Kaldur opened his eyes, only to see... nothing.

He looked around his surroundings hesitantly, unnerved by the silence and emptiness permeating around him. The only thing he was able to see was a vast, endless space of white. Deeply confused, and a little worried, Kaldur tentatively took a step forward.

"Well, if isn't Fish Boy. Nice to see you again."

Startled, Kaldur'ahm turned around. Where there once was nothing, now stood a large stone gate. Magic rituals and spells covered every inch of the gate's doors, ranging from a simple water manipulation spell to complex inscriptions that Kaldur had never seen before. Which wasn't all that surprising, considering he only studied extensively for a year before taking the role of Aquaman's protege. In the center was an intricate circle, not unlike the others, and it would've gotten lost in the sea of magic literature, had it not been for the strange figure standing in front of it, who quickly captured his attention.

Whoever... whatever it was, had pearlescent white skin, almost melting into the background, had it not been for the dark gray mass behind it. It had a humanoid shape, yet its face was completely devoid of any facial features, except for one: a large grinning mouth.

"Surprised?"

Kaldur's breath hitched. That voice. Or rather, those voices were eerily familiar.

"It's a pity you can't pay your toll right now. Nevertheless, enjoy your stay. I'll be waiting Fish Boy."

His eyes widened. "You're..."

"Yes." He could've sworn its grin got bigger. "Welcome back, Kaldur'ahm."

(Switch POVs)_

Something had clearly gone wrong with the mission.

Batman watched as the Team disembarked the Bio-Ship. Everyone, but one.

"Where is Aqualad?"

Every member before him fidgeted at the question, but Robin; who instead, looked up at him, meeting his eyes. Even through the mask, Bruce could see the solemn regret in his eyes.

All of a sudden, Batman was all too aware of the water bearers nestled in Artemis' arms.

Eyes narrowing at the sight, his gaze hardened, boring a hole through his protege.

"Explain."

He watched as Robin straightened, took a deep breath, and began.

(Switch POVs)_

"Who are you?"

The grin seemed even more off-putting.

"I am called by many names. I am the World, I am the Universe, I am God, I am Truth, I am All, I am One. And I am also... you."

Kaldur stared at the finger that pointed towards him.

"I am the bearer of your Gate, of everyone's Gate. I am your Truth."

Kaldur'ahm swallowed thickly. "What is this place?"

The finger turned into a blinding white hand that gestured to the area around them.

"This is my realm. Where I keep the Truth safe. Normally, when people come knocking on the door, I am the one to show them the Truth. At a price."

"Price?" He had to force those words out of his suddenly dry throat.

"Everything in this world is governed by the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Humankind cannot give anything, without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. Anyone who passes through their Gate, must give a toll to do so."

Kaldur closed his eyes. So, that was it, then.

"What will you be taking from me? I assume that is the only reason you are answering my questions."

Much to his surprise, 'Truth' snickered. "You're an astute one. Fortunately for you, you don't need to pay your toll. Yet."

"It's a pity you can't pay your toll right now."

Puzzled, Kaldur opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted by the 'Gate'- his Gate - cracking open. He watched, stupefied, as a giant eye opened, causing him to stumble back. However, it seemed that the eye itself, provoked another odd occurrence; long, black tendrils shot out at Kaldur, wrapping themselves around his body with ease.

Alarmed, he fought against the newfound restraints to no avail. Soon enough, he was completely bound, with only his mouth being spared.

Suddenly, Kaldur felt something pull his body forward. Looking down, he could see that his 'chains' were the cause: they were pulling him straight towards the Gate.

Grunting, Kaldur shot a terrified and hateful look at the relaxed figure by the doorway. The doorway that was looking closer by the second.

Truth was unfazed, its grin still plastered on its 'face.'

"I stand by what I said before. You needn't pay your toll right now, you may never have to. You are not from this world, and unlike the others I meet, are not one of the fools who dare play God. However, if you dare to dig too deep, and I have no doubt you will, then I look forward to meeting you again, Fish Boy."

By the time Truth had stopped talking, Kaldur was already inside of the Gate. As Kaldur made one last effort to free himself, the Gate slammed shut.

His journey didn't stop there. Hot white pain spread throughout his body, nearly making him cry out. Forcing himself to look down, Kaldur'ahm was shocked to see little flakes of his skin tear away from him. He was being taken apart.

Just as quickly as that revelation was made, his head erupted in pain, synching with the agony already coursing through his body. Except, it kept intensifying.

Kaldur snapped his head upward, where little hands immediately locked it in place. His eyes widened as information began cramming itself into his mind. He learned spells that should've taken years to master, rituals that not even the most competent Atlanteans know. All of the magic literature that he would have never even fathomed existing made his mind its new home. And all of this was happening too fast.

Kaldur let out a heart wrenching scream, trying desperately to close his eyes, to stop the neverending flow of information. He came to the startling realisation that he couldn't.

Just as he was certain that he would die in this abyss, he noticed a fast approaching light. Turning his gaze towards it, he reached out, hoping it would be the key to stopping everything that was happening. As soon as he made contact with it, the world turned black.

(Switch POVs)_

Kaldur gasped as his eyes flew open.

He took long staggering breaths, while he forced his beating heart to calm down.

What had just happened? All he could remember was a stark white void, an odd, equally white, creature, and a Gate with a large eye inside.

But, beyond that, Kaldur was drawing blanks.

"Hey, kid. You alright?"

Kaldur jumped as he felt someone touch his shoulder- when had he gotten in an upright position? He was ready to act in self defense, he could already feel the familiar, yet faint, flow of his power. That is, until he saw who the owner of the hand was.

"You're... Maes Hughes, correct..?"

Kaldur watched as the bespectacled man nodded, an amused smile on his lips. The tension left his body once he realized he wasn't in immediate danger. Had Maes truly wanted to harm him, he would have done so while he was unconcious.

He was quickly broken from his musings when a glass of water was presented to him. He looked up at Maes with a questioning expression.

The man shrugged. "Thought you might want it."

Abruptly, Kaldur was aware of how parched his throat was. Almost snatching the offered glass out of Maes' hand, Kaldur quickly downed the water in two gulps. Lowering the glass, he noticed Maes' amusement grow more on his face, causing Kaldur to feel slightly embarrassed.

Clearing his, admittedly still dry, throat, Kaldur gave the glass back to Maes. "May I have another?"

"Sure, as long as you don't try anything funny."

Maes said it in a light tone, but Kaldur understood the message clearly.

As he watched Maes stand and open the door, he noticed that there was light out through the window. 'It must be a new day then.' Kaldur frowned. Just how long was he out? He turned his gaze to the nightstand beside the bed. Two documents lay on the surface in a neat pile and from what he could see the top piece was a map of some sort, while the second seemed to be a newspaper.

Kaldur contemplated whether or not he should grab them, unsure if Maes would be happy if he did. He didn't know anything about where he was, and angering the only person who might be able to help him didn't seem like a bright idea.

"You can go ahead and grab them if you want. Staring isn't gonna do much anyway."

Kaldur blinked as he redirected his gaze to the doorway, where Maes was standing with a refilled, albeit larger, glass of water.

Kaldur remained mute as Maes walked towards his seat beside the bed.

"You sure you're alright, kid?"

Kaldur'ahm made a small noncommital sound as he watched Hughes sit down. Belatedly, Kaldur realised he probably should have responded better, but, quite frankly, he was tired. His body was sore, his head had a persistent ache from seemingly no cause, and he still had no idea where he was.

Once Maes offered the glass, Kaldur wordlessly accepted it from him. A bout of awkward silence followed thereafter. Had he been more alert, Kaldur would have probably been assaulting the man with questions. Right now, though, all he could really do was drink the water quietly.

A few more seconds passed until Kaldur heard the shuffling of paper. Glancing over to the side of the bed, he saw as Maes separated the map from the papers below it and passed it over to him.

"I don't know if you remember, but before you... passed out earlier we were talking. Amestris came up and you looked genuinely confused. I thought maybe a map could help jog your memory."

Looking the map over, Kaldur felt the smallest pools of dread. Although he was Atlantean, and thus never really cared for Earth's land geography, nothing in this map seemed even remotely familiar. It was a simple map, detailing the major cities and towns of 'Amestris,' as well as showcasing some areas outside of it: 'Drachma,' 'Creta,' 'Aerugo,' and the 'Eastern Desert.'

And he recognized none of it.

'You are not from this world...'

Oh. Oh no. Kaldur inwardly groaned. Alternate worlds were not a foreign concept to him. Being in the superhero business taught him to expect the unexpected. But, it still came as a nasty surprise.

"What part of.. Amestris are we located in?"

"Central City. Some people would say the heart of Amestris."

"Central City.." Kaldur mumbled as he traced a finger lightly over the center of the map.

Taking a deep breath in, Kaldur looked over at Hughes, who was looking at him with a prompting expression.

'Should I...?' Biting the inside of his cheeks slightly, Kaldur pondered over his dilemma. Should he confide in Maes at the risk of being seen as delusional? Could he even trust this man? On one hand, Maes had offered generous hospitality to him, when he had no reason to. He's been amiable and, as far as Kaldur can tell, isn't planning on torturing or killing him. Or both.

Taking the possibility, the high possibility, that Kaldur was stuck in another world, Maes could become an ally to him.

He could also declare him as insane and refer him to the authorities, too.

But, that just might be a risk Kaldur has to take.

Steadying himself, Kaldur redirected his gaze to Maes, who had been observing him in patient silence.

Swallowing thickly, Kaldur opened his mouth, his decision resolute in his mind.

"I am afraid none of this looks familiar."

He watched as Maes blinked, his eyebrows beginning to knit in concern.

Pushing himself to continue, Kaldur said, "Since you have properly introduced yourself, I will do the same. My name is Kaldur'ahm, resident of Atlantis and America."

Kaldur was careful to omit any extra information about his Team or the League. Although Kaldur may need the assistance of Maes, that does not mean he has to give him the whole truth. Just the minimum.

Maes' facial expression quickly changed from concern to confusion, as he processed the words Kaldur just spoke.

"I... don't think I've ever heard of those countries.."

"That is because they do not exist here."

There. He said it.

Half-expecting an outburst of bafflement or disbelief, Kaldur was surprised when that wasn't what he heard.

"What do you mean?"

The voice that was warm now grew cold.

A ball of nervousness spawned inside of his stomach.

"I... I mean to say that I was... misplaced, for a lack of better term. The world you know is not the world I know."

(Switch POVs)_

Maes' eye twitched.

A different world. This boy was supposedly from a different world.

Maes was a man of research. He was a realist. He saw things for how they were presented, not for how they were told.

Still...

He scrutinized the boy for a moment. Pushing his inner skeptic away, he let the odd possibility that, what the kid was saying, was true surface. It would explain him not recognizing the map, for starters; since his theory of Kaldur being an amnesiac was debunked the minute that Maes realised he still had no clue about Amestris, or anything else surrounding it, even after viewing the map.

'Let's entertain the idea for a bit.'

Inhaling, Maes glanced at Kaldur's... abnormalities, before addressing him.

"If we're playing 20 questions, mind if I ask why you have gills?"

If he hadn't been so preoccupied with the current conversation, Maes might have smiled in amusement at how Kaldur seemed to jump at the question. He watched as the boy looked over at his gills, in supposed deep thought.

Maes frowned.

"I want the truth Kaldur."

'I need to know the truth.'

As he waited in patient impatience, Hughes noticed how his gills seemed to flutter up and down, almost frantically.

'He's nervous.'

The father in him wanted to reassure the teen that it was okay to tell him, but Maes knew he couldn't. And so, he waited.

"... As I said before, I am from Atlantis. It is an underwater city, hidden from the surface. The citizens of Atlantis are called Atlanteans. I am an Atlantean."

"You were born that way?"

"Yes."

Maes let a small sigh of relief escape his lips. If he were to believe Kaldur's story, that means he wasn't a chimera. Or, at least, he wasn't a victim to being transmuted.

"I know it is hard to believe. I would not fault you for thinking that I am insane. However, I still ask for your help. I am ignorant of my surroundings and do not know any detail of your country. I ask for your assistance."

And now the kid was bowing. Well, the best that he could, considering he was sitting on the bed. His right fist lay over his heart.

Maes squirmed slightly in his seat. He barely knew the kid, but at the same time the kid was right. Disregarding the 'other world' argument, the kid had no idea where he was right now and probably wouldn't last an hour without getting someone's attention, due to his appearance.

Also, Maes was pretty sure Kaldur qualified as an illegal immigrant.

Tossing the idea around in his head for a little longer, Maes finally reached a conclusion.

He swiftly extended his hand out to Kaldur'ahm.

"I'm not totally sold on the idea that you're from another world, but I'm also not keen to throw you out and see you struggle here. So, I'll help you. On certain conditions."

Maes waited until Kaldur took his offered hand to continue.

Hughes' tone darkened.

"I have a wife and daughter and if you, in any way, shape, or form, hurt them or put them in harm's way, I will kill you."

Maes never broke eye contact with him, driving his message across with no chance of misinterpretation. Morality be damned, no one was going to hurt Gracia or Elyssia.

For his favor, the kid never turned his eyes away from Maes,' his expression serious.

"You have my word."

Satisfied, Hughes let some of the seriousness slip off of him.

"Since you are going to be living under my roof, I expect you to follow my rules. We'll talk about those later though. Oh, and we also have to create a background portfolio on you, just in case."

"Of course."

Maes let go of Kaldur's hand, once their agreement was sealed.

He made to stand up from his chair, when he saw Kaldur was attempting to do the same from the bed.

"Whoa! What do you think you're doing, Kaldur?"

Kaldur looked at him confused.

"I was under the impression we were going to further discuss my arrangements."

"We are, but not right now. You're going to get some sleep. I doubt what happened recently counts as a good night's rest."

The kid looked about ready to protest, before Maes swiftly stopped him.

"Ah, ah, ah. My house, my rules. Remember?"

Maes watched in slight mirth as Kaldur exasperatedly resigned himself, like the teen he was. More toned down than the typical teenager, but still teen-esque.

"We'll talk more once you wake up. For now, just get some rest."

Just as Maes was about to close the door, he was stopped by a quiet voice.

"Thank you, Maes Hughes."

He smiled.

"You're welcome, Kaldur'ahm."

And with that, he shut the door.

Holy. Shit. I'm not dead.

Also, I think this is the longest and most exhausting chapter I've ever written. Have mercy on my poor battered soul because I don't have a beta reader. It's just little ol' me.

I know there was a lot in this chapter, but I hope it wasn't too confusing.

By the way, writing long dialogue interactions is going to be the death of me.

Anyway, I'm really sorry for not updating for nearly half a year. My life literally fell apart before my eyes and... it just wasn't a fun time. It's still not really a fun time, to be honest. Regardless, I promise I won't take another half of a year to update again. Fingers crossed.

Before I move on to the chapter itself, I want to give a big Thank You!! to everyone who has favorited, followed, or left a review!! This means the world to me, especially right now. You guys actually were the reason I pulled myself out of my depression and made me interested in this story of mine again. So, Thank You!!!

Now, onto the chapter itself.

There isn't a whole lot to tell this time except that Truth as a character is pretty hard to write, so I apologize if he doesn't seem all that 'Truth'-like.

I also debated a lot on how to start this chapter and progress the story. I can tell you that the first draft did not begin with Kaldur at Truth's Gate.

Regarding future chapters: There is going to be a lot of focus on the Kaldur-Hughes' family dynamic for the next two-three chapters. Just a heads up. We might see snippets of the Team during them, but they don't really come into play until later.

Writing Kaldur's adjustments to the new world around him and vice versa is taking up most of my attention...oof.

The handcuffs were removed by Hughes(there was no use in keeping them on), when he reentered the room, while Kal was unconscious. AKA before the beginning of this chap.

Honestly, I think that's it. Like I said before, I'm going to update much more frequently, but it's not gonna be on regular schedule just yet. Anyhow, feel free to Follow, Favorite, and Review!!

P.S. Parental!Hughes is some good shit.