"Why, why why? Why did I agree to come with the live ones? He was supposed to be protecting the Staff, not leading them to it!" Dinari thought, lying in his bed the next morning. Sitting upright, he reached for his glasses on the bedside table. He got dressed, put on his shoes, and walked to the live ones' room. He paused to yawn, then knocked on the door. He waited for a few minutes before knocking again. On the second knock, the blonde girl opened the door. Her hair was down, and she looked a little bit tired. Her cloak seemed to have been put on hurriedly. She beamed when she saw Dinari, and beckoned him in.

     "Sorry for  not answering the first time you knocked." She whispered. Dinari struggled to remember her name. Lila? Lacey? Lili? Yes, it was Lili.

     "I couldn't answer on the first knock, because I thought that you were housekeeping and I had to get my cloak on. The others are still sleeping, so tread softly, please." Lili finished.

     Dinari looked towards the clock hanging on the wall. It said 6:57. 

     "Did I wake you up too early?" Dinari said, hoping that he hadn't. He knew that he would be rather grumpy if someone had woken him up at an early hour.

     "No, no, it's fine." Lili said, gesturing for him to sit down on her bed. Dinari saw dark circles under her eyes and felt a twinge of guilt. He decided to get right to the point so that he didn't have to dwell on this.

     "I came in to discuss our meanings of transportation and my Grandfather." He said, closing his eyes. He opened them again and saw that Lili was listening intently. 

     "My Grandfather isn't the best at making good first impressions." He explained. "Most people think that he's a little... odd. Heck, even I think he's odd. But he can help us; he might know where the Staff is." Dinari finished. He pulled out a map, which had been folded a great number of times and stuffed in his back pocket. He unfolded it and pointed to a very thin black line that led to a patch of forest. 

     "I've taken it upon myself to find a route to where my Grandfather lives. Fortunately, I've found a train that leaves at 10:00 that will lead us to his place." He folded up the map and stated: "It's a thirty-minute walk from here to the station, so I suggest that we start to pack up at 9:15 and leave at 9:30, if that's okay with you."

     Lili stared blankly at him for a few seconds, then smiled from ear to ear and hugged him. Dinari awkwardly put his arms around her. She whispered: "Thank you for being so responsible!" And let go. "I'll wake the others. You can go back to your room if you want." She finished, standing up.

     Percival slowly sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. "So what you're saying is... road trip!"

     The very moment she woke up, Vidia had a headache. A bad headache. So bad, that it felt like there was a tiny man with a hammer inside of her head, banging the backs of her temples. It also didn't help that Aaron and Percival were having a heated discussion on which Zodiac sign was the best one.

     "Oh, come on, Aaron, you know that Pisces is the best, 'cause he's the most caring. C'mon, you need empathy to get along-"

     Aaron crossed his arms and clenched his teeth. "No, he's not the best one, because Aries is the strongest, and he could just bash everyone's heads together."

     Percival began to retaliate, gesturing towards Vidia to back him up. Vidia grabbed her plate and started gently banging her plate against her head in an attempt at comedy. She set her plate down, said "Eggs" to it, and grabbed the plastic fork which had appeared next to her breakfast. She ate her eggs while she watched Lili trying to break up the fight. 

     Vidia quickly went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed. She glanced at the clock that rested on the edge of the sink. It read 9:03. Vidia spat out her toothpaste and walked briskly towards her room, zipping up the bag that held her toothbrush. She opened the door and sat down on her bed next to her backpack. Putting her fork back on the plate, the remains of the eggs and the last morsels of food were gone. Opening her backpack, she placed the now sparkling clean plate into it, along with her pajamas. She fetched a hair tie out of her bag then zipped it back up again. Pulling her hair into the hair tie, she looked at the clock again. It now read 9:08.

     "Guys, we should pack, Dinari said that the train leaves at 9:30." Lili stated, picking up Aaron's backpack and putting Aaron's mirror in it. She then proceeded to tell the rest of the group to brush their teeth and go to the washroom before they left. Vidia chuckled and slung her backpack over her shoulders. Lili sounded like Vidia's mom. She was glad to have Lili and Percival with her, though she wasn't really sure why Aaron was sent on this quest with them. She couldn't imagine her parents' reaction if they knew that she was going on a train by herself. Yes, it was a good thing that she had friends with her-

     Oh gosh.

     Her parents. 

     Vidia was an only child. Of course, that was okay with her, she had no annoying siblings to deal with. Vidia felt a great surge of guilt that seemed to seep into her heart and flow in her veins. She hadn't thought about her parents. They must be worried sick; if week here is equivalent to a day on Earth, than Vidia must not have come home for, what, a few hours? She felt her brain going into "Overwork" mode, as she liked to call it, where she thought about something long and hard, usually ending in a mental breakdown.

     And if Vidia didn't come home in a week, (or 24 hours in Earth time) than her parents would probably think that she'd been kidnapped, or she was lost, and they would probably send out the police to find her. But what if they never found the relic? Would they be stuck here forever, wearing her cloak all of the time? Would her parents think that she was dead, or lost forever? 

     Vidia got a faraway look on her face as she pondered the possibilities. She nodded her head when Lili asked her if she'd gone to the washroom yet. Everyone slipped on their cloaks, and when it was time to go to the station, Vidia stayed at the back of the group while Percival, Aaron and Lili walked and talked ahead of her. Vidia's mind seemed to be bursting with thoughts, each one of them making her feel more anxious and guilty. The group entered the elevator and Aaron pushed the button. There was an awkward moment where Lili almost fell on top of Aaron because of the sudden downward force.

     Once they got out of the elevator, Lili reminded the group that they had a 30-minute walk ahead of them, and walked over to the other side of the room to open the door for the group. They walked out into the bustling street, noting the smell of the bakery as they walked by. It almost seemed like Earth had a reflection; cities up here were remarkably like cities on Earth!

     Lili stayed ahead of the group, reading a map. Vidia vaguely wondered where she'd gotten that map, then continued attending to her brain in "Overwork" mode. Once her brain got into "Overwork" mode, there was no getting out until she thought on the issue so much that she found something to comfort her. And besides, Vidia usually had an after school club that lasted for a couple of hours, and if she was lost, her parents knew that she'd be fine (She knew how to read a compass and she had a spare map of the city in her backpack).

     But a map of a city on Earth wouldn't help Vidia now. Good thing Lili had a map of the city up here. She felt her brain's "Overwork" mode slowly shutting down, and her headache ebbing away. She let out a sigh; all was well now. 

     As they walked, they noticed that the buildings were spread farther apart, the gleaming grey cobblestone transitioning into a hard dirt path, represented by closely packed brownish colored stars. Flowers and plants began to appear, using lime green stars as stems and leaves. A few trees were dotted here and there, before merging into a forest farther along the trail. They met Dinari in the forest, and, to no ones' surprise, he was carrying five or six books. His head was buried in one, and he was so deeply immersed in the book that he didn't notice Vidia, Aaron, Percival or Lili walking up to him. Percival tapped him on the shoulder and said: "Hello-o-o?" Earth to Dinari!"

     Dinari whipped around and dropped his books. Awkwardly bending down and picking them up, he stammered an apology for dropping the books. He nervously glanced at Aaron, who was as tall and intimidating as ever. They began walking, and more than once they had to pause their trip because Dinari kept dropping his belongings. Vidia offered to help him with his books, and the normally pale white stars that made up Dinari's face went tomato-red.

     Percival checked his watch, then realized that he didn't have one. He scanned the groups wrists for a sign of a wristwatch, but his search was unsuccessful. 

     "Does anyone have a watch?" He said, checking his pockets to see if he had put his watch in one.

    After noticing that no one had a wristwatch, Dinari fumbled with his books for a moment to shift them over to his left hand. His right hand plunged into his pocket, before pulling out an ancient metal pocket-watch. Everyone stared at the watch; it looked like the face of the clock wasn't a face at all, but simply opened up into a galaxy, stars making up numbers on the clock. Dinari, noticing that everyone's gazes were fixed upon the pocket-watch, checked the time and stuffed it back into its pocket.

     "I- its out of date, I know." He said, burying his face in a book. "It's 9:53." He finished, his face slightly muffled. No one had the courage to tell him that the weren't staring because it was outdated, they were staring because it looked magical. Percival opened his mouth a few times as if to say this, but seemed to lose his nerve once he started forming the words.

     Dinari always felt uncomfortable when all the attention was focused on him. It didn't help that he was unfortunately, very, very shy. He knew that some people enjoyed being in the limelight, but not Dinari. Just give him with a book and a comfortable place to read, and he was all set. No attention, no fancy things; just the way Dinari liked it. But right now he felt like a lab specimen: The living people all seemed to stare at him. 

     They were nearing the station now. Dinari purposely lagged at the back of the group to avoid the staring from his colleagues. Unfortunately, Vidia, the girl with black hair, also liked to stay at the back of the group. Dinari buried his face deeper into the book (If it were possible) to hide his blushing face. He was even more shy around pretty girls like Vidia. Not that Lili wasn't pretty; but it was Vidia, for some reason, who made Dinari the most uncomfortable of all. 

     They approached the station, noting the rotting floorboards and the moths hiding under the benches. Though up in the sky, when the moths were made out of stars, the blandest moth up here looked better than the prettiest butterfly on earth. Percival bravely stepped onto the floorboards, leading Vidia by the hand. Dinari felt a twinge of sadness; how was he going to compete for Vidia when his rival was so much braver? The woods creaked under their weight, but they managed to order tickets for five for a "sightseeing trip" in the forest. Only Lili, Percival, Aaron, Vidia and Dinari knew what they were really doing on this trip.

     The engine of the train was a handsome dark green color. They climbed onto the coach, which was surprisingly good-looking compared to the station, and made themselves comfortable. There was no one else on board which was strange, though acceptable, as Dinari had said that his grandfather was a bit odd. Dinari managed to get stuck between Aaron and Vidia whilst choosing seats. Vidia faced Percival, and Aaron faced Lili. Dinari faced no one, and sighed. It wasn't even the right amount for a double-date! 

     Dinari, who had gone on this trip with his parents plenty of times before, opened a book and continued reading from where he had left off. The others, however, busied themselves by looking at the scenery as the train carried them to their destination. There were enormous vibrant purple flowers that blossomed along the edge of the tracks, and the trees towered above them, creating a canopy of orange colored leaves. Lili reached out to catch a leaf as it fell, and caught it. The stars making up the leaf were so bright that it looked like orange gemstones had been embedded in it.

     They group was treated to more of this awe-inspiring scenery until they reached the end of their journey. They stopped at what they assumed to be Dinari's grandfather's house. They had expected an old, weather-beaten house, but they didn't expect the place to look like it was going to crumble to ashes any moment!

     They got out of the coach and thanked the driver. As the house loomed closer, they noticed that the paint had peeled so much that the house looked like it had no paint at all! Actually, it was less like a house and more like a hut. Dinari, looking unfazed and rather bored at the prospect of going into the house, told them that appearances can be deceiving and rang the broken-looking doorbell. After a few minutes, the others glanced at each other, shrugging. 

     Dinari seemed to count in his head, then, forgetting his shyness in the heat of the moment, whispered: "Brace yourselves!"

     He held up his fingers in a "3, 2, 1" gesture, and the five adventurers fell into a trapdoor in the ground and tumbled out of sight.