After a bit, Rukhar came back. He saw Numi sleeping and Callie sitting in the bed, lost in thought. He sat down besides her.

"Hey." He said. "You ok?"

Callie nodded tiredly. "She's a handful..."

"I know Axel said it's tricky, but I envy her family. What happened?" Rukhar asked.

"Oh, Saber decided to visit and scared her." Callie said. "Poor girl keeps getting frightened by everything."

"I suppose." Rukhar said. "Her class is later today. You wanna take her, or should I take her again?"

"I can take her this time, a walk might help relax her." Callie said.

"She rode in my bag the whole time. How did you convince her to follow you on foot?" Rukhar asked.

"No idea." Callie laughed lightly.

Numi woke up later. Lunch held no issues. Numi enjoyed the fresh honey from the jungle, sugar free. Callie took her to her class, where she had lots of fun. She enjoyed practicing, and the other students were nice to her. She was slowly warming up to them. Lily gave her a big hug after class, and accidentally scratched the back plate of her armor. Numi didn't even notice. When Callie and Numi came home, it was dinner time.

"Did you have fun today?" Rukhar asked when Numi and Callie got back to the room.

"Yeah!" Numi said, enthusiastically. "I got to throw knives at the target again and I hit the middle!"

Callie giggled. "Yep. You did very well." She patted Numi's head.

For dinner, Numi wanted something different. So Rukhar picked her up and sneakily omitted all dishes with sugar while Numi wasn't looking. She eventually settled on a sky egg scramble. She didn't like the cloud peppers, but she ate everything else. After dinner, Callie and Numi stayed up for a little bit, but soon everyone went to bed.

Through the night, Numi's stress caught up with her finally. She had a terrible nightmare.

The sky was bloody red, as if it were angry. Acrid smoke billowed from the ground randomly. It seared Numi wherever it appeared. Dragons could be seen in the distance. Not the passive Jungle Dragons, but hostile Void and Hell dragons. Numi ran. She was too scared to think. Skittering could be heard, growing louder. She looked back and thousands of spiders just like the one she first saw in the jungle were chasing her. She turned back and kept running. However, she saw something else waiting in front of her. A towering figure, with a sharp sword covered in blue blood, grinning like a deranged inkling. And deep in it's eyes, she saw herself reflected back, but she was pale with black tentacles. She screamed frantically, but she didn't wake up until the figure split her down the middle with it's sword.

Numi shot out of bed in a cold sweat. She was crying in panic. The noise woke up Callie, who in turn woke up Rukhar when she got out of bed to comfort Numi.

"Shh... It's ok. It's ok. What's wrong?" Callie gently asked.

Numi was still sobbing uncontrollably.

"Come on now. It's ok. Did you have a bad dream?" Rukhar asked.

Numi nodded in between sobs.

"Aww... It's ok. It's just a dream. Just a dream." Callie stroked Numi's head.

Numi finally calmed down enough to say things.

"I.. I miss Kumi and Pumi and mom and dad!" She cried. "I'm scared!"

Callie continued to stroke her head while Rukhar thought.

"It's ok. Do you wanna see if they are awake?" Rukhar asked.

"But I can't!" Numi said. "I can't go home..." She sobbed more.

"Shh... Callie is stuck too." Rukhar said.

"I understand. It's ok. You can still talk to them. Like a phone call kinda." Callie said. "We just gotta call Axel and ask him to help."

"But..." Numi said. "What do you mean?" She was still crying.

Rukhar was saying random things about Axel, waiting for him to show up.

"I got really worried too, a few weeks ago." Callie said. "Axel made a magic hole that let me see everyone back home. I'm sure he can do the same thing for you."

"You really think so?" Numi looked up with tearful eyes.

Axel fell through the ceiling.

"It's no question. I can." He said. He already had an illusion to hide his more grotesque normal appearance. "I just need a minute."

He closed his eyes and examined Numi's memories. Eventually he found Kumi, who he moved his examination to. He went forwards, and found her at the present time. She was awake. In fact, it was early afternoon in her world. She was seated at a table, clearly worried absolutely sick. Another figure was there as well. Axel presumed it was Pumi.

"Found em." He said. "This is gonna surprise them a lot more than it's gonna surprise you."

A line of static appeared. It cracked for a moment, as if struggling to go through. Then it expanded into an open portal frame.

Kumi POV

Kumi had been tearing at her tentacles for the past couple days. Numi had vanished 2 days ago, but Kumi assumed she was staying the night at Arlies house or something. But then she realized Numi didn't have her backpack. She looked all around the city, and gathered that Numi had seemingly vanished after playing Turf Wars with her friends. She was beyond furious. She eventually found scorch lines in a back alleyway, and noticed something else as well. A Numi sized fingerprint on one of the marks, and several Numi sized bootprints leading to a wall. After that, nothing.

At the present moment she was eating lunch with Pumi. Both were beyond tense at the situation. Not having Numi around made it feel like the house wasn't a home, in a way.

"Pass the salt, please?" Kumi asked tiredly.

Pumi complied, but the salt didn't make it. A small portal had appeared on top of the table, and blocked the salt from crossing. Upon touching the portal, it rippled for a moment, and a slight hiss was heard.

Numi POV

"And someone connected." Axel said. "Don't ask me who, just someone."

The portal changed to a view of Kumi, trying to eat lunch.

"Wasn't her." Axel said. "Someone else is there. Probably Pumi."

Numi's eyes shot open. She ran to the portal and pressed her hands against it. "Kumi! Kumi! Kumi!" She called, as if Kumi couldn't hear her. Kumi reached out and pressed her hand against the portal as well.

"It's ok Numi. I'm here."

Kumi POV

A horrible, sickly rasp was the first thing that indicated something was not right. The tall, scarred figure in the back of the crowd Kumi could see seemed to make it. Then a figure Kumi had been hunting for burst into the front and pressed her hands against the ring, as if it were solid. "Kumi! Kumi! Kumi!" She shouted, as if not believing she could hear.

Kumi reached out and was surprised that the ring was indeed solid. She said the first thing that came to mind for the situation. "It's ok Numi. I'm here."

Numis eyes watered in clear relief. A warning bell rang in Kumis head. Pumi had by now gotten around to the front of the frame and saw the image as well.

A strange, gutteral voice was heard, almost animalistic. A different figure was standing next to an inkling that was clearly Callie. She replied, but neither Pumi nor Kumi understood anything she said besides Numi's name. Rather than be concerned with them, Kumi focused on Numi.

"Are you ok? Where are you?" She asked.

Numi nodded. "I'm ok. Callie and Rukhar have been very nice to me."

"Who?" Kumi asked. She recognized Callie's name, but the other was absolutely alien to her.

"Them!" Numi pointed.

Callie waved. Rukhar tried to speak, but again no one understood him.

"Ok... Where are you?" Kumi asked.

"I... Don't really know." Numi said. "I'm in a super big building, full of scary people, but everyone is really nice to me."

"Ok... Why is everyone behind you giant?" Kumi asked.

"Um... I don't know that either. And they can understand you. You just can't understand them. They have special helmets that help. Like mine!" Numi said.

Kumi finally paid attention to Numi's appearance. The bottom of her beanie was seen. A black helmet, like a motorcycle helmet was on her head, covering her ears. Instead of her coat, Numi had a suit of slightly baggy body armor. It was a pearly white, and glimmered. A semi-bulky glove was worn on her right hand. She couldn't see Numi's legs, however.

"What are you wearing?" She asked.

Numi rubbed her head. "I uh, um.... it's a long story."

Axel tried to speak again. But all Kumi heard was rasping.

"Yeah. But I don't know how to explain that." Numi replied.

"How can..." Now Kumi was at a loss. Pumi was long since lost. She had called Callie and gave up thinking when she answered and the Callie in the portal didn't move.

"Axel made this helmet. It lets me understand everyone!" Numi said. "Callie got me this armor. It's shiny. And Rukhar took me to a pretty it's lady and she gave me this glove. It does this!" Numi flicked her wrist and caught all four knives that came from the glove.

Seeing Numi with a handful of sharp objects set something off in Kumi. She started shouting.

"I don't know what idiot gave my sister weapons but I'll be having choice words with them!" She strongly shouted.

Callie put up her hands and said something else, but Kumi didn't understand it.

Axel tried once more.

"She's under very careful watch, and those knives are blunt." He said. Kumi got that. However, Axel's dialect was horribly broken.

"If there's even a scratch on her shiny armor I'll personally tear you all apart!" Kumi shouted.

"Please miss. Settle down. Numi wanted to call because she had a bad dream, please don't shout." Axel said.

This quieted Kumi. "Is she ok?" She asked.

"She's terrified of a lot. But Rukhar and Callie have been trying their best to keep her safe and happy. She's made a friend as well. Nothing can possibly get to her in this facility." Axel said.

"A facility? Where is it, I'll come get her." Kumi said. She jumped to her feet.

"Yeah uh... About that. I assume you found scorch marks I some alleyway?" Axel said. "Those were mine. I assume Numi crawled through a portal someone I was chasing left behind. This place is terribly hazardous, and Rukhar and Callie found her and took her here."

Kumi was very confused. "She has nothing?" She eventually said.

"Is she supposed to have something?" Axel asked.

"Pumi, get Numi's backpack please." Kumi said. Pumi snapped out of her confusion and went to get it.

"So yeah. She is." Axel said. "I'll take that for her."

Pumi got back. Axel reached his hand through the portal and grabbed it.

"But... It's solid..." Kumi said.

"I made it. If I wanna reach through I will. No I can't push Numi through, the shock would kill her." Axel said. "I'll leave you here to talk. I have things to do..." He vanished.

Numi and Kumi talked for a while. Of course Kumi wanted to know everything that was going on in the highest tier of detail possible.

"So what is Rukhar, exactly?" Kumi asked.

"He is a race X! They call themselves humans." Numi said happily. "He's very nice."

"Ok. Have they kept you safe? No sugar I hope?" Kumi asked. She desperately wanted to check Numi over herself.

Callie rubbed her head.

"They are nice. But they won't give me sugar..." Numi said.

Kumi sighed in relief internally.

"Why are they carrying weapons?" Kumi asked.

Rukhar scratched his head. He held up a drawing of a planet, an equals sign, and a warning sign.

"Yeah, I get the world is dangerous. But like, what's so bad wherever you are that you carry weapons every waking hour?" Kumi asked.

"Big spiders!" Numi said.

Callie took a paper and drew dragons, giant spiders, night crawlers, trolls, cave Hydras, and other hostile beasts.

Kumis expression grew slightly pale. "You mean to tell me that armies of huge, hostile monsters are all over the place?"

Callie nodded. She took a cave Hydra skull off of Rukhar's dresser to show how big some could be. The head was easily half as big as she was.

"That's..." Kumi trailed off.

Callie pointed to the cave Hydra picture.

"You killed one of those?" Kumi exclaimed. "How?"

Callie couldn't properly draw it out. Fortunately, Numi could translate. Rukhar told her what they did.

Numi relayed their battle. Rukhar damaging all of his swords, his injury, Callie's near death experience, Marie's desperate attempts to slow the beast down. Kumi looked stoically, starting to understand how deadly the world was wherever Numi was.

"Explain the glove Numi. Is it so you can go outside?" Kumi demanded.

Numi shook her head. "No. I'm just learning. A nurse said I had to toughen up a bit. She said I have low health."

"Are you sick?" Kumi asked.

Callie shook her head. She drew a muscular arm and an arrow pointing to herself and Rukhar. Then she added an arrow pointing to Numi, that was crossed out.

"She means Numi isn't very strong. That's not exactly news." Kumi said.

Callie added something. Numbers. They weren't the same as Kumi was used to, but she could read them. Callie, 11,400. Numi, 100.

Kumi nodded. "So she can't go outside safely?"

Callie nodded.

Numi yawned. She was feeling much better.

"What time is it right now?" Kumi was starting to gather they were very far away.

Callie wrote the time. 1:18.

"In the morning?" Kumi asked.

Rukhar nodded.

"Oh Numi. Do you feel better at least?" Kumi asked.

Numi nodded. "I wanted to see you again." She said. "Mister Axel made the magic hole for me."

"What do you mean magic?" Kumi asked. "She was aware of how Numi saw the world, but knew from her tone she meant something else.

Callie held up her hand. Then she turned it palm up and made a fireball.

"... How?" Kumi asked.

Callie made another. She shrugged.

"They don't know how to explain it. Mister Axel helps everyone learn." Numi said.

"Hmm." Kumi had nothing to say.

Numi yawned again, louder.

"Well I think a sleepy squid needs her sleep." Kumi said. Callie stepped sideways to show her setup.

"You are really looking out for her. Well, thank you I guess. When can she come home?" Kumi asked.

"I don't know." Numi said. "Mister Axel said it might be a while. I hope it isn't."

"Well, you have your backpack now. Maybe Otty will help you sleep?" Kumi suggested.

Numi opened her backpack and pulled out her plushie. "Otty!" She hugged it.

Callie smiled.

"I packed your scarf too. But don't put it on now." Kumi said. Numi had already dug it out.

"Ok..." She said.

Callie patted her head.

"How do I turn this thing off?" Kumi asked.

Callie made a poking motion.

Kumi poked the portal. It closed.

"Magic huh? I need to have words with that Axel person." She muttered.

"Were they aliens?" Pumi asked. She had finally calmed down.

"Well, not really." Kumi said. "Numi wasn't abducted or anything like that."

Pumi sighed in disappointment.

"One day..." She said quietly. "One day I'll find one."

"Good luck with that one." Kumi said. "Now may I have that salt?"

With no portal in the way, Pumi successfully passed the salt.

Numi POV

Numi was snuggled into her bed, holding Otty, gently munching on him. She would not have another nightmare that night.