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[i][u]Third Energy Anomaly Report - Subject Two ("James and Haytham")[/u][/i]

[i]28-12-2038[/i]

[i]Recorded by Dr. Andrea Dixon[/i]

[i]For the first time in our research we have had a second encounter with an anomaly that we met previous. Subject Two was once just a voice from the portal, but now we finally met him in the flesh as a young student called James along with his mentor Haytham Durai. Mr. Durai, a human, is from a different world than his pupil but he has also managed to harness the power of travelling through dimensions by himself and has become part of James' tribe.[/i]

[i]James himself is from a race known as "Lemmings" though they look nothing like the arctic-furred mammals of the same name from our world and more resemble a Jim Henson creature. They both have mastery over magic and are able to travel between worlds through arcane-powered books that contain their own portals. Despite being a sorcerer, Mr. Durai is proficient in his own branch of quantum physics and has offered his assistance which, after the incident of Subject Nine (see attached), we were more than eager to accept. Both him and his student have been given permission to return whenever they wish so as to bring whatever research they find from other worlds to help our mission to return home.[/i]

[i][u]Third Energy Anomaly Report - Subject Nine ("Aarbron")[/u][/i]

[i]06-01-2039[/i]

[i]Recorded by Major-General Thomas Brightman[/i]

[i]In the past few hours we were attacked by an unknown entity calling himself "Aarbron" with the intent of kidnapping Oddclaw's brother Fishclaw who was in our care. The creature launched an offensive upon our base with a swarm of insectoids, resulting in two casualties whilst kidnapping Fishclaw who at the time had become afflicted by a state of blindness caused by an artifact from Aarbron's world. We formed a small command team to infiltrate Aarbron's lair, which had been hiding in our world for the past two years unbeknownst to us.[/i]

[i]We managed to recover him safely and in turn Fishclaw's illness was cured with him obtaining strange new powers. Acknowledging his defeat, Aarbron took his forces with him and returned home after repairing the damage he caused to our base. Fishclaw returned home safely, and as noted in Dr. Dixon's report, our newest allies Durai and James have been certified with permission to return to our world and help assist us with our research with knowledge they can obtain from other worlds. But so long as they are helping us, we have stressed that they not impart any information of our mission to other people.[/i]

"We reached the height of the tower," continued James, "and there we saw a grand hall with enormous pillars, each one of them lit up by lamps sculpted out of still-beating hearts from unfortunate beasts. We found Fishclaw lying upon a slab, sleepless before the demonic beast who now stood between us and his hostage."

"H-how tall was he?" asked Alistair nervously clutching a small figurine.

"His head reached up to our ceiling," said the older lemming pointing above him, "his claws were wicked and longer than steaknives and he spoke with a voice [b]like this.[/b]"

The elder sibling tried to deepen his voice by holding his throat and shuddering a heavy breath which frightened his brother enough to make him scooch back towards the wall beside his bed.

"[b]He would sacrifice Oddclaw's brother to take the Starchild that lied within his mind.[/b]"

"AAAAAAaaah wh-what happened next!?"

"[b]WE-[i]KHRRR[/b]-KHHHH KHHhh...[/i]" he coughed with a hand to his throat, "we stood our ground, we demanded that he release him and when he refused we fought!"

James stood up and reached underneath his bed to pull out a wooden sword proudly aloft, before jabbing it towards his brother with a determined face.

"Oddclaw went charging in with his fire, BANG, he blasted the monster's face! His sister came in with a hard tackle and his friend Jeremy came with his weapon BA-BA-BAP!"

"Wh-what did you do?!" squeaked Alistair.

"I protected them with my shield best I could! Master Durai struck back with gusts of wind and powerful magic, zing-zapping all over the place as the demon fought back with a monstrous vengeance! He CRUSHED us into the walls, he blasted blue fire from his fists and he raked his claws across our skin drawing blood!"

He suddenly knelt in front of his younger sibling and gripped the wooden sword in both hands to press it against his own neck.

"He had me like this, pressing his claws hard against my umbrella, forcing me down as he tried to choke the life out of me! I was losing my breath, my eyes started fading and my head began swimming...but I pushed back hard as I could, desperate to cling on as he mocked me the fiend...then, suddenly he was thrown to the wall with a CRUNCH!"

He swept his arms to the side throwing his sword as it clattered harmlessly to the floor, the lemming now on his knees as he raised a hand towards the heavens to his brother's shock and fascination.

"From the back of the hall we saw something, someone rise above floating with an aura that was purely unnatural. It was Fishclaw!"

"Wh-what?!" gasped the child.

"He had risen somehow from his sleep, a fury in his eyes now scorching white like the sun as he found a new power inside himself to drive the beast into the wall again and again, crushing and stomping and throwing him across the room like he were nothing but a ragged doll!"

"H-how could he do that?!"

"The Starchild of course, the very thing that demon was looking for had now awoken inside Fishclaw, and so it would turn on him! The beast stood not a chance, whenever he tried to fight, Fishclaw would drive him down with a thick chunk of granite to crush his body!" The lemming emphasised with a fist into his palm. "And so, he was beaten. He had no choice but to surrender and with Fishclaw in tow...we returned home, and that dear brother is when I first met the son of our great and glorious saviour. The end."

He took a bow as Alistair clapped with enthusiasm, bouncing on the bed completely spellbound by the tale whilst his eyes glimmered with visions and his hands grasped tightly around a small wooden owl.

"Wooooow that was AMAZING brother, I can't believe ya really met his ACTUAL son!"

"I cannot believe it myself," said the elder brother rubbing his neck, "it all still feels like a dream, I half-expected to wake up in my bed just now to have imagined the whole thing!"

"Beep!"

"AAAH!" He yelped from the gentle pinch Alistair gave him.

"Nope, yer not dreaming heeHAHA!"

"Thank the talisman I am not haha." He sat himself back down on his bed opposite of the boy. "So how have you been?"

"I've been goooood, school's still boring."

"Mother told me that you have become quite the master of geography."

"OH YEAH, yeah I made maps you wanna see?!"

"Of course!"

The boy scrabbled into the chest of drawers between their beds and pulled out some large papers rolled with ribbons as he rolled them out onto the floor. The maps were surprisingly consistent in detailing various parts of the Lemming Island with shades of green, beige and darkest grey showing different altitudes of the mountains and valleys. Rivers were cyan and lakes were deep azure with the sea given a smattering of creeping blue lines so as not to overwhelm the viewer with such colours.

"Th-this, this is FANTASTIC!" cried James. "Look at the gradients of these mountains, is that Lem Nevis?!"

"YEP!" cried Alistair proudly. "That's the Highlands allll there."

"This looks like an official chart, it's incredible Ali! You have the real makings of a cartographer!"

"I-i-it's not THAT good," muttered the lad wrapping one of his spiking tips round a finger, "I just had some good pencils to colour it in."

"But the lay of the land is exceptional for your age, I mean the scale is a little odd I mean I am certain Lem Ness is not THAT big-"

"Uhhh it is, it's two-point-seven-kilometres wide and thirty-six-point-three long."

"Wha-...r-really?!" James focused intently upon the loch in question. "I did not know that!"

"Mmhmm!" The young lad rolled up his maps and placed them back in the drawer. "I love geography and, and, learnin' about new places like the Beach tribe an' the Egyptian tribe an'...James, why are there twelve tribes?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why is it twelve tribes an' not like...six?"

"Well," began James scratching his cheek, "do you remember who wrote the Book of Days?"

"Y-yeah, uhhhh Lemmas the Unhinged, right?"

"Exactly. Two-thousand years ago, our tribe was one as a simple race who lived on this island. When the warlock Meen kidnapped us from our home, Lemmas who was the father of Twinsen our current high scholar, wrote a book to stave off the madness and fear that our people suffered at the hands of our former cruel master. The Book of Days was a tome woven by Lemmas' dreams as one of the few Lemmings that resisted the curse Meen put upon us. He saw a future of deliverance, a great and wondrous hope that would swell in our hearts for the day we would finally become free and so as to respect his last wish to see the fruition of our tribe, we adhered to his prophecy. Do you remember it Alistair?"

"Uhmmmm...n-not really," said the boy rubbing his feet together bashfully, "I-i'm not...history I'm not good at."

"Not good at or, not paying attention to?" He nudged his brother teasingly who blushed even more. "But alright, I remember the passage. 'And so, they returned to their Island home. The wounded were healed and the story of selfless sacrifice of the many for the few was hewn in stone...for the Talisman reigned on high in the hearts of the multitude and the nation drew peace from its power. And with the breaking of the Talisman, the 12 Tribes grew and prospered, yet each in a different direction, each into their own nation with a piece of The One which ruled them all..."

"So, where did the Talisman come from?"

"Lemmas himself made it, as a means to unite our people by making it able to separate into twelve pieces, one for each tribe, so that when the Great Darkness would come for us, we can unite the Talisman together and forge a new path towards peace and salvation in a new land."

"Uhhhh...but, aren't we okay here?" Alistair looked outside to see the soft blue sky from their window. "Whut's gonna happen, I don' wanna move!"

"We do not know when the Great Darkness will come, it is just a precaution for when IF it comes. Hopefully it will not be foretold in our lifetime, or preferably ever."

"How do you know if the darkness comes?"

"The Highland tribe have prophets who watch over the land, they will be the first to know."

"OH, d-dad's from the Highland tribe is he a prophet?!"

"Oh no no he's but a simple trader," said James waving dismissively, "do not worry about that now I was just revising my history."

"Hehee, you always talk about history cuz yer a bookworm."

"I will take that as a compliment mister fingerpaint."

"I-i don' PAINT with my fingers I use pencils!"

"Not all the time!"

"For my maps I do!"

"Hahahahaha..."

The lemmings laid down on their separate beds to relax, taking a book from their shelves that they had bookmarked and continued reading for a short hour. James buried his nose into a natural sciences book whilst Alistair reread his favourite storybook. Both of them already had lunch by now and were just waiting for dinner in two hours' time, the sky turning darker quietly behind them as voices faded from the village streets and shops began closing up for the day. Boredom sunk in once their bodies had rested with Alistair starting to fidget with excitement, rustling his back against the covers before he thrust himself up and looked outside.

"UM, James remember when you left a-an' you said next time you were back we could duel swords?!"

"Huh?!" The student sprang up with sudden realisation. "OH, yes you are right, I did promise that! ...we still have light outside."

"YES, yes, let's go let's go!"

James grabbed his wooden sword whilst Alistair took his from under his bed before they raced outside blurring past their mother.

"WH-where are you going?!" she blustered.

"WE'RE TRAININ' SWORDS MUM!" shouted Alistair.

"Just a little exercise!" added the older brother.

"Allllright," she said shaking her head with a smirk, "but dinner'll be ready in an hour I don't want you wandering off!"

"OKAY MUUUM!"

Rushing out the door into the sweet cool breeze the brothers headed round to the back of the house where there was an open field. With plenty of flat space to move around they drew out their swords from invisible sheaths to form their battle stance, James swishing out his blade with one hand like a fencer whilst Alistair held his like a swashbuckling pirate.

"This shall be the day I take you down!" cried the younger swordsman. "Yer crimes end here evil one!"

"Hmhahaha," the older warrior spun his blade deftly with one hand in a mocking jest, "how cute that the boy thinks he can defeat ME? I shall give you one chance to kneel and accept my grace, if you wish to preserve your life."

"I will NEVER SURRENDER TO YOU!"

"Thennn youuu shallll diiiie."

He beckoned the boy to come forth as Alistair rushed towards him with sword held high, swiping downwards as James swiftly dodged to the left and waited for the next move. The lad swung out to his side as his brother blocked with a simple parry, goading Alistair to try again with taunting fingers as the boy striked from underneath with swooping vertical strike to knock his sword away. James weakened his grip intentionally to give the lad a chance to break his opening, staggering before his brother who gave a wide diagonal slash across the robed chest.

"AAAGH! HMPH, luck will only serve you for so long boy!"

The taller lemming made a cleaving cut down upon Alistair's head, slow enough for him to dodge as he sidestepped to try and slice across James' belly who countered by slapping his sword downwards. The younger fighter jumped back as soon as his sword was blocked before making a lunging stab, but James swerved his body right and tapped his brother on the shoulder. The boy made an exaggerated wince backing off to grab his neck as James came stomping towards him for another strike, thrusting towards his stomach then cutting across the face. Alistair managed to avoid the first hit and only just evade the second despite his brother slowing his movements. The child cracked his sword against his opponent's wooden blade before doubling back to smack at James' leg causing him to yelp in mock fury.

"IMPUDENT WRETCH!"

"BIG TALK FOR A BIG MOUTH!" bantered back the kid. "GIVE UP YET HUH?!"

"NEVERRRR!"

James pulled his arms back to make a swooping samurai cut diagonally as Alistair made a fierce dodgeroll out of harm's way, stumbling slightly with grass stains on his robe before he made a staggered thrust at his brother's gut. His foe stepped back with a flourishing spin as he swung and "just missed" the tip of the boy's head causing him to duck and slash upwards to deflect. He managed to hit James' arm as he gasped and gritted his teeth before clutching his "wounded" arm. With sword raised in guarding mode he waited for Alistair to attack, the lad swiping left, right then diagonal twice in upward lunges for his brother's face which James guarded against all of to give him a challenge.

Failing to break through the elder's block, Alistair became frantic as he slashed faster and harder to the point of tiring himself, whimpering with rabid heroic frenzy as his blade scraped and scratched against the opposite sword. The boy was sweating with ragged breaths, gasping as his attacks became more laboured and sluggish leaving himself wide open for his enemy to strike. James took his chance with swift glancing blows that slashed across the boy's waist, torso, and just below the neck in a triple left-right-left that tugged at the cloth and forced him back, whimpering with cries of playful anguish as the battle turned on him. He thought it was all over, the double-striking whap on his skull sending him down to the grass on his back with a forceful groan as his fearsome foe gazed upon him. The sun shined above him as he gave a sinister grin with his sword's blunt tip but an inch from the youth's face.

"It's useless boy," mocked James, "nothing can penetrate my Guarding Glint."

"I'M...n-not, GONNA, LOSE!" cried Alistair pushing himself up with his sword. "I-i will BEAT YOUUUU!"

"You cannot even harm a fly the way you flail and stumble like an infant! Surrender now and I MIGHT forgive your insolence."

"NNNNNNNUUUUHHHH!"

With wild baseball swing the younger brother threw his weight into a mighty blow that almost knocked James' sword out of his grasp, the boy forcing his legs upright to spring forwards with a ruthless blow that whalloped across his sibling's knee to make him stagger. He struck against the arm that failed to block him and when his opponent's sword drew up high to come down on his head, he dodged fast and lunged with all his strength.

"[i]GHHHRRRRRAAAAAGH![/i]"

The lemming gasped and clutched his brother's weapon. The dull blade pressed against the side of his body as he pulled it from Alistair's grip, staggering backwards as if he had been truly stabbed through the heart with shuddering grunts and lethargic breaths.

"Y-y-you...h-how...how could a...a kid like you...GUH, u-uughkh!"

The villain was slain at last, falling with his last dying gasp as the sword remained tightly gripped underneath his armpit. The hero raised his fists in victorious pride and a mighty shout of:

"DUH-DUH-DUH-DUHHHH DUHHH DUHHH DUH DUH-DUHHHHHH!"

"PFFFFT HAHAHAHA!" the corpse cackled lifting his head. "You silly tyke heroes don't say that!"

"SHUT UP JAMES YOU CAN'T SPEAK, YOU'RE DEAD, DEAD PEOPLE DON'T TALK!"

"What about ghosts?!"

"DEAD, PEOPLE BODIES DON'T SPEAK!"

"Zombies!?"

"YER NOT A ZOMBIE!"

"Oh good point, whoops well I suppose I'm dead then."

James slumped back into rigor mortis with hands fixed in prayer. Alistair tried to pull out his sword but the body resisted with a firm teasing grip.

"U-UH, NNNGH! Jaaaaames let go of my swooooord!"

"This is James' spirit saying his body cannot talk because he is dead."

"Come, OOOONNNN HEEHEEHAHA!"

"Pull harder it's lodged in my ribs!"

"NNNNNNGH!"

"Oh come on mister hero you can do better than that!"

"Shut uuuuuup yer not s'posed to talk!"

"I'm a ghost possessing my own body Alistair I can talk as much as I want!"

"You can't possess yer own bodyyyy!" squeaked the boy tugging harder.

"Why not?!" cried James tightening his grip and pulling back.

"Cuz, c-cuz y-ya can't, NNNGUH!"

"Oh I'm sorry are YOU a ghost Alistair?! Do you have spiritual authorities?!"

"N-noooooo?!"

"Then you cannot tell me what I can't possess!"

"NNNNGH, N-NNNUH, EEEEEEYAAAAAAGH!"

His brother finally released him when Alistair pulled his hardest, sending him flying backwards with a thud against the grass as the boy giggled with a finger slipping along the "edge" of his sword. James still said nothing with eyes closed as the younger sibling sat upon his chest and started rubbing his hands upon it to try and wake him up.

"Brooootherrrrrr-"

"I'm still deaaaaaaaad," said James' "spirit".

"Mmmmmmm...okay. Slappalappaboopababappabingabangabah-bah-BAP!"

The boy did a small ritual of patpatting his cheeks in a complicated rhythm, rousing his brother awake with a snorting spurt.

"HU-WHA-A-AAAH?!"

"YAAAAY yer alive again!"

"Wha?! When did I die?!"

"You didn't DIE Jaaaames come ooooon!"

"But...I saw the light." The elder student reached his hand out blindly towards the horizon. "I saw the great prophets, calling to me...they spoke with the voice of eternal kindness and grace, soft yet-"

"Like, l-like dad's voice!?"

"...and they said...Jaaaaaames...Jaaaaaaaames...tell Alistair he's a pencilheaaaaad."

"WHA-sh-shut UUUUUP!"

"HHHAHAHAHAHA!"

Alistair shoved him down hard whilst James pulled him close to ruffle his hair, the two cackling away until they heard a sound that was shockingly loud across the field to them. A horn trumpeting from the village street, a sound that gave both brothers completely opposite expressions. James stiffened with a dreadful grimace but Alistair was beaming wide from ear to ear as he jumped up and rushed towards the sound.

"DAAAAAD, DAAAD OVER HEEEERE!"

James followed up behind with a deep sigh and a limbering of his muscles as he saw a new lemming stand in front of his house with an empty large handcart behind him. The one who approached them had the exact look of a man who would wrestle an ox to the ground with his bare hands. Strong brazen green beard that connected to his short tufted hair upon his head, his body was wide with broad shoulders and arms like cabers with stout legs and something of a potbelly beneath his chainmail-embroidered cloak. His eyes were hard and flinted into dark brown shards beneath a Scottish tam-o-shanter cap in tartan strips of green and blue as he smiled at the two boys and scooped up the youngest one.

"DADDYYYYYY!"

The father chuckled and pulled his son close to his beard with a hearty nuzzle and a tight squeeze, putting him back down with a small ruffling of his already-mushed hair.

"You son, how?" asked the dad.

"I'm GREAT! James came back LOOK!" His brother waved shyly before Alistair ran into the house. "MUUUUUM, DAD'S BACK DAD'S HERE!"

For a few moments the two older males looked at each other with the look of businessmen rather than a father and son. His voice was rather halting with forced enunciation of small words as if it took all his strength just to get past the first syllable.

"You, how?" he asked his other son.

"I'm well thank you," said James curtly. "How are you?"

"Good, thanking. Walk...nnh, away?"

"Quite a long journey yes, I discovered plenty new things."

"Talk......ah...d-drink?"

"If you want, yes but I am sure you have plenty to tell too."

"Mmhh," the father shrugged nonchalant, "good, bed...nn-nngh-"

"Yes it's good to be home sometimes."

"HAROOOOLD!"

From the door came his wife waving happily as she rushed towards him and flung her body into his arms, spinning into a waltz as they smooched each other deep.

"OOOOOH I can't BELIEVE today to think that two of my favourite boys came back home the same day!"

"Mmmm...well."

"I thought you were coming home tomorrow?" she asked as he put her down.

"Selling...not, not none."

"Really, ALL of your stock got sold today?!"

"Mmhmm."

"Well that is wonderful OHH!" She smooched him again and squeezed his hand. "Come in come sit yourself down, James could you put your father's cart in please?"

"I, Winnie, u-uhh wheel, door-"

"No no come in you deserve a good rest and dinner's almost ready!"

Dragged by the wrist Harold said nothing as he smirked apologetically to his son who rolled the cart in towards an awning beside their house to shelter it from the rain. His brother picked up their two swords from the field and started to dual-wield with swishing moves.

"Hwah, hyah, hwwwwwah, hoo-hwyeh!"

"You're getting better at your swordplay," said James setting down the cart.

"Really?!" He finished off with a flourishing X-strike that almost overbalanced him. "You think, maybe one day I could, u-um...m-maybe travel, to other worlds with you one day brother?!"

"Oh I would LOVE that! You and me out on the road, travelling to new places, fighting monsters-"

"YEAH! YEAH like heroes!"

"Hahahahaha...hhhhhhhnnnnn......"

"You okay?" asked Alistair rubbing his sleeve.

"Hmm? No yes I am just...tired all of a sudden you really put me on the ropes!"

"Pfffft that's cuz yer old!"

"I'm not old I'm nineteen you little sproghead!"

"Heeheehahaha!"

They walked back into their house to welcome their father as the sound of plates on wood clattered with the smell of luscious meats and steamed vegetables wafting across their nostrils. A moment of peace as lights began to glow from gems ensconced within lamps that shone from the windows of every Lemming house in the village. Warmth and solitude spread throughout the moor.

[i][u]Field Research - Mohberrin Village[/u][/i]

[i]15-01-2039[/i]

[i]Recorded by Dr. Kevin Izquierda[/i]

[i]Two months ago, a group of creatures from Hyrule came over to our world after deciding to split with their terrorist boss, the same group who kidnapped my assistants Adenine and Ribose. I know I shouldn't laugh but it's rather ironic the people who kidnapped me and became my friends also got kidnapped in turn and they've become friends with the ones who kidnapped them.[/i]

[i]The Hyrulians have set up a village far to the west and after all the excitement died down around here we decided to take an expedition to meet with them.[/i]

[i]I took my assistants along with Mr. Durai and James who would help us with translating, since we don't really have a Hyrule-English dictionary. We might need to borrow Dronin at some point to help us compile one if we become friends with the village, even though they said they had no interest in joining us and want to be left alone, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends...right?[/i]

"There it is!" cried Ribose staggering off the ramp.

"Yeah I saw it from the ship," said Adenine following, "you know we got these things called windows?"

"You know I can't look outside when we're flying!"

"Goodness," gasped Haytham stepping out into the sunlight, "what a swullocking day this is!"

"Even moreso than yesterday," murmured James gasping, "t-talisman's grace this climate is sweltering!"

"Come on guys!" clamoured Kevin strolling ahead of the pack. "We got ambassadoring to do!"

"I don't THINK that's an actual word doctor-"

"Sure it is, I mean one of us has to be ambassador since Oddie had his kids!"

"I hope we can see his new family soon," the lemming sighed with a swelling joy in his heart, "it brings me such hope to think that his bloodline shall continue to a great and prosperous future."

"I mean he's COOL yeah," said Ribose rubbing his neck alongside him, "he's done a lotta work but he's not AMAZING."

"I beg to differ, Oddclaw's strength and kindness is unlike any I have seen!"

"Hahahahaha," Kevin chuckled turning round to walk backwards whilst facing him, "wowwww jeez you're such a fanboy."

"I am SIMPLY respecting the son of my saviour doctor Izquierda!"

"Ey-ey I don't mean anything bad by it just sayin' it's cute that he's got a, yanno, tagalong waitin' for an autograph or something."

The lemming scrunched his face with pensive insult as Haytham raised a hand of diplomacy between them.

"Now now, we are here to perform duties not dismiss our friends' opinions."

"Right right," the medic stopped to put a hand on James' shoulder, "sorry amigo I didn't mean anything bad, I think it's cute you like Oddie so much and he's done a lotta good work for us."

"It is fine," said the lemming blushing with a sigh of release, "I know you meant well."

"Hoooold it."

They stopped before the entrance to a village placed upon stilts in the middle of the wetlands. A gate formed from stone stood bridged between two mounds like small hills, the entrance guarded by two moblins of blue skin with a spear and club. They could see the tops of wooden huts peering above the marsh as Kevin approached with Haytham's passive translatory magic simmering across the group.

"Hi there, I'm uhhh Kevin Izquierda, doctor from the human base way up from east?"

"Uhhh..." the spear-holder scratched his snout before turning to his comrade, "get the chief, tell 'em uhhh...Kevin Iz-key-ehrdah is-"

"Just tell him Oddclaw's friends are here, he'll know who we are."

"Alright."

The moblin with the club walked off into the village as they waited. The sounds of bokoblins chatting away mixed with lizalfos purring and moblins snorting amidst splashing footsteps from the inhabitants racing between houses. It was not long before the chief of the village would arrive as a familiar-looking beast, a yellow-skinned lizalfos with rubber gloves and a feathered cape round his shoulders. Ribose and Adenine recognised him almost instantly.

"H-hey, I remember him!"

"Yeah he was uhhhh, uhhh, he gave us that food right?!"

"Sure did," said the chief thrusting his hand forwards, "I'm Lizanaich, leader of Mohberrin Village."

"Cool," said Kevin shaking his hand in return, "Kevin Izquierda, chief medic of the Shining Mountain and the boss of these two idiots."

"Heeeey!" squawked Adenine. "You're one to talk, you got tricked by our last boss!"

"Hahahaha I know, so! You already know Ade and Bose, this is Haytham and James, they're our translators."

"Well that makes things a LOT easier," said Liz smirking as he waved the newcomers in, "come on in just follow me."

They walked in behind the reptile chief as others waved back to him. Moblins, lizalfos and bokoblins altogether clamoured as if greeting a neighbour rather than a leader, friendly tones as he responded back with the odd slap of his tongue to grab a bug from the air and swallow it. The smell of wondrous hot meat seasoned with spices permeated across the village, which was entirely formed of simple huts standing upon large stilts half-buried into the shallow waters. The visitors attracted many eyes from the small populace who sharpened their weapons, roasted their spits and played games with dice upon rustic tables. Sometimes they saw two creatures facing off against each other in exhibition matches, testing their skill with blade and stone weapons as well as teaching the less-experienced.

"How's uhhh, Jane was it?" asked Lizanaich. "How's she doing?"

"Oh she's fine," said Kevin keeping pace with him, "her arm's still giving her problems but we did our best, it's all just phantom pains now."

"I knew a guy with that too, drove him near-insane when he couldn't sleep for almost a week, we had to find some herbs just to drug him to sleep."

"You have a village," said James grimacing at his robe becoming soggen with the water, "but why did you build it in the midst of this swamp?"

"We like water," said Liz shrugging, "kind of what we all prefer, sorry about your robe."

"How long have you been a chieftain?" asked Haytham with a glancing eye over at the sword fights. "Myself and my student only just arrived a month after your arrival."

"Oh really, you guys from another world too? Hah, wow this place is turning out to get pretty full huh?"

"From what I have gathered you and I are the only ones of another world to remain here."

"Uh, don't forget us!" cried Adenine. "We left our old boss to join Kevin."

"And we got some robots from another world at the base too," said Ribose.

"Well that's pretty cool," said Liz crossing his arms looking up at the sky. "But to answer yer question, they picked me soon as we set up the place cuz apparently I'm the most-liked of everyone here."

"I see," said Kevin with hands behind his back, "Jane told me you were a kitchen slave yeah?"

"Basically, along with those two over there hey Nette, Bokorie!"

"OH HELLO DEARS!" A mother-and-daughter pair of black bokoblins waved from beside a thick steaming pot of soup. "Welcome to Mohberrin Village, how are you?!"

"U-uhhh hey!" Ribose and Adenine wandered over intoxicated by the scent of meaty stew. "Th-that...sure looks delicious."

"You wanna taste?" asked Bokonette.

"S-sure, thanks!"

The daughter poured out a wooden bowl each for the guests. The stew was quite gamey and thick, but the spices they added gave a wonderful peppery taste that made it go down smoothly as the group sighed with contentment.

"What a marvellous casserole!" cried Haytham. "Were this a cold night it would be the perfect remedy!"

"It feels like a warm hug inside of me!" gasped James smacking his lips. "Aaaaah...almost as good as mother's cooking."

"OHOhohowhy thank you dear," said Bokorie bowing with flopped ears, "I am very honoured to hear, you are welcome to have another bowl if you like."

"I appreciate the offer but I am already full-"

"I'll have some!" cried Ribose.

"Yeah me too!" seconded Ade. "Fill me up girl!"

The two lab assistants received another bowl of hot soup each before they walked on to the centre of the village where there stood one hut somewhat-taller than the rest as he welcomed his guests in. Inside were bedding sheets made from feathers and leaves with a large triceratops skull transfixed onto one of the walls.

"Siddown, put yer feet up," said Liz doing such.

"Gracias." The five sat in a semi-circle as Kevin shifted his steel legs. "This place is lookin' great, you guys done good!"

"Haha thanks...hope ya don't mind me asking but uh, you got some crazy legs."

"Thanks I lost them when I fell under some stairs...actually more the stairs fell on me but yanno either way haha."

"Ahhh, jeez that sucks, so you humans make pretty good prosthetics huh, cuz they seem to work pretty well!"

"Oh yeah we got a good lab for it, you saw Jane's arm right?"

"Sure did...damn." Lizanaich stratched his head before clicking one of his eyes towards James and Haytham. "So we haven't met, what's your deal?"

"We are travellers between worlds," explained Durai, "we prognosticate our destinations through our powers of magic in order to expand our understanding of both ourselves and the universes."

"Ahhhh huh..." Liz twitched his eyes to look in separate directions before beaming on James. "You with this guy too?"

"He is my mentor!" said the boy proudly. "I would not be here without him, and most certainly I would have learned a lot less without his tutelage."

"Good good, so what exactly didya come to meet us fer?"

"Oh no reason," said Kevin shrugging, "we're not here for like a trade deal or something, we just wanted to make sure you guys were alright since you settled here."

"Oh...wait, really?" The lizalfos scratched his head somewhat confused. "I mean not gonna lie, I was expecting some kinda offer."

"No offer, no, we just wanted to check on you being immigrants and all, I mean you did surrender and decide to stay here. You guys need anything?"

"Well uh...noooo not really we kinda got everything-"

"Except a healer," said Haytham with finger raised, "forgive me but I noticed amongst your tribe you have no medicinal occupations, am I incorrect?"

"Aaaaactually yeah we..." Liz rubbed his neck before adjusting his cape, "we DO have people that know medicine but we don't know what any of the plants round here do an' we kinda don't wanna poison ourselves accidentally."

"We can help with that!" said Ade proudly with fist on his chest. "We know all the herbs in this place, if you want we can teach ya!"

"Awww jeez that'd be a big help if ya could, I mean we could figure it out on our own but it'd save us a lotta issues."

"We know how it is," said Ribose, "Kevin told us how it was the first time his people arrived here so we got a lotta reference material to work from."

"We'd really appreciate it uh...what were yer names again?"

"I'm Ribose he's Adenine, if ya want we can get you started with what we know."

"I'd be down with it," said Kevin nodding with a slap of his knees, "if you're alright with it mister Lizanaich."

"Heck yeah I would, thanks!"

The lizalfos pulled himself up and walked out of the hut to lead the group to the southernmost part of the village. Two huts stood where a signpost was written in the language of Hyrule indicating the local hospice. Kevin introduced himself and his assistants whilst explaining their new mission before they went out to gather a variety of plants to return with and teach them on. One table had all the useful herbs that could calm fevers, soothe burns and nurture wound recovery; the other had a set of poisonous fungi and darkened leaves that in their natural state were harmful to the point of lethal, but if properly distilled could form an antidote as well as a potent anti-bacterial agent that strengthened the immune system.

The village healers scribbled everything down with drawings and descriptive effects in gleeful gratitude for their help, showing Ade and Bose their methods for creating salves and unguents by means of a sterilised cauldron like a witch's brew as well as the two alchemists demonstrating the plants that made the best natural bandages.

"We used to crack open eggs and peel the membrane off," said a bokoblin healer, "makes a good little plaster in a pinch!"

"Fertilised or unfertilised?" asked Ribose.

"Doesn't matter, but unfertilised is easier to handle though I bet there's not gonna be much chance of us finding that round here."

"Hahaha nope."

"So what's good about this plant?" asked a blue lizalfos poring over the herbs.

"Well this one's got astringents," said Adenine, "it helps clean wounds and makes your blood clot faster."

"Wow, it's real soft too like a sheep made o' silk!"

"Hehehyeah it is, it really helps to feel nice on your arm."

"Awwww looks like our kids are getting along eh?" said Kevin nudging the chieftain's waist.

"Hhhahaha sure are," said Lizanaich giving a friendly noogie to the human's head. "Yanno you guys are alright, you're the nicest hylians-but-not-hylians we ever met."

"Gracias! So uhhhh why the gloves just wondering, you work with electricity?"

"Buddy I AM electricity." The lizard chief demonstrated with a hefty spark shooting upwards from his horn. "My whole body's a freakin' generator."

"Huh, that's really cool! Yanno..." Kevin put a thumb to his lip as an idea stirred. "If you got access to electricity I bet I could think up some new things for your tribe like maybe a water purifier or...have you ever heard of anaerobic digestion?"

"No, whassat?"

"Well..." the scientist slapped the chieftain's back, "how would you like to be able to get rid of all your waste, turn it into fertiliser for crops and at the same time power up a generator for your houses?"

"I'd call you a witch but you don't even got magic, and I seen a lotta magic back home."

"Then let me tell you about bacterial hydrolysis."

"Back-tier-what now?"

The doctor walked with Lizanaich as they made a small tour of the village to get a sense of its general design whilst espousing ideas for processing waste into a manageable agriculture-based system. The lizalfos nodded and took down ideas in a notebook he carried with him, scratching with a charcoal pen on the things Kevin broke down for him to better utilise their resources in future, such as a means to make marsh water more drinkable without the teeming bacteria despite Lizanaich's assertions that his people were hardy enough to handle most diseases.

At one point Bokorie and Bokonette joined them as Lizanaich took the group to a small forest south of the village which set itself onto a hill pressed against the mountain's slope. The grove was peaceful as a church, the sun slanting through the treetops in tender curtains as the lizalfos became quiet with arms folded which bade the others into silence. Soon they stopped before a tombstone set upon a higher hill where the light could reach it.

"You mind if you guys stay back for a bit?" asked Liz. "Me an' the girls got to do something."

"No problem," said Kevin, "we'll just wait here."

"Thanks. Hey buddy, hope we're not too late."

The lizard and the bokoblins walked forwards to the gravestone which was marked by a name in Hyrulian script. An odd-looking black circle had its handle wedged firmly into the stone's top where light reflected off of it in an almost holy reverance.

"Is...is that a frying pan?" muttered Adenine.

"It is," gasped James, "but...why is it here in this place?"

"That is not for us to question such things," said Haytham clasping his hands in prayer, "let us give respect to their fallen friend as emissaries."

The five of them gave a soft-hearted prayer by their own religious mantras. Bokonette placed a bowlful of soup at the grave with her mother kneeling down beside her as they tried to control themselves with shaking fingers on their knees.

"H-hi...how are you doing?" began the daughter. "I made you your favourite, or at least I tried to. N-not a lotta vegetables in this world I-i don't think there are any even haha, but there are fruits at least!"

"Are you alright here?" asked Bokorie. "We did try to make sure you had enough sunlight and such, this place is very pretty, some very odd flowers here. Everyone is fine though, don't you worry, we've...w-we've got everything taken care of, a-a-and some of us are even planning to have children, isn't that lovely!"

She was on the edge of tears, her daughter comforting her with a close tender hug as they took a moment to strengthen themselves in silence. Once they were done they stood up to let Lizanaich take his time kneeling before the grave.

"Howsit going bud? ...you eatin' alright? Sorry I know I had to like step back from the sous chef position but, somebody's gotta run the place yahanno what I mean?"

He rubbed his head avoiding the horn as his eyes winced, leaning forwards slightly.

"Do you...do you think I could be a good leader? I mean I dunno how you did it, always managing to keep us going, keep us afloat, checkin' all the orders whilst running the gauntlet back an' forth, I dunno how you did it...I dunno if I can do it."

Lizanaich grabbed one of his wrists to stop it shaking. But his tears betrayed him as his lip started quivering with eyes casting downwards.

"W-w-why did you...y-you...you never did stuff that stupid before...I know you loved her b-but, why didya have to do it?! I...I miss you...I-i-i miss you Mohberra..."

He slumped forwards with hands over his face as he broke down sobbing onto the earth where his friend lied far beneath. His rasping cries echoed softly through the forest as no one said anything but for the sounds of timbrous creatures calling from the trees around them. Two minutes passed before Lizanaich was able to compose himself, wiping his tears from his chameleon eyes as mother and daughter held each of his hands, standing side by side in solidarity.

"He was a hero to someone," said Bokonette.

"To all of us," whispered Bokorie, "no one else stood up against our cruel master before him and Chihlo."

"I hope he's happy with the goddesses...do you think they're here?"

"It doesn't matter," said Liz, "what matters is the blood moon's not here...we're all free in this place. Finally we're all free."

[i][u]Field Research - Velociraptor Clutch Birth[/u][/i]

[i]26-01-2039[/i]

[i]Recorded by Dr. Jane Addison[/i]

[i]The day has finally come! Oddclaw and Moonclaw were blessed with three children, two feral and one anthro. The birth was absolutely fascinating to watch not just in the name of palaeontology but also biology for the arrival of their son who possesses a humanoid body with velociraptor traits. His motor skills and speech are on par with a newborn human, but his senses are much sharper and as Oddclaw's mother can attest to, he is much more capable of digesting semi-solid foods without the need of mammalian milk.[/i]

[i]Major-General Brightman, as a father of experience has offered his help overseeing Oddclaw's unusual son. I believe it will be a good thing for him to offer more humanitarian assistance as opposed to his usual militaristic solutions that he must necessitate as our leader of the base. I worry that sometimes he forgets he is more than just a soldier and he should be able to connect with the world around him by social developments such as helping Oddclaw with fatherly advice.[/i]

[i]Regardless, we have made an unspoken pact to monitor and protect his children not just because they are scientifically vital to our research, but also more importantly because they are our friend's family.[/i]

"Are you sure he doesn't need milk?" asked Brightman.

[i]"I am certain,"[/i] said Barren, [i]"my son did not need any of that odd water and neither will his."[/i]

"But it wouldn't hurt to try right?"

[i]"That is up to his father. What do you think Oddclaw?"[/i]

[i]"Mmmnnnghh,"[/i] muttered Oddclaw chewing.

[i]"Sounded like a 'no' to me."[/i]

"Maybe let him SPEAK first," said Thomas rolling a baby's bottle in one hand, "careful, careful hold his head up."

[i]"Mm-mmmhh!"[/i]

"No no like this."

The soldier knelt to shift Oddclaw's arm to prop his son's head a little more upright, the raptor tenderly rocking him in a cradle swing motion against his chest while chewing something constantly. The anthro newborn was whimpering, stuttering cries and tiny hands reaching up in need of something as Oddclaw opened his mouth towards his mother to reveal a thick cloud of drooling red as she nodded.

[i]"Good, that is good now feed him."[/i]

"Uuugh jeez..."

Thomas looked away as Oddclaw loomed over his son's head to press his snout against the little tender lips. He opened his mouth and carefully tipped his already-chewed meat into the infant's throat, gently curving the tongue to make a slow but steady stream of pureed food off his tongue and into his son's gullet.

"I know this is how you do things here but this looks seriously wrong."

[i]"It was how I fed my son and so that is how he will feed his,"[/i] said Barren snorting stiffly at the human, [i]"how do YOU feed your children?"[/i]

"With spoons and breastfeeding, I told you Barren."

[i]"And what are those exactly!? When you have a child born into your family that is nothing LIKE your family, tell me how you raised that child and then I will listen to your silly ideas!"[/i]

[i]"Mmmglllk-nnnh, mother be quiet please,"[/i] said Oddclaw pulling away from his son's lips with a soft drooling line, [i]"if you are going to argue then do not do so in front of my son, I do not want him hearing voices in anger."[/i]

[i]"O-oh...yes, you are right, sorry."[/i]

"What matters is what you think," said Thomas politely agreeing, "I take it you don't want to try the formula we made?"

[i]"If my son is hungry again today then I will,"[/i] said the father, [i]"but are you sure it is safe?"[/i]

"Absolutely, anyone can drink it, we tested it on a few people at the base and your sisters drank it perfectly fine."

[i]"Oh those imbeciles will eat anything!"[/i] muttered Barren shaking her head. [i]"You could feed them stones that you made and call them hairless food and they would still believe you!"[/i]

"Hhhah, I'll remember that then."

[i]"UH, EH, rrreeeeeEEEEHHNNN!"[/i]

The newborn started struggling, his little face turning red with a strained sound as Oddclaw looked him over frantically.

[i]"Wh-what is wrong?! Is he alright?!"[/i]

"He needs burping," said Thomas, "babies can't burp on their own you need to help him."

[i]"How?!"[/i]

"Put him up against your shoulder like this...then pat his back until he burps."

Following the human's hand motions the raptor propped his son against his shoulder and carefully patted him as he started to calm down. Whimpering grunts followed by a small belch signalled his discomfort had passed as he slipped him back into cradling arms. Moonclaw was watching all this from her side of the nest as she shared a small chunk of meat between the two feral children whose teeth had already grown in with nipping tears and bites into the bloody flesh.

[i]"You seem to be handling him well,"[/i] said the mother, [i]"when will his teeth appear?"[/i]

"Usually around six months," said Brightman, "sometimes as early as three months and when that happens it really hurts for them."

[i]"Well that is terrible, why can he not just have all his teeth ready?"[/i]

[i]"Is THAT why Oddclaw was crying all the time as a hatchling?"[/i] asked Barren thinking back wistfully. [i]"I do remember it was around half-a-cycle that his teeth appeared and he cried so much."[/i]

"Did you have anything to calm him down with?" asked the soldier.

[i]"No, we just thought he cried a lot."[/i]

"I'll get something for your son to numb his teeth, some people use whiskey to rub on a baby's gums cuz it numbs the whole thing but I don't think we have any on the base. I'll ask Kevin if he can make something so he won't feel any pain."

[i]"Thank you Thomas,"[/i] said the new father still rocking his son, [i]"I feel bad I am not feeding my other children."[/i]

[i]"That is why I am here,"[/i] said Moonclaw watching her children finish their meat, [i]"you care for our odd son and I care for the other ones."[/i]

[i]"Odd son? ...hmmm...I just do not want my other son and daughter to think I do not love them and THIS son to think you do not love him."[/i]

[i]"What a stupid thing to say,"[/i] said Barren jabbing her snout at him, [i]"they have barely hatched out of the egg and they do not even know you truly yet. You have many cycles to know them, love them and teach them so do not start with your thinking too much again!"[/i]

[i]"Hmph, hahaha...you are right thank you mother, I should not think too much."[/i]

"She's right," said Thomas sitting on a rock, "don't worry about the future, you got plenty years yet, just focus on the now and what your kid needs RIGHT now, like food and warmth."

[i]"Right...yes...awhawwww look he is tired."[/i]

The newborn made a creaking yawn as his head started to loll against his naked chest. Soon the child was lost in a dreamless sleep, warm comforting darkness in the grip of his father's claws and his heart beating against his ear that formed into his lullaby. Oddclaw kissed him on his head whilst he kept rocking him.

[i]"He looks so beautiful,"[/i] whispered the father.

[i]"Just like you did...s-still do."[/i]

The grandmother stuttered to look away as she felt her heart pang with an ache of rememberance. Oddclaw smiled and reached out a hand to touch her head, stroking her cheek as she turned back to him with a gentle purr and nuzzled his fingers. Thomas was pinching his nose and forced himself to turn away but Barren noticed with the scent changing in his body.

[i]"Are you alright Thomas?"[/i]

"Yes-mm-mmmph, hhhhnnnnmmm I'm fine thank you."

[i]"...do you miss your family?"[/i]

She walked to his side and peered over at his face which turned red with tears he quickly wiped away.

[i]"You can tell me...I know what it is like to be apart from those you love."[/i]

"It's fine. We all have our crosses."

[i]"Do you not want to-"[/i]

"No. But thank you Barren."

The general smiled as she chirred at him, turning back towards her family as Oddclaw saw his feral children start to fall asleep from their full bellies. He carefully shifted himself to sit up close to Moonclaw, curling up against each other with their newborns cuddling in.

[i]"Have you ever seen such perfect children?"[/i] said Moonclaw resting her head on her husband's lap.

[i]"Never,"[/i] said Oddclaw yawning, [i]"but all parents think their children are perfect."[/i]

[i]"Give them time, I am sure they will be awful one day beyond."[/i]

[i]"Hhhhahahaha...I cannot wait to teach them to hunt, I want to teach this one all the things I wish I had known when I was a hatchling."[/i]

[i]"You will teach him well."[/i] She looked up and licked across the scar of his belly. [i]"I know you will...but I will teach them better with my many cycles of experience."[/i]

[i]"Are you sure you can keep up?"[/i] he said teasing her with an elbow on her head.

[i]"I kept up with you, did I not Oddie?"[/i]

[i]"Hah, yes you did!"[/i]

[i]"And who was it that saved you from being eaten by the Suneater hmmmm?"[/i]

[i]"Mmmmm yes alright you are right."[/i]

Moonclaw turned her head towards Barren as the two females nodded in approval. Within minutes the two parents had fallen asleep with their children in the lazy afternoon sun amidst a perfect listless day.

[i][u]Field Research - Fishclaw's "Starleaf"[/u][/i]

[i]02-02-2039[/i]

[i]Recorded by Dr. Andrea Dixon[/i]

[i]After things quieted down in the raptor tribe, we invited Fishclaw to our base as to help discover the true extent of his new abilities. From what we've parsed according to him and James, "Starleaf" is an entity of some semi-tangible form that lives inside of Fishclaw's brain. We are not certain how or why it manages to live, or if it even is alive, but Fishclaw has assured us that it is. Neural scans have also confirmed that there is an exceptional concentrated presence within the amygdala, almost resembling an embryo of some sort.[/i]

[i]Starleaf is able to communicate by itself but only Fishclaw can hear him. Today we are testing Starleaf's actual powers in what seem to be gravitational manipulation. By altering the weight of particles around an object or person, Starleaf can increase or decrease one's mass which, as they have discovered themselves, has allowed Fishclaw a great many opportunities to become an outstanding hunter.[/i]

[i]My initial observations lead me to believe it is a form of electrostatic levitation, which would also explain why it exhausts Fishclaw mentally if Starleaf requires the use of electrical energy to form "invisible" fields that levitate objects through a balanced equilibrium.[/i]

"Alright Fishclaw we're gonna do a little test," said Andrea, "We have some rocks here and we wanna see what Starleaf can do with them."

[i]"Alright,"[/i] said the raptor kicking sand underneath his feet, [i]"we have been learning many things about each other so I hope you are ready."[/i]

"Whenever you wanna start, just go right ahead."

[i]"Are you ready Starleaf?"[/i]

[b][i]YES FATHER[/i][/b]

Standing upon the long beach of the Brokentooth Sands, Fishclaw gazed upon several stones and boulders that had been brought out as a means of testing his new power. The raptor himself was wearing a small harness on his head to monitor brain activity as he started with a medium-sized rock. Willing his mind with a subdermal focus, Fishclaw pierced his sight into it as the atmosphere changed around him. The sand around his feet started to tremble and lift itself from the ground as pockets of silt brushed against his legs and made a line towards the stone itself like some invisible whip. The boulder rumbled and levitated into the air as Fishclaw's eye twitched, moving the stone across the sand as he walked with it, testing the "weight" of it and gently rotating its form with the grace of a juggling ball.

"Holy shit," muttered Andrea.

"That...is something," said Jane next to her.

"Alright, what else can you do Fishclaw?!"

[i]"Hmmmm..."[/i] Fishclaw pondered before his eyes lit up. [i]"OH, yes Starleaf let us show them the Skykick!"[/i]

[b][i]THE SKY SHALL RECEIVE THE STONE[/i][/b]

The rock hovered closer to the raptor as his body became heavier, his feet turning sunken whilst the rock floated still above him. He stepped back and made a jumping kick, slamming his foot upon the boulder as it suddenly hurtled away with incredible force, tumbling through the air until it crashed into the sea with a colossal splash much to the shock of the humans watching.

"WHAT THE [i]FUCK?![/i]"

"OH MY [i]CHRIST![/i]"

[i]"HAH!"[/i] The raptor landed on his feet easily. [i]"That was good Starleaf! Now why not show them the Deepstone Fall?"[/i]

[b][i]STONES SHALL FALL FROM SKY TO DARKNESS[/i][/b]

His next target was a small stone the size of a human fist that he levitated with greater ease, lofting it into the air and having it hover over a larger boulder. Suddenly his aura changed, the sand that had trembled around his being falling with pocketed depressions in the earth beside his feet as the pebble punched straight through the rock with a cracking split, the weight of the stone shifting to a tremendous mass as they saw very clearly a hole had formed through the entire boulder.

"That's INCREDIBLE!" cried Jane.

"Okay this is clearly some gravity bullshit," muttered Andrea, "I need to figure out how the hell he's doing all this cuz damn."

"Perhaps..." Jane turned her head slowly with a massive grin, "this must be the work of an [i]enemy Stand?[/i]"

"...oh...my god." Dixon clasped her mouth reeling back. "It is exactly fucking that."

"Yes it iiiiiiiis it just occurred to me I was like OH, SHIT GIRL!"

"See I thought you were gonna get on Harry Potter again."

"Oh please they don't do gravity classes at Hogwarts PLUS Fishclaw is talking to some sort of entity that isn't actually THERE but exists only in his mind and yet somehow exerts power over the real world, ergo it's a Stand!"

"Hoholy shit," said the physicist clasping a hand to her forehead, "this, this is fucking unbelievable, I mean I'm still reeling from the fact that a feral raptor can control fucking gravity but god damn."

"Eeeenemy staaaaaand."

[i]"What are you two talking about?"[/i] asked Fishclaw now standing on top of a floating boulder for fun. [i]"Did you want me to show you more?"[/i]

"Oh don't show off Fishclaw please!"

[i]"You wanted me to show you what Starleaf can do did you not?!"[/i]

"Well yes but-"

[i]"Then look! Starleaf, Skywalk!"[/i]

[b][i]WE WALK FREE ACROSS THE CLOUDS[/i][/b]

He leapt up high to suddenly become weightless, the boulder dropping beneath him as Starleaf refocused his power towards the raptor who started walking across the air much to the humans' shock below him. His feet seemed to press upon an invisible substance, flattening the skin as if he were walking on soil whilst the breeze whistled past his ears.

"Okay that's just fucking magic what the shit," said Dixon half-laughing in startlement.

"We HAVE to make up a name for him," said Jane turning giddy as she clapped her hands, "what could we call something that's all about gravity?"

[i]"He has a name,"[/i] said Fishclaw, [i]"it is Starleaf I told you!"[/i]

"Oh I know I know but maybe he should have a title! Like how Oddclaw is the Ambassador and Andrea is the Chief Physicist."

[i]"Oh...I-i would not know what to call him then."[/i]

"It has to be a song title," said Andrea chewing her thumb carefully, "maybe to do with stars, Starman?"

"Naaaah too obvious," said Jane, "Black Star?"

"What's black about him, that doesn't make sense."

"Hmmmmm...Stargazer?"

"THAT'S not a bad idea. OH!" Dixon clicked her fingers. "Highway Star!"

"YES!" cried Jane grasping her hands. "That sounds excellent, you can really shout it like, HIGHWAY STAR GO!"

"I was trying to think of songs with gravity in them but they just sound right."

"We'll have to ask Anna about this, she knows more music than we do."

[i]"Are we finished?"[/i] asked Fishclaw confused with a nervous scratch of his toes. [i]"I told my family I would be home before the sun would-...u-uugh."[/i]

The raptor started to stumble across the sky, blood spittling from his ears to dot a crimson stream through the sand before his body floated downwards with rapid steps. With drunken frantic pace he almost fell crumpling into the soft earth as the women rushed over to check on him.

"F-fuck FUCK you alright?!" said Dixon.

[i]"Y-yes...aaaagh-"[/i]

"Oh god you musta pushed yourself too much, any pains or headaches you feeling?"

[i]"My head feels week...nnnngh, I-i feel tired all of a sudden."[/i]

[b][i]FORGIVE ME FATHER[/i][/b]

[i]"No, no it is fine Starleaf, you did not know-"[/i]

[b][i]I SHOULD KNOW MY FATHER'S BLOOD WELL[/i][/b]

[i]"We will learn that together, that is why...we are here."[/i]

"Okay I'm going to take you in to rest," said Jane carefully propping him up, "just for a small checkup then you can go home."

[i]"I am not staying here Jane, I told you my family need me soon."[/i]

"I knoooow but it won't do them any good if you just collapse in front of them!"

[i]"Alright...alright just let me rest...for a moment."[/i]

With one hand each against his chest the two doctors carefully lead him back inside the base for further examination whilst his ears continued to bleed thin down his cheeks. Starleaf's presence trembled in his mind as a stinging blight that made his eyes wince with gasping pain as Fishclaw started to shake.

"Wha-what's wrong?!" asked Jane.

[i]"No...I am fine, sorry Starleaf is...he has gone to sleep."[/i]

"He...he can just go to sleep?"

[i]"Yes...why do you ask so much about him?"[/i]

"Because we don't understand WHAT he is," said Andrea, "even you don't know."

[i]"I know that he wants to help me, that he sees me as his father and as a father already I do not want to leave a child abandoned when I can give him a home, even if that home is...somehow inside me."[/i]

"And you don't even question that? LIke after all that's happened with you, you just never stop to ask what or how this even is?"

[i]"I have heard many things from Oddclaw,"[/i] said the hunter sighing with his headache starting to fade, [i]"and after seeing your home with its odd stones and bitter smells do you really expect to answer every single question I have about you?"[/i]

"Well...I'm not...I mean, we COULD answer them-"

[i]"Oddclaw has explained to me enough about your tribe, what matters is that you are his friends and Starleaf is now part of me. It is not something I would have ever dreamed of until of course he did come to my dreams and guided me, but it has happened before with Eyeclaw."[/i]

They soon reached the entrance of the base as the guards nodded with formal salutes, seeing Fishclaw drag his tail behind him with sluggish feet struggling to keep his body supported until they would reach the med bay.

[i]"Do you think I am sick with the same madness as him?"[/i]

"I do not think so," said Jane, "his illness was much different, you are coherent and you exhibit different symptoms entirely."

[i]"I see...I would have liked to know what he thought of Starleaf."[/i]

"I don't think you have anything to worry about if we just find a way to stop that bleeding."

[i]"Starleaf tells me that will stop once we understand each other's strength."[/i]

"So it's like testing your limits?" asked Andrea readjusting her grip on his scaled chest.

[i]"Yes...we will learn to become stronger together."[/i]

"Well until then let's make sure you don't bleed to death by accident huh?"

They took Fishclaw in together for a gentler examination, checking over his mind and ears that, despite the worrying lines of crimson down his cheeks, there was no sign of any abnormalities that could threaten his life. Dixon was not convinced as she regarded Starleaf's form on the brain scan with a warning look, hoping the entity could see her and get the message not to do anything untowards to its new host. Fishclaw however did not mind one bit from the strange connection they developed that he would struggle to explain, and soon he would find a greater test of their abilities for Starleaf to prove his worth in the next year.