Bdubs was standing over False when she woke up.

"Gah!" She jumped back, playfully glaring at Bdubs. "Didn't anyone tell you not to watch people sleep and wait for them to wake up?"

"Uhh, I can't say they have." Bdubs gestured for her to come outside. "Anyway, I have something I want to show you."

Judging from the excited gleam in his eyes, whatever he wanted to show her was good news. She carefully stepped over Ren, who was snoring loudly on his sleeping bag, and followed him.

Bdubs put his hands over False's eyes. "So I was up early today, and I decided to walk around and check out everyone's bases. I was climbing your mountain staircase when I saw it hovering over. I shouted and waved until they noticed me."

He removed his hands from her eyes. "Check it out. I mean, what are the chances, am I right?"

They were under a large shadow that covered her observatory base. Something very large was floating above them. Bdubs was bouncing up and down on his toes, obviously anticipating her reaction.

False slowly looked up, and her eyes brimmed with tears.

Airship Pi was docked to the mountain, and she could see her dad waving to her at the bow.

She looked at Bdubs with disbelief. "How...?"

"I don't know, really! Best I can say is 'what a coincidence, huh?'"

False threw her arms around Bdubs. "Thank you so much."

"Hey, it was no problem." He gave her a wide smile. "Are...are we forgiven for that first night?"

False chuckled to herself. It seemed like so long ago when she had fallen from the airship and landed in the river of the clearing. Bdubs had welcomed her and tried to make her feel better, but she had pushed him away. "Honestly, I should be apologizing to you. This means a lot to me."

"I can imagine. I'll leave you to it." He saluted her, then started walking back down the mountain.

False took a deep breath and waved back to her dad. He dropped a rope ladder down, and she ascended quickly.

Her dad gave her a warm smile. "Hi, Falsie. Been a long time, huh?"

False let out a happy sob and gave him a big hug. "I missed you so much...I'm sorry for scaring you..."

"No, no, it's okay." He ran his hands through her hair. "It's not your fault."

They held the hug for what seemed like the longest second. False broke away first and looked around Airship Pi, overcome with a wave of memories. Was it really 2 months ago that she had been dueling on the deck at midnight? What would have happened if she'd just gone to sleep like a good girl?

Something told her that none of this would have happened. Even though the first month had been hard for her, it had all worked out in the end.

"Well, well." A voice behind False made her jump. "Looks like little Falsie is back."

The group of boys who had pushed her off the ship was standing behind her. Each had a bigger scowl than the last. When her dad had called her Falsie, it sounding loving. These guys made repeated it in a falsetto voice, mocking her for being Daddy's Little Girl.

If this had happened 2 months ago, False would have cowered in the corner, hoping they didn't attack her. Now, after all of this had happened, these boys seemed even pettier than before. She let out a laugh. They stepped back, their tiny brains wondering what they had gone to make her giggle.

"I have something to tell you." She stepped up to them. Even though she was shorter, the pure confidence she carried made her seem so much more mature. "I'm not scared of you. You think you can intimidate me just by putting on a scary face?" She giggled again. "You can't be more wrong."

The leading boy started to look unsure. He spotted his comrades waiting for his cue, and his face hardened. "Brave words, coming from a girl like you. You can't do anything."

False grinned. "You think girls can't fight, huh? Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but you're about to have your butt handed to you by a girl."

"Bring it on, Falsie." he drew his sword.

"You asked for it." In a split second, she had drawn her sword from its sheath and knocked the boy's sword out of his hand, then lunged out at him, the tip of her sword barely touching his neck. She gave him a large grin and winked. "Round two?"

"Good job, sweetie!" her dad called.

He hesitated, then frowned. Even his tiny mind knew that he shouldn't provoke her even more. He stalked away, the rest of his group throwing her scared looks, with a hint of awe.

False turned away from them and gave her dad a hug again. "Dad. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I think...I think I'm going to stay here. I'll always find a home in Airship Pi, don't get me wrong. But I love this place; everyone here is so nice. I can't imagine leaving it."

Her dad bit his lip. "False, I understand your decision. But what about Airship Pi? And your mother back home? Are you going to leave them?"

"This is hard for me, too. But I'll write to you! I'll keep in touch, and I can always visit whenever I like. It's just that this place is somewhere where I can truly be me, without any judgment."

Something clicked in her dad's eyes. "I see." He picked her up playfully and spun her around. "You, young lady, are going to write to me and your mother three times a week, do you understand? Visit us twice a month, do you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you, loud and clear. Now, put me down!"

Her dad ruffled her hair. "Stay safe, sweetie. I'll miss you."

False tried to blink back the tears. "You, too." She gave him one last hug, then climbed down the rope ladder. As Airship Pi floated higher into the sky, she held her gaze on her dad for as long as she could, until the clouds blocked her view.

»»————-　★　————-««

From down at the clearing, Stress watched False reunite with her dad with a sad smile. As happy as she was for her friend, it reminded her bitterly of her own family and how she hadn't found them yet.

A sharp tap on her shoulder made her turn around. Wels stood there, holding an allium, presumably for Jevin. She didn't see the slime anywhere, though. Wels was holding a large pack, but she didn't know what that was for. A rolled-up map poked out from the top.

"I wanted to talk to you." Wels sat down, patting the ground next to him.

Stress joined him. How long had it been since they had hung out, just the two of them? It reminded her ridiculously of the book fort they built back at the ice castle. After building it, they had fallen asleep inside. When her parents came to check on them, they were...surprised, to say the least.

"I've been thinking." Wels fiddled with the petals of the allium, avoiding eye contact with Stress. "We haven't found the rest of the ice kingdom yet. You're probably just as worried about them as I am."

Stress nodded mutely, wondering where the conversation was going.

"I think...I think I'm going to leave. To look for them, I mean."

Stress was caught off guard. "W-what?"

"I mean, I—and probably you—need closure. I want to know if they're still alive. If they are, they're probably somewhere out in the world, wondering where we are. I'm going to leave to look for them."

Stress was at a loss for words. "Just like that? After all this...you're leaving?"

"It's not like I'm going to drop off the radar completely. And after I find them and make sure they're okay, I might come back. I don't know yet. But I am leaving. Today, actually."

Stress's eyes started to water. They had arrived in this world together. They were one of the first four. She was sure that they would stay together forever.

Wels saw her expression. "Hey. It's okay. I'll write to you. We can leave together if you want..."

Unknowingly, he had given her a bigger dilemma. She had to choose between leaving this place with her oldest friend, or stay and make new ones. Friends...or family.

And the worst part is, deep down, she knew the decision she would make.

"Wels...I'm sorry. I want to stay here, with the rest of them. This is like a second home to me. Just in case you don't find the ice kingdom...I don't want to lose them, too."

Wels looked disappointed, but not surprised. Stress had made some good friends here. She was afraid of losing both her family and friends. She wouldn't take the risk. "It's okay. I understand. But, hey, if they are alive...maybe you can reunite with them after all."

Stress broke down. She tackled Wels in a hug. "I'm going to miss you...take care of yourself, okay?"

Wels returned the hug, and they stayed like that for a long moment. As they pulled away, he tucked the allium he was holding into her hair. "Something to remember me by. Alliums are your favorite, right?"

Stress sniffled, then nodded. "Write to me every day, do you hear me? When you come back, we're making a book fort, for old times' sake."

Weld laughed under his breath. "I promise. I'll miss you, Stress. Feed Jevin some flowers for me."

He shouldered his pack and walked away, off to a new adventure.

»»————-　★　————-««

Grian didn't want to use the magic, but he owed it to Mumbo.

The mustached man had taken him by the shoulders a few days ago. "Hey. You said that magic of yours can bend reality, right?"

Grian had nodded. He hadn't appreciated the mention of Watcher magic, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Open a portal to that old world of yours. See if anyone else is alive. Don't do it for yourself—do it for them. For me. I can't stand seeing you so sad."

Grian had wanted to protest, but Mumbo had a point. If the Evolutionists were alive, well...there was a chance that he could see them again.

So here he was, at the base of his treehouse. He would have done it inside so no one could see, but he wasn't sure how the portal would form.

He barely needed to concentrate. Watcher magic relied heavily on negative emotions. If you were even slightly annoyed, the magic could activate. The growing dread and worry inside Grian lent itself to build the portal.

For a split second, the atmosphere grew cold and dark. A small tear appeared in front of Grian. It slowly expanded, making a rip between worlds large enough to walk through.

It looked just like Grian remembered--a seemingly empty void, where you couldn't see the other side. He felt a faint tugging sensation, like the portal was sucking him in.

Grian glanced around, making sure nobody was looking. Stress and Wels were deep in conversation, Doc and Cub were hunched over some sort of experiment, and everyone was minding their own business, which was a first. Only Mumbo was watching, who gave him a supportive nod.

Better go before his nerves got the better of him. With his luck, the portal would expand and swallow this whole world. He took a deep breath and stepped in.

It took a few moments to get oriented. The portal had left Grian dizzy and unfocused. Once his vision had cleared, he immediately wanted to step back through the portal and run away from it as fast as possible.

Evo looked just how he saw it in his dreams--covered by fires, buildings burnt to the ground. There were deep craters in the ground where something heavy struck it. With a sinking feeling, Grian realized the Watchers must have tormented this world even more after he left.

Everything smelled like smoke. There was no life in sight, not even monsters. Everything had a still sort of silence to it, like the world was holding its breath. At his feet was a charred sunflower. Its petals were covered in ash, getting rid of its normal vibrant yellow color. Picking it up, Grian realized just how slim the chances were of life still surviving.

Even though he had seen this place in his dreams, standing in front of the carnage and knowing he could have done something about it was almost too much. Every fiber in his body wanted him to go back through the portal and tell Mumbo nobody was there. The only thing that kept him from fleeing was the possibility of them being alive.

Grian steeled his nerves and called out.

"Hello?"

His voice echoed across the buildings. Grian waited, but no one answered. He called again, louder.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

The fires kept raging. Grian felt his hopes sinking rapidly. The sunflower he was holding dropped to the ground with a quiet thud. He tried again, one more time.

"Taurtis? Netty? Anyone?"

But no one answered.

(WC: 2232)