AC: I also want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

After convincing her parents and receiving their support, they prepared to leave for the farm. Tom's grandparents were okay with them coming over until the crisis was over. When it would be over though, was unknown.

Sarah checked her scanner and waited for Tom or Kaz to answer. After three quiet days of preparation, it was time to leave. As she waited, Peyton and the two Mipedians quietly joined her in her room.

"Dad will be ready soon," Peyton grabbed one of the suitcases while the others helped with the others.

"Thanks," Sarah smiled at them as she grabbed her own. She turned back and watched her bedroom for the last time. Things as they were she wouldn't see her home for a while. Making a last-minute decision she took out her cellphone and took a few pictures of it.

Her room was a small one. There was a computer and a shelf and dresser with many of her clothes and other stuff; those she wore for her usual life and not for Perim. Across from them was a small bed so no one would sleep with her; her parents were a little too cautious about that part of her life. She also had a few posters of her favourite group singers.

Tom finally answered as she was about to leave her room, "Hi Sarah."

"Hi Tom. How's it going at the farm?"

"Everything is okay. I'll help them soon on the field," he let out a small smile.

"You turned into such a hard worker at the farm. Obviously, you were meant to be an Overworld player," she teased him.

"Maybe. Anyway, today is the day, hmm?"

"Yes. Peyton's dad will be here soon with the truck. It will get everyone's attention, but we hope the Danians can sneak in there before they're spotted. Most people leave for work, so it should be easy. I hope at least anyway," Sarah chuckled nervously.

"Can trucks come to your house?"

"Yeah. It's not one of the big ones. It's legal and they gave the authorization. An exceptional one."

"Good. We'll be waiting for you. Just be careful. The M'arrillians are surely on the move now. Even if we got nothing," Tom warned.

"Don't worry. We're taking a detour," Sarah sighed. "And you better be careful too. I'm worried for you."

"Sure. The worst danger we have for now are the chickens that scare Agitos," he joked.

Agitos replied furiously, "Stop mentioning those accursed creatures to your friends! And if any of you say anything about this to Chaor, I'll put you in that cage with them!"

The two chuckled.

Tom suddenly realized something, "S-Sarah. What you said before I brought Agitos… What do you mean by that?"

"N-nothing," Sarah blushed as she turned the screen away, "Got to go. See you later."

"O-okay. Bye."

Ario stood against the wall and honestly asked, "Is this how your kind court? Just dodging the issue like that? It's a miracle your kind isn't gone," he winced when she hit his shoulder.

"S-shut up!" Sarah grumbled; her face as red as Chaor naturally was.

The Mipedian chuckled and followed her outside after turning invisible.

Chapter 92: Preparing For The Journey

The creatures and humans waited for the truck to show up. The two Danians hid at the back of the house, but kept watch from behind it.

Sarah felt like they were stalkers or pervs trying to look at something they shouldn't. She knew better than that though. Especially Wamma. He had zero stalking ability.

The cars were moved out of the way so the truck could park close to the house so the Danians wouldn't be noticed.

The truck came and parked in front of the house. It then pulled over into the parking lot of the house. Lucas climbed out of the car and waved at them, "Hi there!"

"Hello Lucas," Jeff replied.

The parents had met a few times in the past, but they didn't know each other that well.

Judy climbed down, "Everything is ready on our end," she approached them, "But…will they be okay in the back?" She gazed at the back while her husband opened it, "It might get bumpy."

"We are Danians. We aren't so weak, a few bumps couldn't hurt us," Odu-Bathax replied.

Alex chuckled, "Of course not. They have a hard exoskeleton. I checked it."

The blue Danian huffed loudly in embarrassment or anger. No one was sure what the creature was feeling right now.

"We've had a few caverns collapse on us in the past, but everyone survived with only minor wounds," Wamma explained.

"Or got shot by blasters and crashed into the wall," Peyton added, referring to that time where they witnessed Odu-Bathax trying out a weapon.

"Anyway. We should all get in now," Jeff decided as he went to his car.

Lucas opened the back of the truck, "And I'll bring a few things to put here. People will ask questions later."

"The less we have, the better it will be," Sarah's father agreed.

Pamela sighed, "It's gonna be hard to explain."

The humans looked around. No one was outside right now. They gave a sign and the two Danians quickly snuck into the truck as Jeff came and put a few bags in there, it was nothing precious or fragile that any of the family was going to miss.

"Hope you didn't put a vase you want to destroy by accident," Lucas joked with a large smile.

"We didn't," the man replied.

"Good," he gazed at the creatures, "It's going to get dark in there and it will take a while before we get there."

"We're going to be fine," Odu-Bathax replied.

The man closed the door. The two Danians' eyes shone a little in the dark.

Wamma grumbled, "Good thing we saw the sun before we left."

"We've gone through longer times where we had no light for a day," the other Danian reminded him.

"I know. I just don't know if Sarah's going to be okay. If anything happens, we can't see anything."

"We just have to open that door. I made sure it's to my right," Odu-Bathax replied.

Meanwhile, outside of the truck, everyone went in their respective car. Pamela went to her car to put it back in once the truck was out. She then joined her husband and Sarah.

In the other car, Peyton sat in the back with Ghatup while Ario was in the front as Judy prepared to drive.

Once they were ready, the cars took the lead and the truck followed them from behind.

Sarah took out the paper with the directions and gave it to her mother. She grabbed her scanner and sent the message, We left the house. See you later.

She waited to get a reply and gazed back at her house. They wouldn't be back for a while. She didn't regret leaving it to find her friends.

"What were you two doing in Chaotic?" Her mother asked.

They had time for that. Sarah let out a small smile, "I didn't know my brother got a code until a few months ago."

"Got it when I won enough matches online," Alex replied with a smile, "When we go to Chaotic, it is only our code and not our true self, so, we didn't miss anything at our home."

"Once we came back, we got the codes and the experience they went through," his sister concluded.

"That's… really sci-fi you know," Jeff commented.

"When I wasn't having matches in the Dromes, I was exploring Perim on my own or with Peyton. Until I met Tom and his best friend Kaz."

"And she-" her brother winced when her sister hit him in the ribs.

"We explored Perim and avoided the dangers. The locations are unique and I can show a bit in the cards we have… later," Sarah explained.

"And about those M'arrillians?" Pamela asked.

"They're like sea creatures. Some look like squids, others are crab-like creatures, but most can control others' minds. Their leader is dead, but they still want to conquer the world…and ours," she explained.

"Typical bad guy stuff," Alex concluded. He gazed behind as they left the city, "I avoided one of them when I went a little too close to their territory. I escaped them by just porting out, but it was a close one," he chuckled, "Spent most of my time getting scans in Mount Pillar, the… kingdom of the Danians."

"The kingdom of giant ants?" Pamela asked.

"Please, don't call them ants. It might piss them off," Sarah warned them.

"As long as they don't call us monkeys," Jeff replied.

"Fair enough," his children replied at the same time.

Sarah's scanner rang. "What is it Tom?" Sarah said before she realized it wasn't him, "Codemaster Crellan?"

"I entered into communication with Tom already, but you have to be careful. The M'arrillians are on the move and are heading south. We don't know how long they will go in that direction," the codemaster warned her.

"South… Tom!" she realized.

"Yes. They are currently approaching Tom's house…some of them anyway. They are spread out. Some of them are going quickly through the road…possibly using vehicles. They don't have time to escape as some of the M'arrillians have already passed them, and they can't escape on foot, knowing their abilities."

"Why did you take that long to notice it?" Sarah snapped angrily

Her family, except her dad, turned towards her as they heard the bad news.

"We noticed it a while ago, but there were problems with communications. When I tried to contact them with their scanners, no one answered for a while. I left a few messages and called them every five minutes. They just finished answering me and are preparing to defend themselves."

Sarah couldn't believe her friends were in danger. How did it happen? "Do they know where they live?"

"We do not believe so. They are simply following the road. Still, they suddenly went south. Yesterday, they seemed to go west, but they changed direction out of the blue. Tom's father and the rest of the military are ready to go to the frontline. The road some of them are following will pass near Tom's grandparents farm."

"Surely they would go there," Sarah replied, worried. She gazed at her parents and wondered if they would change their mind.

"You think they are still going south if they caught them?" Her father asked.

"We are not certain. There are still many in Summer Vale. We suspect the town is now their base of operation. Those M'arrillians will return to Summer Vale and probably expand from there," Codemaster Crellan replied.

"Our town is screwed later rather than sooner," Alexandre concluded.

"What's going on with Tom?" Sarah asked, anxious for more information.

"As I said, they had no time to escape. Some of them are down their path, but they took another road. Also, their vehicles don't have enough fuel and today was the day they would get their supplies. They weren't necessarily ready for that. However, it's a very large field before the next city, close to around an hour from their location. There is no telling if the M'arrillians will go to that city."

"They can escape at the last minute after all," her brother commented.

"And if they can't escape?" Sarah asked. She felt pressure on her shoulders.

"They will fight and hold on until the army arrives to evacuate them," the codemaster answered.

"They won't be here in time and… I thought they shouldn't come?"

"Tom's father is leading the charge with a squadron. We need to take that risk," he replied.

Sarah nodded, "Just hurry up. We are going there. We are taking a detour."

"Keep it up. I'll signal any changes. Meanwhile, we are watching them. They will reach the farm in half an hour. I'll tell you anything I'll get." With that, he ended the communication.

Sarah sighed. So many runs of bad luck towards her friends. She guessed they ran out of any good luck when they escaped them the first time.

"We're still going," her father replied. He was sweating nervously, "Because they will come to our home eventually. Also, because you would go there yourself anyway."

"Sorry dad," Sarah sighed. She knew Peyton would get the same message now, or very soon. She only prayed that everyone would be fine.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

Next: Barricades.

Tom's family, Kaz, his mother and the creatures prepared for the M'arrillians assault. Tom has to remember a few things he learned from his father and grandfather in order to survive the upcoming M'arrillians assault.