Kaz sighed as he watched his scanner. He still had no news from his code self. He just knew that his code was still okay and unhurt. He closed his eyes as he put his scanner on his shelf of his chamber.

He watched Khybon who was outside. The creature observed the car of his mother. He just knew the creature was curious about this battlegear. It felt a little weird, but made no comment. He crossed his arms and decided to focus on his homework. The members of the cult didn't feel like a problem for himself. He could focus on school without worrying too much for himself. Now, he was worried for his friends.

Kaz glanced outside again. He hoped that his friends wouldn't be in trouble by the cult and the creatures might come to protect them like himself. He had an impression that it might be the case soon enough.

He sighed once again and waited for any good news once again.

Chapter 13: Contact

Tom and Sarah ported to Underworld City. The two glanced at each other's.

"Okay. How do we do this?" the boy asked his girlfriend.

The girl grumbled as they were ready to search the city once again. They tried once, but trying again was their best option. She didn't hate the idea that began to form in her mind, "I don't want to say this… Really not to say this… but maybe we should split up and cover more ground. We couldn't look everywhere and the Underworlders were a bit annoying," she crossed her arms.

He knew why she was reluctant. The many problems they had last year when they were alone, "And staying together might not be that helpful. The city is big and we didn't look everywhere," he glanced at the castle.

The teenage boy took a few steps forward, "Maybe we should try and search together for anything that stand out."

"Everything stands out in this city," she sighed quietly and crossed her arms, "I know you're trying to be nice. You agree with this idea, right?"

Tom chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head, "Right. We really need to find Kaz. We didn't progress at all in many days. We need to find soon," he then seriously glanced at her, "We don't have that much time by our side. Chaor is also getting pretty furious."

"You're right. This make so much sense," she put her hand on her forehead and grumbled, "I hate it when you are right about stuff like that. Anyway, if we split up, we need to make sure that we don't get in trouble. Those metal creatures might be spying on us."

"Maybe they even know where Kaz is," Tom grumbled as he thought back.

"Then we will make them talk!" Sarah replied.

"We can't fight them. We cannot fight living armor… if they are that. We never got a scan of those creatures," the teenager sighed.

"Then we need to scan one of them. We will get what they have in their mind instead," the girl decided.

"Let's do it," Tom said.

"And if you find him, we tell Chaor or Agitos or Takinom where they are," Sarah reminded him.

The two split up and went on their search for their friend. They just hoped he was somewhere in Underworld City.

Sarah began her search to the west side of the city. She hoped that Tom would be okay on his own. Knowing themselves, trouble will find some way to meet them. She hoped it would be worth it.

The girl ignored a few creatures who noticed her swooping around. She did look a bit strange to search inside of the buildings. She picked those who seemed abandoned or suspicious and explored around. She didn't find anything standing out.

She wondered if maybe, Kaz wasn't in the city. It was very close to Chaor's castle after all. The search would be pointless if- She stopped in her thought at the realisation, "If they got the Telebracer, they could be anywhere," she could only hope it wasn't the case.

She searched around and made little progress. She could only list where Kaz wasn't. Not where he was.

She then noticed at the top of one of the buildings. She saw a creature that tried to be discreet and invisible. It wasn't a Mipedian. At first, Sarah thought it was one of the guards or one of the soldiers who tried to find out where Kaz might be. Searching for any suspicious things in the city. On closer look, she thought it might be one of those creatures. The zoom from her scanner showed it might not be an Underworlder.

She decided to reach the top of the building. She sighed a bit in relief when it was abandoned. She entered inside and quickly reached the top of the building.

Once she was at the roof, she hid and observed the creature. She noticed that the cloak was black and seemed to fit a bit with the building he stood on. He observed the creatures at their occupations. He didn't seem to search for anything or anyone. His eyes didn't focus on anything above him.

Sarah concluded that it wasn't an Underworlder. She couldn't see his trait, but his actions didn't feel like those of a guard of the Underworld. He seemed to check his surrounding from time to time. She realised it was one of the kidnappers of Peyton when he turned his head and those familiar purple eyes shined through the helmet. She didn't wait for long and came out. She approached the creature. She made sure to remain calm this time. The previous one escaped because she was too aggressive.

"Excuse me-" she was cut.

The metallic creature turned around and yelped, "Gyah! You again!"

"Wait!" she yelled, she raised her hand, "I'm… Sorry for last time," she wasn't that sincere, but needed the creature to stay a bit longer. If he was observing the Underworld, he might know about Kaz.

The Metalist flinched a bit for a few seconds. He was pensive on his next action. He wanted to retreat like last time with his Telebracer. At the same time, she did apologise. He did notice that she needed to know something. He would put her as being desperate, but she needed his help somehow. He thought it was better to retreat. Still, whatever it was, it was important for her to know, "That's why she apologised," he whispered. He made his decision. He decided to humor her since she wasn't that scary this time. He also was curious. He just needed to keep a safe distance, "Fine."

Sarah sighed a bit in relief, "There is something I need to know. Maybe you might know something about my friend who is missing."

"A friend of you is missing?" the creature asked as he kneeled down, so the other tribe wouldn't notice him. Rhodium wondered if it was Peyton. He didn't see him for a while. Still, his king didn't mention anything about it.

"Yes. My friend Kaz is missing when he went away from Underworld City. Do you know where he is?" she pried.

The creature tapped his chin for a few seconds. He knew that boy. A guide to the Cothica for the Underworld, "No. I don't know where he is."

"Then why are you here again?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because there is a lot of activity in the Underworld and it was sudden. I am here to figure out why. Now it makes sense. The guide is missing and he is a close friend of Chaor."

It worried Sarah how much the creature knew about Kaz when he said so little and so certainly.

"I don't need to stay here any longer. Anyway, I showed up after Kaz disappeared," he raised his Telebracer, "I don't need to stay here any longer."

"Wait. Why did you kidnap Peyton?" Sarah demanded an answer when she took out her Scanner.

"Can answer," he replied a bit nervously. He remembered how it went last time. He crossed his Telebracer to teleport away, before she exploded in rage.

The girl cursed as she pointed her scanner at the creature and scanned it because he disappeared. She sighed. At least she could get her an-. Her thought cut short when she saw nothing on her screen. She knew he got the creature. The scanner did its job. Still, there was nothing on the screen. It was black, "W-what?" she asked. She looked at the empty spot, "This is… impossible. It can scan creatures, locations and battlegears," it was one of each, but she didn't scan anything, "Why couldn't it do it," she put her scanner in her pocket. She sighed. At least, she knew they had nothing to do with Kaz. Which mean that a tribe was responsible. A glim of an idea came to her. The mystery of the metal creature had to wait.

Tom continued his exploration of the city. He reached a part of the city that was mostly abandoned. They were many cracks on the ground with rivers of magna. He guessed that something big happened for a while and this wasn't a good location to live anymore.

Recent or not. He had no idea. He went on and noticed something odd. There was a large spot where something might have collapse long ago. He kneeled down and saw a partially buried building. It looked like an old manor or something like that. It existed for a long time, but many spots couldn't be visible. He also got the feeling that there was something inside that moved. He saw a spot of dust that suddenly raised from the ground. As if something or someone quickly moved.

"This could be a good location to hide," Tom realised. He needed to avoid detection.

He walked around the collapse building. Making sure to stay out of view. He made a few quick glances as he searched a spot with no windows and where the creatures wouldn't spot him. He held his scanner in his hand, ready to port out at any moment to come back later. He also made sure it wouldn't ring at the worse time.

He found a spot and slid on the cliff to reach the part of the structure without any window, holes or doors. Once he was down, he pressed himself against the wall. He noticed a window and decided to take a risk. He slid through the wall until he was near the window. He was about to peek in the building when he heard someone talking.

"Here's something to eat. We wouldn't want to let you die," a creature said.

Tom didn't recognise the first creature. The other one however.

"Why would he even care that I survive?" the voice of H'earring replied, albeit a bit weakly.

"We wouldn't want Kaz to hate us," the other creature replied.

The teenage boy realised that his friend surely was in there. He found him. He just needed to get out of there and searched for Chaor next. Which he was no idea where he might be. He wouldn't risk getting in the castle or sending a message to his army, as they knew he was the guide of the Overworld.

"Is Kaz okay?" H'earring plead.

"Of course, he is fine. He is the guide of the Underworld. Lord Van Bloot wouldn't dare to hurt you," the other creature chuckled lightly, "The human is greatly worried for you. He wants to make sure you are okay and alive," the large footsteps of the creature seemed to approach the window.

Tom paled a little and made sure the creature couldn't see him. He held his scanner close, ready to port out at any moment. If they found him, they would escape to another location. He also knew who kidnapped Kaz.

"So, he agreed to talk a little about the Cothica. I told him how you felt and you got fed a little more."

"Kaz…" H'earring sadly said.

"I will say one thing H'earring. Soon, Chaor will fall and lose the throne. It will return to the rightful creature," the other Underworlder grunted, "Chaor is just a thief. You might not know it, but Chaor descend from an Overworlder bloodline."

"Trying to lie. This is just lies and propaganda," the familiar voice of the gremlin replied.

Tom quickly made the association with the creature of the past named Kiru. It was the first time he heard about Van Bloot ancestor who used to rule the Underworld.

"Believe what you want. Kaz sure did believe him."

H'earring gasped, "Don't lie! Kaz isn't an idiot!"

"Then it's pointless to tell you where you also come from long ago too," the large footsteps left the room. The sound of the metallic door closing behind the creature.

"D-dammit," the little creature cursed himself.

Tom took his chance and glanced through the window. He saw H'earring right ear from the corner of his eyes. He whispered, "Hold on."

The ear twitched a little as he recognised the voice of Tom. A small intake from the little gremlin showed that his mental strength quickly came back.

Tom ported out before he contacted Sarah and went to the next phase of their plan.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

Next: Showing around.

Peyton showed his Mipedian friend around his town while Tom and Sarah were dating.