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James Newman woke up on the morning of his 15thbirthday late for school. Finding that both his normal alarm clock and his backup had been mysteriously turned off, he jumped out of bed, grabbed whatever clothes were scattered about on the floor, and raced downstairs.

"Wait a minute, young man!" his mother said as he stopped to snatch up a banana. "What have I told you about hurrying off to school when you haven't eaten breakfast?"

"Mom, I'm going to miss the bus! I don't have time to eat!"

His mother sighed. "If you would actually wake up with your alarm clocks, then that wouldn't be the case. How many times have I told you not to stay up late reading or watching those shows?"

James rolled his eyes. "A thousand times, I know, I know. I should go to bed and get rest... I'm out of time!"

As he blitzed out the door, his mother yelled after him, "Make sure you hurry home after school today! Your Uncle Radcliff is coming to celebrate your birthday weekend!"

"Got it bye!"

James stopped at the end of his driveway, almost losing his footing due to the ice, and rushed off in the direction of the bus stop. It was a cold, wintery morning in November and snow had already coated the group in thick sheets. James slid around the corner and spotted the school bus beginning to pull away.

"Wait, don't leave! I'm coming!"

The bus must have heard him, because it screeched to a halt. In his haste, James didn't notice the huge patch of ice in his path and slipped, landing on his backpack and skidding down the sidewalk. He finally halted in front of the open doors and the bus driver raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, kid. I don't have all day."

James jumped up, grinning a little sheepishly, and got on. A hand popped up from on of the seats and waved at him.

"Morning, James!" his friend Michael said. "Nice weather we're having, eh?"

"What?"

James looked down at his outfit for the first time. Over the past several days, the news casters had been warning that it would be the coldest winter their town had seen in a long time, and James was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

"So that's why I was so cold... whoops."

"Why were you so late?" Michael asked as he moved over to make room in the seat. "You weren't up watching those cartoons again, were you?"

"They're not cartoons, you dolt!" James roared. "They're anime, that's completely different."

"You're right," Michael said, chuckling. "There's a lot more visible, am I right?"

James smacked him across the face and slumped down in the seat. "That's not why I watch them, idiot. I'm in it for the action alone, the thrill of seeing your favorite character stop the villain and save the day!"

His friend rolled his eyes. "So cheesy."

"It's not cheesy! At least, no more than your comics are."

"Hey, those are classics! You can't diss Superman or Batman!"

The bus finally pulled into the boys' school, Trails High. The students all piled off and flooded into the entrance, eagerly talking to their friends about everything under the sun.

"So, anything fun today?" James asked as they stopped by his locker.

"I've got a test in history," Michael said glumly. "And I don't think I studied enough."

James grinned. "Aw, too bad for you."

Michael rolled his eyes. "You've got the entire day with Mr. Daniels again, don't you?"

"Yep! He excused me from all of my classes cause I've got to prepare for this year's state science fair. After winning last year, I can't slack off at all, right?"

"I wish I had a teacher like Mr. Daniel," Michael said with a sigh. "He seems like the best."

He waved as he pushed open the door to his first class. "Well, I'll see you after school. If I make it through purgatory, that is."

James waved back. "Good luck!"

The bell rung, causing the halls to quickly clear, and James headed over to the chemistry room. Walking in, he was greeted by a smiling face and a bubbling beaker.

"Hi James, happy birthday."

"Thanks, Mr. Daniels," James said and dropped his backpack on a nearby desk. "So... the science fair."

"That's on you, my dear boy," Mr. Daniels laughed, dumping out the beaker and rinsing it in the sink. "I told you to think about ideas last night. Still have nothing?"

James shook his head with a frown.

"Well, that's not to worry," the teacher said. "I've got some of my classes doing an experiment tomorrow. I know you want to get going on your project, but how about you first help me set up and then we'll chat about some possible ideas?"

The day eventually ended and most of the students rushed back out the doors, heading to their afterschool activities or getting excited for the weekend. Michael met James coming out of Mr. Daniels' classroom and together they headed off.

"So, how was it?" James asked.

His friend sighed and shook his head. "I was right. I didn't study enough and I'll be lucky to even get a C."

"Aw, cheer up. Mr. Pantucket likes you good enough. He might curve the grade a little."

Michael rolled his eyes. "As if I'd be that lucky. Speaking of teachers that like you, how was your extended chemistry with Daniels?"

"Well, we talked about my project and I think that I want to do something concerning the periodic table. He told me to do some additional research before Monday and come up with a procedure. I've got everything written down in my lab notebook... oh shoot."

"What?"

James smacked himself over the head. "I left my lab notebook on Mr. Daniel's desk and I need it for the weekend! I've got to go back for it; you go catch the bus and I'll just walk home."

Michael gave him a look. "Are you sure? Don't forget you're wearing shorts and it's snowing outside."

"I can tough it up! Besides, you know that my house isn't that far away. I only take the bus cause I'm too lazy to walk."

Michael nodded. "Alright then. Hey, what are your weekend plans? Synthia said that she'd be driving over for your birthday."

"That's almost 4 hours away! Why haven't I heard anything about this?"

Michael blinked. "That's because it was supposed... to... be... a surprise. Crud. Please don't tell her!"

James chuckled. "I won't. I'll also let my Uncle know that she's coming. He'll probably have something special planned for my birthday and I know he'd love to have her come along."

"You're Uncle Radcliff's coming for your birthday again? Awesome! Remember two years ago, when he took us out go kart racing and then gave us all tickets to Comic-Con! And remember..."

"Alright, enough Michael!" James said, shoving his friend away. "You're going to miss the bus! I'll call you when I get home, ok?"

"Alright, talk to you then. Don't freeze on your walk home!"

"I'll try not to, thanks."

After saying goodbye, James walked back down to the chemistry room, only to find that Mr. Daniels had left for the day to enjoy his wife, kids, and a warm dinner. After racing around the school for a short while, he was lucky enough to find a janitor to unlock the door and grabbed his notebook before heading out into the winter afternoon. The air was slightly warmer than it had been in the morning, which wasn't saying much, but it had started snowing harder and a fierce wind had whipped up. James shivered and grabbed his arms, wishing that he had at least remembered a coat.

James' house was normally a 20-minute walk away, which would have been a nightmare in his current condition, but there was luckily a shortcut that cut the time down to a quarter. The path cut through the woods and let out right where the bus dropped off too, so as long as he hurried his mother wouldn't think anything was up.

Overhead, the sky was dense with clouds as James moved around trees, his feet following the packed trail. He shivered again and wrapped his arms tighter around himself, occasionally glancing into the darkening forest. There had been rumors of animals lurking around there at night, possibly wolves, but nothing had ever been confirmed...

"Those are just rumors," James reminded himself and continued on. He hadn't thought that he was still scared of that sort of nonsense, but the atmosphere was very convincing.

Finally, he reached the last stretch before the main road. This was widely considered the most dangerous section of the path by the neighborhood parents, as it passed right next to a small cliff that marked the beginning of a public park. Many had tried to have it closed or altered before but since no kid had ever fallen, it was considered to be relatively safe, and so remained open. James wasn't concerned in the slightest. He had gone that way many times before, both in winter and summer.

"Easy does it," he muttered as he began to slowly make his way around the cliff. The packed snow had melted and refroze into ice, so it was a bit more difficult that before, but nothing impossible. He had also tossed his backpack to the far side of the path to make it a bit easier to cross.

"Almost there. Just a few more..."

The sound of crunching snow startled him and he stopped moving. There hadn't been anyone else around a moment ago.

"Who's there?" he asked, feeling a little shiver run down his spine that wasn't from the cold.

There was no answer. After standing still for several moments, James maneuvered himself carefully and looked around, but the forest was dark and empty. He repeated the question a little louder, but the only response was, again, silence.

"Hm, must have been my imagination," he muttered. "I can't wait to get home."

He turned back around, but at that moment something in the forest loud out a tremendous roar and James spun back around instinctively. He didn't have a moment to see what it was, though. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened as he felt his foot slip, causing him to fall backwards away from the forest and into open air.

His mouth opened to scream, but he didn't have time to make a sound as the cold, hard ground suddenly spun into a blaze of light before seeming to leap up and swallow him whole. Afterwards, it sunk back down and returned to normal, and anyone watching would have been stunned beyond belief. Any normal person, that is.

A hooded figure materialized out of thin, walking out of the forest like a ghost before peering over the cliff with an unreadable expression. After seeing that James had vanished, he snapped his fingers and the boy's backpack soared through the air to land in his hands. He reached inside and rifled through the contents briefly before pulling out the lab notebook. Checking the inside cover, the figure nodded and snapped his fingers again, forming a bright sigil in the air made out of light.

"It's done," he said in a light tone. "Everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to."

A deep voice came out of the sigil, echoing in the silent forest. "Good to hear, sir. Do you remember the house address?"

The figure shook his head.

"Understood, sir. Just follow the path and it should lead you back to a main road. I'll direct you from there."

"Thank you."

The figure waved his arm and the sigil dispersed. Swinging the backpack around his shoulders, he left the cliff, and the forest was empty once again, the snow falling silently and covering up any tracks that James had made. The figure, however, didn't leave any at all.

James, of course, had no idea what was going on, nor did he have any thoughts about a hooded figure making off with his things. He was a bit occupied at the moment. From his perspective, as the ground rose up and swallowed him, he entered a strange realm of mist and lights. Everything was flying by at an incredible speed and it took him a moment to stop screaming and realize that he was being taken somewhere.

At this point, James' mind mostly stopped working out of pure shock, but he still continued to note astounding things. For example, he understood enough science to tell that he was traveling at speeds that humans hadn't even come close to reaching, but it felt like he was weightless. There was no drag from air, no feeling of acceleration, not even a feeling of gravity. He wondered idly how he was still able to breathe, but overall it didn't seem to matter much.

Just as James had been getting relaxed to his predicament, relatively speaking of course, the space he was in changed. The mists were blown about as if by a sudden violent wind and James was thrown sideways, abruptly feeling an immense amount of pressure cover his entire body. He gasped, unable to make any sounds as he traveled, hoping that whatever it was would end soon.

Finally, the mists became multicolored, swirling around the boy in a mirage of light. At that moment, the lights outside stopped entirely and the pressure surrounding him vanished. James' eyes flickered for a moment before he blacked out, everything overwhelming him completely.

He awoke lying on his back, with sunlight filtering in through trees ahead. Groaning, James sat up with eyes still closed. Pain radiated throughout his entire body, but as he sat on the ground, it slowly began to fade. Regaining sensation in his hands and feet, he felt grass beneath his fingers and his eyes shot open. After all, grass didn't exist in winter.

James looked around, astonished by what he was seeing. He was sitting in a summer glade, golden sunlight pouring down through branches overhead and trees of blue, silver, and green surrounding him on all sides. James got up shakily and hesitated for a moment before walking over and pressing a hand against the odd-colored bark. It was hard, like metal, and went he tapped it it produced a melodious ring. However, he could still feel it pulse with life and energy.

"What the...? What's going on?"

The famous lines from an old movie ran through his mind. "Todo, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

On side of the glade, he could see an opening that led into another empty clearing. After passing through several more groves of trees, and seeing no one else, James emerged into a large grassy field. Rolling hills with strange, pavilion-like structures that looked like a cross between white marble and sandstone. But that wasn't what caught his attention. There were creatures all around him, walking, playing, and looked to be generally relaxing, and James could only blink in stunned silence. He thought for a moment that he had somehow waltzed into a storybook, but quickly dismissed the idea. Things like that just didn't happen in real life. And with the way the beings were acting, it didn't seem like something out of a legend. Instead, it seemed an awful lot like a park.

Two were made completely of fire, while several more looked like centaurs out of myth. There was even a creature made entirely of jello, except that it had eyes, legs, and also a tail. James spotted a group of what looked to be humans and he considered asking them what was going on, but he soon dismissed that idea when one of them waved their arm and sent a blast of wind streaking across the sky.

As he stood there, trying to comprehend his situation and decide what in the world he should do next, something came flying at his face. Out of reflex, James caught the ball-like projectile. Its squishy surface flexed beneath his fingers and he almost dropped it.

"Hey, over here!" James looked around and spotted a hand waving. A blue-scaled creature, about James' height, was running towards him. "Can you throw it back?"

"Uh, ok." James tossed the ball back, thrown by how the situation was so much like a normal park. Normal being a relative term of course.

"Hey, thanks!" The boy said, his voice a bit bubbly, sounding a bit like a small brook. James saw that his ears were shaped like fins and his hands were webbed. "My name's Xe 'Xndry. Nice to meet you!"

James just blinked. "Can you repeat that one more time?"

The boy laughed. "Don't worry about it. Just call me Delta. Not many can pronounce my real name. Who are you?"

"Oh, uh... my name is James."

"James, huh?" Delta said, rolling the name around on his tongue. "Cool! I haven't heard many names from other planets, as I've only just arrived. Are you here for the academy as well? You look about the same age as me, although I'm not really sure because of the whole different species thing. Where are you from, anyway? You look a bit like a human, but it's hard to tell."

James blinked again, a little unsure of how to respond to the assault of information. "Yeah, I'm a human," he said hesitantly. He didn't know what he should do. If he asked an odd question, it would make it obvious that he wasn't from here and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bade thing yet. Luckily, James didn't have to worry for long.

Delta suddenly gulped and put his hand to his head. "Ow! Stop yelling! I'll bet the whole park can hear you! Sorry James, have to go! If mom yells for much longer, I'll have a splitting headache. Nice to meet you and hope to see you at the academy!" He yelled as he ran off, still holding his head. "I'm coming, mom. On my way, almost there, OW!!"

James closed his eyes for a moment, breathed deep, and then opened to find that yes, everything was still there.

"I remember falling off the path. Am I in a coma?"

Lost in thought, he failed to hear an amplified voice announcing, "All mages, please leave the park immediately. Again, please leave the park immediately." He did notice, however, when a feathery hand came down heavily on his shoulder.

"Hello there. I'm very sure that you are aware that there are 6 of my Quintessium guards prepared to attack, so I would heavily advise explaining to me right now what exactly you were doing that released such a large amount of energy."

James started to turn around to see who was talking, but the hand held him tighter. "And don't turn around. Explain, now!".

James realized that if he didn't say something, then the situation would turn from bad to worse.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. The last thing I remember is that I was falling and then I ended up in that grove of trees back there."

The owner of the hand scoffed. "That is probably the weakest story I've ever heard since I joined the corps. I'm putting you in lockup until you can at least give me a better excuse than that."

He turned to address his colleagues nearby. "Seal his magic and check the whole park. I've got to go report this."

The hand let go of James' shoulder and he was forced to the ground and restrained. The boy closed his eyes, hoping at this point that he was just dreaming.

"Hold on!" the captain of the group suddenly said. "I'm receiving a call from headquarters."

There was silence for a moment and then an abrupt intake of breath. "Hello, Highlord. Yes sir, we have the person right here. He looks to be a human and has an unrevealed affinity. I... I understand sir. We will be there shortly."

There was a small fizzling noise and then another moment of silence before the captain sighed. "Let him up. This whole thing just got a lot more complicated."

The force holding James down vanished and he hesitantly got to his feet.

"Turn around, kid. Let me get a look at you."

He obeyed and found himself facing a giant parrot. It stood like a person, with wing-like arms, and stared down at him over a giant beak. James didn't really know what to say or think.

"Hm, definitely a human. I wasn't wrong. Well, for whatever reason you've somehow attracted the attention of the god of space, so I'm taking you to see him right now. If he's involved than... well, let's wait to see what he says."

"Hold on. The god of space?"

"Yes, Highlord Eternius. Don't act dumb." The captain gave him a glare. "And not another word out of you. You're still under arrest after all and until someone says different than it'll stay that way."

James shut his mouth and the captain waved an arm. Suddenly, a shadow fell over them and James' mouth fell open when he saw a futuristic ship descending from the sky. It landed on the grass a short distance away and the captain nudged him on the back.

"On you go. I don't want to keep the Highlord waiting."

The ship was quite spacious inside, more like a bus than the tight things back on Earth. James sat down on one of the seats and the parrot sat on the opposite side, staring at him intently. The ship lifted off with a quiet hum, silky smooth, and soared into the sky.

The parrot sighed and shook his head. "So, what's your name kid?"

James hesitated before the parrot gestured, obviously indicating that he should answer. "I'm James. James Newman."

"My name is Captain Olar, head of the Quintessuim Defense Corps." James could see that he was wearing a sort of uniform, with the symbol of a sun and moon in a partial eclipse on the front, like a badge. The captain waved his hand, pulling up what look like a holographic screen. It hovered in midair as he typed something in before frowning.

"You don't appear as a registered mage. What planet are you from?"

"Uh, Earth?"

"Hm, never heard of it. Maybe a smaller colony world out on the fringe of a galaxy? The Highlord will know. We're almost there."

The ship touched down and the door hissed open. Captain Olar got up from his seat and looked at James.

"Off you go."

James walked out into a small chamber, empty except for him, Captain Olar, and the ship. A large mural decorated one of the walls, showing many different species, but James did not recognize any of the events depicted. A door was set into one of the walls, made from a silvery metal.

"You're still a potential threat. Sorry, kid." James turned around just in time to see the captain wave his wing-arms, causing a breeze to hit him in the face. Then, his vision went completely dark.

James stumbled around frantically, almost losing his balance. "What did you do to me!"

"Standard procedure. Let's head on up."

James felt Captain Olar grab his shoulders and spin him around. They passed through the metal door and into a series of hallways. James couldn't hear any other people around, but he wasn't sure if that was another precaution or if everyone was simply gone. After walking for quite some time and entering a room that felt suspiciously like some sort of elevator, the duo finally stopped and Captain Olar removed the blindfold. James looked around in awe. The hallway was not very long but it was lit with lights that moved around inside of the walls. Two doors of red and gold stood in front of them, each with a large pane of frosted glass set in the middle. James could see a couple of shapes moving inside the room, but he couldn't make anything else out.

"Alright, you're about to meet one of the most important people in creation. Make sure you address him with respect. After all, it's his decision if you're deemed as a threat."

"And if I was?"

Captain Olar narrowed his eye. "Then you'd be imprisoned and interrogated."

James gulped and turned back to the doors. The shapes had stopped moving and he got the distinct impression they were looking at him. One, humanoid from what he could see, moved over to the doors. The handle turned and James held his breath, waiting to see this god who would determine his fate. The doors opened, and then a young man, about 25, poked his head out. "No need to stand out there terrifying the kid to death. Come on in!"