AC: Here's the new chapter. I hope you are satisfied with it. I've checked and reread it a few times and I hope it's good.

A man held a scanner on his hand. He looked at his computer screen that contained a code to access to Chaotic and Perim. Or so he heard from his friend. She told him that he should participate to the second generation of the game, when he refused to speak up about his past. The thought of going to Perim pushed him to play the game the best he managed with his Mipedian Deck.

He already made the call and she insisted to use it right now. Telling him what would happen once again.

"I hope you are right about this Cassandra. Because I'll be pissed if it's all false hope," the man said as he put the code on his scanner. His finger was above the Chaotic symbol.

He was motionless for a moment. His mind wandered to a melancholic past, "Gosh," the man was aware that he wouldn't see his old friend. Once the human was back to the present, he pressed on the switch. Now, he had to wait.

Chapter 22: Return Of The Messenger

Tom and his two friends watched Sarah's match.

"Sarah is doing pretty well. Wamma is beating Chaor easily," Peryton commented.

"It's only in a drome that we can see that happening," Kaz commented.

"Yeah," Tom sighed.

"What is it?" his best friend asked.

"We haven't progress at all," he tapped his fingers on the table.

"We have to wait for Miss Cassandra. All rest in your mom buddy," Peyton replied.

"Yeah," he looked at his mother who talked to a few other adult players. He noticed she was showing some pictures and wondered if it was his own. That would bring shamed him, "You know. I told Chaor what we did in Kaizeph yesterday. Not everything, but what I can."

"You did say he knew you would go there," MajorTom remembered as he crossed his fingers. He sighed once again, "I really wish we could just solve everything and put this behind."

"We all have a big target on our back," the brown-haired boy pointed his back, "M'arrillians put it on us because they are mucho locos with losing the war another time."

"Yeah," Kaz concluded. They had those short talked a few times already. They were just going around the same thing.

It wouldn't be that bad if they had to sacrifice a few things they usually did. They went to less scan hunt than usual for their own safety.

They didn't notice Cassandra elsewhere and greet someone with excitement.

"And Sarah win that match!" Peyton yelled, pushing those thought aside.

"Good for her," Tom lightly smiled.

Soon, Sarah was back and sat on her chair, "How was it?"

"You were great Sarah. You're new Battlegear really worked against Chaor," Peyton replied.

"Yeah. And-" KidChaor was interrupted.

"Kaz. I got some good news for you and your friends," Cassandra said.

Her son turned around, "What is it mo-" he stopped.

She wasn't alone. There was a man by her side. The man was busy observing his surrounding with a smile on his smile. It was obviously his first time.

He was a Caucasian man with pale blue eyes, short blond and gray hair and many scars on his face. He wore a brown jacket, a black shirt and blue jeans.

"Is he?" the black-haired boy didn't dare to finish his sentence.

"Yes," the woman replied.

"This is Kazdan?" the man gazed at the red-haired boy.

"Yes. My wonderful son," Cassandra replied.

"I can see the resemblance," the man chuckled, "Hello Kaz. Oh. Sorry for not presenting myself… Got a little distracted," he crossed his arms. He knew what they wanted to know. He could see their anticipations, "I'm Alexandre Desjardins. Just call me Alexandre," he approached them and whispered, "The one they called, The Messenger Of The Cothica."

"He's really here," Peyton whispered.

The man who had all the answers was finally in Chaotic.

"So, you can finally tell us everything," Cassandra declared as she stood behind her old friend, "And I'll be finally able to know what really happened to you."

Alexandre scratched the back of his head nervously, "You wouldn't believe me, so I said nothing Cassy."

"Don't call me that Alex," she lightly blushed, not liking that nickname.

"We have so-"

The man scanner rang and he checked on it, "Sorry. I have my match schedule already," he apologised, "Answers will wait," he let out a small smile, "I'll see you later… Just find a discreet place. I really don't want this to go out," he walked away, Cassandra tailing him with clear frustration on her face.

"And we have to wait more," Kaz sighed.

"Still. Answer time has finally come," Peyton declared with a grin, "All of this is almost over."

"That's great. With this, we will find a way to end all of this crazy, Cothica situation," Sarah said. She still had that little thought about the man being here.

Tom had it too. The return of The Messenger might cause a lot of ruckus if it was known.

An hour later, Alexandre returned and they went to a discreet location of Chaotic. Almost no one went towards the upper floor where some Chaotic Players rest at night. It almost never happened, but some players did lose their scanners in Chaotic and the robots had to find it. It could take a few days sometimes and rooms existed for this situation. Right now, no one was using them.

The group had a small talk together. Cassandra told them not to rush for answers or he might back out and not explain everything.

It was still her who ended the small talk, "It's good to know you are doing great at your job."

"Still, you are better. Two jobs to take care of Kazdan. I don't think I would hold on that long before I crumbled under it," Alexandre replied.

"Alex. We really want to know what happened to you in Kaizeph."

The man took a deep breath and sighed. He looked around. They were alone. He looked at everyone and nodded, "Okay…" he took a deep breath, "The only I spoke this about was my parents," he thought of his next words as he rested on the wall, "Cassandra told me I could trust you and I trust her judgement on the matter. You did uncover a lot in Kaizeph. I'll give you the short version. I'll give the details another time. When more comes back," his eyes went at the side. He had an idea of the when.

The group waited for the man to begin.

Alexandre hesitated a little, as four of them were strangers. Still, he trusted Cassandra's judgement. She was good with that, "That is asking a lot. Anyway, when I came to Perim, it was around 20… 25 yearish ago. I was a teenager going to High School. That day, my dad was annoying me greatly about his invention. I brought it to school just to annoy him. I think. Maybe I accidentally picked it Maybe it's just teenager stuff when your parents annoyed you too much."

"Not really," his friend replied.

"It was like those scanners," he revealed his orange scanner, "But very different. It was the first one created and it wasn't made for a game. Anyway, after school, it was raining and I quickly ran home. Don't know what happened next, but I guess it accidentally activated in my bag. Wait… I think I tried to take a small umbrella inside. It was raining or-" he shook his head, "Not important. I'm sure I definitely try to get something. Next thing I remember I was really tripping like on drugs. When that trip was over, Gosh was there, pointing his sword at my face. All I remember thinking was that it was freaking cold," a small melancholic smile was on his face, "I got arrested because the scanner was smoking. Something broke inside. I had to explain who I was, Gosh began to believe I came from the Cothica somehow, etc."

"Wait. You are skipping so much," Sarah said.

"It is the short version. And it's pretty blank what happened next until I went outside for the first time with my friend. That was how I saw Perim for the first time. Gosh said he missed his home so much and I decided to help him. We went to talk to the other tribes and-" he pointed at his scars, "I got those to make my point. They…," he searched for the name of his other friends. His frowned and let out a sad sighed, "Can't remember their names," he lifted his shirt and there was one scar near his vital organs, "That one was when I saved the M'arrillian."

That shocked the Chaotic Players. He really almost died.

Cassandra was also shock, but also horrified that he could have died instantly like that, "So you," she whispered.

Her son heard it and wondered if he pulled things like that before.

"I helped the M'arrillian because…Because- I don't know anymore. I think seeing everyone just surrounding him and ready to kill him when he couldn't fight back or something else," he was getting pissed at himself for having so much things missing of those moments, "I remember I told myself, 'Not this time' and I got plunged by Gosh sword. All I remember was his face, breaking down into pure horror at what he did while I whispered, 'Don't'. I don't remember anything else for a while. Just that when I really came back, the M'arrillian switched side. How? Who knows," Alexandre rested on the wall and slid on the ground. Reliving his memories made him a little depress. Thinking of his friends he would never see again.

"Do you want to stop bro?" Peyton asked.

"Naw. I'm almost done."

"W-wait. Why did you jump in front of him like that? It's not taking a punch but a sword in you," Sarah asked worryingly.

The man responded, "Because I believe I didn't want to think that I could have done something… I guess. Or another thing. Dammit. I can't remember."

"They could have killed the M'arrillian while you were unconscious," Tom mentioned.

"His life should have been a game over bro," the brown-haired boy said, knowing that they wanted to kill him the first time.

Alexandre tapped his forehead with his finger. He gave his supposition, "Don't know. However, since they believe I'm 'The Messenger Of The Cothica', they thought it was a terrible idea to kill someone I protected. I did say don't," he sighed, "Let's keep it on. One day, Gosh was preparing with a few Mipedians to go the Eye of the Maelstrom to offer a new Mugic, as the creatures did every two Solans. Since Gosh believe I came from there, he brought me there as it they believe there is a connection between Perim and the Cothica at that location. The M'arrillian M… M something, offered us a safe route. Didn't have to fight because the next thing I remember was a lot of wind and that Gosh found something to fix my scanner. The next two days, I said my farewell to everyone and have a long talk with the long bearded smurf like Overworlder."

"Maybe Najarin," Tom supposed. He didn't want to think of the High Muge as a smurf. Kaz and Peyton chuckled at that thought.

"Yeah. Him. Once I returned to Earth, I broke the scanner and went home."

The group took a while to take in everything the boy said.

"Wait. You get what you need near the Eye of the Maelstrom. How?" Kaz asked suspiciously.

The man raised his shoulders, "Don't really know," he let out a heavy sighed, "You know what's worse. I won't ever know what happened to them after I left. Gosh and the others."

Tom knew the answers and so were his friends. He hesitated to bring it up. He saw that the man was tired of bringing up his old memories. He thought that it might be better to wait.

Kaz wasn't agreeing with what his friend was thinking, "We know what happened to the M'arrillian."

His eyes lighted up a little, "What happened to him?"

Tom replied before his best friend did, "He…"

Alexandre saw the hesitation and knew the creature didn't meet a good ending. He looked down, wondering if it was his fault.

"He was captured by his tribe and executed by Aa'une for treason."

"Aa'une?" The one called The Messenger Of The Cothica asked.

"The ruler of the M'arrillians," Sarah resumed.

"The ruler wasn't him when I was stuck there," he replied to the teenage girl.

The four wondered who was back during the first war and how it changed.

"Anyway, I found this in the memories of a creature I scanned, Phelphor. His son," he checked on his scanner for the image.

"He did say he had a son… Was that M'arrillian not easy in the eyes too?"

The four nodded.

Alexandre chuckled, "Like father like son. Just as he said."

Tom judged that it was wiser to not tell him who had to execute the creature right now.

"I guess, tt's my fault he died," the sad man commented as he gazed at his friend.

"Not it's not," Cassandra quickly replied.

"That's right bro. He would have died sooner if you didn't save him. You are amigos. Thanks to you, he did many good things. He helped you go back home, he saved Perim and never back down," Peyton honestly declared to the man.

"You helped him become a better creature. He tried to bring sense to his tribe, even when his life was about to end," Tom added.

"So, don't just put yourself down," Cassandra tapped his back.

The man nodded. He took a deep breath and eventually, let out a small smile, "Stupid me," he stood up and crossed his arms, "Saying it like that."

They had a small chat. The man had nothing else to say for now.

Sarah brought back one big question, "I'm just wondering one last thing Alexandre… It doesn't explain how you went to the past and came back just a few days later in your world."

"My dad made a wild guess," he crossed his arms and thought back. He grumbled a few things as he tried to find a simple answer, "Wormhole."

"Wormhole?" the five asked.

"Dad scanner well… he did the same as your scanners and like…" he searched in his cards and showed an image, "Dranakis Threshold together. A wormhole let you travel in another location and in another time. That's his wild guess."

"Is that possible?" Tom wondered.

Kaz replied, "I can check more on the internet back home."

"If this is right… that explain so many things," Sarah admitted.

"Does that make it possible to be back three days on Earth bro? It's still kina weird," Peyton asked.

"Yes. It depends on the time and space of the exit point," Alexandre said, leaving them a little confused.

"We're counting on you to find a for dummies version bro," the larger of the teenagers said.

He adjusted his pink glasses and nodded.

"Cassandra told me that you went to Kaizeph… I was wondering. Could you bring met here soon?" the man asked.

"You want to go back there?" Tom asked.

The man nodded, "It might help remembering more things and… I really want to see what remained of the city. Also, go back to the heart of the city but its secret passage."

That got the attention of the young, "Secret passage?"

"Yup."

They were checking in their scanners for their schedules. After fixing a date, Kaz mother asked to leave them along for a little bit. The teenagers agreed.

Cassandra began to said, "Don't forget about me. I want to figure out everything that happened to you… After all this time-"

The man nodded, "Sorry for not telling you everything all those years ago," he grabbed her left hand, "You wouldn't believe me completely if I told you about all of this."

"Maybe," she was uncertain. She smiled, "Still, it's good to finally know the true."

"There is more to say at Kaizeph."

They got some news of their current life on Earth. The man sighed, "I'll port out soon. That really tired me out," he smiled, "But I feel much better."

"Me too. I have to let my self on Earth what happened to you. Can't have one of me worried over it."

He nodded and they went to port out.

AC: This is the end of this chapter. Cassandra got some closure for her friend after more than two decades. It took a while to check everything. The revelation left me a little uncertain. I limited the info dump to what he could remember. On Kaizeph, it will be some event, fun and less fun on the city as they go to its heart.

Next Chapter: Tiane And The Messenger.

Tiaane met Alexandre in the desert as he went to an oasis. Intrigue by the man, he escorted him to the village, trying to figure out what got his interest in Alexandre.