Three Days later

"Alright, are we good to go?" Jason asked, looking back at the dock in case there was something still not on the ship.

"Yep, I think we got it all. Enough food and water for six months of travel... Still not sure how we fit that down below..." Rebecca shook her head as she looked at the checklist in her hands.

"Well, I hate to say it, but it is kinda fitting." Jason started.

"Magic?" Melody chimed in, stepping away from the railing.

"Yep." Jason nodded.

"Yeah... anyways, we have water, all the navigation equipment we could possibly need, and even some fishing equipment in case... well, we run out of food." Rebecca shrugged.

"Well it should be a three month journey there, and three months back. Here's hoping things don't go squirmy on us once we're out there in the open ocean." Melody replied, before heading into the crew quarters.

"Here's hoping." Jason echoed.

"Alright, then we got everything we need. Ready to set sail as soon as the three of them get here." Rebecca added, checking off a small box on her checklist.

"And speak of the devil," Jason said, pointing at the docks, "I think I see them."

The rest of the group turned to look and quickly found Eddie, Midnight, and Sky as they walked along the dock toward the boat. The crimson pegasus gave a short wave to the group as he reached the ship and stepped on board, Midnight and Eddie following just behind.

"Hey guys. Thanks for waiting up for me." Sky joked, giving a friendly grin.

"Well I wasn't leaving without getting the hug you owe me." Rebecca replied, smirking mischievously.

Sky nervously gulped as he backtracked slightly.

"Uh, hehe... well whatdoya know, I left... a thing back there, I'm just gonna go get it, okay thanks bye." He quickly said before turning around and trotting to the deck.

"Oh no you don't!" Rebecca shouted as she dove forward and tacked him to the ground.

"Ah come on!" Sky groaned as Rebecca's arms quickly wrapped around his barrel and squeezed him tightly.

"Hehe, I guess you did make a promise." Midnight chuckled at the scene in front of her hooves.

"Mid... save me... please..." Sky wheezed through the hug.

"Sorry big guy. You did promise to give her a good hug." Midnight replied, an evil grin forming on her face.

"Traitor..." Sky groaned as Rebecca sat upright and pulled him in even closer to nuzzle her cheek against his mane.

"Oh man you're so fluffy..." Rebecca giggled as she rubbed her hands into his chest fluff.

Sky looked at the rest of the group to find smirks and barely restrained laughter from the majority of the crew.

"Are any of you gonna help me out of this?" Sky pleaded, kicking his legs in vain.

"Sorry, bud. This is just too precious." Jason chuckled.

"I would help... but honestly it isn't my place to tell Rebecca to stop hugging anyone." Tempest added, a small giggle escaping her lips as well.

Sky looked to Eddie for help, but found him already turned around and heading inside. With a resigned sigh, he accepted his fate and slouched back into the hug.

"Five minutes." He grumbled.

"Ten." She immediately replied.

"Seven and a half." Sky countered.

"Twe-lve" Rebecca sing-songed.

"Jesus... fine. Ten." Sky relented.

Rebecca tightened her hold on him just a bit more.

"Yay!" She cheered.

As Rebecca continued to assault Sky with affection, Jason, Tempest, and Midnight turned to Melody as she stepped out on deck from the crew's quarters.

"Um..." She started as her eyes fell on Sky and Rebecca.

"She's getting the hug Sky owes her." Midnight explained.

"Oh! Right, okay. Anyways," Melody replied, turning back toward the group, "We're all prepped and ready to go. Everypony's on board and we can set sail whenever you like."

"Good. We've got about four and a half months left. Here's hoping we get there in three." Jason replied, sparing a quick glance down at his wristband.

"Okay. Can one of you untie us from the dock?" Melody replied before heading to the crew quarters doorway once more, "I'll be up in the bridge."

"I got it." Tempest replied.

The mulberry unicorn quickly made her way over to the port side of the ship and found the anchored rope tethering them to the dock. With a quick motion of her hooves, the rope was untied and the ship was freely floating in the water.

"Alright, we're free!" She called, loud enough so that Melody could hear.

Rather than a verbal reply, the sound of an engine starting up filled the air, and bubbly water quickly formed behind the aft. A few moments later, the ship jolted forward slightly, and began it's cruise out of the docks.

"Welp... Say goodbye to land for a while." Jason said as the coast grew further and further away.

"It's not a goodbye... It's a... see you later." Tempest replied, giving a small smile as she watched the coast with him.

"Heh, you know what, you're right. See you later, Ponpei." Jason replied, returning a smile.

With that, they turned around and walked back over to Sky and Rebecca as she continued to nuzzle his mane and idly stroke her hands through his chest fluff.

"Alright, Chief. I think you've had poor Sky as your prisoner for long enough." Jason chuckled.

"Aww... Five more minutes?" Rebecca replied, giving her best puppy dog eyes.

"That's up to Sky." Jason shrugged.

"Well, what do you say, little fluffy buddy?" Rebecca asked, giving another tight squeeze.

"Ugh... fine..." Sky grumbled.

Rebecca did a double take.

"Wait... Really?" She asked.

"Even I'm surprised by that." Midnight chimed in, a surprised look on her face.

"Well... you're not squeezing me too hard... and it kinda... feels nice... with your hand... on my fluff..." Sky trailed off, a dark red blush appearing on his face.

A wide grin spread on Rebecca's face.

"Aww!"

She squeezed him tight against her chest.

"Too tight... too... tight..." Sky wheezed.

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One Week Later

Jason massaged his temples as the painful migraine pounded against his brain. His eyes were shut tight, and he angrily clenched his fists as the pain hit him again and again. He wasn't sure how long it lasted. It could have only been for a few seconds, or minutes, but the pain and pressure in his head was so intense that tears threatened to spill free at any moment, until the migraine eventually let up, and he could finally relax.

Jason sighed and glanced out the small porthole to see the blackness of night time on the ocean, and the bright twinkling of stars against the waves. He pulled himself out of bed and glanced down to find that his sweat had fully soaked the sheets. He gave another quiet sigh before looking around the room to find the rest of the crew sleeping. Biting his lip and pushing himself to his feet, he slowly trudged his way to the stairs. Once there, he quickly ascended to the bridge, and found Tempest at the helm. Upon seeing him enter, she quickly turned in her seat and gave him a curious look.

"What're you doing up this late? Your shift isn't until tomorrow morning." She said.

"Had another migraine. Bed's all sweaty and nasty so I figured I'd just come up here and hang out with you for a bit." Jason replied, his voice lacking it's usual strength.

"Oh... Are you okay?" Tempest replied, hopping off her chair and making her way over to him.

"I'll be alright. It's just painful is all." Jason sighed as he sat down on the floor to better match her height.

Tempest stepped up to his side and placed a hoof against his forehead. The soft contact of her fetlock against his skin brought a gentle smile to his face, and Jason lovingly looked at her as she bit her lip in thought.

"I'm... not sure what I can do to help... I can get you some water if that would help?" She offered, bringing her hoof back to the ground.

"That's alright. I can get some when I go back to sleep. I just wanted to give you company for a bit. Thought that might take my mind off it or something I guess." Jason shrugged.

Tempest smiled.

"Well, if you're willing to stay here with me, then it would make this shift a lot better." She said as she wrapped her hooves around him in a loving hug.

Jason happily returned the gesture, and for a few moments, they simply held each other in silence. The residual pain in Jason's head simply faded away as the mulberry unicorn held him close, and he squeezed her ever tighter in thanks. Soon enough, they parted from each other, and headed back to the helm. Tempest took her seat and looked out over the ocean as Jason sat down beside her and did the same.

"I'm glad you and Melody have some experience sailing. It would have made this a lot harder if she would have had to teach all of us how to stay on course." Jason said, glancing back at Tempest.

"Well, sailing is more of a catch-all phrase for what I did. Luckily air ships navigate the same way boats do. You just have to look a little higher up when you're all the way down here though." Tempest chuckled.

"Heh, I guess that does make sense, doesn't it." Jason chuckled as well.

"You know, now that you're here, I do have a question for you." Tempest said, turning to look at him.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Jason asked.

"What was your life like before the war? Your home, I mean. What was it like?"

Jason pursed his lips and glanced down at the floor for a few seconds before responding.

"Well... Earth is hi-tech. Where I grew up, everything was man-made. I don't think I saw real grass until I was twelve, and even then, it was just in a park." He recalled, causing a steady frown to form on Tempest's face.

"That... sounds awful."

"Heh, it wasn't the best. People - we, uh, we need things like trees, plants, nature, and whatnot to grow up healthy. Our brains need that stuff to really grow and develop. Most cities these days are trying to put as much green around as possible, but... well... you can tell it's fake, you know?" Jason sighed.

"I'm sorry that you grew up in that. Was there anywhere you could go to see some nature? At all?" Tempest pressed, tilting her head to the side.

"Heh, I wish. Most of Earth is crowded and colonized thanks to overpopulation. People live to a hundred and thirty these days and you have people popping out seven kids over their lifetime in some places. It's just too much for the poor planet I guess."

"How... how do you deal with that kind of an issue?" She asked, a sad look on her face.

"Well... people like Sky. Finding new planets and colonizing them. We've grown too much for our own planet, so now we need to go find others. Been that way for over a hundred years." Jason replied.

"I suppose that does make sense. Still, I'm sorry you had to grow up like that." Tempest responded, giving a sympathetic smile.

"Eh, don't be. If it wasn't for that, I don't think I'd be so in love with your planet." Jason shrugged.

"Heh, Eques sure is beautiful, isn't it?" Tempest replied, looking up at the night sky aurora.

"It is... and some of the locals aren't too bad either." Jason teased, leaning toward the mulberry unicorn.

Tempest felt a small blush creep up her face, before she leaned over toward Jason until their faces were just a few inches apart.

"Aren't you just a smooth talker." She purred.

"What can I say? The more time I spend with you, the more I like you." Jason replied.

For another moment, they held each other's gaze, then they kissed.

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One Month Later

Eddie heaved the fishing net out of the water with all his strength, finally pulling it free from the arctic sea. With a heavy grunt, he pulled the net onto the deck, and its payload of fish along with it. Jason and Rebecca quickly grabbed the net and pulled it over to the center of the ship where Melody was already waiting for them. They quickly opened the net and pulled the dozens of fish out for Melody to grab with her magic and sort appropriately.

It was a simple affair, and soon enough the fish were all sorted by species. The fish with any deformities were promptly tossed off the ship and back into the water. As they finished, Sky and Midnight made their way over to the center of the deck to join in.

"Hmm... So what do we have?" Sky asked, eyeing the fish curiously.

"Looks like a lot of salt water salmon.... and maybe some trout?" Midnight replied, leaning in closer.

"Yeah. Looks that way. Should be a good amount of food for the week." Jason shrugged.

"If I have your species' caloric needs right, then this fish should be more than enough for the three of you for at least a week." Melody chimed in, scratching her chin in thought.

"Yeah, I think we'll be good. Just need to make sure we get some fruit and veges in there and we won't get sick or anything." Jason replied.

"I hope we have enough food down below... we've still got two months of this shit to go." Rebecca added.

"We'll be alright. We've still got more than enough for the rest of the trip." Jason calmly replied.

"Hey, uh... is Eddie alright?" Midnight asked, directing all eyes to the man who had thus far been silent.

Eddie was leaned over the side rail with his hands on his head. Even through his bodysuit, his muscles were visibly tense, and he almost seemed to be shaking.

"Hey, uh... Eddie? You alright?" Rebecca asked.

There was no reply.

"Eddie?" She asked again, taking a few steps toward him.

Rebecca moved to place her hand on his shoulder, but just as she moved, Eddie suddenly stood upright, and turned away from her. He took a few steps before wincing in pain and dropping to a knee, his hand coming up to his forehead once more.

"Ed!" Jason exclaimed, quickly moving to his side.

Jason placed his hands on Eddie's shoulder and leaned down to his height. His muscles were tense and for a few seconds, it was unclear if he was going to be able to recover.

Just as everyone on the deck converged on him, Eddie finally recovered enough to stand up, and harshly pull away from Jason.

"I'm fine... Just another migraine." He muttered, before storming off away from the group and into the crew quarters.

Everyone on the deck stared after him for several seconds in a stunned silence, before Sky spoke up.

"Uh... What's his problem?" He asked.

"I know he's been really quiet lately, but that was just... not like him. At least, I don't think it was..." Melody added.

Jason sighed.

"It's probably best you guys don't worry too much about it. It's a personal thing between me and him. None of your faults." He admitted.

"What happened?" Midnight asked.

"It's a long story... Suffice to say... He blames me for losing Mike... and he's not happy about me and Tempest... Especially so soon after we lost him." Jason explained, taking a seat against the railing.

"What!? How can he blame you for Mike? You did everything you could!" Midnight exclaimed.

"I know, I know. Look, don't give him any grief over it. While I've had Tempest to lean on... He's had nobody. Ed's got his own problems already, and losing one of our best and only friends hasn't been easy for him... Just give him some space if he needs it." Jason replied.

"Wait... you and Tempest are a thing?" Rebecca asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Where have you been the last two months?" Sky sarcastically asked, cocking an eyebrow back.

"I hate to agree with Sky there... but it has been kinda obvious." Midnight added, giving an apologetic shrug.

"Have you not seen them kissing and nuzzling each other just about every time they see one another?" Melody chimed in.

"Uh... geez... alright then... I remember you two snuggling up to each other but I didn't think you... liked ponies like that." Rebecca replied, giving a surprised look to Jason.

"Neither did I." Jason chuckled.

"Well... congrats..." Rebecca awkwardly replied.

"Thank you."

"Okay, anyways... so, what? Eddie is pissed that you and Tempest got together and he didn't get with a pony?" Sky asked.

"I don't think he's into ponies, dude." Jason sighed.

"Well shit, there goes your chance, Melody." Sky tsked.

"W-what?" Melody asked.

"What's with you guys all trying to get with the ponies? Besides, if anyone's gonna bang Melody, it's gonna be me." Rebecca shook her head.

"Hold up... what?" Sky did a double take.

Melody looked back and forth between Rebecca and the rest of the group while a hot blush formed on her face.

"Uh... I... um..." She stuttered.

"Anyways," Jason spoke up, "Changing the subject... if you guys have any ideas that might... I don't know, make Eddie a little less pissed off, I'm all ears."

"I don't think we can just change the subject like that, man." Sky rebutted.

"We can, and we are. Come on, Midnight, help me out here." Jason replied.

"Jason's right, Sky. Focus." She chastised, lightly tapping Sky on the forehead.

"Alright, alright. Fine. We'll just let that go I guess." Sky relented, rolling his eyes.

"Good. Now, like I said, any ideas?" Jason asked.

"Well, I mean... you could always try talking to him again?" Rebecca suggested.

"I don't know... It's been a month and he's barely spoken to me." Jason sighed.

"What if you let him come to you instead? You might be forcing it if you keep coming to him." Midnight offered.

"Even after a month?" Jason countered.

"You never know. He might need a lot of time. Everypony handles grief differently."

"Hmm... Alright... We'll see how it goes." Jason replied.

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Some time later

Jason, Tempest, Sky, and a slightly noticeably pregnant Midnight laid out on the deck together, staring up at the stars. They were all bundled up in blankets and cold weather jackets. Jason and Tempest laid together, the mulberry mare warmly held in his embrace as she nuzzled her cheek into his neck and stared up at the stars with him. Beside them, Sky was spooning Midnight, his cheek resting on her small baby bump and a wide smile on his lips as his gaze kept flicking back and forth between her bump and her eyes.

For quite some time, they were more than content to simply hold onto each other in the cold and stare up at the beautiful display of stars over their heads. Even Melody and Rebecca enjoyed the view from inside the warmth of the bridge.

"You know... I don't even know how long we've been sailing anymore but I think I could get used to this." Jason said, just loud enough for only Tempest to hear him.

"I think it's been somewhere between two and three months... How's your head?" She asked, looking up to him.

"It's alright... for now. Last migraine lasted for thirty minutes though... That one brought the total to three this week." Jason replied, sparing a glance to his wristband. The inside now shown a bright yellow, and the tiniest trace of a frown appeared on his brow before he looked away.

Tempest bit her lip and glanced away.

"Well we're almost there, so don't worry. We'll get you taken care of soon. Just gotta hang in there for a little longer." She whispered, the trembling in her voice still easily detected by Jason.

"You're right. We're gonna make it, and everything's gonna be okay." He confirmed, stroking his fingers through her mane.

As Jason and Tempest continued to comfort each other, Sky and Midnight continued to share quick glances, forcing a small grin to form on the graphite mare's face.

"What are you doing?' She teased.

"Just looking back and forth between the two most beautiful things in the world." Sky casually replied, nuzzling his cheek against her belly.

"Hehe, Sky that tickles... and you aren't even looking at the stars." She replied, playfully rolling her eyes.

"I know what I said." He replied, before planting a kiss on her belly.

"Aww..." Midnight blushed.

Sky pulled away and shuffled up along her back until he was completely spooning her once more. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before she turned to kiss him back, and their lips connected. Across from them, Jason and Tempest stared with raised eyebrows and barely restrained chuckles.

"Hehe... no shame, those two." Jason quipped.

"Nope... none at all." Tempest added.

For a few seconds, they glanced back and forth between each other before quickly closing the distance and kissing each other as well.

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An unknown amount of time later

"You left him to die!" Eddie shouted, slamming his fist into the wall.

"I did everything I could to save him! He let go of my hand and I tried with everything I had to hold onto him! I've told you that three god damn times!" Jason shouted back.

"Guys! Stop, that's enough!" Rebecca interjected.

"Stay out of this!" Eddie shouted, before turning back and pointing at Jason, "Just fucking admit you chose her over him!"

"There wasn't a choice to make! For fuck's sake, why can't you get that through your fucking thick skull?! I held onto both of them for as long as I could!" Jason rebutted, gritting his teeth.

"Guys! Enough!" Rebecca screamed, physically pushing them away from each other.

"You left our friend to die!" Eddie shouted, completely ignoring her.

"Mother fucker, I couldn't have tried any harder to save him!" Jason angrily responded.

"You gave the order to leave! You told me to leave! I could have saved him!" Eddie barked.

"If I had done that, we'd all be dead! You, me, Mike, and every pony here!" Jason snarled, pointing back to the four ponies in the room for emphasis.

"We don't leave men behind! And you left him!" Eddie snapped back.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh before readdressing Eddie with a much lower and calmer tone.

"Ed... He let go of my hand. He fell and the fucking volcano erupted. What do you want from me, man?" He asked, his tone filled with exasperation.

"I want my brothers back!" Eddie cried, tears welling in his eyes.

For a few moments, the room was filled with nothing other than the sound of Eddie's heavy breathing as everyone else took in his words. With all eyes on him, the man slowly turned away and walked over to the nearest wall. He stood there for only a moment before punching the metal with all his might, and hunching over. He stared at the floor for a while before finally speaking once more.

"I just want... my friends back... and when I see you two living it up and having a grand old time... It feels like you just don't care." Eddie vented, his voice so low that Jason had to strain to hear it.

"Ed... I get what you're saying... I do... but man... If we let his death tear us apart like this... we'll never make it. We'll just fail and die out here." Jason replied, taking a hesitant step toward him.

A single tear hit the floor, and Jason took another step forward.

"How do you do it? How the fuck do you stay so calm when we lost our best friend?" Eddie asked, squeezing his eyes shut.

Jason took another step forward while Rebecca shoo'd the ponies out of the room.

"I'm a mess too, Ed... I'm only keeping it together because of Tempest... I know you don't approve... and I know that sometimes it looks like we don't care about what we've lost... but I promise you... I'm hurting just as much as you are, man. Mike was my brother and I loved him like a brother." Jason replied, finding himself just a step away from Eddie.

"Fuck, man... at least you have someone... Even Rebecca kinda has Melody at least." Eddie shook his head.

"Ed... You're my best friend. You have been for over ten years... I'm tired of this fighting between us. If you blame me for losing Mike... then I get it... and I'm sorry... but you know me. You know that I would never leave anyone behind unless it was literally impossible to get them back." Jason comforted, placing his hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"I just... just give me some time... okay?" Eddie replied, not even acknowledging Jason's hand.

Taking the hint, Jason pulled away and stood upright.

"Alright, man... If you need to talk, just remember that I'm here for you. Everyone is." Jason replied.

Eddie gave a short nod before Jason turned around and walked out from the crew quarters. It only took a moment for him to find the rest of the crew out on the deck, patiently waiting for his return. Tempest was the first to notice him, and quickly trotted over.

"Is he okay?" She asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I hope so. I think I got through to him... Somewhat. Hopefully he'll be a bit better from now on." Jason replied, kneeling down to her level.

"I've never seen him explode like that. You think he just held it in all this time?" Sky asked, glancing back at the doorway.

"He's been pretty upset over losing Mike... He just placed the blame in the wrong spot is all." Rebecca responded, giving a small shake of her head.

"I hope he gets better... After we get off the island, I'm still not sure how you two are getting back to the rest of the fleet." Jason replied.

"Wait, what do you mean 'you two'? You're... you're staying here?" Rebecca asked, her eyebrows knitted up in confusion.

"I am. I've gotten just a little too attached to the locals." Jason said, scratching just behind Tempest's ear and earning a loving nuzzle in return.

"Jesus... any more massive revelations you wanna spring on me before we're done with this trip?" Rebecca questioned, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Wait, Jason, you're staying for good?" Sky chimed in, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Yep. Not too sure where I'm gonna go yet, but I'm guessing it's gonna be a castle... if they let me stick around." Jason shrugged.

"Oh they will. Twilight will have no problem with you staying, I can promise that." Tempest replied, smiling up at him.

"Well shit... Guess I won't be the only human around any more." Sky added, giving a happy grin.

"Looks that way." Jason returned a smile.

"Well, anyways... we should probably worry about all that stuff once we're done with this trip. I think I see a thunderstorm up ahead." Midnight spoke up.

All eyes on the deck turned toward the front of the ship to see massive black clouds and intense waves crashing about just a hundred miles ahead of the ship.

"Hey, uh... isn't the island supposed to be in the middle of a perpetual storm or something?" Sky nervously asked, as he watched lightning bolts dance across the storm clouds.

"I think the map made some mention of it..." Jason hesitantly replied.

"How long have we been at sea? Do... do you think that's it?" Rebecca asked, looking back and forth between the group.

"I'll ask Melody." Jason replied.

He quickly broke off from the group and climbed the ladder to the bridge. Inside, he could see Melody plotting their course on the map, and hastily looking back up at the storm. With another quick glance at the blackened skies, Jason opened the door and stepped inside.

"Is that where the island's supposed to be?" He asked.

"I... um... I think so... We've been at sea long enough... and all my navigation equipment is pointing us in that direction..." Melody replied, after a nervous gulp.

"Then we head straight into it." Jason replied.

"What!?" Melody exclaimed.

"We don't have the resources to skirt around and look for a better way to get there. We're gonna have to go straight through until we hit the island." Jason said, giving a determined glance to the storm clouds.

"But... Jason, the waves must be three hundred feet high! The ship will capsize! We'll all drown!" Melody panicked.

"I trust you and Tempest. You'll get us through. No worries." He gave a small smile.

"I... but..." Melody sighed, "I hope you're right about this."

"Me too." Jason replied.

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Twelve Hours Later

Rain pounded against the windows of the bridge, and massive waves threatened to swamp the ship as it plowed into the water at full speed. Behind the helm, Tempest struggled to keep them on course as the force of the crashing waves threatened to capsize their ship. Standing just behind her, Jason braced himself against her chair as the ship dropped from the top of a colossal swell, and slammed into the water a hundred feet below. Beside him, Melody kept her gaze glued to the map, while her horn plotted out a course of light for Tempest to follow.

"Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die." Melody whimpered as she fought to simply stay in her seat.

"We'll be fine. You guys just keep it up, you're doing great," Jason replied, before turning around and yelling down the stairs, "How're you guys holding up down there?!"

In the crew quarters, Midnight, Sky, Rebecca, and Eddie held onto whatever they could to keep from being flung around the ship as it crashed into yet another enormous swell.

"I think I'm gonna be sea-sick..." Rebecca groaned.

"Think you could... I don't know, not hit every wave in existence!?" Sky shouted back.

"Ugh... this is making my stomach twist..." Midnight pouted.

"We're doing our best! Just hold on down there, we're about to hit the worst of it!" Jason called.

"Worst!? You mean this isn't the worst yet?!" Eddie replied.

"If you think this is bad... Then don't come up here and look out the window." Jason responded, as a titanic wave, over three hundred feet high loomed in front of them.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuAGGZNfUkU

Hey guys. So this chapter may seem a bit confusing and jumpy, and that's mostly because originally, I planned on each time skip being a separate chapter. Unfortunately, due to my own life becoming more busy and just a general lack of motivation to write, I've just kinda had to mush it all together. I hope you at least still enjoyed this chapter. Things are about to get crazy.