So I should be updating my other fic but I'm drowning in Epic feels so due to conspiring this happened. Notes: This takes place after the movie, so yes, spoilers may happen. Also, since the little marigold queen has no name, I've named her Hanako for the sake of this.

Nod approached his queen, the young marigold girl that now carried the life of the forest, removed his helmet, and bowed low. The girl, whom he'd learned was named Hanako, started giggling at him. He knew she found it hilarious whenever one of the Leafmen bowed or kneeled around her, which was why he continued to do it even after she had insisted he didn't need to. He looked up at her smiling before standing, "Mila-" "Hanako!" The little queen insisted, half pouting, half smiling, "What is it, Nod?" She motioned her hands and a vine stretched over to them for them to sit on.

"It's um… Gee… I don't know how to ask this…" Nod pushed his hair back from his face, feeling incredibly embarrassed, "It's about MK…"

"I thought as much." The queen stuck her tongue out at him in a very unlady-like manner, giggling again. "Did she threaten to step on you again?"

He laughed, loosening up a little, "No, nothing like that. It was her dad that threatened that." He winked at Hanako to let her know he was joking, "It's just that… Well, I was hoping I could have some time off to spend with her and her dad. They asked if I wanted to go see the city with them, so they could show me their world. They are going to be away for an entire month, and thought that I might be able to learn more about stompers, and be able to bring that knowledge back with me. At least, that's what Bomba keeps saying…" He trailed off awkwardly, wondering how to ask the next part.

"You want me to give you time off and make you big, don't you?" She grinned at him, not needing him to speak after all. "If I do that, Ronin's going to get all scary faced and lecture me again." She said, putting her hands on her hips. "But… If you promise to bring me back something cool, I might be able to put up with another lecture. Do you really think you'll be all right living alone with stompers for an entire month?" Hanako cocked her head to the side, studying her friend a little better.

"I think I can manage it. I hope. I mean, it seemed like a pretty big deal for MK, after all." He shrugged. "And they'll be setting up something that will allow you guys to communicate with us in case of an emergency, somehow, even though we'll be a lot farther away."

"All right. Well, let's get this over with before anyone catches us." She said brightly, grabbing his hand and pulling him along till they were nearer to the outskirts of Moonhaven. She put her hands to her temples and looked at him questioningly, "You ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the magic that was to follow.

With an intense look of concentration, wind started blowing around him, dragging him backwards until he disappeared. With a satisfied nod, she turned and started hopping back to the center of Moonhaven, not wanting any of her other guards to find her so close to the edge.

Nod had been blown away, but when he crashed into the ground everything seemed different. With a groan he picked himself off the ground gingerly, feeling like his limbs were way too heavy. "MK likes feeling like this?" He asked himself in confusion as he glanced around to get his bearings. The forest seemed incredibly different from up here, but at least he didn't have to worry about a Boggan attack like this. With a grin at that thought, he took off down the trail towards the stomper house. Once there he banged on the door, shouting cheerfully, "MK, MK! I did it! Open up! Aaaah, how do you work this thing?" He stared at the knob that stuck out from the door and put his hand on it, trying to pull to open the door. "MK? Bomba? Come on, let me in!"

Moments later a breathless MK opened the door, squeaking in surprise before throwing herself at him for a hug. "She did it!" She laughed as he spun her around excitedly, "She made you norm- well, our size." She extracted herself from his arms and looked him over, amused, "Although we'll have to find you something other than armor to wear." She added with a smile, "Not that the armor doesn't look good, it'd just really stand out. We don't go to the actual city for a couple of days, at least, so we have time to get you some real clothes and let you get used to being like this."

The sound of growling at their feet attracted their attention as Ozzie started sniffing Nod's feet, "Ozzie, really? You know Nod!" MK reprimanded the dog with a laugh, "Anyways, dad will be happy to know you're here. I'm surprised Mub didn't try to stop you from coming, actually."

"Ah, actually, Mub doesn't know. Queen Hanako is the only one who does, and hopefully we can make it to the city before anyone capable of causing me trouble realizes I'm gone." Nod winked at the girl, "And can you imagine if Mub managed to convince her to make him big too? There would be no saving either of us. He'd probably try to take over the forest, too." He started wandering around the room, poking at everything of interest, and feeling pretty excited as he discovered the light switch, flicking it up and down, "You stompers make the weirdest things. How does this even work?"

With a shake of her head, MK grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the switch and into the other room, where her dad was frantically typing notes into a computer. "Dad, look who I found." She said, wondering if he was too far gone into his own world to hear her. "Wow! How did you put scrolls inside this?" Nod asked as he ran forward and stuck his head close to the screen.

"Oh great, now I've lost them both. Dorks." She said quietly, smiling at their backs as Bomba started teaching Nod about computers.

"At least they get along." She heard an annoyed sounding voice say near her ear, making her turn her head. A few months ago and she might have screamed, but she was getting used to such things now. She held out her hand, allowing Ronin to jump onto it. He'd probably had to speak very slowly for her to have been able to understand his words so well, but talking like that was inconvenient for both of them. With a sigh she walked into the other room, let him jump onto the table, and pulled on her helmet. "I see that didn't last long." She shook her head at him ruefully.

The man shrugged, eyes narrowing as he stared through the open door into the other room where Nod was still oblivious, "He's not exactly good at hiding things. He didn't tell me his plans, but I am his commanding officer. I know when something's up."

She chuckled lightly, arguing in Nod's defense, "Come on, a little break isn't a bad thing. And think about it. Anything he learns might help you guys better learn how to deal with other stompers, right?"

He crossed his arms and looked up at her, his chin jutting slightly to the side, "Maybe. I can't order him back since the queen gave him off, but have you ever wondered how well he'll handle stomper life? I mean…" He looked pointedly back to the boy and him and Bomba stumbled into the room together, Bomba's phone in Nod's hands. He was moving his fingers over it and laughing excitedly, "MK! Look! I can make the pictures get bigger and smaller!"

"I… I'm sure he'll adapt quickly. I mean, he is a Leafman, right? Didn't you train him to learn how to deal with things or something?" She laughed nervously, resisting the urge to facepalm. "How bad could it possibly be? We'll bring him back in a month, safe and sound, I promise!"

The bug sized man looked unconvinced, "Whatever. Tell him I hope he has fun or something." He said over his shoulder as he turned towards the window, "I expect him to report back for duty the minute he returns." With that he jumped away, leaving her alone to stare at the antics of her dad, her friend, and Ozzie, who had now joined in the shenanigans. "Ah, I'll do that. Goodbye, Ronin."