The operatives brought Tila's band to the base of Karaoke Tower. A neon Song Road spiraled up around the perimeter of the cone-shaped structure. There were also glowing holes along it. "You know, why does Karaoke Tower look more like a giant horn?" Eddy wondered.
"Maybe it's a microphone, but they didn't design the speaker part." Miko shrugged. "It would be hard to stay balanced on a round bottom, right?"
"Whoa!" Remi tried to walk up the path, but immediately felt his foot slip down. "This road's as slippery as ice."
"The Song Road will only respond to the voice of the one who fully awoke the tower." Boly replied. "That person can otherwise bring allies to be carried up the tower. Your musicbending will also be imperative in combatting the boss. I would suggest allowing Miko to accompany you."
"Only I can collect the Pure Hearts, for some reason."
"Correct, but your guitar-playing skills will be vital as well."
"But I don't have a guitar."
As a response, Boly digitized a purple electric guitar from her glove. "YEAH!" She strummed it with vigor. "I feel the power of my high scores coursing through me!"
Tila bit her lip nervously and stared up the imposing tower. Even with her teammates beside her, this was more important than any show. These guys were depending on her to beat this boss. Heck, probably everyone in Aincrad was depending on her. This was way different from singing in their comfy, safe recording room. "So, uh, are we ready to go?" Dodo asked.
"I don't know…" Tila replied.
"It'll be fine, Tila." Miko assured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just pretend it's an ordinary concert. Just imagine yourself on a stage and sing like you always have!"
"A st-st-stage?"
"Uh, I mean, your bedroom! Wherever you actually sing… The point is, just do what you always have. We'll back you up every step of the way."
"I'm ready to show that boss who's boss!" Sofa declared, drawing out an umbrella missile launcher.
"Okay…" Tila closed her eyes and took a breath. She courageously walked to the start of the path. Her friends and Miko lined up behind her as the latter strummed her guitar.
Miko played the opening rhythm of "Currents of Love" with Tila applying vocals. As they soared up the neon road, jets of music burst out of holes, prompting the players to either jump or duck. The "pop" and "bum bum" parts of the music would indicate when to do so. The world outside the tower spiraled around them like a giant merry-go-round, whether it be the city of Danceopolis or the sea and coast bordering the tower. "At least we get a cool view." Dodo smiled as they ducked a jet.
"My eyes are spinning…" Sofa's swirly lenses literally spun.
"And the heart is just up above!" Miko beamed, seeing the yellow glow shimmering above the peak.
"It doesn't seem like there's much room for a boss fight." Remi commented, the group jumping two jets. "Are you sure that it's actually-"
A giant tentacle suddenly slapped around part of the tower, blocking their ascent. The music coming to a halt, they abruptly slid down, but were able to grab some of the holes and stop. The tentacle was a light-cyan and seemed to originate from the nearby sea.
With the "Here Comes Trouble" music came a tremendous entity rising from the sea. It was an enormous squid, with a string of wavy black hair on his forehead, and a long nose hanging over his wry smile. His eyes were half-closed in a condescending fashion. His voice was snide and taunting. "Wow, did you kids dig this clarinet up just for me? Niiiice joooob~ I guess I'll give you a photo of my solid gold mansion in return~"
"A clarinet?!" Eddy gasped. "So, that's why it looked like a horn!"
"And we don't want a gold mansion!" Miko yelled. "We want a gold heart and giant gold key!"
"Sorry, kiddies~ Those belong to the gifted people. You're better off sticking to your toy xylophone or air guitar~"
"My air guitar can rock way more than your clarinet! And don't get me started on my digi-guitar!"
"Eh hyur hyur hyur. I'll just have to swat you gnats off myself. Too bad I didn't bring my solid gold fly-swatter~"
"Gang, let's just kick his solid gold booty!"
"I know the perfect song for this!" Sofa said. "Miko, do you know the song 'Krak Attack'?"
"Yeah! Want me to play it?"
"The mood doesn't feel right, anymore!" Tila yelled.
"Just leave the hard part to us!" Remi insisted.
"You can do it, Tila!" Miko declared, fingers ready. "Let's crack him!" (Play "Trev the Tenteyecle" from Yooka-Laylee!)
Boss fight: Squimillion
Tila began to sing a song about tentacles tearing up a ship. Miko played to the necessary rhythm as they slid back up the Song Road, jumping or ducking musical jets from the holes. Every few notes built up a large note, and once they had three built up, they were launched at the first tentacle. Squimillion pulled the appendage away with a flinch, the band continuing up the tower to begin the next notes. After knocking away the second tentacle, Squimillion began to wrap one of them along the path and after them. Dodo jumped to the back and used his katana to slice it away, making sure to jump the note jets. Miko and Tila took down the third tentacle before the group stopped in front of one of the clarinet's giant holes. They could stand on a stage as Squimillion swiped his tentacles across it. Dodo sliced the right tentacles while Remi shot the left ones with a laser rifle. The boss's attacks stuck with the rhythm, as did the girls' notes, which were sent back into the clarinet's hole.
Squimillion sported a big smile as his hanging nose bent up. "Hyur hyur hyur! Hyuuuurrr!" His snotty laugh sent bad notes from his nose like a horn. But once the clarinet built up enough Music Chi, it unleashed a powerful, colorful beam, obliterating the bad notes and blasting Squimillion in the nose. He reeled back from the agonizing sensation as his eyes showed dizziness. His eyes cast a slight glare, his nose shooting more notes as the kids slid up the tower. For the second act, the individual players would have to jump the incoming notes, letting them burst against the wall. Miko and Tila otherwise kept up their performance and took down the first tentacle.
While the process repeated, a tentacle quickly slid up after them, so Dodo readied to cut it, but the appendage backed out tauntingly. Dodo jumped some obstacles and readied to cut again, but it backed out again. He grew frustrated having to focus on it while jumping hazards—the tentacle abruptly sped up, but Dodo managed to slice it in time. The blockade tentacle was taken down as well. For this next portion, Squimillion slid tentacles in zigzaggy fashions from above. Remi was left to shoot the tips of them and force them to withdraw. "If this were an actual game, how would the player manage all five of us?" he asked. "This would be like the worst rhythm level."
The group rested on another stage beside the second hole. Squimillion shot bad notes that spiraled en route to them, but Sofa's umbrella missiles would spiral in the same fashion and intercept them. The tentacles tried to slither and sneak up on the stage instead of swiping across, but Dodo and Remi were once again vigilante in taking them down. An aggravated Squimillion brought up four tentacles in the desire to smash them, but the girls had finished charging the Song Beam in time. It fired forth and struck the boss's big nose, prompting him into bringing his tentacles back in defense. His eyelids curved in fury as they glided up the next portion of the tower.
Squimillion began to quickly slap his tentacles to the tower with the beat of drums. Some of his slaps were away from them, but they would have to jump the ones that would hit. It was very difficult to predict—"AAAH!" and Remi was inevitably smashed. When the tentacle pulled away, it sucked Remi off and dropped him off the tower. "REMI!" Tila screamed.
"WHOA!" The group slid down when the rhythm broke.
"I got him!" Jenny saw the event and skated under Remi.
"Tila, he's fine! Keep singing!" Miko yelled.
Tila swallowed and hurriedly got back into the rhythm, sounding a tad more nervous, but the road allowed them to travel up once more. They took down a blockade tentacle, and bad notes came flying as Sofa shot them down. Dodo would chop the tentacles that either slid up the path or down from above. The girls took down the next blockade tentacle—but it suddenly smacked the wall under Dodo, causing the Lunarian to lose balance and fall. Tila looked down in worry, keeping her rhythm up, but saw Jenny about to catch him next. Fortunately, as the clarinet was getting thinner, the road was shorter, so they reached the next hole.
The angry Squimillion rose each tentacle high and brought them down synchronically. Sofa was the only one left to defend the girls, aiming his umbrella at each of the closest ones, to shoot them away. Squimillion cycled through the six tentacles once more, but also applied bad notes as well. Sofa ended up suffering some damage in trying to shoot them all, mainly prioritizing the tentacles while allowing the notes to hit himself. Eventually, the hole was powered up enough to fire a Song Beam and blast the giant squid again.
"Huff…huff…I'm out of ammo." Sofa sighed. "And I'm exhausted… can I lay and rest for a minute?" He plopped back on the stage.
"B-B-But, Sofa…" Tila stuttered.
"C'mon, Ti!" Miko grabbed her sleeve. "We're almost there!"
"I-I-I can't! W-W-W-What if I mess up, w-w-what if I need to improvise, w-what's my choreography-"
"Hey!" Miko grabbed her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. "No one is judging you! Right now, you're in your bedroom, freestyling in comfort! It's just you and your four goofy friends who like hearing you sing!"
"F-Four?"
"Uh, I mean, if you wanna consider us friends, too?" She grinned awkwardly.
Tila lightly chuckled and blushed. This violet-haired girl was no less geeky than herself deep down. Tila jumped back on the Song Road and Miko followed. The tower grew thinner and thinner as they jumped the last series of note streams. Finally, they reached the reed of the clarinet, the Pure Heart suspended several feet above them. "D'oh, I've had enough! Give me my clarinet!" Squimillion performed a miraculously leap to the sky and was dead set on planting his mouth to the reed.
Miko grit her teeth and impaled her guitar into the reed. As Tila mustered up the final notes, the entire tower rose from the ground and flipped upside-down. Their amplified notes blew from the massive horn and swallowed Squimillion in a vortex of music. He swirled and flushed down the horn, his entire mushy mass being squished up the tower. The horn flipped again and stamped back in the ground. The girls watched as a tiny, normal-size squid popped out of the reed and plopped. His droopy little eyes gazed up at the musicians in sadness.
"Don't look at me like that… I'm just a cashier! Waaaaaahhhh!"
Miko was about to step on him, but… "Nah, you can have the honors!"
"M-Me?"
"Yeah! It's your victory."
Tila cracked a smile. She hesitantly raised her foot and squished the squid. His body burst into fireworks as the Boss Key bounced out. (End song.)
Tila sighed and collected the key. It shrank into her inventory. "We won… heh…we won…"
"You sure did." Miko smiled, looking up at the yellow heart. "Hey, catch that for me." She opened her hands as Tila stepped on. She was flung up to the heart. (Play "Resort Cassette" from Celeste!)
As soon as she touched it, the heart flashed and flew across Danceopolis, forming another series of blue and purple platforms. Tila happily slid the Song Road all the way down the tower while Miko began the course to the heart. Miko had to run across a trail of alternating note platforms, the colors rapidly swapping with each step. She jumped to another trail, then reached two parallel pillars of these notes. She had to Wall Jump them in rapid succession, afterwards landing at the top of a slide. The speed of her sliding was equal to that of the alternating segments, until she had to jump off at the end. She landed in a blue Barrel Cannon, but fired herself before it could disappear, and landed in a purple cannon. Their rhythm was slightly longer than the notes, but Miko still had to shoot quickly.
Spikes would hover in front of the cannons, either matching the color of the current or preceding cannon. If Miko fired too early or too late, the spikes would pierce her. Once across the cannon segment, Miko quick-hopped up a stairway of changing notes and seized the Pure Heart. A flash and shockwave wiped out the evil glitches on this floor. With the jingle of an 8-bit victory theme, the yellow heart absorbed into Miko's chest. (End song.)
Miko returned to the ground just in time for her team to catch up. Clap, clap, clap, clap. They turned around to find CLU, clapping with a smug smile. "Bravo, Me_K.O.. Your victory was all but assured. Though with your exceptional skill in gaming, why rely on these lesser users?"
"What the hell is your problem?" Miko glared. "Why are you so obsessed over me?"
"Yeah." Quill said, feeling equally suspicious. "Is it because Miko is carrying Boly? Why did Boly happen to pick her, anyway?"
"Just keep finding those hearts. The sooner the system is restored, the sooner we can dispose of Infinite."
"How did Infinite even take over the system, anyway?" Jenny asked. "Is your security that lax?"
"Jenny, don't hurt Boly's feelings!" Carmine shouted.
"I-I was talking about those guys!"
"After looking Infinite over," CLU answered, "we've determined the source of his power: Infinite possesses a DNEgg."
"A DNEgg?"
"A relic belonging to the God of DNA, Deoxys. It contains powerful chi that can significantly enhance that of a matterbender."
"They mentioned he was a matterbender…" Eddy thought aloud. "Wait, what does matterbending have to do with taking over a game?"
"Because matter is no different from data." CLU smirked. "While each of the elements is managed by its own god, all physical things in the universe possess a molecular formula. Deoxys was a pivotal god in the creation of everything, a holy computer that the gods used to establish the coding, structure, and overall data of all physical matter. That same data was used to establish the DNA of all creatures, dividing us between race and physiology. He is no different from the computers we use to code games, to code THIS very game! By harvesting Deoxys' DNEgg, Infinite gained the power to bend this game's data."
"Assuming any of that makes any sense," Quill began, "how is restoring Boly supposed to help us beat that kind of power?"
"Because once it is complete, Boly's power will surpass his."
Quill narrowed his eyes, still ascertained as to Boly's true identity. But there was more this man wasn't telling them.
"Hey, I want you to let Tila turn back into Sayu!" Miko demanded.
"Hmph. What a disappointing follow-up." CLU frowned. "In spite of your talent, your brain is the one aspect that hasn't developed. Very well. Here is her data." He fired a beam from his disc, which Miko absorbed into her glove. The executive mounted his Light Cycle. "It's said that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed. But this universe had to come from something. Videogames did not exist until the data to develop them was created. But with enough effort, it can become something more than data. Just look at Mira."
"Mira?"
"Until next time, Me_K.O.." CLU sped away on his cycle, leaving the group suspicious and angry.
As CLU rode to the Elevator Tower, his scoffed to himself. "'Perhaps the true secret is heart. Perhaps Miko needs to grow stronger with her friends.' However did you arrive at that philosophy, Kayaba?"
His form changed into that of Flynn. "They say that love and friendship are the strongest forces. Perhaps Kayaba wanted to implement that into the programming."
He changed back into CLU. "But simple feelings can't equate to one's strength or intellect. And it's not like Miko is an emotionbender!"
He became Flynn. "The strength of a soul is the strength of one's feelings. Perhaps embracing these feelings is the secret to perfection."
Then back to CLU. "Those feelings can just as easily be a detriment. You know as well as I do those brats won't agree to our plan. But so long as they keep the goal of defeating Infinite in mind, it can proceed nonetheless."
Back to Flynn. "I suppose that villain's interference does work in our favor. But if we don't eliminate him fully and completely, our own program could backfire on us."
CLU agreed with him, "Indeed. Let's ensure that Miko can rid Aincrad of this menace!"
…
Sector Q regrouped with the other operatives, plus Sayu's band. Miko transferred Sayu's data into Tila. "You are now able to change between your true form and Sayu at will." Boly said.
"Heh, thank you." Tila smiled. "Having the option is nice. I wouldn't want fans to flock after me all the time."
"Wait, how come I always have to rely on Miko to change?" Kazma asked.
"My new amount of Pure Hearts have restored some of my functions, so other users will have this ability."
"Ah, terrific!"
"I have to admit, fighting that boss was pretty epic." Remi grinned dorkily. "Almost as cool as actual games. More nerve-wrecking though…"
"What're you guys gonna do now?" Miko asked.
"I sort of just wanna lay low after that." Tila said. "But it was great to help you, Miko. I hope we can meet in the real world someday."
"It's a promise!"
"Hey, can we go back to the Bell Forest?" Sofa asked. "I gotta show you guys these cool triangles I found!"
"Uh, sure, man." Dodo replied reluctantly. "Take care, ops."
"See ya!" The operatives waved as the band returned to exploring the city.
"Well, at least we have a large group now!" Dipper perked up; the others only just remembered the little gnome was there.
"Yeah, but I feel like we're a little too large." Quill spoke honestly. "Maybe we should send you after one of the other hearts."
"Sure!" Tron agreed. "Where should we go?"
"You can go to Level 70!" Miko said. "Some friends of ours are up there, but we haven't heard from them in a while. You think you can go check up on them?"
"What's on that floor?"
"Floor 70 is the Battlestar Belt." Boly answered. "It is designed like outer space and tests players' space combat skills."
"Sounds like the perfect place for this Shooting Star!" Mabel declared. "Let's go!"
"Good luck, gang!" Vanellope cheered as the four left.
"…Hey, where are they going?" Eddy asked.
"Huh? Did you just zone out big time?" Jenny remarked.
"N-No, I was getting some coffee. I assumed we wouldn't be moving for a bit, so…"
"Eddy, what time is it where you are?" Carmine asked.
"About 10:30 p.m.."
"Maybe you should get some sleep."
"Why? You guys technically don't have to sleep. Besides, I'm great at staying up late for games, and this game is kinda important."
"But if you force yourself to stay awake, you won't be able to keep up. You must be exhausted after these past few levels."
"But if I go to sleep, you'll just rest at an inn or something. We can't just stop while we're making good progress."
"Then why don't we just keep going while you get some rest?" Quill suggested.
"Well, you're quick to suggest that. Weren't you the one who wanted to wait for me to come?"
"This mission is important and I want to finish as soon as possible, but I don't want you to tire yourself. Just shrink your character's dimensions so we can carry you. Once you're well rested, you can rejoin us."
"Ah, that's what you wanted." Eddy smirked. "Alright then… a good gamer needs beauty sleep once in a while."
He edited his character's coding for a minute, the group watching as it glitched down to a toy size. "There! Now you have a Pocket Eddy to give you good luck."
"Hehe!" Carmine giggled, gently picking him up. "Make sure you get a good night's sleep, Pocket Eddy." She tucked him neatly in her overall pocket.
"Hahaha!" Miko happily poked the little guy's tummy. "I need to get my own Eddy plushie when we get out of here!"
"Good thing I can't actually feel that!" Eddy taunted. "But I'll make sure to message everyone on what Flynn told us. It could even be useful."
"We do need to fix our HP." Kazma reminded. "Let's at least find some food on the next floor."
"There are still Pure Hearts to be searched for on Levels 23 and 62." Boly affirmed.
"What are on those floors?" asked Carmine.
"Level 23 is Gun Gale, popular for gun users. Level 62 is Carnival Land, a large amusement park."
"Oh, that one sounds lovely! Can we go there next? Though I'd hate for Eddy to miss it."
"We can take him to a real carnival later." Quill assured. "Let's hit the elevator!"
Battlestar Belt
The Sector Hinobi operatives zoomed across space in black and white, Arwing-like ships with the white "H" logo. Zahra tricked some enemy ships into tailing her as her engine released a wave of pink fire. The fire whittled down their HP and destroyed the ships. Mitch Williams, fitting for his gold skin, was shooting gold-colored lasers from his ship, sniping down 10 ships ahead of him. "Gang, watch out!" Five yelled through the intercoms. "The Grim Wreaker's charging another super beam!"
The Grim Wreaker was a large, black ship with green windows. A huge turret was attached to the bottom of the ship, charging a green laser. The Hinobi agents scattered before the beam's wide radius could reach them. Mitch then turned toward the turret and landed some shots off it, but as soon as the laser powered down, the ship teleported. "This guy is so broken!" Five yelled.
"Ah ha ha ha!" laughed the pilot of the Wreaker, a green-skinned man with a long chin and purple cape. "This heart makes a perfect power source! My ship is invincible!"
"Your HP bar says differently, Hacker!" Mitch retorted.
"That's THE Hacker to you, boy! And a mere loss of HP is nothing when I-"
A round, purple ship with a black bubble window suddenly crashed against the laser cannon. It planted a bomb before flying away. The laser was destroyed in a great explosion. "What?!" Hacker screamed- "THAT'S THE HACKER!" The new ship performed a somersault and shot lasers at the windows, and Hacker warped the ship before it could try to ram through. "Bah! It seems some repairs are in order. You haven't seen the last of me!" The Grim Wreaker turned to fly away.
"Who is that?" Bergy asked as the ship flew toward a large, flat asteroid.
"Maybe it's Miko!" Five said hopefully. "Let's follow them."
The asteroid had some garages on it for ship repairs. Sector Hinobi landed just as the purple ship's window opened. It seemed that an Irken lady stepped out, her purple antennas bent over her face like teeth. Her eyes were shut tight and she had a skull design on her black dress. "Couldn't you newbs do better than that?"
"Oh, no…" Mitch glared at the woman. "It's YOU again."
"I can't believe you actually got this game." Five stated. "House arrest should've had some limits."
"Yeah, well Hinobi wanted all the good gamers to play this because they knew it would rake in the sales. But now we're trapped in here, so I guess I'm being punished either way. By the way, you know that guy isn't the boss, right?"
"He isn't? But he had the Pure Heart."
"What's that?"
"It's something that'll help us fix the game. There's eight of them, so it would be a lot faster than beating 100 bosses."
"What makes you think that?"
"They're a part of the MCP. So, we fix that, we fix the game and… stuff."
"Meh…not buyin' it." The woman rested back in her seat.
"Hey, I think you owe it to us to help!" Mitch shouted. "If you're really sorry about what happened to Haneesh, then you ought to help us stop Infinite before any more players die!"
"I get that, but the thing is… I don't really trust it. How did Infinite program it so that all the NerveGear would explode or whatever once the players died? Assuming Infinite is an outside party who hacked them, it still makes me think that Hinobi already had that program set up."
"Why would Hinobi do that?" Bergy asked with a hint of ridiculousness. "They were dead set on making sure this game was absolutely glitchless!"
"It's not like they would tell you kids anything they're plotting."
"Yeah, and just what ARE they plotting?" Zahra questioned suspiciously.
"Who knows? Either way, you can never trust these big corporation types. That's partly why I sided with Mandy. At least pirates like her are honest about what they do. Not that their crewmen have any sense of honor… Anyway, have fun finding your hearts. I doubt they'll do what you expect them to though." She started up her ship for takeoff.
"And just what do YOU plan to do?" Mitch yelled.
"Keep playing until the big reveal, I guess. But I'll be sure to help out any newbs along the way." The windshield closed, and she took off on that note.
"Heh…if Kazma wants to see a real pro gamer, look no further than her."
"But that couldn't be true, right?" Five asked. "I mean, I wouldn't know the first thing about how to code or hack this game, but…"
Mitch looked away in thought. Hearing her say that sort of made him think of something else… He remembered that, back when Miko joined their sector, they had been getting frequent visits from Inspector 7. And now, Miko was carrying the MCP on her glove. It happened to choose her out of anyone else, when it should've at least been under Kayaba's protection. Even when they witnessed Miko collect that Pure Heart, it went into her body like… "Mitch?" Bergy spoke.
"Ugh…let's just get after that heart. Who needs that woman, anyway…"
Code Room
Infinite gasped for breath as he channeled data into his red egg. A screen displayed Dr. Eggman's visage. "It seems you were in a bit of a fight, Infinite."
"I was attacked by a strange boy. He was defying my bending! There's no doubt! It was definitely…!"
"I see… It seems the heads of this game still have a bit of control. But what of these 'Pure Hearts'? Or the MCP?"
"According to XANA, a particular group is actively searching for them: Sector Q. And one girl, Miko, seems to carry the MCP's conscience on her glove!"
"Sector Q… Miko… how did this group get assigned to the mission? No matter. I will have them dealt with myself! But, in other news, I think I've determined just what it is Hinobi is trying to do."
"What is it?"
"Oh ho ho ho! There's been a rather curious anomaly here in Galaxia! I don't really have proof of a connection… but I am starting to be reminded of something. An ancient story… about the planet Mira."
KND Moonbase
Cheren fixed himself a cup of coffee as he looked over the intel that Eddy passed around. "So, they used a relic from Deoxys to hack the game? Deoxys…" He glanced at his desktop computer. "And something about Mira? Isn't that a planet in…yaaaaaaawn. Maybe I should get some—WHOA!" he yelled to the ringing of the alarm.
Cheren rushed out to the Global Tactical Station and answered a call from Nebula. "Cheren, I'm glad you're still up. Is everything alright down there?"
"I-I think. I haven't been reported of any deaths… God, I'm just really stressed out. I should be used to three big missions happening at the same time, but like…sigh, never mind. Did you wanna tell me something?"
"I wanted to show you this weird anomaly we picked up in Galaxia. Well, it's technically a few lightyears away from Galaxia, but…" Nebula brought up an image of space.
Cheren squinted and could make out the dark-blue, faded shape of a planet. "What… is that?"
"I guess it's some sort of… holographic planet. Some operatives went to investigate it, but I guess it disappears when you get too close."
"Is it… as big as a real planet?"
"We're… not sure. …Heh, I guess you already have enough to think about. I felt like I needed to show you, but I'm not sure if it has anything to do with these cases."
"Alright, well… now that you're here, I wanna tell you something that Sector Q sent."
…
…
Somewhere in space, segments of the holographic planet were flickering. It was situated in an area that wouldn't interfere with intergalactic commerce. Even if people would notice it, they wouldn't notice the comparatively small fortress suspended in the "air" above one portion of the planet.