Boom. One. Boom. Two. Boom. Three. Boom. Four. Boom. Five. Boom. Six. I watch in dismay as the six smoke rings disappear from the sky. Six days gone, 24 left. Luckily, it would seem Vienna had figured everything out. Of course there were introductions first. There was Marie, the smug frog Tailer who dragged me over here, a strange winged monkey named Azuil, who acts as the assistant of the Mirken Vienna, who runs the whole outfit.

Vienna was a very beautiful Mirken - which begs the question of why she runs the outfit. She had long ears, as all Mirkens do, but she was one of the only apparent crosses between cat and human I've ever seen, that wasn't a Catry at least. Bah! Mirkens.... I think, rolling my eyes, as I lay atop my roof. It would seem that the "flying barrel" wasn't as far from my house as it would seem.

"Not long away? It was a two hour walk!" I had exclaimed a few hours earlier in a conversation between Marie, Vienna, and I.

"No, we walked for two hours, but it's only around 15 minutes away." Marie explains.

"Then why did we walk for two hours?" I had demanded.

"Because, I wanted to see your city! Plus, we had to do something while waiting. I wasn't supposed to bring you in until the evening, so I decided you and I would go on a walkabout in circles!" She answered. I opened my mouth to say something sharp, but Azuil had cut in.

"We need you back here tomorrow, do you think you can do that?"

"I have school." I answered bluntly. "Tomorrow's Monday."

"Yes, we all have school. Unfortunately, Myrror decided to go for a bunch of idiotic teens when choosing Earth's 'army.'" Marie piped in, laughing.

"Hey, you want to talk about idiotic teens? How about taking someone in a long leisurely stroll for at least five hours?! You don't get a say in that one, so stuff it!" I snapped.

"Calm yourself, Klere, we needn't make rivalries among one another, especially not in the next 24 days." Vienna had hushed me.

24 days... this planet is so screwed! I think, staring up at the midnight sky. I roll my eyes as I think about my plans for tomorrow. School with Ms. Veronica, and that obnoxious Mary Kate! MK and I had already experienced two "wonderful" classtimes together, and believe me, we were both desperate. Even if she were an alien like me, I could never socialize with one such as her! I don't understand how she could think how she does... it's just not right! And that name! Mary Kate... sounds just so... disgusting! I think, growing frustrated the more I think about it.

Finally, I sigh, jumping off the roof, and dragging my tired, frustrated self inside. No use getting upset over it. I tell myself, falling back onto my cot and closing my eyes, allowing my mind to drift away into a deep, troubled sleep.

******

"Good morning!"

"Ah!" I yelp, turning around in surprise, my head banging into my locker door.

"How are ya?" Still rubbing my sore head, I look up and groan, as Daxter's bright gaze meets mine.

"Never better," I answer ingenuinely, "what do you want?"

"What do you think I want?" Daxter asks, giving me an innocently confused look.

"Well, certainly you've scared the living daylights out of me for a reason." I answer hotly.

"Of course I did, to tell you good morning!"

"That's it?"

"That's it!"

"You're joking." I squeeze my hands into tight fists, in an attempt to control my temper.

"No, of course not! Hope you've had a good morning so far?" Daxter responds, grinning, obviously not catching my annoyance. Don't flip out. Don't flip out. I tell myself.

"Terrific." I mutter through gritted teeth.

"Good, good!" He exclaims, his grin becoming ever toothier. Your smile offends me. I think as I feel heat flooding into my cheeks.

"Dax! Come on, no need to tick her off." Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Jack's jet black fur, and stone-cold face. Turning around, Daxter spots him and waves. Rolling my eyes, I turn back to my locker and collect my books for the next couple of classes.

"Good morning, Jack!" Daxter exclaims.

"Indeed." Jack mutters, half-heartedly. "Did either of you two talk with Vienna about the task?"

"Yes." Daxter and I answer in unison.

"Task? What'd you do, forget your homework?" I turn around curiously, facing the unfamiliar voice. A Tailer, she was, some breed of wolf by the look of it. Her fur was snow white, and her eyes a dark blue. Her gaze was cold, and her expression ominous.

"Oh, good morning, good lady!" Daxter greets her cheerfully, giving her a polite bow.

"What are you doing here?" Jack questions, his voice rather unwelcoming.

"Oh, you know, wondering around, taking in the satisfaction of my perfect, perfect world! Then I saw you, and the wonderful moment was broken." The Tailer's voice is blunt, it is obvious she intends to insult him.

"Sorry I had to ruin your day." Jack responds indifferently.

"No, you're not, you're not sorry for anything. None of you freaks are." She snarls, giving him a look of disgust.

"Who are you calling 'freak,' Snow White?" I snap.

"Klere," Jack mutters sharply, his tone authoritative, indicating for me to stop. The Tailer turns her eyes on me.

"And who are you?" She asks, ignoring my question.

"I'm the girl who's offended by your presence." I reply bitterly.

"Klere!" Jack says again, his voice sharper and louder.

"Is that so?" The Tailer challenges me.

"Oh, it's so! Who do you think you are, calling us 'freaks' with your 'freak' self?" I snarl.

"How dare you! I, myself, am not one of these... these monsters!" She exclaims, looking at Jack.

"You're just as much a monster as him or I." I growl.

"Klere, she's not insulting aliens." Jack snaps. I give him a weird look, and the Tailer pauses, then laughs, realizing the confusion.

"I don't see what's so funny." I glare at her.

"Oh, there is definitely some humor at hand. You thought I was insulting aliens? Good, golly! You poor, confused child. I do not insult the average citizen, just those who've proven themselves unclean, unworthy of life."

"And you think Jack is 'unclean?'" I ask, giving her a weird look.

"Oh, dear, I know he's not. Do you know what Jack is?"

"An alien."

"No, you've got it all wrong. I mean do you know what race he is?" She asks. I think about it for a split second, but before I've had time to answer, she continues. "He's a Murk, dear girl! Do you know what a Murk is?"

"Heard of them..." I mutter uncomfortably. Ignoring my answer, she continues.

"Murks are a group of non-intelligent hoodlums who run around destroying planets, taking captives, and torturing prisoners using physical violence and a strange mental magic called Kawii." She explains. I raise an eyebrow. You make it sound bad. I think sarcastically.

"Good golly, where are my manners," the Tailer pipes up, "I haven't introduced myself! I am Tiare, and you are?"

"Klere." I mumble, cautiously shaking her hand.

"A great pleasure, Klere, I hope that our acquaintance will grow to become friendship." She says, nodding her head in farewell. I nod back, refusing to smile. You hope too much. I think bluntly. As she walks by, she shoots Jack a cold look.

"Jack." she says, nodding.

"Tiare." He nods back. With that, she disappears into the crowd running around the hallway.

"Man, that girl freaks me out sometimes." Daxter thinks aloud.

"What's her problem with Murks?" I ask, turning to Jack.

"She thinks just about as 'white and pure' as she looks. She hates radical or uncivilized groups or races, like mine." He answers.

"So you're a murk... that explains a lot."

"Does it?" I open my mouth to answer, but the school bell rings. Sighing, I realize it'll have to wait, swinging my locker door closed and trudging off to my first class of the day.

******

I rest my head in the palm of my hand, writing out the problems question by question. Raven, who sits next to me, mumbles on and on about something, but it certainly wasn't math class related. For the first five minutes, I try to ignore him, but five minutes is all I'll take of the non stop mumbling.

"What are you blabbering about over there?" I snap.

"What? Oh, nothing, just thinking about something." Raven stammers, his train of thought broken.

"Cool. Think about it quietly, please." I mutter sourly.

"Apologies." Raven whispers back, turning his attention back to his math work. Sighing inwardly, I look back at mine, going through the questions problem by problem, step by step. I think about the past week. Today is the seventh day, and it was flying by quickly.

"Ugh." I groan in annoyance, gripping my head as I think. I let my fingers curl through my light blonde hair, gritting my teeth at every bad memory of these "games." The bell rings. I snatch my books up, and quickly make my way out of the classroom.

"Hi there!"

"Ack!" Dropping my school books, I whip around.

"Daxter, you--!" I sigh, refusing to let my temper slip on someone so stupid. "We really need to get you a bell." I think aloud.

"What would a bell do?"

"Never mind. Don't you have somewhere to be? Like next class?" I ask.

"Of course I do, just thought I'd drop by and say hi. You look distressed, do you need a hug?"

"No. Go away." I answer.

"That's sad to hear." He says, his voice soft and sympathetic. Nevertheless, his compassionate frown is quickly replaced by a cheery grin once more. It's like he doesn't have a care in the world... I think to myself.

"Well, I'm off! By the way, I'd be on the lookout if I were you." He adds.

"Yeah? For what?" I ask, hardly interested.

"Word is that Tiare and her group of 'holy molies' are on the lookout for Murk supporters. Rumblings about you and Raven.

"Why would I support a bunch of crappy space-pirates gone homicidal?" I ask in disgust.

"Because when Tiare popped by earlier, you were with Jack and I."

"Well... why Raven? He wasn't there." I stammer.

"Not sure, try ask Tiare?" Daxter suggests, shrugging. Without waiting for a response, he walks off to his next class. I roll my eyes at his entirely useless suggestion.

"Try asking Tiare! Sure! What should I ask? 'Hey Tiare, there are rumors spreading that you hate me and Raven. Can you tell us why?'" I scoff, my tone sarcastic and ingenuine. I try to dismiss the thought from my mind as time rolls, and I get through each class of the day one by one, until I'm back to Literature again. Oh great, just what I've been waiting for... I think, throwing my stuff down on the desk. MK watches me get situated, shaking her head in disgust. I give her a mocking smile.

"Hey there, raw chicken, how's biz?" I ask, plopping down next to her.

"Biz just got slow." She answers bluntly.

"Yeah, no joke." I retort. When she doesn't say anything back, I turn my head away, looking down at my desk and retreating to my thoughts once more. My thoughts are interrupted, however, when I realize MK has started touching my tail. I had rested it on my desk, tapping it to some beat I had been playing over in my head. Then I feel a cold pair of fingers touch it, and I watch as MK absentmindedly strokes it. I open my mouth to snap, about to pull it out of her grasp, but stop. She's isn't mocking it, in fact she seems more... curious.

And she said it was ugly! How do you like it now? I sneer. Still, even with my instinctive anger and ugly thoughts, I watch her uncomfortably, and leave her to play with the little tuft of fur. I sigh. Perhaps we've both taken jabs we didn't think twice about.

******

Opening my locker, I throw my books inside and slam it shut with satisfaction. The end of the day! Just what I'd been looking forward to.

"Hey Klere!"

"Holy--!" I turn around, growling at Daxter's wide grin.

"Will you stop that?"

"Stop what?"

"Sneaking up on me like that!"

"Why? Can't you hear me coming? I thought Catries were supposed to have good hearing?"

"We do."

"Then why not use it." Daxter suggests. I open my mouth to give a nasty retort, but I am interrupted by someone I definitely did not expect to see again.

"Afternoon, Klere. Daxter." Tiare greets us.

"Hi Tiare!" Daxter returns the greeting, smiling at the snow-white Tailer.

"Tiare, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I ask, giving her a straight face.

"You seem angry, am I interrupting something?" Tiare asks, seemingly concerned.

"Nope, absolutely nothing." I answer, shooting Daxter a quick glare. As usual, my hint is ignored. Gone straight through Daxter's hollow head.

"Good, good!" She exclaims, delighted. Pausing, she checks both ways down the empty corridor halls, twitching her ears back and forth as if to listen for someone.

"What are you looking for?" I ask skeptically.

"She doesn't like any witnesses around when she's doing business." Daxter answers.

"Business? What is-- wait a minute, how do you--"

"Alright, listen, both of you!" Tiare snaps, her pleasant voice suddenly becoming low and authoritative. Her relaxed face now grim and serious. "I don't know what you think you're playing against, but I don't take kindly to people like you-know-who."

"Murks?" I ask.

"No, one specific Murk I'm thinking of."

"She means Jack." Daxter says, glancing at me from the side.

"And I most especially dislike it when people like you get in the way of my work!"

"Me? Your work? What the tail feathers are you talking about?" I mutter.

"I'm talking about you-know-who! You're associated with him. Both of you! Daxter's been his side-by-side for the past week, and don't even try to deny you socialising with him this morning. My job is to rid the world of monsters like him, and I don't need any complications."

"Why is that your job?" I smirk, unable to resist a little laugh.

"Because I'm the only one who seems to realize what he is."

"He's a boy."

"That's what they all say. 'He's only a kid,' 'everyone deserves a second chance,' well you know what I say to that? Bah, Humbug! That's what!"

"How do you plan to 'rid the world' of people like him?" I sneer, still tickled at her ridiculous proposal.

"By whatever means." She answers, her voice quiet and grave, and my mocking smile fades.

"You're going to kill him!" I exclaim.

"Wait, what? You are?" Daxter pipes up, slightly shocked.

"Quiet, Daxter, the grown-ups are talking. And I never said that, I just said 'by whatever means.'"

"You murderer! You're going to kill him!" I scream.

"Why not? He killed first!"

"Did not!"

"Who are you to be the judge of that! Do you know him? You've only first met him, you twit! Has he told you what he's done in the past? Did he tell you what mistake he made? What that cost him? Why I must rid the world of people like him?"

"What are you blabbering about?"

"He's a killer, Klere! Believe it or not, that he is! A little girl, age seven. He slaughtered her where she stood!"

"Yeah? How do you know that?"

"Because I'm the one who got the little girl captured in the first place." Tiare snarls, lowering her voice. My eyes widen, as I try to process it all out. Captured? By who? "Yes, I am responsible for all that little girl's suffering. But I don't expect one such as yourself to understand."

"Why would you... who? Who captured the girl?"

"The Murks! Did I not tell you who they are? They're murderers! All of them! They only speak in three languages: capture, kill, and destroy! They take prisoners, kill the rest, and destroy the entire planet itself! Leaving any remaining survivors, animals, or life to die in its misery!"

"And you got a little seven year old captured by those creeps?"

"She deserved it. The girl was a spoiled brat. So was her family. They deserved to die!"

"You... freak!" I yell. Tiare shakes her head, smirking at me.

"Oh, there's no need for that, dear girl." She says, lowering her voice so it's soft and sweet once more, then her smile disappears. "Stay out of my business, traitor!" She snarls. There is a pause, and Tiare turns to leave.

"What happens if I don't?" I growl. Glancing over her shoulder, Tiare frowns at me.

"I got a seven year old kidnapped by a group of ruthless savages. I'm not afraid to do it again." She warns me. She starts walking away, then stops, like she forgot something, and glances back at me once more. "Oh, yes, and do be kind enough not to tell Jack. I'd rather this not be too personal. He loved that little girl, you know, they were such great friends."

"Well, you're full of surprises." I mutter.

"Have a nice day, you two!" She calls, and then she's gone.

"Wow! Tiare was responsible for Jenny's capture? I never knew that..." Daxter mutters to himself.

"Jenny?"

"The seven year old girl. She was a prisoner back when Jack lived on one of those murky ship things." He explains.

"They were friends?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah, they had a lot in common."

"Like what?"

"They both hated every murk on that ship." I laugh.

"Fair enough." I say, easing up a bit. However the moment wasn't entirely restored. I still felt heavy inside. Tiare wants to kill him... but why? Why go through such great measures for one boy? There must be something behind all of this, motivating her against him.

"Well, see you at the meeting place!" Daxter says, seeing that I have nothing left to say. Waving in goodbye, he turns to walk off. I watch him go, replaying the last conversation through my mind.

"Hey, Dax, wait up!" I call, running after him. Turning around, he waits for me to catch up and we walk together to the flying barrel.

"All that stuff you told me about Jack... back at school... how do you know all of that?" I ask as we roll the barrel into position. Daxter looks thoughtfully for a second, finally looking back up at me. He still smiles, but his smile is less toothy, less cheesy, more like a warm glow.

"Can you keep a secret?" He asks. I hesitate, then nod. I have nothing against keeping secrets. I tell myself casually. "Jack and I are not unfamiliar with each other, as most of the Survivors are. I've known Jack since he escaped the Murk ship eight years ago. He's told me a lot since then, we know a lot about each other." He explains. My eyes widen slightly.

"You guys are friends? Every time I see you together, it seems so forced, it doesn't ever look like you guys want to hang out with each other."

"We make it look that way because of... complications." He stammers.

"Complications?" I question, climbing into the barrel.

"Tiare." He answers.

"Oh, I see." I mumble softly. "Well, you do a pretty good job of acting unfriendly towards each other. When you talk to each other, how do you know when he's real or when he's just acting?"

"Jack and I have been friends for quite a long time, at this point, you can naturally tell the difference." Daxter replies. I nod silently, watching Daxter fiddle with the wires up front, just as Marie had done. I smirk.

"Never pegged you as a fly boy." I joke. Daxter glances back at me, smiling mischievously.

"I'm not." He laughs. My smile fades. You've got to be joking... I think, but before I can protest, we're plummeting down the dark hole once more. I can only hope he crossed his wires correctly. To my eternal relief, the ride proceeds as it had before, the engines clicking on just in time to send us flying through the dark tunnel, emerging into the glass tube, and back through the dark tunnel. I find the ride to be less stressful now that I knew what to expect, and for most of it, I stare absentmindedly out the glass window of the barrel. I watch as we fly past the earth's core, back into the pitch black tunnel, and up the elevator, back to the surface.

I follow Daxter to the abandoned school, which, as it would seem, was only a ten minute walk away. I roll my eyes, thinking about the number of hours it had taken for me and Marie to get here, walking in circles around the place all day.

"Where are we anyway?" I ask, looking up at the tall buildings as we pass them.

"A small city in Southeast China, Hong Kong is what they call it." Daxter answers. Heading between the two mountains, we find the school and take the elevator down to the basement floor, or 'B1.' Such a ridiculous name. I think, staring at the button on the elevator wall. With a small dinging noise, the elevator opens to reveal the basement floor, and we walk down the dark hall, walking into the very last room at the end where Vienna has already gotten everything set up.

"Oh, hello you two, you're early!" Vienna exclaims, spotting us as we come in. Daxter grins, waving enthusiastically at Vienna in greeting.

"So what do you guys do here? Just sit and talk?" I ask, looking around the room.

"For now, for now. We've only just found everyone and are working on the task Myrror has for us."

"So you guys figured it out?"

"Yes, of course, some of the first Survivors we found already had the answers to that."

"So what is it?" Daxter asks, partially excited.

"It would seem that the Gamers' weapon used to destroy planets is a power stone, which has been effectively hidden somewhere on this planet. If we manage to possess it before the 30 days is up, we win."

"A power stone?" I question.

"Haven't you heard of power stones? Well, most people call them power stones for short. They're actually called something else - some long scienc-y name that no one knows."

"What are they?"

"Concentrated crystals of power. There are many types of incomprehensible magic in the universe, Klere, and some of the most powerful of magics has been concentrated into these crystals, which most of the universe knows as 'power stones.'"

"Fascinating..." I mumble, raising an eyebrow at the thought of what these "power stones" were capable of doing. "What exactly can one do with a power rock?"

"Power stone. It depends. Some power stones have certain types of magic, with certain abilities. Others are just crystals of energy that can be used for all sorts of purposes." Vienna explains.

"Where were you two? We searched the whole school for you!" I turn around to find a very frustrated Raven and Jack.

"We were here, we came straight here after school." Daxter answers, giving him a bewildered look. Raven sighs, burying his face in the palm of his hand.

"We really need to arrange a meeting place after school." He mutters. Following the two of them came Marie and a strange feathery bird alien.

"Oh, hey guys! I assume you've met Kai?" Marie greets us.

"No, actually." I respond half-consciously, examining Kai's "bird-like form."

"Oh! Well in that case, Kai meet Klere, Klere meet Kai." she introduces. Kai reaches out his hand, I shake it, still looking him over head to toe. He looks like a brown and white falcon, with fingers at the tip of each wing. He had red eyes, was practically covered in feathers, and was chewing on a grain stalk.

"Pleasure." He greets me as we shake hands.

"Indeed." I mumble back.

"Well, now that we've been properly introduced, let's discuss our next move while we wait for--"

"Guys! Guys! We found it! We found it!" Azuil comes running in with two other aliens I didn't recognise.

"What?" Vienna exclaims, perking her ears.

"We know the location of the stone!"

"What? Where? How?" I stammer, but they've already took off running back down the hall.

"Come on! We've not a moment to lose!" Azuil calls back at us. Jack and I glance at each other, then begin running after him. From the clip-clopping of feet, I know the rest of them are running behind us. We chase the three aliens for what feels like hours, until finally we stop at a nuclear plant a ways outside of the city part of Hong Kong.

"It's somewhere in there." Azuil points hesitantly at the fast plantation. Vienna sighs.

"Alright, team, we've got no better plan. Just keep quiet, keep low, and whatever you do, do not get spotted." She instructs us.

"Wait, what? We're all going in there?" Daxter exclaims.

"I agree, we shouldn't go in there - at least not all of us. Send one of us in to look for the stone." Jack agrees.

"One? No, three would be more sufficient." Azuil argues. Vienna gives Jack a respectful nod.

"Very well, thank you for volunteering, Jack. We'll compromise: two of us will enter. Any takers?" Vienna asks. Yeah, right. No way I'm going into some berfreakin nuclear plant of death to find some rock-- my thoughts are cut off as I realize something. I didn't want to go into some stupid plantation but I did need to talk with Jack. Rolling my eyes, I sigh to myself. It's not like the nuclear stuff can kill me... right?

"I'll go." I volunteer unwillingly. Vienna smiles at me.

"Good, now off with you two! The more time we waste, the more likely it is the Survival Gamers have already found it!" Not waiting around to hear more of their chattering, I follow Jack down the small hill we were up on towards the entrance to the plant.