With a choked sob, Moondancer flung herself forward, clinging tightly to Lucky/Larice as she struggled to control her emotions. The perception filter shifted, and she found herself firmly in Larice's embrace, though she could tell no one beyond the field was seeing a ghostly Starman hugging a unicorn.
"Dammit, Larice," 'Gorgeous' growled irritably. "Whatever happened to keeping a low profile?"
"We are still *click* hidden," Larice responded firmly as Moondancer glanced over.
'Gorgeous' was revealed to be a Mook...but not Alinivar. She did recognize him from on the ship though. "You're...Elmadan, right? I don't think we ever spoke..."
"We didn't," Elmadan confirmed. "And I didn't go with to confront Giegue...but I got pulled along when things went all wibbly-wobbly."
"Wibbly-wobbly?" Moondancer asked in confusion.
"I shall *whirrr* explain," Larice spoke up as he continued to stroke Moondancer. "We confronted Giegue, and Greyface. Giegue sought to be installed in the Devil Machine, some sort of PSI amplifier that would enable him to influence the entire solar system at once. Greyface was building it. Once we detected you and *click-click-click*...Buzz Buzz safely traversing through time, Alinivar attempted his plan. He used PSI Harmony to attempt to reconnect Niiue and Giegue, restoring their connection to each other to make Giegue whole again. It worked...partially."
"Partially?" Moondancer pressed, trying not to show how worried she was about the answers.
"They became linked," Larice continued. "However, this only brought *bzzz* Giegue out of the madness for a short time...but in that brief time he, with Niiue, was whole...and amplified by the Devil Machine. He worked his PSI on the fabric of time itself...and sent us here to Earth five years back, with instructions to establish ourselves with human identities to watch over you and the Chosen Four, to make sure you stayed well."
"And what happened to the part about doing so incognito?" Elmadan demanded crossly.
"Not my fault *whrrr* she saw through my cloak," Larice answered primly.
"I heard you letting the clicks and whrrrs through!" Elmadan snapped out. "You wanted her to figure it out! I thought you said your Magicant trip destroyed the obedience program in your head!"
"That does not *whrrr* affect my chosen loyalties," Larice responded firmly. "I chose to follow and obey Moondancer. As far as I'm concerned, I am still under her order."
"My order?" Moondancer asked in surprise.
Larice gently stroked her cheek. "Yes. Don't die."
Moondancer managed to smile. "...thank you, Larice," she offered warmly, leaning into the gentle caress. "It's...it's a relief to know you're all okay. But...why are you here? In Twoson?"
"We were told to watch over the Chosen Four," Elmadan pointed out. "We spotted Captain Deepsea in stasis up in Onett where Ness was growing up when we first started exploring. We couldn't hang around there, and knew you and Buzz Buzz would keep him safe once you arrived...but we didn't know if he was the only one looking to end a Chosen before the Four could gather. Since we didn't know where any of the others were except Paula from your talks with Niiue, we came down to Twoson to watch over her."
"Then why didn't you do anything when she was kidnapped?" Moondancer demanded fiercely.
Elmadan and Larice exchanged embarrassed glances. "Alinivar still doesn't *click* know how to handle Earth currency," Larice finally allowed awkwardly.
"...huh?" Moondancer asked, thoroughly confused.
"We got set up at this theater as a band for cover," Elmadan explained, "but...somehow we wound up racking up a huge debt, and now we can't leave. If any of us try, the theater owner is on us like a ton of bricks." He shrugged. "And nobody wants to try my suggestion for dealing with the situation."
"One, you are supposed to be trying to be good," Larice pointed out firmly. "Two *click*, it would blow our cover. Three, we are the heroes."
"More like backup heroes," Elmadan grumbled irritably. "The prophecy is about 'The Chosen Four'. You lot were just the 'Applechasers'. I'm not even mentioned."
"Four, Moondancer *whrrr* does not like casual killing," Larice finished. "Not when there is another solution."
"What about that sneezy guy on the bridge?" Elmadan demanded. "Alinivar tossed him into the water on Moondancer's suggestion!"
"He turned out to be a surprisingly good swimmer," Moondancer observed idly, a wry smile on her face.
"We cannot assist you presently," Larice spoke up, drawing Moondancer's attention away from the grumbling Elmadan. "Aside from the contract *bzzz*, it would be unwise to expose aliens on Earth right now. However, if you can free us from the contract somehow, we can assist you. Your path beyond this town to Threed is blocked. If we are enabled to leave town, we will escort you past the block. There is one Sanctuary beyond Peaceful Rest Valley, and one somewhere in the Threed region."
"Thanks for the info," Moondancer replied warmly. "And...and for letting me know you all were okay. I'll pass on the information to Ness...but I won't mention about who you all really are, not yet. He needs to complete his journey...and I need to complete mine."
Larice nodded as he gave Moondancer one last caress before she turned to go meet back up with Ness. "There she goes," he observed as she left the perception filter.
"You really think they've got a chance?" Elmadan asked curiously.
"I choose to believe-"
"Don't tell me what you believe," Elmadan interrupted. "You're the closest to a computer brain in this group. Tell me the odds!"
Larice was silent for a time. "...I detected emotional PSI impressions in Moondancer's aura."
"You mean the stuff that sent Giegue down the path to become Giygas?" Elmadan asked worriedly.
"When he gave into it, yes," Larice confirmed. "That path is now open to Moondancer. There is a chance she will walk it unmeaning, and doom us all. I would estimate...we have 1 chance in 3 of surviving the oncoming struggle. 1 in 3 of that being the happy ending we hope for."
"So we have a 1 in 9 chance of getting the best outcome?" Elmadan asked curiously. "Not the best odds, but not the worst-"
"Negative," Larice interrupted. "There are nine possible outcomes. The odds of each are uncertain. There is insufficient data."
"What are you good for, anyway?" Elmadan grumbled.
"Baritone."