Daniel Xander, Chapter 3: The Moderator of the System

The smooth departure Daniel had been expecting didn't happen. For starters, Nathan overslept. They had all expected him to leave earlier in the morning to arrange for some sort of transport. Unfortunately, Nathan had been expecting this of Samuel. They had all stared in disbelief as he'd left his room at 8:30 am and asked if the car was ready. With no other options, it was Samuel's responsibility to drive them to the airport.
"Mother of god," said Samuel irritably as he picked Daniel's bag and shoved it into the back, "curse me for thinking that you semi mortals are all about organisation!"
"Hey man, aren't you a semi mortal yourself?" Said Nathan yawning. He'd spiked up his long hair rather untidily and his stubble looked like it could use a trim. The untidiness almost humanised him. He was wearing the same full sleeved t shirt he'd borrowed from Samuel.
"That's not the point!" Said Samuel angrily.
"Ladies, ladies," said Julia, "tensions are running a little high, but I am sure we will be fine as long as we stay calm."
She walked over to Daniel suddenly and hugged him very fiercely.
"Make sure to brush your teeth on time," she said quietly, "and eat healthy. And if I hear that you are causing trouble, I will personally come there to school you."
Daniel could almost feel a tear leaking his eye. It hadn't occurred to him, but this was the last he was gonna see of his parents for who knew how long. His parents, the most awesome parents in the whole universe. "Yeah, I am counting on it," he said, almost choking up, his arms around his mother, "thanks mom."

She gently let him go and patted his head. Then turned to Nathan, who was examining his nails, probably waiting for the tearful goodbye to end.
"Can I count on you, Kyle?" She said scowling at him, like she was sizing him up.
"Of course, aunt Julia." Said Nathan with a mock salute. Julia's expression softened considerably, but she still said in the same cross manner, "not a scratch Kyle, not a scratch."

As they left, Daniel felt a pang as he saw the figure of his mother retreat into the house. He had never spent time away from home, not for a camp, not for anything. He was gonna miss her too much. With an effort, he tore his eyes away from his house, which was shrinking as they moved away, and was soon out of sight.
"So," he said, wondering for the first time where they were taking the flight to, "where are we going?"
"Tokyo," said Samuel, "Smith Baker spends his time there this time of the year. What?" He added to Daniel's extremely baffled look. The guy who had regulations for stepping out of his house, was gonna go to Tokyo with this dude he barely even knew. Wow. "It's nothing." He said. His heart was pounding hard with excitement. Foreign travel. But wouldn't that require a-
"Don't worry about the papers and all the other official stuff," said Nathan as Daniel opened his mouth, as if he'd just read his mind, "I have everything we need. The only thing we need to worry about is killing time. Seriously, it's gonna take us forever," he sighed, "better not try to make small talk with me."

Daniel caught the rest of Samuel's and Nathan's conversation in parts. His mind was too full of the prospect of going to a foreign country. The possibilities. Most of his privileged classmates liked to show off their travel plans in front of the rest of the class. But Daniel had never seen them particularly excited about foreign travel. Their was always an arrogance in their expression which said that they were only drawing satisfaction from the envy felt by their peers, and not by the actual experience of travel. Daniel didn't have anyone to show his "vacation" off to. It's not like he had a camera anyway. His phone was old and busted.
Anyway, he couldn't bear the thought of showing his experience off. It was pointless to make others feel jealous. He'd never made anyone feel jealous ever. He didn't have good looks, money, or anything worth rubbing in the faces of others.

Finally, they reached the airport. Samuel, who looked rather dishevelled from this drive was cursing at the morning traffic under his breath. Daniel made a mental note, in case he ever needed a comeback.
"That wasn't particularly fun," said Nathan wincing as he got off.
"Fun?" Growled Samuel, "that was completely devoid of fun."
"At least we got here on time," said Daniel trying to keep the exhilaration in his voice to a bare minimum. Nathan shrugged and got Daniel's bag out of the back. He gave Samuel a nod and walked off. Samuel turned to Daniel.
"Look Dan," he said rather gruffly, "I don't know how you are feeling about all of this.
Perhaps you are feeling angry at me for hiding this truth from you. I just want to say that in spite whatever I did, I never wanted to cage you. These mystical beasts Nathan mentioned, there are others too, not just ghouls. You look around you and you see people living their ordinary lives as mortals. Lucky punks, don't even know how fortunate they are," he chuckled and continued, "you are going to discover your powers. But remember, everyone there is the same as you, nothing more, nothing less. No matter how strong you grow, never let this power get to your head. Never seek undeserved acknowledgement. Understood?"
Daniel nodded numbly. His father had been expecting his anger. And even though he did feel a sting of it, all of it paled in comparison to all this time he'd had with his parents. What was he gonna do without them? He choked back a small sob and hugged his dad.
"Thanks dad," he said, "for everything."
His father held his shoulders for a little while after they detached. His expression was uncharacteristically soft. Daniel walked away, only turning back once to see Samuel raise one hand in farewell and getting back into his car.

He found Nathan standing behind a pillar, muttering something to himself, eyes closed.
"Uh," said Daniel. He didn't need to go further because Nathan's eyes flew open and he
looked around. "Ah," he said, "done with the tearful heartfelt good bye? I thought it was
gonna end with a screaming match full of hatred, rivalry and rage. The son versus his old man." He made a camera frame with his hands, "now that is something I would have paid to see."
"Why is everyone assuming that I am angry?" Said Daniel somewhat exasperated, "seriously, I am not! My parents might have hidden the truth-"
"But they are still your parents." Interrupted Nathan examining his nails.
"Uh, damn right they are!" Said Daniel, "I mean this truth isn't all that pleasant." He felt another pang in his stomach. He was gonna go to a different reality all together. No, a different Plane. And no one had told him for how long. He tried to bury his growing uncertainty and focused on his present. "They were just trying to keep me safe! And it's not like a huge tragedy. I always had enough of everything to satisfy my needs. I wasn't mistre-"
"Will you shut up already?" Said Nathan plugging his ears. Daniel closed his mouth. "Well that was a long speech. Look man, I am doing my duty. It's not my duty to tell you how you should feel. That is completely up to you. Frankly, I can't care less. It's just I have witnessed so many unnecessarily emotional fights that I got curious. You are the fifth semi mortal I am escorting to Anoterose. And the most unexpectedly calm one. That I think is commendable."

He looked at his wristwatch. Daniel couldn't help but feel a bit taken aback. Nathan found his calmness commendable. And also he wasn't trying to pry out Daniel's emotions unnecessarily. "And now," he said looking up, "it's time we get on a plane which will take us to Tokyo!"

Daniel hadn't expected this. In the last 24 hours, he'd been attacked by a ghoul, saved by some tattooed weirdo, and exposed to a different world. None of that had done nearly enough to surprise Daniel. But the fact that he was gonna be travelling on a private jet, with unlimited food and drinks. This, this is where the meaning of life actually lay. Nathan casually took one of the chairs up front. Daniel had never been on an aeroplane in his entire life. Now that he thought about it, this isn't what he'd been expecting. The tedious boarding procedure he had anticipated never happened. Nathan had just disappeared from his side for a few minutes and then told him that their plane was ready. There were no gorgeous air hostesses or dashing stewards. It was pretty much the two of them.
"Well?" Said Nathan, "Aren't you gonna take a seat?"
Daniel sat down on a random chair. How Nathan had arranged for this airplane, Daniel had no idea. "How did you even arrange for this plane?" Daniel asked him.
"Semi mortals make up a small fraction of every field on earth," replied Nathan, "airlines, democracy, major companies, you'll always find semi mortals and their flashy technologies. This plane," he patted the armrest of his seat, "is the courtesy of Smith Baker. Almost all semi mortals on earth are his underlings."
"But who exactly is this Smith Baker?" Daniel asked him for the first time.
Nathan looked surprised. "Didn't I tell you? Oh, no actually I didn't," he rubbed his chin, "Smith Baker is the moderator of this system."
"System?"
"Basically, this cluster of galaxies and some surrounding ones. He is one of the few immortals in the second plane, with unfathomable powers. His job is to make sure no one out of control enters this plane without permission. If they do, it's his responsibility. And he will have to put them down, take care of all the damages caused. Et cetera."
"But how do you travel between planes?" Asked Daniel, finally letting his curiosity take over.
"There is a pathway, called an egress, which basically works as transportation for semi mortals between planes. Immortals don't need it. They can travel between planes with a single thought."
So much incomprehensible stuff. Planes and immortals. Suddenly, an almost forgotten sentence struck Daniel. "System buster," he said, as Nathan looked over, eyebrows raised.
"My father called you system buster, what does that mean?"
"Keen ears, you've got," said Nathan grudgingly, "you see, there is something you need to understand that your dad forgot to mention. Where the planes actually came from. They were created by these beings, actually I don't know if we can even call them beings, but they were created by these- these entities, they are called. They are the supreme 'gods slash rulers' of the planes. The source of all life and existence. And each entity has some control which it exercises over the planes. We don't know anything about the 1st 4th or 5th planes or entities. There are speculations, but nothing more." He stopped and scratched his head, staring into space. Daniel figured he was measuring his words. "Now," he continued, "you should know that we are all direct descendants of the entity of the third Plane. Therefore, since we are descended from it, the entity has placed a limit on our power. So, we can only use a fraction of our true power there, because of the restraint placed upon our Imperiums by our very own supreme ruler of the plane. You see, since the entity is what the source of life is; since it is what gives life, it is why we exist, it also has the power to restrain our Imperiums. Our Imperiums are a part of our life force. And since the entity is that source of our life force, it can place a limit on the amount of power we can use.
"However, there are an infinite number of life forms in the second plane, not even properly explored. Since the entity of the second plane serves as the life force of that many creatures, and is not the source of OUR life force, it cannot place a limit on OUR power as the entity of the third plane can. Because it is not where WE draw OUR powers from. So, there is no limit to the power we can use here. Well, technically, anyway. Obviously, if we use too much of our power, we are obviously bound to get tired. That is why, when standardised tests are run on us, they measure our powers based off of our estimated performance on the second plane."
"Estimated?"
"Well, it's not like we can come here whenever we want and cause mass destruction." Snorted Nathan, "Whenever a semi mortal uses his or her powers indiscriminately in the Second plane, and causes any damage at all, they are erased by the entity of this plane." Nathan shivered, as if the very idea was terrifying, which Daniel supposed it was, but he hadn't expected Nathan to show even the slightest sign of fear.
"Imagine," he went on looking down at his hands, "nobody would even remember your existence. Nobody. Not even your parents. The scary part is that the entity could be erasing someone right now, but we wouldn't ever find out, because technically, we never knew the erased. All the timelines would be wiped clean within a millionth of a second."
Daniel could feel something cold and clammy on his shoulders. Now that Nathan put it that way, it made sense as to why this idea was terrifying.
"Is the entity's imperium erasure?" Daniel asked with uncertainty.
"Imperium? Imperium?!" Nathan laughed out loud. But it was a humourless laugh, "Daniel the entity of the third plane created immortals and gave them special powers we call Imperiums. It can't be seen, can't be touched, it's presence can only be felt by special immortals. Or chosen immortals. It is literally the supreme- I don't even know what that is. But it is absolutely omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. It can do anything at all. If you can imagine it, then it can do it."
"If it is omnipotent, how come it can't exercise uniform control over the beings from other planes?"
"Well, we know by convention, that the entity can only limit the powers and potential of those beings which it created." Said Nathan, "Since we are the semi mortals, descendants of the immortals, which were created by the entity, and possess the same powers as those immortals, the entity of the third plane can place a limit on our powers. The beings of the second plane, like humans for instance, appeared because of natural evolution. Now, had the entity of the second plane created immortal beings, or any beings of its own, it would have placed a limit on them. A limit which would have been broken if they came to the third plane. But the entity of the second plane never created any beings. As long as you are in the domain of power of your creator entity, you will have a limit on your imperium. Humans, plants or other life forms weren't created by the entity. Which is why they possess no extraordinary powers. Only those which nature granted them. Anyway, who cares if it cannot place a limit on our powers? We know it can erase us if we use our Imperiums irresponsibly. That should be more than enough reason for us to keep our powers in check. The reason they have a limit placed on their "creations" is because the third plane is extremely small. With limitless power, anyone could wreak havoc there. Hence, a limit. We don't have the same limit in the second plane because we are already out of its domain of control. And since we are not the descendants of the entity of the second plane, we can do whatever we want.....of course, we can't cause damage, or the entity of the second plane will erase us, like I said."

Daniel found this confusing. Mankind had always believed in God and religion. Now Daniel was finding out about the existence of a godlike being. Then why....
"Then why does suffering still exist?" He asked, "Why doesn't the entity create a utopian
world? If it is a god like being-"
"That," said Nathan looking tense now, "is where you are wrong. The god we worship and love loves us back and cares for us. The entity is more like an impartial observer. It is thoroughly disinterested in what happens in the planes. It doesn't care basically. The only time it intervenes is when planes are illegally crossed, or when beings of one plane damage the other. Then, it will just manipulate time, make it so that the criminal had never been born, and chop off all the parallel timelines. And all of this would happen instantaneously. They do care about some things though. Like extremely powerful individuals and the immortals, who are their children basically. But still, direct communication is way beneath them. Instead, they have some special immortals who are responsible for our supervision. Well, the entity of the third plane has special immortals, because after all, it created immortals and let them walk on land. We don't know about the entity of the second plane. We simply know it exists because when the immortals found out about the existence of different planes some millennia ago, through vague dreams, they found out that they were often transported to the places they dreamt of. That is when they found out that planes can be traversed by immortals. That is also when they found out that our powers are amplified in the second plane. No immortal has been able to traverse other planes. Smith is one of them. They are called the protectors."
All of this information had pretty much blown Daniel's mind. But he still had questions. "So," he said, "if the entity is all powerful, why even create the planes? Why not create something, I don't know, more fun?"
Nathan looked visibly uncomfortable. It was as if nobody had asked him these many questions before. "For simulation, basically." He said rubbing his neck, "The entity draws pleasure and satisfaction from the natural or organic progression of things. Don't ask me why! It's like asking why do you like eating good food instead of bland bread. It just does. As long as we don't cross over other planes for malicious reasons, it will let things progress as they are doing now. It is rumoured though, that death, disease and suffering were all created by the entities. Because that gives them more satisfaction." Drawing satisfaction at the cost of others. Daniel was liking this entity thing less and less. But Nathan had said that this was a rumour. Maybe thinking into this wouldn't do much good.
"But to answer your first question," Nathan said, "a system buster is someone who can destroy an entire system of galaxies if he or she uses the imperium indiscriminately. Like me and my two peers, Elizabeth Brown and Bruce Lopez." Daniel stared. Destroy an entire system with the power. This was a bit much.
"So what is yours?" Daniel asked him.
"My what?" Replied Nathan
"Your imperium."
"Ah," said Nathan, "it is called Essence Reformation. Basically I have a lot of energy stocked in my body which I can release in any form. Like electricity, heat, wind. It's kinda like psychic powers, but I don't really have to concentrate. It sorta just happens. Also, I can convert different types of energies. Like heat into electricity, the kinetic energy of wind into sound waves, et cetera. These marks on my arm," he pointed towards the six circular marks on his arm, "are an indicator of when I am using my imperium."
That is seriously overpowered, thought Daniel, but didn't say anything. But Nathan's power was amazing. The possibilities of this power were endless.

Two long haired men entered the plane. They looked over at Nathan and nodded. Nathan nodded back. Without a word, they went to the cockpit.
"You guys seem to nod a bit too much." Observed Daniel, "What's wrong with 'hi'?" Nathan shrugged. Daniel put on his seatbelt. His heart was pounding out of his chest. He would be flying in probably a few minutes. How exciting was that?

Nathan had taken out a book and was flipping through the pages rather restlessly, muttering to himself. Daniel caught the words "stupid" and "ghoul" and some of the more unflattering ones, using which would cause his mother to hang him upside down by the ankle. Finally, Nathan got up and massaged his neck a bit. "I am just gonna go and use the lavatory," he said with a drawn out yawn, "if you need anything, make sure to not bother me."
"But aren't we about to take off?" Daniel asked with uncertainty. This was his first time on a plane, so he didn't know much obviously. But using the lavatory right before take off?
"Hah?" He said, an irritating smug smile on his face, "we took it off a couple of minutes ago."
"Wait, what?" Said Daniel baffled, "I didn't even feel anything!" He leaned over and looked out of the window. Sure enough they were high up in the air. He couldn't see anything. It was as if they were floating on a sea of clouds. Whoa.
"It's Chadwick's imperium. I think it's absolute stability," Said Nathan looking towards the cockpit, "not very useful in combat, but it makes him one heck of a pilot. No wonder Smith pays him so much." He laughed dryly and walked off towards the washroom.

Nathan was taking a bit too long, and Daniel was getting seriously bored just sitting there doing nothing. Granted, Nathan wasn't the guy Daniel even wanted to make small talk with. But he still had a ton of questions with him. Subconsciously, he rubbed his neck. What Nathan had told him about the entities was bugging him. Omnipotent. So the entities were omnipotent.
Daniel looked over to where Nathan had been sitting. The book was lying right there. A flicker of a smile passed his lips. He went over and picked it up. It was covered in transparent book covering and had a name sticker on the front: Nathan Kyle, standard 3. General studies of mystical beings, 6th edition.
Daniel glanced over his shoulder. There wasn't any sign of Nathan's return. Whatever he was doing in the washroom, he was taking a bit too long. Daniel looked around, and was a bit surprised to see a stack of different books just lying there. Had they been with him this whole time?
Understanding imperium heritage, 6th edition
Imperium medicine and semi mortal diseases, 6th edition
The ones with tainted blood, 6th edition
Scale of changes in the second plane, 6th edition
Case studies and incidents from the second plane, 6th edition

Were these course books? Hesitantly, Daniel picked up the first book and flipped over to the page marked by Nathan.

Humanoid mystical beasts:
1) Ghouls
Ghouls are the strongest humanoid mystical beings. They generally live for about 15 years. The childhood stage lasts for 3 yrs. The adolescent stage lasts from 3 to 10 yrs. At age ten, the ghouls enter adult stage and die at about 15 yrs. Ghouls originally were transferred from the fourth plane at the request of the infamous immortal "Beast" some 2000 yrs ago, though the exact date remains unknown. During the 1620 AD (human year) the ghouls of the third plane started appearing in the Himalayan mountain range. This was around the same time as Smaragad's rise to power. It is speculated that Smaragad let the ghouls travel to the earth and many other different universes of the second plane as hunters. However, the earth system had already been secured by the immortal ally of Karstum, Smith Baker. The ghouls were demobilised and put out of commission, making it so that they only appeared during years preceding the sieges of Katoterose supposedly to hunt the participants present in the second plane. They are undetectable, for the most part. The ghouls of the second plane have only killed 3920 participants, about a hundredth of the true number. Ghouls are classified in the C class. They have keen senses and are about 25-30 times stronger than average mortals. They possess some intelligence and are capable of causing disasters in the second plane.

Daniel paused. This was way weirder than he'd thought. He ran his finger over the names Smaragad and Katoterose. What was this about?
There was a small note attached to the bottom of the page which said: Smaragad controls the mystical beings. What was that about?
Daniel picked up the book: Case studies and incidents from the second plane. The book was way thicker than the rest of them.
Maybe, if he was right......
Bingo. He'd just reached the year 1620 AD for earth. He couldn't understand why the semi mortals of the third plane concerned themselves with earth. If the second plane was the whole multiverse, with maybe trillions of planets, why did they concern themselves with earth? He flicked through the pages.

So, this wasn't nearly as interesting as he'd expected. There were about a ton of news articles, which gave Daniel the impression that 1620 AD must have been a pretty important year for semi mortals.
"Resignation of high profile individuals over outrageous blood oath, new generations will serve until the successful siege of Katoterose....." He muttered. Suddenly, he squinted, focusing on the article he'd been reading. What was this outrageous blood oath abou-

"Enjoying yourself?" Said Nathan's sarcastic voice from behind him. He jumped and turned, only to gasp in astonishment at the sight before him.
The guy was wearing Nathan's clothes, the same sleeveless shirt and same cargo pants. The circular marks on his arms were somehow blacker than they'd been. But he didn't look like Nathan. He had the same ruggedly handsome face, same build, and same eyes, but his features seemed sharper somehow. He was also clean shaven. His long tousled hair was emerald green in colour.
"Wha-" said Daniel, but couldn't go on. This guy had gone from easy going college senior, to superb pop idol. What was he supposed to think?
"You thought I was gonna keep looking like that?" Said Nathan snickering. His expression changed instantly as he snatched his books out of Daniel's hands. "Don't touch my stuff without asking, dude." He haughtily gathered his books and stuffed them into a backpack.
"Were you carrying that the whole time?" Daniel asked.
"Nah," replied Nathan, "I had one of Smith's people deliver it to me."
Daniel stared at the backpack, thinking about the article he'd been reading. An outrageous blood oath. His father and Nathan had been talking about something like that too. This oath was possibly the reason he had to leave. He tried to decide whether or not he should ask Nathan about it.
"Dude, back off," said Nathan shoving him back a bit, breaking him out of his reverie, "and quit staring at my bag! If you wanna ask me something, just ask already!"
"Huh?" Said Daniel confused, "Uh, well...." He considered what he should ask Nathan. This was difficult. He didn't just want to spring the blood oath question onto him.
"Who's Smaragad?" He asked.
Nathan's expression darkened. "He is from a nation called Katoterose. The leader of that
place." He sounded extremely careful, as if one wrong word could get him into trouble.
"Is he, I dunno, like a rival?" Daniel asked, remembering what he'd read in the first book. About Smaragad letting the ghouls into the second plane as "hunters".
Nathan was silent for some time. He threw Daniel a calculating look, as if he was sizing the latter up. Then, he replied, "Yes. He is our "rival" if that is how you wanna put it. You will get the details soon enough."
"And what's a siege?" Asked Daniel, hoping to get some more answers out of him. Nathan raised his hand. "I have told you enough already. I told you we will tell you the details later."
"Yeah- right," Daniel said somewhat awkwardly. It was baffling how quickly this guy's mood changed. He was sounding really pissed now. And the last thing Daniel wanted to do was piss this guy off. He wondered if there was something harmless he could ask. "Uhh, what about the books, then?" He asked.
"Hm?" Said Nathan distractedly.
"The books. What are they for."
"Ahh," said Nathan, "they are my college course books. I am a biology student."
"College?" Said Daniel wonderingly.
"Well, we aren't exactly medieval people who go to war with each other all the time."
Nathan snorted, reverting back to his sarcastic self, "we are definitely on the same level of technological civilisation as earth. In some respects, we have even surpassed earth-" "But you do go to war sometimes? Maybe with Katoterose?" Asked Daniel half hearing him and hoping to get something out of him.
"Jeez, why are you so hell bent on prying the answers out of me?" Said Nathan irritably, "I will only tell you as much as I am supposed to."
"Oh," said Daniel disappointed. "Well then, why earth? I suppose there must be even more intelligent life forms than us humans?"
"Could be, I don't know," Nathan replied, "you are gonna find out everything soon enough, so just try to be a bit patient." The finality in his tone was enough to finally quieten Daniel.
He sat back onto his seat, wondering when this flight was gonna end.

* * *

Nathan rushed Daniel out of the plane and the airport in a rush, swearing fluently under his breath and talking about sharp mortals. Daniel was way too tired to ask him what all of that was about. There was a time to pry, and there was a time not to, according to Samuel. This wasn't the time to pry. He was vaguely aware of girls giggling and shrieking shrilly as the now pop idol Nathan passed them. Several tried to yell out to him, but he was either ignoring them, or was too busy to notice.

"Ah, there!" He said, and whisked Daniel towards a car across the road. Daniel hadn't noticed, but the sky was pure black. Nathan shoved him into the car and sat on the passenger seat in the front. The driver started to drive soundlessly. Even though he was sitting down, Daniel could see that the guy was pretty tall. He was wearing a mask, cap and sunglasses, and making it way too obvious that he didn't want anyone to see his face. Daniel shook his head. Absolutely no subtlety.
"I suppose we have made it here in fairly excellent time." Said Nathan. The driver simply nodded. His attire was the strangest thing ever. He was wearing green beach shorts, with a design of palm trees and beaches, and a Hawaiian t shirt.
None of them seemed to be in the mood of talking, which gave Daniel plenty of time to look out of the window and stare at the sky scrapers open mouthed. Occasionally, he would see a traditional Japanese house as he'd often seen in samurai movies, but the place was seriously high tech. Huge screens covered most of the buildings and Daniel caught glimpses of several automated machines.

They stopped rather abruptly in front of a huge bungalow. There was a garden with several bonsai around the place. Before he could examine the place more, the driver opened his door, grabbed him, and started to head over to the house.
"Whoa, I can walk on my- ouch! Yo! Watch the step man! Ouch!" Daniel yelled, as the guy grabbed him by the back of his neck and basically dragged him across a gravelly path, into the house. The interior was seriously amazing. Traditional lamps bathed the whole place in an orange light, which reflected off of the furniture and the hardwood floor. There were vases everywhere. Across the hall, he could see a flight of stairs, leading up to the next level. He could see closed sliding doors on both sides of the hall where he was standing. The guy gave him a little pat on the shoulder and pointed him towards the sofa. Daniel went and sat down on it. It was really comfy. He let out a small groan as he threw back his head to rest his aching neck. The driver guy was observing him silently. Nathan entered the room carrying Daniel's bag and his own backpack.

"So," Daniel said, "is this Smith Baker's house?"
Nathan just nodded, propping himself down on the sofa opposite to Daniel.
"So...where is he?" Asked Daniel uncertainly.
Nathan laughed at that, and opened his mouth to reply, but the driver guy, who had been staring at Daniel this whole time raised his hand, and took off his mask, cap and sunglasses.
Daniel was struck dumb. He hadn't paid much attention to him, what with exploring the
new city, and thinking about his host.
He had huge, black eyes, surrounded by thick and beautiful eyelashes. His long platinum blonde hair was messy, as if he'd just gotten out of bed, a look Daniel had tried so hard to pull off (he always ended up looking like a clown, but that is a conversation for some other time). He was tall and well built, similar to Samuel. His skin emitted a faint silvery glow, which didn't strike Daniel as odd, somehow. He was also smiling, a friendly, pure smile, which seemed to enhance his features astronomically. "Hello, Daniel," he said, "I am Smith Baker." His voice suited him perfectly. It was very friendly, not too deep, but somehow, musical.
Daniel instantly felt a flare of jealousy. He subconsciously ran his hand through his short black hair. He'd never been popular with the girls (he'd never been popular with anyone in general, but let's not focus on that). With his extremely plain looks, and unflattering clothes, plus, the strange air surrounding his parents, he'd been every girls last choice to the prom.
This guy on the other hand, was the epitome of attractive.
"My, my," said Smith Baker, looking concerned, "is something the matter? Did I offend you in any way?"
"Hah? Oh no! Not at all!" Said Daniel trying to switch to a friendlier face.
"I see," said Smith sounding pretty cheerful. "So I suppose the two of you are pretty tired after such a long plane trip. Perhaps, hot stew and plenty of rest will be able to rejuvenate you?"
"Yeah, thanks a lot," said Daniel trying to push down his growing unease. So this was the immortal moderator of this system of galaxies. During his extremely long and extremely boring airplane trip with Nathan (most of which Daniel had spent sleeping), he'd tried to ask Nathan about Smith a couple of times. Nathan's reply had been as uninformative as it had been short: "yeah, he's pretty ok." Something about Smith Baker was ticking him off. His way of talking sounded way too artificial and his loud beach attire wasn't doing him any favours.
"Yeah, that sounds GREAT!" Said Nathan sounding thoroughly disinterested, "Drop the wise polite old man act, will you? It's really pissing me off." He got up and threw his backpack towards Smith, who caught it. He was staring at Nathan strangely, just as Nathan was staring back at him, eyeing him like Daniel imagined you would eye someone you knew too well, and someone who pissed you off. Finally, Smith sighed.
"Fine," he said, and he sounded nothing like the wise immortal who'd offered Daniel food and rest just now. "But my act was pretty good," he continued. Then, suddenly turning to Daniel, he said, "Say, I totally had you fooled, right? Right?"
"Wha- yeah! Totally." Daniel said nodding vigorously. Had he been expecting this? Not really. But this was way better than the wise old immortal feeling he'd been giving before.
He sounded human, a bit over enthusiastic but totally human, even though he didn't quite look like one.
"You didn't fool anyone, moron," said Nathan smirking, "this guy isn't like the any of the others. He is much sharper than the rest. That's what Samuel says at least." He turned to Daniel. "That fool," he said pointing towards Smith who made a rude gesture back, "had been drooling over samurai movies the last time I came here. I don't even know why I was surprised when he opened his door wearing an old suit of armour." He laughed.
"What part of it did you see through?" Asked Smith, suddenly addressing Daniel, making him jump.
"Huuhhhhh? Um, well," said Daniel awkwardly, trying to find the right words, "well, for starters, you are wearing beach clothes. Shouldn't you wear a robe or something if you are trying to impersonate a wise old man?"
"Ahhhh!" Said Smith dramatically slapping his forehead, "I was at the beach and I fell asleep. I picked up a some stuff to cover up my face so that I could startle you more-"
"For god's sake!" Yelled Nathan, "My ears are bleeding!" Then, he turned to Daniel and said, "whatever you do, never indulge this drama queen. Got it? Never!"
"Yeah yeah, very amusing," said Smith sounding impatient, "just go. I will make something."
"We are so gonna get poisoned." Said Nathan.
"Hahahaha! Just get going. Your room is on the first floor," he said to Daniel, "pick anyone. Just don't touch the vases! And you can stay wherever the hell you want, I don't care." He said to Nathan who shrugged.

In the end, he picked the second room. It was small but really elegant, with a small desk, lamp, a single bed and multiple vases. The house was huge. Daniel figured that he should pick a room closer to the stairs or he would be lost.

Daniel walked over to the bed and threw himself onto it face-first, as he always did when he was tired. He replayed the events following the last day of his school in his head, for the millionth time. It had all been going so well. He'd been excited for his birthday, until Samuel had gotten injured from trying to kill the ghoul. The next day, his parents had left to get his birthday surprise, and then Daniel had been attacked-

His birthday surprise. He'd never gotten it. What had they gone to get him anyway? Daniel couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment in his stomach. With everything that had been going on, maybe his parents had just forgotten to give it to him. Maybe he was just being childish. Afterall, his parents had done so much for him already. It was plain selfish to hope for more.

He decided to take a quick shower and change into something plain. He picked up his bag from the floor and opened it, staring at the inside contents. Everything was packed in an orderly fashion. Strange. He was sure this is not how he'd packed. He'd just shoved whatever he could find into the first duffel bag he could find and had just gone to sleep afterwards. Then who.....?
He rummaged through the bag for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, but instead, his hand found something hard and rectangular. Heart pounding, he grasped it and took it out.
Unbelievable. It was the final issue of his favourite detective novel. There was also a note sticking to it's side, a bit crumpled.

"We didn't get a chance to give this to you, what with all the craziness, but I was able to pack it in for you. This is a signed copy. I had to stand in a line for 2 hours to get you this. Happy Birthday."- Dad

Without a word, Daniel opened it. Sure enough, it was signed. So they had actually paid attention to his rants about his favourite detective novel and his favourite writer. So much so, that they had gone to get him a signed copy of the last issue.

"Hey, Xander! Dinner's on the table, so come down!" Yelled Smith from downstairs.
"Yeah! Coming!" Yelled Daniel back. He brushed away the sudden wetness in his eyes rather impatiently. He made a silent vow to himself. He would return back to his parents as soon as he was done with this world of freaks. No matter what.

Smith and Nathan were already sitting around the round table in the dining room and eating by the time Daniel got there. The smell was divine-not as good as Julia's food-but still.
There were all sorts of fried dishes, a whole crab, steamed rice, and a variety of sea food. His mouth watered. He pulled out a chair and started to help himself. Yep, it definitely tasted as good as it smelled.
"So, Samuel's son," said Smith, startling Daniel a bit, as he hadn't been expecting the former to address him, "how is Samuel nowadays?"
"Oh, yeah, he's.....fine." said Daniel somewhat lamely.
"I see," said Smith as if he'd been expecting this answer. "Him and I go way back actually. I am indebted to him. He lent me the world's best detective movies and crime novels. But I have known him since his teenager days. He was one hell of a powerhouse. A shame really."
"Why is it a shame?"
"You see, your father gave up his Imperium out of-" he stopped abruptly. Instantly, Daniel's eyes darted towards Nathan, who was looking at Smith oddly, as if telling him to stop talking.
"Out of what?" Asked Daniel, eyeing Nathan. He was well aware that Nathan knew Daniel was looking at him, but he didn't return his gaze. He continued to look at Smith steadily.
"Out of what?" Asked Daniel again, wanting an answer. He tried to recall the conversation between his father and Nathan. Nathan had something about someone. Darius.....something? Something about how Samuel had left him useless. He cursed his memory. Then again, he'd viewed that whole situation like a footage from a movie , not really remembering the details too much.
"Ahhhhh," said Smith looking uncomfortable, "look at the time! I have to- ummm, boil some water! Yes!" With that, he hastily got up and scurried out of the room in a very comical and exaggerated fashion.
"Hey! Dude! Wait! Oh, come ON!" Said Daniel furiously, watching Smith leave. He turned to Nathan who was making a big deal of wiping his mouth clean.
"You told him to shut up, didn't you?" Asked Daniel, feeling so sure about this that he actually almost stood up.
"What are you on about?" Said Nathan coolly, "I didn't even say anything."
"You gave him the 'shut up' look!" Said Daniel stubbornly.
"Please, there is no 'shut up' look." Said Nathan, and ignoring Daniel's glare, he stood up, picked his plate and walked off to the kitchen, leaving Daniel alone in the dining room.

Daniel lay on his bed, one hand over his head, and another on his stomach. Atleast the food had been pretty great. But what was it about his father that Smith and Nathan were hiding from him? He sat up. What had they been talking about? It had something to do with how useful Samuel's Imperium had been. Dejected at being unable to recall the full conversation, Daniel lay back down; only to be woken up by his growling stomach.
"Damn you," he said looking down at his stomach, "didn't I eat enough? How could you still have space left?" He sighed. Maybe, all this stress was making him hungry (excuse. He is always hungry). Maybe, he could go down and check if there was still something to eat.

Daniel could hear the sounds of a heated exchange coming from the living room as he walked down the stairs. The door of the living room was closed, which was really strange. He walked into the hall and inched closer to the wall of the living room, trying to make out what was going on. Sure enough, Smith and Nathan were arguing about something. Out of habit, Daniel couldn't make himself walk away. He knew that walking away was probably the logical thing to do, but at the same time, he wanted to know more about the new world he was gonna depart to. Anyway, he could always walk away if they started to gossip or talk about something private. He had no interest in that.
He tried focusing on the voices, his back against the wall. He could hear Nathan's voice, barely audible, ".....and that damn brat! Seriously, the way that old man talked about him! I swear, it would have driven YOU crazy!"
"I like Samuel Xander," came Smith's voice, and with a jolt, Daniel figured out that they were talking about him. Him and his family. "He was kind, hardworking, and humble. He was also the only system buster who could almost go toe to toe with me. Granted, he lost his Imperium, but he didn't lose his sense of identity as most people would-"
"There you go, trying to sound wise again," said Nathan, the taunt clear in his voice.
"Ok, first of all, I am not trying to sound wise. I sincerely meant what I said! I have lived for about 200,000 years now. I have been on earth for over 400 years! You really think I have to try? You are a bigger moron than I thought. Sure, the wise calm demeanor is not my thing, but if you are gonna antagonise someone capable and heroic like Samuel-"
"Oh gimme a break." said Nathan sounding dismissive, "Heroic? Seriously? He wasn't a hero! Instead of continuing the fight and trying for revenge against those who took his senior's life, he literally gave up his Imperium, and guess what? He moved on! He didn't even try to make himself useful after giving up! He came to earth, found a sub-par partner and had a son......just wow."
"You do realise she is only sub-par because that is the word you are using to describe her?" Said Smith, sounding very stern now, "From what I heard, she is a very strong and supportive woman. She endured several hardships, but was no damsel in distress. Heck, she was willing to punch me when I taunted Samuel for his decision! And somehow, I knew that I wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of that woman's punch."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Said Nathan, in the same condescending tone as he'd used again Daniel when they had first met. Daniel clenched his fist subconsciously. He was sweating. One more word from Nathan about his family, and he would sock his pretty boy pop star face. Is this how he'd felt about everything this whole time. He remembered Nathan, smiling and laughing along with his friends during his birthday, calling out Samuel when he caught the latter cheating at cards. Had he really been mad the whole time? Why did he hate his Daniel and his parents anyway?
"If I had to guess," continued Smith, "I would say that you are a bit jealous, or maybe, even a bit-" whatever he was gonna say was cut short, and was replaced by a muffled sound.
"Don't," growled Nathan's voice.
There was a smacking sound. "Don't do that again." Came Smith's voice, wary and tired.
"Yeah, sorry," said Nathan, though he didn't sound sorry, "and what do you mean I am jealous? That old fool, his weird wife, and idiot son. The biggest bunch oddballs living under the same roof. If anything, I pity that poor guy."
"Didn't you say he was sharper than the rest of the guys you escorted?" Said Smith in the same tired voice.
Nathan was silent for some time, and Daniel strained to hear his reply. Then he said, "I said that comparing him to the rest of the guys I escorted. He was just a bit better than them really. Look, whatever I said, doesn't change the fact that it's a family of whiny-"
Daniel couldn't stand it anymore. His body moved without giving him a chance to think his actions through. He pushed open the door of the room and stomped inside. Nathan and Smith looked over. Nathan was sitting on the couch, an empty coffee mug on the table in front of him. He was wearing a loose white t-shirt and black shorts. Smith was sitting at on a chair not opposite Nathan, a half full mug of coffee in his hand. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt, and grey shorts. Both of them were eyeing him silently.
"Well?" Said Nathan raising an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you need someone to read you a bedtime story. I don't know a whole lot of them-"
"I heard everything you said about my parents and me," blurted out Daniel. He felt really angry, as if someone had poured lava into his veins.
"Umhm," said Nathan nodding, "and do you perhaps, want your revenge on me? Are you gonna hit me like your old man? I really need to be wary of you, I suppose." Said Nathan sarcastically, looking extremely bored.
"How could you?" Said Daniel, willing himself to calm down, but only half succeeding. He didn't care if Nathan had saved his life. He hated everything about him at the moment. The messy, long emerald green hair, the narrow black eyes full of superiority, the mocking expression. Everything.
"How could I what?" Said Nathan still in the same voice, "Finish your sentence before I turn 22 please."
Daniel knew that showing hostility outright wouldn't do him any good. Instead, he decided to fight Nathan, like Nathan. Two could play that game.
"You know, the cake you got for my birthday?" Said Daniel, and instantly, he knew he'd gotten under the other guy's skin. Nathan tensed visibly. "It was really good," continued Daniel, "it looked like you really cared about my birthday. Maybe, if you stop pretending-"
"You shut your face!" Snarled Nathan, with such sudden hostility that Daniel almost stepped back, "You know nothing! I never cared. Your father begged me! Like some sort of a-"
"Or maybe," said Daniel cutting through him, his own voice becoming a growl from all the rage. He poured every bit of spite and loathing into his tone and continued, "you just wished for a normal birthday party. Afterall, you do look like you have never witnessed anything remotely normal. What happened man? I can sympathize! You looked like you were genuinely enjoying yourself there! The food, the games, everything! What, did your mother feed you a mouldy week-old egg sandwich on your birthday because she couldn't care any less about you?" Daniel knew he'd crossed the line with this. Knew that this would come to bite him back, sooner or later. But he didn't care. The ghostly expression on Nathan's face was worth it. Daniel had successfully wept of the smug look off his face. "Freak." He said before turning away and walking towards the door. His hunger was forgotten, and his growling stomach felt like it was filled with fire, white hot.

He had no idea how it happened. He had just been on his way out when suddenly, he was pulled away from the door. It was as if someone had grabbed the back of his shirt and swung him away; someone immensely strong at that. He flew through the air, past Nathan, whose face was like that of a wild beast, full of animosity; past Smith who stood up in surprise. Daniel continued to soar through the air, finally hitting the opposite wall of the room with his back so hard, the air was knocked out of him. His head hit the back as well, and the world was suddenly pain, everything drenched in red. He slid down the wall and hit the ground with his rear with a loud thud.
He gasped and drew back his head as pain flared through it, making everything else numb. His vision was blurry but he was aware of Nathan standing some distance away from him, arm raised.