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My Greatest Adventure Ever: Chapter 21: A New World

Having the front door of the mysterious house opened, I rushed outside. I stopped to take a look around to see where I was. I was in the middle of a small village. Houses of varying sizes built from wood, and surrounded by a large canopy of luscious green trees. One house from the far right of where I was standing had a row of crops with a scarecrow standing in the middle of it which led me to assume the owner was a farmer. The rest of the villages populace, while small, appeared to be very lively. Emphasized by the two kids playing with each other next to the stone well that was right in front of me. It was such a sight which I had never seen before. The smell of the air felt so clean and natural; way different from what I'm used to in the city. I looked up at the blue sky above me, and was stricken with awe. The deep shade of blue felt so grand that I just got lost in it, completely captivated by it. Every white cloud that vaguely sailed through made this place even more beautiful. I still wasn't sure where I was or how I got here, but as this moment entranced me, it didn't seem to matter, and it just felt like time stood still. If this moment never ended, I didn't mind. I suddenly snapped myself back into reality as I felt something grab my shoulder. I looked to my right shoulder to see a familiar large blue hand covering it. Almost immediately I looked back to see Kimahri looking down at me, and behind him was the house I ran out of right in front of us. In comparison to the other houses, this one was fairly small.

"Come." The tall Ronso said to me. "Lets go, back inside." Then he turned around and went back into the house and I followed suit shortly after. Soon enough we were both back inside and the door was shut behind us. I looked to the left to see what appears to be a small table surrounded by some stools in front of a fireplace. I noticed the older woman from before, Nora, appear to be tidying up the place and making sure it was clean. Afterwards, she noticed me rather quickly, and came towards me with a warm smile on her face.

"My goodness." She said. "You stormed off rather quickly, and you only just woke up. I was afraid you would collapse and hurt yourself." Now that she mentioned it, I do feel rather exhausted. Clearly proven as I suddenly made a big yawn and rubbed my eyes with my left arm.

"Sorry, ma'am." I said to her. "I was just confused about this place. That's all." Suddenly I realized that I was unable to stand up straight for long, but before I could fall back, Kimahri grabbed me, and kept me up.

"Why don't you go sit over there." She said pointing to the direction of the table. "I'll explain everything over there soon." This was probably a stupid decision on my part as I was starting to get delirious. Kimahri led me to the table slowly, but gently and set me down on the stool next to it carefully. I must still be rather unstable after having just woken up after a deep sleep. At least that was what it felt like to me. As soon as I sat down, I leaned over the table with my hands across my face. Kimahri rubbed my back gently as I tried to regain my composure. The feeling of his large blue hand helped me to relax and take it easy. After a little while, Nora came back with a glass of milk on her hand and set it next to me.

"Try this." She said. "It should help you feel better." I looked to my left and saw the glass in front of me and grabbed it and took a sip. The cold milk had felt so refreshing as swallowed it down slowly. I wasn't particularly fond of the taste of it since I preferred chocolate milk over regular milk, but I didn't want to seem picky, especially since I had no idea what this place is and Nora and Nadia's hospitality has been especially good to both of us. After I came to, I started to sit back up straight again, but kept still.

"Better." I said to myself aloud. Nora smiled.

"You really should save your strength for a while." She said calmly. I nodded in agreement.

"You're right, I should be more careful." I took a long, deep breath before asking her a question. "How long was I out of it?" I looked at both of them with concern. I didn't remember how long I was trapped in Xanirb's nightmare, but I didn't want to, so I had to ask.

"You slept through the night and most of the morning." She said. "By the time you awoke, it was already high noon." I was quite impressed for having slept that long, and I certainly felt it for a little bit.

"Do you have anything to eat?" I then asked her.

"I have some potatoes prepared and ready to cook. Is that okay?" I nodded.

"Of course." I replied. "That sounds good." She smiled and got up. On her way to the kitchen on the other side of the house, she called her daughter.

"Nadia!"

"Yes, Mommy?" Nadia, the little girl from before came down the stairs.

"Will you go find your brother and tell him Lunch will be ready soon?"

"Okay." She opened the door and ran outside. "Aluxes!..." Her voice trailed off into the distance. Kimahri and I were now left alone to each other's company. We both shared a quick kiss and a big hug before letting go. As we waited for Nora and Nadia to come back, we just sat there as I recalled all the past events that could've led us up to here.

"This is been a wild adventure so far." I said and Kimahri nodded. I paused for a while and then asked him. "Do you think we're in another world?"

"Kimahri think so." He said. It certainly seems that way, as there are somethings in this house that would seem out of place for a real life, modern day Earth, and resembles more of a medieval fantasy-type world. That would probably explain why Nora and Nadia didn't bat an eyelash at the Ronso's appearance which after all the encounters we had with crooked government and military officials back on Earth, is probably a good thing for us. I could pretty much count my lucky stars that I don't have to worry about any police tracking us down, but of course that doesn't help with my other big concern that set this journey into motion.

"Do you think we'll find Ryan in this place?" I asked him.

"Kimahri do not know." He said to me. "We worry for Ryan later. Right now, important for Eric to rest." Kimahri massaged my shoulders, and it felt so nice and relaxing as his firm hands helped relax my muscles. I breathed slowly feeling at ease. After a little while he let go and Nora came back to us and sat on the stool in front of where we were sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"They will be ready within a few minutes." She said. "Feeling better?" I nodded.

"Yeah, a little bit." I took a deep breath and continued. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask, but what is this place? I've never seen anything like this before."

"Oh. That's right." She replied as if she remembered something. "You two don't seem to be around here. It's quite alright though, we don't get that many visitors here in La Sonrisa village."

"La Sonrisa?... That's a nice name." I said with a smile. "It sounds pleasant."

"It's a small village certainly." Nora said. "But it's quite alright. We try to live our lives all the same, even if it feels like we're missing something in our life." She made a quaint sigh and stood up again, walking her way back to the kitchen. "Anyway. Lunch should be ready by now. I wonder where Nadia went." Then suddenly the front door opened; it was Nadia having finally returned.

"We're here!" She exclaimed.

"Oh good, you're here. Go sit on the table, the potatoes will be there in just a second." Kimahri and I looked back at them, Nora went back into the kitchen and Nadia was just coming in.

"Come on, Aluxes!" Nadia shouted, running straight to the table.

"Alright! I'm coming." The person who spoke came into the house. It was a rather young man at approximately my age, and height. He had orangish-red hair, and blue eyes. A red headband was wrapped around his forehead, and tied together to the back. He also appeared to be sporting brown colored body armor that covered his torso. The armor itself had shoulder pads of the same color, along with trimming bordering with a yellowish brass. The armor stretched down to his upper thighs tied together by a black belt, and it was all connected by a yellowish-colored piece that surrounded the neck area. He wore brown gloves on his hands with armlets that tied them together like gauntlets. The armlets had the same trimming and color as his armor and shoulder pads. The same thing was true for the leggings of his boots; the foot area of which had a more bluish gray color with brown plates on top of the toe area. Beneath it all to complete the whole outfit, his arms and legs were fully covered by beige clothing. The boy came inside and headed our way to the table.

"Hey, brother! I forgot to tell you, the boy we rescued is awake!" Nadia exclaimed happily. The boy wondering what she just said looked up at the two of us.

"Oh. I didn't know you were up already." He said. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." I responded with smile. "I'm just glad you could help." He certainly was in interesting character. Unlike Nadia or Nora, this person was clad like a warrior; although his appearance does sport something of a baby face. He smiled.

"I guess now is a good time to introduce myself. My name is Aluxes."

"I'm Eric. Eric Lewis. And this is Kimahri." I said pointing to the Ronso next to me who kept himself quiet. "It's nice to meet you Aluxes."

"The feeling is mutual." Aluxes said. I offered my hand and he shook it. After the introductions, he took his seat on the table next to us, opposite of where Nadia was sitting. Nora came back with a big bowl of potatoes and set them on to the table.

"Enjoy everyone. Be careful though it's hot."

"Thanks, ma'am." I said. "They look delicious."

"Take as many as you like. There's plenty." We each grabbed a potato and began eating. I blew on mine to cool it off a little before I took the first bite. It was a rather delicious potato. I've had potatoes before, but this was the first time I ate them along with the skin. Eventually I finished my meal with everyone else coming close to it. I sighed with relief and patted my stomach.

"That was good." I said with a smile.

"You must have been hungry." Nora said. "You certainly ate fast." I laughed in response.

"Sorry about that." It certainly had been a while since I ate anything, which explains how hungry I was. At least I didn't feel my stomach growling until shortly before eating.

"Hey. Eric, right?" Aluxes asked me, and I responded.

"Yes?" He took a look at me and continued.

"There's something a little unusual about your outfit... Where did you come from?" This question caught me off guard. I wasn't sure how to answer this question, let alone explain it.

"It's um..." I looked at Kimahri nervously, and he gave a look that essentially said 'try to explain it the best you can.' "It's complicated... I uh, don't remember much of it." If I did try to explain where I came from, they wouldn't understand.

"Sorry if I asked." Aluxes said to me. "I was just curious about you, and your friend here."

"It's okay, maybe in time I can explain it."

"We've all been curious ever since your friend brought you here." Nora said.

"Kimahri did?" I looked at the Ronso once again and this time saw a face that seemed more vulnerable than he usually shows. Now that she mentions it, I was sound asleep for the most part. The last thing I remembered was falling unconscious after the fight against Xanirb, and of course I'm the only that knew what went on in the dream. "So, how did I get here anyway?" As soon as I asked, the whole room fell silent. Eventually Nora broke the silence.

"Let me explain..."

---

It was a very dark and stormy night. Rain heavily poured through the forest. Kimahri traversed through the woods completely lost. The only visible light he had was the lightning that crashed in the sky. I was still unconscious, and cradled in his arms. He had to do something. They couldn't stay outside in the cold rain for so long. He needed to find shelter, and fast. He didn't know where that light from before took him, but my safety came first. Soon after pushing through the trees and bushes, he saw a faint light nearby which he realized came from lamps that hanged in a small wooden house. He was near a small village, much to his relief.

Kimahri didn't have much choice. It was either he find a place for Eric to say, and keep warm, or they both are stuck out in the rain risking sickness, or worse, death. He didn't have much time. He needed to get me inside. Even if it meant compromising his identity to human strangers. So the Ronso pushed on as quickly as he could to the house in front of him, past the well. He stood in front of the door, keeping me cuddled closely to shield me from the rainfall as much as he could. Very quickly he pounded on the door a few times, hoping someone inside will answer. The door opened soon after, and Kimahri saw an old woman in front of him, shocked from his appearance.

"Oh my, goodness!" She saw me in his arms unconscious and then looked at the distraught Ronso in front of her. The otherwise very stoic and calm Ronso needed to open up, and say something in order to find assistance.

"Please..." He said. "Help him." She looked at me once again and nodded.

"A-alright." She said. "Get him inside, quickly." She let the Ronso inside and almost immediately gathered any towels or rags she could find to dry them quickly. A little girl and teenage boy looked at us very confused. Surprisingly to Kimahri, none of them took objection to him, but he would worry about that later. As soon as they were dried up, the old woman checked my forehead.

"He's feverish..." She said. "Aluxes! Help him get this young man to bed."

"Yes, mom." Almost immediately Aluxes helped Kimahri upstairs as fast as they could.

"Nadia. Get the doctor over here!"

"Okay, mommy!" She ran outside quickly and headed northeast of here. Meanwhile upstairs Kimahri set me down gently on a bed, taking my shoes and socks off carefully, and waiting for Nora and Nadia to come back with a doctor.

"Don't worry about me." Aluxes said. "I have another place to sleep in case of emergency." Kimahri didn't say anything in response. He was glad to find a place to keep me safe for a while, but he was still shaken up, practically on the verge of tears, and visibly shown it. Eventually Nadia came back into the house with an older man by her side.

"Found him, mommy." Nadia said pointing to the old doctor.

"Where's the patient?" He asked.

"He's right upstairs." Nora said, leading him upwards. Aluxes and Kimahri kept watch over me, and eventually everyone else joined in.

"Mom." Aluxes said looking at them.

"He's right over here in bed." The doctor walked next to the bed and saw me lying there flat on my back.

"This young man, here?" He asked, and Kimahri nodded. "I'm going to have to take a look here."

"You look exhausted." Nora said to Kimahri. "Why don't you sit down?" He couldn't think of resting right now. He was still concerned about me to even think of leaving me alone.

"But..."

"He'll be alright." She reassured him. "The doctor will take care of everything." She lead him to a nearby chair and set him down on it. Kimahri took a deep breath with his head down, and his face covered with his palm. He shook his head, as he couldn't help but feel completely useless for not being able to help his mate. Though he never said anything, he couldn't help but feel like a terrible guardian. Little did he know I found it completely understandable since what happened to us was through no fault of his own.

"Could I get you anything?" She asked him. Kimahri shook his head, and kept looking at the doctor as all he was concerned about was making sure I was okay. "Alright." She turned to Nadia. "We can look after him for awhile, you need to get your sleep."

"Yes, mommy." Nadia said sounding very tired, and Nora led her downstairs away from the rest of us. Kimahri and Aluxes stayed behind keeping their eye out on me as the doctor took my temperature, measured my heartbeats, etc. Nora came back eventually after she tucked Nadia in for the night.

"What's his diagnosis, doctor?"

"Well, he's certainly burning up a little." He said. "His vital signs are normal, but he is unconscious. It would do some good to let him rest for a while."

"Thank you doctor." Nora said. Then suddenly, to everyone's surprise I winced in pain. I was still unconscious, but I twisted and turned a little. The doctor checked me again, and this time Kimahri was more worried than ever as he got off the chair and stood up again. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed like something was hurting me.

"What's happening?" Nora asked him. Aluxes was just as worried as her, though he didn't say anything.

"I don't know." The doctor said. "He doesn't appear to have any symptoms. In fact, he's rather normal albeit feverish." He double-checked me to make sure, though after touching my head, I winced my head back in pain, shaking a little. "However... it's as if something was hurting him inside." Eventually as I winced and writhed, I started uttering a few words.

"No!... ugh, Leave him alone!..."

"Eric!" Kimahri ran right up to me next to the doctor to check if I was conscious. I was not and still continued shouting a little in pain. "Please! Speak!"

"Calm down." The doctor told the Ronso. "He'll be alright." I took deep breaths until eventually returning to my calm state. The doctor nodded and got up ready to take his leave.

"Thank you for your help, doctor." Nora said.

"You're welcome, Nora." He said. "The boy will be alright. Just keep watch over him and make sure nothing happens. It's getting late... Some rest will do us all good." The doctor walked down the stairs, Nora and Aluxes followed, showing him the door. Kimahri however stayed behind and held my hand. He then heard some faint voices come from my mouth.

"Ki...mah...ri..." Kimahri silently listened to me utter something slowly.

"Kimahri sorry, Eric." He just sat there, and held my hand. Nora eventually came back upstairs.

"We'll have to leave him to sleep." She told him. "Come, you can rest downstairs." Kimahri was reluctant to leave, but he had no choice. Eventually he got up slowly, and after looking at me one last time as I laid still, went downstairs.

This lasted all through the night, and Nora offered Kimahri a place to sleep. Kimahri however did not feel the need to sleep, and just sat there, hoping to see or hear anything from Eric. Eventually though, he gave in. His eyes lulled slowly, and eventually his consciousness dwindled, and he fell asleep. Then morning came...

---

"And then I woke up, and Nadia called you guys up here?" I asked.

"Yes." Nora said. "Although I sent Aluxes off on an errand to gather mushrooms when you woke."

"I see..." I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I worried you guys."

"No, it's alright." Aluxes said. "We wouldn't have known unless Nadia told us you did."

"I understand." I then looked towards Aluxes' sister. "Thank you, Nadia." She got out of her stool and giggled behind her mother.

"Well, anyway." Nora said. "Now that lunch is over, it's up to me to clean up. You two can stay for as long as you like."

"Thank you, ma'am." I said and she left with Nadia following her. Soon after I yawned and stretched my arms outward.

"Excuse me, but I think I'm tired." I said. "I think I'll go take a nap." Aluxes nodded.

"Yeah, me too." He said. "Why don't we use my room?"

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course. I don't mind."

"Okay then." So Kimahri, Aluxes and I all got out of the dining area and we all went upstairs to his room. When we made it back to the other room, he grabbed a couple spare mats along with some blankets and set them on the floor.

"This should be enough for the three of us." He said. "Why don't you use the bed, Eric? You still need to recover after last night, don't you?"

"Well, maybe a little, but I'm stable now."

"Keep sleeping there anyway, just in case." Aluxes said as he got under the blankets of his mat. Kimahri shortly followed and got on the other mat.

"Go ahead, Eric." Kimahri said. "Aluxes understands."

"Yes."

"Okay then. See you guys in the afternoon." I got onto the bed and went under the covers. I just laid there and looked at the others. Aluxes was already near asleep, but Kimahri just smiled back at me, and blew a kiss to me.

"Kimahri loves you." He said quietly to me.

"I love you too." I said quietly myself, and eventually I settled down to a nap.

Later that day, a long hour passed, and we laid there still as a log in Aluxes' room undisturbed. We didn't even hear some faint knocking sounds coming from the front door downstairs. Soon this was followed by voices, most likely a conversation between Nora and the visitor. Then the sounds of footsteps quickly found it's way up the stairs and into the room. The person who came up shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Hey Aluxes! Wake up!" This person, a girl with long blonde hair slightly curled, and held by two red hairpins with one on each side. She wore a white long-sleeved tunic dress with gold-trimmings around the sleeves and collar. Underneath the white skirt that was cut off from the sides was another red garment wrapped tightly around her waist and covered her thighs. On her neck was a decorative red scarf tied together neatly. She had on two copper shoulder plates that held a navy blue cape that adorns her back. Her boots were of a purplish color with navy blue soles, and three red ribbons lined up vertically in the front of her legs. The leg area of said boots however covered as much of her lower legs as sandals would cover feet, but the foot area completely covered her toes and ankles. She has kind of a smug expression on her face and eyes a beaming blue. She ran up to the bed, hopping up and down a couple of times screaming in my face.

"Wake up, sleepy head! Don't you remember what we're going to do today?" The noise she was making caused me to stir. I opened my eyes and turned to face her.

"Huh, what?... Where?..." I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. As I was waking myself up, the girl got immensely shocked and surprised as she saw exactly who was sleeping in my bed.

"Hey, wait a minute!" She shouted while pointing a finger at me. "You're not Aluxes! Just who are you and what are you doing in his bed?!" I finally stretched and my eyes wide open, I saw her staring at me all confused.

"Who are you?" I asked. Aluxes got up slowly from the mat, obviously the girl's noise woke her up. Same with Kimahri, albeit he's still laying down and barely opening his eyes. Aluxes looked at his bed to see the girl talk to me.

"Yumi?" Aluxes said. "What are you, doing here?..." The girl turned around and saw the boy she was looking for, and also saw the dazed Ronso even more confused.

"There you are, Aluxes." Yumi said. "What are you doing sleeping on the floor?"

"My new friends here needed a place to stay." Aluxes replied as he adjusted his eyes so he can see clearly. Then he got up on his feet. "Besides, he needs it more than I do." He referred to me, who was simply sitting there on his bed.

"I see." Yumi said in a kind of snobbish manner. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Are you ready to go?"

"Go where?" I asked. She looked at me and Kimahri, taking a good look at each of us albeit suspiciously.

"Hmm... Well, you don't seem like someone I could trust, but whatever. Aluxes and I were planning a little hiking trip to the hills barely north of here and-" But before she said anything else though, she paused right here. "Well, it's not important anyway. Aluxes, let me know when you're leaving. I'll be right at the front door." She quickly disappeared running down the stairs, just like that. That girl was pretty curious, and I looked at Aluxes wondering what was going on.

"Who was that?" I asked him.

"That's Yumi. The mayor's daughter." Aluxes said. "She can be a bit of a brat sometimes, but she's not a bad person." I nodded.

"So what were you two talking about?"

"She said she there was something interesting up on the hills north of us. I'm not entirely sure what she wants to do it for, myself. You can come with us if you want, I'll just have to explain it to her."

"Is that okay, Kimahri?" Kimahri nodded silently, as if to say 'yes.'

"Sure." I said to Aluxes. "Sounds good."

"Great!" Aluxes said gathering some stuff together. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up quickly." I got off the bed and put my socks and shoes back on. Kimahri got out of the mat and stretched. After we got ready, the three of us went down the stairs. When we reached the front room below, we noticed Yumi converse with Nora at the door. As soon as the three of us stepped down the stairs, they stopped talking and turned towards us.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing important, dear." Nora said.

"Hey Aluxes, are you ready to go?" Yumi said.

"Of course." Aluxes replied. "These two would like to come with us, if that sounds okay." He referred to me and Kimahri. Yumi was hesitant at first, but she complied.

"Alright. Just come prepared. I'll see you outside." Yumi said, and turned to Nora before heading out the front door. "I'll see you later, miss." Then she left.

"Take care of your father, dear!" She chuckled. "He is a busy man, you know."

"Does he spend much time with her?" I asked.

"Well I don't know." Nora said. "This village isn't very large so there shouldn't be much to do, yet he always seems so busy. It makes me worry about the poor girl sometimes."

"She'll be okay, though." Aluxes said. "She usually has her own way to handle things. The maids and helpers take care of her when he's not around."

'I guess she's too concerned about her looks to even worry about that.' I said to myself all snarky.

"So are you two going out as well?" She asked Kimahri and I.

"Yep." I said to her. "I could use the exercise."

"Alright honey, be careful." She said before returning to her cleaning duties. "By the way, I almost forgot to tell you. If you're planning on going to the hills, stay away from the caves. It's quite dangerous."

"We'll be careful."

"Have fun, and be sure to return home for dinner." Aluxes, Kimahri, and I went out the door when she finished talking. As soon as we were outside the village again, we were greeted by Yumi.

"Hey. What took you so long?!" She asked, clearly annoyed for having to wait so long.

"Sorry about that." Aluxes said to her. "We just needed to prepare while talking to my mom, that's all."

"You could at least have been quick about it." She said sternly, then she looked at the two of us. "You two. Um..."

"Eric." I said to her, then pointed to the Ronso behind me. "That's Kimahri."

"Right. If you have any funny business. I'll be watching you." Yumi was so pushy and stubborn it was kind of frightening.

"O-okay..." I said. She then left the house and started walking towards the north end of the village.

"I'll meet you guys up there. And don't be late!" Then she left.

We kind of took advantage of this and decided to take a little walk around the village, and get a good look at the town before we even head out. Aluxes showed me around , and it looked even better than this morning. It was a little warmer, but I barely felt it. There were plenty of people there to make up the village. Several adults and even a few children were there, two of which were playing by the well at the center of the village.

"Good afternoon." One villager greeted us with this. The people around us were quite friendly. They didn't have anything really important to say. They were just people being people. This must really be another world or something like that since nobody here even took notice of Kimahri or even cared. It was weird, but kind of refreshing this way. As long as nobody tried to lock us up again, I'll take it. By the time we went around the place, Aluxes made a suggestion.

"We'd better head our way to the hills now." He said. "Yumi might be mad if we're late again." I nodded in agreement.

"She's pretty pushy, isn't she?" She was definitely a no-nonsense woman, that was for sure. Soon after we reached a gate bordering the north of the village. In front of the gate was a small wooden sign just before the opening in between the gate where the dirt road that lined up most of the town trails off from. I glanced at the sign for a little bit as we walked past. It had some kind of 'warning' written at the top along with the directions of the hills being up ahead. However most of the writing below the warning was kind of faded so I wasn't quite sure what it was trying to say. I took it off my mind very quickly as the three of us just quietly walked along the path. Eventually, the trees surrounding us started to recede the further we traveled away from the village. Just ahead of us were a series of hills large enough that I would practically consider it a small mountain.

I was taken aback by the sight as we stood still for a little while. The dirt road leading up a ramp like mound connected to the upper level cut off in front of a big pile of rocks. The road, seasoned with rubble, behind the pile leading to a set of stone stairs. The grass flourished with patches of taller grass with a few flowers here and there. Several trees surrounded the area along with some logs, plants, dirt and rocks. Aluxes walked ahead of us climbing the hill and the two of us followed. I spotted a small river with a little waterfall drenching the rocky walls of the cliff. That flow of water gave a gentle breeze that was just right for the natural air. To the far right of us was another, bigger waterfall that stretched to the cliffs that reached far below. I would imagine the steepness of the cliffs over there was not something to underestimate.

Soon we climbed even higher up the hills, where Yumi stood waiting for us right next to an entrance to a cave. She saw us approaching and stood up awaiting our arrival.

"You're late." Yumi said sternly. "What kept yo?"

"Sorry." Aluxes replied. "Eric wanted to look at the town a little before leaving." Yumi sighed a little bit, feeling annoyed by having me and Kimahri slowing her down.

"Whatever. Anyway..." She took a look around for a moment, then turned back to us. "Do you know why I brought you up here anyway?" I shook my head.

"I don't think so. Aluxes?" I looked at him and he looked back at me as I awaited his reply.

"It was something interesting you discovered, wasn't it?"

"Exactly." Yumi stated. "You know about the caves inside this place, right?"

"Is this the one that your mom warned us not to go into?" I asked Aluxes.

"Yes, no is allowed to go inside the cave. I don't think anyone remembers the reason other than it's forbidden, and dangerous."

"Legend has it that there is something inside this place that the village is safeguarding." Yumi explained. "I wanted to go in and find out what it is."

"We can't do that!" Aluxes exclaimed. "We'll get into major trouble if we go in. It's taboo."

"The fact that it's taboo is what makes it interesting." Yumi said stubbornly. "Come on. You're not scared are you?"

"Of course not. We could get hurt in there."

"He's right." I told her. "We don't know about the dangers that lurk in that cave."

"It'll be fine!" Yumi said. "Nobody will know about it. It'll just be our little secret." At this rate, I figured that there was no convincing her from exploring the cave. After all, I was curious myself what lurked inside. If there was anything mysterious in there, it's almost tempting to find out. Aluxes made a point about it being dangerous. Naturally it was safe to assume that any place that was unknown to us, and never explored would hold some kind of hazzard, and thus should always exercise caution. I gave in and agreed to help her out.

"Alright." I said. "Let's go."

"Eric, are you sure?" Aluxes asked. I nodded.

"I'm sure, and don't worry, Yumi." I told her. "We won't tell anyone about this." She grinned.

"Good. I'm glad you listen to me. Hopefully you came prepared with some equipment." She teased us, and then she held her arm out with her fingers outward and stuck together. "Let's do this."

"Well, if that's the case, I'm going too." Aluxes said putting his hand on top of hers, and I did the same putting my hand on top of both.

"What do you think Kimahri?" I asked him. Silently he walked forward and put his big blue hand on top of ours.

"Alright!" Yumi exclaimed. "From this point on, we're partners." With that, we all let go of our hands and headed towards the entrance to the cave. I carefully walked inside with Aluxes following close behind and Kimahri afterwards. Yumi joined the party and ran inside.

Silently the four of us walked slowly inside. It wasn't a really dark cave, we could all see just fine. Nevertheless I remained cautious, holding my arms backwards to keep the others in check. There was sign in front of us that read 'No trespassing.' It must have been put there to deter anyone from breaking inside. Yumi walked ahead of us and looked at the sign, standing next to a rock in front of the pathway.

"Well. Looks like nothing has happened yet..." She said. "And you got so worked up for nothing."

"That's true." I said to her. "But we only just stepped in. Anything can happen."

"Yeah, sure!" She regrouped with us and we moved forward. We walked through the tunnel and passed a big rock. The cave floor had some plants growing, some of which had either white or pink flowers. We took a look and noticed a big lake in the area. It flourished the overall look of the cavern.

"Wow." I said in amazement. "Look at this."

"It looks wonderful." Aluxes said. I agreed. It was surprisingly pleasant for a forbidden cave. I guess we didn't need much to worry after all as we continued walking through the rocks, and near a worn out bridge. Before we could cross though, Yumi screamed. It caught me off guard.

"Yumi?"

"Look out!" She pointed out behind us and we noticed three monsters have appeared and were heading in our direction.

"What are they?" They appeared to be blue slime creatures. They didn't have any faces, yet they were animated and full of ooze. They appeared they were ready to attack at any second.

"Be careful!" Aluxes exclaimed and drew something from his armor. It was a short sword. It had a bronze-like color and sported a handguard that shielded the fingers of his right hand. Gripped tightly to his left arm was a shield. It had yellow-ish brass trimming much like his armor circling the border. There was also a brass plate in the center of the shield which was red in color. Yumi drew a weapon as well. It was a staff of a rather unique design. It had a couple pearl orbs on top of it. I couldn't let them fight alone, so I drew the Keyblade in my hand and got into position.

The first slime charged towards me and I slashed it, cutting it like butter. Aluxes held his own against another slime's attack, blocking it with his shield, then making a counter attack. Yumi struggled a little bit against the last one, but held her ground. Before it could make another attack on her, I made a critical slash against it swinging the Keyblade sideways. The slime splattered into mush, rendering it lifeless.

"Are you alright?" I asked Yumi. She looked surprised and was confused as she saw my weapon.

"Uhh..." She stuttered then came back to herself. "I'm okay. Thanks." Aluxes headed towards us sheathing his equipment.

"You guys okay?" Aluxes asked.

"Yep." I replied. He rubbed his left arm a little bit. "Aluxes, did you get hurt?"

"It's nothing. Just a scratch."

"Let me take a look." Yumi said. "You men need to be more careful. Heal!" Yumi casted a spell and a small soothing light appeared and healed Aluxes' arm. Whoa, I thought to myself. She could use magic. Real magic! So my suspicions were correct. This is in fact another world after all. It would make sense since there wasn't anyone back home who could use real magic. It's been quite a crazy day so far. I must have hit my head during the car ride to Washington back then.

"Thanks." Aluxes said to Yumi, then looked back at me. "By the way. I noticed that weapon in your hand. What is it exactly? I've never seen it before." I looked at the Keyblade in hand, and it struck me that they were right. I don't think they have seen it before so I doubt they would know. I figured I might as well tell them.

"This? This is what's called a Keyblade." I held it outwards to show them and they both looked at it with bewilderment.

"Fascinating." Aluxes said.

"It's pretty funny looking." Yumi retorted. "I've never seen anything like it." I laughed and scratched my head in embarrassment.

"Thanks... anyway, looks like those Slimes are gone. Let's keep going before more of them show up."

"Good idea." Aluxes said.

I put the Keyblade away and went back to walking. Little did we know a slime was still alive and moving. It made a big leap heading to the back of my head. I turned around and noticed something about to hit me. Before I knew it a swift lunge took me by surprise. As I came to I saw the slime had been stabbed by a spear against the cave wall. There was only one person I knew who had that spear, and I noticed Kimahri was the one who killed it. It tried to attack me from behind, but the Ronso was there to stop it. I took a deep breath of relief.

"Thanks, Kimahri." I said to him. He pulled his spear out and stood it tall.

"You keep walking path forward." He said to me. "Kimahri watch the rear."

"That thing talks?" Yumi said aloud.

"Of course." Aluxes said. "Didn't you know?"

"He doesn't talk much anyway." I said. "Come on. Let's keep going." So we all kept moving along, crossing the bridge to the other side of this cavern.

"Hmph! Men..." Yumi quickly followed behind us. "Hey! Wait up!" We explored further into the cave past the lake and through a pile of rocks. Then we made our way inside the next tunnel.

We explored further into the cave, keeping cautious of any monsters that dwelled. Unlike the last tunnel it didn't have any plants or grass growing. All there was were rocks and dirt. There was a small lake that trailed through the whole cave. It took a little while as we went through a few turns. We were attacked by some monsters which we fought against with relative ease. It wasn't just slimes we were encountering. We fought plenty bats to keep them away, along with...

"Ah! It's them!..." I shouted as I drew the keyblade and fought, with Aluxes and Yumi backing me up with Kimahri assisting when needed. We had ghosts encounters us. I recognized the look of them from the abandoned church back on earth. Back then I struggled just to stay alive when encountering them. Now they don't seem that much tougher. The whole trek may have been a lot more challenging if it was just the three of us; Kimahri however, having tons of experience in battle before, needed practically no effort in handling them, making this stroll that much easier. The Ronso was there to protect me. I always loved that about him.

We crossed another small bridge above the water. We carefully treaded down the long pathway. Eventually the path veered to the left, so we natually turned left to continue on that path. We kept our weapons held onto in case we get ambushed by anymore monsters. Soon we made a few more turns into the cavern. Eventually as soon as we made another turn, something caught Aluxes' eye causing him to gasp. He quickly grabbed me and took me back behind the wall. I was taken by surprise with the sudden movement. I was about to question him, but he shushed. I took a peak through the rocky wall to see what was lurking.

I saw a small greenish creature. It had small wings and devilish red eyes. It appeared to be very impish in appearance. It didn't seem to look too deadly with its small stature, but there is something about it that made me slightly uncomfortable. It was unlike the other monsters I've encountered here in this cave. It looked slightly stronger than them, so naturally I assumed it would be more dangerous. The four of us looked onward towards it, and we didn't know what to make of it. Yumi came up to us and spoke very quietly.

"What do we do about this?..." She asked. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know." I said in response. "I've never seen it." I wasn't sure if we should try to fight through it, or try to sneak away which given the amount of space in this part of the cave would be impossible without getting hurt. As I continued to observe its movements, it seemed like it saw us and was looking for us. I should have been more careful.

"Maybe we could wait it out until it goes away." Aluxes said.

"That's alright, but how do you think that will take?" Yumi asked. She does have a good point. We've been gone for who knows how long, and I'm pretty sure either Aluxes' or Yumi's family would be worried by now.

"Well do you think we can fight it?"

"No way!" She shouted, much to my dismay. "I mean sure we handled those other monsters just fine, but don't you think this is a whole other league?!" Thanks to her, I'm sure the imp has noticed us by now. Could this be one of the reasons this cave was forbidden? We do have the strength in numbers to fight it, but even then that's pushing it.

"Well... Eric, what do you think?" This question put me in a little pressure.

"I'm not sure..." I said. Then all of a sudden something jumped up from above and attacked the imp. A mysterious girl with brown hair, and yellow eyes sported cat ears on her head along with a tail. She wore a white vest with armored plates adorning her breasts and abdomen. On her legs she wore knee-high armored boots. with red plates connecting the leg plate to the knee pad. Both her ankles sported a big silver ring on it. She also wore some small red belts. Two wrapped together adjacently on her right upper arm, and one on each upper leg. I don't think I've ever seen anyone quite like this.

"Mew! You're not so tough, aren't ya?!" The mysterious cat girl exclaimed to the imp as it got back up. "Thought you could get me, but now I got you this time!" Her tail swayed back and forth as she taunted it.

'Just who is this person?' I asked myself. Her cat-like antics are pretty amusing to see I will admit. Although it was pretty risky of her to play games with a monster like that.

"Haha! Time to pounce, mew!" She shouted while giggling. The imp hissed back in response, causing her to change her mood drastically. She went from acting like a playful tomcat to shaking like a scared little kitten. She took a step back as the imp was staring her down, getting ready to attack when suddenly... "EEEEEEEEEEK!" She ran off in an instant, flailing her arms out like somebody running for their life. The imp hissed again and went after her. The four of us just looked at each other confused, and wondered what exactly just happened.

"What... was that?" Yumi asked.

"Beats me..." I said.

"That was weird." Aluxes said. "At least that creature ran off."

"That's true. But now I'm worried about her. If she got scared by that thing so easily, she might be in real trouble."

"Are you saying we should follow them?"

"We might have to. Come on, let's go."

We all started walking again, following the path that the cat girl took which lead to the next tunnel. We walked a little slower as we entered the next cavern looking out for the imp. As we explored we noticed a big lake with a small tract of land in the middle of it. The cat girl from before was standing walking around on it. The imp was nowhere in sight. I assumed she ran away from it successfully. We approached her slowly and then her ears perked up.

"Mew! Hey, who's there?" She asked, looking around. We figured she sensed us, so we walked closer to the lake revealing our presence to her. She spotted us and hopped across the lake directly in front of where I was standing.

"Um, hi there." I said greeting her.

"Hello." The cat girl said in response. Aluxes and Yumi greeted themselves as well while Kimahri just folded his arms and observed. The cat girl took a look at us and examined us like a friendly cat would examine a new person they just met. The feeling was mutual, and she seemed to taking a liking to us.

"You look like nice people." She said all peppy. "Who are you?" I smiled and decided to introduced myself.

"My name is Eric, and this is Kimahri." I pointed towards the ronso as I introduced him. The others decided to follow.

"I'm Aluxes." He introduced himself and nodded. Yumi walked besides the cat girl.

"It's nice to meet you." Yumi said very fondly to her. "I'm Yumi." The cat girl giggled and mewd happily.

"I'm glad I've met you guys, too. Mew, my name is Neko!" Neko spun around with glee. She walked up closely to me, leaning towards my face.

"You're cute." I was taken aback from the compliment and I blushed deeply. I was speechless; I didn't know what to say. Kimahri chuckled as he saw me getting embarrassed. Neko backed away a little bit then Aluxes began to speak.

"She really likes you." He said with a laugh.

"Very funny." I replied.

"Where did you come from?" Yumi asked. Neko flicked her ears and faced her to answer.

"I don't remember." Neko said. "At least... I don't know."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Yumi is unusually nice to her. I remember her being kind of stubborn and bratty earlier. Maybe there was something about Neko that she really took a liking to.

"Hahaha! Oh well. You guys make nice friends. Come on! I should show you guys something." She walked up close to me again, causing the others to giggle. "You can come too." She backed away again then faced the pathway down my right. "Come on! Let's go!" She bounced off onward until she disappeared. She was quite a quirky character it was rather humorous. Yumi laughed.

"We might as well follow her." She said as the rest of us kind of giggled.

"Come on, lets go." Aluxes said, and the two went forward into the cave, following where Neko hopped to. I just stood there for a moment perplexed by the new friend we just made. Kimahri tapped my shoulder encouraging me to move as well. I walked along the path following the others. Soon after I joined in with the rest of them, and saw Neko looking at the distance.

"Look at this." Neko said and hopped to the center of the room. I took a look at the area and noticed something I've never expected to find in here. There was a long thin table here, and behind it was an assortment of old, worn out weapons and armor including a couple knives, and a wooden shield below it. At another cave wall there's an old rusty sword hanging on its side.

Could this be the mysterious thing that was hidden in the cave this whole time, or there something we didn't know about? With all the monsters that inhabit this place, it makes sense that it would be abandoned.

"Hey..." Yumi said pointing at something. "I wonder what that is..." She ran to a corner adjacent to the table. Aluxes walked to the desk and examined the abandoned armory silently.

"Do you think someone has been here before?" I asked Kimahri looking up at him. He shook his head.

"Kimahri not know. Seem rather suspicious though." I figured I might as well look around. I slowly roamed around the area, taking in the sight before me. The granite rocks laid out neatly decorated the place along with a small flower. I headed to where Yumi was standing. Across small body of water there was a small pillar-like pedestal of some kind carrying a pink orb which shone brilliantly, reflecting the light of the room.

"It looks so beautiful..." She said to herself, paying no attention to me. There was something in there that I found fascinating about it. It looked incredibly pretty with its mysterious presence, and it felt rather homely. Shortly after, I walked up towards Neko.

"What do you think?" She asked me. "Pretty neat, mew?" It certainly was neat. I didn't know how she could have discovered it. Then again we only did just meet her. It was odd, but we all felt something we could trust into her. It put a smile to my face thinking 'the more, the merrier.' I then approached where Aluxes stood and saw he was examining the table.

"Whoever owned this must have abandoned it." Aluxes said and gazed upon the weapons hanging on the wall. That thought was possible. Given the amount of monsters we faced in here, it was possible that they gave up on it and ran away. 'Could this be why this place is forbidden?' I asked myself. It was a strong possibility, yet there's something off about it. While Aluxes stood still examining the table, I walked around to the other side. I noticed Kimahri was still just in front of the room. Maybe he's looking out for any monsters that might come in. As I examined this side, Neko began exclaiming.

"Hey! Check this out!" Neko then hopped to the side of the counter where I was standing in. I quickly went back around and stood right next to Aluxes.

"What's up?" I asked her. Then she began to put up an act.

"Welcome to my shop!" She stated in an over the top accent. "How may I help you?" Aluxes and I just laughed.

"Ah. Roleplaying?" I asked humorously. "Okay. I'll play along. What have you got?"

"Well." Neko said, still playing her part in this silly little scenario. "We got weapons to slay the meanest beasts! And we have shields and armor to protect you from fiercest foes!" She mewed as we enjoyed this little play. Yumi noticed the commotion going on and decided to join in on the fun.

"Do you have the finest accessories for the prettiest girls?" She asked playing the curious customer. It went on as it got pretty entertaining to watch or even take part of. While the show was going on, Aluxes noticed something below the table.

"What's this?" He asked while pointing at something underneath. I wondered what he was looking at, so I looked down there as well and saw something. It looked like some kind of switch camouflaged with the ground.

"It looks like some kind of switch." I said.

"Should we reach down and push it?" Aluxes asked in response.

"Sure." I reached down and pushed the switch.

"Hmm, what are you guys doing under there?" Neko asked immediately following a clicking noise. After Aluxes and I stood up, suddenly the room began to vibrate for a second. We were caught of guard as it seemed like something was moving. Kimahri joined in with us as it was going on. The next thing we saw was one of the cave walls were starting to open right beside the table.

"Look!" Yumi exclaimed pointing at the rocks opening. We were amazed, for what it really was is a secret passageway.

"A new place!" Neko exclaimed mewing like a kitten. "I wonder where this place leads." She ran ahead of us into the new passageway.

"Hey! Wait for us!" I said, so we ran after her. However, before we could head in there, Neko ran out screaming. "Huh? What's wrong?" I asked her as she was catching her breath.

"Look out!" Aluxes exclaimed. I looked in front of the passageway again and noticed something approaching us. I gasped as I saw it was the imp from before. It has now officially spotted us and getting ready to attack. Neko got back up, this time feeling a little miffed.

"That's it! I've had it with you." Then she drew a weapon of her own, wanting to fight back at the creature. She wielded a sword similar to Aluxes' except her handguard was red, and the blade a slightly shorter, thinner and more curved. She also equipped a round shield which encased her other arm.

The imp hissed and began charging toward the car girl. Aluxes, Yumi, and I drew our weapons as well deciding to help her. It was a dangerous, but I figured we could stand a chance against it with sheer numbers alone. Kimahri also had his spear handy, but kept himself in the background just in case anything happens. Neko avoided the imp's attack and she countered, but the creature dodged. Aluxes and I charged at it, but it was swift and avoided our attacks as well. The imp got furious after we tied attacking it, it decided to focus our attacks on us. It tried to strike at me, but I blocked with the Keyblade.

Yumi kept cautious, holding her staff in a defensive position. She obviously was trying to be careful here, but I don't blame her. For a creature of such small stature, it knew how to fight. Aluxes and Neko both managed to get sword slashes in it, severely injuring it. It got up quickly and leaped in the air. It began conjuring up a magic circle casting a spell.

"Be careful!" I shouted. Then suddenly shards of ice appeared and shot forward heading right towards us. I jumped back to avoid the ice before it could strike me. Yumi freaked out narrowly avoiding the spell. Aluxes and Neko blocked the ice with their shields, but it was clear they sustained some damage. I had to act fast before the imp could do anymore damage. I held the Keyblade outward aiming it towards the imp who just barely took notice of me. "Fire!" I conjured up a spell from my magic energy, then a ball of fire shot from the Keyblade at lightning speed. It directly hit the imp, setting it in flames. The imp screeched in agony as it was slowly burning. Eventually it disintegrated along with the fire, until it was no more.

I took a deep breath of relief and shielded my weapon away. The others did the same thing slowly.

"That was a close one." I said.

"No kidding..." Yumi said slowly in response. I turned towards Kimahri who was standing behind us.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Kimahri alright." He said, grinning. "Eric did good job." I grinned and scratched the back of my head.

"Well, it's nothing." I turned around and the others regrouped. We looked at the passageway again and wondered.

"Let's get going and check what's in that passageway." He said. Then I asked.

"Do you think there's something inside it?"

"Well whatever it is, I just want to get out of here soon!" Yumi shouted, still shaken from the imp's attack. "I've had it with this place!"

"Well let's try to bear it a little longer." I told her. "We've got to figure out what's exactly inside the cave."

"I agree! Let's get going, mew!" Neko said reassuring Yumi. Eventually we all headed inside. It was a somewhat narrow cavern that stretched for meters. There were no monsters as far as we know. The further we went inside, the more the cavern seemed to open itself. Soon we found ourselves in front of a large rocky platform that stood above us, connected to a set of stairs.

We climbed up the stairs and we all looked around. There wasn't really anything special up here besides some rocks. It did however give off a nice view of this part of the cave. It just felt nice being at a higher level of the cave. Just ahead of us there was a light shining from the opening.

"Look." Aluxes said. "This must be the exit."

"Alright! It looks like we made it." I said. Yumi and Neko however were concentrated on something else.

"I wonder what this is." Yumi said. We took a look and saw something on the ground. What we saw was a small crystal shard lying dormant on the ground. It had a pretty looking greenish-bluish color to it. Neko peaked her curiosity on another shard on the ground just like it.

"These look like some kind of shards." I said. Aluxes walked around looking at the several crystal shards lying on the ground. "I wonder if this is the mystery beyond this cave." Yumi sighed.

"Who knows... Who cares... Come on. Let's just get out of here anyway. I think we've spent enough time here, and I miss being home already." She was right. We have been gone an awfully long time. If we don't hurry, we might really be in a lot of trouble.

"Why don't you come with us, Neko?" Aluxes asked her. "We wouldn't mind if you stayed for a while." This had Neko jump in excitement.

"Really? You mean it?" He nodded. I took a step forward from the rest of the party and examined the crystal shard in front of me. Its presence felt a little unusual. There was something familiar about it that I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"This looks so familiar..." I said to myself quietly. All of a sudden an image flashed into my mind. I remembered that dream I had a while back where I saw a much larger crystal of that exact color shatter before my eyes. That was when I first got my pendent. All of a sudden, my necklace started to glow much to my surprise. "Whoa!" This caught the attention of the others and they went to my side quickly noticing the glow coming from my pendent.

"What's happening?" Aluxes asked.

"I don't know!" I told him. The crystal shards reacted to the glow and began floating in midair. We were speechless as we witnessed what was happening. My pendent stopped glowing, but the shards remained afloat, and they all gathered, conjuring up an image. I recognized it right away: the image was that crystal from the same dream. 'Wait a minute.' I said to myself. I've seen it before. The cave grew dim, and a radiant light emitted from the spiritual crystal. Kimahri stood close behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder to ensure my safety. Suddenly an ominous voice began to speak.

"You have arrived at last..." Said the voice that came from the crystal. We looked at each other confused, not knowing what to make of this. I looked back at the crystal and asked.

"What are you?" I asked it. "What's going on here?" The voice responded back.

"I am what remains of the crystal of Earth that had been shattered long ago..." We weren't sure what it meant, but we were mesmerized enough that we remained silent and listened to its explanation. "Listen, I haven't much time... Somewhere out there are other crystals like this one in this world, and they are in grave danger.. You must find and protect the other crystals, or else all hope is lost..." The crystal began to fade away.

"Hold on!" I exclaimed. "What are you talking about? What do you mean by this?"

"There are other warriors out there... Those whose destinies are intertwined with yours. Go young one... With the power I've invested in you, search for the others and protect the crystals together!..." Eventually the crystal's light and voice vanished completely. The shards slowly landed back on the ground.

For a while we just stood there and contemplated what just happened. Literally we all had nothing in our minds. Even Neko was pretty speechless. Eventually Aluxes snapped me out of my train of thought.

"Come on." He said. "Let's get out of here." I nodded.

"Okay." Neko mewed softly and ran outside. Yumi jumped up snapping herself back into reality.

"Hey! Wait up!" Before I knew it, she bolted out of the cave. Aluxes walked out ahead of us as well to the outside light. Kimahri and I just stood there, the Ronso giving me a concerned look.

"Something wrong?"

"I don't know..." I said. I then asked him a question. "What do you think just happened? It was like that crystal was trying to tell me something..." He tapped my shoulder.

"Lets not talk about it." He said, ushering me outside. I took one last look at the crystal shards on the ground and then walked forward, finally stepping out of the cave.

I stepped outside and looked around. It seemed like we were in a rather small dark and misty forest surrounded by trees with a large canopy of dark green leaves. Dead leaves covered most of the ground nearby some dead trees. I looked across a bridge and noticed the others standing around exploring this rather depressive area. I caught up to them with Kimahri following behind me.

"Where are we now?" I asked Aluxes.

"I'm not sure." He responded. "I know we're finally out of the cave, but I think we're in some kind of woods we don't know about."

"Hmm..." I looked at Yumi and saw her staring at a dead tree that was stood in the middle of a swampy lake.

"Where, do you suppose all this is?..." She asked herself showing a hint of loneliness. I walked across another bridge adjacent of us when she noticed something. "I wonder... Are those flowers?!" She ran past me across the bridge and examined some vibrant orange flowers in the middle of the area. "I wonder why a flower like this is in a middle of a place like this."

"Yumi?..." I asked her as I approached. She ignored me, leaving herself to her own devices.

"What did we get ourselves into?..." Might as well just leave her alone for a little bit. Meanwhile, Neko just looked around quietly. She heard her own stomach growl all of a sudden.

"I'm hungry..." She said to herself. She then looked up north and saw something that caught her attention. "Hey! Mushrooms!" I noticed the cat girl hopping across the lake and towards some mushrooms sitting on the ground next to a tree. Aluxes took notice quickly and with alert ran up to her.

"Excuse me for a moment." He said to me. "Hold on!" He then ran up to Neko. Kimahri and I however remained here with Yumi. After she contemplated what we as a group had experienced, she started to talk to me without even facing me.

"Hey, Eric." She said. I looked right at her and responded.

"Yes?"

"I want to apologize to you and your friend for the way I acted earlier. I tend to get "pushy" at times, so it's hard for me to make new friends, you know?"

"It's okay." I said to her.

"Also, thanks for helping me back there... That was nice of you." I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment and left her alone. Kimahri followed me as I caught up to Aluxes and Neko.

"Do you think we could eat this!?" Neko asked. "It looks tasty."

"We don't even know if that mushroom is safe to eat." Aluxes said. "Are you sure it's not poisonous?"

"What's going on here?" I asked. Aluxes looked back at me and said.

"Neko was thinking of eating that mushroom, but I think it may be unsafe."

"Is it poisonous?" I asked him, little did we know Neko was already taking a bite or two out of it.

"I usually walk up to the hills north of the village to gather mushrooms for my mom's cooking. I can tell which are okay to eat usually. These however are more questionable..." As we conversed, Kimahri patted my shoulder to get my attention. I looked up at him and he pointed towards Neko. Aluxes and I looked and gasped as we saw her spinning and feeling delirious.

"Neko!" The two of us shouted.

"Is everyone... spinning?..." She asks all giggly. Well, I figured it wasn't poisonous after all. I would actually figured she got some other funny feeling because she looks like she's high as a kite. "Weee!" She kept spinning while Aluxes tried to keep her in place.

"Hey Eric." Aluxes said. "Why don't you get Yumi while we handle this..."

"Okay." So Aluxes and Kimahri tried to keep Neko together as she continued to spin. I went back to where Yumi was standing. She had not moved a muscle since I last talked to her.

"I wonder..." She said to herself. "Will we ever get out of here?!"

"Hey, Yumi!" I got her attention as she snapped back to her senses and looked at me.

"Hm, what is it?"

"Aluxes would like us to meet up again."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Eventually we both returned to where Aluxes and Kimahri were standing. Neko eventually calmed down and regained her composure. When that was over, Neko laughed embarrassingly.

"Sorry about that, guys." She said.

"It's okay." I told her. She eventually got back up. "Come on, let's get out of here." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Right!" Aluxes and Yumi said in unison.

"I can't wait to get out of here." Yumi said finally back to her usual mannerisms and headed towards the outside of the forest just beyond the horizon. We followed suit keeping close together.

"I wonder if there's any food at your place, mew." Neko said. Eventually we made it out of that dank forest and found ourselves outside in the fresh air again. The luscious green grass and dirt road accompanying the river right in front of us was so refreshing. As if we finished a difficult trek and are just about to settle down. After crossing the bridge that connected the river, we realized something.

"Hey, look!" I exclaimed. Yumi looked ahead and cheered at the familiar sight.

"Look at this this!" She exclaimed, pointing towards a small cave entrance. "This is the entrance to the cave we just explored!"

"You're right!" Aluxes said. "It looks like we finally went in circles." I took a deep breath and stretched. It looks like we could finally head back into town. I don't see any of the villagers down there, so I don't think anyone noticed we were gone for long.

"Before we head back." Yumi said. "Let's all pretend nothing ever happened."

"Yeah." We all agreed and made a pact keeping this journey a secret between us should anyone ask. Neko hopped down the hill and running to the direction of the village.

"Yay! Food!" Yumi followed suit climbing down the hill and heading back to town.

"I better get back in time for supper before my dad finds out I'm gone!" She said. "Thanks for taking me exploring!" Before we knew it, she disappeared catching up with Neko back the village. As I watched them go, Aluxes came up to me.

"Feeling alright, Eric?" He asked me.

"Yep. Never been better." He nodded.

"Let's head back to the village. Mom might be getting dinner ready."

"You go on ahead." I told him. "I'll catch up in a moment."

"Okay..." Aluxes jumped down the hill then walked back down the path leading to the village. Meanwhile I stayed behind pondering the episode we had at the cave. Kimahri walked up to me.

"Something wrong?" I shook my head.

"Nope, I'm just thinking." I said as he rubbed my shoulders softly. "This has been quite an eventful day. We end up someplace completely new to us and we've made some new friends along the way." The Ronso hugged me softly from behind while I held one of his arms with my right hand.

"What happen in cave is behind us now." He gave me a kiss on the top of my head. "For now we go. We need rest." I nodded looking up at him.

"You're right. Let's go..." I looked back at the village ahead of us shining in the late afternoon sun. My current troubles faded away for now, but there was definitely something that was always lingering in my mind. Something that even Kimahri could agree on: our search for Ryan may be more complicated than we thought.

---

End of Chapter Results

Eric Lewis Human Class: Freelancer Lv. 6 Exp: 601 Next Lv: 134 HP: 464/464 SP: 149/149 G: 1088

Aluxes Human Class: Fighter Lv. 2 Exp: 61 Next Lv: 5 HP: 741/810 SP: 534/585

Yumi Human Class: Mage Lv. 2 Exp: 61 Next Lv: 18 HP: 305/334 SP: 601/744

Neko Cat Girl Class: Soldier Lv. 3 Exp: 96 Next Lv: 66 HP: 760/760 SP: 650/650

Kimahri Ronso Class: Ronso Warrior Lv. 48 Exp: 573,289 Next Lv: 42444 HP: 4911/4911 SP: 4310/4310