Reality is Insanity

Hello! And welcome to chapter 4! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a wonderful New Years. Mine was very nice and on Friday I shall be celebrating my birthday! Whoo! I’ll be turning the big 1-9. Only one year away from the big 2-0…oh God I feel so old!!! Um, I shall answer reviews before I start wailing about my oldness.

Aisha: Heh I didn’t think describing him like that was going to get such a big reaction ^-^ Thank you very much for replying and I’m so happy it continues to please you. And yes, I like The Unwanted Forest too; glad it popped up in my head.

Madlodger: So you like the Goblin King reference too, huh? *snicker* In Joshua’s defense about the bulge it was one of those things that drew your eye in no matter how hard you fight it. I’m glad you’re enjoying Lliamy. I’m actually surprised, I usually HATE, I mean HATE! making female characters, but I really like the girls and women I’ve made for this story. Yeah, Lliamy was supposed to be dumber, that’s originally how I designed her character but apparently she was having none of that. Nah her kind just grows up really fast, plain and simple. Thank you for reviewing!

Elemacarriel: Thank you very much! Glad it’s doing well so far and I hope you like this update.

Kat: Awe thank you so much ^-^ I like to think my writing skills are getting better with each story too. And yay spread it! Spread it like a cold! Hehe. Wow maybe you already have a cold, you should get that cough looked at ^-^

Soul_ribbon: Woot! Brilliant, such a wonderful word. Well since you’re saving that chapter you’ll have two to read ^-^ I’m hoping this story goes to a good place, but we’ll see. Hehe yay! Bird has another fan! Well, since Joshua didn’t know its gender you don’t get to know either >:D Thank you for your comment.

Okay, that’s all of the reviews that make me go squee and grin like a maniac when I see them. So please go on and enjoy the chapter. What’s in store for Joshua?....well, you have to read it to find out!

***************************************************

Deep within the ground, in a large room that would make any scholar drool, the man known as Juniper was bustling around from bookshelf to bookshelf. He was pulling down book after book, opening them and flipping through them before tossing them over his shoulder.

In two, overstuffed, chairs sat Joshua and Lliamy, watching Juniper curiously. After about the hundredth book toss the boy leaned over to his companion.

“Are you sure this is the guy we were looking for?” he whispered. “He doesn’t look like someone that would know everything about anything.” Lliamy tilted her head curiously as she watched Juniper climb up one of the tall ladders.

“What is someone that knows everything about anything supposed to look like?” she asked. Joshua shrugged as he saw Juniper make an impressive leap from one ladder to another.

“I dunno, like a stuffy professor, or wise man, or something,” he said, turning back to Lliamy. “This guy looks more like a pimp or rock star…which would explain why he reminds me of Jareth,” he muttered the last part to himself. Lliamy looked even more confused by his reasoning’s.

“What’s a stuffy professor, pimp, and rock star?” she asked, only recognizing the wise man comment. Joshua sighed as he sat back in his seat.

“Never mind,” he grumbled. The boy jumped when a book was suddenly slammed down on the table in front of the two of them. Joshua looked up to see Juniper standing beside the table, staring down at him. The boy chuckled sheepishly and sank down in his chair, hoping beyond all hope the man had not heard him.

“You know, appearances can be very deceiving,” Juniper said as his fingers played with the edge of the book he had slammed down. “It’s a basic rule that you should never judge a book by its cover.” The man flipped open the book and Joshua rose back up to look at it. His eyes widened when the pages began to ripple like water and suddenly a tray holding a tea kettle, three cups, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies came out of it.

“Yay cookies!” Lliamy cheered happily as Joshua continued to stare at them in shock.

“H-How’d you do that?” he asked, looking up at the man who smirked at him.

“I did nothing. That is what this book does, nothing more to it than that,” he replied casually as he walked over to the other side of the table and slid into a deep red, high back chair.

“I hope you forgive the mess, I don’t entertain often,” Juniper told them. But Joshua barely heard him as he watched the tea kettle lift into the air and pour steaming dark green liquid into the cups. Then, simultaneously, the three cups rose up and floated over to land in front of each person. Lliamy clapped her hands happily as she reached out and grabbed a cookie then began dunking it into the tea. Joshua stared at it before looking up at their host.

“We’re sorry to intrude on you like this, Mr. Juniper, but the reason we wanted to find you was beca-” the boy was cut off when the man raised his hand to silence him.

“Don’t say another word. I know exactly why you’re here, Joshua, and please just call me Juniper,” the man told him as he lifted up his cup and blew on it. The steam twisted and turned in the air before vanishing.

“You do? Wait…how did you know my name?” Joshua asked, not remembering telling the man what it was. Juniper leaned to the side to place his elbow on the arm of the chair and rest his cheek against his knuckles. He then proceeded to grin at the boy.

“Let’s just say a little bird told me,” he said and Joshua raised and eyebrow. A flapping sound filled the air and the boy suddenly got the feeling something was above him.

“Oh, I’m Joshua,” he heard his own voice say. Joshua cranked his head upward and his eyes widened.

“Bird!” he cried out when he recognized the large white creature that was perched on top of his chair.

“Um, hello,” Bird said before raising its great wings and taking off in order to swoop down and land in the boy’s lap.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again,” Joshua told it and hugged Bird gently.

“Sorry,” Bird apologized when the boy sat back.

“Awe what a pretty bird,” Lliamy cooed, reaching over to pet Bird’s head.

“Pretty stupid bird,” Juniper piped up after watching the touching reunion. Joshua leaned over to look at him.

“Stupid? Bird is one of the smartest birds I’ve ever seen,” he said, defending his feathered friend.

“Oh, he’s smart when he wants to be and other times he’s completely and utterly stupid,” the man told the boy. Bird turned his head to look at the man.

“Takes one to know one,” Bird said in Juniper’s voice, making him scowl and the other two laugh.

“See? Bird is really smart,” Joshua said, petting Bird’s long neck. “And you’re a boy, huh?” he asked the feathered creature, who nodded.

“Just because he has the capacity to remember every little thing he hears or sees doesn’t mean he’s smart, it just means he has a good memory,” Juniper told the boy.

“Knowledge is what makes you smart, though sometimes you can know everything there is to know and still be as dumb as shit,” Bird said, using the man’s voice and words once more.

“Exactly right, Bird, but I still say you’re an idiot,” Juniper told him and Bird ruffled his feathers.

“Sheesh, what’s your problem?” Joshua asked, not understanding why Juniper was insulting Bird.

“I guess you can say its because I’m still miffed at him for leaving you in The Unwanted Forest,” Juniper replied casually.

“That wasn’t his fault it was the cat…wait, what?” Joshua asked in confusion, Juniper’s words taking a second to sink in. “How do you know he left me in the forest?”

“Because he came back here without you. Really you should pay more attention,” the man teased.

“But…okay I’m confused now,” the boy said and Juniper chuckled.

“You’re wondering how I knew you were there and why I asked Bird to go meet you and bring you back here, correct?” the man asked for him and Joshua nodded. “Let’s just say I knew you would want to see me before even you knew it or before your little friend over there suggested it,” Juniper told him, gesturing to Lliamy. Joshua looked at her to see she wasn’t paying attention to the conversation as she crammed cookie after cookie into her mouth.

“So, wait, you knew we were looking for you way before we knew it?” Joshua asked and Juniper nodded.

“Isn’t that what I said?” the man inquired.

“Yes, but you knew we were looking for you yet you let us wander around that stupid wasteland for over a day? Why didn’t you come get us or something?” the boy asked accusingly.

“Joshua, there’s something you have to understand. I do not go to people who desire to see me. If I did, I’d be running all over the place every waking second,” Juniper explained. “If someone wants to see me, they have to come to me, not the other way around.”

Joshua remained silent and continued to pet Bird, whose eyes were closed and he looked completely relaxed.

“So, you know that I-”

“Come from another world?” Juniper finished for him. “Yes, I do. Your appearance alone confirms that,” he said and the boy looked down at himself, or what he could see around Bird.

“Then can you tell me how this has happened? Why I’m here? How I can get home? Tell me anything at all?” Joshua pummeled the man with question after question, feeling he might finally be able to understand why this had happened to him. Juniper stared at him for awhile then stood up.

“Well, in order for me to do that I’ll have to know more about you. I know that you’re here and when you got here, but I’ll need to know exactly where you come from and what events occurred before your ultimate trip to our world,” the man said as he walked around the table. He came to a stop besides Joshua and held out his arm.

The boy wondered what he was doing when Bird suddenly hopped up to perch on the man’s arm. Juniper strolled out of the boy’s view and he quickly got up to follow the man.

The man walked towards one of the walls that was surprisingly bare. *Wait a minute. Wasn’t that wall covered in maps and bookshelves a second ago?* Joshua wondered as he followed the odd host.

Juniper stopped halfway to the wall and kicked open a book that was idly lying on the floor. Joshua jumped in surprise when the pages rippled like before and a bird perch rose out of it. Juniper raised his arm further and Bird fluttered over to land on the new piece of furniture.

“What are you doing?” Joshua asked curiously.

“I’ve always found visual presentations to be more helpful than verbal,” Juniper answered. The boy nodded in agreement even though the answer confused him further.

“So, tell me, where is it exactly you come from?” the man asked. “Any information will be useful.”

“Um, well, my world is called Earth. It’s a big blue planet and it has one moon and one sun. The planets around it are ones like Mercury, Mars, Jupiter-” Joshua stopped when the man raised his hand.

“Ah, yes, so not only do you come from another world, but another universe entirely,” he muttered, more to himself than the boy. Juniper clapped his hands and Joshua jumped when the room went dark. He was just able to make out the man turning to Bird, who was watching him expectantly. “Bird, bring up image 9-3-0.JX 30-X 96,” Juniper told him. Joshua was beyond confused now, but watched as Bird turned towards the wall.

“Always, demanding, demanding, demanding, never asking,” the creature said in the man’s voice.

“Will you just do it?” Juniper snapped.

Joshua watched intently as Bird stared at the wall in front of them. He wasn’t sure what to expect then Bird’s eyes suddenly began to glow. The boy’s jaw dropped when the light shot out to the wall and a giant picture of his solar system appeared.

“Focus on the third little planet from the sun,” Juniper instructed and a second later the image zoomed in until Earth was enlarged and took up the entire wall. “Is this your world?” the man asked, smirking when he saw Joshua’s look of disbelief.

“Uh, y-yes,” the boy stuttered. “How is Bird doing that?” he asked, gazing from the creature to the image of his home world.

“It’s what his kind specialize in. Like I said before, he remembers every little thing he hears or sees and can repeat verbal conversation perfectly. But with repeating what he sees he has to project it in this fashion,” Juniper explained. “I’ve made him look at every, map, picture, anything of any other world or universe I have and lucky for you I have yours.”

“Wow…so he’s like a projector and a recorder,” Joshua muttered and the man nodded.

“Exactly, so, back to the subject at hand. Since you aren’t even from our universe this becomes a bit more complicated,” Juniper told him.

“How come?” Joshua asked with a frown. He wanted to get home as soon as possible and complications were not a happy prospect.

Juniper opened his mouth to reply when Lliamy suddenly popped up between them, making them both jump.

“Wow, so that’s where you come from?” she asked in amazement as she stared at the image of Earth.

“Yeah, that’s my home,” Joshua told her.

“It’s so pretty! It’s like a big blue gem!” she squealed in delight. Juniper rolled his eyes then grabbed her shoulders and turned her around.

“That’s nice, now go stuff your face some more or something,” he said, shooing her back to the table.

“But I want to watch!” Lliamy huffed, digging her feet into the ground so she couldn’t be moved. Juniper groaned as he let go of her and the girl fell to the ground.

“Fine, but go sit in one of the chairs and keep quiet,” he told her.

“Hey, you don’t have to be mean to her,” Joshua piped up as he bent down to help Lliamy up. “You okay?” he asked once she was on her feet.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she replied, straightening her dress. “Jerk,” Lliamy then snapped at Juniper and stuck her tongue out at him.

“You wanna keep that? Because I’ll remove it for you,” the man subtly threatened. The girl quickly retracted her appendage and covered her mouth with her hands.

“That’s enough from the both of you,” Joshua butted in. “Lliamy, why don’t you go watch from the table. You’ll be able to see from there,” the boy suggested.

“Okay, Joshwa,” Lliamy consented and threw a last dirty look at Juniper before going back to the table and turning around one of the chairs.

“Great choice in a traveling companion,” Juniper said sarcastically once she was seated.

“What’s with the attitude? She didn’t do anything to you,” Joshua said, not liking the sudden hostility.

“You must forgive me, but you have to be firm with her kind or else it doesn’t get through their thick skulls,” the man told him, poking himself in the head and the boy raised an eyebrow.

“Her kind?” he echoed.

“Yes, her species is, well, not very intelligent. They’d be like…what’s that animal from your world? Ah, yes, they’re basically the equivalent of your hamsters,” Juniper explained. *That’d explain the ears,* Joshua thought.

“Even so, she’s not dumb. Lliamy has been very helpful to me,” the boy told him and Juniper rolled his eyes once more.

“Whatever, do you want my explanations or not?” he asked and Joshua nodded.

“Yes, just stop insulting my friend,” he said with a scowl and Juniper lifted up his hands in surrender.

“All right, all right, already, let’s just move on,” the man said in exasperation. “So you want to know why it would be complicated to get you back, right?” he asked and Joshua nodded. “Okay, well, if you were just from another world it would be simpler, but you come from another universe, another realm, another plane of existence if you will. Getting from one universe to another is very complicated and delicate. It can easily go awry if you’re not careful,” Juniper explained. “Everything must have been just right in order for you to cross over to here. It’s rare, but it happens.”

“Wait, you mean this kind of thing has happened before?” Joshua asked, trying to absorb all the new information he was getting.

“Of course, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen that have accidentally ended up in Nisis,” Juniper told him and the boy looked at him oddly.

“Wait a minute; you just said it was rare for it to happen. How could you see a lot of people from other worlds if it’s rare?” Joshua asked. Juniper sighed and flicked some of his silver hair over his shoulder.

“You have to see the bigger picture here, Joshua,” the man told him before turning to Bird. “Zoom out, if you please,” he requested and the image on the wall went back to showing the solar system. “Now, keep that image up and layer it with images 34-97.MY 40-T 61 through 7-73-0.UZ 1-K 700.”

Joshua watched in fascination as the picture of his universe was suddenly covered by another then another then another. Soon the boy’s solar system was lost in a sea of other worlds, suns, moons, and stars. He wasn’t able to tell one from another.

“You see, Joshua, there are more universes and realms than you could ever imagine. This is only a handful of them. While it is rare for one world to have one of its people jump to another world, if you count how many worlds there are and if only one person from each get transferred to another that adds up to a lot. You follow?” Juniper asked and Joshua slowly nodded.

“A little,” he answered.

“Well, to put it more simply, if you take one person from each world you would have millions upon millions of chances that one of them will cross over. To give another demonstration.” The boy watched as Juniper bent down a picked up another book. The man suddenly tossed it into the air and both watched as it ascended then descended and landed back on the floor.

“You see? With just that simple toss I touched over thousands of other universes. They’re all around us and we’re all around them. There’s so many we overlap each other, just like this picture shows,” Juniper explained, gesturing to the image on the wall. “And since we overlap, the phenomena of crossing to another world is almost expected,” the man said and the boy nodded.

“To go further, how do you think most myths are created, like…what are the ones from your world?” Juniper took a minute to think before snapping his fingers. “Like vampires, fairies, unicorns, Bigfoot, all that good stuff. They were created because someone spotted them, but not many people have afterwards, have they, and do you know why?” he asked and Joshua shook his head. “Because they came from other worlds, other universes and not many of the same species would be taken to the same place, sometimes, but not likely. Getting it just a little?”

Joshua looked back at the picture as he thought that over and realized that the myths part actually did make a lot of sense. That would explain why Lliamy called him a mythical creature when they first met.

“Yes, I’m starting to get it, but what I don’t understand is why me? How did the chance of me crossing over happen?” Joshua asked and the man simply shrugged.

“That is something you’ll have to tell me,” he said and elaborated when the boy looked confused. “I’ll need to know what happened before you ended up here and I don’t mean just right before. Anything odd or peculiar that has been happening leading up to it,” Juniper told him before turning to Bird.

“Okay, you can stop now,” he told the creature. The picture on the wall faded away and Bird’s eyes ceased to glow, plunging the room into darkness. A few claps from Junipers hands and the lights in the room came back on, making the boy squint.

Once his eyes adjusted he saw Juniper going back to the table and he followed. The boy smiled when he saw Lliamy was curled up in her chair and was asleep. *I guess our talk wasn’t too exciting for her,* he thought. Joshua sat down in his seat, as did Juniper in his. Bird flew over to them and settled himself on Juniper’s shoulder.

“You gonna be rude or offer me something?” the creature asked in the man’s voice. Juniper lifted up his tea cup and Joshua chuckled as Bird dipped his beak into it before tilting his head back and drinking the liquid.

“So, are you going to speak up soon or what?” Juniper asked, breaking Joshua’s interest in Bird’s drinking.

“Oh, um, well, I guess the first weird thing I started to notice was that I’ve been having dreams of this place, Nisis, for a few weeks. I did something different in each, but each time I dreamed of it I was always really tired when I woke up. Oh, and my watch would stop all the time, if that’s anything important,” Joshua said, holding up his wrist to show Juniper his timepiece. “Now that I think about it, it stopped every time I’d go to sleep,” he then muttered, just realizing that fact.

“Anything else?” Juniper asked.

“Well, yesterday, the day that I got here, I had a dream again, but something really, really weird happened at school. I was sitting in class when I suddenly heard a voice calling my name. Over and over it called to me, but no one else seemed to hear it. That’s when I happened to look outside and there was this strange guy in a tree. I’d never seen anyone like him before. His clothes were really weird and he had a blindfold over his eyes,” Joshua explained, reliving the events of the day. Juniper’s eyebrows went up at the last part.

“A blindfold, you say?” he asked curiously and Joshua looked at him strangely.

“Yeah, why, is that important?” The boy’s eyes widened with a thought. “Do you know who he is?” he asked hopefully. Joshua’s face fell when the man shook his head.

“No, sorry, I just have a thing about blindfolds that’s all,” Juniper replied, shuddering a little.

“Oh, well, anyways. He was just sitting there, staring at me and-”

“Wait, he had a blindfold on. How do you know he was staring at you?” Juniper interrupted.

“I know it sounds weird, but I could just feel it, you know? It was really creepy,” he explained and Juniper nodded.

“Makes sense, keep going,” he said.

“Right, well, he was sitting there, staring at me. Then I looked away for a second and when I looked back he was gone! I was freaked out, but I just tried to brush it off. Later, a bully was trying to beat the crap out of me and my friend, Ellie, saved me. While she was pummeling him I suddenly saw two weird creatures. They were like fluffy, purple rodents that could stand on their hind feet. Again I looked away for a second then looked back and they were gone,” Joshua told him.

“You think you’d learn not to look away when you see something weird,” Juniper chuckled and the boy stuck his tounge out at him before continuing.

“Well, after that the day went normally. After school got out I was walking across the street when I saw the man again. He kept saying I was ready, I was ready. I didn’t know what he meant and I started freaking out. Then he waved these little bells that hang from his wrist and suddenly a truck came out of nowhere. It was coming right at me and I couldn’t move. It happened so quickly. The last thing I remember was seeing the man smile at me then BAM! The truck hit me and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was here,” Joshua finished, feeling like he was talking to a shrink.

Juniper was silent as he set down his now empty cup and he stroked Bird’s side as he stared at Joshua. The boy started to fidget under his gaze and wondered what the man was thinking.

“Well, your story is a little peculiar,” Juniper finally said.

“More outrageous than anything,” Bird added with Juniper’s voice.

“Yes, very. It’s more than obvious this blindfolded man helped you cross. How exactly or why I’m not sure,” the man mused.

“Okay, so can you get me home? That’s all I want to know. I’m curious as to why that jerk brought me here too, but all I really want is to go home.” Joshua asked hopefully.

“Sorry, can’t help ya,” Juniper told him simply with a shrug of his shoulders, jostling Bird a little. Joshua’s mouth fell open and once again his hopes were crushed.

“W-What? What do you mean you can’t? You’re my only hope!” he yelled, quickly quieting himself when Lliamy stirred, but didn’t wake up.

“Look, Joshua, there’s more to this situation than you realize,” Juniper told him.

“Like what?” the boy snapped.

“That man in the blindfold isn’t entirely to blame for you being here,” the man said and Joshua furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?” he asked, not seeing who else could be to blame.

“You, Joshua, you had a hand in this even if you weren’t aware of it,” Juniper told him and Joshua was surprised by that.

“Me? What did I do?” he questioned.

“Yes, you. People can’t simply go to a different world with no warning. Somehow you became aware of this world, of Nisis. How exactly, I don’t know, but you did. Through your dreams, some other form of contact, something, but you became aware. Through that contact a want, a desire to come here grew in you. If that desire was not there then there is absolutely no way that man could have brought you here. He could try with all his might, but if you did not want to come here, he couldn’t make you. So you see? Part of the blame is on yourself,” Juniper explained. Joshua stared at him in disbelief then sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his bangs.

“Okay, so what? So somehow I wanted to come here, but all I want now is to go home. I don’t care whose to blame I just want to go back. Are you sure there’s no way you can help me?” he asked, almost pleadingly. The two stared at each other and the man sighed.

“Again there’s more to it. More complications, more hurdles-”

“I don’t care!” Joshua interjected, slamming his fist down on the table. “Just tell me so I can know all of the details!” Joshua shouted angrily at him.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Juniper said. “Joshua, you’re gonna have to understand that there might not be a way for you to get home, ever.”

The ground felt like it was ripped out from underneath Joshua. His body went numb and he stared at Juniper with wide, unbelieving eyes.

“W-What? No, that can’t be. If I somehow got here then I can go back, I know it,” he argued, not wanting to think of being stuck in Nisis.

“I’m telling the truth. In fact, there’s a very, very slim chance for you to go back. Because, you see, there are only three ways that you can be here right now,” Juniper told him.

“What do you mean?” Joshua asked in confusion.

“You said that you got here by being hit by a truck, right?” the man asked and Joshua nodded. “Then there’s a high possibility not all of you is here right now.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” Joshua asked in confusion. Juniper groaned, explaining things always vexed him.

“Okay, the you that I’m staring at right now could be all of you. Your body, your soul, all that good stuff, but there is a chance that…you died when that truck hit you,” Juniper told him, his expression the picture of seriousness. Joshua opened his mouth but words refused to come out.

“I-I-wha…? What do you mean I died? That’s not possible, I’m right here,” he said, not wanting to believe it, denying it to his very core.

“Joshua, the body is just a vessel. It’s the spirit that’s important. That truck hit you and your body could have died while your soul was sent here and manifested into a solid form. Believe me. I’ve seen it plenty of times. That’s probably how that man appeared in your world. He wasn’t physically there; he somehow projected his spirit to contact you,” Juniper explained gently. The boy freaking out was not something he wanted right now, but he had to know all the facts.

“So, if I’m dead, there’s no way for me to get back?” Joshua asked, looking on the brink of breaking down.

“Unless you want to be put into a dead body, that which could not come back to life even if your soul was put back in,” Juniper replied.

“Wait, but you said there were three. What’s the third?” Joshua suddenly asked, holding on to a faint glimmer of hope.

“Well, there’s a chance that you are here in spirit, but your body is still alive. To be more precise you could very well be in a coma,” the man told him and the boy didn’t know whether to be happy about that or not.

“A coma? So if I were to go back I would wake up, right?” the boy questioned and was filled with relief when Juniper nodded.

“Most likely, unless you sustained some damage that’s keeping you in a coma even without your spirit,” he said.

“So I can either be here fully, in a coma, or dead. Well, two out of the three options sound good,” Joshua said optimistically with a very small smile. “So how do we know which I am?” the boy asked.

“I have no idea,” Juniper replied, playing with some fur from his jacket collar.

“You have no idea? But you’re supposed to be the man that knows everything about anything! You have to know of a way!” he exclaimed. His attention was then brought to Lliamy when she squirmed in her seat.

“So much loud noise,” she muttered groggily then slipped back into her sleep. Joshua hushed and turned back to Juniper when the man clicked his tongue.

“That title was forced upon me, thank you, and is grossly exaggerated,” he told the boy. “While it’s true I do know a lot about most things, I don’t know everything about anything. That’s impossible and I’m sorry, but I don’t know of a way to see if you’re dead in your world or not,” Juniper said honestly. Joshua stared at him before slumping in his chair and covering his face with his hands.

“This can’t be happening. I have to get home, I just have to,” the boy mumbled into his hands miserably, on the verge of tears. Juniper stared at him, not sure of what else he could do for him. He looked up at his feathered friend who stared back.

“You have any ideas?” the man asked. Bird tilted his head back and forth as he thought and Juniper had to close an eye as the creature suddenly ruffled its feathers, puffing up.

“You crotchety, wrinkled, old man!” Bird suddenly yelled in Juniper’s voice, getting both his and Joshua’s attention. “This is what you brought me here for? Call me when you have something of interest instead of worthless shit like this!” the bird bellowed and the boy looked from him to Juniper.

“What was that about?” he asked, wiping at his eyes.

“I don’t…Bird, that’s brilliant!” Juniper suddenly exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

“Jesus, they’ve both lost their freakin’ minds,” Joshua muttered, staring at the two oddly.

“See, Bird? You are smart when you want to be,” Juniper praised and insulted at the same time, earning him a yank on one of his strands of hair. “Ow! That was a compliment you feather brain!” the man yelled at him.

“Who knew you could be an asshole through and through?” Bird said before taking off into the air and going over to Joshua, landing gently in his lap once more.

“Well then, see if I ever say you have a good idea again,” Juniper huffed, crossing his arms.

“Will someone explain to me what you two are on about?” Joshua intervened, resting a hand on Bird’s back. Juniper glared at Bird before turning his attention to Joshua and composing himself.

“The ungrateful little bastard has reminded me of an old friend of mine. Haven’t seen him in awhile, but he might be able to answer the question of your current state,” the man told him.

“R-Really?” Joshua asked, afraid to believe it in case his hopes got dashed again.

“Yes, he’s into finding odd little knickknacks that have abilities and powers and I know he has a few that can link into other worlds. He just might have something that can hone in on yours and give us some info,” Juniper explained as he stood up.

“You really mean it? That’s great!” Joshua exclaimed happily.

“Don’t get too happy, it may not be good news,” Juniper warned him as he lifted his arms to stretch, the jacket moving to reveal more of his torso. *I know it’s his house, or whatever you would call this place, but the guy should cover up more,* Joshua thought, making himself look away.

“I know that, but if I know how exactly I’m here it’ll make me feel better and not leave me wondering about it,” the boy told Juniper, busying himself by petting Bird.

“True, good point,” Juniper agreed as he walked back over to the bird perch. “He lives in a place called Mirage Town. We can leave for it tomorrow,” the man told Joshua as he started pushing the perch back into the book. The boy turned to look back at Juniper with a raised eyebrow.

“We? You’re coming with us?” Joshua asked. Juniper had the perch half way in and looked up at the boy. The man laid his arm on the item and leaned against it.

“What? You don’t want me to?” Juniper questioned, pretending to look hurt.

“No! I mean, not no as in no don’t come I meant no…” Joshua trailed off from his ramblings to try and focus his thoughts. “What I mean is I didn’t think you would. I assumed you would just give us directions and shoo us off,” he said. Juniper laughed as he pushed the perch the rest of the way down and closed the book.

“Like I said before,” Juniper said as he walked over to Joshua’s chair and set the book on the table. “Never judge a book by its cover, but never assume anything either,” he told the boy, patting his head. “But now I believe you should rest. We’ll be traveling a lot tomorrow.” A groan came from the boy at that.

“I am so tired of walking,” Joshua grumbled, making the man laugh.

“You get used to it,” he told the boy. “Now, my little Bird,” Juniper said to get the creature’s attention. Bird looked up at him and tilted his head to the side. “Can you please go take our guests to one of the rooms and show them where they can wash up and clean their clothes? Then can you get them a decent meal?” he asked sweetly. Bird stared at him then ruffled his feathers.

“Just be a slave driver, why don’t you?” he asked in Juniper’s voice.

“Oh just go do it,” the man said, the sweetness gone from his voice.

“He sure knows a lot of things from you,” Joshua chuckled as he pet Bird’s head.

“You got that right,” Bird told him in the boy’s voice.

“We’ve been together for years, he practically knows every single word I’ve ever said,” Juniper told Joshua. “Now off to bed already, I don’t want you being cranky tomorrow,” he ordered, smacking the back of Joshua’s head lightly.

“Okay, okay I’m going,” Joshua said, ducking away from a second hit. Bird hopped up onto the table so the boy could get up. Joshua then went over to Lliamy and started to shake her.

“Lliamy, come on, get up,” he told her. The girl groaned and curled up even more.

“Noooooooooo…” she whined. After a few more shakes and no other response, Joshua looked over to Juniper for help.

The man rolled his eyes and walked over to the chair. He bent down and took hold of one of Lliamy’s ears between his fingers. Juniper brought his mouth close to the ear and whispered one word.

“Food.” The man quickly stood up straight as Lliamy bolted up and was wide awake.

“Food? Where!?” she asked excitedly. Joshua raised an eyebrow and looked from Lliamy to Juniper, wordlessly asking a question.

“Her kind is very food oriented. Just mention it and they’ll pay attention immediately,” Juniper explained.

“Ooooooh…that explains how she found the suradews,” Joshua mused.

“So, is there no food?” Lliamy asked with a pout, not seeing any food around besides the cold tea and the crumbly remnants of the cookies.

“You get food after you both go take baths. You guys are filthy,” Juniper answered.

“Thanks a lot,” Joshua said sarcastically. “You’d be filthy too if you were wandering around up there,” the boy told him, pointing to the ceiling.

“Well, I haven’t, you have, now both of you shoo,” Juniper ordered then looked over to Bird. “Go take them upstairs.”

“Can you be anymore demanding?” Juniper’s voice asked right back before Bird took off into the air.

“Upstairs? This place has an upstairs?” Joshua asked, looking around.

“This place has a lot of things,” Juniper replied. “Just follow Bird.” The two did as they were told and followed the feathered creature as he ascended in the air.

Bird landed on top of one of the ladders and started pecking at a square indent in the ceiling that Joshua hadn’t noticed before. After a few taps there was a scratching sound as the panel moved on its own to reveal an opening and Bird slipped inside.

“Wow, that’s awesome,” the boy muttered as the companions walked over to the ladder.

“Yay! I want to go first!” Lliamy cheered as she grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing.

“Okay, sheesh go ahea-” Joshua broke off and quickly looked away as he realized that he could see up Lliamy’s dress.

“Oh don’t tell me you’re going to be a gentleman,” Juniper teased from the table and Joshua glared at him as his face went red.

“Quiet you,” he grumbled.

“Is Joshwa coming up?” Lliamy called down to him.

“Are you all the way up the ladder?” Joshua asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay, goo-ack!” Joshua looked up only to cover his eyes with his hands. Lliamy was all the way up the ladder, but she hadn’t gone through the opening, just stood at the very top. Even though it was high up, Joshua was sure he got an eyeful of purple panties.

“Go up into the room for crying out loud!” the boy yelled, his face resembling a tomato.

“You don’t need to yell,” Lliamy said as she clambered up through the trapdoor. Joshua carefully peeked through his fingers and sighed in relief when he saw she was gone. He heard laughing and looked over to see Juniper doubled over in laughter.

“Ha ha, jerk. You could have warned me,” Joshua snapped. Juniper calmed down enough to shake his head.

“Heh and miss your reaction? No way. Now you may want to get up that ladder quick,” Juniper told him, all laughter suddenly gone from his voice.

“Why?” Joshua asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Because seeing young boys all flushed like that is one of my big weaknesses,” Juniper replied with a devilish smirk. The meaning of his words hit harder than one of Ellie’s punches and Joshua could have sworn his whole body turned red.

“Uh-I-Eh…night!” the boy cried out and went up the ladder so fast it looked like he ran up it. When Joshua was gone and the panel was put back into place Juniper broke out into more laughter.

“Wow, he’s a fast one,” the man chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair. “He knows he thinks I’m sexy,” Juniper said to himself as he sashayed over to one of the smaller tables. The man looked through the books on it and picked out a specific one. He flipped it open and instead of an item rising from it Juniper suddenly delved his hand into the pages.

“I know it’s in here,” the man muttered as he felt around in it. “Ah, there you are.” Juniper pulled his hand out and held a pipe in his grasp. It was made of a dark wood and the end of it was in the shape of a bird, closely resembling Bird. Juniper reached into the book once more and pulled out some matches.

“The things I get myself into, I swear,” Juniper mumbled before putting the end of the pipe in his mouth and striking one of the matches. He lit the other opening that was the bird’s beak. Green smoke started rising out of the opening and the man shook the match until the fire went out. Juniper took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through his nose. He sighed happily as he closed the book.

“You can come out now, Iaol,” Juniper suddenly called out as he let the pipe hang from the side of his mouth. The man turned around to lean against the table as he waited for an answer, but there was nothing. “Oh, come now, I know you’re here. I’ve known it the entire time. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not nice to eavesdrop without permission?” he asked.

“I don’t need permission from someone like you,” a soft voice replied. One of the books across the room suddenly flew out from its shelf. Before it hit the ground it stilled in midair and opened. Instead of rippling the pages ripped right out of the book and created a tornado.

Juniper simply stared at it until the tornado ceased and the papers fluttered to the ground. In their wake stood a man dressed in simple white and tan clothes, soft creamy white hair fell to his chin, and his eyes were covered by a blindfold.

“Is that so, Iaol?” Juniper asked casually. “You are in my home and look at what a mess you’ve made,” he tsked as the strange man called Iaol strolled towards Juniper. His steps echoed throughout the room until Iaol stood right in front of Juniper.

“So…what do you want with the boy?” Juniper asked after a short silence, looking down at the slightly smaller man. He inhaled from his pipe and a second later smoke in the shape of a green dragon flew out of the bird’s beak and circled Iaol’s head before disappearing.

“It’s not what I want, it’s what He wants,” the smaller man replied, his voice as firm as stone

“Ah yes,” Juniper chuckled. “How is your bratty little Emperor lately? Still up to his old tricks?” he asked. Juniper hardly flinched when he suddenly found long pointed nails at his throat.

“Never talk about my master like that,” Iaol said in a low, deadly tone.

“Or what? You’re going to scratch me to death?” Juniper sneered. “You know you can’t kill me while I’m in here,” he then said, batting the other man’s hand away.

“Yes, I do know that,” Iaol said and his nails shrank back to normal. “That’s why you hide in here like a coward.”

“Oh, such hateful words strike me right through the heart,” Juniper said dramatically, placing his hand over said organ. He then laughed as he took the pipe out of his mouth and held it in his other hand. “So are you going to try and take the boy now? Because I assure you you’re not going to get near that ladder,” the man said with a menacing smile, but Iaol was unfazed.

“No, my orders are just to keep an eye on him,” he replied and Juniper studied him intently.

“Is that sooo?” the taller man asked slowly, twirling the pipe in his fingers. “Come on, Iaol, I’m not as stupid as you like to say I am,” Juniper suddenly said. “You didn’t bring the boy here just for Emperor Deilus. You have your own motives, don’t you?” he asked. Iaol stood perfectly still and remained silent.

“I thought so. Don’t drag Joshua into this pile of shit scheme to serve your own needs. If you really want to figure things out, do what I’ve been telling you to do.” Juniper took a second to take another puff of his pipe and slowly let the smoke out through his nose. “Take off the blindfold.”

Iaol remained immobile, not reacting to the man’s words. Finally, after a few moments, he took a step forward and lifted his hand. Juniper stared at him coolly as the hand was placed on his cheek, in an almost tender way.

In the blink of an eye Iaol’s hand was gone and blood splattered onto the wooden floor. Four deep gashes appeared on Juniper’s cheek and thick, red blood oozed down his face.

“You might want to get off that high horse of yours, Juniper,” Iaol said and licked the red substances off his elongated nails. “You don’t know shit about me. I’m only here because the boy has become aware.”

The white and tan clad man spun around and walked back to where he had entered. When Iaol was in place he turned to face Juniper.

“I’ll be back for the boy when Master Deilus thinks he’s ready,” the man said.

A strong wind picked up, catching the stray papers that littered the floor, and created another paper tornado. The cover of the book rose into the air and the papers went back into place and mended themselves. The wind ceased, Iaol was gone, and the book placed itself back in its original spot.

Juniper continued to stare at the spot Iaol had been, his skin tingling from the feel of the blood running down his cheek. He suddenly began to laugh and his tongue came out to lick up some of the crimson elixir as the gashes began to close.

“The quiet ones are always the feistiest,” he chuckled, smirking like he had at Joshua. “Maybe I’ll hang around the boy for longer than I planned. This is proving to be most interesting.”

================================Ch.4 End

Uh oh, what’s all that mean? Something tells me Joshua’s journey home might hit more than a few bumps along the way, especially since he might be dead!!! And the blindfolded man’s identity has been revealed! His name is Iaol and who is this Emperor Deilus they were talking about? Hopefully the four of them can get to Mirage Town before anything bad happens. Four? Why four you ask? Hehe because *throws confetti* it’s the triumphant return of Bird! And it’s a he! Bird was never supposed to be one of the main characters but he wormed his way in there somehow and he reveals even more abilities! So what’s going to happen next?.......I’m not going to tell you! You have to come back for the next chapter! >:D