A/N: For the record, that is a picture of Angel on the story's icon.

Starts on Earth...

Angel's POV

Even if my real self wasn't going, and would instead be stuck at home doing homework, I was still feeling like today was my birthday! "I'm going to Perim!" I tried to keep it as under my breath as possible. Mom still heard the squeak as she came to the front door.

Mom was a myrmecologist…. she studies ants. Yeah, believe me it's more interesting than it sounds! They look at a range of things from society cooperation methods to landscape designs, and relate ant society to human society. Mom's usually home late, so for her to answer the door right when I get out of school is pretty awesome. But not as awesome as what I did today!

Squealing, "Mommy!" I jumped up and hugged her around the middle. Mom was taken aback, then she hugged me back.

"Whoa! I was opening the door for my aloof, spunky, fifteen-year-old daughter. When did my cute, cheerful, five-year-old, Angelina get here?" She joked. Yeah, she's where I get my terrific sense of humor and strong-woman morale from. Mom is beautiful with her short blonde hair and teal-greenish eyes. The only family resemblance is our pale skin, and I also think I get my face-shape from her.

"Mom, I-" for a moment I briefly think about telling her. Chaotic might have been Mom's thing when she was a teenager, but that's not the case anymore. She's an adult woman, a scientist. I don't even think she went to Chaotic; she just had a few cards to give me that didn't even make a full deck.

I pulled out my scanner which was off. "I heard about a new program for the scanners in Chaotic Club today!"

Mom's interested was quipped for a second. Her voice remained neutral. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah! It's… It's not as huge as the history homework I have but, I got it as a prize for my 50th win online. They even let me share it with Manny." Hopefully, this will allow Manny to get away with a bit too. Manny goes straight to his house, then he comes over here for dinner or Mom and I go across to his. This keeps him on his toes to keep the house fairly clean. I meant it when I said Manny is like my brother, he suffers under the same Mom too!

When I told her about the new 'program', Mom sighed. "Angel… Sweetie, I don't want to stop you from having fun with your friends, but you do know you go to school to learn, right?" A lot of the time my Mom is a killjoy, even when she's not trying to be. She hardly ever lets me or Manny do anything fun or exciting. Yeah, Moms are there to keep you safe, I know. And a part of me was hoping she'd at least ask further about the program. If she did then it'd prove she used to be a Chaotic Player. So I figured it was just Dad who went.

I kept a natural smile on my face, despite any inner disappointment. "I'm doing that! I even got a B on the last history exam. This is just so exciting because only Manny and I won it!"

"Can I see this new program?" Mom asked. "What's it called?"

Shoot! I forgot to be prepared for this line of Inquisition. I made something up on the spot that seemed legit. "Sure, Mom. But my scanner needs to reset and recharge for a while. I don't know how long; I really want you to see this!" That had part of the truth. I was secretly hoping I could talk to Mom about this without her sending me to a therapist.

She looked skeptical for a second. Either she buys it because she's never been there, or she doesn't because she's been there too! I really hoped for the latter. Mom and I are pretty close; I'd love to talk with her about Perim. I want her to call my bluff and say she doesn't believe me.

"Did it cost you anything?" she asked. Inwardly, my face fell. Outwardly it was accepting. She was actually asking if she would have to pay. "Nope. It was more like a contest, my 50th straight win!"

"50?!" Sure, that was the surprise for her. "Manny too?"

I was about to answer, when I realized the truth of the two emails. I hadn't really read Manny's, but I knew for a fact that he didn't have that kind of a winning streak lately. "Uh….I'm not really sure what his category was, Mom. But he got it too!"

"Then I guess it's a good thing I ordered all three of our favorite pizzas tonight!" At Mom's sentence, I was able to forgive her for not being a Chaotic
Player!

In Chaotic:

I left myself at home doing my homework (Wow, that could not sound any more weird) with a plan of what to tell Mom if she asked anything else about the new program. I made sure to send a text to Manny about it so our stories would be straight. Then I activated my scanner and found my second trip to Chaotic much easier than the first.

There were still a lot of people hanging around. "Okay," I said to myself, walking off the transport. "Now just need to wait for the others-"

"A self-talker, huh?" The voice that surprised me from behind was none other than my new friend: Kat Kalinkas. She folded her arms as she walked up to me. "Well, that's fine I guess. Kit and Dad do that too."

Kat Kalinkas. In the few hours I knew her I'd learned this: She's an Underworld player; She's a twin, a daredevil, and a Chaotic-savvy know-how. I have a good feeling that she's a worth-while friend. I mean, our whole trip is because we all had a mini tournament and she won all the others except mine. She even looks pretty psyched to be here.

"Ha, ha!" I laughed sarcastically. Then I noticed Kat had a backpack dropped by her side. "Where did you get that?"

Kat looked down at the bag then up at me. "Another feature about this place." She explained. "I was holding onto my own pack when I came over here, and when I logged on it just came with me."

This was a surprising discovery. I scratched my head and reasoned it out. "Well, I guess it counts as clothes when the scanners log us in. I mean, imagine if the first time you got your code and you were in your underwear or something."

She laughed. "Underwear! That'd be humiliating."

The rest of our group chose now to appear on the transport. "Girls talk about underwear?" observed Kit, Kat's twin brother. He's a lot more rational than his sister.

"The secret is out!" declared Manny, slightly eccentric, but the best friend I've ever had. "Girls pretend to be better than us, until they think no one is listening."

"Let's not go there, Manny." I warned him. "Check it out! Kat's brought her own backpack."

"Why?" Manny asked.

Kat put an evil grin on her face and told him. "To see if I Creature eats my homework, it will come back demolished and I can have an auto A+!"

If this little band is this interesting before our first trip to Perim, what kind of adventure am I in for? I was so excited. I could just feel that this was going to blow every trip to a national museum, amusement park and camping trip I had ever been on! My choice Location was Cordac Falls, it would be the first trip to Perim for me, Manny, Kit and Kat! Normally, I'd have and itching picture finger for this big of a trip, but the goal was to come back of scans of the Location and maybe even a Creature or two!

Oh, my gosh the Creatures! I lingered on my thoughts as the other three discussed Kat's backpack coming over. I looked through my scanner again. I knew everything about these cards. One the first things I learned was the little quotations on some of them that reveal stuff about their personalities and experiences. I tried to recall if any of them spent a lot of time around the Falls. Remembering what Dad told me would be a lot to shuffle through, all of it was too much at once. I wonder if there's any chance there are some of them who remember Dad? He wasn't the only Chaotic Player, despite my initial imaginings. But he did talk about being friends with some of them.

"Hello~! Angel, do you copy?" Manny called into my ear.

I jolted out of my thoughts to see the three of them staring at me. "Sorry, I… I was just thinking…" Come to think of it, all of us here are second-generation players. "Does anyone know how long it's been, in Perim-terms, since humans came here?"

Manny said. "About thirty years. Could be older, depending how old our folks were at the time."

"And Perim runs on a different time system." Kit chimed in. "Two years for us is just one year for them. Solons, is the term I think."

"So…" Manny took in this information. "Is a day for us, like a half-day for them?"

"I don't think that's how it works." Kit said, but he looked unsure.

I summarized the answer. "But if thirty years have gone by for us, that's just fifteen for them!"

Kat pushed through our line of questions, physically. "Argh! Why are we even asking this when we could be already out there? So, what if there hasn't been a single human here in a while? That was our parent's turn, now it's us who have a go!"

Manny pumped his fist in agreement. "Yeah!"

"I guess it's not that important." Kit said, adjusting his glasses.

I think it's important. I kept my thoughts to myself. "Okay! Everyone got a Cordac Falls in their deck? It's my choice, but I don't want to leave anyone behind." Manny, Kit and Kat all held up their scanners to show my they had the Falls. At this point my excitement was about to explode. "Sweet~! I can't believe we're really going!" I was jumping from foot to foot!

"Get used to this, guys." Manny said to the twins. "Whenever Angel gets psyche she's-"

Kat came and grabbed my hands, jumping in time with me. "I know! I know!"

"Already used to it." Kit whispered to Manny.

The two of them shared a look. Then Manny broke into our celebration circle. "Woo-hoo!" To which Kit shrugged and let himself join in our happy reverie. We didn't even notice the people staring at us.

It turned out Kat bringing her own backpack was a moot point, as the Transport Center also had an equipment shop that could get what we needed, and without any kind of return policy. It was also an apparent new feature to Chaotic, or just something Kat and Kit's Dad glossed over. My dad didn't really go into this much detail either. In the end, we decided we could port back if we need anything, so we didn't need backpacks for a short trip.

"Okay! Enough fluff and filler, let's go already!" Manny tapped his foot impatiently. Kat was right next to him doing pretty much the same as Kit and I came running up. "I already got the 4-1-1 on how port back-and-to from those lil' robots. Everybody stand on a circle!"

From there Manny's directions went like this:

1. Stand in middle of the white circle.

2. Bring up the Location on the scanner.

3. Set to transport on options.

4. Press center button.

For me, I automatically held my breath on step 4. I don't know if I can describe the sensation of being teleported… because I was so awestruck at where I was in just one second!

I was standing in a forest. Cool, clean air was blowing. Dark green, light green and every green in between leaves curled and flowed from all around. Trees reaching up towards the sky of pale blue almost made me think I was back on Earth. But the flowers were different. The smell of the air was different. Even the soil beneath my feet felt on odd combination of soft, yet firm. And if I needed one more confirmation that I hadn't accidently ported home somehow, the all three of my friends standing with me, equally amazed, was enough.

We were in Perim.

The thought just hadn't quite sunk in yet.

"Guys…!" Kit's eyes couldn't get any bigger.

"We're…" Kat's jaw was wide open!

Then Manny said, "Do you guys see a bathroom?"

To which the twins joined me in saying: "Manny!"

After that, we began our first look at Perim. It reminded me of the hiking trip to Yosemite I took when I was a kid. The air was colder and cleaner, lush plants that I had never seen before grew everywhere! There was also this exotic feel to the forest, like the small details of the leaves and bark that said 'this is not the Earth.' My friends let me lead the way once I told them I had trail-blazing experience.

"That trip to Yosemite has nothing on this!" I said. The hiking trips I take with my parents are always my favorites. "Dad taught me everything about nature survival, Mom… spa are more her thing."

Manny came up behind me. "Yeah, those lavender soaks aren't so bad!"

"You just like the chocolates they hand out." I said back.

To which Manny shrugged. "82 varieties. It was an education."

"Are you guys really not siblings?" Kat asked, with Kit right behind her taking in the magnificent sight.

Manny explained while I moved some branches out of our way. "Call us a clan. Angel and go way back, and so do our parents. The two of us have been thicker than thieves even after-"

"Look!" I pointed up ahead. There was a river! "I'll bet that lead right to the falls! Let's go!" I took off running. From the sounds behind me the others were close behind. But the farthest voice, Kit's, called out from behind. "Angel, shouldn't we take it easy? We don't really know this place!"

I think Kat was closest behind me now cause I heard her loud and clear when she called back to him. "Easy? Kit, c'mon this is Perim!"

If their conversation went any farther than that, I didn't hear it. My thoughts were once again swept up in excitement. This is Perim. So anything can happen here! And I already had so many places in mind that I wanted to go. But right now I was already over the moon with the fact that I was here, going to see Cordac Falls as more than just a picture!

Following the river, as much as I love running, even Kat and I had to slow to walk. It gave Manny and Kit time to catch their breath, and time for all four of us to look around the area. It was nice, but even as cliffs to the Falls became closer, Kat let out a groan. "Uuuuuugggghhh! Why weren't we just 'ported' there when we set our scans. It got us close, but when they tell ya 'at the Falls', you'd think they'd mean 'at the Falls!'"

Kit pulled out his scanner and said, "Sis, did you ever take a really good look at the card?" Kit held it up for all of us who stopped to see. "Look in the background, there is a wide river and a forest behind it."

"So we're there by technicality." Manny folded his arms like does when he's sarcastic and frustrated. "Not so great for taking pictures, but hey! Let's get a scan of a closer spot when we get there for next time."

"Sounds like the idea to me." Kit agreed.

"It's called a tourist trap." Manny clarified.

I don't understand why these guys are complaining. This is a great way to learn about Perim. Sure we're a little ways off, but we're here to see things too! "Cordac falls is the objective," I told everyone leading on, "But don't forget to look around, guys! I mean, this place is amazing! I wouldn't have wanted to start anywhere else!"

? POV (A/N: I do that sometimes)

Maxxor ordered me to scout Cordac Falls. Underworlders and Danians still try to climb up from time to time. He knows I can see far with nothing escaping my sight. Owis suffered an injury and had to be healed; he is a noble warrior for guarding this place for so long, I do not mind taking the deed. It had been fairly quiet. For many years, things have been relatively quiet all over Perim. The tribes still war, even a few M'arillians some their unwelcomed faces and a quickly beaten back. But there's hardly any commotion since all the humans disappeared.

Those pests! Granted, some of them had their uses. And… more than a few of those were close friends to other Creatures. They came, matured into adulthood, and then, suddenly they all vanished. The response from the tribes was mixed. But no denying it gave birth to a still-going 30 solons of peace.

Or… as close as Perim may see as peace for an extended time. And I should not blame humans alone for calamity, the other tribes also-

"Now what?!" From below my position on the rocks I hear a voice. Unfamiliar, young, angry and female. "We have to climb?"

Young Overworlders do not come to this Location and not know what to expect. Could some Mipedian children have gotten this far? Prince Mudeenu must be trying to train his spies to be even younger! The audacity of those cold-blooded lizards…

I feel a second of conflict, but children or not, these spies should learn what it means to be enemy territory. I ready my bow; I can see them from the rocks before they see me from here. I peer out.

"What…?" Those- Those children are…!

Angel's POV

"Like it or not boys, we're racing!" I call back to Kit and Manny. Kat and I are well ahead on the cliffside. This place is relatively easy to climb, it's just that everyone's getting a little tired. And I use that to my advantage to be the first one up. "Just remember! Hand-hand and foot-foot when climbing!"

I looked back to see that everyone was heeding my advice. Manny was actually neck-in-neck with Kat, and the only reason she was slowing down was to make sure that her brother, who looked terrified, was okay. I went back to concentrating on my own climb. I just snuck a look at the view around me when I'd stop and wait a few seconds for everyone. Livin' the dream!

Finally, after a little longer climbing, my hand finds a wide spread of solid rock, telling me that we've made it. I breath a bit, just taking everything in.

I'm in Perim.

I've climbed a mountain side.

And I am standing on THE Cordac Falls!

Shifting my body so that it takes the lasts steps carefully, I stand up on the ledge and overlook the forest we just walked out of. On the card, there's just a little bit of it with some mountains and sky. But here! Here the greenery stretches on for miles, the mountain range goes even farther and I can visibly see the water moving beneath the sun and hear the roar of the falls! Speaking of which!

"Guys hurry, you gotta see this!" Cause I'm already seeing it and I still can't believe it. Cordac Fall is a waterfall of two channels coming out of a face that seems to be carved into the side. It falls far. So far that as I gaze over the edge just to see it for myself, I can see the water falling down into a shining red pit of lava! This is also my first view of the Underworld…

One by one the others follow and gaze around in amusement along with me. Manny says, "This is…"

And Kat finishes, "Unreal…"

Kit's the first one to pull his scanner out. "I'm making my first scan of here!"

"Yeah!" I suddenly remembered that and took out my own scanner. "Uh… how does that work?" It's a good thing Kit and Kat's dad apparently gave them such thorough descriptions of this place. So backpacks count as clothing, card scans are wild cards, and once you get to a certain spot at a Location you can scan it and come back to that exact spot later. Once all four of us had our own Location scan of Cordac Falls, Kat started looking around.

"Is that it?" She asked.

"What? Long hike through uncharted terrain aren't enough for ya, Kat?" Manny said.

She retorted. "Hey, I liked seeing the place, but didn't you guys notice anything?"

Kit was the first to realize. Since he was right next to me, he grabbed onto my shoulder. "She's right! Look around, we're the only ones here."

"Didn't I just say that?" Manny responded.

I realized it too. And when I did, I explained it to Manny. "Creatures, Manny! We just trekked through a forest and up to one of the most frequent battle locations in Perim. We haven't even seen any other humans here, it's like the Falls are deserted."

Cordac Falls is not a tourist trap place. Even if no one has been here in years, there are plenty of stories of battles taking place at Cordac Falls. It's a direct route to and from the Overworld! If anyone can survive it. It's well-known to always be guard it both above and below by the respective tribes. If a deadly fall doesn't kill you, there's always a Creature waiting to do the job. Yet, why have we four little humans come up here with such ease?

"Maybe they're on vacation?" Manny suggested. I rolled my eyes, Kat hit her palm to her face and Kit just shook his head in disapproval. "Oh great, now there's a limit on jokes."

"Yeah, you can only say the funny ones." Kat told him.

This was still a fun trip for us. We did get to see Perim. "Manny, this was just a beginner's trip for us." I reminded him, standing next to my best friend. "Next time we'll try a more high traffic area like a city or-"

The next thing we heard was a strange noise of something coming in close. But it wasn't coming from the direction of the forest, it was coming from inside the falls! Like something was rapidly hitting the sides of the rock. At the same time we all rushed over to see what it was, we all either gasped or screamed at what we saw! I think we all knew who he was. An Underworld spy, and one with a nasty reputation. Eight legs, eight eyes, sharp teeth and a menacing hiss; his name is Spyder.

And that Creature did not even stop as he snarled, "I see you, Overworlders!"

We all screamed! Chaotic may have been down for almost two decades, but this guy's rep is nothing to but frightening! Running away from the inside ledge, we realize that there's not enough space for us to outrun an eight-legged monster. As Kit so pointed out, "We're trapped!" If Spyder had mistaken us for Overworlders, then no question: We are dead!

"This way!" I point out to the side. "We'll have to run along the cliff!" At least that way we can avoid him.

"Out of the way!" A blur of white zipped between me and the group. "You're not getting into the Overworld today Spyder!" This Creature stood on two… legs, like a person. Had the head of a bird and was wear a dark green tunic, and wielding a bow and arrows. This was another known creature, and another with a not-so-friendly relations to humans. His name is Frafdo. He's not evil like Spyder, but according to Dad, he's not someone you want to run into twice.

"You're not getting into the Overworld today or any day, Spyder!" Frafdo flies into the air, aiming over the edge with his arrows. He fired two, it sounded like they hit. Spyder fires back with some kind of web at him which Frafdo dodges and shoots another arrow.

Spyder called back, "Toxic Gust!" And blast of green air hit Frafdo square in the chest. I look and see that the others are just as frozen in fear as I am. What are we supposed to do? Run? With these two going at its more likely the debris falling off the Falls will do us in before we reach the bottom than not. And if Frafdo loses…

"He's hurt, we have to help!" I say.

"How?" Kit asks, "I don't know about you, but I think this is where the scanner option comes into play."

Kat, Manny and I all get the same we-are-dumb looks on our faces. In all the excitement, I guess we forgot we could just teleport back with the press of a button. We all got our scanners out to go.

"Uuuuuhhh…." From behind us on the ground, Frafdo groaned.
I paused before my finger touched my scanner. If I left now, what would be Frafdo's guarantee of getting out of this? True, his purpose may not have been to directly save us. But all the same, what he was doing kept us from be hurt. What would that say about me if I turned my back on someone who I could have helped?

I shoved my scanner back into my pocket and ran over to Frafdo. "Can you get up?" I quickly asked from behind him.

Frafdo glared up at me. "I never asked for your help!"

Grouchy! "That doesn't mean you couldn't use it!" I protested. I looked over my shoulder as I helped the angry avian to get back on his feet, but the others were gone. I guess they ported back already. Frafdo once more took out his bow and began firing down into the canyon. "Plasm arrow!" He shouted sending the attack right into Spyder's face. It knocked the Underworlder down a bit, but he still clung to the wall.

I said I would help and I will. I looked around for something to use. Frafdo is a trained warrior so there's no way a Chaotic-newbie like me can do anything like actually attack. I gotta keep my head focused and my eyes open. There's got something here I- yes! The side of Cordac Falls has loose rocks. Sure, that's primitive and mediocre to say the least. It'll work though. I go over to side, out of Frafdo's way. A lot of the rocks can easily fit in my hand, but they won't do much to make Spyder fall back into the Underworld. I just need ones that can endure several hits over and over again. Moving fast, I find about seven rocks that I need and carry them in my open pack back over to where Frafdo is fighting.

I can't distract him while he's fighting. That would give Spyder an opening or make him realize it's two against one up here. So I pear over the side, hoping it's not too much of me that's seen. Spyder isn't quite in the right place, but hopefully as he gets higher, he'll move closer. There's a giant crack on the inside of the falls, I start pounding away at it using the rocks I carried. I have to lift them high up in order to make an impact. Once this falls on top of Spyder, it will hopefully be enough to send him tumbling. Not the highest guarantee of success, but's about all I can do at this point. I hit the crack over and over again. Spyder is moving closer, I can't tell if Frafdo is making him move that way or not. I really need to pray for luck on this one. The Falls are too loud for me to call up for help from him. "C'mon! C'mon…!"

Spyder's menacing hisses sound closer than ever! Raising the rock over my head I slam it down with everything I've got! A loud cracking alerts me that a huge chunk of the cliff has been broken… under me! I see the stone in front of me begin falling down, and I feel the ground under me preparing to go with it! I try to reach for my quick escape: my scanner. But the ground falls before I can get it!

"Aaaaaahhhh!" My screams are accompanied by that of Spyder's, who I see has indeed been hit and falling into the chasm of the falls. And I have the best view because I'm the one falling in after him! I didn't want this kind of a view of the Falls!

"Vine Snare!" bellows over my screams. Suddenly I have green vines suspending me by my arms and shoulders, watching the Underworld spy fall helplessly down to where he came from. I'm held there for a few seconds. Just breathing. Just grateful that I'm not the one tumbling down to what's practically the center of Perim. I then look up to see that the vines are coming out of Frafdo's claw and they're pulling me back up.

Once I'm back in the sunlight, however, Frafdo continues using his vines to keep me suspended in the air. This time in front of his bird-like face. I think my last view was less scary. I can't tell if he's angry at me or if that's just the way his face looks. I let out a nervous laugh and say, "Heh, thanks for saving me."

He doesn't say anything.

Is this an interrogation or something? Is he going to drop me? "Um…" I really don't know what he's going to do. "Frafdo?" So I ask. "Are you going to put me down?"

"So you know my name." He states. "You came here from Chaotic. Are there others like you?"

It is an interrogation. I don't know what I did wrong, but it can't hurt to answer him. "Well… sure. I can't say how many. You've caught a newbie on her first day in-"

"Chaotic." He finishes. "Why are you humans returning now?"

I answer his question with a question. Honestly, he's starting to seem really rude and that irritates me. "Do you know why the humans left? Cause that's a mystery to all of us too." I see what might be an eyebrow raise on Frafdo's face. Okay, so his face can change. "Do you have any other questions?" I say to him. "Cause for every one you have, I think I have at least a dozen more."

"Then just answer one more." He said. Frafdo then, rather gently, placed me down on the ground. The vines slithered back and vanished into his clawed hand. "Who are you, and why did you try to help me?"

That was two questions. Though I have not right to chide. "Well, I helped you because I could." I tell him. "Truth: you're the first one I've helped who isn't a human. But I was here, I saw a way I could help someone and… I just did. Just panicking and leaving while someone else gets hurt isn't exactly a commendable action. Not to me. I was raised that way. Plus, you did save me and my friends from Spyder attacking us. One good turn deserves another."

Frafdo looked down at me as he pondered my words. Guess he isn't very trusting. Can't blame him though. Humans have been gone for this world for a long, long time. Too see for kids just out in the middle of nowhere must really surprising for someone. "Can you…understand that?" I ask.

Frafdo crossed his arms. Again, I couldn't read what he felt. "Somewhat." Wait. Was that a smile? "You didn't answer the first part of the question, child. What is your name?"

"I'm Angel." I told him with a smile. "Angel Majors."

Chaotic... Angel's POV

Porting back to Chaotic, I looked around for the Manny, Kat and Kit. The found me before I found them!

"Oh my gosh!" Kit was the first to reach me. Hugging me around the arms he began asking in a panic. "Are you alright? Why didn't you port back? Did you get hurt? Which one of them won? Do you know how worried we've been!?"

I patted him on the back. "Kit, chill! You sound like my mom." After he let go, Kit stood between Manny and Kat. "If you guys wanted to know I was okay, why didn't any of you port back?"

"We wanted to!" Manny said, looking ashamed. "But… That really caught us off-guard, Angel. And the shops here don't offer any kind of weapon or shields, or nothing." Something told me he had probably checked that too. "Ange, we're really sorry."

"We also figured you wanted to help Hawk Hood." Kat added in. " So if he just appeared at the wrong time you coulda bee in even more danger if we messed something up."

Kit folded his arms and sent a mad look at his sister. "You know you only sound right because that's what I told you, right?" Kat nudged him and Kit looked honestly regretful at me. "I'm sorry to, Angel. I just… All we have of that place is old bedtime stories. We kinda thought it would be like our parents' advetures. The kind where…"

Kit was rubbing his elbow. Manny and Kat likewise were at a loss for words. And I think I understood where they were coming from. "Where in the fairytale land there's no chance you can ever get hurt or feel pain." I said. I wasn't mad at them. Not one bit. "Kat, Manny, Kit." I spread out my arms and got them all into a hug somehow. "I'm not mad at you guys. Frafdo won the fight, and he let me go back after he talked to me. That was actually pretty cool! Just next time: All for one and one for all, okay?"

They all responded in agreement. Chaotic is real. That means the danger is real too. It's not like me to back out of a game. Not out of pride, but for a love of adventures that just seems to run in my blood. Walking back with my still-friends to the food court, Kat manage to put her arm around me so she could ask, "So… What did you and the flying Overworlder talk about?"

I responded with a shrug. "Not much really. He wanted to know who I was, why I had helped him and why humans suddenly appeared again. I couldn't answer much on the last one. Frafdo did tell me that it's been about 30 solons since he saw a human. How long is that in Earth years again?"

"Half the number." Kat said without missing a beat. "Around 30 for them is around 15 for us."

I looked down at my scanner. I didn't get a scan of Frafdo. He's a grump, but not a bad guy. And it didn't feel right to just scan him without permission somehow. Maybe if I run into him I can ask. He had asked me some odd questions, and I wasn't able to read him at all. He didn't hurt me, but his behavior was pretty hostile. More than I had expected it to be. He might have just been protective since a bunch of humns showed up out of nowhere. But hey! I survived my first meeting with an Overworld Creature. He was tough, and not all that friendly. There's nothing really I can do about that though.

For now, I really want a cheeseburger and soda!

Later that night in Kiru City…

Frafdo walked carefully into the deserted Council room. This meeting had to be kept a secret. He sent the message immediately after the girl waved good-bye and ported back to Chaotic. Frafdo received a response and came to Kiru City once Owis returned to guard Cordac Falls again.

"It's unlike you to ask for a secret meeting, Frafdo." said a deep voice from the shadows. "I can assume that this is an urgent matter." The voice belonged to none other than the leader of the whole Overworld Tribe. Maxxor appeared in the light facing Frafdo. The Overworlder bowed to his king, then began to explain.

"Yes, Maxxor. While I was watching over Cordac Falls on my assignment, Spyder tried to make a break to sneak in."

At this Maxxor sighed. "I know he has other ways of getting into our territory. Word of Owis being injured must have made it to the Underworld. Do you suppose there is more to this attack?" Maxxor wouldn't put it past Chaor to humiliate him by sending a platoon of warriors through one of the most safe-guarded locations he ruled over.

"No. Nothing more than an ego-play on Spyder's part, I believe." Frafdo then looked directly into the leader's eyes as he explained the next part. "I received help in defeating Spyder by…" Frafdo wasn't sure how to present this information. He would have to be careful.

Maxxor grew suspicious at Frafdo's pause. "By who?" he asked.

"By… children, mistaken for Overworlders." Though how Spyder mistook them, Frafdo couldn't understand.

"Mistaken?" Maxxor repeated. "Are you saying that Mipedians snuck that far into our lands?" Mipedian relations with Maxxor's tribe weren't any easier than they were before. Maxxor knew that some Overworlders were friends with Mipedians from the M'arillian Invasion years ago, but if a group of young ones got as far as Cordac Falls, Maxxor would have to order them to be hunted.

"No, sire!" Frafdo quickly stopped him. "Not Creature-children. Humans! Chaotic Players are returning to Perim!"

Maxxor barely seemed to react outwardly. He had received other reports like this from Intress, Antidaeon, Lystone and even Najarin. Maxxor was greatly surprised and disturbed by this. He was also somewhat happy. There good humans as well as bad, and those who tended to favor his tribe where mostly good. Maxxor still remembered that even he had a friend among the Humans years ago… Calmly, he assured Frafdo, "I am aware of the Humans' Return." He said. "They are mostly children, like the ones you have seen. But they have caused us no trouble, so there is no reason in deeming them a threat."

Frafdo still had more to say. He felt like his leader should know the next part. "But there is something particular about the human who…" the proud Creature hated to say this, "saved me." Even Maxxor did a double-take at these words. Frafdo was a respected and able warrior, above all he was a very proud Overworlder. For him to say that his life was saved by someone else was unheard of! "While three of the four humans fled, one stayed behind and aided me in Spyder's downfall."

"How?" Maxxor asked. Curious as to what a human could do that Frafdo couldn't.

"She gathered stones from the mountainside and used them to break off a piece of the cliff to knock Spyder back down. She said that she refused to abandon another while she had the ability to assist them." That explained, to Maxxor at least, why Frafdo was admitting to have been saved. Proud as he was, Frafdo did highly value honor and integrity like all Overworlders did. This child must have deserved the credit for this Overworlder to admit it.

Maxxor smiled at his friend. "Then it appears you have a new ally, Frafdo." He said this, knowing Frafdo had never really been too fond of humans in the past.

"There is more, Maxxor." Frafdo continued. He knew he should get to the point now, this conversation was going too long. "The child gave me her name afterwards. It's…. She is…"

Aggitation was becoming slightly visible on Maxxor's face. Then Frafdo finally said, "She bears the name of Majors. As in-"

"Tom…" Shock, fear and bewilderment washed over Maxxor's green, tattooed face. Could the child Frafdo saw really be….? Maxxor demanded, right then and there that Frafdo give him a full, detailed report of what happened.

A/N: Well, hopefully that cleared some things up.

In the original series, Tom helped a Creature too. I thought it'd be fun if his daughter helped save (whether Frafdo likes it or not) someone her father met.

The tribal Leaders will be coming in later. And there will be some changing plots, like in the show... but of course there is a master plan... :) Be ready!

And leave a review of your thoughts!