"Help me move the prisoners to the brig."

Mordred nodded as Yularen gave him the order.

"It would benefit you all to assist us," the ISB colonel informed the rebelling tributes. "On the word of the ISB, I declare you all liberated from Admiral Thrawn's clutches on the basis that you provide us with support on our objective."

"And that is?" Kenji narrowed his crimson eyes.

"You assist the Bureau by rounding up the men and women under the Admiral's employ in order for them to be arrested and processed as traitors to the Galactic Empire."

"On what grounds?" Eli Vanto glared.

"On the grounds that your superior went on a crusade to annex realms not for the Empire, but for his personal amusement," Wullf Yularen responded curtly.

"This is madness!" Captain Ayer exclaimed. "You are detaining us on baseless accusations. Wait until he informs the Emperor. Maybe you will be banished to a penal world like Kessel!"

"Enough!" Yularen raised his hand. "Take them all to the brig until I can decide what is to be done with them."

As several of the ISB agents, some dressed as Navy techs or stormtroopers,escorted the prisoners to the bring with assistance from some of the tributes. The rest manned the controls of the Imperial-1 Star Destroyer. Mordred, still reeling from the colonel's unexpected turn, approached him as he was barking out orders to his underlings.

"Block out the hangars with ray shields! We don't need any intruders barging in."

"You won't get away with this!" Lt. Commander Faro shouted as she was prodded ahead by the ISB detachment.

The shadow wizard decided to make Yularen aware of his presence. "Sir, want us to wait for the Rebel Alliance?"

Wullf Yularen turned around, a frown plastered upon his face. "Absolutely not! I am loyal to the Emperor and I intend to make sure his vision of peace in the galaxy will last. Hold it! What makes you say the rebels are on their way?"

Mordred cast his glance downward. "Well, Thomas had went to the communications room to establish contact for outside help and it turned out he managed to send a message to someone that claimed they were from the Alliance to Restore the Republic and were sending a squadron over to our precise location."

The ISB colonel looked alarmed."Did you manage to know his contact's title?"

"He referred to him as Fulcrum."

"I see." Yularen looked as pale as his uniform."Thank you for your information. The ISB will reward you greatly for your services." He turned to one of the black-clad agents. " Go and detain Thomas. He has violated the rule for radio silence. Put him in the brig alongside Thrawn's lackeys."

"Yes, sir!"

As the man left the bridge to carry out his orders, Mordred heard the sound of boots echoing down the hall. Craning his neck to the side, the dichromatic lad turned to see a tall woman with blonde hair dressed in the same uniform as Colonel Yularen approach with a group of stormtroopers at her command. What stood out to Mordred was that she had a cybernetic glowing red eye in place of her left eye.

"Colonel Yularen, I see that you were busy taking out a traitor." The woman smirked, giving her a sinister appearance. "However, why did you try to lock us out of the fun with those ray shields at the hangar bay?"

"Pardon me, Commander Beck." Colonel Yularen chuckled. " I wasn't aware that you would be arriving this prematurely." The colonel's cobalt eyes then turned to the stormtrooper commander standing beside the woman. "Torrent, nice to see you again.It is always nice to see one of the original Fett clones. I had the pleasure of serving alongside you during the Clone Wars."

---

I may not be the original Thomas Parrish, but I still maintain the same memories and appearance.His family is still my family. By the Grace of God, I will return to my home once more and never again will I partake in these treacherous games!

The dull blue light of the electronic logs giving his face a ghostly hue,Thomas finished sending his message to the rebels. Having taken part in not just one rebellion, he would not think twice about assisting another, however, there was always a price. Bloodshed was inevitable.

How many of my past compatriots have been killed in past years? Not just in the revolution back home, but in games like these? I don't want to endure an episode like last time again.

The memories of his tenure in Kenneth's Museum still chilled him to the bone. Seeing Paul the American soldier riddled with bullet holes as well as Chenggong the Chinese rebel having his stomach blown open was not something that would leave his dreams at night. He was aware that the cost of revolt was high and he had no choice but to accept unless they were to remain in Thrawn's servitude for the remainder of their lives.

"Hey bubs! Look at me, I can balance myself like an acrobat!"

Looking up from the table he was seated in, Thomas gasped as he spotted Paul suspended in midair, his hands gripping two benches.

"Boy, get yourself down from there immediately! You trying to get yourself killed?"

"No, the lad is trying to get himself injured so he doesn't have to appear in those compressing boxes tomorrow." Starkad the viking jarl chuckled as he drained his ale.

"Ah, he haz zhe right idea." Viktor Dragunov unscrewed the cap of his fifth-or was it sixth? (Thomas lost count)- vodka bottle.

Chenggong then pranced into the room. "Regardress, it is a impressive dispray of acrobatics."

"Guys, can you keep it down! I am trying to catch up on my beauty sleep! I have a big day tomorrow, for Aten's sake!" Akhenaton the ancient pharaoh grumbled.

Thomas reached up to his cheek and found it slightly wet. The memories had struck a chord with him.

"Sir, you are to report to the brig immediately as ordered by Colonel Wullf Yularen. Come with us quietly and you will be granted mercy for your crimes."

The colonial spy whirled around to face an Imperial garbed in black, flanked by two stormtroopers. Thomas sighed and was about to speak when the Imperial let out a gargled cry and collapsed to the floor. A shadowy star was visible on his back, presumably thrown from the entrance. The two stormtrooper escorts turned to face the attacker when they two assailants rushed the room, taking them off-guard.

"Hamon Overdrive!" Jonathan shouted as he struck one stormtrooper on the helmet and electrified him. Spyro set the other on fire with his flames.

Goodness! They would risk their lives for me?

Mordred the shadow boy stepped out of the hall and into room, his dichromatic eyes narrowed in determination. "Cypher, I am glad we were able to make it in time to bail you of trouble. I'll be frank, I was the reason they came for you. I thought Colonel Yularen was on our side, but he has his own agenda."

"Worry not, we shall turn the tables on him. I have scheme in mind, but I need a vital piece of information first."

"Is it the layout of the ship?"

All eyes turned to see Parzival waltz in, wielding a datapad. Thomas felt relief wash over him as he took the datapad into his arms and his eyes surveyed the detailed layouts of the Chimera. A wisp of a smile formed on the strategist's lips.

"Gentlemen, I believe if you follow my instructions, this ship will be in our hands once more. Now, I need you to inform the others of what I am about to divulge to you. Once I signal all of you, I expect you to each do your part to make sure it runs smoothly. If not,

let's just say we will be lucky if we get to spend our days in an Imperial penal world."

---

"Colonel!"

Wulff Yularen and Alecia Beck were conversing when the man in the pilot uniform (his name was Alex if he recalled correctly) ran onto the ship's bridge. Two guards turned and raised their weapons but lowered them once Yularen raised his hand.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

The youth took a breath before he started to explain the situation. "Thomas has some information that is vital for the cause. Thrawn had known of a secret rebel base on a world that is acting as a refuge for Jedi and other enemies of the Empire."

"Hmmm, that is indeed vital information."The Colonel stroked his chin. He then turned to Commander Beck. "Can you scan him to see if he isn't fibbing?"

"Of course." Beck smirked. "My eye isn't for show, you know."

After thirty seconds, the senior ISB officer turned to Yularen and assured him this was no fib.

"Very well, take us to him at once! I may have to get Lord Vader involved. After all, hunting Jedi is up his alley."

Nodding curtly, Alex the aviator lead the two ISB senior commanders down the brightly lit halls of the Star Destroyer toward the brig. Stopping in front of a teal door, Alex turned to face the two ISB commanders.

"He's inside, I take it?"

Seeing the pilot man nod, Yularen and Beck activated the door, which resulted in the metallic blue door shooting open. The moment the door revealed the empty cell, Yularen felt an invisible hand shove him inward. Tumbling inside with Commander Beck, the ISB leader glanced up to see a brief emerald flash as the doors shut, locking them inside. The colonel recalled seeing a insectoid creature with a human face smirking at him before they were now prisoners themselves.

"Karabast!" Alecia fumed. "They played us well! How did my eye not detect it?"

Perhaps they had planned this along with striking precision.

---

"Good one, Kakyoin!"

Seaplane patted the honor student on his back. He noticed the pink-haired guy cringed a bit as he was patted. Perhaps this dude was socially uncomfortable.

"Eh, that is the perk of having a Stand like Hierophant Green. No one can see it coming."

The sounds of footsteps echoed through the hallways as the tributes who had remained converged. Thomas cleared his throat as he stepped forward, Zymar and Officer Jacoby flanking him.

"Good work, gentlemen. With the top echelon of the Imperials out of the equation, we need to do a bit of cleanup on this ship and then we will be in full control. Are you ready to be reunited with your loved ones?"

Before anyone could open their mouths to respond to the insurrectionist, bright lights flashed outside the window of the Star Destroyer. Alex 'Seaplane' Vreeke glanced outward to see that an assortment of new ships had arrived and were attacking the 7th Fleet. Fighters that had wings shaped like Xs or Ys were zipping by the window, chasing down the eye-shaped TIEs. Explosions of bright flames blossomed here and there when a starcraft took a hit.

"It seems that your message had fallen through after all," Mordred said.

---

"He wants us to take the engine room as well."

Eddie Brock glanced over at the Redcoat as he and Sonic had arrived outside of the engine control room of the capital ship. Thomas had sent them to take the engine room while others sweeped the ship of Imperials.

"I can take them all out in one fell swoop, no biggie." Sonic shrugged.

Go on, let me take over. We both know I am more than a match for the human fascists. I am starving for flesh.

"I guess now would be a good time."

As the symbiote took over his body, Eddie started to see the world through Venom's eyes. Letting out a blood-curdling howl, the alien symbiote burst into the engine room, pouncing on the surprised Navy troops. In a matter of seconds, no Imperial troopers were left inside the room.

"Hey now, trying to beat me to the fun now, are you?"

Venom cast a sideways glance at Sonic and stuck his tongue out like a hungry dog.

"May I have your attention, please?"

Thomas's voice filtered through the intercom of the ship, causing the three rebellious volunteers to freeze up.

"I am pleased to announce that as a result of our coordinated efforts, this spacecraft is now in the control of the indentured servants. This wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the courage and collegiality you all displayed. Furthermore, we will be on our way back to our homes in no time, but there is a delicate matter we need to take care of first. Since the Rebel Alliance had interceded on our behalf, let us reward them by providing support fire from the guns. After all, they wouldn't suspect that the Chimera has fallen to our hands."

"Darn, do we have to waste time partaking in a war that is none of our beeswax?" Sonic sighed, his green eyes rolling up. "We are wasting precious time here."

"Ah, what's the rush?" Venom hissed, stretching his slimy black arms.

---

"Yessss? Did you find my preciousssss?"

Seiji the samurai sighed as he stood in front of the sickly green Oni. Inside the house covered with thick vegetation, sunlight filtered through the circular glass window as Seiji was escorted to the room, flanked by two orcs in steel helms.

"Actuarry, yes. I have indeed rocated your ring."

"Good!" Gollum smiled, his yellowish teeth complementing the dirty aura that radiated from him. It took the Shinsengumi samurai all his willpower not to shudder. "Show it to me!"

Seiji carefully reached to the side of his haori and dug for it when in a flash, he drew his katana and beheaded the dirty demon in one fell stroke. Sheathing his bloody weapon, the samurai warrior glanced down at Gollum's decapitated head,the look of horror eternally plastered onto his face, before turning to face Gollum's soldiers.

"No need to worry. You wirr not become ronin because of the Oni's death. You wirr serve as my samurai as I am your daimyo now. If I recarr correctry, this Oni forced you into servitude, but I don't require you to predge yourserves to me. What path wirr you take?"

The orcs then lowered their weapons and nodded gratefully to the Eastern warrior. Seiji felt a sliver of a smile play upon his lips. From a foot soldier to the Shinsengumi to a daimyo, he had experienced quite the growth. If only Hijikata and Kondo could see him now. Speaking of which, the time for vengeance for his brothers in arms was ripe.

"Rerease the prisoners. We need the numbers."

---

"Well, I didn't think I would say this, but this little uprising was done well. Perhaps I was wrong. I severely underestimated you. Let me offer my apologies. "

In the trashed hangar bay of the Chimera, Spyro glanced over at Ed as he tried to atone for his behavior earlier. Burning Imperial shuttles and fighters littered the floor as twisted metal among the bodies of the Imperials. Crash Bandicoot was doing his victory dance as the ray shields blocking the exits of the ship were deactivated. Before Spyro could reply, he heard a shout.

"Look out!"

Glancing toward a pile of twisted metal, an Imperial soldier garbed in gray pulled himself out of the wreckage and shakily aimed a blaster at them. The sound of a rifle cracked and the man went down in a bloody heap. Spyro turned to see Alex the helicopter pilot lowering his weapon.

"Thanks, bud. We owe you that much." The purple dragon then turned his purple eyes toward the one fighter craft that had survived the onslaught of the revolting tributes. It had the gray eyeball shape of most Imperial ships, but instead of two wings, it had six hanging over it like the talons of the Pterodactyls from Skelos Badlands. Curious, Spyro leapt into the cockpit through the roof of the fighter, gazing over the controls like a child does over candy.

"Spyro, what the stars are you doing? Get out of that TIE Defender this instant!"

Gazing through the round window at Ed, Spyro just tilted his head to the side. "Is that what this is? What does it defend, I wonder."

His paw pressed a button as the spacecraft vibrated. The lid closed upon his head as the engine whirred. Spyro's left paw pressed a lever and the TIE Defender shrieked forward and into space. The sight of Ed lunging out of the way was comical for the small dragon, but he was relieved that his friend was alright, despite their differences.

"Woah! This thing is fast! If only Hunter's spacecraft moved this smoothly. "

The round fighter jerked from side to side in smooth fluid motions that resulted in Spyro trying to prevent his food from coming out of his stomach. As soon as he regulated his control of the sleek ship, Spyro came upon a space battle . Two X-winged fighters shot past his portside, firing red lasers at two TIEs while he saw the opposite scenario a second later. The dragon narrowly avoided colliding into scrap metal as jerked from side to side.

This thing-a majig only has one window? Good grief, no wonder Imperial pilots suck.

Spyro then came upon a TIE fighter with inverted wings, possibly an Interceptor, chasing a Y-shaped ship. Almost instinctively, the dragon pressed a button which fired green lasers that turned the Interceptor to small bits of metal.

Bingo! Score one for me!

As he came upon a large looming shape of an ISD-1, he heard the drone of TIE engines as a Defender, flanked by several TIES, both regular and Interceptor, flew over to cross his path.

"TD-82, this is Captain Skerris of the 7th Fleet's Defender squad, state your credentials or you will be fired upon."

"Uh, you want my credentials? Of course, here they are!"

Spyro fired two Proton Torpedoes at Skerris's fleet, taking out a couple TIES before taking a steep dive downward to escape his pursuers. His radar beeped loudly as the Defender and its wingmen were on hot on their heels. Spyro dodged from right to left as well as up and down,remembering the skateboard matches against those darn Rhynocs. Green lasers streaked by his ship as he evaded Skerris and his men. One TIE Interceptor then came from in front of him, catching the dragon by surprise.

Uh oh, when did he get there?

Spyro desperately pressed down on the black button , releasing green lasers. The enemy TIE then burst into oblivion as Spyro flew through the remains, the debris rolling off his fighter.

Am I shielded or what? Those particles should have scratched my window!

Turning his ship around to face the rest of his Imperial pursuers, he took note that they outnumbered him 3 to 1 despite his spacecraft having the advantage of maneuverability over the enemy TIEs.

Ok, I will take those buggers out one by one or die trying, This is my moment!

Before Spyro could jam his paws on the complex buttons ( he had no idea what 99 percent of them functioned for), some of the TIEs exploded as the X-shaped fighters of the rebels zeroed in on the Imperials. As the Defender's escorts flew off to engage the meddling starships, Spyro was left facing his ultimate foe.

"So it is only us." A voice from the dragon's radio crackled. "You might have taken out Yves, but you are no match for me! "

"Hey now, it is only beginners luck," Spyro responded, but the enemy wasn't having it. His Defender lunged at Spyro, spouting green laser fire as Spyro erratically evaded the fire. Some struck home, but the ship absorbed them like a shield was cloaking it. It wasn't long until his radar squawked. Glancing down with his amethyst eyes, he spotted a blinking oblong blip making its way toward him from behind.

Blast it! The sucker sent a missile toward me! Handling cannons back at Icy Peak should have honed my skills in shooting them down.

Spyro took a breath before he tried to turn 360 degrees, but his Defender dipped steeply.The dragons from Artisans was able to view a shape streak by overhead. He knew that Skerris's missile had missed his mark, due to his poor handling of the spacecraft. Before he could let out a sigh of relief, his radar squawked as the enemy TIE shot another missile at him.

Yikes! How did frink did he get behind me so fast?

Spyro quickly pushed his Defender forward, desperately trying to avoid the deadly weapon of war, only to realize that it had a lock on him and would pursue him until it had reduced him to atoms.

Gotta go fast!

The adolescent reptilian creature saw the dagger shape of the Chimera ahead of him and gunned the engines to the max in order to reach the hangar bay. Surely, the attacking TIE wouldn't be as stupid as to trail him to an enemy ship, would it? He spared a brief glance at the radar noticed that the missile was closing in on him fast.

Ok, how am I supposed to dodge that?

Suddenly, a bright flash lit the space between him and his assailant. Turning his TIE around, Spyro saw a new ship, shaped differently than the ships engaged in space warfare around him, appear between him and his foe. His spirits lightened up as he realized that it was the Enterprise, one of Thrawn's collectible ships he had seen in Hangar 4.

"Spyro, you okay?" Ed's voice cut through the radio. "We barely made it in time to intercept that missile. You need to come dock in the Enterprise before you get yourself killed. That is not open to discussion."

"Eddie boy, am I glad to see you! I will return, but just give me a second."

Spyro felt his Defender shudder as the enemy TIE zipped past him to engage with the new ship. Not wanting to let his buddies take a beating for his sake, Spyro appeared behind the enemy, levelled himself behind the TIE before the systems indicated that he had a clear shot. Firing off a spout of green lasers, he turned the other Defender into dust.

Boo yah! What do you make of that? Even Hunter would be jealous!

As Spyro landed his spacecraft in an open hangar, Ed ,Parzival, and a few other tributes ran over to him. Dr. Cherborgg had an incredulous expression on his face.

"I still have trouble believing a reptilian quadrupedal beast can pilot one of the Empire's most deadly fighters."

"You better believe it!" Spyro grinned, his teeth gleaming in the bright light.

---

"Sir, this man is Torrent, the leader of the ISB's stormtrooper legion. Should he be taken to the brig? He could prove useful to us."

Thomas gazed at Dr. Cherborgg from where he was overseeing the Imperials techs that were steering the ship under his command as he aimed a blaster at their heads. Parzival had a weapon pointed to the back of the dark-haired stormtrooper, who had his hands raised.

"By all means." Thomas confirmed the cosmozoologist's request. "Also, don't refer to me as sir. Thomas would suffice."

"Very well, Thomas." Edmund Cherborrg motioned for Parzival to take the soldier to the cells.

"I will also ask an additional request."As he garnered Ed and the avatar's attention, he spoke once more. "Free the Rebel prisoners. They could prove their worth as well."

After the two tributes left, Thomas turned his attention to the battle. Imperial and Rebel ships were still duking it out while several of the capital ships on both sides were put out of commission. Thomas showed his gratitude for the Alliance's timely arrival by firing on the 7th Fleet whenever the chance presented itself. If they could get within range of Pellaeon's Harbinger, then maybe they could end this folly once and for all.

"Engines full steam toward the Harbinger! Rally-ho!"

Thomas stumbled a bit as he tried to stay on his feet as the spaceship shifted to approach the second most important ship in Thrawn's fleet. A few seconds after they advanced toward the Harbinger, the lights dimmed as the screens on the ship crackled to life. Taken back by this newfound interference, Thomas turned to see Thrawn's face stare back at him on one of the screens.

"Greetings, volunteers of the 7th Fleet. If my premonitions are to be trusted, then I assume that you have staged a minor insurrection to take over my ship with some assistance from Colonel Yularen and his ISB agents. I admire your bravery and efforts into staging something as brazen as this, but you will learn that what you attempted was foolish and you will soon regret ever having an inkling of rebellion in your hearts. In order to assure that neither of you will attempt a feat like this again, I have taken a few penalizing measures."

The screen switched to show several men dressed in all black lead onto the top of an icy wall by stormtroopers and lined up in a row. After a dark green trenchcoat-wearing officer shouted an order, the troops fired on the men in black, resulting in their execution. The next clip showed a snowy town getting pounded by Imperial bombers. Once that brief clip was over, it moved onto a grassy land that teemed with magic and life getting struck by orbital bombardment for the Empire's ships as dragons and other non-humans scurried for cover. Thomas clenched his fist tightly.

As if the Imperials don't hate anyone that isn't human enough, they decide to demonstrate it by bombing helpless creatures? I am sickened to the core by this! These precise actions are why I am rising up against Thrawn.

The next clip chilled Thomas to the bone. A building he recognized as the Green Dragon was in flames, several dead bodies scattered around it like broken toys. Thomas peered closer and recognized a couple of the bodies.

Hutch! Hancock! Dr. Warren! How dare he murder my friends in cold blood!

As if displaying the deaths of Thomas's friends weren't enough, Thrawn had decided that one more scene was necessary to break the colonist's resolve. Thomas gritted his teeth and crouched on his knees as he watched his closest friend Sam Adams struggle to get away from black-armored stormtroopers as he was beaten. Finally, the rebel got a dose of mercy as an Imperial officer came up to him and ended his misery with a blaster bolt to the head.After a few more scenes of Imperial brutality to the loved ones of the tributes, Thrawn's leering face appeared back on screen.

"I expect you all to come to your senses and cease this little mutiny. I am specifically talking to you, Thomas Parrish. A word of advice between two strategists. Don't rely on the Rebel Alliance to bail you out. I have alerted the Emperor and Vader about the nuisance and they have sent reinforcements to take care of the rebel scum. Now, use your senses and surrender to them once they arrive. I promise clemency to anyone that complies."

As the transmission ended, Thomas gripped his hair, swearing. How had he underestimated Thrawn? The man was a master tactician, even more capable of drawing conclusions than Thomas himself. The offer of surrender was tempting, but judging by how far they had gone, giving up hope wasn't an option. As the ex-British officer regained his composure, he turned to the Imperial operators of the Chimera.

"Pull back at once! You there! Send a warning to the rebels that they have enemy reinforcements on the way to deal with."

---

"Unbelievable!" Spyro seethed as he recalled the dead dragons and fairies on Artisans. "The blue freak has the gall to bombard a land full of innocent creatures to kingdom come? Even after all we have accomplished for him?"

"I warned you this would happen!" Ed scolded his friend. "That is why I was originally against this whole uprising thing. We could have assassinated the admiral in his sleep, but you all had to make a show of this rebellion. Look where it got you."

"I can't believe it!" Jon Snow entered the room, looking like he seen a rancor. "The man has no honor. I have done his bidding to the exact word and he thanks me by slaughtering my comrades like cattle! On top of that, he destroys Winterfell!"

"That is somethin' ye brooght down on yerself!" Jamie stormed over to the man in black. "Cuz of ye, my godfather is dead!"

"Which is why I was opposed to this unnecessary bloodshed!" Jon shot back.

"Ye are one bloody coward!" The redhead drew his sabre. As a result, Jon drew his sword and eyes the other man warily. Before Ed could blink, the two were at each other's throats, slashing and striking with such a ferocity that the cosmozoologist didn't doubt they fought to kill.

"That's enough!" Ed shouted. "You are endangering Thomas's plans! The enemy wants us to succumb to infighting like this. You already crossed the line with the takeover of Thrawn's personal flagship so why would you let the death of your loved ones be in vain?"

His plea fell on deaf ears as the men fought on. A crowd of tributes soon formed to see how this debacle would end. Edmund knew it was pointless and suicide to attempt to break up the duel. Before long, both men were on the ground, bleeding profusely. Running over to check out the bloody scene, the cosmic ecologist shuddered as he noticed the end of Jon's sword sticking out of the redhead's chest. His grey eyes turned on Jon to see that he had a gaping smile etched on his throat, dripping with blood. Both men were steadily bleeding, but even Ed knew that they wouldn't last five minutes before they would expire.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?"

The tributes turned to see Thomas crossing his arms, standing at the end of the hallway. That was when a large shadow fell over the tributes from the opposite end of the hall. Ed looked over to see Zymar the Sith Lord tower over the group. The Dark Side user extended his hand and summoned the souls of the dying men to his hand absorbing them. Licking his lips, the Arrancar turned and smirked to the horrified group.

"What?I didn't want two very fine souls going to waste."

---

"Hah!"

Clambering up the mountain, Seiji struck an unsuspecting scout trooper on the opening of his helmet with his katana. Beside him, several orcs, wargs,samurai, and assortments of magi and other types of people rallied behind him, taking out the local Imperial garrison. In front of him, a wolf pounced on a scout trooper and started tearing him to bits while turret fire as well as red blaster fire cut through the dense air. The overcast sky was a gift for the attackers as they stayed below view and out of sight of the Imperials, using the thick vegetation for cover. The orcs, who knew the mountains well, unveiled a secret passage that let them mount an ambush on the enemy.

"We are almost at the top!"

Seiji looked up to see the tip of the mountain ornamented with Imperial turrets as the stormtroopers shot down at them. A mage nearby muttered a phrase, resulting in a large shield protecting them from the lasers. Other magi used fire, lightning, and water attacks to strike the enemy. In no time, they had stormed the secret base and overpowered most of the occupants while losing quite a number of their own.

"Seiji-san, on your left!"

The samurai raised his weapon and spotted the wounded technician grasp a blaster and aim it at him. In one swift movement, Seiji then severed the young man's arm, saving his own life in the process. Outside, several scouts riding speeder bikes converged on the base to launch a counterattack, but an invisible force, possibly a work of magic, caused one to crash into the other, resulting in flaming wreck. A domino effect took place as the remaining bike troopers slammed into trees or the side of the building.

"Oi! Here is the commander of the base."

The Shinsengumi samurai turned to see a samurai bearing the uniform of the Shinsengumi as well as a man dressed as an English gentleman holding a mustached man dressed in the dark green garb of an Imperial officer. The man gazed up at Seiji as he was thrown in front of the new daimyo.

"Identify yourserf."

"Sergeant Jeordie Beyers," the Imperial replied. "I am part of the ISB in charge of this piece of territory. I report to Colonel Wullf Yularen."

"Nani?" Seiji raised a brow. "I must admit, you are an honorable warrior. You have the spirit of a samurai, but now that you rost, there is a way to regain our honor. "

Seiji handed the man his katana. The Imperial officer gazed up at him with an incredulous expression. "Why are you giving me your weapon?"

"You know what seppuku is?" Seiji inquired. "You are to cut out your stomach without retting out as much as a yerp. I wirr be your second."

Seiji went to take a sword from a samurai dressed in the Western style dress of the Choshu.Now that they were in the same predicament, their differences were set aside.

"Seiji-san, you have proven your prowess in warfare once more. If there is any daimyo I'd serve under, it is you."

The Shinsengumi warrior flushed red at that comment. "Arigatou.I am honored to have you laying your life for me.You shall be rewarded handsomely."

Soon, Seiji had beheaded the ISB sergeant before he could scream out in pain.

---

"Where are we heading exactly?"

Thomas turned to see Mordred, his dark hair hanging unkempt over his left eye, gazing at him quizzically. Part of the group that stayed behind in the Chimera instead of joining Parzival in the USS Enterprise in his quest to rescue the love of his life, Mordred only harbored thoughts of returning home to his brother. Thomas couldn't blame the lad as he had been through a lot and now weary of partaking in any new campaign for the sake of others wasn't on the top of his list.

"To be honest, I am not entirely certain myself, but we need to find a place to rest and refuel until we can set off for your realms. You didn't think the resources onboard Thrawn's blasted ship were infinite now, did you?"

Mordred shook his head. "I suppose not."

"Also, we shouldn't forget about your fellow tributes. They need a place to return to once they complete their mission."

"I suppose you have a point."

Thomas turned to see Jonathan Joestar stride into the captain's quarters, lit only by dim blue overhead lights. The ex-British officer could only guess what the others felt about his leadership skills in this uprising. He had the most experience throughout the rest of the tributes when it came to surviving games like these for the sadistic pleasures of different despots, not to mention leading the insurrections against his oppressors. For his fellow prisoners that didn't join the white-haired avatar in his personal quest, he had them in charge of various tasks onboard. Mordred and Jonathan were overseeing the work of both the other tributes and the Imperials that were hostages aboard the Chimera while Jacoby and Kenji guarded the cells. Zymar was in charge of being vigilant of any possible threats and alerting the group should danger encroach upon them while Thomas's uncle Bart took care of what provisions they had left. As for Crash, no one knew where he was or what he was up to.

"Should we send a message to the other villains that Thrawn is competing against to turn them against him?"

Thomas blinked and shook his head. "No, we don't need them involved. That is something that I want to avoid at all costs if possible."

"Very well." Mordred shuffled on his feet. "Mind you, what realm are we going to stop by first?"

Before Thomas could reply, the Star Destroyer shuddered violently. Thrown off of his feet, the former colonist grabbed onto a steel beam to support himself as the Chimera lurched like a boat during a storm.

"Yikes! What is going on?" Jojo gasped as he nearly collided with Mordred.

"I think the darn ship is coming apart,' Mordred whispered.

Thomas glanced out the window and indeed saw that the wizard's supposition was correct . He noticed parts of the ship loosen up or even break off from it entirely. He noticed several stormtroopers and other Imperial prisoners getting jettisoned into space and knew that the issue was affecting the brig as well. It wouldn't be long until the ship fell apart. It was time to find a planet to land on!

"Quick, let's set course for the nearest planet! Avoid hyperspace if necessary. I don't want to risk putting extra stress on the spacecraft."

"That's a good plan." Jonathan glanced nervously around the corridor as the sirens started to signal the ship's disintegration. "I bet the beating we took from the 7th Fleet is what did this large hunk of metal in."

"There is no time to worry! You should hunker down and brace yourself for the worst."

Without waiting for a reply, Thomas hurried along the halls of the doomed ships, lit bright red, and made it to the control room to inform the techs of his decision to land somewhere safe. A few minutes later, a bright yellow planet, accented with a tinge of red, appeared ahead of them. It was there that Thomas knew they had to land before the Chimera disintegrated in space. The landing wouldn't be smooth, but it would sure save more lives than a ship breaking down in the empty vacuum of space.

Here we go!

Before long, the doomed Star Destroyer had entered the unknown planet's atmosphere. As it vibrated more intensely, the leader of the tributes gripped the nearest metal sidebar tightly, his knuckles white from the stress, as he feared that the ship would burn out and result in an explosion, but thankfully they were able to enter the new world without any incident. However, the Imperial capital ship hurtled to the ground faster as it was caught in the gravitational hold of the planet. Thomas could only pray and watch as the sandy surface started to loom closer. He closed his eyes as he braced himself for the inevitable impact.

----

"Parzival, we are coming in hot over the Shannara realm. We should be approaching Paranor in about a few minutes."

Onboard the USS Enterprise,which he found nestled within the Chimera's hangars, Parzival glanced at the pink-haired man with the shades and nodded. He was anxious to rescue Artemis after waiting for the right moment. He had taken an enormous risk to part with Thomas and the rest of the Chimera's new crew, but thankfully, the rebel leader understood. Parzival was willing to take full responsibility should the risks he that he knew would entail should occur and he had promised Thomas that he wouldn't abandon the rest of the squad and should his mission succeed, he knew it was his duty to not leave the others hanging.

"Hey, I volunteer to fly the Huey if it is fine with you."

The avatar turned to see Alex 'Seaplane' Vreeke stand beside him. He knew that the man was stuck between the grief of losing his pregnant wife and his determination to escape their forced servitude. Parzival was relieved that he was among the first to volunteer to accompany him on the rescue mission as he was ready to kick some butt, but his fragile mentality could interfere with his judgement.

"That's perfectly fine with me, bud." Parzival reached out to grab his arm. "Hey, I know what you saw has you unhinged, but you need to hang in there. I promise that once we escape, the High Five will liberate your kids from the Imps and make sure they are cared for thereafter. Just remember that your kids need to you so don't lose your head. Got it?"

Alex smiled and nodded. "You got it, soldier!"

As the pilot went over to the bay where the Huey was stored, Parzival glanced out the window to see that the starship had penetrated the realm's atmosphere and a pinkish purple-tinged sky hung over the forest land that was dotted with various rocky outcrops. According to their sources, Artemis's wedding was going to take place near a citadel among one of the outcrops. Wade intended to crash the wedding before any could utter the words 'I do.'

"We are almost upon our LZ. Should we prepare for the assault? You know the Empire has a force garrisoned here because of the wedding."

As Ed spoke, Parzival's mind was moving as fast as KITT from Knight Rider as he planned the search and rescue strike. He pulled up his inventory and selected a vehicle to use to ferry them to the location. Taking a deep breath to regulate his excitement and anxiety, he turned to address the six other individuals that chose to follow him rather than fly to their own realms with Thomas.

"Alrighty, boys! Now is the time to take action. First and foremost, I am forever grateful to you all for standing by my side rather than heading straight home. I will reward you all for that later. As for the mission, here is the plan. "

Under the brightly lit bridge of the Federation ship, Parzival sent the information that he conjured to the datapads that the men had brought with them from Thrawn's flagship. Edmund strode over to him, frowning slightly.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to remain with the ship during the duration of this whole scheme?"

The pale avatar nodded."I mean, we need a means of escape, especially if this all goes south. It is not that I don't want you in on this. Rather, you have the most significant role out of everyone in this group. "

"Oh,I see." Dr. Cherborgg nodded. "I will do my best for the team."

"I like that. One thing to note is that you should keep the ship out of the battle unless you have no other alternative. You don't want to risk our only means of escape."

"Noted." Ed gave him a thumbs up.

Parzival couldn't help but smile. He had a good feeling about this. "Alright everyone! Who's ready to blow some stormy hide?"

---

I swear on Axl Rose's grave that I'll burn each and every one of you Imps!

The image of his wife, thick with their new child, getting tortured and murdered by the ISB thugs was ingrained in Alex's mind as he gunned the Huey forward in order to pave the way for the Delorean and its passengers so it could encounter the least amount of resistance possible. After fifteen minutes of flying above the forest cover, he spotted the tell-tale signs, of an Imperial occupation on the outcrops.

Mothafukkas, I am going to blast you to kingdom come!

Activating the Gatling guns at the side of the Huey, he waited until he was within sight of the Imperial outposts before he unloaded on the enemy. He felt a surge of adrenaline and some perverted satisfaction as he watched the Imperials on the ground disintegrate as the machine gun fire cut through their bodies. The stormtroopers had the luxury of better protection from their armor, but once their helmets were blown off, they were left vulnerable. Alex swooped the helicopter toward the center of the local base as he fired rockets at the walkers and other hardware, hoping to put them out of commision. Doing his darndest to avoid green anti-aircraft streaking toward him, he focused on the Imperial turrets, making sure they would not be a threat for the strike force.

There! You will not be denied your prize, Parzival. Make sure you give those fascist bastards a good thrashing for me!

As he turned to come in for a second strafing run, he heard the unmistakable whine of TIE fighters. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he noticed various dots on the horizon start to grow larger.

So they called in reinforcements, huh? Spyro, the ball is in your court now. Use that Defender to turn the eyeballs into fireballs.

Suddenly, he felt his aircraft jolt as if it collided with an invisible wall. His alarms blared as he tried to locate the source of the disturbance. He felt the helicopter spiral out of control and start its descend to the ground as his eyes laid on the fire engulfing the Huey's left half. It must have taken a hit from one of the anti-aircraft batteries. Before he could react to this revelation, the screaming sound of the TIEs filled the air. Glancing up one last time, he steeled himself as the grey fighter approached him like a hawk diving toward a wounded dove and squeezed off the killing shot. Alex steeled his nerves and braced himself for the inevitable blow.

I'm sorry, Parzival, but now I will reunite with Cindy.

---

"Well, what do you know? The pilot guy really rained down hell on the bucket men."

Peeking out of the window of the silver Delorean, Parzival noticed the Imperial outposts and defensive positions were burned out or still burning with the corpses of the stormies littering the area like broken toys. The bright headlights of the vehicle illuminated the dark forest as he put the pedal to the medal in the hope of disrupting Artemis's mournful marriage to another man.

Well done, Alex! I couldn't have asked for anything better. You better not have gone and got yourself killed now.

"Up ahead!"

Startled by Kakyoin's outburst, Parzival noticed a stormtrooper, not quite dead yet, rise in the middle of the path of the oncoming car. Determined to remedy that, he pushed down on the accelerator and slammed into the enemy soldier. The Wilhelm scream signalled his end.

"You better hope he didn't dent your car," the Venom guy joked.

"That's the least of our concerns, " Parzival muttered. They were now winding up a mountain road that looked like it wasn't built for cars.

"Man, you are driving too darn slow!" Sonic whined. "I can go much faster!"

"Well, you are more than welcome to bail out and run yourself." Parzival glared at the blue hedgehog from the rear view window. Beside him sat Kakyoin in the shotgun position while Sonic and Venom sat behind them. Alex, Spyro, and Ed were elsewhere at the moment.

"Sure thing!" Sonic opened the door and zoomed out. "It's juice and jam time!"

They drove in silence until they came upon a ruined Imperial garrison, its interior smoking. Parzival then slammed in front of a downed Defender as untamed flames raged on in the vicinity.

"Dude, what was that for?" Noriaki Kakyoin groaned. "You nearly gave us a whiplash."

Ignoring his fellow tribute's inquiry, Parzival bailed out and ran over to the downed TIE and peered inside.

"Hey buddy, I'm over here."

Parzival whirled around to see Spyro, looking bruised and beaten as well as having soot covering half his body, standing there, looking weary.

"At least I know that you are okay. Where is Alex?"

Spyro remained silent, gulping.

"Did you not hear me? I asked where is Alex!"

The dragon pointed his snout at a piece of the tail from the Huey lying among the flaming wreckage. Clenching his fist, the silver-haired avatar turned and pounded Spyro's downed fighter repeatedly.

"No! No! No! Damn you! You promised me that you'd come out of this alive! Did you not think about your children, you selfish idiot?"

The door to the back of the Delorean opened up and Venom ran over.

"Yo! Are you enjoying your fit or you want to rescue your girl?"

---

"It's time to say the vows now."

Letting out a deep sigh, Sammy glanced up at Pen as the druid instructed them on how to say their vows. Dressed in a bright wedding gown the same color as fire, Sammy glanced at the guests in attendance right outside the citadel. They were mostly consisted of the Ohmsford family, elves, dwarved, and other folk that had nothing better to do than to crash a wedding. Of course, Imperial stormtroopers patrolled the area under the pretense of providing security while some trolls came as private security units for some of the guests that had status among the locals.

"Now it's the brides turn."

Jolted from her thoughts, Artemis glanced up at the druid as he addressed her. Dressed in black garb, the balding man's dark eyes betrayed no emotion. He kind of reminded her of Thrawn's superior, the Emperor. Feeling the dryness of her throat, she knew she had no choice but to state her vows. No one would come to rescue her from her undesirable fate. The former Gunter swallowed and started to speak.

"I will-"

No sooner had the words left her mouth had the sound of screeching of tires drowned her out. Gazing over at the entrance to the festive ground outside the citadel, she noticed a sleek shape the same color as a bullet speed inside the area, barreling into stormtroopers and several guests alike. As the car came to a halt right before the podium, she saw that its windows were cracked and broken in some places. As the screams of the attendants subsided, several stormtroopers and a few trolls hurried over to investigate the intruding vehicle, Sam turned to gauge Pen's reaction. The young man and the druid looked baffled as to what was going on, causing Sam to giggle a bit.

I guess Wade never forgot about me despite everything that happened.

The stormtroopers trained their weapons on the Delorean . "Step out of the vehicle with your hands-"

A bright green flash lit the vicinity,sending a couple of the troopers flying backward. A backdoor on the car opened up and a large alien symbiote with a massive maw descended upon a couple of the troopers. Sam failed to suppress a cringe as Venom chomped down on a trooper, the armor making a crunching sound as the alien feasted. Parzival himself stepped out of the driver's seat as if he had entered a party late and downed a few trolls with headshots from his EM-1 railgun.

"Who are these people?" Pen's face had a despairing expression plastered on it. "They better have a good explanation for rudely entering our wedding ceremony. Their ground ship struck Tagwen, Mom, and dad!"

The druid started to chant when a blue flash zipped over and struck him, sending him falling over the podium.

"Take that! Spindash at your service!"

Sam's eyes brightened. "Sonic, is that you?"

Pen looked like he was going to draw a weapon when a gunshot rang out. The young man's eyes grew wide as he staggered backward as he clutched his beeding chest before falling off the podium. Parzival the avatar stood there,his railgun smoking. Overcome with emotion, Sammy ran over to him and draped her arms around him.

"I know you can't feel it, but this is to show my gratitude for taking the time to spare me a life of living in this backward fantasy world."

As she pecked the avatar's cheek, Parzival smiled brightly.

"We made it on time! This must be the first wedding I ever crashed-literally!"

"Oh, you make your corny jokes at a time like this? You haven't changed one bit."

"I wouldn't be able to perform this feat without half of the Blue Man Group as Spyro refers to us. "

Parzival and Sam stared down the rows to see a dwarf flee as Spyro blew flames at him, scorching the poor guy's rear.

"I guess he wanted to join in on the fun,too." Parzival laughed.

"Is Alex with you?" Sam asked, her blue eye shining.

Parzival shook his head, looking away from her. "Unfortunately, he gave his life so we can be reunited. The guy has three young kids he left behind."

"Holy crud!" Sam felt her chest become constricted. "We need to step in and help."

Before her boyfriend could reply, the screaming sounds of TIE fighters tore through the twilight sky. Gazing upward, the couple could only watch as a squadron of the Imperial warships swooped down toward them like angry dragons.

Shew! Shew!

As the TIEs evanescenced, the sleek form of the USS Enterprise materialized from the wispy clouds above. Sam turned and smirked at Parzival.

"Don't tell me we left the Star Wars universe only to arrive in the Star Trek universe."

---

"Ugh! Where did you take us, Thomas?"

Yanking his leg that was wedged between metallic parts of what used to be an Imperial Star Destroyer, Kenji limped out the wreckage and glanced around his new environment. The Soul Reaper noticed that they had appeared on a desert world that resembled Hueco Mundo with the only difference being that the sun was shining brightly at its zenith. Shuffling along the scorching sand, the Shinigami frowned as he scanned the vicinity, trying to get a sense of the situation. He stepped over the bloody corpse of the rat-like creature they called Crash, a large steel beam sticking out of his chest. Kenji cringed as his eyes fell upon the creature's face, his expression contorted in a look of pure agony.

Gosh, that looks so painful. I hope his suffering ends in Soul Society.

Stepping over the corpses of Imperial soldiers and techs, among them Yularen, Beck, and Torrent, Kenji came upon the rest of the squad. Jojo, Mordred, Officer Jacoby, and Mordred stood over Thomas as the rebel leader knelt over his uncle, who had his lower body demolished by a control board, which was now encrusted by sand. The warm desert wind swept over the hair of Mordred as he turned to inform Kenji of the situation.

"Is there any hope for him?"

Mordred shook his head. "Not really. Even if there was, no way he could function without his lower body."

"Point taken." Kenji nodded. His lilac eyes then trained on Thomas, he muttered what sounded like a prayer. His uncle breathed one last time before his eyes became glossy. "Under better circumstances, I would have guided his soul to Soul Society, but that needs to wait until I get back to the Seireitei. "

Thomas looked up at Lieutenant Takeda and smiled gratefully. "I understand and am grateful for you. We need to find the nearest station and see if we can send a message to our compatriots in Paranor. Let us hope that they have successfully completed their mission or we don't run into an Imperial patrol."

"Sounds good to me,"Jojo concurred, fixing his gloves

"Zymar, what the hell are you doing?"

Hearing Jacoby's exclamation, Kenji Takeda turned to see the Arrancar lumber over to them. Towering over the group, Zymar, bleeding and broken all over himself, gradually raised his left arm and extended toward Bart. With a jolt of horror, the Reaper realized that the Fallen Espada intended to devour the soul of Thomas's uncle.

"Strike, Saikuron!"

Activating his Zanpakto, Kenji sent Zymar flying back into the sand and crashing into what was left of the ion engines. Enraged, the monstrous being rose and faced off against his rival.

"Filthy Shinigami! You dare get between me and my meal?"

"I will kill you before you take another soul!" Kenji sent a second attack at Zymar, who responded with a cero. Kenji charged and leaped at Zymar, raising his weapon. The Arrancar parried with his own sword and the two traded blows.

"Don't make me draw my Bankai!" Kenki hissed.

"Guys!" Thomas shouted as he and the other tributes hurried over. "Halt this incessant nonsense immediately!"

Kenji was thrown back by a Force push as Zymar levitated over him. His finger crackling, the Sith tried to fire off a burst of Force lightning until Jojo's shout distracted him.

"Halt right this minute! You can continue once we find out if the beings heading our way are not connected to Thrawn or the Empire."

Gazing in the distance, Lt. Takeda noticed a column of bipedal shapes snaking their way over the sand dunes toward them. Perhaps they wanted to investigate the gargantuan spaceship's crash. No matter who they were or who they were aligned to, Kenji didn't mind surrendering himself to them as long as they knew a way to return him to the Seireitei.

---

"Let me get this straight. You say you were fleeing slavery from this Galactic Empire yet you enter our world in one of their warships? Something isn't adding up."

As the tributes and what was left of their former Imperial captors were led through the scorching sands of the desert planet by a group of feline humanoids, Jojo glanced at who he assumed to be the leader of the scouting legion that had captured them, a black and white cat-man donning golden bracelets, a headdress similar to the one that Aztec warriors wore, and a large loincloth. As Thomas bartered with the warrior, Jonathan glanced backward to see that some of Thrawn's lackeys survived, though not without severe injuries. Eli Vanto's left hand hung limp as if it had been broken, Commander Ayer walked with a limp, and Lt. Commander Faro's face looked like a half and half biscuit. The right side of her face was caked with blood and only one good green eye glared over at him. Jojo himself suffered bruises all over his body, not to mention a bloody nose.

"I assure you we mean no harm. If you take us to a local spaceport or something of that caliber, then we will leave you in peace."

Thomas was still trying to reason with the leader of the warriors.

"I am afraid I am not at the liberty to release you. You are going to meet our queen and then she will decide what is to be done with you. You aren't the first outsiders to encroach on our home nor will you be the last. "

The Victorian gentleman felt his throat clench as warriors bearing spears and other assortment of weapons that he had seen in his archaeology classes prodded the onward. He glanced over at Mordred, who cast him a worried glance. Behind him, Zymar was surprisingly somber as the warriors kept wary glances on him while they trudged on under the blazing sun. All of the tributes had one thing on their mind.

When will we get to go home?

----

"Blimey! That is something you would see in Egypt or South America!"

Officer Nick Jacoby turned to see Jonathan's blue eyes grow wide as they landed on the exotic architecture of the city they had just entered. Located near a large Oasis, the city was decorated with buildings that were made of white marble that reflected the bright sunlight. Several children that were playing nearby stopped to take a good look at the newcomers to sate their curiosity. The orc officer didn't fail to notice that the city contained a hodgepodge of modern buildings as well as huts made of red bricks or straws.

Well, this isn't something you see everyday back in Los Angeles.

Soon, they were brought upon a what the orc assumed was a large palace with two maroon lions guarding the entrance. Two bright blue pools glittered in the courtyard as they made their way past the guards inside. Officer Jacoby noticed that the guards had charcoal black armor plates fastened on their chest while their heads were covered by golden helms.

The palace guards get better equipment than the soldiers? I guess they were supposed to be the elites after all.

As they wound through gold and red buildings adorned with what looked like hieroglyphics. It wasn't long until they arrived in a large bright blue room that had a mosaic tiled floor that depicted cats with spears while a fountain with water spilling out of a fish's mouth stood transfixed between them and the throne.

"Blimey! It's as if we are in ancient Egypt!" Jojo stated.

"Yeah, no one gives a two cents about that," Kenji muttered.

Ignoring the bickering between tributes, the orc officer glanced up to see a throne made of jade plastered above golden steps. On the throne sat a female feline with orange-yellow fur and a glittering gold tiara on her head. Servants or slaves brought her trays full of odd food.

This must be their queen.

"Come forth."

At her order, the guards shoved them forward and made them kneel before their queen.

"What did you bring this time, General Claude?"

The black and white cat that had brought them to the palace bowed. "They claim that they are sleeves fleeing from an oppressive empire, but they crash-landed in the desert on one of the cruisers that belonged to the empire that they escaped from."

Thomas cleared his throat. "With all due respect, your Grace, but how else were we supposed to escape? Besides, those three were the underlings of our slaver." Thomas pointed at Eli, Faro,and Ayer. "I give you my word that once we find a ship, we will vacate your planet immediately. "

His answer was to get cuffed behind his ears by Claude.

"You may only speak when you are addressed."

The queen frowned, pursing her lips. "This is indeed interesting. Last year, we had refugees that were fleeing a Dragon Empire crash into our world and now we have you all here with the claim that you are fleeing an empire. Is it the same one?"

Thomas frowned and stroked his beard. "Nay, I believe ours is called the Galactic Empire. They harbor a xenophobic ideology that puts humans above all races in the galaxy. They would surely suppress this world with an iron fist if they learn of its existence "

"Nonsense!" Eli shouted. "They were volunteers aboard our ship that were hired to do certain tasks before they ended up rioted against us. As a result, we are here because they bit the hand that fed them."

"Liar!" Mordred shouted.

"Enough!" Claude the soldier tapped the butt of his spear on the ground. "Shall we keep them in the visitor quarters until we decide what is to be done with them?"

"I suppose there is no other alternative." The queen's yellowish eyes with a black slit for a pupil trained on them. "Perhaps they will join our volunteer force in fighting the Ceylons?"

"No way!" Kenji raged. "We just escaped servitude from the Empire! What makes you think we will become your slaves as well?"

"Perhaps we can have you executed if you prefer that?" The leader of the soldiers smirked.

"Stuck between a rock and a hard place yet again," the white-haired reaper muttered. "Very well, we are at your mercy."

Oh boy, will we ever return home? I am beginning to think that service for the blue admiral was a better alternative.

---

"The name's Thomas Sylas Parrish and these are my companions."

Seated on the warm brown ground of the visitor's quarters, Mordred watched as Thomas introduced themselves to the other visitors. Mordred noticed that the others all wore what looked like tattered cloaks, turbans, and exotic masks that resembled skulls painted with blood. Most of them had a reptilian build with bat-like ears while a few of them had humanoid bodies. One of the reptilian ones whose cloak was brighter than the others, the leader presumably, stepped forward and offered his clawed hand.

"It's a pleasure, Thomas. I am Rii'Khan, leader of the Khattar clan. These are are my clanspeople. Those three beside me have been recently inducted into our clan.This is a rear event indeed. "

Mordred' s dichromatic eyes went onto the three non-reptilians. He noticed one was a small woman with wings that glittered. That one bore a mask that resembled one his action figure from his childhood had.

What is a fairy doing with these tribal lizards?

"It's a pleasure to be acquainted with you." Thomas smiled. "What do they have you doing here?"

"In order for them to grant us asylum on this world, we had to fight alongside them against the Ceylon invaders."

"Ceylon?" Thomas frowned.

"They are salamander-like beings with cybernetics that invade Kattan several times a year," the fairy explained. "They are relentless in their attacks, but never have they been successful even once."

"Oh, will that happen during the duration of our stay?" Jojo looked concerned. "We have been on the run from the Galactic Empire and the last thing on our mind is becoming mercenaries for some backwater civilization."

"Empire?" One of the human-looking masked figures drew a curved sword. "As in the Dragon Empire?"

"No, Mordzar," the other human replied. "He specifically said the Galactic Empire. He most likely meant a different organization."

"Hey, you do realize you have proud employees of the Empire in the same room as you? No matter, we have a surprise for you."

All eyes turned to where Ayer, Faro,and Eli sat with a few stormtroopers and other Imperials. Exchanging devious smirks, the three high-ranking Imperials activated a small device and a small blue hologram of Thrawn materialized in the middle of the room.

"Salutations, my volunteers. I must commend you for leading me on a wild goose chase after you. Not only that, but you managed to make a mess of my fleet. Formalities aside, if you thought you were free from the grasp of the Empire, you will be in for a rude awakening. Commander Pellaeon and I have managed to track the Chimera to an unknown planet in the Unknown Regions, which I plan to annex for the Galactic Empire. Thomas Parrish, you and your small gang of mutineers owe me a great deal of compensation for thrashing my ship, but if you surrender, you'll be spared the fury that will rain down on those sheltering you."

Mordred's breath hitched as he exchanged glances with his fellow tributes. Thomas looked like he seen a ghost as the Khattar clan stood as rigid as statues. He couldn't read their expressions behind their masks, but he knew that they were as spooked as he was.

"Was....that...the Empire..you told us about?" One of the humanoids sputtered out.

"Isn't it obvious, Azrael?" The fair groaned. "It appears these outsiders brought the enemy upon us."

"Don't jump to conclusions, Nika!" Rii'Khan scolded. "We don't know for sure-"

Shouts and calls from outside cut the young chief off. Everyone who was in the room ran into the courtyard to see where the guards, servants, and commoners were looking at. Above them , the massive shape of an ISD-1 loomed over the city, casting a massive shadow. Mordred's hands went to his mouth.

No, it can't be!

He heard a chuckle from behind him. He craned his neck back to see Faro the half-faced lady smirk at him as the Imperial prisoners stood behind her.

"That's right. The Harbinger is going to rain the Empire's wrath upon this pathetic city. Look up, absorb your fate, and despair!"

TIE fighters shrieked as they took off from the bottom of the spacecraft like bees from a hive. It wasn't even ten seconds when the lasers started to strike. The ground shook as the Harbinger and the small escort of TIEs struck the city, regardless of the targets being either military or civilian. The shadow wizard knew that the small Imperial force outgunned the locals and victory for Thrawn was inevitable unless they did something.

"AT-AT walkers at your right!"

Mordred turned to see the lupine machines in the distance lumber over the sand dunes toward the city. Thomas, as intimidated as he looked, stepped forward and turned to address the group.

"I know what you are all thinking. We are outmatched and outgunned and have no hope, but that is not the way to think. We may be small and so few, but if we all work together, we can take down an Empire!"

It seemed to have an affect as the tributes, the Khattar, and the Kattan guards raised their hands or weapons in the air and cheered loudly. One humanoid Khattar clansman stepped forward and joined Thomas.

"Let the defense begin!"

---

Crap! I just wanted to relax for a bit. It seems Sidious has no chill. Whatever then. On the bright side, I get more souls to feast on.

Zymar stood upon a sand dune as he watched the Imperials approach. Once he was sure they were within range, he raised his hands sent several soldiers and vehicles flying. Seeing a troop transport, the Sith lord shot a dose of Force lightning, immobilizing it and frying all who remained inside. He let out small Cero blast, striking a squad of Novatroopers as well as a couple Imperial tanks.

It's time to get serious!

He activated his red lightsaber and started to deflect the lasers back to whoever shot them. As two TIE fighters zeroed in on him, the Arrancar used the force to hurl them into each other. That resulted in metal parts and oil raining down on the desert sand. Zymar charged through the sand as he decided that he needed to take a more direct approach to this battle. He swung his lightsaber in arcs as he sliced off the heads and limbs of stormtroopers, specialized or not. Coming upon a shock trooper, identifiable by the red streak down his armor, and levitated the Imperial into the air. The shock trooper dropped his blaster rifle and scratched as his throat as Zymar approached him.

"Slice and dice!"

Letting out a yell, Zymar cut through the armor like cake. He then set upon more Imperials to hone his lightsaber skills on.

"The Empire's elite? My arse!"

The Dark Sider came upon a couple AT-ATs that were bearing down on him. Letting out a breath, he extended his arms and levitated the vehicles and sent them landing on columns of Imperial armor, vehicles, and soldiers.

Wooh, that was tiring.

As the Sith Arrancar kneeled on the sand that reminded him of home, he heard rustling as if someone was charging through the sand at him. He glanced to his right and sniffed the air. he reached out and forced pushed his invisible assailant back to a nearby dune. Thrawn's assassin groaned as his staff flew from his hand. Zymar rose and sauntered over to Rukh, his breathing labored.

"I will use your soul as nourishment. Think of it as penance for attacking me."

Before Darth Zaratte could finish the Noghri off, Rukh had darted to the side and barreled into him. The two sparred with electrostaffs and lightsabers until Rukh managed to sneak behind his foe and get him in a chokehold.

"Curse you, Noghri filth!" Zymar growled as he tried in vain to buck off Thrawn's assassin from his back. A plan soon formed in the Dark Sider's brain.

"Resureccion!"

The Arrancar soon grew out claws, wing, and talons as he took to the air. In a matter of minutes, he had ejected the reptilian alien from his back and after watching the Noghri land in the sand below, Zymar decided to finish the job by blowing him up with a crimson Blood Cero. The Sith smirked in pleasure as sand dispersed in the air space.

"Who's next?"

He turned his gaze to the TIE fighters targeting him.

----

"Are you ready, lad?"

Thomas and one of the humanoids from the Khattar group hunkered behind a piece of a blown out building behind the nearest sand dune as the Imperials pressed on with their assault on the city. The screams of the cat warriors and the masked foreigners rang out as they were thrown into the air by the explosions. His masked companion nodded at him.

"I was born ready."

Thomas laughed. "I see you have the revolutionary fervor in you. May I have the pleasure of knowing who I am acquainted with?"

"Mordzar," the man replied.

"The American Revolution could use men of your caliber." Thomas gripped a stolen blaster pistol in one hand and his saber in the other. "You deal in metal, correct?"

"Aye!"

Mordzar then formed a metal spear that glinted in the sunlight and hurled it at an Imperial seated on an AT-ST and skewered the man. Seeing their chance, the two men began their charge through the blazing battlefield. Thomas fired at a group of shadow troopers as well as a small detachment of Thrawn's death troopers. His partner used a curved sword that was enamored with a sapphire hilt to knock over stormtroopers.

"You haven't ceased to amaze me yet, Metal Man!" Thomas noted.

"You haven't seen anything yet!"

The metal man raised his hands and summoned metal shards that pierced the enemy. The former redcoat didn't fail to spot the similarities between this and how Mordred manipulated shadows and darkness. Thomas felt his jaw drop as he saw a walker's steel legs disintegrate.

"You are quite the show off, you understand that, correct?" Thomas chuckled.

"Well, I am a metal mage," His partner responded.

Nearby, a bright light flashed as Jojo used his power to electrify their foes. Kenji used his Bankai to cause a widespread destruction among the Imperials as the loud bangs of the orc officer's shotgun echoed through the air that was rife with the smell of the battle.

Where did Thrawn's senior commanders run off to?

Thomas felt a cold object pressed to his temple.

"I have finally found you, you despicable bag of Bantha poodoo!"

The rebel leader turned to see Eli Vanto aim a blaster pistol at his, a murderous expression plastered on his face.

"You have derailed our plans for the last time! Thrawn can do without you. You are replaceable, you know that?"

As the ensign prepared to fire, a metal spike erupted from his chest. Once Ensign Vanto fell to his knees, Thomas was able to see the masked metal mage wave at him. Thomas flashed a thumbs up like the one he learned from Paul back at the Museum and turned to face the rest of the Imperial invasion force and was faced with Commander Ayer and a squad of stormies. His bronze face a mask of fury, Ayer raised his weapon to fire at the insurrectionist when a revving sound tore through the air. Suddenly, a red and white car of classic design slammed into the stormtroopers like bowling pins. The car stopped in front of Thomas and the windows lowered, revealing a grinning Parzival in the drivers seat. Kakyoin, who had his left eye covered up, and Eddy Brock sat in the back.

"Missed me?"

Thomas just smiled and shook his head. "You had to make your entrance grand, huh? I take it your quest was successful?"

Parzival winked at him."Indeed, Tommy boy. Despite losing one and having Kakyoin injured, Artemis is back!"

Hearing the sounds of a motorcycle engine, the revolutionary glanced up to see a figure garbed in red riding gear riding a pink motorcycle tie a knot around a walker's leg, causing it to collapse.

"I am glad you made it. Did the Enterprise clear the path?"

"For sure! Ed has skills with a Star Trek prop!" The silver-haired avatar pointed upward at the disc-shaped spacecraft that provided air cover for them. "Anyhow, how do you like my new ride? it is Christine from Stephen King's novel."

"I don't know who this Stephen King fellow us, but I must agree with you on the vehicle."

---

Woah! This is pure chaos!

Sonic speed through the sand, creating a small whirlwind that knocked aside the combatants from both sides as he tried to make his way to his fellow tributes. Suddenly, a laser shot from a walker struck the sand where he was running, resulting in the blue blur flying through the air like a projectile and landing in a large body of shimmering blue water. In a panicked state, the hedgehog realized that he didn't possess the ability to swim so he tried to call out for help.

"Hey....I...can't...swim!"

Unfortunately, no one could hear the anthromorph as the din of battle drowned out his cries for help. He went down one last time and rose to the surface a bloated corpse.

---

You are welcome!

Ed commandeered the Enterprise over the desert that was strewn with bodies and twisted metal. He fired the laser cannons at the TIE bombers and fighters that he could come across. The radar indicated that several interceptors were heading his way.

Guess it's time to go on the defensive then.

Ed Cherborgg was able to maneuver the ship despite not being trained in military aviation due to his experience with frigates during his research days, but he knew his luck may not last. After taking out the interceptors, he was able to down a couple AT-ATs when he swooped down from behind them.

I sincerely hope the boys are sincerely grateful for my assistance. Not only have I blown away the enemy's air support, but I have also lent some of my creatures on the fray to join your side. What more could they ask for?

That was when a massive shadow fell over the airspace and the ground where his spacecraft was floating. Glancing at the sonar panel, he noticed a large arrowhead appear behind the blip that was the Enterprise. As he discerned the identity of Pellaeon's ship, the smaller ship shook violently as ion cannon fire pounded it. Ed tried to escape from the Harbinger's range, but in the end the Enterprise took too much of a beating to function. As the front disk dipped downard to begin its descent toward the surface, Ed closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable.

Please accept my humblest apologies, Gella. You know I wanted to spend more time with you, maybe even start a family, but now we will meet in the beyond.

----

Venom pounced on an unsuspecting death trooper and tore through his armor with his massive claws. Beside him, Officer Jacoby fired off at a contingent of Imperial Army troopers when a flash of silver from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Glancing over to the northern corner of the battlefield, he noticed the USS Enterprise erupt into a thousand flaming parts as it crashed into a bronze dune.

Damn! That was our ride home!

As he stepped over several corpses, including Kakyoin's, the symbiote watched as the Harbinger loomed closer like a behemoth from the heavens. The fighting ceased as he saw a V-shaped shuttle vacate a hangar bay and make its way toward the desert floor. A small gail caressed the alien's slimy skin as Thrawn and his entourage of death troopers exited the ship.

"So you managed to stall my best forces for this long, have you all? I'm impressed." The red-eyed humanoid's gaze swept through everyone. "I admit, I didn't predict this stubborn resistance, but you should know that it is all futile. You are only delaying the inevitable as we have yet to make our final push. Think this through before you exhaust more soldiers and resources in this pointless struggle-"

"Ah, shaddup!" Zymar growled as he emitted a bright red blast from his mouth that temporarily blinded the alien symbiote and lit the area for miles.

I bet that can be seen from space!

A deafening explosion reverberated throughout the vicinity. Glancing up, Eddy Brock stared in shock as the Star Destroyer above them, its body cut up in Zymar's attack, was pulled to the surface. Once it made contact with the ground,a massive earthquake knocked everyone off-balance as a sandstorm engulfed the battlefield.

Why didn't he just do that in the beginning?

---

"So this is it?"

Parzival and Artemis watched as the local warriors gathered the surviving Imperial forces and rounded them up to take as prisoners. Officer Jacoby had caught Thrawn and slipped on handcuffs on him.

"You have the right to remain silent," The orc began, but Eddy Brock nudged him.

"Hey, can you cut the crap and let the cat people arrest these Imps?"

While they watched the Kattan force the prisoners, including Thrawn, Pellaeon, and Faro, toward the palace dungeons, Parzival glanced at his fellow avatar.

"Any plans on how to escape this desolate world?"

She smirked back at him. "I was hoping you'd have a plan."

A whooshing sound was heard as a light Imperial cruiser landed beside the sand. Zymar stuck his head out of a hatch. "You coming or what?"

"With pleasure!"

Parzival grasped his lover's hand as they joined the other tributes on board the craft. "Where did you find this?"

Zymar turned his blazing yellow eyes toward the avatar. "This baby miraculously survived the Harbinger's crash. It's time to haul our asses out of here and get home."

As Zymar started to pull them away from the planet's surface, Spyro glanced out the window with a sullen expression. Artemis went over to him, a frown on her face. "Spyro, is something the matter?"

The dragon looked at her with an expression of one who is holding back tears. "Ed is gone! I wanted him to make it out of this alive in spite of our differences. He had someone to go home to as well!"

Parzival's eyes then searched the tributes as they entered the cosmos once again and noticed something amiss.

"Hey, you guys seen Thomas?"

---

"Bring the accused forward!"

Thomas stood among the audience as the guards prodded Thrawn, Faro, Pellaeon , and the rest of the captured Imperial that ranged from pilots to stormtroopers to the square that had multiple of what resembled guillotines.The setting sun gave the execution block a magenta-tinge as Thrawn and the others were forced onto the golden execution machines and had their arms fastened. Thomas felt Thrawn's bioluminescent eyes stare directly at him with an intense loathing. Thomas smiled victoriously at his former captor.

I guess I win.

"You are all accused of crimes against the Kattan people, including murder, attempted murder, and destruction of property. The ultimate penalty for your crimes is death. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

As the magistrate read of the charges, Thomas scanned the crowd for the Khattar clan members. As soon as he spotted Mordzar chatting with Azrael, Nika, and Rii'Khan, the revolutionary bustled through the crowd toward him. He heard the sound of the blades fall and the crowd cheer loudly, signalling the end of his tormentor and his lackeys.

"Pardon me, but am I interrupting an important conversation?"

The four clan members turned to face the outsider who had decided to stay with them instead of leaving with his comrades.

"Not at all," Azrael responded. "We were just discussing you."

Thomas raised a brow."Oh? I hope it's the positives."

"We were wondering why you chose to stay with us as a mercenary rather than go back home to your family," Rii'Khan said.

"Well, let's just say that the man you just saw lose his head had made sure I had no one to return to." Thomas's tone sombered a bit. "Besides, I think my wife and son see me as a traitor."

"Are you sure about that?" Mordzar inquired. "Have you heard from them?"

The insurrectionist just sighed. "That is precisely why I assume the worst. Can you enlighten me as to how you lot ended up here yourselves?"

It was the fairy's turn to speak. "We were a part of a magical guild that was participating in a tournament when the evil Dragon Empire invaded and brutally butchered everyone. We are the only survivors from that nightmare and Rii'Khan here accepted us in his clan. "

"I see." Thomas stroked his beard. "I suppose I wouldn't be a likely candidate to join your clan as I lack the magical prowess you possess. "

"Nonsense!" Rii'Khan chuckled. "Only us four possess any magical abilities. Come, I have an extra mask for you."

"I'd be honored." Thomas bowed curtly. "Was assimilating into an alien culture a hassle?"

"Not at all!" Azrael exclaimed. "We were able to learn the language and customs of not just the Khattar clan, but the Kattan people as well. Mordzar here even married a local. They are expecting their first child pretty soon."

"Ah, impressive." The Earthling's green eyes shifted between the four. "I just noticed that I haven't seen you without your masks. When will I get that opportunity?"

---

"You may kiss the bride!"

As Jonathan kissed Erina, Mordred and Morgan stood up and clapped profusely. The brothers had decided that attending their old friend's wedding was the least they could do to thank him for helping restore Morgan's magical ability. Without Jojo's assistance, Morgan Guildenstern would have lived a lame life back on Fiore. The bells of the chapel clanged as the sunlight filtered in through the stained glass windows. After the ceremony had concluded, Jonathan approached them with his wife at his side.

"Boys, I'd love for you to meet Erina Joestar."

The blonde giggled as her blue eyes looked over the two dark-haired boys. "You have some good-looking buddies, Jonathan."

"Yes, I am blessed with them." Jojo smiled at the two. "I had the honor of being a part of their guild once. Anyway, how are you holding up, Morgan?"

----

"Surprise!"

Bethany, Andy, and Shelly Vreeke looked like they had won the lottery as they saw the Oasis system in front of them. Wade and Samantha exchanged warm smiles as the kids ran over and hugged them.

"Thank you, Uncle Wade and Auntie Sam!"

"Ugh, you are squishing me, Beth!" Sam whined in a light-hearted tone as she nuzzled the oldest of Alex's kids.

Once they had escaped the nightmare of their servitude among the Chimera, the two gamers had sought out the Vreekes and had a self-driving vehicle bring them to the Gregarious Games headquarters to show them their present. Wade and Sammy agreed it was the least they could do to ease the pain of the young ones. After all, they had just lost their parents to the Empire.

"Don't mention it." Wade smiled at the kids. "Mommy and Daddy may not be here, but they wanted you to have this. You may stay here as long as you like. Whatever food you desire, it's on us."

"You kids into superheros?" Sam Cooke inquired.

"Yes!" All three shouted at once.

"Well, who is your favorite?" Wade asked.

"Batman!" Andy blurted.

"Wonderwoman!" Beth added.

"If you ask me or Sam here, we both would say your father. Want to know why?"

Before the children could reply, Ogden Morrow strode in . "Excuse me. I know you were having a moment, but a journalist wants to be granted entry here. His name is Eddy Brock. Shall I grant his request?"

Sam and Wade exchanged knowing smiles. Those who had suffered through the blue man's iron reign had thankfully made it out alright save for a handful of tributes. Spyro was coping with Ed's loss while Officer Jacoby was back on police duty in his realm. Jonathan and Mordred were still as close as ever. As for Thomas, no one knew his whereabouts, but they knew he was happy where he was.

"Please let him in."