AC: Here's the next chapter of this story. Chapter 37 is ready, but it will be sent Sunday next week (5 July 2020). I'll take a little week break.

Alexandre had to be honest, he was a little nervous. There were so many things to tell the others about what he had figured out. His father's work had been extremely helpful but now, he had to go there, back to where it all began. He adjusted his coat as he checked his scanner. He already had some information, but his father convinced him to come and see for himself and to be honest he had a few things he needed to confirm. "Can't believe I'm going to Antarctica. Last thing that would come to my mind in my life." Muttered Alexandre.

He did a last-minute check of his bags he would bring to make sure he had everything he needed. He had had to sacrifice some of his vacation days to try and figure out everything that was going on but he didn't mind. It was something he had to do. Especially when he was under watch. He had already been interrogated by an unnamed group who wanted to know more about his involvement with Perim. He had said nothing, knowing his rights too well and knowing nothing about them.

Alexandre looked at his scanner, took a deep breath and pressed the button, sending his code to Chaotic. He was ready to drive to a private airport.

Chapter 36: Hidden In Antarctica

Alexandre appeared in Chaotic with his coat on. He immediately sighed and took it off, "Forgot about that part." Alexandre sighed. He looked around and searched for his friend and the teenagers, noticing Mudeenu was back as he looked around. He had his arms crossed and was observing the matches and humans wandering around.

Remembering Maxxor's recent visit, Alexandre looked around and couldn't find the Overworlder assigned here. Before he could tell the five everything he knew, he had to know where each of the creatures were. His discoveries were not exactly safe and despite the standing agreement they would certainly want to hear it. As he looked around for the others, he realized he had come early in the morning and the others weren't around yet. Deciding to wait he sat on a nearby table and ordered something to drink. Being an adult, he could get a beer to calm his nerves, "What a mess." Alexandre concluded with a small depressive smile.

"What do you mean by mess, Messenger of the Cothica?" The voice of a creature quietly said, startling him.

He turned around and saw Mudeenu standing near him. It seemed he had been recognised. At least he hadn't said anything loud enough for everything to turn towards him.

"Something," Alexandre sighed, "Prince Mudeenu."

The creature sat down next to him and asked, "I wasn't expecting you to look like this m-."

"Just Alexandre. It's shorter and less of a problem." Said Alexandre, interrupting him.

"Fine Alexandre." Mudeenu amended without trouble.

Alexandre had to admit that the Mipedian was pretty fluid when he spoke, "And by mess I meant you creatures here and those big robots that could turn anything in pre-cooked mince meat." Remarked Alexandre, who chuckled slightly at his stupid remark.

"We are closer to the Cothica. We are ready to take the risk," Mudeenu said with passion. Speaking with him Alexandre realized Mudeenu reminded him of the creature's borderline fanaticism with the Cothica. Of course, he would approach the Messenger when he could, "And claim it for our king's wishes."

Alexandre found it different from what his card said, but it was before Theb-Saar came back, "Good to know you grew up a little."

Mudeenu frowned and huffed, "You think I am a child?"

"I meant in regards to bettering yourself. Your description in the cards don't … put you in your best light." Said Alexandre, trying remain as vague as possible. The card had said the prince might put his own tribe at risk to reach it. Not anymore, maybe.

The creature gazed away and changed the subject, "It's my second time in here and it is a strange place."

"Must be from your tribe." Alexandre replied.

Mudeenu noticed the other humans and stood up, "Just be careful in Perim. If the M'arrillians knew you were back, they would come after you at any cost."

"I guess so. I'll be," Alexandre replied as the Mipedian walked away.

As Mudeenu walked away he couldn't help but let out a small smile. He still wondered what was so great about the Messenger, but thought it might be for a mysterious reason like Peyton. There was something, but he couldn't put a claw on it.

Just as Mudeenu left Alexandre spotted Tom and Sarah coming. Waving them over they sat next to him and said, "Hey."

"Morning you two," Alexandre said as they settled.

Sarah asked, "What was Mudeenu doing with you?"

"You know how he is, interested in the Cothica." Alexandre replied. He let out a small smile, "It was mostly just chit chat. Nothing more than that. Did you see where the Overworlder creature is? I didn't spot him."

"It's Intress, she's elsewhere and watching a match with a player who turned into her. Talked with her a little bit." Tom answered as he pointed at the other side of the Court. They couldn't see her from there.

Alexandre nodded and turned to receive his beer and took a sip, "I needed that."

"Why do adults even need to drink that?" Sarah grumbled as she shook her head.

"When the world feels too heavy on your shoulder or you heart is broken. Sometimes, it's for extra courage. That's what I need right now." Alexandre explained. He waved his finger at them, "You'll get it when you are older. The secret is not to overdrink or you have a big problem."

"Sure." the two teenagers replied in disbelief.

"Keep up that attitude. It's for the best," Alexandre chuckled.

"Sup dude!" Peyton said as he joined them, who turned around and ordered something to eat as he sat down.

"I hope we won't get interrupted today. Yesterday was a lot." Tom commented as he looked at Mudeenu.

Since then Chaotic Players had taken to keep some distance when they walked around the creature. Reggie though, who was also here, had gone farther away than the others for good reason.

"I hope so too." Alexandre replied.

Tom nodded and rested his face on his hands. He thought back to what Reggie told him. He had to find an opportunity to find Phelphor and get some answers out of him and fast. It was just a matter of time before something happened and the ex-M'arrillian disappeared somewhere else or ended up dead. Which meant he couldn't say anything to anyone else that he was going to meet the creature.

"Good morning." Kaz waved at the group while his mother focused on her friend first, before saying the same for the kids.

"How's it going?" Cassandra asked.

The four teenagers wondered what she was bringing up now.

"Pretty good. I finished packing everything and my real self is on route for Antarctica. I'm going to see my father in person after five months." Alexandre answered.

"How old is he?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Close to retirement. He got me when he was pretty young. He was eighteen, I think. Although, I'm sure he'll be 100 before he really gives up on his scientist lifestyle. He is really passionate about Perim." Alexandre smirked at his own father, "Always busy at work, but managed to open some time for me, until my teen phase anyway."

"Alex." Cassandra said.

"Sorry. Got caught up in my mind." he sighed and looked around. He saw Mudeenu far from hearing range, but he still couldn't see Intress.

"Why are you going to Antarctica?" Kaz asked.

"There are things my father wants to show me, especially since I'm a Chaotic Player now. Important things that has been found there." Alexandre raised his fingers and lowered his voice, "No one else should know about it. It might be risky."

"What about the Codemasters?" Tom asked as he gazed around.

"It's less risky here than in Perim." Alexandre replied. He crossed his arms and lowered his voice a little more, "Here's what I figured out thanks to father. The entire thing about Perim began after the first generation of the card game Chaotic. It barely started when a discovery was made. Mugic was already around in the game and the drawing present. An American research base in Antarctica discovered something for the first time." Alexandre raised his hands and thought about how to explain it. Going straight might be a terrible idea, so he took a small detour, "At first, they didn't know what it was. They thought it was some ancient relic or a rock with a strange form. The second option was quickly discarded, because the form was too clean to be natural. It took a while to figure out what the item was. They found two others during the few following months. My father had the answer since I was a Chaotic Player. What appeared in the south pole was," he whispered to the five others, "a mugic."

The others looked at him in disbelief. They couldn't believe what the man just told them.

"Are you serious bro? This is so mucho locko to even believe." Peyton asked. He added, "And I spoke to a cactus once bro."

"I'll… ignore that." Alexandre replied uncertainly, deciding to save that conversation for later.

Cassandra asked, "Are you sure this is what they found?"

"Yes. Father sent me a few pictures, since I knew much more than anyone else and he did talk about his discoveries at home. That was before I went to Perim and before dad made the first scanner."

"Oh my god," Sarah commented as she put her hands on her forehead, "That's where the mugic offered by the creatures went. Into our world." She grabbed her forehead and sighed.

"If the creatures knew about this, they would be 100% sure Earth is the Cothica. They are offering this because they believe the other side of the Eye of the Maelstrom is the Cothica," Kaz explained as he tried to stay calm. He looked around. He could see the two creatures. They were far away from them and couldn't eavesdrop them.

"So, we got Mugic in our world. Can't believe no one knows about this," Tom commented.

"It's top secret defense. Following that, father made the first scanner. I used it and ended up in Kaizeph for two Solans, before coming back. I helped them sending a Mugic once and found a few things to repair the scanner." Alexandre sighed, "Material from Earth. It had been heavily worked on for it to work." He grumbled.

"Can someone just go to another world?" Peyton asked.

"No. The hole is too small. Anyway, I told my father about my adventure in Perim and I think that's where our country really began to focus on Perim in secret." Alexandre explained.

"But the game only started once again with our generation and-" Tom was cut by his best friend.

"Began whatever they wanted with Chaotic. They wanted to make this place…Somehow," the red-haired boy tried to explain it, but it never went farther than somehow.

Alexandre followed up with more things he knew, "There's more. They did more research around and detected a few disturbances. It was like a hole, a small one. A mugic or small object could pass between worlds, but even a midget couldn't pass through it. Even if he could fly." Alexandre sighed. It was getting really hard to explain the complex stuff. He could see very well that he was losing them, "It's a gate between our world and Perim. A really small one. What we have in Antarctica is kinda like the Eye of the Maelstrom. Kinda."

"Really?" Sarah asked in disbelief.

"I'm trying to explain the best I can and this is pretty much the only comparison I have. What is sent in the Eye of the Maelstrom appears in Antarctica. It can also go the other way. The researchers are trying to find it on our side, but it isn't causing a storm like here." He hoped it was better explained, before he had no other way. His father's explanation was complicated as hell.

Kaz nodded, "So it's a two-way gate. Then it makes sense that mugic appear on Earth if the two are connected."

"A big IF," Sarah grunted as she turned towards the man, "You sure that thing is mugic? Because the creatures really believe it's connected to the Cothica and it isn't."

"Alex, it is a little hard to believe that, even if I know you aren't lying," Cassandra commented.

Alexandre snickered at that. He looked around and spotted the two creatures, still out of hearing range. He explained, "Honestly. I still have some doubt, just stubborn doubt. That's why I am going to Antarctica. I am going to see those mugic in person. I'll know if it's real or a fake one. And since the government knows about my escapade when I was a teenager, they are going to request a few things from me in the future. I am not looking forward to this." He sighed and hit his head on the table.

"So that's why you're going there." Peyton added with a small smile, "Tell us what you see there."

"I will."

"Alex. Be careful. It's Antarctica and it's really cold there." Cassandra added.

"I will be. I survived in Perim. I lived in a frozen part of Kaizeph. I think I can handle that." Alexandre said, letting out a small smile.

"Still, I really hope you don't find a real mugic." Sarah grumbled as she crossed her arms.

She was right. That finding could possibly make them doubt that the Earth wasn't the Cothica.

"Listen. I can tell you that Earth isn't the Cothica. The problem is that the creatures believe it is the Cothica. It's kinda like… God. We could believe the creatures were gods and going to Perim would be like going to the Cothica. We can't do anything about it." Alexandre resumed.

"So even if it's a real mugic you see…" Tom waited a few seconds to be certain he might be right, "It doesn't mean it's the Cothica."

"That's right. Cothica is what they believe it is. The reason they think we came here are a lot of coincidences, the name Chaotic, and other things. It is a lot." Alexandre admitted before sighting.

No matter what they did, they were in a mess.

"We just have to make sure we continue and not search anything in Chaotic," Sarah concluded.

Alexandre had nothing else to say for now. He thought more and said, "I'll tell you what I find with my father. He won't mind if I tell you anything."

"He always brags about his discoveries," Cassandra remembered.

The group chuckled.

They continued to have a more casual conversation before the group split-up and mind their business.

Tom waited for his chance to port out to meet with the M'arrillian. This was his chance, "Sorry." He whispered as he did so. He didn't want his friends to worry about him when he broke his promise to not go to Perim alone.

AC: This is the end of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Next: M'arrillian Objective.

Tom went to find Phelphor and talked about the objective of the M'arrillians. The answer Tom obtained wasn't one he liked at all.