[There's a small pause.]

[It's not all his story to tell, so he tries to figure out how to phrase it the best he can.]

Some like me have already had time fudged up more than your traveling eye Apocalypse can manage.

It's one of the many prices of being a phoenix. Even Ikki says when he goes back, his goal is to force Chronos into submission so he can come traveling with me and Chandra and a few others.

Chandra already used to travel between the stars, and until a few of us here, she didn't have many friends, so there's nothing for her to go back to.

[A much longer hesitation. Thatch and Ace couldn't go back for the same reason. The reason Marco didn't intend to leave until he saw their dreams come true.] Ace and Thatch's dreams can only come true here or traveling the stars with me. Ace, because his ambition is bigger than a world. And Thatch because I'm too selfish to let him go. [Gives her a wry grin.] He's the one who was able to pass me the tip about the seastone... whatever they call it here. Like I said, he's made of darkness, so that he couldn't use that to get away... I thought it would be the navy themselves but -- [He shakes his head.]

In any case, he won't be going back to our world. I won't let him.