I let out a relieved sigh as I stepped out of the shower. Even though I had been the last one to arrive in the room, the other guys allowed me to use it first.

"Enjoyed your shower?" Aurelius asked, smiling.

I nodded. "Yeah!" It helped wash away the bad vibes I got from that strange dream. "So, who wants to shower next?"

I glanced at Carter, who seemed to be staring at my exposed chest.

I awkwardly laughed as I pulled my robe closer to my chest. "Hey, why are you staring at me? You know, I'm not a girl. Right?"

"I know, but your features sure are a bit feminine," Carter said, averting his gaze. There was a slight blush on his cheeks.

I stomped over to him, and karate chopped his forehead. "Say that again, and I'll tie you up in poison ivy, got it?"

Carter moved away and nodded. "I got it!"

I smiled. "Great!"

Aurelius chuckled before running off to the bathroom.

I sighed and walked over to the bed next to Carter's. Even though, I had broad shoulders, I still had some features associated with women, such as long slender fingers and legs. Come to think of it, my brothers and dad were similar. The same went for my paternal cousins. So it had to be genetics.

Maybe if I worked out some more, it would help make me look more masculine. Though Hideo managed to make himself look more manly by working out, he still retained some of his 'feminine' looks. And I'd been doing that myself for the past couple of years now too.

That reminds me, I should give mom a call.

I knelt down and pulled out Koukyuu's phone from my left pants pocket. She'd lent it to me before we checked into the hotel. It was a prototype of my big brother, Hideo. If it succeeded, he could launch a line of interdimensional cellphones. Right now, there was only this one and the one Alex uses.

"Calling home?" Carter asked with a smile as I sat down on my bed.

I nodded. "Yeah." I looked up. "How about you? You aren't calling your family?"

He looked at the floor. "I don't have a phone."

"Same here," Huo spoke up, looking down.

I reached down and grabbed my brand new phone. Hideo had bought it for me while in northern Mina. He said that he'd upgrade it to one of his prototypes as soon as he could obtain the necessary materials. Those materials were the biggest obstacle in mass manufacturing them.

"Here, you can use mine," I said, smiling at them.

"You got two phones?" Carter asked, eyes wide. "I had a feeling you were well off when we met. It seems I was right."

"Yeah," I said, laughing. Technically, I wasn't lying. I did have my phone from home. It took a while to transfer pictures from it to the new one. I had to lower the resolution for some of them as Xelerian phones were pretty crummy compared to what we had back home. Thankfully, Hide helped me through the process. Would've hated losing pictures, especially those of Dan.

"Uh, could you help me? I don't know how to call using this thing," he said, laughing nervously. He pressed something on the phone, which caused his eyes to widen. 

Huo held his hand out. "Here, let me try." He grumbled as he fidgeted around with it. "If only Lidia were here, she would be able to figure this out." He gasped.

"Hmm, what's this? A picture? Wow, is this your girlfriend?" Carter took the phone back and showed me a picture of a girl with golden-brown hair in a frilly white dress. He stared at it again. "Wow, she's so cute. Why couldn't I have a girlfriend this adorable?"

Huo blushed as he stared at the picture. "For once, I agree."

I narrowed my eyes at them. "She's not my girlfriend. That's my younger sister."

"Eh?" Cart smiled. "Say, does she have a boyfriend?"

I kept leering at him. "No, she doesn't, but I don't think you're her type."

He leaned forward. "What's your sister's type?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. How does this guy think of becoming the Magus Maximus like this? Hopefully, that Lei guy that Koukyuu and my brother talked about gets the title.

I snatched my phone away from him. "Guess that you don't want to call home anymore."

"Hey, wait! Please lend it to me! I want to talk to my family, even if it's only a minute."

I sighed and pressed the call function. "Here, just dial the country area code and phone number, and you should be able to get through to whoever you want to call. Assuming they aren't busy, of course."

Carter took the phone into both his hands. "Thanks, Nat! Uh, can I call you Nat?"

I smiled. "Sure. It's what my friends and family back home call me."

"Does that mean you see me as a friend?"

I raised a hand to my face and smiled. "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

I laughed. "Just shut up and call."

He smiled. "Okay." He quickly punched away numbers.

I got up and walked to the opposite corner of the room so that the two of us could talk to our families without talking over the other.

"Hello? Who is this?" a voice called out.

"Hey, Dossie," I said, smiling. To think that it would be her answering.

"Nat? How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good. I borrowed our sister-in-law's phone."

"Sister-in-law? We have none."

I laughed. "You know who I mean."

"Oh, Kou? That's awfully nice of her. So, how are you holding up?"

"I was feeling tired, but after taking a shower, I'm feeling a whole lot better."

"That's good!"

"Say, why did you answer? Is Mom not there?"

"She is, but she's watching a movie with Dad upstairs. She left her phone on the kitchen table."

"Oh, I see. Tell her that I said hi."

"I will!"

"So, what are you doing right now?"

"I'm watching a movie of my own with the little ones."

"Are you talking to Nat?" I heard someone call out.

"Yeah. Want to talk to him?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, big bro!" a voice called out.

"Hey, Andy. How's my adorable little brother doing?"

"I'm doing well! Dossie and I are watching a movie with our nephews. It's kind of boring, but the kids seem to like it."

"Oh, yeah? What's it about?"

"Some kids looking for stones to put in a belt with powers. It's old-looking. Hide got it while in Xeleria for the Mahoulympics."

"Hmm, I'll try to find a better movie for you to watch next time."

"Pick one with robots!"

I laughed. "Alright. I will."

"Dossie? Andy?" a kid's voice called out. It sounded like Zef.

"Looks like we have to go. We don't want to worry the kids. They get scared when left alone at night. Talk to you later, Nate."

"Bye, big bro!" Andy yelled.

"Bye, you two."

"Wait, Dossie!"

"Yeah?"

"What is your type?"

"W-why are you asking me that?"

I laughed. "There's someone I know who thinks you're cute."

"Eh? R-really? Is he a cute, studious guy who loves reading and is family-oriented?"

"Well, he has two out of three."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I-I wonder if he loves dressing up in suits." She giggled. "Uh, I'm hanging up."

I chuckled. Carter didn't seem like the type who would like wearing suits, but maybe I was wrong.

"Handed your phone over to Huo, he'll give it back in a minute," Carter said, walking over to me.

"Thanks," I said, taking it. "How's your family?"

He frowned. "My niece has a hard time sleeping right now. Usually, I would read her a bedtime story to get her to fall asleep. I read her one from the top of my memory."

I gasped. "You read?"

His face flushed. "Of course I do! Well, I do prefer picture books, though."

I chuckled. "I see. So, did your story work?"

He smiled. "Yeah, seems like it."

"Then I'll lend you my phone each night so that you can read to her."

His eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks, Nat! You're a real pal!"

I grinned. "Don't mention it."

"So, how's your family doing?"

"They're all watching movies. They seem to be doing well. Though my little brother finds the one they're watching boring."

"What's it about?"

"It's about a group looking for stones to put on a magical belt."

"Hey, I think I know that show! It's called Delryu, if I remember correctly. My sister and I used to watch it all the time! It's based on a book from Hoin, you know."

"Really? Had no idea. My nephews seem to enjoy it."

"You have nephews too?"

"Yeah, they're twins. I also have a niece."

"Wonder if she would get along with mine."

A lightbulb went off in my head. "We should organize a playdate later. My brother, their dad, visits this world often."

"That sounds awesome! We should-" He gasped as the lights began to blink. "What's going on? A storm?"

"There's no storm," Huo said as he peered out the window.

"Maybe a transformer blew out. Or maybe Kanja's at it again," I said, sighing.

"Hey! Don't blame this on her! She's reformed!" Carter snapped.

I averted my gaze. "I wouldn't be too sure." People didn't change that quickly.

He walked toward the door. "I'm going to go see. Once I've proved you wrong, you better say sorry to Kanja for thinking wrong of her!"

I sighed. "Wait. I'll go with you. You might end up tripping in the dark."

"What happened to the lights?" Aurelius asked, walking out of the bathroom. His black hair was dripping with water. He had only managed to put on his pants.

"Think Kanja's at it again," I said.

"There you go again!" Carter said, growling at me.

Our eyes shifted toward the door. Someone had knocked.

"Who's there?" Carter asked.

"It's me, Koukyuu. Are you boys alright?"

"Y-yeah, but Aurelius had to cut his shower short because of the lights."

"It's fine. I don't usually take long showers anyway," Aurelius said, smiling slightly.

"Is Kanja with you?" I asked.

"Yes, don't worry. I'm not out stealing anything," she said in an indignant tone.

Carter smile. "See, Nate? You were wrong."

I leered at him. "You're looking in the wrong direction."

He blushed as he turned to face me. "I-I knew that."

I chuckled. Liar.

I opened the door and was met with a glare from Kanja. "Sorry for thinking wrong of you, but you can't exactly blame me considering what you did earlier."

Kanja gritted her teeth but quickly relaxed them. She sighed. "Whatever, I won't demand to be accepted. I'll earn your trust eventually."

I smiled. "I doubt it."

She looked away. Her face was red.

"Hey, are you alright? You aren't sick."

Koukyuu cleared her throat. "Uh, I think you should fix your robe," she said, covering her mouth.

I looked down and saw that my robe had opened up, partially revealing my boxers. I adjusted my robe and turned around. "W-why couldn't you have crummy night vision like Carter over there?"

"Hey!" Carter yelled.

Suddenly, the lights turned back on.

"Hey, you fixed the light, Carter!" Aurelius said.

Carter blinked. "I did?"

He laughed. "I was kidding."

"And people say that I'm bad at catching jokes," Huo said.

Kanja blushed as soon as she noticed Aurelius was shirtless. "I got some great views," she mumbled as she walked away.

My face reddened. That girl was as perverted as Carter! No wonder they got along.

"Go and get some rest, boys. Tomorrow is a long day," Koukyuu said as she walked out.

"Yeah," Lidia said as she closed the door. Her face was slightly red as well, but at least had shame unlike Kanja.

"Alright," Carter said, running over to his bed.

I walked over to mine and pulled up the covers around me. Hopefully, tomorrow wouldn't be as embarrassing as today was.

My eyes widened as the lights went off again.

"Did you turn them off, Au?" I asked.

"No. It wasn't me."

"Huo?"

"It wasn't me either."

I looked at the window and saw a pair of red eyes staring at us.

"What the heck is that?" Carter asked, jumping.

"A ghost?" Aurelius asked. He ran over to the window and opened the curtains.

"See anyone?" Carter asked.

"No, there's no one."

"Maybe it was our imagination," Huo said.

Aurelius opened the window. "I'm not so sure. If that were the case, would the four of us really have seen the same thing?"

Huo gulped. "You have a point there."

"Why are you opening the window?" Carter asked, walking over to Aurelius.

"I'm going to find out who that figure was."

"And if that's what they want? Assuming it's not a figment of our imagination, to begin with."

"You have great night vision. If even you saw it, it couldn't be nothing."

He had a point there, except he's forgetting that the curtains were obscuring my view.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Carter said. "In the horror movies, something bad happens whenever the cast leaves the protection of wherever they're at."

"This isn't a horror movie, but I don't think it's wise to go either. We don't know what we're dealing with here."

Aurelius sighed and closed the window. "Fine, I'll stay. Don't want you going out looking for me if I go missing."

"Yeah, that's something that happens in horror movies a lot too," Carter said.

"You watch a lot of them?" I asked.

"A couple."

Aurelius turned around and gasped. He dashed toward us.

Carter and I turned around and saw a figure in black armor standing behind us.

"Relax, I'm not your enemy!" it boomed. It was hard to tell if it was male or female based on the voice. It raised a giant black sword in front of itself, blocking Aurelius' kick.

"Who are you, and why are you sneaking in here?" he asked, jumping back.

"I just wanted a place to stay."

Carter frowned. "Really?"

I sighed. Was he going to excuse it too? There was such a thing as too sympathetic.

"You could've asked. There are some very generous people out there," Aurelius said.

Huo nodded.

"Maybe to someone with looks like you, but look at me."

I stared at the hulking mass of black metal. Whoever was under it had to be almost as tall as me, and I was the tallest one here. Could the one residing inside be a Zionian like me? We tended to be taller than Xelerians.

"Why don't you take off that scary-looking helmet?" Carter said, pointing at the dragon-looking helmet. The only reason he could see it was because of the glowing red eyes beneath it.

"I can't!" it said, turning away.

"Are you ugly underneath?" Carter asked, tilting his head at it.

Man, the guy was blunt. Reminded me of one of my brother's companions.

The armored figured sighed. "T-that depends on the eye of the beholder."

Carter crossed his arms. "True. Some find a bald head hideous and others who find it attractive."

"I'm not bald!" the armored figure said. It turned around and huffed. "Anyway, sorry for barging in on you like this. I'll show my way out now."

The figure snapped its fingers and vanished from view.

"It's gone," Aurelius said, shocked.

Carter looked around. "Who do you think it was?"

"I don't know, but I'm still not convince that it isn't a ghost," Huo said.

I scratched my head. "I'm not sure about that, but we can try to figure it out tomorrow. For now, we need to get some sleep."

"You slept a lot on the train and still want to sleep?" Carter asked.

"I'm still tired," I said, jumping back into bed. That armored figure, something about its reaction makes me think it's a girl. But it could also be a guy sensitive about his looks. Hopefully, whoever is inside will be fine. Thankfully, it's not a stormy night.

**Solar Note: I hope that you're enjoying the arc thus far.**