A/N- Not the best chapter, but I hope you like it anyway! Same disclaimer applies.

Korean Pearl- Once again, I have to thank you for reviewing. And yes, if you had watched the show you would know who Zoey is, but it shouldn't matter much. I included all the episodes with Alia in them in this fic, only it's from Alia's point of view. You shouldn't be reading too many references that leave you confused.

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Who can say where the road goes,

where the day flows, only time.

-Only Time, by Enya

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Chapter 3- Preparations

Zoey took me to a coffee shop, where we could talk some more. Over Cappuccinos we discussed time travel. Absurd, isn't it? And yet it was possible.

"Our Project has been looking for someone with your spunk and interest in the topic for quite some time now," Zoey said.

I wondered why she saw me as spunky. I certainly hadn't acted that way this afternoon. Still, it was supposed to be a compliment. "What kind of a job would I be doing?" I asked.

Zoey wagged her finger in my face. "Oh no, can't tell you yet. I must get the approval of our project director first. But it's quite an exciting job. I'm sure that you'll be up to it."

Wondering why she couldn't tell me anymore about this exciting job, I asked, "But how am I supposed to consider taking the job if I don't know what it is?"

She leaned forward. "You don't consider us; we consider you. If the director approves, we'll contact you and arrange a meeting. Then you can decide if you want the job or not." She stood up, placed some money on the table, and turned to go. "Have a nice day, darling."

I stood up too. "How can I contact you?" But the woman had already disappeared.

I spent the next week waiting for a call, hoping Zoey would say that the project director had approved and would call me in for an interview. But no contact was made, and I began to fear that I had been rejected again. I wasn't approved of, and Zoey had simply disappeared.

It was a month until I finally saw her again, and by then I had given up hope on being hired by them. I was starting to work on a book again. I decided that perhaps she had been a scam artist, or someone who wanted to cheer me up, even if it meant doing it with lies. That was fine. I could move one.

So I was totally unprepared when I opened up my apartment door and saw the lady in the black dress. I didn't even recognize her until she spoke.

"Alia, darling, I have good news! You've been accepted."

My heart pounded. "I…I have?"

"Yes, dear. We must leave at once."

"But I haven't had any time to prepare!"

"You don't need any. Lothos has approved, and we need to get going."

"Who is Lothos?" I asked, puzzled.

Zoey pursed her lips. "Our project director. Now, are you ready?"

I glanced around the apartment. I wasn't ready at all. I hadn't even known she was coming! But I thought if I didn't go now, I'd never get another chance.

"I'm not packed," I said uncertainly.

"Just throw some things together for a week or so," Zoey instructed. "It will take that long to see if you're qualified."

I wasn't sure if I was ready to trust her just yet, but if I didn't go now… "It'll only take a few minutes," I told her. Ten minutes later, I was ready to go.

Zoey led me outside into a waiting limo. Once in the car, the windows darkened so that I couldn't see out. I peered around nervously.

"Is this really all necessary?"

"Oh, yes," said Zoey. "You do understand that this project is quite top secret- on the way you'll have to sign some forms to get security clearances." She handed me a stack of paper. "You'd best get to work."

Like a fool, I signed everything in the contract after barely skimming it. I was too jittery to stop and read everything, I could hardly believe we were on our way to a top-secret project, and my thoughts whirled round and round. Zoey noticed my discomfort.

"Here, darling," she said sympathetically, handing me a tablet. "It eases the nerves."

It certainly did that. Only minutes after I had swallowed it, I realized I was no longer nervous. In fact, I was actually quite tired. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take a little nap on the way there…

Zoey shook me awake soon after the car had parked in a large garage.

"Where are we?" I mumbled drowsily.

"It doesn't matter," said Zoey. "We've a room made up for you now. You can get some rest, and we'll start the evaluation tomorrow."

Leaving the car, we walked through a door in the garage into a maze of hallways, Zoey lead me down a staircase and around many corridors before we finally reached my room. I didn't notice much of the details as I stumbled in, but it seemed spartan, with only a bed and a little table inside. I didn't even notice the strange way the door swooshed shut, all I could think was Tomorrow, tomorrow it all starts. I'll finally make something of myself.

Early the next morning, the alarm blared in my ear. I sat up, wondering where I was. This wasn't my room. Then Zoey walked gaily in the door, and I remembered.

"What time is it?" I asked, getting out of bed.

"Late," Zoey clucked. We've got to start as soon as possible. Here, put your clothes on."

I caught the pile of clothing she threw at me in confusion. "But these aren't mine!"

"Ah, well, these are what you'll have to wear for the tests."

"Tests? Didn't I come for an interview, to be a secretary?"

She laughed aloud, the first time I'd ever heard her do that. "A secretary? Is that what you thought? Oh, no, darling. We've got something much more… unique… planned for you."

I frowned. "What sort of a job do you want me to do?"

"Oh, can't tell you yet. Unless you've passed the tests, there's no point in telling," she giggled. "Now put your things on. Someone will be in with your breakfast in a minute." And just like that, she was gone.

I noticed that the door was unusual. Instead of opening and closing like regular doors, it sucked itself up into the ceiling when opening, and came down to close. How odd, I thought, but then it's probably state-of-the-art, or something.

Forgetting about the door, I concentrated on my outfit. It seemed to be some sort of running suit. When at last I had it on, the door swooshed open again. A woman was there, holding out a tray of food.

"Breakfast, Miss Alia," she said, handing it to me.

"Uh, thanks," was all I could think of to say. The door whooshed shut again, and I finished my breakfast anxiously. What kind of tests would I have to pass to get the job? And another thought, deep inside me, wondered if all this was really worth it. What had I gotten myself into?

But there was no time for that. Zoey appeared minutes later and walked me to a huge underground gym. "All right, sweet-cheeks," she said, "lets see how hot you really are. Start jogging around the track. When you reach this spot again, one of my assistants will measure your heart rate and blood-pressure."

When I just stood there unbelieving, she glared at me. "What are you waiting for? Go, go!"

I took off.

The next week was a blur. It was full of medical exams and endurance tests. For some reason, to get this job I had to be physically fit. But why? I grew uneasy with the whole thing as the days passed. No one, least of all Zoey, would tell me what was going on. What did any of this have to do with time travel?

Besides the physical tests, they tested me mentally as well. But all the mental exams seemed to be about drama. Apparently, I also had to be a good actress as well. At first they would hand me a script and I would have to act right off the bat. I didn't do so badly at first, having taking some junior high drama classes. Then they stopped giving me a script altogether. Instead, I would receive statistics on a certain person, and after five minutes of studying them I would have to act as that person would in a given situation. But they never told me why I would need this skill.

After a week, I was fed up. When Zoey entered my room, I was already dressed and standing.

"Zoey," I demanded, "will you please tell me what the heck is going on here?"

She looked startled. "What do you mean, dear?"

"All these tests, that's what I mean! What kind of a place is this? What sort of a job am I applying for anyway?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," Zoey answered.

"You're not at liberty to say?" I fumed. "Well, fine! I quit. This is altogether too strange for me."

She frowned at me. "Leaving so soon? After I had just come to tell you that you got the job?"

That stopped me dead in my tracks. "What did you say?" I asked, unbelieving.

"You've got the job."

I turned around and stared at her. "Zoey, I don't even know what kind of a job I've applied for, and after this week, I'm not sure if I want it anymore. No, I don't want it anymore. I'm leaving."

Then Zoey did something that frightened me. She grabbed me sharply by the wrist and dragged me close to her. "Oh, no, Alia. You aren't leaving. You're in much to deep for that, now."

I looked at her, wide-eyed and stunned. For the very first time, Zoey deeply frightened me. "What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"I mean," she hissed, "that you are going to meet Lothos right now. You asked for this job, well, now you've got it. So no complaining." And without any further words, she dragged me down the hallway. My heart pounded in my ears.

We stopped only once, next to a high-security door. Zoey swiped her card, and the door opened, allowing us into the room. It held a few hi-tech looking instruments and a closet full of plain, white suits.

"Put this on," Zoey instructed, handing me one of them.

I glared at her. "No."

She shoved me against the wall at that word. "Put it on, or Lothos will not be pleased." She smiled, grimly. "And you don't want to displease Lothos."

I don't know what it was about her words that made me give it. Was it the threat, or maybe the grin? I can't remember. The important thing is, I put it on. Afterwards, we started off again.

We walked down the whitewashed hall, until we reached a metal door. This opened up into a huge cavern. Red lights splashed off blinking control panels and a strange metallic chamber. I stared, but there was no time for gaping. Zoey pulled me though a side door to what could have been an office. Certainly, there was a desk, but no chair for an occupant to sit at. The room was lowly lit with red light, like the cavern we had just left. And the entire back wall was covered with a giant computer. But there was no one in the office.

I turned to look at Zoey. "What…" I was still confused.

"Shhhh." Zoey stood still, head bowed.

I was confused. Then I heard a whirring noise, coming from the machinery at the far wall. A panel opened up, and a metal chair with wires running all over it extended to the desk. It rotated around to reveal the most evil, most monstrous person I have ever encountered. He even outdid my father. Lothos.

I stared. Once upon a time this had been a person. But no longer. You could see snatches of human flesh among the mechanical parts, designed for life support or something worse. The head was almost fully human, although the eyes were robot's eyes- man-made visual sensors. Metal crisscrossed over the skull. Below the neck was a steel plate, supposedly to protect important chest organs. One arm and both legs were completely mechanical. The left arm was the only part of the body that appeared to be completely human, with no robotically manufactured parts within it. A virtual Frankenstein. The monstrosity peeled back his lips in a gruesome smile.

Hello, Alia.

His voice was synthesized, not a real voice at all. There were speakers throughout the room, so his voice came from everywhere around you. I have had quite a few nightmares about that voice.