The figure steps out from the shadows of the trees, coming to a stop in plain sight.

"Core." I greet him, confused for a moment as to whether I should bow, or kneel. It's not everyday you see an all-powerful being for the second time.

The being in question is decked out in his trade-mark, polished suit, his black hair combed back with and held in place with gel, his dark eyes gifted with the ability to see into the windows of anyone's soul.

"Ashley." He nods, before slowly reaching into the pocket of his suit pants.

I watch as he pulls out a length of rope, and attached to that rope, is a crystal identical to the one currently hanging around my neck.

I hurriedly pull out my necklace from my shirt, looking at the dark blue which is turning a deep, violet purple at the base. I glance up to see Core's necklace imitating the color perfectly, or maybe it's my necklace that's imitating his?

"Barely on time." He comments, holding his necklace up to view the part that's turning purple. "I did warn you the last time about what would happen if this had turned purple before you arrived...?" He questions, looking up and pinning me with his gaze, which sends shudders down my spine.

"Yes, you did." I confirm after clearing my throat.

Core raises a lazy eyebrow, before closing his hand around the crystal. When he opens his hand, the crystal is gone, no trace of it left.

I look back down at my necklace to see it's still there, and then I notice that the color is slowly restoring itself to it's former bright blue.

"If you would kindly follow me." Core suddenly speaks up, snapping me out of the awe-filled gaze I had fixed on the necklace.

Without waiting he turns on his heel and heads in the direction that leads further into his territory, where I have no doubt a clearing with a waterfall resides, if my memory serves me correctly.

I start to follow behind Core, and sure enough, the more I walk, the more pronounced the sounds of roaring water become.

I follow Core past a few more yards of trees and emerge into the predicted clearing, the waterfall opposite of us.

"Maybe it's time for a change of scenery." Core comments, making my eyes snap to his form which is angled away, surveying the area. "That waterfall has become irritating with it's constant noise."

I nearly open my mouth and rebut that it's a given a waterfall would be constantly noisy, but snap it shut at the last second. I am in no mood to be turned into ash and dust now or ever.

Core brings his hands up and claps them once, and I yelp as the environment around me morphs and transforms into something completely new.

Endless blue surrounds me, and when I look down, I notice that my feet no longer stand on hard, stable ground, but wispy, white cotton.

A cloud......I'm on a cloud.

The notion takes a moment to sink in, but when it does I become the opposite of a pretty sight.

The shriek that escapes me is something any person would be embarrassed about, but I'm not too concerned about that. At the moment I looking around for something, anything, that could be considered safe and stable.

"Quit panicking." Core reprimands from where he sits a yard or two away on a white couch cushion, lounging back and putting his leg across his knee as if he's done this a million time's before, which he probably has.

"You're not going to fall, and even if you did I wouldn't let you die now." He continues.

"So later is fine, but letting me die now is out of the question?" I ask, hearing the way my voice has risen an octave.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Now just have a seat. It'll calm you down." He waves his hand out in front of him, where an identical lounge chair appears.

I gouge the distance between myself and the chair, contemplating. Slowly, i take a step forward, flinching when my foot goes through white mists but hits some sort of barrier that it remains standing on.

In one moment I decide to get it over with and just bound towards the chair, taking gigantic leaps as to avoid stepping on the cloud for longer than I have to, before crashing into the chair and sighing in relief at being on something solid.

I hear a chuckle and look up to see Core "coughing" into his sleeve, no doubt hiding back a smile. "That has to be the most amusing thing I've seen in a while." He snickers after lowering his arm.

I reply in a huff, blowing a stray piece of hair out of my face before climbing into an appropriate seating position and not the sprawled out form I was previously in.

"Before we cut to the chase, would you like to explain what took you so long to arrive here?" Core asks.

I bite my lip, shifting uncomfortably in my seat under his watchful gaze.

"Well.....um...," I start off, extremely uncomfortable and unwillingly to explain what that "hold up" was.

Core, sighs, waving his hand in the air. "It's fine, I already know what happened. I can view everything that happens on this island, remember?I was watching the whole time."

The blood instantly drains from my face, my entire body growing stiffer.

"The whole time? You were watching.....the whole time?" I repeat, my thoughts instantly darting to that little scene between Zero and I when we were in the jungle....alone.

"Yes, I saw the beginning of that little scandal between you and the Kinling Commander, but I skipped out of there as soon as I figured out it wasn't coming to an end anytime soon. I had no intentions to throw up my lunch."

My face grows noticeably hotter, but I sigh in relief that he wasn't watching the entire thing at least.

"Excuse me, Core.......sir?" I question, wondering how to address him.

"Core is fine." He nods.

"As you noticed, I was held back for quite some time, and should most likely have already been done with this meeting with you and back at the Highclere by now, but I'm not, which means my friends must be worried...," I trail off, waiting for him to catch the hint, which he does in no time.

"Ahh, so this is your way of telling me to get on with it. I guess my company can be a bore for people, considering that I lack normal social skills from being in here the entire time."

I want to face palm myself. Darn it, that's not what I meant at all.

I open my mouth to tell him just that, but he waves it off like it's nothing.

"I have a specific job for you, and it's also a very vital one too. To accomplish it, you'll have to travel someplace completely different, and this important job could take weeks, or even months."

"Someplace completely different?" I question, thinking back to everywhere I've been so far on this island. "But the only place I haven't been to now is.... ."

"Lucem Villa, the very center of the Lightling territory." Core finishes for me.

"Why would I need to go there?" I ask.

"I'm getting to that." He says impatiently, folding his hands in his lap and leaning forward in his seat. "As you know, I am Core, the being, but also the very heart of this island. "

"Yes....?" I trail off, having no clue where he's going with this.

"Part of my job as the Core is to protect Dalton, but another major part is to monitor the things that go on inside the island and maintain the balance."

"What does 'maintain the balance' mean, exactly?" I interrupt, putting my fingers up to show my quotation marks.

"Well, for example, I regularly check up on the courts of the Kinling, Lightling, and Darkling territories and make sure nothing irregular is happening."

"Irregular like what?" I interrupt again, earning me a flat look.

"Like the killing of my people under a Commander who's not fit to be one." He finally says.

The way he says "my people" and the way his eyes soften for a second when he says it makes me think that maybe Core is more of a ruler than any of the High Commanders, and watches over each and every one of his subjects like they're his family.

"So what exactly does this have to do with Lucem Villa and me?"

"I thought you'd be able to put two-and-two together by now, Ashley...." He trails off,waiting for everything to click, and when it does, I nearly jump out of my seat, but catch myself in the nick of time, not wanting to stand on the cloud again.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're saying you want to send me to Lucem Villa because the High Commander there is killing their people?" I exclaim.

"Not quite. You see, strange things have been happening in the Lightling Territory, and my intuition tells me it has something to do with the High Commander."

"Your intuition?" I say flatly, not liking the sound of this at all. "You're planning on sending me all the way to Lucem Villa because your intuition says something is not right?"

"You will find," Core cuts in sharply,"That my intuition is rarely incorrect."

That one phrase quiets me from doubting him again, but something still bugs me.

"What strange things have been happening in the Lightling territory?"

Core leans back in his seat, uncrossing his legs and sighing.

"It is no mystery to the people in Dalton that the Lightling High Commander, Malia, has been suffering from an illness for quite some time. At first, the people thought it was curable, but as time passed and no Lightling Healer could stop the slow deterioration of her body, they gave up hope. If the illness continues at the pace, Malia should only have a few more months to live."

"And you don't have any idea what this illness is or how to cure it?" I ask, not saying but thinking the words 'shouldn't you be the all-knowing, powerful Core?'.

"Oh I have an idea, but I won't be the one to save her."

"And you're saying I can? Why can't you just tell me what this illness is? Then maybe I'd have some idea as to how to cure it."

"You should read enough action books to know it's not as simple as that." Core admonishes, shaking his head. "You see, there's more to the story. The Lightling High Commander has no heir who can take over for her after she dies, so things in the Lightling territory have become tense. This has rarely happened in the past before, but the protocol in this situation would be for Malia to pick someone she thinks is worthy to take over."

"That doesn't seem like much of a problem." I say, but know that the said problem will appear very shortly.

"It may not seem that way, but it is. While Malia has no heir herself, she has many nieces and nephews all vying for the chance, along with friends and other family close to her who would love to become High Commander. Not all of these people are so kind-hearted, and would do anything to be picked by Malia."

"I think I see where this is going...," I trail off with a grimace.

"Your mission, Ashley, is to go to Lucem Villa, find out what the illness is that's causing Malia's slow death, and find a way to cure her while making sure the title of High Commander does not fall into the wrong hands."

"I could complete half of that mission easily if you would tell me what you think the illness is." I say blandly, leaning in and widening my eyes to make them more pleading.

"I have only an idea as to what the illness is, and if I should tell you and it's incorrect, it might lead to path of very unfortunate chain-like reactions."

"I still don't get any of this. I know I said I would help you a while ago when I first met you, but I don't understand why you feel that throwing me, a clueless human, into all of your Dalton political affairs is a wise choice." I sigh, watching a cloud drift past.

"If you consider the future I have in mind for this island and everyone in it, I think it's a very wise choice." Core says with a one-sided smile.

"And I'm guessing you won't tell me what that future is." I say, giving his a level look.

"Bingo." Core says, making finger guns and shooting them at me. "While this mission will most likely be difficult and take a while, you won't be alone. I'm allowing you to take your friends, if they would like, and they will be a great help is they do decide to join you."

"Well at least one thing is good about this whole mission." I groan, shutting my eyes for a second before popping them open.

"Well now that you've learned of everything you need to know, I believe our time is up. Time is of the essence, and because I have a feeling the Kinling High Commander has a search party out combing the territory and lying in wait for your return, I'll do you a favor and transport you to Highclere, but just this once."

"Really?" I perk up, straightening my back.

"Mhmm, but the price for the favor is that you do your best to make this mission go as smooth and well as possible." He says, adjusting the cuff of his suit.

"I will." I say, feeling a small spark within me that stubbornly wants me to succeed and make Core proud.

"Well then that's all we have to say to each other. Goodluck, Ashley, and while I may not be able to help you, I will be watching over you as much as possible."

I don't tell him how that makes me sort of uncomfortable, instead just nodding. "Thank you."

"For a few seconds you won't feel anything, so prepare yourself."

I sit quietly, not really knowing how to "prepare" myself.

"It's been a long time since I've transported someone else. Let's see if it works." Core says, wringing out his hands.

"Wait-," I say, feeling in that moment that I might rather brave the Kinlings again than whatever Core has in store for me, but in that moment he does a large sweep of his hand, and everything goes blank.



* * * * * *

My feet hit solid ground, and before I know what's happening I'm falling to my knees, breathing rapidly as I regain my senses.

"You'd think he'd mentions something about extreme dizziness being one of the after effects." I mutter under my breath,taking another moment for my vision to settle, before climbing back onto my unsteady feet.

I look around me, noticing how I'm in a familiar white hallway of Highclere.

"So it did work." I say, stretching my hand out to touch the nearest wall. "So first things first I need to find my friends and get this show on the road, but just where do I go?"

There's a loud crash,and suddenly, I have an inkling as to where to go.

I start to move down the hall, my first steps wobbly but growing steadier the more I take, following the direction of where I heard the sound coming from.

I turn a corner, and notice the two, huge wooden doors that stand in front of me, the same doors that lead to the throne room. Strangely, there's no guards standing watch outside, and it also seems to be open a crack.

I start to walk over to them, and the closer I get the more I hear the sounds of people talking and voices until finally I can hear what they're saying.

"She's been gone for about three days now. What if she's in danger?" Comes the familiar and worried voice of Max.

He must be talking about me, but I can't believe I was gone for three days. Time must have passed quicker than I had thought.

"Your right. The Kinlings probably have her by now." Becky's voice comes through the doors, sounding not nearly as worried as Max.

"Good riddance, if you ask me." Sylvia's snobby voice cuts in, making me make a face."She can just stay there and do everyone a favor."

"No one was asking you, Sylvia." Max says annoyed, as I put my ear closer to the door. That's the first time I've heard Max vaguely annoyed, but Sylvia just has that magical power to bring out the annoyance in everyone I guess.

"Ashley's not with the Kinlings,s he was probably turned into dust by Core. Maybe when going through the barrier, he mistook her for someone else, then realized what he did and said 'whoops'."

"That's really mean, Becky, and you know it." I can literally hear the pout in Max's voice.

All at once they all start talking about their theories as to what happened to me, and it really starts to tick me off. I place my hands against the door ready to throw them open and declare I'm not dead, when the voice I had no idea I was waiting for to speak this entire time finally says something.....or more like roars it.

"Enough!" A deep, powerful voice echoes through the room, silencing the voices inside. Guess he's recovered from his sickness already.

I keep my hands pressed against the cool wood of the doors, although I make no move to open them yet.

"Ashley is not dead. There's no way I'd ever let her die." He continues, making me inhale a sharp breath.

"You can't not let someone die." Becky's voice comes after a brief pause, and I can feel the glare she must be leveling at Lager right now. "But you may be right. Say she isn't dead, and she's with the Kinling, what then?"

"I'd get her back." Lager states almost calmly.

"How?" Becky pushes.

"By whatever means necessary." A dark tone takes on Lager's voice.

Deciding it's about time to announce my presence, I push open the doors, notocing how every single pair of eyes lands on me, even Adviser Cecil's and Kay's, who i wasn't even aware were in the room.

I meet Kay's eyes and instantly smile in relief, so happy that she looks healthy and back to normal. She gives a small smile and waves back.

"Ashley!" Max exclaims at the same time Becky says "You're back", and Sylvia says "Ew".

"Yep."I smile, ignoring Sylvia and instead meeting the golden eyes of Lager which looked very relieved to see me.

"Pack your bags." I say, changing my gaze to look at Max and Becky.

"Why on Dalton would we do that?" Becky asks, crossing her arms.

"We're going to Lucem Villa."



Dear Readers, So this is the start of Ashley's journey. What do you think? She will certainly run into many obstacles along the way, so can any of you try and predict what some of these obstacles will be? I hope you all enjoyed, and in honor of Memorial Day, which is tomorrow, I decided to do a few questions below asked by some readers. The people who answer will be Lager and Ashley.

Lager and Ashley wave from where they stand side by side.

"Happy Memorial Day!" Ashley says with a smile, while Lager just keeps waving awkwardly. He thinks back to the rushed explanation Ashley had given him on what Memorial day was thirty seconds before the interview.

Ashley elbows him, and he straightens, nodding. "Erm, yes. Dangeroustoken and the whole cast of Human One would like to thank the soldiers and families of soliders who have served the U.S. Also, if you're ever looking for a job, I have a few spots open in the Darkling army-ouch!" He exclaims when Ashley elbows him again.

Dangeroustoken rolls her eyes, before speaking. "We salute you brave souls, you've really done so much for us, so I'd like to say thank you one more time. It's truly an honor if your reading this. Now let's get into the questions."

Ashley and Lager look at Dangeroustoken attentively, awaiting the questions.

"When are your updates?" Dangeroustoken reads off a notecard.

"Oh I know this one!" Ashley raises her hand, and Dangeroustoken nods at her. "Dangeroustoken has gotten this question a lot, which is her fault because of her sporadic updates. It used to be every other week she'd update, but now that it's summer, her updating will hopefully be once or even twice a week and usually on weekends."

"Yep. Nicely done." Dangeroustoken nods. "Next question: This one anonymous person asked, or more like stated, 'Please add more romance'."

"Romance?" Ashley asks, then her eyes light up. "I think more romance between Max and Becky is definitely needed. They are so cute together! I just wish Becky could see it." Ashley sighs.

"I don't think that's what the person meant, Ashley." Lager says, rubbing the back of his neck and casting her sidelong glances.

"Then who....they couldn't have meant Zero and I. Right now that's complicated, so I don't know about more romance-".

Lager clears his throat dramatically, getting her attention before saying, "That's not what they meant either.....".

Ashley gives him a puzzled look, and after a few seconds of her blank stare, Lager sighs, his shoulders slumping. "Just forget it." He mutters, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Ouch, that was harsh and painful to watch." Dangeroustoken comments, looking quite amused. "Next are some questions I made up on the spot. Core or Adviser Cecil? Which do you think is better?"

"Cecil. We go way back and there's no reason I wouldn't trust him." Lager immediately says.

"Well, I'd have to say Core, since I don't know Cecil and so far it doesn't seem like he particularly likes me or anyone else." Ashley says, shifting on her feet.

"Becky or Sylvia?"

Lager and Ashley both look at each other, taking only once second before they say the answer at the same time.

"Becky."

"Glad you both agree. Now who do you think is the stupidest character?" Dangeroustoken asks.

"Well, if you mean stupid as crazy, then I'd have to say Max." Ashley smiles, shaking her head as she recalls all of the crazy/stupid moments Max seems to have.

"And Lager?" Dangeroustoken asks

"Well when it comes to love..." Lager trails off, giving a pointed glare at Ashley, who ins't listening because she's caught up in memories of Max's hilarious scenes. "But overall, the stupidest character would have to be Zero all the way."

"Now the last, but not least, question. Who is the cutest character out of the entire cast?"

Ashley and Lager share another look, a small, knowing smile growing on both their faces, before they turn to Dangeroustoken and answer simultaneously.

"Kay!" They both exclaim, picturing the silent yet always joyful little girl.

Dangeroustoken chuckles, before turning to the fourth wall.

Well that's it for the questions. I hope you enjoyed! Once again, Have a nice memorial Day, although we're a day early, and thank you so much. Your service is not in vain. As always, vote, comment, and watch videos of families reuniting with relatives who served in the army, navy, etc. (Those videos never fail to make me cry). This chapter is unedited. Lots of love,

Dangeroustoken