They followed the purple creature all the way to the circular contraption, and once again, it held the void. With them all knowing better, they weren't as nervous about it as they were previously, but it was still a little unsettling.

Ignoring whatever argument Matatagi and Mizukawa were having, Kimiko took another good look around. Then, purely out of curiosity, she activated her abilities and focused on the machine in front of her.

Space technology and future technology don't seem all that different... If they really are made from the same components, then maybe I can bring a pretty useful souvenir back...

However, she had just barely caught a glimpse when her sight suddenly cut out.

"Huh?"

Blinking, whatever it was that she felt suddenly disappeared. Okay? Weird...

"Something wrong?" Her best friend's voice was quiet, but it was right next to her ear, preventing others from hearing.

She gave a single shoulder shrug, indicating that she didn't know. But it didn't seem like a big deal, so she made a mental note to just consult her future friends once they were done here.

The Pixie flew around, gathering their attention to the disc once again. And like all the times before, it glowed bright, sending them all to another memory.

~~~~~

Once again, the throne room was shown, this time with Acrous on it. Five people stood before him, one of them being Minel and the rest being the nobles who bowed to the previous king.

One of the nobles, Donolzen, asked the new king for his first order. She stated how there was a planet, 7 lights away, rich with resources. She stated how, if he willed it...

"... Donolzen, you have a family, do you not? Have they been faring well?"

That was not at all what she expected to hear. "Y-Yes... Thanks to your highness..."

"The people of that planet must have families too. War brings only suffering to both enemies and allies."

He clearly had no intentions of following his father's footsteps, and none of the nobles are happy about that.

The scene then cuts to what seems to be tens of years in the future, still in that same throne room. A much-older Acrous was pacing back and forth as a similar-to-present-time Minel watched on.

"King Acrous, please calm down..."

"Y-Yes... I know, but..."

It was quite something to see the king so flustered, especially after everything else he'd gone through, but soon, it was revealed why.

A servant ran in, an excited smile on her face.

"King Acrous! She has been born! A princess!"

"Oh! I see! A princess, is it?" Only then did the king allow himself to relax.

"King Acrous, congratulations." Minel, too, shared his joy.

"Yes. And I've already decided on her name. 'Lalaya'. In the old Faramian language, it is a word that means 'happiness'."

"Princess Lalaya..."

The scene cuts once again to several years later, out in the main plaza of town. The young princess had grown up to be a toddler and was standing right by her father as he addressed his citizens.

The people cheered for their king. For their princess. For their planet.

And Acrous took the time to teach the girl the most important lesson he believed she needed to know.

"Lalaya. Take a good look at the people's smiles. A ruler must always protect the people's smiles. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father!" She beamed up at him, but the expression only lasted a short while as her attention was caught by a toy that one of the kids was holding.

Immediately, she started begging for it. And Acrous, while he put up a small fight, eventually caved in when she started a tantrum.

"Is it really alright, Your Highness?"

"... It can't be helped. A ruler must protect the people's smiles. And a father must protect his daughter's smile. Is that not so?"

"Yes..."

"Thank you! I love you, father!"

"I see, I see. Am I your favorite in the universe?" The father teased lightheartedly.

"Yes!" Came the daughter's immediate reply. "When Lalaya grows up, I will be father's bride!"

"I see, I see!" The king only laughed at her declaration, thinking nothing of it. Perhaps he thought that the girl simply didn't understand what the meaning of being someone's bride truly is, so he decided to teach that lesson when she was old enough to understand.

Minel could only sigh as the king continued to spoil his only child.

~~~~~

"So Faram Orbius had this sort of story, huh..."

"That story was what got you kidnapped, replaced, and proposed to."

Someone choked.

"Tsurugi got proposed to?!"

"When?! By who?!"

"Obviously, it was by Faram's queen."

"Oh my god... I can't decide if that's hilarious or weird."

"Does that make him alien royalty now?"

"Are we seriously discussing this within Kimiko's earshot?"

"I didn't marry her!" He finally snapped. "And besides, Lalaya doesn't actually like me! She just thought that I might be able to help her lead Faram because I apparently look like her dad!" Then, he blinked. "... Okay, now that I said that out loud myself, it does sound stupid."

"Yes! Thank you! Finally!" Kimiko pumped her fist into the air. "Now will you stop taking her side?!"

"... Well, fuck me, I guess."

"For someone who supposedly doesn't have a special relationship with royalty, you sure are comfy enough to call her by her name." Aoi teased.

In that case, "You could say the same for Tenma and Katora then."

"It's not like that!" The brunette immediately denied, frantically waving his hands about. "Katora just appears in my dreams to guide us to save the galaxy!"

The rest of the team sweatdropped at him.

"Captain, that doesn't help your case at all."

"At least Tsurugi realized how dumb he sounded once he said what he said."

"Stay pure, Tenma. Stay pure."

"H-Huh...?"

Seeing his confused state, they decided to leave the matter. Even his childhood friend couldn't find it in her heart to get upset at him, even if she was a little bit jealous.

Instead,

"Hey, guys! Look!"

They turned their focus back to the contraption. It was, once again, glowing bright pink.

"So..." Minaho's eyes darted towards Kimiko's.

The girl grinned ear to ear. "Death plunge part 2?"

His expression matched hers instantly. "Yeah!"

"Oh my fucking g―" Ibuki wasn't allowed to finish his words as Shindou pulled him into the sea of pink.

~~~~~

The scene this time was of the princess' room. She was staring intently out the window for the longest time before turning to her servant.

"Hey! Where is father today?"

"The king is working."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow and the day after too, he will be working."

"He's always working now. Even though before he used to play with me more..."

"The king has been especially busy lately. I understand that the princess is lonely, but please bear with it just a little more. Oh, and the king has also requested that you do not go beyond the castle walls. There have been many cases recently." The servant bowed politely before taking her leave.

"... Father has come to hate me..."

The scene changed to the throne room, where Acrous and Minel were speaking. Apparently, the aide has gained intel on a group of people after the king's life, and it may involve his daughter as well. It was only a shame that they did not know who the instigator of the movement was.

"King Acrous!" The servant from earlier rushed into the room. "Princess Lalaya... Princess Lalaya has disappeared!"

"What?!"

The scene changed once again to the town plaza, where Lalaya was surrounded by a group of children her age. Fortunately, the children were all sensible with her, asking if it was really alright for the princess to be alone outside. However, she responded with how it was fine as she knew the streets already thanks to her father often taking her out.

"So, what should we play? Hide and seek?"

"Lalaya!"

They didn't even have time to ponder on it before the king's booming voice came. Immediately, the children bowed as the princess ran in his direction, smiling brightly.

"Father!"

"Lalaya! You stupid girl! I told you not to leave the castle! Why didn't you do as your father said?!"

"But... But father never comes to play anymore! You don't read me picture book stories! You don't race with me, or play hide and seek with me! You've come to hate me!"

"... Lalaya, what are you saying? There is no possibility of me hating you." The king let out a sigh. "Either way, don't do anything so dangerous. Your father wants to protect your smile. Do you understand, Lalaya?"

"... No, I don't! Lalaya can't smile if father isn't with her!" She continued to cry.

"Lalaya... Alright, I understand. Your father will always stay by your side."

The scene cuts away from him cradling her in his arms to the purple throne room once more. However, only Minel was present, looking on to an empty throne. The door then opened, with Donolzen entering with the usual scowl on her face.

Minel paid it no mind and instead asked, "Have they still not found King Acrous' body yet?"

"Yes. The recovery of the airframe he was on is practically impossible. The search had to be aborted." She replied.

"... How on Faram do we tell this to Princess Lalaya...?"

At the same time, in the princess' room, she was once again staring out into the city through the large windows.

"When is father coming home...?"

"Piku!"

Surprised, the girl whipped around, only to find a purple creature, about the size of her palm, floating just a few steps away. The creature flew around her excitedly, cheering her up almost immediately.

"Will you become Lalaya's friend?"

"Piku!"

~~~~~

"Man, that didn't end as funny as the yellow one."

"Ugh... Family drama. Gross."

"Five out of ten."

"It's a four for me. But the lightsaber battle kicked it up to a seven, maybe."

"Yeah. No comedy, but better action."

"Anyway," Kimiko loudly cut into Matatagi and Mizukawa's review time. "I was right to think that brat was spoiled worse than milk. And with the fact that her father was that irresponsible, I can also understand why she ended up where she ended up."

"No comment." Tsurugi sighed. "Still, I'm fairly sure Donolzen was behind whatever happened to King Acrous. It took several years, but at least she's finally captured now."

"Would've been better if they launched her into the black hole before we erased it though."

"K-Kimiko..."

"In any case, we're back to the door. Again. Is there going to be a third Pixie, or...?"

Just as Shindou said so,

"Piku!"

It (Thankfully) wasn't a third Pixie, but the two they had followed both appearing before them. They ran circles around them before phasing through the door. And then, it opened.

"Tenma?" Shinsuke, like all the others, looked to their captain for his permission.

And of course, with a smile, the brunette nodded. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!"