The first rays of the evening sun to touch Julian’s face felt more welcome than anything else so far. The dark, secluded atmosphere of the forest was nice, but Julian was accustomed to wide open spaces, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him when he, Peel, and Joshua exited the forest. Joshua, who hadn’t left the forest for four years, shielded himself from the waning sun with his arms, while Peel walked forth and stretched her arms. "Ah, it feels great to get back out here after being in that musty old forest! I feel so much better, you know? What about you, Joshua? What’s it like to leave the forest? Must be weird, huh?"

"Yes." Joshua replied as he looked around. "I still have faint memories of the outside world from when I was younger, but I can safely say that this is completely foreign to me." He turned to Julian. "Where shall we go now?" Julian shrugged. "I guess we should head into town and check everything out. After that we’ll find a place to stay." Joshua nodded, then lowered his head and stared at the ground. "I’m sorry, but I have no money to contribute. I haven’t needed any since I’ve come to the forest." Julian smiled. "It’s no problem. We don’t have any money either, so I guess we’ll wing it."

Downtown Reindeer was very calm compared to Snowman or Merrysville. The townspeople seemed more laid back than most, and didn’t cause as much noise as people from other places. The small town didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, except maybe for the fact that it had a bit more grass than usual. As the sky was tinted orange with the rays of the setting sun, the townsfolk began to retreat to their homes, getting ready for another day of arduous labor at whatever farms they owned. This left Julian and his friends with a sense of abandonment as they became the only people walking around the street at night.

Peel spotted a hotel and quickly bounded up to it, inspecting the doorway and the sign beside it. "Lessee…" she began as she read. "One night’s $35 per person…a single room’s cheaper…" she took out her wallet and pried it open. Her face fell instantly. "Great. We’re still ten short." She headed away from the door and went back to Julian. "Now what do we do?" Julian shrugged. "Dunno. What about you, Joshua?" he turned to the boy, who shrugged as well. "I’m used to sleeping in the forest, but I doubt you would be able to sleep there." As soon as he finished he pointed to the side. "Maybe we could ask that man for help." Julian looked to the direction Joshua was signaling. He squinted and placed his hand over his forehead like a visor. "I can’t see anything." Joshua looked back, his finger still up. "He’s right there." He insisted. "I think I can see better in the dark than you. I’ll call him if you wish." He dropped his hand and waved the other over his head. "Hey, sir! Excuse me!"

Julian saw a figure stir in the dark, then begin to approach them. "So there is someone there." He mused, then watched as the figure came closer. The figure, after coming closer, waved its hand in the air, as if to greet them. Peel looked to Julian. "You know…I think it might be…"

"Hello! Nice to see you again!" the lanky form of Nicholas finally came close enough to be seen, his glasses glinting in the moonlight. He wore the same clothing as before, but he carried a duffel bag this time; he was obviously traveling. As Nicholas came up to Julian and shook his hand, Joshua turned to Peel and began whispering in her ear. "Do you know him?" he asked. Peel nodded. "Yep. Met him back in Merrysville. Small world, isn’t it?"

***

"Thanks for lending us the money to stay at this hotel." Said Julian as the four of them sat in the hotel lobby, on a small table eating sandwiches. Nicholas rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "It’s nothing, really." He took a gigantic bite out of his sandwich. "Mah plheshur." He said through a mouthful of ham and lettuce. Peel giggled and nibbled on her own sandwich. "So, where are you heading to now, Nicholas?" she asked. Nicholas frowned. "I…that is, you…" He looked around nervously and began stuttering. "Well, you se…actually, what I mean is…" Finally he cleared his throat. "…Elsewhere." He finished, then stuffed his face with the rest of his sandwich. In the meantime, Julian looked him over, then Joshua, then Peel, then finally himself. "I think we should change clothing." He concluded. "They were pretty ripped up from this afternoon." Peel looked herself over. "You’re right. We should go change." The two then silently got up and left the room. Two steps away Peel punched Julian in the arm and shook her finger at him. "Don’t be getting any ideas." She warned. Julian put his arms up in defense. "I’m not." He stated simply as they went up the stairs.

Joshua watched the two go up the stairs and finished his sandwich in silence. He stood staring at the stairs for a few minutes until Nicholas called to him. "So, what’s your story?" he asked as he sat down with another sandwich he had just bought. Joshua lowered his head. "Nothing. I was just…they seem to be very good friends." He said finally. Nicholas perched his head back and arched his eyebrows. "Oh…I see. You sound like someone who hasn’t had many friends in his life." Joshua nodded. "I lived in the forest most of my life, and there aren’t any people there." Nicholas then bent down and edged himself closer to Joshua, peering into his eyes. "Forest?" he asked curiously. Joshua nodded again. "Ever since I was five years old." Nicholas made a ‘hmmm…’ sound, then reclined in his chair. "Please, tell me more." Joshua looked up. "Really? Do you want me to?" he asked meekly. Nicholas sighed. "I asked, didn’t I?" Joshua looked down and took deep breath.

"When I was a baby, my parents died in a car crash, and I ended up in an orphanage." He began with a melancholic tone. "I stayed there for a while, but I wasn’t very happy because I couldn’t go outside much. I really liked to climb trees, and the orphanage was just a small house. I wasn’t allowed to leave. Then, one day, something happened." He paused and held up his palm, looking at it as if it would bring back past memories. "I…gained the ability to use psychic powers. I accidentally set the entire house on fire. The people who ran the orphanage then kicked me out. I wandered for a while, then I came upon a small forest nearby. It was raining and I needed shelter." Joshua’s pupils widened as he recalled the events of that fateful day. Nicholas urged him on and he continued. "I…found a small cave in the forest, and I stayed there. After that, since I had no place to go, I stayed there and made the forest my home." A lone tear trickled down Joshua’s cheek. Nicholas slid his chair over to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. "It’s okay. You know, Julian’s a good kid…you shouldn’t feel lonely if he and Peel are with you." Joshua looked up to Nicholas and smiled weakly.

At that moment Julian and Peel descended. Julian had disposed of his cap, it having been badly damaged during the fight with Volt Punker, and changed his pants and jacket so that now he was sporting a white short-sleeved shirt and black shorts. Peel had traded her jacket for a sweater and her jeans for some gray exercise pants. The two, feeling better now that they had clean clothes on, were smiling broadly. Or at least, Peel was smiling broadly. Julian had his usual stern face on, and his attitude didn’t seem to change much from before. Together, the four stayed up until midnight, chatting and recalling the events of the day.

***

Julian awoke the next day feeling much better than he had in a long time. He woke up before all the others, and took advantage of the opportunity to go downstairs and enjoy some time by himself. He still didn’t have a clue as to where Ninten was; there was nothing in Reindeer that even hinted at anything. Apparently, Ninten was as discreet arriving and leaving Reindeer as Julian was leaving Snowman. This gave Julian a mixed feeling of hopelessness and nervousness. He knew less now than he did before he started his journey all those weeks ago. Volt Punker and Rapper Flamestart, while apparently human, had otherworldly powers that may or may not have shared a common origin with the prism. The fact that he met them at all troubled Julian. Maybe they were tired of sending Starmen, and decide to take on the task of killing him personally…then again, maybe they weren’t related to the Starmen at all…no, Punker mentioned having sent out Starmen before…And even then, there was the thought that they were right in wanting the prism in the first place. What if Julian was the bad guy here, keeping an important artifact from whoever owned the prism before?

Julian’s train of thought was interrupted as Nicholas bounded down the stairs, not noticing Julian. The latter held up his hand and waved. "Good morning, Nicholas." He said. Nicholas stopped dead in his tracks and jumped back when he saw Julian. "Ah! You scared me!" he paused, then regained his composure. "I…thought you were still sleeping." Julian shook his head. Nicholas smiled nervously and clutched his duffel bag. "Well…I have to go now…I’ll see you later. Maybe. I hope." Nicholas then rushed out the door and the hotel lobby became silent once again.

Not two seconds later Julian heard a scream coming from upstairs. Recognizing the voice as that of Peel, Julian leapt up the stairs and flung open the door to his room to find Peel rummaging through his pack and Joshua searching for something under the bed. "What happened?" Julian asked Peel. She, in turn, looked at him with a frightened look, her nerves obviously racked. "Well, I…showing Joshua…th-the…you know…a-and now…" Joshua cut in abruptly as he rose from under the bed. "Peel was telling me about the prism and the events leading up to before our meeting. When I asked her to show it to me, she looked in your pack and found it missing." He then looked to the door. "I think someone may have stolen it." He said calmly. Julian nodded. "…Nicholas." He muttered, then turned to the others. "Get dressed. We have a thief to catch."

Nicholas looked the tiny prism over delicately. Getting it hadn’t been easy; it was a simple coincidence that he and Julian should meet, and he hadn’t had any time to plan anything appropriately. The gods of fortune smiled on him, though, and he was able to sneak in, get the prism, then sneak out without causing much of a disturbance. Now he was just outside the train station and everything was going well. If luck was with him, Julian wouldn’t even notice anything wrong until later, giving Nicholas a window to plan ahead a little more.

"Hey, Nicholas! Come back here!"

…Or maybe not.

Nicholas looked behind him to see Julian and his friends, looking rather cross and apparently willing to resort to violence…or maybe just willing to resort to violence. As Nicholas looked at them he remembered the prism, still in his hand. Julian’s gaze was locked onto it. Nicholas jumped back, startled, and began backing away from the trio slowly, chuckling as if the entire thing was some sort of a joke and nothing to be taken seriously. Then, suddenly, he spun on his heel and took off running towards the train station, going as fast as his legs could carry him. Behind him he heard cries of, "Get him!" and "Make sure he doesn’t get away!" This only made him run faster.

Nicholas looked back and noticed that Joshua was missing, then looked forward to see that he had teleported ahead of him. Placing his hand on Joshua’s head, Nicholas leapfrogged over the boy and continued running, dodging a few mines thrown by Peel in the process.

He burst in to the train station, nearly knocking an old lady over, who yelled profanities at him as he passed, then jumped past the ticket window and over the turn style that led to the trains. Quickly spotting one that was departing, he leapt inside the closing door, knocking the ticket controller back. Quickly scrambling onto his feet, he looked out the door to see his three persecutors stop dead in their tracks as the train departed. He sighed with relief. "I made it." He reassured himself. As soon as he turned, though, he spotted the ticket controller, who barred his way, one hand extended as if asking for something. Nicholas looked at him quizzically. "What?" he asked. The controller muttered something under his breath, then beckoned with his hand.

"Your ticket please, sir."