As soon as Nate saw us, he knew we were successful. We had finally found the answers to some of our questions. "So, everything went well," he said, and couldn't help himself but tease, "judging by your smiles, I'd say it did."

"Better than we hoped." Fatim beamed. After all, it hadn't been easy to find information on the two beings. We were both relieved and hopeful.

"Good thing the voices have stayed away. Now, we might have the upper hand," I interjected willing my words to be true. I wondered if they had hung near me more, would they have guessed our intentions and tried to stop us or not? Everything I learned told me that most of the information the troublemakers had came directly from me—something I was still trying to wrap my mind around.

Nate broke the line of my thoughts when he asked, "So, what do we need to defeat them? And how long is it going to take?"

"We don't need anything and we can defeat them as soon as we are ready to kill Waheeb. When he dies their connection to Earth will be broken, and their door to this universe will close for good," Fatim said in a matter-of-fact tone as if it was nothing big.

"You're kidding right?" Nate knew that couldn't be it. He looked between us, puzzled. "We can't kill Waheeb. That's nonsense, and who says they won't create another connection with someone different? And also, you two look too happy with yourselves for this to be the whole truth."

"Ah, he is no fun," Fatim complained rolling her eyes at Nate. "Yes, you got me. That's not it."

"Seriously, Fatim," Nate looked annoyed, "Is this even a time for jokes?"

He glared at me then and said, "And you, Waheeb. Why are you laughing?"

I shrugged, not bothered by his tone. It wasn't funny now that I thought about it because if that really was our only solution, I knew Nate wouldn't have done it. "I wasn't worried," I said to him. "I knew you'd catch on." I gave Fatim a told-you-so look.

"Ah, I couldn't help it," she said. "Anyway, we need to lure them into our trap, and then bind them there. The thing is, we still don't know everything about them. From what we have gathered, these ancient beings are immortal and can't be killed. However, they can be entrapped. And the longer we keep them from feeding, the weaker they will become. Thus, eliminating any future threats. They might one day just fade away into nothingness."

"Sounds logical, but how and where do we entrap them?" Nate asked.

"Wherever they are right now, as to how? Waheeb is the only one who can do it," she explained.

"Yes, that's right. They're connected to me, and I'm connected to them as well. It's not a one-way road after all. Now, I just need to tap into this connection and make sure they get what they deserve."

It sounded simple enough, but I knew our plan wasn't foolproof. There were too many 'ifs' involved. If I managed to connect to them; if they fell for my trap; if I'm strong enough to succeed. But whatever the case, it was the only plan we had.

#

"Friend, what do you think that human and his old ones are up to?" Mischief hated not being able to keep an eye on Waheeb.

"I can't guess, but do you think we should check?" Mayhem said, having the same thought. The human was too important to ignore.

"No, better to keep our distance. I hope old ones have forgotten all their legends."

"What if someone remembered? They can destroy us." Mayhem's apprehension was understandable.

"Not good, but what can we do from here? We have to wait patiently. We're so close to filling our appetite."

"That was a mistake. When we connected with that devious old one all those centuries ago. Good thing she died."

"Yes, yes, she died. We're safe." Mischief agreed with a faraway look in its eyes.

#

"I'm curious about something though," I said. Fatim and I were trying to figure out a way to defeat our older-than-time foes.

"What's that?" she asked distractedly.

"You people can see these troublemakers, as you call them. What do they look like?" I had been trying to imagine the two being based on how they talked, but my mind kept drawing up blank.

"Oh, it's hard to explain. They don't have any solid form in this universe right now. We can see more of a halo than anything else. We just know they're there." She shrugged.

"I see. But Nate recognized them right away when he first saw them. Have you seen them before?"

"No, we haven't encountered them ourselves. But we know enough to recognize them. Nate knows more than me. Even he doesn't know a lot, mind you. We have a legend that we tell our children. Nate and I grew up listening to it, and reading about it. It's vastly exaggerated, but it tells a story about two friends who destroy planets. They cause chaos across the multiverse. We call them troublemakers, or Havocs. And as we found out recently, they are also known as Mischief and Mayhem. Stories were often told in a fun way, appropriate for kids' ears. Now, we know that they aren't fun at all. We thought they were fiction for a long time. It was only when we grew up that we realized there is much truth in fiction. Nate knew a little more than me as it is his job to stay informed. I have only found out the details after talking to Zaroon. And you know the rest."

"What was it like I wonder?" My thoughts went somewhere else.

"What was what like?" she asked curiously.

"Your planet."

She looked at me with a soulful smile and tears welled up in her eyes. "It was magnificent. It was nothing like Earth, but it was amazing in its way. Oh, how I miss it."

"By the way, how old are you?" I asked with a smile meant to cheer her up.

"Let's just say that I'm older than you and leave it at that." She gave me a half-hearted smile.

I couldn't imagine living for centuries and still feel so strongly about something that happened long ago. "It's surreal," I said thoughtfully. "I can't believe my best friend and girlfriend are from a different planet. And somehow, I'm connected to two beings bent upon destroying the earth. Not to mention, I have to figure out how to break my connection with them before they manage to land on Earth. It sounds like a plot of a really weird movie. I wonder if we would come out of this ordeal alive."

"Don't worry, together we can do it." Fatim seemed to be reassuring herself more than me.

"I feel strange, though. I hope nothing bad happens." The feeling of impending doom hadn't left, but I buried it deep inside. In the past, I had never been able to change the future or stop disasters from happening. But in the past, I hadn't been directly involved either. That thought alone calmed me.

"It won't, sweetheart," she said softly and took my hand into hers. "We should go and find out if Nate learned something else."

"Where is he anyway?"

"He went to the Southern regions. There are people who might remember more than we do. They're a traditionalist bunch; set in the old ways. We usually don't bother them, and let them live like cavemen. But now we do need their help."

"What are your old ways?" My curiosity was piqued once again.

"Trust me, Waheeb, you don't want to find that out. It's just good that these people don't want to have anything to do with humans, and the rest of us."

"That bad?"

"Nah, I'm kidding. It's just that they don't like modern technology. They're used to living a simple life. That's all."

"So, by the Southern region, you mean the same country, right?"

"No, I meant Southern parts of the world."

"What?" I shrieked. That could take time that we didn't have.

"I don't know the exact location. Nate will find them." She didn't appear concerned about the traveling involved.

Maybe it wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it out to be in my head. "Okay, if you say so. When will he be back?"

"In an hour or so."

"Now you're just pulling my leg, how can he be back so soon if he went to the other side of the planet."

"Alien technology, remember?" She smiled and my anxiety ebbed a little.

"Ah! Care to elaborate?" I said, but before Fatim could respond the doorbell rang. I opened the door to see Nate standing there, drenched and shivering as if he had been walking through heavy rain. Was it raining earlier? I hadn't noticed and it wasn't that cold. "Hey, come in, we were just talking about you."

"Now you can talk to me." He smiled good-naturedly.

"What did you find out?" Fatim sounded as impatient as I felt.

"A lot, but first I need food. I'm really hungry right now."

Fatim set the table while I cooked. Soon we had perfectly delicious food set out in front of us, and we were chatting away as if it was any other day. It was such a perfect moment, three people who loved and respected each other hanging out to have fun. Except we had a puzzle to solve and a planet to save. For now, we could pretend otherwise, and enjoy. But the truth weighs on my mind.