leave off the planet. Oemor was still cursed by Revilo's aggressive darkbending attacks, but the only available, nearby lightbender was Admiral Eniram. They decided to search for her and make a report, though the operatives would feel bad about asking her for help.

Near the exit out of New Galaxia

Admirai Eniram's fleet was patrolling the zone near the exit. "These Noble Gases… How strong could the mafia become if they acquired them? I've been saying time and time again, we should just stop the mafia before they become too dangerous! But the Fleet Admiral… he never takes initiative. What does he think will happen if we let them grow? These pirates… and even the DNK. Why can't we just…"

"Admiral! Ships are coming through the portal!"

"Are they ours?"

"I don't think so! They're…"

A gargantuan, purple and black galleon sailed through the portal, bearing the figurehead of a poison mushroom. It flew the colors of a dead-eyed mushroom with crossbones, and a diamond shape around it to indicate poison hazards. A blonde-haired woman in a dark-purple dress and dark shroom crown sat upon the throne. Beside her were the Awful Oiram Brothers, smoking cigars and wearing military uniforms.

Eniram's irises shrank. "IT'S DON SHREW!"

"What's the navy doing here?" Shrew questioned. "Have they caught on to the operation?"

"That's what ya get for sendin' so many soldatos down one portal!" Oiram stated gruffly.

"The navy had their eyes on this place for ages!" Igiul followed. "I'm-a surprised we weren't already called here!"

"Then it's a good thing I came to check." Shrew smirked, noxious purple gases rising from her form. "I'll snuff this nuisance out of space! SWINE WAVE!" She cast a wave of gas at a group of ships, and pigs' faces were shaped along the wave. That entire group of ships grew sick. Another group began to blast cannons, but the Oiram Brothers brought up shields to block the lasers. "Calamity COLD!" Another cloud of gas enveloped those ships, making the soldiers cold and ill.

Don Shrew then faced Eniram's ship, the admiral shooting a glare. "SARS ZTARS!" The boss cast dark, toxic stars at the flagship, but the Admiral cut them down with streaks of light. Eniram "grinded" toward the Black Shroom on streaks of silver light. The Oiram brothers shot exploding mushrooms at her, but she easily flew over them and lunged to strike the Don on her throne.

Don Shrew took a direct stab to the face, but withstood until Eniram retreated from her toxic. "Don Shrew! You're not getting away this time!"

"'This' time? My capos are paying another bribe as we speak. How much would you like?"

"I don't want a dime out of you!" Eniram fought valiantly with her sharp bending, but could barely make a tear through Shrew's flesh. "I'll bring you in and that daughter of yours!"

"My daughter?" Shrew directed her gas with simple motions. "You say that as if she's been through here."

Eniram grit her teeth. Don Shrew read her expression with a smirk. "Oiram! Igiul! You take care of her!" Shrew launched away with a Gas Rocket and off the ship. She summoned a four-headed, mutant Yoshi to catch her, flying away. "First I'll check their ships and search for any incompetent…eh?" She noticed another team of ships coming, with one a distinct rocket.

"They're under attack!" Asigan exclaimed.

"That ship… it can't be." Einna said.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Anaigrom pointed, still hoarse from the previous incident.

Don Shrew flew directly in front of the windshield. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The operatives gawked immediately recognizing the Emperor.

"Now, that's a colorful group… Even an Abmoog is with them. Might you be… DNK OPERATIVES?!"

Her gas ripped through the rocket with ease.

The day after…

Terezi guided Nega-MG to the 5th planet: the Land of Mounds and Xenon. It was an ominous, deep green, and an enormous "X" shape cut across the entire planet. Purple light shimmered from within the gap, projecting a slight barrier over the ozone.

The surface was completely composed of green burial barrows, some of which resembled terraced agriculture, with numerous red Stonehenge-liked structures. Dark-yellow skeletal monsters lurked the grounds. This planet felt uncomfortably more ominous than the previous planets. "They say that this planet was strongly influenced by Lord English's existence." Terezi said.

"Lord English?" Ydnew lightly gasped.

"The ruins here tell of the Cherubs… Some even say Cherubs used to live here. By the way, you saw how the planet was cut into quarters, right? I'm pretty sure the Xenon is what's holding this world together. If you take it, the chunks might drift apart."

"How long would it be until they do?"

"Depends how long the residual xenon will hold out. I imagine there would be a fair bit of time… but you better be planning to deal with the Shrew soon."

"Gonna be way harder with the Galactic Navy on top of it." Revilo commented.

"You know, if taking the Xenon is that serious… maybe we shouldn't be here, yet." Lihp said. "Why don't we just get with the DNK and make a plan to take Don Shrew down? We could come for the gases after we do."

"My mom would take them by then!"

"But that's still only two to your four!"

"She's still strong enough as it is! I need to keep these gases away from her!"

"That's another thing I'm worried about." Lihp said. "Don Shrew sucked the Poison Chi out of you, right? If we just bundle all the gases inside you… what if you get captured, and she takes them all from you?"

"That's not gonna happen! I'm not a little kid, anymore, I'll take down anyone who comes for me! And besides, I…I have you guys to help, don't I?"

Ydnew cracked a smile, feeling a hint of affection. "We're already here, so we might as well get this gas, at least. But Lihp brings up a good point. We shouldn't do anything reckless if the time comes."

The kids traveled to one of the center points of the trenches. In the very corner of the cliff, a stairway led up to a ring-shaped walkway, set above the very center. Other stairs connected to the corners of the other cliffs. "Is this how we get into the core?" Ydnew wondered.

"No, I think I get it." Airam observed. "I need to dive in. If it goes well, I might even fly out on the other side of the planet."

"That sounds like a really big 'if'!" Lihp said. "How do you know you won't completely incinerate?!"

"I've never really heard how to get the gases," Terezi mentioned, "so I couldn't say if you're wrong. Are you sure you wanna take the chance?"

"i WoUlD cHaNcE iT mAn, It'S pReTtY fUcKiN' dOpE."

They looked over with a start. A troll walked around the ring, wearing a strange, purple robe with a round-pointed hat, his orange horns sticking through it, and white face paint. "NO FUCK1NG W4Y! G4MZ33, 1S TH4T YOU?"

"Oh 'ey, Terezi. You still fuckin' alive?" I'm not gonna keep writing his text that way.

"I could say the same. You killed us one too many times back in our old universe."

"You was plannin' to stand in the way of my lord and savior." Gamzee wobbled toward them. "Ah shoulda killed you 10 more times, and maybe a third."

"The fuck is this guy?" Revilo questioned.

"Lord English is dead and you were already dead 10 dozen more times."

"I ain't losin' the faith, Rezi. 'Long as I got this here gas, Ah feel closer to mah lord. I ain't about to let no motherfuckin' girl take it."

"I don't have time for this." Airam dove into the ring.

"Get the fuck back here! Don't take my dope!" Gamzee dove in after.

"Looks like I'm about to kill you for old time's sake." Terezi jumped next.

Airam had to stay in the very center of the pit to absorb the Xenon. Gamzee tried to attack her with Deuce Clubs (red and yellow jugglers), his Fiduspear (a lance of the same colors), along with a bow. Terezi fought him off so that Airam could focus, but the Xenon itself tried to push her away from the center, too. She willed herself to stay lined up and bend the gas against herself. She grew exhausted, but was determined to see it through.

The others quickly sailed to the other side of the planet. They watched as Terezi and Gamzee came flying up and through the winged walkway, crashing on it. Both trolls were tattered, but Gamzee was knocked out. Just as they were fearing what became of Airam… one more figure flew out of the Xenon. Parts of Airam's body, including the eyes, shone like spotlights in a dark city. The gases swirled so heavily that they could feel a strong gust. Her friends smirked at her success.

Though the light within the canyons was still present, it would steadily begin to fade. They hoped to bring the Xenon back before it fell apart, but left Gamzee there to enjoy himself until then.

They returned to the ship and flew away from the planet for some fresh air. Airam had to expend some chi to relax herself, her lights fading. "I never imagined poisonbending could give you light or lightning properties." Lihp said.

"The noble gases are often used for lighting and other things." Ydnew replied. "But you'd usually need the right materials and mechanics to make it work. I guess these Noble Gases just let Airam do them normally."

"I doubt I can pull off the same crazy stuff as the actual benders. Phew, I'm seriously beat though. Diving through the diameter of a planet takes a lot out of you."

"It was half the size of Earth at best."

"Hah, it was still pretty wild!" Revilo smiled. "We only got one more gas to find now, right?"

"I think we do." Ydnew scratched her head, trying to remember the table. "The next gas is…"

"Radon." Airam remembered.

"Even I don't know where the radon planet is." Terezi replied. "We should probably meet up with my friends in Alternia."

"Anyone who'd know where it is?"

"Either that or we'd have to read a book. Though it would be nice if I could use my Seer powers to get a better idea."

"Seer powers?" Revilo questioned.

"I can be pretty prophetic sometimes. Unfortunately, I need to go to a certain planet, but it got kind of destroyed last year."

"Destroyed by what?"

The image of Zach Murphy and his crazy antics flashed in her mind. "A mad clown."

"It would be nice to stock up on food, anyway." Ydnew reasoned. "For now, let's dig in and get some gas out!"

"That's not an analogy I was expecting to hear." Lihp cringed.

The friends shared a nice meal, made brighter by Airam's smile of satisfaction. It was rare to see her smile, but it was probably the most progress she's made in ages. They flew to Alternia afterward and relaxed in the peaceful, refreshing air of the colorful planet.

While meeting up with Terezi's team, they learned about a crisis that was plaguing the main universe: the planets were tearing apart like book pages. The chaos was expected to spread to this universe soon. They hoped the DNK were doing their part to resolve it, but it would certainly give villains leeway to act.

The group rested in an inn to better refresh their selves for the next day. They found a book about the Noble Gases and some studies about the planets' ancient cultures, but like the Argon planet, nothing seemed to establish where Radon was. Still, it would have to follow the theme of burial places. A graveyard? Catacombs? What about a morgue for a hospital?

They decided to research strange structures across the Incipisphere… which would be hard to do considering the endless, exotic wonders of this realm. But with a bit of effort, they found a good lead: apparently, there was an enormous, skeletal leviathan floating amongst an asteroid field, and in that skeleton's mouth was a mausoleum. They returned to space to search for that leviathan.

But little did they know that a certain rocket was following them…

The Nega-Mages located the asteroid field in question. Ydnew shrunk the ship outside the field as she helped them fly the rest of way through. The massive leviathan they found amongst the asteroids was unsettling, but it didn't seem to be secretly alive. They entered the mausoleum in its mouth, and there were several devices that required the use of Airam's gases: an electric rod, a balloon to inflate, a neon tube, and a lightbulb.

The sockets in the leviathan's skull lit like spotlights. With an ominous roar, the beast came to life and suddenly swam "upward" through the asteroids. The ride lasted for a while before they ascended toward a blackish-green planet, defined by an enormous, bright-green symbol for radon.

The leviathan landed somewhere in town, resting and letting the adventurers out. They decided to wear full space suits for this one. The Land of Mausoleums and Radon was a vast city of palace-like structures, Arabian and otherwise.

The palaces within the radon symbol had shining green tops. They headed to the very center of the "circle" and had to climb a great tower in the middle of a palace. The top of this tower had a mechanism that would enable it to sink into the planet like an elevator. The tower let them off at the core: a gigantic cylinder with a pool of gas.

A black, skeletal snake, with a head resembling the leviathan, emerged from the pool. Airam put her bending to the test and fought the beast solo. She had become nicely adapted to her new chi, blowing its acid away with condensed helium, shooting neon lasers, electrocuting and stunning the bones, and even scorching them. After a while, the beast ceased most of its attacks and only tried to eat Airam, but it showed no signs of fatigue.

"Wait… that's it!" Remembering how they found this planet to begin with, Airam let herself be eaten. The beast held her in its mouth and submerged into the Radon. Her friends watching in horror, the snake rose back out after a few minutes. It barfed Airam out, her skin shining green as she squirmed on the ground. They hesitated to get close, but Airam began to exert bursts of poison. The greenness in her flesh faded to only a few cracks of green.

Ydnew carefully picked Airam up, the heiress panting. Her senses coming to, she stared up at Ydnew through her shades. Airam smiled in thanks, and her leader smiled back.

They returned to the leviathan, who kindly rose to the sky and back "down" the asteroid field. Returning to its original resting place, they prepared to fly back through the asteroids. "SISSYYYYY!" A yellow-bearded girl in overalls flew up and GRABBED her in a hug! "They ain't let me see you the firs' time 'cause they ain't wanna lose me! What're ya doin' in this big ol' birtha's mouth?"

"Esiuol?! Dammit, the Black Lotus is here!" Airam tried to shake her off.

"I wonder if Nega-SA is here?" Ydnew wondered, bracing herself.

"ARF, ARF, ARF!" The Underchomp leapt from an asteroid, the Washlings launched over as squids before reforming, and Nebraskapook pulled himself over with mummy bands. "The mafia got Esiuol back?" Revilo observed.

"3UH!" Terezi cried, clamping her mouth shut. "What is that horrible ST3NCH?!"

"!" Airam was most horrified when a four-headed and -colored Yoshi flew up. "It's… her." (Play "Shadow Queen's Theme" from Paper Mario.)

The Yoshi landed firmly in the mouth It lowered a head for its dark-dressed rider to step off. "Goodness, I was afraid that thing would NEVER come back! You had me worried sick, my dear~"

Don Shrew approached with open arms, but Airam took cautious steps backward. "How did you find this place?!"

"Oh, I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that. Also, did you forget what Esiuol's power is?"

"Vhere did this giant thing go, anyway?!" Nebraskapook asked.

"I don't know, but Sissy smells like what one of them smoky places does when it's all smoky." Esiuol replied.

"Indeed…" The Godmother smirked. "By now, I'll bet you've collected all the Noble Gases. I was planning to absorb them after my soldatos harnessed enough of their residual gases, but you've saved me a ton of work."

Airam BLASTED Esiuol off her and into Shrew—Ydnew immediately opened a portal and sucked her friends through, appearing in the area where they arrived at-

"Charmed, I'm sure~"

An old gorilla with a charming grin and blue tie PUNCHED them back through the portal. He flew in as well, the Underchomp seizing Lihp in its mouth and Nebraskapook catching Ydnew in his bandages. The Washlings assaulted Revilo, and Terezi was already overwhelmed by the horrid smells. "Yeknod Gnok!" Airam exclaimed. "You were here, too?!"

"Of course, my dear, I've already calculated your spacebender friend would warp to that location, though our troops are stationed in other points just in case."

"So, are these the new friends you've been running around with, Airam?" Shrew asked. "What an adorable little bunch. But it's about time you come home, my dear. It's been eons since I've had my two baby girls together."

"Your daughter is a traitor!" Nebraskapook shouted. "She vants ze gases to destroy us, ve must execute her and suck the gas from her-!"

The Don slid over and KICKED the Apook upside the beak, knocking him on his shell. Were it not for his bandages protecting him, the damage would've been much worse. As his grip on Ydnew weakened, the spacebender shook free, but she hesitated to make any moves. "I'm sure we can come to an understanding if we just talk. Besides, you worked so hard to collect these gases, it wouldn't be right to take them from you." They glanced to the Underchomp, revealing Lihp safe in its mouth. "Now, let's go home, Airam. I'm dying to know what drugs I can make with those gases. Besides, there's still lots you have to learn before you can run my business."

Airam yanked off her glasses and BLASTED her mother with Neon Vision, forcing her against the Yonshi and through several asteroids. "Airam!" Ydnew yelled, worried for Lihp. However, the mafiosos made no move.

Don Shrew pushed herself up on an asteroid, bearing no fatigue. Streams of gas were cast at the leviathan, so Ydnew opened portals to catch some of it, while Airam bent the rest against the mafia. The rats scrambled out of the Infi-Cube and attacked Underchomp, freeing Lihp.

The mafia merely retreated as Don Shrew returned via Gas Rocket (sickening her Yonshi upon launch). Ydnew tried to catch her in a portal, but Shrew merely maneuvered around it and shot Ydnew with an Acne Puncture, causing her face to swell up with pimples. The kids threw their helmets back on, but- "You think THOSE will protect you?!" Don Shrew easily melted them off.

Terezi and Lihp thought it best to hide in the Infi-Cube, but the other three were still worn out from their journey on Radon. They exhausted every bit of their Space, Darkness, and Noble Gases to attack the Shrew. Her will was strong enough to resist the spatial effects, even as Ydnew entered Fury Mode and struck her with every attack that she had. Airam tried to enter a Fury Mode herself, but the Radon hadn't been with her long enough to fully adapt. Still, she could use radon in the form of green wads of spit, and applying the other gases managed to score a fair amount of hits. Revilo's darkness had little effect on her stamina, and he feared touching her directly, or even getting close. At some point, Lihp and Terezi jumped out, took their chances, and attacked the Don, but their nostrils were quickly overwhelmed by her direct attacks, and sickness overcame them.

"CANCER CLAW!" Don Shrew struck them all with a crab claw-shaped cloud of gas. Though Airam resisted the sickness, she and her team couldn't stand to fight, anymore. The scuffle had greatly cleared out the asteroid field, and they found their selves resting on a random one. "Airam, enough of this silly act of rebellion. This performance just proves you're too young to inherit my office. Why don't I take you home and teach you all you need to know? Don't be a dummy. Come with Mummy. Mother… knows… best…"

Airam clenched her teeth at the hag. "…?!" Glancing over, she noticed a familiar rocket parked outside the asteroids. "That rocket!"

"Huh?!" Ydnew gasped. "Cough! Isn't that…"

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Shrew asked. "We hijacked a rocket on the way here. But don't worry, the crew is safe and sound. Have a look-see."

A Lakitu minion flew up, holding a TV in its fishing rod. The TV showed a dark image of Nega-SA, mushrooms molding from their sick skin within the confines of a cell. "You BITCH!" Revilo hissed.

"Mind your mouth, young man! I must admit, I am rather impressed with you lot. I don't know whether you follow my daughter out of will, fear, or compensation… but I can tell you are very skilled associates. If you come with me, I'll allow you to work as soldatos in my mafia. You will be separated and supervised, of course. How about it, dear? Are you about tired of playing now?"

The mother opened her arms once more. The idea of working for this woman was sickening… but it was clear that their friends were in danger. If they kept fighting her, she would have no reason to use them as leverage. They only looked to Airam for an answer. "…Ugh." The defeated heiress approached Don Shrew, swaying slightly in exhaust. But, she didn't quite get close enough for a hug. "I have a request, Mother."

"Yes?"

Airam turned and pointed at Revilo. "I want that boy to serve as my right hand. I want him by my side always."

Revilo raised a brow and lightly blushed. "Ah ha ha ha…if you insist. Soldatos: tuck them in and make ready for liftoff. Our operations in New Galaxia are over. We are returning home…"