Two doughnuts, then a third, quickly found their way into Stone's stomach -- but this was only an appetizer.

Lucky -- after several acrobatic feats of death-defiance, retrieved the lost Dotsie from the waddling-thing's back, where the Bobbling community had surely been looking after her.

The Witnessed Day drew slowly closer while the birdsong was brought to an end.

Stone, out of doughnuts, entertained the thought of biting into the Helium Frightful, but instead collapsed in pain at The Witnessed Day's telepathic introduction. When it ended she leaped up, and mistaking the Bobblings for mushrooms snatched up a few, her mouth open to receive them.

An unfamiliar voice hissed, staticked, out of Whisper's mask into The Witnessed Day's mind -- but Whisper himself chose not to acknowledge it.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/o5ng1Nd.png[/img][/center]
While the Bobblings wriggled and babbled urgently in Stone's eager grip, Golby appeared beside her and very deftly slipped a small meat pie between her teeth instead. It was still warm, and spiced with something exotic and delicious. Where it had come from, no one may ever know.

[color=indianred]"It's a blast to finally meet you all!"[/color] Golby laughed as he gently removed the Bobblings from Stone's reach, cradling them against his chest. [color=indianred]"I'd sent out twenty invitations but didn't expect as much as [i]one[/i] of you to actually show up. This is fantastic."[/color] He deposited the Bobblings atop their waddling-thing, which he gave a good-dog pat on the head. He then very carefully removed their leader from his pocket, and he let Krita down among his community.

[color=indianred]"Now!"[/color] He turned on his heel with a sudden shout for attention. [color=indianred]"We've got an urgent call for heroism, but before we board there are a few things you all should know: meet Krita and our mechanics."[/color] He gestured to the community on the waddling-thing's back. [color=indianred]"We'll be in trouble if anything happens to them. Anyone who's got a sensitivity to telepathy, I've got a HOBO mod for that."[/color] He gestured excitably with a doughnut in one gloved hand, though it was unclear when he had actually pulled it out. [color=indianred]"Learn the radio settings if you want to live. Broadcast every call for help. Do what you can, harm only when you must, and always be kind."[/color]

He took a bow, then whipped out his HOBO (the doughnut was mysteriously missing) and poked it.

The [i]Helium Frightful[/i] circled once more overhead, then hummed contentedly and floated like a deflated balloon to the ground.

While the great beast raised its head and puffed its chest, a fan of spines at its throat pressed together and folded down into a very solid and smooth loading ramp. More spines raised up toward the sky and exposed a huge, arched metal door that slid open with one more tap of Golby's HOBO.

The frightening monster had, in less than a minute, seemed to transform into a creature-shaped mound with a ramp and a doorway in its ribcage.

Golby scooped up the blaring radio into one arm and gave a flourished gesture onward. [color=indianred]"All aboard! Claim your rooms while I take us up -- no takebacks!"[/color]

He rushed forward ahead of them, leaped his way up the loading ramp and rushed into the bay and up the stairs inside, his boots clanking on the floors, the radio music amplified by the acoustics of the loading bay until he disappeared into another hall, leaving the new crew to find their own way around the ship.

Indeed, as soon as they stepped through the fur-lined doorway there was no longer any indication that this was anything but a cargo ship. The loading bay was illuminated by thin yellow beams along the ceiling, and a metallic female voice echoed from somewhere within, repeating:

[center][color=silver][i]STORY, AGE TEN, LAST SEEN FOUR SIX SIX THIRTY FIVE, ENTERING HARBINGER ESTATE, SOUTHEAST OF DOWNSTREAM. COMMUNICATION ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED. ENTRY ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED. PLEASE HELP. STORY, AGE TEN, LAST SEEN FOUR SIX SIX THIRTY FIVE . . .[/i][/color][/center]

Somewhere, engines whirred. A heartbeat thrummed in the walls. Occasionally a grumble or a low huff sounded alongside the hum of mechanical workings.

As the last crew member entered the bay, the loading ramp separated once more into spines and the metal door slid closed with a clank and a thump. Immediately the room took on a strange weightless feeling, like a boat on water. The repeated distress call stopped, replaced by the murmurs of the ship and the [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6RD6mjiIZE]faint tinny sound of a different song[/url] playing from the cockpit. There were a few small windows throughout the ship, cleverly disguised on the outside but perfectly clear from within. The blue sky tilted and the newly re-destroyed ruins of a once-magnificent city slipped away; they were taking off.