A/N: Here is my update. Please review!

Disclaimer: I only own Kat.

Chapter 2 Delivery

Kat opened her eyes with a gasp of wonderment. Her breathing quickly came down to a normal speed. She smiled at the pure beauty of her surroundings. Her cheeks flushed a pinkish color as she realized she was still hanging desperately onto Pendragon. She let go of him and looked around with a wide grin on her face. She just felt so happy here…wherever here was.

She was surrounded by lit up crystals that stretched out above and below her for what seemed like eternity. They were both moving rapidly through this crystal tunnel. Kat looked outside the almost transparent crystal wall to see thousands of stars in the endless space. She looked back to Pendragon and frowned. She didn't understand why he wasn't as happy as she was. He looked deeply worried.

"You okay?" she asked.

"No!" Pendragon exploded. He pulled on his short brown hair with one hand. "I'm totally mixing the Territories! This is what we are trying to prevent! How am I going to explain this to them?"

"Oookay," Kat said while giving him a weird look. She decided to change the subject and asked, "What is this tunnel thingy?"

"No, don't talk," Pendragon told her. "I'm putting you under strict rules. You…don't say anything unless you are asked something. Better yet…act mute!" Kat pulled back from him with a freaked expression on her face. "You do whatever I or Alder tells you to, okay?"

"Who's Alder?" Kat asked.

"He is the person I'm giving you to, so you can get back to Seco- I mean Earth safely," Pendragon said.

"Why should I go by your stupid rules, Pen boy?" Kat asked as she crossed her arms.

"Because your life and many others might be on the line every time you open your mouth once we arrive," Pendragon told her seriously. "Please do what I say, whoever you are."

"Fine," Kat said with a shrug, "If it's that important to you. But please, call me Kat."

-Denduron-

Alder closed his eyes with a smile as a peaceful breeze passed over him where he was laying in the field. He put his arms behind his head with satisfaction of the wonderful spring weather around him. The tribe was going well a few miles away and none of the acolytes or Travelers had given him a message to say they were fluming to his Territory soon. Things on Denduron were going smoothly at this point.

The peacefulness didn't last long for the boy. Suddenly he heard a surprised scream and another voice shout for the screamer to calm down. He sighed in personal annoyance and sat up in the grassy field. Out of reflex, he grabbed his bow and quiver and silently made his way up the hill to the cave the voices had come from.

He recognized Pendragon's voice right away and smiled slyly. The second the other boy stepped out of the cave, Alder cocked an arrow and pulled back on the bow string. He lightly pressed the tip of the arrow on the back of Bobby's neck and whispered as darkly as he could, "You are not welcome here, Traveler." He had trouble keeping down a laugh.

After years of fighting for the sake of the Territories, the two boys had become good friends. Alder had even helped to teach Bobby to fight one time. They had been on numerous adventures together and Alder would have to say that with Bobby Pendragon around there was never a dull moment. Of course a little prank or two was sure to pop up now and then between them.

Suddenly someone jumped onto Alder's back with a loud scream. The boy's arrow shot highly into the air and he pitched forward with a yell of surprise. Gravity did its work on both of them as Alder and his attacker fell forward and started to roll down the hill together with shouts of pain. They didn't stop till they were finally close to the trees at the bottom.

Alder shot to his feet and took out the knife he had kept in his boot. He stopped when seeing his attacker struggle to her feet with groans of pain. The Traveler was a knight and had been trained since he was eight how to fight. He might not have been the most graceful warrior, but he was skilled than most. He was about to attack the girl once she pulled out her own knife, but then saw Pendragon waving his arms to stop in the corner of his eye.

"Stop, both of you!" Bobby yelled as he bounded down the hill. He stopped between the mystery girl and Alder and put his arms up to prevent the two from slicing at each other with their knives. "I came here so you could help her, Alder, not hurt her."

"She was the one who attacked," Alder said defensively. He frowned at Pendragon while asking, "Who is this, Pendragon? Is she…the one?"

"No," Bobby said with a sigh. "She's just an innocent bystander. We got into some trouble back on Earth and I had to take her through the flume or we would both get killed by quigs. So I brought her to you so while I go tell Loor about our meeting, you can return her to her Territory. Courtney didn't get a message from Loor yet."

"You're mixing the Territories, Pendragon," Alder said. "But I understand your situation." He laughed while adding, "Don't let this mess up happen again, okay. I don't like keeping secretes from the others. But why couldn't you take her back then flume to Zadaa? Why are you asking me to do it?"

"Because the flumes are acting up, now that the turning points have passed," Bobby said. "They don't send us at the right times anymore. Just let her stay here for a few hours with you then deliver her back to her Earth. I need to leave right away, though. I can't flume her all over the place. Can you just do this one thing for me?"

Alder nodded silently with a defeated sigh. Bobby gave him a relieved smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Alder," he said. "Keep an eye on her, though. You remember how I was when I first came here."

"Oh, I remember," Alder said with a sly grin.

Bobby turned to Kat and said, "You will fine with the big tough knight, Alder, here." He patted Alder's shoulder again and added, "Stick with my rules and things should be fine. See you at the meeting, Alder." He waved to both of them before running back up the hill and to the cave. Kat watched as a bright light exploded from the mouth of the cave for a second then vanished.

"I always have to do the dirty work," Alder muttered as he crossed his arms. "It's been that way ever since the first turning point. I haven't even been to all the Territories yet!" He stopped when he noticed Kat looking up at him curiously. "Confused yet?" he asked her with a chuckle.

"Sure," she answered with a bored shrug. She put her pocket knife away and walked off with a sigh. Alder watched her with confusion. He felt some kind of connection with the girl, as if she was a fellow Traveler. He shook the feeling off and walked up beside her, trying to give her a comforting smile.

Kat was wearing her usual slum clothing. She had some torn up jeans and a dark green sleeveless top. Her tennis shoes looked like they were going to fall off her feet any second. Smudges of dirt covered her face and clothes. She definitely looked like a homeless girl.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her. He didn't like the silence between them. "I have some stew at my campsite just a little ways from here."

It was at this time that Kat examined the boy. He wasn't the most attractive guy, but he wasn't ugly. He was very tall for his age, which would be anywhere between 16 to 20 years old. He had messy dirty blonde hair and soft brown eyes that held silent knowledge in them. He was very fit with strong arm muscles she guessed from handling his bow for a long time. He almost looked like a football player from home.

The knight wasn't wearing his armor for once because he had been taking a week break from the hustle and bustle in the tribe. He had on a loose fitting tan shirt and dark green pants. His tight black leather boots came to his shins. He also wore leather fingerless gloves. It was very peasant/archer Medievalish to Kat.

"Yeah," she muttered. "I didn't get to finish my midnight snack." They walked for a little while till they found the campsite in the woods a little ways from the cave. It consisted of a small fire and a tent nearby. Kat sat on a log and sipped from a bowl of stew the knight had given her. Alder sat across from her and fidgeted with an arrow from his quiver. "So this is Denduron?" she asked once she finished her food.

Alder looked up at her with surprise. He wondered how she knew the name, but she most likely heard Pendragon shout it in the mouth of a flume and guessed it was the name of the Territory. "Yeah," he answered with a nod. "This is my home. Not the best little place, but its getting there."

Kat nodded silently. She looked up and smiled. "Three suns, huh?" she said. "I'm definitely not on earth anymore." She added bitterly, "Funny how things can change so quickly."

Alder stared at her before saying quietly, "Yeah. Life tends to do that."

Kat laughed suddenly and it made Alder jump with surprise. He gave her a confused look. "This is kind of exciting, though," she said. "Are there other worlds other than earth? Could I see them?"

"Um…no," Alder said after getting over her weirdness. "That would be against the rules. You belong on whatever Earth you came from."

Fume!

An invisible wave suddenly smashed into the two teens. With yells of surprise the two flew into the air and landed on each other a few yards from Alder's campsite. Dust hovered in the air and both started to cough their lungs out as they picked themselves up from the ground.

"What the heck was that!" Kat yelled to Alder. Her ears were ringing profusely from the loud sound.

"I don't know!" Alder coughed back.

The dust cleared and Kat saw Alder stiffen as he looked toward the hill. She turned around and saw her. A girl in maybe her mid twenties stood there with a pistol looking thing in her hand. She had a wicked smile on her face as she aimed her weapon at them again.

"Move!" Alder yelled at Kat while shoving out of the way of fire. The loud explosion sounded again and Kat heard a yell escape from Alder as he was violently flung into a tree. Kat screamed in fear that he was killed. She ran to the campsite and grabbed Alder's bow, quiver, and sword in its scabbard. She glared at the lady a few yards away while muttering a curse under her breath.

Alder clumsily stumbled up next to her and grabbed the bow and quiver from her. "Run to the cave," he whispered to her. "Don't do anything till I get there."

"It's the 21st Century, dude," Kat growled back at him. "Girl's fight too." She pulled out her knife to prove her point.

"Not in Denduron," Alder spat back. He told her firmly, "Go to the cave. Now."

Alder was surprised at even himself for being so stubborn for once. Kat didn't argue anymore and finally ran off into the woods. Alder cocked an arrow and pulled back the bow string with his eyes set only on the girl with the gun. "What do you want, Nevva?" he asked her. "This Territory might be a haven for Travelers on their search, but not for the likes of you." He had encountered this girl a few times through the Traveler's quest to save Halla. At least she hadn't tried to fool him with a disguise.

"I don't want you, inept knight, or any other Traveler who might be staying on this piece of dirt that shouldn't even be called a Territory," Nevva scoffed at him. "I want the girl."

Alder tried not to show his confusion. "You'll have to get through me, first," he told her boldly.

"No problem," Nevva said with a confident smile. "It's only one less Traveler."