A few hours passed and Varian, Yong, Hugo, Ruddiger, and Prometheus stood in front of the Enchanted Library. If was a gigantic building that held some sort of magic, hence the name Enchanted Library.

This was it. Varian reached out his hand to open the door.

"Goddammit! Why won't this food frickin' open?" Varian cursed in frustration.

"Let me try!" Yong said.

"No, no, no! Exploding down the door will only bring more attention to it!" Varian cried.

"You're no fun," Yong said.

"Sometimes fun isn't what you need in the moment," Varian said. "I like having fun, but there's a time and a place for it. Do you think you could do that for me?"

"I don't know," Yong replied. "It seems hard."

"It's only difficult if you make it," Varian said.

"Is that how it's like between you and Cassandra, and you and Hugo?" Yong asked.

Varian blushed. "N-no. I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, why would I like Hugo? He's not taking the right path and we've come all this way to stop him. Why would things change now?"

"You think he's hot," Yong said. "I can sense it."

"The only person I have the hots for is Cass," Varian said. "So, stop this game, Yong."

"Aw man," Yong said. "I really thought you two would eventually come around."

"No way in hell I'll let that happen," Varian said.

"Just like letting me drive one of your super cool automatons," Yong said.

"Touch those and I'll kill you," Varian said, his face brooding.

"You're scary when you're angry," Yong remarked.

"That's the idea," Varian said.

Just then, the door flung open. Varian and Yong walked inside the huge library. It had lots and lots of bookshelves filled with every genre of book you could ever think of. At one of the tables sat a young girl with her nose in an astronomy book. She looked completely fascinated as Varian and Yong made their way towards her.

The girl eagerly put the book down on the table, face down as to save her spot.

"Hi, I'm Princess Nuru. What brings you boys here?"

Varian began blushing like crazy. "I'm Varian!" he exclaimed nervously without thinking.

"You're cute," Nuru said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Yong! Nice to make your acquaintance, Your Highness," Yong replied, bowing.

"Well, it's nice to meet you boys," Nuru said. "So, what brings you to the Enchanted Library?"

"I was gonna ask you the same question," the bisexual disaster said.

Nuru chuckled. Something about that chuckle made Varian blush. Something about it made it seem more genuine than Cassandra's usual snarky ones. But either way, the crushes were there.

"I just came to read their wide selection of books," Princess Nuru said. "Varian, is it? Are you aware of how stars work?"

"Somewhat," Varian said. "But I'm more of an alchemy kinda guy."

In the distance, Hugo could hear this comment. He's also an alchemist? he thought, blushing.

"Oh, then I'll have to tell you sometime," Nuru said.

The feelings subsided quickly. Varian began to think of Nuru more as a companion than a crush.

"Sure thing," Varian said. "That would be cool."

"You still haven't answered my first question," Nuru said.

"We're here to restore the totems in their proper place and find out more about my mom," Varian replied.

"Ah," Nuru said. "Then, will you let me join you on your quest?"

"Sure thing," Varian said. "Welcome aboard, Princess."