Chapter Three

It was pretty this time of year. On a part of the world that always felt like summer, was a vast beach stretching across the coast of a serene village in Atalya. On the shore was a small girl humming and picking up seashells with her tiny hands. She stores them in her already full pockets dropping some shells as she walked along.

The little girl hums along until she sees a tall man standing in front of her. The girl looks up at the man with intrigue. His eyes were like the color of scarlet, hair as white as snow, and skin as pale as death itself. The little girl lets out a soft 'wow' looking at the strange man. He was staring out at the shore looking lost in his mind. He turns his head to the small girl aweing him and his odd attire, his eyes dejected. He watches the girl appearing otherworldly, while the poor child continued to stare at him curious. She starts to smile at the spooky man, pulling a large shell from her dress pocket. The little girl proudly shows her find to the stoic man, smiling her impish smile.

The dream ends with Lydia feeling someone touching the side of her head, brushing the hair from her face. Her eyes flutter open to see her mother looking at her with an examining eye. The woman's grey eyes blink rapidly seeing the girl wake up from her dream. She starts to relax into a smile.

"Morning, sleepy head." Said the red headed woman. Lydia grumbles a good morning rubbing her eyes. Sunlight was knocking on the window with the smell of a takeout breakfast coming from the kitchenette.

"I suppose that's my thanks for bringing in breakfast," smirks her mother.

"Um, sorry mom. What time is it?" yawned the girl.

"Well a little early for you to be waking up, but not too bad. It's eight o'clock," replied the mother. She walked away from the sitting area and sits down for breakfast. Lydia shuffles over to the small table and joins her mother for a breakfast wrap.

Breakfast was short and sweet for the little family with Lydia doing her best to hold a conversation with her mother. The talkative girl's efforts were as always futile. When the girl would speak, the woman was selective with her words in reply. She almost felt like her mother wasn't there. She herself was physically there, but her mind from what she could pick up was in another world. Lydia found it easy to pick up her mother secretive nature this way, however she could never get the woman to be honest with her when confronted. Such was her life with the reclusive Angeles Vein.

Her awkward breakfast with Mom was ended with the woman following her own morning routine and falling asleep in the master bedroom. Lydia knew she could have just sat there and watched TV, waited to a few days to get it back. But no, today she thought it was a good time to sneak back her phone. When she was sure her mother was asleep, Lydia tries to sneak into the bedroom with the stealth of a ninja. Her career as a ninja was short lived when she realized the door was locked from the inside.

'Thanks a lot Mom…'

The girl in her defeat moves onto plan B for her day and goes to change clothes. Lydia steps out of her room in a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and boots, with her dark purple shirt hanging loosely as a cold shoulder top. The girl glances at her mother's door watching it carefully. She tiptoes her way to the front door with her mind set on what to do in the city.

Her mind trailed on mundane ideas befitting an adolescent bimbo in a rebellious phase, snickering at her successful attempt to sneak out of the house. Lydia gets to the door and in comedic fashion is intercepted by a familiar young looking man with light silver hair.

The young man cheerfully smiles from the other side of the door with glimmering turquoise eyes, while the ever so friendly niece cringes and recoils backwards startled by the man. She whispers a curse word in one soft breath before she fakes an innocent smile.

"Un-uncle? What a pleasant surprise! I can't believe you're here," Lydia's thoughts betrayed her words with an attitude to match. 'What the hell?! Weren't you like across the galaxy, chaos?!'

"Ah! Good morning, Liddy. I didn't expect you awake so early. Is your mother still up?" replied the cheerful looking man. The young man appeared oblivious to the young girl's guilt ridden face as he leans in for a hug. The girl herself appeared okay with his obliviousness, but still pissed he showed up.

It wasn't like she hated her uncle. I mean, who could hate a guy like him? For the longest she remembered chaos as like the cool uncle.

She could always count on him to be easy to convince into staying up late, playing games, and getting involved in crazy schemes. Granted, that didn't save her from her mother when uncle chaos got involved in her misadventures. Nor did it spare her from listening to the idealistic uncle's talks about spirituality. The young girl hoped he didn't have one of those talks left in his system after that long trip over from the next star system.

Lydia grudgingly accepts the hug from chaos, noting a strange chill running up her spine. She tenses from the hug that had the familiar affection of an artic glacier, nearly falling over herself as an icicle while chaos walked past her. The girl steadies herself looking behind her, a chill following throughout the room. Somehow he waltzes into the sitting room without concern to her quizzical thoughts about the change in temperature. The silver haired teen sits down on the couch perfectly content.

Yeah, it wasn't a shock to see the easy-going man smiling, but Lydia could feel something odd behind his closed lip grin. She had to be paranoid, she argued to herself. Nothing about the youthful man looked different. He was still sporting the same haircut, the same skintight outfit (don't know why he wears such tight clothing), and even had the same old air of 'I'm an old wise sensei' kind of deal. Of course, neither of that shook off this odd feeling that something felt 'off' about the silver haired man.

Lydia fails to notice she was now squinting at her uncle's appearance while he returns her suspicions with a flat expression. chaos observes her and at a drop of a hat, resumes his typical puppy eyed frown for his niece. "Is everything alright? I hope I didn't come in at a bad time," chaos's question prompts Lydia to respond in haste.

"N-no, it's not that. Mom just never mentioned you were coming by is all," The girl tries to hide her suspicions and walks up to the sitting room to sit. She sits on a chair looking at him from his spot on the couch. "I'm sure mother would be happy to see you again, but she fell asleep about an hour ago. She had to work last night."

'Why the hell is it so chilly in here?' thought the uneasy girl.

"Oh, perhaps I jumped the gun visiting so early. I told your mother my latest job got done earlier than anticipated while coming back from the trip. After seeing some pretty amazing things over at the Galilea star system, I was hoping to catch up with her before her work stretch started", chaos explained. His darker than usual eyes looked excited as he explained, prompting Lydia to smile more at ease. 'Why does he seem so different?'

"I'm just amazed you got back to Fifth Jerusalem so quickly, Uncle. Last time you visited, you said it would take you a month to come back. Mom would probably love to hear all about it," the girl gives a nervous laugh in response before she sees the youthful man study the sitting room with a stoic face. The girl shrugs off the man studying the room, brushing off his curiosity with the simple fact of Mom didn't tell him this time.

"Leaving so soon?" chaos asked in a monotone voice. The girl frowns and mutters a displeased reply.

"Mom, is having one of her moments again…she said we needed to find a new place to live because of what happened last week."

"But you just got here not even a year ago," The young girl sees chaos pout over the news.

"I know! I couldn't convince her to stay longer. She wants to move ASAP before my birthday comes around. I don't know why she wants us to move so quickly." Lydia takes a turn pouting beside her uncle with her cheeks puffed out.

"Did she say where this time?" he asks in an expressionless tone. 'Where? You should already know. Did mother forget to tell you? She normally tells you.'

"Um, no, not really. She only asked me to box up stuff before we move. Hasn't said a thing where we were going," replied the girl. The pouty girl ponders for a moment neglecting her stoic uncle's eyes flashing a different color. "Perhaps we'll go to Carmel this time."

"Oh? Why so far away?" chaos reverts back to a closed lip smile. His ears appeared to perk up listening to the girl ponder. She kicks up her feet on the coffee table and in a dull reply says, "Because that's her weird little pattern when we move. You never noticed, chaos? About one to two years at the longest, we move from Federation planet to Immigrant run planet, then it just repeats again and again, back and forth."

The girl never really questioned why or how her mother was even able to do that. There had to have been so many logistically problems every time they ran off, but for some reason her job was cool with it. She knew the way her mom described her job was one that 'was very flexible in environments'. Though more likely, her mother liked the spiritual part of being near her religious roots.

"I know she likes to be with others who share that Ormus dogma, but it's just so stupid. Urgh! If she likes being there so much, why does she even bother moving us in the first place? Most of those planets are so stuffy and dull," she groans thinking about the idea.

"Religion is the cornerstone of wellbeing, Liddy. I thought your mother would have instilled that in you," replied chaos.

"Grrrrrr, this is all because of that fricking present I got from the party. She wouldn't be running away again," Lydia gets up from the couch and goes to make tea with a twitching eye. chaos appeared more engaged with the girl's melodrama and asks,

"Wait a minute? Didn't your mother ground you a couple of days ago?"

"For a different reason," grumbled the girl.

"Ahhh, here I assumed you had another outburst. Did you sneak off to school in protest? Or was there more to the story?" giggled the silver haired teen. His giggling earns him an ugly scowl from Lydia in the kitchenette. She crosses her arms as the water starts to boil in the open tea kettle.

"It was just to go to a school festival," she argues.

"That's not what I heard," smirked the teasing man. Lydia's eye twitches in silence ignoring her uncle chaos.

'Don't you have to go to work soon?' thought the annoyed girl. The girl raises an eyebrow watching her uncle suddenly start chuckling at her.

"It's a good thing you're a terrible liar, Liddy." The silver haired young man replied through chuckles. He ruffles the girl's hair when she comes back with the hot tea, which earns him a glare from the teenager. The cold air of dread felt lighter around them when he puts on a mask of happiness for the girl.

"Damn it, I forgot the honey. Let me go grab some from the cabinet," Lydia quickly leaves the sitting room back to a kitchenette cabinet and rummages through the shelf. chaos continued to sit on the couch appearing to enjoy the visit. He picks up the tea and sips on the cup when he asks,

"Did you like the book?"

Lydia stops mid-searching after hearing the question, unsure how to respond. He just sits and gives a confident smile, expecting to hear her response.

'How did he…?'

"It…was as interesting as reading Charles Dickens." Lydia retorts with caution taking the missing honey from the cabinet. chaos has a turn raising an eyebrow as the girl came by into the sitting room. She adds honey to the cup of tea and places it back on the table for her uncle. The silver haired young man takes another sip of tea, then gets up from the couch with his closed lip smile. The girl continues to eye him with suspicion as his change in posture shows the man holding a hand behind his back. He eyes the boxes around the sitting room still in disarray from a few days before. The young man's eyes glint with a need to humor the younger one as he crouches down to open one box.

"I suppose there is no way for you to avoid packing up for the next place. But it will take you awhile to pack up on your own. You think you need a hand?" chaos asks. Lydia continues to watch him with skepticism looking at the darker hue in his eyes. She gives a small smile in return, holding back her skepticism with when she replies,

"Your help is always welcome."

-Later that day-

It was a sunny afternoon without a cloud in the sky. The forest floor echoed the sounds of a little girl giggling as she hid from tree to tree. The impish kid hushes her giggles from behind one tree. She waits quietly for 'it' to find her. Her quiet and careful eyes could not stop 'it' from finding her behind the tree. The glowing man taps on her shoulder with a small smile as he startles her, the girl squeals and laughs while skipping around her quiet friend.

"Come on! Let's play again! And again and again!" The little girl laughs and twirls about the forest tagging the glowing pale man. Behind her followed matching glowing pink orbs of aura floating in the air. The girl pays no mind to the spooky pink orbs. She thought they were pretty. They were indeed beautiful, the glowing orbs of warm light floating around where ever she went. She always admired the strange colorful lights that came from her friend's magic, as she wandered if magic could be rubbed off on people. The little girl pondered playfully as the pink auras randomly appear and swirl aimlessly as she ran around the forest. Yes, her friend would be so happy, she could make pretty lights appear too.

"Liddy! Where are you? It's time to come home," shouts a worried woman from a far distance. The little girl giggles through the woman's calls for her daughter to return, the child preoccupied with the odd and ghostly friend. The girl hops off of a tree branch after climbing out of impulsivity. She laughs and pants until she sees the white-haired man stand away from her not playing their game. The little girl pouts at her friend and goes to pick up her oversized sunhat. She skips over to him with her pouty glare. "Hey, what's wrong? You don't want to play tag anymore?"

The little girl moves to pull the man's sleeve when she sees blood drop onto the forest floor. She looks down curious and says, "Huh? Are you okay?"

The man clutches something in his hand and turns slowly to face the little girl. The child looks concerned at her friend until the ghostly man draws his weapon.

Lydia screams up from the couch startled by the dream. She takes in a few large breaths in and out of her lungs, all the while staring fearfully at the balcony door in front of her. It was nighttime again based on the moonlight waving to her through the balcony glass. The boxes around the sitting room looked more organized, several already put away through U.M.N. based moving chests. It was quiet in the sitting room alone, the girl noticing the room now felt warmer after her uncle left.

She turns around to see her uncle nowhere to be found with exception to his note on the kitchenette table. She moves to the note and starts to read it.

Sorry Liddy,

I tried to stay as long as I could, but I got called back by the Elsa. You know Captain Matthews. He jumps on anything that gets him more money to pay off the debt. If you wake up before your mother leaves, please let her know I came by. Thanks little imp!

-chaos

"Great seeing you too, uncle. Great seeing you too," the sleepy teen grumbles and moves to the kitchenette to snack on junk food. While she moves around examining the fridge for a soda, a fleeting cape passes behind her on the other side of the room. Lydia jumps slightly hearing someone scurry behind her. The girl pokes her head around the room again spotting nothing but the rented furniture and boxes. She shrugs it off and moves to a cabinet for a pack of pocky sticks and pulls a stick into her mouth by her teeth. The pocky hung like a cigarette in her mouth when she feels someone pass behind her again. Lydia gingerly walks back into the sitting room and hops back on the couch, clicking on the TV.

The girl sat content with her snack watching bad Soap Operas. She gives a cheeky grin watching the main character burst through the window in his tattered shirt, revealing his arduous tale of being attacked by jellyfish. Lydia laughs with each new ludicrous twist, then sighs when seeing the hot Roberto pull Kristina into his arms for a passionate kiss.

"Oh, he could pull me in for a kiss any day," fawns the now blushing girl. Lydia stops fawning over the Soap Opera star when she hears someone snickering.

"Mom? Did you not go to work today?" Lydia turns to the master bedroom closed shut.

There was a long silence as her answer. The girl narrows her eyes at the door and walks over from the sitting room couch. She gets close to call out to her mom thinking she didn't hear her, then the door swooshes open. She blinks surprised the door was unlocked, stepping inside with trepidation. "I guess she isn't here…odd," Lydia frowns thinking she heard someone. Someone had to be in here with her.

The feeling of being watched rears it's ugly head when Lydia examines her mother's bedroom. Her layout was simple for a nice apartment, with only a full size bed, built in shelves and a nightstand beside the bed, and a dresser across the room. No window was inside the room, which made the room darker and slightly creepier for the teen girl. "Well, since I'm here," Lydia goes into ninja mode looking for her phone in her mom's room. The mischievous girl searches through the shelves never finding her confiscated phone. The dresser was her next guess, so the girl starts to go through the dresser with care.

"It's gotta be here somewhere." The girl gets to the bottom drawer of the dresser and spots a rust colored box. She gazes at the box in silence, bringing back the feeling of when she first found out. 'All I had to do was put folded clothes back into your drawer...' Her dejected face turned rouge with anger.

"You lied to me. You two sat there and lied to my face all these years," Lydia clenches her hands before slamming the drawer shut. She sits on the floor by the dresser appearing to mope on the ground until a mischievous smile creeps from her lips.

"But I showed you…it was easy to find him. It wasn't like he was hiding from us. He can explain everything now, now that he knows. I'm sure he won't lie to me. He…he might be the only one who can help me."

A xylophone ringtone rings in the bedroom grabbing her attention. She sees the girly looking cell phone hidden between the bed skirt and the shadows of her mother's nightstand. The goth smirks and gleefully picks up the phone only to discover the screen smashed. "Geez Mom, what the hell?" cried the teen. She sees the phone continue to ring with her mother's picture coming up on the contacts. 'Why is she calling my phone? She knows I wouldn't have it on me.'

"Mom, what gives? Why are you-" Lydia mutely gasps hearing her mother's voice choke up on the other line. The woman was crying in between short phrases, keeping herself from hyperventilating.

"Liddy! Liddy, baby. Please, tell me where you are! Baby, I'm not mad. Just tell me you're okay. Where are you?!"

"Mother, what's wrong? I'm right here! Calm down," protested the girl. Lydia feels sick hearing her mother sobbing. To her horror, her mother just keeps going in her static connection never hearing what she said.

"You…you bastard! You promised you'd NEVER go near her," the woman screams on the other end of the line hysterical. "Mom please, I'm RIGHT here! What's going on? Where are you?" Lydia starts shouting hearing the desperation in her Mom's voice.

"Give her back, you monster! She has nothing to do with us! Liddy, baby if you can hear me, I'm SO sorry! I will find her you bas-" The woman's message suddenly ends with the phone shocking Lydia's hand. She drops it fast and watches the phone morph into a crushed mess on the carpet. Lydia trembles seeing the destroyed phone as she hears her mother's words.

'What is it, I, is this really happening? Mom, what's going on? M-mom?'

The horrified girl stares wide eyed at the phone while backing out of her mother's room. Her heart was racing with dread stumbling into the sitting room. Her presence catching the attention of a man clad in unusual attire.

Lydia feels her heart skip from fright. He was like the man in her hallucinogenic induced nightmare. But now here he was standing in the sitting room adorned in all blue, with an unsettling plague doctor's mask covering his hooded face. The man looked caught off guard by her presence as he stepped back surprised. A set of binary codes continued to flicker as the two froze in place. Her shocked and terrified mind must have been just as delirious, the girl whispers in her mind a most odd question,

'Why are you…blue?'