"I guess none of us are going to be getting any sleep right now..." Roy rubbed his eyes, frowning as Norenio padded into the hut. "Honey, can you get me some buvca?"

Norenio opened a cold storage unit. Unlike a refrigerator, you could see through the sides, you it opened like a stove, and there didn't appear to be any fans or frost buildup.

"What's buvca?" I asked.

"It's a stimulant like coffee. Doesn't do a thing for me except wake me up, but apparently it makes Abreya clothes fall off. Didn't I tell you about it before?"

I shook my head.

Roy tried to get up, but ET barked, "No! Stay!"

The man pulled his blanket tighter around his body. "No-ey! Help!"

Norenio rushed him a bottle of something like tea with what appeared to be bits of gelatin floating in it.

"Thank you, dear, but I was really referring to the fact that I'm unclothed, and Ms. Vorxora won't let me get dressed. Don't you think the children have been through enough without me traumatizing them?"

His fiancee didn't seem to understand.

"Honey, the kids don't want to see me in my underwear."

She looked at him like he were crazy, so I blurted, "He's right. I don't."

"Hear hear!" Jamie agreed.

Norenio didn't get it. "But it is natural. He is being confident male human."

"He can be confident and male somewhere else. Like the bathroom."

The Abreya just frowned. "Your species is strange."

Roy gestured to the egg. "Honey..."

Norenio rolled her goat pupils. "You will `make up' with much brooding when we have our egg, Roy Neary."

With that, the female took over warming the egg, allowing Roy to get decent. "Humans. I do not understand."

Roy put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "No-ey, will you be okay here by yourself?"

She nodded. "Will brifoqipi human be safe with you?"

"I've sworn to keep them just as good as I've found them. Don't want their parents to get upset."

The alien smirked. "Hurry back." She curled her tail around him.

He took it in hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze.

ET stared uncertainly at the egg. It seemed Colzest understood his worriment, for he put a hand on my alien friend's shoulder. "I will stay with the egg as well, make sure it gets properly brooded."

ET gave him a grateful nod. "Thank you. Please also take care of Wotrevi. If Tolmina returns, you may trade brooding with him, and help Rilquza with his search."

"Yes, Vorxora."

Norenio nodded. "Gip'm, Bilo."

ET packed up some food and supplies for later.

Aliens didn't use backpacks a lot, probably for the same reason earth parents often complained about - it's bad for your back. He had some kind of floating roller suitcase with wheels, which Roy and Spike volunteered to carry for us until we woke up a little.

Roy gave me, Jamie and Gertie bottles of buvca, which we drank on the way to the flying machine. The aliens had their own `wake-up-beverages', but Roy said I couldn't have any until I turned twenty one.

"The stuff tastes like beer scum anyway. There are so many better things to drink."

Jamie looked skeptical. "Like that motor oil crap?"

It seemed like Roy wanted to say something in disagreement, but decided against it. "Hey, some people are light beer drinkers, others like rum and Coke, and taste differs with age. When you turn twenty one, I'll give you some recommendations on what's good to imbibe around here."

Jamie looked like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice on her head. We really didn't need anyone reminding us that we'd never go home again.

When you summon public transportation at a random time at night, I suppose you should expect a strange experience. Our vehicle, garishly multicolored, glowed in different colors, swirling parts of its hull changing patterns as we approached.

Out waddled three Qulpari, clad in frilly purple and gold robes, bedecked with beads. They seemed...woozy, like they'd been drinking or something.

"Congratulations!" said ET.

I guessed they had been celebrating a wedding or something, I'm not sure.

"Thank you, but it's not for us," came the reply.

One of the fancier vehicles of its type, the seats soft as pillows. The front window gave us an insect-like view of the surrounding area, with stained glass coloration. The others carried a similar motif, though you could still see clearly through one on each side.

All of still barely awake. Gertie slurped from her buvca bottle, Charlie dozing in her lap. ET and Spike did...some kind of tai-chi/yoga type thing to raise their alertness.

Roy and Spike loaded our stuff in, and we flew to a vast spreading shore.

A spectacular view, the sand sparkling a brilliant white in the moonlight, an immense caldera jutting out of the water like monster teeth. Dragon's blood trees with purple leaves dotted the shore, as well as fuzzy green objects that rolled along like tumbleweed.

"Aw man!" Jamie cried. "They have a beach! How come we never went?"

"We were busy."

Before she could think of a good retort, one of those tumbleweed things came rolling our way, and she got this look on her face like she'd changed her mind about swimming.

Our craft touched down along a small marina bearing handfuls of boats and floating homes of different shapes and sizes.

We stepped out, and I got my first look at the rolling green objects up close.

Devoid of eyes, mouths or faces, their bodies consisting entirely of wet alien ivy, with branch-like legs all around, which they used to roll themselves up to the shore and draw water from the ocean. At times, a vine appendage would whip out, sucking seaweed into their interior. Just watching them made me flinch and swear off swimming myself.

Roy, though, muttered, "I've got to get someone to make me some trunks."

Charlie merrily swatted a tumbleweed thing with his tail, making it bristle and jump into the water.

Gertie finished her second bottle of buvca with a little belch, carelessly tossing the object on the sand. I think she'd become over-caffeinated.

ET growled, scolding her by floating the bottle through the air and rapping the side of her head with it. I guess that's why the beach looked so lovely.

We climbed the dock. The house boats resembled dog houses, but woven like Moses' basket, the ones that remained open often containing a single alien, or multiples. Some of these reminded me of Dogloos. A few Qulpari had artist canvases out, painting seascapes.

A lot of the regular boats had a sandwich or turtle shaped design, round lid up top, curving bottom portion, with sails or no sails (apparently motorboats, though I couldn't see any motors). Some did resemble regular yachts or pontoons, again without visible motors, but the flooring had been shaped in such a way that water drained out, making swabbing the deck a lot less difficult.

Hovercrafts tended to be the most popular item, and Larven, it seemed, owned one.

He met us at the dock, showing us his yellow flying boat, shaped like a trilobite fossil, with oar-like projections on the sides. The sails reminded me of that solar boat from the movie Tron.

As Spike and Roy carried our things onboard, Larven led us up a plank, taking us on a tour of the bedrooms, galley, bathroom, and a ridiculously tiny engine room.

Jamie frowned at the glowing mushroom crystals. "I don't get it. We just got off a flying machine. Why did we need to leave that one and board another?"

"Maybe that one wasn't designed for sea travel," I suggested.

Our vehicle traveled fast. I imagine water skiing would have been amazing.

I thought our destination would involve the volcanic ruin, but instead we shot out across the water for quite some distance. We all rested on the puffy alien equivalent of deck chairs, semi-conscious, well, except Gertie, who tried her hand at alien Yoga. Charlie napped on the deck. ET rested his head on Spike's shoulder as he dozed.

Roy gave ET a jab. "Explain to me why we're going out this way instead of looking for the kid."

ET's eyelids slowly crept open. "I think it unwise to face our enemy unequipped."

"Ah, so you're finally showing off that superior alien intellect. I'm liking this already!...Please tell me you have guns."

"Nothing so primitive, Roy Neary."

"What then? Laser space guns? Light sabers? Some kind of nuclear device?"

ET gave him a grim smile that only seemed to say yes, not what in specific yes meant.

Our engine stalled out in the middle of the sea. Larven checked the engine and told us he'd gotten it used from somebody, and some part or another needed a recharge, and we'd probably need to swim the rest of the way while we got someone to fix it.

Jamie leaned over the bow, staring at the water. "No way! We'll all drown before we get anywhere!"

"How about rowing?" Larven asked. "Would you be adverse to that?"

"What? This is a hovercraft!"

He pointed to the water. "Not right now."

She sighed and shook her head. "Fine. It's better than being a sitting duck."

Larven led us back to the galley, and we sat down and rowed for awhile. Charlie tried to help but he didn't have the arms for it. To compensate, I guess, he hummed for us. At least we had Spike and an adult human helping out.

Tiresome, sweaty work. I thought we'd be doing that for hours, but then Gertie asked the pilot, "Wait, is there any way you can recharge the...thing? Like jumpstarting a car battery?"

Larven looked confused. "What's a car battery?"

She handed him the flashlight batteries from her tape deck.

The alien frowned and shook them next to his head.

"They're full of acid," Roy explained. "A piece of metal or something in there conducts electrical power. Chemical energy."

"Oh!" Larven rushed to the engine with the objects.

Whatever he did must have worked, for we had to jump out of the way as our oars commenced rowing on their own.

"We've lost time," Jamie remarked. "Pete has got to be long gone by now."

I asked ET about Rilquza's whereabouts.

Shrugging, he checked his communicator. "He is at the Pemgurn."

Roy stared. "The place where they get nennops? Why would Pete go there?"

"They have been attacked by Warkinde. It is near our center of government."

"I hope you find him."

"Yes, but it would be nice to find Pabyeba as well."

The man sighed.

Our hovercraft sped onward.

Larven seemed to have an idea where we were going, although I sure didn't. I sat on the puffy equivalent of a deck chair, exhausted, my brain gathering wool for an inevitable nap. I didn't want to do anything.

My sister, though, was getting dance lessons from our pilot.

"Wow, Gertie," Jamie groaned. "You're really...peppy."

"Mmm Hmm!"

My girlfriend glanced at me. "She doesn't seem...too heartbroken."

"Just wait until the caffeine wears off...I'm just glad she's not sick and bedridden like she was the other day."

Gertie paced up and down the deck, humming to herself.

Jamie furrowed her brow, fighting down a grin. "What are you singing?"

I smacked my face. The last time she got like this, she sang The Song that Doesn't End for over ten minutes.

My sister took a deep breath and sang a mangled version of the Winnie the Pooh theme.

Charlie got up and flapped his wings in a way that seemed like dancing.

Jamie and I glanced at each other in annoyance.

Spike's eyelid cracked open, then closed again.

"I had to ask."

"I have a whole Disney record. `Ooh ooh ooh, I wanna be like you ooh ooh, I wanna talk like you, walk like you ooh ooh...we are Siamese if you please, we are Siamese if you don't please..."

"Please stop," Jamie groaned.

"We should have never let her drink that buvca."

"Buvca buvca buvca!"

When Gertie asked about the Loch Ness Monster, I thought it was the buvca talking, but then a long necked shape emerged from the water.

ET smirked a little. "That is a Bujaxia. Very gentle creatures. I have heard rumors of similar things existing on your planet."

"Yeah? I've heard rumors that ours is man made."

Roy got on the communicator to tell Norenio we were fine.

"Loex," Norenio said. "Tolmina is returning Vadful to my father's home. Roy Neary, give me mighty horse sound."

He colored somewhat. "No-ey, I'm with the kids. It's...embarrassing."

"Please. Lonely much," she hissed. "Big empty hut. Colzest busy getting food. Not here. Make happiness with much closeness mighty horse sound."

Roy sheepishly gave a little whinny and blew a raspberry.

"That not a very strong manly horse. Cuzuvulur, give me mighty much closeness horse sound!"

Roy's face turned pink, but he made a better attempt at a neigh and a nicker. Honestly, it was kind of convincing.

"Umuacik! I much pleasure now."

"Yeah. I...love you too, sweetie."

"Pleasure much."

Spike clapped appreciatively, embarrassing him further.

On the boat went. Instead of seagulls, one eyed bats alighted on the boat, meowing at us. They pestered Charlie somewhat, but he used his powers to fling them away and return to his napping.

Ahead lay only spreading ocean, behind, only land receding into the distance.

"A three hour tour," Jamie grumbled impatiently.

Although the view unsettled to me (I'd never been that far out on any ocean before) the gentle rocking of the boat still lulled me into slumber.

I woke some time later to Roy shouting, "Land ho!" and shaking me.

Our approached an island, the face of one of its black mountains chiseled into the shape of an immense Qulpari hand, index finger pointing to the sky.

"Is this the beach of Zaluxfa?" Gertie asked with excitement.

ET shook his head. "You wish to abandon your mate so soon?"

"I just wanted to see it. I didn't say I wanted to sit there and hang out." But then she looked a little depressed. "Unless Pete doesn't make it."

"This is not Zaluxfa."

We ate a breakfast ET had packed, watching as the island loomed closer.

Cube shaped obelisks stood out in the water near the shore. I asked Roy and my alien companions about them, but none could tell me anything about them. Another item well understood as Stonehenge.

We landed in an area pretty similar to the place we'd left. More dragon's blood trees, more rolling seaweed eating plants. Not exactly surprising when you consider that earth beaches and palm trees are pretty much the same when they're in the same geographic region.

"Oh boy," Jamie groaned. "Another beach."

I shrugged. "I think this might be the last one."

ET got up. "Yes. We are close."

"Is this Zaluxfa?" my sister asked.

He shook his head. "No. Zaluxfa is far west of here. Much more crowded, especially around the beach. Many temporary dwellings. Many more beautiful places."

Charlie flew out and circled around, taking in the sights.

Our ship got moored on a jetty and we headed inland. Spike passed his luggage to me, and since he complained about "Playing bell boy for sleepy kids all morning," Roy assigned Jamie to take some too.

"Yolnax is north from here," ET said.

As we reached the end of the beach, I asked Spike a question I'd been meaning to ask for some time. "Vukvuzan...um, you drained power out of me earlier. I was wondering if..."

His expression darkened. "I took a portion of Sovirox's power and memory from you. I do not wish to give that back. It could be dangerous."

I swallowed hard. "That's okay. You can keep it."

I kinda wished Tolmina could be there, but I guessed his answer would be the same.

"I suspect I know the reason for Pabyeba's abduction," ET said. "She may have taken the largest portion."

I didn't even look at Charlie. "Is there any way for you to...separate the powers somehow?"

"We would have to meet with a Vamwado, a sage master of the power. A failed separation can cause severe mental problems, cause psychosomatic injuries, possibly even death. It is safer to have them as they are. It means Sovirox cannot have his full strength. I am sorry."

The Qulpari on that island lived inside large, domed pumpkin-like buildings. ET told me they grew naturally along the side of the mountain, and they just roll them downhill and hollow them out like Jack-O-Lanterns.

"As a child," Spike said. "I ate my house interior for days. Pumpkin house soup, pumpkin house bread, pumpkin house cake, pumpkin house cookies, baked pumpkin house seeds, pumpkin house spaghetti...I got tired of pumpkin house."

I don't think that's a literal translation, but that's what it sounded like.

"No kidding," Jamie said. "Your skin should be orange!"

He smiled. "It was when I was younger."

ET pointed to a dark colored house. "Purple and blue ones taste a lot better."

"I will take your word on this. I have eaten enough of them to last a lifetime."

"I bet Tolmina and Colzest would be interested," Gertie said. "They grew up on the moon!"

"Perhaps."

Being a hardy type of gourd, the houses didn't rot out like an actual pumpkin, so villagers kept them for a number of years, if sufficiently dried out and painted. The domes got put in because they smoked out the interior after they removed and ate the guts.

Jamie poked a slatted window on a building. "What's this, a Venetian blind?"

"Do blind Venetians protect you from hurricanes?"

She stared. "These are hurricane shutters?...What's to stop them all from rolling into the ocean when that happens?"

"The foundation has to be built very carefully."

Further along the paved walkways, we encountered a party, the Qulpari in that region celebrating a kind of Mardi Gras, or Carnival. Music filled the air, crowds of aliens dancing around in garish feathered costumes and masks. They even had their own version of those parade dragons you see during the Chinese new year, though these mainly resembled fish or birds like Vadful.

Gertie danced and twirled, mirroring the partiers' movements. I rubbed my face, pretending she wasn't embarrassing me. Jamie clutched my hand and gave me this look like we were on a date.

Gertie received a lot of stares and scowling, especially on account of the bracelet. She tucked it in her sleeve, but it didn't help, I could still hear them muttering about the Boofsuru.

An alien put a lei of green-purple cranberries and flowers around my neck. "What's going on here?"

"It is Savmoce, a celebration of Ponai's messengers from the sea. In the book of Coozgeb, chapter 220 verse 115, they delivered the matriarchs from an evil nation."

"Wow. This must be a month for festivals, huh? What's with all the feathers?"

"It is a complicated story. Grunkiahu were involved."

Jamie snickered. "It's very cute."

ET gave her a look that agreed.

Obviously we didn't have time to party. ET and our other alien friends immediately started communicating to the party-goers in sign language.

Even Roy seemed to know the hand signals, though he only used them to locate a bathroom.

I was going to drag our luggage all around while we talked to the Qulpari, but Spike told me to set it aside along the road.

"What if someone steals it?"

He looked at me like I were crazy. I shrugged and put the stuff by the road. Jamie did the same.

Charlie flew into the crowd. I had to grab Gertie before she got lost, and almost got lost myself in the process. Thankfully Spike used his powers to make an American flag made from flowers into the air...well, a rough approximation of one we could still recognize as such.

A lot of the villagers didn't seem to understand what ET wanted when he signed for them, but a mulatto Qulpari in a blue bird costume gestured excitedly in return.

Our luggage truly hadn't been stolen. We picked it up again, following the bird suited character through the party-goers, out of the village.

Larven stayed behind to twirl with other spinners, promising to shuttle us back when we called him.

As we hiked, our guide told us she was a friend of Pabyeba's 'grandmother.' That made me trust her a little bit more.

These Qulpari lived on a mountain of slate. Our new acquaintance led us up a steep grade absolutely covered in these rough edged Fred-Flintstone chalkboards. You had to go slow along the noisily rumbling things or end up sliding to the bottom.

After a short climb, a path appeared in the slate, and our guide took us through copses of dragon's blood trees.

"Does he know where we're going?" Jamie whispered.

I asked ET, but he only shrugged. At least Gertie was healthy and walking.

The path ended abruptly at a rock wall.

Mr. Bluebird led us around its length for a few yards, and we came to a submarine-like metal hatch, signing something to ET.

"What did he just say?"

"'Grandmother' Ezquejaw kept watch over this place before she died. She hoped we would never have to use it, but if the time came, I would know how to access the chamber...with the memory of our...marriage. I, Pabyeba, Meazquad..." He placed his hand on a panel near the hatch, closing his eyes.

A little screen displayed a diagram of his brain hemispheres lighting up.

I guess he'd activated his lobes in the correct order, for the hatch clicked open.

We stared into the vault.