Author's Note; This chapter has been done for a while; I was hoping to upload this after I had chapter four done, but seeing as I'm on vacation, that isn't gonna happen just yet. So instead of holding out, here is chapter three!

I apologize, Tom is a little off at the beginning. But, you would be too if you...well, read and see ; )

And thank you Evil-Mecha-Pilot for the awesome reviews.

Danian security was the tightest and most efficient in all of Perim. In the Port Court you could hear stories about getting roughed up by the Danian patrols at almost every table. Very few braved the Danian's stronghold, Mount Pillar, or even the surrounding area in search of scans. And no one ever came in a group; groups made your presence too obvious. People avoided each other in favour for getting in, getting what they need, and high tailing it out of there.

In short, Tom found that Danian territory was the best place to go if he wanted to be alone.

Granted, he was always a little uneasy being underground, but Tom found that if you left the Danians alone they would do the same. Perhaps a patrol would pass by every once in a while, or a single Danian Mandiblor would keep an eye on you. But, hey, it's their territory. And Tom really needed some time alone.

Sitting down on a flat rock, the black-haired teen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He felt so tired; not that that was anything new, now. Steeling himself with a deep breath, Tom eased his eyes closed. So far so good...

With a shudder and a sharp gasp, Tom recoiled and nearly fell from his perch. Running both of his hands through his hair, he made a frustrated sound; every time, no matter how often he thought about it, that vision shocked him.

It had been a week since...well, since whatever it was that happened in the Mipedian Desert. He, Kaz, Sarah and Peyton were all there; they all saw it. Tom was the one who got grabbed. And, on the surface, that was exactly what it looked like; some freaky hand thing shot out and grabbed his ankle, and then Prince Iflar killed stuff. It all happened in a split second.

What Tom hadn't told the others was that it felt more like an eternity.

Closing his eyes again Tom laced his fingers together and focused, determined to relive the experience. It wasn't pleasant by any means, but he had to know. He had to figure it out. It would help if he knew what he was trying to figure out, though. Tom focused.

A hand wrapped around his ankle, he was yanked backwards. It was freezing and yet blisteringly hot at the same time; he flipped around. Kaz was saying something, but he couldn't hear it. No...he could barely feel Kaz tug on his arm. He was too fixated on the glowing eyes in the mist, fixed on his. A low laugh; was that screaming he heard? Some words? Laughing. The laughing grew louder.

You'll pay.

It was a blessing when the hand was severed by Iflar and disappeared. At that moment, the world came zooming back as if it were being drained away before. Tom had never been so scared in his entire life...and he didn't scare easy.

Opening his eyes again, Tom clunked his head against the rock wall beside him. He'd been having nightmares of that moment ever since; not enough to plague him, but enough to wake him up. And then he'd sit up all night thinking, trying to understand what it was all about. The obvious thing would be to go see Najarin; but, no, they'd promised not to tell anyone what happened. And a big part of him really, really wanted to tell Maxxor about what happened.

Morality. It always gets in the way.

Of course, he always could tell his friends...but he didn't want to worry them.

Tom was broken out of his train of thought as a hand slapped down on his shoulder. He jumped, whirling around to see-

Sarah. "Hey Tom. A little high strung are we?" She quirked a brow, tone just a little sarcastic. The look quickly turned into one of concern, however. "You look horrible. Did Ibiaan use you as a hacky-sack or something?"

Motioning for him to move over, Sarah took a seat next to Tom. She eyed him expectantly, a sure signal that she was not leaving without answers.

He chuckled tiredly in defeat, "Just...thinking." Chewing on his lip briefly, Tom came to a decision. He would tell Sarah; and only Sarah, for now. She had a good head on her shoulders. "About-"

"The Mipedian Desert and the ruins and the dark cloudy stuff and you wanna tell Maxxor still, I'm betting." Sarah drawled boredly, rolling a pebble between her fingers. She glanced at the bewildered Tom with a smirk, "You're as easy to read as a Suess book, Tom. And don't think it's only me; Kaz, Peyton and a little someone we call the entire Port Court can tell something is up with you. And by the way, this new broody-Tom is no fun at all.

"So," she flicked the pebble at him, "gonna tell me what's up?"

Tom chuckled, "Do I have a choice?"

"No." Sarah cut in blandly, completely serious. Tom blinked.

"Uh...I was kidding. Anyway." Leaning back on his hands, Tom stared up at the dirt above them. "It's just...well, you were there. You saw everything that happened. Uh, it's..." Letting out a ragged breath, Tom flopped down onto his back. "I really don't know what happened. When that hand grabbed me, everything got dark and quiet. I heard voices or something; I think it was speaking to me."

"No chance that it was just a friendly chat, huh?" Sarah frowned, concern showing in her features.

"Not a chance in hell." Tom replied, folding his hands behind his head in a makeshift pillow. He closed his eyes for a moment, relishing in the relative silence.

"Guess that explains why you turned white as a sheet afterward." Sarah smirked playfully, "And here I thought the big brave Overworlder was turning chicken on us."

Tom laughed, cracking an eye open to grin at her, "Not a chance- GACK!" Tom twitched, attempting to roll away from Sarah as she poked him in the side harshly. Damn that felt weird! He scrambled to sit up as Sarah went to poke him again, a poorly coordinated move that ended in a laughing Sarah and a heap of Tom on the ground.

Tom was beginning to think Sarah just wanted to see him fall off the rock.

Straightening himself up, Tom sat on his knees and brushed his front off. He gave Sarah a look, she returned it with a smirk. He rolled his eyes and smiled, brushing dirt off his arms.

Sarah's expression turned concerned again, her tone decidedly lower than before. "Tom, why didn't you tell us?"

Tom cringed slightly; damn, she almost sounded hurt. Now he really felt bad. Shoulders drooping slightly, Tom looked up at her. "I guess...I'm not sure, Sarah. I had a lot to think about, and...I just didn't know what happened, so I had to figure it out. I-"

"We could have helped you figure it out."

"I...I know." Tom admitted quietly, "But, what if- I mean, it could be dangerous, and I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"We don't want you to get hurt either, Tom."

"But it's my-"

"Your problem? Uh, no it isn't." Sarah crossed her arms, fixing Tom with a harsh glare. "In case you forgot, we were there too. Oh, and let's not forget, the Mipedians who live there. I think it's more their problem than any of ours, hm?" She tapped her fingers on her arm, watching Tom shrink under her gaze, "In fact, it's more Perim's problem than ours. Oh, and wasn't it Peyton's scanner that started the whole thing? Doesn't that make it more his problem? Or are you just that self-important?"

At this point, Tom couldn't even look up at her. Sarah sighed, her demeanour softening considerably. "We're your friends, Tom. We hate seeing you like this – I hate seeing you like this." Sliding off her seat, Sarah kneeled down on the ground with Tom and took one of his hands, getting Tom to look at her. "We want to help you, Tom. And you know we can do a lot more together; after all, who has the most contact with the Mipedians? Peyton. They probably have a lot of information by now. We can help."

A soft, mischievous smirk pulled at Sarah's lips, "Besides, I thought you Overworlders were all about that sappy teamwork stuff."

Giving a weak chuckle, Tom smiled. "I...Thanks, Sarah. I guess...I just got caught up in my own world."

"It's fine, Tom. Now," Sarah released his hand, adjusting herself until she sat with her legs crossed. "It's kind of obvious there's more you aren't telling me. You look way too tired – and I know you don't think that much."

Tom gave her an amused, deadpan look. "Your confidence in my intelligence is astounding." He chuckled, "But...you're right. I've been...having nightmares. About what happened."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah. I've never really had bad ones before...or many dreams at all, really. And, it's not like they really scare me. There's just something important, something bad...if I knew, I could stop it. These nightmares keep waking me up..." Sarah listened attentively as Tom recited the nightmare; everything he saw and heard when the hand grabbed him, how long it had felt like. That sense of danger that came with it.

"And there's something...before Iflar came in, I did hear some words. I can hear them, but I have no idea what they are! It's like they have meaning but they don't; argh, I just don't know. It's frustrating." Tom ran a hand through his hair again, Sarah watching silently.

"I can see that." She commented quietly, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head. Maybe...No, that was a dumb idea. Oh, wait, "I-"

"Hey, wait a second!" Apparently Tom's brain decided to start working at that moment. He gave Sarah a look of confusion, "How did you know I would be here?"

Sarah gave him an amused look, "I didn't. Wamma is supposed to meet me here; he's got some new battlegear and I want to scan it. Naturally the lazy bastard is late. Can I continue now?"

"Uh...right. Sorry. Go on."

"Thank you." Sarah continued, " As I was saying, I'll get a hold of Peyton. He might know where Tiaane is; and Tiaane should know something by now. As for you," She stood, brushing dirt off her capris. "Has Kaz called you yet?"

"Kaz...huh? He's on a scan quest, why would he-" As if on cue Tom's scanner started to ring, signalling a call. Bewildered, Tom pulled the blue contraption out of his pocket. Sure enough, KidChaor was calling him.

Sarah gave an amused smirk at Tom's clueless face. "You answer that; I'm gonna go look for Wamma again. And even though I never thought I'd say this, just do what Kaz says, okay?" Already walking away, Sarah waved over her shoulder. "See ya."

"Uh...okay. Bye?" Blinking, it took Tom a few seconds to realize that he still had to answer Kaz's call. And in his scramble to do so, he nearly hung up. "GAH- HEY. Uh. Hi, Kaz."

"'Uh, hi' to you to, Tom. Geeze – I think you made me go deaf." Kaz shook his head to clear it; he did not expect to be yelled at.

"You think you're in pain? Think about my poor ears!" An all too familiar, scratchy voice sounded over the speakers. Ah, H'earring; tailing Kaz as usual. Then again, if Kaz was on a scan quest, it was no wonder H'earring was there.

"Hi to you to, H'earring." Tom snickered as the gremlin jumped onto Kaz's back, completely ignoring the fact that he almost knocked Kaz off balance.

"Hi Tom! Got any treats for me? You're an Overworlder, riiiight? Ack, hey!"

Giving an annoyed glare, Kaz attempted to force H'earring off his shoulder. "Just cause he's an Overworld player doesn't mean he carries around Dractyl scales! You're the only creature disgusting enough to want those things anyway!"

"Jeeze, fine! Don't have to be so snippy, Kaz." Pouting, H'earring jumped off Kaz's back. Tom had no food for him; he was no longer interested. He did, however, still want to root through Kaz's bag...if only to annoy the Chaotic player.

Kaz glared his little heart out at the creature, "I'm going to pretend you aren't doing that."

"Works for me!" H'earring replied jovially, tossing everything he wasn't interested in off to the side.

Tom laughed, "Man. You guys are better than TV."

"Yeah, for the viewer maybe." Kaz rolled his eyes, finally focusing his attention back on Tom. "Alright. You have a scan of the Lava Pond right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Good. Meet me there. Now."

"Waitaminute! Kaz, what's this-"

"I'll tell you when you get here. Now port over already! And dammit H'earring stop throwing my snacks arou-" The transmission cut off abruptly as Kaz hung up, leaving a very confused Tom to stare at a blank screen.

"Well...guess I should go." Tom stood up, prepping his scanner to port back to the Port Court.

What was Kaz up to this time?

Kaz had just started to make his fifth pebble-temple as the tell-tale sound of a player porting in greeted his ears. Turning to face the source of the sound, Kaz was already giving Tom an annoyed look before he was even half materialized.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting here forever." Kaz stood, resting his hands on his hips.

"I was hungry! And I needed a caffeine boost." Tom held his arms up in defence, jumping down from where he ported in. "Besides, I thought you were on a scan quest."

"That was a cover up, Tom. Do you really think I'd be on the same scan quest for a week straight? And I had candy bars here."

"Uh...good point. I guess I missed a lot, huh?" Tom rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He really had been distracted. "Also, a candy bar doesn't count as food to everyone."

"Tell me about it!" H'earring swung down out of nowhere, almost making Tom jump right out of his socks. The creature snickered at Tom's expression, completely ignoring Kaz's glare. "Hiiii Tom."

"I thought I told you to go away, H'earring." Kaz cut in sharply, tapping his foot on the ground. H'earring snickered again in response.

"You did! ...But you didn't say how far awayyyy~ Haha!" The little gremlin jumped out of the way before Kaz could whack him on the head with his bag.

Slinging said bag over his shoulder, Kaz motioned for Tom to follow. "Now that you're here, we can get going while the going is good. Follow my lead; Magmon's feeling grumpy today, so we don't want to run into him along the way."

Oh, great. Crawling around the Underworld – the Lava Pond no less – while one of its most notorious creatures was in a bad mood. What a nice day for a hike. Why did Kaz like this place again?

Hurrying to catch up Tom walked close behind Kaz, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. If Magmon was rampaging, there was no way was he letting Kaz get hurt. "Mind telling me just where we're going Kaz?"

"You'll see when we get there-whoa!" Kaz looked over his shoulder, jumping when he came face to face with Tom. "Some personal space, Mr. Jones? It's not like you'll have to throw me out of the way of any rolling boulders here."

Reluctantly, Tom backed away from his friend...but only a little bit. "So I don't get any clues or anything?"

"I could tell you something~" Looking down, Tom was surprised to find H'earring tailing them. "Y'know, if you had any Dractyl Scales." His eyes got impossibly big, "Do ya do ya do ya?"

"Uh...all tapped out, sorry." Tom stuttered out the reply, noting the annoyed look Kaz gave H'earring.

"Hmph! You're on your own then." The creature pouted, crossing his stubby arms.

"Don't you have something else to do H'earring?" Kaz nearly growled out, eyes narrowed.

"Nope! Nothin' else. And besides, you guys always do something that's worth laughing at." H'earring grinned up at the orange haired human, crossing his arms behind his head.

And at that, Kaz heaved a sigh. "Just go home, H'earring. Please?"

"No." Came the sudden and surprisingly serious reply, H'earring now sporting a determined look. Clearly, Tom was missing something.

"Uh...? You guys fighting or something?" He asked, glancing between the two. Kaz sighed, stopping in his tracks as he turned to face Tom. H'earring sidled up beside him.

"No, it's just- geh." Kaz's hand came to rest atop the creature's head subconsciously, "Okay. You know what happened in the desert? Well- hey, don't give me that look! I didn't tell H'earring anything, I kept my promise."

"Yeah! Those promise things are annoying. I wasn't able to get a word out of him." H'earring chimed in, causing Kaz to smile. H'earring returned it with a grin, "Now I say we keep moving. I can hear Magmon stomping around way over there." The little creature pointed to their right, over in the direction of some dormant geysers.

"Good idea," Kaz gulped, turning to head to...wherever they were going. He continued, "Anyway. I was curious to begin with; that...stuff reminded me of something. And then you started to act weird. You were tired all the time, you barely noticed when we talked to you. I bet you don't even remember half of your Chaotic matches! Honestly, I thought you were possessed or something."

Tom chuckled. Of course Kaz would jump right to that conclusion.

"Sarah and Peyton noticed it to. They asked me if something was up at home, and we got to talking. You got all distant after what happened..." Kaz looked over his shoulder at Tom, making his black haired friend feel all the more guilty. "We were worried about you.

"That's when we hatched this plan. Sarah kept an eye on you, Peyton went to snoop around the Mipedim Oasis. I followed my first hunch...and it took a few days of searching, but I found what I was looking for."

"You mean I found what you were looking for!" H'earring cut in, poking Kaz in the thigh harshly.

"Ow! Yes, yes, it was all thanks to you! You really need to cut your nails." Kaz shook his leg as he walked, nearly falling over in the process.

"Awh, but then you wouldn't do that funny dance anymore!" H'earring snickered, watching Kaz fumble about. And for his part, Tom had to laugh a little too.

"What exactly were you looking for?" Tom asked, helping Kaz regain his balance.

"Think about it Tom. Didn't that dark misty stuff remind you of anything? Perhaps an Underworld creature in particular?" Kaz nodded as Tom's eyes widened, "Yeah."

"But...Wait. Drakness? No way. He's an Underworlder isn't he?" the bewildered Tom asked, looking back and forth between the other two.

"Ha! So he says." H'earring spat out, "Drakness just appeared one day and said he was an Underworlder. He's one creepy creature." The gremlin shuddered, ears pinned back against his head, "And a dangerous one at that. Even Chaor is wary of him."

"Which is exactly why I don't want you coming with us." Kaz grumbled, earning a determined glare from H'earring.

"Wait a minute...You've been tracking Drakness? If he's so dangerous, why didn't you tell me?"

"Yes. If my hunch is right, he might know some things. And if I did tell you, you would have tailed me like a body guard and gotten yourself coded." Kaz glanced over his shoulder at Tom, "Face it, Tom. I know the Underworld better than you, and I know how to keep up with H'earring when he's tracking. And you were way too tired to do anything." He sighed when Tom's look of concern didn't waver, "Nothing bad happened. Not yet, anyway. I'm fine."

"Yeah...sorry. Guess I can be a bit protective." Tom smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kaz smirked, "More like a mother hen."

"Hey! Mother hen this, you skinny bastard!" Tom lunged, catching Kaz in a loose choke-hold and giving him a noogie. Kaz laughed and struggled for a little, before poking Tom in the stomach. Just like every time before Tom squeaked and nearly fell over, H'earring watching the two humans in amusement.

"You humans sure have weird ways of battling." H'earring chimed in, swinging his little feet over the edge of his perch. His tone turned serious, "Better keep it down, though. We're almost in the Ethereal territory...don't want to draw any attention." He slid down off his perch as the two humans straightened themselves up.

"No loud noises, stay on the clear path, and do not touch anything." H'earring continued, looking toward a dark tunnel. And knowing his luck of late, that was just where they were heading; deeper underground. At this point, Tom really wished he were in Kiru City.

Kaz nodded to him, then gave H'earring an imploring look. "H'earring, wait here. If things get hairy down there, me and Tom can just port out. You-"

"You aren't going down there alone, Kaz." H'earring answered with an air of finality, heading into the tunnel without even a glance back at the humans. Kaz sighed, motioning for Tom to follow.

The journey downward was quiet for the most part, save for the shuffling of feet and a few slips on steeper declines. Most of it was a swerving tunnel; but deeper down, the tunnel would open up into a vast cave, or split off in two directions. Here and there, hidden away in corners, were pockets of thick black fog. Tom shuddered; he was really beginning to see what Kaz meant. Maybe Drakness did know something.

Not that it was guaranteed that he would even appear to them, let alone answer any questions.

The Underworld was a strange, strange place, Tom noted. It wasn't the first time he'd thought this, but it seemed truer now than ever. On the surface, in places like Underworld City and the Lava pond, the rock was a deep earthy red. The air was stale and muggy, lava geysers could erupt at any moment. And yet, most of the danger was in the creatures themselves; not only were they temperamental, but they'd rather walk through you than around. And heaven forbid you ticked one off.

The lower levels were less travelled. Some players weren't even aware of them; most creatures never went any deeper down. And Tom was beginning to understand why.

The deeper they went, the lighter and drier the stone and dirt became. Normally, stuff like this wouldn't bother him; but it almost felt like the colour was being drained away by something unnatural. Even the air felt different. Cold, yet heavy. And Tom swore he could hear voices from time to time.

Finally, H'earring stopped at a point where the open path they were on split into yet another tunnel. This time Kaz took the lead, H'earring following close behind. This tunnel was substantially shorter; five steps in, and it opened up into an impossibly wide cavern. The ceiling was so high they could barely see it in the darkness. A scant few lava pools served as a light source, albeit a poor one. The ground was almost pure white, dusty and cracked.

An eerie breeze blew by as they stepped into the cavern, making the situation even worse. Kaz, for his part, stood up straight with his chest puffed out in a show of bravado. H'earring huddled close beside him, ears pinned back once more as he grasped onto Kaz's pant leg. Tom stood right behind Kaz, keeping a look out in all his blind spots. He did not like this place at all.

"I know you're here, Drakness! Why don't you stop slinking around like a coward and show yourself?" Kaz called into the shadows.

"Do you really think saying stuff like that is a good idea?" Tom whispered harshly to Kaz, a little disturbed that Kaz's words didn't echo at all in the vast chamber.

Kaz was just about to reply as a rasping voice sounded all around them, "Your companion is right, boy. Little humans such as yourself should know better than to challenge a creature..."

"I'll win that challenge if you don't show yourself." Kaz answered calmly, glaring into the shadows. A light cackle sounded in the air; and suddenly the entire chamber lit up, everything made visible by a bright flash. Drakness shot down from above landing right in front of Kaz. The Chaotic player gave a start, but did nothing else.

"So what brings these two...ohh!" the shadow-made-solid smirked, or at least gave something akin to a smirk, and swooped down to H'earring's level. The little creature promptly squeaked, clinging to Kaz's pant leg even tighter. "Three little mice have stumbled into my lair! What a treat..." One claw-like hand extended, looming over H'earring threateningly.

"Up here, Drakness." Kaz spat, immediately gaining the shadow's attention. Drakness slowly rose to eye level with Kaz – not that Drakness had any eyes. "We have some questions for you. And you're going to answer them."

Tom's eyes darted about as the cavern started to darken again. A low rumble started up, slowly getting louder as Drakness began to loom over Kaz. "I will, will I? You have some questions for me, hm? And you expect me to cater to your every whim, just like that? Like I am some human's SLAVE?" The roar echoed, making the very floor tremble, "Such self-important twits! Gallivanting about like you own the whole world...you must think so little of us creatures! Then again, considering the company you keep, I am not surprised." H'earring gave a weak glare as Drakness' rage started to turn into petty amusement, "You fools. You don't even know the power you hold."

Kaz's eyes lit up, and he stole a glance at Tom. "The power we hold? What are you talking about?"

The very air seemed to laugh as the light returned, Drakness shrinking down to his original size. He began to circle the three slowly, "Ah, you humans...so blind to everything. You amuse me. Ask your questions."

"I already asked two." Kaz replied, keeping his eyes fixed on Drakness whenever he came into view. The shadowy creature laughed again, grinning.

"It won't be that easy, human."

"Okay, fine. We encountered...something strange recently. Long story short the...shadowy stuff reminded us of you. You know anything about it?"

"A little vague, hm..."

"I'm not telling you any more than I already have."

"Hm...willful little thing, aren't you?" Drakness dropped the subject nonetheless, drifting over to study Tom. "Your friend here seems a little bothered..." that weird smirk showed up yet again, "I take it this...run in with 'shadowy stuff' was much less pleasant for you."

In a heartbeat, the creature was back in front of Kaz. "Yes. I believe I do know what you speak of...let me guess. Shadows and mist escaped from a chamber covered in runes?"

At this, the two boys perked up. "Wait- so you do know something?" Tom spoke to Drakness for the first time, meeting the creature's gaze as it looked at him.

"Yes. I do. I know details that very few others will know; if any at all." The creature laughed, "You want me to tell you, hm? Oh, you humans already have it so easy. I won't make it easier."

Kaz glared, resting his hands on his hips. "Then tell us what you will. We'll skip back home the way we came and find someone more useful. I doubt you even know as much as you think you do!"

"HA, HA! Oh, such a spit fire! I believe I like you, fiery one..." Drakness' tone turned threatening, "And you're lucky I do, else you would be ripped apart by now. As for what you want to know...hmmm.

"What is it they say about me? Ah, yes...an Underworld Ethereal, a bodiless being spawned from the wisps of an ancient evil whose traces stagnated in the Underworld...if I have my information right." He grinned down at H'earring, who nodded weakly.

"Who is only interested in finding the Cothica." The gremlin finished, hoping Drakness would look away from him.

H'earring got his wish as the other creature focused back on the humans, an eerie smile on. "Ah, yes...the Cothica. The illustrious object of ultimate power...and a goal which every Tribe seems to have forgotten." He growled at this, "How they can ignore such a prize is beyond me. But...I digress. Or...do I?"

"What do you mean?" Kaz pushed on, urging Drakness to tell them more.

"Oh no, fiery human. It won't be that easy...I've told you all I will. Except for one thing..." A sudden scream sounded through the air as Drakness dived at them, surrounding them in a thick, suffocating shroud of shadows.

"The light, the light, what drives it away! Fight, fight, you are only the prey; never enter the chamber, oh travellers ye!"

Three yells sounded from high above Underworld City, calling the attention of all nearby inhabitants. The yells got louder and louder until, with three dull thuds, two humans a familiar green spy landed on the ground in a cloud of dust. All three coughed as they gained their bearings, H'earring letting out a happy squeak and hugging his house as soon as he realized they'd landed right in front of it.

Kaz took off his glasses, wiping the dirt from them. "Well...that was...something. Also, for the record, I was scared shitless and I am never going there again." He slid his glasses back on, giving Tom a confused look. For some reason, the other teen was looking above him instead of at him. "Uh...Tom? Hello?"

"Ahem." Kaz flinched, an all too familiar voice sounding from behind him. Leaning his head back slowly, he was relieved to see the creature looked more confused than angry. Said creature slowly looked up into the abyss above, then back down to the humans on the ground.

"Kaz..." Chaor began, "...You can't fly."