You stride into the hangar bay where the CH-53 King Stallion dominates the space, its rotors already beginning their pre-flight cycle. C.C. sits in the pilot's seat, green hair tied back, golden eyes on the instruments. Asia is in the co-pilot seat beside her, reviewing the multi-function dispy. The rest of your dimensional travelers cluster around the loading ramp in various states of readiness.

  Yoruichi leans against the fusege in her dark fitted clothing, arms crossed. Nova stands beside her in midnight gray Specter armor, helmet retracted to show her sharp features and blonde ponytail. Rika adjusts her tactical vest nearby, checking her enchanted sniper rifle. Musashi kneels in meditation pose wearing her blue kimono, twin swords resting across her p.

  Erza stands fully armored near the cargo pallets, scarlet hair tied back. Kurumi examines her gothic lolita dress critically, golden-red eyes thoughtful. Sango checks the straps on her Hiraikotsu while Riveria discusses something quietly with Rin, both women in their respective elegant clothing. Shinobu perches on a supply crate watching everything with ancient curiosity. Robin stands apart, observing calmly. Violet helps Hinata adjust her jacket while Sinon checks her rifle's sight. Kenshin maintains respectful distance in his red gi, and Yusuke argues good-naturedly with Albedo about something near the ramp.

  "Everyone," you say through the telepathy web, voice clear in their minds. "C.C., your world diverged after this region's cities were named. Our first stop will be a Costco, an hour east-southeast at Bakersfield, California. Should be simple enough to find once we are above the city. We are also doing low fly-bys of airports while we pass south. If they have a rge jet, we are going to stop and enchant it along with the airport. I will need you all to secure the area while I run around like a chicken."

  Several of them smile at that image. C.C.'s expression remains neutral but her golden eyes show amusement.

  "Riveria, Violet, Robin, Bulma," you continue, "you are waiting with the Apaches until we finish Bakersfield Costco, then meeting up along the way. The Apaches' limited flight time makes it necessary to prioritize their intimidation when we reach farther south. Los Angeles could either be a ghost town or a crime center. If any location is occupied by hostiles, we are going to skip it. Not ideal, but we can take a longer flight tomorrow farther innd."

  The King Stallion's engines roar to life properly as you finish speaking, the deck vibrating beneath your feet. C.C.'s voice comes through the telepathy web, clinical and precise: "King Stallion flight time is effectively unlimited with its power generation."

  "Question," Rika says aloud, her Japanese accent crisp. "Rules of engagement if we encounter survivors at these locations? Friendly contact protocol or defensive posture only?"

  Yoruichi pushes off the fusege. "And what is the extraction pn if things go sideways? King Stallion is a beast but it is not exactly agile for emergency evac."

  Nova's violet eyes focus on you with military precision. "Supply priority at Costco location? Food, medical, ammunition, electronics?"

  Erza steps forward, armor ptes shifting. "How long do you need at each enchantment site? We should establish perimeter distances based on your working time."

  The questions come rapid-fire, each dimensional traveler showing their particur focus - tactical, strategic, logistical. The King Stallion's rotors accelerate to full speed, wind whipping through the open bay doors, but the Silent Field keeps the engine and rotor noise muted to a low thrum inside the hangar.

  C.C. watches you calmly, waiting for your answers through the telepathy web where everyone can hear clearly despite the noise.

  You reply through the web, voice steady.

  "Rika, friendly contact if they appear unarmed. If they are armed, they are hostile. We skip the location."

  "Yoruichi, going sideways in this context means getting shot down, which is why we are skipping locations if they are occupied. While we could theoretically survive getting shot down, we would grab the first cars avaible and high tail it back to shore. But that is pretty damn sideways."

  "Nova, the locations are likely looted empty by now, but if there is anything that interests any of you as we are running around go ahead and grab it."

  "Erza, we need to have the engines start. I can enchant faster than that. The catch is running from the pne to the control tower, or into the Costco to use the right screen. We should be in and out of each location within ten to twenty minutes, not enough time for locals to try and harass us unless they are already waiting. Which is why we will move on. For perimeter distance, it is primarily watching for anyone able to shoot at us. If you can see them, they can shoot at you."

  The rotors reach full pitch. The hangar bay doors begin to open, letting in the cold pre-dawn air.

  C.C. nods once, her mental voice calm. "Understood. I will brief the teams on the way."

  The King Stallion lifts smoothly, Asia monitoring co-pilot instruments while C.C. handles the controls. The deck falls away beneath you. The USS Anchorage shrinks into the darkness below, invisible under lightbend.

  The night sky opens wide, light slipping over the horizon, sunrise an hour away.

  C.C.'s voice cuts through the telepathy web, clinical precision edged with concern. "Brad. Your timing and location are off. We're still north of Sacramento. The Bakersfield you're referring to is two hours south, not one hour east-southeast."

  The King Stallion banks smoothly as she adjusts course, the pre-dawn darkness broken only by scattered lights far below. The Silent Field keeps the rotor noise muted to a gentle thrum inside the cabin.

  "Still north of Sacramento? Somewhere my numbers went off track." you grumble.

  Yoruichi straightens from where she'd been leaning against the fusege. "Two hours changes our approach window significantly. We'll hit Bakersfield closer to six-thirty, possibly seven if we encounter headwinds."

  "Dawn will have broken fully by then," Erza observes, her armored fingers drumming against her thigh. "More visibility for us, but also for anyone watching the skies."

  C.C.'s golden eyes remain fixed on the instruments. "I'm plotting waypoints now. We can conduct airport fly-bys as pnned - Sacramento Executive is directly on our flight path, approximately thirty minutes out. After that, Stockton Metropolitan, Modesto City-County, then Merced Regional before we reach Bakersfield."

  Rika moves to the co-pilot position behind Asia, studying the navigation dispy over her shoulder. "Four airports plus the Costco. If we spend ten to twenty minutes at each location as Brad specified, we're looking at minimum ninety minutes of ground operations. That puts our return flight starting around eight-thirty."

  "USS Anchorage will be approximately fifty miles farther south by then," Nova calcutes, her violet eyes distant. "Range isn't a concern with unlimited fuel generation, but coordination with the Apache escorts becomes more complex."

  Albedo shifts beside you, her wing brushing your shoulder. "The exhaustion factor remains relevant. Brad just completed a short rest. His mental crity is improved but not optimal for extended tactical operations."

  Maria speaks through the web from where she sits across the cabin. "We should establish clear abort criteria. If Brad shows signs of impaired judgment, someone needs authority to call the mission early."

  "I can maintain operational assessment," C.C. says calmly, adjusting altitude as city lights begin to resolve ahead. "Sacramento is coming into visual range. Brad, do you want to revise the mission parameters given the extended timeline, or proceed as pnned with the corrected navigation?"

  Hinata presses closer against your side, her pale eyes wide. "Are you... I mean, do you need more rest before we start?"

  The cabin falls quiet except for the muted thrum of rotors, everyone waiting for your response. The King Stallion's instruments glow softly in the darkness, showing clear skies and stable flight conditions.

  Below, Sacramento sprawls in the pre-dawn gloom - a vast grid of darkened streets broken by occasional lights. The first airport lies thirty minutes ahead.

  You wrap your arm around Hinata's waist and pull her close, pressing your lips to hers in a gentle kiss that makes her breath catch. Through the telepathy web your voice echoes clearly to everyone aboard: "While I did make an error, I'm not the only one who hasn't slept. None of us have slept in the st two days. All of us are operating fully refreshed off the enchantments."

  Hinata's pale eyes flutter open as you break the kiss, her cheeks flushed. Several of the dimensional travelers shift uncomfortably - Albedo's golden eyes narrow slightly, Maria crosses her arms with an amused expression.

  "However," you continue through the web, voice carrying mock severity, "for your horrendous accusations I invoke the almighty power of delegation. C.C., you know the route and targets. Albedo, you know the objectives and goals. Rika, same as you searched the Anchorage for sabotage - have Hinata search each location as we're doing fly-bys and determine dangers. The three of you are now in charge. I'll answer any questions you have, but I don't think there's much the three of you can't solve."

  C.C.'s golden eyes remain fixed on the instruments for several seconds before she responds aloud, her voice clinical. "Delegation accepted. However, your logic contains a fw - the enchantments remove physical fatigue but do not eliminate cognitive load. You've been making tactical decisions continuously for forty-eight hours while the rest of us have been executing assigned tasks. That's a meaningful difference."

  "Still," she continues, banking the King Stallion smoothly as Sacramento's lights resolve ahead, "the delegation is sound. Albedo, you'll coordinate ground operations. Rika, establish threat assessment protocols with Hinata. I'll handle navigation and timing."

  Albedo rises from her seat, moving forward with fluid grace. Her wing brushes your shoulder as she passes. "A transparent deflection, Master," she says quietly, golden eyes gleaming. "But an effective one. You've just created accountability structure while appearing to concede criticism." Her lips curve slightly. "I approve."

  Rika moves to stand beside Hinata, her Japanese accent crisp as she addresses the Hyuga through the telepathy web. "Hinata, your Byakugan gives three-hundred-sixty degree vision and can see through walls. Range?"

  "Several kilometers," Hinata answers, her voice steadier now. "I can see chakra signatures and... and I think the enchantments register simirly. Like glowing networks."

  "Perfect," Rika says. "You'll scan from altitude before we descend. Look for: concentrated groups of living humans, vehicle formations suggesting organized forces, prepared ambush positions, and any magical signatures that don't match our network patterns. Report everything through the web so C.C. can adjust approach vectors."

  Maria ughs from across the cabin. "You just turned a navigation error into a command structure upgrade. That's either brilliant or exhausted luck."

  "Both," Yoruichi observes dryly from where she leans against the fusege. "But it works. C.C.'s right about cognitive load - he's been the decision bottleneck since Thursday. Distributing authority reduces single-point failure risk."

  C.C.'s voice cuts through the telepathy web again, precise and measured. "Sacramento Executive Airport approaching. ETA twelve minutes. Hinata, begin preliminary scan now - we need threat assessment before we commit to descent."

  You settle back into your seat between Kurumi and Musashi, both women still elegantly wearing the lingerie beneath their clothes from their mutual challenge. The contrast between their outer garments and what lies beneath creates an electric awareness.

  "Don't forget that we're already a silent helicopter in the sky," you say through the web, your voice carrying easy confidence. "If you activate the Lightbend enchantment we'll just be a mysterious gust of wind."

  Kurumi immediately curls against your left side, her heterochromatic eyes gleaming with mischief as she presses close. The bck ce of her lingerie shifts beneath her gothic dress as she moves, and her intent is transparent - she's deliberately taunting Musashi to mirror her action.

  Musashi's violet eyes narrow slightly, recognizing the challenge. For several heartbeats she remains still, samurai composure holding firm. Then her lips curve in the faintest smile as she shifts against your right side, matching Kurumi's positioning with fluid grace. The red silk beneath her gi whispers against her skin.

  "The Master makes a valid tactical point," Musashi says quietly, her Japanese accent precise. "Complete sensory negation would render approach vectors undetectable by conventional means."

  C.C.'s golden eyes flick to the rearview mirror, taking in the tableau behind her. "Lightbend activation would drain an additional eight mana per hour at this altitude," she observes clinically. "Well within sustainable parameters given the King Stallion's generation rate. However, visual invisibility combined with Silent Field creates coordination challenges for the Apache escorts following behind."

  Rika speaks from her position near the cockpit, her Japanese accent crisp. "We'd need to maintain telepathy contact with Riveria, Violet, Robin and Bulma for formation flying. Visual reference points would be eliminated."

  "They're experienced combatants," Yoruichi says from where she leans against the fusege. "Telepathy web provides precise positioning data. The real question is whether we want to advertise magical capabilities during daylight fly-bys, or maintain the fiction that we're just another military helicopter conducting reconnaissance."

  Albedo rises smoothly from her seat, moving forward with fluid grace. Her golden eyes study the instrument panels over Asia's shoulder. "If we activate Lightbend now, we establish operational doctrine for all future approaches. The decision sets precedent."

  Hinata presses closer against your side from where she sits adjacent, her pale eyes wide. "If someone sees us disappear mid-flight, that would... that would be more suspicious than just being visible, wouldn't it?"

  Maria ughs softly from across the cabin. "She's right. Popping in and out of visibility screams 'magic' louder than just flying normally."

  C.C.'s voice cuts through the discussion, precise and measured. "Sacramento Executive Airport is now ten minutes ahead. We need approach doctrine established before we commit to descent pattern. Brad, do you want full stealth with Lightbend active, or maintain conventional military helicopter appearance?"

  "I believe that decision was delegated to you C.C.," you say through the telepathy web, exaggerating your confidence. "While there's no cellphone network, magic will be public as soon as word gets around about the magic fuel supply. If we're seen, an invisible helicopter will just become another urban myth in the zombie apocalypse. The Apaches won't catch up until after we pass Bakersfield, which we will only need to be visible once we reach the Los Angeles Costcos for intimidation to prevent attackers while we're inside."

  C.C.'s golden eyes remain fixed on the instruments for several heartbeats. Then her fingers move across the interface panel. "Lightbend activating," she says calmly. "Transitioning to full stealth in three... two... one."

  The cabin lighting shifts subtly as the enchantment engages. From the outside, the King Stallion has simply vanished from the sky.

  "If anybody saw us disappear," C.C. observes, her voice carrying faint amusement, "it'll just be another story nobody believes."

  Kurumi shifts against your left side, her heterochromatic eyes gleaming with mischief. Without warning she tilts her head and presses her lips to your neck, the kiss slow and deliberate. Her tongue traces a line along your pulse point as one hand slides across your chest.

  The telepathy web carries a spike of awareness from everyone aboard - Kurumi's making absolutely certain her actions register clearly.

  Musashi goes very still against your right side. Her violet eyes narrow slightly as she watches Kurumi's performance, samurai composure holding firm but showing visible strain. The red silk of her lingerie shifts beneath her gi as her breathing changes tempo.

  "Ara ara," Kurumi purrs against your neck, her voice carrying through the web with deliberate sweetness. "The Master's skin tastes wonderful at this altitude. Perhaps the thin air makes everything more... sensitive?"

  Albedo's golden eyes gleam from where she sits forward in the cabin. "Transparent provocation," she observes, her tone carrying approval. "But effective. Musashi-san, are you pnning to simply observe, or will you defend your position?"

  Musashi's fingers tighten slightly on the fabric of her hakama. For several seconds she remains motionless, decades of discipline warring with the competitive dynamic Kurumi's established. Then her lips curve in the faintest smile.

  "The sword-saint does not rise to obvious bait," she says quietly, her Japanese accent precise. But even as she speaks, she shifts closer against your side, mirroring Kurumi's positioning with fluid grace.

  Yoruichi ughs from where she leans against the fusege. "That's the weakest deflection I've heard all week. You're already matching her posture."

  Hinata presses her hands together nervously from her adjacent seat, pale eyes wide. "Should I... I mean, is this...?"

  "Hinata," Rika says crisply from the cockpit area, "focus on the mission. Sacramento Executive Airport is eight minutes ahead. Begin preliminary Byakugan scan now."

  C.C.'s voice cuts through the building tension with clinical precision. "All personnel, we're approaching first target location. Threat assessment takes priority over interpersonal dynamics. Kurumi, Musashi - save the competition for after we've confirmed the airport is clear."

  SnafuSam