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A few days have passed since Chastain's whole life in TFNs, and the experiences she had there, were undermined.... she now sits on the terrace of the SAO Inn in Altissia.

She has come to understand that she has too many uncertainties about relationships, experiences, past memories, etc...related to a Traveler and this multiverse.

With a mind full of doubts, her will was firmed up.....she was going to put everything aside and push forward, maybe the answers to her questions will come...

One person who could answer most of her questions should be, if she knows him even a little bit, currently diving into Parallel experiencing his latest creation.

'I need to dive in there and find Raven, assuming he listened and stopped spying on me, that's the only way I can find him in a short amount of time...plus, it is something to take my mind off of everything. Seeing him should clear my mind...'

Unbeknownst to the Headmaster of Tower Prep, he had someone looking for him that should be entering his school soon.....she is from a different world altogether yet is familiar to him, and him alone.

....

'Geez, those manipulative b@stards are some of the vilest people I've ever met...the memories left behind by the old headmaster didn't do them justice...' thought Raven as he was making his way to his office.

The Headmaster is currently returning from the West campus, the building serving multiple functions, one of which is to house and facilitate meetings between the board and Tower Prep faculty and staff.... including the man of the hour himself, the Headmaster.

*sigh*

"I hope Ian doesn't give me too much trouble tonight, I'm already beat..." whispered the cynical leader of the school, but contrary to his words, a smile was ever present on his lips.

.......

After acclimating somewhat to this bizarre situation, Ian Archer is trying his best to blend in throughout his first day at Tower...

As night fell, however, Ian began to make his moves...

'This wall can't be circling the entire forest surrounding the school...' he knew from the introduction and by putting two and two together that this school resides within a peninsula....but it didn't describe the exact size, shape, etc...there are many examples of such places that could not support a huge metal perimeter wall at every exit point...

Either way, Ian was sure that staying another second at this place was his worst option and he needed to try escaping again.

He was currently running through the dark forest when his preflex activated and he quickly dove into the nearby foliage, just as he stopped moving in the bush, he heard footsteps fastly approaching...

When the five or six people passed, through the leaves and branches, Ian could see fully armored individuals sporting dark helmets on top fitted with powerful flashlights on either side of the head....the lights were green in color giving the whole getup a new edge.

'WHO THE F\/CK ARE THESE GUYS!?...' thought Ian as he tried his best to calm down, even with all of his experience, this whole day has been a rollercoaster ride and the leather-bound guards patrolling the woods at night checked another "creepy point" on the list of things about this school that makes him uncomfortable.

He pulled himself together when he heard the people pass and the creepy static noises they made disappear into the distance, he jumped out of the bushes and kept running in the direction of his destination...

Just as he got good and started, his preflex yet again warned him and without a second thought, he reached into the nearby thicket grabbing hold of someone or something's neck....

He was about to throw a hard punch at the thing before he heard a girly squeal...

"OH MY GOD! PLEASE, PLEASE! DON"T HIT ME...I SURRENDER OH GOSH..."

With a perplexed look, Ian pulled the now identified feminine male out of his hiding spot.....when Ian laid his eyes on the guy, he recognized him as the one who cracked the joke at his expense earlier in the day.....Gabriel Forest.

".....what are you doing here in the middle of the woods at night?"

"What do mean what am I doing?.... WHAT ARE YOU doing huh?.....HUH?..." although Gabe tried to act tough, the tears at the corners of his eyes and the lopsided glasses coupled with the sock monkey held tightly in his clutches caused Ian to relax and let go of him. He helped Gabe fix his clothes before responding...

"Look man, I'm sorry...I'm just on edge and am currently trying to get out of this school..."

Gabe's eyes lit up and he quickly wiped away the tears and brought himself to his full height...." it's not a problem, I'm trying to escape too...well, I and my two friends were....we were separated just a minute ago once a group of Gnomes almost caught us...."

"Gnomes?.....is that those green-light-wearing things in black?..."

"Mmhmm...the students call them gnomes because we don't want to think about what they might be, teachers and staff at school deny they exist and won't even comment on them. It's - WAIT! I need to find Suki and CJ, they should be nearby..."

Just then, Ian and Gabe heard a loud whisper directed at them from the nearby thicket..."SHHHH, we heard you from far away Gabe, be quiet when you talk..."

From within the nearby foliage, two girls came out....one was a short preppy looking Asian gal with an intelligent gleam in her eyes while the other was a fit, tall and shapely woman with long luscious dark hair and a beautiful face...

"Ah, haha.....sorry guys, I was trying to stop this new guy from pounding my head in...well my new friend, these are my two best friends.....Suki Sato and CJ Ward..."

".....Ian, Ian Archer...."

........

After getting acquainted briefly and moving through the woods together, the group was unsuccessful in trying to find a way out of the school as about thirty minutes into their journey, they came upon the ocean...is stretched far into the distance and there was no beach along the shore..... they stood on the edge of a cliff suspended a mile or so above the deep ocean.

After understanding that escaping this place would take more than running through the woods blindly, they each sat down with sighs of determination and began to get to know their fellow new students who want to escape...

".....so, Ian, what can you do?..." asked the panting Gabe, still not recovered from their long trek through the forest.

Ian put on a perplexed look..." What do you mean what can I do?"

Gabe laughed and answered..."what do I mean? of course I mean your ability...everyone here at Tower is special in some way, we each have something that makes us a little more unique...even me!"

The pieces came together in Ian's mind as he asked....."then what can you guys do?"