Man, oh, man, I LOVE cliffhangers! Okay, so when we last saw the trio, they realized that they were stuck in the Age with no way out. Oh no! What's going to happen now? Hmm… how about this?

"Oh, man," the Stranger said in alarm and dismay. "Oh man, oh man, oh man. This is bad. This is really, really bad."

Suddenly, the three heard what sounded like peoples' voices coming from the stage's general area.

"There are people here?" Catherine asked.

"Of course," Atrus replied. "I wrote them into the book, so I would certainly hope that there are people here."

"Do you think that they're friendly?" the Stranger asked, peeking from behind the curtains.

"I sure hope that they are," Catherine said.

"Should we send Atrus out there to go check?"

"No!" Atrus yelled suddenly.

Both females looked at him with a suspicious glance.

"Uh, I mean, no!" he said sheepishly. "I mean… shouldn't we send you in, my friend?"

"But you said -"

"Uh, forget what I said. This Age is perfectly safe! Now get out there!"

With this, he shoved the Stranger on stage and ran offstage.

"Some friend," she said as she walked onto the stage.

There on the dimly lit stage stood a lone chair. Rows of stadium seating lined the wall immediately adjacent, but the odd thing was that nobody was sitting in the seats. Hmm… canned laughter?

Confused, she plopped down into the seat.

"Know your stars, know your stars, know your stars, know your stars, know your stars…"

"What the…?" the Stranger cried out. Okay, this is weird. Then again, what in any of the places you've been to hasn't been weird?

"Who are you?" she asked.

Instead of an outright answer, the voice replied with "The Stranger… is stupid!"

"What?" the girl cried. "That's the most idiotic thing that I've ever heard!"

"The Stranger… I know her real name!"

"No you don't! Nobody knows who I really am! Atrus doesn't even know who I am!"

"The Stranger… she's so unimportant that even her best friend forgot her name!"

The Stranger grimaced angrily. This shtick was getting very old, very quickly.

"You know what?" she yelled to nobody in particular, "Shut up!"

"The Stranger… is so stupid that she forgot her own name!"

"I did not! It's… uh… it's…"

"See what I mean?"

"SHUT. THE. SQUEE. UP!!!!!"

"The Stranger… she sees invisible Squees everywhere!"

"WHAT!?!"

"The Stranger… she likes Squees!"

"Well, I do think that they're cute…"

"With gravy!"

The Stranger gasped upon hearing that.

"You sick, twisted, perverted monster!"

"The Stranger… likes to run around waving a big blow-up hammer and screaming 'no, no, no!'"

"You idiot! That's Saavedro, not me!"

"The Stranger… she practices karate on Bahro when she's feeling kinky!"

"WHAT THE?!?"

"The Stranger… randomly blows up for no apparent reason!"

"What are you talking about? I don't yell at other people!"

"You're yelling at me."

"Because you're taunting me!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh!"

"Yah-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yah-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"I yelled at you, and that's final!"

"The Stranger… I just tricked her into saying that she yelled at me!"

The Stranger tried to think of a witty comeback, but couldn't find one.

"Okay, that's it. I'm sick of this," she said, trying to suppress the urge to tear this guy's throat out. "Show yourself and apologize, and I promise that I won't get mad."

"Why? This is so much fun!"

"GGGGGGRRRRRRRRR!!!!!"

"The Stranger… she just growled like a pig!"

"You idiot! Pigs don't growl!"

"The Stranger… she IS a pig!"

"SHUT UP!!!"

"Aww, now you hurt my feelings. I'm going to cry."

The disembodied voice began to fake-sob, which was beginning to annoy the girl.

"You know what? I hate it when people fake-sob, because I really know that they're faking it."

"The Stranger… is a mean, heartless bully who likes to make other people cry!"

"Shut up!"

"The Stranger… is a dookie-head!"

"What. The. HECK!!!!"

"Now you know the Stranger… the dookie-headed pig who sees Squees!"

"What? They don't know me! Get your butt back here! Who are you?!?"

Five seconds later, the Stranger plodded off stage miserably and stared at Atrus.

"I hate you," she said, "For sending me back there."

"Oh, come now, surely the inhabitants of this Age can't be that hostile," he replied.

"Oh yeah? You think so? Go see for yourself!"

With that, the Stranger stomped off towards one of the dressing rooms, slamming the door behind her.

"Maybe you should go check it out," Catherine suggested. "She's not exactly ready for this kind of stress."

"Maybe you're right, Catherine," Atrus replied as he stepped onstage.

Meanwhile, in Haven…

It was a relatively peaceful afternoon in the age of Haven, the jungle was full of life, the trees were swaying in the tropical breeze, the two brothers were fighting… hey, wait a minute!

Sirrus glared at his older brother as his older brother did the same, each circling the other and not daring to take their eyes off each other for a second.

"Come now, Achenar, be reasonable," he told his mental opposite. "It's not like I'm trying to attack you or anything. I just want you to help me, just this once, and then…"

"No way!" Achenar yelled back. "I'm not going to be your pawn. You know how much trouble I got into last time with that shtick! And I'm not helping you go after Yeesha, either, no matter how angry you are at father. Nuh-uh, not going to happen!"

"It's just a little plan!" Sirrus retorted. "It's not even a big deal! All you have to do is -"

"I already told you! I'm not falling for it this time, no matter how easy it is. I'm a different person now."

"You're no different than I am!"

"Hey, am I the one who wants to seek revenge?"

"Ooh, a witty comment. Better stick to the physical work, dear brother. It's what you're best at."

With this, Achenar launched himself at his brother forcefully, knocking him over and effectively pinning him against the sandy terrain of the beach.

"Don't start with me, Sirrus. You won't win."

At this, the younger brother merely chuckled. "You seriously think that I want to fight you?" he replied coolly. "I just want to get you out of here. That is what you want, isn't it, brother? Or can you just not bear to part with your little monkey pals?"

Achenar stopped trying to throttle his brother for the moment and looked back at the barred linking cage, now flayed open by one of Sirrus' bombs, and remembered the book that lay within it. He would be free at last.

But a part of him really didn't want to leave. A part of him wanted to stay and help the creatures who lived here. Living here, on haven, instead of on a desolate world with no company, had given him insight as to what he was missing, and had forced him to channel that destructive energy into more artistic means.

In any case, he didn't want any part of Sirrus' plan, but if it meant being free from his imprisonment, it was worth it.

"Very well," he said reluctantly. "I'll aid you. But I won't like it!"

"Now that's more like the Achenar I know. Let's go."

Meanwhile, in Narayan…

The weather was warm and sunny today. A beautiful day to just relax and gaze out at the pink sky of his homeland. And what better way to do so than with your family?

So was the scene at the treetop household of Saavedro, who was busily sketching on a canvas the scene that lay before him. Having missed this sight for so long, he felt the desire to preserve it, just in case something else really bad happened.

But he had learned his lesson this time. Next time a book landed in front of him, he wasn't going to link in, no matter what the cost. It had caused nothing but trouble. Next time this happened, he was going to pick it up, walk to the edge of the tree, and drop it into the pink mist below, never to see it again. He wasn't going to let himself be trapped for who knew how many more years. It would surely ruin him.

"Saavedro?"

Tamra's sweet voice called his attention, just as he was finishing the main structure of his drawing.

"Yes?"

"Are you feeling better?"

It had been ten years since that day he was freed. Ten years since his long exile had ended. But it still seemed to mark him, like an ink stain on a white cloth, and he had never spoken about it since then. It brought back too much pain.

Was he feeling better?

Yes in some ways, no in others. How would you feel if you had just been freed from imprisonment and went home, and ten years later you were recalling the ordeal? And how could he count the numerous emotions he felt? Relief that his family was not dead. Joy that he was free. Amazement that the person who had saved him had done so when he had nothing to gain.

But he also felt tense, as if at any moment, someone else would glide over to his village on that gondola and start another rebellion, ruin more of the world, try to bring it down again…

"Dear?"

Saavedro turned to face his wife, having been jolted out of his thoughts by her voice, and replied "I'm fine."

"I don't imagine that you are 'fine'."

"Well… not really, no. But I am feeling better."

Silence as the couple watched the clouds float across the sky. The only sound was the scratching of Saavedro's pen as he continued to illustrate the world he saw in front of him.

"So, the other worlds you saw… what were they like?"

Saavedro paused for the moment, really not wanting to answer the question, but a look from those pleading green eyes finally made him cave.

"They were… interesting. There was one with giant pillars of stone, and another with many glowing, hexagonal crystals. There was one like a desolate canyon, full of machines, and another that was full of nothing but plant life. But none of them were quite like home."

"And how did you manage to survive?"

Darn it! Why did Tamra have to be so persistent! And so beautiful…

"Oh, you know, a little hunting here, a little foraging there, the building of shelters, both permanent and temporary."

"I see. You always were a resourceful man."

Saavedro gave Tamra a loving smile and continued to sketch the drawing off which he would base his painting.

"It's good to be back home," he finally said, as he put the finishing touches on the under sketch.

"I missed you, you know."

"And I missed you as the deserts miss the rain."

Together they stood, gazing out at the pink horizon and green trees that dotted the landscape, living for the moment in their own private paradise.

Perhaps that is why they never noticed the book fall from the sky next to them.

Uh-oh! Looks like Atrus and company aren't the only ones who will fall victim to the Know Your Stars announcer! And how exactly will they fair? Better than the Stranger, or worse? And speaking of which, it looks like the Stranger's just been cut down. Will Atrus take it any better? Or will he too fall victim to the awful power of the Know Your Stars announcer?You'll just have to wait and see. :)