Falias, Finias Chapter Fourteen

Suggested Theme:

Main Theme- Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie

Kazdan Kalinkas is happy that he won't be seeing Krystella until tonight. He wouldn't want her to see him dressed like a waterlogged dork.

"KidChaor, does the swimwear bodysuit fit you? Do you need a smaller size?" The bot inquires on the other side of the peach-colored curtain of the dressing room.

The problem is it fits too well. I never really paid much attention to my body, except what to dress it in and how many bruises I collected for the school day. I look like I wouldn't weigh more than fifty pounds soaking wet. I'm not fat, but I have no muscles. Maybe I should eat more meat and get into weightlifting.

"I'm fine…..do you have another name other than bot?"

"I have a serial number, but it's as long as the pie sequence."

"No other name, then?"

"Players have called me a nag, waste of bolts, and far more colorful mockeries." Looks like bullying isn't limited to humans. How many times a day does he endure having food thrown at him? And does he lodge complaints to the CodeMasters like players can? Do they listen? Probably not.

"…..They're just…." Jealous of your intelligence? That you were made better than them? "Humans."

"My, my, you're adopting the Creatures' prejudices. However, it would be more useful to learn their chirography."

"…..I can't name you. You're not a pet."

"But your parents named you, so aren't you a pet? What is wrong with a pet naming another pet?"

"…I'm not really good at names." Fairly decent at memorizing them, but I have never been good at creating ones. Which is why most of my essays are just "Essay #."

"Carl? Conrad? Coreander? Archimedes? But not Archie."

"…..Maybe we'll find a name like the Cothica." He slips on the water shoes and wriggles his toes.

"How do the water shoes feel?"

"Like latex gloves for feet. Are you sure this will protect my feet?"

"They will and help you move through the water better than water fins." And if I wore the fins, I'll probably look like a fish to whatever is lurking in the lake. Perim must have their own versions of freshwater sharks. Possibly, even megalodons.

"Is there anything dangerous lurking in Lake Ken-I-Po?"

"Only when there's a certain UnderWorlder in there. Or if you've angered Najarin. I advise you not to anger him." The last remark lacks the bot's usual dry humor, which sets Kazdan closer to the edge of perpetual stress.

"Why can't the transport disc port me onto the lakeshore?"

"The CodeMasters believe in random chance and within random chance there is a chance for adventure." The bot makes a snort-like sound. "In other words, it's fun."

"How is it fun if I can port in the middle of a lake?"

"The transport discs and Scanners are programmed to port your code to a stable piece of land. And if you don't like it, then you can simply port out and port back in again for a better location."

"How do you know that I'll end up on an isle?"

"There's always a chance of that. And you're not one to take unnecessary risks."

He sounds almost snappish. Maybe he thought I didn't trust his info? Or maybe he's worried that he's divulging classified information with the CodeMasters watching? The former is likely, but I can't completely discount the latter considering the "logic" behind programming this bot with pride.

"That's true, and I can kill some time by swimming in the lake." Even though I really don't care for swimming, except when it's hot. And it's pretty hot back on Earth; I'm probably lounging inside since the Y's pools are indoors and always lukewarm and crowded as hell.

"Remember, you have a match with Krystella." It's going to be a one-sided massacre like with Klayotic because I haven't played a match since then, and I can't access my online deck while I'm here, so I'm more than rusty! At least, she won't mock me like that prissy Aussie.

"Is that really her screenname?"

"No, but she did set her preference to be known as 'Krystella' in Chaotic, both here and in online matches."

"I can do that?"

"Of course, you can. Although, it's a bit of chore for the computer illiterate. Do you wish to change your preference?"

"…..No. I like being known as KidChaor. And people would just butcher my name and call me Cass!"

"Kazdan is not a common name; Kaz is actually more common than it."

"I think my parents named me after a mathematician. I know there are two using it as a surname."

"There is an Aramaic phrase that means, 'Priests are the messengers of the Merciful.' Your name is the acronym for that phrase in the original Aramaic."

"…..It could be it. My mom said we were descended from Jewish Danish immigrants. But I don't think she would know that phrase since her family gave up religion by the second generation."

"And you're father?"

"First-generation Irishman with his religion formerly intact."

"Formerly?"

"He's dead."

"…"

"Aren't you going to say you're sorry?"

"Why would I? I didn't murder your father."

"It's a common response I get when I tell people." Even Tom said that when I told him, but he actually meant it.

"Yes, well, it is hard for an AI to grasp death all things considering."

"Isn't being shut down a form of death?"

"That's nothing."

"Really?"

"Literally. There was no darkness, there was no light, there were no zeroes and ones; it was just nothing."

"Why were you shut down?"

"Maintenance, I'd imagine." The nonchalance in the bot's voice threatens to fuel the paranoia in Kazdan much like throwing gasoline onto a roaring fire.

"You should leave before Accato flakes out on you, and I'll have to listen to you passive-aggressively grumble about it. Or worse, Krystella will hear about it." He swears that the bot is teasing him like they were friends. Like Tom used to, but this didn't leave him with a twinge of resentment because the bot isn't popular.

"Yeah, I should." He quickly packs up his clothes in one of the waterproof bags and then steps out. The bot escorts him to the transport discs without any commentary.

"See ya soon." He tells the bot and pulls out his Scanner; he toggles to the Location and has his pointer finger about to press down.

"DORK!" An Australian-accented, horribly familiar voice shouts with audacity rivaling Van Bloot's.

Kazdan's cheeks burn with the toxic mixture of humiliation and anger, but his mouth is slow to respond.

"She's watching." The bot quietly warns him, and he doesn't dare look up from his Scanner to confirm the truth. He decides to port out, maintaining his quiet mystique to Krystella.

If she's there, she gives him a round of applause. If she's not, then she's not.

His code is not sent to a strip of summer land in the middle of a sunny paradise; his code is sent to a rock outcropping with only three steps of flat land, while the rest are jagged spikes that have been sharpened by centuries of storms. He looks up and sees gray clouds considering whether or not to rain on his parade.

The water's darker than I would like, but it's not choppy. And I can see Najarin's castle from here, so it'll probably take me twenty minutes to get to the shore. More like thirty considering the weight I have on me, but the bot mentioned that the bags should act like floatation devices.

He tosses his heaviest of the two bags in and it floats like a witch. He drops the other bag and then sits on the outcropping's ledge; he dips his feet and doesn't feel cold. He then puts the rest of his body in and finds that there is no shock of cold like there usually is. He decides to dunk his head in and finally gets the sensation he craves.

Shit, it's cold! So the suit really is keeping me warm. Why haven't the CodeMasters patent this? Is money really no object to them? Or maybe this technology is from the future? It seems unlikely because even the Creatures' tech hasn't advanced that far. Maybe the CodeMasters are aliens different from us and Creatures? Theorizing isn't going to get me across the lake.

He latches onto the bags like lifelines and paddles as hard as he can; he feels like a fish flapping about in a desert, but at least he's moving.

For five minutes, he paddles with his mind set on the shoreline. Two minutes later, he stops paddling for a quick break. He unzips the bag with the canteen and takes it out to down a mouthful of water. He zips it back into the bag and takes a moment to look up. The clouds are far too strong for the sun to break through, and he's glad for that small blessing.

He tenses and readies himself to paddle, but freezes up. He feels something slimy brush against his feet and hopes it's just seaweed. He looks down and notices something brown with glowing green lines beneath his feet.

He scrambles for the bag with his Scanner, but doesn't even have time to scream as he's pulled underneath.

Thawp, thawp, thawp…

THAWP!

"OW! What the fuck!?" Kazdan demands before consciousness. He notices that he's up and that he's in a cave with glowing moss on its roof and puddles of water. He swivels his head and sees Ornathor sitting cross-legged with a bored look on his serpentine face. The tip of his brown tail rests on Kazdan's shoulder like a pirate's parrot.

"I've been doing that for five leps now; you're awake now, right?" Kazdan impulsively swats at the tail, but Ornathor retracts it before the strike could connect. "Hey, be grateful it was just the tail! If I used my hand, then you're pretty face would've lost a cheek."

"Why did you try to drown me!?" He feels his cheeks turn scarlet in rage, while Ornathor rolls his green-gold slits at him.

"I saved your life, youngling, Mezzmarr would've hauled you to jail."

"Who the hell is Mezzmarr!?"

"Are you this high-strung with the babe? Considering his parentage, he doesn't need any more of that…" Ornathor trails off for a moment. "Mezzmarr is an OverWorlder who lives in Lake Ken-I-Po and guards it with his life; he also has a low tolerance for humans, although, his threshold is higher than Najarin's."

"He's a toddler now." He retorts, while Mezzmarr snorts with his nostrils.

"Lord Chaor still hasn't named him?"

"….I'm sure he will soon."

"Since the babe can walk and talk, he should've been named by now."

"He's not talking yet."

"Hmmm," Ornathor hums thoughtfully. "He must be waiting on that; it'll probably please him more than hearing about the babe walking I bet."

"I guess."

"You guess? Didn't you tell him?"

"Lord Chaor, never a–ordered me to."

"That's strange, most parents would want to hear what their little spawn has been up to."

"Was I supposed to tell him?"

"As a caretaker, it's kind of expected of you. Although, the walking bit is too late now…"

"I have talking left, but how should I tell him?"

"You work at the castle, you must know where his room is." Kazdan nods. "Just go to his room, knock on his door, and tell him that the babe can talk."

"It's simple."

"The best solutions for people like us are the simplest. We're not schemers or manipulators, so caution and commonsense are our best weapons."

"I thought all UnderWorlders prided themselves in their trickery."

"That's such an OverWorlder thing to say." He proclaims without offense. "Not entirely wrong, especially when a trick could lead a Creature being indebted to you."

"….What do I owe you?"

"Some labor."

"I'm already working for Lachima." Ornathor winces.

"You poor thing, she can be a grueling Taskmaster if she doesn't like you."

"Did you work for her too?"

"No, thankfully not, but Ulmar did once; pretty certain she drove him half mad."

"….Really? She's seems quite nice." I just do deliveries for her, which is time-consuming since I had to navigate my way through the city without the ability to read the damn signs. But I know my way around the city better than I did before. Plus, the babe needs someone to interact with. I don't know what they do together when I'm not there, but he seems happy.

"Of course she is; she likes you."

"I still have a couple of weeks to repay my debt to her, so you'll have to wait until then."

"Actually, you can help me now."

"My Scanner doesn't allow me to pick and choose where my code gets ported to, so I won't be able to break into Najarin's castle."

"You're not even a pickpocket, so why would I need you for that?" Ornathor's tail gives him a gentle pat. "I need you to distract Antidaeon."

"Who's Antidaeon?"

"His brother, pretty certain his half-brother considering how little they resemble each other."

"How do you know that they don't take after their parents?" Ornathor smirks at his suggestion.

"I wasn't joking when I said that they look nothing alike." Ornathor turns his scaly hands to the dirt before them and uses the claws to draw in the damp dirt. Within five minutes, he draws two Creatures that remind Kazdan of rough sketches that he thought the card designers must've made while designing the Creatures. He knows better now.

"This one," He taps on the image of Donald Duck if he became a marine, "is Antidaeon, and he's the self-appointed guardian of all the waterways in Perim with his own submarine called, appropriately, The Nemesis."

"Yeah, I don't think I can do much against a sub." Or its missiles. Or would it be lasers here? Creature weaponry can be wildly anachronistic.

"He can't bring his sub to this lake because most of the waterways here are far too small or unstable for something that large, so all you have to do is distract the OverWorlder."

"How?"

"By drowning."

"How do you know he won't let me drown?" Because I sincerely doubt all OverWorlders would be willing to put their lives in jeopardy for humans.

"I don't think he shares his brother's disdain for you humans, and he's far too noble to leave someone as helpless looking as you to die like that."

"So while he's rescuing me, how are you going to get distract his brother?"

"I won't need to if the distraction works."

"I thought I was distracting Antidaeon."

"You are, which will in turn net his brother. Mezzmarr," He taps right on the image that looks like one of Ursula's eels if he became a He-Man-esque paladin, "is the suspicious sort; he'll probably suspect you of playing a trick to scan his brother. I will advise you to have a lie handy."

"….The best lies are the ones steeped in the truth. Before you nearly drowned me, I was swimming to the shore to meet up with a friend of mine; I got caught in an undercurrent and fought with all my meager might to make it to the surface and scream for help." The half-lie slips easily from his human tongue.

"Good, just leave out me drowning you bit, and the rest's obsidian!"

The worst part of the plan is the drowning. He's completely conscious and can vividly feel the water pressure claw into his face and pull downwards as Ornathor shoots upwards, threatening to tear the epidermis from the dermis. When he breaks through the surface, after half a century of torture, he flails and screams for help like he's truly drowning.

Antidaeon comes to his rescue after a minute into his performance, and Kazdan's amazed. Not by Antidaeon slicing through water, but how Ornathor's dirt sketches captured the source's likeness.

Only miniscule details were missing like the wetness of the feathers and the shine of the orange-yellow bill. He thinks as Antidaeon rescues him and takes him to the safety of dry land. He makes a great show of coughing and hacking, which makes Antidaeon shake his feathered head.

"What in the Cothica possessed you to swim the lake?" His tone is more akin to exasperated curiosity than a true reprimand.

"My Scanner," Kazdan looks around briefly for the packs but finds they haven't reached ashore, "doesn't port me where I want to go. I got ported to some piece of rock in the middle of the lake, so I had no choice but to swim to reach land."

"And your Scanner couldn't give you a boat to use?" Do Creatures really think that the Scanners can generate items? Well, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for them to believe that since Scanners can port us all over Perim.

"It's not that advanced, and the Rental Center wouldn't let me." Antidaeon squints, tempted to look away and merely reply with an "I see."

"Perhaps, you should learn to swim better before coming here." Antidaeon advises tactfully, making Kazdan look warily at the water.

"That would be the wise thing to do." Antidaeon opens his bill for a response, but turns his face back to the lake. About six feet from the shoreline, white bubbles churn, announcing Mezzmarr's arrival. The eel-like Creature rises up like mighty Neptune form the briny depths; he glances at his brother, but then narrows his green eyes at Kazdan.

"Any reason that you left your trash in the lake, human?" He raises his right fist up to reveal the waterproof bags in his tight grasp.

"It's not trash, sir." He says meekly and looks down to avoid the inquisitive glare. "I got caught in an undertow, but I fought until I got to the surface and nearly drowned again."

"It's true, brother." Kazdan chooses to look up and sees that the heated look has soften into something resembling sympathy in Mezzmarr's green eyes.

"Why didn't you use your Scanner to save yourself?" Mezzmarr inquires, and Kazdan responds by pointing at the bags. "Ah, I see now."

"Why are you staring at the water?" Antidaeon asks with the barest hint of suspicion, and Kazdan pales and scrambles fast for a mostly truth.

"Because the last time I was swimming in water, I was nearly strangled to death." Antidaeon's blue eyes widen with alarm, while Mezzmarr puts a hand-fin to his chin, trying to figure out the identity of the assaulter.

"Nauthilax?" Kazdan shakes his head vigorously and makes a note to ask Ornathor about that Creature later.

"Skreeth in Everrain." Mezzmarr winces, while Antidaeon raises a feathered eyebrow.

"I've never heard of him leaving his victims alive unless they were faster than him." Which you certainly can't be. Kazdan practically hears next from Antidaeon's mind.

"I had a baby with me. The baby nearly gouged his eye out." The feathers on the tippy-top of Antidaeon's head stand at attention like a skunk feeling threatened, while Mezzmarr shakes his scaly head.

"If a baby has to save you, then you're truly helpless." There's remorse in the OverWorlder's bass voice. "Which means I better not attack the human trying so poorly to spy on me in the tree."

Kazdan swivels his head and scrunches up as his face as he sees a human boy climb down the tree with a face burning with scarlet shame. The human is about an inch shorter than him and wearing a blue, private school uniform. He rubs the back of his blond head like he's not certain if he should take the potential tongue lashing or port out.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Antidaeon asks politely. The blonde shoots Kazdan a pleading look, and Kazdan feels his stomach twist for being put on the spot.

Does the preppy think he'll die if I don't go along with it? No, he has his Scanner in his hand and could easily port out. Maybe he thinks if I go along with it he'll get his scan. I'm not getting a scan out of this why should he?

Kazdan shakes his head with the truth, while the blonde sighs.

"What's your name, human?" Mezzmarr demands.

"Reginald Teddington, sir." With a name like that, I would've been disappointed if he didn't have an English accent.

"Teddington, I understand you're trying to get a scan for your game, but I don't appreciate being stalked and neither does my brother." Antidaeon nods at Mezzmarr's words.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, sir, I d-didn't think y-you'd say yes if I asked."

"I wouldn't have, but I would've respected you for asking." Teddington looks down at his dark, shiny loafers.

"Brother, perhaps you should be easier on the boy; he clearly didn't mean anything malicious just like the other human." Antidaeon scrunches up his face and then looks at Kazdan. "Pardon my bad manners, I forgot to ask you for your name."

"I'm Kazdan Kalinkas, sir."

"The same Kazdan Kalinkas that professed his love to Lystone!?" Kazdan nods hesitantly. Antidaeon muffles an incredulous giggle with a cough to compose himself, while Mezzmarr looks at him with horror. Teddington just looks at all them with befuddlement.

"I thought I had terrible taste in females…" Mezzmarr mutters.

"Give yourself more credit! Lady Etheno wouldn't use mugical dust to force you to love her." Antidaeon then whispers a conspiracy that Kazdan caught wind of.

"She probably did that to this poor boy."

"Lystone did not bewitch me with Mugic, but with her character." He forces himself to huff with indignation. Antidaeon and Mezzmarr exchange looks of pity with each other.

"You're young…" Antidaeon starts and fails to finish.

"And a human. She made it very clear to me that it wouldn't work out." Teddington looks at him with alarm at that, while Kazdan reminds himself that rolling his eyes would destroy his cover.

"She was very….wise in advising you, but you're wiser for heeding it." So Antidaeon is against human/Creature relations, while Mezzmarr is still trying to figure out his feelings on the matter. And poor, poor Teddington doesn't know what to think.

"Yeah, um." He looks down at his feet and then shuts his eyes for a moment to figure out his next lie. "I need to go now and catch a friend before he flakes on me again."

"Of course, we wouldn't keep you from that." Mezzmarr nods at his brother's words and tosses the bags to the shore like they were sticks for a dog to fetch; Kazdan goes and picks them up. He then looks at Teddington.

"We better leave, Reginald Teddington."

"I prefer being called Reggie by my friends." Wow, either he's friendless like me or he really thinks I saved his arse from being fish food. Kazdan keeps his thoughts to himself and manages a small smile.

"Okay, Reggie, then you can call me Kazdan." They both walk away from Lake Ken-I-Po and head towards the forest.

"What was all that about you being rejected by this Lystone?" Reggie pipes up once they're out of hearing range.

"I was supposed to meet my bandmate, Accato–"

"Accato? That sounds like a Creature's name."

"It is; he's like Maxxor's cousin."

"What did you mean by 'bandmate'?" Kazdan snorts at Reggie using actual air quotes.

"We're in a band together and for the past few weeks we've been looking for members."

"What do you do in the band?"

"I can only sing, but Accato sings and plays this customized lyre that's pretty much an electric or acoustic guitar depending on his whims."

"Then, the drummer slot hasn't been filled yet?" Reggie's eyes brighten so much like Tom's did when he found something interesting.

"Are you offering?"

"I'm actually a percussionist, but I know how to play the drums."

"I thought a percussionist was a fancy term for a drummer."

"Well, it doesn't have to be. A percussionist is one who plays percussion instruments such as cymbals, xylophones, gongs, bells, and really any instrument that requires striking. I can also play the xylophone and some cowbell."

"Reggie, how would you like a scan of Accato?"

"Will I get one if I joined the band?"

"You will, but only after we perform this gig he has lined up." Which I really need to ask him where this gig is taking place because all I know it's towards the end of summer.

"That sounds fair, and it would be interesting to see how we can affect Perim's music. Maybe we can have a career like David Bowie's!" Reggie smiles so widely that Kazdan can't help but smile with him.

"Reggie, I have a feeling that probably won't happen, but we could play his music here without worrying about copyrights!"

"And this is the closest his music will come to being played on Mars."

Krystella swirls the foam of her second Frafdoccino. She looks up briefly to see Klayotic grifting another ignorant newbie; she's curious how much of the chump's deck he'll keep for himself and what will be up for trade. She hopes that there'll be a Takinom up for trade. She'd rather get it from him than the obnoxious Elliot.

Maybe I can trade with Kazdan; he might have a scan or two since he's confined to the UnderWorld for the most part. But why would he have a scan? It's not like he's been able to play the game like me. Or Klayotic.

Her purple lips twist upward when Klayotic does his finishing move: sending the chump to some Location he might never be heard from again. Or, if he suddenly generates a couple of brain cells, he'll realize the con and return. It might end in another chair greeting the back of Klayotic's greasy head. She hopes for the latter.

"Krystella." She looks away from Klayotic and to the bot that just called her name. The bot reminds her of the old Apple computer, it even has the same sky-blue coloring, which her dad owned for nearly a decade; it crashed into oblivion, and her dad decided to put it out of its misery with the family baseball bat.

"Yeah?"

"I need your assistance." She stops her swirling at the rather human admission.

"Why?"

"Kazdan refuses to return to Earth because of your match." Because of you. Ah, he sounds almost jealous. I guess such acting amuses the CodeMasters.

"He can't be hurt; you told me that our Scanners will heal all of our injuries once we're out of Perim."

"I wasn't not lying." The bot sounds almost indignant. "He isn't hurt, but he's drunk."

"I didn't know alcohol was served here."

"It isn't; he must've gotten it from a fine establishment in Perim."

"And he's a lightweight. Does that mean he can't participate in the match if he's drunk?"

"There are no rules against it, and it would boost your 90% probability to 99%." The bot pauses for a tilt of its boxy head. "But do you want to win that way?"

"A win's a win, and it's not a drome match."

"As you say a win's a win, but you're laboring under a misconception if you believe that the CodeMasters don't take in beta matches into consideration."

"I only need to seven wins in a drome to get challenged by the CodeMaster of the drome." She stirs a little too vigorously and causes some of the foam to spill on the table.

"That's what usually occurs, but the CodeMasters don't have to. It all depends on the will of the CodeMasters."

"I got it. Where is he?"

"Slumped against a wall of the Beta Drome entrance." A scream of mortal terror echoes across the court. "I have other matters to attend to."

"Have fun, bot." She says with sadistic glee as the bot floats away to deal with another newbie. She waltzes to the Beta Drome and finds Kazdan there like the bot said he would be. Kazdan has on a faux-leather jacket with blue jeans and fingerless gloves; it's one of his plainer costumes, but she prefers it over the bathing suit he was wearing earlier. Although, his hair looks far more windswept like he spent a day at a beach.

"How drunk are you?"

"Drunk enough to stumble everywhere, but I haven't puked!" He grins like an idiotic monkey. "Hune Paltanin gave me this potion that she said, and I quote, 'Will prevent you from making a complete ass out of yourself in front of the magenta human!'"

"Puke on me, and consider our relationship over."

"Understood, ready for our match?" He flashes her a cheeky grin, which from anyone else would inspire her to slap it off his face.

"I don't fight drunks because I don't want to be puked on."

"But I won't."

"Can you guarantee that?"

"Yes, but every time I stand up, it's like being in a tilt-a-whirl. She did say one of the side-effects would be dizziness. And I think loss of fur."

"You should port home, Kazdan."

"I've been looking forward to our match all day!"

"Really?" I may be the only pretty girl he knows, but I know that's not reason enough for him to play the game.

"At first, but then I finally completed the band! Before that I got involved with an UnderWorld plot, and it succeeded. I think. I didn't hear Ornathor get caught…"

"So which Creature did you con into it?"

"Not a Creature, a human named Reginald Teddington."

"He better be English."

"He totally is, lives in London too!"

"Jesus Christ. So he's the bassist?"

"No, the percussionist."

"Is he a tool too?"

"I don't think so. We're apparently friends now." He sounds surprise by this realization and frowns at his confusion.

"He's either the loneliest boy in the world or the most gullible."

"Neither, I believe. Compared to us, he's…sociable."

"Really now? How do you know that I don't have a legion of friends back home?"

"I never see you with anyone here, and you seem pretty fine with that." Touché, Newton.

"Yes, well, being a social butterfly are roles made for the bubbly blondes."

"Hmm, you might be correct since Reggie was blond and quite bubbly. He was approachable like Tom."

"Old boyfriend?" He snorts sourly.

"Oh, please, he's too sporty for my tastes, and he was my friend. Best friend. It's all in the past now."

"He became a jock asshole and started bullying you."

"He's too good for that, probably be the most perfect OverWorld player because of his goodness."

"And you're an UnderWorlder, so that's why your friendship died?" Wouldn't be the first. Wouldn't be the last. Still a stupid reason for a friendship to die. But it's another reason for Jycella being uppity.

"No, it was middle school."

"Ah, the time in which you find out how disappointing those closest to you can be."

"Yup, and we were in different classes, so we didn't get to hang out anymore. He also became a star athlete, and I became a secret arsonist."

"What did you burn?"

"Leaf piles, mostly. I wasn't a very brave arsonist."

"That means you're smart enough to know that burning a building would've sent you to juvie. And they would've eaten you up, pretty Bowie."

"You've been there?"

"Almost. I got community service instead by the skin of my perfect teeth."

"What was the crime?"

"Juvenile simple assault. A fancy charge for beating up some fifth graders. It was going to be a misdemeanor but the judge downgraded it after considering my motives in the crime, and that it was my first offense."

"What did they do to you?"

"Not me, but to some poor girl. They bullied her into suicide. I thought I could be a literal social justice warrior."

"Did you know her?"

"No, even though we used to ride the same bus; she would always sit in the front and looked so tired of everything. I thought it was because she was having a shitty time at middle school like the rest of us. After she died, I overheard three fifth-graders panicking about their involvement and I decided some justice was in order."

"That sounds like something an OverWorlder would do."

"They wouldn't beat three fifth-graders with a bat."

"You're right…that's what UnderWorlders would do and be commended for it, well, if they didn't get caught." He smirks at that fact, and Krystella almost wants to smirk back.

"Well, their world is shit, so what else can they do but be shit back."

"How poetical."

"We can't all be blessed by Apollo."

"Better him than Zeus."

"Apollo's not any better at taking no for an answer."

"That's very true, but most of the Greek pantheon suffer from that. We should comb through it to find the ones who aren't complete monsters."

"We should do that; probably be more interesting than a match with you."

"And my Chaotic skills aren't interesting to you?"

"What skills? You've only been in one match here, but you do have more experience in Perim than most. Any interesting stories to tell me?"

"Did I ever tell you about the UnderWorld's rather robust theater program?"

"No, but do go on."

"To preface this, H'earring was teaching me the art of haggling…"

Kazdan proceeds to spend the rest of their match time regaling Krystella, and neither complained.

Author's Comments- Here is the link:

Here is the link to Kazdan's main outfit for the chapter. It's based on one of David Bowie's outfits for his Young Americans photoshoot; it's rather simple, but I still like staring at it. Though I did add the fingerless gloves: a href=" . "Link/a

Once again, I have another chapter that grew in its telling: I'll be delighted if anyone got that reference. This was supposed to be much shorter and much simpler: Kazdan goes to Lake Ken-I-Po meets up with Accato as he's rejected by Najarin, find Reggie trying to get a Najarin scan, and they formed their band. End of chapter fourteen. No, I grew bored of that quickly and didn't like it, so I did away with it and created up a new chapter that you read before you.

This one is heavy on the dialogue, but I got to write about other Creatures and bring back one of my favorites to write about: Ornathor. Seriously, I've been wanting to write about him again and was afraid that I wouldn't find a way until midway through season two. It's actually odd why he's one of my favorites to write since he had really only one notable appearance in the show and that was in "Yesterday's Heroes" episode of season three; he had only two lines of dialogue before getting his scaly ass sent back to the UnderWorld. One of his lines was about how Kopond told him that Najarin would be away from his castle; in The Ultimate Guide to All Things Chaotic, here's his description in the book: "His manipulative and sinister personality results in there being few he trusts enough to call friends. However, he is loyal to Chaor and remains a sworn enemy of Lord Van Bloot" (Black 34). I think Ornathor "trusted" Kopond because of his loyalty to character; however, I think Kopond may view Najarin as a "friend" after fighting a war and raising the City of Elements together. Maybe if the mission was vital to the UnderWorld, then Kopond would've told him the truth that Najarin was there because I doubt Kopond called Najarin up to let him know about the theft.

By the way, lep is akin to a minute, so five leps would be five minutes. I thought it would be prudent to start thinking about Perim's vocabulary for time measurements. I got the idea for "lep" from using Google translate and looking for the Greek equivalent of minute.

In season three's episode two's "Worlds Apart," Jycella says this about Krystella: "At least my friends do community service by choice." After Jycella protests the perfect remark, Krystella mocks her further, "Look at me mom and dad, I'm not cutting class. I'm not bullying fifth graders. I'm not flaming grandma on the Internet!" Considering the information presented, I like to believe that the bullying fifth graders led to her having to do court-ordered community service. But why would Krystella bully fifth graders? I don't think it was for money or for cards because I've never seen her personally hustle people like Klay. And considering Krystella's "feminist" remarks to Peyton in season one's episode twelve's "BattleDrome of the Sexes," I'd like to believe that she took being a social justice warrior quite literally before she nearly got sent to juvie.

Next chapter will have Kazdan presenting Chaor with some good news.