Geoff: Why do I have to be locked in this thing? Bangs on bars of doggie cage

Gaia: Gives cold stare. because I wanted you to.

Geoff: GulpWTF?

Amy: Don't you think you're being a little harsh? Stares at Gaia waving a bowl of Ramen in Geoffrey's face.

Gaia: No. Begins to eat Ramen Oooh…It's so good…

Geoff: NOOO! Reaches out bar cages to try and grab Ramen.

Gaia: MUAHAHA! Oh the power flowing through my veins! Pulls bowl out of reach

It was nearing mid-break when I awoke to the startled cries of my companions. Immediately, my trained senses pounced into the shadows, feeling around for any sort of feeling that the Wolves had returned. But they hadn't. I slowly put my raised sword back into its sheath and stared open-mouthed at the scene that had gotten my friends to be so stupefied.

It was the sunrise.

I couldn't recall the feel of sunlight on my skin. Nay, I could hardly tell what shade my skin was now, I had spent so long a time in the dark. I took a step forward and heard my knees pop painfully with the movement after their rough sleep on the hard stone.

The sun…

"C'mon, you guys!!" I cried. I began what was probably only a mile-long run into the swirling orange clouds that had begun to seep into the exit of the cave. I ignored the exhilarated yells of the rest of the group and took the lead as the exit seemed to come nearer and nearer in just seconds. My feet were traveling like the wind over the now-day and not-slippery stones that had made way for smooth, clearly-used paths.

We were almost out of there.

And suddenly, we were there, standing in what seemed like blistering heat. Although the sun hadn't risen fully, the sleek shine of the lights it was giving off already warmed up my flesh beyond the comparison of the cold cave. There was no ice here. No monsters. No snake.

'But no Mackenzie to lead us.' I reminded myself gently.

I felt tears sliding down my face at our triumphant exit. I jumped into hugs and kisses of who-knew-who. There were slaps all around and a jovial air that hung about us and curled with loving tenderness around our family.

After the general happiness had begun to wear off, I calmed everyone down enough to give them a little speech. About how this would be a time for frivolities in honor of Mackenzie. Hanna raised her hands in the air after I had said this and said that she probably would have made us just practice for one day and then leave. I told her that I wasn't Mackentosh and that I could tell when my friends needed a day off.

And a shower.

I cleared my throat and started off onto what I thought would be a heart-wrenching speech. I would be remembered for this for the rest of my life. My friends never let me forget it…

"My friends. Together we are gathered upon what I now dub sacred land. Together as one, we mourn the loss of a dear friend, and companion, Mackenzie. I pray that her soul not lie trapped beneath cold stone like the rest of her. May she fly unto Heaven upon the downy wings of angels. I ask that we have a moment of silence in her honor…"

Here, I raised both hands to the sky and clasped them tightly, imagining the violent youth I remembered Mackenzie being. I squeezed my hands and shot my prayers to the Heavens. I pictured Mackenzie's spirit lingering with us a while longer whilst I continued my speech, and knew she had looked over us while we were fighting the snake.

"Dear people. Faithful companions. True and loving human beings. I know not what dangers into which I lead you, but know that from here on out, I shall lead you out in one piece. You shall have ever-lasting unity and love beneath me. For if one of you falls, we all go down with you. I will leave no one man-or woman-behind. Not while the blood surges through my veins and a heart beats in my chest."

"You all know how much losing Mackenzie hurt. We all share that same pain and that same feeling of loss. Maybe even hopelessness. I know that I do. Without her, we would not have been able to get to where we are now. But I hope that, in her stead, you shall accept me as your leader. Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared."

"Know now that you are not the only ones afraid. I am quaking as of now, and I don't want to lose any of you. You are me family….My one and only family…I wish us the best of luck. Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts."

And on this note, I finished. I stooped my shoulders and felt the weight of the world pushing in on me. I felt Mackenzie truly leave us for a better place and felt alone, so very alone, for the first time, that my quaking increased. I glanced up and saw Amy fixing me with an expression that clearly read:

"So, you don't want to go back?"

In response to her unspoken question I shook my head and stood up straighter; All the more confirming to my friends that I was accepting the daunting task of being leader.

"C'mon, Stoopid, we should get moving into the city. I'm starved!" Geoffrey cried, and yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. His muscles strained and I saw his stomach peak over the rim of his pants. He was awfully thin. This caused me to self-consciously rub my own body. I could feel my ribs and hips sticking out. The splendor of the sunrise was fading, to be suddenly replaced by a dull roar in my stomach.

Everyone was about to lose it. As we moved self-consciously toward the already-raging Liltian city, I smoothed my hands down the sides of my body and hair, trying not to look like a savage Mountain Woman; come out of the hills. I'm guessing that I wouldn't even be able to tell if I stank or not, for as I smelt the air, I caught only the faint whiff of baking bread. My mouth instantly filled with water, but I was so used to the stench of B.O. I guess my nose couldn't pick up a trace of it.

"Anyone else a bit nervous about this?" Sarah asked as we carefully picked our way down a rocky hillside. Little stones crumbled beneath our weary steps, making traveling difficult. We stayed close so that if one of us slipped and fell, we'd be able to catch them.

"Not particularly. No." Geoff said off-handily. He was stupidly hopping from rock to rock, light steps borne of many years hunting stealthily in the woods carrying him without a care in the world. I was envious. All the while, my decision to stay in this world made me not feel so happy. It wasn't like me…

"Kate, you OK?" Amy asked me, cutting off Hanna's walking path and almost making her fall flat on her face.

I smiled. Here she was again; always here for me. I nodded me head and brightened instantly. I wasn't going to think about that weird Gate or my choice or anything. I didn't want to make my companions worry unnecessarily. I gave her my biggest, toothiest grin.

"Yupskerdoodles, Amy-Doo! I'm feelin' supa-gangsta today! I'm so happy we're coming into civilization again!" I opened my mouth wide and let loose a whoop of joy.

Then there was this thing called grass. You know that green, leafy, stuff that pops out of the ground and you have to cut about once every week or two? Yeah, well, as it turns out, I really was going back to my old ways, for as I leapt up, my eyes went closed with my mirth and I felt my ankles get caught around something and I got a big mouthful of that green crap.

"Peh!! Peh!!" I hacked up clumps of dirt and grabbed grass from my hair.

"st00pid. There's not even anything to trip over there!" Nich guffawed, standing on a tiny stone and pulling me to my feet. He shook his head endearingly and asked what he would do with me. He turned away, laughter brimming the surface.

"Shut your face! Aren't YOU the one who freaking SHOE-SKIS in the hallways and then tries doing it on the brick floors and falls?!" I raged, buzzing angrily around his head. He reached behind me and smacked my head with his fist.

(A/N: Nishy actually DOES try and do that. Whenever we have a Band concert, we have to go to the high school auditorium, and there's this long shag-carpeted hallway. Nishy wears these shoes that are plated with freaking hard wooden soles. [These ALSO hurt- currently, I have a bad limp after a kick into my left kneecap! T-T He tries to ski on the carpet, and it works, until he got stupid this one time, skiing, he went unexpectedly far and went over that little rubber part that normally lines the carpet-hard tiled floor rooms, and he fell. It was gold!! )

"AWP! x " I shrieked, and fell back, but still undeterred, I followed after him, shouting curses and rants, him all the while threatening to hurt me more if I didn't shut up. I guess it was a rather comical sight to see me, being 5'8" and Nich being 6'3" arguing.

"Hey! Why'd he do tha-?!" Jakob snarled, unsheathing his sword angrily. He grabbed my shoulders from behind, just trying to check to see if I was OK.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you….!" Amy and Morgan said simultaneously. "Oops. Too late."

Out of instinct, I whirled around with my fists and began to beat angrily upon the chest of my attacker. I had this…erm-issue…with people coming up behind me. I let loose a howl and jumped into the air. I judged that the man was tall (I was still blinded, so I groped him…Not there, you pervs!! .) and landed on him; all the while beating out a continuous King-Kong rhythm.

"Muahaha!" The look works for ya, Katie!" Hanna laughed, seeing my eyes open at last. They were all blood-shot and tears were running down my face.

"So. Gettin' some action at last, eh?" Sarah asked me, nudging my ribs and glancing at the seemingly oblivious prince.

I blanched and flushed red.

"EEEK!! RAAAAPE!! NICHY, SAVE ME!!!" I cried. I ran and jumped into Nich's arms. "NOW, RUN!!" he held me and ran, the rest of the group following along at a leisurely pace. Except for Jakob. Who was trying to kill Sarah for that semi-sexual comment she'd made against me.

"How dare you sully the name of such an innocent girl with horrid words as those!!" He cried, racing around a scraggly tree.

"Hell, pal, it wasn't her I was after! It was only blasphemy against the Royal Family!" Sarah snapped irritably, not giving an inch to the enraged prince.

Steadily, all around us, the few scraggly trees that Sarah had used as cover from Jake made way for gently sloping up, neat and trimmed hedges. They looked healthy and beautiful. Much more so than any I found at home. They formed a path around us as we made our way forward.

"We're coming to a Gate." Jake explained. I nodded in understanding.

It seemed that the hedges were alive. Eyes felt like they were buzzing through the perfectly symmetrical green leaves on either side of me. I looked to the sky for hope, and the sunlight was just poking over the east side. I brushed myself off once more.

"What are the Lilties like?" I asked no one in particular. Anything to get my mind off of being followed. My head was swiveling annoying around on my shoulders, glancing into the shrubs on either side. There was a long walk to go yet.

Jake took up the task of explaining all this to me. I guessed this was because being a prince; he had many a political responsibility and had had to deal with Lilties before.

"Well….Lilties, oh where do I possibly begin??" he sighed out loud, the sound bouncing awkwardly off the hedges. There was nowhere for the sound to go, so the muffled emission noise seemed out of place. Lilties are absolutely your best fighting characters. You have no point in using magic unless you are facing off against a monster in a single battle. Or if you're by yourself. They hit hard and a well powered and well knowledged Lilty teammate can clear out enemies while the rest of the caravan backs 'em up. They are incredibly stubborn and hate being made fun of for their-erm…" Here, the prince broke off into an awkward silence. He seemed to be struggling to find the right words that would describe a Lilty without sending one into a frenzied rage.

And me, being the slightly insensitive, tactless person that I am, asked brazenly, "What? Do they have some kind of weird deformity?"

I looked up at Jakob expectantly, wondering if I had categorized this new race of people correctly. He looked stricken. "What?"

My friends' blanched faces worried me. I looked around at them all now, and then took to notice that we weren't moving at all. My head swiveled around and they came into contact with a heavy, thick, wooden door the size of the Statue of Liberty. It was an imposing wall. It was the kind of thing that frightened me, and yet made me feel bemused at the same time. I curled my head back onto my neck and searched for the top of it.

The blazing sunshine, which I wasn't quite used to yet, startled my eyes and I flung up my hand to protect them. It was quite early in the morn and I had lost all remembrance of which date it was, or what month, or what season.

This still didn't explain to me what the articulations on my friends' faces meant. My question was soon answered by the soundless opening of a door around my midriff. I looked down, surprised and startled at the same time. I was stomach-to-face with a Lilty for the first time. If I said I was surprised, I would be lying. I was flabbergasted.