OOC: After my next chapter, I'm going to stop publishing this unless someone comments. Even if it is all negative, at least show me something so that I know the story is being read. If there's no one I'll just move on to another project.

{Second Earth}

Stacha did, in fact, go down to the wardrobe rooms in the basement. However the cabbie knew, he was right; the costumes down there were gorgeous.

She did this nearer towards the end of the day, soon she would be going home from work. She was done shooting for the day, and wanted to go home to Delilah to make up with her, but then remembered the cabbie's advice. What harm could it do?

Just as she was about to turn back and go home, she noticed a door, with a star scratched into it. Out of curiosity, she opened it, and walked in.

It looked like a cave. Stacha had to turn around and check out the door to make sure she was still in the costume wardrobe. It was then that she noticed the note and ring. She barely had time to read it before the room glowed blue from the ... well, blue light that was coming out of the cave... and there was also... music...

She saw a boy, around age seventeen walk out of it. He seemed as shocked as she was. Then again, she must have been more shocked. The boy was wearing some kind of swimsuit, and eating a nerds rope that looked like a banana.

Kaimu saw the woman in front of him faint, and ran up to her, to make sure she was fine. She didn't seem to be hurt at all, and only fainted because of the creepy sight. Well, he couldn't blame her. Then he noticed the note, and ring, and picked them up. They were the same as the note he had read, and the ring he now wore on his right ring finger.

He tucked away the note in a pocket, and put the second ring on his left ring finger. Even if he was being a hypocrite, the note did say dangerous. He didn't feel as though he was doing something wrong by this though, it was actually as if he was going to help by doing this.

So Kaimu took the lady under the arms, and began to drag her into the prop room. Of course, he didn't know what it was, but he figured she would fit in there. He laid her down against a wall, and pulled the door shut. 'Good,' he thought. 'The star marks it.'
He ran through some lanes of clothes, and eventually someone coming down a staircase. "Hey, some lady fainted back there. Can you, like, call somebody to help?" Kaimu wanted to make sure she would be ok.
"Sure, thanks kid."

Kaimu then realized he had no idea where he was. But as long as he could get back, he assumed all he had to do was yell Cloral in that place. It was actually kinda cool, the ride over...It was like swimming in...air kinda. Kaimu had walked without knowing it, and was now out of the building entirely. He had to catch himself quickly; Kaimu had almost fallen for some reason. It was then he realized...he was on a rock. There was no water around, or at least under him.

Despite living his whole life on water, he didn't let it show. Wherever he was, he couldn't afford to give anything away about himself. It didn't feel right. He knew that it had to be some other place, outside of Cloral, even though it seemed impossible. People all around were walking fine, as if being on dry land was...normal.

So Kaimu set off, wondering about the meaning of the note he had found. If the list of ten were worlds, that would mean that it wasn't only Cloral out there. and it said that to only travel if you needed help. Could there be something dangerous that was gonna come to Cloral? Or the other worlds?

A smile lit up on Kaimu's face. Now he would still be a traveler, as he always was...but now he would have purpose.

"Hey, watch it!" a girl yelled at him as she walked into him. He looked at her quickly; she was wearing a bright shirt with a flower on it, nice hair, and looked like she would be pretty if she wasn't angry and dragging a rolling suitcase behind her.
"Hey," Kaimu replied, catching up to her. He said it in a friendly tone, as anyone would normally start up a conversation.
"What do you want?" the girl asked, but seemed to be less angry. She actually stopped walking, and turned to face him. 'Guess she's not in a hurry.'

'What does this guy want?' Delilah asked herself. Even as she did, she found that she was trusting him. He seemed to be nice. Even though she had never seen him before, he must have been one of the other actors for some new show. Probably some show where people are stuck on some island. Getting to that, she noticed his odd clothes, but actually liked the style.
"You just...seem mad at something...Is something wrong?" the boy asked. He was being sincere, she knew. But still, should she tell all her problems to this boy she just met?
"It's nothing," she replied, but didn't move from her spot like she wanted to. "It's just...my mom hates me."
"I'm sure she doesn't...here, take a seat," the boy motioned to a bench. "I'm Kaimu by the way." He extended his hand to shake.
"Delilah." She shook it.

"My mom doesn't let me do anything," Delilah began. "She won't let me be normal, she always has me get homeschooling, won't let me go out and have friends, I just have to stick around with her all the time, and I hate it." She let out a sigh, even though she was mad, it was hard for her to figure out decent arguments for why she was mad exactly.
"Well, I don't know exactly what you mean, but do you think she does those things cause she loves you?"
"That's what she says. But what does she know, she's never been married and only works all the time..."
"Wait...so you're adopted?" Delilah nodded. "So am I."
"Really?"
"Yeah. My dad drags me all around, from habitat to habitat so I get mad at him for not letting me settle in and have real friends." Delilah perked up at this, it was the same as her problem. "But he would never leave me somewhere, because he cares about me and my welfare, so he makes sure I can be taken care of when he can't be there."

Delilah sat for a minute, thinking over what Kaimu said. "I guess you're right. She does do everything she can for me." Kaimu smiled. She was beginning to think this random guy was pretty nice, to stop a random person and help them. "So what does your dad do exactly?"

And now, Kaimu had a choice to make. How could he tell the truth without telling her that he was not from here? Should he lie? Should he trust her? All he knew was that he had to go with the feeling in his gut on this; since he already seemed to know what he should do.

Stacha had woken up to find herself back in the storage room, apparently having fainted. Still, to everyone around she insisted that she was fine. She drove home to her large mansion and looked into the sunset, taking nothing in. She was telling herself over and over that it was all a dream. There wasn't even any evidence that it was real. It was impossible for a boy to come in a flurry of blue lights and music into a cave which was randomly found through a door in the basement of a studio. Of course it was.

She unlocked the door, and walked in, about to call out to Delilah when she head voices talking. Stacha listened as she walked towards the voice in the living room.
"And the farms are underwater?"
"Yeah, all of our tools are powered by the water so we can actually plant and work down there. That and it gets all of the nutrients from the sun and water, without having to really worry about anything else bothering them...Wait. Did you hear something?"

Stacha had indeed bumped into a table, and made some noise. But it was because the male voice was familiar. But last time it had spoken nonsense. But it couldn't be...

Stacha walked into the room, and saw her daughter laughing and eating macaroni and cheese with the boy who had walked out of the cave earlier today.

At least this time she had a couch to faint onto.

Delilah looked from her mother to Kaimu, wondering what happened. Kaimu was also shocked at seeing her mom for some reason, but at least he didn't faint. Ok. Well, she did invite some new guy into her house and made food for him. And he was from some different world. Heck, he could have lied. But he was the type who wouldn't lie. It already seemed like she had known him her whole life. But it wasn't like that. Not at all.
"Is she gonna be ok this time?" Kaimu asked her, looked over her mother to see if she was breathing.
"What do you mean this time?" Delilah asked. Kaimu hadn't gotten to the point of telling her what happened when he came, and how Stacha had fainted.

It was then that she began to come to. She saw the boy and her daughter looking over her.
"Well, at least you didn't land on the ground this time," Kaimu said to her. Delilah had to admit that he had a sense of humor too.
"Who are you?" she asked, in a tired and surprised voice.

"My name is Kaimu," he began. "And I come from a world called Cloral." And so Kaimu explain the whole ordeal to the mother and daughter. Delilah was taking it all in well, with excitement on her face. Stacha, on the other hand, was disbelieving. He went through everything, from explaining what a habitat was, what aquaneers do, to how he reached the flume. He told of the note, and showed it to them, along with the rings. And even though he was unsure of what exactly had happened, he told the two that there were 10 worlds called "territories" and that some people would have to travel between them because something bad was coming. And while not a complete lie, he didn't know any of this as the truth. But hey, if he sounded like he knew his stuff, he would make himself look better and smarter to Stacha and Delilah, and would figure everything out eventually.

"So you really expect me to believe that you're an alien from some other planet that's covered in water?" Stacha asked, as if she had just heard some fairy tale. And Kaimu had to admit it sounded like a good story.

"But he's here, he's living proof that this is real!" Delilah replied to her mother.

"He could be some random person from L.A. making up a lie. Delilah, how could you trust him so easily?"

"He was friendly to me, something you never were."

"Look, Delilah, I told you, she's acting in your best interests and wants the best for you," Kaimu said, trying to defuse the argument.

"What did you tell him?!?"

"Everything I couldn't tell you." After these words, Stacha was more angered than ever. And she had right, Delilah had given away family matters to a complete stranger. But both Delilah and Kaimu knew that he could be trusted.

"Show me," Stacha finally said.

"What?" replied the other two at once.

"I want to see your water world. Prove it. I'll drive us there."

"But," Kaimu replied, suddenly hesitant. "The note said people shouldn't travel. We don't know what could happen, things could get worse."

"You came here, didn't you?" Stacha asked. Kaimu knew she was right, and decided there was no other way to gain her trust.

"Alright. We'll go. But we can't tell anyone else."

It was an uncomfortable ride to say the least, starting with who would sit where. Stacha wanted Kaimu in the passenger seat and Delilah in the back, while Delilah wanted to be in the back with Kaimu. He said he would sit in the back and Delilah up front, but they both told him no. It ended up being Stacha's way just to get the group moving towards the other world. They were a few blocks away from the studio building when they drove past a man walking on the side of the road. He looked somewhat shifty, and despite he better senses, Stacha pulled over to him.

"Do you need a ride? I thought you would have a car where you leave the cab," Stacha said to the cabbie from earlier, who had given her the advice. He had been friendly enough, and had given her the directions to the amazing wardrobe.

"Hey lady, don't tell me that you're going back," the cabbie said, and despite the questioning tone, he had a look of anticipation on his face, as if eagerly awaiting a present.

"Yes, I am actually," Stacha replied to him, for some reason not finding this question odd. Kaimu shifted in his seat, feeling that something bad was going to go down. Apparently he had been the one to tell Stacha how to get to the flume, and now he wanted to know if she was going back. He glanced over to Delilah, who also looked uneasy, but solely from the fact that her mom was talking to a strange man.

"Can I get a ride then?" he asked.

"Sure."

As they drove to the studio, no one spoke, and Kaimu marveled at how she had let this random stranger into the car. Even though she wanted to protect her daughter, Stacha had let the cabbie sit in the back with Delilah. Even he was acting strangely. The man stared at the three in turn, as if trying to think about them. Delilah was trying to inch as far away from the man as she could, and caught Kaimu's eye as he looked to her. He gave her a reassuring smile, and she gave a little smile back. 'Even when she is scared of sitting next to a creepy man, she can smile.' Kaimu thought, smiling to himself. 'And she…well, she…I don't even know, she gets credit for that though.'

The odd group got out of the car once they arrived at the studio, and Delilah felt she needed to break the silence.

"So, what are you doing here anyways? Who are you?" she asked. Of course, everyone wanted to know the same thing, but no one could quite bring themselves to say it.

"I'm going to be seeing a lot of you actually. And I came here for the fun," the cabbie said, not turning around. Stacha found this as something odd to say, but could not think of anything that would seem right. Kaimu solved this problem for her by saying, "What fun?"

"This," he responded shortly, and turned around. In a blink of her eyes, everything changed.

The cabbie, dropping his gun, turned and ran into the studio which had changed everything. He was sprinting, faster than a man should for his age. Kaimu was the first to come out of shock from this event, and looked from mother to daughter. Even though he did not know what was exactly going on, he too sprinted, picking up the gun and headed after the cabbie.

The remaining two were on the ground, in the cabbie's haste, he had not shot to kill, but Stacha knew that she would not be able to make it to a hospital. It seemed as if her voice didn't work, and Delilah leaning over her seemed miles away. If she could just tell her daughter one more time. She died holding Delilah's hand, and with her daughter sobbing over her body.

Kaimu followed the cabbie through the same wardrobe room that he had been in just this afternoon. He knew where to go, even if it didn't make sense to him at the time. Unfortunately, the cabbie had had a head start.

The flume was activating as Kaimu got close, and the cabbie was standing in front of it, waiting to be taken in.

"What did you do that for, what did she do to you? You just killed a woman!"

"And I'll kill more before I'm through. It's time that the territories are shaken up," the cabbie replied. He still sounded like a kid, but he knew about everything.

"Why her? What did she do to you?"

"You and the girl would be more interesting to mess around with. She would have been a deadbeat," replied the cabbie. Kaimu tried to shoot the man, but there were no bullets left. "We'll meet again later." The man was sucked back into the flume, and Kaimu was left standing in the mouth of the flume, alone.

"I may not have been the perfect daughter, and she may not have been the perfect mom," Delilah said to the crowd in the funeral parlor. It was a few days after her mother's death, and she had chosen to speak at the funeral. Things had been so crazy the last few days, she couldn't know if she could believe it all. But she could because of her one constant which kept her going: Kaimu. After Stacha's death he stayed with her in the house, helping her to arrange the funeral despite not knowing what to do himself. And while he didn't have any particular talents to help with around the house, whether it be cooking, cleaning or anything else, he was able to comfort her when she needed it. Anything that was bothering her, he would be there. Delilah had to admit to herself now that it was like he was the brother she always wanted.

"But Stacha Smith was a wonderful person, who always had the best interest of those around her in heart. The whole world knew her from her acting, but rarely saw the side of her that I did: how she was as a mom. She would do anything for anyone, no matter if she barely knew them. Adopting me was probably a burden to her, especially at the start, but she took me in and took care of me at her own expense. She did everything she could to raise me to be an upstanding young woman who could look after herself. And now I'm proud to say that she has done her job well. Thank you."

She looked back to Kaimu, who gave her a reassuring smile. He had even helped her write this, and even though she knew it wasn't Shakespeare, it sounded perfect to her, and she figured that he would become a pretty good writer with practice.

She smiled at the crowd one more, smiling. Now all that was left was to go back to the house for the reception.

Back at the house, after the reception, Delilah had asked Kaimu to come up to her room.

"What do you need?" he asked, with his friendly smile on his face, giving her reassurance in what she was going to say. But to his surprise, she broke out crying, and moved towards him. He took her in his arms and they sat down on the bed, with Kaimu feeling awkward and important at the same time. It was one of those moments where he did not know what to say to make things better.

"Look, I know that we're travelers and all, and that we'll be able to see each other again," Delilah began, in between sobs, "But still…I want to know you'll always be around to go to. I don't know what I would have done without you. Now that mom is gone…you're the only friend I have."

"I'll always be there for you," Kaimu replied, smiling. She knew he would.

"So what do we do now?" Delilah asked.

"We have to go where we're needed," Kaimu replied, taking out the list and instructions. One quick scan, and he had that feeling again, that he knew what he would do. "Hobey ho, let's go!"

********************************************
{Quillian}

A boy, wearing a red and black shirt, ran through the maze of crates. He was in a competition, the first one out would get the biggest reward. The boy turned a corner, and continued to run. He felt confident that he was ahead of everyone else, except maybe one competitor. But it didn't really matter. It was supposed to be a series of games, all new. The winner of the tournament would win a large sum of money, which his family could really use. It was hard times for everyone.

There was a countdown going on, until something new was introduced into the challenge. Now, it was down to around 30 seconds. If it reached 0, it would be even harder to win, so Naarai had to move quickly.

He turned a corner in the warehouse, and noticed something strange on the wall. It looked like a star, etched in one panel. He slowed down and looked at it for a second, wondering what it meant. No one knew much about these games, because today was the first. The main rules were use anything to win, and be ready for surprises.

So Naarai figured that it was part of the game. He saw that the panel moved, and crawled in. One he found its inside handle he pulled it shut, not wanting the others to notice it. As the door shut, the countdown could not be heard anymore.

It looked like a cave, with only a few items on the ground. It looked like a change of clothes (the uniform of a competitor) and a ring with a note.

"If you need help, then call a name into the mouth, and find the one who wears this ring," Naarai read the words that jumped out at him most. "Hmmm." He figured this would be part of the competition, and yelled out the most interesting name on the list.

The flume then sprung to life, and though he was shocked, Naarai was also amazed. The music notes were so peaceful, and soon he was swept away. But something he had heard seemed odd. At the moment the cave sprung to life, he had heard an explosion.

But it must have been part of whatever he was doing. And who knew where he was going? He only knew that it would be good. Games were always fun.