Pirate Wars, Part 5: End of the Dream

Dream Realm

Balan hadn't been able to participate much in the war, being mostly confined to the Dream Realm. Even the enemy officers have mentally shut off their dreams from Ydnam's reach. Still, Balan was a little concerned about the new security lineup in the capital city. Paradise Island had grown populated with Ydnic clones, their adoring faces like creepy balloons. Balan flew to his queen, bending the golden sand of the sea into great, glittering ships to protect the island from invaders. "My Lady, are you feeling well? You seem under the weather since the castle fell."

"Whew, that Ant King really rippled my bubbles! It's gonna be so great once they're all dealt with. Acanom told me the DNK have a Bubble Dreamer among them, so we have to be prepared in case they bring their whole army through here."

"Clever though that is, do not forsake your waking self. That is where the battle matters most, my fluffy elf. Still, I will have my company ready here, too. And retaking your daughter should also be your to-do."

"What're you talking about, silly, Ydnic is already here! She's all around us!"

"Hi, Mommy!" a passing clone said.

"Hi, Bally!" another greeted.

"…" Balan didn't mind the clones of Yllib, since he was already pretty peculiar in real life… but these Ydnic clones weren't made with good thought. Not with good intention. "Correct me, but the real Ydnic was kidnapped by the DNK, right? It's important that we-"

"It doesn't matter what happens in the real world. When I defeat them, I'll put them all to sleep! And we'll spread our Dreamsand across the universe, so all that will matter will be the Dream Realm! OUR Dream Realm! And we'll have tons of Ydnics to enjoy it with!"

"…" Ydnam's mind was unbreachable in more ways than one. So much that Balan was uncertain for her. Regardless, Balan knew it was important to win this war, so he would do his part.

Aruhtaz

Aluza dragged Zul out to White Leaf Ekusas. "What do you want from me?" the mage asked.

"Please excuse our rashness," Ekusas said, "but I would like a favor of you. I would like you to use your magic on this mirror." He waved his hand to a dresser door with a mirror attached. "Do you know the spell to open the way to the Posiverse?"

"Yeah, but what do you want it for?"

"A special assignment. You see, my ninjas stole this mirror from Don Shrew's mansion while it was under attack. If I'm correct, it should lead to her Positive's home."

Zul gasped. "You're going to kill Don Shrew… through her Positive?!"

"Goodness, no! Though knowing she is a horrible monster, I could never hurt a woman. However… I have no qualms eliminating the Oirams Brothers. I heard Oiram was in quite a pickle when my ninjas attacked, but they decided it may not be worth the risk. They will be unsuspecting as I search for their parallels and eliminate them!"

"Will you please help us, Zul?" Aluza wept. "Eliminating Don Shrew's top commanders will give us so much hope!"

"You're not planning to let me go, are you?"

"You don't want to go back working for that mechanical menace, do you?"

"Indeed, Davy Jarg is your enemy as much ours." Ekusas said. "We of the Smile Pirates can protect you! And we can ensure two of Don Shrew's monstrous mercenaries never harm another soul's hair."

"Fine… I'll open the portal. At least you won't be in the way when Lady Ade comes for me."

Zul was given her wand, uttering an incantation to turn the mirror into a portal. Ekusas stepped through. Arriving in Mushroom Castle, Ekusas leapt out the window and began exploring Toad Town. The locals seemed to recognize him as "Commander Sasuke," and flying ships patrolled a series of floating islands. "Pardon me, my good sir, but where might I find the… Ma-ri-o… Brothers?" he asked a Toad.

"Uh…the Mario Brothers are still on Mushroom World, M-Mr. Sasuke."

"Ah, yes, indeed…" He didn't expect the locals here to be familiar with his Positive. He may have to watch his words in the event he gets himself in trouble.

…

Aluza was based under the Cry Dome, a huge glass dome that covered a small mountain. (Music: "Hurricos" from Spyro Reignited.) The dome sprinkled endless rain with makeshift storm clouds that flickered gentle lightning. Nosam worked with the Gold Medal Pirates to break into the secured front entrance to the dome. "If this is Aluza's base, Zul has to be in here!" Nosam declared. "I will rescue her for Lorac's forgiveness!"

"I shall assist in any way I can!" Atnij declared. "I shall not rest until Lorac loves you again!"

"That's debatable if she even loved him the first time." Nirak remarked.

Nosam's waterbending was extremely effective in the rainy environment, but the Psychic Soldiers in the dome could catch the rain in telekinetic grips and fling them like bullets. There were electric generators that had to be powered to open the path, but the "lightning" was too gentle to strike. Atnij amplified Amadok's voice, using Ghost Whispering to call upon the Electric Spirits. One of the innocent-eyed spirits would zap down and power the generators.

The TG operative, Ubnok was relaxing peaceably in a cup of steaming Tear Lily Tea. He was sad to have to get out of it when Nosam picked the lazy boy out.

"There she is!" The group found Zul trapped in a rather luxurious bathroom cell. "Zul! I'm here to rescue you!"

"You? Why didn't you rescue me the first time?!"

"That was before Lorac got angry at me! I know now that, even though we're enemies, I should never ignore a girl in peril. Even Sipa does not wish for your misfortune! So, I will rescue you!"

"Well, I think Aluza has the key to this cell, anyway, and she took my wand back, too. A while ago, she asked me to send one of their officers to the Posiverse, so I got this 'upgraded' cell as a reward."

"Heads up, we got company!" Uzuy alerted. A band of Psychic Soldiers appeared, along with two ladies: Yt Eel was a pudgy sumo lady who used kung fu, and Iam was a fashionista in a gauzy silver dress with fancy decorations, using pointed feathers to attack.

"If it isn't my darling friends from the DNKG!" Urasam marched from the crowd. "General Ekusas says he had a marvelous time with you."

"I'm honored he thinks so fondly of me." Urasam smiled. "But it seems we'll be sending you to prison once again, my friend. Nosam, hurry up the stairs and find Aluza. You can leave these grunts to us."

"Did you just call me a HUNK?!" Yt Eel exclaimed.

"Uck, like, don't be cray-cray!" Iam retorted.

"This is gonna get annoying." Nirak sighed.

Uzuy fought Iam, Ururu battled Eel, and Nirak fought Urasam while the other two took care of the soldiers.

Nosam made it to the top of the mountain where Aluza was basking in a beautiful pond, showering beneath a close raincloud. "The tear-soaked boy has returned… What brings you here on this dour day?"

"Dour? What's happened?"

"Why, you horrible DNK have kidnapped our dear princess. Lady Ydnam is devastated."

"But they said Ydnic wanted to escape."

"You don't understand… Ydnam is an extremely fragile person. She tries so hard to give us hope… and bottle up the darkness inside her. But when things like this happen… when friends leave her… when family leave… that darkness becomes harder to bottle. Just like when her old friends got tired and tried to leave. The DNK are supposed to bring hope, right? So, why do you take our hope away?"

"Because forcing people to feel hope isn't very hopeful at all. The Smile Pirates and the DNK could probably be good allies, but we can't just let you bury everybody in sand. That's what beach bullies do!"

"You're the only bullies here! Taking our precious Ydnic away… our captain won't be able to take it for much longer! Our only hope is to stop every last one of you!" (Music: "Begoniax Battle" from Rayman.)

Aluza sent Whale Tears at Nosam, but he exploded the whales and reformed them into a storm of water arrows, launching them against the officer. Aluza focused the cloud's rainfall directly at Nosam like a machinegun, but Nosam caught the rainfall in his mouth. His cheeks inflated like water balloons, the boy swishing the water around before blasting it like cannonballs. Aluza bent up two spiraling rings of water, orbiting herself as she ran at Nosam. Nosam was caught in a ring and rapidly spun around the commander, before Aluza slammed him against the ground. She used a forceful stream to push him off the cliff, but Nosam gripped the cliff with Water Fists and hauled himself up. Nosam bent up the stream Aluza sent at him and thrusted it against Aluza's face.

Aluza extended her chi to the clouds overhead, willing them to drop even bigger raindrops. The two benders pushed the boulder-size droplets against each other, but Aluza surprised him by sending a frozen droplet, slamming his head and knocking him over. Nosam became pelted by droplets before getting up, whirling his arms and bending several tears into his own water ring. Aluza mimicked the technique as they smashed their rings against each other. They bent the rings' water against each other, with Nosam using it to tug Aluza's leg, while he was grabbed by the hood and yanked backward. Both their water rings dispelled, but afterwards, Aluza willed all the giant droplets to stop and float in the air.

Aluza swam-jumped her way up the water balls, and once high enough, and froze and kicked other balls down to Nosam. He swam up the water himself, getting close to more precisely bend the water against Aluza. The commander lost her hold on the droplets, so they plummeted to the ground. Aluza grabbed Nosam's own eyes in her bending and forced them to spill tears. His eyes dried up, so Nosam quickly bent the surrounding water to replenish them, only for Aluza to freeze the water against his eyes. Nosam ran from her next attack, unfroze his eyes, and pelted Aluza with forceful tears.

Aluza controlled all the water in the surrounding area and formed an enormous whale. She brought the whale to crash onto the peak and shove Nosam clear off. He splashed in a pond below, but Aluza had moved into the whale, floating in search of the boy. Nosam bent up a cyclone to lift him into the whale, both engaging underwater and trying to push each other out. Aluza forced a current to carry Nosam to the blowhole and have him blasted to the sky. Nosam flew all the way to the dome's shower faucet and bent water to freeze hands and feet to the metal between the holes. He then unfroze the hands and bent the drops into his own giant whale. He rode the whale down and rammed it against Aluza's, the two shoving the other.

While Aluza piloted hers from the blowhole, Nosam swam into his whale and through to hers. He repeated her previous attack and forced her toward the faucet, swimming up with her. He shoved Aluza into one of the holes and froze her against it. He then began to freeze all the other holes and bent the water inside to focus against Aluza's hole. She was forced down with jet speed, piercing through the two mixed whales and crashing back into her pond, hitting the bottom with enough force to pass out. Nosam returned to the peak and found Zul's wand and the key to her cell in her possession. He returned below in time for the Gold Medal Pirates to win their battles. Nirak's tennis ball had indented Urasam's lovestruck head, Uzuy had singed Iam's dress with her Footbombs, and Ururu was giving Eel a belly massage that soothed her into submission.

…

"Nosam didn't even come to help save his own teammates." Akurah said to Lorac. "It's no surprise he would abandon that witch."

"Yeah, Nosam's a complicated one." Lorac sighed. "But honestly, I've kinda warmed up to him. He's a really sweet boy, he just needs a little… taming is all."

"It's easier to just use poison." The sister smirked.

The Nega-$ Thieves joined Akurah to White Mood Memorial Hospital, a medical fortress owned by the "White Savior," Wodahs. (Music: "Lost Impact" from Shadow the Hedgehog.) Black Lotus agents were landing on the roof and breaking in, the sounds of combat raging from inside. "Guys, it looks like we can sneak in that way." Lorac pointed at the cargo dock. "Still, I almost feel bad for attacking this place, too."

"We got a job to do, don't we?" Akurah asked. "'sides, if these navy jerks attack the patients, I say we're just in time to punish them."

"Yeah."

They put their thieving style to work as they snuck their way through the hospital. Ssiew and Leic branched off into a separate direction while Akurah stayed with Lorac. This hospital housed citizens who were victims of war and disease, taken from regions conquered by the pirates. The Lotus agents fought with Moebian doctors, and whenever a victor was decided between the match-ups, Lorac would sneak up and stealth-K.O. them. Akurah would battle groups of doctors who attacked them directly. They used bombs with concentrations of Wodahs' gas, but Akurah's bending helped nullify the gas's soothing effects. However, Lorac was nice enough to take some of these bombs and throw them onto doctors that were KO'ed by the navy, soothing their injuries as they woke up. "Instead of stopping us, you should worry about protecting the patients." Lorac told them scoldingly.

To Akurah's worry, one of the hospital rooms had Ylla, the rockstar of Sector TG. Her tiny form was bandaged up, but she was conscious. "I was able to wake up and escape, but too many pirates ganged up and trampled me. Heh, you wanna know somethin'? That Ahsas girl stepped on me first, but I barely felt a thing!"

"You mean the giant girl?" Akurah asked.

"Yep! Pretty soft-footed for her size."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. Eirik will be happy to see you again." She gave Ylla for Lorac for her to pocket the tiny away.

The two made regular trips through a huge, central area. The different parts of it were segmented off, requiring them to go around through different corridors to reach them. In the center of that area, Wodahs himself, in his Baixian form, was fighting some kind of spirit rooster. "Wodahs… do you at least know if Akasim is safe?"

"I know she was taken by the DNK, but I haven't heard from her since. But as soon as we beat them, I'll definitely find her for you!"

"So, that's the Incubator guy." Akurah recalled. "I guess he's under mind-control."

"It's still nighttime, so his Mythical Devil Fruit should be really weak." Lorac said. "Wodahs is only using his gas instead of physical attacks. He still cares about his crewmate."

"Heh, even these pirates learned comradery." Akurah smirked. "Probably even sooner than we did."

They eventually reached the top of this room and found an opening to the glassed-off center. Lorac dove in first and inflated her pants to soften her fall, with Akurah using her to drop and land safely. "Ah! DNK operatives!" Wodahs gasped.

"The Master Thief and the Soft Plague." Incubator recognized, reverting to his human form out of exhaust.

"That's what they're calling me?" Akurah asked.

"We've taken care of the navy agents." Lorac said. "And the patients are still safe."

"Really? Good…" Wodahs smiled. "Earlier, we were attacked by the Mushroom Mafia. Several of them were poisoned by her weapons. My healing gas can only provide temporary treatment, but we've been trying to make formulas with it for more lasting effects."

"These patients must really depend on you. If you want, we could take all these agents away so you can stay to help them. We could even fix Incubator."

"We both know this war can only end when all the major players are down. Besides, we've heard that poisonbender there is pretty deadly. Defeating her will make a good warm-up for Don Shrew and her daughter."

"You actually plan to fight those two?" Akurah asked. "Even I'm not that poisonous."

"I never ignore a sick patient! I was chosen by the legendary White Mood to bring happiness and health to all people! And I will!"

More than -70 years ago, Moebian scientists invaded the passing White Comet and harvested "blood" from its guardian spirit, White Mood. This spiritual blood would give life to Wodahs, giving him remarkable health and strength. Sometime after Wodahs' awakening, he would travel to space and meet White Mood when the comet passed by again. This was on the same -10-year mark that Davy Jarg's crew would invade Moebius. White Mood was rather joyed to meet the hedgehog created from his essence, and thus they became close. White Mood used Wodahs as a vessel, powering the hedgehog to fight Davy Jarg. White Mood was forced to leave Wodahs' body eventually, but this allowed Jarg to slay the spirit. The remains of his essence would be absorbed into Wodahs. The hedgehog defeated the Mecha Mind shortly after and chased him off the planet. Wodahs would since be known as the White Savior.

"And hey, since you guys are enemies, too," Incubator said, "I can fight you, too."

"Akurah, I'll take this farmboy!" Lorac declared. "Wanna take this out to the halls so we can give them room?"

"Fine by me!" (Music: "For True Story" from Sonic Adventure 2!)

Lorac raced out of the one-way exit while Incubator became Alectryon and chased her. Wodahs used a Spin Dash on Akurah, who dodged and shot Gas Bombs against his side. Wodahs unraveled onto his roller-blades and zoomed around the room. He suddenly flew at Akurah and swung a kick to her stomach, but before flying back, she puffed gas at his face and scored a cough. Akurah hit the wall and fell, helped herself up, and clutched her hip as Wodahs rolled for another kick. Akurah whipped out a whip filled with non-lethal poisons, wrapping Wodahs' leg mid-swing and whirling him against the wall instead. She pulled back the whip and lashed Wodahs in the back, but he repelled the next whips with kicks.

Wodahs curled up and began to bounce around the room like a pinball. Akurah barely dodged him and tried to whip, but the pinball withstood the hits. Akurah released a dense cloud of gas around the floor and levitated with Gas Rocket. Wodahs uncurled and coughed from the gas, allowing Akurah to drop and whip him. Wodahs rolled to press a button and have the ventilation filter out the gas, afterwards fleeing Akurah's onslaught. He took a pill to accelerate the healing of his wounds, but when Akurah unloaded a barrage of Gas Bombs, Wodahs countered with his own bombs. Through the smoke, Wodahs jumped through to kick down, but only grazed Akurah's ponytail as she ducked and lashed up against his tail.

Akurah would shoot Gas Bombs into the vents and ruin them before fogging the room with more gas. Wodahs decided to retreat to the outer room, and as Akurah followed, the hedgehog transformed into a Baixian. He began to shoot needles at Akurah, meant to both make her sleepy and numb her pain receptors. As he grazed Akurah with more needles, he couldn't even feel the cuts, thus making her confused whether she was dodging some or not. Akurah fired more Gas Bombs concentrated with her own effects, such as making itchy warts grow or making his eyes dry. Meanwhile, Wodahs' medicines caused Akurah to sneeze frantically and made her soles and underarms feel very ticklish, making her stumble as Wodahs threw a kick to the nose.

But Akurah bent up all the snot she sneezed up and smothered Wodahs' face with it. She shoved and glued him to the wall, leaving him open to lashes against his big stomach. Wodahs broke free and curled, rolling his spiked body directly over Akurah. Dozens of spikes were lodged into her, but Akurah was able to bend them out, smirking. Now that her body had adapted to Wodahs' medicine, she was able to bend the needles. Wodahs shot more needles at her, but Akurah caught them and redirected them all at the hedgehog. Wodahs gasped and pushed them back, fighting for control as he pushed them back to Akurah. However, she had better control over the needles soaked with her blood, sending them all into Wodahs' face. She then shoved the extra needles into his stomach, and with one final Gas Bomb, she knocked him down.

Wodahs reverted to his normal form, gasping on the floor. "Huff…mixing your poisons with mine… clever… Even my body doesn't know what to do… I guess I wouldn't have lasted long… against them…"

"Hey, don't sweat it." Akurah smiled. "The DNK will secure this place, so you'll still be able to treat these guys. We could use your help healing the Toadstoolians, too. Until then, worry about your own health."

"Heh…y'know, a little sickness… can actually be good for you… It's been a while… since I was sick…ooooog…" He passed out.

"Yep… if nothing else, some medicine tastes pretty good… with a little juice…" And she passed out.

Lorac had used her specialty stealth tactics to evade Incubator around the halls. Using her Nosretsam Cane, she could bash his head and flip him off his feet enough times before he was knocked into submission (her chi-blocks were only effective in numbing his lightbending, not his limbs). "Hey, Lorac!" She saw Ssiew and Leic return, the former holding a farm girl over the shoulders.

"You guys found Acificap?!"

"Yeah! Looks like they had her stationed here." Leic said. "She has one of those Horde mind-control chips on her."

"I hope Xedni's making progress with those things. Let's see if Akurah's wrapped her battle up."

Sleeping Sands

Waking from her slumber, Ydnam met with the Despairagers outside her cabin. "Captain, I have bad news." Acanom said. "We've lost contact with Urasam and Aluza's crewmen. We think they've been taken by the DNK."

"T…Taken…huh?" Ydnam rubbed her eyes. "What about… Aluben?"

"We still haven't been able to contact her either. We don't know if the DNK got to her on Arim or… if the Meta-Beasts did."

"Either way, the DNK should be our first priority." Orataj suggested. "They've already taken Ydnic, so we can get them all back at once!"

"The DNK… they're taking everything away…"

"Austin's still missing, too." Okotok frowned. "Honestly, I hope the DNK got to him before the navy did. The DNK aren't as mean as the other pirates, so I'm sure our friends are still-"

"Kill them."

The kids whipped up at Ydnam in shock. "What?"

"The DNK are ruining everything… I thought they would be friends, but they're ruining everything! They don't deserve to live in our dream world! They don't deserve to live in THIS world! I'm ordering the remaining officers to kill any operatives they see!"

"A-Are you sure, Captain?" Acanom asked. "It's just… the DNK are only following their own hope. They may be our enemies in this war, but they're not as evil as-"

"They are, Accy. They ARE as evil as those other pirates! They're as evil as NUG. The same filthy military that heartlessly bombarded Awot City as soon as it became our territory! Those monsters killed tons of people, including your own parents… and the DNK will do the same! They have to die, kids! They have to!"

The mention of their late parents touched a nerve. They still hated the military for all those reckless attacks that ended the lives of several in their territories… but comparing the DNK to them seemed going a bit far. "Right, kids?! You'll help me kill the DNK, right?"

They flinched. When the captain was in this state, it was better to just go along with her. "Y-Yes, Captain! We'll…we'll definitely kill the DNK. We'll send word to all remaining crewmen."

Gold Medal Pirates

The Midnight Hub rested at the peak of a quiet mountain. (Music: "Space" from Yoshi's Crafted World.) The night sky felt more peaceful and lullabying than anywhere else on the planet. "Night Owl" Ahsas had come here for a replenishing snooze. The pleasant smile on the slumbering giant could draw anyone to slumber. The moon was as radiant as her adoring face. Several robots patrolled the fortress. They looked like life-size toys with block heads and searchlight eyes.

Amadok took a whiff of the crisp mountain air. "This place is brimming with spiritual pressure. It should be plenty to take her on… but she looks so sweet and peaceful. I feel kinda bad."

"Well, we gotta." Nirak reminded. "If we knock her out of it… I mean, more than she already is, that'll dispel all her moons."

"I know. Alright… you ready to go, Oemor?"

She glanced up at the tiny nerd on her head. He was a little upset that he had to abandon the Toadstool mission, but Atawid decided his powers would be better suited here. "She sure is big…" Oemor said worriedly. "Cute, but pretty big. You sure Atawid was right about sending me?"

"Well, I have faith in her strategies. Don't worry, Oemor! With your spirits and mine, we can do this!"

"Haha, okay!"

According to Airam's intel, Ahsas had arrived at Damp Damp Desert and conjured her own night sky over it, before dumping Dreamsand over the region. Back at Castle Ydnam, the Ant King had burned the "moon" in the sky, turning the area bright. They realized that Dreamsand can only retain its effects under a clear night sky, and Ahsas' powerful moonbending could keep the sky eternally lush and blissful no matter the distance. Amadok carefully snuck by the searchlight bots, and Oemor would summon Springlings to help them jump large gaps and high places. Amadok's Ghost Whispering summoned Glow Mice sleeping in the crevices. The ghostly rodents would possess some robots and have them get out of the way, so the shrine maiden could advance.

"You have a really nice voice." Oemor complimented.

"Hehe, thank you! Your voice sounds like helium."

"Yeah, I know."

Eventually, they got to a ring-shaped pathway that looped around underneath the peak, just under the sleeping Ahsas. She was seated upright on her crescent throne. "Awww…she's so cute."

"Yeah…" Amadok sighed regretfully. "…Oh! A cloud!" A fluffy cloud was passing by. "I sense a strong spirit inside. Honestly, if we're lucky, we can do this in one hit. Laaaa, la laaaa…"

Her tone reached the cloud's unseen ears. It grew white eyes and a mouth, both frumpy. Under Amadok's guidance, the cloud flowed toward the giant and spun its fluffy fist. It took a great swing—Ahsas SLICED the cloud in half with her white, bright scythe. It had crater designs on the blade and a blue hilt. "HEY! Punching a girl when she's sleeping is mean!"

"She's awake!"

"Quick, Amadok, draw that symbol in the ground!"

"Right!" She began drawing a Japanese symbol with her lantern staff.

"You…you're trying to knock me out, aren't you? You want to ruin all my moons?"

"Uh…ahem." Amadok coughed. "Look, there's no beating around the bush. Sorry… but we have to do this."

"I'm sorry, too. I just spoke with Acanom in my dream. Lady Ydnam… has ordered us to kill you."

"K-Kill?!" Oemor gulped.

"I don't want to… I…I was chosen by Goddess Cresselia to represent the moon among the Nainozama. The moon is blissful and pure… b-but killing would ruin that purity. It's Doma's job to execute enemies… Yes! I'll just catch you… I'll knock you out and hand you over. You won't get the better of me!" (Music: "vs. Cresselia Fanmade" by MisC on YouTube.)

Amadok began to run around the ring while Oemor jumped off her and landed on the symbol. Using Creative Summoning, Lirpa's sister, Yram poofed above him. "Man, you called me just in the nick of…huh? Where're you?"

"Down here!" Yram looked down and spotted the tiny nerd by her sandaled feet.

"What?! The hell did you get so tiny?!"

"Long story, just please put me on your head."

"Yeah, yeah." Yram picked him up and placed him. "Whoa, are you fighting a cotton candy monster?!"

"She's a moonbender. Just follow my lead and we can help Amadok defeat her!"

"I just got done helpin' Sunni with a fight, so you're lucky I got strength to spare!"

"Huh?!" Ahsas heard and noticed the spike-haired girl. "Wait, where did you come from?!"

"Dooooon't get distracteeeeed." Amadok whirled her lantern as spirits rose from it, forming a colorful vortex above Amadok. They stirred around her eyes as she burned Lunar Flames to keep them at bay. In her distraction, Oemor summoned a Springling from his Thought Cloud, allowing Yram to launch up and SOCK Ahsas in the jaw with her ringed knuckles. She landed at Ahsas' magenta-socked feet, dodging her stomps and punching the toe before she was kicked down to the ring. Ahsas slashed her scythe, channeling chi through it to shoot crescent waves. The crescents cleanly cut through the ground, limiting areas to stand. Amadok's song called cliff spirits from within the sliced ground to serve as footholds for those areas.

Ahsas conjured Moonerangs, threw them to her sides, and had them rotate the ring. The girls ducked these moons as Oemor summoned Boomerman, a football player with thick shoulder pads (shaping an upside-down boomerang). Boomerman blocked one of the moons and struggled to take hold of it, but once successful, he hurled it right back at Ahsas' head. The giant wobbled dizzily, allowing Amadok to sing for a mountain spirit to trip Ahsas off her feet. "Woh-oh-oooohhh!" She tumbled down the mountain and crashed on a ledge below, her upper half hanging over it. Ahsas helped herself up and conjured Lunar Pads with each step up the air. She used these to keep a distance from the group and slash more Crescent Cuts at the peak, chopping off pieces of the peak like hunks of meat.

The cloud that was sliced before became two smaller spirits. Amadok called them down to carry herself and Yram. Amadok sung for pink, misty spirits from her lantern, flying at Ahsas in attempt to make her sleepy. She burned the spirits away and conjured an orb at the head of her scythe. The orb grew into a small moon, which stretched into a majestic, white laser. The laser struck Amadok directly, the others crying in fear. But when the laser dispelled, Amadok seemed okay… except, "AAAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLOTHES?!"

"Clothes are considered an impure obstruction. The moon reveals your true self!"

"The moon is a dirty pervert!"

"Here you go, Amadok!" Oemor summoned Bessy Dressy, a disembodied pink dress with eyes to cover her.

"This is still discomforting!" Amadok called Fire Spirits from her lantern, launching at Ahsas like soft comets. Some of them were impeded by her own Lunar Flames, but Yram's cloud flew under the fire and up the giant's front. She sprayed hot red graffiti in Ahsas' left eye, dodging her reactive hand swipe and landing on her cottony magenta head. Yram tugged the hair strands with enough force to topple Ahsas backward. She plummeted, but released a wave of chi to decrease her own gravity and land more safely on the lower foothold. Ahsas swung in wider arches to send larger slashes at the airborne group. As they evaded, Oemor summoned Heli-Helper, a red helicopter with a smiley face, to better carry himself and Yram. He then summoned POW PAL, a cannon Friend to hang from the edge of the copter. POW aimed down and blasted dust balls, sliced by the scythe and bursting into clouds of dust.

Ahsas formed a Lunar Shield around herself, anticipating the ambush. But it was then Yram loaded her graffiti cans into POW, shooting them down through the cloud to drench the barrier in black and red spray paint. The paint poisoned the pure blue barrier, so as it melted, Ahsas ran back and upward using Moon Steps. Yram dove down, and Ahsas looked up just in time to be PUNCHED in the nose. The tiny ringed fist smashed the soft nose in, but Ahsas grabbed Yram and chucked her down the mountain. Yram crashed against the side of a stone jab. "Yram!" Oemor dropped down and landed on the girl's belly.

"Uck…I'm fine, little man. Phew, just need to rest my back a little…"

Amadok sung for Dust Spirits to fly around Ahsas and give her a coughing fit, and it didn't help her bruised nose any. She flew down to check on her friends, seeing Oemor summoning Beanbag Blobbelda to give Yram a back massage. "Hypno-Moon!" Ahsas channeled a hypnotic wave to the moon in the sky, and even moved its position above her. The operatives shielded their eyes, but Amadok's dress Friend became mesmerized and tried to drag her to it. Amadok called up the vortex of spirits from her lantern, telling them to keep their eyes closed to avoid being hypnotized. Under her guidance, they swirled to block the moon from view, with Ahsas attempting to burn them out of the air.

"She has a lot more stamina than I gave her credit for." Amadok said. "But we've spent too much time, we have to knock her out now. Oemor… you ready to try it out?"

"Yeah! Ready when you are!"

Amadok held Oemor in both hands, raising him before her mouth. Her soothing tone reverberated around him, while he himself focused his Imagination. Her Ghost Whispering enhanced his Dream Summoning: his Thought Cloud grew big enough to cloud up the immediate sky. Her song combined with Oemor's thoughts called down the entire armada of his Dream Spirits. Ahsas formed another barrier, the Friends ganging up against it. Amadok sung for some Earth Spirits to rise from beneath her feet and tickle Ahsas. She lost focus and dispelled the barrier, attempting to slice and burn the Friends. Regardless, some managed to dodge and attack her from any angle they could. Withstanding the pain in her back, Yram charged up the mountain. In the process of taking a step, Ahsas' heel landed right against Yram's punch.

The giant toppled over and bashed her head against a boulder, knocking her clean out. Amadok's kimono returned and the moon returned to its original position. Oemor dispelled all his spirits to reserve his mental strength. "I think that moon was the real moon for this world." Amadok said. "But doing that should've dispelled all the makeshift moons. I can even see dawn rising!"

"Great…huff…we did it." Oemor lied down on the maiden's palm.

"Hehe, you did a great job, Oemor!" Amadok grinned. "I'm sorry we had to pull you away from your friends."

"It's alright. It was great working with you, Amadok!"

"It's not over, yet, though. You know what's next, right?"

"Uh, hehe…yeah."

Oemor wet himself after reading Atawid's match-up list. It was amazing how much such a little body could sweat. "Damn, little guy!" Anaigrom said. "You got the big job!"

"Ahhhh, hehe…" Oemor shuddered. "Helping fight a moonbending giant… I can deal with that… but I…I… Do you really expect me… to help beat Emperor Ydnam?"

"The bout with Ydnam should primarily take place in the Dream Realm." Atawid reasoned. "Your abilities are highly effective in that world, thus making you a prime candidate."

"B-b-but… Emperor…"

"It shouldn't be too bad if it's in the Dream World, right?" Xedni asked.

"I guess that means you'll be with us for a while." Amadok said, sinking down to Oemor's level with a kind smile. "Don't worry. We'll keep you safe, Oemor."

"You better!" Anaigrom cheered. "'Cause Asigan is seriously gonna cream you if he gets creamed!"

"You ain't got nothin' to worry!" Uzuy saluted.

DNKG

"Eureka!" Xedni exclaimed. "I've finally cracked the code!"

The Horde Chips on Ydnic and Detective Amo detached. "Ydnic!" Atuy ran to the girl's side.

"Nnnn…Atuy? Er…I…" Ydnic remembered everything that happened during that time, but her emotions needed time to catch up with her thinking. "Atuy… I can't believe my mom did that… she…"

"I know. Don't worry. The DNK are working out a plan to stop her."

"They're going to stop her? How?"

"Um…it's kind of complicated."

"We can go down there and have them explain." Xedni said. "I was gonna head down and help fix Acificap."

"Can I go down, too?" Ydnic asked. "I…I need to see how Mom is like now."

"Sure." Atuy nodded. "They said they might need you for this plan, anyway."

Paradise Manor

"So, Ahsas has been defeated…" Doma observed the light peering over the horizon. "Should've known we couldn't depend on her for long. I'd better hide in here for now." The vampire retreated into a deep ice cavern.

The Happy-Scare Pirates sailed along a long cliffside of the Sand Sea. The entrance to the ice cavern slowly came into view. From afar, one would only see Ynohtna, Ibyf, and Yevrah standing over the ship's rail. "I can feel a strong darkness from inside." But one wouldn't see the 3'6" Aenara peeking through a gap under the rail. The impish girl was wearing a blue and white Arceist robe (similar to Apis). "I'm sure… the vampire is in there."

"Then our info wasn't off." Ibyf said. "Let's swarm him while the day is bright."

Aenara had left the DNK after the Aluben incident, feeling ashamed to return. She decided to become an apprentice at an Arceist church to make up for her sins. Her guilt resurfaced all over again after hearing Yllas was killed. "Why…why didn't you guys call me before going on this war?!"

"We're sorry." Ynohtna frowned. "We didn't think you'd want to. It's not like we knew there would be a vampire…"

"Ergh…you're right. I should've… joined back with you sooner. Then Yllas… she wouldn't have…"

Aenara was determined to put her new skills to use. The inside of the cavern was… actually pretty pleasant. (Music: "Snowpeak Ruins" from Twilight Princess.) It resembled the inside of a luxurious mansion with ice-made vases, chandeliers, Chilfos soldiers, and snow blobs called Eenos. Doma had already sensed their arrival and willed ice brambles to block them when possible, as well as making chandeliers fall or vases home on them. Aenara used Spirit Flames to melt the brambles, though she couldn't affect all the spiritual ice. They had to solve a complicated block-pushing puzzle to rescue Uzu, the last TG operative.

Throughout the cavern, they were also attacked by living puppet soldiers. There was only one person those could belong to. "Oh, look! My friends have come back to play with me!" With no surprise on their part, they encountered Ragus in a frost-covered playroom. Alongside her with Ahtaga Llubhcnurt.

"Ohhhhh ho ho," Ahtaga wagged her finger in restrained fury, "you kids have got another thing coming, beating up our crew! And would you mind explaining where my precious little Aluben is? I'm worried sick about her, and I know she always gets in trouble with you around!"

"You think WE have another thing coming?!" Yevrah asked. "What about that vampire bastard?! He fucking killed Yllas and you're just fine with that?!"

"Now, I sure as sugar don't condone what he did, but there's no changing the past. However, I'm sorry to say Captain Ydnam has ordered us to… well, how do I say it without scaring the little ones… 'unalive' you. In hindsight, perhaps Doma was being a forward thinker for-"

Yevrah tossed a bladed yo-yo, but Ragus pulled a puppet to block it. "Ibyf, Aenara, go on ahead. Ynohtna and I will handle these nutcases."

"Oh, I get the beaver boy!" Llubhcnurt clapped. "I always wanted to play with a beaver!"

"Even I feel creeped!" Ynohtna smiled.

Yevrah began to slash up Ragus' toys and attempted to lay cuts to the puppetmaster. "Kendra, Kendra, go feed the Kendra! The bigger that she gets, the more butt we kiss!" And Ynohtna engaged Llubhcnurt in the most intense game of pattycake no one ever saw.

Ibyf and Aenara barged into the inner sanctum, a traditional Japanese throne room where Doma sat elegantly on a pillow. "So, the Wings of Fright have returned." He acknowledged Ibyf. "Along with a new face. Have you changed your mind? Come to enter the doors to paradise?"

"Doma the Darkness Dumpster… for the murder and consumption of hundreds of mortal lives, I'm here to execute you." Aenara drew a rapier.

"Well, I didn't expect you to have a spirit partner. Why come here when you've already been welcomed to paradise? Unless you mean the Spirit World isn't as bright as it seems?"

"I've only seen a little of the Spirit World. There's not much point going there when I can't even see Yllas, Aunt Ynnaf, Ynnad, or anyone we love. But the church has taught me enough to handle a monster like you!"

"She won't be alone." Ibyf glared. "The Frightening Wings and an apprentice nun… Your excuse of a paradise means nothing to us."

"Cry-hy-hy-hy-hy! You may not fear me, but the sun doesn't reach down here. You are denied the warm light of Solaris and doomed to Polaris's frozen darkness. So, my young maidens… prepare to taste paradise~" The licking of his fangs froze them colder than the ice. (Music: "Blizzeta Battle" from Twilight Princess.)

Doma lashed ice brambles that Aenara burned with Spirit Flames. She flew up to the vampire, clashing her sword against Doma's slashing fingers. Doma took a cut to the arm, a stinging sensation coursing through as he leapt away. "Garlic?!"

"Surprised? In preparation for this, I had my blade injected with the veggie." She evaded icicles and aimed her sword. "Elongate, Eleonora!" The sword suddenly stretched, grazing his hip. That demonstration made her Zanpakutō's ability clear, but Doma would stay alert for other tricks. Aenara stretched it again, but Doma chilled the air around him and froze the end of the sword. He swung his arm and snapped that part off without hurting himself. Aenara retracted the shortened blade, shooting Spirit Flames when Doma lunged at her. A Fear Sphere bashed Doma in the side of the head, knocking him away. He shot a glare at Ibyf, the Nimbi smirking as illusory garlic stacks grew around him.

"Is that the best you can do?" Doma slashed the illusions away. "My instincts compel me to fear garlic, sure, but this silly Fear Chi won't-!" One of the stacks stung him with real garlic. Aenara struck it, elongating the garlic against Doma's eye, the vampire leaping back as he gripped the burning organ. "So, you can extend other targets. But I don't need to see, anyway!" He shielded his eyes from the illusions and blew waves of Ice Breath where he smelled the garlic. Ibyf unleashed a Scare Scream to weaken his hearing. Aenara flew behind Doma and stretched a small part of the blade at his neck, but Doma smelled the garlic and dodged, stretching a bramble to pierce her stomach.

Aenara fled to melt the ice threatening to cover her. Doma set his sights on Ibyf next, the Nimbi evading and blasting Fear Spheres, adding Screams on top of it. As he shot icicles, he cut Ibyf, and the smell of her blood better gave away her position. Doma dodged his way up faster, smelling the blood drawing nearer, and it fell just within range for him to take a bite—"AGH!" Ibyf had coated some physical garlic with her blood and tossed it down his throat. He maneuvered away from Ibyf and opened his eyes (his right one still poisoned), hacking the veggie out. Ibyf drew in his fear and made more garlic illusions appear. Doma tried to sniff out the real ones, but he lost sight of Aenara. "NNN!" A sword thrusted up against his chin: Aenara used her ability to make herself as flat as a pancake to sneak up on him.

With that attack, Aenara forced Doma's own neck to extend. The vampire growled and froze an ice shield around the neck. Ibyf threw garlics, but they merely froze close to Doma's range. Aenara covered her own garlics in Spirit Flames to negate the effect, and she whacked them with her sword to elongate the garlic. Doma sliced them with brambles and split them apart, so Aenara had to get closer, burning herself to withstand the ice. Doma thrusted a bramble, but Aenara struck and forced it to shorten, then she slashed a cut at the ice around his neck. She flattened the ice against his neck, forcing him to break it off, but Doma managed to slice her chest with his fingers. Aenara backed away and flattened that area of her chest to contain the injury.

Doma set sights on Ibyf, tired of her constant screaming and garlic illusions. He got close enough to freeze Ibyf's legs, but Aenara burned flames on the ground and stretched them to warm Doma's air. Ibyf pulled out a 4x4 garlic cannon to blast more of the veggies, and though Doma countered them with icicles, he began to feel jabs against his long neck. "?!" They appeared to be very long, thin splinters, but Aenara was holding wooden steaks. "You didn't think garlic was the only vampire weakness I brought, right?"

Ibyf mustered a bigger Fear Sphere and smothered it over Doma's head. Inside, he was forced to see an illusion of the sun, but Doma withstood the "fear" and rashly erected crystal spikes everywhere. Aenara slashed her way up to him and thrusted her sword against his hip. She mustered her full power to both thin and stretch Doma against the ceiling with great force. Doma smashed through the frozen ceiling of his throne and was forced to extend up other floors of the underground palace. The Fear Sphere still clouded him, but the illusory sun was irrelevant to this aggravating situation.

But the fake sun disappeared… just as Doma became exposed to the real sun. "AAAAAHHHH!" Like a weird, shriveled giraffe poking out of the earth, he flailed his neck frantically. It caught fire and burned down like a fuse. Aenara's power dispelled, watching as Doma's body shrunk back down the progressively-thinning ceiling holes. But the head had completely burned off, the body keeling over. "Huff…phew…" Aenara slumped in exhaust. "I hate to ask, but can you carry me back to my real body? I'm beat."

"Sure." Ibyf smiled. "Thanks, Aena."

"No prob. We should also burn the rest of this body, too. Then they'll be ready to catch him when he spawns in the Underworld."

Outside, Llubhcnurt and Ynohtna were dry from endless patty-caking. Their hands were terribly bruised. "Boys go to Occes to get some kisses, and girls go to Airolf to get good at golf!"

Golly, this boy won't give up. I've never met a youth this invigorated. But I can't stop. As long as a sweet child wants to play, I can't disappoint them. I…I can't…

Eventually, the former warden passed out. "Huff…huff…finally…" Ynohtna sat down. "I need… to rest my hands…"

Yevrah and Ragus had carved up each other's clothes before the puppetmaster finally fell. They smiled, seeing Ibyf drag out Doma's fallen body, along with the exhausted Aenara. "If you boys are done, help me carry these two, prithee?"

"Ow…okay…" Ynohtna figured Aenara would be better suited for his sore hands.

As Doma's remains would burn away in the sunlight, their hearts grew uplifted like the embers. "How are you feeling, Ibyf?" Yevrah asked.

"I held back enough during that fight. I'll be ready by the time we face Ydnam."

"Then let's regroup with the others."

…

They learned that Officer Ekusas had gone to the Posiverse to assassinate the Oiram Brother Positives. While it would be nice if he were successful, this made catching him difficult. But the DNK eventually found out his plan ended in failure. The Free Kingdom would be raided by the Boogey Pirates, and Princess Cindy herself was leading one of the platoons. The princess recognized "Commander Sasuke" and mercilessly attacked him. Ekusas knew he shouldn't harm Ydnic's Positive, but with demons surrounding the area, it was impossible to retreat. In the end, Cindy sliced Ekusas' head off with her sword.

Sleeping Sands

"Horde Prime! Come in, Horde Prime!" Ydnam banged the terminal desperately. "I need you to return to Aruhtaz pronto!"

The screen only displayed static. Prime claimed he was going to land an attack on Tnacsuroc, but that was the last time they ever made contact. "Huff…huff…" Acanom was hesitant to approach her captain. Their best officers were all gone, and any officers left were among the fleet around their ship. "Um…don't lose hope, Captain!" Acanom said. "Prime's clones and the brainwashed people are still active, so I'm sure he's still alive. If anything, he was captured like… the others… were…"

"Yeah… captured… That's what the DNK do, huh… They just take aaaaaall our friends away. Let's see how they like it… when I take theirs away…"

…

The Gold Medal, Happy-Scare, and Nega-$ Crews met up with a small fleet of fellow operatives. Xedni landed and hacked into Acificap's chip, freeing her of Horde control. She told Oemor that Asigan wanted to pass a "Hello" and was proud of him for being such a big help. Oemor turned a bright red and nearly shrunk into himself.

"Ydnam has the Sand Sea totally overrun with patrol ships." Otokam explained. "I was barely able to make it to Ragus' island and get the tiny kids' bodies back."

"That's what we anticipated." Lorac replied, sitting on a barrel and tapping her cane to her propped-up heel. "Or at least Atawid did. But here's the gist: we're gonna divide into two groups for this attack. The Dream Team, naturally, will fall asleep while Otokam gathers them all and brings them to Ydnam's Sand Sea. Oemor and Amadok will be the key players in this attack because of their respective powers. Then we have the Knock-Out Team: the majority of us will swarm Ydnam's fleet, detain the rest of her officers, and ultimately clash with the Dream Queen herself. But here's the twist: we have to keep the pirates awake after we tie them down. If they get knocked out, they'll just try to stop us in the Dream Realm. That's why those on H.Q. sent us loads of Coffee Cannons to caffeinate the crewmen. They're also working to keep the officers we already captured awake."

"And are you gonna be part of the Dream Team or what?" Oemor asked as Amadok carried him closer to the Master Thief.

"Technically, I'm going to be both. I need the Knock-Out Team to help me get close to Ydnam before I can employ my technique. When this happens, we'll have to deal with her dreamself after the fact. That honestly shouldn't be too bad, because if you took a fatal blow, you'd just wake back up. What you'd really have to avoid is being Bubbled."

"Okay, but, another question… The Dream Team shouldn't actually have to be on the planet, right? Can't we go to sleep at H.Q.?"

"Your concern is understandable, friend." Atnij replied, approaching them with a rose held elegantly in hand. "I do not know much about the rules of the Dream Realm, but I have experience. Once upon a time, I slept with all four of my lovely ladies."

"Ah ha ha ha ha…really?" Oemor began to fantasize snuggling with his girl friends.

"And in that moment, our hearts and dreams were connected. We could cross each other's dreams without need of a Bubble Dreamer. But Ydnam bears strong resent for us by now. She has fortified her mind against fellow Yonko and ourselves. But as human relationships go, the closer you are to someone, the more vulnerable your heart. I believe if we fall to sleep close to Ydnam, her dreamscape will become more open to us."

"CLOSE TO YDNAM?! Sh-sh-she'll fricking cream us if we get within staring distance!"

"We're not gonna get you too close." Lorac reasoned. "Approximately, it should be enough to just get close to the fleet. The Knock-Out Team will make sure they don't get to you. But, once you're asleep, you'll infiltrate the Sand Sea via Ydnic's dream."

The orange-haired daughter of Ydnam had been shying within the crowd, but walked out once called. "So, that's why you need me…huh?"

"Yeah… we need you to get close to your mom for us. I'll talk to you in private once we're done here."

"Okay…"

"I'll also be part of the Dream Team!" Leic smiled. "Commander Balan will be protecting Ydnam's dream, so I'll fight him off. He'll probably have his Balan Company with him. That's why we need all you little guys!"

"We'll knock the daylights out of those dreamers!" Dnis fist-palmed.

"The only thing that concerns me is Horde Prime." Lorac said. "As far as we know, he isn't even on the planet. Either way, we don't have to worry about his mind-control thanks to Xedni. So…" Lorac leapt to stand proudly atop the barrel, "is everyone ready to take down the next Emperor?"

"YEAH!"

"Then let's set sail! Dream Team, we've prepared a cozy room for you to sleep. We're making way to the fleet now!"

With everyone moving to position, Lorac and Leic met with Ydnic in private. "You're planning to use it, aren't you?" Ydnic asked. "That… Phantom Thief thing she was asking about."

"Yeah. Let me explain: I need to get close to Ydnam and use it to enter her dreamscape directly. And once there, I need to find the source of her desires and steal it. When I do, her desires will be contained inside my dream. And that's probably going to make me unable to think or act straight."

"And what about her?"

"Well… your mom will abandon her desire to spread happiness and lose the will to fight."

"And how long will this last?"

"Ideally, not forever. The plan is to give her desires back after she's… you know, perfectly secure. I just want to know if you're okay with this."

"I…I don't really know. But I'll help. She needs to be stopped."

"It'll all be alright, don't worry!" Leic assured.

Once they were ready, the Dream Team gathered in a cabin aboard the Gold Medals' ship. There was a huge, round mattress made of soft, warm Island Cloud. "Hahahahaha! This feels amazing!" Leic delightfully rolled around on it. "I'll sleep like a baby on this!"

Amadok crawled on the bed with one hand, Oemor in the other. She then rolled on her back. "Wow, I like it! Feel it, Oemor."

She set the little guy beside him. The bookworm spread his limbs and absorbed the full feel of the cozy cloud. "Man, we need one of these in our sector!"

"I'll say!" Leic put one of his wings over Oemor. "You can use this as a blanket if you want."

"Mmmmm…" The angelic feathers pulled the tiny right into slumber. "So nice…"

"YAHOOOOO!" Sector TG began jumping on the bed, bouncing Oemor around. "Super-size sleepover!!!!"

"Hey, knock it off, guys!" Amadok yelled. "No one's falling asleep with all that bouncing!"

"No one's falling asleep without these." Otokam walked in with a bottle of Sleep Bubbles. "Dunno about you guys, but I'm way too stressed out to sleep normally."

"We're sorry for dragging you into this whole thing. But you were the only Bubble Dreamer we knew, so you were our only hope of pulling this off. And we're really thankful for you."

"The Posiverse probably has a couple Bubble Dreamers to spare." Nirak remarked, lying on the bed.

"Don't take this from me!" Otokam shouted.

"Yeah, the Positives have their own war to focus on, but we've got plenty of friends on our side! So, Otokam… it's slumber time!"

The hooded boy dipped his wand in the pink soap and blew bubbles. They popped gently over the operatives' faces and they were out like lamps. Otokam lied down and soaked himself as well.

Ibyf flew up to a Nimbi vessel and approached Supreme Leader Ibsej. "Ready to go, Sejy?"

"I didn't reserve my strength all this time for nothing! Let's show her Nimbi Power!"

…

Ydnam's fleet was elevated off the Sandswept Falls, a vast "coast" where sand continuously poured into a dusty chasm. (Music: "The Precipice" from Rayman 2!) Naturally, the DNK approached them from the opposite direction. Cannonfire flew from both sides, and ships already began to sink in the abyss. Ssiew Eenhcs saw Officer Eizzil's ship, modeled with Space Jelly tentacles, and launched over to it. Eizzil zapped Space Lightning at Ssiew, but the plantbender bent ropes of natural rubber to nullify the electricity. "I guess lightning is still lightning either way!"

Ssiew thrusted a whip-punch using the rubber, bruising Eizzil. She tried again, but Eizzil warped behind her with a portal, grabbing Ssiew's legs and pulling her down. "What have you done with Ydnic?! Lady Ydnam is flipping out! She's…" Eizzil glanced up and saw Ibyf and Jesbi soaring over the fleet, carrying Ydnic by the arms. "Ydnic! Hold on, I'll save-" She flew through a portal to intercept them, but Ssiew stretched a vine through to pull her back in.

"She'll find her mom, just leave her to it. You got me to worry about first!" Ssiew grabbed the tentacles in several vines and tugged them apart from each other.

Distracted by the Daring Fleet, the Smile Fleet was unsuspecting as Lorac drove toward the Sandswept Falls via land. She found a place to park the Bandit Van and began to race over and jump a series of broken boardwalks and giant bones, crossing the sands. Unfortunately, one of the ships seemed to notice her, blasting cannonballs behind and ahead of her. Walking Shells would be launched and hatched ahead of her to charge the girl. Lorac would jump them, gaps in the path, and use Thief Style to jump across bone tips and thin bone branches with which to bounce.

Lorac would later drop down bone platforms descending the sand falls. A bone and bridge path was further down and would lead underneath the Sleeping Sands, its anchor rooted in the ground. The enemy ship was desperate in shooting her down, but Lorac's fleet footwork made her unstoppable. She began to climb the anchor's chain while the ship blasted cannons at it.

"What's she doing anyway, Orataj?" Okotok asked, she and Orataj managing that ship. "Is she planning a sneak attack on the captain?"

"I dunno, but we better warn her!"

"Why don't you just leave her alone?!" Acificap and Xedni landed on their ship. The cowgirl threw her lasso, but Orataj conjured a holo-barrier with a complex math equation.

"I hope that muscular guy isn't with them. Okotok, contact-"

The barrier deactivated as Acificap tossed her lasso, catching Okotok's leg and slamming her against the mast. "You'll have to come up with a better equation than that~" Xedni tapped her forehead.

"A-A-A-A math girl?!" Orataj sweated. "A cute, chubby math girl… I-I-I…I can't back down now!"

Ibyf, Ibsej, and Ydnic landed on the bow of the flagship. Ibsej used her earthbending to hold back the waves of sand thrown at them. "Doesn't she know I'm here?" Ydnic asked. "Why is she attacking?"

"ARK, ARK, ARK!" A certain big-nosed man pranced out of the cabin on all fours. He tackled Ydnic and nosed her where she didn't have one.

"D-Dad! Hehehe…" She wasn't particularly happy to see him, but at least the sand waves were holding back.

"Yllib. Back."

Heeding the strict call, the husband pranced back to his wife. The Golden Dreamer emerged from the cabin, her visage gray. "Ydnic… sweetheart… welcome back. Are you… here to apologize?"

"A…apologize?"

"Yes… for all the mean things you said. For running away with those bad kids. For calling your dad an idiot! For not appreciating everything I'm doing for you!"

"No, Mom… everything you do has been… for you! Because you're afraid of everything, because you can't stand that the real world isn't like your plastic fantasy!"

"So, what? When people don't like something, they try to change it. When they can't change it, they ignore it. When they can't ignore it… they destroy it. My parents never did that. All they ever did was whine, obsess, and gorge their selves on the world's darkness! And what did they do? Nothing. All they wanted to do was justify their hopeless lives! Mom worked a dead-end job with people she hated and Dad was terrible with money. But I showed them I could make a difference! My childish fantasies could dominate reality, and they have! I met all these friends and crewmen who love me! Dreamers who agree with me! And thanks to them, I was able to give you a wonderful life!"

"You've helped a lot of people, Mom, and I loved spending time with Auntie Luza, Uncle Wodahs, and Miss Llubhcnurt. Acanom, Aluben, and the others were fun to play with. But… all this happiness is suffocating. And most of our people think the same. Sealing away their emotions and freedom isn't happy at all."

"You're saying I shouldn't save all these abused children, or these slaves? I shouldn't punish the people who hurt them?"

"No, it's great that you've done these things! But you're doing the same! You used Horde Prime to enslave people, and…and you abused me!"

"I NEVER abused you!"

"You used me to trick Ynohtna's team! And just a while ago, you had me brainwashed, too! You just want everything to go your way. No matter who's on your side, no matter who's friend or family, if they don't do what you want, they mean nothing to you!"

"You meant everything to me, Ydnic… That's why I tried my darndest to keep you away from all the hatred and darkness in the universe. Why don't you see that?"

"Mom… you need to calm down and rethink this whole thing. For now, why don't we work with the DNK and fight the rest of the Emperors? Let's call off this fight, we can get our friends back, and after this war is over… we can start things over again."

"…" The hostile aura they felt around Ydnam seemed to cool. Ydnic took cautious steps forward, easing her mother's fears with open-hearted eyes.

Lorac had infiltrated the ship through the anchor hole and stealthily KO'ed all the guards inside as she maneuvered about. She watched from beneath the deck grate as Ydnic approached her mother. Maybe they won't have to fight her. If they stay still long enough, I can pull this off. But once she sees me coming, she'll attack without hesitation. Hmmm…

"Ydnic… thank you… for being a good girl and coming to me." Ydnam swiftly bent a stream of sand to GRAB Ydnic and bring her to the upper stern. The Nimbi gasped as the queen sent a stream at them, but Ibsej blocked it with her own bending. Another stream flew under the ship and up the front, intending to bury them from behind.

"DRAMATIC ENTRANCE!" Nosam blocked the sand with a watery barrier.

"Took your time, huh?" Ibyf smirked.

Lorac beamed, wanting to cheer, "Ha ha, Nosaaaaam!" but kept silent.

"A gentleman needs time to prepare himself. I've only just refreshed from my bout with Aluza. But I must see my dearest's plan to fruition!"

Dream Realm

There was a clear route across the Sand Sea to Ydnic's island. Oemor amassed the entire forces of his Imaginary Friends and Amadok gathered all the spirits on her island; the tiny nerd was seated on the head of a Sky Cow, which appeared very huge in comparison, and Amadol rode the back of a four-eyed spirit horse. There were ships ready on the shore of Ydnic's island. Atuy sailed with the Gold Medalists and Leic sailed with the Happy-Smiles, and TG sailed a ship the size of a motorboat, and sped just as quickly. "HEEEEY, guys!"

Oemor's heart swelled at the familiar, feminine voice. Asigan Atoihs was sailing over on a dolphin ship. "ASIGAN?! I thought you were resting on H.Q.!"

"Huh?" Asigan looked for the source of the voice. She got out binoculars and saw, "Oh, there's Oemor! Hehe, I am resting, silly! They gave me sleep pills so I could show up for this battle!"

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that."

Asigan rode a wave and landed on the back of Oemor's cow. "I don't wanna just lay around like a ragdoll, so they asked Otokam to get me for this. I didn't wanna miss out on your big moment! That being said… why are you still tiny?"

"I DON'T KNOW! Ever since I shrunk, all my dreams have been like this! I mean, the dreams were pretty fun, but I still don't get it!"

"Maybe that's because you actually enjoy being little?" Amadok wondered. "Otherwise, what's stopping you from resizing yourself? Your Imagination should be amplified in this world, it should work."

"Hehe, Oemor the Mighty Two-Inch Hero!" Asigan beamed at the idea. "Though he's so small, the army of tremendous spirits follow him loyally as he faces the powerful tyrant! Hehe, this wouldn't make a bad fairytale!"

"Hahahahahaha!" The thrill in Asigan's voice pumped Oemor with such adrenaline. "The Two-Inch Hero is afraid of nothing!!"

"Never mind then." Amadok smiled in disbelief.

"Heads up, gang!" Atuy announced. "The fleet's already here!"

Paradise Island was growing progressively over the horizon, but the fleet began to close in from all directions. Directly ahead of them was an extravagant white and red ship, a smooth velvet curtain covering the deck. "So, you used Ydnic to accomplish your ends." The curtain opened, unveiling Balan on the magician's stage. "I must admit, this was brilliant, my friends. Taking this route, you've avoided the majority of our fleet. But it's far too soon to admit defeat. If you plan to take Paradise Island, my company will waste you like fish on dry land!"

Twelve of the ships stood out from the fleet: they belonged to Balan's individual crewmen of the Balan Company. "Amadok, Oemor, you're the ones who need to make it to the island." Leic said. "Leave the fleet to us!" The angel took off and flew directly at the Unsung Magician. Balan leapt up and threw a powerful kick. Leic raised his sword in defense, but the kick blew him away. However, Balan saw his leg in the process of becoming butterflies. "Pacify, Flutterwing!" Leic summoned a swarm of butterflies from his Zanpakutō, swarming Balan.

But as Leic flew through the swarm to slice him, Balan replaced himself with a gold statue. The real Balan stamped down on the angel's back, slamming Leic to the deck of his ship, the Titan Tim. Leic stabbed the deck to morph a chunk of it into butterflies, but Balan opened his hat. A horde of small, round, fluffy animal creatures called Tims flew out and piled over the butterflies. The Tims tamed and rode the butterflies, turning them against Leic and trying to drag him into the Sand Sea. Leic shook free and flew higher, evading Balan's nimble airborne kicks. Leic slashed some of the Tims to transform, hiding himself among the butterflies. He shrunk and changed into one himself. Balan tried to search for him as the flies surrounded, but Leic suddenly grew bigger and stabbed him in the back. Balan elbowed Leic, part of his spine area becoming butterized.

The other DNK divided to fight the Balan Company on their ships. (They're all from Balan Wonderland and looking them up is optional.) Oyib fought the farmer, Jose Gallard, the airbending tiny using Jose's tornado trauma against him. Asigan battled Fiona Demetria on her swimming tank ship. Fiona rode her faithful dolphin and proved a good match for the dolphin-style waterbender. Uzuy fought Attilio Caccini, a pierrot who could inflate and explode his costume. It would take a while to respawn, but it was immune to Uzuy's Footbombs, so she had to throw them in-between. Uzu fought Haoyu Chang, a green-haired pilot flying with makeshift wings. Narod bonded with the green-haired Cass Milligan, sharing his sweet chocolates with her.

Ynohtna fought Yuri Brand, a purple-haired spectacled girl who loved bugs. Ynohtna was delighted by her giant bugs and wound up bonding with Yuri. Atnij challenged Cal Suresh to a game of chess, both charming gentlemen reading each other's moves. Nirak fought Sana Hudson, a dark-skinned nature lover and airbender. Dnis fought Eis Glover, a firefighter who was once afraid of fire and bravely stood against the tiny's firebending. Ubnok fought Lucy Wong, a chubby octopus artist who shot globs of paint. She and the tiny sculptor competed for the strongest artwork! Yevrah confronted Iben Bia, a pink-hooded girl who was once distraught from losing her family. She empathized with Yevrah for the loss of his sister, so she threw the fight for him. Finally, Ylla used her musicbending to fight the Invisible Custodian, Bruce Stone, but the elder turned down his hearing aid to be immune to it.

Amadok and Oemor's armies were able to fly right past the war and reach the shore of Paradise Island. An army of Yllibs, Ydnics, Shirokumas, and unicorns awaited them. "You guys are so cruel!" A giant bubble shaped like Shirokuma stomped over the crowd, Acanom on its head. "Lady Ydnam is going through such a hard time and you're ruining everything!"

They expected Acanom to be here. As a Bubble Dreamer, she only had power in this realm, and her real body was probably sleeping somewhere safe away from the fleet. "You're the one who ruined everything!" Atuy's motorcycle came speeding over a trail left by Amadok's spirits. "Because you teamed up with Ydnam and let her take over our town, tons of people died! Including your own parents!"

"We just wanted to make Awot City a better place! We wouldn't have had to if bullies like you didn't make everyone miserable!"

"I may be a jerk, but if I controlled an army like this, I'd never go this far! And what the hell are THOSE?!" He was repulsed by the horde of creepy Ydnic clones. "Did Ydnam seriously make those to replace her daughter?! She's freaking crazy! How could you follow her?!"

"Nnn…er…you're right! Lady Ydnam can be so irrational most of the time! You know, I have a friend who's been in a coma for a long time. She could only ever talk to me in the Dream World, but she's always so cheerful. I was thinking of recommending her for the crew, but…but even I was afraid of what could happen to her. Not just the army attacking, but for dealing with Ydnam."

"So, why don't you give it up and help us set everyone free?"

"I can't just betray Ydnam when she's in this state! Now more than ever, she needs friends to stick by her. So, I'll stop you no matter what it takes!"

Waking World (Play "02 Battle" from Smash Brawl!)

Ydnam called up a wall of sand from the chasm below and tried to bury her foes. Ibsej held the sand up while Ibyf bellowed a Fear Scream to weaken Ydnam's hold. Nosam soaked a bunch of the sand and stuck it together as Ibsej molded it into a fist. Ibyf pelted Ydnam with Fear Spheres, distracting her as Ibsej bashed her head with the mud fist. Ydnam thrusted a sand spear at Ibyf, then gripped the fist to dry and break the sand up. Nosam shot Tear Balls at the queen, but as she blocked them with her palms, the water dried. "My Sand Chi lets me dry whatever I touch! You didn't think waterbending was gonna be effective, did you? There's barely any water around here!"

Ydnam grabbed Nosam's legs in sand and yanked him over, squeezing his legs in her own hands to dry him from inside. Ibsej thrusted sand at her before she could get far, but Ydnam flailed Nosam around the air with sand tentacles and bashed Ibsej away. Ydnam threw Nosam off the edge, but Lorac stuck her cane out a cannon window and caught him by the hood. Nosam wanted to express his love, but restrained himself as he drank a water bottle to restore his legs. Up above, Ydnam stuffed her ears with sand to mute Ibyf's scream, bending sand hands out from the walls to grab both Nimbi. She tried to crush them, but Ibsej resisted the sand and tried to help Ibyf do the same. Nosam returned to the deck and dealt a Water Slice to the unsuspecting queen, breaking her concentration as the Nimbi escaped. Ydnam slid over and grabbed Nosam's neck, attempting to mummify him, but Ibyf pummeled her with Fear Spheres and forced Ydnam to see the vision of her mummified crewmen.

Still, Ydnam refused to release Nosam, and even when Ibyf bit her arm, she punched the Nimbi away with the other. Fortunately, Ibsej amassed the sand from the risen wall, shaped a spear, and thrusted it at Ydnam's arm. She released Nosam, and Ibsej followed by pummeling her with sand-punches. The nightmare vision wore off as Ydnam reclaimed the sand and whipped Ibsej away. She tried to smother Ibsej, but she recovered in time to hold it back. …But to the Nimbi's worry, the sand began to glitter gold. Ydnam smirked as the sun had just set. "Didn't you realize it was almost nighttime? You'll sleep like babies in my dream… sand?"

Unfortunately, clouds began to cover the region. The night was blotted from view as rain began to drizzle the fleets. "Impossible! It shouldn't rain here!"

Above the clouds, Arohpsohp sailed her own cloud ship alongside Akasim. Both had used their airbending to bring a sea of clouds over from afar, while also using a green dust called Dance Powder to densify the clouds and cause a great downpour. Ibyf, her eye blackened from Ydnam's punch, flew directly into the queen's eyes and used her injured eye to enhance her Scare Stare. The image of Mandy triggered in her mind, and Ibyf dodged her retaliatory punch. "Captain Ibsej!" A group of Nimbi ships sailed over when it was safe. "Have some rocks on the house!" They flung smallish boulders over as Ibsej combined them into huge stone arms. This made her unable to fly, but she thrusted them against Ydnam with strong force. Ydnam blocked and grabbed a fist, sandifying it, but Ibsej swung the rest of the arm and shoved her toward the railing. The other fist punched, only for Ydnam to withstand it.

But the rain rehydrated Nosam's body. Remembering his existence, Ydnam bent some damp to whack him, but Nosam bent the sand himself and threw it off the side. The queen called up another wall from the chasm, though it came up a bit slower with the dampness. Ibsej used her bending to hold it away from Nosam while Ibyf assaulted Ydnam with a Scare Scream. "You may be mad, Ydnam, but my love for Lorac is stronger! ("And madder." Ibyf said.) Now, face the full power of my feelings!"

Nosam's Weeping Heavens Fury activated: the rain poured heavier as it formed a thick, lush blue, drooping raincoat around him. Nosam directed most of the rain against Ydnam and washed the damp sand off the deck. Ibsej bombarded her with stone fists, and though Ydnam could withstand and hold them back, her dehydration ability was practically useless in all this rain. "AAAAAAGH!" The enraged Ydnam summoned all the glass she had in reserve on her ship, as well as the glass from the other ships' windows. She used some of it to briefly cut their allies, then brought a wave of glass toward the trio. "Here comes the glassbending…" Ibyf sighed.

Ibsej blocked the glass with her stone fist, but it merely scattered. The trio gathered together as Ibsej rapidly spun her rocks around them, fending off the grain-sized shards. Some of them got through and cut Nosam's knee, the boy dropping. "AAAH!" Ibyf screamed as half her right wing was sliced off. Ibsej angrily slammed her boulders against the queen, and Nosam bent water to slap the whirling glass away as Ibyf helped pull him away. Ydnam thrusted punches to break Ibsej's boulders into pieces, and though the Nimbi could bunch the pieces back together, she would need them to shield herself from a wave of shards. Nosam spiraled a barrier of frozen rain around himself and Ibyf, deflecting the shards.

"Ibyf, the rain is almost gone, and so's my Fury. I don't think she's anywhere close to spent."

"We've done all we can to wear her down. We have to try and hold her in place long enough. Here goes nothing!" Ibyf entered Dark Angel Fury, her wings brimming dark-red with Fear Chi, though the chi of her broken wing poured out in a more scattered fashion. She ran out to Ydnam, trusting Nosam to protect her from the shards using the frozen rain. Ibyf assaulted Ydnam with a mix of spheres and screams, causing the queen to flicker in and out of visions of her daughter running away.

"Ydnic! Ydnic, are you there?!" Ydnam glared up at the stern. "Yllib, you stupid piece of—I mean, sweet nosey—where's my precious trait—my daughter?!"

"ARK! ARK! ARK!" Yllib raised Ydnic by the arms—Ibsej flew up, snatched her, and escaped into the cabin.

"NO! Come back, Ydnic!" The shards aggressively and aimlessly swirled around the deck, cutting not just the operatives, but herself. Yllib stormed into the cabin and played tug-o-war for Ydnic, but Ibsej forced him out with a kick. "How dare you run away after all I did!" Her sleek blue gown was ragged with cuts, and strips of red sprinkled her pudgy skin. As Ydnam punched open the wall to her cabin, reality flickered on and off her vision, growing deaf and blind from Ibyf's nightmarish storm. "I wanted to raise you with happiness and love…" Ydnic stood in the center of the epileptic nightmare, flashing between a sympathetic frown and an inflated smile. "So, why… won't… you…"

Then, a puffy-haired girl in brown rags LEAPT from behind the daughter and jabbed her cane directly into Ydnam's heart.

The shards landed on the deck due to the deadlock. Nosam used water to wash them away, making it safe for him and Ibyf to pass out. (End song.)

Dream Realm

Lorac and Ydnam landed in the center of Paradise Island. The sky was depressingly darker compared to when Lorac was first here. "Wait…" Ydnam reached a horrific realization. "You're…you're using it on me… aren't you? You're using the Phantom Thief technique on me… and not the other Emperors?"

"Right now, your heart is the most vulnerable. I think it's open to a change."

"Why…why am I the bad guy?! Why am I the bad guy for erasing all the problems my parents whined about day after day after day? I just wanted to live a normal, happy life. My parents could've easily done the same… they could've just done their jobs, made money, loved each other, and ignored the world around them. But no, they chose to stuff me with their 'knowledge' because they wanted me to do this. They wanted me to become an Emperor of Happiness! Everything I've done was because of them! You think I'm afraid of the truth?! I'm trying to ignore all the misery in the universe?! You couldn't be more wrong."

A shadow eclipsed the area. Lorac looked up in panic, running backward as the Mandemon descended in a giant bubble. "I face my fears… AND DESTROY THEM." (Play "Shriek and Ori" from Will of the Wisps!)

Acanom had knocked Atuy down with a Bubble Torpedo, but was horrified to see the Sand Sea turn black. She turned, stunned as a titanic bubble in the shape of Ydnam towered above the town. It was Ydnam's Slumber Queen, but her golden scarf was black and the inside possessed a moldy, black and red goop. The queen glared down at the tiny thief, Lorac's eyes shriveled in terror. But as Ydnam threw her bubbly fist down, Oemor's Boomerman leapt to block it. Amadok waved her lantern and guided her spirits into soothing the titan's mind, but flying through her bubble would turn them dark and corrupted. Amadok quickly cried a song to ease their hearts, but Blacksand pillars erected from the ground and PUNCHED Amadok into the air!

The shrine maiden cried out, but found herself mysteriously flying. Feeling a small weight on her stomach, she craned down and saw, "Oemor?!" wearing muscular superhero tights.

"I can be anything I wanna be in Dream Land!"

"Ha ha! Even a little strong hero! …" They looked over and saw Lorac running through the city. "She must be looking for the treasure. Oemor, we just have to attack Ydnam, right?"

"Yeah. Buy her time to get it done!"

Lorac nimbly ducked, dodged, and jumped Blacksand piercing from every which way. Raising the hook of the cane to her eye, it formed a golden lens. Through the lens, everything around her looked the same, until she discovered a group of humanoids with golden auras: the Ydnic clones. "So, Ydnic is the treasure. Should've expected that." Lorac narrowed her eyes fiercely and raised her right hand in a gripping position. "Sorry about this, Ydnam!" She ran to the first clone and seemed to gouge her fingers right through its chest. She gripped and pulled, the clone disappearing as a child's tiara filled her hand.

"NOOOOO!" Ydnam sent bubbles across town to capture all the other clones, making them rise to the sky. Lorac gazed up in despair, only waning further as Ydnam's massive fist lunged at her.

"Can't you put up a better fight, Nosretsam?" A mass of black sand emerged from the cane, shaping a giant owl to block Ydnam's fist.

"CLOCKWERK?!"

"Don't thank me. It seems I'm forced to obey the will of the cane's holder. But I don't terribly mind. Because once this oaf falls, my captain will be one step closer to victory."

Ydnam willed Bubble Bombs to form around Lorac, but Clockwerk swiftly swept them away. The titan fired a storm of Sand Arrows, but Oemor imagined up a Super Vacuum to slurp it up. "Lorac, that Acanom girl Bubbled half of our army before we could get by her!" Amadok yelled, riding her horse spirit, Satori.

"Clockwerk, can you fly me up there?!"

Clockwerk tried to lift her in talons, but the sand spilled off. "Seems I can't~"

"I'll help you!" Oemor conjured a trail of Thought Clouds up to the sky. Lorac ran to the first, turning into a Bounce Cloud with cartoon eyes, so she bravely jumped on it. Ydnam rose fountains of Blacksand to dissolve the other Bounce Clouds, so Lorac jumped quickly. Ydnam punched, but Clockwerk blocked her fist while Oemor grabbed a giant sword to slice the arm. The goop inside the arm leaked out and morphed into small heads with munching mouths. Lorac was surprised as the next Thought Cloud stretched into a ribbon stairway, but it was convenient for running up from the munchers. Amadok had some spirits intercept them, then released firework spirits from her lantern to burst Ydnam's face.

The next Thought Cloud became a Magician Genie with a hula-hoop, and by flipping through his hoop, a trail of cards appeared for Lorac to surf across and fly off the ramp at the end. She flew to a cloud that became a chimp hanging from a branch. It grabbed and swung her around, but would only let go at her call and aim. She timed it to fly to the next cloud, which became another chimp as the process repeated. Ydnam conjured Bubble Spikes and axes to fly between chimps, so Lorac timed it for when the obstacles moved aside. The Slumber Queen rose to impede her herself, spitting a huge torpedo. Lorac flung off to go over the torpedo, spinning and catching the engine's rim in her hook. This halted her flight, but the torpedo flipped about-face. She could land and ride the torpedo directly to Ydnam's face, exploding as Lorac leapt to the next sequence of Thought Clouds.

Amadok tried to shroud the queen in a giant Cloud Spirit, restraining her as Oemor imagined himself as Dr. Jellyfish. He would fly around and zap Ydnam from several angles, but her Blacksand dissolved the cloud before long and punched them out of the sky. Lorac was jumping up a sequence of vanishing block platforms, but Ydnam sent unicorns to stop her: they were half-torn with spilling stuffing and looked like zombies, but even scarier was they were flying like Pegasi! They flew at Lorac swiftly, so she made Clockwerk swat them off just as quick before leaping platforms. Ydnam flew beside the thief and tried to CLAP her, but Clockwerk arched his wings over Lorac to block them. Amadok and Oemor came riding up on the former's Soul Train, ramming the giant away from Lorac. The train phased into the bubble after a moment, so the two jumped off. Amadok then kicked Oemor skyward, the boy imagining himself as a baseballer with a cap and jersey. He readied his bat, formed a small comet, and whacked it straight through the giant's core, striking Ydnam directly.

Lorac finally made it to the level of the Ydnics' bubbles. A thicket of Blacksand thorns grew around the bubbles, but Lorac could jump the tips with her Thief Style. Lorac's hands pierced the bubbles and the clones' hearts, ripping out the "treasures" inside. One became a unicorn figurine, another a teacup, and one a toy phone. Ydnam rose to block her, furiously bringing the Blacksand together to smother Lorac, but Clockwerk spun around to hold it off. Oemor made some Bounce Cloud platforms to keep Lorac aloft, all three bouncing together. Oemor made himself a knight with a sharp lance, thrusting against the bubble titan rapidly, and Lorac had Clockwerk gouge his talons into its head.

Below, chunks of Paradise Island were crumbling into Blacksand, leaving only the shore where Atuy and Acanom battled. Acanom whipped up bubbles to block Atuy's Shade Fist barrage, then sent a human-shaped bubble to fly and encase Atuy like a body cast. He was about to sleep, but Otokam popped the bubble with a torpedo. "I Bubbled the last of your troops." The hooded Dreamer said. "You're finished!"

Both Bubblers threw bowling balls at each other, but Atuy restrained Acanom with his shadow and caused her to take damage. She spat bubbles at Atuy's eyes, then swung a bubble lasso to grab Otokam's legs and swing him into the fellow punk. But to her terror, a hurricane of Blacksand began sweeping the sea, the three growing sprinkled by the dark grains. Bullets of sand shot up to the sky like rising rain. Lorac spun her cane in defense, Oemor's smallness helped him evade as he made platforms to take her to the clones, and Amadok summoned the Great Lantern Ghost to clash with the queen directly. Atuy rammed Acanom with his motorcycle and knocked her over, leaving Otokam to Bubble her. "Your queen's about to lose, brat." Atuy smirked.

The storm began to wash apart the Balan Fleet, but his crewmen had already been knocked awake. Balan, meanwhile, conjured a bunch of gold statues to hide among them, but his body parts were still kept among Leic's butterflies. Those flies sought out their body, giving away his position as Leic flew to attack. Balan intercepted him with a kick, but Leic ducked and thrusted up at the leg. Balan stamped the other shoe at Leic's face, forcing him back, but his sword had secreted a sticky butter linked to Balan's leg. The angel flipped and flung Balan against the rim of his stage.

The Creation's top-hat bounced right off, exposing his teal hair and chalk-white skin. "Ahh…I yield." Balan sighed.

"Haha, thank goodness!" Leic's soft white robe was dirtied and torn, and bruises covered the body's frail frame. "I didn't think I could take another kick."

"With Captain Ydnam in this state… I fear our crew has met its fate. Do me a favor… sweet child… and save her from herself, defiled."

"No worries! My friends can take care of that!"

The Great Lantern Ghost slammed its lantern against Ydnam's head, coating her in spiritual flames. The Slumber Queen grasped Lorac in her hand, but Clockwerk slashed and shattered the bubble. Oemor became a superhero and flew under Lorac, propping up her foot alone as he rose to the last Ydnic. But with a precise slice, Ydnam wiped Oemor out with Blacksand. Lorac had jumped right then and thrusted her hand into the Ydnic before taking the fall. The Ydnic became locket with a picture of her family. Lorac studied it for a moment before pocketing it.

Before hitting the shore where Atuy and Otokam were, Lorac puffed her pants for a parachute landing. "That should be the last Ydnic! Any moment now, Ydnam should-"

A tornado of sand completely engulfed them as the titan crashed down. She had carved the Lantern Ghost in half and left Amadok passed out behind her, the maiden returning to the Waking World. The sand closed in on the remaining three, Otokam ducking and quivering in fear. "Stop, Mom." (End song.)

Ydnic calmly walked through the sand. "Y…Ydnic? How did you…?"

"I asked Dad to headbutt me. After that, I rowed my boat. You know… row, row, row your boat, gently down the sand? That's what you used to sing me when there was a storm."

"Ydnic… I just wanted… to give you a blissful life… to keep you protected from the toxic universe…"

"Mom… I never wanted anything to do with the universe either. I wanted the same thing you did… to just stay in my room and ignore it all. But you were the same as your parents. You drowned yourself in darkness and went crazy. And you were dragging me into it. I…I can't take it, anymore. I'm… going…"

Ydnic took Lorac's hand. The thief nodded in understanding. And so, they bravely walked through the sand and vanished from the dream. "Y…Y…Ydnic…"

Lorac withdrew her cane from Ydnam and landed on the floor. Sick with an unusual heartache, she fell back into Nosam's open hands, which he kept uninjured for this very moment. The exhausted Ibyf and Ibsej cautiously observed the panting queen. Ydnam faced her daughter just as she awoke. "Ydnic… I'm sorry…"

Ydnam walked out onto the deck. The sky had cleared and Ydnam's aura had stabilized. "All remaining Smile Pirates… stop fighting."

"C-Captain!" Okotok gasped.

"What's she…" Orataj panted.

"It's over… the victor goes to the Daring Pirates. I'm sorry… for ever taking away your emotions. I wanted to bring you happiness and freedom… but I only brought misery and captivity. I'm a failure as a captain… and as a mother. I'm horrible!"

"CAPTAIN!" They saw another ship incoming, driven by Acanom. "That's not true! You've done great things and made lots of people happy! Er, genuinely happy!"

"It's true!" yelled a random grunt. "I'll admit you were kinda crazy… but I loved serving under you!"

"It's not too late to change! You're the only captain for us, Lady Ydnam!"

"Yes!" a woman followed. "Even if we lose the war, we'll never lose our loyalty!"

"Captaaaaiiiin!"

"Genuine happiness and friendship?" Ydnam looked up. "Sigh…it actually feels good. I don't deserve…"

"I'll say you don't." At that instant, a huge mech crashed on the deck, sweeping Ydnam off her feet.

"WHAT?!" Lorac screamed.

"COMMANDER PRIME?!" Acanom recognized the man in the cockpit. Horde Prime's flagship descended from the sky.

"Apologies, Ydnam, but I've returned from my interview with Captain Jarg. I'm a vice-admiral now! And you're about to become MY subordinate!"

Ibsej threw what remained of her rocks at his back, but Prime's ship released an Attraction Beam to uplift him and Ydnam back. "MOM!" Ydnic screamed. "Fight back!"

"I can't, sweetheart… I don't feel like it…"

"I'm not sure what you did," Prime said, "but so long as her body's still intact, her motivation means nothing to me! Thanks for the gift, kids! I'll return to repay you in full!"

There weren't enough ships left to bravely challenge the vessel, so Prime made a clean escape from the planet. "M…Mom…"

"Stealing our victory isn't fair, you jerks!" Nosam yelled. "…Lorac? Are you alright?" He felt his love twitching.

"Y-Ydnam's desires are inside me… I'm trying to restrain them. Uff…You did great, Nosam. Can you bend down for me?"

Nosam bent to her level. Lorac happily met his lips with hers. Nosam flushed and savored this moment as long as possible. "Not really the best time for this." Ibyf said. "Still… I'm too beat to do anything else. We'll leave it to the rest…"