The towering creature returned shortly, balancing a tray of tall, sleek glasses. For the first time, he breezed over the threshold and right over to the table. Scarlett watched hopefully as the robed beast bent down and placed one of the tall glasses in front of each of the teenagers and sat the leftover cup towards the empty chair. Once he had finished, he bowed slightly and said, "This will relieve you of your ill side effects. Drink up." Then he left in silence.

The scent of the steam that rose up from the dark glass reminded Scarlett of something between the smell of ginger ale and the taste of cola. She glanced around at her "teammates" (she might as well get used to calling them that) who were swishing the liquid and sniffing it in doubt. She shrugged and decided to be the first one to take a sip, reasoning that its heat would at least chase her chills away. Her fingers traced the outside of the warm glass before she brought it up to her lips and tilted the end upwards.

A delightful, sweet taste filled her mouth as she sipped the thick liquid. She felt warmth trickle down her bones until she was no longer cold and sore, but warm and relaxed. Scarlett set the glass on the table and licked her lips with pleasure. She gave a nod to her teammates, who were looking at her with wide, asking eyes.

"It's wonderful. And I feel so much better now," she told them, reclining back in her chair as she glanced around the oval table.

She watched them all give their glasses doubtful looks. The twins exchanged glances and both braced themselves before they took a quick swig of the liquid. Scarlett could tell the exact moment the fluid hit their tongues because they both visibly relaxed and took another, slower drink from the glass.

Sage just glared wearily at the glass in front of him. Scarlett watched him shudder and turn away from it, curling back up in his chair. She frowned and mentally sighed.

"Sage," she said softly. "Take a sip of it, please. Just one. I promise it will make you feel better."

Sage briefly looked at her before sighing. He uncoiled himself slowly and reached for the still steaming glass. She could see his arm quake as he brought the cup up to his nose, taking a quick whiff of it. It took him a while, but he finally took a very slow, gentle gulp from the sleek glass.

"Do you feel better?" Scarlett asked, hoping she didn't sound triumphant.

Sage gently nodded.

"Good," she said, but she was interrupted by one of the twins.

"Someone's coming!" Marcus called, pointing.

Everyone quickly turned in their seats, eyes directed toward the lone standing doorway at the front of the room. Scarlett nervously ran her fingers around the warm glass rim, sending her glance back and forth between the azure waters through the window and the empty hallway beyond Sage's shoulder.

Who could her last teammate be?

Then, a pretty faced girl with fear in her eyes and exhaustion on her face came into view, her shoulder-length chestnut hair swishing the sides her round face as she followed mindlessly behind the towering, dark-robed beast. Everyone melted back into their seats, satisfied that the girl was no one familiar. That is, everyone except Scarlett.

She rose to her feet so fast that she didn't even realize she was standing until her chair fell backward with a loud bam!

The dark haired girl lifted her eyes up and quickly scanned the room, her eyes growing wide as she noted each face around the table. It took Scarlett only a few seconds to rush around the table and tackle the short-haired girl in a hug.

"Whoa!" the girl cried, barely catching her balance before trying to wriggle out of the smothering hug. "Grace, chill!"

Scarlett Grace backed off a little bit, but still kept the girl's hands in her own.

"Oh, Chrissy! I'm so glad you're here!" Scarlett breathed, meeting the girl's shimmering cinnamon brown eyes.

Then Scarlett sent a quick glance backward at the boys, who were watching with interest. She leaned closer to Chrissy and softly exclaimed, "Marcus and Martinus are here!"

"I noticed," Chrissy replied in barely a whisper.

"And Sage! Sage Rosen is here! Kidnapped with us!" Scarlett Grace enthused, her eyes shifting around Chrissy's face.

Chrissy began to nod gently and roll her eyes. Then she suddenly wobbled and stumbled forward, her cousin barely catching her before she hit the ground. Chrissy's shuddered and lifted her gaze up to Scarlett, her eyes wide with concern.

"My knee gave out," Chrissy whined softly, her voice full of worry.

Scarlett glanced around for the robed beast, but he was nowhere in sight. She gazed backward again and pointed to the upright empty chair saying, "Someone, pull that out."

Martinus jumped up and hurried to angle the chair as Scarlett helped her shaking cousin move over to her seat. Once Chrissy lowered herself gently down in the wooden chair, Scarlett slid the untouched glass across the table and up to Chrissy, watching with a smile as Chrissy leaned over and immediately turned her nose up at the liquid.

"N-no thanks," Chrissy said, pushing it away.

"Drink it!" The other four said in unison.

Chrissy glanced at everyone with a confused face.

"It'll ease the effects of the drug you were given," Scarlett elaborated with a grin and a nod.

Chrissy sighed and pulled the glass back, peering into it before she picked it up. Scarlett resumed her own seat next to her cousin and thanked Martinus as he did the same. She glanced over at Chrissy and saw her cousin eye the lean blonde as he sat back down next to Marcus. Scarlett cleared her throat softly and caught her cousin's attention.

"Drink it," Scarlett mouthed as she cut her eyes to Chrissy's glass. An amused smile painted Scarlett's face as she watched Chrissy's subtle observance of the twins.

"So," Scarlett said, deciding to move on. "Introductions. I'm sure most of us know each other's names, but let's make sure. This is my cousin, Chrissy. Chrissy, you recognize Marcus, Martinus, and Sage, right?"

Chrissy looked at everyone briefly and nodded before glancing at the second pizza and the plates that were just out of her reach.

Martinus followed her gaze and slid one of the plates over to Chrissy as he said, "Nice to meet you, Chrissy,"

Marcus nodded in agreement and Chrissy returned the greeting. She filled her plate then immediately swiveled around and whispered-growled to Scarlett, "Why did you introduce me? I can do it myself."

"Sorry," Scarlett replied sheepishly, a bit surprised at her reaction. "I guess I just know everyone here so I felt like it was my responsibility."

Chrissy pulled away and Scarlett let her gaze linger for a moment.

"Anyway," Scarlett continued. "I believe I introduced myself to the twins, but I never gave you my name, Mr. Rosen." Scarlett took a breath and reached her hand across the table to Sage, feeling her heartbeats get more rapid. "I'm Scarlett Grace, and it's truly a pleasure to meet you, Sage Rosen."

She watched him with a tinge of fear. To her relief, Sage reached across the table as well and their hands met in the middle. As they grasped hands and gave a firm shake, Scarlett allowed herself to gaze into his clear chocolate-brown eyes. She was actually starting to enjoy being abducted.

Another robed creature, with an air of exaggerated authority and an expression of unnecessary sternness, suddenly strode into the quiet room, the other creature from before following just behind the first one's shoulder. Fear settled over the room like a heavy blanket as the stuffy creature glared down his nose at all the teenagers before moving to the window in silence.

Scarlett and Chrissy exchanged glances.

The kind robed beast moved to stand idly at the wall next to the window, waiting for his companion to do something. But his companion didn't move again, he just clasped his barely exposed hands behind his back and gazed out the clear window to the incredible drop down below as the waves rose and sank in beautiful chaos.

"I assume you've all met each other by now." The stern creature finally growled, face practically pressed against the long window.

No one answered and there was nothing but the muted crashing waves for a moment.

"Stand to your feet, please," the creature demanded, very slowly swiveling and gliding across the dark floors to the front of the table.

Scarlett gulped. Everyone slowly rose from their steady chairs, warily looking around for a sign of what to do. The five of them awkwardly stood around the oval table, waiting for another command.

"Line up, please," the beast growled, vaguely gesturing to the wall with the window.

Was this guy for real? Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a disgusted glare that he didn't even acknowledge. She caught the kind robed creature out of the corner of her eye and did a double take of his expression. Was he trying to apologize for his companion? Honestly, she would've apologized if she knew this guy too.

Scarlett turned with a soft face to her cousin and offered her hand. Her cousin simply waved if off and scooted past the table, her weak knee obviously a thing of the past. Scarlett shrugged and smiled, swinging around to follow Chrissy.

The beast that Scarlett had now deemed as "evil" gave her a disgusted grimace when he saw her passing smile. She gladly returned the gesture and made her way to the line her teammates were forming. Screw hesitating, she thought harshly to herself, firmly planting herself at the end of the line, next to Sage. I'm going to have to quit being so shy if I want to get the best out of this situation. She discreetly snuck a glimpse to her left, catching only the side of Sage's anxious face. His face looked distant like he was somewhere far, far away. Maybe it was just his way of hiding fear, she reasoned.

Once they had lined up straight and neat, both of the robed creatures came to stand in front of them all and quietly conferred. The two of them broke away, seeming like neither had changed their attitude.

With a high-and-mighty snarl, the stuffy beast began, "I am Counselor Galdavue and my colleague is Counselor Benno."

Benno, the kind beast, nodded with a tiny smile. Martinus was the only one who returned the smile.

The Galdavue guy slowly moved down the line again and loudly reclasped his hands at his back. The sudden noise caused Scarlett's heart to leap. She glared and watched closely as the mean counselor came to a stop in front of her and Sage. She saw Sage tense when Galdavue leaned in between the two of them, looking each of their faces up and down. Scarlett gulped before the condescending counselor recoiled his long upper body and glared down at the two brunettes.

"May I inquire," he began, moving his eyes off around the room. "As to why Miss Campbell and Mister Rosen have removed the shoes we so generously provided them with?"

Both of them immediately shot glances down at their feet, having completely forgotten that they'd chosen to be barefoot this whole time.

"You may inquire," Scarlett said, startled at the fake bravery in her words. "But you might not get an answer."

Sage snuck a wide-eyed glace her way but Scarlett couldn't hold the gaze. What had just happened? Why did she do that?

Galdavue clicked his tongue and shook his head at her before stepping backward for Benno to take over.

"Counselor Galdauve and I are here to inform you of your current circumstances," Benno said, stepping forward. "The first thing we are here to do, though, is make sure you have all gotten each other's names." He moved down to the left end of the line, where Marcus stood. "Let's start here. This is Mister Marcus Gunnarsen, everyone. Next is his twin brother, Martinus Gunnarsen. Then is Chrissy Edwards, Sage Rosen, and lastly Scarlett Grace Campbell, also known as 'Grace' to her close family like her cousin miss Edwards."

Benno stood still, looming over Scarlett gracefully. She lifted her eyes up to the beast and carefully met his mesmerizing ivory tinted eyes. She felt she wasn't anything special compared to normal people, much less her extraordinary teammates, so she was thankful that the Benno creature hadn't mentioned anything about fame or talents, if they even knew about thosw kind if things.

"Now," Benno said moving to the center of the line. He stood up straight and moved his eyes from face to face, even though most of them were downturned. "You probably are all wondering why you are here and where here even is."

He waited for a response. A few of the teens nodded at him.

"Well then, I would like to be the first to welcome this team to Latster," Benno said with a dramatic sweep of his arm.

For the first time, all of the teenagers at once lifted their eyes from the ground and watched Benno with wide eyes. Something about the way he said it, made it sound like being there was a mighty big risk but also a great and rare privilege.

"You are here for a wonderful occasion, young ones! I am very honored to be explaining such an important event to such talented teenagers as yourself," Benno said, his words flowing over his soft voice like water over smooth stones.

Suddenly Scarlett found it harder to breathe. First, this wasn't some normal kidnapping, which she had already sort of figured out based on the setting and weird aliens. Second, now her teammates, role models that she looked up to, had been introduced to her as "talented" and she felt she was nothing of the sort.

She snuck a glance to the line of teenagers, trying to guess their thoughts from their expressions. Sage stared straight ahead, his features soft but his eyes swirling with emotion. Chrissy let her gaze drop to the ground in the single moment of silence, and she just barely brushed her thumbs back and forth on her folded hands. Martinus kept shifting his eyes from Benno to Galdavue, his face blank. Marcus didn't move at all, except for clenching and unclenching his jaw repeatedly.

Scarlett could tell Sage was deep in thought and Chrissy was anxious. But Scarlett couldn't read the twins at all, which ticked her off.

"The time is near, for our beautiful planet of Latster to reach another full orbit around the great star, Stella Magna! For many years we have had a tradition to hold a performance including the most talented teenagers of your planet Earth. Every ten years on your planet, we take thirty teenagers total and divide them into groups of five. You are one of those groups!

"Once we have chosen the teams, we hold a competition where all of the teams face off against each other. One team is eliminated every round. At the final round the judges hold the answers until our grand horologium, what you would call a sundial, reaches a certain point. When the horologium reaches the designated point, the winner is revealed and gets to proceed to the final performance at our Stella Magna celebration!

"We hold this celebration because us Laehuaes hold no Earthly talents. We have skills that we will use to assist your performances to make sure you can show us your full potential, but we have no gifts of special talent like you humans."

Benno finally stopped to take a breath, looking over the teenagers gaping faces and wide, unbelieving eyes. He smiled at them, eyes dancing with silent laughter.

"The human reaction of our tradition never gets old!" Benno exclaimed.

"Indeed," Galdavue grinned spitefully at the speachless teens. "Welcome to the game, children."